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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Sunday Drive: Near Manuelito, New Mexico

On our way to South Dakota in 1951 we spent several days at Mike Kirk's Trading Post in Manuelito, New Mexico, located on Route 66  just west of Gallup. By that time the original founder of the trading post had been dead for many years and it was owned by John Wall from whom Dad bought several Navajo rugs, one of which is now on display at Marston House here in San Diego. I also still have some of the jewelry we acquired during that stay.

This Navajo family were on their way to shop at the trading post.* Everyone is smiling for the camera.

[From my personal collection]

[August 7, 1956: The Gallup Independent from Gallup, New Mexico · Page 35. Source: Newspapers.com]

[Detail from Shell Highway Map of Arizona and New Mexico, 1951. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]


*According to Dad's recollections, John Wall "had no use" for Navajos once they were able to afford to buy a car because then they could make their purchases in Gallup and were no longer forced to buy goods from him. Since the trading post was actually on railroad right-of-way, not the reservation, Mr. Wall didn't have to conform to federal rules.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Mary (Gwinnup) Hartley was Administratrix for the Michael Lutz Estate in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia

Since the Orphan's Court was involved I am assuming children were involved (obviously).  Was Mary Gwinnup an aunt, sister-in-law, or cousin, or just a good friend/neighbor to Michael Lutz.  Was Michael related to Solomon Hartley?  


More names and relationships to research!  I had not associated a Michael Lutz with Mary Gwinnup, and I wonder what their relationship was?

The location of Michael Lutz's house matches the areas where Solomon Hartley (Mary Gwinnup's husband) was living according to Philadelphia city directories a few years later: 43 Coates' in 1810 - 1811 and then on 49 Browne Street in 1813-1814.  I tried to figure out the general area where these streets were in this post.






© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Solomon Hartly Appears in a List of "Journeymen Riggers" Clearing George Hartley and Martin Brown of "False Report"

Well, hello there, Solomon!  I think this definitively shows Solomon and George Hartley were at the very least acquaintances (I suspect they were brothers).  "We, the Subscribers," Philadelphia Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), May 25, 1809, page 4, col. 3.

First day back at work on my brick wall ancestors, and came across this gem.  Look at all the names of fellow "journeymen riggers"!  Love it!   I haven't had time to analyze everything about this yet, but I am certain that it is my 4th great grandfather Solomon Hartley (1775-1815).

Note the Simon Johnson on the list with Solomon.

Solomon's wife was Mary Gwinnup and Simon Johnson's wife was Mary's sister Elizabeth Gwinnup. Solomon Hartly and Simon Johnson were brothers-in-law.

Solomon died sometime in 1815 according to family story, and I have an unsourced death date for Simon Johnson as 11 October 1815 (did they die the same day??).  Simon and Elizabeth's son was early Mormon Joseph Almon Kelting (it is as yet unclear to me why the last name isn't Johnson, but that is JA Kelting's known story among his descendants).  Several descendants of JA Kelting have matched my father at AncestryDNA.


Notice George Hartley's statement at top.






© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Nice Find! : Ancestry's Crista Cowan Blogs About "Quick Tips for Breaking Through Your Genealogy Bricks Walls"


I'm finally getting back into the game after being sick for a few months.  Funny how illness can sap one's mental energy.  But it is actually a good thing, because I can look at my tree with a fresh pair of eyes.

As I have been reviewing my information, looking for any errors, it is clear that I need to buckle down and work on my various brick walls.

Crista Cowan at Ancestry Blog has a few basic but very important points about busting through these brick walls in her "Quick Tips for Breaking Through Your Genealogy Bricks Walls."  I know and have employed all of these techniques, but it is time to cycle through what I have again systematically and see what accomplish.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Working on Wednesday: Currey

I've already touched on the work Dad* and Jimmy Neal did for the City of Anaheim in a Sunday Drive post but there are several more photos that were taken at the job site.

["Currey on pole, Job for City Anaheim - 1949." From my personal collection]


["Looking from pole Anaheim Job - 1949." From my personal collection]


[" Jimmy Neal at Anaheim - 1949." From my personal collection]

*You can learn more about Harold Delbert Currey (1902-1981) and his career as an electrician in three earlier Wednesday posts here, here and here.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Free Tuesday Night Webinar from Legacy Family Tree: "Organize Your Online Life"



I can ALWAYS use a refresher on organizing my time and efforts online.

Thankfully Lisa Louise Cooke has addressed this issue in "Organize Your Online Life" which includes discussion on tools such as bookmarks, email, Google Books, YouTube, Google Alerts, and Evernote.

The webinar was originally recorded on July 20, 2016 (1 hour 47 minutes).  The video is free for non-subscribers through July 27, 2016.  Most of Legacy Family Tree Webinars are not free and I recommend subscribing to their site for full access to all their amazing, affordable genealogy webinars.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Monday Is for Mothers: Webb/Slater

Last week my post about my grandmothers included an undated photo of my maternal grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater. From the style of her dress I assumed it was probably taken in the 1950s; and now I've found another photograph from the same collection which shows her with one of her grandchildren and she's wearing the same dress and earrings. The notes for this picture tell us it was taken at Christmas, 1958.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

I love it when I'm right!


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Sunday Drive: Queen Creek Tunnel, Pinal County, Arizona

This 1953 color slide was shot during our trip to South Dakota that summer. The internet tells us that the tunnel, located on U.S. 60 east of Superior, Arizona, was completed in 1952 which explains why the rock surrounding the entrance look freshly exposed to the elements.

[From my personal collection]

[Shell Highway Map of Arizona. 6-DD-1956-1. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

It was serendipity that a car and trailer was just emerging from the tunnel at the moment Dad snapped this picture.*

You can see postcards of the tunnel here.

*Our rig was a red Dodge truck and Boles Aero trailer, seen here in South Dakota.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Totally Tubalar: DNA.LAND Ethnicity Results for Me Don't Make Sense

I uploaded my own DNA to DNA.LAND yesterday (I've already done my parents).

I think maybe my ethnicity estimate is not quite cooked all the way through.  I'll show my dad and mom's estimates first, and then look at mine.  Does that make any sense?  LOL


Dad's DNA.LAND estimate.  Except for the Ashkenazi I think this is a pretty decent estimate.
Mom's DNA.LAND estimate.  Seems about right given what I know about her pedigree.



And surprise, my estimate!

Does not compute.  I'm 2.1% Tubalar??



Senegal, Kenya, and Japan?  I think that would be cool and all, but shouldn't my parents at least have some amount of those for these to be real?



I'm willing to believe that maybe their calculator went off the rails, and that midpoint between those Senegal and Japan?  Afganistan/Central Asia seems more plausible for me, taking both known pedigree and other ethnicity calculator results.

Well, it made me laugh.  I think I'll go back in a week or so and see if the ethnicity estimate has figured itself out!





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Family Friday: Webb/Slater

My cousin Susan was born in 1955 and the letter below, written by our grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater soon after the event, provides us a view into how the birth of their first (known) grandchild affected them.* 



[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

My transcription (with some minor editing):
Thursday, 7:30 AM.
Dear Kids (and kid): Greetings and Congratulations.I wish you could have seen Dad last night, I thot he was going to hit his head on the sky before he came down. You know how he dances around when he feels good and he said "Mother we've done it, we got a grandchild"!
Pretty soon he came to the chair where I was reading put his hand on my shoulder and eyes shining said; "Now Grandmother, Don't get too tired, shall I get you a pillow?"
He makes me think of when Alta Mae was born. Cecil said to granddad, "The way Harry looks at that baby you'd think it was the only one in the world." Well I guess to us she was, because she was ours and no one else had a right to her, just our own
special baby. And believe me the first one is just unbelievable, you wonder by what power you were granted such a darling.
I wondered if she has red hair, Dad said, "I believe you would like her to have." I said "A red head girl is so pretty of complexion." He said is she is as pretty as her mother I'll be satisfied, he looked at me and grinned and said or grandmother either one I mean.
Now as for brains she'll get it from her granddad. He always gets up early so gets breakfast. He work me this morning with a gentle shake (because I'm old now) "Come on grandmother I've let you sleep late this morning. Wouldn't you like to see the little Devil?"
Well, to say we are glad it's over, I can't tell you how glad, and that both are fine, and the new Dad too, you need lots of credit too and we are so proud of you as a new papa, can you get in the hospital door without stooping? Bet your (head) like Dad's is brushing the cobwebs out of the sky.
Do tell us, is she "dark, fair or --"
Our snow is about gone as the ground was so warm bt it is clabbering [?] up again.
Dad wants to try to tell you how glad he is so I'll say Love and God Bless you
Mother
Dad just said; "Now mother if we hear from Alta Mae and Pete today our cup will be running over."
I love the thought of Harry dancing around the room!


And here's a picture of the proud grandparents with their then 7-month-old granddaughter. I bet that handsome stone wall was built by Harry.

["Harry + Anna + Susan - 25 Oct 1955." Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]


*The postscript refers to my mother who had given birth to me almost eight years earlier. She and Pete never had any children and, as far as we know, she never told anyone that she had ever had a child.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Throwback Thursday: Hike at the Batiquitos Lagoon


Steve took this photo of Marc and me at the Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, San Diego, about 2010.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Working on Wednesday: Slater

According to my notes, this snapshot was taken in September of 1944 somewhere above the town of Ward* in Boulder County, Colorado and shows my maternal Uncle Jim, home on leave from the Navy, sawing through a log assisted by his father, Grandfather Harry Slater. I wonder what they were building.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]


*About 23 miles west of Niwot.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

One Reason to Do Cluster Research

Our work on the Avery side has revealed that my 3rd great grandfather, John Warren Avery, had numerous siblings, including Sarah Avery who married Joshua Whitehead.  I'm a Facebook friend with a cousin who is a direct descendant of Sarah and Joshua, which is so cool considering I'd never known anything about the Averys until about 2010!

My mom and I have both done our DNA on Ancestry, and we each have our own tree.  My tree is ridiculously large (55,437 people as of today), since it includes all of our cluster research, while Mom's tree only includes her direct ancestors.  The smaller tree with just direct ancestors is easier to download, and it helps focus attention ON the direct ancestors (and not on interesting collateral relatives LOL).

The decision to include, or leave out, non-direct ancestors can definitely affect how Ancestry displays its AncestryDNA Insights:

Mom's "New Ancestor Discoveries" recently began displaying Joshua White and Sarah Avery.  Ancestry categorizes them as "potential new ancestors or relatives who are not already in your family tree".  Since Mom's tree only has direct ancestors the program doesn't know exactly where to place Sarah in relation to Mom, only that descendants of Joshua and Sarah share DNA with her.

My "DNA Circles" includes Joshua Whitehead and Sarah Avery, and correctly gives their relation to me.  Notice Samuel Avery and Mary Thornton, parents of Sarah Avery, on this page as well.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Monday Is for Mothers: My Grandmothers

Although I've included pictures of both my biological grandmothers, my mother's mother Anna Delilah Webb Slater (1891-1973) and my father's mother Letta Estella Porter Warren Williams Turnbull (1901-1974), in this blog before I'm still hoping that I can induce several of their other grandchildren to share their memories of these two women whom I never knew.

[Anna Webb Slater, courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]


[Letta Estella Porter Warren Williams Turnbull, courtesy of James E. Turnbull III]


Raised as an adoptee, I never expected to know anything about any of my "blood" relations and the amount of information that has been shared with me has been wonderful! Thanks everybody.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Sunday Drive: Currey

Influenced by their experience as trailer owners dating back to the late 1930s, the Curreys were always on the look out for free places to stay. Dad preferred to limit each day's drive to around 300 miles so longer runs like that between Nipomo and the California redwoods north of San Francisco always were a challenge. 

For several years we dry-camped on the grounds of the then largely unrestored Mission Soledad in the Salinas valley. As I recall only the chapel had been rebuilt* and as you can see in the background of this photo, most of what was visible were crumbling adobe walls. The entire site was surrounded by fields of sugar beets and felt very remote.

[From my personal collection]


*According to Mission Soledad's website, the chapel was rebuilt in 1954 so this slide probably dates to 1955 or 1956.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Free Saturday Night Webinar from Legacy Family Tree: "A Genealogist's Guide to Heraldry"


Heraldry and heraldic arms don't figure into my ancestry as far as I know.  I'm not even entirely sure what those terms mean.  It all sounds quite highfalutin.  Most of my ancestors were farmers and tradesmen, with some possible members of Parliament in the 1500/1600's in England, but who knows?   Is it possible I can claim a coat of arms?  I will at least get some clarity after watching
Shannon Combs-Bennett cover this subject in tonight's video:
Heraldry invokes images of noble ancestors from long ago, dashing knights and splendor but what is it really? In this presentation learn the basics of heraldry, its historical uses, who can display heraldic arms (as well as why many genealogists shouldn’t) and how it can help your research. Focus will be on English heraldry with other nationalities used for comparison.

"A Genealogist's Guide to Heraldry" was originally recorded on July 13, 2016 (1 hour 26 minutes).  The video is free for non-subscribers through July 20, 2016.  I recommend subscribing to this site for full access to all their amazing, affordable genealogy webinars.







© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Another Generation Added to My Husband's Manczuk Line

My husband's father's Manczuk line.


Thanks to information sent to me by my husband's cousins Sandi McNulty and Daniel Bucko, I've been able to add more details on my husband's great grandfather Ignatius/Ignacy Manczuk's parents (Karol Manzuk and Wiktoria Kondracka) and grandparents (Onufry Manczuk, Marianna Pietuk, Kazimierz Kondracki, and Elizbieta Stefanowska).

All were from Trzyrzeczki ("Three Rivers") and nearby villages in eastern Poland.

Trzyrzeczki, Poland





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Throwback Thursday: On a Hike in 1999

Steve and I pausing to take a picture in the San Diego backcounty, November 1999.  From my personal collection.
I started working at Mesa College LRC in the summer of 1999.  I met my future husband, Steve, on the first day as I was being introduced to my coworkers.  We started dating in early November.  I can't believe that was 17 years ago!




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Working on Wednesday: Hill Freeman Warren (1896 - 1956), MD

We've been searching for my grandfather James Chappell Warren Jr.'s older brother "Henry H." for a long time.

[Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 1, Johnson, Texas; Roll: 1649; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0053; FHL microfilm: 1241649. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.]


As Christine wrote in a post focusing on their father James Chappell Warren Sr. in January of 2015:
"His son Henry was not on the 1910 Census but Nannie counted him as still living.  I am unsure of Henry's fate as I don't find him after the 1900 Census."
As you can see in the 1910 U.S. Census, although only two were still living at home, Nannie stated she had three surviving children at the time.

[Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 1, Johnson, Texas; Roll: T624_1569; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 1375582. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, Washington, D.C.]


His maternal grandfather was Henry Hill Freeman so we assumed that Henry's middle name was probably Hill too but never found a trace of that name in subsequent censuses, military or school records, or Texas death records. In our family tree Henry's profile ended in 1900. What happened to him?

Last Sunday night, since I planned to write about my great great grandmother Nannie Freeman Warren in my Monday Is for Mothers post, it seemed a good idea to take another look for her oldest son. I knew from experience that trying to locate a Henry H. Warren had proved fruitless so I decided to see what an Ancestry.com search for an H. Warren would turn up.

[Ancestry.com]

Well, the age was right and we thought there was a "Hill" in his name but Connecticut? However the next record, from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007 database, was dispositive:

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.]


I had found my missing great uncle!

We still haven't found Hill Freeman Warren* in the 1910 U.S. Census but we know where he was in 1915--studying medicine at Vanderbilt University. We even have a portrait of him.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 (database on-line).]

[Detail of above yearbook page]


Hill was active in college sports. How good was he? A student representative speaking for Vanderbilt's Medical Department at a Faculty-Senior Dinner on April 16, 1915, said in part:

Source: Google Books]


From records published during World War II listing retired naval officers we learn than Hill enlisted as an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Navy on August 20, 1917, was ranked a lieutenant on June 6, 1920 and left the service on October 22, 1923.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: United States Military Registers, 1902–1985. Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Library.]


From the 1920 U.S. Census we learn that Hill was then living in Newport, Rhode Island, with his Connecticut-born wife Grace (Morris) Warren.

[Year: 1920; Census Place: Newport Ward 5, Newport, Rhode Island; Roll: T625_1670; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 59; Image: 1095. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

The couple's firstborn, Morris Hill Warren. was born in 1921 and their second child, Elizabeth, came into the world on May 20, 1923, only three weeks after my father Tracy Stuart Warren's birth in Texas.

By the 1930 U.S. Census, Hill, Grace and their family were settled in New London, Connecticut, and he was a general practitioner. His mother-in-law Grace (Morley) Morris was living with them. (They owned their house but didn't have a radio.)

[Year: 1930; Census Place: New London, New London, Connecticut; Roll: 282; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0026; Image: 317.0; FHL microfilm: 2340017. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.]


All five of  them were still living together in New London in the 1940 U.S. Census and Hill was now calling himself "Physician & Surgeon."

[Year: 1940; Census Place: New London, New London, Connecticut; Roll: T627_524; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 6-44. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.]


And the Warrens are listed in the 1945 New London City Directory.**

[Ancestry.com - U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995]



As i knew from the first post-1900 record I found, my "lost" great uncle died on October 13, 1956 in Hartford, Connecticut. So far I haven't located his obituary or place of burial.




*He appears never to have used his first name as an adult.
**Checking the listings, Grace Morris was still living with them.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Tuesday Tip: Don't Forget to Use WorldCat for Making Lists of Sources



Why didn't I think of starting this sooner?

The video "WorldCat Lists" above is from 2008, but it gives some great ideas on organizing searches on WorldCat, for genealogy or any other area of study.  What is WorldCat?:

WorldCat is the world's largest network of library-based content and services. WorldCat is a "master" catalog of library materials. It's a way for you to locate a book, video or other item of interest and discover which libraries near you own the item. Individual member libraries in your community and elsewhere provide the actual services, such as loaning you a book or providing access to online articles.
WorldCat lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands of other libraries around the world.

So yesterday I set up my own free account with WorldCat, and started looking for materials relating to early Anderson County, Tennessee history.

This snapshot of my newly created WorldCat account profile gives an indication of the types of ways you can organize your lists, as well as saving searches and favorite libraries.


I've just created an account, so I didn't create a customized list yet.  I did throw a bunch of materials that relate to early records in Anderson County, Tennessee in the default list "Things to Check Out".  I'll have to make a list called Anderson County TN to make it more organized for later viewing.

You can look at the generated Citation View (I chose Chicago, naturally).


------------------------


BTW: Slightly off-topic, but many (most?) public and university libraries now have the ability for you to add lists to your account online if you are a member.  For example, I know there is a journal on Connecticut genealogy called the Connecticut Nutmegger, but it is not available online for free, but I found that the Downtown branch of my local library (San Diego Public Library) carries a run of the title in its reference section.  So I have made a list on my account called Genealogy to put the titles I am interested in looking at when I go down there next time (particularly reference).

I can click on the "Connecticut Nutmegger" to view the call number.


I may be 10 years behind on using lists to improve my searching effectiveness, but I'm getting there!  I'll eventually make it into the 21st century LOL




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Monday Is for Mothers: Nancy Elizabeth "Nannie" Freeman, 1857 - 1934

As I was pulling together information about her father H.H. Freeman for last Wednesday's post, I realized that I hadn't looked at my maternal great grandmother Nannie Freeman Warren yet.

[Detail from "Colton's Alabama" by Joseph Hutchins Colton, published in New York by Colton and Co. c. 1861,
from the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, available through Alabama Maps.]


Nannie was 12 when her family moved from Cotton Valley in Macon County, Alabama, to Johnson County, Texas in 1869 and that's where she's found in the next two U.S. Censuses, living with her parents.

Nannie's older sister Narcissa Freeman McBryde died in 1871, leaving a husband and two young sons and her younger sister Julia Green Freeman died at the age of 20 in 1881.

Nannie didn't marry until December 15, 1885, when she was 28 years old. Her husband , 31-year-old James Chappell "J.C." Warren was a resident of Douglasville in Cass County, several hundred miles away from her home but probably knew each other because both their families had previously lived in Cotton Valley. He was the third son of Martha Heath Hardy and J.T.S. Warren.

[County map of the state of Texas. Showing also portions of the adjoining states and territories. (with) Plan of Galveston and vicinity. Copyright by S. Augustus Mitchell 1884. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

[Locations of Douglas and Cleburne. Detail of above map.]


Nannie and J.C. set up housekeeping in Cleburne in Johnson County where their first child Mattie Lizzie was born in 1886 and died just short of her third birthday in 1889. In the following ten years three more children were born: Hill Freeman in 1891, my great grandfather James Chappell Jr. in 1897 and their only daughter Mary Anna in 1899.

Here's the whole (surviving) family in the 1900 U.S. Census.

[Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 1, Johnson, Texas; Roll: 1649; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0053; FHL microfilm: 1241649. Enumeration District : 0053; Description: Justices Precincts 1 (pt) excluding Cleburne Town, all of Precinct north of the Cleburne and Glenrose and Cleburne and Alvarado public roads. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.]

By the 1910 U.S. Census enumeration, Nannie and J.C. had their two youngest children still at home* and J.C. Jr. was farming with his father.

[Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 1, Johnson, Texas; Roll: T624_1569; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 1375582. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

A 1917 Cleburne city directory lists the four Warrens living on W. Chambers.


[Cleburne, Texas, City Directory, 1917. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

Both of their sons served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. Hill Freeman ended up living in Connecticut for the rest of his life while my grandfather returned to Texas and resumed farming with his father.

[Year: 1920; Census Place: Cleburne, Johnson, Texas; Roll: T625_1822; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 34; Image: 49.Enumeration District : 0034; Description: Justice Precinct 1 (part) excluding Cleburne City, beginning at intersection of Cleburne - Grand view dirt road with corporate limits of Cleburne City, thence with the Watt's Chapel and Antioch road to Turkey Creek. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]


On August 23, 1923, James Chappell Warren, Jr., died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix and Nannie was the source of the information on his death certificate. Less than a year later on February 14, 1924, J.C. succumbed to lobar pneumonia following influenza and once again Nannie provided the information for his death record.

Six years later Nannie was living with her daughter Mary, her husband A. Harolld Nance and their
19-month-old daughter Mary Hal in Justice Township in Young County, about 100 miles northwest of Johnson County, which is where she died on April 6, 1934.

[Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. iArchives, Orem, Utah.]

In death she joined her parents, several brothers and sisters, her husband and two of her children in the Cleburne City Cemetery  (formerly known as the Confederate Memorial Park) which is now called the Cleburne Memorial Cemetery.

From what I've been told my father had very little, if any, contact with his father's people, including his grandmother Nannie who died when he was nearly 11.





*Their oldest son Henry H. but always known as Hill Freeman Warren was probably away studying medicine at Vanderbilt University by then.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.