Welcome News about Finnfest 2015: It Will Be In Buffalo

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My brother Walfrid just emailed me the news that Finnfest USA 2015 will be coming to Buffalo, New York. All righty! I am putting October 8-12, 2015, on my Google Calendar as a must attend event.

Not only is Buffalo only 3 hours away from my home in Brecksville, OH, by car via I-90, but FinnFest USA 2015 will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Jean Sibelius’ birth. As all Finns and  most people of Finnish ancestry know, Sibelius was a Finnish composer active in the early 20th century. He composed the symphonic tone poem, Finlandia, in 1899 amid nationalistic fervor in Finland, which was suffering under the yoke of Russian rule at the time. The composition stirred patriotic feelings whenever it was performed, so much so that it had to be performed under different names, e.g. Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring and A Scandinavian Choral March. The composition has its own entry simply entitled Finlandia on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia. The Wikipedia entry for Sibelius is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius.

I must admit such a personal affinity for Finlandia that I use its opening measures as the ring tone on my Iphone.

In any case, there promises to be plenty of focus on Sibelius at the 2015 Finnfest USA. For example, we would expect performances of Sibelius music at Buffalo’s Kleinhans Music Hall by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, maybe on Saturday night. We took a peek at the 2014-2015 schedule for the BPO and discovered that the celebratory focus on Sibelius actually begins this year with “Ludwig Plays Sibelius,” in which former BPO concertmaster Michael Ludwig returns for two performances on December 7-8. He will play Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor on a concert that also features Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela. What might be in store during FinnFest attendees hasn’t been announced yet, but we can expect whatever it is to be a “hot tichet.”

I should note that Kleinhaus Music Hall is one of the official venues for FinnFest programming, along with the Hyatt Regency Buffalo/Hotel and Conference Center. Coincidentally, the music hall was designed by Finnish architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen, and is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its opening in 1940. It has been designated “one of the greatest concert halls in the United States.”  If you are interested in seeing images of Kleinhans, go here: https://kleinhansbuffalo.org/.

I did a quick check on Google Maps and found that the two venues are 1.4 miles apart which is estimated to take 6 minutes to travel by car.

FinnFest USA 2015 would be my fourth FinnFest. My brother, Walfrid, and I attended FinnFest USA 1996 in Marquette, MI, and FinnFest 2007 in Ashtabula, OH, and I traveled to Houghton & Hancock, MI, for FinnFest USA 2013. The festival moves around the country and its complete history can be viewed at http://www.finnfestusa.org/about-us/history/past-locations.html. Wikipedia also has an informative entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FinnFest_USA.

The Huskonen family had a mini reunion at FinnFest 2007 in Ashtabula. Maybe we can organize another at FinnFest 2015.

 

WDYTYA Kicks Off New Season on Wednesday, July 23, on TLC

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Who Do You Think You Are? the genealogical and family history series returns on TLC on this coming Wednesday, July 23. The first episode features Cynthia Nixon, winner of Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards who is perhaps best known from TV’s “Sex and the City.” Cynthia searches for answers in her paternal line, and truth becomes stranger than fiction when a mystery of deceit and murder slowly unfolds in relation to her 3x great-grandmother. Watch a sneak peek from Cynthia’s episode at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/videos/new-season.htm.

If you are in need of a serious fix of genealogy programming, this season’s premiere is sandwiched between reruns from last season in what look’s like a Wednesday marathon of genealogical research, beginning at 1 pm and continuing until 11 pm. You can check out episode summaries at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/tv-schedule.htm. Scroll down to Wednesday evening for all the episodes being presented.

Other celebrities who will be featured in future episodes include Jesse Tyler Ferguson; Rachel McAdams and her sister, Kayleen McAdams; Valerie Bertinelli; and Kelsey Grammer.

I would like to point out that Valerie Bertinelli is one of the stars of the “Hot in Cleveland” sitcom that appears on Wednesday evenings on the channel TVland. Her bio with filmography is available on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Bertinelli. Also, you can watch full episodes of “Hot in Cleveland” at http://www.tvland.com/shows/hot-in-cleveland.

Finding Naturalization Records in Cuyahoga County, Ohio

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In the course of developing my workshop on Naturalization and Alien Registration for the Genealogical Committee of the Western Reserve Historical Society (details here), I discovered that the WayBack Machine provides access to the Naturalization Records database that was available on the Internet at one time.

Presently, the website is infected with some sort of virus, and–at least on my Google Chrome browser–there is a warning against accessing this website.

I have heard through the grapevine that this website eventually will be fixed and made available to the public again–perhaps later this month (April, 2014).

In the meantime, if you want to “root” around in the Cuyahoga Naturalizations database, go here:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohcuyah2/nats/index.html

When you “see” the record of backups created by the WayBack Machine, click on one of the backups (e.g. in 2009) and you will have access to the database.

Happy “rooting.”

 

How Our Ancestors Became Americans, Or Not–A Workshop

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Your ancestor steps off the ship at Ellis Island. What happens next in the process of becoming a citizen of the United States? On Saturday afternoon,  5 Apr 2014,  1 to 4 pm, at Western Reserve Historical Society, I  will present a two-part workshop discussing the process of naturalization and the records it produced, as well as what was required of people who did become naturalized.

The first part will deal with the steps involved in the process of naturalization: the documents, time periods, and changes in immigration laws. It also will cover why these records are of interest to genealogists and family history researchers. Participants then will get some time to start research on ancestors who became naturalized in the WRHS Library. In particular, they will be able to look for naturalization records on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, as well as explore the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service website at http://www.uscis.gov/genealogy.

For various reasons, many immigrants did not become naturalized. In the second part of the workshop, I will discuss records created by immigrant ancestors who did not become naturalized: Alien Registration during two world wars. If you had ancestors who were not citizens during those conflicts, they were supposed to register with the authorities, resulting in files of useful information.

The cost of the workshop is $15 and registration in advance or at the door is required. To register online, go here: http://www.wrhs.org/Calendar/Becoming_Americans.  If you have trouble with online registration, please email foxreinhardt@usa.net.
I hope to see you there.

52 Ancestors — #13 We Are Sixth Cousins, Once Removed, Descending from Hezekiah Sumner 1724-1802

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My wife, MJ, and I share many things from our growing up years and among our continuing interests: we graduated from the same high school in the same year (Andover; 1956); we were HS senior class officers; we lived all early our lives in Ashtabula County, Ohio; we prefer classical music to popular music; we prefer Scandinavian decor; we like bourbon, and we like our beef cooked medium rare to rare. One thing we don’t exactly share is an abiding interest in genealogical research. In fact, MJ is only mildly interested in the results of my research.

We both have Dutch ancestors coming here in colonial times: mine on my mother’s side (my mother’s maiden name was Dingman, adapted from Dingmansa),  and hers is on her father’s side (her maiden name: Van Court). On my father’s side, the ancestry is from Finland with the immigration occurring in 1902 and 1903. On her mother’s side, her ancestry is German, with the immigration occurring in 1897 and 1905. As a result of my research, I have learned that we also have ancestors immigrating from England in the 1600s, mine on my mother’s side; her’s on her father’s side.

One day a few years ago, she remarked: “If you keep going back, you’ll probably find that we are related.” I didn’t think much of her comment at the time. So you can imagine my amazement when I was looking at her family tree that I had assembled on Ancestry.com. Several people on her father’s side back in the late 1700s had names that seemed similar to names in my family tree, so I switched to my family tree, and there on my mother’s side were the exact same names.

When I reported this to MJ, it got her attention, and she, of course, said: “See. I told you so!” Now she likes to repeat this story whenever conversation drifts into genealogy and family history.

It turns out we both are descended from Hezekiah Sumner, who is my fifth great grandfather, and her sixth great grandfather. He was born in 1724  in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut and lived later in life of Bethlehem (now Otis), Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He died in 1802.

Here is how we are related:

Hezekiah Sumner (1724 – 1802) is your 5th great grandfather
Hezekiah Sumner Jr (1757 – 1796) is the son of Hezekiah
Reuben Sumner (1797 – 1832) is the son of Hezekiah
Harrison D Sumner (1828 – 1870) is the son of Reuben
Mary E. Sumner (1852 – 1884) is the daughter of Harrison D.
Grace Darling Green (1880 – 1948) is the daughter of Mary E.
Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) is the daughter of Grace Darling
Wallace Dingman Huskonen. You are the son of Mary Jane

Hezekiah Sumner (1724 – 1802) is MJ’s 6th great grandfather
Abigail Sumner (1752-1820) is the daughter of Hezekiah
William Kibbe (1773-1855 is the son of Abigail
Roena Kibbe (1798-18760 is the daughter of William
Amanda Stephens (1821-1881) is the daughter of Roena
Truman Van Court (1846-1894) is the son of Amanda
James S. Van Court (1871-1928) is the son of Truman
Clyde H. Van Court (1902-1967) is the son of James S.
Mary Jane Van Court is the daughter of Clyde H.

When I put the generations into a relationship chart, it turns out that we are sixth cousins, once removed. The “once removed” is because there is one more generation in her ancestry than in mine. Here is my relationship chart:
 

                      Hezekiah Sumner — Common Ancestor
Hezekiah Sumner Jr     Abigail Sumner               Siblings
Reuben Sumner           William Kibbe                  First cousins
Harrison D Sumner      Roena Kibbe                   Second cousins
Mary E Sumner           Amanda Stephens          Third cousins
Grace Green                 Truman Van Court          Fourth cousins
Mary Jane Dingman    James S Van Court        Fifth cousins
Wallace D Huskonen  Clyde Van Court            Sixth cousins (& father-in-law)
                                        Mary Jane Van Court   Sixth cousin, once removed
 By the way, if you want to doublecheck this relationship, go to Cousin Calculator. The website provides an automated calculator for cousinship, as well as an article about how to use it. Also, Dick Eastman has an informative discussion of the subject of cousinship on his blog here.
So what else have I learned about Hezekiah in my research? He married Desire (a.k.a. Desiah) Higgins on 10 Feb 1744 in Middletown, Connecticut. They had their first child, Samuel, later that year. Then followed Tabitha (who died in infancy), Clemence, Tabitha (again), Abigail, Desire (who died as a child), Hezekiah Jr., Daniel, and Desire (again). As you can see from the descendencies laid out above, I descended from Hezekiah Jr, and MJ from Abigail.
Image

The above family group record appears in the book, Record of the Descendants of William Sumner of Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1636, by William Sumner Appleton. I found the book and the appropriate page in Google Books.

Recently, on Findagrave.com, I found Memorial #71466839, for Hezekiah Sumner, b. 1725, d. Feb 14, 1802. This memorial further reports that he was buried in West Center Cemetery, in Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Looking further among the 54 burials in this small cemetery, we see that Desire Sumner, b. 1733, d. 1804, was also buried there (Memorial #71466838).

Whoa! The death date for Desire Sumner is after the death date for Hezekiah. Either her death date on her cemetery marker is wrong, the Findagrave transcription is wrong, or the family group record in the book Record of Descendants of William Sumner … is wrong. Another source (Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Ancestry.com) gives her death date as 10 Aug 1794, so maybe the cemetery marker/transcription is wrong. Also, there’s the question of a second wife for Hezekiah by the name of Mary. Finally, it’s worth noting that there are two other Sumners buried in this tiny cemetery: Doreen Sumner, b. unknown, d. 1792; and Susanna Sumner, b 1797, d. Aug 7, 1800. Listings for them in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records … state that they were daughters of another couple, Daniel and Hanna Sumner.

I have further learned that Hezekiah served briefly in the Revolutionary War in a militia from Stanisfield. He enlisted May 26, 1777 in Capt. Allin’s Company, in Col. Wiggleworth’s Regiment, and served 1 mon, 6 days. This comes from a 1926 application for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, available online at Ancestry.com. The SAR application further mentions that his pay was refused because the date of his enlistment came after some sort of deadline. The SAR application provides the additional information that Desire Higgins was born in Truro, Barnstable County, Massachusetts in 1724 (another disagreement with the cemetery marker/transcription information).

I don’t have any information on Hezekiah’s occupation or station in life. So, while our joint descendency from him is firm, it’s obvious that there is room for more research on him and his family in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

 

Sycamore Row, John Grisham’s Latest Novel Includes Genealogy in the Storyline

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I finished Sycamore Row, by John Grishman, yesterday. It was a relatively fast read, which Grisham’s novels generally are for me. The book was published by Doubleday in October 2013.

Set in the fictitious town of Clanton, in the fictitious Ford County, in northern Missisippi in 1988, it is a legal page-turner that involves research into the family tree of one of the central characters, Lettie Lang, an African-American housekeeper. The problem for Lettie and her daughter, Portia, in doing this research, is that Lettie has no birth certificate and she was raised by adoptive parents, the Langs, who are deceased. Portia and others try to go back through the historic records of Ford County, but they are stored in an old school building without much concert for archival preservation, and it’s hard to locate specific records.

The hero of the novel is Jake Brigance, who was the central figure of John Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, published 25 years ago. That novel was set in 1985, and Jake won the trial that provides the story line of that first novel. Because Jake’s reputation for fairness is established in that trial, he is asked to be the lawyer of record for a deceased millionaire to defend a hand-written will. The will leaves the bulk of his fortune to Lettie Lang, his housekeeper, and also his main caregiver while he was suffering through  terminal lung cancer. The challenge for Jake is to prove the testamentary capacity of the decedant, and that he was not unduly influenced by Lettie.

As you might expect, old county records figured in the story. It was hard to read the thoughts of Jake (written, of course, by Grisham) about the uselessness of the old county records stored in that old schoolhouse. While Jake thought they were useless, however, Portia found them to be fascinating. She told Jake she was interested in becoming a lawyer and while she reads old court files she is becoming exposed to the law.

Through information discovered in a few land records, and with lots of interviews with distant cousins, Lettie and Portia are able to put branches on Lettie’s family tree. And as you might expect, that becomes important to the storyline. Speaking of branches, the story eventually comes out about why the book is named Sycamore Row.

While he is at it, Grisham takes the reader back in time in Mississippi to when disputes between whites and blacks sometimes were settled by lynchings.

To keep things moving along, there’s also a missing person investigation running through the novel.

When I borrowed this book from the local library, I had no idea that genealogy would figure into the storyline. I have enjoyed many of John Grisham’s books, and I did this one too. The fact that genealogical and family history research played an important part in this book enhanced the pleasure I took from reading it.

If you are interested in learning more about Sycamore Row and John Grisham, you can go to his website: www.jgrisham.com, and you can do a Google Search for “Reviews Sycamore Row” and find many other opinions to read about the book.

Ohio Genealogical Society Elects New Officers, Trustees

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On Saturday, March 22, I participated in my last Board of Trustees meeting at the Ohio Genealogical Society Library in Bellville. My term ends with the OGS Conference next month at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky. I have been involved with OGS as a trustee for about a dozen years now, and I finally decided it was time for me to wind down this involvement.

As a result of the recent OGS election, new officers and trustees will be sworn in at the upcoming Conference.

Let me take a moment to announce and congratulate the incoming OGS officers and trustees:

Officers

President – Margaret Cheney
VP Member Services – Eric Johnson
VP Development – Don Clark
Secretary – James Mainger
Treasurer – Bob Keener

Trustees

Deb Abbott
Paul Morehouse
Chris Staats
Jennifer Alford
Dot Martin
Lee Martin

For this election, OGS used a combination of printed ballots and email ballots. As a result, the voting “turnout” was much higher than in previous elections conducted with only paper ballots. More than 625 ballots were submitted this time around.

Again, congrats to the winners. I know they will all do a fine job of running the Ohio Genealogical Society.

52 Ancestors — #12: Mary Sumner Green, Who Had a Big Heart, Literally

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I just caught up with the fact that since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” Looking back over my previous postings, I see that I have featured mostly male ancestors. So, with this posting in my 52 Ancestors series (see below for info), I am focusing on a female ancestor, Mary E Sumner Green, one of my maternal great grandmothers.

First, here is how I am related:

Mary E Sumner (1851 – 1884) was my great grandmother
Grace Darling Green (1879 – 1948) was the daughter of Mary E Sumner
Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) was the daughter of Grace Darling Green
Wallace Dingman Huskonen is me, and I am the son of Mary Jane Dingman

Second, here are the brief facts about Mary E. Sumner as I have learned them: When she was born in 1851 in Conneaut Twp, Ashtabula County, Ohio, her father, Harrison, was 23 and her mother, Harriet, was 23. She married Jared R. Green in about 1866 and they had one son, Edwin, and one daughter. Grace, between 1867 and 1879. After Jared died in 1879, she married Stephen Edwin Furman in about 1881 in Conneaut Twp. She died as a young mother on December 10, 1884, in Ferry, Oceana County, Michigan, at the age of 33.

In this report, we will examine census records (obtained on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org) and a letter written by Mary’s aunt at the time of her death, but first we want to present a transcription of her Death Journal entry in Michigan found here on FamilySearch.org :

Name: Mary E. Furman
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 10 Dec 1884
Event Place: Ferry, Oceana, Michigan
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Housewife
Birth Date:
Birth Year (Estimated): 1851
Birthplace: Ohio
Father’s Name: Harrison D. Sumner
Mother’s Name: Harriet Sumner
Reference ID: p 2 rn 29
GS Film Number: 2363673
Digital Folder Number: 004207813
Image Number: 01294

In the same Oceana County Death Journal, the entry right above  Mary’s death record reveals another fact: Mary E Furman bore a daughter just a month before her death. According to this earlier journal entry, her baby lived only three days and was never given a name. The infant’s died on 3 Nov 1884 and was caused by “inflammation [of] lungs.” Stephen E Furman was listed as the father. The entry reported that both parents were residing in Michigan, but gave no specific details about place of residence.

Shown here are exerpts from page 1 (top) and page 2 of the Death Journal showing the two entries of interest on lines 28 and 29 (click on images to enlarge) :

Death Certificate, Furman, Baby, MI 1884 p1 Death Certificate, Furman, Baby MI 1884 p2Death Certificate, Furman, Baby MI 1884 p2Death Certificate, Furman, Baby, MI 1884 p2

If you want to see the full digital images on FamilySearch, go here and here. Death Certificate, Furman, Baby MI 1884 p2

Note that her family name in these records was Furman. I have every confidence that these record are correct because she was living with family members who were knowledgeable about her situation, and obviously cared about her. We’ll get around to that letter I mentioned and to her husband, Stephen Edwin Furman, later in this report. At this point, however, I want to use census records to track Mary’s life from Conneaut Twp to Ferry Twp in Michigan.

In the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Mary Sumner was enumerated on the 27th of June as being 10 years old and living in Conneaut Twp. She was living in the household of Harrison Sumner, age 36 [her father]; Harriet Sumner, age 37 [her mother]; and four siblings: William, age 16; Charles, age 14; Emily, age 12; and George, age 6. Harrison was born in New York State and was a farmer, and Harriet was born in Pennsylvania. All the children were born in Ohio. There is no value listed for Harrison’s real estate, but his personal estate was valued at $500.

In the 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Conneaut Twp, Mary is enumerated as Mary Green, 20 years old, keeping house in the household of Jared D Green, age 34, who we know was her husband. I haven’t found a record of their marriage, but it probably was about 1866 or 1867, when Jared returned from the Civil War. Also living in the household were Frank Green, age 10, and Evelyn Green, age 7, children born to Jared’s first wife, Mary Drake, who died in 1865. Jared was listed as a “grocer – retired.” His personal estate was valued at $150. (I posted a report about Jared on Feb 25, 2014. You can read it here.

Jared passed away in Nov 1879 (cause of death was emphysema) according to the 1880 Mortality schedule, so in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Mary E. Green was enumerated as head of household, 28 years old, widowed, and living in Conneaut Twp, with her daughter, Gracie D, age 1. Her occupation: keeping house.

Sometime after the 1880 census, Mary married Stephen Edward Furman, who also lived in Conneaut Twp. I don’t have any record of their marriage, or of where they lived in Ohio. Sometime after they got married, however, they traveled across Ohio and up into Michigan, probably by railroad, to join relatives. Mary’s uncle had earned a homestead with 40 acres in Ferry Twp, in Oceana County. The county is on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and has gained a reputation as the “Asparagus Capital of the World” for its high production of asparagus. In the 1880s, however, the area was attracting homesteaders who wanted to operate fruit tree farms, and that is what Mary’s uncle, George Sumner, did.

By 1884, Mary was pregnant, and probably having a hard time. After the birth–and death–of her baby, she was living with her Uncle George and Aunt Harriet, according to a letter written by Harriet to a friend, Jennie Morley, in Andover, Ohio. Somehow the letter survived over the years among the papers of Frank Green (I’ll give a report on Frank at some point in the future). The paper on which the letter was written remains in good shape, but the ink obviously was cheap, and the writing has faded over the ensuing 130 years, even though it was hidden away from sunlight.

According to Harriet (Mary’s aunt, not her mother), Mary had come to live with them in Ferry Twp, not “those Furmans” living nearby. Marywas bed-ridden after she gave birth, and a doctor told her she had an enlarged heart (her literal “big heart” of the title of this report), and that she might not have long to live.

According to a definition offered online by the Mayo Clinic,

An enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) isn’t a disease, but rather a symptom of another condition. The term “cardiomegaly” most commonly refers to an enlarged heart seen on chest X-ray before other tests are performed to diagnose the specific condition causing your cardiomegaly. You may develop an enlarged heart temporarily because of a stress on your body, such as pregnancy, or because of a medical condition, such as the weakening of the heart muscle, coronary artery disease, heart valve problems or abnormal heart rhythms.

As we know now, Mary did succumb to her “heart disease.” That meant that Gracie was essentially an orphan, because Stephan Edward Furman was living elsewhere in Michigan and did not offer to care for her. Also, George Sumner had become “sickly” and he and Harriet didn’t think they could care for Grace. Under these circumstances, Harriet wrote the letter to Jennie Morley suggesting that she take in Grace and raise her. And that is what happened, and yes, I will discuss this in another episode in my 52 Ancestors series.

In about 1998, I undertook a research trip to Oceana County to see what I could learn about Mary’s stay there. This was before genealogical and family history data had became available on the Internet. The drive there took about five and a half hours, and I stayed in a bed and breakfast in Hart, the Oceana County seat. I did find the cemetery in Ferry Twp where Mary was buried in a family plot purchased by George Sumner. For Mary’s burial, George acquired a simple head stone with the initials MS engraved on it. I was able to confirm that this was Mary’s final resting place as a result of a chance encounter with the cemetery caretaker, and that she was the first family member to be buried in the plot. The caretaker was mowing grass when I flagged him down to ask where the cemetery records were kept. He said that he had them in his pickup truck and that he would show them to me. There, in the cemetery record book, I found that Mary Sumner Furman was indeed buried in the George Sumner family plot.

My great grandmother Mary’s life, and especially her final days, must have been difficult. But she brought forth a daughter who was to be my Grandma Grace. I’ll have more to report on Grandma Grace in a future episode. (Actually, I posted on Feb 4, 2014 some recollections of a stay with her in Cleveland in 1946. For that episode, go here.

This posting on Mary Sumner Green is part of my participation in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. For more details on her Challenge, go here.

52 Ancestors — #11: Baptist Robert Brush, My Irish Ancestor (sort of)

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Today, on St. Patrick’s Day, I’m writing about Baptist Robert Brush, my fourth great grandfather as the eleventh subject in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. He was born in about 1750 in Antrim, Northern Ireland. He had 11 children with Esther Gamble. He died in 1810 in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, at the age of 60. (For more on the 52 Ancestors series, see the end of this posting.)

Here is how he is related to me:

Baptist Robert Brush (1750 – 1810) is my 4th great grandfather
Baptist Brush (1784 – 1857) is the son of Baptist Robert Brush
Jane L Brush (1826 – 1900) is the daughter of Baptist Brush
Andrew Simpson Dingman (1853 – 1909) is the son of Jane L Brush
Wallace Betts Dingman (1881 – 1920) is the son of Andrew Simpson Dingman
Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) is the daughter of Wallace Betts Dingman
Wallace Dingman Huskonen is me, the son of Mary Jane Dingman

Actually, I haven’t learned much about Baptist, the father, and only a bit more about Baptist, the son. Here is what I found in History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : Its Past and Present : Including Its Aboriginal History, Its Early Settlement and Development, published in 1888. The following is found on p. 1129 (note that even this source soon moves on to Baptist, the son):

Baptist Brush was one of the early settlers of Salem Township. He was a native of Ireland, and came to this county with his family [in] about 1798. He located on the farm now owned by Samuel North [in 1888], where he resided until his death. His son, Baptist, was born in Ireland in 1782, and had reached the age of sixteen when the family settled in Mercer County. He [the son] married Esther Simpson, whose parents [also] were from Ireland and early settlers of the county, and located on the homestead, where the balance of his life was passed. Eight children were born of this union, four of who are living, viz.: Simpson, John P., Jane, wife of Nelson Dingman, of West Salem, and Mary, wife of William Allen, of Salem Township. Baptist Brush was a sergeant in Capt. Gilliland’s company in the War of 1812. He died June 18, 1857, and his widow October 8, 1860, both in the faith of the United Presbyterian Church.

Here are the other brief facts I have learned about Baptist, the son: When he was born about 1782 in Limerick, Ireland, his father, Baptist Robert, was 32 and his mother, Esther, was 30. Baptist, the son, married Esther Simpson in about 1820. Their children are listed above. He was 73 when he died.

In the 1800 United States Federal Census, both Baptist, the father, and Baptist, the son, were enumerated living West Fallowfield Twp, Chester County, Pennsylvania. By 1810, the father and son had moved about 250 miles westward to Salem Twp, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and they were enumerated in separate households in the 1810 U.S. Federal Census.

In 1812, Baptist, the son, served in Capt. Gilliland’s Company in the War of 1812.

The book, History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : Its Past and Present, reports that Baptist and his brother, James were elders in the Presbyterian Church.

The 1820 U.S. Federal Census enumerates Baptist as living in Salem Twp, and it was sometime before then that he married Esther Simpson. Their first child, Mary, arrived in 1822, followed by Jonathan and Simpson [twins? or errors in birth years?] in 1825, and Jane in 1826. Some family trees have another son, James, born in 1839, but that seems unlikely to me because Esther’s age in 1839 would be 54, and because an explanation is suggested by the 1850 census, which you can see below.

In the 1830 and 1840 U.S. Federal Censuses, Baptist Brush was again enumerated as living in Salem Twp.

By the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, the Brush family household included Baptist, age 66; Ester [sic], age 65; Mary, age 27; and Jonathan, age 25. A boy 11 years of age by the name of James Johnson, also was enumerated as living in the household [this may be the James supposedly born to Baptist and Esther in 1829]. Occupations of Baptist and Jonathan were listed as “farmer.” The value of the real property was listed as $2000.

As noted above, Baptist passed away on 18 Jun 1856. Unfortunately, I have no information on where either Baptist, father or son, or their spouses were buried. Jane Brush, born on 07 May 1826 to Baptist and Esther, in Salem Twp, and died on 10 Mar 1900, in Williamsfield, Ashtabula County, Ohio, the wife of Nelson Dingman (who I will write about later), is buried in Park Lawn Cemetery in Jamestown, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

The first records of my Brush ancestors are from Antrim in what is today Northern Ireland, so their family line probably originated in Scotland, and they should be considered Scots-Irish, rather than plain Irish. This conclusion would be supported by the involvement of Baptist, the son, as an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Salem Twp mentioned above.

So that’s the brief story of my ancestral immigrants from Ireland.

For more details on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, go here.

52 Ancestors–#10: Alonzo Green, Cheese-making Entrepreneur

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This report is another in my 2014 series of postings about ancestors and relatives (see end for details). Alonzo was my great grand uncle. In the 1870s, Alonzo was a major owner of an important cheese factory in Amboy, a populated place in Conneaut Township in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He obviously prospered as a farmer to the extent that he could invest in the cheese factory.Alonzo Green

Here is how his cheese-making enterprise is described in “History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneer and Most Prominent Men,  1798-1878. Philadelphia: Williams Brothers 1878” as accessed at the Ohio Genealogical Society website in the members-only Heritage Pursuit database under the subheading Cheese Factories:

Amboy Cheese Factory:The first cheese-factory built in the township was that at Amboy. This was built in 1869-70 by a stock company. The building is in size thirty-two by seventy feet, and three stories high, and cost, with the necessary equipments and utensils, four thousand dollars.

The first officers were J. D. Ransom, president; P. C. Ryan, secretary; Lyman Luce, S. Hazeltine, and J. D. Ransom, directors. The factory commenced operations in the spring of 1870. N. P. Tillotson was operator for three seasons, T. Buffington two, and L. Luce two. There has been an average annual manufacture of about one hundred thousand pounds of cheese until the past three seasons, when both butter and cheese have been made. Alonzo Green owns the controlling interest at present [1878].

Here is how I am related to Alonzo Green:

Alonzo “Lon” Green (1827 – 1900) is your great grand uncle

Joab Green (1785 – 1849) father of Alonzo “Lon” Green

Jared R. Green (1832 – 1880) son of Joab Green

Grace Darling Green (1879 – 1948) daughter of Jared R. Green

Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) daughter of Grace Darling Green

Wallace Dingman Huskonen is me, son of Mary Jane Dingman

When Alonzo “Lon” Green was born on June 28, 1827, in Amboy (Conneaut Twp), Ashtabula County, Ohio, his father, Joab, was 42 and his mother, Rebecca, was 38. Joab was an early settler in Conneaut Twp, arriving before 1820. He had seven sons, including Alonzo, and four daughters with Rebecca (Johnson) between 1808 and 1832. For my report on Joab, go here.   Alonzo had two sons and two daughters with Mary Elizabeth McCreary between 1854 and 1869. He died on May 18, 1900, in Ashtabula, Ohio, at the age of 72, and was buried there.

The first record I have found for Alonzo Green is in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Conneaut Twp. in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He appears as Alonzo Green, age 23, living in the household of Rebecca Green, age 61, with Jared, age 18. Occupations: Alonzo, mill wright; Jared, farmer. No relationships are reported in the 1850 census, but we know from other sources that Rebecca is Alonzo’s mother, and Jared is his brother. (Note: The census records mentioned in this posting were found on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.)

In the 1860 U. S Federal Census for Conneaut Twp. (Post Office: Amboy), Alonzo Green was  age 32 as the head of household. Living in the household were Mary E Green, age 32; William L Green, age 6; George J Green, age 2; and Rebecca Green, age 71. Again, no relationships are not reported in this census, but we know Rebecca was Alonzo’s mother, Mary was his wife, and William and George were his sons. Alonzo’s occupation was farmer, and the real estate was valued at $800 and personal estate at $300.

The 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Conneaut Twp. (Post Office: Amboy) reports  Alonzo Green, age 43, as head of household; Value of  his real estate, $6,800, value of his personal estate, $1,000; and his occupation: farmer. Household members: Mary E Green, age 43; William L Green, age 16; Geo J Green, age 13; Agnes B Green, age 9; and Jennie L Green, age 1. Also living in the household was Almia Whittaker, age 19, born in Pennsylvania, domestic servant.

In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census for Conneaut Twp., Alonzo Green, age 52, was head of household; Marital Status: Married; Spouse’s Name: Mary E. Green, age 52; His father’s birthplace: New York; his mother’s birthplace: Massachusetts; His occupation: farmer. Other household members were  George J. Green, age 23; Agnes B. Green, age 17; Jennie L. Green, age 11. Alonzo’s son, William, apparently was living next door with his wife, Jennie, age 21, and two daughters: Minnie L, age 2, and Gertrude, age 11/12. Both Alonzo and William were farmers, and George J also was working at farming. No property values were enumerated in 1880. The photo below shows Alonzo and Mary about this time.

Alonzo and Mary Green large

The 1890 U.S. Federal Census was destroyed by fire, so the next record for Alonzo is his death record for 18 May 1900. He died in Conneaut Twp. at age 72. The source of this record “Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6J3-62T : accessed 14 Mar 2014), Alonzo Green, 18 May 1900; citing Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio, reference v 2 p 80; FHL microfilm 890260.

Alonzo Green was buried in Amboy Cemetery in Conneaut Twp. His family crypt can be found on the free website: Find A Grave.com at Memorial #21567941.

Alonzo Green Crypt, Amboy Cemetery Large

 

The plaque on the crypt lists Alonzo Green, 1827-1900; Mary Green 1827-1910; Albert Harper, 1864-1928; and Agnes Harper, 1842-1933. Agnes was the daughter of Alonzo and Mary.

Plaque on Alonzo Green Crypt, Amboy Cemetery Large edited

The Ohio Obituary Index, provided by the Rutherford B. Hayes Library, shows that an obituary for Alonzo Green of Amboy, Ohio, year of death 1900, appeared in the Deshler Flag on 10 Aug 1900. The same database does not list an obit for Alonzo from Ashtabula County, which is disappointing because the Ohio Obituary index carries all indexed obituaries collected by the Ashtabula County Genealogical Society. In any case, for $3.00, I am contacting the Patrick Hentry Public Library in Deshler, Ohio, for this obituary. Watch this space for an update when I receive the obit.

The U.S. Federal Census for Conneaut Twp was enumerated beginning on 01 Jun 1900, a few days after Alonzo died. I did find his wife, Mary Elizabeth, age 73, as head of household, with daugher Jennie, age 31, living in Conneaut Twp., probably in the house on the family farm.

While Alonzo apparently acquired modest wealth, his brother Jared, about whom I wrote a post on Feb 25 (go here) was much less successful, and left my great grandmother Mary as a widow and my grandmother Grace as a small child in difficult straits. I sometimes wonder why I haven’t found any evidence that Alonzo extended assistance to Jared and his family. I will report on Mary Sumner Green and Grace Green (adopted name Morley) in future installments on this blog.

For more details on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, go here.