GRANDPARENTS - with a nod to the USA National Grandparents Day, yesterday

Grandparents, as well as a few great-grandparents.                                                                                                     

Beginning with the first page in the photograph album my mother made for all three of us kids, for one Christmas present.  It took her the whole year to do it, in about 1972 or thereabouts.  All three of us had similar photos in 'our' albums, but we also had many specific to us.  "In the Beginning" is the first page in my album, lettering done by Mom.  

Top right on this first page is my maternal great-grandmother (my mother's mother's mother) Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES Terwilliger, 1857-1955.  Mom typed her age as 100, but she died at age 98, not long after this photo of her living in Florida.  We knew her in the family as "Madee" pronounced Maud'ee, a corruption of the Spanish word Madre for mother. 

Below her on this first page is a tintype from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs, UK, celebrating my paternal grandparents' 1898 engagement, William John "Jack" GILLESPIE, 1876-1964, and beside him, Harriette BUNN, 1879-1962.  Look to the bottom for Jack Gillespie's parents.

Bottom left on this first page is my maternal grandfather, Charles Edward KUHN, 1876-1945. My maternal grandmother, his wife, is below this 1960s photo, Marguerite Josephine "Daisy" TERWILLIGER Kuhn, 1880-1973.  We knew her in the family as "GramPete" from a nickname as "Peter" a corruption of the Spanish word for little girl, Pepita.  

Next is GramPete's father, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, 1856-1929.  His wife is Madee in the top right photo on the "In the Beginning" page, above.

On the bottom is Grove Terwilliger's father, James M. TERWILLIGER, 1825-1909.

And here we have my Irish paternal great-grandfather, my father's father's father, George GILLESPIE, 1851-1941.   And here on the right, his wife, my great-grandmother, Catherine ARMSTRONG Gillespie, 1853-1923.

I am very pleased to have even these few photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents. As you can see, many of them lived to a good long life.  Another greatgrandmother lived to 102, a number of others lived well into the 90s. 

Any questions and comments may be added in the Comments section below.  Thanks for stopping by. 

TERWILLIGER FAMILY - early 1900s Photo, Roselle NJ

This is the only photo which has my maternal grandmother, her two brothers, her mother, and her Terwilliger grandparents all in one photo. There are two additional women in this photo who may not be related.  By elimination, I can assume that my grandmother's father "Grove" is the one taking this photo. Wish I knew more. And I look at the three photos on the back wall with sad eyes, wondering where on earth they ended up! 

My mother wrote on the back of this photo, identifying most of the individuals, in relation to her, and she dated it "Dining Room, Roselle NJ, 1903-1909".  Note that James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER and his wife moved to Roselle in the early 1900s.

• Starting on the left (front), is my 2nd greatgrandfather, James M. TERWILLIGER. He would be 75-80 years old, although he seems rather fragile/older than that, somehow. 
• Next to him behind the table, is his wife, my 2nd greatgrandmother, Harriet F. BUELL Terwilliger, about 70-75 years old. 
• Next, the young woman with dark hair is Vera Stinson, a boarder with the family (as seen on the 1910 Census of Roselle NJ). 
• The older woman behind Vera is not identified on the photo, and I cannot guess her identity or relation to us. 
• Next, sitting at the table, looking down, is my greatgrandmother,  Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES Terwilliger, also known as "Madee" (pronounced Maw-dee).  She would be in her mid-early 50s here. 
• On the very right, seated at the table is my mother's mother, my grandmother, Marguerite "Daisy" "Peggy" Josephine TERWILLIGER, also known as "Pete" (from nickname of  Pepita), whom we called "GrandPete". Here she is about 27 or so. 
• Standing behind is the elder of her two younger brothers, George Walter Terwilliger, aged about 24ish years.
• And finally, the taller and younger of the two young men, standing directly behind his mother is Harold "Hal" Graves Terwilliger, aged about 18 yrs old.

By 1910, a few years more or less after this photo was taken: 
- George married Hazel Belle Hubbard in 1909; he died in 1970, aged 88 yrs
- Harold married in 1935 to Carola Bischoff; he died in 1976, aged 88 yrs
- Marguerite married Charles Edward KUHN in 1910; she died in 1973 aged 93 yrs.  
- James M. TERWILLIGER died in the fall of 1909, aged 85 yrs..  
- Harriet, his wife, died about a year later, aged 82.  
- Grove died in 1929, aged 73.  
- Clara, his wife, died in 1955, aged 98 yrs. 
- Clara's mother, also named Harriet, died in 1929 at the age of 102 yrs. 

If you have any questions about the people in this photo, I'd be happy to answer them.  And if you have any information or corrections, please let me know - I'm always happy to correct my errors!  Contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  

(Almost) WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Two James TERWILLIGERS

My 2nd great-grandfather, & his son, my great-grandfather, two James TERWILLIGERS; through my maternal lines.
I particularly appreciate the visible differences in clothing and hair styles of these two men, with photos taken about 30 years apart.  Both photos found in the younger son's TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM.

Taken in approximately 1860-1865, the photo to the right is of James M. TERWILLIGER, likely as a formal photo for the Senate.  James would be in his 40s here.  I would love to know what on earth his middle name is, as I have yet to see any document with his full name.
Born on 30 January 1825, New Scotland, Albany, New York; and died 18 October 1909, Roselle, Union, New Jersey, at the home of his elder son, below.

This is James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, the eldest son of James M. TERWILLIGER, above;  the photo taken approximately 1885-1890.
Born 27 May 1856, Syracuse, Onondaga, New York; and died 17 March 1929, Syracuse, Onondaga, New York.

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: #3 Grover BUELL - Oh dear, which one is which??

I ran into a a series of "Grover BUELL" ancestors not long after I started searching in my mother's family. We knew very little about my maternal grandmother's parents' families - partly because she loved to dramatize her life and her history. How I wish I'd begun researching in our family tree before she died so many years ago so I could ask more questions. What was true and what was ...somewhat jazzed up - that was a challenge.  I learned to use her bits and pieces as possible clues, if at all.

After a year, I figured out that her father - James Grover TERWILLIGER  (yes, that Terwilliger, of my Terwilliger Souvenir Album blog) was known as "Grove" or sometimes "Grover" in the family.

Hmmm, Grover was a great clue, wasn't it? Sounded and looked like a family surname somewhere.  Surely I could find out the source of the Grover, couldn't I? Surely.  Of course. But it took several generations and searches before I finally found the GROVER surname.

Here's the listing travelling in time from the LAST Grover, up to the source:

James "Grove" Grover TERWILLIGER, b.27 May 1856 in NY, d.17 Mar 1929, NJ
       m. 11 Jun 1910 to Clara "Gussie" Augusta GRAVES
James M. TERWILLIGER, b. 30 Jan 1825 in NY, d. 18 Oct 1909, NY
       m. 1851 to Harriet  BUELL
Grover BUELL/Buel, b. 24 Dec 1794 in NY, d. aft 18 Feb 1874, NY
       m. 17 Dec 1814 to Charlotte BORTLE [brick wall]
Grover BUELL/Buel, b. 22 Jan 1759 in NY, d. abt 1811, NY
       m. 1781 to Mehitable HAMLIN?[surname not proven][brick wall]
Grover BUELL/Buel, b. 4 Apr 1732 in CT, d. 14 Sep 1818, NY
       m. 15 Feb 1758 to Jerusha BUCK
Nathaniel BUELL/Buel, b. 29 Sep 1700 in CT, d. ?
       m. 14 Nov 1720/21 to Deborah HORTON
(Rev.) Joshua HORTON, b. abt 1669 in NY, d. 1744, NJ
       m. abt 1690 to Elizabeth GROVER

Whew!  I thought I'd never find that first GROVER surname!  And as I searched, I ran into several brick walls on the female side, which added to my frustration.  I of course suspected that the Grover surname must be further up one of those missing lines.

Then I'd search and find yet another line, and be frustrated, then find another, and so on.  When I reached Nathaniel BUELL and his wife Deborah HORTON, I was sure I must have missed the connection further down.  Nathaniel? Not a Grover? Oh-oh - must be up one of those dead-end lines.  Sigh.  I gave up for some months, I have to say.

However, I eventually persevered looking back a few more steps - and there she was: Elizabeth GROVER!

Elizabeth GROVER, b. 15 Sep 1673 in NY, was one of 3 girls of Simon GROVER & Elizabeth MOORE.
When (Rev.) Joshua HORTON & Elizabeth GROVER married, they had only 2 sons out of 8 children, and both were named Joshua (one died young).  If they'd had more boys, I'm certain they would have named one of them Grover, don't you think?   Their 3rd daughter, Deborah, & husband Nathaniel BUELL, had 9 children with one son dying young (Eliphalet) - 4 girls, 5 boys.  The very first Grover BUELL is their 6th child.

In my searches I found that several of the Grover Buell's siblings had sons they also named Grover - after all, people named their children after family members quite commonly.  So the only way I could keep track of them all was to research everyone.  My direct line Grover BUELLs had to be known by their birth year as part of their name, just to help me keep them all straight.

Grover BUELL 1759 had a brother, Simon (Capt.) Buell, who named his first son Grover Buell as well.

Grover BUELL 1794 & his wife Charlotte, had 4 girls but only one son named Simon, who had no children. Their eldest daughter, Mary Buell, m. John W. Patterson; they had 4 children, and the first boy was named Grover Buell Patterson - repeating the pattern for another generation.

Mary's youngest sister, my 2ndgreat-grandmother Harriet BUELL m. James M. TERWILLIGER, and used the Grover name as a middle name for the first of two living sons. To differentiate him from his father, the family used his middle name, Grover.

If you have more information about any of the individuals listed above, I'd love to hear from you in a comment below, or in an email to calewis at telus dot net - I always appreciate details!  I have much research still to do on these ancestors, and more documentation to find as well.

ANOTHER FEMALE ANCESTOR - NO DETAILS: Margaret REID 1803-1838

Dear Margaret REID:
Where did your parents come from?    Hmmm?  Scotland, maybe?  There's a 'we think she was Scottish' story we have in our family.
When did you arrive in New York state?  Sometime before your marriage to John TERWILLIGER, before 1825.  Perhaps you came over with your family, or perhaps with another family as a 'servant'.
How did the TERWILLIGER family know your REID family?  I keep assuming that because John and his father were farmers, that perhaps your family were also farming.  But they're not showing up on any Census records so far.
What caused you to die so young?  Only 19 months or so after your 5th child? Was there a nasty epidemic going through the community that winter, or did you catch pneumonia?  Did you have a nasty medical condition - like tuberculosis, appendicitis, or something like that?  My mind teems with possibilities that could afflict a young woman with 5 young children.  So young.  Only 35 years old when she died.

No answers...

Margaret REID is another female ancestor with few if any details about her or her parents.

She was the first of the 3 wives of John S(imon) TERWILLIGER in New York state.  She and John apparently married about 1823, and had 5 children:
1. James M. TERWILLIGER (my ancestor), b. 30 Jan 1825, New Scotland, Albany, NY; m. Harriet BUELL, had 2 living sons only.
2. George Terwilliger, b. 26 Apr 1827, NY; m. Matilda B. Fowler, 3 girls (1 d. young)
3. Nancy Terwilliger, b. 13 Apr 1830, NY; m. John Harpham, 3 girls, 1 boy.
4. Jane Reid Terwilliger,  b. 26 Feb 1835, NY;  m. Dr. John Skinner, 4 boys
5. Mary E. Terwilliger, b. 24 Apr 1837, NY;  m. Roswell O. Brown, 1 boy that I know of.

John S. TERWILLIGER married Jane DeGroff next, having 3 girls, only one living to adulthood, Sarah, a teacher. Jane died in 1849 after their 3rd baby. His third wife, a widow, Harriet M. Ives, he married in 1856; no children. John died 31 Aug 1873, and is buried in Collamer Cemetery, DeWitt, Onondaga, NY; his gravestone states he is "h/o Jane DeGroff & Margaret Reid"

But, Margaret...  I'm not even sure you came from Scotland, although there is a story to that effect, and there IS a Margaret Reid on a passenger list with parents and two siblings for 1822.  Possible.  Absolutely no proof as yet.

There is still more research to do about you, Margaret REID:  I need to dig page by page through the 1820 and 1830 Censuses for any Reid/Reed families in NY anywhere near New Scotland, Bethlehem, and DeWitt townships.  Perhaps a letter to the Cemetery may result in more information.  Passenger lists.  Naturalization papers.  Church records.   Your surname shows up as a middle name of grandson Harry, but is spelled Reed on a gravestone. Luckily I always search on variants of a surname.

If any of these names are part of your ancestry, do comment or send me an email at calewis at telus dot net;  I'd love to share any information I have.