Gene Notes

Some random and some not-so-random thoughts on family history.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thriller Thursday - Runaway Buggy

These articles appeared August 26, 1890 in the Lexington (KY) Leader  and the Lexington (KY) Transcript.

DASHED TO DEATH

JOS. A. HEADLEY THROWN FROM A BUGGY AND KILLED.

The Fatality of a Vicious Horse, a Broken Backing Strap and a Buggy Full of Family.

    One of the most popular and in many ways one of the best young men in Lexington, Mr. Joe C. Headley, came to his death yesterday under most distressing circumstances. Mr. Headley had been out driving with his wife and child. He had gone as far as the fairgrounds, whither he went to see how things were progressing for the opening day. On the way back the horse betrayed his temper by shying and scaring at things in his path and in many ways giving his driver trouble and scaring the occupants of the vehicle. Turning into Bolivar street, Mr. Headley drove down Mill street. A backing strap broke and the buggy ran up on the horse which began kicking. Passing Hayman's Mill, Mr. Headley whipped his horse, which caused him to dash forward over the railroad crossing. There were but few eye witnesses of what followed, and they differ as to details. It appears, however, that Mr. Headley had by some means lost his lines and was leaning over to recover them while his horse was running. The baby fell out of the buggy first. The Horse gained in speed and by the recovery of one line, or some other cause, swerved to the left and dashed into the pavement between a lamp-post and a hydrant at the Northwestern corner of Water and Mill streets, where the curbing is high. The contact threw Mr. Headley head-over-heels out of the buggy, his head striking the hydrant and his body falling upon a pile of lumber just outside of Foushee & Hardesty's grocery store, where it lay with the head hanging over the lumber until assistance was had. The wound caused by the fall was a dreadful one. The blood flowed from it most copiously. Drs. Carrick and Coleman arriving upon the scene attended the unfortunate man who had been carried into the grocery store and stretched upon the floor. It was found that the bones above the ear were fracture, the top of the head loosened and an opening as big as a hen egg left above and back of the ear. The father of the unfortunate man young man, Mr. J. A. Headley, is Circuit Clerk, was notified and he at once hastened to his son's side. In tears he held his hand until life was extinct which occurred in a few minutes.

    To return to the buggy.  Mrs. Headley was following her husband in a headlong fall out of her buggy when she was caught by Mr. Will Harrison who saved her from damage beyond a bruise upon the face. She was led into the office of the Hayman Mill for rest and medical attention. The baby was picked up bruised about the head, but otherwise non the worse for its awful experience.

    The horse after breaking loose from buggy and harness ran into Foushee & Hardesty's grocery, the door of which was opened. He suffered no damage. He was a scaly brute and ought not to have been driven as he was. Mr. Headley had received him but a day or two from the country and having tried him knew that he could not be trusted. But Mr. Headley was a reinsman with a good deal of confidence in himself and hence the risk he took with his wife and baby in the buggy behind such a rascally piece of horseflesh.

    The dead man was a great favorite in Lexington, being well-known and liked. For several years he was Deputy Clerk in the Circuit Court, discharging his duties with fidelity and care. He left that office to enter upon the business of a real estate agent and to deal in real estate, in which occupation he promised to be a success, having already inaugurated improvements on North Broadway between that street and Upper, which stamped him as a man of progress.

    Joe Headley's death and the dreadful manner of it, have caused a thrill of horror through this community which will deeply sympathize with his widow and afflicted family.

JOE HEADLEY'S DEATH
HE IS THROWN FROM A BUGGY AND INSTANTLY KILLED

 Grief of His Wife and Family at the Sudden Occurrence --
When the Funeral takes place -- General Sorrow

A little before 6 o'clock yesterday afternoon a rumor ran around the city like the current from an electric battery.  "Have you heard the news? Joe Headley has been thrown from his buggy and killed."  This was heard on every hand.  Investigation proved it to be only too true.  Not only he, but his wife and child, were precipitated on the street at the northwestern corner of Water and Mill streets by a frightened horse.  He was never conscious after the fall, and in fifteen minutes death had come.

The circumstances are as follows:

Mr. Headley was out for a pleasure drive with his wife and child.  Generally both children are taken, but this time the baby was sick and was left at home.  Mr. Headley was driving a young horse, which it is said, he had never driven before.  The animal was only four years old and full of life.  At the top of Mill street  hill the horse became frightened by the vehicle slipping on his hind quarters.  HE ran the steep declivity and dashed into a lamp post and hydrant at the bottom.  The buggy was overturned with a smash, the unfortunate father and husband was thrown head over heels on the hydrant.

That was his death.  A great crimson stream gushed from beneath his crushed skull, and trickled heavily drop by drop, into the adjacent gutter, reddening the stagnant water as it fell.  It was found on medical examination that the bones above the ear were fractured, the top of the head loosened and that there was a large opening back of the ear.  Death must have ensued painlessly.

Mrs. Headley and child were not seriously hurt, the former very slightly.  The poor wife was frantic with grief, the more so as it came on top of such tremendous mental excitement.  With difficulty, she was led away from the scene of the death by some kind gentleman.  At the house on North Broadway, when the news was announced, a scene not less heart-rending occurred.  The unfortunate family refused to be comforted.  It was an hour of dreadful desolation.

The horse which was the cause for all this misfortune ran into Foushee and Hardesty's grocery, the door of which stood invitingly open.  The fact that Mr. Headley was an excellent whip led him to risk driving an animal which was unworthy of his confidence.

One of the most pathetic in connection with the accident was the grief of Mr. J. P. Headley, the present Circuit Clerk and the father of the unfortunate man.  He was notified at once, came to the wreck before his boy's heart had stopped forever, and held his hand until the last spark of life was extinguished.  Poor Old Man.  No wonder he grieved.  Joe Headley's filial love was almost a proverb.  Marriage for him had not meant estrangement from his father and mother.  It had only meant adding new loves to the old.

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

It is during boyhood and early manhood that a man makes the only lasting and tender friendships of his life.  Joe Headley was for a number of years a student at Kentucky University.  His classmates loved him for many little acts of kindness that he was always ready to perform.  His teachers liked him for his studious habits and invariable courtesy.  He was most popular in the Periclean Society, where he was always to be found on Friday evening, and none will more sincerely mourn his tragic death than those who loved him in his college days.

For eight years or nine years he was Deputy clerk of the circuit court and during the many years he filled that office he was uniformly kind and courteous to everyone who applied to him for any information that he could help them to obtain. Last March he left the clerk's office to engage in real estate business, and unlike so many who were fascinated with the glorious possibilities and resources of boomed towns, he identified himself with the growth of his native city and did all he could towards enhancing the value of property here.  Elsmere Park will serve to keep his memory alive in the years to come, as he was one of its foremost promoters.

Mr. Headley married in October 1884, Miss Aline Higgins.  They have two children, both girls - Bessie, 5 years old, who was the one thrown from the vehicle yesterday and a six months old baby.

The Funeral

Mr. Headley's funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock at the residence of his father, James A. Headley, No. 72 West Third Street.  Dr. Bartlett will officiate.  The list of pallbearers has not yet been made out.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wedding Wednesday - Black & Collins

On June 29, 1904 James Black, a first cousin 3 times removed to me, married Mary Collins in Kansas City, Missouri. He was 44 and she was 34 years old. It was a short union, since James died in court two years later.
Go here for the account of that. To see the full image, click on it. Return to this post by using your browser's back button.


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Playing Hooky!

 Last Tuesday, DH and I took the opportunity/chance of good weather to head 100 miles east to do some shopping. While it wasn't totally successful, I think we both realized that we really needed that "play day" as cousin Karen calls it and get out of town for a few hours.

We were so glad we did, even though we knew there was a chance of thunderstorms on the Cumberland Plateau. We ran into some showers on the way home and it wasn't until after we got home that all heck broke loose and the skies opened up. I think we got 2 or 3 inches of rain on Tuesday. The nasty stuff continued the next day and finally by Thursday we had some sunshine again. The urge to play hooky rather than working on some of my projects was sorely tempting. I sure would like to say that I finished a project in that time. Mostly what I accomplished is grocery shopping and lots of cooking! The piles are getting smaller though!
The results of playing hooky

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Monday, June 27, 2011

Cousin Inspired!

So what if I am sitting here feeling jealous while cousin Carol and cousin Karen prep for their current and future research trips. If you haven't read either of their blogs, cousin Carol spent a lot of time recently in the research mecca of Salt Lake City and cousin Karen is just back from a vacation/research trip and prepping for another. Family reasons and hubbies ongoing physical therapy are keeping us close to home so far, and I haven't even thought of to-do lists ... much.

Carol knew at the start of her and the man's trip last fall that ultimately they would make it to Salt Lake City and yet she was unconcerned about the state of her to-do list. I would have been in a panic. I knew she would bail herself out because she uses the place list in Rootsmagic to work up to-do list items. And believe me, this is a great way to go when you are scrambling for a list of items you know you need and want.

For me, though, that doesn't always work. When I add a new person to my database, I look for documentation, other than census. Why? Because census is usually how I found them, and I've already located them. Now my job is to document them with vital records. I always feel fortunate when I can locate someone in an online database, such as Seeking Michigan, Ancestry, Family Search, Missouri Death Records Database, just to name a few. If I can't find anything online, then the first place I search is the Allen County Public Library genealogy database, because I know there is a chance I'll get there relatively soon. It is situated roughly two thirds of the way to Michigan, and when the weather is nice, I can usually convince DH to stop there for a night or two.

Once at the ACPL, I start with pulling the items on my to-do list. Sometimes those are films, or periodicals or books. I so LOVE their open stacks. When I first started researching there, you had to fill out a request for the book with the call number, title and the table number where you were researching. You could only submit so many at a time and if there was a book in the stacks that wasn't in the catalog, you didn't get it, because you didn't request it. And heaven help you if someone else wanted that book, because they might need it for all the time you were there. When the library moved to their temporary home during reconstruction, they opened the stacks. I was in heaven, because now I could browse a section. That was particularly handy if a book had been shelved wrong. Those ten years I spent working in a library sure comes in handy at times!

I try to go through my list first, getting the items I really think I need and then work on those extras I pulled. Usually I run out of steam long before I get to the end of my list.

I find I can't sit at microfilm readers like I used to. During trips to Lexington, Kentucky, I grab two lists - my Lexington Cemetery list and my Lexington Public Library newspaper abstract lists. I usually get one day or maybe only a few hours at each. I will admit I am no where near being done with either list, although thanks to some wonderful people who post on Find-a-Grave, the cemetery list is getting shorter. The library list? I probably add one item for every five found. I generally pull 20-30 obits, wedding announcements and other articles each time I go. Then I add 4-6 items after transcribing and linking the scanned images.

I know cousin Karen is a to-do list maven too. Karen has a great way of doing her cemetery to-do lists. Both had blog posts on to-do lists on June 16th. Check out their blogs and see if our methods might work for you, too.


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Sympathy Saturday - Anna Demoss Garrett

Anna Demoss Garrett was the daughter of John Pool Demoss and Mary Davidson, and was my first cousin three times removed. Anna was born August 5, 1865, in Omaha, Nebraska and She married James F. Garrett in 1887 in Malta Bend, Saline county, Missouri.  James preceded her in death and Anna died June 25, 1930 in in Sni-A-Bar Township in Jackson county, Missouri.



Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Man From Kelso (Scotland)

Many years ago, one of my cousins lent me photos to scan, which I did. This photo only had a location (Kelso) on the back. I have no idea who it is. I just always refer to him as the man from Kelso. Since the Oliphants I knew of were deceased before photography, I think this might be a picture of an Archbald, who also lived in Kelso.



Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Thriller Thursday - Death by Tetanus

Maybe I've watched too many doctor/pathology/cop shows. But when someone says death was caused by tetanus, convulsions cause unknown, you have to wonder. And no, this wasn't in the 1800's but in 1947.  The victim, W. Lee Cropper was 81 years of age. Lee was a widower, his wife, Bird Kirtley having passed two years prior. Okay, maybe it wasn't obvious where he had been injured or cut, but certainly there must have been some sort of wound. Lee was a widower, his wife, Bird Kirtley having passed two years prior.



Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wedding Wednesday - Oliphant & Archbald

Eckford, Roxburgh, Scotland

Years ago, when I first started researching, I thought that the name Oliphant was so unusual and rare. NOT! It turns out it is pretty common both in Scotland and the United States.
Eckford, located between Kelso & Jedburgh

At any rate, today's wedding is that of my great-great-great-great grand parents, Ralph Oliphant and Margaret Archbald. They were married June 22, 1805 in Eckford, Roxburgh, Scotland. Their only child as far as I have found is Alexander Oliphant, born in 1806. Margaret Archbald Oliphant died March 1, 1808 in Kelso, Roxburgh, Scotland and Ralph died July 2, 1829, also in Kelso.

When I originally researched the Oliphants and Archbalds, I made note of the locations in relation to Edinburgh. I'm glad I did. To the east of Edinburgh is Haddington - where my Maitlands lived. They wouldn't meet up until about 1860. Click on the images to see a larger version of the maps.

Location in relation to Edinburgh












Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Yes, This Was Indexed.

 Ancestry tells me that William Chinn, born about 1790 was enumerated on this page. Really. Were they using some sort of magic to index this page? Infrared light? Ultraviolet?  They 1870 census for William Chinn in Scott county is not much better. Maybe on a microfilm reader this might actually display, but this image is totally useless.

Looking at Family Search's index is worse. They don't even show this person indexed. Because they couldn't read the page either.

In an attempt to get the page number so I could try to get the image on Heritage Quest, I noticed that the record says he is Black. I don't know how they could read that either.

1850 Fayette County, Kentucky Census
Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Monday, June 20, 2011

Another Genealogical Gem

I love cemetery sites. I've been finding burial information at the Lexington (KY) Cemetery site for about 10 years now at least. I visit that site so frequently, I could almost research it in my sleep. Another great site is The Mt. Elliott Cemetery association site. While I don't have the hundreds of people buried there that I have in Lexington, Kentucky, it has been extremely helpful. Yet another cemetery is Spring Grove in Cincinnati, Ohio. This site has images of the burial records. Wahoo! And of course, Find-A-Grave, which is user submitted information. Periodically, I will pop into a county somewhere online and find burial records indexed or a Genweb site will have a link to a new index. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find The Georgetown Cemetery in Georgetown, Kentucky with an online database. And I found more than expected I would.
 Be sure to click on the image and see what kind of information I found on this record. Use your browser's back button to return to this blog.


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Men in My Life

Mom & Dad 1996
There are two men who have been influential in my life. The first, chronologically at least, was my dad. My dad was a big guy, although just under six feet tall, but hefty of build. Yes, I have seen photos of him when he was in the Navy and when my parents were first married, but that is not how I remember him. He had deep reddish brown hair at one time too. What I remember was the heavier, grayer man.

Years ago, when I interviewed my dad, he told me he was a hellion when he was a kid. He was also a fighter. And he had a big voice. He could call you in for the evening and people two blocks away would say, "I hear your dad calling you!" But we kids knew he was really soft-hearted.

Dad adored my mom and loved us six kids a lot. Not that either of my parents said it to us constantly, but we knew by their strict discipline how much they cared. Shortly before he died, my dad told me how it used to make him cry when I was hospitalized when I was five and had to have a spinal tap. I never knew that. I just remembered how it made me cry. I miss him a lot.

The other man in my life, my DH. He is the best. In some respects, he is the polar opposite of my dad, but in fact, the way he cares for his family and the way he loves me is so reminiscent of how my dad felt about my mom. I think at first, it was hard for this only child I married to adapt to my large family. He actually has adapted quite well. He is such a warm caring person, and has a sense of humor that sometimes borders on the bizarre, which is one of the reasons I love him so much.
DH & me April 1979

I count myself so fortunate to have had these two men in my life.

Happy Father's Day!


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Sympathy Saturday - Edmund Shackelford DeLong

On June 18, 1899, Edmund Shackelford DeLong died in Lexington, Kentucky of Leukemia. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery.

DEATH COMES

To Mr. E. S. DeLong at the Close of a Beautiful Sabbath Day.

A SKETCH OF THE MAN.


Mr. E. S. DeLong, the wealthy real estate dealer, died at his residence on North Limestone Street at 6:30 o'clock on Sunday evening, after an illness of several months of impoverished blood.

Final arrangements for the funeral have not been made, but it will probably be held from the First Presbyterian Church Tuesday afternoon. In the death of Mr. DeLong Lexington loses one of her best citizens. He was a man who took a great interest in the advancement of the city, and was always ready to do the city good. In the past he was prominently identified with city affairs, having held the office of superintendent of public works under Mayor Duncan. He was also a member of the City Council about twenty-five years ago.

Mr. DeLong was born in Greensburg, Ky., in 1842, and at an early age removed to Bowling Green, where he secured an education. In 1862, he came to Lexington, and with his brothers, Allie and Amie DeLong, engaged in the wholesale and retail implement business on Cheapside. They conducted this business for many years and amassed fortunes, and only retired a few years ago to engage in other business.  Mr. DeLong served the city faithfully as superintendent of public works under the Duncan administration, and after retiring from office, he engaged in the real estate business on Cheapside with his son James, which he conducted until his death.

Mr. DeLong was a deacon in the First Presbyterian Church, of which he was a lifetime member. He took great interest in affairs pertaining to the church, and was promptly identified with its mission and Sunday school work.

The disease which caused his death, was impoverished blood. He has been in failing health for several months  but it was not until recently that his condition became serious. He went to a sanitarium in Danville, N.Y. and remained there two months receiving treatment, but it little effect on him, and a few days ago he returned.  He grew steadily worse, and through everything in the power of physicians was done to prolong life, death became the master, and Sunday evening surrounded by his family and bosom friends, his soul took its flight just at the close of a beautiful Sabbath day.

Mr. DeLong is survived by his wife, who was Miss Fannie Lucas of Danville, and four children - Misses Daisy, Katherine, Belle and James.

To his manly young son, who was his continual companion; to his daughters who had his constant and tenderest care, and to the wife for whom a life time of devotion attested his great love, the deepest sympathy goes out today in their sorrow for the loss of this generous and gentle father, husband, companion and friend


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sidetracked Again! John Parker, Senior, Part Two

If you read Tuesday's blog, you will know I found a 55 page Revolutionary War Pension file on my great-great-great-great grandfather, John Parker, Sr. Part of that file are three letters responding to inquiries into Jon Parker's Revolutionary War service. I stated that I only could identify one of the three correspondents. That would be Elizabeth Neal Davis, a great-great granddaughter of John Parker. It's nice to have it summarized so nice and neat!

John Parker's wife, who is not mentioned by name in any of the official papers was Isabella Todd. She died in 1831 before John applied for a pension.

Even John's brother, William Parker, made affidavit of John's service. Several of the documents were dated after 1837, which is when John Parker died. His children were trying to collect on his pension. One daughter was single, one a widow, and the other three were married. One son survived, John Jr., and he and John Sr.'s son-in-law, William Todd were executors of the estate.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thriller Thursday - Fire!

Gladys Maitland was the daughter of Alex Maitland and Desdemona Henderson. She married Dr. Everett R. Deweese on April 28, 1920 (see Wedding Wednesday for that date.) They had one son, Jack. I think fires of any kind are terrifying, and she was overtaken by smoke inhalation before she could get to her back door. According to Zillow the house is valued at over $800,000 today.

From the Great Bend (Kansas) Daily Tribune, June 16, 1967.
 

WOMAN DIES IN FIRE IN $100,000 MANSION.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (UPI)-- Fire at a fashionable Johnson County home claimed the life early today of Mrs. Gladys Deweese, widow of the late Dr. E. R. Deweese.

Firemen said the woman's body was found about 20 feet from the rear door in the kitchen of the 2-story home priced in about the $100,000 bracket.

Firefighters estimated the damages at between $30,000 and $35,000 and said the blaze apparently had begun by defective wiring.

They said the fire started at about 11 p.m. Thursday, but that the alarm was not turned in until about 12:56 a.m.

(The scene of the fire was 3316 W. 69th in Prairie Village.)

And this from the Salina (Kansas) Journal, June 16, 1967:

SMOKE KILLS KC WOMAN
Friday, June 16 -
Kansas City (AP) -- Mrs. E. R. Deweese, about 70, died of smoke inhalation early today when fire broke out at her home in Mission Hills, a suburb of Kansas City.

She was the widow of Dr. E. R. Deweese of Kansas City, who died about two years ago.

Firechief C. G. Lipps said damage to the home was estimated at $20,000. He said the cause was apparently defective wiring.


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wedding Wednesday - McHatton & Lustrat

This wedding occurred 100 years ago.  A little background on Thomas' father, Henry McHatton who was the son of James Alexander McHatton and Eliza Moore Chinn. The elder McHattons lived in Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, Cuba and Missouri. In fact they left Louisiana during the Civil War went through Texas, lived in Mexico for a while before ending up in Cuba. Henry McHatton learned well the use of a machete in Cuba to cut sugar cane, eventually Henry became a doctor and settled in Georgia.

Macon (Georgia) Daily Telegraph, June 18 1911:

LUSTRAT-MCHATTON
The marriage of Miss Marie Elise Lustrat, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lustrat, of Athens, and Thomas Hubbard McHatton, son of Dr. and Mrs. McHatton, of Macon, will take place at high noon, June 14, at Athens.

It will be something of a disappointment to their many friends in this state and elsewhere that, owing to the critical illness of the groom's mother [this should be grandmother], Mrs. Dwight Ripley, of Brooklyn, N.Y. and the bride's maternal grandfather in Algiers, the wedding must be of the quietest. Only the immediate families and a few close friends will be witnesses of the ceremony, which will be performed by the Bishop of Georgia, Rt. Rev. Benjamin Kelly of Savannah. Miss Lustrat will be attended only by her two sisters, as maid of honor and bridesmaid. Mr. McHatton will have his cousin Dr. J. R. B. Branch, formerly of Baltimore, now of Macon as best man, and Mr. J. Frank Rogers, formerly of Macon, now of Cincinnati, will be groomsman.

The marriage will take place at the home of the bride, on the campus at Athens, Ga., after which the bridal couple will leave for a trip of a month or more. On their return they will move into their newly built house, the wedding gift of the groom's father and mother. No invitations will be issued to the marriage-only announcement cards will be sent.

The following is the simple announcement of the wedding which centered much interest in Athens Wednesday last:  "Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lustrat have the honor of announcing the marriage of their daughter, Marie Elise to Thomas Hubbard McHatton on Wednesday, June 14, 1911, University of Georgia Campus, Athens, Ga."

LUSTRAT-MCHATTON WEDDING PRESENTS DESTROYED BY FIRE.

The burning of the office of Southern Express Company at Athens, Ga., June 15, resulted in the loss of a great many of the wedding presents sent by friends all over the country to Miss Marie Lustrat and Hubbard McHatton, who were married at Athens, June 14. Among these presents were many sent from Macon, and while they can be traced by the books of the Macon office, there is no way of tracing those from other parts of the country, as the books of the Athens office were destroyed in the fire.

The fire is said to have been due to a spark from an engine, the office being temporarily located in an old building while the new one was in course of construction.

Because of the loss of the presents and the records of the express office, it will probably be impossible for Mr. and Mrs. McHatton to thank their friends individually for the remembrances sent



Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Sidetracked Again! John Parker, Senior, Part One

In yesterday's post, I mentioned I was making submissions to Find-a-Grave. One of the families is the Stanhope family, descendants of William Francis Stanhope which include William Francis Stanhope, II, III, & IV. I thought I would take a quick look over at Footnote.com to see if they had anything on said William Stanhope and did indeed find mention of him, but not in the way that I expected.

Instead, he was a contemporary of John Parker, Sr., my great-great-great-great grandfather who was a Revolutionary War soldier and more importantly a pensioner.
This document shows the name of William Stanhope and Abraham Bowman. Abraham Bowman was also my great-great-great-great-grandfather and his son, William married Nancy Todd Parker, one of the daughters of John Parker, Sr.William Stanhope, III married Nancy "Nannie" Bowman, daughter of Joseph & Elizabeth Bowman (cousins) and granddaughter of Abraham Bowman & Sarah Henry.


The intriguing thing about this 55 page file? It includes letters from people inquiring for family history. One was Elizabeth Neal Davis, a great granddaughter of William L. Todd and Eleanor "Nellie" Parker Todd, and thus the great-great granddaughter of John Parker, Sr. The other two people were from Williamsburg, Indiana and Ann Arbor, Michigan. I can see this is going to require further research.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Monday, June 13, 2011

Project Progress

I am making some headway around here with some of my projects. Have my storeroom/craft room mostly organized. My DH is currently undergoing some physical therapy for arthritis in his hip and hasn't done anything the last 10 days. It has gotten so hot here - over 90 - and stayed hot that it is hard to accomplish anything outside. Also, the cicadas are ferocious around here. And working in the garage in 90 degree weather is not to be borne!

Instead, I have hung some pictures and worked on some Lexington (Kentucky) Cemetery submissions to Find-A-Grave. This is part of a project I ended up working on because I wanted to make sure that my cemetery plot information was entered into the "place details" section in my RootsMagic 4 database. I figured as long as I was going through that list that I would double check that the people had been entered into the FAG database. I think anything I've photographed over the last two years has been entered, but prior to that I wasn't active on the site. Hopefully, someone will be helped by the information I've added. I've submitted two spreadsheets so far. I will admit, though, that the work is beyond tedious. I would like to get most of this done before I work on any new or finish any other projects. There is just something about these piles sitting on my desk that nag at me!

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Sympathy Saturday - Edmund S. DeLong

Edmund Shackelford DeLong, Jr. was the younger son of Edmund S. DeLong, Sr. and Fannie Lucas. I have not been able to ascertain what injury caused the septicemia that killed Ed.

Lexington Herald, 5/16/1897:
ED DELONG
Suffers a Change for the Worse and His Parents

Are Telegraphed For -- Mr. and Mrs. DeLong Leave-A Later Message More Hopeful.

A Telegram bearing the distressing news that E. S. DeLong, Jr. was dangerously worse and calling his father to his bedside was received here yesterday. The message was from Dr. Gibney, who performed the operation on his limb at his hospital in New York several days ago, and read as follows: "Ed very ill; come on first train."

Mr. DeLong rushed to the Q & C depot and succeeded in catching the north bound train. Mrs. DeLong followed by the noon C & O train. Just before leaving she received another dispatch from Dr. Gibney stating that Ed showed an improvement and that there was a chance of saving his life.

Mr. and Mrs. DeLong will both arrive in New York about noon today. The entire community, in which young Mr. DeLong enjoys such popularity, will anxiously hope that further news will be of his rapid improvement and restoration to health.

Lexington Herald, 5/17/1897:


ED DELONG'S CONDITION

Much the Same as Saturday. His Parents Arrive in New York.

Telegrams received from the beside of Mr. Ed DeLong, Jr. reported little change in his condition. The last message received in the afternoon stated that Mr. and Mrs. DeLong had just arrived and that Ed was still holding his own with a chance of improvement. Everything is being done to save his life and the prospects for doing so seem brighter.




Lexington Herald, 6/13/1897:

The Body of Ed DeLong to Arrive This Morning; Burial this Afternoon at 4:30 O'clock.

ED DELONG'S FUNERAL


The remains of Ed DeLong, whose death in New York cast a gloom over his many friends here, will arrive over the C & O at 8 o'clock this morning. His mother preceded the body, which was detained by the undertaker preparatory to shipment. She reached home yesterday at 5:20 a.m. Mr. James L. DeLong, brother of the deceased arrived last night from Kansas City.

The funeral services will be held this afternoon at 4:30 o'clock, at the family residence on North Limestone, and will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Bartlett. The pall bearers will be Marshall Guerrant, Frank Bacon, Jno. Bowman, Bent Goodloe, Rogers Clay, Charles Kemp, John Woolfolk, W. E. Simms.



[Researcher's note: Even though his parents are buried in the Lexington Cemetery, there is no record of Ed being buried there. Surely he was buried on the family plot. I haven't worked my way yet to that section.]
 
Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Friday, June 10, 2011

A New Month

I always look forward to a new month. You never know what new database will spring up on the web, what your next Google search will find or what new cousin will contact you. The anticipation for new databases is always there. Thanks to Family Search, I've been able to access many vital records that I've never had access to before or though I had no reason to search.

At the end of each month, I like to take stock of what I've accomplished through the month and year-to-date. I do set goals and some goals have been hanging around for years. Other goals are sometimes accomplished silently and all but unnoticed. These days anything that gets accomplished around here is cause for celebration. Especially since DH and I did some household pre-organization. We are still recuperating from that - it sent DH into physical therapy - and still have some stuff to finish up. Slowly but surely items are getting ticked off that To-Do list. May was a great month for that, and I hope June shapes up that way too!




Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Thriller Thursday - Timothy Cook

Sometimes, things just fall into your lap when you aren't really looking for them. I have been researching the Percival/Cook* family in Michigan, New York and Massachusetts, when I came across Vital Records of Washington, Massachusetts. In the death records was this entry:

Cook, Timothy, Sr., "kiled by the fall of a tree," Feb. 21 1798.

His tombstone tells it slightly different, but perhaps more chilling: "In Memory of Mr. Timothy Cook who was suddenly killed by the fall of a tree Feby 21st 1798 in the 40th year of his age.

Picture by Eric Jacobsson
You can visit Timothy's Find-A-Grave memorial here. Thanks again to Eric Jacobsson for the FAG memorial.

*Timothy Cook was the father of Eunice Cook, wife of Montgomery Percival.
 
Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wedding Wednesday - Ewart & Steele

Jane Emily Ewart, daughter of  Thomas Ewart and Catherine Skirving, married James Johnson Steele, son of John & Mary Steele, on June 8, 1880 in Toronto, Canada. Jane is my first cousin four times removed. Her mother was my great-great-great grandmother's sister. Jane was born in 1847 in Toronto and died there in 1923. James was born in 1847 in Scotland and died in Toronto in 1924.



Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Talk About a Generation Gap!

Last week, cousin Karen over at Genealogy Frame of Mind posted about her grandmother Annie Ansley nee Nix. Because Karen and I are born in the same decade, one could normally expect our prior generations would be similar in birth years.

Do I hear a resounding "NO THEY ARE NOT!" And this is why. According to Ancestry, the average generation is about 25 years between the birth of someone and their first child. I know for a fact that my family blows that out of the water - except for my parents who married at the ages of 21/22 and had their first child at 22/23. Karen's line has a much smaller generation gap. Mine, with the above exception is a bigger generational gap. Karen's grandmother was in fact 5 years older than my mother.

Mom - b 1924 - Her parents  Charlie Zimmeth b. 1888 and Luetta Meyer b. 1894 and m. in 1922
      Charlie's parents August Zimmeth b. 1839 and Augusta Cleasott b. 1849  and m. in 1871
      Luetta's parents, Joseph Meyer b. 1869 and Amelia Knost b. 1867 and m. in 1892

My grandfather Charlie Zimmeth was the youngest child of the youngest child. Grandpa was married 3 times, with only my grandmother, the middle wife, bearing him any children.

At any rate:
      August's parents - Josef Zimmeth b. 1796 and Catharine Boegler b. 1796  They were married in 1817.
      Augusta's parents - Christian Kleesaat b. 1814 and Wilhelmina Zabrack* b. 1827.  m. bef 1849.

You can see that my mom's family certainly doesn't fit that 25 year generation.

When I am researching lines, I try to be a little more generous than 25 years in researching generations. After all, my targets may be working on a second or third marriage. I widen the generational gap to encompass a 20 to 40 year timespan. This is especially important when you don't know the birth order of the children. I knew that my grandfather was the youngest of the eleven children of the August & Augusta Zimmeth line. Likewise, I knew that my great grandfather August Zimmeth was the only child of his parents born in America, making him the youngest. He was also the eleventh child.

I remember at family events - okay at my grandfather's funeral - being introduced to my mom's cousin Geordie and thinking, whoa, is she old! Sorry Geordie. At the time Geordie was just shy of her 76th birthday, 14 years younger than her uncle Charlie and 21 years older than my mom! The only cousin my mom had on the Zimmeth side who was her contemporary was her cousin Celestine Zimmeth, who was 2 years older. Maybe someday I will write her story.

*Zabrack. I am still working on this line. I've been told the name is probably wrong - I got it from a baptismal record for Augusta Zimmeth, who was baptized as an adult Catholic convert. I still haven't found her using any variation up to and including Zehrbach. Previous posts on this line can be found here and here.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Monday, June 6, 2011

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the 36th anniversary of Diane & Pat! Those wishing them a happy anniversary have increased since last year with the birth of  their first grandchild! Hope you have many more!

 
Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Sympathy Saturday - Mary Brainerd Percival

Mary Brainerd, wife of John Percival (one of them) died on June 4 1820 in Middlesex county, Connecticut. She was born in 1735. Her Find-a-Grave memorial can be found here. Many thanks to Jan Franco for posting the information on FAG and to Irma for the headstone photo.

Mary Brainerd's husband John is my fifth great granduncle.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Friday, June 3, 2011

Percival & Cook: From Massachusetts to Michigan

One of my pet projects is working on Percivals descended from James Percival and Mary Rainsford, my 8th great grandparents. One of these families was the John Percival & Ruth Crocker line. John was a son of John Percival and Lydia Fuller and was a brother of Benjamin Percival of Sandwich, Massachusetts who kept a detailed diary that included not only crop and weather information, but chronicled the births, deaths and marriages of his family and neighbors in Sandwich.

Back to John & Ruth Crocker. They had several children, two of whom moved on to Michigan. These were Samuel & Montgomery Percival. Montgomery and his family are my subject today.

Montgomery was born to John & Ruth Crocker on September 25, 1790 in Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts. His wife, Eunice was the daughter of Timothy & Cloa/Chloe Ladd Cook and was born September 27, 1793 in Washington, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Where and exactly when Montgomery & Eunice married is still a mystery to me, but by 1820 they were living in Smyrna, Chenango county, New York. In 1830 they were in Carlton, Orleans county, New York and they made the move to Comstock, Kalamazoo county, Michigan in 1835.

I found a red herring in my research, when I located a tax record for Timothy Cook* in Ashtabula, Ohio for property that was original owned by Montgomery Percival. Whether or not the Montgomery Percival family actually lived in Ohio is not known to me, but if they were traveling overland to Michigan from New York, that is certainly on the way. I should know, since DH and I have traveled that route many times to Buffalo.

The two oldest children that I can find for Montgomery & Eunice are Betsey, born in 1817 according to her death certificate, in New York. There is a son Edward, born 1818 in Massachusetts. If the family followed the normal progression and didn't move back to Massachusetts, then either Edward's birth place is wrong, or his birth year is wrong. Since some of this information is from census, your guess is as good as mine. The more or less complete list of their children is:

1.Betsey - b 1817 and married Deodat Jeffers. Betsy d. 1901 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Deodat died in 1887.
2. Edward - b 1818.
3. Laura Jane - b 1824 in Orleans county, New York. Married Elias Broadwell in 1849 in Kalamazoo and Laura Jane d. 1868 in Kalamazoo. No further record of Elias.
4. Eunice "Maria" b. 1826 in Massachusetts (?) and d. 1910 in Kalamazoo. She married Enoch S. Knapp before 1860. He died in 1877.
5. Flavia Percival was born in 1832 in New York. She married Frederick Carter in 1867. She died in 1918 in Iowa. Frederick died 1914 in Kalamazoo.
6. Chloe Percival (probably named for Eunice's mother) was born in 1833 in New York. She died unmarried, May 1851 in Kalamazoo.
7. Harriet Emily Percival. She was born in 1836 in Michigan and died in 1838.

Eunice Cook Percival died November 22, 1855 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is buried along with her husband, Montgomery in Mountain View Cemetery. On October 26, 1856 Montgomery married Mrs. Martha Sanders Gilbert. Montgomery died October 1, 1876 in Kalamazoo. His second wife preceded him in death in 1873.

*I presume this is Timothy Cook, Jr., Eunice's brother. Her father died tragically in 1798. [See next week's Thriller Thursday blog.]

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Thriller Thursday - He Fell From a Railroad Trestle!

On September 27, 1934, Frank S. Chinn, son of William & Lucy Chinn, husband of Ella Moore Chinn, fell from a railroad trestle. He was nearly 80 years old and a merchant. It was deemed an accident. I've not found a newspaper report or obituary for him yet. 


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wedding Wednesday - Blust & McLindon

Julia Blust was first married to my mother's uncle George Zimmeth. He died during the influenza epidemic of World War I. On June 1,  1925 she married William R. McLindon In Bay City, Michigan.  The marriage was short-lived because she died December 9th of the same year, leaving 3 children ages 18, 15 and 13.









Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes