52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: (re)Discovering a Historical Document

Week 7 – Historical Documents: Which historical document in your possession are you happy to have? How did  you acquire this item?  What does it reveal about your ancestors?  This challenge runs from Sunday, February 12, 2012 through Saturday, February 18, 2012 was created by Amy Coffin.

When my grandmother, Marion Evans Dakin died in 1974, we were cleaning out her house and one of the things I found in her desk was a packet of letters all tied together.  They were addressed to Eric Helsten.  Eric immigrated to the US in 1845 and died in 1903.  These are the letters he received over those years.  I wrote about them in last week's "52 Weeks" post, A Surprise Gift of an Old Ring.

This packet of letters is the discovery that keeps on giving -- a nice re-discovery.  When I first read them, I knew nothing about Eric's family.  Over the years, more pieces of the Hellsten/Helsten family story has become revealed through researching the family and having more letters translated.  Also, now as I reread the letters, I know so much more so pieces of the stories are coming together in interesting ways.

As I research details and put the pieces together with the information found in the letters, each of Eric's dozen siblings and his mother have taken on personalities.  There are children, nieces and nephews you'd be proud of and then there's the family soap opera.  There are the siblings who did well financially, and those who ended up in bankruptcy.  There were no phone calls, locally or internationally in the 1800s; no airmail to speed the letters across the Atlantic.  So the letters were everything that Eric knew about what was happening back home.  Clearly his siblings loved letters from Eric and shared any news with each other.

These are a treasure chest of information.  What I lack are Eric's replies.  I can guess at some of what he wrote when someone's letter starts by telling him the date that his letter(s) arrived or thanking him for a gold coin he sent.  If I were to find a living descendant of one of his siblings, maybe some of Eric's letters would be found.  However, I did correspond with a grandchild of one of Eric's brothers; she didn't have any letters and was thrilled to copies of the letters her grandfather wrote long before she was born.  She passed away in 1990 and I don't have any other known living relatives in Sweden now.

Here is the URL for this post.        
©2012, Erica Dakin Voolich

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: A Surprise Gift of an Old Ring

Week 6 – Family Heirlooms: For which family heirloom are you most thankful? How did you acquire this treasure and what does it mean to you and your family?

This challenge runs from Sunday, February 5, 2012 through Saturday, February 11, 2012 was created by Amy Coffin.

When I was getting married, my grandmother said to me, do you like "old rings?"  She offered me a couple of old family rings for us to use as our wedding rings.

When I took my ring to a jeweler to resize, he commented, "this isn't an American ring, it is old and the alloy is different, probably European."  Well, my grandmother had told me it came from her grandfather, Eric Helsten (1822 - 1903).  I thought, well, he came from Sweden.  Maybe he was married there.  [Little did I know then that he married another immigrant; but she wasn't from Sweden, she was from Ireland.]

Years later, I was cleaning out my grandmother's house after she died in 1974.  In the back of a desk drawer was a packet of letters tied together in a bundle.  They were written in Swedish.  I didn't read any Swedish, but I saved them.  I have become the "family historian" and so anything that might relate to family history ends up at my house.

Fast forward another 10 years, I am teaching school and one of my colleagues is Swedish.  She was intrigued that I had a bunch of old letters from Sweden.   We started reading the letters -- she read and I scribed.  We translated about half of them.

The letters were interesting.  All of his twelve siblings and his mother had distinct personalities.  When my friend went to Sweden over Christmas, she wrote to the Uppsala office where vital records are kept.  We hoped that we might find a descendant of one of Eric's siblings -- and we did.  [That's another story for another time].

One surprise I discovered reading the letters -- after Eric's mother died in 1863, his siblings write to tell Eric that they are dividing the estate and they want him to have his mother's gold ring!  His parents, Lovisa Charlotta ROBERT and Eric HELLSTEN, were married in 1815.

I wear my GGG'grandmother's ring as my own wedding ring.  I an honored to have my family history with me all the time.

Here is the URL for this blog.

© Erica Dakin Voolich, 2012

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Esther DeLoss, from a family trying to be "Lost"?

The fifth week challenge:  Life experiences:  Sometimes the challenges in life provide the best learning experiences.  Can you find an example of this in your own family tree?  Which brick wall ancestor are you most thankful for, and how did that person shape your family history experience?

For years I've been stuck on Esther DeLoss, my GGG'grandmother.  I knew she was married to Nathan COBB.  The COBBs are one of those families who many folks have researched back to Henry COBB who came to Plymouth Colony in 1632.  

I had this nagging question, who was Esther?  Family trees online have incorrect information for her.  I have looked for obituaries and a death certificate for years.  In her son-in-law's scrapbook was a news clipping:  "COBB--At Oak Park, January 25, Mrs Nathan Cobb, aged 83 years.  Mother of Mrs. R. S. Worthington. 

Funeral services at 8 a.m. at residence.  Burial at Rosehill"  Handwritten on it is "1889."

Years later I found:

"Mrs Nathan Cobb, the venerable mother of Mrs R. S. Worthington, died last Friday, and was buried in Forest Home Cemetery on Sunday."

Oak Park Reporter, 1 February 1889.

For starters, was she buried in Rosehill or Forest Home Cemetery?  I found her at Rosehill along with her husband and his brothers' families even though the newspaper coverage of his death said he was buried in Oakhill.

The State of Illinois has no death certificate for her and her daughter said they came from Rome NY to Chicago after she was born.  Luckily the cemetery had birth and death information for her:

born 31 August 1805, died 26 January 1889.  Finding her, and visiting the cemetery was a breakthrough as to dates.  Her daughter's death certificate gives her mother's name as Esther DeLoss born in an unknown city in New York.

I continued looking in NY state for a DeLOSS family without much luck.  Then I decided that maybe I should see what I could find out about a Louis Homri DeLoss whose obituary was also in Esther's son-in-law's scrapbook.  Maybe, just maybe they were related, afterall, DeLoss didn't seem to be a very common name in my searches.  

I transcribed the obituary for this beloved preacher who died in Iowa in 1865, twenty-four years before Esther.  Louis was born four years before Esther (at least in that obituary), so maybe they were siblings.  I learned that "In his preparation for the ministry, Mr DeLoss was subjected to the obstacles and hindrances known only to the poor, but his energy and perserverance  he was successful."

I contacted historical societies in NY state in the neighborhood of Rome NY where she was supposedly from.  No hits.  Then I contacted Hamilton College's archive -- according to  his obituary, Louis graduated from their seminary.  Maybe there were some records.  The wonderful archivist said he didn't have any record of anyone by that name graduating from Hamilton, BUT [drumroll ...] there was a Louis Homri LOSS who graduated!  Same first and middle name, slight addition to last name!

Once I searched for him, I found an obituary in a Presbyterian Almanac which said:  "LOSS, LEWIS HOMRI -- The son of Samuel and Esther Loss was born in Augusta, Oneida County, New York, July 1, 1803."  This gives a different year of birth, but also gives us parents and place!

Now I started searching for LOSS, instead of DeLOSS.  There are a few folks named LOSS and as a result I have connected with another researcher looking for the LOSS family in NY state -- I answered her post on Rootsweb many years after she originally posted it and I am the only person who responded directed to her post!  

It looks like they are siblings (not proved, but working on it), and it seems that their father was called Samuel Loss sometimes and other times was Samuel DeLoss, while none of his siblings changed their names -- their were always called Loss.  

I telephoned the elder widow of one of Louis Homri DeLoss's great grandchildren and she said she has traced her side of the family, but after no success on her husband's they decided that "they wanted to be lost!"  

What I have learned is the probable actual birth name of Elnora Esther DeLoss, and that there are wonderful folks out there who patiently answer questions by researchers like me and are willing to join in the hunt.  I now have found a co-conspirator to share questions, finds, and hopefully some clue as to why LOSS became DeLOSS in an effort to become LOST!

  

A Wonderful Discovery in the Concord Library

While in Concord MA to find my 6 G'grandfather's tombstone, I spent the morning in the special collections at the Concord Public Library with another DAKIN family researcher.  The Librarian was very helpful even though they didn't have early Concord First Church records in the Library as we had hoped.

We did find one gem from Rhode Island vital records:

"Vol. VII from private record of Rev. Stephen Gano, M.D., pastor of 1st Baptist Church in Providence
Paul Dakin & Lucy Gifford m. 23 Nov. 1786"

This was in the folder with genealogical notes by an unnamed researcher, donated by Mrs.H. B. Yamagata of Lakewood NJ.  She is the person who published Albert Dakin's book on the DAKIN family after the author died.

Now, this was surprising since the marriage date for them was known, it is in Albert Dakin's book, Descendants of THOMAS DAKIN of Concord Mass. (1948) but no place was given in the book.  Others have published they were married in Hudson NY where they raised their family.  Well, now we know they were married in Rhode Island by a Baptish pastor, six years after Paul have been disowned by the Quakers in the Oblong which I wrote about in this blog.

As one question is answered, another one is raised:  who were her parents?
Were they John GIFFORD and Lucianna HATCH as had been presumed but not proven?
How did Paul and Lucy end up getting married in Rhode Island?  The potential parents of Lucy were from Sandwich and Falmouth MA.  Paul was born in Pawling NY.

I need to see if I can get a copy of this record from Rhode Island Vital Records.  It  might contain some clues!

Tombstone Tuesday: Simon DAKIN

Buried in Main St Burial Ground, Concord MA is my 6G'grandfather Simon Dakin.

It was so bright that it was actually easier to read with a shadow on it even though it make it look like it had legs!

 Here LIES BURIED
Ye BODY OF
Mr SIMON DAKIN
WHO DEPARTED
THIS LIFE
JANUARY Ye 11th
1739 IN Ye 76
YEAR OF HIS AGE

Simon DAKIN was born in Concord in 1663, son of Thomas DAKIN who was one of the persons who had first division lands.  He did not live in Concord his whole life, he went with others from Boston to South Carolina in December 1695.  They found a settlement originally called Newington and then re-named Dorchester (after Dorchester MA).  The settlement was not a success and Simon returned to Concord around 1700 to 1702.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Week 1: My favorite Genealogy Blog, Geneamusings

Geneabloggers have been challenged to 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, as a way to share the gems of resources we have found in our own research.  This week's request is for information about the genealogy blog that are we most thankful-- is it an early blog? or a current blog? why should others read this blog?

I am a relative newbee to genealogy blogs.  I had been reading other kinds of blogs, but genealogy ones weren't on my radar.  Last year, I found the Geneabloggers website and thought I should post a blog I had started in an effort to find one of my mystery women, Ursula WRIGHT.  I started that blog with the idea that maybe, just maybe someone else was looking for her, would see my blog and contact me.  Then I got to thinking I could write a more geneal blog also after reading others.

I read a bunch of genealogy blogs now by wonderful authors.  Some I read daily.  I love checking to see who has posted to G+ their latest blog posting.

I always read Randy Seaver's Geneamusings.  I find his daily posts interesting and covering a wide range of topics.  I've found ancestors in his Surname Saturday postings, interesting links to other blogs in his weekly review of other blogs, felt challenged by his Saturday Night Challenge (even if I don't always do it), enjoyed his "not so wordless Wordless postings," learned about webinars to help educate me, and learned about Geneabloggers radio which has become part of my Friday night entertainment.   His blog is always a wealth of information.

My Belated Thanksgiving Post: My Mayflower Ancestors

Numerous bloggers have posted their Mayflower lines in celebration of Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, I was a bit busy right then and didn't have the time to blog.  So, I'm starting now to add my lines to the conversations.

Note:  The top of the line of descent is underlined and the passengers on the Mayflower are in Italics.

As you will probably notice lots of somewhat distant relatives married.

1. William Bradford and Alice Carpenter
William Bradford and Alice Richards
Hannah Bradford and Joshua Ripley
Faith Ripley and Samuel Bingham
Jerusha Bingham and Benjamin Robinson
Irene Robinson and John Blodgett
Luke Blodgett and Sarah Bangs
Laben Blodgett and Rebecca Blodgett
Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett and Charles Copeland
Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey
Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

2. Isaac Allerton and Mary Norris
Mary Allerton and Thomas Cushman
Isaac Cushman and Rebecca Harlow
Icabod Cushman and Patience Holmes
Sarah Cushman and Daniel Vaughan
Jabez Vaughan and Lois Soule
Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb
Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss
Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington
Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson
Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

3. Myles Standish and Barbara [Unknown]
Alexander Standish and Sarah Alden
Lydia Standish and Isaac Samson
Isaac Samson and Sarah Barlow
Uriah Samson and Ann White
Hannah Samson and John Reed
Hannah Reed and Jonathan Copeland
Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett
Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

4. Myles Standish and Barbara [Unknown]

Alexander Standish and Sarah Alden

Sarah Standish and Benjamin Soule

Zachariah Soule and Mary Eaton

Jabez Vaughan and Lois Soule

Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

5. William Mullins and Alice (Unknown)

Priscilla Mullins and John Alden

Joseph Alden and Mary Simmons

Joseph Alden and Hannah Dunham

Daniel Alden and Abigail Shaw

Hannah Alden and Joshua Blodgett

Benjamin Blodgett and Mary Berngs Riddle

Rebecca Blodgett and Laben Blodgett 

Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett and Charles Copeland

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

6. William Mullins and Alice (Unknown)

Priscilla Mullins and John Alden

Sarah Alden and Alexander Standish

Lydia Standish and Isaac Samson

Isaac Samson and Sarah Barlow

Uriah Samson and Ann White

Hannah Samson and John Reed

Hannah Reed and Jonathan Copeland 

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

7. William Mullins and Alice (Unknown)

Priscilla Mullins and John Alden

Sarah Alden and Alexander Standish

Sarah Standish and Benjamin Soule

Zachariah Soule and Mary Eaton

Lois Soule and Jabez Vaughan

Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

8. William Mullins and Alice (Unknown)

Priscilla Mullins and John Alden

Ruth Alden and John Bass

Mary Bass and William Copeland

Jonathan Copeland and Betty Snell

Jonathan Copeland and Mehitable Dunbar

Jonathan Copeland and Deborah Otis

Jonathan Copeland and Hannah Reed

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

9. William White and Susanna Fuller

Peregrine White and Sarah Bassett

Daniel White and Hannah Hunt

Benjamin White and Ann Bicknell

Ann White and Uriah Samson

Hannah Samson and John Reed

Hannah Reed and Jonathan Copeland 

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

10.  Richard Warren and Elizabeth March

Elizabeth Warren and Richard Church

Abigail Church and Samuel Thaxter

Sarah Thaxter and Peter Dunbar

Samuel Dunbar and Melatiah Hayward

Mehitable Dunbar and Jonathan Copeland

Jonathan Copeland and Deborah Otis

Jonathan Copeland and Hannah Reed

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

11. Francis Cooke and Hester Mahieu

Jane Cooke and Experience Mitchell

Sarah Mitchell and John Hayward

Joseph Hayward and Mehitable Dunham

Melatiah Dunham and Samuel Dunbar

Mehitable Dunbar and Jonathan Copeland

Jonathan Copeland and Deborah Otis

Jonathan Copeland and Hannah Reed

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

12.  Francis Cooke and Hester Mahieu

Mary Cooke and John Thompson (Tomson)

Esther Thompson and William Read

William Read and Alice Nash

Solomon Reed and Abigail Stoughton

John Reed and Hannah Samson

Hannah Reed and Jonathan Copeland 

Charles Copeland and Hannah Elizabeth Blodgett

Alice Copeland and Joseph Elliot Harvey

Adelaide Copeland Harvey and Robert Worthington Richardson [my grandparents]

13. Francis Eaton and Christian Penn

Benjamin Eaton and Sarah Hoskins

Benjamin Eaton and Mary Coombs

Mary Eaton and Zachariah Soule

Lois Soule and Jabez Vaughan

Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

14. George Soule and Mary Buckett

John Soule and Rebekah Simon

Benjamin Soule and Sarah Standish

Zachariah Soule and Mary Eaton

Jabez Vaughan and Lois Soule

Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

15. Stephens Hopkins and Mary (Unknown)

Constance Hopkins and Nicholas Snow

Rebecca Snow and Samuel Rickard

Samuel Rickard and Rachel Whiton

Lemuel Rickard and Persis Harlow

Mehitable Rickard and Nehemiah Cobb

Nehemiah Cobb and Lois Vaughan

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

16. Degory Priest and Sarah Allerton

Sarah Priest and John Coombs

John Coombs and Elizabeth Barlow

Mary Coombs and Benjamin Eaton

Mary Eaton and Zachariah Soule

Lois Soule and Jabez Vaughan

Lois Vaughan and Nehemiah Cobb

Nathan Cobb and Elnora Esther DeLoss

Esther Elnora Cobb and Robert Searing Worthington

Martha Elnora Worthington and Harry Bogart Richardson

Robert Worthington Richardson and Adelaide Copeland Harvey [my grandparents]

My Quilt/family history book published using Lulu.com

In the past month or two, genealogists have posted on G+ about their experiences with online publishing. A couple of times people asked about Lulu.com.  I said I didn't want to say anything until after Christmas.

Well, now that it has passed Christmas and so I can share what I wrote over the past few months as my present for my children and siblings and a some Dakin cousins: Quilts in our Family.  I documented the family quilts, most done by "Mother Dakin."  I photographed all of the quilts I could locate.  I wrote about Mary Alice Smith Dakin (Mother Dakin) who was born in Kent CT in 1855 and died just over the town line in Gaylordsville CT in 1931.  I included information on the Richardsons who used those family quilts and then I told the story behind each of my family quilts.

As a bonus, when researching Mary Alice Smith and her husband Edward Dakin, I found another DAKIN cousin and her sister -- such a bonus!!  I wrote about that in another post on this blog:  A fortuitous post found in spam


I found Lulu.com a wonderful choice to use to self-publish.  If you want the services of a publisher, you pay for them.  If you're on a budget, you can "do it yourself" with help from their techs who patiently answer questions via e-mail once you actually start the project.  They are a print on-demand company with a quick turn around on the delivery of the order.  They will print a run of one book to an order of thousands.  You do not need to buy large numbers upfront.  I chose to order a few books to use as gifts.  I made it available publically, just in case another DAKIN cousin emerges in the future and wants a copy.

I would recommend that if you were going to self-publish with Lulu.com, to download the format for the book before you start writing so you work in the format rather than adapt your already existing manuscript to their formats.

The Massachusetts Genealogical Conference's Call for Speakers

Here is a copy of the MGC's press release.  If you're an expert in any of these countries, consider talking.

The Massachusetts Genealogical Council (MGC) is excitedly preparing for our upcoming 21 July 2012 Seminar. A Call for Papers has been issued for speakers and presenters on the theme of  "Ethnicity and Genealogy." If you are or know of an expert in French-Canadian, Italian, Irish, Polish, Jewish, Scandinavian or any other ethnic group found in the area, WE WANT YOU! Whether it be migration routes, religious affiliations, methodology, record groups, or cultural implications, we are looking for a wide variety of topics . Follow the link below to see details on the MGC website.

SEE DETAILED CALL FOR PAPERS HERE: http://tinyurl.com/7e2lmmg

We look forward to seeing you all in July!

Kind Regards,
Mary Tedesco and Phil Hermann
Program Co-Directors, MGC
program@massgencouncil.org

Ancestors GeneaMeme

As part of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, he suggested we participate in the Ancestors GeneaMeme created by Jill Ball on the Geniaus blog.

Here are the directions:

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item 

Which of these apply to you?

1.  Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents [Robert DAKIN, Hannah Maria COLBY, Stephen SMITH, Abigail JENNINGS, Charles EVANS, Hannah Elizabeth RADFORD, Eric HELSTEN, Mary HEARTY, William RICHARDSON, Mary AC BOGART, Robert Searing WORTHINGTON, Elnora Esther COBB, Enoch Dole HARVEY, Mary Hubbard NYE, Charles COPELAND, Hannah Elizabeth BLODGETT.]

2.  Can name over 50 direct ancestors

3.  Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents [7, not 8; unfortunately, no one seems to have a picture of Joseph E HARVEY; I checked with various distant relatives who might have HARVEY pictures with no success.]
4.  Have an ancestor who was married more than three times [Dennison WORTHINGTON buried three wives, but I don't think he tried a forth time.  I don't know of anyone else who had more than three.  Will keep my eyes open!]
5.  Have an ancestor who was a bigamist [not to my knowledge, we did discover a family "friend" was a bigamist years ago.]
6.  Met all four of my grandparents [never will happen -- my father's father, Robert Edward DAKIN died when my father was 2 years old in 1918.]
7.  Met one or more of my great-grandparents [all died before I was born, however, my great grand daughter can answer this question yes!]
8.  Named a child after an ancestor 
9.  Bear an ancestor's given name/s [only by accident.  My mother thought no one in the family had the name, when told my name, my grandmother announced "you named her after my grandfather Eric HELSTEN!  Thank you!"  Years later, doing family history, I discovered Eric had a sister Erica.]
10.  Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland 
11.  Have an ancestor from Asia [not to  my knowledge]
12.  Have an ancestor from Continental Europe 
13.  Have an ancestor from Africa [not to my knowledge]
14.  Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer [lots of farmers in the old censuses]
15.  Have an ancestor who had large land holdings [not to my knowledge, unless those "royality in everyone's background" counts]
16.  Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi [Rev John REED 1751-1831) and his father Rev Solomon REED (1719-1785), I think there might be more but I don't remember who they were.]
17.  Have an ancestor who was a midwife [not to my knowledge]
18.  Have an ancestor who was an author [after my father died, I discovered he wrote an article: "The Effect of Penicillin on  the Development of the the Primary Lesion of Syphilis" in VENEREAL  DISEASE INFORMATION (December 1944).  In 1895, my GGgrandfather Eric HELSTEN saved a man from drowning and wrote and sold a pamphlet on his method.  I've written weaving and math books, but I'm not my own ancestor!]
19.  Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones [my G grandmother was Mary Alice SMITH (1855-1931) and I have her line traced back into the 1600s in Connecticut:  Stephen SMITH, Aaron SMITH, Peabody SMITH, Stephen SMITH, Stephen SMITH, John SMITH.], [I have Mary JONES (b. 1698) possible line: Isaac JONES, Wm JONES]
20.  Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng 
21.  Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X 
22.  Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z [Zachariah SOULE (1694-1751), Zachary BICKNELL (abt 1590-abt 1637) 
23.  Have an ancestor born on 25th December [I have a cousin born on 25 December 1983] 
24.  Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day [Thomas DAKIN's 1st wife, Susanna SLATER, not a direct descendant.]  
25.  Have blue blood in your family lines [supposedly if Royal Descendants book is right]
26.  Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth [my husband can claim this, not me.]
27.  Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth [my husband can claim this, but not me; my most recent immigrants were GG grandparents, Eric HELSTEN from Sweden and his wife Mary HEARTY from Ireland.] 
28.  Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century [numerous direct lines]
29.  Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier [numerous direct lines] 
30.  Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents [Edward DAKIN, Mary Alice Smith DAKIN, Charles Harold EVANS, Harry Bogart RICHARDSON]
31.  Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X [probably true, not seen  yet.]
32.  Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university [after watching a canal for the hydroelectric power plant being dug thru their family farm, he grew up and went to university and became a civil engineer and supervised the addition to the plant which brought electricity to his neighborhood; when he died young, his wife went to school to become first extension nutritionist for the state of Connecticut:  Robert DAKIN and Marion Evans DAKIN.  I suspect he paid for college with the money they got from the sale of part of their farm to the power company.] 
33.  Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence [probably, but not to my knowledge]
34.  Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime [probably, but not to my knowledge]
35.  Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine [see my blogs, this one and Will the real Ursula Wright please stand up.
36.  Have published a family history online or in print [part of my family tree is on Ancestry.com]
37.  Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries [my mother grew up in the house built for her grandmother as a wedding gift by her father who built the house next door.  They were married in 1889.  For my mother's 80th birthday, we had a family portrait taken in the photography studio that is located there now] 
38.  Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family 
39.  Have a family bible from the 19th Century [1806, it includes listing of births in late 1700s.]
40.  Have a pre-19th century family bible

GeneaMeme

Amanuensis Monday: Paul Dakin's Disownment in 1780

I have written about Edward DAKIN (1836 Hudson NY - 1914 Gaylordsville CT) and his son Robert Edward DAKIN.  We have many unanswered questions about Edward and going back to his parents and grandparents might lead to clues.  So today, I want to mention Paul DAKIN, Edward's grandfather.

Paul Dakin (1761 in Pawling NY - 1829 in Hudson NY) was the son of Timothy Dakin and Lydia Fish.  Timothy had moved as a child from Concord MA to the Quaker community in Oblong NY and Lydia had likewise moved from Dartmouth MA to Oblong.  Timothy and Lydia raised their twelve children as part of Oblong Monthly Meeting.

In searching the list of Quaker records online in the James Hazard index for the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College, I found two references to Paul Dakin, his birth and his disownment.  So I sent for the records.  The xerox of the microfilm of the disownment was not completely readable, so I ordered a scan of the original documents.  I can not reproduce the scan here since it is for personal use only.  But, I will provide the transcription.  I couldn't read a couple of words, and a wonderful person at the library, Patricia Chapin O'Donnell translated them for me.

Oblong Monthly Meeting Men’s Minutes 1757 -1781, Box NY - 105 Page 519 Paul Dakin Acknowledgement, 18th day 10th month 1780

The acknowledgements of Paul Dakin Ferris Doly Daniel Akin & James Akin Condeming their going to frollicks and Places of Diversion Is Left for the Consideration of Next M^o Meeting

______________________________________________________________________

Oblong Monthly Meeting Men’s Minutes 1781 - 1788 Box NY - 105 pages 50, 51, Paul Dakin Disowned, 15th day 11th month 1780

 One of the Friends appointed on Paul Dakins account Report that he has answered his appointment and as there to Nothing appears to alter Conclusion of Last Meeting Concerning him there after Due Consideration this Meeting Doth Testifie against his Mis Conduct and Disownes him from Being any Longer a Member of our Society untill he by his Conduct Manifest Sincere Repentance and amendment of Life and Make Satisfaction to this Meeting which that he may to own Desire and Testification being prepared against him was Read approved and Signed and the following Friends are appointed to give him a copy of his Denial if he Desires it and acquaint him of his Rite to an appeal and if he Shews No Intention of appealing Read it at the Close of a first Day Meeting at at Oblong and Report at Next Meeting That is Wing  Killey & Benjamin Ferris Jr ------------

As you can tell by reading the documents, he had the option of "reforming his ways" and returning to Meeting.  I have no evidence that Paul ever did that.  I find him ten years later in the 1790 Census, living in Hudson NY.  By 1794 I find him in newspapers articles in Hudson.  By now he is listed as one of the newly elected town Assistants in Hudson NY (15 May 1794, Albany Gazette).  In New England at that time, running for public office would get you disowned from Meeting, so I suspect he was no longer a Quaker.

Another clue on the Whereabouts of Susannah Dole Harvey NYE

I was thinking about that 1860 census listing mentioned in my last post for Tombstone Tuesday and started thinking about:  Who are those people who she is living with in Aurora, Kane County IL?

I tried searching for Justin DODGE.  Was that a grandson of hers?  Was Juliet a granddaughter?  Afterall they came from Vermont and when she was married to Elijah NYE until he died in 1852, they were living in Montpelier VT.

I didn't have much luck on the birth, marriage, death records for Justin DODGE.  So I decided to try the family trees.  Maybe some hints can be found there.  I found a Justus DODGE, not a Justin DODGE who was married to Juliette NYE!  NYE -- that's Susannah NYE's second husband's last name.    Could this be a daughter of Elijah NYE?  According to the Ancestry.com tree of Travis Bennett, her parents were Ellis NYE and Susannah FRENCH.  There children were:  Henry Dodge, Mattie Dodge, and Willie Dodge.  The census has Henry J and Martha.  Willie hadn't been born yet (1864).

Time to check my NYE family history book:  Benjamin NYE of Sandwich, Massachusetts, and His Ancestors and Descendants by George Hyatt Nye and Frank E Best, 1907.
I found Juliette NYE, daughter of Ellis NYE from Montpelier VT.  Montpelier VT is where Susannah and Elijah NYE lived on his farm until he died in 1852.
According to Nye and Best, she married Justus  DODGE and had three children:  Henry, Mattie and Julia.

Sounds like the same DODGE family.  Now, was Juliette related to Elijah?  Two NYE families in Montpelier around the same time?
According to Nye and Best:
Juliet - Ellis - Iram - Benjamin - Benjamin - John - Benjamin
Elijah - Melatiah - Ebenezer - Caleb - Benjamin
So Juliet and Elijah were third cousins twice removed.

Susannah was living with her second husband's third cousin twice removed!

Now, if only there was someone named who she lived with between 1810 and 1850 censuses we might have something to go on.  But, she is in the 1850 census and her husband (and unnamed family) are in the 1820 census ... just not between.

Tombstone Tuesday: A partial answer to a family mystery found in Lake Mills!

What happened to Susanah DOLE HARVEY after her husband left for Canada "not to return until he could pay his debts" when she was left with at least 2 young children?  Joseph HARVEY never did return supposedly to die in Canada in the War of 1812.  The story of her husband is the topic of another (or many) posts since it is more complicated.

I have found Vermont records for the birth of two children of Susannah DOLE and Joseph HARVEY.  Enoch Dole HARVEY was born 10 January 1811 and Judith Dole HARVEY was born 11 December 1808.  The family story says that Enoch (my GGG grandfather) was "farmed out" to an old family member who was a Deacon (another story here).  I have not verified where he went because this was before the 1850 census where everyone is listed by name.

So, what do I know about Susannah's location?
• Over the years she told the census takers that she was born in Massachusetts or in New Hampshire.  The town history of Bedford NH mentions her birth there as a child of Deacon Silas DOLE.
• She married Joseph HARVEY on 10 September 1807 (VT vital records).
• The 1801 census for Shrewsbury, Rutland, VT includes the Joseph Harvey family with 1 male between 16 & 25 [Joseph], 1 female between 16 & 25 [Susannah], 2 females under 10 [Judith & ??].  So it fits if this is the correct HARVEY family.
• If Joseph left the family after 1810 and probably before the 1820 census (based on family legend and lack of finding him in the census).
Over the years I don't know what happened to Susannah, for example, the numbers don't fit to find her in her parents' household in the following census and she isn't listed as a head of family.
• The 1850 census for an unknown township in Washington VT lists a farmer, Elijah NYE, the grandfather of Enoch's wife Mary Hubbard NYE, with a wife of Susannah.  The family history says he married Mary HUBBARD and she died in 1838.  So I checked the Vermont records and discovered Elijah NYE married "Mrs HARVEY"  on 24 January 1840. Looks like he remarried.   Could thi "Mrs. Harvey"  be my Susannah DOLE HARVEY?  Looks like she got remarried to the grandfather of her daughter-in-law!
• Elijah NYE died in 1852, so where did Susannah go then?
•There is a Susan NYE, age 78, in Aurora, Kane County, IL born in MA in the 1860 census.  Is this the same Susannah?  Why Aurora?  Her son was in Lake Mills Wisconsin at this time.  I have no idea where her daughter was.  She is living with the Justin and Juliet DODGE family.  Is she a boarder or possibly a grandmother?
• In the 1870 census for Lake Mills WI, Susan NYE is living with her son and his family.  Under occupation "In the family" and she is from Massachusetts.
• Horatio Gates book on the McGeoch-Harvey Descent says she died in Lake Mills WI on 3 April 1871.
I didn't find a death certificate for her in Jefferson County WI.

The above tombstone puts her in the HARVEY family plot.  Susannah is buried with her granddaughter Isabel Susannah HARVEY and her husband August Henry WEGEMANN.

This tombstone was a wonderful find on my trip to the Lake Mills cemetery on my tour with my Genealogical Hostess from Heaven, Marie Copeland, that I wrote about in my last post.  I confirmed that she made it to Wisconsin and spent the last few years living with her son Enoch HARVEY.  The details about the years in between, are a bit fuzzy and fruit for some more research.  Does it ever end?

The Genealogical Hostess from Heaven in Jefferson WI

I enjoy reading Randy Seaver's blog, Genea-Musings.  After attending the FGS conference in Springfield IL, he has extended his genealogical tour around the midwest.  On day 10, he starts his morning in Jefferson WI and talks about the generosity and help from folks there and in Dodge County.  Reading his blog brought back fond genealogical memories from my own experience in Wisconsin.

I grew up hearing my grandmother say, "I am Adelaide Copeland Harvey Richardson -- Copeland of the Copeland Ryder Shoes."  So years later, when I got to wondering about "Copeland & Ryder Shoes," I googled it.  I discovered there really was a Copeland & Ryder Shoe Company in Jefferson WI for many years and it had been sold to Dr Scholls Shoes in 1946.  In 1868, George COPELAND and Lewis RYDER arrived in Jefferson WI, from Bridgewater MA, with plans to establish a shoe company.  Their business was originally opened as the Jefferson Boot and Shoe Factory.   I was looking for information on the Copeland's of the shoe company and discovered that, yes, they were her relatives.   My grandmother, who was born in 1893 in Lake Mills WI, was a first cousin twice removed from George COPELAND.

In 2002, I checked to see if there was any local historical society that I might find in Jefferson and Lake Mills.

In my search for a local historical society, I got a letter from a local resident which started, "Hi Cousin!"  Marie Copeland had been told by someone at the historical society "to get all the information together and send it to" me since she was also researching the COPELAND family.  Starting in 2002, we sent information back and forth, comparing our own records on the Copeland family.  Our relationship has continued over the years.

As a budding family historian, I needed to verify the data I had on my family and decided to take a genealogical field trip to Wisconsin on my school spring vacation in 2004.  I figured I could check out where the factory was located, maybe identify some pictures, find tombstones and vital records to verify the data I had on the COPELAND and HARVEY families in Lake Mills and Jefferson.   I also wanted to see if I could find where the WORTHINGTONs were buried in Oconomowoc WI.   Marie graciously invited me to stay at her home in Jefferson.  

I flew to Chicago and drove to Jefferson.  Since M.C. wasn't related to either my WORTHINGTON or to my HARVEY family, I figured I'd explore those parts of my family on my own.  My amazing hostess had different plans.

I arrived and she welcomed me as a long-lost relative who has finally come home.  She had prepared for my visit.  When I arrived she gave me a copy of a book on the history of Lake Mills WI, People Their Places & Things by Roland R Liebenow, M.D.  Since there was no index, she had already gone through the whole book with a highlighter and picked out every mention of anyone named Harvey, Brun and Wegemann (other family connections) so we would be prepared for our first day of exploring.

The next morning she put me and her husband into the car and we headed for  Lake Mills.  She had called the cemetery ahead of time,  and had made an appointment to meet someone there to show us where all the HARVEYs were buried.  As we arrived, I commented:  "We didn't stop at a bakery to take something to the nice caretaker who met us" -- no problem, she had planned ahead and took a bottle of wine out of the car trunk to give him.  The next stop was the house my grandmother lived in as a young child (she not only highlighted the book but she checked out the address ahead of time -- this was before those handy GPS machines and Google Maps!).  Here one of the mystery photos I had brought with me was identified!

210 East Madison St, Lake Mills Wisconsin.  My grandmother's first childhood home.

We also visited the local library and the town Clerk's office to see the vital records.

The next field trip for the three of us was to explore Jefferson.  She headed to the cemetery where the COPELANDs are buried and then we did a tour of the various houses in town that the large extended COPELAND family had lived in -- including all those aunts that my grandmother talked of so fondly.  We headed to the vital records office and the town library and then we needed to go home because she had invited her whole family to dinner (her children, their spouses and children).  A wonderful large family dinner -- much larger than any dinner in my experience, I never had any cousins or relatives in the same state in my childhood.  Everyone graciously welcomed me.

The next morning, I got up ready to drive to Oconomowoc to try to find the cemetery where my WORTHINGTON family was buried.  Much to my surprise, Marie, her husband and I made the trip.  It was good she was driving. First of all she knew where Oconomowoc was located and knew the back roads to get there.  Finding the cemetery wasn't easy; and sure enough, she had checked out where to find it.

My Genealogical Hostess from Heaven was definitely a blessing.  I might have stumbled on all the information I gathered on my research trip to Wisconsin without Marie Copeland.  But, I probably wouldn't have done it as efficiently or in three days.  I was a real genealogical newbie at that point and didn't know all the questions to ask or to compile before taking the adventure.  Best of all, I found a wonderful friend/distant family member and we have stayed good friends all these years.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette! Back to Eric HELLSTEN

Randy Seaver challenged us Geneabloggers  with his Saturday Night challenge.  It became a good learning  moment since I usually don't look at Ahnentafel Numbers in relation to my family history since I like a more visual model.

1) So age of my great grandfather (hmmm ... 4 to choose from, but based on my birth name) 2011 - 1836.  My Great Grandfather would be 175 on his next birthday, 3 October, so Edward DAKIN would be 174 now.  Divide it by 4, gives 43.5.

2) Rounded off to 44, I get Eric HELLSTEN.  No my previous posts initially focused on Edward DAKIN,  the postmaster of South Kent CT in 1872.  Then my next group of posts were on Eric Adolf  HELSTEN and his apprentice John CARLSON.  Tombstone Tuesday this week was his father and mother's tombstone:  Eric HELLSTEN and Lovisa Charlotta ROBBERT.  Last Saturday was Surname Saturday and I focused on the HELSTEN/HELLSTEN name.

3)  Eric HELLSTEN, was born 2 March 1786 in Sweden, died 24 March 1839 in Uppsala, Domkyrkoförsamling, Sweden.  On 6 January 1815 in Norrtälje, Stockholm, Sweden he married Lovisa Charlotta ROBBERT.  She was born 21 August 1795 in Norrtälja, Stockholm, Sweden and died 25 November 1863 in Uppsala, Sweden at age 53.  He had thirteen children. When he died, his youngest was 4 months old and the oldest was 24.  I don't have a lot of information on Eric that I haven't already written about.

Death of Eric HELLSTEN, 24 March 1839

in Uppsala, Domkyrkofösamling, Sweden.

4) Three facts about Eric Hellsten:

   i.  Like is father, Jonas, Eric was a tanner.  He had a tannery on the Fyrisån River, maybe the same one his father Jonas HELLSTEN had before him.  

   ii. His oldest son Eric Adolf, was 17 when Eric died.  Eric was apprenticed as a tanner in Sweden before he came to the US.  Could he have been his father's apprentice?

   iii.  I have been unable to find a place of birth for him.  In 1858, his wife Lovisa Charlotta wrote to their son Eric A in Connecticut telling him that another son, Calle, has moved to a place called Stenbro and "they don't live very far from Hellsten's birthplace, but there are no more living relatives of his now."

http://www.maplandia.com/sweden/ostergotlands-lan/norrkoping-kommun/stenbro/
Stenbro on the map

Based on this map, I guess the next time I have access to the Swedish birth records, I should search for Eric's birth record in Norrköping and Nyköping.

1870 Census: Surprise Occupation

Archives.com is having a contest in celebration of their inclusion of the complete US census.  The census is  a great way to get to know more than birth/marriage/death information about your ancestors.

Some years they ask unusual questions, such as: how many children you've given birth to, and how many are alive?  Or do you own a radio?  What is the value of the property?  Or, if you look at agricultural schedules, how much of each crop they're growing.

If you search the census, sometimes you find surprising occupations.  For example, here is my ancestor Beers Radford:

If you look carefully is occupation is "Old man of the house."