Category: Families

Mays and Barker Families

Posted on by Kathleen

Today is a beautiful day, and it’s making me feel very productive. I’m sitting in the living room on my laptop and talking with Grandpa Moore. He’s already cleared up some Thorward things for me that I was unclear on. Today is devoted to the Mays family though. I’ve got to keep moving forward towards my summer goal.

I’m up to Millard Mays in my family file. I know he married Nora Barker. I was looking in the Kentucky Birth Index on Ancestry.com to verify some of her children on the census. I ended up having to go to some more extreme measures to find one of the children, because they just weren’t showing up for some reason. When I did that, I might have found out what happened to Millard’s sister Barbara.

It just so happens there was a Barbara Mays who was giving birth to Barker children. Knowing the Mays family like I do, this isn’t at all surprising for me. To be honest I’m finding that I look for these connections more then not. It’s just the marriage pattern of the family.

I was mainly looking for the younger children, but there are some things I really like about this 1930 census record. Barbara has a son named Millard! Lorene from the Birth Index is there, but Robert, the youngest is not. A quick check of the Kentucky Death Records gave me a big idea of what Robert and Barbara Barker went through with their children. They had three stillborn children and Kline who died at one month of meningitis.

Unfortunately, nothing I found actually gives me clues on whether this is my actual Barbara Mays. I haven’t fleshed out enough of the Mays family to know how many other Barbaras there might be. I’m going to add this family into my FTM file, without identification numbers but with sources. That way when I find out where this Barbara fits, it’ll be an easy merge.

The next task I might work on is linking Nora Barker, Robert Barker and Lela Barker (wife of Luther Mays).

Parkin Progress

Posted on by Kathleen

Sometimes I get so engrossed in my current “treasure trove” that I forget small progress is still progress. Sometimes a record that just confirms what you already know is just as great as one filled with new insight. Then sometimes you end up in the middle of those two.

In the case of William R Parkin‘s death certificate, that’s what I ended up with. I found a little bit of new information and a little bit of verification. Nothing too spectacular though. The only bad part about this record is it almost got lost in the shuffle because it happened to arrive in the same envelope as the George Yohn/Josephine Doremus marriage record.

Verified Information:

  • William’s middle name is definitely Richard. I was already almost positive of that since his widow is listed in the city directory as “Richard’s widow” after his death.

New Information:

  • Stone Cutter being his Primary Disease. I’m sure it’s his occupation which contributed to his death. In 1880 he was listed as working in a Sand Paper factory.
  • Burial at Rosedale Cemetery. I had no idea where any of the Parkins or Redfords are buried, so this gives me a place to start!

Mystery Monday: Those Darn Loves

Posted on by Kathleen

This morning, just as I was about to get started on my daunting tasks with the Mays line of my family tree, a tweet came through. It was like a beacon of light in a sea of darkness, it was a scrap of toast and I was hungry… Okay enough with the dramatization, what it really was, was an excuse to procrastinate. I love procrastinating. The Halifax Public Libraries out of Canada posted a link to Scotland post office directories. They posted a link to this exact address to be precise. That link will take you to the National Library of Scotland website, just so you know.

Once there I picked out a county,  I started with Dumfries because that was the last known location in Scotland for the Menzies family. The only directory was for 1911-1912 and my Menzies were long gone by then. So I booted up my family file and peeked at the Love family. My first known Love, Andrew Love married his wife Agnes Hamilton in Ayrshire, Scotland. So I tried there next. Unfortunately, the first Kilmarnock, Ayrshire directory was for 1851, again long after my Loves were elsewhere. So I looked at Andrew’s children to see where they were baptised at. Which led me to Renfrewshire. I was especially excited to see that there are 58 directories for that county. That’s very good odds for me!

Then I got REALLY excited. That’s an awful lot of Paisley directories there, and that’s where my Love children were baptised!

I wasn’t sure what I’d hoped to find with this directory. I guess I was just hoping for something that stood out. Well that’s what I got! Listed as the second Love is Andrew Love, grocer! Half of Andrew’s children went into the grocer business together in Newark, New Jersey. The only contradictory fact is that after Andrew was in America he gave his occupation as Mason/Stone Cutter. That’s not out of the realm for him though because in the 1845 directory there is an Andrew Love listed as Cowfeeder and Mason. It could be that he went into the Grocer business, taught it to his sons and then went back to it after coming to America. To be honest though, it could be that’s how he always thought of himself. When he came to America he was in his 50’s. It’s entirely possible that for him, going back to being a Mason or Farmer was a retirement for him. I don’t know, but he is the only Andrew Love in Paisley and all the occupations fit for the family.

Anyway, that’s not why I’m writing. I’m writing because despite knowing now that Andrew Love was living at 50 George Street from 1843-1853, I still haven’t found his family in the 1851 Scotland census! Besides these directories and the baptismal records of two of Andrew’s children, I haven’t found anything on the Loves while they were in Scotland.

What I want to know:

  • Where were the Loves in 1851? I can’t seem to find George street as a search parameter. I’m starting to wonder if viewing the census on Scotlands People instead of Ancestry would yield more results.
  • Are the other Loves on the pages related? Most likely!

What I already know:

  • Andrew Love immigrated to America in 1854 and listed his occupation as Mason.
  • Andrew’s boys started Love Brothers Grocery in Newark, New Jersey.
  • Andrew and Agnes were married 11 Mar 1828 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.
  • They had 5 children that I know of, Andrew, Thomas, Jean, Agnes and William. Only Thomas and Jean had baptismal entries in the Scotland Baptismal index on familysearch.org. There could be more children.

EDIT: The power of posting does wonders. After a few hours and some search fun, I did end up finding them in 1851!

Revisiting an Old Entry, Menzies Style

Posted on by Kathleen

I’m revisiting an old entry today. That entry is the one from September titled, Menzies News. In that entry I examined a census record that I thought might be William Menzies in 1861. This is important to me because only a few of the Menzies siblings stayed behind in England. William strikes a cord with me because in a letter to his sister he wrote, “I am quite sure I will never stay in England all my life as I am quite tired of it.” I can’t help but wonder if he ever made it.

In the entry, I also mention that I found a marriage record for William Menzies and Ellen Patterson. The only problem was I couldn’t be sure that was my William. The index on familysearch.org only had the name of the groom’s father listed. With such common names like John and William, and no other clues, I couldn’t be sure if this was in fact my William Menzies.

That all changed yesterday. You see on April 19th, Ancestry.com added a huge number of Liverpool, Lancashire, England Church Records. This includes baptisms, christenings, marriages, and burials. I was fortunate enough to find the marriage record that I questioned so many months ago.

Having indexed a lot of English Parish Records for Family Search, I knew that the marriage records also had occupation of the father as an entry on the certificate. So when I found the marriage in the index, I didn’t just throw it out. I made a notation of the indexed information for coming back to later. Now I am 100% positive that this is my William Menzies. John Menzies was a Sawyer by trade in 1841 and 1851. Therefore I know it is him. Also serving as witness to the marriage is Helen Scott, or how I know her Helen Menzies-Scott. I found her marriage record too by the way (with sister Margaret serving as witness)!

New information that comes with this record is Williams occupation as a dentist. As a refresher, two of his siblings were druggists/pharmacists. This is important because the William Menzies I found in the 1861 England census had an occupation of Mechanical Dentist. At the time, I realized for this family a dentist isn’t out of the ordinary. Most of the people I see are laborers and farmers. So when I found a family full of druggists, a dentist doesn’t seem to be such a stretch.

I still don’t know where William’s wife is during this census but I’m almost sure she is still alive. I’m going to try looking for her elsewhere, but we’ll just have to see what comes up.

When I plugged William Menzies and Ellen Patterson into Family Search, it brought up two more possible children. One, George Menzies, who served in the Spanish American War and died in Minnesota, and Arthur who lived in Boston. I haven’t linked either one of these through Derby baptismal and birth records yet. It’s on my To Do List though! Their birthplaces and dates fit exactly. I just have to get the paper evidence to back it up.

Now I’m off to find more!

Note: I am a paying World Membership Customer on Ancestry.com and I volunteer through FamilySearch’s indexing program. Other then those associations, I have no connection with these websites. I was not compensated to mention them or write things about them. Please don’t sue me, my fluffy pajamas have to be thrown away and I’m hanging on by a thread.

The 1940 Census – Part 1

Posted on by Kathleen

The genealogy community is buzzing. There’s only 1 year left before we’ll have access to the 1940 United States Federal Census. Like everyone else, I’m already trying to think about where my ancestors were at the time the census was taken.

MOORE SIDE

William L Moore & Llewellyn Thorward-Moore: These two should be at their house on Park Avenue in Caldwell NJ. This census year will be the first that my Grandpa shows up on.

Robert J Moore Jr: I expect him to be at the Moore household on Myrtle Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I don’t know if his aunt, Mary J Moore is still alive at the time of the census. According to the notes I have, she died in 1940. He was living with her on Myrtle Avenue in 1930. This census will also be crucial for me because I’m unaware of the year Robert J Moore Jr married his wife. It will be interesting to see if I can find a marriage record when I’m in New Jersey, or if I’ll finally fill that blank spot when the census is released.

Marion S Moore: Robert and William’s sister was still living in Brooklyn in 1930. According to the SSDI, her last known residence was in Suffolk County, New York. Without an index, this one might be waiting for a long, holiday weekend! There is no doubt in my mind Marion’s family was living on Long Island.

William H Moore Jr: William was last living in Essex County, NJ with his wife and three daughters. The daughters are of marriagable age by 1940, so I’m going to guess I’ll be looking for marriage records for them before I find them on the census.

John R Moore: John was living in Brooklyn in 1930 with his wife and daughter. So I’ll be looking for them on the same long weekend as Marion Moore-Schroeder.

Note: William H Moore Jr and John R Moore are the siblings of Mary J Moore and Robert James Moore Sr. Mary died in 1940 and Robert in 1925. I don’t have death dates for either brother. It’s possible they had already passed away. I just don’t know yet.


THORWARD SIDE

Lewis and Jennie Thorward: Lewis and Jennie Thorward will be living at 75 Westville Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I know his because that was their home for their whole marriage. Lewis didn’t die until 1946, after which Jennie lived above the meat market before living with her daughter Llewellyn. [1. Grandpa Moore for the first part, Dad for the second] In 1949 she is in the city directory and listed as living at the same address as the business.

George W Thorward: Llewellyn’s brother will be in Caldwell somewhere. I do know he lived on Overlook Rd from Grandpa and the 1949 city directory. So I’ll try there first.

Frank Thorward: Frank will be found living on Washburn Place. He is listed at the same address in 1949 that I found him at in 1930.

Robert M Thorward: The great grandfather of my distant cousin Brent! He married his wife in 1939, so I will find him with his new wife Laura Alice Whitehorne.

Raymond Thorward: I don’t have much information on Raymond. I know he married from his tombstone, but I don’t know the year. It will be interesting to see where he turns up in 1940.

Note: Neither Robert or Raymond are found in the 1949 Caldwell city directory. I’ll have to check for them in a surrounding city.

Dora Thorward-Plume: Most likely I will find Dora and her husband, Leslie, living on Slocum Avenue in Englewood NJ. They are living at the same address since the 1910 Census. Leslie was a plumber by trade. They ran their business out of their home from what I can tell.

Vivian Plume-Westervelt: Vivian is the daughter of Dora and Leslie. She had been married for close to 10 years already in 1930, so I don’t know if much will change for her and her husband. They were living near her parents in Bergen County, NJ. Charles VanBuskirk Westervelt was the owner of a Garage and she was the secretary.

George and Josephine Thorward: Sadly this is the last census for both George and his wife. Actually, 1930 might have been the last one for George. I only have death years for this couple, which bothers me! Their death records are #1 on my to do list when I am in New Jersey. I know George died in 1940 and Josephine in 1942.

This was great fun and stay tuned for the rest as the time ticks down!