Monday Is for Mothers: Mary Delaney Groves Joslin Perego (1833 - 1920)

This third great aunt's given name seems to have been Magdalena, but she's always referred to as Mary Delaney which sounds like an Irish surname and confused me at first because her parents were Frederick Groves and Leah Bixler.*

This 1920 piece about her first vote gives us a good overview of her life:

[Page  1 of The Anamosa Eureka, published in Anamosa, Iowa on Thursday, November 11th, 1920.

Source: Jones County Genealogicl Society Digital Library]

The article refers to her "rather feeble health" and she died just six weeks later on December 24, 1920.



*However if you sound it out, you can see how Magdalena could be transposed into Mary Delaney.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Ashtabula Lyle Thomas (1857 - 1937)

Courtesy of VickieHill56 here are three more pictures of Ashtabula, first as a young girl:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - Probably taken in the mid 1870's.

from the collection of VickieHill56]

And after her marriage:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - from the collection of VickieHill56]

Finally, as an old woman, probably in the 1930s:

[Ashtabula Lyle Thomas - in front of her house in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio -from the collection of VickieHill56]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Vera on Tricycle with Cat - 1928

Another photo of Vera Aretta Thomas, one of my maternal fourth cousins, once removed, that was shared by VickieHill56 to her Ancestry.com family tree. 

["Vera on tricycle with cat about 1928" from the collection of VickieHill56]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: George Henry Thomas (1887 - 1970) Soldier

George Henry Thomas is the oldest son of Ashtabula (Lyle) and Seth P. Thomas, which makes him one of my third cousins, twice removed. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 2, 1918, as a private.* He rose rapidly to private, first class in early December, was named a corporal several weeks later, raised to a sergeant in January, 1919, ending as a sergeant 1st class in March and being honorably discharged on April 2, 1919. I haven't been able to learn if he was ever sent to Europe.

[George H. Thomas in suit, tie & jacket, undated; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[Registration State: Ohio; Registration County: Gallia; Roll: 1832199. Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.]

[Ancestry.com. Ohio Soldiers in WWI, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: The Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18. Columbus, OH, USA: The F.J. Heer Printing Co., 1926.]

[George H. Thomas in uniform; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[George H. Thomas & friends in uniform; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree.]

[George H. Thomas (top left) with Barracks buddies; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree. ]

[George H. Thomas (front center) with WWI buddies, packed and ready to go; posted by VickieHill56 on an Ancestry.com tree. ]

*It appears that he joined a regiment of engineers but I haven't been able to find out more about his service.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Mary Elizabeth Thomas - "Sis & Beauty" - 1919

Here's another picture of this maternal fourth cousin, once removed, that was taken on her grandparents' farm in Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio. 

[Photo posted on her Ancestry.com family tree by VickieHill56

(who doesn't appear on my DNA match list).]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Seth & Ashtabula (Lyle) Thomas at Home

Another great family photo shared on Ancestry.com by VickieHill56, this one shows Seth and Ashtabula with two of their children, Jason Milton Thomas (1889-1981) and Faye Elizabeth Thomas (1894-1954).

[Left to right: Son Jason with horses, Seth, daughter Faye, and Ashtabula - about 1920. Cheshire, Gallia, Ohio, USA]

Jason and Fay never married and after their parents' died we find them living together on the farm in Cheshire according to the 1940 U.S. Census.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Vera Aretta Thomas (1925 - 2013) Nurse

Vera, another granddaughter of Ashtabula Lyle and Seth P. Thomas,* studied nursing at Holzer Hospital in 1944. According to her obituary on findagrave.com, she worked at Holzer Medical Center for most of her life.

[Vera Holzer Hospital School of Nursing -1944; photo attached to her Ancestry.com family tree by VickieHill56]

[Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Cadet Nurse Corps Files, compiled 1943–1948, documenting the period 1942–1948. MLR Number UD-WW 10; ARC ID: 5605027. 350 boxes. Records of the Public Health Service, 1794–1990, Record Group 90. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

*I've already posted about her sister Mary Elizabeth Thomas and their cousin George Wesley Thomas on this blog--all of them are my fourth cousins, once removed.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Adella "Della" E. Webb Earnshaw - 1864 - 1958

While my branch of the Webbs moved from Pennsylvania to Iowa and then Texas* there were some who chose to go no farther west than Ohio. Della Webb Earnshaw, one of my maternal second cousins, three times removed, may have made Ohio her home but that doesn't mean she didn't travel out of the state (and country) during her long life. This photo is from her 1923 passport.

[Found on an Ancestry.com public tree belonging to lisaraines2003_1]

Della married Joseph "Joe" Henry Earnshaw in 1887.

[12 Oct 1887, Page 4 - The Summit County Beacon at Newspapers.com]

In 1901 Joe's passport application included his wife Della.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

Original data: Selected Passports. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

We know they landed in Liverpool June of 1901 (since the application is dated May 31st). They had traveled in style as "Saloon" or first class passengers. I haven't found a record of their return home.

[Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England.]

Della and Joe's only child, Elizabeth Webb Earnshaw, was born in 1902 and the family traveled abroad several times.

Here's their return from England in 1906 aboard the S.S. Carmania:

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897

Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

For their 1916 trip, the Earnshaws returned home just over a month after the beginning of World War I via Quebec, Canada, on the S.S. Laurentic** as we can see from this border crossing document:

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85. Washington, D.C.:

National Archives and Records Administration. ]

[GG Archives]

And here's the record of their return from London in 1923 on the S.S. Minnewaska.

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897.Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

I've run of out time this evening to continue with the rest of the trips Della took but I promise I'll cover them in a later post.

Here's how Della and I are related:

[Ancestry.com]

*My great great grandfather Abner Webb who died there in about 1861.
**On January 25, 1917, the Laurentic, taken over by the British Navy to serve as a merchant cruiser, was sunk when it hit two German mines off the North Irish coast.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Cheshire, Gallia County, Ohio - About 1918

These two people are Mary Elizabeth Thomas, one of my maternal fourth cousins, once removed,* and her mother Fredah Irene (Jacobs) Thomas. The snapshot was taken during a visit to Fridah's parents whose farm was located in Cheshire Township in Gallia County, Ohio.

["Freda and daughter Mary E at Grandparents Jacobs farm." Photo posted on her Ancestry.com family tree by VickieHill56

(who doesn't appear on my DNA match list).]

I wonder what's in the trailer?

*As you can see, Mary Elizabeth is one of Ashtabula Lyle's granddaughters.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Ashtabula Lyle (1857 - 1937) & Her Husband Seth P. Thomas (1853 - 1940)

I don't know why this second cousin, three times removed*, was named Ashtabula, the name of a city and county located on Lake Erie, far to the north of her birthplace in downstate in Meigs County, Ohio. Perhaps her parents just liked how this Native-American-derived word sounded.**

Ashtabula and Seth were married in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1885 and seem to have lived in that county for their entire lives. They had four children.

[Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.]

Both of these portraits were found on the Ancestry.com family tree of VickieHill56 who doesn't appear to be a DNA match of mine.


*This is how we're related through my Webb lineage:

[Ancestry.com]

**Here's how Wikipedia translates it: The name Ashtabula is derived from ashtepihəle, which means 'always enough fish to be shared around' in the Lenape language

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Elizabeth "Betsy" Mrs. Taylor (About 1805 - After June 1, 1850)

This page of the 1850 U.S. Census for Washington Township in Johnson County, Iowa, is literally the only record we've found that names this maternal great great great grandmother and all this tells us is that she was born about 1805 in Ohio.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Washington, Johnson, Iowa; Roll: M432_185; Page: 130B; Image: 267

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Detail of above]

Her husband Job died in August of 1850 and there's some evidence that a neighbor Jacob Hull became the children's guardian after that.

Here's how I'm related to her:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Some Notes on John Rittgers (1767-1848) Naturalized in Fairfield County, Ohio in 1844

Naturalization index card for "John H. Rittgers" (John Augustus Rittgers). Note that the reference is to "P203, C Journal No. 17", which is conveniently digitized on FamilySearch. "Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L996-QY4C?cc=1987615&wc=MCFK-B29%3A265561801%2C265569001 : 21 May 2014), Fairfield > Naturalization cards 1801-1900 A-Z > image 260 of 362; county courthouses, Ohio.

I'd seen this index listing of the naturalization of my 4th great grandfather John Augustin Rittgers in 1844 before, but I hadn't looked up the full entry until now.  I found the following through the FamilySearch catalog:

John's name is at the center bottom right, clustered with the men who came from France (!).  I'm assuming that means like Alsace Lorraine?  I thought Rittgers sounded German.  Ohio, Fairfield County, Common Pleas journal no. 17, 1844-1846, October Term 1844, page 202, Admitted as Citizens, October 1844; Fairfield County Court House, Lancaster; FHL microfilm 505,919; digital image, FamilySearch Fairfield County court records, 1801-1900 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C911-C7GK-H?i=440&cat=26342) :  accessed 27 Jan 2018.

It always pays to see the original, or as close as you can get to the original, when it comes to these index entries.

Saying someone was from France is quite vague, and although the journal entry did not elaborate on where in France Rittgers was from, it did at least group the new citizens by where they originated from.  John Rittgers not listed in any of the following places:
Kingdom of Wertemberg [sic]
Dukedom of Baden
Government of Switzerland in Germany
Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Hanover
Dukedom of Hesse Kassel
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Kingdom of Denmark
Free City of Brehman
King Emporer of Germany
Govern[ment?] of Waldick (?)
Kingdom of Prussia
Dukedom of Berlinberg (?)
Wales

He is listed, along with the following men, from "the Kingdom of France":
Joseph Etienne
Momon (?) Bersee (?)
Michael Bersee (?)
Joseph Philips
Jacob Eissemman
Bernard Vagnier
Barthol. Vagnier
Victor Vagnier
Augustus Winter
Michael Strahl
Fred'k Walters
Nicholas Jacob
John H Rittgers
Barnhart Claus

I hadn't seen these names before.  Maybe he knew them from back in the old country, or maybe they all just ended up in Fairfield County, Ohio from different paths.  The only thing the court mentioned was that "they have severally resided in the United States for more than five years last past".  I am not quite sure when John Rittgers came to the United States, although he might be the "John Riticher" who came into Philadelphia in 1792:

Ancestry's index to the entry.  Follow this link at the Internet Archive to see the transcribed name in context (The ship Fame came into the Philadelphia port from Rotterdam on 23 Sep 1792).

He was in Shenandoah County, Virginia by 1797, when he married Catherine Comer.  They moved to Fairfield County about 1816.

So my next step will be researching the other men, and consulting contemporary maps (circa 1844 or before) to try to narrow down what "Kingdom of France" meant, minus the other governments.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Milcah Richardson (1748 - 1823)

Milcah* (a maternal fifth great grandmother) was born into a Quaker family in Frederick County, Maryland. Her mother Margaret Coale predeceased her father Richard Richardson who died in 1761, leaving a will** which names his children, including 13-year old Milcah.

As shown in this abstract from Hinshaw's U.S. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy it was her parents' wish that their children would be raised as Quakers.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I–VI, 1607-1943 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Hinshaw, William Wade, et al., compilers. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 6 vols. 1936–1950. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991–1994. Hinshaw, William Wade. Marshall, Thomas Worth, comp. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Supplement to Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: n.p. 1948.]

But it seems that Milcah had other ideas.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina.Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes. Earlham College Friends Collection & College Archives, Richmond, Indiana.Haverford, Quaker Meeting Records. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.]

Milcah Richardson who has had her Education among
Friends but of a light and airy conversation, has strayed
from that which would have preserved her if given heed unto
has gone out from among us in marriage with a man not
of our Society. This meeting therefore appoints Jane Hayes
and Rachel Hollingsworth to draw up a Testimony against
her and produce it to next mo's meeting ----------

The Quaker Encyclopedia's entry explains a bit more, including the surname of her husband:

Consulting my copy of Thee & Me, this is what's being said:

Milcah (daughter of Richard & Margaret deceased) reported married out of unity October 31, 1767, to TOMLINSON; disowned November 28, 1767; paper to be read at Bush Creek Meeting Maryland

The Tomlinson referred to is my 5X great grandfather Jesse.***

Since the notice of her dismissal was to be read at Bush Creek near Monrovia in Fredericks County, I assume that's near where the abandoned hussy was living at the time. We know from the first federal census in 1790 that Milcah and Jesse were still residing in the area along with nine of their eventual ten children (including my ancestor Hugh).

They moved to Ohio by 1803 although I haven't been able to locate the Tomlinson family in either the 1800 or 1810 U.S. Census. Milcah Richardson Tomlinson is buried in Chenoweth Cemetery in Pleasant Township in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1823. She was 75.

[Chenoweth Cemetery . Photo by Gene #47100930; Findagrave.com]

*Milcah is a common transliteration of the Hebrew name מִלְכָּה (meaning "queen" or "ruler").
**Which I'll be covering on Friday.
***He and Milcah were the grandparents of the Jesse Tomlinson in last week's posts here and here.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Thomas Tipton, Guardian of Jesse Tomlinson - Franklin County, Ohio, 1815

Thomas Tipton, who had married Elizabeth Tomlinson* in 1813, was named by the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County as the Guardian of Jesse Tomlinson** although I didn't find any mention of a probate for a Hugh Tomlinson*** in the surviving records available online.

["Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MT-S72L?cc=1992421&wc=S2C9-923%3A266276201%2C266650901 : 1 July 2014), Franklin > Trustee and guardianship index 1806-1919 > image 208 of 529; 

county courthouses, Ohio.]

Unfortunately the Administration Docket Volume 1 Page 63 referred to in the far right column isn't available online.


*Elizabeth (About 1780-1864) was young Jesse's aunt.
**This is the same person who was the subject of last Wednesday's post.
***I haven't found any online records, such as marriage or census, for Jesse's father Hugh Tomlinson and there's no indication of what his mother's name was at all. It appears that Jesse was their only child.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jesse Tomlinson (1798-1857) & the Ohio Canal - 1831

The Tomlinsons left Maryland for Ohio early in the 19th century and the 1830 federal census located this maternal 3X great grandfather in Perry Township of Pickaway County (where he, his wife Catharine Gaskill Freeman and their five oldest children were living by 1824).

[1830; Census Place: Perry, Pickaway, Ohio; Series: M19; Roll: 138; Page: 108; Family History Library Film: 0337949. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Ohio Governor Jeremiah Morrow and New York Governor De Witt Clinton had taken part in the ceremonial start of the Ohio and Erie Canal (to link the river to the Great Lakes) on July 4, 1825.

[Map of Ohio showing canals built. Source: Ohio's Historic Canals]

And here's a detail from an 1831 Ohio map showing the route of the canal through Pickaway County.

[Detail from Ohio. Drawn & Published by David H. Burr. New York. Entered ... Nov. 11th in the year 1831 by David H. Burr ... New York. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

Obviously Jesse Tomlinson was affected by the construction of the canal as we can see from this page of The Tenth Annual Report of the Board of Canal Commissioners. He was awarded $125, a substantial amount at the time, for the loss of stone taken from his land.

[Ancestry.com. Public documents concerning the Ohio canals : which are to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River, comprising a complete officia [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Public documents concerning the Ohio canals : which are to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River, comprising a complete official history of these great works of internal improvement, from their commencement down to the close of the session of the legislature of 1831-32. Columbus Ohio: I.N. Whiting, 1832.]

Here's how I'm related to him.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.