Another census puzzler

I've been browsing the 1940 census and finally found this family - but look how tricky they made it!

This is the family in 1930:

State Iowa
County Mahaska
Oskaloosa City, Fourth Ward
e.d. 62-18, s.d. 12, Sheet No. 21A/168A
April 23, 1930 by Elizabeth O'Rourke
524 North 4th Street
line 5, 538/569 MILLER Charles Head O $3000 R MW 43 M 23 no/yes Iowa Ohio Iowa machinist/R.R. Roundhouse
Roxy Wife-H FW 41 M 20 no/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Eugene Son MW 16 S yes/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Aletha Daughter FW 14 S yes/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Redonda Daughter FW 7 S yes/ Iowa Iowa Iowa
Dewayne Son MW 5 S yes/ Iowa Iowa Iowa

Here they are in 1940:

State Iowa
County Mahaska County
Oskaloosa City, 4th Ward
Oskaloosa Twp.
Silent Rest Tourist Home
s.d. 5, e.d. 62-21, Sheet No. 81A/236A
April 8, 1940 by Thomas K. Farmer
The following persons were enumerated in the "Modern Rest Tourist Home" 409 High Ave East Oskaloosa Iowa
line 6 409 T O 4000 No WILLIAMS Charles E. Head MW 53 M No H2 Iowa Same Place 40hrs Machinist/Railway Shope 52wks 1740 yes
Roxie B. wife FW 51 M No H2 Iowa Same Place
Rhodanda Daughter FW 17 S yes H3 Iowa Same Place
Dewayne Son MW 15 S yes H2 Iowa Same Place
NEWTON Leo Head MW 37 M No 8 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska 32hrs Drag line operator/Coal Mine 52wks 1800 No
Marie Wife FW 33 M No H2 Missouri R Ogallala Nebraska
Alice Daughter FW 16 S yes H2 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska
Wayne Son MW 12 S yes 5 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska
Leona May Daughter FW 4 S No 3 Nebraska

I mean, I think it's them...

Whoopsadaisy!

Poweshiek Co., Iowa marriages online

Had some nice luck with the Poweshiek County, Iowa marriage records at familysearch.org and found Margaret H. Hall, daughter of Elijah Hall and Rosetta Hamilton Hall, and Paulina J. Block, daughter of Martin Block and Anna Jeska Block.

Margaret was the more awkward of the two - her marriage record did not mention her parent's names.  But it sure looked like my gal:

familysearch.org

noted 26 May 2011

record title: Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992

groom's name: Hiram Strong

groom's birth date: 1845

groom's age: 25

bride's name: Margaret Hall

bride's birth date: 1846

bride's age: 24

marriage date: 13 Mar 1870

marriage place: Brooklyn, Poweshiek, Iowa

bride's marital status: Single

indexing project (batch) number: M02559-0

system origin: Iowa-EASy

source film number: 1028402

I strongly suspect Hiram is related to Daniel O. Strong.  They appear to both be from Niagara County, New York, though I've found no firm connection yet.  Dan was married to Margaret's aunt Mary Hall Strong.  She and Hiram were right in Brooklyn in 1870:

Page No. 14

Town of Brooklyn, County of Poweshiek, State of Iowa

16 August 1870 by A.J. Wood

P.O. Brooklyn

line 9, 109/115 STRONG Hiram 30 MW Day Laborer /100 New York

Margrett 24 FW Keepinghouse Michigan

line 11, /116 EARLEY Moses 34 MW Day Laborer Ohio

Hanah 22 FW Keepinghouse Ohio

Geo 1 MW Iowa

And here she is with two of her children in the 1900 census:

State Iowa

County Tama

Tama township, Tama city, Ward 1

s.d. 5, e.d. 146, sheet no. 22A/216A

15th June 1900 by Myrtle M. Mills

line 36, 493/514 STRONG, Charles Head WM Aug 1874 25 M 2 Iowa New York Michigan Coal bearer? Owns Mortgaged House

Julia Wife WF Feb 1880 20 M 2 1/1 Iowa Germany Iowa

Mildred Daughter WF June 1899 11/12 S Iowa Iowa Iowa

SHALLER Joseph F-in-law WM Apr 1828 72 D. Germany Germany German 1846/48/Na

B Franklin B-in-law WM Jan 1882 18 S Iowa Germany Germany Laborer unemployed 7 months

line 41, 494/515 STRONG Maggie Head WF Dec 1844 56 Wd. 5/4 Michigan Ohio Indiana Owns Mortgaged House

Ina Daughter WF Aug 1884 15 S Iowa New York Michigan at school 9 months

The final bit of proof for Margaret was discovering she was born in Berrien County, Michigan from a birth record of one of her children in the Iowa Births and Christenings, 1830-1950, database also at familysearch.org.

Paulina's marriage record notes her father's name was Martin, so it was a firm connection from the start:

familysearch.org

noted 27 May 2011

record title: Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992

groom's name: Add A J Myers

groom's birth date: 1861

groom's birthplace: Michigan

groom's age: 22

bride's name: Paulina G Block

bride's birth date: 1867

bride's birthplace: West Prussia

bride's age: 16

marriage date: 18 Feb 1883

marriage place: Malcom, Poweshiek, Iowa

groom's father's name: Orlando Myers

groom's mother's name: Lucilla Crill

bride's father's name: Martin Block

indexing project (batch) number: M02559-1

system origin: Iowa-EASy

source film number: 1028403

She passed away some time between 1896 and the 1900 census (a big part of the reason I'd been unable to track her down otherwise).  Here is her family in the 1900 census:

State Iowa

County Hancock

Crystal Township

Crystal Lake

s.d. 10, e.d. 117, Sheet No. 1A/240A

1st June 1900 by James A. Johnson

line 14, 3/3 MYERS Add J Head WM Jan 1861 39 Wd Michigan New York New York

Grain Buyer Owns House Free of mortgage

Orlando Son WM Jan 1886 14 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Willis S Son WM June 1887 12 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Herold Son WM Feb 1889 11 S Iowa Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Irena Daughter WF Jan 1892 8 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Frank Son WM Oct 1896 3 S South Dak Michigan Germany

I was very excited to track them both down!

Wilda May Taylor Hamm

I have finally tracked down Wilda May Taylor, the daughter of William V. Taylor.

What astonishes me is that my guess based on nothing but census browsing was absolutely correct.

I wouldn't have even known she existed except that a cousin of hers died without heirs and without a will so a document was produced that listed all of her potential heirs - in this case her first cousins.  Wilda was listed in the document as the deceased daughter of William V.  I'd known from his 1930 census record he'd been divorced, but knew nothing of and offspring.

Here are her census records that I gathered while in guess-mode:

State Kansas

County Wyandotte

Delaware Township

Edwardsville City of 3rd Class Beginning Line 1

s.d. 2, e.d. 152, Sheet No. 16A/34A

4th February 1920 by Calvin L. David

line 30, 349/351 REEVES Albert Head OM MW 49 M /yes/yes Iowa Iowa IowaRock Road Patrolman

Sarah wife FW 58 m /yes/yes Indiana Ohio Indiana

Willis son MW 17 S yes/yes/yes Kansas Iowa Indiana Truck Driver/Rock Road

line 33, 350/352 TAYLOR Edna Lodger FW 37 M /yes/yes Kansas Kansas IowaServant/Housekeeper

Wilda Lodger FW 6 S yes/ Missouri Missouri Kansas

1930 Dickinson Co KS

State Kansas

County Dickinson

Herington city, Second Ward

Lyons township

e.d. 21-18, s.d. 3, Sheet No. 9A/153A

Apr. 30, 1930 by Mrs. Mildred Persinger

11 South 9 St.

line 41, 199/218 BERRY Edna Head H o $2000 R No FW 48 Wd no/yes KansasKansas Iowa

Johnnie Step-son MW 22 S no/yes Ohio Missouri Ohio Attendant/FillingStation

TAYLOR Wilda daughter FW 16 S yes/yes Missouri Missouri Kansas

At the time of her death she was divorced from her husband so his name was not given.  The informant was her mother Edna May Berry - who said her maiden name was Berry, which was also her name from her second marriage.  So that may not be correct.

Oh!  I forgot to mention how I found her - I went to the Missouri Death Records online and looked at each of the death records for anyone named Wilda.  Such a long shot!  Glad I didn't have to do the whole 100, also glad I didn't start at the end of the alphabet!

And such a genealogy junkie thing to do...nice when it works out.

Margaret Elizabeth Baker Smith

After having found Simeon/Semyen Perry "Perry" Smith and Margaret Elizabeth Baker’s marriage record online at Sevier County, Tennessee Genealogy and History:

Smith, Simeon P.-Baker, Margaret E.-1869 Sep 25-1869 Sep 29-Maples, P. W. - MG

I decided to try to track her down again.  I’d been hamstrung by not having a definitive 1870 census for her and Perry.  This was my best guess:

Page No. 16
The 3rd District, County of Sevier, State of Tennessee
15th August 1870 by N.M. Baker
P.O. Fair Garden
[near Andrew and Jane Dickey Smith - could this be Simeon P. Smith mis-enumerated?]
line 39, 110/110 SMITH James P 21 MW Farm laborer /350 Tennessee
Margaret E 16 FW Keeping house Tennessee

But as Perry’s family was from Jefferson County, TN I hadn’t really been convinced.  I did all my looking for Margaret there.  This marriage record in Sevier Co., TN really opened things up.  I found two possibles in 1860 for her and very quickly one became my favorite:

1860 Sevier Co., TN Census, pg. 120

S034-26
BAKER -Dist 3, PO Fair Garden, Sevier Co., Tenn., June 28, 1860- 217/ 217
 N. M.         40    M     W     Farmer            300   Tn
 Dicey         34    F     W                             Tn
 Martha        11    F     W                             Tn S
 Nancy         10    F     W                             Tn S
 Margaret      9     F     W                             Tn S
 William       4     M     W                             Tn
 Melville      2     M     W                             Tn

 S034-33
MAPLES -Dist 3, PO Fair Garden, Sevier Co., Tenn., June 28, 1860- 218/ 218
 Preston       40    M     W     Farmer      3000  1300  Tn
 Cirena        25    F     W                             Tn I
 William       20    M     W     Farm Laborer   Tn S
 James         16    M     W                             Tn S
 Gilbert       14    M     W                             Tn S
 Martin        7     M     W                             Tn S
 Rachel        5     F     W                             Tn
 Preston BUCKHANNON 3M     W             Tn
 Albert G. W.BUCKHANNON 1M W        Tn

As you can see this Margaret Baker is enumerated next door to the man who performed my Margaret’s marriage.

So I began doing research on this Baker family and finally found this:

Bruce Baker, James Baker VA d bef 1742, desc TN, OH
“Nathaniel kept a family Bible where he recorded his
marriage and the birth of his children and the deaths of those
who preceeded him in death. Bobby Kirk Hamonson of Oddessa,
Texas had the Bible in November 1992 when I made photo copies
of the information from the Bible.”
170 iii. Margaret Elizabeth Baker was born in Sevier Co.,,
TN 6 APR 1851. Margaret died 1 JAN 1873 at 21
years of age. She married Smith.

Found her.  And proof that my guess about which children were hers and which children belonged to Perry’s second wife was correct.  This was crucial for me as my ancestor ended up being the first child of the second marriage.  And I am now confident that the 1870 enumeration for James P. and Margaret Smith are actually Simeon Perry and Margaret Baker Smith: notice that they, like Margaret’s family, are enumerated in “Fair Garden”.  But one really weird problem.  Do my eyes deceive me?  Or was it Margaret's dad who enumerated the 1870 census?!

Lucy [Maiden name unknown] Atchley Smith

Maiden name known!  Or at least a most probable guess...

This was a fun one to track down.

It was serendipitous as usual.  I haven't done genealogy for a while, so when I noticed an ancestor missing a marriage record for (probably) Sevier County, Tennessee around 1870 I thought I'd see if anything new was available.  And yes:

Sevier County, Tennessee Genealogy and History has a lot of great information and some very usable databases, including marriages.  I quickly found what I was looking for:

Smith, Simeon P.-Baker, Margaret E.-1869 Sep 25-1869 Sep 29-Maples, P. W. - MG

This is the first marriage of my ancestor Simeon/Semyen Perry "Perry" Smith.

While I was looking around, I checked the immediate family for some of my other undocumented marriages without much luck.  Most of this Smith family did its marrying and living in Jefferson County, Tennessee, including Perry's father Gilbert C. Smith:

1850 Jefferson Co., TN Census
The 13th District
26th October 1850 by James Baker
line 18, 1013/1050 Gilbert SMITH 25 "[M] Laborer " [Tenn]
Eliza 27 F " [Tenn]
Andrew 3 M " [Tenn]
Simeon 2 "[M] " [Tenn]
line 22, L. THOMAS 51 "[M] Laborer " [Tenn]
Nancy 17 F " [Tenn]
James 15 M " [Tenn]
George 13 "[M] " [Tenn]
William 11 "[M] " [Tenn]
Catharine 9 F " [Tenn]< John 7 M " [Tenn]

Here he is 50 years later still in Jefferson County, TN in 1900 with a second wife:

17 Cival District, S.D. 2, E.D. 55, Sheet No. 1B, 1st + 2nd June 1900 by Andrew J. Bush, [next door to his former son-in-law Martin Acton],
line 71, 14/14 SMITH Gilbert C Head WM July 1924 75 M 3 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Farmer Owns Farm Free of mortgage,
Lucy Wife WF Mar 1849 51 M 3 3/1 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee,
ATCHLY Daniel B Stepson WM WM Dec 1888? 14? S Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Farm Laborer

But when I got digging for this second marriage undocumented marriage for Gilbert and Lucy, I found this:

 Atchley, Isaac T. / Maples, Burlenda  1867 Apr 27  1867 Apr 28  Atchley, William D. - JP 

Atchley, I. T. / Hodge, Lucy  1883 May 30 blank blank

Nothing definitive there.  The marriage is about the right time, Lucy having had a son Daniel B. Atchley in 1886.

But when I looked up this Isaac I found him married to Malinda Maples and among his children were Benjamin Ambrose and James P. Atchley.  And in 1910 I had noted that Daniel had moved to Young County, Texas and was living near these two men and their families.

Still nothing definitive, and those blanks on the marriage bond mean no marriage was reported from the bond, so possibly the marriage never happened.  But there's many a slip, and I know of one man who refused to turn in his marriage license to the court house after the minister had signed it because he "had paid 7 dollars for it" and he meant to keep it...

But for me, the coincidences have piled up way too high.  I believe this is my Lucy Hodges Atchley Smith.

Still more work to do, but here is her 1880 census record:

1880 United States Census, www.familysearch.org
Calvin M. HODGES  Self  W  Male  W  62  TN  Farmer  TN  TN
 Lucy HODGES  Dau  S  Female  W  31  TN  Keeping House  TN  TN
 Lina HODGES  Dau  S  Female  W  29  TN  Keeping House  TN  TN 

Census records run in a circular motion

What fun.

I haven't had much of any time for genealogy but when I saw the 1935 Missouri Death Certificate images were now online I had to go check them out. I'd been guessing for some time that the "Lee Scott" and "R.L. Scott" living in McDonald, Jasper and Newton Counties, Missouri was my missing "Robert Lee 'Lee' Scott".

State Missouri
County McDonald
McMillen Township
s.d. 13th, e.d. 96, Sheet No. 5B
12 June 1900 by Dan Huckins
line 57, 90/90 SCOTT Lee. R. Head WM May 1873 27 M 3 Scotland Scotland Scotland 1887/13/Na Farmer Rents Farm Free of mortgage
Sarah. E wife WF April 1877 23 M 3 2/2 Missouri Missouri Missouri
Alick Son WM Feb 1897 3 S Missouri Scotland Missouri
George son WM Aug 1899 10/12 S Missouri Scotland Missouri

State Missouri
County Jasper
Duenweg Precinct Joplin Township
s.d. 13th, e.d. 57, Sheet No. 12A/48A
22th 23th April 1910 by David L Sidman
West Duenweg
line 16, 228/228 SCOTT Robert L Head MW 34 M2 15 Missouri Tennessee Tennessee Shoveler/Zinc Mine Owns Mortgaged Farm
Sarah Wife FW 32 M1 15 3/3 Missouri Missouri Missouri
Alock Son MW 14 S Missouri Missouri Missouri
Georgie Son MW 12 S Missouri Missouri Missouri
Dixie daughter FW 9 S Missouri Missouri Missouri

And his death certficate confirmed it:

Missouri Death Certificates online
Missouri State Board of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Certificate of Death
Registration District No. 611
Primary Registration District No. 6258
File No. 40458
Registered No. 47

Place of Death:
County Newton
Township Five Mile
City Seneca Mo RR2

Full Name:
Robert Lee Scott
Seneca Mo RR2

Male White Married
Date of Birth: 4 - 6 /1871
Age 64 Years 7 months 25 days
Occupation: Farmer
Birthplace: Scotland, Mo
Father: Robert N. Scott, Tenn
Mother: Not known
Informant: Elick Friend [name hard to read]
Seneca Mo RR2 box 99A
Burial: Forest Park at Joplin Date: 12/2/1935
Undertaker: Darnell, Pitcher Okla
Filed Dec 1, 1935, Merle Sparlin, Registrar

Cause of Death: Natival Causes
Contributory: Chronic Interstial Nephritis
[signed] Ashely Bigham, Neosho Mo

But the thing that caught my attention and sent me off on a tangent was the informant: Elick Friend.

Lee had a son named, in census, Alick and Alock, so I thought it likely Elick Friend was a friend of the family or relative that he had named his son after. But it turned out to be more interesting than that.

Looking around in various places for Ellick I wasn't having much luck, except for his Draft Registration form which gave me the correct spelling: Ellic Friend.

WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, ancestry.com
Serial No. 110
Registration No. 75
Name: Ellic Friend
Address: 500 West 15th St Kansas City Mo
Date of Birth: February 10th 1897
Where born: McDonald Co, Missouri USA
Native of the United States
Citizen
Father's birthplace: Missouri, USA
Employer: Armour + Co, Kansas City, Kansas
Nearest Relative: Jaunita Friend (wife)
500 West 15th St Kansas City Mo
[signed} Ellic Friend

REGISTRAR'S REPORT
Medium Height
Slender Build
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black
Physical disability? No
[signed] B B Anderson
Local Board, Division No. 2
City of Kansas City
State of Missouri
315 Gumell Building
Kansas City, MO

So then I did a general Google search and found this note:

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/MONEWTON/2007-01/1168722699
noted 8 August 2007
MONEWTON-L Archives
Archiver > MONEWTON > 2007-01 > 1168722699

From: "Doug"
Subject: [MONEWTON] Friend Ellic - obit/information request
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 13:11:39 -0800
References:

Just wondering if you, or anyone on this list, has an Ellic FRIEND in their
information? He has been reported to have been born in Sarcoxie MO (Jasper
Co) 10 Feb 1897 and has been found in only the 1920 census in Ottawa Co OK
as Ellis with wife Juanita. His parents were reported to be Joe and Dolly
but I have no further info.

His wife, Juanita Lucille SCOTT was reported to have been born in Granby MO
(Newton Co) on 4 Sep 1900. It is also reported that she later married a
Robert Lee SCOTT.

They were married 4 Sep 1917 in Newton Co MO and had 8 children, 4 sons, 4
daughters, between 1920 and about 1930. He died Jun 1978 and she Sep 1978,
both in Salisaw OK (They may have lived in Muldrow).

I would be appreciative of any information received pertaining to this couple.
Is there someone that looks up obits Salisaw OK?
Can the birth records in MO be examined?
Other suggestions?

Thanks,

Doug

Juanita Scott, Juanita Scott...familiar. Very, very familiar. Where had I seen a Juanita Scott before?

Right!

I'd been tracing a Charles M. "Charlie" Scott from Granby, Newton County, Missouri to Denver, Colorado as a possible for a missing brother of Lee's. I looked at my notes. Yup. He had a daughter named Juanita. And when you looked at her census record as Mrs. Ellic Friend she said her mother was born in Virginia. As this Juanita Scott's was.

So, Ellic Friend was Lee's nephew-in-law? Usually someone closer (or just a nurse) is the informant. This seemed odd.

But it also seemed odd that I could never find Lee's son Alec.

And then I noticed that Ellic's draft registration form said he was born February 10th 1897. And Alec's 1900 census notation said he was born Feb 1897.

Right.

Then I looked more closely at the 1900 census record. Lee and Sarah were married 3 years. "Alick" was 3, born Feb 1897. Doesn't quite fit. So, now the question seemed to be was Ellic adopted? Or was Sarah his natural mother and Lee his step-father?

I'd never had much luck tracking down Lee's son George, so I turned my attention to daughter Dixie. And after looking at all the women named "Dixie" in the Missouri Death Certificates database who died in McDonald and Jasper Counties, I found the right woman in Newton County: Dixie Irene Scott Reber.

Father: Lee Scott
Mother: Dollie Friend
Informant: Mr. Ed Reber, Ritchey, Mo [husband]

And then I looked at Doug's note again. Ellic's mother was said to be "Dolly". And although every single census said Lee's wife was "Sarah", Dixie, too, said her mother was Dollie. Dollie Friend.

Seems to me that Sarah E. Friend was nicknamed Dollie and was either married to a Friend cousin before she married Lee or Ellic was born out of wedlock. Since typically in those circumstances the child was adopted by his step-father, or at least took his name, my thought is that she was married before she married Lee. Although there is one oddity. The death record of Paul Joseph Friend:

Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1955
Paul Josephine Friend [sic: record says Paul Joseph Friend] October 26, 1926 Jasper Joplin 31982 view image
Date of Birth: Nov 29th 1925
Father: Alex Friend
Mother: Juanita Scott
[signed] Alex Scott, 1931 Indiana Ave Joplin
Burial Forest Park, Joplin Oct 28, 1926

Is this Ellic Friend signing as Alex Scott? Or is this another cousin or the actual son of Lee and Sarah (who appears in no other record except census that I can find). Hard to say. Checking marriage records in McDonald Co., MO would probably settle the questions about Sarah E. "Dollie" Friend.

One funny last note.

Did you notice that Lee and his parents were noted as born in Scotland in the 1900 census? It even gave a date of naturalization. That threw me for a while, but it was so obviously the same family that I stuck with it. And it seems confirmed that this is the right family. So where did "birthplace Scotland" come from?

Did you notice his death certificate? Birthplace: Scotland, Mo. His family is noted as living there in the 1880 census:

State Missouri
County Jasper
Jackson Township, S.D. 4, E.D. 64, Page No. 15/434A
[noted on previous census page: Village of Scotland]
11 June 1880 by WB McNeel
line 13, 125/125 SCOTT Robert N WM 37 M Farmer Kentucky NC NC
Martha WF 27 wife M Keeping house Missouri Geo MO
Willam WM 11 Son S At home attended school Missouri Ky MO
Charley WM 9 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Robert WM 7 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Alice WF 5 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
Anna WF 2 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
[near father Allen Scott]

This was the community founded by his grandfather Allen Scott.

Ah, census records. So helpful. And so misleading.

1850 Jackson Co., MO Census transcription

Since we moved into our new life I have been too busy to do much genealogy, and since things look to get busier I decided I had to buckle down and get the 1850 Jackson Co., MO Census transcription done. I had already done the overwhelming part (Blue Twp.) and it was really the easy bit left to go, the small townships of Ft. Osage, Sni-A-Bar (or Sni Bar as the enumerator wrote) and Van Buren.

So I did. And I'm done. What a relief. It's kind of cool, seeing it all online. And such interesting people.

Probably the most interesting recently was also sad:

Crawford Jeptha 39 M Farmer 1,200 Ky
Crawford Eliz 36 F V'a
Crawford Laura 17 F Mo
Crawford Susan 15 F Mo attended school
Crawford Ann E 14 F Mo attended school
Crawford Armena 12 F Mo attended school
Crawford W'm 11 M Mo attended school
Crawford Mary E 9 F Mo attended school
Crawford Marshal 7 M Mo attended school
Crawford Marion 5 M Mo attended school
Crawford Riley 3 M Mo
Crawford Lurana 2 F Mo

In 1862, Jeptha Crawford was taken from his home and shot by Jayhawkers. Elizabeth took her 14 year old son Riley to William Quantrill and asked him to make him a guerilla. He did, and Riley was eventually killed in Cooper County, Missouri in 1864.

I got pretty good at guessing which families stayed in Missouri and which moved on to Oregon or California. Quite an interesting project, Kansas City being such a crossroads at the time.

Newton family, Pittsford, Monroe County, New York

Amasa D. Newton and his family are a particularly difficult one to trace. They were from Pittsford, Monroe County, New York (right along the Eric Canal) and his parents were apparently both dead by 1860 as the children are scattered.

The original family in 1850:

Pittsford, County of Monroe, State of Newyork
7th August 1850 by J. K. Buell
pg. 204A/407
line 32, 518/518 Alva NEWTON 32 M Laborer " [Newyork]
Sarah NEWTON 29 F England
Fanny E NEWTON 9 F Newyork
Nathan NEWTON 8 M " [Newyork]
Amasa NEWTON 4 M " [Newyork]
Sarat NEWTON 2 F " [Newyork]
Charles NEWTON 6/12 M " [Newyork]

In 1860:

1860 Monroe Co., NY Census, the town of Pittsford, Page No. 45/225
27th Nov 1860 by Levi L. Fulton
P.O. North Chili NY
line 17, 1702/1781 William A. RAY 33 M Farmer 7000/6750 New York
Miranda 31 F " [New York]
Florence 2 F " [New York]
Betsey LAKE 54 F Vermont
Byron 28 M Farm Laborer " [New York]
Murray 24 M Teach Com. School " [New York]
/1782 Ann MILES 64 F Housekeeper " [New York]
Sarah NEWTON 12 F " [New York]
Nathan 17 M Farm Laborer " [New York]

Interestingly, next door to the Newtons in 1850 is the John S. Agate family, including his sister Ann Agate, who is the Ann Miles listed above who apparently has my Sarah and Nathan living with her.

My ancestor, Amasa, is in Indiana:

1860 St. Joseph Co., IN Census, Clay Tp., Page No. 55,
18 June 1860 by John Gallagher,
P.O. So. Bend,
line 13, 392/392 J FARRAN 30 M " [Farmer] /250 Mich,
Henry 32 "[M] " [Farmer] 1800/ Ohio,
WH SMITH 47 "[M] " [Ohio],
Catharine FARREN? 61 F Conn,
Amsey NEWTON 13 M NY.

These Farrens and Amasa are in Berrien Co., MI in 1870. The Farrens, in fact, were in Berrien Co., MI in 1850. No idea how he ends up with them. They were in Ohio, then Berrien Co., MI, then St. Joseph Co., IN and then back to Berrien Co., MI. Some of them end up in Iowa, as does Amasa, though not in the same area.

In 1870, there is no sign of Nathan Newton, but Ann Agate Miles's household looks like this:

Page No. 20
Pittsford, County of Monroe, State of New York
22 June 1870 by Daniel Kingsley
P.O. Pittsford NY
line 28, 175/175 MILES Ann 70 FW Farmer 5000/300 New York
WILDER William 23 MW Farm laborer New York
Sarah 21 FW Domestic serv't New York

Of course, I think that this Sarah is my Sarah, but I couldn't pin her down until browsing the cemeteries at the Monroe Co., NY genealogy site, where I found this:

Anah B. Yates from the Honeoye Falls Times 24 March 1921
Monroe Co., NY, East Street Cemetery
WILDER Sarah A. Newton, wife of W. W.; d May 29, 1871 æ 23.

I can't believe they put her maiden name. So, my guess was correct! But unfortunately, she died quite young.

But this reinforces my idea that Sarah and Ann Agate Miles were related: why would Sarah live with a stranger for that long? And in 1880 Ann has another relative, Miranda Lake Ray, her nephew's widow, and their children living with her. She seems to like taking people in.

So far there has been no trace of Nathan or Charles Newton (after the 1850 census record), and Fanny could easily be disguised by marriage.

I feel very lucky to have traced Sarah. I just hope I'm on the right track about their relationship with Ann Agate Miles.

And I've had no luck trying to trace backward from Alva Newton.

It's all very interesting

A Maiden Name Puzzler: Too Much Evidence

I started with this:

1870 Saline Co., MO Census, Saline County, MO
Grand Pass Township, Page No. 40, 26th Aug 1870 by G.W. Gilmore, P.O. Brownsville,
line 26, 291/306 EDWARDS M. 55 MW Farmer 4800/960 N Carolina,
M. 57 FW Keep House Tennessee,
H.R. 19 MW Farm work Missouri attended school,
R.B. 18 MW " " [Farm work] " [Missouri] attended school,
A.A. 16 MW " " [Farm work] " [Missouri] attended school,
L.M. 14 FW " [Missouri] attended school,
KESTERSON Wm 29 MW Farm Laborer " [Missouri],
line 33? 292/307 EDWARDS E.F. 35 MW Farmer 1000/493 " [Missouri],
M.M. 25 FW Keeps House " [Missouri],
G.A. 7 FW " [Missouri] attended school,
M.E. 2 FW " [Missouri]

I thought the "R.B." - who frustratingly appeared as "R.B" in the 1860 Johnson Co., MO Census as well - must be this fella:

Missouri Marriages, 1851-1900, ancestry.com, Name: Richard B. Edwards
Spouse: Matilda Jane Weddell
Marriage Date: 17 Jan 1878
Performed By: W. Purcell
Title: J. P.
Comment: Page 231
Marriage Records of Saline County, Missouri Volume IV Book D 1874-1881.

And the same guy here:

Grand Pass Township, S.D. 6, E.D. 59, Page No. 19/366A
tenth June 1880 by WL Purcell
line 11, 143/145 EDWARDS Richard B WM 28 M Laborer Mo N.C. Tenn
Angeline M WF 20 Wife M Keeping House Va Va Va

But the "Matilda Jane" and the "Angeline" didn't seem to match...

I did manage to find this:

Saline Co., MO Cemetery Records, ancestry.com, (Cemetery Records of Saline County, Missouri Volume II), Name: R. B. Edwards
Birth Date: 11 Dec 1851
Death Date: 07 Dec 1889
Cemetery: Grand Pass.

and in the same cemetery record this:

Name: Julina M. Edwards
Birth Date: 21 May 1860
Death Date: 02 Feb 1940
Cemetery: Grand Pass

And I wasn't having any luck finding "Matilda Jane Weddell" anywhere, so I tried to find this Julina M. [Edwards].

Found her in 1900:

State Missouri
County Saline
Grand Pass Township
s.d. 7, e.d. 127, Sheet No. 2B
4 June 1900 by John H. Hughes
line 62, 35/35 EDWARDS Julina Head WF May 1860 40 Wd 12/7 Virginia Virginia Virginia Owns Mortgaged Farm
Rosie P Daughter WF Oct 1886 13 S Missouri Missouri Virginia attended school 7 months
Myrtle? L Daughter WF Mar 1888 12 S Missouri Missouri Virginia attended school 9 months
Goldie A Daughter WF Mar 1890 10 S Missouri Missouri Virginia attended school 9 months
Addie C Daughter WF Feb 1892 8 S Missouri Missouri Virginia attended school 9 months
Gracie D Daughter WF Jan 1894 6 S Missouri Missouri Virginia attended school 9 months
James F Son WM Mar? 1896 4 S Missouri Missouri Virginia
Oscar T Son WM Dec 1897 2 S Missouri Missouri Virginia
EDWARDS Charles Brother WM Mar 1874 S Missouri Virginia Virginia R R Laborer unemployed 6 months

And why oh why couldn't they have gotten her brother's last name right?! It would have saved steps...but there still seemed to be a problem: Richard B. Edwards was dead by 1889.

But throwing in Julina b. Virginia brought up this:

Page No. 48
Jacksonville Township, County of Floyd, State of Virginia
6 July 1870 by BP Elliott
P.O. Floyd CH Va
line 32, 363/345 WEDDLE Elijah 33 MW Farmer 200/180 Va
Mary J 28 FW House Keeping "[Va]
Julina M 10 FW "[Va]
Almodoris 5 FW "[Va]
Leveretta 3 FW "[Va]
Fulks 1 MW "[Va]
DICKERSON Amanda C 16 FW Domestic "[Va]
[next door Andrew and Barbara Weddle]

and tracing Elijah brought up this:

www.familysearch.org, 1880 United States Census
Elijah WEDDELL Self M MW 43 VA Farmer VA VA
Mary J. WEDDELL Wife M FW 38 VA Keeping House VA VA
Amanda WEDDELL Dau S FW 15 VA No Occupation VA VA
Feagan WEDDELL Son S MW 9 MO At Home VA VA
Charles WEDDELL Son S MW 7 MO At Home VA VA
Lula W. WEDDELL Dau S FW 3 MO At Home VA VA
Source Information: Census Place: Grand Pass, Saline, Missouri, Family History Library Film: 1254716, NA Film Number: T9-0716, Page Number: 368D

Bingo, it had to be our girl.

Julina Matilda Weddle Edwards.

And I believe the tombstone record is mistaken. Richard B. Edwards would have died in 1899.

No longer blue about Blue

It's finally done! My transcription of Blue Twp., Jackson Co., MO 1850 Census, it's been proofread and is online.

For "Blue" you can read Kansas City/Westport and environs. Quite populated. Quite interesting.

It dragged on and on and on...it took me over a year. I got busy, and it was so long I couldn't get motivated. Once I got past the halfway mark it was much easier.

Probably the most interesting household in this township was the Tubee family:

1850 Jackson Co., MO Census
Blue Township
Page 290A

line 37, 833/833 Tubee Okah 39 M Physician Al'a
Tubee Lucele 32 F NY
Tubee Seraphine 13 F Mo
Tubee Celestine 12 F Mo
Tubee Mashola 1 M Mo

Who I thought Okah might be French (looking at his daughters' names, thinking perhaps it was a mis-heard 'Duby') but it turns out he was Choctaw (though you will notice no race is mentioned here).

I've finished Kaw, Washington and Blue, and have only three rather small townships left to go: Sni Bar, Van Buren and Ft. Osage.

Won't it feel good to be done!

Great Scott

Oh my, the Scotts.

I've been dealing with them a great deal, but haven't had the heart to mention them here (you might have noticed a lack of blogging).

Did you know that the name Scott is extremely, extremely common? Especially in Kentucky?

Well, it is.

I had started off with a slight handicap with the Scotts because all I had was a vague family tradition. There was my ancestor Alice and a list of siblings (in no particular order): Allen, Charlie, Lee and Anna. Their mother's name was Martha Harrietta McRae and their father Robert Lee Scott.

I was a bit hamstrung until I discovered the marriage record online and it said that his name was Robert N. Scott. As did the only census records I could find, the 1880:

Jackson Township
S.D. 4, E.D. 64, Page No. 15/434A
11 June 1880 by WB McNeel
line 13, 125/125 SCOTT Robert N WM 37 M Farmer Kentucky NC NC
Martha WF 27 wife M Keeping house Missouri Geo MO
Willam WM 11 Son S At home attended school Missouri Ky MO
Charley WM 9 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Robert WM 7 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Alice WF 5 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
Anna WF 2 Daughter Missouri Ky MO

A very close fit, though no "Allen", but since "Lee" was probably "Robert Lee", the first child could be "William Allen".

Nearby was a "Allen Scott" the right age to be Robert's father, but his birthplace didn't match Robert's reporting, and there was another Robert nearby whose did, so I thought he was probably Allen's son and my Robert a nephew or something. In any case, I needed to find Robert in 1850, where he would certainly be with his parents.

Yeah, no.

I found a couple likely fellows, and then quickly found them later with wives and children...it seemed my Robert was not in the 1850.

So I realized, "I should be working backward". That's the right way to do these things, step by step from the known to the unknown. So I needed to find Robert with is family in 1870.

Yeah, no.

Yeah, I'm frustrated.

So I start in on the 1860. Not finding much, not finding much...Roberts born in KY are surprisingly rare... give up on Robert and try finding this "Allen Scott" in the 1860.

Bingo:

1860 Dade Co., MO Census
North Township
Page No. 110/113, 31st July 1860 by Thomas S. Coffee
P.O. Sons Creek
line 6, 734/734 Samuel LAWRENCE 26 M " [Farmer] /50 Illinois cannot r/w
Clarinda 21 f Tennessee cannot r/w
Allen SCOTT 48 M " [Farmer] 500/5700 Kentucky
Judith 40 F Tennessee
Philip WL. 21 M " [Farmer] /75 " [Tennessee]
Judith C 19 F " [Tennessee] attended school
Robert N. 17 M " [Farmer] " [Tennessee] attended school
Mary W. 4 F " [Tennessee]
Sarah F. 2 F " [Tennessee]

The crowd roars.

There is Robert N., not born in Ky, but born in TN. That's the problem with having only one census reference. So many details can be wrong.