Friday, May 9, 2014

52 Ancestors: #19 Joseph M. Parker (abt 1811-1877)



Joseph M. Parker was born in Kentucky, about 1811.  I have no idea who his parents may have been.

He married Elizabeth Leach in 1850 in White County, Illinois.  I also have no idea who her parents were although I believe she was also born about 1811 but in Illinois.

Joseph and Elizabeth had ten children before Elizabeth died in 1862 in Jefferson County, Iowa. 
Ann Parker (1830 IL-1917 IA) married Albert Bryan in 1850 in Iowa.
Sarah Parker (abt 1833 IL-1899IA) married John C. Layton in 1862 in Iowa.
Margaret Parker (1834 IL – aft 1910 ?) married Joseph Stone in 1862 in Iowa
Louise Parker (abt 1837 IA – 1870-1880 ?) married John Richard Russell in 1860 in Iowa.
Thomas Benjamin Parker (1837IA – 1915 IA) married Ann Eliza Russell in 1862 in Iowa. 
               John Richard Russell and Ann Eliza Russell were siblings.
James Parker (abt 1845 IA – aft 1870)
George Dallas Parker (1847 IA-1922 IA) married Lucinda Olive Heckethorn (spelling varies widely) in 
                      1871 in Iowa
Mary Parker (abt 1850 IA - ?) married William A. Bryan in 1875 in Iowa.
Ira Parker (abt 1853 IA – after 1860)
Iowa Parker (1855 IA-aft 1870) married, I believe, Joseph W. Harner in 1874 in Iowa.

After Elizabeth died in 1862 and was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Joseph married Sarah Stone in March 1865.  Joseph and Sarah had four children.

Joseph died in 1877 in Jefferson County, Iowa and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

If you are interested in collaborating in this research, please contact me.

Friday, May 2, 2014

52 Ancestors: - #18 Mary Shane Lemon King Merriott (1812-1892)


 Mary Shane Lemon was born in July 1812 in Berkeley County, Virginia, which is now a county in West Virginia.  I believe that her parents were James Shane and Catherine.  In online trees Catherine’s last name varies and I have no birth record for Mary that indicates a name for her mother, other than Catherine or Katherine. 

Mary married George Lemon about 1832.  I am speculating that George was born about 1810 in Virginia.  George Lemon and Mary had two children: George (1833-1864) and Jane Frances (1834-1927).  Later census records indicate that George was born in Ohio and Jane Frances was born in Virginia, but this is not confirmed.

In the 1850 census for Peoria County, Illinois, George and Jane F. are living with his mother Mary King, and children Elizabeth (1842-1918), James (1845-1918), Joseph (1846-1920) and Rufus (1847-1915) King.  A marriage index for Illinois shows that Mary Lemon married William King in July 1839 in Peoria County. 

In the 1860 census Mary is enumerated with William Merrett and has children listed as John T. Merrett, age 5, and Rufus King, age 12. 

According to an obituary in the Brimfield News for Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois for January 14, 1892, Mary Shane was born in Berkeley County, West Virginia.  At age 24 she moved to Illinois with her father and other family members and then married William King.  Then, in 1857 she was again married, but to William Merriott. 

I am researching the descendants of Mary’s daughter Jane Frances Lemon who married Thomas Greenslade Blackmore.  AND, then, naturally, I am trying to document the ancestors of Mary Shane Lemon King Merriott, as well as the ancestors of her first husband George Lemon.  If you are interested in sharing information about this family please contact me.

Friday, April 25, 2014

52 Ancestors: #17- John William Doyle (1829-1898)


John William Doyle was born in Belmont County, Ohio in February 1829, I believe.  At this time his parents are not known.  A marriage record dated 27 October 1850 in Marshall County, Virginia (which is now West Virginia) shows John Doyle marrying Rebecca Johnson.  In the 1850 census, it appears that both John and Rebecca are in the same household.  So were they living together before they were married?  Just curious.

John and Rebecca had four children that I know of:
Wiley Augustus Doyle (1851 VA/WV- 1924 CO) married Melissa Jane Adams
Mary Emma Doyle (1853-1933) who married Oliver Bryan (I wrote about them earlier)
William Franklin “Frank” Doyle (1856 OH-1928 CO) who married Dora Cleo                  Speckelmire/Specklemier, or other variations of the spelling
James Bruce Doyle (1856 IL-1911 CO) who married Della Ann Speckelmire (various also). 

Yes, the two ladies were sisters, daughters of John Calvin Speckelmire and Charity Mullen.  And there are SOOO many different ways I've found this last name spelled.

In 1858 Rebecca died in Randolph County, Illinois.  I am looking for cemetery records for her.

In September 1862, John enlisted in Company A, 110th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry.  He was discharged in June 1865, at the end of the Civil War.  John and his children lived in Jefferson County, Illinois in 1870, but moved to Rawlins County, Kansas, before 1880.

John William Doyle died in January 1898 in Rawlins County, Kansas and was buried in the Achilles Cemetery in Rawlins County.

I would like to collaborate with anyone researching any of these people. 

 SPECIAL NOTE:
I would like to thank Amy Johnson Crow of   No Story Too Small  for encouraging us in our writing attempts for our ancestors.  This is the address in case the link doesn't work.  http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks.  I missed my deadline one week, but this has been a great incentive for me to organize at least a little bit of information about each ancestor on a regular basis.  And, Amy also has been compiling a list every week in a recap.  This list is of all of those blogs and surnames that we have been writing about.  So, I check down the list every week to see if someone else has written about any of those people that I'm also researching.  Thank you, Amy.

GRIP 2015 Classes

What a surprise in my email box last night.  GRIP (Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh) announced that it will have TWO sessions next summer (2015), with two weeks in between.  How exciting!!!  Check here for all of the information.  GRIP 2015 classes  Also, as you can see, there are a few seats open in some of the 2014 classes. 

If you have questions about GRIP, you can contact the coordinators, Elissa or Debbie OR I'll be glad to tell you about my wonderful experiences the past two years and how much I'm looking forward to July in Pittsburgh, AGAIN.   

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

52 Ancestors: #16 - Ann Parker Bryan (1830-1917)


Ann Parker was born in 1830 in White County, Illinois.  I believe her parents were Joseph Parker and Elizabeth Leach Parker.  Ann married Albert Bryan on 12 November 1850 in Jefferson County, Iowa.  She spent the rest of her life living in Iowa, mostly in Poweshiek County.

Albert and Ann Parker Bryan had five children:
Oliver Bryan (1851-1944) Iowa to California [married Mary Emma Doyle]
William Morrison Bryan (1853-1938) Iowa to California [married Belinda N. Alexander]
Sarah Emily Bryan (1855-   ) Iowa
Alice Edna Bryan (1859-1925) Iowa to South Dakota [married Edward Alonzo Stone]
Joseph Theodore Bryan (1865-1950) Iowa to California [married Mary Jane Good]
I believe that Ann died in Montezuma, Poweshiek County, Iowa.  I don’t know which cemetery she may be buried in, and I have been unable to acquire a death certificate.  If you have any knowledge of Ann or this family, I would like to collaborate with you.  Please contact me.

Friday, April 11, 2014

52 Ancestors: #15 Albert Parker (1815-1902) Ohio to Iowa


Albert Bryan, son of Morrison Bryan and Rhoda Johnson, was born on 29 July 1815 in Greene County, Ohio.  He married Ann Parker on 12 November 1850 in Jefferson County, Iowa.  In 1847 Albert was granted a land patent in Fairfield, Mahaska County, Iowa.  Albert worked as a farmer and a master carpenter.  He spent the rest of his live in Poweshiek County, Iowa.

Albert and Ann had five children.  I was able to follow four of the five children, I have been unable to determine what happened to Sarah Emily Bryan who was born in 1855 and was listed in the 1860 census. So, the children of Albert and Ann were

Oliver Bryan (1851-1944) Iowa to California [married Mary Emma Doyle]

William Morrison Bryan (1853-1938) Iowa to California [married Belinda N. Alexander]

Sarah Emily Bryan (1855-   ) Iowa

Alice Edna Bryan (1859-1925) Iowa to South Dakota [married Edward Alonzo Stone]

Joseph Theodore Bryan (1865-1950) Iowa to California [married Mary Jane Good]

I believe that Albert is buried in the I.O.O. F. Cemetery in Montezuma, Poweshiek County, Iowa.  I have been able to acquire a death certificate.  Also, I am looking for information about a grave marker in order to get a photo of it.
 
If you are interested in any of these family members and would like to collaborate, please contact me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Tuesday's Tip: FamilySearch Deserves Another Look

Have you looked at FamilySearch.org during the past year?  Or even more recently?  If not, you will definitely be surprised at what is now available.

Because I am still indexing, some, I am aware of some of the new collections that are being added.   But I haven't thought about making sure others are also aware of this.  So what happened?

I was teaching a beginning genealogy class.  I mentioned using familysearch.org for copies of original records.  One of the younger ladies, who had worked on her family history about 15 years ago and then had life experiences interfering with her research, was in the class to see what was new.  She said she NEVER used familysearch because it only had family trees that were mostly wrong.  And she only used ancestry.com.  Well, I felt the need to quickly inform her that things had changed a lot in the last 15 years.  The next week she came back and said she was really sorry she hadn't been using it during the past year once she picked up her research again.

So, I want to encourage you to look again at some of the collections.  From the first page, choose search.  Then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on United States.  On the next screen choose a state.  Then make a choice.  Yes, there are still many collections that are only indexes, but there are also more and more actual images online and indexed. 

Please understand that I am retired; I don't get compensation of any type for mentioning web sites.  I just don't want any of you to miss out on some of these great documents.