Brick Wall Ancestor | #9 Martha McBride {part 2}

We all have them! Those stubborn ancestors that refuse to come out of hiding. No matter how much coaxing we do! Well, I think it's time to bring them out of the shadows - put their redacted story out there - another piece of the puzzle could be lurking just around the (cyber) corner, in someone's basement, or closet, or sitting in a box on a bookshelf ...... You never, ever know where that loose chink will manifest, the one that allows you to push out one brick, then the next. Food for thought. So without further ado....


Brick Wall Ancestor | #9 Martha McBride part 2

In Part 1 I gave you some background on Martha and proposed Wild Theory #1, the Theory of James, that she is the daughter of James McBride Jr and Martha Hill.

Here I will offer Wild Theory #2 and propose she is the daughter of Archibald McBride Jr and (maybe) Jane Newkirk. Thus the Theory of Archibald. Even less evidence exists to support this theory! And, I'm taking the long way around. Bear with me.

Let's look at Archibald. We know there was one Archibald living in Mamakating, Ulster Co, New York in 1790 (3 males under 16, 2 males 16 and over, 4 females any age). Digging deeper unearthed the discovery of a will of one Jane McBride of the town of Montgomery, dated June 26th 1795. The will lists four children. Sons James (wild theory #1! - put a pin in that!) of Wallkill and Archibald of Mamakating, a daughter (deceased) Mary, wife of Francis Burns and another daughter Mrs William Douglas (hey, thanks for that!) The will names grandsons Archibald and William (sons of James) and John Douglas (son of unnamed daughter) and "the grandchildren of my son Archibald" (again, thanks for that!) and the "five grandchildren of my daughter Mary Burns, deceased", also granddaughter Elizabeth Burns.

Lots of grandchildren. (FAN research anyone?)

What struck me as curious was that the boys, for the most part were listed by name but the "grandchildren" of son Archibald could possibly mean his children were very young at the time of the writing of the will and that there were perhaps sons and daughters. Still, not much help.

The will also made mention of a note that Jane had in her possession that was outstanding against Archibald dated July 19th 1786. Curious.

Digging into land records uncovered a land sale between Jane McBride of Montgomery and her son Archibald, of Mamakating, dated July 20th 1786. Huh. Must be what the note was for! Further land record digging unearthed this land purchase made "the 30th day of June in the first year of the reign of our sovereign Lord George the Third by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King defender of the faith and the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred sixty one" Between Samuel White and Jane McBride, relict and widow of Archibald McBride .... two thousand two hundred and nine acres of land ..... seven hundred and thirty six acres of land .... one thousand and fifty five acres of land! A total of four thousand acres of land in Ulster County, Province of New York.

The widow Jane purchased a great deal of land in 1761!

What I found interesting, the land was adjacent to land owned by Jane and Alice Colden and by Thomas Noxon and by George Murry. All players in another story, one that might intertwine with this one yet.(*)

Connecting the dots from these documents it appears that Jane McBride and Archibald McBride were the parents of Archibald, James, Mary and Mrs Wm Douglas. Disproving the common assumption that James was the son of a James. Maybe there never was a James Sr? Maybe James was Archibald's middle name? If there is proof, I have yet to find it.

So how does Martha fit into all of this?

Not sure. Yet. (I think we need a diagram for this!)

There are a great number of 'coincidences' because of a very limited population at this time in history.

Let's go back to that 4000 acre land purchase.

Martha married James Faulkner. James Faulkner's father was Samuel Faulkner. (*)Samuel Faulkner owned land adjacent to Jane and Alice Colden, Thomas Noxon and George Murry. It is suspected that George Murry was James Faulkner's grandfather. The land straddled the border of modern day Orange and Sullivan Counties, sitting in both Mamakating and Wallkill. In fact Samuel and his wife are buried in unincorporated Mamakating. IF Martha was the daughter of Archibald McBride she would have grown up on the farm next to Samuel Faulkner and his son (her future husband) James.

A stretch, I agree. A good example of those coincidences. (You might want to take notes)

And there is NO census evidence for Martha anywhere in 1800.

Then there's the DNA.

DNA points to Archibald McBride as the prime candidate based on the research tree of our DNA match. However the newfound information that Archibald and Jane McBride are the parents of BOTH Archibald Jr and James is a greater cause of confusion! (That would suggest our MRCA is Archibald Sr, still not proving which son is Martha's father.) The author of the Bull book, who posed the 'James Sr', theory did not back his statement up with evidence or any type of citation. In fact, the book that was referenced as the source does not contain any sources or citations either, kinda like a Public Ancestry Tree!

Perplexed? Me too! (Where is that diagram?! The one that explains everything?)

Martha could be in the Archibald McBride household in 1790 - the census reports 4 females (of any age) and we know three of them (from church records): Jane, his wife; Jane, his daughter; and Agnes, his daughter. That leaves one daughter unaccounted for. (And no, it would not be the mother Jane, she was residing in Montgomery not Mamakating, per all of her legal documents)

So my second (wild) theory, the Theory of Archibald posits Martha belongs in the Archibald McBride household. The DNA evidences leads to this conclusion, but remains fuzzy if James and Archibald are brothers. Martha could fit into the 1790 census of Archibald's household. Again, the question is where is the family in 1800? Did both Archibald and Jane die? Are the children living in a relative's home, or with an older sibling?

More fuzzy information. More possibility of errors. No real conclusions, just two theories, similar and frustrating. Time to back-burner this project and let it simmer, perhaps more evidence will turn up?

Oh, Martha; Martha, Martha, Martha .....

- - - - - - - -

Then this happened .....

Well, hold your horses! Look what the gods of land records presented me with today!

A glorious land division document dated 1799, the year after James McBride died, dividing his land among his four minor children ...... Archibald I McBride, William McBride (both of the Jane McBride Will from the top of this post!) Jane McBride and John McBride (born after the will was written). No Martha! NO MARTHA!!! Martha would have been about 10 in 1799, a minor child. Martha was not the daughter of James. Wild Theory #1 is incorrect.

That leaves Archibald.

********

up next ..... charts and graphs!!! (Or at least a genealogy, stay tuned)


©2018 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

UPDATE: Anna Merriman Busby: Who's Your Daddy? (52 Ancestors #8.1)

UPDATE: This was originally posted Thursday, February 26, 2015. Anna Merriman Busby: Who's Your Daddy? (52 Ancestors #8)  Good news!! I found her daddy! And I can answer a few more questions!

It began with a comment, left on the original post. I had not looked at this family in quite some time and got to thinking - maybe it was time to re-look. It's always a good idea to re-look, especially when something is a bit of a brick wall, you just never know what might turn up.

I decided to reexamine Micajah Merriman, the man most attributed to being Anna's father. In the past the scant information just did not line up. I noticed a War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index on Ancestry that I had not seen before. Light Bulb Moment! I knew that Fold3 had Pension Applications, and more importantly Widow's Applications digitized.  Something that wasn't available in 2015 when I first wrote the post. Two seconds later I had that bit of historical magnificence pulled up on my computer in the Cave. All 45 glorious page of it! If you subscribe to Fold3 (and you should!) take a gander at it for yourself here.

What I learned, Anna was born July 22nd 1807 to Micajah Merriman and Sophia Snyder. She was their first born child. Micajah and Sophia were married May 22nd 1806 in Maryland. The family removed to Ohio in the winter of 1815. Anna would have been 7 years old, so she came as a child.

I learned that Micajah's father was Nicholas who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and his mother was Deborah.

And I found his signature!

The old Family Tree just sprouted a new shoot!

Always an exciting moment when a hunch get substantiated!

Onward.

©2017 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Frances Ann "Fanny" Faulkner {Gen 3}

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale.

Frances Ann "Fanny" Faulkner (James, Samuel, William) was born in Wallkill, Orange Co, New York, sometime in 1816/17, to parents Col James Faulkner and his wife Martha McBride.

Fannie married Joseph C Watkins about 1843 in Jackson County, Michigan.

The couple had one son:

• FNU Watkins b. about 1844/45

Frances Ann Faulkner had come to Grass Lake, Jackson Co, MI with her parents and siblings in 1834. I am uncertain when Joseph Watkins came to Michigan, however he did receive a patent for land in 1837. He may be the J C Watkins found in later censuses in neighboring Ingham County. If this is the same man, he remarried in December of 1845 and died in 1870. I have been unable to find any more information on the son, perhaps he died before the 1850 census, perhaps he was raised by other family members. 

from Find A Grave

Frances 'Fanny' Ann Faulkner Watkins died April 20th 1845 at the tender age of 29. She left behind a grieving family, including husband and young son. Fanny Ann is buried in Grass Lake East Cemetery with most of the rest of the Faulkner family.

The rest of the story remains a mystery. I'd really like to find out what happened to the young son.

©2017 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Field Notes: Writing Out A Brick Wall

I started a new series recently. Brick Wall Ancestors. Thought it'd be good to release them out into the wild and do a little crowd-sourcing. If they are brick walls for me, they may be for someone else too. Well, wouldn't you know it, seeing as they are Brick Walls and all, truthfully I had not really looked into them recently.  Sure, I revisit them about once a year - mostly just looking for any new records that might have cropped up. Well, things change when you start to write a blog about it! Or maybe I should say, when you start to write about it. Period. Laying it out linearly, putting into words what I had and had not discovered just threw a monkey wrench into the whole thing! In a good way, mind you.

The thing with writing, with telling a tale, the story needs to progress. Getting from point A to point B needs logical explanation. Different than records only. Records confirm a fixed place in time. Handy to verify someone was somewhere sometime. BUT how did they get there? And why? Telling a non-fiction tale like we do with our ancestors requires research, logic, a knowledge of (then) current events and even laws of the time.

So, as I set out to write up my first Brick Wall Ancestor in story form I realized I had very little 'meat', which made me dig. And question. The facts that I had amassed (or not) would not adequately depict what I was trying to convey.

I began to think in new ways.

Which lead me to new discoveries.

Which broke my Brick Walls.

No, not all of them - but the first three I originally had planned on writing about gained parents, or a place of death, or two new generations of ancestors! Plus a whole slew of new places to travel to to really dig for additional clues. (Because we all know, only a fraction of records are available online!)

Here's what I learned:

• Gather ALL your information before you begin writing. It's as much about debunking or negative evidence as it is about acquiring new positive information. 
• Check the online databases frequently - you never know when some new record set will be digitized and available for viewing.
• Utilize social media and online genealogy research groups. If you are researching in Ohio for example, but live in Kansas you could travel to Ohio yourself (you should, eventually) or you could find an appropriate online group and post your research questions there. Most of the groups are filled with people who have experience researching in that group's particular area.
• Do you have three conflicting sources of birth location? Make sure the county boundaries didn't change, or the town itself didn't get renamed. (see below)
• Use maps. Old maps, Google maps, county maps. I have a tab with Google maps open all the time when I research - I put in point A (say, Cleveland OH, for example) and point B (say, Chautauqua NY) It sounds like quite a distance in my head, but when I look at it on Google Maps I see it is a 135 mile straight shot. Not out of the question for 'commuter' travel in 1850. In my research case, Cleveland may have been the  closest big city to obtain goods and services. I also use the heck out of  the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
• Fill in the years between the census with City Directories. Your ancestor might not turn up every year, but it gives you a clearer picture of their movements. And their occupations! Also, notice the neighbors. Immigrants especially tended to live near kin or countrymen - always another clue!
• Check land records, marriage/church records and wills. Quite a number are digitized now, if you are unable to travel to your research location. FamilySearch has a great number of unindexed records to scroll through - from home - and even more if you visit a Family History Center in you area.
• FAN research! Friends, associates and  neighbors. Sideways research always, always brings me new discoveries. 
• Don't leave out newspapers and other forms of social context. Depending on where you are researching, newspapers can pre-date some other types of documentation.
• Military records! Pensions, widow's pensions, muster rolls, battles - they all can hold a clue.  
• Family lineage and Town history books. Google Books, Internet Archive, FamilySearch, Ancestry, WorldCat - there is a vast number of books that might contain the information you seek. My Faulkner lineage was 'hidden' in a book on the lineage of the Bull/Wells family. (Which I initially learned about from an online genealogy group) 
• Question everything! Always ask 'why?' or 'How?'. Why did they attend church 50 miles and two counties away from their farm? How did they arrive where they did, and why did they leave?
• Now, WRITE IT OUT! Write out everything you know. Tell a story. Start with the facts and fill in the blanks. You will end up with a more solid idea of where to research next, and you might just discover a hidden clue or two that will bring that Brick Wall crashing.  

I'm not going to say that this is necessarily easy - or quick. But if you have the desire to really break through a Wall or two then putting in the time, the 'leg-work', the hours of travel you will undoubtedly take down a rabbit hole or two is well worth it. Not to mention the personal satisfaction that comes from solving a 'cold case'.

Bring a flashlight  .... and snacks.


©2017 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Mary Ann Faulkner {Gen 3}

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale.

Mary Ann Faulkner (Joseph, James, William OR Priscilla, William, William) was born about 1810 in Orange Co, New York to parents (and first cousins) Joseph Faulkner and his wife Priscilla Faulkner.

Mary Ann married Hiram Walsh (born about 1808) on February 7th 1828 at the Presbyterian church in Hamptonburgh, Orange Co, New York.

The couple had at least three children:

• Harriet Walsh b. 1833 d. 4 Jan 1908 m. John Galloway
• Melinie Walsh b. 1842 d. 28 Dec 1907 never married
• Addie Walsh b. April 1843 d. UNK

The children were listed as being born in Middletown, I found that information on the death certificates of Harriet and Melinie. Addie is living with sister Harriet in 1875 and nephew Bartlett Galloway in 1900.  I found a Hiram Walsh/Welch on the 1830 and 1840 census in Orange Co, New York. I found nothing at all for Mary Ann Faulkner Walsh.

Where did they go? When did they die? Where are they buried?

Another mystery family.

~This particular family line is proving to be very challenging, as you will see in the coming weeks. The family of Joseph and Priscilla Faulkner are showing to be elusive and vague. I intend to supply what I know, maybe something will ring a bell with someone.~

©Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | William S Faulkner {Gen 3}

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale.

William S Faulkner (Joseph, James, William OR Priscilla, William, William) was born about 1810 in Orange Co, New York to parents (and first cousins) Joseph Faulkner and Priscilla Faulkner.

William married Cassandra LNU. 

The couple had at least one child:

• Thaddeus W Faulkner b. 1846 in Pennsylvania

This family is mostly an assumption on my part for the moment. William is found on only three census records. 1850, 1860, and 1870.  In 1850 he is listed in the same household as his mother, Priscilla, his brothers James, aged 26, and John, aged 15, plus a woman named Cassandra Faulkner, age 39, and a boy named Thaddeus Faulkner, aged 4. In 1860 he is listed in the same household as his mother Priscilla, his brother John, aged 24, and Cassandra, aged 49. In 1870 it is just William and Cassandra, he is listed as a farmer, she is keeping house. 

The Bull Book records that William was a professor at the academy at Dundaff, PA, and that Cassandra taught school there as well, commuting on horseback.  That book also presumes that Cassandra is a sibling of William's. That assumption is echoed (or perhaps take from - as it is referenced in the Bull Book) in the book Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania page 334. I do not know where either author discovered their information.

If Cassandra is a sibling of William then who is Thaddeus? Plus both William and Cassandra were reported to be the same age.

The Bull Book further states that William died November 5th 1876. Cassandra appears in one last census, the 1880 census, as a boarder, and single (not widowed). What I find interesting about this census is that she is in the same location as in 1870, and the neighbors are the same. Could a relative have taken over the farm when William died?

And who was Thaddeus?

So many questions, so few answers.

~This particular family line is proving to be very challenging, as you will see in the coming weeks. The family of Joseph and Priscilla Faulkner are showing to be elusive and vague. I intend to supply what I know, maybe something will ring a bell with someone.~

©Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Thomas E Faulkner {Gen 3}

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale.

Thomas E Faulkner (Joseph, James, William OR Priscilla, William, William) was born about 1809 in Orange Co, New York to parents (and first cousins) Joseph Faulkner and Priscilla Faulkner.

Thomas married Susan Van Voorhis (born about 1810) on April 9th 1828 at the Presbyterian Church in Hamptonburgh, Orange Co, New York.

The couple had at least one child:

• Sarah Ann Faulkner b. 1829 d. 25 Feb 1907 m. (1)Isaac McCord (2)Charles Manson

Thomas may have served in the Civil War. According to the Bull Book (which has a full sub-listing of Faulkner history) Thomas, it states, was a colonel. I have found no definitive proof that this Thomas served. His middle initial was given on his daughter's death certificate (I have only seen a transcript). I found a Thomas G Faulkner that mustered in as a private and mustered out as a corporal. The pension index states that he was an invalid.

Dates of death and places of burial are unknown at this time for both Thomas and his wife Susan.

~This particular family line is proving to be very challenging, as you will see in the coming weeks. The family of Joseph and Priscilla Faulkner are showing to be elusive and vague. I intend to supply what I know, maybe something will ring a bell with someone.~

©Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Jane P Thompson Burt Billings: An Estimable Lady of Oberlin (52 Ancestors #28)

(warning: this story takes a turn (or two) through a rabbit hole)

Jane P Thompson Burt Billings was a huge brick wall for me for quite some time. She is my 3rd great grandmother on my maternal grandmother's side. When I inherited the big box o' genealogy after my grandmother's passing she had stopped short with Jane's daughter Ella ('funny' story - I'll get to that later) listing her father only as 'Captain Burt (army)' - nary a mention of a mother. I set that aside for a time while I worked other lines; there was a good amount of research that had been done and I wanted to get it all entered into my computer program and have a good look-see. As my grandmother's maiden name was Potwin(e) she had done extensive research on that family and I busied myself with that line for quite some time.

Curiosity finally getting the better of me, I began to wonder who Ella's parents were. I was writing my 52 ancestors piece on Ella and wanted to find out more. When I sat down to write about Ella I did not know her parent's names. My research began and ended in Ellington, New York where Ella had met and married M A Potwin. Yet Ella had been born in Ohio, that much I knew. And I had one bread crumb, family lore said that her family was in the woolen or milling industry in Cleveland. Long story short, searching for Ella alone as a young girl proved difficult. There were three 'Ella Burt's on the 1860 census in or very near Cleveland. Without knowing her parents the trail ran cold.

Enter Facebook!

I posted my dilemma to an Ohio research group and received copious amounts of wonderful information. The woolen mills were a good tip, and the fact that 'Mr Burt' was in the army brought some great results, an indexed widow's pension was found; but the fact that Ella married M A Potwin was the tipping point I think. One researcher pointed me to an old book of Burt family history and genealogy and the flood gates opened!

Mr Burt was Hermes and he had married Jane Thompson!  I was able to work my way back on the Burt side with ease. (of course the Thompson side was a brick wall - did you expect it would be easy at this point?!) I followed the genealogy in the book back to Henry and Ulalia Burt, then it hit me. These names were familiar. Too familiar. In my tree already familiar.

Thank goodness for computers! I punched in the names and yes indeed, they were in my tree. Way, way back, but they were there. I followed them forward ........ just guess where they led? Ha! M A Potwin! What? A little more work and I was able to link the family. Turns out Henry and Ulalia had, among others, two children David and Dorcas. Hermes descended from David while M A Potwin followed Dorcas' line. What?! The family was hiding there all along. My grandmother had already discovered half the story!

But this here is the story of Jane.

So Jane continued to lay low, leaving just enough conflicting information to make moving further prohibitive. For a while I believed her name was actually Pamela, it appeared as such on her son's birth record. I set off to work on other areas and just left Jane alone.

Then just last week, as I was preparing to write Jane up for my Brick Wall series, I decided to have another go at her. I like to make sure that I am sure that I have exhausted all possible avenues of research available to me before I go and put it out there for all to see.

Guess what?

That indexed widow's pension? Wasn't just an index anymore. The entire packet, 50+ pages had been digitized and put up on Fold3. - Holy moly! Got it all! Parent's names, siblings names, place of marriage, place of residence - and a bonus second husband! Armed with all this new information I was able to easily go back two more generations. I believe I can go back farther without too much difficulty, but seeing as I was just after Jane's immediate family I stopped for the moment.

So, let me now introduce you to my 3rd great grandmother, Jane P Thompson Burt Billings.

Jane P Thompson was born in rural Sangerfield, Oneida Co, New York on October 20th 1829. There was some confusion as to exactly which county, seeing as Sangerfield lies exactly on the county border of Oneida and Monroe. Two decades earlier it was part of Chenango County, which added to the confusion. At any rate, Jane was born to parents Permelia Bush and John W Thompson. She appears to be their oldest child. I suspect the 'P' might stand for Permelia.

New York Counties

The young family was on the move. By 1832 they resided in Ellington, Chautauqua Co, New York; where they would remain. Jane would eventually have seven siblings, five sisters and two brothers. It was through her sister Frances that I learned so much about this family.

Jane married Hermes Burt on June 9th 1847 in the home of her parents. Both of Jane's parents and Hermes' sister Aurelia were witness to the ceremony.

The couple left for Pittsfield, MA shortly after their wedding. Their first child, Hermes, was born there in 1848. Pittsfield was the ancestral home of the Burts, and although the Burts were living in New York for a time, Hermes father Titus had returned to Massachusetts by 1840.

Sometime between 1848 and 1850 Hermes and Jane left for Cleveland, Ohio. Hermes was a clothier by trade and the family became involved in the woolen mills there. At one point Hermes had an interest in Burt, Clarke & Co, commission merchants in wool, hide and pelts.

Their second child, Ella (remember Ella?) was born in Cleveland in October of 1850.

The family settled into their new life in Ohio, having two more children, a son in 1855 and a daughter in 1856. They had a home on Bolivar in the city of Cleveland and things appeared to good.

Civil War Field Hospital

Then the Civil War erupted. Hermes joined the Union Army as a commissioned officer on July 10th 1862. The war took him to Frankfort Kentucky where he became ill and on December 4th 1862 died of Typhoid Fever. His body was brought home to Ohio and buried in Oberlin, a suburb of Cleveland, where one of his brothers was living.

Jane, 33, was left a young widow with four minor children to care for. Two of whom were under ten years old. She applied for a widow's pension in Ohio in July of 1863; by 1865 she was back in Ellington NY residing near her sister-in-law Aurelia.

Jane remarried in 1866 to the widower J Warren Billings, a man 12 years her senior. The following year she gave birth to daughter Frances.

In 1866 J Warren petitioned the court, as guardian of Hermes' minor children, for an increase in the minor's pension the children were receiving. The increase was granted.

J Warren and Jane Billings continued to live in New York, moving from Ellington to Randolph in Cattaraugus Co and finally to Ellicott in Chautauqua Co. The family goes missing after 1875.

I got to thinking and on a hunch I searched the cemetery (on Find A Grave) where Hermes is buried. Guess what? There's a Jane Billings buried in the same plot as Hermes! Further research led to the Westwood Cemetery database and this entry. There are three stones in the plot; Hermes, Jane and 'James'. I believe this is a mistake. 'James' is really Jane. The small stones read 'father' and 'mother', the third stone is US issue for Hermes war service. The notation on the memorial for Jane cites a newspaper clipping. First I found this:

What was Jane doing in Oberlin? Did she move back after 1875? Did J Warren move with her? Surgery in 1877? (I don't even want to think about it) I contacted the Oberlin Heritage Center and they quickly responded with a City Directory listing for a Mrs J B Billings living at 49 East Lorain in 1877. There was no listing for a Mr Billings. At least not her Mr Billings. Curious.

The Heritage Center  also sent this - - - -

Oh no! Poor Jane. Can you imagine such a surgery? Chloroform, no masks or gloves, reused instruments ..... I was quite saddened to learn of Jane's fate. I had hoped it would have turned out differently.

Jane died at 48, on the operating table, while undergoing a critical surgical procedure for a fibroid tumor.

Such tragedy to befall this family.

By the looks of the obituary Jane was residing in Oberlin for a while. Long enough to become involved with the church. Highly respected and beloved. What happened to J Warren?

Was theirs merely a marriage of convenience? What about baby Frances?

I found J Warren's grave, he's buried in New York with his first wife. He died in 1887. I still can't find any trace of him after 1875 .....

So many unanswered questions ......


postscript: this is not my typical 52 Ancestors story. Jane was not a typical ancestor. She remained hidden for over a century and remains elusive even now.



Oh the 'funny story' about Ella? Her name wasn't really Ella. It was Ellen. My family never knew that. It was right there in the widow's pension packet, written in Jane's own hand.

©Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved

Finding Faulkner: Part Seven | Serendipity and A Crashing Wall

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale. 

When I left the search for James Faulkner's parent's behind it was spring of 2011. I'd been hard on the trail since late 2007, with fits and starts. I continued to dabble, periodically. I checked all the usual places for any new records. I tracked down some 2nd cousins I had no idea existed. (they had never heard of James) I sent emails (and snail mail!) to genealogical societies and cemeteries. I tried researching the McBride's. I went back and forth as to whether James or William were the more likely brother for James' father.

I went round and round in ever more maddening circles.

The more I looked at the evidence, the more convinced I became that neither James or William could be my James' father. That left Joseph or Samuel. Samuel who had married Elizabeth Wilkin, according to the Bull Book.

I followed that trail for a while, but got nowhere, and more nowhere. Samuel and Elizabeth has seemingly just vanished. Not even a marriage record could be found.

I was getting really tired of banging my head against this brick wall.

Then on perfectly ordinary late December day in 2012 a new post to the OCGSNY yahoo group showed up in my inbox.

 "Hi all, Hope you've had restful holidays, wherever you may be. Over mine, I happened to notice on the FamilySearch website that they've recently added digitized images for over 8 million pages of New York State deeds and land records. (...) While the records are not *electronically* indexed or searchable, they ARE indexed on the actual images."

What the ....What?!?

A quick look proved that, indeed, the land records had been digitized! Not indexed, but digitized. And the original index books were digitized too!!! A late Christmas present had just been delivered to my door! Sure it meant hours of combing through images, but happily it's one of my favorite things to do! (seriously)

Busy with work until mid January, I resigned to return to the records when I had the time necessary to really dig in and look.

That time came in mid March 2013. I had a good week of nothing pressing and decided to sequester myself in the Cave and comb through all the land records. First stop, the digitized index books. I looked for every Faulkner listed, making special note of any James. There were well over two dozen entries for Faulkner and it's variations. I searched Ulster County, Orange County and Sullivan County since all three counties converged at almost the exact location the Faulkner's were said to reside.

Noting the liber and page of each entry, I searched both Grantors and Grantees. This was very exciting! I'd thought I'd have to travel to Goshen or Albany, New York to lay my eyes on such documents, yet here they were ..... in my home!

Coffee in hand and dogs at my feet, I came away with a good list of suspects. Almost two dozen of them! I must confess to getting goose bumps on several occasions as the names I was reading in the deed books were the same names I had become familiar with in the Blue Book. I almost felt like I was coming home. I knew these people - and here they were, being recorded at the actual time they lived! Talk about a genealogist's high!

Now on to the actual land records! The first half dozen or so were duds. Well, in the sense that they were not specifically who I was looking for. (Later, they would actually become useful.)

Then .........

On page 5, volume 66, Orange County Deeds 1839 - 1840 read the following:

(...) Between David Faulkner, James Faulkner and Martha Faulkner wife of the said James, all of the town of Grass Lake, County of Jackson, and State of Michigan, and Robert Faulkner and Sally his wife, of the town of Ontario, County of Wayne, and State of New York, and John M. Faulkner and Catherine his wife, of the town of Benton, County of Tioga, and State of New York, all parties of the first part and David Woodruff of the town of Wallkill, County of Orange, State of New York, party of the second part (...) parcel of land situated, lying and being in the Town of Wallkill, County of Orange, State of New York bounded as follows to wit Northerly by a lot of land formerly owned by John M. Faulkner, Westerly by a lot of land formerly owned by Robert Faulkner, Southerly by lands formerly owned by Col. William Faulkner, Easterly by the patent line of the Elinor Tract, of which this is a part (...)

The document was witnessed by Antoinette Faulkner, James and Martha's daughter.

It was exceptionally hard to read!

After running around the house, screaming like a lunatic, I settled down to allow it all to sink in.

The brick wall had started to crumble.

David! David was James' brother?! The David who lived with James in 1850? Of course! And it appeared he had two more brothers as well! Now we might get somewhere!

Back to my list, there were quite a few John Faulkner's, several Robert Faulkner's, but only one David Faulkner. I decided to look at that next.

Liber O, page 11, Orange County Deeds 1812 - 1814........


THERE.  IT.  WAS.

I sat in quiet disbelief. Tears streaming down my face. Hardly able to breathe.

That loud crash you just heard? The brick wall tumbling to the ground.


This indenture made the fifth day of March in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seven, between Samuel Faulkner of the town of Wallkill, county of Orange, state of New York, Farmer, and Eliner his wife, of the first part, and David Faulkner son of the said Samuel Faulkner and Eliner his wife, of the second (...) if the said David Faulkner should die without lawful issue of his body begotten then the remainder over to Robert Faulkner, James Faulkner and John Faulkner sons of the said Samuel Faulkner and Elinor his wife (...) that certain lot, piece or parcel of land situated, lying and being in the town, county and state aforesaid, and being a part of the farm or lot of land upon which the said Samuel Faulkner now lives which is bounded as follows (to wit) Northerly by a lot of land sold by the said Samuel Faulkner to his son John Faulkner, Westerly by lands sold by the said Samuel Faulkner to his son Robert Faulkner, Southerly by lands of Col. William Faulkner, Easterly by the patent line of said tract of one thousand acres (...) 

much easier to read!

Samuel!!! Samuel!! It was Samuel! My fourth great grandfather now had a name! And his name was Samuel! ...... But who was Eliner (Elinor)? Nickname for Elizabeth? Or a different person altogether. And what about Robert and John M.? Looked like there was now plenty to keep me busy!

to be continued ..........

Finding Faulkner: Part Six | New York Confusion

It started, as good quests always do, with a family tale. 

In the spirit of full disclosure I must confess that the timeline in this retelling is askew. I decided it would be easier to follow if the retelling progressed in a chronological order. Truthfully, the order was more chaotic, something like: sideways, back-the-way-you-came, chase a rolling ball (in the wrong direction), screech to a halt, push a boulder up a hill, and leap over a canyon. My Orange County feelers had been out since 2008, but the information I was getting led me on goose chase after wild goose chase. Add my myopic searching technique and the fact that I was missing a big piece of the puzzle (the whole Michigan interlude), most of what I learned early on did me no good. I attempted to go from point B to point E directly.

 ~ I would not recommend trying this at home! ~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

New York bound, I started to really dig into anything I could land my hands on. Full immersion seemed to be the order of the day. My first query was to the OCGSNY Yahoo group. That lead to a big discussion on the Sarah Wells/William Bull family and one of their famous "sons", James Faulkner, who married Catherine Bull. Not much else was know of him, but I did learn of the "Bull Family Genealogy" book, or the "Blue Book" as it is sometimes referred to. And a section on Faulkner genealogy. What?!? A Faulkner genealogy??? This seemed too good to be true.

And, it was. Sort of.

But before I learned that I, without hesitation, placed my request for the book through the interlibrary loan program.

The day it arrived was better than Christmas! The book was a good 5 inches thick and read like stale toast. But there were Faulkners in it!! Lots of them! And McBrides too! Surely I was going to find my answers here.

I toted that book to work for well over three weeks, sneaking copies of the relevant pages.

Then I started to recreate the family as laid out in the Blue Book. Only I was focused on the Faulkners and not the Bulls. A story for another time, let me just say it was very interesting to see an entirely new book emerge from the information contained within the Blue Book's pages.

Now that I had enough information to progress, I pulled out all the bits I had been compiling. I worked that big tree, I had email conversations with other researchers, including the Bull Family genealogist. (Surely SHE would have the answers!) Seems no one could identify James, my James. As it turned out, I was the one to introduce James to the genealogy world. Until I brought his existence to light he was on no one's radar. Least-wise not that I have been able to find, even to this day. Poor James.

My introduction of this new James Faulkner, married to Martha McBride, started a maelstrom of speculation on his parentage. The known Faulkner's of Wallkill were all Presbyterian (promising!) most were members of the Goodwill Presbyterian Church. I borrowed all the books I could find pertaining to these church records. There were a number of them, it turned out. Surely there would be a mention of a marriage or baptism. I soon began to see James turn up on Ancestry as a son of either James (who married Catherine Bull) or His brother Colonel William Faulkner. These were my top choices too, but the documentation was just not there. Why were other researchers including him in their families?

I needed to dig deeper. In one of the many Orange County history books I borrowed (before they were digitized!), the History of Orange Co , page 431 had this sentence: "Still further east the Faulkner family made an early settlement."  I found several other references to the family, all rather elusive, they were clearly not as prominent as some of the other early players in Wallkill. Seems their roll was more supporting than starring.

Frustrated. A bit dismayed, I soldiered on.

I found James on the Political Graveyard website. I found him in the Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the state of NY, three separate years. I could not find anything about his time on Staten Island or any real records from his actual war service, other than the War of 1812 Service Record Index. He was also listed in the Bounty Land Warrant Applications Index. INDEX-schmindex! Looked like I would have to order some records, and perhaps some films. Or take a trip to the National Archives. Truthfully, my mind was boggled at the thought, and I set that avenue of research aside. (Happily, this retelling has fanned those flames anew and I have put the record search back on my docket.)

My best source was the now defunct Scotchtown Highlander. Sal, the site's curator sent me lots and lots of information. (I recently found an archived version of the site at the Middletown Thrall Library.) It contained nothing more on James, however. And absolutely no hint as to his actual parentage. How could a man who was seemingly as involved, militarily and politically, as James not make the history books? I was spinning in circles and getting nowhere. The bits and pieces of Faulkner information I was able to acquire were not adding up. This was one tough nut!

I turned once again to Ancestry, and the trees to which James had been added. Contacting the tree owners, posting to message boards. The return? Zero. Zip. Nada. The tree owners had merely copied James from other trees (my tree unfortunately, before I took it private), no one had a source, a fact, that I did not have. It all pointed back to me.

Confusing the issue (because, why not!) Sal from Scotchtown Highlander sent me an abstract of a will of one William Faulkender of Wallkill, who died in 1784. He believed this was the original Faulkner, but could find no proof, other than this typed abstract. The name was not quite right. I had seen this floating around Ancestry, mostly tied to a Faulkender family in Pennsylvania. (There was no end to the confusion that was occurring at this time!) The will listed a wife named Mary (no last name), and four sons, Joseph (deceased), James, Samuel and William. This will did line up with what the author of the Blue Book had concluded; That a William Faulkner was the father of four sons with the same names as these Faulkender boys. But little more was written, as the subject was about the Bull family, not the Faulkner family.

This gave me four possibilities for James' father. There was nothing more written of Joseph, and all that was said about Samuel was that he had married Elizabeth Wilkin. I already had explored James and William, and although both were good candidates, the research had been done rather well for the Blue Book, there was not a James listed as a son of either of them.

Increasingly frustrated, and now confused I set out to begin research on Joseph and Samuel. "The quiet boys". The two who did not leave any noticeable mark on the record of time. Not an easy feat, it turned out. Hitting dead end after dead end, these men really did not leave any breadcrumbs! I found a mention, once, of a Samuel, nothing that would illuminate the search of course, and nothing on Joseph. Nothing. Posting to message boards proved fruitless. Even OCGSNY had no suggestions. Joseph and Samuel lived so quietly they became invisible.

Bear in mind I was searching for pre-1780 documents. And at a time when less was digitized. I had been digging in New York for well over a year with not much to show for it. Short of a trip to the Hudson Valley, which was not an option, I resigned to put the quest to find Faulkner on the back burner for a while.

to be continued .........

Jesse Thomas Sr.: Might As Well Be John Doe (52 Ancestors #21)

Jesse Thomas Sr.

An infuriating Quaker.

Might as well be John Smith or Doe. Seems Thomas was a very common surname among the Quakers in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Very common. Hair pulling frustration common. And (of course) there are (at least) two Jesses.......

Now, I'm sure my 3rd great grandfather didn't mean to be so difficult, and buried somewhere deep in the tomes of Quaker history lie the answers. Alas, a trip to Swarthmore is not in my future any time soon.

So today, as I write this short sketch, the answers I seek remain buried.

I admit I do have ulterior motives for this post. A little fishing expedition. The more we all can get out onto the world wide web, the more chance there is for someone; anyone, anywhere; to stumble across it and perhaps supply a missing piece of the puzzle. Genealogy appears to be a solitary pursuit, you know, with the Cave and all, but it is only successful with collaboration.

Also I might add, that I have avoided this for a while.  Quaker genealogy really is a study unto itself and I must admit that it boggles my mind and makes me cranky.

So here is what I know.

• Jesse Thomas Sr. was born about 1786* in Chester Co., PA. His parents UNK to date.  FYI there are 41 heads of household in Chester County in the 1790 Federal Census with the Last name of Thomas. Forty One! Thirty two of those households report male children under 16. (Jesse would have been 4 at the time) By 1800 there are 30 heads of household, by 1810 (eureka!) there is but one Jesse listed in Chester County with 2 young adults and one child. (The 1786 Pennsylvania Census of Taxpayers lists 52 Thomas'.... but let's not go there)

• He married Rebecca (or Rebecah) Hampton in 1808* in Chester Co., PA They were members of the Fallowfield Monthly Meeting in Chester Co., PA. 

• Rebecca (Rebecah) was born May 12, 1790 in Bucks County, PA, the daughter of Jonathan Hampton and Elizabeth Phillips. This is one case where there is actually more recorded info on the woman than the man!

• The couple had at least 11 children, according Quaker records. You'd think with 11 descendants there would be numerous people looking for Jesse, wouldn't you?

• In 1820 the family requested removal from the Fallowfield Monthly Meeting in Chester Co., PA. in preparation to move to Ohio. They requested admittance to the Stillwater Monthly Meeting in Belmont Co., OH.

• In 1839 the family is listed in the Deerfield Monthly Meeting records in Morgan Co., OH.

• In 1842 Jesse is listed in the Chesterfield Monthly Meeting in Athens Co., OH, having died in February. He is recorded as being buried at Plymouth. Could that be Plymouth, Washington Co, OH?  There is a Jesse Thomas listed in the 1840 census residing in Westley Twp, Washington Co, OH - Plymouth is in Westley Twp. Plus my grandmother (the Genealogy Queen) has in her notes that the family was from Westley Twp.

*Dates are from other family trees. I usually don't use this type of information as I have not been able to source it, but I am including it this post as a stepping off point.

As I mentioned above, there are a few records for a Jesse Thomas born in 1791 to a Phillip and Hannah Thomas. He was born in Chester but the family attended the Goshen Monthly Meeting - probably not our guy.

There is a record of a Jesse Thomas "accomplishing" his marriage in 1806, but it was recorded in the Philadelphia Northern District Monthly Meeting - probably not our guy.

And that is it. That is all I know.  If only my Genealogy Cave was equipped with a time machine .......

Well, a girl can dream.


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