Family Friday: Darling/Walsh

In Texas on September 6, 1864, my maternal great great grandmother Mercy Ann Darling Webb, a 29-year-old widow with a 4-year-old son,* married Joshua Walsh (1810-1888), a South Carolina native and veteran of the Mexican War. Before the end of 1868 the couple had re-located to Fairview in Jones County, Iowa, to be near her family and added a son and daughter to their household which eventually included two more children, the youngest of which was Catherine Mae Walsh (1874-1966) known as Kitty.

[Mercy Ann Darling Webb Walsh, photo courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

[Joshua Butler Walsh, photo courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

[Catherine Mae Walsh, photo courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

After residing in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, and Idaho,** by 1930 Kitty was living in Southern California, first in Los Angeles and then Long Beach. By 1944 she had moved to San Diego County where she died in 1966.

[Date: Sunday, March 6, 1966   Paper: San Diego Union (San Diego, California)   Page: 16  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. Source: GenealogyBank.com]

Today we met up with Kitty Walsh Brown's granddaughter Catherine Brandenburg (born in 1921) together with three generations of her descendants, first for brunch and then later at Mount Hope Cemetery where Kitty is buried.

*My great grandfather Jesse David Webb (1860-1935), the only child of Abner Webb (1834-1861?) whose death had stranded his family in Texas during the Civil War.
**That we know of, there is a gap of 30 years we haven't account for yet.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Have You Donated to "Preserve the Pensions" (Pensions of 1812)?

Have you donated to War of 1812 Pension Digitization Project yet?

The Pension Records from the War of 1812 are among the most requested documents at the National Archives. Unfortunately, these fragile documents are in urgent need of digitization. In support of this monumental task of digitizing 7.2 million pages, Ancestry.com has provided a dollar for dollar matching grant, so every dollar you contribute will make four more pages accessible and free for everyone.

I mentioned this project late last year.  They have now raised 50% of the money needed!

Ancestry.com has generously stepped up and agreed to cover costs to digitize HALF of the War of 1812 pension records. So every dollar donated will actually go twice as far.

At a cost of $0.45 per digitized page, your tax-deductible gift of $45 would normally digitize 100 pages, but with the help of Ancestry.com it will digitize 200 pages. Your contributions can be made in the name of your ancestor.

Time is of the essence. These documents are fragile and need to be digitized quickly to preserve the best possible image of each page.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Barnabas Davis (About 1599 - 1685), Tallow Chandler, Soldier, Planter

Although it sometimes can be difficult to trace colonial ancestors back across "the pond" to their origins in the Old World, that's not the case with this paternal ninth great grandfather--sources agree that he came from Tetbury in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire and was born about 1599. Therefore he was about 29 when he married Patience James in Tewkesbury on July 4, 1628. The couple's four oldest children were baptized in Tetbury.*

[Glocestershire; Britannia Depicta or Ogilby Improved. Being a Correct Coppy of Mr. Ogilby's Actual Survey of All ye Direct & Principal Cross Roads in England and Wales ... By Ino. Owen ... Maps of All the Counties of South Britain ... By Eman Bowen, Engraver. 1675. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

In 1635 Barnabas and Patience decided to emigrate to New England with their four children and chose to make their departure from London. However in July of that year, Barnabas left London by himself on the ship The Blessing bound for New England as the agent of William and John Woodcock who had made an investment in Connecticut land and wanted Barnabas to check on its progress, and they convinced him to leave his family in England.

Ten days after Barnabas landed in Boston he set out for Connecticut on foot. But when he arrived at the Woodcock's property he found nothing had been done and that Francis Stiles, the man in charge of the work, had returned to England so Barnabas left as soon as he could get passage back to London.** After he reported his findings to the Woodcocks it was learned that Stiles had gone back to Connecticut. So the Woodcocks sent Barnabas off to New England again (after a short visit to his family who apparently were back in Tewkesbury).

He arrived in Boston during the Pequot War and as it was no longer safe to travel overland to Connecticut he went by sea. Because of trouble with the Indians he wasn't able to visit the location of the Woodcock's property but Barnabas was able to ascertain from neighbors that the promised work had not been done and was given letters to deliver to his employers in London.

"[B]ut in the meantime he was taken a soldier against the Pequids and before he could return & get shipping in the sea near upon a year was spent from his last landing."

[A Map of New England from  A Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New-England, from ... 1607 to this present year 1677 ... To which is added a Discourse about the Warre with the Pequods in the year 1637. By W. Hubbard, Minister of Ipswich. ... Boston.

Source:David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.]

So Barnabas returned to England for the final time and embarked with his family in 1639 to settle in Charlestown where he remained for the rest of his life.*** He died on November 28, 1685.

He is referred to as a tallow chandler in deeds, also sometimes as a planter or husbandman.**** The inventory of his estate included "tallow valued in 13s. 6d. and mold & [nod] & knife for a chandler valued at 6s."

[The Art and Mystery of Making Wax and Tallow Candles, engraved for the 'Universal Magazine', 1749 | Social Studies, The Arts | Image | PBS LearningMedia]

Although the engraving above is dated 1749, the candle-making process didn't change much in the intervening years. Tallow chandlers often made soap also. It was a smelly but profitable trade.

Elizabeth Davis (1728-1823), the great great granddaughter of Barnabas and Patience, married Thomas Farnsworth (1731-1820) and their daughter Lucy (1762-after 1850) married Joshua Shepard (1753-1804). Their great great granddaughter Letta Estella Porter is my paternal grandmother.

*Three more children were born to the couple later. My descent is from their oldest child, Samuel (1629-1699). Most of the information here is taken from his profile in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 2, page 286.. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011.
**In 1636. We know about this period of his life from depositions taken during his suit again the Woodcocks in 1641 for money they owed him. Unfortunately the result of this suit is lost to history.
***He continued to act as a agent of the Woodcocks and was able to get a judgement for 300 pounds against Stiles after his 1639 landing.
****Both Barnabas and Prudence were able to sign their names on these deeds.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: Plat Book of San Diego County, California

Title page of William E Alexander's plat book on San Diego county, published about 1912 by the Pacific Plat Book Co. in Los Angeles, available through the online Maps division of the Library of Congress.

This Plat Book of San Diego County, California (1912) is a great snapshot of the county for anyone with ancestors in the area then.

Using my 1st cousin 3x removed Frank Paul Hartley as an example, I will try to locate where he or his closest relatives (his mother Hannah L (Mount) Hartley and Wilmer Hartley) were.

Hannah and Wilmer were in the General Land Office Records of the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Using BLM records to determine what Township and Range owners were in, I cross-referenced this in the index of the plat book:

Note that this means page 138 in the book, not page 138 as designated by the LOC

The names on the land are for "W. Hartley" and "F. P. Hartley," undoubtably Wilmer and Frank Paul Hartley.  I don't know where Hannah would be (she died only about 3 years after this plat book was published).

There they are in the lower left hand.  Note that there are Salazars nearby, I wonder if they are the same ones the Curreys knew?

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: GEDmatch Chit Chat at The In-Depth Genealogist (theindepthgenealogist.com)

Click here for Home page of The In-Depth Genealogist

Presented by Shannon Combs-Bennett for The In-Depth Genealogist ("a woman owned publishing company that provides educational resources for the genealogical community"), this 45-minute video is about about GEDmatch.

Because GEDmatch is insanely awesome yet presents a steep learning curve, I take every opportunity to watch people who actually understand GEDmatch so that I can reinforce my current (if rather pathetic) understanding of the site and learn new ways to use the tools.




© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 database release on Ancestry.com

U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

I see this release as a possible goldmine for those seeking the parentage of the deceased, especially the mother's maiden name.  This information is not available on Ancestry's U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 database.

Copies of the original records from the Social Security Administration are $27-$29, so this additional information might save a lot of people a lot of money and headache.

Here is Ancestry's blog post about it.




© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: British family names; their origin and meaning, with lists of Scandinavian, Frisian, Anglo-Saxon and Norman names

This nice book by Henry Barber (published in London in 1894), uploaded to the Internet Archive by an archivist associated with Cornell University, would be helpful for anyone looking for clues as to their British last name.

I figured I'd try to determine the origin of Tibbetts.

pp. 208-209
TEBBUT.  A.S. Tedbert; Fr. Thibaut; p.n.
TIBBETTS, TIBBITTS.  Dch. Dibbetts; a p.n.  See Tebbut
TIBBITT. Fl Tybaert; a p.n.

Other variants include:
Tebb, Tebbs, Tebbatts, Tebbitt, Tibb, Tibbs, Tibby

Hahahaha, Tedbert.

It seems May Jarvis had tried to figure out the origin of Tibbetts as well, consulting Mr. Barber along with other sources:

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Slater

The caption says it all: this is my maternal grandfather Harry Allen Slater (1888-1956) and his son James (1919-1984) taken in 1920 in Niwot, Colorado.

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Jeremiah Tibbits, Emperor of the West!, part deux

So I looked around a little more for Jeremiah Tibbets and found he had been in Cincinnati since at least as early as 1810:

Then I found Jeremiah Tibbits (or Tibbets) is listed in the 1817 Cincinnati census.  His household had 3 males 21 and up, 1 female 21 and up, 1 female under 12, and 2 colored persons.

"Tibbits, Jeremiah" in the Census for Cincinnati, Ohio, 1817; and Hamilton County, Ohio, voters' lists, 1798-1799 by Dickoré, Marie. Published 1960. From Archive.org

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jeremiah Tibbetts, Emperor of the West!, Barber and Hairdresser in early Cincinnati

From page 146 of the 1819 Farnsworth Cincinnati city directory

My Tibbetts clan moved from Maine about 1816 to the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area (Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky), and I suspect Jeremiah is some sort of cousin of mine, although how I have yet to determine.  Generally the Tibbetts men seemed to be involved in things like tanning, glass blowing, and river boat captaining, so a hair dresser in the midst was a most unexpected find.

As yet I have not found any advertising for this Emperor of the West! in Cincinnati newspapers, but I did find some contemporary advertisements in other states to get a flavor of what might have been offered at Jeremiah's establishment:

John Rolington, Hair Dresser and Barber, in Frederick-town, Maryland in 1818.  Advertisement. Date: Saturday, July 4, 1818   Paper: Republican Gazette and General Advertiser (Fredericktown, Maryland)   Page: 3  From GenealogyBank.com  

William DeVaughn, Barber & Hair Dresser, in Alexandria, Virginia in 1822.  Advertisement  Date: Saturday, June 1, 1822   Paper: Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia)   Page: 1  From GenealogyBank.com

J. Murray, Barber and Hairdresser, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829 (possible a successor to Jeremiah Tibbets?). Advertisement
Date: Saturday, May 23, 1829   Paper: Cincinnati Chronicle and Literary Gazette (Cincinnati, Ohio)   Volume: 3   Issue: 21   Page: 3  From GenealogyBank.com

Example of hair a la Titus. Mother and Child by A. Buck, 1808 (detail). From the V&A Museum.  taken from Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion (a nice little site, BTW).

What fashionable men of the time might aspire to.  from Litho of a self-portrait by Jean-Louis-Andre-Theodore Gericault 1816, taken from Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion 

Edited to add:
Jeremiah has apparently intrigued interested parties for almost a century, as he is mentioned in this 1919 Cincinnati newspaper article on past Cincinnati "tonsorial artists" (hat tip Pat Hartley):

Clipped from The Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Jul 1919, Thu, Page 6.  From Newspapers.com

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Elizabeth Mott (1629 - 1694)

Elizabeth Mott was only six years old when she left her homeland with her father Adam, her new stepmother Sarah, three older brothers and younger stepsister in a ship named Defense that departed from London in July of 1635. After landing in New England the Mott family lived first in Roxbury, then moved to Hingham, and finally settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island by 1638, probably in search of greater religious freedom.

While there are a number of references to Adam Mott and his sons in early Portsmouth records*, we know nothing about Elizabeth until her marriage to Edward Thurston in Newport in June of 1647.** They were members of the Society of Friends, better known as Quakers.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700.* Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.]

As far as we know, Elizabeth and Edward lived in Newport for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth died at the age of 65 in 1694 and is buried in the Coddington Burial Ground where Edward joined her in 1707.

The Newport Historical Society has a video titled Colonial Newport: An American Experiment that provides a useful review of early Rhode Island history.

*As can be found by a search of the Mott name in The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth.
**You can watch a short video here about Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Who?

There's no telling who this Slater connection is in this undated photograph, but that young man was enjoying himself.

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Research: Were My Kin’s White Neighbors Descendants of My Ancestor’s Owners?

This useful guide to researching relationships between freed people, their descendants, and their white neighbors came to my attention through a post on New England Historic Genealogical Society's (NEHGS) Facebook page.

Originally posted on The Root, Henry Louis Gates Jr. consulting with Christopher Lee, a researcher from NEHGS, responds to the query Were My Kin’s White Neighbors Descendants of My Ancestor’s Owners? with a variety of avenues to explore.

What we found illustrates the close relationship that the emancipated people and their former owners frequently had in the years following the end of the U.S. Civil War, and the ways old patterns of power and economic interdependency endured.

NEHGS also has a free webinar about the topic posted earlier this year on YouTube.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: The McAdory House

For those of us who have ancestors who lived in the state, Alabama Pioneers blog is filled with lots of great stories. A recent post about three historic houses in West Jefferson County that are on the National Register of Historic Places* caught my eye because one of them, the McAdory House, built in 1840/1, is most likely the kind of place my people lived in back in the 19th century, at least when they first arrived in the state.

[McAdory Plantation House. Photo: My Front Porch Photography via Pinterest]

For a description of what life was like in one of these houses, I turn to Philip Henry Gosse and his Letters from Alabama which give an account of the eight months he spent as a teacher (and naturalist) in Dallas County in 1838. It's well-worth reading the whole of his description of Alabama houses, outbuildings and towns, the first part of which is seen below.**

[Letters from Alabama, Philip Henry Gosse via Google Books]

None of my ancestors lived in Jefferson or Dallas Counties but I doubt that building materials and housing styles were significantly different across the region in that early period.

My paternal fourth great grandfather Henry Avery (1753-1836) moved from North Carolina to Huntsville in the northernmost part of the Alabama Territory*** in about 1818. By 1830 he had moved to Bibb County, closer to the center of the state, where he died in 1836.

[The State of Mississippi and Alabama Territory. 1818. Carey's General Atlas, Improved And Enlarged; Being A Collection Of Maps Of The World And Quarters, Their Principal Empires, Kingdoms, &c. ... Philadelphia: Published By M. Carey And Son.

Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

[Alabama, 1831. A New General Atlas Comprising a Complete Set of Maps, representing the Grand Divisions Of The Globe, ... Philadelphia: Published by Anthony Finley. 1831. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

By 1846 my paternal third great grandmother Timney P Watts Warren Phillips (1805-1863) moved with her second husband John P. Phillips and their family (which included my great great grandfather Jesse T.S. Warren) to Cotton Valley in Macon County**** where she and John  remained for the rest of their lives.

[A New Map Of Alabama With Its Roads & Distances from place to place, along the Stage & Steam Boat Routes. Published By S. Augustus Mitchell, N.E. corner of Market & 7th Street Philada., 1846. Entered ... 1846 by H.N. Burroughs ... Pennsylvania.

Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

[Map of Alabama, Georgia and part of Florida, 1863. The geographical reader, for the Dixie children. By Mrs. M.B. Moore. Raleigh: Branson, Farrar & Co., Publishers. Biblical Recorder Print. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

*To see the National Register's Nomination Form for the McAdory House, look here [pdf]. The National Register's photographs of the building are to be found here [pdf]. The property is surrounded on three side by a wilderness area--a Google Maps street view is here.
**His description begins on page 151 and continues through until page 159 of his original book. Read it here. Gosse does note that there were a few houses built of sawed lumber but says that they were "mostly of recent erection." Note: the part where he describes what happens during a rainstorm is hilarious.
***Later called Madison County.
****Macon County was one of the counties carved out of what's labeled as "Upper Creek Indians" in the 1831 map above. The Creeks were displaced by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 signed into law by Andrew Jackson.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Slater/Webb

Here's maternal grandparents Harry Allen Slater and Anna Delilah Webb picnicking (or something) in a meadow above the Colorado Chautauqua at Boulder with their dog Freddy the wire-haired terrier, probably in the 1930s.

[Photographs courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

If you would like to learn about the history of the Colorado Chautauqua you can watch this:

[Life at The Colorado Chautauqua - Award Winning Short by Angelica Kalika via YouTube]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: A Counterfeiter's Paradise

Subtitled The Wicked Lived and Surprising Adventures of Three Early American Moneymakers, this book is a lively read that turned out to provide an insight into the lives of several of my ancestors, both in western Massachusetts and in southwestern Pennsylvania, than I imagined when I began to read it.

[Cover of Penguin paperback version of book, from Ben Tarnoff's website]

I had just finished the book (Kindle version) when I came across proof that my maternal sixth great grandfather Peter Worden* admonished a member of his Baptist flock in 1776 for passing counterfeit bill and denied "our fellowship with you" until he repented.

[Records of the First Baptist Church in Cheshire (formerly New Providence)

by Cooke, Rollin Hillyer, 1843-1900. Source: Internet Archives; Original source: Allen County Public Library]

There's no such direct connection to my maternal ancestors in Allegheny County like Isaac Webb and Jesse Sill but the author provides a useful description of life in that area. In fact what makes the book so valuable to me is Mr. Tarnoff's ability to describe the legal, social and historical environment each of his three "moneymakers" worked in, the same ones my (hopefully) law-abiding ancestors did.

[A new and general map of the middle dominions belonging to the United States of America, viz. Virginia, Maryland, the Delaware-Counties, Pennsylvania, New Jersey &c., with the addition of New York, & of the greatest part of New England &c., as also of the bordering parts of the British possessions in Canada. (with) A sketch of the upper parts to shown the remainder of the lakes. London, Published by Laurie & Whittle, No. 53, Fleet Street, as the act directs 12th May, 1794. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

By now A Counterfeiter's Paradise, first published in 2011, is available in hardback (used) through Amazon for $0.01 plus shipping so you can have it sent to your door for under $5.00.

*Invariably spelled Werden in these records.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: James Chappell Warren, Jr. (1897 - 1923), Student, Machinist, Farmer

Except for his wartime service in the U.S. Navy, as far as we know my paternal grandfather lived in Johnson County, Texas, for the whole of his short life.

In the 1900 U.S. Census the Warren family are listed as residents of a farm in Precinct No. 1, Enumeration District No. 53 of Johnson County which is described as "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.]

The next record we have for my grandfather is in the 1910 U.S. Census where the Warren family was still in Precinct No. 1 but the enumeration district had changed to 42 and their residence was located on Waxahachie Road.* Thirteen-year-old James is listed at a laborer on his father's farm.

[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. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA.]

By 1917 according to a city directory, the Warren family had moved into Cleburne and were living on West Chambers Street in a house that's still there.** Unfortunately we don't know what school James was attending.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

[Main Street in Cleburne in the 1910s, photographer unknown.This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3b18657]

The next record for my grandfather is his 1918 World War I Draft Registration Card which gives us more information about him, including his signature and the barest of physical descriptions.

[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.]

On June 26, 1918, James enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was rated as "Fireman 2nd Class.*** Until his discharge on September 25, 1919,**** he served on two ships, the U.S.S. Challenger (a freighter) and the battleship U.S.S. New Hampshire.*****

[U.S.S. Challenger. Source:http://shipscribe.com/usnaux/ww1/ships/challngr.htm]

[U.S.S. New Hampshire in New York Harbor. Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Hampshire_(BB-25) ]

By March of 1920 in the U.S. Census, James was living with his parents (and sister Mary) again back in Justice Precinct No. 1 and he was farming.

[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. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).]

Two years later, on June 5, 1922, James married Miss Letta Estella Porter in Collin County, Texas. How they met is unclear as is how long they stayed together.

["Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-20816-40296-91?cc=1803985 : accessed 15 July 2015), 004820768 > image 417 of 943; county clerk offices, Texas.]

James Chappell Warren Jr. died on August 8, 1923, of general peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix, in Meadow Lawn Sanitarium****** in Cleburne. His occupation was listed as Machinist + Farmer and he was 26 years old.******* James was buried in the local cemetery.

[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.]

Now comes the part of this story that I find hard to understand. We know from his death certificate, for which his mother Nannie Freeman Warren supplied the information, that his parents were aware than he was married. His son, my father Tracy Stuart Warren, had been born in Dallas just 3 months and 11 days before James died. Yet the probate records for his estate make no mention of either wife or child. Eight days after his death, a temporary administrator R.A. Kilpatrick was named by the probate court as James had left no will. A list of assets (a crop in a rented field) and liabilities (a small debt to a local bank) of the estate known at the time was included in the probate minutes.

["Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-30654-4778-69?cc=2016287&wc=M4FQ-968:337778501,339374901 : accessed 15 July 2015), Johnson > Minutes 1921-1926 vol 39-42 > image 298/299 of 887; county courthouses, Texas.]

Three months later another probate record added the information that the estate also included an insurance policy for $1,000 and his father James Chappell  ("J.C.") Warren Sr. was petitioning to be made administrator, which he duly was.

["Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-30654-5421-35?cc=2016287&wc=M4FQ-968:337778501,339374901 : accessed 15 July 2015), Johnson > Minutes 1921-1926 vol 39-42 > image 333/334 of 887; county courthouses, Texas.]

The final accounting of the estate of James Chappell Warren Jr. filed by his father with the probate court showed that every penny of the $758.85 was spent in medical and legal bills, funeral expenses and the $58.10 commission paid to his father as administrator.

["Texas, Probate Records, 1800-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-30654-4532-5?cc=2016287&wc=M4FQ-968:337778501,339374901 : accessed 15 July 2015), Johnson > Minutes 1921-1926 vol 39-42 > image 379/380 of 887; county courthouses, Texas.]

It appears that no attempt was made to make any provision for his dead son's wife and orphan child. Why not? Did his parents disapprove of his marriage to Letta Estella? Had the couple become estranged before James died? Were the Warrens aware that they had a grandchild? Had my grandmother been informed when James was dying? These are all questions I have no answer to.

In 1936, after the death of her father in 1924 and mother in 1934, his sister Mary Ann (Warren) Nance applied to the government for a headstone for her brother's grave, which according the application was unmarked.

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941. Microfilm publication M1916, 134 rolls. ARC ID: 596118. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

 

[Created by: Searchers of our Past Record added: Dec 31, 2010 Find A Grave Memorial# 63532557 Photo by Weldon Collins]

*Presumably this was the road that led to the town of Waxahachie northeast of Cleburne in neighboring Ellis County.
**As of Google Maps 2013.
***Which did not mean he wore a red hat and carried an ax but rather was employed in the engine room of the ship. For a discussion of ranks, insignia, and job descriptions during WWI see here and here.
****Although I believe he remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve until September 30, 1921. Which appears to be borne out by the additional information on his sister's gravestone application and his tombstone.
*****However, I haven't been able to locate his records on Fold3 so I don't know when he served on each ship. The information about the ships he served on comes from the information on the application for his headstone.
******Read more Meadowlawn Sanitarium and Dr. Cooke who signed the death certificate here.
******I think his machinist experience came through his naval training.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.