Research in DC

     I returned home last Thursday after nine days of research in Washington, DC, with a like-minded group of genealogists. What fun we had - we looked at too many books/papers and maps. Linda, our tour guide, organizes this trip every year in early December for interested people from the Phoenix area. Some of the people on the trip have gone several years. This was my first trip.

     It is organized very well. The hotel we stayed in was very convenient to the subway and busses. DC is definitely a walking town. We were on our own for meals. Bruce and I used to live in northern Virginia early in our marriage - 35-ish years ago, so I had been there before. My friends Susan and MaryLu were on the trip too. There were a total of 14 in the group, so I met new people and enjoyed them all. Of course, most conversations were about genealogy and family history, but that is what we enjoy. Nothing like a good conversation about dead people!

     The first afternoon (Wednesday, Dec. 4) was mostly getting settled in our rooms, an early dinner and then heading to the DAR Library for a Christmas Open House. I knew I was going be spending a lot of time in that Library so it was nice to get a feel for it and learn how to get there. We got our Metro cards to ride the subway/busses. Since most of us had gotten up at 3:30 AM to catch the 6:30 flight from Phoenix, we were early to bed.

     Thursday, we headed for the Library of Congress and had a great tour and overview of what they had. There are three buildings comprising the LOC - Jefferson, Madison and Adams. We spent part of the day in the Madison Building, looking at their huge map collection including Sanborn maps, and then the afternoon was spent in the Jefferson Building with books, etc.  You can check out their digital collections online at www.loc.gov. Susan found great Sanborn maps of her family home and business in the 1930s and 40s, in Shasta County, CA. She learned a few things she didn't know about the site and it brought back lots of memories.

     Friday was National Archives (Archives.gov) day. We heard a talk about the Civil War and the records available to us, and how their system worked. They, understandably, have tight security. Not just for people, but the papers you are allowed to bring in with you - and take out. It was a little daunting at first, but after getting ID cards, figuring out the process to order records, where to go, etc. it was doable.  Another good day - did get the pension records for a Civil War soldier, James Green, from Bruce's family. Unfortunately, my William W. Court - who served in the Civil War for three years, fought at Gettysburg and was wounded somewhere along the way - had no the records. They said it was a wrong number, I am assuming the records are misfiled. It is hard to believe there are no records for him, but the numbers didn't lead to the records as they should have. I will contact someone there after the holidays and see if they will help.

    Saturday was DAR Library day. Again, a good overview by a librarian. This is where I spent Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. We would have gone on Tuesday, except that a smattering of snow overnight closed our government down! Bummer.

But one more day might have taken us back to the Archives. But I had a list of periodicals I wanted to check out at the LOC and never made it back there.

     Sunday we toured the Smithsonian's American History Museum. Tuesday, the Kennedy Center was near our hotel and open for a tour which we found very enjoyable.

     Thursday morning we headed home with papers and new information to add to our genealogy. All in all a good trip. I was able to meet an old friend for dinner one night (she lives in Annapolis). Unfortunately, I was supposed to meet a second cousin who lives in Richmond, VA at the DAR Library on Tuesday - but the weather kept her away. Next trip.

     After I have had a chance to go through the papers I brought home, I will write about a discovery that was made.

Lineage Societies

Lineage Societies - you either love them or hate them. Me?  I enjoy proving I can join. Most of the groups are patriotic, support our vets and the military, respect the flag, sponsor volunteer work and support organizations through giving time and money.

Check out how many lineage groups there actually are. Wikipedia.com lists the names of many - too many to count - on the "Lineage Societies" page.

You can join societies that show lineage to royalty, founders of our country, as well as  military (Civil War and Revolutionary War and many others) and even occupations. Most states have some sort of first family organization - first settlers in the state. Did your ancestor sign the Declaration of Independence? Was he a Whaling Master or a Colonial Clergy?  Did he own a tavern? One of my favorite names for an organization is: Descendants of the illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain - or - (The Royal Bastards). Wouldn't that be fun to tell people - I am a member of The Royal Bastards...  actually, can't prove I am at this time! I do have FitzRandolphs in my family and a friend told me that is what the Fitz stands for - more research needed. Maybe next year.

I enjoy being a member of a lineage society. Currently I am a member of NSDAR (National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution); The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century; and the National Society United States Daughters of 1812.  I am in the process of applying for the National Society of the Dames of the Court of Honor (DCH) (one of my DAR soldiers held the rank of Captain) and - my all time favorite - the Association of Daughters of Early American Witches!  Who knew! I didn't. I had no idea that my 9th great-grandfather, Nicholas Disbrow/Disborough from CT/MA was accused of being a witch. He was not convicted. There is an interesting write-up on him on: http://bapresley.com/genealogy/hawkins/kelsey/nicholasdisborough.html

It sounds to me as though a disgruntled neighbor was involved, but then most of the "witch" stories sound like someone else was out to get the person accused.  It is almost the ultimate of bullying, especially when you read the stories of the young women accused by other young women, convicted and hanged.

I am still working on four NSDAR supplements to go with my initial soldier, Robert FitzRandolph. The supplements already proven are:  Joseph Hazelton(ine) and Capt. John Noyes. I  could probably prove approximately 50 supplements to Colonial Dames - a lot of our family came from England in the 1600s. But the grandmother of them all, in my opinion, is The Mayflower Society - I would like to reprove that someday. My great-grandmother, Mary Ella Hazelton Childs, was a member, but because she joined over 100 years ago I need to reprove it, and I have a letter in my files from the Mayflower Society at that time and they had questions about her membership, but they allowed it.  One soldier from the Revolutionary War, Samuel Hitchcock, (also a difficult reprove) was probably married to 1) Sarah Sears, and then her sister 2) Elizabeth "Betsey" Sears.  The Sears family would be my path to the Mayflower and Elder William Brewster.  The question is: was he married to them both and is Sarah the mother of the first three children by Samuel Hitchcock. It really wouldn't matter for purposes of getting into the Mayflower Society which sister is the mother, but I would like to prove - or disprove - the existence of Sarah Sears.

We genealogists - as a friend says - are never bored!  Not enough hours in the day.

Travel and Research

This has been a busy summer for travel and enjoying friends in faraway and nearby places. We did get a chance to spend some "cool" time in Colorado and the writers group ladies again came for a great visit. In August I travelled to Michigan for my high school reunion and to see family. It was all fun and so good to see everyone!  No genealogy this time - just no time for it, not even one cemetery (sorry, Pat).

Then we had a unique opportunity to see the first races of the America's Cup from grandstand seats in San Francisco. What an exciting time. Again, we visited with old friends and had a GREAT time touring the Napa Valley and staying in Sonoma for a few days. Oops! No genealogy there either.

In September, I traveled to New York to stay with my husband for two weeks saving him a trip back home for the weekend. I also coordinated the visit so I could attend the New York State Family History Conference (sponsored by NYG&BS and CNYGS) on September 20th and 21st near Syracuse. As usual, I came away from the conference with my head bursting - with what I don't know, what I want - and need - to do, and what massive amounts of records are out there that are NOT online or microfilmed. It just takes knowing where to find them - and, finding the time to go through them all!  But, most of us are retired, right?

New York also brought a nice getaway with hubby for two-days in the finger lakes region. And I had lunch and a fun afternoon with a high school classmate who hadn't been able to attend reunions. All in all - a fun time.

In NY,  I had time for genealogy! I tackled my COURTS (including Bocquet, Sova, with newly found Goddard) and LANES (including Watson, Parish, Case, Myers and Earle). The Oswego County Historian (Justin White) and the records available in his office are wonderful. Even though I have been there more than once, I always find something new. This time I found a death date for Martha Jennette Bocquet Court - 27 October 1893. And her mother (Anna ____ Bocquet King) who died on 16 February 1884. This woman (Anna) buried at least 10 of her known 12 children, mostly at very young ages. I am still not sure about the life, and death, of another daughter, Maria. Her daughter, Mary Ann, probably lived longer than Anna, but it hasn't been verified.  I think only one son, Robert, unmarried, survived her.  Mary Ann and Martha Jennette were probably the only two children who had descendants. Anna also lost her first husband, Charles, and father of the children, in 1845. I am not sure what happened to Mr. (probably Ezra) King, the second husband, but they appeared to be together only a short time.

With this trip, I am putting the COURTS "to bed."  I have spent way too much time on them. But it was worth an article, written last spring and about to appear in the Desert Tracker, a publication of the West Valley Genealogical Society, Sun City, Arizona. There are a few unanswered questions, so as usual with most of our ancestors - I can't say the picture is complete. 

Some of the questions still to be answered: Exactly when and where was the earliest James Court in the US, born? He most likely came from England. What was Anna Bocquet King's maiden name? She may have come from Herkimer County, New York.  I would like to spend more time following the only other descendants of this couple - Moses W. and Mary Ann Bocquet Goddard. They had three children: Charles N. (b. 1841), Anna M. (b. 1843) and Elizabeth (b. 1845). They were probably all born in or near Scriba, Oswego, NY. 

 

Lansing Hamlet, Scriba, Oswego, NY 

 Methodist Episcopal Church

that some of the Courts attended (now empty)

A Conundrum

A Conundrum

      According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a conundrum is "an intricate and difficult problem." I would add, that in this case - "it is probably one with no solution."

     I am helping an 83-year-old friend try to find information about her father's family. Just finding her father's parents would be a success.

    A summary might make reading the rest of this article a bit less confusing. William Young is Miriam's father. William and Pearl are brother and sister, although the question might be - do they share just a mother, or a father too? Every document found/or ordered comes up with another possible set of parents for these two children. The most obvious possibility for the mother is Viola Long Young, mostly because she is mentioned twice on documents and Pearl and Viola Young are together in 1900 on the census.

    Miriam grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, William Young, was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. His sister, Pearl, also resettled in New York (and worked in Vaudeville over the years) from Cincinnati.

    Miriam got my name from a friend recently and contacted me stating she wanted to find out more about her father and his parents. Her father, William, had done some research at the New York Public Library during the late 30's. Miriam used to go with him. He would sometimes meet Pearl there. Unfortunately, when William passed away, Miriam's mother didn't care about the research and threw away all the papers that her husband had collected. What had he collected?

     Over the past several months, and with MANY hours of research on my part and after hiring two different researchers in Cincinnati, we have all come up with --- nothing!

     The following is a timeline I constructed with the information gathered. NOTE: all last names are YOUNG, except where stated:

1890 - June 29:  Pearl was born in Cincinnati, birth record says parents are Peter and Mary (he was a horse trader), and they lived at 193 Cutter. The birth date strongly indicates this is our Pearl. The same date is given on her SS application and her death certificate.                   

   There was a Peter in Cincinnati connected with horses, but he had a long-time marriage (Lena) and several children. The 1890 City Directory for Cincinnati had a couple of businesses at the 193 Cutter address, no Youngs.          

1892 - Jul 10:  William was born in Cincinnati. No birth record can be found. He later wrote down for his daughter, Miriam, that his parents were Aaron and Avonia Long Young.

1894 - Feb:  A William Young (age 2) enters the Cincinnati House of Refuge (an orphanage or institution for troubled children and/or families). No record of parents names or when he left the orphanage. Intake information states: mother living/father deceased and he had a step-father.

1900 US Census:  Viola (b. Aug 1859) listed as head of household with Pearl (b. Jun 1890) daughter, they reside at  1304 Central, Cincinnati. Viola works packing tobacco. The census states Viola had four children, two surviving. No information was found on the other two children (presumably they died at birth).

1900 US Census:  William, (age 8) may be the William Young, listed as a resident at the House of  Refuge in Cincinnati.                

1906 - Nov. 9:  Pearl, (16) article in the newspaper about her being on stage. She was a dancer and played piano. She gave her current address as 239 Lawrence St., Cincinnati.

1910 US Census:  Viola or Pearl not found.

                     William (17) was stationed at the US Naval Training Station, Newport City, RI. He stated he was born in OH, as were his parents.

1916 - Aug 2:   Pearl and Joseph Mattus married in Manhattan, NY. She listed her parents as John Young and Viola Long.

1917 - June 17:  William Young married in Brooklyn, NY. He gave his parents as: William Young and Viola Vony. He stated his residence was 1018 Central Ave., Cincinnati. No Young's lived at that address in the 1917 City Directory.

1935 - William applied for SS - stated father/mother are: Aaron Young/Viola ?.

1942 - WW II Draft Card Registration, William stated he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Date of Birth: 10 Jul 1892.

1945 - Pearl applied for SS - stated father/mother were:     ? Young and Viola Long.

1958 - Mar 5:  William Young died. Death cert. stated unknown father, mother - Viola.

1981 - Oct 23:  Pearl Young Mattus died in NY. Death certificate stated Peter and Mary were parents. Miriam was listed as informant but she did not give information, just signed the form. Pearl had no children.

     As you can see, we have several choices for parents. The most obvious choice for mother is Viola Long Young. Aaron is mentioned twice, but there is no Aaron in Cincinnati at that time. There is a Peter in Cincinnati, but no Peter and Mary.

   I followed a Viola Long in Logan County until I found her married to someone else. There was an entry in the 1860 census for an Avonia Young (not Long), with parents Marion and Elizabeth in Brown County, Ohio - but I could not find them again. We followed a few William Youngs to no avail.

     The City Directories were perused. These just added to the conundrum. Following are the entries, ALL under the name of YOUNG. NOTE: Even "Mrs. Voney" in 1895, is under the Young name.  Note: Voney/Avonia/Vina are probably all the same person:

City Directories:   YOUNG

1881 & 1882:  None

1883:  Voney,  dress maker  191 Sycamore

1884:  Voney, Mrs.  dress maker  flat 9, Lorraine Bldg.

1885 & 1886: None

1887:  Vina (wid of Marion)  nec (northeast corner) Elder and Bremen  (think this is Avonia)

1888:  None

1889:  Vina   dressmaker  14 Elder  (probably Avonia)

1890:  None

1891:  Avonia, (wid. Marion), 8 Gest

1892:  Avonia (wid Marion)  dressmaker, 182 Clifton Ave (Buckeye)

1893:  Avonia (wid of Geo)  12th & Main

1894:  Harry J. printer, 12 DesMoines

1895:  Harry J. (printer)  h. bds (boards) at 292 Elm near 8th   

1895:  Mrs. Voney (note same address as Avonia in 1893), dressmaker, 2nd fl, flat  15, swc  (southwest corner) 12th  and Main

1896:  Avonia  dressmaker   447 E. 5th                     

1897:  Avonia (widow of James)  dressmaker, flat 15, 2nd fl. 1127 Main

1898:  NO  Harry J., Viola or Avonia

1899:  None

1900:  Viola (wid of Harry)  1304 Central  (NOTE: same address as 1900 census with Pearl (dau)

1901:  Viola (wid of Harry)  flat 11,  1304 Central

1904:  Viola (wid of Harry)  flat 11,  1304 Central

1905:  Viola (wid of Harry)  flat 11, 1304 Central

1906:  Viola  wid of Harry   flat 11, 1304 Central Ave

1907:  Aaron W.  lab  flat 3  1031 Foraker Ave

1917:  No Youngs at the address given in the Timeline by William as his address.

Note: the different names for husbands of Avonia/Vina/Voney (I really think this is the same person)  - again, all under the YOUNG name. None of these people can be found on censuses. I am guessing that the printer, Harry, may be the former husband of Viola (from 1900-1906 above), but really have no proof. Since Viola disappeared from the directories about 1906, she probably died. No burials can be found, no death records can be found for any of these Cincinnati people.

     There are no State Censuses for Ohio, and, of course, we don't have the 1890 Census to help us.

     Both professional researchers contacted in Cincinnati went through many books on births/deaths/marriages/burials/baptism records that are not online for Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Nothing.

     I have suggested Miriam do an autosomal DNA, only because maybe someone will match and help give our search a boost.

     It is A Conundrum!

(it is also a conundrum that the spacing gets so messed up when I download the articles I type.)