Institutions--Rainbow Girls

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year. 

     The prompt for week # 18 is Institutions.

     I checked Webster's and found that an institution is defined as a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social or similar purpose.  I have been a member of several institutions of my years and decided to blog about my high school years in Rainbow Girls.

     My family moved to a new house in 1961 ending over a decade in my childhood home.  And, that meant, introvert Linda, leaving my lifelong school and neighborhood friends and beginning high school in new surroundings.  Talk about anxious.

     Slowly through church and school clubs I began to fit in.  The major turning point was when my high school BFF moved into the neighborhood.  She had been in the school system since Kindergarten and my circle of friends enlarged greatly.  

     I had never heard of Rainbow Girls; however, I found that several of my new closer friends were members.  My Dad had been a Mason for years so there was no parent blocking my request to join.  

     Their mission statement:  "The International Order of the Rainbow Girls prepares girls for responsible and purposeful adulthood through character and leadership development, encouraging unselfish service and higher ideals in life, and promoting teamwork and effective interpersonal communications."  

     Mom and I drove to the North Side area of Pittsburgh to shop for the required long white dress.  Carlisle's was the place to go in Pittsburgh.  In fact, my wedding dress was purchased there seven years later in 1969.

     Looking back at the various pieces of printed memorabilia Mom saved of my Rainbow days, I was surprised at just how many of my friends were members.

     I attended meetings and activities until I graduated from high school in 1965.  I was active; however, did not add many bars to my pin for three years of service--underachiever.  😇

     The small yellow square pin was earned when I held the office as yellow representing nature in the bow.  There was a short memorized speech that I had to present at an installation meeting.   I do remember my Mom was extremely disappointed that she was not allowed to attend the meeting to hear me "perform" as she was not a member of a Masonic organization.  Readers may remember my Mom was quite the actress in local productions.   My Dad did attend.

     My Rainbow Girls activity ended when I left home for college; however, I did receive a Majority Certificate in 1968.  It is a card that I was retired in good standing and could be used if I ever desired to attend a meeting of the Order of Eastern Star.

     I did not continue on with Eastern Star.  I enjoyed my years as a Rainbow Girl; however, for me it was an extension of social activities with my high school friend group.

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.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



DNA--Unraveling the VanGilder Mystery

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year. 

     The prompt for week # 17 is DNA.

     The only branch of my family tree, that I am aware of, that has had DNA discovery is my paternal VanGilder branch.  Last year for 52 Ancestors Week, under the meme Origins, I blogged about my VanGilder line and the DNA findings.  It's All Dutch To Me, outlined the findings to date.  

  I note that at the end of the blog from last year I said to stay tuned for further findings.  I do not believe there have been any additional findings.  My paternal great great great great grandfather, Jacob VanGilder, did indeed descend from Awansous, to Mohican-Wappinger Native American, Tawanaut/Toanunck who changed his name to Jan Van Gelder and his descendent John VanGilder I.  

Additional VanGilder DNA Information:

Toanuck

 History's Faces:  The Origin of the Van Guilders by Debra Winchell

History's Faces:  Origin of the Van Gilder Surname by Debra Winchell

Drew Blatter's YouTube VanGilder Presentation

 

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.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Oldest Story--Squatter Mott

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year. 

     The prompt for week # 16 is Oldest Story.

     This is one of the oldest stories in my husband's family tree.  Ezekiel Mott, Jr. is my husband's paternal  Great Great Great Great Grandfather.  He was the son of Ezekiel Mott and Jane McAlevy.  Ezekiel, Jr. was born in 1769 in Dutchess County, New York.

     I will admit that years ago I did research my husband's Mott family primarily working backwards from his paternal Great Great Grandfather, Orison Smith.  Orison was the son of Abner Smith and Sarah Mott, daughter of Ezekiel Mott, Jr.

     The history of the Mott Family, early Ohio pioneers, has been an interesting, although somewhat challenging research.  The usual issues with numerous same first names and missing documents.   

1789 Connecticut Western Reserve Map
with Trumbull, Portage and Medina Counties highlighted

     Following his service in the American Revolutionary War, Ezekiel Mott, Sr. made his way west with his family.  His son, Ezekiel Mott, Jr. probably accompanied his father.  Records are sketchy at best.  

     Ezekiel Mott, Jr. married Mary (Polly) and his first child, Ezekiel, was born in Pennsylvania in 1797.  His second child, a daughter, Sarah, was born in Trumbull County, Ohio in 1798.  Trumbull County is underlined in the map above, far right hand side.    

Deerfield Township 1874
Note Mottown and number of Mott Families
still owning land

     The Ohio Mott story begins in Deerfield Township, Portage County, Ohio in 1807 or earlier, on land located then in the Connecticut Western Reserve.  Acres of land in this area was being sold by the Connecticut Land Company to pioneers from the New England area who wanted to venture west.  "Initial settlement of the area was sporadic and slow, however by the 1820's, the region began to prosper.  The first settlers and towns they established reflected the culture of Connecticut and New England." (The Western Reserve Historical Society).

 

     There are records that lists Ezekiel, Jr. in Deerfield Township in 1807 and 1809.  Both Ezekiel, senior and junior are enumerated on the 1810 Ohio Tax List.  Portage County is the middle county underlined on the map above.      

      

     While living in Portage County, Ezekiel and his brother, Elijah, served as privates during the War of 1812 in the 1st Company 2nd Battalion 2nd Regiment 4th Brigade under the leadership of Lieutenant Ira Morse.  The Company was charged with marching to Cleveland to defend the city against the British.  The 1st Company served for ten days and each private was paid a prorated amount of 5.090 per month for their service.  

Ezekiel and Mary Mott's known children

1. Ezekiel Mott born about 1797 in Pennsylvania
2. Sarah Mott born about 1798 in Trumbull County, Ohio
3. John Mott born about 1804 in Portage County, Ohio
4. Hiram Mott born about 1806 in Portage County, Ohio
5. James Mott born about 1813 in Portage County, Ohio
6. Samuel Mott born 1813-1810 in Portage County, Ohio
7. Elijah Mott born 1810-1915 in Ohio
8. Fidelia Mott born about 1817 in Medina County, Ohio
9. Melinda Mott born about 1819 in Medina County, Ohio

Pioneer History of Medina County, Ohio
By N.B. Northrup
1861
page 68

 

History of Medina County
by the Medina County Historical Society
Granger Township section
page 40

      Several Medina County, Ohio history accounts reveal that Ezekiel Mott, Jr. had removed to land in Granger Township in 1816, squatting on land that was owned by George Codding and was known as Squatter Mott.  Medina County, Ohio is the far left hand side white underlined county above.

Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio
Section 2 and 22 outlined

     From the accounts I have found, Ezekiel built his cabin on land in section 2 of Granger Township.  

     The future township’s earliest inhabitants had been Native American Mound Builders, before the area was taken over by the Connecticut Western Reserve. The land was purchased by Oliver Phelps, but was inhabited only by squatters and hunter/trappers. In February 1818, four families came from the East to settle, traveling by sleds pulled by oxen.  By 1820, 40 families -- 260 “souls” -- lived in what would become the township.  

     As additional Western Reserve pioneers arrived in Granger Township, paying for land, Ezekiel Mott moved to section 22 in Granger Township. On January 9, 1819, he purchased sixty acres of land in section 22, Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio for 300.00 (type of money is unknown) from Burt and Betsy Codding.  

Ezekiel Mott Jr. deposition for
Ezekiel Mott, Sr. Revolutionary War Pension

     On November 3, 1819, Ezekiel made a disposition regarding his father's Revolutionary War service to assist with his being granted a pension.  

     Granger Township was organized in 1820 and was named for Gideon Granger, a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and Fourth United States Postmaster General.  It is in this year that I was able to find Township records.  

1820 Ohio Census
Granger Township, Medina County

Ezekiel Mott

3 males under age 10

2 males between 10 & 16

1 male between 16 & 26

1 male age 45 or over

2 females under age 10

1 female between 16 & 26

1 female age 45 or over

 

1821 Tax Record
Ezekiel Mott
Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio

   

1828 Tax Record
Ezekiel Mott
Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio

     There are tax records in Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio for Ezekiel Mott from 1820 through 1828.  It lists his 60 acres in section 22 and his paid taxes for each year.  I have posted the tax record for 1821 and 1828 because they are the ones that were the easiest to read.  The land was valued at $200 and he had horses and cows.  

     There is a deed record for Ezekiel Mott's property in Lot 22, 60 acres Granger Township, Medina County, Ohio dated April 6, 1827.  Ezekiel's wife, Mary, is also given.  

Will of Ezekiel Mott, Jr.

     At some point in time between 1827 and 1828, Ezekiel and Mary (Polly) Mott removed to Streetsboro Township, Portage County, Ohio.  His will is dated September 18, 1828.  That is the date of death given to him by most researchers.  He would have been fifty-nine years old calculated from the approximate date of his birth.  His burial place is unknown.  If he had a burial marker, it is long gone.  

1830 Ohio Census
Streetsboro Township, Medina County

     Mary Mott is enumerated in the 1830 Ohio Census, Streetsboro Township Portage County, Ohio.   The record is eligible. 

1 male between age 15 7 20

1 male between 20 & 30

1 female between 10 & 15

1 female between 15 & 20

1 female between 60 & 70

     Very little is known about Mary.  Trees in Ancestry list her as Mary Rebecca Polley, born 1776 in New Jersey, death March 13, 1851 in Portage County, Ohio.  I have not seen any records to verify this.  

The Usual Genealogists Nightmare

     I am taking a moment here to express that although the reader might think that following the life of someone named Ezekiel Mott in the early 1800's would be child's play....it is not.  This particular Mott clan named and renamed sons and grandsons Ezekiel.  Every one of progenitor Ezekiel Mott family named a son Ezekiel Mott.  Another favorite name was Elijah Mott.  There are many.  

 

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.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Big Mistake--Cannon Brothers, Which One?

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year. 

    The prompt for week # 15 is Big Mistake.

     One of my biggest mistakes was deciding which Cannon brother in Columbiana County, Ohio in the early 1800's was my maternal great great great grandfather.  Of the four, John, Thomas, Lindsey and Matthew, I decided on John.  

Garrett with John Cannon, Jr.

Ken with John A. Cannon
Clarkson Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Clarkson, Middleton Township
Columbiana County, Ohio

     

     Oddly, I was going through my hard copy Cannon files to digitize them and there was all my research on the wrong Cannon.  I laughed at the pictures of John Cannon's tombstone which we visited on a memorable family Christmas Eve drive to Columbiana County in 1993 and, it appears, we were there a second time when there was no snow.  

 

     My Fife line descends from first cousins who married.  John Fife the son of William Fife, Sr. and Elizabeth Fife the daughter of John Fife, Sr.  William and John Fife were brothers.  One of John and Elizabeth's daughters was Elizabeth Fife who married Lindsey Cannon.  

     Researching the Fife Family requires a great deal of patience as in each generation the same names repeat ad nauseum.  

      I tied myself to John Cannon as my ancestor until another researcher sent me the above information taken from a turn of the twentieth century Fife Family reunion document.  Holy Toledo!  I've linked myself to the wrong Cannon.  I think this happened as I was a newbie to genealogy and saw both John and Lindsey had daughter's named Nancy Cannon.  Nancy married to William Morland Orr is my maternal great great grandmother.  I had originally chosen the wrong Cannon brother as her father and my ancestor.   

Lindsey's tombstone in Elkrun Township
Carlisle Cemetery
Fall 1993

Christmas Eve visit 1993
Up righted with crowbar in photo

     I had seen the broken tombstone of Lindsey Cannon on a trip to the Carlisle Cemetery with my mother.  We drove there because my maternal great great great grandfather Joseph Orr and his son, William Morland Orr, my maternal great great grandfather are buried there.  Seeing a Cannon tombstone was a bonus.  Although at that time, I considered him my great great great-granduncle.

     When the family was on the Christmas Eve sojourn to Columbiana County, Ohio in 1993 we again visited the Carlisle Cemetery.  We had a crowbar with us to set Lindsey's tombstone into an upright position. Below are some of my notes from the journal of that trip.

"There are seven graves in the Orr row--all relatives.  In the front row of the Carlisle Cemetery is Lindsey Cannon's (John Cannon's brother) grave.  His tombstone had broken off and fallen forward into the ground.  Ken, Jeff and Ted were able to pry the tombstone out of the snow, ice and dirt with the crowbar and prop it up on the base at the grave sight."

     Now, looking into Flipside, I notice I have covered two of the four Cannon brothers.  With all the research I did on John A. Cannon, perhaps I should get busy and blog about my maternal great great great-granduncle.

     And, a blog on the Christmas Eve in Columbiana County.

     

 

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.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser