TODAY IN OUR FAMILY ~ It’s my great grandmother, Florence Hunter’s birthday–she would have been 150 years old today

Happy birthday to you Florence Hunter.  You were born 150 years ago today!

You are my maternal great grandmother.  I feel as though I know you from all the research I've done.  I’m blessed to have many pictures of you.

You were born on 7 Aug 1869 in Newport, Campbell, Kentucky to James Gillen Hunter (1832-1894) & Susan Caroline Boggs (1842-1913).

You first married Robert Edward Bowden on 10 Mar 1887, at age 17, in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.  You and Robert had two daughters, my grandmother, also named Florence, born 31 Jan 1888 and Edna, born 1 Jan 1890.

You and Robert divorced in 1899 and you next married George Keatley Bell (1870-1952), on 16 Oct 1904.  You were married until your death in 1946.  He died 2 Nov 1952.

I remember my grandma telling me that you ran a boarding house.  In fact, it was at that very place that she met my grandfather, Joseph A. Milne.

One of the earliest photos I have is actually a 4 generation portrait taken sometime around 1907, after the birth of your first grandchild, Dorothy Irene Milne.

Back row-L-R - Florence Hunter and her daughter Florence.  Seated is Florence Hunter's mother, Susan C. Boggs and baby Dorothy Milne, her first grandchild

The next picture is a lovely group picture of you and five of your six sisters.

Here are several more photos I have put together in a video.  

(You can enlarge the video to full screen in the lower right hand corner)

Click twice if the video doesn't begin

You died 4 years before I was born, on 27 May 1946 at Osteopathic Hospital in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri.  You were 76 years, 9 months and 20 days old.  You died after a fall at home that fractured your right femur.

I wish we could have met.  I have SO many questions I need to ask you.  How fun it would be to sit down and chat.  I bet you would have many stories to tell me.  Your daughter, my grandmother, was the original family historian and passed that love along to me.

 

Rest in peace great grandmother.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ I’ve finally located the image of my 2nd great grandmother’s third marriage–Susan Caroline Boggs (1842-1913)

 

Susan Caroline Boggs Hunter Cresse

marriage to Lewis/Louis A. Hankins

14 Apr 1909, Jefferson Co., Indiana

My maternal 2nd great grandmother married 3 times.  First to James Gillen Hunter (1832- appox. 1894) on 29 Aug 1859 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  She was only 17 yrs. old when she married him.  They were married until his death in about 1894.  Together they had 9 children: Myra, Clyde, Lenorah, Ada, Estelle, Florence (my great grandmother), Raphael, Grace & Daisy.  James worked as a Carpenter according to census and city directory listings.  It couldn’t have been easy raising 9 children all born about 2 years apart.

Here is the record of their marriage¹

After James’ death Susan married William Lewis Cresse (Oct 1938-May 1906) on 26 Oct 1897 in Logansport, Cass, Indiana.  Susan is 55 years old at the time of this marriage.  By this time it seems that all of Susan & James’ children were out of the house and either married or living elsewhere.  In the 1900 census Susan & her second husband William can be found in Delphi, Carroll, Indiana with his son, Charles, age 26 living with them.  William was a Farmer.

The marriage of William Cresse & Susan C. Hunter is indexed² and available on both Ancestry & Family Search.  At the time I located the index in Jul 2010, there was no image.  I thought I’d check again today.  No luck!  The image is only available at the Family History Library.

Sadly, on 5 May 1906, William Cresse died just 8 1/2 years after they were married.   His cause of death was Gangrene & necrosis of upper jaw/septic infection from a tooth extraction.³ 

Susan was now 63 years old and alone again.  Somewhere along the way she met and married her 3rd and final husband, Lewis A. Hankins (1850-1927) on 14 Apr 1909 in Jefferson Co., Indiana.  The marriage only lasted until her death four years later in 1913.

Up until yesterday I had only an index referring to their marriage. By locating the image and not just the index, I can take a look at details myself.  The index I located had the date and place of the marriage, bride & grooms name’s, each of their birthplaces and the FHL film number. 

But, look at the additional and valuable information available on the image⁴.  Both of their dates of birth, their parent’s names and how many times they’ve been married.  This just gives us further evidence/sources for the story of their lives.

 

To put a face to a name, here is a photo of Susan Caroline Boggs,  This headshot was cropped from a group photo.

If you are connected to any of the ancestors mentioned in this blog post, I’d love to hear from you.  Let’s exchange information.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

TREASURE CHEST THURSDAY ~ Transit Permit for the remains of Wm. A. Boggs (1815-1899) – My 3rd great grandfather

DID MY ANCESTOR DO TIME IN SING SING PRISON? - Susan C. Boggs brother-in-law

Sources: 1 - Ohio, Record of Marriages, 1790-1950, Book 6, no. 1526, film no. 317717, digital image no. 4922498, image no. 90: page 132, Hunter-Boggs, 1859; digital images(www.familysearch.org : accessed 4 Mar 2012);

2 - Indiana - Marriage Collection, 1800-1941," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jul 2010), entry for the marriage of William L. Crosse to Susie C. Hunter; citing Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941, book 16, page 470. Cit. Date: 20 Jul 2010; Name: William L Crosse Spouse Name: Susie C Hunter Marriage Date: 26 Oct 1897 Marriage County: Cass Source Title 1: Cass County, Indiana Source Title 2: Index to Marriage Record 1850-1920 Inclusive Volume Source Title 3: W. P. A. Original Record Located: County Clerk's O Book: 16 OS Page: 470

3 - Indiana Death Index, 1882-1920," database, Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1947977 : accessed 19 Jun 2018), entry for the death of William Cresse; citing Indiana Death Index, 1882-1920. Rec. Date: 19 Jun 2018.  Cit. Date: 19 Jun 2018; Name:    William L. Creese Event Type:    Death Event Date:    05 May 1906Event Place:    Delphi, Indiana Age:    66Birth Year (Estimated):    1840Gender:    Male Race:    Affiliate Repository Place:    City Health Office, Delphi Source Reference:    The source of this record is the book H-14 on page within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration; Citing this Record. Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1906; Roll: 02, Roll Number: 02.  I also have the image for this record.

4 - Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1906; Roll: 02, https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60716

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Emma Pope Seed–1850-1928, my half 2nd great grandaunt

Emma Pope Seed is my half 2nd great grandaunt.  She is the daughter of my 3rd great grandmother, Emily Gillen and the 2nd of her three husband’s, David Pope. I am descended from Emily Gillen and her first husband, Rev. Isaac C. Hunter.

Rev. Hunter died at age 43 in 1842, leaving his wife Emily with 5 children at home, the oldest one 14 and the youngest about 1. It is no surprise that she was married four years later to David Pope.  Together Emily & David had two children, a son George and the subject of my post today, Emma.

Emma was born, 29 Jul 1850, according to her death certificate.  The 1850 census was taken on August 6th, but Emma is not enumerated with her family.  She would have been 7 days old. Her parents & brother, George were living in Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio and her father, David was working as a Carpenter.  What became of David Pope after 1850 is still a question.  I know that Emma’s mother, Emily, remarried on 5 Dec 1858 to Joel Stover.

Emma married Thomas Hugh Seed on 28 Mar 1871 in Clay County, Illinois.  The couple had two known children.  A son, Maurice Joy Seed 1871-1947 and Rhoda 1879-1960 who married James R. Barclay.

A directory listing in 1915 shows Thomas Seed as the Associate Editor of the Mt. Vernon Register and the couple is living at 517 N. 10th in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  The directory lists their phone number as 378 – 3 rings.  Their daughter Rhoda is still living at home and Maurice lives nearby and is the Editor of the Mt. Vernon Register.

Emma & Thomas can be found in the 1920 census, living in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  He is 76 years old and still working.  He is a Manager in the mailing department of a newspaper. Emma is 69.  In our current society, most people are retired well before the age of 76.  I wonder if Thomas worked because he wanted to, or because he had to?

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


According to a Civil War Pension Index Card, Emma, a widow, applied for a pension on 4 Jun 1923, from the state of Pennsylvania.  Thomas had already applied for his Civil War Pension back on 28 Jul 1888.  I don’t know if it was granted or not.

 

I have not yet located Thomas’ death record.  However, I have located Emma’s.  She died 10 Oct 1928 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, as stated in her obituary.  Her cause of death was Pyelitis following a fractured left femur.  She tripped over a small rug and fell to the floor at home, which must have caused the fracture.  An online medical dictionary gives the following definition of Pyelitis:

pyelitis [pi?e-li´tis]
inflammation of the renal pelvis, a fairly common disease that usually can be diagnosed and cured without great difficulty. Prompt and effective treatment is necessary to prevent the spread of infection and the development of pyelonephritis, which in its chronic form is a severely disabling disease in which damage to the kidney cells may lead to high blood pressure and uremia. adj., adj pyelit´ic.

Here is her death certificate



The death certificate for Emma gives us evidence of her date & place of birth and her parent’s names.  The informant was her daughter, Rhoda.  While we know that informant’s can give incorrect information, even if they are closely related, we can match this information with what we already know and come to a conclusion.

Emma & Thomas are buried at Oakwood Cemetery, in Mount Vernon, Jefferson Co., Illinois.  You may visit their memorials here #99285028 and #99284963.

Here is a picture of their headstone, used with the permission of EPS, who placed the photo on findagrave.



If you have any connection to this family I’d love to hear from you.  I also welcome any input or corrections.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

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

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Brick Walls Post #3–Rev. Isaac C. Hunter 1798-1842

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MILITARY MONDAY ~ Civil War Pension File for Corporal John E. Hunter (1842-1870)

John E. Hunter

Son of Rev. Isaac C. Hunter and Emily Gillen

I have been researching the Hunter family for 15 years.  During that time I was able to learn about 3 of the 5 children born to Rev. Isaac C. Hunter and his wife Emily Gillen.  Both John E. Hunter and his sister Martha remained a mystery. 

• Where did they go? 
• Did they live to adulthood? 
• Did they marry and if so to whom?
• When did they die and where are they buried?

Enter DNA testing.  I was contacted on October 12th this year, by a Hunter descendant  who matched me via Ancestry.  

“You came up as a DNA match for me . Would you be interested in linking family trees? I am related to Hunter & Frampton.”

Through this one contact I was able to obtain information about the life of my maternal 2nd great granduncle, John E. Hunter.

Thankfully he had one son who lived to pass on his genes.  You can read about this DNA discovery on my blog post When Contact from a DNA Cousin Leads to Great New Information

I learned that John E. Hunter enlisted in the Union Army, as a Private, on 2 Oct 1861, in Ohio.¹  He enlisted in Company H, Ohio 6th Cavalry Regiment.  He was mustered out on 28 Oct 1864.  I ordered his Civil War Pension File from Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches Genealogy.  Please click on the link to this website, found in the right hand column to learn more.

Here is what I learned from the pension file.

During his time of service he was both wounded and captured as a prisoner of war.

When I receive a pension file the first thing I do is save it to my computer under the appropriate surname and military file.  Once that is done I read through the entire file page by page.  Then at my next convenience I begin going through the pension file page by page and making notes of what I find and extracting the pages containing that information.

 

In this case Private Hunter’s file was 111 pages long.  Here are some of  the pages I extracted from the file.

TIP: You can read through these pension files several times and you will catch something you missed just about every time.  Today I realized I hadn’t caught the middle name of John E. Hunter – it’s Elwell.  AND…..even more important, the middle name of his wife, Lottie R. Miller.  Her middle name is READ.  I don’t have a maiden name for Lottie’s mother and this could be a lead.

Cover page and page 4 – I love seeing the old tattered pages such as the cover page.  On page four I’ve underlined important items such as where John was born, his age at discharge, his physical description – 5 ft. 6 1/2 inches, light complexion, blue eyes and dark hair, and his occupation – carpenter.  You can’t beat that for personal information on your ancestor.

 

Page 9 -  It’s a letter from John’s son, Heber Elwell Hunter. The letter was written to the Bureau of Pensions on 23 Jun 1935.  In it Heber is asking for a copy of the certificate of birth contained in the pension file.  He apparently needs it for an annuity insurance application.  He probably had no other record of his own birth.

Again I’ve underlined and indicated the items of interest on this page.  Private Hunter’s full name – John Elwell Hunter, Lottie’s full name, the exact date of birth of Heber E. Hunter – 12 Sep 1868 and the exact location of his birth – Louisville, Clay, Illinois.  Along with that you have Heber’s signature and his mailing address at this point in his life.

And page 63 – which is signed by Private Hunter’s widow Lottie and gives her exact date an place of birth.

 

Page 78 - This is a page giving reference to his being a prisoner of war and that he was wounded.

There were many affidavits/depositions given during the application process for a pension.  Many of these are from family members, long time friends, doctors or people who served with the soldier.  They can provide valuable information regarding relationships, living conditions, places of residence, medical conditions etc.  One other thing I like about these affidavits is the signatures of those deposed.  I enjoy collecting signatures of my ancestors.  Here are a few from this pension file.

Isaac C. Hunter - brother of John

Emma Seed - half sister of John

Lottie R. Hunter - widow of John

 It appears from statements made in his file, that John worked at various jobs after his military discharge. At one point he fell off of a building while doing work with his stepfather.  He worked as a clerk in a drug store for a short time and also apparently went to New Orleans, Louisiana to work for his brother Isaac Hunter, who was a Riverboat Captain.

He sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder while serving in the Army. This is said to have left him with a lot of pain and related issues such as asthma attacks and palpitations.

 

John E. Hunter died while staying at his brother’s home in Shreveport, Caddo, Louisiana on 15 Nov 1870.  His cause of death was listed as “acute fatal pneumonia.”  He was 28 years old at the time of his death.

Other than the birth of his son in 1868, it sure sounds like life was rough for this brave young man when he came home from the war.

Information in the pension file tells us that his widow who was only 24 years old when John died, never remarried.  She lived until 1922 and was 76 at the time of her death.  For 52 years she lived as the widow of her Civil War soldier.  I would sure love to have a photo of either one of these two ancestors.

If you believe you are related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

Sources: 1. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl 

Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ The story of Susan Hunter and James W. Trail–1846, Franklin Co., Ohio

Celebrating the marriage of

James W. Trail & Susan Hunter

Susan Hunter is my 2nd great grandaunt.  She is the daughter of Rev. Isaac C. Hunter and Emily Gillen.  Susan was born 8 Nov 1829 in Ohio.¹   She was the first child of 5 (known) children born to the couple.

On 16 Apr 1846 she married James W. Trail in Franklin County, Ohio.  Franklin County is located just about in the middle of the state of Ohio.  Most of my ancestors on this side of the family are from Lawrence County, which is southeast Franklin County, just on the border of West Virginia.  When I looked at the map of Ohio, I found that Susan was living with her parents and three siblings in Pickaway County, Ohio in the 1840 census.  Pickaway is just neighboring county to Franklin.  Susan’s father, Isaac, was an itinerant preacher so the family may have had to move around.  I wonder how Susan met her future husband, James Trail?

Here is a close up of the record of their marriage record.²

James was 25 at the time of the marriage, but Susan was only 16.  As I researched further, I found that Susan had to obtain permission from her mother in order to get married.  I was able to locate on Ancestry.com, the record of permission which is signed by her mother, Emily.³  I was redirected to FamilySearch.org to view the image.

I wonder if the reason Emily granted permission to Susan had anything to do with Emily having been widowed 4 years earlier.  She had 5 children in the house at the time ranging in age from a few months to 16 years.  It certainly couldn’t have been easy for her.  What did she do for income?  Emily then remarried a few months after Susan’s marriage to James Trail and went on to have two more children.

In the 1850 census, four years after their marriage we find James & Susan living in Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio.  They have one infant daughter, Emily A. and Susan’s brother, Isaac is living with them.  James is working as a Millwright.⁴

Susan & James had two more daughters, Ida & Lavina and one son, Isaac.  (The name Isaac obviously run in this family as Susan’s father, her brother and now her son all bear the name)

I wonder if there were more children born to Susan and James?  The fact that the first child we have for them is Emily, born 3 years after the marriage makes me wonder if other children may have died prior to her birth.  The rest of the children were all born in the “usual” time frame of about two years between each child.

This story has a sad ending.  Susan Hunter Trail, wife of James W. Trail died on June 16, 1856 (according to her headstone).  She was only 26 years old.  I find no record of her after that date.  I have never located her death record and I don’t know what she died from.  She is mentioned in the Ironton Register obituary on 19 Jun 1856, page 3.  I have never seen a copy of that article. These obituaries were referenced on the Lawrence Register website, which is how I learned about them.  However, at the current time they are no longer on the website. 

James went on to marry after Susan’s death.  I have not located the marriage record, if there is one, but he appears in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 census records with a woman named Sarah and a young son, named William D. Trail.

I believe that James Trail died in Apr 1886 as there is an obituary reference in the Ironton Register on 22 Apr 1886.  This newspaper is not online.  Oh how I wish it was because of the many ancestors from the area.

I was able, in 2012, to visit the cemetery in Burlington, Lawrence Co., Ohio where Susan Hunter Trail is buried. 

Here I am next to her headstone.

The headstone reads: Susan wife of J. W. Trail daughter of Rev. I.C. & E. Hunter born Nov 8, 1829 died June 16, 1856.

Don’t we wish all headstones had reference to the parents of our ancestor?

If you have any additional information on this couple or you are descended from them, I’d love to hear from you.

Sources:

1.  Headstone from findagrave memorial #96395510

2.  Ohio County Marriages, 1789-1994, Index & images, Film No. 285143, image number 00180

3.  Ohio County Marriages, 1774-1993, film number 000285167

4.  Definition of Millwright – a person who designs or builds mills or who maintains mill machinery

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Isaac Hunter Trail and Emma Floyd Trail of Indiana

Both of the photos seen here are used with permission of the Wabash Vly Genealogy Society Cemetery Committee

  

Isaac Hunter Trail is my 1st cousin 3 times removed, on my maternal side of the family.  Emma Floyd Trail is his wife. 

Isaac was the only son of James W. Trail and Susan Hunter (stay tuned for a blog post about them which will be published tomorrow)  Isaac Trail was a well known Detective and long member of the Terre Haute Police Force.  He went home after work, where he died so suddenly that a physician could not be summoned.  He was only 47 years old. 

Emma lived for 26 years after Isaac’s death.  She was a teacher. She died at age 66 of cerebral hemorrhage and pneumonia.  It doesn’t appear that she remarried after Isaac’s death.  They had one son, James F. Trail.

Both of them are buried at Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana.  Isaac’s memorial can be found here #28222519.  And, Emma’s can be found here #28222518.

If you have additional information about this family or are descended from or connected to them, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CHURCH RECORDS - How they can help you in your research - Rev. Isaac C. Hunter

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SIBLING SATURDAY ~ Corp. John E. Hunter and his brother Isaac C. Hunter–Union and Confederate soldiers

I have come across the first instance in my family where brother opposed brother in the Civil War.  Much has been written in recent months about this subject.  But, I’ll stay out of the political debate and just report history as it related to my own family.

It all began when I requested and received the Civil War Pension File for my 2nd great granduncle John E. Hunter.  Until a few weeks ago I knew only an approximate birth year and place for John E. Hunter.  After contact with a cousin, via DNA, I have begun to fill out his life.  Please refer to my blog post here if you’d like to read about that cousin connection.

Another brother in that same family has been a mystery to me too.  All I had on Isaac C. Hunter was an approximate year of birth and place.

After receiving the pension file for Corp. John E. Hunter I learned the following.  That he had served with Company H, 6th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry from Oct 1861 until the end of his term of service in 1864.  During that time he had been taken prisoner of war for a short time and also sustained a gun shot wound to his left shoulder.

After his discharge from the service he married and had a son, but his shoulder continued to cause him pain and an inability to do any hard labor.  To try and improve his health he went to Shreveport, Louisiana where his brother Isaac C. Hunter was a River Boat Pilot.  John Hunter was, according to his brother’s deposition, able to work with him for a while on the river boat.  However, John became ill and ended up being treated by a physician while at Isaac’s home.
 
In reading Isaac’s deposition (see image below – click on it to enlarge it) I learned that they didn’t agree about the war and had “very little to say about it.”  That, of course, makes me want to know more.



Here is a close up of the section of the page outlined in red above.



Transcription from excerpt above – “He told me he was wounded in the U.S. Army, but said very little about it, we did not agree about the war, and had very little to say about it, I don’t know on what part of his person the wound was."

As I was able to conduct further research (and thanks to my cousin Amy) Isaac C. Hunter’s FindAGrave memorial was located. Memorial #7425900.  On the memorial you will see that Isaac aka Ike was a Private in the 1st Btn Co E Trans-Mississippi Confederate Cavalry C.S.A.  Isaac Hunter was also a member of Benevolent Association of Confederate Veterans.

NOTE:  I have no experience in looking for or finding Confederate records.  Now I get to learn something new.

It was quite obvious that these two brothers fought on opposite sides during the war.  I am still trying to find military records that would tell me more about Isaac Hunter’s service for the Confederate Army.

This is the first time I have found a member of my family who served in the Confederate Army.  It seems the majority of both mine and my husband’s family came to and stayed in the northern states.  You always read about brothers fighting against brothers, but I’d never heard of my own family on opposite sides. 

I have more information to share about these Hunter brothers, but I’ll save that for another post.

If you believe you are connected to this family, I’d love to hear from you.  Please get in touch with me.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WHEN CONTACT FROM A DNA COUSIN LEADS TO GREAT NEW INFORMATION

Here’s how it happened a couple of weeks ago.  I received a message on my Ancestry account from a cousin, I’ll call “J.”  Here is her message to me:

“You came up as a DNA match for me . Would you be interested in linking family trees? I am related to Hunter & Frampton.”

I wrote back and said that I would be very interesting in exchanging information.  My Hunter and Frampton lines are direct ancestors, so a connection is always good news.

Next, I went to my DNA matches on Ancestry and immediately began looking for this match. 

Here is what I found.

I’m only showing a portion of the pedigree in order to protect privacy.
My match is on the left hand side and J’s match is on the right.  So, we are connected via my 3rd great grandparents Isaac C. Hunter and his wife Emily Gillen.  I have no contact with any of their descendants so this was BIG news!



You’ll notice the name John E. Hunter on the right hand side.  I have never been able to find out information about that descendant of Issac & Emily.  He was a brother to my 2nd great grandfather James Gillen Hunter. 

TIP: Whenever, I look at someone’s match on Ancestry, I make a note in the “Add Note” portion of the DNA page.  I note how many centimorgens and any other possible, such as what part of the family they may be from, maternal, paternal etc.  That way the next time you review this person you will already have some information.  I learned this tip from another researcher.  Thank you Carol.



Now, 22 cm’s is not a lot.  Considering the small amount of DNA passed between 4th to 6th cousins, it’s lucky there is any match.  Having said that, she did not match either my brother or my maternal half brother.  She does match my Mom at 25.4 cm's.  
J's connection to me is 4th cousin once removed.

We chatted back & forth and armed with new information, I was able to learn more about John E. Hunter.  I learned that he’d been married and had a son, from whom this cousin descended.  The bigger thing I learned was that he served during the Civil War and there was a pension file for him.

I requested a copy of the pension file the next day.  Having received four other pension files, I know the worth of the information contained in those files.  I use Twisted Twigs to order pension files.  It’s much faster than ordering directly from NARA and also less expensive.  (Disclaimer – I have no association with Twisted Twigs nor do I gain any remuneration from mentioning the service, nor can I guarantee your satisfaction) 

I received the 111 page pension file for Lottie R. Hunter, widow of John E. Hunter a few days later.  I am currently going through the pension file, page by page and making notes, as I usually do.
 

Corporal John E. Hunter was a prisoner of war for a short time and he also received a gunshot wound to his shoulder, during his service.  He didn’t live very long after the war, dying at age 28.

  STAY TUNED FOR A BLOG POST WHERE I REVIEW HIS ENTIRE PENSION FILE

How important is all the DNA testing many of us are participating in?  VERY!!!

I’d like to hear your stories of connections made through DNA.  Share them with me in a comment or on your own blog and leave a link in the comments.
 
As always….Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2017 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Emily Gillen (1810-1887)

Photo courtesy of jeaniealogy

Emily Gillen was born 8 Aug 1810 in Pennsylvania.  She is my maternal 3rd great grandmother.  Her parents are William Gillen and Rachel Frampton. On 11 Sep 1828 she married Rev. Isaac C. Hunter in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  To this couple were born five children: Susan (1829-1856), James (1832-1884), Martha born about 1838, Isaac C. born about 1839 and John E., born about 1842.

Her husband the Rev. Hunter was a well known itinerant preacher in the areas of Ohio and Michigan.  Sadly, he died at age 43 on 27 Jun 1842 in Gallipolis, Gallia, Ohio.

Emily then married David Pope on 1 Oct 1846 in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio.  She and David had two children: George born about 1847 and Emma born about 1851.  I don’t know what became of David as I cannot locate his death or burial records.
 
Emily married a third time on 5 Dec 1858 in Lawrence Co., Ohio to Joel Stover.  They had no children together.  I also cannot locate his death or burial information.

This is the Individual Information I have for Emily.



Emily’s death & burial information were located by my cousin, Amy on the website Interment.net.  We had looked for this information for a long time and Amy found it last year.

I would certainly like to know more about Emily’s 2nd and 3rd husbands and also about her children, Martha, Isaac C. and John.  I will keep looking, as we all know new records are always being posted online.  If any readers are familiar with this family, please contact me.
 
I created a memorial for Emily on FindAGrave.com and you can visit her memorial here.

Here is how I am related to Emily Gillen & Rev. Isaac C. Hunter

3rd great grandparents

Rev. Isaac C. Hunter & Emily Gillen

2nd great grandparents

James Gillen Hunter & Susan Caroline Boggs

Great grandparents

Florence Hunter & Robert Lee Bowden

Grandparents

Florence Lee Bowden & Joseph A. Milne

Parents

Harry Norman Gould & (living mother)

Me

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #3 ~ Rev. Isaac C. Hunter 1798-1842

CORONER'S CASE FILE ~ Robert L. Bowden - An Analysis

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AMANUENSIS MONDAY–Death Certificate of Joseph Jackson Hunter–Age 25

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.”
 
Today I will transcribe a death certificate.
It is a death certificate for Joseph Jackson HUNTER, first cousin twice removed. Son of Raphael HUNTER & Lucy SILER.

You know those wonderful Photo Duplication Requests that many of us have been using?  Yes, the ones that have been discontinued.
I had a couple of last minute requests I turned in before the December 5th deadline and have received one of them back.  I felt that same excitement when the email came. Oh boy, another record!


I ordered this certificate because I was curious why Joseph Hunter had died at the age of only 25 yrs.  I had located his death record index on the family search site.  From there I had created a memorial on findagrave.com memorial #92249329.  I requested a photo of the headstone and the request was kindly fulfilled.

Here is his death certificate:

 
Let’s take a good look at this certificate top to bottom.  Will it confirm information I already know?  Give me new information? Let’s find out.

Place of death:  St. Clair County, East St. Louis, Illinois
Registration No. 856, Primary Dist. No. 3647, number stamped in the top middle of certificate appears to be 31905.
This is a Coroner’s Certificate of Death
Died at St. Mary’s Hospital
Length of residence where death occurred: 1 mos. 0 ds
1a. Place of residence: State-Illinois, County-St. Clair, Township-Sugarloaf, City or Village-Dupo
2.  Full Name: Joseph Jackson Hunter
3.  Sex – Male
4.  Color or Race – White
5.  Single, married, widowed or divorced – divorced
5a.  If married, widowed or divorced husband of – Louise Hunter
6.  Date of birth – March 2, 1913
7.  Age – 25 years, 5 months, 0 days
8.  Trade, profession etc – Electrician Helper
9.  Industry or business – Montsanto Chem. Co.
10. Date deceased last worked at this occupation – July 38 [should that be 18?]
11. Total time (years) spent in this occupation – 5
12.  Birthplace – East St. Louis, Ill.
13. Name of father – Raphael Hunter
14. Birthplace of father – Kentucky
15. Maiden name of mother – Lucy Siler
16. Birthplace of mother – Tennessee
17. Informant – Mrs. R. Hunter, P.O. Address – Dupo, Illinois
18. Place of burial – Cemetery – St. Paul; location – Columbia, Illinois; Monore County, Illinois
19. Date – Aug. 4, 1938
20. Undertaker – Albert L. Dashner, Dashner Funeral Home, Dupo, Ill.
21. Date of death – Aug. 2, 1938
22. Inquest & autopsy held and deceased came to his death on the date stated above…….death was from compression fracture to 5th cervical vertebrae.
Date of Onset or occurrence:  July 3, 1938
Manner of injury was: Dived in Mississippi river at E. Corondlete
Accidental, suicidal or homicidal – Accidental
Was injury related to occupation – No
23. Injury rec’d in E. Corondlete township
Specify whether injury occurred in industry, in home or    in public place:  Mississippi River
24. Signed: Leo L. Madden, MD Coroner
Address 403A Collinsville Ave.  E. St. Louis, Ill.
Date Aug 3, 1938  Telephone – E2213
25. Filed Aug 4 1938 (stamped) R. C. Fannier registrar
P.O. Address  E. St. Louis, Ill

When I went over this certificate the first couple of times, I had missed some things.  Transcribing the record brought those to my attention.

MY NEXT STEPS:

• See if there is a newspaper article about this incident.  If he dove into the Mississippi River and was injured that would certainly be news worthy.
• Find the divorce record for he and his wife Louise.
• Since there was a Coroner’s inquest, I may be able to order that record.
• Enter this as a source in Legacy and link it to all appropriate data & events.  And, enter the image of the certificate in the photo gallery (plus sign next to his death info).

So, now I know why Joseph Jackson Hunter died at the age of 25 years.  And don’t I know so much more about him?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE - Where can you find them?
CORONER'S CASE FILE - Robert L. Bowden - An analysis

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

More cousins and a laptop crash

Yup, it's been a few days since I've written. For one thing I ended up with a stupid virus on my laptop. Had to have the entire hard drive wiped and re-formatted. Good thing that all my family files are on my desktop computer and backed up on external hard drives and flash drives. This is one thing I cannot stress to you enough. Backup, backup and backup some more. This is absolutely critical for all reserachers and has saved me more than once. I'm happy to say that after about five days I have most everything back on my laptop. Most importantly my family database.
On to happier things. I drove about 3 hours up the coast to visit my 2nd cousin. She's related to me on the Lindsay side. Seems like all of us Lindsay descendants are coming out of the woodwork lately. It was a real nice visit. We talked a lot and looked at family pictures and exchanged information. We even called her sister in Detroit and talked to her for a while. Since my 2nd cousin's sister is about 14 years older than her, she has more memories of Grandparents and family lore. Certainly there are mysteries and curiosities to uncover in this Lindsay clan. Children born "out of wedlock" back at the beginning of the last century and marriages up in Canada with some questionable information on the certificates. Children given up for adoption. Who were the fathers of these children? We are certainly trying to unravel all these interesting stories.
Of course you know that if we'd been smart enough to talk to our Grandmothers and Grandfathers back when they were still with us, we would have some of these answers. So this would be another thing I cannot stress enough. If you have family members on any side of your family that may be getting on in years, please take the time to interview them now. Don't wait. Either record you conversation or take really good notes. Boy, what I wouldn't give for 10 minutes with any of my grandparents or even my Dad.
That's all for today,
Michigan Girl