Here it is, nearing the last week of April and it's hard to believe that I've only published three blog posts this month! You'd think with all the “extra” time I have now since I'm not traveling I'd get more accomplished. But that hasn't been the case. I have however, finally gotten to watch the entire Harry Potter series! I had never seen any of them. Now I understand why Elyse is all ga-ga over Mr. Potter! Last night I watched the first of the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, which I had also never seen. The books were read many, many years ago but amazingly I remembered some of what took place. So you see, I have accomplished something these past few weeks...
I've had several interesting “conversations” the last few weeks with a couple of Hoffman researchers. Some tend to agree with my theory and others say no, there were two men named Michael Hoffman who married women named Maria. But no one can come up with any concrete documentation either way, not even me – yet! It is going to take “on site” research to uncover documents that aren't online to help resolve that issue. The truth is, we may never know for sure. But I haven't given up...
Last Wednesday (April 18th) I finally broke down and purchased a new laptop with Windows 7, a 750gb hard drive, and 6gb of memory. An amazing little machine that only weighs a little more than 4 pounds. Considerably heavier than the netbook I've been using but Oh, so much faster at everything! Yes, I am aware that Windows 8 will be coming out later this summer or early this fall, but the netbook was getting painful to use as a “full-time” computer. It's little hard drive was nearly full and it's 1gb of memory was terribly slow. It has served me well these last 2 ½ years and will most likely still be used on research trips - after everything except genealogy stuff is removed.
Of course, getting the new laptop ready for use has been a time-consuming process, as well as more than a little frustrating at times. But I have finally gotten the basic software that I use installed and updated to Windows 7 and they all seem to be functioning properly.
All of my data files have been transferred too. I was totally amazed by the speed at which that was done! Of course, there was an issue with the program used for the backups, which took more than four hours to resolve, but it's working and backups now take a fraction of the time they took with the netbook.
Everything considered, I am very happy with the new laptop. I just have to get used to using a larger keyboard again - some really strange looking sentences have been typed in the last few days!
Next Saturday I'll be attending the Indiana Genealogical Society Conference in Fort Wayne. I'm looking forward to meeting other Genea-bloggers who will be attending. And maybe learning a few new research tips and ideas as well.
For now... I'm back to reviewing and analyzing documents gathered during my recent visits to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It's been going slower than anticipated, partially held up by additional research on the Hoffman family but the time spent on that “project” was well worth it...
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Showing posts with label research notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research notes. Show all posts
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Confessions of a BAD Genealogist.
I've missed working on my family history. I would like to get back “into it” again. I'd also like to make a stop at a little library in Salt Lake City in the not too distant future. I'm not sure how I can “get into” the genealogy while traveling, but we'll see. First though, I need to figure out what it is that I need to research! It's been over a year since I've done anything in that regard.
After spending some time this last week re-immersing myself in my genealogy databases, I realized that they are a bigger mess than I remembered. I have two primary databases. One for the maternal lines (6330 people) and another for the paternal lines (1680 people) and a few smaller “special research” databases. And yeah, I've spent much more time on Mom's families.
When I first started working with a genealogy program (back in the dark ages, it seems) it was with the DOS based PAF (Personal Ancestral File). My first personal computer (about 1994, three years after I completed the book on the Phend Family History the old-fashioned way!) was Windows based and, after a year or so of working with the clunky DOS program, I moved on to Reunion for Windows. I also tried Family Tree Maker and a series of other early genealogy programs but stuck with Reunion.
This was back in the day before genealogy software had sourcing capabilities and, to be honest, before I had an understanding as to the importance of keeping track of ALL of your sources. The data went into the assigned fields. Sources, if any, were thrown into the notes. In 1997, Leister Productions sold Reunion for Windows to Sierra Software and focused their efforts on the MAC version of Reunion. I stayed with Reunion for a few more years but then Millennia came out with version 2.0 of Legacy Family Tree. I tried it. I liked it. I switched. I'm still using it!
So, now, some sources are where they are supposed to be, although not necessarily “correct” by anyone's standard. And some sources are still in notes. (My “theory” regarding sources has always been to provide enough info so that someone else could find it. Just not formatted according to Mills or anyone else!) But some of the data that has been input doesn't even have sources. And, to top it off, I've been totally inconsistent in where additional information has been entered – sometimes in notes, sometimes in events/facts, and some even in both places! I could lay the blame on the software but in reality it is/was downright laziness on my part.
Thinking that I might have some extra time on my hands, I purchased RootsMagic about a month before embarking on this journey of mine. I finally installed it last week. I imported my biggest Legacy database into RootsMagic. And that is when I discovered what a really, really big mess I have. Worse than I had ever imagined. There's nothing like a different program to “bring out” the shortcomings of the “special” things I'd done with data entry in Legacy.
Like I said, my databases are a mess. I want to get the data “out there” in cyberspace, I want to share it. But not in its current condition!
So, what am I going to do about it?
A little over a year ago, I remember reading about Amy Coffin's efforts when she began Planting a New Family Tree. At the time, in my mind, I silently congratulated her while at the same time thinking she had to be absolutely crazy!
And here I am, considering doing the same thing! But that idea causes my brain to freeze up. So many people, so much data, so much time! But it would also take time to go through each person in my current databases – check their data, sources, notes, events/facts, etc. So at this point, I really don't know what I'll do. Or when I'll do it. Obviously, since I'm still in traveling mode, and the available time for working on a project of this magnitude is limited, it is going to take a long, long time to complete no matter which route I take and no matter which software I go with.
But first, I'm gonna go check out the ancestors and see what information I am missing on them... if I'm going to Salt Lake City, I need to get prepared!
=+==+==+==+=
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the software programs or companies mentioned and have not been compensated by any of them for mentioning their names in this post. As a member of Geneabloggers, I did receive complimentary versions of Legacy 7.0 and RootsMagic 4.0 at the 2010 California Genealogy Jamboree. However, I had previously purchased both software packages.
After spending some time this last week re-immersing myself in my genealogy databases, I realized that they are a bigger mess than I remembered. I have two primary databases. One for the maternal lines (6330 people) and another for the paternal lines (1680 people) and a few smaller “special research” databases. And yeah, I've spent much more time on Mom's families.
When I first started working with a genealogy program (back in the dark ages, it seems) it was with the DOS based PAF (Personal Ancestral File). My first personal computer (about 1994, three years after I completed the book on the Phend Family History the old-fashioned way!) was Windows based and, after a year or so of working with the clunky DOS program, I moved on to Reunion for Windows. I also tried Family Tree Maker and a series of other early genealogy programs but stuck with Reunion.
This was back in the day before genealogy software had sourcing capabilities and, to be honest, before I had an understanding as to the importance of keeping track of ALL of your sources. The data went into the assigned fields. Sources, if any, were thrown into the notes. In 1997, Leister Productions sold Reunion for Windows to Sierra Software and focused their efforts on the MAC version of Reunion. I stayed with Reunion for a few more years but then Millennia came out with version 2.0 of Legacy Family Tree. I tried it. I liked it. I switched. I'm still using it!
So, now, some sources are where they are supposed to be, although not necessarily “correct” by anyone's standard. And some sources are still in notes. (My “theory” regarding sources has always been to provide enough info so that someone else could find it. Just not formatted according to Mills or anyone else!) But some of the data that has been input doesn't even have sources. And, to top it off, I've been totally inconsistent in where additional information has been entered – sometimes in notes, sometimes in events/facts, and some even in both places! I could lay the blame on the software but in reality it is/was downright laziness on my part.
Thinking that I might have some extra time on my hands, I purchased RootsMagic about a month before embarking on this journey of mine. I finally installed it last week. I imported my biggest Legacy database into RootsMagic. And that is when I discovered what a really, really big mess I have. Worse than I had ever imagined. There's nothing like a different program to “bring out” the shortcomings of the “special” things I'd done with data entry in Legacy.
Like I said, my databases are a mess. I want to get the data “out there” in cyberspace, I want to share it. But not in its current condition!
So, what am I going to do about it?
A little over a year ago, I remember reading about Amy Coffin's efforts when she began Planting a New Family Tree. At the time, in my mind, I silently congratulated her while at the same time thinking she had to be absolutely crazy!
And here I am, considering doing the same thing! But that idea causes my brain to freeze up. So many people, so much data, so much time! But it would also take time to go through each person in my current databases – check their data, sources, notes, events/facts, etc. So at this point, I really don't know what I'll do. Or when I'll do it. Obviously, since I'm still in traveling mode, and the available time for working on a project of this magnitude is limited, it is going to take a long, long time to complete no matter which route I take and no matter which software I go with.
But first, I'm gonna go check out the ancestors and see what information I am missing on them... if I'm going to Salt Lake City, I need to get prepared!
=+==+==+==+=
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the software programs or companies mentioned and have not been compensated by any of them for mentioning their names in this post. As a member of Geneabloggers, I did receive complimentary versions of Legacy 7.0 and RootsMagic 4.0 at the 2010 California Genealogy Jamboree. However, I had previously purchased both software packages.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Regarding Mercedes
While going through my grandmother's papers (again) this weekend, I found this picture, probably taken on the same day as the one at the bottom of this post.
Mae was the adopted daughter of William James Dunfee and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Walker. Jane is my grandmother's sister, Hazlette is my grandmother, and Mercides is the object of my quest in unraveling a little mystery. It's a guess, but I'd say the picture was taken about 1918-1920.
And, another clue, which just goes to show that it pays to look at all of those little scraps of paper! The problem is though, that I don't know when the note was written, but from what I can tell, it was in the late 1960s or early 1970s that Grandma started working on her genealogy. I'm pretty sure that the ACPL (Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne) has some Detroit City Directories. One of these days I'll get to the library...
The note reads:
Mae was the adopted daughter of William James Dunfee and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Walker. Jane is my grandmother's sister, Hazlette is my grandmother, and Mercides is the object of my quest in unraveling a little mystery. It's a guess, but I'd say the picture was taken about 1918-1920.And, another clue, which just goes to show that it pays to look at all of those little scraps of paper! The problem is though, that I don't know when the note was written, but from what I can tell, it was in the late 1960s or early 1970s that Grandma started working on her genealogy. I'm pretty sure that the ACPL (Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne) has some Detroit City Directories. One of these days I'll get to the library...
The note reads: This is Mercedes
Name & address
Mrs. A. Vinet
13822 French Rd
Detroit 34 -
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A Little Over-Optimistic? Perhaps.
The topic for the 63rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: New Year's Resolutions! Jasia asks us "What plans do you have for your genealogy research next year? How about for your blogging?"
First off, I don't make resolutions. However, I do set goals and have quite a "to do" list that seems to grow longer instead of shorter! It seems appropriate to me to take a look back at the past year and review the goals that were set for 2008 while establishing goals for 2009.
Blogging
2008 Goals: Continue blogging here at Kinexxions. Quality more than quantity. Contribute to every edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.
Results: I'm still blogging ;-) I like to think that, for the most part, the posts have been good, quality posts, but then I'm just a bit biased. There have been slightly fewer posts this year (308 so far, as opposed to 322 in 2007). I did contribute to most, but not all, editions of the COG.
Goals for 2009: Resume posting on my other blog, Whitley County Kinexxions, at least on a weekly basis. Continue to contribute to the COG and Smile for the Camera. Write a weekly biographical or research article about an ancestor or other relative. Continue with the Tombstone Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday posts.
Scanning
2008 Goals: Scan Mom's 10 family photo albums, my own family pictures, the letters written while in the Navy, and genea-documents.
Results: Mom's albums are 90% done. My niece handed over the box of her mother's pictures last week. She has them sorted but they still need to be attached to archival paper, scanned and put into albums. My letters have been scanned to both jpg and pdf formats. And, as far as the genealogy documents and papers are concerned, The end is in sight!
Goals for 2009: Finish the genea-document project by the end of February! Scan the pictures of my sister's family by the end of March. Review the box of pictures from my Dad and ensure they have all been scanned. Add captions and metadata to the image files that were scanned in 2008.
Sourcing and Database Cleanup
2008 Goals: The data that was entered into my genealogy software several years ago was not properly sourced at that time. Some sources were entered in notes. But there are some people who have no sources entered for any of their data.
Results: Not much, actually very little, progress on this. I did purchase and download version 7 of Legacy in August but still have not installed it. My reason? Rather lame, but I just haven't wanted to take the time to devote to learning the new features. And I really just want to get that scanning done!
Goals for 2009: Install Legacy 7 and learn the new features (after the existing scanning projects are finished). Ensure that all data entered has been sourced, preferably utilizing the Legacy 7 sourcing templates. Convert existing sources to the new format.
Research
2008 Goals: After reading what I wrote last year, it seems I didn't really set a research goal for this year, though I had a list of obituaries to look up in Elkhart.
Results: Continued research on the Fisher family but did not make it to Elkhart to look up those obituary notices (there's over 100 of them!). In January I resumed research on the Peter and Christina Wise family, which consumed the first three months of the year! For most of September I worked on the family of Henry and Anna Robison.
Goals for 2009: Several of my Joslin cousins and I are planning a research trip to Massachusetts, either in April or September. We'd like to find some documentation to confirm that our Jonas Joslin, born 1769, is indeed the son of Joseph and Sarah (Tarbell) Joslin of Leominster. Plus, we enjoy the company of each other and think it would be a fun excursion and a great excuse for getting together! Obviously, I'd like to make a bit of headway on those troublesome female ancestors (highlighted in the "Roadblock" series of posts) and on those "dead end" lines that are dangling out there in genea-never-never-land: Wise, Dunfee, Hazlett, and Jones.
Society Tasks
2008 Goals: Relieve myself of the responsibilities as editor and chief contributor of Whitley County Roots (the quarterly publication of the Genealogical Society of Whitley County). Finish three long-term transcription projects for the Society.
Results: Resigned as editor of Roots with the June 2008 issue being my last one. Completed two of the three transcription projects. The third one has been put on indefinite hold.
Goals for 2009: Don't take on any more projects for the Society. After nearly ten years of involvement and putting my own research on hold, priorities change. It may sound selfish, but right now my priorities are with my own personal projects!
Good Intentions
2008 Goals: The 12 items in My Plan to Prepare for Disaster, which I'm not going to list here. You'll have to read the post to figure out what I'm talking about...
Results: #1 is done, # 2 has yet to be started (well, two boxes have been opened but not sorted), did #3 but opted to do my own scanning, #4, 5, 6, and 7 are in process as part of the scanning projects, #8 isn't done but the files are backed up on two external drives, #9 is in process, #10 and #12 haven't even been thought about yet, #11 is in process (data is backed up nightly to an external drive).
Goals for 2009: keep on plugging away
Other 2008 Goals
First off, I don't make resolutions. However, I do set goals and have quite a "to do" list that seems to grow longer instead of shorter! It seems appropriate to me to take a look back at the past year and review the goals that were set for 2008 while establishing goals for 2009.
Blogging
2008 Goals: Continue blogging here at Kinexxions. Quality more than quantity. Contribute to every edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.
Results: I'm still blogging ;-) I like to think that, for the most part, the posts have been good, quality posts, but then I'm just a bit biased. There have been slightly fewer posts this year (308 so far, as opposed to 322 in 2007). I did contribute to most, but not all, editions of the COG.
Goals for 2009: Resume posting on my other blog, Whitley County Kinexxions, at least on a weekly basis. Continue to contribute to the COG and Smile for the Camera. Write a weekly biographical or research article about an ancestor or other relative. Continue with the Tombstone Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday posts.
Scanning
2008 Goals: Scan Mom's 10 family photo albums, my own family pictures, the letters written while in the Navy, and genea-documents.
Results: Mom's albums are 90% done. My niece handed over the box of her mother's pictures last week. She has them sorted but they still need to be attached to archival paper, scanned and put into albums. My letters have been scanned to both jpg and pdf formats. And, as far as the genealogy documents and papers are concerned, The end is in sight!
Goals for 2009: Finish the genea-document project by the end of February! Scan the pictures of my sister's family by the end of March. Review the box of pictures from my Dad and ensure they have all been scanned. Add captions and metadata to the image files that were scanned in 2008.
Sourcing and Database Cleanup
2008 Goals: The data that was entered into my genealogy software several years ago was not properly sourced at that time. Some sources were entered in notes. But there are some people who have no sources entered for any of their data.
Results: Not much, actually very little, progress on this. I did purchase and download version 7 of Legacy in August but still have not installed it. My reason? Rather lame, but I just haven't wanted to take the time to devote to learning the new features. And I really just want to get that scanning done!
Goals for 2009: Install Legacy 7 and learn the new features (after the existing scanning projects are finished). Ensure that all data entered has been sourced, preferably utilizing the Legacy 7 sourcing templates. Convert existing sources to the new format.
Research
2008 Goals: After reading what I wrote last year, it seems I didn't really set a research goal for this year, though I had a list of obituaries to look up in Elkhart.
Results: Continued research on the Fisher family but did not make it to Elkhart to look up those obituary notices (there's over 100 of them!). In January I resumed research on the Peter and Christina Wise family, which consumed the first three months of the year! For most of September I worked on the family of Henry and Anna Robison.
Goals for 2009: Several of my Joslin cousins and I are planning a research trip to Massachusetts, either in April or September. We'd like to find some documentation to confirm that our Jonas Joslin, born 1769, is indeed the son of Joseph and Sarah (Tarbell) Joslin of Leominster. Plus, we enjoy the company of each other and think it would be a fun excursion and a great excuse for getting together! Obviously, I'd like to make a bit of headway on those troublesome female ancestors (highlighted in the "Roadblock" series of posts) and on those "dead end" lines that are dangling out there in genea-never-never-land: Wise, Dunfee, Hazlett, and Jones.
Society Tasks
2008 Goals: Relieve myself of the responsibilities as editor and chief contributor of Whitley County Roots (the quarterly publication of the Genealogical Society of Whitley County). Finish three long-term transcription projects for the Society.
Results: Resigned as editor of Roots with the June 2008 issue being my last one. Completed two of the three transcription projects. The third one has been put on indefinite hold.
Goals for 2009: Don't take on any more projects for the Society. After nearly ten years of involvement and putting my own research on hold, priorities change. It may sound selfish, but right now my priorities are with my own personal projects!
Good Intentions
2008 Goals: The 12 items in My Plan to Prepare for Disaster, which I'm not going to list here. You'll have to read the post to figure out what I'm talking about...
Results: #1 is done, # 2 has yet to be started (well, two boxes have been opened but not sorted), did #3 but opted to do my own scanning, #4, 5, 6, and 7 are in process as part of the scanning projects, #8 isn't done but the files are backed up on two external drives, #9 is in process, #10 and #12 haven't even been thought about yet, #11 is in process (data is backed up nightly to an external drive).
Goals for 2009: keep on plugging away
Other 2008 Goals
- Try not to get distracted quite so much.
- Have more fun! Don't take myself quite so seriously.
- Make my task list shorter for 2009!
- Still easily distracted, especially on the internet. You know how those links can take you to places you never expected, sometimes really unexpected! Seems I just can't resist clicking through to see what's on the other side.
- Still take myself too seriously. Old habits are hard to break. Maybe when the scanning is done I'll have more fun!
- The task list for 2009 is just as long as it was for 2008. Does that make me a failure? Or just ridiculously over-optimistic? I mean, I did make some headway, but I really didn't complete even one of my goals for 2008! Ah, well, optimism is a good thing! I'm sure my list will be shorter in 2010!
Monday, December 08, 2008
The Heirs of Emily Bair
Last Thursday morning I finally connected with the lady that works in the Whitley County archives and was able to view the guardianship file for the minor heirs of Emily Bair.
There weren't very many papers in the file (packet #544), but more than enough to generate additional questions! (Click on the image for a larger version.)
On April 11, 1877 Franklin H. Bair was appointed guardian for his four surviving children:
Before I get any further into what was in the file, I think I need to address the matter of the ages and dates of birth of the first three children. I didn't know about Lulu before so have not done any research on her except that there is no marriage record for Lulu (or Lula as she is mentioned in the other documents) in Whitley County and she has not been found in the Whitley County census records. I'm presuming that she was deceased by the time of Franklin Sr.'s death in 1917 since she was not mentioned by name in his obituary.
According to the guardianship file, Franklin Jr was born January 22, 1864. He was age 6 in 1870 and 17 in 1880. The cemetery transcription for the Franklin in Burnett County, Wisconsin gives his date of birth as June 12, 1862. The 1900 census (Black Hawk County, Iowa) gives his date of birth as June 1862. Census records for 1910-1930 support 1862 as his year of birth. It is possible that he is not the right person. However, the name of his wife, Nettie, is the same as the woman that Franklin Jr married in Whitley County in 1886.
On to Charles who was born March 14, 1865 according to the above document. In the 1870 census he was 5 years old. I haven't found him in 1880, but in the 1900 census (Christian County, Illinois), his birth date is given as October 1867. Subsequent census records support 1867 as his year of birth. Again, it is possible that he's not the right person. But in 1920, he is living in Pana, Illinois which is where the 1917 obituary of Franklin Sr. says he was living.
Then there is Florence (aka Flora), born March 17, 1872. Her middle initial is definitely an "E" and not a "C" in all instances where it is found in the guardianship file. In 1880 her name is given as Flora Cathy, she was 8 years old, and living with the family of William H. and Catherine Dunfee in Columbia City. She was listed as 24 years old when she married M. C. Leaman in October 1898. In 1900, Flora C. Leaman is listed as born in Mar 1875. In 1910 she is 36 years old; in 1920 she is 40; and in 1930 she is 54 years old. In the Naturalization Index, the birth date for Flora Katherine Hampton was March 14, 1874. As Randy said, changing names sure doesn't help with tracking her. Neither does inconsistent ages and birth information!
Okay, back to the guardianship file.
A document filed April 29, 1877 describes the location of the lot in Columbia City that Emily owned. It would be interesting to find out how and why Emily owned property that wasn't also owned by her husband! Anyway, the document further states that the "lot does not yield a sufficient income to pay the taxes; that said wards are all young children; that this guardian their Father is a poor man working by days labor to sustain said wards; that he has no home for them and is compelled to board them in other peoples homes at great expense; that it would be to the interests of said wards to sell said land and apply the proceeds to their support."
There was no document in the file to indicate when the land had been sold but apparently it was.
On September 26, 1885 Franklin H. Bair filed a report with the court stating that "he has received from the estate of his said wards the sum of one hundred and forty dollars and that he has disbursed the same according to law as follows towit: for board for said wards to John J. White during the year 1877, one hundred and thirty four dollars. For school books for said wards during the year of 1875 about six dollars. That the said sum of one hundred and forty dollars was the amt rec'd from the sale of the real property belonging to said wards."
All four children were listed as wards. There were no records in the file for other years. I'm not sure, but I think he should have been filing reports annually.
A year later, in September 1886, William H. Dunfee petitioned the court on behalf of Florence stating "he has kept maintained supported and schooled said ward ever since the death of said Emily C. Bair and for more than 10 years that she has lived with him and in his household all of said time. . . " that "said Franklin Bair guardian of said wards sold their lands. . . he has failed refused and neglected to make proper report of his duties. . . and has failed and neglected to provide for his said wards. . . wherefore he asks the court to remove him from his trust and from all other and proper relief. . ."
On December 11, 1886 William H. Dunfee was appointed guardian of 14 year old Florence E. Bair. There was no mention of Franklin Jr., Charles, or Lulu. By that time, Franklin Jr. would have been 22 years old, Charles would have been 21 and Lulu would be 10 years old (based on their ages in that first guardianship document).
There were no additional reports made by William H. Dunfee. On May 29, 1888 William passed away. Florence (Flora) would have been 16 years old.
What's next?
There weren't very many papers in the file (packet #544), but more than enough to generate additional questions! (Click on the image for a larger version.)
On April 11, 1877 Franklin H. Bair was appointed guardian for his four surviving children: Franklin H. Bair Jr., aged 13 years, Jany 22, 1877I could be wrong about this, but it seems a bit unusual to me that the father would have to be appointed guardian of his own children. Usually a guardian was appointed when the father died. But, perhaps it was because Emily owned real estate!
Charles C. Bair, aged 12 years, March 14, 1877
Florence E. Bair, aged 5 years, March 17, 1877
Lulu Bair, aged 3 years, Dec 23, 1876
Before I get any further into what was in the file, I think I need to address the matter of the ages and dates of birth of the first three children. I didn't know about Lulu before so have not done any research on her except that there is no marriage record for Lulu (or Lula as she is mentioned in the other documents) in Whitley County and she has not been found in the Whitley County census records. I'm presuming that she was deceased by the time of Franklin Sr.'s death in 1917 since she was not mentioned by name in his obituary.
According to the guardianship file, Franklin Jr was born January 22, 1864. He was age 6 in 1870 and 17 in 1880. The cemetery transcription for the Franklin in Burnett County, Wisconsin gives his date of birth as June 12, 1862. The 1900 census (Black Hawk County, Iowa) gives his date of birth as June 1862. Census records for 1910-1930 support 1862 as his year of birth. It is possible that he is not the right person. However, the name of his wife, Nettie, is the same as the woman that Franklin Jr married in Whitley County in 1886.
On to Charles who was born March 14, 1865 according to the above document. In the 1870 census he was 5 years old. I haven't found him in 1880, but in the 1900 census (Christian County, Illinois), his birth date is given as October 1867. Subsequent census records support 1867 as his year of birth. Again, it is possible that he's not the right person. But in 1920, he is living in Pana, Illinois which is where the 1917 obituary of Franklin Sr. says he was living.
Then there is Florence (aka Flora), born March 17, 1872. Her middle initial is definitely an "E" and not a "C" in all instances where it is found in the guardianship file. In 1880 her name is given as Flora Cathy, she was 8 years old, and living with the family of William H. and Catherine Dunfee in Columbia City. She was listed as 24 years old when she married M. C. Leaman in October 1898. In 1900, Flora C. Leaman is listed as born in Mar 1875. In 1910 she is 36 years old; in 1920 she is 40; and in 1930 she is 54 years old. In the Naturalization Index, the birth date for Flora Katherine Hampton was March 14, 1874. As Randy said, changing names sure doesn't help with tracking her. Neither does inconsistent ages and birth information!
Okay, back to the guardianship file.
A document filed April 29, 1877 describes the location of the lot in Columbia City that Emily owned. It would be interesting to find out how and why Emily owned property that wasn't also owned by her husband! Anyway, the document further states that the "lot does not yield a sufficient income to pay the taxes; that said wards are all young children; that this guardian their Father is a poor man working by days labor to sustain said wards; that he has no home for them and is compelled to board them in other peoples homes at great expense; that it would be to the interests of said wards to sell said land and apply the proceeds to their support."
There was no document in the file to indicate when the land had been sold but apparently it was.
On September 26, 1885 Franklin H. Bair filed a report with the court stating that "he has received from the estate of his said wards the sum of one hundred and forty dollars and that he has disbursed the same according to law as follows towit: for board for said wards to John J. White during the year 1877, one hundred and thirty four dollars. For school books for said wards during the year of 1875 about six dollars. That the said sum of one hundred and forty dollars was the amt rec'd from the sale of the real property belonging to said wards."
All four children were listed as wards. There were no records in the file for other years. I'm not sure, but I think he should have been filing reports annually.
A year later, in September 1886, William H. Dunfee petitioned the court on behalf of Florence stating "he has kept maintained supported and schooled said ward ever since the death of said Emily C. Bair and for more than 10 years that she has lived with him and in his household all of said time. . . " that "said Franklin Bair guardian of said wards sold their lands. . . he has failed refused and neglected to make proper report of his duties. . . and has failed and neglected to provide for his said wards. . . wherefore he asks the court to remove him from his trust and from all other and proper relief. . ."
On December 11, 1886 William H. Dunfee was appointed guardian of 14 year old Florence E. Bair. There was no mention of Franklin Jr., Charles, or Lulu. By that time, Franklin Jr. would have been 22 years old, Charles would have been 21 and Lulu would be 10 years old (based on their ages in that first guardianship document).
There were no additional reports made by William H. Dunfee. On May 29, 1888 William passed away. Florence (Flora) would have been 16 years old.
What's next?
- I've requested copies of the obituaries of Franklin H. Bair (Jr), his wife Nettie, and his daughter Myrta, from the Burnett County Historical Society Research Library. Hopefully, they will provide some useful information - like the names of parents, where they were born, etc. (I can hope can't I?)
- Try to find out when and where Flora Katherine Hampton died.
- Locate the land record for Emily's purchase of the lot in Columbia City.
- Locate the land record for when the lot was sold by Franklin.
- Hope that a descendant of Franklin H. Bair and Emily Robison see these posts and that they contact me!
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Unraveling a little mystery.
The Clues.
A photograph, with the words "Detroit Cousins" written on the back. The photograph was one that my aunt Phyllis had loaned to me for scanning a few years ago. When I asked her who the "Detroit Cousins" were she could only give me one first name, Mercedes. She said she remembers them visiting when she was young. (Photo at bottom of post.)
Franklin and Emily Robison Bair were married in 1861 and had five children, one was a daughter whose name was given as Laura Lemmon in Franklin's obituary of 1917. It also stated that she was of Detroit. Emily had died about 1877 and none of the children are listed with Franklin in the 1880 census.
The vague recollection that one of my ancestors "took in" a child to raise. I did a search of notes in my genealogy database for "Bair" and it didn't take long to find what I was looking for.
The Records.
The will of my 3rd great grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee, bequeaths "the sum of Fifty Dollars" to "Flora C. Bair to be due and payable to her when she attains the age of twenty one years." And, the obituary for his wife, Catharine (Jones) Dunfee, dated February 25, 1903 lists as one of her survivors "Mrs. M. C. Leaman, who was from infancy cared for in the home of Mrs. Dunfee, and loved as her own."
I went back and checked the obituary notices for the children of William and Catherine Dunfee to see if I had overlooked anything. The obituary for Henrietta Rebecca Dunfee of September 27, 1941 published in the Columbia City Post, stated that "She is survived by one brother, William Dunfee of Columbia township, and a foster sister, Mrs. Jack Hampton of Detroit." No mention was made of surviving sisters in the 1942 obituary of Henrietta's brother, William James Dunfee.
Is Laura Lemmon actually Flora Leaman?
The 1880 Indiana census lists the family of Wm H. Dunfee (on page 423) in Columbia Township, Whitley County.
Wm H. Dunfee, 58, farmer, born Pennsylvania, parents born Pennsylvania
Catharine, 52, wife, born Ohio, father born Virginia, mother born Pennsylvania
Rebecca, 28, daughter, at home, born Indiana
William, 26, son, works at tile yard, born Indiana
Flora Cathy, 8, daughter, at school, born Indiana
[The 3rd child of Wm. and Catherine was Sophia, who had married William P. Wise in 1873. They are my 2nd great grandparents.]
Whitley County Marriage Records (Book 6 page 6) show that Flora C. Bair was married to Massilon C. Leamon on October 4, 1898. The Marriage Applications Book 1893-1901 gives his first name as Masilon. Her given name is Florence C. It doesn't list her father's name but her mother's maiden name is Robinson.
There is a Guardianship Packet for Emily Bair in the Whitley County Archives. I've contacted the county archivist to try and set a date to look at the record since the last three times I've stopped by, during the posted hours, she hasn't been there!
Transcribed death records show that "Infant Male Layman died December 5, 1899 age 1 1/2 days. Parents were Malsea Layman and Cora Bair." I haven't seen the record so can't determine whether Cora is really Lora, or not.
The 1900 census for Whitley County shows the Leaman family residing on Ellsworth Street in Columbia City (page 53a).
Morlande Leaman, head of household, Jun 1873, 26, married once, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Ohio
Flora C., wife, Mar 1875, 25, married once, two children one living, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Indiana
Mycituis, daughter, Dec 1894, 5, born Indiana
Alban Bear, uncle, July 1839, 60, born Pennsylvania, father born New Jersey, mother born Pennsylvania
In 1910, I found the family in Fostoria, Seneca County, Ohio (page 28/5a)
Murt C. Leaman, head of household, 37, married once 12 years, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, general painter
Flora, wife, 36, married once 12 years, 1 child 1 living, born Indiana, parents born Indiana
Mercedes, daughter, 15, born Indiana
I didn't find M. C. and Flora Leaman in the ancestry census index for 1920 or 1930 in Ohio or Michigan. Thinking perhaps Flora had married Jack Hampton before 1920 I searched for Flora Hampton. One hit in 1930 only: George H. Hampton and wife Flora in Clinton, Macomb County, Michigan. She is 54, married 22 years, born in Michigan. Not the right Flora.
I'm not sure why, but I then did a search of the 1930 census for Mercedes Hampton, born in 1894, living in Michigan. Up came this family, living in Detroit District 30, Wayne County (page 36):
Robert Hampton, head of household, rents home for $60, 53, first married at age 23, born Canada-Eng, parents born Canada-Eng, Steel worker, Auto Company
Katherine, wife, 54, first married at age 17, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Ohio
Mercedes Wilkinson, daughter, 35, divorced, first married at age 17, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, Saleslady, Ladies Clothes
According to the 1880 census (see above), Flora's middle name was Cathy. So, is it a stretch to think this might be the right household? Of course, the husband's name is Robert and not Jack. But maybe he was called Jack by family members? Katherine is the right age, she and her parents were born in the right places. Same for Mercedes. Note that Mercedes is listed as Robert's daughter but he was born in Canada and her parents were born in Indiana.
I did not find Mercedes Wilkinson in the 1920 census index but did find the Robert Hampton household living on Oakland Street, Detroit Ward 3, District 111, Wayne County (p42/2a)
Robert Hampton, head of household, 40, married, immigrated 1911, alien or naturalized has "Pa" in column, born Canada, parents born Canada, Moulder, Auto Factory
Katherine, wife, 40, married, immigrated has X in column, alien or naturalized has "al" in column, born Indiana, parents born Indiana
I searched the SSDI for Mercedes Wilkinson, but got no hits. Then searched it for Mercedes (first name only), born in 1894, card issued in Michigan.
I got two hits. One for Mercedes Ginther, born December 6, 1894, died Sep 1978. The other was for Mercedes Hernandez, born February 2, 1894, died Feb 1983. I found them in the 1930 census and based on the fact that both are married in 1930 and their place of birth (Mrs. Ginther was born in Michigan and Mrs. Hernandez was born in Mexico) neither one is the "right" person.
*** Update 12:30 p.m. December 3, 2008 ***
Found in the "Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995" database on ancestry.
Conclusions.
Laura Lemmon, named in her father's obituary, is the same Flora Cathy Bair who was "adopted" by William H. and Catherine Dunfee, and she is the same Flora/Florence who married Massilon C. Leamon/Leaman.
Using her middle name Katherine, Flora married a second time to Robert Hampton, aka Jack Hampton. They lived in Detroit, Michigan.
Flora Katherine Hampton was still living in September 1941 but, since she is not mentioned in the obituary of William James Dunfee, she may have died prior to May 1942 (or whomever provided his family information didn't include her, for whatever reason).
Flora and M. C. Leaman had a daughter named Mercedes, who could be the Detroit cousin known as Mercedes. Mercedes married Mr. Wilkinson at age 17 and divorced before 1930, when she was living with her mother and step-father.
*** Update 8:30 a.m. December 3, 2008 ***
As Randy pointed out in his comment, I have no "real" documentation for many of my facts and conclusions. He suggests checking the online Michigan death index as well as Detroit city directories. Thanks, Randy, and I will follow up on those suggestions.
I should have stated in the original post that my conclusions are preliminary and are based on the information that I have gathered thus far. Additional research is definitely needed to "prove" those presumptions.
*** End of Update ***
Questions.
Of course, as more information is uncovered, additional questions arise. What happened to Mercedes? Did she marry again? Did she have any children? When and where did she die? When and where did Flora Katherine die? Was Robert really called Jack?
Enlargement from another photograph. I think the lady in the middle in this picture is the same person in the top picture. What do you think?
Mae Dunfee was the adopted daughter of William James Dunfee and his wife Mary Elizabeth Walker. Hazlette is my grandmother; Jane and Bill are her sister and brother. I think the lady in the middle is Mercedes who would have been about 8 years older than my grandmother who was born in January 1902. I'm not sure that the boy is grandma's brother Bill. He was only 3 years younger than she and, to me, this boy looks younger than that. I'm guessing that this picture was taken about 1920, give or take a few years.
A photograph, with the words "Detroit Cousins" written on the back. The photograph was one that my aunt Phyllis had loaned to me for scanning a few years ago. When I asked her who the "Detroit Cousins" were she could only give me one first name, Mercedes. She said she remembers them visiting when she was young. (Photo at bottom of post.)
Franklin and Emily Robison Bair were married in 1861 and had five children, one was a daughter whose name was given as Laura Lemmon in Franklin's obituary of 1917. It also stated that she was of Detroit. Emily had died about 1877 and none of the children are listed with Franklin in the 1880 census.
The vague recollection that one of my ancestors "took in" a child to raise. I did a search of notes in my genealogy database for "Bair" and it didn't take long to find what I was looking for.
The Records.
The will of my 3rd great grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee, bequeaths "the sum of Fifty Dollars" to "Flora C. Bair to be due and payable to her when she attains the age of twenty one years." And, the obituary for his wife, Catharine (Jones) Dunfee, dated February 25, 1903 lists as one of her survivors "Mrs. M. C. Leaman, who was from infancy cared for in the home of Mrs. Dunfee, and loved as her own."
I went back and checked the obituary notices for the children of William and Catherine Dunfee to see if I had overlooked anything. The obituary for Henrietta Rebecca Dunfee of September 27, 1941 published in the Columbia City Post, stated that "She is survived by one brother, William Dunfee of Columbia township, and a foster sister, Mrs. Jack Hampton of Detroit." No mention was made of surviving sisters in the 1942 obituary of Henrietta's brother, William James Dunfee.
Is Laura Lemmon actually Flora Leaman?
The 1880 Indiana census lists the family of Wm H. Dunfee (on page 423) in Columbia Township, Whitley County.
Wm H. Dunfee, 58, farmer, born Pennsylvania, parents born Pennsylvania
Catharine, 52, wife, born Ohio, father born Virginia, mother born Pennsylvania
Rebecca, 28, daughter, at home, born Indiana
William, 26, son, works at tile yard, born Indiana
Flora Cathy, 8, daughter, at school, born Indiana
[The 3rd child of Wm. and Catherine was Sophia, who had married William P. Wise in 1873. They are my 2nd great grandparents.]
Whitley County Marriage Records (Book 6 page 6) show that Flora C. Bair was married to Massilon C. Leamon on October 4, 1898. The Marriage Applications Book 1893-1901 gives his first name as Masilon. Her given name is Florence C. It doesn't list her father's name but her mother's maiden name is Robinson.
There is a Guardianship Packet for Emily Bair in the Whitley County Archives. I've contacted the county archivist to try and set a date to look at the record since the last three times I've stopped by, during the posted hours, she hasn't been there!
Transcribed death records show that "Infant Male Layman died December 5, 1899 age 1 1/2 days. Parents were Malsea Layman and Cora Bair." I haven't seen the record so can't determine whether Cora is really Lora, or not.
The 1900 census for Whitley County shows the Leaman family residing on Ellsworth Street in Columbia City (page 53a).
Morlande Leaman, head of household, Jun 1873, 26, married once, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Ohio
Flora C., wife, Mar 1875, 25, married once, two children one living, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Indiana
Mycituis, daughter, Dec 1894, 5, born Indiana
Alban Bear, uncle, July 1839, 60, born Pennsylvania, father born New Jersey, mother born Pennsylvania
In 1910, I found the family in Fostoria, Seneca County, Ohio (page 28/5a)
Murt C. Leaman, head of household, 37, married once 12 years, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, general painter
Flora, wife, 36, married once 12 years, 1 child 1 living, born Indiana, parents born Indiana
Mercedes, daughter, 15, born Indiana
I didn't find M. C. and Flora Leaman in the ancestry census index for 1920 or 1930 in Ohio or Michigan. Thinking perhaps Flora had married Jack Hampton before 1920 I searched for Flora Hampton. One hit in 1930 only: George H. Hampton and wife Flora in Clinton, Macomb County, Michigan. She is 54, married 22 years, born in Michigan. Not the right Flora.
I'm not sure why, but I then did a search of the 1930 census for Mercedes Hampton, born in 1894, living in Michigan. Up came this family, living in Detroit District 30, Wayne County (page 36):
Robert Hampton, head of household, rents home for $60, 53, first married at age 23, born Canada-Eng, parents born Canada-Eng, Steel worker, Auto Company
Katherine, wife, 54, first married at age 17, born Indiana, father born Pennsylvania, mother born Ohio
Mercedes Wilkinson, daughter, 35, divorced, first married at age 17, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, Saleslady, Ladies Clothes
According to the 1880 census (see above), Flora's middle name was Cathy. So, is it a stretch to think this might be the right household? Of course, the husband's name is Robert and not Jack. But maybe he was called Jack by family members? Katherine is the right age, she and her parents were born in the right places. Same for Mercedes. Note that Mercedes is listed as Robert's daughter but he was born in Canada and her parents were born in Indiana.
I did not find Mercedes Wilkinson in the 1920 census index but did find the Robert Hampton household living on Oakland Street, Detroit Ward 3, District 111, Wayne County (p42/2a)
Robert Hampton, head of household, 40, married, immigrated 1911, alien or naturalized has "Pa" in column, born Canada, parents born Canada, Moulder, Auto Factory
Katherine, wife, 40, married, immigrated has X in column, alien or naturalized has "al" in column, born Indiana, parents born Indiana
I searched the SSDI for Mercedes Wilkinson, but got no hits. Then searched it for Mercedes (first name only), born in 1894, card issued in Michigan.
I got two hits. One for Mercedes Ginther, born December 6, 1894, died Sep 1978. The other was for Mercedes Hernandez, born February 2, 1894, died Feb 1983. I found them in the 1930 census and based on the fact that both are married in 1930 and their place of birth (Mrs. Ginther was born in Michigan and Mrs. Hernandez was born in Mexico) neither one is the "right" person.
*** Update 12:30 p.m. December 3, 2008 ***
Found in the "Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995" database on ancestry.
REPAT (in upper right corner)*** End of Update ***
513 (written) 1211 (typed)
Hampton, Flora Katherine
12-5-40
3-14-1874 BD
Conclusions.
Laura Lemmon, named in her father's obituary, is the same Flora Cathy Bair who was "adopted" by William H. and Catherine Dunfee, and she is the same Flora/Florence who married Massilon C. Leamon/Leaman.
Using her middle name Katherine, Flora married a second time to Robert Hampton, aka Jack Hampton. They lived in Detroit, Michigan.
Flora Katherine Hampton was still living in September 1941 but, since she is not mentioned in the obituary of William James Dunfee, she may have died prior to May 1942 (or whomever provided his family information didn't include her, for whatever reason).
Flora and M. C. Leaman had a daughter named Mercedes, who could be the Detroit cousin known as Mercedes. Mercedes married Mr. Wilkinson at age 17 and divorced before 1930, when she was living with her mother and step-father.
*** Update 8:30 a.m. December 3, 2008 ***
As Randy pointed out in his comment, I have no "real" documentation for many of my facts and conclusions. He suggests checking the online Michigan death index as well as Detroit city directories. Thanks, Randy, and I will follow up on those suggestions.
I should have stated in the original post that my conclusions are preliminary and are based on the information that I have gathered thus far. Additional research is definitely needed to "prove" those presumptions.
*** End of Update ***
Questions.
Of course, as more information is uncovered, additional questions arise. What happened to Mercedes? Did she marry again? Did she have any children? When and where did she die? When and where did Flora Katherine die? Was Robert really called Jack?
Photograph identified only as "Detroit Cousins." My aunt said the ladies' name was Mercedes.
Enlargement of the above photograph.
Enlargement from another photograph. I think the lady in the middle in this picture is the same person in the top picture. What do you think?
Mae Dunfee was the adopted daughter of William James Dunfee and his wife Mary Elizabeth Walker. Hazlette is my grandmother; Jane and Bill are her sister and brother. I think the lady in the middle is Mercedes who would have been about 8 years older than my grandmother who was born in January 1902. I'm not sure that the boy is grandma's brother Bill. He was only 3 years younger than she and, to me, this boy looks younger than that. I'm guessing that this picture was taken about 1920, give or take a few years.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A Clue Overlooked
You know those "extra" columns in the 1870 census, the ones to the right of the place of birth? It might help your research to actually look at them! I know I sometimes have a tendency to retrieve the basic information (name , age, place of birth) and ignore the rest. Probably not a good thing to do.
In reviewing all of the information I have on Peter Wise I noticed a hash-mark in the column with the heading "Parentage" and labeled "Father of foreign birth" in his 1870 census record. There is no mark in the column for his mother. Peter is also identified as a "Male citizen of the U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards."
Christena doesn't have any marks in those columns for her parents, which indicates that they were born in the United States (well, actually, what would become the United States). In all of the census records I have for Peter and Christena that give place of birth (1850, 1860, 1870) they are both listed as having been born in Pennsylvania. He was born about 1797 and she in 1801.
That information regarding parentage might help narrow down the possibilities for their parents.
According to census records, the first two children of Peter and Christena, William and Rebecca, were born in Pennsylvania between 1821-1824 (depending upon which census record you go by). Rosanna was born in November 1826 in Ohio, which narrows the time frame for when Peter and Christena moved to Ohio.
Regarding Adam Wise (of Washington County, Pennsylvania) mentioned in a previous post, this WorldConnect database has information on some of his children.
Also found a biography of Michael Wise, son of the Frederick that was living in Wayne and Ashland Counties at the same time as my Peter. Michael was born in Center County, Pennsylvania in 1820 and his father, George Frederick Wise, emigrated to Ohio in 1822 and had 7 children born in Pennsylvania and another 6 born in Ohio. As stated in the post mentioned above, Frederick is not old enough to be Peter's father but perhaps he is related in some way. The 1850 census shows that Frederick was born in Germany about 1783 (67 years old).
I found a Fredk Wise in Miles Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the 1820 census. Also listed in Miles Township were George, Benj, and Peter Wise. All 4 were large households with 7-12 persons listed. The oldest males in the households of George and Peter were over 45 years while in Benj and Fredk households they were 26-45. There were no foreigners not naturalized in any of the households.
The only Wise families in 1830 Miles Township, Centre County are a Frederick and a Daniel. I haven't checked for spelling variations yet...
In reviewing all of the information I have on Peter Wise I noticed a hash-mark in the column with the heading "Parentage" and labeled "Father of foreign birth" in his 1870 census record. There is no mark in the column for his mother. Peter is also identified as a "Male citizen of the U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards."
Christena doesn't have any marks in those columns for her parents, which indicates that they were born in the United States (well, actually, what would become the United States). In all of the census records I have for Peter and Christena that give place of birth (1850, 1860, 1870) they are both listed as having been born in Pennsylvania. He was born about 1797 and she in 1801.
That information regarding parentage might help narrow down the possibilities for their parents.
According to census records, the first two children of Peter and Christena, William and Rebecca, were born in Pennsylvania between 1821-1824 (depending upon which census record you go by). Rosanna was born in November 1826 in Ohio, which narrows the time frame for when Peter and Christena moved to Ohio.
Regarding Adam Wise (of Washington County, Pennsylvania) mentioned in a previous post, this WorldConnect database has information on some of his children.
Also found a biography of Michael Wise, son of the Frederick that was living in Wayne and Ashland Counties at the same time as my Peter. Michael was born in Center County, Pennsylvania in 1820 and his father, George Frederick Wise, emigrated to Ohio in 1822 and had 7 children born in Pennsylvania and another 6 born in Ohio. As stated in the post mentioned above, Frederick is not old enough to be Peter's father but perhaps he is related in some way. The 1850 census shows that Frederick was born in Germany about 1783 (67 years old).
I found a Fredk Wise in Miles Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the 1820 census. Also listed in Miles Township were George, Benj, and Peter Wise. All 4 were large households with 7-12 persons listed. The oldest males in the households of George and Peter were over 45 years while in Benj and Fredk households they were 26-45. There were no foreigners not naturalized in any of the households.
The only Wise families in 1830 Miles Township, Centre County are a Frederick and a Daniel. I haven't checked for spelling variations yet...
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Brick Wall Knocked Down? Not.
The other day I was tired of scanning so I spent a few hours cruising the Internet looking for information about Peter Wise of Wayne County, Ohio whom I am pretty sure is my 4th great grandfather. I found a few interesting things. . .
A transcription of a land record led me to the website of fellow genea-blogger, Lori Thornton! Her ancestor Christian Lantz sold 76 acres to a Peter Wise in Wayne County, Ohio on August 22, 1829. That land was located in the SW corner of the SE ¼ of Section 21 Township 17 Range 12.
My Peter Wise owned 152 acres in the NE 1/4 of Section 1 Township 22 Range 15. I don't have a record of when he purchased that land, but he and his wife "Christiania" sold it on October 7, 1853 prior to their move to Miami County, Indiana.
I was quite excited when I found this article on the Wise Family of Washington County, Pennsylvania. It tells of Adam Wise, a native of Rhenish Hesse, a province of Hesse Darmstadt, who lived near the river Rhine where his ancestors carried on the business of milling and the distillation of wine. He first settled on Pipe Creek, in Carroll county, Md., at or near the site of Frederick City, where he lived about twenty-two years. Then, about 1770 he moved to western Pennsylvania settling near the junction of Ten Mile creek and the Monongahela river.
When Adam Wise died on June 9, 1781, in his sixty-third year, he left a large estate and also a large family of thirteen children, by two wives: Andrew, Peter, Frederick, Henry, Adam Jr., Jacob, Daniel, Abraham, Tobias, Mary, Mary Ann, Ulian and Judith.
A little information is given on some of the sons, but the line that really caught my attention was that about 1818, the son Peter sold the family homestead and moved to near Canton, Ohio, which is in Stark County, which is bordered by Wayne County on the west. I realized right off that this Peter was born too early to be "my" Peter, but perhaps he had a son named Peter.
In the census for 1820 Plain Township, Stark County there is a Peter Wise Sr. and Peter Wise Jr., along with Tobias, Adam, and Elizabeth. In 1830 and 1840 there is Peter, Peter M., and Tobias. So did Peter Jr. add the "M" or is he another Peter altogether? Peter Sr. wasn't found in the 1850 census in Stark County, but Peter M. Wise is still living in Plain Township.
In 1850, my Peter Wise (53 years old, born about 1797) was living in Chester Township, Wayne County, Ohio. Peter M. Wise, in Plain Township, Stark County was 56 years old (born about 1794). Both were born in Pennsylvania.
In Wayne County, Ohio in 1820 there were two Wise families listed in ancestry's index: Henry and John, both in Chippewa Township.
By 1830, there are 11 Wise families in Wayne County. Two Daniels', two Frederick's, one Jacob, two John's, and three Peter's! Each of those with the same first name are located in different townships.
In Chippewa township there is Abraham, Jacob, and John.
In Franklin and Mount Eaton township there is a Daniel.
In Perry township and in Chester township we find a Frederick.
In Green township there is a John and a Peter.
In Congress township and Jackson township there is a Peter.
The 1840 census index shows Daniel, Frederick, two George's, three Jacob's, two John's, Michael, Peter, and Susan.
Frederick and Peter are both in Perry township. The other two Peter's are not in the index. Perry township, Wayne county became part of Ashland County when it was formed in 1846.
In 1850, "my" Peter is in Chester township, Wayne County while Frederick is still in Perry township which was now in Ashland County. Peter was 53 years old and Frederick was 67 years old. Both were born in Pennsylvania and both had wives named Christena! Obviously, Frederick is not old enough to be Peter's father, but what is the likelihood that they are brothers? Or not related at all?
So, by evaluating just the census records, I've come to the preliminary conclusion that the Adam Wise family of Washington Couny, Pennsylvania isn't mine. That would have been too easy.
Obviously, additional research needs to be done in Stark, Wayne, and Ashland counties. Land records, estates, etc. I have other families in that area also including Dunfee, Stem, and Hazlett. I'll check the LDS catalog to see what records they have microfilmed, but perhaps a research trip is in order. . . I did the "grand tour" of Ohio counties back in the late 1980's which included Champaign, Delaware, Perry, Fairfield, Portage, Columbiana, Carroll and Holmes as well as Stark, Wayne and Ashland counties. But I know a little more about the families now and about doing onsite research than I did then, so I think it might be worthwhile to revisit some of those places!
A transcription of a land record led me to the website of fellow genea-blogger, Lori Thornton! Her ancestor Christian Lantz sold 76 acres to a Peter Wise in Wayne County, Ohio on August 22, 1829. That land was located in the SW corner of the SE ¼ of Section 21 Township 17 Range 12.
My Peter Wise owned 152 acres in the NE 1/4 of Section 1 Township 22 Range 15. I don't have a record of when he purchased that land, but he and his wife "Christiania" sold it on October 7, 1853 prior to their move to Miami County, Indiana.
I was quite excited when I found this article on the Wise Family of Washington County, Pennsylvania. It tells of Adam Wise, a native of Rhenish Hesse, a province of Hesse Darmstadt, who lived near the river Rhine where his ancestors carried on the business of milling and the distillation of wine. He first settled on Pipe Creek, in Carroll county, Md., at or near the site of Frederick City, where he lived about twenty-two years. Then, about 1770 he moved to western Pennsylvania settling near the junction of Ten Mile creek and the Monongahela river.
When Adam Wise died on June 9, 1781, in his sixty-third year, he left a large estate and also a large family of thirteen children, by two wives: Andrew, Peter, Frederick, Henry, Adam Jr., Jacob, Daniel, Abraham, Tobias, Mary, Mary Ann, Ulian and Judith.
A little information is given on some of the sons, but the line that really caught my attention was that about 1818, the son Peter sold the family homestead and moved to near Canton, Ohio, which is in Stark County, which is bordered by Wayne County on the west. I realized right off that this Peter was born too early to be "my" Peter, but perhaps he had a son named Peter.
In the census for 1820 Plain Township, Stark County there is a Peter Wise Sr. and Peter Wise Jr., along with Tobias, Adam, and Elizabeth. In 1830 and 1840 there is Peter, Peter M., and Tobias. So did Peter Jr. add the "M" or is he another Peter altogether? Peter Sr. wasn't found in the 1850 census in Stark County, but Peter M. Wise is still living in Plain Township.
In 1850, my Peter Wise (53 years old, born about 1797) was living in Chester Township, Wayne County, Ohio. Peter M. Wise, in Plain Township, Stark County was 56 years old (born about 1794). Both were born in Pennsylvania.
In Wayne County, Ohio in 1820 there were two Wise families listed in ancestry's index: Henry and John, both in Chippewa Township.
By 1830, there are 11 Wise families in Wayne County. Two Daniels', two Frederick's, one Jacob, two John's, and three Peter's! Each of those with the same first name are located in different townships.
In Chippewa township there is Abraham, Jacob, and John.
In Franklin and Mount Eaton township there is a Daniel.
In Perry township and in Chester township we find a Frederick.
In Green township there is a John and a Peter.
In Congress township and Jackson township there is a Peter.
The 1840 census index shows Daniel, Frederick, two George's, three Jacob's, two John's, Michael, Peter, and Susan.
Frederick and Peter are both in Perry township. The other two Peter's are not in the index. Perry township, Wayne county became part of Ashland County when it was formed in 1846.
In 1850, "my" Peter is in Chester township, Wayne County while Frederick is still in Perry township which was now in Ashland County. Peter was 53 years old and Frederick was 67 years old. Both were born in Pennsylvania and both had wives named Christena! Obviously, Frederick is not old enough to be Peter's father, but what is the likelihood that they are brothers? Or not related at all?
So, by evaluating just the census records, I've come to the preliminary conclusion that the Adam Wise family of Washington Couny, Pennsylvania isn't mine. That would have been too easy.
Obviously, additional research needs to be done in Stark, Wayne, and Ashland counties. Land records, estates, etc. I have other families in that area also including Dunfee, Stem, and Hazlett. I'll check the LDS catalog to see what records they have microfilmed, but perhaps a research trip is in order. . . I did the "grand tour" of Ohio counties back in the late 1980's which included Champaign, Delaware, Perry, Fairfield, Portage, Columbiana, Carroll and Holmes as well as Stark, Wayne and Ashland counties. But I know a little more about the families now and about doing onsite research than I did then, so I think it might be worthwhile to revisit some of those places!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A Scandal in the Family
John Brubaker, my 3rd great grandfather, was born May 19, 1819 in Perry County, Ohio and is the son of Martin Brubaker and Nancy Neel. He passed away on February 8, 1879 in Huntington County, Indiana.
John was the father of William Brubaker (1843-1912), my 2nd great grandfather, but he was not married to William's mother, Sarah Foster (1818-1904). The family story goes that John had two girls pregnant at the same time but he married the "other" girl who was a cousin to Sarah.
John married Catharine Clum on March 18, 1843 in Perry County, Ohio. Less than four months later, their daughter Annetta was born on July 8, 1843.
It is highly likely that John was not aware that Sarah Foster was pregnant at the time he married Catharine since William was born on November 20, 1843 - eight months after his marriage.
In 1849, John and Catherine Brubaker moved from Perry County, Ohio to Rock Creek Township in Huntington County, Indiana. He purchased land from his father, Martin, who had bought the land in 1838. No evidence has been found to substantiate claims mentioned in biographies of several of his sons that Martin actually ever lived in Huntington County. John's brothers Samuel and James joined him in Huntington County within the next few years.
The Huntington County census records for 1850 through 1870 show that John was a farmer. With each census year his family grew, as did the value of his personal and real estate. John did quite well for himself. In 1870 his real estate was valued at $6765 and his personal worth was $1100, both sizeable amounts for the time.
John's obituary was published on February 13, 1879 in The Huntington Democrat (Huntington, Indiana).
John Brubaker had twelve children with his wife, Catharine Clum. (They will be listed in a separate post.) William Brubaker is not mentioned in John's will so it is not known if William had a relationship with his father or not. In both the 1850 and 1860 census records, William was listed in the household of his step-father and mother, George and Sarah Parkison, under the Parkison surname. In the 1870 census he is listed in their household as William Brubaker. When William enlisted, at the age of 17, in Co. E, 17th IVI on April 21, 1861 he did so as William Brubaker. George Parkison, in his will dated June 10, 1902 stated "It is my will that said William Brubaker, although he is my step-son only, shall take his equal share as hereinbefore and hereinafter set out, the same as if he were my son by blood."
My grandmother knew that her grandfather, William Brubaker, was an illegitimate child, or "born out of wedlock" as she stated so often. Grandma started researching her families in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. Early on, she had no luck in finding out anything about William's father. But in February 1970, grandma received a letter from a great grandson of Nancy Jane Brubaker Kemp, daughter of John and Catharine. We'll call him Don. He had gotten her name from a researcher in Illinois! Mind you, this was back in the days of snail mail, where connections were still made between researchers, but at a much slower pace than is done today.
Don's letter gave some family information and stated that he thought Nancy's father, John, was a son of Martin Brubaker of Perry County, Ohio. This was exciting information for my grandmother, as it gave her some clues to pursue. I found it interesting, that in her response to Don's letter, grandma states that she remembers "Aunt Jane Kemp" as well as Nancy Jane's brothers, Thornton and Samuel. She goes on to state that she attended several Brubaker family reunions in Huntington when she was a young woman. She mentions that her grandfather is William Brubaker and that he was a brother to Nancy, Thornton and Sam.
Having gone through all of grandma's papers, several times, I have not found another letter from Don. But in May 1970 grandma writes to him again, replying to his letter (the one I don’t have). In her letter she tells Don the story she was told by her parents and Uncle Thornton's family. The story about John getting two girls pregnant, etc. saying "I wish that I knew more about the way this was handled, but my grandfather took the Brubaker name and was always friendly with the half brothers." Apparently the information in Don's letter (the one I don’t have) convinced her that her grandpa William was the son of John Brubaker. She says "I was not sure of the name, as I am sure now from your records, this has helped me very much." Why didn't she keep those letters and records he sent?
About this same time, grandma made contact with another Brubaker researcher, Kenny Fawley. I don't know the details of how they hooked up (possibly through the sign-in sheets at the Allen County Public Library) but Kenny is married to my first cousin, Caroline. Weird, huh! Her mother and my father are siblings. Kenny is my 5th cousin once removed and our common ancestors are Hans Jacob Brubaker (the 3rd) and his wife Elizabeth Steinweg/Stoneroad. She may be the subject of a future post as Kenny has an interesting story about her surname. Kenny was able to provide my grandmother with information on the parents and other ancestors of John Brubaker. He made her very happy! (Thanks, Cuz.)
As you might think, there can be a stigma (for lack of a better word) attached to being a descendant of an illegitimate child. Not so much from my point of view. That's life, those things happen. If he hadn't been born I wouldn't be here. I am delighted that he was born! And it doesn't bother me in the least that my 2nd great grandfather was born out of wedlock. But apparently it bothers descendants of the children of John and Catharine. I've been in contact with several of them over the years. Each time it starts out fine, until they begin to think that I'm not part of "their" John's family. One lady was putting together a history of the Brubaker families in the area. We exchanged information. The book was printed. But William and his family were not included. I never received a response from her regarding my inquiries as to why.
So, what evidence, or clues, lead us to the "fact" that William's father was John Brubaker?
His death records found at the Whitley County, Indiana Department of Health (Bk 2A pg 55 #19-12 AND City Book 1 pg 14 #4-12) clearly show the name of his father as John Brubaker. His mother is given as Sarah Fosler (the clerk had a habit of not crossing his t's). The images above are from Bk 2A, click on them to view a larger image.
John was the father of William Brubaker (1843-1912), my 2nd great grandfather, but he was not married to William's mother, Sarah Foster (1818-1904). The family story goes that John had two girls pregnant at the same time but he married the "other" girl who was a cousin to Sarah.
John married Catharine Clum on March 18, 1843 in Perry County, Ohio. Less than four months later, their daughter Annetta was born on July 8, 1843.
It is highly likely that John was not aware that Sarah Foster was pregnant at the time he married Catharine since William was born on November 20, 1843 - eight months after his marriage.
In 1849, John and Catherine Brubaker moved from Perry County, Ohio to Rock Creek Township in Huntington County, Indiana. He purchased land from his father, Martin, who had bought the land in 1838. No evidence has been found to substantiate claims mentioned in biographies of several of his sons that Martin actually ever lived in Huntington County. John's brothers Samuel and James joined him in Huntington County within the next few years.
The Huntington County census records for 1850 through 1870 show that John was a farmer. With each census year his family grew, as did the value of his personal and real estate. John did quite well for himself. In 1870 his real estate was valued at $6765 and his personal worth was $1100, both sizeable amounts for the time.
John's obituary was published on February 13, 1879 in The Huntington Democrat (Huntington, Indiana).
After a long affliction Hon. John Brubaker was called from his labors among men. On last Sabbath his mortal remains were placed in the silent grave by a large concourse of mourning friends and sorrowing neighbors. The history of Rockcreek township is incomplete without the mention of his work. He settled there in 1849, twenty nine years ago. He, with twelve others, built the first school house in the district where he died. John Henderson, Geo. Bear, James Marshall, William Heindle, James Bonawits and Samuel DeHaven are of that number. Mr. Brubaker has been identified with all enterprises tending to improve the material interest of our county. At the October election of 1866, he was elected county commissioner, performed the duties of his office with fidelity and to the very best interest of our county. He was a thrifty, enterprising farmer. He was a man whose integrity no one doubted. He will be greatly missed in the community. One by one the old pioneers are passing away. Their toils and sacrifices will live in history. Peace to their ashes.Catharine Clum was born on March 4, 1822 and died March 8, 1877 in Huntington County, Indiana. She is buried beside John at the Barnes Chapel Cemetery in Rock Creek Township. Regarding the family story that Catharine was a cousin of Sarah Foster: I have not found evidence of that but I do think that Catharine was related to George Parkison, whom Sarah married on March 28, 1849 in Perry County, Ohio.
John Brubaker had twelve children with his wife, Catharine Clum. (They will be listed in a separate post.) William Brubaker is not mentioned in John's will so it is not known if William had a relationship with his father or not. In both the 1850 and 1860 census records, William was listed in the household of his step-father and mother, George and Sarah Parkison, under the Parkison surname. In the 1870 census he is listed in their household as William Brubaker. When William enlisted, at the age of 17, in Co. E, 17th IVI on April 21, 1861 he did so as William Brubaker. George Parkison, in his will dated June 10, 1902 stated "It is my will that said William Brubaker, although he is my step-son only, shall take his equal share as hereinbefore and hereinafter set out, the same as if he were my son by blood."
My grandmother knew that her grandfather, William Brubaker, was an illegitimate child, or "born out of wedlock" as she stated so often. Grandma started researching her families in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. Early on, she had no luck in finding out anything about William's father. But in February 1970, grandma received a letter from a great grandson of Nancy Jane Brubaker Kemp, daughter of John and Catharine. We'll call him Don. He had gotten her name from a researcher in Illinois! Mind you, this was back in the days of snail mail, where connections were still made between researchers, but at a much slower pace than is done today.
Don's letter gave some family information and stated that he thought Nancy's father, John, was a son of Martin Brubaker of Perry County, Ohio. This was exciting information for my grandmother, as it gave her some clues to pursue. I found it interesting, that in her response to Don's letter, grandma states that she remembers "Aunt Jane Kemp" as well as Nancy Jane's brothers, Thornton and Samuel. She goes on to state that she attended several Brubaker family reunions in Huntington when she was a young woman. She mentions that her grandfather is William Brubaker and that he was a brother to Nancy, Thornton and Sam.
Having gone through all of grandma's papers, several times, I have not found another letter from Don. But in May 1970 grandma writes to him again, replying to his letter (the one I don’t have). In her letter she tells Don the story she was told by her parents and Uncle Thornton's family. The story about John getting two girls pregnant, etc. saying "I wish that I knew more about the way this was handled, but my grandfather took the Brubaker name and was always friendly with the half brothers." Apparently the information in Don's letter (the one I don’t have) convinced her that her grandpa William was the son of John Brubaker. She says "I was not sure of the name, as I am sure now from your records, this has helped me very much." Why didn't she keep those letters and records he sent?
About this same time, grandma made contact with another Brubaker researcher, Kenny Fawley. I don't know the details of how they hooked up (possibly through the sign-in sheets at the Allen County Public Library) but Kenny is married to my first cousin, Caroline. Weird, huh! Her mother and my father are siblings. Kenny is my 5th cousin once removed and our common ancestors are Hans Jacob Brubaker (the 3rd) and his wife Elizabeth Steinweg/Stoneroad. She may be the subject of a future post as Kenny has an interesting story about her surname. Kenny was able to provide my grandmother with information on the parents and other ancestors of John Brubaker. He made her very happy! (Thanks, Cuz.)
As you might think, there can be a stigma (for lack of a better word) attached to being a descendant of an illegitimate child. Not so much from my point of view. That's life, those things happen. If he hadn't been born I wouldn't be here. I am delighted that he was born! And it doesn't bother me in the least that my 2nd great grandfather was born out of wedlock. But apparently it bothers descendants of the children of John and Catharine. I've been in contact with several of them over the years. Each time it starts out fine, until they begin to think that I'm not part of "their" John's family. One lady was putting together a history of the Brubaker families in the area. We exchanged information. The book was printed. But William and his family were not included. I never received a response from her regarding my inquiries as to why.
So, what evidence, or clues, lead us to the "fact" that William's father was John Brubaker?
- The missing letter from "cousin" Don that satisfied my grandmother.
- After her parents, Charles Romain Brubaker and Maud Catherine Wise, were married in February 1897 (against the wishes of Maud's parents) they went to live near relatives in Huntington for a year or so.
- In the photograph of grandma's family at the Goose Lake Farm, Uncle Thornton Brubaker is sitting on a tree stump off to the left side of the family.
- The obituary of Martin Brubaker published in the Columbia City Post of November 13, 1908 states: "William Brubaker of near Etna was called to Rock Creek township Huntington county Saturday by the death of his brother Martin Brubaker."
- William's obituary published on January 27, 1912 in the Columbia City stated that he "is survived by two brothers, Samuel, of Fort Wayne, and Thornton, of Huntington, and one sister, Mrs. Wm. Kent [sic], of Huntington"
His death records found at the Whitley County, Indiana Department of Health (Bk 2A pg 55 #19-12 AND City Book 1 pg 14 #4-12) clearly show the name of his father as John Brubaker. His mother is given as Sarah Fosler (the clerk had a habit of not crossing his t's). The images above are from Bk 2A, click on them to view a larger image.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Where's Waldo? (subtitled "Go ahead, Make My Day")
In the late 1980s, while researching the family of Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend, I wrote lots and lots of letters in an attempt to make contact with their descendants. Jacob and Louisa had seven children, six of whom had children, and those six children had a combined total of 53 children. Of the 53 grandchildren of Jacob and Louisa, 48 survived into adulthood, though not all of them had children.
Being a relative "newby' to genealogy at the time, I didn't really think too much about the fact that I actually made contact with or found out information about the families of all of the grandchildren. Well, all except for one of them. Looking back on it now, I think the response I received from writing all of those letters is pretty amazing. I realize now that I was fortunate, and lucky. Very lucky.
You have to remember that this was "BTI" (Before the Internet). But now we have the Internet, and the World Wide Web. Where once it took weeks to receive a response to our communications, it now takes a few hours, or a few minutes, or even seconds to respond and pass information back and forth.
Where's Waldo? Well, as mentioned above, there was just one grandchild that I didn't make contact with or find out much information about his family. His name was Waldo. Waldo Guy Phend was born on October 27, 1893 in Kosciusko County, Indiana and was the son of Christian and Mary (McConnell) Phend.
Christian was a brother of my great-grandfather, Henry Phend. From what I was told by several of Christian's grandchildren, he was a very strict disciplinarian. Very strict. While Mary was reported to be a kind and gentle woman. Christian and Mary had twelve children born between the years 1876 and 1895: Clarence Delbert, Marion Ora (aka Orie), Carrie Louisa, Delvin Henry, Harriet (aka Hattie), Harry, Myrtle Iva (aka Ivy), Lillie Belle, Ethel, Grover Hillis, Waldo Guy, and Clifford Lester. Carrie died from complications of childbirth when she was 24 years old; Ethel died at the age of 10 months; Grover was killed at the age of 21 in a tragic railroad accident; and Clifford succumbed to tuberculosis when he was 15 years old.
Probably, at least in part, due to Christian's strict discipline, when he died in 1929 only four of his eight surviving children were still living in Indiana. Clarence was a preacher living in Arkansas; Marion Ora was in Franklin County, Washington; Delvin was in Scott County, Iowa; Harriet was married to John Rhoades and living in South Bend, Indiana; Harry was living in Kosciusko County, Indiana; Myrtle was married to Franklin Wehrly and living in Elkhart County, Indiana; Lillie had married Alvin Miller and they were living in Johnson County, Iowa; Waldo had also gone to Johnson County, Iowa where he married Edith Palmer, but in 1930 they were living in Nappanee, Indiana though he would later return to Iowa.
The obituary of Harriet Phend Rhoades, published in the South Bend Tribune on July 25, 1964 provided a clue as to where Waldo might be. His residence was given as Jefferson City, Iowa. So I wrote to the public library there and they told me that "Waldo had a shoe repair shop at his home, married a second time, and moved to California. When he died on Jan. 26, 1979 he was cremated and brought back to Jefferson and is interred in the cemetery there. He was survived by two sons and five daughters: Elmo Phend, Grover Phend, Mabel Milan, Louise Dawson, Jeannette Snodderly, Lois Groves, and Grace Ross." The only other information provided was their places of residence: Dubuque, Davenport, and Jefferson (all in Iowa); South Bend, Indiana; and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
That little bit of information was all I had on Waldo and his family when the Phend Family history was published in 1991. I've since learned that he died on June 26, 1979 rather than January 26th and he was living in Corona, Riverside, California (Social Security Death Index and California Deaths on ancestry.com). His first wife, Edith Palmer, was born on February 17, 1898 in Johnson County, Iowa and died on November 2, 1970 at the home of a daughter in Edwardsburg, Michigan (her obituary, published on that date in the South Bend Tribune). His second wife, Dorothy Vernon Myers, was born September 15, 1906 in Iowa and died December 10, 1989 in Riverside County, California.
Several attempts have been made in the intervening years to contact Waldo's children, without success, until June of 2000 when I made contact with Elmo Lowell Phend, oldest child of Waldo and Edith. He went by the name of Lowell and was born on April 15, 1918 in Washington Township, Mason County, Iowa.
Lowell served in the U.S. Navy from July 1942 thru December 1945. A year after his discharge from the Navy he enlisted in the U.S. Army; retired in December 1966 as a Master Sergeant; was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal - Japan, Korean Service Medal with 5 bronze stars, Good Conduct Medal with 3 loops, Expert Carbine, and National Defense Service Medal with one Oak Cluster. He started College at a late age, in his 60's, and received the Bachelor of Biblical Studies degree on May 8, 1987 and Associate of Theology on May 20, 1988. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by Concord Baptist Church in Caroline County, Virginia. He had been married twice but had no children.
In April 2002, his wife informed me that Lowell had been placed in a nursing home, a result of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. A little more than a year later, a note from her told of Lowell's passing on July 22, 2003 in Richmond, Virginia. Interment was in Concord Baptist Church Cemetery, Ruther Glen, Virginia.
I'll admit it has been a while since I've attempted to find the other children of Waldo. I'm sure that if I tried just a little, I could probably locate one or two of them. Maybe one of them will read this and contact me instead, I'm getting a little lazy in my old age ;-)
One of the reasons for starting my website five years ago, and then this blog, was the hope of making contact with relatives. Yesterday morning I received an email from a grandchild of Waldo, a daughter of his son Grover. She found the Phend obituaries on my website first and then the blog. We've been passing emails back and forth and she has now read many of the postings on the Phend family.
She wrote "You have just made my day." And I'm here to say that she made mine, simply by contacting me. Thank You! For all of the hits my blog gets from people searching for the same surnames I'm researching, very few actually make contact via email or leave a comment. Why is that?
Being a relative "newby' to genealogy at the time, I didn't really think too much about the fact that I actually made contact with or found out information about the families of all of the grandchildren. Well, all except for one of them. Looking back on it now, I think the response I received from writing all of those letters is pretty amazing. I realize now that I was fortunate, and lucky. Very lucky.
You have to remember that this was "BTI" (Before the Internet). But now we have the Internet, and the World Wide Web. Where once it took weeks to receive a response to our communications, it now takes a few hours, or a few minutes, or even seconds to respond and pass information back and forth.
Where's Waldo? Well, as mentioned above, there was just one grandchild that I didn't make contact with or find out much information about his family. His name was Waldo. Waldo Guy Phend was born on October 27, 1893 in Kosciusko County, Indiana and was the son of Christian and Mary (McConnell) Phend.
Christian was a brother of my great-grandfather, Henry Phend. From what I was told by several of Christian's grandchildren, he was a very strict disciplinarian. Very strict. While Mary was reported to be a kind and gentle woman. Christian and Mary had twelve children born between the years 1876 and 1895: Clarence Delbert, Marion Ora (aka Orie), Carrie Louisa, Delvin Henry, Harriet (aka Hattie), Harry, Myrtle Iva (aka Ivy), Lillie Belle, Ethel, Grover Hillis, Waldo Guy, and Clifford Lester. Carrie died from complications of childbirth when she was 24 years old; Ethel died at the age of 10 months; Grover was killed at the age of 21 in a tragic railroad accident; and Clifford succumbed to tuberculosis when he was 15 years old.
Probably, at least in part, due to Christian's strict discipline, when he died in 1929 only four of his eight surviving children were still living in Indiana. Clarence was a preacher living in Arkansas; Marion Ora was in Franklin County, Washington; Delvin was in Scott County, Iowa; Harriet was married to John Rhoades and living in South Bend, Indiana; Harry was living in Kosciusko County, Indiana; Myrtle was married to Franklin Wehrly and living in Elkhart County, Indiana; Lillie had married Alvin Miller and they were living in Johnson County, Iowa; Waldo had also gone to Johnson County, Iowa where he married Edith Palmer, but in 1930 they were living in Nappanee, Indiana though he would later return to Iowa.
The obituary of Harriet Phend Rhoades, published in the South Bend Tribune on July 25, 1964 provided a clue as to where Waldo might be. His residence was given as Jefferson City, Iowa. So I wrote to the public library there and they told me that "Waldo had a shoe repair shop at his home, married a second time, and moved to California. When he died on Jan. 26, 1979 he was cremated and brought back to Jefferson and is interred in the cemetery there. He was survived by two sons and five daughters: Elmo Phend, Grover Phend, Mabel Milan, Louise Dawson, Jeannette Snodderly, Lois Groves, and Grace Ross." The only other information provided was their places of residence: Dubuque, Davenport, and Jefferson (all in Iowa); South Bend, Indiana; and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
That little bit of information was all I had on Waldo and his family when the Phend Family history was published in 1991. I've since learned that he died on June 26, 1979 rather than January 26th and he was living in Corona, Riverside, California (Social Security Death Index and California Deaths on ancestry.com). His first wife, Edith Palmer, was born on February 17, 1898 in Johnson County, Iowa and died on November 2, 1970 at the home of a daughter in Edwardsburg, Michigan (her obituary, published on that date in the South Bend Tribune). His second wife, Dorothy Vernon Myers, was born September 15, 1906 in Iowa and died December 10, 1989 in Riverside County, California.
Several attempts have been made in the intervening years to contact Waldo's children, without success, until June of 2000 when I made contact with Elmo Lowell Phend, oldest child of Waldo and Edith. He went by the name of Lowell and was born on April 15, 1918 in Washington Township, Mason County, Iowa.
Lowell served in the U.S. Navy from July 1942 thru December 1945. A year after his discharge from the Navy he enlisted in the U.S. Army; retired in December 1966 as a Master Sergeant; was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal - Japan, Korean Service Medal with 5 bronze stars, Good Conduct Medal with 3 loops, Expert Carbine, and National Defense Service Medal with one Oak Cluster. He started College at a late age, in his 60's, and received the Bachelor of Biblical Studies degree on May 8, 1987 and Associate of Theology on May 20, 1988. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by Concord Baptist Church in Caroline County, Virginia. He had been married twice but had no children.
In April 2002, his wife informed me that Lowell had been placed in a nursing home, a result of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. A little more than a year later, a note from her told of Lowell's passing on July 22, 2003 in Richmond, Virginia. Interment was in Concord Baptist Church Cemetery, Ruther Glen, Virginia.
I'll admit it has been a while since I've attempted to find the other children of Waldo. I'm sure that if I tried just a little, I could probably locate one or two of them. Maybe one of them will read this and contact me instead, I'm getting a little lazy in my old age ;-)
One of the reasons for starting my website five years ago, and then this blog, was the hope of making contact with relatives. Yesterday morning I received an email from a grandchild of Waldo, a daughter of his son Grover. She found the Phend obituaries on my website first and then the blog. We've been passing emails back and forth and she has now read many of the postings on the Phend family.
She wrote "You have just made my day." And I'm here to say that she made mine, simply by contacting me. Thank You! For all of the hits my blog gets from people searching for the same surnames I'm researching, very few actually make contact via email or leave a comment. Why is that?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Correcting Mistakes :: Elsie and Charles Wiseman
Being human, we all make mistakes. Once the errant data is posted "out there" on the World Wide Web it can't be taken back. And then it gets propagated by others researching the same family. What do you do? If you wait to post anything until your research is "completed" then the chances are good your research will never be seen by anyone else. Dear Myrtle has a post this morning about Correcting Mistakes in your genealogy research. It's worth your time to read it.
My Tombstone Tuesday post earlier today is a case in point. The inscriptions for my dad's parents Elsie Shuder and Charlie Wiseman show that they were both born in 1886. And that was what was recorded by my cousin in the papers that I received from her years ago. I haven't done all that much research myself on my Dad's lines because my cousin spent quite a few years researching the Wiseman and Shuder lines. I'm not laying any "blame" on her, after all, I entered the date in my database without verifying it, and that's what was on the tombstone so it had to be right!
Anyway, as I was going through some of my cousins papers last year I noticed that there were no copies of the marriage application or death records for Elsie and Charlie. So, I ordered them and discovered that for both of them their year of birth is 1885, not 1886.
A search on WorldConnect for Elsie Shuder, born 1885, returned no results. A search for her born 1886 turned up 12 databases, all of which (including mine: rwiseman_bray) give her date of birth as 18 Aug 1886. A search for Charles Wilson Wiseman, born 1886, returned 14 results. The 13 entries that are for him all give 20 Sep 1886 as his date of birth. Someday, if I get ambitious enough, I might contact the contributors of those other databases or perhaps add a post-em note to their entries for Elsie and Charles. A second issue with Charles is his date of death. My cousin had it as February 4, 1943 but his death record shows that he died on January 28th.
In an ideal world, I would update my WorldConnect database immediately, but for a variety of reasons, it isn't likely that I will be doing that anytime soon. To me, this isn't "critical" information. Important, yes, but not critical. It doesn't involve a connection to the wrong lineage or anything major, so what I've done is add post-ems with the correct information. (You do read post-ems on WorldConnect when you see them, don't you?) As soon as this is posted I'll edit the post-ems to include a link here so people can see the documents for themselves.
As always, click on the images below to view a larger version. . .
My Tombstone Tuesday post earlier today is a case in point. The inscriptions for my dad's parents Elsie Shuder and Charlie Wiseman show that they were both born in 1886. And that was what was recorded by my cousin in the papers that I received from her years ago. I haven't done all that much research myself on my Dad's lines because my cousin spent quite a few years researching the Wiseman and Shuder lines. I'm not laying any "blame" on her, after all, I entered the date in my database without verifying it, and that's what was on the tombstone so it had to be right!
Anyway, as I was going through some of my cousins papers last year I noticed that there were no copies of the marriage application or death records for Elsie and Charlie. So, I ordered them and discovered that for both of them their year of birth is 1885, not 1886.
A search on WorldConnect for Elsie Shuder, born 1885, returned no results. A search for her born 1886 turned up 12 databases, all of which (including mine: rwiseman_bray) give her date of birth as 18 Aug 1886. A search for Charles Wilson Wiseman, born 1886, returned 14 results. The 13 entries that are for him all give 20 Sep 1886 as his date of birth. Someday, if I get ambitious enough, I might contact the contributors of those other databases or perhaps add a post-em note to their entries for Elsie and Charles. A second issue with Charles is his date of death. My cousin had it as February 4, 1943 but his death record shows that he died on January 28th.
In an ideal world, I would update my WorldConnect database immediately, but for a variety of reasons, it isn't likely that I will be doing that anytime soon. To me, this isn't "critical" information. Important, yes, but not critical. It doesn't involve a connection to the wrong lineage or anything major, so what I've done is add post-ems with the correct information. (You do read post-ems on WorldConnect when you see them, don't you?) As soon as this is posted I'll edit the post-ems to include a link here so people can see the documents for themselves.
As always, click on the images below to view a larger version. . .
Marriage Application, Charles Wiseman and Elsie Shuder. March 1, 1906. Kosciusko County, Indiana (Book N Page 224)
Death Certificate, Elsie Shuder Wiseman. February 3, 1926. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 5058)
Death Certificate, Charles Wiseman. January 28, 1943. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 3636)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Case of the $12 Box Coat
Like everyone else, I've come across some "mysteries" in my family research. Particularly, with the Joslin family. In Nothing Special - A bit of a Mystery I mentioned the "separation" of James and Abigail Goodrich Joslin (my 4th great grandparents) and Why did he do this? discussed the land transactions made by James Joslin to his sons Lysander in 1841, and to Edwin and Joseph in 1844. The boys were only 16, 14, and 12 years old, respectively, at the time of the transactions.
The document that follows seems to be fairly straightforward. Lysander P. Joslin (my 3rd great grandfather) purchased a box coat from John Black on or before January 14, 1843 and apparently agreed to pay for the coat with manual labor. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a box coat was a heavy overcoat formerly worn for driving or a loose coat usually fitted at the shoulders.
In January 1843, Lysander would have been a little more than 17 1/2 years old (he was born May 1, 1825). Having worked and bartered for $9.75 of the $12.00 debt, Lysander evidently did not work for or pay the balance of $2.25 when due.
The following may or may not have any bearing on why the balance wasn't paid, but I think it might. On August 23, 1843 Lysander married Lydia Robison. By that time he had turned 18; Lydia would turn 18 in October that year. Their first (known) child, Anna Eliza was born in November 1844.
At any rate, John Black took Lysander to court in December 1844. Local court, but court nevertheless. The best part of all this is that Naby Joslin testified that Lysander was not of age when he went into debt with John Black. The document also mentions James Goodrich as a witness. Sufficient proof has not yet been found but I believe that James is Naby's brother. Naby being none other than Abigail Goodrich, Lysander's mother. Who else could provide verbal testimony that he was not of age at the time of the transaction? This is important. Why? Because we don't have "that" document that says that Abigail is Lysander's mother. There is evidence that leads to that conclusion, but no silver bullet. (Big Sigh)
But back to poor John Black. He had $2.25 coming to him. But he lost the case. And had to pay $2.04 3/4 in court costs, which included 50¢ for witness fees. Yep, that's right, James Goodrich and Naby Joslin got paid for their testimony. That wasn't unusual as other cases in the ledger indicated that witnesses were routinely paid. They had expenses, or maybe they were missing out on work. I'm certainly glad that Mr. Black decided to sue Lysander. It provided an interesting though somewhat puzzling document. I'm not too happy with Lysander because he skipped out on his debt. But we don't know all the facts of the case. I'm sure he had a good reason ;-)
The question that comes to my mind is how could minor children legally sign contracts for purchasing land (mentioned above) yet not be held responsible for incurring a debt while a minor?
Partial transcription/abstraction of the above document (click on the images for a larger version).
Troy Docket Ledger located at the Whitley County Historical Museum, Columbia City, Indiana on November 2, 2001 [No page numbers]
[first page]
John Black vs Lysander P Joslin}
In an action of debt
Bill filed which is as follows
Lysander P Joslin dr to John Black
December the 1 AD 1844 to one box coat a $12.00.
[The next section lists the dates he worked and amounts earned. He also provided a calf valued at $1.50 so there was a total of $9.75 paid, with balance owed of $2.25]
On which the following proceedings were had to wit
Summons issued dated February the 17th AD 1844 awarded to
George H Stocking constable of Troy township and returnable
on the 23rd day of February at 10 o'clock AM of said day
This day namely 23rd of February 1844 constable returned said
summons served on the 17th day of February 1844
and the parties present towit called Plaintiff Pleads that
he was a minor when the debt was contracted and offers
testimony to the fact Naby Joslin sworn and states that
the said defendant was not of lawful age when the debt
was contracted
It is therefore considered and adjudged that the Plaintiff pay all
costs taxed at $2.04 3/4) two dollars four cents and three fourths
James Grant JP
Labor by summons 12 1/4
two subpenas 50
sworn witness 6 1/4
Judgment 24
[subtotal] 93 3/4
Court fees 61
Witness fees James Goodrich Naby Joslin 50
paid the witnesses
[Total] $2.04 3/4
I do hereby acknowledge myself bail on the
above Judgement interest and all costs and acruing costs at the
expiration of thirty days from the rendition of the same (con'd over)
[second page]
as witness my hand and seal this 23rd day of February 1844
George H Stocking {Seal}
Received of John Black two
Dollars and four and three fourths
cents in full of the foregoing Judgement
James Grant
Justice of the Peace
The document that follows seems to be fairly straightforward. Lysander P. Joslin (my 3rd great grandfather) purchased a box coat from John Black on or before January 14, 1843 and apparently agreed to pay for the coat with manual labor. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a box coat was a heavy overcoat formerly worn for driving or a loose coat usually fitted at the shoulders.
In January 1843, Lysander would have been a little more than 17 1/2 years old (he was born May 1, 1825). Having worked and bartered for $9.75 of the $12.00 debt, Lysander evidently did not work for or pay the balance of $2.25 when due.
The following may or may not have any bearing on why the balance wasn't paid, but I think it might. On August 23, 1843 Lysander married Lydia Robison. By that time he had turned 18; Lydia would turn 18 in October that year. Their first (known) child, Anna Eliza was born in November 1844.
At any rate, John Black took Lysander to court in December 1844. Local court, but court nevertheless. The best part of all this is that Naby Joslin testified that Lysander was not of age when he went into debt with John Black. The document also mentions James Goodrich as a witness. Sufficient proof has not yet been found but I believe that James is Naby's brother. Naby being none other than Abigail Goodrich, Lysander's mother. Who else could provide verbal testimony that he was not of age at the time of the transaction? This is important. Why? Because we don't have "that" document that says that Abigail is Lysander's mother. There is evidence that leads to that conclusion, but no silver bullet. (Big Sigh)
But back to poor John Black. He had $2.25 coming to him. But he lost the case. And had to pay $2.04 3/4 in court costs, which included 50¢ for witness fees. Yep, that's right, James Goodrich and Naby Joslin got paid for their testimony. That wasn't unusual as other cases in the ledger indicated that witnesses were routinely paid. They had expenses, or maybe they were missing out on work. I'm certainly glad that Mr. Black decided to sue Lysander. It provided an interesting though somewhat puzzling document. I'm not too happy with Lysander because he skipped out on his debt. But we don't know all the facts of the case. I'm sure he had a good reason ;-)
The question that comes to my mind is how could minor children legally sign contracts for purchasing land (mentioned above) yet not be held responsible for incurring a debt while a minor?
Partial transcription/abstraction of the above document (click on the images for a larger version).
Troy Docket Ledger located at the Whitley County Historical Museum, Columbia City, Indiana on November 2, 2001 [No page numbers]
[first page]
John Black vs Lysander P Joslin}
In an action of debt
Bill filed which is as follows
Lysander P Joslin dr to John Black
December the 1 AD 1844 to one box coat a $12.00.
[The next section lists the dates he worked and amounts earned. He also provided a calf valued at $1.50 so there was a total of $9.75 paid, with balance owed of $2.25]
On which the following proceedings were had to wit
Summons issued dated February the 17th AD 1844 awarded to
George H Stocking constable of Troy township and returnable
on the 23rd day of February at 10 o'clock AM of said day
This day namely 23rd of February 1844 constable returned said
summons served on the 17th day of February 1844
and the parties present towit called Plaintiff Pleads that
he was a minor when the debt was contracted and offers
testimony to the fact Naby Joslin sworn and states that
the said defendant was not of lawful age when the debt
was contracted
It is therefore considered and adjudged that the Plaintiff pay all
costs taxed at $2.04 3/4) two dollars four cents and three fourths
James Grant JP
Labor by summons 12 1/4
two subpenas 50
sworn witness 6 1/4
Judgment 24
[subtotal] 93 3/4
Court fees 61
Witness fees James Goodrich Naby Joslin 50
paid the witnesses
[Total] $2.04 3/4
I do hereby acknowledge myself bail on the
above Judgement interest and all costs and acruing costs at the
expiration of thirty days from the rendition of the same (con'd over)
[second page]
as witness my hand and seal this 23rd day of February 1844
George H Stocking {Seal}
Received of John Black two
Dollars and four and three fourths
cents in full of the foregoing Judgement
James Grant
Justice of the Peace
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Another New-Found Cousin
Well, well, well. Looks like Thomas MacEntee and I are related, something along the line of 8th cousins! Through the Freer family. Our most common ancestor is Hugo Freer Jr and his wife Maria Anna Leroy. See his post on his trip to the New Paltz Cemetery and the comments at the bottom of the post.
Disclaimer: I haven't done any research of my own on my Van Curen, Terwilliger and Freer lines. My information on these families has come from a first cousin, published books and the internet so there is the possibility that it isn't correct ;-)
My Line of Descent:
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Sara Freer & Evert Terwilliger
Jan Terwilliger & Maria Van Wagenen
Elisabet Terwilliger & Jacob Van Keuren
Henry Van Curen & Rebecca [-?-]
Rachel Van Curen & William Alexander
Amanda Alexander & Samuel Bray Wiseman
Charles Wilson Wiseman and Elsie Shuder
Jack Wiseman and Virginia Phend
Becky Wiseman
Thomas descends from Hugo Freer & Marie Haye THREE ways.
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Sara Freer & Jacob Freer (see below)
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Annatje Freer & Christian Freer (see below)
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Elizabeth Freer & Johannes Van Wegenen
Sara Van Wegenen & Jeremias Freer
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Hugo Freer & Esther Deyo
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Jeremias Freer & Sarah Van Wegenen
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
I haven't spent much time with this family, other than entering the ancestral information into my database a couple of years ago, so I spent a few hours this evening exploring the web to see what I could find. It turned out to be quite interesting.
Freer-Low Family Site
Hugo Freer
The Freer-Low House on Huguenot Street
The Terwilliger House at Locust Lawn
Huguenot Education in Colonial America - This article discusses the educational opportunities available at that time, specifically mentioning Sara Freer, orphaned in 1698 at the age of 10, and her apprenticeship. This Sara Freer was a daughter of Hugo Freer (Sr) and his second wife Jannetju Wibau.
Disclaimer: I haven't done any research of my own on my Van Curen, Terwilliger and Freer lines. My information on these families has come from a first cousin, published books and the internet so there is the possibility that it isn't correct ;-)
My Line of Descent:
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Sara Freer & Evert Terwilliger
Jan Terwilliger & Maria Van Wagenen
Elisabet Terwilliger & Jacob Van Keuren
Henry Van Curen & Rebecca [-?-]
Rachel Van Curen & William Alexander
Amanda Alexander & Samuel Bray Wiseman
Charles Wilson Wiseman and Elsie Shuder
Jack Wiseman and Virginia Phend
Becky Wiseman
Thomas descends from Hugo Freer & Marie Haye THREE ways.
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Sara Freer & Jacob Freer (see below)
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Annatje Freer & Christian Freer (see below)
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Elizabeth Freer & Johannes Van Wegenen
Sara Van Wegenen & Jeremias Freer
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
Hugo Freer & Marie Haye
Hugo Freer & Maria Anna Leroy
Hugo Freer & Brejen Terpenning
Hugo Freer & Esther Deyo
Jacob J. Freer & Margaret Ean
Jeremias Freer & Sarah Van Wegenen
Christian Freer & Annatje Freer
Ann E. Freer & Edward McEntee
John W. McEntee & Elmira Wood
Elmer A. McEntee & Margaret DeGroodt
Abraham Craig MacEntee & Loretta Slattery
Richard MacEntee & Jacqueline Austin
Thomas MacEntee
I haven't spent much time with this family, other than entering the ancestral information into my database a couple of years ago, so I spent a few hours this evening exploring the web to see what I could find. It turned out to be quite interesting.
Freer-Low Family Site
Hugo Freer
The Freer-Low House on Huguenot Street
The Terwilliger House at Locust Lawn
Huguenot Education in Colonial America - This article discusses the educational opportunities available at that time, specifically mentioning Sara Freer, orphaned in 1698 at the age of 10, and her apprenticeship. This Sara Freer was a daughter of Hugo Freer (Sr) and his second wife Jannetju Wibau.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Must be Something in the Air
Congratulations to Jasia, who recently found a first cousin she didn't know she had and is Dancin' 10 Feet Off the Ground...
Like the title of the post says, must be something in the air. Months can often go by between "contacts" and then they seem to come in bunches. In the past week I've been contacted by three distant (very distant) cousins (or potential cousins), two new ones and one that I have worked with previously.
A week ago I received an email from someone who had found my website and the obituaries on the Joslin family posted there. She was married to a descendant of Joseph Joslin and is looking for more information on her former husband's family for her son's genealogy. She asked for "everything" that I have on the family! Including documents, photographs, etc. I responded to her giving a brief line of descent back to our common ancestor and explaining that I don't have much on that particular family. Her son's ancestor, Joseph Joslin is a brother to Lysander Price Joslin, my 3rd great grandfather. Our common ancestors would be James and Abigail Goodrich Joslin, my 4th great grandparents. So, I think her son would be my 4th cousin once removed. While writing this post I received another email from her asking for information on "all Joslin and other clan related to my son." I really, really don't think she wants "everything" I have on all the Joslin and related families in my database! It would be a bit overwhelming to say the least. So, I have to figure out what to send her and that will take some time. It would be much easier if I had my research in an online database, but that's on my "to do" list as well. I've given her a link to this blog so she will probably see this post so I don't want to say anything that will put her off, but how do you respond to someone who asks for "everything" you have on a family and related lines?????
On Thursday, I heard from longtime Yarian family research "partner" Carl Bennett. He saw my entries on Find A Grave for Susie Yarian Phend and Henry Phend and wanted me to link Susie to her parents, Eli Yarian and Lovina Berlin Yarian, which I did. In February 2007 I wrote about Carl's work with Find A Grave. Carl has been busy! He now has 4,658 memorials and 697 photos posted on the site. Quite impressive, especially since I found their input process to be somewhat tedious. To date I've added a whopping two memorials and 11 photos. I have a lot of gravestone pictures that I intend to add but they all need to be resized to a smaller file size. Sigh. Don't know when that will ever get done! I really like what Carl has done with the Yarian family on Find A Grave. It is a tremendous resource for Yarian researchers. Thank you, Carl!
The next day, another email came. This one from a descendant of Rosanna Wise Hale through Rosanna's granddaughter Rena Elizabeth Grunden Detweiler, whom the correspondent found in this post. She has provided some leads to additional info on her grandparents and will be checking her files to see if she has anything on Rosanna. I've got my fingers crossed.
Like the title of the post says, must be something in the air. Months can often go by between "contacts" and then they seem to come in bunches. In the past week I've been contacted by three distant (very distant) cousins (or potential cousins), two new ones and one that I have worked with previously.
A week ago I received an email from someone who had found my website and the obituaries on the Joslin family posted there. She was married to a descendant of Joseph Joslin and is looking for more information on her former husband's family for her son's genealogy. She asked for "everything" that I have on the family! Including documents, photographs, etc. I responded to her giving a brief line of descent back to our common ancestor and explaining that I don't have much on that particular family. Her son's ancestor, Joseph Joslin is a brother to Lysander Price Joslin, my 3rd great grandfather. Our common ancestors would be James and Abigail Goodrich Joslin, my 4th great grandparents. So, I think her son would be my 4th cousin once removed. While writing this post I received another email from her asking for information on "all Joslin and other clan related to my son." I really, really don't think she wants "everything" I have on all the Joslin and related families in my database! It would be a bit overwhelming to say the least. So, I have to figure out what to send her and that will take some time. It would be much easier if I had my research in an online database, but that's on my "to do" list as well. I've given her a link to this blog so she will probably see this post so I don't want to say anything that will put her off, but how do you respond to someone who asks for "everything" you have on a family and related lines?????
On Thursday, I heard from longtime Yarian family research "partner" Carl Bennett. He saw my entries on Find A Grave for Susie Yarian Phend and Henry Phend and wanted me to link Susie to her parents, Eli Yarian and Lovina Berlin Yarian, which I did. In February 2007 I wrote about Carl's work with Find A Grave. Carl has been busy! He now has 4,658 memorials and 697 photos posted on the site. Quite impressive, especially since I found their input process to be somewhat tedious. To date I've added a whopping two memorials and 11 photos. I have a lot of gravestone pictures that I intend to add but they all need to be resized to a smaller file size. Sigh. Don't know when that will ever get done! I really like what Carl has done with the Yarian family on Find A Grave. It is a tremendous resource for Yarian researchers. Thank you, Carl!
The next day, another email came. This one from a descendant of Rosanna Wise Hale through Rosanna's granddaughter Rena Elizabeth Grunden Detweiler, whom the correspondent found in this post. She has provided some leads to additional info on her grandparents and will be checking her files to see if she has anything on Rosanna. I've got my fingers crossed.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Elmina's Obituary and an update
Yay! Janette (my research contact in Meade County, Kansas) found obituaries for Elmina Wise Mohler. The obit below was published in the Meade County Press on December 29, 1932.
I thought about ordering her death certificate but the application on the Kansas Department of Health website states "By state law, vital records filed with this office are not open for public inspection and the requestor must meet eligibility requirements -- must be named on the record, an immediate family member, or someone who can provide legal proof the record is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights." Besides, even if her death record does show Peter and Christina as her parents, it really doesn't do anything towards determining whether or not they are also the parents of my Jacob Wise.
I'm just feeling a little discouraged right now. I'll get over it. But after the intense research on the Wise family these past six weeks, the last few days have been a bit of a let down. It's like, I'm pretty much at the end of what can be done online or locally, so now what? I've found so much information on some of their "probable" children and very little on others. And still nothing that confirms that Peter and Christina are the parents of my Jacob Wise.
On a brighter note, one of Elmina's great grandsons responded to the letter I sent him and I spoke with his wife last Wednesday. The conversation got a little confusing because his grandmother was also named Elmina. At any rate, they will be sending me some information and a copy of a picture of Elmina and John Mohler!
Her obituary published on January 5, 1933 in the Meade Globe News is nearly identical to this one, the only exception was that it said that interment was in Graceland cemetery. (Which is just outside of the town of Meade.) The obituaries provide her date of birth and death. The place of birth is not right as there is no Rush County in Ohio. The obits confirm family information found elsewhere, which is good, but they don't give me the one piece of information I was really hoping for - confirmation of her parents. That said, I really do think she is the daughter of Peter and Christina Wise.Mrs. Elmina Mohler was born August 7, 1846 in Rush County, Ohio. She passed to her great reward on December 28, 1932 at the age of 86 years, 4 months, 21 days. She was united in marriage to John J. Mohler on April 7, 1870, who preceded her in death on January 7, 1928.
In 1885 Mrs. Mohler and her husband moved to a homestead south of Meade, Kansas, where she has resided ever since, with the exception of four years, which she lived at Wichita, Kansas.
Mrs. Mohler was a member of the Methodist Church. She leaves to mourn her departure one son William P. Mohler of Meade, and one daughter, Estella Rose Gilbert of Wichita, Kansas, twelve grand children and seventeen great grand children, and two great-great grand children, and a host of friends.
Funeral services will be at the home, Thursday at 1:00 P.M. Interment will be at the Meade cemetery.
I thought about ordering her death certificate but the application on the Kansas Department of Health website states "By state law, vital records filed with this office are not open for public inspection and the requestor must meet eligibility requirements -- must be named on the record, an immediate family member, or someone who can provide legal proof the record is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights." Besides, even if her death record does show Peter and Christina as her parents, it really doesn't do anything towards determining whether or not they are also the parents of my Jacob Wise.
I'm just feeling a little discouraged right now. I'll get over it. But after the intense research on the Wise family these past six weeks, the last few days have been a bit of a let down. It's like, I'm pretty much at the end of what can be done online or locally, so now what? I've found so much information on some of their "probable" children and very little on others. And still nothing that confirms that Peter and Christina are the parents of my Jacob Wise.
On a brighter note, one of Elmina's great grandsons responded to the letter I sent him and I spoke with his wife last Wednesday. The conversation got a little confusing because his grandmother was also named Elmina. At any rate, they will be sending me some information and a copy of a picture of Elmina and John Mohler!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
All in all it was a good day
Went to Peru. . .
The Marriage Record for May Hale and George Armstrong did not include parental information.
The Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) gives her parents as Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz. So she is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. I didn't get a death certificate as it would have cost $10. I was fortunate that the clerk allowed me to look at the record. Afterwards, she said "for future reference" in case I needed additional searches, they are supposed to charge $35 per half hour for lookups, plus the charge for the certificate!
The Estate Packet for Christina Wise was found in the archives building! Got my hands dirty ;-) I "made copies" of all the documents in the file using my camera since photocopies were $1 apiece! Most came out quite well, with a few being a little soft in focus, but they can be read.
In addition to the people already named in a previous post, there are documents that mention William Wise and John Wise, though no relationships are given.
There was a statement (see image below) signed by Rosanna Hale (her mark) and witnessed by M. H. Grunden which fits in quite nicely with the census information found by Pseudo-Anonymous Gary earlier this week (which also prompted this overdue visit to Peru). In the 1900 census for Steelton Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (page 55B), Rosana Hale is listed in the household of Martin H. Grunden as widowed, mother-in-law.
The Marriage Record for May Hale and George Armstrong did not include parental information.
The Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) gives her parents as Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz. So she is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. I didn't get a death certificate as it would have cost $10. I was fortunate that the clerk allowed me to look at the record. Afterwards, she said "for future reference" in case I needed additional searches, they are supposed to charge $35 per half hour for lookups, plus the charge for the certificate!
The Estate Packet for Christina Wise was found in the archives building! Got my hands dirty ;-) I "made copies" of all the documents in the file using my camera since photocopies were $1 apiece! Most came out quite well, with a few being a little soft in focus, but they can be read.
In addition to the people already named in a previous post, there are documents that mention William Wise and John Wise, though no relationships are given.
There was a statement (see image below) signed by Rosanna Hale (her mark) and witnessed by M. H. Grunden which fits in quite nicely with the census information found by Pseudo-Anonymous Gary earlier this week (which also prompted this overdue visit to Peru). In the 1900 census for Steelton Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (page 55B), Rosana Hale is listed in the household of Martin H. Grunden as widowed, mother-in-law.
There is no date on this document, but similar ones for William Kircher and Luella Culbertson were dated October 4, 1887. It reads: "Whereas, the assets in the hands of William Kircher, Administrator of the Estate of Christina Wise, deceased are insufficient to pay the claims allowed against the same in full - to avoid the additional expense of settling said estate as insolvent, I, Rosanna Hale, consent to accept, and hereby acknowledge the receipt of about eighty-three per cent of my claim against said estate, to-wit: Seventy-seven & 27/100 Dollars, in full payment and satisfaction of said claim. Witness M. H. Grunden. Rosanna x Hale, her mark."
Found the deed book entry where Peter Wise and his wife, Christina, sold their 180 acres of land on April 5, 1866 for $8,000.
On May 14, 1866 Peter purchased town lots 5, 6, & 7 in Gilead. On October 26, 1868 he purchased 5 acres of land that was bordered on the east by the town of Gilead.
Those two entries in 1866 were in one of the books I had skipped on my previous visit to the courthouse a month ago. The reason I had skipped over them was because in the 1870 census it still showed that Peter owned land. What didn't "click" though was the fact that in 1850 his real estate was valued at $4,000 while in 1870 it was only $1,000. Lesson learned: Check all records for the time period of your ancestor, not just the years you think there "might" be transactions.
However, I didn't find the records for the sale of the lots and 5 acres under the Wise surname. So I checked for transactions by William Kircher, the administrator of Christina's estate, and found the record of the sale of the five acres on April 15, 1887 and the sale of the town lots on September 10, 1887.
As a point of reference, this is a portion of the 1860 census for Seward Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana page 60. After looking at it for a while I can now see that it could be Mary A. rather than May A., but then again, maybe not.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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:
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.
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.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.
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
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.