Week 29: Challenging #52 Ancestors

“Challenging?” Really? You can’t just click on the “little leaf” and easily grow your family tree? While I love Ancestry.com, that commercial irks me a little. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I still get a little thrill when I click on a leaf and some new record about my ancestor pops up. It’s just that I see so much wrong information on family trees that, even though genealogy is really fun and interesting, for it to be taken seriously, we researchers can’t be sloppy or careless. That’s why I would define the whole field of genealogy as “challenging.” 

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “challenge” as “[t]he quality of requiring full use of one’s abilities, energy or resources.”[1] So true!

If you are a newbie to genealogy (or not really interested in it at all), you may not be aware of the Board for Certification of Genealogist. This organization was formed in 1964 in order to foster public confidence in genealogy as a “respected branch of history.”[2] One thing they do is award the “Certified Genealogist®” credential to people who have submitted a portfolio meeting their specific requirements. Being certified is in no way a requirement and many of the top genealogists in the field are not certified.

One of the other things the BCG does is publish genealogy standards and all of the many articles I’ve read and classes and lectures I have participated in follow these standards.[3] Rightly so, and this is where the word “challenging” comes into play. The latest version of these standards is 90+ pages and includes standards for documenting, researching, writing, and more, all based upon the “Genealogical Proof Standard”.[4] The five components of the GPS are:

·     Reasonably exhaustive research;

·     Complete and accurate citations;

·     Analysis and correlation of all information;

·     Resolution of conflicts; and

·     Sound and reasoned written conclusions.[5]

Challenging indeed.

As you can probably tell, the GPS covers a lot of things. It’s not just that you can’t be so sloppy with your research that you have a child born after the mother’s death or a Civil War soldier who was born in 1650. While these are obviously wrong (I have seen both of these things and worse), the GPS essentially calls us to question and analyze everything we come across. Just because we have a death certificate that looks reliable, it doesn’t mean that everything on it is trustworthy. 

For example, my sister commented on my Week #26 story about our great-grandfather (Charles E. Spencer) and asked who gave his birth year of 1836 to the headstone engraver.  I can reasonably assume that our grandmother provided that information to the engraver because she was his only living close relative and she provided that same information for his death certificate.[6] For as long as I can remember, we were told our great grandfather died at the age of 99 and when I got the death certificate, it confirmed what the headstone said. Gosh, my grandmother provided that information so she must have known the truth. Easy-peasy. Except not so much. Nearly everything else on that death certificate is true – that is, can be corroborated by other pieces of independent information per the GPS. However, the year of his birth is definitely NOT true. It took a couple of years and hours of combing through census records, baptismal records, marriage records, military records and more to me to find the “truth” about the year of his birth. 

When I was young(er) and slopp(ier), I believed my great grandfather was almost 99-years-old when he died. Now, I am old(er) and not generally so sloppy and the GPS has helped me find the “truth.”

When I say all of genealogy is “challenging,” I ain’t kidding. 

To show you a little of what I analyzed, I’ve attached a chart showing the records reviewed and Charles’ age as shown or calculated.[7] It is so odd to me that he would make himself older. Every other ancestor I have researched that changed their age, made themselves younger (and nearly everyone seemed to do this). What an odd duck that guy was.[8] [Of course, on the 2020 census I am going to say I was born in 1977.]

[1]The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Ed., “challenge.”

[2]“About BCG,” Board for Certification of Genealogists (https://bcgcertification.org/about/: accessed 11 July 2019). 

[3]Board for Certification of Genealogist, Genealogy Standards, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Turner Publishing Company, 2019).

[4]  Ibid.

[5]Ibid, p. 1-2.

[6]New Jersey, certificate of death, No. 6819 (1934), Charles E. Spencer; New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Trenton. 

[7]Please pardon the lack of citations. I don’t think Squarespace will allot me that much room on my blog. LOL I should mention that it wasn’t until I learned he was a big fat liar regarding his age that I was able to find all of these records.

[8]At least when he decided to be that age he stuck with it. We’ve another ancestor for whom I have 4 or 5 different birth years. 

Charles E. Spencer birth years in the available records.

Week 28: Reunion #52Ancestors

My immediate family had our first family reunion in 2017. My wonderful sister-in-law put the event together and we met in Fort Worth, near one of my brothers and his sons. From what I understand, a good time was had by all (your humble author was stuck in her hotel room most of the time with the flu). 

In 2018, I took up the mantle and organized a family reunion in the Washington, D.C., specifically to be able to include our 92-year-old Aunt (and family matriarch) and our first cousins. I was overjoyed that our third-cousin once-removed and his wife were also able to join us. I had just recently “met” them over the phone. We made a connection through Ancestry.com as both of us were researching the Michael McDonough family of Maplewood, New Jersey (whom I wrote about on this blog back in May). 

When my cousin and his wife came to our dinner, I felt an immediate connection. Although they had never met any of us before, it was like we all had known each other our whole lives. They fit right in with a similar sense of humor and outlook. It was simply amazing to see the family traits manifest in a completely different branch of the tree. After our dinner with the whole group, many of us went back to our hotel where we spent the next several hours sharing our lives and laughing like old friends.

 One of the gifts we had for reunion guests were playing cards we had made featuring portraits of our ancestors. My third-cousin took the one of our third great-grandfather Michael and held it up to is face. It was like we were looking at brothers!

While we don’t have a reunion scheduled for 2019, I am hoping that we will be able to get together in 2020. As I work on our family tree, I find cousins all over the U.S. and it is my dream that someday more of the extended family can meet up and make the kind of connections like we had in 2017.

2018 Glacy Family Reunion

Week 27: Independent #52 Ancestors

One important methodologiy in genealogical research is to not only focus on your direct descendant, but also look at the F.A.N. club, i.e. friends, associates, and neighbors.[1] Rarely did our ancestors strike out on their own, either across an ocean or across a county. They would usually travel with their family members, church members, or even close neighbors. Yet, many times there was that one person who struck out on his/her own to forge the path for the rest of the group. In my family, one of those people was John Michael Rebholz, my third great-grandfather.[2]

Michael was born in 1779 in Ramberg, Bavaria, near the Rhine River.[3] His obituary mentions that he was from a family of nine children, although I have only been able to find three other brothers and a sister. Michael married Catherine Elizabeth Knapp when he was thirty years old.[4] His obituary states that he served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars, so that might explain him marrying rather late in life. His wife was twenty at the time they married and they had 12 children.[5]

In 1841, when he was sixty-two, Michael came to the U.S. apparently by himself. As near as I can determine, all but one of his children ultimately emigrated to the U.S, most of them initially joining him in Reading. His wife did not ever come to the US and died in Bavaria in 1849. 

It seems remarkable to me that Michael ventured across the Atlantic in his early sixties apparently with the intent of making a new life for his family in Reading. While he forged ahead of his children, he was not the only German to do so. From the 1830s to the 1860s, more than 1.5 million Germans immigrated to America.[6]I don’t know Michael’s precise reasons for coming to America, but his motivations may have included sparing his sons from long-term mandatory military service and the potato famine (similar to that which happened in Ireland) which hit in Bavaria especially hard in the 1840’s.[7]

Michael must have made an impression on the folks in Reading. One old family story I’d been told was about an unnamed ancestor who, when he turned 100, was celebrated by a big parade lead by John Philip Sousa. Well, Sousa was not there when Michael turned 100, but the Reading papers published several stories on his huge birthday celebration.[8] According to the papers, several hundred friends and relatives celebrated with him at a supper in his honor.  

I don’t have any pictures of Michael to share, but I have included a picture of his eldest daughter Catherine Magdalena (Rebholz) Lauter, who joined her father in Reading and lived there until her death in 1878.

[1]I believe Elizabeth Shown Mills coined this term for “cluster research.”

[2]I learned recently that many Germans named all of their sons Johann (John) but would refer to them by their middle names. This was certainly true for many of the men in my family. 

[3]“Reading’s Centenarian Dead,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle, 9 February 1880, p. 1, col 2; digital image, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ZuSUVyMx-TgC&dat=18800209&printsec=frontpage&hl=en: accessed 25 Aug 2013).

[4]Bischofliches Ordinariat Catholic Church (Ramberg, Reinland-Pfalz), Baptism-Marriage Register, 1804-1835, p. 270, Rebholz-Knapp marriage (1810); digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJY-2SFR-Z?i=146&cat=83174: accessed 19 October 2018), image 147 of 451; FHL microfilm 367,693.

[5]Albersweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Parish Registers, Volume 306 C, Ramberg 1788, p.45, Knapp Baptism; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZP-K9SP-D?i=109&cat=187738: accessed 3 Nov 2018); FHL microfilm 7,946,299, image 116 of 166.

[6]German Immigration: 1830-1860, (http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/kane98/kane_p3_immig/German/germany.html: accessed 4 July 2019).

[7]Ibid. “Emigration,”German Immigrants to America, digital image (http://www.maggieblanck.com/Goehle/Germans.html: accessed 3 July 2019). 

[8]“The Centennarian’s Birthday,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle, 4 March 1879, p. 1, col. 3: digital image, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ZuSUVyMx-TgC&dat=18790304&printsec=frontpage&hl=en: accessed 11 Nov 2012). “100 Years Old To-Day,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Times and Dispatch, 4 March 1879, p. 1, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 12 Nov 2016). “The Centennarian Serenated,” Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle, 5 March 1879, p. 1, col. 2: digital image, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ZuSUVyMx-TgC&dat=18790304&printsec=frontpage&hl=en: accessed 11 Nov 2012).

Catherine Magdalena (Rebholz) Lauter (1810-1878)

Week 26: Legend #52Ancestors

We all have family legends. Some turn out to be true, some not so much. I’ve already written about my maiden name being the full-on stuff of legend (Week 3). I like looking into family legends because they give you a clear target to shoot at. Proving, or even disproving, can give you a real sense of accomplishment (even if your family doesn’t believe you).

Here’s another one from my side of the Glacy-Baty Family Tree: Charles Edward Spencer. Charles was my great-grandfather and at the end of his life he lived with his daughter’s family, including my mother. My mom’s remembered was that he was, frankly, a SOB. Apparently, he usually wore a red “union suit” and with his flowing grey hair and bushy mustache he was intimidating to her. He died in 1934 when my mom was eleven.

My mom told me some of the information that she’d been told about Charles: that he served in the Civil War as a “drummer boy” and was born in England in 1836. She also knew that he had a marriage prior to marrying my great-grandmother, but other than it allegedly occurring in Connecticut, she knew little else.

Like any good family historian, I trotted off to Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, etc., armed with what I thought I knew. At least I had a place or places to start. So I thought.

First thing I tried to tackle was his Civil War service. I searched for any and all Charles Spencers who served the state of New Jersey in the Civil War. Gosh, you’d be surprised to know how many of those there were. I was able to eliminate those that had died during the war, but there were several candidates still remaining and I couldn’t eliminate them.

Fortunately, my grandmother (Charles’ daughter) inherited a medal awarded to New Jersey Civil War veterans which she gave to me many moons ago.

And so, I thought: Proof! 

I started to research this medal and was buoyed by the fact that there is a number on the back of the medal. Perhaps that would verify my great-grandfather was the brave drummer boy he claimed to be. I found only a few references to the medal and then, miraculously, I stumbled on an actual book called New Jersey’s Civil War Medals Including Rolls. Yes!

Oof. Not so fast, buster.

The number on the back of the medal is 5256 and it was presented to Thomas Kelly.[1]

Who?

Thomas Kelly, who was a private in the 1st N.J. Volunteer Infantry and then in the 2nd N.J. Cavalry.

Oh, THAT Thomas Kelly.

Who?

Okay, great-grandpa, what gives? I know my mom was not making this up but maybe he was making it up.

Now what do I do? Do I just give up and forget this legend? If I keep going, where? If not N.J., where? I tried Connecticut, but no luck there.

In genealogy, there are many avenues to pursue to get to the facts.  Through my research into my great-grandfather, I find my great-uncle, Everett Linwood Spencer. Everett was born in 1867 in Rhode Island. Ok, so let’s look there. I find the family in the 1870 U.S. census in Scituate, Providence, Rhode Island. There is Charles born in 1845 in England, with his first wife and two sons. Did you catch that? – 1845, not 1836. 

Since I figured that Charles was likely married before Everett was born, I check the marriages in Scituate and there they were, married in 1865: “Edward” Spencer and S. Jennie Farr. She from North Scituate and he from Millville, Massachusetts.[2] This record again shows that my great-grandfather was born in 1845.

Millville is in Worchester County, MA, so my next stop was there. I found the Massachusetts state census for 1865 and, lo and behold, there was Charles E. Spencer – a 20 year-old man, born in England and currently in the U.S. Navy.[3] Not only that, this census recorded his mother, step-father, two step-brothers and his grandmother, all living at the same address. Hot dog!

I don’t want you to think that my research was as smooth as I portray. Trust me that there were many more fits and starts than I describe (actually, more fits than starts). But this was essentially the progression. It was a really fun challenge for me and I accomplished at least two important goals: I disproved my great-grandfather’s “drummer boy” claim (while also proving his military service) and, most importantly, I sharpened my research skills and analytical thinking.[4]

As for my great-grandfather’s birthdate, that “legend” even made it to his tombstone.

BTW, I am still searching for the family of Thomas Kelly so I can return to them the medal awarded to their ancestor.

[1]Brandon T. Wiegand and Peter J. Eisert, Brandon T. Wiegand, ed., New Jersey’s Civil War Medals Including Rolls, 1st ed. (Creighton, Pennsylvania: D-D Militaria, 2006), 213. I can’t recall how I found this book, but I do have the 94th copy published (so it says).

[2]Town Clerk, Scituate, Providence, Rhode Island, Marriage Records, 1850-1901, Spencer-Farr (20 July 1865), p. 35; digital image, Family Search, FHL microfilm 941154, image 421 of 674 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-67V7-JR9 : accessed 13 April 2018).

[3]1865 Massachusetts census, Worcester county, Blackstone Township, village of Millville, household 787, line number 15 for Charles E Spencer, in Ezekiel Mortimer household; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 June 2019); citing Massachusetts State Census, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. 

[4]This one census would no way “prove” his service, but it did lead me to other sources, including his service file that I obtained from the National Archives.

My great-grandparents, Charles E. Spencer and Mary Josephine McGann.

Medal awarded by the State of New Jersey to Thomas Kelly

Headstone for Herbert J. Spencer (my great-uncle) and Charles E. Spencer atHoly Sepulchre Cemetery, East Orange, New Jersey.

Week 25: Earliest #52Ancestors

The earliest immigrant ancestors on the Glacy-Baty Family Tree are Thomas Stonestreet and his wife Elizabeth Butler, who are my husband’s 8th great-grandparents. There may be others that emigrated earlier, but the records from way back then are scarce and unreliable. Thomas, on the other hand, has been well researched and documented (by myself and many others).

Thomas was likely born in July of 1630 in Withyham, Sussex, England, to Edward Stonestreet and Mary Wimborne.[1] He and his wife, Elizabeth Butler, were transported to the colony of Maryland in February of 1662 as indentured servants.[2] Thomas was indentured to a William Barton for six years and Elizabeth was the servant of James Walker. The records are inconclusive as to whether they were married before immigrating or after. 

While don’t think it has been conclusively proved that Thomas married an Elizabeth “Butler” at this time, I think it is more than likely that her maiden name was “Butler.” One of their sons named one of his sons “Butler” and when he died, Thomas left this Butler 50 acres of land.[3] I have seen many time where the children or grandchildren are given the mother’s maiden name as their given name or middle name and am always grateful for that bit of information to help make a family connection (and keep the mother’s family name alive).

By all appearances, Thomas and Elizabeth did well in the new country. Once his indenture was completed, Thomas received 150 acres in Charles County, Maryland. He named this property “Birchden” allegedly after his home in England.[4]  During his lifetime, Thomas continued to accumulate lands in Charles County. I have yet to track all of his land, but he seems to have become quite a property owner.   

Thomas and Elizabeth had at least four children, two boys and two girls. In his will (1706), Thomas only names his son Edward and two grandsons. The fact that Elizabeth is not mentioned is some evidence that she pre-deceased him. I don’t yet know what happened to his daughters, although one of the grandson’s mentioned in the will has the last name of “Mastin,” which likely means that one of the daughters married a man of this name. While I am sure it was nice to be remembered in the will, instead of the 50-acres Butler got, Thomas Mastin got one cow and one calf. Prior to his death, Thomas gave the original Birchden Plantation to his son Thomas (my husband’s 7thgreat-grandfather).[5]

There is some indication in the records that Thomas served in the Colonial Militia, but I have had trouble pinning this down. The Maryland State Archives have a wealth of on-line information and even more at their facility in Annapolis. Some day Imma gonna get there. 

[1]St. Michael's, Withyham, Sussex, England, Bishop's transcripts for baptisms, 1630, no page no., Thomas Stonestreete son of Edward Stonestreete; digital image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DTS3-F9R?i=132&cat=586259 : accessed 11 June 2019), image 133 from FHL microfilm 4,428,821 ("Bishop's transcripts for St. Michael's Church, Withyham").

[2]Carson Gibb, The New Early Settlers of Maryland; database, Maryland State Archives (http://earlysettlers.msa.maryland.gov: accessed 11 June 2019). 

[3]Maryland County, District and Probate Courts, will of Thomas Stonestreet, 11:77-78 (1706); “Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 June 2019). 

[4]Warren Skidmore, Thomas Stonestreet of Birchden, Withyham, East Sussex and of Charles County, Maryland (Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2012), 1-3.

[5]Ibid.

The current St. Michael’s Church in Withyham, Sussex, England, built in 1884. St. Michael and All Angels Church; digital image, The Parish of St Michael and All Angels, Withyham and All Saints, Blackham (http://www.withyhamchurch.org/index.html : accessed 12 June 2019).

Thomas was baptized on July 24, 1630. St. Michael's, Withyham, Sussex, England, Bishop's transcripts for baptisms, 1630, Thomas Stonestreete son of Edward Stonestreete; digital image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DTS3-F9R?i=132&cat=586259 : accessed 11 June 2019), image 133 from FHL microfilm 4,428,821 ("Bishop's transcripts for St. Michael's Church, Withyham").

Week 24: Dear Diary #52Ancestors

I am super lucky (or devious) to have convinced my grandmother to give me the 68-page World War I diary written by my grandfather Charles P. Maier. I’ve had it since the 1970’s and have briefly looked at it a few times over the years. With this week’s challenge, I have spent a lot of time with it, investigating his experiences and verifying his service. It has been such a delight to get to know this man who died three years before I was born.

Charles was born in July 1893 in Newark, New Jersey (you many remember last week’s blog talking about his older brother who died as a baby). When he registered for the draft in June of 1917, Charles was described as tall and slender with gray eyes and dark brown hair.[1] At that time, he was living with his mother and brother.[2] It appears that his parents had separated some years earlier, although they were only a 25-minute walk from each other in Newark.[3]

Charles was 24 when he he was called up to serve and was assigned to Company “C,” 4th Section of the 5th Field Battalion Signal Corps, 3rd Division. He was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (about 50 miles from where I presently live), for his training before he was shipped off to France on July 20, 1919. Beginning with his time in France and until he was discharged, he wrote in his diary nearly every day. Usually just 2-3 lines and mostly about the food and the weather. However, during the months from July to November of 1919, he described many periods of the Germans “visiting” them again and again.

Very early on, he wrote about visiting Château-Thierry, the site of one of the first battles fought by the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918.[4] Unsurprisingly, he described the place as “pretty well shot up.” Because he’d gone there without a pass, he was severely reprimanded the next day. His comment in his diary was, I “will think twice before I do it again.” True to his word, he didn’t report getting in any more trouble the rest of his time in the Army.

Charles used some funny expressions in the diary. As an example, “My Lady” referred to his bunk-mate. He didn’t make that clear until later in the diary, so I was a little confused to begin with. He also wrote about having “beaucoup” this and “beaucoup” that: wine, champagne, bread and jam, etc. Although he did mention, numerous times, that Army food was uniformly terrible. This was especially so on Thanksgiving as I think he was hoping for turkey but got “nothing by good old army hard tack, soup as bad as ever.” The notable exception was Christmas Day when he wrote that he had a “damn fine dinner.”

In December of 1920, his battalion was sent to Germany and, because he spoke German,[5] he got to work the day shift on the “board” with some German and Dutch girls. He was obviously happy to “parley” with the girls and wrote that a Dutch gal “says she is going home with me. Oh! No.” Because of his familiarity with German, the spelling of the names of the towns and cities he passed through are accurate and he handwriting was impeccable – lucky for me.

During the last months of his deployment, Charles spent his time at the Battalion Headquarters in Andernach, Germany. When he arrived there on January 6, 1920, he reported that he after he ate and got deloused (again), he had a fine bath: “Imagine 2 of us 6 footers in a bath tub. Had a scrubrush (sic) which we applied to one another from head to feet. Best bath I’ve had so far over here.” Between drilling, signal and telephone practice, lectures, and the like, Charles had a lot of time to play basketball and football (keeping meticulous score of all of the matches). He even had time to take a boat trip on the Rhine River to Bonn.

Charles arrived home to New Jersey on August 29, 1920. His diary detailed his movements precisely and it seems as if he was constantly on the move from the moment of arrival to months after Armistice. All of which calls out for me to map out these locations, especially since his parents may have come from regions near where he was deployed.

Charles died at 60-years old on February 28, 1954 in Montreal.[6] He was living with his mother who had remarried following his father’s death. The family story is that he was suffering from tuberculosis and was in Canada for treatment because the healthcare system there was much better than what he could get in America (sound familiar?). His death record shows he did die of TB. Since he was unable to attend my parents wedding in December of 1953, they visited him while on their honeymoon. He is buried in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.[7]

[1]"United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZJR-GLQ : 13 March 2018), Charles Maier, 5 June 1917; citing Newark City, district no. 9, New Jersey, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,754,027.

[2]1915 New Jersey state census, Essex County, population schedule, City of Newark, 9thWard, 5thDistrict, p. 2A, dwelling 26, family 33, Carolina C. Maier; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2019).

[3]Ibid. Newark, New Jersey, City Directory, 1917, p. 1035, Charles P. Maier; “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2019). 

[4]Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org), “Battle of Château-Thierry (1918), rev. 11:56, 4 June 2019.

[5]His parents were both German-born.

[6]Vice-Counsel of the U.S.A, American Foreign Service, “Report of the Death of an American,” Charles P. Maier, 8 March 1954; image, “Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2019); citing National Archives, General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59, Publication A1 205, box no. 966 “1950-1954 Canada Ma-Ry.”

[7]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.som : accessed 12 June 2019) memorial 85113384, Charles Peter Maier (1893-1954), Cimetière Notre Dame des Neiges, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Charles P. Maier with his younger siblings, Herbert V. Maier and Grace C. Maier

Charles Peter Maier

Week 23: Namesake #52Ancestors

This week’s prompt from our fearless leader affords me the opportunity to talk about a D-Day veteran in my family, so fitting on this 75th anniversary of the invasion.

Back in December of 1991, my husband and I we were at my parent’s home in New Jersey to celebrate the holidays. This was a few months before our son was born. One night, we were looking through my mom’s box of family photographs when we came across a couple of photos of my mom’s favorite cousin, “Conner”.[1] Once I saw his picture and my mom told me his name, I just knew that was the name for our boy! 

James Conner Owens was my first cousin, twice removed. He was born in 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Conner enlisted in the army when he was thirty-years-old, on March 27, 1942 at Fort Thomas, Newport, Kentucky.[2] The abstract of the enlistment record tells me that he was single, 5’ 8” tall, weighed 155 lbs., and had one year of college. Sadly, I do not know much about his time in the army. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, about 80% of the Army’s Official Military Personnel Files were destroyed in a fire in 1973.[3] However, the family story is that he participated in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. 

Conner enlisted as a Warrant Officer. At that time, a “Warrant Officer” was defined by the War Department as a rank above enlisted personnel, but below commissioned officers.[4] The pictures of Conner that I have posted below show that at some point(s) he was promoted up to Master Sergeant. 

In one of the pictures, Conner is standing in front of a beautiful statue and I have to say it does look French. However, it’s the patch on his garrison cap that captured my attention. I think looks somewhat like an airplane. In instances like these, Google is your best friend. 

My preliminary research shows that Conner may be wearing a patch for “Glider-borne” troops. Because my picture is in black and white, I can’t tell what color the background is. If it was blue, that was for the infantry; if red it was artillery; and, if copper brown it was for the medical corps.[5] These caps were used until August 1944 when the image of a parachute was added to the patches. Because the patch was worn on the right side of the cap, the glider looks like it is flying backwards.[6]

 If this is correct, the patch Conner is wearing may confirm his participation in the D-Day invasion and may actually validate this family story (which hardly ever happens!). Someday, I hope to track down the records of his service. In the meantime, I honor him and all the others who served during Operation Overlord so as to liberate Europe from the Nazi scourge. 

[1]BTW, all my mom’s pics have been digitized and shared, so if you haven’t done yours yet, get moving!

[2]“U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” entry for James C. Owens (1942), Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 June 2019); citing “World War II Army Enlistment Records,” National Archives, NARA Record Group 64, College Park, Maryland.

[3]“National Archives at St. Louis,” National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel-archival : accessed 6 June 2019).

[4]“Army Warrant Officer History: ‘The Legacy of Leadership as a Warrant Officer,” Part I – 1918 to 1996,” Warrant Officer Historical Foundation (https://warrantofficerhistory.org/Hist_of_Army_WO.htm : accessed 6 June 2019).

[5]Mark Bando, “Insignia” (https://www.101airborneww2.com/insignia.html : accessed 6 June 2019). 

[6]Ibid.

James Conner Owens

James Conner Owens

Mark Bando, “Insignia” (https://www.101airborneww2.com/insignia.html : accessed 6 June 2019).

Week 22: At the Cemetery #52Ancestors

At the genealogy conferences I have been to, there are usually a bunch of merchants selling everything from clothing to books to any kind of genealogy-related knickknack you can think of. I almost got a bumper sticker which said “Caution: I brake for cemeteries.” LOL, but true.  When my family and I were vacationing last year, we drove by a cemetery connected to St. Michael’s Catholic Church, in Leenane, County Galway, Ireland. Located on the “Connemara Loop,” the church and cemetery are on the edge of the Killary Fjord (the only fjord in all of Ireland – so we were told). It was our last day in Ireland and we had just been to the Killary Sheep Farm for a sheep-shearing lesson, demonstrations with their sheep dogs, and bottle feeding of the lambs.[1] On our way back to our rental house, I made my husband stop in front of St. Michael’s so I could wander a bit in the graveyard. The eye-rolls I got from my companions were so intense, I thought they’d never see straight again. If you travel with a genealogist you need to get used to these sorts of things.

Sorry -  I do get side-tracked when I am writing these blog posts. Back to “ancestors.”

 Cemeteries can offer a great deal of information on our ancestors, but you have to be very careful as not all of it is accurate. Just because it is written in stone does not make it true. I’ve seen headstones with the wrong date of birth, the wrong date of death, some with no dates at all. One of the strangest cemeteries I’ve been to is Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, New York. My sister and I went there several years ago to find the headstones for our 2nd great-grandparents. According to Findagrave.com, this cemetery is the largest in the U.S. with about 3 million burials.[2] Several Mafia members are buried there along with many Senators and Congressmen (I’m resisting the temptation to suggest that they were the same people). 

 The person in the Calvary office confirmed where our family members were buried, but when we got to the lot location, there were no headstones. And that’s why this is a strange cemetery. It appears that some brilliant monument builder decades ago decided that it would be a good idea to make the headstones out of welded metal. Metal crosses and other markers - sitting out there in the elements between the Long Island Expressway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. What a great idea. Not many of metal markers were left and those that remained were nearly all rusted through. I am assuming that may be why our ancestors did not have any headstones. 

 Sometimes, you don’t even need to go to the cemetery to discover information about ancestors. Last year, I was at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and looking at the digital copies of the burial cards for the Holy Sepluchre Cemetery in East Orange, New Jersey, where many of my Maier/Spencer ancestors are buried. Because the library was about to close, I didn’t have time to study all of the cards. I madly took screenshots of all the “Maier” cards I could find and planned to study them when I got home. I thought I knew a lot about Holy Sepluchre because it was another cemetery my sister and I visited. [Poor girl, I drag her along on these “adventures” – or more to the point, I make her drive me.] 

 Back at home with all of my screenshots, I start to analyze what I have and I come across a burial card with my grandfather’s name on it.[3] But I knew it couldn’t be him as he died in Montreal. Who was this Charles Maier? A cousin? An uncle? Completely unrelated? As I researched it further, it all came together. This was the first child born to my great-grandparents and he died of diphtheria in April of 1892 when he was only 20 months old. Heartbreaking. I cannot even. I had never heard of him and can imagine the pain of his loss would cause his parents to not ever mention him again.

My great-grandparents’ second child (my grandfather) was born in 1893. Because he was also a boy, they did what many families did back in the day (the genealogists in the crowd know what’s coming): they gave him the exact same name. 

The facts that help me put this puzzle together were: first, I recognized that the address on the burial card for the baby was the same address shown for his father in the Newark City Directory for 1892.[4] Second, the burial card for my great-grandfather showed that he was buried in this same grave over fifty-eight years later.[5] Because there was no headstone for this baby and we didn’t even know to ask the cemetery office about him. The burial cards became our only evidence of his existence.

Sad, but also kinda great. 

[1]If you ever get to this part of Ireland, you MUST GO to the Killary Sheep Farm. One of the most fun experiences you will ever have. https://killarysheepfarm.com

[2]“Calvary Cemetery,” Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/64107 : accessed 3 June 2019). 

[3]Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (East Orange, New Jersey), "Cemetery records, 1859-1977," Charles Maier burial card, 6 April 1892; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007900333?cat=230108 : viewed 24 Jan. 2018) image 3946; imaged from FHL microfilm 7,900,333.

[4]Newark City Directory, 1892 (original viewed by author at Maplewood, New Jersey, Public Library), p. 792, “Maier, Charles, tailor, 211 Bergen.”

[5]Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (East Orange, New Jersey), "Cemetery records, 1859-1977," Charles Maier burial card, 8 November 1934; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007900333?cat=230108 : viewed 24 Jan. 2018) image 3947; imaged from FHL microfilm 7,900,333. 

Burial Card for Charles Maier (1890-1892)

1892 Newark City Directory

Burial Card for Charle Maier (1866-1934)

Week 21: “Military” #52Ancestors

Appropriately, this week’s prompt is “military.” I am fortunate to have had many military veterans in my background, including my dad, father-in-law, two grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and so on. Even my dear aunt served as a member of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. In addition to bravely serving their country, the military records they left behind are genealogical gold-mines. 

Both my dad and father-in-law were in the Navy, so I was able to get a copy of their entire service files. Sadly, a disastrous fire in 1973 destroyed 80% of Army personnel records for those discharged between November 1, 1912 and January 1, 1960.[1] There were no duplicates and no microfilm so this was a huge loss. Those with Civil War veterans in their family tree, can get copies of their military service and pension records through the National Archives. For one of my husband’s ancestors, I was able to get his entire 122-page pension file. Another pension file for a Civil War ancestor even helped identify what happened to the first husband of the veteran’s second wife! Talk about a gold-mine.

 One super genealogical resource for military records is Fold3.com. This site, owned by Ancestry.com, has records from every military conflict that involved American soldiers, as well as records from many other conflicts including the Napoleonic Wars, Crimean War, Boxer Rebellion and on and on. As of today, they boast almost 550 million records. While this is a pay site, they do offer free access to some records and free access to the site on special holidays, for example this Memorial Day weekend.

 I don’t want this post to become an ad for Fold3 (Ancestry does just fine without my help). Rather, I want to share what great stuff I found for my husband’s 4th great-grandfather, Samuel Pickerill.

Samuel was an honest-to-goodness drummer “boy” in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in the fall of 1776 in Virginia for three years and served most of the time with the 1st Virginia State Regiment under Captain Thomas W. Ewell.[2] According to his pension application, Samuel was at Valley Forge and the battles of Monmouth Court House and Stoney Point.[3]

 The cool thing about Fold3 is that I have access to some of the actual muster rolls and pay records for Samuel and his unit. The Company Pay Roll cards are especially informative as they show his monthly pay (7 1/3 dollars) and sometimes where he was when he was paid. I found it interesting that drummers and fifers were paid 1/2 dollar more than privates. I’ve learned that more than just keeping time or playing a tune as they marched, drummer and fife signals also told the soldiers in camp when to wake up, do certain chores, and when to show up for church.[4] During battle, a drummer could even call for medical assistance for a wounded soldier.[5]

 When he enlisted, Samuel was about 19-years old. While there is some romance around being a drummer “boy,” that is apparently a bit of a myth. It appears most drummers were adult men and were recruited like all other soldiers.[6]

 After the end of the war, Samuel received 100-acres of land from the State of Virginia in consideration for his service in the Revolution.[7] In 1783, Samuel settled in Fayette County, Virginia which, in 1792, became part of the state of Kentucky. Many years later, when he was 75, Samuel also applied for and received a military pension consisting of $88 a year.[8]

Samuel and his wife, Mary Lowe, had at least 12 children, all born in Virginia/Kentucky. The family ultimately settled in Brown County, Ohio, where Samuel and Mary lived out their days. Because of their large family, many descendants of Samuel and Mary are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) or the Sons of the Revolution (SAR). This past year, I was able to get my husband into the SAR, thanks mostly to the work done by his cousins who took the laboring oar in gathering the appropriate documentation for this branch of the Pickerill tree. 

And, no, I do not expect him to wear a tricorne this coming 4th of July.[9]

[1]“The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center,” National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 : accessed 27 May 2019. 

[2]Eckenrode, H.J., Archivist, List of the Revolutionary Soldiers of Virginia (Supplement), Special Report of the Department of Archives and History for 1912 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1912), p. 420; digital image, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/listofrevolution00virg/page/n3 : accessed 27 May 2019). 

[3]Affidavit of Samuel Pickerill, 25 July 1832, “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2019); citing “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” NARA microfilm publication M804, roll not noted.

[4]“Music in the Revolution,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon (http://www.mountvernon.org : accessed 27 May 2019). 

[5]Ibid.

[6]Wikipedia, “Drummer (military),” rev. 11:40, 23 May 2019.

[7]Land-Office Military Warrant, No. 1369, 12 July 1783, Samuel Pickrel (sic); Kentucky Secretary of State, Revolutionary War Warrants (http://landofficeimages.sos.ky.gov : accessed 4 Feb 2017).

[8]Samuel Pickerill pension folder, no. S.3703, “U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2019); citing “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” NARA microfilm publication M804, roll not noted.

[9]As you might have figured out, a “tricorne” is a three-cornered hat. They were popular during the 18th century, but not so much after 1800. They were not referred to as a tricornes in the 1700’s but were called “cocked hats.” Wikipedia, Tricorne, 22:22, 17 May 2019.

Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 May 2019), memorial 6155675, Samuel Pickerill (1757-1850), Liberty Chapel Cemetery, Decatur, Brown County, Ohio; gravestone photographed by Theodoremaxx.

8th line - “Samuel Pichrall, Drum.” Pay Roll dated June 1778; “Muster Rolls and Pay Rolls of Capt. Thomas W. Ewell’s Co., October 1777 - November 1779,” p. 106, folder 21, Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 27 May 2019); “Revolutionary War Rolls, compiled 1894-1913, documenting the period 1775-1783,” Publication no. M246, NARA Catalog Id 602384, record group 93, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Week 20: Nature #52Ancestors

The reasons for our ancestors’ immigration to America are explained as either “push” or “pull” factors. The most common “push” factor for those with Irish descent was the Great Famine (1845-1848). In the years leading up to the Great Famine, the Irish experienced a population explosion like no other. In 1700, the Irish population was about 1 million.[1] By the time of the famine, the Irish population had grown to 8.5 million.[2] After the famine, it is estimated that about 500,000 Irish had moved to Britain, 1 million emigrated to North America, and 1 million men, women, and children perished.[3]

My 2ndgreat-grandfather, Michael J. McDonough, came to the U.S. in around 1846. Likely, he was responding to the “push” from the famine, but perhaps also the “pull” of owning land. By 1850, Michael and his new wife, Bridget (call me “Delia”) Dunigan were living in Clinton, Essex County, New Jersey and Michael was a “gardener.”[4] I haven’t yet determined why Michael and Delia settled in that particular place. Did they go there because of friends, family, neighbors, or associates from Ireland? The 1850 census shows 219 other Irish-born people living in Clinton, but no other McDonoughs or Dunigans.

 The various records I have found for Michael identify him as a “horticulturist,” “gardener,” and “capitalist.”[5] In other words, a farmer. I grew up with the story that he was a famous strawberry farmer. A memoir about that time confirms this. G. Clifford Jones wrote about his childhood growing up in the area. He remembered Henry Jerolaman and Michael McDonough “were rivals in growing strawberries and likewise in making claims as to who pioneered most in developing the luscious fruits.”[6] Jones’ memories also included sledding down “McDonough’s Hill” after the “Great Blizzard” of 1888.[7]

Michael must not have been as successful as Jerolaman who was dubbed (or dubbed himself) the “Strawberry King of the United States.” Jerolaman acquired the farm of Seth Boydon, engineer and prolific inventor, who is claimed to be the originator of the first large stawberries in the world. [8]

 Michael and Delia’s three sons joined their father in farming, although two of them all moved on from farming, one becoming a policeman and one a sewer inspector. My great-grandfather, Michael Sarsfield continued farming for some time, although likely not on his own land.

The awesome thing researching your family history is that the area where Michael and Bridget settled in is now called Maplewood – my own hometown! I remember as a kid going to an old amusement park (Olympic Park) which was built on or near the McDonough family farm. Most of the farm property now consists of an elementary school (Seth Boyden Elementary) and houses. 

 As of today, Whitepages.com shows only three McDonoughs living in Maplewood. If they are related to Michael and Bridget (and, of course, I just have to assume that they are), that means a McDonough/Dunigan has lived in this part of New Jersey for over 169 years! How cool is that?

[1]Maurice Gleeson, MB, “My Ancestor Came From Ireland…But From Where?,” Irish Research-A Practical Guide (Ontario, Canada : Moorshead Magazines, Ltd, 2018), pp. 12-13.

[2]Ibid.

[3]Ibid.

[4]1850 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 323B (stamped), dwelling 250, family 244, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 450.

[5]1900 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, South Orange, p. 9B (penned), enumeration district (ED) 189, dwelling 178, family 178, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll not noted. 1860 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 3 (penned), dwelling 20, family 20, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 690.

[6]G. Clifford Jones, “Hilton Boy,” Helen B. Bates, Ellen S. Uptegrove, Mary O. Dawson, eds., Maplewood, Past and Present (Maplewood, New Jersey : Friends of the Maplewood Library, 1948), 131.

[7]Ibid., p. 128.

[8] “Read This First,” American Gardening (18 Sept. 1897), p.659; image, Google Books (https://play.google.com/books : accessed 20 May 2019).

Michael J. McDonough. Photo taken by Ludwig Schill, Newark, NJ between 1890 and 1903. Digital image private held by author.

E. Roberson, Atlas of Essex County, New Jersey (New York : E Roberson, 1890), a section of plate 33; image and database, “U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 May 2019).

Week 19: Nurture #52Ancestors

I assume Amy picked this last week’s prompt as it falls near Mother’s Day and it’s a great time to remember those mothers (and fathers) who nurtured us when we were small and those that still look out for us even though we are adults. I hope I never get so cynical that I don’t recognize and thank the nurturing souls that help me navigate these perilous times.

There is a story in my family tree of grandparents nurturing two grandsons whose mother seems to have abandoned them.

 I wrote about my husband’s 2ndgreat-grandparents, George Washington Baty and Mary Elizabeth Elliott, just last week. They were the parents of at least 11 children, born between 1847 and 1866. When I first started researching them, I thought that they had 13 children. However, I started to wonder about their last children, John Rufus, born in 1868 and Charles Henry, born in 1875.

As I dug into it more deeply, it seemed more likely that Charles and Rufus were probably the sons of Frances, George and Mary’s daughter. I say “probably” because I don’t think I have found enough evidence to support my theory. Further, I have not (yet) found anything where Frances acknowledged these boys as her own.

Frances was unmarried and 15 years old when Rufus was born in Lawrence County, Missouri.[1] We know that his father was likely from Tennessee.[2] Sadly, no birth records were required to be kept in Missouri at this time. Frances was still unmarried and 22 years old when Charles was born in Kansas. Again, no birth records were required to be kept in Kansas then. Until she was married in 1877, Frances and the boys lived with her parents on their family farms. Once she was married however, she left Kansas and these boys for good.

One piece of evidence that Charles and Rufus were not the sons of George and Mary is the Warranty Deed by which the family farm was sold.[3] Mary and the children of George all signed the deed and it was legally required that ALL the heirs of George be signatories. The fact that neither Charles nor Rufus signed the deed is good evidence that they were not sons. Further, the 1880 U.S. federal census does list Rufus as a grandson.[4] Lastly, Mary’s obituary does not mention Charles or Rufus as sons even though they were still alive.[5]   

There is other evidence that points to Frances being the mother of Charles and Rufus, but it is inconclusive. Sadly, Rufus never married and Charles only had daughters, so tracking down their fathers with a Y-DNA test won’t work. 

In 1880, Charles was five and Rufus was 11. They were living with their grandparents on the family farm.[6] As I mentioned last week, George and Mary were running a busy farm and these young grandsons, along with a son, a daughter, and Mary’s mother, Emma, must have worked hard to have such a successful farming operation. 

 After George died in 1890, Mary and Rufus were the only ones left on the farm.[7] The 1895 Kansas census shows that Mary and Rufus were still cultivating crops, albeit at a much lower level. Of the forty acres that made up the farm, they only had 16 acres of cotton. Their butter production was still an impressive 100 pounds and they had two horses and one milk cow. This census shows that they also had some apple, pear, peach, and cherry trees. 

I can imagine how comforting it was for Mary and Rufus to have each other. Charles left the family farm in 1893 and all of Mary’s children had moved out of the area.[8] Reading between the lines of some of the local newspaper articles, I get the sense that Charles may have not had a pleasant a life on the farm; he did leave when he was only 18. Rufus stayed with his grandmother until he was 27 when it appears Mary moved in with one of her daughters who came back to Neosho.[9]

Sometimes, we don’t get a say on who raises us. I hope that George and Mary gave Rufus and Charles the love and nurturing every child deserves. 

[1]1870 U.S. census, Lawrence County, Missouri, population schedule, Ozark Township, p. 10 (penned), dwelling 72, family 72, George W. Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll [not noted].  

[2]1880 U.S. census, Neosho County, Kansas, population schedule, Canville Township, enumeration district (ED) 163, p. 4 (penned), dwelling 37, family 38, George Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 390.

[3]Neosho County, Kansas, Deed Book 56: 537, Mary E. Baty, et al., to John Golobay, 14 November 1902; Office of the Register of Deeds, Erie, Kansas.

[4]1880 U.S. census, Neosho Co., Ks., pop. sch., Canville, ED 163, p. 4 (penned), dwell. 37, fam. 38, George Baty.

[5]"Obituary," Chanute (Kansas) Times, 12 Nov 1909, p. 5, col. 4; digital image, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85030529/1909-11-12/ed-1/seq-5/# : accessed 10 May 2015).

[6]1880 U.S. census, Neosho Co., Ks., pop. sch., Canville, ED 163, p. 4 (penned), dwell. 37, fam. 38, George Baty.

[7]1885 Kansas state census, Neosho County, population schedule, Canville township, p. 12 (penned), dwelling 70, family 73, M.E. Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing Kansas Historical Society, 1895 Kansas State Census, microfilm reel v115_105.

[8]"Earlton," The Erie (Kansas) Record, 16 February 1900, p. 2, col. 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 Aug 2018).

[9]1900 U.S. census, Neosho County, Kansas, population schedule, Canville Township, enumeration district (ED) 147, p. 5 (penned), dwelling 94, family 94, Thomas Knowles; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 492.

The Baty family farm as it looks today.

Open Records for Kansas Appraisers, “Neosho County, Kansas, Property Ownership Map,” Parcel Numbers 067-074-17-0-00-00-008.00-0 and 067-074-17-0-00-00-007.00-0; digital image, ORKA – Open Records for Kansas Appraisers (http://jade.kgs.ku.edu/orka2/CoSelect.aspx : accessed 8 May 2017).

Week 18: Road Trip #52 Ancestors

This week’s prompt is “Road Trip” and I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with a good/funny story to tell about one of my ancestors. My immediate family was never one to take family road trips. I know a lot of folks in the Mid-West took road trips as kids to some of our many national parks out west. The best my family could muster was the less-than-two-hour drive to the Jersey Shore every other year. And even then, it was a harrowing experience. First, my dad and mom were smokers. If you didn’t suffer from car sickness before they lit up, you were sure to get queasy once they started (sadly, I was in the car-sickness camp even without the smoke). Second, even with a large station wagon, there was not nearly enough room for us five kids. Between “he’s touching me” and “she’s looking at me” we couldn’t get far enough away from each other. To make matters worse, our dad refused to pay the 25¢ toll on the Garden State Parkway. For him, his toll-less route was great and saved him money! For us, it was 30 minutes more of pure hell. As soon as he made the turn to go onto Route 9, there was a shared groan from all of us (including mom). Ugh. 

I’ve done a little traveling for my genealogy work, mostly to conferences and institutes. In fact, I am writing this blog from St. Charles, Missouri (just west of St. Louis for the geographically-challenged of us) as I am attending the National Genealogical Society’s annual conference. The theme this year is “Journey of Discovery” and features lots of interesting topics presented by the top people in the field. A typical day consists of one or two session in the morning and one or two in the afternoon, with lunch-time presentations, dinner-time presentations and an Exhibit Hall filled with vendors of various goods and services. The NGS has nine different “tracks” including DNA, Methodology, Migration, African American, Military, etc. One can follow one track the entire time or mix it up, like I intend to do. My biggest problem is that I usually have two or more lectures I want to attend and it’s super hard to choose.

One genealogically-related road trip I took was several years ago when I did a deep dive into my husband’s 2nd great-grandparents, George Washington and Mary Elizabeth (Elliott) Baty. Specifically, I was working on a paper for a class I was taking and researched where they lived in Neosho County, Kansas. George was born in Ohio[1] and Mary was born in Kentucky.[2] They were married in 1846 in Effingham, Illinois, and George served in the Civil War as a Sergeant with Company D of the Illinois Infantry.[3] A few years after the war, the family moved to Ozark County, Missouri, and then finally settled in Neosho County.[4] Talk about a road-trip!

 My little road trip to Neosho took me first to the county courthouse where the wonderful staff there showed me how to find the appropriate land records and copied for me everything I asked for. Even though there is a wealth of genealogical material available on-line, there really is no substitute for going to the repositories in the town or county where your ancestors lived. Universally, I have found the folks in these places to be friendly, helpful, and especially kind. The woman at the Register of Deeds office who did the copying, told me that she recognized the names of the people on the deeds. Cool! It turns out, she and some friends tend to abandoned graveyards in Neosho County and one of them is the Earlton Cemetery where George, Mary, and other family members are buried. She had her own map of the headstones at the cemetery and made a copy for me. What a lovely woman!

 In addition to visiting the cemetery, I was able to drive past the last farmhouse that George and Mary lived in. This was the third piece of property they bought after moving to Kansas.[5] In 1883, when he was 58, George acquired a forty-acre farm for $500.[6] Two years later, George and Mary reported on the Kansas census that they had planted 9-acres of corn, ½-acre of potatoes, and 2-acres of millet and had cut 1-ton of hay and 2-tons of prairie grass. They owned $12 worth of chickens and one milk cow, from whom they produced 150 pounds of butter. They also had 2 horses and 3 pigs. And, lest we forget, they had one dog.[7]

George died in 1890 at 65 years old, allegedly due to the lung illness he caught during his Civil War service.[8] Mary lived on the farm until she sold the property in 1902.[9] She died in 1909 at 80.[10] Someday, If I take another road trip to Neosho, I’ll have knock on the door of that house and introduce myself.

[1]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 2 September 2017), memorial 25889585, Sgt. George Washington Baty (1825-1890), Earlton Cemetery, Earlton, Neosho County, Kansas; gravestone photograph by TiogaRose.

[2]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 2 September 2017), memorial 25855648, Mary Elizabeth Elliott Baty (1829-1909), Earlton Cemetery, Earlton, Neosho County, Kansas; gravestone photograph by TiogaRose.

[3]Effingham County, Illinois, County Clerk, Register of Marriage Licenses, vol. A-B, 1839-1877, p. 73, no. 61 (1846) Baty-Elliott; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-KS95-JW?i=41&cc=1803970&cat=267606 : accessed 17 July 2017); FHL microfilm 1,010,047, image 42 of 210. 

[4]1870 U.S. census, Lawrence County, Missouri, population schedule, Ozark Township, p. 10 (penned), dwelling 72, family 72, George W. Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll [not noted]. 1880 U.S. census, Neosho County, Kansas, population schedule, Canville Township, enumeration district (ED) 163, p. 4 (penned), dwelling 37, family 38, George Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 390.

[5]Neosho County, Kansas, Deed Book J: 614, Jacob Plyborn and wife to G.W. Baty, 17 May 1875; Office of the Register of Deeds, Erie, Kansas. 

[6]Neosho County, Kansas, Deed Book Z: 495, Henry and Catherine Ocker to George W. Baty, 8 September 1883; Office of the Register of Deeds, Erie, Kansas.

[7]1885 Kansas state census, Neosho County, population schedule, Canville township, p. 11 (penned), dwelling 53, family 57, G. W. Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing Kansas State Historical Society, 1885 Kansas State Census, microfilm reel KS1885_96.

[8]“Obituary,” Chanute Weekly Times, 20 March 1890 [page unknown; copy provided by family member without citation]. Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 2 September 2017), memorial 25889585, Sgt. George Washington Baty (1825-1890), Earlton Cemetery, Earlton, Neosho County, Kansas; gravestone photograph by TiogaRose.

[9]1895 Kansas state census, Neosho County, population schedule, Canville township, p. 12, dwelling 70, family 73, M.E. Baty; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://wwww.ancestry.com: accessed 4 May 2017); citing Kansas State Historical Society, 1895 Kansas state census, microfilm reel v115_105. Neosho County, Kansas, Deed Book 56: 537, Mary E. Baty, et al., to John Golobay, 14 November 1902; Office of the Register of Deeds, Erie, Kansas.

[10]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 2 September 2017), memorial 25855648, Mary Elizabeth Elliott Baty (1829-1909), Earlton Cemetery, Earlton, Neosho County, Kansas; gravestone photograph by TiogaRose.

Mary E. (Elliott) Baty photograph, ca. 1890; digital image, privately held by Tamara Cullison [address for private use]. Photographer was W.T. Dole/D'Ole who had a studio in Kansas City, Missouri, from approx 1888 to 1908. Helso had a studio in Ft. Scott, KS in 1890. The back of the photo says "Kansas City," but Ft. Scott much closer to where Mary lived in Neosho Co., KS. Dole was known for painting his photographs.

Week 17: At Worship #52Ancestors

As the daughter of a long-line of Roman Catholics, I am grateful for the church’s meticulous record keeping showing the baptisms, marriages, and (sometimes) deaths of my ancestors.[1] Yet it wasn’t until recent years that the Catholic Church itself started publishing records. The early publication of church records belongs to another church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’ve mentioned their free website as it is one of my most favorite resources: www.familysearch.org. FamilySearch says they have the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world and I believe it!

FamilySearch was founded in 1894 as the Genealogical Society of Utah. Their website says they have more than 3.5 billion images on microfilm, microfiche, and digital media. They have collected records from over 100 countries and currently have over 200 scanners and cameras distributed around the world copying genealogical and historical documents. No matter where you are from, they probably have your ancestor’s records![2]

So, why do they do this? If you look at their FAQ, here’s what they say: “FamilySearch gathers records for genealogical purposes, providing family history resources to those who are searching their ancestry.” But, I don’t think that tells the whole story. While I’ll be brief, I want to be sure to provide you with a clear understanding of this aspect of their faith, so I’ll be quoting directly from their website.[3]

Mormons believe that baptism in their faith is required to enter heaven and that everyone, even the millions of people that lived before the faith was established, must have the opportunity to receive this sacrament of salvation. Therefore, Mormons are called to research their own ancestors in order to request “proxy baptisms” for them. Mormons believe that all those that have died “continue to exist in the afterlife as conscious spirits with the capacity to learn, exercise faith, and make choices pertaining to their personal salvation.” They state that does not mean that the deceased is automatically a Mormon when baptized, but that they can accept the Mormon faith if they choose. 

You can agree or disagree with Mormonism (or any other faith for that matter) but one thing that you can’t argue with is the incredible generosity of the Latter-day Saints sharing the documents they have gathered for all to use and all for free. 

I can’t even begin to recount the numerous records, especially church records, I have found via the FamilySearch website. Many are not indexed, but if you are willing to spend the time, you can find a wealth of information. A perfect example is from just this past weekend where I found a record naming two of my 3-times great-grandparents! [Insert happy dance.]

I’ve written in this blog a couple of times about my 2nd great-grandparents who came from Germany under one name and changed their name almost immediately upon arriving in the U.S. But I never could figure out who were the parents of my 2nd great-grandfather, Joseph Glaeschen/Glacy. I thought it was odd that the church’s marriage register showed Joseph’s wife’s parents, but not his. As I looked at the document more closely, I realized that this was Joseph’s SECOND marriage. He’d been married before to a woman named Barbara Treaten (or something close to that as it is spelled at least 3 different ways in the records I have). Well, I’ll be switched! I went on to find the record of this first marriage and there were his parents: John Glässgen and Barbara Masser. Whoopie!

Unfortunately, FamilySearch has not yet finished digitizing the records from this diocese, but once they do, I will have more information on John and Barbara Glässgen.

What I can tell you now is that Joseph was their legitimate son (thank you to the good father for mentioning that!) and that they came from a small village in Bavaria called Wernersberg.

Wernersberg is now a “municipality” in Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, not far from the French border.[4] The town is called “Cuckoo’s Nest” by the locals (I haven’t figured out why). It is located in the middle of the Palatinate Forest and has about 1,100 inhabitants.[5] The Office of Tourism website shows a darling village of red-tiled half-timbered houses and amazing views of the surrounding forest. The town has an annual celebration the second weekend in May called “Cuckoo-goerwe.” I don’t know what that is but someday, I’m gonna go!

From 1798 to 1814, Wernersberg was a part of the French Republic and then the Napoleonic Empire, putting some credibility back on my grandmother who always said we were French.[6] Wernersberg had a Catholic church whose name, amazingly enough may have been St. Cäcilia (Cecelia)! However, I don’t think the church building exists anymore (I’ll have to check that out when I get there!).

 My ancestors did not get married in Wernersberg. I haven’t yet figured out exactly why, but I suspect that, as in other places in the world I have researched, one got married at the largest church around and your small village church was used for mass and maybe baptisms. Anyway, John and Barbara were married in the larger “city” of Annweiler (about 7,000 inhabitants). Back then, there was only one Catholic church, but as far as I can tell, the original church building no longer exists. The current Catholic church, St Josef’s, was built in 1866-68. 

I have barely dipped my toe into exploring this family. I can tell you it is going to take a lot of learning on my part to research them effectively. I am hampered by not being able to read “High German” (or ANY German for that matter), but I know there are plentiful resources available. If my goal is to visit there (in 2021-22?), I have to take the time, take the courses, and LEARN about German genealogy! Wünsch mir glück![7]

[1]Because burial is not a Catholic sacrament, records for burials can be sparse. 

[2]FamilySearch, “Archives,” (https://www.familysearch.org/records/archives/web/: accessed 29 April 2019). 

[3]The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newsroom, “Background Explanation of Temple Baptism” (https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/background-explanation-of-temple-baptism: accessed 29 April 2019). Click on this link to read more.

[4]Wikipedia(http://wikipedia.org), “Wernersberg,” rev. 06:48, 20 January 2017. 

[5]Pfalz-info, “Wernersberg in the Palatinate” (https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.pfalz-info.com/wernersberg-essen-trinken-uebernachten/&prev=search: accessed 29 April 2019). 

[6]Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernersberg), “Wernersberg,” rev. 16:31, 23 January 2019 [in German]. 

[7]If Google Translate is correct, this means “Wish me luck!”

St. Josef’s Church, Annweiler. Wikimedia Commons, Immanuel Giel, photographer (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Annweiler_katholische_Kirche.JPG). The photographer has released this work into the public domain. Attribution to him is not legally required, but the right thing to do.

Coat of arms for Wernersberg in the Pfalz, “Wernersberg in the Palatinate” (https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.pfalz-info.com/wernersberg-essen-trinken-uebernachten/&prev=search: accessed 29 April 2019).

Week 16 "Out of Place" #52Ancestors

This week’s prompt is “Out of Place.” Amy Johnson Crow (the leader of this project) asks: “Have you found an ancestor in an unexpected place or in an unexpected set of records? Maybe an ancestor who seemed out of place with the rest of the family?”

 Both my husband and I have a traditional “Melting Pot” of European ancestors: Irish, German, and English. Mine all came to the U.S. in the mid-1800’s; most of his came about the same time, with the exception of a line that goes back to the late 1600’s in Maryland and Virginia. 

 All and all, a fairly common-place immigrant story. 

Yet, I do find one ancestor who may have felt “out of place” at some point in her life.

 My great-grandmother, Carolina Neidhart, was born on 18 December 1869 in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden, a state within the German Empire (now the modern Federal State of Baden-Württemberg).[1] I think she arrived in New York on 26 September 1885, when she was almost 16.[2] She appears to have traveled alone, but I haven’t ruled out that a fellow passenger might have been a friend or relative. 

When she married my great-grandfather, Charles Maier, she identified her mother as “Crescentia Neidhart.”[3] However, a line is drawn on the Marriage Return where her father’s name should have been written. It’s a little odd that she wouldn’t have list her father on the marriage record. As a genealogist, I am happy to have her mother’s name, but assume that it is not a mistake or an oversight that caused her father’s name not to be disclosed. 

As I continued to research Carolina, I found her baptismal record and discovered the possible reason that her father’s name was not given: she was illegitimate. Her baptismal record specifically (and in Latin) identifies Carolina as the illegitimate daughter of “Creszenzia Neidhart.” Cresznenzia was noted as the “legitimate” daughter of Ignaz Neidhart and Maria Anna Gölz [a little “yay” for the names of two more ancestors!]. Her father was not named. Does that explain the absence of her father’s name on the marriage record? Did she not know him? 

It turns out that Carolina was the youngest of four children born to Creszenzia from 1859 to 1869 and ALL of them were illegitimate.[4]

Wait.

What?

What was Creszenzia’ profession anyway?

While I am still working on this family, this particular circumstance can be partially explained by the power structures that existed in Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. The poor in Germany did not have the freedom to marry whomever they wished. The nobility, community councils, and the church all had say over whether or not you could marry the love of your life. Generally speaking, in order to get permission to marry, the groom had to produce evidence that he had wealth, property, or stable employment. These laws were put in place to ensure that you and your family wouldn’t become a burden on the state. Baden had some of the most restrictive marriage laws in Germany. However, most of these laws were repealed by 1870, partially due to the high rate of illegitimacy caused by these restrictive laws.[5]

Well, no kidding. Did they really think that not letting people get married would stop them from having sex?

 Here’s what I think: It is likely that my great-great-grandparents couldn’t get permission to marry, but they lived together as husband and wife and had at least four children. The vicar of the church where the children were baptized did his “duty” by noting the illegitimacy of the children and by NOT naming the father.

Not so “out of place” for Germany at that time, but probably by the time my great-grandparents married in a Catholic church in New Jersey in 1890, she might have wanted to hide her illegitimacy. 

[1]Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.com), “Baden,” rev. 18:37, 19 April 2019.

[2]There is a “Carol Neidhard” listed on the manifest for a ship that left Bremen, Germany, for New York in 1885. She was a 16-year-old female servant, born in Germany in 1869. I am pretty sure this was my great-grandmother because 1885 was noted as her immigration year in the 1920 US census and I have found no other female with the same/similar name and age on any other manifest. However, without more evidence, this is not to be taken as a confirmed “fact.” Manifest, SS Neckar, arriving 26 September 1885, p. 10, line 19, Carol Neidhard; imaged as “New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 April 2019), image 271 of 1,068; citing National Archives microfilm publication M237, roll 490. 1920 U.S. Census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, Newark, Ward 9, enumeration district 188, sheet 11B (penned), dwelling 101, family 280, Caroline Maier; Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 April 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publicationT625, roll 1033. 

[3]State of New Jersey, Marriage Return, no. M-114, Maier-Neidhart (1890); New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, Trenton.

[4]All of the baptismal records for children born to Crezenzia Neidhart, the daughter of Ignaz and Maria Anna (Gölz) Neidhart, were noted to be illegitimate and the father was never named.

[5]John Knodel, Law, “Marriage and Illegitimacy in Nineteenth-Century Germany,” Population Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (March 1967), pp. 279-294; image, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2172673: accessed 22 April 2019).

Great-grandmother, Carolina (Neidhart) Maier Raether with Mary Regina Maier (my mom) and Charles P. Maier, Jr. (my grandfather)

Week 15: DNA #52Ancestors

Today I “get” to write about DNA. Ever since I completely failed that unit in Mrs. Hershey’s biology class at Columbia High School (#gocougars), I break out in cold sweats when I think about DNA. It makes my brain hurt. Talk about a “brick-wall.”  

“Back in the day,” many genealogists would scoff at the usefulness of DNA testing. However, in recent years, the field of genealogy has leapt upon DNA testing with both feet. Testing companies have grown both in sophistication and through aggressive marketing. Frankly that’s not a bad thing. DNA is one of those things where “the more the merrier” rule truly applies.  As I understand it, the more people who take a DNA test, the bigger the database is and, the bigger the database is, the more refined the results can be. As of today, Ancestry.com has a database of about 15 million users. 23andMe.com is the next closest with 10 million users.[1] The current price for an Autosomal DNA test for Ancestry and 23andMe is about $99. BUT, Thursday, April 25 is “National DNA Day,” so you can expect some discounts around that time. If you are thinking of doing a test, this might be the perfect time!

I think I’ve mentioned before what a big fan I am of Ancestry.com. Yes, yes, I know it is expensive and some people think they are a big bully, but I think there is nowhere else on the internet where you can get a bigger bang for your buck. In addition to the biggest DNA database, Ancestry has a huge database of records, tons of collaborative members, and great learning tools.[2]

So, there’s a cool brand-new tool on Ancestry to help DNA-challenged people like me. It’s called ThruLines™. It provides a way to look at your Ancestry matches through the family trees you and others have on Ancestry. Just this morning (Monday, 15 April 2019) I am looking at 3rdand 4thcousins I didn’t know I had! Because our shared segments of DNA (called centimorgans or cM) are so small, I would have likely not paid any attention to them as a possible “match.” However, because they have their family trees on Ancestry, I can see exactly how “Karen,” my 4th cousin relates to me through our shared 3rd great-grandfather.

[Sorry, have to take a little break here to do a happy dance.] 

Yes, I am this big a genealogy nerd (as if you haven’t figured that out already).

Be grateful that I am such a DNA neophyte, or I would bore the living daylights out of you (okay, I might do that already). I’ll just share just one screen-shot of what one of my ThruLines™ looks like. This one relates to my 2ndgreat-grandfather, Joseph Glaeschen/Glacy (he of week 9). This one has me super-excited as I just recently found records relating to my 2nd great-aunt, Philippina Glaeshen/Glacy. Now I have honest-to-goodness flesh-and-blood cousins to go with my paper research! Awesome!

[1]“Autosomal DNA Test Prices (as of 8 April 2019),” TheDNAGeek.com (https://thednageek.com/dna-tests/: accessed 15 April 2019).

[2]I don’t want to leave out my other favorite research site, which is FREE – www.familysearch.org. Run by the Latter-day Saints, it has a massive collection of records, many of which can be found nowhere else on the internet.

Week 14: Brick-walls #52Ancestors

For those of you reading this who are not into genealogy, a “brick-wall” is that person in your family tree who you’ve researched until the cows come home, but still cannot find and document their roots. You can’t find when they were born. You can’t where they were born. You can’t find who their parents were. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. 

 Everyone has brick-walls in their family trees. Many times, it’s where that person lived so long ago that the normal go-to records do not exist. I’ve got tons of those folks in my tree. However, I do have one ancestor where I really should find records on her, but have been hitting the brick-wall time and time again.

Anna Marie (nee Miller) Glacy was my great-grandmother (wife of Joseph from last week’s post). She was likely born in New York in 1849 of maybe German parents (maybe Frank and Annie). She died in 1887 at 37 of “asthenia exhaustion” with “pulmonary phthisis”; essentially, fatigue, weakness and asthenia caused by tuberculosis. Her death certificate provided her age and her parent’s names, but it doesn’t show who provided that information so I do not know how accurate it is.[1]

I have birth certificates for a couple of her ten children and in two she is identified as Anna “Müller.” Miller or Müller? Close enough not to fuss over and perhaps a clue as to the accuracy of her German parentage. 

I haven’t yet been able to find her marriage certificate, even though it should be in several databases. A cousin says they were married in 1867 but my grandmother thought they were married in 1868. Either way, I still can’t find a thing. I have found where two of her sisters-in-law were married a couple of years earlier at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Manhattan, but Annie and Joseph were alleged to have been married in Brooklyn.[2]

My grandmother claimed that her mother-in-law’s last name was actually “Lottrell.” My grandmother was largely inaccurate when it came to retelling her husband’s family lore. Quite literally, none of the stories she told my dad and aunt about that side of the family have turned out to be true. That’s not too surprising since my grandmother didn’t seem to have much contact with the Glacy side of the family after her husband died in 1927 (when my dad was 5 and my aunt was 1).

However, since I had come up blank on searching for Miller/Muller I thought I’d give “Lottrell” a try. It turns out that the Glacy family did live next to a George and Mary Latrell in Brooklyn in 1880.[3] And, both George and Mary were born in Germany. Further, George and Mary were the baptismal sponsors for one of Joseph and Anna’s children in 1882.[4] That makes me think, maybe grandma wasn’t all that wrong. Maybe they ARE related. So, down, down, down I go – deep into the records. Nothing. Maybe they were just good friends and neighbors and by the time Anna and Joseph needed sponsors for their ninth child, they’d run out of family members and asked a neighbor? That’s my guess for now.

So, what do I do now? Well, for starters, I never give up! Here’s some good advice I have learned over the years when dealing with a brick-wall (the genealogy kind or others):

·     Re-examine EVERYTHING.

·     Search ALL available sources, not just typical birth, marriage, death records.

·     Keep a good research log.

·     Plan, plan, plan,

·     Keep flexible.

And, I’ll say it again, NEVER GIVE UP! 

[1]New York, New York City Department of Health, Certificate of Death no. 594288, Annie Glacy, 1887; Municipal Archives, New York City.

[2]Most Holy Redeemer Parish (New York, NY), Parish Register, p. 118, Mossner-Glasgen marriage (1865); image, Findmypast, "New York Roman Catholic Parish Marriages," (http://www.findmypast.com : accessed 6 Dec 2018).

[3]1880 U.S. census, Kings County, New York, population schedule, Brooklyn, enumeration district (ED) 249, p. 149 (stamped), p. 17 (penned), dwelling 112, family 151, Joseph Glacy; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 8 April 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 856).  

[4]St Nicholas Parish, Manhattan, New York, unpaginated , Maria Anna Glaese, 8 Aug 1882; digital image, "New York Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms," Findmypast (https://www.findmypast.com: accessed 4 February 2019). 

Anna Marie (Miller/Muller) Glacy [picture courtesy of my cousin Kathleen].

Week 13: “In the News” #52Ancestors

This week we were to write about using newspapers in our family research. In last week’s blog I mentioned Chronicling America, that great (free) website at the Library of Congress containing (as of today) 14,932,463 available pages. One cool thing Chronicling America does is highlight 2-3 papers from 100 years ago every day. For instance, today Chronicling America features The Washington Herald of April 1, 1919. The front page of that paper includes stories on the deadlocked peace negotiations and the British threat to march on Berlin “Unless Huns Sign Treaty.”[1]

 Chronicling America is not the only free newspaper site. One of my other favorites is Old Fulton New York Post Cards (www.futonhistory.com). This website is run single-handedly by Thomas Tryniski who started out digitizing old postcards. It is now the largest free online collection of New York newspapers. Tryniski’s collection includes papers published from 1795 thru 2007 with data added every Sunday night (!!!). While his concentration is with New York papers, Tryniski has added papers from other states and Canada. I find it a little wonky but have located some really great stuff on there.

 The last website I’ll mention today (before I get on to my Ancestor “In the News) is The Ancestor Hunt (www.theancestorhunt.com). This is not a website of newspaper pages themselves, but it provides links to U.S. historical newspapers. The cool thing about this website is that you can sign up to be notified when links are updated with newly digitized papers and pages. As of today, this website has over 27,210 free links to historical American newspapers. Can’t beat that for service!

Okay, okay, enough with the dorky genealogy stuff.

When I was in the early stages of my family tree research (1998 to be precise), my oldest brother forwarded to me an email from someone looking to make a connection. The woman who contacted him had stumbled across my brother’s name when she did an internet email-name search on “Glacy.” She introduced herself as a potential cousin (maiden name Glacy) and wondered if we were related to a Joseph Glacy. I was thrilled to work with her and we exchanged some emails to determine if and how we were related. As I mentioned, this was pretty early in my genealogy life, so I wasn’t making any head-way with the information she had. Then she asked: “Do you know if your great grandfather happened to have committed suicide by shooting himself?”

Ah, what?

My first response was “no.” Surely my dad or grandmother would have mentioned something like that so it couldn’t be MY Joseph Glacy we were talking about. My dad was alive then and I asked him about this. His answer was also “no.” 

My potential cousin then sent me newspaper article on his death and, of course, her Joseph Glacy was, in fact, my great-grandfather. There it was, in black and white, “Aged Man Takes Life While Alone in Home.”[2] So how did I confirm that this man was my great-grandfather? The article goes on to explain that my very own grandmother found his body. And she never thought to mention this to anyone? Ever? I am sure that this was a gruesome scene, so I guess I can’t blame her for not mentioning it, but still….

That one article connected me with my cousin (no longer a “potential cousin”) and I have very much enjoyed getting to know her and work with her on our family’s history. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting her or her family on Long Island, but I hope to someday soon. In the meantime, we are friends on Facebook and share our lives that way. 

Did I mention how much I love old newspapers?

[1] Fred S. Ferguson, “Slow Work of Big Four Halts Pact, The Washington (D.C.) Herald, 1 April 1919, p. 1, col. 1-2; image, Chronicling America (https://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov: accessed 1 April 2019).

[2] Thankfully, my cousin sent me a copy of this article because I have not yet found it online.

Joseph Glacy (1844-1917) Joseph was 6 months old when he and his family came to the U.S. See Week 3 for part of their story. Also, if you know my brothers, they look just like him!

Week 12: 12 #52Ancestors

This week’s prompt had me a little stumped. “Twelve.” That was it. We could write about whatever we wanted related to “12.” Yes, okay, this is our twelfth week, but maybe a little more help than that would be great. Something like: twelve children, the twelfth month, twelve whatevers.

My husband came to the rescue with a suggestion: how about the 12th day, like in our son’s birthday. Of course. A nice little story that I’d like to share.

Our son was about 4-5 weeks early when he was born on February 12, 1992. We hadn’t yet finished decorating his nursery and I still had a boat-load of work on my desk. But when the baby gotta come, the baby gotta come!

We had told the family that since the baby was going to be a boy, we were naming him Connor, after my mother’s favorite cousin Connor Owen. My mother-in-law was perplexed by this and (seriously) asked my husband if that was going to really be his first name. My husband (not one to miss an opportunity to punk his mom) responded, “Why no, mom, we’re changing our last name to Connor.” She was not amused.

After he was born, my mother-in-law suggested that since our son was born on her father’s birth date, we name him Richard. Hmmmm. Not a fan of that name (no disrespect to all the Richards, Ricks, and Dicks out there). She suggested Richard as a middle name. Sorry, no; already decided to name him after my husband’s father (and her deceased husband).

 So that’s the way it was. No big deal. But then I start to do this “genealogy” stuff. And lo and behold, not only was our son born on his great-grandfather’s birthday, but on his 100th birthday. Okay, I think that would have changed things and we’d have had a Richard and not a Connor. 

Our son’s great-grandfather, Richard Mills, has been seen in my blog before – he is the little toddler sitting on his mother’s lap in Otoe, Oklahoma, Week 8. Richard was born on February 12, 1892, in Wichita, Kansas, but lived most of his life in Monett, Barry County, Missouri.[1] One of the great things about Monett was that they had a great little daily paper that published articles on the life of the town-folk. So wonderful to put some “meat” on the dry bones of family research. I found stories about parties Dick attended as a kid, picnics and train trips he went on, camping trips with his buddies and their sweethearts (scandalous!), church happenings, and on and on. All courtesy of a great on-line source for digital newspapers, Chronicling America (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov).

 An aside: Chronicling America is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress. As of today, 2,821 newspapers are available for viewing on the site, with entries dated from 1789 to 1963. The website also publishes a directory of newspapers published in the U.S. since 1690 to the present and information on how to access papers that have not been digitized. A truly great website that is invaluable for any family historian.

 Back to my topic – Richard Mills. One of the more fascinating Dick Mills stories from the Monett Times happened in 1909, when he was 17. Dick and his girlfriend, Maude Gibbons, were returning home from a nearby town with another couple. One of them was driving a two-horse carriage when they tried to cross an unfamiliar ford. Regrettably, they drove the carriage into a 15-foot hole and they were all swept down-stream. The boys were able to rescue the girls and one of the horses, but the rig was damaged and the other horse was killed.[2] Yikes! The Monett Times story was titled “Narrow Escape.” I should say so.

Like many members of my husband’s family, Dick worked for the Frisco Railroad. He had a variety of jobs with the Frisco, including freight clerk, baggage “master,” yard office “clerk,” and “yard master.”[3] He and his girlfriend Maude (from the story) were married on June 18, 1915. They had three children, all girls, including my mother-in-law. Dick died in Monett in 1971 and Maude followed in 1978. [4]

A last bit on the topic: I mentioned that our son was named after my mom’s favorite cousin. Darned if I didn’t find another bit of genealogical serendipity regarding his name. Again, it’s not until I am deep into genealogical research when I discover that my mom’s cousin was named for his great-grandfather, Conner McGann, who is my Connor’s third great-grandfather.[5] “Connor” is actually a nick-name for Cornelius - thank goodness that name didn’t come up when Connor was born (again, apologies to anyone so-named). 

[1]“U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014), card for Richard Mills, Ward 1, Monett, Missouri; United States, Selective Service System, “World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” National Archives microfilm publication M1509, roll 1683091. 

[2]“A Narrow Escape,” The Monett (Missouri) Times, 9 July 1909, p. 3, col. 3; image, Chronicling America (https://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 9 June 2015).

[3]1910 U.S. census, Barry County, Missouri, population schedule, Monett City, sheet 6B, enumeration district (ED) 4, dwelling 209, family 215, William J. Mills; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014); citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 767. 1920 U.S. census, Barry County, Missouri, population schedule, Monett City, sheet 6B, enumeration district (ED) 5 dwelling 147, family 178, Richard Mills; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014); citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 904. 1930 U.S. census, Barry County, Missouri, population schedule, Monett City, sheet 8A, enumeration district (ED) 6-16, dwelling 190, family 205, Richard Mills; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014); citing National Archives microfilm publication T626, roll not noted. 1930 U.S. census, Barry County, Missouri, population schedule, Monett City, p. 9B (penned), enumeration district (ED) 4, dwelling 209, family 215, William J. Mills; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014); citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 767. 1940 U.S. census, Barry County, Missouri, population schedule, Monett City, sheet 1B, enumeration district (ED) 5-20, line number 78, Richard Mills; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2014); citing National Archives microfilm publication T627, roll 2083.

[4]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 1/April 2015), memorials 57857237 and 57857263, Richard Mills and Maud J. Gibbons Mills, Monett IOOF Cemetery, Monett, Lawrence County, Missouri. 

[5]Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 1/April 2015), memorial 110784646, Cornelius Conner McGann, St. Joseph New Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio.

Richard Mills

Maude Jane (Gibbons) Mills

Vintage Postcard of Monett, Missouri, mygenealogyhound.com.

Week 11: "Large Family" #52Ancestors

This week’s prompt was an easy one for me: the largest family I have in my tree is the Quinlan-Fitzgibbon family: thirteen children! [1] 

 John J. Quinlan was my husband’s 2nd great-grandfather and one of the few of Irish in our tree whose parentage and birthplace are known. We’ve even discovered his family in the 1851 Irish census despite the fact that most of the pre-1901 Irish census records were burned in the infamous Four Courts fire of 1922.[2]

While we haven’t yet determined exactly when John came to the US, we know he was in Illinois in 1860 and that he served in the Civil War in the 104th Illinois Infantry. [3] In 1864, John married sixteen-year-old Catherine Fitzgibbon (yet another child-bride on my husband’s side of the family).[4] Catherine was born in Fall River, Massachusetts to Irish parents, but moved with her family to Illinois when she was about eight.[5]

 John and Catherine had their first child, my husband’s great-grandmother Mary, in 1866 and proceeded to have twelve more children over the next 33 years. YIKES! I guess because she started young, Catherine was “only” 45 when their youngest child was born. This is an amazing level of fecundity. Most of the children survived into adulthood and only five pre-deceased their mother who died in 1927.[6]

 Like their father, most of the sons grew up to work for a railroad and two died from tragic railroad accidents.[7] The daughters mostly grew up to be wives and homemakers. The exception was the youngest daughter, Ellen (“Nell”) Quinlan. And, boy, was she an exception.

Nell left the family home in rural Labette County, Kansas, to go to Kansas City when she was only 16. She married her first husband, Paul Donnelly, a year after moving to KC, but apparently on the condition that she be allowed to attend college.[8] In 1909, Nell graduated from Lindenwood College (now Lindenwood University) in St. Charles, Missouri, with her degree in Domestic Science and Housekeeping.[9]

Nell’s real claim to fame was the dress-making company she and Paul founded: the Donnelly Garment Company. Talk about the quintessential rags-to-riches story! Nell started out making dresses at home and by 1931 her company had sales of $3.5 million and over 1,000 employees.[10] By 1953, her company was the largest manufacturer of women’s clothing in the world.[11] Nell died in 1991 at 102 years old, surviving all her twelve siblings by more than 32 years. 

 Nell’s life was not only one of being a successful business woman, but also one with a potential career-killing scandal involving a forbidden romance, a love-child that was not her husband’s, and a kidnapping that made the newspapers across the U.S. For more on Nell’s incredible story, check out www.nellydon.com and, if you are in the Kansas City area, a musical based on her life story is currently playing at the MTH Theater in Crown Center through the end of March (tickets are available through the above website). Local KC actress Ashley Pankow stars as Nell.

[1] I suspect that there might have been other children who died in early infancy.

[2] Josephine Masterson, County Cork, Ireland, a Collection of 1851 Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001); image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 17 March 2019).

[3] “Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934,” images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 March 2019), John Quinlan and Kate Quinlan (Co. I, 104thIll. Inf.) imaged index card; citing Records of the Department of Veteran affairs, 1773-2007, Record Group Number: 15, Series Title: U.S., Civil War Pension Index, General Index to Pension Files, T288 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives [n.d.]), no roll number cited.

[4] Illinois, Marshall County, marriage license, John Quinlan-Kate Fitzibbons (1864); copy obtained by author on 8 April 2017 from Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD), Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.

[5] 1850 U.S. Census, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Fall River township, p. 108B (stamped), dwelling 1039, family 1760, Catherine Fitzgibbon in household of John Fitzgibbon; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 March 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 308. 

[6] Kansas State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, death certificate #250 3101 (1928), Kate Quinlan; Office of Vital Statistics, Topeka, Kansas; copy in possession of author.

[7] “Jno. J. Quinlan, obituary, Parsons (Kansas) Daily Sun, 29 January 1921, p. 8, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 August 2015). “Fearful Death in Katy Wreck: J.M. Quinlan, Brakeman on an Extra Freight, Cremated in a Wreck in the Katy Yards at Muskogee Last Night,” The Parsons (Kansas) Daily Sun, 10 February 1909, p. 1, col. 1-4; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 4 August 2014).

 [8] “Quinlan-Donnelly,”Parsons (Kansas) Daily Sun, 20 June 1906, p. 1, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 August 2015).

[9] Lindenwood College, Lindenleaves, 1909, vol. 3 (St. Charles, Missouri: Published by the Students of Lindenwood College); images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 August 2015). I am sure you will be gratified to learn that Lindenwood no longer has such a course of study. In addition to standard STEM course, Business and Pre-whatevermedicalyoucanthinkof, Lindenwood offers a BA in “Game Design,” a BS in “Fashion Business and Entrepreneurship,” and a degree in Musical Theatre. 

[10] Kimberly Harper, “Nell Donnelly Reed (1889-1991),” “Historic Missourians,” The State Historical Society of Missouri (https://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/r/reed/index.html : accessed 18 March 2019). 

[11] Ibid.

Nell Quinlan Donnelly Reed from her 1909 yearbook. Lindenwood College, Lindenleaves, 1909, vol. 3 (St. Charles, Missouri: Published by the Students of Lindenwood College); images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 August 2015), image 22.

John J. and Catherine (Fitzgibbon) Quinlan [I think she looks pretty damn good for having had 13 children!]

Week 10: "The Bachelor Uncle" #52Ancestors

My favorite “bachelor uncle” is my own uncle, Charles Peter Maier. Or, “Uncle Charlie,” as we kids all called him. Through my research, I learned that Charlie was the fourth Charles Peter Maier in the family. My great-grandfather was the first Charles Peter and his first son was named after him. However, this Charles Peter died in 1892 of diphtheria at the age of 20 months. I didn’t even discover this baby’s existence until last year when I was going research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I was reviewing the digital files from Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (East Orange, NJ) for all of the Maiers buried there when I came across his burial card. I’d been to that cemetery a couple of years earlier but didn’t see headstone for this little baby. The more I thought about it, I’d not seen the headstone for his father either! The burial card explains that they were buried in the same plot. I am not sure why there is no headstone, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that my great-grandfather was likely living with a woman who was not my great-grandmother when he died (yikes, yet another mystery to unravel).

After this little baby died, my great grand-parents did what many people did back in the day, which was to give their next son the exact same name. Since I have seen this kind of thing before, it didn’t surprise me. But that’s how my uncle was the fourth Charles Peter Maier, although not Charles Peter Maier, IV. 

 Uncle Charlie was born 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, three years younger than my mom. Charlie graduated from Seton Hall Prep in 1944, having played varsity football and baseball his senior year.[1] He enlisted in the US Navy after high school and served aboard the USS Oregon City. The Oregon City was a heavy cruiser, launched into service in 1945. She was only in service for less than two years and never saw action during the war, instead sailing to Guantanamo Bay several times.[2] I always thought Charlie served in the Pacific since many of his war-time pictures showed him on an island with palm trees. It wasn’t until I searched on Ancestry.com and found he was really in Guantanamo Bay. As you can see from the photo below, he was one handsome sailor!

 I don’t know what Uncle Charlie did right after the war, but he ultimately enrolled in Immaculate Conception Seminary and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1954. The seminary was and is part of Seton Hall University (my alma mater). 

 By 1964, Charlie was the curate at St. Patrick’s Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, a beautiful “Gothic Revival” church built in 1858. Because he lived close to our family, especially his mother, I well remember Sunday dinners at my Nana’s house with her wonderful food (she was a great cook) and our funny uncle to play with. He was soft-hearted and always had a big smile. He played the guitar and the organ and, while I don’t remember any of the songs he played, I remember how lovely it was to hear. I also have a memory of the sweet-smelling tobacco from his pipe. 

 Uncle Charlie was also that brave bachelor uncle who didn’t mind taking care of his nieces and nephews. My grandmother would pack up lunch (always tuna sandwiches, green grapes and pink lemonade) we’d pile into the back seat of his black sedan and head to the shore. Charlie thought it was super fun to show us how he could drive the car with only his knees and we were duly impressed. Another vivid memory I have of our lunch on the beach was the sand that always found its way into our sandwiches. I can almost feel the grit in my teeth now. 

Charlie was also an outdoorsy kind of guy. He took up skiing early on when you simply buckled your skis to whatever boots you were wearing. He always seemed to be going on some big adventure somewhere. Sadly, he left us far too soon. He died in Vermont on August 21, 1964, when the glider he was piloting crashed in a field near Montpelier. Our family was shaken to its core by his death. My grandmother never got over it; every year on the anniversary of his death, she would go to morning mass and then spend the rest of the day at home with the shades drawn, crying. One of us grandkids would be assigned to spend the day with her and I remember how inconsolable she was. As a mother myself, I can’t say I blame her reaction.

I am happy to share the story of this “bachelor uncle”; I remember him so fondly and with much love. 

[1]“The Tower, 1944,” Seton Hall Prep, p. 36; digital image, “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012,” Ancestry (https://ancestry.com: accessed 5 March 2018), image 40.

[2]“USS Oregon City,” Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org), rev. 22:57, 17 July 2018.

Charlie and my mom

A very handsome sailor!

Love the cigarette

Me and Uncle Charlie at my Nana’s house