Ancestry Island

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Working on Wednesday: Eli Matthews (1804? - 1864?), Farmer, Postmaster, Justice of the Peace

This maternal great great great grandfather (the husband of Susan Hanon) was born in Tennessee, probably in the part of Smith County that's now Warren County*, in about 1804. Unfortunately the U.S. Census records for Tennessee are missing for the years 1800 and 1810.

[Tennessee. Drawn by S. Lewis. Engraved by Lawson. (Published by John Conrad & Co., Philadelphia. 1804)

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

We don't know if the Matthews family remained in Tennessee until they settled in what's now Christian County, Illinois, shortly after Martin Hanon moved his mother and siblings there in 1818.

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

And as we've seen, the Matthews were living close to Sarah Hanon's household in the 1820 U.S. Census, just three years before Eli married Susan.

[Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

The 1830 and 1840 U.S. Census records for this branch of the Matthews family, located first in Sangamon County and then back in Christian County, were already covered in my post about Susan so I won't repeat them here but we do know something more about what Eli was doing between those two census years.

In about 1835 Eli and his brother-in-law Martin Hanon bought a mill "some ten miles north-west of Taylorville."

There are a number of index-only public land purchases made by Eli beginning in about 1835, and he's described as a Justice of the Peace for Christian County starting in 1839.**

Also in 1839, he was appointed to a commission "to view and locate a road from Taylorville, ina north-western direction, to Elgan's mill, on the lower South Fork."

And on April 17, 1841, he was named the first Postmaster of Taylorville Township, operating out of the Taylorville Courthouse.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.

Original data: Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls.

Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives.]

Early in 1850, Eli was chosen as one of seven delegates chosen to represent Taylorville in the forthcoming railroad convention.

[Date: Saturday, February 2, 1850; Paper: Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield, IL) Page: 2

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

Besides the regular population count, the 1850 U.S. Census included a Selected Non-Population Schedule for Agriculture so we have a view of what farmer Eli was growing on his farm valued at $2,000.***

[Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

The 1855 Illinois State Census lists Eli as head of household, everyone else is a number.

[Ancestry.com. Illinois, State Census Collection, 1825-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Illinois State Census, 1825. Microfilm. Record Series 103.003, 1 roll. Illinois State Archives, Springfield, Illinois.]

And 1860 brings us another Selected Non-Population Schedule for Agriculture**** to supplement the enumeration of the population. This is the last record we have for Eli and he doesn't appear on the 1865 Illinois State Census so he almost certainly died before then.

[Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.]

*His father, another Claiborne Matthews, has a land record for 50 acres in Warren County as early as 1813.
**His land purchases continued at least through 1854.
***Eli Matthews is enumerated on line 26 on this schedule.
****Eli's record is on line 15.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Fantastic Find: Board for Certification of Genealogists webinars

Now that I'm set to receive my "Boston University, Center for Professional Education: Genealogical Research Certificate" (in other words, a certificate-holder in Boston University's Genealogical Research program", I can now start working on being certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG).

The BU course was a semester. It seems being certified by BCG takes quite a bit longer, years rather than months, but fortunately their website offers a lot of help.

I just discovered that they have a variety of webinars, both free and very low cost ($2.99, a pittance for what you get).

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Monday Is for Mothers: Susan Hanon (1805 - 1884)

Michael Hening (later Hanon), the father of this maternal great great great grandmother, was most likely born in Northern Ireland and as a young man emigrated to South Carolina, landing in Charlestown in about 1767/68. A dozen years later his name appears as a private on payrolls for the Loyalist South Carolina Militia along with a James Hening.*

Unlike some other British sympathizers he didn't leave the colony after the end of the war, remaining in South Carolina until about 1796 when he, his wife Sarah** and his young family moved to Tennessee and then after a few years on to Butler County, Kentucky, where his daughter Susan was born in about 1805. She appears as one of the two "Free White Persons - Females - Under 10" in the 1810 U.S. Census.

[Kentucky. Drawn by S. Lewis & eng'd. by W. Harrison, Junr. (Published by John Conrad & Co., Philadelphia. 1804) David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

[Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

But the Henings left Kentucky in 1812, moving to the Illinois Territory where Michael died in 1817 in Gallatin County when Susan was about 12 years old.

The following year her 19-year old brother Martin, having assumed responsibility for his mother and siblings, moved everybody to land in what is now Christian County, Illinois, becoming the first white settlers there, according to local history.*** It's about this time that we find the surname Hanon replacing Hening in records.

In an 1818 Illinois Territorial Census of Bond County,**** Sarah Hanon's household had no white males 21 or older and five other white inhabitants. It's likely that their neighbor Jesse Hanon was Michael's brother.

[Illinois census returns, 1810, 1818 by Margaret Cross Norton, b. 1891

Source: Internet Archive, contributed by the Family History Library]

By the 1820 U.S. Census, Sarah "Hinnon" was the head of a household consisting of herself and her two youngest children, 15-year old Susan and 12-year old Elijah. They were living in Fork Prairie, Madison County, later to be part of Sangamon County, Illinois. (And Clibon Mathes (i.e., Claiborn Matthews) is nearby.

Three years later, Susan Hanon married Eli Matthews on September 21, 1823, in the first wedding in Southfork Township, Christian County, Illinois.

In the 1830 U.S. Census, Eli, Susan and their two oldest children, sons Aaron and Martin were living among relatives in Sangamon County. Susan's brother Martin was living nearby and Eli's parents were too. Susan's mother and brothers James and Elijah were not far away either.

[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.]

By the 1840 U.S. Census (and probably as early of 1835) the Matthews had moved back to Christian County and more children had been added to the family, including their oldest daughter Sarah, my great great grandmother, born in 1832. Probably the older male living with them is Eli's widowed father Claiborn.

[Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

And the 1850 U.S. Census found them still in Christian County where Susan finally got a record in her own name, although for some reason her place of birth is listed as Ohio. All but one of the children are still living at home. Jesse Hanon (at the bottom of the page) is almost certainly Susan's brother, born about 1795 in South Carolina.

[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.]

At the end of the next decade, the household had shrunk to Eli, Susan and 19 year old Thomas and 12 year old William.***** Another son, Elijah and his family are living nearby.

[Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

The Civil War must have been an anxious time for Susan because at least two of her sons served in Illinois regiments, Aaron in the 10th Cavalry Regiment and Martin in the 123rd Infantry, and Elijah may have also been a soldier. Happily all survived the war but Eli died sometime before 1865, as there's no record of him in the Illinois State Census of that year. The exact death date and place of his burial are not known.

So the 1870 U.S. Census found Susan living in the same household as her son William B. and his family in Campbell Township, Douglas County, Missouri. The head of the household was a blacksmith named Ballard Wilson, with no know connection to the Matthews.******

[Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

The last record we have of Susan Hanon Matthews is in the 1880 U.S. Census which shows her back in Christian County, Illinois, living with her son Thomas and his family in Buckhart Township.

[Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Unverified sources give Susan's death year as 1884 in Illinois but so far no record has been found to support this.

*Probably a relative, perhaps a brother. There is also a James Hening in the same part of Kentucky in the 1810 census but as this enumeration was recorded in alphabetical order we can't tell how close together their residences were.
**Sarah's surname is unknown, although we can speculate.
***Note the mention of their neighbors, the Matthews family.
****Bond County was formed out of Madison County in 1817.
*****The son who was born between Thomas and William, James H.P. Matthews, had died in 1854 at age 10.
******In this census the surname is spelled Mathias. For a discussion of the various ways the name was spelled before the 20th century, see this at the excellent Southern Matthews website.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Boston University Genealogy Certificate Class: Wooo, Sliding Into Homeplate, Finally!

"Umpire gets ready to make the call as catcher applies tag to New York Yankee ball player sliding into home plate during baseball game." b&w film copy negative, digital images, between 1910 - 1930. From Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005676980/ : accessed 3 May 2015).

Sunday Drive: Tomlinson/Slater

When this photo was taken, probably in 1938*, my grand aunt Opal Slater (on right) was living in Omaha, Nebraska, with her mother Rufina Tomlinson Slater (on left)**.

From what I can see of it, the car they're standing next to looks like a 1935 Ford Tudor Sedan and probably belonged to Opal who had been called back to Nebraska from her legal career in Boston to take care of her aging mother sometime in 1934/35.

By 1936 Opal was an attorney at the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, a New Deal agency set up to deal with the collapse of the home mortgage market after the 1929 stock market crash.

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

*I think this because that's the number in the circle at the corner of the rope frame around the image. Unfortunately this scan doesn't show the entire border.
**The woman in the middle is described merely as "a friend."

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Fantastic Find: New Netherland Institute

Ever since the Working on Wednesday post that focused on my maternal ninth great grandfather Dirick Areson, I've realized how little I know about the Dutch in North America.

[Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae, Map by N.J. Visscher 1650/51 based on a manuscript map compiled by Adriaen van der Donck in 1648. This is the second state (1652) which added Fort Kasimier. New Netherland Institute]

That's why I was delighted to find the New Netherland Institute. Here's what they have to say about themselves:

"For a quarter of a century, the New Netherland Institute (NNI) has helped cast light on America’s long-neglected Dutch roots. Created in 1986 as the Friends of the New Netherland Project, it has supported the transcription, translation, and publication of the 17th-century Dutch colonial records held by the New York State Library and State Archives. These records constitute the world’s largest collection of original documentation of the Dutch West India Company and its New World Colonies. They represent an irreplaceable resource for researchers exploring this important chapter in American history, its legacy of cultural traditions, and its qualities of tolerance, diversity and entrepreneurship."

Now I'm off to check out their online publications which includes The Guide to Dutch Manuscripts Relating to New Netherland, a catalog of primary source material located in repositories throughout the United States.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Currey/Grenfell Wedding Day

On May 1, 1922, Harold Delbert Currey and Bernice Evangeline Grenfell* were married in Oceanside, California. I've always known about this photo, but until just a few weeks ago I wasn't aware that there was anything written on the back. (It looks as if the photo was trimmed afterwards and some of the text has been lost.)

Pages

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Monday, May 4, 2015

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Friday, May 1, 2015