SURNAME SATURDAY ~ LUNSFORD–Basil Lunsford & Mahala Taylor’s children– Locating the correct person and adding another child–Here’s what I found

According to Legacy I have 179 people who carry the surname LUNSFORD.  This is a direct line for me.  Nancy Delilah Lunsford (1819-1895), is my maternal 3rd great grandmother.  She married William Allen BOGGS (1815-1899) and they had 5 children.

The Lunsfords were a prolific family and many of them had as many as 16 children.  No surprise that I have lots of them in my database.

Today I want to concentrate on Basil Lunsford & Mahala TAYLOR who married 14 Nov 1872 in Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio.  I have 11 children born to them.  Twins Ada & Ida born 1874, Lillie O. born abt 1878, Arabelle born 1880, Charles Azra born 1882, Dennison born 1884, Pauline born 1887, Baby boy born 1888, Lorena born 1889, Chas. Emmit born 1892 and Hazel born 1894.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Basil & Mahala Lunsford's family - Legacy screenshot

Of those 11 children who would be my 2nd cousins 3 times removed, I have not done much research.  Only a few of them have birth and death dates and spouses and children. 

What can I find today?  I will spend an hour online and reviewing the Lawrence County Ohio History book to see what I can learn. Note – This process took me more like 2 hours.

I began with the first children I have born to this couple, Ada, who was born 11 Feb 1874 and had a twin sister, Ida.  I know a lot about her twin, Ida, but nothing about Ada. Did she live to adulthood, marry or have children?

I looked at her hints on Ancestry and located an obituary.  This is for an ADDIE Weaver, maiden name Lunsford, child of Basil & Mahala Lunsford.  Addie could certainly be a nickname for Ada, right?  The parents are correct, as is the maiden name.

TIP – As most of you know beginning your research with an obituary, if it is a complete one, can really help your research efforts.  You can find all kinds of family names and connections. 

In this case, all I had for Ada Lunsford was her date of birth, which I’d located on an Ohio birth register – see this post TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ BIRTH RECORDS (twins) and others on one register page

But…..wait!  This obituary gives a birthdate for Addie as 2 Sep 1876.  The parents names are correct and the place of birth fits with the family information.  But, the birthdate conflicts with the birth record I have for the twins, Ada & Ida, born 11 Feb 1874.  Could the date in the obituary be wrong?  Would there have been two daughters with names so similar?

NOTE – we do find wrong dates on all sorts of records from birth to death to headstones.  Certainly a misprint or wrong information in an obituary is nothing new.  However, with it being the wrong month, day and year I have to investigate.

What do I find, but an 1880 census for Basil & Mahala Lunsford with their children: Twin girls, Ida & Ada, age 6 and ADDIE age 3 along with Lillie age 2 and Arabelle age 7 months. 

This means there was a 12th child born to Basil & Mahala, that I had no record of.  The obituary I’ve located would appear to be for this child, NOT Ada.

This child, Addie, did marry a John Weaver on 31 Jan 1898.  There are many online records for this couple.

Back to square one with Ada.  Let's take a look in Legacy and see if I have any previous research notes.

Yes, I do.  I review my research notes for Ada, dated 27 Oct 2017.  I appears that I had located a marriage record to a Michael G. Keller.  I had noted “is this the correct marriage for her?”  Apparently, I hadn’t followed up on that question.  Let’s investigate.

First – here is the index for the marriage record of Ada Lunsford & Michael Keller on 17 Apr 1897

Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993
Name:    Ada Lunsford
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 17 Apr 1897
Marriage Place: Lawrence, Ohio, USA
Spouse: Michael G. Keller
Film Number:    000317722

Now let’s try to find them in the 1900 census.  Found it!  Here’s Ada with her husband Mike Keller and two children.

Name:    Mike Keller
Age:    26
Birth Date:    1874
Birthplace:    Ohio, USA
Home in 1900:    Aid, Lawrence, Ohio
Sheet Number:    5
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:    50
Family Number:    80
Race:    White
Gender:    Male
Relation to Head of House:    Head
Marital status:    Married
Spouse's Name:    Ada Keller
Marriage Year:    1897
Years Married:    3
Father's Birthplace:    Ohio, USA
Mother's Birthplace:    Ohio, USA
Occupation:    Farmer
Can Read:    Yes
Can Write:    Yes
Can Speak English:    Yes
House Owned or Rented:    Rent
Farm or House:    F
Neighbors:    View others on page
Household Members:   
Name    Age
Mike Keller     26
Ada Keller     27
Beatrice Keller       2
Bessie Keller    7/12

Now I’ll follow this family forward and make certain this is our Ada Lunsford. 

1910 census – found

1920 census – found

1930 census – found

1940 census – found (she is widowed and living with her son, Rex)

In all of the above census records (click on them to view on Ancestry), Ada is the wife of Mike Keller and her children are Beatrice, born 1899, Bessie, born Oct 1899 and Rex, born 1908.

Ada Keller is listed as the mother of Rex Keller on his World War II Draft Registration card.

Here is a screenshot of Ada Keller in the Ohio death index.  It's difficult to read this.  But, it says: Keller, Ada, Ironton, County code is 441, Volume 10817, certificate number 62973, month, day and year 10 21 4 (which indicates 21 Oct 1944)

 

And last, I have located the FindAGrave records for both Ada & her husband Mike Keller.  They are both buried in Fairview Baptist Cemetery in Wilgus, Lawrence, Ohio.  Ada’s memorial #95465460 and Mike’s memorial #95465482.

Headstone photos courtesy of Carl Murdock

In conclusion, I believe I have found the records that give an outline of Ada’s life.  It’s nice to know that both she and her twin, Ida, lived well into adulthood, married and had children.

I would very much like to see pictures of twins, Ida & Ada and others from this family. 

If you are descended from or connected to anyone mentioned in this post, please contact me.  I’d love to exchange information.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MILITARY MONDAY ~ Sgt. Presley Lunsford - Killed in Action during the Civil War – 1864

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Marriage of my 6th great grandparents–William Lunsford & Rebeckah Basye in 1745

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SURNAME SATURDAY ~ GILLEN–Today I am writing about my maternal 3rd great grandaunt, Sarah Gillen (1808-1878)

Sarah Gillen, born 12 Oct 1808 in Pennsylvania, was the 3rd of 8 children born to William Gillen & Rachel FRAMPTON.  All the children lived to adulthood.
 
Sarah was the older sister of my 3rd great grandmother, Emily Gillen HUNTER (1810-1887). Most of the children were only a couple of years apart.  It must have meant a lively household for this Gillen family. 

Sarah’s father, William Gillen moved the family to Lawrence County, Ohio, before 1820.  He was one of the early settlers of Lawrence County, Ohio and was a teacher there.  The 1882 Hardesty Atlas of Lawrence County, Ohio states “William Gillen taught the first school in 1820, on the right hand fork of Storms Creek.  The house was a big log cabin with neither floor nor windows.  There are now eleven school houses in the township….”

When Sarah was 18, she married Stephen WILSON on 24 May 1827 in Lawrence County, Ohio.  Stephen was 23 years old.

     (click on any image to enlarge it)

Sarah & Stephen had 5 known children as follows:  Emily born about 1830, died 1912, married Dr. Jonathan MORRIS; William J., born about 1836 and died 31 Aug 1857 age 21; John G., born 28 Oct 1838, died 27 Jan 1912 married Sara J. LANGSHORE; Robert Stephen born 19 Feb 1844, died 28 Oct 1915, married Nancy EATON; Dr. Dewitt C. born 1 May 1847, died 1 Feb 1935, married Electa ALDERMAN.

According to the probate record for Stephen Wilson, he owned a store and quite a lot of land in the Lawrence County, Ohio area.  The store was named S. Wilson & Sons.  After Stephen’s death the store was co owned by his son, John and wife Sarah.
 
In 1857, Sarah & Stephen’s oldest son, William died.   He was only 21 years old.  I have not located his death record, so I have no idea why he died so young.  It must have been heartbreaking for his family.  He is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio and his memorial can be found here #29372828

Stephen & Sarah had been married 44 years when Stephen died 26 Sep 1871.  Sarah was 62 and her four living children, Emily, John, Robert & Dewitt were now adults and two of them were married.

The following year, in 1872, Sarah was able to see her two youngest sons marry. Robert Stephen married Nancy Eaton on 29 Sep 1872 and Dewitt married Electa Alderman on 8 Oct 1872.  Both were married in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  It must have been a busy time for the family with two weddings within 9 days.

Stephen left Sarah with plenty of assets, which I hope gave her a comfortable life, until her death on 19 Jun 1878, at age 69.

According to the death record for Sarah, she died of heart disease.  Her obituary states that she died at her youngest son’s home, Dr. Dewitt Clinton Wilson.

She is buried at Woodland Cemetery, along with her husband and all of her children.

If you are related to any of the people mentioned in this post, I’d love to hear from you.  I don’t have photos of either Sarah or her husband, Steven.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SURNAME SATURDAY ~ WUNDERLICH–Johannes (1700-1760) my 7th great grandfather

The Wunderlich family are one of two known families that give me some German heritage.  According to DNA ethnicity results from various sites (which we all know are a work in progress), I do have German ancestry.
 

Here’s a screenshot from my Ancestry DNA.

How am I related to this Wunderlich family?
 
This is a maternal line for me.  I only recently revisited this line and have added many more people to the tree because my 7th great grandparents, Johannes Wunderlich and Anna Barbara Densler had 13 children.¹  I descend from their second child, Jacobina Elizabeth, born 3 Jul 1723.  She married Johann Eberhard Martin (my other German line) on 16 Feb 1745 in Notzingen, Teck Donau, Wurttemberg, Germany.

Here’s the record of the marriage of my 6th great grandparents in 1745.  I originally located this at the Family History Library in 2015. You can also view the record on Ancestry Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985

This book Genealogical Record of the Wunderlich Family in America –Seventeen Branches compiled by Charles Albert Cornman, assisted by Daniel Wunderlich Nead, M.D., copyright 1911, is a good starting point for research on the Wunderlich family.  There is a name index as well as a place index in the back of the book.

According to the forward in the book, much of the information was obtained via correspondence with descendants.
 
My ancestor Johannes Wunderlich was said to have had a home in Ludwigsburg in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg. He was the Overseer and General Foreman in the King’s work yard.   Two of the sons of Johannes emigrated to America, Daniel in 1751 and John (Johan) at age 18 in 1753.  They settled in Pennsylvania, marrying sisters and engaging in farming.

John is said to have served as a private in the Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War.  I need to verify this with proper records.

HERE IS HOW I DESCEND FROM THIS FAMILY

Johannes Wunderlich & Anna Barbara Densler – 7th great grandparents

Jacobina Elizabeth Wunderlich & Johann Eberhard Martin – 6th great grandparents

Anna Barbara Martin & John Frampton, Jr. – 5th great grandparents

Rachel Frampton & William Gillen – 4th great grandparents

Emily Gillen & Rev. Isaac C. Hunter – 3rd great grandparents

James Gillen Hunter & Susan Caroline Boggs – 2nd great grandparents

Florence Hunter & Robert Lee Bowden – great grandparents

Florence Bowden & Joseph Albert Milne – grandparents

Patricia Anne Milne & Harry Norman Gould – parents

Surnames listed above are: Boggs, Bowden, Densler, Frampton, Gillen, Gould, Hunter, Martin, Milne, Wunderlich.  I’d love to hear from you, if you are also connected to these families.

Source Information

1. Ancestry.com. Genealogical record of the Wunderlich family in America [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Original data: Cornman, Charles Albert,. Genealogical record of the Wunderlich family in America : seventeen branches. Carlisle, Pa.: Cornman Print. Co., 1988.

I have a lot more work to do on this family and I’ll be sure to write about what I find.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY TRIP - DAY 2 - A RED LETTER DAY!

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Martin & Wunderlich - Married 1745 in Germany

Happy hunting.
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION