52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #9 : Whitehead JOYNER

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 9th installment, for Whitehead JOYNER, my children's 4th great-grandfather, on their father's mother's line.

Although I haven't done much research on Whitehead, I'm including him in this challenge, to remind myself of the many details I need to search for.  Plus, I simply love his name.  When I found his first name listed as the father on a daughter's marriage, I had to smile and say "Yeah - another surname to search for!"  

Whitehead was born 17 Jun 1765, in Sumner county, Tennessee, the second child/second son of Matthew JOYNER and Mary WHITEHEAD. His parents married about 1762 in Edgecumbe NC.  However, it could be that he and all the children were born in North Carolina where both parents are said to be born - in Edgecumbe [Edgecomb?] or Wake county or Northampton county.  There are confusing stories about the places where the first Joyner families lived.  Mary Whitehead died about 1773, leaving 3 boys and a daughter; Matthew married before 1777 to Lydia Griffis/Griffiths and had 9 more children [2 boys, 7 girls]. 

On 27 Jun 1793, in Sumner county Tennessee, Whitehead married Lucy TAYLOR, daughter of Robert TAYLOR and Nancy HERRING, from North Carolina. The Taylor family had moved to Sumner county Tennessee from North Carollina.  

Whitehead & Lucy had 7 living children that I've been able to find, all born apparently in Sumner county, TN:
 - Elizabeth*[direct ancestor], b. 1 Jun 1795, m. abt 1815 to Anderson WALTERS, 7 children
 - Benjamin, b. 16 Oct 1798
 - Thomas, b. 12 Dec 1802, m. bef 1832 to Lucy , 8 children
 - Margaret, b. abt 1804
 - Lucy, b. abt 1806
 - Martha, b. 7 Apr 1807
 - Nancy, b. abt 1808

These first names are common in both the Taylor and Joyner families. I have not done research on the girls as yet.  And, I have not been able to go back further from Whitehead's father, Matthew, in North Carolina.

It is possible these families all knew each other, and I need to dig through more Censuses and documents to see if there's a prior connection in North Carolina: family, associates, neighbours, land records, bonds, military and other records. I've scarcely scratched the surface.

I have just realized that Sumner county was originally in North Carolina and was ceded to the new state of Tennessee when that state was created in 1796.  This makes much more sense to me, now.  Oh, what a little research will do, eh?!  

If you have other information or questions about Whitehead JOYNER/Joiner and his family, you can contact me via calewis at telus dot net, and/or by comments below.  I always love to read your comments!  

GRANDPOP KUHN - Charles Edward KUHN

My grandfather Kuhn died when I was just a toddler, and I have no memories of him. However, like his wife, my grandmother, he was a larger-than-life person.

Charles Edward KUHN was born 10 Jun 1876 in Reading, Berks, PA, the fifth child and 3rd son of Dr. Louis DeBarth KUHN & Amelia "Millie" Ann PETTYGROVE.  He had 10 siblings, however 5 died before 1900. (Those parents are another entire story all their own, which I must write more about, another time.) 

His older brother Joseph (named for his Kuhn grandfather) became a physician like his father, but tragically died in 1898 at their father's home. The second son Louis (named for his father) apparently died before he was 13 years old - another tragedy. Several other siblings died before they were 10 yrs of age. So, Charles ended up the eldest living son.  He became a Civil Engineer, apparently from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY - and I need to write them  to see if they have details of his education records. Research is never done, is it?

According to his wife's Memoirs, p.4:
"...Then Charles Kuhn came back into my life.  [roughly 1909]  I had met him while on a vacation with a schoolmate from St. Vincent on the Hudson. He phoned me. Said, "Hello, Daisy, can I come out to see you?" That was the beginning and the end."   Charles was about 6' tall, with thick blond hair, and blue eyes. He married Marguerite Josephine TERWILLIGER, on 11 June 1910, at Roselle, New Jersey,  where her parents lived; it is described as "a small wedding" in newspapers as well as in her Memoirs. She was 30, he was 34 years old, at the time.

Her Memoirs give details of his jobs while they were married. One of those was to build a dam at Little Hock Hocking on the Ohio River - unfortunately the President and Vice-President of the firm would contradict orders given by each other. Eventually the contract was nil and void.  However, Charles managed to find another position in Watertown NY, where their first child was born, Elizabeth, known as "Betty". Unfortunately she died before one year old from complications of severe milk allergy.  This was a problem for several of their children, and continues with several of the current generation of grandchildren.
Children limited details for children's privacy: 
 - Betty, b. 13 Feb 1911, d. Nov 1911
 - Barbara, b. 13 July 1912; married/divorced/married, 2 children
 - Dorothea "Dot", b. 6 Oct 1914; married/divorced, no children
 - John Anthony, b. 1 Sep 1916, m. 1946, d. 1966; 4 children
 - Louis James "Lou-Jim",  b. 13 Aug 1918, married/divorced/married; 2 children
 - *Mary Marguerite, [direct ancestor], b. 7 Oct 1922, married, 3 children

Charles then took a position with a big engineering firm in NY whose contract was with the BC Electric Company in Vancouver, to put in underground electric systems. World War 1 interrupted this work for a stretch, and he ended up being called down to Memphis TN; he had to register for the draft because of being a US citizen. Eventually he came home, and continued work, mainly centred on the North Shore of Vancouver (West Vancouver).  Later, his work took him to work at Port Alice, Woodfibre, and other places around southern BC and Vancouver Island.

One winter, unfortunately, he slipped off the porch of their home, experiencing a very bad fall, breaking his leg and hip. He was over three months in hospital. Unfortunately that meant it was the end of his work for BC Electric Company. That was the reality in those days, there was no such thing as a medical leave where your job would be kept open for you! As the Depression began around the same time, it was very difficult for the family. For some time, they survived on growing all their own food, his wife's piano/organ playing [usually for the Catholic parish] and other activities, and support from their local Catholic Parish, possibly also support from parents back East. Eventually, he found work for several years, on the planning of the Lions Gate Bridge (First Narrows).

After all the children were married, Charles and Marguerite "Daisy" moved down to Seattle where their older son, John (an engineer), was living and working for Boeing.  They took in boarders from the local army base, as part of how they managed the expenses. At one point, Daisy's mother came for a prolonged visit.

From her Memoirs again, p.24:
"On December 15, '45 Charlie and I were Christmas shopping. We stopped at a place where they served only dinners with candlelight. Excellent food!  We talked and laughed with friends at same table.  At four o'clock in the morning Charlie complained of pain in his chest. Before I could get in touch with the doctor he was gone."

Charles is buried in Calvary Cemetery, in northeast Seattle, Washington. There is no stone on the grave.  He was described by children in the family as being extremely intense and abusive (physically), with a raging temper.  And that his father was "even worse".  Brilliant man, very bright children.  But all seem to have experienced constant fault-finding and raging.  Ugly and soul-destroying emotional abuse.  Certainly that intense abusive rage showed up in my own mother's behaviour as well.  However, I was determined not to continue that abusive behaviour, and eventually took and then taught parenting courses, in order to keep in control of my parenting - not perfect, but definitely much better. The cycle is definitely broken by now - my 6 grandchildren are growing up relatively healthy and happy. Whew.

If you have any information or questions about my grandfather, you can contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or comments below.  Thanks for stopping by to read today.

A DAY OF FINDINGS - YEAH!! Campion & Petrucelli surnames

Today I have had - not ONE, but TWO big breakthroughs. And in both cases, they are NOT direct ancestors of mine.  But I'm just as excited as if they were!!        

FIRST:
We used to get beautiful hand-painted Christmas cards years ago, from "a relative Tony Petrucelli" when we were kids. I have no idea where they are by now - I suspect when Mom went into hospital or before, they got tossed out, probably by accident because we all treasured them.  He was a commercial artist who designed marvelous covers for FORTUNE and the NEW YORKER in the 30s and 40s.   Here is one link to find more about him; and another link. He was apparently a very well-liked person all his life, and was an excellent artist with a marvelous control of perspective.

But I had no idea how we were related to him.  In fact I assumed he simply knew our Aunt Dot - my mother's older sister who was a textile artist in Greenwich NY. In other words, I assumed he was a friend of the family, not a real relative at all. It was quite common to call an older friend of the family, Aunt or Uncle when I was growing up.

But today on a 1940 Census, there he is: Antonio Petrucelli, aged 33, b. NJ, living in NJ in 1935.  And his wife, Lillian, aged 31, b. NJ.  Occupation, Commercial Artist, own business.  Living with son, Michel, aged 5.  AND, his widowed mother-in-law, Florence Tyler, aged 81, b. NY.  Wow!  What a find.  I know that name! Mom referred to Florence as "Aunt Toto". There were many nicknames in my mother's family.

Florence is the younger of the three children, all daughters, of Charles Giles GRAVES.  Lillian is the only child of Florence and Ernest Tyler, and she would be my 1st cousin 2x removed. The middle daughter, my great-grandmother, whom we called "Madee", was Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES.  I have a lovely photo of the older sister, Lillian, who married lawyer, Gabriel Wisner.  I've know of the other two sisters and their children for some time.  But seeing this Census record, it all falls into place to me. Of course!  Whew - another mystery solved. Nice to find that there are more Petrucelli cousins running around, too.

SECOND:
On my ex-husband's family line, I've been stymied with the end of the line: Charles LEWIS, b. 4 Oct 1828 in Bath, Ontario. Bath is a little town in the "Loyalist Township" of several towns with extensive history of United Empire Loyalists - I wrote about this only a few days ago!  He must have read the posting, because today I was able to find a listing on FindAGrave, with photos of the large dark red granite obelisk which has his and his wife's details, plus details of his middle son and wife.  Charles & Elizabeth had 8 children, 6 sons, 2 daughters, some of whom moved to British Columbia.

Ah-ha!  Confirmation:  His wife's maiden name is indeed CAMPION, just as I'd suspected but I'd had difficulty in finding documents or further evidence about her maiden name.  I recently purchased the marriage certificate from Manitoba, of Charles & Elizabeth's older daughter Ellen & James Carrick Miller, and it also confirmed Campion as her mother's maiden name. No confusion any longer.

Of course, you know what this information means.  More research, of course!! Lots more research.  What fun, eh?  Who knows what else I will find about the Lewis and Campion lines...

And, if you have information on any of these people, I'd love to hear from you, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the comments below.  Thanks for dropping by to read my good news!

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #8: Charles LEWIS, Canada

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 8th installment, for Charles LEWIS, my children's 2nd great-grandfather on their father's line.

Charles LEWIS, the 2nd great-grandfather to my children, is reportedly born 4 Oct 1828 in the Village of Bath, Ontario, near Kingston Ontario.  Bath is a lovely village on the shores of Lake Ontario, and was settled by United Empire Loyalists from the new United States. In fact, 3 small villages - as well as other smaller nearby settlements - are to be found in "Loyalist Township": Bath, Amherstview, and Odessa. 

I know very little about Charles' parents. The first Census record I have found is the 1851/2 Canada West Census, which I am relatively certain lists Charles. He is only listed as "C. Lewis", is 24 years old, Single, born in CW (Canada West), and religion is CofE (Church of England). His occupation is Blacksmith, which later shows up as his occupation on the later census records.  Click on the Blacksmith link for interesting details.

By 1861 Census of Ernestown, Lennox & Addington county, Charles is found as married to Elizabeth, 27 yrs of age to his 32 yrs. Ernestown is only a few kilometers west of Bath. Charles & Elizabeth must have been married in approximately 1852 or 1853, as their eldest son, Isaac, is stated to be 7 yrs of age. Two other little boys, UPDATE: Arthur 4 and William 2 yrs of age, make up the rest of the family.  Elizabeth states she is Irish in origin, and born in Ireland; both state their religion as "W. Meth." Wesleyan Methodist.  Charles' occupation is again listed as "BlkSmith".  UPDATE, 2020: Charles & Elizabeth's marriage date: 31 Oct 1854, Bath, Lennox, Ontario, Canada.  

In the 1871 Census of the Village of Bath, Lennox & Addington, Ontario, Charles & Elizabeth are found with all 8 children, all born in Ontario, Charles listed as a Blacksmith once more.  A confusing point is that he is listed as German in origin, born in Ontario, and all the children are also listed as of German origin.  I am fairly certain this is an error of the enumerator. 
Children - eldest, Isaac is the direct ancestor:
 - Isaac Charles [ancestor] b.20 Jul 1855 in Bath ON, m. 3 Dec 1885 in
     Winnipeg MB to Alma Jane AIKEN, d. 17 Apr 1937 in Vancouver BC
-  Arthur b. abt 1857, d. after 1881 (ON)
-  William b. abt 1859, d. after 1881 (ON)
-  Ellen Arminia b. Feb 1860, m. James Carrick Miller 1 Dec 1887 in Elton
      MB, d. 1945 in Victoria BC
-  Frederick Allen b. 25 Apr 1863, m. Isabella Lockeridge 13 Jun 1894
       Brandon MB, d. after 1937 likely in Brandon MB  UPDATE: 28 Dec 1946
       Brandon MB
-  Richard b. abt 1865; not found after 1881 (ON)
-  Charles b. abt 1868; not found after 1891 (MB)
-  Eva Maria b. 2 Jun 1870, d. 15 Mar 1948 in Vancouver BC; m. Dr. Alexander
      C. Davidson 20 Jun 1894 Brandon MB, 

Charles & Elizabeth plus the children are found again in the 1881 Census of the Village of Bath, living next to a Richard Campion - one of the clues I found for his wife's name [her brother].

1891 finds Charles & Elizabeth living north of Winnipeg in Selkirk Manitoba, with two children, Frederick & Eva, and two of their boys, Richard and Charles, living next to them. Charles is still working as a Blacksmith. His older son Frederick is listed as a Merchant, his two younger sons are listed as being Farmers.

Charles' wife, Elizabeth, apparently died between 1891 and 1901, as in the 1901 Census he is shown as Widowed, living with his youngest child, Eva, and her family (A.C. Davidson), in Brandon, MB  UPDATE: Elizabeth died 10 Aug 1899 in Brandon Manitoba.

The 1906 Prairie Provinces Census shows him living in Brandon with his older daughter, Ellen and her family (J.C. Miller).   Also in 1911 Census, he is still living with Ellen and her family.  By this time, several of his children had moved to British Columbia, including the eldest, Isaac.

In late 1912 to early 1913, Charles came to Vancouver and Victoria in BC to visit his two daughters, and he died in Saanich near Victoria BC, 16 Feb 1913.  He was apparently moved back to Brandon, MB for burial, likely where his wife was buried. 

There is a story in the LEWIS family that there is a Loyalist ancestor - and looking at Charles' birth in Ontario, particularly in Bath, seems to support that somewhat.  Perhaps his father? or his grandfather? or through the mother or grandmother's families?  I haven't been able to get back another generation at this point.  In addition, the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada doesn't seem to have a connection, as yet, through the Lewis surname.  Still, a clue is a clue, and I need to keep digging as best I can and see if I can prove or disprove the story. UPDATE: UEL through Lewis-Aiken line to Gilbert PURDY .

If you have any questions, comments to make or other information to share, please do so below! I appreciate any comments.  I can be contacted through calewis at telus dot net.  

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #7: Thomas KING

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 7th installment, another very early immigrant to Massachusetts, on my ex-husband's family line.

Thomas KING, b. 1603 in Hinton, Dorset, England, married in 1625 to Anne COLLINS, immigrated to the new colony in Massachusetts after 1639, after the birth of their 6th child, the 5th girl. It is believed there was a 7th child, perhaps named John, who died as an infant.

Children of Thomas and Anne, all born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, England :
 - Peter, b. abt 1627 - the only son, m., no children.  Adopted one boy.
 - Anne, b. 17 Apr 1629
 - Mary* [direct ancestor], b. 1630, m. Thomas RICE, 14 children; d.22 Mar 1714/15
 - Sarah, b. 5 Jun 1634
 - Elizabeth, b. abt 1636, m. Thomas' younger brother, Samuel Rice; d bef 30 Oct 1667
 - Mercy or Martha, b. 10 Mar 1639, d. 4 Jan 1667/8

Thomas appears to have arrived in Massachusetts by 1642, when his wife, Anne, died 24 Dec 1642 in Sudbury, Massachusetts.  

By 1653 he married for a second time, marrying Bridgett Davis or Loker in Sudbury.  

In 1656, he was a signatory to a Petition from a number of Sudbury settlers to develop and settle a new town, which they eventually called Marlborough, Massachusetts. Several of his children moved and settled in Marlborough as well.

Thomas died 3 May 1676, although no gravestone has been found. 

Most information about Thomas KING and his family has come from the Edmund Rice Association, which has details of the genealogy of Edmund Rice, the immigrant, and his many descendants. Three of those Rice brothers braid into my ex-husband's lines, and one of them into mine. Long long ago!

If you have any information or questions about Thomas KING, or his wife and family, do contact me via calewis at telus dot net.  And I always love to read comments!

Margaret REID, about 1802-1838: A No-Family Ancestor!

Margaret REID, my maternal 3rd great-grandmother, is one more of those women ancestors in my direct line who appear as the wife of _______, and the mother of ________, and then she's buried.  That's it.

No parents, no siblings, no information.  Who is she?

Through FindAGrave, I can see her husband's gravestone stating he is the husband of (1) Margaret Reid, and (2) Jane DeGroff (there's a 3rd wife as well), with clear carvings of the first two wives' information on one side of the standing gravestone.  Helpful. It gives her name and death date, and that she was 35 years of age at death, therefore she may have been born about 1803, give or take a few years.

I haven't been able to find any other person named Reid buried in the same cemetery, Collamer Cemetery, in DeWitt, Onondaga, New York.

There is a rumour I've heard in our family, that Margaret had come to New York from Scotland with her family, or at least, a father. But there's not really any evidence to substantiate this thought - or, at least, not that I've found to date.

She and John S. TERWILLIGER (1800-1873) were apparently married in about 1823, in New York, possibly in New Scotland, Albany, New York, where their first child was born. (The link takes you to the New Scotland Historical Association.)

They had the following 5 children:
 - James M. [direct ancestor], b. 30 Jan 1825, m. 1851 Harriet F. Buell; d. 18 Oct 1909
 - George, b.26 Apr 1827, m. Matilda B. Fowler; d. 1890
 - Nancy, b. 13 Apr 1830, m. John Harpham; d. 2 Jan 1915
 - Jane Reid, b. 26 Feb 1835, m. Dr. John Skinner;  d. 8 Apr 1922
 - Mary E., b. 24 Apr 1837, m. Roswell O. Brown;  d. 15 Mar 1907

Margaret REID Terwilliger died about 20 months after the birth of her 5th child, of unknown causes.

On 13 Feb 1841, John married Jane DeGroff, who was b. 4 Jul 1812. He and Jane had 3 more little girls, before Jane died 14 Jun 1849, after the 3rd birth.  On 4 Dec 1856, John then married a widow, Mrs. Harriet Ives, who survived him, with no issue; John died 31 Aug 1873.

If anyone has any further information about Margaret REID or if you have questions about any of these details, please contact me via calewis at telus dot net.  I always love to read your comments below!

I'm currently watching RootsTech 2014 Conference live-streaming sessions, online.  I'm struck again by how important it is to me to start getting my own stories down - now, so that MY 3rd great-grandchildren know me as so much more than these few tiny bits of information.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS: #6, Thomas BROOKS, 1679-1732

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 6th installment.

Thomas BROOKS is my 7th great-grandfather through my mother's mother's mother's line.  His father, Henry BROOKS, was the original immigrant, known to be in Wallingford (CT) by 1670, from research in the publication "Genealogy and Family History of the State of Connecticut".   Note that Wallingford originally included Cheshire Connecticut. It is known that Henry died after 1713 in New Haven CT, as his name is still listed that year as a proprietor of Wallingford. Henry arrived in Wallingford with his brother, John, who later moved with his family to Fairfield county (perhaps). 

The region where the Brooks were raised was originally termed Cheshire, for their home in England. I have done little research on Henry, except to note his marriage to Hannah Blakely/Blakelee 21 Dec 1676, married by William Jones, Justice of the Peace in Wallingford (taken from Town Records of Wallingford).  Hmmm. The Blakely/Blakelee families - another line of early settlers to research!

"The Genealogy of the families of Henry and John Brooks, who emigrated from Cheshire, England, about A.D. 1660, and from whom the present town of Cheshire, Ct., received its name" is another history book with information on the BROOKS family, and I need to search looking for further details in this and other publications, which can be analyzed.  The Town Records of Wallingford provide many details of the late 1660s births, marriages, deaths.  Note that there is also a Brooks Surname project for DNA research.

Thomas was born 27 Mar 1679, several years after his parents' marriage, and I have not added his siblings at this point in time.  Have you noticed that research is never done-? 

On 25 Mar 1702, by John Alling, Thomas married Martha HOTCHKISS, who was b. 14 Dec 1683 in New Haven CT.  Their first child Stephen BROOKS, is listed as being born scarcely 2 months later. Much of this information has been published by the NEHGS Register.
Children:
 - Stephen* [direct line], b.28 May 1702, m.6 May 1725 Waterbury CT to Hannah BARNES; d.16 May 1773 
 - Mary, b.14 May 1704; m. Nathaniel Bunnel, Feb 1726
 - Thomas, b.14 Feb 1706; m. Desire, bef Feb 1732 [1st child]
 - Enos, b.15 Feb 1708; m. Tamer Wooster, bef Apr 1735 [1st child]
 - Cornelius, b.10 Sep 1711; m. unknown
 - Martha, b.21 Feb 1714; m. Samuel Coles
 - Mehitible, b.23 Apr 1716; m. Edward Gaylord, 16 Aug 1733
 - Benjamin, b.23 Apr 1720; m. unknown
 - Henry, b.2 Mar 1723; m. Mary Cooper, 4 Dec 1745
 - Thankful, b.19 Dec 1725; m. Nathan Gaylord, 30 May 1745

In 1723, a Congregational church formed, members meeting at the homes of Thomas Brooks and John Hotchkiss.  Thomas was on the committee which arranged to settle Mr. Hall as their first minister in December 1723.  Thomas Brooks seems to have been a very active member of the community, and well respected. Several of his sons were active in the Revolutionary War (Stephen, Enos, for example).

When the youngest child, Thankful, was only 7 years old, Thomas died of smallpox, 20 July 1732.  He and his wife, Martha, who d. after 1755, are buried in Hillside Cemetery, Cheshire, New Haven, CT. 

A very clear image of his headstone may be seen on FindAGrave, with added details by the helpful person who uploaded the photos and memorial, another 7th greatgrandchild.

If you have additional information or have questions, do contact me via calewis at telus dot com, and comment below.  I'm always thrilled to see comments and answer questions.