Saturday, April 28, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 9


County Cavan

          Green fields, gray stone walls and wonderful wooly sheep greeted us each day. My daughter and I loved the little lambs we saw every day, nuzzling their mothers and chasing each other. We set genealogy aside and enjoyed Ireland. We rode in a horse cart in Killarney National Park,; drove the Ring of Kerry; and enjoyed seafood on the Dingle Peninsula. We took a ferry to Inis Oirr, the smallest Aran Island, where we enjoyed our first day without rain. My daughter and I walked around Galway, climbed on the Giant Causeway and spent the night in Ballygally, a haunted castle. Then we turned south to County Cavan.

          Michael Coyle, b. c. 1820, and Mary Cunningham raised their family in County Cavan. [My maternal grandmother was Helen F. Coyle Gardner.] I have slowly gathered information on the Coyle family for several years. Before taking this trip I contacted Cavan Genealogy in Cavan Town contracting for them to search for my family. I requested they not mail the report to me. I wanted to pick it up in person. I wanted the opportunity to talk to someone in person and ask questions. I hoped to find information and to see the places the Coyles had lived.

          The address I had for Cavan Genealogy was First Floor, Farnham Street, Cavan. My daughter easily found the town and the street. We drove along the street slowly and looked, unsuccessfully, for a sign to help us find the right location. Then we saw a large blue & white “i” for information painted on the side of a large building. She pulled over and parked and I walked up the hill to the building. It turned out to be a department store with shoppers buying clothes. I found the customer service desk and spoke to a gentleman there. He kindly explained that the tourist information, down the street, was no longer there. He asked where I was going and said I wanted the library, just down the hill. We moved the car down the block to the library’s car park.

Johnston Central Library, Farnah Street, Cavan
          Inside we went up to the first floor and found the genealogy room. We got a warm welcome but Concepta, the woman doing the research for me, had just left for lunch. We were advised to do the same and were given directions to Café Mana. We should return at half two. The café was bustling with coffee drinkers and lunch seekers. We had tea and a nice lunch with a delicious slice of lemon meringue pie! Back at the library I met with Concepta who couldn’t have been nicer or more welcoming. She had limited information for me, saying I had done so much research already that there wasn’t a lot of new details. However, since she did not discover much new information on the Coyle family, she also researched the Brady family for me.

          Concepta did find the 1821 census which has only remnants still existing. Fortunately, our Coyle family is in those remaining sections. It also has the Cunningham family with little Mary who later married Michael Coyle.

          The report also included the death of Catherine Gibney Brady  on 27 March 1873 in Co. Cavan. There were more findings that I will be looking at very closely and incorporating into my records. Shel als told me that there is no more information to be found on the family. She suggest I try to get a copy of Ballymachugh & Drumloman South: Our Home Place by Sheelin's Side - County Cavan, Ireland by the Ballymachugh History & Heritage Committee. The library once had a copy of the book for sale but no longer. She had copies some pages for me but strongly suggested I find the book. [more on the book's discovery later!]

          Concepta also gave me a very detailed map of the section of Co Cavan where my Brady and Coyle ancestors lived. She highlighted the areas where they could be found over the years. This included churches they attended. She also gave us a modern day, local map and showed us how the two maps overlapped so we could leave the library, take N55 onto R154 to Killinaleck and find our way from there. My daughter will agree that my navigating skills are not the equal of her driving skills but we thanked Concepta for her research time and results and were soon back in the little rental car, in the rain, of course. [more on our travels & findins later]

         


Thursday, April 26, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 8



Exhibit at Cobh Heritage Center
Counties Tipperary & Cork

          Daniel Mullane and Brigid English were elusive when my daughter and I walked the streets of Clonmel. Looking for genealogical evidence of their lives there was even more elusive. I was not as prepared as I should have been.

          Back in Dublin, the gentleman at the National Archives of Ireland suggested I visit the South Tipperary Archives at Carigeen Business Park in Clonmel. They would have voter’s lists and burial registers. After much driving around and asking for directions we did find the archives. However, they are open by appointment only and I was unable to make a connection with the archivist to make an appointment.

          We were there, in the town my family had lived in for one hundred years but I was not connecting with them.

          We drove northwest to Cashel. In the past I had emailed the Bru Boru Cultural Center at the Rock of Cashel. I knew they had a wealth of information and decided to visit in person to see what else I could learn. When we arrived we found a building with a shop for Irish souvenirs. When I asked about the genealogy center, rather than pointing me to a record room of some kind, Diedre was sent for. I had emailed her in past years and it was nice to meet her in person but I soon discovered that, once again, I was not prepared. The Cultural Center was not a place where patrons can search records. Diedre said they had nothing more than I already knew about the Mullanes. She did disappear to see if she could find out where the Mullane tombstone is located but was unable to find that out.

          I was discouraged. I had hoped to see the tombstone for Daniel Mullane & Brigid English. It was one of my primary goals for my trip. I’ve seen it in old black and white family movies but I do not know what cemetery it is in, despite many attempts to find it. Before the trip I had written to the churches in Clonmel, contacted owners of Clonmel websites and searched the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for information on Clonmel cemeteries. I had hoped to visit the stone and leave flowers and a prayer.

          While we were in Cashel my daughter and I walked up the sizeable hill to see the Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick’s Rock, once the home of the High Kings of Munster. Most of the buildings date from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is a spectacular sight: the massive ruins, the view of the valley below and the enduring Celtic crosses standing in silent remembrance of days gone by.

          There was one more place I wanted to visit, Cobh, once called Queenstown. Between 1848 and 1950 two and a half million people emigrated from Ireland through the harbor in Cobh, heading to Canada, the United States and Australia. My great grandmother, Mary Josephine Mullane Coyle, was just one of my ancestors who left the green hills of Ireland from Cobh. She left in May 1885 and sailed for New York City where she would meet and marry Michael Coyle [who had left from the same harbour several days before her] and raise seven children.

          I wanted to see the harbor and visit the small Heritage Center with its exhibit about emigration. I was expecting a quiet visit there. It was a good plan. We had not, however, planned on the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the Titanic. The last port of call for the Titanic was Cobh and when we arrived a festival was underway. The narrow streets were lined with parked cars with made driving almost impossible. The parked and passing cars were so close we had to turn in our side mirrors to avoid hitting them. The sidewalks were filled with people in Titanic T-shirts or even life jackets. There was live Celtic music in the waterside park. My daughter managed to park and we walked back towards the Heritage Center. Each shop window was decorated with Titanic posters or a clock, walking stick, piece of clothing or other antique that supposedly had a connection to the Titanic. Lines of people waited to go in the shops and pubs. We managed to get down the sidewalk to the Heritage Center. We did see the little exhibit about emigration but with all the clamour about Titanic it was difficult to get the feeling of a red haired, 18 year old Mary Jo leaving her family behind for an unknown future.


          As we left the center, rain poured down and despite our rain gear we were drenched by the time we got back to our little rental car. We put Cobh and the Mullane side of the family behind us and headed for the Blarney Castle Hotel where we spent a delightful evening.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 7


Clonmel, County Tipperary

 Old St. Mary's Church, Clonmel

          According to tradition Clonmel was set up by Vikings traveling up the River Suir. Fairs were held there as early as 1225. In 1338 and for the next 200 years Clonmel was a trading center for wool, hides, saffron, wines and cloth. It was attacked in 1516 by the Earl of Kildare and in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell. The weaving industry grew there in the 17th century and the milling and brewing industries flourished in the 18th century. Clonmel was a market town, the center of local government and the site of an army barracks in the 19th century. [Tipperary County: People & Places, Michael Hallinan, 1993]

          The first evidence of Daniel Mullane and Brigid English in Clonmel was 25 August 1866 when they were married in Saint Mary’s Church. The old church was built in the 13th century. Extensive renovations were done in 1805 and a total rebuilding was done in 1857. My daughter and I found the church but I was disappointed to find it locked. We looked at the tombstones but found no Mullanes.

3 Upper Gladstone Street, Clonmel
          We found it easiest to park and walk around the section of Clonmel near Old St. Mary’s Church. From my research I knew Daniel Mullane and family had lived on Mary, Queen and Upper Gladstone Streets. By walking around the old town I discovered just how close those streets were. Those three streets form three sides of a rectangle with Queen Street as the short side connecting the two longer streets. I don’t know just where on Mary or Queen Streets the family lived but they lived at 3 Upper Gladstone Street so we found and photographed that little corner building. Over the years the family had their coach building and grocers at that location.

Saints Peter & Paul Church, Clonmel
          Between 1872 and 1880 Daniel and Brigid’s children were baptized at Saints Peter and Paul Church, built in 1810. The church is located between Gladstone and Mary Streets. Unfortunately, it was also locked up. A candle and a prayer for my ancestors wasn’t possible.

          I had traveled a long distance to find the Mullanes in Clonmel but they remained just out of sight.

          My daughter and I spent the night in Clonmel, at the pretty yellow Minella Hotel on the shore of the River Suir. We had dinner at the hotel’s bar and saw a colorful sunset before getting our night’s sleep.




Saturday, April 21, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 6



County Tipperary

          My daughter and I had several days to drive around Ireland in our little rental car but that is not enough time to see a whole, beautiful country and search for traces of our ancestors. We woke up early, packed up and drove south out of Dublin. My daughter quickly adjusted to driving in the left hand lane from the right hand driver’s seat, understanding the road signs and listening to her GPS.

          We headed to County Tipperary, the home of the Daniel Mullane & Brigid English family and did some sightseeing along the way. Powerscourt in County Wicklow has a beautiful mansion with gardens that are considered among the finest in the world. We were there early and had the Italian, Japanese and spring gardens to ourselves. We had tea and scones in the mansion’s café, overlooking the center fountain before going to County Waterford and the House of Crystal where we took the fascinating tour.

          After the morning of sightseeing we turned our focus back to genealogy. We found our way to County Tipperary and Clonmel, the largest town in South Tipperary and the home of my Mullane ancestors.

          The first place I wanted to see was Saint Patrick’s Well, just west of Clonmel. When Saint Patrick traveled through County Tipperary he stopped there.

          "The Patrick’s Well… is situate in one of the prettiest glens in all Tipperary. During the centuries that have elapsed since our National Apostle rested there, it has been a spot sacred in the sight of the people, and will ever remain so. Even down to our own times it has been a favourite resort, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, and many remember the procession of thousands of citizens, who followed the famous Clonmel brass band on the annual 17th of March pilgrimages to the historic well.” My Clonmel Scrapbook by James White, 1907

          My daughter and I managed to find the little road leading to the well and pulled into the narrow car park, large enough for only two or three cars. A sign with information about the well had moisture beneath the plastic covering, making it difficult to read. A long set of wide steps curve down to the well. A statue of Saint Patrick, Padrais Naofa, erected c. 1956, stands beside the steps. In the lovely pool of water at the bottom of the steps is a weather worn stone cross, carved about 800 AD. There’s a roofless stone chapel with an ancient tomb inside. All together it is beautiful and peaceful.

          The Daniel Mullane family took picnics to Saint Patrick’s Well. Old black and white home movies show the place, easily recognizable by the stone cross. Family stories tell of the dog running away with Aunt Nell’s hat and when he was chased the hat ended up in the water. I was delighted to be be in the same place my ancestors had enjoyed. Now the ancient site is the setting for memories for another generation of our family.









         


Friday, April 20, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 5



National Archives of Ireland
Dublin

          Our first look at Ireland was from the small airplane window. Immediately we saw the Irish green I been wishing for. It looked very much like a jigsaw puzzle in varying shades of green. Each puzzle piece was outlined by a gray wall or deeper green hedge. I wanted to see more.

         



 My daughter and I arrived at 8:30 in the morning and despite having slept very little on the ride across the Atlantic, we stepped right into a full day in Dublin. We found the Camden Court Hotel, left the small rental car and our luggage and began walking. We began with genealogy.

          The National Archives of Ireland on the corner of Bishop Street and Bride Street, open Mon – Fri 10 am – 5 pm. This was our first stop. We needed to sign in, place our jackets and shoulder bags in free lockers and fill out forms to get a reader’s ticket (good for three years). That took a little time because the gentleman who was helping us kept leaving to help others. When we were all straightened out we went up a flight of stairs to the Main Reading Room. Just off that room, clearly marked, was the Genealogy Service. The gentleman inside was free to talk to us and did for well over an hour.

          I showed him my ‘Quick Notes’ on the Daniel Mullane & Brigid English family in County Tipperary. He first focused on Daniel; b. c. 1838 in Co Cork; son of Thomas, to see if he could find a birth or baptism record for him.  Then did the same for Brigid English; b. on Co Waterford; daughter of Martin English. He was using RootsIreland.ie which I have used at home. He couldn’t actually pull up any results because it’s not a free site. That was kind of him but not helpful. I was hoping to see resources that only can be seen in person in Ireland.

          I was directed to check the Will Books in the Main Reading Room. They are in oversized volumes by year. Daniel Mullane died 25 March 1930 but I found no record of a will for him.

          Our advisor also gave me a very useful paper with a list of six places in Dublin to search and a map showing each location;

·         The National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street

·         The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street

·         General Register Office, Irish Life Centre

·         Dublin City Library & Dublin City Archives Gilbert Library

·         Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abby Street

·         Registry of Deeds, Henrietta Street

          He recommended checking the Valuation Office for records of the Mullanes in Clonmel. With much thanks, we collected our belongings, signed out and did more walking.

          Like me,  you have probably read that you must go to Ireland prepared. When I went to the Valuation Office in the Irish Life Centre, I was glad I had been in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in March [see my 1 April 2012 blog post]. The 1871 ‘Index to Towlands of Ireland’ had given me the information on Clonmel needed in this office. The clerk needed the County, Barony, Parish and Townland to extract the appropriate ledgers in which to find the Mullanes. She asked me to take a seat at a table and rather quickly went into another room and returned pulling a deep cart with half a dozen well used, large record books. They were thicker than they were wide. Each encompassed a range of years between 1856 & 1967 and within those years names were listed by streets.

          I had with me a timeline of the Daniel Mullane family showing streets where they had lived in Clonmel between 1866 & 1952. I had gathered this information over the years from a number of sources, including letters written to their American relatives. There were gaps but combined with the Valuation Lists it gave us a good point to begin searching. My daughter and I looked carefully through each volume.

          In 1914 the building on Upper Gladstone Street was occupied by L. Larrigan. Daniel Mullane took it over in 1916. Daniel leased the “Office, Advertising Station and yard” from Joseph Shortiss until 1927 when his son, Timothy, took over. [Daniel died 1930.] Timothy held the building from 1933 – 1946. [In 1935 Mullane Coach Builders were located there & in 1952 Mullane General Grocers were there.] In 1967 Daniel Mullane, Jr. took it over from his older brother. [I will look for a death record for Timothy c 1967.]

          Knowing the family was in Clonmel for about 100 years I had hoped to find more records but was happy with the records we did uncover. We paid a fee for the use of the books & the color copies of the pages showing the Mullanes. Our genealogy in Ireland had begun!



Sightseeing

          We walked through Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, no waiting. The embellishments in the book are amazing but I was more impressed by the Long Room which houses 200,000 of the library’s oldest books. The researcher in me wanted to read those books.

          The Brazenhead Pub, c. 1198, was our lunch spot. Our first Irish meal was seafood soup & oysters with Baileys for me and Guiness for my daughter. In the evening we walked over the Ha’Penny Bridge across the River Liffey. We stopped in the Doheny & Nesbitt Public House on Baggott Street for a drink & crisps. By evening we were glad to settle into our hotel beds.
Me in St. Stephen's Green, Dublin

         

         

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Two Margaret Mullane Birthdays in April

Margaret Mullane



Daniel & Brigid (English) Mullane had a large family, born and raised in Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland where Daniel was a carriage maker. They had two little daughters named Margaret. They named their sixth child Margaret Mullane. She was born 17 April 1876. Little Margaret had two older sisters and two older brothers. Another brother, Thomas, had died from bronchitis in 1872 as a two year old toddler.

Unfortunately, little Margaret lived only ten months. She died 9 March 1877.

On 18 April 1880, just about four years after the birth of the first Margaret, Daniel and Brigid had another daughter named Margaret. This little girl did not grow to adulthood either. She died 22 July 1892 at 12 years of age.

Daniel and Brigid had 11 children all together. Sadly, four of them died as children. One of those who grew to adulthood was my great grandmother, Mary Josephine (Mullane) Coyle.

I hope to learn more about this family on my upcoming trip to Ireland.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Ancestor Anniversaries, April 17 - 29

Springtime is full of new life & new weddings.



17 April 1805           Andreas Keck, 1753 – 1828 [son of Henry & Hannah Keck] & Susanna Scheetz, 1768 - 1853. Married in Pennsylvania. This was his second marriage. 1 child.

19 April 1838           Frederick Ritter, 1812 – 1898 [son of Johannes & Anna Mariah Ritter]  & Elizabeth Kope. 3 children.

19 April 1883           William Matthias Ritter, 1852 – 1883 [son of Daniel & Annette (Romich) Ritter] & Emma Rebecca Wagner. Married in Pennsylvania. 4 children.

20 April 1878           William Mark, 1844 – 1904 [son of Abraham & Mary Isabella (Heffelfinger) Mark] & Elidia Rebecca Ritter. William had served in the Civil War. Elidia was his second wife. They were my second great grandparents. 

21 April 1892           Philip Ritter [son of Isaac Ritter & Isabell Fisher]  & Mary. E. Cornelius. They were married in Cleveland, Ohio. They had four children, all born in Ohio. Philip was a belt maker. He died in 1950.

21 April 1938           Morton Oscar Cooper & Helen Lucille Jolliff [daughter of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark] 

24 April 1940           Shelby McDaniel & Miria May Blades [daughter of Wiley Blades & Elizabeth Breland]. They had two children.

27 April 1925           Bernard William Kelly & Bridget Coyle [daughter of Patrick Coyle &                                                                       Margaret Brady]. 

28 April 1858           Allen Moses Brown [son of Edward S. Brown & Mary Polly Spurlock] & Emmaline Smith [daughter of Wyatt Smith & Euseba Fortenberry]. They had three children. They were my second great grandparents. Allen died c. 1870. 

28 April 1914           Amos Martin Mark [son of William Mark & Elidia Rebecca Ritter] & Lillian Myrtle Hoverstock. They were married in Wayne, Ohio. They had one child. They were married for 55 years.

29 April 1768           Johannes Ritter, Sr. [son of Henrich Ritter & Maria Elizabeth Tutt] & Maria Elisabeth Keck. They had eleven children, all born in Ohio. They were married for 45 years. They were my fifth great grandparents.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 3




While in Ireland, I am hoping to explore the beauty of Ireland and to learn more about my Irish families: Brady, Coyle and Mullane.  These families all left Ireland in the 1880s.
My daughter and I will be flying into Dublin. There are two places I intend to visit there in hopes being nudged in the right direction to find my ancestors.
1.    The National Archives, Bishop Street, Genealogy Service on the 5th floor. According to the internet: “The National Archives … is the ideal starting point because of its Genealogy Service. This service is provided free of charge to personal callers. Members of APGI offer expert advice to visitors on their specific family history research, explaining where to go and how to use relevant records. Visitors then go about their research in the Archives or in other repositories and they are welcome to return to the Genealogy Service for further guidance as often as they wish.”

2.    National Library, 2/3 Kildare Street. According to the internet: "The Genealogy Advisory Service is available free of charge to all personal callers to the Library who wish to research their family history in Ireland. For first time researchers this Service is an ideal starting point, allowing them the opportunity to discuss their research with experienced Library staff, and ready access to important finding aids."

I am taking my “Quick Notes” for the Brady, Coyle & Mullane families.  I prepared ‘Quick Notes’ on each of those three branches, condensed into two or three sheets of paper that I can easily carry along with me. They include basic information including sources, a time line that includes the family’s movements over the years and a list of questions I’d like answered. I also have an iPad with the ancestry app which links to the Family Tree Maker 2012 program on my home laptop. I find it much easier to travel with my lightweight iPad rather than my laptop. And, if technology should fail, I have my “Quick Notes’.

          In Dublin we also hope to see the Book of Kells, visit the Shelbourne Hotel for tea and, of course visit the Temple Bar area in the evening. At any point our plans may change if we see something else that looks more interesting or if we are just too tired from our all night flight and the time change! Hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with us!


Thursday, April 5, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 2



In just a few days my dream of visiting Ireland will be reality. However, this is not time for dreaming. I have preparations to make and lists to cross off. Fortunately my family gave me some wonderful birthday [St. Patrick’s Day] gifts that will help for the trip.



·         A lightweight trip pod for my camera. My daughter & I will be able to be in photos together (from my husband, whose roots are in Italy).
·        A travel alarm clock (from my son and soon to be daughter in law). It will adjust to the change in time zones.
·         Extra SD cards for my camera so I can take lots of photos!
·         A sleep mask & neck pillow for the night crossing of the Atlantic.
·         A power convertor (from my electrical engineer daughter & her boyfriend, also an electrical engineer!).
·    An iTunes gift card to get books & movies for my iPad that will keep me entertained on the plane (thanks to my daughter and my favorite [and only] son in law).

We are also packing plenty of warm clothing and comfortable walking shoes; maps & a GPS.  Of course, I have my genealogy notes on my Irish ancestors for research there! Any suggestions for other items I should pack? This is my first trip across the Atlantic and I am open to suggestions!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

My Ireland Trip, part 1

Postcard from my grand aunt Kathleen Coyle


I have long dreamed of a visit to Ireland, the land of my mother’s family. As I wrote in my March 17th posting, my dream is about to come true. When I dream of Ireland I imagine expanses of green and blue with ancient Celtic crosses and wooly sheep. I picture curving country roads and people who look like me with red hair and ivory skin scattered with freckles. Perhaps it is naive to expect Ireland to look in the least the way it looked when my great grandmother, Mary Josephine Mullane, sailed away from her home in 1885. Of course there are vibrating cities connected by highways and people with brief cases and cell phones.

I am hoping there are still patches of green and blue, small towns and mossy church yards where, even if I can’t find the worn stone with our family name, I can find the spirit of my ancestors. I want to walk where they walked or at least take a deep breath of the air they breathed and look at the hills, the ruins and the ocean they saw.

Only a few days more and I will see how my dreams and reality compare.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Ancestor Anniversaries, April 1 - 15




1 April 1901            Harvey E. Miner & Ada Lavina Messmore [daughter of Allen G. & Barbary Ann (Ritter) Messmore]

3 April 1943            Augustine F. Pasquale, 1920 – 1997 [son of Frank & Giovanna Pascale] & Alice J. Marshall, 1918 – 1999. Married in New York State. 5 children.

5 April 1931            James Joseph McCall, 1898 – 1944 [son of Daniel & Elizabeth (Noye) McCall] & Marion J. Coyle, 1900 – 1991 [daughter of Michael & Mary Josephine (Mullane) Coyle]. Married in New York City. James was a New York City firefighter.

6 April 1921            Thomas Lynch & Catherine Brady [daughter of Patrick & Ellen (Reilly) Brady]. Married in New Jersey. 3 children.

6 April 1946            Henry Leissinger & Wesley Pierce [daughter of Arlie & Lyda Mearl (Brown) Pierce] 2 children.

8 April 1800            John Frederick Wolf, 1779 – 1872 [son of Johann Jonas & Appollonia (Dick) Wolf]  & Esther Barbara Shaffer, 1777 – 1866. 10 children. They were my 4th great grandparents. They were married for 66 years. 

8 April 1880            Frederick Leser & Louiza Gruissy [daughter of Christian & Mary (Wise) Gruissy]. Married in Ohio. 2 children.

11 April 1950           Bernarr Jessee Reynolds, 1925 – 1995 [son of Thelma Lady Brown]  & Jessis Elizabeth Overby. Married in Oregon. 3 children.

12 April 1947           Joseph W. Balog & Virginia Caroline Moore [daughter of Floyd Bernard & Anna (Slaby) Moore] 

13 April 1871           John William Ritter, 1850 – 1932 [son of Isaac & Isabell (Fisher) Ritter] & Ruth Anna Scott. Married in Ohio. 8 children. John was my second great grand uncle. John was a carpenter. He was married three times.

15 April 1922           Eslie Guy Mark, 1890 – 1972 [son of William & Elidia Rebecca (Ritter) Mark] & Golda Mae Warner. 3 children. They were married for 50 years. 
Eslie Guy & Golda Mae Mark
                               Burbank. Mr and Mrs. Mark of 7660 Garnan Road, Burbank RD will observe their golden wedding anniversary Saturday, April 15.  No special celebration is planned due to the ill health of Mr. Mark. Guy Mark and Golda Warner were married in the Medina M. E. parsonage by the Rev. Wallace H. Bryenton on April 15, 1922.  The Marks lived in Wooster for four years following their wedding and have lived at their present address for the past 46 years.  Mr. Mark was a painter by trade and after retirement bought furs and worked at odd jobs.  He was a charter member of the American Legion Post in Wooster and belonged to the Lodi Post No. 523 for many years. The couple enjoy gardening and flowers and formerly belonged to a garden club.  Mrs. Mark enjoys participating in church work when her health permits.  She is a member of the Lodi American Legion Auxillary. The Marks have one son, Glenn, at home.  Two sons are deceased.

Do you know more about any of these couples? Let's compare information. Contact me.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Family History Library, Salt Lake City Research Trip, Part 3: USA Books

I recently took a trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. I had three days to spend in the library while my family was on the slopes of the Canyons and Park City. By mid afternoon they were ready for a break from skiing and I would head back over the mountains to join them. Therefore, my time in the library was limited. When expanding my Irish research did not look promising I decided to put it aside and take the elevator to the second floor, USA & Canada Books.xcza

          The only family notes I had with me were my Irish families but I did have my iPad with the ancestry app that links to my Family Tree Maker 2012 program on my laptop at home. At our condo I made some notes on my paternal grandfather’s family. I divided them by state and then county.

Georgia, Liberty County: Edward S. Brown b1806
Louisiana, Washington Parish: Martin P., Jessie A. & John D. b late 1830s
Mississippi, Marion County: Moses Brown m 1812 & d 1838
Mississippi, Pike County: Alford, Smith & Fortenberry
Mississippi, Walthall County: Jeremiah Smith
North Carolina, Jones County: Edward Brown d 1787
South Carolina, Lancaster County: Fortenberry
South Carolina, Orangeburg County: Melchior & Jacob Ott
South Carolina, York County: Brumfield

          Back at the Family History Library I set up my things on a large library table near the shelves labeled for the Southeastern States. It is easy to find each state and then the counties within each state. In those county books I went straight to the index and looked for my surnames. I found more materials than I could fully search in the time I had.

          If you have an opportunity to do research in the Family History Library don’t pass it up. You’ll be glad you visited.

I used these books at the library:

Georgia: Liberty County 975.8733
· Hagenesss, Marilee beatty. Georgia Genealogical Sources. Anniston, AL: MLH research, 1997.
· Ingmire, Frances T. Liberty County, Georgia Marriage records 1780 - 1860. St. Louis, MO, 1985.

Louisiana: Washington Parish 976.311
· Williams, Jr., E. Russ. History of Washington Parish, LA1798 - 1992. I. 1994.
· Williams, Jr., Ernest Russ. A Potpourri of Historical Data concerning the Founding Families and Individuals of Washington Parish, LA, 1798 - 1860. Monroe, LA: Northeast Louisiana University, 1990.

Mississippi Books: Marion County 976.221
· Arnold, Jr., Stanley W., and Louise Anderson. Marion Co MS Cemeteries. 2nd Printing. North Little Rock, Arkansas: Custom Printing, 1988.
· Marion County Historical Society, First. History of Marion Co, MS. Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Pub Co, Inc.
· Upton, Mrs. Robert Chester. Marriage Records Marion Co, MS 1812 - 1860. 1958.
· Williams, E. Russ. Marion Co MS Miscellaneous records, 1812 - 1859. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986.
· Williams, Jr., E. Russ. Abstracts of Deeds Marion Co, MS. 1962.
· Williams, Jr., E. Russ. Orphan Court Records 1812 - 1859 Marion Co, MS. Bogalusa, LA: 1962.
· Williams, Jr., E. Russ. Records of Marion Co, MS. 1965. 3.

Mississippi Books: Pike County 976.223
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike Co, Mississippi School Census, 1878. Greenwell Springs, LA.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike Co, Mississippi School Census, 1885. Greenwell Springs, LA.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike Co, Mississippi School Census, 1890. Greenwell Springs, LA.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1900.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1912.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1920.
· Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1933.

North Carolina: Jones County 975.621
· Aiken, Nancy Bryan. Minutes of the Jones Co NC Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions 1826 - 1841. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2002.
· Gwynn, Zae Hargett. Abstracts of The records of Jones Co NC 1779 - 1868. I. Memphis, TN: Zae Hargett Gwynn and Henry Norburne Gwynn.
· Kammerer, Roger E. Onslow Register Records of Onslow & Jones Co Citizens and Related Families. II. 1988.

South Carolina: Lancaster County 975.745
· 1820 Lancaster Co, South Carolina Census.
· Ellis, Joanne. Lancaster County, SC Cemetery Date. I. Lancaster, SC: DD, Inc., 1995.
· Ellis, Joanne. Lancaster County, SC Cemetery Date. II. Lancaster, SC: DD, Inc., 1995.
· Holcomb, Brent H. Lancaster Co, SC Deed Abstracts 1787 - 1811. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press.
· Jeffcoat, Frances R. Lancaster District 1850 census of the USA. 1984.
· Small, Otha B. 1810 Lancaster Co SC Census. Monroe, North Carolina.

South Carolina: Orangeburgh County 975.779
· Buff, Jr., L. H. The Orangeburg District (SC) 1850 Census. Lexington, SC: Lexington Genealogical association, 1997.
· Culler, Daniel Marchant. Orangeburgh District 1768 - 1868 History and Records. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1995.
· Jarrell, Lawrence E. 1820 Orangeburgh South Carolina Census. High Point, NC, 1998. 975.779
· Jarrell, Lawrence E. Early Orangeburgh South Carolina Census. 1998.
· Salley, Jr., Alexander S. The History of Orangeburgh County South Carolina. Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Company, 1969.

South Carolina: York County 975.743
· Holcomb, Brent H. York Co, SC Will Abstracts 1787 - 1862 [1170 - 1862]. Columbia, SC: SCMAR, 2002.
· Holcomb, Brent H. York Co, SC Deed Abstracts 1786 - 1801 [1772 - 1801]. I. Columbia, SC: SCMAR, 2008.