52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #4–Elizabeth Gaydon Burgess–1813-1884–My 3rd great grandmother

Me visiting Elizabeth in 2007

Elizabeth Gaydon is my 3rd great grandmother.  She was born

30 Jan 1813 in Barnstaple, Devon, England. 

Her parents were Richard Gaydon and Mary Thomas

Here is the index for the baptismal record.  No image has been located.
Devon Baptisms
First name(s)    Eliza
Last name    Gaydon
Baptism year    1813
Birth year    1813
Birth date   30 Jan 1813
Father's first name    Richard
Father's occupation    Mason
Mother's first name    Mary
Baptism place    Barnstaple St Peter
Residence    Barnstaple
County    Devon
Record set    Devon Baptisms
Category    Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Record collection   Births & baptisms
Collections from    Great Britain

The next record I have for Elizabeth is her marriage to Henry Burgess on 14 Nov 1832 in Barnstaple, Devon, England.


NOTE:  I began looking for the marriage record of Elizabeth and Henry Burgess in July 2009.  At the time I did not know what Elizabeth’s maiden name was.  I found several records that were possible, but Henry Burgess is a common name and of course, so is Elizabeth.  I keep research notes in my Legacy database and I date each entry.  Here’s the entry from my notes when I located the marriage record and my conclusions as to why I believed it to be the correct one.  Keeping research notes is critical for us as we look for information on our ancestors
.
7/18/14 - I believe I have just located the correct marriage record on FindMyPast.co.uk.  I believe this based on the name of the groom - Henry Burgess, the place - Barnstaple, the county - Devon, the year of marriage is before the recorded birth year of the first child - 1832 and the bride's name is Elizabeth Gaydon - I have her name as Elizabeth Gaden from the death certificate of their daughter Susan.

Devon Marriages from FindMyPast website 
No image available
First name(s)  Henry
Last name  Burgess
Marriage year  1832
Marriage date   14 Nov 1832
Parish  Barnstaple
Place   Barnstaple
Spouse's first name(s  )Elizabeth
Spouse's last name  Gaydon
County    Devon
Record setDevon Marriages
CategoryBirth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Record collectionMarriages & divorces
Collections from    Great Britain

Henry & Elizabeth had 3 children that I know of – William Gayden Burgess born 27 Nov 1835, John born about 1837 (married Jane Browning) and my 2nd great grandmother, Susan born 20 Nov 1841 and lived to the age of 91.

I find Henry and Elizabeth enumerated in the 1851 and 1861 census in Tiverton, Devon, England.

Here’s the 1851 census.  From my post 2 weeks ago about Thomas Gillespie, you’ll note that Thomas and his family are living next door to the Burgess family.  Susan Burgess later married Joseph Gillespie.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE IN THIS POST, TO ENLARGE IT)


Here’s the Burgess family in the 1861 English census.  The children are out of the house, but I notice the same boarder that was with them in 1851, Charlotte Rudaway. I wonder if she is a relative?


Elizabeth is next found as the person who paid for her daughter Susan and husband Joseph Gillespie and their two children to come to the United States on 23 Dec 1862.
  
Source for this information came from a book I purchased titled Passage to America 1851-1869: The Record of Richard Elliott, Passenger Agent, Detroit, Michigan, by Mary Lou Straith Duncan  My family is listed on page 68.  This book was published by the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research c/o Burton Historical Collection.  The ISBN is 0-943112-22-2.  You can find the book here.  Scroll down to the 12th item on the page.

The transcript from page 68 gives the following information:
Date: 23 Dec 1862
No. 3120
By Whom Paid – Mrs. Elizabeth Burgess
Port of Departure – Liverpool
Destination – Detroit
Passenger’s Names – Joseph Gillespie, Susan Gillespie, 2 infts
Total cost – 56.00 (there is no notation as to what currency)

There are two Elizabeth Burgess’ listed on other pages in this book.  One is on page 64, item 3026, travel date 27 May 1862.  The other on page 113, item 4219, travel date 16 Aug 1866.  Could either one of these be our Elizabeth?  Since no ages or other identifying information is given, it’s difficult to determine.  I find no passenger records to go along with these dates.

In the 1880 census I find Elizabeth Burgess living with her daughter Susan and husband Joseph at 71 Jones St., Detroit, Michigan.

QUESTIONS: 

• When did Henry Burgess die?  I have looked on FindMyPast, Ancestry and Family Search for a death record and cannot find one.  Plenty of Henry Burgess’ but which one is the right one?
• When did Elizabeth Burgess come over to the U.S.?  Based on the information in the book referenced above, she did not travel with her daughter, Susan and family as only 2 adults are listed and paid for.  However, there are two other listing for Elizabeth Burgess in the book.  Could one of them be her?

I located the notice of Elizabeth’s funeral. This notice was published in the Detroit Free Press, Sunday, May 18, 1884, page 1.  It reads as follows:

“BURGESS – At the residence of her son-in-law, J. Gillespie, 71 Jones street, on Friday, May 18, at ___o’clock p.m, Mrs. Elizabeth Burgess, aged 70 years, after a long and painful illness.  The funeral will take place on Monday afternoon at ___o’clock from residence.  Friends of the family invited to attend.”

I don’t know what the “painful illness” was.  The death certificate I received from the State of Michigan is woefully lacking in detail.  I would like to see the actual register entry for her death and will look for it on my next visit to the Family History Library.



I was able to locate a copy of Elizabeth’s probate record.
 
Here is the cover of the will packet.


Here is the first page of the probate record and my transcription of it.

PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATOR

To the Hon. Edgar O. Durfee, Judge of Probate for the County of Wayne, in the State of Michigan:

            The Petition of Susan Gillespie who is the age of twenty-one years and upwards, of the County of Wayne of State of Michigan respectfully shows:

            That Elizabeth Burgess departed this life on Friday the Sixteenth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four leaving her last Will and Testament, as your petitioner is informed and verily believes.

That said deceased was, at the time of her death, an inhabitant of the City of Detroit in said County of Wayne and State of Michigan that she was possessed of real and personal Estate, situate and being in the County of Wayne, to be administered, and that the estimated value thereof is the sum of One Thousand Dollars, or thereabout, of which Fifty Dollars is personal estate, as your petitioner is informed and verily believes.

            And your petitioner further shows that the names and residences of the heirs of law of said deceased, and other persons interested in said estate are as follows:

            Susan Gillespie, Detroit County Wayne Mich.

            William Burgess     “         “          “           “

            John Burgess         “         “          “           “

            Susan Milne           “         “          “           “

           

            Said Susan, William and John Burgess being children of said deceased and said Susan Milne being a grandchild of said deceased and lega__ under said will.

            Your petitioner therefore prays That said will which is placed on file for probate may be allowed and that admistration [misspelled on form] of said estate may be granted to Edwin F. Culver the _______________ named and that such other further order and proceedings may be had in the premises as may be required by the statues in such case made and provided.

            Dated May 21^st A.D. 1994

                                                                            Susan Gillespie (signature)

I was able to visit Elizabeth’s burial place in Detroit, when I went there in June 2007.  She is buried at Elmwood Cemetery near her daughter, Susan and son-in-law Joseph Gillespie.  The back of her headstone says “wife of Henry Burgess died May 16, 1884 aged 69 years.”

 

You can see the front of her headstone in the picture at the top of this post.

You may visit her FindAGrave memorial here #2177653.

I still don’t know anything, other than names, for Elizabeth’s parents or if she had any siblings. Work yet to be done.

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post, please contact me, we might be cousins.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Aboyne Parish Kirkyard in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

My husband and I were fortunate to be able to travel to Scotland in 2014.  It was the trip of a lifetime for me.  We had been to Europe before, but never to Scotland.

My thirteen plus years of family research, combined with family stories gave me deep roots in Scotland.

Through my research I had learned that my maternal 3rd great grandparents, Charles Milne and Margaret Ritchie are buried at Aboyne Parish Kirkyard.

We arrived in Aboyne and made our way to the churchyard. What a beautiful site we saw.
 

Beside and behind the church are all the headstones.

It was raining just a little bit, but I was on a mission.  I had to find the headstone for my 3rd great grandparents, Charles & Margaret.  I looked and looked and looked some more.  Of course I was distracted by all the headstones and all the names and I stopped to read so many of them.
 
FINALLY!!!  I glanced down at a headstone in the shape of a cross and there they were. 
How easy it would have been to miss this discovery.

That's me - so happy and the photo on the right is my husband

In the short time we had to spend at the cemetery I began taking as many photos as I could of other headstones.  I had already checked on FindAGrave.com and I knew there were only a handful of headstones that had been photographed and entered on the site.

I have the book, The Kirkyard of Aboyne, published by the Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society.  The society publishes a large number of books.

There are currently 207 interments listed on the FindAGrave page for this cemetery.  Only 55% are photographed.  When I returned home I added 118 memorials and photos to this website.  I’m hoping that family members of those listed will find the memorials.  I will happily transfer any memorial not related to me (which is most of them).
 
This was an exciting trip for me and the first time I had visited the grave site of ancestors buried in Europe.
 
Have you made similar trips?  If so, where to and what did you find?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

My Trip to Scotland - What I Did Right and What I Did Wrong

Photo Friday - Can You Help Me Identify This Man? - Photo taken in Aberdeen, Scotland

All pictures shown here were taken by me or my husband

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS ~ Week #3–My great grandfather–William Wallace Lindsay 1859-1931 (a bit of a mystery)

Headshot of William W. Lindsay cropped from group photo

Today’s post is about my great grandfather, William Wallace Lindsay. 

Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow who writes No Story Too Small, for this theme.

William Wallace Lindsay was born on 18 Oct 1859 in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland to William Lindsay (abt 1830 - 4 Jul 1898) and Mary Wallace (abt 1832 – 17 May 1895)

Here is his birth record from Scotland

Birth record for William Lindsay - Scotland, 18 Oct 1859

There were 6 known children born to William & Mary as follows:

1. Robert (1852-1911)
2. Mary Ann (abt 1853 – bef 1898)
3. John (abt 1856 – bef 1901)
4. Elizabeth “Betsy” (1857-1931)
5. William Wallace  - my great grandfather
6. Richard “Dick” (1862-1937)

I find my William living with his family, in Dundee, Angus, Scotland, in the 1861 & 1871 Scottish census.  His father worked as a Linen Weaver.  By 1881 William is living as a boarder in the Euphemia Lamb household, aged 22, unmarried, with no occupation listed.

In the 1882 Detroit City Directory I located William W. Lindsay boarding at 19 Elizabeth e., working as a clk at Am Nat Bank.  Three entries above him on the page is Robert Lindsay, boarding with John McRobbie (Robert was married to an Isabella McRobbie for a short time, but we don’t know much about that family)

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


My question when I look at city directories, is always, who else is living at the same address as my ancestor?

In this case I find a Jane Lindsay (wid James) also boarding at 19 Elizabeth e.  How is Jane Lindsay?  How might she be related to us?  I have no James and no Jane in my database.

I don’t have an immigration record for my grandfather, William and his brother Robert for the time period preceding this city directory listing.  My information has him coming to the U.S. in 1886.

Further research has me coming to the conclusion that the William W. listed in this directory is not my William W.  I have excluded him after finding a U.S. census record for 1880 that lists Jane Lindsay and her son, William W., bank clerk.  Every record I have for my William W. gives his parents names as William & Mary (not James & Jane).
   
NOTE:  Sometimes we can go down a wrong path because names and dates are close matches.  In this case I was able to come to a negative conclusion and eliminate the incorrect information.

On 28 Apr 1886 I have a ship manifest for William Lindsay on the ship State of Indiana.  Also on this same ship, on another page is Bessie Fitzcharles.  I know that Elizabeth Fitzcharles went by the name “Bessie” and I have several records showing that nickname, including her headstone.

Here are the ship manifests showing William and Bessie.

Ship manifest for William Lindsay 1886

Ship manifest for Bessie Fitzcharles 1886

William & Bessie were married in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan on 21 May 1886, just 24 days after their arrival in the U.S.

Marriage record for William Lindsay and Bessie Fitzcharles - 1886, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

My records originally indicated 4 children born to this couple.  However, I later discovered they may have had 5 children.  While I was growing up, I was only aware that my grandmother had 2 sisters and one brother.  That fifth child may have been stillborn or died shortly after birth.  However, since a court record and one census record list 5 children born to the couple, I have included this child as “unknown” in my database.

The known children were: Ellen W. (1887-1927), Marie Wallace (my grandmother) (1888-1970), Bessie (1892-1971) and William “Bill” (1894-1976).

Here is a family photo showing William & Elizabeth with their 4 children.  This is the only photo I have of my great grandfather, William Wallace Lindsay.  Although my family took lots of pictures throughout the years he was alive, I haven’t found any others of him.

The William Lindsay family - circa 1896  Standing in the back are Ellen & Bessie Lindsay - seated is William W. Lindsay holding his son William Lindsay - the girl in the front on the right is my grandmother, Marie and behind her is Bessie

I find William & Elizabeth with four children in the 1900 census in Detroit.  He is working as a Machinist.
 
In the 1910 census I find William Sr. age 49 and his 15 year old son, William, Jr. living in the Roller household in Detroit.  This is evidence that there might have been trouble in the marriage as I find his wife, “Mrs. Elizabeth Lindsay”, working as a housekeeper in the home of Christ Hough and living in Mt. Clements, Macomb, Michigan.  Two doors from her is Charles Hart who is connected to my Gould family.  This is also one of the records that lists her as the mother of 5 children, of whom 4 are living.

On 18 May 1912 my great grandparents divorce was made final.  It was William who filed for the divorce and the grounds were “cruelty.”

Divorce record for William & Elizabeth Lindsay - 18 MAY 1912 date of final judgement

Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952
Name:William Lindsay
Marriage Date:21 May 1886
Marriage Place:Detroit, Michigan
Decree Date:18 May 1912
Decree Place:Wayne, Michigan, USA
Spouse Name:    Elizabeth Lindsay
State File Number:40,660
Number of Children:5
Divorce Status:Granted

I next find William listed in the 1914 Detroit city directory.  Working as a Machinist and living on Labadie Ave.  I also located William in the 1916, 1918, 1919 and 1920 city directory listing for Detroit.  He is working as a Machinist or Operator in each listing.

I cannot locate him in the 1920 U.S. Federal census, but not for lack of trying.

Both my cousin, Paula, and myself believe that we have located a marriage record for William in the Ontario Marriages on 8 Jan 1912.

This would have been prior to his divorce from Bessie.  
Here is the record we found.

Marriage record for William W. Lindsay and Sarah Fearnley - 8 Jan 1912

I have created a red box around identifying items on this record.  I have indicated with a red star items in conflict with what we know.

List of identifying items:
Name – William W. Lindsay
Place of Birth – Mich. (William W. Lindsay was born in Scotland)
Nationality – Amer. (this could be true as he applied for citizenship)
Bachelor or Widower – W (indicating he is a widower, which he isn’t)
Age 49
Religious denomination – Pres.
Name in full of Father – Wm. Lindsay
Rank or profession of Father – Machinist
Name and maiden name of Mother – Mary Wallace
Status in #5 on this form – Widower (again, he is not a widower)

NOTE: It seemed to be a Lindsay family tradition, in some cases, to go over to Canada from Detroit to get married.  But, it seems that was only the tradition if the marriage was somehow questionable.  Two of William’s daughters, Bessie and Marie were married in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  One listed herself as a spinster, when she wasn’t, and we believe the other one was pregnant at the time of her marriage in 1912.

I have tried to locate any other record with William & Sarah in it and I am unable to.

William’s ex-wife, Bessie, died on 11 Jul 1914 in Detroit.  Her cause of death was carcinoma of the jaw.  She was 49 years old.
 
The last record I have for William when he was living, is the 1930 census.  He is living with his daughter, Bessie and her family at 9416 Burnett in Detroit, Michigan.  He is listed as a widower.

William died on 23 Apr 1931 in Detroit.  His cause of death was Cerebral hemorrhage.  He is buried in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit along with other Lindsay family members.  

His ex-wife Bessie is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery with her daughter Marie Lindsay Gould and other Gould family members.

Here is his death certificate.  This was provided to me by the State of Michigan and was the best copy they could offer.

Death certificate for William W. Lindsay - 1931

I have an obituary and a funeral notice for William Wallace Lindsay.  These were shared with me by my cousin, Marian.
 


There is a memorial on FindAGrave for William, but no photo of his headstone.  My cousin, Marian and I have been to Woodmere Cemetery to the Lindsay section.  At that time we could not locate a headstone.  I later learned that it was buried 12” down.  A member of the cemetery staff found it.  It has not been photographed.

His cemetery card states that he was buried on 25 Apr 1931 in the South Lake Section, Lot 16.  No grave number is listed.

FindAGrave #21178174

My thoughts – I used to hear my grandmother, Marie, William’s daughter, talk about her family.  I don’t remember her talking much about her father.  Why?  Was there a lot of bitterness after he divorced Bessie?  William had at least 8 grandchildren, most of whom were in Detroit, including my father.  Why is he not seen in any of our family photos?  I’d like to know more, but maybe I never will.

If you are connected to this family in any way, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Breaking Down a Brick Wall - Finding Elizabeth Fitzcharles' Parents - my 10 year search ends

Birth Records with Incorrect Names - What Would You Think?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

IT’S INAUGURATION DAY ~ How many Presidents were in office during my father’s lifetime? Let's use Legacy 8 to find out

It’s an amazing day in history. Every four years our country peacefully transfers power from one person to another (unless a President is chosen for a second term).  This process has been taking place since the election of George Washington, our first President.  It makes me very proud to be an American.

Today I asked myself – how many Presidents were elected/in office during the lifetime of my parents?  How about my grandparents?  Or me?  I’ll use my Dad as an example.

To find out, I used my Legacy 8 database.

Select the Chronology tab, then click on “Options” in the lower right corner.  You can customize your Chronology in many ways.  I will concentrate on the “Include” tab and choose “Select” under Other Options, as shown here.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


Note, that you can even change the color of this display, by clicking on the “color” box above my red arrow.  This determines what color the item will show up as, in your timeline.  You can change all the colors in your timeline.

When you hit the “select” icon another screen comes up.  Note all your options on this screen.



Now let’s click on the “Add a Timeline File.”

There are 51 different historical items for you to choose from on this list.  When you highlight one of them, the description field at the bottom tells you about that event.



Here is a screen shot of my Dad’s timeline without any historical events.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


Here is a screen shot of my Dad’s timeline with the historical event “U.S. Presidents” added.  I’ve marked the first 3.



You can see how valuable this display option can be for putting your ancestor in a place and time.  Want to know which wars went on during their lifetime, which amendments to the constitution were passed, which items were invented or any other of the 51 timeline options.

My Dad was born during the Presidency of William Howard Taft, the 27th President.  He died during the term of our 41st President, George H. W. Bush.

Which Presidents were in office during your lifetime or your parents?

Have you ever used the historical timeline in you genealogy software program?  If so, what did you discover?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

NEVER MARRIED ~ How many people do I have in my database who never married?

Let’s take a look and see who in our family is listed as never having been married?

The first thing I did was go to the “Search” tab in Legacy and select “Find.”  This allows me to enter the criteria for my search.



This search created a list.  The first time I did it, I had 17 people.  I noticed right away that two of my ancestors, whom I know did not marry, were not on the list.  This means I had not checked the appropriate box in Legacy, to indicate this condition.  I went back into Legacy and checked the box and then created a new list.
 
TIP:  The box that is checked in Legacy to indicate that a person wasn’t married and had no children is located on the Individual’s Information screen.  However, I would like to see the wording changed.  Right now it says “This individual has no relationships and no children.”   It would be nice to have two boxes – one that says “never married” and the other “no children.”  We may not know the name of another party involved with our ancestor and the ancestor may well have had children and not named the other parent.

Please note that there are two boxes to check in the Marriage/Relationship screen – one for “This couple did not marry” and the other “This couple had no children”




Here is the list created by Legacy showing the names of those 19 individuals in my database for whom that box is checked.



There are 5070 people in my Legacy database.  So, this cannot be a complete list of those individuals who never married.
 
We can perhaps, assume anyone who died young (under 15) would never have married.  However, I obviously didn’t check the box for those individuals, or they would be on this list.  Yes, some people may have married prior to that, but that number would be quite small, if any. 

What other type of list can I create that would help me with this statistic?  What I’m trying to find is a search by age.  I am unable to locate this particular criteria in the search conditions listed in Legacy.

Therefore, I am unable to create a list of those who are under 15 and go back and check the “never married” box.
 
Can any of you think of another way to check this statistic?

This little exercise today has made me aware that I need to make sure I mark all appropriate boxes in each person’s information screen.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

HERE IS A LINK TO ALL MY LEGACY TIPS 8 TIPS

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS–Week #2–Thomas Gillespie–My 3rd Great Grandfather-1794-1868

I’ll start this post off by saying that I have limited information about the life of my 3rd great grandfather, Thomas Gillespie.  Here’s what I do know.

Thomas was born about 1794 in Stenton, Derbyshire, England possibly to Robert Gillespie and Elizabeth (maiden name not known).  My source for the parent’s is information I received from another researcher.  I have not been able to verify the information, yet.

Thomas married Susannah BARROWCLIFF in 1815 in Wilne, Derbyshire, England.  Here is the only image for that marriage that I currently have, from Pallots Marriage Index 1780-1837, found on Ancestry.com.



Here is a map of the area where Derbyshire is located in England.  Also on this map is the location of Devonshire, where this family moves to after the birth of their son, John in 1821 and before the birth of twins, Joseph and Robert in 1825.



I have located baptismal records for some of the children.  The children I have so far, for this couple are:

David, baptized 12 Jan 1817 in Derbyshire, died in 1866 in Tiverton, Devonshire
John, baptized 14 Feb 1819 in Derbyshire
William, baptized 29 Apr 1821 in Derbyshire
Twins, Joseph and Robert, born 23 Oct 1825 in Devonshire (I believe they may have died young and two other children were later named after them)
Robert, born about 1828 married Elizabeth COSWAY in 1849
Mary A. baptized 13 Sep 1829 in Devonshire
Thomas, born about 1832 in Devonshire, married Sophia CARPTENTER
Richard born about 1836 in Devonshire, married Eliza Jane PATTERSON in 1854
Joseph (my 2nd great grandfather), born 11 Apr 1837 in Devonshire, married Susan BURGESS on 24 Dec 1859 in Tiverton, Devon, England and immigrated to the United States in 23 Dec 1862 with his wife and their oldest child, also named Susan.

That’s 9 boys and 1 girl.  According to a letter written to me, by my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne (who was the family historian before me), there were 12 boys and 1 girl born to this couple.  I’m still looking for 3 more boys.

I’ve located Thomas and Susannah and their family in the 1841 and 1851 English census records.  They were living in Tiverton, Devon at the time.  I have not been able to locate this family in the 1861 English census.
 
Here is the 1841 census.  This shows Thomas and Susannah with their children, William, Mary, Robert, Thomas, Richard and Joseph.  Thomas is working in the Lace industry, which fits with other records I have for him.



Here’s a close up of the family.



Here’s the family in the 1851 census. 

 
NOTE:  Living next door are Henry Burgess and his family.  Among the children in the Burgess household is a daughter named Susan.  She married Joseph Gillespie on 24 Dec 1859 and became my 2nd great grandmother.
 
Also of note in this census is a granddaughter named Mary A., age 8.  This would put her birth about 1843.  My original thought was that she was the daughter of Mary Ann Gillespie.  However, Mary Ann would have been 14 at the time of the birth.  Certainly not impossible.  I don’t have a husband for Mary Ann Gillespie, nor have I found other records for her.  So is Mary A. the 8 yr. old hers?  Or is she the daughter of one of the brothers and just named after Mary Ann?

The only other record I have for Thomas is a death record.  He died 16 Jan 1868, age 74 years.  His occupation is listed as Foreman of Silk department, Lace Manufactory.  He died of Bronchitis.  I obtained this record by sending a request to the General Register Office.



I have located no records for the death of Thomas’ wife, Susannah.  I also have no burial location for Thomas.  I’ve always wished the UK death records list the burial locations, as do many of the U.S. records.

I would certainly love to hear from any of you that may be related to either the Gillespie or the Burgess families.  With all those sons, there have to be many descendants.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - My grandmother's journal with info & photos of Susan Burgess

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - With info & photos of Joseph Gillespie

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ The marriage record of my great grandmother, Susan Gillespie and her 2nd husband, Clyde J. Smith - 1904

My great grandmother, Susan Anne Gillespie married her second husband Clyde J. “C.J.” Smith on 11 Apr 1904 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  She had lost her first husband, my great grandfather, Andrew Charles Milne to tuberculosis in Dec 1892.  It must have been a very sad time, as Susan was pregnant with their fourth child, a daughter, who was born in Jun 1893, seven months after the death of Andrew Milne.
 
Other records that I have for Susan indicate that her middle name was Anne.  This record and her death certificate give her middle name as Mary.

One of the interesting things about the marriage of Susan and Clyde, is the age difference.  Susan was 43 years old at the time of the marriage and Clyde was just 25 years old.  This is the first time, in our family, I’ve found a wife that much older than a husband.
I always wonder how people met.  That is one of the questions I would ask all of my ancestors….if only I could.

Here is the handwritten marriage record for this couple.  One thing I noted on this record is that their ages appear to differ from what I have in other records for them.  I have Clyde being born in 1878, which would make his age 26 at the time of the marriage.  This record gives his age as 32.  I have Susan being born in 1860, making her age at the time of the marriage 44.  This record indicates she was 38.  They each changed their age by 6 years.



I have found no record of any children born to this couple.  Susan’s two living children would have been 21 and 11 at the time of the marriage.  My grandfather, Joseph A. Milne, age 21 in 1904, is listed in the Detroit City Directory listing as living at the same address as Clyde J. Smith.

Clyde worked as an Electrician and a Mechanical Engineer, according to the 1920 census and various city directory listings.  I have yet to be able to find Clyde & Susan in the 1910 census.  I looked again today with no luck.

Unfortunately, Susan became a widow for the second time when Clyde died of a brain tumor on 14 Nov 1927, in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  He was only 49 years old at the time of his death.
 
Susan did not remarry, but lived another 20 years, passing away at age 87 on 12 Nov 1947 in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan. 
Both Clyde and Susan are buried at Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit.  In the same plot are her first husband, Andrew Charles Milne, their stillborn son, A.C. Milne and Joseph Milne’s oldest daughter, Dorothy, who died at age 13.  Sadly, there are no headstones for any of them.
 
One of my goals is to somehow find a way (aka the money) to erect a headstone in memory of these five family members who deserve to be remembered.  Here are the FindAGrave memorials for Clyde #39725148 and Susan #39725085.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Andrew Charles Milne & Susan Anne Gillespie - married in 1880

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - Birth & Death Dates from my Grandmother's Journal - July - including Susan Smith nee Gillespie

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

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