Friday, March 27, 2020

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Hospital Register for Deaths of Volunteers in the Civil War–J.W. Frampton died 1864


I’ve located a Civil War hospital record for J. W. Frampton.  This record was located on Ancestry.com U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865  I’ve not seen these hospital registers before.  I was actually searching for records of another Frampton ancestor when I saw this one.

FRAMPTON_J W_hospital death record_1864_Pennsylvania_annotated

This record is indexed as J. H. Frampton.  I believe in looking at this record, and comparing the “H” and “W” written on it, that this is J.W. Frampton.

Name: J H Frampton
Death Date: 6 Jun 1864
Death Place: 2 Corps Field Hospital
Enlistment State: Pennsylvania
Rank: Private
Company: I
Regiment: 84 Penn Inft
Box Number: 49

Here is John's headstone from FindAGrave #40243488
Headstone for John W. Frampton and his brother Isaac - used with permission from Caz who placed the image on FindAGrave
This man died of a gunshot wound.  I have Framptons who originated in Pennsylvania and later moved to Ohio and Virginia/West Virginia.  Is this young man one of them?  At this point I don’t know.  Further research is needed.
 
Have you seen these hospital records before?  It seems like I’m always turning up new records.  Think how many are online that we don’t know about. Will we ever see them all?  I doubt it.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION










Tuesday, March 24, 2020

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Jacob Cooper found dead from exposure–Dec 1827, New York

Jacob Cooper is my 4th great grandfather.  He died at age 33, from exposure, as stated in the article below.

The Geneva NY Palladium - 12 Dec 1827

Here is my transcription of the article:

Intoxication - A man named Jacob Cooper perished in Conquest, Cayuga county, N.Y. a few days since, from being exposed to the cold while intoxicated.  He had been at a husking frolic and was not able to reach his home.  His family did not go to seek him until the morning when they found him lifeless.

At this time, Jacob and his wife Mary “Polly” BYRNE Cooper had 6 children at home.  The oldest Lany was 12 (she is my 3rd great grandmother) and the youngest was Deborah Jane, an infant born that same year, 1827.  Imagine how difficult it must have been for this family.
 
I don’t have any records that tell me what Jacob did for a living.  However, a later probate record does reveal he owned some land.  I hope that was able to give some relief, financially, to the widow and her six children.

Mary did remarry four years later to Benjamin COSGROVE and they had 3 children together.

For more about Jacob’s daughter, my 3rd great grandmother, please read this post about my search for her parents.  I was so very happy to finally take this family back several more generations - MYSTERY MONDAY–Who’s Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #6–Lany Cooper Thorp 1815-1886-SOLVED! 

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, March 20, 2020

FRIDAY FINDS ~ My Dad’s World War II Draft Registration Card–1940, Detroit, Michigan


My Dad was born on the last day of 1912.  I had always wondered why I couldn’t locate a World War II Draft Registration card for him.  I thought they had all been put online.  After all, I found the registration cards for my grandfather’s, uncles etc.
 
It turns out that all the images for this record set were not online.  Who knew?  Randy Seaver wrote about this in his Genea-Musings blog.

Off I went to see if I could find this record for my Dad.  Sure enough, there it was. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 - Harry Norman Gould

This record gives me a little more information about my Dad and his first wife, Elaine.  The address listed here, 18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Michigan, is different than the address listed in the 1940 census.  The date of this registration is 16 Oct 1940.  The 1940 census is dated 16 Apr 1940 and this couple is living at 12892 Faust Ave., Detroit, Michigan.  They are said to have been at that address in 1935, as well.  So, between April & October 1940, they had moved.
  
What information is available on this record?

Serial Number 3106, Order Number 1217
Harry Norman Gould
18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Wayne, Mich.
Telephone VE 5-7622
Age 27 years
Place of birth – Detroit, Mich.
Date of birth – 12-31-12
Country of citizenship – U.S.
Name of person who will always know your address – Mrs. Elaine Gertrude Gould, wife
Address of that person – 18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Wayne, Michgan
Employer’s name – Wayne County Auditors
Place of employment – County Bldg., Detroit, Wayne, Mich.
Race – white
Height – 6’ 1 1/2”
Weight – 183
Eyes – Blue
Hair – Brown
Complexion – light
Scars – None

If I didn’t already know my Dad’s physical description, this is certainly a wonderful source.

Here is a screenshot courtesy of Google Maps showing the home at 18286 Ferguson.  I wonder what it looked like in 1940?

  
I enjoy collecting signatures from as many ancestors as possible.  I already have my Dad’s from a later record.  How much had it changed over the years?

Left signature from 1940 and right from 1971

What interesting or unknown information have you found in the various draft card registration files?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Monday, March 16, 2020

AMANUENSIS MONDAY ~ The will of John VAUGHT (1761-1813)–husband of my maternal 5th great grandaunt and father of 11 children


What does Amanuensis mean anyway?
To put it simply, it means a “person employed to write what another dictates or copy what has been written by another.”
There are 24 people with the VAUGHT surname in my tree. Five of them bear that name through marriage.

Today I’m writing about John VAUGHT who married my 5th great grandaunt, Elizabeth MARTIN in about 1784 in Pennsylvania.  John’s brother, Gilbert Vaught married Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Martin.  It’s not unusual, as we know, for families to intermarry back then.  It’s less common as we go into the 20th century.

John Vaught was the son of Christian Vaught & Hannah Crum.  He was born in Maryland on 15 Dec 1761.1  He married Elizabeth Martin in 1784.2 John is listed in the Indiana DAR book on page 660 as having been in “Pvt in Capt. Wm. Wilson's Co. on duty in Penn's Valley in 1781.”

NOTE/TIP:  I had located a transcription of John Vaught’s will a few years ago.  While it is always nice to find such a thing, I don't like to settle for just a transcription if I don’t have to.  I would much prefer to see the actual entry in a will book, which may include additional information.  I would also prefer to transcribe the will myself.  Sure enough, today, I hunted until I located the images on Family Search.  The will was located in Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990, Muhlenberg, Will records, 1801-1814, Vol. 1, pages 170-173

(Click on any image to enlarge it)


Here is my transcription of the will of John Vaught in 1813

In the name of God Amen. I, John Vought, of the county of Muhlenberg and state of Kentucky being in low in health but of sound mind & memory do constitute and ordain this my last will and testament.

First of all I commit my soul to the Almighty God who gave it and my body I request to be buried in a Christian manner by my executors.


And as touching my worldly affects wherewith it has bin please God to gave I gave and bequeath them in a manner and form as as follows (viz.)


After all my just debts is paid First of all I gave and to my beloved wife, Elizabeth, the plantation whereon I now live during her natural life time & her widowhood together with all my farming utensils & stock of all kinds and all the household and kitchen furniture except such as I shall hereafter mention.


Secondly, I gave and bequeath to my daughter, Margaret, one horse and saddle and two cows also her equal part of all my estate at the decease of my widow including the above as part of her portion.
I also gave and bequeath to my son Abraham two hundred and fifty acres of land bought of Peter Myers, he the said Abraham is to pay fifteen dollars to my estate in good trade And it is further understood that this is his full portion of my estate.


I also gave and bequeath to my son, John, one hundred acres of land on the waters Rocky Creek entered and surveyed in the name of Benjamin Biggerstaff and patented in his name. I also gave a mare and one horse & saddle one cow and her increase which is to be considered as his full portion of my estate the above property he the said John has already received and has in his possession.


I also gave and bequeath to my daughter, Eleanor, one horse & saddle & two cows.


I also gave and bequeath to my daughter, Polly, one horse, saddle & two cows to to be raised at the expense of my estate.
It is also my will at the decease of my widow that the whole of my land and other property left be sold and equally divided among my children namely, Margaret Smith, Eleanor & Polly, Francis, Simon & Martin, Samuel & Christopher, the property mention & gave to Eleanor & Polly is considered a part of my equal proportion of my estate.


It is further to be understood that I have hereunto gave my son Abraham one mare & saddle which is also to be considered a part of his portion of my estate.


I do further ordain this my last will and testament revoking all others heretofore made by me and I do also constitute and appoint Elias Smith & my son John Vaught executors to this my last will. In witness thereof I have set my hand & seal in the presence of us June 11th day 1813.



The above & foregoing will was exhibited into court by the executors therein named and proven by the oaths of Gilbert Vaught and Thomas Foster two subscribing witnesses thereto to be the act and deed of John Vaught decd. whereupon the same is admitted to record.
Att. Chs. F. Wing C.M.C.


Question - John’s will mentions 10 of the 11 children I have listed for him in my tree.  The only one not mentioned is Daniel, born about 1794.  Did he die?  Was he out of favor?  Had he already been given his portion of the estate?

With so many Vaught’s in my tree I am learning more and more about this family all the time.

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post, I’d love to hear from you.

Sources: 1 - Raymond Martin Bell, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Families & Records before 1800 Supplement  (N.p) Supplement: 16a in the original book.; 2 - U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, March 13, 2020

FOLLOW UP FRIDAY ~ Did my great granduncle, Richard Lindsay, win that election I wrote about last month?


Last month I wrote about my paternal great granduncle, Richard Lindsay, receiving a sprig of heather from a family member in South Africa.  This was to wish him good luck in his bid to win an election to City Clerk in the City of Detroit.  You can read that post here ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Will a sprig of heather from South Africa bring victory to Richard Lindsay at the polls?

Did he win?  Yes!
Detroit Free Press, 7 Nov 1912, page 1

This article from the Detroit Free Press lists election results for Mayor and City Clerk of the City of Detroit.

CITY CLERK
(162 Precincts)
Lindsay (Rep)………………………….27,205
Nichols (Pro)…………………………..17,327
Henderson (Dem)……………………..16,029

Transcription of the last paragraph in the article:

Another surprise came in the “whopping” run of Lindsay, for clerk.  He led City Clerk Nichols by 10,000 and Henderson, Democratic by 11,009.  Nichols drew more than twice as many votes as Earle and yet was behind his victorious opponent by a figure almost as large as that by which Marx defeated Thompson in the mayoralty race. Thus doth the busy voter wield the ax.

Did that sprig of heather from South Africa play a part in Mr. Lindsay’s victory?  We’ll never know.

Richard was still the City Clerk when he was enumerated in the 1920 census.
 

Please get in touch with me if you have any questions or are related to anyone mentioned in this post.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ A Find at the Family History Library during Rootstech–William Gillen & Caroline Rosell, married 1859


As I wrote in a previous post, about my preparation for Rootstech and the Family History Library, I take a list of things I'd like to locate.  You can read about my preparation here PREPARING FOR ROOTSTECH 10 ~ THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN.....Here's What I'm Doing...

One of the images I shared was from page 5 of my 7 pages of items I hoped to find.The marriage of William Gillen & Caroline Rosell.  I had located a film number on the Family Search site, but the film can only be viewed at the FHL.
The film was online at the library (only viewable if you're there in person), so I didn’t have to pull it and use a machine to view it.  I brought it up on the computer, film #000338048, and scrolled to the correct location on the film and THERE IT WAS!


William Gillen is the son of my 3rd great granduncle, John Gillen (1804-1880) and his wife Nancy Miller (1815-1913).  He was the oldest child of 9 born to this couple.  William’s father raised those 9 children working as a farmer for most of his life.

William & Caroline were enumerated next to his parents in the 1860 census, along with their 7 month old son, Clinton.  William worked as a farm laborer.  Was he helping his Dad on the farm?  I suspect he may have been.

Now is where my questions begin.  I have not been able to locate William in the 1870 or 1880 census.  No sign of Caroline either.  BUT, I do find their son, Clinton, living with his grandparents, John & Nancy in both the 1870 and 1880 census in Illinois.
 
According to William’s death notice, he moved to New Orleans in about 1861, when Clinton was just a toddler.  What happened to Caroline? Why was Clinton raised by his grandparents?
 
William is enumerated in the 1900 census with a wife named Cassie.  The census states they’ve been married for 25 years.  This puts the marriage long after William & Caroline’s marriage.

I’ve spent the past hour going through newspapers, census records and cemetery memorials trying to find out where or when Caroline may have died.  I've also looked for any records of the marriage of William to a Cassie in about 1875.  I have been unsuccessful.  BUT, I’ve located a lot of other newspaper articles about William aka Capt. William Gillen’s time piloting river boats out of New Orleans.

For now, I’ll be satisfied to post this marriage record.  I’ll keep searching for more information about William and his two wives.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST


Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Thursday, March 5, 2020

ROOTSTECH 2020 ~ The classes I took and scenes from the conference–See you next year


Most of you know that, like other conferences, Rootstech provides an app for your mobile devices.  It’s a great way to keep track of your schedule, your friends, what’s currently going on at the conference and provides interactive maps to help you navigate.
I can look back at My Schedule now and see which classes I attended and review my notes.
 
For me, the conference isn’t necessarily about going to as many classes as I can.  I will choose the ones of most interest to me and spend the rest of my time either in the Expo Hall or over at the Family History Library.  It’s kind of like when Ron and I cruise.  We don’t like to be wall to wall busy every day.

Here are the classes I attended.  Each one was excellent.

QUICKLY FINDING COMMON ANCESTORS THROUGH DNA – Speaker – Robert Warthan

KICKING DNA UP A NOTCH TO UNMASK UNKNOWN ANCESTORS – Speaker – Roberta Estes

THE LEEDS METHOD: GROUPING DNA MATCHES TO IDENTIFY SHARED ANCESTORS – Speaker – Dana Leeds


ATTACKING 18th and 19th CENTURY MYSTERIES WITH DNA – Speaker – Blaine Bettinger

DNA CLUSTERS: POWER IN NUMBERS – Speaker – Randy Whited

3 COOL CASES SOLVED: HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR PHOTOS – Speaker – Lisa Louise Cooke

You might be saying, “you were at the conference for 4 days and only attended 6 classes?  Yup!  And I have no regrets about that.  Why?  Because many of the classes are available via the Virtual Pass that my friend Pam and I purchased.  We will be able to watch them at home, at our leisure.  When you been doing genealogy for many years and have attended a great many classes and conferences, you find that you can pick and choose the subjects that are most important to you.  In this case, it was clear that I wanted to learn as much as I could about working with my DNA matches.  In that respect, I succeeded.



During my free time I had a lot of fun visiting with friends and exploring the Expo Hall and revisiting the FHL hoping for one more good find.

My thanks to Pat Richley-Erickson & her husband, Gordon, for inviting me to their home.  What a wonderful group of people.  We sure laughed a lot.

Here are some scenes from the conference

The Family History Library with it's new sign

In front of the Salt Palace Conference Center holding the bag we all received


Dana Leeds

They had this wonderful story wall that all of us could write on


Devon Lee of Family History Fanatics
Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings who received a Lifetime Achievement award from his "tribe" the Geneabloggers

Jonny Perl, creator of DNA Painer

Me standing next to the Mayflower replica - I've applied and am hoping to receive my official certificate of approval to the Mayflower Association in the next few months

The Expo Hall not long after it opened on Thursday - such a busy place

Pam Mohrman Paxton, Thomas MacEntee of Abundant Genealogy & me

Geoff Rasmussen from Legacy Family Tree Software and me

Marian Pierre-Louis, me and Pam

Randy Whited

Blaine Bettinger

Blaine doing what he does so well - teaching

At Pat Richley-Erickson's house - Judy Russell makes her entrance

Nathan Dylan Goodwin - author of The Forensic Genealogist and Mrs. McDougall Investigates series

Gathered in Pat & Gordon's basement 

A view from our room the morning I left.  It finally snowed.

Home sweet home - flying into San Diego with a view of the Coronado Bridge and the ocean
If you’d like to see a bunch of photos from the conference (way more than I took), please go to Roberta Estes blog Roots Tech 2020 - It's a Wrap

Until next year Rootstech – see you then.

All photos have been used with permission

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

ROOTSTECH 2020 ~ We arrive in Salt Lake City and explore at the Family History Library

Add caption
This was my second time attending the Rootstech Conference in Salt Lake City.  My friend, Pam and I went in 2018.  You can read about that experience here RootsTech Is Over But We Had Fun

To tell you the truth, after we had attended in 2018, we thought “well, we’ve done that and now we don’t need to go back.”  WRONG!  When 2019 rolled around and we weren’t at the conference we immediately regretted our decision and determined to go in 2020.
 
ARE WE EVER GLAD WE DID!

Sunday – Feb 23rd - I flew in from San Diego and arrived around noon.  Pam didn’t arrive from Colorado until later in the day.  I was able to check into our room at the Plaza Hotel and get unpacked and settled in.  FYI – I made that reservation in July 2019, to make sure we were able to stay at the Plaza.  We enjoy the convenience of the location of that hotel as well as the very friendly staff.

I had the afternoon to wander around so I went over the the FHL to check out the new layout on the first floor.  That’s the only floor open on Sundays.  It is a very interactive area and excellent for families or for someone wanting to learn about the library, Family Search and all the offerings available.
 
Pam arrived about 5 p.m. after her trolley ride from the airport.

My view on the plane and me & Pam outside Squatter's Pub

Monday – Feb 24th – Let the fun begin.  The conference doesn’t begin until Wednesday so Pam and I have two full days to research at the Family History Library.  We planned our trip so we would have the extra days at the library.  We’ve both been there before (me 3 times and Pam twice), but there is always more to find.  STAY TUNED FOR A POST ABOUT WHAT I WANTED TO LOCATE AND WHETHER I SUCCEEDED OR NOT.

In front of the Family History Library and all set up at the tables on the 3rd floor - Pam is pondering.....I wonder what about?

Tuesday – Feb 25th – Another day to spend at the FHL.  This time instead of sitting at the tables that we’ve always sat at, we were able to enjoy the new area on the 3rd floor.  WOW!
Check out this set up.  They have stations with either 2 or 3 monitors and tables that raise up and down.  So much more comfortable than just the usual tables.  We always bring our own laptops and you can see in the photo with me waving, that Pam and I were sharing the station.  We were eventually able to set up at separate stations, but it was quite a busy place, so getting to the library as soon as it opens is the key.  The upgrades are very impressive and more are on the way.
This was the day I went to the European floor of the library and made a discovery in German records for my husband’s family.  It was, according to those around me, a genealogy miracle that I even found this record.  I’ll tell you about it in my “What I Found” blog post.

A sample of one of the new stations with 3 monitors and me in my happy place 

Pam and I have a couple of favorite restaurants we like to go to.  On night one we went to Squatter’s where they have a great atmosphere, wonderful food and good service.  We Ubered over and took a Lyft back.  I had never used either of those services (yes, I know, I need to get with the times).  It was a very good experience and I was impressed.  The Blu Lemon is another favorite restaurant and they have very good food.

Oh, I forgot to tell you one more thing.  I have had an iPhone SE for 4 years.  I liked the size of my 5c and bought the SE because of that.  I've been reluctant to upgrade because I didn't want to pay the price and felt the phones were too big.  Well, for the past 6 months or more, I've been having terrible problems with the battery not staying charged.  It's irritating to say the least and could be dangerous if I was in need of assistance.  

On Wednesday, the first day of the conference my phone was going dead, yet again.  I had a break between classes and walked over to the Apple store, which I knew was in the mall nearby.  I had done my research and knew which phone I might want.  I'm SO happy that I purchased the iPhone 11.  I can't tell you how much easier it was for me to stay in touch at Rootstech and how much better this phone is.  As much as we all use technology, we do need to stay up to date.  That will teach me to upgrade sooner.  Lesson learned.

Isn't this pretty?  The phone is a lovely light teal.


So, that was the first 3 days of our week in Salt Lake City.
 
I’ll write about the conference in my next post.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION