Mystery Monday: Parents of Jane Mapplebeck

Jane Mapplebeck, the father of my great-grandmother's stepfather/adoptive father James Mapplebeck and probably the only grandparent that my great-grandmother ever knew, died on 24 August 1909 in Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey.

According to her death certificate, her parents were James Bass and Isabella Bowie. However, there are question marks after both names, so they may not be accurate.

New Jersey. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death certificate, Jane Mapplebeck, 1909. New Jersey State Archives.

According to the death certificate and the 1871 Census of Canada, Jane was born in Nova Scotia. The death certificate states that her father was born in the United States. Considering the time period and migration pattern, I suspect that he may have been a Loyalist.

Jane's daughter Sarah died in 1920. On Sarah's death certificate, the maiden name of her mother does not look like Bass. I am not sure what it says; the name is difficult to read.

New Jersey. Department of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death certificate, Sarah A. Mapleback, 1920. New Jersey State Archives.

Closeup of mother's maiden name 

 My 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters (the father of Catherine Elizabeth Winters, who married James Mapplebeck) was married to Elizabeth Buise, and the "mystery person" in the Winters family Bible, Margaret McGillivray, had a son named Charles Buise (also known as Charles Bews). I have wondered if there is an additional connection between the Buise/Bews family and my family. When I saw Sarah Mapleback's death certificate, I wondered if Jane's maiden name could be Buise or Bews, but I am not sure that is what the death certificate says.

The death certificates of Jane's sons James and George do not name her parents. I have not found a record of her marriage to George Mapplebeck. I have not identified any of Jane's relatives except her three children.

Mystery Monday: Winters Wives

How many wives did my 4th-great-grandfather Hugh Winters have? Did his sons have any wives that I do not know about? What were the maiden names of these women? I am still trying to identify some Winters women, most or all of whom married into the family.

Hugh Winters married my 4th-great-grandmother Mary Bennet on 24 January 1831 at St. Mary's Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1849, Hugh and his most of his family sailed from Glasgow to New York City on the Pursuit; they arrived on 12 June 1849, and settled in Brooklyn. His wife Mary and daughter Margaret did not go with them. They apparently traveled separately, since they were enumerated with the family in the 1850 U.S. Census. Hugh and Mary's last child, Elizabeth, was born on 12 January 1851 and baptized at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn on 18 January 1851.

Ancestry.com. Brooklyn, New York, St. Paul's Catholic Church Baptism Records, 1837-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: James R Reilly, comp. St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York, Baptism and Marriage Records, Volumes I-II. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Redmond Press, 1996.

Two additional Winters children were baptized at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn. Their parents were John Winters and Mary Mitchell. Did my 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters have a previous wife? He married my 3rd-great-grandmother Anna "Ann" Walker in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York on 10 October 1859. Or is this John Winters the brother of Hugh Winters? His brother John, also known as Owen, married Elizabeth Hamell on 13 October 1835 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He married his second wife, Elizabeth Baillie, on 7 December 1845 in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland. Did he also come to New York? Did he marry a third time?  Or is this John Winters another relative, or someone unrelated?

Hugh's wife Mary probably died between 1851 and 1855. In the 1855 New York State Census, Hugh was enumerated as a boarder in the home of John and Rosey Moran, and none of his children were living with him. His daughter Mary was a servant in the home of John and Mary Blair, and his son Hugh and daughter Margaret were in the nursery in Flatbush, New York.

In 1860, an Irish-born woman named Mary Winters, age 30, lived with Hugh Winters and his son Hugh. Who was she? Hugh's daughter Mary was born in Scotland and was not quite 20 years old. Are her age and birthplace incorrect in this census record? Did Hugh remarry? Is this Mary his wife? Is she a younger sister, niece, or cousin who left Ireland and moved in with the family? Is she Mary (Mitchell) Winters?

1860 United States Census, Brooklyn Ward 6, District 1, Kings County, New York, population schedule, page 649. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

The 1865 New York State Census gives relationships. According to the census enumeration for Hugh's family, Hugh was married to Margaret Winters, age 38, born in Scotland.

 1865 New York State Census, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, 6th Ward, page 26. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Census of the state of New York, for 1865. Microfilm. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

The 1870 U.S. Census enumeration for the Winters family shows that Hugh was married to Eliza Winters. She was 40 years old and born in Ireland.

1870 United States Census, Brooklyn Ward 6, Kings County, New York, population schedule, page 183. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

What happened to Margaret? When did he marry Eliza?

Eliza died in Kings County, New York on 5 April 1874. I have not found evidence of later wives. However, I did run across something interesting in the February 4-5, 1869 issues of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 4 February 1869, page 3

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 5 February 1869, page 3

Hugh Winters lived at 36 State Street in 1869. Although two men by that name were listed in the 1869 Brooklyn city directory, my Hugh Winters was consistently listed as a laborer.

Brooklyn City and Business Directory for the Year Ending May 1st, 1869, Containing Also a Street and Avenue Directory and an Appendix. Compiled by Geo T. Lain. Brooklyn and New York, NY: Lain & Company. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

Who was Catherine? She was not Hugh's daughter Catherine, who married Joshua Hunt Thomas on 17 March 1872 and died in Providence, Rhode Island on 14 February 1931. Was she another wife of Hugh's?

Mystery Monday: What Happened to Nathan Gatlin in 1822?

I recently found the following notice in the 27 November 1822 issue of the Nashville Whig:

Nashville Whig, 27 November 1822, page 3

I had not known that my 5th-great-grandfather Nathan Gatlin was a constable. Clearly something had happened to him in 1822. Why couldn't he give security? What acts of his might injure others?

The Andrew Lucas who had been Nathan Gatlin's security was probably my 6th-great-grandfather Andrew Lucas, who was Nathan's father-in-law. He had a son who was also named Andrew Lucas, but that Andrew was only about 22 years old and had recently married. I do not know who Arnold Russell was.

This was a fascinating find! I will definitely need to do more research.

Mystery Monday: Why Did James Mapplebeck Go to California?

In 1895, James Mapplebeck was living in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. He had left Montreal, Quebec, Canada around 1891-1892, after the 1891 Census of Canada.

J. P. Hodge and Sons' Directory of the City of Alton, North Alton and Upper Alton, 1895-1896. Alton, IL: J. P. Hodge & Sons. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1898, he was living in San Francisco, California. He was still at the same address in 1899.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1898. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1899. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

His wife (my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters) and her two children, whom he had raised as his own since they were young, did not go with him. They were still living in Alton, Illinois in 1899.

W. H. McCoy's Alton City Directory, Including the Towns of Upper Alton, North Alton, and East Alton, 1899-1900. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Why did James Mapplebeck go to California? His mother Jane, brother George, and sister Sarah had also left Montreal; they had gone to New Jersey. His half-brother William Mapplebeck had been living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (where James had lived until after the death of their father), but by 1899 he had moved to Detroit, Michigan. His uncle John Mapplebeck was living in Hamilton, Ontario. The only person I know of who had any connection to James Mapplebeck who had spent time living in San Francisco was Charles Buise. He was probably a relative of Elizabeth Buise, the last wife of John Bennet Winters (the father of Catherine Elizabeth Winters). Charles may also have been related to Catherine Elizabeth Winters or her children, because the death notice of his mother Margaret McGillivray was transcribed in the Winters family Bible. However, Charles Buise died in 1893.

A possible explanation for his move is the Klondike Gold Rush. George Carmack and his brother-in-law Snookum Jim Mason discovered gold at Bonanza Creek (then called Rabbit Creek) on  16 August 1896. On 15 July 1897 in San Francisco and 17 July 1897 in Seattle, prospectors returned from the Klondike with large amounts of gold, and the Klondike stampede began. Approximately 100,000 people attempted to reach the goldfields.

Excelcior (the first steamer to carry passengers to the Klondike after news of the discovery of gold) leaving San Francisco for the Klondike, July 28, 1897. Photo by Sam C. Partridge [Public domain]. Available from University Libraries, University of Washington and Wikimedia Commons.

To reach the Klondike, prospectors traveled from Seattle or San Francisco to Alaska, and then to the Yukon.

Map showing routes from San Francisco to Alaska and the Klondike.  George Davidson. San Francisco: Alaska Exploration Company, 1898. Available from David Rumsey Map Collection.

Prospectors came from all over the United States and from other countries. The Alton Evening Telegraph included information on traveling to the Klondike.

Alton Evening Telegraph, 15 March 1898

Alton Evening Telegraph, 22 March 1898

Perhaps James Mapplebeck traveled to the Klondike, returned to San Francisco, and chose to stay in California. (He never returned to his family.) Or maybe he went to San Francisco with the intention of traveling to the Klondike, but ended up staying there. I hope to find additional information that may confirm this theory.

Mystery Monday: Margaret McGillivray

The Winters family Bible contains a transcribed death notice for Margaret McGillivray, the wife of the late Charles Buise. The only date given was the 26th inst." I eventually found the original death notice, which had been published in the Montreal Daily Witness, 27 January 1880.

My 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters married Elizabeth Buise at St. Gabriel Street Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 18 May 1878. According to the record of their marriage, Elizabeth's parents were George Buise and Margaret White, and they were both deceased at the time of her marriage. John Bennet Winters died in Montreal on 25 December 1879. He and Elizabeth Buise were not married long. It is likely that there is some connection between Elizabeth Buise and Margaret McGillivray's husband  Charles Buise, but since John and Elizabeth were not married long, I wonder if there is another reason that Margaret McGillivray's death notice was transcribed in the Winters family Bible. Maybe Margaret McGillivray was related to John Bennet Winters, to John's previous wife Anna "Ann" Walker, or to James Graham, husband of John and Ann's daughter Catherine Elizabeth Winters. Maybe she introduced John and Elizabeth. I do not know why the Winters family moved from the Chicago, Illinois area to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Maybe they knew someone there, possibly Margaret McGillivray.

 Margaret married Charles Bews at Presbyterian Saint Andrew's Church in Quebec City, Quebec on 25 March 1847. The marriage record stated that Margaret was a spinster and was from Beauport. Their son Charles was born on 21 May 1847 and baptized on 22 November 1847 at Presbyterian Saint Andrew's Church in Quebec City. The record noted that the father was absent. Margaret was buried on 28 January 1880. Her burial is noted in the records of Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal. John McGillivray witnessed the burial.

I have not yet been able to find more information on Margaret McGillivray. I have found some information on her son Charles Buise,who lived in Montreal until about 1889, but I still do not know how this Buise family is connected to Elizabeth Buise, or if Margaret McGillivray is related to me in some way.

Margaret McGillivray Buise death notice, transcribed in the Winters family Bible

Margaret McGillivray Buise death notice, Montreal Daily Witness, 27 January 1880