WGLS blog 8/30
Still tracking down my Millet/Millett family. A great new "find" on the USGenWeb site for Lenawee Co., Michigan. This is one of those good sites with plenty of data. The particular family I am looking after at the moment is Alexander & Hannah Millet. Alexander was born about 1819 in Wayne Co. NY, according to his death records. His 1st wife was Hannah, possibly Hoag. I have not uncovered absolute proof of her maiden name yet, but have seen other family trees with "Hoag" as her maiden name. Therefore, I decided to research into the Hoag families in Lenawee County as well, to see if I could find some form of proof.
What I did find in Lenawee Co's web site for the USGenWeb Project was a couple of Millett marriages--one Rebecca Millett to Stephen Still, and Mary Jane Millett to Abram McNames. Marriages occurred in 1860 & 1859 respectively. I don't know who they are. They are not older children of Alexander and Hannah, as they are not listed with their family in the 1850 census. Also found a death notice for a Frank Millett, who died in 1876 at the age of 39, in Adrian, Lenawee Co. I also found a number of entries for Hoag family members, so will attempt to research them to see if I can make a connection to Hannah Millet(t).
Every time I get an answer to a question, I get new questions:
Answers: This Alexander Millet(t) is not the same Alexander Millet(t) who was an early settler of Jo Daviess Co. Illinois, nor the one who went off to the California Gold Rush in 1850. In 1850 THIS Alexander Millet(t) is happily living in Madison, Lenawee County Michigan with his wife Hannah and children Theron, Jonathan & Edmond. So of the 4 early Alexander's (one born in 1790, one born between 1790 & 1800, one born 1809, and this Alexander), I can eliminate one as the early Jo Daviess Co. IL pioneer. But, is he the same Alexander reported to be the son of my 3gg grandparents, William and Aurinda Millet(t) of Jo Daviess Co. IL? Oops, that goes in the next section for questions.
Questions: Who was Frank Millett who died in 1876? How does he connect with Alexander, if he does? Was he a brother of Rebecca and Mary Jane? And who were their parents?
Oh, and one more thing I found on the Lenawee Co. web site: A diary, kept by one Hannah Pierce, from 1835 till 1873, although her entries were sparse in the 1860's and the last entry was by a niece in 1873, who reported her death on New Years Day. I decided to take a look, since it was possible that she may have mentioned my family in her diary. Well, she did, there are several mentinons of Alexander Millet, A. Millet, and Hannah Millet. Mostly things like going to visit or their coming to visit her, but there is a mention of a child's death in 1858. Since the three children in the 1850 census are still in the 1860 census, there was another child born between 1850 & 1858 who died. More research is needed.
Hannah Pierce also details their travel from Williamson NY (same area as my Millet(t)'s are from) to Michigan, in 1836. They made the journey from Williamson to Palmyra NY by wagon, but the rest was made by canal boat and steamship across the Great Lakes. The entire journey from Williamson to Adrian, Lenawee Co. Michigan was made in approximately one week. To read this, go to http://migenweb.net/lenawee/diary.html
It's pretty long, and most of her entries are short (visited so-&-so, went quilting, etc.), but there are some very interesting entries about life in her era.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Bombshell!
Cousin David dropped a bombshell on me the other day. He says that my gg grandmother Hobb (nee Elizabeth Parsons) was married before she married my gg grandfather. We knew he had been married before, but I didn't know that she was married before as well. I have a copy of her marriage certificate to James, she was married in 1863 in Missouri and was married using her maiden name, which probably isn't all that unusual. And I should have noticed the two daughters living with James & Elizabeth in the 1870 census, who were older than they should have been for an 1863 marriage. I knew one was the daughter of a previous marriage for James (who had actually been married two times before), I'm not sure that "Nydia/Lydia" ever registered with me, although looking at my genealogy program, I see I do not have her listed as one of their children.
Which brings up another question--one of many: GG grandma Elizabeth was from England, came to America when she was 9 years old and settled in Illinois with her parents, according to her obituary. She married in Missouri. I have not been able to find her parents thus far, in either Illinois or Missouri. Of course, a lot can happen in the 10 years between censuses that may miss documentation, but I wonder if gg grandma Elizabeth came to Missouri alone, or with a family. I find an Elizabeth of the right age and birthplace in Kane Co. IL in 1860, enumerated with a 41-year old Thomas Parsons. He is certainly old enough to be the father of a 17 year old. Thirty-year old Eliza probably isn't Elizabeth's mother, especially since there's a gap between Elizabeth and the next child--a pretty good-sized gap. Second wife? But I have been unable to find anyone thus far in Missouri (Clark Co.) who matches up.
And I have not been able to find a marriage record for Elizabeth and any Fife in Illinois, which is where they were supposed to have been married. The state of Illinois has a marriage index online, transcribed, so prone to errors, and someone could have miss-transcribed their names, or missed them altogether.
Nydia Fite is the daughter of Elizabeth and her first husband, reportedly Albert Fite. She only appears on the one census as a child, as she married Luman Washington Quinn in 1879 in Iowa (found the marriage on a marriage index). So in 1880 she is in Des Moines IA with her husband. The next Federal census is 1900, and the family is in Saginaw, Michigan. So is Elizabeth--listed as mother-in-law to Luman. Elizabeth is also listed back in Missouri in a son's household. If she was visiting, she stuck around until 1920, although I suppose she could have gone back and forth, since she made the journey there in the first place. In 1910 and 1920 she is still living with Nydia, in Chicago, although in 1920 Luman has died and Nydia has remarried. Nydia died in 1922, and Elizabeth moved back to Kansas, living with her oldest daughter she had with James, my great grandmother, Sarah Hobb Rathbun. Elizabeth died the following year.
So many questions, still looking for answers.
1. How did Elizabeth happen to come to Missouri? Did she travel alone or with family? What happened to her family?
2. How did Nydia get from Missouri to Iowa to marry? How did she meet Luman Quinn? Was he in Missouri? Did Nydia travel alone to Iowa?
I still have more places to look. Iowa has a pretty good state census, I hope to find them in the 1885 census, if they haven't already moved to Michigan by then. Perhaps Luman will be found in an 1875 census, if there is one.
At least we know where a couple of odd names in the family come from. My grandfather Rathbun had a sister named Nydia. And one of James & Elizabeth's sons name was James Luman, although I believe he went by Luman.
Which brings up another question--one of many: GG grandma Elizabeth was from England, came to America when she was 9 years old and settled in Illinois with her parents, according to her obituary. She married in Missouri. I have not been able to find her parents thus far, in either Illinois or Missouri. Of course, a lot can happen in the 10 years between censuses that may miss documentation, but I wonder if gg grandma Elizabeth came to Missouri alone, or with a family. I find an Elizabeth of the right age and birthplace in Kane Co. IL in 1860, enumerated with a 41-year old Thomas Parsons. He is certainly old enough to be the father of a 17 year old. Thirty-year old Eliza probably isn't Elizabeth's mother, especially since there's a gap between Elizabeth and the next child--a pretty good-sized gap. Second wife? But I have been unable to find anyone thus far in Missouri (Clark Co.) who matches up.
And I have not been able to find a marriage record for Elizabeth and any Fife in Illinois, which is where they were supposed to have been married. The state of Illinois has a marriage index online, transcribed, so prone to errors, and someone could have miss-transcribed their names, or missed them altogether.
Nydia Fite is the daughter of Elizabeth and her first husband, reportedly Albert Fite. She only appears on the one census as a child, as she married Luman Washington Quinn in 1879 in Iowa (found the marriage on a marriage index). So in 1880 she is in Des Moines IA with her husband. The next Federal census is 1900, and the family is in Saginaw, Michigan. So is Elizabeth--listed as mother-in-law to Luman. Elizabeth is also listed back in Missouri in a son's household. If she was visiting, she stuck around until 1920, although I suppose she could have gone back and forth, since she made the journey there in the first place. In 1910 and 1920 she is still living with Nydia, in Chicago, although in 1920 Luman has died and Nydia has remarried. Nydia died in 1922, and Elizabeth moved back to Kansas, living with her oldest daughter she had with James, my great grandmother, Sarah Hobb Rathbun. Elizabeth died the following year.
So many questions, still looking for answers.
1. How did Elizabeth happen to come to Missouri? Did she travel alone or with family? What happened to her family?
2. How did Nydia get from Missouri to Iowa to marry? How did she meet Luman Quinn? Was he in Missouri? Did Nydia travel alone to Iowa?
I still have more places to look. Iowa has a pretty good state census, I hope to find them in the 1885 census, if they haven't already moved to Michigan by then. Perhaps Luman will be found in an 1875 census, if there is one.
At least we know where a couple of odd names in the family come from. My grandfather Rathbun had a sister named Nydia. And one of James & Elizabeth's sons name was James Luman, although I believe he went by Luman.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Millet's, Simmons, & Browns, Oh-My!
Tuesday night, I decided to see if I could possibly find any further data about my 3gg grandmother's sister, Betsey Millet Simmons, and her family. I had tried before, and they all seemed to disappear after 1863, when their son Watson married Mariette J. Brown in Branch Co., Missouri. With a little searching, I found them on the 1870 census in Monroe Co., Missouri. And a bonus find--Hiram Millet, whom I believe to be my 3gg grandfather's brother. Finding him with a child of Betsey adds one more little chink of proof that I am right as I attempt to put this family together.
What I found was a household headed up by "Mary J. Simmons," and which included two Simmon's children (Glen age 3 & Horace age 1), an older Brown couple, Melville Simmons (brother-in-law to "Mary J.", and Hiram Millett (age 74). What a mixed household, and I'd certainly be interested in knowing just how they all drifted from "up north" to Missouri.
Since this was the latest time frame for anyone in this particular family, I decided to do a little more exploring. Going to the 1880 census, they were no longer in Monroe County. I could not find a Millett or a Simmons of the right ages in Missouri, but when I took the birth date parameter out of the search engine, I turned up the two Simmons boys in neighboring Shelby County, with step-dad William T. Carothers and their mother "Etta J." Carothers. Ancestry.com has Missouri marriages at their web site, so it wasn't difficult to find an 1871 marriage between the two, and a copy now resides on my computer. No Melville, although I did find him in Nebraska in 1880. No Hiram Millett, but given that he would be about 84, I would have been more surprised if I had found him.
More sleuthing between Ancestry.com, the Missouri Digital Archives site with their death records online, and the USGenWeb site for Shelby County, allowed me to put most of the pieces of this family together. A Shelby County history on this USGenWeb site confirmed that the two Brown's (Henry & Sarah) were indeed Mariette/Mary J./Etta's parents, and that her first husband was indeed Watson Simmons. Found wives and children for the two Simmons boys, death and burial records for them as well.
Would I have found them without the Internet? I doubt that I would have lived long enough to have found them without the Internet, nor been lucky enough to come across any current-day relatives to share information with.
The saga will continue..............
What I found was a household headed up by "Mary J. Simmons," and which included two Simmon's children (Glen age 3 & Horace age 1), an older Brown couple, Melville Simmons (brother-in-law to "Mary J.", and Hiram Millett (age 74). What a mixed household, and I'd certainly be interested in knowing just how they all drifted from "up north" to Missouri.
Since this was the latest time frame for anyone in this particular family, I decided to do a little more exploring. Going to the 1880 census, they were no longer in Monroe County. I could not find a Millett or a Simmons of the right ages in Missouri, but when I took the birth date parameter out of the search engine, I turned up the two Simmons boys in neighboring Shelby County, with step-dad William T. Carothers and their mother "Etta J." Carothers. Ancestry.com has Missouri marriages at their web site, so it wasn't difficult to find an 1871 marriage between the two, and a copy now resides on my computer. No Melville, although I did find him in Nebraska in 1880. No Hiram Millett, but given that he would be about 84, I would have been more surprised if I had found him.
More sleuthing between Ancestry.com, the Missouri Digital Archives site with their death records online, and the USGenWeb site for Shelby County, allowed me to put most of the pieces of this family together. A Shelby County history on this USGenWeb site confirmed that the two Brown's (Henry & Sarah) were indeed Mariette/Mary J./Etta's parents, and that her first husband was indeed Watson Simmons. Found wives and children for the two Simmons boys, death and burial records for them as well.
Would I have found them without the Internet? I doubt that I would have lived long enough to have found them without the Internet, nor been lucky enough to come across any current-day relatives to share information with.
The saga will continue..............
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sorting Out My Millet Family
What? Two posts in the same day? I can go months with nothing, then suddenly I do two in one day--not to mention one last week. Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf
I was going to tie this in with the previous post, but it didn't seem right, so here you go--two in one day. Enjoy, who knows when I'll do another one.
From everything I can find in my research, I am a descendant of Jonathan & Jenet (Edmond) Millet of Voluntown, New London, Connecticut. My assignment, and I have accepted it, is to figure out which one of their sons I am descended from.
I have ruled out the oldest son, John, born in 1764. His family went to Darke County, Ohio, by 1830 when he appears in the census for Twin township. His will is made out in 1831, and he died sometime before May, 1833. His will names all but two of his children. His "two youngest daughters" are listed this way, not by name. I was never sure if this was "my" John, but later on a timely email from someone who had in his possession a family history of sorts, indicated this was indeed the oldest son of Jonathan & Jenet. I've found no trace of him between 1800 & 1830, but have traced his descendants enough to know that he is not my 4gg grandfather, in spite of having a son named "Merrit."
I have also ruled out Samuel, born in 1772. His family is well-documented, first in a history written in the late 1800's by someone related to his wife, Rachel Douglass, and by further research. Most of his family remained in upstate New York, although a few did migrate west and settled in Illinois, which is where I first pick up my gg grandmother Mary Millet.
And I've ruled out William, although at one time I was pretty sure he was my 3gg grandfather. However, he seemed to be most prominent in Jefferson Co., Indiana, as well as Geauga Co. Ohio and Jo Daviess Co. IL, so he always made me scratch my head in wonder. Later, we discovered why he was hopping around so much.
The other sons are Andrew (born 1767), Daniel (born 1774), Jonathan (born abt 1780), William (born about 1784) and Alexander (born 1790).
My gg grandmother was Mary Millet. She married my gg grandfather, Samuel Henry Johnson, in 1843 in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. She had two sons, Merrit and Samuel Henry Jr., before dying prior to 1850. Samuel married Roxy Lyon in 1850, who turns out to be a cousin of Mary's. A descendant of the second marriage has a paper which she found in her great grandmother's things, giving a listing of some of this family. The paper credits Alexander Millet for being the father of Alexander, William, Hiram and Martin Millet, as well as daughters Rhoda and one who married a Simmons. The paper also gives credit to this William as the father of my Mary. I had thought William was my 3gg grandfather, but I had the wrong William!
Gotta love this family! They are not original when naming their children--they use the ancestral names over and over again, and it gets confusing when there are many Williams, Alexanders, etc., who are born pretty close together and often in the same place. The William I "thought" was mine, turns out he's only an uncle! Thank you, Sandy Groezinger, for appearing on the genealogical scene long enough to share this information with me!
However, in my research, I have not found an Alexander Millet old enough to be fathering any children in the 1790's to early 1800's. The above-mentioned Alexander wasn't born until 1790; the other Alexander's were born even later, and are apparently sons of some of the brothers. One Alexander was born in 1809, and through court records of Geauga County we can assume this one is a son of William, grandson of Jonathan & Jenet.
This is getting long, so I will cut to the chase. I have narrowed down the possible candidates to be the grandfather of Mary Millet Johnson, to Andrew, son of Jonathan & Jenet. In checking through 1800-1830 censuses, he is the only one with enough children listed in his household to qualify, compared to his brothers Alexander, Daniel, William & Jonathan. Samuel has already been ruled out due to the Douglass genealogy, and he did not have an Alexander according to this biography. Or a William.
So, I'm looking for an illusive will or land record that will give me the definitive proof I need to declare the identity of my 4gg grandfather. And while I'm at it, I'm trying to sort out the later generations who keep popping up here and there in the same places as my known Millet family.
Stay tuned for more!
I was going to tie this in with the previous post, but it didn't seem right, so here you go--two in one day. Enjoy, who knows when I'll do another one.
From everything I can find in my research, I am a descendant of Jonathan & Jenet (Edmond) Millet of Voluntown, New London, Connecticut. My assignment, and I have accepted it, is to figure out which one of their sons I am descended from.
I have ruled out the oldest son, John, born in 1764. His family went to Darke County, Ohio, by 1830 when he appears in the census for Twin township. His will is made out in 1831, and he died sometime before May, 1833. His will names all but two of his children. His "two youngest daughters" are listed this way, not by name. I was never sure if this was "my" John, but later on a timely email from someone who had in his possession a family history of sorts, indicated this was indeed the oldest son of Jonathan & Jenet. I've found no trace of him between 1800 & 1830, but have traced his descendants enough to know that he is not my 4gg grandfather, in spite of having a son named "Merrit."
I have also ruled out Samuel, born in 1772. His family is well-documented, first in a history written in the late 1800's by someone related to his wife, Rachel Douglass, and by further research. Most of his family remained in upstate New York, although a few did migrate west and settled in Illinois, which is where I first pick up my gg grandmother Mary Millet.
And I've ruled out William, although at one time I was pretty sure he was my 3gg grandfather. However, he seemed to be most prominent in Jefferson Co., Indiana, as well as Geauga Co. Ohio and Jo Daviess Co. IL, so he always made me scratch my head in wonder. Later, we discovered why he was hopping around so much.
The other sons are Andrew (born 1767), Daniel (born 1774), Jonathan (born abt 1780), William (born about 1784) and Alexander (born 1790).
My gg grandmother was Mary Millet. She married my gg grandfather, Samuel Henry Johnson, in 1843 in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. She had two sons, Merrit and Samuel Henry Jr., before dying prior to 1850. Samuel married Roxy Lyon in 1850, who turns out to be a cousin of Mary's. A descendant of the second marriage has a paper which she found in her great grandmother's things, giving a listing of some of this family. The paper credits Alexander Millet for being the father of Alexander, William, Hiram and Martin Millet, as well as daughters Rhoda and one who married a Simmons. The paper also gives credit to this William as the father of my Mary. I had thought William was my 3gg grandfather, but I had the wrong William!
Gotta love this family! They are not original when naming their children--they use the ancestral names over and over again, and it gets confusing when there are many Williams, Alexanders, etc., who are born pretty close together and often in the same place. The William I "thought" was mine, turns out he's only an uncle! Thank you, Sandy Groezinger, for appearing on the genealogical scene long enough to share this information with me!
However, in my research, I have not found an Alexander Millet old enough to be fathering any children in the 1790's to early 1800's. The above-mentioned Alexander wasn't born until 1790; the other Alexander's were born even later, and are apparently sons of some of the brothers. One Alexander was born in 1809, and through court records of Geauga County we can assume this one is a son of William, grandson of Jonathan & Jenet.
This is getting long, so I will cut to the chase. I have narrowed down the possible candidates to be the grandfather of Mary Millet Johnson, to Andrew, son of Jonathan & Jenet. In checking through 1800-1830 censuses, he is the only one with enough children listed in his household to qualify, compared to his brothers Alexander, Daniel, William & Jonathan. Samuel has already been ruled out due to the Douglass genealogy, and he did not have an Alexander according to this biography. Or a William.
So, I'm looking for an illusive will or land record that will give me the definitive proof I need to declare the identity of my 4gg grandfather. And while I'm at it, I'm trying to sort out the later generations who keep popping up here and there in the same places as my known Millet family.
Stay tuned for more!
Over at the USGenWeb Project:
Elections for the USGW Project's Advisory Board were recently completed, although we do not have the results yet as to who won or lost. I have one more year on the AB, serving as the Northeast-North Central County Coordinator Representative. Then I plan to "retire," and get out of politics. It's been somewhat of an exercise in futility. I naively thought that I could make a difference, but when you're dealing in politics, you just can't make some people happy no matter what you do. There are some people who think the AB can step in and solve all the problems, and there are others who squwack when we try to do something. Since the title and job description are pretty closely tied (aka "advisory"), we really don't have the power that some people think we do.
Another County Coordinator bit the dust recently, in a southern state which my husband has genealogical ties to. The dust hasn't settled there yet, but I don't think the CC plans on protesting or filing any grievances for her unjust "firing." Too bad, from what I see it's an open & shut case of unjust relieving of duty. But the CC is probably smarter than I would be, because if she files and wins, she still has to live with the State Coordinator, who would undoubtedly do it right the next time. Easier for her to pack it up and be independent. With the search engines these days, her web site will still be found.
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