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
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
8. Ancestor Tracking Mary Beaulieu
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.