Wednesday, August 26, 2015

LEGACY 8–Adding a hyperlink to your media file

about legacy screen
Image used with permission

 
            
This is the coolest new trick and I just learned it today.
  
Did you know that you can add a hyperlink to your media in Legacy 8?  I didn’t.

Of course, we’ve all added images and documents.  Maybe some of us have added a video or audio.  But, a hyperlink that opens to a website.  No.  I’ve never done that.

First let me give props to Michele Simmons Lewis, who is a Tech for Legacy.  She also monitors the Legacy User Group on Facebook.  Her help to everyone on that site has been incredible.  When she told me about this, I was excited

Why?  Because I wanted to add my blog posts as links, to the people in my family that I am writing about.
 
Here is how easy it was.
  • First, I added an event named “Blog Post.”
Blog post event
  • Then in the “Media” for that event, I used the dropdown list under “Add Media” and clicked on “Internet Website.”
blog post add media
  • Once you’ve selected “Internet Website” this is what you’ll see.
Blog post event website
  • As you can see, you can add the website, a caption, a date and a description.
Here’s what it looked like when I filled in the blanks.

Blog post event filled in

This is what it looks like in your Media Gallery.

blog post media gallery
  • All you have to do now, is click on that icon and it goes directly to the website.  WOW!
This can be used for any website you happen to want to link to.  A newspaper article, a census record, a book entry about your ancestor.

TIP:  If you do find something on a website, it’s always best to download that image to your computer.  If you then choose to add the image itself or a link to the website it’s your choice.  HOWEVER, remember that websites can disappear.  Why not do both?

I hope you’ve found this information as helpful as I did.  I love learning new things about Legacy and all the incredible functions and features it offers to us.  (No, I don’t work for them).

To locate other posts about Legacy 8 in this blog, please go to the “Search this blog” box in the right hand column.  Type in Legacy 8 and you will find the articles I have written.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

TUESDAY’S TIP–More Detroit, Michigan Newspapers Online

detroit free press

What’s more fun than finding our ancestor’s names in a newspaper article?  Whether it’s a wedding announcement, a birth announcement or an obituary, these records can be tremendous genealogical gold mines.
 
Newspapers are all about what’s going on in a specific moment in time.  And, the good thing is, that newspapers have been being printed since before we were even a country separate from England.

There has always been difficulty in obtaining Detroit newspapers online.  The Detroit Free Press isn’t digitized or available on Genealogy Bank or Newspapers.com.

Currently on Genealogy Bank you have access to these newspapers for Detroit.

Detroit Gazette
Detroit Independent
Detroit Informer
Detroiter Abend-Post
Herold
Michigan Herald
Plaindealer
Weekly Detroit Free Press 1886-1887


Right now on Newspapers.com there are 36 newspapers for Michigan.  None of them for Detroit.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS!!
According to a newly released blog post by Dick Eastman on Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter the Gannett company is about to digitize more U.S. newspapers, INCLUDING THE DETROIT FREE PRESS.
 
“Through this collaboration, more than four million searchable pages of The Cincinnati Enquirer were made available online. Newspapers.com and Gannett will begin the rollout phase of all public archives of more than 80 daily newspapers, including Detroit Free Press, The Arizona Republic, The Indianapolis Star, The Tennessean and many others to follow. Each archive will ultimately include every available page from the first date of publication up to issues from 30 days ago.”

So, standby all my fellow Detroiters, there is hope on the horizon.  Since I live in California and my family goes back 3 generations in Detroit, this is fantastic news.  I was born in Detroit, as were all my siblings.  Could there have been birth announcements?  I’m so excited to find out what treasures I can find.

One more thing.  The Online Historical Newspaper Collection of the Day on The Ancestor Hunt blog is Michigan Digital Newspaper Portal.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Monday, August 24, 2015

MYSTERY MONDAY–Who’s Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #6–Lany Cooper Thorp 1815-1886-SOLVED!

Green tree with question marks_Lany Cooper

SOLVED!
Lany Cooper is my paternal 3rd great grandmother.  I have not been able to find more than a minimal amount of information on her family (meaning her parents and/or siblings).

Here is what I know at this point:

She was born 16 Feb 1815 in Cato, Cayuga, New York.

She was the second wife of Monson Thorp, Sr.  They married on 12 Apr 1835 in Cato, Cayuga, New York.  Monson’s first wife, Ann Eliza Armitage had died in about 1833, leaving Monson with a young daughter & son.  Anna Maria Thorp 1830-1903 and Rev. Wallace Walter Thorp 1833-1913.  Monson was a Wagonmaker.  He certainly would have needed help raising two young children under 4 yrs. of age.

Lany & Monson had 6 children, three boys and three girls as follows:
1.  Horace Henry Thorp born 1836 married Catherine Dorsey.  He died 1907.  (These are my direct ancestors)
2.  Lucyette Thorp, never married (1838-1866)
3.  Stephen B. Thorp born 1840 married Henrietta Barnes in Sep 1869.  Stephen had served in the Civil War.  He died of consumption on 14 Jun 1871.  No known children were born to this couple.
4.  Mary “Polly” Thorp, born 1841, married David Preston Flower about 1860.  Mary died 16 Apr 1892.  They had 5 children. 
5.  Edith Eliza Thorp born Jan 1843, married George Beech Surdam about 1863.  She died 29 Mar 1915.  They had 5 children.
6.  Monson Thorp, Jr. born 5 Feb 1847, married Eudora Louise Searls on 9 Oct 1870.  He died 11 May 1939.  They had 6 children.

Here is a view of Monson & Lany Thorp from my Legacy database:

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
Cooper Lany family view

The first hint I had of Lany’s parent’s names was on her death certificate.  Although her name is listed as “Fanny” and not Lany, I have confirmed the dates based on other evidence.  On this certificate, her parent’s names are given as Jacob Cooper and Polly Byrne, both of Albany, New York.
 
THORP_Lany_Death Cert_1886_New York_annotated

Here is a her death notice as published in the Skaneateles Press 24 Jul 1886.

THORP_Lany_Obituary_24 Jul 1886_SkaneatelesPress_New York_cropped

After locating the death record and the death notice I also found a newspaper article about the 50th wedding anniversary for Monson & Lany.  This article was located via the Fulton History website.  
Please note, I wrote a blog post about using the Fulton History website, which you can access here http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2015/04/i-hit-jackpot-on-this-website-old.html

THORP_Mr&Mrs Monson celeb 50 yrs married_SkanFreePress_4 Apr 1885_col 3_cropped
Skaneateles Free Press - 4 Apr 1885, column 3

Transription of the newspaper article above: “TO CELEBRATE THEIR GOLDEN WEDDING: Mr. and Mrs. Munson Thorp of this village will celebrate their golden wedding at their home on Jordan street, Sunday, April 12, 1883.  They were married April 12, 1833 at Cato, Cayuga county, that town being the native place of Mrs. Thorp, whose maiden name was Lany Cooper.  Mr. Thorp was born in Harpersfield, Conn. February 27, 1801, and is now in his 85th year.  They have always resided in Skaneateles since their marriage, and Mr. Thorp has been a resident of this village since October, 27, 1827. He is a wagon maker by trade first working in this town for the late John Legg, and for fifteen years he was employed by S & J Hall in the stone building now used by Thomas Kelley as a blacksmith shop.  Six children have been born to him, four yet living, all of whom have homes in the West.  Neither Mr. Thorp nor wife are very strong, but they keep house alone and manage the household duties between them.  While striving to lay up something for old age, Mr. Thorp has been unsuccessful, but has always managed to maintain his household without aid, though the struggle is hard for a couple so aged and infirm.  They will be “at home” to all their friends who may desire to call on them on their golden wedding day – a week from Sunday next.”

Finding newspaper articles like the one above certainly is a bonus for any researcher.  There is a lot of good genealogical information contained in the piece.  Of course it all must be confirmed, but still, such great leads.

I also have a copy of Lany’s Last Will & Testament.  The information contained here led me to married names of Lany’s daughters.  I also have her husband, Monson’s Last Will & Testament.

THORP_Lany_last will & test_1886_OnondagaCoNY_pg 1 of 2 THORP_Lany_last will & test_1886_OnondagaCoNY_pg 2 of 2

And finally, I do have a picture of Lany’s headstone.  You can visit her memorial on FindAGrave #32026022.  She is buried, with her husband, Monson and their daughter, Lucyette, at Lake View Cemetery, Skaneateles, Onondaga, New York.
 
THORP_LanyCooper_1815-1886_headstone_NY_enh

Other than making a trip to Cayuga County, New York, I have not found anything that gives me more information about Lany’s parents and/or siblings, if there were any.  I would be grateful to anyone who could provide more information, or new ideas.  I've looked at census & land records in New York for the appropriate years and come up empty.

Please visit my other “Who’s Your Daddy?” posts here http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/p/test.html

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
A STATE CENSUS RECORD THAT LEADS TO A LOT MORE QUESTIONS - The Monson Thorp Family

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY – My 3rd great grandparents – Monson & Lany Thorp

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

Saturday, August 22, 2015

SATURDAY NIGHT FUN! Golden Wedding Anniversaries

girl with purple top jumping for joy
The idea for this blog post comes from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings.  He does a Saturday Night Fun post each week.  Here is the link to his post http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-golden.html

Here is tonight’s challenge:
“The challenge today is to find out which of your ancestors have celebrated a golden wedding anniversary - 50 years of marital bliss (?).  Was there a newspaper article about it?”


GOULD LINE
My parents – Harry Norman Gould & Patricia Anne Milne, married in 1949, split up in 1965, divorced in 1972. 23 years married, but only 16 years together.

My grandparents – Harry Whipple Gould & Marie Lindsay Gould, married 1912.  He died in 1960.  48 years married.

My great grandparents – William Val Gould & Mary Eve Thorp married about 1880.  He died in 1924.  44 years married.

My great great grandparents – John C. Gould and Sarah M. Hart married 1858.  She died in 1911.  53 years married.  I have not yet located a newspaper article about their 50th anniversary.

MILNE LINE
My parents – see entry above for Harry & Patricia

My grandparents – Joseph Albert Milne and Florence Lee Nora Bowden married 1906.  51 years married.  I have photos from their 50th anniversary party.  My grandfather died the following year.

MILNE_Florence & Joseph at 50th Wed Anniv 1956_cropped


BOWDEN_Florence cutting cake at 50th Wed Anniver 1956 - Copy
 My grandparents - Florence & Joseph Milne at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration

My great grandparents – Andrew Charles Milne & Susan Anne Gillespie married in 1880. He died in 1892.  12 years married.

My great great grandparents – Charles Milne & Margaret Ritchie married sometime before 1850.  He died in 1877.  So, they were married 27 years or a little longer.

LINDSAY LINE
Grandparents – see entry above for Harry & Marie.

Great grandparents – William Wallace Lindsay & Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles married 1886.  Divorced in 1912.  Married 26 years.

Great great grandparents – William Lindsay & Mary Wallace married 1849.  She died in 1895.  Married 47 years.

BOWDEN LINE
My grandparents – See entry above for Florence Bowden & Joseph Milne.

My great grandparents – Robert Lee Bowden & Florence Hunter married 1887.  Divorced 1899.  Married 12 years.

HUNTER LINE
My great great grandparents – James Gillen Hunter & Susan Caroline Boggs married 1859.  He died in 1884.  Married 25 years.

My 3rd great grandparents – Rev. Isaac C. Hunter & Emily Gillen married 1828.  He died in 1842.  Married 14 years

GILLEN LINE
My 4th great grandparents – William Gillen & Rachel Frampton married 1803-04.  He died in 1841.  Married 37-38 years.

That’s about as far back as I’ll go today.  I’ve documented 13 marriages.  Out of those only TWO made it to 50 or more years.

Congratulations to my grandparents, Joseph Milne & Florence Bowden and my 2nd great grandparents John C. Gould and Sarah Hart.

UPDATE:  While writing my post for Monday, August 24th, I came across another of my ancestors who celebrated 50 years of marriage. Congratulations to my 3rd great grandparents - Monson Thorp and Lany Cooper who were married on 12 Apr 1835.  She died in 1886, so they were married 51 years.  

What about your ancestors?  How many of them were married 50 years or over?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

WEDDING WEDNESDAY–Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette married March 11, 1834

wedding bells
Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette
Married 11 March 1834 in Essex County, New Jersey

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
ROSETTE_Almira marriage to George HALL_11-Mar-1834_New Jersey_image
THEIR MARRIAGE APPEARS ON THE PAGE ON THE RIGHT


ROSETTE_Almira marriage to George HALL_11-Mar-1834_New Jersey_cropped
CLOSE UP OF THEIR NAMES IN THE RECORD

Rev. George Hall & Almira Rosette are the 2nd great grandparents of my husband.

Almira was the daughter of Abraham Rosette & Susan Boylston.

The Rev. George Hall was the son of Cornelius Clark Hall & Elizabeth Conick.  He was the only son born to the couple.  He had 4 sisters.  I bet he had fun growing up in that household.

Here is an excerpt from the Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the Unites States of America, page 289.

 Copy of Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the US_pg 289_HALL_Rev George_cropped "Rev. George Hall was born at Keene, NH June 4th 1804; was a student at Dartmouth College; pursued his theological studies at Princeton Seminary, and under the direction of Rev. Drs. Erskine Mason and Henry White, in New York city, and was licensed by the Third Presbytery of New York, October 12th 1835.  After being pastor of the Congregational Church at Weston, Conn., from 1837 to 1841, he seems to have been without any settlement until 1860, but temporaily supplied various churches in Connecticut and New York.  He was state supply to Fayette and Ebenezer churches, Miss., from 1860 to 1871, and to Port Gibson Church from 1872 to 1874.  He then became stated supply of the Church in Fayetteville, Tenn., from 1874 to 1876.  In the latter year he returned to Port Gibson, Miss. where he died, September 4th, 1878.  Mr. Hall was a truly faithful and good man.  He was eminently devoted to the work of saving souls.  His memory is warmly cherished in the churches he served in Mississippi and Tennessee, and by all who knew him."

The Rev. George Hall was the Pastor of the Peterboro Church in Smithfield, New York in about 1850.  This church was the site of the first complete meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society in 1835.  The building is now on the New York State and National Historic Registers.  In 2004 it was named as one of 24 sites on the New York State Underground Railroad Heritage Trail.  The site became home of the National Abolition Hall of Fame in 2005. Source: Donna Burdick, Smithfield Town Historian

George & Almira’s children were
George F. Hall born 1836, New Jersey
Cornelia B. R. Hall born 1838, New Jersey
Charles A. B. Hall born 1842, New York
Thomas Cornelius Hall 1845-1897, married Cora E. Brown and are my husband’s great grandparents
Susan C. Hall born 1846, New York, married John H. Griffing

I learned a lot about the Rev. George Hall from various reports printed by church associations.  One of those was the Necrological Report presented to the Alumni Association of Princeton Theological Seminary at it’s Annual Meeting 29 Apr 1879.  Here are the pages from that report:

HALL_George_Necrological Report from PresbChurch article-Pg 1 HALL_George_Necrological Report from PresbChurch article-Pg 2

Sadly the report above tells us that Almira died in Sep 1858 in West Stockholm, St. Lawrence, New York, at age 52.  I haven’t yet located her death record or burial.  Having at least 3 children still at home, the Reverend remarried on 6 Oct 1859 to Mary A. Bolles.
Rev. Hall died during the Yellow Fever plague of 1878.  Here is a link to a book about this plague:  https://archive.org/details/65030600R.nlm.nih.gov 

And here is a link to the Rootsweb site about Claiborne County, Mississippi and the list of deaths from Yellow Fever: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~msclaib3/yellow1878.html

Rev Hall death report

Here is a link to Rev. Hall’s memorial on FindAGrave  #56354940

HALL_George Rev_headstone_1878_WintergreenCem_PortGibsonClaiborneMS
Headstone for Rev. George Hall courtesy of William Sanders - used with permission
I’ve enjoyed sharing this story with you.
 
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, August 18, 2015

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY–Abraham & Susan Rosette - died 1815 & 1847


ROSETTE_Abraham-headstone-1815 and Francis and Louisa_NJ
Headstone of Abraham Rosette & his son Francis & daughter Louisa
ROSETTE_Susan & her mother Lydia_headstone_FirstPresbChurch_New Jersey
Headstone of Susan Rosette & her mother Lydia

Abraham Rosette (also spelled Rosett, Roset) and Susan Boylston are the 3rd great grandparents of my husband.

Abraham Rosette born 29 Jul 1780 in New York married Susan Boylston 30 May 1804 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He was a Cabinet Maker.  They had four children: Almira, Eliza, Francis & Louisa.  Abraham died on 8 Apr 1815 in Elizabethtown, New Jersey.  His wife Susan never remarried and she died 23 Apr 1847 (location not verified).

They are both buried in the First Presbyterian Churchyard, Elizabeth, Union, New Jersey.  You can find their memorials here:

Abraham #7965705
Susan #7965704

From the book Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in the Burying Grounds of The First Presbyterian Church and St. Johns Church at Elizabeth, New Jersey, 1664-1892.”
ROSETTE_Abraham_inscription of his headstone ROSETTE_Mrs Lydia_transcription of her headstone

There is still quite a bit of research to be done on this family.
 
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

Friday, August 14, 2015

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY–Fried cauliflower from my Grandma Florence

 
BOWDEN_Florence-1906_enh_with name
 
 
 
 
 
My grandmother, Florence BOWDEN  MILNE left us a spiral bound notebook,  which I refer to has her journal.  The entire notebook is written in her hand and was begun about the time of her marriage to my grandfather, Joseph, in 1906.  In it she left a treasure trove of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's.





TODAY'S FEATURED RECIPE
Fried Cauliflower

Fried cauliflower_B&W

Here is a transcription of her recipe:

Pick out all the green leaves from a cauliflower & cut off the stalk close; put it head downward into a sauce pan of boiling, salted water, do not over boil it.  Drain it into a sieve, pick out into small sprigs and place them in a deep dish with plenty of vinegar, pepper & salt; when they have laid for an hour in this, drain them, dip them in batter and fry them in hot lard to a golden brown.  Very delicious.

I personally love cauliflower.  It’s one of my favorite vegetables, if I can choose a favorite.  But, I’ve never heard of it deep fried.  It seems that in our current times, people fry all sorts of things, like ice cream, snickers bars & Twinkies.  Maybe my grandma was on to something back over 100 years ago?

Please tell me about recipes you have from your family.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER POSTS FEATURING MY GRANDMOTHER’S RECIPES.

Family Recipe Friday - Chocolate Fudge
Family Recipe Friday - How to Make Baked Chicken Fricassee
Family Recipe Friday - Orange Coconut Custard

AND SOME POSTS THAT ARE “RECIPES” OF ANOTHER KIND.
Family "Recipe" Friday - How to Keep Hair Curled Back in 1906
Family "Recipe" Friday - How to Make Shampoo

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

TUESDAY’S TIP–Street Guide included in City Directories –Have you used this handy resource?

1916 begin street & ave guide Detroit directory title page 1909 Binghamton city street guide
If you read my recent post about William H. Thorpe, you know that I used the Detroit City Directories extensively.  It’s certainly not my first time using those directories.  I have used them over the years and find them incredibly helpful and full of information.  However, there was an area of the directory I only recently learned about and it proved to be incredibly helpful.

It’s called the STREET AND AVENUE GUIDE
Here is an explanation of what the guide contains
image
It’s a list of all the streets and their addresses with the occupant of each.
 
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT AND HELPFUL?

As an example:  When I was trying to locate the death record for William H. Thorpe, I found his widow, Kittie, in the 1916 Detroit directory, living at 154 Alger Ave.  Looking at the other Thorpe’s on the page, I found none of them at that same address.

1916_THORPE_Kittie_wid Wm_living at 154 Alger Ave_DetroitWayneMichigan_annotated

Who was Kittie Thorpe boarding with?  

NOTE:  Many times you will see boarders on census records and in directories.  Those boarders often turn out to be family members.  It’s not how we think of boarders in our current time, but it was how they were frequently listed during our ancestor’s time.

I then went to the Street and Avenue Guide in the back of the directory and looked for 154 Alger Ave., to see whose name is listed for that address.

     Guess who I found listed at 154 Alger Ave?
** J. D. STANTON – son-in-law of Kittie Thorpe **

1916_STANTON_J city directory where kittie thorpe was living

Kittie’s daughter Grace M. Thorpe married John Davies Stanton on 24 Jul 1907 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
 
This is good evidence that I have the correct Kittie in the 1916 city directory.

LEGACY 8 TIPI CREATED MY OWN EVENT FOR CITY DIRECTORIES.  I WANTED THEM TO BE SPECIFICALLY LISTED AS “CITY DIRECTORY LISTING” AND NOT JUST AS A RESIDENCE.  THIS ALLOWS ME TO SEARCH FOR ANYONE WHO HAS A CITY DIRECTORY LISTING EVENT AND I’VE FOUND IT VERY USEFUL.

Here is an example from another one of my Thorp’s who has quite a few events.  You can see all the city directory listing’s.

Event list for Wallace W Thorp

I checked the 1909 Binghamton, New York city directory to see if they too included a Street Guide.  The answer is YES.  I found this one at the back of the directory, just like the Detroit guide.  I find them by browsing, as they don’t seem to be listed in the Table of Contents.

I don’t know if every directory in the United States has a street guide, but I would suggest checking for it in your particular directory.

I hope you’ve found this information helpful.  Please tell me how city directories have helped you in your research.
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
CITY DIRECTORIES - A treasure trove of genealogical information
AN EXACT DEATH DATE in a City Directory
THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY - Why Don't I Have a Death Date or Record for William H. Thorpe? 

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Sunday, August 9, 2015

UPDATE ON WILLIAM H. THORPE DEATH INFO


Yesterday I shared with you my search for the death date and/or burial location of my great grandaunt’s husband, William H. Thorpe.  Please refer to that post here, if you haven’t read it THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY - Why don't I have a death date or record for William H. Thorpe?

It was certainly an adventure and a great way to spend the afternoon.

I shared my blog post on several Facebook genealogy groups I belong to.  I share posts that might be relevant to a location or topic.  One of those groups is Detroit Genealogy.  This group has been helpful to me in the past as far as offering research advice and doing lookups.

Don’t you know that before I had a chance to go hunting for William’s death certificate on SeekingMichigan.org, (Update Oct 2019 - the new website for locating Michigan death records is michiganology.org)  one the the members of the group located it for me.  Thank you Deidre Erin Denton.  This certificate gives further evidence of other information I had located.

THORPE_William H_death cert_20 Mar 1909_DetroitWayneMichigan

Then this morning, Deidre surprised me again by posting a death notice from the Detroit Free Press for William.  Further evidence and again, my thanks to Deidre.

THORPE_William H_funeral notice_DetroitFreePress_23 Mar 1909_DetroitWayneMichigan

This is why I encourage other researchers to join Facebook and get involved with the genealogy groups from all over the country and the world.  This is not the first time I have received wonderful help from a group I belong to.

The other two things I have done to complete this record for William H. Thorpe.
  • I requested a photograph of his headstone on FindAGrave.
  • I sent an email to Elmwood Cemetery asking for a copy of his burial record and/or the exact plot where he is buried.  I’ve been to Elmwood Cemetery and they have always been very helpful.
I’d certainly call this a successful research session.

Here’s hoping your next hunt turns up some great finds.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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

Thursday, August 6, 2015

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY–Why don’t I have a death date or record for William H. Thorpe?

THORPE_William_headshot cropped from group photo
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I sit down in front of my computer, with my two nice monitors and stare at them without a clue as to what I want to do in the way of research.  Am I alone in this?

I decided to take a look at my THORP family.  My great grandmother was Mae Eva Thorp 4 Apr 1862, New York to 3 Nov 1946, Detroit, Wayne Michigan.  She married William Val Gould 1859-1924.  I have never been able to locate their marriage record.
Now, this particular Thorp family seems to spell the name without an “e” at the end, most of the time.
 
This presented quite a problem when researching my great grandmother’s sister, Catherine “Kittie” ThorpWHY?
Because she married William H. THORPE.  Yup, she went from being a Thorp to a Thorpe.

Let’s take a look at William H. Thorpe today.  Here is what shows up in my Legacy database for him.

Thorp family view Aug 2015 
Not very darn much information, right? 
  • I have him as head of household in a 1900 census, living in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio.  The family is a perfect match to this couple and their children.
  • In the 1910 census, Kittie Thorp is widowed and living with her daughter and son-in-law and family, back in Detroit, Michigan.
Did William H. Thorpe die between 1900 and 1910?  Or, is Kittie divorced, but listed as widowed? I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen that over the years.

First thing I’m going to do is go to my Ancestry tree and see if any new record hints have popped up on William.
  • Nothing new in hints.  The two census records shown appear to be another couple.  I do look at the trees to check for clues or leads, but don’t use them as sources.
  • Next, I clicked on the “search records” tab from William’s profile page in Ancestry.  AH HA!!!
  • What is this city directory I see for 1916 in Detroit, Michigan?
  • It’s a listing for Kittie Thorpe (wid Wm), boards 154 Alger Ave.
1916_THORPE_Kittie_wid Wm_living at 154 Alger Ave_DetroitWayneMichigan_annotated

This is great because now I have one more piece of evidence that Kittie was widowed.
 
If Kittie is boarding at 154 Alger Ave., who is she living with?
I went to the street directory portion of the city directory and located Alger Ave.  I found 154 and noted that J.D. Stanton is listed as the resident.  I immediately recognized the name Stanton as being one I had researched.  Sure enough I checked my Legacy database and there he was, John Davies Stanton married Kittie’s daughter, Grace on 24 Jul 1907.  So Kittie was living with them in 1916.  Yeah!! I have the right Kittie Thorpe.

1916_STANTON_J D_living at 154 Alger Ave_DetroitWayneMichigan_annotated

When did William & Kittie Thorpe move back to Michigan?  Did she moved back after his death?  Or before.  I’m now going to check for Detroit City Directories for the years 1900-1910.  

Although the family was in enumerated in Ohio for the 1900 census, they could still show up in a 1900 Detroit city directory.

1900 – 1904 - Not in Detroit
1905 – Located Wm. H. Thorpe at 422 4th.  Also living at that address is Mabel Thorpe, which is his daughter, who didn’t marry until 1908.  This gives me reason to believe this is our William.
1906 – Wm. H. & daughter Mabel living at 393 15th.  He is working as a steward.
1907 – This Detroit Directory is not complete and does not have the “T’s”.
1908 – Neither Wm. H. or Catherine, his wife are listed in this directory.
1909 – Catherine (wid Wm) bds 401 15th.

I have concluded from this evidence that William probably died between 1907 and 1909.
 
Next step SeekingMichigan.org.  I looked and looked and searched for a long time on this site.  The 1897-1920 deaths are there, as are the images.  But, no manner of searching turned up William H./Wm. H. Thorpe.  I tried just the year, just the first name, just the last name and many other combinations.

HAVE I ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL TODAY?
NO, I haven’t.  I still don’t have a death date or burial location for William H. Thorpe.  I’ve certainly narrowed it down.
 
OH MY GOSH!!!!!
I was just about to post this and thought, well, I'll just look one more place before I share this with my readers.  I had checked FindAGrave many many times in the past.  BUT, don't we all know that we have to keep checking?  YES!!!!!

I FOUND A MEMORIAL FOR WILLIAM H. THORPE WHO DIED IN 1909 (Just at I had narrowed it down to).
When was this memorial posted?  Just 18 days ago!

Do I seem excited?  Well, I'm doing the genealogy happy dance right now.
 
Here is a link to William's memorial #149488550 The memorial includes his obituary from the Detroit Free Press. 

He is buried at my favorite Detroit cemetery, Elmwood. 

So, now have I accomplished my goal today?  YES!!!!  How long did this take me.  The better part of the afternoon.  Worth it?  You bet.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE - Where Can You Find Them?

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

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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