On This Day : February 3

1609: Jacob KIRN married Barbara HAITZMAN in Wurttemberg.  They were my 10x great-grandparents.


1665: Elizabeth MARIS born in Worchestershire, England. Elizabeth was the daughter of George MARIS and Alice ________.  Elizabeth was my 9x great-grandmother.


1702: Richard HERITAGE born.  Richard was the son of Joseph HERITAGE and Hannah ALLEN.


1729: Isaac BEESON born in Frederick County, Virginia.  Isaac was the son of Richard BEESON and Charity GRUBB.


1762: Richard HERITAGE born in New Jersey.  Richard was the son of Judah HERITAGE and Mary CATTELL.


1783: Hannah WHITE born.  Hannah was the daughter of John WHITE and Rebecca HAINES.


1793: Samuel EBERLY born.  Samuel was the son of Henry EBERLY and Elizabeth ERB.


1798: Daniel ADNEY married Anna COGER in Franklin County, Virginia.  Daniel was the son of Thomas ADNEY and Elizabeth DUNN.  Anna was the daughter of Peter COGER and Mary McELWAIN.  They were Eileen's 5x great-grandparents.


1805: Joel SHIRK born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Joel was the son of Michael SHIRK and Barbara FLICKINGER.


1816: Judah HERITAGE died.  Judah was the son of Richard HERITAGE and Sarah TINDALL.


1820: Jeremiah Haines DEACON born in Burlington County, New Jersey.  Jeremiah was the son of Joseph DEACON and Beulah HAINES.


1825: Thomas BABCOCK died in Greene County, Ohio.  Thomas was the son of Thomas BABCOCK and Judith DAVIS.


1829: Richard HIGGINS died in Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  Richard was the son of Judiah H. HIGGINS and Mary HILL.


1841: Magdalena PETRY born in Preble County, Ohio.  Magdalena was the daughter of Stephen PETRY.


1855: Martha KIMBALL died in Brown County, Ohio.  Martha was the daughter of Robert WARDLAW and Janet DOWNEY.


1865: Phillip L. CUNNINGHAM born.  Phillip was the son of William E. CUNNINGHAM and Rachel E. LEMASTERS.


1882: Bertha A. MORRISTON born.  Bertha was the daughter of Alonzo T. MORRISTON and Rebecca A. WAMSLEY.


1893: Fred Albert WRIGHT born in Alexandria, Madison County, Indiana.  Fred was the son of Charles Riggs WRIGHT and Bertha Cordelia LEONARD.


1903: Mary Ethel SWAFFORD born in Ray County, Missouri.  Mary was the daughter of John William SWAFFORD and Viola Mae MILLER.


2009: Basil O. McDERMITT died in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.  Basil was the son of Basil O. McDERMITT and Helen Louise WRIGHT.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy : Life Experiences

Week 5 - Life Experiences : Sometimes the challenges in life provide the best learning experiences.  Can you find an example of this in your own family tree?  Which brick wall ancestor are you most thankful for, and how did that person shape your family history experience?

The brickwall ancestor that has intrigued me the most would be Ida Davis (1874-1900), my maternal 2x great-grandmother.  Though she died at a very young age, she left behind a lot of mysteries.  The biggest ones are the parentage of her two children, Pansy and June.  June was my great-grandmother.

Photo of Ida Davis (1874-1900) and daughter June

Though I've attempted to document her life through records I've been able to find, unfortunately there is no one left around who knows the true stories surrounding the parentage of her children.  Perhaps there is still a court record  to be found - an in-depth research trip to Owen and Monroe County, Indiana courthouses is on my "bucket list".

Probably the most intriguing recent find was locating her in the 1900 census of Marion County, Indiana staying at the "Door of Hope" rescue mission.  I'm 99% sure that this record is her.   Great-grandmother June's birth certificate in Indianapolis provides more mysteries when it spells out her parents as Atkinson and Ida Davis.   Was Atkinson a surname or a first name?

A few different men have been speculated as June's father through family legend.  Photographs of the mysterious gentlemen identified as either Frank Fletcher or Carrie Morris looks strikingly like my great-uncles.  The photograph's Mediterranean appearance, should he be my ancestor, may be the cause for the predominance of dark hair, eyes and skin tone shared by members of my grandmothers family on this side.  One day, I will have DNA testing done to see what interesting mysteries lie within.

When, by age 26, you have at least two husbands, two children and a mysterious past you leave plenty of clues for your descendants.  Ida has kept me intrigued for years, and someday I'm positive I will find the answers.

On This Day : February 2

1638: Rowland CLARKE died in Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.  Rowland was the son of John CLARKE and Katherine COOKE.


1691: Isaac HAINES born.  Isaac was the son of John HAINES and Esther BORTON.


1712: Rebecca HURLBUT died in Woodbury, Connecticut.  Rebecca was my 9x great-grandmother.


1718: Mary MAXSON died in Westerly, Rhode Island.  Mary was the daughter of Nicholas MOSHER.  Mary was my 8x great-grandmother.


1724: George MENDENHALL died.  George was the daughter of Thomas MENDENHALL and Joane STROADE.


1740: Martha NEWLIN married Isaac HARVEY.  Martha was the daughter of Nathaniel NEWLIN and Jane WOODWARD.


1748: Sarah BEALS married Alexander UNDERWOOD.  Sarah was the daughter of Thomas BOWATER and Sarah Edge.  Sarah was my 8x great-grandmother.


1749: Abraham BEALS born.  Abraham was the son of Jacob BEALS and Elizabeth GRIEST.


1786: Thomas DAVIS died.  Thomas was the son of William DAVIS and Elizabeth PAVIOR.


1797: Sarah BEALS married John CARTER in Guilford County, North Carolina.  Sarah was the daughter of John BEALS and Susannah JOHNSON.


1797: Lucy POTTER married Rogers CRANDALL.  Lucy was the daughter of George POTTER and Content MAXSON.


1800: Rachel HIATT married William KERSEY.  Rachel was the daughter of William HIATT and Charity WILLIAMS.


1809: Rachel PIERCE born.  Rachel was the daughter of Robert PIERCE and Charity THORNBURGH.


1811: Joseph Glass McPHEETERS born in Fayette County, Kentucky.  Joseph was the son of Charles McPHEETERS and Martha GLASS.


1815: Daniel DUFFEY born in Virginia.  Daniel was the son of John M. DUFFEY and Catherine WALDECK.  Daniel was Eileen's 3x great-grandfather.


1818: Dorcas HOGGATT died.  Dorcas was the daughter of Richard WILLIAMS and Prudence BEALS.


1820: Rebecca HIATT married William UNTHANK.  Rebecca was the daughter of William HIATT and Charity WILLIAMS.


1824: Esther STILLMAN died.  Esther was the daughter of Joseph STILLMAN and Mary MAXSON.


1836: William Berry TAYLOR born.  William was the son of Jonathan TAYLOR and Ann BERRY.


1840: Jane Maria ANDERSON born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania.  Jane was the daughter of William Earl ANDERSON and Frances AUSTIN.


1852: Elizabeth COOK born.  Elizabeth was the daughter of George COOK and Matilda JACOBS.


1862: William F. HALEY born in Claridon, Marion County, Ohio.  William was the son of William W. HALEY and Jane Elizabeth OWEN.


1868: Sarah Jane HINSHAW died in Hamilton County, Indiana.  Sarah was the daughter of John BARKER and Anne COX.


1873: Edith Mabel HUBER born.  Edith was the daughter of Walter F. HUBER and Emeline YOUNG.


1883: Fanny LANGWELL died in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana.  Fanny was the daughter of Jesse REYNOLDS and Mary PUTMAN.  Fanny was my 4x great-grandmother.


1884: Mary REYNOLDS died in Bean Blossom Township, Monroe County, Indiana.  Mary was the daughter of James PUTMAN and Elizabeth KENDRICK.  Mary was my 5x great-grandmother.


1894: Floyd LeMASTERS born in Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana.  Floyd was the son of Luman Cooper LeMASTERS and Barbara Isabel WEHRLY.


1904: Jesse Walter SWAFFORD married Ollie Mae BIRD in Reno County, Kansas.  Jesse was the daughter of Aaron W. SWAFFORD and Elizabeth SHIRLEY.


1905: Charles YOUNG died.  Charles was the son of Noah YOUNG and Orlintha BROWN.


1907: Lester L. JACKLEY born in Madison County, Indiana.  Lester was the son of Mark O. JACKLEY and Cora Della KING.


1961: Margaret Elizabeth WARNER died.  Margaret was the daughter of William Perry ALDERMAN and Elizabeth Ann LEE.