A lot has gone during the past month or so. Not only have we added a lot of new material to ManyRoads but we have achieved some important milestones, as well. Rather than bore you with a lot of details, I will outline most of the key happenings. But before I do that, a couple of important personal items have transpired. Firstly, even though I’m not much of a joiner I have taken membership in both the National Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists (here’s more). I have also decided to offer more services and tools to the genealogical community (more specifically the ManyRoads readership). (here’s more and still more).
Now on to the other major items or changes to ManyRoads:
I completely restructured the ManyRoads Menuing system (hopefully making it easier to get at things). It even seems to work in Internet Explorer!
I have added over new 30 postings to ManyRoads covering Wales, Quaker, Mennonite, German, Quebec ancestors (they’re all here)
I have added over 5 GB of new source documentation to our online libraries, much focusing on Mennonites and Quakers (more here) and Switzerland (more here)
Added about a dozen new photos to Elbing Damals (Elbing Back Then)
We passed a significant readership milestone… our 25,000th unique visitor dropped by this past month; also July will top our highest monthly readership number ever (we may hit 5,000 unique visitors!)
I fixed (using a new tool) over a 175 broken links… sadly most of the links were to sites where useful information evaporated. (more on my lament is here)
This list of Genealogy Courses & Certificates is by no means complete. If you know of certifications or courseware that you think should be on ManyRoads please use our contact page or email me directly. If you have comments to share on any of these they are also most appreciated.
Have you always wanted to learn how to trace your family tree or solve a difficult brick-wall genealogy problem? Perhaps everyday commitments or the cost of attending an institute or conference get in the way of your dream of knowing your ancestors. Or maybe you prefer to work at your own pace, mostly in the comfort of your own home.
Developed in collaboration with nationally recognized experts, the Certificate in Genealogical Research is ideal for those who wish to develop the knowledge and skills essential to conducting quality genealogical assignments. The Center for Professional Education offers both classroom-based and online multi-week Genealogical Research Certificate Programs. The classroom program, offered on Saturdays at our Boston campus location, provides hands-on training in basic genealogical principles, techniques, and core competencies. The online program offers students both flexibility and easy access to Boston University’s genealogical research curriculum over multiple weeks. Both programs are completed in only 14 weeks of study and lead to a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University upon successful completion.
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, offers a Certificate Program in Family History as an independent study course. College credit is granted for each course successfully completed within the certificate program; however, the certificate is not a college degree.
Certificate in Genealogy & Family History (University of Washington)
Developed in partnership with the UW History Department.
Learn to unearth new facts about your ancestors and view the information within the political, economic and social changes that shaped communities of that time. Focus in-depth on a selected project to better understand the course of your ancestors’ lives and the lives of the subsequent family members. Uncover fascinating stories not just about your past, but also about the forces and people behind societal transformations.
In affiliation with the Continuing Education, University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto NIGS provides web-based courses for both family historians and professional genealogists.
Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (Intermediate).
The Society of Genealogists is delighted join forces with Pharos Teaching & Tutoring to offer the esteemed SoG courses and education programme to a wider audience than can attend the Society’s classes in London. Together we are introducing a new joint programme, the distance learning Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (Intermediate).
Everyone has ancestors and many of us can’t help but wonder about our roots. Who are our forgotten forebears and where did they live? This fascinating course helps budding genealogists unlock the hidden secrets that until now have been lost in time. Easy-to-follow lessons provide a gentle introduction to genealogy and reveal the who, what, where, why and how of this intriguing and enormously popular subject. The course will familiarize novices with the steps of scholarly genealogical research into their family history and explain how to tap online resources, locate and evaluate records, organize research materials, and how to share your findings with others in the genealogical community.
John & Isabella (Solomon) Musgrove are in the Henss branch of our family lineage. We are in search of additional information and photos regarding John & Isabella that may be available. We are especially keen to find military information (for John’s service and death), gravestone images, marriage documentation and death certificates. Please use our contact page if you have any information to share.
John Musgrove is one of our family’s honored war dead.
He died in the service of his nation from wounds he suffered at Vicksburg, MS.
1850
The 1850 US Census finds the Musgrove family living in Livingston, Clark County, Illinois. At that time, John was a farmer age 26 living with Isabella, his wife age 21. They had two children Henry age 2 and Kesiah age 1. Their farmer real estate was estimated to be worth $500. John was reported to have been born in Ohio, Isabella in Kentucky and both children in Illinois.
1856
By 1856, the Musgrove family had moved to Marion Township in Henry County Iowa. As of the taking of the Iowa Census, they had been in Marion County for 1/4 of a year. John is reported as being 33 years old and a farmer also serving in the militia; Isabella is a 29 year old homemaker with three children:
Henry 9 years of age
Keziah age 6
Christopher age 1.
Also, now living with the family is a Miss Jane Johnson age 16 from Ireland.
1860
1860 finds that the family is prospering and growing. John now age 37 and his wife Isabel age 33 own a farm worth $2500 and have personal assets valued at $1000. Their children are now:
Henry age 13
Kesia age 11
Christopher age 6
Isabel age 3
John age 4 months
Notably Isabel (age 3) is reported to have been born in Illinois which, if true, would indicate that Isabella (the mother) was pregnant at the 1856 Iowa Census taking and she went ‘back to Illinois’ to have the baby probably in 1857.
“John Musgrove, a member of Company H, 25th Iowa Infantry, died in the service.”[ref]ManyRoads Iowa Library see p.274. Original Text: Portrait and Biographical Album of Henry County, Iowa Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Iowa, and of the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Acme Pub., 1888. Print.[/ref]
John Musgrove “Union Army 3rd Sgt. Company H, 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry [was] shot during Battle of Natchez, died on board a Riverboat Steamer.” Per Marcia Witt [unknown source]
Isaac W. and Keziah Allen are in our Henss family lineage. We are in search of additional information and photos regarding Keziah and Isaac Wade that may be available. We are especially keen to find gravestone images, marriage documentation and death certificates. Please use our contact page if you have any information to share.
1870
According to the 1870 US Census, Issac Allen (reportedly born in Ohio was age 25) and Keziah (reportedly born in Illinois was age 21) were living with their daughter Cora Belle Allen in Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa. Issac was earning a living as a blacksmith and Keziah was noted as Keeping house.
1880
By 1880, the family had grown. Issac (reportedly born in Iowa was said to be age 36) was now a farmer living with his wife Keziah (reportedly born in Illinois was age 30). They had 4 children living with them including:
Cora (age 11)
Ella (age 8 )
Jackson (age 4)
Bessie (age 2)
1885
In the Iowa Census of 1885 Issac W. Allen (age 40, born Ohio and a blacksmith) and his wife Keziah (age 35 born in Illinois) and their children were reported to have lived in Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa.
Cora Belle (age 15)
Ella (age 12)
Jackson (age 9)
Bessie (age 6)
Anna (unreadable smudge)
1900
In the 1900 US Census, Isaac and Keziah were reported as having been married for 33 years meaning they were married about 1867). At this time Issac, still a farmer, was reported to be 55 (reported to have born in Ohio in Oct. 1844) and Keziah 50 (reported to have born in Illinois in Aug. 1849). By this time, it was noted that Issac and Keziah owned their farm. They had 4 remaining children in the household including:
John J. (age 24) reported as being a farm worker
Bessie (age 22)
Anna (age 17)
Edith J (age 10)
1910
By 1910 Isaac Allen (born in Ohio and now 65) and Keziah (born Illinois and now 60) lived with two of their daughters:
Bessie (age 31)
Edith (age 20)
Isaac and Keziah continued to own and operate their farm. Keziah is reported to have had 6 children all of whom reportedly remained alive in 1910.
1914
Isaac Wade Allen died on 11 April 1914.
1920
1920 US Census reports that Keziah (age 70 and now a widow) was living with her daughter’s family including:
Son-in-law Orus P. Boshart (age 39)
Daughter Edith J. Boshart (age 39)
1925
By 1925, Keziah (age 75 and a widow) was living with her extended family in Wayland, Henry County, Iowa. The extended family included:
Son-in-law Orus P. Boshart (age 35)
Daughter Edith J. Boshart (age 35)
Grandson James O. Boshart (age 4)
Keziah owned the real estate free and clear, it was valued at $2000.
Grab the data while you can. I guess that is what every online genealogist needs to have as their motto these days.
Today I uploaded a very useful (helpful) WordPress plugin called:
Broken Link Checker- It checks your blog for broken links and missing images and notifies you on the dashboard if any are found.
Well much to my dismay and surprise when I installed and ran the plugin, it found nearly 175 out of 1055 links ManyRoads to be broken or redirected. That seemed like a lot to me. I had been running several ‘free’ services to check my site for broken links and every week; they were reporting ‘happily’ that everything was ‘just fine’- zero broken links. Obviously, these checkers were not doing their job very well!
In addition to noticing that a site as large as ManyRoads needs good automation, I think I can safely conclude you ought never to trust that another website will either stay online or keep reference information, which you need, intact. I even discovered lost links to lengthy articles from Wikipedia. They were simply removed!
My recommendation for self-protection is that when you find something useful and relevant do the following:
take a copy (keep it offline)
ask permission to publish (Keep it offline if you must); do not violate copyright laws!
check your sources periodically to see if they are still alive
if not… well then I really do not know what to advise. On ManyRoads I am simply stating that the material is no longer available where I found it, placing a date on the text and removing the link (Since WordPress keeps backups of my Pages/Posts hopefully I can find an old link if I need it.)
clean up your dead links; you need to do that in order to keep your search engine optimization in good health.
Robert Owen, of Dolserau, came over in the ship Vine, of Liverpool, sailing from Dolyserre, near Dolgules, Merioneth, with his wife, Jane, son Lewis, and a servant boy and four maid servants, and arrived at Philadelphia in Sep. 1684.
He had been a Justice of the Peace at Dolserau, near Dolgelly, (and near Bala), Where he was incarcerated five years in the jail because he was a Quaker. He had been the Governor of Beaumaris, and became a Quaker about 1660. When he came over here, he settled on Duck Creek, in New Castle Co., where his son, Edward Owen, who had come over earlier, in Hugh Roberts’s party, in Nov. 1683, was then settled. Both Robert Owen and Jane, his wife, died in the next year.
They had altogether nine sons, and all were of age before 1684. Their son Lewis Owen returned to Wales to reside, but their son Dr. Griffith Owen, who bought his brother Edward Owen’s land, in the Thomas & Jones tract, Merion, remained here, and became prominent in the Province.[ref]BROWNING, CHARLES H. Welsh Settlement of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: William J. Campbell, 1912 p.160 [/ref]
I am currently working on a portion of the Henss family and am ‘visiting’ Virginia/ Maryland at the time of the Revolutionary War. The person I am closely examining is a Mister John Hall; his wife is Mary Magdelene Smith. I just love it when the names are so incredibly unique!
So here goes, I have three mysteries!
Please use our Contact page to let me know if you have any firm data or information to help solve these!
Mystery 1
I found a document (located in the National Archives) addressed to ‘some guy’ named George Washington. [SinglePic not found]
The document is transcribed as the following in Letters to Washington and Accompanying Papers. Published by the Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton:
Sworn to this 27th. day of August 1757 –
BALTIMORE COUNTY SS The Deposition of Thos. Hudson, taken before me the subscriber one of his Lordship’s Justices of the peace for the County aforesd. in the Province of Maryland; who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists declares. That he this Dept. was present with Mr. Nathaniel Gist & John Hall when the said John Hall was going to sign his assent to being Enlisted in his Majesties Service; That the said John hall on taking the Pen in his Hand, said I will not sign for any more than Six months, Upon which said Mr. Gist made answer, Thats what I want; (or thats what I desire) but which of those words this Dept. can’t exactly remember. That Mr. Saml. Owings a Magistrate for this County was then also present; and on the said John Hall going to sign as aforesd.–Said unto the aforesd. Nathl. Gist, this Boy is too Young; to which the said Gist made answer he was the highth of their Standard; and farther Saith not –
… before
… BUXTON GAY
A Brief Look at John’s Genealogy
The genealogy I have for John Hall and Mary Magdelene Smith is:
John Hall
b:1732 Chester, Pa.
d:1794 Bedford, Va.
m:1759 Bedford, Va.
Mary Magdelene Smith (wife)
b:1734 Bedford, Va.
d:1833 Bedford, Va.
My thoughts are that since Baltimore, Maryland is in a straight line between Chester, Pa. and Bedford, Va (and is approximately in the middle), well you get the point; this could be my John Hall.
The real question is: Does anyone have any hard information on this subject?
And..as if that were not enough, I also have the following for a John Hall (again any firm data or ideas are most appreciated).
Mystery Two
Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume 18 March 1, 1781 – August 31, 1781 John Hanson to John Hall
My Dear sir Philadelphia June 4th 1782 I inclose you the two last papers-the Accounts given of the battle in west Indias are upon the whole rather unfavourable yet there are some Circumstances that render their Authenticity some what Doubtful. No official Account is yet come to hand at New York and it is reasonable to suppose if their Account be true that a Communication of a matter of Such Importance, to their Commander in Chief here would not have been so long delayed. There are other favourable Circumstances and I hope for the best, but am afraid the french have received so much damage in the Action, as will prevent the intended Attack on Jamaica at least for a time. An embarkation of Troops at New York is talked of, and a number of Transports it is said are going from thence to take of the Garrison at Charles Town. We hear nothing from Sir Guy. I very Sincerely wish you may Adopt the five per Ct Duty in the manner recommended by Congress, because I think an impost on all imported goods is a mode of Taxation the easiest that can be proposed. The Merchants in the first Instance pay, the people insensibly refund, every man pays in proportion to what he Chuses to Consume. The Extravagant man pays for his folly and the foreigners And strangers Among us are made to Contribute.
I sincerely wish you health and happiness, being my Dear sir, your friend & most humble Servt. John Hanson
RC (MdHi: Gilmor Collection).
…AND…
Mystery Three
Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume 5 August 16, 1776 – December 31, 1776- Benjamin Rumsey to John Hall?
Sir (1) Joppa 19th Decr. 1776 Engaged in the Commission and the Business thereof in which we met with great Difficulties & Interruption I never attended Congress till this Day Week and should not then as the Business remained unfinished had I not heard Mr. Tilghman and Mr. Carroll had gone Home and left the Province unrepresented.(2)
When I got into Congress where I came determind to stay ’till the last Extremity, altho exceeding inconvenient to me, I found that Congress had two or three Days before that determined by the Advice of their Generals to remove from thence to Baltimore, Upon a presumption that the Enemy being possessed of the Jersey above by marching Parties opposite the City might make a push in the Night in Conjunction with the Tories and seise the Persons of the Congress, and this might have been done with great Facility as the City Militia had all marched to join General Washington.
The Enemy are posted on the Banks of the Delaware at Trentown and from thence have pushed their parties as low as Burlington and as high as Penny Town. They are commanded by General Howe who has with him it is supposed the whole Brittish Force that can be spared from their Conquests and are thought to amount to about thirteen Thousand Men.
General Washington had not when we came away above 5000 Men with the Junction of the Militia posted on the opposite Banks with forty Peices of Cannon. Genl. Lee was posted about 25 Miles in the Rear of the British Army at a place called Chattam about 3 miles from Morris Town with a large Body of Forces composed of a Detachment from the Northern Army Troops returning from Ticonderoga and encreasing daily with the Jersey Militia Numbers unknown to me but between 5000 and 12,000 from whence he has positive Orders to march and join Genl Washington very injudiciously in my Opinion but the Slowness of the coming in of the Militia in the State of Pennsylvania possibly may justify the Measure.
If the Militia would join Genl. Washington in such Numbers as to make him strong enough in Front to prevent the Enemy’s crossing Delaware and taking Philada. Lee by strong Detachments may cut off all their Supplies and destroy the British Army without striking a Blow or if they decamp expose them to two fires in Front and Rear.
My Colleagues Colo. Contee and Mr. Hanson have just parted from me after finishing our Business as far as we could to lay before your Honours and this in some Measure will account to you for my not writing.
I understood that as the Pennsylvania Militia rather moved slow the Congress had come into a Resolution to request the Militia of our State to march to the Assistance of Genl. Washington. I understood too Col. Ewing undertook voluntarily to bring them up and rode away without any written Orders; my Intelligence was from One of the Officers of our Army. You know Colo. Ewing (I presume the Congress do) and eer this or at their first setting at Baltimore You will receive a written Requisition.
I heard Mr. Chase tell Mr. Robt. Morris that all our sick, the Baggage of the Congress and even Mr. Morris’s Effects which are pretty considerable would be removed with Ease as he had wrote for Vessells to transport them but none were at the Head of Elk as I came by, at least they pressed Colo. Aquila Halls Vessell for that purpose. How Mr. Chase has transacted this whether in a public or private Capacity I cant tell, he can best answer it.
I had just received Orders from the Brigr. Genl. to give my Battallion Notice to hold itself in Readiness (If I am yet a Colo. which I doubt of from Report) and in Letters to the Officers was communicating that Intelligence when the Express brought to me your Letter directed here by the honorable John Hancock Esqr. on his Way to Baltimore. I much approve of your giving the Militia Notice to hold themselves in Readiness but I now tell you that will be totally useless without more, that they are without Arms, Blanketts many of them & Baggage Waggons with a numerous &ca. that ought to be supplied them before or on their March, and that they ought really to be better supplied than other Troops especially at this severe Season. I have advertised the 8th Battallion that if I am still their Colo. I will with the greatest alacrity do myself the Honour to march at their Head if the Province is represented without me.
A Doubt may arise with You respecting the Reason of the Tardiness of Pennsylvania. You know great Part of Philada., Bucks and Chester are Tories and the Councill of Safety of Pennsylvania have cried Wolf, Wolf two or three Times falsly to the back Counties and now the Wolf is really come they think it still a false Alarm. They are distracted too abt. the State of their Governmt., People being of various Opinions about it.
I have opened Mr. Presidents Letter (3) but shall seal and send it by Express to Baltimore to Mr. Chase who I expect by this Time is there. Seamen were much wanted and your Orders in sending the Seamen will be very agreeable to Congress. For if Philadelphia should ever be taken by some Coup de Main of the Enemy, wch. by the by a well manned Frigate will render much more difficult, there being no Ships of the Enemy in Delaware Bay, the Frigates and a great Quantity of Stores may be saved thereby.
You are also requested by me to inform Mr. President that it has not been either with my privity, Consent or Knowledge that Individuals have been applied to, that I am exceedingly sensible it rather tends to delay Business and that he and the whole Board I hope will acquit me of any Design in being Wanting in Respect to the cheif executive Power in the State, the Dignity of which I was always strenuous in supporting while I had the Honour of Seat there and still am ‘tho I have not thot I am (besides my Love for my Country), added to other Motives, actuated- by a Friendship and Esteem for the Individuals of that Board that will always induce me to treat them with the Utmost Respect, Esteem and Regard.
I am Sir, Your most humble Servt. Benjamin Rumsey
RC (MdHi).
1 Perhaps John Hall, vice president of the Maryland Council of Safety. Rumsey obviously directed this letter to a member of the council of safety and in the course of it twice mentions “Mr. President,” Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer.
2 Matthew Tilghman and Charles Carroll, Barrister, are known to have been in Philadelphia as late as December 9, the day they and Samuel Chase requested money for the removal of sick troops to Maryland. Tilghman and Carroll apparently left soon afterward, leaving only Chase and William Paca to represent Maryland, which until February 15, 1777, required the presence of three delegates to cast the state’s vote in Congress. See William Paca to the Maryland Council of Safety, December 7, 1776, note 3; and JCC, 7:111.
3 Probably the council’s December 15 letter to the Maryland delegates. See Md. Archives, 12:530-31.
This page is under development; research is on-going
Note: additional source materials are currently being sought.
Keziah Hall (Musgrove) 1782
In her father’s Will of 1794, Keziah, his youngest child, was given ‘one Negroe Girl named Patt at my wifes death Likewise one Feather Bed & Cow & Calf.’ Since her mother lived to 1833, it is problematical that she ever received her slave. She may have received the bedding and livestock as wedding presents.
Keziah, named for her aunt Keziah (Banks) Hall wife of Hezekiah, d. 1811, was married to Benjamin Barton Musgrove 15 December, 1796 at the age of 14. In spite of her youthful marriage, Keziah, according to a family descendant, ‘was quite a woman!’ She was to have a family of twelve children, to live and maintain the family ‘plantation’ for nearly a quarter-century following her husband’s death, to look after other family members and live through most of the Civil War. ^
According to one of his descendants, Benjamin B. Musgrove came to Virginia from Maryland and settled down on the Staunton River. ^^ He had a number of full brothers and sisters in Bedford county and a number of half-brothers, some of whom settled in the Shenandoah Valley. The Musgrove family for many years was prominent in the affairs at the southern edge of Bedford county and Benjamin Musgrove acquired much land, many slaves and numerous relatives through his large family.
Family
It was commonly said among the old-timers of Bedford county that, ‘the Musgroves were so doubled and twisted that you couldn’t unravel them!’ This homey reference to the family and yarn is literally true, as was revealed by this study into family as regards the Hall – Musgrove – Wilkerson – and other family combinations. As late as 1980, correspondents to the author have discovered relationships that they did not know existed. As in case of many southern families that resided for long periods of time in an isolated, rural area there were many ‘cousin’ marriages extending through the first to third generations and later. This was the result of limited contacts among the younger family members and in some cases they were made to keep ownership of properties intact in the families.
The family can be ‘unraveled’ but it takes a bit of doing. This job has been left to family descendants, which are numerous and widely scattered, although considerable numbers of them still are to be found in Virginia. Of especial interest to this volume is the fact that as time went on, descendants of the Musgrove family were marrying into the families of Keziah’s brothers, especially those of Mathew, d. 1855, and Elisha, d. 1840, because they had remained in the Rockcastle Creek area of Bedford county – the home base of the John Hall, d. 1794, family.
Musgroves
By inheritance and purchase, the Musgroves until the Civil War and for a generation or so afterwards owned large amounts of land in the Staunton River area. Farming on this bottom land was hard and frequently crops were lost in the Spring floods. The Musgrove men as a group were especially noted for their of horses and were exceptionally kind in their treatment and care of the animals. So much so, that many of their horses became blind from a diabetic condition brought about by overfeeding them with corn. One of the Musgroves’, known as “Big Ben” (Benjamin B. Musgrove Jr., 1822 – 1902), was found dead in his barn from dropsy, where he had spent many hours with his horses.
Women
In his delightful book, Cause and Effect, in which he reminisces about Bedford county, D. Claytor Brooks has this to say about the Hall – Musgrove – Wilkerson relationships:
“Up the River (the Staunton) from Anthony’s Ford — was the Musgrove land – quite a large estate.”Somewhere among the Musgroves’ land lived some Wilkersons. In those days all the Wilkerson men married Musgrove women. Someone said that the Wilkersons were lazy and the Musgroves were hard workers, so they married Musgrove women so that they would wait upon them. Be that as it may, they have become so well blended by now that there isn’t much discernible difference. There were not enough Wilkerson men to marry all the Musgrove women, so there is Musgrove blood in folks of many names around here (including mine).
“Somewhere alongside the Musgroves lived a family of Halls … the Halls owned several hundred acres across the head waters of Mill Creek …” (Mill Creek is a later name for Rockcastle Creek, possibly a tributary to the main stream.)
Patriarch
The patriarch of the group was of course, Benjamin B. Musgrove, 1774 – 1840, who had married Keziah Hall in 1796. We learn of him again in 1833. In that year Magdalene, Keziah’s mother, died and Musgrove was appointed by the Bedford county court as Executor. Being a man of property he could qualify with a proper bond. Other Hall family members were involved in the settlement and a complete record of the proceedings is in the records. Since Magdalene had lived nearly thirty years after the death of her husband, John Hall, d. 1794, the settlement was complicated.
The settlement of Musgrove’s estate which extended through the year 1842 lists fourteen slaves and we know their names and valuations placed on each of them. The total for them was about $5,000 of which slaves to the value of over $1600 were allotted to the widows dowry. There are some interesting side-lights to this procedure and they will be discussed in the section: The Hall Family and Slavery, in the appendix.
The widow, Keziah, received 137 acres of land for her share and a remaining two hundred fifty-six acres was allotted to the twelve children. All told by the sale of some land and a few of the negroes and when the expenses of probate were deducted, each of the children, as heirs, along with their mother received $397.07 each.
Family
It will be impossible to give all the known details on this family. They were deeply involved in slavery and in the Civil War – some incidents to be given in the special sections devoted to those subjects.
In order to ‘unravel’ a large chart on the family has been prepared and will be place in the files of the Illinois State Historical Library at Springfield. In addition, important correspondence by other researchers of the family will be filed.
To conclude this section the children of Benjamin B. and Keziah (Hall) Musgrove will be listed giving synoptic form some information about each of them:
The Musgrove Family of Bedford County Virginia
(compiled from marriage, estate and other legal records, family
correspondence, etc.
1. Musgrove, Christopher, 1798-1870, m.1, 1826, Elizabeth Best Jones: m.2 Harriet Ashworth. Slave story in family. Cousin marriages into the Elisha Hall family. Elisha, brother of Christopher’s mother, Keziah.
2. Musgrove, Rev. Henry, 1800-1869, m. Elizabeth Craig in 1816. Ran away from home; lived in Ohio, Ill. and Ia. Died in Ia. Cousin marriages in this family.
3. Musgrove, Magdalean, 1804 – , m. 1827 William Wilkerson. ^*^
4. Musgrove, Rebekah Hall, 1805 – , m. Hal L. Pearson, 1824
5. Musgrove, John Hall, 1806 – 1888; m. 1 Lucy Lazenby, m.2 Lucy Cunningham.
6. Musgrove, Rachel, 1808 – 1889, m. 1830, Owen Wilkerson
7. Musgrove, Keziah Stover, 1811 – 1892; m. 1828 Wm Lockett Wilkerson.
Slave story in this family. Civil War. Cousin marriages.
8. Musgrove, Minerva, 1822 – ; m. 1. 1837, Harrison W. Baker; m. 2. ________ Swain.
9. Musgrove, Benjamin B. Jr., 1822 – 1902; m. 1842, Sarah (Sally) Ann English.
10. Musgrove, Demetrious P., 1826 – 1865; m. 1846 Martha H. Watson.
11. Musgrove, Millicent, 1827 – ; m. 1, 1843, Henry B. Anthony; m. 2. Thomas Mitchell
12. Musgrove, Tabitha, 1832, ; m. 1 1836, John Sun Gill; m. 2, Parmaris English. Cousin marriage in family.
Some tracing in this family through the seventh generation from William Hall, d. 1757.
The English and Anthony families were considered by some residents of southern Bedford county as leading families – above average.
Benjamin B. Musgrove, Sr., had ancestors who fought in the American Revolution.
Elizabeth Craig, wife of Rev. Henry Musgrove was born in Germany
Typical cousin marriages – (not all accounted for)
When Dr. Hugh Brown Wilkerson, 1856-1929, son of Keziah (#7 on list married Ellen Rebecca Mount, 1859-1940, he was marrying a grand-daughter of Rev. Henry Musgrove(#2 on list.).
The marriage of Christopher Musgrove (#1 on list) to Elizabeth Best Jones was a marriage of two persons who were first cousins to the children of Elisha Hall, d. 1840. Christopher through his mother and Elizabeth or Eliza through Elisha’s wife who was a Best.
John Henry Gill, son of Tabitha Musgrove (#12 on list) married Mary Rebecca Wilkerson, daughter of Keziah Musgrove (#7 on list) he was marrying a first cousin.
Many of the Musgrove family marriages were performed by Rev. Abner Anthony. Here is what D.C. Brooks said about him in Cause and Effect, p. 19.
“Rev. Abner Anthony licensed to preach in 1826, was active 50 years until 1876 he performed his first marriage on May 28, 1827. He performed 999 ceremonies. Anthony had a large estate and owned many slaves.”
+The author thinks, but does not know, that the John Hall, Jr., was a son of a John Hall, brother to William Hall, d. 1757. In 1794, John Hall, Jr., became a licensed Baptist preacher in Bedford county and died in 1799. He was a carpenter. Our Hezekiah, d. 1811, then the oldest of the Bedford Hall clan was the Executor of John Jr.’s modest estate.
++using the order of names as given by a grandson of John, d. 1794.
+++William Hall may have lived in Franklin Co. Va. prior to 1818.
++++Other Civil War stories will be told later in this section.
+++++also Matthew
*see section on William Hall d. 1757
**From the History of the Morgan Church, Bedford Co., Va.
***James P. Marshall, a descendant, was Sheriff of Bedford Co., Va. for twenty-seven years.
****The name Elisha was the most common given name for males in all branches of the Hall family. Unless carefully noted, the name can cause much confusion in patterning out the history of the group.
*****Comments: Elisha had 10 children, one not shown, Magdalena, who may be dead in 1840. The writer believes that this is a good listing of the family in birth order, as the Commissioners likely took them in order of age. No wife is listed for Elisha, Jr., nor for Banks B. in 1840, although he is known to have married later. The names in parentheses indicate family name of respective spouses.
Only information on daughter not given land:
22 Jan 1827 Greer (Green), Jas. & Magdalena Hall
dau. Elisha
Jas. K. Shaver, Surety
Mar. by Rev. Wm. Leftwich
^and marrying off her daughters
^^he may not have lived in Maryland but his ancestors did.
^^^D.(Dabney) Claytor Brooks, Cause and Effect, Carleton Press, NYC, 1972. A Bedford county, Va., historian, visited by the author and voluminous correspondence between them. As result, he is somewhat of a clearing house for other family searchers.
^^^^At the time Brooks wrote his book, he didn’t know of the exact family relationships. Recently, he has discovered a closer relationship with the Halls in his own line – I warned him!
^^^^^The writer does not accept the 1774 birthdate for Musgrove. He thinks it was 1780. Keziah and Benjamin married – he believes – almost as children; 14 and 16 years of age respectively. Their first child was not born until two years after the marriage – unusual for those times. Using the 1774 date causes some confusion among those studying the Musgrove family line.
^*^Wilkersons related; Wm. L. and Owen – half-brothers sons of a Joseph Wilkerson. Wm. grandson of Joseph.
COPYRIGHT. —the material in Vols. I and II of THE GRANDFATHERS is not copyrighted, except as the term is understood in common law.
Therefore, the reader(s) of these volumes is free to copy, steal and lift for his or her own personal use any of the contents. In fact, the author will feel greatly complimented if by chance anyone would read it and honored if its contents were worth borrowing without pay.
Works such as THE GRANDFATHERS are for personal satisfaction not money — although they are among the most valuable writings that can be left for future generations. They are the true histories of a people.
The material in these volumes was obtained by relentless searching, voluminous correspondence, library haunting, travel, expenditure of money and lifting from others’ works. Most of all, by the graciousness and forebearance of those who were contacted in person or by letter. The greatest factor of all was TIME of which un-godly amounts were used in its composition.
Carrol Carman Hall, Springfield, IL, USA 1981
1. Carrol Carman Hall, “The Grandfathers Hall-Overstreet Families,” The Grandfathers, n.d., http://www.illinoisancestors.org/menard/fam/ho_toc2.html#ACK.
Organized at Mount Pleasant and mustered in September 27, 1862. Ordered to Helena, Ark., November. Attached to District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. Missouri, to December, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, District of Eastern Arkansas, Dept. Tennessee, December, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 11th Division, Right Wing 13th Army Corps, Dept. Tennessee, December, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, Sherman’s Yazoo Expedition, to January, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, Army Tennessee, to December, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Corps, to April, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Corps, to September, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Corps, to June, 1865.
SERVICE.–Expedition from Helena to mouth of White River, November 17-24, 1862. Sherman’s Yazoo Expedition December 22, 1862, to January 2, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26-28, 1862. Chickasaw Bluff December 29. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Ark., January 3-10, 1863. Assault on and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10-11. Moved to Young’s Point, La., January 17-23, and duty there until April. Expedition to Greenville, Black Bayou and Deer Creek April 2-14. Demonstration against Haines and Snyder’s Bluffs April 28-May 2. Moved to join army in rear of Vicksburg, Miss., via Richmond and Grand Gulf May 2-14. Fourteen-Mile Creek May 12-13. Jackson May 14. Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22, Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 5-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. Briar Creek near Canton July 17. Canton July 18. Duty at Big Black until September 22. Moved to Memphis, thence march to Chattanooga, Tenn., September 22-November 21. Operations on Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 10-29. Cherokee Station October 21 and 29. Cane Creek October 26. Tuscumbia October 26-27. Battles of Chattanooga November 23-27; Lookout Mountain November 23-24; Mission Ridge November 25; Ringgold Gap, Taylor’s Ridge, November 27. March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 8. Garrison duty in Alabama until May, 1864. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstration on Resaca May 8-13. Snake Creek Gap May 10-12. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Operations on Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Bushy Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27, Nickajack Creek July 2-5. Chattahoochie River July 6-17. Battle of Atlanta July 22. Siege of Atlanta. July 22-August 25. Ezra Chapel, Hood’s second sortie, July 28. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy Station September 2-6. Pursuit of Hood into Alabama October 1-26. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Clinton November 22. Griswoldsville November 23. Statesboro December 4. Siege of Savannah December December 10-21. campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Reconnaissance to Salkehatchie River, S.C., January 25. Salkehatchie Swamps, S.C., February 3-5. South Edisto River February 9. North Edisto River February 12-13. Columbia February 15-17. Lynch’s Creek February 25-26. Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 20-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 9-13. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett’s House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 20. Grand Review May 24. Mustered out June 6, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 2 officers and 63 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 207 Enlisted men by disease. Total 274.
Source[ref]ManyRoads Iowa Library see p.334 Original Text: Portrait and Biographical Album of Henry County, Iowa Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Iowa, and of the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Acme Pub., 1888. Print.[/ref]
ISAAC W. ALLEN Of Henry Co., Iowa, he resides on Sect. 9, Jefferson Twp., and is engaged in farming. Jackson Allen, father of our subject, came with his family from Clarke Co., OH, in October 1846, and located in Henry County, and filed a claim upon land one mile south of where Wayland now stands. Braxton Benn had built a small cabin and for this and his claim Mr. Allen traded a span of horses. In Ohio, Jackson Allen wedded Mary Ann Wade, and eleven children were born to them in that state, two of whom were twins who died in infancy, their names being Mary A. and Julia A.; John, who is married and resides near Stockton, CA; Maria became the wife of Erastus Warren, who died in the army; Jesse, husband of Rachel Anderson is a farmer residing in Jefferson Twp.; Reece wedded Melissa J. Warren, and resides in Jefferson Twp; Ellen D. wedded J. N. Allen, now deceased, who was ex-County Clerk of Henry Co.; his widow resides in Mt. Pleasant; our subject then followed; then came Jane who died unmarried; Samantha, residing in Council Bluffs, is the wife of Edward Sayles, agent at the Union Depot in that city; Sarah E., is the widow of Dennis Warren, and Alvin S., husband of Ara Mahafsfy, resides in Wayland and was born in this county. Alvin was older than Sarah. The last three were born in Henry Co.
Jackson Allen entered 40 acres and purchased the claim mentioned. After a long lifetime spent on the farm, he sold the first purchase, and removed to Wayland. Mrs. Allen died at the age of 67, and Mr. Allen is in his 80th year. He was for several years in the early history of the county, Assessor, and Township Trustee. He was active in the erection of the M. E. Church at Wayland, of which his wife was a member. He was by birth and profession a Friend, worshiping at their church in Wayland.
Isaac Allen was born in 1844, and since age two has been a resident of Henry Co., with the exception of three years in California. He was educated, married, and has reared a family on her soil and is one of her best known men. In 1867 he married Miss Keziah Musgrove of this county. She was born and raised in Clark Co., IL. Her people have all removed from that State to KS, and her father, John Musgrove, a member of Co. H, 25th Infantry, died in the service. Reece Allen was a member of the same company and regiment, and also Erastus Warren.
Since the marriage of Isaac Allen and Miss Musgrove five children have graced their home: Cora B.; Ella M. who married C. C. Wenger, Jr.,of Wayland, Dec.8, 1887; John Jackson, Bessie I., and Anna. Mr. Allen resides on the farm 1st purchased by his father, adjoining the town of Wayland, known as the R. M. Pickle farm, and a portion of which comprises the village plat of Wayland. When a young man he learned the blacksmithing trade of M. C. McCormick & Son, and started a shop of his own in Wayland, at which trade he worked 20 years, then bought his present farm and went to farming.
Family tree templates are only available through a few select websites. Usually you have to have a membership to receive free printable blank family trees or purchase each family tree chart individually. Here you’ll find high quality charts that you can print on your home printer or take them to a professional print shop and print them on heavy or oversized paper.
ObituariesHelp Free Genealogy Forms and Downloads: ObituariesHelp offers free downloadable genealogy forms to make finding and organizing ancestry search easy. Their forms allow you to carefully copy your ancestor’s information and keep that information in your own records. You can also keep track of your research, the data you’ve collected, records, family trees, family groups and more with these genealogy forms. It’s so important to stay organized and keep family search information recorded on templates and genealogy forms. Feel free to download these forms to your computer and print them out at home. Our forms are all professionally designed so you can take them to a professional printer to have them put on heavier paper, or enlarged to make more room for handwriting, or even to make a wall chart. Check back to this page often because we are always adding new free genealogy forms for downloading.
FamilyTree Magazine: Getting organized and knowing how to address government agencies and organizations can help you get quicker, more effective results. Family Tree Magazine has created forms that can help you access and organize your family history information. They’re available in two formats: text and portable document format (PDF). The text versions give you the basic form structure in files you can open in your word-processing software. You can print, edit or even type your information right in the file. The PDF versions are read-only files with snazzier designs—they’re suitable for displaying or sharing your research with others.
GRAMPS- This is the software we use at ManyRoads! Gramps is a free software project and community. We strive to produce a genealogy program that is both intuitive for hobbyists and feature-complete for professional genealogists. It is a community project, created, developed and governed by genealogists.
Family Tree Builder- Family Tree Builder is a genealogy software for Windows. It offers excellent quality, supports 12 languages and is one of the best genealogy software programs you’ll ever find. It’s available for you to enjoy for free!
GedMark – Free Download!-A utility used to secure author information on every individual in a GEDCOM file during import and export. No longer Free.
GeneWeb Genealogy software program with a Web interface. It can be used off-line or in a Web environment.
Are you looking to establish a web presence for your genealogy work? Do you want to communicate more effectively to a diverse audience that is geographically dispersed?
Communicating your genealogical facts to friends and family can be both rewarding and important.
At eirenicon and ManyRoads, we pride ourselves in the quality and professionalism of our websites. Hopefully, you can appreciate the results of our more than 40 years of software and web development experience on our site here.
If you would like to have a ‘affordable’ genealogy website built using techniques and ‘Created with Free Software ‘ technology like those you see on ManyRoads, we are very happy to help. Please use our Contact page to begin a dialogue.
ManyRoads (an eirenicon llc group) is excited to announce that we now offer personalized, professional genealogical research services.
Our areas of focus historically have been on those areas were we have researched for our own family genealogy and family history including:
East & West Prussia (pre-1947; we have special expertise in the area formerly known as Kreis Elbing and Freie Stadt Danzig)
Quebec (especially in the areas of Quebec City and Montreal down to Vermont/ New York)
New York State (especially in the Champlain Valley to Canada)
Western New England
Iowa (especially in Henry, Des Moines and Washington Counties)
Mid-Atlantic region of the US
If you are desirous of a more complete family history, stumped in your genealogical research, or just looking to ‘kick start’ your genealogy efforts, please use our Contact page to initiate a discussion on our service capabilities and fee arrangements.
In keeping with my theme on Free Genealogical ‘education’; here are some webinars and Web TV no-cost options.
If there are others you would recommend I list, please use our Contact page to let me know, or leave a Comment.
Webinars
NEHGS Online Seminar Series. Lectures are presented by our staff of genealogists. We offer new seminars on a regular basis so please check back frequently for updates.
Ancestry.com Webinars: There is no cost to register for webinars. Audience members may arrive 15 minutes before scheduled webinars. Archived Webinars below contain actual video and may be viewed at any time at no cost.
Family Tree Magazine Free Podcasts:Hear about the best genealogy tools and tips directly from Family Tree Magazine‘s editors and experts! Tune in for a dose of genealogy education and fun.
Family Roots Radio: Hosted by well-known genealogical author, speaker and researcher, Kory L. Meyerink, the show will feature a wide range of “how-to” elements designed to assist all people interested in family history, from the novice to the professional.
The most enterprising firm of young men in the village of Wayland are the brothers, Joseph and Christian C. Wenger, both born in Washington County, Iowa, and are the two eldest sons of Christian and Elizabeth (Goldsmith) Wenger. Christian was born in Switzerland and is a son of Christian and Mary (Roth) Wenger, who emigrated from Germany to Hamburg, Canada, and thence to Washington County, Iowa, making the journey with a team passing through Chicago when that now great city was a village but a trifle larger than Wayland. Settling in 1832, in Marion Township, Washington Co., Iowa, the grandsire of our subject purchased a claim, upon which stood a small cabin and later entered the lands. This family were among the first settlers in that county, and both lived and died upon the farm which they had put in fine cultivation. His wife reached sixty, and Christian Wenger, Sr., the ripe age of eighty-three years. All their children but the three eldest were born in Canada, and came with them to Iowa, and perhaps no better family has ever settled in her boundary. We are pleased to make separate mention of each: John married Mary Ernst; Christian, father of our subject, wedded Elizabeth Goldsmith; Nicholas died unmarried; Joseph married Elizabeth Roth; Benjamin became the husband of Lena Gengerich; Annie married Christian Eicher; Mary wedded Joseph Rich; Lena wedded Christian Ernst, a brother of John’s wife; Katie became the wife of John Miller, of Davis County; and Barbara became the wife of Christian Schlatter, the proprietor of the Wayland sawmills. Under the name of Christian Wenger the further history of the family is given. His five eldest children were born in Washington County and are: Joseph, Christian, Samuel, Jacob and Lizzie, the latter the wife of Jacob Kabel. On the farm in Henry County, John, Daniel, Henry, Ella and Levi, were born. Samuel was educated at Howe’s Academy, and has taught in the public schools of this county. The two eldest sons were educated in the schools of the township, but are brilliant business men, and their retail trade is successfully managed.
In 1881 Christian C. left the farm and in 1882, in company with Benjamin Gardiner, engaged in the mercantile trade. Their new store building was erected in 1883, but prior to its completion Joseph purchased the interest of Mr. Gardiner, and the firm was changed to Wenger Bros. The firm carry a full line of general merchandise and the largest stock in the northern part of the county, their stock invoicing over $6,000. Everything is of the best, and selling goods at the lowest living profit has given these young men a trade of over $10,000 per annum, and located as they are in the midst of an excellent agricultural region, their trade is constantly increasing. They are an honor to their parents, their village and their country, and to men of such business enterprise the growth and prosperity of Henry County is due.
The wedding of Joseph, the elder member of this firm, was a brilliant affair, and was celebrated on Thursday, Oct. 27, 1887, the bride being Miss Katie, the handsome daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Henss, the veteran wagon-maker, and one of the wealthy men of Wayland. The young couple took a pleasant bridal tour, and are now cosily settled in Wayland, the birthplace of the bride, who has one of the best of husbands and a man in whom the public repose confidence.
Christian C., the younger member of the firm, but the original partner of Mr. Gardiner, is also happily married, having, on Dec. 8, 1887, been united to Miss Ella, daughter of Isaac and Keziah Allen, of Wayland, of which place she is a native. She was educated in the schools of the village, and has always been regarded as one of the brightest and best of its daughters, as her husband is known as one of its most honorable and enterprising merchants.
ManyRoads just passed our 25,000th unique site visitor; we began counting on: 13 December 2009.
Thank you! Thank you!
We hope you have found the information, pointers, etc. on ManyRoads to be of value. I know that I have learned a lot, made many new new friends, found ‘new’ (not ‘lost’) relatives, and kept very busily entertained. By way of sharing a few additional points of interest, the ManyRoads site now has:
11.3 GB of data on-line
75MB WordPress Database
9GB of Genealogical Documents
6GB of Elbing-Prussia-German documents
600MB of Maps
~1 GB of Iowa documents
~1 GB of Quebec documents
So as you can see we are growing. Please use our contact page to share your ideas and notions with us, or leave a comment here.
For those wishing to learn ‘more’ on how to conduct Genealogical research, acquaint themselves with the basics, or just see ‘how things are done’; there are numerous sources of on-line training. Hopefully you will find these 50 plus Free courses to be of value as you develop your skills, knowledge, and genealogical information.
Familysearch.org
The Family History Library Catalog Overview
Learn more about the catalog and how to access materials. Search the catalog of materials (including microfilm, microfiche, and publications) found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Many items can be loaned to local Family History Centers around the world.
RootsWeb’s Guide to Tracing Family Trees
This free course, written and compiled by Julia M. Case, Myra Vanderpool Gormley, and Rhonda McClure, is a series of 24 wonderful lessons.
The goal of the Registered Genealogist Certification Class is to take a person from the beginning through the end of researching a specific problem for at least four generations, documenting it as they go, investigating a full realm of available resources (both on-line and off-line) and preparing that pedigree in report format as if they were presenting it to a client who has commissioned them to do research. At the conclusion of this 12 month course, the student will submit that report to the instructor as part of their ‘testing’ procedure for review, as well as take a test of at least 200 questions in their own area of expertise which must be passed by 85% in order to qualify for certification.
Brigham Young University
BYU offers numerous free online courses. Please note I have abbreviated the BYU list of Free Offerings.
International Internet Genealogical Society University (IIGS)
General Instructions
Beginning Genealogy Lessons – 15 lessons designed to take the beginning genealogist through all the steps in order to complete a four generation pedigree with accompanying family group sheets.
Research on the Internet – One lesson that deals with using the World Wide Web for research and focuses on The USGenWeb project.
Researching German or German-American Families – A Frequently Asked Questions List of 31 questions to help you get started researching German, Austrian, Swiss, Alsatian and Eastern European German genealogy.
South Africa
Genealogy in South Africa – Links to resources in South Africa, a newsletter, query board and surname search.
United States
Beginning U.S. Research – 9 lessons showing where to start, how to use different library/archive resources, courthouse research, census records and Family History Center’s resources.
U. S. Military Records – This lesson provides the information on U.S. military records and how to use the those records.
Genealogy Research in South Carolina – A series of 6 lessons designed for finding research facilities in Columbia, Charleston, Ethnic Research and specific South Carolina research on the web.
Research in The Lonestar State – Texas – A series of 5 lessons designed for searching records in Texas. A certificate of completion is offered for your website.
“Basic Genealogy” is designed to help people get started in tracing their family tree. The course answers the question “how do I start?” and provides information family historians will need in order to interpret various records they will come across during their research. Full definitions of terms are provided as well as links to valuable research sources both on and off the internet.
JewishGen Learning Center
JewishGen is delighted to offer online interactive courses in Jewish genealogy, to help you organize your information and begin to trace your ancestral roots. Most courses will be eight sessions and in addition to the “lecture”, will contain optional reading material and helpful links to JewishGen’s resources, as well as other genealogical websites.
Researching Your Family Tree
Have you ever wondered about your great-grandparents?
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From The European History of the Swiss Mennonites from Volhynia
Schrag, Martin H 1956
source web document
The early Anabaptists were educated and urban–but the persecution drove them from the cities and towns to the remote and relatively inaccessible highlands and mountain fringes of the fertile areas of the Canton Bern. Here they hid and persisted in spite of persecution, through the centuries to the present time. Persecution, of varying intensity, was the lot of the Swiss Anabaptists (Mennonites) until the middle of the eighteenth century. During the intense periods of persecution many, perhaps most of the Anabaptists, fled to whatever havens of refuge they could find, especially in the Germanic areas to the north and northwest of modern Switzerland. The Swiss-Volhynians were among this group.
Documentation of Swiss Origin. Documentation of the Swiss origin of the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites is found in families that can be traced back to Switzerland, and in early records written by or about Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites.[ref]It is interesting to note that three Swiss-Volhynian family names are found in early Anabaptist records. In a listing of early Anabaptists is found one Jan Zurcher from Schaffhausen. The year is 1535, and he is listed as a city dweller (Peachy, p. 127). A Peter Stucki from Oberiesabach attended the Anabaptist debate in Bern in March, 1538. A person by the same name, possibly the same individual, was executed in Bern on April 16, 1538 (Gratz, p. 25). In July, 1531, an Anabaptist named Fluckiger reported in court that he had been baptized the previous Easter (John C. Wenger, “Martin Keninger’s Vindication of Anabaptism, 1635,” Mennonite Quarterly Review XXII:3 July, 1948, p. 180). There is no way of knowing, however, whether these men were related to the later Swiss-Volhynian families.[/ref] Mention should be made of the fact that families of interest in this study left Switzerland in the later part of the seventeenth century and the forepart of the eighteenth.
The Krehbiel family is traceable to Switzerland genealogically. Jost Crayenbuehl[ref]J.J. Krehbiel, Moundridge, Kansas, states regarding the origin of the name: “The saying about the name is this. There was a hill and lots of crows, so the hill was called Crayenbuhl.” (Letter from J.J. Krehbiel, Moundridge, Kansas, to C. Henry Smith, Newton, Kansas, March 18, 1923, and now in the Historical Library of Bluffton College, Bluffton, Ohio.) Variant early spelling was Krahenbuhl. The Mennonitsche Lexikon states that the Krehbiel family came from the Kirchapiel Grosshochstettern” in the Canton of Bern (“Krehbiel,” Mennonitsche Lexikon II, p. 565).[/ref], characterized as a leader in the church, lived at Zäziwil, Switzerland, near the River Aar[ref]Passport issued to a group of six individuals, February 8, 1721, by the Duchy of Wuerttemberg, J.B. Mauclar, colonel. Copied by the Russian Government, March 8, 1874. Russian copy original at Bethel College Historical Library, North Newton, Kansas See p. 42 for content of passport.[/ref]. He was located on a large hof in the immediate vicinity of Zäziwil. Three sons were born to Jost. One of these, named Peter, states that they were reared in the fear of the Lord and with much Bible teaching. They worked their fields and were not too much concerned with matters outside their immediate context. The Anabaptists living in the area met at different places on Sunday because the congregation was scattered. Nearly all of the members were farmers, with a few weavers and carpenters. Persecution came in 1670. Jost Crayenbuehl was imprisoned and mistreated. After something of a miraculous delivery from prison, he and his family left Switzerland[ref]“Nach alten Papieren und Erzaehlungen eines Grossvaters Wie die Krehbiels auf den Weierhof kamen,” 1792 (unpublished article, Bethel College Historical Library). Authenticity of information based on the fact that information in the first part of the article was recorded by Peter, the son of Jost.[/ref].
On the basis of primary sources, as recorded by the historian Mathiot, it can be asserted that the families arriving in Volhynia from the Montbeliard community in France were of Swiss origin. Mathiot states in relation to families living in the Montbeliard community, that the Fluckiger family came from Lützelfüh and Hettiswil in Bern, the Graber family from Bern (possibly Kirchdorf), the Kauffman family from Grindelwald, Bern, and the Stuckys from Kirchdorf, Diessbach, and Diemtigen[ref]The work by Mathiot is a scholarly written book, based on primary sources. Ch. Mathiot, Recherches Historioues gur les Anabaptistes de l’Ancienne Principaute de Montbeliard, d Alsace at des Regions voizines (Belfort: Mission Interieure, 1922), Annexe. See Location, p. 18[/ref]. This evidence relates family names found among Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites with explicit points in Switzerland.
Reinforcing the last paragraph, there is conclusive evidence that the Alsace and Montbeliard communities were almost entirely composed of Swiss Anabaptists and their descendants. A Catholic priest notes the coming of the Swiss Anabaptists to Alsace in 1643. (Earlier Swiss Anabaptists in Alsace had been virtually wiped out by persecution and war.) Primary sources attest to the fact that a large group arrived in Alsace in 1671[ref]Ernst H. Correll, “Alsace,” Mennonite Encyclopedia I (1953), pp. 68-70.[/ref]. The Swiss background of the two mentioned communities is commonly accepted by historians conversant with the story[ref]An example of this is Gratz, pp. 38 and 87.[/ref].
Further evidence of the Swiss origin of the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites is to be found in early documents. In a passport issued to a group of Swiss-Volhynians (Goering, Graber, Lichti, Kaufman, and Roth) as they left Montbeliard for Poland, the group is referred to as “German-Swiss”[ref]Passport issued to a group of six individuals, February 8, 1721, by the Duchy of Wuerttemberg, J.B. Mauclar, colonel. Copied by the Russian Government, March 8, 1874. Russian copy original at Bethel College Historical Library, North Newton, Kansas See p. 42 for content of passport.[/ref]. They are referred to as ethnically Swiss. A second document giving further proof is the church book begun approximately 1810 by the Galician Mennonites soon after their arrival in Galacia from the Palatinate. In this source we find that the first settlers, although coming directly from the Palatinate, originated in Switzerland (were “aus der Schweiz abstammend.”[ref]Quotation from church book in H. Pauls, “Galizien,” Mennonitische Lexikon, ed. Christina Hege and D. Christian Neff, II (1937) pp. 29-30.[/ref])
Lastly, mention should also be made of the fact that the Anabaptist (Mennonite) communities in Alsace, Montbeliard, and the Palatinate gained very few if any new members by the conversion of their non-Anabaptist neighbors. As a matter of fact, this was forbidden by law[ref]Will be further discussed later.[/ref]. Thus, they remained “pure” in their Swiss ethnic background.
The evidence marshaled suggests the conclusion that the ancestral core of the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites was of Swiss origin.
Swiss-Anabaptist Life. Continued persecution combined with an interpretation of Anabaptist views, especially the concept of separation from the world, resulted in significant tendencies and patterns in the religious and social life of the Swiss Anabaptists.
Robert Friedmann suggests that the initial zeal of the Anabaptist movement was spent by 1600[ref]Robert Friedmann, Mennonite Piety through the Centuries, Its Genius and Literature (Goshen, Ind.: Mennonite Historical Society, 1949), p. 11.[/ref]. A period of declining spiritual vitality and growing institutionalism is evidenced in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The aggressive spirit of early Anabaptism was changed to a quietism characterized by withdrawal from the social order, a deep loyalty to the “faith of the Fathers,” a simple Biblicism, a strong concern regarding the moral life, and an increasing inwardness of religion. These tendencies were transmitted in Mennonite communities, and influenced the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites.
Persecution and the concept of separation from the world resulted in socio-religious communities withdrawn from the world. Generating strong primary group feelings, such communities also had the effect of fostering feelings of hostility of indifference toward those outside the community. These Mennonite communities were characterized by the qualities of integrity, industry, frugality[ref]Pannabecker, p. 68.[/ref] and simplicity in dress. Persecution drove the Anabaptists into rural areas, where farming was the chief occupation. The Mennonites continued their agricultural activities as they migrated to new communities. Some aspects of German culture was a part of the pattern since most of the Swiss Mennonites were German-Swiss. Persecution discouraged higher education and creative activity. The patterns of life became institutionalized. This community pattern was inherited and perpetuated by the Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites[ref]Peachy, p. 116; S.F. Pannabecker, “The Nineteenth Century Swiss Mennonite Immigrants and Their Adherence to the General Conference Mennonite Church,” Mennonite Quarterly Review, XXI:2 (April, 1947), p. 64.[/ref].
Life was difficult in the solitary valleys and mountain slopes of the area. Much of the work was done by hand. The Anabaptists specialized in dairying, farming, and fruit raising[ref]Pannabecker, p. 64.[/ref]. Despite many difficulties, they became outstanding farmers–pioneers in Swiss agriculture, contributing to the advancement of that science[ref]Samuel Geiser, “The Mennonites of Switzerland and France,” Mennonite Quarterly Review, XI:1 (January, 1937), p. 54[/ref].
Much of the Robert Henss family background is rooted in Swiss and Iowa Anabaptist Mennonite traditions. Many of our forebears were active participants and members of the following congregations. [Please note that this post will be updated as more information is uncovered].
Basel-Holee (Basel Switzerland)
Basel-Holee, a Mennonite congregation with a meetinghouse at Holeestrasse 141 in Basel, Switzerland, formerly called Basel-Binningen, the Amish congregation mentioned in the article Basel. The origins of the congregation go back to the middle of the 18th century, a church book containing records of births, marriages, deaths, and baptisms (probably maintained at the request of the state) having been kept from 1777 on (with an interruption 1880-1910). Throughout its existence a majority of the families of the congregations lived on the Alsatian side of the nearby border and the congregation belonged to the Alsatian Conference. In wartime this caused considerable trouble, particularly in World War II when the Alsatian part of the congregation could not cross the border into Basel and had to meet in near-by Bourgfelden. The first meetinghouse in the village of Binningen (now incorporated in the city of Basel) was built in 1847 and continued in use until the new meetinghouse was built on the same lot in 1932. The membership remained fairly constant for several decades, with considerable losses by emigration to the near-by Mulhouse region and to the United States. The 1952 membership was 185 and 50 children; in 2009 the membership was 100. Most common family names have been Roth, Widmer, Wenger, Würgler, and Goldschmidt. Elders have included Hans Jacob Schmuckli, 1777-?; Hans Freienberg, 1787-?; Johannes Kaufmann, ca. 1800-?; Fritz Steinbrunner, ca. 1830; Hans Steinbrunner, d. ca. 1843; Johannes Kaufmann, ca. 1845; Hans Schmuckli, ca. 1860; Christian Klopfenstein, ca. 1870; Joseph Klopfenstein, d. 1878; Jacob Zimmerman; Jacob Widmer, 1874-? emigrated to America; Michel Widmer, 1893-1924; Christian Roggy, 1896-1904; Daniel Roth, -1927; Jakob Widmer, 1924-1942; Fritz Goldschmidt, 1927-; and Daniel Wenger, 1951-. In the 1950s services are held every two weeks alternating with Schänzli. The congregation has had an organized chorus since 1896. As late as 1915 it still practiced feetwashing. The Ausbund was used as hymnal until into the 20th century.
source: Goldschmidt, Fritz and Harold S. Bender. (1953). Basel-Holee (Basel Switzerland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 July 2010, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B37574.html.
The Rev. Johann (John) Eicher II, husband of Margaretta (Margaret) Conrod, was a native of Pulversheim in the Alsace and Margaret was born in Switzerland. John had charge of a Mennonite congregation in the Alsace and for many years was engaged not only in the ministry, but in farming. Not all of their children came to America; and of those who did, they came singly. First came Jacob, then John Jr., Christian, Daniel, and then Martin Benjamin. The boys were followed by a sister Annie and her husband, John W. Wittmer; Annie and John had married in Alsace before settling in Wayne County, Ohio. Jacob returned from the United States to the Alsace to marry Mary Summer, a “childhood friend”; he brought her back with him to America.
Three of the boys, after trying life first in Ohio, concluded it would be better to make their life in Canada; John, Daniel and Christian relocated to Waterloo County, Ontario. John and Christian remained in Canada for three years. Daniel Eicher stayed on for six years, and finally following his brothers to Iowa. Three of the Eicher brothers: Christian, Martin Benjamin, and Jacob located in Washington County, Iowa; and John and Daniel located in Henry County, Iowa. Martin was the only one who invested in land, doing so in 1850.
After coming to Iowa, all the sons married:
Martin wedded Barbara Roth;
Christian married Annie Wenger;
Jacob became the husband of Catherine Rich; and
Rev. Benjamin Eicher married Lydia Summers.
Johann and Margaretta remained in the Alsace (today France) with their remaining children:
Joseph, who married Elizabeth Kropf;
Fannie, wife of Jacob Summer; and
Peter, husband of Catherine Summer.
Johann Eicher II and Margaretta Conrod lived to a ripe old age, and were buried in the country that gave them birth.
edited by Mark Rabideau from the original:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Henry County, Iowa.Chicago: Acme Publishing Company, 1888. Evansville: Unigraphic, 1976 pp 392
Additional information obtained from: Gingerich, Melvin. “Eicher (Eichert, Eichler, Eycher) family .” Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 13 July 2010. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/E470ME.html.;
The Senger Family appears to have had a long term link to the lands around Zeyer (see below). I guess it is no wonder that my mother is still so ‘mentally’ attached to this land and region (Es war einmal…).
Thank you to Rainer Mueller-Glodde for this note & excerpt:
Two years ago (2008) a Dr. Glodde from Berlin, [...] tried to find out the meaning of “Glodde”, [and] sent me a shot he made of a document from about 1805 [located] in the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz. The subject is the estimation of the size of the Grosse Jacob Glode Buden Kampe [in the area of Zeyer, Westpreußen].
Zum Plan von der Großen Buden Kampe
Kott Kampe und Lange Hacken, Sämtliches Land gehörte ehmals dem Einsaßen Glodde, wovon derselbe an die Sengers und Barwigs die Kott Kampe und Lange Hacken verkaufte welche damals betrugen 8 Huf : 12 m : Cut welches aus der unten stehenden alten Berechnung auch zugleich aus der neuen Vermeßung Berechnung zu ersehen ist wie viel die außen Kampen sich vergrößert haben.
William (Wilhelm) Henss and Katharine (Catharina) Kaemmer probably both came from Hesse in Germany and were born around 1830 (according to the 1900 US Census records Dec 1831 for William and Nov 1829 for Katharine) . I am looking for any historical documentation regarding their births or marriage. Photos of graves or life would be most appreciated, also.
I have a fairly well established genealogy and history for their lives in the US. They lived and loved in Wayland, Henry County Iowa. What I am most ardently attempting to establish is a clear link for them back into Germany before 1853- I have a tentative information set with which I am not completely comfortable. I do know that Katharine Kaemmer (name originally spelled as Catharina Kaemmer) came to the US from Lumda and through Bremen through port of Baltimore – all according to a metal tag on her trunk. She is reported to have come to the US in 1854 and William in 1853; both immigration dates are from US Census information.
Any help, leads or pointers are most appreciated; you may use our contact page to get in touch with me directly.
The following, incomplete, history follows the life and times of William & Katharine Henss, the founders of our US based Henss Family.
If you know of any additional history to support and expand our history, please use our contact page to share your information and/or images.
1853 & 1854
During these years William Henss (Wilhelm Henß) – 1853- and Katharine Kaemmer (Catharina Kämmer)- 1854- traveled from Hesse to the United States. We know that Katharine traveled from Lumda through Bremen to Baltimore and then Burlington, Iowa (this information is on a tag affixed to her trunk).
It is may be that William and Katharine were engaged before William departed from Germany for Iowa and that the couple had planned to meet, marry and live in Iowa as soon as William successfully established himself in the ‘new world’ (Iowa). [Historical data to support these assertions is being sourced and examined.]
It is possible that the following ship’s passage for one William Hinz (wagonmaster) aged 24 8/12 arriving in New York on 14 June 1853 is our Wilhelm Henss.
1856
In 1856, William Henss (Hense) was a blacksmith living in Jefferson, Henry County Iowa. He was 25 and had been a resident of Iowa for 3 years. (according to the 1856 Iowa Census). This likely means he emigrated to the United States about 1853.
NB. The area where William lived had its plat filed as Marshall, Iowa in 1851.
1857
William Henss and Katharine Kaemmer were married 12 Jan 1857. Their wedding record provides us with the following information:
By 1859, we find a Hance William, blacksmith listed in the HENRY CO, IOWA DIRECTORY 1859-60 (Watson Brown, Publisher, Burlington, Iowa).
JEFFERSON.
Town 73, Range 7.
Post Office-Marshall. ALEX. STEWART, P.M.
MARSHALL is the only village in this township. It has a population of some 250; one good church, a school house, and three stores. Is a place of considerable business. The township is timber and prairie about equally divided. The land is rich and well adapted for farming purposes.
The population of the township 803 persons.
[...]
H
Hance William, blacksmith.
1860
By 1860 William, now 28, (Hens) had married Katharine (Kaemmer, age 29) and had a son Louis (age 10 months). He continued to be listed as a blacksmith and along with his family resided in Marshall, Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa. His real estate was valued at $400 and his personal estate at $500. At that same time they had a white domestic servant named Christina Collin (aged 10).
1863
In June of 1863, William Henss was registered on the consolidated list of all persons of Class I, subject to do military duty in the First Congressional District, State of Iowa.
1864
In 1864, William Henss received his US citizenship.
Name: William Henss
Year: 1864
Place: Iowa
Source Publication Code: 6015.65.85
Primary Immigrant: Henss, William
Annotation: Date of naturalization in Henry County, Iowa. Country of origin also provided.
Source Bibliography: NATURALIZATION RECORDS, HENRY COUNTY, IOWA. In Henry County Genealgoical Society Quarterly (Mount Pleasant, IA), vol. 9:4 (October 1995), pp. 306-311; vol. 10:1 (January 1996), pp. 317-320; vol. 10:2 (April 1996), pp. 326-329; vol. 10:3 (July 1996), pp.
Page: 317
1870
According to the 1870 US Census, William & Katharine and their family lived in Mt. Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa. William (listed as 38) was Wagon maker while his wife Kate (also listed as 38) was keeping house. The value of their Real Estate was noted as $8000; their personal estate was valued at $320. With them were their children:
Louis (enumerated as Lewis) 11 at home
Elizabeth 9 at home
William 7 at home
Katie 3 at home
1880
By 1880 US Census, the William Henss Family was in the Village of Wayland, Henry County, Iowa (NB. In March 20, 1880, just before the US Census was conducted, Marshall Iowa was renamed to Wayland Iowa in order to eliminate confusion with the larger Marshalltown, Iowa.). William (48) was listed in the 1880 US Census as a Blacksmith. Catharine (50), his wife was noted as Keeping house. Living with them were their children:
Lewis (20) Working in Blacksmith shop (presumably with William Henss)
Elizabeth (19) Keeping house
William (15) Working in Blacksmith shop (presumably with William Henss)
Catharine (12) at home
1885- 1887
However by the 1885 Iowa Census, we find William Henss (age 53) and Katharine (age 55) living in Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa. Living with them were their children:
Louis (age 25)
Lizzie (age 23)
William (age 21)
Katie (age 17)
They also had Oliver Carow (age 50),a teamster, and Will Franks (age 41), a laborer, living in their household. By this time William was in business as a wagon maker.
“The wedding of Joseph [Wenger] [...] was a brilliant affair, and was celebrated on Thursday, Oct. 27, 1887, the bride being Miss Katie, the handsome daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Henss, the veteran wagon-maker, and one of the wealthy men of Wayland. The young couple took a pleasant bridal tour, and are now cosily settled in Wayland, the birthplace of the bride, who has one of the best of husbands and a man in whom the public repose confidence.”
[...]
“Louis Wagner of Burlington visited Mrs. William Henss Saturday. They are distantly related and were raised in the same village in the old country.”
from Portrait & Biographical Album of Henry County- 1888
1900
By 1900, William (indexed as William Henis, age 68) and Katharine (indexed as Katie, age 70) were living in Wayland City, Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa with their daughter Lizzie (age 39).
William’s birth date is listed as Dec 1831; Katharine’s as Nov 1829; and, Lizzie’s as Feb 1861. William and Katharine had been married for 43 years by 1900 and Lizzie was single. Emigration dates listed as being 1852 for William and 1855 for Katharine. William was listed as being a naturalized citizen. William, in 1900, was listed as being a wagon manufacturer and a home owner. All three Henss Family members could speak, read, and write English. (A complete transcription of this 1900 US Census page is available on us-census. org. Original document image follows below.)
1902
William Henss died on 19 March 1902.
1910
In the 1910 US Census, we find that confirmation that William has died and Katharine is listed as the widowed head of household (age 80) living with her daughter Lizzie (age 48). They continued to reside in Wayland Town, Jefferson Township, Henry County, Iowa.
1913
Katharine died on 18 November 1913.
Early Wayland Iowa Photos
The following photo gallery contains photos from Wayland, Iowa in the late 1800′s and early to mid-1900′s.
The information on this page has been graciously augmented by the efforts of numerous genealogical friends including: Manuela Bassler, Elvira Groot, Jerry Harris, Kate “Chris’ Mom”, and Jutta Hoffmann. 1 & 2 Aug. 2011:
I have read the following website… Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt(HStAD) Auswanderer-Nachweise(R 21 B); I have run searches and reviewed all materials for:
Beuern ev. Kirche Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1821-1840 FHL INTL Film 800674
Allendorf/ Lumda Taufen 1825-1845 FHL INTL Film 1195876
Grünberg, Hessen Taufen 1817-1835 FHL INTL Film 801274
Grünberg (Kr. Gießen)Tote 1827-1828 Tauf-, Heirats-, Totenindex 1808-1828 Tote 1829-1845 Tauf-, Heirats-, Totenondex 1829-1845 Tote 1846-1861 FHL INTL Film 1201518
17 Oct. 2010: New information, worthy of exploraion, has been discovered in the Henry County History vol. 1 copyright 1982. This document states that William’s family was from Beuern, Hessen. In researching the location of Beuern a second Lumda was found within 5 miles of Beuern. Church records for Gruenberg and Stangenrod (both near Lumda) are being sourced for Katharine’s birth; and, Beuern Church records are being sourced for Wilhelm’s birth.– these documents produced nothing of interest. 14 Sep. 2010: Sadly, I reviewed the Church records for the ev. Kirche in Lumda and was unable to find either William or Katharine’s birth.
I will search on. If anyone knows of possible family members in Hesse (in Germany) or of possible birth record locations, please let us know!
This area may be augmented in the near future as I attempt to uncover additional Census and/or photographic information for inclusion here.
The Raphael (Russel) Robidoux & Family- 1880
The family lived in Altona, NY; their exact location is unknown as the street information was left blank on 1880 Census. At that time, Raphael (40) was a Laborer; he had been employed all during the 12 months preceding the June 1880 enumeration. Euphemie, Raphael’s wife (40) was Keeping House. Living with them were eight children including:
Delia (19) Daughter
Lois (16) Daughter
Russel (13) Son
Mary (11) Daughter
Newell (9) Son (g-grandfather)
Joseph (7)
Elmira (5) Daughter
Jeremiah (8mo. born Oct of 1879) Son (my g-grandfather Alexander)
Raphael (Russel) Robidoux & Family – 1900
In 1900, the family continued to live in Altona, NY.
Once again, their exact location is unknown because street information was left blank on the Census. At that time, Raphael was a Farmer; he owned his farm and it was listed as Farm #93 on the farm schedule. His farm was still under mortgage and not freely owned. He was able to read and speak English but could not write it. Euphemie (62 years of age born in June 1837) was Keeping House. Euphemie was able to speak English but neither read nor write it. They had been married 41 years as of 19 June 1900. Living with them were two children:
Alexander (born Sept of 1879 aged 20); Alexander was working on his father’s farm as a laborer. He could speak English but neither read nor write it. He had been unemployed for 2 of the previous 12 months.
Delia (born Aug of 1883 aged 16). She could read, write and speak English.
Given Delia was born 3 years after the 1880 Census, we can assume that the elder Delia born in 1861 died in those three intervening years between 1880 and 1883.
Alexander Rabideau & Family- 1910
In 1910,
their address is listed as 145 Alder Bend Road in Altona, New York. Today any previously existing homes appear to have been removed… or abandoned, perhaps as part of the Adirondack Park creation. In 1910, the farm on Alder Bend Road was rented and worked by Alexander (31); who was working as a Farm Laborer. He and Flora had been married for 8 years. Flora (29) was keeping house and spoke French not English. They had three children living with them including:
James (7) son- in the 1920 Census he was enumerated as Alexander Jr.
Victor (5) son
Frederick (4) son – my grandfather
Raphael (Russel) Robidoux & Family – 1910
By 1910, Raphael Robidoux had died. Euphemie, his widow, was living with daughter Delia and her husband John Brooks; and her grandson Clement (age 6) and grand-daughter Malena (aged 2) in Altona, New York.
Lacolle is the area from which the Joseph Dion family emigrated to the United States. Historically both Rabideau and Dion/ Deyo family members lived and traversed this region.
source [minor edits and corrections made by ManyRoads]
First written mention of Lacolle can be traced back to July 4, 1609 when Samuel de Champlain and his entourage stopped briefly at the mouth of a small stream for a meal before continuing southward up the Richelieu River into the lake which now bears his name. In his journal Champlain referred to the location of the delta as “Lacole”. When translated literally the term means the neck of a bottle or that which is above the shoulders. [...]This river seems to take its source from a nearby, solitary hill. From many places in France the term “La Cole” or “La Colle” stems from the Latin “colla”, which means “hill”.
“La Rivière à La Colle” appeared for the first time in the 1740 “Map of Lake Champlain from the Fort of Chambly to the ‘pointe à la Chevelure’” drawn by Chaussergros de Lery. His map is seen here. You can barely make out “Beaujeu” in the block to the right of the crease in the paper, below the river
Lacolle Quebec- 1740
What today is the farming village of St-Bernard-de-Lacolle has its roots in the Seigneurie of Beaujeu. The seigneurs of Beauharnois and Hocquart hatched a project to concede some seigneuries in the area of the Lake Champlain Valley. In 1733, they conceded land to Louis Denis de la Ronde (seigneurie of Lacolle) and to Louis Lienard de Beaujeu (seigneurie of Chazy). Unfortunately, as of 1741, both seigneurs had left the land as they received it.
On the 10th of May, 1741, the lands were returned to Couronne because the consessioners had not established colonies. On March 22nd, 1743, Beauharnois and Hocquart conceded the seigneurie of Lacolle to sir Daniel Lienard de Beaujeu, son of Louis. By 1751, two new families had settled by the “rivière à la Colle”. On Mar 6, 1752, under the Marquis de la Jonquire and Francois Bigot, Daniel received the lands of his now-deceased father. It would be told “…how he made, before and after the war (1746-1748), considerable dispenses for the establishment of said concession on which he had settlers who have bulls, cows, plows, and other work tools.”
The seigneurie changed hands several times, passing from one generation to the next. During this time, several mills, churches, schools, and homes were built. Some had stone houses while the poorer settlers built log cabins. [...]
Along the Richelieu River, the closest church to Lacolle was in Chambly, quite a distance to travel for marriages and baptisms. In 1810, the curé Berthelot took his chalice and portable alter to visit the settlers in Lacolle. He baptized several children and said mass. Later, other protestant missionaries made their way to the area and founded the United Church of Lacolle called St-Saviour.
In 1841, Lord Sydenham proposed the erection of municipal districts. Everyone thinks these municipalities will revive and that they will come to be well-known like a parish. On November 18, 1841, some residents of the seigneurie of Lacolle addressed Monsignor Ignace Bourget, bishop of Montreal, to obtain the erection of a parish. They presented the usual reasons: distance from the nearest church, the dreadful state of the roads [in order to get there], the difficulty in training their children in the catholic religion. The real reason appeared at the end of the document: “after the ecclesiastical recognition, they would be addressing the government to obtain “some documents that grant to their said new parish a civil existence which will soon be recognized.”
In January 1842, M. Charles Laroque, curé of Blairfindie was sent by Bourget to make an inquest. On the first of February, Monsignor Ignace Bourget set up the “mission of St-Bernard-de-Lacolle”, as the population is still too dispersed to create a parish. He also accepted the gift of three arpents [unit of land] of land from Michel Normandin on which to build a church.
11 July 1842 – four representatives (James O’CONNOR, Michel NORMANDIN, Louis REMILLARD, Etienne DUQUETTE) signed a contract with Charles NOËL to build a stone church for $250 ($150 silver,$100 hay and grain).
13 October 1843 – three representatives (Patrick BARKER, Constant BOUSQUET, Noël DESAUTELS) purchased 80 benches from the chapel of Saint-Jacques-Mineur for 16 livres 14 shillings.
11 November 1843 – Charles François Calixte MORRISON is named the parish priest.
16 November 1843 – At the courthouse of Montreal, the church was equipped with the necessary registers for the parish.
19 November 1843 – The first baptism is recorded.
In 1851, the census of St-Bernard-de-Lacolle reports: 3483 persons (1760 anglophone and 1723 francophone), 1787 men and 1696 woman, 1886 catholic and 1597 protestant.
The law of December 18, 1854 ended the seigneurial system in Canada, and the municipality of St-Bernard-de-Lacolle has flourished since its first mayor [was elected] in 1833.
Charles Berthelot, curé of Saint-Luc, [wrote] on 9 October 1909 that the young people of the area are working cutting trees down south, near Lake Champlain.” In the 40-50 years since [then], many young families [spent] years in the factories in the [United States] to earn better wages. Many returned, but not all, with their savings. The [Canadian] census records still indicate one or two children from these families [were] born in the United States. [...] In 1850, the California gold rush saw many men leaving behind a wife and children [...]never [to] return with [...] promised riches. Soon after [1850], many farmers left with their families to settle in the fertile prairies of Illinois [and Michigan], where they could easily establish their sons. In October 1867, the [Lacolle] city council began to worry, for an empty house meant that the road opposite this property was no longer maintained. [Dirt roads needed to be maintained by the settlers.]
[At] the turn of the [21st] century, the parish of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel and the municipality of Lacolle [were] established, and St-Bernard-de-Lacolle has become seemingly very small. The area has seen many ups and downs, but the overall feel for the land is the same. The families who till the land and milk the cows are as hardy today as they were in the first days of the seigneurie. If you ever visit this village, take note of the rolling hills and the wide open fields with their long, plowed rows, [...] you’ll be swept away to another time when your ancestors [settled] a whole new world.
Both the Rabideau & Deyo families have roots in the area
surrounding Lacolle Quebec. In the early to mid-1800s Lacolle was an area that saw numerous battles and skirmishes, both in the war of 1812 and the Patriotes Rebellion of 1837-1838 including:
Battle Of Lacolle Mills (1812)
Second Battle of Lacolle (1814)
Battle at Odelltown and the Battle of Lacolle (November 7 & 9, 1838)
The Battle of Lacolle Mills was fought on November 20, 1812, during the War of 1812. In this relatively short and fast battle, a very small garrison of British troops and Canadian volunteers, with the assistance of Kahnawake Mohawk warriors, defended the Lacolle Mills Blockhouse near the village of Lacolle, Quebec.
The American invasion force, prepared and led by Major General Henry Dearborn, captured the blockhouse in the early morning, possibly following a brief confrontation with the outnumbered defending forces. In the dark, a second group of American militia attacked the troops at the blockhouse, resulting in a short battle between two groups of American forces. In the aftermath of this confusion, the British forces under the command of Charles de Salaberry launched a counter attack against the shaken American forces, forcing a retreat to Champlain before the American forces withdrew from Lower Canada completely. After this defeat, the demoralized American forces would not attempt this assault again until 1814 in the Second Battle of Lacolle Mills.
The Second Battle of Lacolle Mills was fought on 30 March 1814 during the War of 1812. The small garrison of a British outpost position, aided by reinforcements, fought off a strong but badly-executed American attack.
After the St. Lawrence campaign had ended late the previous year with the British victory at the Battle of Crysler’s Farm, the defeated American Army under Major General James Wilkinson went into winter quarters at French Mills, New York, only just inside the United States. The British commanders feared that the Americans could threaten the British line of communication along the St. Lawrence River from this position, but Wilkinson made no attempt to do so. His army arrived at French Mills with few supplies, and because of poor roads, lack of transport and draught animals and inefficiency of the Quartermaster General’s Department, it was almost impossible to supply the army in this advanced position. Sickness rapidly increased until there were no less than 450 sick in squalid conditions in a hospital in Malone, New York and many more in French Mills.
Finally, in late January, Secretary of War John Armstrong ordered Wilkinson to detach a division numbering 2,000 men under Brigadier General Jacob Brown to Sackett’s Harbor, New York, and fall back with the main body (about 4,000 fit men) to Plattsburgh, New York on Lake Champlain, while the sick and wounded were removed to Burlington, Vermont. British troops followed up almost to Plattsburgh, recovering large quantities of supplies from settlements in New York state such as Malone and Four Corners and paroling many sick American soldiers who fell into their hands, before withdrawing.
Wilkinson was aware that he would almost certainly be removed from command following the defeat of the St. Lawrence campaign, and planned several offensives to restore his reputation. Most of these were too ambitious with the means available, but one objective seemed feasible. A few miles north of the border between Canada and the United States, the main road running north crossed the small Lacolle River. Here, the British maintained an outpost of 80 men of the 13th Regiment of Foot in a blockhouse and the stout stone-built mill building. The defenders also included a Congreve rocket detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery, and there were other outpost positions and blockhouses nearby.
Battle
Wilkinson marched northwards from Plattsburgh to attack this outpost on 27 March 1814. His force consisted of 4,000 men organised into three brigades, with 11 pieces of artillery. The march was delayed by deep snow and mud, and he was not able to occupy Odelltown until 30 March, and begin the attack on Lacolle Mills until the early afternoon.
The Americans opened fire with two 12-pounder cannon and a 5-and-a-half inch mortar. They could not bring an 18-pounder gun into action because of soft ground around the area. The British garrison fired back with their Congreve rockets. Although the rockets were inaccurate, they caused several American casualties. The American troops had not encountered these weapons before in battle and were unnerved.
The flank (i.e. the Light and Grenadier) companies of the 13th had been stationed nearby, and launched a bayonet charge against the American artillery emplacements, but they were far outnumbered and were repulsed. Hearing the firing from some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away, a company of the Canadian Voltigeurs and the Grenadier company of the Canadian Fencibles also marched to reinforce the defenders. They waded through icy water to slip through the American lines and opened fire on American artillery, wounding the American artillery commander, his replacement and many of the gun crews. The Americans were also under fire from British gunboats under Commander Daniel Pring of the Royal Navy, who had brought his vessels up the Richelieu River from Ile aux Noix to the mouth of the Lacolle River.
By evening, the Americans had made little impression on the British defences. Rather than launch an all-out assault, Wilkinson ordered a retreat. The Americans returned to Plattsburgh, considerably disheartened.
Wilkinson had apparently recklessly exposed himself to British fire throughout the action, though to little purpose.
Aftermath
On 11 April, Wilkinson received orders from Armstrong relieving him of command. This was probably not a direct result of the debacle at Lacolle Mills, but followed a request made by Wilkinson himself on 24 March for a Court of Enquiry to rule on his conduct of the St. Lawrence campaign the previous year.[5] This eventually resulted in a court martial, but Wilkinson was acquitted of various charges of negligence and misconduct.
The failure nevertheless allowed Armstrong to promote a crop of comparatively junior officers to command divisions and brigades. Major General George Izard, who had been on leave when the Battle of Lacolle Mills was fought, eventually took command at Plattsburgh.
The November 7 & 9, 1838 Battle at Odelltown and the Battle of Lacolle
The years of 1837 and 1838 were bad for the citizens of Quebec. Many French settlers were led into rebellion by Louis Papineau.
Lacolle was the scene of two significant battles during the Papineau Rebellion, both occuring in the late fall of 1838. About 220 militia and volunteers from Havlock, Covey Hill, Hemmingford and Sherrington marched through Roxham to reinforce those facing the rebels in the November 7, 1838 stand at the Bullis Farm. The Battle of Lacolle was fought on November 7, 1838 between Loyal Lower Canada volunteer forces under Major John Scriver and Lower Canada rebels under Colonel Ferdinand-Alphonse Oklowski. On November 6, on their way to Lacolle, the Patriote rebels had won a first skirmish, but they lost in the final confrontation the next day. The battle lasted half an hour.
Again, on the 9th of November Odelltown (a part of Lacolle today) became a battlefield when nearly 1200 rebels unexpectedly engaged about 200 loyal defenders in and around the Odelltown Church. On both occaisions the rebels were forced to retreat.
Based upon Census data, we know the following information regarding the Rabideau & Deyo branches of our family (note all photos are from Google).
According to the 1920 US Census
In 1920
the George Deyo Family lived at 214 Main Street in Altona, NY; father George (age 52) was a farm worker. Exina his wife (37) was keeping house. They had 6 children living with them at that time including:
Edward (17)
Leona (13)- my grandmother
Lawrence (10)
Clarence (6)
Gilbert (2)- interestingly listed as a daughter on the 1920 Census
Gerald (an infant)
The
Alexander Rabideau family, at that same time, lived at 21 Mt. Tom Avenue. Father, Alexander (46), was an unemployed wood chopper; Flora, his wife, was keeping house. They had three children and a boarder living with them:
Alexander Jr. (18)- working in a plastic mill
Victor (16)- working in a cotten mill
Fredrick (15)- my grandfather- was working in a plastic mill
Mildred (6)
Nelson Diteau (16)- boarder (his parents were unknown)- working in a cotten mill
According to the 1930 US Census
By 1930
the George Deyo Family had moved from Altona and was now living at 5 Maple Street in Easthampton. Father, George (age 61), was a dryer working in a cotton mill; Exina, his wife (48), was keeping house. They had 4 children living with them in 1930 including:
Lawrence (21)- working as a machinery oiler in a cotton mill
Clarence (16)- working as a clerk in a chain store
Gilbert – is missing from the 1930 enumeration and perhaps died during the years between 1920 and 1930.
Gerald (10)
Dora (8)
George’s daughter, Leona nee Deyo, and her husband, Frederick Rabideau/Rabidue (my grandparents), were living next door at 7 Maple Street. Frederick was employed as a truck driver for Yen Trucking. They had three young children living with them in 1930.
Verda (4)
Mildred (2)
Francis Frederick (1)- my father
Also in 1930, Alexander Senior (55), Flora (44) appear to have owned a home on 37 Cottage Street (today, 2010, this location is a gas station…in 1930, it was around the corner from 5 & 7 Maple Street, about 100 feet distant) where they lived with their daughter Mildred (16) and son Victor (plus his young family). Alexander Sr. was employed as a wood chopper at a lumber company.
Victor Rabidue (26), in 1930, was married to Simonne (21) and living in his parent’s home with their son Victor Jr. (3) on 37 Cottage Street. Victor Sr. was, also, employed as a wood chopper for a lumber company.
In 1930, I find no US Census records for Alexander Rabideau (Rabidew/ Rabidue) Jr. It is possible that he either moved away or died in the years between 1920 and 1930.
In the 1910s, the Rabideau family moved to
Easthampton, Massachusetts from Clinton County, New York. They came in search of work and a future. As lumberjacks and forest workers, their future and earnings were becoming increasingly limited in upper New York and the promise of work in the mills of Massachusetts was alluring. Neither Frederick Louis Rabideau nor his brothers had an education. By 1920 the boys Alexander (18), Frederick (15) and Victor (16) were working in a plastic mill as laborers supporting the family. Alexander Rabideau (the boy’s father) and Florinda nee Simard were unemployed.
The following history was written in the 1890s and may be found on the internet at the Historic Easthampton site.
Easthampton is a delightful and prosperous manufacturing, educational and farming town in the southern part of Hampshire County, on the New Haven and Northampton Railroad, about 90 miles west from Boston, five miles from Northampton. It has Northampton on the north, a dissevered section of the same town (including Mount Tom) on the east, Holyoke and Southampton on the south, and the latter and Westhampton on the west. The territory is triangular in general form, with its base to the north. It has an assessed area of 7,325 acres, of which 1,304 acres are forest, principally of pine and chestnut. Along the well kept streets of the older villages, also, are great numbers of maple and elm, many having a growth of 75 years, and few less than 20 years. The Manhan River flows northeasterly through the middle of the town, emptying into the Connecticut at a westward curve called “The Oxbow.” Broad Branch, coming into the town from the south, and North Branch at the northwest angle, are tributaries of the Manhan River, and, with it, furnishing valuable motive-power. The formative rock is lower sandstone. The face of the town is undulating, with mountains rising about on almost every side. The most prominent of these is Mount Tom, at the southeastern border, which attains the altitude of 1,214 feet, forming a magnificent sky outline to the landscape on that side. The railway, which follows the valley of the Manhan River, affords excellent points of view for this mountain ridge. The soil in this town is sandy loam, with much clay subsoil, and generally fertile; uniformly yielding good crops of hay, rye, oats, potatoes and tobacco. The greenhouse product in 1885 had a value of upwards of $3,000. The aggregate farm product was $154,038. The manufactures are numerous. The leading establishments are the “Williston Mills” (having two mills), the Nashawannick Manufacturing Company (three mills), the Glendale Company (three mills), the Easthampton Rubber Thread Company, Williston and Knight Company, George S. Colton, and the Valley Machine Company. The principal products are cotton prints, suspenders, buttons, elastic webs, rubber and silk goods, machinery, castings, whips, bricks, and food preparations. The value of the aggregate product of these and other manufactures in the census year of 1885 was $1,945,488. There is one national and one savings bank. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $2,397,279, with a tax-rate of $14 on $1,000. The population was 4,291; of whom 785 were voters. The dwelling-houses numbered 815. The postal villages are Easthampton and Mount Tom; and others are Factory Village and New City. Easthampton has an excellent town-hall, which cost originally $65,000; also an elegant public library building, containing about 10,000 volumes. The grading of the public schools is complete; and fifteen buildings, valued at upwards of $25,000, are devoted to their use. The Williston Seminary has a library of about 2,000 volumes. This institution was founded by the Hen. Samuel Williston, and has cost upwards of $250,000. I t was opened for students December 2, 1841, and has commodious buildings and a complete outfit for a school of its kind.
Professional Basketball in 1920s Easthampton, Massachusetts. I found this interesting tidbit of Easthampton history on the web. These events occurred about the time of my father’s birth and seemed informative of the the time and place that was Easthampton, Massachusetts.
During the 1920s, pro basketball players played for semi-pro teams. Such a team was located in Easthampton and used the present upper Town Hall as their home. The NBA and the current popularity of basketball did not yet exist. The most talented teams were barnstorming squads that used New York for their base of operations such as the New York Celtics, the Original Celtics, and the New York Whirlwinds. Players moved rather freely between teams. An opponent one night could be a teammate the next. No arenas existed in those days, so large areas, such as a town hall floor, would be partitioned off with chicken wire, (the source of the name ‘cagers’ for players), and a game would be played. A band and dancing would usually follow the game. The Easthampton team was an offshoot of the Turn [Verein] (a local athletic club), basketball team. According to the 1935 Anniversary Book, the team started with local players, but gradually recruited outside talent. The first mention of the professional team in the Daily Hampshire Gazette was in 1920.
The Easthampton Team played in the Interstate League. Also in this circuit, were teams from Holyoke, Springfield, Adams, Turner’s Falls, Westfield, Albany, NY and Thompsonville, CT. The 1921 and 1922 teams had some good players. The stars of the team were Barney Sedran, the self described ‘midget guard’, and forward Marty Friedman.
Together, they played as a combo for many teams. Nat Holman, long time coach for the City College of New York, regarded both as super-stars of the era and Sedran as one of the greatest guards ever. Both had injuries that curtailed their playing time in Easthampton.
The third star was Honey Russell, a guard. Although only 18 when he came to Easthampton, he had been a pro since his midteens. He was a defensive specialist. Russell played for many years and later coached Seton Hall in the 1940s and 50s. He was also the first coach of the Boston Celtics.
Freedman, Sedran and Russell have been inducted in the Hall of Fame in Springfield. Sedran’s plaque has him in his Easthampton uniform. Freedman’s biography at the Hall mentions playing here. All three began playing in town in 1921.
Another player was Em Grayson, a forward. He was captain at Mass Aggie (now University of Massachusetts, Amherst) in 1916-17 and 1919-20, he later coached there and at Amherst College.
Harry ‘Man-o-War’ Riconda was a forward in 1921 and 22. Once with the Original Celtics, he had the reputation as a tough player. ‘Hot’ Haggerty of Springfield had several stays in Easthampton. In 1922, he left Springfield’s team to play for Easthampton then quit to play for the Original Celtics. He again played for Easthampton in 1923. From newspaper accounts, he was a very popular player.
Others came and went. A player named Bernot was at center for a few games in 1922, left and came back in 1923. Billy Sullivan played in 1921 and moved to the Adams team. ‘Stretch’ Meehan, a 6’9″ center was used as a drawing card in 1921. Bob Jackson, a center also played in 1921.
The league suffered financial difficulties. To recoup some losses, the Original Celtics came in 1922 to play each team in the circuit. An ad billed them as the World Champs of the previous year. Easthampton emerged victorious by the score of 18 to 12. Sedran led all players with 7 points and held Celtic star Nat Holman to gust one point.
After the season, Sedran, Friedman, Russell and Riconda all left to play other circuits. On February 5, 1923 the team moved to Northampton. The season and the entire league ended the next month.
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ManyRoads is pleased to announce that June 2010 was our busiest month ever.
We had 4341 unique site visits in June of 2010. By large site standards, this is not even a good day, for us it is both exciting and pleasing. We hope that you will continue to visit our site and if possible link to us from yours (if you have one).
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I will outline most of the key happenings. But before I do that, a couple of important personal items have transpired. Firstly, even though I’m not much of a joiner I have taken membership in both the National Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists (here’s more). I have also decided to offer more services and tools to the genealogical community (more specifically the ManyRoads readership). (here’s more and still more).
Today I uploaded a very useful (helpful) WordPress plugin called:
If there are others you would recommend I list, please use our Contact page to let me know, or leave a Comment.
We hope you have found the information, pointers, etc. on ManyRoads to be of value. I know that I have learned a lot, made many new new friends, found ‘new’ (not ‘lost’) relatives, and kept very busily entertained. By way of sharing a few additional points of interest, the ManyRoads site now has:
For those wishing to learn ‘more’ on how to conduct Genealogical research, acquaint themselves with the basics, or just see ‘how things are done’; there are numerous sources of on-line training. Hopefully you will find these 
