We're French...or German...or maybe both? Last night, I was writing up the following (somewhat long) recap of one of my maternal line's to send to a cousin, and thought I'd share it here in case anyone else is interested...
Until recently, my knowledge of the Lorraine region of France was pretty much limited to the quiche of the same name. As it turns out, though, Lorraine is the ancestral home of one branch of my family, so I figured it wouldn't do to have that be all I knew about the region. Over the centuries, Lorraine has passed back and forth between French and German control several times, and historically, the majority of the region's inhabitants, at least from what I've read, have been German. So although we have roots in France, our actual lineage may be more German than French.
Johann Jacob Dispionit was born in Lorraine at some point around the year 1715. (Side note: the family name changes drastically over the years, appearing in records as everything from 'Dispionit' to 'Dispanet,' 'Dispenney,' and 'Dispennet.') In 1739, Johann arrived in Philadelphia aboard the 'London,' a small merchant vessel. Although very little is known about Johann's wife, several stories circulate among descendant families of an ancestor by the name of Jacob Dispennet who fell in love with a fellow immigrant girl aboard his ship and married her shortly after their arrival. Given that Johann's first child was born at some point around 1740, this would certainly make sense, although it is unlikely that it can ever be verified completely.
Johann settled in Frederick County, where he and his wife built a farm and had six children together. In approximately 1756, the family's farm was the target of an Indian raid. Tragically, in the ensuing massacre, Johann, his wife, and three of their children were killed. The older three sons, none older than fifteen or sixteen at the time, reportedly hid in barrels of grain in the family barn to survive.
These three surviving Dispennett children - Christopher, John and Joseph - all remained in Virginia after the deaths of their parents and siblings. The exact dates of birth for the three sons are unknown, but all were born in the early 1740s. Christopher and his wife, Mary Ann, settled in Shenandoah County, Virginia, and John remained in Frederick County. Although I believe both had children, I have not yet found records of them. Joseph Dispennett settled in Rockingham County, Virginia, where he had at least three sons and four daughters with an unknown first wife (given the eight year gap between the youngest and next youngest known children, it is likely that there were one or more children who died in infancy or early childhood). At this point, I don't yet know the name or any history on this first wife. In 1791, Joseph married a woman by the name of Margaret Rust, who he remained married to until his death in 1797.
It is believed, based on stories passed among older generations of Joseph's descendants, that he fought in the American Revolution (on the side of the Americans, of course). Unfortunately, locating documentation to back this story up may prove difficult, as the vast majority of pre-Civil War records for Rockingham County were destroyed in fires set by the Union Army during the Civil War (damn Yankees!).
Joseph's fourth child, a son by the name of Adam, was born in approximately 1770 in Rockingham County. In 1796, he married Eve Hester in nearby Hardy County - then a part of Virginia, but today part of West Virginia. The couple lived in Rockingham County, where Adam had acquired quite a bit of farm land. In 1799, Eve died after giving birth to their first and only child, a daughter, Catherine.
In 1801, 31 year old Adam married 20 year old Mary Magdalene May, the third of fourteen children of George and Martha May, also of Rockingham County, Virginia. Adam and Mary settled after their marriage on Adam's land in Rockingham County, where they had three children - John (b. 1802), Jacob (b. 1804) and Elizabeth (b. 1806). In 1807, for reasons unknown, Adam and Mary moved their growing family west, settling in what was then Fairfield County, Ohio (this area later became part of Licking County).
In Ohio, Adam's family continued to expand, and he and Mary had nine more children - Sarah (b. 1808), Joseph (b. 1809), Margaret (b. 1811), David (b. 1813), Mary Polly (b. 1815), Abraham (b. 1817), Rachel (b. 1819), Noah (b. 1823) and George (b. 1827). Adam and Mary purchased a large track of land bordering Hog Run Creek, just north of the town of Linnville, on which they farmed and raised their family. Adam, who died in 1835, and Mary, who died in 1846, are both buried on this family farm.
Sarah Dispennett, the first of Adam and Mary's children to be born in Ohio, married a Licking County farmer by the name of William Burnside (b. 1808), in the late 1820s or very early 1830s. William and Sarah had eight children - Joseph (b. 1831), Mary (b. 1832), Susannah (b. 1836), Margaret (b. 1837) William (b. 1838), Rachel (b. 1841), Hanna (b. 1842) and Abram (b. 1846). The majority of the family remained in Licking County, many living on neighboring farms. William Burnside died in 1876, and Sarah Dispennett Burnside in 1883. Both are buried at Pataskala Cemetery in Pataskala, Ohio.
Joseph Burnside, the eldest child of William and Sarah, became a retail druggist (what we would today call a pharmacist, but which in the 1800s warranted the designation of 'Dr.') in Pataskala. In the mid-1850s Joseph married another Licking County native, Elizabeth M. Drake. The couple had seven children, although only four lived to adulthood. For one daughter, Mary Susannah Burnside, I have only a photograph of a gravestone, with no dates inscribed on it, as proof of her existence. Gravestones without dates, usually located next to the parents' stones, almost always indicate a child that was stillborn or died very early in infancy. A son, William S Burnside (b. 1856), lived less than a year, and another daughter, Eva (b. 1859), died at some point in the 1860s. Joseph Burnside died in 1881, and his wife Elizabeth died in 1922. Both are buried in Pataskala Cemetery.
The four surviving children of Joseph and Elizabeth Burnside were: Charles Fremont (b. 1858), Minnie Florence (b. 1866), Lulu Dell (b. 1868) and Margaret Elizabeth (b. 1874). Charles Fremont Burnside married Leah MacIvor in Shoshone, Idaho, in 1885, and the couple had two children - Donald Drake (b. 1886) and Bessie Mae (b. 1889). Charles died in Philadelphia in 1928 and is buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.
Minnie Florence Burnside married George Michael Schwartz (marriage date unknown), and this couple had five children - Alvinia Marie (b. 1889), George Burnside (b. 1893), Robert Michael (b. 1894), and twins Fred Henry and Frank Rankin (b. 1897). Minnie died in Columbus, Ohio in 1919, and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery
Lulu Dell Burnside married Samuel Cox Buckingham in 1891. I have found no record of any children from this couple. Lulu died in Columbus in 1931 and is buried in Union Cemetery.
Margaret "Maggie" Elizabeth Burnside married Roy Hildebrand in 1901, and this couple had one child - a daughter, Margaret Elizabeth (b. 1904). Maggie Hildebrand died in 1944 in Columbus, and is buried in the same plot as her brother, Charles, in Union Cemetery.
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Did you follow that? I know, it's long. That's what happens when everyone has eight or nine or more children!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Who Are We? No, Really...
For as long as I can remember, I have heard the story of our Taylor ancestors - that way back when, there was a Native American (Iroquois) ancestor who was given or forced to take a last name, a completely foreign concept to those on the reservation. So, all those who were registered would take (or be given, depending on who you get the story from) the last name of the current president - in our case, Zachary Taylor - and thus comes the Taylor last name.
It's a nice story. Problem is, I'm not entirely certain that it's a true story.
I have our Taylor family back to Andrew Orson Taylor, born in 1844 in the state of Ohio, died in 1917 in New York City. According to a log of family information kept by Andrew's son, Frank Werner Taylor (b. 1878, d. 1938), Andrew's wife was a German woman by the name of Mary Helen Greenwald, and Andrew's father was Andrew Snow Taylor. Snow sounds Native American enough, right? So far, so good...
The first place I looked for info when I started looking at Andrew Orson Taylor was the U.S. Census. In 1880, I find Andrew living in New York City, married to a 'Mary Taylor', with three children - a perfect match to what I knew of Andrew from Frank's records. Under the column 'Birthplace of Father,' however, we find 'England' - same with 'Birthplace of Mother'. Well, the census isn't always completely accurate - it's self-reported information, and people do lie. I've got relatives whose ages vary as much as 10 years from decade to decade. Often discrepancies will work themselves out from record to record. So, off to the next census...
I haven't yet found Andrew Orson Taylor in the 1900 census - I'm still looking, though, and I'm sure he's there somewhere. After all, it's not as though he was abducted by aliens! In 1910, he is living in New York City, alone, and listed as a widower. 'Birthplace of Father' is listed as 'at sea' and 'Birthplace of Mother' is 'New York'. Not so much of a help there, Andrew. At least 'at sea' might lend itself a little more to the Native American lore than 'England'.
Moving backward, I then tried to find Andrew in the 1870 census, before his 1875 marriage. I knew he was probably in New York, as that is where his Civil War records place him at the end of the war. In New York City in 1870, I was able to locate 'Andrew O Taylor' living in New York City, born 1844 in Ohio, with his occupation listed as 'musician' - and our Andrew Taylor served as a musician in the Civil War, which only increased my confidence that we are looking at the correct Andrew Taylor. Only one problem - this 'Andrew Taylor' lists his father as being 'of foreign birth'. Strike another nail into the old family lore...
I then tried to trace back a step further by location the 1860 and 1850 census records for Andrew Orson Taylor. Unfortunately, knowing only his date of birth and father's name, I hit a bit of a brick wall, with two or three records for each of the two years that could match our Andrew Taylor.
Searching through transcriptions of microfilmed marriage records for New York state a few days ago, I came across a gem of a record - a transcription of key data from the marriage certificate of one Andrew Orson Taylor and Mary Helen Greenwald. Bingo! Although I still would like to get a copy of the original record, this transcription filled in a number of important gaps as we climb our Taylor family tree - it provided the names of Mary Helen's parents (I previously only had her mother's name), and most importantly for today's discussion, it provided the names of Andrew Orson's parents - Andrew S. Taylor and Marcia Merrill.
Thinking back to the 1850 census records I had been looking at, I realized that only one could match this new information - an 1850 record for an Andrew O Taylor, living in New York City, born about 1845, living with an Andrew J Taylor and a Martha Taylor. Given the fact that 'Martha' can sound quite a bit like 'Marcia' and many of these older census records were recorded by workers going door to door and talking to residents, it is reasonable to think this is our Andrew Orson Taylor. He is also listed as living with a brother, Charles, and also a Joseph A Taylor, too old to be a brother, but perhaps the right age to be an uncle.
Andrew O is listed as being born in New York - but this is a very common mistake in census records, that someone is listed as being born in their current place of residence instead of their actual birthplace. So, requires extra checking but doesn't automatically discount the record. Andrew J Taylor, however, is listed as being born in England, and his wife, in Connecticut. Uh oh...
Moving to the 1860 census, Andrew J Taylor becomes Andrew H Taylor - his occupation remains the same, however, and he is listed as living with two sons, Andrew N and Charles N. Their ages are the same as the Andrew and Charles of the 1850 census, and the birthplace of Andrew N (who is actually Andrew Orson) is now listed as Ohio. So we are in fact most likely looking at the correct Andrew Taylors. Andrew Orson's mother, Marcia/Martha, most likely passed away at some point between 1850 and 1860. There are also two other Taylors in the household at this point - a Sarah Taylor, age 27, and a Valentine Taylor, age 3, but who I think they are may need to be its own post, as it would be too much a digression even for me!
Back to the point at hand...in the 1860 census, Andrew Snow Taylor's place of birth is listed as 'Guernsey'. Now, 'Guernsey' could refer to several places - the most likely matches, given what we know off of the other records, would be either Guernsey County, Ohio, or the Isle of Guernsey (aka the Bailiwick of Guernsey), which is located in the English Channel and thus part of the Channel Islands.
Moving forward to 1870, it was time to look for Andrew Snow Taylor on his own. I found him, still living in New York City, this time with a new wife, Emma, and a son, William. His birthplace is listed very clearly as 'Isle of Guernsey'. He appears again in 1880 with wife Emma and son William, with his birthplace listed as 'Guernsey Ile'.
So now we have a dilemma with our family story. I have no primary source documents backing up the census records, but I'm working on it. I haven't completely tossed the idea of our Native American connection - but 'Isle of Guernsey' is really nagging at me. If our ancestors were going to make up a place to cover up the fact that they were Native American (which did happen, I'm sure), that's awfully specific, isn't it? The Isle of Guernsey is a tiny little island between England and mainland Europe - not exactly someplace that just pops into your head.
My grandmother insists that many years ago, Uncle Eddie documented the Native American connection and had it verified by the tribe. If that's the case, then maybe I'm on the wrong path here - but I haven't seen that research. For all I know it doesn't exist anymore, or was flawed to begin with. Without seeing it, I can't trust it blindly. All I can know for sure is what the records I have are telling me, and they certainly seem to contradict the family stories.
I'm working on getting a copy of Andrew Orson Taylor's Civil War pension file, which I hope will help clarify his exact place of birth and maybe a bit on his parentage. With any luck, I'll have a copy in a few weeks' time. In the meantime, if anyone has any information about our supposed Native American ancestry (and maybe some idea of where the older research is!), I'd be grateful if you'd share!
It's a nice story. Problem is, I'm not entirely certain that it's a true story.
I have our Taylor family back to Andrew Orson Taylor, born in 1844 in the state of Ohio, died in 1917 in New York City. According to a log of family information kept by Andrew's son, Frank Werner Taylor (b. 1878, d. 1938), Andrew's wife was a German woman by the name of Mary Helen Greenwald, and Andrew's father was Andrew Snow Taylor. Snow sounds Native American enough, right? So far, so good...
The first place I looked for info when I started looking at Andrew Orson Taylor was the U.S. Census. In 1880, I find Andrew living in New York City, married to a 'Mary Taylor', with three children - a perfect match to what I knew of Andrew from Frank's records. Under the column 'Birthplace of Father,' however, we find 'England' - same with 'Birthplace of Mother'. Well, the census isn't always completely accurate - it's self-reported information, and people do lie. I've got relatives whose ages vary as much as 10 years from decade to decade. Often discrepancies will work themselves out from record to record. So, off to the next census...
I haven't yet found Andrew Orson Taylor in the 1900 census - I'm still looking, though, and I'm sure he's there somewhere. After all, it's not as though he was abducted by aliens! In 1910, he is living in New York City, alone, and listed as a widower. 'Birthplace of Father' is listed as 'at sea' and 'Birthplace of Mother' is 'New York'. Not so much of a help there, Andrew. At least 'at sea' might lend itself a little more to the Native American lore than 'England'.
Moving backward, I then tried to find Andrew in the 1870 census, before his 1875 marriage. I knew he was probably in New York, as that is where his Civil War records place him at the end of the war. In New York City in 1870, I was able to locate 'Andrew O Taylor' living in New York City, born 1844 in Ohio, with his occupation listed as 'musician' - and our Andrew Taylor served as a musician in the Civil War, which only increased my confidence that we are looking at the correct Andrew Taylor. Only one problem - this 'Andrew Taylor' lists his father as being 'of foreign birth'. Strike another nail into the old family lore...
I then tried to trace back a step further by location the 1860 and 1850 census records for Andrew Orson Taylor. Unfortunately, knowing only his date of birth and father's name, I hit a bit of a brick wall, with two or three records for each of the two years that could match our Andrew Taylor.
Searching through transcriptions of microfilmed marriage records for New York state a few days ago, I came across a gem of a record - a transcription of key data from the marriage certificate of one Andrew Orson Taylor and Mary Helen Greenwald. Bingo! Although I still would like to get a copy of the original record, this transcription filled in a number of important gaps as we climb our Taylor family tree - it provided the names of Mary Helen's parents (I previously only had her mother's name), and most importantly for today's discussion, it provided the names of Andrew Orson's parents - Andrew S. Taylor and Marcia Merrill.
Thinking back to the 1850 census records I had been looking at, I realized that only one could match this new information - an 1850 record for an Andrew O Taylor, living in New York City, born about 1845, living with an Andrew J Taylor and a Martha Taylor. Given the fact that 'Martha' can sound quite a bit like 'Marcia' and many of these older census records were recorded by workers going door to door and talking to residents, it is reasonable to think this is our Andrew Orson Taylor. He is also listed as living with a brother, Charles, and also a Joseph A Taylor, too old to be a brother, but perhaps the right age to be an uncle.
Andrew O is listed as being born in New York - but this is a very common mistake in census records, that someone is listed as being born in their current place of residence instead of their actual birthplace. So, requires extra checking but doesn't automatically discount the record. Andrew J Taylor, however, is listed as being born in England, and his wife, in Connecticut. Uh oh...
Moving to the 1860 census, Andrew J Taylor becomes Andrew H Taylor - his occupation remains the same, however, and he is listed as living with two sons, Andrew N and Charles N. Their ages are the same as the Andrew and Charles of the 1850 census, and the birthplace of Andrew N (who is actually Andrew Orson) is now listed as Ohio. So we are in fact most likely looking at the correct Andrew Taylors. Andrew Orson's mother, Marcia/Martha, most likely passed away at some point between 1850 and 1860. There are also two other Taylors in the household at this point - a Sarah Taylor, age 27, and a Valentine Taylor, age 3, but who I think they are may need to be its own post, as it would be too much a digression even for me!
Back to the point at hand...in the 1860 census, Andrew Snow Taylor's place of birth is listed as 'Guernsey'. Now, 'Guernsey' could refer to several places - the most likely matches, given what we know off of the other records, would be either Guernsey County, Ohio, or the Isle of Guernsey (aka the Bailiwick of Guernsey), which is located in the English Channel and thus part of the Channel Islands.
Moving forward to 1870, it was time to look for Andrew Snow Taylor on his own. I found him, still living in New York City, this time with a new wife, Emma, and a son, William. His birthplace is listed very clearly as 'Isle of Guernsey'. He appears again in 1880 with wife Emma and son William, with his birthplace listed as 'Guernsey Ile'.
So now we have a dilemma with our family story. I have no primary source documents backing up the census records, but I'm working on it. I haven't completely tossed the idea of our Native American connection - but 'Isle of Guernsey' is really nagging at me. If our ancestors were going to make up a place to cover up the fact that they were Native American (which did happen, I'm sure), that's awfully specific, isn't it? The Isle of Guernsey is a tiny little island between England and mainland Europe - not exactly someplace that just pops into your head.
My grandmother insists that many years ago, Uncle Eddie documented the Native American connection and had it verified by the tribe. If that's the case, then maybe I'm on the wrong path here - but I haven't seen that research. For all I know it doesn't exist anymore, or was flawed to begin with. Without seeing it, I can't trust it blindly. All I can know for sure is what the records I have are telling me, and they certainly seem to contradict the family stories.
I'm working on getting a copy of Andrew Orson Taylor's Civil War pension file, which I hope will help clarify his exact place of birth and maybe a bit on his parentage. With any luck, I'll have a copy in a few weeks' time. In the meantime, if anyone has any information about our supposed Native American ancestry (and maybe some idea of where the older research is!), I'd be grateful if you'd share!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
By George, There You Are, George!
Don't you just hate it when relatives go missing?
It seems that my family has a rather annoying trait of playing hide and seek with me - changing ages, changing spellings, moving...you get the idea. Those are the relatives who hide in the records. And then there are those relatives who hide in the graveyard...
Case in point: George Edwin Lacey (b. 1862, d. 1933), my great-great grandfather, and his eldest daughter, Zetta May Lacey (b. 1889, d. 1894), who died at age four after a bout with spinal meningitis while the family was living in Seattle.
For those who aren't aware, the Lacey family has lived in Monterey County for just shy of a thousand and one years. Or since about 1860. It all depends on who you ask. It stands to reason, then, that the majority of the Lacey family should be buried in this county. So, naturally, all my cemetery research has focused on our Ohio relatives, rather than those in my backyard who I could go see for myself. Makes sense, right?
Finally, about a week or so ago, I dragged myself down to the office of the cemetery in Salinas, where I believed most of the Laceys to be buried. The office looked up the names for me, and sure enough, I was soon standing in front of an entire plot filled with Laceys. George's parents, Joseph and Isabella, were both there, as was Isabella's mother, Mary Taylor, and Joseph's niece, Ada Josselyn. George's sister Clara was there, as were several of his brothers - Alfred, Albert, Claude and James - along with Claude and James' wives (Alfred died at age 3, and Albert never married).
George's brothers Leroy and Joseph Carlisle were missing from the plot, but given the fact that neither brother lived in Salinas, I hadn't expected that I would find them here. The same goes for his other sister, Mary, who died at the age nine, when the family was still living in Monterey. I suspect if I call the cemetery there, I may find her, but that's a search for another day.
The woman in the cemetery office told me that George was also in the Lacey plot, as was Zetta. I was surprised to hear Zetta's name, as I had assumed she would have been buried in Seattle, but nevertheless was happy to find out she was closer to home (I can only imagine having to call every cemetery in the Seattle area to track her grave down...yikes!). Only one problem - there was no marker in the Lacey plot for either George or Zetta.
A little further digging (figuratively, of course) turned up a bit of info I'd found on an Ancestry listing from a woman related to George's brother James' wife. Her research had indicated that George had been buried in Salinas, but had been moved in 1943. Given that his wife, my great-great grandmother May Ellen Riley, didn't die until 1947, I can only presume that she is the one who had him moved, and Zetta as well.
And there I had it, a full-fledged mystery! Where are George and Zetta? And why did May have them moved?
Last night, I finally made it to the public library before closing time (side note - libraries need better after-work hours!) and had a chance to spend a few hours scrolling through microfilms of the old Salinas newspapers. I wasn't able to find a full obituary for May - or for anyone in that time period, strangely enough, so perhaps they weren't publishing them at the time - but I did come across a very short blurb, only two sentences long, entitled "Many Attend Last Rites For Mrs. May Lacey."
The first sentence describes May's death and a bit of the service. The second sentence was my eureka! moment, though: "...and private interment that followed at Woodlawn Cemetery, South San Francisco."
A quick call to Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma at lunch today confirmed my finding - not only is May buried there, but right next to her are George and Zetta.
South San Francisco? George and May were both brought up in Salinas (although May was born in San Jose), and lived their entire lives here, with the exception of the few years they spent in Seattle at the beginning of their marriage. Grandma Lacey, what were you thinking?
I don't imagine that I'll ever know the full story of why May moved her family. Was the Lacey plot in Salinas not nice enough? Was she concerned it wouldn't be big enough for all three of them? Did she have some sort of connection to the Colma cemetery?
Still, at least I've solved one part of the mystery, and now we know where these three Laceys are buried. There's a certain thrill that comes with solving a mystery...I think it's a little addicting!
It seems that my family has a rather annoying trait of playing hide and seek with me - changing ages, changing spellings, moving...you get the idea. Those are the relatives who hide in the records. And then there are those relatives who hide in the graveyard...
Case in point: George Edwin Lacey (b. 1862, d. 1933), my great-great grandfather, and his eldest daughter, Zetta May Lacey (b. 1889, d. 1894), who died at age four after a bout with spinal meningitis while the family was living in Seattle.
For those who aren't aware, the Lacey family has lived in Monterey County for just shy of a thousand and one years. Or since about 1860. It all depends on who you ask. It stands to reason, then, that the majority of the Lacey family should be buried in this county. So, naturally, all my cemetery research has focused on our Ohio relatives, rather than those in my backyard who I could go see for myself. Makes sense, right?
Finally, about a week or so ago, I dragged myself down to the office of the cemetery in Salinas, where I believed most of the Laceys to be buried. The office looked up the names for me, and sure enough, I was soon standing in front of an entire plot filled with Laceys. George's parents, Joseph and Isabella, were both there, as was Isabella's mother, Mary Taylor, and Joseph's niece, Ada Josselyn. George's sister Clara was there, as were several of his brothers - Alfred, Albert, Claude and James - along with Claude and James' wives (Alfred died at age 3, and Albert never married).
George's brothers Leroy and Joseph Carlisle were missing from the plot, but given the fact that neither brother lived in Salinas, I hadn't expected that I would find them here. The same goes for his other sister, Mary, who died at the age nine, when the family was still living in Monterey. I suspect if I call the cemetery there, I may find her, but that's a search for another day.
The woman in the cemetery office told me that George was also in the Lacey plot, as was Zetta. I was surprised to hear Zetta's name, as I had assumed she would have been buried in Seattle, but nevertheless was happy to find out she was closer to home (I can only imagine having to call every cemetery in the Seattle area to track her grave down...yikes!). Only one problem - there was no marker in the Lacey plot for either George or Zetta.
A little further digging (figuratively, of course) turned up a bit of info I'd found on an Ancestry listing from a woman related to George's brother James' wife. Her research had indicated that George had been buried in Salinas, but had been moved in 1943. Given that his wife, my great-great grandmother May Ellen Riley, didn't die until 1947, I can only presume that she is the one who had him moved, and Zetta as well.
And there I had it, a full-fledged mystery! Where are George and Zetta? And why did May have them moved?
Last night, I finally made it to the public library before closing time (side note - libraries need better after-work hours!) and had a chance to spend a few hours scrolling through microfilms of the old Salinas newspapers. I wasn't able to find a full obituary for May - or for anyone in that time period, strangely enough, so perhaps they weren't publishing them at the time - but I did come across a very short blurb, only two sentences long, entitled "Many Attend Last Rites For Mrs. May Lacey."
The first sentence describes May's death and a bit of the service. The second sentence was my eureka! moment, though: "...and private interment that followed at Woodlawn Cemetery, South San Francisco."
A quick call to Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma at lunch today confirmed my finding - not only is May buried there, but right next to her are George and Zetta.
South San Francisco? George and May were both brought up in Salinas (although May was born in San Jose), and lived their entire lives here, with the exception of the few years they spent in Seattle at the beginning of their marriage. Grandma Lacey, what were you thinking?
I don't imagine that I'll ever know the full story of why May moved her family. Was the Lacey plot in Salinas not nice enough? Was she concerned it wouldn't be big enough for all three of them? Did she have some sort of connection to the Colma cemetery?
Still, at least I've solved one part of the mystery, and now we know where these three Laceys are buried. There's a certain thrill that comes with solving a mystery...I think it's a little addicting!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
One Puzzle Solved...
In an earlier post, I briefly mentioned the "mystery" of the sixth child of Michael and Sarah Hogan, my great-great grandparents. In the 1900 and 1910 censuses, Michael and Sarah are listed along with six children - Patrick, George, Frank, Harry, Joseph and Marie. These two censuses, however, were also the only two censuses to pose the following two questions to all women - "Mother of how many children?" and "How many children living?" In other words, how many children have you given birth to, and how many are still alive. These questions can be very useful in genealogy - in many cases, they are the only clues to point us toward children that were born and died between census years.
For Sarah Hogan, the answer to both these questions was '5' in both censuses, in spite of the fact that there were six individuals listed as 'son' or 'daughter' for Sarah and Michael. A closer look at the ages of the children showed that Patrick Hogan was born around 1979, a good three or four years before the estimated date of marriage for Michael and Sarah - a good clue that Patrick was the "extra" of the six children.
My first thought upon reading this was that perhaps Michael Hogan had been married before Sarah and that the oldest son, Patrick, was the result of that marriage. Unfortunately, shortly after coming up with that hypothesis, I located Michael in the 1880 census - living with his sister and mother, and listed as 'single,' with no sign of a son. So, scratch the first marriage theory.
That was a few weeks ago, and the discovery of a very extensive new line on my mother's side of the family (look for a post on that soon) put this mystery on the back-burner for a little while. Then, this past weekend, I started doing a little internet research on what sorts of records were available for Mansfield, Ohio (where Michael and Sarah lived). All I have to say is this - God bless the good people of the OhioGenWeb project and, more specifically, the volunteers who put together the Richland County, Ohio site. This amazing resource is full of records on Richland County - of which Mansfield is the county seat.
A quick search of the site for the surname 'Hogan' turned up a handful of promising looking resources - among them, an article on the opening of the new county Children's Home, dated June 6, 1883. The article included a list of the twenty-odd children currently in the home, including...you guessed it...one 'Patrick Hogan'. Then, just a few records later, another article, this one entitled "Children From The Children's Home Indentured," listing several children from the Children's Home and the families who had taken them in. Second on the list: "Patrick Hogan...to Michael Hogan, policeman, Mansfield. June 31, 1883."
So, I now knew that Patrick Hogan was indeed adopted by Michael Hogan. The question remained, though, of why Michael and Sarah would have adopted a child. That's not to say that adopting a child isn't a wonderful thing, but at that time, it generally wasn't done unless the couple couldn't have children of their own, or unless there was some personal connection to the child. The fact that Sarah and Michael would have five children of their own over the next ten years mostly rules out infertility, which leaves a personal connection - even more likely because Patrick's name appears to have been 'Hogan' even before the adoption.
Last night, I finally had a chance to take a close look at the baptism records of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Mansfield. As I was looking for my direct relatives, I came across the entry for the baptism of one 'Patrick Hogan'. His parents are listed as 'Cornelius Hogan and Mary McCahill'. And the biggest clue of all...Patrick's godfather, none other than Michael Hogan. There was the personal connection I'd been looking for!
I know absolutely nothing about Michael's family, so right now, I can only speculate on his exact connection to Cornelius Hogan. Were they brothers? Cousins, maybe? More research will be needed to figure out their exact connection.
Other questions come out of this new discovery, too: What happened to Cornelius Hogan and Mary McCahill? There are four other Hogans in the 1883 Children's Home list - John, age 11; Cornelius, age 5; Ellen, age 7; and Catherine, age 2. The article that lists Patrick's adoption also lists the adoption of Cornelius, John and Ellen by a 'Cornelius McCahill' - perhaps a brother of Mary's? Are these Patrick's siblings? If so, what became of the youngest of Cornelius and Mary's children, Catherine?
For Sarah Hogan, the answer to both these questions was '5' in both censuses, in spite of the fact that there were six individuals listed as 'son' or 'daughter' for Sarah and Michael. A closer look at the ages of the children showed that Patrick Hogan was born around 1979, a good three or four years before the estimated date of marriage for Michael and Sarah - a good clue that Patrick was the "extra" of the six children.
My first thought upon reading this was that perhaps Michael Hogan had been married before Sarah and that the oldest son, Patrick, was the result of that marriage. Unfortunately, shortly after coming up with that hypothesis, I located Michael in the 1880 census - living with his sister and mother, and listed as 'single,' with no sign of a son. So, scratch the first marriage theory.
That was a few weeks ago, and the discovery of a very extensive new line on my mother's side of the family (look for a post on that soon) put this mystery on the back-burner for a little while. Then, this past weekend, I started doing a little internet research on what sorts of records were available for Mansfield, Ohio (where Michael and Sarah lived). All I have to say is this - God bless the good people of the OhioGenWeb project and, more specifically, the volunteers who put together the Richland County, Ohio site. This amazing resource is full of records on Richland County - of which Mansfield is the county seat.
A quick search of the site for the surname 'Hogan' turned up a handful of promising looking resources - among them, an article on the opening of the new county Children's Home, dated June 6, 1883. The article included a list of the twenty-odd children currently in the home, including...you guessed it...one 'Patrick Hogan'. Then, just a few records later, another article, this one entitled "Children From The Children's Home Indentured," listing several children from the Children's Home and the families who had taken them in. Second on the list: "Patrick Hogan...to Michael Hogan, policeman, Mansfield. June 31, 1883."
So, I now knew that Patrick Hogan was indeed adopted by Michael Hogan. The question remained, though, of why Michael and Sarah would have adopted a child. That's not to say that adopting a child isn't a wonderful thing, but at that time, it generally wasn't done unless the couple couldn't have children of their own, or unless there was some personal connection to the child. The fact that Sarah and Michael would have five children of their own over the next ten years mostly rules out infertility, which leaves a personal connection - even more likely because Patrick's name appears to have been 'Hogan' even before the adoption.
Last night, I finally had a chance to take a close look at the baptism records of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Mansfield. As I was looking for my direct relatives, I came across the entry for the baptism of one 'Patrick Hogan'. His parents are listed as 'Cornelius Hogan and Mary McCahill'. And the biggest clue of all...Patrick's godfather, none other than Michael Hogan. There was the personal connection I'd been looking for!
I know absolutely nothing about Michael's family, so right now, I can only speculate on his exact connection to Cornelius Hogan. Were they brothers? Cousins, maybe? More research will be needed to figure out their exact connection.
Other questions come out of this new discovery, too: What happened to Cornelius Hogan and Mary McCahill? There are four other Hogans in the 1883 Children's Home list - John, age 11; Cornelius, age 5; Ellen, age 7; and Catherine, age 2. The article that lists Patrick's adoption also lists the adoption of Cornelius, John and Ellen by a 'Cornelius McCahill' - perhaps a brother of Mary's? Are these Patrick's siblings? If so, what became of the youngest of Cornelius and Mary's children, Catherine?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
And It All Makes Sense...
Every couple of days, it seems that I come across another little tidbit of family history that just cracks me up. Today's interesting discovery...
My great-great grandmother was a woman by the name of Sarah Donahue (b. abt 1860, d. 1916), the wife of Michael J. Hogan (b. 1858, d. 1923). Sarah is the only one of my paternal grandmother's four grandparents to have not been born in Ireland, although both her parents were. Today, I was looking into records from Mansfield, Ohio, where Sarah was born and lived out her entire life. I had already known the name of her mother (Catharine) and that of one of her brothers, James A. Donahue. Today, I discovered that her father's name was John, and that she also had a brother by the name of William Donahue.
Alright, now I know what you're thinking: "Colleen, what's so funny about any of that?" Well, there's nothing terribly funny about her father, at least that I know of yet. What is amusing, though, is where I found BOTH of Sarah's brothers in 1920...committed to the Toledo State Hospital, which I have discovered was a mental institution!
It seems that around 1900, William began hallucinating and experiencing a "constant dread of others." (Mansfield Daily Shield, 12 Dec 1901) He eventually began referring to himself as "Sir William" and was committed. At the time, the newspaper speculated that his insanity may have been the result of a brain injury he incurred while working as a brakeman for the railroad and fell off a box car. No indication of what may have caused James' insanity - or if he truly was insane, as sometimes people were committed for other reasons as well.
My great-great grandmother was a woman by the name of Sarah Donahue (b. abt 1860, d. 1916), the wife of Michael J. Hogan (b. 1858, d. 1923). Sarah is the only one of my paternal grandmother's four grandparents to have not been born in Ireland, although both her parents were. Today, I was looking into records from Mansfield, Ohio, where Sarah was born and lived out her entire life. I had already known the name of her mother (Catharine) and that of one of her brothers, James A. Donahue. Today, I discovered that her father's name was John, and that she also had a brother by the name of William Donahue.
Alright, now I know what you're thinking: "Colleen, what's so funny about any of that?" Well, there's nothing terribly funny about her father, at least that I know of yet. What is amusing, though, is where I found BOTH of Sarah's brothers in 1920...committed to the Toledo State Hospital, which I have discovered was a mental institution!
It seems that around 1900, William began hallucinating and experiencing a "constant dread of others." (Mansfield Daily Shield, 12 Dec 1901) He eventually began referring to himself as "Sir William" and was committed. At the time, the newspaper speculated that his insanity may have been the result of a brain injury he incurred while working as a brakeman for the railroad and fell off a box car. No indication of what may have caused James' insanity - or if he truly was insane, as sometimes people were committed for other reasons as well.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Who's Who...
Okay, before things get too confusing, maybe this will help with the labels.
The following are the family names currently on the maternal line of my family tree:
The following are the family names currently on the maternal line of my family tree:
- Barnes
- Bates
- Boyle
- Burnside
- Byers
- Chapman
- Creveau
- Dispionit/Dispennet
- Ferrie
- Greehy
- Gross
- Henley
- Lacey
- MacIvor
- Miller
- Patterson
- Riley
- Shaw
- Sinclair
- Striening
- Syms
- Taylor
- Bauer
- Donahue
- Druck
- Fagan
- Greenwald
- Hogan
- Lechner
- Leahy
- Lennon
- Taylor
- Werner
- White
Joseph Leo Hogan
At the young age of 7 or 8, Joseph took a job walking dogs for the owner of the Ohio Brass Company, which had its headquarters in Mansfield. By the time Joseph was in his mid-teens, he was working full-time in the offices of Ohio Brass. Within a few years of his eighteenth birthday, sometime between 1910 and 1917, Ohio Brass transferred Joseph to their Northeast regional office in New York City, where he became Chief Clerk. The rest of the Hogan family - Joseph's parents and five siblings - remained in Mansfield, Ohio.
Shortly after his move to New York, Joseph met Catherine Margaret Fagan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, who lived with her family in Westchester County, New York. On October 9, 1917, Joseph and Catherine were married at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Scarsdale, New York, in a ceremony officiated by Rev. William C. Rourke. Catherine's older brother, Edward Fagan, served as Joseph's best man, while Catherine's maid of honor was Kathryn Callery, who four years later would become Catherine's sister-in-law when she married Edward.
After his marriage, Joseph brought his widowed father, apparently now blind and in poor health, out from Ohio to live with his new family in Manhattan. On July 28, 1918, Joseph and Catherine welcomed their first child, John E. Hogan. By 1920, Joseph had also been promoted at Ohio Brass, this time from clerk to salesman.
After the birth of his second son, Joseph, in 1921, he and Catherine moved their young family out of the city to the town of Teaneck, New Jersey, where they purchased a home at 583 Wyndham Road. In 1925, the family expanded again, this time with the birth of a daughter, Frances. Two years later, Joseph and Catherine welcomed their fourth and last child, another daughter, Rosemary.
Joseph's career with the Ohio Brass Company continued to flourish, as he eventually rose to sales manager (or some similar title - his exact job title is unknown) for the entire Northeast region. This stable career allowed the family to remain relatively sheltered from the economic woes of the Great Depression. In fact, throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Joseph and Catherine opened their home to a variety of friends and temporary lodgers.
On January 20, 1950, Joseph died in Teaneck, New Jersey. He was survived by his wife, Catherine; his four children, John, Joseph, Frances and Rosemary; and several grandchildren. When he left Ohio, Joseph left behind five siblings: four brothers, Patrick Arthur, George M, Frank J, Harry Thomas, and one sister, Marie. At least one brother, George, preceded Joseph in death, and he was survived by at least one brother, Harry. At this time, I don't know exactly what happened to the remaining three siblings after Joseph left Ohio, but hopefully research will turn up something eventually.
Next steps: Thus far, the majority of my research on the Hogan family has been focused on census and birth/death records. To go into further depth and better trace Joseph's parents and siblings, I would like to start looking at church records. Fortunately, there is only one Catholic church in Mansfield, St. Peter's, founded in 1844. St. Peter's has also had its own cemetery since sometime in the 1860s. Given the fact that our Hogans did not arrive in Mansfield until the 1870s, it is highly probable that they will be found in the records of St. Peter's, and that those who died in Mansfield will be found in the Mansfield Catholic Cemetery.
St. Peter's is part of the Diocese of Toledo, which according to its website has microfilmed all parish records up to and including the year 1930. The diocese maintains a copy of the microfilmed records, as do two libraries in Ohio. Most importantly for my research, the diocese website says that it also provided a copy to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. If this is indeed the case, I should be able to request these records be sent to my local Family History Center (sort of like a little branch of the main library) and have access to them there.
*Quick note on the Hogan children - there is some confusion as to whether the oldest child, Patrick, is actually a biological child of Michael. He is almost certainly not Sarah's biological child. It is possible that he was either adopted or fostered by the family, or that Michael was married before Sarah and Patrick is his son from that marriage. I am hoping that something in church records will shed light on this little mystery.
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