ANOTHER LEAD FROM A READER ~ A photo of young William Gillen who drowned in 1930 - leads to more information

I’ve been very fortunate the past couple of months.  First a contact from Ron’s side of the family and the Jeremiah Hall house in Massachusetts JEREMIAH HALL house built 1727 in Wrentham, Colonial Massachusetts

Now, I’ve received more information on a young man I’ve written about in the past.  He is a 3^rd cousin twice removed on my maternal side.  His name, William Dillon GILLEN, born 29 May 1913 and sadly, died 18 May 1930 in a drowning accident in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Here is my original post about him SUNDAY’S OBITUARIES ~ I’ve been busy finding obituaries this week for my Gillen line

When I wrote that particular blog post I had let my subscription to Genealogy Bank expire.  I was using newspapers.com and that was the article I located.  Now that I’ve renewed my subscription to Genealogy Bank, and thanks to the reader who contacted me, I have located more articles and pictures of young William D. Gillen.

Here's what I found when I entered William Gillen, 1930 in Louisiana and Ohio, in the search filters for Genealogy Bank. There are 23 different newspaper articles referring to William’s death, his burial etc. 

Among the 23 articles I located the one that was sent to me by my reader.  It was from the New Orleans States newspaper, page 1 on 19 May 1930.  The photo of William is no more clear than the one that was sent to me, but I am happy to have the entire article.

Two boys went out on Lake Pontchartrain around 2 p.m.  They were in a boat purchased by William with his savings.  He named the boat the Flaming Youth.  The boys worked together at the firm Arthur Duvic’s & Sons, dealers in boat supplies.

William’s nickname was apparently “Speedy” and the friend that was with him, Edward Delaney, age 15, was nicknamed “Cotton.”

Here are photos of both boys from the newspaper.

They purchased soft drinks from a lady selling them at Spanish Fort before heading out.

A brisk gale with high waves came upon the lake that afternoon which they believed caused the boat to capsize.

I searched but did not locate any articles that said they ever located the body of young Edward.  How sad for the family.

William is buried at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.  You may visit his memorial at #23405167.  May both boys rest in peace.

My takeaway from this, is we never know where we’ll locate newspaper articles for our family.  I know we cannot always afford the expense of more than one subscription.  However, keep in mind that many libraries do offer free use of their subscriptions to genealogy sites, to patrons.   

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

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

MILTARY MONDAY ~ Civil War Pension File–Private John Gillen–Killed in Action 31 Dec 1862 at the Battle of Stones River (This is William’s younger brother)

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILTARY MONDAY ~ Civil War Pension File–Private John Gillen–Killed in Action 31 Dec 1862 at the Battle of Stones River

Today’s post is about Private John Gillen, age 21, who was killed in action on 31 Dec 1862 at Stones River, Tennessee.  He was a Union soldier.

John is the son of John Gillen (about 1804-1880) and Nancy Miller (1815-1913).  He was the 4th child born to this couple.  

Here is the family group sheet.



Private Gillen was the second oldest son.  He was one of three sons to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War.  Both his brothers, Isaac and Martin also served. Those brothers survived the war. However, neither lived past their early 40’s.

Private Gillen was born about 1841 in Ohio.  His family was farming in Union, Lawrence, Ohio in the 1850 census.  By the 1860 census the family had moved to Champaign, Illinois and his father was farming and had real estate worth $600. The family is found in Champaign in the 1870 and 1880 census.  John Gillen (Sr) dies in November 1880.  By the time of the 1900 census Private Gillen’s mother Nancy is living in a home at 420 E. Clark St., in Champaign.  Her daughter, Ella is living with her.  The home is owned and free of a mortgage.

Here is a map and a current street view of E. Clark St. today.


John’s mother, Nancy Miller Gillen, applied for his pension on 22 Apr 1882, as indicated on this pension index card.



I ordered the pension file, my first for a soldier killed in action.  This was the third Civil War pension file I have received, and all of them are full of wonderful genealogical information.

NOTE:  Rather than going directly through NARA for my orders, I use the services of Deidre Denton.  You may access her services via http://twistedtwigsgenealogy.com/ 

I have no affiliation nor do I receive any remuneration from any referrals.  Just letting you know how I got copies of the pension files.

Through the various statements in this pension file I learned that the young John Gillen was responsible for helping to support his family, including sending a large portion of his soldier pay home.  It seems his father, the older John Gillen, was in feeble health and not able to earn a good enough living to support his family.  Once the older John died in 1880, Nancy had no means of support and applied for the pension from her son’s service and death in the war.

Here is her application.  The Green arrow gives Private Gillen’s cause of death.  The Blue arrow gives the date of his father, John Gillen’s death.  And the Red arrow gives the name & exact dates of birth of his three siblings who were under age 16 at the time of Private Gillen’s death.
 


I would certainly say that on that one page alone we have some wonderful genealogical information.  (The entire pension file is 63 pages) The form is signed by Nancy Gillen so we can surmise she is the one who provided the information.  Do we still need to verify those dates?  Yes.

Two of the surprises contained in this pension file are letters written by Private John Gillen to his sister, Ella (Louella Gillen 1848-1942).  I will be transcribing those letters in another post so as not to make this post exorbitantly long.

Private John Gillen is buried at Stones River National Cemetery in Murfreesboro, Rutherford, Tennesse.  There are more than 6,000 Union soldiers buried at this cemetery.  His FindAGrave memorial is #68723997.

There is quite a lot written about the Battle at Stones River, which took place from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863.  The casualty percentage at this battle was second only to Gettysburg in all major engagements during the Civil War.

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/Tennessee/Stones_River_National_Cemetery.html

http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-stones-river

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/stonesriver/stones-river-history/10-facts-about-stones-river.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

I hope one day I will find a photo of young Private Gillen, as he talks about family photos in his letters to his sister.  In the meantime, I hope that I’ve honored his memory and his service to our country.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST 

What I Learned from One Single Page of a Civil War Pension File - 1864 - Edith E. Thorp

The Civil War - How our Country Dealt with the Aftermath - Creation of our National Cemeteries

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.  We might be cousins.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FOLLOW UP FRIDAY ~ Photo of Corp. Glenn Clifford Gillen ~ Killed in Action in WW I

My post today is a follow up to my post from May 29th, when I wrote A Mother’s Pilgrimmage – Bessie Cowen Gillen’s visit to the grave of Glenn C. Gillen – killed in action in World War I.

Glenn was the second oldest of 6 sons born to Elijah Cecil Gillen & Bessie Etta Cowen.  This photo of Glenn C. Gillen was shared with me by Susan B., who is Glenn’s grandniece.

There was a Gillen family get together in Kansas, prior to Glenn leaving for his service in World War I.  I suspect the photo above was taken during that time, as he is in, what appears to be, a uniform of some type.  We have not identified the other people in the photo, yet.
 
Here are photos of Elijah and Bessie, shared with me by their great granddaughter, Susan B.

Bessie Cowen Gillen

Bessie & Elijah Gillen

This is another story about how Facebook has enriched my family history.  I know Susan B. because she and I are members of the same Facebook group, The Lawrence Register.  This is a group of people with ancestors that are from Lawrence County, Ohio.  I cannot even tell you how much information is shared back & forth on this site.   And, how many cousins I’ve met.
Susan B. and I are 4th cousins once removed and share 4th great grandparents.

Here’s a wonderful photo of most of Glenn’s 8 siblings.  The only one missing is his sister Bessie.  She would have still been alive, but wasn’t in the photo.



I bet Glenn would be glad to know that his siblings lived long lives and left many descendants.  Here are their ages at their time of death:
Ross – 89, Laura – 88, Hazel – 93, Alva – 89, Alvis – 80, Ralph – 74, Carl – 92 and Bessie - 76

It’s a sad story about Glenn being killed during the war.  However, by remembering him here, we honor his memory.  And, having an actual photo of him is even better.

A huge thank you to my cousin Susan who shared these wonderful photos with me and gave me permission to use them.

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

FRIDAY FINDS ~ I Finally found the 1880 census for my 3rd great grandmother–Emily Gillen 1810-1887

My 3rd great grandmother Emily Gillen, born 8 Aug 1810 in Pennsylvania married 3 times.  First to Rev. Isaac C. Hunter (1798-1842) on 11 Sep 1828 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  They had 5 children: Susan, James, Martha, Isaac C., and John. Second, she married David Pope (about 1810-?) on 1 Oct 1846 in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio.  They had 2 children: George and Emma.  Third, she married Joel Stover (about 1810-after 1870) on 5 Dec 1858 in Lawrence County, Ohio.  There are no known children born from that third marriage.

Here is what I have in my Legacy database for Emily Gillen.

Her family record.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)



Her pedigree.
 


I noticed when I looked at her Individual screen that I was missing an 1880 and a place of death for her.
 


I went to my Ancestry.com tree and looked at the hints.  Nothing there gave me any leads.  I decided to look at some of her children, especially the two youngest ones, George and Emma Pope.

Sure enough on Emma Pope’s hints I found an 1880 census.  Why don’t I check that and see if her mother is living near by.  At this point I don’t even know if Emma’s father David Pope is still living, as I don’t have a death date for him.

HERE’S WHAT I FOUND

Name:	Emma Seed [Emma Pope]
Age:	29
Birth Year:	abt 1851
Birthplace:	Ohio
Home in 1880:	Bellmont, Wabash, Illinois
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Thomas H. Seed
Father's Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Mother's name:	Emily Seed
Mother's Birthplace:	Pennsylvania
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Housekeeping
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Thomas H. Seed 37 Emma Seed 29 Jay Seed 8 Roda Seed 3 Emily Seed 69

Note that there is an Emily Seed listed with this family.  She is listed as a mother-in-law, widowed, age 69.  If she is the mother-in-law, then her name is probably not Seed.  But, that doesn’t bother me because the age fits and the census is from the same city she is buried in.  Also, you’ll notice someone has added an edit for Emma Seed's name Emma Pope.  When I clicked on the name I see that the change was made by my cousin, Amy.  She must have already located this census and concluded that Emily Seed is actually our Emily Gillen and that Emma Seed is her daughter.

Here’s the actual image, although it’s difficult to read.



I do think this is our Emily Gillen living with her daughter, Emma Seed nee Pope, but I always need more proof than just my supposition.

Next, I went to familysearch.org and looked for a marriage record for Thomas Seed and Emma Pope.  BINGO!  They were married on 28 Mar 1871 in Illinois.
 
From the census I see that Thomas and Emma had a son named Jay or Joy and a daughter named Roda.

I located a death record for a Rhoda Seed Barclay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 28 Sep 1960.  The death certificate lists her parents as Thomas Seed and Emma Pope.  BINGO again!!

Here is that death record.



CONCLUSION: I feel comfortable that the 1880 census I located for Emily “SEED” is actually my 3rd great grandmother, Emily Gillen.

Our research is very much tied to the evidence we can find to support our theories.  I am never comfortable with just a “maybe this is her.”  I want more corroborating evidence and will usually hunt until I find it.
 
My next step will be to try and locate Emily’s death certificate.  I’ve checked on family search and have had no luck so far.

However, if she was listed as Emily Seed on the 1880 census record, who knows what name is on her death certificate.  I have work to do.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Brick Wall Post #5 - William Gillen 1782-1841 (this is Emily Gillen's father)

A GREAT DISCOVERY - Ask for Help and You May Get It

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MYSTERY MONDAY–WHO’S YOUR DADDY? Brick Wall Post #5–William Gillen 1782-1841

Today’s brick wall post is about my maternal 4th Great Grandfather, William GILLEN.

I began researching William Gillen over 10 years ago.  While I have found quite a few pieces of information about him, I have yet to locate his parents or siblings.  Two other family members, who are genealogists, have also searched diligently for William’s origins.  Some of the information I have, has come from my cousin Amy and my brother John.
 
BIO SKETCH OF WILLIAM GILLEN
Born – 17 Oct 1782 in Mifflin Co., Pennsylvania
Age 21 - Marriage – to Rachel FRAMPTON (1781-1855) on 28 Feb 1803 or 1804
Age 22 – Birth of son #1, John Gillen, 17 Oct 1804
Age 23 – Birth of daughter #1, Ann Gillen, 30 Oct 1806
Age 25 – Birth of daughter #2, Sarah Gillen, 12 Oct 1808
Age 27 – Birth of daughter #3, Emily Gillen, 8 Aug 1810
Age 28 – Birth of son #2, Martin Gillen, about 12 Jun 1811
Age 36 – Birth of daughter #4, Mary Jane Gillen, 5 Jun 1819
Age 28-38 – Moved his family from Pennsylvania to Ohio
Age 39 – Birth of son #3, Elijah Fisher Gillen, 21 Aug 1822
Age 40 – Birth of son #4, Isaac Fisher Gillen, May 1823
Age 58 – Died on 27 May 1841, probably in Lawrence Co., Ohio
Occupation – Teacher 

NOTE: As I wrote the information above I notice there is an 8 year gap between the birth of son #2, Martin Gillen in 1811 and daughter #4 in 1819.  It’s always suspicious when there is that big a span of years between the birth of children back in those years.  We know from history that children were generally born every couple of years.

• Are there other children?  If so, did they die at birth or as infants? 
• Is there a record of other children born to this couple?

Family View for William & Rachel Gillen (from Legacy 8)

(Click on any image to enlarge it)


William Gillen is mentioned in several published books.  Please see the sources listed at the end of this post.

William Gillen’s wife was Rachel Frampton.  The Frampton family were well known in Pennsylvania.  And Rachel’s mother, Anna Barbara Martin’s father, Johann Everhard Martin was an early settler in Pennsylvania.  There is a book called The Frampton Family by J.S. Wrightnour, D.D.  Mention is made on page 96 of Rachel & William Gillen as follows: “…Rachel Frampton was born November 11th, 1781.  She was married to William Gillen, February 1803.”  No further mention of this couple is found in this book.

Here is the only online record I have located for the marriage.



Individual View for William Gillen (from Legacy 8)



As you can see from the Event section of the Individual Information in the image above, I have located William Gillen in several census records:

• 1810 -New Sewickey, Beaver, Pennsylvania(name is listed as Gilland, but ages fit with family)
• 1820 – Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio
• 1830 – Union, Lawrence, Ohio
• 1840 – Union, Lawrence, Ohio

Other mentions of William Gillen.



Below are two mentions of William Gillen in the first volume of History of Lawrence County, Ohio, pages 3 & 18.
The first is reference to him being the first teacher in Aid Township.  The second is a reference to him being a charter member of the Ice Creek Baptist Church.  
QUESTION:  He was mentioned as a Methodist Episcopal in the Western Christian Advocate.  Did he change religions or simply begin attending another church?


All records indicate that William Gillen died 27 May 1841, probably in Lawrence Co., Ohio.

Here is an obituary I’ve located for William Gillen.  This obituary was published in the Western Christian Advocate on 6 Aug 1841.  Unfortunately, there is no mention of William’s parents.  However, it is certainly nice to have some of these dates & places to help confirm or negate information from other sources.



Here is the headstone photographed by my cousin Amy.  William is buried at Burlington Green Lawn Cemetery, Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio.  You can see his memorial on FindAGrave here #66551832.



Reference to Gillen’s buried in Lawrence County, Ohio can be found on this website.  I have extracted the two pages referencing Gillen burials.  William is listed on the second page shown here.  Unfortunately, the link I have for these cemetery records is from 2009 and is no longer active.

A year or so ago, asked a genealogist from the Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Society to research William Gillen.  She found no mention of him anywhere.  Perhaps I need to look in Juniata County or Centre County or elsewhere?

1.  What have I missed?
2.  Where else should Iook?
3.  Are you related to the Frampton or Gillen family mentioned here?     If so, please contact me.

PUBLISHED SOURCES:
Western Christian Advocate, 6 Aug 1841
History of Lawrence Co., Ohio 1990, pg 3 & 18
History of Lawrence Co., Ohio, 2003 Edition, Vol 2, pg. 62
The Frampton Family by J.S. Wrightnour, pg. 96

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
Amanuensis Monday - William Penn Document (involving William Frampton)
CHURCH RECORDS - How They Can Help You With Your Research

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION