Summer Notes

Wading into the genealogy again. Made two nice discoveries this summer.

First, I was contacted by 2nd cousin Daniel Mathews. He was searching for his brothers: Jay, Michael (deceased), and David. While I couldn't find these people, I did make contact with a Scott Mathews. This is the same Scott Mathews noted in the blog entry of March 30, 2016. He and Daniel are half-siblings. It took a few weeks, but eventually they spoke on the phone for the first time ever.

Elizabeth Ruby Obit

Via the Versailles Republican Newspaper of 1888 and the generosity of fellow genealogists, I obtained the obituary of my 4th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Ruby. Like most obituaries, this one provided a lot of specific and new information. A transcription of the obituary follows:

Elizabeth Ruby was born in Virginia, Sept 6th 1809 and departed this   life April 4th 1888, aged 78 years, 6 months, and 29 days. She came to Indiana with her parents and settled in Ripley county in early childhood. She was married to John McKittrick in 1826 (whose wife had died, leaving him with two little daughters, Margaret and Isabelle, the latter dying a few years ago) who preceded her to the better world 21 years ago. To them were born ten children, eight sons and two daughters. She also took into her family and raised as her own child, May McKittrick, who had been left an orphan at the age of seven years. Four of her sons enlisted in the Union Army, in the late civil war, one of whom, Morrison Ludlow, laid down his life at the battle of Stone River, in defense of his country, Feb. 12, 1863, and another, Robert, was wounded. She united with the M.E. church in early life at what was then known as the Kincain school house, afterward removing her membership to the Green Chapel M.E. Church, Dillsboro Circuit, and has lived a faithful consistent Christian life. She was not demonstrative in her Christian experience. She loved her church and let her life, rather than words, speak out her religion. In the midst of her trials, the loss of husband, son, and stepdaughter, she bore with Christian patience and fortitude. She died as she had lived, leaving as a heritage to her children the fact that she was not dead, but sweetly sleeping in Jesus. She leaves seven sons, two daughters, a step-daughter, a number of grandchildren, and a host of friends and relatives to mourn their loss.

A lot of information, indeed.

I've plans to travel to central Missouri this year to research the Daniels, Thomas, Johnson, Griffiths, Morgan, and Jones family branches. Will need to sharply focus the research to maximize my limited time.

A Trip to the Library

Made a trip to the Denver Public Library while on vacation. Spent several hours searching microfilm for obituaries and found several. Also discovered that the Denver newspapers had few obituaries prior to about 1925. They seem to be a regular news feature after that date.

Among the most detailed obituary was that of Arthur J. Snow, my second great uncle. His obituary is from the 18 October 1927 edition of the Denver Post and gives the name of his surviving wife Katherine, his sons John, Wendell, and Robert, and daughter Hazel. The obituary goes on to explain that his sister, Dorothea died just one month earlier, and that his parents, Christian and Mary Snow, came to Denver in 1880.

Another happy discovery came from the obituary of a great great grandfather, George W. Mathews. One of the great values of obituaries is that survivors are named, and his includes all of his surviving sons and daughters. The happy discovery was a daughter survivor named Mrs. Lyle Gardner. I hadn't hear this name previously, but suspected that Lyle Gardner was the husband of my great aunt Flora. A conversation with her family's informant confirmed my suspicion. Several searches for Flora Gardner provided enough information to document her death and burial location.

George Jefferson Mathews (1823-1862)

Miscellaneous Notes:

• My search for the ancestry of George Jefferson Mathews continues. I read in an online blog that sometimes children were given middle names that matched their mother's maiden names. I'll be giving that a try. 
• Also, with regards to dear George. I reviewed his widow's pension file recently and found that two affidavits therein claim that he was from Virginia instead of Meigs County, Ohio. I've suspected that his ancestors were Virginians given the proximity of Meigs county to Virginia. Another search avenue . . . .
• Finally, via the now defunct Genealogy.com forums I discovered a 2nd cousin who is searching for family information. Scott Mathews is the son of Lyman Mathews, direct descendants of the above mentioned, often searched but always elusive, George Jefferson Mathews. Alas, my efforts to contact Scott have, up to now, been fruitless.

Local Discoveries . . . . .

Tracking the Alabamans remains fruitless. Just can't find them anytime before 1880, but discovering relatives who lived in Sheridan in the early and mid-1900s has provided some exciting moments.

First, the Kelso family. William Bell Kelso, a Forest Ranger, came to Sheridan about 1933. He lived here just two years, but his son, Robert, and his family lived here into the 1960s. Robert worked for Conoco Oil and is buried in Sheridan Municipal Cemetery. The Wyoming Room at the Sheridan County Library had obituaries for Robert and his wife Mildred.

The Kelso's are first and second cousins descended from Charlotte Shuler and her second husband Robert Sylvester Kelso. Charlotte's first husband, George Mathews, is my third great grandfather. Currently, the Sheridan County phone book lists one Kelso. At this time, it is unknown if they are descended from these same Kelso's.

Second, the Daniels family. My third great uncle Richard Daniels moved his family to Sheridan, Wyoming from Missouri about 1905. Coal mining was an important part of the central Missouri economy, as it was in Sheridan County, Wyoming. Richard worked in the mines around Dietz coal camp before succumbing to pneumonia in 1908.

Richard's daughter Nettie made the Sheridan papers, but for all the wrong reasons. Richard's wife and other daughter's continued to live in the area before moving on to Washington. As with the Kelso family, I'm not sure if any of them remain in the area today.

The county library has a lot of information on area coal mining. I'll be checking sources over the next few months. Hopefully, there will be more to discover.

Snippets, Bullets, and Notes . . .

Chasing the Alabaman's has produced one roadblock after another. I remain undeterred, though. In the process of researching, I've made a few other discoveries.

• Photograph of Matilda "Minnie" Penzkofer. She's a relative by marriage to Great Grandfather Robert McKittrick.

  

  Minnie Penzkofer

Job Application for Robert McKittrick, 1913.

• Speaking of Robert McKittrick. I've located a job application for him for the Northern Pacific Railway. He applied for a switchman position in Billings, Montana in May 1913. He records his marital status as "Married". Interesting because his first wife, Minnie, died in 1911; yet, on the application he shows his wife as "Meltie" McKittrick residing in Alberta, Canada. In the same year, his second wife, Mamie, is still using the name Skidmore (her first husband) in the Denver City Directory. More to follow . . .