Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

Frequently you search for years and years putting together information on the members of a particular ancestral line.  You work hard and spend hours researching, writing letters, visiting research facilities and doing more research only to find a rather extensive family history right there in a local newspaper!  You just have to laugh. 

This time when I was searching in Newspapers.com I was looking for my maternal 3rd great-grandfather Marvin Milton Coolbaugh (1821-1879).  I started by searching from 'M Coolbaugh' and found one article about his wedding anniversary.  Then I decided to search by the years '1820-1900' hoping maybe I’d find something on Marvin or his wife Betsey who lived until 1912.  Next,'I searched by 'Newspapers in Bradford County, PA'.  I selected The Bradford Star and just put in the family name ‘Coolbaugh’.  I decided not to limit myself by years.  This is what I found from The Bradford Star newspaper 9 July 1903:

 (click on image to enlarge)

WOW!!!

After I realized the find I had, I wondered how closely this matches what I have already found?  Here is what I have:

• My information about #1 William and his wife Sarah Johnson matches and it gives me some additional information about them and where they came from.
• For #2 I have William Jr. as being married to Susannah Shoonmaker but I have also seen her name as Shoemaker.  This tells me where William and family moved to but does not mention my #3 Peter.
• This account has Benjamin’s son Moses marrying Louisa Alden.  I have #4 Benjamin marrying Louisa Alden the daughter of Timothy Alden.  Hmmm…My research doesn’t match this and it’s through Louisa that I was able to prove my ancestral line to John and Priscilla Alden.  (See post General Society of Mayflower Descendants' Success!) I wonder where the information for the Newspaper article came from?  Who gave the information and what research was done to verify the information?  This article was published in 1903.  UGH!  Frustrating when the information doesn’t match.

So, I got lost for awhile in some more general ‘Coolbaugh’ searching while I thougth about what I should do about the inconsistency.  I then found in The Bradford Star on 23 July 1903:

YEA!! now I feel much better.  My research is still valid.  This ‘correction’ verifies what I have in that Benjamin Coolbaugh married Louisa Alden.  This correction also has my # 3 Peter along with #4 Benjamin.  My #5 Marvin is also in this correction, and the reason I started this search.
This ‘correction’ answers my question of where some of the information came from.  Thank-you to J. R. Coolbaugh!  I guess I need to determine how J.R. fits in to the family one day also.


As a result of this newspaper clipping I now have additional information (hints until proven) on members of additional lines of this large family and more research to do.  What a find this article is to my research!  How exciting to know that this family line was important enough in the history of the area that the family was mentioned in The History of Wysox Pioneer Families section of the County newspaper.  I think I need to look for some of my other 'pioneer families' in this column as well.  It definitely paid off for me not to limit my search to specific years and to keep searching and see what else might be out there in a ‘general’ search. 

If you have any corrections, additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

The ‘Dark Day’ 19 May 1780

Knowing what my ancestors experienced in their daily lives is very important to me in helping understand and tell the story beyond the dates of their life events. I always want to know more about their daily lives.

I recently came across the following article at the Suffolk County Historical Society in a collection entitled ‘The Salmon Record Scrap Book’. This collection was compiled and presented by N. Hubbard Cleveland on 12 September 1921 to the Suffolk County Historical Society. Here is a record of a major event that my ancestors living on Long Island, New Jersey, and New England experienced. I had to stop and wonder what it must have felt like 239 years ago today for my 4x great grandparents James and Anna Edwards Warner as the ‘Dark Day’ happened? Were they afraid?

from the N.Y. Herald;

“Anniversary of the “Dark Day.”

One hundred years ago to-day, May 19, 1780, was one of the most famous of dates in the legendary tales of our grandfathers. It was the “Dark Day,” when, according to the chronicles, candles had to be lighted at midday, the birds were silent or disappeared, and the domestic fowls retired to roost. This darkness prevailed over the whole of New England and the Middle States, and its memory is even now preserved by the Indians of the Six Nations, who use it as a time mark for estimating the ages of children born about that period. Many were the bits of doggerel [verse or words that are badly written or expressed] verse which were current a few years ago about this phenomenon, and wonderfully varied were the experiences which the spectators transmitted to their posterity. Barber, Webster, and Mursell have referred to the circumstance in their historical compilations; but the most interesting anecdote is that referring to the attitude of the Connecticut Council, then in session at Hartford, and discussing an interesting bill about the shad fishery. As the darkness became more intense, suggesting to many the arrival of the day of judgment, the legislature on motion adjourned; but Colonel Abraham Davenport of Stamford, opposed a similar motion in the Council, saying, “I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is approaching or it is not. If it is not there is no cause for adjournment ; if it is, I wish to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.” The lovers of poetry may find a beautiful version of this incident in Whittier’s “Tent on the beach.” Other dark days cited in more recent annals especially October 21, 1816, but none ever attained such celebrity as that of which the centenary occurs to-day, and of whose cause no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered.”

Immediately, I thought there must have been an eclipse but was that what happened? What was the explanation for this event? What did they believe was happening? Did they believe daylight would return? This seemed to be such a major event in the lives of so many of my ancestors that 100 years later people were still recalling this event in the newspapers. I had to do my own research to see if this could be explained.

Our ancestors, at this time, lived along the coasts of America and there was still a vast unknown world to the west of them. Many had very strong religious beliefs. There was no TV or radio to report the event. No telephones to call and ask about what was happening. How frightening this must have been!

From my research through a variety of sources I learned:

• There are many theories still today as to what actually happened.
• Records were kept of Solar eclipses and they generally only last a few minutes. There is no record of this being an eclipse.
• There are no records of any volcanic activity creating an ash cloud or of a meteorite crashing.
• The most prevalent theory seems to be that there was a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog and cloud cover.

I came across the following personal accounts of this event in my research:

Revolutionary War soldier Joseph Plumb Martin noted:
“We were here [New Jersey] at the time the "dark day" happened, it has been said that the darkness was not so great in New-Jersey as in New-England. How great it was there I do not know, but I know that it was very dark where I then was in New-Jersey; so much so that the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew and the whip-poor-wills sung their usual serenade; the people had to light candles in their houses to enable them to see to carry on their usual business; the night was as uncommonly dark as the day was.^”

Wikipedia has the following reports:
“The earliest report of the darkness came from Rupert, New York where the sun was already obscured at sunrise. Professor Samuel Williams observed from Cambridge, Massachusetts, "This extraordinary darkness came on between the hours of 10 and 11 a.m. and continued till the middle of the next night.” Reverend Ebenezer Parkham of Westborough, Massachusetts reported peak obscurity to occur "by 12", but did not record the time when it first arrived. At Harvard College, the obscuration was reported to arrive at 10:30 a.m., peaking at 12:45 p.m. and abating by 1:10 p.m., but a heavy overcast remained for the rest of the day. The obscuration was reported to have reached Barnstable, Massachusetts by 2:00 p.m., with peak obscurity reported to have occurred at 5:30 p.m.
Roosters crowed, woodcocks whistled, and frogs peeped as if night had fallen at 2:00 p.m. in Ipswich, Massachusetts. A witness reported that a strong sooty smell prevailed in the atmosphere, and that rain water had a light film over it that was made up of particles of burnt leaves and ash. Contemporaneous reports also indicated that ash and cinders fell on parts of New Hampshire to a depth of six inches.”

What I would give to be able to ask James or Anna for their accounts of what happened. How did this dramatic event shape their lives? I guess I will never know the impact of this event but I now know that this event occurred and they witnessed it.

***Thank-you to Paul Elliott for realizing I incorrectly wrote 1790 instead of 1780 when I posted this and letting me know.

If you have any corrections, additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Obituary Sunday-Abigail Betsey Granteer Coolbaugh

I previously wrote a post about the life of my maternal 3x great grandmother Abigail Betsey Granteer Coolbaugh (click on bolded name to read) and a post about her tombstone entitled Tombstone Tuesday-Abilgail Betsey Granteer Coolbaugh.  I was recently able to find a copy of Abigail “Betsey”’s obituary from the newspaper Monroeton Enterprise dated 20 April, 1912. Transcription: Mrs. Betsey Granteer Coolbaugh died at her home on Bridge Street at about 8 o’clock Sunday evening and was buried in the Monroeton cemetery on Tuesday afternoon.  Deceased was born in Canton on the 10th of May, 1823.  She was married to Marvin Coolbaugh on the 27th of October, 1841, and soon afterward accompanied him to Monroeton, where she has since resided.  Mrs. Coolbaugh leaves one daughter, Mrs. Dutton of Elmira, and one son, Arthur Coolbaugh, who has always resided at home with his mother, she having been a widow since 1879.  Through all the hardships and trials of life she always showed a cheerful and hopeful disposition, fulfilling all her duties with patience and fortitude, and has been called to the reward that awaits the faithful and the just. A special thank-you to the Bradford County Historical Society for finding this obituary for me. I find it interesting that my 2x great grandfather Portis Coolbaugh is not mentioned at all in the obituary of his mother.  Portis died in 1910 in Otis, New York.  His brother Francis is not mentioned either.  Francis died in 1895 in Sayre, PA.  From this obituary I now know the married name of Betsey’s daughter and that she lived in Elmira, NY. If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them. Enjoy the journey, Debby

What can I learn about Charlotte R. Bailey Cornell?

What can I possibly learn about my maternal 2x great-grandmother Charlotte R. Bailey Cornell who lived in Upstate New York?

Charlotte is circled in red and this is the only picture I have of her.  Her son William, my great-grandfather is standing behind Charlotte and my grandmother, Edna Cornell Hammond, is the youngest child and to the left of Charlotte in the picture.

What I already knew about Charlotte:

• she was born in upstate New York in October 1841 to Silas and Sarah Bailey
• she married Joseph Cornell on 1 Jan 1858 in the ‘Johnson Settlement’
• Joseph and Charlotte had 9 children-5 sons and 4 daughters.
• she died 15 Jul 1928 in Spencer, Tioga, New York, USA

What I learned about Charlotte:     (from US Federal Census records, newspaper articles, city directories, land deeds, etc.)

• August 1860 Charlotte lived with her husband Joseph and son Edmund in Catherine, Shuyler County, New York.  (US Federal Census)
• July 1865 Charlotte lived with her husband Joseph and children Edmund and Sarah J in Catherine, Shuyler County, New York.  (NY State census)
• July 1870 Charlotte lived with her husband Joseph and children Edmund, Sarah J and Josephine in Catherine, Shuyler County, New York.  (US Federal Census)
• June 1875 Charlotte lived with her husband Joseph and children Edmund, Sarah J, Iva, Isaac, and Mary in Catherine, Shuyler County, New York.  (NY State census)
• June 1880 Charlotte lived with her husband Joseph and children Edmund, Sarah J, Iva, Isaac, Mary, Nathan, Guy and William in Catherine, Shuyler County, New York.  (US Federal Census)
• 20 October 1904 “ Mrs. C. R. Cornell observed her 64th birthday, Oct. 11th, by the homecoming of a number of her children and grandchildren.  Those present from a distance were Mr. & Mrs. W[illiam] Cornell and three children, Mrs. E[d] Bagley and son, of Ithaca; Mrs. E. Cornell and two children, of Alpine.”  (newspaper clipping)
• 13 January 1905 there was the listing of a deed filled A. J. Card to Charlotte Cornell, Spencer, NY for $400. (from Newspapers.com)
• 9 October 1915 land deed for the transfer of a piece of land from Charlotte to her daughter Sarah Jane Cornell Bagley for $1.00.  (land deed)
• 26 December 1917 at 77 years old Charlotte tripped over a rug in her home and fractured her right hip. (from Newspapers .com)
• 1917 According to the Farm Journal Illustrated  Rural Directory of Tioga County New York Charlotte was listed as “ Cornell, Mrs. C. 0 Academy Street, Spencer (NY).” and “Cornell, Wm. (Netta) laborer 0 Academy St., Spencer. (NY)”  (city directory)
• 17 January 1918 “Mrs. Charlotte Cornell, who was taken to the Packer Hospital at Sayre two weeks ago for treatment to a fractured hip as the result of a fall, has sufficiently recovered to be brought home.”  (form another newspaper clipping)
• January 1920 Charlotte lived alone in Spencer, Tioga County, New York.  (US Federal Census)
• 1923 Ithaca City Directory  “Cornell Charlotte,  wid Joseph, b 701 W Green  (city directory)
• June 1925 Charlotte was living with her daughter Sarah Jane Cornell Bagley, her son-in-law Edwin Bagley and Edwin’s brother Frank Bagley in Enfield, Tompkins County, New York.  (NY State census)
• 19 July 1928 “Mrs. Charlotte Cornell died at her home in this village, Sunday, July 15, aged 88 years.  Her funeral was held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock.  Burial in Evergreen cemetery.  H.L. Palmer funeral director in charge.  Mrs. Cornell has been in feeble health for several years.”  (newspaper clipping)

from The Ithaca Journal published 16 July 1928 and available on Newspapers.com

I think it’s interesting that my great-grandfather, and Charlotte’s son,  William Cornell was not listed in the obituary as he was also still alive at the time of her death.  Charlotte outlived 5 of her children and her husband Joseph.  (see post Civil War-Certificate of Disability for Discharge)

Thank goodness for small local newspapers who kept records of the minor comings and goings of their inhabitants. 

Now I would like to get a copy of Charlotte death certificate.  I wonder what happened to Josephine who must have died before the 1875 census?  I wish I could find more pictures or Bible entries.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

San Diego History Center–Genealogy Day

Today the San Diego History Center, located in Balboa Park,  hosted it’s second annual Genealogy Day.  Genealogy Day is Co-sponsored by the San Diego History Center and the San Diego Genealogical Society. 

The featured keynote address was presented by Anne Gillespie Mitchell who is a Senior Product Manager at Ancestry.com.  Anne was very easy to listen to.  She was realistic about researching and was able to make the information she presented easy to follow and practical.  I would definitely like to attend another presentation given by Anne.

Anne gave an informative talk entitled “How do I Know When I am Right?”  This is a question we frequently ask ourselves as we are researching.  There are no easy answers but Anne presented some good basic steps for helping us determine the answer to this question.

Anne talked about:

• gathering the information you have on the person you would like to research
• determining what question you’d like to ask
• developing a statement/hypothesis you would like to prove or disprove
• gathering records from a variety of sources about your question
• determining how reliable the source of the information you have gathered is
• exhausting all the resources you can
• making a judgment call to determine whether you believe your information proves or disproves your hypothesis at this moment in time  (Remember-There may be more information available at a later date that changes what you think.)

Some general research ideas she shared are:

• find someone who is doing the type of research you may be doing (e.g. Swedish ancestry, etc.) and read about the techniques they use
• look for recorded webinars such as Ancestry Academy to find other ideas for searching
• look at witnesses/informants to aid in your research

Anne also presented a valuable workshop entitled “ Finding & Researching Women”.  Those of us doing research on women know all too well the frustration of finding very little information related to our female ancestors.  We can find information but we need to do some digging.

Anne had some good tips and tricks to guide our work:

• research everyone in the family (Cluster Research).  Other family members such as children, parents, siblings may make reference to the woman you are researching.  People generally lived in clusters.
• define who the woman is
• differentiate the woman from other people in the family
• build a timeline of all the information you have on the woman (dates children were born, marriages, birth, death, etc.)
• develop a question you have about this woman
• determine what you want to prove or disprove
• while researching determine the reliability of the information you find
• write a summary of the woman based on your research to tell her story

I think I know just the female ancestor I want to try this on……….more to follow.

A very valuable thought Anne had for us is….when we learn new techniques for researching that we start using today, remember to go back over old research and try the new techniques with that as well.

Anne Mitchell and I

I had time to attend one other workshop today.  There were several other presentations offered but I choose one entitled “Using Newspapers as a Research Tool” presented by Del Ritchard.  While I have a subscription to Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com and I’ve used a few other free sites I was VERY surprised and pleased to hear about a lot of other free sites that I hadn’t thought of or known about, such as;

• Chronicling America
• Google News Archive
• Elephind
• Stanford Newspaper Data Visualization
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers
• …..to name a few

Del did a wonderful job of pointing out many of the features of these sites and some of the ways to use them.


And all of this was before noon.  Great way to start the day!  Now it’s just finding the time to put these new ideas in to practice.
 

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

 

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree-What an end to Jamboree!

Yesterday was day 4 of the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank, California.  This was the final day….until next year and what a great end it was for me.  I had 3 great classes and yet another wonderful surprise!

The day started with a class presented by Trevor Hammond entitled Getting to Know Fold3.  While I use Fold3 to look for my military ancestors’ records I know that I am not using all the features and search engines available.  Trevor was able to help us see many features and explain how Fold3 is constantly improving.  Now I also need to go in and complete memorial pages for my 2 known maternal Civil War Veterans-Joseph Cornell and Portis Coolbaugh (see previous blog posts).  If you have Military connections be sure to check out Fold3.  There are many pictures there from various wars and they are always looking for help in tagging people in the photos.  I also just had to ask Trevor about his Hammond line since that is one I research as well.  (We will need to correspond and see if he are related.  If we are, I will let you know in a future post.)

The second session of the day that I attended was presented by Kathy Warburton entitled Back Home in Ireland: Following the Trail to Patrick Murphy’s Origins.  Kathy had great reminders to gather all the information you can in the US first before going overseas.  (I have a Swedish ancestor Ebenezer Barry with a definite brick wall and this is a good reminder for me to look at neighbors in the area of Brooklyn he lived to try and find some other connections to Sweden.)  Kathy continued to give us tips and strategies for doing research like looking at name variations, coming forward in time to find ancestors children and grandchildren for information and to learn about the history of the country you are heading back to for information of the time your ancestor left.  She concluded by sharing a study she had done with very little basic information that showed how possible it was to find that elusive ancestor.  She gave me hope that I can find Patrick and Susan Hughes in Ireland one day….soon.

My third session of the day was presented again by Trevor Hammond entitled Finding Your Family on Newspapers.Com.  I have been thinking of getting a membership and after listening to all the great features on Newspapers.com and all the options to make researching easier like being able to save your clippings, being able to have a search tagged for following so that if anything new comes along you will be notified.

After lunch there was a drawing in the Exhibit Hall done by My Heritage.  The last number called happened to be mine and I won a deluxe subscription for a year!  How exciting!!  I already use My Heritage and I’m interested in seeing all the Deluxe addition features which I currently don’t have but should be very helpful.  Thank-you My Heritage for giving me a great ending to a wonderful weekend!!  I rarely win anything so this was some treat!


On the last day they asked us to wear T-shirts that commemorated our home towns.  Mine is a map of Long Island with the older lighthouses on it created by Don and Linda Lubov.
Fellow bloggers and friends, J. Paul Hawthorne and Diane Gould Hall, from The San Diego Genealogical Society compare their add ons to their name badges.  Also note the beads denoting that people are ‘Bloggers’.


I was glad to spend some time with big time blogger Randy Seaver also from San Diego.  Please check out Randy, Diane and Paul’s blogs for useful information for researching your ancestors.  Thank-you to Randy and Diane for mentioning my blog posts in their blogs.  I am so very new at this and enjoy learning from these 3 very talented people.  I am honored to call them my friends!


Something that always amazes me about Jamboree is how nice and helpful everyone is.  People came from all over.  I even met a couple from Anchorage (my birthplace) and we saw each other frequently during Jamboree.  Many friendships were made and so much information was learned.  Now to just have the time to put what I’ve learned to practice.  Stay tuned for future findings.
I hope you will be able to join us one day.

Would love to hear your comments and any information you’d like to share.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Trusting information in Obituaries

This week I was very fortunate to connect with a new highly probable cousin on my paternal great-grandmother’s Terry side.  As always, it’s so exciting to find someone you are probably related to who also enjoys talking about our ancestors and piecing together the information we may both have separately in order to learn more about our ancestors.  This sparked me on to look at my paternal great-great grandfather Gilbert Terry of Peconic and Orient, New York.
I started by looking at what I already knew at this point about Gilbert:

• Gilbert was born to Walter Franklin Terry and Elizabeth Ann Tooker Terry on 25 June 1833 in Patchogue, Suffolk County, NY.  Gilbert was the 3rd of 10 children; Walter Franklin, Albert Bunce, Gilbert T., Edward Henry, Elizabeth Frances, Ira Brewster, Emily A., Josephine Virginia, Amelia and Charles.
• Gilbert married Almeda Vincent Robinson on 21 October 1857.
• Gilbert and Almeda had 5 children; Carrie Eliza (my great-grandmother), Ella Frances, Forrest, Millard E. and an unnamed infant daughter.
• I know that Gilbert ran the Mill in Peconic for many years.  (More information about this in a future blog.)
• Gilbert died on 27 April 1907 in Orient, Suffolk County, NY. and is buried beside his wife Almeda, infant daughter, sons Forrest and Millard at The New Bethany Cemetery in Mattituck, Suffolk County, NY.

 

 

 

Interesting that some information on his death certificate is incorrect.  I thought the primary cause of death was interesting.  I would have expected the primary and secondary to be the other way around.  Gilbert was actually 73 since he died about 2 months before his 74th birthday.  I also laughed at his occupation being listed as a ‘Farmer’ knowing that he had run the Peconic Mill for about 34 years.

 

Then I decided to look at an Obituary that I had and realized I actually had 3.  As I reviewed the information in each I realized that there was a variety of information and that some of the information wasn’t as accurate as I thought it would be.  Since these weren’t my first pieces of information I was surprised to see the discrepancies. 

 

Obituary 1-I believe this is from the newspaper The Long Island Traveler

“Gilbert Terry, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of Orient, died suddenly last Saturday afternoon of heart disease,  He was 78 years old.  Mr. Terry was well know in Peconic and Mattituck, where he formerly resided.  He leaves a widow and one son Forrest Terry, as well as two brothers and three sisters.  A short funeral service was conducted Tuesday at his late home; then the remains were taken to Mattituck, where services were conducted in the M. E. Church.”

 

Obituary 2-From The County Review dated 3 May 1907 page 4

“Orient

Gilbert Terry, a well-known resident of this place, died suddenly last Saturday afternoon of hear disease.  Mr. Terry was well known in Mattituck and Peconic, where he formerly lived.  He was 73 years of age.  The internment was at Mattituck on Monday afternoon.”

 

same issue page 5

“DIED

Orient, April 27-Gilbert Terry, aged 73 years.  Internment at Mattituck.”

 

Obituary 3- From the newspaper The Riverhead News dated May 4, 1907

“Baiting Hollow

Mrs. John B. Warner received word on Saturday, April 27, of the sudden death of her father, Gilbert Terry, of Orient, on that date.  Mr. Terry had been writing his daughter only a few days before his death, and was then in his usual good health.”

 

I thought it interesting in Obituary 1 that Gilbert is listed as only having 1 son and no daughters.  At the time of his death his 2 daughters, Carrie Terry Warner and Ella Terry Billard, were still living but not mentioned.  If I hadn’t known and was looking for information I would have been mislead.  Gilbert actually had 5 brothers and 4 sisters.  Perhaps the obituary is only referring to the ones still living?  I don’t have all the death dates for his siblings so I will need to follow-up on that one.

 

I wish I had that last letter she received from her father.  In some of her letters to her sister (see blog posts labeled Carrie’s letters to read more about the letters she wrote to her family) it seems that her father may have been a little disappointed in her for not visiting more often.

 

Lessons learned-Be careful!! Don’t believe everything you read and remember that an obituary may be able to give you some leads but it may also omit some valuable information as well.

 

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

 

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Thanks, Fred for taking time to talk about our Terry Family and possible connections.  I look forward to continuing our discussions and work!

 

Sunday’s Obituary-Martha Warner Goldsmith

In leafing through my Grandmother’s Scrapbook I came across the following obituary for my great great aunt Martha Warner Goldsmith, sister of my paternal great grandfather John Benjamin Warner:

     “Mrs. Martha Warner Goldsmith has passed from time into eternity.  A life long and well spent has gone from earthly scenes and left a void in her home, her church, and in her large circle of friends.
     Martha R. Warner Goldsmith was born March 3rd, 1848, and was one of 13 children.  The only living survivor of that once numerous family is Mr. Eugene Warner.
     At an early age Mrs. Goldsmith moved to New Suffolk to live with her aunt, Mrs. Jeremiah G. Tuthill Sr., and in this village the greater part of her life was spent.  Nearly seventy years ago, she became the bride of Daniel Goldsmith, one of the keepers of the Horton’s Point Light.
     While living there, her only daughter , now Mrs. Philip Horton, was born.  Shortly after this, Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith moved again to New Suffolk and successfully conducted a summer boarding house.  At the death of Mr. Goldsmith many years ago, Mrs. Goldsmith continued to carry on until advancing years compelled her to retire and move to the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Horton, at Peconic.
     There she enjoyed a most happy home life and was ministered with loving and thoughtful hearts and hands.  While always interested in community doings, the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church was the center of her social and religious life.  She joined it at the early age of twelve and remained faithful and consistent member to the end.
     Mrs. Goldsmith was for years the teacher of the Women’s Bible Class and president of the Women’s Missionary Society. The last service she felt able to attend was than a year ago, when her only great grandchild was admitted to the church that she loved so long and so well.
     Dr. Franklyn Ward of the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church conducted the last rites and her mortal remains were carried to their last resting place by six officials of her church.
“Aunt Martha Dan” has gone from us, but memories of her will long remain.”

My Legacy Family chart shows Martha’s family:

Martha Rosalie Warner was the 4th of 13 children born to Daniel and Eleanor Howell Warner on 3 March 1848 in Baiting Hollow, Suffolk Co., NY.

Martha married Daniel M. Goldsmith on 2 November 1876 in Baiting Hollow, Suffolk Co., NY.  As reported in The Descendants of Daniel Warner Jr. & Eleanor Howell Warner of Baiting Hollow LI, NY and the Warner Ancestors in England and America by Justine Warner Wells “Family lore has it that Daniel decided to sail by way of L.I. Sound to marry Martha.  He figured it wouldn’t matter much when he becalmed and arrived hours late for their wedding!”

Their only child Martha Elizabeth “Bessie” was born 10 April 1879 in New Suffolk, NY. 
I believe the great grandchild referred to in the above obituary was Philip Goldsmith Jr. who was born 6 May 1930.

Martha’s husband Daniel Goldsmith died 19 January 1918 in New Suffolk, NY.
Martha passed away on 14 September 1944 at the age of 96 in Peconic, New York.

I would like to hear any stories or information you may have to share.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Grandma’s Scrapbook-Following Up On a Lead

Last week (3/13/16) I posted about information I found in my Grandmother’s Scrapbook.  The information had to do with my paternal great-grandparents George and Sarah (Rowan) King’s 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration.  Among the items I found in the scrapbook was an article detailing the celebration.  In that newspaper article there was a reference made to a couple that were listed as ‘cousins’ of my great-grandfather George Washington King.  Who are Mr. & Mrs. Kris Haisloop?  I have never heard their names before.  I remembered another picture from the celebration.  Could they possibly be in this additional picture from the celebration??


First, I got the names from the newspaper clipping and my quest began….

Then I  asked my Dad and his King Family cousins (who were young children in the family photo of the celebration) if they remembered the name Kris Haisloope?  No one seemed to remember the name.  I made a guess that George’s ‘cousins’ would be from his mother’s (Sarah Barry King) sisters since the name was not ‘Barry’ like his mother’s maiden name.

Next step was to search in census records for the name.  I took a chance that ‘Haesloop’ was not a common name and that they might live near or in Brooklyn close to my great-grandparents,  I also knew that George’s mother and family grew up in Brooklyn.  This is what I found in the 1930 US census:

I found a Christian and Isabella Haesloop living in Brooklyn.  Isabella was born in the US.  They would be 50 at the time of the 50th Anniversary party.  That would fit with the ages of the people in the photo.  George and Sarah were about 60-61 years old, so, that would fit as well. (click on the picture to enlarge)

Then I looked at the information in my Legacy Family tree (3 generation Descendant chart from Ebenezer) for the children of Ebenezer and Catherine (in yellow).


Next I started searching the children of Ebenezer and Catherine Bolen Barry.  Not too much information there.  I had primarily just done my direct line and not many of the siblings and descendants.  So, I started looking in the census records to try and figure out what the married names of the female descendants might be.  I was able to figure out Ida’s married name ‘Browning’ because I looked for Ebenezer (not so common name) who was living with her in the 1900 census (Catherine had died 1891).  Using US Census reports I was able to make some guesses as to married names of some of the daughters but had no way to prove the connection to the ‘Barry’ surname.  UGH!!

After searching (for hours and days) many different names and combinations, etc. I thought to check the Public Member Trees on Ancestry.  I found several trees where Ebenezer and Catherine were listed with a varying amount of information for their children.  I looked and looked (a lot of the families had 8-10 children to follow down), wrote emails to several owners of the ‘trees’ to see if there might be a family connection and finally at 10:45 pm on Thursday there it was –the name Haesloop in one of the branches of a tree!  YEA!!!  This was so exciting but who could I call at 10:45 to share that excitement!!  I again wrote an email to the owner of that tree that finally contained the name I was looking for to thank Chris for posting his tree and doing so much research.

It turns out that Elizabeth Caroline Barry married John (Joseph?) Griffin.  They had 9 children:  Ebenezer Charles, John J. Jr., Isabella A. (Agnes?), Louisa Matilda, Mary ‘May’ Erica, Gertrude Matilda, Frederick George, William G., and Harold G.  Isabella’s 2nd husband was Christian Peter Haesloop.  YES! there is the connection!!

I have since heard from Chris and Allison who are both descendants of Ebenezer and Catherine.  I found them due to their Public Member Trees on Ancestry which helped me make the cousin connection between my great-grandfather George Washington King and Isabella Griffin Ward Haesloop.  Now I have made that connection (YEA), have a picture of them (?), hopefully have 2 new cousins in Chris and Allison that I can get to know and about 42 new people to add to my tree (always remember to double check what you find on the internet) and all because of my Grandmother’s Scrapbook.  Thanks again Grandma for helping lead me to these connections!  What a week!!

If you have any additional information or stories to share I would enjoy hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

What can you find in Grandma’s Scrapbook?

‘Scrapbooks’.  30 or more years ago the term ‘Scrapbook’ referred to a book of plain white or black paper where you put clippings from the newspaper, etc.  Today I refer to a ‘Scrapbook’ as the place I keep nicely decorated pages with photos and related memorabilia.

I have a ‘Scrapbook’ my paternal grandmother, Agnes S. King Warner, made with clippings from newspapers and cards dating from 1910 to the 1960s.  While I have had the Scrapbook for years and looked at it when I first got it I haven’t looked at it in years.  I decided to take a look at it recently to refresh my memory of what was inside.  I had done some genealogy years ago but when I received the Scrapbook I wasn’t actively doing genealogy at the time.  I remembered there being clippings of family events.  As a girl I can remember being at my grandparents on Mondays when Mrs. Laura Rogers would call and ask my grandmother if she had any news of family happenings for the local Newspaper (The News Review) for the Calverton section.  I remember the excitement when you would see your name in the newspaper for a birthday, etc.

I found something very exciting! First for some background information. My paternal great grandparents (on my grandmother Agnes King Warner’s side) are George W. King and Sarah Rowan King.  Their pages from my Legacy family tree.



I found the following invitation, place tags and newspaper clippings about my great grandparents in my grandmother’s scrapbook…

 

 

 

While I knew there had been a 50th Anniversary celebration and I had seen the pictures I know had other pieces of valuable and fun information. 

I now have a copy of the invitation, the place tags, I know the name of the company my Great Grandfather George worked for, that the Celebration was also a renewal of their vows, I know their address, I know the name of cousins of my Great Grandfather that I never knew, I know the date and location of the celebration, who the guests were, and I also know where family members were living at the time.

Thanks Grandma for saving all these treasures for us to see all these years later!  Now I will have to take these treasures and ‘scrapbook’ them on archival pages in my Heritage Scrapbook album to preserve them even longer.

I would enjoy hearing from you if you have additional information or stories to share.  More finds later.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Carrie’s letters Snow Days

Ancestral family letters can tell us about everyday life during the time period when they were written.  After my father and I scanned the box of letters that my great-grandmother Carrie Terry Warner wrote from 1880-1910 I transcribbed them all.  (See previous blogs – Carrie’s Letters posted 11/25/2015 and Carrie’s Letters Christmas 1896 posted 1/1/2016)  Once transcribbed I put them into a book format program and decided to put side bars to explain some terms. etc. that might come up.  I would often  think while transcribing about the audience that would read them in book format.  Would my son or niece and nephews reading them know what certain old time terms were?  I want the letters to be easily read by others.  Well, as I began to edit my transcriptions my curiosity also kicked in.  Who was Uncle Albert or Mrs. Griffing and Mrs. Tuthill of New Suffolk?  Why was she talking about them?  What was the train depot robbery?  Or the ‘Office’ that she talked about?  Thus began, now about 5 years later, a quest to determine as much as I can about people and the about the events from 1880-1910.

Growing up on the East Coast and later working there as a Teacher we enjoyed those occassional snow days.  Here is an except from a letter my great-grandmother Carrie wrote to her sister Ella Terry Billard on 15 December 1904 (Thursday), Baiting Hollow, NY.


“School is out here for the week.  Miss S. went home yesterday.  She boards up to Mrs. G. B. Wells and this snow has made it impossible for her to get back and forth and her sister is married Sunday, so she wanted to go home and John did not say her nay.  Think it will be as profitable for the children to have school a week when they can attend.  Terry and Wesley missed two days but went off this morning again.”
John was Carrie’s husband John B. Warner. Her son Terry was 16 years old and son Wesley was 14 years old.  I am fairly certain that Miss S. is Miss Agnes B. Shipman from Southold, NY who was listed as a School Teacher in the 1900 census.  I believe Mrs. G. B. Wells was Susan F. Wells the wife of George B. Wells of Baiting Hollow, NY. 
I also go back to the local newspapers that are now, thankfully, digitized and available for all to read.  I also like to see how close my great-grandmother’s account compares to the local newspaper.  I found the following article in the County Review dated 23 December 1904:
“ Baiting Hollow   There has been no school since Dec. 19, when the roads were in such a condition it was impossible for the teacher to come.  The following Wednesday Miss Shipman went home to attend the wedding of her sister and has not returned.”
Unfortunately, the newspaper from Southold, NY is missing the editions for this time period to find the wedding announcement for Miss Shipman’s sister either Ida or Mary, I belive.  I hope you agree that adding the additional pieces of information to the letters makes them a bit more interesting.  If you have any information to add or share, please, let me know.
Enjoy the journey, Debby