Mappy Monday: Route of the Erie & Western Transportation Co. (Anchor Line)

Route of the Erie & Western Transportation Co. (Anchor Line) and connecting railroad and steamer lines, showing summer excursion tours. Traveler's Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. New York: National Railway Publication Co. 32nd year, no. 10. March 1900. Page 462. Available from Google Books.

This map shows the route of the Erie & Western Transportation Co. (Anchor Line), as well as connecting lines (both railroad and steamer). Passengers could travel from Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Detroit, Michigan to the summer resorts. They could connect at Mackinac Island and then take steamer lines.

I found this map interesting because it gave me an idea of how my ancestors John and Ann (Walker) Winters and their daughter Elizabeth may have traveled from Tonawanda, New York to Chicago, Illinois.

52 Ancestors: Week 11 "Luck of the Irish": Ann (Unknown) Walker

None of my Irish ancestors seem to have been particularly lucky; they experienced many difficulties throughout their lives. But I got lucky when I finally learned more about my 3rd-great-grandmother Anna "Ann" Walker and discovered her mother Ann.

When the 1855 New York State Census became available online, I was able to locate the Walker family. They moved from Seneca, Ontario County, New York to Buffalo, Erie County, New York that year, and were enumerated twice. That was definitely a lucky find! The Buffalo enumeration states that the family had lived in Buffalo for 1/12 of a year.

1855 New York State Census, Seneca, Ontario County, population schedule, enumeration district 1, page 20. Available from FamilySearch.

1855 New York State Census, Buffalo, Erie County, population schedule, enumeration district 8, page 50. Available from FamilySearch.

According to the census records, Ann was born about 1811 or 1812 in Ireland. There were four children in her household: her son James, born about 1837 in Ireland; her daughter Ann (my 3rd-great-grandmother), born about 1842 or 1843 in Ireland (according to the Winters family Bible, she was born on 28 February 1842); and twins William and Dora (born about 1851 and 1852).

Since there was a ten-year age gap between my 3rd-great-grandmother and the twins, I wonder if there were children that died. Another possibility is that Ann's husband, who had apparently died by 1855, may have left for North America before the rest of his family.

There is one big discrepancy between the two census records. According to the Seneca enumeration, William and Dora were born in Ontario County, New York, and the family had resided in Seneca for 9 years. According to the Buffalo enumeration, William and Dora were born in Canada.

In 1860, Ann was still living in Buffalo with her children James, William, and Dora. My 3rd-great-grandmother Ann had married in 1859 and was living nearby in Tonawanda with her husband, John Bennet Winters.

1860 United States census, 9th Ward, Buffalo, Erie County, New York, population schedule, page 635. Available from Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. 

Ann's son James is the only member of the household who is listed with an occupation, so he was probably supporting the family. The twins are listed as being born in Canada. I suspect that they were born in Canada, since I cannot locate the family in the 1850 United States census. Perhaps the enumerator in Seneca was told that the twins were born in Ontario and he misunderstood, since Seneca is in Ontario County. 9 years may have been the length of time that the family lived in North America. I have not located the family in the 1851 Census of Canada either, but that census was actually taken in 1852, and perhaps the family left for New York shortly before the census was taken.

Ann probably left Ireland with her family during or shortly after the Great Famine. She may have lost several children. She was likely widowed (unless she and her husband separated, or she was never married). Her husband may have died after the family arrived in North America, or he could have died while she was pregnant, either in Ireland or on the way over on the ship.

I have not been able to locate Ann or her children James, William, and Dora after 1860. Her daughter Ann was in Chicago by 1866, and died in 1872.

52 Ancestors: #3 Anna "Ann" Walker

According to the Winters family Bible, my 3rd-great-grandmother Anna "Ann" Walker was born on 28 February 1842. The family Bible does not give her place of birth, but according to census records (the 1855 New York State Census, the 1860 United States Census, and the 1870 United States Census), she was born in Ireland. When the 1855 New York State Census became available online, I finally learned more about Ann's family. Because she was only 17 when she married John Bennet Winters in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York on 10 October 1859, I thought it was likely that she had come to the United States with family. I found an Ann Walker of the right age and birthplace and in the right geographical area, and when I located her family in the 1860 United States Census, she was not with them, which fit well with her being Ann Winters, enumerated in the household of her husband John Winters, and married within the year.

I got really lucky when I found two enumerations for the Walker family in the 1855 New York State Census; they moved at the time that the census was taken, and were enumerated before and after they moved. The first enumeration was in Seneca, Ontario County, New York. Ann was enumerated with her widowed mother Ann, her older brother James, her younger brother William, and her younger sister Dora. William and Dora were the same age, apparently twins. The twins were born in Ontario County, New York, and the family had lived in Seneca for 9 years.The family was living with Miranda Waters, born in Otsego County, and her daughter Matilda, born in Ontario County. Miranda and Matilda had lived in Seneca for 7 years.

The second enumeration was in Buffalo, Erie County, New York. The family had lived in Buffalo for 1/12 of a year. According to this census record, William and Dora were born in Canada. Although it is possible that the enumerator confused Ontario County with Ontario, Canada, I suspect that they were actually born in Canada. According to the 1860 United States Census, they were born in Canada. I could not find the Walker family in the 1850 United States Census. The family may have come to North America 9 years earlier and settled in Canada (probably Ontario) first, and then gone to New York.

By 1866, Ann had moved to Chicago, Illinois with her husband and children. After losing three of her four children and probably being displaced by the Great Chicago Fire, Ann died at the young age of 30. According to the Winters family Bible, she died on 19 September 1872 at Lake Side between Highland Park and Glencoe, State of Illinois and was buried at Lakeside Cemetery, close by the head of Lake Michigan. I have not found a Lakeside Cemetery in that area. I am not sure if the cemetery name is correct, and the cemetery may not exist any more. It may have been in the area that is now Lincoln Park. I am still trying to determine precisely where the Winters family lived in 1872, and I am looking for more information on her burial site.