FRIDAY FINDS ~ Henry A. Hart Killed By A Train–His story

I’ve been doing more research on my Hart line this past week.  They are a direct paternal line for me and some possible DNA matches have me going back to this line and doing more research.

You know how it goes.  You begin looking at various websites and run across something that grabs your interest.  In this case it was a newspaper article  located on the website GenealogyBank with the title Henry A. Hart Is Killed by Train.

Here’s the article.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


Henry was 64 years old and was married at the time, to Marian Brewster Hart.

Of course I had to learn more about Henry.

Henry A. Hart is my half 1st cousin 3 times removed.  He was the son of Hiram Harper Hart and Clarissa Curtis.  Henry A. Hart was born (according to his death certificate) on 5 Oct 1854 in Michigan.  He was the oldest of 5 known children of Hiram and Clarissa.  I expect he was named after his grandfather, Henry Hart (ca 1785-1879). 

This has been a tough family to trace and much of the information I began with came from an unverified cousin, named Judy.  While this information was very helpful and gave me a great start, there were no sources attached.  I’ve been hunting for sources every since.

Henry’s story spoke to me.  As I found out more about him, I discovered that he jumped from job to job.  All of them blue collar.  He never moved away from Grand Rapids, Michigan. At least not that I could find.  I didn’t locate any children born to Henry & either of his wives. He did have family in the area though.

Henry was first married to Mattie E. Arnold on 27 Dec. 1889 in Corunna, Shiawassee, Michigan.
  





I could not locate Henry & Mattie either together or by themselves on the 1900 census.  However, I did locate their divorce record from 8 Jul 1902.  He filed for divorce from Mattie for the reason of “desertion” and it was granted.  I wonder what happened with this couple?  I have not located any further records of Mattie.

Source: Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952



In 1903 I located Henry in the Grand Rapids city directory.  He is working as an Elevator Operator.

On 13 Aug 1904, Henry married Marian Brewster Kelly in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.




The following year, 1905, he is still an Elevator Operator.  

Then in 1907 I find him working as a Sashman for P M R R (a railroad company).  I conducted a search for the definition of this occupation for the railroad and didn’t find it listed.  For a list of railroad occupation you can click here.

In 1910 Henry is working at another occupation, Cabman for a steam railroad.
By 1912, Henry has yet another occupation, Car Repair.
In 1913 Henry is a Carpenter.
In 1914 he is a Yardman.
In 1916 he is listed as a Laborer.
In 1918 he is an Oiler for Bissell’s. (Remember the Bissell sweepers?)
In 1919, the year of his death, he is listed as an Employee for Bissell’s.

What comes to mind as you read all these different jobs from year to year?  I wonder…..

• Why so many jobs? 
• Why so many different occupations? 
• Did Henry voluntarily change jobs or was he “let go?”  Was Henry a drinker?  Was he a fighter? 
• Was he ill with an issue that kept him from showing up regularly? 
• Or was he just a guy who was always looking for the next best thing? 
• Was he a dreamer?

So many unanswered questions.

The next thing we know, Henry was walking home on the railroad tracks and gets hit and killed by a train.  Why didn’t he hear or see the train? 



I had wondered what P M RR stood for from the 1907 city directory listing for Henry.  This death notice gives me the answer, Pere Marquette Railroad.

Here is Henry’s death certificate.



One of the first things I look for on a death certificate, is the informant.  Knowing that, can help us to determine how accurate the information might be. In this case Henry’s brother, Arthur Hart was the informant.

Henry’s wife, Marian, died just four years later on 2 Aug 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  There is no image available for her death certificate, although it should be available on both Family Search and Seeking Michigan.  I have also not been able to locate any obituary for her.

Henry and Marian are buried at Fairplains Cemetery, located at 2056 Diamond Rd., N.E. in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

You can visit their FindAGrave Memorials here:  Henry #21057459 and Marian #21057460.

Source for the various years and occupations is the Ancestry.com U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.  Those city directories can reveal a lot of information about your ancestor and family members in a certain time and place.

Please take a look at the two blog posts I’ve written about using City Directories in your research.

CITY DIRECTORIES - A Treasure Trove of Genealogical Information

TUESDAY'S TIP - Stree Guide Included in City Directories - Have You Used This Handy Resource?

I wonder if one day I’ll find a family member who has a picture of Henry A. Hart?
 
Most of our ancestors didn’t live exciting or famous lives, but just tried to make it from day to day.  Much like all of us.

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND–HENRY HART FAMILY–PART 2

MY GOAL:  CAN I PROVE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MY 2ND GREAT GRANDFATHER, HENRY HART & A REPORTED FIRST WIFE?  

 

HE IS REPORTED TO HAVE MARRIED & HAD 4 CHILDREN WITH THIS WIFE, PRIOR TO MARRYING MY 2ND GREAT GRANDMOTHER.
 
I WILL SHARE WITH YOU, IN THIS POST AND UPCOMING POSTS, HOW I FOLLOW THE LEADS AND WHAT I FIND.
 
THIS IS AN ONGOING SERIES.  PLEASE REFER TO PREVIOUS POSTS, IF NECESSARY. 
Here is a link to the first post: HOW I FOLLOW A TRAIL OF RECORDS & ANALYZE WHAT I FIND - HENRY HART FAMILY - PART 1

I HAVE RESTATED MY GOAL ABOVE AND WILL RE-STATE THAT GOAL AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH POST FOR THIS SERIES. 
 
According to the information from cousin Judy, Hiram Harper Hart was born on 11 Sep 1818. No place of birth is listed nor is there a death date or place.
 

There is some handwritten information on the sheet from cousin Judy (see above photo of same) that seems to contain specific information related to Hiram. I can read most of it, but what does it mean? 
 
Here is what I think it says, I am trying to interpret the printing to the best of my ability.
 
“1850 census list Hiram 32, Clorasis-younger, Curtiss
1859 – son Seth, d-Nancy, s-Elijah, d-Clarassia, son-Arthur
Believe there were 6 children (must be 3rd wifes 6 children)”
 
The first place I will look will be on the census reports. 
 
NOTE:  Before 1850, only the heads of household were listed on the U.S. population census reports.  This means that we can look at the census records from 1790-1840 and try to ascertain from the ages of those enumerated, who they might be.  However, since this family was living in Canada prior to about 1838, as far as I can tell, this makes finding them a little more challenging.  Here is the chronology report with the information I currently have on Henry HART & his first wife, Sarah SUMNER:
 


Your looking at this for the first time and so am I.  What does that “verified” word at the top mean?  I haven’t verified any of this information yet.  I am using Legacy version 8, which just came out last week.  Is this an anomaly in the report?  For now we will ignore that word.
 
What I have found online on Ancestry.com as far as early census records, is NOTHING.  

There is a family tree on Ancestry that states that Henry was living in Cambria, Niagara Co., New York in 1840.  Would Hiram have been living with him then?  How about the other children?  I cannot locate that census record.
 
Let’s move on then.  Our focus is Hiram Harper HART.  It is very easy to get sidetracked when we are researching.  I can tell you that I am a HUGE offender.  FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!  Those are words I repeat to myself often.
 
I’m going to go to familysearch.org and put in Hiram Harper Hart, with a wife named Clara (instead of Clarissa, I will enter Clara or even Clar* as it gives me a broader search).  Parents names Henry & Sally Sarah.  
 
NOTE:  I tend to put in minimal amounts of information to broaden the net of my search.  If you enter too much you will restrain the search and I’d rather scroll through some data and pick what is relevant, than have too little.
 
Here is what I entered for my search:
 
 

Notice I have not entered a last name or even a complete name for Clarissa, his wife.  Nor have I entered a last name for his father or mother, only first names.
 
Here are some of the results of this search:

As you can see we have plenty of results.  And what excites me is that the names are a match to what is on that family list from cousin Judy (see above).
 
Now to examine each and every one of these records.  Since several of them have images (as indicated by the camera next to the record source) we will be able to actually look at the record, rather than just an index/transcription of the record.  However, any record is better than no record.
 

NOTE: It is extremely easy to get sidetracked when doing any research.  I am a perfect example of that.  I had to stop writing the draft of this post due to other priorities (you know…regular life things, especially during the holidays).  

 

Before being able to examine the records I have posted above about Hiram Harper Hart, I found one of those “oh so tempting” shaky leaves on my Ancestry tree for Clarissa Curtis, Hiram’s wife.  I took the bait and clicked on the hints and have now gone down the road with Hiram’s wife, Clarissa.  This isn’t a bad thing to do because, after all, it’s still the same family and you don’t know what records you will find.
 
Here is what happened.
 
I followed one lead, which led to another and don’t you know I have FINALLY located her death certificate!  That’s a big find!!!  Up until now I had not located her death date or record.  WHY?  Because I would have been searching under the surname Hart.  
 
She must have remarried to someone named PARKS.  She was living with her son Arthur in the 1900 census listed as Clarise Parks, widowed mother of the head of household, her son, Arthur Hart.  Does this help me with Hiram.  YES.  Because if Clarissa remarried and I can locate the marriage record, then I may be able to determine if Hiram died or they divorced.  At least I will have a time frame.
 
The steps I followed to locate her death record were as follows:

• Click on her name in the 1900 census and this is what comes up.

Notice it states she is widowed.  Also over on the right hand side you will “other records that may be relevant to Clarrisa Parks.”  There is a listing for a Michigan death record.
 
I clicked on the link for the Michigan death record and found this:
 


You can see that it gives the name of her father, Asa Curtis.  Based on the information from cousin Judy, I believe her maiden name to be Curtis.  And from a couple of Ancestry trees I have found her father listed as Asa Curtis.  Along with that is a year of birth 1829, which is in keeping with other records for her.
 
Notice over on the right hand side of this record there is listed an 1891 Canadian census.  

Let’s see what that contains.
 


I reviewed this record and some of the other records listed on the right side of the page above. In evaluating those records I have concluded that there may be two Clarissa Parks. 
I won’t go into detail here as this post is already too long.  

However, let me share the marriage record I did find for Clarissa Curtis Hart to Edward Parks.
 


The entry for Clarissa Curtis Hart & Edward Parks is the second one from the bottom and here is a close up.  (Remember you can click on any of these image to make them larger)
 


As you can see this marriage record not only lists Clarissa’s last name as Hart at the time of the marriage, but it also gives her maiden name as Curtis.  Her place of birth is New York, which matches other records.  As far as her age, it’s within a year or two of other records. 
 
TIP: Always pay attention to the ages & year of birth, but be sure you don’t disregard a record because those figures don’t match exactly.  People didn’t always know their exact dates of birth, like we do now.  And, remember, those ladies and even the men, weren’t always truthful about their ages.
 
Now I am convinced that the Clarissa Parks listed in the Michigan Death record is our Clarissa.  I know that there are online images of Michigan Death Certificates from 1897-1920 at a site called seekingmichigan.org.  I have used this site MANY times.  I went to that site and that's where I located Clarissa's death certificate.
 
Here is Clarissa’s death certificate:


You can see that her year & place of birth match other records we have for her.  That her father’s name is given as Asa Curtis and that the informant is her son, Elijah.  I am further convinced that this is the correct Clarissa Curtis, wife of Hiram Harper Hart.
 
I am going to close this post for now as it’s already too long.  This is a good research day as I have discovered that Hiram Harper Hart’s wife, Clarissa, married a second time and I’ve found her death certificate.
 
Next time, we will continue our search and see what we find.
 
REMEMBER:  When we have a plan for what we “think” we want to do, sometimes we need to be ready to go in another direction, at least temporarily.  
 
We are still trying to find proof of the marriage of Henry Hart to his “said to be” first wife, Sally Sumner.  It just may take us a while to get there. But, aren't we having fun in the meantime.  I know I am :)
 
I will continue with this search and share it with you. Stay tuned.
 
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
 

Copyright © 2013   Diane Gould Hall