Too Many Thomases

Posted on October 9, 2024October 9, 2024 by FHadmin

I don’t know if my Thomas ancestors lived near the most relatives of any of my family lines or not. However, according to reports my 3g-grandfather Henry Thomas (shown above) claimed the family left North Carolina because they were related to too many people there!

History

It is believed that our Thomas family line descended from Josiah and Ruth (Mitchell) Thomas, although this is not 100% proven. Henry identified some of his siblings in his Bible. Dr. Iva Noel Gibbons published a copy of the Bible pages in her book “Cousins by the Dozens.” Unfortunately, the image is small and difficult to read. Yet, she had gleaned information from it

From data about the family and their movement to Missouri during the 1830s, it is determined that the following are likely siblings of Henry.

George
Andrew
William
James
Joseph
Frances

Dr. Gibbons believed Thomas Thomas, who arrived in the area around 1829, might be a brother. It is unclear what happened to Thomas Thomas. By 1850, the first year with more detailed census records, he is nowhere to be found in the area when the Thomas families initially settled. Thus, I have not been able to tie him to the family.

In addition, Dr. Gibbons believed there was a younger sister Nancy. However, I have not identified Nancy’s family.

Missouri

Records for potential family members begin showing up in a cluster of counties in eastern Missouri in the 1830s. The chart shows where each of the families are found up through 1870. The question remains, “Are they the right Thomases?”

The question is answered in part by looking at the trees of DNA matches. I have matches to people who claim to descend from each of these people except George. Although it is possible that I have identified the wrong George, it seems unlikely as this George lived in the general area as most of the others in the family. It is possible with addition work with DNA matches, a match to George’s family may be found.

Problem Solved?

Moving to Missouri may have temporarily solved the problem of being related to everyone. In the community. However, the problem quickly recreated itself. The siblings had 54 children between them.

The following generation consisted of over 200 new Thomas relatives (not including those that married into the family). As you can see, they were quickly creating a new colony of Thomas relatives. Now, some of them spread out beyond Missouri’s borders. However, many of them remained in Missouri. And, a few of them started marrying cousins.

Henry’s solution . . . Move again. This time to the western side of the state. His children primarily stayed in Missouri. However, three of them ventured out of state with George (my gg-grandfather) going to southeastern Kansas and two of his siblings also venturing beyond Missouri’s borders.

My look at this family was relatively quick and I learned that I have a lot more work to do on this family line. I am sure there are lots of unknown facts to uncover.

Using The Least Number of Eggs

Posted on October 2, 2024 by FHadmin

Some recipes call for one egg, some for two, sometimes one instead of two will do. But, sometimes, one will not do if it calls for one or two. And, trouble can arise when one person thinks one will do instead of two.

Helping Out

When she was a teenager, my Aunt Ester Lucille (McCracken) Fisher helped out at the Harnett household while Nora Hartnett, my Grandma Nellie (Peelle) McCracken’s cousin, was ill. Nora was actually my grandma’s mother’s first cousin. Thus, she was grandma’s first cousin once removed. However, she was simply referred to as her cousin.

Anyway, part of the chores around the house was cooking meals for Nora and her brothers John and Raymond “Ray,” who were all single adults sharing the home. Ester didn’t mind cooking and it was an area where she excelled.

Lemon Pie

One day, Ester was making lemon pie while Nora rested in the other room. That is when the trouble began. Although resting, Nora heard one egg break and then a second egg break. Suddenly, Ester heard herself being chastised for using two eggs in the pie. Nora informed her that one egg would be perfectly sufficient.

You would have thought that eggs were rare or that the Harnett family was dirt poor. Depending on the exact year, it is likely it was during the Great Depression. However, eggs were still abundant and the Hartnett brothers were prosperous farmers. The Harnett children, who were now middle-aged, had inherited their parents’ several-hundred-acre farm in 1918.

It was likely Nora’s mother Ellen (Jury) Hartnett was the person who influenced Nora’s views on using one egg. In Ellen’s obituary, she was described as “thrifty and conservative.” Of course, that information likely came from Nora.

Back To The Pie

Well, Ester, being the good cook that she was, knew that one egg did not make for good lemon pie. And, she was not going to make a bad pie. But, how? It was on this day that she became determined to learn how to break two eggs at once.

She was successful and the “two at once” technique solved everything. Ester was happy because she could make a good lemon pie. Meanwhile, hearing only one “crack,” Nora was happy that “eggs weren’t being wasted.”

Baking

This skill served Ester well as she bakes pies, cakes, and other things throughout her life. She even worked for a bakery in Fort Scott for a period of time.

To my knowledge, after her time helping out at the Hartnett’s she only used it for speed and never needed to hide how many eggs she was using again.

Bonus Story

History of the Harnett Family

Thomas Harnett, a native of Ireland, settled in Hiattville, Kansas. In 1873, he married Ellen Jury, who had immigrated from Canada with her mother, bothers, and their families. Their son John was the first child born in Hiattville. He was followed by Nora and then Raymond. Thomas made money to purchase a farm by working as a section foreman for the railroad. Additionally, the family appeared to run a boarding house or at least rent out rooms in their home during the time they lived in town.

Thomas purchased a farm about a mile and a half north of Hiattville and became a farmer. The family did well despite the hardships of farm life. They raised their children in the Catholic faith and taught them to be hard working.

Thomas and Ellen died only eleven days apart. It was during the flu epidemic, but neither died from the flu. Thomas had a lengthy illness that included at least one stroke. Ellen had a tumor that had made her an invalid for two or three years.

John, Nora, and Ray lived together the rest of their lives. None of them ever married. They are buried together at Evergreen Cemetery just outside Fort Scott.

The Long Road To A Homestead

Posted on September 27, 2024September 28, 2024 by FHadmin

Arthur Reid Thomson was only 16 years of age when he boarded a ship for America. His grandfather, he claimed, was sending him to his uncle in New York. However, he never arrived at his uncle’s doorstep. Had he, his road to a homestead would have taken a very different path.

Canada

It was May 1843 when Arthur arrived in Quebec, Canada. It is hard to imagine what was going through his mind during his journey and upon seeing a whole new land, which was so vast in comparison to his homeland of Scotland. He was truly alone, as he had sailed without his brother Alexander “Sandy”, his sister Genia and her husband, or his grandparents. And, his parents were long deceased. He stated that he wrote letters home, but received no response. Thus, he was truly alone in a vast new country.

His only support came from friends, supposedly of the name Hutchinson. He apparently spent time in Montreal, Canada with them. However, he did not put down roots there. Instead, he traveled on. He may have traveled to Rochester, New York. This was likely before he immigrated to the United States in 1847, since it is much closer to Montreal than it is to Detroit, where he crossed when immigrating.

Immigration

Exactly where Arthur traveled in those early days in the Americas isn’t 100% clear. It is said that he may have come to Nebraska about the time Nebraska City became the first city to be incorporated in Nebraska Territory. However, other accounts seem to leave out this early journey to Nebraska.

Marriage

It would be 12 years before Arthur would settle down enough to marry Margaret Ronald. Margaret, who was about 10 years Arthur’s junior, was also an immigrant from Scotland, having arrived in the United States in 1856. At 7:00 p.m. on May 9, 1859, they married at the home of Andrew Christy in Berlin, Wisconsin. However, they would not make Wisconsin their home for long.

Nebraska Territory Here We Come

1860

Within a few months, Arthur and Margaret moved to Nebraska City. In February 1860, their first child was born in their new hometown. Only a couple of months later, Margaret’s father died in Nebraska. Life would continue to be busy the following month as a major fire broke out in Nebraska City.

Fighting the fire was complicated by the lack of fire-fighting equipment and a shortage of water. The city was ravaged and approximately 40 buildings in and near the business district were destroyed. Fortunately, Arthur and Margaret’s home was spared.

The following year the city formed its first fire-fighting company. It was one step in recovering from the fire. The fact that the city didn’t have competition and it was in the perfect location contributed to its quick recovery.

Property Ownership

During their time in Nebraska City, Arthur and Margaret ran The Western House, which is where the Grand Hotel was later located. However, they did not initially own any property with Arthur having only $300 in personal property and Margaret having $50 in personal property in 1860. The first property purchased was by Margaret in 1862.

At that time she bought lot 2 of block 44 of the Prairie City Addition (18^th & Central). Why it was purchased by Margaret and not Arthur is unknown. It is also unclear if they lived on the property, which Margaret held until 1872 when she sold it to her sister Mary Thorne. The sale was witnessed by their brothers John and Robert Ronald.

Mary had come from Wisconsin to Nebraska City by covered wagon. She worked at the Grand Hotel to support herself. There she had met James Thorne, her third husband.

Steam Wagon Road

In the spring of 1863, Arthur and Margaret left the comforts of city life for life on the prairie. They lived in a dugout near Wallen Ridge on the Steam Wagon Road. The prior year, a special election had been held to fund the road and associated bridges.

The family called this location Nebraska City Ranch. However, it is unclear why they gave it that name as it was not near Nebraska City. Instead, it was halfway between Nebraska City and Lincoln, which was originally named Lancaster. The location was a freighters’ inn. It had a grocery, post office, and a place for travelers to rest themselves and their horses/oxen.

The post office was unnamed until Margaret’s brother Robert Ronald approached the government asking that they name it Paisley after the hometown of the Ronald family in Scotland. It received the name Paisley in 1869. About the same time Paisley School #6 and Paisley Church came into existence. However, a town never sprung up in the location. Although the school and church continued on for some time, the post office closed in 1872.

While living here, Arthur sometimes worked in Nebraska City, returning home only on the weekends.

Obtaining A Homestead

Property Improvements

On January 8, 1863, prior to their move to the dugout on Steam Wagon Road, Arthur filed a homestead application with the Nebraska City Land Office. It was the seventeenth application filed in the county.

As soon as they moved to the dugout, Arthur began improving his future homestead, which was about ¾ mile from the dugout. By the following year, he had constructed a 12 ft. by 16 ft. log cabin and broken ground for crops on the land he hoped to one day call his own.

The Log Cabin

The log cabin provided only basic accommodations of the prairie. All the small openings, along with the chimney, were filled with a mixture of straw and clay. The roof of the log cabin was composed of clay on top of sod on top of pieces of wood on top of rafters. The floor was dirt at first, but later covered with wood. A small window provided daylight. Additionally, the interior had been whitewashed, which got on anything and anyone that touched it.

The fanciest feature of the cabin was its one-way locking door. It had a bar that latched into a slot. The bar had a string attached. When someone wanted to open the door from the outside, they simply pulled the string and it would move the bar and open the door. However, if the family wanted to lock the door, they could simply pull the string inside and no one could get in. However, that meant that they could only lock the door when they were inside.

The family moved to the homestead property as soon as they could as they had to live there continuously for five years and improve the land before they could obtain ownership of it.

Arthur worked hard for this land, building a frame house to replace the log cabin, plowed and planted many acres of land, adding a shed, granary, cellar, corn crib, pens for animals, and more.

More Property

In 1864, Margaret purchased 3 1/2 acres of land along Steam Wagon Road for $21.30. The land was in the S.W. of the N.W. of N.E. quarter of Section 32. This property was described as “lying South of the Creek, and East of a certain cotton wood tree, (and the Steam Wagon Road).” This land is likely where the dugout was located although I am not yet entirely sure.

In 1868, Arthur purchased at a sale the S. E. 1/4 of the S.W. 1/4 of Section 19 and the N.E. 1/4 of the N.W. 1/4 of Section 30 (This section number is from a text version of a legal document. I think this should be Section 29 per the map shown). The land had outstanding taxes for several prior years and the sale amount of $38.43 was to cover the taxes owed and other fees.

Thomson property in 1917 (green). Paisley Church and Paisley School shown with blue dots.

Where Are The Deeds?

Homestead Deed

In 1869, Arthur wrote to the land office in Washington, D.C. regarding obtaining the deed to the homestead. In the letter, he wrote,

“Now seeing that I have now half starved myself and family to put improvements on the place which I now have 70 acres of land under the plow and a pasture fenced for my stock, a good house and other out buildings, and a grove of young timber planted out. If I being a citizen of the United States has to lose it, I presume I might have got my deed from the land office at the time if I had given them money that they asked from me which I thought did not belong to them.” (Some grammar changes were made for readability.)

It appears that there was some question over why they had not moved immediately to the property. In response to those questions, Arthur and his brothers-in-law John Ronald and Robert Ronald made three points.

Arthur had to work for others as he didn’t initially have means to support his family and for what was needed to improve the land.
While he worked away, Arthur claimed that he could not leave his family on the homestead out of concern for their safety from Native Americans. Note: Arthur was friendly with some of the local “Indians.” However, bands of unfriendly “Indians” sometimes came through the area, including onto the homestead. When this occurred, Arthur and the family would hide from them.
He was informed by the land office that if he began improvements that he wasn’t required to immediately occupy the land, but that he should do so as soon as he could.

Deed to Purchased Property

Now, all he could do was wait for a response from the government. In the meantime, Arthur provided the sales receipt for the additional property he had purchased to the country treasurer in order to get a deed to the property. It is unclear exactly what occurred. However, again, he waited.

Getting The Deeds

In July 1870, everything started coming together. The county determined that Arthur was the rightful owner to the property he had purchased. This included acceptance of the certificate of purchase and ensuring taxation and all other legal laws, including proper advertising of the land for sale, had been followed.

In addition, the government accepted Arthur’s response to their concern about him not moving immediately to the homestead. And, Arthur finally secured the deed, to the homestead. He paid $200 for the E 1/2 S.E., 1/4 Section 19 and the N 1/2 of NE 1/4 of Section 30 in Township 9, Range 10 East containing 160 acres at $1.25 per acre.

Finally, Arthur had a homestead that he could call his own – 27 years after he left Scotland. By this time, he had a 14 ft. x 17 ft. frame house with bedrooms over the main room. A few years later, Arthur added a kitchen followed by two additional bedrooms. In 1893, the house was completely remodeled. As a result, it was an 8-room house with a basement.

Arthur died on Christmas Day in 1913. He dearly loved his home and family and his advice was “Live right and do right.” (Taken from family notes.)

The Double Helix & Genealogy

Posted on September 17, 2024 by FHadmin

What if DNA hadn’t been discovered ? Similarly, what if the United States was like some other countries that prohibited or severely limited DNA testing ? The lack of DNA evidence would definitely change my research. There are relatives that I likely would not have found and stories that would be lost.

DNA & Genetic Genealogy

We take the knowledge of DNA for granted as it was discovered more than 150 years ago. DNA testing for paternity was developed in the 1980s. By comparison, genetic genealogy is a relatively new field. As such, many misconceptions exist about DNA, DNA testing, and genetic genealogy. Before I jump into what I have found using genetic genealogy, I thought I would address the top seven common misconceptions I regularly see expressed.

Misconception: Testing Anywhere Automatically Matches Anybody

>Complaint: “I tested and I don’t see a match to X.”

>Response: “Did they test with the same company?”

>Answer: “No.”

A DNA match will not show up to someone that hasn’t tested with the same company. So, if you are looking for a specific person (e.g. someone’s child that was adopted), you may not find them. This is why it is recommended that people looking for someone specific test on multiple sites and upload to any that allow it.

Misconception: DNA Results Should Tell Me Who My parent/grandparent is

>Complaint: “The results don’t tell me . . . “

>Related Question: “How can it tell me I am related to an ancestor as they never took a DNA test?”

You can determine your parent or grandparent without them testing IF their descendants or other relatives have tested. However, in most cases, it requires research. The more distant the match; the more work that will be required to find the answer (and this includes a lot of traditional research).

Misconception: You Will Have Many Matches With Your Surname

Because you don’t see your surname among your top matches does NOT mean that you were adopted or the product of an affair. It is not uncommon to find few if any people in your top matches that have your surname.

Misconception: Gender Matters With Autosomal DNA

Question: “Should I have my male cousin test? Will that give me a better match to my dad’s family?”

When using autosomal DNA (E.g. Ancestry.com) it does not matter if you are male or female. In other words, two males will not necessarily match better than a male and a female. However, having multiple people test is very useful, particularly if you are looking for someone several generations back.

Misconception: Testing Company Labels Are Gospel

The labels assigned by the companies are not always how you relate to the person. With the exception of self, parent/child, and sibling labels, which are generally accurate, the other labels are a guess of the relationship. It is important to use dnapainter.com or other reliable source to determine the possible relationships to the match.

Misconception: Ethnicities are 100% Accurate and DNA Inherits Evenly

DNA is not this cut and dried. Each person matches approximately 50% of each parent, but not exactly 50-50. When they have children, there is no guarantee what portion of their DNA the child will get. Hence, the smaller the amount of DNA shared is, the wider the range of potential relationships. In addition, companies are still evolving their data sets and algorithms for these computations. Additionally, each company has different data sets and different algorithms. It is far from settled technology. So, look for it to continue to change.

Misconception: DNA Results Can Be Flawed

The most important rule is that DNA does not lie. Tests may be inadvertently switched by the user or the results may be misinterpreted, but the companies don’t just “get it wrong.” The chances of a test getting switched in the company’s lab is extremely small. And, no, matching mom’s side and not dad’s side is not an error by the company.

My Research

A majority of my personal DNA research has been focused on solving the question of “Who were Lemuel McCracken’s parents?” Lemuel is my great-great grandfather. Thus, this is a complex problem to solve. And, given the genetic distance, proving who his parents are even with extensive genetic and traditional genealogy may not be possible. However, a lot has been learned and many new relatives identified along the way.

Close Relatives Identified

I have determined that 18 DNA matches are descendants of Lemuel and his first wife Sarah Dufer. 59 matches (including myself) descend from Lemuel and our great-great grandmother Louisiana (Mateer) (Badgley) McCracken. And, I have identified 11 DNA matches that descend from Louisiana (Matteer) (Badgley) McCracken through her first marriage. This is a total of 88 cousins this branch of the family that have done DNA testing.

Most are fourth cousins or closer with a few with relationships beyond that. However, it is important to remember that those through other marriages are half relationships. Thus, they generally share a smaller amount of DNA with us.

In identifying these relatives, I found numerous that I did not know existed. Some of them I would have eventually found via the paper trail although research of living people can be challenging. However, others might have been extremely difficult or impossible without genetic genealogy. Some have been placed at the appropriate location in my tree.

Others are still under investigation and are not included in the numbers listed. One example is a sister and brother that have ties to Girard, Kansas. I have been able to determine that they are descendants of Andrew Johnson and Rosa Isabella (Ellis) McCracken. Also, using DNA, I have been able to eliminate certain sons of Andrew and Rosa as their potential grandfather.

Confirming Louisiana’s Name

DNA matches have also provided evidence confirming Louisiana’s maiden name as Matteer. This is important as her name was shown as several different names on different documents. We have matches to 18 direct descendants of her father Mathias Matteer. Additionally, many others have been identified to the Matteer family in general.

Search For Lemuel’s Parents

The search for Lemuel’s parents has consumed hundreds (ok, thousands) of hours. Like most cases, it is a mix of genetic genealogy and traditional genealogy. So little was known about him prior to his marriage to my great-great grandmother Louisiana (Matteer) (Badgley) McCracken that I began to think a space ship just dropped him off in Iowa one day in the early 1850s.

I didn’t even have a specific place to look for records as his location of birth was listed as both Ohio and Pennsylvania. And, nothing more specific was given anywhere. So, I asked as many people as possible to test. It was very useful having results for a lot of people, as some of them matched one family a lot more than another did.

As, a result of efforts to date, Lemuel appears to be the son of a Ms. McCracken and a Mr. Peppard. These two families were first identified with autosomal DNA using primarily ancestry.com, but also on other sites.

McCracken

In the McCracken family, I have been able to determine that Lemuel is likely the son or grandson of James McCracken and Rachel Kelly. To determine this I have found 35 DNA matches that trace directly to James and Rachel. I have also found 20 matches that go back to Julia Ann (McCracken) Byers and 9 to Rachel (McCracken) Lytle . Both women lived in the same county where James lived at the time Lemuel was born. My hypothesis is that they are daughters of his son Thomas, who was deceased prior to Lemuel’s birth.

Additionally, I have found 9 matches to Henry McCracken who raised his family several counties away (referred to as “Henry of Ohio” so as not to be confused with Lemuel’s son Henry). I have also been of the belief that he was also a son of Thomas as it was specified in James’ will that Thomas had sons Henry and William that were underage. A William was also found living in the area where Henry lived.

Assuming Lemuel’s mother was a McCracken, she is the daughter of one of James and Rachel’s daughters or granddaughters. Some of them can be eliminated because they were married and they had children at intervals that would make it impossible or unlikely that they are his mother. A more detailed analysis will be included in a later article.

Peppard

Autosomal data shows a large group of DNA matches to descendants of Jonathan Peppard and his wife Elizabeth Gilmore. To break it down, we match 43 descendants of their son John, 6 of their son William, 21 of their daughter Rebecca, 10 of their son Francis, 26 of their daughter Phoebe, and 14 descendants of their son David. This is a total of 120 DNA matches that have been directly connected to this couple using traditional genealogy.

One of their sons (John, William, Francis, David, and Isaac) would seem to be Lemuel’s father unless there is an unknown son of John. The latter cannot be ruled out yet.

The greatest number of matches are to John. However, numbers of matches alone isn’t meaningful as it depends on the size of families how people many tested, how much shared DNA they have with the tests that I use for research, and whether I can connect them to the tree. It is very possible that if I am able to connect the many outstanding matches that the numbers will shift significantly. In addition, some members of John’s family came to Kansas. Thus, some of these descendants may be the result of mixing with other families that relate to us. That is yet to be determined.

I determined that our surname likely should be Peppard by adding the results of Y-DNA to autosomal DNA research. Without the autosomal DNA, I might think the Peppard was an anomaly and McCracken was the actual surname. However, since the autosomal DNA shows a strong match to both family names and Peppard shows up as a Y-DNA match, it is seems highly likely that Lemuel’s father was a Peppard. Now, it is possible that a McCracken is the parent of a Peppard, but I will explain in the next section how new data shows that to be extremely unlikely.

Throw In a Monkey Wrench

New Y-DNA Match

A recent new Y-DNA match led to new questions. This new match has the last name of Bailey. Talking with a member of the family, I learned that the family was in Vermont and one man served in the Union Army during the Civil War. During that interval, he was stationed at Ft. Riley. There he married and had a son. After the war, the family moved to Oregon and then Canada.

The new match made me wonder how the Bailey family fit into the picture. I questioned if we were all part of the Bailey family. Or, were they both McCrackens? What exactly was going on?

The first thing I did was dig into autosomal DNA looking for matches to descendants of the Bailey family in question. To date, I have identified 18 Bailey DNA matches that I have been able to trace. All of them trace to the son that was born in Kansas. Whether this means anything specific or not is still to be determined.

The Bailey DNA matches also match many of our Peppard DNA matches, but not to McCracken DNA matches in James and Rachel (Kelly) McCracken’s known family. Many of them matched through John Peppard’s sons Thomas and Samuel. Of interest is the fact that those two were both in Kansas by 1859. Given that we have DNA matches across several of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Gilmore) Peppard’s children, it appears that the Baileys are a subset of the Peppards and not the other way around. For the Peppards that we match to be Bailey’s, the connection would have had to had occurred prior to 1744 and likely even earlier. Given the localization of the Bailey DNA matches and the amount of DNA shared, it seems a Peppard must have fathered a Bailey sometime in the 1800s.

Heny of Ohio And The Peppard Family

During this investigation, I discovered that Henry of Ohio’s descendants are similar to us in that they match Bailey DNA matches, Peppard DNA matches, and McCracken DNA matches. This led me to again examine if the Peppard family had a stronger connection to the McCracken family than I realized. To date, none has been found. And, Henry of Ohio’s descendants do not appear to be closer DNA matches to Lemuel’s descendants than James and Rachel (Kelly) McCracken’s descendants. Thus, I am currently scratching my head on this topic.

McCracken-Peppard Relationships As Of September 2024

The above diagram attempts to give a visual of what I believe I am seeing in the DNA relationships between the various McCracken and Peppard lines. All groups have DNA matches not related to the other groups. However, it was not possible to demonstrate that in the diagram. Thus, this diagram simply shows groups that share DNA matches with other groups.

Also, I included Rachel and Julia Ann as a part of James and Rachel’s family. This is not proven; however, it seems highly likely based on DNA matches. Note that so far I have not identified matches between Henry and Rachel or Julia Ann.

Future DNA Research

Who Were Arthur Reid Thomson’s parents?

Arthur Thomson arrived in Canada from Scotland as a teenage orphan. He then immigrated to the United States. We have bits and pieces of stories about his life in Scotland. However, no one has been able to confirm his parents’ names or that of the grandfather with whom he supposedly lived. He is Rod’s great-great grandfather. Thus, the same generationally as Lemuel is to me. However, additional complications may be encountered since he was born in Scotland and his parents died some time before he left Scotland.

Who Were Roger Ellis’ Parents?

Many Ellis families lived in the areas of Kentucky and Indiana where Roger Ellis, my 4^th great grandfather lived. However, he claimed to be born in Pennsylvania while many of the others claimed to have been born in Virginia. I have done some research into Washington County, Pennsylvania as various pieces of data lend to that area being a possible location for his family. Some people have identified a man that they believe is his father. However, this appears to be based on them living in a similar area – not on a paper trail.

I have started some basic genetic genealogy work on this project. However, the Lemuel project keeps pulling me away from this one. Additionally, given the number of generations and the fact that Ellis is a common name, it is unclear how fruitful this project will be.

Which Thomas Marshall is the grandfather of Elizabeth Brown Donaldson?

Elizabeth Brown Donaldson claimed to be relation to Chief Justice John Marshall. The paper trail is a bit broken. One researcher who focuses on the Marshall family, connected what he believes to be the family line. However, there was one specific relationship that he could not prove. Additionally, a woman has been in touch with me who is using DNA to solve this question. However, it is a big question that will require a lot of work. Again, this is challenging as it is looking for the parent of a 4^th great grandparent and there were at least 3 different family lines, including that of John Marshall, in the same county in the early 1800s.

Did any of Martha (Johnson) Peelle’s siblings have children?

This project is looking for descendants of siblings of my great-great grandmother. The scenario is that there were supposedly eight children in the family. The parents died a couple years apart. Martha’s oldest brother and her youngest sister are known. Both lived in Iowa and visited her in their later years. Both of them married, however, neither of them had any known biological children. The fate of the other five children is unknown.

Can DNA Solve These Problems?

DNA can help find evidence and point us toward a solution. However, the Lemuel project and the other future projects are huge problems. I have already made great progress on Lemuel’s story with families, locations, and more. I fully believe that I can narrow down the answers to any of these projects using a combination of DNA results, traditional genealogy, lots of hard work, and a bit of luck. Proving that the answers are correct is a whole other animal.

DNA image by Sinousxl via pixabay.com

One Gravestone, Three Ancestor Lines

Posted on September 11, 2024 by FHadmin

It is one thing to be related to almost everybody in the cemetery. It is another thing to be related to three of your mom’s four grandparents’ family lines through one person in that cemetery.

When you visit Lola’s grave at Clarksburg Cemetery, you are visiting with someone who ties my Carson, Pellett, and Ashby families together. And, yes, you are going to need a picture of the family tree for this one. Thus, a simplified family tree and explanation is provided at the end of the article.

Lola Mary Carson

Lola Mary Carson was the daughter of John Henry Carson. John was the son of William Henry Carson, who was the son of Henry Carson and Rebecca Fowler. Henry and Rebecca were the parents of my great-great grandmother Louisa Madeline Carson, who married George Andrew Thomas. They were ancestors in my mom’s maternal family line.

Lola grew up south/southeast of Fort Scott. In 1901, she was attending the Diamond School. At the same time, Lloyd Ashby, also attended Diamond School. Lloyd was the son of Grant and Elizabeth Ashby, who were my great-great grandparents.

Martha Marsh (top) with her siblings Otto, Gilbert, and Bertha

Lola’s life seemed to be full of friends and good times. However, she experienced sad occasions as well. On two occasions, Lola was called upon to be a pallbearer, which I found unusual as typically men are called upon for that duty. One time was for a nine-year-old girl and another time was for one of her friends. The young girl was Martha Marsh, whose older sister Bertha later married Henry Pellett Jr., brother of my grandfather Clifford Claney Pellett.

Rufus Ezra Pellett

Fortunately, the good times outweighed the sad times. There were numerous parties in the community. Some were family celebrations and others were gatherings of young people for no reason other than to have a party.

Courtship

It is unknown when Rufus Pellett first met Lola. However, they had both grew up in Drywood Township south of Fort Scott. In September of 1916, they were both at a party hosted by Ruth Jamison. The prior month it had been reported that Rufus was working at the brick plant at Oskaloosa, Missouri, which was several miles south of Garland. He may have been making a daily journey to work. However, he may have just been home for the party.

It is not known if he continued to work at Oskaloosa; however, he was also at Ruth Jamison’s party the following March. In late May, 62 of Lola and her sisters Gladys and Pearl’s friends surprised the Carson sisters with a party. Rufus was again among the young men in attendance. In late June, their paths crossed again at a party at the Lauber home and at another in the first half of July.

The first indicator in the news that they were a couple is when they spent time with Lola’s sister Bessie and her husband Walter Hurt. Only days later in early August 1917, Lola and Rufus married, bringing together the Carson and Pellett families.

Early Married Life

Initially, they lived on Seth Pellett’s farm, which was also known as the Will Carter Farm. The following year Rufus was granted a license for explosives. Apparently, the World War had prompted the approval of more licenses. It seemed that there were many small mining operations and likely Rufus was trying to take advantage of that opportunity. Oddly, Williams Hardware Company of Hiattville was also issued a license at the same time. I really wonder why a hardware store needed an explosive license.

Not sure if the explosives business didn’t work out or not, but later Rufus was described as a farmer. The following April, Rufus rented the O.O. Barker farm west of Garland. That year Rufus had two major milestones as he got a new binder and he turned 21-years-old. The birthday was, of course, another reason for a celebration.

A Near Disaster

Later that year, disaster nearly struck when Rufus opened an umbrella while driving a buggy. The horse was spooked and took off at a full run. At the bottom of the hill, the horse fell, overturning the buggy and throwing Rufus, Lola, their baby Nola, and Clarence Johnson to the ground. Rufus had a badly bruised back, but miraculously no one else was injured.

Rufus and Lola spent the following year living near Richards, Missouri before moving back to Ezra’s farm in 1921. I can’t imagine moving around every year with little kids. Granted, families did not have as much “stuff” in their houses. However, farmers had to move all their equipment and any livestock that they owned.

In 1922, Rufus and C. A. Hahn advertised that they were quitting farming and having a sale. Eleven horses, eight cattle, corn, fodder, timothy hay, and all farm implements were included in the sale. However, three years later Rufus was farming and he appeared to continue farming for the next several years.

Moving To Town

Rufus and Lola stayed on the farm until 1931 when they moved to Fort Scott where he worked for a time for the city water department. According to the Footprints of Bourbon County, the family moved to Waterloo, Iowa in 1942, where Rufus worked at a plant that did defense work in support of World War II. After the war, they moved back to Bourbon County. This seems to contradict city records showing Rufus in Fort Scott during at least a portion of that period.

After The War

The book also stated that they purchased Lola’s grandparent’s property, which is better known as the Catt property. It contained a rock home that her Grandfather Catt had built in the 1860s. The exact date of the acquisition needs to be researched. It was sometime after March 1, 1946 as Rufus and Lola were living in Pawnee Township on that date.

In June of that year, the family had another close call with disaster. As, Lola was cooking on the kitchen stove, she saw a flash of light and was knocked to the floor. A lightning bolt had entered the home creating a four-foot-wide hole. It had also damaged the upstairs floor before continuing to the kitchen where it put a hole through the center of a chair. Lola and Rufus’ son and his wife were also in the home. Luckily, the lightning missed directly hitting any of the occupants.

Lola and Rufus’ son had been born in 1923. He was their only son and last child, following their daughters Nola Marie and Mary Lillie. Their children were doubly related to me. Their relationship to me goes as follows: Rufus was the son of Ezra Mitchell Pellett and Lillie Pearl Carver. Ezra was the son of Seth M. Pellett and Aseneth E. Crawford, who were my great-great grandparents. And, Lola was related to me through Henry Carson and Rebecca Fowler as previously described.

In late 1966, about 9 months shy of his and Lola’s 50^th Anniversary, Rufus died.

William (Lloyd) Ashby

The year after Rufus died, William (Lloyd) Ashby, came to Kansas for a visit. Lloyd was a widower. He had married Emma Witt in 1915. They had both lived southeast of Fort Scott near Garland while growing up and then moved away. He had moved with his parents to an area south of Holly, Colorado, which might as well be called No Man’s Land as it is just dirt, rock, and sun. Emma, on the other hand, had moved to Hooker, Oklahoma, which was about as desolate. After they married, they had lived near Garland and he had been a clerk at the G.W. Million & Son store until they moved to California in 1919.

That visit resulted in a marriage between Lloyd and Lola. Grandma Pellett told the story of how they came to marry. During Lloyd’s visit, someone (maybe her, we are not sure on that detail) took Lloyd around to all the widow’s homes to visit. As the story goes, he stayed the longest at his old schoolmate Lola’s home. They married in Atascadero, CA just over a year after Rufus died. Lloyd was 75 and Lola was almost 71 at the time of their marriage.

Lola outlived Lloyd. He is buried at Atascadero, California. Lola returned to Kansas and is buried at Clarksburg Cemetery.

Lloyd was the son of Grant and Elizabeth Ashby. Their daughter Sarah Ellen “Sadie Ella” or simply “Ella” was my great-grandmother.

Coming Full Circle

To complete the connection, Grant and Elizabeth Ashby’s granddaughter, my grandmother Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett, was also the granddaughter of Louisa Madeline Carson and George Andrew Thomas (g-grand of Henry Carson and Martha Fowler) married Clifford Claney Pellett grandson of Seth and Asenith Pellett. My mom’s Conner family is the only one without a connection to that one gravestone!

The Connections Explained

The following chart shows the connections of these three people to me. Each family line is represented by a color group. The shades of each color are to help visualize the family line of key people in the article vs. my ancestors in those families. The male of the family is shown without the spouse due to space limitations except where critical to show the connection between families.

To read the chart:

The center line shows common ancestors between myself and the key people in the article.
The key people in the article are the top person in each column above the center line.
Ancestors of the people in the article are read from top to bottom.
My ancestors connecting to these families are shown underneath the center line.
Ancestors are read from bottom to top.
Key marriages are shown with a light yellow background.