This week’s prompt is “At the Cemetery”. I am amazed how many of the prompts for #52Ancestorsin52weeks are so timely. Last week, we paid a final tribute to Greg’s dad. He was buried in the Brigadier General William C Doyle Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover Township, NJ last week. Since this weekend is Memorial Day, I’m sure that Joseph J. McClosky’s grave will be decorated with a flag, honoring his military service. I’m glad that Gram’s ashes were interred with him, and that she will also be so honored as a military wife.

Last week, while Greg and I were waiting for Mary’s plane to arrive, we took the opportunity to have a Philly cheese steak (yum) and visit two cemeteries south of the airport where the McGovern, Hilbert and Corbett ancestors are buried (St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Chester, PA and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Cemetery, Linwood, PA). Photos of several gravestones may be found on the Shelly Horn Geneology Facebook page.

This week, I’d like to continue to take advantage of the work that Margaret McGovern Saiauskie made available to me (McGovern Hilbert Family History) and tell you about Greg’s mother’s (Gram’s) maternal line.

In order to ground you with the line, here’s a “pedigree view” starting with Margaret Mary McGovern Saiauskie, from the McGovern Hilbert Family History:

Leo, Greg, Helen and Joe’s mother was Mary Ellen McGovern (Margaret’s eldest sister, so you can substitute her name for Margaret’s in the pedigree’s first box).

Their mother was Margaret Mary Hilbert, who married Leo George McGovern.

Margaret Hilbert’s mother was Mary Ellen Corbett, born in 1880 – 1881. Mary Ellen Corbett was born in Ireland and was a young girl (7 or 8) when she immigrated to the United States with her mother, Catherine Corcoran Corbett and two siblings (John Corbett and Margaret Corbett). If you are of the current “younger generation” – grandchildren, grand-nieces or grand-nephews of Mary Ellen McGovern McClosky (Gram), or her siblings, then Catherine Corcoran is your 3 x great grandmother (great-great-great!).

I’d love to have met Catherine Corcoran Corbett – she sounds like quite a force.

Following is a fascinating story of the family’s journey to this country, as related by Margaret Saiauskie and her Aunt Marcella Connelly.

“Patrick Corbett came to the United States in 1882 in search of work. Being unsuccessful, he returned to Ireland. His wife, Catherine Corcoran Corbett, determined to find a better life for her family, sent Patrick back to the United States in 1887. Shortly thereafter, in 1888, Catherine followed her husband, Patrick, to the United States and arrived at Ellis Island, New York, with their three children, John, Mary and Margaret. Five more children were born to them in this country. They were Hannah, Patrick, Nellie, Katie and William.

“Shortly after their arrival, Patrick Corbett met a man from New England who was looking for ore mine laborers to work in the mines in Cornwall, Pennsylvania. Patrick signed on for $12.00/week. Patrick and Catherine lived in Cornwall, Pennsylvania for many years raising their family. As time went by, people working in the ore mines went looking for better working conditions and moved to Chester, PA. Patrick and Catherine Corbett were among them, moving their family to Sixth and Wilson Streets in Chester. At the time, that part of Chester was known as Goattown. Later they moved to Flower Street in Chester.

“Catherine Corcoran Corbett was a midwife who held a certificate from a doctor at Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, stating her outstanding ability as such. She delivered many of the children in Goattown, including her own grandchildren. On November 26, 1921, at the age of 62, she died of pneumonia. Patrick Corbett, her husband, went to live with his daughter, Mary, until his death at the age of 82 on October 16, 1924.

Catherine Corcoran Corbett (1855 – 1921) and Patrick Corbett (1840 – 1923) had 8 children, as follows. Their three oldest children were born in Ireland.

               John Corbett b 1877

               Mary Ellen Corbett (1881 – 1952)

               Margaret Corbett b 1882

               Johanna Corbett (1887 – 1965)

               Patrick Joseph Corbett (1892 – 1968)

               Helen “Nellie” Corbett (1895 – 1986)

               Edwin Corbett b. 1896

               William Corbett b. 1899

Patrick and Catherine Corbett are buried with their son, Patrick Joseph and his wife, Margaret M. Corbett in Immaculate Heart of Mary Cemetery, Linwood, PA. There is no photo of their gravestone online – if anyone happens to be in the neighborhood, I’d love to have a photo of their gravestone.

Mary Corbett (Patrick and Catherine’s eldest daughter, born in Ireland and arrived in this country in 1887-1888) is Greg’s great grandmother. She married Patrick Hilbert, another Irish immigrant.

Here’s more from the family history:

“Mary Corbett was born in 1880 in County Waterford, Ireland. Mary was 8 years old when she arrived in the United States with her mother.

“Mary worked as a seamstress for a wealthy family named Brooks. The Brooks’ lived in Jenkintown and had a daughter of their own. Mary worked for the Brooks family for about a year when they decided to go abroad. They invited Mary to join them as a companion to their daughter but her mother, Catherine Corcoran Corbett, would not allow it.

“Mary Corbett met Patrick Hilbert while he was a foreman working for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Mary was 18 years old when they married. Patrick Hilbert was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and came to the United States at the age of 23. Mary and Patrick were married in Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 2^nd and Norris Streets, Chester, PA on January 12, 1898.”

They are buried in the church graveyard, with their son William P. Hilbert (1905 – 1959) who never married.

They settled in Marcus Hook when it was a rural fishing village. Marcus Hook was known as the “four corners” because there was a drugstore, grocery store, saloon and an oyster house on each corner. The Delaware River brought in many fishing and oyster boats to dock at Marcus Hook. There was even a boardwalk along the river.”

Patrick Hilbert’s naturalization papers are interesting to see (below). I’m not sure of the year he immigrated to the US, because the 1900, 1910 and 1930 Census data has three different dates (1886, 1880, 1887). In order to become a citizen, one had to reside in the United States for several years, and be “of good moral character”. Notice that his name seems to be spelled “Hibbert”. I have also seen “Helebert”; that just makes the research all that more interesting!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Until next week.

It has been a difficult week for our family, as our respective lives were put on hold as we gathered in New Jersey to bury Greg’s father, Joseph J. McClosky. Greg’s mother (Mary Ellen McGovern) died 10 years ago; her ashes were interred with Greg’s dad. After the wake, funeral mass and military burial, we gathered at Greg’s brother Leo’s house to eat, drink and talk. I loved being with our two daughters and seeing their aunts, uncles and cousins as well as some dear family friends.

The prompt for this week is “Nature”. It has also been an emotionally fraught week for many people in this country in that the state of Alabama passed a “total abortion ban”, not even allowing for exceptions like rape and incest. Other states are following suit, criminalizing abortion or making it virtually impossible for women to obtain one should they make the horrifically difficult, personal decision to have one.

I am not “pro-abortion” – that isn’t even a thing – I am pro-Choice.  I thought that I would dedicate this post to our many foremothers that lived WITHOUT reproductive choice, saw their children die and lost their lives either giving birth or from complications of childbirth. This is “Nature” in her most brutal form. Thank goodness we live in an age where we have the means to plan the size of our families, to make nourishing food and modern medicine available for our children so that they live to adulthood, and to NOT die in childbirth.

I’d like to introduce you to several women, ancestors in my mother’s Horn line, and provide you with their life facts. There are many more women that lost their lives in childbirth that I have found in my research. I honor all of them.

Nancy Jennings was born in 1764 and died in 1801. She was my 4 x great grandmother on my mother’s side. She married Nathan Horn in 1784 – she was 20 years old. She was 21 when she had her first child, and had four children in rapid succession before she was 30. Her last child (Thomas) lived, but Nancy died that same year. She was 37 years old. Nathan remarried in 1802 (Sarah Sally Harris) and had at least eight more children.

Children of Nancy Jennings and Nathan Horn:

               1785 – Wiley Horn (Nancy was 21)

               1786 – Hansel Horn (Nancy was 22)

               1787 – Celia Horn (Nancy was 23)

               1791 – Reddick Horn (Nancy was 27)

               1796 – Eda Horn (Nancy was 32)

               1798 – Purity Horn (Nancy was 34)

               1801 – Thomas Horn (Nancy was 37 and died soon after)

Elizabeth Morgan was born in 1793 and died in 1838. She was my 3 x great grandmother on my mother’s side. She married Wiley Horn (eldest son of Nancy Jennings) in 1811 when she was 18 years old (1811). Elizabeth had 7 children by the time she was thirty, and died at age 44. Her children were:

               Lydia – born 1813 when Elizabeth was 20

               Nathan Duncan – born 1814 when Elizabeth was 21

               James Barden – born 1814 when Elizabeth was 22

               Rachel Morgan – born 1816 when Elizabeth was 23

               Celia Anna – born 1819 when Elizabeth was 26

               Nancy G – born 1821 when Elizabeth was 28

               Jacob – born 1823 when Elizabeth was 30

               1838 – Elizabeth was dead at age 44. Wiley did not remarry.

Sarah Frances Sally Dawson (1820 – 1857) was the wife of Nathan D. Horn and my 2^nd great-grandmother on my mother’s side. I don’t have a marriage date for Sarah and Nathan, but their first child was born in 1834, when Sarah was 14. Sarah died in 1857, at age 37, following the birth of her last child. Nathan remarried within months of Sarah’s death.

               Frances – born 1834 when Sarah was 14

               Nancy E. A. – born 1839 when Sarah was 18

               Virginia – born 1842 when Sarah was 22

               Rachel Rebecca – born 1846 when Sarah was 26

               Marshall Patrick – born 1853 when Sarah was 33

               Sarah Ann (Sally) born 1857 when Sarah was 37

               1857 – Sarah was dead at age 37.

Lucinda Freeze (1863 – 1887) was the first wife of Marshall Patrick Horn (my great grandfather). She married Marshall Patrick in 1881 (age 18) and had children when she was 19, 20 and 22. She and her infant died in 1887 when she was 24.

Sarah Elizabeth Robbins (1868 – 1944) was the second wife of Marshall Patrick Horn (my great grandparents).  She was 19 years old when they married and she cared for MP’s three children by Lucinda Freeze. My grandfather, Buel Edward Horn, was Sarah’s first child (born 1888, when Sarah was 20). Her second child, Walter, was born in 1890 but he died 2 years later, when Sarah was pregnant with her third child. Sarah had a total of 11 children, including a set of twins. Her last child was born in 1910, when she was 41. Sarah did not die in childbirth – she lived to the age of 76.

There are so many other examples in our family tree of women losing their young children and losing their lives at a young age. I know that “this was the times” but wanted to give you examples so that you know how very lucky we are to have choices. Our foremother’s didn’t, and paid for it.

Until next week.

The prompt for this week is “nurture”. I thought this prompt was wholly appropriate to begin to share information on the Hilbert family (Greg’s maternal grandmother). I never had the pleasure to know Greg’s grandmother, but did know his mother (Mary Ellen McGovern McClosky) for many years. I can’t think of a more nurturing soul. We lost her almost 10 years ago, and mourn her loss to this day.

We have suffered a loss this week, so this post is dedicated to Greg’s dad, Joe McClosky (March 3, 1930 – May 8, 2019), who had the good sense to marry Mary Ellen McGovern! Joe’s funeral mass will be celebrated next week with family and friends. When we got the call, Helen told Greg that she could just hear her mom (Mary Ellen), saying “Get on up here, Joe – its time you left those people alone!” For those of you who knew and loved Gram, can’t you just hear her saying that?

Before I start on the Hilbert’s, though, I have few items to catch you up on:

I was able to find immigration information for Dominca Michaelowski (Greg’s paternal great-grandmother), as follows. I am still looking for similar information for her husband, Matthew. I’m pretty sure they did not travel together.

Dominca Michaelowski (b ca 1856) arrived in the US at age 33 on 23 Sep 1889 on ship Lord Gough.

               Departed Liverpool Eng; arrived Philadelphia PA

               Her Country of Origin: Russia

               Also traveling with her: Jacob, 5 years and Anna, 4 years

               Destination in US: Wanamie, PA

The Lord Gough was a steamship and carried 14 passengers in the “Saloon” and 267 passengers in steerage. It is interesting to read the summary of the status of the immigrants, as declared by the ship’s captain, to the Port of Philadelphia. Following are questions and answers, declared by the ship’s captain to the United States Commissioners on Immigration:

1. How many passengers on board?  281
2. Is there any sickness on board? If so, disease?  No
3. How many lunatics? None
4. How many Idiotic or Imbecile persons? None
5. Any immigrants assisted or transported by a Foreign Government? None
6. Have there been any deaths on board? No
7. Have there been any births? No
8. Are there any stowaways or workaways on board? No
9. Are there any convicts that you know of? No

And so forth…

This is the Captain speaking:  “All the lunatics, please raise your hands.”

The Lord Gough was part of the American Line of Norway, and built in 1878. Her maiden voyage was in 1879, and she was scrapped in 1899. The emigrant ships would take people across the Atlantic in fairly short order (2 weeks at sea), powered by both steam and sails. Temporary partitions were usually erected and used for steerage accommodation. As soon as the ships had set the passengers on land, furnishings were discarded and the ship prepared for return with cargo for Europe.

 From the Norway Heritage website http://www.norwayheritage.com/steerage.htm  “steerage” or “between-deck” was originally the deck immediately below the main deck of a sailing ship. The ceiling height was usually 6 – 8 feet and contained roughly made wooden bunks. Each bunk was intended to hold from three to five people and were double-deck beds. They had straw mattresses, but the emigrants had to bring their own pillows and blankets. Lice and fleas thrived. They also had to bring their own food and drink.

Margaret McGovern Saiauski has provided us with two more wonderful photos. The first is of her grandfather, George Ignatius McGovern, and the second is his wife Ellen R. Gallagher. I would not be surprised if these were taken on or near their wedding date in 1903.

I mentioned last week that Henry McGovern (1839 – 1887) fought in the “War of Rebellion,” also known as the Civil War, on the side of the Union. According to the “1890 Veteran’s Schedule” which lists Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Widows, Henry was a sergeant in the 6^th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry (Rush’s Lancers) and enlisted 25 Aug 1862. He was discharged 5 Jun 1865. I have been unable to locate his name on a roster for this regiment, so this information may not be accurate – Henry died in 1887. If it is accurate, his regiment fought in some pretty famous battles:

Battle of Antietam                          17 Sep 1862

               Battle of Fredricksburg                   11 – 15 Dec 1862

               Battle of Chancellorsville               30 Apr – 6 May 1863

               Battle of Gettysburg                       1 – 3 Jul 1863

               Siege of Petersburg                         15 Jun 1864 – 2 Apr 1865

Henry’s gravestone can be found in St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Chester, PA, along with that of his wife, Elizabeth and son James. To the left of their gravestone is a smaller one which shows that Henry was a Civil War veteran shown below.

Now that we’ve caught up with the McClosky’s and McGovern’s, the rest of the post will be the start of the Hilbert family.

Mary Ellen McGovern’s mother (Greg’s maternal grandmother) was Margaret Mary Hilbert (1909 – 1979). She married Leo George McGovern (1910 – 1963) on June 16, 1932, in Baltimore, Maryland. Margaret and Leo had five children:

               Mary Ellen McGovern (Gram)      1932 – 2009

               Ann Elizabeth McGovern               1934 – 1967

               George Patrick McGovern             1938 – 1994

               Margaret Mary McGovern            1945 – living

               Leo George McGovern                   1947 – living

Margaret Mary Hilbert was born in Trainer, Pennsylvania to Patrick Hilbert (1865 – 1940) and Mary Ellen Corbett (1881 – 1952). Her maternal grandmother, Catherine Corcoran Corbett (1856 – 1921) was a midwife, and delivered some of her grandchildren at their homes. Patrick Hilbert and Mary Ellen Corbett were both born in Ireland and came to the US as children. I’ll fill you in on their parents in a future post.

Margaret Mary Hilbert was the fifth of eight children. The eight children of Patrick Hilbert and Mary Ellen Corbett are as follows:

               Elizabeth Agnes “Lizzie”                1900 – 1933

               Catherine Josephine                       1903 – 1989

               William Patrick                                1905 – 1959

               Mary Helen                                       1907 – 1981

               Margaret Mary                                1909 – 1979

               Helen Gertrude                                1913 – 1992

               Joseph Aloysius                                1915 – 1981

               Ann Marcella                                    1919 – 2002

Margaret McGovern Saiauski has shared some memories of her Hilbert grandparents, “Mom” and “Pop”. With eight children, their house was always full of noise and laughter. “Mom” baked 16 loaves of bread a week to feed the hungry kids. This bread, mind you, was kneaded by hand, and “Mom” had large, strong, capable hands. There is a family recipe called “Mom’s Cake” which Mom would mix by hand, not having an electric mixer. Apparently one of the cousins tried years later to mix the cake by hand and could not do it. I have included the recipe for “Mom’s Cake” for you to try. It is delicious!

Margaret has shared some wonderful photos of her mother (Margaret Mary Hilbert) as a young girl and a sophisticated woman. Greg talked often about what an absolute pistol his grandmother was – always with a twinkle in her eye and a ready laugh, just like Gram’s. She loved to sing and dance and played the piano by ear. She entertained her father with Irish jigs and reels, and was known to “disappear” as the dishes were being done so that she could play the piano for her father after dinner. Margaret Mary was an excellent seamstress as were her mother (Mary Ellen Corbett) and grandmother (Catherine Corcoran). They made many beautiful dresses for special occasions, including first communions and weddings. She also made lace (tatting), which is nearly a lost art and did needlework. She painted ceramics, and later, fine china, and if she saw something made by hand, she’d say “I can make that” and did.

In the Hilbert family history, Ann Marcella Hilbert Connolly included a “bird’s-eye view” of her childhood. She included it so that other generations could know what life was like for the Hilbert family. Here are some excerpts:

“During my early life on Post Road in Trainer, PA with my parents, five sisters and two brothers, we were taught much by my Mother and Father. We learned by doing different chores and tasks, i.e. all the girls were instructed in sewing, crocheting, knitting, cooking, washing, ironing, baking, etc.

“My early childhood years were spent with neighborhood children. My cousins would spend their vacations with us and my mother sewed their dresses for the opening days of school. It was a real fun time. There were no swim clubs back in those days, so for relief from the summer heat, we would put the hose over the limb of the apple tree in the side yard.

“In Ireland it was customary for the men to raise food for the family. As a result of this know-how, my Father raised a large garden of vegetables and also several fruit-bearing trees, including a graph harvest. This was his recreation after working at his job at Sinclair Oil Company. The fruits and vegetables supplied the family with food which my Mother preserved in mason jars for winter consumption. When the fruit (apples, pears, peaches) was ready to pick, each piece was wrapped carefully in newspaper and stored in our cold cellar for good wintertime eating. The fruit and (bought) nuts were used especially at Christmastime for filling the children’s stockings which were hung from the mantle in our living room.

“Playing instruments in Ireland at an early age was customary. Margaret played the piano and entertained “Pop” with all the Irish jigs and reels. He loved it. I’m sure it brought back memories of the old country for him.”

With eight children in the family, with an almost twenty-year time span between the oldest: Lizzie (b 1900) and Marcella (b 1919), I think it is safe to assume that it was a busy household! According to Marcella, her mother Mary Corbett Hilbert and her grandmother, Catherine Corcoran Corbett were excellent seamstresses and made the wedding finery that you can see in the attached photo.

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into what life was like for the Hilbert family. There is much more, but it will have to wait for another day.

Until next week.

This week’s prompt for “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” is “Road Trip”, so I’d like to introduce some of the Irish ancestors with a nod to the “Road Trip” that they took – the Road to Citizenship. There is quite a bit of controversy these days about “illegal immigration” since many people in the world still believe that America holds the promise of a better life. Our immigrant ancestors had a similar view, and risked their lives to get here.

Since I haven’t found any Native American ancestors in any of the lines I have studied, I will assume that all of our ancestors came to this country from Europe. Some came over almost 300 years ago, and some came more recently (175 – 150 years ago). I think it might be interesting to explore how our immigrant ancestors became citizens. If you would like to compare what they did versus what is required today, I’d invite you to explore what is required of people seeking the path to citizenship today. Hint: it requires years of time in this country as a “resident alien”, money (over $1000), access to a computer and printer, and the ability to fill out many pages of bureaucratic “stuff”. It is helpful if you are educated with a skill deemed valuable to our government, related or married to someone who is already a citizen and have a command of the English language.

Prior to the Revolutionary War, British immigrants to the colonies were considered citizens because the colonies were considered an extension of the United Kingdom. My mother’s Horn ancestors and my father’s Lewis ancestors were from the UK and came to the Colonies in the late 1600’s – 1700’s. Others, like my 4 x great grandfather, Rudolph Lapp, swore an oath of allegiance soon after arrival from Germany in 1733.  Rudolph’s Oath of Allegiance was to the King of England. All immigrants had to forswear any allegiance to governments/rulers of their native countries. As far as children were concerned, they were considered “property” and had no legal standing. If the parents were naturalized, so were their children.

My mother’s Bigler ancestors came from Switzerland in the mid 1800’s which is around the time that Greg’s McClosky ancestors (Lithuanian and Russian) ancestors emigrated. Greg’s ancestors on his mother’s side were Irish (McGovern and Hilbert) and emigrated from Ireland around that time (mid-1800’s).

Mary Ellen McGovern (1932 – 2009), known by all who knew and loved her as either “Mrs. M.” or “Gram” was very proud of her Irish roots. Both her mother (Margaret Mary Hilbert, 1909 – 1979) and her father (Leo George McGovern, 1910 – 1963) were direct descendants of Irish immigrants. Although I have expanded my Ancestry.com account to include records outside the US, I have not been able to find much about these folks in Ireland. Of course, it doesn’t help that every family seems to have a Mary, Margaret, Ellen, George, John, William and of course, a Patrick! Gram’s sister Margaret (Margaret McGovern Saiauski) explained: “Here’s an Irish tidbit for you… When the first grandson and granddaughter are born, they are generally named after the grandparents.” This results in a “skip a generation” naming sequence, as well as the common practice of naming a son after his father. “Gram, Mary Ellen McGovern was named after her grandmothers, Mary Corbett and Ellen Gallagher and her brother George was named after the grandfathers (George I McGovern and Patrick Hilbert).”

Mary Ellen McGovern’s father was Leo George McGovern (1910 – 1963). Greg doesn’t remember much about him since he died when Greg was five, but he does remember sitting on his lap and being allowed to sip beer from his glass mug while his grandmother protested. As I have mentioned previously, Margaret McGovern Saiauski has provided me with a digital copy of the history of the McGovern/Hilbert family. I have included two photos of Leo George McGovern and Margaret Mary Hilbert from this extensive work.

Leo George’s parents (Gram’s paternal grandparents) were George I. McGovern (1872 – 1953) and Ellen R. Gallagher (1879 – 1958).  The “I” in George’s name stands for “Ignatius” which is a fabulously unique name. Both George Ignatius McGovern and Ellen Gallagher were born in Pennsylvania, but they were first generation Americans. Both sets of their parents (Gram’s great grandparents) were from Ireland. Note: both Gram’s maternal grandparents, Patrick Hilbert (1865 – 1940) and Mary Ellen Corbett (1880 – 1952) were born in Ireland. I have created a Pedigree View of the McGovern ancestors, with the Irish immigrants indicated (green boxes).

In case you want to explore the family tree in Ancestry.com, a link to the tree is below. Sign on as a guest and it won’t cost you anything, and please keep in mind that this is a work in progress! Copy and past the link into your browser, and please let me know if it doesn’t work!

https://ancstry.me/2GZJeh2

George Ignatius McGovern was born 16 September 1872 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was one of eight children and first shows up in the 1880 census as an eight-year-old boy living on Hill Street in Upland, PA. In 1900, he was still single and living with his parents, who had moved to Church Street, and listed his occupation as “clothing salesman”. He married Ellen R. Gallagher on 14 October, 1903, when he was 31. Their son, Leo George McGovern (Gram’s father) was born in 1910. They had three other children and had moved to Chester, PA by that time. George Ignatius was a clothing salesman his entire life, had completed his education through the 8^th grade, and at age 66 was still working and living in Chester with his wife, Ellen and his married daughter’s family (George and Mary Kirkman and their three children) (1940 US Census). He died on July 7, 1953, at the age of 80, of heart and kidney disease.

George I.’s death certificate lists his parents as John McGovern and Mary McLaughlin. John McGovern (1842 – 1918) was born in Ireland, as was his wife Mary (1846/1850 – 1938). John McGovern emigrated from Ireland in either 1846 (1910 Census) or 1850 (1900 Census). Either way, he was a young boy. I assume that John’s mother, Celia Nealson McGovern, came to this country at the same time, although I haven’t found a passenger list that includes them (yet!).  I am also looking for naturalization papers for Celia and her husband Patrick. John McGovern married Mary McLaughlin in 1867. Mary, who was also born in Ireland arrived in the US in 1856, according to the 1900 Census. Their children were:

            John E. (1868 – 1934)

Ellen/Nellie (b 1870 – ?)

            George Ignatius (1872 – 1953)

            William (1874 – 1927)

            Mary/Mamie (b 1878 – ?)

            Celia (1881 – 1942)

In the 1880 Census, John McGovern’s occupation is listed as “sizer of warps”, and his eldest son, John E. McGovern, age 10, is listed as “works in a cotton mill.”  I do not know what John McGovern (senior) died of, but his son John E. died of “carcinoma of the caecum (area between the small and large intestine). Read on for more information regarding the working conditions in cotton mills in the late 1800’s:

From Wikipedia: A weaving mill needed yarn suitable for the warp and the weft. Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is drawn through and inserted over-and-under the warp.

The warp had to delivered on the beam, or was wound on the beam by a beamer. To obtain the extra strength needed, the yarn was sized on a sizer. This was John McGovern’s job in 1880. Sizing is similar to starch. The weft was wound onto the pins for the shuttle on a pinner. These preparatory processes completed, the yarn was woven on a loom. One weaver would operate 4 or six looms.

Regarding John E McGovern (age 10): The cotton mills in the late 1800’s – early 1900’s would employ children in preference to adults. At Newton Mill, North Carolina, in 1909, twenty of the 150 workers observed appeared to be twelve years old or less. As well as the usual report of hands and fingers getting severed by the machinery and insufferable heat, the dust inhaled caused a fatal condition known as brown lung. Laws were rarely enforced, and the presence of small children in the factory was explained away to the inspectors saying they were visiting the mill to bring meals to their parents (meal totters), or helping but not on the payroll (helpers). Wages were good for the workers who could earn $2 a day in the mill against $0.75 on a farm. Child labor stopped not only because of new laws but the change in the type of machinery caused by the Great Depression, which required greater height and skill.

A cotton mill was not a healthy place to work. The air in the mill had to be hot and humid to prevent the thread from breaking: 18 °C to 26 °C and 85% humidity was normal. The air in the mill was thick with cotton dust, which could lead to lung disease. Also common were skin infections, eye infections, bronchitis and tuberculosis. The noise levels in a weaving shop led to levels of deafness in all who worked there. The lubricating material was carcinogenic and led to cancers of the mouth, digestive system and scrotum.

I have found several more interesting things about this family. There is a cemetery in Chester, PA, St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, where many McGovern’s are buried. George Ignatius is buried there, under the same grave marker as his wife, Ellen Gallagher McGovern. Also buried under the same marker are their son Edward (1914 – 1925) and daughter Marie Kirkman McDonald (1905 – 1971).  In 1940, Marie Kirkman and her family (husband and three children) had moved in with George I and Ellen. Note that their son Edward was 10 – 11 years old when he died – a tragic loss to be sure.

Also in St. Michael’s is the grave of George Ignatius McGovern’s father, John McGovern (d 1918), his wife Mary McLaughlin McGovern and daughter Ellen (d 1920). I have no idea who “Gertrude Gilston” is at this point in time!

One of the most exciting finds in genealogical research is to push back a generation or two. In St. Michael’s cemetery is buried Celia McGovern (1813 – 1883) “Our Mother”. Celia is none other than Greg’s 4 x great grandmother, the mother of John McGovern. Celia emigrated from Ireland, and since she is a recent find, I have a bit more research to do. According to another Ancestry tree, Celia Nealson was married to Patrick McGovern (birth unknown, death after 1860). They had six children, including John McGovern. I found the Last Will and Testament of Celia, written 11 Feb 1875. In her will, she mentions her five children (one, Ellen, was already deceased) and left her house to her son Henry. She was a businesswoman (a baker/confectioner) and a woman of property since she had another house/business that was to be sold and the proceeds divided amongst her children and grandchildren. Apparently, her youngest daughter Kate, who was born in 1860 when Celia was 47, was disabled because she asked that her son, Henry, take care of her. Henry McGovern, who’s gravestone is also in St. Michael’s cemetery, was a Civil War Veteran. More about him in another post!

Until next week.

When I started this work, I was focused on my mother’s (Horn/Bigler) and father’s (Shelly/Lewis) ancestral lines. I am by no means done, but since I recently upgraded my Ancestry account to include international datasets, I thought it would be fun to discover what I could about Greg’s family (McClosky/McGovern) since their ties to the “old country” were more recent. I found out that several years ago, Greg’s aunt Margaret McGovern Saiauski, her cousin and her Aunt Marcella had put together a family history book. Margaret was kind enough to mail me a pdf file of their work, which is a treasure trove. I attribute most of the information on the McGovern/Hilbert side to their wonderful efforts, in advance. Greg’s father, Joe, recently celebrated his 89^th birthday. I have been fortunate to have several long conversations with him about his family history (McClosky/Andrachak), so much of what I am going to cover in this first blog post I attribute to these conversations.

Joseph James McClosky (1930 – present) and Mary Ellen McGovern (1932 – 2009) were married in April, 1955 in New Jersey. Joe was a widower – his married his first wife, Theresa Naguszewski in June, 1952, when he was 22 and she was 21. He was in the military and the newlyweds were stationed in Heidelburg, Germany. Theresa died a year after they were married (June, 1953) of kidney failure. Joe met Mary McGovern at Theresa’s funeral – she had been friends with the wife of Joe’s brother Tony (Nora) and went with them to the funeral.

After they were married, Joe and Mary were stationed in Hawaii, where their first and second-born sons, Leo and Greg, were born. The family returned to the mainland and settled in New Jersey, where Helen and Joe were born.

Joe’s father was Edward Albert McClosky (1891 – 1957). Edward Albert McClosky was born on February 3, 1891, in Pennsylvania, when his father, Matthew, was 36 and his mother, Dominca, was 31. Edward Albert’s father, Matthew, was born around 1855 in Lithuania and he emigrated from Lithuania between 1885 – 1889. According to Joe, Matthew changed his name from Micaloskaus to McClosky “because the Irish were getting jobs”. See below for an alternate theory!

Matthew Micalouskaus (ca 1855 – 1899) married Dominica Ronediski, (1859 – 1935). Dominica arrived in the US from Lithuania/Russia between 1888 – 1890. The family settled in coal country (Luzerne County, Pennsylvania). I am not sure, but it is likely that they were married before they emigrated since the 1900 census lists Dominica Micaloski as the head of the household. Unfortunately, the census records of 1890 have been lost, but the 1900 census records show that Dominica was born in 1859 and arrived in 1889.  In 1900, she was a widow (see below) and her two oldest children (Jacob and Anna) were listed in the census as having been born in Poland.

1900 Census Records:                 Age        Born      Born in                 Arrived      Occupation

Dominica Micaloski                   40           1859      Russia/Lithuania  1889     Head of House

              Jacob Micaloski             Son        18   1882      Poland    1889   Driver in mines

              Anna Micaloski        Daughter       14   1886    Poland  1889   Servant

              Ladislaus Micaloski          Son        10     1890      PA                    At School

              Mary Micaloski        Daughter         8      1892      PA                     At School

              Joseph Micaloski              Son          7       1893      PA                                       

              Julia Micaloski          Daughter        3       1897      PA

Notice that none of the above children is named “Edward Albert”. I suspect that the boy “Ladislaus” is really Edward – the Polish name would have been “Wladyslaw”, and the census taker could have had trouble with the spelling. I am fairly certain that this is Edward Albert’s family, since the 1920 census for the same town has Dominica (now age 60) as living with Edward Albert McClosky (age 28) and Joseph McClosky (age 26, head of household) and Joseph’s wife, Josephine (age 19). Edward is much easier to spell and “more American”, don’t you think?

Speaking of names, I discovered that the surnames of people from Lithuania were different, depending on their gender.  This may well be the case today, but I’m not sure. The men would have been named with an “aus” at the end of the name, and the women would have an “aite” at the end of their name. Thus, the men in the family would have been “Micaloskaus” and the women “Micaloskaite”. I can imagine that this, being thoroughly “UnAmerican” as well as being difficult to spell might have resulted in Dominica’s family to have been listed as “Micaloski” in the 1900 census. This is mere speculation at this point, but it may not have been an intentional name change at all – just different Lithuanian customs, difficult pronunciation and a spelling challenge!

The census records of that area from 1890 – 1930 look like the United Nations.  Immigrants from Ireland, England, Wales, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine and Italy all came to work in the coal mines. They were predominantly of the Roman Catholic faith, but they did not go to the same church – there were as many different Catholic churches as there were home countries. A marriage between a Ukranian Catholic and a Lithuanian Catholic was considered a “mixed marriage”.

Courtesy of a distant relative on Ancestry (L Savage), we have a photo of Dominica, her daughter Anna and her grandson Matthew.

Ed McClosky was one of 7 children born to the union of Matthew and Dominca Ronadiski. His father, Matthew, died when he was nine years old and he went to work in the coal mines. He married Helen Andrachak on June 5, 1926, in Luzerne, Pennsylvania. They had five children in five years during their marriage, Lillian (1927 – 1952), Edward Albert (1928 – 1981), Joe (1930 – present), Anthony (1931 – 1984) and Matthew James (1932 – 1983). Ed McClosky died on January 10, 1957, in Plains, Pennsylvania, at the age of 65.

From Joe: 

“Dad (Ed) and he were very close. When asked if he remembered his grandmother, Dominica, Joe said that he remembered seeing her in her casket. Joe’s dad, Ed, took Joe with him because he felt more comfortable when he was with him. They did many things together – “my aunt told me I was sick as a child and they thought they might lose me (Joe).” Any time he lost a tooth, the new tooth was growing up instead of down; his baby teeth had to be pulled at the dentist.

“When Dad was nine years old his dad (Matthew) died and he (Edward) went to work in the mines. When they bring the coal up from the mines, they run it through a shaker chute to get the fines out. They had to pull out the slate that was mixed in.

“Dad went into the Navy and served in WWI on the USS Obrien (destroyer). They spent a lot of time between Ireland and Turkey. He told Joe that they were the first ship to sink a submarine (they rammed it). He was very proud of serving his county; he did kiss the Blarney stone and everyone thought he was Irish.

“Dad and Mom (Helen Andrachak) met in Coal Town (Glen Lyon PA) where they filmed the movie “The Miracle of the Bells”. She (Helen) went to school with the girl they talked about in the movie. Her parents owned a bar in Coal Town and she tended bar. I think that’s where they met.”

Note: there was quite difference in age (he was 35 and she was 24) as well as upbringing (he was Lithaunian, she was Austrian/Galacia) so that might have been the reason that they eloped. They were married by the Bishop in Scranton on June 5, 1926. He was a miner at the time; she kept house.

In the 1940 census, there were nine of them in a 2-bedroom house; Helen’s parents, Harry Andrachak and Sophia Cyka had moved in with them after Harry had a stroke. Joe’s Dad converted the dining room into a bedroom for the grandparents; his mom and dad had one bedroom and all five kids were in one room.

“Tony and I were in one bed and Matt and Eddy were in the other;. Lil had her own cot.”

Joe’s sister Lillian died in 1952, and six months later, his mother Helen, succumbed. She was 50 years old. Joe was on the ship going to Germany when his sister died and was in Germany when his mother Helen died.

I asked Joe if his dad had any health effects from working in the mines, and he did have asthma. Ed fell and fractured his skull; he went to the Veteran’s hospital in Philadelphia. Joe was in Hawaii when he was hospitalized but had time to come back and see him. He was there when he died. 

Last week was full of surprises. I was visiting my mother to help celebrate her 93^rd birthday, and in between my “chores” and cooking a birthday dinner, I found time to do a little digging. I’m not a gardener by nature since I don’t like to get dirt on my hands, but I do love to dig around Ancestry.com. My Ancestry soil yielded a big reward last week!

My mother’s maternal grandmother was from Ontario, Canada. Her maiden name was Alice Alberta Lapp, and she married Frances Emil (Frank) Bigler of Kansas. They had seven children, one of whom was Ruby Bigler, my mother’s mother. I was wondering where the people in Canada had come from, and I recently upgraded my Ancestry account to “international”, so I started in to see what I could find in the fertile Canadian soil.

Alice Alberta Lapp (1861 – 1934) was the 11^th of 13 children. Can we get an “atta girl” for her mother, Charlotte Emily Frances Kelley (1831 – 1877), who married Chester Lapp (1819 – 1890)? Chester and Charlotte were both born in Northumberland County, Ontario and lived their entire lives in Ontario. According to a family story, Alice Alberta was visiting a relative in Kansas in 1874 when she met Frank Bigler. They married and she became a US citizen.

Chester Lapp’s father was a Canadian named Jeremiah Lapp (1794 – 1863).  Jeremiah Lapp’s father was also Jeremiah, so I will refer to him as Jeremiah Lapp Jr.  Jeremiah Jr married Sarah Perry (1794 – 1837). The were both born in Ontario, Canada and had 7 children. Chester Lapp was their third eldest child.

Jeremiah Lapp’s father, Jeremiah Lapp Sr. (1748 -1818) lived in Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario and married Amy Smith (1764 – 1817). He was born in… wait for it…. Philadelphia!!!  And his wife, Amy Smith, was born in Kings County, New York (aka The Bronx). They had 5 or 6 children – I’m still working on that family. I do know that the oldest children were born in the US (Kings County, NY), but the younger ones (including Jeremiah Jr.) were born in Canada.  The “mystery” of our Canadian relatives deepens – they emigrated to Canada from America! But the story is quite a bit more interesting than “they moved to Canada”.

An Ancestry search on Jeremiah Lapp Sr. revealed that he fought in the Revolutionary War BUT, unlike Mom’s Horn ancestors, he was a “Loyalist”. He was a member of the First Battalion of Pennsylvania Loyalists under Lieutenant Colonel William Allen. The family emigrated to Canada sometime between 1789 – 1793. Jeremiah Sr became a Canadian citizen in 1796.

I found an interesting article on the British Loyalists entitled “A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists” by Ann Mackenzie, M.A. which I have included to remind you that “History is written by the victors” (Winston Churchill).

“Who were the Loyalists?

“Not all the inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies opposed Britain.  The United Empire Loyalists were those colonists who remained faithful to the Crown and wished to continue living in the New World.  Therefore, they left their homes to settle eventually in what remained of British North America.

“The Loyalists came from every class and walk of life.  Some depended on the Crown for their livelihood and status and had considerable wealth and property.  Many were farmers and craftsmen.  There were clerks and clergymen, lawyers and laborers, soldiers and slaves, Native Americans, college graduates, and people who could not write their own names.  Recent immigrants from Europe also tended to support the Crown.

They had little in common but their opposition to the revolution. Their reasons for becoming Loyalists were as varied as their backgrounds.  Some had strong ties with Britain:  others had simply supported what turned out to be the losing side.  Local incidents, fear of change, self-interest, political principles, emotional bonds – one or any combination of these influenced their decision to remain loyal to the Crown.  The common thread that linked these diverse groups was a distrust of too much democracy which they believed resulted in mob rule and an accompanying breakdown of law and order.  The Reverend Mather Byles mused, “Which is better – to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?”  Loyalists believed that the British connection guaranteed them a more secure and prosperous life than republicanism would.

As I was trying to push back the ancestral line, I also found that Jeremiah Sr’s father was Rudolph Lapp, who was the original immigrant to the Colonies, from Germany. Note that “Recent immigrants from Europe also tended to support the Crown”. Jeremiah Lapp, Sr., was first generation “Colonial”, but his father had sworn allegiance to the Crown upon his arrival to the Colonies in 1733. This could be one of the reasons that Jeremiah Lapp, Sr. was a Loyalist.

As I was trying to verify the children of Jeremiah Lapp Sr and Amy Smith, I found a “Public Story” that had been published on Ancestry entitled “The Story of the Lapp Family 1733 – 2006”. This was an incredible find and I will share some of the story here.

The following excerpt is from “The Story of the Lapp Family 1733 – 2006”. Embedded in this text is another “Grand Surprise” – that Jeremiah Sr. fought for the Tory’s in West Florida (Pensacola) and was captured there. Since I live about an hour away from Pensacola, all I have to do now is to dig around my own back yard for more information on my 4 x great grandfather!

From “The Story of the Lapp Family 1733 – 2006”:

“On September 29^th, 1733 was the first time Rudolph Lapp saw America. On board the ship called the Pink Mary of Dublin, Rudolph, a young German boy from Rhineland gazes out at the New World, the new place that would become his home. Master James Benn, from Rotterdam captained the Pink Mary as she arrived in Philadelphia.

“Rudolph Lapp, 11 years old at this time, was on the ship with his 2 sisters, Anna Maria, who was born about 1724 and Anna Catherina, who was born about 1725. There is also Johannes (John) Lapp born about 1710 and his wife Hanna Christina, though it is uncertain whether Johannes is his father, or brother. Johannes was brought up Amish, fell in love with and married a Mennonite. Johannes settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

“Rudolph married Mary Weirman, a young girl from Switzerland. They had a son, Jeremiah Lapp in 1750, he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Philadelphia at that time was the 2^nd most populated town in the American Colonies. Jeremiah Lapp was to grow up in a time of little unity and great conflict. While the American colonists including Ben Franklin looked forward to American Independence, 15%, or 250,000 of the colonists in the New World were Loyalists, Americans loyal to the allegiance of the British, they opposed the revolution. The Loyalists depended on the Crown for their status and livelihood.

“Jeremiah Lapp was one of these recent immigrants who felt that the colonies under their own democracy would suffer from mob rule.

“He married in 1768 to a woman that remains unknown, though they had a daughter, Elizabeth Lapp born 1770. There is also a daughter named Rachel Lapp born about 1784. The uncertainty of this marriage, it was cut short for whatever reason, assembly ending before 1786, when he married his 2^nd wife, Amy Smith. Jeremiah and Amy had 5 children all together; John Lapp 1786, Samuel B. Lapp 1789, Anthony Lapp 1793, Jeremiah Lapp 1794, and Richard Lapp 1795-1801.

“In 1775, war ensued between the American Colonists and the British. While France and Spain were allied with the colonies, Germany and the Native Indians fought with the British and it’s Loyalists. Jeremiah Lapp enlisted as a Tory, or Loyalist, on October 22^nd, 1777 in a Pennsylvania Regiment. He served under Captain Thomas Stephen. Jeremiah was a private for the Regiment, and fought in battle. West Florida, at this time, was the home of many Loyalists, who retreated to these parts for salvation during the war. Relations were good with the Chickasaw, and Creek Indians in efforts to keep the American colonists away. Though in March of 1781, a battle ensued between the Loyalists and the Spaniards, who fought with the rebels. Pensacola was seized in 1781 by Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana. During the wars in Pensacola, Jeremiah Lapp was captured on May 10^th when the English General John Campbell surrendered. This was one of the turning points in the war. West Florida was under British rule between 1763-1783, and was a critical part of the war strategies. June 5^th, they sailed from Pensacola and arrived in Havanna, Cuba on June 20^th. They remained there for 10 days to take provisions and water and than sailed to NY. On July 12^th, 1781, along with 1,113 other prisoners, Jeremiah Lapp arrived in New Town Long Island to be repatriated. Cuba, was territory recently acquired from the Spaniards.

 “April 11^th, 1783 the war was declared over as Americans gained their independence. Loyalists were given pardon during this time and Jeremiah was now to come back to the colonies under the colonist’s rule. Jeremiah Lapp, now 33, went to Kings County, NY. Although his fighting days were over, he had to deal with the aftershock. The American colonists didn’t take kindly to the past motive of the Loyalists remaining in America. Jeremiah meets a woman, Amy Smith, a daughter of a loyalist, U.E. Herman Samuel Smith. Amy was born in Kings County, NY in 1764, which is probably where Jeremiah met her. They lived in Kings County for a while and in 1786 they had their 1^st child together, John Lapp. Samuel Lapp, the 2^nd child of Jeremiah and Amy Smith, was born in 1789 also in Kings County, NY. In 1790, living in New Utrecht, Kings County, NY, Jeremiah and Amy decided that was a better life somewhere else for their children. Their 3 other children were born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Again, from “A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists”

“Patriot authorities punished Loyalists who spoke their views too loudly by stripping them of their property and goods and banishing them on pain of death should they ever return.  They coerced others into silence with threats.  Throughout the Thirteen Colonies that were under Patriot control, Loyalists could not vote, sell land, sue debtors, or work as lawyers, doctors, or schoolteachers.  To be fair, in Loyalist-controlled areas, supporters of the Revolution met with similar treatment at the hands of British authorities.

Approximately 70,000 Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies.  Of these, roughly 50,000 went to the British North American Colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Eventually, Jeremiah Lapp and his family fled to Canada where he applied for a Revolutionary War land grant in Kingston Twp, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada in 1791. He was awarded 200 acres from the Land Board in Meckleburg. 80 % of the immigrants in what is now Ontario were British Loyalists, previously American Colonists.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Revolutionary War history. Not being a historian (or even close), I had no idea that people who support Britain were treated so badly, and that many of them sought refuge in Canada. The Lapp family prospered there after a pretty rough start, and there are still quite a few Lapp’s in Canada.

Until next week!

Well, family and friends, I started writing this blog post before the prompts for April were published, so I’m going to use the prompt for the last week in April, which is “At Worship”. I’ll circle back to this week’s prompt which is “Brick Wall” since I have found plenty of those in doing this work. I was planning to write about my maternal grandfather, so the prompt “At Worship” is apropos. I have very fond memories of Buel Edward Horn (my “Grandpa Horn”) who was born in Missouri (Nodaway County) in 1888. Like many people in our family tree, Buel Edward came from a large family.

His father, Marshall Patrick Horn (1853 – 1926) was born in Logan County, KY and moved to Missouri before 1870. The 1870 census lists Marshall Patrick Horn working on Henry Horn’s farm at age 14. Marshall Patrick married Lucinda Freeze (1863 – 1887) in 1881 and had two sons (Rolland R. Horn, 1883 -1966 and Purl B. Horn, 1885 – 1963). They had one daughter, Myrtle, who died when she was one year old, and another unnamed son who died the day he was born (7 Feb 1887). The baby’s mother, Lucinda Freeze Horn, died less than 20 days later (26 Feb 1887). Marshall Patrick, being left with two young sons, married Sarah Elizabeth Robbins on December 21, 1887.  Buel was their oldest son (born 31 Dec 1888).

Children of Marshall Patrick Horn:

               With Lucinda Freeze:

Rolland (1883 – 1966)

Purl B (1885 – 1963)

               With Sarah Elizabeth Robbins:

                              Buel Edward (1888 – 1962)

                              Walter M (1890 – 1892)

                              William Jessup (1892 – 1959)

                              Zuland (1895 – after 1920)

                              Zula (his twin) (1895 – 1973)

                              Della Julia (1898 – 1974)

                              John Lloyd (1901 – 1907)

                              Robert LeRoy (1904 – 1949)

                              Mervyn Joseph (1906 – 1967)

                              Eunice Ellnora (1910 – 1983)

Buel Horn grew up in Skidmore, Nodaway County, Missouri. His father had a butcher shop in town. Below is a wonderful photo of Buel and Marshal Patrick working in the butcher shop when Buel was 15 or so. He sure knew how to carve a Thanksgiving turkey!

My mother said that Buel was “called” to the ministry. He had dropped out of high school to go to work, and was working in the fields when he realized that he needed to do something different with his life. He started college without finishing high school, and graduated from Missouri Weslyan. He then went to seminary at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Garrett is a graduate school of theology of the United Methodist Church and affiliated with Northwestern University.

Buel Edward Horn met Ruby Bigler on a blind date. He and a friend took out sisters Ada and Ruby Bigler and Buel decided right then that Ruby was for him. They were married on June 16^th 1915 in Amsterdam, Bates County, MO, and moved to Gary, Indiana after Buel finished seminary.

The young married couple experienced tragedy early on in their marriage. Their first-born daughter, Marjoris, was six months old when she died of a twisted intestine (1920 – 1921). Apparently the doctors took her to surgery and she died during their attempt to save her life. She is buried in Gary, Indiana, along with Ruby and Buel and their first grandson (son of Alice Virginia White and William White) who was stillborn.

In addition to serving as a minister to many Methodist churches throughout his life, Buel also served as the superintendent of the Campbell Settlement House (also known as the Campbell Friendship House) in Gary, Indiana in the late 1920’s. During the late 1800’s to the 1920’s the “Settlement Movement” was a socially progressive domestic missions program started by Christian women of different denominations, including Methodists. The goal of the Campbell Settlement House was to provide services to communities of immigrants and African-Americans in Gary. They not only assisted in integration of immigrant families to American life, but provided medical services to children, as the following article states:

From Woman’s Home Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Vol 39 – 40:

Rev. B. E. Horn, the superintendent of Friendship House at Gary, has received a letter from Dr. C. F. Nesbit, director of medical inspection of the Gary public school, in which he pays the following well-deserved tribute to the excellent work done in the clinic at Campbell Settlement:

               “The work of the Friendship House clinic in supplying a vaccination station for the portion of the city served by it was most effectual and has protected the children in that section of the city from smallpox to a very great extent.

               “The schools appreciate it very much.

               “To administer to the cure of disease is a necessary and useful work; but to prevent disease is greater.

“Your work has prevented many cases of smallpox in Gary this year, as will be evidenced by a comparison of the cases in your district with districts when there was no agency to do this service.”

Buel and Ruby’s second daughter, Alice Virginia White was born in Gary, IN in 1923, and my mother, Frances Marjorie Horn, was born in Hammond, IN in 1926. The portrait below was taken around 1928, when Aunt Ginny was 5 and Mom was 2.

The Reverend Buel Edward Horn served many churches throughout Indiana – from suburbs of Chicago to Terre Haute. He died in August 1962 – if he had lived to September of that year, he would have celebrated 50 years in the ministry of the Methodist Church.

The family lived in Gary, Hammond, Whiting, and Terre Haute. He also served at First Methodist churches in Valparaiso and Crawfordsville, and South Bend IN, and was District Superintendent of the Greencastle District. He also served on the Board of Trustees of DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.

Buel’s beloved Ruby died of complications of a stroke in 1951, when she was only 59. They had just moved to Crawfordsville; Alice Virginia White was in the hospital after having given birth to a stillborn child, and Marjorie had just given birth to her first born, William Buel Shelly, five weeks earlier. Before the funeral, Buel asked Marjorie to fix his wife’s hair, because she knew how her mother would have liked it. She did.

After he remarried (to Sarah Lucille Reeves, see previous blog post) and semi-retired to Lucille’s farm in Bellmore, IN, he was a supply minister for the Federated Methodist Church of Marshall, IN. I remember going to church services in Marshall when he was the minister, and getting “gently chided” from the pulpit since I was not sitting in the pew, but scooting around on the floor. I’m sure that I deserved it – it did get my attention. I also remember having “morning devotions” while staying at the farm. He loved living on the farm, gardening and taking care of the animals. I remember him showing me how to milk a cow by hand (I couldn’t begin to do it!) and squirting the milk at one of the many barn cats that was hanging around.

He performed countless baptisms (including my own), served communion to the faithful, married his two daughters to wonderful men, and presided over many other weddings and funerals. He truly was a “minister” to his congregations. He was a soft-spoken, exceedingly kind man who lived a life of service.

This week’s prompt for #52ancestorsin52weeks is “In the Paper”. I was planning on telling you about my mother’s mother’s family, and will get to that, but first, in deference to the prompt, I have something to share that I didn’t include in last week’s post on Dr. Regina Bigler.

If you recall, Dr. Bigler was briefly married to a man named Millard Filmore Tracy. Apparently, it was not unusual to name male children after US presidents and other “great men”. We have, in fact, already met George Washington Shelly, who had a brother, Benjamin Franklin Shelly. Millard Fillmore Tracy was born in June 1851 in Kankakee, Illinois and married Regina Mary Bigler on May 5, 1885, in Benton County, Iowa. Regina and M.F. divorced (date unknown) and he lived in Iowa most of his life, alone on his farm according to various census records. He married a second time in 1919, to a 16-year-old named Helen Lucille Lunger. That marriage didn’t last – he died at the age of 69 in 1920. After Millard’s untimely demise, 16-year-old Helen married within the year, and had at least two other husbands before the age of 26. Its amazing what you can find out if you are curious and just dig a little.

While researching Millard Tracy, I came across an article printed in the Cedar Rapids Weekly Times, on April 24, 1879. I will reproduce the article below, since it was quite a find, and I thought you might be interested in what life might have been like 140 years ago in the wilds of Iowa.

MURDER TRIAL

Benton county has just got through with a murder trial of considerable magnitude. Eight men were placed on trial for murder, but five of them were discharged before the case went to the jury. The other three, viz: Millard Tracy, Andrew Lee and Wm. Brumwell, were sentenced, respectively to one year, six months and three months in the penitentiary. The case was one of rare singularity. One John Mason, who had been confined in the Linn county jail for theft in 1878, made his escape, and the next heard of him was that he had been murdered in Benton county. It seems that he and another man hired a man and team in Cedar Rapids last July to take them to the Widow Mills’, in Benton county, near Shellsburg. On arriving at the house Mason was fired on by several men in ambush; was severely wounded, and when the would-be murderers departed he was taken to the residence of Mr. Tracy. A few days subsequently Tracy’s house was entered by several men armed with guns and Mason was shot and killed outright. Eight men were arrested, and the trial resulted as above stated. In pronouncing sentence Judge Shane said that he knew Mason as a soldier; that he was worthless in the army and known as a thief; and that he had not seen him since he deserted His Honor’s command (the 13^th Iowa Regiment) until he saw him a corpse in the courthouse yard the next day after the shooting. But notwithstanding the deceased’s character, these defendants were not justified in shooting at him, and it only remained for him to pronounce such a sentence upon them as would be a vindication of the law and be a warning to the community.

So, the honorable judge said “good riddance to bad rubbish” as far as the deceased thief was concerned, but since vigilantes were frowned upon even 140 years ago, the three men were tried for murder. They got pretty light sentences, after all, “notwithstanding the deceased’s character”. Millard Tracy served his sentence. John Bigler and Mary Ann Hagy moved to the Benton County, Iowa sometime between 1864 -1867.  When she was 25 and he was 34, Regina married Millard Tracy and, seven years and one medical degree later, she was off to China. Millard is listed as a “widower” in the 1900 census, living with his mother, and as “divorced” in the 1910 census. It sounds as though he had a tough, lonely life.

I’d like to take the rest of your time this evening (or whenever you might be reading this) to introduce my maternal grandmother and her immediate family. My maternal grandmother, Ruby Bigler (1891 – 1951) was born in Salina, Kansas to the union of Alice Alberta Lapp (1861- 1934) and Frances Emil “Frank” Bigler (1854 – 1939). Ruby married Buel Edward. Horn (1888 – 1962) in June, 1915. They had three daughters. Their first-born, Marjoris, was only six months old when she died (June 20, 1920 – Jan 18, 1921). Their second daughter was Alice Virginia Horn (my Aunt Ginny) (1923 – 1999), and their third was my mother, Frances Marjorie Horn, who will be celebrating her 93^rd birthday in a few weeks.

Ruby’s parents were Alice Alberta Lapp and Frank Bigler. They married August 18, 1879 and had seven children. Six lived to adulthood.

• Roy Lapp Bigler (1880-1959) married Irene Shook. They had two children (Ross and Marlene)

• F. Norman Bigler (1882 – 1892) was ten years old when he died

• Charles Vernon Bigler (1884 – 1958) married Jessie Seaver. They had four children (Muriel, Charles Vernon, Jr., Clarence and Frances Emma).

• Ada Belle Bigler (1889 – 1952) married T. A. Biggerstaff. They had three children (Ruby Marise, Bonnidell and Thomas Leroy).

• Ruby Bigler (1892 – 1951) married Buel E. Horn and had three children (Marjoris, Alice Virginia and Frances Marjorie).

• Clay Harold Bigler (1890 – 1941) married Inez Hughes ; they did not have any children

• Yula R. Bigler (1894 – 1987) married John Hearst. They had one daughter, Margaurite.

Alice Alberta Lapp was born in Canada (Ontario), to Charlotte Emily Frances Kelly (1821 – 1877) and Chester P. Lapp (1819 – 1890). According to her daughter, Ada Biggerstaff (from a letter to her granddaughter Carol Smith):

“As to Mother’s people… Her mother was Irish I know – her name was Kelly before she married Grandpa Lapp. My mother’s name was Alice Alberta Lapp (Bigler),and she was born & lived in Ontario, Canada. When she was 19 years old she came to Kansas. I think she returned with an uncle (brother of her mother’s that had been in Canada). Her mother was dead then. This brother lived at Allene(sic) Kansas & there Mother met my father, a farmer Frances Emil Bigler – they were married & Mother never went back to Canada except on a visit before I was born & once when I was nearly grown. They used to tell lots of jokes on Mother. She was the next to youngest of 12 children and had never cooked or done housework. She moved into Daddy’s bachelor home of I think 2 rooms & I guess their early life was quite a struggle.

Daddy taught her to cook & he always did get or help with breakfast. I remember the Minister used to always stay at their house when he came to Amsterdam to preach & he always said he liked to come for Daddy’s biscuits.”

Frank Bigler was born in 1854 in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. His father (John Bigler 1812 – 1867) and mother (Mary Ann Hagy, 1827 -1908) were both born in Switzerland. I have been trying to find out more about these folks. Maybe I’ll just have to plan a trip to Switzerland to do research. I understand they keep impeccable records!

Again, according to their daughter, Ada Biggerstaff:

“My father (Frank Bigler) was pure blood Swiss. He was born in this country, but his parents were born & raised & married in Switzerland and when that country was not a republic. I know Daddy’s people were the nobility for one relative was a Duke. Aunt Libby’s (Daddy’s sister) daughter went to Switzerland & tried to see if there was any hope of regaining any of the estate but didn’t have any luck. However, she saw the castles, etc. where they had lived. I think they came to America because of a revolution, but I really don’t know the facts. I remember Daddy’s mother (Mary Ann Hagy)one time came to visit us & she was still bitter over the lost estate, etc.

They tell about one time Daddy (Frank Bigler) had harvest hands & Mother (Alice Alberta Lapp) knew how busy he was so she didall she could to help. She knew he had dried apples & as she had learned to make pie crust she made a lovely dried apple pie. Of course, dried apples have to be cooked & soaked, etc. to be soft enough to use. She was so proud of her pie & brought it to the table as a surprise. Daddy tried to cut it & of course the apples were so tough he could not. The men all laughed & nearly broke poor Mother’s heart. Daddy was a wonderful person, and I don’t think a kinder, better man ever lived. At his funeral the minister told things none of us ever knew. He said many times when the church was having a hard time & could not pay the preacher, Daddy paid it & never told anyone. I knew we always butchered beef & pork & keptthe preacher’s family in milk & eggs & lard free after a preacher moved to Amsterdam to live.

I know my father’s father died when Daddy was 12 yrs. old & he had to quit school & help work the farm, but he wanted an education so bad that he studied all his life. I can remember him even trying to study Latin & Greek. He was well read on most every subject and that was why he was so anxious all of us get a college education, because he didn’t even have a grade school education having quit at 12 yrs. old & schools those days were’t like your schools.”

You might have noticed that Norman was 10 years old when he died – a family tragedy for sure. Aunt Ada Biggerstaff was only three years old when that happened so I doubt that she remembered it, but she offered the following account:

“Daddy went to Missouri to hunt a farm and bought the farm 3 mi. from Amsterdam where we were all raised. He was in a hotel room at Butler, MO & he said he just could not sleep – he seemed to feel something was wrong with my brother Norman. He was so uneasy he dressed & took a night train home & got here sometime the next forenoon. Mother said when he came in he was as white as a sheet, & the 1st words he said were “Where is Norman?” We had a big Irish hired girl & she began to tease Daddy asking why he wasn’t interested in the rest of us. Within an hr. my brother was killed by a horse kicking him in the head.

It seems I was with him & ran & told Daddy or the family he was hurt. This horse was a fancy race horse that Daddy raised at that time & my brother was standing behind him trying to get a bridle ready to ride a pony he had & the strap slipped & hit this horse & he fell back on the hard ground killing him instantly. I don’t think I remember this all too clear – more from being told about it. I don’t know as you want to know this but happened & it always seemed like Daddy was warned to get home.

My mother does not remember much about her grandmother except that “she had very soft cheeks” and that she would give my mom a piece of cheese if mom would give her a kiss on the cheek. She has more memories of her grandfather, who died when she was 13.

There is so much more to tell about the Bigler’s and the Lapp’s that it will just have to wait for another post. I’ll leave you with this wonderful photo, taken in 1928. I can’t possibly begin to identify all of the people in it, but according to my mom, the occasion was the 50^th wedding anniversary of the three sons of John Bigler and Mary Ann Hagy. Their daughter, Dr. Regina Mary Bigler was in China at the time, so she isn’t in the photo. Two other daughters (Caroline Elizabeth and Elizabeth Cornelia) with their respective husbands and children are probably in the photo.

Frank Bigler married Alice Alberta Lapp on August 18, 1879. His two brothers were married on the same day (December 22, 1880) to two sisters:

 John Solomon Bigler (1857 – 1946) married Hattie Jane Blair and

Lewis John Bigler (1850 – 1945) married Louise Frances Blair

As I mentioned, I don’t have a clue as to most of these folks, but was able to zoom in on the toddler sitting in her grandfather’s lap (see the dark mop of hair?) and identify her sister, mother and father. That cute baby is my mother. Her sister (Aunt Ginny) is sitting on her grandmother’s lap next to them, and Ruby Bigler is sitting next to her father (Frank), holding Mom. Right behind Aunt Ginny is their father, Buel E. Horn.

 

I’m not even going to try to comment on what the prompt “12” could mean for this week’s blog post #52Ancestorsin52Weeks. Having bounced around the genealogy tree for the past 11 weeks, this is my 12^th post. Does that count?

Just in case you were having trouble keeping all of these ancestors straight, I thought I’d put together a simplified, very patriarchal tree. I need to do a similar one with our foremothers, which is equally as awesome. I am basically following four lines for my four grandparents. I have identified when three of the four lines came to this country and from where. The Shelly’s continue to throw up a brick wall prior to 1830.

Mom’s Horn ancestors came from England: her 8 x great grandfather was the one who came to the US, although I don’t know when (just yet). He was born in 1665 in England and settled along the Virginia/North Carolina border. Mom knew less about her Horn ancestors than her Bigler ancestors, so this line has been fun to discover.

Mom’s Bigler ancestors were from Switzerland. Her great grandfather was born in 1812 in Bern, Switzerland and came to the US around 1830.

E. Thomas Horn b 1665 in England

                                                                                                                                     William Henry Horn, Sr (b 1690)

                                                                                                                       Henry “The Quaker” Horn (b 1716)

                                                                                                 Isaac Horn (b 1742)

                                                                                          Nathan Horn (b 1762)

                                                                           Wiley Horn (b 1785)

                                                            Nathaniel D. Horn (b 1814)

                                             Marshall Patrick Horn (b 1853)

                              Buel E. Horn (b 1888)

Frances Marjorie Horn (b 1926)

                              Ruby Bigler (b 1892)

                                             Frances Emil “Frank” Bigler  (b 1854)

                                                           John Bigler (born in 1812 in Switzerland, US in 1830)

As mentioned above, Dad’s Shelly ancestors have been traced back to his great grandfather, Daniel C. Shelly, who was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1830. I have been unable to find his parents (just yet!).

Dad’s Lewis ancestors have been traced back to Wales. His 2 x great grandfather, Henry Lewis came to the US in 1785, as the Revolutionary War was still raging.

Daniel D. Shelly (born in Pennsylvania, 1830)

                                            George Washington Shelly (b 1841)

                              William Austin Shelly (b 1873)

William Lewis Shelly (b 1923)

                              Geneva Ellen Lewis (b 1888)

                                             Joseph Milton Lewis (b 1858)

                                                            David Lewis (b 1819)

                                                                          Henry Lewis (b 1770 in Wales, UK, US in 1785)

I hope that helps keep everyone straight! There are so many interesting people in this family. I have found several people that have been convicted of serious crimes, jailed, and one prison escapee. Wiley Horn was murdered and Joseph Milton Lewis died of a broken heart! All of the families pushed westward, and some stayed put on land that still has family members on it to this day. Some were far-flung: the Bigler’s apparently came from the same town in Switzerland but once they hit the US, lived in Missouri, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, California and Washington. Several ancestors were missionaries and lived most of their lives outside of the US. We have already met William Austin Shelly, an educational missionary who lived in Chile, S. A for 30 years. Today, I’d like to tell you about my mother’s great aunt, Regina Mary Bigler, M.D., who spent most of her life as a medical missionary in China.

Regina Mary Bigler was born in 1860 (York, Tuscarawas County, OH), the child of John Bigler and Mary Ann Hague, both of Switzerland. Her brother, Frank Bigler, was my Mom’s grandfather, so Dr. Regina Bigler was her great aunt. My mom knew her as “Aunt Jenny”, so I will continue to call her that, since she’s family and all. Aunt Jenny married, briefly, to Millard Filmore Tracy, of Benton County, Iowa, in May, 1885. I don’t know when they divorced, but they probably did before 1892. By 1892, she had completed her medical degree and joined a small group of medical missionaries with the United Brethren Church. Thus began a 40-year career of providing medical services to the women of China.

My mother met Aunt Jenny as a child and was enamored of her great-aunt’s stories about China. So much so, that years later, my mom was able to spend 3 weeks in China – a childhood dream fulfilled. Note that I said “medical services to the woman of China”. There was a strict social restriction against the women of China being treated by male physicians bringing western medicine to that country, so as a result, the few women physicians who were trained in the late 1800’s were welcomed into the missionary field in China.  I have not verified where Aunt Jenny received her medical training. Family lore was that she graduated with her M.D. from Johns Hopkins, one of the few medical schools that admitted women. That may not be true since the first medical class of Johns Hopkins started in 1893 (with three women out of the 18 students), and by that time Aunt Jenny was in China. Other medical schools, such as the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, provided medical training to women from the mid-1800’s.

I have done some internet research on medical missionaries, so here’s a bit of history for you.

From “Medical Missions in China  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_missions_in_China

“In 1839 there were only two missionary physicians in China; by 1842 more reinforcements had arrived. 50 years later (1892) there were 61 hospitals and 44 dispensaries, 100 male and twenty-six female physicians, (including Aunt Jenny) with a corps of trained native assistants connected to the missionary endeavor. Before the spread of Western methods in China, the Chinese generally had had little knowledge of surgery, but demand for surgical treatment soon far exceeded the capacity of the mission hospitals. In the annual reports of the hospitals in 1895 it was reported that annually no fewer than 500,000 individuals were treated and about 70,000 operations performed, of which about 8,000 were for serious conditions. At first the Chinese had to learn to have confidence in the surgeons, and submit calmly to the severest operations. A patient’s relatives were consulted, and usually there were no resentments expressed if a dangerous operation failed.^[5]

My mother told me that one of her great-aunt’s stories was that a man had brought his concubine in for surgical treatment at one of her clinics. Apparently this was a much-loved (or greatly valued) concubine (aka woman who was considered property) since the man stood over Aunt Jenny with a knife, and said “If she dies, you die”.

Due to the social custom that men and women should not be near to one another, the women of China were reluctant to be treated by male doctors of Western Medicine. This resulted in a tremendous need for female doctors of Western Medicine in China. Thus, female medical missionary Dr. Mary H. Fulton (1854–1927)^[10] was sent by the Foreign Missions Board of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to found the first medical college for women in China. Known as the Hackett Medical College for Women (夏葛女子醫學院),^[11][12] this College was located in Guangzhou, China, and was enabled by a large donation from Mr. Edward A.K. Hackett (1851–1916) of Indiana, USA. The College was dedicated in 1902 and offered a four-year curriculum. By 1915, there were more than 60 students, mostly in residence. Most students became Christians, due to the influence of Dr. Fulton. The College was officially recognized, with its diplomas marked with the official stamp of the Guangdong provincial government. The College was aimed at the spreading of Christianity and modern medicine and the elevation of Chinese women’s social status. 

I did find a reference that my mom’s Aunt Jenny was on the faculty at the Hackett Medical College for Women. All of the classroom material was delivered in Cantonese.

From: Indiana University Purdue University

University Library: The History of Western Medicine in China

Church of the United Brethren and the Evangelical Church, 1889-1946

The Church of the United Brethren began its mission work in 1889 in the province of Canton. Medical work opened in the region’s capital city the following year with the arrival of Dr. Regina Bigler, whose career as a missionary to China spanned forty years. Dr. Bigler established the Coover Dispensary on the island of Honam and eventually extended her work to include a maternity hospital. These institutions remained the hub of the United Brethren’s medical mission work until the Communist government requested the departure of all missionaries in 1951.

In 1946, another merger occurred, this time between the Church of the United Brethren and the Evangelical Church. The denominations united to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The newly-formed EUBC inherited Canton Health Center and Tung Yan Maternity Hospital, the successor to Dr. Bigler’s dispensary and maternity hospital on Honam, as well as the United Brethren Hospital in Siu Lam and the Kwangtung Health Center, established in 1935, from the United Brethren. The Evangelical Church incorporated the work of the Emma Dubs Memorial Hospital, the American Evangelical Hospital, and the Evangelical Mission Hospital in Liling, China into the united denominations’ new Board of Missions.

When the missionaries of the EUBC departed China in 1951, the Chinese doctors and nurses trained by Evangelical and United Brethren missionaries inherited the work of thirty previous missionaries in six hospitals and numerous dispensaries and public health programs over the course of sixty-two years.

There is a biography of Dr. Bigler, published in 1942, by Mrs. J. Hal Smith entitled “The Beloved Physician of Cathay: The Story of Dr. Regina M. Bigler, M.D.” that I would love to get my hands on. I found an abstract of Smith’s biography online:

Dr. Regina Bigler was a noted missionary for the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and a distinguished physician for women and children in Canton, South China. On November 16, 1892, she left for China to begin her forty-year career of medical service in that country. From her early years of work, she eventually acquired a maternity hospital building on the Beth Eden Compound, along with the Coover Dispensary where she conducted clinics. After her 40th anniversary, she returned to the United States to attend the General Conference of 1933, which convened in Akron, Ohio. The Board of Missions voted to grant her emeritus missionary status; she was the first person under the Foreign Board to be given such an honor. The board arranged for her to return to China and to continue the work she loved. On December 15, 1937, Dr. Bigler died in the Matilda Hospital in Hong Kong. She was buried in China.

Below is a photo taken with three Chinese orphans, that Dr. Bigler had made as Christmas cards one year. It is the only photo I have of her; all others were provided from people that have posted information on Ancestry.com.

Dr. Bigler died in her beloved China, on December 15, 1937. She was 77 years old. She was cremated since she didn’t want to take up space in the valuable land. Several years later, the Communist government kicked out all of the western missionaries, but Aunt Jenny remained in spirit – with all of the countless lives she saved as well as medical professionals she trained.

This week’s prompt for #52Ancestorsin52Weeks is “Large Family”. That is a rather easy one, for by today’s standards, all of our ancestors had rather large families. Even a family of four kids seems to be a “large family” these days, although that was very common when I was growing up. The Horns, Bigler’s, Shelly’s and Lewis’ were all farming families, and in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, children were essential to helping on the farm. Couple that with a serious lack of available birth control and high infant mortality rates, our foremothers were pregnant more often than they weren’t.

Here is some data of children that were born to various ancestors. This does not include children who were stillborn or who died in infancy.

Henry “The Quaker” Horn (1716 – 1798) and Ann Purcell (1723 – 1797) had at least 14 children.

Nathan Horn (Henry’s grandson) had three wives and 13 – 14 children over a span of 37 years:

• Nancy Jennings – 6 children, died in 1801, soon after youngest son was born
• Sarah Sally Harris – married Nathan in 1802, had 7-8 children, died soon after youngest was born (d 1822)
• Elizabeth Cleaves – no children, married Nathan in 1822 (he was 60), after Sally Harris died.

Wiley Horn (Nathan’s oldest son) married Elizabeth Morgan in 1812 (while his father was on wife #2), and had 8 – 10 children (still working on that family)

Jackson Horn (one of Nathan’s younger sons, with Sally Harris, born 1820) married twice and had 8 children from 1843 – 1859. It is interesting to me that the census records list Jackson Horn as “deaf and dumb”. This disability did not prevent him from being a successful farmer and parent.

The Shelly’s were equally prolific.

Daniel D. Shelly (1793 – 1880) and Catharine Gebhardt (1804 – 1876) had 10 children who lived to adulthood. Several of their oldest children died, and six of their sons fought in the Civil War (see blog posts 1 18 19 and 1 23 19)

George Washington Shelly (son of Daniel and Catherine, above, 1841 – 1914) and Sarah Belle Newcomb (1850 – 1899) had 10 children, most of whom lived to adulthood, including my grandfather, William Austin Shelly. I found a very cool photo taken in the early 1900’s of George Washington Shelly and his children. Through the tree of a distant cousin on Ancestry, I was able to put names to most of the faces. The family photo is at the end of this blog. Note: Sara Belle Newcomb Shelly (wife of George Washington Shelly and mother of all these Shelly’s), died in 1899, several years before this family photo was taken.

My father had a number of Shelly cousins, but he didn’t maintain close contact with them compared to his cousins on his mother’s side (Lewis). This makes sense – Geneva and William Austin were in Chile for much of their marriage, and William Austin died a few years after their return to the United States. Most of the Shelly’s lived in or around Cass County, Indiana, which is northeast of Indianapolis, and William and Geneva settled in Greencastle, Putnam County, which is southwest of Indianapolis. From 1935 -1938, the family did get together with their Shelly cousins. After William Austin died, and the Depression and WWII intervened, they lost touch. I’m eternally grateful that I was able to get information on this family from my Aunt Sue Hennum (Dad’s younger sister, who is doing quite well at 91). She filled me in on some of these aunts/uncles/cousins.

Here are the descendants of George Washington Shelly (1841 – 1914) and Sarah Belle Newcomb (1850 – 1899)).

• Teodora (1870 – 1871) – poor baby girl, she was George and Belle’s first child, and died at 3 months. Her grave is in Cass County, IN.
• Emma Catherine Shelly (1872 – 1938). Emma never married, but may have kept house for her father after her mother died in 1899. Sue mentioned that when she met her (ca 1936) she seemed to be “an old maid”, which, of course, she was. See comments regarding the youngest sibling, Bertha.

• William Austin Shelly (1873 – 1938) m 1. Jesse Tribby and 2. Geneva Ellen Lewis. Children of William Austin were: Mary Isabel Shelly (1905 – 1972), James Austin Shelly (1908 – 1991), Geneva Louise Shelly Carpenter (1920 – 2010), William Lewis Shelly (1923 – 1992), Susanna Lee Shelly Hennum

• Hamer Selvester Shelly (1874 – 1937) m Cora Beatty. They moved to Wisconsin before 1920. Sue mentioned that she remembered an “Aunt Cora” They had one child, Herbert Shelly b 1906. I don’t have any more information about Herbert.
• Frances Pearl Shelly (1879 – 1950) m Joseph Smiley Scott (1879 – 1913). They had two children: Rolla E. Scott (1904 – 1936) and Harold E. Scott (1911 – 1995). Harold Scott has a granddaughter that is on Ancestry that has the same family photo that I have and has identified most of the people in it. Sue said that she remembers her Aunt Pearl as a widow. Her husband, who is the handsome man standing directly behind George Washington Shelly in the photo, died young (age 34).

• Eva Leota Shelly (1882 – 1957) m Earl Scott (brother of Joseph S. Scott, above). They had 5 children: Mabel (1908 – 2004), Robert (1910 – 1996), Goldie Marie (1912 – 1912), Wilmer Keith (1917 – 1965) and William Arthur (1920 – 2005). They lived on a farm also, and, according to Sue were well off. They lived in a three story red brick Victorian style home, complete with turrets.

• James B. Shelly (1884 – 1909) – he never married, and if you do the math you will realize he died at 24 years of age. He died in Effingham County, Illinois, but is buried in Galveston Cemetery, Cass County, IN. I’m trying to find out more about his death. It must have been tragic for the family, and I assume William Austin Shelly’s eldest son was named after this brother. He was quite handsome, don’t you think?

• Homer E. LeRoy Shelly (1886 – 1949) m Stella Garrow. See his photo with sisters Eva and Bertha, above. They had 6 children: Homer Earl (1916 – 1978), Eileen (1920 – 1974), Betty (1922 – 2008), Nancy (1923 – 1995), George Washington (1928 – 1967), Donald Dale (1934 – 1994).  He and his younger brother Charlie were veterans of WWI, and one record has Homer as a cook. Homer was “gassed” in combat and his family was rather poor. Sue said that they lived in a very small house (2 bedrooms) in town (Galveston). They were so poor that they didn’t even have glasses, they drank out of tin cans.
• Charles Frank Shelly (1888 – 1945) m Vena Groninger but they divorced soon after. They had one child, Genevieve (1915 – 1943). Charlie also was a veteran, and Sue said that he was a very quiet man. According to the 1920 census, he lived with his oldest sister, Emma Catherine, and youngest sister, Bertha and did so until his death at age 57. His wife remarried and both Charlie and Vena outlived their daughter Genevieve. See his photo with sister Emma, above.
• Bertha B. Shelly (1892 – 1974) m Merle (Uncle Buzzy) Patterson. Sue remembers her Aunt Bertha and Uncle “Buzzy” very well. Uncle Buzzy was a painter of decorative art in homes. He was a very nice, kind man. They married late in life (1939, Bertha was 47) and had no children. Aunt Bertha took care of her sister Emma and brother Charlie. She didn’t marry until after her sister Emma died.  See her photo, above, with Eva and Homer. She was the baby of the family and ended taking care of her older siblings.

Most of the Shelly clan had been raised on a farm, but by the Depression, had moved to “town” (Galveston, IN) where the only industry in town was a cheese factory. They all were marvelous quilters!

In case you haven’t kept up with the numbers, George Washington Shelly and Sarah Belle Newcomb had 10 children and 20 grandchildren. If all of their children had married and had 5 – 6 children, they could have easily had 45 – 60 grandchildren. I haven’t begun to count their great-grandchildren!