Covering genealogy, family history, historical events and places, and anything else related!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Census Sunday: Counties of Birth

The 1860 census record for the family of my aunt's 2nd-great-grandparents provides particularly detailed places of birth for the residents of the Township of New Barbadoes, Bergen County, New Jersey.

1860 United States census, Township of New Barbadoes, Bergen County, New Jersey, population schedule, page 465, image 167. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

My aunt's 2nd great-grandparents Josiah Gardner Bogert and Margaret (Kough) Bogert, her great-grandfather Cornelius Bogert, and the other children were all born in Bergen County, New Jersey.

1860 United States census, Township of New Barbadoes, Bergen County, New Jersey, population schedule, page 465, image 167, family 652. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

Birthplaces of other residents listed on the same page include Passaic County, New Jersey; Ulster County, New York; Duchess [Dutchess] County, New York; New York City, New York; and Clair [Clare?], Ireland.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Surname Saturday: Bennet


According to the Internet Surname Database, the surname Bennet comes from the Roman personal name Benedictus, which means "blessed." It has been recorded with more than two hundred spellings, including Bennett, Benet, Benyt, Benedicte, Benech, Banish, Beneit, Benoit, Beinosovitch, and Vedyasov. The name was originally popular because of Saint Benedict.

According to Irish Ancestors, the surname Bennett is common in all provinces, especially Ulster. The Irish form of the surname is Binéid. It is also found as MacBennett.

My 4th-great-grandmother Mary Bennet was born about 1814 in Ireland.  In 1831, when Mary married Hugh Winters in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, her father Peter Bennet was living in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Jacob Bär

My 4th-great-grandfather Jacob Bär was born 238 years ago today, on 16 September 1778, in Görwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. He was the son of Joseph Bähr and Magdalena Huber.

He married Magdalena Kaiser on 22 March 1802 in Görwihl. Their first child, Maria, was born less than 3 months later, on 15 June 1802, but died the next day. Their second child, Bartholomaeus, was born on 25 August 1804; he also died the next day. Their third child, Pelagius was born on 4 September 1805. This child survived, but the next child also died very young. Blasius was born on 3 February 1808, but died on 12 August 1808. Jacob and Magdalena had five more children: Franzisca (born 10 October 1811), Fridolin (born 9 March 1815), my 3rd-great-grandmother Maria (born 10 September 1818), Theresia (born 23 September 1821), and Thomas (born 11 November 1824).

Jacob's occupations were Taglöhner (day laborer) and Eisenhändler (ironmonger).

He died on 19 March 1854.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Friedrich/Fridolin Gerspacher/Gersbacher

145 years ago today, on 15 September 1871, the oldest child of my 2nd-great-grandparents Johann Gerspacher/John Gersbacher and Kunigunde Dreier, was born. His birth name was Friedrich Gerspacher, but he was later known as Fridolin. His paternal grandfather and maternal great-grandfather were both named Fridolin, so perhaps his parents had intended to name him Fridolin, but the priest recorded his name as Friedrich and that became his official name at birth.


Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000.

When he was eleven years old, he and his mother and siblings left his hometown of Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. The family sailed from Bremen on the Braunschweig and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on 26 July 1883. They then joined Fridolin's father in St. Louis, Missouri. After arriving in the United States, he was also known as Fred or Frederick.

Gerspacher family, Braunschweig passenger list. Baltimore, Maryland. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, Maryland, 1820-1891. Microfilm Publication M255. RG 36. 50 rolls. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. 

In 1889, he worked as a manager for the Union News Co.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1889. St. Louis, MO: Gould Directory Co. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

In 1891, he worked as a bottler.

Gould's St. Louis Directory for 1891. St. Louis, MO: Gould Directory Co. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

He died in St. Louis, Missouri on 30 May 1892, when he was only 20 years old. The cause of death was oedema of the lungs. He was buried in Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, section 010K, lot 0024E.

St. Louis, Missouri. Burial certificate no. 3863, Friedoline Gersbacker, 1892. Ancestry.com. Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Wednesday's Child: Walter Boe

Walter Boe was born in 1899. He was the son of my great-grandfather John Boe and his first wife Signe Olson.

According to the 1900 United States census, he was born in June 1899; his age was given as 11/12.

1900 United States census, Benson, Swift County, Minnesota, population schedule, enumeration district no. 270, sheet no. 11A, family 190. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Walter died on 26 September 1900 in Danvers, Swift County, Minnesota. His age at death was given as 1 year, 8 months, and 14 days, which suggests that he was born on 12 January 1899. The cause of death was cholera infantum.

Swift County, Minnesota. Death card, Walter Boe, 1900. Iron Range Research Center, Chisolm, Minnesota.

John and Signe's next son, born in 1901, was also given the name Walter.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Tombstone Tuesday: Chloe (Cromp) and Maurice O. Fox

Photo by SkipAZ - Find A Grave contributor

Maurice Otis Fox was born in New York on 18 March 1907. He was the son of Charles and Ruth Fox. He lived in Madison County, New York all his life. He worked for the Penn Central Railroad, and worked for the Thruway Restaurant in Canastota, Madison County, New York for five years.

Maurice's first wife was Chloe Cromp. She was born in New York on 29 July 1903. Her first husband was Lester Russell. She and Lester had four children. Chloe died on 6 June 1951.

Maurice's second wife was my first cousin twice removed Louise Margaret Gray. After their marriage, he helped her run Lakeport Grocery in Lakeport, Madison County New York.

Maurice died on 9 February 1975. He and Chloe were buried in Collamar Cemetery, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Mappy Monday: Provinces of Götaland, Sweden

Map of Götaland, showing the smaller regions (landskap). CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the provinces that make up Götaland, one of the three lands of Sweden. All of my known Swedish ancestors came from Götaland.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Sympathy Saturday: Non-Resident Heirs of Hannah (Hardgrave) Russell

Nashville Union and American, 22 December 1853, page 2

My 5th-great-grandmother Hannah (Hardgrave) Russell died in 1853. Skelton Demoss was the administrator of her estate. Some of her heirs were not residents of Tennessee, so they could not be served by the County Court of Davidson County, Tennessee. Her daughter Helen (Russell) Dawson was living in Missouri. Her son Mills Russell (incorrectly listed as Miles in the notice) had died in 1852, but he had three sons in Livingston County, Kentucky: Andrew Russell, John D. Russell, and Wesley Russell.

A notice was published in the Nashville Union and American, beginning on 22 December 1853 (the beginning date given at the bottom of the notice is December 23, but the newspaper issue that the notice appears in is dated December 22). The last notice was published on 9 February 1854. Mills Russell's sons and Helen Dawson were asked to appear at the courthouse in Nashville on the first Monday in February 1854 (6 February 1854).

Friday, September 9, 2016

Friend of Friends Friday: Jacob and Billy, Runaway Slaves of John Nichols

Nashville Whig, 31 October 1825, page 1

$100 REWARD.
RANAWAY from the subscriber, living five miles south of Nashville, on the 11th September, a negro man named JACOB, about forty-five years old ; had on when he left home, a white wool hat, mixed coat and mixedcasinet pantaloons ; he also took with him a white roundabout and white pantaloons; he is a carpenter by trade, answers quick when spoken to, has a scar on his forehead produced by a cut, is about five feet eight or ten inches high, is a fellow of great assurance.
   Also. on the second April last, run off from the above place, a yellow negro man named BILLY ; he is about forty years old, five feet six inches high, stout made, bow legged, has strait black hair, his countenance resembling that of an Indian ; by close inspection one or both of his ears will be discovered to have been scarified ; he is fond of smoking his pipe, and fond of spirits. From his complexion he may attempt to pass himself for an Indian, Spaniard or free man.
  I will give the above reward of one hundred dollars if they both are confined in any jail out of the state and information given me, or fifty dollars for either ; or twenty-five dollars for each of them, if taken and confined in any jail in this state so that I get them.
  Sept. 17.––tf                                                      JOHN NICHOLS.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Those Places Thursday: 425 25th Street, Chicago, Illinois

130 years ago today, on 8 September 1886, my great-grandmother Ellen Victoria Dahlquist was born at the residence of her parents Carl Johan (or Charles John) and Mary (or Marie) Louise (Borg) Dahlquist.

Return of a Birth, Ellen Dahlquist. State of Illinois, Cook County. No. 115239, dated 7 October 1886.

The family lived at 425 25th Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, in the 5th Ward.

Lakeside Directory of Chicago, 1886. Fold3.

The following map shows the neighborhood that the Dahlquist family lived in in 1886.

Portion of Rand McNally and Company. Map showing the boulevards and park system and twelve miles of lake frontage of the city of Chicago. Chicago, Ill.: Rand, McNally & Company, 1886. Detached from: Glossop, Frank. Glossop's street guide, strangers' directory and hotel manual of Chicago. 10th ed. Chicago: [Frank Glossop], 1886.  Public domain. Available from Chicago Historical Society and Wikimedia Commons.

The family did not live at 425 25th Street for long. In 1887, they moved to another residence in the neighborhood, 373 24th.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Jakob Dreier

My 3rd-great-grandfather Jakob Dreier was born 201 years ago today on 7 September 1815, in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. He was the son of Fridolin Dreyer and Maria Eva Stäuble.

Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5775, Bild 18. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498376-18. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Geburtenbuch 1810-1869 / 1810-1869.

He worked as a blacksmith (Schmied).

 On 24 February 1846, he and Franziska Schäuble became the parents of a daughter, my 2nd-great-grandmother Kunigunde. Jakob and Franziska married almost two years later, on 3 February 1848.

Marriage record, Jakob Dreier and Franziska Schäuble, 1848. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5776, Bild 81. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498377-81. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Heiratsbuch 1810-1869. 

A little over four months later, on 17 June 1848, their daughter Magdalena was born, but she died when she was eight months old, on 25 February 1849. Their only son, Julius, was born on 20 March 1855. Their last child, Emilie, was born on 19 November 1857, but died on 5 July 1859.

Jakob died on 18 September 1870.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Tombstone Tuesday: Clifford Irwin Clark

Photo by Jo Nelson (Family Hunter) - Find A Grave Contributor

Clifford Irwin Clark was born on 22 November 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Charles W. and Grace Clark. He was a staff sergeant in World War I and World War II. He was a member of the 1507th Engineer Company. He married my first cousin twice removed Nina Lorraine Leech on 1 September 1917 in Davidson County, Tennessee. Their daughter Peggy was born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee on 19 September 1918. By 1920, the family had moved to Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. Their daughter Helen was born about 1921. Clifford worked as an auto mechanic. His wife Nina died on 3 August 1966. He died on 27 October 1970 and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery on 30 October 1970.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Labor Day

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, honors the labor movement. Peter McGuire has been credited with the idea of Labor Day; he is said to have proposed the idea to the New York Central Labor Union in May 1882. However, there is evidence that the idea was first proposed by Matthew Maguire, the secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York.

On 21 February 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a state holiday. The same year, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York also made Labor Day in 1887. In 1889, Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania made Labor Day a state holiday. Iowa and Ohio followed in 1890. Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington followed in 1891.

 Chicago Daily Tribune, 8 September 1891, page 1

 Daily American (Nashville, TN), 8 September 1891, page 3

Alabama, Louisiana, and Virginia made Labor Day a state holiday in 1892. California, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin followed in 1893.

St. Paul Globe, 5 September 1893, page 1. Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

On 28 June 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed S.730 into law, making Labor Day a legal holiday. Labor unions held parades and picnics to celebrate.

Chicago Daily Tribune, 4 September 1894, page 3

Daily American (Nashville, TN), 4 September 1894, page 1

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 September 1894, page 3

References
The First Labor Day
History of Labor Day. Bridgeman's Magazine, 1921.
Labor Day
The Real Maguire - Who Actually Invented Labor Day?

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Scandinavian Fest


Today I attended the 32nd annual Scandinavian Fest at Vasa Park in Budd Lake, Morris County, New Jersey. The festival promotes and celebrates the histories and cultures of the six Nordic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

There was a Viking longship on display.


There were performances, talks, a marketplace with food and crafts, ax throwing, and a wife carrying contest (the winner won the wife's weight in beer). It was a great day!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Surname Saturday: Walker


 According to the Internet Surname Database, the surname Walker is of Anglo-Scottish origins and is either a locational name that comes from Walker, Northumberland, or an occupational name for a fuller, from the pre-7th-century word wealcere (which describes a fuller's work of scouring and thickening cloth by placing it in a vessel containing a water mixture and trampling on it).

According to Irish Ancestors, the surname Walker is common in all areas of Ireland, particularly in Ulster.

My 3rd-great-grandmother Anna "Ann" Walker was born on 28 February 1842 in Ireland. I do not yet know the identity of her father.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Joseph Schäuble

My 5th-great-grandfather Joseph Schäuble (or Scheuble) was born 252 years ago today, on 2 September 1764, in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. He was the second child and first son of Joseph Scheible and Anna Wasmer.

He married Ursula Mutter on 3 February 1793. Their daughter Magdalena was born less than two months later, on 22 March 1793. Their son Johann (my 4th-great-grandfather) was born on 18 December 1794. Another son, Lorenz, was born on 7 August 1798. Their last son, Gregor, was born on 11 February 1802. He died almost two years later, on 5 January 1804. Their second daughter, Maria, was born on 13 August 1805. Their last child, Katharina, was born on 6 May 1807. She died less than three weeks later, on 25 May 1807.

Faller, Helmut. Familiengeschichte der Gemeinde Görwihl. Bad Säckingen : H. Faller, 2000.

Joseph died on 16 March 1815 in Niederwihl. He was only 50 years old.

Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5777, Bild 16. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498378-16 Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht >Niederwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Sterbebuch 1810-1869 / 1810-1869.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Mary Florence (Gatlin) Pate

My great-grandfather's older sister Mary Florence Gatlin was born 134 years ago today, on 1 September 1882, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. She was the first child of my 2nd-great-grandparents John William Morton Gatlin and Sarah Claire "Sadie" Dyer. She was probably named after her aunt Mary Florence Gatlin, who died in May 1881.

Florence married Downie Campbell Pate on 2 April 1902 at St. Columba's Church in Nashville. The couple originally planned to marry on 9 April 1902, but changed their wedding date at the last minute.

Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZWS-695 : 20 July 2016), D C Pate and Florence M Gatlin, 05 Apr 1902; citing Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Marriage, p. , Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties; FHL microfilm 2,073,659. 

Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZWS-69G : 20 July 2016), D C Pate and Florence M Gatlin, 05 Apr 1902; citing Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Marriage, p. , Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties; FHL microfilm 2,073,659.

Florence and Downie's first child, Bruce Clarence Pate, was born in Nashville on 16 March 1903. Their second child, Downie Campbell Pate, was born in Nashville on 1 November 1905. Sometime between 1905 and 1908, the family moved to Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana. Florence and Downie's other children were born in Bloomington: William Melville Pate (born 8 October 1908), Kenneth Stansell Pate (born 15 September 1909), Mary Florence Pate (born 21 November 1911), James George Pate (born 21 December 1913), and Sarah Caroline (or Sara Carolyn) Pate, born 10 April 1920.

By 1930, the family had moved to Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, where Florence's parents and most of her siblings were living.

Florence died on 22 November 1944 in Chicago. The cause of death was heart disease. She was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Cook County, Illinois on 25 November 1944.

Illinois Department of Public Health. Division of Vital Statistics. Death certificate no. 32377, Mary Florence Pate, 1944.