Obituaries are the obit-chinest . . . .

Leafing the tree. Last week I noted the usefulness of obituaries. They often identify parents, children, and siblings of the deceased and provide a means to move forward in time, as well as deeper into the past. This week's research only confirms that belief and more. I've added some 50 people to my tree since research began on the Griffith Family Bible documents. Most of these people found their way to Macon county from Wales to farm or mine coal, and now rest in one of the cemeteries in Bevier.

Collaborating with another genealogist on Facebook introduced me to the Newspapers.com website. Today, I'm at day six of a free seven day trial, and I've managed to research, clip,and download 29 articles and obituaries. Understand that the site does not include every edition of every newspaper ever published. It is not a magic bullet. In fact, without the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News, Colorado newspapers are poorly represented. Unfortunate. But for my ancestors living in and around Macon County, Missouri, the site contains multiple newspapers (The Bevier Appeal, The Macon Chronicle-Herald, et al.), that record neighborly social calls, and visits to and from various family members, in addition to obituary and interment information.

 One other note . . . .

I often fall into a data-collection trance, focusing more on cutting, pasting, and correctly citing documents, photos, and certificates that make up the foundation of my genealogy philosophy. I sometimes forget about the human element. Discovering these obituaries changed some of that if only for awhile, sketching lives and highlighting moments of triumph and heartbreak. Some obituaries are brief, providing only the barest of information, others are richly detailed. At the very least they have clarified, corrected, and supplemented the Daniels branch of my family tree and provided another tool for future research.

Researching the Griffiths . . . and breaking through . . .

Fist pump. I jumped right into the research, following the leads from the Griffith Family Record (See blog entry from 11/24). Initial results were discouraging, Ancestry.com yielded few clues. Sensing a brick wall, I reached out to my fellow genealogists on the Missouri Genealogy Network, describing who and what I was seeking. I was looking for a death record or grave location for Thomas W. Griffiths of Bevier, Macon County, Missouri. I attached a family photograph, as well as birth and death dates. It took less than eight hours . . . . . break through.

A tip of the cap to the moderators and hosts at the Missouri Genealogy Network, and specifically to Debra Cooper who found an obituary for Thomas W. Griffiths on Newspapers.com. Much appreciated . . . and what a discovery.

Obituaries have proved most useful in my research because they usually reveal three generations: parents, spouses, and children, in addition to siblings. This one followed a similar pattern. From this document, I confirmed the name of his parents (Thomas and Margaret), his birthplace (Llangors, Breconshire, South Wales), and learned that he had four sisters. Identifying the sisters took further research, as the obit identifies them by their husbands name; they are: Mary, Elizabeth, Jane, and Sarah. Even further research indicated that he had a brother, Daniel, who died in 1876.

Jane Griffiths

From here, I'll investigate census records, immigration records, and the Castle Garden website. I'll also use the census and find-a-grave to follow his sisters and their families, and identify their descendants. There is plenty to do here.

On another note, I've cataloged twenty-six 8mm films in preparation for converting them to a digital format. Most notable in this collection is an Iowa family reunion held in 1964. I'm hopeful that these new additions to my collection can be converted to a quality digital reproductions. Such an opportunity. Much more to follow . . . .

Focus on the Griffiths . . . .

Spent time organizing and archiving all the new photos and documents from the Missouri reunion. Most significant were two pages that came from a family bible that belonged to Thomas Griffiths - my great great grandfather, or his first wife, Mary Jane Andrews. 

The pages document their marriage, as well as Mary Jane's first marriage to Thomas Andrews in 1879; and go on to painfully document the deaths of two children from that union, and Thomas Andrews' death - all within a three year span (1879-1882). Mary Jane, herself, died in 1887 but not before burying another child, Effie, in 1886. Tragic.

More pleasantly, the pages go on to note the births of my great grandmother (Jennie), and her siblings. I can recognize my great grandmother's writing on these pages. It looks as if she cared for these before they found their way to her brother, Emery, then to Penny Levine (nee' Daniels), and finally to me. A tip of the cap to Penny for donating this to my collection, and a posthumous tip of the cap to Em and Grandma Jennie. Good archiving.

 

So in the coming weeks, I'll look to add more pieces to this story and continue to archive. I have a box 8mm films that need to be converted to digital or DVD format. Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy searching.

Genealogy Season Opens Today . . . .

Back from a long series of adventures. Genealogy season opens today . . . .

Family reunions, cemetery photographs, new information, and new people. These are on the genealogy docket this winter. Here's a list of specifics:

1. Sort through photographs and documents shared by relatives at the family reunion in Missouri.

2. Archive

3. Research the Griffith family record obtained from Penny Levine (nee' Daniels).

4. Update Find-A-Grave

5. Follow up with Grandma regarding the Snow family.

6. Follow up with Betty Jean regarding her family photos.

My mom and niece traveled to Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska this summer taking part in two reunions. They collected several new photos and documents that will complement my growing collection, and further research. Great job gals, you're an ace field crew.

“A” versus “The” . . . Poll Lists . . . Mary Ann Baldwin Potpourri . . .

Poll lists. Two elections held in 1855 and 1856 record a George Mathews voting for seats on the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives in Lawrence, District 1. On the 1855 list, a William Mathews is registered immediately prior to George on line item 226. Two guys named Mathews registered to vote and by coincidence they are listed consecutively on a non-alphabetized poll list? Coincidence? Maybe. At the very least, William Mathews is another lead to pursue. For now all it confirms is that a George Mathews was in Lawrence in 1855 and 1856. Still, I cannot yet prove if he is the George Mathews, the same George Mathews who was husband to Charlotte, and the father of George W. Mathews. No way to link the poll list with the marriage record, birth dates, or the widow’s pension certificate. Changing A’s to The’s; confirming, excluding, tracing, documenting . . . that is the purpose here.

Mary Ann B. Potpourri. I’ve written to the Colorado State Archives requesting the death certificate of Mary Ann Baldwin. Colorado death certificates sometimes include the names of the deceased’s mother and father, and their birthplace. If that information is included on the certificate, I’d have George’s parents’ names. Wouldn’t that be too easy?

 
Following up on her obituary and the mention of the, "first battle among the whites," led me to consult Alice Nichols' Bleeding Kansas. The Battle of the Wakarusa is the first battle noted in that book, but neither she nor the governor is mentioned. I then found an 1895 book authored by Richard Cordley, A History of Lawrence, Kansas: From the First Settlement to the Close of the Rebellion. Nothing specific in there either. I did find an illustration of Lawrence which notes a ferry service run by the Baldwin Brothers. I remembered the 1860 census which records William and Mary Ann living in Lawrence; he claims his occupation as, “Ferryman.” 

So they were in Lawrence, or what would be Lawrence, very early; and although I don’t have that one document that proves, alone, that George was with them, I can feel satisfied knowing that a number of other documents suggest he was there: poll lists, sworn affidavits, ad hoc marriage certificates, a wife, and child.

Chasing George through Mary Ann . . .

Looking at the 1880 census. I see that Mary Ann claims her father was born in Ohio, her mother in Georgia. These are among the first clues about her and George’s parents. I’m skeptical, of course, as this is the only evidence of her parents origins. Additional lines of data are preferable, but it is another point to research.

Nothing new to report on George J. Mathews. Let me again summarize what I know about him. First, he was born in 1824 in Meigs County, Ohio. Second, in 1845 he married Emeline Watt in DeWitt County, Illinois. Together, they had four children: Albert, Sarah, Mary, and Amanda. Third, about 1857 George marries Charlotte Shuler in Lawrence, Kansas. They have a son, George W. in 1856. Yes, I know the dates show that George W. was born before his parents were married. This probably wasn’t true, but I’m following what the data says rather than speculating . . . for now. Fourth, in January 1862, George J. and perhaps his son, Albert, volunteer for the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery.  In May 1862, George dies from pneumonia at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His place of interrment is unknown.

George J. has a sister, Mary Ann, who married William Baldwin in McLean County, Illinois in 1837. William also served with the 1^st Kansas Battery, dying in 1863 from wounds inflicted from an accidental shell explosion.

As dead men leave few clues, I’ve latched on to Mary Ann. In hopes that she left some paper trail that will lead me to her parents, and the grave of her dear brother and my great-great-great grandfather George J.

This past week, with the help of my collaborator in Oregon, I discovered the transcription of an 1895 Rocky Mountain News obituary on Find-A-Grave.com. While the dates do not exactly match, I do believe that this is the same Mary Ann Baldwin that calls George J. Mathews her brother. Here is an excerpt from that obituary:

“Mrs. Baldwin with her husband settled in Illinois in 1832 when that country was part of the wild West, moving in 1853 to Missouri, and two years later to Kansas. She participated in the first battle between the whites in Kansas, a distinction of which she was justly proud.

Ex-Governor Robinson, while attempting to remove Mrs. Baldwin's tent from a section of land where Lawrence now is received a slight injury at her hands. During the late war she was taken prisoner by Quantrel's (sic) band a few miles from Lawrence, but was shortly after returned by a strong guard.

Mrs. Baldwin was the mother of ten children, all of whom are living and were present at her demise. She also had three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.”

The article notes that she was buried at Riverside Cemetery. A trip to Denver, Colorado, the Denver Public Library, and Riverside Cemetery is in order to obtain this article and photograph her headstone. Additionally, there is a ton of research that can be done from the contents of the above article. Which battle was the “first battle,” in Kansas? Can her imprisonment by Quantrill’s men be verified? Again, pursuing these clues may lead me to George J.

Mary Ann and the Borderless Puzzle . . .

Her husband, William Baldwin, became a corporal in the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery, but never came home from the war. He was killed by an accidental shell explosion on January 15, 1863 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The where-abouts of his grave are unknown.

Their story begins in Illinois. Mary Ann was raised in the household of Jonathan Farmer. Why was it necessary for Mary Ann to live away from her parents? Did her parents die? Were they unable to care for their children and sent Mary, and perhaps others, to live with friends or neighbors? No evidence to suggest either so far. And there is no suggestion that the Farmer’s took in her brother George.  

Mary Ann and William were married in McLean County, Illinois on November 28, 1837. The census tracks their migration from McLean County to Mason County, Illinois, and then to Lawrence, Kansas by 1860.

No evidence of George J. Mathews however; although his marriage to Charlotte Shuler places him in Kansas as early as 1857. In fact, the only evidence linking Mary Ann and George as siblings comes from a sworn affidavit from his Widow’s Certificate File (WC102860), dated October 22, 1886.

In that document, she testifies that she is the brother of George J., was present at the birth of his son George W., and further states that George J. had never been previously married. Never previously married.

Of course, this fully contradicts the other 50+ pages of the file in which Emeline Mathews testifies that she had been his wife since 1845, and mother of his children. Excuse me gals, but one of you is lying or terribly, terribly misinformed. Or your lawyer is lying for you to secure the deceased's pension.

Mary Ann moved on to Denver with some of her children. The 1880 census shows them living in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Mary Ann’s last name is listed as Britton, perhaps in error. She died about 1893, probably in the Denver area. Still, no indication of what became of her dear brother, George; or if he is truly the husband of Emeline Mathews and the father of her children. 

 
In an ongoing effort to clarify and define the Mathews lineage, I’m collaborating with a fellow genealogist in Corvallis, Oregon. He is a descendant of a Jonathan Mathews, who we can place in 1850 Illinois, living in the same township as George and Emeline. His research notes the Farmer name, as well as the Lash and Funk names, commonly sprinkled along the Mathews line. Many pieces and many possible combinations . . . .

The Little Drummer Boy . . .

Last week’s entry detailed the contents of the Widows Pension Certificate awarded to Emeline Mathews and her two daughters, Amanda and Mary. I consulted the 1850 census and found George and Emeline living in DeWitt County, Illinois with children Albert and Sarah. Fast forward to the 1860 census, and we find Emeline as a widow living in Peoria, Illinois with children, Sarah, Mary, Amanda, and Lewis. Strange, because George didn’t die until 1862.

I reviewed the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery muster rolls. There was George Matthews on line 84, Meigs County, Ohio, enlisted 2 January, 1862; died 18 May 1862 at Fort Leavenworth. I scrolled through the roster, looking for a name or some other clue that would lead me to the sunny slopes of genealogical clarity. That’s when it happened. Entry 1 on Page 4, Volume 3 reads, “Albert Matthews, age 14, 5’8”, brown hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, single, drummer, DeWitt County, Illinois.” 

He enlisted on 2 January 1862, the same day as George Matthews. I suspect, but cannot yet prove, that this is the same Albert Matthews shown on the 1850 census.  Did father and son leave Illinois for Kansas, and eventually volunteer for the Kansas Light Artillery?

Intriguing. Another layer to this tale. I’d like to follow up, even though it leads me away from the questions I was seeking to answer when I launched this search a few months ago. Recall that I was looking to identify George’s parents, and/or to locate his grave. To do that, I need to follow up on the discovery of a Widows Pension Certificate for William Baldwin (WC72673), filed on behalf of Mary Ann Baldwin (nee’ Mathews), George’s sister.  If I follow the sister, perhaps I’ll find the brother . . . .

Emeline . . .

First, a quick summary.  .  . Last week’s discovery of the Widow’s Pension File (WC 102860) for George J. Mathews revealed that two women, Emeline Watt and Charlotte Shuler, filed pension applications (121912 and 10738) seeking federal compensation as his widow. Additionally, George J.  and Charlotte’s son, George W. Mathews, filed a pension application (268656) which was abandoned due to a lack of records adequately proving his paternity. Compensation was awarded to Emeline and two of her children, Mary and Amanda. There is no record of what became of Charlotte’s application, only that she did not receive a pension award.

I spent part of the week searching for a quick answer to my basic research questions. No luck. The file mentions nothing of his grave, or parents; although, I suspect he is buried at Ft. Leavenworth. Can’t prove it yet, can’t disprove it either. Nevertheless, let us consider the contents of the file in greater detail.

A copy of Emeline’s marriage certificate is in the file and declares that she was married to George J. on 24 December 1845 in DeWitt County, Illinois. 

Supporting documents appended to her application clarify George J.’s  full name, his actual death date; amend Emeline’s pension claim to add a second child, and collect back pension from the date of George J.’s death (18 May 1862); and include statements from her sister, Elizabeth, regarding her presence at the birth of Amanda Mathews.

Using this information, I searched for Emeline Mathews on Ancestry.com, hoping to confirm her statements, and got immediate results. The 1850 US Federal census documents George and Emeline living in DeWitt County, Illinois with children Albert and Sarah.

Sarah is mentioned as a daughter in the widow’s pension. I looked further, this time at the 1860 census, hoping to find them in Kansas. Here, the story takes a strange twist.

The 1860 census lists “Emelia Matthews” living in DeWitt County, Illinois along with children Sarah, Mary, Amanda, and Lewis Matthews. No George or Albert. Mary and Amanda are mentioned as daughters multiple times in the widow’s pension. However, most strangely, the census records Emelia’s marital status as, “widow.” You’ll recall that George died in 1862. What does that mean?  What could it mean?

The second half of the file contains an application for pension filed by attorney Thomas H. Kennedy of Kansas City on behalf of the son of George and Charlotte, George W. Mathews. The claim would ultimately be abandoned. Still, he did have his aunt, and sister of George J., Mary Baldwin (nee’ Mathews), and her daughter Martha McKinster (nee’ Baldwin), state that they knew George and Charlotte Mathews, and were present at George W.’s birth. They also stated that George J.  Mathews was not previously married, which fully contradicts Emeline’s and all of her witnesses’ claims.

 

Somebody was lying, or terribly misinformed. Attorney Kennedy’s notes make reference to, “a certified copy of soldier divorce from Emeline,” as well as, “Divorce former wife Emeline,” and finally, “. . . Attys. Divorce from Emeline W.” So it seems that they had sworn affidavits stating that George J. was never married, while at the same time they were seeking documentation of a divorce from Emeline. The file contains no documentation of a divorce between Emeline and George J. Mathews. 

Among the questions bouncing around in my head . . . . Did George abandon his family sometime after 1850, and head west from Illinois to Kansas?  Did George and Emeline divorce, or was that a plot by George W.’s attorney to help him win his pension claim? Did Emeline truly believe she was a widow in 1860, or did she only claim to be a widow for some reason? Was Emeline’s pension claiming a case of mistaken identity? Was her husband, George J. Mathews, different from the George J. Mathews that Charlotte Shuler claimed as her husband, and as her son’s father? Was my great, great, great grandfather guilty of polygamy? Did Emeline commit fraud?