So many discoveries!

In the last week I have found so much information about my family. I learned more about several of the siblings of my great-great-grandfather Andrew T. Anderson (born Andreas Troedsson in Grevie, Skåne, Sweden). I found the passenger list which documents the arrival of his sister Elna and her son Sven Peter Nilsson/Nelson. They arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on 2 September 1903, and then went to Chicago, Illinois. I found their brother Sven T. Anderson on Find A Grave, and there is a photo of his tombstone. According to the family history compiled by my grandmother's cousin, their oldest brother Ola Petter Troedsson went to Australia. A few days ago I confirmed that he did settle there; he emigrated from Sweden to Brisbane, Queensland.

I also learned more about the family of my 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters. He was born in Scotland, and was with his parents and siblings in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland in 1841. By 1859 he was in Tonawanda, Erie, New York, where he married Anna Walker. I did not know if he emigrated alone or with family. I could not find his family in Scotland in 1851. I looked for them in England too, but did not find them. According to the 1841 census, his parents, Hugh Winters and Mary Bennet, were born in Ireland. Last night I found out that they emigrated to the United States and lived in Brooklyn, New York; they were there by 1851, when another child of theirs was baptized.

Irish Ancestors

Since it's St. Patrick's Day, it seemed an appropriate time to write about my Irish ancestors.

My 3rd-great-grandmother Mary Nevins was born about 1835 in Ireland. By 1855 she was in Davidson County, Tennessee, where she married William Dow Gatlin. Mary had a very difficult life. She probably left Ireland because of the famine, and her marriage was not a happy one. Her husband physically abused her. She became close to a boarder in the family home, Samuel Haslam, and they had an affair. He was going to help her divorce her husband, but then he was murdered in their home, killed with an ax. William Dow Gatlin was tried for murder but was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. However, based on the newspaper articles, he sounded very guilty, and he had motive and opportunity. Mary remained married to him. Her oldest daughter Florence passed away in 1881 at age 24, which must have been a difficult loss for her. Mary died on September 9, 1888 in Nashville, Tennessee.

My 3rd-great-grandparents Michael and Mary Dyer were also born in Ireland. Michael was born about 1830, and Mary was probably born about 1835 (she kept getting younger in records as the years passed!) By 1860 they were living in St. Louis, Missouri, and by 1863 they were in Nashville, Tennessee. Michael had passed away by 1870. The family ran a saloon in Nashville. Mary married John Cox in 1871, and by 1880 she was widowed again, and raising seven children on her own. Mary died on November 10, 1906 in Nashville, Tennessee.

My 4th-great-grandparents Hugh Winters and Mary Bennet were both born in Ireland. Hugh was born about 1810, and Mary was born about 1814. By January 1831 they were in Leith (now part of Edinburgh), Midlothian, Scotland, where they married. Mary’s father, Peter Bennet, was living in Airdrie, Scotland at that time. Hugh was a clothes broker and fireman. Their son John Bennet Winters (my 3rd-great-grandfather) was living in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York by 1859, where he married Anna “Ann” Walker, who was born on February 28, 1842 in Ireland. They moved to Chicago, Illinois in the mid-1860s. Only one of their children lived to adulthood. Two infants lived for 2-3 weeks, and another child died at age 3. Ann died in Illinois on September 19, 1872.

Patriot Ancestors

On Independence Day, I would like to honor my Revolutionary War ancestors:

My 6th-great-grandfather Francis Hardgrave was born on March 5, 1745 in Augusta County, Virginia, and moved to North Carolina around 1770. He was a major in the Company of Light Horse, Wilkes County, North Carolina. He fought for his country again in the War of 1812. He died on August 7, 1828 in Davidson County, Tennessee.
Francis Hardgrave at Find A Grave
Papers of the War Department: Pay of Robert McClure and Francis Hardgrave

My 5th-great-grandfather Stephen Mayo was born about 1757 in Virginia. He was a private in the 14th Virginia Regiment. He fought in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and participated in the siege of Yorktown. He died on March 16, 1847 in Fluvanna County, Virginia. His widow, Rebecca Dawson Mayo, was the second-to-last surviving Revolutionary War widow; she died on March 6, 1904. (I am descended from his first wife, Ann Isbell Mayo.)
History of the Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Germantown
Chronology of the Siege of Yorktown

My 6th-great-grandfather Lazarus Gatlin was a soldier in the North Carolina Continental Army. He died in Davidson County, Tennessee in July 1808.
Will of Lazarus Gatlin
Estate Inventory of Lazarus Gatlin

Revolutionary War records are available on footnote.com.

HathiTrust Digital Library

HathiTrust is a partnership of research institutions and libraries that are working to preserve the cultural record. The HathiTrust Digital Library contains many public collections of books, serials, and other materials, including an Ancestry and Genealogy collection and the Kean University New Jersey History Project.

http://www.hathitrust.org/

Chellberg Farm

A farm that is part of my family's history is now part of a national park! My great-great-grandmother's brother Alfred Borg married Emily Charlotte Kjellberg on September 29, 1897 in Porter County, Indiana. After their marriage, Alfred and Emily lived at the Chellberg Farm (which had been purchased by Emily's parents in 1869) until 1901. The farm is now part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which is managed by the National Park Service.

Links:
Chellberg Family Story (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, U.S. National Park Service)
Chellberg Farm (Wikipedia)
Chellberg Farm (Virtual Tourist)

Telelaget of America

Telelaget of America is a Bygdelag (organization of descendants of emigrants from Norway to North America) for the descendants of immigrants from Telemark county, Norway. They publish a journal, Telesoga, which contains articles on immigrants from Telemark and their ancestors and descendants. The May 2008 issue of Telesoga (volume 29, no. 1) includes a profile of Charlie Halvorson, my great-great-grandmother's brother. Members of Telelaget of America may also purchase the organization's books. Two books in the Telemark to America series are currently available. Volume I - Emigration includes information about Norwegian history, the history of Telemark and of Telemark emigration, and some information about settlements. Volume II - Settlements contains translated articles (originally published in Norwegian) about settlements in the United States which first appeared in Telesoga and Aarbok for Telemark, 1926. It includes information about some of my ancestors and their families (the Boe and Halvorson-Otterholt families).

For more information, go to http://www.telelaget.com.

Civil War

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, so I thought I'd start my blog off by honoring the members of my family who participated in the war:

My 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley was born in Robertson County, Tennessee on November 11, 1832. By 1860 he was living in Williamson County, Illinois with his wife and children. He joined the Union army on September 26, 1862 and mustered in on November 5, 1862 at Camp Butler, Illinois. He was a private in Company G of the 128th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry. He died of measles on January 9, 1983 in Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois, and was buried at Spiller Cemetery in Williamson County, Illinois. His family moved back to Tennessee after his death.

Davidson Binkley at Find A Grave 

My 4th-great-uncle Samuel August Samuelson was born on January 3, 1839 in Västra Harg, Östergötlands, Sweden. He came to the United States in 1851 with his parents and siblings, and after spending a year in Chicago, Illinois, the family settled in Porter County, Indiana. He enlisted in the Union army on August 16, 1862, and was a private in Company E of the 73rd Regiment of the Indiana Infantry. He mustered out on May 28, 1863; he was discharged because he had been wounded. He was disabled for more than 3 years, but eventually recovered. He died on January 14, 1908 in Porter County, Indiana and was buried at Augsburg Lutheran Church Cemetery in Porter, Porter County, Indiana.

Samuel A. Samuelson at Find A Grave

Biography of Samuel A. Samuelson (from Porter County, Indiana GenWeb)

My 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington was born on November 8, 1830 in Williamson County, Tennessee. He enlisted in the Confederate army on December 5, 1862 in Waverly, Tennessee. He was a private in Company D of the 10th Regiment of the Tennessee Cavalry. However, he was at home on sick leave for much of the time due to asthma and pneumonia. He died on April 19, 1903 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee and was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

Joseph Tarkington at Find A Grave

Ancestry.com has Civil War records; although it is a subscription site, they are offering free access to the Civil War Collection and the 1860 and 1870 U.S. censuses from April 7-14, 2011. Footnote.com also has Civil War records; it is also a subscription site, but access to the Civil War Collection is free from April 7-14, 2011.

Other useful Civil War links:
Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System 
Civil War Maps, 1861-1865 (American Memory from the Library of Congress) 
Research in Military Records: Civil War (National Archives) 

State resources are also available; here are a few examples:
Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database
Civil War - Indiana State Digital Archives 
Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Soldiers & Widows

Some helpful books:

Dollarhide, William. Genealogical Resources of the Civil War Era: Online and Published Military or Civilian Name Lists, 1861-1869, and Post-War Veteran Lists. Bountiful, UT: Family Roots Publishing Co., 2009.

Munden, Kenneth W., and Beers, Henry Putney. The Union: A Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986.

Beers, Henry Putney. The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986.