52 Ancestors – Page 2

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015

52 Ancestors: #15 ~ Joachim WYCOFF ~ How Do You Spell That?

joachim headstone 01 — Joachim Wycoff (Photo credit: Hollie Ann Henke)

We like to camp in the fall. A few years ago, we were unhappy to learn that the state was shutting down our favorite camping spot, Jefferson Lake State Park, because of low attendance. (Which is exactly why we liked it.) It was October and camp sites across Ohio were filling up fast because the end of camping season was approaching, and especially for the weekend that we were planning – Halloween weekend. Finding a campsite was proving to be even more difficult because we needed to make sure that we reserved a spot that was pet friendly so that we could bring along our two dogs. Out of frustration, I started calling state parks in West Virginia and finally reserved a campsite at Tomlinson Run State Park. As I hung up the phone, something was nagging at me about the name of this park. It seemed vaguely familiar…

The night before we left for our camping weekend, it occurred to me that maybe the place we were heading off to for camping had something to do with the family history, so I jumped on the computer and searched for a connection to Tomlinson Run. In the thirty-plus years that I have been researching, I tend to take breaks where I don’t do much except maybe update information from obituaries or, perhaps, I veer off into a different direction on some other family line. I don’t find it an easy task to hold specific information in my head at all times about the family. (It’s possible that this is age related.) When I found the connection, I was a little shocked that it hadn’t come to me sooner. My 5^th great-grandfather, Joachim Wycoff, had settled in this very area and, from checking out the map, it looked as if he was buried not far from where we would be camping. In fact, Flats Cemetery appeared to be right down the road. And it was! The first cemetery that we found on the left side of Flats Cemetery Road was, I think, a Presbyterian cemetery and there were Wycoffs buried there, but none that I could connect to Joachim. After searching for a while, I spied someone at a house nearby washing their car in the driveway. I ran across the cemetery and asked about Flats Cemetery, and received the answer that we needed to travel up the road a bit and that it would be on the right.

Flats Cemetery (Image from Google Earth)

And there it was, a big triangle of a cemetery cut into the woods butting up against state park land. We walked right up to the stone for Joachim.

Headstone - Joachim Wycoff, Flats Cemetery (Photo credit: Hollie Ann Henke) — Headstone – Joachim Wycoff, Flats Cemetery (Photo credit: Hollie Ann Henke)

Flats Cemetery long view (Photo credit: Hollie Ann Henke)

Joachim Wycoff was born 18 November 1749 at Somerset County, New Jersey, to Jacobus Wyckoff and Catelyntje Gulick, perhaps named after his maternal grandfather, Joachim Peter Gulick. One of 14 children, he was the fourth child and, also, the fourth son born to Jacobus and Catelyntje. Joachim is the great-great-grandson of immigrant ancestor Pieter Claessen Wyckoff and is my 5^th great-grandfather.

This short excerpt from the Somerset County Historical Quarterly touches on the many, many different spelling associated with the Wyckoff surname. The sentence in the middle of this clipping made me chuckle, especially because we now know that the “of the town court” meaning is the fanciful one and that Wyckoff is most certainly Friesian in origin with a likelier meaning related to the place name in East Friesland from which Pieter originated. I highly recommend that those who are interested in surname studies and the etymology of Wyckoff, read M. William Wyckoff’s, “What’s in a Name? History and Meaning of Wyckoff”. Others wanting to learn more general knowledge about the Wyckoff family should go to this website of The Wyckoff House Museum in Brooklyn or visit their Facebook page to meet other Wyckoffs.

Within my own family tree, I have the Wyckoff, Wycoff, Wicoff, and Wycuff spellings and, at times, siblings who have adopted a different spelling from each other. Whenever I’m in doubt, I use the spelling Wyckoff. An altogether different problem arose for me with Joachim, though, I didn’t know how to say his first name. When I asked my grandmother about it, she thought that it was probably “Jo-Kim”, but admitted that she’d only seen it written and had never heard anyone pronounce it. I’ve asked others who thought it should be “Wa-Keem”. I found this on YouTube and am going to use this one in my head while I read more about Joachim, because this post will have to serve as an introduction to Joachim until I finish transcribing the many documents that I have found and do more researching on the history of both New Jersey and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. It appears that from 1681 to 1689 there was a big migration of families from Long Island, New York into the Raritan region of New Jersey and that several lines of the Wyckoffs followed suit. While pouring over old history texts, it occurred to me that it might take me some years to sort out which Wyckoffs were which and who belonged to whom as the Wyckoffs were prolific and tended to use the same names within each family line. Sigh…

On 26 February 1772, twenty-three-year-old Joachim married sixteen-year-old, Hannah Yerkes, daughter of Silas Yerkes and Hannah Dungan, at Six Mile Run, New Jersey. Hannah gave birth to 14 children, 13 of which are listed in this pension application.

In 1776, when New York City was captured by the British, Joachim and Hannah were living in White House, New Jersey and Joachim was drafted into the militia, serving in Captain Stillwell’s company. (I have Stillwells in my paternal line in New Jersey at this time and this just begs for more research!) I am looking at Richard Stillwell, Captain of the 4^th Regiment, Hunterdon Militia as the probable Captain and company Joachim served with. Joachim served a total of eighteen months and as payment for that time served, he was given a land warrant and on 01 July 1802 was granted 294 acres of land in Brooke County, Virginia near Pughtown and Tomlinson Run (now New Manchester). This portion of Brooke County is now Hancock County, West Virginia. From reading pension applications, it appears that those eighteen months were not served concurrently, but as terms such as one month on duty, one month at home, etc. In the spring of 1780, Joachim and family moved to Somerset County where Joachim finished up his enlistment in the militia.

Family bible records, such as the page below, were used to help establish who the family members of the pensioner were. This also helped to establish the fact that Hannah was, indeed, Joachim’s wife so that she would also be permitted to petition for pension monies.

Joachim would be granted a $60.00 per year pension that would transfer to Hannah after his death and then, because of a provision for Hannah’s living children after her death, would be divided between Joachim and Hannah’s surviving children after her death. Those children were Hannah, Cornelius, and Agnes “Nancy”.

Of these three surviving children, Hannah married a Richard Durham who hailed from Fayette County, Pennsylvania. They removed to Ohio and had nine children.

Cornelius, my line, and my 4^th great-grandfather, married Leah Critzer on 20 February 1810. They lived in Ross Township, Jefferson County, Ohio and had 12 children, including Levi, my line, born 22 November 1825. Cornelius died, 28 November 1867, and is buried in Shane Cemetery in Jefferson County, Ohio. Leah died, 17 October 1869. I haven’t found a record of where she might be buried.

Also, of particular interest, is Agnes “Nancy”. In 1811, Nancy married Robert Moore, who was the son of Captain Thomas Moore (another Revolutionary War veteran) and Rachel Phillis, who is suspected to be the sister of my 4^th great-grandfather, Charles Phillis. It appears as if Joachim and Hannah were living in the Robert Moore household at the time of the 1840 census. This also helps point to the idea that Nancy was the holder of the family Bible that helped to prove the family relationships. Joachim died, 18 May 1841, and Hannah on, 21 October 1844. Although Hannah is also supposed to be buried in Flats Cemetery, I did not find her stone while we were there.

This tri-state area of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia (Virginia) is so very rich in history, not only of my own family, but in the history of the United States. I read just about everything that I can get my hands on that has historical information of this area. So many books, so little time. While we were in Flats Cemetery, I turned my back to the road and stood looking at the woods surrounding the cemetery on three sides and tried to absorb the essence of the area. It felt like it was a good place for my ancestor to stop and build his home. As we were leaving, I noted that the entrance to the cemetery has this sign:

This is my Week #15 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “How Do You Spell That?”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Joachim Wycoff

Parents: Jacobus Wyckoff and Catlyntje Gulick

Spouse: Hannah Yerkes

Surnames: WYCKOFF, WYCOFF, GULICK, YERKES

Relationship to Hollie: maternal 5th great-grandfather

Joachim Wycoff
Cornelius Wycuff
Levi Wycoff
Jane Wycoff
Florence Paisley
Elsie Marcella Hackathorn
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

April 8, 2015March 10, 2017

52 Ancestors: #14 Jeremiah Mason PITTMAN ~ Every Picture Tells a Story

Jeremiah Mason Pittman (Photo courtesy of Vernon Hayward) — Jeremiah Mason Pittman
(Photo courtesy of Vernon Hayward)

Asking me if I have a favorite photograph is like asking me if I have a favorite song. Favorite of who? What time frame? Just by themselves? Or with others? I worked in the photo-finishing business for more than 35 years and I love photographs. My favorite, though, probably changes quite often. Right now, my favorite photograph is one that I acquired not so long ago. I had been trolling around on the Ancestry site looking through other people’s trees for a clue to a mystery that I had been turning over in my mind and up popped a photograph of one Mace Pittman. Wait! What?

After looking over the information and realizing that it was my great-grandfather, I was pretty excited (and that’s a huge understatement). It didn’t click with me at first because, to me, his name was Jeremiah Mason Pittman and I had only seen my great-grandfather named as Mason or Jerry in the records that I’d found. This was also a good lesson for me in not using tunnel vision while searching for names. I’ve seen very few photographs of my father’s family over time and this was a great photo. I sent off a message to the man whose tree the photo was on and asked permission to attach it to my tree and received back a timely reply not only granting permission but offering up the photo to me if I’d like it. To make a long story short, around the Christmas holiday I received a package containing the framed photo. Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.

So, a little about Mace. He was born on Sunday, 08 May 1870, in Sunsbury Township near Woodsfield, Monroe County, Ohio to Jeremiah Pittman and Lydia “Jane” Gray, the second of five known children born to them in this marriage. Each had children from previous marriages. Jeremiah had two daughters from his marriage to Rachel Mellott and Jane had four- three sons and a daughter from her marriage to Archibald Mellott. (I haven’t figured out the exact relationship between these two Mellots yet, but I’m fairly certain there is one.) On the 1870 census of Monroe County, we find Jeremiah and Lydia with their three-year-old daughter, Lillie, and Jeremiah Mason, who was a month old. Three of Lydia’s sons from the previous marriage were also living with them.

Jeremiah was a farmer with a modest farm compared to those of his neighbors (mostly Mellott and Pool families). Within six years Jeremiah will be dead, leaving Lydia Jane widowed with four young children again. Her older Mellott sons have moved on and in the 1880 census, we find “Jane” in Switzerland Township, Monroe County, 12-year-old daughter, Lillie, and our 10-year-old Mason, along with the two additional young sons, George and Calvin. Lydia Jane is probably surviving on a widow’s pension going back to her first husband Archibald Mellott. It has been found where Mason’s father, Jeremiah, registered for service in the Civil War, but not if and when he actually served.

On the 28^th day of November in 1892, Mason Pittman married Lena Pool in Monroe County, Ohio.

The 1900 census finds Mason and Lena back in Sunsbury Township renting a farm. They have added three young daughters to their family- Lottie, born in October of 1893; Francie, born in February of 1898; and, Esther, born in September of 1899.

By 1910, Mason and Lena have moved to Wayne Township in Belmont County, Ohio where Mason is still farming, but now as an employee. He and Lena have been married for 18 years and Lena has birthed seven children, all of whom have survived. They have added four more daughters to their family (yes, seven girls!), Eva, born in 1901; Lillie, born in 1904; Elma Jane, born in 1906; and, my grandmother, Erma, born in 1907. During the time of the census enumeration, Lena would have been carrying her eighth daughter, Celesta, who would be born in November of 1910.

Come the 1920 census, we find that the family has moved once again to a new farm, this time to Flushing Township in Belmont County, Ohio and Mason is working the farm on his own account. They have added two sons to their family! Raymond was born in 1913 and George was born in 1914. Mason was nearing the age of 50 and I can imagine, that being a farmer, he was glad to see two boys come along. One thing that I found notable while looking at this particular census is that all of the members of the family except for the five and six-year-old boys were able to read and write. After looking at hundreds of census records of farming people, I can tell you that this is not often the case.

It is not known how much the beginning of the Great Depression affected the family but by the time of the 1930 census. We find Mason and Lena living on Sandal Place N.E., near-in to downtown, in Canton, Stark County, Ohio. Mason is still listed as a farmer but is noted as being unemployed. Daughter Elma, now 23, is working as an inspector at the bearing works and son Raymond, 18, is working as a laborer at a gas company. Son George, 15, has not attended school at any time since September of 1929. We also find that Elma’s son, Arnold, 5, is living here also. Although he is listed as the son of the head of household, we know that this is Elma’s son, born in January of 1925 in Berea, Ohio.

In the 1930-31 Canton City Directory, we find Mason, Lena, and children’s address is 1011 Sandal Pl. N.E. with Elma Jane working at the Timken Company, Raymond working for the Cable Company, and George as a laborer.

Then the family moves again the next year to 1550 Greenfield Avenue S.W. (This home no longer exists.) George has moved out and Raymond, and Elma, and her son, Arnold, are the only ones still living with Mason and Lena.

By 1940, Mason (who is going by Jerry now), Lena, son George, and Elma and her son, Arnold, have moved to New Cumberland in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.

The next year, in October, Lena dies from Diabetic Gangrene.

Mason’s son, Raymond, died in January of 1945 from asphyxiation when he fell asleep in his car. Mason passed away in a nursing home in Tuscarawas County on 29 March 1958. He was 87 years old. Note that in the following obituary that his birthdate is stated as being in 1871. We know this not to be true because Mason appears on the 1870 census, being born in May of that year.

While it is true that every picture does, indeed, tell a story, unless we know that person intimately, we can only guess at the stories in the lives of those pictured. The documents that we find while doing genealogical research help us to piece that story together. Bit by bit.

This is my Week #14 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Favorite Photo”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Jeremiah Mason Pittman

Parents: Jeremiah Pittman and Lydia Jane Gray

Spouse: Sarah Lena Pool

Surnames: PITTMAN, POOL, GRAY

Relationship to Hollie: paternal great grandfather

Jeremiah Mason Pittman
Erma R. Minnie Pittman
George Orren Schrader
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:
H. F. Walling and O. W. Gray New Topographical Atlas of Ohio
Published by Stedman, Brown and Lyon, Cincinnati, 1872

Photo courtesy of Vernon Hayward

Database online. Year: 1870; Census Place: Sunsbury, Monroe, Ohio; Roll: M593_; Page: ; Image: .

Year: 1880; Census Place: Switzerland, Monroe, Ohio; Roll: 1050; Family History Film: 1255050; Page: 629B; Enumeration District: 134; Image: 0542

Database online. Year: 1900; Census Place: Sunsbury, Monroe, Ohio; Roll: T623_31077_4117770; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 0103; FHL microfilm: 1241305.

Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Wayne, Belmont, Ohio; Roll: T624_1157; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0053; Image: 482; FHL microfilm: 1375170.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Flushing, Belmont, Ohio; Roll: T625_1349; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 193

Database online. Year: 1930; Census Place: Canton, Stark, Ohio; Roll: 1870; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 14; Image: 815.0; FHL microfilm: 2341604.

Database online. Year: 1940; Census Place: Warren, Tuscarawas, Ohio; Roll: T627_3161; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 79-68.

Canton City Directory 1930-31

Canton City Directory 1932

March 31, 2015May 27, 2019

52 Ancestors: #13 ~ Lloyd Albert SCHRADER ~ And Now…Something Different.

I had originally planned to write about this ancestor some time in the fall of 2015 after I had, hopefully, stumbled upon more information about my paternal grandfather, Lloyd Albert Schrader. However, the optional theme for this week in the 52 Ancestor challenge, “Different”, prompted me to move this post up some months. I would have loved to have titled this post after the infamous (at least, to my generation) catch-phrase from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, because it was my exact thought upon finding a piece of information a few years ago. But, you know…although I could not find information that the phrase is copyrighted, I would rather err on the safe side and not use it. I believe that a majority of us probably have some version of Michael Lacopo’s Hoosier Daddy? simmering on the back burner in our family histories, but probably few of us are able to put forth that story in such an eloquent and entertaining manner. (I admit that after I had found his blog, I binge read his installments until I got caught up with the series.)

I have admitted here before that I have not researched my father’s family as often or as in-depth as I have my mother’s. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it was my maternal grandmother who peaked my interest in the family history and who passed me a lot of information, sometimes just written on the back of an envelope. When I started actually working on a family tree, though, it bothered me a lot that I knew nothing at all about my paternal grandfather’s father. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. The only thing that I had to go on was the name of the father listed on my grandfather’s death certificate, “Wm. A.”.

I had spent somewhere around seven years attempting to track something down with that information. During this time, I would take my children along with me to the county library for a Saturday “Library-a-thon”. With my daughter in a Snuggly front carrier or a backpack and my son close by my knee, we would pretty much spend the entire day at the library while I searched through old books and microfilm and while the kids looked through a huge stack of board books, and then later on, as they were grew older, they would check in with me every half hour from the children’s department. With the advent of genealogical information becoming available online, everything changed. Slowly, at first, tediously trolling through bulletin board systems. And then, the information available (literally at your fingertips) exploded! And that’s when I found the fact that had me doing a 180, or at the very least, a 165…

The facts, then:

My dad’s father was born, Lloyd Otto, on Wednesday, 19 April 1899, in Plain Township, Stark County, Ohio to Lydia Pearl May, the unmarried daughter of Joseph C. May and Margaret F. Dobson. The father is listed as Albert Otto.

In the 1900 census of Plain Township, we find Lydia listed in the household of one Louisa Stoner as a servant, along with her year-old son, A. Lloyd Otto. Although technically, Lloyd is listed as the son of the head of household, we know that census takers can and did note things incorrectly and that the 61 year old, widowed, Louisa Stoner could not be the mother.

Lydia Pearl May married William S. Garner on 16 February 1905. In the 1910 census, we find 11-year- old Lloyd Otto listed as a servant in Lydia and William’s household and it is noted that he is a “helper” on the farm.

In 1918, Lloyd registers for the WWI draft using the name Lloyd Albert Schrader. Hmmmmmmm. This is the first instance where I have a document with the surname Schrader. Lloyd is described as being tall, of medium build, with brown eyes, and dark hair. He lists his mother, Lydia Garner, as his nearest relative. He states his occupation as a thrasher working on the farm of a Fred Brown where he is apparently also boarding, according to addresses given.

In the 1920 census, we find Lloyd Schrader living in North Industry as a boarder in the house of Albert F. Deible. His occupation is listed as a truck driver, hauling coal. Mr. Deible is a coal dealer, so it would seem that Lloyd is probably working for him also.

On 29 October 1923, Lloyd married 19-year-old Mary Bruce Geisinger, daughter of Erin Bruce Geisinger and Rosa Manley, in Holmes County, Ohio. Lloyd’s occupation is a steam shovel operator and he lists his parents as Harry Schrader and Lydia May.

We find Lloyd and Mary Schrader in the Louisville City Directory living at 123 S. Chapel St. in 1927 and Lloyd is working at Oyler Brothers.

Lloyd and Mary have two sons, but on 06 June 1928, Lloyd is granted a divorce from Mary. Around this point in time is where my grandmother Erma R. Minnie Pittman, daughter of Jeremiah Mason Pittman and Sarah “Lena” Pool, comes into the picture. We find Lloyd and Erma in the 1930 census in North Industry, Stark County with Lloyd’s two sons from his previous marriage and a new son. Lloyd’s occupation is still as a shovel operator and says that he is a “road-builder”.

In December of 1936, Lloyd applies for his Social Security Number. Notice that the year of his birth is incorrect on this document (below). He is now working for Garaux Brothers and has listed his parents as being Albert Schrader and Lydia Pearl May.

The 1940 census finds Lloyd and Erma and their growing family living in Plain Township, Stark County, Ohio. It is stated that they were living in Canton, Ohio in 1935, but this might be the North Industry home as the area is also known as Canton South. Lloyd is working for Garaux Brothers as a shovel operator.

On 03 January 1943, Lloyd died of a “heart malady”. He left seven sons and three daughters besides his widow, Erma. He is buried at Valley Chapel Cemetery on Trump Road in Stark County, Ohio in Section 3 South End, Row 7.

There are a lot of unanswered questions for this line of my ancestry. Besides Lloyd, my grandmother, Erma, the two oldest sons and the youngest son, have all passed away. I have two documents that I have not been able to find that would prove my descent from Erma and Lloyd and those are the marriage document of Erma and Lloyd and the birth document for Erma. Neither one seems to be in existence where they should be located. I have no idea and no viable theories about the name change from Otto to Schrader. After a long search, I have located an Albert Otto associated with the May family in Pennsylvania, and believe him to be the father of Lloyd; however, this is just speculation at this point. It took looking at many, many census records and looking at collateral lines to come up with this information. Because of obvious reasons, foremost being that this is only a theory, I have not laid out my research here that led me to this conclusion.

As far as DNA? I realize that when comparing autosomal DNA results, the results for comparison are only as good as the number of people from a certain surname who have tested, but it is interesting to note that, so far, I have not a single match to anyone with the Schrader surname in their lines, but have more than a dozen carrying the Otto surname. Until more members from my family test, I’m just kind of grasping at straws here. I have no doubt that eventually this mystery will get figured out. It’s just taking such a very long time…

I have to remind myself that patience is a virtue.

This is my Week #13 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Different”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Lloyd Albert Schrader

Parents: Albert Otto and Lydia Pearl May

Spouse: Mary Bruce Geisinger, Erma R. Minnie Pittman

Surnames: SCHRADER, OTTO, GEISINGER, PITTMAN, MAY, DOBSON, MANLEY, POOL

Relationship to Hollie: paternal grandfather

Lloyd Albert Schrader
George Orren Schrader
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:

Database online. Year: 1900; Census Place: Plain, Stark, Ohio; Roll: T623_1323; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 143.

Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Osnaburg, Stark, Ohio; Roll: T624_1232; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0215; Image: 646; FHL microfilm: 1375245.

Database online. Year: 1920; Census Place: Canton, Stark, Ohio; Roll: T625_1433; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 21; Image: .

Database online. Year: 1930; Census Place: Canton, Stark, Ohio; Roll: 1871; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 60; Image: 539.0.

Database online. Year: 1940; Census Place: Plain, Stark, Ohio; Roll: T627_3151; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 76-91.

Database online. Certificate: ; Volume: Lloyd A Schrader – Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, & 1958-2007

Social Security Administration. Copy of original document.

Database online. Registration Location: Stark County, Ohio; Roll: 1851190; Draft Board: 2.

U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989. Louisville 1927 Directory. Database Online.

“Ohio County Births, 1841-2003” https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6JD-KR8

“Ohio County Marriages, 1789-2013” https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8PB-6ZW

http://roots4u.blogspot.com/2014/02/in-beginning.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Now_for_Something_Completely_Different

March 25, 2015March 25, 2015

52 Ancestors: #12 ~ Hugh A. CLARK ~ Same Old Song

musical instruments — Evaristo Baschenis [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

When researching my ancestors, I am often struck by how similar the lives of a lot of them are. “Same old story, same old song, and dance.” They seem, when just looking at the birth, death, and marriage facts, to start their lives on the east coast, work their way across Pennsylvania to the edge of the frontier (western Pennsylvania), marry and have children – wife dies, marry again, have some more children, settle in Ohio and live out the remainder of their lives there. It’s a distinct pattern with many, many of my ancestors. Rarely, though, is there any indication of who exactly these ancestors might be as a people. Except…with my 4^th great-grandfather, Hugh A. Clark.

My grandmother, Elsie Marcella Hackathorn, would often mention her “grandfather’s grandfather” who was a music teacher. I have not spent a lot of time researching the Clark family over the years, but I have a good idea that I will be dedicating a lot more time to this surname after looking into them for this week’s 52 Ancestors posting. This appears to be a very interesting family and there are stories waiting to be told. On the surface, there are many teachers, at least one author, a well-known minister, some lawyers, a few characters, and a lot of well-educated people. I can hardly wait for a good chunk of free time to delve into the Clark’s history, but first, we’ll take a look at Hugh since he’s an ancestor after my own heart.

Hugh A. Clark was born near Brownsville in Fayette County, Pennsylvania around 1778 to Samuel Clark and Eleanor “Nellie” Violette. Samuel had been born in Hagerstown, Maryland and his brothers, George and John, had been killed by Indians. Hugh was the youngest of four brothers (Alexander, George, and Samuel) born to Samuel and Nellie. This family eventually ended up in Washington Couty, Pennsylvania. Soon after Hugh came of age, he was employed by an uncle (a brother of his mother) on the uncle’s slave plantation in Kentucky. Because of his experiences there, he became an abolitionist. Around 1800 (and when Ohio was opening up to settlers) he hopped across the river to Jefferson County, Ohio and married Elizabeth Fishel in 1811.

Hugh and his bride, Elizabeth then moved across the state to Mad River, Clark County, Ohio. Elizabeth gave birth to two daughters, Eleanor and Mary, and then passed away around 1814. After Elizabeth’s death, Hugh moved with his young daughters to Columbiana County, Ohio near Yellow Creek and just a few miles west of what would become the town of Salineville. Although Hugh was a farmer by occupation, during farming down-time he taught school and taught music. One county history has described him as being a “singing-teacher”.

Yes! An ancestor with a strong appreciation and knowledge of music! And these very things are what make me like this ancestor an awful lot. I have always loved school (I’m still attending classes working toward my degree) and music has always been very important to me. I sang in regular choir, concert choir, and ensemble throughout junior high and high school. I took coronet lessons, drum lessons, and guitar lessons when I was a kid. I have a keen appreciation of music and have always listened to a LOT of music and have owned huge music collections over the years. And I absolutely adore books. Yes, I was that kid who when told to go outside and play, took my book outside to read. Under the blankets with my little flashlight reading? Yep. Me. And although I’m not a farmer, I love gardening and have been planting things since I was a second grader. Yes…I can relate to this Mr. Hugh Clark.

Marriage Certificate for Hugh Clark and Letitia Kerr.

On 11 January 1815, the widower, Hugh married Letitia Kerr in Columbiana County. Letitia was the daughter of James Kerr (also a teacher) and Hannah Beard. Hugh and Letitia had seven children together:

Violet, born 1816, m. Martin Saltsman
James, born 1818, m. Mary C. McMillen
Amelia, born 17 May 1822, (my 3^rd gr-grandmother), m. John Paisley
Julia Ann, born 26 July 1824, m. Edward McCloskey
George D., born about 1829, m. Amy Gonzales
Letitia Jane, born about 1833, m. John Campbell
John Littleton, born about 1836, m. Harriet A. Derrick

Letitia passed away in May of 1855 and Hugh died 12 December 1857. He is buried at the cemetery in Monroeville.

A bill of the property sold by James Clark, administrator of the estate of Hugh Clark, deceased, at public sale April 3rd, 1858.

This is my Week #12 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Same”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Hugh A. Clark

Parents: Samuel Clark and Eleanor “Nellie” Violette

Spouse: Letitia Kerr

Surnames: CLARK, VIOLETTE, KERR, PAISLEY, HACKATHORN, MOORE

Relationship to Hollie: maternal 4th great grandfather

Hugh A. Clark
Amelia Clark
Simon E. Paisley
Florence D. Paisley
Elsie Marcella Hackathorn
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABaschenis_-_Musical_Instruments.jpg

Descendants of Samuel Clark: From Hart Family History: Silas Hart, HisAncestors and Descendents: William Lincoln Hart; Alliance, Ohio 1942

Mack, Horace. History of Columbiana County, Ohio: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Evansville, IN: Unigraphic, 1976. Web.

History of the Upper Valley – Vol. I – Publ. Madison, Wis. – Brant & Fuller – 1891 – Page 306

March 23, 2015March 26, 2015

52 Ancestors: #11 Susannah CRAWFORD ~ Luck of the Irish?

Susan Myers — Susannah Myers, front center. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Hitt.

Week #11’s 52 Ancestors post is more than a little late and I’m afraid that the only excuse that I have is that with the plethora of Irish research site links posted across the internet over the past week, I felt compelled to investigate many, many of them (and there is only so much free time).

My family never leaned toward any cultural or ethnic traditions while I was growing up. I had lots of friends who had those type of family traditions, but we never did. We were just people who lived in Ohio. Because of my auburn hair, fair skin, blue eyes, and smattering of freckles across my nose, I had been asked many, many times in my life if I was Irish – usually around St. Patrick’s Day. I have usually replied that maybe I was, just a little. I really had no idea. Most of my lines, both maternal and paternal have been kicking around the U.S. for hundreds of years, so I think that would make me mostly an American with a heavy dose of European and Scandinavian roots. Now, thanks to DNA testing estimates, I found that indeed I am a bit Irish – approximately 12% worth. There are certainly surnames in my tree that have the appearance of being Irish, but I have always assumed that these people were probably Scotch-Irish. The problem is that all of these Irish sounding ancestors have been here in America forever. Seemingly so, anyway, since I’m not having much luck tracking down the immigrant ancestor for these lines and the records in Ireland are sketchy, at best, pre-1843.

My maternal grandfather Moore’s death certificate stated that he was Irish/American Indian. But then, that’s what my grandmother told them as the informant and that’s the story that he told her. So far, the Native blood hasn’t surfaced, but he did have black hair, darker skin, and eyes that were so brown that they looked black. Moore’s can be Irish. I did a lot of reading seeking information about what exactly the term “Black Irish” means, but it seems that there is no definitive answer on that. It also seems that there is really no answer about what “Luck of the Irish” means, either. Is that bad luck? Is that good luck? So many questions.

After all of my fruitless searching this week, I decided to put Susannah Crawford out here as blatant “cousin bait”. This is one of my huge brick walls that has a bunch of circumstantial evidence, so let me tell you what I know and don’t know. Susannah is my 3^rd great-grandmother. She is the mother of Mary Amna Myers, who married Jacob Hackathorn. According to the 1900 census, Susannah was born in February of 1815. This is very consistent with ages given in all other censuses since 1850. In fact, the very consistency with Susannah’s information is why I’m writing about her this week. In giving information to the census enumerator, she always states that both of her parents were born in Ireland (and that fact has also been part of family tradition) and her age is always consistent with the progression of the census years. There is a researcher in Augusta, Ohio who states that Susannah is daughter of Matthew Crawford and a Susannah. As of this writing, no proof of that exists. I had always taken Susannah to be a daughter of one of Matthew’s sons, either William, Matthew, John, or James. My initial reasoning was circumstantial, at best. All of these people lived relatively nearby each other between Augusta and Norristown in Carroll County. These families also lived nearby the family of Silas Myers and all had settled in Columbiana County early on (this part of Columbiana County became Carroll County in 1832 on December 25).

Donegal Bay. Kelisi at the English language Wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

Matthew Crawford, Susannah’s suspected father, was born about 1750 in County Donegal, Ireland. County histories all seem to agree that he immigrated to America in 1803 or 1804 and settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania accompanied by his four sons William, Matthew, John, and James and their families. James’ birth has been stated to be in Drumhome Parrish, County Donegal. A diligent search of ship’s passenger lists from Ireland from 1802 until 1805 have, so far, failed to produce these Crawford families. While son William remained in Pennsylvania, between 1810 and 1820 Matthew and sons Matthew, John, and James removed to the Augusta Township area and the three boys entered 160 acres of land each.

It appears that Matthew, the father, did not purchase land. Although, apparently, he was living in Augusta Township and “spent his last days on this land”. Matthew has sometimes been associated with two younger daughters – Rebecca, born in 1787 and Mary, born in 1791. The mother of the boys is probably named Margaret Letta Brown (or Lettie). Indeed, in the 1810 census where we find him in Washington County, Pennsylvania, the household would appear to reflect this. I have not found Matthew in the 1820 census in Ohio. The Matthew that is attributed to being Matthew, the father, in several trees for the 1820 census I believe to be Matthew the son because of ages of the males. Information for if, and when, Matthew married a Susannah – who would be my Susannah’s mother – has not been found and neither has what happened to her after Matthew died, assuming that he passed before her. I even put out an S.O.S. to the Carroll County Facebook page to see if anyone there might be related to the Crawford or Myers family and still hanging out in the area. No luck.

During these past two weeks I have systematically gone through the 1850 through 1880 censuses noting the sons of Matthew and their families. First, to get them straight because they continue to repeatedly use the same names for their children (and occasionally, using the names again if a young child dies). And secondly, to make sure that Susannah, my 3^rd great-grandmother, doesn’t turn up as one of their children. Excepting Matthew, the father, it has also been relatively easy to find the wills of these people through probate records and my Susannah has not turned up as being named as a child in any of these wills. So…speculatively, Matthew, born in County, Donegal, Ireland is going to be who I’m working with as Susannah’s father.

Susannah Crawford married Lambert Myers, son of Silas Myers and Catherine Eads, on 14 September 1830 in Columbiana County, Ohio.

Susannah gave birth to eleven children who survived to adulthood, 3 daughters and 8 sons.

Mary Amna, born 29 Dec 1831, married Jacob A. Hackathorn
James C., born 02 Nov 1832, married Susannah Ewing
Matthew C., born 27 Oct 1834, married Rosannah Griffith
Jehu “John”, born 12 Nov 1839, married Elizabeth Welch
Katherine, born 09 Jan 1840, married George Welch
Silas, born about 1841, married Amanda Bannon
Thomas, born about 1847, married Ethel Welch
Margaret Elizabeth, born Feb 1848, married William James Moore
Mordica, born about 1850
Mahlon, born about 1853, married Emma Ewing
Aaron Jonas, born 25 Nov 1856, married Martha “Jane” Griffith

Between the 1850 and 1860 censuses, Susannah and Lambert moved to the East Liverpool area from Carroll County and would live out the rest of their lives in that vicinity. Lambert passes away sometime after the 1880 census. No death certificate or burial site has been found, as of yet, for him. We find Susan living with her daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, 83 years old and widowed, in the 1900 census. This daughter had lived nearby Lambert and Susannah for many years. The 1904 East Liverpool City Directory lists Susannah living just around the corner from Martha Elizabeth in a room at 118 Jackson Square and then she passes away 24 July 1904 and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in East Liverpool, Ohio.

I don’t have a positive identification on most of the women in the photograph of Susannah at the beginning of this post. We know that Susannah is sitting front center and standing behind her, slightly left is her daughter Margaret Elizabeth. Susannah had three daughters, and because of the similarities between the woman sitting on left and standing far right to Margaret, I have to believe that the one standing is daughter Katherine and the one sitting in front is daughter Mary. Katherine had two daughters, Minnie G., born 1868 and Mary Susan, born 1870, and it is possible that these two young girls pictured beside and in front of the supposed Katherine in the photo could be those daughters. Because of the clothing styles, it is not unreasonable to think that this photograph could have been taken somewhere between 1880 and 1887, but what the heck would Mary be doing in East Liverpool when she was living in Indiana at that time? One possibility might be that everyone was in town because of the death of Lambert. One might think that Susannah does not look the age of a woman who might be a couple of years either side of 70 in this photo, but some of the women in our family wear their age incredibly well. I really have no idea who the women standing on far left might be. Perhaps they are wives of Susannah’s sons? Perhaps more photographs of the family will surface in the future and we will be able to identify all of these women. Hopefully. So many questions…

This is my Week #11 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Luck of the Irish”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Susannah Crawford

Parents: Matthew Crawford and Susannah

Spouse: Lambert L. Myers

Surnames: CRAWFORD, MYERS, HACKATHORN, MOORE

Relationship to Hollie: maternal 3rd great grandmother

Susannah Crawford
Mary Amna Myers
Thomas John Hackathorn
Elsie Marcella Hackathorn
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015

52 Ancestors: #10 ~ Thomas John HACKATHORN ~ After the Flood

THE FLOOD

1828 versus 1875

Destruction and Devastation

“Water, water everywhere! There are few of our citizens who do not know of the extent to which the classic Wabash has, in past years, risen, and but few who have not felt the effects of it in a greater or lesser degree; but such an occurrence as the present rise – the magnitude of which has never been witnessed by any one living – claims more than just a passing notice. January and June freshets used to be looked for in times past, as regularly as those months came round, but for such a rise as the present to pour down upon us in August, is unprecedented and will probably never again be witnessed. The well-remembered rise of 1828 is no longer a data, as the rise of August, 1875, which reached its highest point last Tuesday, saw it and went twelve inches better. The flood of 1828 can now step down and out, and those old citizens who boasted of having seen the Wabash at such height as has never been reached since, and probably never before, will have to keep in the shade and yield to their descendants the “glory” they have themselves so long enjoyed. At this writing, Wednesday evening, or town is surrounded with water…”

Thomas John Hackathorn, my great-grandfather, was a boy of ten years old when his family was caught in the midst of this flood. You can read more about the family’s experience here in the week three posting of the 52 Ancestors Challenge. I am trying to imagine the destruction of the flood through the eyes of a boy and wonder if he was scared, or if he found it exciting, or perhaps a bit of both? It is a little difficult reconstructing Thomas’ life after the flood. We know that his father, Jacob, contracted smallpox and died within ten months of the flood. The oral history account of this time given by Thomas’ younger sibling, and only sister, Jennie, states that they were able to keep the family together after the flood, but what happened after the death of their father in June of 1876 is pretty much unknown.

As was mentioned in week three, Christian had remained in Kansas when the family started their journey back East after successive years of crop failures. James married the Ickes neighbor, Lyde in 1879. At the time of the 1880 census, we find James and Lyde living not too far from James’ mother, Mary, in Vigo County, Indiana. We also find Mary with two of her sons, Jacob and William. Silas is working as a farm hand and boarding there, also in Vigo County. But where are the three youngest children, including Thomas? Thomas, Crawford, and Elizabeth Jane (Jennie) are nowhere to be found. I have searched the 1880 census for years looking for some clue to where they might be. I looked for those children in the households of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, West Virginia, and Ohio. I’ve undertaken what amounts to a door-to-door search in Vigo County, Indiana thinking that they might have been farmed out to neighbors. I’ve searched orphanages and asylums without finding a trace. I don’t know if, perhaps, they had been placed under some sort of guardianship after the death of their father or not because I have not found any documents or newspaper articles to that note. They just…disappeared.

This is not the first time that I’ve had problems finding this particular family. I have yet to find them in the 1870 census. After searching for many variants of the Hackathorn surname, including, but not limited to, Heckathorne, Hagglehorn, Hickenhorn, Hackleborn, Hakeltorn, and Headstrom (yes, indeed, Headstrom), I have convinced myself that the family was probably traveling in their covered wagon somewhere in Missouri or Kansas at the time of the census in 1870. What we have are about 30 years where we know almost nothing about where the family was living and what they were up to.

Thomas John Hackathorn was born on Sunday morning, 16 April 1865. It was Easter day and the nation was still in shock at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Just the week before, Lee had surrendered to Grant, the Civil War was winding down, and Jacob and Mary were itching to leave Ohio and try their fortune out West. In 1866 they began their westward trek with their older sons and year old Thomas in tow.

Hackathorn Siblings — Children of Jacob and Mary Hackathorn – Thomas John second from left, back row.

Until we can fill in the missing years after the flood in Indiana, we can pick up the siblings’ lives again when they have all reappeared back in Ohio – with the exception of James, who remained in Indiana. We know that, at least, William was back in Ohio when he married in 1884. Silas married in 1886. Widowed Christian was back in Ohio from Kansas and married in July of 1893. Jennie married in 1893 also, followed by Crawford in 1895, and Jacob in 1898. Thomas’ mother, Mary, passed away in Bergholz in December of 1896. Thomas John married Florence D. Paisley on 18 June 1893 in Jefferson County, Ohio.

Florence Paisley and Thomas John Hackathorn

Thomas and “Flora” were married just weeks shy of 24 years when Florence died in childbirth with her 15^th child, who was born premature. Of their children, only nine survived to adulthood. After his wife’s death, their oldest daughter, Mary, 23 and a teacher, assumed the role of caring for the eight younger children. His entire adult life, Thomas had been a coal miner and, apparently, a moonshiner and bootlegger. Perhaps the rest of the family knew this fact, but I did not until a few years before my grandmother died. One Saturday we were at Grandma’s apartment because my son had to interview someone for a project at school. He chose his great-grandmother. I was sitting on a footstool glancing at a book and listening with half an ear (because I had already heard a lot of the stories) when my son asked what her father did and she revealed this little tidbit. Surprised is not the word for my reaction. I jumped up and said “Grandma, why haven’t you ever told us this before?” And she replied that it wasn’t something that you usually mention in polite company and how did we think that her father fed nine kids? Not from the coal mines…

"Several Plead Guilty Before Federal Judge." Elyria Chronicle Telegram 13 June 1939: 1. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. — “Several Plead Guilty Before Federal Judge.” Elyria Chronicle Telegram 13 June 1939: 1. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

It appears from talking with various cousins that the production of whiskey was something of a family affair and that there was most certainly a connection to the Whiskey Rebellion in Western, Pennsylvania. (But, that…is another story.)

Thomas Hackathorn and sons; George, on left, and Jack on right. Photo courtesy of Merrianne Hackathorn.

Thomas died 25 April 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage at 84 years of age. He is buried in the Bergholz Cemetery.

This is my Week #10 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Stormy Weather”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Thomas John Hackathorn

Parents: Jacob A. Hackathorn and Mary Amna Myers

Spouse: Florence D. Paisley

Surnames: HACKATHORN, MYERS, PAISLEY, MOORE, SCHRADER

Relationship to Hollie: maternal great grandfather

Thomas John Hackathorn
Elsie Marcella Hackathorn
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:

“Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12456-7689-20?cc=1307272 : accessed 11 March 2015), 1949 > 22101-25300 > image 2399 of 3533
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34f.asp
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/appomattox-courthouse/appomattox-court-house-history/surrender.html
Year: 1880; Census Place: Sugar Creek, Vigo, Indiana; Roll: 318; Family History Film: 1254318; Page: 184A; Enumeration District: 199; Image: 0370
“The Flood.” New Harmony Register 14 Aug. 1875: 3. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
“Pleads Not Guilty.” Zanesville Times Recorder 29 May 1939: 6. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
“Several Plead Guilty Before Federal Judge.” Elyria Chronicle Telegram 13 June 1939: 1. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

March 5, 2015March 5, 2015

52 Ancestors: #9 David Moore ~ Closer to Home

David Moore was born on 07 April 1903 [1] in Wattsville, a little unincorporated town in Fox Township in Carroll County, Ohio to William Grant Moore and Nancy Jane Hale. He was the sixth of seven children born to William and Nancy. Dave had four sisters; Lula, Effa, Sadie, and Nettie and two brothers; William and John. All four of the girls were born before any of the boys.

In 1910, the family was living in Salineville [2] in Washington Township in Columbiana County, Ohio with the four youngest children, along with married daughter Sadie and her husband, Homer Beadnell. We also find the family still living in Salineville by the time of the 1920 census [3] where William and Nancy are enumerated along with their 3 sons William, David, and John. The boys had Moore cousins who lived in Bergholz and David, especially, spent a lot of time visiting them. This is how he met my grandmother, Elsie Marcella Hackathorn. The cousins lived nearby the Hackathorns. David and Elsie were married on 12 April 1923 in Wellsburg, Brooke County, West Virginia. It appears that the certificate has been lost somehow because even my grandmother had a hard time trying to obtain a copy when she retired from the S.S. Kresge Company. [4]

David and Elsie were living in Springfield Township, Jefferson County, Ohio (near Bergholz) by the time of the 1930 census [5] with their first 3 children of nine, two daughters and a son. David was working in the coal mines at that time. At some point, they lived for a stint in Canton, Stark County, Ohio as it was noted on the 1940 census as the place they were living in 1935 [6]. In between the censuses, another daughter and two sons were born to them. The next move was to Hanover Township in Columbiana County, near Bayard, where my mother was born and started to school. [7] Two more sons were born to David and Elsie after my mother was born in 1942. David continued his work in the coal mines and worked for a time for a window washing company. Along about the time that my mother would be entering the sixth grade, David got a job with the City of Canton that necessitated a move back up to Canton to live, where they rented several houses before buying the house that I knew.

David Moore was, of course, my maternal grandfather. Others might have quite different memories of him, but I have only the fondest of memories of him from when I was a small, somewhat precocious, child. For a time after I was born, my mom and dad and I lived at the house with Grandma and Grandpa. My dad’s mother lived right across the alley.

One of my uncles (or perhaps two of them, more about those uncles at another time) owned a riding academy by the name of Town and Country out on Perry Drive in Canton and it was there that the family spent a lot of time, including my grandfather. David had come from “horse people” and his father William, had always owned fine horses. My grandmother always said that he had the finest horses around and when there was a need for horses to pull the hearse at funerals and to the cemetery, that William was always called on to come with his horses.

My mom tells me that they kept my bassinet in the barn office with a curtain draped over it to keep off the flies. My grandfather bought me a grey Shetland pony before I was even close to being able to ride – but my mom says that he used to sit me on top of it all the time and hold me there. The pony’s name was Smokey, but not being able to say my S’s, he was Mokey to me.

Me sitting on Grandpa's lap. (Yes, that's a cigarette butt) — Me sitting on Grandpa’s lap. (Yes, that’s a cigarette butt)

As a young child, I spent a lot of time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I asked my mom a couple of days ago if it was really all that much time or if it was a false memory, but she assured me that I was there quite often because my grandpa wanted me there. My grandma and grandpa’s bedroom was in a room right off the kitchen and I loved being in there. There were bridles and reins hanging from the walls, and a framed picture of a horse, and a calendar that had a photo of Dale Evans on it (I decided that I didn’t care for Dale Evans after I found out that she was married to Roy Rogers – I kind of had it in my head that I was going to grow up to marry Roy Rogers). My grandpa had bought me a stuffed penguin that was probably about 11” high and he used to put his fingers under the wings so that the wings would flap (although I didn’t know he was doing that at the time). Whenever I’d come to stay for a few days, he’d take me down to Lawson’s and get two cardboard boxes, one a little smaller than the other, and placed on their sides they would become my dresser into which he’d place a round mirror in the top one and a Big Ben alarm clock and my penguin into the bottom one. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with Grandpa sitting on his lap, or on the table, or walking around entertaining him with my Groucho Marx imitations. These are some of the fond memories that I have of him.

At Grandma and Grandpa's house. Note my invisible reins. — At Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Note my invisible reins.

He loved baseball and the Cleveland Indians, in particular. The television was placed in the living room so that he could watch from the kitchen. He loved Polka music and was crazy about a young honky tonk piano player on Lawrence Welk by the name of JoAnn Castle [8]. He’d say, “Listen to that babe pound that piana!” Somehow he convinced me that if I didn’t put my tongue in the hole of my gums where I’d lost a tooth, that my tooth would grow in gold like his. Of course, that is impossible and I was disappointed to not be able to grow any gold teeth. Yes, my grandfather was a character and he also loved his whiskey.

At some point before I started second grade, my grandfather and grandmother split up. She went to live with a Wyckoff cousin and he went to live with his sister. Our family moved into Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I lost touch with my grandpa until I was in high school, at which time I walked past his little house, catty-cornered across the street from his sister’s house, and I would stop and chat with him a little while if I saw him sitting outside. After graduation, I lost touch with him again. I was out of state for a while, was working, got married and had my children… He passed away 13 November 1988.

This is my Week #8 post for Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge.

The optional theme for this week was “Close to Home”.

Lineage Notecard

Name: David Moore

Parents: William Grant Moore and Nancy Jane Hale

Spouse: Elsie Marcella Hackathorn

Surnames: MOORE, HACKATHORN, SCHRADER

Relationship to Hollie: maternal grandfather

David Moore
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:

[1] Savage, Arnold Hegy. Guide to Carroll County, Ohio Birth Records, 1867-1908. Carrollton, OH: Carroll County Genealogical Society, 2000. 350. Print.
[2] Database online. Year: 1910; Census Place: Salineville, Columbiana, Ohio; Roll: T624_1162; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0058; Image: 364; FHL microfilm: 1375175.
[3] Database online. Year: 1920; Census Place: Salineville, Columbiana, Ohio; Roll: T625_1356; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 145; Image: 604.
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._S._Kresge
[5] Database online. Year: 1930; Census Place: Springfield, Jefferson, Ohio; Roll: 1824; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 27; Image: 844.0.
[6] Database online. Year: 1940; Census Place: Hanover, Columbiana, Ohio; Roll: T627_3043; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 15-15.
[7]http://www.oldohioschools.com/columbiana_county_files/Columbiana%20Bayard%20School%20(Medium).jpg
[8] http://www.welkgirls.com/joanncastle.html

February 27, 2015March 5, 2015

52 Ancestors: #8 Charles PHILLIS ~ Three Brothers

Being more than a little under the weather this past week, both literally and figuratively, I thought that I’d share with you the story that I have been working on. Considering the optional theme for Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge, “Good Deeds”, it seems that this story could have used several good deeds. Once upon a time there were three brothers who came to America and all fought in the Revolutionary War. I know! Cringe worthy words, at best, along with “we came over on the Mayflower” and “my grandpa’s grandmother was a Cherokee princess”. I know that I have more than a couple three brothers stories in my own lineage. This one, however, just might be at least partially true.

The three brothers in this story were Joseph, Charles, and Jacob Phillis. There is so much bad information out there about the Phillis family and some of that was passed to me more than 25 years ago. I spent a couple of days pruning my family tree of information that was most certainly wrong and am having a look at this family again with fresh eyes. Joseph Phillis has been proven to be the son of one Joseph Phillis born by some accounts in Leeds, England. By other accounts in Ireland. Joseph, the junior, was born on February 9^th, in either 1744 or 1751. Joseph Phillis, the elder, lived for a time in Loudoun County, Virginia. Also associated with Joseph Phillis is a daughter, Rachel, born near Leesburg, Virginia on 05 March 1756 who married Thomas Moore. The father, Joseph, lived the last years of his life with daughter Rachel and her husband in Pennsylvania near Hookstown.

The other two brothers, Charles, born about 1760, and Jacob, born a little later, are sometimes associated with Joseph, and sometimes not. What I am doing is looking for some proof to that effect. My main concern is with Charles, my 4^th great grandfather. All four of these men, and Rachel and Thomas Moore are found in census records on the very edge of the western frontier, Washington and Beaver counties, Pennsylvania starting with the 1790 census. Thomas Moore, Joseph, Charles, and Jacob all have records for service in the Revolutionary War and all held various land warrants. Thomas Moore owned 300 acres that laid southeast of Hookstown, the warrant for that land was dated 01 March 1774. Both Josephs were living in Washington County beside each other and Charles and Jacob lived beside each other during the 1800 and 1810 censuses in Beaver County. By the time of the 1820 census, all three – Joseph, Charles, and Jacob – were found living in Smith Township in Washing ton County. During this early history of southwestern Pennsylvania there were border disputes with Virginia and, also, this area held the Depreciation Lands. It is probable that some kind of confusion over land due to Charles for his Revolutionary War service was how Charles lost part of his land. Charles’ name appeared on a list of soldiers who had received depreciation pay.

Charles served in the Pennsylvania Militia and as a line troop for the Pennsylvania Line. He was also a Ranger with John Hogland’s Company serving a long enlistment on the frontier fighting against the Indians.

But probably the coolest thing about Charles Phillis, is that around 1792 he chose to settle on an island of more than 100 acres on a bend in the Ohio River. There he built a blockhouse and carried on his business as a boat maker.

The bad thing is that he ended up losing the island in a lawsuit. At least for a time. It appears that the island was in dispute for at least thirty years and Charles’ claim to that land ended with his death in 1824.

Last summer, a cousin let me read a letter that was written in 1963 by a member of the family (that I made a copy of) which made reference to Charles’ death. I had also heard my grandmother speak of it and decided to try to find some solid information.

I did find reference made to it, but no solid facts. Nothing in the newspapers that alluded to the fact that a prominent citizen was robbed, knocked in the head, and thrown overboard.

Some of the solid facts that we do have for Charles are the names of his daughters – Rebecca, Polly, Nancy, and Catherine – who are all named as his daughters in a deed recorded 14 August 1824 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania (and that I am somewhat patiently waiting for in the mail). We also know who those daughters married, Catherine marrying Christian Hackathorn, and from those two I descend. Once the weather breaks, I’ll be planning a daytrip or two across the river into Beaver County, Pennsylvania to spend some time searching in depth. There are a lot of deeds and wills that I need research in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

It might be interesting to note that Phillis Island is now in the hands of the National Wildlife Refuge. Apparently the island has lost a lot of acreage due to dredging and that makes me wonder if the cemetery known to be on the island is still there. Besides not being able to find a grave or burying place of Charles, Jonas Potts and his wife, Mary Heckathorn, were known to have been buried there. Also, Catherine Phillis Heckathorn’s grave site has not yet been found by me. After Christian’s death in Carroll County, Catherine moved back to Beaver County. She is found in the 1870 census in Industry, Beaver County along with her daughter Nancy, 51, who is listed as idiotic, and daughter Johanna and her husband Tom Proudlock. Industry is right across the river from Phillis Island. Also, on the other side of the river from Phillis Island is the site of The Shippingport Atomic Power Plant, the first civilian nuclear facility in the United States.

After doing some investigating of DNA matches, it turns out that I have some matches that have the Phillis surname in their ancestry, so I’ve sent out some preliminary emails to see if those individuals want to pursue a look at our lines. Were Rachel, Joseph, Charles, and Jacob truly siblings? Are there 4 daughters of Joseph unaccounted for as has been suggested by some researchers? How and where did Charles die? Once again, the migratory path of my ancestors travelled through Loudoun County, Virginia to southwestern Pennsylvania, and then hopped across the river to Carroll County, Ohio. At some point, I believe that all of these loose ends are going to come together all at once and the missing pieces of my family puzzle will be found so that I can see the entire picture. And when that proof does happen, these families will receive updates here.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Charles PHILLIS

Parents: *Joseph PHILLIS and *Nancy UNKNOWN

Spouse: *Catherine “Kitty” BOYCE

Surnames: PHILLIS, BOYCE, HECKATHORN, MOORE, SCHRADER

Relationship to Hollie: 4th great grandfather

Charles PHILLIS
Catherine PHILLIS
Jacob A. HACKATHORN
Thomas John HACKATHORN
Elsie Marcella HACKATHORN
Darlene Lois MOORE
Hollie Ann SCHRADER

* Suspected relationships. Not proven.

February 14, 2015February 14, 2015

52 Ancestors: #7 Johann Nickel MEY ~ Bye-Bye, Love

I’d like to imagine that there are some truly romantic love stories out there among my ancestors, especially since today is Valentine’s Day, but there really are none that I am privy to. Not that we observe this particular “holiday” here in this house… It was kind of fun when my kids were very young, or when I was much younger than I am now, but these days it is mostly a non-event. We are spending this windy, snowy, wintery day by laying around and reading and then ordering in pizza for dinner. That’s pretty much a perfect day! Perhaps I’ll bake some heart-shaped cookies later to warm up the kitchen. Anyway, as usual, I digress.

After looking over those distant relatives with surnames of Love, and Valentine, and Hart in an attempt to find something that would resonate with Amy Johnson Crow’s suggested optional theme for the 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge for this week and not feeling inspired, I started searching for a couple who might have been married around the 14^th of February. I found that I have exactly one.

Admittedly, I have not spent as much time on my dad’s ancestral line because gathering the information has been such a chore. My dad’s father died when he was three years old and no one really knows too much about that family and then, add to that, the fact that my dad’s father was born with the surname Otto, but for some unknown reason started going by the name of Schrader as a young adult. I know! Like I said, it’s mostly a chore. No one seems to have much information on my grandmother’s family either, so it has been like starting with a blank piece of paper…literally.

There is an interesting branch of my father’s line, though, the Mey family (and if I could figure out how to type an umlaut on this laptop, I would do so). Johann Nickel Mey is my paternal 7^th great grandfather. He was born on 29 May 1673 in Alsenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany to Johannes Mey, a judge from Callbach and Margaretha Lauers from Niedermoschel. Johann Nickel was a shoemaker and married Anna Catharina Beyer on 18 April 1699 in Niederhausen. Two sons were born to the couple over the next few years and it appears that Anna Catharina died in childbirth in 1707 at the young age of 26. Both sons died in infancy.

Evangelische Kirche Niederhausen By Nahefoto 19:03, 30 December 2007 (UTC) (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

On 14 February 1708, Johann Nickel married again. This time to Maria Catharina Graeff, the daughter of Anna Margaretha and Johann Nicolas Graeff in the Niederhausen Reformed Church. According to essays written by Fred T. Mays on the mayhouse.org website, this day was also a special day in the village because St. Valentine was the protecting saint of the congregation. This marriage then, is my romantic story for today.

Johann Nickel and Maria Catharina would go on to have seven sons and three daughters and although two of the boys would die as infants, the rest all grew to adulthood and married. During this time, Johann Nickel became a judge as well. On 21 February 1743, Johann Nickel succumbed to an illness and passed away. At some point after his death, the family began making plans to move to America.

The years following The Thirty Years War in Germany were followed by many years of religious persecutions and other upheavals. This resulted in more than thirty thousand immigrants flooding into Pennsylvania just prior to the Revolutionary War during the years 1727 through 1776. During the summer of 1748, Maria Catharina said goodbye to her husband, long buried, and two of her children who were staying behind, to travel up the Rhine to Rotterdam on the North Sea. There she boarded the ship Edinburgh along with three sons and two daughters, bound for a new life. They arrived at the port of Philadelphia on 05 September 1748.

Palatines who were living in Pennsylvania said that they had left the Palatinate because of religious reasons and financial difficulties. Because they were allowed a greater liberty of conscience in Pennsylvania, they left the Rhine valley for the Conestoga Country. And it was here in Conestoga Township in Lancaster County where Maria Catherina died in 1751 barely three years after she had left her homeland. It was also here where one of her sons, Johann Leonhardt May (my 6^th great grandfather), became a wagoner – Conestoga style. But then, that’s another story…

Lineage Notecard

Name: Johann Nickel Mey

Parents: Johannes Mey and Margaretha Lauers

Spouse: Anna Catharina Beyer, Maria Catharina Graeff

Surnames: MEY, LAUERS, GRAEFF, MAY, SCHRADER

Relationship to Hollie: 7th great grandfather

Johann Nickel Mey
Johann Leonhardt May
Johann Daniel May
Daniel May
John G. May
Joseph C. May
Lydia Pearl May
Lloyd Albert Schrader
George Orren Schrader
Hollie Ann Schrader

SOURCES:

“Deutschland, Heiraten, 1558-1929,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NZ6K-13L : accessed 14 February 2015), Johannes Mey in entry for Johann Nickel Mey and Anna Catharina Beyer, 18 Apr 1699; citing Alsenz, Bayern, Germany; FHL microfilm 193,751.

Egge, Marion F. Pennsylvania German Roots across the Ocean. Philadelphia, PA: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 2000. Print.

Eshleman, H. Frank. Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and of Their Remote Ancestors, from the Middle of the Dark Ages, down to the Time of the Revolutionary War; an Authentic History .. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub., 1969. Print.

Jordan, John W. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Rupp, I. Daniel. General Remarks on the Origin of Surnames Interpretation of Baptismal Names, Which Occur in the Collection of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss and Other Immigrants ; to Which Are Added Other Baptismal Names, Both of Males and Females. Harrisburg: T.F. Scheffer, Printer, 1856. Print.

STRASSBURGER, RALPH BEAVER. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Edited by William John Hinke. Norristown [PA]: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934. 3 vols. Vols. 1 and 3 reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1964. Repr. 1983. Vol. 1. 1727-1775. 776p.

Yoder, Don, editor. Pennsylvania German Immigrants 1709-1786, Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of The Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1980

www.bedfordconnection.org

www.mayhouse.org

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APerrault_Leon_Jean_Basile_Cupids_Arrows.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEv._Kirche_Niederhausen.JPG

February 10, 2015May 28, 2015

52 Ancestors: #6 In Search of Elizabeth, wife of David WITHROW

I don’t know how many of you faced the same situation as I did when you read about the optional theme for Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Challenge for this week, but I have had Carole King’s So Far Away stuck in my head since the first reading of the February themes. The Tapestry album takes me back to the time of junior high school (and, yeah, that was so far away also!). This was the first album that I owned that I memorized every lyric and every note of the piano. Remember how disappointed you would be when you bought an album because you liked a song from the radio, and then found that you didn’t really care for the rest of the album? For me, at least, that wasn’t the case with this one. I LOVED. Every. Single. Song. I usually either listen to NPR on the radio or play some music while I’m writing; and because the dogs were tired of hearing me sing, I chose Carole King’s Tapestry as my soundtrack for today. How fitting then, that today is the 44^th anniversary of the release of that album?

This year I wanted to make it a priority to track down more information on my direct maternal line. Because finances were an issue, I opted to have the autosomal DNA test done instead of the mtDNA test. I may have found more answers to the maternal direct line with the other route, but after discussing with others – perhaps not. I tested with Ancestry originally and when doing a search for the surname Withrow within the trees, I find I have many matches within locked trees and, alas, so far no responses.

As it turns out, I am spinning my wheels at my 5^th great-grandmother, Elizabeth, wife of David Withrow. What I do know about Elizabeth are a bunch of probably and maybes. She was probably born around 1782 and maybe in Pennsylvania. She probably died somewhere around 1830 in Columbiana (now Carroll) County, Ohio. She probably married David Withrow around 1795, maybe in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. David was probably born between 1765 and 1771 in Pennsylvania. Precious little is known about him also. I know that there were was a Withrow that came over from Scotland in the early eighteenth century, but so far I haven’t been able to connect to that line.

This past week I have centered my researching on Beaver County, Pennsylvania and, once again, in East Township, Carroll County. At some point, I imagine that I just might become an expert on these two areas! We find David Withrow in South Beaver Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania in 1804 where he has signed a petition asking for the township to be split because it is too large to easily attend township meetings or to work on the public roads without travelling a far distance.

We also find two other familiar people that have added their names to the petition, Charles Phillis and Jacob Hackathorn. Charles Phillis was the father of Catherine Phillis, mother-in-law of Mary Amna Myers. Jacob Hackathorn, who signed, was the father of Christian Hackathorn and son of Reinhard Jacob Hackathorn. It is quite apparent that these ancestors of mine rendezvoused in Beaver County, Pennsylvania at the edge of the frontier and hopped on land in Ohio as soon as it was relatively safe to do so and as the land started to open up to settlement. And, it seems, they beat feet to the area around what is now East Township, Carroll County.

In my search for Elizabeth, I have been forced to concentrate on finding where her husband, David Withrow was. We see that he is still in Beaver County, Pennsylvania during the 1810 census.

David Withrow also fought in the War of 1812 in Findlay’s Battalion of Pennsylvania Volunteers, so we have to assume that they were still in Pennsylvania at that time.

And although I haven’t found David and family in the 1820 census as of yet, we do find him in an 1821 tax record in Columbiana County, Ohio (now Carroll).

Here we see the land patent (along with two others entered into with a Hardgrove, not pictured) and a land plat, although it appears from the dates that he was living in this area before he owned the land.

While looking at the household members in the 1830 and 1840 censuses, it appears from the ages of those listed that Elizabeth passes away some time between those censuses. I have yet to locate the graves of David or Elizabeth, but there are Withrows at Glade Run and Mechanicstown (in nearby Fox Township) cemeteries. Following are family group sheets detailing the children of David and Elizabeth Withrow:

I methodically started researching each of these children in a search for clues about Elizabeth and was quite happy to find something in a book about Knox County, where son, James had moved to with his family because this answered the question of when David and Elizabeth had relocated and also proved to me that David’s wife was, indeed, named Elizabeth.

At this rate, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trace my direct maternal line back to one of the “Seven Daughters of Eve”. In the meantime, I’ll keep searching for Elizabeth and her family. If you see her, let me know. I feel as if I’m so close to finding her, but yet…so far away.

Lineage Notecard

Name: Elizabeth

Parents:

Spouse: David Withrow

Surnames: WITHROW, EARL, WYCKOFF, PAISLEY, HACKATHORN, MOORE, SCHRADER

Relationship to Hollie: 5th great grandmother

Elizabeth
Catherine Withrow
Mary Earl
Jane Wyckoff
Florence D. Paisley
Elsie Marcella Hackathorn
Darlene Lois Moore
Hollie Ann Schrader

Sources:

Hill, N. N., and A. A. Graham. History of Knox County, Ohio, Its past and Present, Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, including an Outline History of the Northwest; a Complete History of Knox County … a Record of Its Soldiers in the Late War; Portraits of Its Early Settlers and Prominent Men … Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc. Mt. Vernon, O.: A.A. Graham, 1881. 838-39. Print.

Bausman, Joseph H., and John Samuel Duss. History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania: And Its Centennial Celebration. New York: Knickerbocker, 1904. Print.

Ancestry.com, 1810 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), http://www.ancestry.com, Year: 1810; Census Place: Ohio, Beaver, Pennsylvania; Roll: 45; Page: 458; Image: 00031; Family History Library Film: 0193671. Record for David Withrow. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1810usfedcenancestry&h=412141&indiv=try.

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0069-083&docClass=CV&sid=v4efsogt.s1i

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this:

Lineage Notecard

Share this: