TOMBSTONE TUESDAY – Rachel Frampton, my 4th great grandmother

Courtesy of Fran Wheeler, used with permission

This is another story of never giving up and don’t stop looking.

My maternal 4^th great grandmother, Rachel Frampton, died 1 Nov 1855, probably in Lawrence County, Ohio. 

I had never located her place of burial.  I suspected she may have been buried in the same cemetery as her husband, William Gillen, but had no proof of that.  He is buried in Burlington Green Lawn Cemetery in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  I have a total of 43 ancestors buried in this cemetery.  Perhaps more, because there are probably some I haven’t learned of yet.

This is a lovely old cemetery.  I was able to visit back in 2012, but didn’t have the same base of knowledge on these ancestors that I do now.  I found a few headstones in this old cemetery, but not hers.  Was it buried?  Or did I miss it?  I don’t know.  There is no sexton nor any cemetery office to check with.

The entrance to Burlington Green Lawn Cemetery
and a partial view of the grounds

A couple of days ago I received an email saying that one of my edits to a FindAGrave memorial at that same cemetery, had been approved.  When I receive those emails I always check the memorial and make a follow up note in my Legacy program that the edit was completed.

While on the site I decided to check Green Lawn Cemetery (also known as Burlington Green Lawn Cemetery) for any other Gillen’s.  Perhaps I had missed some or there may have been new ones added.

To my complete surprise and delight, up popped a memorial for my Rachel Frampton Gillen.  AND……ta da!  There was a photo of her headstone.

The wonderful volunteer who took the photo and created the memorial also gave permission to use her photo.  I sent her a message thanking her.  Any time a volunteer takes a photo or creates a memorial for my family, I send them a thank you message.

You may visit Rachel’s memorial here #230233403.

She is indeed, buried at the same cemetery as her husband, William Gillen who had died in 1841.

Today’s Tip – Always keep checking back on various websites you use.  New information, documents, photos and in this case, memorials are always being added.

I hope you’ve had similar discoveries and will continue to have more.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2023   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

  

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

 

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - John Gillen, my maternal 3rd Great Granduncle (1804-1880)

 

Today I’m writing about my maternal 3^rd great granduncle John Gillen.  John was born 17 Oct 1804 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

He was the oldest son of William Gillen & Rachel Frampton who are my 4^th great grandparents. John was the eldest child of 8 known children born to this couple. I’ve written about this family before and you can find a couple of the posts here:

·                WHEN CONTACT FROM A DNA COUSIN LEADS TO GREAT NEW INFORMATION

·                SURNAME SATURDAY ~ GILLEN–my maternal 3rd great grandaunt, Sarah Gillen (1808-1878)

John was a Farmer according to the 1850 and 1860 census records. In the 1880 census, not long before his death he worked as a Liveryman (an owner or employee at a stable).

Here is my transcription of the obituary.

  Obituary - Mr. John Gillen, a resident of this city since 1856, died quite suddenly of paralysis at his residence on Fifth street last Monday afternoon, at four o'clock. The disease first manifested itself last Thursday night. Mr. Gillen was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1804, removed to Lawrence county, Ohio in 1829, March 22, 1832, he married Miss Nancy Miller. In 1856, Mr. Gillen removed to this city with his family and has since resided here; most of his children growing up under his fatherly care. Mr. Gillen has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. His wife, five sons and three daughters survive him; one son was killed serving his county at the battle of Stone River in 1862. The funeral occurs from the First M.E. church this afternoon, Rev. E. D. Wilkin officiating. Mr. Gillen was a good citizen, kind husband and indulgent parent, and his death is universally regretted by a large circle of friends.

With up to 9 children in the house, I expect things were quite busy for the Gillen family. He and his wife, Nancy had moved from Lawrence County, Ohio to Champaign Co., Illinois in 1856. It appears that all 9 children went with them.  Although there is one daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1835, for whom I have no details, other than her name and year of birth. 

Five years later, the Civil War (also known as the War of Rebellion) breaks out. John’s 2^nd and 3^rd sons, John and Isaac both joined the Union Army. 

Young John was the first to join on 1 Jun 1861. He was just 20 yrs. old. Sadly, he was killed at the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee on 31 Dec 1862.  According to his Civil War pension file he was shot in the right lung. You can read about this young man, age 21 at the time of his death here: MILTARY MONDAY ~ Civil War Pension File–Private John Gillen–Killed in Action 31 Dec 1862 at the Battle of Stones River

It was 3 yrs later when John’s son Isaac joined and fought in the Civil War. Happily, he did come home.

You have to think it was a very stressful time for the family.  As it was for all the families living during this time of unrest in our country.

John died of paralysis on 29 Nov 1880 and is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum in Urbana, Champaign, Illinois. He and Nancy had been married 48 yrs. when he died. She continued on without him for 33 yrs. and died at age 97 in 1913.  They are buried together and you can visit their FindAGrave memorial here: John - 61697100 and Nancy - 61697397

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Amanda D. Adams (1873-1937) wife of Martin Hunter Gillen of Chesapeake, Ohio

When I decided to write a Sunday’s Obituary post, I thought I would check my Legacy file and see just how many obituaries I had.  How many have I written about?

I was shocked to find that I have 449 obituaries. WOW!  I never thought I’d collected, saved and recorded that many over the years. I didn’t count how many I’d written about because I knew it was not even close to that number.  Guess I better get busy.

I began with the “A’s” and today I’m writing about the wife of a maternal 1st cousin, four times removed, Amanda Adams. My 4th great grandparents, William GILLEN & Rachel FRAMPTON are common ancestors for her husband, Martin Hunter Gillen & myself.

Here is the transcription of her obituary.

MRS. AMANDA GILLEN DIES AT HER HOME IN CHESAPEAKE

  Mrs. Amanda D. Gillen, widow of the late Hunter Gillen and mother of Hugh Gillen of the Ford Motor Sales Company of Chesapeake, died this morning at 11:30 o’clock at her home in Chesapeake.

   Mrs. Gillen had been in failing health for several years but her condition did not become critical until a few days ago. During her illness the members of her family were constantly at her bedside and she received every attention that her loved ones could give but from the first it was apparent that she was making no progress against her illness and the end came this morning.

   Mrs. Gillen was born and spent her entire life in Chesapeake and was widely known through that section of the county. She was a kindly and charitable woman whose principal interests in life were centered in her family and friends and to them she was devotedly faithful. She was a zealous member of the Christian church in Chesapeake.

   Mrs. Gillen was preceded in death by one son, Garland, in 1932 and her husband died in 1935. She is survived by one son, Hugh Gillen and the following brothers and sisters: Mart Adams, Chesapeake; Elizabeth Adams who resided with her; Mrs. Sarah Lake of Huntington and Mrs. Laura Brammer of Bradrick. Four grandchildren also survive: Bobbie, Jerry Taylor, Dilly and Patty Gillen, all of Chesapeake.

  The funeral arrangements had not been completed today and will be announced later. Burial will be in Rome cemetery. Mrs. Gillen’s body will remain at her home and the services will be held there.

 

Amanda D. Adams is the daughter of Joseph Adams & Frances Whitehead. Here’s a blog post I wrote about the Adams family Lawrence County, Ohio SURNAME SATURDAY–Adams of Lawrence County, Ohio 

Amanda was born in Mar 1873 in Lawrence County, Ohio.  When she was 26 years old on 3 Dec 1899, she married Martin Hunter Gillen. Martin who went by his middle name “Hunter” was born Jan 1873, also in Lawrence County, Ohio, to parents Isaac Fisher Gillen & Amy “Emma” Kimball.

Amanda & Hunter had 2 sons, Hugh Loder Gillen & Garland A. Gillen. In 1900, shortly after their marriage, Hunter worked as a dry goods clerk.  By 1930 he was a co-proprietor at a Ford dealership, with his sons.

Amanda & Hunter were married for 35 years prior to his death in 1935. Amanda died two years later on 18 Jan 1937.  That is certainly a nice obituary write up about her.  Sounds like she was beloved by her family and the Chesapeake area.

Both Amanda & Hunter are buried at Rome Proctorville Cemetery in Proctorville, Lawrence, Ohio.  I have been to their gravesites. You can visit their memorials here – Amanda #31015043 and Hunter #66569356

If you find you are connected with this family, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARIES ~ I’ve been busy finding obituaries this week for my Gillen line

We all know that obituaries can be a great source of information about our ancestors.  This week I’ve been working on my GILLEN line and have located several obituaries that I didn’t previously have.  These have all been located on newspapers.com, my favorite newspaper source.

Here are the obituaries I’ve located and their relationship to me.  I hope they can be helpful to other family members.

CLICK ON ANY OF THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

GILLEN, Clinton A. – 2 Dec 1860 to 25 Mar 1939 – My 2nd cousin 3 times removed

GILLEN, Frank Martin – 1 Sep 1876 to 29 Mar 1958 – My 2nd cousin 3 times removed

GILLEN, Silas Sr – 6 Feb 1851 to 3 Aug 1931 – My 1st cousin 4 times removed

GILLEN, Silas Sr - Times Picayune - 4 Aug 1931, page 2

GILLEN, William – 1 Jun 1833 to 16 Dec 1906 – My 1st cousin 4 times removed

Gillen, William - obituary - The Champaign Daily News, Illinois - 18 Dec 1906, page 1

GILLEN, William D. – 29 May 1913 to 18 May 1930 – My 3rd cousin twice removed - This young man was only 16 yrs. old.

GILLEN, William D, obituary - Times Picayune, New Orleans, Louisiana - 23 May 1930, page 19

If you are related to anyone mentioned here, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILITARY MONDAY ~ A Follow Up On My Yearbook Post–These Young Men Didn’t Make It Home to Their Families–Meet Glenn Gillen & Ellis Hart

A few days ago I wrote about finding yearbook photos on Ancestry.  As I was going through the photos I had, they included 2 young men who were in high school during or just before the time of World War I (1914-1918).  They ended up serving our country and sadly, they never came home.  They were killed in action.

Let’s honor those young men, here, today.

The first is Corporal Glenn Clifford Gillen.  Son of Elijah Cecil Gillen & Bessie Etta Cowen.  Glenn was born 1 Jan 1896 in Chesapeake, Lawrence, Ohio. He was the 3rd child of 9 born to this couple.  The second oldest son.  There were 6 boys and 3 girls.  All of his siblings lived to adulthood and, in fact, well into old age, except Glenn.  Glenn is my maternal 2nd cousin 3 times removed.

Glenn attended Independence High School in Independence, Montgomery, Kansas and if he graduated, it would have been about 1913-1914.  He is honored in the 1919 yearbook for this school on a memorial page for those lost during World War I.

Glenn registered for the draft in Montgomery, Independence, Kansas in June 1917.  He gives his age as 21 years, he’s single, and he works as a Laborer.  Physically he was described as tall, medium guild, gray eyes and brown hair.
  

Here is his World War I Registration Card

(Please click on any image to enlarge it) 

Fifteen months after signing that draft registration card, Glenn Gillen was killed during the Meuse-Argonne battle in France.
Corporal Gillen is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France.  You may visit his memorial here #55992727.

Used with permission of the photographer

The second soldier we will honor today is Corporal Ellis Collins Hart.  Only son of Hermon Doten Hart & Florence Bell Hakins.  Ellis was born 27 Oct 1927 in Ohio.  He had one sibling, an older sister Caroline Harriet Hart (1926-2006).  Both of the children were adopted according to the 1930 census.
Ellis is my paternal 3rd cousin once removed.

Sadly, Ellis’ father Hermon D. Hart died in 1933, at the age of 44, while saving his daughter, Caroline from drowning.  Stay tuned for a post about that incident.

Ellis attended Jesup W. Scott High School in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio.  The photo I have for him from the yearbook lists his age as 16 in 1944.

Ellis did register for the World War II draft on 27 Oct 1945.  He was single and described as 5’ 8 1/2” tall, 165 pounds with brown hair, gray eyes and light complexion.  His mother, Florence is listed as his next of kin.  He was employed by the A.P. Tea Company.

Ellis enlisted in the Army as a Private on 7 Jan 1946.  This would have been after the end of World War II.  U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.

So, Ellis enlisted in the Army in 1946.  Yet in 1950, when he was killed, he was serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Division. 

• What made Ellis change from one branch of the service to another? 
• Is that a common occurrence?
• Was there a draft for the Korean War? I don’t know.  I also have never located any service records for that war.

You can find references to Ellis’ Marine service and his being killed in action on the following links. He was killed by hostile fire on 3 Oct 1950 by gunshot or small arms fire.  He was a ground casualty.

U.S., Korean War Casualties, 1950-1957
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963
Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current

You may visit his FindAGrave memorial here #194881515

Here is his headstone photo

Photo placed on findagrave.com by Moses and used with permission

I am happy to have honored these young men today.  May they always rest in peace.

If you are connected to any of the family I’ve written about today, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ WAR and PEACE–Corp. Glenn C. Gillen–Killed in Action WW I

A MOTHER’S PILGRIMAGE ~ Bessie Cowen Gillen's visit to the grave of Glenn C. Gillen ~ Killed in action in World War I

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   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

WEDNESDAY’S CHILD ~ The stillborn infant daughter of Thomas W. Nichols and his wife Julia Gertrude Gillen - 1889

I found this record yesterday while looking at my Gillen clan.
 
Julia Gertrude Gillen born 20 Oct 1864 in Ohio (probably Lawrence County), was the daughter of Isaac Fisher Gillen and Amy “Emma” Kimball.  She was the 7th child, 4th girl born to this couple.

When Julia was 24 she married Thomas W. Nichols who was about 22 years old.  They married on 17 Jan 1889 in Lawrence County, Ohio.
 
Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993
Name:     Julia G. Gillen
Gender:     Female
Marriage Date:     17 Jan 1889
Marriage Place:     Lawrence, Ohio, USA
Spouse:     Thomas W. Nichols
Film Number:     000317721

The next record I found was a Kentucky Death record for an infant girl who was born 12 Nov 1889.  She was full term, but stillborn.  Her parents are clearly listed as Mrs. Julie G. Nichols and Mr. T. W. Nichols.

 

It must have been devastating for this young, newly married couple to lose, what was probably,  their first child.  We all know the planning, anticipation and joy that goes on when a baby is expected.

The death record says the little girl is buried in Linden Grove Cemetery, Covington, Kenton, Kentucky.  I checked FindAGrave.com and did not locate a memorial, so I created one for her.  You may visit her memorial here #200984175.

View of Linden Grove Cemetery - Photo courtesy of David M. Habben

Very sadly, I’ve discovered that this little infant’s mother, Julia, died just 5 months later on 17 Apr 1890.  She was only 25 years old.  She is buried at Union Hill Cemetery in Lawrence County, Ohio and her memorial is #17847835.

I have located a probate record naming her husband Thomas as the executor. However, I have not located a death record or obituary. 
Anyone reading this who has knowledge of how Julia died, please get in touch.



Happy hunting
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Following yesterday’s post–Here are the obituaries for Stephen Wilson (1803-1871) and his wife Sarah Gillen Wilson (1808-1878)

Screen shot of the Stephen & Sarah Wilson family from my Legacy database

Yesterday I wrote about my maternal 3rd great grandaunt, Sarah Gillen.  She was married to Stephen Wilson on 24 May 1872 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  The couple was married for 44 years, 4 months and 2 days, until his death in 1871.

Stephens’s obituary was published in the Ironton Register on 27 Sep 1871.  The text of this obituary, as well as Sarah’s were shared with me on The Lawrence Register Facebook page.  It’s an active group and many of us in the group have become friends over the past 12+ years. I encourage all of you to join and participate in Facebook groups in areas you are researching.

Text of Stephen Wilson’s obituary

Died--Wilson--Burlington, on the 26th inst. Mr. Steven Wilson, aged about 67 years. Mr. Wilson has been a resident of Burlington, in this county, for more than 34 years and was engaged in merchandising at the same spot where he died. He leaves a large circle of acquaintances, relatives and friends to mourn his departure.

Text of Sarah Gillen Wilson’s obituary

Ironton Register June 20, 1878 Mrs. Sarah Wilson, the mother of Mrs. Jona Morris and Dr. D.C. Wilson died at the residence of the former, last Saturday, in her 70th year. The remains were taken to Burlington for burial.

 Sometimes the published notice of a death contains very little information about the deceased.  These two are examples of that.  While I’m always grateful for anything that gives me confirmation that someone died, I always hope for those obituaries that contain their life story, places the deceased was born, lived and died, all family members names, where the deceased was buried and anything else that helps us in our research.

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

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ WAR and PEACE–Corp. Glenn C. Gillen–Killed in Action WW I

A MOTHER’S PILGRIMAGE ~ Bessie Cowen Gillen's visit to the grave of Glenn C. Gillen ~ Killed in action in World War I

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   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

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Gillen & Brother furniture business 1850’s-1860’s Ohio

Today I located several references to Gillen & Brother furniture business on Newspapers.com.  The business is also called Gillen Brother in some of the ads.

These ads were taken out in the Spirit of the Times newspaper in Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio.  This is consistent with where by Gillens lived during that time.

Martin Gillen is my maternal 3rd great granduncle, son of William Gillen & Rachel Frampton.

I know that Martin Gillen (1811-1879) was enumerated as a Furniture Dealer in the 1870 census.  He and his wife Sarah were living in Ironton, Ohio at that time.  Going back to the previous census records; in 1850 Martin & his wife Sarah were living in Upper Township, Lawrence Co., Ohio.  Sadly, his occupation is not listed on that census.  In the 1860 census in Ironton, Lawrence Co., Ohio, Martin is enumerated as a Furniture Merchant.

Ad from Feb 1853

Ad from Sep1853

Although I don’t see the name of the owner of the Gillen & Brother furniture business in the ads, I am concluding that it was Martin.  Ironton wasn’t that big during those years. 
The question is, was he in business with one of his brothers or not?

• John, his older brother (1804-1880) was always listed as a Farmer.
• Isaac F., his younger brother (1823-1907) was also listed as a Farmer in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
• That leaves Martin’s younger brother Capt. Elijah Fisher Gillen (1822-1896). In 1850 Elijah is listed as a Merchant (what kind of merchant?).  The 1860 census lists him as a Clerk and he’s living in Ironton, Ohio.  In 1870 no occupation is listed and in 1880, Elijah is listed as a Bookkeeper.

Conclusion:  It’s possible that Martin was in business or associated with his brother, Elijah, at some point.  I need to locate business licenses or other newspaper articles that would shed some light on this question.

Martin’s obituary does say he was in the furniture business and retired from it 10 years prior to his death in 1879.

I’d love to hear from you if you are connected to this family.  Or, if you have any further information on the articles I’ve mentioned or the Gillen Furniture Business in Ironton.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION