… in the current paternal generations. My father was an only child as was his father, Arthur Stanton Adams. Arthur’s father was one of six children (half and whole). His whole brother George never married or had issue. George lived most of his adult life with his brother Charles and after Charles died in 1950, lived in his own small set of rooms. He was one of my favorite relatives and taught me how to play cribbage. He died in 1967.
Charles’ half-sister Lucy died as a child, not yet nine years old, of dysentery and his half-brother Warren at the age of six. His half-brother Frederick lived well in to adulthood but, like George, never married or had issue. Only his half-brother William married. William and his wife, Mary Jane Evans had 2 children, my first cousins twice removed.
I never really pursued tracing William’s children before, mostly I suppose because when I first started on this it was in the early 70’s without the current access online. So poking around I have discovered that William and Mary Jane had two children, William Everett Adams born 22 May 1894 and Margaret Porter Adams, born 19 July 1899.
From my great grandfather’s notes, I originally had William’s name as William Evans Adams but his birth record and draft registrations (both WW1 and WW2) give it as William Everett Adams. About 1920, he married Annie Dickson and they had two children, William and Priscilla, both of whom seem to have married and had children. Those children would be my third cousins, where ever they may be.
On the other hand, William’s sister Margaret seems to disappear after the 1930 census. In 1920, she is listed in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her parents as a 20 year old cashier at Electric Light. In 1930, now age 30, she is still there, living with her parents in Arlington, and is listed as a bookkeeper at Electric Light. Her father dies the following year and so far I have found no trace of her or her mother, Mary Jane.
My father’s maternal side is no better. His mother, Dorothy Anderson, was the youngest of three children. Her older sister Edith died at the age of three and a half of dysentery. Her older brother, Lesley, graduated from the Naval Academy and soon became engaged to a vaudeville actress but the marriage never happened. A few years later he married Beatrice Hawley and died in 1933, without issue.
Dorothy’s mother was also one of three children with an older sister who died of croup at not yet two and a half. Her much younger brother Stuart never married or had issue. Dorothy’s father, Frank Carroll Anderson, was one of four children and here we do a bit better for potential cousins. His sister Elizabeth died at the age of 29, probably of pulmonary tuberculosis, but both his brothers, Charles and Edward, married. Charles had one daughter, Edna, born about 1905, who disappears after the 1920 census. Edward had two daughters, Florence and Hester. Florence died in 1974 in Philadelphia, unmarried, without issue. Hester married and had three sons, Lewis, Edward and John. All three grew to adulthood and married. Their children, if they had any, would be my third cousins.
What all this rambling amounts to is, on my father’s side, the closest I’ve got is some unknown third cousins which explains why growing up all I ever knew on my dad's side were my grandparents and my "uncle" George.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
who were they ...
… what price did they pay? What tickles the brain and sneaks into my heart is wondering how different these lives might have been without the war and Gettysburg … better or perhaps worse?
In the fall of 1861, Alonzo Ulmer was a 20 year old man with few ties in life. His father, brother and sister had all died when he was just a child and then when he was just 13, his mother married her sister’s widower and he was taken from the coasts and sea of Maine to the flat grasslands of western Illinois. He did not get along with his stepfather and most of the rest of the family, probably as much his fault as theirs, so when war broke out he returned to his home town of Thomaston, Maine, and enlisted with others and went off to join his friends, relatives and neighbors in Company B of the 4th Maine.
Not quite a year later, Chalkley Sears enlisted in Philadelphia in Company F of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a 30 year old married man, a hatter in nearby Phoenixville in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Mary had had two daughters but the older, Julia, had died the past April, not long after the birth of the second daughter, Mary. Whatever his motives for enlisting, he is credited with raising an entire company there at Phoenixville which accounts for his being Lieutenant of the company.
Later that same month, Jacob Weller mustered in to the 1st New York Light Artillery right after his eighteenth birthday. Jacob was the next to youngest child of immigrants from Wuerttemberg, Germany, who had arrived in 1832 and made a life for themselves in Buffalo, New York. Three of their children had been born in Germany, one was born at sea on the voyage to America and they had eight more children after settling here.
Chalkley was probably the least seasoned of the three when July and Gettysburg came. The 150th had been assigned to guard duty in Washington, D.C. and although sent to Chancellorsville in May they had been held back and not participated in that battle. Jacob on the other hand was at Chancellorsville that May of 1863 his unit having 4 men killed and 10 wounded, being compelled to leave two of the guns on that field, all the horses of one gun being shot, and nearly all the men on the other wounded. Alonzo was becoming a seasoned veteran with nearly two years of marching, fighting, and making camp in all sorts of weather including at Chancellorsville.
In June of 1863, these three men joined thousands more headed for Gettysburg. On July 1st, Chalkley in the 150th Pennsylvania was at McPherson’s Farm on the Ridge of the same name, Jacob was with the guns of the 1st New York Light Artillery, taking a position on East Cemetery Ridge and Alonzo and the 4th Maine were headed for Devils Den at Little Round Top, sometimes referred to as the Valley of Death.
On that first day, Chalkley and his men fought, trying to hold the line at McPherson’s through the day. By afternoon they were in the farmyard, at the barn and the farmhouse. Chalkley was shot in the left hand, not quite a crippling shot but enough to leave the field if he wished. He stayed with his men during the retreat through the streets of Gettysburg in which many more were killed, wounded or captured. During the retreat they helped hold off the enemy long enough for an artillery unit to fix their guns for retreat. The unit is believed to be one of the 1st New York’s batteries although not Jacob’s which was further east.
On the 2nd of July, the 1st New York batteries were still holding Cemetery Hill. That evening there was an artillery assault from the Confederates and Jacob, the youngest of our three, was hit by a piece of a shell, smashing his right elbow causing his arm to be removed a few inches below his shoulder on July 3rd.
On the 3rd, the final day of battle, Alonzo and Company F of the 4th Maine were far out on the left flank of Little Round Top in the boulder strewn area known as Devils Den in Plum Run Valley. It was here Alonzo was shot in the side, with the ball piercing through, leaving entrance and exit wounds. He was among 40 or more of his fellows captured by the Confederates but probably fortunately he was abandoned in a Rebel field hospital when they retreated.
All three of these men recovered from their wounds but it is unlikely their lives were unaffected. Chalkley returned to duty in late August but in October was hospitalized with “intermittent fever” and discharged due to disability in December. He returned to his family, settling in Philadelphia with them and returned to his occupation as a hatter. He and his wife had no more children until 1881 when they had a son, Stuart, who never married. Only their daughter Mary had children, including my grandmother Dorothy.
Jacob, the worst wounded of the three, spent some months in the hospital and then was transferred to the Invalid Corps to finish out his term of service. After his discharge and return to Buffalo, he filed for and received a pension finding some work for a while as a letter carrier and a laborer. By 1880, he is living with his brother, my great great grandfather, Alexander Weller and in 1883 he dies, leaving no wife or children.
Alonzo recovered and was transferred to the 19th Maine to complete his term of service. Perhaps because he had no other life to turn to, he then enlists in the 9th US Volunteers for a year. After that he returns to Maine where he marries but in November of 1869 he tries returning to the Army but deserts from Fort Gratiot in Michigan in May of the following year. He seems to have wandered for the next couple of decades, visiting his mother, sister to my 3rd great grandmother, sometimes, perhaps spending time in the gold fields of Idaho Territory. Eventually, in 1898, he marries in Illinois and has a daughter, Virginia, named after his long deceased little sister. Beginning in 1903 he bounces in and out of the nearest soldiers home, eventually dying there in 1912. His daughter marries at least twice and leaves “no known family survivors” when she dies in 1989.
Much of the information above comes from the three pension files and may not precisely line up with battle accounts. Jacob may have been injured on the 3rd and Alonzo may have been wounded and captured on the 2nd but those differences are unimportant.
In the fall of 1861, Alonzo Ulmer was a 20 year old man with few ties in life. His father, brother and sister had all died when he was just a child and then when he was just 13, his mother married her sister’s widower and he was taken from the coasts and sea of Maine to the flat grasslands of western Illinois. He did not get along with his stepfather and most of the rest of the family, probably as much his fault as theirs, so when war broke out he returned to his home town of Thomaston, Maine, and enlisted with others and went off to join his friends, relatives and neighbors in Company B of the 4th Maine.
Not quite a year later, Chalkley Sears enlisted in Philadelphia in Company F of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a 30 year old married man, a hatter in nearby Phoenixville in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Mary had had two daughters but the older, Julia, had died the past April, not long after the birth of the second daughter, Mary. Whatever his motives for enlisting, he is credited with raising an entire company there at Phoenixville which accounts for his being Lieutenant of the company.
Later that same month, Jacob Weller mustered in to the 1st New York Light Artillery right after his eighteenth birthday. Jacob was the next to youngest child of immigrants from Wuerttemberg, Germany, who had arrived in 1832 and made a life for themselves in Buffalo, New York. Three of their children had been born in Germany, one was born at sea on the voyage to America and they had eight more children after settling here.
Chalkley was probably the least seasoned of the three when July and Gettysburg came. The 150th had been assigned to guard duty in Washington, D.C. and although sent to Chancellorsville in May they had been held back and not participated in that battle. Jacob on the other hand was at Chancellorsville that May of 1863 his unit having 4 men killed and 10 wounded, being compelled to leave two of the guns on that field, all the horses of one gun being shot, and nearly all the men on the other wounded. Alonzo was becoming a seasoned veteran with nearly two years of marching, fighting, and making camp in all sorts of weather including at Chancellorsville.
In June of 1863, these three men joined thousands more headed for Gettysburg. On July 1st, Chalkley in the 150th Pennsylvania was at McPherson’s Farm on the Ridge of the same name, Jacob was with the guns of the 1st New York Light Artillery, taking a position on East Cemetery Ridge and Alonzo and the 4th Maine were headed for Devils Den at Little Round Top, sometimes referred to as the Valley of Death.
On that first day, Chalkley and his men fought, trying to hold the line at McPherson’s through the day. By afternoon they were in the farmyard, at the barn and the farmhouse. Chalkley was shot in the left hand, not quite a crippling shot but enough to leave the field if he wished. He stayed with his men during the retreat through the streets of Gettysburg in which many more were killed, wounded or captured. During the retreat they helped hold off the enemy long enough for an artillery unit to fix their guns for retreat. The unit is believed to be one of the 1st New York’s batteries although not Jacob’s which was further east.
On the 2nd of July, the 1st New York batteries were still holding Cemetery Hill. That evening there was an artillery assault from the Confederates and Jacob, the youngest of our three, was hit by a piece of a shell, smashing his right elbow causing his arm to be removed a few inches below his shoulder on July 3rd.
On the 3rd, the final day of battle, Alonzo and Company F of the 4th Maine were far out on the left flank of Little Round Top in the boulder strewn area known as Devils Den in Plum Run Valley. It was here Alonzo was shot in the side, with the ball piercing through, leaving entrance and exit wounds. He was among 40 or more of his fellows captured by the Confederates but probably fortunately he was abandoned in a Rebel field hospital when they retreated.
All three of these men recovered from their wounds but it is unlikely their lives were unaffected. Chalkley returned to duty in late August but in October was hospitalized with “intermittent fever” and discharged due to disability in December. He returned to his family, settling in Philadelphia with them and returned to his occupation as a hatter. He and his wife had no more children until 1881 when they had a son, Stuart, who never married. Only their daughter Mary had children, including my grandmother Dorothy.
Jacob, the worst wounded of the three, spent some months in the hospital and then was transferred to the Invalid Corps to finish out his term of service. After his discharge and return to Buffalo, he filed for and received a pension finding some work for a while as a letter carrier and a laborer. By 1880, he is living with his brother, my great great grandfather, Alexander Weller and in 1883 he dies, leaving no wife or children.
Alonzo recovered and was transferred to the 19th Maine to complete his term of service. Perhaps because he had no other life to turn to, he then enlists in the 9th US Volunteers for a year. After that he returns to Maine where he marries but in November of 1869 he tries returning to the Army but deserts from Fort Gratiot in Michigan in May of the following year. He seems to have wandered for the next couple of decades, visiting his mother, sister to my 3rd great grandmother, sometimes, perhaps spending time in the gold fields of Idaho Territory. Eventually, in 1898, he marries in Illinois and has a daughter, Virginia, named after his long deceased little sister. Beginning in 1903 he bounces in and out of the nearest soldiers home, eventually dying there in 1912. His daughter marries at least twice and leaves “no known family survivors” when she dies in 1989.
Much of the information above comes from the three pension files and may not precisely line up with battle accounts. Jacob may have been injured on the 3rd and Alonzo may have been wounded and captured on the 2nd but those differences are unimportant.
Friday, August 3, 2012
brother against brother ...
… cousin against cousin, father against son, Kentucky started out trying to be a neutral in the Civil War but finally
officially fell in the Union camp, not that this changed the feelings of the
people in the mountain counties, including Harlan. Composed mostly of mountains,
Harlan had a long border with the Confederacy, marching a long way with Virginia
and reaching along Tennessee to include the Cumberland Gap.
One hears little or nothing about Harlan County and
its trials and tribulations during the Civil War except for the various battles
at Cumberland Gap. After the war even that small fame was lost when the western
part of Harlan that included the Gap was combined with a portion of eastern
Knox County to form Bell County.
Throughout the war Harlan County and its
surroundings were a battleground of sorts with Union and Confederate troops,
partisans, bushwhackers and outright outlaws passing to and from foraging as
they went, constantly skirmishing with whoever they found. Death, robbery,
rape, starvation were rampant and fear must have been everyone’s companion.
The county supplied troops to both sides, Unionists
principally from Martins Fork, Catrons Creek, and Wallins Creek areas and
Confederates from Clover Fork and Poor Fork and the ground was ripe for
personal feuds and grudges but presumably many thought that with the end of the
war would come the end of this violence but this was not so.
In the May of 1865, Leonard Farmer wrote the
Inspector General of Kentucky regarding the situation in Harlan County:
"We have not had a Circuit Court here in this
county for three years, the court house has been burnt by Gurillas the Jail
destroyed and bad men has controlled the county or near so. The Gurillas has
nearly laid waste to the county by pilaging Plundering & Robbing who are
now in small squads say from ten to twenty together who when times are suitable
raids through the County and takes what suits their wicked purposes. these
Gurillas are all well armed and men of the worst character and the Civil
Authorities cannot apprehend them. The Sheriff are unable to serve process or
arrest the Gurillas and cannot in a greater portion of the county collect the
State Revenue. Harlan County is mountainous bordering some ninety miles on to
the Virginia line and can be raided by bands of men from Lee County, Va. at any
time they choose. When these robbers make raids they take arms, clothing, bacon
& and where they find a man that bitterly opposes them they burn their
house furniture and leaves the women and children without clothing or beds to
sleep upon. The hardship that we have endured has been great, old men thats
gray headed takes their blankets and lays in the mountain to avoid assassinated
by these bands of robbers."
Attached to the letter was a list of 45 men willing
to serve as a local militia. Many of the listed men were related to Farmer and
most if not all were Unionists but then it is unlikely the Governor would have
approved any Confederates for a militia at that point in time.
This makes interesting reading perhaps but take a minute now and imagine living with the constant fear that anyone coming down the lane to your home could be death or capture for you or yours. That men would come and simply take your food, your fuel, your husband and sons and perhaps assault or rape you and your daughters ... this is I think especially important for those of us like myself who come from northern roots who may have had loved ones in battle but did not live it so directly themselves. Even those of the farther south did not live in so much danger for so long as those of the border counties and the mountainous counties suffered the most simply because geography made it possible.
This makes interesting reading perhaps but take a minute now and imagine living with the constant fear that anyone coming down the lane to your home could be death or capture for you or yours. That men would come and simply take your food, your fuel, your husband and sons and perhaps assault or rape you and your daughters ... this is I think especially important for those of us like myself who come from northern roots who may have had loved ones in battle but did not live it so directly themselves. Even those of the farther south did not live in so much danger for so long as those of the border counties and the mountainous counties suffered the most simply because geography made it possible.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
a nest of first cousins ...
... arises from the research mentioned in the last post. In some ways it was a relief to get back into New England research and its abundance of vital records. The Locke family settled early in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and birth, death and marriage records are accessible online through the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
It turns out that not only is Cherry Shattuck related (by marriage) to William Adams but she is also related to her husband. Probably the easiest way to lay this out is by starting with the common ancestor, Josiah Locke, born in 1753 at Woburn in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and his wife Elizabeth Richardson, whom he married 27 Dec 1775 in Woburn. This Josiah died 5 August 1811 and is listed in the Middlesex County probate index as Case #14248.
Josiah and Elizabeth had at least three children: Sarah born in 1777 and married Shadrach Shattuck; Josiah born in 1779 and married Susanna Frost; and Asa born in 1781 and married Lucy Wyman. This younger Josiah drowned in 1818 and is also listed in the Middlesex probate index, Case #14249. The index does not list anything for an Asa Locke until 1884. These probate files including #41380 for Varnum Shattuck and a guardianship file for Cherry Locke (#14250) which should be researched but are not readily accessible to me.
And now comes the cousin generation: 1) Sarah Locke and Shadrach Shattuck had Varnum Preston Shattuck who married Cherry below; 2) Josiah Locke and Susanna Frost had Cherry Adams Locke who married Varnum above; and 3) Asa Locke and Lucy Wyman had Lucy Gardner Locke who married William Adams who bought Cherry's interests in what appears to be Locke properties.
I can not help but think about Cherry's life. Born in 1807, her father dies suddenly, drowning in 1818 when she is just eleven years old. In 1826 she marries her first cousin, Varnum Preston Shattuck, and their life seems to include a lot of moving around. They are in New York City by 1833, at a different address there in 1836, in Indiana (and possibly Michigan) around 1840, back in New York City in 1842, and in Texas by 1846. Her husband dies off in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1847. She remarries about 1849 and he dies apparently within the next ten years as she is listed in the 1860 census with just her two sons Varnum and Charles.
Although she has ten children, six of them die in childhood. Of the remaining four, at least three of them predecease her. In 1870, she is living alone in Galveston. Her son Charles is her only remaining child and although not yet found in the 1870 census records he is advertising his business as a grocer and drygoods merchant as late as October of 1871. At this point my knowledge and research fails. Did she outlive them all?
It turns out that not only is Cherry Shattuck related (by marriage) to William Adams but she is also related to her husband. Probably the easiest way to lay this out is by starting with the common ancestor, Josiah Locke, born in 1753 at Woburn in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and his wife Elizabeth Richardson, whom he married 27 Dec 1775 in Woburn. This Josiah died 5 August 1811 and is listed in the Middlesex County probate index as Case #14248.
Josiah and Elizabeth had at least three children: Sarah born in 1777 and married Shadrach Shattuck; Josiah born in 1779 and married Susanna Frost; and Asa born in 1781 and married Lucy Wyman. This younger Josiah drowned in 1818 and is also listed in the Middlesex probate index, Case #14249. The index does not list anything for an Asa Locke until 1884. These probate files including #41380 for Varnum Shattuck and a guardianship file for Cherry Locke (#14250) which should be researched but are not readily accessible to me.
And now comes the cousin generation: 1) Sarah Locke and Shadrach Shattuck had Varnum Preston Shattuck who married Cherry below; 2) Josiah Locke and Susanna Frost had Cherry Adams Locke who married Varnum above; and 3) Asa Locke and Lucy Wyman had Lucy Gardner Locke who married William Adams who bought Cherry's interests in what appears to be Locke properties.
I can not help but think about Cherry's life. Born in 1807, her father dies suddenly, drowning in 1818 when she is just eleven years old. In 1826 she marries her first cousin, Varnum Preston Shattuck, and their life seems to include a lot of moving around. They are in New York City by 1833, at a different address there in 1836, in Indiana (and possibly Michigan) around 1840, back in New York City in 1842, and in Texas by 1846. Her husband dies off in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1847. She remarries about 1849 and he dies apparently within the next ten years as she is listed in the 1860 census with just her two sons Varnum and Charles.
Although she has ten children, six of them die in childhood. Of the remaining four, at least three of them predecease her. In 1870, she is living alone in Galveston. Her son Charles is her only remaining child and although not yet found in the 1870 census records he is advertising his business as a grocer and drygoods merchant as late as October of 1871. At this point my knowledge and research fails. Did she outlive them all?
Friday, July 6, 2012
a clue from a deed ...
is making me crazy. Among papers handed down in my father's family is a deed dated 6 June 1848 in which Cherry A Shattuck of Galveston, Texas, sells her interest in some properties in Middlesex County, Massachuseets, to William Adams of West Cambridge in that county: one undivided third part of half a dwelling house, a shed & part of a barn ... also one third part of one other lot of land containing about one acre known as the Well Piece ... also one third part of another lot of land called the Peach Orchard ... also one seventh part of a lot known as the Mountain Lot containing about fourteen acres.
There is a note along the side of the deed that it was recorded in Cambridge, Middlesex County, in Deed Book 555, Page 102, on 17 January 1849. This William Adams is almost certainly my great great grandfather (1821-1905). His first wife (and current at the time of the deed) was Lucy Gardener Locke, daughter of Asa Locke and Lucy Wyman. Lucy (Locke) Adams died 24 April 1866 of diptheria and a couple of years later, William married Emma Isadora Stanton, my great great grandfather.
First question is how does Cherry fit in? Is she definitely a Locke? If so, whose daughter is she? If not, what is her maiden name? ... and how did she end up all the way in Galveston, Texas, by 1848?
In the 1850 census of Galveston we have a John Robinson, aged 50, a merchant born in Scotland, with his aparent wife Cherry A Robinson, aged 37, born in Massachuestts. Living with them are V P Shattuck aged 22, a merchant clerk, born in Massachusetts; Josephine Shattuck, aged 16, born in New York; Sarah S Shattuck, aged 10, born in Indiana; Charles T Shattuck, aged 9, born in New York; and Francis L Shattuck, aged 7, also born in New York. This appears to be the Cherry we seek with a second husband and five children by her first husband who is presumably deceased.
Although the 1850 census indicates Cherry was born about 1813, the 1860 census gives her age as 58, thus born about 1802, and the 1870 census as age 60, born circa 1810. She has yet to be found in later years nor has a death record been found. The New England Historic Genealogical Society shows the marriage of Cherry Locke of Woburn to Varnum P Shattuck of Charlestown on 30 December 1826. Their records also show a Cherry Adams Locke born 13 January 1807 in Woburn to Josiah Locke Jr and his wife Susanna. If this is the correct Cherry, then she would be an aunt to William Adams' wife.
The birthplaces of the children indicate that Varnum & Cherry went from Massachusetts to New York, were in Indiana around 1840, and then back to New York for at least the first half of the 1840's. Around 1840, Varnum became embroiled in financial difficulties and with others was sued in New York Chancery Court. Legal notices found through GenealogyBank say in 1839 that he was a resident of Michigan and in 1840, of Indiana.
In June 1845 a Varnum P Shattuck is recruited by the Third Infantry, Regular Army, as a "supernumerary recuited on detachment." This recruitment seems to have ended up at Camp Wilkins (aka Fort Jesup) in Louisiana. This could be either the father (age 39-40) or the son, but the son was 16, 17 at the most and a bit young to enlist. Also found at GenealogyBank was a listing from the New York Evening Post of 8 July 1847, stating [died] "at Vera Cruz of yellow fever, Mr. Varnum P. Shattuck, aged 42 years, late of Chrlestown, Massachusetts."
That this is the father is supported by a listing in the Middlesex probate records for a Varnum P. Shattuck, case file 41380 in 1849 giving his late residence as Galveston, Texas. The younger Varnum is with his mother and stepfather in 1850 and with his mother in 1860.
Texas marriage records on FamilySearch show that the daughter Josephine married 2 Jan 1855 in Galveston to a John Howard. Her sister Sarah also married a John Howard in Galveston on 3 November 1857. At this time it is not known if the John Howards are one and the same or separate individuals. John, a merchant aged 35, and Sarah Howard are found in 1860 Galveston with a 2 year old child aged 2.
Clearly there is more to search although I have about tapped out the online stuff. FindAGrave provided the death of the younger Varnum (1 January 1868) and a few other minor details have been located. One of the more important items is probably the actual case file for Varnum in the Middlesex probate records.
You can see how obsessed I get ... this is a possible relative of a first wife of my direct line and I have already spent 3-4 days on it!! Certainly some of this was not as easy as it reads here. The 1860 census information in particular was tricky as the enumerator messed it up significantly, listing Cherry and her two sons as: C Robsterr, age 58; B Scott, age 30; and Chas Scott, age 18 instead of C(herry) Robinson and V(arnum) Shattuck and Chas Shattuck ... arrrggghh!!!
There is a note along the side of the deed that it was recorded in Cambridge, Middlesex County, in Deed Book 555, Page 102, on 17 January 1849. This William Adams is almost certainly my great great grandfather (1821-1905). His first wife (and current at the time of the deed) was Lucy Gardener Locke, daughter of Asa Locke and Lucy Wyman. Lucy (Locke) Adams died 24 April 1866 of diptheria and a couple of years later, William married Emma Isadora Stanton, my great great grandfather.
First question is how does Cherry fit in? Is she definitely a Locke? If so, whose daughter is she? If not, what is her maiden name? ... and how did she end up all the way in Galveston, Texas, by 1848?
In the 1850 census of Galveston we have a John Robinson, aged 50, a merchant born in Scotland, with his aparent wife Cherry A Robinson, aged 37, born in Massachuestts. Living with them are V P Shattuck aged 22, a merchant clerk, born in Massachusetts; Josephine Shattuck, aged 16, born in New York; Sarah S Shattuck, aged 10, born in Indiana; Charles T Shattuck, aged 9, born in New York; and Francis L Shattuck, aged 7, also born in New York. This appears to be the Cherry we seek with a second husband and five children by her first husband who is presumably deceased.
Although the 1850 census indicates Cherry was born about 1813, the 1860 census gives her age as 58, thus born about 1802, and the 1870 census as age 60, born circa 1810. She has yet to be found in later years nor has a death record been found. The New England Historic Genealogical Society shows the marriage of Cherry Locke of Woburn to Varnum P Shattuck of Charlestown on 30 December 1826. Their records also show a Cherry Adams Locke born 13 January 1807 in Woburn to Josiah Locke Jr and his wife Susanna. If this is the correct Cherry, then she would be an aunt to William Adams' wife.
The birthplaces of the children indicate that Varnum & Cherry went from Massachusetts to New York, were in Indiana around 1840, and then back to New York for at least the first half of the 1840's. Around 1840, Varnum became embroiled in financial difficulties and with others was sued in New York Chancery Court. Legal notices found through GenealogyBank say in 1839 that he was a resident of Michigan and in 1840, of Indiana.
In June 1845 a Varnum P Shattuck is recruited by the Third Infantry, Regular Army, as a "supernumerary recuited on detachment." This recruitment seems to have ended up at Camp Wilkins (aka Fort Jesup) in Louisiana. This could be either the father (age 39-40) or the son, but the son was 16, 17 at the most and a bit young to enlist. Also found at GenealogyBank was a listing from the New York Evening Post of 8 July 1847, stating [died] "at Vera Cruz of yellow fever, Mr. Varnum P. Shattuck, aged 42 years, late of Chrlestown, Massachusetts."
That this is the father is supported by a listing in the Middlesex probate records for a Varnum P. Shattuck, case file 41380 in 1849 giving his late residence as Galveston, Texas. The younger Varnum is with his mother and stepfather in 1850 and with his mother in 1860.
Texas marriage records on FamilySearch show that the daughter Josephine married 2 Jan 1855 in Galveston to a John Howard. Her sister Sarah also married a John Howard in Galveston on 3 November 1857. At this time it is not known if the John Howards are one and the same or separate individuals. John, a merchant aged 35, and Sarah Howard are found in 1860 Galveston with a 2 year old child aged 2.
Clearly there is more to search although I have about tapped out the online stuff. FindAGrave provided the death of the younger Varnum (1 January 1868) and a few other minor details have been located. One of the more important items is probably the actual case file for Varnum in the Middlesex probate records.
You can see how obsessed I get ... this is a possible relative of a first wife of my direct line and I have already spent 3-4 days on it!! Certainly some of this was not as easy as it reads here. The 1860 census information in particular was tricky as the enumerator messed it up significantly, listing Cherry and her two sons as: C Robsterr, age 58; B Scott, age 30; and Chas Scott, age 18 instead of C(herry) Robinson and V(arnum) Shattuck and Chas Shattuck ... arrrggghh!!!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
serendipity strikes again ...
... and as usual eats up hours of time. This time I was testing out the search engine that fold3 is working on and tossing in whatever family names came to mind. One of my favorites to throw in is the given name Hatevil. As you can imagine it is not a common name so I don't get buried in results when I use it. The name goes way back into early New England and is attached to a handful of surnames mostly if not all connected to Hatevil Nutter.
But I digress. I had already limited my search area to Revolutionary War and up pops a dozen or so results, many of them being official papers signed and/or attested to by Hatevil Knight, a town official and a son of my direct ancestor Joseph Knight and his wife Elizabeth Nutter, and brother to my direct line, Susanna Knight who married John Stanton.
Among the results is one referencing page/image 18 in the pension of Edward Rollins, a name I recognize as fitting into the family. When I check my database, sure enough, there's Edward, who it turns out is a half brother to Hatevil and Susanna Knight as their mother had first been married to Edward Rollins Sr. The statement brings up some information I had not previously known and reads as follows:
I Hatevil Knight of Rochester in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire aged seventy eight years, depose and say that I was acquainted with Edward Rollins late of said Rochester deceased. That he was a Soldier in the Revolution at different times and that afterwards he was married to Miss Anna Wentworth of this Town. That he the said Edward Rollins died in this Town twenty seven years ago and that afterwards his widow the aforesaid Anna married with John Stanton and that the said John Stanton died more than ten years ago and that she the said Anna has remained a widow ever since the death of the said John Stanton. That she has always been a reputable person to me well known.
The statement is signed by Hatevil Knight and is dated 7 July 1843 in Rochester. I had not previously followed this Edward Rollins and never particularly looked for a pension or even for any service in the Revolution (shame on me!). I had him listed with his birth and death date and that was it. Although I knew about his mother's two marriages, I was unaware of his marriage to Anna Wentworth nor her subsequent marriage to a John Stanton.
After much poking around on various internet resources including Ancestry, NEHGS, USGenWeb and Find-A-Grave as well as digging through the rest of Edward Rollins' pension, I have determined that Edward Rollins married Anna Wentworth 15 December 1778 and married John Stanton 17 February 1822. John died 6 April 1828 at Brookfield. In a statement dated 4 March 1847 in Rollins' pension application, it is said that Anna has lived in Charleston, Penobscot County, Maine, for 10 or 11 years and previous to that in Rochester, Strafford County, New Hampshire.
Anna Wentworth Rollins Stanton died in Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine, 6 September 1854, and is buried in the Paine Cemetery in nearby Charleston. In spite of scrolling page by page through both the Charleston and Corinth sections of the 1850 census of Penobscot County, I have not located Anna. I did find what appears to be her son Anthony. Another son Stephen appears in the pension file but his tombstone in the Paine Cemetery states that he died in 1847 at the age of 66 years, 4 months, so he is not found in 1850 of course. Sure wish I had checked that before spending a considerable amount of time looking for him in the census!
Anna's second husband John Stanton is most likely part of my Stanton family as all the Stantons in early Strafford County appear to be one family. It is possible that she is the second wife of my direct line John Stanton but there may be other cousins to the line to be found that could fit.
Well, I certainly have learned to look deeper in the collateral lines, even half-brothers may have something to add to the family story.
But I digress. I had already limited my search area to Revolutionary War and up pops a dozen or so results, many of them being official papers signed and/or attested to by Hatevil Knight, a town official and a son of my direct ancestor Joseph Knight and his wife Elizabeth Nutter, and brother to my direct line, Susanna Knight who married John Stanton.
Among the results is one referencing page/image 18 in the pension of Edward Rollins, a name I recognize as fitting into the family. When I check my database, sure enough, there's Edward, who it turns out is a half brother to Hatevil and Susanna Knight as their mother had first been married to Edward Rollins Sr. The statement brings up some information I had not previously known and reads as follows:
I Hatevil Knight of Rochester in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire aged seventy eight years, depose and say that I was acquainted with Edward Rollins late of said Rochester deceased. That he was a Soldier in the Revolution at different times and that afterwards he was married to Miss Anna Wentworth of this Town. That he the said Edward Rollins died in this Town twenty seven years ago and that afterwards his widow the aforesaid Anna married with John Stanton and that the said John Stanton died more than ten years ago and that she the said Anna has remained a widow ever since the death of the said John Stanton. That she has always been a reputable person to me well known.
The statement is signed by Hatevil Knight and is dated 7 July 1843 in Rochester. I had not previously followed this Edward Rollins and never particularly looked for a pension or even for any service in the Revolution (shame on me!). I had him listed with his birth and death date and that was it. Although I knew about his mother's two marriages, I was unaware of his marriage to Anna Wentworth nor her subsequent marriage to a John Stanton.
After much poking around on various internet resources including Ancestry, NEHGS, USGenWeb and Find-A-Grave as well as digging through the rest of Edward Rollins' pension, I have determined that Edward Rollins married Anna Wentworth 15 December 1778 and married John Stanton 17 February 1822. John died 6 April 1828 at Brookfield. In a statement dated 4 March 1847 in Rollins' pension application, it is said that Anna has lived in Charleston, Penobscot County, Maine, for 10 or 11 years and previous to that in Rochester, Strafford County, New Hampshire.
Anna Wentworth Rollins Stanton died in Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine, 6 September 1854, and is buried in the Paine Cemetery in nearby Charleston. In spite of scrolling page by page through both the Charleston and Corinth sections of the 1850 census of Penobscot County, I have not located Anna. I did find what appears to be her son Anthony. Another son Stephen appears in the pension file but his tombstone in the Paine Cemetery states that he died in 1847 at the age of 66 years, 4 months, so he is not found in 1850 of course. Sure wish I had checked that before spending a considerable amount of time looking for him in the census!
Anna's second husband John Stanton is most likely part of my Stanton family as all the Stantons in early Strafford County appear to be one family. It is possible that she is the second wife of my direct line John Stanton but there may be other cousins to the line to be found that could fit.
Well, I certainly have learned to look deeper in the collateral lines, even half-brothers may have something to add to the family story.
Monday, July 13, 2009
the death of Jonathan Stone...
In 1856, Sybil Adams applied for a pension based on her father's Revolutionary War service, stating that she is the only surviving daughter and heir of Jonathan & Mary Stone. Sybil states,
"My father lived at TempletonMass. He enlisted and went and left his family consisting of his wife and 3 children in a log house in the Wilderness. I was the oldest and was 7 yrs ... the land was sold ... the children had to be put out and suffered a great deal the youngest was 3 years old when his father was killed."
Jonathan appears to have enlisted at the very beginning, 27 April 1775, signing up for 3 months 12 days. Along with others he signed a receipt for advance pay on 8 Jun 1775. He was a private in Captain Joel Fletcher's Company of Colonel Ephraim Doolittle's Regiment which was at Bunker Hill. The company was at Winter Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts, in October and December of 1775. By September of 1776 he was in New York at the Battle of Harlem Heights.
Nathan Stone son of Seth Stone who was brother to Jonathan Stone states he has no direct knowledge of the death of Jonathan Stone except that which he has been told by his father and others:
"which was that he was killed on the retreat at the time of the Battle of White Plains at or near a place called Harlem in New York. The news was brought to his wife and friends by a Mr. Fillmore who stated he was shot through both knees by grape shot and he (Fillmore) and others helped him into a barn and left him after [putt]ing some rum into his canteen which was all the assistance he could render."
Nathan's sister Abigail Stone Stratton and Sybil herself give similar accounts of Jonathan's death. There are other bits of genealogical data in this pension file: Jonathan md Mary Gates 29 Oct 1765 in Worcester and they had three children, Sybil, Nabby and Samuel. Sybil was sent to live with Seth Stone's family in West Cambridge until she later married Joel Adams, Nabby married Thomas Grey and Samuel died a few years before the pension application was filed.
Jonathan seems to have been an ordinary sort of fellow, trying to build a life for himself and his young family on the frontier. Along comes the War for Independence and he promptly signs up, whatever his motivation or, probably, combination of motives. The advance pay probably went mostly to his wife and children and off he marched. A few months in camp at the fort on Winter Hill and then eventually to end up shot in the knees at Harlem Heights and the battle of White Plains. On the run from the British what else could his comrades do but leave him with what comfort they could provide in the shelter of a barn, probably difficult for them as well as Jonathan.
And imagine the wife and three young children in the cabin in the wilderness, perhaps months of not knowing. Then along comes the neighbor with the report of his death and life is turned upside down, the land is sold, the children sent off to other homes. Mary Gates Stone is said not to have married again, remaining a widow until her death in Northboro, Worcestor County, Massachusetts, on 2nd December 1839.
The Vital Records of Shrewsbury Massachusetts list Jonathan Stone died 15 Sep 1776, buried at Shrewsbury: Jonathan Stone [Jr] wounded 15 Sep 1776 at the Evacuation of New York, supposed to have died soon after. [Leg broken and captured by the British.]
Reading this pension gave me chills and I will never see a movie or television show about the Revolution (or other early American wars) in the same way nor see the pieces of genealogy information add up to a similar scene without seeing it in my mind and my heart.
Are there bits of your genealogy research that made a profound difference to you?
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