Surname Saturday - July Marriages

Two family weddings in two weeks; 'tis the season! And that made me wonder how many of my ancestors were married in July. Of course there are my parents, my sister, and at least one of my cousins; but those who came before the living family members include:

My second great grand aunt Zora Clarke who married John Highbarger 16 July 1879. Zora and John lived in Washington County Maryland most of their lives. They had four children.

My great grand aunt Maria Josephina Carlson married Andrew Johnson in Chicago 12 Jul 1888. Both were Swedish immigrants. Maria had been born in Börstil in Uppsala. A family story about Mary and her husband owning a boarding house led to the discovery of this marriage. Maria married the husband everyone knew 10 years after Andrew's death. She's the widowed boarding house manager near the bottom of the page below:

My first cousin thrice removed Carl E Plum married Waity Chandler 17 Jul 1901 in Chicago. Sadly Waity died in childbirth nine months later.

My great grand uncle Otto V Mueller (Bidenharn) married Alvina S Schmitt 23 Jul 1902 in St Joseph, Michigan, a popular wedding site for many Chicagoans. The couple's daughter Edith M was born June 1903. Otto was a successful civil engineer who tragically took his own life in April 1912.

Another Chicagoan and first cousin thrice removed Myrtle Alvira Youngberg married Canadian John L Miller in scenic St Joseph, Michigan 01 Jul 1910. She was 18 years old. The marriage lasted less than three years.

Yet another first cousin thrice removed Pearl May Tolf married Algernon Chastaine Porter in Chicago 19 Jul 1913. I did not know until just this moment that Algernon and Pearl lived in Virginia with their two daughters during the 1920 census. Prior to her marriage Pearl lived with her cousins Raymond and Ranghild in a Swedish Chicago neighborhood.

My great grand uncle George James Walton married Dorothea May Reifsnyder in Cleveland Ohio. The couple had one son, [Cecil] James, with whom I shared a passion for genealogy. James lost his battle with cancer just last year.

The last of my first cousins thrice removed who married in July was Ella Jubelina Tolf. She married Arthur William Nelson in Batavia Illinois 30 Jul 1914. Everyone who described Ella to me spoke very highly of her. She and Arthur had two children. Son Frank became a dentist and practiced in Batavia his entire career.

Carlson, Tolf, Walton, and Youngberg are surnames on my mom's side of the family. Clarke, Mueller, and Plum are on the paternal side of my family tree; the side I am currently researching. Some of the ancestors listed above are collateral. Their stories often add to those of my direct line ancestors. 

Do we share any ancestors? Drop me a line at livinginthepastlane [at] yahoo [dot] com. I'd love to compare notes!

Genealogist or Family History Researcher?

What do each of these terms mean to you? Which term do you use when describing yourself?

To me, a genealogist is a little more devoted to the system and the rules, perhaps a tad better organized, maybe less likely to bark up the wrong family tree.

A family history researcher may or may not do all of the above, but also spends a fair amount of time exploring paths that, to the casual observer, may seem unrelated to documenting one's lineage.

Because of my diverse ethnic background, I find myself meandering back and forth between both worlds.

My Swedish Tolfs are unique in their homeland. If you're a Tolf, we are definately related. My interest in this line includes causes of death ~ they repeat themselves every two or three generations all the way to the present. I've gotten fairly good at deciphering medical records.

There is alot of emotional baggage in the Mueller line. Deaths, divorces, remarriages, and stubborn personalities are forever simmering over a low heat. Who can answer this question or that without causing the pot to boil over? There are many mysteries to solve in the US before I can cross the ocean to Switzerland and begin the Swiss records learning curve.

Clarkes and Littrells require a history lesson with every record; what Revolutionary or Civil War battle took place where? When did the city/county/state boundaries change? Which reformed church had a pastor during this or that timeframe? What on earth is a Dunkard? And will I ever find the answer to the #1 burning question ~ what is their country of origin?

The Schmitts are from France and their surname is hardly unique. I require three forms of ID when working with their records. It would be easy to follow the wrong Schmitt, especially one named Jean, Jules, or Nicolas as they appear in every sibling's family. Then there is the Alsace-Lorraine issue, a region that changed hands many times. I use research logs liberally with this branch and backtrack to double-check my work with each new discovery.

My Manx ancestors had a preference for a limited number of given names. There is a William and a John, sometimes two or three in every family. The Isle of Man has it's own government, but is culturally influenced by Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the UK. Records are well kept, but can be challenging to locate. The only other known family member researching this line recently passed away. Playing alone in dusty libraries isn't nearly as much fun.

I enjoy discovering the story that unfolds with each new record. Storytelling helps engage disinterested family members. The charts are wonderful for placing people visually, but the stories make the names on the chart memorable. Making my ancestors memorable for future generations is one of my top ten reasons for being a genealogist. And a family history researcher.

New Year's Resolution Update

The "eat less, exercise more" part of my New Year's Resolutions aside, here's where I am on Week 8 of my genealogy goals for 2011:

My current focus is on my Clarke, Gury, Littrell, and Schmitt lines. Still haven't found the country of origin for the Clarkes or Littrells and progress on both has been painfully slow. 17th and 18th century French Gury and Schmitt records are keeping me busy though so I am still somewhat productive.

Received disappointingly little information from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Funkstown Maryland, but I am so appreciative of their efforts on my behalf! The pastor and his wife offered wonderful suggestions for further research.
Time to focus on the coroner's report that slipped through the cracks last year.

My first cemetery road trip of 2011 is scheduled for May. Hope all the snow melts before then! Oakwoods is at the top of the list.

Shared a Grandma story or two during my last visit. More incentive to jot down my memories before my memory fails me.

The local genealogy society isn't working for me. Need more idea generation and fewer lectures. Where are my peeps?

Chose this year's conference; FGS in Springfield Illinois in September. Husband will join me making the trip even more fun. Hope to meet some of the bloggers I follow and make a new gen-bud or two!

Photo sorting continues, but grudgingly. Must sprinkle in some creativity to retain my interest. Chose six topics about which I can cut and paste. This week I'll start arranging pictures. That oughta inspire me!

Cleaning and organizing computer files to save space (and sanity).

Back on track at Find A Grave - whew! Contributing during my lunch hour works great (until it's warm enough to walk outside).

And from now until then I'll be Living in the Past Lane.

Sunday's Obituary ~ Lyman John Clarke

From the February 14, 1948 issue of the Chicago Tribune;  

"Lyman John Clarke Sr., Feb. 12, of 605 S Clinton avenue, Oak Park, beloved husband of Marion, father of Lyman J. Jr., and Violet Irene Barlean, grandfather of Linda Diane Clark, son of Elmer E. and Susan Berg Clarke, brother of Clifford and Elmer Clarke, Mrs. Zora Blake, Mrs. Stella Rudolph, Mrs. Edna Hansen, Mrs. Alice Jenkenson, Mrs. Eloise York, Mrs. Irma Froberg and Mrs. Dorothy Thompson, brother-in-law of Mrs. Josephine Bapst. Services Saturday, Feb. 14, 2:30 p.m., at chapel, 124-126 Madison street, at Lombard avenue, Oak Park. Interment Arlington. Member of Prospect lodge, No. 957, A.F. & A.M., Euclid Avenue Methodist church, of Oak Park, and Manager of Darnell Corp."

Lyman was my first cousin thrice removed. His father Elmer Eugene Clarke and my second great-grandfather William Penrod Clarke were brothers born in Funkstown, Washington, Maryland.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Clarke and Littrell

Mary Ella (nee Littrell) and William Penrod Clarke

Sunday's Obituary ~ Zora E. Clarke

From the January 26, 1940 edition of the Funkstown (Maryland) Daily Mail;

"Mrs. Zora Highbarger, widow of John Highbarger, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. William King, Woodburg, Baltimore County, on Thursday afternoon, at 2:00 o'clock.

She was born and reared in Downsville but has lived in Baltimore for the past 20 years. She was a member of the Zion Reformed Church.

Surviving are: daughters, Mrs. Rena McGill, Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Vernie King, Baltimore, and two grandchildren. The body will be brought here on Saturday morning at 11:45 o'clock with services at 12:30 o'clock at Funkstown cemetery by the Rev. Scott R Wagner.

Friends and relatives will meet at the A.K. Coffman Funeral home at 12:00 o'clock."

Zora E. Clark(e) Highbarger is my 2nd great-grand aunt, born 19 Aug 1857. She lived in Maryland her entire life and died there 25 Jan 1940. Zora's unique name has been priceless in my search for her parents and 10 siblings.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Elmer Eugene Clarke

Elmer Eugene Clarke was my 2nd great-grandfather's younger brother.

He was born in Funkstown, Washington County, Maryland December 3rd, 1865.

Elmer and two (or more) of his brothers relocated to Chicago where he met and married Susan Berg. Together they had 10 children; Lyman, Clifford, Zora, Elmer Jr., Stella, Edna, Alice, Eloise, Irma, and Dorothy.

From the November 19, 1952 edition of the Chicago Daily News, page 55; CLARKE - Elmer E, Clarke Sr., Nov. 18, dear husband of Susan, fond father of Zora Blake, Stella Rudolph, Edna Hanson, Alice Jenkinson, Eloise York, Irma Froberg, Dorothy Thompson, Clifford M., Elmer E. Jr., and the late Lyman John Clarke. Services Friday Nov. 21, 2 p.m., at funeral home 301 S. 5th-av., at Maple-st., Maywood. Interment Arlington Cemetery. FIlmore 4-0100.

A special thank you to Grandson #3 for locating the headstone above after we walked and re-walked all the likely rows in Section 11 at Arlington Cemetery. And for his cheerful willingness to help Grandma fill Find A Grave requests while we were there.

An Extraordinary Extra Minute

Hartford Michigan

One more minute I told myself, and then I really must go to bed. I was wandering around FamilySearch and had already entered several surnames from my tree looking for something new.

Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995, had been updated in May. I typed Clarke in the Last Name field. 3585 entries. I narrowed the search by choosing Maryland in the Place tab. And there he was. My grandfather's grandfather; Wm. P. Clarke.

William Penrod and his wife Mary Ella appeared in the 1930 census in Hartford Michigan. They posed for a picture with their grandsons in the early 1940's, after which the trail grew cold. And stayed that way for years.

Until late one night when William's name filled my computer screen in an index that included his full date of birth, a date and place of death, and news that Mary had predeceased him.

Who needs sleep? I quickly located a web site for the Van Buren (Michigan) Regional Genealogical Society where they've created an index of death records from 1935-1945. Just the years I needed! For a mere $3 each, I ordered uncertified copies of the two death records that had eluded me for years.

I'll have to allow myself 'one more minute' more often.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Norman A. Clarke

Norman A. Clarke was born in Funkstown, Washington, Maryland on March 30, 1862. As a young man, he and his brother traveled from Maryland to Springfield, Clark, Ohio where he married Hester Ann Leffel in November of 1887.

The couple moved to Dayton Ohio, where Norman was a foreman in a manufacturing shop. Hester died in 1912.  Norman brought her body back to Springfield to be buried with her birth family. They had no children.

I lost track of Norman for a bit, but caught up with him through a marriage certificate filed when he remarried in Chicago where his brothers lived. Adele Curie(?) had also been married previously and she had a young son.

Norman and Adele move to Lafayette, Tippacanoe, Indiana where Adele had family. Norman worked as a foreman in a card factory. By 1930, Norman had retired. He and Adele lived out their last few years in Dayton. They are buried at Woodland Cemetery near Adele's son Charles Leigh Paulus.

Norman is my 2nd great-grandfather's brother. He left a better paper trail than ggg William Penrod Clarke. Through Norman, I have been able to learn a tremendous amount about William and their nine siblings. Knowing Norman was in Ohio when William was in Illinois helped verify the identity of my 3rd great-grandfather back in Funkstown, Washington county, Maryland.

Recently Norman provided another clue that may help explain how, when, and why the brothers traveled to Ohio. "Early Clark County Ohio Families Vital Statistics" states Norman's sister-in-law Ada Mary Leffel married Clinton L Reese who was born January 11th, 1857 in...drum roll please...Washington County, Maryland.

Who Do You Think YOU Are?

For decades, I thought I was Swedish and German. Never mind that my maternal grandfather was somehow English. I'm not sure how we overlooked that bit of information, but I continued to believe I was 50% one ethnicity and 50% another long after I should have known better.

I started my genealogical exploration with the Swedes. It was my Swedish great-grand uncle's safe deposit box that gave me the push into a "hobby" that has taken over my life. The Swedes are a fascinating group and I attribute many of my personality quirks to them. In terms of record keeping, you can't ask for a better ancestor than a Swede. Every move is dutifully recorded in the church books and one can follow a family back more generations than there are Andersons in the phone book.

At some point, I realized my gene pool had more swimmers than just Swedes. My dad is Swedish too, and we all correctly believed, German. But that oh-so German-sounding surname actually belonged to a Swiss ancestor. Hmm. A little reframing of the picture, but we're all okay with our "new" heritage. We started reading books on the history of Switzerland and dreaming of a vacation to the Alps. Before I finished winding my Swiss watch however, I learned my direct-line ancestor from Switzerland married a woman who immigrated to the United States from France. A French woman, mind you. From France.

Okay. So I'm not just Swedish and German. I'm Swedish and German and Swiss and French. This seemed a bit much for me to digest at one time. So I returned to the comfort and safety of the Swedish church books. And I researched one line after another, making the connections between Sweden and America. Until I learned one of my direct-line Swedish ancestors married a man from Norway. A Norwegian man, mind you. From Norway.

This is okay. I understand and accept I am no longer just Swedish and German. I'm Swedish and German and Swiss and French and Norwegian. Oh my. Maybe this isn't okay. After all, I'm so enamored with Sweden that I have celebrated St Lucia Day for, oh dear, could it be 20 years now? Will I ever love a Swiss holiday the same way? Can I embrace my French-ness as enthusiastically? And Norwegian ~ didn't Sweden once rule that country?

Oh, but I mustn't forget Grandpa who is somehow English. Is it even possible to add another country to the display on flag day? Some of my grandfather's personality traits, in particular his dry sense of humor, were always attributed to his English ancestry. So it was rather interesting when I learned my grandfather isn't English. His father immigrated from the Isle of Man. Which means....

I'm Swedish and German and Swiss and French and Norwegian and Manx. And finally, after getting to know the ancestors that contributed their DNA to my gene pool, I'm okay with that.

But there's more! Another surprise may be lurking on the horizon. I traced one of my direct lines to 18th century Maryland. For all we know, he may have crossed the ocean from England or Ireland or Scotland...

I’d better start shopping for another flag pole.

Morgan H. Clarke's Well-Written Obituary

There's nothing like a well-written obituary; a death notice that contains the names of people and places connected to the deceased. Yesterday I received a copy of such an obituary from Joseph Berger at the Washington County Free Library in Maryland.

For some time I have been trying to clarify the relationship between my grandfather and a gentleman who might be his great-grandfather. I located a likely candidate, but it was hard to decide if it was the real deal or just a maze of interesting coincindences.

Harold Clarke Mueller's grandparents Ella and William Penrod Clarke lived with his family in the 1920 Chicago census. William and both his parents had been born in Maryland. As a young man, William traveled to Springfield Ohio where his daughter (Harold's mother) Ellen Gertrude was born.

Norman Clarke also lived in Springfield. There was reason to believe he and William were brothers, but not enough evidence to prove or disprove this theory. While William relocated to Chicago, Norman and his wife Hester moved to Dayton Ohio. Hester died and Norman later remarried in Chicago. Another coincidence, or proof of a relationship between these two men?

William and Ella moved to Michigan in late 1910. According to the 1920 and 1930 censuses, they farmed in Van Buren County. Harold visited his grandparents often. He liked Michigan and moved there after retiring from his trucking job.

In the meantime, Elmer Eugene Clarke appeared in Chicago. He and his parents had been born in Maryland. His children had names similar to those listed with my likely candidate in an earlier census. Not names like John or Mary, mind you, but names like Lyman, Zora, Morgan, Hester, and Stella. But how to prove these three men were brothers?

Enter that well-written obituary. According to the August 30, 1910 issue of the Daily Mail (a newspaper in Hagerstown Maryland), 80 year old Morgan H. Clark died at the home of his daughter Mrs. John Highbarger (Zora). He was survived by (among others) the following children; William Clark, Michigan; Norman, Dayton, O; and Elmer, Clarence, and Harry in Chicago. Bingo!

Of course there are other ways to confirm the connection between these men and I'm hot on the trail of several. But Morgan's obituary confirmed that I am barking up the right family tree.