Friday Family ProFile--Anna Leota Church

Anna Leota Church, daughter of Edgar Wilson Church and Eliza Jane Richter, was born on October 13, 1889 at Keyser, Mineral County, West Virginia.  Anne is my paternal second cousin twice removed .  The Church branch is part of my VanGilder family tree.  Edgar's mother was Rebecca VanGilder, daughter of Jacob VanGilder, Jr. and Sarah R. McElroy.


Anna and brother, Charles
Xerox of the original photograph

 Recently a received a message regarding Anna (also known as Annie and Anne) from a fellow researcher through ancestry and I decided to feature her on my Family ProFile.

Edgar made a living as a laborer and a coal miner while Anna was growing up.  The family lived in Lyon, Preston County and Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia.  By 1920, Edgar had moved to Akron, Summit County, Ohio. 


Xerox copy of the original photograph

Sometime between 1910 and 1917, Anna married William T. Burgy.  I have not been able to locate a marriage license for their wedding.  William, son of Martin Luther Burgy and Ida M. Brinker, was born on August 1, 1887 at Newport, Washington County, Ohio.

William lists 950 7th Avenue in Akron, Ohio as his residence on his 1917 World War I draft registration card.  The Burgy's  are still living at 950 7th Avenue in Akron in 1920 and they have a five year old daughter named Ellen Jane.  I have learned that Ellen was adopted.  William is employed with Goodyear Rubber Company, where he worked through the 1940's.

Listed on the 1930 Ohio census, the Burgy family lived at 824 East Market Street in Akron, Ohio.  Around 1935, the Burgy's divorced.  Anna married JohnW. Jackson.  I have not been able to find their marriage certificate.  She remainded married to John until her death.

William T. Burgy died in Akron, Ohio on March 23, 1947.  Anna died in Akron, Ohio on September 6, 1948.  She is buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Akron, Summit County, Ohio along with her parents and numerous siblings.

Sources:

1. 1900 West Virginia Census, Lyon, Preston County, Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 103.
 
2. 1910 West Virginia Census Grafton Ward 3, Taylor County,Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0140.
   
3. 1920 Ohio Census Akron Ward 6, Summit County, Page: 27B; Enumeration District: 197.
 
4. 1930 Ohio Census Akron, Summit County, Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 25.
 
5. Burgy, William, Certificate of Death, Summit County, Ohio, Number 20714.
 
6. Jackson, Anna Leota Church, Certificate of Death, Summit County, Ohio, Number 58132.
 
7. Marsh, William Alfred, Church Family Group Sheets and xerox copies of Church family photographs.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Eliza J. VanGilder Jenkins Death Record

Eliza J. VanGilder, daughter of Jacob VanGilder, Jr. and Sarah R. McElroy, was born in Monongalia County, (West) Virginia in March, 1826. She married Francis Jenkins, son of Joseph and Catherine Jenkins, on May 10, 1860 at Grafton, Taylor County, (West) Virginia. Eliza is my second great grandaunt.

This week I located her record of death on the West Virginia Archives and History website. I wish there was more information; however, until this week, I did not know her date of death. I am still looking to find her burial site. My guess is Bluemont Cemetery in Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia.

Eliza and Frank raised two children, Mary M. Jenkins and Samuel R. Jenkins. Mary married her cousin, Henry Moore Leps, Samuel was a bachelor. There were no offspring from Mary's marriage.

Lesson learned: Keep going back and checking sites with records....more are added daily.

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© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Wordless Wednesday--Painted Shrubs on State Street, Chicago, IL

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© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Tombstone Tuesday--Robert Bell Frederick, Jr. and Roxanne Anderson Frederick

     Robert Bell Frederick, Jr., son of Robert Bell Frederick and Mary Alice Bradley, was born on December 11, 1911 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and died in 1976.  He is my first cousin once removed.

     He married Roxanne (Roxie) Anderson. I do not know who her parents were. She was born January 9, 1918 and died on May 7, 2006.


First Cousins
Robert Bell Frederick, Jr. holding my mother,
Martha Jean Stark
Circa 1922

     I had the good fortune to speak by telephone with Roxie and we shared information on the Frederick family through letters. Until I met Roxie, I had no idea what the "B" stood for in the name Robert B. Frederick. She told me that the family was close to the Bell family in Columbiana County, Ohio in the late 1800's. In fact, I think it was Lucinda Orr Frederick, who was close to the Bell family. She was enumerated on the farm of Robert Bell back in 1860. Lucinda was the grandmother of Robert Bell Frederick, Jr. I believe that the friendship was through the Orr line and not the Frederick.

     She also gave me a good laugh in one of her letters when she referred to my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark as "Dear Freddie". For years after reading that letter, Teek became Dear Freddie to my brothers and I. I had never heard anyone refer to Teek as Freddie; however, as I read through some of her old correspondence, Freddie was her nickname within the family and to some of her girlfriends at work.

     Robert and Roxanne are buried at Allegheny County Memorial Park, Allison Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Also in the same lot are Robert's parents and one of their sons, Robert Bell Frederick III, a bank teller, who was killed in Pittsburgh during a bank robbery in 1971.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Sign of the Times Then and Now--Mary L. Leech Taylor Moon

Years back, while going through numerous pieces of ephemera from my maternal grandmother's estate, I happened up a letter written at the birth of my mother in December 1921.  Why my grandmother would have saved this letter from Mary L. Taylor is unknown. Although she signed it "Aunt Mary", I do not believe that she is a relation.  My mother told me that when she was young the term "auntie" was reserved for friends of her mother and "aunt" was a blood relation.  I don't believe this was the case with Mary, although Mary refers to herself as "aunt". 

Looking through the 1920 Pennsylvania census report, I found that she was a widow, living at the address in the letterhead with her daughter, Dorothy and her mother, Sophia Leech.  Mary is employed as a stenographer and was undoubtedly a friend of my grandmother's through work.  My grandmother, Martha Frederick Stark, worked as a stenographer until she married in 1914.  I have numerous old photographs of  my Grandmother Stark aka Teek, as a young woman with a group of "gal pals".  Chances are that Mary Leech is in one of those pictures.

My primary reason for sharing this letter is Mary's story on the second page.....the date is different, but times have not changed since 1921 for many single working mothers.

Transcription of the letter:

Dear Martha:-

Charles called up today and told me the good news and I am so happy for both of you--a dear little girl--think of it--I'm crazy to see you both.  Way down in my heart I wished a girl for you--I'm partial to them you know.  I just knew Charles would be like Tom--crazy over either sex.

I wish I could get over to see you while you are in the hospital but I'm afraid I can't  I'm just so rushed all the time I don't get the time to breath hardly.  I have to rush to work and rush home and get dinner then I can't leave very well for I have no one to leave Dorothy with.  I have loads to tell you when I see you.

A girl is coming to room with us the first of the year which will help some.  We are getting along very well now only I have so much to do that I don't get the proper rest and my nerves are a wreck.  I'm fatter than I ever was--old age I guess--but so nervous I'm ashamed of myself at times.

Tell your little daughter (I didn't get the card and don't know her name) that her new Aunt Mary has a little dress started for her but she came so quick I haven't it ready--it will come some day with all the more love.

Hoping you both get along fine--that I will see you soon with oodles of love from Dorothy and me.

I am
As ever
Mary

I was able to do a census check for Mary; however since Pennsylvania seems very slow in posting marriage and death records on line, I was only able to check the census.  Ancestry has no family charts for this family.

Mary L. Leech, born in Pennsylvania (probably in Pittsburgh) in 1885 was the daughter of Charles W. Leech and his wife Sophia.  Mary married Thomas Taylor about 1914 and they had one child, Dorothy Taylor about 1916.  Thomas was deceased by 1920.  The 1930 Pennsylvania census revealed that Mary remarried.  Her second husband, Harry Edward Moon, born on January 19, 1888 in Baltimore, Maryland was a salesman.  The family was still living at 1501 Asbury Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I did check my grandmother's papers and records.  There was no listing of a Mary attending my the wedding of my grandparents or the funeral of Grandfather Stark's funeral in 1945. 

My grandmother chose to preserve the letter and baby card from her friend Mary Taylor.  I wonder if they saw each other often or shared telephone conversations throughout their married years.  Did Teek attend Mary's second wedding--send a card and a gift?  Or was she a friend from work who she was close to and then fell out of touch as the years wore on........I will probably never know.

Sources:

1. 1900 Pennsylvania Census, Allegheny Ward 6, Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 59.
 
2. 1910 Pennsylvania Census, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Ward 8, Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0380.
 
3. 1920 Pennsylvania Cenusus, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Ward 14, Page 6A, Enumeration District: 543.
 
4. 1930 Pennsylvania Census, Allegheny County, Page 19A, Enumeration District: 222.
 
5. Moon, Harry Edward, World War II Draft Registration Cards, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; State Headquarters: Pennsylvania; Microfilm Series: M1951; Microfilm Roll: 220.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Friday Family Profile--Eleanor Poole Bashaw

Eleanor Poole also Eleanor Pool, daughter of Sampson Frum Pool and Sarah Louise Harner, was born in October 1, 1886. She was the youngest in a family of eight children and grew up on the Frum farm north of Morgantown, West Virginia in the Morgan District.  Eleanor, also known as Nell and Nellie, is my great grand aunt.

Two months shy of her twenty sixth birthday, on August 23, 1912, Eleanor married Leon Hamilton Bashaw, at Morgantown, Monongalia County, Ohio.  She was the third wife in a series of four for Leon.  Leon, son of Lunsford H. Bashaw and Lucretia M. Pettit, was born on December 18, 1871 at Irondale, Jefferson County, Ohio.

Leon worked a variety of jobs before he married Nell--house painter, carpenter are among them as he moved between Ohio and West Virginia.  From his first two marriages, he had four children--two with each wife.  It appears that the first marriage ended in the death of his wife and the second in divorce.

Children of Leon Hamilton Bashaw and Jennie F.Cunningham:

1. Lucretia Isabell Bashaw, born August 1898 in Ohio.
 
2. Russell Jay Bashaw, born October 12, 1899 in Ohio and died September 18, 1990 at Canton, Stark County, Ohio

Children of Leon Hamilton Bashaw and Theressa Lenore Shriver:

1. Male Bashaw, born 1903 and died February 3, 1902 at Minerva, Ohio.
 
2. Victor R. Bashaw, born June 21, 1904 in Ohio and died July 20, 1975 at East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio.
 
3. Ernest Russel Bashaw born 1906 in Ohio.

Eleanor Poole Bashaw
Olive Pettit Bashaw
Leon Poole Bashaw
circa 1923 at Poole Family Reunion

Soon after her marriage to Leon, the couple moved to Oklahoma, where their first child, a daughter was born.  Olive Pettit Bashaw was born on June 2, 1914 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Her middle name is the maiden name of her paternal great grandmother and her first name taken from her maternal aunt, Olive Pool.


Eleanor Pool Bashaw and baby daughter
Olive Pettit Bashaw


The Bashaw's second child, a son was born in Charleroi, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  He was named Leon Poole Bashaw and was born on January 24, 1917.  Since the family was living on a farm in Columbiana County, Ohio at the time of Poole's birth, I wonder if he was born at his maternal aunt's (Sarah Ann Pool Pinyerd) Maternity Hospital in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

The 1920 Ohio Census lists the family as living in Knox County, Columbiana County, Ohio and Leon is employed as a newspaper collector. 



Could Nell already be divorced and living in
Rices Landing, Pennsylvania?


Sometime between 1920 and 1927, Nell and Leon divorced and she moved with her two children to Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Eleanor worked in Pittsburgh and her sister, Olive Pool Reeves, took care of them.  The 1930 Pennsylvania census shows young Olive and Poole Bashaw living on the North Side of Pittsburgh in a boarding house run by their Aunt Olive.

Here is where I lose this piece of my family.  I have not been able to trace any of them!  Olive Poole Reeves probably died in the Pittsburgh area as did her sister, Eleanor Poole Bashaw sometime after 1952.  They were both living in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania when their sister, Sarah Ann Pool Pinyerd died on June 19, 1952.

I was told by a family member that she paid for the burial of Nell and that Olive Bashaw paid her back for the expenses of the funeral.  I have had no success locating Olive Pettit Bashaw.  I have found some records for Leon Poole Bashaw, in particular, that he was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Any family members who have knowledge of this branch of my family tree.....PLEASE contact me.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Treasure Chest Thursday--Antique Toys

I remember these tiny toys as a child.  They were part of the train display under our Christmas tree back in the 1950's.  The two little buildings are made of wood and the tiny doll is porcelain with a hand crochet or tatted dress.  Back in the 50's there were several additional dolls.  In particular, I can remember one with a little bonnet.  Over the years, only these three items remain.

I do not know the date these were made.  There are no makers marks on the buildings or the doll.  My mother once told me that she could remember them when she was a child and that her father also used them as decorations under the Christmas tree.  Perhaps that was the reason they also found their way under my childhood tree. 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Wordless Wednesday--Charles Edward Stark

My maternal grandfather
from a photo post card



I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Tombstone Tuesday--Beryl Lepard Burkett and Leon Milton Burkett

Beryl E. Lepard, daughter of William H. Lepard and Alice N. Finch, was born on March 23, 1893 in Venice Township, Seneca County, Ohio.  Leon Milton Burkett, son of John F. Burkett and Elizabeth J. Gruver, was born on July 15, 1887 at Bettsville, Liberty Township, Seneca County, Ohio.

On June 15, 1922, at Attica, Seneca County, Ohio, Leon Milton Burkett married Beryl E. Lepard.  At the time of their marriage, John was employed as a post master and Beryl as a teacher. Beryl Lepard Burkett is my third cousin, once removed.

Leon's World War I draft registration gives his employment as a baker and the death certificate lists his occupation as grocer.  The Burkett's had one son, Leon Milton Burkett, born in 1925.  Young Leon died in World War II on the Pacific Ocean.

Three years after his marriage and the year his son was born, Leon died at age thirty eight, on December 30, 1925 in Maple Grove, Liberty Township, Seneca County, Ohio and is buried in Attica Venice Cemetery, Attica, Seneca County, Ohio.

Beryl married second, John H. Shimer, on January 19, 1945 in Seneca County, Ohio.  On April 24, 1945, Beryl lost her only child, Leon Milton Burkett, who was killed during a flight over Tokyo in a B-29 during World War II.  The plane was shot down and all members of the crew were killed.

Beryl died on April 4, 1972 in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio.  She is buried beside her first husband, Leon Milton Burkett at Attica Venice Cemetery, Seneca County, Ohio.

This had been a missing piece of my family tree.  I took the photos of the tombstones when I was wandering around Attice Venice Cemetery looking for my Frederick and Lepard relations.  I saw the Burkett name and knew that my husband had links to Burketts.....not realizing that Beryl was my cousin until I began to do the research for this blog. 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Is This You Great Grandfather?

Last week was quite an enlightening time for me, searching through the various Internet genealogy websites looking for new Civil War documents and information for my veteran ancestors.  Both ancestry and footnote seemed to have geared up for the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the war by adding scads of new information. 


I plugged in all my names into the various search engines and have come up with loads of additional documented information.

Two that were a curiosity came from ancestry.  They are United States Returns from Military Posts 1806-1916.  There are two listings for Charles Stark from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. 

My maternal great grandfather is Charles Stark.  He served in the Civil War from 1861 until 1864 and then remustered into service in 1865 with the new Company H  6th West Virginia Calvary and serving in the Colorado and Dakota Territories.  Charles was discharged from this service in 1866.

Apparently great grandfather was not done with his service to the military.  There are two documents that list him as a member of the Allegheny Arsenal Post on July 7, 1887 and discharged on March 10, 1890.  Another cousin and I figure that this may have been comparable to the VFW or American Legion.

The discharge date for Charles Stark is a month earlier than the date that he was sent to the Allegheny City Home, April 15, 1890.

I think that these records belong to my great grandfather's genealogy.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

 PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Treasure Chest Thursday--Baptism Dress and Booties

Martha Jean Stark Hughes
and
Linda Lee Hughes
1947

This past week I have been engaged in the annual rite of spring cleaning.  The target area has been the immense accumulation of stuff in my basement.  Also housed there are all my family photos and many of my "genealogical momentos".  While thumbing through an old Hughes family album, this photo of little Linda Lee and Mom jumped off the page.  Turning around I went to a plastic container and inside a small yellow box.   There I found the little white dress and booties in this 1947 photo. 

I don't know if this was my baptism, although the dress certainly appears to be one worn at such an occasion.  The question mark in my mind is that Mom does not have a corsage attached to her suit jacket.  Dad ALWAYS celebrated events with flowers. 

The dress and slip were "store bought"; however, I do believe that the little booties were knitted by my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark aka Teek.  She was quite the seamstress and was proficient with all forms of hand work.  The little pink roses embroidered on each booties are most certainly her hallmark.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Wordless Wednesday--FINALLY Spring arrives on the North Coast



I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Tombstone Tuesday--Matthew Thomas Orr

MATTHEW THOMAS ORR
1836-1909
104 OVI
(Need to get back to photograph this without ice & snow)

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, I am featuring the tombstone of my Great-granduncle, Matthew Thomas Orr, of Columbiana County, Ohio.  Matthew was the son of William Morlan Orr and Nancy Cannon.  He was born in Columbiana County, Ohio on September 8, 1836, probably on the family farm in Elkrun Township.

Matthew mustered in to the 104th Regiment, Company C, of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry at East Palestine, Unity Township, Columbiana County on August 2, 1862. He was appointed to the rank of sargeant on August 25, 1862, however, when he mustered out in Greensboro, North Carolina on June 17, 1865, he was listed as a private. Matthew suffered from a gunshot wound which he incurred during the war.


There is a listing in the Columbiana County Death Record which records all county deaths from the Civil War...

"Matthew Orr, 5th Sarg from Elkrun Twp. as having been killed in action in Atlanta, Georgia. 104th Reg OVI Co C." Obviously this account of death was incorrect.

Matthew is listed in the 1890 Special Census for Civil War Vererans and Widows--


Matthew T. Orr, private, Co C 104 Ohio Volunteer Infantry, August 7, 1862 to June 17, 1865.  Served 2 years, 10months, 6 days.  Gunshot wound.


Matthew died at age seventy-two on December 22, 1909 in Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio. He is buried beside his first wife, Mary Ellen Smith Orr in The Lisbon Cemetery, Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio.

Sources:

1. 1890 Special Census for Civil War Vererans and Widows, New Lisbon, Columbiana, Ohio; Roll: 74; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 49.
 
2. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio. 11 vols.Cincinnati: Wilstach, Baldwin, 1886.
 
3. Ohio Death Certificate, Matthew T. Orr, Columbiana County # 59950.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



The American Civil War Genealogy Blog Challenge--Happy Dance Time

A would like to send a BIG Flipside THANK YOU to Bill West over at West in New England for challenging us to blog about a Civil War ancestor.  While I was working on my blog last night, I decided that I needed to find the links on the net for the listings of two paternal Civil War soldiers for my sources and it lead to a monumental discovery.

I located my two fellows easily enough, by putting their names into the search engine out at the West Virginia Division of History and Culture website.  Then I decided to try my paternal great great grandfather, John Oliphant VanGilder again using "Van Gilder" rather than VanGilder or Vangilder.  How often have we all located a surname simply by tweeking the spelling?  What came up literally sent shivers down my arms.

There, staring back at me from the screen, were two letters actually written by my great great grandfather!  Both deal with the commission of James A. Davis, who apparently was elected as a First Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant on the same day....September 22, 1862.

I notice that my great great grandfather also seems to have an issue with the spelling of his surname using both Vangilder and Van Gilder in the letters.  No wonder I have trouble with it!

A little more investigating on the website and I came up with two service records for John.  One listing his service as Captain with the 76th Monongalia County Militia in 1861 and the second as a Captain with the Company C Monongalia County Militia in 1864. 

I do tend to recheck websites periodically to see if new information has been added.  I had neglected the West Virginia site for some time.....that won't happen again ;-)

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



The American Civil War Genealogy Blog Challenge--Where Are My Paternal Bluecoats?

April 12, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Bill West of West In New England has issued "THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR GENEALOGY BLOG CHALLENGE" to mark this defining event in the life of our country.

For years I searched for a list of Civil War soldiers on my father's side of the family tree.  Dad was a Civil War buff....we are talking an ardent enthusiast, especially once he retired.  It was his passion and he decided that he would "teach" the Civil War seminar when he was living at his retirement village.  The amount of energy he devoted to "his course" was truly remarkable.  I was on hand for the opening seminar with a little surprise for Dad.

Once I turned my genealogy research on full throttle, Dad lamented that I had documented a "ton" of Revolutionary War soldiers in his line, but only one from the Civil War.  The gauntlet had been thrown down!

Now, Dad's paternal side of the tree were all from England and his grandfather arrived in the US after 1900....no bluecoats there.  It was all up to my Grandmother Hughes to supply a few union soldiers.  She was always proud to announce to anyone who would listen...."I'm from WEST by God Virginia!"  Certainly there must be a few civil war soldiers among her ancestors from Morgantown.

The easy one was William Lanham Pool, Dad's maternal gg grandfather, my ggg.  I found information on William in  the Morgantown series books, the 1890 Special Census for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors And Marines, and Widows and finally his Civil War pension file.  William L. Pool served as a private and a corporal with Company I, 14 West Virginia Infantry between August 20, 1862 to May 9, 1865.

Two more ancestors, John Oliphant VanGilder and Sampson Frum Pool were the right age to have participated in the war.  John and Sampson were my Dad's maternal great grandfathers, my gg.  There was simply no information on these two men's involvement in the civil war.  Odd, that Sampson's father, William Lanham Pool, had a record of service, but not his son.

The research lay fallow for years until the advent of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History website.  In 2003, while I was noodling around on the site looking at the death records in Monongalia County, I happened to see that there was an archives and history section that was searchable.  First, I plugged in the name "John O. VanGilder" and voila, up came several pages of West Virginia Adjutant General's papers, Union Militia 1861-1862.  It was slow going reading and scrolling down the pages until I began the "happy dance".  There was our ancestor....and he was a Captain of Company 4 of the 76th Regiment of the Virginia Militia.

With this success under my belt it was only natural that I would search again, this time for Sampson Pool.  And there he was, written Samson Pool,  he served as a private in Captain L.S. Hayes, Company B, 14th Regiment of the West Virginia Union Militia.


A surprised look on Dad's face. 
Now I wish I had taken a better photograph
of the presentation board.  Only a
small corner of it shows here.

This new information was found a month before Dad began his seminars.  As a surprise, I decided to make a presentation board featuring the three Civil War soldiers in Dad's ancestry.  After Dad completed his first seminar, I stood up and asked the group's indulgence as I made my presentation to Dad of his civil war history.  He was surprised and pleased.

Sources:

1. 1890 Special Census for Surviving Soldiers, Sailors And Marines, and Widows, (Eleventh Census of the United States, Special Schedule), Page 1, Supervisors Distrit 168, Enumaeration District 78, # 8.
 
2. Civil War Pension File, William Lanham Pool, #974,081.
 
3. Core, Earl L., The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History III. Discord, McClain Publishing Company, Parsons, West Virginia, 1979, page 533.
 
4. Pool, Sampson Frum, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Memory Project, West Virginia Militia Database.
 
5. VanGilder, John Oliphant, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia State Archives,  West Virginia Adjutant General's Papers, Union Militia Papers 1861-1862, Monogalia County Transcriptions 1862. (Sixth and Seventh from the bottom of the page.)

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however if they are inappropriate, they will not be published. 

PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2011, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Friday Family ProFile--Jesse Pinyerd and Melvina S. Rider Pinyerd

Jesse Pinyerd, son of Thomas A. Pinyerd and Mary Coner was born on March 5, 1828 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. He married Melvina Rider on July 15, 1853.  Both Jesse and Melvina were from Clarksville in Greene County, Pennsylvania when they married.  She was born on August 11, 1838 in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Thomas Rider and Mary B--e.


Jesse Pinyerd was a blacksmith and moved from area to area during the mid to late 1800's. From Washington County, the family was next enumerated in Jefferson Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania in 1870 and Cumberland Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania in 1880. On this census Jesse's son, John,  is also listed as a blacksmith, undoubtedly assisting his father in the shop.


During the 1880's and up to 1907, the family was located in Rices Landing, Greene County, Pennsylvania. For an unknown reason, Jesse and Melvina moved to Chicago, Cook County, Illinois in October, 1907. One of their daughters, Dorcus Sabina Pinyerd Allfree lived in Chicago; however not in the area where her parents moved. 

Jesse and Melvina had only lived in Chicago for four months before Jesse died from a influenza on February 5, 1908, one month shy of his 80th birthday. His body was taken back to Rices Landing and is buried in Hewitt Cemetery.

Following Jesse's death, it appears that Melvina went to live with her son, George T. Pinyerd in Bucyrus, Ohio. She died ten months after her husband, on December 27, 1908 at age 73. She was buried beside her husband and two children, Ida Ann and Jesse, Jr. in Hewitt Cemetery.


Children of Jesse and Melvina Rider Pinyerd:

1. Jessie Pinyerd  1854-1939
2. Dorcus Sabina Pinyerd 1857-1948
3. John A. Pinyerd  1859-1951
4. Uriah R. Pinyerd  1862-1932
5. Ida Ann Pinyerd  1863-1863
6. George T. Pinyerd  1865-1923
7. Jesse Pinyerd, Jr.  1869-1877

Sources:
- 1860 Pennsylvania Census, East Bethlehem, Washington County, page 449.
- 1870 Pennsylvania Census, Jefferson, Greene County, page 277.
- 1880 Pennsylvania Census, Cumberland, Greene County, ED 68, page 163B.
- 1900 Pennsylvania Census, Cumberland, Greene County,
- Hewitt Cemetery Listing, Rices Landing, Pennsylvania
- Pinyerd, Jesse, Illinois Death Certificate, Cook County # 13448.
- Pinyerd, Melvina Rider, Ohio Death Certificate, Crawford County # 261.

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