Monday Is for Mothers: Violet Cora (Porter) Cook, Her Son Calvin & Dallas Baby Camp - 1927

Violet is one of my paternal grandmother's sisters which makes her my great aunt. As far as I can tell she married a man named Roy or Ross Cook sometime between 1925, when she was listed in the Dallas City Directory and 1927 when Calvin was born in Wichita Falls, Texas.

As you can see in Calvin's birth certificate, his father's given name is listed as Roy (or possibly Ray).

[Ancestry.com. Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Birth Certificates, 1903–1932. iArchives, Orem, Utah.]

Although Roy (or Ray) Cook isn't an uncommon name and there are several candidates for Calvin's father, I'm not prepared to claim that any of them are the right man.

Baby Calvin only lived for one month and 1 day before his death in Dallas. According to the death certificate he was born prematurely.

[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. Austin, Texas, USA.]

What caught my eye was the place of death, Dallas Baby Camp. So I decided to do a bit of research which led me to a 1947 newspaper clipping about its history.

[3 Jan 1947, Page 3 - The Courier-Gazette at Newspapers.com]

I also located this article published five years ago by the Dallas Morning News which gives a more comprehensive overview of the Baby Camp.

[Dallas News powered by the Dallas Morning News]

The next public record for Violet is the 1930 U.S. Census where she's a widow living in her mother's house (along with several of her sisters, including my grandmother and my father).

In the next census ten years later, Violet, now single, was still living with her mother and extended family. She died in 1944 and here's her death certificate which states that she died of encephalitis of 15 years duration which would put the onset of the disease back to 1929. Perhaps that's why in both the 1930 and 1940 federal enumerations no occupation is listed for Violet.

[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. Austin, Texas, USA.]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Lydia Rogers (1642 - 1727)

This maternal eighth great grandmother was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1642 and that's where she married Joseph White.

[Births, Marriages and Death. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).]

[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.]

There's a conflict here with the date of John Roger's will being brought to court (April 30, 1660) and Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 listing for Lydia and Joseph White's marriage in September of that same year. The will clearly identifies her as "Liddia white" and refers to his "sonne in law Joseph white" so it must have been made after their marriage. There is an error somewhere because at this time the civil year began on March 25th.*

[Probate Records, Vol 1-4, 1628-1667. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Massachusetts County, District and Probate Courts.]

Five of their seven children, including their only daughter and my direct ancestor Lydia White (1662-1696), were born in Weymouth. Their two youngest boys, Samuel and Ebenezer, were born in Mendon so the family had moved there by 1667.

Joseph** died in Mendon in 1706, and Lydia survived him by 21 years, dying on May 8, 1727.***

["Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31535-13836-85?cc=2061550 : accessed 2 November 2015), Worcester &gt; Mendon &gt; Births, marriages, deaths, property records 1677-1826 &gt; image 109 of 328; town clerk offices, Massachusetts.]

Their granddaughter Lydia Cook (1686-?) married Daniel Darling (1682-1746) and their great great granddaughter Mercy Ann Darling's (1835-1915) son Jesse David Webb (1860-1935) is my great grandfather.

*Neither of these conflicting records shows us an original document. There's another (printed) transcript of the will which gives the probate date of 1661 but the inventory date is in 1660. (I'm so confused...)

[Wills. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Massachusetts County, District and Probate Courts.]

**The death record refers to him as Captain Joseph White. I haven't found any probate records for him (yet).

["Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31535-13911-79?cc=2061550 : accessed 2 November 2015), Worcester &gt; Mendon &gt; Births, marriages, deaths, property records 1677-1826 &gt; image 107 of 328; town clerk offices, Massachusetts.]

***Presumably both are buried in Mendon, but there's no record of where their graves are.


© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Lydia White (1662 - 1696)

If the 1879 transcription of 17th century Weymouth, Massachusetts, birth records is correct, Joseph and Lydia (Rogers) White had twins Lydia and Joseph* in 1662.

[Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT:

Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).]

Torry lists her marriage with Samuel Cooke in Mendon, about 30 miles east of Weymouth, in 1681 when Lydia would have been 18 and that's where she lived for the rest of her life.

[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.]

 In the 15 years of their marriage Lydia and Samuel had at least eight children.** She died in 1696 at the age of 32 only about four months after the birth of her youngest child.

Samuel lived until 1752, surviving his wife by 56 years. There is no record of a second marriage for him. It is presumed that both Samuel and Lydia are buried in Mendon.


*The first Joseph must have died earlier.
**My direct ancestor is their fourth child Lydia Cook, my sixth great grandmother, who married Daniel Darling.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Lydia Cook (1686 - After 1747)

As we see from her birth record in Mendon, Massachusetts, this maternal sixth great grandmother was named for her mother Ledia (White) Cook. Her father Samuel is described in later records as a husbandman so we can assume that his main occupation was farming.

[Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).]

In about 1706 Lidia married Daniel Darling, a blacksmith, who was also an inhabitant of Mendon and the couple began their family which grew to include eight children that we know of. My direct ancestor is their second son Samuel* who was born in 1714/5.

[Source: familysearch.org; Massachusetts, Town Clerk...Towns Records, 1579-2001 Worcester Mendon Births, marriages, deaths 1643-1835]

In the winter of 1745/6 63-year-old Daniel "being sick and weak in body, but of sound and disposing mind memory and judgment, Thanks be given unto God therefor" made his last Will and Testament in which, after giving the customary attention to his earthly body  and soul, and directing that his just debts be paid with money from the sale of his "creatures,", provided for his widow's maintenance first.

["Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1925," images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-42449-24426-30?cc=2102083&wc=9BXJ-DP8:1055512501,1073167801 : accessed 31 December 2014), Worcester - Case no 15386-15470, Darling, Alpheus-Darling, Simeon, 1731-1881 - image 180 of 1094; Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Boston.]

Daniel's will also stated that upon his widow's death or re-marriage how he desired all the property left for her use was to be divided among his children.

["Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1925," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-42449-24267-55?cc=2102083&wc=9BXJ-DP8:1055512501,1073167801 : accessed 6 July 2015), Worcester > Case no 15386-15470, Darling, Alpheus-Darling, Simeon, 1731-1881 > image 180 of 1094; Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Boston.]

None of the surviving probate records have Lydia's signature (or mark) on them. She's first on the list of heirs to be notified and some of the other people listed have signed that paper but she didn't so we don't know if she was literate or not.

["Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1925," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-42449-24921-52?cc=2102083&wc=9BXJ-DP8:1055512501,1073167801 : accessed 7 July 2015), Worcester > Case no 15386-15470, Darling, Alpheus-Darling, Simeon, 1731-1881 > image 192 of 1094; Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Boston.]

In an accounting to the probate court made by her oldest son Daniel, as executor, there's mention of money paid to her from the estate for "Mourning Cloths"** and the cost of hay for the "creatures" she received as part of her widow's share.

["Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1925," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-42449-24255-25?cc=2102083&wc=9BXJ-DP8:1055512501,1073167801 : accessed 7 July 2015), Worcester > Case no 15386-15470, Darling, Alpheus-Darling, Simeon, 1731-1881 > image 190 of 1094; Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Boston.]

History is silent about Lydia Cook Darling after these documents. We don't know how long she survived her husband or where she's buried. Perhaps she lies next to David in the Old Cemetery in Millville, Worcester County, Massachusetts, the same place his parents are buried.

*Samuel's great granddaughter Mercy Ann Darling married Abner Webb in 1856. My maternal grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater was the child of their son Jesse David Webb.
**The sum for the widow's mourning clothes is 14 pounds which seems like a large amount for the time. I don't know enough about probate customs to know whether this amount was for Lydia's clothes only or covered those of other members of the family.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.