Genealogy Forum NEWS
May, 1998
Mothers & Grandmothers
Emma
Submitted by GFS Loni@aol.com
All we knew about Emma Wallace was that she was my husbands grandmother, and that she had a nice smile in the couple of photographs that we had of her. She was short, rather, umm, robust and wore her white hair in a bun at the back of her head. (Does this sound like the start of a great novel or what?) My husbands memories of the couple of times he had met her were that she was "mean", a trait not revealed by her smiling photos. On querying his older sister however, we learned that grandma was a fun, nice person. Does this tell us what kind of little
boy my husband was?
My husband and his family knew very little about his mother's relatives, so I decided to do something about it. With his grandmother, Emma we had two possible middle names, one was Selle and the other Belle, (I personally leaned toward Belle, but the photo we had clearly said Selle. I thought, oh well, they're from the South, maybe that's how they decided to spell Sally! :::ducks as all those Southerners throw cotton balls at me:::.)
Looking through the one and only box of family momentos in the possession of older sister, we found what appeared to be Emma's last photo. On the back was scribbled her date of birth and death! Now that was a real find! We had something more concrete to go on. Smiling faces are nice, but they don't reveal much data!
Like a good genealogist, I started with the most recent census record that Emma would appear in and intended to work backward.... well, you know the best laid plans.... My local library is fortunate to have a genealogy room, but the resources there are limited, so the most recent census I could find turned out to be the dreaded 1910 census! For those who have not had the, umm, pleasure of using this census, it is in very poor condition and goes from extremely readable to faint marks on the page- of course those are the pages that you always need!
So just as I was about to give up, or I should say my eyes were about to go boggledy, I blinked twice, rubbed them and said to my self (much to the displeasure of the person at the machine next to me) "Can that be Julius E. Jackson and Emma 'B' Wallace?" It was! I looked at the page after and there was another Julius Jackson of the right age to be..... well, that's another story. I looked at the page before and saw the faint markings of someone with the last name of Wallace. Knowing that Emma was fairly recently married at the time, (her oldest was 4 years old) and that families often lived near each other, I took a chance that this B--- Q. Wallace of the correct age and born in AL was Emma's father. Emma, you see, was also born in AL according to the census, even though the families were now in MS.
I made a photo copy of those pages, and as bad as they were, I studied the Wallace page night after night. I showed it to my tolerant family for their opinions- which were "You can read that!??" I finally decided that his name was either Ben or Bery. I thought Bery was a dumb name, so went with Ben. (now that's the scientific method for you! ) I figured out his possible birth year, that part of the page being more or less readable. Then, :::looking around, hoping no one is watching, continues in a whisper:::: I broke all the rules of genealogical scientific method and......
I started looking in the 1860 AL census for a 6 year old Wallace boy who's name began with a 'B'. Now this isn't recommended, but hey, my library didn't have the 1900 census, or the 1880 so.... I got out the census index in book form and looked under all the spellings of Wallace I could imagine for 1860 AL and was disappointed to see several pages of them- oh well, at least it wasn't Smith! I started with the most likely candidates, the men who's names started with 'B', hoping that he was a junior- I soon got tired of jumping from census to census, and reorganized my list by county and started at the beginning of the alphabet.
Well, a few months later..... :::grin::: actually, it was only a few weeks; I discovered a family in Pickens Co AL who had a kid named Ben at the right age. The only one in AL! I decided to go ahead and follow the Samuel Wallace family and see if the middle initial of 'Q' showed up anywhere for this Ben. My library happened to have the 1870 Census so I went to Pickens county and again found the Sam Wallace family this time son Ben was listed as Berry ( now, I thought, who in their right mind would name a kid after a fruit..... since then I have run into lots of Berry's, but it was sure foreign to me at the time). This is when my librarie's censuses petered out.
So I hitched a ride to Dallas, thinking their excellent library would have all I needed- wrong, however, they did have the 1880 Soundex for MS and AL and Berry reappeared in MS, his dad Sam was still located in AL, but had moved to a different county. That is where my search came to a halt as Dallas didn't have a 1900 Soundex for MS.
Now remember up to this point I'd been doing research on a possible family for Emma. I had no connecting proof at all, and it very well might have turned out that the connecting piece of evidence would never be found. As it is though, I happen to be lucky enough to live near the Regional Archives in Ft. Worth, TX and finally begged my husband (we only have one car) to take me over there to look at the 1900 Soundex for MS.
I sat him down at the machine, handed him the roll of microfilm and guess what! A Bary Q. Wallace married to a Mary Q. ( you can imagine the fun in that household...) had among other children ::::drum roll:::: Emma B! The dates were right for her birth, and to further connect Bary to the Ben and Berry's I had found before, his sister was living with them! You should have been there to hear the whoop of joy that went through the building, while other researchers looked at me cross-eyed! We now not only had Emma's father, but her grandfather too!
I don't recommend this method of researching a family, necessarily, but sometimes you have to do what your resources allow just remember, it's not so until proven! Happy Hunting!
Loni
Women And Census Records:
You Never Know What You Will Find
Submitted by GFS RanchTX@aol.com
Goal: Find the parents of my great-great-great-grandmother, Mollie ERWIN.
Tradition handed down the name of my g-g-g-grandmother as Mollie ERWIN. That was all I had except that she married Mr. THOMPSON and they had a daughter, Anna L. THOMPSON born about 1863 in Tennessee. There was some obvious skepticism since all of the rest of the information that "tradition" handed down had proven to be incorrect.
The THOMPSON family might be listed on the 1870 Tennessee census, but checking all of those with this surname would be a cumbersome task. The breakthrough came when searching the Texas census for Anna's son, Floyd Jefferson BERRY. You see, he was orphaned at the age of 4 and had gone to live with his Uncle Jeff (who turned out to be a THOMPSON and not a BERRY).
I found Floyd BERRY living with his Uncle Jeff and his grandmother, Mary A. THOMPSON. OK, so maybe, "tradition" was incorrect yet again. Maybe the name was Mary not Mollie. Now that I had her name, Mary A.; her maiden name, ERWIN; and the date and state of her birth, 1834 Tennessee. Next step, find out who Mr. THOMPSON is.
The family might be listed on the 1860 Tennessee census since she would have been 26 and likely married at the time. Fortunately that census can be searched in the book listed in alphabetical order. Low and behold, there was a Mary A. (of the correct age) married to a Thomas N. THOMPSON. For verification, I checked the 1870 TN census in Maury County, and sure enough, he was married to Mary A. and they had a daughter, Anna, age 7. Success !!!
Time to re-group. Mollie ERWIN is really Mary A. ERWIN born about 1834 in Tennessee, married to Thomas N. THOMPSON. Now, to find her parents. Fortunately the next step was to check the 1850 TN census which is also in book form and alphabetized. When looking for ERWIN's, I find a William Edward and Elizabeth ERWIN with a daughter, Mary A., age 16. And would you believe it, they are located in Maury County TN. I also happened to find a John A. THOMPSON in Maury Co., TN with a son Nathaniel. Could Thomas N. and Nathaniel be the same person? Sure enough.
Mission accomplished ! Shortly after my discovery, I posted a message on the AOL Genealogy Forum message boards to make more contacts. The first message, I got was looking for a Nathaniel THOMPSON married to a Mollie ERWIN. Just wondering if they might be related. As tradition would have, they are one in the same.
I would like to recommend a couple of message board topics for the newsletter. I hope everyone can stop by and check them out --- and maybe even post a message for others to read! :D
Message Board Tips
Submitted by GFA Terry@aol.com
Using Census Records (Link inactive 10/26/2005) and
Researching Maiden Names (Link inactive 10/26/2005)
Together, we can help each other as we search for ancestors this month!
GFA Terry, Message Board Manager
The Courtship of Arthur and Dauna Tanner
Submitted by GFH Aleta@aol.com
Dauna liked to Roller-Skate. Every chance she got she would use the money she earned to Roller-Skate.
One evening during the spring of 1940, Dauna went roller- skating. There happened to be a young man there that night who hadn't noticed her before. He decided that he wanted to get to know her. In the way of teenagers she thought she had gained a pest. This was Arthur.
Arthur wanted to walk Dauna home, but she wouldn't. Dauna did not go skating to meet boys. She said since she went alone she would go home alone. When the rink closed Dauna walked home. Since she knew most, if not all, who would be going the same way. She became nervous when she realized she was being followed. It was Arthur. He wanted to know where she lived. When Arthur discovered that Dauna was walking alone, he was determined to see her home safely, whether she wanted him to or not. This is Arthur.
They started going for lon-n-n-g walks and talking. They went to a few dances that spring and summer. One night they were with friends in Pioneer Park, swinging on swings. It was after 10:00 P.M. and the park was closed. They were chased out by a policeman, who gave them a running head start out of the park.
They continued to see each other through the fall, winter, and spring. In June of 1941, Arthur went into the U.S. Coast Guard and they started writing letters.
They came close to loosing each other on December 7, 1941. Arthur was stationed at Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter he was assigned to was making its way from Pearl Harbor to Honalulu by way of Mamala Bay at 7:00 A.M.
They were married about 9:00 P.M. in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on October 28, 1942, while Arthur was home on leave.
THE GENEALOGICAL BEATITUDES
Submitted by GFH Cindy@aol.com
Blessed are the great-grandfathers
who saved embarkation and citizenship papers,
For they tell when they came.
Blessed are great-grandmothers,
who hoarded newspaper clippings and old letters,
For these tell the story of their time.
Blessed are all grandfathers
who filed every legal document,
For this provided the proof.
Blessed are the grandmothers
who preserved family Bibles and diaries,
For this is our heritage.
Blessed are the fathers
who elected officials that answer letters of inquiry,
For this is our heritage. For to some, they are the only link to the past.
Blessed are mothers
who relate family tradition and legend to the family,
For one of their children will surely remember.
Blessed are relatives
who fill in family sheets with extra data,
For to them we owe the family history.
Blessed is any family
whose members strive for the preservation of records,
For theirs is a labour of love.
----Author unknown
My Great Grandmother
Submitted by GFH RA@aol.com
I am going to tell you a bit about my Great Gramdmother (on my mothers' fathers' side)
Gaetana Messina DiCapua was a wonderful woman in her own right. She would help the less fortunate girls in her town/village in italy if they were abused or Pregnant and unwed. She would help them find work and places to stay till they got well on thier own feet. She would find homes for the children if need be and also find them some where to live in the next town to save themselves some dignity. This is My Mothers' Grandmother and she is the reason I started my Genealogy. I wanted to find out more about her and also the rest of my family members. I have a great pull towards my italian roots.
RuthAnn ( GFH RA )
AfteNora O’Brien - My Grandmother
My Grandmother
Submitted by GFH Puppy@aol.com
How I remember my grandmother and how proud I feel to be descendant of hers. To some she may have meant nothing, but to have lived with her and to remember her as she really was, - a big woman with a strong face and who was in control of all she surrounded. In her home the parlor, with the pretty furnishings, that room was off limits and you better not get caught there. How she cooked in a kitchen so small - about eight feet wide and sixteen feet long, with a wood cook stove on one side and on window facing the north (never a bit of sunlight). The black iron sink on the other end with a cistern pump for water; kerosene lamps for light. How she washed the clothes for a large family on a wood platform over the outside cistern, two wood tubs and a washboard. Not the fancy washing machines of today. How she baked bread and held a loaf to her breast where she would cut a slice at a time as it was eaten. How soft her beds were with the big deep feather ticks and two pillows per person - and the stove pipe that ran through the bedroom floor to the chimney for warmth. How she used to spank me for sliding down the stair railing - this was off limits too.
Besides her housework, she worked on the farm too, milking cows in her bare feet with the cow manure on them - even on her petticoats what she wore to her ankles. The old churn for making butter and two pound crocks she sold it in. She had a wooden paddle to press a name and a flower pattern on top. How she cocked hay, and pulled weeds, even to picking up potatoes in her wooden half-bushel basket, which many today have never seen. This basket had a handle of wood on it. Husked corn in the barn for feed for cattle, helped with the sheep when they were lamming in the winter. Oh, just to mention a few things! She was a midwife - even to bringing me into the world, and when she told my mother it was another boy, my mother said, “Oh s--t!” She could crochet and sew a stitch so fine and straight it would do a machine of today glory to match. She could hold a group of people in perfect silence to listen to her sing, and what a voice she had.
Oh yes, I remember my grandmother well. A Christian woman but not a hypocrite like they were those days. Born December 25, 1840, the eldest of eleven children, four girls and seven boys. Her father was Timothy O’Brien, a brother of my paternal Grandfather; her mother was Kitty Cotter. Kitty’s parents were non-Catholic. Her girl friends were preparing for confirmation and she asked the priest if she could also be confirmed. She was accepted.
My grandmother spent her young life with her aunt, her mother’s sister, who was married to an Englishman. His name was Kingston, and had influence and money. It was with her aunt where she learned to speak the King’s English, the proper etiquette, how to crochet and to sew. This was probably the only education she had. However, this was no handicap as she reared a family of twelve children. My mother Katie being the eldest of four boys and eight girls, - three of the girls being school teachers. She handled the money, paid the bills, and when she bought the farm she had the down payment of $1,000.00 in cash. She married Dennis O’Brien, her second cousin. She was not sure if she loved him. He was small and bashful, and she felt sorry for him. They say, “pity is akin to love.”
My grandmother had a good life, living to age 85 years; she had her trails and tragedies also. In 1874, her three big brothers came to Clarkson (Monroe County, NY), Jeremiah, Dennis, and Timothy, and stayed that winter with her and Dennis. They cut some wood as that is what they burned in the stoves for heat and cooking.
The three boys and Dennis leased a farm in Clarkson for the coming year. However, in March 1875 , her first cousin James Calnan, died suddenly. There was the usual wake and burial, also plenty to drink. On their return from the funeral they got to arguing over some money Dennis received for two cords of wood. They claimed that they helped cut the wood and should share in the receipts. However, Dennis claimed as long as they stayed at his house all winter for free that the little he received for the wood would help to replenish the larder. Grandmother sided with her brothers, which irritated Dennis, and he said, “seeing you think so much of your brothers you can let them take care of you.” He put on his coat and cap and left and did not return, (we do have a strong temper and do not back down easily) leaving her and the children in the care of the three boys. However, they soon left one by one, and found jobs with the local farmers, except Timothy, who went West gold prospecting never to return.
Dennis, in July of that year, sent a birthday greeting to his sister Ellen who was the wife of Cornelius Crowley. This was the first time anyone knew where Dennis was. He said he hoped Nora and the boys were doing fine without him. Of course, Nora was destitute with five children to feed and no income. Ellen sent a telegram to Dennis about the plight of Nora and the children, so he came home to see her.
The farm had been let to another. So, Dennis got a job as night watchman in a liquor distillery because he did not drink whiskey (he soon learned, and it was his problem till his death). The tragedy was in 1892. Another first cousin, Nora Calnan, a sister James, came to Clarkson in the Fall of 1891. She found housework in Brockport. In the Spring she became ill and came to my father’s house where the doctor found she had typhoid fever. My sister Julia came to help her take care of Nora, but she died within a week. My brother John caught the disease. His life was saved by rolling him in bed sheets rung out of ice water to bring down the fever. It worked, and he lived to be eighty-five years. Julia went home and must have carried the germ with her. Her brother John, then twenty years old and successfully running a grocery store, became ill with typhoid fever and died in three days. He died on Good Friday and was buried on Easter Sunday afternoon, the year 1892.
Her next crisis was when her daughter Elizabeth died; she was a school teacher. She was employed at a country school about five miles from home. Today, this would have been an easy distance by car, but the year 1898 this was a different story. She boarded with her uncle, Dennis, who had a farm a half mile from the school, and she walked back and forth. She caught a cold by getting wet feet one morning, and this became worse to the point of pneumonia, of which she died at twenty five years of age in 1899.
Next, came the death of her daughter Mary, also a school teacher. She did a three year stint in Panama. Upon returning, she spent the summer at home and expected a job teaching school in Montana. You might say she was a wanderlust. She married the school trustee, Edward Lawler, and died in her first confinement in 1906. At this point her twin sister Nellie, who had a dressmaking shop in Brockport closed up and went to Montana to care for her sister’s baby. She married her sister’s husband and had two children and the one of her sister’s.
In 1908, her daughter Jane, who was working at a hotel in New York City, became ill and came home to visit, but instead of getting better she became worse and died at our house in the Spring of 1908 - the month of March to be exact.
By now she had lost three grown daughters and a son. In 1912, Nell persuaded my grandfather to go to “Montana to take up a section of land from the government, besides a small price per acre. He had to live six months a year on the land. Nell had a shack built for him and furnished a companion to stay with him. Understand, he was sixty-nine years old then. He left home in January on his trip to the West. Every day Nell would send his meals out to him. On May 30, 1912, his companion went to town and came back with a bottle of hooch which they both consumed. The next day when the boy brought them their dinner he found them both dead. The hooch was wood alcohol. He was buried in Montana next to his daughter Mary, and so my grandmother became a widow.
By now her daughter Julia was appointed Postmistress of the Town of Clarkson. She took a part of the old grocery store for the Post Office, with the remainder as living quarters. She took grandmother with her, along with some furniture from the farm.
Her son James was now married and had four children. He was running the farm and lived in the house with his wife and family. It was not too long after she left the farm that James’ wife died very suddenly. So Grandmother came back to the farm to care for the children and cook the meals for Jim and his hired help. This was again, in the month of March 1914.
Also, in 1914, her daughter Nor, who was married to Peter Long and lived in Rochester with their young daughter Dorothy. Nor did dressmaking in her home. She was not too well and used to go to Churchill for a rest of in the country. However, in the Spring of 1914, she became violently ill at home and died before a doctor came. This was shortly after her daughter-in-law Treesa, Jim’s wife died. Two years later Jim re-married a Grandmother was free to go where she pleased - sometimes to our house, and to her daughter Margaret, who was married to Frank Kalaher. He worked a very large farm in the Town of Churchville, about twelve miles away, and sometimes with her son Dennis and his wife Kitty. They had seven children, and one of Denny’s girls went to stay with Julia at the Post Office. Everything then seemed to be running fine for awhile ‘till Julia became ill and died in 1922. Her brother Dennis was appointed to take her place as Postmaster, which he held until the government pensioned him off some fourteen year later.
By now Grandmother was at our house where she stayed until her death in 1925. Think of it! She raised twelve children to man and womanhood, only to lose them when they had so much to live for. She had many grandchildren - her daughter Katy had ten children, seven boys and three girls. Her son Timothy had six, five girls and one boy. Nell had one boy and one girl; Mary one boy. Maggie had one boy, one girl. Dennis had seven children, five girls, three boys; Nora on girl. James had fourteen children, three boys and eleven girls. At the time of her death, she a several great grand-children.
And so to close the story on so great a lady, I have only covered a few events of her lifetime.
My Mother
Submitted by GFS Acadian@aol.com
My Mother was born in 1916 in the area know as the Ark/La/Tex where the 3 states meet together. My Grandmother was out plowing the field when she went into labor. Nobody around to help so she had the baby by herself, then walked back to the house. When asked to put down where Mom was born, she said that she thought she was closer to the Texas part of the field rather than the Arkansas part, thus my Mama's birth was later sworn to in a affadavit as July 13, 1916, Cass County TX. Otherwise Mom would have been born in Texarkana AR, MILLER CO. The 3 States are so close together that Granny used to say she could spit out her front door into Texas, look out the window into Louisiana and throw the slop jar out the back door into Arkansas!
Rosie
My Great Great Grandmother in the Census
Submitted by GFS Mel@aol.com
Natural distasters such as the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco have a way of making it virtually impossible to research ancestors. My Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Augustine Jones, lived to the ripe old age of 73, leaving a paper trail for all who might search for him after his death in 1923. However, there is very little evidence of my Great Great Grandmother, Margaret (Kelly) Jones. Margaret was unfortunate enough to die before 1906. What chance would I have of finding anything on Margaret when most records of any type had been destroyed in that one brief moment in time?
My only hope was the Census since city directories during before 1910/1920 rarely listed wive's. And, searching all newspapers would be impossible since all I knew was her name and that she died giving birth (possibly to twins).
My only documentation on Margaret came from the 1870 and 1880 Census. From the 1870 Census, I learned that Margaret was 20 years old and living in San Francisco. She and Thomas had been married a year and a half. They had one child, a daughter, named Josephine. In 1880, they still lived in San Francisco and Margaret had born 2 more children. Her personal information is somewhat inconclusive though. While I can conclude that her parent's were of English and Irish descent, I am unsure about Margaret's own birthplace. In 1870, she reported being born in New Hampshire and in 1880 England.
The Census records provided the proof that Margaret had, in fact, existed. And, as a direct result of finding the 1870 Census record, I was able to determine the year Margaret and Thomas were married. A search through San Francisco newspapers turned up their marriage notice.
Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to research Margaret's death due to the loss of documentation and the merging cemeteries at the turn of the century. The best I can do is narrow it down to 1886 (when her last child was born) and 1900 (when Thomas appears in the Census as a widower). Because of the 1906 earthquake, Margaret's life story will always be incomplete.
My Other Great Grandmother
Submitted by GFS Mel@aol.com
My Great Grandmother, Maria de Braga did not have an easy life. At the age of 6, she left the only home she knew in Maia, Ribeira Grande, Sao Miguel Island, Azores with her parent's and siblings. Her parent's had signed contracts to work on the Kealia Sugar Plantation on Kauai, HI. From the Census, I can put to together the pieces of Maria's story after Kealia.
In the 1900 Census, Maria was 23 and married to Theodoro Pacheco. She could not read or write and spoke no English. She had 3 living children. Maria and Theodoro had two boarders of Greek descent in their home to make ends meet. She and Theodore were just beginning their life together.
Things changed quite a bit by the 1910 Census. Maria was now 33. Theodoro had contracted leprosy and in 1907 the family was smuggled to California. As the story goes, Maria was pregnant at the time and gave birth to her fifth child 3 days after arriving in California. By 1910, they had changed their surname to Smith to hide their identities. Theodore worked at odd jobs while Maria stayed at home. I'm sure Maria's days were more than full having only lived 3 years in Oakland, Calif., raising 5 children, and taking care of her father.
By the 1920 Census, Maria's life was turned upside down. Theodoro had succombed to leprosy in 1914 and their middle child, Whilhelm, died at the age of 13 in 1913. Maria, now 42, and widowed for 6 years, had uprooted her family to Spreckels, California. They lived next door to her brother on the Spreckels Sugar Plantation. Three of her four surviving children (her daughter had married at the young age of 16) aged 23, 18, and 12 lived with her. Her oldest son worked as a Steam Engineer at the sugar plantation and her second oldest was a helper at a machine shop. Though no occupation is stated for Maria, I imagine that she probably did whatever odd jobs she could to support her family.
I don't know what mysteries the 1930 Census will hold, but when it becomes public, it will show that Maria had moved back to Oakland. Maria never remarried, though she lived 22 years after Theodoro's death. I'm sure she did the best she could raising a family in a country where she did not know the language and without a husband to confer with or share the load. Towards the end of her life, she became very ill and spent most of her days in bed. In 1938, she died at the age of 61.
Who The Heck Is Mike Long?
Submitted by GFS Drew@aol.com
Like many genealogists, I have a "favorite" ancestor to talk about, a person who over the past few years has seemed to occupy a lot of my time and imagination: my great-grandmother, born Jane Belle BODIE. Although she died many years before I was born, and even before my own mother was born, I found her to be an interesting person, perhaps because of her three marriages and many descendants (from the first two marriages). I'm descended from her second husband, Edmund Manley MARTIN.
Jane shared something in common with her own father, Nathan BODIE, Jr., since he was also married three times (I'm descended from his first wife). His situation was even more interesting than Jane's because his second and third wives were twin sisters. Needless to say, all of these multiple marriages have resulted in many half-cousins to keep track of! Thank goodness for the help from census records.
I spent many an hour in the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library poring over the census microfilm for several rural counties in upstate South Carolina (okay, come to think of it, *all* counties in upstate South Carolina are rural, at least they were during the 1800's). My greatest challenge was to locate Jane Belle BODIE and Edmund Manley MARTIN (and their children) in the 1880 census. I must have scanned through the *entire* Edgefield County census at least twice before giving up. Where were they? (The local library did not have Soundex films, and I had not yet realized these were available at my local Family History Center.)
However, while searching for Jane and Edmund, I stumbled across Nancy Warren BODIE, Nathan's third (and surviving) wife. The widow BODIE was living with her daughter and her niece and her nephew, and, of course, in one of those situations only possible in genealogy, her niece and her nephew were also her step-daughter and step-son! Oh, and one more thing: also living in the same household in 1880 was a young child named Mike LONG.
Who in the heck was Mike LONG??? He was listed in the census as Nancy's grandson. And then it hit me: my mother had mentioned an "Uncle Mike" before (my grandfather's half-brother). Of course! Mike was Jane's son by her first marriage (to Wiley LONG), and so therefore Nancy Warren BODIE was indeed Mike's grandmother (well, to be honest, she was his *step*-grandmother, but the census taker wasn't being *that* picky).
Imagine that, I had actually found one of Jane's children in 1880! (Of course, I still hadn't found *Jane*, her current husband, or any of the *rest* of the children, but hey, it was a start!)
Oh, I did eventually find Jane and Edmund in 1880, but that's *another* story...
The End.
My Grandmother
Submitted by GFS Jan@aol.com
My grandmother, Anna Bronowicki came to the US in about 1910, or 1911. Maybe earlier. We have not been able to find her ship! Anyway, when she came, she came with her brother. At the time they traveled, it seems that the US was limiting the unmarried women who were able to come in, so my grandmother came as her brother's wife!
They settled in Chelsea, MA, near the Polish church, St. Stanislaw's, in a community with several of their relatives. Her mother, and another brother, along with some sisters lived there. Life for immigrants was centered around work, and the church. Of course all of the family faithfully attended mass. One Sunday in Dec, 1912, my grandmother saw a very handsome man come into the church. The following week, she wore her very best clothes, and really gussied herself up, and sat next to him! Three weeks later they were married!
My Grandmother In The Bacons Rebellion
Submitted by GFS BARB@aol.com
SARA ANN THOMAS BALLARD
31 Mar 1638 England - Sep 1687
It is 16 Sep 1676 in Jamestown, Virginia and there is much unrest in the air. On ships in the river are Governor Berkeley and his troops, and in the fort is Nathaniel Bacon Jr.(to denote not Nathaniel the Elder). Nathaniel and his troops had marauded up the coast and collected wives and maidservants and had now, to protect their revolutionaries added unchivalrous insult to physical injury. They pushed forward a screen of female Loyalist prisoners to stand in the rain in front of the troops, they were prominent by their dress “These Ladyes White Aprons” shielded the Baconians and their rising breastworks, from the demoralized Loyalists. Four of the women, wives of members of the Governors Council were placed on top of the breastworks so that Governor Berkeley and his troops would not attack the fort, from the ships.
These women were Angelica Bray, wife of Col. James Bray, Elizabeth Page, wife of Col. John Page, Elizabeth Bacon, wife of Nathaniel Bacon SR (cousin of the rebel) and my Sara Ann Thomas Ballard, wife of Col. Thomas Ballard. There’s a book written about this event , which I think is called Women in White Aprons, which I will be trying to find.
Why were these women so important to his cause? You need to know about the husbands and what it meant to be on the Governors council. The members of the council were chosen from the wealthiest, most educated, and most influential citizens of VA. The members wealth and education was an important part because the Councilor served both as a Naval Officer and Collector of Customs for the district in which he resided and that as such, he had the custody of very large sums of money, and only men of known wealth and class were chosen.
They constituted the Upper House of the General Assembly and because of their many powers and body resembled the English House of Lords: as together with the Governor they formed the General Court, which concentrated within itself the several jurisdictions of Chancery, King’s Bench, Exchequer, Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts of England. They served as Commander in Chief or Colonel of their respective groups or counties, and as such possessed privileges close to those of English Lord’s Lieutenants, they acted as Naval Officers and in that capacity were called upon to enforce all laws passed by the Parliament and the General Assembly for the advancement of trade and navigation.
Thomas Ballard was a member of the Courts Martial following the collapse of the rebellion. He was a Burgess for James City county for many years, was Speaker of the House of Burgesses and was a vestryman of Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg where he and Sara are buried, you can view the bronze tablet and the name plate on the pew when you visit there. At one time he owned the land that Wm and Mary College is now on.
My Sara Ann was a real heroine of the day, but she played a minor part in the story. The two main players were Sir William Berkeley, Governor and Nathaniel Bacon. Gov Berkeley was a very bad Governor, pompous and self centered and controlled by his wife Lady Frances Culpepe Berkeley. He made wild promises to the people and to servant s and slaves all of which he broke when the Indian Skirmishes seemed over. He had promised the servants freedom and the frontier people militia to help if they had more Indian problems. Because he broke these promises Nathaniel Bacon and his neighbors who tried fighting the Indians alone decided to force the Governor to help. He ignored their pleas.
Nathaniel Bacon was an ambitious and arrogant 29 year old, his was the arrogance of ancient privilege and the ambition bred of its frustrations. He had been involved in skirmishes in England, though he did go on to become a Lawyer. He eloped with Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Duke in May 1670. Her father immediately disinherited her , soon the worst suspicions about his son- in-law was confirmed Nathaniel had become a confidence man. He was exposed and exiled to America.
At the age of 27 he landed on August 1674 at King’s Creek, York River, the home of his cousin and namesake Nathaniel Bacon (SR). Before the end of the month he arranged the purchase (from another Councilor and Colonel, Thomas Ballard) of an old plantation at “Curles Neck”, a high and healthy freshwater homesite about 40 miles up the James River from the pestilential colonial capital. He bought additional lands up river some in what’s todays Richmond. It was after Indian raids and the murder of his overseer, that he became an outlaw by leading his neighbors against the Indians against the orders of the Governor. The Rebellion started in June and ended not long after the Sep incidence recalled above. Governor Berkeley was dismissed as Governor and on 5 May 1677 sailed back to England on the Ship REBECCA, he was replaced by Colonel Jeffrey’s, lets hope he was a better Governor. Good book to read on this is “1676 The End of American Independence” by Stephen Saunders Webb. pub Knopf NY 1984.
Who Was Mrs. Luke Perry?
Submitted by GFS Rhonda@aol.com
I have researched my Luke PERRY line for over 20 years. Accumulating so much paper work and copies of census, town records, birth and marriage records of his children but the one thing that eluded me was his wife's maiden name. I had found Lefa aka Lesa, Leifa, Leify, Lephe, Lepha PERRY listed in most all records with Luke and the children. The collections of papers had expanded the children from the original 4 my uncle had told me about to 6 when I visited the cemetery where Luke was buried. For some unknown reason, Luke's wife Lefa, was not buried with him. Several of the children were and some grandchildren.
As Luke died in 1861, the local funeral director had no information, the town records of course burned or had been thrown out by some errant clerk, the church records were stored in some parishoner's home and were lost, and State of Maine vitals don't begin until 1892. So, back to the drawing board, contact the Maine Old Cemetery Association, they find her gravestone listing in Bangor ME. Back to census readings, find Luke and Lephe in Bangor ME in 1860 in household of daughter (now I know why they weren't in their home town during this census, love indexes). He dies 1861, she dies 1865, NO death record found in Bangor or Brewer, Maine.
Now here comes the really stupid part. But I do really mean, don't include it until you can prove it??? Children of Luke and Lephe PERRY include: Nancy Jane, Temple Morrill, Lefa Morrill, Harriat, Luke L., Malinda, Levi Morrill, David Shepherd, and Lyman M. PERRY. Clue taken after 15 years of research, try the MORRILL family of Berwick ME. Take a cab ride to Maine Historical Society in Portland, ME, ask for a folder on the MORRILL family, while my Dad is in surgery in a hospital there. Lo and Behold, found in the folder is a copy of the Boston Transcript articles 1932-34 on the John MORRELL family of Kittery ME.
On the 22 page of the copies is Lephe who married a PERRY. The only mention!! BUT living in the same place as Lephe and Luke are brothers of hers, Peter MORRILL is one, and numerous others who had all emigrated from the Berwick ME area to the Piscataquis County region of Dover Foxcroft, Milo, Sebec, and Williamsburg ME. After finding this, I return to the Bangor Public Library where a rare copy of "The Bangor Historical Magazine" lists a Mr. Luke PERRY and Miss Lefy MORRILL both of Piscataquis Plantation file their intentions to be married in Sept 1806. To date, no marriage record found.
The obvious which had to be documented eluded me for over 15 years. I can now safely state that Mrs. Luke PERRY, my 4th greatgrandmother, was born as Lephe MORRILL of Berwick or Eliot ME. And to date, her actual birthplace has eluded me.
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