A clipping found in Nora Ellen (Baley) Ball's Bible now in my possession.
Best of the Genea-Blogs - Week of 12 to 18 April 2026
44 minutes ago
A clipping found in Nora Ellen (Baley) Ball's Bible now in my possession.
Norway Cemetery, Norway, Coos County, OregonAndrew Smalley born April 3, 1853 in Falls Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. He died March 12, 1943.
Emma (Tillman) Smalley was born August 26, 1856 in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. She died February 26, 1923 in Coos County, Oregon.
They were married in May 30, 1873 in Tunkhannock and were the parents of 14 children! My Paternal Grandmother, Etta Mae, was their youngest child born in 1901. They were married 28 years when she was born.
Daniel Hutchison in his Civil War uniform and his Fife
Daniel Hutchison, Jr. didn't have an unusual looking tombstone. I am assuming that it was military issued. I chose him for this weeks prompting because it is 4th of July and for his military service even though he served for a short time of around 6 months. He enlisted on 2 August 1862 at the age of 35 with Company I, 33rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry as a musician. He was honorably discharged on 11 Feb 1863 at St Louis, MO because he suffered from a disability. He received a pension around 1873. His physical description says that he was dark haired and blue eyed. He was a very small man at 5'2'!
I received this photo of him in his uniform and his fife which I believe to have been taken around that time frame. I did a little research as I was unfamiliar with the fife. According to Wikipedia,
"A fife is a small, high-pitched, flute that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in military and marching bands. They were used as signaling instruments (opposed to musical instruments) by American units during the Civil War but gradually phased out by the 1880s."
Daniel was born May 4, 1827 in Holmes County, Ohio and was the son of Daniel Hutchison, Sr. and Rebecca Caster.
Daniel married Margaret Gilliland on the 4th of July, 1850 in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa. Margaret was the daughter of Archibald Gilliland and Margaret Withrow. Margaret, too was born in Holmes County, Ohio on October 24th, 1830. I am sure the Gillilands and Hutchisons knew each other in Holmes County.
Daniel and Margaret did move around alot. From Iowa, to Kansas to Nebraska, back to Kansas. Four of their children married four May children with my Great Grandmother, Sarah Ellen, being the youngest of their children who married Willis Richard May. This resulted in several sets of double cousins!
The Hutchisons and Mays formed a mule caravan from Kansas to Washington County, Oregon around 1886. They settled around each other and many of them are buried in the Old Pumpkin Ridge Cemetery, which is now called Arcade Cemetery. Daniel died on April 23, 1903 in Washington County, Oregon and missed being recorded in the Death records.
The Mays and Hutchisons were very intertwined and very family oriented. To this very day, they still have annual family reunions in Washington County and hopefully I will be able to attend with my Mother.
Arcade Cemetery, North Plains, Washington County, Oregon (Not in Illinois Infantry, Iowa)
I was so thrilled to open up my Facebook and find a message from Becky Jamison nominating me for the "Puckerbrush Award"! Becky herself has a wonderful blog called, "Grace and Glory" which is very delightful to read. I like how personal and heart rendering her stories are and feel like I have known her forever. It thrills me that she thought of me to nominate me for the award.
Here is the explanation of the award, its origin, and purpose:
"The award was created in honor of genealogy blogger Janice Brown by Terry Thornton, author of "Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi", who explained that "Janice told us all about the word 'puckerbrush' in an article she posted August 27, 2007 at "Cow Hampshire". Terry elaborated a bit further in a comment: 'On any land allowed to go fallow and left untended, a wild assortment of wild plants grow – in some areas, this wild growth results in such a thicket of plants that it is almost impossible to push your way through the growth.So it is with the growth of blogs --- so many that it is impossible to read them all. But in the puckerbrush eventually a few plants/trees become dominant and influence all who view them through the thick surrounding puckerbrush.And it is those outstanding blogs whose influence spreads beyond just the surrounding rabble of puckerbrush that I'm honoring.' Terry issued this challenge: Henceforth these awards will be called the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence. All blog authors are hereby challenged to name the ten blogs which have influenced their writing the most and list them as a tribute to Janice --- the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Awards for Excellence."
I will like to pass on this award to the following bloggers who themselves have charmed me, informed me and for their creativity, and interesting topics!
1. Family Tales Andrea Christman
2. Genealogy Roots Blog Joe Beine
3. Lineage Keeper Lee Drew
4. Roger's Ramblings Roger Moffat
5. Attic Treasures (Not sure who writes this)
6. Elyse's Genealogy Blog Elyse Doerflinger
7. Bits and Pieces Les
8. Ancestor Tracking Mary Beaulieu
9. 100 Years in America Lisa
10. Claudia's Genealogy Blog Claudia
Randy Seaver on his blog, Genea-Musings challenges the blogging community to some Saturday Night Fun each week. I enjoy participating when I am not wrapped up with family activities. He comes up with some very interesting things for us to think about.
Tonight's Genealogy Fun is to:
1) Which of your ancestors were alive in 1909?
2) Tell us where your ancestral families were living in 1909. What country, state, county, city/town, etc. Who was in the family at the time? Use the 1910 census as "close enough."
3) Have you found each of these families in the 1910 census?
4) Write a blog post about your response. Or write a comment to this post.
5) Have fun. Learn something!
Great Grandparents: Emery Edwin (age 52) and Martha Ann (Alexander) (age 45) Freeman resided at New River Pct., Churchill County, Nevada with their children: my Grandfather Claude (age 24), Louis (age 20), RD (age 15) and Fay (age 6).
Great, Great Grandfather: Charles (age 66) and fifth wife Ellen (age 60) and Stepdaughter, Phebe (age 17) resided at Bethany, Gratiot County, Michigan.
Great Grandparents: Andrew (age 57) and Emma (Tillman) (age 54) Smalley resided at Norway, Coos County, Oregon with children: Benjamin L. (age 23), Emma King (age 19), Marcella (age 15), Mary J. (age 13), Mildred H. (age 11) and my Grandmother, Etta M. (age 8).
Great Grandparents: Richard W. (age 42) and Sarah E. (Hutchison) (age 39) May resided at Columbia, Washington County, Oregon with children: Richard W. (age 16), Alta E. (age 13), Clyde E. (age 11), Hattie I. (age 9), Hugh M. (age 7), Arnold (age 5) and Chester M. (age 4).
Great, Great Grandparents: James (age 70) and Susanna (Ballard) (age 66) residing at Columbia, Washington County, Oregon.
Great, Great Grandmother: Margaret (Gilliland) Hutchison (age 79) died November 9, 1909. Not enumerated in the 1910 census.
Great Grandfather: William Ball (24) and sister, Celia M. Ball (age 22) residing at Arnett, Ellis County, Oklahoma.
Great, Great Grandfather: Ellis J. Ball (age 54) cannot locate on 1910 census. May have been away working crops in Oklahoma.
Great, Great Grandfather: John R. Baley (age 62) resided in Day, Ellis County, Oklahoma with children: My Great Grandmother, Nora E. (age 24) and Archie O. (age 18).
Great, Great, Great Grandfather: Ledra Hawkins (age 71) and second wife, Clara (age 60) residing in San Diego, San Diego, California.
I located a total of:
2 - Grandparents
8 - Great Grandparents
6 - Great, Great Grandparents
1 - Great, Great, Great Grandparent
This ended up being a total of 17 people from my direct line. I didn't realize that I had so many of them living at the same time.
I noticed that most of the surviving spouses were my Grandfathers as it seemed like the women were the ones who died young.
As I have been thinking about this, it is really strange that my grandparents, all have passed on and that the 4 of them born in a range of between 1887-1912 would be close to 100 years old all the way to 122.
As time marches on, the elder family members are reaching their golden years, it's up to us, as cousins to continue to carry on the family get togethers and to make sure we keep the family ties strong.
I have some unidentified Ramsey children that I have been searching for several years.
1. Elizabeth Ramsey married John Hollingsworth (of Quaker descent) in Miami County, Ohio in 1809. Elizabeth I figured was born about 1794 or so. Elizabeth died between the 1830 and 1840 censuses either in Vermillion, Indiana or Vermilion, Illinois. John Hollingsworth is the son of Isaac Hollingsworth and Susannah Wright who came from Newberry/Edgefield County, South Carolina. John died in 1847 in Vermillion, Indiana.
2. Charity Ramsey married Carter Hollingsworth in Miami County, Ohio in 1810. Researchers say she was born about 1793 in Laurens County, South Carolina. Carter Hollingsworth and John Hollingsworth appear to be ½ cousins. They travelled together. Carter’s sons took care of John when he was sick according to John’s probate file. So there was a relationship of sorts. They lived in Vermillion County.
3. Susannah Ramsey married Gabriel McCool in Miami County, Ohio in 1807. According to the 1850 census, it appears that she was born 1786 in South Carolina. Gabriel McCool is a first cousin to John & William Hollingsworth. They lived in Vermillion.
4. William Hollingsworth oldest brother of John, married Rebecca Ramsey ca 1793. Rebecca Ramsey was born ca 1773. They lived in Vermillion.
5. Isaac Ramsey married Rachel Cook in 1822 in Indiana. Census 1850 says he was born 1805 in South Carolina. He is next door to a McCool. Lived in Edgar County, Illinois.
6. Sarah Ann Ramsey born 1780 married to Eli Thornton in 1796 in South Carolina. Lived in Vermilion County, Illinois.
7. William Ramsey married Rachel Coates in Miami County, Ohio in 1811. Not sure where they ended up. Don’t know anything else on this couple.
Are these Ramsey’s the children of Mary Henderson (Quaker daughter of Nathaniel Henderson and Rebecca Thornton) and Isaac Ramsey (non Quaker)?
Isaac Ramsey resided in various counties in South Carolina which included Edgefield and then across the river to the Richmond County of Georgia.
What makes these families so difficult, is that Nathaniel and Rebecca’s children also married Hollingsworth’s. The inter twining web of these people is so complicated so I know that they are related in some manner!
It is believed that Isaac Ramsey died shortly after 1800 possibly in Georgia and Mary had several young children and moved to Miami County, Ohio with her brother, Richard Henderson who had married (see #1 above) John’s sister, Rachel Hollingsworth. She may have died very shortly after the arrival. John Hollingsworth being the nephew of Richard Henderson. Most of the above Ramsey’s married in Miami County, Ohio with Quakers and pretty much all of them ended up in the areas of Vermillion County, Indiana and Vermilion County, Illinois which also had another Quaker settlement. These families didn’t marry Quakers and didn’t all stay in the church. No Ramsey’s appear on any of the Quaker records.
John Doran May worked in the Portland, Oregon Stockyards during World War II. He was my maternal Grandfather. 1910-1978
Arcade Cemetery
North Plains, Washington County, Oregon
This stone stands out as a lonely burial admist a fairly well laid out cemetery. I have been intrigued by it for as long as I have been researching my family history. I have long suspected that this could be the son of a long lost family member. The location is amongst other relatives.
The epitath says:
"HALVOR
son of Capt. I and Rose Johnson
Born May 15, 1903"
Who is this? The only possible clue of the passing of a Halvor Johnson is from the Oregon Death Index (Ancestry.com) which lists:
Halvor Johnson died August 6, 1906 Coos County, Oregon. No indication of how old he was. I am ordering this from the Oregon Archives.
Rose B or Rosabelle May was born March 13, 1871 in Story County, Iowa and was the daughter of James and Susanna (Ballard) May. Rose is last found on the 1880 census of Sheridan County, Kansas. I cannot find this family in the 1885 census for anywhere in Kansas. The Mays along with the Hutchisons and many other family members left Kansas the summer of 1886 where then they settled and intermarried in Washington County, Oregon. They were a tight knit clan. No one in the family nor any of the other older family members (no longer living) knew what happened to her. Even though a family notebook that noted births, marriages and deaths of everyone she is a blank spot.
I have searched for Rose in every method and way imaginable. I have even searched variations of I. Johnson by trying Irvin, Ives, Ivor, etc. even using the word Captain. Nothing....
One clue that possibly Halvor could be Rose's son is her sister named her son Halvor. This name is not a common one used in the family. Part of my search indicates that Halvor maybe a Scandinavian name so kept the thought in mind that "I" could be Ivor or Ives.
Will await for the death certificate and will post later if I learn anything new.
I was pondering on what to blog on this afternoon. Sometimes just scrolling around and looking at all the family pictures I have scanned sometimes make an inspiration.
It is the end of May, today in the Pacific Northwest and I am in awe of how beautiful our weather has been for a good portion of the month. Normally our weather can be tempermental in May as it transcends into Summer. So when I spotted a photo of my Grandmother, Zelma Fern and her brother, Granville Ellis Ball with friends playing in an unknown creek I had a wonderful feeling of warm Summer weather, children playing in the water and how things sometimes don't really change at all, even after 80 years! This picture was taken somewhere near Salem, Oregon around the early 1920's.
Granville is the young boy on the left and sister, Zelma is second from left.
Zelma was my maternal Grandmother and was born 1912 in Arnett, Ellis County, Oklahoma and passed away in September 2005. Her brother, Granville was born 1916 in Salem and died 1976 in Salem.
I really love this picture.
Arnett, Ellis County, Oklahoma Concert Band
ca 1910
William Edward Ball (1885-1943)Top right with drum
Only known photo of Margaret Hutchison probably taken in the mid 1860's in Iowa.
Margaret McMillan Gilliland was born October 24, 1830 in Holmes County, Ohio daughter of Archibald and Margaret (Withrow) Gilliland.
She married Daniel Hutchison, Jr. in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa at her parents home on July 4, 1850.
They were the parents of 5 sons and 4 daughters with the youngest being my Great Grandmother, Sarah Ellen Hutchison.
Margaret died in Oregon, Washington County on the 23rd of April, 1909.
Arcade Cemetery was established in 1886 and is located on Old Pumpkin Ridge Road just north of North Plains, Washington County, Oregon where Daniel, Margaret and all of their children and many other cousins, etc. make their final resting place.
Both the Gilliland and Hutchison families have been well traced and left many descendants that have taken a big interest in their roots. Through the years, I have been in contact with these distant cousins and one thing that resonates with these folks in their strong sense of family and kindness and upmost generosity in sharing their pictures and data.
My Great Grandmother, Nora (Nellie, Nell) Ellen Baley was a person who must have held on to family relationships and was interested in people.
I feel extremely fortunate to inherit a large stack of postcards that she received as a young lady living on a homestead in Oklahoma and up to the 1920's when she and her husband, Will had ended up settling in Salem, Oregon.
Nora was born in 1885 in Iron County, Missouri and moved to Ellis County, Oklahoma in the early 1900's when her father, John Riley Baley, filed a homestead claim. Her mother, Harriet Susan Buxton died in 1908 and perhaps because of being on a lonely claim, and trying to keep in contact with relatives, she resorted to writing and sending out dozens of postcards. What I have in my collection are the ones that she received. Most of them date from 1905 to the 1920's. There are only short snippets of notes on these cards but a wide variety of people who wrote her; cousins, friends and siblings. It must have been a very fashionable way to communicate during that era. Some of the cards depict holiday, birthday and just everyday greetings. Alot of the cards are pretty and some are panoramic scenes of various Midwest cities.
Here is a post card that Nellie received from her sister, Fannie Malone who was widowed very early in her marriage and supporting two daughters in Afton, Oklahoma as a laundress.
Written on the post card and postmarked with a date of April 17th, 1910:
"April 17th. The goods cost 25 cts a yd it will take 8 yds and will cost 10 cts to mail and money order 3 or 4 cts all are well will write soon" -Fannie
Written on the post card and postmarked with a date of April 17th, 1910:
"April 17th. The goods cost 25 cts a yd it will take 8 yds and will cost 10 cts to mail and money order 3 or 4 cts all are well will write soon" -Fannie
I am assuming that Nellie was asking her sister the cost of dress goods in her town of Afton. My imagination at this point wonders if she knew she was getting married soon and was planning her wedding dress? (She married William Ball on October 2, 1910 in Oklahoma). Or just freshening up her wardrobe.
I really enjoy these post cards and consider them a real treasure trove!
Salem Heights School class of 1920 in Salem, Marion County, Oregon Zelma Fern Ball is front row, 4th from right marked with an "X".
She was born October 8, 1912 in Arnett, Ellis County, Oklahoma and died September 24, 2005 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. She was my maternal grandmother.
George Henry Freeman was born June 22, 1852 in Quebec, Canada. Most likely in Brompton Gore. His parents were James Freeman and Phebe Woodard.
Mary Elnora Hutchinson was born January 21, 1853 in Wayne County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Jesse and Eliza Hutchinson.
George and Mary were married December 24, 1871 in Isabella County, Michigan and had several children.
They were buried in Salt River Cemetery, Shepherd, Isabella County, Michigan.
A PoemClipping found in my Great Grandmother's Bible
Nora (Nell, Nellie) Ellen Baley Ball
1885-1937
Zilpha Sanders CraderBorn February 20, 1910
Died May 13, 1913
Only child of Phoeba Alice Maud Freeman and George Washington Sanders
Fallon Cemetery, Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada
Inscription "You have been called home, It was God's will"
Mad ancestors or elusive ancestors
who drive US mad!
This blog post is not about someone who made me literally mad but maybe more mad in the sense that I am confused!
My Great Grandfather, Andrew Anderson Smalley was born April 3, 1853 in Falls Township, Wyoming County Pennsylvania. He died on March 12, 1943 in Coos County, Oregon. On his death certificate, his father is stated as B.F. Smalley and mother unknown. Okay, could this be a Benjamin Franklin? That name is fairly common and not easy to pinpoint.
So my next step was to go to the 1860 census of Wyoming County, PA to see if I can find Smalleys. I find 3 Smalley children living with a William Dunlap family and their daughter, Hannah. Mary age 6, Anderson age 5 and Edgar at 3 years. Was Hannah the children's mother? I couldn't assume at that point. Her last name was enumerated as "Dunlap". No Benjamin. Maybe he died? A few census pages away is a Jefferson Smalley family from New York. I set this aside as a possible clue.
1870 census of same location shows as head of family, Jesse Wall and wife Hannah and two Smalley children; Andrew age 17 and Edgar age 14 plus William Dunlap and wife. Mary is not found.
1880 census Andrew Smalley and his wife and children are found in Nevada where he is supposed to be. Back in Falls Twshp, no Walls are to be found! There was a land transaction that Jesse Wall participated in 1882, but what happened to him and Hannah? I scoured any variation of the 1880 census that I could think of to try to locate them. No luck.
In October 2004, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to the Historical Society in Tunkhannock, PA. One of my goals was to try to locate more Smalley information. I located the marriage notice of Andrew and his wife Emma in the local newspaper and found that his mother was listed as "Mrs. Wall". BINGO! That solved that issue.
At that point, I was stuck.
A few months ago I was googling and decided just on a whim to type in Andrew Smalley and Pennsylvania. I got a hit! There was a book called "The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912" By Joseph Gaston which listed a whole biography of my Andrew Smalley. It was full of information and he mentions his parents as being Benjamin L. and Hannah M. which further states my case.
You would think at that point I solved all of my issues. Of course not!
It has lead to further problems.
First claim is that Andrew told the author that his father, Benjamin came to America from Germany when he was 16 years old. Okay I can handle that. What confuses me is that Smalley seems to be more of an English name. So not sold on that senario.
Second item is that he said his father "enlisted in the Federal Army as one of the first volunteers of his state and was killed in the Battle of Bull Run." So I eagerly did some research to find any records of a Civil War enlistment under his name, pension research for the widow, Hannah and Penn State enlistment records and there is no one by that name! So where was Benjamin in the 1860 census? He was gone by that time and there is no census listing for anywhere. There is one candidate for the 1850 Census of Luzerne County for a Benjamin L. age 21 a Mason and born in Pennsylvania. I suspect that could be him. Why did Andrew lie about his father? Was his father a criminal? Did he just die and Andrew embellished his story?
As far as Hannah goes, Andrew states that his mother, Hannah Wall lived with her daughter, Mary in Virginia City, NV same place as Andrew and family and died at her daughter's home. So I went to the 1880 census to retrace any Hannahs and Marys in Storey County, Nevada. I found a H.M. Wall age 39 female born in Pennsylvania and parents born in Penn as a prisoner in the County jail! The age was off by 5 years and she stated that she was married. Where was the husband, wouldn't he have been enumerated in the census? This just couldn't get any worse.
Andrew's brother Edgar supposedly died in a mine accident in Nevada as stated in the Centennial history. I did find a entry for an E. Smalley a miner who died from inflammation of the bowels in the 1880 mortality census of Nevada. An R. Smalley female is found in the 1880 census and could be his wife, Rebecca. She is listed in the same county, as a widow.
As far as Mary goes, do not know who she married and what happened. I need to further dig into Virginia City to find out more, the records are somewhat on the scarce side.
After Andrew and family left Nevada, they headed off to Mendocino County, California to lumber. What is interesting, is the family members of the previous Jefferson Smalley listed in the 1860 census are founded in that area! This group of Smalleys originate from the Killfish area of New York. I suspect that Andrews clan connects with these people, but I cannot at this time prove it.
So many unanswered questions which leads to more! The search still continues!
I was so fortunate to inherit my Great Grandmother's Bible. In between the Old Testament and New Testament I found that my Great Grandmother, Nora (Nell, Nellie) Ellen (Baley) Ball had imprinted each of her children's footprints in her bible. This first posting, shows my Grandmother, Zelma Fern Ball's footprints. She also had an entry that mentioned Zelma's brother, Granville. What a unique and interesting way to commemorate her children's arrival in this world!
Nora Ellen Baley was born December 23, 1885 in Iron County, Missouri to John Riley Baley and Susan Harriet Buxton. She married William Edward Ball 1910 in Ellis County, Oklahoma after her parents and his father took up homesteads during the early part of 1900's.
My mother, never got to know Nora. She died in 1937 when my mother was 4 years old. Nora died due to a stroke and high blood pressure when she was 52 years old. So young. If only she knew or if there was medication at the time that could stave off any symptoms?
We will never know.
Nora's husband, William Edward Ball was a painter and paper hanger in Salem, Oregon. Apparently he was good in his trade and kept busy. I imagine that the paint that she used to imprint her children's feet were from paint cans that he may have had on hand.
Zelma Fern Ball married in 1931 to John Doran May. My mother, was their first born. Zelma never liked her name, she told me. She became a "born again Christian" in the early 1950's and was an early member of the Minnehaha Church of Christ. She did her best to walk the walk and talk the talk. She passed away in October 2005 and her memorial service was comprised of the old hymns that she so dearly loved. My cousin played the piano. I have good memories of her but remember that she was stern in her beliefs and didn't always approve of people's lifestyles. No matter what, she is missed as the matriarch of our family and is still remembered and loved so dearly!
Here is another fun project that Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings has come up with to further challenge us. I am having fun participating in this exercise and wonder what he will come up with next week!
Here is the challenge for this week:
Provide a list of your paternal grandmother's patrilineal line.
Answer these questions:
* What was your father's mother's maiden name?
Etta Mae Smalley born June 21, 1901 near Myrtle Point, Coos County, Oregon and died February 15, 1993 in Medford, Jackson County, Oregon.
* What was your father's mother's father's name?
Andrew Anderson Smalley born April 3, 1853 in Falls Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania and died March 12, 1943 in Myrtle Point, Coos County, Oregon.
* What is your father's mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?
Only Andrew Smalley's fathers name is Benjamin L. Smalley nothing else known about him and he is currently a brick wall.
* Can you identify male sibling(s) of your father's mother, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)?
My Grandmother, Etta was one of 14 children. Six of them were brothers: David Jesse died at the age of 46 of a burst appendix was married once for a short time and never had children. Second brother, David Edgar was single all of his life, third brother, Andrew Jr. died as a young boy, fourth Christopher died as a baby, fifth Carl White married a woman with four children and had none. Sixth and last brother, Benjamin L. stayed single and was named after his grandfather.
If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.
Unfortunately, Andrew's only brother Edgar was married for a short time before he died in a mine accident in Nevada and never had a chance to produce children.
I would have to first break through and be able to learn more about Benjamin L. Smalley's family before this project would be of any help to me at this time.
May and Hutchison Reunion 1948Taken in Washington County, Oregon
Martha Ann (Alexander) Freeman
Born February 13, 1864 in Fulton County, Ohio
Died October 10, 1943 at Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada
Buried at Fallon Cemetery, Churchill County, Nevada
Daughter of Charles G. Alexander and Laura Welch
Carnival of Genealogy - 68th Edition, is "A Tribute to Women".
This posting is about a Quaker Minister who I admire and is a collateral ancestor of mine.
Charity Wright Cook was a prominent minister and missionary and served God by reaching out and preaching the word by travelling all through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia plus many other states and even abroad to England and Ireland throughout her life.
Charity was born to John Wright and Rachel Wells on February 12, 1745 probably in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is the older sister of my ancestor, Susannah Wright who was married to “Big” Isaac Hollingsworth. Susannah also became a minister and travelled occasionally with Charity.
Growing up in a Quaker Family she most likely was influenced by the women in the church and most likely at some point in her life got the “calling”. Women in the Quaker faith were allowed to serve as religious leaders. They believed that all people regardless of what their sex have an “inner light” that allows them to receive revelations from God.
Charity eventually married to Isaac Cook around 1763 and became a mother to 11 children.
I chose to write about her because of the many memoirs, diaries, Friends records describing her in such glowing terms. I felt that she had to have been such an influence on people’s life that people were encouraged and loved by her.
Among many anecdotes regarding some of my Quaker ancestors, in the book, “Annals of Newberry, South Carolina by John Belton O’Neall, 1892", He gives this account of Charity and Susannah. “In the women’s meeting, on the preacher’s bench, under their immense white beavers, I recall the full round faces and forms of the sisters, Charity Cook and Susannah Hollingsworth. Both wives, both mothers of large families, still felt it was their duty to preach “Jesus and him crucified”. Her sister, Susannah, was not so gifted. Henry O’Neall and other young Friends, used to affirm, that when Aunt Suzey, as she was called, began to pray, they could always keep ahead of her by repeating the words she was about to say.” I find this tidbit so interesting! How many times do we find such a personal story about our ancestor? There in that same book, John O’Neall mentions a few more “stories” about their father (John Wright) and Susannah’s husband, “Big” Isaac which is so wonderfully written.
John Belton O’Neall recounts another incident regarding Charity, “Charity Cook was a gifted woman. She travelled the States extensively, and twice visited England and Ireland. Her husband, Isaac, once drove into Rabun’s Creek (near Laurens County, SC) at a time when it was high, drowned two horses, and only escaped drowning himself by riding a chunk of land, and she swam to shore and thus saved herself”.
Apparently Charity was a determined woman and didn’t let anything in life get in her way.
Susanna, my ancestor would accompany her sister from South Carolina to the meetings in Virginia and Western Pennsylvania and travelling during the severe winter of 1796-97. The crossing of the mountains was difficult at best and dangerous.
In the Memoirs of Life, Travels and Religious Experience of Martha Routh, during the voyage from America in 1797 to Liverpool she said, “Dear Charity is much the better sailor of us three women, and frequently visits me, when she can get across the stairs. Later on, during the voyage, “This afternoon while Charity was paying me a visit, the sea broke in so suddenly upon us; it seemed like the bursting of a water spout. When we had got things put to rights, we had a second attack as heavy as the first, which seemed to try out Stewards patience.”
On the 19th, Eleventh month of 1799, written in a memoir of Sarah Stephenson, she stated, “Dear Charity Cook (of South Carolina) is confined here in with small pox. 29th of the eleventh month, we returned from Quarterly Meeting and found Charity very ill, the doctor doubting her getting over that night, but yesterday and today the disorder seems more favourable”. Dublin, the 11th, Twelfth Month, “We left Charity Cook with the appearance of a favourable recovery”. This was during a mission trip to Lurgan Meeting, Ireland.
Extracted from the “Charleston Courier of 1807”:
“A Quaker Woman’s Sermon” (Given by Charity)
“Dear Friends: There are three things I very much wonder. The first is that children should be so foolish as to throw up stones, brickbats and clubs into fruit trees to knock down the fruit; if they would only let one another alone, it would fall itself. “The second is that men should be so foolish and even wicked as to go to war and kill one another; if they would only let one another alone, they die of themselves. And the third and last thing, which I wonder at most of all, is that young men should be so unwise as to go after the young women, if thy would only stay at home, the young women would come after them”.
I find this sermon interesting, as accounts say that her husband, Isaac often took care of their 11 children while she travelled.
15th, Third month of 1809, In a letter to his children, written by John Simpson “Dear Children: I and my dear wife are at present at John Buckman’s, expecting to attend Wrightstown Meeting in company with Charity Cook, who seems to enjoy a pretty good state of health for a woman of her years, and has been enabled to travel through this cold winter season, which I have thought might be an encouraging example to others to press forward in their religious duty”.
In the diary of Edward Pease, he states that American Friends such as Charity Cook and Mary Swett, often puzzled their British colleagues when they would stroll down Melksham Street after dinner with pipes in their mouths!
In 1820, at the Baltimore Meeting, Charity was about 80 years of age, being a fine specimen and strong American Constitution as observed by one.
Charity and family eventually went from Bush River Monthly Meeting on to the Miami Meeting into what was Warren County, Ohio. I am sure that she actively participated in that meeting and made her mark there. Her family joined the Caeser’s Creek Monthly Meeting where is died at the 13th of 11 month 1822 aged 76 years, 11 months, 11 days and buried at Caeser’s Creek Friends Burial ground.
Even though Charity was not my direct ancestor, reading accounts of her work, travels, and life were inspiring to me. She had many fascinating adventures which of course were fraught with danger and hardships but her utmost determination and living by what she believed in during tough times is truly amazing!
Once again, our creative and always keeping us bloggers on our toes, Randy Seaver, over at Genea-Musings has challenged us to some Saturday night fun. Tonight's topic is wordles were you type in a bunch of names, in this case, the surnames of your ancestors and then arrange them in artistic types of fonts, colors and layouts. It's actually quite fun trying to find just the right combination that is pleasing to you.
I had difficulties trying to get this image to come up bigger and clearer! I had to really try to find some clever way to get this on here so at least it wasn't blurry.
Here is what I came up with:
I had difficulties trying to get this image to come up bigger and clearer! I had to really try to find some clever way to get this on here so at least it wasn't blurry. This was fun, and I will probably go back to the Wordle website and do some other variations.
Thanks Randy!
Chester Monroe May(Right)
Born December 14, 1906
Washington Co., Oregon
Died March 6, 1950
Tillamook, Oregon
John Doran May
(Left)
Born July 12, 1910
Near Banks, Washington Co., Oregon
Died December 22, 1978
Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon
Andrew Anderson & Emma May (Tillman) Smalley
Norway Cemetery, near Mrytle Point, Coos County, Oregon
Andrew was born April 3, 1853 in Falls Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. He died March 12, 1943 at Mast Hospital in Myrtle Point, Coos County, Oregon. He was the son of Benjamin L. Smalley and Hannah M. Dunlap. Benjamin L. Smalley is a "brick wall" and cannot find an original record on him.
Emma May was born August 26, 1856 in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. She died February 26, 1923 in Coos County, Oregon. She was the daughter of David H. Tillman and Elizabeth Detrick. I submitted a blog post regarding Emma May with a picture of her at about 13 years old and you can read about it here.
This couple was married May 30, 1873 in Wyoming County and had a total of 14 children. My Paternal Grandmother, Etta Mae Smalley was their youngest child.
Andrew's parents are somewhat of a mystery to me and I will blog about this in detail in a future post.
Florence & Frances Ball
Were fraternal twins born to William Edward and Nora Ellen (nickname Nell) Ball on June 25, 1919 in Salem, Oregon. These daughters were the last surviving youngest. My maternal grandmother being the eldest with a brother in between.
As twins, they couldn't have looked more different nor alike in their personalities.
Florence tended to be reserved, very lady like. She was married 3 times, and her last husband was her keeper. She had a total of two children. She was musically inclined and I remember when I was quite young her playing the accordian. She used to play at dances during the 40's and 50's. My mother was fairly close to her and spent vacation time with her and her family. She passed away in March 2007.
Frances on the other hand, couldn't be more tomboyish. She used to tell my mother that she wished she was born a boy. She was very out going and I remember her at family get togethers her being silly and pretending she couldn't remember who all of us youngsters were and when we would tell her, she would say, "No your not, you are waaayyy too old to be them." That would make us kids laugh and there would be more bantering back and forth. She was great fun and put everyone in stitches. She married a very, quiet almost shy man who just passed away this last year. She lived to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary and died in 1997. She has one son.
I remember my Great Aunts and very glad that our family made an effort to have regular family get togethers since as long as I can remember. My mother received Aunt Florence's photo album which I in turn have now. These pictures came from scanning the photos. I learned alot about the Ball family just by analyzing their early lives and the history through these pictures. What a treasure!
I decided to take up Randy Seaver's Saturday night challenge and confess to my genealogy junkie tendencies! Check out Randy's blog at Genea-Musings. Randy is a great blogger and always thinks of interesting and fun topics to write about.
The Assignment:
Answer these questions about your genealogy life (mine are in parentheses):
1. When did you start genealogy research? (1979 -30 years now).
2. Why did you start doing research? (My mother had bought a "starter kit" that included pedigree and family group sheets and a small booklet "How to get started in your Genealogy Research". In the early 1950's she did a family tree for a high school project and we started filling out the forms. The next day, I went and purchased that starter kit and another how-to book and I was hooked).
3. What was your first big success in research? (Finding that the family story about being descended from Daniel Boone was somewhat correct albeit that his aunt is my ancestor).
4. What is your biggest genealogy regret? (Not being diligent in source citation).
5. What are you best known for in the genealogy world? (Not known at all, joined Face Book to introduce my blog).
6. What is your professional status in genealogy? (None, but feel I know quite a bit methodology).
7. What is your biggest genealogy achievement? (Able to find that my ancestors have lived in the U.S. for a long time, and how far I have advanced).
8. What is the most FUN you've had doing genealogy? (My many trips to SLC, field trips and the internet).
9. What is your favorite genealogy how-to book? (The Source).
10. What notable genealogist would you like to meet someday? (Elizabeth Shown Mills).
There you are - talk about yourself for a change! Go forth and blog about your True Confessions of a Genealogy Junkie! Or write a comment to this post.
I am so honored and thrilled to have received the "Kreativ Blogger Award" for my posting last week on Wordless Wednesday!
Four fellow bloggers nominated me, Cindy whose blog is Everything's Relative, Janet Illes at Janet the Researcher, Alana at A Twig in my Tree and Andrea Christman who authors Family Tales. Check these blogs out, they are all so interesting to read and artfully laid out.
Instructions are as follows:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the people for whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 5 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.
I nominate:
I chose these blogs for various reasons: Some based on originality, humor, layout, ease of reading and the topics. Check these sites out.
Once again, thank you for the nomination!
Daniel D. Hutchison, Jr.Fifer
Company I, Iowa 33rd Infantry Regiment on 11 Sep 1862.
Mustered out on 11 Feb 1863 at St Louis, MO.
Photo taken ca 1860's?
Hattie Isadora (May) RingsBorn March 5, 1901 Pumpkin Ridge, Near North Plains, Washington County, Oregon
Married to Vernon Everett Rings Sepember 25, 1920 in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon
Died April 28, 1982 in Salem, Marion County, Oregon.
Buried in Arcade Cemetery, Near North Plains, Oregon.
Great Aunt Isadora holds significance especially to my mother, Delores. When my Grandmother, Zelma May was giving birth in Salem, Oregon, Isadore was the midwife in attendance and offered her help and encouragement with her first child. All this occurred during the Great Depression in 1933 when times were tough and the funds weren't available to go to the hospital.
William Edward Ball
Working in a hop field in Salem, Marion County, Oregon
ca 1931.
Will was my maternal Great GrandFather.
Arcade Cemetery Pumpkin Ridge, Near North Plains
Washington County, Oregon
James Monroe May
Born September 15, 1841
Henry County, Indiana
son of James May, Sr.
Elizabeth Ann Burns
Married January 19, 1860 in Story County, Iowa
Died May 27, 1922 near Mountaindale, Washington County, Oregon
Susanna Arminta Ballard
Born November 27, 1844
Vermilion County, Illinois
daughter of Daniel Wilson Ballard
Delila Ann Hollingsworth
Died February 15, 1935 Cornelius, Washington County, Oregon
Tombstone Reads as follows:
Civil War Veteran
"All Nations, as you pass me by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you must be
Prepare for death and follow me."
If you have Michigan roots, I highly recommend the website, FamilySearch Labs. This is the where the transcribed data is accessed from the LDS project called FamilySearch Indexing. FamilySearch has been scanning their microfilms, then the records are indexed and we can then view the actual images online through this site at http://labs.familysearch.org/. Michigan vital records are available from Birth records beginning 1867 up to 1902, Marriages 1868-1925 and Deaths 1867-1897. The search engine is excellent with different ways to "drill" down without too many hits and has a great soundex as well.
I urge all of you to please go the the site, http://www.familysearchindexing.org/en/home/home.jsf?pname='homeTab' and sign up to volunteer in this endeavor. Even if you can only complete one batch a night or in a spare moment, the more records indexed the more will be posted and available for us all.
I have been thrilled to have located many ancestors through the site and found information totally unknown to me. There are many other records available as well and also the U.S. Censuses. Give it a try you never know what you will come up!
On their wedding day October 24, 1931 at Salem, Marion County, Oregon.
POST HILL CEMETERY
It is named after my ancestor, Joseph Post who was born in Connecticut and came with his mother in the Spring of 1793 which at that time was Falls Township, Luzerne County, PA
It is located on Post Hill Road, just off Route 307, near Lake Winola, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. Many stones are broken and these two are laying down and difficult to read.
These photos were graciously taken and sent to me by Dave Finn of Tunkhannock, Wyoming Pennsylvania who also is a direct descendent of Joseph Post. Dave's mother, Dorothy is instrumental in researching this family line for many years.
JOSEPH POST
Died Nov. 27. 1859
Age 90 years
8 mo. 14 days
ELIZABETH
Wife of Joseph Post
died Nov. 21 1857
Lord I pray
Phoebe Alice Maud and James Albert Claude Freeman were born May 17th, 1887 in Oscoda County, Michigan. Maud was born first by a few minutes. The twins were children of Emery Edwin and Martha Ann (Alexander) Freeman. The family had relocated from Isabella County up to the forests so that Emery could log. 
There were a total of eight children born: Nellie May, Irene died in infancy, Tyna also died in infancy, the twins, Louis Elmer, George R.D., and Martha Fay.
The photo on the right is shown left to right: Claude, Louis, Nellie and Maud taken in Michigan about ca 1893.
This photo was prior to the family moving from the woods of Michigan and taking up homesteads in Fallon, Nevada. The twins were about 16 years old. Most likely photographed in 1903.
Maud first married in 1907 and had one daughter who died at the age of three in 1913. She married a total of 5 times and adopting a son along the way. She died 5th of March, 1981 in Atascadero, California.
Claude married 1st in 1917 to Myra Grace Batten and had one son who is still living. Marriage to Etta May Smalley in 1923 produced 8 children with two of them twin boys that died at birth in 1930. My father was the second son who has sinced passed away. Claude passed away August, 1976.
This photo was taken in the 1950's.
I feel very fortunate that I own these pictures, I so enjoy the baby picture and how cute they were. Claude had such a thick head of wavy hair that my Dad inherited it, plus my daughter and I! Let's keep those genes going! I only met my Grandfather a very few times in my life, but he lived through a changing time in America and he loved to tell stories about the "old days".
Aunt Maud being the family historian, kept a calendar and notes of all the family events which my mother copied. It helped tremendously and her information was 99% accurate!
Recently, due to the postings of bloggers regarding Ancestry, I have been contemplating on my "wish list" on the content I would like to see.
First of all, I am a huge fan of this subscription website. I still pinch myself that I can go online and actually access the entire US Census and some States Censuses. I found ancestors in places that would have never been located otherwise. Among other things are the Military records with the pension files which I was able to order from NARA. (Since they raised their prices to a full file of $75.00 I haven't ordered).
Of course there are things about it that I don't care for such as the content that they have been adding for the last couple of months. My research is still in the U.S. and I don't have much desire at the moment to venture across the ocean several centuries back! There is still alot here that can be posted. I do realize that they must meet the needs of their other subscribers as well. The family trees portion makes me cringe....the repeating of errors posting after posting! I try not to be so arrogant, but some of the corrections/answers can be easily obtained by just a couple of clicks.
So to get back to my wish list:
1. New York State Census Records in full!
2. Easier access to the Revolutionary Rolls by index.
3. Vital Record images.
4. Wills/Probate Records.
5. Complete Mortality Records.
I will stop here, I don't want to be too greedy!
Googling for your family can reap some huge rewards towards unlocking mysteries in your research.
Recently, a book was published by Daniel M. Lynch titled "Google Your Family Tree". I immediately purchased it so that I can learn how to drill down and better filter my searches. I received the book just before the holidays and haven't had a chance to get very far with it. What a wealth of information it contains! Everything from a simple search to using Google Maps. I cannot wait to get deeper into this.
Google Books is another excellent way to delve into finding your ancestors in obscure places which the author explains on page 103. I have used this feature for some time now and it is constantly being added to. Of course, copyright laws inhibit full views, but you can locate the repositories of where you might locate a book of interest. Perhaps your local library can obtain you a copy through inter library loan. Sometimes snippet views are listed or partial pages. Full views are books that the copyrights have expired which leads to a big bonus.
I have had huge successes with my research and have found my ancestors in various places that I am sure would have been overlooked. Case in point: ancestor John Tillman died in 1826 and left a will in Warren County, New Jersey listing all of his heirs. A book published called "Acts of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey" recalls a case 10 years later in 1836 where the heirs are petitioning the court to allow them to sell the land that was left to the widow due to hardships. They won their case, but the huge piece of information that was obtained in this article was the full family listing of names and relationships and a death of one of the heirs which would have never been recorded anywhere else. If I hadn't located the will originally, this would have been that breakthrough we are all looking for. It's another piece of that evidence to prove our families accurately or steer you into the original records. Subsequently, I have located other court cases with other ancestors and a Biography of my ancestor, Andrew Smalley that mentions and confirms my suspicions of who his parents are.
All in all, you can learn a lot and find information that most likely you would have never found otherwise.
Emma May Tillman was the daughter of David H. Tillman and Elizabeth Detrick. She was born on the 26th August, 1856 in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania and was the last surviving child in this family. Elizabeth died sometime between the 1860 and 1870 census possibly due to childbirth likely in Tunkhannock. No burial record has been found. David Tillman went on to reside with various family members until 1897 and is listed in the Luzerne County, PA death register. Buried in West Pittson Cemetery, marker unknown at this time.
Emma married Andrew Anderson Smalley in 1873 in Wyoming County and they became the parents of 14 children, the youngest who was my paternal grandmother, Etta May Smalley. After the birth of the two oldest boys, they set off to Virginia City, Nevada where Andrew tried his hand with silver mining. There, two more sons were born to them, with one dying at 10 months old and apparently was buried in the Catholic Cemetery. I don't believe he was very successful and from there went to Mendocino County, California where 4 more children were born to them. Andrew worked in the timber forests. In 1888, they had worked their way up the coast in purchased a homestead of 160 acres on Hall's Creek in Coos County, Oregon. Emma died of stomach cancer in 1923 and Andrew went on the ripe old age of just shy of 90. They, with some of their children are buried in Norway Cemetery near Myrtle Point, Oregon.
This photo, so very special to me, was sent to me by a granddaughter of Emma's sister, Sarah Isabelle. This cousin was so very generous in sharing this photo as the Smalley House burned down to the ground in 1904 and everything was lost. Lois believes that the age of Emma in the photo is about 13 years old taken approximately 1869, 1870. You will note the photographer was C.B. Tinker of Pittston, Pennsylvania. I looked him up and sure enough, he is listed in the 1870 census of Pittston and his name is Charles, age 34 born in New York, occupation Photographer. His wife Frances is 27 and they had two sons; Harrison age 5 and Asher age 3.
Today, as I look at this photo, I am reminded of how much I appreciate fellow researchers and cousins who have been so willing to share their information.
When I first started out in my research, I was naive and uninformed about the data I was collecting. As I grew further into this endeavor I kept reading and hearing about source citation. What is that? Why are the experts emphasizing this every chance they got? I had to find out more about this.
What I understood was that each date, story, name gathering, and the photocopies that were adding up in my files was totally useless! How can it mean anything to anyone? There was no integrity to my research and I had to address it immediately if I was going to continue with my quest and do it right. The best book at the time available was "Cite Your Sources" by Lackey which was added to my library.
I learned that there are varying degrees to sources; Primary sources are records that were created at the time of an event. Secondary sources are records that were created a significant amount of time after an event occurred. Circumstantial is probable evidence based on a collection of facts that, when considered together, can be used to infer a conclusion about something unknown. Each one of these items should be carefully considered when noting each document.
I have become more diligent to record where I got my information, who it was produced by and when. It will help you in the long run when you need to revisit that item again.
Since then, a book was published by Elizabeth Shown Mills called, "Evidence!" which has been now considered the methodology all genealogists prefer to use since it breaks it down further. The book is artfully written and explains how to cite each individual document you have gathered. It should be on the top of your list of books that you acquire.
The purpose in this post is not to be nagging, but to prevent redoing your hard work and to make your information valuable evidence. Name gathering is only that, and all it produces in the end is perpetuating inaccurate information that will be copied over and over.....
I have been following fellow genealogists blogs for quite some time now. I have learned a lot about the community and have found that we all have the same joys, frustrations and learning curves. My purpose is to share my data and post pictures and general thoughts about researching.
My background in this all consuming hobby started back around 1979 when I was about 21 years old. My mother, Delores Freeman was always interested in history and passed that down to me. At that time, she had purchased a starter kit if you will, that contained pre printed family group sheets, pedigree charts and a small pamphlet that was geared for beginners on how to start family research. During that visit, she had presented to me a family tree that she had literally drawn out on this poster board. This tree had been a high school project that was created in 1951. She told me at the time that she was able to get some of the information from her great, great aunt who was in her 90's at that time. What a wonderful jumping off point! As we began to fill out the forms, I began to feel this overwhelming feeling that this was something I really wanted to know more about. The next day, I promptly went out and bought my self the same kit and went to town on it. That little how-to book was my bible for a good while and taught me how to write for vital records, order census film from my public library and other good information. To make a very long story short, through the years even while working full time, raising a child I still held onto that passion, but there were times when I had to put it aside a good while.
It was quite cumbersome back then due to letter writing that took weeks to get a response to mainly negative. Our library ceased lending the census films. My interest peaked even more rabidly about 1994 when our family purchased our first computer (with Windows 3.1) and the Internet became available. Good people on family lists were so generous in sharing their data, which I am forever grateful for. I have not let up on my research and continue to pursue, travel and do what I need to accomplish my goals.
I am lucky in a lot of respects, my dear Mother collected pictures, interviewed my Grandmothers and others and kept the notes. Recently she entered an assisted living center and I inherited all her files, letters, pictures she had gathered all those years.
Another thing that I am so happy about is that my family history exists in the very early years in America, with many in the New England States. I have a wide assortment of different walks of life; Quakers, Puritans, Pennsylvania Dutch, Dutch Reformed, Palatines, and Huguenots. These folks all seemed to reside in the same states which makes it easier to research.
I have made excellent progress and continue to gather the original records. My major goal is to document each fact and to enter that data into my program. I do have brick walls and continue to dig. I would like to publish my findings some day.
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