The Mystery of Hiram Oliver Dingman

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What happened to Hiram Oliver Dingman, my great uncle born in Sandy Creek Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania? Using Ancestry.com (which I used for most the the research described herein), he is easy to track through 1860 when he was 12 years old, living in the household of his father, Nelson Dingman, in Salem Township, Mercer County, along with his mother, Jane, and siblings Mary Ann, Andrew S (my great grandfather), Emily, and Sanford W.

After that, there is no evidence of Hiram Oliver in census or other records until 1930.

Nancy L Machcinski sent me an email in 199? stating that she believed that we were related. Her great- great grandfather went by the name of Benjamin Franklin Keller, but he named all his kids with the middle initial D. Also, in biographical history book history, he was quoted as saying he and his relatives were from Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

One example of this naming convention was his daughter Amy Viola D Keller.

Here is how Nancy described the discovering of a probable name change for Hiram Oliver Dingman:

Benjamin F. Keller turned out to be an alias name. He was in the Oklahoma Land Rush and an article was written about him in a book published in 1901 by the Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, with the title Portrait and Biographical Record of Oklahoma. My brother, Edward F. Blick, a retired professor from the University of Oklahoma, who lives in Norman, OK found the article in the college library. Benjamin F. Keller was really Hiram Oliver Dingman, born Jan. 1848 in Mercer Co. Pa. and is buried at Highland Cemetery, Ft. Mitchell, Ky.–Nancy L. Blick Machcinski

The following is what I have found for Hiram/Benjamin:

Hiram Oliver Dingman, as Benjamin Franklin Keller, married Phianna Condo Hunter in Lawrence, Kansas, on 5 Jun 1884. He was 36 years of age and Phianna was 30.

The 1860 census shows that Phianna was living in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania and that she was born in that state. Her father Joseph Hunter died of consumption in June 1860, according to the mortality schedule for that year. Apparently, her mother, Jane, moved right away to Kansas City with Phianna and another daughter Clara, for they are enumerated in the 1860 census for Kansas City. The census suggests that Jane was married to Silas Case. Phianna was enumerated in Lawrence, Kansas, in the 1870 and 1880 censuses.

Benjamin and Phianna are living in Florida in 1885 according to a state census for that year. The census shows them living in Orange County and lists his occupation as “carpenter.” There were no children in the household.

By 1890, the couple was living in Township 16, Logan County, Oklahoma. A list of homesteaders in Logan County in 1892 has him living on property designated as N E 13 16 3 W. In 1898, at age 50, Benjamin Keller (aka Hiram) was living on the same property further identified as being served by the Guthrie Post Office

The 1900 Federal Census lists Benjamin Keller (aka Hiram) as living in Iron Mound Township, Oklahoma, in 1900.

Benjamin (aka Hiram) and Phianna C Hunter were divorced in 1902 after 18 years of marriage. He was 54 years old.

Phianna was married two more times before her death in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma on 21 Nov 1921.

In the 1910 census, at age 62, Benjamin Keller (aka Hiram) is living with his son Clarence, age 15, in Iron Mound Township, Oklahoma. Benjamin is listed as a farmer, and Clarence is a farm laborer.

Sometime before 1930, he apparently resumed using his birth name of Hiram Oliver Dingman. In the 1930 Census, he was living in the Kenton County Infirmary in Covington, Kentucky at age 83. According to a 1931 directory, was a resident there.

Hiram’s Kentucky death certificate states that H. O. Dingman died at the infirmary on 18 Feb 1934 at age 86. It further states that he was born in Greenville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania and that his father was Nelson Dingman. He was buried on 21 Feb 1934 in Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, which is near Covington. There is no marker on his grave (see Find A Grave entry), and the informant listed on his death certificate does not appear to be a relative.

How sad.

Have You Had Your Flu Shot?

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If you attend genealogical conferences, you will often hear presenters urge their audiences to study social history to learn about the life and times of their ancestors and collateral relatives.

As we enter the 2017 “flu season” we are being deluged by television ads for quick and easy ways to get our flu shots.

Smithsonian, the monthly magazine of the Smithsonian Institution, features on the cover of its November issue the following headline: 1918-2018, The Next Pandemic. Inside the devastating influenza outbreak 100 years ago–and how scientists are trying to stop it from happening again.

The lead article in a package of three on the 1918 pandemic is “Journal of the Plague Year. 1918 Outbreak,” by John M. Berry. According to Wikipedia, His 2004 book The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History was a New York Times Best Seller, and won the 2005 Keck Communication Award from the United States National Academies of Science for the year’s outstanding book on science or medicine.

In that book, Berry posits that the 1918 pandemic began in Haskell County, Kansas, and quickly spread to Camp Funston, a U.S. Army training base in central Kansas. From there, it spread to other Army bases to the extent that 24 out of 36 bases at the time has serious–and deadly–outbreaks of influenza.

Some statistics from the article: Number of infected in the U.S.: 25.8 million; number of deaths: 670,000; percent of flu deaths age 6 or under: 20; life expectancy decrease: 12 years; and (shockingly to me) percent of U.S. military deaths in WWI caused by flu: 50.

Barry’s 10-page article gives a lot more detail about why the pandemic spread as it did among military personnel and the civilian population.

Two more articles are included in the “flu package”: “Animal Vector, The Birth of a Killer” and “The New Counterattack: How to Stop a Lethal Virus.”

If you read all three articles, you will have a good dose of social history, both for 1918 and going into 2018.

I have studied and blogged about the WWI history of two relatives; one being fortunate enough to escape any illness from flu while the other succumbed. Frank Morley Green came through his Army training unscathed but Albert C. “Bert” Butcher did not. You can click on the links to read those posts. I also blogged about the Flu Pandemic in an even earlier post.

One final point: Yes, I have had my 2017 flu shot. I have have been diligent in getting them each year for the last half dozen or so, and they have helped me stave off any flu illness.

Ohio Veterans Grave Registration Database Now on Ancestry.com

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Ancestry.com recently added the collection Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations, 1804-1958. The original data comes from the Graves Registration Cards Collection, Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio. Ohio History Connection is the current name for what used to be known as the Ohio Historical Society.

This database contains grave registration cards for soldiers from Ohio who served in the armed forces, mainly from the time of the War of 1812 up through the 1950s. Information that may be found on the original records includes:

Soldier’s Name
Residence
Death Date
Cause of Death
Date of Burial
Name and Location of Cemetery
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Next of Kin

Records could also contain military service information, which may include:
Branch of Service
Wars Served in
Enlistment Date
Discharge Date
Rank
Company

After checking this database for veterans among my ancestors and collateral relatives who I know were buried in Ohio, I would say that this new online collection is far from complete. It certainly is not up to the scope of a similar database,  Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012, which is also available on Ancestry.com.

Also, what you see on Ancestry.com is only the index. If you want to see the card referenced in an index entry, you have to have a subscription to Fold3.com.

Why We Need to Include a Country Name with Genealogical Locations

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One of the effects of using online genealogical databases in our research is that we need to enter a country name to completely identify each family history location.

Back in the day before online databases, American researchers just assumed that readers of their research reports about American ancestors would know that a location reference was to a place in America if there was no other country mentioned. Writing down the community (city, village, township, or populated place—if known), county, and state was considered to be adequate to identify a location.

This became clear to me today when I went to enter the death location to search on Ancestry.com for a record for my first cousin once removed: Frank Morley Green. He died in Andover in Ashtabula County in Ohio. As I entered Andover in the Death search field, Ancestry provided me with a drop-down selection of Andovers in its databases.

It included Andover, Anoka, Minnesota; Andover, Tolland, Connecticut; Andover, Windsor, Vermont; and Andover, Wise, Virginia, all followed by the country designation USA. Following that were two other suggested locations: Andover, Hempshire, England, and Andover, Tasmania, Australia. The last two entries obviously indicate the breadth and depth of Ancestry.com’s database coverage.

But, boo hoo, no Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio, USA, so I had to continue my typing to complete Frank’s Death location.

Incidentally, Ancestry.com does accept USA as appropriate to designate the United States of America. Some other database providers seem to prefer spelling out United States of America, which I believe is unnecessary.

Brother of Detective Was Named Evert

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I just finished reading The Dying Detective, by Swedish crime writer Leif G.W. Persson  (translated by Neil Smith into British English).

This novel is a police procedural without much dramatic action–a subset of crime fiction that I actually prefer. The story required 454 pages from start to finish, but I found that it went quickly.

It is set in Sweden in and around the capital city of Stockholm. There also are many place names farther afield–and I recognized some of them from two business trips to Sweden during my trade magazine editing days decades ago.

There was another thing that stood out: The detective’s brother was named Evert. That was the name of my grandfather who emigrated from Finland to America in 1902. It was quite a surprise when I first encountered the brother’s name, as it is not very common.

Another surprising thing: The main character, Lars Martin Johansson, asks for help from a friend who has taken up the hobby of genealogy. Can you believe that? The friend tracks down some relevant family history connections that help enable Lars to finally deduce who perpetrated the murder in the cold case that he was investigating.

One final thing: Finnish surnames popped up from time to time in the book for minor characters living and working in Sweden. The one I can recall most clearly was Niemi, which is a popular surname in Finland. FYI, it translates into “peninsula” in English according to Google Translate.

Persson even manages to work in a mention of Lisbeth Salander, a key character in the crime novels by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954-2004). Her most famous role was as the main character in the book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the movie of the same name.

 

Small World Dept: Meeting Up with a Cousin

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Last evening, I presented a program, “Some Experiences with Finnish Genealogy,” at the Geneva (Ohio) Public Library. Among the attendees were James Siekkinen and his wife Nancy. Jim is my first cousin once removed and they live in Ashtabula, Ohio.

In reminiscing after my presentation, he said he remembered visiting our house in Andover, Ohio, as a child, traveling with his father from Ashtabula. He remembered a man in a wheelchair. That, of course, would have been my father, Walfrid, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.

I, in turn, remarked about how our family was impressed with how his mother, my Aunt Mary, kept her house spotlessly clean with everything in its place. And she always had lots of flowers.

Jim then mentioned that his mother or his Aunt Edith (he couldn’t recall which) gave him some old records that looked like passports. They were in Russian, he thought, and nobody could read them, so he passed them on to a representative of the Finnish American Heritage Association, which has a museum in Ashtabula.

Needless to say, I am going to ask if I can see those records to try to understand what they are and who they are about. They might represent some more information to our family story.

Stay tuned.

Why I Joined NYG&B Society

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While attending the Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference in Pittsburgh just before Labor Day, I joined the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. I have many ancestors who lived in New York state and I aim to bear down on learning more about their lives and times.

Here are some of the benefits of belonging to NYG&B for anyone having ancestors who lived in New York:

  • The New York Knowledge Base containing hundreds of articles and in-depth research aids covering a variety of topics related to New York research. Items within the Knowledge Base are also linked to other parts of the NYG&B’s website, allowing you to easily find blog posts, online records, and other articles related to any topic.
  • Live webinars and onsite events featuring renowned New York genealogists. Visit the complete calendar of events or register for an upcoming webinar.
  • A growing library of recorded webinars and other tools ensures you are just a few clicks away from learning from New York’s experts on a variety of topics – including New York’s canal system, immigration, and tracing families overseas.
  • The NYG&B blog which discussed the latest New York family history news and insightful articles.
  • The NYG&B store which offers a variety of helpful products and other services to assist you in your research.
  • Social networking at nyfamilyhistory on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram
  • Connecting with a community of fellow members with the NYG&B Members Forum, to share questions and advice with other researchers.

AP Report Previews Tonight’s Finding Your Roots Episode

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Yesterday (02 Oct) Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer, previewed a bit of tonight’s premiere of Finding Your Roots on PBS. She wrote:

If there’s a bigger cheerleader for genealogy research than Henry Louis Gates Jr. it’s unlikely they’re nearly as well-connected.

The prominent Harvard professor once again lures the famous and celebrated to PBS’ “Finding Your Roots,” which shares their ancestry and family stories as uncovered by impressive research and science.

In the fourth season beginning Tuesday (check local listings for time–8 pm in the Cleveland, Ohio area), the three dozen subjects include Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, Sean Combs, Amy Schumer, Garrison Keillor, Aziz Ansari, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, author Ta-Nehisi Coates and Christopher Walken.

Larry David, whom Gates said he’d “bugged” for three years to go under the “Roots” microscope, finally agreed and discovered that he’s related to Bernie Sanders, whom David memorably impersonated on “Saturday Night Live.” Their separate family stories are on the season opener.

David said he was reluctant to have personal details disclosed on TV but was glad he finally took part, lauding the “incredible job” done by researchers.

There were other revelations that took him aback, he said. David learned of ancestors who settled in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1840s, owned two slaves and fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. A hundred years later, many aunts, uncles and cousins on the maternal side of his family died in Nazi Germany’s Holocaust.

But “Finding Your Roots” is aimed at more than satisfying individual curiosity and telling an engrossing story, said Gates, an executive producer and writer as well as host of the series: It carries a message of shared origins that he argues can benefit society.

The science of DNA proves that “there aren’t four or five biologically distinct races. We’re all from one race, the human race, genetically,” Gates said. “And we know that genetically we all … descended from common ancestors that left the African continent 50,000 years ago. That’s a fact.”

Detailing how different ethnic groups contributed to world history and how their experiences “merged or conflicted” with those of other groups is also of immense value, he said.

“It’s part of a larger education process to make us all realize we’re fully human,” Gates said.

Advances in DNA testing and the increased digitization of records benefited those who participated this year, he said, while some searches required plain old shoe leather as well.

She went on to write about some of the other three dozen celebrities who will be featured in future episodes.

 

Hooray! Ancestry.com Adds New York Death Records

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If you have ever tried to research death records in New York State, you know it was a big pain. The state death index existed only on microfilm and was accessible only in a half dozen libraries across the state. You had to know the year of death to be able to browse these records effectively.

As soon as I learned that Ancestry.com had added the death record index, I checked for three members of the Nikkari family for which I didn’t reliable death dates and death places. Frank Nikkari married my Aunt Edith Huskonen. Frank and his family immigrated from Pori, Finland. Edith also immigrated from Finland, coming from Vesanto. I was able to chart their lives pretty completely partly because they ended up living in Ashtabula, only a few miles from where I grew up in Andover, Ohio. With many records for them available on Ancestry.com and obituaries from the Ashtabula Star Beacon, finding their records was like picking “low hanging fruit.”

Not so with Frank’s brother John, and their parents Juho Victor and Josefina Brander Nikkari. I was pretty sure that John died in the New York area but I had not been able to find a death record online. The same was true for Juho and Josefina. I believed that they were living in Spencer, Tioga, New York, when they passed away, but I didn’t know for sure and I had no death dates.

It was a simple matter to enter John in the Ancestry search window at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61535. He popped up as the very first result. It turns out that he died in Port Chester, Westchester, New York, on 18 Nov 1947.

I next entered Jose* Nikkari, using a wildcard in case her name was Americanized. Sure enough, it was and she was the first result. She passed away on 18 Oct 1924 in Danby, Tioga, New York, probably at a hospital there.

Juho has a little more of a challenge. I tried entering John Nikkari because I knew he went by that first name later in life. I had to browse through many names before I found him as John Nikkaria. That’s the way the entry is spelled on the digital image of the microfilm. I know that this is the correct individual because he died in Spencer, Tioga, New York, and the year was about what I expected.

So, finally, thanks to Ancestry.com, I was able to identify the death dates and death places of Juho and Josefina Nikkari, and son John. I was earlier able to find that information for their other children: Hilda, Aina Amanda, Otto, Frank, Lampi, Yrjo, and Kalle, using Ancestry and other sources.

I’m Looking Forward to Finding Your Roots beginning Oct 3

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It’s time once again to watch the television series “Finding Your Roots.” The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series featuring Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as host premieres on Tuesday, October 3 at 8/7c.

Once again, Prof. Gates will present genealogical research results for celebrities. In the past, he has highlighted interesting stories and the guests are always engaging in their reactions to the revelations about their ancestors.10 New Episodes Explore Ancestry Stories of Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o,

Ten new episodes explore the ancestries of Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, Ted Danson, Carmelo Anthony, Larry David, Bernie Sanders, Janet Mock, Ana Navarro, Ava DuVernay, Amy Schumer, Paul Rudd, Christopher Walken and more.

FYI: One place you can see the full schedule and list of guests is here: https://woub.org/2017/09/21/fourth-season-of-finding-your-roots-with-henry-louis-gates-jr-begins-october-3/. Or check your local PBS station listings.

I expect to hear once again complaints that the series doesn’t feature “regular” people as subjects. Folks, it’s all about ratings! I’ve always enjoyed the stories researched for guests on this series, and I’m looking forward to tuning in and learning all the back stories,  especially those of Scarlett, Ted, Larry, Bernie, and Amy. And along the way, learning a bit more about genealogical research and DNA testing.