Pseudo-Anonymous Gary Comes Through Again, Maybe

At first I was going to call him Anonymous Gary but since he has a name he's not really anonymous. But his Blogger profile has no details! So, who are you Gary? Whatever you want to call him, Gary has left another comment and information (greatly appreciated, by the way) on one of my posts, this one on Rosanna Wise Hale.

He says:

Well, Becky, you keep posting interesting puzzles and I can't help but investigate. :) If I'm right, the Jacob & Rosanna Hale you found in Kosciusko Co, IN moved to Dauphin Co, PA. Here is a summary of the census records I found.

1870, PA, Dauphin Co, Baldwin (pg 699B)
Jacob Hale, age 46, b. PA
Rosanna Hale, age 45, b. OH
Mary A Hale, age 15, b. IN

1880, PA, Dauphin Co, Halifax Twp (pg 71D)
J Hale, age 52, b. PA
Rosianna Hale, age 53, b. OH
H Brunden (grandson), age 6, b. PA

1900, PA, Dauphin Co, Steelton Borough (pg 55B)
Martin H Grunden, age 54, b. PA
Mary A Grunden, age 45, b. PA
Rena E Grunden, age 23, b. PA
Alva A Grunden, age 20, b. PA
Rosana Hale (widowed mother-in-law), age 74, b. OH

So, if correct, these records present a conflict with information you have already found in that the Hale daughter would actually be "Mary" and not "May". Now the question becomes, is there another May Hale in Miami Co, IN that could be the May Hale that married George Armstrong?

Let's face it, you're going to have rummage around in that courthouse until you're satisfied that the probate case file for Christine Wise has indeed been lost. :)

Good luck, Gary

Those census records do look promising, and as he says, if those records are correct, then May A. Hale who married George Armstrong is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. It won't be the first time I was wrong! And likely not the last, but if his lead proves out, then all the better.

On my "to do" list is a note to check the marriage records and death records in Miami County for May Hale Armstrong. She was married in 1888 and died in 1899 so there is a chance, albeit slim, that her parents were noted in those records. It just depends upon when Miami County started recording that information. Maybe I'll get lucky.

In addition to those two records, I still need to look for Christina's estate packet. When I visited the Clerk's office five weeks ago we couldn't find the ledger books referenced in the one record we did find on Christina's estate. The clerk said we could go next door to the archives but that the man with the key was out to lunch. I went to the Library but didn't make it back to the Clerk's office that day.

The other record that needs to be found is the deed entry for the sale of Peter's land. If for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity. But I really want to find that estate file. So, perhaps tomorrow, I'll go rummaging around in the courthouse at Peru!

In addition to the records found by Gary, I also found the following:

1880, PA, Dauphin, Steelton Borough, Second Street, page 21
Martin H. Grunden [indexed as Grunten], 31, Laborer
Alice, 25, wife, keeps house, born Indiana, father born Penna, mother born Ohio
Hale, 6, son [also listed with J. and Rosianna Hale as H Brunden, 6 year old grandson ?]
Rena, 4, daughter
Alva, 1, son

1910 - didn't find Alice/Mary Grunden in Dauphin, County PA

1920, PA, Dauphin, Steelton Borough, Pine Street, pages 1b and 2a
James B. Detweiler, 44, coal merchant
Rena E., wife, 42
Vance G., son, 16
J. Austin, son, 12
Mary A. Grunden, Mother in Law, 64, widowed, born Indiana

www.ancestry.com Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Directories, 1887-90
Four entries for Martin H. Grunden, all the same, no dates, Location 1: 240 S Front, Location 2: 273 S 2d, Occupation: coal and wood dealer, City: Steelton. Also, three entries for Rosanna Hale, widow of Jacob: Two with location of 301 S 2d and one with location of 273 S 2d, both in Steelton.

A short biography of Martin Grunden was found in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, 1896, page 1039 available on ancestry. He served in Co. E 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry 1863-1865, married Miss Alice, daughter of Jacob Hale of Steelton in 1873; three children, Rena, Alva and Hale - Hale died 11 Feb 1894 at 20 years of age. There's more but that's the "important" stuff.

There is a Public Member Tree at www.ancestry.com (registration required to view the tree) for Martin Henry Grunden. He was born 28 Mar 1846 and died 22 Sept 1902 Steelton, Dauphin, PA. His wife, Mary Alice Hale was born 15 Nov 1854 in Indiana and died 19 Nov 1939 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, PA.

One child is listed for Martin and Mary: Rena Elizabeth Grunden born 14 Nov 1875 Steelton, Dauphin, PA and died 6 Sept 1926 Steelton, Dauphin, PA. She was married to James Prowell Detweiler who was born 10 May 1875 Goldsboro, York, PA and died in 1949 Steelton, Dauphin, PA.

One child listed for Rena and James Detweiler: James Austin Detweiler, born 8 Jan 1908 Steelton, Dauphin, PA and died 1 Jan 1985 Waynoka, Woods, OKLA. His wife was Helen Margaret Walker, born 19 Mar 1916 Houston, TX and died 11 Mar 1995 Moscow, Latah, ID.

Obviously, this is going to take additional research... Did I jump the gun by proclaiming that May Hale Armstrong was the daughter of Jacob and Rosana Hale? Perhaps. On the other hand, if I hadn't posted that information, would the new information have come to light? Possibly. Should I have done additional research before posting? Maybe.