Gaisford Middleton Marriage Record

The essential wording from this document:

Application for License dated December 31, 1908, signed by C. C. Boyle, County Judge

William F. Gaisford, 23 years old, a resident of Jefferson County, Nebraska where he was born, son of Charles Gaisford and Henrietta Smith

Ethel F. Middleton, 18 years old, a resident of Jefferson County, Nebraska, birth place unknown, daughter of Isaac Middleton and Clara Garner

Marriage License dated December 31, 1908, signed by C. C. Boyle, County Judge

Marriage Certificate, dated December 31, 1908, signed by C. C. Boyle, County Judge

At Fairbury, on the 31st of December, 1908, in the presence of Frank Amos and Gladys Gaisford

On September 8, 1909, Frank Amos married Gladys Gaisford.  Charles & Henrietta Gaisford are my Second Great Grandparents.

William & Ethel were married just over 44 years, until William's death in March of 1953.  I have 4 children for them, Faye, Ruth, Floyd and Mildred.  William & Ethel are buried in Prairie Home Cemetery, Diller, Nebraska.

My DAR line to Patriot Asa Corbin

Last year, I became a member of the prestigious American organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution, or "D.A.R.".  I gained entry by proving my direct line to one of my Dad’s Dad’s ancestors who fought in the War.  That ancestor was Asa Corbin, and other women before me had already proven the lineage between Asa and my Third Great Grandfather, David A Roscoe.  All I needed was to provide documentation in the form of birth certificates, marriage certificates and death records if applicable, to prove the relation of each generation from me back to David.  Now future descendants of each individual along the line only need to connect themselves to the individual in the line they connect with.  All female descendants of my Dad and his siblings, my Grandpa and any of his siblings, and so on would be eligible to join DAR through our mutual Patriot ancestor, Asa Corbin.  From my Great Grandmother back, here is the rest of my direct line.

Charlotte I. Roscoe (1887-1975):  married to Charles Albert Menke in 1906.  Their children:  Harold, Lawrence, Willis, Cecil, Elsie, Raymond, Kenneth, Irene, Lorna, Robert, Clarence, Rosie, Gracie.  Robert died young and Lawrence didn't have children.

William Harlow Roscoe (1859-1947): married to Lena Jorgenson in 1882.  Their children:  Laura (1883-1980), Cleveland (1885-1961), Charlotte, Frank Edward (1889-1923), Charles (1891-1914), Oliver Bert (1895-1919), David Harlow (1897-1948), Cecil (1900-1906).  Only Laura, Charlotte and possibly Frank had any children. 

David A. Roscoe (1823-1884):  married Mary Fero in 1854.  Their children:  Nancy (1855-1913), Martha (1857-1875), William Harlow, Sherman (1862-1948), George (1864-1952), Franklin Abraham (1866-1951), Ervin (1868-1886), Bertruss (1870-1957), Edward (1874-1929), Charles Dole (1876-1962).  Ervin and Martha died young, I don't believe Franklin had any children.  


Nancy Corbin (1784-1872): married Russell Roscoe about 1815.  Their children:  William Harlow (1816-1847), Sherman (1818-1852), Almyra (1820-1857), David A., Daniel Ward (1826-?).  Nancy would have been what is termed a "Real Daughter", being the daughter of the Patriot, but the DAR was not organized before her death.

Patriot Asa Corbin (1742-1808): married Mercy Harlow in 1778.  Their children:  Sarah (1779-?), Darius (1780-1849), John (1782-1862), Nancy, Lois (1786-1857), Hamlin (1788-1851), Martha (1790-1790), James (1791-?), Polly (1793-1795), Sophia (1796-1825), William Harlow (1798-1868).

Any female who is a direct descendant of anyone listed here would be eligible to apply for DAR membership.  You need documentation of births, marriages and deaths through your blood line to prove your relationship to your ancestor.  Leave a comment below if you are interested in joining.   I'd be glad to help you if I can.

Friday's Faces from the Past - Noon Sisters

These two young ladies are Myrtle and Viola, the Noon sisters.  They were the oldest children of Frank & Minnie Noon.   Their four younger brothers were Fredrick Marion (1899-1983), Clifford Carl (1916-1978), Raymond W (1908-1960) and Lee (1914-1975).  All of Frank & Minnie's children were born in Kansas.  Frank (1870-1926) and Minnie (1873-1932) are now buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Ionia, Kansas. 

Raymond (1908-1960) was the only sibling who stayed in Kansas.  The others all moved away, Fred (1899-1983) and Clifford (1916-1978) moved out to Oregon, and Lee (1914-1975) to Seattle, Washington.  Myrtle (1894-1975) married William Peters and they moved to Wray, Colorado.  

Viola Esther (1895-1979) married my Grandpa's brother Oren Bell on September 7, 1919 in Kansas.  Oren was a pastor and served in Norfolk, Nebraska, Bargersville, Indiana and also Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for many years.  They are buried in Resthaven Gardens Cemetery there.

That information is all from some quick searching on this family.  I got both of these photos from my cousin Ruth Ann, who is the daughter of Virgil, another brother of Oren.  A note was included that was written to Virgil from "Arnold" that said this is "Viola Noon Bell's home, likely taken sometime in the 1920's".  I don't know who Arnold is and I'm not sure of the location of this house, either in Kansas or Norfolk, Nebraska.  That's an interesting window, maybe a stain glass piece?  There's a rocker and a small dish (for the cat?) on the porch and the screen door is wide open.  Winter trees from the yard reflect in the windows. 

I'd love to hear from anyone who is related to Viola, Myrtle or any of the Noon's.  Please leave a comment below with any corrections or additional information.

Tuesday, November 20, 1934 6:00 a.m.

Spalding-Mattingly

The wedding of Miss Elizabeth Spalding and Hamilton Mattingly, both popular young people of the Calvary section, was solemnized Tuesday morning at 6:00 o'clock at Holy Mary's Church at Calvary, the pastor, Rev. J. P. Welsh, officiating in the presence of quite a number of relatives and friends.  A Nuptial High Mass followed the ceremony.

Miss Rebecca Spalding, sister of the bride, was the bridesmaid, and Vincent Spalding was the groom's best man.The bride was attractively attired in a brown crepe dress trimmed in velvet with hat and other accessories to harmonize.  She carried an arm bouquet of pink rosebuds and ferns.

The bridesmaid wore a green crepe dress with accessories to match and carried pink rosebuds and ferns.Following the ceremony, breakfast was served at the home of the bride's parents, after which Mr. and Mrs. Mattingly left for Mount St. Joseph's Academy, Daviess County, where they visited her sister, Sister Praxedes.  They will go to housekeeping in an apartment at the home of Miss Ethel Goodin on Chandler Street in this city.

Mrs. Mattingly is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Spalding and possesses many qualities of mind and heart that have endeared her to a wide circle of friends.  She attended school at Calvary and was graduated from St. Charles High School at St. Mary.  Later she attended Campbellsville College.  For two terms she was an efficient teacher in the county schools and at one time was a nurse at Boldrick's Infirmary in this city.  

Mr. Mattingly is an energetic young man and is employed at the John A. Wathen Distillery Co.  Until a few months ago he was engaged in farming.  He is a son of Mrs. Lottie Mattingly and the late William Mattingly.

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton Mattingly

Newspaper Clippings - Giltner, Nebraska, 1921

This column of news from Giltner, Nebraska is from the Grand Island Independent, Friday, February 25, 1921.  The Grand Island Independent covers many small communities all around Grand Island.  It would be a great newspaper to have digitized. 

GILTNER

Irma Bartz came here from Phillips, for over Sunday to visit with relatives.

Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Gotheredge, have moved to Harvard where they will reside the coming year.

Mrs. J. C. Henderdeen came home from Stromsberg Thursday where she had visited with relatives.

Mr. Burnham, State Normal Inspector of Lincoln, and Miss Allen of Aurora, were at the high school Tuesday, where the former gave a lecture to the normal trainers.

O. D. Lansden and family went to Kansas Friday for a week's visit, and Mr. and Mrs. Elias Walker, are taking charge of their place during their absence.

The Goodale Bros., left Tuesday for York, after attending the reception at the church here Monday evening.

Mr. and Mrs. Pugh have returned from Omaha where they visited their daughter.

W. J. Larmore came home from Lincoln last Wednesday where he went on a business trip.

Edd Cooney came in from Overton Wednesday, where he visited relatives.

L. E. Highland returned last week, from a business trip to Montana.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Humphrey are happy over the arrival of a little daughter who came to their home last Monday.

Dorthea McKibbon was a visitor at the Bierbower home last week, She had been teaching school in Colorado, but owing to the weather conditions and sickness, the attendance was cut down so she was given a vacation at this time.

Wm. Lee and Roy Thompson last week, the former with hogs, and the latter with sheep.

The fourth number of the Lyceum course was held in the school auditorium last Saturday night.  This was considered the best number so far, it being the Orchestral entertainers. Something over six dollars was taken in at the door.

Hadley Talbert passed away last Thursday at his home near Trumbull, after a brief illness.  He was one of the old settlers of Clay county and was well and favorably known around here.

Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Gatlin moved their household goods to Grand Island last week from Bingville, after the recent fire he decided he would not rebuild.

William Sidders was transacting business in St. Paul last week.

Russell Talbot came home last week from a visit of a couple of weeks with the George Baker family at Alma.

Mrs. O. Shaw and daughter, Mrs. Hazel Balli, came home from the western part of the state Wednesday.  They had gone to visit relatives but on arriving at their destination by rail, were unable to make the trip of twenty miles across country so were obliged to return home.

Mrs. Mayme Wainwright, underwent an operation on the throat at her home on Wednesday, a physician from Aurora attending her.  She is doing nicely.

Pauline Rich went to Grand Island Monday where she received medical treatment the past week.  The grammar room and the teacher Miss Ogle, were at the train and gave her a valentine shower before she departed.

Mrs. Gilman Torgerson was a passenger to Hastings between trains Saturday.

The home economics class held a pie sale in J. A. Marvels store last Saturday afternoon.  They baked 16 pies and sold all but three.

The basket ball team and their coach, H. V. Marsh went to Clay Center Friday night and was defeated 21 to 9.  Kearney Tuesday, 20-35; Minden Wednesday, and were unlucky again with 31-11.  On Thursday night, Aurora hired the boys to play Ord at Aurora, and were again defeted 26-24.  The second team was scheduled to play Phillips Saturday afternoon but they having no inside gym, the weather was not favorable for an out-door game, so was postponed until a later date.

Mrs. Joe Talish was taken to Aurora Saturday for an X-Ray examination on her lungs.

Census Sunday: Comparing My Nebraska Farm Families in 1885

Three out of four of my Second Great Grandparents on my Dad's side were farm families in Nebraska in 1885.  How do I learn what livestock and crops they raised?  There's a census for that.


Family Search has online the actual images of the 1885 Nebraska State Agricultural census with each page full of the information for ten different farmers, including how much land, how many horses, cattle & other livestock, and what crops they raised.  Clicking on the image here will make it bigger, but still not big enough to read well.  To make it easier to compare my families, I created a spreadsheet with only the info for them.  I've added a factor for the people in the household - the ones who worked the farm.  I've given a count as to how many Males and Females, Under Age 12 and Over Age 13 to see how the responsibilities fell on the household.  Those numbers came from the Population portion of that 1885 census.  Line numbers on the left coordinate with the columns on the original census form.  The locations for these three are in Gage (Menke) and Jefferson (Mann & Gaisford) counties.  Mann and Gaisford were in the same precinct.  The fourth set of Second Great Grandparents (Roscoe) had been farmers, but in 1885 he was in Agri-business selling windmills and pumps.

I wasn't surprised that none of them raised sheep, but very surprised that Indian corn was the only variety of corn asked about on the form.  There were differences in amount of land and livestock between them all, but Henry Menke and William Mann were nearly even in total farm value.  Ancestry has online the 1880 Agricultural census which asked for the same information.  I can use that to compare the difference 5 years made for each farm family, but I won't post that here.

To see all of the chart click on the white bar along the right side under the arrow, hold and slide down.

Friday's Faces from the Past - Infant from Edgar, Nebraska

Only the mother could identify this infant. Or someone else with the same photo that is marked with this child's name.  That looks like a nice warm pair of knitted booties he or she is wearing. 

The photographer's logo is "Linstrom, Edgar Nebr.".  Nicholas A. Linstrom, age 49, lived in Edgar, Clay County, Nebraska in 1900 and was a photographer there through 1930.  He died at age 94 and is buried in the Edgar cemetery.

The photographer was from Edgar, but the child might not have been.  If there's anyone out there who happens to have this photo and/or knows who this child is, please leave a comment! 

Wedding Wednesday - Richard A Spalding's Marriages

Yesterday I focused on the graves of Richard Augustine Spalding and his wives.  Today I'll share the documentation for the three marriages of Richard Spalding that I found on the Family Search website.  They all took place in Washington County, Kentucky.  

"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org

"Richard Spalding and Henrietta Hamilton, July 28th" (1801), married by Michael Fournier.  He was 24 years old, she was 20.  I have their children as:

1. Ann Constantia (1803-1858) first entered the Sisters of Loretto, then left to marry (1) Mr. Howell, (2) Thomas Hoskins Hamilton. 
2. Julia (1805-1857) became Mother Perpetua of the Sisters of Loretto 
3. Leonard Augustine (1806-1888) married (1) Katherine Lancaster, (2) Elizabeth Shadburne 
4. Richard Marcus (1808-1888) married Mary Jane Lancaster
5. Martin John (1810-1872)  became the Archbishop of Baltimore
6. Benedict Joseph (1812-1868) became Administrator of the Diocese of Louisville 
7. Clement (1814-1837) died unmarried at age 23, he predeceased his father

Henrietta died December 3, 1816. 

"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org

"1817 January 8th... Richard Spalding to Henny Thompson".   Richard was 39, Henny (Henrietta) was 31.  I have their children as:

1. Caroline Ann (1817-1849) married Alewis J. McAtee
2. William Thomas "Tunk" (1818-1881) married (1) Amanda Jarboe, (2) Louisa Abell 
3. Joseph (1822-1884) married Mary Jane Mattingly 
4. Henry Hudson (1823-1853) married Isabelle H. Mattingly 
5. Mary Jane (1825-1847) married John Barton Abell, she predeceased her father 
6. John Austin (1826-1913) married Ann Melvina Simms 

John Austin Spalding was born May 27, 1826 and his mother died June 9th.  He is my husband's maternal Second Great Grandfather.  "Tunk" Spalding, with Louisa Abell, is my husband's paternal Second Great Grandfather.

"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org

The marriage bond of Richard Spalding and Mrs. Mary Adams, 15th day of February, 1827.  He was 49, Mary was 34.  I have their children as:

1. Susan Mary (1831-1902) 
2. George Robert (1833-?) 
3. Thomas S. (1834-1855)  married Ann Elizabeth Mudd 

Richard was the father of anywhere from 16 to 22 children according to various online trees.  I have the names of 16.  The following is an excerpt from the book "Spalding Memorial, A Genealogical History of Edward Spalding, of Massachusetts Bay, and His Descendants", by Samuel Jones Spalding.  Richard's son Martin John, Bishop of Louisville at the time, wrote in a letter to E. W. Spalding, Esq., dated June 21, 1859: 

"My grandfather, Benedict Spalding, came with his family to Kentucky, in the spring of 1791.  He had a large family of twelve children, all of whom, except three, are now dead, most of them leaving large families.  My own father, the oldest son of my grandfather, Richard Spalding, died in 1850, leaving fourteen living children, I being the third son, having been born May 23, 1810. "  

From the same book, in a letter to Samuel J. Spalding from M. J. Spalding, then the Archbishop of Baltimore, dated Jan. 6, 1871:

"...my own father, Richard, had twenty-one children, of whom fifteen were raised to become men and women."

In the book "The Life of the Most Rev. M. J. Spalding, D. D.: Archbishop of Baltimore", written in 1873 by J. L. Spalding:

"Richard Spalding, the eldest son of Benedict, was the father of the Archbishop.  He was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and came to Kentucky with his father.  He was thrice married, and by these unions became the father of twenty-one children."

Both of Richard's first two wives may have died of complications from childbirth.  Assuming 21 is the correct number of Richard's children, the five I'm missing most likely died as infants.  I don't know if Mrs. Mary Adams had any children with her first husband, I haven't even found out his name.  

Richard Augustine Spalding has many descendants.  If you are one of them, feel free to leave a comment.  Which one (or more) of his children is in your direct line?   

Tombstone Tuesday - Spalding Graves at Calvary, Kentucky

Old Grave yard at Calvary

These old graves are in the Old Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church cemetery in Calvary, 

Kentucky.  This photo was taken by my sister-in-law, I believe about 1974.  The first burial in this old cemetery dates back to 1794.  I have a listing with about 250 people buried there that someone created by reading the tombstones, but the date that listing was created is not stated.  So many of these stones are no longer standing.  The photo below is one I took in 2014, showing what they have done with old broken stone remnants.  

Entrance to Old graveyard at Calvary

 

In about the middle of the cemetery, the are a few stones that stand out behind this old wrought-iron fence.  The graves of Richard Augustine Spalding and two of his wives are there.  Richard's grave is in the background of this photo behind the one leaning on the fence.  This was also taken by my sister-in-law in the 70's.  

The stone leaning on the fence is for Mary (Charlton-Adams) Spalding, third wife of Richard.  She died at age 57, just 33 days before Richard.  The stone reads:  "Here lies the remains of Mary Spalding, consort of Richard Spalding, born Octo. 11, 1792, died Aug. 4, 1850, in the 58th year of her age after a long illness patiently endured.  A devoted wife, mother and Christian.  May she rest in peace."   

The stone lying down is inscribed:  "Thomas S. Spalding, born Sept. 23, 1834, died Oct. 5, 1855, aged 21 Yrs & 11 D's.  Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord R. I. P."  I believe he is Richard and Mary's son.

I took this photo of Richard's grave in 2008.  It's very hard to read most of the inscription, but my best attempt is:  "Here Lie, the mortal remains of, Richard Spalding, born April 16, 1777, died Sept. 7, 1850, a devoted father and husband, a true friend of the poor, he died strong in faith and in hope and surrounded by all the [?] and consolations of [?] ".  There is more that's impossible to read.*  Richard was 73.

This is from my most recent trip to the cemetery in May of 2014, the fence is nearly all down and somehow the tree has disappeared.  Mary's stone is in the center, the small one to the right is for "William Charlton, died July 22, 1852".  Mary's maiden name was Charlton, his birth year listed at Find A Grave would be about right for him to be her brother. 

Richard was married three times, first to Henrietta Hamilton in 1801.  She is also buried in this fenced in area, but I don't have a photo of her grave.  This Henrietta died in 1815 at age 35.  Then in 1817 Richard married Henrietta Thompson, who is my husband's Third Great Grandmother.  She died at age 40 in 1826 and was buried in the St. Augustine Church Cemetery in Lebanon.  In 1827, Richard married Mrs. Mary Adams, whose grave is pictured above.

It's amazing to find these 166 year old stones at all, and these are still standing in pretty good shape considering the years.  Maybe that wrought-iron fence kept them from becoming part of the entrance collage.  

* [Edited 10/18/16] After publishing this post, I remembered that I in the summer of 1992, along with family members and my new Canon Camcorder, I was at this cemetery.  From that video in which those who were with me read what they could of the inscription on Richard's marker, I now have what I believe is the complete inscription: 

"Here Lie, the mortal remains of, Richard Spalding, born April 16, 1777, died Sept. 7, 1850, a devoted father and husband, a true friend of the poor, he died strong in faith and in hope and surrounded by all the aid and consolations of the living.  Blessed are the dead who died in the Lord, for their deeds follow them.".  

Sibling Saturday - Five Mann Siblings

The man holding the hat is my Great Grandpa Clarence Mann.  The other man is one of his brothers, William, Oscar or Horace.  The women are their sisters Nancy, Ada and Effie, but I don't know which name goes with which woman.  Their parents, William and Nancy Mann, died in 1905 and 1894 respectively, much earlier than this picture was taken.

Everyone here seems to be dressed for a special occasion.  To try to determine the year this was taken I looked at some events of these siblings.  Brother William died April 27, 1927, both Nancy and Ada died in 1942, and the rest died later.  The dresses the women are wearing look like they might have the dropped waist style of the 1920's.  

IF this photo was taken at William's funeral, only one living brother is missing.  In 1930, Nancy lived in Iowa and Oscar lived in Kansas.  The others all lived in the Beatrice, Nebraska area where William is laid to rest.  It would seem likely that the brother who lived the farthest away would be the one not there.  In that case the other man would be Horace.  

But the leaves on the tree look pretty lush for late April.  I might be all wrong. 

It would be interesting to know who is taking the photo.  By the shadows, it looks like they used a camera that you held down in front of you to look through the viewfinder, not up to your eyes.

And who the child is in the background?

Wedding Wednesday - Bland-Abell of Raywick, Kentucky

Bland-Abell

The marriage of Miss Mary Thelma Bland, of the Raywick section, and Louis Raymond Abell, of the eastern part of the county, was solemnized at St. Francis' church at Raywick Wednesday morning.  The bride is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lafe Bland and has a host of warm friends in the community where she lives.  The groom, who is a highly regarded young farmer, is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Abell.

At Rootsweb and Ancestry I found a marriage date for them of January 6, 1926.  There was no date on this clipping.

Newspaper Clippings - Hamilton County, Nebraska, 1912

Stockham, Nebraska is a small town along the southern border of Hamilton County.  My Great Grandpa Arthur McGrath's sister Mrs. W. Smith lived there.  In this little bit of Stockham news from the Hamilton County Advocate it mentions she went to Cozad for her father's funeral.  I had hoped for more.  The rest of the news may be of interest to someone else. 

Hamilton County Advocate, April 23, 1912

STOCKHAM ITEMS

By James Beat
Haworth & Jirovsky, jewelers and opticians, Aurora, Neb.
Mesdames P. J. Maupin and Mary Coon were in York Monday.
Mrs. W. Smith went to Cozad Monday to attend her father's funeral.
Ray Galetly visited in Gresham over Sunday with his cousin, Stull Swearingen.
C. A. Coats of Aurora came down Saturday to visit over Sunday with his children.
Mrs. R. Bislaugh and son came Friday from Iowa and are now settled in the Presbyterian mance.
Mrs. Susia Walkinghorse and son came Wednesday from Arlington to visit her mother, Mrs. J. Norton.
Mrs. Margaret Van Wormer of Aurora came Wednesday to visit over Sunday with her daughter, Mrs. Dick Smith.
The operation by Drs. Steenburg, Haughey and Welch on Will Cameron Monday was successful.  He is getting along nicely.
Mrs. A. E. Cameron returned from Fremont Monday, where she visited her daughter, Mrs. Davis Rowe and the new baby.
The work on the streets is a great improvement to the town.  Jo Wood and James Beat, Sr., put in new hitch racks at the Presbyterian church.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy moved to Hastings Monday to be near their daughter, Mr. Murphy being in poor health they had to quit the restaurant.
Miss Sadie Beat went to Ansley Monday to visit a few weeks with her uncle and aunt.  She was accompanied as far as York by her mother and Mrs. E. M. Stowell.

A Little About Charles Lee and Susannah Case

EDIT May 31, 2017: Since I wrote this post, I've had the old photo looked at by a professional archivist and have learned that it IS a "Tin Type" photograph. I now highly doubt that this photo can be of Susannah Case. She died in 1851 and Tin Type photography was first used in France in 1853 and patented in the US in 1856. I'll leave my post here as originally written, and I'll be posting an explanation soon.

One of the most difficult branches of my tree is one set of my Third Great Grandparents, Charles Lee and Susannah Case.  According to family notes I found 25 years ago, Charles Lee was born in Dudley, Massachusetts on Halloween in 1813.  I haven't been able to find any verification of his birth or the names of his parents.  Those notes also gave Susannah Case's birth as November 26, 1816 in Belchertown, Massachusetts, but again I can't find any documentation of that.  Books of Vital Records from those areas in that time-frame don't list their birth records. 

Charles Lee

Assumed to be Susannah Case Lee

I remember years ago Grandma showing the photo on the right to my Mom, saying that she wasn't sure but thought the photo was of Susannah.  Grandma's mother was Sadie, Sadie's mother was Sarah and Sarah's mother was Susannah.   Susannah died when Sarah was just two years old, so Grandma felt that Sarah would have had a photo of her mother whom she never knew.  I'm still trying to determine the exact type of photograph and the time frame when this was possibly taken.  No one can say for sure who the woman in this photo is.  

The documentation I have found for Charles begins with the 1840 census from Utica Ward 1, Oneida County, New York.  Charles Lee is listed one line above Lewis Holmes and there are no females listed on the line with Charles and no males listed on the line with Lewis.  Lewis is Charles' brother-in-law, married to his sister Hannah.  Were they living together in one household?  Between the two is a total of 8 grown men, 2 adult women and 1 female child. 

June 16, 1845 at the Whitesboro Presbyterian Church in Whitestown, New York Charles and Susannah were married.  Neither copy here is a great example of documentation with names missing and a smudged copy, but these and more family notes are all I have.  I'm sure the notes are from the bible page directly where it was more clear than this copy. 

Next I found this clipping from June 14, 1846 in the Ottawa (Illinois) Free Trader.  Macon is where Charles Lee's family lived in Illinois, but according to the 1850 census record, their two children were born in New York in 1846 and again in 1849.  Is this the same Charles Lee?  Did he travel back & forth?  

This is the only census that shows Susannah by name - 1850 Bureau County, Illinois.  Their children, George and Sarah are 4 and 1, both born in New York.  They owned $400 worth of real estate.  Also in the 1850 Bureau County, Illinois census, there is a Polly Lee living with Lewis & Hannah Holmes.  It seems likely that she is the mother of Hannah and Charles Lee, but I haven't confirmed that.

The 1860 census shows Charles & kids in the town (or township) of Macon, Bureau Co., Illinois,  The census taker neglected to mark the Occupation, Value of Estate and birthplace columns and others for over half of the page.  Sarah was nearly missed, her name squeezed in between lines.

Charles was an abolitionist and at least once hid a runaway slave in his well.

From "The History of Macon Township"

Susannah and Charles are buried in Bunker Hill cemetery near Buda, Illinois.  I was able to visit their graves in 1998 and their stone had fallen over.  The side with Charles' name was face up, I was sure Susannah's name was on the other side.  After that someone posted a photo (they obviously had taken earlier) of her side of the stone on Find A Grave.   She died from complications from childbirth on April 24, 1851, her children were 5 and 2.  The baby died almost 5 months later.   I would love to know what caused Charles' death at age 48, he died in 1861 on New Years Eve.

How did losing both of her parents by age 13 affect Sarah?  No document can tell me that.  I have these two photos of Sarah late in life.  I know people didn't smile much in old photos, but it makes me wonder.

Friday's Faces from the Past - Harvard Kid #4

This tomboyish little blonde looks like she has on a nice pair of Converse high-tops.  Maybe the carnation she's holding was for coming in first place in a race in her cool buggy.  I can't tell you any more about this photo than what you can see for yourself. 

There is no identifiable information on this except what is written in the bottom corner which I can't make out.  This close-up here is what I'm trying to read.  The first line might be "J. J. Willey", as I have other photos with that photographer's name written on them.  Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or ideas!

Wedding Wednesday - August Weddings in my Family Tree

Looking at marriages in August in my family tree, I have at least 51 couples who had an August wedding.  Five couples chose August 12th making it the most popular day of the month.  Only two couples among my direct ancestors were married in August.  

William Simpson & Avarilla Perkins, my Sixth Great Grandparents, were married August 18, 1742 in Baltimore, Maryland.  Their marriage is listed in the book, Maryland Marriages 1634-1777, compiled by Robert Barnes, and can be found at Ancestry. 

Roger Prescott & Helen or Ellen Shaw were married August 20, 1568 in England.  They are my Eleventh Great Grandparents.  This is so far back in history it's rare to have any actual documentation.  Their marriage is listed on Ancestry, but there is no image and the source information is "an array of materials including pedigree charts, family history articles, queries."  

My husband's Grandparents William Alfred Bryant Mattingly & Mary Frances Charlotte Boone were married August 28, 1900 at St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, Kentucky.  William was 50 years old at the time, he died only 9 years later.  This was his second marriage, his first wife was Mary Elizabeth Mattingly.  Lottie was widowed at age 31 with six children and never married again.  

Those Places Thursday - "On the waters of Pitman Creek"

Continuing from last week (which you can read here), this is a summary of property owned by my Great Grandparents Cicero & Allie Bell in Kentucky.  Following are the deeds we found in the Pulaski County Clerk's office in Somerset.  I've extracted just the identifiable information from them to help locate the approximate area on a map and compare to a recorded history (which you can read here).  The last deed we found in Wayne County was dated November 21, 1904.

Deed dated June 20, 1905, Deed Book 58 Pg 534

Ferguson, Kentucky - click to enlarge

J. A. and Georgie A. Wood and Elizabeth J. Richardson (widow) sell to Allie Bell - just Allie - for $190 with $90 down and 2 payments of $50 at 6% interest, "Beginning at a stake on the corner of Walnut street and railroad avenue...", then it describes a lot about 140 x 149 feet.  A note written at the bottom says, "The note for which a lien was retained in the above deed having been paid in full, we hereby release same.  This Aug. 12, 1906."    

Sounds like a town lot to me.  Where a store might be. On this Google map, you can find Sinking creek on the west side of Ferguson and the X is at Railroad Dr and Walnut Street (on Google, if you zoom in closer it's marked).  Even though Uncle Oren says in his recorded history at this point that they moved to Somerset, I think this deed describes property in Ferguson, on the south side of Somerset.  "The farm was sold and we moved to Somerset.  Here father bought a general merchandise store." 

Deed dated September 20, 1905, Deed Book 58 Pg 533

Elizabeth J. Richardson (widow), John A. & Georgie A. Woods sell to Mrs. Allie Bell - again just Allie - for $300 in 3 installments at 6% interest, property "Beginning on a stake on the south side of Walnut street the corner of C. S. Bell's lot..."  then to 3 different stakes at points SW, SE, NE and back to the beginning, measuring 120 feet by 140 feet if I read it correctly.  Some additional property adjoining the lot they bought in June, maybe where a new home was built.

Next Oren says, "After about a year in the store, my father was dissatisfied with that and wanted to go back to the farm.  So the store was sold."

The store might not have lasted a full year.  It was at this point in Oren's history that he said they moved to Illinois for a while.  Before our trip I found a couple of articles in online newspapers, this one from the Lexington Herald dated March 23, 1906.  Uncle Oren didn't mention this.  Maybe this move to Mercer county was a short one, then they moved on to Illinois.  Or it's possible that he only invested in this farm and never lived there.  His brother John was in Boyle County in 1904, adjacent to Mercer county, maybe only a few miles away.  There's a deed to get someday in Mercer County.  I especially like "a well-known merchant" here.  

Lexington Herald, Friday, March 23, 1906

After living in Illinois for a while, Oren said they moved to Ferguson.  "After a few months, his earnings were sufficient to take us back to Kentucky... The folks settled in a little village south of Somerset known as Ferguson. ...my father worked in the railroad shop and in his spare time, built a new home in Ferguson."   On an old Sanborn map of Somerset from 1914 I found a big railroad yard noted as being 2 and 1/2 miles south of the courthouse.  The new home he mentioned was possibly the reason for them buying that second lot.  Next in chronological order, the following deed is for the Dutton farm on Pitman Creek that is north of Somerset. 

Deed dated March 11, 1907, Deed Book 61 Pg 100-101

R. O. & Cordelia Heath sell to Allie Bell - again just Allie - for $1950 cash in hand paid. "Two certain tracts or parcels of land situated in [Pulaski County] on the waters of Pitman Creek...".  "Beginning on a black oak and two hickories the old Dutton corner...",  "containing 40 acres more or less...".  Second tract "Beginning on a stone in or near Joe Dutton's line...", "to a hickory, Dutton's corner...", "now McPherson's corner...", "containing 72 acres more or less...".  

This deed fits at this point of Oren's history:  "But after a while, my father preferred the farm rather than the shop, so he sold his new home and bought another farm.  This time north of Somerset, about a mile and a half out of town.  It was known as the old Dutton farm..." and he goes on to say  "...it was here that Virgil and Stanley were born."  Grandpa was born August 1, 1907 and Virgil was born September 7, 1909.

Wayne County Outlook, Thursday, April 4, 1907

Here's a clipping from the Wayne County newspaper that mentions selling a store again, a year after the previous clipping.  The "Dock Heath farm" here refers to R. O. & Cordelia Heath.  Crab Orchard Pike goes north from Somerset to Crab Orchard.  I wonder if one of the cottages is the home Cicero built while he worked in the railroad shop.  Notice Allie gets credit for the sale in the deed, but not the newspaper.  The following deed agrees with this clipping.  

Deed dated March 13, 1907, Deed Book 61, Pg 271-272

Allie  & C. S. Bell sell to J. E. Tomlinson and Beecher Smith for $1950 cash in hand paid, "Two certain lots of ground...", "on the waters of Sinking Creek...".   The first lot is described as "on the south side of Walnut Street, the corner of C. S. Bell's lot...", "being same deeded to Allie Bell by John A. Woods et al, on the 20th day of September 1905...".   The second lot bounded "on the corner of Walnut Street and Railroad Avenue...", "being same lot deeded to Allie Bell by John A. Woods et al. on the 20th day of June, 1905..." .  The two places in Ferguson were sold.

Now from Oren's narration:  "After about 4 years, they sold the Dutton farm and bought another one not far away.  The farm was known as the old Tom Meece place."  

Deed dated January 31, 1910, Deed Book 66 Pg 503-504

G. P. & Sarah B. Sallee and A. J. & Kate S. Crawford sell to Allie Bell (only) "for and in consideration of exchange of lands, deeded this day...", "on the waters of Pitman Creek...", "first tract 25 acres more or less, conveyed to parties of the first part by John T. Meece and others...", "three certain tracts of land adjoining the first tract and all now constituting one farm".    This deed refers to a previous deed where the Sallee's and Crawford's bought the land from John T. Meece in May, 1907.  

Deed dated January 31, 1910, Deed Book 69 Pg 350

Allie & C. Bell sell to G. P. Sallee and A. J. Crawford.  $1050.00, $300.00 paid down, with one payment of $750 at 8% interest, for "a certain tract of land in Pulaski Co. Ky, on the waters of Pitman Creek...", "beginning on a black oak & two hickories, the old Dutton corner...", "containing 40 acres more or less."  and a "Second tract adjoining above and both constituting one farm..", "in or near Joe Dutton's line...", ""to a stone, now McPherson's corner...", "containing 72 acres more or less...".   This deed refers to the deed conveyed to Allie by R. O. Heath & wife March 11, 1907.   A trade of the two farms. 

North of Somerset, Kentucky - click to enlarge

Click on this map and you can find Pitman creek to the right of Hwy 39, which was called Crab Orchard Pike back then.  At the top of the map you'll see Crimson Dr, and on Find A Grave, a map of the Vaught Cemetery (mentioned in following deeds) shows it at the end of Crimson Dr.  

From Oren's narration this is when they leave Kentucky again:  "In the summer of 1910, the folks were on the move again.  They rented their farm, the old Tom Meece place, and I joined them and we moved to Oklahoma...". 

Deed dated November 23, 1911, Mortgage Book M-19 Pg 371

"I Allie Bell & husband Cicero Bell... being indebted to The Citizens Bank of Somerset...in the sum of Three Hundred Dollars...I hereby bargain, sell and convey, by way of mortgage, unto said Citizens Bank, the following described property, viz.:  Being the same land conveyed to Allie Bell on the 31st day of Jany, 1910 by G. P. Sallee & etc....".  A note at the bottom is written:  "The debt for which the above mortgage was given having been paid in full we hereby release same completely.  This Dec. 12th 1914."  Just a little bit of bank business.

Deed dated December 21, 1911, Deed Book 75 Pg 145

Ben P. & Lela E. Hines and Walter & Desda Elrod sell to Allie Bell.  $350.00, $100 down and balance in 4 payments at 8% interest.   "on the waters of Pitman creek...", "on a poplar now down at corner of fence at Grave yard...", "to a stone Meece's corner in Gipson line...", "to a stone A. Vaught & P. J. Meece corner...", "containing 30 acres more or less."  So, this deed is for the farm they bought after living in Kansas, as Oren said:   "After a year, my father was ready to go back to Kentucky.  So, they moved from Ionia back to Kentucky."  This would be the last farm they would buy in Kentucky. 

Deed dated November 9, 1914, Deed Book 75 Pg 24

Cicero & Allie Bell sell to Mrs. Anna Kipp for $1450.00 cash in hand paid.  "on the waters of Pitman Creek...", "at a poplar stump at the Vaught graveyard, old corner, thence old line between this farm and the Hines farm...", "corner between this farm and the Gilmore farm where Gilmore farm calls for a stake...", "to a small hickory, where deeds call for a stone, the South-east corner of the tract bought by J. T. Meece from Gilmores..." .   The land from the deed dated December 21, 1911.  After this sale they paid off the mortgage from November 1911.  And back to Kansas they went.

Deed dated February 16, 1917 Deed Book 78 Pg 26

"..we Allie Bell and C. Bell who having deeded to G. P. Sallee and A. J. Crawford... on the 31st day of Jany, 1910... whereas a lien was retained in said deed to secure an unpaid balance of $750.00 and the debt having been fully paid, now we... do hereby name, constitute and appoint V. P. Smith of Somerset, Ky. our lawful atourney in fact, to release the said lien in the said deed to us, and to do all acts pertaining thereto, that may be necessary for the releasing and satisfying the said lien as fully as we might do ourselves were we present in person."  A Power of Attorney, signed by J. G. McLinn, Notary Public of Mitchell County, Kansas was sent to the Pulaski County Clerk, C. M. Langdon which he recorded on the 24th day of March, 1917.  By this time, Cicero & Allie had moved their family out of Kentucky for the last time.

Somerset, Kentucky

It's interesting to me that when Cicero & Allie are the Grantee's (buyers), the deeds are in Allie's name only.  When they are the Grantor's (sellers), he is named with along her.  There must have been a reason for that.  Another thing - I have always thought that Cicero's middle initial was C. not S., and I've never seen what the initial stands for.  Maybe it's Silas?  Cicero's Grandfather was John Silas Bell.

Uncle Oren's memory was fantastic!  I took his recorded history as a challenge to find these deeds.  Now I can piece together a better timeline of the places where my Great Grandparents raised their family.  I can better visualize, at least on a map, the approximate locations of their farms and the store.  With this information now maybe I can find out the name of the store.  This doesn't end here, but this is all for now.