Thursday, December 18, 2014

DID I FIND OUT WHO JULIA AUSTIN’S PARENTS WERE? Or not?

THORP_Julia nee AUSTIN_portrait photo from Bonnie Schultz Nymberg_blk&wht
I am currently researching my 2nd great grand uncle, Reverend Wallace Walter THORP/THORPE.  His wife was Julia Maria AUSTIN.

As I began reviewing I realized that I don’t have any parents listed in my database for Julia.  Why is that?  Have I not been able to locate them?  Where have I looked? 
I know that Julia was married to Rev. Wallace Walter Thorp(e) about 1862.  I have recorded their residences in census & directory listings from 1870 until the year of her death in 1914.

I have found her burial location in Floral Park Cemetery, Johnson City, Broome County, New York.  Click on this link to see her findagrave.com memorial.  I contacted Floral Park cemetery via email )(floralcemetery@aol.com) and asked if they had any death date, place, cause and/or parents names in their records.  They did not.
In reviewing my research notes in Legacy, it looks like I found an 1860 census record back in February 2009 that I thought might be her.  She would have been around 15 yrs. old at that time.

TIP:  I have developed the habit of dating my research notes.  This has been very useful when I go back & review them.  It gives me some idea of when I may have last researched this particular ancestor.  Additionally, I may realize that I should re-visit a particular record or website because more information may now be available.  Here is a screenshot of some of the notes I have for Julia Austin Thorpe.  These are my personal research notes.  I can choose to include or exclude them when I print reports to share with others.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
research notes julia austin

LET’S FOLLOW SOME LEADS AND SEE WHAT WE FIND
In that 1860 census record I referenced above I found a Julia Austin about the correct age, born in New York and working as a domestic in the GEER family.  Here is the index for that census:

1860 Austin Julia

NOTE:  In the above 1860 census Julia Austin is living in Skaneateles, Onondaga, New York.  That’s where her future husband, Wallace Walter Thorp was born.  But, who are the Geer’s?  Is this our Julia?

If Julia was born about 1845 in New York according to the 1870, 1880, 1900 & 1910 census records, then what earlier, pre-marriage records might I locate for her?
  • Perhaps in the 1855 New York state census?  Let’s look for her there.
I clicked on “Search Records” on the Ancestry home page.  Then scrolled to the bottom and clicked on New York.  I want to be very specific and don’t want to have to scroll through records that I’m not interested in.
 
This is what came up when I clicked on New York

NY census page 1

I don’t see the 1855 state census on that list, do you?  

So, I clicked on “View all” and this is what I saw next.  There it is, the 1855 state census I’m looking for.

1855 NY census listing

My search criteria when I clicked on the 1855 census was simple.  Julia Austin born about 1845.  I entered nothing else in the search screen.

Here is the next list I got.  It contains 1,182 results.

1855 list

WHICH RECORD WOULD YOU SELECT FIRST?

I picked the Julia Austin, born 1845 (second one on the list) in Chenango, Broome Co., NY. She is a “child” of whoever is the head of this household and the birth year fits.

Here is the index page

1855 census index page

Now let’s look at the image of that census.  YOU CAN CLICK ON THIS SHORTENED LINK TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE ON ANCESTRY.COM
http://tinyurl.com/l6q6pb7

 1855_AUSTIN_William & Mary & many children incl Julia_New York

TIP:  ALWAYS check the other people on the page you are viewing, as well as a page or two before and after the one you are viewing. 

There is Julia Austin, age 10, born in Broome County, New York living with her parents & siblings.  BUT, when I go to the next page, what do I see as the very next family on this enumeration?  The GERE family, Fayette Gere and his wife Elisabeth and a Sarah Austin, listed as a sister.  WAIT!!!  Wasn’t Julia working for the GEER family in 1860.  When I checked the first names of the GEER family she was working for, lo and behold, it was Fayette and Eliz, exactly 5 yrs. older than this couple on the 1855 census.
 
CONCLUSION:  I believe that the Julia Austin shown on the 1860 census and the Julia Austin on the 1855 census are one and the same person. 

Are William & Mary AUSTIN listed in the 1855 NY census her parents?  Is this OUR Julia?
 
Only more research will tell me that.  New York is very difficult when it comes to online records.  There aren’t many available.  If I could only locate a death record, it might list parent’s names for Julia.  Other than that I may have to find probate records or an obituary to find her parent’s names.  I will keep looking, but I have “that feeling” that I’m on the right track.  When ‘A’ connects to ‘B’ and then they both connect to ‘C’ it’s always a good feeling.  I’ve made progress here and will continue my search for proof.  Until then, I won’t list any parents for Julia in my database.  But, I will keep good notes of my progress so far.
 
Do you have any other ideas for me as far as places to look?  Do you think that William & Mary could be Julia's parents?  I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions. 
 
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

HOW TO FIND PROBATE RECORDS ONLINE

IS THAT INDEX CORRECT?  HERE'S WHY WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl


Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

5 comments:

  1. Good job! I was hoping that you were going to let me in on a new to me research method but.....this is exactly how I would have gone about the problem. What I did get out of this post was the dating of research. I need to get serious about using my Research Manager.

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    Replies
    1. Cathy - Thanks. That just means we both think alike and that's not a bad thing :) I have found that dating those notes has been very helpful. If I enter something into the "general" research notes I don't date it. That's the place I put interesting items about a person or place. Your comment reminded me that I hadn't added your blog to the list of blogs I follow. I've corrected that now.
      I appreciate you stopping by.

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    2. Thank you for following me Diane. Happy Holidays!

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    3. You're very welcome Cathy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

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  2. You might try www.fultonhistory.com to search for newspaper articles on her or her relatives.

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.