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As a child, I remember asking my mother to tell me stories about when she was younger. How I wish I had asked all of my grandparents and great-grandparents that question while they were still living. If I had asked my great-grandfather, John Reese, what the most tragic event of his life was, he might have told me first about the death of his little brother, Harold E. Reese, who died at the young age of 6 in 1931, but I'm sure he would have added that just seven years later, his 32-year old brother, Raymond Reese, took his own life. Raymond L. Reese was born in 1906 in North Mountain, Franklin Township, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest son of Maynard and Ada (Temple) Reese. The family moved from Pennsylvania to New York between 1911 and 1912, and lived in Ledyard (Aurora), Cayuga County, New York, for many years. On Sunday, June 26, 1938, a man driving "the old Ithaca-Elmira highway", noticed a sedan parked in an open field half a mile north of the hamlet of Sullivanville in the town of Veteran, Chemung County, New York. Upon investigating, the man approached the vehicle and observed Raymond Reese, age 32, sitting in the driver's seat. A woman named Grace Collins, age 38, was at his side, slumped against him and his arm was around her shoulder as the pair peacefully departed this life together. The couple were reportedly living together in Ithaca, at 108 First Street, but only for the previous week. Grace's estranged husband, John Collins, reported that she abandoned him and their two children, who lived on Lake Road, north of Ithaca. The two children, a daughter and a son, were born in 1918 and 1919, so they were about 19 and 20 years old at the time of their mother's departure. Their son has descendants living today. In the previous week, Gertrude Reese, who lived in Ellis Hollow, a hamlet in Ithaca, had also filed charges against Ray for abandonment. She and Ray had been married for about 14 years but appear to have had no children. Ray had been arrested for the charge and was set to appear in court Saturday night, but he failed to appear and chose his own judgement instead. It was late Saturday night that the couple affixed a hose from the car's tailpipe, directing the fumes into the vehicle. They sat and awaited the effects and soon died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The fumes are said to be deadly within a few minutes. Their deed wasn't discovered until the following day, when the unknown man reported his finds to the storekeeper in Sullivanville. The New York State Death Index reports their deaths occurred in Veteran, Chemung, New York, on Sunday, June 26, 1938. Following are several news clippings regarding the incident. These were from The Cortland Standard, Elmira Star Gazette, Tonawanda Evening News, The Saratogian, The Syracuse Journal, Utica Daily Press, and Knickerbocker News (Albany), all published on Monday, June 27, 1938. Raymond's funeral was announced in The Union Springs Advertiser on Thursday, June 30, 1938. Note: Gertrude Reese's maiden name may have been Gertrude M. Bellinger. See New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967 on ancestry.com.

If you've ever done a search on popular genealogy sites, you may have seen records from the source "Biography and Genealogy Master Index". This source indexes millions of genealogical tidbits found in various biographical and genealogical resources. It's worth checking for your family names, to see if you could have missed an important source. Various editions and volumes were published and below you can find the ones I've located and indexed for you, with links to access the books for free on Archive.org. In each volume you will find the names sorted alphabetically, with codes following the name. The key to the codes is found in the beginning of the book, indicating which source provided the information. Vol 1, 2nd Edition, 1980 A-B [Link] Vol 2, 2nd Edition, 1980 C-E [Link] Vol 3, 2nd Edition, 1980 F-H [Link] Vol 4, 2nd Edition, 1980 I-L [Link] Vol 5, 2nd Edition, 1980 M-O [Link] Vol 6, 2nd Edition, 1980 P-R [Link] Vol 7, 2nd Edition, 1980 S-T [Link] Vol 8, 2nd Edition, 1980 U-Z [Link] 1981-85 Cumulation Vol 1 A-C [Link] 1981-85 Cumulation Vol 2 D-G [Link] 1981-85 Cumulation Vol 3 H-L [Link] 1981-85 Cumulation Vol 4 M-R [Link] 1981-85 Cumulation Vol 5 S-Z [Link] 1986-90 Cumulation Vol 1 A-G [Link] 1986-90 Cumulation Vol 2 H-O [Link] 1986-90 Cumulation Vol 3 P-Z [Link] 1990 A-Z [Link] 1995 A-Z [Link] 1999 A-Z [Link] 2000 A-Z [Link] 2001 A-Z [Link] 2014 A-Z [Link] 2016 A-Z [Link] Click here for more free genealogy resources!

A man named William R. Daniel submitted a claim for 160 acres of bounty land in Missouri on January 4, 1819, for his service during the War of 1812. He was a Private in Captain J. Rothrock's Company, 38th Reg't of Infantry. The claim was settled January 4, 1819. According to the land map, the property was located here, in De Witt, Carroll County, Missouri. It was 160 acres of land between Route 230 and Route 240. The property's edge is 1.28 miles from the banks of the Missouri River to it's east. You can have a look around with this interactive Google map but there's not much to see there: William Daniel may not have ever lived on this land. He may have sold it upon receiving it. There were only two men named William Daniel counted on the census in Missouri in 1830. They were: William Daniel living in Mississippi, Scott, Missouri, in a household of 4. He was age 40-49 (born bet. 1781-1790) and the woman of the house was age 50-59 (born bet. 1771-1780). There was a young man age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815) and a young woman age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820). William Daniel living in Lincoln, Missouri, in a household of 6 including himself, age 30-39 (born bet. 1791-1800), and a woman the same age, presumably his wife. There were 2 boys under age 5 (born between 1825-1830), and one boy age 5-9 (born bet. 1821-1825). There was one young girl, age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820). Note: There were three Daniel households listed consecutively. William was listed between Nancy Daniel and George M. Daniel: George M. Daniel's home had four occupants including himself, age 20-29 (born bet. 1801-1810), a boy under age 5 (born bet. 1825-1830), a young girl age 10-14 (born bet. 1816-1820), a young woman age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815). Nancy's home had nine people including herself, age 50-59 (born bet. 1771-1780), and a young woman age 15-19 (born bet. 1811-1815), as well as seven slaves - a female age 24-35 and six children under the age of 10. In a book called "The New Stars", by Manie K. Morgan, she explains that "Slavery was less fundamental an interest in Missouri than lower south. It was like slavery in northern Kentucky - much more a domestic than a commercial institution. Slaves were mostly family servants and held in small numbers." Nancy was mentioned in History of Lincoln County, Missouri. On page 234, it states that Nancy Daniels was a daughter of John Riffle, who settled in Lincoln County in 1804. They were at Fort Howard during the War of 1812. On page 249, it states she was born in 1804, which doesn't align with the census. I found no mention of Mr. Daniels (or Daniel). At this point, I'm not sure if William R. Daniels was the father of Austin Miles Daniels, who married Mary Ellen Wilkinson somewhere in Morgan County, Missouri, in 1836/37, but there is a possibility. In 1843, Austin bought land in Florence or Richland Township, a mere 57 miles from William's land in De Witt, by today's boundaries. From there, he moved his family to Holt County, and they left Missouri by 1851, going to Oregon by ox cart. While searching for more information about this William Daniel, I found this abstract on fold3.com: This is interesting because the William I am looking for named his son Austin. Did he name them after his commanding officers, Col. A. Austin? And I know it's a stretch, but Austin named one of his sons Johnson. Could it be that William also named a son Johnson and Austin later named his son after that uncle? These are just my theories. We'll have to keep looking for more information. If anyone can help prove or disprove who Austin's actual father was, please comment below or contact me. To follow my research on William Daniels, see his profile here. More useful links: Bounty Land Warrants for the War of 1812 can be searched on FamilySearch here Search the Bureau of Land Management's records here Find thousands of free genealogy resources here #daniels #williamdaniels #austindaniels #missouri #warof1812

Looking into the past can be like peeking into a darkened room. Every little clue we find sheds a little bit of light on its contents. Sometimes we're lucky enough to have photos of our ancestors, and it's great to see what they looked like, but what other information can an old photo provide? Ideally, someone wrote the names, dates, and places the photos were taken, but not always. Sometimes the photographer's name and the city may be imprinted on the border or backside, which could provide some clues. One of the portraits of my 3rd great-grandfather, Charles Russell Leonard, for example, doesn't have a date to tell us when it was taken, but Charles was born in 1830 and he appears to be about 60 years old in this photo, so we can estimate it was taken around 1890, but if we wanted to be sure, doing some research on the photographer could help verify the approximate date of the portrait. Charles R. Leonard's photograph is marked "GEHRING", the name of the photographer, along with the place, which is crossed out, but appears to be "Lyons, NY". A search of area newspapers for the words "Gehring" and "Photographer" helps shine some light on the photographer's career. The photographer's name was Tobias D. Gehring. From these clues, along with census records, the following is a partial timeline of his life: 1857/58 - Tobias D. Gehring born at sea in April, to parents emigrating from Switzerland. 1860 - His family of eight people was counted on the census in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1880 - At the age of 23, Tobias was counted on the 1880 census, boarding in the home of William Clayson in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York. He was single. 1882 - Tobias married Charlotte Hamilton. 1887 - He had a photography studio located at 18 East Genesee Street in Syracuse (1887-1888 Syracuse Directory). He also had a studio on Locust Street at one time. 1892 - Tobias and his wife, Charlotte, lived in Syracuse with four children: Grace, Charlotte, Ralph and Hazel Gehring. He was employed as a crucible maker. (1892 NY State Census) 1893 - Moved to Lyons, 45 miles west of Syracuse. 1894 - Gehring had a studio in the Nellis Block on Williams Street in Lyons. 1898 - Gehring had a studio in Herkimer, New York, in 1898, which he sold that year and returned to Lyons, supposedly "his former home". Lyons is about 100 miles west of Herkimer. This time, he didn't remain in Lyons long, however. 1900 - When the 1900 census was taken, he lived in Syracuse, about 45 miles east of Lyons. They had five children in their home in 1900. They were: Grace Gehring, Charlotte E. Gehring, Ralph Gehring, Hazel O. Gehring, and Harold R. Gehring. Hazel married Henry F. Loeb in Macomb County, Michigan, in 1915. Tobias Gehring died on Sept. 21, 1906, in Syracuse. Given the long distances between the places Gehring lived, one might wonder if it is the same person, but an intriguing story published in the Rochester Democrat in 1894, ties it all together, explaining that in 1894, Gehring had a photographic studio in the Nellis Block in Lyons. It also states that he had been in Lyons for a year and that he had previously operated a studio on Locust Street in Syracuse for 15 years. So, from these references, we can see that Gehring had a studio in Lyons between 1893 and 1900, which makes sense, because we know that Charles Leonard, who spent most of his life in Cayuga and Tompkins Counties, lived in Wayne County briefly. He was counted on the census in Rose, Wayne County, New York, in 1892, and in Lyons in 1900. (See his census timeline here). The village of Rose is just a few miles from Lyons. In summary, the portrait of Charles Russell Leonard was taken in Lyons, probably between 1893 and 1900. Charles would have been between 63 and 70 years old. The Nellis Block in Lyons, is shown here: Click here to learn more about Charles Russell Leonard. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources to help in your research! #leonard #charlesleonard #charlesrussellleonard #lyons #waynecounty #photograph #portrait #photo

Elma Leonard was the sister of my great-grandfather, Albert Jay Leonard. She was born Oct. 23, 1887, in Summer Hill, Cayuga County, New York. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/45183885/person/371002365854/facts Elma married first to Bert Delos Wilkins. They were married on May 17, 1902, at Trumansburg, Tompkins County, New York. He was born Nov. 12, 1882, and lived in Cayuga County most of his life. Elma and Bert had one known child, a son named Howard L. Wilkins. Howard was born in Genoa, Cayuga County, New York, on August 20, 1903. The family was counted on the census in Genoa, Cayuga County, in 1905 and 1910. On the 1910 census, the couple reported that Howard was still their only child. Elma underwent an operation to have her appendix removed in April of 1913 and her son was ill with typhoid fever the following year, in October of 1914. Remember, Elma's father. Lewis Leonard, had died from Typhoid fever when she was a little girl, just a week before her 10th birthday, so her son being diagnosed with it must have been a terrifying ordeal. Notice, the news reported his name as Harold, which was either an error, or perhaps another son who was born between 1910 and 1914. I failed to find the family on the 1915 census, but I believe they were still in Genoa. Large sections of the 1915 census of Genoa are too faded to read. A search for more articles about the Stickles and Wilkins produced an interesting find. Apparently, in December of 1907, John Stickles and Bert Wilkins went into business together, operating the Central Street restaurant in Moravia. It appears that Bert and Elma split up sometime between 1918 and 1920. On September 12, 1918, Bert registered for the World War I military draft at Auburn, he was living in Moravia and listed his wife, "Alma M. Wilkins" as his next of kin. He was described as being medium height and medium build, with light blue eyes and red hair. When the 1920 census was taken, Elma and Howard were no longer in Bert's home. Elma was living in Willet, Cortland County, a "boarder" in the home of Louis and Dorothy (Sternburgh) Osborn. Louis's brother, Lee Osborn, was also living in the home, but Elma's 16 year old son, Howard, was not. Howard was living in the home of an Englishman, Edwin Redman, in Moravia. He was a "hired man". When Howard registered for the draft in 1942, he listed his mother, Mrs. Lee Osborne, as next of kin. Howard was 5' 8" and weighed 157 lbs. with light skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. On Aug. 24, 1922, Howard married Leona A. Devine, in Moravia, Cayuga, New York. She was born July 6, 1906, in Moravia, and was a daughter of Arthur and Clara Devine. Three known children of Howard and Leona are: Irene R. Wilkins (1923-2014) was married Joseph Ventafido and had David F. Ventafido (1943-2007), Donna Lee (Ventafido) Curry (1946-2016), and Margaret (Ventafido) Woodcock (1948- ). Donna had two children. Irene later married Henry N. Kimari and is buried in Throop. Marion Ione Wilkins (1924-1999) who was born in Auburn and married Walter W. Dyson (1922-2004). Three known children of Marion and Walter are: Barbara (Dyson) Dixon (1945- ), Nancy J. (Dyson) Ryan (1947-2014), and Charles Dyson. Marion is also buried in Throop. Howard L. Wilkins Jr (1931- ) married Marcia Isabel Taylor (1937- ) on Aug. 29, 1959, in Springfield, Illinois. Howard was living in Auburn in 1925, and was a Teamster, living with his wife, Leona, and two daughters - Irene and Marian. Howard and Leona were divorced on March 15, 1933, and he married Genevieve "Jean" Maricle on Jan. 27, 1934 at Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. In 1960, he and Jean were living on North Greenbush Street, in Cortland. He was employed by S. D. Wilcox & Son, Inc. Elma and Lee T. Osborne were finally married on October 9, 1936, by N. H. Wilmarth, in New Milford, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Howard died Dec. 7, 1971, and is buried in Cortland Rural Cemetery. His father, Bert, died August 21, 1937, in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. Elma and Lee never had any children as far as I know. Lee Osborne died in January, 1963, and Elma died in March of 1978, at the age of 90. They are buried in Willet Cemetery, where I recorded a video a couple years ago because some of my Hollenbeck family is buried there, too. Elma and Lee Osborne share a grave, which can be seen on Findagrave, here. Click here to learn more about Elma's family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources to help with your research! #leonard #lewisleonard #corasherman #elmaleonard #wilkins #osborne

My great-grandfather, Albert Jay Leonard, was born in Osceola, Pennsylvania, on December 15th according to all accounts, but half of the records give his birth year as 1894 and the other half, 1895. When Albert registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, his age was reportedly 22 and his birth date was given as December 15, 1894. The dates on Albert's tombstone suggest he lived from 1894 to 1957, and his obituary boldly states that he was 62 years old when he died on October 10, 1957. To avoid doing the math, I used my handy dandy Date Estimator, which confirmed that his obituary is basing his age off his birth being December 15, 1894. On the 1900 census, though, his mother reported that Albert was 4 years old, born "Dec 1895". Then, in April of 1910, his brother, James, was head of the household and the informant who gave the information to the census taker. He reported that Albert was 14, which, once again, would mean he was born in 1895. Then, in April of 1930, his age was given as 35, which would mean he was born in 1894. So which year was he born in? 1894? Or 1895? I've stated, in the past, that when conflicting birthdates are given for a person, I find that the earliest census record is usually most reliable, and that is for a few simple reasons - it's easier to do the math when a person is a child, and many people in olden times were not highly skilled at math. It's also easier to remember the ages of children without doing the math. We also know that a person's parents are usually more knowledgeable about birth dates than a wife or other informant years down the road. So, did both Albert's mother and brother mix up his birth date when he was a child, or did his birth year get mixed up somewhere along the line? After finding his birth record in the Tioga County Birth Index and Register, we finally have the answer! In the Index, we see that his birth is recorded in Book 1, Page 55. From the Index, we go to page 55 and see Albert's birth recorded. Entries span two pages, both shown here: So, once again it is proven, mother knows best! Albert was born December 15, 1895, and, for the record, he was 21 when he registered for the draft and he died at the age of 61. His tombstone should read 1895-1957. To be exact, Albert lived 61 years, 9 months, and 26 days. Don't forget to use this free handy tool next time you need to calculate an exact age or time span. (The Time Calculator) Also, having confirmed his date of birth, we can know see clearly that Albert was only a year and ten months old when his father, Lewis, died on October 16, 1897. It was two months before Albert's 2nd birthday, making it highly unlikely that Albert had any remembrance of him. He missed out on any fatherly advice and guidance Lewis had to offer as well any family history Lewis possessed in his memory bank. It's just another demonstration of how easily family history can be lost when people die if the knowledge they have isn't documented. Even if you're not a hardcore family history seeker, it would be wise to collect whatever information you can still salvage from the memories of the elders in your family. There are books that make it easy! (Show now!) Click here to learn more about Albert J. Leonard Click here to learn more about the Leonard family Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources and tips #albertjayleonard #leonard #albertleonard #birth

Lewis Leonard was my 2nd great-grandfather. He was born in Locke, Cayuga County, New York, on October 4, 1869, and was married in 1886 to Cora Sherman. Nine years later, he died at the young age of 28, from Typhoid Fever and I finally found the evidence to prove it! The record of Lewis's death is on file at the Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Clerk of the Orphans' Court, as follows: Transcription: Typhoid fever is caused by bacteria growing in intestines, liver, gallbladder, blood, causing fever, sweating, weakness, abdominal pain, headaches, vomiting, weight loss, constipation, and sometimes a skin rash. Severe infections can result in confusion, which was probably the case with Lewis. The Typhi bacteria is spread by consuming food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. This indicates that Lewis was exposed to poor sanitation or had limited access to clean drinking water. A search of Tioga County newspapers printed in 1897 reveals there were many deaths caused by Typhoid Fever in the area that year. Because he was the only one in the household who was infected, perhaps he was exposed to the bacteria at work. Symptoms of typhoid fever can begin between 6 and 30 days after exposure, although some people carry the bacterium and are not affected by it. They can, however, be carriers, passing it on to others. (Source) Although it is tragic beyond words that four young children lost their father, we should all be thankful that the children and Cora weren't infected. Those children have many descendants today! Click here to learn more about Lewis Leonard. Click here to learn more about the Leonard family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources to help with your searches. #lewisleonard #leonard #death #typhoid

Arthur Russell Leonard was born May 25, 1876, in Locke, Cayuga County, New York. He was a son of Charles Russell Leonard and Mary (Brown) Leonard. He appears to have grown up in Locke, as he was counted on the census in Locke in 1880 and in 1892. He was a young man of 21 years when his brother, Lewis Leonard, died in 1897. Lewis was my 2nd great-grandfather, which makes Arthur my 2nd great-granduncle. Our relationship has been confirmed through DNA matches with several of his descendants. After Lewis died, Cora (Sherman) Leonard, Lewis's widow, married a man named Arthur Leonard in 1898, but after reviewing the evidence, I don't believe it was Arthur Russell Leonard who she married. Arthur married to Alveretta Sincerbeaux on December 24, 1903, at Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. By 1910, the couple was living in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York, and had already had four children, two of whom died young. Four year old Bertha and baby Harold were their two living children in 1910. Arthur was working as a farm laborer. In 1915, they were counted on the census in Lansing, Tompkins County, with a new addition to the family, Dorothy. By 1920, they were in Locke, with Bertha, Harold, and Dorothy, along with a four year old daughter, Alice, and 14 month old son, William Leonard. Arthur was still a farm laborer. In 1925, they were back in Lansing, and Arthur was working as a "Wood & Iron Worker". Only Bertha was missing from the home. She had married Fred Boyer in 1924, and the newlyweds lived in Genoa in 1925. Arthur and Alveretta had five known children, in addition to the two who died before 1910. From census records and other paper trails, following is what I've learned about them. If you have any corrections or additions, please comment below or contact me to let me know. Bertha M. Leonard (1905-2004), born July 4, 1905. She married first to Fred Boyer on April 2, 1924, in Tompkins County, New York, and they lived in Lansing in 1930. Bertha married second to John Mitnik (1897-1958), an immigrant miner born in Trheviste, Austria, Hungary. He had married first to a Hungarian woman named Bertha, and had a son named John born in Czechoslovakia in 1921. John's obituary says he was survived by a stepdaughter, Mrs. Betty Perkins of Genoa, two stepsons, Robert and Charles Boyer of Selma, Alabama, and five grandchildren. After John died, Bertha married her third husband, Herman Schmidtman, at the age of 56. They were married in 1962 and lived in Ithaca. She died at the age of 99, on July 2, 2004. Bertha and Fred Boyer had three known children: Robert Francis Boyer (1926-2002) of Selma, Alabama. Betty Boyer (1925-2013), wife of Francis Perkins and later Hilliard. Charles Boyer (1928- ) of Selma, Alabama. Harold Augustus Leonard (1910-1994), born April 4, 1910, in Cayuga County. He married first to Margaret Chilson on August 19, 1931, in Richford, New York. They reportedly had two children: a. Robert Leonard (1932-2009) b. Vena Leonard (1933-1991) He married second to Lola F. Barnes after 1938 and they lived in East Pompey, Onondaga County, in 1940. They reported that he had lived in Marathon, Cortland County, in 1935, while she had lived in Homer. She may have also lived in Cincinnatus at some point. They lived in East Homer in 1963, when his mother died. Margaret died in 1992 and Harold died two years later, on March 25, 1994. Lola died Jan. 17, 2007, in Cortland. Harold and Lola rest in East Homer Cemetery in Homer. They had seven known children: Harold A. Leonard (1944-2019) Richard Leonard Robert Wesley Leonard Nancy Ann (Leonard) Smith, Elsie (Leonard) Ferro (1942-2017) Carolyn (Leonard) Aldrich Beverly (Leonard) Sprouse Dorothy Jane Leonard (1913-2008), born Sept. 1, 1913, in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York. She lived with her married sister, Bertha Boyer, in Lansing, in 1930. She married Warren M. Mastin (1903-1977) very soon after, on Nov. 15, 1930, in North Lansing and they lived in Lansing in 1940. They lived in Genoa in 1959 and were still there wen her mother died in 1963. Dorothy died at the age of 94, on April 26, 2008, in Ithaca. Dorothy and Warren Mastin had five known children: Gertrude (Mastin) Bosworth (1931-2022), who married Ray S. Bosworth (1929-2018) and had five known children including John Edward Bosworth (1959-1973), and Cynthia (Bosworth) Fishburn (1955-2021). Warren Mastin, Jr. (1932-1969), born Nov. 18, 1932, in Genoa, and was still there in 1950. He married Phyllis J. Mancuso in 1958 and died Jan. 27, 1969, in Rochester. Esther I. Mastin (1934-1993), born Dec. 8, 1934, in Genoa, and was still there in 1950. She married Ernest LaVerne Stedge (1932-2002) and lived in Waverly, Tioga County, New York. Donald G. Mastin, of Genoa, Cayuga, New York. Gerald Mastin, who married Marjorie A. Lanpher in 1963. Alice Mildred Leonard, born March 9, 1916, in Lansing. She married Charles Monroe Dingy (1917-1988), in Venice, New York, on Nov. 22, 1936. Charles enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 25, 1945, and was discharged four months later, on Oct. 19, 1945, about six weeks after the end of World War II. They lived in Preble, Cortland County, in 1950, and in Wolcott in 1963. Charles and Alice had seven known children: Shirley (Dingy) Sincerbeaux Emma Jean (Dingy) Guthrie Francis Dingy Rosalie (Dingy) Snyder Marjorie L. (Dingy) Griffin William Charles Dingy Kenneth Dingy William Robert Leonard, born Oct. 22, 1918, in Ithaca, married Myleta Irene Perry on Dec. 11, 1938, in Genoa. They lived in Moravia when he registered for the draft in 1940. He was 6-feet tall, 173 lbs., had brown eyes, brown hair, and a dark complexion. He lived in Cortland when his mother died in 1963. William and Myleta lived in Preble, Cortland County, in 1950. Myleta died Dec. 16, 1980, in Harnando, Florida. William and Myleta had five children at the time: William Daniel Leonard (1939-2001) James Eugene Leonard (1944-1989) Mary I. (Leonard) Rogers Howard A. Leonard Dorothy M. Leonard Arthur died on October 12, 1961, and is buried in Bird Cemetery, in Locke. His obituary says he was 84, but if he was born May 25, 1876, he lived 85 years. Alveretta died June 15, 1963, at the age of 82. According to her obituary, in addition to her five children, she was survived by 28 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. Arthur and Alveretta can be seen here in this portrait, along with their obituaries: Arthur's obituary, printed in the Cortland Standard, Fri., Oct. 13, 1961: "ARTHUR LEONARD, 84, LOCKE, DIES. LOCKE - Arthur Leonard, 84, a long time area resident, died Thursday at Cortland Memorial Hospital where he was a medical patient for two days. Mr. Leonard worked as a blacksmith for many years and did general farming. He is survived by his wife, Alberetta Sincerbeaux Leonard, and five children, Mrs. Bertha Mitnik of Ithaca, Harold Leonard of East Homer, Mrs. Dorothy Mastin of Genoa; Mrs. Alice Dingy of Wolcott, and William Leonard of Cortland. Funeral services will be Saturday at 2 at the Booth Co. Funeral Home in Groton, Rev. Duane Bell, pastor of the Milan Baptist Church of Locke, officiating. Interment in Bird Cemetery, Locke. Friends may call at the funeral home this evening from 7-9." It's amazing how many descendants can result from one marriage over the course of a hundred years. It brings to mind a poem on a coffee mug I bought over twenty years ago for my oldest child's first school fund raiser: Hats off to Arthur and Alveretta Leonard and their many descendants! Stay tuned for more! Click here to learn more about the Leonard family. #arthurleonard #leonard #alverettasincerbeaux #sincerbeaux

In my previous blog about "The Life of James Henry Leonard", I shared some documentation about my great-granduncle's first marriage, which took place on November 19, 1910, in Moravia, Cayuga County, New York, when he was 19 years old. He married a 21-year old woman named Zaida Brown. This is an established fact, with their marriage license application, shown here, serving as evidence: James and Zaida had a son named Charles Lewis Leonard, born Sept. 8, 1912, in Moravia, Cayuga, New York, but when the census taken in 1920, they weren't living together, and in 1922, James remarried to Edna Wallace. So what ever happened to Zaida? Well, as usual, we have to rely on newspapers to tell the story. I found several articles printed in area newspapers from 1915 to 1921, which give us a glimpse of what was going on in her eventful life. First, an article in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, newspaper called "The Farmer", July 22, 1915, mentions a man named "Henry Vredenberg, age 42, a former factory owner in Homer, N.Y.", and his "alleged common law wife, Zaida Leonard". Note that Homer is about 15 miles from Moravia, where James and Zaida were married in 1910. It was also where her family lived at the turn of the 20th century and her father died there in 1917. Vredenberg was arrested and Zaida was detained after being suspected of violating the White Slave Law. The White Slave Law, enacted in 1910, was not about race, despite what it might seem to imply. It was a law to prevent human trafficking, or detaining anyone against their will, as slaves, essentially. The brief mention in the paper doesn't give us much information, but it appears that the accusation came from Zaida's grandfather, and it was found to be unwarranted as Vredenberg was only charged a fine of $5 for breach of peace. Then, just four months later, a series of articles pertaining to "George W. Vredenberg, captain of the Steamer Venture", was charged with grand larceny after stealing a clock and a searchlight from another boat docked near his. Vredenberg's "woman companion", Zaida Leonard, was found living aboard the Venture when he was arrested and both were detained and interrogated for several hours. You can read the articles here and maybe you can find more on your own, if you're interested in investigating this case further. If you find anything, please let us know in the comments below! With no mention of James, and with the Vredenberg scandal occurring just five years after James and Zaida were married, one might wonder if this is the right Zaida Leonard, but one of the articles clearly gives her name as "Mrs. Zaida Brown Leonard". It was The Homer Republican on Feb. 1, 1917, included in the clippings above. In the end, Vredenberg was acquitted because Zaida, whose damning testimony was to be used against him, could not be found to be served with a subpoena. I could find no further information about her, other than when her father's estate was being settled in 1921. In the second to last newspaper clipping above, it was stated that she lived in Hoboken, New Jersey. My attempts to locate her on the census have proved fruitless, although it is possible she may have remarried and altered the spelling of her name or changed it all together. She may have even had more children, or, with a free and adventurous spirit like hers, maybe she traveled the world. Who knows? Anyone? As for Vredenberg, his life ended tragically in 1934, when he was involved in an altercation with a 21-year old deckhand employed on his boat. The man inadvertently knocked Vredenberg overboard and then watched helplessly as he drowned. Details were reported in the final newspaper clipping, shown above. Stay tuned for more! To learn more about the Leonard family, click here. #jamesleonard #zaidabrown #leonard

James H. Leonard was the older brother of my great-grandfather, Albert Jay Leonard. They were both sons of Lewis Leonard and Cora (Sherman) Leonard. James was probably named after Cora's father, James Sherman, and Albert may have been named after Cora's brother, Adelbert Sherman, but that's just speculation, of course. James was born April 21, 1890. There is conflicting information about where he was born - New York or Pennsylvania. I believe he was born in Cayuga County, New York, because his parents were married in Moravia, Cayuga County, in 1886, and were counted on the 1892 census in neighboring Summerhill, Cayuga Count, so it seems logical that if James was born in 1890, he was probably born in either Moravia or Summerhill, New York, but again, that's just my theory. Following is some documentation I was able to find about James Leonard. First, James was the young boy in the family photo. Here he is shown with his parents and sister, Ethel May. This photo must have been taken about 1894: Soon after the 1892 census was taken, the family moved to Pennsylvania. James was only about two years old. There, James' younger brother, Albert Jay Leonard, my great-grandfather, was born on December 15, 1895, in Osceola, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Tragedy struck the family two years later, on October 16, 1897, when Lewis died from typhoid fever, in nearby Westfield, same county. After the death of Lewis, Cora took the family back to New York, and they were living in Lodi, Seneca County, when the census was taken in 1900. In 1905, they were living in Venice, Cayuga County, and in 1910, they were in Moravia: A few months after the 1910 census was taken, James married Miss Zaida Brown on Sunday, Nov. 20, 1910, in Moravia, although their marriage license was issued in Lansing. They were married by Rev. Walter B. Jorris, pastor of the Congregational Church on Church Street in Moravia. He was pastor there from 1909 to 1913, and from there he was transferred to Rochester. James and Zaida had at least one child, a son named Charles Lewis Leonard, born Sept. 8, 1912, in Moravia, Cayuga, New York. Charles, better known as "Louis", married Lillian Louise Snover but they appear to have had no children. He remained in Venice and Moravia all his life, working as a farmer, according to the census. He worked as an auto mechanic when the 1950 census was taken and he died on July 1, 1991, in Moravia. James' mother, Cora, died in 1914, and her obituary stated that James was living in Moravia at the time. I was unable to locate James and his family on the 1915 New York State census, but on June 5, 1917, when James registered for the draft, he was described as being medium height and having a stout build. He had blue eyes and brown hair. His marital status was still "married", but he indicated that he had a child solely dependent on him for support. Nevertheless, James was selected for the draft and was inducted at Auburn, Sept. 29, 1917, into Battery F 309 First Artillery. He was later a Wagoner in the 30th Supply Co., 78th Division. He served overseas during World War I, from May 25, 1918, to Sept. 21, 1919, and was honorably discharged Sept. 27, 1919. When the census was taken in 1920, James and his 7-year old son, "Lewis", were boarding in the home of Charles Wallace in Venice, and Zaida was no where to be found. In next week's post, I'll share what I've learned about the Zaida story. You'll be able to find it here. Two years later, on April 25, 1922, James married Charles Wallace's daughter, Edna Wallace, in Moravia. James and Edna had three known children together: James Leonard, Jr. (1925-1987), born June 8, 1925, in Moravia. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, stood 6-feet tall and weighed 150 lbs. when he registered for the draft in 1943. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on Mar. 14, 1946, and was discharged Feb. 11, 1947. James married Shirley M. Hughes on Nov. 18, 1956 in Scipio, and they had at least two sons: Michael Leonard, who lived in College Station, Texas, in 1987, and Rodney Leonard, who lived in Genoa, New York, in 1987. James died at the age of 62, on Dec. 27, 1987, in Auburn, Cayuga, New York. Linford C. Leonard (1931-1981), was born Jan. 10, 1931, in Genoa, Cayuga, New York. He served in the Marines during the Korean conflict. He married Luella Zirbel in 1954 and had at least one child, a son named Allen Leonard. Linford died April 2, 1981, at the age of 50. Wallace Eugene Leonard (1933-1975), was born Mar. 31, 1933, in Venice, Cayuga, New York. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict and within months of his return, he married June M. Hughes in Moravia. They were married on July 27, 1955, and they had at least one child, a daughter named Della Leonard. Wallace died Dec. 5, 1975, at Auburn, Cayuga, New York, at the age of 42. In 1940, James and Edna lived in Venice, with James Jr, Linford and Wallace, while his son, Louis, and his wife Lillian, lived next door. They were both farmers. When the 1950 census was take, James and Edna still lived in Venice, with their son, Wallace, age 17, being the only child left in the home. The census was taken in April and the Korean War began two months later, on June 25, 1950. On Feb. 20, 1952, Linford enlisted in the Marines and on Feb. 12, 1953, Wallace enlisted in the Army. The war ended five months later, on July 27, 1953. Linford was discharged Feb. 11, 1954, and Wallace was discharged on Jan. 18, 1955. Following are the obituaries of James Leonard, Jr., and his brother, Wallace. I have yet to find the obituaries of Linford or Charles Lewis Leonard. James Henry Leonard died on September 2, 1969, at Auburn, Cayuga, New York. At the time of his death, he had twelve grandchildren. He is buried in East Venice Cemetery in Venice, New York. His wife, Edna, died at the age of 92, on Nov. 30, 1991. She outlived her husband by 22 years and she outlived all three of her sons, too. Even her stepson, Charles "Lewis" Leonard, died just four months before she died, at the age of 78. Stay tuned for more and don't forget to see my Leonard page for more information about James and his family. In the meantime, can you help update the profiles of James and his descendants on Wikitree? #leonard #jamesleonard #summerhill #moravia #cayugacounty #newyork

Lewis F. Leonard and Cora (Sherman) Leonard were my 2nd great-grandparents, shown in the photo below. In 1892, they were living in Summerhill, Cayuga County, New York. They had three children at the time, Alma, James and Ethel May Leonard. This family portrait must have been taken about 1893 or 1894, before their youngest son, Albert, was born, but why Alma is missing from the photo is a mystery. If anyone knows, please comment below! Lewis's mother, Mary (Brown) Leonard, was living just a few miles away in Locke with his brothers, Arthur and Irving Leonard, in 1892. Soon after the 1892 census was taken, Lewis moved his family moved to Tioga County, Pennsylvania, about 92 miles southwest of Summerhill, just across the Pennsylvania border. I'm assuming it was for employment that they moved there, but if anyone knows for sure, please let us know. Were the other Leonards in Tioga County related? Maybe someday we'll find those answers, but for now it's a mystery. Lewis and Cora's son, Albert Jay Leonard, was born in Osceola, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 15, 1895. This map shows the distance between Summer Hill and Osceola. The state border is highlighted in yellow. Sadly, Lewis died before Albert turned two years old. He died on Oct. 16, 1897, in Westfield, Pennsylvania, just a few miles west of Osceola. He was only 28 years old and the cause of death was Typhoid Fever. Cora was left with four young, fatherless children, but we find her and three of her children, James, Ethel, and Albert living in Lodi, Seneca, New York, when the census was taken in 1900. Her daughter, Alma, was 12 years old and living as a "Boarder" in the home of James & Polly Robinson in Summerhill. Cora and the children were living with a man named Arthur Leonard, and she was listed as his wife. Originally, upon seeing this years ago, I'd assumed Lewis's brother, Arthur, had taken them in and that they weren't really married, but in a recent search for more information, I found a brief notice of a marriage between "Arthur Leonard of Locke" and "Miss Cora Leonard of Owasco". The marriage occurred July 26, 1898, in Aurora, Cayuga, New York. The newspaper clipping is shown below. The marriage announcement called her "Miss" Cora Leonard, but the children in Arthur's home on the 1900 census (shown below) confirm this was, in fact, Mrs. Cora (Sherman) Leonard, the widow of Lewis Leonard. Note also that it was indicated on the 1900 census that this was both Arthur and Cora's first marriage, which clearly wasn't true, as Lewis and Cora were confirmed to have been married in 1886 (Certificate #17385). But was this actually Arthur Russell Leonard? Did Cora marry her husband's brother nine months after he died? Well, since the marriage notice identified the groom as "Arthur Leonard of Locke", and we know Lewis's brother, Arthur, was living in Locke in 1892 (census shown at top), it seems probable. There were no other men named Arthur Leonard in all of Cayuga County in 1892. There were three other men named Arthur Leonard, born in the 1870s, who were counted on the 1892 New York State Census. They were: Arthur Leonard of Pompey, Onondaga County; Arthur Leonard of Newfane, Niagara County; and Arthur Leonard of Milton, Saratoga County. According to the 1900 census, Cora's husband, Arthur, was born in June 1873 and he worked as a Day Laborer. Arthur Russell Leonard was born May 25, 1876, but I can't find him anywhere on the census in 1900. He may have been excluded from that census, which wasn't unheard, especially in the case of unmarried young men and women, who often boarded with other families temporarily and not reported. At any rate, the marriage between Arthur and Cora didn't last long, and in May of 1904, Cora filed for divorce. It was published in The Genoa Tribune for several days as follows: A critical piece of this puzzle is in the next fact we find. The New York Marriage Index for 1903 proves that Arthur Russell Leonard married Alveretta Sincerbeaux on December 24, 1903, at Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. This is what tells us that Cora's second husband, Arthur, couldn't have been the same Arthur who married Alveretta. He and Alveretta were legally married four months before Cora filed for divorce. In 1905, Cora was living in Venice, Cayuga County, with no husband. She lived with her two brothers, Bert and Elias Sherman, and two of her children, Albert and Ethel May Leonard. Her son, James, was counted in the home of the neighbor, Joseph Skuder. By 1910, Cora was living in nearby Moravia with her two sons, James Leonard and Albert J. Leonard, her daughter, Ethel, and Ethel's husband, William Bross. Ethel and William had just been married on October 20, 1909, in nearby Venice, and later that year, on Nov. 19, 1910, James married Zaida K. Brown, daughter of Clay Brown and Alice (Underwood) Brown, which is a story for next week's post, which you'll be able to find here (next week). Cora died on December 22, 1914, in Moravia. Her obituary can be found here. It is said that her son, Albert's hair turned white right after she died, which is astounding, if true, because he was only 19 years old at the time. She was said to have been buried in Indian Mound Cemetery. Click here to learn more about Cora E. (Sherman) Leonard, her parents, and her children. Click here to learn more about the Leonard and Sherman families. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources! #corasherman #leonard #sherman #albertjayleonard #jameshenryleonard #lewisleonard

John Dickinson was my 3rd great-grandfather, who came to America from Sheffield, England. He brought two sons, William Henry Dickinson and Harry Dickinson, and a daughter, Mary Ann Dickinson. (See the family's portrait here). Many photos of the Dickinson family have been preserved and shared by various descendants, which has been very helpful in piecing together what we know about the family. One of these photos is a tintype photograph (shown below) of young Harry Dickinson (seated), with an unknown young man standing at his side. There is no indication of who the young man was. Was he a friend? A relative? An employer or employee? Could he have been a servant? Based on the gentleman's facial characteristics, it doesn't appear that he was a relative, but I'm not convinced this companion of Harry's was a servant either. The family never had servants listed in their homes on the census and other similar photos from this batch show Harry with other men including his brother, William, and a man named Ben Allinton. We may never know who Harry's unidentified companion was, but we know Harry was born in 1863 and it appears this photo was taken in his late teenage years, about 1879. This was around time Harry and his family left England for America. This period was referred to as the Gilded age, "a time of extravagance spawned from the profits of unrestricted capitalism". Slavery had been abolished in Britain and its territories in 1807 and many entered the workforce as domestic workers - servants, maids, butlers, coachmen, or nannies. In Victorian England, it was wealth that divided classes more than race or gender. The poor, lower classes people served the middle and upper classes. Upper class households had several servants and middle class households usually had at least one or two. While servitude probably wasn't their first career choice, I'm sure they were glad to have employment and money to feed their families. But was it customary to take professional portraits with servants? I did some digging and found that it was! Great measures were taken to exude affluence in portraits. They wore their best clothes and fancy props, but nothing proclaimed affluence more than employing servants. They were often shown standing, ready to serve, which may or may not have been genuine loyalty. Harry and his father were steelworkers, which may have paid a decent wage, but I'm not sure the Dickinsons were affluent enough to employ servants. Harry's mother, Elizabeth (Reynolds) Dickinson, had worked as a servant in her youth, and his daughter, Emma, was later a housekeeper. By all accounts, they seem to have been in the middle, working class people. What do you think? Share your thoughts below! These documentaries on YouTube shed some light on the topic: "A Message From Our Ancestors (Britain's Slave Trade Documentary) Timeline" "The Old Corruption (Britain's Slave Trade Documentary) Timeline" Regarding the lives of servants, see "The footman's directory, and butler's remembrancer", by Thomas Cosnett. You can read it for free on Archive.org. #harrydickinson #dickinson #photos

After reviewing the baptisms of children of John Dickinson of Middlewood, we can see that John must have married sometime before 1763, because his son, Thomas, was baptized August 14, 1863. There was a wedding between John Dickinson and Martha Beaumond in the same church, July 18, 1762. This marriage was 13 months before John's first child was baptized at the same church. I cannot confirm that this was John Dickinson, my 6th great-grandfather, but it is the closest match and seems likely. If anyone has information about John Dickinson, please contact me or comment below. Click here to see the Baptisms of John Dickinson's children. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family tree. Click here for thousands of free 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! #johndickinson #dickinson #sheffield #marriage #marthabeaumond

Tracing my family's history has been very interesting, to say the least. I knew almost nothing beyond my grandparents when I started researching my family's history a little over 20 years ago, but now I've got more information and memorabilia than I know what to do with! Along the way, as I learn about the places connected to my ancestors, I like to take a virtual tour of the place on Google Maps Street View. I also look for old photographs of the place to see it "first hand". Books dedicated to town, county, and state histories often have lots of photos and illustrations perfect for snipping copies of for the family album. Gazetteers, atlases, yearbooks, newspapers, and postcards are also a good place to find images of places of the past. I've bought several old postcards and photos online to add to my family albums in an attempt to fill the gaps of missing details for posterity's sake. In this case, though, my father provided me with several antique postcards containing photographs of Marathon, in Cortland County, New York. Several of my ancestors lived in Marathon. My 3rd great-grandmother, Lucy Ann (Shevalier) Hollenbeck was born in Marathon in 1828, my 5th great-grandfather, Williams Huntley, died in Marathon in 1842, and my 4th great-grandfather Peter Shevalier was murdered in Marathon by two drunk men in 1850. Six of my ancestors are buried in Marathon Village Cemetery, including Peter Shevalier's parents, Jeremiah Shevalier and Catherine (Rohrbacker) Shevalier, my great-grandmother, Rose (Hollenbeck) Leonard, along with her parents, Jasper Hollenbeck and Mary Ellen (McGinnis) Hollenbeck, and my grandfather. Others in the immediate family are buried in nearby Willet. The first postcard I'll share is a rare old photo of East Main Street in Marathon. It was taken at the turn of the 20th century, about 1900. Beyond the Brown's Hotel is the old Baptist Church, followed by and Milo T. Wooster's Drug Store. Mr. Wooster died in 1915. If you follow this road straight and go up the hill, Leonard Road is about four miles away. To purchase a copy of this photograph, click here! Compare the past with the present with this interactive Google Map: A brief sketch of Marathon's businesses and public places was published in the Cortland Democrat, Friday, April 14, 1899, around the time this photograph was taken. From it, we learn that Brown's Hotel (now Reilly's Cafe) was built around 1885, by Cornelius Brown. Mr. Brown was severely injured on July 23, 1884, "when Barnum's circus tent was struck by a cyclone in Cortland". The tent was filled with about 10,000 people and many were injured. The story of Barnum's circus tragedy was recalled in the Cortland Democrat in 1900, for those interested in that story. Next we have three more old photos of Marathon: Top left: Marathon High School - The school my grandfather attended, which has long since been rebuilt. Top right: St. Stephen's Church - This Roman Catholic Church is located on Academy Street in Marathon. The corner stone was laid in 1896, and construction began in June of 1897. The crucifix was imported from Munich, Germany, according to The Cortland Democrat, June 4, 1897, edition (front page). Bottom: Birds Eye View of Marathon, New York - This photograph was taken sometime before October of 1909, the date the postcard was postmarked. For copies of these photos, choose a link: Marathon High School ~ St. Stephen's Church Birds Eye View of Marathon ~ East Main Street Stay tuned for more area photos! Click here for genealogy and history resources for Marathon, Cortland County, New York Click here for genealogy and history resources for Cortland County, New York Click here for genealogy and history resources for New York Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources #marathon #cortlandcounty #newyork #hollenbeck #shevalier #mcginnis #photo

After finding what I believe to be the record of my 5th great-grandfather, William Dickinson's 1768 baptism, I set out to find other children of "John Dickinson of Middlewood", baptized at the same church - Sheffield, St Nicholas, Bradfield, in the mid to late 1700s. This baptism took place at Sheffield, St Nicholas, Bradfield, Yorkshire (West Riding), England, shown here: From the Parish Baptismal Records of Sheffield, St Nicholas, Bradfield, the children born to "John Dickinson of Middlewood" were: Children born to John Dickinson of Middlewood, baptized at Sheffield, St Nicholas, Bradfield: Thomas Dickinson, baptized Aug. 14, 1763 John Dickinson, baptized May 11, 1765 William Dickinson, baptized Dec. 25, 1767 Jonathan Dickinson, baptized July 15, 1770 Mary Dickinson, baptized July 15, 1770 Martha Dickinson, baptized Aug. 3, 1777, died in 1779, buried Oct. 12, 1779 at St. Nicholas, Bradfield. Hannah Dickinson, baptized Sept. 16, 1780 Click here to learn more about this branch of my family tree. Click here for thousands of free 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! #dickinson #williamdickinson #johndickinson #yorkshire #england #baptisms

Elizabeth Reynolds was my 3rd great-grandmother. She was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, in July of 1833, a daughter of a Thomas Reynolds and Ann (Park) Reynolds. Her father was a plasterer by trade and the family was counted on the U.K. Census of 1841 and 1851, living in Wakefield. Elizabeth married John Dickinson on February 10, 1856, and had four children. They came to America in 1880 and John died in 1889. When the 1900 census was taken, Elizabeth was living in the home of her son, William H. Dickinson, at 318 Gross Street. Her other son, Harry, lived nearby at 310 Gross Street. His family was listed on the previous census page. Elizabeth died from pneumonia on February 7, 1905, probably at her son's home. She lived 71 years and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery. Click here to learn more about the Dickinson and Reynolds families. #dickinson #elizabethreynolds #reynolds

My 4th great-grandmother, Sophronia, married Russel Leonard in or before 1830 and had at least two children, Charles Russell Leonard and Jenette (Leonard) Reynolds. Russel left to buy land in Michigan territory in 1833 and was never heard from again by his family. Sophronia soon remarried to Thomas Knapp and raised a large family with him. This is the brick wall in my Leonard line. Family tradition says Charles Russell Leonard's mother was "Sophronia Burrill", alternatively written Burlet, Burrell, or Burlew in various documents. One family record gives her father's name as Joshua Burrill (of Pembroke, Genesee, New York), but she is not named in Joshua's will, unlike his other known children, leaving us with no evidence to prove this claim, and even casting doubt on it. My DNA matches descendants of both Sophronia Knapp and of Joshua Burrill, so I do believe we are on the right track, but I don't understand why no connection has been found to link Sophronia to her father. My DNA matches with descendants of Joshua Burrill's daughter, Martha (Burrill) Redman: Refer to my previous post here for more on my DNA connections with Joshua Burrill. Many researchers confuse Sophronia with Sophronia, the wife of Nelson Burrill, which is understandable, given the many similarities between them. Both of these Sophronias were born about 1815 and both died in 1883, and they lived within about 30 miles of each other. The most common mistake I see is Sophronia (Burrill) Leonard Knapp's birth date given as December 13, 1815, in Cortland, New York. This information is incorrect. People are confusing her with Sophronia (Campbell) Burrill, wife of Nelson Burrill. There is no documentation proving when or where Sophronia (Burrill) Leonard Knapp was born as far as I know. Here's what has been found about Nelson & Sophronia (Campbell) Burrill of Elbridge, with sources: Sophronia Maria Campbell[1] was born on 13 Dec 1815 in Onondaga, Onondaga, New York[1, 2, 3]. Sophronia Maria Campbell married Nelson Burrill and lived in Elbridge, Onondaga, New York. Elbridge is only about ten miles from Port Byron, where Sophronia (Burrill) Leonard requested information about her husband be sent. In 1840, the only boy in the "Nelson Burrel" household was under five, and would have been their son Nelson A. Burrill who had just been born in April of 1840. We don't see Sophronia's name on the census with him until 1850 and on that census the boy Nelson was 10. She was counted on the census in 1870 in Elbridge, Onondaga, New York. She lived in Elbridge in 1880[2]. She was an active member of the Presbyterian Church at Jordan.[10] She died on 20 Apr 1883[9]. She went by the name of Sophronia Burrill[2]. She was buried in Jordan Village Cemetery, Jordan, Onondaga, New York. Her parents were reportedly born in Massachusetts. Nelson Burrill[1, 2, 5] was born on 25 Nov 1811 in New York[1, 2, 5, 6]. He lived in Camillus, Onondaga, New York, in 1840[7]. His father was Jacob Burrill, a brother of Joshua Burrill of Pembroke, Genesee County, New York. Therefore, Nelson was a cousin of Sophronia (Burrill) Leonard Knapp, assuming she actually was a daughter of Joshua. Nelson was counted in the census in Elbridge, Onondaga, New York, in 1850, 1860, 1865, 1870, 1875, and 1880[2]. He died on 07 Jul 1881 in Weedsport, Cayuga, New York[6]. He also went by the name of Nelson Burrel[7]. He was buried in Jordan Village Cemetery, Elbridge, Onondaga, New York. Nelson Burrill and Sophronia Maria Campbell had the following children: Nelson Alonzo Burrill was born on 5 Apr 1840. Horace L. Burrill was born on 3 Dec 1841. He lived in Weedsport, Cayuga, New York, USA in 1881 (as per father's obituary). He died on 1 Aug 1922. He was buried Weedsport Rural Cemetery. (See also, Burritt Family excerpt, below). Mary Alice Burrill was born on 23 Nov 1843. She died on 20 Oct 1844. Martha C. Burrill was born on 12 Sep 1845. She died on 20 Oct 1877. Francis M. Burrill was born about 1850. James A. Burrill was born about 14 May 1851. He died from typhoid pneumonia on 20 Nov 1873. (See bio here) There are many similarities between the two Sophronias but as you can see by comparing the records, they are clearly not the same person. See The Life of Sophronia Knapp for more details. Another coincidence and common factor between both Sophronias is that neither of them is found in the 1883 New York Death Index. Sources Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), _, Database online. Source number: 317.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: RB1. Record for Nelson Burrill. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Database online. Year: 1880; Census Place: Elbridge, Onondaga, New York; Roll: 905; Family History Film: 1254905; Page: 157D; Enumeration District: 169; Image: 0511. Record for Nelson Burrill. 1875 New York State Census. The Burritt family in America : descendants of William Burritt of Stratford, Connecticut, 1635-1940, by Lewis L. Burritt, p. 63 [Link] Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Database online. Year: 1880; Census Place: Elbridge, Onondaga, New York; Roll: 905; Family History Film: 1254905; Page: 157D; Enumeration District: 169; Image: 0511. Record for Sophronia Burrill. JORDAN VILLAGE CEMETERY Index (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/CEMETERY/JORDAN.HTM) BURRILL, Nelson. Born November 25th, 1811. Died July 7th, 1881. BURRILL, Sophronia, wife of Nelson BURRILL. Born December 13th, 1815. Died April 20th, 1883. BURRILL, James A., son of Nelson and Sophronia BURRILL. Died November 20th, 1873. Aged 22 years, 6 months and 6 days. BURRILL, Mary Alice, daughter of Nelson and Sophronia BURRILL. Died October 20th, 1844. Aged 10 months and 27 days. BURRILL, Martha C., daughter of Nelson and Sophronia BURRILL. Died October 20th, 1877. Aged 32 years, 1 month and 8 days. Ancestry.com, 1840 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), www.ancestry.com, Database online. Year: 1840; Census Place: Camillus, Onondaga, New York; Roll: ; Page:. Record for Nelson Burrel. Ancestry.com, Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Database online. Record for Nelson Burrill. MyHeritage.com, Newspaper: Cayuga Chief, April 14, 1883, "At the residence of her son, H. L. Burrill, Esq., in Weedsport, April 20th, 1883, Mrs. S. M. Burrill, relict of the late Nelson Burrill, aged 66 years and 4 months." Our Church and Her Interests: Being a Souvenir of the Past History..., by J. Edward Close, p. 52, and 91-92. [Link] See Nelson Burrill's info on this page: See also my previous post about Nelson and Sophronia Campbell Burrill, here. My goal is to prove the parentage of Sophronia who married Russel Leonard who went missing in 1834. If you have any comments or suggestions, please share! Click here for more details about Sophronia's family. Click here for my genealogy links and tips! #sophroniaburrill #sophroniacampbell #leonard #burrill

Looking for the record of a marriage that took place in Connecticut before 1800? This week I added over 100 lists of Connecticut marriages prior to 1800 to the Connecticut Genealogy Resources. The new records can be found on each town's resource page, as follows: From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 1: New Haven from 1758, Woodstock 1690, Ashford 1719, Brooklyn 1737, North Stonington 1733, Redding 1734, Pomfret 1753, East Haddam 1748, Washington 1749, Guilford-Madison 1757, Saybrook-Chester 1759, Norfolk 1762, Haddam, 1756, (New London) Montville 1724, East Windsor 1761. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 2: Lebanon, Thompson, Plainfield, West Hartford, East Hartford, Cromwell, Branford from 1651, New London 1697, Lebanon and Canterbury 1712, Saybrook 1726, West Hartford 1727, Thompson 1730, Middletown-Cromwell 1738, Newtown 1743, Mansfield 1744, Plainfield 1748, East Hartford 1783. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 3: Wethersfield from 1739, Colchester 1732, New Hartford 1743, Lyme 1731, Cheshire 1734, Voluntown 1729, Wilton 1750, Ridgefield 1769, Killingworth 1739, Middle Haddam 1740, Fairfield-Westport 1742, Scotland 1735, New Milford 1717, Hebron 1732, Middletown-Chatham 1740. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 4: Farmington-Berlin 1756, Norwich-Franklin 1719, Farmington-Avon 1750, Greenwich 1728, Stamford-New Canaan 1742, Chatham-Portland, 1769, Preston-Griswold 1720, Wallingford-Meriden 1729, Wallingford 1759, Windsor-Bloomfield 1738, Windham-Hampton 1734, Bolton 1738. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 5: Milford (First & Second Church), Killingly 1715, Lebanon (Goshen) 1730, North Branford 1750, Norwich (Lisbon) 1724, Union 1759, Milford 1747, Hartland 1768, North Canaan 1770, Cornwall 1756, Norwich (Bozrah) 1740, Fairfield (Easton) 1765, Bethlehem 1740, Somers 1727, Kent, 1741, Washington 1770, Fairfield (Weston) 1757, Stratford 1733, Glastonbury 1769. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 6: North Haven, East Haven, Fairfield 1726, Stamford 1747, Darien 1744, New Haven 1751, East Haven 1755, East Haddam 1751, Middletown 1762, North Haven 1760, Killingworth 1764, Norwich (Hanover) 1769, Wethersfield (Rocky Hill) 1766, Ashford (Westford) 1766, Litchfield (Morris) 1787. From Early Connecticut Marriages Book 7: Stratford, Stamford, New Haven, Brooklyn, Fairfield, Preston, New Haven, Saybrook, Coventry, Torrington, Canaan, Lebanon, Windham, Barkhamsted, Enfield, Stratford, Glastonbury, Colchester. This task took up several days of my spare time, but I'm sure it will come in handy! Stay tuned for more! Click here for more Connecticut genealogy and history resources Click here to choose another State #connecticut #resources #marriages #records #colonial

Many Connecticut genealogy records can be found in old books linked on the Connecticut Resources page, where you can find resources by counties and towns, but if you're still having trouble finding the records you seek, they may have been lost or destroyed. Following is a list of records of Connecticut's Congregational Churches known to have been lost or destroyed: Andover - The Congregational Church of Andover, est. 1749: Births & marriages before 1818 burned. Bethany - The Congregational Church of Bethany, est. 1763: Before 1823, lost. Bristol - The Congregational Church of Bristol, est. 1747: No marriages before 1792; baptisms begin 1800. Canterbury (Westminster) - Records from the Congregational Church in Canterbury from its organization in 1770 to 1824 were lost. Records from Canterbury's First Congregational Church from 1712-1771 are available, however. Canton Center - The Congregational Church of Canton Center, est. 1750: Before 1826, lost. Coventry - The 2nd Congregational Church of Coventry, est. 1745: None before 1818. East Granby - The Congregational Church of East Granby, est. 1737: Lost? East Haddam (Hadlyme) - The Congregational Church of East Haddam (Hadlyme), est. 1745: No marriages before 1800; baptisms begin 1745. Eastford - The Congregational Church of Eastford, est. 1778: No records before 1800. Ellington - The Congregational Church of Ellington, est. 1736: Lost. Goshen - The Congregational Church of Goshen, est. 1740: Lost. Greenwich - The 1st Congregational Church of Greenwich, est. 1670: Nothing before 1787. Greenwich (Stanwich) - The Congregational Church of Greenwich (Stanwich), est. 1735: Burned 1821. Harwinton - The Congregational Church of Harwinton, est. 1738: Nothing before 1790. Hebron - The 1st Congregational Church of Hebron, est. 1717: Records burned. Litchfield - The Congregational Church of Litchfield, est. 1721: Before 1886, burned. Lyme - The 2nd Congregational Church of Lyme, est. 1719: Lost. Lyme - The 3rd Congregational Church of Lyme, est. 1727: Lost. Marlborough - The Congregational Church of Marlborough, est. 1749: Missing. Middlefield - The Congregational Church of Middlefield, est. 1745: No records before 1808. Middletown (South) - The 2nd Congregational Church of Middletown (South), est. 1747: No records before 1800. Monroe - The Congregational Church of Monroe, est. 1764: No marriages before 1821; baptisms begin 1776. North Guilford - The Congregational Church of North Guilford, est. 1725: Lost. Plymouth - The Congregational Church of Plymouth, est. 1740: No marriages before 1800. Ridgefield - The 1st Congregational Church of Ridgefield, est. 1714: Nothing before 1800. Salisbury - The Congregational Church of Salisbury, est. 1744: No records before 1800. Sherman - The Congregational Church of Sherman, est. 1744: Burned. South Manchester - The Congregational Church of South Manchester, est. 1779: Lost? Suffield (West) - The Congregational Church of Suffield (West), est. 1744: No records before 1840. Tolland - The Congregational Church of Tolland, est. 1723: Records burned. Torringford - The Congregational Church of Torringford, est. 1764: Records before 1837 burned. Watertown - The Congregational Church of Watertown, est. 1739: Records lost. West Haven - The Congregational Church of West Haven, est. 1719: Records before 1815, lost. Source: Early Connecticut marriages as found on ancient church records prior to 1800, by Bailey, Frederic William, 1896. #connecticut #churchrecords #marriages

Austin Miles Daniels was born in Virginia in 1812. By the 1830s he was in Missouri and in 1851 he brought his family to Benton County, Oregon, "by ox team", according to his daughter, Emily's obituary. Sometime after 1860, Austin left Oregon and moved to Northern California, among the beautiful redwood forests, the tallest trees on earth. Austin was counted on the census of 1880 in Powellville, Humboldt County, California. He was 68 years old, disabled, and living alone. Powellville's name has since been changed several times. It has been called Blockburger's, Blocksburgh, and Larrabee, but the name it has kept since 1893 is Blocksburg. Although he was counted on the census in Powellville, I don't believe he actually lived in Powellville (Blocksburg). In the voter registers for 1877 and 1880, he was reportedly living at "Camp Grant". This camp was established during the Civil War, in 1863, and was abandoned afterwards, in 1865. Powellville (Blocksburg) is about 15 miles from Camp Grant, but because the voter register shows Austin was living at Camp Grant on August 21, 1877 and on December 1, 1880, it seems safe to assume that Camp Grant residents were counted in the Powellville district on the 1880 census taken on June 5, 1880. The vicinity of Camp Grant is shown here on this 1866 map: You can have a look around to see the trails, rivers, and forests Austin Daniels lived in the late 1800s. The marker is set to the approximate location of Camp Grant, according to my estimations. There are remnants of structures on the property, but there are more on the property to the east of this one. This one, however, seems would be a more strategic location for a military camp, at the tip of the river bend, in my opinion. (Zoom out, zoom in, and have a look around. Let me know what you think in the comments below!) On the 1888 and 1892 voter registers, Austin was reported as living in Rohnerville, which can also be seen on the 1866 map above. It was just 16 miles northwest of Camp Grant. Austin may have gone to live with his daughter, Maggie Bryan, in his old age. She was counted on the 1880 in Rohnerville, Humboldt County, California (now Fortuna County), and was still there in 1900. The 1892 register provides more details about Austin: Age: 76 Height: 5'11" Complexion: Light Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Light Occupation: Farmer Residence: Rohnerville Austin was not counted in the Bryan home or anywhere else in 1900, however, so he appears to have died between 1892 and 1900. I vaguely remember years ago finding a burial record of an Austin Daniels buried near Mount Shasta, but I can't seem to find the information again at this time. Maggie may have been the only one of Austin's children to move to California. Thomas, Emily, and Susan remained in Oregon and William removed to Washington State. I have yet to discover what became of Andrew, Nancy, Harrison, and Jonathan. If anyone can help solve these mysteries, of what became of Austin's four other children and when and where Austin died, or where he is buried, please comment below or contact me. For additional reading, see: Humboldt County, California [Wikipedia] Blocksburg, Humboldt County, California [Wikipedia] Camp Grant, California [Wikipedia] #austinmilesdaniels #austindaniels #daniels #humboldtcounty #california

Austin Miles Daniels, my 3rd great-grandfather, was born in Campbell County, Virginia, about 1812, and if you've been following along, you know he was married in Morgan County, Missouri, in 1836 or 1837, and bought land there in 1843. Details can be found in my previous post here. Digging into the history of Missouri, we find that most of the state was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase, which was finalized in 1803. Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase which he made from Napoleon, the Emperor of France, adding 828,000 square miles to America's territory. In 1820 Missouri was admitted into the Union after the Missouri Compromise, however the northwest portion was still owned by the Native American Indians and the U.S. government did not allow white settlers to encroach upon their lands -- that is until the Platte Purchase of 1836. The deal added present day Platte County, Buchanan County, Andrew County, Nodaway County, Atchison County and Holt County to the State of Missouri. In 1837 the pioneers came pouring in from Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. [Source: 1877 Atlas Holt County]. I found no record of when he sold the land, but seven years later, Austin's family was counted on the 1850 Census in "District 38", Holt County, Missouri. I believe this was in the area of present day Lewis Township and Forbes Township. Then, on April 10 of the following year, 1851, Austin purchased 160 acres of Byram Lewis's land, from Jesse Lewis. This land was located in present day Forbes, Holt County, Missouri. This illustration shows where Austin's land was located: You can zoom in and have a look around on this interactive Google map: Austin's 1851 land patent was signed by Alexander McCormick, Asst. Secretary, for President Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States of America. Oddly enough, within a few months of purchasing this land, Austin packed up his family and left Missouri, making a 1,700-mile journey to Oregon. The gold rush that started in Oregon in 1851, along with the Donation Land Act of the same year probably had a major influence on their decision to leave Missouri. The transcontinental railroad wasn't built until 1869, so the family either crossed the Rocky Mountains on foot, or perhaps they traveled by boat along the "natural highways that carved their way through the mountainous terrain", up the Missouri River. Austin and Mary Ellen had four children at the time: William Daniels, age 13 Jonathan Daniels, age 10, Thomas Daniels, age 5, and Emily Viola Daniels, age 2. They arrived in Benton County, Oregon, in August of 1851. When the census was taken in July of 1860, they were living in Soap Creek, Benton County, Oregon. Austin was a farmer. His oldest son, William, age 22, my 2nd great-grandfather, was in the home working as a farm laborer. There were four more children in the home, who were born in Oregon. They were Harrison Daniels, age 7, Margaret Daniels, age 5, Nancy Daniels, age 3, and Andrew Daniels, age 2 months. Details about the Daniels family in Benton County, Oregon, can be found here. More details to come! See the Daniels page for more on this family. For more reading on Holt County, click here. #daniels #austindaniels #williamdaniels #holtcounty #missouri #landrecords #1850census

My great-grandfather, Percy Henry Daniels, was a sea-faring sailor and ship captain born about 1881 in Olympia, Washington. He kept an address at South Street Seaport in New York City around the turn of the century, and ship records reveals he also kept an address in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Somehow, after all that traveling, he ended up in central New York where he married Vena Dykeman at the age of 48, and started his family. He died about eleven years later, on December 13, 1940 in Solon, Cortland County, at the age of 59. I don't believe Percy's wife and daughter ever met anyone in Percy's family, because all of his family that I know of) remained on the west coast. We learned from his marriage license, that he was the son of William Daniels and Eliza Gale. With some research, I learned that William Daniels was born in Missouri between 1838 and 1840. His parents were Austin Daniels and Mary Ellen Wilkinson. Austin and Mary Ellen were married January 7, 1836/37, in Morgan County, Missouri, based on the information provided on a later land claim application. On April 1, 1843, Austin purchased 40 acres of land in what is now Florence, Morgan County, Missouri. It is on the border of Richland Township. On the deed, it was simply identified as Township 44 in Range 19. He owned the 40 acres on the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 23, as illustrated here: You can have a look around the area on this interactive Google map: It is highly unlikely that the original Daniels family home still stands, but Austin's son, William, was a Lumberman later in life and perhaps he learned the skill by helping his father clear this land as a boy. I found no record of when he sold the land, but the family left Morgan County before 1850. Stay tuned as we continue on the journey, tracing the Daniels family trails. See the Daniels page for more on this family. For more reading on Holt County, click here. Sources: Early Oregonian State Archive entry for Daniel Austin Miles. "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-159371-262996-20?cc=1618491 : accessed 2 June 2015), Tompkins > Licenses, 1929-1931, no 954-1650 > image 8 of 789; county offices, New York. #daniels #austindaniels #williamdaniels #morgancounty #missouri #landrecords #map

Harry Dickinson came from England around 1880 and lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until 1905, when the family moved to Newark, New Jersey. They lived at 178 South 7th Street when the census was taken in 1910 and in 1920, but it appears they moved 2.5 miles to the west side of Newark between 1920 and 1930. When the census was taken in 1930, Harry Dickinson lived at 324 Smith Street in Newark, New Jersey, with four of his grown children. His youngest, Ruth, was 18 years old. John was 25 and worked as a book clerk for an insurance company, Rose was 28 and worked as a school teacher at a public school, and Emma was 36 and unemployed, but, as we all know, she was standing in for her mother, Annie, as housewife of the family. Annie had died 17 years prior, in 1913, at the age of 42, when Emma was 19 years old. Emma's older sister, Elizabeth, married John MacArthur in 1914, and lived nearby, but Emma never married or had children. She had vowed to care for her father and siblings and that is her legacy. You can read her 1919 diary here. According to the 1930 census details, Harry was 66 years old and worked as Helper at a Steel Mill. He indicated he became a naturalized citizen in 1881. He was renting the family's home at 324 Smith Street and paid $57.50 monthly for rent. The following year, in 1931, Harry and his daughter, Emma, took an extended three month vacation to visit family in England. We have video and other memorabilia from that trip, that you can see here. On the ship manifest, Harry and Emma gave 324 Smith Street, Newark, New Jersey, as their address. This is the same place they lived when the census was taken in 1930. Harry died December 7, 1935, possibly here. Click here to learn more about Harry Dickinson. For more about the Dickinsons see the Dickinson page. #dickinson #harrydickinson #newark #newjersey #home #census #1930census

I've ranted and raved about the Bureau of Land Management and how useful their website is, and here I'll demonstrate why. In 1850, the Federal government passed the Donation Land Claim Act in the Oregon and Washington Territory, in an effort to settle the newly acquired northwestern United States. Settlers willing to move to Oregon and Washington Territory between 1850 and 1853, were granted up to 320 acres of land, providing they resided on and cultivated the property for at least four consecutive years. Married women were also permitted to stake their own claims. The program was extended with some modifications in 1853. During that time, settlers were required to pay $1.25 per acre, but the time required to reside on and cultivate the property was reduced to two years. My 3rd great-grandfather, Austin Miles Daniels, went to Oregon in 1850/51 and the family was counted there on the 1854 Enumeration of the Inhabitants of Benton County. When I learned about the Donation Land Claim Act, I was eager to see what I could find about my family in the database. Searching the BLM's database is fairly easy - just choose a State and enter a name. Keep in mind the name must be spelled exactly the way it is given on the patent, so be sure to try different spelling variations. Just click here to visit their website. Then, choose a State, enter a name (last and then first), and click "Search Patents". My search is a perfect example of why trying alternate spellings is important. I searched for "Austin Daniels" but the search came up empty. I then searched "Austin Daniel" and found my match. If you find any matches, clicking the Accession number gives you access to the files: In the page that opens, details are provided. Check off the blue checkboxes to see the locations on the map: Another important tip When I clicked the "Patent Image" tab, the image wasn't available, but then I clicked on "Related Documents" to see more transactions related to the property. From there I chose "CDI" on the left, which produced a list of patents. This displays a list of related patents, with links to the image. Choose the one you want to see. I chose the patent for Austin Daniel, of course. In the page that opens, click "CDI image" from the tab to see the actual patent. From there you can zoom in and view or download the file: On Nov. 10, 1874, Austin's claim for 320 acres of land was settled. From this patent, we can see that Austin's land was located within these sections. "...the South West quarter of Section 26 and the North West Quarter of Section 35 in Township 10 South of Range 4 West in the district of lands subject to sale at Oregon City, Oregon, containing 320 acres." I drew in the approximate locations here in black: This appears to be the area: Austin's patent was signed by S. D. Williamson, Secretary of Ulysses S. Grant, America's 18th President. Austin's family was found on the census in Soap Creek Precinct, Benton County, Oregon, in 1860 as follows: Click here to learn more about Austin Daniels Click here to learn more about the Daniels family Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources #austindaniels #daniels #oregon #bentoncounty #landrecords #homesteadact

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

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

Have you come across any old photos or postcards like the one show above among your family albums or papers? The old photo postcard, shown above, was given to me by a collector of Civil War memorabilia. It was stored away for years until I came across it recently, prompting me to do a little research to learn more about it. Clearly, the men in the photo were veterans of the Civil War, and probably members of the GAR. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization for veterans of the Union Army (the U.S. Army), the Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marine Corps who fought and served in the Civil War. The GAR was similar to the American Legion or VFW of today. "Almost every prominent veteran was enrolled, including five presidents: Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and McKinley." [Library of Congress] The Grand Army of the Republic was founded by Benjamin F. Stephenson, in 1866 and had over 409,000 members in over 7,000 posts across the country at its peak, in 1890. Members from around the country gathered for a camp meeting, or "National Encampment", every year from 1866 to 1949, with the exception of 1867. No official membership records were kept until 1878. The GAR was "a de facto political arm of the Republican Party during the heated political contests of the Reconstruction Era". Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. [Wikipedia] The organization was dissolved on August 2, 1956, when the last surviving member, Henry Albert Woolson, died at the age of 106. The GAR's appointed heir and successor is the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, who work to preserve the legacy of our Civil War veterans. GAR National Encampments (1866-1949) Following is a list of National Encampments held by the GAR, with some links I've found to images of the Encampment: 1st National Encampment, November 20, 1866, Indianapolis, Indiana 2nd National Encampment, January 15, 1868, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3rd National Encampment, May 12-13, 1869, Cincinnati, Ohio 4th National Encampment, May 11-12, 1870, Washington, DC 5th National Encampment, May 10-11, 1871, Boston, Massachusetts 6th National Encampment, May 8-9, 1872, Cleveland, Ohio 7th National Encampment, May 14-15, 1873, New Haven, Connecticut 8th National Encampment, May 13, 1874, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 9th National Encampment, May 12-13, 1875, Chicago, Illinois 10th National Encampment, June 30, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11th National Encampment, June 26-27, 1877, Providence, Rhode Island 12th National Encampment, June 4, 1878, Springfield, Massachusetts (31,016 Members) 13th National Encampment, June 17-18, 1879, Albany, New York 14th National Encampment, June 8-9, 1880, Dayton, Ohio (60,634 Members) 15th National Encampment, June 15-16, 1881, Indianapolis, Indiana (85,856 Members) 16th National Encampment, June 21-23, 1882, Baltimore, Maryland (134,701 Members) 17th National Encampment, June 25-26, 1883, Denver, Colorado 18th National Encampment, June 23-25, 1884, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Illustration 19th National Encampment, June 24-25, 1885, Portland, Maine (294,787 Members) - Photo 20th National Encampment, August 4-6, 1886, San Francisco, California (323,571 Members) 21st National Encampment, September 28-30, 1887, St. Louis, Missouri (355,916 Members) 22nd National Encampment, September 12-14, 1888, Columbus, Ohio (372,960 Members) 23rd National Encampment, August 28-30, 1889, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (397,974 Members) - Photo 24th National Encampment, August 13-14, 1890, Boston, Massachusetts (409,489 Members) 25th National Encampment, August 5-7, 1891, Detroit, Michigan (407,781 Members) 26th National Encampment, September 21-22, 1892, Washington, DC (399,880 Members) - Map 27th National Encampment, September 6-7, 1893, Indianapolis, Indiana (397,223 Members) - Photo 28th National Encampment, September 12-13, 1894, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (396,083 Members) 29th National Encampment, September 11-13, 1895, Louisville, Kentucky (357,639 Members) - Photo 30th National Encampment, September 3-4, 1896, St. Paul, Minnesota (340,610 Members) 31st National Encampment, August 25-27, 1897, Buffalo, New York (319,456 Members) 32nd National Encampment, September 5-6, 1898, Cincinnati, Ohio (305,603 Members) 33rd National Encampment, September 6-7, 1899, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (287,918 Members) - Photo 34th National Encampment, August 29-30, 1900, Chicago, Illinois (276,612 Members) 35th National Encampment, September 12-13, 1901, Cleveland, Ohio (269,507 Members) 36th National Encampment, October 9-10, 1902, Washington, DC (263,745 Members) - Photo 37th National Encampment, August 20-21, 1903, San Francisco, California (256,510 Members) 38th National Encampment, August 17-18, 1904, Boston, Massachusetts (247,340 Members) 39th National Encampment, September 7-8, 1905, Denver, Colorado (232,455 Members) 40th National Encampment, August 16-17, 1906, Minneapolis, Minnesota (235,823 Members) 41st National Encampment, September 12-13, 1907, Saratoga Springs, New York (229,932 Members) 42nd National Encampment, September 3-4, 1908, Toledo, Ohio (225,157 Members) 43rd National Encampment, August 12-13, 1909, Salt Lake City, Utah (220,600 Members) 44th National Encampment, September 22-23, 1910, Atlantic City, New Jersey (213,901 Members) - Postcard 45th National Encampment, August 24-25, 1911, Rochester, New York (203,410 Members) 46th National Encampment, September 9-14, 1912, Los Angeles, California (191,346 Members) 47th National Encampment, September 18-19, 1913, Chattanooga, Tennessee (180,227 Members) 48th National Encampment, September 3-4, 1914, Detroit, Michigan (171,335 Members) - Photo 49th National Encampment, September 30-October 1, 1915, Washington, DC (159,853 Members) - Photo 50th National Encampment, August 28-September 2, 1916, Kansas City, Missouri (140,074 Members) 51st National Encampment, August 20-25, 1917, Boston, Massachusetts (135,931 Members) 52nd National Encampment, August 18-24, 1918, Portland, Oregon (120,916 Members) 53rd National Encampment, September 7-13, 1919, Columbus, Ohio (110,357 Members) 54th National Encampment, September 19-25, 1920, Indianapolis, Indiana (103,258 Members) 55th National Encampment, September 25-29, 1921, Indianapolis, Indiana (93,171 Members) 56th National Encampment, September 24-29, 1922, Des Moines, Iowa (85,621 Members) 57th National Encampment, September 2-8, 1923, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (76,126 Members) 58th National Encampment, August 10-15, 1924, Boston, Massachusetts (65,382 Members) 59th National Encampment, August 30 to September 5, 1925, Grand Rapids, Michigan (55,817 Members) 60th National Encampment, September 19-25, 1926, Des Moines, Iowa (47,179 Members) 61st National Encampment, September 11-16, 1927, Grand Rapids, Michigan (38,801 Members) 62nd National Encampment, September 16-21, 1928, Denver, Colorado (32,614 Members) 63rd National Encampment, September 8-13, 1929, Portland, Maine (26,219 Members) 64th National Encampment, August 24-28, 1930, Cincinnati, Ohio (21,080 Members) 65th National Encampment, September 13-18, 1931, Des Moines, Iowa (16,587 Members) 66th National Encampment, September 18-24, 1932, Springfield, Illinois (13,066 Members) 67th National Encampment, September 17-22, 1933, St. Paul, Minnesota (10,138 Members) 68th National Encampment, August 12-18, 1934, Rochester, New York (7,807 Members) 69th National Encampment, September 8-14, 1935, Grand Rapids, Michigan (6,244 Members) 70th National Encampment, September 20-26, 1936, Washington, DC (4,391 Members) 71st National Encampment, September 5-10, 1937, Madison, Wisconsin (3,325 Members) 72nd National Encampment, September 4-9, 1938, Des Moines, Iowa (2,443 Members) 73rd National Encampment, August 27 to September 1, 1939, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1,701 Members) 74th National Encampment, September 8-13, 1940, Springfield, Illinois (1,039 Members) 75th National Encampment, September 14-19, 1941, Columbus, Ohio (763 Members) 76th National Encampment, September 13-18, 1942, Indianapolis, Indiana (518 Members) 77th National Encampment, September 19-24, 1943, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (393 Members) 78th National Encampment, September 10-15, 1944, Des Moines, Iowa (249 Members) 79th National Encampment, September 30 to October 4, 1945, Columbus, Ohio (163 Members) 80th National Encampment, August 25-30, 1946, Indianapolis, Indiana (103 Members) 81st National Encampment, August 10-14, 1947, Cleveland, Ohio (66 Members) 82nd National Encampment, September 28-30, 1948, Grand Rapids, Michigan (28 Members) 83rd National Encampment, August 28 to September 1, 1949, Indianapolis, Indiana (16 Members) Summary of Encampments By State California - 1886, 1903, 1912 Colorado - 1883, 1905, 1928 Connecticut - 1873 District of Columbia - 1870, 1892, 1902, 1915, 1936 Iowa - 1922, 1926, 1931, 1938, 1944 Illinois - 1875, 1900, 1932, 1940 Indiana - 1866, 1881, 1893, 1920, 1921, 1942, 1946, 1949 Kentucky - 1895 Massachusetts - 1871, 1878, 1890, 1904, 1917, 1924 Maryland - 1882 Maine - 1885, 1929 Michigan - 1891, 1914, 1925, 1927, 1935, 1948 Minnesota - 1884, 1896, 1906, 1933 Missouri - 1887, 1916 New Jersey - 1910 New York - 1879, 1897, 1907, 1911, 1934 Ohio - 1869, 1872, 1880, 1888, 1898, 1901, 1908, 1919, 1930, 1941, 1945, 1947 Oregon - 1918 Pennsylvania - 1868, 1874, 1876, 1894, 1899, 1939 Rhode Island - 1877 Tennessee - 1913 Utah - 1909 Wisconsin - 1889, 1923, 1937, 1943 Other private encampments were also held, such as the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th Reunion, held at the site in 1913. It appears the group photo from my postcard was likely taken there. The tents and water basins seen in the photo (below) match the scene in another photo held by the Library of Congress. Click here to see if copies are available on ebay! See also National Encampments. Click here to check out my list of resources for researching your military ancestors and family. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources. #military #gar #grandarmyoftherepublic #republican

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

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