Week 30 - Teams (52 ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The first thought that came to mind when I saw this week's topic, Teams, was of my grandmothers and my dad and the sports that they played.  And of course my husband, kids and grandkids and all of the teams that they have been on.  I wouldn't say it runs in the family, but it seems that there are/were alot of active people doing their thing.  

The most surprising were my grandmothers.  They both played basketball and this was back in the 1920's & 1930's when there were not many opportunities for girls in sports.    My paternal grandmother, Elizabeth then Arnold, was said to have played on an upper floor above a store if I am remembering the story correctly.  It was said that they played the "Morgert girls" ( a family) and they were tough.  We do not have any photos of this, just the story. I try to imagine her doing this and just smile.  

My maternal grandmother, on the other hand, played on a team.  Helen then Boardman, played Guard on her high school team in 1931 as a senior at Lock Haven High School in Pennsylvania. This must have been a new sport at the school, as the yearbook says that there was more turnout that year and the team was improving.

Helen Boardman, front right , 1931

Helen was also on the cheerleading squad in 1929 at a time when men were also.  This photo commemorates a win by the Lock Haven High School football team against neighbor Bellefonte.

My Dad, John Heacock, who graduated from high school in 1947, played on both the football and wrestling teams at Bedford High School in Pennsylvania.  He was a member of the undefeated 1945 football team that was ranked 7th in the state at the time.  Dad also split his football game time by playing the cornet with the band at halftime.  He never talked much about playing football but he did tell us all about his time on the wrestling teams, both in high school & college. 

John Heacock, #26, third row

 Dad was a smaller guy. He wrestled at the 103 lb weight class as a Freshman.    By his Sophomore year, John was up to 112 lbs. and wrestled his way to the district championship and won the Pa State championship with an undefeated season.  John also wrestled well in his following two high school years in the 120 lb weight class and came close to states both years but fell just short.  He continued wrestling in college at Lock Haven State Teachers College and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in his Junior year.  After college and the Army, John returned to Bedford to teach and assistant coach both the wrestling and football teams for 4 years.  

You might ask what about you Ann?  Well, I was not athletic at all and never made it past tryouts. But both of my children took after their dad who ran track and cross country.  They both participated in Track and Soccer, as did all of their children, some adding other sports such as baseball, basketball, and karate.  One of them even made it to the Pa State Track championships just this year.  

Our daughter is currently coaching a Girls Middle School soccer team and both she and her brother have coached many recreational youth soccer teams over the years. 

Team sports are great for so many reasons. Lots of memories for one. 

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. .    

Week 29 - Fun Facts (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 This week for Fun Facts, I thought I would write about a well known individual to whom I am distantly related but whom also lived in my maternal grandfather's home which I found out when searching the censuses for family homes.

William Thomas Piper was born in 1881 in Cattaraugus county, New York.  After graduating from Harvard in 1903, he went on to the Army Corps of Engineers during WW1 and the also worked in the oil fields of Pennsylvania.  While living in Bradford, PA, he became interested in aviation and purchased a bankrupt aircraft company which was later renamed Piper Aircraft Company and moved to Lock Haven, PA.  It was here, in 1938,  that the famous bright yellow Piper Cub J-3 was introduced.  William Piper is often called the "Henry Ford of Aviation" because of the Cub.  The company was highly successful for many years. William Piper died in 1970 and is buried on a hilltop in Highland Cemetery above Lock Haven, Pa.  

William Thomas Piper

Piper Company logo

Piper Cub aircraft

So how did I find out that William Piper and I were related?  I've always been interested to know how old various family homes were and who else may have lived in them before my ancestor.  I was never sure exactly when my grandfather moved into 9 West Walnut St in Lock Haven, Pa, so I began by searching the 1940 census for the address.  I found it fairly quickly and was very surprised by the name of the residents at that time.  It appears that William T Piper's son Howard  was head of household and Howard's wife Helen and father William were living there also.  It shows the family as renting the residence for $40. This was for a first floor 2 bedroom, 1 bath, living & dining rooms and small kitchen residence. The residence was one of a double house with the other residence accessed by steps to the 2nd story.  The census also lists William as widowed.  He was working 70 hours a week as a manager and engineer.  His son working as an engineer with him.  In 1935, the family was living in Bradford, PA.  

At some point after 1942 when my grandmother died, but before 1949 when my mom graduated from high school, my grandfather bought the building, living on the first floor and renting out the second floor.  He owned this home until the early 1970's.  Since I've found out about this well known occupant of my grandfather's home, I have often wondered what kind of conversations were had there. Were they planning the future of the eventually very successful company into the wee hours in grandad's living room? It is fascinating to think about.  I wonder what my own dad would have thought of this connection to aviation history.  He earned his own pilot's license when he was 16 years old and very likely flew a few Piper Cubs.  I flew with him in other Piper aircraft when I was young.  

#9 on the left and #7 on the right

Humble beginnings.

But this discovery led me to look at William Piper's ancestry. Just for fun, but I eventually found out that we were 9th cousins 3 times removed.  We share my 11th great grandfather and William Piper's 8th great grandfather, Christopher Osgood who was born in 1571in England.  

I love these rabbit holes.

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 28 - Characters (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 

When I saw this week's theme, I immediately thought of this family of characters!  Bad luck and even worse choices!  I wrote this up about 5 years ago.

 

What A Family!!!

 

This is about a collection of newspaper articles that I ran across while searching the Rosengrant name, which detail various members of some families from the Forkston area of Wyoming Co, PA.  Most of the events recounted here, you can refer to a clipping about it. The rest have public records.

George Rosengrant was born Feb 18,1864, the son of John Rosengrant and his 2^nd wife Mariah Palmer. In 1870 the family was living in Forktson Twp, Wyoming Co, PA.  By 1880, George was 17 and working as a live in servant for Charles Burgess in Forkston and his future wife Cora Spencer was living in Bradford with her parents.  George and Cora, who was born on July 29, 1872 in Lovelton, Wyoming Co, PA, were married on Sep 20, 1888.  They had three children, John Henry in 1889, Loretta in 1892 and Wesley in 1895.  There is no information available from 1890 or 1910 but in 1900 George was listed as a boarder in Forkston. So we will rely on these news articles to follow him.

Cora had the first newsworthy event when her father Samuel Spencer and her brother Samuel Jr were both killed by a freight train on Feb 17, 1897 in Wyalusing. Earlier, in 1871, Samuel Jr was sentenced to Eastern Penitentiary for one year. His crime was Forgery and he was 18 years old.

The Bradford Star, Feb 18, 1897

George’s notoriety starts hitting the newspapers in 1898. There was a dispute over a coon dog that George had sold.  But his most notorious act comes early.  On July 5, 1900, he “sells” his wife Cora to his 1^st cousin Raymond Palmer for $3 and agrees to “throw in the girl (Loretta)”.  The transaction was complete with a written receipt that was also published in the newspaper.  All parties were agreeable and lived happily for a time.  This story went viral, to use today’s lingo.  It was picked up by newspapers all over the country and reprinted for years after the event.  George was a farmer at the time and Raymond was a wood chopper.  One account says that George was so happy that he bought a pig, roasted it and gave it to the new couple which they celebrated over for a few days, including George.    

The Scranton Republican, Monday Feb 24, 1902

George and related families kept the Gossip column busy. In 1901, George’s sister, Ruey, found herself involved as one of two wives of Jacob Mansfield.  But then she herself took a 2^nd husband, Henry Brewer and flitted back and forth between them.  All without the use of divorces.  Jacob went on to have 5 wives.  1901 was a big year.  Cora, the sold wife, had a brother, Samuel Spencer who was rumored to have had at least 4 or 5 wives. But wait – I thought Samuel was dead! If true, he did all of this by age 44.  Not impossible based upon this family’s activities! I was only able to find one wife, but 8 children. No evidence of these rumors found. And one of George’s other sisters, Euphemia, found herself abandoned by her husband leaving her with 3 or 4 children to raise. 

The Scranton Republican, Jan 19, 1901

In the meantime, George has fancied himself a book agent and has been selling Bibles among other miscellaneous books and in April 1901, he found himself in a fist fight with a postmaster when he tried to recover a letter that he had forgotten to place the proceeds from his sales into.  His sister, Ruey’s, death was suspicious enough that there was a coroner’s inquest after her 2^nd husband Henry requested help from a passerby in placing her bloody body in a coffin.  George and her 1^st husband, Jacob Mansfield ended up on the scene as well.  She was buried but exhumed a few days later for the inquest.  It was determined that there was no foul play, so she must have done it herself. 

The Scranton Republican, Apr 19, 1901

The Scranton Republican, Aug 29, 1901

By the end of 1902, George was calling himself a retired book agent, farmer and handy man.   He found himself working the farm of a woman and in court over an unpaid blacksmith bill. None other than Ruey’s first husband, Jacob Mansfield defended him but they lost the suit.  After this Jacob took up with George’s sister Euphemia.  They were to marry, but could not prove that she was free from her 1^st husband who had run off on her. 

And speaking of divorce, in 1904, George decides that he had better divorce the wife, Cora, that he had sold.  Rumors were that he had found his next lady love.   Apparently the divorce went thru(Apr 20, 1905) because, Raymond Palmer and the sold wife Cora were married by 1906 (Feb 14, 1906, really Valentines Day!). And George was married to Theresa Carpenter in July of 1905.

The Scranton Republican, Sep 27, 1904

Pittston Gazette, Jann 31, 1906

Now Cora and George’s daughter, Loretta, who was “threw into” the sale, was 8 years old at the time.  Now it is 1906, she is 14 and finds herself with child by one Claude Rose who at some time before the birth of their child, disappears into the local woods.  Little Madaline is born in May 1906.  Loretta’s parents demand that he be found, so the police conduct a search but with no luck send one officer under cover into a lumber camp and finally catch Claude.  They bring him back and he and Loretta marry in July 1906.  By 1909, Loretta must have been divorced from Claude Rose because she had a child with one Daniel Adams and their marriage date is Apr 16, 1909.  Poor little Edward Adams was born on Feb 9, 1910 and died on May 4, 1910 of syphilis that was contracted from his mother before he was born.

The Scranton Republican, Jul 11, 1906

In 1910, Raymond & Cora Palmer were living in Noxon Twp with one of Cora’s young sons, Wesley, from her marriage to George. 

And apparently, Theresa, the lady love George had needed the divorce for, had placed a notice in the newspaper stating that she was not responsible for any debt that George may incur as he had taken his bed and left her. 

The Star Press, Muncie, Indiana, Oct 1, 1910

In 1912, Cora & George’s son, John Henry age 24, met a tragic end when a tree he was cutting fell and rolled over him.  Five years later in 1917, they lost their son, Wesley, to pneumonia at age 23 and Loretta’s former husband Claude Rose also died.  Cora herself would die of mouth cancer in 1920.  Her death certificate states that she was divorced at the time of her death, but who did they mean – George or Raymond?  I guess Raymond as we knew the divorce from George had gone thru, but when was she divorced from Raymond?

The Wilkes Barre Record, Jun 3, 1912

But back to George.  In June of 1914, George files a marriage license with Alice Wright Smith, a widow. She becomes George’s 3^rd wife.

Six months after Cora passes in July 1920, her daughter Loretta is applying for a marriage license with a Samuel Dailley and claiming that she had never been married before. Also in 1920 we find George living in Tunkhannock still married to his 3rd wife, Alice. He is listed as the owner of a restaurant. One can only assume that Alice may have been a good influence on him as he is the owner of various restaurants over the years until around 1930.  Unfortunately, Alice dies in December 1926 and in January 1930, George is in trouble again.  He was pleading guilty to violating liquor laws and sentenced to 6 months in county jail where we do find him listed in the 1930 census as an inmate.  By 1940, George is living alone in Tunkhannock and at age 81 he dies in 1947 and is buried in Sunnyside Cemetery.

Wilkes Barre Record, Jan 22, 1930

Wilkes Barre Record, Apr 28, 1947

But back to Loretta, in 1927 she marries for the 4^th time, to Cecil Switzer. Cecil had at least two previous marriages, one in 1912 and the 2^nd in 1917. He died before they were married 3 years in 1931.  And one month later Loretta also dies. They had been living in Cortland, NY.

Remember Madaline, born to Loretta & Claude in 1906?  There is a marriage record from 1920 where she marries a John Butters.  AND a corroborating news article about 13 yr old Madaline running away to marry 17 yr old John Butters in Elmira NY and fudging their ages. The marriage lasted but two months when according to the newspaper, Madaline left and returned home to her mother. Neither party pursued each other and Butters left to join the Navy. But next, we find Madaline living in Endicott, NY in 1925 with a husband Albert Warfle, whom she married in 1922. She calls herself Elizabeth Rose on this marriage certificate. Elizabeth is her middle name and she must have taken her father’s name at some point also. Albert Warfle died in Feb of 1925. His death notice in the newspaper mentions a long illness and no mention of a surviving wife. I do not want to think that Madaline left him because of this illness, but it can be a possibility.  Later in 1925, Madaline marries for a 3^RD time to Ralph Lee. They have a son Ronald in 1927. All of this by the time she was 21 years old!  In the 1930 census there are two older Lee children living with them and we can only assume that Ralph had a previous marriage as well.   It appears that they may have divorced because Ralph Lee marries again in 1947 and passes away in 1958.  The trail runs cold after this, except for one family tree and two records of death that has Madaline passing away in 1983 in Binghamton, NY. with the name Lee.

Star Gazette, Apr 12, 1920

Star Gazette, Jun 11, 1920

Finally, Madaline’s son Ronald Lee, seems to have gotten it right. But not before a few of his own incidents.  In 1950, at age 22, he was found in a stupor and remained in that state for at least two days. No apparent cause. In 1952, he was put on probation for larceny.  He marries in 1955 but not before a daughter, Charlene Lee appeared. Charlene, age 2,  had an accident of her own in 1956.  She fell from a 2nd floor window and suffered an apparent skull fracture but survived. In 1958, Ronald was assaulted by a neighbor and suffered a jaw fracture and a concussion. Ronald ended up with 5 children with his only wife, 13 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.  He worked with a Handicapped Childrens Association and the Red Cross and was a WW2 Navy veteran.  He passed away in 2004.

Press & Sun Bulletin, Mar 2, 2004

And I thought I was finished with this story, but in a late breaking find, I found that little Charlene Lee grew up to marry one Ulysses Pope.  Bad choice Charlene.  In 1997, he pled guilty to conspiracy and sentenced to 10 years for being part of his brother's cocaine ring. Charlene & Ulysses had at least three children.  Let's hope they have better luck!

Press & Sun Bulletin, May 24, 1997

The only loose end here is Raymond Palmer who “bought” Cora for a wife. I was unable to find out what happened to him. 

You can’t make this stuff up !!!

  

Here is how we are related to the three characters from the wife sale.

 

My husband Tom Sinton & George Rosengrants are 11^th cousins 4 times removed and have to go way back to the year 1436 to find the common ancestor, Frederick Rosenkrantz, Tom’s 14^th great grandfather and George’s 10^th great grandfather.

 

Ann Heacock Sinton & George Rosengrants are 5^th cousins 3 times removed and have to go back to William Holdridge born in 1680 who is Ann’s 7^th great grandfather and George’s 4^th great grandfather.

 

Tom Sinton & Raymond Palmer are 5^th cousins 4 times removed thru Walter Palmer born in 1590 who is Tom’s 10^th great grandfather and Raymond’s 6^th great grandfather.

 

Ann Heacock Sinton & Raymond Palmer are 5^th cousins 3 times removed thru William Holdridge born in 1680 who is Ann’s 7^th great grandfather and Raymond’s 6^th great grandfather.

 

Ann Heacock Sinton & Cora Spencer are 8^th cousins 3 times removed going back to Stephen Hopkins who was born in 1518 and is Ann’s 12^th great grandfather and Cora’s 9^th great grandfather.

 

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 27 - Extended Family (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 

I think a lot of us end up researching the lines of the spouses of in laws and cousins and even friends eventually. After I researched my husband's lines where I discovered two pairs of common ancestors between us making us 7th cousins, I became more curious and started with my son in law's and daughter in laws's families.  This journey eventually required me to add a category to the spreadsheet I keep to remind me of all the connections that I have found.  

NOTE: I have not added all of the removeds to my cousinships.

I'll start with my husband Tom. 

Our common lines are back to Robert (born abt 1616 in England) & Sarah (born abt 1620 in England) Allyn - 7th cousins. Robert arrived in 1637 and married Sarah in Salem, Massachusetts in 1638. 

Also John Whitmore/Wetmore (born abt 1589 England) & Joanna Jessup(born 1593 England) - 1oth cousins. Their descendants first settled in Connecticut sometime before 1645. 

Tom is a 6th cousin to his brother's wife Cheryl through a common grandfather Johannes Lebo  born in 1683 in the Alsace region of France/Germany. Johannes settled in Berks Co, Pennsylvania.

Tom is a 7th cousin to my sister's husband Rich through a common grandfather Johann Friedrich Leiby born in 1694 in the Baden-Wuerttemberg area of Germany. Johann settled in Berks Co, Pennsylvania. Also thru this Leiby grandfather, Tom is a 5th cousin to a Lester Gerber who married Tom's maternal aunt, Dorothy Betz.  

Tom has several connections to people in my family. 

First, through John Morton born in 1656 in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland & Margaret Cherry born in 1660 Co Down, Northern Ireland.  This ancestor makes Tom a 4th cousin to Dorothy Blackburn who married my paternal great uncle Oliver Heacock. 

Second, through the same John Morton, he is a 3rd cousin to my paternal step grandmother Margaretta Blackburn who is also Dorothy's aunt. 

And a third Morton connection is through a James Morton born between 1605 and 1634 in Co Down, Northern Ireland and his wife Alice Green of Co Armagh makes Tom a 9th cousin to Ron, the husband of my paternal aunt. 

All three of these connections are to families that settled in or came through Bedford Co, Pennsylvania. 

Two other connections to Tom are Stephen Kauffman born  in 1725 in Berks Co, Pa and Nicholas Lehman born in 1573 in Switzerland.  Both of these men are ancestors to Vernon who married Tom's 1st cousin Charlotte. Stephen is also an ancestor to my 1st cousin, Cathy's, husband Jonas making Vernon & Jonas 4th cousins. Nicholas is also my 11th gr grandfather so Vernon and I are 11th cousins.  

This does not end my husband's links as you will see.

My son in law, Cullen's, connections include myself, my husband and Ron my aunt's husband. 

 Ron and Cullen are 6th cousins through members of the same Blackburn and Morton families above, John Blackburn born 1675 in Co Armagh & Rachel Morton born 1694 in Co Armagh.  They settled in the York and Adams county areas with descendants finding their way to Bedford Co, PA.  Cullen would also be a half 5th cousin to my step grandmother above Margaretta Blackburn and her niece Dorothy.

Cullen and his father in law Tom are both descended from the above James Morton & Alice Green and are 7th cousins. 

Cullen and myself , his mother in law, are 8th cousins through common ancestors William Osgood born 1609 in England & Elizabeth Clare born 1612. They settled in Salisbury, Massachusetts.  

Okay, not finished yet.  On to our daughter in law, Mandy.

I have found that Mandy is half 11th cousin to the husband of my niece, Justin, through Martin Huber born 1530 in Switzerland.  His descendants first settled in Bucks Co, PA.  

Another Huber, Jacob born 1698 in Switzerland, is the common ancestor of Mandy and Cheryl, Tom's brother's wife, making them 7th cousins. This Huber settled in Lancaster Co, PA. Another link to Cheryl is also through a common ancestor, Eberhardt Raudenbush born 1656 in Germany, making them 8th cousins.  His descendants settled in Lancaster Co, PA. 

Yet a third Huber, Hans Ulrich born 1670 in Switzerland, is ancestor to both Mandy and Mark K, who is married to Tom's niece, making them 5th cousins.

Anna Huber, yes, born 1712 in Berks Co, PA, married Marcus Groff, who is a brother to both Samuel 7th great grandfather of Mark & Fronica 8th great grandmother of Justin.  Justin and the above mentioned Mark (cousin of Mandy) are also 5th cousins to each other through Marcus Groff. 

William Mullins born 1725 in Virginia is ancestor to both Mandy and an old friend of ours from Virginia, Moon Mullins, making them 7th cousins.  The Mullins name made me look at that one!

Then one last batch that relates Mandy to both Tom & I is Mandy's maternal grandma, Wanda's family, the Shreves. One connection goes to Tom through ancestor Frederick Rosenkrantz born way back in 1436 in Germany.  Frederick also has a descendant, Clay Rosencrance who is Tom's 12th cousin. Clay married Lela Gear who is Mandy's 4th cousin through Absalom Shifflett born 1824 in what is now West Virginia.  

Now Lela Gear is also my 7th cousin through Adam Gear, who is Absalom's son in law, our common ancestor is William Gayer who died in 1710 in Nantucket.  

Emily Gear, also my 6th cousin through William Gayer, married James A Shreve who is Mandy's 5th grand uncle. James and Mandy share William Shreve &  Freelove Dyer as ancestors.  They were born in Rhode Island and moved to Virginia sometime after 1730.  

One more Gear, is Nancy born in 1832 in now West Virginia is a shared cousin of myself and Mandy through William Gayer again making Nancy my 5th cousin and Mandy's 2nd cousin.  

Nancy H Currence is Mandy's step great great grandmother and my 7th cousin.  Nancy married Herbert Shreve. Nancy and I are cousins through William Gayer once again.  

One more family name. Gholson, connect myself and Mandy.  Anthony Gholson born 1705 in Virginia is the 5th great grandfather to the above Nancy Currence.  He is also married to my 1st cousin Jane Hawkins.  Another Gholson, Francis born 1756 in Virginia,  married another of my 1st cousins Mary Craig.  Anthony Gholson is Francis Gholson's great grandfather. 

Two Shreve brothers who were both Colonels in the Revolutionary War are 2nd cousins to both myself and Mandy. They are Israel & William Shreve. Mandy and the brother's ancestor is Thomas Shreve born 1620. My common ancestor to the brother's is in a completely different family through Thomas French born 1639 in England.

And the last relationship between Mandy & I is through a Martin Family making us 7th cousins.  Our common ancestor is Jost Merten born 1691 in Germany & Maria Katharina Utterback born 1699 in Germany.  This family settled in Fauquier Co, Virginia. 

My connections not mentioned yet!

Through my paternal 6th great grandfather, Jacob Ober born about 1729 in Lancaster Co, PA, I am a 7th cousin to my Dad's best friend from his childhood, Gene Beegle.  They never knew this.  The Obers gradually moved west and settled in Bedford Co, PA. The name changed to Over.

Thomas French born 1562 in England is my 13th great grandfather and his 8th great grandaughter Bertha Myers married my husband, Tom's, maternal uncle Ellsworth Betz.  Bertha and I are 9th cousins.  The Betz's and Myers' were from Schuylkill Co, Pa.

My maternal 1st cousin, Cathy and I have a 5th great aunt, Elizabeth Fyock,  who married Cathy's husband,  Jonas's, 4th great uncle Peter Berkey. These were Bedford Co, PA families.  Jonas also has a relationship to Tom through Tom's brother in law, Dennis.  Jonas and Dennis are 7th cousins through ancestors Michael Kaufman & Anna Brendli. 

One more cousinship involves Elizabeth Landis born 1743 in Lancaster Co, PA is the 7th grand aunt of Justin. She married Abraham Hershey born 1740 in Lancaster Co, PA who is the 3rd cousin of Dennis.  Yes, that Hershey family! And there is a cousinship that I haven't quite navigated yet from me to the Hershey family also.  

On my maternal side, I have a 3rd cousin Geordan, who is related to myself and Tom through his mother 3 additional ways.  So we go back to Robert Allyn, Tom & my common great grandfather. Robert's brother, William born 1602, is Geordan's 10th great grandfather making Geordan and us 10th cousins.  Moving on, my 9th great grandfather Thomas Everard born in 1568 is also Geordan's 10th great grandfather, we are 10th cousins again.  The third connection is to Tom. Gilbert Holcombe is Tom's 10th great grandfather and also Geordan's 10th great grandfather making them 11th cousins. 

I was thrilled to find a connection between my best friend of over 60 years and Tom.  It is a marriage of cousins but still.... And I have failed to find my notes on this one!

Last one. I promise!

My granddaughter recently was engaged and I had looked at her fiance's tree and found that we had  connections to them as well.  It's a stretch, but the fiance's 3rd great grandfather, Jacob C Miles married  Susanna Reese whose sister Louisa Reese married James Over, my 3rd cousin.

I'm sure that I missed a few or just haven't found them yet.  If you stayed with this, I congratulate you!!

And thanks for reading!

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 26 - Identity (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week's post "Identity", will very short just like the life of my brother.  

On May 22, 1960, my little brother Thomas William was born.  I was not 5 years old yet and as a 4 year old I only have a few memories of that time in my life.  Amazingly tho, I do remember anxiously waiting for my mother & dad to arrive home with our new baby.  I also remember the feeling of confusion as my mom walked in the door with no baby.  I have a very clear mental picture of this moment.  I don't know how this was explained to me and I have no other memories of this event.  My Mom would sometimes mention our brother over the years and I never forgot that he was here ever so briefly.  I always wondered what he would have been like and what he would have looked like.  How would our lives have been different if he had been in them?  

My little brother Thomas William also died on May 22, 1960.  His cord restricted his breathing and so he was stillborn.  But he was loved and had a name, an identity, however short.  He is buried next to his paternal grandparents.  

Below are the only records of his Identity.

 Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 25 - Broken Branch (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

This week's story comes from my son in law's family.  It concerns an Irish school teacher who was forced to break ties with his family and move halfway across the world.  As you will see, even though he was still in contact with his family back home, he would never see them again.   

McGlynn to Macklin

 Hubert Patrick McGlynn was born about 1833 in Donegal, Ireland.  His parents were Andrew McGlynn and Annie Braisland.  Hubert was the eldest child and had six siblings, Mary, Edward, Annie, William, Hugh and Daniel. Daniel, who was born in 1858 in Glenfrinn, Donegal, Ireland, is my son in law’s great great grandfather.  Daniel and his family would eventually emigrate to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1912. But his brother Hubert had an entirely different course in life. 

I first heard of Hubert when my son in laws family shared some family history information with me.  All that I knew of him at the time was that he went to Australia with his wife and children and that both he and his wife were school teachers.  Part of this information included copies of letters written by Hubert to his father, who by then was living in Scotland.  In these letters (see at end of post), Hubert is urging his father to join them in Australia and would pay his passage.  His father never did move and died in Scotland in 1893. 

A few years ago, I was contacted by a descendent of Hubert, Jonathan Wooding and another researcher, Graham Whyte, and began to learn his story. They both  pointed me in the direction of some news articles in Australian papers and some records there.  Also I learned about an article that was written about Hubert’s reason for coming to Australia. This led me to a book that was written detailing his story even more. 

I learned that Hubert had married Kate Harkins in Donegal in 1853.  Their first child, Annie was born in 1855 in Ireland.  And a second child, Mary was born in 1856 also in Ireland.  During this time, Hubert was a school teacher in Letterbrick &  Beagh, Co Donegal.  He had favorable reports from school inspectors and was thought a fine teacher.  But in early 1856, Hubert contacted the local magistrate and wanted to turn over the names of members of a secret group called the Molly Maguires.  

If any of you reading this are from Pennsylvania or specifically northeastern PA, then you probably know who the Mollies are. But why would Hubert want to do this very dangerous thing?  He said it was to protect a man that the Mollies had turned their violent ways upon. But Hubert may have also had other motives, because he was in debt to local shopkeepers and also fearful of the retribution from the  Mollies himself.  Apparently he was a member and this would most definately be considered an act of betrayal.  Hubert and his family were placed in protective custody and the case moved along. Men were arrested, tried and sentenced to jail time, some solely on Hubert’s testimony.  

By the summer of 1857, Hubert knew he could not stay in Ireland and arrangements were made by the government for Hubert and family to go to Australia.  So in August of 1857 they sailed from Liverpool. During the voyage the younger child, Mary, died and was buried at sea.  They arrived in Melbourne on Nov 2, 1857.  The ship manifest described Hubert as a miner, but before his first year in Australia was over, Hubert had begun a new job as a schoolmaster in Beechworth.  He was a successful teacher and was also active in local activities, but his problem of being in debt followed him to Australia and he became insolvent and fired from his job in 1862.    At this point Hubert left Beechworth.  Hubert had other bouts with bankruptcy and was also fired from other teaching jobs up through 1890.  The family lived in Beechworth, Sandridge, Geelong, Blenheim and Kempsey. He also had a teaching job in Auckland, New Zealand about 1886.

Somewhere along the line, Hubert Patrick McGlynn changed his surname to Macklin and was also known as Patrick. In 1859 and 1862, two more daughters joined the family with the last name Macklin.  A 15 month old son died in 1863 as well.  Two more daughters rounded out the family in 1865 and 1872.  His wife, Kate, died in 1889 and Hubert himself passed in 1904 in Macksville, New South Wales, Australia while living with his eldest daughter.

No matter what his circumstances were, Hubert was well known, respected and very active in clubs and politics and wrote articles and lectured on many topics. 

The article, with some photos,  from which I gathered most of the above information from can be found here:  https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-informer-who-disappeared-in-1856-and-has-shown-up-again-1.3522569?mode=amp

It is very interesting, as is the book spoken about. The book is “The End of Outrage” by Breandán Mac Suibhne.

I’d like to thank Jonathan Wooding, professor of Celtic studies at the University of Sydney, and the great-great-grandson of Hubert Patrick McGlynn and Graham Whyte, an Australian revenue official for contacting me about this family and sharing the information.  As well as, Breandán Mac Suibhne, author and an associate professor of history at Centenary University, in the United States, and fellow of the Moore Institute at NUI Galway for his research.   

A side story of this, is that  I learned more about the origins and history of the Molly Maguires from the book The End of Outrage.  I grew up in northeastern PA and the Mollies were a large part of the local history and the coal mining industry there during the 1860's and 70's.  The PA Mollies were largely Irish miners who resorted to violence to promote their goals.   Eventually the Pinkertons infiltrated the group and many were arrested, tried and hung for various crimes including murders.  There were some who were actually thought to be innocent after the fact.  I'd even read that some received posthumous pardons in recent times.

For more information on the Molly Maguires

 http://genealogytrails.com/penn/luzerne/molmaguires.html

The Letters

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 24 - Popular Name (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 When I first started researching, I remember thinking to myself "I hope that I don't have any Smiths or Jones'!"  They are such common surnames that I was afraid that I would never be able to sort them out.  Well, there were a few but I remember being relieved that I did not have much difficulty with them.  

However, I do have problems with the Italian side of my family!  My grandfather Charles Christmas Bonadio, is first generation American. His parents Pasquale Bonadio and Rose Dicello came here separately from Italy and did not, as far as I can tell, continue the traditional Italian naming order.  They had 11 children.  Just as an explanation of Grandad's name, I should say that Charles was not born as Charles. He told us his birth name was Angelo Natale Bonadio.  However, his delayed birth certificate and baptismal certificates say Angelo Charles Bonadio. Somewhere along the line he himself changed it.  We don't know why, unless he just wanted to anglicize it.  Natale could mean Christmas. And I'm not sure if Charles could come from Angelo. 

Below is the traditional naming order for Italian families as found at italianamericanpodcast.com

1. Your first son is named after his paternal grandfather; your first daughter after her paternal grandmother.
2. Your second son is named after his maternal grandfather; your second daughter after her maternal grandmother.
3. Then, if you’re blessed (or crazy) enough to have more children, you can, after all four grandparents have had their names passed down, start picking from siblings, aunts, uncles, and patron saints.

But anyway, my issues started with the siblings of Pasquale & Rose.  We have this photo from 1940  that Charles' sister conveniently labeled with names.  You would think ok this is great. But....

Mom and Pop are the easy ones because they are Charles' parents Pasquale Bonadio & Rose Dicello, they lived in Pennsylvania

Uncle Tony is Pasquale Bonadio's brother and lived in Wisconsin

Uncle Frank is Rose Dicello's brother also lived in Wisconsin

The two Mary's are harder because are the names their maiden or married names?  

Uncle Frank Dicello has a sister Mary Dicello married to Joe Romano  and a wife Mary Bonadio(different family), sister Mary Dicello Romano also lived in Wisconsin

Uncle Tony Bonadio also married a Mary Butera

The dilemma is - are the Mary's sisters or wives or a mix in the photo?

My first thought was wives, as both Frank and Tony married Marys but if they are wives then they are either standing behind the wrong husband or the IDs are mixed up because Mary Dicello would be Frank's wife and Mary Bonadio would be Tony's wife, if they are behind their husbands and if those are their married names.  Also, in Italy, married women would keep their maiden name. Pasquale's wife, Rose, did that on her Passenger List but in America took her husband's name Bonadio.

Same ladies with a 4th that cannot be identified

So partially because of the naming tradition from Italy or maybe because parents who came over here wanted to remember people left behind, we have too many Marys and Tonys and Franks and Roses etc and the same surnames keep marrying the same surnames and before you know it....chaos. I pretty sure that I have them straight on paper, but this photo, I'm not 100% sure yet.. This was just one example.

*********************************************************************

A second popular name that was very confusing is Zachariah Nixon, or should I say 12 Zachariah Nixons and I am descended from 6 of them.  The rest are uncles or cousins of different degrees. 

I think that I have them sorted out now.  I have numbered them for my own use.  1 - 6 are ancestors, the rest numbered by birthdate.  There are 5 Johns sprinkled in the mix as well. One between ancestors 1 and 2 and again between ancestors 4 and 5. The other 3 Johns are brothers to Zachariahs 5, 6 and 9.   Almost all of them are from the same area of North Carolina and when they did move several went
to the same county in Indiana. 

The Nixons also like the names Elizabeth (9), Francis (6), Mary (8), William(5) and Sarah(6).  Fortunately, I am only descended from one of those, a Sarah.  

I sure do understand honoring parents, grandparents and other special people by naming a baby after them, but it so confuses things for us today trying to figure them all out.  I really can't complain too much tho, my son is a Junior! 

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 23 - Mistake (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Take a look at line 9 on this census form.  What do you think it says?  Now remember what you thought as you read my post.  

Lately, I have been searching the newly released 1950 census.  Many times when I look at the actual record there are glaring mistakes made by either the transcriber or the new handwriting recognition technology being used by Ancestry when it comes to how the names are spelled in the resulting index. But even with what I call mistakes, the hint usually led to the correct individual.  When looking at some of the images tho, the names are clearly written and readable.  I know that transcribers are given instructions on how to do this, but I could not understand how anything or anyone could get some of them wrong. I spent the time in submitting a correction for each one that I found.  

But transcribing handwritten records is not an exact science.  Each transcriber may see the word differently.  So this is not a new problem for researchers.  Recently I posted an image of a 1950 census record for my great grandfather, William Ralph Arnold, in our family Facebook group.  His occupation was listed as a retail sales clerk in, what I read as, a "retail Luncheon store".  Maybe a little odd to me for a 69 year old guy who was a farmer and carpenter but that's what I thought I saw.  And  just what is a "luncheon store"?  My aunt later suggested that it was probably "linoleum" not "luncheon" because my great grandfather's son owned a floor covering store.  I did know this but did not connect the two because I never knew great grandad worked in it.  I took a look at the image again and there it was - "linoleum".   I guess it helps when you know what it's supposed to be.  

How did you read it?

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved. 

Week 22 - Conflict (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

 I have a genealogical soft spot in my heart for veterans.  In my research, as I started finding more and more veterans in various branches of my tree. I began trying to keep track of them all. Sometimes this meant finding out as much as I could about their service.  In doing so, I most often found that one war or another was involved. 

I have a keen interest specifically in the American Civil War, so when I found my first ancestor who served, I dove right in.  I used all of the typical records to home in on his Regiment, then sent away for his pension records, military service records and Carded Medical records.  While waiting for those to come, I found that the Original Records, or O.R. as they are often called, were online.  These are very interesting and include reports that commanding officers had to write say, after a battle.  I also read many books that described, in general, a soldier's experience and books about the specific battles that my ancestor fought in.  Once I had all of the information that I could find, I began writing his story.  I was able to make it  less dry than just dates and places. My 3rd great grandfather, John B. Amos, enlisted as a Private into the 55th Pa Infantry and was promoted up to Lieutenant by the end of the war. He served his 3 years and reenlisted. During this time, he was in the deep south on the South Carolina coast and then into Virginia, where most of the fighting was happening. He was in a few better known battles and was wounded twice. His second wound was received at Cold Harbor in the infamous charge on June 3, 1864 and may very well have been one of the wounded who had to wait 4 days to be retrieved from the battlefield.  He experienced being in an Army General Hospital and, in a brush with the Secret Service, was falsely accused of consorting with counterfeiters and in custody for a time. His regiment was at Appomattox for the surrender, but he missed it because he was still recovering from his wounds. He was able to rejoin his regiment in time to muster out with them in 1865. After the war, he doggedly applied over and over to receive a veteran's pension for his wounds and received it each time. Through all of this conflict, he was able to raise 10 of his 12 children to adulthood and was known to be an "honest, kind hearted man and had many friends".  

John B Amos & his wife Sarah Mower

Another Civil War ancestor belongs to my husband. His 2nd great grandfather, William Harvey Gray, enlisted several times. First, into a 3 month regiment just 4 days after Fort Sumpter was fired upon.  His 2nd enlistment was into the 4th PA Reserves, this time for 3 years.  The 4th participated in various battles and then fought for 2 days at Antietam in 1862.  After spending almost two years of fighting in eastern Virginia, the 4th was transferred to West Virginia.  In the summer of 1864, William reenlisted and his company was reorganized and attached to the 54th Pa Volunteer Infantry.  In mid-October of 1864, William's luck ran out.  After avoiding being wounded throughout his service, he was captured in a surprise attack at Cedar Creek.  Through his pension records, he is able to tell how the prisoners were held in  a tobacco warehouse in Richmond before being sent to the Salisbury Prison camp in North Carolina.  He spent most of the winter there without shelter and sparse food.  Fortunately, William was exchanged through a parole agreement in Feb 1865 and was sent to Camp Parole in Annapolis, MD.  While there, William was given a 30 day furlough and headed for home.  He made it to within 80 miles of home in northeast PA and was so ill from being emaciated and suffering with typhoid that he had to stop his journey to receive medical care. He was waylaid  for 6 or 7 weeks.  He did recovered enough to continue home and then rejoined his regiment in time to muster out in May 1865.  William also pursued his veteran's pension and was approved.   William married and had 3 sons.  

There is no photo of him but we do have his discharge paper

Some soldiers just couldn't handle the conflict of war.  The 17 year old ancestor of a friend of mine, enlisted in Union Army in 1864 and just 3 short months later deserted.  

Others make the military their life. My maternal grandmother's family is privileged to have a recipient of the Medal of Honor as a 1st cousin 2 times removed to my grandmother. Brig Gen Abraham Kerns Arnold was born in 1837in Bedford, Pa and became a career Army cavalry officer after graduating from West Point in 1859.  He was assigned to a post in the Western Plains until the Civil War. Then while he was in command of the 5th Cavalry as a Captain during the Civil War, he performed the action that would later be the reason for the Medal of Honor to be awarded to him.  On May 7,1864, at the Battle of Todds Tavern in Virginia, Abraham led "a gallant charge against a superior force of the enemy, extricated his command from a perilous position in which it had been ordered".  After the war, he was posted back to the Western Plains and later in Cuba for the Spanish American War.  He retired in 1901 and passed a few months later.

Abraham Kerns Arnold

One soldier did not survive his conflict.  My Dad's cousin, James W Heacock,  was a paratrooper with the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment.  He was among the men who parachuted into France for D-Day.  He was wounded that same day and died a week later at age 19.  

James W Heacock

Conflicts often affect a soldier in negative ways.  My father in law, Gary Sinton, was a nosegunner in a B24 in the Pacific during WW2.  He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1944 and served until the war was over.  He would never talk about his experiences other than to mention one date in particular, and only the date and place name.  July 28, 1945, the Battle at Kure Bay. After some research into the battle, I found that Gary's squadron participated in the air offensive from Okinawa to bomb the Japanese mainland. The Air Medal was awarded to him and his squadron for this action. 

Gary Sinton, front 4th from left

These are just a few of the stories of conflict in our family's history.  I just want to thank them for their sacrifices and their service.  

Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2022. All rights reserved.