Monday, July 27, 2015

MYSTERY MONDAY–WHO’S YOUR DADDY? Brick Wall Post #5–William Gillen 1782-1841

Green Tree with William Gillen
Today’s brick wall post is about my maternal 4th Great Grandfather, William GILLEN.

I began researching William Gillen over 10 years ago.  While I have found quite a few pieces of information about him, I have yet to locate his parents or siblings.  Two other family members, who are genealogists, have also searched diligently for William’s origins.  Some of the information I have, has come from my cousin Amy and my brother John.
 
BIO SKETCH OF WILLIAM GILLEN
Born – 17 Oct 1782 in Mifflin Co., Pennsylvania
Age 21 - Marriage – to Rachel FRAMPTON (1781-1855) on 28 Feb 1803 or 1804
Age 22 – Birth of son #1, John Gillen, 17 Oct 1804
Age 23 – Birth of daughter #1, Ann Gillen, 30 Oct 1806
Age 25 – Birth of daughter #2, Sarah Gillen, 12 Oct 1808
Age 27 – Birth of daughter #3, Emily Gillen, 8 Aug 1810
Age 28 – Birth of son #2, Martin Gillen, about 12 Jun 1811
Age 36 – Birth of daughter #4, Mary Jane Gillen, 5 Jun 1819
Age 28-38 – Moved his family from Pennsylvania to Ohio
Age 39 – Birth of son #3, Elijah Fisher Gillen, 21 Aug 1822
Age 40 – Birth of son #4, Isaac Fisher Gillen, May 1823
Age 58 – Died on 27 May 1841, probably in Lawrence Co., Ohio
Occupation – Teacher 

NOTE: As I wrote the information above I notice there is an 8 year gap between the birth of son #2, Martin Gillen in 1811 and daughter #4 in 1819.  It’s always suspicious when there is that big a span of years between the birth of children back in those years.  We know from history that children were generally born every couple of years.
  • Are there other children?  If so, did they die at birth or as infants? 
  • Is there a record of other children born to this couple?
Family View for William & Rachel Gillen (from Legacy 8)

(Click on any image to enlarge it)
Gillen_Wmfamilyview

William Gillen is mentioned in several published books.  Please see the sources listed at the end of this post.

William Gillen’s wife was Rachel Frampton.  The Frampton family were well known in Pennsylvania.  And Rachel’s mother, Anna Barbara Martin’s father, Johann Everhard Martin was an early settler in Pennsylvania.  There is a book called The Frampton Family by J.S. Wrightnour, D.D.  Mention is made on page 96 of Rachel & William Gillen as follows: “…Rachel Frampton was born November 11th, 1781.  She was married to William Gillen, February 1803.”  No further mention of this couple is found in this book.

Here is the only online record I have located for the marriage.

GILLEN_William & FRAMPTON_Rachel_marriage 1803

Individual View for William Gillen (from Legacy 8)

Gillen_Wm Indview

As you can see from the Event section of the Individual Information in the image above, I have located William Gillen in several census records:
  • 1810 -New Sewickey, Beaver, Pennsylvania(name is listed as Gilland, but ages fit with family)
  • 1820 – Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio
  • 1830 – Union, Lawrence, Ohio
  • 1840 – Union, Lawrence, Ohio
Other mentions of William Gillen.

GILLEN_History of Ohio Vol 1 - 1925_page 62

Below are two mentions of William Gillen in the first volume of History of Lawrence County, Ohio, pages 3 & 18.
The first is reference to him being the first teacher in Aid Township.  The second is a reference to him being a charter member of the Ice Creek Baptist Church.  
QUESTION:  He was mentioned as a Methodist Episcopal in the Western Christian Advocate.  Did he change religions or simply begin attending another church?

IMG_1572 IMG_1573

All records indicate that William Gillen died 27 May 1841, probably in Lawrence Co., Ohio.

Here is an obituary I’ve located for William Gillen.  This obituary was published in the Western Christian Advocate on 6 Aug 1841.  Unfortunately, there is no mention of William’s parents.  However, it is certainly nice to have some of these dates & places to help confirm or negate information from other sources.

Gillen_William_Obit_1841

Here is the headstone photographed by my cousin Amy.  William is buried at Burlington Green Lawn Cemetery, Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio.  You can see his memorial on FindAGrave here #66551832.

GILLEN_William_headstone_1782-1841_BurlingtonGreenLawnCem_FayetteLawrenceOhio

Reference to Gillen’s buried in Lawrence County, Ohio can be found on this website.  I have extracted the two pages referencing Gillen burials.  William is listed on the second page shown here.  Unfortunately, the link I have for these cemetery records is from 2009 and is no longer active.
GILLENs Buried in Lawrence County, Ohio 6 GILLENs Buried in Lawrence County, Ohio 7

A year or so ago, asked a genealogist from the Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Society to research William Gillen.  She found no mention of him anywhere.  Perhaps I need to look in Juniata County or Centre County or elsewhere?

1.  What have I missed?
2.  Where else should Iook?
3.  Are you related to the Frampton or Gillen family mentioned here?     If so, please contact me.

PUBLISHED SOURCES:
Western Christian Advocate, 6 Aug 1841
History of Lawrence Co., Ohio 1990, pg 3 & 18
History of Lawrence Co., Ohio, 2003 Edition, Vol 2, pg. 62
The Frampton Family by J.S. Wrightnour, pg. 96

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Amanuensis Monday - William Penn Document (involving William Frampton)
CHURCH RECORDS - How They Can Help You With Your Research

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, July 24, 2015

DETROIT TURNS 314 YEARS OLD TODAY


clip_image002
A quick shout out to my home city.  I still have many family members in and around Detroit.  Grandparents, cousins, uncles & aunts, nieces and nephews are buried in Detroit.  Many spent their whole lives there.

Detroit was first settled in 1701.  To read about it, please click on this link History of Detroit 
 
I ran a search in my Legacy program and there are 196 people in my database that are associated with Detroit by birth, death or event.

Here are those people, both living and dead.  No dates have been included in order to protect those that are still living.

MY DETROIT FAMILY MEMBERS
(Click on any image to enlarge it)
Detroit people list_Page_1 Detroit people list_Page_2 Detroit people list_Page_3

Detroit people list_Page_4 Detroit people list_Page_5 Detroit people list_Page_6

This isn’t a huge percentage of the 4665 people in my database, but many of these people are very closely related to me.

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST (All these posts have links to Detroit)

MYSTERY MONDAY-Who's Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #1 - John C. Gould

AN EXACT DATE OF DEATH IN A DETROIT CITY DIRECTORY

BIRTH RECORDS WITH INCORRECT NAMES - What Would You Think?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Sunday, July 19, 2015

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY–Irven J. Doller, Sr. 1885-1963

DOLLER_Irven_headshot_cropped from group photo behind bar_enh_edited-2 DOLLER_Irven J Sr_Obit from newspaper
Irven Doller, Sr. was born in Germany on 21 Sep 1885 to parents John Doller and Bertha Keller.  He and his parents immigrated to the United States sometime around 1890.  I’m still looking for the records to verify the date.  All I have at this point are the census records stating when they arrived.  His younger sister, Freada Meta Doller was born 24 Aug 1895 in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Irven’s father, John was a bricklayer/mason and Irven also worked in that field.  Irven married Magdalena “Lena” BOSKAT.  I have not located the marriage record for them.  
They had 6 sons beginning in 1916.  One of the sons, Reynold died in infancy. 

Irven lived his entire life in Buffalo, New York.  Four of his sons, Irven Jr., Elmer, Robert and Henry all served in World War II.

Irven died on 20 Jan 1963, survived by his wife, several sons and a loving family.  He is buried at Acacia Park Cemetery, North Tonawanda, Niagara, New York.  His memorial on FindAGrave can be found here #149436143.

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY–Triplet daughters of Elijah & Rebecca Frampton

FRAMPTON_3 triplet daughters of Elijah & Rebecca_headstone_WagnorCem_OH_enhanced
Photo used with permission of Nancy Ann Mull Buchanan

What is more tragic than the death of a child?  In this case it was the death of triplet daughters born to Rev. Elijah FRAMPTON, Sr. and his wife Rebecca CLARK.
 
Rev. Elijah Frampton and his wife Rebecca are my 4th great grand uncle and aunt.  They married on 28 Oct 1822 in Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)
FRAMPTON_Elijah Sr marriage to Rebecca CLARK_Oct 1822_Lawrence Co OH_cropped
Marriage record of Elijah Frampton & Rebecca Clark

Rev. Elijah & his wife Rebecca had a son, William Walker Frampton born in 1824.  There was possibly another son born either before or after William, but I cannot locate a date.  All I’ve located is a reference to his name, Isaac Clark Frampton and that he was the child of Elijah and Rebecca.

The triplets, all girls, were referenced on a Rootsweb page.  From that lead I located a headstone for the girls on FindAGrave.com.
Their memorials are # 47412086, 47412091 and 47412096

These infants died on 30 Apr 1827.  It appears that yet another tragedy occurred in this small family when their mother Rebecca died on 5 Jun 1827, just a little over a month after the deaths of the infants.  I cannot locate a cause of death for either the triplets or their young (29 yr. old) mother.  However, I do wonder if the mother died of complications from the birth of the triplets.

FRAMPTON_Rev Elijah_Portrait from deugerrotype_found on Ancestrycom
Rev. Elijah Frampton - This photo can be found in the book The Frampton Family by J. S. Wrightnour, D.D. page 101

The Rev. Elijah remarried the following year on 8 May 1828 to Lucinda  Trowbridge, and they had four children together.  Elijah lived to be 90 years old.

I wonder how many triplet births survived back in those early days?
I have further research to do on this family and hope to learn more about them.

Here are some reference materials with information about this family.
  • Early Days in Greenbush with Biographical Sketches…by William L. Sapp.  Page 143
  • Circuit Rider Days Along the Ohio….by The Methodist Book Concern. Page 218
  • Sons of the American Revolution Applications – Application for John Ross Frampton, filed in 1917 in Iowa – image
  • available on Ancestry.com 
PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Monday, July 13, 2015

MAPPY MONDAY–Using Legacy 8 to Map Your Family


I thought I would look at the mapping feature in Legacy 8 today.

With this feature you can see the migration of your family from one country to another, or one city to another.
 
To use the “Map Family” feature you can go to the View tab and then click on Map Family.  I personally have the feature saved on “My Toolbar” so that I can quickly find it.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
Map family 1

Let’s take a look at my maternal great grandfather, Andrew Charles Milne.  Here is the Family View for Andrew and his Individual Information screen.  You can see that I have several Events for him.  Because those events contain locations, those locations will show up on a map.

Map - 2
FAMILY VIEW
Map - 3
INDIVIDUAL VIEW
Andrew was born in Scotland, came over to North America via Quebec and moved to Detroit.  However, somewhere along the way he and his wife, Susan also lived in Ohio as one of their children died there.

When I click on the Map Family icon and zoom in just a bit this is what I see.

Map - 4

Now I will zoom into the locations in Michigan and Ohio.

Map - 6

As you can see when I hover over the red pins that are on the map Legacy tells me exactly what event occurred in that location.  In this case it was the death of a child, Margaret E. “Etta” Milne on 26 Jan 1890, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio.

If you have not taken advantage of this valuable feature in Legacy, why not give it a try?

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Historical & Family History Societies - Great Resources for your Research
Adding a Record to Legacy from Ancestry - Step by Step Instructions

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, July 10, 2015

THE JOYS OF SCOTLAND’S PEOPLE WEBSITE

ScotlandsPeople logo-ENH

If you have ancestors from Scotland this site is invaluable.  I’ve been using it for several years.

WHAT DOES THIS SITE CONTAIN?
You can find vital records, census records, valuation rolls and other helpful information.

Here is a screenshot of the home page.  
(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
ScotPeople-1_annotated

Create an account to be able to use the site.

Once you’ve entered your names you can use basic search criteria like soundex, wildcard, fuzzy searches etc.  You can narrow down the year range and even the county and district areas.  There is also an advanced search option, which I’ve rarely used.

Searching for statutory marriages 1855-2013, I entered two surnames and narrowed the years to 1855-1870 just to get fewer matches.

This is the result of that search.

ScotPeople-2

You can see that I have 8 matches and the cost to view them is 1 credit.  When you click on “view 1 credit” you will be taken to a screen that says “this will cost you 1 credit, are you sure?” Yes or No.

When I click on “Yes” this screen comes up.
ScotPeople-3

You can now see more information, such as the year, both names, district and city/county.  This allows you to decide which one if any, might be worth viewing. If I know that my couple lived in Moray, then I have one choice.  If Aberdeen, then I have more choices.  It’s up to you, based on what you know about the person or couple you are searching for.

Viewing the image will cost you 5 credits.  The images are usually very readable and contain LOTS of great information.  
You may get a record that look like either one of these.

RITCHIE_David marriage to Louise Henrietta FREY_30 Jul 1872_AboyneAberdeenScotland
1872 MARRIAGE RECORD
RITCHIE_Mary marriage to Alexander EWEN_10 May 1850_BirseAberdeenScotland
1850 MARRIAGE RECORD
That first record you see is one I pulled just yesterday.  The great thing about those later records is that they give you the names of parents (and whether they are deceased), residence addresses, occupation of the groom and/or bride and the occupation of the parents AND the maiden name of all the women.  That’s what I call a FIND!

HOW MUCH DO THE CREDITS COST?
When you click on “Buy Credits” you are taken to this screen.  There is a drop down list to give you choices as to how many credits you want to pay for.  The cost is listed in British Pounds.  You can use your search engine and find a currency converter to determine how many U.S. dollars are equal to how many British Pounds.  Right now 7 British Pounds is equal to $10.84 is U.S. currency. 

scotpeople currency

This means that each credit will cost you about 36 cents.  That converts to $1.80 for 5 credits to view an image.  I don’t know about you, but that’s much cheaper than any records I’ve ordered.  Other than free records, the price is hard to beat.

Using this site has allowed me to expand my family history tremendously.  Having access to the actual images is fantastic.  You can get the indexes on sites such as Ancestry.com, but they still won’t contain all the important information.

I hope this post has been helpful.  Please let me know if you have used this site and what your results have been.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
SCOTLAND - Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society

MY TRIP TO SCOTLAND - What I did right & What I did wrong

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Saturday, July 4, 2015

 HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!!!




May God keep you all safe as you celebrate the birth of our great country.  God bless our service men & women and their families and keep them safe from harm. 



Thursday, July 2, 2015

CHECK THOSE RECORDS CAREFULLY - Look what I found!


Make sure you check every entry on the pages of records you find.

HERE'S WHY.......
 
I was reviewing the PRATT section of our family today.  I noticed that I didn’t have a death record image for a death that occurred in 1888 in Michigan.  I had the index information, but not the image.

I know the images are available on Family Search in the Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897 database.  I located the record right away.

Here is page 1 showing Mary Sumner nee Pratt who died 21 Apr 1888.  Notice she uses “P” as her middle initial.  It was and still is common for women to use their maiden name or the first initial of that name for a middle initial, once they marry.

SUMNER_Mary nee PRATT_death record_21 Apr 1888_ArmadaMacombMichigan

From previous experience I know that there is usually a PAGE 2 for these records on Family Search.  So, I went to the second page and there it was.  Showing her cause of death and her parents, Josiah Pratt & Rachel aka Rebecca, whom I already knew of. No surprise there.

SUMNER_Mary nee PRATT_death record_21 Apr 1888_ArmadaMacombMichigan_pg 2

BUT WAIT!  What is the record just below hers?  It shows the exact same information for:
  • Cause of death – consumption
  • Birthplace – Canada
  • Occupation – Housewife
  • Parent’s names – Josiah & Rachel Pratt
  • Residence – Dead
  • Date of record – June 7th 1889
NOTE THE CIRCLED ITEMS below Mary's information.

SUMNER_Mary nee PRATT_death record_21 Apr 1888_ArmadaMacombMichigan_pg 2_showing Sarah

Is this some sort of clerical error? A duplication? Or what?

I went back to the first page to see what name was listed under my Mary Sumner.

The next name on the list is Sarah P. HUNT who died 28 Feb 1888 a married woman, age 57 yrs. 11 mos. 4 days, who died in Armada.

Here is that first page.

HART_Sarah nee PRATT_death record_28 Feb 1888_ArmadaMacombMichigan_pg 1

What did I do next?

I looked in my database at the children born to Josiah Pratt & Rebecca “Rachel” Jackson.  Did they have a daughter named Sarah who married a man named Hunt?  I have 3 children born to Josiah & Rebecca.  A son, John and two daughters, Mary born 1822 and there she is Sarah born about 1832 in Canada.
Who did Sarah marry?
- - -  She married Ashley HART

Here is what my Legacy database shows for Sarah Pratt. 

Hart_Ashley & Sarah screenshot

In this case I do think a clerical error was made when they recorded her last name on that death record.  Since every other item fits, I am concluding that I have found her death record.  And, no wonder I wasn’t able to find it before.  I would have been looking for HART not HUNT.

Isn’t this awesome?  I was looking for one record and found two.
 
Our lesson for today – PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY OTHER PERSON ON ANY REGISTER WITH MULTIPLE NAMES.
  
I get pretty excited when things like this happen.
 
What surprises have you found in records?  Let me know in a comment or with a link to your own blog post.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
SURPRISE! A birth record where is wasn't supposed to be
FAMILY SEARCH - Going back & getting those "other" pages

PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

GERMAN RECORDS–I’m learning and having fun too


As you may know from my previous posts, I was recently able to go to the Family History Library for 4 days.

During that visit I looked at German records on microfilm.  This was my first time ever looking at German records of any kind.
Since I’ve returned home, I’ve begun processing my finds and in the process have found new records online.

Why I’m having so much fun….
  • I love learning new things
  • I’m adding a whole new list of surnames to my family
  • I’ve taken my family back another two-three generations
  • Researching in a new country is exciting
  • I’m also learning some of the German language
There was one microfilm I looked at that contained a gold mine of records.  Film #1055846.  I know, based on the dates of information contained on that film, that there is more to be found on it.  As a result I have just ordered the film online via Family Search Online Film Ordering, to be sent to our local Family History Center in San Diego.  Once the film arrives I will have three months to view it as I paid for extra time.

In the meantime I will continue to mine the German records available on Ancestry and/or Family Search.
 
New Names Added to Our Family Tree…so far.
  • Rummelspacher
  • Ernst
  • Von Votzing
  • Enricher
I’ve found this database useful Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929.
 
I located this record for my 8th great grandparents, Jacob Martin & Appolinia Von Votzing.

Name:    Jacob Martin
Gender:    Male
Marriage Date:    2 Aug 1659
Marriage Place:    Evangelisch, Jesingen, Donaukreis, Wuerttemberg
Spouse:  Appolinia Von Votzing
FHL Film Number:1055744


PLEASE contact me if you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog.
So stay tuned and I’ll continue to share my journey.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - DAY 2 - A Red Letter Day!
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - After You Return Home - Then What?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION