My DAR Line to Patriot Stephen Bliss

In 2015 I joined the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) by proving my paternal Grandpa's line of descent from the Revolutionary War Patriot Asa Corbin. This past year, I sent in a "supplemental" application to prove the line of descent for my paternal Grandma. Each line of descent I prove enables other descendants of the same Patriot to more easily join the DAR because the amount of documentation they need is cut down. Anyone joining the DAR has to provide proof of their connections, such as copies of birth, marriage and death records, for each generation until they can connect to someone in a line already proven. They have to go all the way back to the Patriot if no one else has done that. 

My paternal Grandma is a direct descendant of the Patriot Stephen Bliss. I was able to connect to other DAR members who included his son Gideon Bliss in their line of descent, so I needed to provide documentation for my connections all the way to Gideon Bliss - that was 7 generations. My supplemental application was approved in May, so now any female descendant of Stephen Bliss who has in her blood line my Grandma or any of her siblings, her Mother or her siblings, and so on, can join DAR and less documentation would be required.

My direct ancestors are listed below in bold type, each of their children would potentially be a direct line for someone else. Starting with my Great Grandmother, Cora (Gaisford) Mann, this is the basic info I have for the line to Stephen Bliss:

Cora Gaisford, (1882-1971) Cora married Clarence L. Mann on July 5, 1899 in Fairbury, Nebraska. They raised their family in southeast Nebraska. Their children:
     Leila (1900-1997) married Charlie Roy Wierman
     Florence (1902-1983) married Pearle T Nickeson 
     Esther (1903-2000) married Roe K Hudson
     Lester (1906-1982) married Lydia Krebs
     Orra (1907-1992) married Charlene Vance 
     Clare (1909-2004) married Rulo Rathbun, other marriages with no children
     Faye (1911-1977) married Frank Carpenter
     Vivian (1913-2002) married Earl Bartlett
     Blanche (1915-2006) married Lyman Bartlett
     Bethel (1917-2014) married Elmer Krebs
     Dean (1920-2003) married Doris Kollekowski
     Doris (Living) married Kenneth Menke - my Grandparents
     Keith (1922-1923) 
     Letty (Living) married Bob Phelps


Henrietta Smith (1848-1932) born in Norwich, Connecticut. She married Charles Gaisford in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 23, 1867. They had 11 children: 
     Charles (1868-1947) married Nancy Erhard
     Mary Ann "Maime" (1870-1959) never married
     Anna (1871-1943) married Henry Fielder 
     Emma (1874-1939) married Rufus Thompson, other marriage with no children
     Carrie (1876-1899) married Sherman E White
     Ella (1880-1881) 
     Cora (1882-1971) above
     Nellie (1883-1919) never married
     William (1885-1953) married Ethel Middleton
     Gertrude (1888-1966) married Harlen Weaver 
     Gladys (1890-1986) married Frank Amos


Mary Abigail Bliss (1829-1866) was married to John Potter Smith in Norwich, Connecticut in 1847 and they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts soon after. They had 5 children, Mary's death happened with the last one: 
     Henrietta, above
     Anna (1854-1929) married Myron Barrows
     Minnie (1859-1859)
     Carried (1861-1889) married William A Brown
     Charles (1866-by 1870)


Austin Bliss (1786-1871) married Abigail Bumstead in Monson, Massachusetts. They moved to Connecticut about 1822. Their 12 children were:
     Edward (1818-1871) 
     Sylvester (1820-1867)
     Austin (1821-?)
     Alvin (1824-?)
     Horace Harrison (1826-?)
     Sanford Joseph (1827-1873)
     Mary Abigail, above
     Harriet Eliza (1831-1875)
     Julia Maria (1833-1835)
     William Henry (1835-1902)
     Julia M (1838-1871) married Henry Kirkland 
     Sarah Elizabeth (1842-?)


Gideon Bliss (1766-1847) married Mary Woodworth in Massachusetts where they raised these children:
     Roswell (1791-1869)
     Mary (1792-1866)
     Betsey (1792-1795)
     Chloe (1794-1797)
     Austin, above
     Gideon (1798-1828)
     Sylvester (1800-?0
     Betsey (1802-1881)
     James B (1804-1843)
     Willard (1806-?)
     Catherine (1809-1880)
     Lewis Tirrell (1811-?)
     Henry Harrison (1813-1897) married Lucy Maria Sawyer


Stephen Bliss (1732-1806) was a Private from Longmeadow, Hampshire county, Massachusetts. He served under Captains Pinneas Stebbins and Joseph Browning; and Colonels Nathan Sparhawk, Seth Murray and John Bliss. He was married to Katherine Burt in 1756 and he died in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. They had at least six children:
     Catherine (1757-1838)
     Mercy (1759-1776)
     Stephen (1761-1850)
     Susannah (1764-?)
     Gideon, above
     Chloe (1769-1776) 


If you're interested in joining the DAR, I suggest you contact your local chapter, or visit the website DAR.org. If you have questions about anyone listed here, just drop me a note and I may have more information.

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.

John P. Smith of Worcester & His Children

John Potter Smith, my third great Grandfather, was married twice and had ten children.  His oldest child, my second great Grandmother Henrietta Abigail was born in 1848 and his youngest, Harry Lincoln, was born in 1886 - a span of 38 years.  John was 62 years old when Harry was born.  

John and his first wife Mary Abigail Bliss had five children, three daughters who survived to adulthood.  Henrietta was first, then their second child was Anna E. Smith who was born April 14, 1854.   A third daughter, Minnie E. Smith, was born October 1, 1859 and died October 8, 1859.  Available at familysearch.org, the vital records books from Worcester prove her seven-day life, but I have not found where she is buried.  (click to enlarge) 

Carrie M. Smith, the fourth daughter of John and Mary, was born June 26, 1861.  Finally a son, Charles H. Smith, was born May 30, 1866, just three days before his mother died.  I haven't found a death record for him, but he is not listed in the 1870 census.

Five months after Mary's death, John married Emma (or Emily) on November 11, 1866.  Her name has been Dillon, Gillam or Quilliam in different records.  It was Emma's second marriage as well, her parents were William and Margaret Williams.  She was 24, John was 41.  

John and Emma's first child was a girl, Lizzie E, born September 9, 1867.  Another daughter, Marion "Minnie" E. Smith, was born September 30, 1868.  Next, Alice was born February 13, 1871.  A son, Francis Irving was born on December 18, 1875 and the youngest child, Harry Lincoln, was born July 10, 1886. 

In the 1870 and 1880 census John & Emma live in Worcester.  Lizzie is not listed in 1870, I found her death record dated September 19, 1867.  In 1880 Minnie is 10, Alice is 9, Francis is 4 and Carrie is 18 and single.  Anna married Myron E. Barrows on February 11, 1877 in Worcester and in 1880 they live with his parents.  

On November 5, 1884, Carrie married William A. Brown.  She died on June 11, 1889 in Worcester at age 28.   Two infants named Brown are buried near her.  Cemetery records show they were buried in December of 1888 and June of 1889.

Marion and Lyman Isham were married on April 18, 1889.   In 1900 they are living in Framingham, Massachusetts.  Two questions asked on this census are "how many children has this person had" and "how many of those children are living" - Marion has had one child, but none are living.  In the same household are Luther Isham "Boarder", John P. "father-in-law" (of Lyman, head of household), Emily "mother-in-law" and Harry L Smith "brother-in-law".  Emily has had 5 children, only 4 are living.  Alice is not listed with them here and I have not found her grave.  She could have gotten married, or she may be one of three "Alice Smith's" who died between 1884 and 1887 in Worcester.  Marion and Lyman lived in Upton, Massachusetts in 1910 and 1920 and in a 1939 City Directory, Marion is listed as a widow. 

John died in 1903 and is buried in Hope Cemetery.  A volunteer at Find A Grave fulfilled my photo request for his grave which is unmarked.  He also sent me copies of the burial cards for the plot.  Carrie, her infant children and Anna Barrows are also buried there in unmarked graves.  Another Smith - Royden G. was buried in 1904, I'm not sure how he fits in.

Frank married Susannah Harris on May 18, 1907.  They had two sons, Harris P. and Frank L.  They lived in Rutland, Massachusetts through 1940 where Frank was a plumber.  

On October 16, 1912 Harry Lincoln was married to Ethel Elizabeth Shed in Worcester.  In 1920 they are living with their son, Henry 6, and in 1940 they have two children, Irving T, 27 and Barbara, 19 (somehow Henry has to be Irving T).  Harry was a fireman.

Anna Barrows died March 23, 1929 at age 74.  As I said, Anna is buried in the Hope Cemetery in Worcester.  But I found Anna and Myron in the 1920 census living with their daughter Florence in Grosse Point, Michigan.  Florence is married to Howard White and they have two daughters, Wyenafred and Maxine.  Myron died in Michigan in 1921 and son Edward John died in 1940, their death certificates are on Ancestry. 

You can read more about Henrietta Smith and her parents by clicking there on her name.  She married Charles Gaisford and moved to Illinois by 1869, then Nebraska by 1876.  They raised 10 children.  Henrietta outlived her younger sister Anna Barrows by three years.  I wonder if they ever saw each other again after Henrietta moved away.  

I have come up with 16 grandchildren for John Potter Smith.  I wonder how many of them knew each other.  There were many miles and many years that separated them all.

Libbeus, Lebbeus and Lebius

Three different men all named Lebbeus Simmons would surely be related, wouldn't they?  I believe these 3 men are Father, Son and Grandson, but I don't have a single document to tie any one of the three to another.  To keep them straight in my mind I spell each one's name the way I first found it, I'll add numbers here to make it less confusing. 

Looking for my Great Great Grandmother Rachel Simmons as a little girl in the 1850 Pennsylvania census, I found the family of Lebius3 Simmons.  That lead me to a Rootsweb World Connect Tree showing Libbeus1 Simmons, with a son Lebbeus2 Simmons, both born too early to be the Lebius3 from 1850.  My search has been continuing from there since 1999.  The 3 men never appear together by name on the same census record or any other record that I've found yet.  Several years ago I collaborated with a group of several researchers all possibly descendants of Libbeus1.  We shared information and ideas and with help from them, this is what I have.   

Libbeus1 SIMMONS (1749  - 1835) 

From Vital Records of Middleborough, Plymouth Co., MA, Vol. 11, Book 2, Part 2, p. 80: 

Middleborough January the 27th, 1774 Then Libbeus Simmons and Mary Douglas both of Middleborough were Joyned in Marriage by me Ebenezer Hinds Baptist Minister.

Libbeus1 fought in the Revolutionary War, I have his pension application documents. There isn't much information on his family, just an affidavit by his daughter Priscilla Mitchell declaring she was one of ten children of Libbeus and Mary.

The Rootsweb Tree lists his children as:  Elijah, Betsey, Thaddeus, Mary, Persilla, James, Sarah, Judath, Lydia, and Lebbeus.  The DAR application from one woman has his children listed as:  Libbeus, Abigail, Joshua, Priscilla, Polly, Dorcas, Judith, James, Mary and Lydia. 

Libbeus1 died on March 13, 1835 at age 85.  His burial location is unknown, he is probably buried on private land near Unity Pond, Maine.  The two lists of children both include a son named Lebbeus, but there is no identifying information to prove that that son is...

Lebbeus2 SIMMONS    (abt 1794  - after 1870)  

1820 Census records of Troy, Maine list both a Lebbeous Simmons, age over 45 and Lebbeous Jr, age between 26 & 45.  Of course the 1820 census only lists heads of household by name.  Land records in Maine show that Lebbeus and his wife Esther Kelsey sold land in 1827 and at that time they were located in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. That's the same county as Lebius3 in 1850.  The only other mention of Esther that I have is the marriage record of her daughter:   "Mary C. Simmons, dau of Lebus & Hester Simmons" to William Webb in 1854 in Ritchie County, Virginia (now West Virginia).  Children of Lebbeus2 and Esther are believed to be:  Jeremiah, David, William, Lebius3, Mary Catherine and Rosilla Douglas.  By 1850, Lebbeus2 had a new wife.  Esther must have died sometime between 1831 (birth of her last child) and 1850 or possibly 1840, I have no idea where.

The Illinois Marriage Index has 3 interesting listings: 
Libbens Simmons and Jane Hart, 3/29/1840  Fulton County
Lebeous Simmons and Mrs. Sarah Thorn, 7/2/1850 Fulton County
Lebbens Simmons and Maria Dunavon, 1/21/1865 Fulton County

Was Lebbeus2 the "Libbens" Simmons who married Jane Hart?  Jane Simmons (b. abt 1803 PA)  died in 1850 after a 1 day illness at age 47 (Mortality Index found online at Genealogy Trails History Group, - http://genealogytrails.com/ill/fulton/1850-1880Mortality02.html).  She had been married 10 years, did she have any children?  

I believe Lebeous who married Sarah Thorn is Lebbeus2, son of Libbeus1.  In 1850 they lived in Canton, Illinois, with two of Sarah's sons and Lebbeus2's daughter Mary.  In the next few years they had 7 children together:  James, Charles, Lydia, Sarah, Delilah, Mariah Antoinette and Amos.  Sarah left Lebbeus2 and their children in 1864 and they divorced in 1866, I have the documents of the divorce case.   All of those children, except Charles, were living with other families in 1870, after the divorce of their parents.

Lebbeus2 could not be "Lebbens" who married Maria Dunavon in 1865 when he was in the middle of divorce proceedings.  Was there another Lebbeus Simmons in Fulton County at that time and just who was he and do some of these records belong to him?

Land records don't give a persons age which would really help.  If there is no mention of a wife, does that mean for sure that there isn't one?  As best as I can understand, on 27 OCT 1838, Lebbeus Simmons bought from David Nillum (?) Lots 9, 10 & 11 in Canton for $300.  Then on 6 JAN 1840, he sold those lots to Samuel Miller for $450.  Also on 6 JAN 1840, Lebbeus bought 40 acres from Ptolomy and Sarah Ann Stone (wife's name is included because she relinquished dower).  The legal description is E 1/2 SE 13 7N R4E.  He paid $110.  And still on 6 JAN 1840, Lebbeus bought 40 acres from Joel & Emily Wright for $91.  Description is SE SE 13 T7N R4E, same Section (13), same Township (7N) and same Range (4E).  No mention of a wife of Lebbeus in any of those deeds.  Can I be sure these were all Lebbeus2?

In the 1870 census there is a Lebeus Simmons age 73 back in Mercer County, Pennsylvania living with Phebe Bearse and her son Isaac, and his son Charles Simmons who is 16.  The column is marked to say that Charles' father is of foreign birth for some reason.  It is believed that Phebe is a niece of Lebbeus2.    

Lebbeus2 died sometime after 1870, but where?  Mercer County has no death record.  I've also tried Fulton County and Ritchie County.  Although I have nothing that confirms Lebbeus2's children from his marriage with Esther, I believe he is the father of...

Lebius3 Simmons   (1820 - between 1852-54)  

1850 Cool Spring township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania lists the family of Lebius3 - Lebius, wife Ruth, daughters Rachel, Rosilla and Louisa and son William.  All of the children were born in Pennsylvania.  

This is a deed from Fulton County, Illinois dated March 7, 1846 that has the name as Lebbeus Simmons "Jr." as opposed to the other deeds with Lebbeus Simmons.  [7 MAR 1846 Parkis & Margaret Corey sold to Lebbeus Simmons Jr NE NE 13 7N R4 40 acres $150]  Could this be Lebius3?   Again there is no mention of a wife.  In 1846 daughter Louisa was born in Pennsylvania, did he travel back and forth that much?   

And if he bought land in Illinois in 1846, and lived in Pennsylvania in 1850, how or why was his wife widow in Ritchie County, Virginia in 1854.  In July, 1854, Ruth Simmons, widow, married Cyrus Webb in Ritchie County, Virginia.  As I mentioned before, Mary C. Simmons married William Webb also in July, 1854 in Ritchie County.  Mary was the sister of Lebius3 and William Webb the brother of Cyrus.   Then in 1860, Cyrus and Ruth are listed in the Fulton County census with Simmons children Rosilla, William and Ruth (born 1852).   So what happened to Lebius3 between 1852 and 1854 and where - Pennsylvania?  Illinois? Virginia?  Was he the victim of an accident while traveling?  I always think of the scene in the movie "How The West Was Won" where the Prescott parents were lost rafting down a river. 

These are the disconnected links in the chain.  One more disconnected link is my Great Great Grandmother Rachel McGrath to the little girl in 1850.   It has to be more than coincidence that these people lived in the same places.   And there are several name connections.  There may not be any documents that will identify the relations between them all, but this is how I believe these 3 men to be my direct ancestors (with a lot of unanswered questions).

Henrietta Smith, Daughter of -- of course -- John & Mary Smith

Henrietta Abigail Smith Gaisford
Sept. 3, 1848 - May 23, 1932

It happens at least once in every family tree, doesn't it?  Finding the names of Henrietta Smith's parents in the IGI files at the Family History Center almost brought me to tears - John and Mary Smith.  I felt defeated even before I started.

The IGI files listing had the marriage date for John P Smith & Mary A Bliss as January 17, 1847 in Norwich, Connecticut.  Grand Island's library had the book "Vital Records of Norwich, 1659-1848, Part II", where I found that marriage record.  (The record just above theirs was for another John Smith to Isabella Stallman).  At least John P was pretty consistent about using his middle initial. Then I found the book, "Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America", compiled by Austin Tyler Bliss.  In it I found, "Mary Abigail BLISS, b. July 28, 1829, m. 1847 to John Smith of Norwich and d. June 2, 1866, daughter of Austin and Abigail (Bumsted) Bliss".  Not only one more generation back, but several!  This was the first book I had ever been able to find in a library that had so many generations of my family tree!  From that book, I learned that Mary was a descendant of Thomas Blisse, who settled in Hartford, Connecticut in the early 1600's.

So, at this point I knew that Mary had died at age 36, just a year before Henrietta was married.  I ordered a copy of her death record from the Massachusetts Archives. They send these certified copies with the information extracted from the original record, but I have since been able to get a copy from Ancestry of the actual written death register.  Her death was caused by "confinement".  Not meaning that she was confined somewhere, the term confinement was used to describe pregnancy.  She probably died of complications from pregnancy or childbirth, but there is no mention of any baby.  Notice her husband's name is not on the form, and the "Informant" is blank.  It's also missing the Undertaker's name and the place of burial, which I have yet to find.

In the dark ages before online census records, all I had immediate access to was 1850 census indexes which listed only the head of household.  There were about 250 John Smith's in Connecticut, far too many reels of microfilm to inter-library loan to look for his family's census listing.  Working on Austin & Abigail Bliss, I ran across a tree at Rootsweb World Connect created by Meri Arnett-Kremian showing in the 1850 census Mary and Henrietta were living with Austin & Abigail in Bozrah, New London County, Connecticut. The household also included Harriet, 17, William, 14, Julia, 11, and Sarah, 8. But no John, had he died?  

At about the same time, I got the idea to check on city directory listings.  I contacted the Worcester Massachusetts Public Library and they were very helpful pinpointing which John Smith I was trying to track.  I started with 1867 since I knew Henrietta was married there then.  In 2004, I submitted an "Ask a Librarian" question:

"Is there a city directory for Worcester, MA for or near the year 1867?  I'm looking for a John P. Smith of Worcester, with wife Mary and daughter Henrietta (age 18 in 1867)."  

The next day, they answered with a yes, they found a John P. Smith, Armorer, living in Northville near West Boylston St.  They wanted me to confirm.  Well, at that point I still didn't know, I said I would have to inter-library loan the 1860 census to see the household.  The librarian was kind enough to check that for me and found John with Mary, Henrietta and a younger daughter Anne and another person living with them -- Julia M. BLISS.  Mary's sister!  But the kind librarian didn't stop there.  He or she (I wish I had a name!  Messages were signed "WPLREF") then looked in more city directories.  In 1850 through 1857, John was listed as a machinist boarding at two different places.  The rest of the listings had him as an armorer, working at Allen, Thurber & Co from 1854-1856. AND THEN, the librarian checked on Anne's birth record.  She was born April 14, 1854 and the place of residence "jibes with the city directory listings".  Next this fabulous librarian proceeds to tell me that in 1870, John had remarried and had a child from this second marriage.  That was news to me.  They mailed me copies of the 1860 and 1870 census records.  The household in 1870 was John, 46, wife Emma, 27, Anna, 16, Carrie, 7, Minnie, 2 and Flora Carver, 16.  The 16 year-old girls were working in a Box Shop.  Carrie would have been the daughter of Mary.

Working on this post I finally got the idea to Google "Allen, Thurber & Co", and I learned that it was a firearms manufacturer, known for the "Pepper-box" handgun.  At the website worcestermass.com it says, "the company moved to Worcester from Norwich, Conn in July of 1847."  That explains John's moved from Norwich to Worcester!  In 1850, his wife and daughter were with her parents probably while he worked and saved to bring them up there with him.  This also jogs my memory, I think my Grandma told me once that Henrietta's father worked making guns.  I was thinking of Smith & Wesson.

Many online trees have John P Smith's parents as Isaac Smith and Phebe Platt.  I was going right along with that for a while, but I didn't really believe that he had moved to California as some had.  After learning about his second family and working on them, I posted a message on the Genforum board for SMITH on March 2, 2006.  The next day, which happened to be my birthday, a message was posted there from Leah that said "there is a death record in Worcester for a John P Smith in 1903".  She was not related, but posted some details on Emma and the girls and who they married.  The kind of birthday gift I can't ask for!

Again, I sent to the Archives for John's death record and received the same type of certified copy as above for Mary.  He was 79 years old, his occupation was Armorer, cause of death was cerebral softening with contributing cause of cerebral embolism.  I think that means he had a stroke if I understand correctly.  But the most exciting information on here was his parents names! Aza Smith and Mehitable Potter!  Proof that Isaac Smith and Phebe Platt were the wrong line.  The bad news is for place of burial it only says Worcester.  Again no definite burial information and I have tried contacting a couple of cemeteries in town with no luck.  In 2007, a volunteer with NEHGS saw a message I had posted on the Worcester message board and sent me the copy here of the death record for John P Smith.  

Once more, I contacted the Worcester Public Library and requested a copy of an obituary for John - John Potter Smith.  This is from the Worcester Daily Spy, Dec. 23, 1903.   Argh!  Still no burial information!  

"SMITH -  In this city, December 21, John Potter Smith, age 79 years.  Funeral private".

With such a distance between Henrietta and her sisters, I doubt if they saw much of each other again after she moved to Illinois.  If any descendants of John P Smith read this, please leave me a comment and let's sort of reunite his family.  I invite those with Mary Abigail Bliss and John P Smith in their trees to contact me or the Worcester Public Library and determine for themselves who the parents of John Potter Smith are.

"THERE IS NO CRYING IN GENEALOGY!"  And there is no giving up!  Henrietta's parents were not so difficult after all.  Even the right John Smith CAN be found, I found mine! 

UPDATE 1/21/18: I've written a new post with recently found information on the parents of John Potter Smith - "Rerouting... John Potter Smith's Path". 

Charles Gaisford from Hilperton, U. K.

Hilperton is a village in the County of Wiltshire in southwestern England.  It's about 110 miles west of London and only about 25 miles northwest of Stonehenge.  My Great Great Grandfather Charles Gaisford was born in or near Hilperton on January 26, 1842. 

In 2001, I connected with a descendant of Charles' sister Hannah, Cindy Pickard.  She shared with me some Gaisford family history.  Charles' parents were James and Anna (Rich) Gaisford.  Six children were born to James and Anna before they came to the U.S. in about 1855, then a couple more in Rhode Island.

The children of James and Anna were:

1. Emma Jane  (1840-1915)
2. Charles Henry  (1842-1920)
3. James  (1845-1909)
4. Hannah  (1847-1918)
5. William  (1850-1827)
6. Anna  (1854-1913)
7. Samuel  (1857-1921)
8. Jean  (1860 - ?)

Back in the day before census records were available to search online, I had to either inter-library loan microfilm, or request lookups from others.  In March 2004, I posted a request on the Rootsweb Mailing list for Providence county, Rhode Island for the 1860 census showing James Gaisford, listing his family members by name.  My request was answered the same day!  It would have taken me a long time to find them in a search at Ancestry or Heritage Quest since they were listed by the name "Gaskill".   They were in Burrillville, Rhode Island, James was a "cloth finisher".  The family moved to Minonk, Illinois in about 1868. 

In 1860, Charles was 19, living with his parents in Burrillville, working as a weaver.  His marriage record in 1867 shows his residence as Putnam, Connecticut, so it looks like he had gone out on his own, moved to Putnam and was making his living as a spindle maker. You can see a copy of the marriage record here.

After their marriage, Charles & Henrietta moved to La Salle County, Illinois about 1868 where he took up farming.  Charles became a Naturalized citizen in Woodford County in 1872.  In about 1876, they moved to Nebraska, first to Ellis in Gage County then filing a homestead claim in Jefferson County.  One of my goals this year is to take a vacation day and get to two or three county courthouses and look for homestead records.  If you have a homesteader story to tell, the Homestead National Monument in Beatrice is collecting them.  

Beatrice Daily Sun, February 4, 1903

This article from the Beatrice Daily Sun tells me two things:  1) that Charles did all right financially and 2) the reason for Charles Jr's move to Oklahoma.  Interesting coincidence - Charles Jr moved from Ellis in Gage County, Nebraska to Gage in Ellis County, Oklahoma. 

From the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota website, the 1920 census Instructions to Enumerators were:

 "Column 5. Name of each person enumerated.-Enter the name of every person whose usual place of abode on January 1, 1920, was with the family or in the dwelling place for which the enumeration is being made."

The Gaisford household was enumerated on February 4th, just two weeks after Charles' death on January 20, 1920.  He is listed as head of household with Henrietta and their daughter Mary ("Maime").  

Charles left the English countryside at about age 13, lived and worked in eastern cities for a while, then left there to help settle the west.  The Gaisford family was the first of my ancestors to settle here in Nebraska.  The state was 9 years old.

Charles Gaisford

Wedding Wednesday - Charles & Henrietta Gaisford

Thursday, May 23, 1867 in Worcester, Massachusetts Charles Gaisford married Henrietta Abigail Smith.  He was 25, she was 18, it was the first marriage for both of them.  Notice Henrietta's middle initial is both A. and M. on this same document. 

How did a girl from Worcester, Massachusetts meet a man from Putnam, Connecticut? There's 30 miles between the two places.  Henrietta's father worked in an armory and Charles was a spindle maker, was there a business connection there?  Or Henrietta's Aunt Julia Bliss, who lived with her family in 1860, was a dress maker.  If Aunt Julia was in business a few years, she might have needed the services of a spindle maker.  Maybe Henrietta was an apprentice with her. 

Eleven children were born to them, Ellen died in infancy:

1. Charles Henry  (1868 - 1947)
2. Mary Ann "Maime"  (1870 - 1959)
3. Anna Maria  (1871 - 1943)
4. Emma Jane  (1874 - 1939) 
5. Carrie Matilda  (1876 - 1899)
6. Ellen Rachel  (1880 - 1881)
7. Cora Mabel  (1882 - 1971)  my Great Grandma
8. Nellie Cordelia  (1883 - 1919)
9. William Francis  (1885 - 1953)
10. Gladys Eltavine  (1888 - 1966)
11. Gertrude Henrietta  (1890 - 1986)

Charles Jr was born in Connecticut, Maime, Anna & Emma were born in Minonk, Illinois and the rest were born in Jefferson County, Nebraska.  Charles Jr moved to Oklahoma, the rest lived out their lives in Nebraska.

Charles & Henrietta were married for almost 53 years, until his death in 1920.

"Golden Wedding  

Just fifty years ago on May 23, 1867, occurred the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Gaisford and last Wednesday, May 23, their folks gathered to honor them.  Mr. and Mrs. Gaisford have nine living children, twenty-six grand children and one great grandchild all living in or near Ellis with the exception of Chas. Gaisford, Jr. who with his family resides in Oklahoma.  Those who were able to be present to help them celebrate were Mr. and Mrs. Will Gaisford and family, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Mann and family, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Carpenter and family, Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Weaver and daughter Rachel, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Amos, Grandma Carpenter of Harbine and Mrs. Orion Miller.  All enjoyed a fine dinner and ice cream and cake was served in the afternoon.  Mr. and Mrs. Gaisford have a host of friends in this vicinity who congratulate them on their long happy life together." [Source:  Beatrice Express, June 2, 1917]

William Harlow Roscoe's Lineage

Probably most people who get interested in family history think about the possibility of finding a connection to someone famous... or infamous.  Just looking for a brush with fame.  A few think about the connections to significant historical events like the Revolutionary War or the passengers of the Mayflower.  William Harlow Roscoe is my connection to both of those American events. 

With my greatest thanks to other researchers, I have the lineage of William all the way back to Richard Warren, who arrived in 1620 aboard the Mayflower.  Richard Warren would be William Roscoe's 7th Great Grandfather. 

William's middle name Harlow goes back to his Grandmother's maiden name - Mercy Harlow.  Mercy's father Sgt William Harlow was a military leader in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  His first wife, Rebecca Bartlett, was the granddaughter of Richard Warren. Mercy Harlow married Asa Corbin, who fought in the Revolutionary War.  Several other ancestors of William were in the military.  The names Harlow and Corbin were used often in later Roscoe families.  William had an uncle also named William Harlow Roscoe.  

Slowly, I'm working on finding books and things to help me collect the documentation on this branch of the family tree myself.  The Nebraska State Historical Society Library in Lincoln has newspapers on microfilm from all around the state.  So far when I've been there, I've spent most of my time searching through those (and having fun doing it!).  One of these days I want to look over their book shelves more and see what they have for out-of-state research.  Fall is not the best season for going to that Library.  Saturday's are the only day I can go, and the library is within a few blocks of Memorial Stadium where over 90,000 people converge most Fall Saturday's for Husker football.  If the boys are playing out of town, you still need to check on the Husker volleyball schedule.  The library is also within shouting distance of "The Bob", or the Bob Devaney Sports Center, where the girls games are always sold-out, too.  It takes patience and determination to deal with the traffic in Lincoln on a Fall Saturday.  Maybe that's just because I'm from a small town.

Searching through old newspapers I can find things like this advertisement from the DeWitt Times-News for William Roscoe's business from April, 1884.  His uncle Charles Roscoe was also in the well and windmill business, competitive or cooperative, I don't know.  The 1885 Nebraska census shows Will's occupation as a Dealer of pumps. Other census records list him as a stock buyer and manager of the grain elevator. His obituary said he was a grain dealer. He was definitely involved in agri-business throughout his lifetime. 

Ancestry.com. Nebraska, State Census, 1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

Lena and William Roscoe, about 1932

William was born March 6, 1859 in Frankfort, Herkimer County, New York.  His place of birth in his obituary is Kankakee, Illinois but he is listed in the 1860 census in Herkimer County.  He lived to be 88 years old, passed away on September 2, 1947 and is buried in the Clatonia Cemetery.