England Born Pioneer and Linn County Iowa Miller.

The prompt for today comes again from Genealogy Girl on Instagram and the prompt is beard. This time I'm going to the other side of the tree to blog about an ancestor of my maternal sibling.

William Leach HILL is the third great grandfather of my half brother. I recently stumbled across a few new photographs of him that were uploaded by a fellow subscriber to Ancestry. And you guessed it, he has a beard!

I find it so neat that both my step parents had ancestors that immigrated to the United States from England much later in time than any of my own personal ancestors, or even those of my husband. 

According to his death certificate, William Leach HILL, was born 25 April 1835, in England. His parents were Abraham HILL and Mary LEACH. He was a miller by occupation and he died at the age of 90 on 20 March 1926 in Central City, Boulder Township, Linn County, Iowa. The informant was his son-in-law, Verner Conklin, who is the 2nd great grandfather of my half brother.

There's a record index on Family Search for his baptism, that took place 5 Oct 1836 at Bradford Yorkshire England, UK. 

The 1851 England and Wales census finds 14 year old William living at home with his parents, four siblings and a servant on Wakefield Road, in Yorkshire, Yorkshire (West Riding), England

A picture even exists of William and two of his brothers when they were younger! Left to right is Thomas, Rowland, and then William according the FamilySearch user Stewart M. Marshall who shared it there. 




I'm not entirely certain when he immigrated. According to his obituary it was after the death of his father. 

Moday, March 22, 1926, Page 10, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA

I do however have his marriage record to Miss Catharine WILKINSON. There is a lot of information on this record so I'm going to include it and hope that it is large enough for you to see. Their information is in the middle column. They were married 10 Sept 1873 in Brantford, Brant, Ontario, Canada. His age was 38. He is a miller and a bachelor. Again, his parents are Abraham and Mary HILL. His current residence is Coralville, Johnson County, IA. Again, his birthplace is given as Yorkshire, England. The bride is Ms. Catharine WILKINSON, age 37, single, the daughter of Thomas and Nancy WILKINSON. She was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, England. William gives his religion as Baptist, and Catharine is Wesleyan. They were married by a minister named John ALEXANDER. 

The first US census he shows up in is the 1880, Boulder, Linn, IA census. In the course of 7 years he and Catharine have become to parents of three children, Alice age 5, William age 3, and Mary R. age 1. Alice is my half brother's ancestor. 

The same Family Search user also shared pictures of these children. 

William Wilkinson HILL, Mary Rhodes HILL, Alice Hannah, HILL

His occupation is always listed as miller in every record I've found. A little online searching and I came across this :

Linn County Civic Plus

Kansas-Nebraska Act in Iowa; page 23

When William died he left his son and eldest daughter, Alice as administrators of his estate. 




Only two months after the death of William, his bride, Catherine passed away 17 May 1926. 




The two of them, as well as two of their children, William and Alice, are buried in Prairieburg-Boulder Cemetery, in Prairieburg, IA. Their daughter Mary is buried in Jordans Grove. 

I wanted to leave you with one more bearded picture. This one is of William with his two daughters, Mary (L)  and Alice (R). 

And a link to a much more in depth biological sketch of William and his family that can be found on Google Books. 

Until next time,
Becky

He Came Across On The Harvest Queen

This week the prompt is King and I immediately thought of the 3rd great grandparents of my Step-Mom. I recently discovered the fascinating obituary full of wonderful detail of John Barnett. It may be a far leap to get from King to Mr. Barnett, but being from America the first thing I think of when I hear King or Queen is England. And as you will see from the obituary of John Barnett, he was born in England, as was his wife, and children, including Dawna's 2nd great grandmother Eliza Barnett wife of Joseph David. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Let's go ahead and start with the obituary I mentioned earlier. And see what information we can gather by dissecting it and using FamilySearch (Free site - Registration is required). Ancestry requires I upgrade before it will give information on records over seas. FamilySearch won't show the actual record but it will give information from the record.

This obituary was found on Newspapers.com from The Democratic Press; 10 July 1879



If we do a search for John Barnett born in Rugby, Warwickshire, England we find the following family in the 1851 Wolston, England, Census. They match up perfectly with the names listed in the obituary above.

Remembering that John didn't come to the US until around 1866 we can find yet another census record from England, the 1861 Bedworth, Warwickshire, Census.

This particular census give us a bit more information on the individuals, including what they did for employment. Below are screenshots of John and his daughter Eliza. He is a Coal Miner and she is a
Ribbon Factory Picker. I'm not including the images for the rest of the family, but Eliza's younger sister Mary is 14 and is listed as a 'silk factory throwster' which is someone who twists silk fibers into thread.

A quick Google search led me to a fascinating article about Silk Ribbon Weaving in Bedworth and surrounding areas, where this family was from.

I have located what I believe to be the manifest with John and his family on it. I have traced my own lines to various countries over seas but they are all Pre-Revolutionary War. It was really neat to see someone who came much later than that. I can't be certain, especially since a few details (mainly 'Place of Origin'  --  Ireland) are incorrect. But I also know from experience early records are often times incorrect or off by a bit here and there, depending on who took the information. (A good example is John and Eliza Barnett are living right next door to Joseph and Eliza David in the 1870, Ravenna, Census but their last name is written as Barnard.)

Below is the image of the family I believe to be him. The ship, the Harvest Queen, is said to have departed Liverpool, England and arrived in New York, New York on 18 Oct 1866.

The names are correct, only missing Henry who being old enough to be a man himself and most likely already married back in England could have come on his own later or even earlier. I don't know what to make of 22 year old Eliza being referred to as a servant unless that was her station in England and her sister Mary as a wife, unless she was married and her husband was dead or not present or the 8 month old Mary at all unless she was the child of Mary A that did not survive. Never-the-less, I do believe this to be them.

Here is an advertisement out of the New York Daily Herald, from Friday, 16 March 1866. This may shed some light on the whole Ireland misinformation.

Without upgrading subscriptions or subscribing to new genealogy sites all together, my research can be somewhat limited with this family, but with a bit of creativity we can try to piece together information. For instance I was able to find this John and Eliza Barnett family in the 1841 census, but noticed their son Isaac was missing and there was an infant Harriet, that must not have survived long after the census was taken. When I tried finding Isaac for that census year, I found him living with the John Dunn family. From the obituary, we know that Eliza's maiden name was Dunn, and the ages lead me to believe this family is Eliza's parents. *Notice Selina Dunn --- Dawna's great grandmother, the daughter of Joseph and Eliza David was named Frances Selina/Celena David.

I had a little bit of difficulty finding any record for their marriage, and eventually discovered why. Eliza was transcribed as Elija. This record gives us a specific day, 18 Oct 1831




As of now, I have not been able to find Eliza Dunn Barnett anytime after her mention in her husband's obituary. Not even in the 1880 census. This has led me to search out all the children, to see if she is somehow living with one of them. In doing so, I have discovered many trades or skill sets, that I hardly ever find when researching my own ancestors, who are always farmers.

I will list them in the order they are named in the obituary.

Joseph David - In this census his occupation is listed as a laborer, but in 1870, 1860, and 1850 his occupation is listed as glass blower.

*In the 1870 census you will note children Joseph and Harriet. There is a newspaper article that mentions the death of 8 year old Joseph from heart problems. And Harriet never shows up again, either. I assume she died as well. (speaking of inaccurate records; in the birth records from Ravenna, in March of 1870 there is a birth of a daughter her name is taken as Eliza. The father is Joseph David. This is most likely the birth record of Harriet from the above census. 

George Hartopp, his wife Mary and their 12 year old daughter , Harriet, all work in the silk mill. And in the 1881 Paterson directory he is listed as a weaver. Because of the magnitude of the silk industry in Paterson, it earned the nickname 'silk city'.

Henry Barnett, is living in Arkansas, so like much of my ancestors, his occupation is farmer. As you will eventually see (in later blog posts)  Eliza's children end up in Yell County, Arkansas. I had wondered what brought them South, but after closer inspection, now understand they most likely came to their uncle after the death of their father.

Charles and Isaac are still living in England. As you can see, there is no record of their mother Eliza Dunn Barnett living with any of the grown children. I wonder if she died soon after? I have yet to find burial information on John and can find no record for Joseph and Eliza David after the 1880 census other than her headstone in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Yell County, AR where her daughter Florence is also buried.

Joseph David is said have died 4 March 1884 and to buried in Standing Rock Cemetery in Kent, Ohio. I have found no record of that, but I did find this on FamilySearch. I am fairly certain this is him considering his profession.



I can not think of much more I can write, other than, out of curiosity, I wondered what the Mr. Alexander Topping, who employed John Barnett at the time of his death, did or owned. The 1870 census gives his occupation as Lawyer, while the 1880 said he was retired. Numerous newspaper articles said he was Justice of the Peace. I wonder if Mr. Barnett was a butler or secretary or gardener?

Until next time,
Becky

So Far Away

This week's writing prompt is 'So Far Away'. This will prompt me to write about ancestors that are the furthest from me in time and generations.

There comes a point when in tracing your family history, you find yourself in a time period where records run out or are very few and you're left with stories that can vaguely line up with historical events. If you're lucky you may find yourself with an ancestor that's life is something of local legend and lore. Such is the case of my 9th great grandparents Penelope Van Princis and her husband Richard Stout.

Please bear with me, as I have only recently discovered this family, and if you've been in the genealogy game for any length of time, you will at some point find yourself in the midst of several generations that recycle the same few names over and over again or marry first cousins. That coupled with scarce records can make things very hard to keep up with without pencil and paper and plenty of other distant relatives to help keep you on track or debate that you're even in the right generation. There have been more than one occasion, that I have lost my bearings on this line.

So please read on with caution, and do your own research before taking any of this story as absolute fact. Please give grace and some wiggle room.


Our main characters will be Richard Stout born in 1610 to John Stout and Elizabeth Bee/Kee/Gee and Penelope Van Princis born 1622 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands to  Baron Von Printzin and UKNOWN. These two are my 9th great grandparents on my mother's side.

I will share with you a brief bit about our main characters parentage:
Richard's father, John Stout, was born circa 1584 at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, England. He married Elisabeth Bee/Kee/Gee in 1609 at St. Helen's Church Burton Joyce, England. Below is supposed to be a record of their marriage. (I can make out the 'ee' of her maiden name in the bottom left corner).




Elisabeth was born circa 1591 in Nottingham England, and baptized at St Katharine's by the Tower the 2nd of January 1591.

John and Elisabeth lived during the time that James I was king of England. This is the King James that is known for the King James Version of the Bible, which was published a year after the birth of their son, Richard (from whom I descend).

Penelope Van Princis, thought to be the daughter of Baron Von Printzin, was born in 1622. I have read that she was married three times as well as twice. I am not sure, at this point, which is true. One thing they all agree on is that before she married my ancestor, Richard, she was first married to a John Kent.

In the mid/early 1600's, the date is unknown, Penelope and John would set sail from Holland to America. After weeks at sea their vessel ran aground and became stranded at Sandy Hook or as the Dutch called it, Sant Hoek. All the passengers made it from the ship to land but John who had been terribly ill for most of the voyage and to make matters worse was somehow injured when the ship ran aground, was in too poor a condition to make it any further than shore. As luck would have it this group of voyagers would come to America during a time of conflict between the Pequot people (as some believe) and the local colonists of that area. After making it to shore the rest of voyagers, fearful of the Indians, refused to wait until Mr. Kent became well and quickly made plans to head directly to New Amsterdam, their original destination. Kent and his bride, Penelope, were left behind with the promise that they would send back help. Not long after the voyagers left the shore, were they attacked by the Pequot who then made their way back to the shore to finish off Kent and Penelope. They assumed they had rid themselves of these foreign intruders, but little did they know, Penelope was still alive.

Penelope being terribly mutilated, with a fractured skull, butchered shoulder, abdomen gashed open and insides protruding, had lost consciousness - but had not died. Once she came to, with her good arm, she gathered up her insides and held them inside her body. She then mustered up all the strength she had remaining and crawled to a nearby hollowed out log where she would stay for days until it is said she saw a deer pass by. This deer was shot full of arrows and in the distance she could hear two natives. You would think she would be filled with terror, but instead she was grateful for she had hoped they would come and relieve her from her misery. The two men were said to have argued. One wanted to finish her off, the older, wanted to take her back and heal her. The elder was granted his wish, and in part because of him, I am here today. After she had regained her health and strength, her Indian friend, gave her the choice of remaining with his people, or returning to the white settlement at New Amsterdam. Penelope chose to return to her people, but she and her healer would remain friends for as long as she was living near his people.

Now for Richard's side of the story. He himself would convey to his ancestors the tale that brought him to America. He came from a family of good standing in England and he had been in love with a young woman whom is father deemed beneath them. They had a falling out because of his parents interference and he enlisted in the British Royal Navy on a 'man-of-war'. Richard served for seven years and at the end of such time, he received his discharge at New Amsterdam where his majesty's vessel was ported at the time.

So it is there, in New Amsterdam, that we find these two soon to be companions. In the indexes of U.S. and International Marriage Records, it lists Richard Stout and Penelope Kent as being married in 1644. They would go on to be one of the more prominent settlers of the area and considered one of the founding families of the Monmouth Colony.

In the abstract of Richard's Will, dated 9 June 1703, he lists their 10 children. Sons - John, Richard, James, Jonathan, David, Benjamin; daughters - Mary, Alse (Alice), Sarah; daughter-in-law, Marey Stoute ( wife of Peter).

It is from two of his sons that I descend; Richard Jr. and James. I will conclude this post with my convoluted lineage, but for now, I want to bring your attention to a very neat find. It would seem that Penelope was not only famous for surviving the attack of the local natives but also for another fact or legend that would land her in an issue of Ripley's Believe It or Not! In the below imagine you will find she was also famous for having a grand total of 502 descendants at the time of her death at the age of 110!

There have been numerous books written, records researched and history revisited in order to make her story more credible but I will leave that hunt up to you. I hope you have found this story as fascinating as I have and share it with your ancestors for generations to come!

Now I will conclude with my lineage. It gets messy. Try to keep up.

For privacy reasons, I will start off with my great grandfather Newell M. Stepp, as generation (1).


Newell M. Stepp, Rebecca M. Merrell, Abner Merrell, *** Merrel, John Merrell, William Merrell Jr., Penelope Stout, James Stout and finally Richard Stout Sr.

or because we are a double line once reaching William Merrell Jr. if you start with him once again, it can also go as follows:

William Merrell Jr., William Merrell Sr., Grace Stout, Richard Stout Jr and once again Richard Stout Sr.

The *** Merrell accounts for the fact that it's not 100% verifiable who Abner Merrell's father is. I have seen his father listed as Jacob Merrell (son of John Merrell) but can't find any sources. But in John Merrell's Will he mentions his grandson Abner Merrell the only heir of his son William, deceased. So Abner's father is either Jacob or William - both of which are sons of John Merrell.

I wonder if it's possible that Jacob adopted his nephew, Abner.... I have found no record at this point in time for Abner's mother.

Please also, be sure to stop by my SIL's blog for her post this week about her 2nd-great grandfather, a German stowaway!