Ohhhh, Randy Seaver, - you do love to give us reasons to go digging into our ancestors' lives!!
Here's Randy's "rules"":
1) What year was one of your great-grandmothers born? Divide this number by 90 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel" - your software will create this - use the "Ahnentafel List" option, or similar). Who is that person, and what are his/her vital information?
3) Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."
4) Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook status or a Google Stream post, or as a comment on this blog post.
1. My greatgrandmother, Amelia Ann "Millie" PETTYGROVE was born in Oregon Territories in 1844, giving me a number of "20" for my Ahnentafel list of ancestors. I'd love to write more about her - but another time, perhaps.
2. #20 on my Ahnentafel list - thank you RootsMagic5 for making this so easy - was Sarah SMITH France BUNN. That is, her maiden surname was SMITH, she 1st married a France, then married 2nd to a BUNN.
Her Vital information:
Born: 25 Nov 1820, Netherton, Worcestershire, England; to parents Thomas SMITH and Elizabeth (unknown). Thomas SMITH was listed as a coal miner, deceased, on her marriage registration with William
Married: 1st: Thomas France, 4th Quarter 1837, Dudley, Worcestershire, England; Thomas died about Dec 1851; the couple had 7 children. 2nd marriage: 20 Nov 1854, Dudley, Worcestershire, England, to William BUNN (his 2nd marriage as well - 1st wife died within one year of marriage): 1 child, a boy (my greatgrandfather).
Died: after 1891, in Barrow in Furness, Lancashire, England (still to determine final death date, burial).
3. Three facts about Sarah:
* Sarah was born in Windmill End/Netherton, Worcestershire, England; no other siblings are known to date
* Sarah's eldest daughter, Elizabeth France (b. 1839) had an illegitimate son, Thomas France, b. 1859, who was raised by Sarah and her 2nd husband William alongside their only Bunn child, George BUNN, b. 1857. (George's grandchildren mistakenly thought he had been adopted by the France/Franz family, and wrote it up as facts about George Bunn and his unknown ancestors!)
* Sarah apparently moved up to Barrow in Furness around 1891 or so, to live with her son George BUNN and his family; her grandson and his family, Thomas France, also had moved up to Barrow.
I have so much still to find out about Sarah.
When did she move up to Barrow? With, or without her husband William? Did she live with her grandson's or her son's family? Her son George BUNN came to Canada with my grandfather in June 1911, but became sick and returned to Barrow, dying a few years later. How did she know William BUNN? - he was several years younger than her, had no children, and when he married her, she had 7! A very challenging family to take on, I must say.
Life must have been very hard for her - and I haven't been able to find any relatives in my searches, who might have supported her. Thomas, like her father, was a coal miner, and likely died from a coal mining accident of which there were several around the time that Thomas died in 1851.
Thanks Randy - once again, I find myself with more questions - or was that your intention!?
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
ASK - Just Ask!
The other day I was digging around online in the hopes of finally finding more information and documents on my 3rd greatgrandparents on my mother's line (mother's mother's mother's mother and father). The ORMSBEE line, sometimes spelled Ormsby. I could find them back to the early 1800s, but no further. One more of those brick walls that didn't seem to have any chinks at all.
I had first discovered my greatgrandmother's parents' surname Ormsbee from a wedding invitation pasted in my greatgrandfather's Souvenir Album. (See my other blog in which I am slowly going through every page of the Album, inventorying and identifying items pasted there - I'm only up to page 7!). Oh good, I had thought at the time several years ago - an interesting unusual name to research. Surely I'll be able to find these ancestors! But I could not find much at all past a few Censuses, a few social notes in old newspapers, and an obituary for Jacob ORMSBEE. On a limited budget and living on the opposite side of the continent, I am quite dependent on free online or local resources for these New York and other New England region ancestors, as well as one commercial site. Plus WorldCat of course, for any published items available within a few hours' drive from Vancouver BC!
This weekend, I'll be having a short consultation with a local genealogy expert (as part of a genealogy visit), and I had put forward Jacob ORMSBEE as the person I wanted some assistance on finding his ancestors. I suspect he must have been listening to me choose him for research... Because this is what I found the very next day - here below is just one of the several photos (used with permission) from the recently updated FindAGrave Memorial page for Jacob.
I casually wandered over to FindAGrave to his grave posting, only to find an updated Memorial page for Jacob and his wife Sabra, sometimes known as "Sally". In this posting was new information: his parents' names - Arnold & Hannah Ormsbee, and his wife's father as S. Towers. The posting also listed two more little girls after the three children I already knew of: one living to age 11, the other to age 3. Sad, so sad to lose children at any age, but to lose two of one's children, the younger ones, seems so sad to me. I found new wealth of detail ... "interesting but not impressive", as my rather sarcastic mother used to say.
Where was the source to back up all this new-to-me information? Was it credible? Just because it's posted doesn't mean it's accurate, as anyone who does family history will know! So I decided to write the photographer and ask where he got all this new information?
I immediately got back a quick reply that he and his friend are methodically updating memorials on this large cemetery with the details found in the Cemetery office Burial Register books. Whatever was written down at the burial, in the book, details about relationships, dates, names, all usually given by the family. Amazing. Relatively credible, so to speak (sorry for the bad pun).
After several emails back and forth, I have given him more details about a missing older sister of my greatgrandmother, and clarified a few more details, as well as asking him more about the very large ORMSBEE-GRAVES obelisk on the plot. Unfortunately there's almost nothing engraved on the obelisk - it's more of an identifying post for the entire plot.
This morning he let me know he's emailing me a copy of the Cemetery burial register page which has details for "everyone buried in the plot" - 16 people, several generations, with the cause of death for each one (if given) as well. Imagine!
All this wonderful information, just by asking politely. And thanking very appreciatively, as well!
Ask. Just ask. You never know what you'll receive in return.
I had first discovered my greatgrandmother's parents' surname Ormsbee from a wedding invitation pasted in my greatgrandfather's Souvenir Album. (See my other blog in which I am slowly going through every page of the Album, inventorying and identifying items pasted there - I'm only up to page 7!). Oh good, I had thought at the time several years ago - an interesting unusual name to research. Surely I'll be able to find these ancestors! But I could not find much at all past a few Censuses, a few social notes in old newspapers, and an obituary for Jacob ORMSBEE. On a limited budget and living on the opposite side of the continent, I am quite dependent on free online or local resources for these New York and other New England region ancestors, as well as one commercial site. Plus WorldCat of course, for any published items available within a few hours' drive from Vancouver BC!
This weekend, I'll be having a short consultation with a local genealogy expert (as part of a genealogy visit), and I had put forward Jacob ORMSBEE as the person I wanted some assistance on finding his ancestors. I suspect he must have been listening to me choose him for research... Because this is what I found the very next day - here below is just one of the several photos (used with permission) from the recently updated FindAGrave Memorial page for Jacob.
Where was the source to back up all this new-to-me information? Was it credible? Just because it's posted doesn't mean it's accurate, as anyone who does family history will know! So I decided to write the photographer and ask where he got all this new information?
I immediately got back a quick reply that he and his friend are methodically updating memorials on this large cemetery with the details found in the Cemetery office Burial Register books. Whatever was written down at the burial, in the book, details about relationships, dates, names, all usually given by the family. Amazing. Relatively credible, so to speak (sorry for the bad pun).
After several emails back and forth, I have given him more details about a missing older sister of my greatgrandmother, and clarified a few more details, as well as asking him more about the very large ORMSBEE-GRAVES obelisk on the plot. Unfortunately there's almost nothing engraved on the obelisk - it's more of an identifying post for the entire plot.
This morning he let me know he's emailing me a copy of the Cemetery burial register page which has details for "everyone buried in the plot" - 16 people, several generations, with the cause of death for each one (if given) as well. Imagine!
All this wonderful information, just by asking politely. And thanking very appreciatively, as well!
Ask. Just ask. You never know what you'll receive in return.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Gasp! GENEALOGY TREASURE!
I'm completely thrilled. Down to my marrow.
Recently, I've been helping my best friend research her father's family as she recovers from surgery. It's been a bit of a slog, although I do always find it exciting to search for other people's family ancestors. In this case, there are mainly single living descendants in the past few generations, or married but no children or only one child, so very very few cousins or others to search out information.
Yesterday she started digging into a grandmother's "old box of stuff" that she had carted around for a decade or three. What did she find?
- letters from a great-uncle with historical details: names, dates, places, occupations,
- a copy of the first page of the Application for membership in the State Association of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, which confirms greatgrandparents' names and maiden names,
- a meticulously-printed detailed pedigree chart on 4 pages written out very clearly by her father,
- memorial cards from funerals of greatgrand-relations,
- more details from a grandmother's 'family notes', with listings of births, marriages and deaths from 1700s,
- copies of several sheets of a Family Bible, plus a 1980s statement about another family bible of the 'other side' of the family (which clearly a cousin has somewhere).
"I knew you'd be thrilled," she exclaimed gleefully as I started poring over these sheets with many "oh! look at this!" and "Yeah - there's his middle name - I knew I had the correct man here - this helps with confirmation!" Plus of course, as I mentioned anyone's name, she'd remember a little detail about the person... like the place in Washngton where he'd received his law degree. Or the market in California where her great uncles lived. Or that her greatgrandfather was a wonderful musician and taught music at one point. I grabbed paper and started putting all these new details down. So many stories. So many memories waiting to be tapped.
Don't you love the thrill of going through this kind of unexpected treasure? The fact that it's not even my family is irrelevant. It's golden. Wonderful stuff. I can hardly wait to dig through it all, and do more research with these new details of her ancestors. We're already talking about putting photos on her family tree, after I showed her my own family tree with photos going back as far as I can go at present with photos. More wonderful treasure.
Genealogy Treasure-Hunting 101:
If your closest ancestors are not living, find out who in the family has the boxes, albums, and letters etc. in their basements or attics or closets. Someone has them. There's always someone with those boxes or packages or envelopes. You just have to find them before all that treasure gets thrown into a dumpster by someone who isn't interested in family history. Get started finding that person, now!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Lilian Adele GRAVES Wisner
Lilian Adele GRAVES, eldest of the 3 daughters born to Charles Giles GRAVES & Harriet Philena ORMSBEE. Lilian was b. 25 Nov 1853 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York. My greatgrandmother was the 2nd-born Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES, and the youngest was Florence Estelle GRAVES.
Lilian married Gabriel W. Wisner in 1877, a lawyer, and they eventually settled in Pittsburgh after all 4 of their children were born in Elmira, New York. Interestingly, Lilian named their daughter Florence for her sister, and Florence named her own daughter for her sister Lilian.
This very glossy photo was found on eBay by my first cousin, and we managed to buy it for a 'reasonable' price. The other bidder wanted it because it was a lovely example of a pretty woman of the times, with all the lovely details of hair, clothing, and jewelry.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
EMBARRASSMENT... File Details to Fix!
I believed I only had a few details to fix on my family tree. A few non-standard place names. A bit of confusion about whether that town was in Staffordshire or Worcestershire in that particular year or decade. And when was that state formed? A bit of research to do.
But a day or so ago, after checking out Randy Seaver's details of how to make a Place List Report for a specific town, I realized I have a large number - so very many - errors, omissions, and misplaced family or individual Notes standing in for "Place" in my database. Awful. Totally embarrassing. A bit overwhelming as well, when I realized the scope of my accumulated errors.
Some of my family tree individuals came from a first cousin of mine who was amazingly helpful when I was just beginning to start researching. In fact, I found him after posting a message on a surname board - and there he was, almost the next day! He was very thorough with his database details, but he was using a different program. And when I eventually saved it all over to my new program, there were a few quirky errors and misplacements etc. I never fixed them. Not at all. I decided I'd get to them when I had more time after I retired. That was over 4 years ago and one total knee replacement surgery plus 2 home moves ago. No more excuses. I certainly have time now.
It seems that some of my notes - a sentence or two about the individual or family - are added into the Place line. In fact, I suspect I may have deliberately typed those specific notes into Place, not thinking about how that section could be used for research purposes in future. As you can imagine, I have Event Places very erratically written: sometimes city, with or without county, sometimes with word County or abbreviation Co. or co., with or without state or province or shire occasionally abbreviated, with or without country in full or abbreviated or not. Can you see 12 ways to write a Place for an Event? Sigh. Often with a little add-on: "see bro. next door", or with "2nd wife, all wives' kids" ... Little notes to myself for a quick see-it-at-a-glance research note. Of course, I never used Research Notes. In the beginning I'm not certain that I even knew about Research Notes or logs in the software - I just put bits of info here and there so I wouldn't lose it!
That was then. This is now. And WOW, do I have lots of cleanup to do in my tree. Ohmygoodness! Very pink cheeks here.
I've begun to go through my family tree, checking and standardizing the Place for each detail/fact/event for Me, Mother, Father, Father's Mother, Father's Mother, Mother's Father, Mother's Mother, and a few more. Already I see three errors for Place: one for birth place, one for death place, one for burial place. Back to those documents and check things out more thoroughly. I'm going to go through my direct line first, not collaterals at the same time. That feels totally overwhelming, so I've decided to go one direct ancestor at a time, step by step by step by step by ... You get the picture.
I had no idea my input was so sloppy or non-standard. The ones I've put in over the past few years are not-quite-perfect, which is very encouraging. Whew - I did learn how to do that properly - very reassuring to see. But most of the early individuals are quite mixed. Some are great, others are awful. The information is all there, but needs to be using a standardized format, and the Notes need to be cut/pasted into their correct section. It doesn't take long at all, thank heavens. Only takes sharp eyes, a sharp mind, and time.
Thanks Randy for your clear details on how to do a specific research report - which brought up this very important problem for me. I'm determined to have my tree looking more professional and detailed so any of my kids, grandkids, and cousins can look things up and always know what they are seeing is correct.
But a day or so ago, after checking out Randy Seaver's details of how to make a Place List Report for a specific town, I realized I have a large number - so very many - errors, omissions, and misplaced family or individual Notes standing in for "Place" in my database. Awful. Totally embarrassing. A bit overwhelming as well, when I realized the scope of my accumulated errors.
Some of my family tree individuals came from a first cousin of mine who was amazingly helpful when I was just beginning to start researching. In fact, I found him after posting a message on a surname board - and there he was, almost the next day! He was very thorough with his database details, but he was using a different program. And when I eventually saved it all over to my new program, there were a few quirky errors and misplacements etc. I never fixed them. Not at all. I decided I'd get to them when I had more time after I retired. That was over 4 years ago and one total knee replacement surgery plus 2 home moves ago. No more excuses. I certainly have time now.
It seems that some of my notes - a sentence or two about the individual or family - are added into the Place line. In fact, I suspect I may have deliberately typed those specific notes into Place, not thinking about how that section could be used for research purposes in future. As you can imagine, I have Event Places very erratically written: sometimes city, with or without county, sometimes with word County or abbreviation Co. or co., with or without state or province or shire occasionally abbreviated, with or without country in full or abbreviated or not. Can you see 12 ways to write a Place for an Event? Sigh. Often with a little add-on: "see bro. next door", or with "2nd wife, all wives' kids" ... Little notes to myself for a quick see-it-at-a-glance research note. Of course, I never used Research Notes. In the beginning I'm not certain that I even knew about Research Notes or logs in the software - I just put bits of info here and there so I wouldn't lose it!
That was then. This is now. And WOW, do I have lots of cleanup to do in my tree. Ohmygoodness! Very pink cheeks here.
I've begun to go through my family tree, checking and standardizing the Place for each detail/fact/event for Me, Mother, Father, Father's Mother, Father's Mother, Mother's Father, Mother's Mother, and a few more. Already I see three errors for Place: one for birth place, one for death place, one for burial place. Back to those documents and check things out more thoroughly. I'm going to go through my direct line first, not collaterals at the same time. That feels totally overwhelming, so I've decided to go one direct ancestor at a time, step by step by step by step by ... You get the picture.
I had no idea my input was so sloppy or non-standard. The ones I've put in over the past few years are not-quite-perfect, which is very encouraging. Whew - I did learn how to do that properly - very reassuring to see. But most of the early individuals are quite mixed. Some are great, others are awful. The information is all there, but needs to be using a standardized format, and the Notes need to be cut/pasted into their correct section. It doesn't take long at all, thank heavens. Only takes sharp eyes, a sharp mind, and time.
Thanks Randy for your clear details on how to do a specific research report - which brought up this very important problem for me. I'm determined to have my tree looking more professional and detailed so any of my kids, grandkids, and cousins can look things up and always know what they are seeing is correct.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
CLEAN OFF YOUR DESK! - Done.
Today was a day to clear off every piece of paper on my desk. I'd show you a photograph but I lent my digital camera to a friend for a few days. But you can imagine. You know exactly what I mean ... all those little tiny pieces of paper and big pieces, files, photographs...
That teeny-tiny purple post-it note with a marriage date and place for paternal greatgrandparents on a page with the source details.
That list of books on New England early settlers that I want to dig into; all new-to-me books. WorldCat tells me they are all in libraries close enough to go and read, research, and lose myself in for at least a day or three. One in Seattle which I can check out the next time I visit my son's family and play with my 6th grandchild; 5 in Vancouver out at the University of BC - who knew?!
The notes I made from two different webinars as well as from online tips & tricks, about simple search tricks on Google e.g., using :, ~, and more. Wasn't I going to write that up as a possible handout for my students, with links for more tips they can find themselves at the library or online?
That partial pedigree of the GRAVES family (I'm in the line from #166 John) I printed off with specific names I particularly want to continue searching for better/more details, such as newspaper accounts.
That file of photos and letters from my second cousin once-removed that I'm supposed to be scanning and returning - in order to keep trust high in that side of the family. She may have more treasure in her boxes.
Those scribbled notes on various scrap paper - big and small - with names, dates, places, sources, and more, reminding me to change the details on my computer tree software as well as my online tree: ORMSBEE/ORMSBY, HAYNES, JOYNER, WALTERS, HOARE, EVELETH, BUCK, HUNT, ORCUTT, among a few others.
Oh, that idea for Christmas presents - how did that get in here too?! Hmmm, looks good.
Those jotted notes for a future history of two groups in my mother's father's family - KUHN; plus all those GROVER BUEL/BUELL men in a row.
The email addresses of those two 2nd cousins-twice-removed in Ireland who just might be able to help me find more information on my dad's dad's dad... GILLESPIE & MORRISON.
The partial list of unique or odd or interesting given names and surnames to use in a blog post one day - ZERUBBABEL JEROME (3 of them), Elizabeth CLEVERLY, TERWILLIGER & variants, HOTCHKISS (where and how did that surname develop?), FREELOVE MITCHELL, and a few more that catch my eye or make me smile.
And more.
Today, my desk became totally clean - I even scrubbed it after I could find the surface. And I filed the files, scanned and filed the photographs, made a couple of files (neatly labelled) for the oddities I found that need a file of their own.
I was on such a roll that I replaced my Black & Colour printer ink cartridges for my multi-function printer (don't you think all printers should be free? - they make enough money in ink!). Then I finally printed off all those sheets I need for a mini-workshop I'm doing on Saturday at my writers' group.
Three cups of coffee later, a dinner of curried lentils & rice with my own home-grown string beans and tomato slices, and I'm definitely done for the day. I think this productivity deserves a glass of wine - a bottle of which I happen to have cooling in the frig.
I'm definitely done. I think this needs to be a weekly task. It was a bit mind-boggling to find so many items in messy piles literally all over my desk.
- Cheers!
That teeny-tiny purple post-it note with a marriage date and place for paternal greatgrandparents on a page with the source details.
That list of books on New England early settlers that I want to dig into; all new-to-me books. WorldCat tells me they are all in libraries close enough to go and read, research, and lose myself in for at least a day or three. One in Seattle which I can check out the next time I visit my son's family and play with my 6th grandchild; 5 in Vancouver out at the University of BC - who knew?!
The notes I made from two different webinars as well as from online tips & tricks, about simple search tricks on Google e.g., using :, ~, and more. Wasn't I going to write that up as a possible handout for my students, with links for more tips they can find themselves at the library or online?
That partial pedigree of the GRAVES family (I'm in the line from #166 John) I printed off with specific names I particularly want to continue searching for better/more details, such as newspaper accounts.
That file of photos and letters from my second cousin once-removed that I'm supposed to be scanning and returning - in order to keep trust high in that side of the family. She may have more treasure in her boxes.
Those scribbled notes on various scrap paper - big and small - with names, dates, places, sources, and more, reminding me to change the details on my computer tree software as well as my online tree: ORMSBEE/ORMSBY, HAYNES, JOYNER, WALTERS, HOARE, EVELETH, BUCK, HUNT, ORCUTT, among a few others.
Oh, that idea for Christmas presents - how did that get in here too?! Hmmm, looks good.
Those jotted notes for a future history of two groups in my mother's father's family - KUHN; plus all those GROVER BUEL/BUELL men in a row.
The email addresses of those two 2nd cousins-twice-removed in Ireland who just might be able to help me find more information on my dad's dad's dad... GILLESPIE & MORRISON.
The partial list of unique or odd or interesting given names and surnames to use in a blog post one day - ZERUBBABEL JEROME (3 of them), Elizabeth CLEVERLY, TERWILLIGER & variants, HOTCHKISS (where and how did that surname develop?), FREELOVE MITCHELL, and a few more that catch my eye or make me smile.
And more.
Today, my desk became totally clean - I even scrubbed it after I could find the surface. And I filed the files, scanned and filed the photographs, made a couple of files (neatly labelled) for the oddities I found that need a file of their own.
I was on such a roll that I replaced my Black & Colour printer ink cartridges for my multi-function printer (don't you think all printers should be free? - they make enough money in ink!). Then I finally printed off all those sheets I need for a mini-workshop I'm doing on Saturday at my writers' group.
Three cups of coffee later, a dinner of curried lentils & rice with my own home-grown string beans and tomato slices, and I'm definitely done for the day. I think this productivity deserves a glass of wine - a bottle of which I happen to have cooling in the frig.
I'm definitely done. I think this needs to be a weekly task. It was a bit mind-boggling to find so many items in messy piles literally all over my desk.
- Cheers!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Isaac Charles LEWIS
Gravestone of my kids' greatgrandfather (on their father's side), in Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
This LEWIS family started in Ontario, moved to Manitoba, then to British Columbia by 1911.
Love the clue of his birthplace. Bath, ON, was settled by United Empire Loyalists from the States, although I have yet to discover if there is a UEL ancestor in this family. Rumour says, yes, but no details to date.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Baby Betty
Not quite wordless...
Sometimes babies don't make it... and they die unexpectedly.
This is a photo of my grandmother's first child, Elizabeth, known as Betty, b. 1 Feb 1911, in New York. In this photo taken in April 1911, she looks quite healthy and very sweet.
But she died in November 1911 in New York. My grandmother described the autopsy as showing that she died of "massive intestinal complications from a severe milk allergy".
She went on to have 5 more children after Betty, of whom 2 definitely had milk allergies, plus me in the next generation, and 3 of my 4 children.
The back of the photo is in my grandmother's handwriting:
For Aunt Toto
from "Betty" and her mother.
Taken in Baby's nursery when she was just two months old.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
James M. TERWILLIGER, 1825-1909
From all the wonderfully helpful links and comments I received from Albert Riezobos in Winnipeg, I decided to add some photos of James M. Terwilliger, and describe him further. James is the father of James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, whose Souvenirs Album I am documenting page by page by page over the coming year. It's big. And has lots of unusual items, names, calling cards, memorabilia and more.
There are very few photos of James Sr. - but since the early Album pages show items about Grove's father and friends/colleagues, it seems reasonable to at least give a smidge of information about him. These are his "official" Senate photos.
James Sr. was the eldest son of John S(imon) Terwilliger, b. 16 Sep 1800 in New Scotland, Albany, NY. John married 3 times, firstly to Margaret Reid from Scotland, with whom he had 5 children: James M., George, Nancy, Jane R., and Mary E. Margaret died 11 Dec 1838 in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, about 19 months after the 5th child, and John married secondly to Jane DeGraff/DeGroff, in 1841. There were 3 girls born this time, Jane, Sara, and Lida; however both Jane and Lida died before 1850, and John's wife Jane also died in 1849. John married one more time in 1856 to a widow, Harriet M. Ives, with whom there were no more children. James Terwilliger and his son, Grove, were quite close with their extended family, and there were numerous social events described about visits, picnics, and more. Sara, the only living stepsister of James Sr., lived with him and his wife for a time.
James M. Terwilliger married Harriet F. Buell in 1851; she was the youngest of 5 (4 girls, 1 boy) of Grover Buell & Charlotte Bortle [a brick wall of mine]. They had two living children, James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, b. 27 May 1856, and 8 years later, Harry Reid Terwilliger b. 9 Apr 1864 [the Reid from James mother's surname]. Both boys were born in Syracuse where the Terwilligers settled by the time of the 1860 Census.
In 1851, he bought a half-interest in "The Syracuse Journal," as it was known at this time, and was listed as a "publisher" on the 1870 Census for Syracuse. Although he sold his interest around this time, he repurchased it by 1871. I am not certain of the reasons for this activity. The family was relatively wealthy, and enjoyed an active social life, with invitations to social events such as the Ball of the Prince of Wales in October 1860.
He was an active member of the Odd Fellows, and was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge from 1884 to 1894.
James Sr. was active in politics both locally, and state-wide. For example, he was selected to be secretary at the first Republican Convention in 1856, held in Philadelphia. Earlier he was elected in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, on the 1847 "Whig Ticket" as well as on the 1848 "Temperance Ticket". He was also a Clerk of the State Senate (NY), from 1856 to 1860, and the above 3 photographs show him dressed up for his official photographs. In 1864 he was acting secretary of the Republican National Committee. He was Deputy Collector for the Port of New York in 1870-1871. In addition, from 1860-1870, James Sr. was secretary of the NY State Republican Committee.
As stated in several obituaries published the day after his death, he retired from business and official activities in 1893. And in 1905, he and his wife, Harriet, moved to Roselle, New Jersey, to live with their eldest son, Grove [James Grover Terwilliger] and his wife, Gussie. James Sr. died 18 Oct 1909 at his son's home, and Harriet died 14 months later 4 Jan 1911, also at her son's home. Both are buried side by side, in Oakwood Cemetery, in Syracuse, Onondaga, NY. Their son, Grove, is buried nearby.
(Details above are taken from items in the Terwilliger Souvenirs Album filled out by his son Grove, as well as New York state and federal Censuses, plus newspaper articles in Syracuse and New York, NY. Thank you Albert for your sluething!)
If you wish further information on any of the above, please do contact me, and I'll be happy to provide whatever information or details I may have. More about the Souvenirs Album may be found by clicking on the link here Thanks for reading my blog about this interesting ancestor of mine.
There are very few photos of James Sr. - but since the early Album pages show items about Grove's father and friends/colleagues, it seems reasonable to at least give a smidge of information about him. These are his "official" Senate photos.
James Sr. was the eldest son of John S(imon) Terwilliger, b. 16 Sep 1800 in New Scotland, Albany, NY. John married 3 times, firstly to Margaret Reid from Scotland, with whom he had 5 children: James M., George, Nancy, Jane R., and Mary E. Margaret died 11 Dec 1838 in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, about 19 months after the 5th child, and John married secondly to Jane DeGraff/DeGroff, in 1841. There were 3 girls born this time, Jane, Sara, and Lida; however both Jane and Lida died before 1850, and John's wife Jane also died in 1849. John married one more time in 1856 to a widow, Harriet M. Ives, with whom there were no more children. James Terwilliger and his son, Grove, were quite close with their extended family, and there were numerous social events described about visits, picnics, and more. Sara, the only living stepsister of James Sr., lived with him and his wife for a time.
James M. Terwilliger married Harriet F. Buell in 1851; she was the youngest of 5 (4 girls, 1 boy) of Grover Buell & Charlotte Bortle [a brick wall of mine]. They had two living children, James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, b. 27 May 1856, and 8 years later, Harry Reid Terwilliger b. 9 Apr 1864 [the Reid from James mother's surname]. Both boys were born in Syracuse where the Terwilligers settled by the time of the 1860 Census.
In 1851, he bought a half-interest in "The Syracuse Journal," as it was known at this time, and was listed as a "publisher" on the 1870 Census for Syracuse. Although he sold his interest around this time, he repurchased it by 1871. I am not certain of the reasons for this activity. The family was relatively wealthy, and enjoyed an active social life, with invitations to social events such as the Ball of the Prince of Wales in October 1860.
He was an active member of the Odd Fellows, and was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge from 1884 to 1894.
James Sr. was active in politics both locally, and state-wide. For example, he was selected to be secretary at the first Republican Convention in 1856, held in Philadelphia. Earlier he was elected in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, on the 1847 "Whig Ticket" as well as on the 1848 "Temperance Ticket". He was also a Clerk of the State Senate (NY), from 1856 to 1860, and the above 3 photographs show him dressed up for his official photographs. In 1864 he was acting secretary of the Republican National Committee. He was Deputy Collector for the Port of New York in 1870-1871. In addition, from 1860-1870, James Sr. was secretary of the NY State Republican Committee.
As stated in several obituaries published the day after his death, he retired from business and official activities in 1893. And in 1905, he and his wife, Harriet, moved to Roselle, New Jersey, to live with their eldest son, Grove [James Grover Terwilliger] and his wife, Gussie. James Sr. died 18 Oct 1909 at his son's home, and Harriet died 14 months later 4 Jan 1911, also at her son's home. Both are buried side by side, in Oakwood Cemetery, in Syracuse, Onondaga, NY. Their son, Grove, is buried nearby.
(Details above are taken from items in the Terwilliger Souvenirs Album filled out by his son Grove, as well as New York state and federal Censuses, plus newspaper articles in Syracuse and New York, NY. Thank you Albert for your sluething!)
If you wish further information on any of the above, please do contact me, and I'll be happy to provide whatever information or details I may have. More about the Souvenirs Album may be found by clicking on the link here Thanks for reading my blog about this interesting ancestor of mine.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - 1945
Ah yes. 1945. I was about 2 years old here, with Dad's army cap on.
He must have been home briefly on a leave from his work on the radar installation near Halifax N.S. Thank heavens he didn't go overseas.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
TERWILLIGER - That SOUVENIR ALBUM
After posting on my favourite surname - TERWILLIGER - on Surname Saturday, I decided I simply had to do "something" about my greatgrandfather's Souvenir Album...
A few years ago, I took photos of each of the pages before putting it away carefully - it's quite old and was badly cared for in the past. Currently it's experiencing benign neglect - at least it's dry, coolish, and put safely away from any moisture.
That made 266 images saved on my computer (and backed up of course), so that I wouldn't need to handle the Album. Each photo has now been looked at, labelled with descriptions, so I know what I might need to see. BUT, it's now very clear: I need to do a complete Inventory of this Album, item by item, page by page, photo by photo, dinner menu by dinner menu, travel ticket by ticket, etc.
An inventory. Details. Why? Here's why:
There are several full pages of people's signatures (see left), and several pages of their calling cards, pages and pages of engagement cards and marriage invitations, various newspaper articles, obituaries (some not dated nor sourced). I did quick research on many names, and kept saying "wow, really? hmm. interesting." All those engagement cards and marriage invitations should be identified in detail and put on the web for their descendants to find - don't you think? A daunting task - there are quite a few.
Plus a page of political buttons (see on the bottom left). Who are some of those people? As a Canadian I have no idea of most of them - although of course I do recognize several. But there are various political, memorial and other types of buttons or coins, needing to be identified and put into context.
And numerous pages - covered with small circles or shapes of what look like symbols of organizations... which organizations or societies are they?? (see on right) He also glued down other similar shapes to fill in other pages - with no particular order or plan, as far as I can determine. They need to be identified as well.
There's a Valentine love poem from my greatgrandfather to his soon-to-be wife (adorably bad!), several post cards and notes from relatives and colleagues. All of those souveniers should be transcribed, obviously.
There are Roselle Musical Society presentations (my grandmother and greatgrandmother sang, played piano), and other recital programmes. There are dinner and luncheon menus in complete detail - amazing to me that he saved all these!! Glorious menus, I must say! And pages of travel tickets to/from various places in NY State and Bermuda and ...
Oh my. There's a lot. It all deserves a place all of its own, with all the detail I can muster from the record as well as in research - and with handling the pages as little as possible. I do wish I could remove a few items and photos to look them over, or see if there's anything written on the back. But this glue he used in the late 1800s - it's as permanent as it can be! Amazing stuff - there's no way to peek behind anything.
A winter project, I think. Right now, it's too warm to be handling old papers (29 C.). I'm quite excited actually. I've been wondering for several years what on earth I could do with this wonderful Album of my greatgrandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
SURNAME SATURDAY - TERWILLIGER
TERWILLIGER is a surname on my mother's side, and a truly-made-in-America surname as well. Terwilliger isn't the earliest surname in my family liines, but it is definitely the most interesting to me. The following is a very brief summary.
The first immigrants in this line were a brother and sister, both apparently widowed, who came from Vianen [Utrecht] in the Netherlands, to New Amsterdam, in 1663, on "De Arent" - the Eagle. Their names were
The first immigrants in this line were a brother and sister, both apparently widowed, who came from Vianen [Utrecht] in the Netherlands, to New Amsterdam, in 1663, on "De Arent" - the Eagle. Their names were
- Evert Dircksen from Vianen, and 2 children 13 and 6 yrs old
- Annetje Dircx, widow from Vianen and child 4 yrs old
The British took over New Amsterdam several times - there were three Anglo-Dutch Wars - but finally New Amsterdam was ceded to them in November 1674, and the British re-named it New York. By the way, the current seal of New York now shows the date of 1625 as the founding of New York - this being the date of original Fort Amsterdam of the New Netherland Territory.
As the British were already using family surnames, they quickly required them for the inhabitants of New York, and the name Terwilliger came in common use in the family by 1690. Spelling was totally variable, as anyone understands who has done genealogical research, so the surname was spelled in a variety of ways: Der Villig, Van de Villig, Tervilig, De Willig, Der Willigen, Terwilligen, Terviliger, etc. Eventually in this line, it settled into Terwilliger. Evert Dircksen's son - Jan (or, Janse) Evertson - is apparently our particular line of Terwilligers. They were wonderfully prolific - for example, Jan had 12 children (11 of them, boys), so there are many Terwilliger family lines in the USA.
There is a Terwilliger Family Association - http://bit.ly/MkhJsJ - and much history written about the early settlement of New Amsterdam. Plus records from the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster, NY, where they appear to have settled before 1688, Schnectady Reformed Dutch Church, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Athens NY, and others. And I had the pleasure of information and details from Myron Terwilliger through emails early in my searches on the Terwilligers. There are many many details still to research on my line of early settlers. I've barely scratched the surface.
Many Terwilliger males have a nickname of "Twig" - and that's where my tree blog name came from! I always wanted to name a boy Terwilliger, and call him "Twig"... there are traditions on my mother's side of families using surnames as first names (Grover comes to mind in the Buell line). However, it didn't happen, and isn't likely to now. Sigh.
Do you have favourite surnames or given names in your family lines -?
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