tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58262483442075782842024-03-24T23:53:40.408-04:00Family SleutherA family history journal for me and a genealogical toolkit for you. It documents my interest in ancestry and shares helpful, practical tips for your genealogy.Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-8742555647092420952023-12-09T12:35:00.004-05:002023-12-09T12:35:42.407-05:00I Found Sarah Kirk’s Missing Footstone <p>I found my fifth great-grandmother Sarah (Bonar) Kirk’s missing footstone!</p><p>While researching Sarah and her husband Thomas Kirk’s genealogy in the 1990s, Donald and Theresa Kirk (4th cousins twice removed) traveled to Licking County, Ohio and photographed their graves in the <a href="https://www.beardgreencemetery.com/history" target="_blank">Beard-Green Cemetery</a>. At that time, both Thomas and Sarah’s headstones were already cracked in half. Thomas’ headstone had metal brackets clamping the two pieces together. Unfortunately, the upper portion of Sarah’s headstone - with her biographical information - was missing. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDI7fFMGkaGm_0ueTssc3ARReY_LablB-HkUr3ePni0b4B8oX7WSZ5kMS7qOHq6CKm5fiORgCY2RfN-hr9hW5bkYl-Zv6TaoRcHFTWUHQEWrm_AS2Kc-fw8j90Jpa0aiNv-pfEU1Uor2RUG7ASSLSm46Ku8NL7ySG2q0X8F1DJR0iaTymg3W4zkECEko/s2048/Kirk%20headstones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDI7fFMGkaGm_0ueTssc3ARReY_LablB-HkUr3ePni0b4B8oX7WSZ5kMS7qOHq6CKm5fiORgCY2RfN-hr9hW5bkYl-Zv6TaoRcHFTWUHQEWrm_AS2Kc-fw8j90Jpa0aiNv-pfEU1Uor2RUG7ASSLSm46Ku8NL7ySG2q0X8F1DJR0iaTymg3W4zkECEko/w400-h300/Kirk%20headstones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas and Sarah (Bonar) Kirk's graves with their original stones broken in half.<br />Author pictured in 2023.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs3RxHV16aCBwB6C9ttSTG2pugQ9GnHAdari2PzCH2Mr9147Hgh8QvpkcOl_Fq9YVXcNoJYER2rklbgCsq6xo4YGLyTE9r_Z01I29d8VaEKjFQYYPf80VTEdYI-6KfnA6hb9KERlK0S8Fc4IgUsipdxstcdFGd2XWGorVpKOEk9q47mvCrCRt0_MzxH8/s1404/Thomas%20Kirk's%20original%20headstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1042" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFs3RxHV16aCBwB6C9ttSTG2pugQ9GnHAdari2PzCH2Mr9147Hgh8QvpkcOl_Fq9YVXcNoJYER2rklbgCsq6xo4YGLyTE9r_Z01I29d8VaEKjFQYYPf80VTEdYI-6KfnA6hb9KERlK0S8Fc4IgUsipdxstcdFGd2XWGorVpKOEk9q47mvCrCRt0_MzxH8/w296-h400/Thomas%20Kirk's%20original%20headstone.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Kirk's original headstone intact. <br />Photographed by Donald and Theresa Kirk in the 1990s.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The upper piece of Sarah's headstone must have been missing for a long time because she wasn’t recorded in the <a href="https://www.beardgreencemetery.com/burials" target="_blank">two censuses of cemetery burials</a> conducted in 1940 and again in 1970. Sarah, who died in 1835, was now buried in a nearly unmarked grave following decades of exposure to the elements.</p><p>Sarah’s grave would have been anonymous except for one clue. Donald and Theresa also photographed her original footstone. Her initials “S.K.” were carved in the stone and provided the only evidence that it was Sarah who was buried beside Thomas. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IWbeYroPzGZSQ0CBTk3yrk2Vse1NRZ_cC6xt7LAFthKF-SStmhAyTrRcEgKUBDVVOxVTe-ZgE3mJYEn54wcqs099s-N85mc8K1DXbQffa8nyrRsMvV5NV7pW50e81GyHJtTBTjjnrDOM_ztaa6Rx6gC1fSQkZYHHycSAz9TMeHzGAfr_QwN5wUCuB6M/s1361/Sarah%20Bonar%20Kirk%20footstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="1118" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IWbeYroPzGZSQ0CBTk3yrk2Vse1NRZ_cC6xt7LAFthKF-SStmhAyTrRcEgKUBDVVOxVTe-ZgE3mJYEn54wcqs099s-N85mc8K1DXbQffa8nyrRsMvV5NV7pW50e81GyHJtTBTjjnrDOM_ztaa6Rx6gC1fSQkZYHHycSAz9TMeHzGAfr_QwN5wUCuB6M/w329-h400/Sarah%20Bonar%20Kirk%20footstone.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah (Bonar) Kirk's footstone pictured in the 1990s by Donald and Theresa Kirk.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>When I made my first trip to the Beard-Green Cemetery in July 2017, I discovered that the upper portion of Thomas’ headstone and Sarah's footstone were now both missing. I searched for them without success.</p><p>During a subsequent visit to the cemetery in July 2020, I found the tip of a buried stone alongside the headstone for their son Vachel. Firmly embedded in the ground, I was unable to excavate it. I assumed I had discovered Sarah’s missing footstone. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSINwxvBryzxXwYRdgUosZmnE2pweofY6LwJrY7j7P88dxvy7w98cSqs4f_cS_NUIZbW2NIYVXJujxcxo_qFmYbnS3c68SqfTDMyg0GYp-m1ihjYVAkEunfHQAq6MZgdaAKBFdT1oXq1TUFQpFWPDkXqvl7D687aAB1QwfnFJ0KwyxdGk5CMjdqx2mw5w/s2048/Footstone%20beside%20Vachel%20Kirk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSINwxvBryzxXwYRdgUosZmnE2pweofY6LwJrY7j7P88dxvy7w98cSqs4f_cS_NUIZbW2NIYVXJujxcxo_qFmYbnS3c68SqfTDMyg0GYp-m1ihjYVAkEunfHQAq6MZgdaAKBFdT1oXq1TUFQpFWPDkXqvl7D687aAB1QwfnFJ0KwyxdGk5CMjdqx2mw5w/w400-h300/Footstone%20beside%20Vachel%20Kirk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vachel Kirk's original headstone with a stone buried alongside.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In spring 2021, I worked with a local monument company to place a new headstone for Vachel and asked that they dig up what I figured was Sarah’s long lost footstone. They were able to pull it out. Unfortunately, the stone was broken and no longer included the portion with initials. I thought we’d lost more of Sarah’s history.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSh482WJeG7qNEz8o2Bn29iOneM85fXe-I9Dib6wDUCfJ5drUZ6IXgW3mKhSNapZ27Gka11AFF9dV1LUu5VlfVKWDlPXv1fIrDMi6fPu-FYN5T-_aXFNarYTaMZd0RTNpAKol3w4LuB7C67vtbiAIJObUR4xuS4lZTGApI4ZzRvTel6iILSCQpE32cWY/s1236/Thomas%20Kirk's%20footstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSh482WJeG7qNEz8o2Bn29iOneM85fXe-I9Dib6wDUCfJ5drUZ6IXgW3mKhSNapZ27Gka11AFF9dV1LUu5VlfVKWDlPXv1fIrDMi6fPu-FYN5T-_aXFNarYTaMZd0RTNpAKol3w4LuB7C67vtbiAIJObUR4xuS4lZTGApI4ZzRvTel6iILSCQpE32cWY/w242-h400/Thomas%20Kirk's%20footstone.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unearthed footstone (from alongside Vachel's headstone) was broken and didn't include the portion with initials. At first, I assumed it was Sarah (Bonar) Kirk's footstone.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>That assumption was undone this past June. I made a speedy road trip to Licking County and stopped at Beard-Green to clean up the Kirk graves and place new flowers. While tidying around Vachel’s grave, I noticed the telltale signs of a stone buried behind his original headstone. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9EhCVkveNkifE8PKzG_M-8v6WdL9oqwiipPwDLWYHTABrNNM_bdO42KlFhiLT6Mc38FfudbEIAtItiHkqOeZKNgWyEBFHxS_kf57EtwRDdp7zPHJm8kl_Oq6oTRwn2Api6TQgF7QstvPaLwn7yXNkrpkPTnjmgvV99bNqU5u3joTy-a334nWDd7Q0ts/s2048/Mystery%20footstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9EhCVkveNkifE8PKzG_M-8v6WdL9oqwiipPwDLWYHTABrNNM_bdO42KlFhiLT6Mc38FfudbEIAtItiHkqOeZKNgWyEBFHxS_kf57EtwRDdp7zPHJm8kl_Oq6oTRwn2Api6TQgF7QstvPaLwn7yXNkrpkPTnjmgvV99bNqU5u3joTy-a334nWDd7Q0ts/w300-h400/Mystery%20footstone.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In June 2023, I noticed a new stone emerging from behind Vachel's headstone.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I’ve been over that patch of ground countless times during my four previous visits and I've never seen any signs of a buried marker. Perhaps the landscaping crew had recently uncovered some topsoil that revealed a portion of the stone. I was able to unearth the rest of it and immediately spotted the initials “S.K.” </p><p>I was stunned! I quickly realized that I had found Sarah’s footstone that was last seen in the 1990s. The 188-year-old stone was buried in the exact area where Donald and Theresa had photographed it 30 years ago.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMqSoW5H15WWJpscw1RVB2pcEEMFtKWn1Sc2-zKq3RhqvdPXLWhG58qhuWkF9MDqrhAjQNawR5aH8dTa4iglcFDgU6eBs8ZXt1dvyeajK5vYVKzkuNbWPoQNYHghaqN2VKzudgmcn5njwyCKA36CK_AJfIZ-VYUyHOx-mcr5YRz5B8GOeZ1TDjWrQqEE/s2048/Sarah%20Bonar%20Kirk%20footstone%20discovered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMqSoW5H15WWJpscw1RVB2pcEEMFtKWn1Sc2-zKq3RhqvdPXLWhG58qhuWkF9MDqrhAjQNawR5aH8dTa4iglcFDgU6eBs8ZXt1dvyeajK5vYVKzkuNbWPoQNYHghaqN2VKzudgmcn5njwyCKA36CK_AJfIZ-VYUyHOx-mcr5YRz5B8GOeZ1TDjWrQqEE/w300-h400/Sarah%20Bonar%20Kirk%20footstone%20discovered.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I uncovered the stone that turned out to be Sarah (Bonar) Kirk's original footstone with her initials "S.K."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>If that was Sarah’s footstone, it immediately raised the question of whose footstone I found in July 2020. Because of its location near the Kirk graves and that it’s made from the same type of stone and is approximately the same width as Sarah’s, I presume it’s Thomas’ original footstone. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP948slBe1f3IBxNFQzaa4sR-5Q4f0ThycYpSISKNHaEsTDtGlZAphWseqyJnGCht72pHo7uTk1W0nibr6c-fD-aH-CLK2JFP9G4DVmvI-o_xgatJ6gqIi5-BHLnP-qVzmSg-go2tKEWOhRWvaB3qppMYwrHugqIHh-Gurj4Gs5kR8VT9-4I1-S7za_Ys/s2048/Kirk%20footstones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP948slBe1f3IBxNFQzaa4sR-5Q4f0ThycYpSISKNHaEsTDtGlZAphWseqyJnGCht72pHo7uTk1W0nibr6c-fD-aH-CLK2JFP9G4DVmvI-o_xgatJ6gqIi5-BHLnP-qVzmSg-go2tKEWOhRWvaB3qppMYwrHugqIHh-Gurj4Gs5kR8VT9-4I1-S7za_Ys/w400-h300/Kirk%20footstones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah's newly discovered footstone (left) leaves me speculating that the other footstone belongs to Thomas Kirk.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I plan to work with a monument company to discuss preservation options and whether the markers can be safely reset. If you have experience with footstone restorations or recommendations, please share in the comments.</p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-56255621334757306522023-11-24T18:30:00.003-05:002023-11-24T18:41:41.254-05:00FamilyTreeDNA's Big Y-700 Uncovers Family RelationshipsGenetic genealogy provided evidence that three men - all contemporaries who shared the same unusual name - were closely related to each other. But what exactly was the relationship between them?<br /><br /><div>My fourth great-grandfather was Vachel Kirk. He was born in 1805 in Ohio to Thomas and Sarah (Bonar) Kirk and lived in Licking County where he married Jane Delzell. <br /><br />He was my family tree’s first Vachel. When I discovered two other men with the same peculiar name living in the same era and in generally close proximity, I had to take a closer look.<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Vachel Kirk #2:</b> Born in 1783 in either Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Virginia (his children couldn’t agree on a location), he married Rachel Hall. Records place him in Fayette County, Pennsylvania through 1815. Beginning in 1820, he appeared in Butler County, Ohio, where he lived the rest of his life.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Vachel Kirk #3: </b>Born in about 1803 in Ohio, he married Susanna Allstaff. Records place him in eastern Ohio (Belmont, Harrison, then Morgan counties) from 1825 through 1850. In 1855, he moved to Hendricks County, Indiana where he lived the rest of his life.</li></ul>Mindful of traditional naming patterns, I wondered if they were related. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Y-DNA Testing Establishes a Connection </h3><br />A third great-grandson of Vachel Kirk #2 took an autosomal and Y-37 DNA test with AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA respectively. The Y-DNA results indicated that he was a close genetic match to a dozen direct male descendants of Thomas Kirk, including his son Vachel. The autosomal test also surfaced more than a dozen matches with descendants of Thomas Kirk. However, the low levels of shared DNA make it difficult to pinpoint a specific family relationship with any certainty. <br /><br />Encouraged by the initial matches, we upgraded the descendant’s Y-DNA test from Y-37 to Y-111 and then finally Big Y-500. At each level of higher testing, the matches with descendants of Thomas Kirk remained the closest. <br /><br />In April 2023, I finally located several living direct male descendants of Vachel Kirk #3. One of the men, a descendant of Vachel’s son Isaac Kirk, agreed to a Big Y-700 test. <br /><br />The results showed that he was a close Y-DNA match to all of Thomas Kirk’s descendants and the descendant of Vachel Kirk #2. <br /><br />Finally, I had evidence that all three Vachel Kirks were indeed genetically related to each other.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8qBUCRSInbGthbh53bhjuy5HgnMvpFqtOm0zr7b8hltWU8t4SnUAQJNYnZ5tNjcQ9gjhiuCPgt7GqEF_TRb2DqhF3097YIiEb6HSfWE-c3WFQJkH9g2VoAKD83xHoPrfIHTNreb79tkdciAfCDuB3tUQKzUYwf9VFsHasohMkmuizhQlsupD4bv5Hso/s782/Vachel%20Kirks%20are%20family.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="782" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8qBUCRSInbGthbh53bhjuy5HgnMvpFqtOm0zr7b8hltWU8t4SnUAQJNYnZ5tNjcQ9gjhiuCPgt7GqEF_TRb2DqhF3097YIiEb6HSfWE-c3WFQJkH9g2VoAKD83xHoPrfIHTNreb79tkdciAfCDuB3tUQKzUYwf9VFsHasohMkmuizhQlsupD4bv5Hso/w400-h369/Vachel%20Kirks%20are%20family.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><h3>Y-DNA Mutation Suggests Close Relationship </h3><br />The Big Y results for the descendants of Vachel Kirk #2 and #3 suggested a particularly close relationship. <br /><br />In fact, Vachel #2 and #3 are so closely related that both men belong to their own recently identified haplogroup, branching off from the haplogroup shared by Thomas Kirk and his descendants, including his son Vachel Kirk #1. <br /><br />Y-DNA matches are defined by naturally yet random occurring mutations in the Y chromosome. These mutations are what allow us to distinguish Kirk men from any other man you pass on the street. They define our paternal ancestry. Men pass these mutations or haplogroup on to their sons which makes it possible for genetic genealogists to trace patterns of relatedness (source: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Genealogists-Guide-Testing-Genetic-Genealogy/dp/B085HQXF4Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3VHNITSRVPU4S&keywords=david+vance&qid=1700865768&sprefix=david+vance%2Caps%2C69&sr=8-1" target="_blank">David Vance</a>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Both Vachel Kirks have a newly identified Y-DNA mutation or haplogroup called R-BY100766 that is unique to them.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54oP5G0-v_Jn2TZK4uAyqVl2dbm0DmPFda-28bwirmRUaas5oWc-8n4fO2vkCFIre86uQbsr-wbxHwzqlNoRG1htS6MuWeVfCi7VGyeCSTpp6k1xOznIAyVrDBCqSiPzZr0FXYVP0DgeSgpaHDrCkQYjzuOEQjHuCHbWSBZWwUn_ihl03AF_Ja_3vVpM/s720/Slide2.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="703" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54oP5G0-v_Jn2TZK4uAyqVl2dbm0DmPFda-28bwirmRUaas5oWc-8n4fO2vkCFIre86uQbsr-wbxHwzqlNoRG1htS6MuWeVfCi7VGyeCSTpp6k1xOznIAyVrDBCqSiPzZr0FXYVP0DgeSgpaHDrCkQYjzuOEQjHuCHbWSBZWwUn_ihl03AF_Ja_3vVpM/w390-h400/Slide2.PNG" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So why is this important and what does this reveal about my genealogy? <br /><br />First, if Thomas Kirk (1778-1846) and Vachel Kirk #2 (1783-1836) were brothers (as I initially theorized), then the R-BY100766 mutation had to occur in Vachel #2 because Thomas’ descendants are negative for this haplogroup. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, if the R-BY100766 mutation occurred in a generation before Vachel #2 and he inherited it from his father, then he is NOT a brother to Thomas Kirk who is negative for the mutation. <br /><br />Focusing on the relationship between Vachel #2 and #3, their shared R-BY100766 mutation suggests that they could be:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Father and son </h3><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tPAOK66hviz1h8iBON-tXifxl8QWgWvySE765KDtLJVIj4JAI1_k-vNCxwZjEG5D01_oMmuQlGEw46Il1eUwVeg6_C_09yRQW2Hsfo49z4SR_Fkybl2vHp3TpeQeygBttssgjIUBj74p5Opj0CCBzWg3hbdlFF2ClIg-2CFfNznwx51dIi4hgeyT5gc/s948/Vachel%20father%20son.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="948" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tPAOK66hviz1h8iBON-tXifxl8QWgWvySE765KDtLJVIj4JAI1_k-vNCxwZjEG5D01_oMmuQlGEw46Il1eUwVeg6_C_09yRQW2Hsfo49z4SR_Fkybl2vHp3TpeQeygBttssgjIUBj74p5Opj0CCBzWg3hbdlFF2ClIg-2CFfNznwx51dIi4hgeyT5gc/w400-h304/Vachel%20father%20son.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hypothetical father and son relationship for Vachel Kirk #2 and #3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Although the Y-DNA indicates it is a genetic possibility, a father and son relationship seems unlikely because Vachel #2 and his wife Rachel Hall eventually named one of their children Vachel in 1834 – over three decades after the birth of Vachel #3 (note that this child is not accounted among the three men referenced in this study). Why would Vachel #2 name two of his sons Vachel – especially if the first son of that name was still alive? <br /><br /> The father/son relationship theory is also undermined by the fact that Vachel #2’s future wife Rachel Hall was only 13 in 1803 when Vachel #3 was born. While not biologically impossible, it seems unlikely that she was his mother. There is currently no evidence that Vachel #2 had a relationship prior to Rachel Hall that resulted in children. <br /><br />It may also be telling that there were just a dozen autosomal DNA matches between the descendants of Thomas Kirk and the descendant of Vachel Kirk #2. A previous case study examining siblingship between Thomas and Mary (Kirk) Geiger surfaced over 100 paired matches. The fewer number of matches between Thomas and Vachel #2 may be a sign that the relationship was more distant thus explaining the drop off in autosomal matches.<br /><br /> Because of the genealogical unlikelihood that Vachel #3 was a son of Vachel #2, it seems probable the R-BY100766 mutation was inherited from a previous generation, suggesting Vachel #2 and Thomas were not brothers. <br /><br /> A more likely relationship scenario is that Vachel #2 and #3 were: <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Uncle and nephew </h3><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQN1D_m8h4U3LDCgyO0Hf4aBLpRV025ZWtFynuY6q4CNhvNrJyZKKKL9Ez527_OkY-rt_CU-iJ67vU9y-glqv0V2ZpPTxu8Owe05GkuYHihEoMCLBNlj0vBuDxeeVCEfHhSuPT_YJbNdZjstBghdtXS9hAMaEYGI5xzBiuKP431NV1O4foE5xvLd0qMOk/s1016/Vachel%20uncle%20nephew.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1016" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQN1D_m8h4U3LDCgyO0Hf4aBLpRV025ZWtFynuY6q4CNhvNrJyZKKKL9Ez527_OkY-rt_CU-iJ67vU9y-glqv0V2ZpPTxu8Owe05GkuYHihEoMCLBNlj0vBuDxeeVCEfHhSuPT_YJbNdZjstBghdtXS9hAMaEYGI5xzBiuKP431NV1O4foE5xvLd0qMOk/w400-h284/Vachel%20uncle%20nephew.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hypothetical uncle and nephew relationship for Vachel Kirk #2 and #3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">FamilyTreeDNA estimates that the most recent common ancestor of the R-BY100766 haplogroup was born around 1770 which they round down to 1750. Although not conclusive, this age approximation would fit well with the birth of Vachel #2’s father. <br /><br /> This would mean that the R-BY100766 mutation was inherited by Vachel #2 from his father (whose identity we don’t yet know). Vachel #2’s unknown father would then be the grandfather to Vachel #3.<br /><br />In this theory, Vachel #3 would be the son of an unknown Kirk who was brother to Vachel #2. <br /><br />What do you think? Does this seem possible to you?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Regardless of the scenario, to surface answers, our path forward will require more testing (both Y-DNA and autosomal). Thank goodness for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We're getting closer to definitive answers. One cheek swab and saliva sample at a time.<br /></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-4734538338352843592023-11-19T12:21:00.004-05:002023-12-10T10:57:29.728-05:00Celebrating A Decade Blogging Family HistoryI can hardly believe it, but this year marks a milestone in my family history journey. I'm celebrating my decennial <i>blogiversary</i>! <br /><br />Where has the time gone? <br /><br />Ten years ago, in June 2013, I started the Family Sleuther blog to uncover my family's forgotten history. <a href="https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/about-2/" target="_blank">Amy Johnson Crow</a>’s 52 Ancestors initiative prompted me to make blogging a habit. Soon, I was routinely researching and publishing. <br /><br />Propelled by a desire to rediscover my kin, I sought out ancestors whom the world had long forgotten. As the poet Marie Howe wrote, “I am living. I remember you.” <br /><br />And remember I have done. Across 284 blog posts (this is #285!), I’ve racked up over 524,000 total views and nearly 1,400 comments. <br /><br />I’ve learned a lot about the science and art of genealogy while making some dramatic discoveries. For example:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I learned that my third great-grandfather <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2018/08/a-trifling-quarrel-ends-in-murder.html" target="_blank">John Flynn was murdered in a trifling quarrel</a> in 1881.</li><li>I uncovered and then solved a Misattributed Paternity Event, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2017/07/surname-evolution-y-dna-journey-from.html" target="_blank">identifying my Kirk lineage and likely Irish roots</a> and even <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2022/09/writing-and-publishing-family-history.html" target="_blank">self-published a biography of my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk</a>.</li><li>I discovered my Cornish heritage and learned about the tragic and grisly death of my third great-grandfather <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2023/10/the-tragedy-of-thomas-k-stephens.html" target="_blank">Thomas K. Stephens who was killed in a Colorado mining accident</a>.</li><li>I learned that my third great-grandfather <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2016/04/till-jealousy-and-bullets-do-us-part.html" target="_blank">Francis Stephen Lamb shot and nearly killed a man</a> in a jealous fit of rage, making his family fodder for Denver's early 20th century tabloids.</li><li>I learned about my second great-grandfather <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2016/01/night-watchman-found-drowned.html" target="_blank">William Kirk's drowning in a Denver water reservoir</a>.</li><li>I discovered the role Mahlon Haworth, my fifth great-grandfather, played as a <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2017/02/grandfather-was-underground-railroad.html" target="_blank">station agent on the Underground Railroad</a>.</li></ul>I've also been fortunate to travel across the country and even overseas on same amazing family history road trips, retracing and documenting the steps of my ancestors. <div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eY0OI_manIZBXxw_PCXez2xhpUL0aEaB67xNeUOwnPuGCkzcBCPObTrQ424jJlLlQ78I_p3KjY8gKhQ9kXHjGSCCqU5tK-IWl_8o5EZvZFCY-gj5HTWJ1sH7IMCSMMreipl8KFVzpaI4c1qJxE3mAqZiv7hFOdFnpXet_zyjNfXBvnvvGsKCj0xwvHw/s4032/IMG_6115.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eY0OI_manIZBXxw_PCXez2xhpUL0aEaB67xNeUOwnPuGCkzcBCPObTrQ424jJlLlQ78I_p3KjY8gKhQ9kXHjGSCCqU5tK-IWl_8o5EZvZFCY-gj5HTWJ1sH7IMCSMMreipl8KFVzpaI4c1qJxE3mAqZiv7hFOdFnpXet_zyjNfXBvnvvGsKCj0xwvHw/w400-h300/IMG_6115.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author during a family history road trip to Licking County, Ohio.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I often return to past blog posts and am reminded of discoveries that have already escaped my memory. Writing my family history has helped me process my way through the information that I'm uncovering and preserving for posterity. It's made me a better genealogist.</div><div><br /></div><div>As I celebrate this milestone and look forward to the decade ahead, I invite you to blog your family's history. I suspect that a year from now (or ten) you'll be grateful you took steps to help safeguard your ancestors' stories for the future. As I walk down memory lane, I know I sure am!<br /> </div></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-13208168029676439412023-11-11T11:02:00.006-05:002023-11-11T11:03:58.785-05:00FamilyTreeDNA's 15th International Conference on Genetic GenealogyI've just returned from a long weekend in Houston, Texas, where I attended FamilyTreeDNA's <a href="https://isogg.org/wiki/Family_Tree_DNA%27s_International_Conference_on_Genetic_Genealogy" target="_blank">15th International Conference on Genetic Genealogy</a>. <br /><br />Tailored exclusively for FamilyTreeDNA's Group Project Administrators, sessions provided deep dives into many facets of genetic genealogy, including, of course, Y-DNA, for which FamilyTreeDNA is the industry's mainstay. Project Administrators play a pivotal role in fostering a dynamic learning community. They manage the many surname, geographic, and haplogroup projects that engage FamilyTreeDNA's network of users to help them deepen their knowledge about their genetic genealogy. <br /><br />The agenda featured a variety of sessions that shared best practices across group projects, highlighted FamilyTreeDNA’s anticipated new features, and provided a forum to connect and share experiences with other administrators. <br /><br />Highlights included:<div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Attending two sessions facilitated by David Vance whose book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Genealogists-Guide-Testing-Genetic-Genealogy/dp/B085HQXF4Z" target="_blank">The Genealogist’s Guide to Y-DNA Testing for Genetic Genealogy</a>, I devoured earlier this summer. It’s an excellent primer for understanding Y-DNA research and a must read if you’re looking to get the most out of your patrilineal history.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Meeting Katherine Borges, a founder and current director of the <a href="https://isogg.org/" target="_blank">International Society of Genetic Genealogy</a> (ISOGG), who highlighted the organization’s work to promote the use of DNA testing in genealogy. ISOGG is a great resource if you’re looking to grow your understanding of genetic genealogy and has played an important role advocating for legislation and standards favorable to the sector. The society also produces the free and open-access <a href="https://jogg.info/" target="_blank">Journal of Genetic Genealogy</a> (JoGG) which is edited by Vance. One of my conference takeaways is to spend time catching up on back issues, which feature illustrative case studies that may inform my own work.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Meeting FamilyTreeDNA founder <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennett_Greenspan" target="_blank">Bennett Greenspan</a>, who Borges called “the father of genetic genealogy.” Greenspan shared his own foray into genealogy and the genetic genealogy business.</li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAPxCh_moP7cJ_Aw-ZyCJiB9Bm1Rbvx52T0cVQBIbAhxGvRvFZfXa5V_rZLOQa_gPpxS__5nFtq1hTBZF0ceh5G0opJhUJDIrCd7RJ1qrep0utp3f7FMrqqUewJO-Cxy6T5b4liFZ0aTsYR3sJuVJ474zOFudEUsPo9netMi5JnWTJIHtyAY4nxKGj1s/s2918/Bennett%20Greenspan1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2334" data-original-width="2918" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAPxCh_moP7cJ_Aw-ZyCJiB9Bm1Rbvx52T0cVQBIbAhxGvRvFZfXa5V_rZLOQa_gPpxS__5nFtq1hTBZF0ceh5G0opJhUJDIrCd7RJ1qrep0utp3f7FMrqqUewJO-Cxy6T5b4liFZ0aTsYR3sJuVJ474zOFudEUsPo9netMi5JnWTJIHtyAY4nxKGj1s/w400-h320/Bennett%20Greenspan1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FTDNA founder Bennett Greenspan and Family Sleuther</td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Connecting with many experienced Group Project Administrators with decades of experience including Tim Duncan, an administrator for the Clan Donnachaidh Surname DNA Project, and Mags Gaulden of Grandma's Genes, who generously shared their experiences with genetic genealogy and as project administrators. It’s helpful – as a newbie – to see what successful projects can achieve.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Touring FamilyTreeDNA’s lab and seeing firsthand how test kits are processed from receipt, DNA extraction, and providing results. It was a fascinating look at the mechanics that go into processing hundreds of kits, including the 100,000th Big Y kit just this past October – a major milestone!</li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m1SNksgOWfR02g7A7U7rHogH8-pAPO_IDJSwAc_XLQQci8SkGsmTMS2miXeKEzOEwPHsUspSVXNMrxptQ7EwFwL-ieQ90KEBJp8FppICFL3n3krAtaYFMHSruN3fCIrEX4hwBRNOs-4cSItprhyphenhyphenUEfNsbR4p-ER57Hwd-_dYvofBeD0et5lmPQ9yFcQ/s3256/FTDNA%20lab.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3256" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m1SNksgOWfR02g7A7U7rHogH8-pAPO_IDJSwAc_XLQQci8SkGsmTMS2miXeKEzOEwPHsUspSVXNMrxptQ7EwFwL-ieQ90KEBJp8FppICFL3n3krAtaYFMHSruN3fCIrEX4hwBRNOs-4cSItprhyphenhyphenUEfNsbR4p-ER57Hwd-_dYvofBeD0et5lmPQ9yFcQ/w371-h400/FTDNA%20lab.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suited up in a lab coat for a tour of FTDNA's lab</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>After the conference, I capped my time in Texas with a quick day trip to the suburbs of Austin to meet with a fourth cousin twice removed, Dee, who is a third great-granddaughter of my paternal ancestor Thomas Kirk. A decade ago, when I was puzzling my way through a misattributed paternal event and trying to identify my paternal great-grandfather, Dee stepped up and persuaded her brother to submit a Y-DNA test that helped me link my paternal line to Thomas Kirk (1778-1846) of Licking County, Ohio.</div></div><div> <br />Back in Houston, I connected with a maybe cousin Scott. We’re researching the possibility that his ancestor John Kirk was an uncle to my Thomas Kirk. Scott has built a compelling case and we're now after DNA to help provide supporting evidence of his link to my line. This research has the potential to expand my Kirk family and surface new clues about the Kirks' immigration journey to the American colonies. Will we determine the link? With our dogged persistence, I’m certain the brick wall will eventually give way.</div><div> <br />You know it's a good conference when you come home with plenty of research to-dos that will keep you busy for the foreseeable future. Now, where to begin...</div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-33635486136180181302023-10-24T22:05:00.019-04:002023-10-25T22:13:27.114-04:00Was James Henry Winkler Lost in a Texas Sawmill Fire?I'm stumped. My third great-grandfather James Henry Winkler disappeared and left few clues to his whereabouts. <br /> <br /> While I concede it probably wasn’t deliberate, his periodic gaps in the paper trail have made it difficult to follow his movements. In late 2019, I recounted the little I knew about his life: <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2019/12/whatever-happened-to-james-henry-winkler.html" target="_blank">Whatever Happened to James Henry Winkler?</a><br /> <br /> Born <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5vjw1atIENs/Xf-LWenE0hI/AAAAAAAAIj0/QTnJo0X3pesBZb5k9T-Utrgp3yqdNOkigCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Winkler%2BFamily%2BBible.png" target="_blank">September 29, 1862</a>, he was enumerated as J. H. Winkler in his parents’ 1870 household. A decade later, however, he was gone. At the age of 18, he had struck out on his own. There are a couple contenders in the 1880 census that may be him, but I can’t identify him with certainty. <br /><br /> In 1883, he <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TxJU0HrQFWY/Xf-SoDbEbDI/AAAAAAAAIkY/wYzKLLHOAF8iAqLEzsFxCu8lCgeqLssEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/James%2BH%2BWinkler%2Band%2BPauline%2BBrickey%2BMarriage%2B1883%2BNewton%2BMissouri.jpg" target="_blank">married Pauline Brickey</a> (my third great-grandmother) in Newton County, Missouri. The record trail quieted down and I mistakenly assumed they were enjoying wedded bliss until Pauline suddenly - without any sign of turmoil in their relationship - remarried in 1891. <div><br /></div><div>What happened to James?! Did they divorce? Had he died? I couldn’t find an answer. The record trail was silent, and James was subsequently MIA for 17 years.<br /> <br /> I finally found J. H. Winkler in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. I was excited to see his birth month and year matched those in the Winkler family bible. I was doubly excited when I saw that the birth states for his parents were also a match (Indiana and Tennessee). I was back on his trail in hot pursuit and, to my surprise, in new geography - the Lone Star State! <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Emporia Logger Camp </h3><br />Seven months after they married in Liberty County, Texas, J. H. Winkler and his new wife Cora (Shelton) Doors, were enumerated on June 14, 1900, in the Emporia Log Camp in Angelina County, Texas. <br /> <br /> Run by the Emporia Lumber Company, Emporia was a company town established in 1893 that harvested yellow pine and processed the timber for transport along the nearby Houston East & West Texas railway lines to meet the growing industrial needs of the United States (<a href="https://www.thehistorycenteronline.com/pine-bough/december-1999" target="_blank">The Pine Bough, December 1999</a>). <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VV3QdXpGug6nUrC7gNLtQCe8Q5KF_DngVV46BwE4eVjk5eY7FdpVHoc99fDNnLDjpOlOQO_w_suLkDH9a3lnKOGMf_gYOMN9S6pa_k2sIPLG_SguzexsqWSVqWfGcYsSTjEunjOzH6OFdlJqn7Lmu3B1OxZB9pgQ_VF5up50g7ZeWZcE-dVuUwfJ0Ew/s487/1900%20Emporia%20Angelina%20County%20Texas%20LOC.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VV3QdXpGug6nUrC7gNLtQCe8Q5KF_DngVV46BwE4eVjk5eY7FdpVHoc99fDNnLDjpOlOQO_w_suLkDH9a3lnKOGMf_gYOMN9S6pa_k2sIPLG_SguzexsqWSVqWfGcYsSTjEunjOzH6OFdlJqn7Lmu3B1OxZB9pgQ_VF5up50g7ZeWZcE-dVuUwfJ0Ew/w400-h320/1900%20Emporia%20Angelina%20County%20Texas%20LOC.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of 1900 Texas railroad map detailing Emporia<br />Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98688561/</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In 1896, a fire destroyed the sawmill but was extinguished quickly and spared the planing mill and 5.5 million feet of lumber. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZigkRTOH8GhH5Hgts9fklnhwpDQhtKWdeE1p3BM8xqhAAznW1odAU_g7crAp5fIsprxhdR2lyizhGq8luCb6K91Yge3DBfs2Mh2fU_Qw9BjGeecxbrwg_lrjvEMgHpyWHLFBIjtvjYOsYkxvW9L9QFdp_vnhkimhSTiMKy9_x0U-tiZcg4s7VBpbiik/s525/1896%20Emporia%20fire%20A.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="525" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZigkRTOH8GhH5Hgts9fklnhwpDQhtKWdeE1p3BM8xqhAAznW1odAU_g7crAp5fIsprxhdR2lyizhGq8luCb6K91Yge3DBfs2Mh2fU_Qw9BjGeecxbrwg_lrjvEMgHpyWHLFBIjtvjYOsYkxvW9L9QFdp_vnhkimhSTiMKy9_x0U-tiZcg4s7VBpbiik/w400-h144/1896%20Emporia%20fire%20A.png" width="400" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKILw0wizwjLY_ORzLJtMTWiTAgOhbyfdJlaN4-TFZtvo-2f6llbUXLNRXdO4xzw58H5SV4YnMwFV_deGrUkwkZq9VwTBagAI1tpmLDKbKwv2gXkT3r4DumECRY37H6Jq9nPofGB9LZBzhQCcOX-buV48BEfKeiZfFvEIeDkvmgOrkQ8nD5KItNVTk8uc/s516/1896%20Emporia%20fire%20B.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="87" data-original-width="516" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKILw0wizwjLY_ORzLJtMTWiTAgOhbyfdJlaN4-TFZtvo-2f6llbUXLNRXdO4xzw58H5SV4YnMwFV_deGrUkwkZq9VwTBagAI1tpmLDKbKwv2gXkT3r4DumECRY37H6Jq9nPofGB9LZBzhQCcOX-buV48BEfKeiZfFvEIeDkvmgOrkQ8nD5KItNVTk8uc/w400-h68/1896%20Emporia%20fire%20B.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort Worth Gazette, March 24, 1896</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The following year (1897), business was booming. Emporia’s new sawmill produced 85,000 board feet per day, which provided lumber primarily for railroad cars and timbers for bridges (<a href="http://www.texasescapes.com/AllThingsHistorical/Emporia-Mystery-BB307.htm" target="_blank">Old Emporia</a>). New machinery was installed in 1900 that expanded the mill's daily production capacity to 100,000 board feet.</div><div><br /></div><div>The camp’s population climbed to 155 residents in 1900. Among these men was J. H. Winkler who worked as a logger in the sawmill. In fact, he was one of only two enumerated loggers (the other was a man named John M. Cravey). Both men worked alongside dozens of day laborers – most of them African American. <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ1dcZJzHSgb7rWbA_8hdrraZExr9-5OJDV7ZsVX66RNo6v_jD-HzHyVdo6EFltBRJq2C6StugVKzcOuUFV1k0B0AeVcA9EoIiGe1ceVq9WjgaNfrmixvfBhYJoruK7vb8z-jgTtkH_QFDaXWbY-h-QMTvROlknagxsQORo2vV1axfcA8SKP4ivGpT9Y/s1082/1900%20census%20excerpt.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1082" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZ1dcZJzHSgb7rWbA_8hdrraZExr9-5OJDV7ZsVX66RNo6v_jD-HzHyVdo6EFltBRJq2C6StugVKzcOuUFV1k0B0AeVcA9EoIiGe1ceVq9WjgaNfrmixvfBhYJoruK7vb8z-jgTtkH_QFDaXWbY-h-QMTvROlknagxsQORo2vV1axfcA8SKP4ivGpT9Y/w400-h201/1900%20census%20excerpt.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of the 1900 US Federal Census for J.H. Winkler<br />His occupation was logger in the Emporia Log Camp sawmill</td></tr></tbody></table><br />James and Cora rented a house like every other person enumerated at the camp. Emporia offered a no-frills existence. Most employees lived in houses built of “unpainted clapboard construction with outdoor toilets.” The cottages were without modern conveniences because this was intended to be a short lived mill. Water for household needs came from shallow wells. Amenities included a “commissary store, a community church and meeting hall, and a small school” (Old Emporia, <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211352759.pdf" target="_blank">The History of Angelina County</a>).<br /> <br /> Just as quickly as I discovered James’ whereabouts, the trail went cold. For six years there was little information on his activities. Was he still at the Emporia log camp in Angelina County? <br /> <br /> The silence was finally broken on April 30, 1906 when <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Uehxc6FroU/Xf-tKJwHlVI/AAAAAAAAIlc/8ububpwQdwojpYSHsVrOHVYs3-c2FN9HACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sc0000.bmp" target="_blank">“Mrs. Cora Winkler” was united in marriage with W. T. Reed</a> in Jefferson County, Texas. Again, without any warning signs, J. H. Winkler was out of the picture. Cora's marriage record provided no clues as to whether she was a divorcée or a widower.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Fire scorches Emporia </h3><br /> As I dug deeper into Emporia’s history, I learned about a disaster that nearly wiped it off the map. Was James among the victims of what's been called “one of the most enduring mysteries in East Texas”? <br /><br />In March 1906 (one month <i>before </i>Cora remarried), an explosion and fire struck Emporia's sawmill. The fiery blast reportedly killed more than thirty sawmill workers (many of whom were black). Their remains were burned beyond recognition and buried in a mass grave; the location of which is unknown but believed to be somewhere on the Emporia town site (Old Emporia). <br /><br />Historian Bob Bowman speculated the magnitude of the fire's damage was exacerbated by an inadequate water supply. A newspaper in 1904 wrote, “water is so scarce that, in order to operate the mill, water has to be hauled from the Neches River” which was a mile away (Old Emporia). Holding ponds stored water that supported the mill, but clearly, when disaster struck, the need exceeded their capacity (The History of Angelina County).<br /> <br /> After the fires died down, the logging mill (what remained of it) was sold and Emporia faded until it was a ghost town that was eventually absorbed by the growth of neighboring Diboll. <br /><br />Today, there is no evidence of the Emporia log camp except for a <a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=37824" target="_blank">historic marker</a> denoting its general location. Local legend speculates that the mass grave lies east of U.S. 59 in Diboll’s south meadow area. <br /><br />Was James Henry Winkler killed in the sawmill explosion and fire? Was he laid to rest in the mass grave? That would certainly explain the uncertainty about his final whereabouts. But is it too easy of an answer? His fellow logger in the sawmill in 1900, John M. Cravey, lived to be enumerated on the 1910 census. Sure, it's possible that John no longer worked at Emporia when the disaster occurred or, if he did, he was spared fatal injury. Bottom line, I don't have any evidence to conclude James suffered a fiery end.</div><div><br /></div><div>Questions remain and more research needs to be done. Maybe clues are hiding in newspaper accounts or, if I'm really lucky and they exist, surviving Emporia Lumber Company employee records. The search for James continues. Will Texas yield answers?</div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-1627379024377616642023-10-15T12:54:00.002-04:002023-11-19T13:17:33.524-05:00The Tragedy of Thomas K. Stephens: A portrait of "the old reliable" miner of Idaho Springs, Colorado<p>Thomas K. Stephens was born into a Cornish mining family in July 1845. His father was a miner. Both his grandfathers were miners. It seemed his profession was preordained.</p><p>Despite earning a reputation as a skilled miner, the dangers of his vocation would grievously injure and maim him, and a harrowing accident would take his life.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">In the beginning</h3><p>When Thomas was just four years old, his family emigrated from southern England and settled in a growing mining community in Grant County, Wisconsin. As a young man, he left the area when the market for lead was no longer profitable. </p><p>Thomas spent over a decade north of the border. First, in Nova Scotia, he married <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2018/07/a-little-desperation-goes-long-way.html" target="_blank">Susan Elizabeth Day</a> in January 1868 (16 months <i>after </i>the birth of their first child, Thomas Jr.) and proceeded to have five children (four of whom survived infancy). Next, the family made a brief stop in Newfoundland, where their sixth child, William John Stevens (my second great-grandfather), was born in March 1879. </p><p>By the following year, they had settled in Idaho Springs - a small mountain town that was the epicenter of Colorado's gold rush in 1859. Twenty years had passed since that first discovery of gold, but the town remained a powerful magnet luring miners eager to stake claims and strike it rich.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvEZBiOckMHHJ-_W4o-r_RD1lqJM9DsKRg0NFXiEguQ4mI2YQdrPBX_slWkl56gQhqePH6DFL3SKAPRpHe0n2ZGv5F6zLwwdEWK5rSJzM8Jod1b9clA9N8bC0UWPRSb4EPuk9ljL1OfKTPk_lX4Lu-yR8PTtHcKvffYh9Fc2fXD5QHWHgOFfmf5yFTkQ/s1527/Idaho%20Springs%20Colorado%201882-1900.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1527" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvEZBiOckMHHJ-_W4o-r_RD1lqJM9DsKRg0NFXiEguQ4mI2YQdrPBX_slWkl56gQhqePH6DFL3SKAPRpHe0n2ZGv5F6zLwwdEWK5rSJzM8Jod1b9clA9N8bC0UWPRSb4EPuk9ljL1OfKTPk_lX4Lu-yR8PTtHcKvffYh9Fc2fXD5QHWHgOFfmf5yFTkQ/w400-h231/Idaho%20Springs%20Colorado%201882-1900.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/41181/rec/1" target="_blank">Idaho Springs, Colorado - c.1882-1900</a><br />Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Thomas and his family's first recorded appearance in the area was the 1880 US census. They were enumerated living in his brother Richard's home. Curiously, Thomas was identified as "Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled" in the census. Was there a mining accident in Canada that prompted the move to Colorado and convalescence in his brother's house?</p><p>Within a couple years, Thomas had amassed enough funds to buy his own place. On July 1, 1882, Thomas paid $175 for two lots on Miner Street - the town's main thoroughfare, which are illustrated on the Sanborn fire map drawn up 13 years later.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMBbbi6jUF5RJNa4WcOK0hd-P4b-zwwWNU7lqykTx8eXDzDm0AM1rSFUy2SiQtQYa6rIb4gbrTxwbQRsyWAkGl44azBaBMIiUND6t2Js24-gvaj4Ge3fyx_IxKEVWb-orKpj3dED9fE1Bn6fcqOi63UzlEoqdnjCnt2Y0i9qvDO39kt2NLM83n0mzoBw/s2192/1882%20July%2001%20-%20Thomas%20K%20Stephens%20grantee.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="2192" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMBbbi6jUF5RJNa4WcOK0hd-P4b-zwwWNU7lqykTx8eXDzDm0AM1rSFUy2SiQtQYa6rIb4gbrTxwbQRsyWAkGl44azBaBMIiUND6t2Js24-gvaj4Ge3fyx_IxKEVWb-orKpj3dED9fE1Bn6fcqOi63UzlEoqdnjCnt2Y0i9qvDO39kt2NLM83n0mzoBw/w400-h173/1882%20July%2001%20-%20Thomas%20K%20Stephens%20grantee.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of Thomas K. Stephens' July 1882 land indenture</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyOiIyKaWxfsmwkLhhWLpNEnAZlWiP0JcbullSeq4X09e0G8YEolmk4ccOGHEmIh8yjYc8Mip4h0GjSVYNliGe0XrV6IVx3o7dRT7KX8Z9gXHtCfJvAFZDlvSMZEhbxhSneSFEWf7Ki-AWufw0LcYJDkq-eXIZsQyJXH22j0H-ZqfluAsoDm6mDrvIiY/s899/Idaho%20Springs.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="899" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyOiIyKaWxfsmwkLhhWLpNEnAZlWiP0JcbullSeq4X09e0G8YEolmk4ccOGHEmIh8yjYc8Mip4h0GjSVYNliGe0XrV6IVx3o7dRT7KX8Z9gXHtCfJvAFZDlvSMZEhbxhSneSFEWf7Ki-AWufw0LcYJDkq-eXIZsQyJXH22j0H-ZqfluAsoDm6mDrvIiY/w400-h395/Idaho%20Springs.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of 1895 Sanborn fire map for Idaho Springs<br />The Stephens lots were #4 and the eastern half of #5 in Block 55</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Legal battle builds principled reputation</h3><p>Despite <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CLM18780831.2.50&srpos=1&e=--1878---1878--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22mining+is+a+paying+industry%22-------2-Clear+Creek-----" target="_blank">The Colorado Miner</a>'s assertion in 1878 that "mining is a paying industry and not gambling," it seems there was occasional volatility that hit miners like Stephens in the pocketbook. Two years after arriving in the Rocky Mountains, a legal dispute over unpaid wages helped identify Thomas' employer. <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=GTC18820629-01.2.29&srpos=4&e=--1880---1888--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Hukill%22-------2-Clear+Creek-----" target="_blank">On June 29, 1882, the Georgetown Courier wrote</a>:</p><blockquote>"This week several of the miners employed on the Hukill mine have quit work and placed their accounts in the hands of attorneys for collection. It seems the company is behind with the miners for the months of March, April, May and the portion of June past, not having paid them a cent of wages for that length of time. Upon inquiring into the facts of the case, we find that the company is in a bad state of financial embarrassment, and unless a large sum of ready money is forthcoming, the mine will be closed down." </blockquote><p></p><p>On August 25, 1882, Thomas filed a lien against the Hukill Gold and Silver Mining Company of New York, which he alleged was indebted to him for $3,032.75 "for work and labor done by me and by the assignees of the claims hereinafter specified of which claims I am the assignor, under a contract with your agent..." The lien listed the wages owed to Thomas and 30 other miners, including his eldest son Thomas H. Stephens. </p><p>In December 1882, the court sided with Thomas and awarded him $3,116.98.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw9fRMhTAlzYuud20lR1CXEa-CHfgD9e8R6y1Y3et6qQyMA-Do-nKqLZcp9o8LvJLlrnJCouxjnodCOk4fiHg4dBXfgLba7Xl8Q07gLTXUYxv3eruJbmrnTwk0TJdGtILSKLGdgbx91KHGom17C1ap_yncQ3grHE1BFgoJJCIQEYBGOIbV12Rdrb0wKo/s611/1882%20Dec%2007%20-%20Georgetown%20Courier%20-%20Thos%20K%20Stevens%20v%20Hukill%20judgment.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="118" data-original-width="611" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguw9fRMhTAlzYuud20lR1CXEa-CHfgD9e8R6y1Y3et6qQyMA-Do-nKqLZcp9o8LvJLlrnJCouxjnodCOk4fiHg4dBXfgLba7Xl8Q07gLTXUYxv3eruJbmrnTwk0TJdGtILSKLGdgbx91KHGom17C1ap_yncQ3grHE1BFgoJJCIQEYBGOIbV12Rdrb0wKo/w400-h78/1882%20Dec%2007%20-%20Georgetown%20Courier%20-%20Thos%20K%20Stevens%20v%20Hukill%20judgment.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Georgetown Courier - December 7, 1882</td></tr></tbody></table><p>With a court order "in favor of Thomas K. Stephens and against the goods and chattels and real estate of the Hukill Gold and Silver Mining Company", the county sheriff advertised a sale of Hukill's property "at public vendue" to satisfy Thomas' claims. Thomas had prevailed on behalf of himself and his fellow miners and burnished his reputation as a man of integrity - committed to fulfilling the employment agreements he made with dozens of men.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uns0FocSqhzUcqJ2rbIR43BD-qEiLsjii7e9B57luCOA5BVPAAk9fUbGes98BP0Gt8ppQTFVS8__Nch7GYNb2mAmP2vcmzxNZBRenUwnNSuaNDJw5TwvVSx6HKUaWzm_5bBbAqY7bpNcB8CszJvH8AUa1_qAoLC4-ur6eIjqsJTQ2eMzsnW81_VDOuo/s3682/Hukill%20vein.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2284" data-original-width="3682" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uns0FocSqhzUcqJ2rbIR43BD-qEiLsjii7e9B57luCOA5BVPAAk9fUbGes98BP0Gt8ppQTFVS8__Nch7GYNb2mAmP2vcmzxNZBRenUwnNSuaNDJw5TwvVSx6HKUaWzm_5bBbAqY7bpNcB8CszJvH8AUa1_qAoLC4-ur6eIjqsJTQ2eMzsnW81_VDOuo/w400-h249/Hukill%20vein.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plat diagram of the Hukill patent, recorded March 10, 1877</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Mining just for fun</h3><p>While Thomas was fighting for back payment from his previous employer, the Colorado Mining Gazette shed light on his workload and how he was making ends meet. In September 1882, they reported that the Star Tunnel site was being worked by day and night shifts and identified "Mr. T. K. Stevens (sic) is the contractor on this property." </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8S95QTnONLNdIZ_zJ1nuhGevgiKqcswDztN-yEdYEHYfezZ0hSjseLdfIdzNNw9M0jWdB8fXcOajLa-hPLfXGDt7dfgJ4qADyXcB9Ie0JM4HlgrHJD2yosTc6C5J1dY5rG2WxV45L9mNemZPgwHs_UybrwFwMAiPwGzP3HWpF9dOtHwAHLrel5oKi8Y/s458/1882%20Sept%2023%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20T%20K%20Stevens%20contractor%20Star%20Tunnel.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="458" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8S95QTnONLNdIZ_zJ1nuhGevgiKqcswDztN-yEdYEHYfezZ0hSjseLdfIdzNNw9M0jWdB8fXcOajLa-hPLfXGDt7dfgJ4qADyXcB9Ie0JM4HlgrHJD2yosTc6C5J1dY5rG2WxV45L9mNemZPgwHs_UybrwFwMAiPwGzP3HWpF9dOtHwAHLrel5oKi8Y/w400-h144/1882%20Sept%2023%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20T%20K%20Stevens%20contractor%20Star%20Tunnel.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado Mining Gazette - September 23, 1882</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-sun-o5TFwIN1_WVxCHmLb-fXht_V4AuGIoixK4aHqvhfLS_fcoZNxdlK4BjkawxRxBZc0ZRBH6RY6ph73HlqHWe5SA0eHLVb447-CLGguTZf41nKxxIYcXvokqnl2XZpELpk2MuapIkOKNlJAg_ppLyw5jshwyg6vFeHzBSzNdGoL0lEEtL2Zsv5eA/s1390/Star%20Tunnel%20site%20lower%20middle%20left%20-%20DPL%201890-1910.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1390" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-sun-o5TFwIN1_WVxCHmLb-fXht_V4AuGIoixK4aHqvhfLS_fcoZNxdlK4BjkawxRxBZc0ZRBH6RY6ph73HlqHWe5SA0eHLVb447-CLGguTZf41nKxxIYcXvokqnl2XZpELpk2MuapIkOKNlJAg_ppLyw5jshwyg6vFeHzBSzNdGoL0lEEtL2Zsv5eA/w400-h255/Star%20Tunnel%20site%20lower%20middle%20left%20-%20DPL%201890-1910.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/38789/rec/2" target="_blank">Star Tunnel site (lower middle left) - c.1890-1910</a><br />Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Later that year, another dispatch noted: "Mr. Tom Stephens, the old reliable contractor exhibited to the editors of the Gazette a magnificent specimen of gold quartz just received from Nova Scotia during the last days." Apparently, he had maintained links with his Canadian sojourn. The paper also disclosed Thomas' new hobby, announcing that "he bought the Heddenburgh [mine] in Spring Gulch just for fun."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UmBmpAEMfI8TjywloGOMxjmyVEiZFZnu4U2s8hRenwzjk4sHTMPn3eeDhm8uA1eqqZSgcKg_R9H9gl5fs-t3vNY3Xhe9TGNtWBeHyP7X-jYoTE73Znx-Sbye0UtXoSag9itXxiSklFpPa_yiZvQBlq7qar-qmHPLRfqq_h5YJHKubiYFSEdg8-SPBZ4/s553/1882%20Dec%2009%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20Tom%20Stephens%20Nova%20Scotia%20link.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="553" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UmBmpAEMfI8TjywloGOMxjmyVEiZFZnu4U2s8hRenwzjk4sHTMPn3eeDhm8uA1eqqZSgcKg_R9H9gl5fs-t3vNY3Xhe9TGNtWBeHyP7X-jYoTE73Znx-Sbye0UtXoSag9itXxiSklFpPa_yiZvQBlq7qar-qmHPLRfqq_h5YJHKubiYFSEdg8-SPBZ4/w400-h181/1882%20Dec%2009%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20Tom%20Stephens%20Nova%20Scotia%20link.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado Mining Gazette - December 9, 1882</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sure enough, among Idaho Springs' land records is a deed dated December 2, 1882 documenting the $200 purchase of the mining claim known as the Heddensburg Lode in the Coral Mining district. Curiously, Thomas bought the lode with his step-father Thomas Mulcrane - the first indication that his mother, Sarah (Kitto) Stephens Mulcrane, was also in the area. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DSICsNkRdt2_50LFqBORXAInIIs1AzwACXvSIfgp4n7Ox79_i6U6P8nPpYf1FJ0gri8mU_LeyQ_K46Ii4S7uwu-g_l-ZmaGhJ789-RwxqZL90zUUt4NejmVBIBnyfo672gf3wL6_rmVgQfd8LA0xEoGRZV70-PuBnDHR3_oHw8vJR9hsYsjmthXGYdA/s2221/1882%20Dec%2002%20-%20Thomas%20K%20Stephens%20and%20Thomas%20Mulcrane%20bought%20Heddensburg%20Lode.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1771" data-original-width="2221" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DSICsNkRdt2_50LFqBORXAInIIs1AzwACXvSIfgp4n7Ox79_i6U6P8nPpYf1FJ0gri8mU_LeyQ_K46Ii4S7uwu-g_l-ZmaGhJ789-RwxqZL90zUUt4NejmVBIBnyfo672gf3wL6_rmVgQfd8LA0xEoGRZV70-PuBnDHR3_oHw8vJR9hsYsjmthXGYdA/w400-h319/1882%20Dec%2002%20-%20Thomas%20K%20Stephens%20and%20Thomas%20Mulcrane%20bought%20Heddensburg%20Lode.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of Thomas K. Stephens and Thomas Mulcrane's <br />1882 purchase of the Heddensburg Lode</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div style="text-align: left;">Whether much fun was ever had is uncertain. After Thomas' untimely death, the mine would continue under the operation of his son William John Stevens.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3>Citizenship, Incorporation, and Wrasslin</h3><p>In May 1883, Thomas sold to his wife Susan their lots in Idaho Springs. She paid him $700 ($525 more than Thomas paid for the property just ten months earlier). Why was he moving their real estate in her name?</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bO8w6GybrUjwmkYC0PMk04yT1Mbi-E5XZOPorOBsdWdrs1Y6_LiQfivp7j8Iru6QLeZHKNXDQBwSLjHJvVcYTDZ9BVF8xG3ANW09xyRbHGSx_taUHWLIwChuUVRb6BPxoDH-CBOfPTtjVDiX-RZfb1JaLrXMytTrLbcHxFxJYcqjeQ8wQu_QTZZuHKQ/s2254/1883%20May%2011%20-%20Susan%20Stephens%20grantee%20from%20Thomas%20K.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="2254" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bO8w6GybrUjwmkYC0PMk04yT1Mbi-E5XZOPorOBsdWdrs1Y6_LiQfivp7j8Iru6QLeZHKNXDQBwSLjHJvVcYTDZ9BVF8xG3ANW09xyRbHGSx_taUHWLIwChuUVRb6BPxoDH-CBOfPTtjVDiX-RZfb1JaLrXMytTrLbcHxFxJYcqjeQ8wQu_QTZZuHKQ/w400-h188/1883%20May%2011%20-%20Susan%20Stephens%20grantee%20from%20Thomas%20K.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of Thomas K. Stephens selling lots to his wife Susan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>The following month, Thomas' ancestral heritage was on display. A dispatch from Idaho Springs, published in The Rocky Mountain News, named the winners of the town's Cornish wrestling match. A second place prize of $40 in gold went to Thomas Stevens. It's unclear whether this is Thomas - who was 37 years old - or his son Thomas H. Stephens who was 16. Either way, it's a rare confirmation that a popular cultural activity from their homeland (known colloquially as "wrasslin" in Cornwall, where the form of wrestling originated) was still practiced.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCMLwZ0Onz4cugFtWv01HS6-7lpge6vSWkrFecgsADZBToNtyp0Me0djfgrZ070f5q13w17WWMnElEXtxH5Glpl7WwNmA-yjaKxqnb8BMQ6mCYw5x_b0geJlhdDWBs7P5nGHqxCMQZHJC4XDKQMTKU4lyZPH8Z1TYZh-Frh5iG9wYkbCqHwRIsyGnun8/s738/1883%20June%2007%20-%20Rocky%20Mountain%20News%20-%20Cornish%20Wrestling%20Match.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="738" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCMLwZ0Onz4cugFtWv01HS6-7lpge6vSWkrFecgsADZBToNtyp0Me0djfgrZ070f5q13w17WWMnElEXtxH5Glpl7WwNmA-yjaKxqnb8BMQ6mCYw5x_b0geJlhdDWBs7P5nGHqxCMQZHJC4XDKQMTKU4lyZPH8Z1TYZh-Frh5iG9wYkbCqHwRIsyGnun8/w400-h151/1883%20June%2007%20-%20Rocky%20Mountain%20News%20-%20Cornish%20Wrestling%20Match.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky Mountain News - June 7, 1883</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>On July 6, 1883, an edition of the Weekly Register Call listed several men, including a Thomas Stevens, who "were granted first naturalization papers by Judge Collier..." Was Thomas working to become a U.S. citizen? These records aren't digitized and are archived in Clear Creek County's courthouse. I'll need to schedule a visit to learn more.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYejQFUfH0kiXW7h_y9sawWnpMaMdfdQ2N0KKO-e26zXQmLQum7_ewWJHL5lkAhotAZSAcfh-g-OWVdYK74NHdHPLipyd5y0GGMUj3fisczKCwWkIClYzh51O1qmLJUjycs_hv0FUJP2Fk0pHj76RBgqkNhHKlyOjM7VYGn1b5_1IFPgRqrrLo43onjdI/s543/1883%20July%2006%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Thomas%20Stevens%20Naturalization.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="543" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYejQFUfH0kiXW7h_y9sawWnpMaMdfdQ2N0KKO-e26zXQmLQum7_ewWJHL5lkAhotAZSAcfh-g-OWVdYK74NHdHPLipyd5y0GGMUj3fisczKCwWkIClYzh51O1qmLJUjycs_hv0FUJP2Fk0pHj76RBgqkNhHKlyOjM7VYGn1b5_1IFPgRqrrLo43onjdI/w400-h299/1883%20July%2006%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Thomas%20Stevens%20Naturalization.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weekly Register Call - July 6, 1883</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The very next day, Thomas began advertising his mining services. T. K. Stephens & Co. were in business as mining contractors offering "Practical Mining in all its Branches" and assured clients they would "Receive Prompt Attention and Thorough Execution." The ads ran through mid-1884.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXjZmWrhZ2HCDODf3u8oEPKfHhsCuK_4PnHpljgI190bfApWpmIUM0Nl9m86sWZ2f6gAdRwpwpAZLsOy5XMrtE7qpD-9QiSr_9y9Qtd9b-Yni37FJH4F_ML3nhPZYGxydnxBFDA-WdPtFR4CzMv2mEPcyxWjiRNcJ1wDxyt1MzpE-ba22R7hVhY8G0UY/s559/1883%20July%2007%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20TK%20Stephens%20&%20Co%20Mining%20Contractors%20advertisement.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="559" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXjZmWrhZ2HCDODf3u8oEPKfHhsCuK_4PnHpljgI190bfApWpmIUM0Nl9m86sWZ2f6gAdRwpwpAZLsOy5XMrtE7qpD-9QiSr_9y9Qtd9b-Yni37FJH4F_ML3nhPZYGxydnxBFDA-WdPtFR4CzMv2mEPcyxWjiRNcJ1wDxyt1MzpE-ba22R7hVhY8G0UY/w400-h335/1883%20July%2007%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20TK%20Stephens%20&%20Co%20Mining%20Contractors%20advertisement.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado Mining Gazette - July 7, 1883</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Operating his own business in a risky sector provides context and justification for why he likely applied for American citizenship and moved the family home - their largest asset - to his wife's name. </div><div><br /><h3>Injury amid financial hardship</h3><p>In a series of peculiar transactions in July 1884, Susan Stephens appeared to be maneuvering her family's assets to pay mounting debts. On July 12th, she mortgaged her lots on Miner Street to Bella Ward for $100. Two days later, Susan used portions of this same property as collateral in a deal with Wilber Horn who paid her $1 (at 10% interest) to satisfy a $65.36 debt on a promissory note to Dennis Faivre, an Idaho Springs grocer (who routinely advertised himself as an agent who sold Sachs, Pruden & Co.'s famous ginger ale). </p><p>In September 1885, Thomas suffered his first noteworthy injury. While working as a fireman in the smelter for the Plutus mine (site of the former Hukill mine), Thomas "bruised his hand" and was left "laid up". </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbJtbTncASviCWPwcxegWOfT7_ROJF4_dIuxQ3XJwAqhziyCMtc_ZJYiWPseExn_qMaXm7YhA9v4c4q2c8wAhUsfRTJsmH3puZ5Ha4vEAcD4fPpImJ-B8e0KAX-af85FwhLHSMrgcvKJDSQnB0yrU82mI8o8Y1uIH9HCVDzKjNuQCcK3wScwr_hlXyyw/s545/1885%20Sept%2019%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20Thomas%20Stevens%20injured%20hand.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="545" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbJtbTncASviCWPwcxegWOfT7_ROJF4_dIuxQ3XJwAqhziyCMtc_ZJYiWPseExn_qMaXm7YhA9v4c4q2c8wAhUsfRTJsmH3puZ5Ha4vEAcD4fPpImJ-B8e0KAX-af85FwhLHSMrgcvKJDSQnB0yrU82mI8o8Y1uIH9HCVDzKjNuQCcK3wScwr_hlXyyw/w400-h245/1885%20Sept%2019%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20Thomas%20Stevens%20injured%20hand.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado Mining Gazette - September 19, 1885</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDW90ML-_11od0Tn27WkjyjTHRaTP-GuL3sDT2GrrlkwaLnpQzDivqUjdKv0F-3rpeBSTtSE-eFo6rlqrieY8VmQj43bKZRXj_JNjiL3WW-QIGuuxwzDLVwweu3QO4O9FamZ_nXlVm8_0zFgj47jD5NIY_Ka5ri11me_h-T_eMZNBGvC4FY-wMsjs6lNc/s1040/Sanborn%201890%20map%20-%20detail%20of%20the%20Plutus%20mine%20and%20smelter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="884" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDW90ML-_11od0Tn27WkjyjTHRaTP-GuL3sDT2GrrlkwaLnpQzDivqUjdKv0F-3rpeBSTtSE-eFo6rlqrieY8VmQj43bKZRXj_JNjiL3WW-QIGuuxwzDLVwweu3QO4O9FamZ_nXlVm8_0zFgj47jD5NIY_Ka5ri11me_h-T_eMZNBGvC4FY-wMsjs6lNc/w340-h400/Sanborn%201890%20map%20-%20detail%20of%20the%20Plutus%20mine%20and%20smelter.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1890 Sanborn Fire Map, detail of Plutus mine and smelter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The extent of injury to Thomas' hand wasn't clear nor was its impact on his ability to work and earn a living. Despite an insurance policy, it appears Thomas' family continued to struggle with financial hardship. </p><p>A testy blurb in a February 1886 edition of the Colorado Mining Gazette (in which Thomas had advertised his mining services) aired his dirty laundry for their readership: "T. K. Stevens is the name of a gentleman who poked a Gazette at the postmaster marked 'refused'. Mr. Stevens should have done this before his subscription account ran up to $350 - which he still owes at this office."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULryz0KcEirr8nrm70yz24dwB71TemRqcu9-Ax3OlmJ1GIip1WqKvIG-4qudFTi6xjhrnIyZbuonTUuMpDSJ8_9iNLn-26IltN_a7Nr1joEQBe0RDwQBbQ787RabyJh2r5UcQ_U8zI0kfo5SNXpGarph_4cyBru5BYNWAgIku_uc-CN7kkGJDFOSQagQ/s551/1886%20Feb%2006%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20T%20K%20Stevens%20owes%20$350.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="551" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULryz0KcEirr8nrm70yz24dwB71TemRqcu9-Ax3OlmJ1GIip1WqKvIG-4qudFTi6xjhrnIyZbuonTUuMpDSJ8_9iNLn-26IltN_a7Nr1joEQBe0RDwQBbQ787RabyJh2r5UcQ_U8zI0kfo5SNXpGarph_4cyBru5BYNWAgIku_uc-CN7kkGJDFOSQagQ/w400-h209/1886%20Feb%2006%20-%20Colorado%20Mining%20Gazette%20-%20T%20K%20Stevens%20owes%20$350.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado Mining Gazette - February 6, 1886</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The following month brought some promising news. On March 1, 1886, Susan bought her lots on Miner Street back from Bella Ward. The Stephenses owned their home again.</p><p>Unfortunately, the danger of Thomas' work soon reemerged. During the summer, workmen at the Plutus mine were "digging trenches for the air pipe leading from the new compressor, run by water power," and huge blocks of granite were "being dressed down and laid for foundations" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=WRC18860917-01.2.82&srpos=32&e=--1871---1890--en-20--21--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Weekly Register-Call, September 17, 1886)</a>. On August 30, 1886, The Rocky Mountain News wrote of an "Accident at the Springs" that was detailed further by the Weekly Register Call:</p><p></p><blockquote>"A deplorable accident occurred in the Plutus mine on Spanish Bar, above Idaho Springs, yesterday, to a miner named Thomas Stephens, where he had been employed for some time past, by the falling of a mass of rock weighing a couple of tons. Mr. Stevens was caught by the falling mass a little above the hips, inflicting serious injuries, which it is feared will result in death. Dr. Richmond was called from this city [Central City] to attend to the injured man, but entertains little hope for the suffering miner. </blockquote><blockquote>Tom Stevens (sic) has but one hand, the right one, but notwithstanding this, he is considered one of the best miners in the county, and was always in demand by mine owners when he was out of a job. Mr. Stevens is a real estate owner and a very worthy citizen, who has the deep sympathy of every one."</blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKzJ6tmmzt4aV4fUI8jZH9UXwksKqEsN4KQM2nh4BFCMnv1ECMTTO3EJ4dVI3JhMolAbhg4_IluUjb7WH3DmXsZrWK27gNblFwRBZZNo9FY5Gw8-8Mig0a-tokcjsR8HkzsP2pKx9KzoB7ovR_nIUIN4ueNegXc3zzYYW17mg75S2WHedRDFRuePcb9s/s765/1886%20Sept%2002%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Terribly%20Crushed%20pg%204.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="544" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKzJ6tmmzt4aV4fUI8jZH9UXwksKqEsN4KQM2nh4BFCMnv1ECMTTO3EJ4dVI3JhMolAbhg4_IluUjb7WH3DmXsZrWK27gNblFwRBZZNo9FY5Gw8-8Mig0a-tokcjsR8HkzsP2pKx9KzoB7ovR_nIUIN4ueNegXc3zzYYW17mg75S2WHedRDFRuePcb9s/w285-h400/1886%20Sept%2002%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Terribly%20Crushed%20pg%204.png" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weekly Register Call - September 2, 1886</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><p>We learn for the first time that Thomas had lost his left hand - perhaps in the Plutus smelter accident nearly a year before - and was back in the mines when he was crushed by the rockfall. Despite initial speculation that his injuries would be fatal, Thomas made a rapid recovery during the fall of 1886 under the care of Dr. Richmond.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A strange fatality hovers</h3><p>In June 1885, the Plutus Mining and Smelting Company of New York purchased the former Hukill mine after its assets were liquidated to pay debts owed to men like Thomas. Seven months later, in January 1886, the Plutus mine, mill, and smelter employed about 100 men and produced about $10,000 in ore each month (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18860125-01.2.54&srpos=14&e=--1871---1890--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Rocky Mountain News, January 25, 1886</a>). Under Plutus, profits for the mine increased $20,000 in its first six months of operation compared to the final six months under Hukill ownership (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18860107-01.2.22&srpos=10&e=--1871---1890--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Rocky Mountain News, January 7, 1886</a>).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvgSCh4L3mVvs0UYfNcPKw4k5-jvEjmFmFxuAVYn47VzcQJHD1wvMyv46k-7QewxoDyWLeuqm4BZ4IH1LzAI_YkatlyL6owd5QDHC3008dQjU0bmx305wlVu6V_iiMuWAPMP6PBfMn85zaIH8LhB6ghBhuLztzGVsWCUW2kQjBlqXlEhVblY4ndN8-CY/s1103/Idaho%20Springs%20Colorado%20Plutus%20Mine%20highlighted.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1103" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvgSCh4L3mVvs0UYfNcPKw4k5-jvEjmFmFxuAVYn47VzcQJHD1wvMyv46k-7QewxoDyWLeuqm4BZ4IH1LzAI_YkatlyL6owd5QDHC3008dQjU0bmx305wlVu6V_iiMuWAPMP6PBfMn85zaIH8LhB6ghBhuLztzGVsWCUW2kQjBlqXlEhVblY4ndN8-CY/w400-h304/Idaho%20Springs%20Colorado%20Plutus%20Mine%20highlighted.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mayflower, Plutus (highlighted), and Salisbury mines along <br />left side and Hyland mine on right side across Clear Creek<br />Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In October 1886, the Colorado Mining Gazette reported "Ninety-five thousand pounds of machinery arrived" for the Plutus mine. This investment included an air compressor that would "do an immense amount of hoisting, besides running fifteen three-inch air drills" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CMG18861009-01.2.3&srpos=22&e=--1871---1890--en-20--21--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Colorado Mining Gazette, October 9, 1886</a>). The foundations for the compressor were built during the summer, and it was during this work that Thomas was likely injured by falling rock.</p><p>Despite the improvements to the mine's operations, it remained dangerous work. On Monday, November 22, 1886, Thomas and his eldest son Thomas H. Stephens were working inside the Plutus mine when disaster struck. Shortly after 6:00 pm, an "<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18861125-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------" target="_blank">unlooked-for and dire accident</a>" occurred and "<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CMG18861127-01.2.5&srpos=3&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------" target="_blank">two men full of life and hope were hurried into eternity; one instantly and the other a few hours later.</a>"</p><p>Before he succumbed to his wounds, Thomas K. Stephens recounted the chain of events that unfolded as he and his son were setting an explosives charge to blast rock inside the Plutus mine: </p><blockquote>"He and his son had placed a portion of the charge of giant powder at the bottom of the hole and afterwards the fuse and cap, which was followed by more powder, which his son was in the act of pushing home with a tamper made by himself two days previously, of gas pipe with a stick in the tamping end, and thought by himself to be safe, when the explosion occurred" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CMG18861127-01.2.5&srpos=3&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------">Colorado Mining Gazette, November 27, 1886</a>). </blockquote><p>The coroner determined an inquest was unnecessary because he believed "that the men failed to push the cap and fuse home, and that when they were forcing the last part of the charge home the cap was struck by the tamping bar with sufficient force to explode it, and that if any mis-management or carelessness obtained at all, it was at that time" (Colorado Mining Gazette, November 27, 1886). Local papers ran with this assessment, writing that "T. K. Stevens made a statement a few minutes before his death, fully exonerating the Plutus management from all blame."</p><p>When the charge ignited prematurely, the resulting explosion killed the junior Stephens instantly "<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18861125-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------" target="_blank">as he was terribly mutilated</a>." He suffered gruesome wounds to his head, arms and torso. The senior Stephens, who was standing alongside his son, was thrown twenty feet from the stope to the bottom of the drift. He survived, was carried out of the mine and taken to his home on Miner Street where he lingered for nearly eight hours. He suffered a dislocated shoulder, broken leg, and lacerations to his body. The Rocky Mountain News wrote, "Everything was done by the medical attendants and others present to alleviate Mr. Stevens' anguished sufferings, which he bore without a murmur..." At 2:00 am, "death relieved him of his agony" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=WRC18861126-01.2.5&srpos=4&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------" target="_blank">Weekly Register - Call, November 26, 1886</a>).</p><p>The story was picked up by every newspaper in Colorado and many provided readers with graphic details of the injured. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1k9CIKzPe31kqweAFAOiDS4rd7XMSTGti3at21Uui7X2dfR4WpvuM9bct4U-135drWTSrV2v-4D3Q09KNNDlukbdwxViLFT3fnaLz3M9OodAoPJnsUVhJZ-TS-gDH3sbfxS7N2dVaF12pdkSveFGdGoqh0bwf6lFbD49JJRl5wc0E0bEV_D_jjPfZ-Y/s1101/Stephens%20headlines%20graphic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1101" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1k9CIKzPe31kqweAFAOiDS4rd7XMSTGti3at21Uui7X2dfR4WpvuM9bct4U-135drWTSrV2v-4D3Q09KNNDlukbdwxViLFT3fnaLz3M9OodAoPJnsUVhJZ-TS-gDH3sbfxS7N2dVaF12pdkSveFGdGoqh0bwf6lFbD49JJRl5wc0E0bEV_D_jjPfZ-Y/w400-h261/Stephens%20headlines%20graphic.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The Weekly Register-Call observed, "This is the second accident that has happened [to] Mr. Stevens within the past six months. The first he suffered the loss of a portion of his right hand. A strange fatality seems to have been hovering over him." The Rocky Mountain News added that, in addition to being blown up by powder twice, Thomas had "also been twice crushed by falling dirt - the last time about three months since which laid him up till about two weeks ago, when he again resumed work in the Plutus."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFYpplf956Z12qp_dZGiqBe6sHLfR7u_2egey_dPJt3VjHIWxHlWckFG0-ziUyoAn934YT_dHNlpzhr8f2QviqvnyNgpwBuca42asdOYhy6nQDuYqRjIhLAZt5d87yCHG06UzCZh5ItfZ2tGi2ErtVZ7bAvqbvfNKOJgKp0LBTiDUhG-p6AD9CUondHw/s847/1886%20Nov%2026%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Terrible%20Accident.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="320" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFYpplf956Z12qp_dZGiqBe6sHLfR7u_2egey_dPJt3VjHIWxHlWckFG0-ziUyoAn934YT_dHNlpzhr8f2QviqvnyNgpwBuca42asdOYhy6nQDuYqRjIhLAZt5d87yCHG06UzCZh5ItfZ2tGi2ErtVZ7bAvqbvfNKOJgKp0LBTiDUhG-p6AD9CUondHw/w242-h640/1886%20Nov%2026%20-%20Weekly%20Register%20Call%20-%20Terrible%20Accident.png" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weekly Register-Call, November 26, 1886</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">A decent interment for the dead miners</h3><p>The death of Thomas and his son left Susan a widow at the age of 43 with four children to raise (her youngest was three years old and the oldest was 14). The Rocky Mountain News noted that his aged mother, Sarah (Kitto) Stephens Mulcrane, also resided in Idaho Springs.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8PsfpYJSzn3PcV55m7PDZLUdWpx8OZseg_04dU14oYsDDcFYRHrA4m8v50vJzGPIG7TGVqE85lH1R9lDWYaMmL80G-LMgSy-LOSWBl76ACDboSLCANXhLgVW5qHuZPKYDMtU-ZPQ_Ukqx9p8das1a9aE57QPVr4TgTIjDlA2sJ3Vr3z3XMnYKNluDZ8/s593/Stevens_Family_-_Clear_Creek_Colorado-removebg-preview.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="593" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8PsfpYJSzn3PcV55m7PDZLUdWpx8OZseg_04dU14oYsDDcFYRHrA4m8v50vJzGPIG7TGVqE85lH1R9lDWYaMmL80G-LMgSy-LOSWBl76ACDboSLCANXhLgVW5qHuZPKYDMtU-ZPQ_Ukqx9p8das1a9aE57QPVr4TgTIjDlA2sJ3Vr3z3XMnYKNluDZ8/w400-h284/Stevens_Family_-_Clear_Creek_Colorado-removebg-preview.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stephens family pictured in the early 20th century<br />Susan Elizabeth (Day) Stephens is at center with her children</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The Colorado Mining Gazette praised Francis Osbiston, the wife of Plutus mine manager Colonel Frank Obiston, who jumped into action and was said to be "indefatigable in her attention to the bereaved family ministering with her own hands to their wants and personally overseeing and procuring the necessary requisites for the decent interment of the dead miners."</p><p>The community rallied around the Stephens family. "Several papers have been circulating this week for the benefit of the Stevens family" that resulted in significant fundraising. "Quite a large amount has been subscribed by our citizens for the benefit of the Stevens family" with Campbell & Mason (a local grocer) leading with a $25 donation. There was even talk of organizing an "entertainment for their benefit" that the <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CMG18861204-01.2.16&srpos=9&e=-11-1886--12-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2-Clear+Creek-----" target="_blank">Colorado Mining Gazette</a> urged, "Let our local talent go to work upon this matter at once. If it is delayed, people will get cold." Mayor Elliott gained the support of the city's aldermen to donate a lot in the cemetery to the family.</p><p>The remains of Thomas and his son were prepared for burial by surgeon I. N. Smith who "has one of the tenderest of hearts, and his fingers are as dexterous and careful as those of the best surgeon in the land." His skills were essential considering the grisly injuries. "He was in constant attendance upon the unfortunate Stevens family, alleviating the sufferings of the father and tenderly smoothing the face and body of the poor battered and bruised son" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=ISN18861126-01.2.25&srpos=10&e=-11-1886--12-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2-Clear+Creek-----" target="_blank">The Idaho Springs News, November 26, 1886</a>). </p><p>During a funeral at the home, "Very appropriate and consoling remarks were made by the Rev. D. D. Van Antwerp of the Episcopal church." From the house, a "large concourse of friends and well wishers followed the remains to the cemetery, where the bodies of father and son were laid to rest side by side" (<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18861125-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-11-1886--11-1886--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Stevens%22-------2------" target="_blank">The Rocky Mountain News, November 25, 1886</a>). </p><p>A stone obelisk marks the Stephenses' grave. Perhaps Francis Osbiston and the community had a hand in raising funds for the tombstone. The cemetery's logs record Susan Stevens as the purchaser for the family plot. </p><p>An inscription along the base of the stone says:</p><p style="text-align: center;">"Weep not for me oh my wife & children dear,</p><p style="text-align: center;">For I am not dead but sleeping here.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I was not yours but Christ's alone,</p><p style="text-align: center;">He loved me best and took me home."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELW-vAPvtnQYVLI7i2u4Xtx40TVk6tgLc9OXgydyzSPa_b6D00T8IDo5UzYMMFH_ajy57p-ahgn8QbVJQkfdXQvj98ffIdHCWEI8SNW1bguSTl0Sw-t_DBkE5A91ZUltATTEfJ9KAtP2SD5EMxE4mg9OrSGhy4XYIXqyl1Ygt6qK7MdPZtzTux-4MsFo/s4608/DSC_0752.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3072" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELW-vAPvtnQYVLI7i2u4Xtx40TVk6tgLc9OXgydyzSPa_b6D00T8IDo5UzYMMFH_ajy57p-ahgn8QbVJQkfdXQvj98ffIdHCWEI8SNW1bguSTl0Sw-t_DBkE5A91ZUltATTEfJ9KAtP2SD5EMxE4mg9OrSGhy4XYIXqyl1Ygt6qK7MdPZtzTux-4MsFo/w266-h400/DSC_0752.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial to Thomas K. Stephens and his son Thomas H. Stephens<br />Idaho Springs Cemetery (photo by author)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Epilogue</h3><p>After the death of her husband and son, Susan raised her four children and never remarried. She died in Idaho Springs in January 1919 having outlived six of her eight children. Her <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SSN19190131-01.2.97&srpos=32&e=--1885---1945--en-20--21--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Frank+Stevens%22-------2-Clear+Creek-----" target="_blank">death notice</a> flagged that "It was the express wish of Mrs. Stevens that no flowers be sent for her funeral." She was buried in the family plot and her name was added to the stone obelisk.</p><p>The Plutus continued to operate although signs of difficulty emerged. A year after the Stephenses' death, a post in the <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CMG18871119-01.2.43&srpos=5&e=--1886---1910--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Colorado Mining Gazette</a> said, "There is no truth in the statements...that the Plutus mine had been sold." In June 1888, the <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=WRC18880615-01.2.44&srpos=6&e=--1886---1910--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Weekly Register Call</a> reported that two men (W. R. Ireland and John Chavanne) were killed in an explosion in the mine. In January 1891, <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CLM18910110-01.2.44&srpos=42&e=--1886---1910--en-20--41--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">The Colorado Miner</a> noted "that a miner working in the Plutus mine had his hand badly crushed."</p><p>By May 1891, the Plutus mine shut down as it was reportedly "consolidating into new hands in order that it may be developed to its full extent." <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=GTC18910516-01.2.35&srpos=2&e=--1891---1910--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">The Georgetown Courier</a> added that, "When the Plutus mine shut down it had 8 inches of 259 ounce ore in the lowest level. The difficulty seems to be, not with the mine, but that the management is not harmonious. A speedy adjustment of the matter is looked for."</p><p>In February 1892, <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18920210-01.2.62&srpos=1&e=--1891---1910--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">The Rocky Mountain News</a> reported, "The Plutus mine was sold to-day by Sheriff Josiah H. Bell, for the adjustment of the claim of the judgment creditor. The First National Bank was the purchaser, the price paid being $7,422.34." Days later, the <a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=WRC18920219-01.2.69&srpos=15&e=--1891---1910--en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Plutus+Mine%22-------2------" target="_blank">Weekly Register-Call</a> confirmed, "A Colorado Springs Mining company has purchased the Plutus mine on Spanish Bar above Idaho Springs. The price paid was $220,000." Reflecting on its glory days, it added, "The mine is well known and at one time was very productive under the management of Col. Frank Osbiston."</p><p>During the mid-20th century, interstate 70 was built through Idaho Springs, which changed the town's appearance and obscured obvious signs of the Plutus along Clear Creek. Today, the mining industry is gone. It's easy to overlook the history of the area's mining legacy, but it's there if you're willing to dig a little beneath the surface.</p></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-4235924002700146762023-09-24T20:28:00.004-04:002023-09-24T23:23:19.590-04:00A Family History Journey to Cornwall<p>Sometime during the year spanning May 1849 and June 1850, a 30-year-old miner and his growing family left their home in Cornwall, England and sailed west. Henry and Sarah (Kitto) Stephens said goodbye to everything they knew in search of opportunity.</p><p>The Stephenses, my fourth great-grandparents, joined the exodus of emigrants seeking work amid southern England's 19th century economic downturn. As Cornwall's tin and copper mines declined, skilled miners like Henry sought employment overseas.</p><p>By mid-1850, Henry had found work as a miner in Grant County, Wisconsin where iron ore was in great supply. He and Sarah were enumerated in the U.S. census with their three young children - all born in Cornwall - including my third great-grandfather Thomas K. Stephens. </p><p>They weren't entirely alone. The neighboring household included Sarah's parents - John and Mary (Wearne) Kitto - and siblings. Their migration had been a family affair.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixN6z9_sN-Up5YNcE6PqLqRX0qVNnewSE4kNSCkbBpdvAdAV580gmf95y6pHbA6zDeQxaAW7fImFzxAlKCxCBmh8wIuMTx43ZdAQ-QZy77cnGn-IX0X7ZnD-9wFexFxCuy4zFEVnOx-3NhsTKHrE0-vI9OLWysvXYdGpjdWkNPQJSKRBKpqnSbF9E4rLw/s2923/1850%20US%20Census%20-%20Stephens%20and%20Kitto%20families.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1882" data-original-width="2923" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixN6z9_sN-Up5YNcE6PqLqRX0qVNnewSE4kNSCkbBpdvAdAV580gmf95y6pHbA6zDeQxaAW7fImFzxAlKCxCBmh8wIuMTx43ZdAQ-QZy77cnGn-IX0X7ZnD-9wFexFxCuy4zFEVnOx-3NhsTKHrE0-vI9OLWysvXYdGpjdWkNPQJSKRBKpqnSbF9E4rLw/w400-h258/1850%20US%20Census%20-%20Stephens%20and%20Kitto%20families.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1850 US Census excerpt detailing the Stephens and Kitto <br />families in Grant County, Wisconsin</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Eventually, Thomas K. Stephens (also spelled Stevens) would marry, move to Colorado, and continue the mining tradition in the Rocky Mountains. It was from here that I began to uncover my Cornish roots.</p><p>This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to southern England and decided to retrace my ancestors' footsteps in Cornwall. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Finding my ancestors' whereabouts</h3><div>A friend recently toured England with her family. Before her trip, she worked with a British genealogist to identify where her ancestors had lived. The researcher found sites relevant to her family's history and produced a report that guided her journey. </div><div><br /></div><div>She pointed me to the <a href="https://www.agra.org.uk/" target="_blank">Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives</a> (AGRA), where I was able to filter my needs down to a researcher specializing in Cornish genealogy. This is how I was connected with the wonderful Dr. Lesley Trotter - a historian specializing in Cornish studies who shares her expertise online at <a href="https://www.humblehistory.com/about-lesley" target="_blank">Humble History</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dr. Trotter took what I knew about my Cornish ancestry and delved deeper into my family's history, searching for locations where I could visit. That culminated in a detailed report that shaped an incredibly memorable experience.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Following my ancestors' footsteps</h3><div>With Dr. Trotter's report in hand, I worked with a fantastic local guide, Becky Frost, who owns and operates <a href="https://peneleweytours.co.uk/" target="_blank">Penelewey Tours</a>, to design a tailored family history day trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>From my hotel in Penzance, we set out for our first stop, the <a href="https://www.chct.info/histories/st-germoe/" target="_blank">Church of St. Germoe</a> in the village of Germoe. The building has Norman origins dating to 1100 AD and replaced an earlier Saxon church. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7ptBB6EWepUnb-ofGzsHgAU0CRVgcIcwgBCJ6lbM6DTLG7B2PwsrskUhgW90Cwmp9D0D0J7QviGg3idik8OE0c96LStIrD7ZV699oGcc94Pw6ys97VajMXdGSEosKzqMlnYgRZz5eABbATZtdUfcLV15UkTsObIYQFsMDIxd36ErAYNBhCn02cVm2sY/s4032/IMG_7140.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7ptBB6EWepUnb-ofGzsHgAU0CRVgcIcwgBCJ6lbM6DTLG7B2PwsrskUhgW90Cwmp9D0D0J7QviGg3idik8OE0c96LStIrD7ZV699oGcc94Pw6ys97VajMXdGSEosKzqMlnYgRZz5eABbATZtdUfcLV15UkTsObIYQFsMDIxd36ErAYNBhCn02cVm2sY/w400-h300/IMG_7140.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Germoe</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>It was within these stone walls at this baptismal font pre-dating the Norman Conquest, that Henry Stephens was baptized on April 30, 1820. In fact, Henry's parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Pope) Stephens (my fifth great-grandparents), were baptized here in 1795 and 1797 respectively. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-J2FfcDACwMCrdz8iOnEl--AzOvpoLVkGy9FdLl0JHgr_j_IY26ifam2d7Sc2j9sVrexofHvjOwk_V-Y7StlGJH0tY4cbpNNjZ2WV8E8FzlTJa_R8d4_sI6lwGgtzYav9ODwPUw1w90EN-7cru291VxqsSgOtvA5DCOtDwre1ZprCijb58CYd0KLkQYY/s4032/IMG_7093.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-J2FfcDACwMCrdz8iOnEl--AzOvpoLVkGy9FdLl0JHgr_j_IY26ifam2d7Sc2j9sVrexofHvjOwk_V-Y7StlGJH0tY4cbpNNjZ2WV8E8FzlTJa_R8d4_sI6lwGgtzYav9ODwPUw1w90EN-7cru291VxqsSgOtvA5DCOtDwre1ZprCijb58CYd0KLkQYY/w400-h300/IMG_7093.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Germoe's baptismal font</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Henry and Elizabeth were also married here in front of this altar in July 1819. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzi4TxsHbeVWUYs08duHrpD1HGn398oyrKHG49RIFhFPOedcxSXl8TUjiTJnhdDwGYdpMPBvlqJFvaZvZAWniBcMQd6_Sn8rJp1T5uvUjTKghbBmgDbj_IM1_IAQIWfbwZzkqp3iWpy2TKQGShFZUbbgP8N9TJg_4tp7qpCQkXngXL1BvX6LFoKprm5h8/s4032/IMG_7097.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzi4TxsHbeVWUYs08duHrpD1HGn398oyrKHG49RIFhFPOedcxSXl8TUjiTJnhdDwGYdpMPBvlqJFvaZvZAWniBcMQd6_Sn8rJp1T5uvUjTKghbBmgDbj_IM1_IAQIWfbwZzkqp3iWpy2TKQGShFZUbbgP8N9TJg_4tp7qpCQkXngXL1BvX6LFoKprm5h8/w400-h300/IMG_7097.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Germoe's altar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Elizabeth died in 1838 and was buried in Germoe on September 20th, although I didn't find a gravestone for her in the surrounding churchyard. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmiV9hunGmC4zJVCg3MKVcpdduMCxzFH05gWwNs7IEH4071fIIQl0bVvsA0YCNy7vfdwexTpRKXBT9SRlYXrmGEeEaKyMyby8qleEOD6wn3UVQUPv7JNwy5wx1_q0oQSjjPw5aOhE-gvFEekJ4X88Vqx2FLeXiLE6lZ_LnBR5cPpvRHv2yRHfGoEms8k/s4032/IMG_7081.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmiV9hunGmC4zJVCg3MKVcpdduMCxzFH05gWwNs7IEH4071fIIQl0bVvsA0YCNy7vfdwexTpRKXBT9SRlYXrmGEeEaKyMyby8qleEOD6wn3UVQUPv7JNwy5wx1_q0oQSjjPw5aOhE-gvFEekJ4X88Vqx2FLeXiLE6lZ_LnBR5cPpvRHv2yRHfGoEms8k/w400-h300/IMG_7081.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Germoe churchyard with a view of the church's tower</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Home Along the Beach</h3><div>From Germoe, we drove to nearby <a href="https://www.pengersickcastle.com/" target="_blank">Pengersick Castle</a> as my family were likely tenants of the manor home. Today, the building is a wedding venue and I wasn't able to visit the grounds (probably due to someone's pesky nuptials taking precedence).</div><div><br /></div><div>Next stop was a stroll along Praa Sands - a beautiful stretch of beach running alongside Prah Green, a grassy hillside where my Kitto family lived in small cottages (sadly, the originals no longer survive). The sun was warm and brought out many shades of blue in the sea. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was an idyllic view, yet I wondered if my ancestors had mixed feelings about living alongside the sea. Becky shared that Cornwall's winters could be dreary with gray, cold, windy, wet weather blowing off the coast.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWlrhhhLSpeN8YToWAv4D0RiHlsosO_IPseWA2p1tn9kiFjdx96MlJq4-nTQJXi_0JzdOMSw_3cfyxwTMPE1ZedbxZdTG_aeUCViynfIKXUAwHiXWT3KklMf2LxDYkQcuVnrxrk23zeMDhJXtrpSTXNCrDbmoqXEGuWhtr4kdFhXqwm492eFuhBBtpcE/s4032/IMG_7177.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWlrhhhLSpeN8YToWAv4D0RiHlsosO_IPseWA2p1tn9kiFjdx96MlJq4-nTQJXi_0JzdOMSw_3cfyxwTMPE1ZedbxZdTG_aeUCViynfIKXUAwHiXWT3KklMf2LxDYkQcuVnrxrk23zeMDhJXtrpSTXNCrDbmoqXEGuWhtr4kdFhXqwm492eFuhBBtpcE/w400-h300/IMG_7177.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Praa Sands with Prah Green (site of Kitto cottages) <br />on the hillside</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">St. Breaca Church</h3><div>After a pub lunch at the Lion & Lamb, we spent the afternoon at three different churches. A highlight was our visit to <a href="https://www.chct.info/histories/breage-st-breaca/" target="_blank">St. Breaca Church</a> in the village of Breage. The current granite structure was dedicated in 1456, replacing an older Norman building. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iOkLPcIMMrNnMhxoI3BZ029ttYfAgBMh4O1CqSWjgco0t3XQt3tE5gpQcBmZRjVEW-rk4qumm0lmlTbK00gi_WFyulmSi8eQMfOY9IJzjp8zwpIWNnl2unq28ZZ8Csh0sm5uOWtbLN8Mir9WNSr71geB6yQA1hvibuHui0jeB6c7bGGNu3wFB44-8L4/s4032/IMG_7251.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iOkLPcIMMrNnMhxoI3BZ029ttYfAgBMh4O1CqSWjgco0t3XQt3tE5gpQcBmZRjVEW-rk4qumm0lmlTbK00gi_WFyulmSi8eQMfOY9IJzjp8zwpIWNnl2unq28ZZ8Csh0sm5uOWtbLN8Mir9WNSr71geB6yQA1hvibuHui0jeB6c7bGGNu3wFB44-8L4/w300-h400/IMG_7251.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Breaca</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>My third great-grandfather Thomas K. Stephens was baptized here on November 21, 1845. His mother, Sarah (Kitto) Stephens, was also baptized here in February 1822. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqkE-fQ8TR1GUSopjQ5B83Cw969XG4ZrrbSSDwrIbInnmwknMlodyOtsLU_DcS5Cmr5eX53lKeAJ7Y7fGDoXF_FZFC22wf-X31zGjIS67bmZnoLVKso77RsVbgx7SJSEGdW_lq7kguheeKnRxAKEWcmAsWE17WTBC-Stl8C1jbKh7UM_eyp40KLwUYh8/s4032/IMG_7321.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqkE-fQ8TR1GUSopjQ5B83Cw969XG4ZrrbSSDwrIbInnmwknMlodyOtsLU_DcS5Cmr5eX53lKeAJ7Y7fGDoXF_FZFC22wf-X31zGjIS67bmZnoLVKso77RsVbgx7SJSEGdW_lq7kguheeKnRxAKEWcmAsWE17WTBC-Stl8C1jbKh7UM_eyp40KLwUYh8/w300-h400/IMG_7321.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Breaca's baptismal font</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sarah Kitto married Henry Stephens before this altar on April 20, 1844.</div><div><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvFY9sbJdhfj-yFKCzuLonKbtm2V2I1twbgykKblBeNApHP4eh3DDCSe3b3bIi8HUH7lldx6Pr2c-LXimtlvuUEWqG_ghethPQi6zQ2hBo1t9Hs4yhc18x2D3agwdRyOHgVZgyE5TiLz7_WQDoaysNzYQOnle_LLMlMnk7eLg9jNHAIcdIGIqlufx0WA/s4032/IMG_7297.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvFY9sbJdhfj-yFKCzuLonKbtm2V2I1twbgykKblBeNApHP4eh3DDCSe3b3bIi8HUH7lldx6Pr2c-LXimtlvuUEWqG_ghethPQi6zQ2hBo1t9Hs4yhc18x2D3agwdRyOHgVZgyE5TiLz7_WQDoaysNzYQOnle_LLMlMnk7eLg9jNHAIcdIGIqlufx0WA/w400-h300/IMG_7297.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Breaca's altar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>During a Victorian era restoration, centuries of whitewash were removed and revealed medieval paintings survived on the church's walls. Painted over in the 16th century during the reformation of Edward VI (who ordered the destruction of idolatrous figures countrywide which included paintings and stained glass windows), the illustrations depict a number of characters who may represent St. Christopher, Christ, King Henry VI, and St. Thomas Becket.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCy7xPQBvtmbdEDu_wZFfjef01Cp_EvL1q7q4DYKJjiHIpIqgXM0jKvvy42EianHZ9n47pg1v-mWw0CS30EizIBsFF_2yQS0p8QKi98CkpBQnXBIzUZLudSWIFl4Q6GYZbMV91kVRFxvWPzQLAynY8HQNx7IPeqFkbl54JVPlB9LhdBJzX4uakTWoUkig/s4032/IMG_7315.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCy7xPQBvtmbdEDu_wZFfjef01Cp_EvL1q7q4DYKJjiHIpIqgXM0jKvvy42EianHZ9n47pg1v-mWw0CS30EizIBsFF_2yQS0p8QKi98CkpBQnXBIzUZLudSWIFl4Q6GYZbMV91kVRFxvWPzQLAynY8HQNx7IPeqFkbl54JVPlB9LhdBJzX4uakTWoUkig/w400-h300/IMG_7315.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A modern sculpture of St. Breaca with St. Christopher<br />painting on the wall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The churchyard included the graves for several men who shared my family surnames, including a John Kitto, William Kitto, Richard Stephens, and William Stephens (who had great real estate with his grave right outside the church's doorway). While I'm sure we're family, I don't presently know the exact relationship to these men.</div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGJi1WutSpfBdHHRZl7gGWjMitS5BJhd6xJrDeuEhk0J9ovJvHNVXeohY1kPOrosHckRczkPule0KD2mjfogxi_kdAoquoXZ5xbL63OVD_fCzEfeK77o0TflYOrzpZ2_aC0-nVCY-hs1A23j63QD6mIktS92q-BLlv4QieTJkoql3YPXT37EgugDEQ0I/s4032/IMG_7241.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGJi1WutSpfBdHHRZl7gGWjMitS5BJhd6xJrDeuEhk0J9ovJvHNVXeohY1kPOrosHckRczkPule0KD2mjfogxi_kdAoquoXZ5xbL63OVD_fCzEfeK77o0TflYOrzpZ2_aC0-nVCY-hs1A23j63QD6mIktS92q-BLlv4QieTJkoql3YPXT37EgugDEQ0I/w300-h400/IMG_7241.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Kitto died May 12, 1865 aged 52 years</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM6XLgc4GJ4jctsJk8c7tbhiprd7HUgi09oH5PFlGDsSlPG289-hpHTERRqj8VyFHbO-RIuP1Pr4hL90S3qRioZhBVYEcbTXNS375QK5bfCRYu76cXRLO-7iTFccbbyABKuw212rmgKr2tq-NlETXyRT2Ja56z3L1Mia2t7ZJMbdRQ2tDinPJ1jLM5UI/s4032/IMG_7328.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM6XLgc4GJ4jctsJk8c7tbhiprd7HUgi09oH5PFlGDsSlPG289-hpHTERRqj8VyFHbO-RIuP1Pr4hL90S3qRioZhBVYEcbTXNS375QK5bfCRYu76cXRLO-7iTFccbbyABKuw212rmgKr2tq-NlETXyRT2Ja56z3L1Mia2t7ZJMbdRQ2tDinPJ1jLM5UI/w300-h400/IMG_7328.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Kitto died May 28, 1878 aged 81 years</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW8kIIX9EdjSOO4Z5pqrBAgAXv9zNZ8G-5__02xOzwGcOYo7589NE7zAa6avBbxPZLzn39a0N__1CYIRT7kO4FUWBbwZI-OqOigozpjtJJI385xV_vKNX2jA_S-zx8c-9ikaNMIl9goG2GP0vCaqQV7AeMlXshzfMOwpxw_7q3I-JdjAPhbuQdEMV4bs/s4032/IMG_7329.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW8kIIX9EdjSOO4Z5pqrBAgAXv9zNZ8G-5__02xOzwGcOYo7589NE7zAa6avBbxPZLzn39a0N__1CYIRT7kO4FUWBbwZI-OqOigozpjtJJI385xV_vKNX2jA_S-zx8c-9ikaNMIl9goG2GP0vCaqQV7AeMlXshzfMOwpxw_7q3I-JdjAPhbuQdEMV4bs/w300-h400/IMG_7329.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Stephens died 1834 and was a son of <br />William and Mary (according to a census of burials)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUdclIR-Oi1i5Mbut9Kt3zL_vsyM5gYxNiUND_rKI01VNOoDPaZ40IdWPRHWBGVDzy-m4u96QrwS-HRs0yaYkac-8barLKOJQy-jimRjGGSNobsZCxxDJxdtP0ezdeZLqbyw3KjKhAr5LIOyFp4d00IAQb-nnrtYA6wDtIigPCaXptD4rTWHRAHHoTI4/s4032/IMG_7326.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUdclIR-Oi1i5Mbut9Kt3zL_vsyM5gYxNiUND_rKI01VNOoDPaZ40IdWPRHWBGVDzy-m4u96QrwS-HRs0yaYkac-8barLKOJQy-jimRjGGSNobsZCxxDJxdtP0ezdeZLqbyw3KjKhAr5LIOyFp4d00IAQb-nnrtYA6wDtIigPCaXptD4rTWHRAHHoTI4/w400-h300/IMG_7326.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Stephens died 1834 and his wife Philippa died 1838</td></tr></tbody></table><h3>Wheal Trewavas</h3><div>The last great highlight of my family history road trip was to a site where my ancestors may have worked. Mining dominated Cornwall's economy throughout the 18th and early 19th century. Its mark still dots the Cornish landscape. Today, the ruins of engine houses (used to house the mechanics that ferried men into and out of the mine shafts and pumped out water) with their towering smokestacks are telltale signs of the area's recent history.</div><div><br /></div><div>Near Prah Green, we hiked a trail from the Rinsey headlands that snaked along the coast atop a cliffside with breathtaking views of the sea below and on out to the distant horizon. A determined wind blew off the sea at a persistent clip. A 15-minute hike brought us to a promontory at the Trewavas headland.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZiI3XS8D65020sl98mG1IVNYwCI-0et3LmE_OEH0tyTyMz1CQ055XFcrh-XAvePkRndWMOAwAg_wG1S1qN5G1ska3BeODC8O-pHXNAUKUuiipQqOeGGC8sircPfs63riCyjXUUMofe9nvfCmrmX9Fgtd4DlJe-5Sgz8PsmbQ-mMokxuxuy8cP5O__rY/s4032/IMG_7521.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZiI3XS8D65020sl98mG1IVNYwCI-0et3LmE_OEH0tyTyMz1CQ055XFcrh-XAvePkRndWMOAwAg_wG1S1qN5G1ska3BeODC8O-pHXNAUKUuiipQqOeGGC8sircPfs63riCyjXUUMofe9nvfCmrmX9Fgtd4DlJe-5Sgz8PsmbQ-mMokxuxuy8cP5O__rY/w400-h300/IMG_7521.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Trewavas Head looking back at Rinsey Head</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Operating while my ancestors were still in Cornwall, Wheal Trewavas opened in about 1834 with men exploiting copper lodes that ran out under the sea. The mine closed in 1850 when the sea flooded the tunnels displacing a workforce of 161.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-trRDoEYLJGdR9H8HINdkXHb6aHNo46EAG5ndMMKDtN6Va2VPAKpN0k71nSK-56f5Kpy1z5GLXrGepuuBXaK39ioy_f1JSruU_zFHNE8HsIaXBGXxSYtJShZs-N6xG6LW2UqGVTKUywHbDkCrXAErmRtlPyBsUjnYVje_wrqECBzQzWsYMJq1n5zIs_g/s4032/IMG_7534.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-trRDoEYLJGdR9H8HINdkXHb6aHNo46EAG5ndMMKDtN6Va2VPAKpN0k71nSK-56f5Kpy1z5GLXrGepuuBXaK39ioy_f1JSruU_zFHNE8HsIaXBGXxSYtJShZs-N6xG6LW2UqGVTKUywHbDkCrXAErmRtlPyBsUjnYVje_wrqECBzQzWsYMJq1n5zIs_g/w400-h300/IMG_7534.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheal Trewavas engine house ruins</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>It was a moving experience to imagine my ancestors at work carving out their livings (literally). After generations of dangerous backbreaking work, it must have been heart wrenching to watch the local mining industry collapse and leave them feeling they had no choice but to emigrate. I admire the guts it took to leave everything familiar and known and move a world away to something uncertain and with no guarantee of success. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcOz7BA1Lh7o9TNOnjxD16atiipaTyOQK1cwoOGbPENok6S_JkyKp5iQ0qCEaQs67zzE-FD7C1Yy-gKcXNim5ziyJNwWfaJDEXlO_qZsn0PWNZ8kt_ARtMV8o4RGX3ezq2LDDuLLXol0NQ2Zd7u_hCbgB6thyOq_zOWp-LFNrit2XqCJleEnBxGGvMYo/s4032/IMG_7537.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcOz7BA1Lh7o9TNOnjxD16atiipaTyOQK1cwoOGbPENok6S_JkyKp5iQ0qCEaQs67zzE-FD7C1Yy-gKcXNim5ziyJNwWfaJDEXlO_qZsn0PWNZ8kt_ARtMV8o4RGX3ezq2LDDuLLXol0NQ2Zd7u_hCbgB6thyOq_zOWp-LFNrit2XqCJleEnBxGGvMYo/w400-h300/IMG_7537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with Wheal Trewavas ruins</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Their move west put them on a collision course with my other ancestral lines. They would meet, marry, and create new generations. It never ceases to boggle my mind how their decisions (some small and others big with seismic ramifications) all led to each of us existing. A different step or a choice not taken and the whole slate of history would change. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm invested in learning about my ancestors' journeys - many of them arduous - that led to me and my place in the world. I'm grateful I had the privilege to visit Cornwall and gain some understanding of what their lives were like. Tremendous thanks to Dr. Trotter and Becky for their roles in making this experience happen. </div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com2Cornwall, UK50.266047099999987 -5.052712521.955813263821142 -40.2089625 78.576280936178833 30.1035375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-13978140829342494652022-10-02T12:15:00.004-04:002022-10-02T12:16:36.835-04:00Finding the Kirks' 18th Century Berkeley County, (West) Virginia Farm<div>In early 2018, mounting DNA evidence indicated that my fifth great-grandfather, Thomas Kirk (1778-1846), was the younger brother of his neighbor Mary (Kirk) Geiger (1774-1832). Digging into Mary's genealogy, I came across notes from her grandson George W. Geiger that identified her parents as Joseph and Sarah Kirk of Berkeley County, (West) Virginia. </div><div><br /></div><div>The genetic link made it plausible that Joseph and Sarah were also Thomas' parents and my sixth great-grandparents.</div><div><br /></div><div>Naturally, I focused my research on Berkeley County, Virginia [now part of West Virginia]. I soon discovered land and tax records that confirmed there was indeed a Joseph and Sarah Kirk living in the area. On April 9, 1773, just 16 months before Mary was born, Joseph Kirk leased from George William Fairfax a 100-acre farm that was "lying and being in the parish of Norborne in the County of Berkeley being part of a tract of land of [seventeen] hundred acres and called Poplar Spring." </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvREnuyrVQ9DPx2GS_5mA7FrRAtZgZc4gmI7USs1qVr_oAPHAyA-yru2vNvj9_Sn4Y1kXzr1AKr2Zoy6VCbfl_15thzwhJpOYU1rLAQsvH3ZzMpfYlk1GIRE7Vcb6aoBng1VDe925jJOVbtGy9vjEOmA9okHRVIW9NHTviFBjGL-nSKY0iMccsczdN/s972/Joseph%20Kirk%20April%201773%20Land%20Grantee%20B%20cropped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="972" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvREnuyrVQ9DPx2GS_5mA7FrRAtZgZc4gmI7USs1qVr_oAPHAyA-yru2vNvj9_Sn4Y1kXzr1AKr2Zoy6VCbfl_15thzwhJpOYU1rLAQsvH3ZzMpfYlk1GIRE7Vcb6aoBng1VDe925jJOVbtGy9vjEOmA9okHRVIW9NHTviFBjGL-nSKY0iMccsczdN/w400-h89/Joseph%20Kirk%20April%201773%20Land%20Grantee%20B%20cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Joseph died in about 1784. Sarah continued to maintain her lease with Fairfax and lived on the property until at least 1802 (when she was identified as a neighbor in the land indenture for a neighboring farm). Beginning in 1796, a male of legal voting age (over 16) and approximately the same age as Thomas, appeared in Sarah's household. It looked as though Thomas aged into legal voting age and was finally recorded by county tax assessors. Another promising sign that I was investigating the right family.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Where is the Kirks' Berkeley County farm located? Could I find it and walk the property?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the 1773 lease provided boundary descriptions that were archaic to my Google Maps dependent brain. The property was staked out using ephemeral geographic features like trees: "<i>Beginning at a stake near a black oak, white oak, and hickory and near a corner of Joseph Evans and Michael Close...</i>" Nearly 250 years later, those trees (and Joseph and Michael) were unlikely to still be around to help point me in the right direction!</div><div><br /></div><div>I quickly learned that the land description was based on the metes-and-bounds system or the indiscriminate-survey system where "the land was chosen indiscriminately (independently) of the survey system." In this system, used in Virginia and the other original colonies, "the crown gave land either to the colony itself or a major proprietor, who then transferred the title to individuals." </div><div><br /></div><div>George William Fairfax was one such proprietor who held millions of acres in Virginia's Northern Neck (now much of West Virginia). </div><div><br /></div><div>The Library of Virginia notes that, "The Northern Neck Land Office controlled 5,282,000 acres in land grants located between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, which were given to seven loyal supporters of King Charles II [in 1649, after he fled England in exile following the execution of his father King Charles I]." The Northern Neck Proprietary (or Fairfax Land Proprietary) was eventually inherited by George William Fairfax, who leased portions of the 1,700-acre tract known as Poplar Spring to men like Joseph Kirk. </div><div><br /></div><div>I taught myself how to map or plat metes-and-bounds land descriptions by hand (which required the use of a protractor - who knew it would ever come in handy?!). I platted the 100-acre Kirk farm. When I put my pencil down, I saw that I had drawn a box. I was underwhelmed. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlkG5VSxBN4WP1ASCAxXmUGLdDPqhb6Jy88iWydo5jM3ZBdNLv6UOH1JtouNnWih3gtXPiae3uVr73GXwO7sXUNzlY_OXbxJQC8QR8W-ws7tRxf9Td_0qKMYfp072a53Ld3QrLs65Xvb8RoaLhpeQRSW62ueEhpDei2xTXxQvabngfXKvS3HEv4tY/s960/Berkeley%20County%20Joseph%20Kirk%20land.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlkG5VSxBN4WP1ASCAxXmUGLdDPqhb6Jy88iWydo5jM3ZBdNLv6UOH1JtouNnWih3gtXPiae3uVr73GXwO7sXUNzlY_OXbxJQC8QR8W-ws7tRxf9Td_0qKMYfp072a53Ld3QrLs65Xvb8RoaLhpeQRSW62ueEhpDei2xTXxQvabngfXKvS3HEv4tY/w400-h300/Berkeley%20County%20Joseph%20Kirk%20land.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In isolation, Joseph's platted land didn't help me pinpoint where exactly he lived. I repeated these steps for his neighbors and was slowly able to stitch together chuncks of Fairfax's original 1,700-acre Poplar Spring tract. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09APbB3mYZciYZUuSBJSTu1LX_OkmU8vcj_xAy5MU_5xlaSCl4Kj-7dMiwZpQcRiYRDLpJWZshF93UZX1GHQDwZvBg71cukyZh15Ga7VpqIDBi30C27Hv8i3750rrTYuNXS244veFkb4zeX4XAjyElMEzZVB9WzGwdMZa2tXTq4Pz3rf6Q97eGJYi/s1600/Kirk%20Berkeley%20County%20boundary%20lines.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1411" data-original-width="1600" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09APbB3mYZciYZUuSBJSTu1LX_OkmU8vcj_xAy5MU_5xlaSCl4Kj-7dMiwZpQcRiYRDLpJWZshF93UZX1GHQDwZvBg71cukyZh15Ga7VpqIDBi30C27Hv8i3750rrTYuNXS244veFkb4zeX4XAjyElMEzZVB9WzGwdMZa2tXTq4Pz3rf6Q97eGJYi/w400-h353/Kirk%20Berkeley%20County%20boundary%20lines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Despite assembling the land like a puzzle, I still had little idea where the farms would be situated on a current day map. </div><div><br /></div><div>A break came in January when Jeff Hollis, a member of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/210866282295732" target="_blank">Remember in Martinsburg when ........ Facebook group</a>, posted a photograph of a ramshackle limestone farmhouse called Protumna. Hollis, a longtime resident of Martinsburg who was familiar with the area's history, shared that the home was built by Henry Bedinger in 1801 on part of the Poplar Spring tract. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7C4tAAtpdIhp_pZtBEL30OxOTuapbIKl_FIGkcIv6eJWRSV3J_Pwncx2NitWFgy3XxH-cHe3TnFyuytPR0YM1Dbol82orVopZe0vXaYbJNeCabrXwHDp4qOiQzju2Mlww_A77-0qJhMfOVq_4VnnQ8dz-syYWxw4RfCprcV4voiEIjxooNaveEBz/s2040/Berkeley%20County%20Protumna%20farm%20house.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2040" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7C4tAAtpdIhp_pZtBEL30OxOTuapbIKl_FIGkcIv6eJWRSV3J_Pwncx2NitWFgy3XxH-cHe3TnFyuytPR0YM1Dbol82orVopZe0vXaYbJNeCabrXwHDp4qOiQzju2Mlww_A77-0qJhMfOVq_4VnnQ8dz-syYWxw4RfCprcV4voiEIjxooNaveEBz/w400-h300/Berkeley%20County%20Protumna%20farm%20house.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protumna, Berkeley County farmhouse built by Henry Bedinger<br />Photo by Jeff Hollis</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>My eyes widened when I read about the Poplar Spring tract and the Bedinger name immediately set off alarm bells. Having already mapped out many of Joseph Kirk's neighbors, I knew that Bedinger was a neighbor to the southwest. If I could identify where Bedinger's farmhouse was located, perhaps I could climb my way up to the Kirk farm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the crumbling ruins of the home were removed in 2013 to build a Sheetz convenience store. Berkeley County lost a centuries-old historic home to neglect and development (and one that the widowed Sarah Kirk would have seen, as she was still in the area until at least 1802). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQFqtMWCKpp--ydqZLwL3aAeMahWQDEx0nsu4WrYe1LuDhCJNC04KMn46DQWAReui5KpSpEzJlOMxYqv9Z3TYMnlfjKmXJzJbabniD7MpyIzjLUf1AT5I-kzvYafQVzMbtcKQGAgSz9npcfuubPh73xbvk8FNQA54-hJ3t8rCzdpsafM_lbka8xAq/s3088/Berkeley%20County%20Sheetz.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQFqtMWCKpp--ydqZLwL3aAeMahWQDEx0nsu4WrYe1LuDhCJNC04KMn46DQWAReui5KpSpEzJlOMxYqv9Z3TYMnlfjKmXJzJbabniD7MpyIzjLUf1AT5I-kzvYafQVzMbtcKQGAgSz9npcfuubPh73xbvk8FNQA54-hJ3t8rCzdpsafM_lbka8xAq/w300-h400/Berkeley%20County%20Sheetz.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Sleuther at the Berkeley County Sheetz<br />once the site of Bedinger's Protumna</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Tossing the protractor aside, I turned to online platting software integrated with Google Maps. Carefully examining the map, I discovered I could make out the faint lines (tree lines, hedgerows, and roads) of historic property boundaries. Moving west from the Bedinger home, I began to find the borders for Joseph Kirk's neighbors: Adam Tabler's 245-acre farm (bordered along its southern edge by Tabler Station Road - another modern day clue hiding in plain sight). Heading north, I traced the outline of Philip Pendleton's 200-acre farm. Navigating further north brought me to Michael Close's property, which finally revealed (drum roll, please...) Joseph Kirk's 100-acre farm.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaew6Zhx9wLF1WHzK5pA4FrJAC9EOWV8KKWGdG-Ppp4Km3VB32tNfxhlQGpOBo7ZwoByWMP_Em1bW7dTn-H0jon_wGTkmxpSXmu7llpjvfSd4dCRih2OL522fZiiJ2b1MTFHO3X6ZsLJwNF8txauB905pklUVMZCtJ-KsOo3o6Kgyq_8M7i8Sw_mC/s1280/Berkeley%20County%20Joseph%20Kirk's%20farm%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaew6Zhx9wLF1WHzK5pA4FrJAC9EOWV8KKWGdG-Ppp4Km3VB32tNfxhlQGpOBo7ZwoByWMP_Em1bW7dTn-H0jon_wGTkmxpSXmu7llpjvfSd4dCRih2OL522fZiiJ2b1MTFHO3X6ZsLJwNF8txauB905pklUVMZCtJ-KsOo3o6Kgyq_8M7i8Sw_mC/w400-h225/Berkeley%20County%20Joseph%20Kirk's%20farm%20map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Located a few miles southwest of the courthouse in downtown Martinsburg (Berkeley's county seat), the property is now split in half by Interstate 81. On either side of the highway, a few modern homes with expansive yards occupy the remains of the Kirk farm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Although it took several years, one clue eventually led to another and finally disclosed the location of Joseph Kirk's farm where his children Mary and Thomas were likely born and raised. Sadly, Jeff Hollis passed away in July. If he hadn't shared his photograph of Bedinger's Protumna home and its location, I would still be searching for a modern day marker to help direct me to the Kirk farm. I am forever grateful! </div><div><br /></div><div>In June, I was finally able to visit the Kirks' Berkeley County, West Virginia farm (which you can <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?fbclid=IwAR1PwYSphJwCvvW02j_jG3etaoHvU6u9KC2J5Byc34tbmvnRZWeV3e0U-nw&mid=1JZGDK3zpRNLvCfPDf7I0WBitm2qkyfSy&ll=39.42571289621864%2C-77.99977383822909&z=15" target="_blank">view on Google Maps here</a>). </div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236.25" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t9bffH0QG4Q" title="YouTube video player" width="420"></iframe></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-52640272230402027622022-09-24T23:33:00.003-04:002022-09-24T23:59:22.100-04:00Writing and Publishing a Family History Biography<p style="text-align: left;">Well, that took longer than I anticipated!</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6QEQ415NAyKKpt5BgGO5FFYKj0nM0sd02EI93VadKP_yFgUDTv-k_028mkg3qA4wFOGOaT7DPeLFfUNVMmfzYjPpw_gaXhEhjXTN_7p-eribE7jwfxIC4URRQRjRHthcr8MUqCyV7QBZ_hPvY5AXyTyus7xiYifsw2ATltuAf5UwR1_xfCz7ZhHQ/s2037/Mockup.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2037" data-original-width="2037" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6QEQ415NAyKKpt5BgGO5FFYKj0nM0sd02EI93VadKP_yFgUDTv-k_028mkg3qA4wFOGOaT7DPeLFfUNVMmfzYjPpw_gaXhEhjXTN_7p-eribE7jwfxIC4URRQRjRHthcr8MUqCyV7QBZ_hPvY5AXyTyus7xiYifsw2ATltuAf5UwR1_xfCz7ZhHQ/w200-h200/Mockup.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A year ago, I took a sabbatical from blogging to focus solely on writing and self-publishing a biography of my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk. Followers of this blog know that he was a genealogy passion project bordering on obsession. With laser focus and unrelenting determination, I dug into his late 18th- and early 19th-century life, hoping to rekindle his life's story despite heartbreaking records loss at nearly every turn that nearly snuffed out his flame and made him my white whale folly. But the brick walls and roadblocks hardened my resolve and I wizened up, figuring out creative ways to sift his story from the ashes.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">What followed was an arduous process of wrapping up my decade of never-ending research, writing, editing, rewriting, and writing some more.
</p><p style="text-align: left;">When I began this project, as an amateur chiseling at the tome in my limited free time, I could not imagine how time intensive, expensive, and all-consuming the effort would be.</p><p style="text-align: left;">To achieve the vision I had for my magnum opus, I worked with a slate of freelancers to edit the manuscript, sketch illustrations for chapter headers, and design the book's dust jacket. Along the way, I learned so much about self-publishing and there are many things I would do differently if I had it to do again. But, at the end of the day, as copies of my book are now making it into the hands of Thomas' descendants across the country, I'm incredibly gratified to have accomplished my biggest family history endeavor to-date (and also relieved!).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Check out this unboxing video that celebrated publication with his descendants (the book's target, niche, and sole audience).</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="809" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aSsDPxThyEk" title="Thomas Kirk book unboxing" width="455"></iframe></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-38457293419612612122021-09-05T11:07:00.000-04:002021-09-05T11:07:17.798-04:00The Kindness of Strangers<p>When I woke up this morning, I started scrolling through email. A message from Ancestry.com alerted me that I had a new comment on my family tree.</p><p>Someone commented on <i>my </i>tree?</p><p>Commenting on family trees is a handy feature that allows Ancestry users to add input to ancestor profiles in public trees. I use this feature when I find inaccurate information in someone's tree that's ripe for proliferation and threatens the truth of my family history (e.g., wrong family relationships; incorrect birth, marriage, or death dates; or even the misattributed identity of an ancestor in a photograph). </p><p>When these trees are made public, many users blindly add the falsehoods to their own tree, never pausing to discern whether the facts are correct. The bad information goes viral and spreads like wildfire. A comment, which travels with the falsehood each time it's re-shared, can help dispel the propagation of the myth.</p><p>Naturally, when I saw that a comment was added to my tree, I immediately wondered if someone found a mistake in my research. Was there a comment intending to set me straight?</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Truth Shall Set You Free</h3><div>The comment was attached to the profile of Sarah Kitto, my fourth great-grandmother. Born in January 1822 in Cornwall, England to parents John and Mary (Wearne) Kitto, Sarah married Henry Stephens in April 1844. Soon afterwards, the family emigrated to America. In 1860, not long after they arrived in the United States, Henry died and Sarah was widowed at the age of thirty-eight. </div><div><br /></div><div>After Henry's death, tracing Sarah's paper trail became an arduous task. A few years ago, a distant cousin shared that Sarah remarried, but she was unsure how the new husband's surname was spelled. <i>Mylcarane</i> was her best guess. </div><div><br />That name was a dead end and turned up no positive leads. Soon, my attention was drawn to other research priorities and Sarah was quietly tucked away for another day.</div><div><br /></div><div>That day was today!</div><div><br /></div><div>I logged into my tree and opened the comment. Straight shooting in its brevity, the Ancestry user revealed that, "Sarah died in Ishpeming, Michigan in 1895. Recorded last name is <i>Mulcrone."</i> </div><p>The user also brought the receipts, sharing FamilySearch URLs that linked to Sarah's death record and provided evidence that my Sarah did indeed die in Michigan in 1895 and that her second husband's surname was Mulcrone. </p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9ihik64V8o/YTTYgOjLabI/AAAAAAAAJSA/AQpSlp2HhGMGWWB2eTviBkcgjDwaaDYvACLcBGAsYHQ/s918/Sarah%2BKitto%2BStephens%2BMulcrone%2B1895%2BMichigan%2Bdeath%2Brecord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="918" height="314" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9ihik64V8o/YTTYgOjLabI/AAAAAAAAJSA/AQpSlp2HhGMGWWB2eTviBkcgjDwaaDYvACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h314/Sarah%2BKitto%2BStephens%2BMulcrone%2B1895%2BMichigan%2Bdeath%2Brecord.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah (Kitto) Mulcrone 1895 Michigan death record</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The user also pointed me to Sarah's location in the 1870 census and turned a once cold research trail red hot.</div><p>This morning, I am thankful for a fellow genealogist who was willing to reach out and share clues that reignited research into this long neglected family line. Sometimes, when we are at a roadblock, we are all dependent on the kindness of strangers. </p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-60952352631451118002021-05-14T15:31:00.000-04:002021-05-14T15:31:07.072-04:00Renewed Remembrance in StoneWhen I first visited the grave of my fourth great-grandfather Vachel Kirk (1805-1832), I was disappointed to discover that his original headstone was illegible. The marker, slanted skyward, was fully exposed to the elements. No doubt decades of snow and rain pounding at the surface completely eroded the inscription away. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oeAuc2bI5Dc/YJ6p3k1FfsI/AAAAAAAAJN8/QYFveX_vcuIdY46fezffd1Vf37etzzhCACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Vachel%2BKirk%2Boriginal%2Bstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oeAuc2bI5Dc/YJ6p3k1FfsI/AAAAAAAAJN8/QYFveX_vcuIdY46fezffd1Vf37etzzhCACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Vachel%2BKirk%2Boriginal%2Bstone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vachel Kirk's original headstone, the inscription worn away</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The only way to pinpoint the grave as Vachel's was the small footstone engraved with his initials "V.K." This marker was also beginning to succumb to damage. Pieces of the stone were flaking off around the delicate lettering.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wVFPMiTvsuw/WXM8OAAfOjI/AAAAAAAAG0U/Vvi1nktJSjwFApk0KJ2dydBaWAGwPQCtgCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_0789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wVFPMiTvsuw/WXM8OAAfOjI/AAAAAAAAG0U/Vvi1nktJSjwFApk0KJ2dydBaWAGwPQCtgCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h266/DSC_0789.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vachel Kirk's original footstone with the initials VK</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>My visit seemed fortuitous. I was able to confirm the burial location before the identifying memorials were completely destroyed. </div><div><br /></div><div>After having <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2017/12/honoring-patriarch-in-stone.html" target="_blank">crowd-sourced a new headstone for Vachel's parents Thomas and Sarah (Bonar) Kirk</a> (who are buried just feet away in the same cemetery on the other side of a walnut tree), I felt compelled to also preserve his memory for generations to come.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last summer, I ordered a new headstone for Vachel. Cut from the same red Wausau granite as his parents', it was finally placed earlier this month. I took the liberty of adding some genealogical context, including his parentage, spouse and children.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud30ZjBs9RU/YJ7KPph_ItI/AAAAAAAAJOE/E6M-t4br2JEOBSKrdMPJBfV-U32Xf8BJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20210510_113721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ud30ZjBs9RU/YJ7KPph_ItI/AAAAAAAAJOE/E6M-t4br2JEOBSKrdMPJBfV-U32Xf8BJQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/20210510_113721.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vachel Kirk's new headstone, placed in May 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>"As long as there is one person on Earth who remembers you - it isn't over." -Oscar Hammerstein, <i>Carousel</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Have you placed a new headstone for an ancestor whose grave was unmarked or whose marker had seen better days?</div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-69189797954192803192021-04-18T11:35:00.003-04:002021-04-18T11:35:46.609-04:00Texas Institute of Genealogical Research<p>Genealogy is a skilled endeavor. When you know better, you do better. Success hinges on knowing what resources to use and how to leverage them to find your ancestors.</p><p>For this reason, I've long placed an emphasis on my professional development - improving my skills and knowhow by attending conferences, workshops, and webinars. </p><p>As an advocate for learning, I'm excited to be deputized a TIGR Ranger for the Texas State Genealogical Society's <a href="https://www.txsgs.org/texas-research-institute/" target="_blank">Texas Institute of Genealogical Research (TIGR)</a>. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTV5FHK8AM0/YHxI8ixBfCI/AAAAAAAAJNc/flX8De6poY0htrj0zGNQferr-x-tG6EsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1500/TIGR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="134" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTV5FHK8AM0/YHxI8ixBfCI/AAAAAAAAJNc/flX8De6poY0htrj0zGNQferr-x-tG6EsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h134/TIGR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This year, TIGR is offering four courses virtually June 13-18, 2021. <p></p><p>The week-long courses are laser focused on a single topic (think intensive college seminar) designed to provide an immersive learning experience that equips you with skills to enhance your family history.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">TIGR Courses</h3><div>Featuring a slate of dynamic instructors who are leaders in their respective fields, each course provides a deep dive into the following topics:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><a href="https://www.txsgs.org/featured-events/tigr/from-spanish-rule-to-republic/" target="_blank">From Spanish Rule to Republic: Research in the Lone Star State</a></b>, coordinated by Kelvin L. Meyers and Colleen Roblendo Greene.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><u><strike><b><a href="https://www.txsgs.org/featured-events/tigr/advanced-southern-research-western-expansion-and-families-of-the-south/" target="_blank">Advanced Southern Research Techniques</a></b>, coordinated by J. Mark Lowe, CG®, FUGA</strike></u> <i>Registration is full for this course, however you can be added to the wait list</i></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><a href="https://www.txsgs.org/schedule-african-americans-in-the-south/" target="_blank">African Americans in the South</a></b>, coordinated by Ari Wilkins</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><a href="https://www.txsgs.org/featured-events/tigr/dna-fundamentals-schedule/" target="_blank">DNA Fundamentals for Genealogy</a></b>, coordinated by Patricia Lee Hobbs, CG®</li></ul></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Registration</h3><p>Registration is now open and filling fast (courses are capped at 40 students)! </p><p>Register by April 30, 2021, and the cost is $425 for non-members of the Texas State Genealogical Society. The price then increases to $475.</p><p>You can <a href="https://www.txsgs.org/tigr-2021/" target="_blank"><b>register at this link</b></a>.</p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-41351711866955184572021-03-14T10:22:00.000-04:002021-03-14T10:22:53.336-04:00The Last Record of Thomas KirkWhen Licking County's courthouse went up in smoke in 1875, a lot of Thomas Kirk's recorded history was lost, including his probate file - a rare window into his socioeconomic status and family relationships.<br /><br /><div>Thomas - my fifth great-grandfather - died aged 68 on December 3, 1846 without a will, so the settlement of his estate likely generated a lot of paperwork (no doubt a pain for his heirs, but a goldmine for family historians if only the documents had survived the flames). The probate process would have inventoried and appraised all of his property (including possessions of the home and farm), tallied sales at auction to recoup funds to pay debts (if he had any), and stipulated who inherited what.<br /><br /></div><div>Although probates were lost, the minute books that detailed every action taken by Licking County's Court of Common Pleas miraculously survived the fire. When the court convened on March 13, 1847, it acknowledged Thomas' death intestate and appointed his son James as administrator of the estate.<br /><br /></div><div>Surviving land records showed that the settlement process continued into 1848 when Thomas' heirs at law (his eleven children with his first wife Sarah Bonar) began selling their shares of his 171.96-acre Monroe Township farm (located in the county's northwest). The last deed of sale was signed on April 14, 1849, when heirs Loyd and Jane (Kirk) Tracy and Hugh and Jane (Hartsock) Kirk jointly sold their stake in the property. They were delayed in finalizing their sale because they had moved to Crawford County, Illinois - over 300 miles west of Licking County, Ohio.<br /><br /></div><div>But when was Thomas' estate finally settled?<br /><br /></div><div>While it's fortunate that the court's minute books escaped the fire and have now been digitized, they're not indexed which required a tedious page by page review. The court clerk's chicken scratch spans many volumes and thousands of pages. I spent several months trawling through the books trying to decipher penmanship - hoping to find mention of Thomas. In the process, I learned a lot about the crimes and legal grievances of Licking County's early citizenry. I also learned that Thomas was a good citizen - never appearing in court accused of transgressions - who served as a juror and was even called as a witness in a murder trial.<br /><br /></div><div>Just when I thought my eyeballs couldn't take it anymore, I finally struck gold (call it the luck of the Irish)!<br /><br /></div><div>On October 23, 1850 - nearly four years after Thomas was "accidentally killed" - I found an entry for James Kirk, administrator of the estate of Thomas Kirk, deceased, "having filed accounts current with vouchers and the same having been published and noticed by the Clerk of this court in the Licking Herald, a newspaper according to law, and said accounts and vouchers having been examined by a Commissioner of this Court and found in all things legal and correct and reports being respectively filed by such Commissioners and examined and approved by the Court, the said accounts are hereby finally settled and ordered to be recorded to wit."</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i20yopO8PLw/YE4ZdOaOK-I/AAAAAAAAJMs/dt1VS070vRgFl0nE0_U955dMmwwe5HstQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1850%2BOct%2B23%2B-%2BThomas%2BKirk%2Bestate%2Bis%2Bsettled%2Band%2Brecorded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1619" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i20yopO8PLw/YE4ZdOaOK-I/AAAAAAAAJMs/dt1VS070vRgFl0nE0_U955dMmwwe5HstQCLcBGAsYHQ/w506-h640/1850%2BOct%2B23%2B-%2BThomas%2BKirk%2Bestate%2Bis%2Bsettled%2Band%2Brecorded.jpg" title="Licking County Ohio Court of Common Pleas 23 Oct 1850" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Licking County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas - 23 October 1850</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>With that notation, the court clerk recorded what was likely Thomas Kirk's last appearance in Licking County's records and wrote the final chapter on one of the jurisdiction's earliest settlers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Citation:</b><br />Licking County Court of Common Pleas. Journals 1849-1852. Film 485309. DGS 8558259. Common Pleas Journal Book 1850. Journal page 234, Digital page 414. 23 October 1850. Digitized by FamilySearch. <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3Q2-LSGS-C?i=413&cat=25262&fbclid=IwAR1oLs1msDUJ_M0SedUyvPrptijnGAADJLt5KHoR0BqDH7PdEPk0nPXLYv4">https://www.familysearch.org/.../3:1:3Q9M-C3Q2-LSGS-C...</a></div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-45178072133529224732020-11-21T13:23:00.000-05:002020-11-21T13:23:07.673-05:00The Kentucky Orphans Scattered to the Wind<p>Joseph and Priscilla (Barker) Lumpkins, my fourth great-grandparents, both died in about 1848 in Morgan County, Kentucky, leaving their eleven children - all under the age of 20 - orphaned. </p><p>The causes of their untimely deaths remain a mystery. It doesn't help that Morgan County was a burned county - no official county records such as probate or court order books survive to shed light on how the Lumpkins' estate was settled including the fate of their children. </p><p>However, the 1850 US Federal census offers clues, revealing how the court decided to scatter the Lumpkins children across the county with the kids enumerated in the households of neighboring families. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">An Early Morgan County, Kentucky Settler</h3><p>The Lumpkins' two eldest sons, John and William (my third great-grandfather) - who were about 19 and 16 at the time their parents died, eventually indicated in the 1880 US Federal census that Joseph and Priscilla were both born in Virginia. According to the 1840 census, Joseph Lumpkins was born between 1801 and 1810 and would have been between 38 and 47 years old when he died.</p><p>When did Joseph arrive in Kentucky? While it's hard to pinpoint an exact date, we can certainly narrow the time frame.</p><p>Morgan County was <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Morgan_County,_Kentucky_Genealogy" target="_blank">founded in December 1822</a>, and the earliest surviving tax records date to 1823. In that first year of recorded taxes, the surname Lumpkins was enumerated without a first name. Was this Joseph? </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCTJqE4R1yQ/X6_zT1QqIDI/AAAAAAAAJGE/Yull-GnuRgkIDaj4ho0RybtiVCAgXXO6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/1823%2BMorgan%2BCo%2BKentucky%2BTax%2BList%2BLumpkins.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCTJqE4R1yQ/X6_zT1QqIDI/AAAAAAAAJGE/Yull-GnuRgkIDaj4ho0RybtiVCAgXXO6ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/1823%2BMorgan%2BCo%2BKentucky%2BTax%2BList%2BLumpkins.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1823 Morgan County, Kentucky tax list enumerating a Lumpkins<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>No Lumpkins were enumerated in the 1824 tax list, but we know Joseph was in the area. That was the year he married Priscilla Barker on October 21st. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fN9Ne4VlCIo/X6_1qb9cvBI/AAAAAAAAJGQ/2XRfm-76yTYYpIi809fUp0TtnSepemUwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Band%2BPriscilla%2BBarker%2B1824%2BMorgan%2BCo%2BKY%2Bmarriage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fN9Ne4VlCIo/X6_1qb9cvBI/AAAAAAAAJGQ/2XRfm-76yTYYpIi809fUp0TtnSepemUwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Band%2BPriscilla%2BBarker%2B1824%2BMorgan%2BCo%2BKY%2Bmarriage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October 21, 1824 Morgan County, Kentucky marriage between <br />Joseph Lumpkins and Priscilla Barker<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Beginning in 1825, Joseph Lumpkins was named on the county's tax lists. In fact, he was the only Lumpkins enumerated in each ensuing tax year until 1836 when a William Lumpkins appeared for the first time (some researchers speculate this was Joseph's brother arriving from Virginia). Thus, it appears that Joseph was likely the Lumpkins who appeared on the 1823 tax list - suggesting this was his first recorded appearance in Morgan County - making him one of the earliest settlers after the county's establishment.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A Family Divided</h3><p>When minor-aged children were orphaned it was common for the court to place them with local families and task them with providing for their wellbeing and education. And sure enough, across the county, families were enumerated in the 1850 census with the minor-aged Lumpkins children. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dwelling # 28 - home to William and Sarah Pearce - included 2-year-old Francis M. Lumpkins.</li><li>Dwelling # 396 - home to William and Prudence Lykins - included sisters Manerva and Caroline Lumpkins (aged 19 and 10 respectively). </li><li>Dwelling # 400 - home to James and Catherine Davis - included Jane and Perlina Lumpkins (aged 13 and 4 respectively).</li><li>Dwelling # 948 - home to Jacob and Elizabeth Henry - included 15-year-old Joseph Lumpkins </li><li>Dwelling # 951 - home to Lewis Henry - included 6-year-old Wiley Lumpkins.</li><li>Dwelling # 962 - home to William and Eliza Henry - included brothers George and Thomas Lumpkins (aged 13 and 7 respectively).</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wd2eY-zb8Ws/X7lD-iEZu7I/AAAAAAAAJIE/uuE84l02pK0jhJfQedqxbSix5RUzCpLvwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Lumpkins%2Bchildren%2Bin%2B1850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wd2eY-zb8Ws/X7lD-iEZu7I/AAAAAAAAJIE/uuE84l02pK0jhJfQedqxbSix5RUzCpLvwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Lumpkins%2Bchildren%2Bin%2B1850.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Lost Sons</h3><div><br /></div>Notably missing from the 1850 enumerations in Morgan County were the two eldest Lumpkins sons: John and William. Where did they go?<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PSkIL6cqag8/X7lH1kVcjNI/AAAAAAAAJIc/dbDrpjGHZ2oR6KLjb5svaO5C4XyLjjSMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/John%2Band%2BWilliam%2BLumpkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PSkIL6cqag8/X7lH1kVcjNI/AAAAAAAAJIc/dbDrpjGHZ2oR6KLjb5svaO5C4XyLjjSMgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/John%2Band%2BWilliam%2BLumpkins.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brothers John (left) and William Lumpkins (right)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I may have located John. There is a John Lumpkins - the right age, 21 years old, and born in Kentucky - enumerated as a farmer living with the Greathouse family in Mason County, Kentucky - about 80 miles north of Morgan County. Could this be the elder Lumpkins son? </div><p></p><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What About My Guy?</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">William, my third great-grandfather, was in Morgan County in 1853 when he married Phoebe Howerton and still there in 1854 when he was first enumerated on the county's tax list. Where was he in 1850?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Perhaps he was enumerated under the surname of his foster family. A search of Ancestry's transcriptions turned up 529 men with the forename William living in Morgan County in 1850. Narrowing it down to men born in 1832 - William's birth year - slims the list to just 11 men.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of the 11 households, two are worth considering further if we're open to the possibility that the enumerator made a mistake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First is the household of Lewis Henry who was cited above as the home to Wiley Lumpkins (aged 6). Immediately preceding Wiley's name - whose Lumpkins surname is spelled out - is William followed by quotation marks indicating that his surname was Henry. Was this a mistake and were the two brothers placed in the same house together?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGqa7MGA6pQ/X7lOlEnOTNI/AAAAAAAAJIo/Bxp5QGqbJ_sdHdaFMXjDN0uhfvRpuIUswCLcBGAsYHQ/s518/Lewis%2BHenry%2B1850%2Bhousehold.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="518" height="191" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGqa7MGA6pQ/X7lOlEnOTNI/AAAAAAAAJIo/Bxp5QGqbJ_sdHdaFMXjDN0uhfvRpuIUswCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h191/Lewis%2BHenry%2B1850%2Bhousehold.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Second is the household of James and Anna Haney. They have six minors in the household all surnamed Haney. The last individual enumerated in the home is an 18-year-old William Stacy. Stacy just so happens to be the surname of the next family enumerated. Was this a mistake and Lumpkins was incorrectly given the surname of the neighboring family?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3jRUbw0Jqw/X7lPkVYvVhI/AAAAAAAAJI0/gcvSWP6fSDsfC7dvQZ907FwEvbV2LEX7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s594/William%2BStacy%2B1850%2Bcensus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="594" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3jRUbw0Jqw/X7lPkVYvVhI/AAAAAAAAJI0/gcvSWP6fSDsfC7dvQZ907FwEvbV2LEX7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h278/William%2BStacy%2B1850%2Bcensus.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Alas, they're just theories and it's awfully difficult to prove a clerical mistake 170 years after the fact. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the meantime, let's celebrate the victories at hand: the census played an important role in helping fill the gap left by Morgan County's lost records and locating the scattered family.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now if I could just figure out what William Lumpkins was up to in 1850...</div></div><p></p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-70485615442667542632020-11-14T17:46:00.013-05:002020-11-14T18:08:53.825-05:00The Kentucky Sheriff Who Sold His Public Office<p>The rural community of West Liberty is nestled among forested hills in Morgan County, Kentucky. It's coal country. It was also home to my fourth great-grandfather Joseph Lumpkins (1800-1848) who was once the town sheriff and got caught up in allegations of wrongdoing that eventually landed on the desk of the state's governor.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A Man of Public Service</h3><p>Research in Morgan County is hamstringed by a series of disasters that destroyed local records, including an 1862 Civil War skirmish that burned the courthouse to the ground, another presumed fire in 1925, and even a tornado in 2012 that leveled much of West Liberty - the county seat. </p><p>Among the county's few surviving records is a court order book spanning the years 1823 to 1830. Digitized by FamilySearch, it provides a rare glimpse at Joseph Lumpkins' evolving role as a public servant.</p><p>On March 5, 1827, Joseph made his first appearance among the court orders, which named him and another man as "fit persons" to serve as a justice of the peace in what appears to have been a two-step nomination process.</p><p>First, was the general recommendation: "Samuel McClintic and Joseph Lumpkins is recommended as fit persons to fill the office of justice of the peace under the act of assembly of the last session allowing an additional justice of the peace in Morgan County - a majority of all the justices of the peace in commission being present and concurring in this recommendation."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zgWlmoMR_fo/X7ACeLETgcI/AAAAAAAAJGc/eAgWMhMiQLIn318Y3q2_Oee2T4XFOzIEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1901/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bfit%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bjustice%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bpeace%2B1827.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1901" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zgWlmoMR_fo/X7ACeLETgcI/AAAAAAAAJGc/eAgWMhMiQLIn318Y3q2_Oee2T4XFOzIEACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h216/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bfit%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bjustice%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bpeace%2B1827.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Lumpkins named a fit person to fill the office of justice of the peace<br />Morgan County, Kentucky, March 5, 1827<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Nearly one year later, Joseph appeared in the court order book for the second time. On February 4, 1828, "Joseph Lumpkins and Mashack Stacey is recommended to the Governor of this state as fit persons to fill the office of the justice of the peace (on [illegible] Creek) under the act of assembly allowing an additional justice of the peace for Morgan County - Majority of the justice of the peace being present and concurring in this recommendation." The recommendation to the governor appeared to have been the second step in the appointment process.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CIPcuafaWJE/X7AKkqLXS_I/AAAAAAAAJGo/2wSsSSV76QMS6VdIZXGVd4mJ7RzDLQqfQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1832/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bfit%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bjustice%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bpeace%2B1828.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1832" height="204" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CIPcuafaWJE/X7AKkqLXS_I/AAAAAAAAJGo/2wSsSSV76QMS6VdIZXGVd4mJ7RzDLQqfQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h204/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bfit%2Bto%2Bbe%2Bjustice%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bpeace%2B1828.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Lumpkins recommended to the governor to fill the office of justice of the peace<br />Morgan County, Kentucky, February 4, 1828<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The nomination must have been approved. Three months later, on May 5th, Joseph Lumpkins Esqr. was marked as "present" during court proceedings. Over the next three years, his name appeared more than 20 times in the court order book.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">There's a New Sheriff in Town</h3><p>Regrettably, the court order books are missing after 1830 and we lose the county's official record of Joseph Lumpkins' public service. </p><p>However, while conducting research I came across Joseph in an October 1970 article by University of Kentucky Professor Robert M. Ireland. Professor Ireland wrote in <i>The Sale of Public Office in America</i> how "the selling or leasing of certain local offices seems also to have been rather commonplace..." occurring in "...eleven states in all...or fully one-third of the states of the Union as of 1860." Joseph was featured as one of Professor Ireland's examples - an exciting yet scandalous continuation of his public service!</p><p>In Kentucky, the sale of public office was widespread during the antebellum period. Ireland noted that the most commonly sold offices were the sheriffalty, the deputy sheriffalties, the clerkships of the courts and the constabulary. The sheriffalty was the most prized because it "was the most influential."</p><p>Kentucky law technically did not allow for the sale of public office. According to Ireland, the state's second constitution (effective between 1800 to 1851) stipulated that the sheriff was to be appointed to that position. Ireland detailed the appointment process as follows:</p><p></p><blockquote>"...a majority of the justices of the peace who formed the county courts recommended two persons of their number to the governor 'paying due regard to seniority,' and if the recommendation was timely the chief executive was bound to choose one of the two as the sheriff, who then served for two years. The governor normally selected the first choice of the county court, which was usually the senior justice of the peace. The system of rotation and seniority encouraged the farming or selling of the sheriffalty, since by the time a justice of the peace reached a position of seniority on the county court he was often too old and feeble to carry out the duties of office. These duties were normally onerous and, as one newspaper put it, unless the sheriff-designate was equipped 'to be moving continually on horseback, or on foot, in all sorts of weather, over all sorts of roads, and sometimes at night, as well as during the day...he is unfit for the office.' Many of them were unfit and hence did farm or sell the office." </blockquote><p></p><p>Professor Ireland then caught my attention with this eyebrow-raising example:</p><p></p><blockquote> "Quite often the sheriffalty was sold or farmed or partially leased to one of the sheriff's deputies, but this was not always the case. In Morgan County the clerk of the county court and the county attorney bought the sheriffalty from Joseph Lumpkins, who they thought was the senior justice of the peace. When Lumpkins' seniority was contested by another magistrate, the two county entrepreneurs nearly sustained a total loss. However, they prevailed upon the governor to commission their vendor, Lumpkins, and thereby salvaged their investment."</blockquote><p></p><p>The Lumpkins example included a footnote citing a letter from William A. Ragland (a witness to the drama) to Kentucky Governor William Owsley. I contacted the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives - the repository holding the papers of Governor Owsley - to see if an archivist could help me locate the original letter. Four days later - after paying a nominal fee - I had in my inbox a scan of Ragland's two-page missive.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Petitioning the Governor</h3><p>On November 23, 1844, Ragland wrote from West Liberty to "his Excellency the Governor of Kentucky" about "a contest that has grown up in this county...about who shall be the high sheriff..."</p><p>Ragland identified himself as "an eye witness to what took place in the county court when the court recommissioned the two gentlemen out of whom the choice [for sheriff] is to be made..." </p><p>The two men were Joseph Lumpkins and Esqr. Cassity who, Ragland wrote, "...made proof from the record from the secretarys [sic] office that his commission was issued before that of Joseph Lumpkins and that he had been first recommend [sic] by the court..." As Professor Ireland noted, seniority was an important factor in ranking the candidates for the governor's appointment. Ragland acknowledged that Lumpkins presented his commission confirming he was qualified, but "Cassity's commission has been destroyed..." Despite his missing commissioning credential, Ragland assured the governor that "the county court of Morgan County named Cassity first in their order recommending them to be commissioned as high sheriff..."</p><p>As Ragland tells it, the county made its decision and ranked Cassity as its senior candidate for sheriff. You would think that the case was settled. Apparently not.</p><p>The details of the drama that must have precipitated Ragland's letter to Governor Owsley are now missing, but clearly there was a concerted campaign afoot to promote Lumpkins to sheriff instead of Cassity. Ragland decried "...the unusual and extraordinary effort on the part of Lumpkins now to be commissioned as high sheriff of Morgan County..." and alleged that "...the clerk of the Morgan County Court and the Attorney for said Court have bought the sheriffalty from Lumpkins and are determined to have him first commissioned."</p><p>Esquire Cassity asked Ragland to obtain a copy of the court's official order recommending the two men, which was bound to be delivered to the governor for his concurrence. However, "...the clerk refused to make out the copy of the record, said he would not do it until Lumpkins brought in some paper which he wished to copy in the record...and would not do it although I tendered him the money for the record."</p><p>Leaving nothing on the table, Ragland laid the plot bare: "Now from all I can learn on the subject and do verily believe it the clerk of the court and the attorney are endeavoring to have Lumpkins commissioned because they have bought the office from him and intend to controle [sic] the deputies if not act themselves. Wherefore I respectfully request that Cassity may be your Excellency commissioned." </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MSd4gp-RSQI/X7AlM25v0oI/AAAAAAAAJG0/UmwY7c9DeicI2vIz2HOnr-j-To7Bv7A-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Gov%2BOwsley_Page_2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1321" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MSd4gp-RSQI/X7AlM25v0oI/AAAAAAAAJG0/UmwY7c9DeicI2vIz2HOnr-j-To7Bv7A-QCLcBGAsYHQ/w413-h640/Gov%2BOwsley_Page_2.png" width="413" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William A. Ragland to Governor William Owsley, November 23, 1844<br />Papers of Governor Owsley, Jacket 568. Page 1</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MkqCnxt0ws/X7AlkvK99VI/AAAAAAAAJHE/kj1euyIKttUIC7bAzAmWqmQP5iJM3sDcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Gov%2BOwsley_Page_3%2B%25282%2529.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1849" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MkqCnxt0ws/X7AlkvK99VI/AAAAAAAAJHE/kj1euyIKttUIC7bAzAmWqmQP5iJM3sDcwCLcBGAsYHQ/w361-h400/Gov%2BOwsley_Page_3%2B%25282%2529.png" width="361" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William A Ragland to Governor William Owsley, November 23, 1844<br />Papers of Governor Owsley, Jacket 568, Page 2</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The archives had no response from Governor Owsley or additional correspondence on the matter. However, Google Books provided a conclusion for this saga. A digitized copy of the Kentucky State Register for the Year 1847 provided the names of Kentucky's county judges, clerks of courts, justices of the peace, and sheriffs.<div><br /></div><div>The Register detailed the men holding office in Morgan County, including "Sheriff, Joseph Lumpkins, commissioned April 4, 1845." Five months after Ragland's entreaties, Governor Owsley commissioned Lumpkins despite the accusations of wrongdoing. I suspect the governor erred on the side of the county's <i>official </i>recommendation, which the court clerk suspiciously refused to share with Ragland. Did the clerk manipulate the ranking of the two candidates and change the court's preference from Cassity to Lumpkins? Perhaps the county's written recommendation for the sheriffalty is elsewhere among the papers of Governor Owsley awaiting discovery. </div><div><br /></div><div>Curiously, the Register also included the names of the men serving as clerk and attorney (both accused of orchestrating the purchase of Lumpkins' sheriffalty): John W. Hazelrigg and Thomas F. Hazelrigg. Was the scheme a family affair?</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIFZit_onCk/X7Ap3mgwGCI/AAAAAAAAJHQ/Kss8Yi56XUo4wo4SkNHDYqwGwkQIZo6GQCLcBGAsYHQ/s920/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bcommissioned%2Bsheriff%2B1845.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="920" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIFZit_onCk/X7Ap3mgwGCI/AAAAAAAAJHQ/Kss8Yi56XUo4wo4SkNHDYqwGwkQIZo6GQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h150/Joseph%2BLumpkins%2Bcommissioned%2Bsheriff%2B1845.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kentucky State Register for the Year 1847, Morgan County officeholders<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Among the county's 22 enumerated justices of the peace, the first name listed - suggesting he had the most seniority (since the list was not in alphabetical order) - was John Cassity.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've not come across any further details about the alleged improprieties. However, evidence suggests that Joseph continued to serve as sheriff into the latter 1840s. </div><div><br /></div><div>On February 29, 1848, the Kentucky General Assembly approved an act to allow Morgan County's sheriffs (plural!) further time to collect taxes. The act stated that "Joseph Lumpkins and Jesse Casaday, late Sheriffs of Morgan county shall have the further time of two years to collect the unpaid county levy and revenue tax due for the years 1845, 1846 and 1847; and, also, all fees due them under the laws now in force."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnaHdQ8k8T8/X7AsDLec5EI/AAAAAAAAJHc/LGLNUPM7MEcd-dd1dokH0KvwbPLD12TawCLcBGAsYHQ/s608/Lumpkins%2Bcollect%2Bfees.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="102" data-original-width="608" height="68" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VnaHdQ8k8T8/X7AsDLec5EI/AAAAAAAAJHc/LGLNUPM7MEcd-dd1dokH0KvwbPLD12TawCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h68/Lumpkins%2Bcollect%2Bfees.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>It's not clear to me what's meant by "late Sheriffs" and I'm left to assume that by February 1848, neither man officially held that title yet still had outstanding tax collection obligations. What's most curious is that Jesse Casaday is the other sheriff. Was Jesse and not John the name of the man up against Lumpkins for the sheriffalty in 1844?</div><div><br /></div><div>If that's the case, I had one more piece of evidence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Remember that very first court order from March 5, 1827 recommending Joseph Lumpkins as a fit person to fill the office of justice of the peace? The entry immediately preceding Lumpkins in the order book was for Jesse Cassity, recommending him "to the Governor as fit persons to fill the office of justice of the peace..." </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tWtYQiWPN8/X7At0Y7oR4I/AAAAAAAAJHo/T0hWeNvLc-gJqZKutlTQOsBFsE38YZDEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Cassity%2Band%2BLumpkins%2B1827.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="2048" height="330" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tWtYQiWPN8/X7At0Y7oR4I/AAAAAAAAJHo/T0hWeNvLc-gJqZKutlTQOsBFsE38YZDEwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h330/Cassity%2Band%2BLumpkins%2B1827.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan County, Kentucky Court Order Book - March 5, 1827<br />Jesse Cassity (left) and Joseph Lumpkins (right)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Cassity's recommendation to the governor appears to have been a step ahead of Lumpkins' who wouldn't be put forward to the governor for another year. It would seem this was evidence that Cassity's recommendation did indeed predate Joseph's. I suppose it was a small mercy that Cassity was finally deputized as sheriff, securing the position he had sought in 1844.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for Joseph, he died in about 1848. The circumstances of his untimely passing remain unknown. With the alleged backdoor dealings to sell his public office, I can't help but wonder whether he made enemies who sought a sinister end. </div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-55584341608146280662020-11-08T11:50:00.003-05:002020-11-08T11:56:34.137-05:00Shaky Leaf Hint Yields Record Where FOIA Failed<p>In August, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2020/08/a-hint-uncovers-wwi-military-foreign.html" target="_blank">I wrote about the discovery of new details regarding my great-grandfather Samuel Kirk's World War I military service</a>. An <i>Ancestry.com</i> shaky leaf hint pointed me to the first evidence that Samuel served overseas. </p><p>It was several years ago when I initially learned that Samuel was an Army veteran who served during World War I. It was carved in granite. His government-issued headstone read: "PFC US ARMY WORLD WAR I." His military career was news to me.</p><p>My subsequent research turned up no evidence of service on the front, so I mistakenly assumed he was stationed exclusively stateside. His story, however, was indeed global.</p><p>The <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7uM1pExlc0/XzbeGP4VxCI/AAAAAAAAI70/gpOFwKIKKlISgkgGi8yr_qHgeZtnsSmMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Anchises%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2BSept%2B1918%2Bhighlighted.jpg" target="_blank">new record was a passenger manifest</a> for a ship sailing on September 1, 1918 from New York City to Liverpool, England and included Samuel among the crew of enlisted soldiers. It revealed important details about his service, including his service ID number and his rank and unit affiliation: a Private First Class with Truck Company E of the Army Artillery Park, Coast Artillery Corps.</p><p>A <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkk62ReSeho/Xzb6QGR1VcI/AAAAAAAAI8M/A5qUkzUox34E9EvChPM3o5jk1GUxOvVLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Canonicus%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2B19%2BApr%2B1919%2Bduplicate%2BC%2B-%2Barrival%2Bin%2BBrooklyn%2BNY%2B02%2BMay%2B1919%2Bhighlighted.jpg" target="_blank">second passenger manifest</a> pinpointed Samuel's departure from France to Brooklyn on April 19, 1919. The two documents bookended Samuel's service, but left a seven month gap with questions about what happened in between his arrival in Europe and safe return home. When did he leave Liverpool for France? What action did he see, if any? Where was he on Armistice Day - 102 years ago?</p><p>Sadly, a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed between 16 and 18 million military personnel files, including Samuel's service records. It seemed that Samuel's story had come to a fiery end.</p><p>But I had alternative avenues to push my research forward.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Forging Through The Ashes</h3><p>Commenting on my August blog post, reader Lisa S. Gorrell advised that I review the Morning Reports held at the National Archives in St. Louis, which provided a daily report on the status of each military unit's enlisted men and the unit's movements.</p><p>This is a promising lead, but it will have to wait until the pandemic's worst subsides and the Archives again permit on site research (the morning reports are, unfortunately, not digitized. Have we learned nothing from 1973?!).</p><p>While corresponding with an archivist at the National Archives, I asked about how to obtain Samuel's burial case file (after all, he has a military-issued headstone) and his Veterans Affairs claim file (he lived his final months in a Colorado VA hospital). The archivist clarified that Samuel wouldn't have a burial case file because he didn't die while enlisted. However, "the VA Claim file, since he died in 1970, that file will still be in possession of the VA." </p><p>Given Samuel's more recent death, I assumed his application for a headstone would also still reside with the VA. </p><p>With guidance from the NARA archivist, I fired off a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the VA. My requests were expansive - seeking to procure copies of <i>any </i>records they had on file for my great-grandfather.</p><p>Their answers were quick (by the standard of government bureaucracy) and disappointing.</p><p>Responding to my request for his headstone application, the VA concluded, "We have no records responsive to your request. I am providing an attachment with a picture of Mr. Kirk's government-furnished headstone found on the Find A Grave public website."</p><p>They attached a photo of Samuel's headstone that I had taken and uploaded to Find A Grave. I was back at square one, or, rather, the granite marker that had first indicated to me that Samuel had been in the military and sparked this research journey.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Autumn Leaves Shake Records Loose</h3><p>Just nine days after receiving notification of my failed FOIA request, another shaky leaf hint popped up on Samuel's <i>Ancestry.com</i> profile. </p><p>In mid-October, <i>Ancestry.com</i> had updated their "Headstone Applications for Military Veterans" database. </p><p>Guess what appeared! </p><p>Samuel's headstone application - dated May 1970 - was among the files spanning the years 1963-1970 that were just added to the collection.</p><p>Among the gems of information extracted from Samuel's application were a pension VA claim number (can we say FOIA part deux?!) and his exact enlistment and discharge dates. The application also reiterated his unit affiliation, but with the new information that he was stationed at Fort D.A. Russell - a U.S. Army post in Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8UxJY4tP7s/X6gZB4pp91I/AAAAAAAAJFw/n8yRRK2RbRg460gazSUA98xc6rOBAVSRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Samuel%2BKirk%2B-%2BHeadstone%2BApplication%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8UxJY4tP7s/X6gZB4pp91I/AAAAAAAAJFw/n8yRRK2RbRg460gazSUA98xc6rOBAVSRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h249/Samuel%2BKirk%2B-%2BHeadstone%2BApplication%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samuel Kirk application for U.S. government-issued headstone</td></tr></tbody></table><br />While I continue to forage for information that will help me piece together a more complete picture of Samuel's World War I military service, the headstone application is another example that instances of burned records do not necessarily mean everything went up in smoke. Sift the ashes for clues and you may be surprised what you learn. I know I certainly am.<p></p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-78549365745471253512020-10-31T14:27:00.000-04:002020-10-31T14:27:52.536-04:00Chasing Ancestors Across the Heartland - A Family History Road Trip: Part III<p>My week-long visit with my parents in Colorado - who I hadn't seen in over a year due to the pandemic - ended too quickly and it was soon time to drive the more than 2,000 miles home.</p><p>The westward journey had covered thousands of miles with stops at 12 cemeteries to honor the mortal resting place of dozens of my kinfolk [see A Family History Road Trip <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2020/10/ancestors-across-heartland-family.html" target="_blank">Part I</a> and <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2020/10/chasing-ancestors-across-heartland.html" target="_blank">Part II</a>]. For the trip back east, I mapped out a return route that would take me to new territory covering 11 cemeteries in four states where I could pay my respects at the graves of 25 of my direct ancestors - people who, without any one of them, I wouldn't exist. In that regard, I suppose this was my existential road trip. Join me for the concluding chapter of my family history road trip.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Pleading With the Great Beyond</h3><p>I made an early morning departure and drove into the rising sun, passing into Nebraska. Along the highway, farm fields were being harvested. Enormous machines shucked the grain and corn as a cloud of dust blew across the road kicking my allergies into full throttle. It was a beautiful season to drive across America as leaves burst into autumn's fiery ambers, auburns and torchlight red. </p><p>Lincoln, Nebraska was my stop for the first night. I arrived with plenty of daylight to spare, so continued on to Eagle Cemetery where my fifth great-grandfather Darwin Andrus (1811-1882) is buried. His son, my fourth great-grandfather, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2019/04/in-search-of-jerome-tale-of.html" target="_blank">Jerome Andrus is a bit of a mystery</a>. He disappeared from the paper trail after the untimely death of his <i>maybe </i>wife and the subsequent adoption of their daughter (my third great-grandmother <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2017/05/mitochondrial-mary-matrilineal-mothers.html" target="_blank">Mary Jane</a>). I don't know with any certainty where the final chapters of Jerome's life concluded. Naturally, I did what any rational genealogist of sound mind would do and pleaded at Darwin's grave for a divine research assist from the great beyond. I'm still waiting on a response.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruDNOJUVCoI/X510il0SlUI/AAAAAAAAJCY/Q57ANgRrJCM-38FyJ6fbrSAxekBo5FfVACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0977.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruDNOJUVCoI/X510il0SlUI/AAAAAAAAJCY/Q57ANgRrJCM-38FyJ6fbrSAxekBo5FfVACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0977.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darwin Andrus, Eagle Cemetery, Nebraska</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />Ping-ponging Across Iowa</h3><p></p><p>I made an early start to get a jump on my ambitious plans for day two. I wanted to visit six cemeteries dotted across Iowa. My first stop was Sunny Hill Cemetery in Grimes - a suburb of Des Moines. My third-great grandparents James and Hester (Griffith) Kirk are buried picturesquely beneath two trees with large mature trunks. A badly weathered obelisk includes their names and biodata, and the site of their individual burials are marked with granite stones, labeled <i>Mother </i>and <i>Father</i>, positioned like a footnote. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YMLVXC9mMVM/X51_TMt6HpI/AAAAAAAAJCk/EcLRDOQ9X1gtNN2xWAN796_4HgedF4kZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s5671/DSC_0994%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3798" data-original-width="5671" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YMLVXC9mMVM/X51_TMt6HpI/AAAAAAAAJCk/EcLRDOQ9X1gtNN2xWAN796_4HgedF4kZgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/DSC_0994%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James and Hester (Griffith) Kirk, Sunny Hill Cemetery, Grimes, Iowa<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>This was my first time to see James' burial. I've been to the graves for all of my other direct paternal line ancestors (through Thomas Kirk, my fifth great-grandfather), so this visit felt like a homecoming long in the making or filling a missing link. During visits to the other Kirk men on this road trip, I collected offerings in anticipation of this stop. In Ohio, I gathered walnut husks that had fallen onto the grave of Vachel Kirk - James' father - and in Colorado, I picked up pinecones that had fallen onto the grave of William Kirk, James' son (and my second great-grandfather). I placed the husks and pinecones like tokens at James' marker - offerings that united the patrilineal line spread across the United States.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDWxMbDysKo/X52BGwgwtyI/AAAAAAAAJCw/m1jUZU3OLY8oAhAcKMINN5ha933OW1ZNACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0997%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDWxMbDysKo/X52BGwgwtyI/AAAAAAAAJCw/m1jUZU3OLY8oAhAcKMINN5ha933OW1ZNACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0997%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Kirk's grave with walnut husks from his father Vachel's grave in Ohio<br />and pinecones from his son William's grave in Colorado.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>While I would have loved to linger and meditate over James' life, the day's ambitions were at odds with the clock. Jumping in the car, I drove to nearby Saint Ambrose Cemetery in Des Moines. I believe my third great-grandparents John and Margaret (Fahey) Flynn were laid to rest in the Catholic burial grounds. An 1881 Iowa death record states that John was buried in the "Catholic Cemetery," which was, in that year, St. Ambrose. Sadly, no marker survives (if one was ever placed) and the cemetery's burial records are spotty and don't name either one. I did, however, find the grave for John's brother Michael, who, for a period of time, was the guardian for the orphaned Flynn children. In a genealogical boon to the likely origins for my Flynns, Michael's stone states that he was "Born in Co. Clare, Ireland."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RxektXEVJlc/X52IevLX1YI/AAAAAAAAJC8/LWDsK5-9Ng0Nv_i_WlNf0ibbH8wDS7eWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4530%2B%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RxektXEVJlc/X52IevLX1YI/AAAAAAAAJC8/LWDsK5-9Ng0Nv_i_WlNf0ibbH8wDS7eWQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/IMG_4530%2B%25283%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grave of Michael Flynn, brother to my third-great-grandfather John Flynn<br />St. Ambrose Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Back in the car, I drove 25 miles southwest to Ackworth, Iowa where a small Quaker churchyard is the resting place of four ancestors. The land for the cemetery was gifted from property owned by my fifth great-grandparents Mahlon and Mary (Hockett) Haworth. Their burial on Quaker ground suggests they came full circle from when Mahlon was "disowned" in 1829 by his Quaker brethren in Indiana for "marrying contrary to the faith." Mary was not a member of the Society of Friends and, apparently, unwilling to convert. Mahlon followed his heart and married her anyway. They eventually migrated to Iowa where Mary died in January 1871 and was buried (on Quaker ground strongly suggesting she eventually united with the faith).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-it6yietl3Tk/X52K7jeHPLI/AAAAAAAAJDI/biH1pfmJGso4c0yyOKA1uvt4pdLpsQmkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0008.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-it6yietl3Tk/X52K7jeHPLI/AAAAAAAAJDI/biH1pfmJGso4c0yyOKA1uvt4pdLpsQmkgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0008.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary (Hockett) Haworth, Ackworth Cemetery, Iowa<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The graves for Mary (Hockett) Haworth's daughter-in-law (my fourth great-grandmother), Mary Emily (Hadley) Haworth and her parents (my fifth great-grandparents) Abel and Jane (Cox) Hadley are also in the churchyard. I paid my respects under the curious glances of the teenaged crew mowing the lawn around me.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7qKixxZ3abs/X52MmUiQ57I/AAAAAAAAJDU/GcycMkixfFcXytg9oS2xqio3W4wJGSnLACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0009.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7qKixxZ3abs/X52MmUiQ57I/AAAAAAAAJDU/GcycMkixfFcXytg9oS2xqio3W4wJGSnLACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0009.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Emily (Hadley) Haworth<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYyXejIJH78/X52NLzjUClI/AAAAAAAAJDc/Tn-Dd8aMajcM7uM6HBo6rI4X97J9WWMAgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0019.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYyXejIJH78/X52NLzjUClI/AAAAAAAAJDc/Tn-Dd8aMajcM7uM6HBo6rI4X97J9WWMAgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0019.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abel Hadley, father to Mary Emily (Hadley) Haworth<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iI0n1qYi6OY/X52NlJbs4oI/AAAAAAAAJDo/ebkQJzgC7QE2IVgLYL2roGDSRbqKsdXOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0017.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iI0n1qYi6OY/X52NlJbs4oI/AAAAAAAAJDo/ebkQJzgC7QE2IVgLYL2roGDSRbqKsdXOQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane (Cox) Hadley, wife of Abel and mother of Mary Emily (Hadley) Haworth<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p></p><br /><p>Wasting no time, I drove the 90 miles northeast to Ohio Cemetery just south of Ladora, Iowa. Surrounded on all sides by farmland and towering modern-day windmills, the cemetery is the final resting place for my fourth great-grandparents John and Nancy (Rosenberger) Bair and Nancy's parents John and Catherine (Schall) Rosenberger (who were donors of the land for the cemetery). </p><p>According to a family history, John Bair died in 1857 at the age of 33 after he "fell from a hay stack and broke his spine while making hay on the <i>Old State Road</i>." I cannot even begin to fathom the horror of enduring a spinal cord injury in the mid-19th century. John's name is inscribed on a single headstone with his wife and her second husband John Clyde.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ze-oP9KG2eY/X52Rk493h_I/AAAAAAAAJD0/rylS-fVgF-0PP8zKa3t7yP8UNB_UsK1jQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0023.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ze-oP9KG2eY/X52Rk493h_I/AAAAAAAAJD0/rylS-fVgF-0PP8zKa3t7yP8UNB_UsK1jQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0023.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Bair's grave (marked with the smaller marker at far left) and his wife<br />Nancy Catherine (Rosenberger) Bair Clyde buried at the large marker at center.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2_7hR2Gta0/X52SGmoRtCI/AAAAAAAAJD8/M_fcnMiAiugv5uBzIHC70JxpB4lC6jhIACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0030.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2_7hR2Gta0/X52SGmoRtCI/AAAAAAAAJD8/M_fcnMiAiugv5uBzIHC70JxpB4lC6jhIACLcBGAsYHQ/w266-h400/DSC_0030.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Catherine (Schall) Rosenberger<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>With 75 miles between me and my next step, I raced the afternoon sun south to Heidlebaugh Cemetery. Located on private land, this was one of the more challenging cemeteries to get to. After I crossed the Des Moines River, the road became a bumpy gravel road kicking up swirling clouds of dust in my wake. Ten miles later, I pulled into a densely tree-covered graveyard as the last dregs of afternoon light cast paltry shadows on the aged stones. My fifth great-grandmother, Abigail (Gould) Rogers, died in 1882. Just like the headstone for her daughter Sophronia, whose grave I saw earlier in the road trip (see Part II), Abigail's headstone is broken in two. Someone gently leaned the marker against its fractured base.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfCGED_lRmk/X52U4h9SkJI/AAAAAAAAJEI/r3bV-Vl2bfcoi5i4GmfsfhUx5LjebeUSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0054%2B%25283%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfCGED_lRmk/X52U4h9SkJI/AAAAAAAAJEI/r3bV-Vl2bfcoi5i4GmfsfhUx5LjebeUSwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0054%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abigail (Gould) Rogers<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The sun was now setting and my stop for the evening was still 70 miles to the west in Burlington, Iowa - nestled along the Mississippi River. As I sped along country roads praying no deer decided to jump on the hood of my car, I conceded defeat - my last Iowa cemetery stop would have to wait until the morning. <br /><br /><p>I believe Concord Cemetery in Louisa County, Iowa is the likely burial place for my fourth great-grandmother Jane (Delzell) Kirk who died in 1886. Her son, who she lived with in Iowa, was buried in the cemetery according to his obituary. Although there's no marker for his grave and no sign of a burial for Jane, I made it my last stop before leaving Iowa (see the video tour below). As I left the cemetery, driving down the grassy road, three deer jumped in front of my car and darted into the hedges. Jane sending me a sign, no doubt, that she appreciated my visit. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xesxsn2m1s" width="406"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Kentucky Kinfolk</h3><div><br /></div><div>After my morning tour of the Concord Cemetery, I spent the rest of the day driving across Illinois, Indiana and stopping for the night in Lexington, Kentucky. I was getting road weary. The following morning, I dipped into Kentucky coal country to visit my ancestors in Morgan County.</div><div><br /></div><div>Southfork Cemetery is the burial place for six of my ancestors although headstones survive for only three of them, including fifth great-grandparents John and Jane (Porter) Barker and Revolutionary War veteran Ambrose Jones (another fifth great-grandfather). Unmarked are the graves for Ambrose's wife Martha (Craig) Jones, and Joseph and Priscilla (Barker) Lumpkins. Priscilla was the daughter of John and Jane Barker. Sadly, many of the stones - including John Barker's - are toppled over and most of their inscriptions have worn away. The wind was vicious, ripping tiny acorns from the branches overhead. The tiny nuts kept lashing against my face in their violent plummets to the ground. Note to self, I thought, bring a helmet next time.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JQ9N4J52QyQ/X52auwoppPI/AAAAAAAAJEU/nfet1igTBukkXEQPP1JHWVwWmVFHdoUQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JQ9N4J52QyQ/X52auwoppPI/AAAAAAAAJEU/nfet1igTBukkXEQPP1JHWVwWmVFHdoUQwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0094.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Barker (left) and his wife Jane (Porter) Barker (right)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1YGaKh4wCc/X52b0QJrLJI/AAAAAAAAJEg/vl7WxOnw1b0I6j6BcYqDKbINh7NV7s5cACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4670%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1YGaKh4wCc/X52b0QJrLJI/AAAAAAAAJEg/vl7WxOnw1b0I6j6BcYqDKbINh7NV7s5cACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4670%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ambrose Jones<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>My last stop in Kentucky was the Howerton Cemetery, located on private land, and the final resting place of my fourth great-grandparents John and Barberry (Jones) Howerton. Barberry was the daughter of Ambrose. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll admit in brief passing that a wrong turn down a narrow single-lane country road proved a sweat-inducing stressful delay as I valiantly tried to turn my car around. Like steering the Titanic, I inched backwards and forwards in a series of maneuvers as I slowly made a 180 degree about-face on a steep road and came perilously close to plunging over the hillside. Disaster averted, I found my Howerton grandparents and thanked them for the otherworldly assist I'm sure they provided.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a beautifully well-kept cemetery, John Howerton's headstone was recently cleaned and brought to its original gleaming white. Beside him, in a grave marked with a jagged headstone and footstone, is the likely grave for his wife Barberry.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pU0t55v9pgo/X52dF25ubUI/AAAAAAAAJEs/iaSBLcRcKkAxn3vjK3z_VpeNGaiq9XgYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s958/John%2Band%2BBarberry%2BJones%2BHowerton.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="958" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pU0t55v9pgo/X52dF25ubUI/AAAAAAAAJEs/iaSBLcRcKkAxn3vjK3z_VpeNGaiq9XgYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h301/John%2Band%2BBarberry%2BJones%2BHowerton.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Howerton, left, and likely his wife, Barberry (Jones) Howerton at right<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ohio Conclusion</h3><div><br /></div><div>The homestretch saw me swing up through Ohio for two final cemeteries. First was the Miller Cemetery located in southern Ohio near the Ohio River. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUDpSWY6ibk/X52eNIgtCAI/AAAAAAAAJE4/aMTOZ-h0ZUkVXNNb2XBXG633nH4vWeOSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4731.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUDpSWY6ibk/X52eNIgtCAI/AAAAAAAAJE4/aMTOZ-h0ZUkVXNNb2XBXG633nH4vWeOSwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4731.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohio River near Gallipolis, Ohio<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I pulled into the Miller Cemetery and drove past the many recent graves to the tree-lined boundary where I could see older headstones. My fourth great-grandfather, John Benedick, was buried in the cemetery after his death in 1863 at the age of 57. When I found his stone, I texted a photo to my aunt in Kansas. She immediately noted a similarity between John's stone and that of his widow, Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick, who is buried in Plainville, Kansas. Both markers feature a symbolic hand with a single finger gesturing heavenward. Perhaps it was something Mary desired that both of their headstones share in common when she died 38 years later.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZQmRUuY79g/X52fb43KiFI/AAAAAAAAJFE/70tFk7xWmxgLZtYwOxOyvDaNH2S9yudSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZQmRUuY79g/X52fb43KiFI/AAAAAAAAJFE/70tFk7xWmxgLZtYwOxOyvDaNH2S9yudSQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0120.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Benedick, Miller Cemetery, Ohio<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FF6fXe2CLK8/X52gKtGnpKI/AAAAAAAAJFM/TnxO-zgYzi4jIeMB1zMhuxUW2vro1TfZACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FF6fXe2CLK8/X52gKtGnpKI/AAAAAAAAJFM/TnxO-zgYzi4jIeMB1zMhuxUW2vro1TfZACLcBGAsYHQ/w266-h400/DSC_0726.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick, widow of John Benedick, buried in Plainville, Kansas<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The final stop for the road trip was Zion Cemetery in Hopedale, Ohio. I had a heck of a time locating the cemetery. I was so deep in the country that my cell phone kept losing its signal and the GPS would stall. Finally, as I crested a hill, just enough of a signal hit the device and directed me to graveyard. I pulled into a gravel path and trudged across the lawn strewn with fallen leaves. </div><div><br /></div><div>My fifth great-grandparents Andrew and Elizabeth (Sailor) Miser - parents to the abovementioned Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick - are buried here. Their stones are wide and tower over many of the other markers. I stood next to Elizabeth's headstone, which sadly has lost much of its inscription to the stone's façade shedding away, and marked its high point at my shoulder. Someone has placed a newer granite slab at the base of the stones with their biodata more legible. </div><div><br /></div><div>I sank my artificial floral offering into the earth as gusts of wind blew through the trees creating a wonderful autumn percussion and sending whirls of leaves tumbling around me. If I wasn't a family historian with an affinity for traipsing through graveyards, I might have called it a haunting scene just in time for Halloween. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BBXEpEPhr_8/X52kHMZrM1I/AAAAAAAAJFY/udaiLfeI1LgIm2B2MKA5tuSs7YMbz5ovQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BBXEpEPhr_8/X52kHMZrM1I/AAAAAAAAJFY/udaiLfeI1LgIm2B2MKA5tuSs7YMbz5ovQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0159.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew, at right, and Elizabeth (Sailor) Miser, at left<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The solitude and opportunity to commune with each of my ancestors at their graves - scattered across the country - was the journey of a lifetime. I count myself fortunate that I was able to make the trip and do it safely amid the pandemic. </div><div><br /></div><div>But it was definitely a long time to be on the road alone. I was grateful when I arrived home later that afternoon and was able to finally sleep in my own bed and dream of the many lives that came before my own.</div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-9590102514608906662020-10-24T11:45:00.003-04:002020-10-26T21:19:23.574-04:00Chasing Ancestors Across the Heartland - A Family History Road Trip: Part II<p>I hadn't seen my parents in more than a year due to the pandemic. In early October, I decided to escape my quarantine and drive across the country - a one way journey of nearly 1,700 miles.</p><p>With COVID-19 raging, safety was paramount. This wasn't a social road trip where I stopped along the way to visit friends and family. I was careful to limit interaction with people. I traveled solo. I packed a large cooler stocked full of food to limit the need to dine out. And, at each day's end, I walked into my hotel room with a can of Lysol disinfectant spray a' blazin'!</p><p>While I had minimal interaction with <i>living</i> people during the journey, I did indulge myself in family history. My roundtrip covered over 4,400 miles, traversed 13 states, and included stops at 22 cemeteries where I visited the graves of more than 70 ancestors and collateral kinfolk.</p><p>The trip began with stops in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri [<a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2020/10/ancestors-across-heartland-family.html" target="_blank">see Part I</a>].</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Prairie Pilgrimage </h3><p>Leaving the lush hills of Missouri behind, I steered west and deep into the plains. My maternal line is heavily rooted in the Kansas prairie. In fact, my mom's people were among the state's earliest settlers. Mostly farmers, they subsisted off the land that today holds their remains. </p><p>In October 2014, following the death of my maternal grandmother, I took a road trip with my mother and aunt. We traced their ancestry across Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma with stops at a handful of cemeteries to pay our respects to those who came before us [see Family History on the Road <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2014/10/family-history-on-road-day-one.html" target="_blank">Day One</a>, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2014/10/family-history-on-road-day-two.html" target="_blank">Two</a>, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2014/10/family-history-on-road-day-three.html" target="_blank">Three</a>, <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2014/11/family-history-on-road-day-four.html" target="_blank">Four</a>, and <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2014/11/family-history-on-road-day-five.html" target="_blank">Five</a>]. </p><p>During that trip, I logged my first visits to the graves of my Kansas ancestors. But, six years later, I wanted to visit again and put eyes on their markers. My first stop was the Edwardsville Cemetery just outside Kansas City. I arrived early in the morning. No one else was around. I parked the car, grabbed my artificial floral offering, and started wandering the grounds trying to recall where Sophronia (Rogers) Dornon, my fourth great-grandmother, was buried. </p><p>As I trudged back and forth, scanning the names on the stone markers, a car pulled into the cemetery. The man behind the wheel drove slowly around the ringed perimeter road and stopped in the distance. His behavior struck me as suspicious and suddenly I felt very aware that I was alone in an isolated rural location. As luck would have it, I stumbled on Sophronia just as my spidey senses kicked in. I sank the flowers' plastic stem into the ground, assessed the condition of her stone - still split in half with her name facing skyward - and hoofed it back to the car to make my escape. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yiAnbwPWIA8" width="406"></iframe></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Not far from Edwardsville is the small community of Rossville just outside Topeka. Rossville's cemetery is the final resting place for five of my direct ancestors, including third great-grandparents Edmond and Iva (Haworth) Hawks. Their markers, pictured below, are near my second great-grandfather John Lumpkins (son-in-law to the Hawks) who died on his 38th birthday after slipping on ice and suffering a traumatic brain injury.<p></p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hk9hORYMHTo/X5Q4etiQ7eI/AAAAAAAAJA4/7v0qeUmQwZwILyTYBgQd2yAiRHi2povuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0874.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hk9hORYMHTo/X5Q4etiQ7eI/AAAAAAAAJA4/7v0qeUmQwZwILyTYBgQd2yAiRHi2povuQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0874.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edmond and Iva (Haworth) Hawks pictured foreground<br />Their son-in-law, John Lumpkins, pictured at right in background<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I was surprised to discover that John's headstone had been nudged off its concrete foundation and sat askew. In the distance, the caretakers were cutting the lawn with a driving lawnmower, cruising up and down the line of graves at a quick clip. Perhaps they bumped into the memorial. I grabbed the stone - heavier than I anticipated - and lifted it back into proper position. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_aGvk9X0NA/X5Q17ScSv7I/AAAAAAAAJAM/qQsRsedwNzEj1EDkiobSuHUdEkt9WmxywCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4264.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_aGvk9X0NA/X5Q17ScSv7I/AAAAAAAAJAM/qQsRsedwNzEj1EDkiobSuHUdEkt9WmxywCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4264.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bw-pVRlnIuI/X5Q2nBLPHPI/AAAAAAAAJAg/_1fyYSH7XNQHcWTXVfs2M6tXEC9Za5rSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/John%2BLumpkins.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bw-pVRlnIuI/X5Q2nBLPHPI/AAAAAAAAJAg/_1fyYSH7XNQHcWTXVfs2M6tXEC9Za5rSwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/John%2BLumpkins.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jx7foh8nb6s/X5Q3IOPG1JI/AAAAAAAAJAs/3sg6uAKai10pMBXVFslHd23yWZkpPvU8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0873%2B%25283%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jx7foh8nb6s/X5Q3IOPG1JI/AAAAAAAAJAs/3sg6uAKai10pMBXVFslHd23yWZkpPvU8ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0873%2B%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The eastern end of the cemetery gently slopes upward to a hilltop where John's parents, William and Phoebe (Howerton) Lumpkins, are both buried. My return trip would include a visit to the Kentucky cemeteries where their parents are buried (stay tuned for the conclusion to this series - Part III!).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JgIqTtRFhC8/X5Q70SN82bI/AAAAAAAAJBE/SanYnNfcRx0wBb-dnIBeCRsjyTeRRM8ogCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0882.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JgIqTtRFhC8/X5Q70SN82bI/AAAAAAAAJBE/SanYnNfcRx0wBb-dnIBeCRsjyTeRRM8ogCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lumpkins, left, and his wife, Phoebe (Howerton) Lumpkins, middle<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Raised on Country Sunshine</h3></div><p>Smack dab in the middle of the state is Plainville, the epicenter for my maternal history. The city cemetery is the final resting place for 11 of my ancestors - perhaps the largest number of my direct family buried in any single cemetery (at least in the United States). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Yu7mS9cWWM/X5Q-NEV_OrI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/urHy0LXaLj8DOVZDlOSw_bitUCBTzkNTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Plainville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Yu7mS9cWWM/X5Q-NEV_OrI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/urHy0LXaLj8DOVZDlOSw_bitUCBTzkNTACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Plainville.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My maternal grandmother Marilyn passed away in October 2014. She's buried beside her parents and sister who pre-deceased her. Her headstone is engraved with lyrics from one of her favorite country songs: "Raised on country sunshine." As fate would have it, I was in Plainville on October 4th - the six-year anniversary of her passing. Before leaving town, I drove to the cemetery early in the morning when the sun was still burning the fog off the distant wheat fields, rolled the car windows down and blared her beloved Dottie West anthem - an avant garde tribute to the ancestor I knew and loved best.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-dXUn9QLyk/X5RAXpM7sVI/AAAAAAAAJBc/y6Njr2InUMA0H4OsFtYTdmxwcZDBzT33gCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0891.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-dXUn9QLyk/X5RAXpM7sVI/AAAAAAAAJBc/y6Njr2InUMA0H4OsFtYTdmxwcZDBzT33gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0891.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Rocky Mountain High</h3><p>Three hours later, I hit the Colorado state line, pulled over and snapped the obligatory welcome home selfie. Later that day, I was reunited with my family and headed up to Aspen to celebrate my birthday with my parents. The fresh Rocky Mountain air was rejuvenating (catching it on a day largely clear of nearby wildfires).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs_yWhVFau0/X5RBnP8UlBI/AAAAAAAAJBo/KmWVKXCRqNwgrCbmIfws_L2BvMWK9Vf6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/4C2350F5-2031-4A33-8A84-06289D1CD494.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2048" height="351" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs_yWhVFau0/X5RBnP8UlBI/AAAAAAAAJBo/KmWVKXCRqNwgrCbmIfws_L2BvMWK9Vf6ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h351/4C2350F5-2031-4A33-8A84-06289D1CD494.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRoMfDFb12c/X5RCf5sniII/AAAAAAAAJBw/i6C6oZE-FBsOYDEmyJBhoKtpmqiVCQjfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4392.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DRoMfDFb12c/X5RCf5sniII/AAAAAAAAJBw/i6C6oZE-FBsOYDEmyJBhoKtpmqiVCQjfgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4392.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>I have a handful of ancestors buried in Colorado, including my paternal grandfather, great-grandfather and second great-grandfather. All three, pictured below, are descendants of Thomas Kirk and his son Vachel - my paternal fifth and fourth great-grandfathers who are buried in Ohio. My return trip would take me to the missing link in this lineup of paternal ancestors - my third great-grandfather James Kirk who is buried in Iowa (again, keep an eye out for Part III). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O1lvkpY2dmI/X5RFzthSvkI/AAAAAAAAJCI/wCn9tmSjgtcykAapcunEki6pXG3vhU2mACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Paternal%2Bancestors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="1280" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O1lvkpY2dmI/X5RFzthSvkI/AAAAAAAAJCI/wCn9tmSjgtcykAapcunEki6pXG3vhU2mACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h143/Paternal%2Bancestors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In total, I took five days to drive from DC to Colorado. Sure, I could have covered the ground more quickly, but when life hands you a pandemic that compels you to drive across country make the most of the experience and drive that extra hour (or two or three) to pay homage to those who made you <i>you.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay tuned for part III of my family history road trip as I begin the return home through Nebraska, Iowa and into Kentucky coal country.</div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-36903683537481943072020-10-19T09:24:00.006-04:002020-10-19T09:38:45.681-04:00Ancestors Across the Heartland - A Family History Road Trip: Part I"Hello, Ancestors," I said aloud as I stepped into each cemetery.<div><br /></div><div>Clutching bouquets of artificial flowers like dousing rods, I channeled great-grandparents of varying generations to guide me to their graves. </div><div><br /></div><div>At every forebear's resting place, I plunged the plastic floral offering into the earth, laid my hand on their stone, and quietly pondered their life and the American history they helped shape. </div><div><br /></div><div>The visits were a spiritual communion. I kept vigil for the faintest acknowledgement of my presence. Amid my contemplations, my skin would tingle with goosebumps at a sudden shift in the wind rustling the leaves or the sun cutting through clouds to cast poignant rays on cue. Broken stillness felt intentional and imbued with significance as though my presence was a touchstone conjuring the ghosts of my predecessors.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Road Tripping During The Pandemic</h3><div><br /></div><div>A cross country road trip to visit family in Colorado - who I haven't seen in over a year due to the pandemic - afforded me a rare opportunity to visit my ancestors' graves. </div><div><br /></div><div>Typically, I fly home to visit family. The last - <i>and only</i> - time I drove the 1,665 miles between my parents' Rocky Mountain home and Washington, DC was in 2004 when I embarked on my two-year east coast plan (16 years ago!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Mapping out my route, I decided to stop at a handful of cemeteries scattershot across the United States where my kinfolk rested eternally. As a moderately tech-savvy genealogist, I pinpointed their burials on Google Maps. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FUJUxmPJ8ow/X4x93k69vmI/AAAAAAAAI98/0pem3C4rJSYrPpl_OMsuzgRcoWzfSLzGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s925/Ancestor%2BBurials%2B2020.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="925" height="219" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FUJUxmPJ8ow/X4x93k69vmI/AAAAAAAAI98/0pem3C4rJSYrPpl_OMsuzgRcoWzfSLzGQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h219/Ancestor%2BBurials%2B2020.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Sleuther's ancestors' graves<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Next, I plotted a circular path that allowed me to visit different sites on my way to and from Colorado (note: the yellow flower icons are graves I've not visited and purple flowers are graves that, as of this journey, I have visited).</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Journeying Through Family History</h3><div><br /></div><div>The three-week trip was a dizzying whirlwind that traced my family's history across both paternal and maternal lines not to mention time zones. Thank goodness for mobile apps like <i>Find A Grave</i> and <i>Ancestry</i> that allowed me to find everyone and reacquaint myself with their life stories on the ground and in real-time.</div><div><br /></div><div>The numbers alone underscore the sheer magnitude of the trip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOikncE1uME/X4yJiaKmNbI/AAAAAAAAI-I/SwTlLVk9CB8KOQsk_HTHPR1sU_FTvt5tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Road%2BTrip%2Bstats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="1280" height="155" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOikncE1uME/X4yJiaKmNbI/AAAAAAAAI-I/SwTlLVk9CB8KOQsk_HTHPR1sU_FTvt5tQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h155/Road%2BTrip%2Bstats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>My journey began with a visit to the Beard-Green Cemetery in Licking County, Ohio. Although I've visited before, it still holds special meaning to me as the final resting place for my fifth great-grandparents Thomas and Sarah (Bonar) Kirk and their son, my fourth great-grandfather, Vachel Kirk. </div><div><br /></div><div>For me, the Kirks have favored research status (yes, genealogists get to have favorite ancestors!). My fondness stems from the fact that ten years ago I didn't even know that I was a Kirk. But I did the hard work to find the connection. Confronted with whispered family rumors, I sought out DNA tests that ultimately confirmed a non-paternity event. The years of dogged research that ensued carved my path directly to these people. I worked hard to surface this family history and I gladly honor it.</div><div><br /></div><div>All three are buried in the northwest corner of the cemetery near the edge of a dense forest. A towering walnut tree juts out from the middle of the burials - a totem that beckons me to the epicenter (and brickwall) of my Kirk paternal ancestry. After paying my respects, I turned to leave just as the sun sliced through the early morning fog and cut a path directly to the northwest corner like the dawning summer solstice sunlight finding perfect alignment among the sarsens at Stonehenge. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpW1gxYBmdw/X4zOYWf5i7I/AAAAAAAAI-Y/K9DeP8IRnykNcYrOrF9o-P6EGnjneNtpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4759.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CpW1gxYBmdw/X4zOYWf5i7I/AAAAAAAAI-Y/K9DeP8IRnykNcYrOrF9o-P6EGnjneNtpwCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/IMG_4759.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beard-Green Cemetery. Licking County, Ohio. <br />Thomas & Sarah Kirk and their son Vachel Kirk<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As I put the car into drive, I glanced back just in time to see a fox emerge and watch me make my departure. I next drove 170 miles west to Dunreith Cemetery in rural Indiana where two sets of fifth great-grandparents are buried: Thomas and Frances (Boatright) Johnson and Philip and Sylvia (maiden name unknown) Hall. Their children, Francis Johnson and Temperance Hall, would marry and become my fourth great-grandparents. Hint: they also scored a stop on the road trip (stay tuned)!</div><div><br /></div><div>A strong wind propelled ominously dark clouds overhead and whipped a nearby cornfield into a fury. The unyielding gusts pushed me into the cemetery grounds, firmly guiding me to their graves. They were nicely situated together. I would soon learn to appreciate the convenience of quickly locating burials in these quaintly-sized cemeteries.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcoAUOUgzQU/X4zZ2QtuChI/AAAAAAAAI-k/q1X_m8EVzuA--4eFMdRQthtn0vLK64LuwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4049.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcoAUOUgzQU/X4zZ2QtuChI/AAAAAAAAI-k/q1X_m8EVzuA--4eFMdRQthtn0vLK64LuwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4049.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunreith Cemetery: Thomas and Frances Johnson (foreground)<br />and Philip and Sylvia Hall (background), marked with flowers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>My next stop was the only point where I visited non-direct ancestors. The aforementioned Thomas and Sarah Kirk had 11 children who lived to adulthood. At least seven of them settled in Crawford County, Illinois. Five of those seven - all sons - were buried in the Kirk Cemetery just north of the town of Robinson and one, a daughter, in the nearby Oblong Cemetery.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4rHoraD-wU0/X4zctCFRUMI/AAAAAAAAI-w/CGs5PI1CKHYUTr0N1UeyZ2itLerfigSpACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4148.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4rHoraD-wU0/X4zctCFRUMI/AAAAAAAAI-w/CGs5PI1CKHYUTr0N1UeyZ2itLerfigSpACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4148.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirk Cemetery north of Robinson, Illinois<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>After an overnight in Illinois, I crossed the mighty Mississippi River and cruised toward central Missouri with my first stop in Rolla. Unlike the small country cemeteries in Indiana and Ohio where I quickly found my ancestors' graves, the Rolla Cemetery is a large sprawling landscape. There was no manned office and no directory of names to provide directions, so I was forced to drive along the paved paths, back and forth, studying the engraved names. While combing the grounds, three deer nonchalantly followed at a distance and serenely eyed my frantic search. If this was a Disney movie, I would have put them to work and had them help me locate my kinfolk. Alas, they paid me little attention and continued to make salad out of the lawn.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the afternoon sun fast approaching and encroaching on the day's second cemetery visit, I was beginning to fear that I'd driven all this way and would have to abandon the mission without finding the graves for my second great-grandmother Jelina (Williams) O'Connor Trimble (she was married, a lot!) and her parents, my third great-grandparents, Johnson and Careline (Reed) Williams. My saving grace was finding email correspondence from 2013 with a <i>Find A Grave</i> volunteer who first discovered the graves and took photos. In his message, saint that he is, he provided the section and plot numbers. I quickly found the graves no thanks to my animal friends.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSsnfODW_xQ/X4zmnoSQvRI/AAAAAAAAI-8/7t0nXjavHucNfERvwBlvF3rUaJTo_f3vgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0840.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSsnfODW_xQ/X4zmnoSQvRI/AAAAAAAAI-8/7t0nXjavHucNfERvwBlvF3rUaJTo_f3vgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0840.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnson and Careline Williams, at left, and Jelina at right.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I unexpectedly spent more time in Rolla than I originally planned. Dusk was fast approaching and threatened my chance to visit my next stop - El Dorado Springs Cemetery in Missouri - 150 miles to the west. I generously applied the gas - in the safest measure possible - to ensure a timely arrival that salvaged as much of the day's remaining sunlight as possible. Pulling into the cemetery, my heart sank to discover it was another large sprawling affair. </div><div><br /></div><div>Loading up the <i>Find A Grave</i> app, I carefully studied the photographs of the headstone for Francis and Temperance (Hall) Johnson, my fourth great-grandparents (whose parents, mentioned above, are buried in Indiana's Dunreith Cemetery), that were uploaded by a volunteer. Paying close attention to nearby headstones, trees and even a distant house, I was able to pinpoint their marker just as the sun emitted its final rays for the day.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Johnsons share a single stone with each name carved on either side.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgTz484sVU0/X4zpl5_vFMI/AAAAAAAAI_M/7bhoZPdS7kES9ulB8HfhSkzXSUZ9wxp6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0854%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgTz484sVU0/X4zpl5_vFMI/AAAAAAAAI_M/7bhoZPdS7kES9ulB8HfhSkzXSUZ9wxp6wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0854%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Francis Johnson</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18MTjHdrMgc/X4zp1VG39yI/AAAAAAAAI_U/Zj6eAbw8nEY5EdiEOJrrMJqsnJWQy3pjACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0851%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18MTjHdrMgc/X4zp1VG39yI/AAAAAAAAI_U/Zj6eAbw8nEY5EdiEOJrrMJqsnJWQy3pjACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC_0851%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temperance "Tempy" (Hall) Johnson<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18MTjHdrMgc/X4zp1VG39yI/AAAAAAAAI_U/Zj6eAbw8nEY5EdiEOJrrMJqsnJWQy3pjACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC_0851%2B%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made it with the last dregs of light to spare. And what marvelous light it was; a shining capstone to my travels through America's heartland. But hundreds of miles still stood between me and home. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay tuned for part II of my family history road trip as I journey through Kansas' plains to Colorado's mountains. The road and ancestors call me onward! </div>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-50725957257968186822020-09-04T14:01:00.007-04:002020-09-04T14:06:33.987-04:00The Ancestral Origins of the Kirk Family<p>I know we're supposed to love, value, and appreciate all of our forebearers equally, but let's be honest: genealogists have favorite ancestors, right? </p><p>You know, the ancestor who you'd stay up into the wee hours researching even if it was just to turn up some paltry clue (<i>Wahoo! He paid personal property taxes in 1823!</i>). </p><p>My favorite ancestor to research is my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk. </p><p>Once an impenetrable brick wall on my direct paternal line, I've learned that Thomas was likely born in Berkeley County, Virginia in 1778, migrated to Ohio shortly after it received statehood, and made a decent living as a farmer in Licking County until he was "accidentally killed" on December 3, 1846.</p><p>Genetic and paper trail genealogy now suggest that his Licking County neighbor, Mary (Kirk) Geiger, was his sister. Geiger family history firmly identifies her parents as Joseph and Sarah Kirk of Berkeley County. Accordingly, Joseph was likely Thomas' father, too.</p><p>Few records survive for Joseph Kirk. The earliest known record dates to April 9, 1773, when he leased a 100-acre farm in Berkeley County. He presumably raised a family in the area while subsisting off the land until his death in about 1784.</p><p>Where did Joseph Kirk come from? Was he my immigrant ancestor - the first Kirk in the American Colonies? What were the Kirks' ancestral origins?</p><p>I've spent a considerable amount of time meditating on these questions, sifting through the paper trail and boning up on genetic genealogy to surface answers. </p><p>I recently made a film to benchmark my present understanding of the Kirks' ancestral origins and my next research steps. The purpose was to help my Kirk cousins understand the research to-date in a more compelling way. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="259" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/idoIOO1wMX4" width="460"></iframe></p>Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-6519692901164787392020-08-22T13:27:00.000-04:002020-08-22T13:27:08.150-04:00The Expatriation of AncillaDuring a 15-year period in the early 20th century, American women who married foreign-born men lost their U.S. citizenship and legally acquired the nationality of their immigrant spouse.<br />
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On May 30, 1909, my great-grandmother Ancilla, born and raised in Denver, Colorado, married Italian immigrant Carmine.<br />
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As they exchanged their vows at the altar of Denver's Mount Carmel Church, Ancilla's U.S. citizenship was stripped from her by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriation_Act_of_1907" target="_blank">Expatriation Act of 1907</a> and she became a de facto Italian citizen, despite never having set foot in Italy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oE7_ReLvkH0/XxOQtF3sFGI/AAAAAAAAI40/7jfZ0n2ZRYwyll5urMf4mrD5oa4I2NfZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Carmine%2Band%2BAncilla%2BColacci%2BWedding%2BMay%2B1909.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1129" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oE7_ReLvkH0/XxOQtF3sFGI/AAAAAAAAI40/7jfZ0n2ZRYwyll5urMf4mrD5oa4I2NfZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Carmine%2Band%2BAncilla%2BColacci%2BWedding%2BMay%2B1909.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carmine and Ancilla wedding photo</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Expatriation Act of 1907</h3>
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In a recent article published in the <a href="https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/magazine/" target="_blank">NGS Magazine</a>, professional genealogist Rich Venezia noted that the Expatriation Act "...was fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment and a desire to prevent dual citizenship." Between 1907 and 1922, the legislation resulted in American women forfeiting "...their American citizenship simply by marrying unnaturalized immigrants."<br />
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The law was challenged in 1915 and was heard by the Supreme Court, which upheld its legality. It wasn't until 1922 that provisions were first made to change the law's perspective on these women's citizenship status. Subsequent legal amendments in the ensuing years - particularly in 1936 - outlined a path for these women to reacquire their American citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance.<br />
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<h3>
An American Repatriated</h3>
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On August 5, 1941, Ancilla completed government form N-415, an <i>Application to Take Oath of Allegiance to the United States Under Act of June 25, 1936, </i>and applied "...to take the oath of renunciation and allegiance as prescribed in Section 335 (b) of the Nationality Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1157) to become repatriated and obtain the rights of a citizen of the United States."<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5GD9Z9l7JaQ/X0FKvpQatRI/AAAAAAAAI8g/fqEwyPzHKRISWU3oK-kywjmzi338p1twQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ancilla%2BColacci%2BOath%2Bof%2BAllegiance%2BOctober%2B1941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1236" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5GD9Z9l7JaQ/X0FKvpQatRI/AAAAAAAAI8g/fqEwyPzHKRISWU3oK-kywjmzi338p1twQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Ancilla%2BColacci%2BOath%2Bof%2BAllegiance%2BOctober%2B1941.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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In section eight, she stated, "I lost, or believe that I lost, United States citizenship solely by reason of my marriage on May 30, 1909 to Carmine then an alien, a citizen or subject of Italy..."<br />
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She reassured the court that, "I have resided continuously in the United States since the date of my marriage..." However, she didn't list her marriage date in the space provided on the form. Instead, she provided her birth date - May 27, 1893. Ancilla was, I believe, indicating that she had <i>never </i>traveled overseas and had been a U.S. resident her entire life. It underscored the ridiculousness of the absurd legislation that stripped her of her citizenship and forcibly made her the subject of a country she had never visited.<br />
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On October 20, 1941, Ancilla took the official Oath of Renunciation and Allegiance, declaring, on oath, that she "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen..."<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWJBRPbdCas/X0FN621bYiI/AAAAAAAAI8s/-9gczFEvVnEts-bgLnrxxMPjKUXaULb0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ancilla%2Boath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="1600" height="130" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWJBRPbdCas/X0FN621bYiI/AAAAAAAAI8s/-9gczFEvVnEts-bgLnrxxMPjKUXaULb0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Ancilla%2Boath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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On her oath, she regained what had been forcibly taken from her.<br />
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Thirty-two years after her marriage, at the age of 48, this peculiar chapter in Ancilla's life came to an end. She was once again recognized by her home country as a citizen with all of the associated legal rights. With Mussolini's fascist Italy on the rise, it was, perhaps, a timely move on her part and quite fortuitous with the United States hurtling towards World War II. </div>
Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-55716029865557917192020-08-14T18:20:00.000-04:002020-08-16T12:47:46.905-04:00A Hint Uncovers WWI Military Foreign DeploymentI first learned of my great-grandfather Samuel Kirk's service with the U.S. Army during World War I when I visited his grave in 2016 and saw his government-issued headstone. It was literally carved in stone [see <a href="https://www.familysleuther.com/2016/06/finding-wwi-military-service-despite.html" target="_blank">Finding WWI Military Service Despite National Archives Fire</a>].<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5dNHAOhtWE/V2XhqhpwROI/AAAAAAAAF4A/AYk3M_Q7XykaGWubscykCMNGJxCFbwEFgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Michael%2BDyer%2Bat%2BSamuel%2BKirk%2527s%2Bgrave%2BGolden%2BColorado%2BMay%2B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5dNHAOhtWE/V2XhqhpwROI/AAAAAAAAF4A/AYk3M_Q7XykaGWubscykCMNGJxCFbwEFgCPcBGAYYCw/s400/Michael%2BDyer%2Bat%2BSamuel%2BKirk%2527s%2Bgrave%2BGolden%2BColorado%2BMay%2B2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author at Samuel Kirk's headstone, denoting his service during WWI</td></tr>
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An article in the <i>Colorado Transcript</i>, a local newspaper for Golden, Colorado, publicly announced that Samuel - along with other drafted men - had been medically <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB5R_R7gpLo1HmQEMU4srr-B5vAphBQzBL0fEcqqEbUUrECidbop0mCW8gSH4VoBnlUVGvtmJ5Bx54-WjhQrsRS8vufxEXnAJkcQJ-aerPPiWIx6rvVfLYjvaM8eDVffVXKMTFct8g0Kq/s1600/Samuel+J+Kirk+Passed+for+Draft+Feburary+1918.png" target="_blank">cleared for service</a> in February 1918, and the Denver Public Library found him on a list of soldiers from Colorado that linked his service with the Motor Transport Corps.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kIc-3ho5o64/V2X9m7rocRI/AAAAAAAAF5Q/fA1kVm8xylA1or9OCGsyULTziQ0qnddbgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Motor%2BTransport%2BCorps%2BWWI%2BRecruitment%2BPoster%2B-%2BLibrary%2Bof%2BCongress%2BPublic%2BDomain.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1225" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kIc-3ho5o64/V2X9m7rocRI/AAAAAAAAF5Q/fA1kVm8xylA1or9OCGsyULTziQ0qnddbgCPcBGAYYCw/s400/Motor%2BTransport%2BCorps%2BWWI%2BRecruitment%2BPoster%2B-%2BLibrary%2Bof%2BCongress%2BPublic%2BDomain.tif" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs<br />Division, WWI Posters, Public Domai</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.4px;">n</span></td></tr>
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On Memorial Day in 2016, I received a package of photos from a Kirk cousin that shed further light on Samuel's military service. The four pictures confirmed that he had been stationed in San Francisco, California.<br />
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Sadly, a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed between 16 and 18 million military personnel files, including Samuel's service records.<br />
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My request to the National Archives for his service file was returned with an ask to <i>me </i>to help <i>them </i>rebuild his file with what little information I knew. But that was it. That was everything I knew.<br />
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Until this week.<br />
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<h3>
Turning Over a New Research Leaf</h3>
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The research trail - once gone cold - reignited when a new shaky leaf hint popped up for Samuel on Ancestry.com. To my surprise and relief, it wasn't a user added photo of a strand of DNA or circuitous clue back to my own tree. This was something useful that would advance my research and understanding of his military service.<br />
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Samuel was enumerated on a list of men sailing from New York City to Liverpool, England. Sailing on the S.S. Anchises, the men boarded the ship on August 31, 1918 at Pier 58 North River in New York, NY.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9n5_NWgNs4A/Xzbad3LDZ5I/AAAAAAAAI7Q/f6Md2FE8_Dg6rhIUYcdqJ0SIYJReXOn7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Pier%2B58%2BNorth%2BRiver%2BPort%2BNYC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="760" height="322" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9n5_NWgNs4A/Xzbad3LDZ5I/AAAAAAAAI7Q/f6Md2FE8_Dg6rhIUYcdqJ0SIYJReXOn7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Pier%2B58%2BNorth%2BRiver%2BPort%2BNYC.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, <br />The New York Public Library. "Pier 58, North River. View from Street" <br />The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1951. <br />http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/a44288b4-9c1d-b31f-e040-e00a18060314</span></td></tr>
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At 8:00 am on September 1, 1918, the ship departed New York and crossed the Atlantic in twelve days, arriving in Liverpool on September 13th.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AKxl47oW_M0/XzbcPJjZRDI/AAAAAAAAI7g/FvpfFYeWG64lI9uvwFrtYgFUoKEhBe6qQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/SS%2BAnchises%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1056" height="217" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AKxl47oW_M0/XzbcPJjZRDI/AAAAAAAAI7g/FvpfFYeWG64lI9uvwFrtYgFUoKEhBe6qQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/SS%2BAnchises%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.S. Anchises, <a href="https://www.wrecksite.eu/imgBrowser.aspx?12796" target="_blank">Wreck Site</a></td></tr>
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Samuel was headed overseas!<br />
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Previously I had mistakenly assumed that his service was stateside simply because I had no evidence of foreign deployment. Now I had proof that he was headed to the action in Europe.<br />
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Furthermore, the passenger list (pictured below) included important details about Samuel's service, such as his service ID number and his specific unit affiliations. He was a Private First Class with Truck Company E of the Army Artillery Park, Coast Artillery Corps. That information would be helpful in following his service in Europe.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7uM1pExlc0/XzbeGP4VxCI/AAAAAAAAI70/gpOFwKIKKlISgkgGi8yr_qHgeZtnsSmMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Anchises%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2BSept%2B1918%2Bhighlighted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="875" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7uM1pExlc0/XzbeGP4VxCI/AAAAAAAAI70/gpOFwKIKKlISgkgGi8yr_qHgeZtnsSmMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Anchises%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2BSept%2B1918%2Bhighlighted.jpg" width="350" /></a></div>
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What happened once Samuel arrived in Liverpool? Did he stay in England or transfer to the continent? An answer came on another passenger list.</div>
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Seven months after he arrived in Europe, Samuel was enumerated as a passenger on the U.S.S. Canonicus headed for Brooklyn, New York. On April 19, 1919, he departed France from the U.S. Naval Air Station at Pauillac about 30 miles northwest of Bordeaux. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V9UN93yO0Jw/Xzb4zhUavzI/AAAAAAAAI8A/v4x5kBOiG-kA9kuKrZEkurWz37rmCAXsACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/USS%2BCanonicus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V9UN93yO0Jw/Xzb4zhUavzI/AAAAAAAAI8A/v4x5kBOiG-kA9kuKrZEkurWz37rmCAXsACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/USS%2BCanonicus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-family: "source sans pro" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Ancestry.com. </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #181a1c; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">U.S., WWI Troop Transport Ships, 1918-1919</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-family: "source sans pro" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> [database on-line]. <br />Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkk62ReSeho/Xzb6QGR1VcI/AAAAAAAAI8M/A5qUkzUox34E9EvChPM3o5jk1GUxOvVLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Canonicus%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2B19%2BApr%2B1919%2Bduplicate%2BC%2B-%2Barrival%2Bin%2BBrooklyn%2BNY%2B02%2BMay%2B1919%2Bhighlighted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="639" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkk62ReSeho/Xzb6QGR1VcI/AAAAAAAAI8M/A5qUkzUox34E9EvChPM3o5jk1GUxOvVLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Canonicus%2Bsailing%2Blog%2B-%2BSamuel%2BJ%2BKirk%2B19%2BApr%2B1919%2Bduplicate%2BC%2B-%2Barrival%2Bin%2BBrooklyn%2BNY%2B02%2BMay%2B1919%2Bhighlighted.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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<h3>
From the ashes - Establishing A Military Service Timeline</h3>
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Despite the fiery destruction of Samuel's service records, the few documents I've scrounged up - including some <a href="http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cacunithistories/military/1st%20Army%20Artillery%20Park.html" target="_blank">fantastic online histories and first person recollections for the military company</a> (quoted below) with which he enlisted - helped me piece together a timeline for his military service.<br />
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<b>Timeline:</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>June 5, 1917: completed <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sXZoOHV98K4/V2Xmk9EShgI/AAAAAAAAF4I/znjFRhHcYNQ9xcSlVlEWnj7ViB8S5NXzQCLcB/s1600/Samuel%2BKirk%2BWWI%2BDraft%2BCard.jpg" target="_blank">WWI draft registration card</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>February 14, 1918: Sam passed medical review for draft, published in newspaper</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>March 1, 1918: The Army Artillery Park, First Army, American Expeditionary Force was organized at Ft. Winfield Scott in San Francisco and commanded by Colonel William H. Tobin.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>1918: Pictured in San Francisco area, perhaps during basic training</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BDb7DEwJRVI/V2X014NEb8I/AAAAAAAAF48/BvS2q-4OCEQyAFirooJoMXMIU9RyIcLJwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Samuel%2BJames%2BKirk%2B-%2BWWI%2BMotor%2BTransport%2BCorps%2B1918%2Bphoto%2Bby%2BJ%2BD%2BGivens%2BPresidio%2BSan%2BFrancisco%2BCA.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1045" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BDb7DEwJRVI/V2X014NEb8I/AAAAAAAAF48/BvS2q-4OCEQyAFirooJoMXMIU9RyIcLJwCPcBGAYYCw/s640/Samuel%2BJames%2BKirk%2B-%2BWWI%2BMotor%2BTransport%2BCorps%2B1918%2Bphoto%2Bby%2BJ%2BD%2BGivens%2BPresidio%2BSan%2BFrancisco%2BCA.tif" width="417" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samuel Kirk, photographed at the Presidio in San Francisco, California</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>August 15, 1918: Truck Company E left San Francisco in a vehicle convoy</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>August 21, 1918: Truck Company E arrived in New York City</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>August 31, 1918: Boarded the S.S. Anchises at Pier 58 in New York City</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>September 1, 1918: Set sail aboard S.S. Anchises</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>September 12, 1918: Arrived Liverpool, England</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>April ~13, 1919: Truck Company E met up with Park Battery C and Truck Companies D and F, in compliance with orders received to start for the Port of Embarkation.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>April 16, 1919: Companies started for the river docks at 6:45 am. Arriving there, they took a barge for 30-miles down the river, landing at Pauillac. Here they were stationed in a large building, capable of holding 5,000 men.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>April 18, 1919: "To the great surprise of all, saw an order come in that we should board our long-looked-for transport the next day.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>April 19, 1919: "Sure enough, April 19 saw us lining up to await our turn to go aboard. The ship was loaded by 3:00 pm, and by 4:30 we started to pull away from land and out towards the middle of the river. We were on the good ship SS Canonicus, which had a tonnage of 5,500, and was 410-feet long with a 49-foot beam. The southern route of 3,700 miles was taken, and by the next morning land had faded away."</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>May 2, 1919: "The trip was uneventful, and May 2nd saw the ship feeling her way into New York harbour through the dense fog. After going through the usual quarantine inspections, we landed at 11:00 am. After a Red Cross dinner at the docks, we boarded the ferry and were taken up East River, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and at a pier in Brooklyn. Camp Mills was reached at 3:00 pm."</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>May 1919: "At Camp Mills, we were located in tents, and were allowed passes every two days. We anxiously awaited the day of our demobilization, which at last arrived. The Regulars were the first to depart, leaving on May 10th. That was the start, and from then on, the regiment, composed of men from almost every state in the Union, and from every walk of life, gradually fell to pieces. May 11th saw the Camp Grant detachment on its way, while the largest of all, the California detachment, left on May 12, 1919, with Camp Dodge departing on the 13th. While sorry to part from so many friends, many of whom we would never see again, still we were glad to get home and be free once more-and fulfilling the ambition we had cherished for five and a half months. Thus, came the end of one of Uncle Sam's many organizations, which, having done its duty, went out in the same way as it had come into existence, and with the same spirit of "Come what may, we are ready."</li>
</ul>
While the two passenger lists provide a great bookend to his foreign deployment, there remains a significant gap regarding what his Truck Company was doing from their arrival in Liverpool in August 1918 until the Armistice on November 11, 1918.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Persisting Questions and Freedom to Ask</h3>
<br />
I've reached out to the <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3f2gstqb6wIVYuyGCh0eKwZ5EAAYASAAEgI8x_D_BwE" target="_blank">National World War I Museum and Memorial</a> in Kansas City, Missouri to see whether they can provide any further insights about the service of his company. Perhaps they will have details about battles Samuel would have supported.<br />
<br />
I've also submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to see what, if any, records they have for Samuel that can be released to me. He spent his final years in a veterans home, so I anticipate there are, at a minimum, medical records.<br />
<br />
Have you had experience with FOIA requests to the VA? Were you successful? How long did it take (assuming in a pre-pandemic era)? Fingers crossed there's more to be learned about Samuel's service.Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-15388925244088794442020-08-06T21:57:00.004-04:002020-08-07T14:32:17.893-04:00Little Old Cemetery On Our PlaceNestled in the densely forested grounds of the Dawes Arboretum is one of the oldest cemeteries in Licking County, Ohio.<br />
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The Beard-Green Cemetery is the final resting place for several of my paternal ancestors.<br />
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A historical marker details the backgrounds of the 210-year-old cemetery's namesakes, including Benjamin Green and his family who were the first legal settlers in spring 1800 of the area that would become Licking County in 1808. The marker also indicates that John Beard's family settled in 1808. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYQXDxdyqvg/XywdgdqHHtI/AAAAAAAAI5s/zPTownNOkeQMUdQSIhh8wk8-EHltqEzBACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Beard-Green%2BCemetery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYQXDxdyqvg/XywdgdqHHtI/AAAAAAAAI5s/zPTownNOkeQMUdQSIhh8wk8-EHltqEzBACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Beard-Green%2BCemetery.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beard-Green Cemetery historical marker, photo by author</td></tr>
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<div>
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<div>
John Beard, who was married to Margaret Kirk, actually settled in the area <i>at least</i> two years prior to 1808. John was enumerated on the 1806 tax list for Fairfield County (the predecessor to Licking County), and purchased 400 acres in Licking Township, Fairfield County in January 1807. That deed indicated that John was "of Fairfield County..." and not just an out-of-towner buying up land.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
But quibbles about the accuracy of the historical marker aside, the cemetery is an important place for my family history. </div>
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<div>
John and Margaret Beard were, I believe, uncle and aunt to my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk and his likely sister Mary (Kirk) Geiger - both of whom are also buried in the cemetery grounds. I believe John Beard was a father figure - if not legal guardian - for Thomas and Mary following the death of their father Joseph Kirk in Berkeley County, Virginia in about 1784. </div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Missing and Deteriorating Headstones</h3>
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<br /></div>
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Sadly, the passage of time has not been kind to many of the cemetery's headstones. While John Beard's marker stands prominent and majestically more than 200 years after his 1814 death, others are crumbling with weathered inscriptions or altogether missing.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Gone is the headstone for John's wife, Margaret. Presumably she was laid to rest beside her husband, but which side? There's a crumbled stone embedded in the ground to the right of John's marker (behind the flag in the picture below). However, there's no legible engraving. I've long assumed that was all that remained of Margaret's marker.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnWe_09hVLY/XywnZf_2FYI/AAAAAAAAI54/di-hsqXaQ7w4g-tUnbzKj-wYBBKZ_6LCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/John%2BBeard%2B1814%2Bheadstone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnWe_09hVLY/XywnZf_2FYI/AAAAAAAAI54/di-hsqXaQ7w4g-tUnbzKj-wYBBKZ_6LCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/John%2BBeard%2B1814%2Bheadstone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Beard 1814 headstone, photo by author</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Among the deteriorating memorials are fragments of the tombstones for my fifth great-grandparents Thomas and Sarah (Bonar) Kirk. Regrettably, the upper portion of their stones - with the invaluable biographical data - is now missing. A caretaker of the cemetery told me that many of the broken stones were buried in the northwest corner of the cemetery. </div>
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In 2017, I worked with other Kirk descendants to lay a new headstone, which was placed between the stumps of their original headstones and commemorated their role as early settlers of Licking County.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GSucwozmFQ/XyxRDiHGcYI/AAAAAAAAI6E/5DIeNAb_zMQPCDhNNNGFEJYlOP65vYbnACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC_0674.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GSucwozmFQ/XyxRDiHGcYI/AAAAAAAAI6E/5DIeNAb_zMQPCDhNNNGFEJYlOP65vYbnACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/DSC_0674.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas and Sarah Kirk graves, photo by author</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
An exact date of death</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I've long wondered what was engraved on Thomas' original tombstone. Did it provide his exact death date?</div>
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A family history published in the 1990's gave his death date as December 3, 1846, but there was no citation for where that date came from. Did it come from the tombstone?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The author of that history had visited Beard-Green and included a grainy photograph of Thomas' original headstone when it was still intact (albeit barely hanging on, clamped together by metal braces). Perhaps the stone was legible and the exact death date was pulled from the marker.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pguYwehJxeM/Xyxkw4SjKHI/AAAAAAAAI6c/cNA1cHxW0vw-pH18xq5BV1Ty7aq3V7I8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thomas%2BKirk%2Boriginal%2Bheadstone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1005" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pguYwehJxeM/Xyxkw4SjKHI/AAAAAAAAI6c/cNA1cHxW0vw-pH18xq5BV1Ty7aq3V7I8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Thomas%2BKirk%2Boriginal%2Bheadstone.jpg" width="345" /></a></div>
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In June 1970, a local genealogy society conducted a census of burials - recording the basic bio-data that was still readable. Thomas' headstone was standing, but the information recorded was pretty basic.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BJSuWJDyjdI/Xyx1n10oxeI/AAAAAAAAI6o/a4cKvJ5E-_UmURUAvHRjDksWHF1ou0hyACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thomas%2BKirk%2Bengraving.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="92" data-original-width="442" height="81" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BJSuWJDyjdI/Xyx1n10oxeI/AAAAAAAAI6o/a4cKvJ5E-_UmURUAvHRjDksWHF1ou0hyACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Thomas%2BKirk%2Bengraving.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Great, I had the birth and death years. I didn't want to be too greedy, but it sure would be nice to know what exactly was on the stone. Many of the markers in the cemetery give the deceased's name, exact death date and the age at death, which can then be used to calculate the birth year. </div>
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Was that the case for Thomas?</div>
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<h3>
Notes on a cemetery</h3>
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During a recent visit to the genealogical society in Newark, Ohio, I landed on a new document that provided more insights. </div>
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It was a photocopy of a notebook kept by Bertie Dawes (1872-1958), co-owner and caretaker for the surrounding Dawes grounds on which the cemetery is situated, titled, "Little Old Cemetery on our place."</div>
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The journal includes a map of burial locations (Margaret Beard was buried to the <i>left </i>of her husband!) and an index detailing the known burials in 1940. It also provides more of the information inscribed on each stone, including for Thomas.</div>
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In a handwritten list of burials ordered chronologically by year, Dawes recorded Thomas Kirk under 1846.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q51nG0QBCag/Xyx_-dB2WJI/AAAAAAAAI60/f5roKYpTmFAhzqfguD8b__29amJj6oBFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thomas%2BKirk%2BDec%2B3%2B1846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="1600" height="67" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q51nG0QBCag/Xyx_-dB2WJI/AAAAAAAAI60/f5roKYpTmFAhzqfguD8b__29amJj6oBFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Thomas%2BKirk%2BDec%2B3%2B1846.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There it was in black and white. Thomas Kirk's tombstone gave his death date as December 3, 1846 at the age of 68 years, which suggested a birth year of 1778. </div>
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This was the first time I had confirmation that the stone was the source of this information.</div>
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Although the data wasn't entirely new, Dawes' notebook provided a reference point, a citation that I could point to as corroborating evidence of Thomas' birth and death dates. That's important in any genealogy and strengthens my Kirk family history. </div>
Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-12242186704332631542020-07-18T16:41:00.000-04:002020-07-20T21:30:46.626-04:00Tracing Land Ownership and Discovering the Widow KirkFor nearly two years, I've struggled to locate on a modern day map the 18th century Virginia farm leased by my suspected sixth great-grandparents Joseph and Sarah Kirk.<br />
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My efforts have been thwarted by the peculiar wayfinding descriptions from the Colonial-era deeds, which use the metes and bounds system that relies on ephemeral physical boundary descriptions like trees, wooden stakes, and, if you're lucky, more permanent features such as hills or waterways. (*Spoiler alert* I'm not so lucky!)<br />
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<h3>
The Berkeley County Farm</h3>
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On April 9, 1773, Joseph Kirk leased 100 acres in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Joseph died in about 1784, and his widow, Sarah, continued to live on the farm with their children.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUWG5nEElew/XxMuN0pcW8I/AAAAAAAAI34/Ns1qXDPt2NAW7YxlLGkVfrIGLbUIE5SCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Joseph%2BKirk%2BApril%2B1773%2BLand%2BGrantee%2BA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUWG5nEElew/XxMuN0pcW8I/AAAAAAAAI34/Ns1qXDPt2NAW7YxlLGkVfrIGLbUIE5SCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Joseph%2BKirk%2BApril%2B1773%2BLand%2BGrantee%2BA.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Kirk leased 100 acres in Berkeley County, Virginia, April 9, 1773</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Their landlord sold the farm in 1798 to a man named Nicholas Roush with the only encumbrance to the sale being "...the said Kirks lease till set aside..."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VRDd1u5ptE/XxNY8TWOhyI/AAAAAAAAI4c/CqC5CjQjG-4OBthzp3tKON5qnohQq8NFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1798%2BSept%2B7%2B-%2BFairfax%2BFerdinand%2Bto%2BRoush%2Bformer%2BKirk%2Bland%2BA%2BCROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1600" height="123" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VRDd1u5ptE/XxNY8TWOhyI/AAAAAAAAI4c/CqC5CjQjG-4OBthzp3tKON5qnohQq8NFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/1798%2BSept%2B7%2B-%2BFairfax%2BFerdinand%2Bto%2BRoush%2Bformer%2BKirk%2Bland%2BA%2BCROPPED.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of 1798 Roush land deed, mentioning Kirk lease</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Personal property tax records for 1799 indicated that Sarah Kirk still lived on the farm. Her absence in 1800 and subsequent tax years led me to believe that she had left the property.<br />
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Her departure made sense to me because her son, Thomas Kirk (my fifth great-grandfather), had moved from Berkeley County to Brooke County, Virginia (also now West Virginia) in 1799. I assumed that Sarah had either died in that year or now lived with one of her children as an aged dependent. I was wrong.<br />
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<h3>
Land Ownership Hot Potato </h3>
<br />
I tried to trace the ownership of the Berkeley County farm forward in time, but immediately ran into roadblocks.<br />
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In 1816, an entry in the general index for Berkeley County's land deeds recorded that there was a division of Nicholas Roush's lands. He must have died and his real estate was divided among his heirs. With no record of it having been sold since its purchase in 1798, the Kirk land was presumably still among Roush's holdings.<br />
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To my great misfortune, the deed book for much of 1816 - number 28 - was lost! Missing from the Berkeley County courthouse, it was never microfilmed or digitized. Only the index survived to taunt me.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7gkkKho4lo/W8IO5hpoJpI/AAAAAAAAHxw/EW1vUEJOGPgtWTk-RbzKr4ycsdsv_eAyQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Nicholas%2BRoush%2Bdivision%2Bof%2Bland%2BDeed%2Bbook%2B28%2Bmissing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="960" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7gkkKho4lo/W8IO5hpoJpI/AAAAAAAAHxw/EW1vUEJOGPgtWTk-RbzKr4ycsdsv_eAyQCPcBGAYYCw/s400/Nicholas%2BRoush%2Bdivision%2Bof%2Bland%2BDeed%2Bbook%2B28%2Bmissing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berkeley County, (West) Virginia index to land deeds, book 28 lost</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My research was confounded by the splintering of the property into smaller unrecognizable pieces during future sales. It was difficult to confirm which plots of land were part of the original Kirk farm because the modified wayfinding descriptions used by the metes and bounds system no longer matched the boundaries of the 100 acres Joseph Kirk originally leased.<br />
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My search for the farm stalled and eventually stopped.<br />
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<h3>
Snooping on the Neighbors</h3>
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Recently, I returned to Berkeley County's land records and began tracing the ownership of the adjacent properties forward in time. Perhaps the Kirks' neighbors would help shed light on the location of their farm.<br />
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In the illustration below, the yellow plot of land included the Kirk farm (combined with another farm that had been leased to Michael Close), which was sold to Nicholas Roush in 1816.<br />
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I was able to map out three neighboring farms and identify their owners into the early 19th century, pictured in green, blue, and tan.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IT4pEvV9Mhw/XwuItJd04tI/AAAAAAAAI3g/1G9Na_t-DdQEJ7VLl-rDzsfwdJSCWkYMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Joseph%2BKirk%2Bfarm%2Bin%2BBerkeley%2BCounty%2BVirginia%2Bresearch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="877" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IT4pEvV9Mhw/XwuItJd04tI/AAAAAAAAI3g/1G9Na_t-DdQEJ7VLl-rDzsfwdJSCWkYMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Joseph%2BKirk%2Bfarm%2Bin%2BBerkeley%2BCounty%2BVirginia%2Bresearch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h3>
She's Alive!</h3>
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While tracing the ownership of the neighboring farms into the 19th century, I made some important discoveries.<br />
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In 1802, before Magnus Tate bought the property in 1805, John Evan Fryatt purchased from John Fryatt Sr. (presumably his father) the green-colored farm. The metes and bounds description of the property included an important and surprising clue.<br />
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While laying out the property line, the deed stipulated that one of the boundaries of the farm extended "to a stake near a black oak and white oak, corner to the part of this lot held by the widow Kirk..."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIDYIT0Fgtk/XxNSazT6-zI/AAAAAAAAI4E/Du7nOcdc00QUjyQIm5LcFCi0AFow8W60QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1802%2BOct%2B22%2B-%2BJohn%2BFryatt%2BSr%2Bto%2BJohn%2BEvans%2BFryatt%2B-%2Bnames%2BWidow%2BKirk%2BB%2BCROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1537" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIDYIT0Fgtk/XxNSazT6-zI/AAAAAAAAI4E/Du7nOcdc00QUjyQIm5LcFCi0AFow8W60QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1802%2BOct%2B22%2B-%2BJohn%2BFryatt%2BSr%2Bto%2BJohn%2BEvans%2BFryatt%2B-%2Bnames%2BWidow%2BKirk%2BB%2BCROPPED.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of 1802 Fryatt land deed, mentioning widow Kirk</td></tr>
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Excuse me?! "...held by the widow Kirk..." implied that Sarah Kirk was still alive when the neighboring farm was sold on October 22, 1802. That extended her tenancy and life in Berkeley County three years beyond when I thought she left or died in 1799.<br />
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Nearly three years later, on April 30, 1805, John Evans Fryatt sold the green-colored farm to Magnus Tate.<br />
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That land deed <i>again </i>mentioned Sarah, providing more important details. The farm's boundary extended "to a stake near a black oak and white oak corner to the lot formerly held by the widow Kirk..."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMqrslBnH98/XxNWA6JFB3I/AAAAAAAAI4Q/Asp-dRrso5InddbrJxzz3zBuB0GzH-2HACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1805%2BApr%2B30%2B-%2BJohn%2BEvans%2BFryatt%2Bto%2BMagnus%2BTate%2B-%2Bnames%2BWidow%2BKirk%2BCROPPED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMqrslBnH98/XxNWA6JFB3I/AAAAAAAAI4Q/Asp-dRrso5InddbrJxzz3zBuB0GzH-2HACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/1805%2BApr%2B30%2B-%2BJohn%2BEvans%2BFryatt%2Bto%2BMagnus%2BTate%2B-%2Bnames%2BWidow%2BKirk%2BCROPPED.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt of 1805 Tate land deed, mentioning widow Kirk</td></tr>
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<i>Formerly </i>was the key word. By the spring of 1805, Sarah Kirk was no longer living on the farm that Joseph had leased 32 years earlier. She left the farm sometime between October 22, 1802 and April 30, 1805.<br />
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Was she deceased or did she move in with one of her children? It remains a mystery.<br />
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Although the question of what happened to Sarah persists, the value of researching the neighboring land deeds is clear. They helped me extend her life while also providing a likely bookend.<br />
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The work to find the Kirk farm on a modern day map continues, but it's edging closer to resolution (and victory). Stay tuned for more discoveries.Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5826248344207578284.post-65175573536631773772020-06-21T12:11:00.000-04:002020-06-21T12:11:33.717-04:00Picturing What Might Have BeenDuring family history research, do you ever look back and wonder what might have been?<br />
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Such was the case for me, recently, when I was investigating a mysterious death.<br />
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In December 1846, my fifth great-grandfather, Thomas Kirk, was "accidentally killed." At least that's according to the 1879 obituary of his second wife, Anna.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KO0d8hjOlds/Xu93ZYAPaBI/AAAAAAAAI2I/Nmq2CiTaLKovjcIUu2gcPRRdFMQeZv0QgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Annie%2BBailey%2BGilliland%2BKirk%2B1879%2BObituary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="815" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KO0d8hjOlds/Xu93ZYAPaBI/AAAAAAAAI2I/Nmq2CiTaLKovjcIUu2gcPRRdFMQeZv0QgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Annie%2BBailey%2BGilliland%2BKirk%2B1879%2BObituary.jpg" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna (Bailey) Gilliland Kirk obituary, published Newark, Ohio</td></tr>
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<br />The obituary, which mistakenly indicated Thomas died in 1847, is the only known source regarding Thomas's <i>accidental </i>death. It's a tantalizing clue left to hang on the air of history. No further details or evidence have surfaced to explain the circumstances.<div>
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Recently, I began trawling through digitized copies of the <a href="https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll22" target="_blank">Ohio State Journal</a>, which was, "Ohio's paper of record for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, delivering up-to-date news on a variety of topics to readers in central Ohio and beyond." </div>
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The hope was that I could find mention of Thomas Kirk's accidental and perhaps newsworthy death. Sadly, my search has come up empty-handed. However, I did discover an interesting advertisement for an early form of photography - daguerreotypes - which left me wondering about what might have been.</div>
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Published in a December 1846 issue just five days <i>after </i>Thomas Kirk died, the advertisement announced the opening of a daguerreotype studio in Columbus - less than 40 miles west of Licking County (where Thomas lived).</div>
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Invented in 1839 by a Frenchman named Louis Daguerre, the daguerreotype was the earliest form of photography. With a studio set up in Columbus by late 1846, the technology appeared to have arrived in Thomas' area just days too late to capture his likeness.</div>
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Curiously, the newspaper ad offered to bring the camera equipment to the home: "Portraits of sick or deceased persons taken at their residence, if required." A macabre but not uncommon practice in the early days of photography.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9mNpOL80HY/Xu-BB3lF9wI/AAAAAAAAI2U/q47Xo_t2CiIQiekLhbeXfrTjDkxH_qdUQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ohio%2BState%2BJournal%2BColumbus%2B8%2BDec%2B1846%2B-%2Bdaguerreotype%2Bstudio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9mNpOL80HY/Xu-BB3lF9wI/AAAAAAAAI2U/q47Xo_t2CiIQiekLhbeXfrTjDkxH_qdUQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Ohio%2BState%2BJournal%2BColumbus%2B8%2BDec%2B1846%2B-%2Bdaguerreotype%2Bstudio.png" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohio State Journal December 8, 1846</td></tr>
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<br />Prior to discovering this ad, I mistakenly thought the art of photography was too new to have made it to Ohio by the mid-1840's. I thought it was a pricey novelty perhaps making appearances in eastern seaboard cities like New York or Philadelphia. Yet here it was in my ancestor's own backyard. </div>
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Today, on father's day, I'm picturing in my mind's eye what my distant paternal line ancestor may have looked like had he posed for his picture.</div>
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Did any of your ancestors sit for daguerreotypes? Do you know what year they date to? </div>
Family Sleutherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584864778317578299noreply@blogger.com2