Wednesday's Child: Christina Schneider

My maternal grandmother's older sister Christina Schneider was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 20 April 1903. She was the oldest child of John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher. Christina died of meningitis on 27 April 1909. She was buried at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in St. Louis. My grandmother, who was born in 1911, never knew her older sister. But even before I became interested in genealogy, I knew that my grandmother had a sister that died young. Although we never had a chance to know her, Christina is remembered by her family.

Christina, 6 months old

Christina, 4 years old

52 Ancestors: #7 Michael Dyer

My 3rd-great-grandfather Michael Dyer was born about 1829 in County Roscommon, Ireland. On 23 March 1853 in Nashville, Tennessee, he renounced allegiance to Queen Victoria (Davidson County Naturalization Records 1803-1906, abstracted by Mary Sue Smith. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1997, page 43). Two other men from Ireland, John Duggan and Michael Allen, also renounced allegiance to Queen Victoria on the same day; I wonder if the three of them went to the court together. By 1859, Michael Dyer was living in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1860 United States census, he was enumerated with his Irish-born wife Mary and baby daughter Mary. He lived at south side Cooper, at the corner of Pratte Av. and Summit, and was a laborer. In the same household were Martin Wallace and his wife Anne, who were also born in Ireland, and their children Sarah, William, Ellen, and James. I do not know if the families were related, but I suspect that Mary Dyer and Anne Wallace may have been sisters, based on their ages and the names of the children.

By 1863 Michael Dyer was back in Nashville with his family. His daughter Sarah Claire "Sadie" Dyer (my great-great-grandmother) was born there on 8 October 1863. In January 1866, he left Nashville. His wife Mary placed a "Missing Friends" advertisement in the Boston Pilot on 6 October 1866. This advertisement provided me with the information about his county of birth. He eventually returned to Nashville; his son Michael J. Dyer was born about 1868, and he is listed in the 1869 Nashville city directory. He ran a saloon on S. Market and also worked as a blacksmith.

On 3 June 1870, Michael Dyer committed suicide. He had been drinking heavily, and he shot himself in the head. An account of his death in the Nashville Republican Banner, 5 June 1870, stated that "Dyer was known as a hard case and treated his family with great severity." However, I think it is worth noting that before he committed suicide, he drove his family to a neighbor's home. His family did not have to witness his suicide, or hear the gunshot. If they had, surely they would have been even more traumatized.

There was a coroner's inquest. I am hoping that the record of this inquest survives, but I have not yet been able to locate it.

An account of Michael Dyer's death is available online:
Nashville Union and American, 5 June 1870, image 4

Nashville Republican Banner, 5 June 1870, page 4

Sports Center Saturday: Henry Cornelius Gatlin's Hole in One

My paternal grandfather Henry Cornelius Gatlin played golf. On March 20, 1989, he scored a hole in one at Indian Pines Golf Club in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida and received the Johnnie Walker Golf International Hole-In-One Award.

Funeral Card Friday: Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider

Memorial card for my great-grandmother Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider
Born 13 August 1876, Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany
Died 1 December 1966, St. Louis, Missouri

52 Ancestors: #6 Nancy Gower

My 6th-great-grandmother Nancy Gower was part of the Donelson Flotilla. She was the daughter of Abel Gower Sr. (Yes, I am descended from two of the children of Abel Gower Sr.!) John Haywood wrote about Nancy in The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from Its Earliest Settlement Up to the Year 1796: Including the Boundaries of the State (Nashville, Tennessee, W. H. Haywood, 1891; reprint of 1823 edition). On March 8, 1780, the group traveled down the Tennessee River, and when they reached the Suck, a group of Native Americans that had been pursuing them appeared and attacked. Nancy was in her father's boat, and she took the helm and steered the boat as the Native Americans fired at them. Nancy was wounded, but no one realized until her mother noticed blood on her clothes.

Nancy married Andrew Lucas, and their daughter Obedience married Nathan Gatlin. Nathan's son John McNairy Gatlin married Margaret "Peggy" Gower, who was the daughter of William Gower, the granddaughter of Abel Gower Jr., and the great-granddaughter of Abel Gower Sr. Here my Gower lines come together.

Images of the Suck:
http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tx-wotr/id/1699
http://research.archives.gov/description/524998

52 Ancestors: #5 William Dow Gatlin, Ax Murderer

In 2007, I took a research trip to Nashville, Tennessee. While I was there, I visited the nearby Williamson County Archives in Franklin, Tennessee. I came across the book Obituaries from Tennessee Newspapers, compiled by Jill L. Garrett (Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1995). I checked the index and found that William Gatlin was mentioned on page 159. I found the following entry:

HASLAM. The body of Samuel Haslam, 25, stonecutter, has been found horribly mutilated. William Gatlin, 45, bricklayer, has been arrested for the crime. (Nashville Union and American, 15 Sept. 1874.)

I had been expecting to find a death notice, not an arrest for murder! The description fit my 3rd-great-grandfather William Dow Gatlin, born 27 April 1927 in Davidson County, Tennessee, son of John McNairy Gatlin and Margaret "Peggy" Gower, and grandson of Methodist preacher William Gower. I needed to find that newspaper article. The next day I went to the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. I looked at the Nashville Union and American on microfilm and found the article and two shorter follow-up items. The accused was definitely my 3rd-great-grandfather!

Samuel Haslam had been a boarder in the home of the Gatlin family. He had allegedly been having an affair with my 3rd-great-grandmother Mary (Nevins) Gatlin, who William had married on 3 January 1855 in Davidson County, Tennessee. William came home and found Mary sleeping in Samuel's room, and they got into a physical fight. Mary intended to file for divorce, and she asked Samuel to accompany her. At 4:00 AM on Sunday, William and Mary's son Clarence found Samuel lying in a pool of blood, and he ran to get his mother. Mary reached Samuel just before he died, but he was unable to speak. Samuel had been struck by an ax. William was arrested that night at the home of his cousin William Gower. When he was asked if he knew why he was being arrested, he said "I suppose it is for murder." (Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874, p. 4.)

William was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. However, based on what I read about the case, I believe that he got away with murder.

William and Mary remained married until her death on 9 September 1888. They were apart for a little while after the murder trial, though; Mary is listed as a widow in the 1877 and 1878 Nashville city directories, but by 1879, William was once again listed in the Nashville city directory, and the 1880 United States census shows that he and Mary were in the same household. I wonder if William may have spent time in prison for something else. His children, brother, and widowed mother were all in Nashville; I can't think of any other reason that he would have left the area, and he did return.

William died on 4 March 1911 in Nashville. He and Mary are buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, in Sec. 1C Lot South Port 328. I visited their gravesite when I was in Nashville; it is unmarked.

The articles from the Nashville Union and American that I viewed on microfilm are now available online through Chronicling America:

Nashville Union and American, 15 September 1874, image 4
Nashville Union and American, 19 September 1874, image 4
Nashville Union and American, 20 September 1874, image 4

An article from the Nashville Republican Banner is also available online:
Nashville Republican Banner, 13 September 1874

52 Ancestors: #4 William Gower, Methodist Preacher

My 5th-great-grandfather William Gower was born on 26 October 1776 in Wake County, North Carolina. He was a member of one of the first families of Tennessee; he arrived when he was only four years old. At that young age, he also lost both his father and grandfather. Abel Gower Jr. (my 6th-great-grandfather) and Abel Gower Sr. (my 7th-great-grandfather) were killed by Chickamaugas at Clover Bottom in 1780. William Gower married Charlotte Garland on 15 January 1802 in Davidson County, Tennessee. The following year, he heard Lorenzo Dow preach and was so moved that he professed his faith. John B. McFerrin stated that William Gower began to "call forth sinners to repentance" (p. 380). He was licensed to preach by William McKendree (Woodward, 1920). In 1803 William named his first son Lorenzo Dow, and in 1805 he named his first daughter (my 4th-great-grandmother) Margaret "Peggy" after Lorenzo Dow's wife. His church, Gower's Chapel, was across from his home, and it was used as a school on weekdays (Kelley, 1987). In 1885 a new church building, Centenary United Methodist Church, was constructed on the property ("Centenary UMC Homecoming," 2007).

William Gower died on 11 October 1851. The following day, his funeral was conducted by John B. McFerrin (Woodward, 1920). His will was recorded on 23 April 1852. He was buried in Gower Cemetery, located on the hillside below what is now Centenary United Methodist Church.  I had hoped to visit Gower Cemetery when I traveled to Nashville in 2007. Unfortunately I was unable to visit the cemetery because a dog was loose in the area and it looked like it was going to come after me if I got too close. I hope to go back to Nashville eventually, and hopefully I will get a chance to visit the cemetery.

 References:
"Centenary UMC Homecoming." Westview 31 no. 45 (Oct. 17, 2007): 2.
Kelley, Sarah Foster. West Nashville: Its People and Environs. Nashville: Sarah F. Kelley, 1987.
McFerrin, John B. History of Methodism in Tennessee. Vol. 1: From the Year 1783 to the Year 1804. Nashville: Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South, 1888.
Woodward, J. E. History of the Gower Family. Nashville: Harry V. L. Gower, 1920.