Mystery Monday: Welcome to the Family, Aunt Margaret!

Grandpa John Bartram

You ever have one of those ancestors you think you know everything about, but then they throw you a curveball you weren't expecting? If you've been researching your own family history long enough, I think you know what I mean.

My big ancestral surprise came from none other than my Grandpa John Bartram. You know, the grandfather I write about all the time. Not quite two years ago, I wrote a post about Grandpa John's life on what would have been his 100th birthday, and I included information about his wife, my Grandma Donna, and his four kids: my Uncle Jim, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Clay and Mom (Becky). What I didn't mention in that story was that, when Grandpa John passed away in 1987, he left us with a bit of a mystery about his life that we've been trying to solve ever since.

To recap, John Bartram (1911-1987), was one of 17 children and the youngest boy of the bunch. He married my grandma, Donna Madsen, in 1938, and they had four children (including my mom). Grandma Donna died in 1966, about seven years after she and Grandpa had been in a horrific car accident that left Grandma with brain damage and other health issues. 

When Grandpa John died in 1987, at the age of 76, I started hearing odd rumors about him possibly being married before Grandma Donna and having a daughter, who would be the older half-sister to my mom and her siblings. Now, Grandpa's generation were pretty good at keeping secrets. Occasionally, odd information and rumors seeped out after some alcohol intake, and then it would quickly be recanted, so we never had much to go on. My Aunt Brenda knew that I was dabbling in our family history, and encouraged me to do a little research to see what I could dig up. Of course, this was before the internet, and we didn't even have any names or dates from this possible earlier marriage and child. 

Over the years, I've searched for a woman who might be my mom's half-sister, but have had no luck finding any info on her or Grandpa's previous relationship: no birth, marriage or divorce records were surfacing in any of the locations where it made sense that he'd lived. I did find the marriage application for Grandpa John and Grandma Donna and, where it asks if either party had been married before, they both claimed "No". OK... So, I knew that Grandpa John was a bit of a wild cowboy, as well as a handsome young man, so it's possible that he had a child out of wedlock. Still, as the years went on, I wasn't having much luck with this mystery. 

Meanwhile, I started this family history blog a couple of years ago and, even though I wasn't terribly active on it for quite awhile, it still got daily hits. One hit that changed our life came this past June: I had been at a family party one day, and Aunt Brenda asked me, again, if I'd had any luck getting closer to finding her older sister. I told her that, honestly, at this point I thought that, if she was even still alive, she was going to have to find us. Well, when I got home that afternoon I checked my email and found a message from a woman named Susan in Oregon who emailed me to say that she had found information on John Bartram on my blog, and she was pretty sure that he was her Grandpa John, too! We compared notes and, sure enough, her mom is my Grandpa John's oldest daughter, and my own Aunt Margaret! 

Eureka!!! 

I couldn't wait to tell Mom and Aunt Brenda. Luckily, Aunt Brenda was staying at Mom's house that night, so I got to break the fantastic news to them together. 

It didn't take long for us to fill in the blanks of how Margaret fits into the family. As I've mentioned before, Grandpa John came to California from Kansas for a short time as a teenager, and then returned for good in around 1927 with his parents and several siblings. The family settled in Clearlake, Lake County, California. According to what Susan had told me, as well as a birth record I found at FamilySearch.org, Margaret was born in Lake County in April 1929 to John Bartram and Perrilee Adkins. When looking at the 1930 US census for Lake County, I found Perillee's (aka Pearl) mother and several siblings living right next door to Grandpa's widowed mother, my great grandma Alice Veale Bartram, and her youngest daughters. It seems that Grandpa John fell in love with the next door neighbor girl and got her 'in the family way', so to speak!

May 1929 marriage record for John Bartram
and Pearl (Perrilee) Adkins

Now that I had some names and dates, I've been able to find a few official records that document Grandpa John and Pearl's marriage, and subsequent divorce, as well as Margaret's birth. John and Pearl married in May 1929, about a month after Margaret was born. From what Margaret and Susan have told us, their marriage was short-lived and rocky, which led to an unstable early childhood for Margaret. It also seems that Grandpa John's family, particularly his mother and his younger sisters, did not approve of Pearl and her family, and that there was some bad blood between them. I'm sure that was made more uncomfortable for the couple, given that the two mothers-in-law lived next door to each other! I did find a divorce record at the San Francisco court house (handily, a short bus ride from my office!) that shows Pearl sued for divorce in 1932, citing willful desertion, and it was finally granted to her in 1935. That was around the time that Grandpa John was traveling quite a bit while he competed in rodeos, and the 1940 census shows that he was also living down in Hayward, California, by 1935. Our combined guess is that the dissolution of the marriage had to do with several factors: they were both young and seemingly a bit wild, Grandpa liked to drink (and apparently got in trouble at least once when he was entertaining friends while he was supposed to be watching baby Margaret), and they had families that didn't care for each other (to say the least). 

After Pearl and John divorced, Pearl married another man, John Creed, who would later adopt Margaret. By this time, Grandpa had already remarried and started his new family with my Grandma Donna. Apparently, Grandpa John refused to sign the adoption papers until he got to see his first daughter one more time. That was the last time Margaret remembers seeing her biological father. 

Fast forward to now: it turns out Margaret lives in southern Oregon, just a few miles away from my cousin, Dee Dee (Aunt Brenda's oldest daughter). So Mom, Rodney (my step-father), Aunt Brenda, Uncle George (her husband) and I drove up to Oregon the weekend after July 4, 2012, just a few short weeks after we'd found each other, to meet Margaret and her daughter, Susan (my new cousin who made the initial connection with me). They couldn't believe that we had been looking for them for so long. Susan later told me that she had found the information about Grandpa John earlier, but waited about a month to email me because she was nervous that we might not want anything to do with them. She couldn't have been more mistaken!!  

Mom, Aunt Margaret and Aunt Brenda: Sisters!!

Our first meeting was just wonderful. I loved watching Mom, Aunt Brenda and my new Aunt Margaret get to know each other, and Dee Dee and I had fun comparing notes with our new cousin, Susan. The conversation flowed easily and the afternoon ended too quickly. We had many stories to tell Aunt Margaret and Susan, and we were happy to hear their stories, too. We also shared lots and lots of photos with each other. We were sad to know that Margaret had not known a loving childhood relationship with her father's family, but we're happy that she can now begin a new relationship with her half-siblings!

Since our first meeting, the sisters have kept in touch via phone calls. Aunt Brenda has also been back up to Oregon to visit Aunt Margaret and Susan, and has had the pleasure of meeting her husband, Lewis, and at least one of their three sons. I enjoy keeping up with Susan on Facebook and the occasional phone call, and look forward to meeting the rest of my new cousins in the not-too-distant future and having them meet the rest of their Bartram family (remember, Grandpa John was the youngest boy of 17 kids, so there are a LOT of us). 

I think that meeting her half-sisters has been a bit healing for Aunt Margaret as she hadn't known her biological father since she was a little girl, and never had siblings growing up. We're just thrilled to FINALLY solve this nagging mystery and have her as part of our family!

L-R: Me, Aunt Margaret, Mom (Becky), Aunt Brenda, Dee Dee, Susan

BTW, Aunt Margaret looks SO MUCH like her father and my beloved Grandpa John!

Mystery Monday: Who Are These People?

I've been scanning hundreds of photos and documents that my Mom gave me last weekend. A lot of them came from my Grandma Edith's family: the Hunt clan in Oklahoma. Many have Grandma's own handwriting on the back, identifying who is in the photos as well as the date and, in some cases, where the photo was taken. I could kiss her for this! However, she wasn't terribly consistent in her documentation, and there are a bunch of pictures that are a complete mystery to me.

 Here's one such photo:

Are any of these men my Oklahoma Hunt relatives?

I don't recognize who any of these men are, but I have some clues:

• I strongly believe that this came from the Hunt family, and that there's likely at least one Hunt man in this picture.
• My great grandfather, James William Hunt (1891-1961), was an oilfield worker in Oklahoma, and the clothing on these men appear to be soiled with, possibly, oil. 
• They are also standing in front of a pipe -- could it be part of an oil pipeline? 
• I don't know the year of the photo, but from the clothing, it appears to be sometime in the early 1900s -- probably after 1910, but before 1930.

If James William Hunt is one of the men in the picture, I can't see him. It's possible that he's one of the guys in the rear whose faces are a bit concealed.

Are any of my Hunt cousins out there looking at this? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas regarding who is in this mystery photo!

Mystery Monday: Why was Frederick Harmon Brittain in Jail in 1900?

I have a few mysteries in my family, and this one has me really vexed. My paternal great great grandfather, Frederick Harmon Brittain, is listed twice in the 1900 United States census:

• On June 1, 1900, in Township 1, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, at the US Jail in Muscogee, Oklahoma (yes, in jail)

• Between June 16 and June 21, 1900, in Township 16, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, at home with his wife and children  

Here's Frederick listed in the US Census on June 1, 1900. He is enumerated as a "boarder" with many other men (and one woman "boarder"!) in the facility. Ages ranged from a 14-year-old boy to the 60-year-old Indian woman.

Listed on June 1, 1900, in Twp 1, Creek Nation, U.S. Jail Muscogee, Indian Territory

Here he is listed on or after June 16, 1900 (the enumerator neglected to include the date on several pages, but the page before notes June 16, and several pages after start at June 21).

Listed on or after June 16, 1900, in Twp 16, Creek Nation, with his wife, Mary J. and kids

(You can click on the images to see a larger view)

There are two main questions (and some follow-ups!) that pop into my head regarding Frederick:

1. How, why and when did Frederick (aka Frank or Fred) ended up in jail? Was it for a violent crime? Or, perhaps, was he a debtor? He was a farmer, so it couldn't have been for a "white collar" crime.
2. Why was he listed twice in the census? Was he released from prison after June 1, and therefore counted at home a couple of weeks later because he was now settled back in with his family? Or, did Mary Jane or one of the kids mistakenly tell the enumerator he was home because they thought he wouldn't be counted in jail? OR, could someone have told the enumerator that he was at home because they were ashamed that their husband/father was in jail?

Frederick Harmon Brittain (front, center) with his and Mary Jane's children

In addition to using my crack Google search skills, I've also contacted folks at several historical societies in Oklahoma (including the Oklahoma Outlaws Lawmen Association), as well as the Muskogee County Court House and the Muskogee County Jail and Sheriff's Department. I've also searched through the Oklahoma newspaper archives I've been able to find online via Archives.com, Genealogybank and other websites. I've also spent plenty of time searching on Ancestry.com.

You might have noticed that Frederick is listed, in both instances, as residing in "Indian Territory." This is because Oklahoma still was not a state in the Union until 1907. The Curtis Act, adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1898, abolished the Native American tribal court system and set up a federal judicial system in Indian Territory with three separate districts. A U.S. jail was built in Muskogee and served the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole nations, including anyone who lived within this district. I don't know exactly when Frederick and his family moved to Creek Nation in Indian Territory, but I'm guessing it was sometime during the Oklahoma Land Grabs that happened between 1889 and 1895. 

I'm told that a major issue with finding out how Frederick landed in the pokey is because his incarceration was in 1900 (although, I have no idea when it started), but Oklahoma wasn't a state until 1907. Finding documented information in Oklahoma before it became a state can be problematic. I've been told by people from various agencies that many official records from before statehood either didn't exist or were destroyed.

I'm not giving up on solving this mystery, but I am having to rethink it. I'm hoping that someone at the Oklahoma Genealogical Society might be able to offer some help. Perhaps, I might take a vacation day soon and visit the Family Search Library here in San Francisco to see if they can help point me in some good directions. Who knows, at some point I may need to make a visit to Oklahoma!

Here's some more vital information about Frederick Brittain and his family. Anyone else have some good ideas for helping me solve this puzzle? 

Frederick Harmon Brittain
b. Jan 20, 1859, in Keokuk County, Iowa
d. Feb 6, 1921, in Van Buren County, Arkansas

Parents:
Milton Price Brittain (1822-1898) and Nancy Garriott (1828-1912)

m. Mary Jane Rooks (1st wife) on Sep 14, 1879, in Lowery City, Missouri
b. Mar 3, 1862, in Grundy County, Missouri
d. Mar 28, 1904, in Lincoln County, Oklahoma

m. Sarah Frances Young (2nd wife) in 1906 in Stroud, Creek Nation, Indian Territory
b. Jun 8, 1866, in Benton County, Arkansas
d. 1960 in Yakima, Washington 

Children with Mary Jane Rooks:

• Infant Brittain 1880-1880
• Nellie E Brittain 1881-1882
• Mary Olive Brittain 1883-1917 
• Melton Park Brittain 1885-1967 
• Sarah Serina Brittain  1886-1981 
• Andrew Lee Brittain  1888-1954 (my great grandfather)
• Fredrick Harmon Brittain  1889-1943 
• Robert Ellis Brittain  1891-1965
• Ruben Franklin Brittain  1893-1967
• Allouise L Brittain  1895-1974 
• James M. Brittain  1896-1899 
• Alice Blanch Brittain 1901-1977

Children with Sarah Frances Young:

• Georgia L Brittain 1905-?
• Willie E Brittain 1908-1910
• Jessie Brittain 1914-?

Mystery Monday: John Bartrem, Died at Sea

My great great grandfather, John Bartrem (Bartram), is a bit of a mystery to me. I know where he was born, who he married and who his children were. Thanks to the UK/Wales census documents and other British vital records, I can follow him pretty regularly from 1841 to 1881. But I've lost him after that.

Here's what I know:

Seated: John Bartrem; his grandson, Arthur;
his wife, Esther
Standing: Daughter Louisa (Arthur's mother); Son
Joseph (my great grandfather); Daughter Sarah Ann
Photo taken circa 1881 in Herefordshire, England

• He was born in 1815 in Kelsale, Suffolk County, England.
• I've found him working on a farm near his family in Kelsale in the 1841 UK/Wales Census. At some point after that, he and several of his family members moved west to Herefordshire County, near the Welsh border.
• In 1846, he married Esther Meredith at the Church of Welsh Newton, in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England.
• Between 1846 and 1881, he and his family moved between Herefordshire, England, and Monmouthshire, Wales. Both counties share a border. By the 1881 UK/Wales Census, he was owner of Wern Farm in Llanrothal, Herefordshire County, England.

Here's the legend:

• My Aunt Brenda has heard that John Bartrem and his son, Joseph (my great grandfather), were in the business of bringing Hereford cattle from England to the US in the early 1880s. Joseph ended up staying in Kansas and working for the Adams Ranch, which raised Hereford cattle. He eventually owned his own ranch in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, before moving to Clear Lake, California.
• My cousin, Reva, thinks that John made a final trip in 1886, and brought his grandson, Arthur, with him at that time. The 1910 US Census notes that Arthur immigrated in 1886. Another of John's sons, Samuel, had already settled in Iowa, and it seems that Arthur first stayed with Samuel before moving to Kansas. 
• The last we heard about my great great grandfather, John Bartrem, is that he sailed back home to England after Arthur (and, presumably, the shipment of cattle) were safely deposited in America, and that he died at sea. 

I've hunted high and low through the online records (at Ancestry.com and beyond), and have found no records of the ship that John took back home, or any records of his death. I think I need to start calling around the various repositories in England and Wales to see if I can find someone who can point me in the right direction. The UK's National Archives website seems to have some information regarding deaths at sea, but I'll likely have to speak with someone there or make a trip to London (oh, darn... ) to actually access it. I just checked, though, and I see that they have a podcast on how to research births, marriages and deaths at sea. Hmmm... Perhaps, I'll find a clue there!

Meanwhile, if anyone else has any ideas, please feel free to pass them along in my Comments section!

Mystery Monday: Who ARE these people?

Last year, I met a distant cousin via Ancestry.com. My great grandfather, Joseph Bartram, was the uncle to her great grandfather, Arthur Bartram. They were both born in Monmouthshire County, Wales, and both immigrated to Kansas in the 1880s. Arthur was still a young boy at the time, and we understand that he lived with his Uncle Joseph for some time. A few months ago, my cousin emailed a couple of photos to me and asked if I could tell who these folks were. We are sure that they are photos of the Joseph and Alice Bartram family in Kansas, but don't know who the individuals are.

We think the pictures were sent to Arthur's family by my someone in Joseph's family, probably one of his daughters. As you can see, there is writing on the back of each photo, but it still doesn't offer much information that we can use. We do know that Ida is one of Arthur's daughters (born in 1913), and it appears that Joseph is keen to see her. 

Picture 1 (front and back): I'm pretty sure that the older couple standing in the rear right are my great grandparents, Joseph Bartram and Alice Veale Bartram. The others are all a mystery.

 

Picture 2 (front and back): I *think* that the older woman on the right may be my great grandmother, Alice Veale Bartram. She looks a lot like my Grandpa John and his older brother, Ralph. I'm not 100% sure on this, and have no idea who are the others in the photo. 

I've posted the pictures to the Dead Fred website in hopes that someone out there might be able to help -- you never know.

Here are the people in Joseph and Alice's immediate family. Maybe someone reading this will be able to solve our mystery! 

Joseph Bartram
Birth 23 June, 1860 in Dixton, Monmouthsire, Wales, UK
Death 4 Feb, 1930 in Clear Lake, Lake County, California, USA 

Married: Alice A. Veale on 31 Jul 1891 in Topeka, Kansas, USA
Birth 26 Nov 1871 Washington County, Indiana, USA
Death 27 Sep 1954 in Clear Lake, Lake County, California, USA 

Their many children:

• Roy Bartram 1891-1896
• Reva Bartram 1893-1952
• Ruth E. Bartram 1895-1988
• Robert Adam Bartram 1897-1983
• Ralph Bartram 1899-1998
• Helen Bartram 1900-1994
• Joseph Bartram 1902-1998
• George Bartram 1904-1972
• Florence Irene Bartram 1905-1999
• Raymond "Dutch" Bartram 1907-1954
• Eunice Fay Bartram 1909-2009
• John Bartram 1911-1987 (my maternal grandfather)
• Grace Bartram 1913-1975
• Mildred Lucille Bartram 1915-1990
• Lorna C. Bartram 1916-2003