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In a continued attempt to identify the parents of my 4th great grandfather, Russell Leonard, I revisited an old theory of mine, regarding Joshua Leonard and Hannah Sylvester. The details are shared here in hopes that they will help us prove or disprove the relationship. In History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, these facts are found on page 231 and pages 356-357: Note: Joshua was born Nov. 8, 1773, a son of Amos and Jemima Leonard. [Vital Records of Worthington, p. 44]. Amos died in Worthington on March 16, 1816, at age 75, and his wife also died there, nine years later, on Aug. 20, 1825, age 82. [Vital Records of Worthington, p. 144]. Amos Leonard is listed in Manning Leonard's Memorial, genealogical, historical, and biographical, of Solomon Leonard, 1637, of Duxbury and Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and some of his descendants, p. 86, stating that he arrived in Worthington after 1769, His son, Joshua, is named, saying only that he had sons Bartlett and Nehemiah and that some of his descendants lived in Lyons, New York. His wife's name is not given, but notice that Hannah Sylvester's father's name was Nehemiah and her mother's maiden name was Bartlett, as shown below. Two of her brothers were both named Bartlett (both died young). She also had another brother named Russell. Joshua was found on the census in Worthington in 1800 and in Chesterfield in 1810, both in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Joshua Jr. and Russell's births are found in Chesterfield Vital Records: The reasons I believe Joshua and Hannah may have been the father of my ancestor, Russell Leonard, is because Joshua Leonard lived in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York, in 1820 and there was a male matching Russell's age group living in the home. In 1823, Scipio was divided to form Venice and Springport. Joshua was counted on the census in Venice in 1830 and 1840. Russell and Sophronia's son, Charles Russell Leonard, was born in Springport in 1830 and four years later, Sophronia placed an announcement in the newspaper stating that Russell left to buy land in Michigan territory on Nov. 1, 1833, and had not returned as of May, 1834. She was remarried and was living in Scipio in 1840. Charles was not found in the home but there was a boy matching his age group in the home of Joshua. The first census I have found Charles on was in 1855 in Genoa, Cayuga, New York. In 1850 and 1860 Joshua Sr. was living Butler, Wayne County, New York. In Manning Leonard's 1896 book, he stated that Joshua's descendants "live" in Lyons. Charles Russell Leonard lived between Scipio and Groton most of his life but he was counted on the census in Rose in 1892 and in Lyons in 1900. There were at least a dozen Leonards in Lyons and all of them were descendants of Joshua. Regarding Hannah Sylvester's ancestry, on page 357 of Families of Chesterfield, we see Hannah Sylvester listed (#25), as a child of Nehemiah Sylvester, but stating that town records call her a daughter of Nathaniel, his brother. *Notice the typo in Nehemiah's birth year. It should be 25 May 1746 - not 1846. He married Mary Russell in 1768 and Hannah Bartlett in 1773 in Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Whether her father was Nehemiah or Nathaniel, her grandfather was Nehemiah Sylvester, born in Scituate in 1714 or 1715, and her grandmother was Mehitable Damon, daughter of Zachariah Damon, Jr., all shown on page 356 as follows: Chesterfield is in Hampshire County in western Massachusetts, part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is about 32 miles northwest of Springfield, where descendants of John Leonard lived. Worthington was first settled in 1764, with few inhabitants, due to its high elevation. Many early settlers moved into western New York and Ohio for better opportunities, according to Wikipedia. The second Congregational Church there burned in 1887 and another was built in the same spot. You can tour Worthington on Google Maps. The First Congregational Church is show here on the left, across from the Worthington Town Hall. Other evidence possibly supporting my theory is that my father's DNA matches another descendant of Israel Sylvester (1646-1727) on three different chromosomes: My father's DNA also matches a descendant of Hannah Bartlett: Furthermore, a match was found when comparing my father's DNA to a descendant of Hannah Bartlett's grandfather, Lt. Samuel Bartlett, of Duxbury: (Notice it's on the same Chromosome as one of the matches with Israel Sylvester, above). Note: Samuel Bartlett descended from two Mayflower families - Brewster and Warren, and his wife, Hanna (Pabodie) was an Alden descendant. Hannah Sylvester's husband, Joshua Leonard, descends from two other Mayflower passengers (James Chilton and his wife), therefore if my theory is correct, our Leonard line leads back to at least FIVE different Mayflower passengers! Click here to see findings for Hannah and Joshua Leonard and let me know what you think. Was Hannah Sylvester the mother of Russell Leonard, my 4th great-grandfather? Sources: Scituate, Massachusetts, Second Church Records, 1909, p. 10. "Richard the sonn of Israel Silvester", born May 4, 1679. [Link] History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, p. 356-357. [Link] Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Vol 1, Births, p. 317-322. (See both Silverster and Silvester) [Link] Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Vol 2, Marriages and Deaths, p. 258 [Link] Church records of the town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, 1762-1820, by Corbin, Walter E., 1931 [Link] Chesterfield births Book 3 p. 32 [Link] "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9979-7DLB?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D4-W3F%3A353350301%2C353394901%2C353394902 : 20 May 2014), Hampshire > Chesterfield > Births, marriages, deaths 1796-1842 vol 3 > image 19 of 90; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston. Memorial, genealogical, historical, and biographical, of Solomon Leonard, 1637, of Duxbury and Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and some of his descendants, by Manning Leonard, p. 86 [Link] Joshua Leonard (Wikitree) #hannahsylvester #joshualeonard #massachusetts #russellleonard #leonard #sylvester

Since many of my ancestors and relatives have lived in central New York for the past couple hundred years, I love seeing old postcards and photographs from the area. My father gave me many, including these two of Civil War veterans, labeled "G.A.R. South Otselic". With this information, I spent a little time learning about them. The Grand Army of the Republic - G.A.R., for short, was a fraternal order comprised of Union veterans of the Civil War. The organization was founded in 1866 and had over 409,000 members in 7,000 posts around the country at it's peak. It was dissolved in 1956, when the last Union veteran died. These two postcard photos were of men in South Otselic G.A.R. Post No. 456, who we can learn quite a bit about in the local newspapers. For one, the post took on the named "Judson E. Parce" in 1885. The Utica Morning Herald, Tues., Nov. 10, 1885, announced "The name of post 456 has recently changed to Judson E. Parce, a charter member and benefactor, who died in South Otselic a year or two ago. Mr. Parce was a member of the 76 regiment and was wounded at Bull Run." In the document below, you can see the photos as well as the newspaper clippings I found relating to men of Post #456, in chronological order, along with the two postcard photos. Feel free to download and/or print the PDF document for your own family file, if any of these men are your ancestor. These articles provide us with a partial list of members, who may be in the group photo and/or Memorial Day parade photo: Julius Beckwith, of Lincklaen, elected "Ser." for 1898. (Not found on 1890 Veterans Census). Murrio M. Bronson, Sargent of Co. A. I57th Regt., was counted on the 1890 Veterans census in Hamilton, Madison County. He died Sept. 2, 1917. He is buried "at Poolville". David Brown, of Pitcher, elected O. G. (Officer of the Guard) in 1892, died Sept. 30, 1904, age 78. Joel Bassett, of South Otselic, elected S. M. in 1892. John F. Button, of Pitcher, elected Surgeon in 1916, elected as alternate delegate to the State Encampment for 1916. Frank D. Church, died Dec. 30, 1933, at his home east of Willet. He is buried in Willet. (Not found on 1890 Veterans Census). Dr. Dewitt Crumb, "Commander Crumb", of South Otselic, enlisted as a private in Co. G, 22nd Reg., New York Vol. Cavalry, elected Q. M. (Quartermaster) in 1892, Commander for 1898 and 1904. (Bio in Book of Biographies...Chenango County, p. 30-35.) Lewis E. Darling, of Lincklaen, veteran of the 157th Regt., died Nov. 15, 1920, and is buried in Pitcher. (Not found on 1890 Veterans Census). Andrew Dickerson, of Pitcher, elected Chaplain for 1916. Marsh/March Etheredge, "colored veteran" of South Otselic, elected O. G. (O. of G.) for 1898, was a Barber with a wife and child. He committed suicide in Dec. 1904. Orrin Holmes, of South Otselic, elected O. G. (Officer of the Guard) for 1916. F. J. Hutton, "Comrade", entertained members at his home in Jan. 1901. (Not found on 1890 Veterans Census). Lewis V. Huttleston, of South Otselic, elected Adjt. in 1892, elected Q. M. (Quartermaster) for 1898. Judson E. Parce, of South Otselic, veteran of the 76th Regt. New York Volunteers, the post's namesake, committed suicide in 1884. Mitchell Sandford/Sanford, of South Otselic, elected P.C. (Commander) in 1892. Transferred to Wm H. Tarble post No. 476 in Dec. 1896. LeRoy Soule, of South Otselic, elected S. V. C. (S. V. Commander) in 1892 and 1916. Harvey/Harry Stearns, of South Otselic, elected Q. M. S. in 1892, elected J. V. C. (J. V. Commander) for 1898, delegate to the State Encampment for 1898, elected J. V. C. (J. V. Commander) and delegate to the State Encampment for 1916. Elliot J. Sherman, of South Otselic, elected Q. M. S. for 1916. Joseph Thompson, of South Otselic, elected Surgeon in 1892. S. Dennis Thompson, of South Otselic, elected J. V. C. (J. V. Commander) in 1892, elected S. V. C. (S. V. Commander) for 1898. Frank J. Tuttle, of Pitcher, elected O. D. (Officer of the Day) for 1916. Lewis L. Wansey, (of Pitcher?), elected Chaplain for 1898, died in April 1909. C. R. Warner, elected Adjutant and Q. M. (Quartermaster) for 1916. L. L. Warner, elected S. M. for 1916. Daniel M. Webster, of South Otselic, elected O. D. (Officer of the Day) in 1892 and 1897, was an alternate delegate to the State Encampment for 1898, received a commission as aide-de-cap to Department Commander, Oscar Smith of the Department of New York, G.A.R. in Nov. 1912, elected Commander in 1916. He died April 10, 1920, at the age of 80, and is buried in Valley View Cemetery. There were a few other men mentioned in the articles who may or may not have been members: W. H. Sullivan, speaker for Memorial Day services in June, 1898. J. J. Woodley, marshal of the day Memorial Day festivities in May 1899. Jay Rorapaugh, of Cincinnatus, gave the Memorial Day address in 1904, and read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Milton Thompson, of South Otselic, gave the response to the welcome on Memorial Day 1904. Alonzo DeVolson Brown, Civil War veteran, born Oct. 30, 1849, enlisted at Cortland into the 76th Regt. Co. A., New York Volunteer Infantry, and died at Oxford, Chenango County, New York on May 3, 1925. He was a member of the Georgetown Post, G.A.R., and of the South Otselic Lodge of Masons, but doesn't appear to have been a member of Post 456. The following were the veterans counted on the 1890 Veterans Census in South Otselic, Pitcher, and Lincklaen. Some of these men may have also been members and may be in the photo: (Those who were known members of GAR Post 456 are indicated with asterisk*) Veterans named on the 1890 Veterans Census in South Otselic Barkley, William Barr, Alonzo D Barr, Howard Bassett, Joel F* Briggs, Lyman Campbell, Jonah Coyt, Dwight M Crumb, Dewitt C* Davis, Austin Dike, Lewis M Eastman, Wordal Etheridge, Marsh* Fisher, John Holmes, Orrin* Huttleston, Lewis* Kinney, Silas E Newton, Albert Nourse, Clinton K Richer, Albert Rickard, Adam S Rickard, Robert H Sanderson, Alpheus Sanford, Mitchel* Sherman, Elliot* Sherwood, Delos Soule, Eber Soule, LeRoy* Stanton, Freeman C Stearns, Harvey* Taylor, Zechariah Thompson, Stephen D Thompson, Dennis* Thompson, Joseph* Thompson, Milton Turner, Eugen R Webster, Daniel* Soldiers whose widowed wives lived in South Otselic in 1890: Newton Benson's widow, Jane A. Benson Joseph L. Breed's widow, Orinda Samuel Church's widow, Susannah Elisha Cross's widow John Kingsley's widow, Martha James McKee's widow, Sarah Dwight Moore's widow, Harriet J. Moore Noah Preston's widow, Deidamia Preston formerly Henry Tyler's widow, Olive Veterans named on the 1890 Veterans Census in Pitcher Blackman, Theron Brown, David* Button, John* Cooper, Robert Coye, James R Crozier, William Davis, Hudson Dickerson, Andrew* Ellwood, Wilson Fox, Lewis H Geer, Dwight Gustice, Henry Gustice, Hiram Harvey, Albert Hoyer, Arthur Hyde, Reuben Jordan, Wallace McLune, Joseph Purslow, Uri Sherman, Wasley Tuttle, Frank* Wansey, Henry* Soldiers whose widowed wives lived in Pitcher in 1890: Merritt Bolt's widow, Susan Amos Miner's widow, Emeline Veterans named on the 1890 Veterans Census in Lincklaen Bacon, Truman Beckwith, Julius* Coats, Amaziah C Darling, Charles H Darling, Lewis E Eaton, Benjamin Marble, Horatio G Miller, William H Miller, Ambrose H Murray, Charles Parce, Daniel Parker, Almon S Phetteplace, LeGrand Sherman, Sanford W Shufelt, Lorenzo Stanton, Leroy Steele, Cornelius Vedder, Sherman S Wells, John R Wilcox, William A Soldier whose widowed wife lived in Lincklaen in 1890: Robert Champion's widow, Hannah If you can identify any of these men, please comment below to let me know. Also, if you'd like a copy, check this out: Stay tuned for more! #civilwar #gar #photos #southotselic #chenangocounty #newyork #military #veterans #union #soldiers

Cora E. (Sherman) Leonard was the wife of Lewis Leonard (1869-1897). She was born in July 1870 and had four children before her husband died from typhoid fever in 1897. Cora lived another 17 years before dying in Moravia on December 22, 1914. Transcription: "MORAVIA. Death of Mrs. Cora E. Leonard, Moravia, Dec. 23. - Following a brief illness the death of Mrs. Cora E. Leonard, aged 42 years, occurred early yesterday morning at her home west of this village. She is survived by her four children, two daughters, Mrs. Bert Wilkins and Mrs. William Bross; two sons, James Leonard and Albert Leonard, all of Moravia; two sisters, Mrs. Carrie Tilghe and Mrs. Henry Whitmore of Moravia; three brothers, Bert Sherman of Moravia, William Sherman of Virgil and Elias Sherman of Caywood. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon at the home. Rev. O.D. Fisher, pastor of the M.E. Church will officiate. Burial will be in the Indian Mound Cemetery." - Auburn Citizen, Dec. 23, 1914. Another obituary was published in The Genoa Tribune, on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 1914, as follows: See the Leonard page for photos and more information about this family. Note: Leslie L. Luther published a manuscript of all burials in Indian Mound Cemetery as of 1952 and Cora Leonard is not found. [ Read the book on FamilySearch ]. No one by the name of Cora Leonard is listed among the burials on Findagrave for Indian Mound Cemetery either. Her daughter, Ethel (Bross) is listed, however, and one Bert Sherman (1869-1962) is listed with a photograph. This calls for a separate blog! ( See here ). #leonard #corashermanleonard #sherman #corasherman #coraleonard #lewisleonard

Lewis Leonard was my 2nd great-grandfather, born in 1869 and died from Typhoid Fever in 1897. Click here to learn more about Lewis Leonard. These photos are from Dryer Family Photos. Both photos identify Lewis Leonard but were these the same Lewis Leonard? I believe this portrait is a different Lewis Leonard from the family: For more information about Lewis Leonard see the Leonard page. #leonard #lewisleonard #corasherman

This month I've been researching the family of William McGinnis, my 3rd great-grandfather and one of my father's most recent immigrant ancestors to arrive in America. Although the details of his story are a mystery to me, his struggle should not be forgotten. The first census I found him counted on in America was the 1850 census, when he lived in Broome County, New York, indicating he was an immigrant from Ireland. Then, from the 1855 census, we learned that he had arrived in America around 1849. Genealogists aim to find names, dates, and the places connected to their ancestors, but is it just to fill in the blanks in a family tree? I like to use the information to learn more about them and their journey. I enjoy researching the places they lived and what was happening during the time they lived there. My Timeline is where I keep a growing list of major events, such as wars, periods of immigration, and other events that may have impacted or affected our ancestors in some way. Feel free to use it to see what was happening during specific years and periods your ancestors lived. It may cause you to realize things you hadn't realized! In this case, William McGinnis arrived in New York in 1849. This was during the latter part of the Great Irish Famine, which had begun in 1845. He had survived "Black '47", the year considered to be the most devastating, when many thousands of men, women and children died from starvation and disease in Ireland. A search of the Irish Famine Index of survivors who fled Ireland and came to America (Find it on FamilySearch) produced two possible matches, shown below. Visit FamilySearch to try a search for your Irish relatives. (MyGenealogyAddiction.com is not affiliated with FamilySearch. You may need to create an account on their site to access records on FamilySearch). Both entries were transported in the Steerage, the cheapest and least comfortable accommodations. The first possible match is an entry for "William Mcginniss", age 20, a shoemaker born abt. 1827 who departed from Liverpool aboard the ship "Sheridan" and arrived in New York City on December 22, 1847. It appears there were no other McGinnis passengers on the ship. (Tip: To determine this, I modified the search to find passengers with last name "McGinnis". I then clicked "Immigration" and entered the year, 1847. I then browsed the list for passengers who traveled on the same day and ship). The next, and more probable match, William Mcginnis, age 21, a laborer who departed from Liverpool about the ship "Constitution" and arrived in New York City of January 16, 1849. The index estimates his birth year as 1828, but he arrived January 16th, early in the year. Therefore, he most likely turned 21 in 1848, which would make his birth year 1827, the same my ancestor, William McGinnis. There was also a 16-year old boy named John McGinnis on the ship. Whether or not they traveled together is unknown and a search for John McGinnis born 1833 produced results in Schuyler, New York, but whether or not this was the same John has yet to be determined. I found no record of Susan McGinnis, the woman counted in the same home as William on the 1850 census. I did, however, find a possible match for Rosa McGinnis, the unmarried woman who was in the same home as William on the 1855 Census. At the age of 14, she sailed on the ship "Iowa", from Glasgow to New York City, arriving August 16, 1850. It appears there were no other people carrying the McGinnis name on the ship. You can learn more about William in my previous blog and on his profile page. You might also be interested in this documentary on the Great Irish Famine. See more: Irish genealogy resources Thousands of other free genealogy resources Learn more about William McGinnis Learn more about his branch of my family tree #williammcginnis #ireland #irish #immigration #resources #genealogy Sources: "United States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDXX-YWF : 27 December 2014), Wm. Mcginniss, 22 Dec 1847; from "Famine Irish Passenger Record Data File (FIPAS), 1/12/1846 - 12/31/1851," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (http://aad.archives.gov : accessed 2012); citing "Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. Center for Immigration Research 1976-2002." "United States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDXV-DGP : 27 December 2014), Wm. Mcginnis, 16 Jan 1849; from "Famine Irish Passenger Record Data File (FIPAS), 1/12/1846 - 12/31/1851," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (http://aad.archives.gov : accessed 2012); citing "Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. Center for Immigration Research 1976-2002."

The Spirit of '76 - An Illustrated Monthly Magazine of Historical America, printed from 1894 to 1906, devoted to the Principle Incidents and Men of 1776 and Colonial times. Back in 1895, subscribers waited for issues by mail each month, but we can now browse through all of the issues free online. Choose a volume: Volume 1 [Read] Sept. 1894 thru Aug. 1895 Volume 2 [Read] Sept. 1895 thru Aug. 1896 Volume 3 [Read] Sept. 1896 thru Aug. 1897 Volume 4 [Read] Sept. 1897 thru Aug. 1898 Volume 5 [Read] Sept. 1898 thru Aug. 1899 Volume 6 [Read] Sept. 1899 thru Aug. 1900 Volume 7 [Read] Sept. 1900 thru Aug. 1901 Volume 8 [Read] Sept. 1901 thru Aug. 1902 Volume 9 [Read] Sept. 1902 thru Aug. 1903 Volume 10 [Read] Sept. 1903 thru Aug. 1904 Volumes 11 [Read] Sept. 1904 thru Dec. 1905 [Alternate Link] Volume 12 [Read] Jan. 1906 thru May 1906 [Alternate Link] #America #American #military #americanrevolution #colonial

While researching my 2nd great-grandfather, William Daniels, I discovered another genealogical doppelganger - that is, someone who looks a lot like the person you're looking for, based on the name, age, and places found in the records, but in actuality, it's not the right person. In this case, I was searching the archives at Washington State University's website, when I found a portrait of a man named William B. Daniels. And while I've never seen a photograph of my 2nd great-grandfather, William Daniels, the name, time, and place all lined up pretty well. Had I finally found a photo of him? Well, as it turns out, the archivists took the time to transcribe the writing on the back of the photo and it reads as follows: "William B. Daniels. Born November 1st 1817. Died April 21st 1894. He and his family crossed the plains around 1854 from Ohio. My father (born Dec. 17 1848) Byron Daniels, Horace & Gilbert's father, Hubert Daniels, and the small Horace - who died in Vancouver when he was only 29 years old. He and grandfather Daniels are buried together in the old Vancouver City Cemetery. Grandmother Daniels' maiden name was Sarah Hall - born in 1824 in Cayuga County, New York." Date: ca.1887 Here were see more similarities in their stories. My 2nd great-grandfather, William Daniels, crossed the plains with his parents - but in 1851, and his son, Percy H. Daniels, ended up in Cortland County, New York, very close to Cayuga County. The major difference, however, is his birthdate, 1817. My ancestor, William Daniels, was born Jan. 2, 1840, and died May 24, 1924. It is good to be aware of these doppelgangers when you're doing research. Newspapers, directories, and many other records don't usually provide many clues to differentiate between people who share the same name. One other indicator that this is a different William Daniels, is the place. While both these Williams were in Washington State, my William Daniels was living in Kamilche in 1892. Kamilche is 118 north of Vancouver. In 1900, my William Daniels lived in Satsop, which is about 103 miles north of Vancouver. These may not seem like long distances today, but given the mountainous terrain and time period, it certainly was no hop skip and jump away. So, it looks like I'll have to keep searching for a photo of my William Daniels. If you have one, please contact me! Subscribe to follow my journey! Click here to learn more about the Daniels branch of my family tree. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources. Click here for resources for Washington State. #williamdaniels #washington #daniels

My most recent immigrant ancestors were the Dickinsons who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1879 or 1880 from England, which I've posted many blogs about recently. Prior to that, a few of my ancestors arrived from Ireland during the Great Irish Famine in the mid-1800s, but the bulk of the arrivals prior to that were in the 1600s, during the Great Puritan Migration. Most of my ancestors tended to stay close to their families in the northeast, but there was one branch (of my eight main branches), who had a more adventurous spirit. It was the family of Percy Henry Daniels, my paternal great-grandfather. Percy was a sailor who traveled the world. He was born in Olympia, Washington, in the 1880s. He was a son of William Daniels, who was born in Missouri on January 2, 1840. Percy's grandfather was Austin Miles Daniels, who was born in Campbell County, Virginia, in 1812. Austin married Mary Ellen Wilkinson in Morgan County, Missouri, on January 7, 1837, and they headed further west to Benton County, Oregon, in 1851. Austin and Mary Ellen Daniels (my 3rd great-grandparents), had nine known children. These children were my 2nd great-granduncles and grandaunts and any children they had would have been my first cousins, 3x removed. Children of Austin Daniels and Mary Ellen (Wilkinson) Daniels: William Daniels (1840–1924), my 2nd great-grandfather, who you can learn a lot about here. Jonathan "Johnson" Daniels (1844–), born in Missouri, traveled west to Oregon at the age of about 7. [1, 2] (Note: I do not believe he was the same Jonathan Daniels who died in Lexington, Kentucky, Dec 5, 1864, from Typhoid Fever, which was reported as an "Alt date of death" by state archivists). He probably fought in the Civil War, but no information has been found. Thomas Daniels (1847–1907), born April 21, 1847, in Missouri. He died April 15, 1907, in Benton County, Oregon. [1, 2, 20, 31] He married Agnes Bartges on August 6, 1871 [28], with whom he had two children: George and Melinda Daniels, but he filed for divorce in 1879, accusing her of eloping with another man. He was living in Soap Creek, Benton County, Oregon, in 1880, listed as "widower", which wasn't true. He worked in the ferry business. Agnes married Emory Williams on Dec. 6, 1881. Their son George A. Daniels died from diphtheria, two months after Thomas filed for divorce and in 1882, Melinda died at the age of about 5. Agnes died in 1888. Thomas married second to Emma Duncan Snell, on Aug. 1, 1880. He was a member of Knights of The Maccabees (KOTM). He committed suicide at his home on April 17, 1907. Children of Thomas and Emma were: Sarah Ellen "Sadie" Daniels (1890-1955), who married Edward Henry Nachand and had at least eight children - Roscoe, Frank, Harry, Thomas, Emily, Elmer, Lorraine, and one other. [29] Frank Louis Daniels (1896-1927) [29] Edith Edna Daniels (1887-1890) died young. Ella Daniels (1880-1881) died young. Pearl Daniels (1883-1883) died young. Emily Viola Daniels (1849–1937) born Oct. 4, 1849 in Missouri. Emily was about 2 years old we she went to Oregon with her family. She married Nathan Taylor (1841-1903) in Benton on March 6, 1865, and had at least five sons and two daughters. She died in Corvallis at the age of 87 on Feb. 14, 1937 at 3:55 AM. The cause of death was Cardio-renal disease. She rests at Lone Fir Cemetery near Alsea, Oregon. [30] Her obituary is shown below. Her children were: Mary Jane "Jennie" Taylor (1865-1918), born Dec. 17, 1865, in Oregon. She married first in 1883 to John E. Grier (1852-1916) with whom she had Alberta Grier Lyon, Roma Etta Grier Taylor, and Gladys Grier Millsaps. After John died, Mary Jane married George W. Stoner (1861-1921) in 1917. [4] Thomas Henry Taylor (1868-1956), born May 23, 1868, in Buena Vista, Polk County, Oregon. He married Priscilla H. Sapp in 1894. The Sapp family donated the land for Lone Fir Cemetery. Thomas and Priscilla had four known children: Roy Taylor (1895-1983), Alma Ardell Taylor Skeels (1897-1985), Ray Taylor (1900-1934), and Alice Evelyn Taylor Keffer (1908-1984). [5] He was living in Waldport in 1946 [14]. Austin Miles Taylor (1873-1925), born Aug. 14, 1873, in Alpine, Benton County, Oregon. He married Fannie M. Aldrich (1878-1964) in 1898. He was "mill owner' who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which occurred while cleaning his rifle at his home in Wren, on Sept. 21, 1925. He is buried in Bellfountain Cemetery in Corvallis [6, 10] Known children: Raleigh Taylor [11, 13], Greta Taylor [11], Clarence Taylor [11, 13], and Claude Orville Taylor [11, 12, 13]. Susan Eleanor Taylor (1876-1925) married first to Harry Y. Green (1865-1939) with whom she had at least one daughter, Edna Elizabeth Green Onslow (1896-1987), Alta, Mildred, and Viva Green. They were divorced in 1908. She married second to James A.W. McLellan (b. 1862) in 1910. She was "survived by Mrs. H. L. Anson, Mrs. H. P. Walworth, Miss Viva Green, Mrs. M. J. Marlowe". She died in Portland on Feb. 9, 1925 and is buried in Rose City Cemetery. [7] Chesney Leon Taylor (1879-1965), born Nov./Dec. 17, 1879, in Alsea, Benton County, Oregon. He married Amanda Maude McGhee Taylor. Known children: Lloyd N. Taylor (1905-1963), Velma Arleta Taylor Preston (1909-1977), Blanche Marvel Taylor Applegate (1912-1993), Arlene Leone Taylor (1921-1934). He was living in Mapleton [14] in 1946 and he died Feb. 13, 1965, at Roseburg, Douglas County, Oregon, and is buried at Lone Fir Cemetery. [8] Walter W. Taylor (1881-1946), born Sept. 5, 1881, in Alsea. He was married in Corvallis on Dec. 1, 1910, to Florena "Flo" Fendall (1882-1944). Walter owned a stock and dairy farm. He died in a truck accident on July 19, 1946, at Alsea, wherein he was caught between two trucks. He was buried in Alsea Cemetery. Walter's obituary is shown below. Walter and Flo had one known child: DeVere Ormond Taylor (1913-1994), who married on June 24, 1939, to Margaret Anne Yates (1912-1994) in Linn, Oregon. [9, 14] DeVere had a daughter named Cynthia Taylor, born abt. 1948, and a daughter named DeAnne Taylor, born in 1943, a school teacher who married Milton W. Hamlin, also a teacher, on July 30, 1966 at Medford. Elmer Taylor (1885-1948), who married Myrtle Hayden on June 1, 1914, at Alsea. They had at least one son, Jack W. Taylor, and one daughter, Mrs. Jean Geraldine Roedde of Alsea. He lived in Alsea in 1946 [14] and died Feb. 11, 1948, at Corvallis. [32] His obituary is shown below. John Taylor (1870-1960), born Oct. 10, 1870, in Marion County, Oregon. John's death certificate states that he was never married, but on the censuses of 1900, 1920, and 1930, his marital status was "Divorced". He lived in Pendleton at the time and was also reported as living there in 1946. [14] He lived to the age of 89, and died at the Odd Fellows Home in Portland, on March 25, 1960. The cause of death was Arteriosclerotic cardio vascular disease. He is buried in Greenwood Hills Cemetery in Portland. Lillie Taylor (1890-1975), born March 11, 1890, in Lobster Valley. She lived in Monroe and Eugene until 1936, and then moved to Waldport, where she owned and operated the Hiway Cafe. She married to Lee Martin on Jan. 3, 1922, at Eugene, Oregon. He was a confectionery merchant. In 1932-33, they operated the Oregon Hotel Cigar Stand, Pacific Greyhound Express, and lived at 2242 Harris St in Eugene. Lillie and Lee were divorced before 1950. She moved to Toledo in the 1940s, where she worked as a cook at area cafes. She was living in Waldport in 1946 and was a member of the Church of Christ in Toledo and the Alsea Bay Rebekah Lodge of Waldport. She died at the age of 85 on Dec. 14, 1975, in Corvallis Manor, leaving no children, only 12 nieces and 6 nephews. [14, 33] Her obituary is shown below. Harrison "Harry" F. Daniels (1852–1872), born Aug. 1852 [2, 16, 20], was a deaf mute. His death came violently on Sept. 7, 1872, when he was "run over by the cars on the Oregon & California Railroad". When the case went to trial, the jury's verdict was that the railroad was at fault and the people pushed for legislation "to compel engineers and conductors to be less reckless". [15] Margaret Maggie Daniels (1856–1927), born March 13, 1856, at Bellfountain, Oregon, married on Aug. 2, 1883, at Rohnerville, California, to John Wesley Bryan (1854-1924). [2, 20, 21]. They lived in Hydesville, Humboldt County, California, where they were counted on the census in 1880 and 1900. In 1910 they lived in Scotia and John was a dairy farmer. Maggie died June 13 1927, at the age of 72, and is buried in Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka. Known children: Lloyd Bryan (1884-1945), [21] Oscar Ray Bryan (1885-1970), born Nov. 18, 1885 in Humboldt County, California, married Marie Waldner abt. 1908. They lived in Oakland, Almeda County, California, when the census was taken in 1910 and they lived in Beckworth, Plumas County, California, in 1920, when they had two young daughters: - Doris, born May 14, 1911, in San Francisco. She completed four years of college and became a school teacher. She married Norman Elwyn Little, a Canadian, on June 4, 1938, at Carson City, Nevada, and they had a son named Kent Little, born Apr. 2, 1940 at Medesto Mede or Stanislaus, California. Kent married Beverly A. Sabol and died May 31, 2004. Doris died Oct. 12, 1997, in Kern, California. - Beverly V. Bryan, born in 1920, married William Clay Holt in 1940 [25] and had five daughters: Barbara, Beverly, Bernice, Bonita, and Beatrice. [24] It appears Marie died soon after Beverly was born, and Oscar married Doris Baker Sevenoaks with whom he had at least two sons: - Quentin R. Bryan (1926-1997) [22, 23] - James Bryan (1934- ) [22, 23] Rae Wesley Bryan (1891-1974), [21] Verna Bryan Harris (1896-1966), [21] Susan Daniels (1857–1945), born Dec. 7, 1857, in Benton County, Oregon [2, 20]. She married abt. 1888 to George Washington Hughes and had five children [17, 18]. She died Feb. 13, 1945. Known children: Grace Emily Hughes (), born Oct. 1888 in Oregon [17, 18]. She married Walter Elmer Venable of Albany, Oregon. [19] They had a son named George C. Venable, born Feb. 3, 1919, in Albany, Oregon. He was 5/11" tall, weighed 180 lbs., and had brown hair and blue eyes. [26, 27] George married Henrietta Fay Devaney on July 5, 1952, at Albany. He died Aug. 1, 1997, in Oregon. Eva Hughes (), born June 1892 in Oregon [18]. She was single and living in Vancouver, Washington, when her father died in 1937. [19] She signed an affidavit for proof of her sister, Edna's birth, in 1961, under the name Eva Weber of Jennings Lodge, Oregon. Edna May Hughes (), born May 1, 1895 in Albany, Oregon [18], married William R. Dawson. and lived in Albany, Oregon, when her father died. [19] George H. Hughes (), born June 1897 in Oregon [18]. He lived in Albany, Oregon, when his father died in 1937. [19] He married Bessie Marie Chatfield and they had a daughter named Eva May Hughes who married Lester Stillwell of Tacoma, Washington, in 1921. Nancy Daniels (1857– ), born abt. 1857 in Oregon. She was 3 years old when the 1860 census was taken but she wasn't found living with the family in 1870, so she may have died young. [2] Andrew Daniels (1860– ), born about 1860 in Oregon. He was 2 months old when the census was taken in July of 1860, so he must have been born about May of 1860, but he wasn't with the family in 1870, so he was either with his father at the time, or he may have died young. [2] In 1870, Austin's wife, Mary Ellen, was living in Albany, Oregon, with four of their children - Thomas Daniels (age 23), Harrison Daniels (age 18), Margaret Daniels (age 15), and Susan Daniels (age 13). Austin was not listed among the residents of the home and Mary Ellen died later that year, on December 20, 1870, at the same place. She was about 51 years old. I've been unable to locate Austin on the census in 1870. He was living in Northern California by 1877 and was still there in 1892, but unfortunately, I can't find any further information on him. If you have any information about his, please contact me or comment below. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources. Sources: 1850 Census Dist. 38 Holt County, Missouri 1860 Census Soap Creek, Benton, Oregon OSU Early Oregonians [Link] Findagrave Memorial 128465425 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 36147877 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 36139229 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 99781579 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 36147607 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 115701032 [Link] Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Sept. 22, 1925 1910 Census Bellfountain, Benton, Oregon Oregon Birth Certificates, Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon #6372 1920 Census Alpine, Benton, Oregon, Sheet 5B Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, July 20, 1946 Albany Democrat, Albany, Oregon, Sept. 13, 1872, p.3 OSU Early Oregonians [Link] 1910 Census Albany (Ward 1), Linn, Oregon 1900 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon Albany Evening Herald, Albany, Oregon, Dec. 2, 1920 1870 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon Findagrave Memorial 87574131 [Link] 1930 Census Oakland, Alameda, California 1940 Census Oakland, Alameda, California 1950 Census Tulare, Tulare, California The Hanford Sentinel, Hanford, California, April 10, 1940, p.8 1950 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon US World War II Draft Cards Albany Democrat, Albany, Oregon, Sept. 1, 1871, p. 3, col. 2 1900 Census Fairmont, Benton, Oregon Findagrave Memorial 36147950 [Link] Findagrave Memorial 10424481 [Link] Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Feb. 12, 1948 Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Dec. 16, 1975, p10 Findagrave Memorial 210021548 [Link] #williamdaniels #austindaniels #percyhenrydaniels #daniels #california #oregon #washington

A few years ago, I was given an album of antique postcards collected from central New York yard sales and antique dealers over the course of many years. This special gift, filled with mysterious images of the people and places that occupied this place in the 19th and early 20th century, could keep a historian busy for years! It's a shame when old family photos end up being sold off to strangers. It could happen for a number of reasons, though. Perhaps there were no living descendants to cherish the photos or they were photos of friends no one in the family could identify, so they let them go. Maybe there was a death in the family and someone's photos were sold off at auction without the knowledge of the extended family. As for myself, I have many family photos of unnamed people, but I will do my best to keep them in the family. I've shared hundreds here on my website, from my own albums and those of my relatives who are willing to share. You can see them in my Family Album and elsewhere on my site. At any rate, one of the postcards in this collection is a real photo (RPPC) of a man's portrait. Beneath the image is his name, in cursive, "Jim Darling". There are no men by that name in my family tree, yet when I see the photo, I think someone out there might like to see and save this photo. In many cases, when these old photo postcards were made, there were only a few copies printed, making them extremely rare. This may be the only copy to exist on the planet, so here I am writing this article about Jim Darling. Although this postcard doesn't seem to offer much information, it provides a lot more than other cards and portraits I've seen. In fact, it provides enough information to learn all about him. I started my search on Findagrave and found a man in upstate New York named James Darling, buried in West Monroe, Oswego County, New York. He lived from 1832 to 1901 and was married to Rebecca (Hess) Darling. He had at least six children. View his memorial on Findagrave for more details. He lived in the same place when the census was taken in 1900, with his wife, Rebecca. In an attempt to confirm whether or not this was the same man in the photo, we need to look at the other clues. First, the card is dated, Sept. 1910 or 1916, with a "K.C." before the date, which I'm assuming means it was probably being sent from Kansas City, Missouri. Notice, it doesn't mention New York at all, even though the card was found in New York. The addressee, "Mrs. Mary Darling, Max, Neb." is a valuable clue. Given the date, it wasn't hard to find her on the 1910 census. Sure enough, we find her living in Max, Dundee County, Nebraska, in 1910. Mary A. Darling, widow, age 81, born in Ohio, was living with her sister, also a widow, Christena Ritchie. Notice, they were both born in Ohio, and both report their parents were born in Pennsylvania. In order to find out who her husband was, I searched the 1900 census and found both sisters living 500 miles apart. Mary was living with her husband, Frank Darling, in Prairie City, McDonough, Illinois, and Christina was living in Gibbon, Buffalo, Nebraska, with her husband, Alexander “Ritchey”, born Dec. 1837. They had been married 39 years. Even though Frank and Mary reported being married 41 years, this wasn't the case, as we will see later. Next, two articles printed in The Benkelman Post and News-Chronicle from Benkelman, Nebraska, January 27, 1911, read as follows: Although the name is "Mary A. Cook", after seeing the 1910 census, we know it was Mary A. Darling. The obituary mentions that she was widowed in Prairie City, Illinois, and we know Mary and Frank had been living in Prairie City when the census was taken in 1900. Frank died there on May 22, 1907, and is buried there with a tombstone that reads: "F. B. Darling, Co. K, 3rd Ind. Inf., Mex. War" and is proudly decorated with a GAR marker. View his memorial and grave on Findagrave here. Christena Ritchey died Nov. 10, 1918, and is buried in Marshfield, Missouri. Her grave tells us her maiden name - Bauchman, and also confirms the name of her husband, Alexander Ritchey, as seen on the 1900 census. They were married on July 4, 1861, at Ashland, Ohio. He was a veteran of the Civil War. View her memorial and grave on Findagrave here. Assuming that Mary A. Darling's maiden name was also Bauchman, we find that Mary A. Bauchman married first to David Bryte. They were married in Ashland, Ohio, (like Christena and Alexander), on March 22, 1857. Mr. Bryte was in Co. D 12th Illinois Cavalry during the Civil War and sadly, he died on August 15, 1864, at the age of 32. Sometime after 1864, it appears that Mary married to a Mr. Cook, because when Frank Darling and Mary were married on April 1, 1895, at Knox, Illinois, her name was recorded as "Mary Cook". Furthermore, pension claims for Alexander Bryte include the name Mary Cook. Given this information, we can see that at the time of the 1900 census, Frank and Mary had only been married five years, as opposed to "41" as given on the census. Frank was 66 years old when he married Mary, so I knew it most likely wasn't his first marriage. With a little more digging, I found that he was born in April of 1827, in New York, a son of Alpheus Darling and Martha Tucker, who lived in Madison, Madison County, New York, in 1820 and 1830. In 1840, they were counted on the census in Johnson, Ripley, Indiana, and Alpheus died there in 1849. Sure enough, Frank had married first to Barbara Ewing, on Nov. 1, 1849, at Ripley, Indiana. They were living there in Ripley when the census was taken in 1860, but Frank and Barbara split up between 1860 and 1870, because in 1870, Frank was living in Portland, Whiteside County, Illinois, with a woman named "Mima" (Jemima) and a young child named Katy. In 1880, Frank and Jemima were living in Prairie City, Illinois. Frank reported that his father was born in Massachusetts and his mother was born in Vermont, according to the 1880 census. He was a Railroad Conductor. In 1870, Barbara, was living in Steuben, Crawford, Pennsylvania, with her two sons, James Darling, age 19, and William Darling, age 17. James F. Darling was born November 12, 1850 or 1851, in Indiana. He married Celia Orilla Woodard on Feb. 24, 1874, in the same state, and they had three known children: Mary Darling, Lynn A. Darling, and Woodard Darling. In 1880, they were all living in Quincy, Adams, Illinois. Barbara was living with both her married sons, James and William and their wives, along with four of grandchildren. James worked as a Railroad Conductor, like his father. His brother, William, also worked on the railroad. William married Evangeline A. Green in 1877 and they had several children, including Dell (1877), James (1882), Glenn (18), Archie (1887), Olive (1890), and Hunter Darling (1893). (Birthdates are estimated and their names may be middle names). Note: There was another James Darling (1844-1925) in New Jersey who married Cecelia Amanda Ward (1849-1929). They were married in Ohio in 1849 but lived in New Jersey from 1880 to 1920. I mention this to avoid confusion for anyone researching James Darling. In 1900, Frank was living with Mary in Prairie City, Illinois, as mentioned previously, which brings us full circle - Mary Darling, the addressee on the postcard, was stepmother to James Darling! James Darling sent (or intended to send) the photo to her, proclaiming his friendship and giving her his blessing. The date on the postcard is difficult to decipher. It could have been 1910, or it could have been 1916, but Mary died in 1911, so I'm assuming it was 1910, but being that there is no postmark or stamp on it, it appears it was never mailed. How it ended up in upstate New York is a mystery. James married second to Laura A. Austin, widow of John H. Austin, on Nov. 21, 1904, in Jackson, Independence, Missouri, and there they were counted on the census in 1910. When the census was taken in 1920, however, James had a new wife - Marion A. Darling. They lived in Kansas City, Ward 6, Jackson County, Missouri. James died April 8, 1929, at St. Joseph's hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. The cause of death was "Septic exhaustion following amputation of part of foot" and "necrosis of old amputation stump". According to the death certificate, his body was taken to Corry, Pennsylvania, for burial. His mother and brother, William, are buried there in Pine Grove Cemetery, also known as "Corry Cemetery", in Corry, Erie County, Pennsylvania. See Barbara's memorial on Findagrave here. Although James Darling is not currently listed among the burials submitted on Findagrave, it seems likely that he is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, in Corry, Pennsylvania, with his mother, brother, and other family. At any rate, I hope his descendants and/or relatives find this page and cherish this rare photo of Jim Darling. If you find any of the information I've shared here to be incorrect, please let us know in the comments below! #jimdarling #postcards #photos

The Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) holds volumes of records relating to our soldiers of the American Revolution and their descendants. Ever since the Revolutionary War, descendants of these brave men have been submitting their genealogies to prove their relationship. Now it's easier than ever for you to access these volumes, free of charge, right now! Click here #americanrevolution #military #genealogy #resources #americanrevolution

Do you know how many of your great-grandfathers fought for America's independence in the American Revolution? I didn't know of any in my family when I began the quest for my heritage, I was very surprised to learn that at least twelve of my great-grandfathers are found in the muster rolls. I couldn't understand how that information was lost to my generation, though. It was only 250 years ago, so why was the information so far removed from me? What I noticed is that nearly all my known grandfathers who were living in America during the 1770's fought in the war, and then it occurred to me that maybe no one talked about it because nearly all the men (of fighting age) in America at the time fought in the war and therefore it was common knowledge and not necessary to re-tell. Sadly, a few generations later, the information was lost and millions of us have no idea how personal the Revolutionary War was and is to us. The fact is, if you have colonial American roots, hundreds of your grandfathers could have fought in the Revolution. I created the table below to put it into perspective. It depends on your generation, so first find your age bracket on the left. Then you can see how many generations back your patriot ancestors lived. Being that I was born in the 1970s, my timeline is shown next to "48-72" age bracket. I can see that the war took place when my great-grandfathers in generations 10 and 11 (my 7th and 8th great-grandfathers) lived. We each have 512 7th great-grandfathers and 1,024 8th great-grandfathers, so people in my generation could have up to 1,536 forefathers who fought in the war. Children born recently could have about 6,000 patriot forefathers if both of their parents have Colonial roots! If one parent's family immigrated after the war, but one parent's family was here, they could still have the blood of 3,000 patriots flowing through their veins. What an amazing legacy to possess but not realize! Knowing that my own grandfathers were involved in the Revolution made it so much more personal for me. The DNA of these men is in every cell of my body! I suddenly became interested in the battles that seemed so far removed from me back when I learned about them in history class. I learned more about the war by reading their pension requests than I did through all my school years. The bloody battles were just a part of it. Our brave forefathers left their wives and children to march hundreds of miles, often in extreme weather, being cold, hungry, exhausted, and probably aching, they endured and most importantly, they won. Some people say genealogy is worthless, but knowing my ancestors risked it all to provide millions of Americans with almost 250 years of freedom and independence is priceless. If you haven't discovered any of our Revolutionary heroes in your roots yet, keep digging. When you find them it will give you and your family a sense of pride that money can't buy. It's not an arrogant pride or a racist pride, but inspirational and eye-opening pride. It doesn't mean we or they are any better than anyone but it means our ancestors made life better for billions of Americans over the past 250 years and hopefully for billions more in the future. Check out my list of resources for military records here. One of my favorite resources is the Daughters of the American Revolution's Lineage Books, which you can find here. It wasn't until recently, however, that I learned about The DAR Patriot Index, which I discovered after finding the three volume set for sale. I was glad to see that the evolving index is now online at the NSDAR website where you can search for free and order copies of applications submitted in the past by other descendants of your ancestors, which could provide you with more valuable clues about your family. Also, proving your connection to confirmed patriots can be used to apply for DAR membership, if you are interested in joining the organization. Use these links to search the DAR Patriot Index: Search for a Patriot soldier or officer here Search for a Patriot descendant here Disclaimer: MyGenealogyAddiction.com is not affiliated with DAR. I am just sharing this amazing resource with my readers. If you want to know more about my military ancestors, check out the Wall of Honor. #resources #americanrevolution #revolutionarywar #soldiers #dar #patriots #america

As we know from census records, William Dickinson (my 4th great-grandfather) was born in Walkley in 1791. Walkley is a suburb of Sheffield, in Yorkshire, England, where the Dickinson family lived and worked in the steel industry for generations. While searching for information about William Dickinson (II), I came across this record, which I believe was the baptismal record of his father and namesake, William Dickinson (I). The record reads: Baptisms 1767 December 25 William, son of John Dickinson of Middlewood Unfortunately there is no indication of John's occupation (Tilter) to convince us this is the right William and upon seeing this record, it was the first time I had heard of Middlewood, but it wasn't the first time I had heard the name "John Dickinson". John was the name of my 3rd great-grandfather, who came to America in 1879 or 1880. If this is the right lineage, John was named after his great-grandfather, or his great-uncle, or his uncle. There was a John in each generation, all presumably named after this John Dickinson. I wasn't surprised to learn that Middlewood is also a suburb of Sheffield, like all the other places my Dickinson family was found living in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the exception of Kimberworth, where William and Ann (Loy) Dickinson lived in 1841. Looking at this modern map, we can see that Middlewood is two miles from Walkley: Middlewood is located in South Yorkshire and falls in the Stannington ward of Sheffield. In this map, the red marker shows the location of Middlewood within the United Kingdom. Zoom in for a better view: Notes about Middlewood "Middlewood was formerly an entirely rural location, it has been partly encroached on by the expansion of the city of Sheffield since the 1960s. The exact area of the Middlewood district is not easy to determine, but is popularly thought to extend from the "Middlewood shops" at the top of Leppings Lane northwest for three km along the A6102 past Middlewood Hall to the outskirts of Oughtibridge. Between those two points it includes the land on the south western side of the River Don up to Worrall Road." [Wikipedia] "Middlewood Hall is set in 54 acres and was constructed in 1810 by Mark Skelton, however a farmhouse is believed to have existed on the site well before that. The Skeltons were a family of steel forgers and merchants who owned forges on the River Don." [Wikipedia] Other William Dickinsons There were several other men named William Dickinson, of course, born in and around Sheffield in 1867, but this family was the only one I found in Sheffield. There may be others, but these are the ones I found in Yorkshire, if anyone is interested in researching them further: William Dickinson, son of John Dickinson, born abt. 1767 baptized July 28, 1767, at Kirk Smeaton, St. Peter, in Yorkshire (West Riding). William Dickinson, son of John Dickinson, blacksmith of Farnley, baptized Nov. 12, 1767, at All Hallows, Almondbury, Yorkshire (West Riding). William Dickinson, age 65 yrs, 10 mos, 29 days, born abt. 1767, died Oct. 29, 1832 at Thurlston, and was buried Nov. 1, 1832, at Yorkshire. (Society Of Friends/Quaker Burials). William Dickinson, born Feb. 5, 1753, at Pontefract, son of Edward and Ann Dickinson. (Society Of Friends/Quaker Births). William Dickinson, son of Richard Dickinson of Sutton, "Taylor" and Mary his wife, baptized Sept. 23, 1767, died Feb. 21, 1769, at Kildwick, Yorkshire. William Dickinson, son of Matthew Dickinson of Midgley, baptized May 8, 1768, at Thornhill, St. Michael, Yorkshire. Next, we'll learn about other children of John Dickinson of Middlewood. Stay tuned! Click here to learn more about the Dickinson family Click here to learn about other branches of my family tree These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #dickinson #williamdickinson #johndickinson #middlewood #yorkshire #england #baptism #map

In the southwestern corner of Battery Park in New York City stands a very touching 15-foot granite monument, one of the first Korean War memorials set up in the United States. The "Forgotten War" was fought from 1950 to 1953 between North Korea and South Korea. It all started with the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876, when an agreement between Japan and Korea were made with the main provision that Korea was a free nation with the same rights as Japan. Japan, however, slowly began encroaching on Korea's sovereignty. In 1905, Korea was made a protectorate of Japan, indirectly ruled by the Japanese, and in 1910 the Japanese officially annexed Korea to Japan, without the Korean Emperor's consent. Nevertheless, Korea was ruled by the Japanese for the next 35 years. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, leading to Japan's surrender on August 15. World War II ended a couple weeks later, on September 2, 1945, after which the Allied nations began disarming regions controlled by the Axis powers. At the end of the war, it was decided that the United States forces would oversee the disarmament of South Korea and the Soviet Union would oversee North Korea, with the 38th parallel being the dividing line, but instead each began to form their own governments as tensions grew. The United States and the U.N. got involved when North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, with the help of the Soviet Union. During the three years of war that ensued, 2.5 million people lost their lives. Of the American soldiers sent, 103,284 were injured and 36,568 were killed or missing in action. As of last year (2019), 7,667 of these American soldiers are still unaccounted for. You can read more about it at Britannica. "This literal void reinforces the figurative theme of absence and loss, and serves as a metaphor for death." Welsh-born artist, Mac Adams, was commissioned to design the memorial in 1987, by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Committee. The base is 6-feet by 10.5 feet and stands 5-feet high. The soldier is carved out of the 15-foot obelisk on top, outlined in stainless steel. The flags of all the countries who participated in the war are done in beautiful mosaic and on the pavement, the casualties, number of wounded soldiers and those missing in action are given. It was dedicated on June 25, 1991 and placed north of Castle Clinton in Battery Park, with the Statue of Liberty visible through the void. More information about the memorial is provided on this sign, located near the monument: There are at least three other Korean War memorials in New York City. Click here to see more from my Battery Park tour. Take a look around Battery Park with this interactive Google Map! This visit was part of my Ancestor Trails series, visiting the homes of my ancestors. Subscribe to my free blog for updates and new additions! Click here for my list of resources for finding military records. #koreanwar #military #monument #american #memorial #veterans #newyorkcity #batterypark #nyc

Until recently, I hadn't invested much time or effort into researching my English ancestors. Most of my family came to America in the 1600s, and that has kept me busy enough, but a few months ago, the bare branches of my Dickinson branches of my tree started to nag at me. I had only known back to my 3rd great-grandfather, John Dickinson. To my surprise, I have found that researching my 18th and 19th century English ancestors has been easier than researching many of my American ancestors. English parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and burials) can be found in some old books and other free online resources, which I've shared here, but I signed up for FindMyPast to access their Yorkshire Marriages and Baptisms, and I'm glad I did. With the help of FindMyPast, I've been finding record after record, some of the many missing pieces of the puzzle that is The Dickinson family's lineage. I highly recommend it and if you'd like to give it a try, you can sign up for a free trial using this sponsored* link: The first baptism of a child of William and Ann Dickinson (Tilter), found in the parish registers of Sheffield Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was Joseph Dickinson, baptized on February 17, 1790. Children weren't always baptized immediately after birth, but we can assume that Joseph's parents were married at least nine months before, which would have been May 17, 1789. Next, I searched the parish marriages, for men named William Dickinson with a bride named Ann in the 1780s and I found two matches: William Dickinson and Ann Garrett, spinster, married at Sheffield, Cathedral Church of St Peter & St Paul by Banns, April 29, 1782. The marriage was witnessed by John Flint and Thomas Robinson. William Dickinson, bachelor, age 21, and Ann Hawksworth, widow, age 30, married by license, at Sheffield, Cathedral Church of St Peter & St Paul, May 17, 1789. The marriage was witnessed by Samuel Lister and ___ Lister (perhaps Betty?). On each of their children's entries in the baptismal registers, it was indicated that William's occupation was Tilter, but neither of these William's appeared to be Tilters and there were no alternative matches. On a hunch, I ordered a copy of the actual marriage license for William Dickinson & Ann Hawksworth and waited patiently for it to arrive. Unfortunately I'm not permitted to share it online, but I'm sharing a small snippet of the two-page document as evidence that there's one word on the license that's not in the parish register and that word is "Tilter". Bingo! Notice the marriage date was exactly nine months before their first child was baptized, and both at the same place, Sheffield Cathedral. According to Britain's Clandestine Marriages Act 1753, marriages required either a marriage license or "banns of marriage", which were public announcements informing the public of the pending marriage and giving them the opportunity to voice any objections to the marriage. Valid reasons for objecting included a pre-existing marriage, lack of consent, a vow of celibacy, or the couple being too closely related. The act also stipulated that the marriage had to be celebrated in the parish where either the bride or groom lived. (Source: Wikipedia) The ages of William and Ann (Hawksworth) are provided, which will help us investigate them further, by giving us a range of dates in which they could have been born. If you find calculating date ranges confusing, you might find my new Date Range Estimator to be useful. (You can access it anytime from the Tools menu at the top of each page). William was 21 years old on May 17, 1789 so he was born between May 18, 1767, and May 17, 1768. Ann was 30 years old, so she was born between May 18, 1758, and May 17, 1759. She was widowed, though, so we know Hawksworth wasn't her maiden name. (Stay tuned for more on that). With these clues, I'll continue my research. If you're researching this family or other Dickinsons in the Sheffield area and know of other records or information about William and his family, please contact me or comment below. Stay tuned for more! Up next is "The Birth of William Dickinson", because I believe I found his baptismal record! I'll give you a hint - his father's name wasn't William! 🙂 To learn more about my Dickinson family, click here. If you're looking to break down some brick walls in your family tree, check out my Genealogy Dashboard where you can find thousands of free resources by type or by place. Click here or you can find it anytime by selecting "Free Genealogy Resources" from the toolbar at the top of the page. *These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #dickinson #williamdickinson #sheffield #yorkshire #england #annhawksworth #marriage

My 4th great-grandfather, William Dickinson, was named after his father, William Dickinson, which both helps and hinders genealogical research. In this case, however, in addition to sharing the same name, they shared the same occupation, lived in the same area, and both married women named Ann. This makes them difficult to differentiate in some records and causes a bit of confusion when researching, summarizing, and presenting the family's history. After finding the record of my 4th great-grandfather, William Dickinson's baptism, I searched the parish registers for other children baptized in the same church, around the same time, whose parents were William & Ann Dickinson. I was surprised at how easy it was to find these, and whereas I had previously known nothing about any of these kin of mine, a vision of the family began to emerge, albeit blurry and void of much detail. This picture that's coming into focus is of a family with at least eight children - four boys and four girls. I haven't invested much time or effort into researching each of them yet, but it appears that at two of the girls and one of the boys died young. An 1842 report by the Health of Towns Commission stated that nearly 1 in 3 (32.7%) of children in Sheffield died before the age of five and the average age of adult deaths was age 51 years 6 months. (Royal Commission on Health of Towns, Report on the Condition of the Town of Sheffield By James Smith, Esq., 1842). The children born to William Dickinson, the Tilter, and his wife, Ann, baptized at Sheffield Cathedral are shown in chronological order in this graphic. The three burial records are also shown: Summary of children of William and Ann Dickinson: Joseph* Dickinson (1790– ) William Dickinson (1791–1864) Hannah Dickinson (1792–1799) John Dickinson (1794– ) Harriott Dickinson (1796–1798) Susannah Dickinson (1797–1877) Harriott Dickinson (1798– ) Henry Dickinson (1801–1803) *Note: There was another Joseph Dickinson, son of another William Dickinson, baptized at Leeds on Sept. 27, 1790, which could cause some confusion in researching this family. My great-uncle Joseph was baptized on February 17, 1790 at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Sheffield, as shown above. Have a look around Sheffield Cathedral using this interactive map. There are many areas to explore in this church, which was the venue for many important Dickinson milestones. Stay tuned for next week's blog to see what I've learned about the marriage of William Dickinson and Ann Hawksworth! In the meantime, you can learn more about the Dickinson family here. These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #dickinson #williamdickinson #sheffield #yorkshire #england #baptisms

Six children of William and Ann Dickinson were identified through parish registers recording their baptisms. Three were baptized at Sheffield Cathedral (St Peter and St Paul), but Martha was baptized at Stannington Chapel and the two youngest were baptized at Rotherham. Notice, in each instance, William's occupation was "Tilter". Summary: Ann Dickinson, born September 22, 1825, was baptized at Sheffield Cathedral on October 30, 1825. Martha Dickinson, born April 28, 1828, was baptized at Stannington Chapel on May 26, 1828. John Dickinson, born April 8, 1831, was baptized at Sheffield Cathedral on July 31, 1831. William Dickinson, born August 10, 1835, was baptized at Sheffield Cathedral on September 27, 1835. Joseph Dickinson, born March 6, 1836, was baptized at Rotherham Minster on September 3, 1843. Elizabeth Dickinson, born June 17, 1843, was baptized at Rotherham Minster on September 3, 1843. Each of these children were found living in William and Ann's home on the census in 1841, 1851, and 1861. Click here to learn more about William Dickinson and his family. These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! Stay tuned for more family history! #williamdickinson #baptisms #sheffield #rotherham #parishregisters #stannington

From the time of America's fight for independence from Britain 243 years ago to now, American has seen only about 109 years of peace. The time-line shown here illustrates the frequency of America's wars and the table shown below shows the number of soldiers who rose to the call of duty (about 42 million in wartime), as well as the number of casualties and those wounded in each war. As of 2010, there were close to 17 million War Veterans still living. This data is published by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Typically, men between the ages of 16 and 60 were eligible to enlist or be drafted. Check out the Free Military Resources page to find information about your military ancestors! NEW! To see what wars your ancestor may have been involved in, based on their birth year, see "Year Checker" on the Free Genealogy Links page!! Click here to see my military ancestors. Click here to see more than 20,000 genealogy resources! #resources #military #america #american #americanwars #timeline

The above photo* shows Harry Dickinson in the early 1930s with his grandchildren, Betty, and perhaps Margaret, James, and William B. Dickinson - children of Harry's son, William Henry Dickinson. *Courtesy of James H. Dickinson, great-grandson of Harry. When the 1930 census was taken, Harry was living at 324 Smith Street in the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. He was 66 years old and worked as a helper at a Steel Mill. His son, John, and three grown daughters lived in the home. His daughter, Rose, was a school teacher, and John was a Book Clerk for an Insurance Company, which may have been Prudential, where he retired from many years later. See more Dickinson history on the Dickinson page. #dickinson #harrydickinson

In 1920, Harry Dickinson's family was counted on the census in Newark, New Jersey. Not only do we have many photos of the family in order to remember them by, but we also have the 1919 diary of Harry's daughter, Emma Dickinson. She was 25 years old at the time and was caring for her family after her mother's untimely death, which occurred in 1913. There were cattle grazing on the "Garden State Highway" (Parkway), and the troops were returning from World War I, with a heroes welcome, after the signing of the armistice in November, 1918. Emma was attending nursing school and traveling around the area, sharing most of her thoughts, feelings, plans and activities. See what life was like, straight from Emma's authentic, unedited 1919 diary, given to me by cousin, Marge Quick, back the early 2000s. Copies are available for posterity's sake. Paperback or Kindle editions are highly recommended for anyone related to the family, but for those just interested in taking a peek into the past, without buying the book, now is your chance! Click here to read it now for free! More interesting Dickinson family history can be found on the Dickinson page. #dickinson #EmmaDickinson #freebook #reality #journals #diary #diaries #newark #newjersey

A handwritten note on the back of an old photo of the home Harry Dickinson's family lived in at 178 South 7th Street in Newark, New Jersey, details the neighborhood, names of neighbors, and life there in the early 1900s: "Harry Dickinson, father of John Dickinson, settled here in 1907 when John was 2 years old. The steel industry was moving into New Jersey and Heller's Steel made it financially attractive for Harry Dickinson to leave Pittsburgh, PA. Tragedy struck when his wife died in 1913 leaving 7 children." (illegible) "Cattle grazed all over the speedway now the Garden State Highway" (now the Garden State Parkway). For more on the Dickinson family, see the Dickinson page. #newjersey #dickinson #newark #harrydickinson #hellerbros #steelworker #steel #occupation

William Dickinson was my maternal 4th great-grandfather. He never came to America, but his wife and two grown sons, Joseph and John, emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid to late 1800s. Pittsburgh was the steel capitol of America and William spent his whole life in and around Sheffield, Yorkshire, England - the steel capitol of England. On the censuses of 1841 and 1851, his birthplace was given as Walkley. Walkley is a suburb of Sheffield, located 2-3 miles from Sheffield's city center. Walkley dates back to early Anglo-Saxon times, when it was mostly thick woodlands with only a few buildings "Walkley was mentioned in several documents in the centuries after the Norman Conquest, in 1554 it was described as having several cottages and smallholdings worked by tenants of the Lord of the Manor of Sheffield. By this time the population of Walkley was around 200." [Wikipedia] In the 17th century Walkley was connected to the village of Owlerton by the pack horse track which ascended Walkley Lane and continued to Crookes, it became a turnpike road and a heavy gate was placed across the road where tolls were collected. The Old Heavygate Inn was constructed at this point in 1696 and still stands today, it has walls two feet thick. I bought the old photo above on Ebay so I could frame it and hang it on my wall as a reminder of where my ancestors lived back in 1791. (I've modified the above image, obviously). The seller offers many antique images of Walkley, Sheffield and England, so if you're looking to add a piece of your family history to your décor or just want to see more images of what the area looked like a couple hundred years ago, visit the seller's store here. (Non-commission referral). William was baptized at the Cathedral Church of St Peter & St Paul in Sheffield, on March 23, 1791. The church, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is about 2-3 miles from Walkley and it appears that all of William's brothers and sisters were baptized there as well. See my next blog (released 8/25/2022) here. Prior to 1873, the only way to travel from Walkley to Sheffield's city centre was on foot or by horse. Hopefully William's family had a horse and buggy to transport their family to Sheffield Cathedral. Later, in 1873, privately owned horse-drawn buses were introduced, and in the 1890s the electric Sheffield Tramway was up and running. [Source: Wikipedia] So far I have found no indication of how old William was at the time of his baptism, or any documentation pertaining to his actual birth, but with the help of my new Birth Date Range Estimator, and the census, I narrowed his birth date down to sometime between June 10, 1790 and March 30, 1791, so this baptism, which took place on March 23, 1791, fits perfectly. We also know from his marriage record, that his father's name was William Dickinson, the Tilter. William's entry in the Baptismal registry simply states: Baptisms 1791.... March... 23 William Son of William & Ann Dickinson - Tilter Again, the one major clue that tells me this records pertains to the right William Dickinson is his father's occupation of "Tilter", a trade passed from father to son four at least four generations and probably more. They operated giant "Tilt-Hammers" in steel mills, hammering steel into flat sheets. To learn more about this trade, see my previous article here. Stay tuned for more family history! In the meantime, learn more about this branch of my tree here. See more about my family here. Find thousands of free genealogy resources, click here. These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #dickinson #williamdickinson #birth #walkley #sheffield #yorkshire #england #baptism

The following tintype photos have been collected from various members of the Dickinson family. Collectively they appear to be from the same time period. We know Harry had a brother named William Henry Dickinson, who appears to have been named after their father, William Dickinson of Sheffield. (Harry subsequently named his eldest son William Henry Dickinson as well). In the first photo, shown below, Harry is sitting with his brother, William. In the second photo, Harry is standing with another gentleman and the writing appears to say "Pa & Ben Allinton" at top. If anyone has information, please comment below. Harry is shown alone in the last two. See the Dickinson page for more about this family. #dickinson #harrydickinson

Joseph Dickinson was the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, John Dickinson, which makes him my 3rd great-granduncle. He was born March 6, 1836, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. At the age of five, he was counted on the census of 1841, living with his parents, William and Ann Dickinson, at Woodstock Bower in Kimberworth, a suburb of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. He wasn't baptized until September 3, 1843, when he and his baby sister, Elizabeth, were both baptized at Rotherham. He was seven years old. In 1851, when the census was taken, he was an apprentice, living in the home of Steel Tilter, John Allcroft in Wadsley Bridge, a suburb of Sheffield, but he was back home, living with his mother when the census was taken in 1861. In December of 1861, he married Matilda Broadhead at Pitsmoor and they left for America two years later, in 1863. There Joseph and Matilda had eight known children, although it was reported that Matilda had 11 total. The following is what little I know of the family: Ann Dickinson (1864-1886), born June 17, 1864, married William Lambert on Nov. 1, 1885, at Pittsburgh, but she died the following year, on March 21, 1886, from Eclampsia, with a contributing cause being "1/2 teaspoonfull of Chlorafoam administered by mistake". (Note: Joseph's brother, John, also died at age 58 from Eclampsia on May 25, 1889, and two months later John's infant grandson, Martin Proctor, son of Mary Ann, died at one day old on July 26, from Eclampsia.) Ann was 22 years old. Ann's husband, William remarried two years later to Annie Brown on July 11, 1888. It doesn't appear that William and Ann Lambert had any children together but he had a few with his second wife. William Dickinson, born abt. 1866, died sometime after 1904. Nothing further found. Joseph B. Dickinson (1868-1947), born April 7, 1868, at Pittsburgh, and in 1900, at the age of 32, he was a Railroad Laborer living with his grandmother, Matilda (Mrs. John Dixon at the time). Joseph married Martha "Mattie" W. (Barker) Parkinson, former wife of Sherman K. Parkinson. Joseph and Martha had no children, but Martha had a daughter named Edith Parkinson, born January of 1896, who married Gallagher. Mattie and Sherman were married in 1893, but by 1900 she was living back home with her parents in Pittsburgh, and by 1910, she and Edith were living with Joseph on 22nd Street in Pittsburgh, and they had reportedly been married for 3 years. He worked as a Signal Foreman on the Railroad then and continued working with the railroad until his retirement. He died at Homestead, Pennsylvania, on January 28, 1947, from "Shock following fracture of both legs" due to "being struck by an auto". He was buried with his father's family at Allegheny Cemetery. [Findagrave Memorial 54077241] Charles Sykes Dickinson (1870-1899) was born in Pittsburgh in 1870 and worked as a Chain Maker. He died single at the age of 29 on March 10, 1899, from Peritonitis and Appendicitis. [Findagrave Memorial 122291724] Jennie Baker Dickinson (1871-1872) was born around March of 1871 and died August 28, 1872 at the age of 17 months. The cause of death was "Chronic Diarrhea". She is buried in Allegheny Cemetery. John B. Dickinson (1873-1876) was born in 1873 and died from pneumonia at the age of 2, on January 4, 1876. He was buried in Allegheny Cemetery. Thomas Booth Dickinson (1876-1918) was born June 14, 1876, and in 1900 he was 23 and living with his grandmother, Matilda (Mrs. John Dixon at the time), and working as a Laborer at a Steel Works. He married Minnie Rufus in 1905. She was born Nov. 20, 1876, at Pittsburgh, a daughter of German immigrants, Louis & Agatha (Schell) Rufus. Minnie died in Pittsburgh, Nov. 16, 1940, and was survived by her two sons. They lived at 320 Main Street in Pittsburgh. Thomas B. Dickinson died in Pittsburgh from pneumonia, with Chronic Valvular Heart Disease contributing, on November 12, 1918. He was 42 and is buried with his father's family at Allegheny Cemetery, Sec. 33, Lot 222, Grave 1. [Findagrave Memorial 122291735]. Their two known sons were: Joe Rufus Dickinson, born Sept. 27, 1906. I believe he was the one who died Dec. 14, 1985, and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery, Sec. 63, Lot 270-A, Grave 2. [Findagrave Memorial 122291728] Thomas Lewington Dickinson, born July 6, 1909, at Pittsburgh, married Helen Klodocky in 1934 and were counted on the census in 1940, but his name was given as "Thomas L. Dickson". His occupation was "Typist" at the "U.S. Bureau of Miners" at the time and they had no children yet. His mother, Minnie, lived in the home, age 62, but she died later that year (Nov. 16, 1940). In 1950 Thomas was a "Scientific Aid" at the "Federal Bureau of Miners". They lived on 45th Street in Pittsburgh in 1950 and they had at least one son, Thomas R. Dickinson, born abt. 1947. Matilda Dickinson (1879-1881), born about 1879 at Pittsburgh, died on December 7, 1881, at the age of 2 years 4 months from Diphtheria. She was buried with her family at Allegheny Cemetery, Sec. 33, Lot 222, Grave 1. [Findagrave Memorial 122291732] Joe and Matilda's youngest child, Matilda, died of Diphtheria at the age of 2 years 4 months, on December 7, 1881, and the family's greatest loss came 13 days later, on December 20, 1881, when Joe died from Consumption. He was 45 and left Matilda with a daughter, Ann, who was 17 at the time, and four sons, between the ages of five and fifteen. They were: William Dickinson (1866-?), Joseph Dickinson (1868-1947), Charles Sykes Dickinson (1870-1899), and Thomas Booth Dickinson (1876-1918). Joseph was laid to rest in Allegheny Cemetery in Section 33, Lot 222, Grave 1. [Findagrave Memorial 122291730] Matilda remarried to John Dixon, at Pittsburgh, on July 6, 1892. On the 1900 census, she indicated that she had a total of 11 children, of which only three were still living. Those were Thomas, Joseph, and William. Matilda died at the age of 65 from Pneumonia, on August 10, 1904, and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery [Findagrave Memorial 122292548]. Her obituary, published in The Pittsburgh Gazette, Fri., Aug. 12, 1904, is shown here: Notice the critical error in the obituary, stating that Joseph Dickinson died in 1863. On the 1900 census, Matilda reported that she arrived in America in 1863 and we know that she and Joseph had at least 8 children between 1864 and 1878, so this is clearly a mix-up. Also, unless Lawrenceville was a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, that is incorrect as well. At any rate, of Joseph's eleven children, only his youngest son, Thomas Booth Dickinson, is known to have had descendants, but it is possible that his oldest son, William Dickinson, may have also married and had children. If you have any information on William or any other descendants, please comment below or contact me. If you've read this far, just for fun, take this poll... These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! Stay tuned for more! #josephdickinson #matildabroadhead #dickinson #pittsburgh

John Dickinson was the progenitor of my Dickinson family in America and my most recent immigrant ancestor, who came to America from England around 1880. John and Elizabeth Reynolds were married in 1856, at St. Philips (Shalesmoor) Church in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. The magnificent Gothic style church was built in 1828, but unfortunately, it was demolished around 1951. According to information provided on their marriage license, John lived on George Street, Philadelphia. At first, I was very confused when I saw Philadelphia on their marriage license. It was 1856 and his family didn't arrive in Pennsylvania until about 1880, so how could that be? Was this the wrong couple? Had they been in America and returned to England? Well, as it turns out, Philadelphia isn't just a city in Pennsylvania, or a place addressed in the Book of Revelation. It was also a neighborhood of Sheffield, in Yorkshire, England. You learn something new every day! Philadelphia is located in the Walkley Ward of Sheffield today and Walkley, as we know, is where John's father, William, was reportedly born. George Street no longer exists today, but we can see the location of it on this old map. It was a side-street off Infirmary Road along the River Don. This old map is great for visualizing the scene. Comparing the above map to modern maps, it appears that George Street was very close to where Portland Street is today, and Portland Street was where John's mother, brother, and sister lived in 1861, according to the census. It is also where John's father, William, reportedly died in 1864. The neighborhood of Philadelphia is outlined in red, here in this interactive Google map. A steel yard is still seen there today, and we know John and his son, Harry were both, steelworkers, which probably explains why they lived in this area: I found that nearly all the places the Dickinsons lived in England are now suburbs and neighborhoods of Sheffield, with the exception of Kimberworth, a suburb of Rotherham, where they were counted on the census in 1841. Still, Kimberworth is only six miles from Portland Street in Sheffield and both Rotherham and Sheffield are both in South Yorkshire. The lesson here is that before beginning to try to find records pertaining to the people who lived there, it's important to be familiar with the places and remember that some names have changed, boundaries have changed, and places have merged and been divided. Don't rule out a candidate just because the record doesn't say "Sheffield", for example. Find an old map and check for surrounding towns and villages, because some of your ancestor's records might be listed under those places. Sheffield reminds me a lot of New York City. New York City has many boroughs - The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, and subdivisions but they're all part of New York City. New York City spans multiple counties, too. The Bronx and Queens have their own counties, Brooklyn is in Kings County, Manhattan is in New York County, and Staten Island is in Richmond County. Each borough has divisions and neighborhoods, too, so it all gets very confusing. My point is, Sheffield is probably more confusing, especially to foreigner like me. The list, shown below, are the many different areas, wards, and neighborhoods of Sheffield. There are several articles that explain the origins, changes and statistics about most of the places. A good list can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areas_of_Sheffield I highlighted all the places I recall seeing my Dickinson family associated with - the places they were born, baptized, married, lived, and died. As you can see, there are many and probably others I haven't recognized yet. I will definitely be referencing this list more frequently as I continue my research on the Dickinson, Reynolds, Loy and other allied branches of my family tree. More facts about Sheffield: "Sheffield Castle, the seat of the Norman lords of Hallamshire, was a large and strongly fortified mansion, on the banks of the Don, upon the site still called Castle Hill." [1] "The Old Barracks on Pennistone Road, were built in 1794, for the reception of several troops of cavalry, but new barracks for cavalry and infantry have lately been erected on a very extensive scale, about half a mile further from town, on the same side of the Don. These barracks extend over 25-1/2 acres and rank amongst the largest in the kingdom. They have entrances from the Langsett and Penistone roads, and have room for two regiments, one of cavalry and another of infantry. The south front was finished in 1850, and forms a long and handsome stone building, in the Tudor style, with a neat chapel at one end. The other extensive ranges of buildings were finished about two years ago. Captain Minchin is the barrack master; the Rev. J. Livesey, chaplin; Charles Bryhurst, barrack sergeant; and Wm. Guy, canteen. keeper. The Old Barracks were sold in 1855, and the site is now laid out in building ground." [1] "The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was opened in 1838; the Midland Railway, in 1840; and the Sheffield and Manchester Railway, in 1845." [1] "In 1855, the Archbishop of York constituted the Parish of Sheffield a separate deanery. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, with the sanction of the Queen and Privy Council, determined, in 1846, that the large and populous parish of Sheffield should be ecclesiastically divided into 25 Parochial Districts, each to have a church and an incumbent." [2] (Districts: Attercliffe and Darnall, Brightside, Wicker, Pitsmoor, St. John's, Dyer's Hill, Heeley, St. Paul's, Porter street, Carver street (later St. Matthew's), Eldon, Gillcar, St. George's, Hollis croft, Netherthorpe, Moorfields, St. James, St. Philip's, Crookes, Fulwood, Ecclesall, St. Mary, St. Peter's, and Broomhall). Sl. Philip's District has its church in the north-western part of Sheffield township, but includes Portmahon, Upperthorpe, Daniel hill, Bloomsbury place, Barber nook, Philadelphia, Bacon Island, the Infirmary, the Barracks, Owlerton road, and part of Malin Bridge, all in Nether Hallam township. Its southern boundary extends from the river Don along Dan street, Matthew street, part of Meadow street, Netherthorpe, Watery lane, and up Dam lane, as high as the foot road leading across Crookes moor valley to Steel bank. [3] "ST. PHILIP's CHURCH is a neat Gothic structure, near the junction of the Penistone and Infirmary roads, and was built by Parliament at the cost of nearly £12,000. The first stone was laid Sept. 25th. 1822. It is 95 feet long, and 79 broad." [4] "SHEFFIELD UNION comprises the four townships of Sheffield, Attereliffe, Brightside Bierlow, and Handsworth, which comprise an area of about 10,500 acres"..."SHEFFIELD UNION WORKHOUSE is a large and lofty building in Kelham street, erected in 1811 as a cotton. mill, on the site of mills that were burnt down in 1792 and 1810. After being rebuilt this large mill remained unoccupied till 1829, when it was purchased for its present use by the overseers of Sheffield township, for £7500." [5] "ECCLESALL BIERLOW UNION comprises the seven townships of Ecclesall, Nether and Upper Hallam, Norton, Totley, Dore, and Beauchief; the latter four of which are in Derbyshire. It had 31,628 inhabitants in 1841, and 37,914 in 1851. Since the latter year, it has greatly increased in buildings and population. A large and handsome WORKHOUSE, of freestone, with an elegant front in the Elizabethan style, was completed about 14 years ago by the Union, at the cost of about £9000,in lieu of the old one on Sharrow moor. It is pleasantly situated near Cherrytree hill, and has room for about 500 paupers, but has seldom more than 250 to 300." [6] The GENERAL INFIRMARY ranks as the most useful public charity in Sheffield. It is a spacious and handsome stone building, on the north-west side of the town, erected by subscription, in 1793-'4. In 1840-1, it was enlarged by the erection of extensive Fever Wards, which cost about £5000. The average number of in-patients in 1851, was 115; and the total number received during the year was 961 in, and 4037 out patients. [1] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. VIII. [2] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. IX. [3] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. 2. [4] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. 4. [5] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. 17. [6] Yorkshire, Sheffield & Rotherham, White's Directory*, 1856, p. 18. *I found this great old directory on FindMyPast, an amazing resource I couldn't accomplish much without. Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! Stay tuned for more! In the meantime, learn more about the Dickinsons here. Click here for my list of thousands of free resources for tracing your genealogy! #dickinson #johndickinson #sheffield #yorkshire #england #philadelphia

Harry Dickinson and his daughter, Emma, took a three month trip to England in 1931 to visit cousins in Dewsbury. They traveled on the White Star Line's MV Brittanic , which had taken it's maiden voyage two years prior. It was the third ship to bear the name Brittanic. "She was the last of three White Star Line ships called Britannic. The first Britannic was a steamship launched in 1874 and scrapped in 1903. The second was launched in 1914, completed as the hospital ship HMHS Britannic and sunk by a mine in 1916." [Wikipedia] Emma would have been delighted to know that this ship was used as a troop ship during World War II. She was a big supporter of the troops during World War I, as can be seen in her 1919 diary. Harry and Emma's week long voyage ended on August 9, 1931, when they arrived at Liverpool. The passenger list can be seen here, along with a photo of the ship: They left Liverpool on the same ship on November 9, 1931, and returned to the Port of New York (Ellis Island) a week later, on November 16. The ship manifest can be viewed or purchased at Ellis Island's website here. Harry and Emma brought back this film to share and after almost 80 years it was transferred from the old reels to digital video. The quality isn't great, but the footage is priceless. Clips from Switzerland also included. For more about the Dickinsons see the Dickinson page. #dickinson #england #places #switzerland #myblog #harrydickinson #movies #video

Rose Dickinson, took a trip to England in 1937, to visit her cousins in Dewsbury. Rose's autograph book was preserved and shared by her niece, Margaret (Lindsey) Quick. Originally, we had assumed these people were related on the Dickinson side, but that's just an example of how tricky genealogy can be. Signatures: G.H. Hill and Caroline Hill, 2 Moorland Avenue, Dewsbury. Pleasant voyage and happy landing. Mary A. Dickinson (Molly), Greylyn, Dewsbury. E.C. Luzney, New Zealand, 29/8/37 Annie Croft, Here's to the Next time. Dewsbury 1937. Woodside, Northfield Place, Dewsbury. W.H. Croft "Billy" We have sure had a real time. W. J. Dickinson "John" All the best from Margaret Chadwick. Love and Sweet Remembrance, Nellie Firth. Anne Fozzard, 39 Shepley St., East Moor Estate, Wakefield, Yorkshire, Eng. Think of me when you are lonely. Think of me when you are not. In the depths of your affection, think of me. Forget me not. Herbert Firth. 8 Park Croft, Boothroyd, Dewsbury, Yorkshire. May your days never be less happy than those you have spent in Dewsbury! Nellie Dickinson, Greylyn, Brunswick Street, Dewsbury. Update: July 30, 2022 The ship manifest shows that Rose traveled with her best friend, Gertrude Hill. I remember cousin Marge Quick (who, sadly passed away recently) telling me that Rose and Gertrude lived together later in life, but she was under the impression they were friends and not related. It is interesting, though, that her name was Gertrude Hill, and during this trip, Rose and Gertrude visited with George ("G.H.") & Caroline Hill, which we know from Rose's autograph book shown above. One would think these were Gertrude's family, but as far as I know, George & Caroline had only one child, a daughter named Annie (Hill) Croft, as far as I know. Caroline Hill was a was a daughter of William Reynolds - brother of Elizabeth (Reynolds) Dickinson. Caroline and Rose Dickinson's father, Harry Dickinson, were first cousins. Therefore, Rose and Caroline were first cousins 1x removed. Rose and Caroline's daughter, Annie (Hill) Croft were 2nd Cousins. (I created the Relationship Calculator Form to help with this, because sometimes it gets confusing!) Another recent discovery was that "Molly" Mary A. Dickinson, who also signed Rose's autograph book, was Caroline and Elizabeth's sister, Mary Ann (Reynolds) Dickinson. She married a man named William Dickinson, who was born abt. 1852, a son of John Abraham Dickinson, born abt. 1825. John was a son of Thomas Dickinson, born 1783. Also, one of the autographs was by Herbert Firth. A search of marriages in the area during that time period revealed that Herbert Firth married a woman by the name of Ellen Dickinson in 1917. (Vol. 9B p101). I believe Ellen was a daughter of William & Mary Ann (Reynolds) Dickinson. I haven't made the connection between these Dickinsons and Elizabeth's husband, John Dickinson's family yet. If anyone knows, please contact me or comment below. If you haven't seen the old films from this or other trips, you can see them here. For more about the Dickinsons see the Dickinson page. #dickinson #england #places #switzerland #travel

In my recent posts, I shared information about where the Dickinsons were when the U.K. census was taken in 1861. Ann (Loy) Dickinson, wife of William Dickinson, was living with her son, Joseph, and daughter, Martha, on Portland Street in Nether Hallam, Sheffield. William wasn't listed in the home, so one might assume William had died, but Ann's marital status was given as "Married", not widowed, so I searched to find other men named William Dickinson on the 1861 census and found "W. Dickinson", the Tilter, was at the Ecclesall Bierlow Union Workhouse, age 72. William and Ann's son, Joseph, married Matilda Broadhead in December of 1861 and they left for America in 1863, in the middle of the American Civil War. Ann either went with him or she went soon after, because she was counted on the 1870 U.S. census in Joseph's home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Matilda already had four young children in the home: Ann, William, Joe, and Charles. Ann died there two years later, on February 20, 1872, and even though she was a mere 67 years old, the cause of death was "Old Age". No contributing factors were given, and her doctor's address was 635 Penn Street, two doors down from the Dickinson home at 631 Penn Street, in Pittsburgh. Her death certificate states that she was "Married", even though by all other appearances, William had died back in England eight years prior, in 1864. This leaves me wondering if the one who died in 1864 was the right William, but as mentioned previously, the one who died in 1864 was a Tilter, and although there were many men named William Dickinson in Yorkshire, he was the only Tilter I have found among the records. How can we be sure this is the right Ann Dickinson? In this case, another record, one which we might easily overlook as irrelevant to our research, confirms it is the right Ann. It is the death certificate of Joseph's daughter, Jennie Baker Dickinson, who died at the age of 17-months, just six months after Ann died. Both certificates are shown above. The address given for Ann's residence was 631 Penn Street and the address given for her granddaughter, Jennie, was the same. This confirms that Ann who died February 20, 1872, was the same Ann who lived in Joseph & Matilda's home in 1870, and who he had lived with back in Sheffield in 1861, his mother, Ann (Loy) Dickinson. She was born in Bradfield, England, abt. 1806, and she was my 4th great-grandmother. Ann was laid to rest in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Section 32, Lot SP, Grave 241. Her sons, Joseph and John, and several others of the family rest there with her. Click here to learn more about Ann (Loy) Dickinson, my 4th great-grandmother. Click here to learn more about the Dickinson family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources by place! These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #annloy #anndickinson #dickinson #cemetery #burial #pittsburgh #pennsylvania

William Dickinson was the progenitor of hundreds of descendants in America and elsewhere today, although most of them probably have no idea he ever existed. I discovered his name when I ordered a copy of my 3rd great-grandfather's marriage license. After learning his name was William, we can see why his son, John, named one of his sons William Henry Dickinson. Furthermore, John's other son, Harry, gave one of his sons the same name - that is Rev. William Henry Dickinson, who was my great-grandfather. Recently, I've been sharing some newly discovered paper trails that give us a blurry view of William's life. He was born in Walkley, one of Sheffield's many suburbs, around 1790, and married in 1824 to Ann Loy. She was 18 and he was about 34. The family lived in Kimberworth, a suburb of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, in 1841, and in 1851 they were in Wadsley Bridge. In 1861, however, William wasn't found in the home with his wife, Ann, when the census was taken. He appears to have been staying at the Ecclesall Bierlow Union Workhouse, as described in my previous blog found here. Why he didn't live with his wife, nearby, may never be known, but I suspect it was because he had a severe stroke or other condition rendering him incapacitated. Remember, he was 16 years older than Ann, his wife, and in 1861 he was set to be about 70 years old. Seventy was a ripe old age for a steelworker in those days. His son Joseph died at age 45 and his son John died at 58. John's son, Harry, who was also a Hammerman/Tilter, lived to age 72. Harry's brother, William, died at 73, the same age as their grandfather, William, when he died. In 1863 William's son, Joseph, left for America and in 1870, Ann, was living with him and his new family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She may have traveled with Joseph, but I couldn't locate a ship record to prove it. It seems more likely to me that she left England after William died, but I can't be sure. While searching for information about William's death, I found a very helpful site, sheffieldindexers.com, where I found the following burial transcription: DICKINSON, William (Tilter, age 71). Died at Portland Street; Buried on August 25, 1864 in Consecrated ground; Grave #11, Section M7 of Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield. Notice, the key word - Tilter. For me, this 99% confirms it was my 3rd great-grandfather. I have found no other Dickinsons who worked as Tilters, besides William and his sons. Notice also, he died at Portland Street, the same street his wife lived on in 1861 when the census was taken. The street is only one city block in length. She may have still been there in 1864, but left for America after William died. Maybe one day we'll find the answer to prove when she emigrated to America. William's death was published in the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent newspaper on Saturday, August 27, 1864. Burngreave Cemetery is also known as Brightside Bierlow Cemetery or Pitsmoor Cemetery, which adds to the likelihood this is the same William whose son, William, married Matilda Broadhead in 1861 at Pitsmoor, and whose other son, John, lived in Brightside Bierlow when the 1861 census was taken. Section M7 is located along the edge of Section A1. A map of the cemetery can be found here: https://friendsofburngreavecemetery.chessck.co.uk/MapsandInscriptions With the information from William's burial transcription, I created a memorial for him on Findagrave. (View it here). A volunteer kind enough to search for his grave informed me there is no headstone marking the spot. At this time, Findagrave only shows two other Dickinsons buried in the cemetery, but I was shocked to see there are at least 159 Dickinson burials there. (To see them, click here. Then, at the top of the page, for Cemetery, enter "Burngreave" and under Surname, enter "Dickinson". Only the entrance to Burngreave Cemetery can be seen from Google Maps, but you can take a tour of the area with this interactive Google Map: Click here for more on my Dickinson family. Click here for some great (free) resources for researching ancestors in England. Click here for thousands of other free genealogy resources. Tip: If you don't have a paid subscription to FindMyPast, try sheffieldindexers.com instead! Of course, once you find them in the indexes, you'll probably want more, like I did, and that's where FindMyPast comes in! Newspapers, parish registers, marriages, baptisms, deaths, burials, military, census, directories and more! If you're researching English roots, this is a MUST! Try a search! MyGenealogyAddiction.com may receive a small commission for purchases made. Thank you for your support! #dickinson #williamdickinson #sheffield #burngreave #burial #cemetery

When my 3rd great-grandfather, John Dickinson, was a boy of 10 years old, his family was living at Woodstock Bower in Kimberworth, Rotherham, Yorkshire, and in 1851, they were living in Wadsley Bridge, a suburb of Sheffield. John was 19 and worked as a Tilter, like his father, who was a "Journeyman Tilter". John's brother, Joe was 24 but wasn't living in the home in 1851. In 1851 he was apprenticing under John Allcroft, as explained in my previous post, here. At the time of John's marriage to Elizabeth Reynolds, in 1856, John lived on George Street in Sheffield and when the census was taken in 1861, their new family was living at Brightside Bierlow. So where were his parents in 1861? In 1861, we find Ann Dickinson as the head of the Dickinson household on Portland Street in Nether Hallam, Sheffield, Yorkshire. William was not listed among the occupants of the home, but Ann was identified as married, so where was he? Ann was 55 and was a Nurse, which is unexpected, and one would doubt it were her if the age and birthplace, Bradfield, didn't line up perfectly. Her daughter, Martha's age lines up as well, as explained in my previous blog, here. Their son, Joe, was 24 and was back in the home, working as a Steel Forger. He wasn't married yet, but he married Matilda Broadhead later that year, in December, 1861. House numbers weren't provided on this census, but Portland Street is just one block's length, located between Infirmary Road and Cross Bedford Street. According to the 1861 census there were 50 homes, probably mostly apartments, with about 246 people living on Portland Street. Looking at the place on Google Maps, we can see a sign on the building on the corner of Portland and Infirmary Road that says "Portland Buildings Flats 1 to 6" and they look very old. This corner building is now the oldest building on the street, as the opposite side is now the home of the Philadelphia Conference Center and a brand new five story building. You can look around with this interactive map. [Alternate link] So, where was William, the patriarch of the family in 1861? He would have been 70 or 71 years old. When the 1861 U.K. Census was taken, there was a man called "W. Dickinson", a "Tilter", age 72, living in the Ecclesall Bierlow Union Workhouse. The name was later changed to Nether Edge Hospital, specializing in geriatric care and stroke rehabilitation. (Source: National Archives). In his case, William may have needed care that his family couldn't provide. This workhouse was a little over two miles from Portland Street, where Ann was living. I cannot confirm this "W. Dickinson" was my ancestor, William Dickinson, but it is the closest match I've found. William's occupation has been helpful in identifying him and his children in census and church records, and the fact that this man was a "Tilter" pretty solidly confirms he was our William, despite the fact that his age is off by a year or two and his marital status was "Widowed". I searched the 1851 census to confirm that there were no other Tilters named William Dickinson. This W. Dickinson's name may or may not have even been William, and his birthplace does little to confirm his identity. His birthplace was reported as "Sheffield", as were most of the people on the page, with no distinction between its many neighborhoods and suburbs. William was reportedly born in Walkley, which is a suburb of Sheffield, so although it doesn't conflict with what we know about William, it would be more convincing if "Walkley" was given. Regarding the marital status, it may be that the informant was not careful to record the many inmates' details 100% accurately. This may have been for privacy. What leaves me wondering if this inmate was my 4th great-grandfather, William Dickinson, is that his wife Ann and son Joseph reportedly went to America in 1863. Ann, was living with his family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when the U.S. Federal Census was taken in 1870 and she died in 1872. Why did they leave William in England? Granted, some of their children remained, but it seems odd that his wife left while he was still living. Maybe she joined them later after he died? There were three other men named William Dickinson in Yorkshire found on the 1861 census, and none of them were Tilters. They were: William Dickinson in Selby, Yorkshire, age 69 (b. abt. 1792 in Carlson or Carlton, Yorkshire), Occupation: Gentleman, married to Harriet, age 56 (b. abt. 1805 in Stubbs). William Dickinson in Harpham, Driffield, Yorkshire, age 68 (b. abt. 1793 in Leven, Yorkshire), Occupation: Retired Farmer, married to Mary, age 69 (b. abt. 1792 in Nafferton). He and his wife were "visitors" in the home of Edward and Mary Taylor. William Dickinson in Doncaster, Yorkshire, age 68 (b. abt. 1793 in Fenwick, Yorkshire), Occupation: Inn Keeper, married to Mary, age 64 (b. abt. 1797 in Yorkshire). They had a daughter named Annie (age 22, b. abt. 1839), a nephew named John Park (age 24, b. abt. 1837), and a servant named Emma Rushby living in the home. A search of America's 1860 census, for men named William Dickinson born bet. 1785-1795 in England produced no results, so although his wife and children went to America in the early 1860s, it doesn't appear that he went ahead of them, as was common. If anyone has information to confirm or disprove where William was in 1861, please comment below or contact me. There's more to come, so stay tuned for my next blog as we continue tracing the Dickinson's journey! These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #williamdickinson #annloy #josephdickinson #dickinson #sheffield

Martha Dickinson was a sister of my 3rd great-grandfather, John Dickinson, which makes her my 3rd-great grandaunt. It appears she never had any children to pass down her legacy, so this is in remembrance of her. Martha was born April 28, 1828, at Crookes, a suburb of Sheffield about a mile and a half from Sheffield's city center, in Yorkshire, England. She was baptized at four weeks old at Stannington Chapel, a Presbyterian church at the time, on May 26, 1828. The baptismal register, shown below, reads: May 26, 1828 - Martha, daughter of William Dickinson, Tilter, of Owlerton and Ann, his wife, born Apr. 28, 1828. In 1841, the family was living at Woodstock Bower in Kimberworth, a suburb of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. This was shared in a previous blog you can find here. Ten years later, in 1851, she was 22 years old, unmarried, and living with her parents in Wadsley Bridge, a suburb of Sheffield. In 1861, she was living with her mother and brother, Joseph, on Portland Street in Sheffield. She was 32 years old, still unmarried, and worked as a "House Maid". On that census, she reported being born in Ecclesall, whereas in 1841 and 1851, Crookes was given as her birthplace. Ecclesall refers to the ward, historically known as Ecclesall Bierlow "one of the six 'townships' that made up the old Parish of Sheffield. Ecclesall Bierlow encompassed most of the land between the River Sheaf and the Porter Brook from The Moor to Ringinglow. It also included the areas of Broomhall and Crookesmoor to the north of Porter Brook. Though this area contained numerous small villages and hamlets, there was never a village called Ecclesall". [Wikipedia] On the 1861 census, shown below, there was a young girl named Jane Green listed as living in the Dickinson home. She was two years old and was listed as a "Boarder", reportedly born in Ecclesfield, in 1858 or 1859. This young girl is the key to finding Martha on the 1871 census. On earlier censuses, it was easy to identify Martha because she lived with her parents and siblings, but her brother, Joe, married Matilda Broadhead on Dec. 28, 1861, and they left England for America around 1863, taking their mother, Ann, with them (or Ann may have followed soon after). So, which of the many Martha Dickinsons was her on the 1871 census? After a little digging, I found that in 1871, Martha was living in the rear of 17 Greaves Street, in Nether Hallam, a suburb of Sheffield. She was a "House Keeper" and her age was given as 41, which was either a miscalculation or a fib because she would have turned 43 on April 28, 1871. This may seem insignificant, but it made it more difficult to find her in search results, when searching by birth year. The only reason we know this is the right Martha is because the same little girl, Jane, who was two years old when the 1861 census was taken, was still living with her in 1871. The girl was 12 years old and her name was given as "Jane Dickinson" this time. Interestingly, her relationship to Martha is given as "daughter", which may or may not be true. I tend to believe it wasn't true, because if it were so, Ann would have called her "Granddaughter" instead of "Boarder" when the census was taken in 1861. Either way, it does appear that Martha adopted Jane, and therefore, was her mother. Martha still lived on Greaves Street when the census was taken in 1881. She was still unmarried and worked as a seamstress. Jane would have been about 22 years old, but she wasn't in the home. There were two men boarding in the home and another visiting. I spent a little time trying to identify Jane's parents, searching baptismal records for Jane Green, but found only the following possible matches before giving up: Mary Jane Franklin Green, daughter of John & Matilda Green, baptized at Sheffield, June 1, 1858. Mary Jane Green, daughter of Emma and possibly George (faded or erased), Jane Green, daughter of Joseph & Jane Green, baptized at Sheffield Aug. 6, 1861. Jane Elizabeth Green, born 1858, at Sheffield. Mother's maiden name: Siddal (England & Wales Births, Vol 9C, p. 381) Jane Tomlinson Green, daughter of John Green, Laborer of Brinsworth, and his wife Mary. Jane was born Nov. 26, 1859, and baptized at Sheffield, Cathedral Church of St Peter & St Paul, Dec. 6, 1863. I haven't tried locating any marriage records for her, so if anyone cares to research Jane or Martha further, I hope these clues will help. Please share what you find! The following map shows the approximate locations of the places where Martha was documented: I haven't searched beyond 1881, but there's a good chance Martha died a spinster, sometime after 1881. Her brother, John, had married Elizabeth Reynolds in 1856 and took his family to America about 1879 or early 1880, and lived near his brother, Joe, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe was a "Steel Worker" and John was an "Ironworker", according to the 1880 census. The following year, on December 7, 1881, Joe and his wife, Matilda, lost their 2 year old baby daughter, Matilda, to Diphtheria, and as if that weren't bad enough, Joe died 13 days later, from Consumption, on December 20, 1881. He was 45 and left Matilda with four sons, between the ages of five and fifteen. They were: William Dickinson (1866-1904), Joseph Dickinson (1868-1947), Charles Sykes Dickinson (1870-1899), and Thomas Booth Dickinson (1876-1918). Matilda remarried to John Dixon, at Pittsburgh, on July 6, 1892, and died at the age of 65 from Pneumonia, on August 10, 1904. Martha's brother, John, died on May 25, 1889. He was 58 years old and left two grown sons and a daughter - Mary Ann (Dickinson) Proctor Lewis (1857-1938), William H. Dickinson (1859-1932), and Harry Dickinson (1863-1935). Both sons were steelworkers, specifically "Hammermen" in Pittsburgh and in Newark, New Jersey. Harry was my 2nd great-grandfather. Both of Martha's brothers have many descendants living today, but unfortunately, it appears Martha never married or had children, and so, unless Jane was her daughter and Jane had children, there probably aren't many people who are interested in great-aunt Martha, but this old maid is not forgotten in my family tree. Stay tuned for more Dickinson finds! See more: William Dickinson (1790-1864) John Dickinson (1831-1889) Harry Dickinson (1836-1937) My Dickinson Branch Free English Genealogy Resources Free American Genealogy Resources These Dickinson finds wouldn't be possible without the help of FindMyPast! Try a search for one of your brick walls, especially if they're in England! We may receive a small commission for purchases made and we thank you for your support, but the recommendation is made because FindMyPast is a great resource! Give it a try! #marthadickinson #williamdickinson #sheffield #netherhallam #dickinson #oldmaid