Monday Madness - Judson Ball

Judson Ball was born ca 1820 and depending on whose census record you look at, he was born in either Ohio or Vermont.  This is the beginning of my frustration in researching the origins and family of whence he came. 

The earliest record I have is a deed where he purchased 40 acres of land from Abram J. Shaver and wife Polly in Van Buren County, Michigan during the month of September, 1839.  The 1840 census does not list him.  Possibly he was living with another family?  Maybe he was out of the area at the time.

In December of 1844 Judson marries Caroline Webber, daughter of John H. Webber and Levina Kimball in Van Buren and subsequently children are born to them:  Amelia, Sarah, Ellis Judson, Victoria and Emma Frances.  Amelia and Victoria marry German brothers; William and Augusta Kemeno and both families produced several children between them.  Sarah and Emma were married but did not give birth.  Ellis Judson who is my great, great grandfather, with his wife Evora had two children that survived to adulthood.  Their story will be a future post as it is a tragic one.

Judson is listed both in the 1850 and 1860 censuses and during these years also bought and sold land in Van Buren and Kalamazoo Counties frequently and made profits.

By the time 1867 comes around, Judson takes sick with "congestion and chills" and dies, this event is recorded in the Kalamazoo County death register with no real clue to who he really is.

I have been to Salt Lake City and dug into the records, especially the deeds trying to find anyone that could be a family member with no real clue to of a relationship.  One idea I had: Ellis says over and over that he was born in Kankakee County, Illinois so I even took my research over there to try find out why Judson and Caroline would be over there in 1855.  Also all the BALL families have been looked at and ruled out for now.  One challenge is that he lived a short life, he was alone and young when he ventured out, he died and no tombstone can be found and he left no probate record.

I have exhausted any thoughts and avenues that I could possibly come up with!  I even checked the county in Ohio that Caroline Webber and her family came from.

There has to be a family living at that time that is missing a sibling!   Who is his family and where did he come from?   One thing I know for sure, I will need to make a field trip and go to this area of Michigan and dig. 

Brick Wall - Ramseys

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.

Tombstone Tuesday - Halvor Johnson

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.