Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Hannah A Faulkner {Gen 4}

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

Hannah A Faulkner (Samuel, Robert, Samuel, William) was born in Wayne Co, New York about 1837, to parents Samuel Faulkner and Elizabeth Ann Lyons.

Hannah married William M Hawkins (1823-1864) December 26th 1856 in Wayne Co, New York.

The couple had at least three children: all born Wayne Co, New York

• Lucy Ann Elizabeth Hawkins b. 25 Sep 1857 d. UNK m. James F Shepherd MD
• Samuel Hawkins b. 12 Jan 1860 d. aft 1918 m. (1) Hattie V Simpson (2) Josephine Newbaur
• Hannah Eliza Hawkins b.  28 Mar 1862 d. aft 1940 m. (1) Herman Kruse (2) Frederick Gottschalk

William M Hawkins was an English immigrant, it is unclear how long he had been in the United States before marrying Hannah. On December 26th 1863 William left his young family and mustered in with Company G in the Union Army, Civil War. William was killed the following fall at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Shenandoah, VA, October 19th 1864. William is buried in the Winchester National Cemetery, Winchester City, Virginia. 

Hannah and the children never saw him again. 

Of note, Hannah lost her father the same day in the same battle.

Hannah and the children removed to  Decatur Co, Indiana with the remainder of Hannah's family shortly after the war ended.

Tragedy struck again on June 13th 1868 when, as a result of a fall, Hannah lost her life. It is unknown where Hannah was laid to rest. Hannah A Faulkner Hawkins was just 31 years old. 

The children resided with Hannah's sister and her husband in Decatur Co, Indiana until the age of emancipation.

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

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Levi McBride {Gen 3}

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

Levi McBride (Susannah, William, Jr, William) was born in Orange Co, New York, about 1820, to parents Susannah Faulkner and Archibald I McBride.

Levi married Hannah S Millspaugh (born about 1823) on September 29th, 1848 in Goshen, Orange Co, New York.

The couple had 2 children:

• Harrison McBride b. 4 Mar 1848 d. UNK m. Elizabeth LNU
• Melancthon McBride b. 19 Dec 1850 d. UNK never married

Levi enlisted as a private in the 56th Regiment, Company 'C',  NY infantry September 9th 1861 for a period of three years or during the war. Levi became seriously ill and died at the Convalescent Hospital near Harrison's Landing, VA on October 11th 1862.

Hannah McBride received a widow's pension of $12.00 a month until her death on June 14th 1893. She never remarried.

Levi was originally buried at the Convalescent Camp in Virginia. His remains were later transferred to Alexandria National Cemetery. Private McBride rests in section A grave 544. His widow Hannah is buried at the Brick Church Cemetery in Orange Co, New York.


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

Finding Faulkner: The Progeny | Samuel Faulkner {Gen 3}

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

Samuel Faulkner (Robert, Samuel, William) was born about 1811 in Wallkill, Orange Co, New York, to parents Robert Faulkner and Sally Ann (LNU).

Samuel married Elizabeth Ann "Betsey" Lyons 19 Feb 1834 in Wayne Co, New York.

The couple had at least eight children: (all born Wayne Co, New York)

• Hannah A Faulkner b. about 1837 d. UNK m. (1)William M Hawkins (2) Jacob Brown
• Samuel A Faulkner b. about 1839 d. UNK
• Robert N Faulkner b. about 1842 d. 9 Jul 1863
• Loomi M Faulkner b. 29 Dec 1843 d. 8 Dec 18??
• Eliza A Faulkner b. 21 Jun 1845 d. 6 Nov 1921 m. (1) William Shepherdson (2) Ezra Nay
• Sallie Maria Faulkner b. 25 Oct 1851 d. 30 Jul 1919 m. William D Watson
• James William Faulkner b. 24 Dec 1853 d. 3 Dec 1930 m. Hannah Louisa Smith
• John Henry Faulkner b. 26 Apr 1856 d. UNK m. Della J Rutherford

In 1863 Samuel enlisted in the Civil War. Samuel Faulkner died October 18th 1864 at Shenandoah, VA. from wounds received at the Battle of Cedar Creek, aka Bell Grove, Frederick County and Shenandoah Co. VA. Elizabeth Ann "Betsey" died April 5th 1882 in Decatur Co, IN where she moved with her son John Henry. Burial location of both Samuel and Betsey unknown.

Additionally - the surname 'Lyons' was given on Eliza's death certificate as her mother's maiden name -as most all the other information on that certificate was incorrect I am very hesitant to say this really is Betsey's maiden name.

This family group is the result of exhaustive research done by a descendant of Robert Faulkner. I have verified most of it, but more work needs to be done. The notes are quite extensive.

©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

Elijah Busby: Civil War Veteran (52 Ancestors #23)

Elijah Busby was born Nov 17, 1831 in Carroll Co, Ohio to John Wisner Busby and Anna Merriman. One of 14 children born to this couple.

Elijah grew up a farmer's son, working in the fields of his father's Ohio farm in the spring, summer and autumn, while attending public school during the winter months.

In the spring of 1852 at the age of 20, Elijah struck out on his own and headed West to Iowa. Finding himself in Mahaska County he hired on as a farm hand earning ten dollars a month.

He worked the farm for several years, saving what he could and dreaming of something better. By 1857 Elijah had met Eliza Ann Bass, daughter of William L. Bass and Margaret Roberts. The couple married on April 30, 1857. That same year the couple began farming their own rented piece of land.

Their first child, a son they named William, was born in March 1859. Soon after that Elijah purchased his own land, two adjoining tracts of 80 acres each in Madison County, Iowa. In August of 1861 their second child, a daughter whom they named Laura Alice, was born. The couple happily set about building a home and a life when the rumblings of unrest began to stir in the country.

In October of 1861 Elijah felt the call of duty and enlisted with the Union Army as a private in Company F, 4th Iowa Cavalry. I can't begin to imagine what toll this decision took on the family, or the hours of discussion leading up to Elijah's commitment, knowing that in doing so he would very well not see his family for the next three years, if ever again.  He was sent to Springfield, MO and then on to Arkansas, where he was involved in the battle of Cotton Plant in July of 1862.

Elijah's regiment was then involved in the battle of Vicksburg in Mississippi in May 1863.

On June 22nd, 1863 the regiment was engaged at Bear Creek (Jones Plantation) near Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Elijah was taken prisoner and held in Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia for the next four months. The conditions at Libby were notorious. Overcrowded conditions lead to disease, famine and death. Over one thousand prisoners were crowded into large open rooms with barred windows, leaving them exposed to the harshest of weather conditions. Mortality was high.

Libby Prison - Richmond VA

Elijah was exchanged on September 6th 1863, and returned to his regiment at Vicksburg, where he re enlisted as a veteran and was promoted to 2nd corporal.

In October 1863 Elijah was granted a furlough and he returned home to spend a month with his young family. He had not seen his wife or children in just over 2 years. What must it have been like, returning to the ordinary after witnessing such violence and terror? Was it even ordinary any more?

During his month at home Elijah sold the 160 acres in Madison County and purchased 80 acres in Adams Township, Mahaska Co, Iowa. Why? One can only speculate that 160 acres was a lot to manage for his wife, left alone with two small children for the past two years.

On the expiration of his furlough Elijah returned to the army and remained with his regiment until the close of the war.

He mustered out at Atlanta with the rank of commissary sergeant and received an honorable discharge in Davenport in July of 1865. Elijah had participated in ten skirmishes and had been promoted 6 times throughout his time of service.

******

Back in civilian life, in a newly reunited America, Elijah set about building his farm and his home. He worked the land, improved the existing buildings and built new ones. He and Eliza had four more children; Emma, born in 1867, John in 1869, Homer in 1873 and Lena in 1877. He would make his living and his home on this farm in Adams Twp. for 17 years.

Around 1880, when Elijah felt he had developed his property sufficiently, he sold his 80 acres to purchase a 200 acre farm in Monroe Twp. Iowa.

For the next 17 years Elijah, with the help of his sons, continued to build and develop the farm, creating fenced fields and pastures. Building barns, silos and other out buildings. Working the land, creating wealth to support a family of six.

Elijah remained active in the affairs of the day. He was a staunch Republican for many years, later giving his support to the Greenback party and the Roosevelt Populists. He was a frequent delegate to the conventions of his party. He served as justice of the peace, a township trustee and sat on the school board.

About 1897, when Elijah was 65 or 66 years old and looking to retire from the farming life, he purchased a small tract of 8 acres in Rose Hill, IA containing a fine house and garden. He rented out the large farm, which afforded him a comfortable retirement.

Elijah and Eliza spent many golden years together, living into their 8th decade enjoying the fruits of their labor; surrounded by their family, all of whom stayed close, and over a dozen grandchildren. In his lifetime his children prospered and grew and became successful citizens in their own right.

Sadly, in July of 1917 the couple buried their oldest son, Dr. Wm. Busby. Elijah and his wife would soon follow. The couple died within 2 days of one another, Elijah on the 14th of December 1917, Eliza followed two days later. They are buried side by side in Rose Hill Cemetery.

*****

Beginning as a young farm boy from Ohio with not a penny in his pocket; nor friend or family in Iowa; Elijah managed to build himself a fine empire and a successful life and family despite, or perhaps because of, the hardships and horrors of war early on in his adult life.

He was a strong, courageous, loyal and determined man.