Thursday, May 28, 2015

Braveheart

According to Crofford family lore we are descended from the mother of Sir William Wallace, Braveheart. We may be related to Margaret Crawford Wallace somewhere in the very distant Scottish past, but I do not believe we are directly descended from her.  From what I have found online in just a brief search today, it appears that Margaret's brother Reginald was the ancestor of the Crawfords that settled in Virginia.  Our ancestor settled in New York.

Just for kicks, I am including the information I found on Margaret Wallace:
http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crawford-517:
Margaret Wallace formerly Crawford aka BarclayBorn
about 1255 in ScotlandDaughter of Hugh (De Crawford) Crawford and [mother unknown]
Sister of Reginald CrawfordWife of Malcolm A. Wallace
married about 1272 (to 1291) in Parish of KilmaursWife of Walter Barclay
married about 1292 [location unknown]Mother of John Wallace, Malcolm Wallace 2nd, Unknown (Wallace) Bailie and William Wallace
William Wallace's father's name was either Malcolm or Alan, depending on the source.

From http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/William%20Wallace.pdf :
On his maternal side, William was the grandson of the Sheriff of Ayr, one of the very prominent landholders in Ayrshire. William’s mother was Margaret Crawford, a daughter of Hugh Crawford, head of the House of Crawford, the Third Sheriff of Ayrshire, and who was Lord of Loudoun and Crosbie.
Sir Reginald Crawford was William Wallace’s maternal uncle. William may have had a second maternal uncle whose name is not known, and who is considered by the historian George Crawfurd in his 1710 MS History of the Crawfurds as the progenitor of the Crawfurds of Baidland and subsequently of the Ardmillan cadet.  
Dunfermline Abbey and Palace, Scotland.  .Priory founded by Queen Margaret in 1070's and elevated to abbey status by David I in 1128. Favorite place for burial of Scottish royalty, including Malcolm Canmore, Queen Margaret and Robert the Bruce - a commemorative brass is found on the floor of the abbey. Adjacent royal palace was the former guesthouse of the abbey. James VI gave the palace to his wife, Anne of Denmark.
Dunfermline Abbey, burial site of Margaret Crawfurd, mother of William Wallace.
From http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CRAWFORD/1999-02/0919894887:
"Dominicus de Crawford is said to have been the fifth great-grandfather
of Margaret de Crawford, the mother of Sir William Wallace. Her brother,
Sir Reginald de Crawford, is claimed to have been the direct ancestor of the
Crawfords who settled in Virginia from 'Crawfordonia'." Margaret de
Crawford married Sir Malcolm Wallace, they were the parents of Sir William
Wallace (1272 - 1305).


Monday, May 25, 2015

Places to go, People to see: The Old Country

Here are the locations in Europe that our ancestors emmigrated from:

England
Paternal:

  • Langley Parish, Kent - Thomas Judd (paternal)
  • Suffolk - John Wilcox (paternal)
  • Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire - Thomas Welles & Alice Tomes
  • Ringstead, Northamptonshire - Hannah Tuttle (paternal)
  • Bridgenorth - Thomas Thompson (paternal)
  • Warwickshire - Ann Thompson Hawkins (paternal)
  • Bingley, West Yorkshire, England - William Bradley (paternal)
  • Surrey - Thomas Dickerman (paternal)
  • London - John C. Abbott (paternal)
  • Gillingham, Dorset - John Greene
  • Dunton-Bassett, Leicester County - William Almy
  • South Kilworth, Leicestershire - Elizabeth Audrey Barlowe
  • Long Lane, London, Middlesex - Roger Williams
  • Worksop, Nottinghamshire - Mary Barnard
  • High Laver, Essex - Roger Williams m. Mary Barnard
  • Tichfield, Hampshire - William Sabin
  • Stepney, Middlesex - Mary Elizabeth Wright
  • St Albans, Hertfordshire - James Ashton
  • Norwich, Norfolk - John Throckmorton
  • Suffolk, Norfolk - Rebecca Colvill


Maternal:
  • On Avon, Warwickshire - William Hickoks
  • Stratford On Avon, Warwickshire - Elizabeth Stacy (m. William Hickoks)
  • High Ongar, Essex Co. - Robert Lyman
  • Harwich - Sarah ? Lyman
  • Dorking, Surrey - Nicholas Stilwell
  • Wytham, Somerset - Abigail Hopkins (m. Nicholas Stilwell)
  • ? - Edward & Mary Bosworth
  • Fenstanton, co. Huntington - John Howland
  • Henlow, Bedfordshire - Elizabeth Tilley
Wales
  • Cardiff, Glamorgan - William Edwards

Holland

  • Waalwijk, Waalwijk, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands - Johannes Wandell 
  • ? - Haight
  • ? - Gerretson


Germany

  • ? - Zaun
  • ? - Wellner

Ireland

  • ? - Wright
  • ? - Powell


Scotland

  • ? - Crofford

Places to go, People to see: Virginia

Most of our family in Virginia can be traced back to two areas:  Richmond and Hampton Roads.  My list of locations is far from complete, and the exact properties have yet to be determined.  I am including my questions concerning these locations.  However, these are the places on my genealogy itinerary:

Yorktown

  • Lt. Nicholas Stilwell owned a plantation on the York River "east side of West Creek." He was granted a patent on 200 acres of land, and was a tobacco grower and evaluator. In this capacity, he most certainly knew John Rolfe and his wife, Pocahontas. He was also a leader in the third Ango-Powhatan War, personally capturing Opechancanough. (Most of the male captives were sent to Tangier Island). In 1646, after the Anglo-Powhatan wars, Nicholas abandoned his plantation and and left for Graves End colony on Long Island.
Richmond

  • Henrico County - John Adam Zaun m. Elizabeth Louisa Wellner in 1868, about one year after immigrating from Germany.  How did they end up in Virginia from New York?
  • Brookland, Henrico - Mary Elizabeth Stevens m. George J. Powell from Ireland.  Son, Jefferson Monroe Powell, born 1862
  • Powell home, Henrico (see photo below) - three generations in my direct ancestry:  George J. Powell?, Jefferson Monroe Powell and Marie Louise Judd Powell, Georgia Ella Powell 
  • Tuckahoe, Henrico - George and Ida Rene Abbott, & three daughters Miriam, Audrey, & Jacqueline. 
  • Laurel Reformatory - Ida Rene's son Rawley Butler, inmate.  Ida's stepson Earl Butler worked there as a guard. 
  • Methodist Children's Home, Broad Street - residence of Earl, William, and Rawley Butler after their father's death in 1904.
Where is/was this Powell home located in Henrico County?

Southhampton County/Isle of Wight County

  • Lazarus Cobb, 1764-1829; son John born 1740
  • John Monroe Bryant m. Deborah Joyner 1782; Bailey Bryant born 1787
  • Bailey Bryant m. Dizzy Underwood, 1803; son Jacob B. Bryant born 1804
  • Jacob B. Bryant m. Temperance Owens, 1827; Eley Bryant, born 1829
  • Margaret Cobb m. Eley Bryant, 1858; twin daughters Ida Rene and Addie born 1868

Map of southampton county va
Southhampton County

  • Ridly's Mill Pond - Bailey Bryant in his will left his property "bounded by the Heirs of Amos Stephens and Ridley's Mill Pond" to be sold.  He left his wife the "land formerly owned by Thomas Fitzhugh," to be loaned at her death to Jacob B. Bryant. 
  • John Bryant m. Mary Monroe, 1760; John Monroe Bryant born 1762
  • Joshua Joyner born 1730; daughter Deborah born 1762


Map of isle of wight county
Isle of Wight County
Princess Anne County

  • Land of Promise Plantation, Pungo - Blucher & Addie Fletcher, Margaret Cobb Bryant
  • Princess Anne - Ida Rene Bryant m. ? Williams
  • Princess Anne - Ida Rene Williams (widow) m. William Butler, 1895
  • Norfolk - Ida Rene Butler (widow) m. George Wright Abbott, 1904
  • Norfolk - Addie Blucher (widow), boarder, Ocean View
  • Norfolk - Ernest Earl Zaun, boarder at 10th Street.
  • Norfolk - Ernest Earl Zaun, bookkeeper, Dalton-Bundy Lumber Co. (renamed Randolph-Bundy Inc. in 1985 after bankruptcy reorganization)
  • Norfolk - 35th Street - Earnest & Jacqueline Zaun, John and Gail
  • Norfolk - 37th Street - Horace C. and Teresa Crofford
  • Norfolk - Llewellyn Ave - Horace C. and Teresa Crofford, Sonny & Virginia
  • Norfolk - Newport Ave - Earnest & Jacqueline Zaun, John & Gail
  • Virginia Beach - Earnest Earl & Jacqueline Abbott Zaun, Witchduck Road
  • Virginia Beach - Mayflower Apartments, Jacqueline Zaun


Lynchburg

  • William B. Butler and Ida Rene, at intersection of Cabell and Rivermont.
  • Earl, William, and Rawley Butler - sons of William & Ida (Earl may have been a stepson)
  • Southern Railway - William Butler, engineer
  • Masonic Lodge - William Butler, member
  • Spring Hill Cemetery - William Brown Butler, 1842-1904




Sunday, May 24, 2015

Places to Go, People to See: Westward Ho!

This is a continuation of my genealogy world tour.  From New England, my family traveled westward by way of Ohio (western end of the Connecticut reserve), to Minnesota, Michigan, Dakota Territory and Wyoming, Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.  All of these places are connected to my mother's maternal and paternal sides - my dad's folks tended to stay in New England or migrate south to Virginia.

OHIO

Copley

    LDS directory of church leaders and members
    josephsmithpapers.org
  • Joseph Bucklin & Lucinda Hopkins Bosworth - farmer, millwright, LDS church high priest; elected one of the first constables.  1819 - (July 15) Citizens of Copley Township met and elected the first officers to govern the newly created area.

Firelands
  • Land given as restitution for Connecticut property burned by the British
  • John and Clarissa Olcott (1st wife) Dillingham
  • John m. Hannah Hickok near present-day Cleveland

Western end of the Connecticut reserve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firelands#/media/File:Western_Reserve_Including_the_Fire_Lands_1826.jpg
Perry Lake - Jotham Chester and Hila Bradley Judd resided 1840-1850.  Jotham

Middleburg - 1st settler Jared Hickcox, 4th great grandfather on my mother's paternal side (daughter Hannah married John Dillingham - see Liberty, Indiana) - memorial at Hepburn cemetery in Hickcox Park.

INDIANA

Liberty Township

  • Dillingham Settlement founded in 1837 - John and Hannah Dillingham, original settlers
  • Anna Dillingham, teacher, 1st school at Dillingham home
  • Calvin Crofford m. Anna Dillingham (widow of Daniel Lyons)
  • Olcott Dillingham's home & burial ground (John Dillingham grave)

Map

Jackson Township

  • Calvin Crofford, original settler


Valparaiso

  • Horace Calvin Crofford born in 1846


ILLINOIS

Chicago

  • Mercy Hospital - Sisters of Mercy
  • AMBU Engineering Institute - Horace C. Crofford Jr.
  • Sisters of Mercy WWI Veterans Dispensary  In 1921, the Sisters of Mercy took over a World War I Veterans’ Dispensary to offer medical and surgical services to the poor. During the depression, the Mercy Free Dispensary served the jobless until the national economic tragedy forced it to close down. Yet in 1938, the dispensary opened again, providing needed health care services to tens of thousands.
Waukegan

  • Horace and Teresa Crofford - 640 Mill CT and 2000 W. Washington Street 
  • Horace C (Sonny) & Virginia Maude Crofford born at St. Theresa's Hospital
  • Spaulding Elementary School
  • Ada's residence - 214 314 S Sheridan rd

St Theresa's Hospital, Waukegan
Littleton, Hancock Co.

  • Joseph & Lucinda Bosworth, eleven children moved from Copley, Ohio
  • Orlando M. and Eliza Applegate Bosworth , daughter Eva Louise Bosworth
  • Eva Louise m. Augustus D. Allen


MICHIGAN

Detroit area

  • Andrew Hall recruited by the army 1862
  • Andrew reunited with his family here after he returned from the war
  • Jackson Furnace - Andrew worked as a watchman


Marquette

  • Andrew Hall did maintenance work on trains


Ontonagon

  • Minnesota Mine - Andrew Hall was present at the discovery of the largest single mass of copper ever taken from the ground.  He also saw the tools and remains of ancient miners in the area mines (speculation is that these miners came up from Mexico in ancient Mayan times).


DAKOTA TERRITORY

Fargo

  • 1st frame home built by Andrew Hall
  • Red River Valley
  • Grasshopper Plague 1874
  • Andrew Hall built a store and another frame building in nearby Brainerd

Fort Lincoln

  • Ada was teaching school when Custer left for Little Big Horn
  • Ada was friends with Elizabeth Custer
  • Andrew Hall and family traveled the Overland Trail with the army from Fort Lincoln to the Black Hills. Two fellow travelers were killed and scalped by Indians on the way. 

Black Hills

  • Horace C. Crofford came from Lincoln, Nebraska, to search for gold; quartz miner 1880
  • Andrew Hall ranch on the Cheyenne River at Bear Butte Creek near present-day Sturgis
  • Fleur de Lys horse ranch - Percherons and Arabians
  • Horace m. Ada Hall, 1891
  • Horace, Custer County commissioner
  • son, Horace C. Crofford born 1894 at Buffalo Gap
  • Lame Johnny Creek - Horace Sr. killed cattle rancher John Taylor over grazing land, 6 mi. N of Buffalo Gap
  • Messiah Craze - Wounded Knee massacre


WYOMING

Newcastle 

  • Andrew Hall signed over his ranch to daughter Ada.  
  • Horace and Ada raised their family on the ranch.  
  • Ada ran a boardinghouse.  
  • Andrew and Miriam Olivia buried at Greenwood Cemetery.
  • Barnum Brown, paleontologist - discovery site of T. Rex on Crofford ranch.


NEBRASKA

Lincoln

  • Oregon Trail
  • Calvin Crofford received 154 acres of land through the Homestead Act, 1864
  • Grasshopper Plague 1874
MISSOURI

Rochester
  • Calvin & Anna Crofford and family resided here for a year or less, abt 1860..

Polk, Dade County
  • Horace C. Crofford moved to Polk from the Black Hills in 1916 and died that same year
  • burial at Humansville Cemetery
KANSAS

Wichita
  • Augustus, Eva, and Ethelyn Allen, Eliza Applegate moved here by 1900.
  • A.D. Allen Real Estate, 121 E. Douglas Ave.
  • Bureau of Immigration, Douglas Ave.

TEXAS

Paris
  • Teresa (nee Ethelyn) Allen lived at St. Patrick's Academy run by Sisters of Mercy, CA 1900
  • 1st Catholic School in Paris, next to church - 238 Clarksville St., site of 1st St. Joseph Hospital (now a parking lot).  Note: Fire destroyed much of Paris in 1916.
  • Teresa graduated from Paris Sanitarium Training School for Nurses, 1919, 7th graduating class with friend Maud Marshall
  • Evergreen Cemetery, burial site of Mother Teresa Muldoon
San Antonio
  • Sisters of Mercy moved from Paris after St. Joseph's Infirmary closed, CA 1912.

OKLAHOMA


Oklahoma City

  • Teresa Allen lived in a boardinghouse on 11th Street in 1920, with friend & fellow boarder, Maud Marshall.  (a hospital and nursing school are nearby)
Woodward
  • Eva Allen resided in a mental hospital at Old Fort Supply from about 1908-1911.
  • Fort Supply cemetery for hospital inmates - see Eva's gravestone.


Saturday, May 23, 2015

Places to go, people to see: New England

Today I started compiling an itinerary.  It is organized by country, state, then by town, city, or county.  Each location is given a page or two in my journal, and I listed everything in each place and told how it is connected to my family.  If I should travel somewhere listed in my journal, I will know exactly what to see and do, and will be able to tell my family's story there.  It is amazing how many places are linked to both my maternal and paternal ancestors at the same time!

Here are the New England places I have included so far:

Massachusetts

Boston - Roger Williams (paternal) - arrived 1631 from Essex, England on the Lyon
Boston - Richard Lyman (maternal) - arrived 1631 from Essex, England on the Lyon
Plymouth - John Howland, John and Joan Tilley, and Elizabeth Tilley (maternal) arrived on the Mayflower
Boston - William Almy & wife, Elizabeth Audrey Barlowe immigrated from England, 1636
Northhampton & Westhampton - Robert Lyman (maternal) - discovered the first lead mines; "Robert's Hill" and "Robert's Meadow" were named for him.
Boston, Harvard University - Orrin Bishop Judd attended one year.
Boston (from findagrave.com):
"Thomas Dickerman of Dorchester in New England, Taylor" purchased a lot in Boston near the commons area for a tailor shop on August 26, 1656. He died the next year without a will at about 60 years of age. His estate was valued at 150 pounds for land and house in Boston, 47 pounds for house, barn, orchards and land in Dorchester plus moveables such as books, thread, leather, scissors, a sword with belt, and livestock, which totaled 235 pounds. (paternal)
Rehoboth - William Sabin, one of the founders - m. Mary Elizabeth Wright, 1640.  Burial Kickemuit Cemetery.

Rhode Island

Providence
    Roger Williams founded the
    first Baptist church in America.

  • Roger Williams (paternal)  founded Providence after being exiled from the Mass. Bay Colony.  
  • Sabin's Tavern (family of Patience Sabin m. Godfrey - paternal), meeting place of the Sons of Liberty
  • Greene Hold - surgeon John Greene (paternal) purchased land from Miontonomi on the Occupasituxet Bay.  He is buried there in the Spring Green Burial ground.  His son, Major John Greene, sold the property to the Brown family (of Brown University).  The land is now an active archaeological site.  
  • Joseph Bucklin Bosworth (maternal), b. 1790
  • Capt. Samuel Godfrey (paternal), Gaspee Affair 1772 - Providence River; burial St. Johns Cemetery.
  • Timothy Sabin m. Rebekah Ashton, 1744; burial St. Johns Cemetery.
Newport County
  • William Almy & wife, Elizabeth Audrey Barlowe - William was the county assessor for the town of Portsmouth.
Hartford, CT
Founders Monument

Connecticut

Hartford
  • Monument to the founders - Welles (paternal), Bidwell (paternal), Hopkins (maternal), Judd (paternal)
  • Thomas Welles (paternal), founder, 1st Governor
  • Orrin Judd (paternal), Baptist theologian, held various public offices
  • James Bradley (paternal), 1729-1813, burial Oak Hill Cemetery, Southington

New Haven
  • Center Church on the Green - burial place of Eleazer Brown & Sarah Buckley Brown (maternal); Nathaniel Bradley & Ruth Dickerman Bradley; Alice Prichard Bradley (paternal)
  • John Hopkins operated a grist mill built by his father Stephen Hopkins (maternal)
  • Capt. Samuel Hickok m. Mary Hopkins (maternal); burial Bronson Library Park
  • Jemima Bishop M. James Bradley (paternal) of Hartford, 1751
  • James Bishop m. Elizabeth Perkins (paternal), 1725
Wallingford
  • Center Street Cemetery - burial place of Abraham & Sarah Doolittle Hall (maternal)
  • Doolittle Park
Farmington
  • Church of Christ, founded by 7 men, including Deacon Thomas Judd (paternal), 1652
  • Samuel & Hannah Hickok (maternal), members Church of Farmington 1679
  • Church of Christ has 9 handwritten volumes of early church history.
  • http://www.firstchurch1652.org/meetinghousegreen
  • Hila Bradley (paternal) born 1775
  • Elnathan Judd m. Lois Thorpe (paternal), 1758
Middletown
  • Washington Street Cemetery - burial site of Daniel & Thankful Lyman Hall (maternal)


New York

Gravesend
  • Lt. Nicholas Stilwell (maternal) came from Virginia in 1646 to settle on a plantation outside of Graves End.  Leader in Esopus Wars. Friend to Peter Stuyvesant, governor of New Amsterdam.
  • Interesting note:  Graves End was settled by Lady Deborah Moody, the 1st female landowner in America, religious leader/dissenter.  Nicholas had originally left England because of religious persecution.
Manhatten Island, Staten Island
  • Lt. Nicholas Stilwell (maternal) owned land; died on Staten Island.
  • St. Sylvester's Roman Catholic Church - formerly Wandell Memorial Chapel (maternal), bought in 1921 from the destitute Methodist church.  Located on Tangee St., coincidentally not far from the location of the Nicholas Stilwell property.
  • Vintage postcard of St. Sylvester's Church, formerly Wandell Memorial Chapel
Ossining
  • Samuel, Joseph, William Haight (maternal) were tenant farmers on Philipsburgh Manor; purchased the land from the government after the owner was exiled for treason.  
  • Interesting notes:  Deborah Sampson, revolutionary soldier, stayed with William Haight; Clement Moore wrote The Night Before Christmas here; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was set here.  The Philips manor house is now a tourist attraction in Yonkers.


Brooklyn/Queens
  • Elizabeth MacDonald Judd (paternal), writer for the New York Tribune, born 1822
  • Alexander MacDonald, 1797-1872, buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn
  • Sadie Wright Abbott (paternal), born 1864
  • Miriam Olivia Wandell (maternal), born 1824
  • Abbott & Son Piano Shop (paternal), 66 Walker Street, 1832
  • R&W Nunns Piano Factory - the four Abbott brothers apprenticed here:
  • Previously the Nunns and Clark factory, Setauket, Long Island.  Photo c1900

  • Orrin Judd, occupation - 6th Avenue Elevated Railroad, 1880 (investor?)

Chittenango - home of the Hall family; Ada Clemina Hall born 1856.
Rochester
  • John Dillingham (maternal), lived in Genessee County before moving to Ohio.
  • Horace Crofford (maternal), Genessee Valley Millwright
  • Note:  the Dillingham and Crofford families unite by marriage a generation later in Indiana.
Burlington - Joseph Bosworth (maternal), abt 1800
Pittsfield - Joseph Bosworth (maternal), early 1800s
Fishkill - Jacob Wandell (maternal), born 1747 m. Catherine Stillwell in 1770
Newburgh - Gen. Washington headquarters, Jacob Wandell (maternal) discharge papers stored there.
Havershaw - Jacob Wandell (maternal), millwright
Iona Island - Jacob & Catherine Wandell (maternal) died on this island in the middle of the Hudson River which had been in the VanCortlandt family for 200 years (was then called Weygant Island; now a part of Bear Mountain State Park).  For some interesting stories, look it up!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_Island_%28New_York%29
David's Island - Andrew Hall (maternal) spent six months at the civil war hospital
Auburn - Jacob Wandell was granted the land that is now Auburn.
Hamilton - Colgate University, formerly Madison University and Hamilton Literary and Theological Seminary, alma mater of Orrin Bishop Judd.  He was later a trustee of Colgate, and his descendants have maintained a tradition of attending school there.


New Jersey

Fort Lee
  • Abbott & Sons Piano Factory (paternal), Lemoine Ave, 1872 (building now torn down)
  • Church of the Good Shepherd, Parker Ave. - Abbotts, Bryants (paternal)
  • George Wright Abbott (paternal), born 1882

Newark
  • Robert Lyman (maternal), original proprietor, 1667
  • William & Rebecca Bryant (paternal) moved there from Princess Anne County
  • Charles Bryant (paternal), piano dealer (wife Mariah owned a boardinghouse in Ocean Grove, Monmouth County)
  • Thomas Whitfield m. Betsy Godfrey (paternal) of Providence, RI
Middletown
First Monmouth Baptist Church - founded by Rev. James Ashton (paternal) 1652-1705.

Hackensack
John Abbott (paternal) owned a hotel where his piano factory employees lived.

Pennsylvania

Valley Forge - Jacob Wandell, Quartermaster, obtained shoes for Washington's men.  

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Veterans pre-1900

This is a beginning attempt to compile a list of men in our direct line of ancestry who fought in wars prior to 1900.  This list does not include men who registered but did not serve.

Anglo-Powhatan War, 1644-1646 and the Esopus Wars
Nicholas Stillwell, 1603-1671

French and Indian War
Abraham Hall, 1709-1761 (in the army at Crown Point)

Revolutionary War
Jacob Wandell, 1747-1828
William Allen 1724-1789
Benajah Bosworth, 1744-1800 (Crary's Regiment)
Robert Allen 1704-1784

Crary's Regiment, Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Benjamin Applegate, 1774-1862
Richard Pierce Applegate, 1796-1847
Capt. Jacob Wandell, 1779-1868 (deserted)
John Dillingham, 1773-1861, & son, Henry

Civil War, 1862-1865
Calvin V. Crofford, US 1806-1880
Horace C. Crofford, US 1846-1916 (Mail runner)
Andrew Hall, US 1828-1907 (Hospitalized 6 mos, David's Island, NY)
Eley Bryant, 1829-1887 (POW Pt. Lookout, MD)
George J. Powell, CSA 1825-1866 (POW Farmville, VA)
Robert Scott Allen, CSA 1797-1864 


Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Research Strategies

So far, all of the research I've done has been by computer, except for family documents shared with me by relatives.  I recognize and appreciate the fact that much of the information I've discovered on Ancestry is there only because someone did a lot of the original legwork in the pre-computer days. 


Here are the resources that have helped me the most in my research:


Findagrave - this website is just amazing.  People from all over the world visit cemeteries and contribute photographs of tombstones, transcribing the information on them.  Some entries are created by family members or descendants, with detailed biographical information.  Others are created by people who have no relationship with the people in the graves, but who wish to add to the body of knowledge.  If a relative of that person wishes to add information, the creator of that entry can transfer it to the relative. A network is created where people can request a photo of a grave in a certain locale, and someone in that locale will provide it.  I cannot express how valuable this website has been to me. 


Google Maps - whenever I have clues to a location, I look it up on a map and explore the area.  Exploring the streets, viewing buildings, and looking at the relationships between places, I have gained insight into my ancestors' lives that at times has broken through a wall in my research.  This strategy has made my research immensely more real and tangible, and has greatly affected my understanding of the way of life of my forebears.  I can go to street view and visit the actual places where my ancestors built their lives.  I can take a snapshot of a building and include it in my documentation.  If I find a plat of a town from colonial times, I can compare it to the current landscape and pinpoint the location of property owned.  Street names have provided clues to my family's stories.  The number of instances where this resource has helped me are countless. 


Ancestry - this goes without saying.  This database grows continually as members add documents and information.  I have learned which sources to ignore - Ancestry trees, Family data, Millenium files - all of these are rife with errors due to amateurs' enthusiasm and lack of discipline!  Their information is valuable only to pick up possible names to verify.  With experience, I have learned which researchers are the most careful and accurate.  I have actually contacted a few of these folks to find out more information.  On Ancestry, there are indexes listing the names but not the actual information included in a variety of resources.  There are also sources such as DAR applications, Census documents, and Veteran's pension applications which contain reliable information.   


Google books - many original transcripts of old books can be found here.  A Google search using a person's name will turn up many of these sources.  I can scroll through a major portion of a book to learn about my ancestors' part in history. 


Postcards and letters - family memorabilia or online - these provide major clues to family relationships, important places, and life events.  There are photos of buildings from as long ago as the mid-1800's.


Journals, stories, personal accounts - these can be original documents or online resources.  Carefully chosen search terms yield a surprising number of sources, such as newspapers and local histories, that might mention your ancestor's name.  Searching multiple ways with different combinations of search terms will affect the results.  These are fairly reliable, especially if they are firsthand accounts, though not necessarily.  I discovered that my great grandmother was a storyteller, and her stories were often passed down by word of mouth and often distorted. 


I have taken the step of expanding my search to International databases.  The next step will be to join subscription websites such as newspapers.com.  Right now I am working on verifying the information I have already added to my tree before adding anything new.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Joseph Bucklin Bosworth

Joseph Bosworth was my 3rd great grandfather on my mother's maternal side.  I hesitate to delve too deeply into that particular lineage as there are still a few unverified relationships.  My grandmother knew little of her family and I have had to piece together some pretty random bits of information.  However, I feel pretty secure in saying that IF my grandmother's parents are who we believe they are, then my information about our ancestry is correct from there on back.  It is also important to carefully verify every link since the Bosworth family is one of our links to the Mayflower.

Joseph Bucklin Bosworth > Orlando Marcus Bosworth > Eva L. Bosworth > Teresa/Ethelyn Allen > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

Joseph Bucklin Bosworth was born on March 6, 1790 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Providence is one of the many places where both my maternal and paternal ancestries lived). His father was Benajah Bosworth; I have not yet discovered his mother's name.  By 1800, the Bosworths were living in Burlington, NY.  One source states that he lived in Pittsburg PA at one time; however, I believe there was confusion with Pittsfield, Otsego County, NY where the Bosworths lived in the early 1800's.

Joseph was a Private in the Army during the War of 1812, serving as a musician.  He married Lucinda Hopkins on May 17, 1815.  By 1818, he was living in Copley, Ohio, where his occupation was given as farmer, though another account gives his occupation as millwright (the two are not mutually exclusive).

Here's where the story takes an interesting turn.  Sometime after 1830, Joseph was baptized into the Church of the Latter Day Saints.  He had a close personal relationship with Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church, and was ordained a High Priest in September 1834.  The lucky thing about this is the LDS church kept very detailed records about everything.

Joseph Smith himself wrote about "Bro. Joseph" in his journal, 1832-1834:
Next morning, 19, started and arrived at brother Joseph Bozworth's in Copley, Medina County, where we took dinner.  Bro. Bozworth was strong in the faith - he is a good man, and may, if faithful, do much good.
The minutes of church meetings also mention Bro. Joseph frequently, as he spoke, described visions, and made important church decisions.  A few excerpts:
Bro. Joseph Bosworth occupied a short time in exhortation and instructed the brethren into the propriety of the deliverance of Zion. He said that he had no property but if necessary for the deliverance of Zion, he would sell his own clothes at auction if he could have left to him a garment as the Savior had in the manger.
Bro. Bosworth then related a few items of a vision which he gave us as a testimony of those things contained in the revelations read by Bro. Sidney... concerning the building of the house of the Lord. 
Bro. Bosworth then laid hands upon certain children and blessed them in the name of the Lord.
Joseph was included in Joseph Smith's patriarchal blessing book records (1833-1843), making him officially one of the 144,000..?

Joseph and Lucinda had eleven children:  William Benjamin, Elvira Alzada, Albert Alfonda, Miles, Giles Crihenden, Carlos Clark, Orlando Marcus (our ancestor), Omer Richardson, Benejah Ogden, Malon Montilla, and Joseph Bucklin.

They moved to Hancock County, Illinois before 1840, and Joseph was "appointed to serve mission to Louisiana and to preside over the area" in April 1844.  They moved back to Copley, Ohio, by 1850.  He died of cholera on a visit to Peoria, Illinois, on July 16, 1850, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Decatur.

Joseph's son Orlando was born in Copley, Ohio in 1825, and was a lifelong resident of Littleton, Illinois. This is where his daughter Eva met and married my great grandfather Augustus Allen.