Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My 16 Great Great Grandparents

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings offers this mission for some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1)  List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).  [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.]

2)  Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.

3)  For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the  chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]

Since my sweetie is away for the weekend, and I'm on my own this Saturday night, I thought it would be fun to play along! I went one step further and, where available, added photos for each set of great-greats.

My 16 great-great grandparents are:

1. Frederick Harmon Brittain, son of Milton Price Brittain and Nancy Garriott, was born on 20 January 1859 in Keokuk County, Iowa, USA. He died on 6 February 1921 in Van Buren County, Arkansas, USA. He married Mary Jane Rooks on 14 September 1879 in Lowery City, St. Clair County, Missouri, USA.

2. Mary Jane Rooks, daughter of Thomas J. Rooks and Serena Jane Ishmael, was born on 3 March 1862, in Grundy County Missouri, USA. She died on 28 March 1904 in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

Frederick and Mary Jane Brittain

3. William Leroy Halstead, Jr., son of William Leroy Halstead and Ann Dobson, was born on 6 March 1859 in Pocahontas, Pocahontas County, Iowa, USA. He died on 27 November 1944 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Catherine Campbell in 1880 in Missouri, USA.

4. Nancy Catherine Campbell, daughter of George Thomas Campbell and Mary Jane Carter, was born on 13 November 1856 in Palo Alto County, Iowa, USA. She died on 14 March 1940 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

William and Nancy Halstead

5. William Calhoun Hunt, son of James Sanders Hunt and, possibly, Arnetta Sellers, was born on 9 September 1870 in Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA. He died on 26 March 1915 in Jackson, Coal County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Georgia Frances Ann Purser on 4 March 1891 in Lee County, Texas, USA.

6. Georgia Frances Ann Purser, daughter of James Monroe Purser and Nancy Susan Hodge, was born on 7 October 1871 in Searcy, White County, Arkansas, USA. She died on 14 July 1956 in Henderson, Rusk County, Texas, USA. 

William and Georgia Hunt and their family

7. Riley Harrison Martindale, believed to be son of James Jancey Martindale and Sarah ____, was born in 1876 in Sebastian County, Arkansas, USA. He died on 17 April 1899 in Canadian, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Dezina Jaggers on 19 February 1896 in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA.

8. Nancy Dezina Jaggers, daughter of Jessie James Jaggers and Louiza Jane Turman, was born on 1 September 1877 in Sulligent, Lamar County, Alabama, USA. She died on 14 September 1944 in Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma, USA.  

Nancy Dezina Jaggers Martindale with her daughter, Ethel

9. John Bartrem, son of Samuel Bartram and Harriet Boste, was born in 1815 in Kelsale, Suffolk County, England. He died about 1882 at sea (en route from England to USA). He married Esther Meredith on 12 July 1846 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England.  

10. Esther Meredith, daughter of Joseph Meredith and Sarah ___, was born in 1814 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire County, England. She died in March 1888 in Monmouthshire County, Wales.

James and Esther Meridith and their family

11. George Elmer Veale, son of Andrew Jackson Veale and Elizabeth Miller, was born on 5 August 1850 in Pike County, Indiana, USA. He died on 20 September 1928 in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas, USA. He married Margaret Harriman on 7 February 1872 in Daviess County, Indiana, USA.

12. Margaret Harriman, daughter of Jacob Harryman and Catherine LeFevre, was born on 12 November 1850 in Indiana, USA. She died on 23 January 1932 in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California, USA (while visiting family). 

Margaret Harriman Veale in 1931

13. Laurits Hansen Madsen, sone of Hans Madsen and Sidsel Marie Christensen, was born on 21 May 1839 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He died on 1 October 1934 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He married Kristen Kristen Terkelsen on 1 April 1869 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. 

14. Kristen Terkelsen, daughter of Hans Terkelsen and Kirsten Christensen, was born in 1850 in Graasten, Denmark. She died in 1925 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark.

Laurits and Kristen Madsen and their family in Denmark

15. Johann Bruhns, son of Frederich Bruhns and Marguerite ____, was born on 20 July 1848 in Holstein, Germany. He died on 24 July 1934 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA. He married Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, on 3 November 1881 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.

16. Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, daughter of Claus Schlichtmann and Anna Sophie Vanderleith, was born on 20 March 1862 in Hannover, Stadt Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.  1 December 1952 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA.

Wedding photo of John and Christina Bruhns

 
The birthplaces of my 16 great-great-grandparents are:

*  USA - 10 (3 in IA, 2 in AR, 2 in IN, 1 in AL, 1 in MO, 1 in MS)

*  England - 2

*  Denmark - 2

*  Germany - 2

Here is my "Heritage Pie" chart:

 Well, that WAS fun! Thanks, Randy, for the inspiration!!

Those Places Thursday: Joseph Rooks in Grundy Co., Missouri

Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks

I have a lot of pioneer ancestors in my family tree, and I admire their spunk and adventurousness. Joseph Rooks, my 5th great grandfather, was one such hearty soul who forged his way through the American wilderness, likely in search of good land and a better life for himself and his family.

Joseph was born in Kentucky in 1772. By 1807, he was in Highland County, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Jackson (1790-1880). While Joseph and Elizabeth were adding to their family of 14 kids, they migrated to Randolph, Indiana, where they can be found on the 1820 US census. According to the 1881 book, "The History of Grundy County, Missouri: An Encylopedia of Useful Information, And A Compendium of Actual Facts," Joseph and his brothers, Samuel and Uriah, had finally settled in Marion township by the Fall of 1838, and were some of the very first white settlers of Grundy County, Missouri. At around the same time, other names in my family tree, including two more of my 5th great grandfathers, Robert Ishmael and John Holloway, arrived in Marion township. The Brittain family started showing up in area by the 1850s, and my 3rd great grand uncle, Francis McGuire Brittain, is also featured in "The History of Grundy County, Missouri."

The Rooks, Ishmael and Holloway family ended up being somewhat intertwined as the generations progressed. Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks' grandson, Thomas J. Rooks, married Robert and Polly Ishmael's granddaughter, Serena Jane Ishmael -- they were my 3rd great grandparents.

Within a few years of settling in Missouri, Joseph Rooks was granted two land patents of just over 137 acres acres in Marion, Grundy County, Missouri. Below is one of two documents detailing the land granted to him on April 1, 1843. I found these with a very simple search on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office website. The document refers to Livingston County: Grundy County was organized from part of Livingston County in the 1840s.

Click on image for larger view

I was able to enter coordinates from the land patents onto a site called Earth Point which then helped me to translate the information into longitude/latitude. From there, and with just one click of a button, I was able to view the exact location of the Rooks land via the wonders of Google Earth.

Section 18, Township 60, Range 22. The Rooks land was in the
NW 1/4 section, where the arrow is pointing. Theirs were Lots 3 & 4, but I
haven't yet found a map that breaks down the lots. The town of Laredo is just to the west
of this land, and that's where Joseph passed away on May 25, 1868.

Here's a close-up of what may have been the land belonging to
Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks in 1843 Grundy County, MO. I wonder if
that's their farm house up near the top?

Isn't it just gorgeous? Being a farm girl, myself, I appreciate the beauty of this land where my ancestors settled. One day, I'm going to win the lottery and take a road trip to visit all of the homesteads that were settled by my folks.

Finally, here's a map that shows the general migration path of Joseph Rooks: from Kentucky to Ohio to Indiana and then to Marion township, Grundy County, Missouri.

That last stretch, from Randolph County, Indiana (C), to Marion, Missouri (D), is roughly 500 miles. According to Google Maps, that would take about nine hours to drive by today's standards. It makes me wonder how long the journey took for the intrepid Rooks family in their wagons, and it makes me admire them all the more for their adventurous spirit!

Here's how I'm descended from Joseph Rooks:

Joseph Rooks (1772-1868) m. Elizabeth Jackson (1790-1880) in 1807 >
Samuel E. Rooks (1816-1876) m. Elizabeth Holloway (1820-1846) in 1835 >
Thomas J. Rooks (1837-1919) m. Serena Jane Ishmael (1845-1914) in1860 >
Mary Jane Rooks (1862-1904) m. Frederick Harmon Brittain (1859-1921) in 1879 >
Andrew Lee Brittain (1888-1954) m. Jessie Luetta Halstead (1898-1974) in 1919 >
Woodie Leroy Brittain (living) m. Edith Vivian Hunt (1920-1993) in 1938 >
William Lee Brittain (1942-2003) m. Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram (living) >
Me!

Sunday Obituary: Thomas J. Rooks 1837-1919

Here's the obituary for my paternal 3rd great grandfather, Thomas J. Rooks. He died on June 25, 1919, and this appeared in the July 3, 1919, edition of the Humansville Star-Leader newspaper in Humansville, Missouri. Thomas and his wife, Serena Jane Ishmael, were the parents of my great great grandmother, Mary Jane Rooks Brittain.

Humansville Star-Leader,
Thursday, July 3, 1919

Thomas J. Rooks was born in Indiana, August 12, 1837, died at the home of his youngest son, F.M. Rooks, near Humansville, June 25, 1919, at the age of 82 years, 10 months, and 13 days. He was married to Miss Serena Ishmael Jan. 19, 1860, to them was born ten boys and two girls of which seven sons and one daughter are still living. His wife preceded him to the grave Oct. 3, 1914. He joined the Baptist church in 1906 but he had professed religion and been a member of other churches since young manhood.

Funeral services were held at the home Wednesday conducted by Rev. B.A. Hensley. Interment was the Burchett cemetery.

The Burchett Cemetery is also known as the Molder Cemetery. Both Thomas and Serena are buried there.

Here's how I'm descended from Thomas and Serena:

Thomas J. Rooks/Serena Jane Ishmael >
Mary Jane Rooks/Frederick Harmon Brittain >
Andrew Lee Brittain/Jessie Luetta Halstead >
Woodie Leroy Brittain/Edith Vivian Hunt >
William Lee Brittain/Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram >
me!

Black Sheep Sunday: A Horse Thief in the Family?

I've been delving into the history of my Quaker ancestors on my dad's side of the family, and it's really fascinating to me. It's a good thing the Quakers kept amazingly good records, and that a lot of them can be found online or in books, because it's helped me to fairly easily track my ancestors on this branch of my tree.

One interesting story I've seen is that of John Jackson, my 6th great grandfather and husband of Phebe Beals. Phebe's great grandfather (my 10th great grandfather), William Clayton (1632-1689), was a British Quaker who came to America on orders from William Penn, and ended up being quite a big mucky-muck in Pennsylvania: he was one of the first two judges for the City of Philadelphia. He was a member of William Penn's council in 1683 and 1684, and was acting Governor of Pennsylvania from 1684 to 1685.

Phebe Beals (1759-1830) and John Jackson (1753-1810) both grew up in the Quaker (aka Society of Friends) religion. They were married at the New Garden Monthly Meeting (MM) on November 10, 1779, in Guilford County, North Carolina. At some point after their marriage, they moved to Surry County, North Carolina, where they became members of the Westfield MM on March 3, 1792. Here's where the story gets interesting:

New Garden Monthly Meeting, North Carolina

Legend has it that the Westfield Monthly Meeting records show that John Jackson was disowned from the Quakers for basically selling a horse that did not belong to him, among other transgressions. Oopsy! According to the record, John was cast from the Quakers for "going to law with a member of our society, also for not complying with his contracts, and for a breach of trust in that of taking a travelers horse in order to take care of him and trading the horse away without the leave of the said traveler, and when he (the traveler) returned, have him no true information nor made him any satisfaction for said horse." I'd love to know why he thought that was such a good idea, or how he thought he'd get away with it! This seems to be a story that is accepted among folks researching this part of the family, but I'm still looking for the actual record so I can verify it. I'll update this post when I find it!

Meanwhile, Phebe and her children were kept in the fold of the Quakers, but no mention of John's name is found in any further church records, except to note him as the father of his children or as Phebe's spouse.

In 1799, John, Phebe and their large family moved from Westfield, North Carolina, to Green County, Tennessee, where Phebe and the children (but not John!) were received into the New Hope MM in August of that year. I've found records that show they finally moved in 1804 to Clinton County, Ohio, where they were some of the earliest pioneers and where they are buried.

Interestingly, Phebe and John's daughter (my 5th great grandmother), Elizabeth Jackson, was also disowned from the Quakers in Ohio for marrying my 5th great grandfather, Joseph Rooks. It seems that something as simple as marrying outside the faith could get one excommunicated.

Things I've Learned From the Census

1790 US Census for my 5th great grandfather,
Timothy Halstead, in Montgomery, Ulster Co., NY
It shows that he did not own slaves, but several
of his neighbors did.

I'll bet that when you were filling out your 2010 US Census document last year you didn't think about how that mundane information just might help one of your descendants in their family history research. Genealogists spend a LOT of time digging through census data and, frankly, I don't think we'd know what to do without it. It helps us link the generations of our family, understand where our people came from, learn about occupations of our ancestors, confirm (or dispel) data found elsewhere and much, much more.

First, it helps to have a little back story about the census, itself.  As mandated by the United States Constitution, the population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats, electoral votes and government funding. Some states and local jurisdictions also conduct their own censuses.

While some state and local censuses were taken before the American Revolution, the first US census was taken in 1790. The US census has been taken every ten years since then. The first two censuses were basically a head count and obtained the name of the head of household and number of other males and females who resided there. The 1790 census asked for the following:

• Number of white males over/under age of 16
• Number of white females
• Number of other free persons
• Number of slaves

Censuses from subsequent years began expanding on the information sought from residents and help us to better flesh out the story of our ancestors and our nation. Starting in 1850, the census started counting each member of a residence individually, including women, children and slaves, and how they related to the head of the household. That year, people were asked questions about the value of their property, marriage status and if they were "deaf, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict?"

1850 US Census for my 5th great
grandparents, Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks,
in Grundy County, MO

In 1870, residents were asked about where their parents were born and could the resident read or write.

In 1890, even more questions were added, including "How many children was the person a mother of? How many of those children were living?" Unfortunately, most of the 1890 census was destroyed in 1921 during a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.

In 1900, the government thought to ask how long each couple had been married (giving us genealogists a clue regarding marriage dates -- yay!).

In 1930, the most recent census that has been made available to the general public, each household was asked if it owned a radio. People were also asked if they lived on a farm NOW, and if they lived on a farm A YEAR AGO -- likely to help determine migration patterns from the country to the cities.

The 1940 census results are scheduled for release to the public in 2012.  We family historians are waiting on pins and needles so we can continue to learn more about our great grandparents, grandparents and, for some folks, even our own parents, including whether or not they had a Social Security number (Social Security began in 1935, and applications can offer us invaluable information). 

I still find bits of curious -- and crucial -- data on my people each time I take another look at a census document. Here are a few interesting items I've dug up in these deceptively fascinating records.

GG Grandfather Frederick Harmon Brittain was in two different places during the 1900 US Census, and one of those places was the US Jail in Muskogee, OK.  I'm still not sure how he ended up in jail, and I don't know if he had been released prior to being enumerated at home on June 16, or if his wife or one of the children erroneously listed him as living at home at that time.

Frederick Harmon Brittain in jail on June 1, 1900

Township 1, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, US Jail Muscogee. Enumerated on June 1, 1900

Frederick H. Brittain is listed, among many other men, as a "boarder."
His birth date and place are correct, as well as other identifying information.

 Frederick Harmon Brittain at home on June 16, 1900

Township 16, Creek Nation, Indian Territory. Enumerated on June 16, 1900

Fred Brittain is listed with his family, including his wife, Mary J., and
his children (including my great grandfather Andrew Lee (Leander) Brittain.

Great Grandpa Louie (Lars Hansen Madsen) and his family were listed as owning a radio on the 1930 US census. Why was this important? There were reasons relating to broadcast law, but it's possible that it also helped to give an idea as to the family's, and the nation's, standard of living. 

1930 US Census for my great grandparents, Louis and Johanna

Madsen, in Murray Township, Alameda Co., CA. My

Grandma Donna, aged 10, and her brother and sister are also listed.

My GGG Grandparents, Andrew and Elizabeth Veale, had 11 children, but only five were living as of the 1900 census. Their 42 year old daughter, Lydia, was living with them, and the document shows that she could read, but not write. It also states that Andrew was a farm laborer, and both Elizabeth and Lydia were laundresses. All three were unemployed at the time of the census. It appears that these ancestors may have fallen on hard times. Both Andrew and Elizabeth died before the 1910 census, and Lydia passed away in 1913. 

1900 Census for my GGG grandparents, Andrew and Elizabeth Veale,
and their daughter, Lydia, in Maple Hill Township, Wabausee County, KS

And this is just the beginning! In addition to the US census data, there's also a lot of information out there from various state and local censuses. Even though the 1890 US census isn't available to me, I've been able to find information on my Bartram and Veale family from the 1885 and 1895 Kansas census.

While, on the surface, the census data can seem a bit mundane, I love how it's helped me to piece together the stories of my ancestors. I can tell when they've had good decades (shown, for example, by increased land ownership and births of children) and when they've fallen on hard times (shown by unemployment or, perhaps, by young children gone missing from censuses). When I use the census alongside the myriad other ancestral documentation that I'm lucky to unearth, I realize that I could fill a book -- or at least a blog! -- with some really cool stories about the people who came before me.

Wedding Wednesday: Frederick Harmon Brittain and Mary Jane Rooks

Here's a picture of my great great grandparents, Frederick Harmon Brittain and Mary Jane Rooks, as well as a copy of their marriage certificate. They were married on September 14, 1879 in Lowery City, Missouri.

Mary Jane Rooks Brittain and Frederick Harmon Brittain

Marriage Certificate - I love the decorative scroll work on it!

Witnesses to the marriage were Frederick's father, Milton Price Brittain, and Mary Jane's father, Thomas J. Rooks.

Frederick and Mary Jane had 12 children, including my great grandfather, Andrew Lee Brittain. Sadly, three of those children didn't make it past the age of three. At some point after their wedding, and possibly around the time of the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, the family moved from Missouri to Indian Territory (what is now Oklahoma). Frederick apparently ran into some trouble with the law around 1900 (he's in the US Jail at Muskogee in the 1900 US census, but I'm still working on the mystery of why he was there. Stay tuned!), and Mary Jane passed away in 1904. Frederick remarried, in 1906, to Sarah Frances Young, and they had three children together. They moved to Van Buren County, Arkansas, sometime after 1910, and he passed away there in 1921.