Genie Road Trip

Here’s a picture of my Grandpa Trotter (center) and three of his (14!) siblings: Uncle JT (James Tyler), Uncle Ernest, and Aunt Irene (who married John W. Newton).

Dad thinks this was taken sometime around 1971. It’s set in the living room of my grandparent’s home in Detroit and pulled from my Dad’s digital archive.

Happy Hunting,

Jess

The blog and our conversations inspired my mother to pull out a fabulous stack of mementos and keepsakes that she’s had stashed away and added to over the years (which I almost dumped a glass of wine on—Yes, me and my archival degree). Among the finds were a stack of stories and poetry I wrote as a child, some as loose sheets and others assembled into booklets. My father and I exclaimed over one of the booklets because in the back I had added a photo album to illustrate the personal stories it included four fabulous and well preserved photographs. There was also a booklet of my maternal grandfather’s poetry and poetry he had collected, a TWA certificate from 1956 stating that my mother had completed the flight from Paris to Detroit, and a good size stack of Mother’s Day cards from my brother and I to Mom. It was fun to go through the packets and really interesting to discuss what I found with my parents. The picture is a sample find from my childhood.

Translation:

Wintertime by Jessica

Winter is a time when you go ice skating and go ski and make snow men. The End.

It made me laugh for a number of reasons including the idea that I associated these things with winter but I didn’t learn to skate or ski until my freshman year of college.

Look for your family stashes!

Happy Hunting,

Jess

‘Tis the Season…

Christmas for me has always been a time to share with family. This is a shot of my Grandparents from Christmas in 1979—the last before my grandfather died in May of 1980. The two younger children facing away are my cousin and my brother. I’m in the center.

Happy Holidays!

Jess

This is the family of Cornelius and Ellen (Cunningham) Shea. From left to right: George, my Great Grandfather Robert James (in back), Cornelius holding his youngest daughter Donna, Loretta, Ellen, Earl (in back), Glen and Richard. At the time of this photograph (based on Dick and Donna’s size) the family probably still lived in Leelanau County, Michigan.

We tend to refer in our family to a Shea sense of humor. One of the stories most often told about Cornelius is that when my Great-Grandmother Cora was pregnant with my Uncle Bob she somehow fell in a well. Cornelius couldn’t help her… he was laughing too hard. My Aunt June still sounds outraged when she tells the story… but Grandma can’t tell it or listen to it without laughing.

Happy Hunting!

Jess

Beyond the fact that there are so many Trotter, Hampton, and Newton families, each with such huge farm households, there is also the issues of lines marrying together in multiple ways and illegitimate children taking the last names of their mother. The family of our Uncle John Newton is a fabulous example of this. And in talking with his relatives—which turned out to be on both sides of my father’s family—it really brought home how careful I had to be in my research.

What I knew going in about John W. Newton (who lived from Feb 1880 to Oct 1968) was that he had married at least twice—first to my 2nd Great Aunt Susan Trotter (in Mar 1902) and once to my Great Aunt Irene Trotter (in Jun 1939)—who I am told moved in to help with the children when his wife was ill. Census and Marriage Records actually show that Amanda Hampton was in between Susie and Aunt Irene (in Dec 1917). Also, John had at least 21 children with his three wives: 11 with Susan, 3 with Mandy, and another 7 with Aunt Irene.

Then when I went down to Bradley County, for my Great Aunt Ometha’s funeral in 1999, the family took me to Palestine A.M.E. Cemetery (which is probably 99% family) and started telling me stories as we walked through. My aunts told me about Miss Becky Newton, who never married but had at least five children connecting different lines in my family in surprising ways. For example, John W. Newton, was her son by Mose Wheeler, my Grandma Elnora’s Grandfather. So, as I walked through with Burlon Newton (Aunt Irene’s eldest son) and my Grandmother it occurred to them that they were first cousins though they didn’t seem to think of it that way at first as Grandma is also his aunt by marriage. Uncle John turned out to be my Great Uncle and 2nd Great Uncle by marriage as well as my 2nd Great Uncle through the Wheelers.

That connections forced me to rethink just how tightly woven this community was (and in many ways still is). And it took me—the product of a 2 child nuclear family not brought up in the community with my extended family—a while to get my head around all the ties this created and how it might (and come to find out does) play out in other lines. For example, the world gets a little smaller when you realize that Mandy Hampton’s mother was Jeanie Avery Hampton and her aunt was Mose Wheeler’s last wife, Josie Avery Wheeler—making him both uncle and grandfather to Mandy’s children. Or, to follow the Wheeler’s another step, one of Josie and Mose’s daughters married a Trotter cousin making their children both first and second cousins of mine (twice removed).

It can get a little dizzying if you spend too much time on it… but it’s also a fascinating puzzle.

Happy Hunting!

Jess

My Grandpa Bailey would have turned 104 today.

Harold Edward Bailey born December 7, 1907 and died in July of 1996. He was my Great-Grandmother Crystal’s second husband and helped raise my Grandfather, Great Aunts and Uncle, along with their son, Harold Jr. He was a long time employee of Kirkhoff Manufacturing Corporation from which he retired in 1969. He will also always be known to a select few for helping to invent the recipe for the  secret sauce at The Corner Bar in Rockford, Michigan.

Happy hunting,

Jess

Maud G. Cory was my 4th Great Aunt and the sister of Augusta Cory Massy—but she was also only three years older than her niece (and my 3rd Great Grandmother), Flora Jane both discussed in this post. So, for the longest time I thought that it was possible that the pair of them could have ended up together when Augusta died. Unfortunately, I’d pretty much come to the conclusion that this was not the case, which meant I was searching for Maud and her mother Nancy Jane Cory who seemed to disappear after the 1870 Census.

Anyway, I had a bit of free time on my hands this past week and had the chance to run a few searches that I haven’t tried in a while. I badly need a good checklist for each of my ancestors and which places I’ve checked for them and when—but I knew that I hadn’t tried searching for Maud in the updated FamilySearch.org. So I gave that a try… And I believe I have found their trail.

I found two marriage records indexed for a Maud Cory born in Plymouth, Michigan and the daughter of John B. Cory and N. J. Foster (with the correct birth year) living in Harrison County, Iowa. The only new bit of information here was the last name Foster for her mother—who is at times listed as Nancy, Jane, and Jennie N. Well… that and Iowa. Iowa is a whole new world in researching my family.

Anyway, the first marriage was to George Kenney in 1880 and the second was with J. A. Wolcott in 1885 and she was listed as a widow. After these I also found an 1880 Census listing for Jennie N. and Maud Cory in Harrison County and I know that there are Kenney’s and Wolott’s in that county to sift through…

But that’s as close as I’ve gotten. I couldn’t find her in 1900 Census and of course the Census-that-would-fix-everything—the 1890—no longer exists. But I have a long list of other places to check online and a new list of resources to check at LOM and ACPL on my next trips.

I’ll keep you updated!

Happy Hunting,

Jessica

Today’s the 191st anniversary of Dr. Holden’s birth and seemed a fitting time to introduce my Holden family.

The first of my Holdens to settle in Kent Co., Michigan were my 4th Great Grandfather Dr. Charles Morrill Holden and his family. Dr. Holden, his wife Sarah Ann (Skiff), and eleven of their children settled in Courtland Township where, Dr. Holden practiced medicine and farmed. When I was started researching this line I was interested in Dr. Holden’s role as one of the pioneer doctors in Kent County but, to be honest, I was more fascinated by the names of his children.

Charles and Sarah are common enough names and maybe their children’s names are a strange reaction to that. I knew going in that my 3rd Great Grandfather’s name was Chapin—which didn’t seem common for the time but was at least a name I was familiar—but then I was introduced to the rest of his siblings.

1. Cassius—Died young.
2. Catherine—Unknown.
3. Americus G.—He died after being sent home from Union Army due to illness.
4. Horatio Seward—Became a doctor in Pierson and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
5. Chapin B.—Married my 3rd Great Grandmother Lois Blakeslee.
6. Rosalia D. —Died young.
7. Xantippe—Married Edd P. Nelson.
8. Cassini J.—Married Flora Lewis.
9. Ida—Married William Pitts.
10. Nellie—Unknown.
11. Saracence—Married Frank D. Saunders.
12. Kendric Charles—Married my 4th Great Aunt Minnie Isabel Porter (George’s sister).

I don’t know the what the middle initials stand for where I have them listed—though I could swear that I saw Balean as Chapin’s middle name somewhere, sometime before I learned to accurately cite my sources. My favorites have always been Xantippe (pronounced with a Z) and Saracence (totally guessing here: Sarah-sense). I know the latter is mostly noted as Sara in articles and family notes. I love names!

A copy of this photo is held by the Rockford Area Historical Society Museum, Rockford, MI.

Happy hunting,

Jessica

One interesting character I found through cluster research is Rockford Area Poet, Julia Ann Davis Moore—and incidentally, it’s her birthday. Julia and my 4th great aunt Louisa Morningstar married brothers Frederick and John Moore. And Louisa’s brother, William H. Morningstar, married Julia’s sister Viola. And her niece married into my Holden family. Julia was a quaint country poet who chronicled the precarious ups and downs of life in the 1870’s through lyrical verse. For decades she was scorned, even inspiring a poetry contest for awesomely bad verse, but in the last twenty years there has been a renewed interest in her work for its historic value. Regardless of your taste in poetry—though I have found far worse—her work spotlighted the concerns of the citizens of Algoma Township, Kent County, Michigan. She’s particularly noted for her poetic obituaries which include verses on members of my family.  The following was is about a 3rd cousin (4 times removed).

Hiram Helsel

Air — “Three Grains of Corn”

Once was a boy, age fifteen years,
Hiram Helsel was his name,
And he was sick two years or so;
He has left this world of pain;
His friends they miss this lovely boy,
That was patient, kind and brave.
He left them all for him to mourn —
He is sleeping in his grave.

He was a small boy of his age,
When he was five years or so
Was shocked by lightning while to play
And it caused him not to grow,
He was called little Hi. Helsel
By all friends that knew him well —
His life was sad, as you shall hear,
And the truth to you I’ll tell.

His parents parted when he was small,
And both are married again.
How sad it was for them to meet
And view his last remains.
He was living with his father then,
As many a friend can tell;
‘Tis said his father’s second wife
That she did not use him well.

Just before little Hiram died —
His uncle and aunt were there —
He kissed them both — bid them farewell,
They left him with a prayer.
Now he is gone, Oh! let him rest;
His soul has found a haven,
For grief and woe ne’er enters there,
In that place called heaven.

For more of Julia A. Moore’s work check out Mortal Refrains: The Complete Collected Poetry, Prose, and Songs of Julia A. Moore, Sweet Singer of Michigan edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger.

Happy Hunting,

Jess