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Sunday, December 31, 2017

365 Days in 2017



I posted the following on 26 Oct 2017:
I wrote 66 blogs in the previous 6 years that I have had my blog. I looked at my statistics and discovered I had not posted very often in most of those years:
     2011 – 14
     2012 – 3
     2013 – 5
     2014 – 25
     2015 – 7
     2016 – 12
At the beginning of 2017 I stated the aim of posting something every day. Today (31 Dec 2017) is day 365 and this is my 365th blog for the year. A few days I skipped, so I posted twice on a few other days to make the total. I am feeling good that I have accomplished so much during this year. It has been an enjoyable, but sometimes stressful, endeavor. I know that I have learned and relearned a lot about my family by doing this writing and posting. I trust that at least some of them have been helpful to my family members and friends who have been reading them.

I did a little research about what I have posted during 2017. Here are some of the categories and the number of posts:
     Ancestor birthdays 87
     Ancestor unbirthdays 7
     Gt-grandparents' cousins 57
     Treasured Memories 12
     Death certificates 15
     Document transcriptions 25
     The rest were miscellaneous
If I counted correctly, in the various postings I included 11 postcards from my father's collection and 133 photos of people from my inherited photo collections.

Tomorrow I plan to post my resolutions for blog posts in 2018.



Saturday, December 30, 2017

Trying to Transcribe - Will of Jael Parker - Pt 2


A few minutes ago I posted part 1 of the will of Jael Parker, my 5th gt-grandmother. Because I failed to post anything on Christmas Day, I am posting a second one today so I can be caught up on my number of posts.

The will I am transcribing here appears to be from the recorded wills of Perquimans County North Carolina. This section was from Volume E, page 406.



My friend William Hasket Executor to this My last ===
Will & testament in Witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand & Seal & Seal [sic] this 10th day of the 1st month
1814----
Signd in presence of                            Jail Parker {seal}
Joseph Cox afirmed
John Hasket --
____ _________
Perquimans County \\ This Will of Jail Parker deas, was exhibited
Feby Term 1814       \\ & proved in open court by the affirm
of Joseph Cox one of the subscribing witnesses thereto & at
the same time appointed William Hasket the Exc. Therein
named & qualifyed agreeable to law.
                                                          Test. John Wood Clk



Trying to Transcribe - Will of Jael Parker - Pt 1


A few days ago I posted the will of John Parker, my 5th gt-grandfather. This is the will of his wife, who of course was my 5th gt-grandmother. Most of the Quaker records for her use the spelling Jael, while this recorded deed uses Jail. “If it sounds the same, it is the same” is a quote I heard at a national genealogical conference, so I believe that Jael and Jail are just different spellings for the same name. I was really glad she named my 4th gt-grandmother, Peninah/Penninah Nicholson in her will.

The will I am transcribing here appears to be from the recorded wills of Perquimans County North Carolina. I found it both on familysearch.org and on Ancestry.com. This section was from Volume E, page 405.


State of No Carolina } I Jail Parker, being weak in body
Perq. County } but of a sound disposing memory
& considering the uncertainty of life & Death do make this my
last will & testament as follows Viz ) 1st my will is that
all my just debts & funeral expenses be paid out of my
estate. Item. I give & bequeath unto my son John Parker one
cow & calf, the largest iron pot & hooks to him & his heirs
for ever. Item. I give & bequeath unto my daughter Sarah
Lacey one feather bed & furniture the smallest one, one pair
flat irons, One yoke & ox ring & Staple to her & her heirs
forever. Item. I give & bequeath unto my Daughter Ruth Bundy
ten shillings, to her & her heirs forever. Item. I give & bequeath
unto my son Seth Parker, one ox chain to him & his heirs
forever. Item. I give & bequeath unto my daughter Penniah
Nicholson all the remaining part of my estate to her & her
heirs forever. I do hereby constitute & appoint




Friday, December 29, 2017

Treasured Memories From the Past – More Photos of Smalley Relatives


On 7 Aug 2017 I posted some group photos of some of my Smalley relatives taken in about 1910 and also in 1944. Here are two more photos of some of my Smalley relatives taken probably in the 1940s.

This first photo appears to be taken at my grandparents' (O. J. and Lucie (Smalley) Albertson) house which was 4 miles northwest of Halsey Oregon and the second appears to be taken at the Joe Elliott residence in Brownsville Oregon. Lake (Smalley) Elliott was my grandmother's sister. I wonder if my father took the pictures since he does not seem to be in either one of them.



Both photos include my grandparents, my mother and me. I'm the one with the braids.



Thursday, December 28, 2017

Trying to Transcribe - Will of John Parker - Pt 2


On this section of the will of John Parker my 5th gt-grandfather, you can see that it was dated the 4th day of the 10th month 1800, which would be 4 Oct 1800. I found it a little amusing that most of the family trees I found on-line at Ancestry.com give his death date as 10 Apr 1800. That would make him dying almost 6 months before he wrote his will. Then it was not probated until February of 1803. I suspect his death really occurred early in 1803.

In this section he names his 5 children, including my ancestor, Peninah Nicholson.


Item. I give and bequeath to my Daughter Sarah Parker and her Heirs &
assigns for every, Fifty acres of Land, joining the part which I have by deed
given to my Grandson Nathan Bundy, but if she should decease without
lawful Heirs and before she lawfully conveys or disposes of said Land, then
I give the said Land unto my Grandson Noah Parker son of my Son
John Parker to him his heirs & assigns for ever.---
Item I give to my said Wife & her disposal, my Mare with a Bridle, side
Saddle & Mans Saddle, one Yoke of Oxen with the Yoke, ring and Staple
Cart & Ox Chain, two ploughs, two Axes, four hoes, one feather bed & furniture,
two Ewes & Lambs, two Cows & Calves, One Chest, one Linen Wheel, one Woolen
Wheel, one Iron pot with hooks & Iron port tramel, one pair flat irons,
one box Iron, Two Pewter Basons, one Dish & 6 pewter plates; also I give
her one years provision, aslo my largest looking glass & six of my best chairs, viz
green ones.
Item. I give to my son John Parker one cow & calf & one feather bed and
furniture.----
Item. I give to my daughter Sarah Parker one cow & calf & one feather
bed & furniture.
Item. I give to my Son Seth Parker one cow & calf & one feather bed
and furniture, and it is my Will that he have sufficient schooling.
Item. I give all the remainder of my Estate unto my said Wife and my
five children, viz; John Parker, Ruth Bundy, Peninnah Nicholson, Sarah
Parker and Seth Parker, to be equally divided amongst them.. and it is
my will that it be divided by such men as my Executors shall elect
for that purpose, appraising the articles & dividing them without any sale.
Lastly I hereby nominate, constitute & appoint my Son, John Parker
and my Son in law Samuel Bundy to be Executors of this my last
Will, Ratifying & Confirming this & no other to be my last Will &
Testament.---In Witness whereof I the said John Parker Senr have
hereunto set my hand & Seal this 4th day of the 10th month 1800....
Signed, sealed, published, pronounced                              his
& declared by the said John Parker to be                    John / Parker {seal}
his last will & Testament in presence                                 mark
of us, Silas Haskit
William Haskit (Aff)
John Pool                                                              Samuel Bundy - qualified








Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Trying to Transcribe - Will of John Parker - Pt 1


Yesterday I posted about Peninah (Parker) Nicholson. This is the first section of the will of her father, John Parker, my 5th gt-grandfather.

I found two copies of his will on-line. It appears that the image on familysearch.org is from the recorded wills in Perquimans County North Carolina. The other image I found was on Ancestry.com which was marked as original wills. When I compared them I found no substantial differences. I am using the Ancestry image here.

It seemed interesting to me how John specified who would get his “Still.”



State of No Carolina }
Perquimans County } I John Parker Senr of the place
aforesaid, being of Sound & disposing mind and
memory do make & ordain these presents to be & containing my last
Will & testament in the following manner & form, Viz ------
First, It is my will that all the Just debts which may be owing from
me at the time of my decease, & all the necessary expenses be well & truly
paid out of my Estate in due time --- Whereas by Deeds of
gift bearing even date with these presents, I have made conveyances of
Lands to my Grandsons Nathan Bundy & John Nicholson, respectively
under several provisos, therefore I hereby confirm them, as it is my
Will that the said gifts to them shall be good, agreeable to my Intent
of meaning expressed in the said Deeds. ----
Item. I Give and bequeath to my son Seth Parker & His Heirs & assigns
for ever, my manor plantation whereon I dwell with all the buildings
& Improvements thereon & Woodland adjoining, with the Woodland
on the Easterly side of the fork Swamp joining and all my land lying
in the woods about Pine Glade; and in case he should Decease without
lawful years & before he lawfully disposes of or conveys the said lands,
then I give the said Lands unto my grandson Nathan Parker, son of
my son John Parker, to him his heirs & assigns for ever; Reserving
nevertheless unto my beloved Wife Jail Parker the use of all the said
Plantation, Lands buildings & Improvements until my said Son
Seth shall arrive to the age of twenty Years & and after that for my said
Wife to have the use of one half my plantation which part she shall choose
and one half of my buildings thereon & privilege of the woodland, the planta-
tion to be divided by my path or road straight from my Still house out to
the public road, to her during her natural life.
Item. I leave the use of my Still, Apple Mill, Cider Troughs, flat forms & other
cider utensils & all my Liquor Casks unto my said wife until my said
Son comes to the age of Twenty Years, and then I give them all to my
said son Seth, only for my said Wife to have the privilege of the Still &
as many of the Casks & other utensils as may be necessary for her own
Liquor, during her natural life; and if my said Son Seth should decease
in minority & without lawful ______ I give the said Still to my Grandson

John Nicholson above named..------- ---------- -------------- --------------.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – July 22 – Peninah Parker 1781-1857


It was a few days ago, on 22 Dec 2017, when I wrote about Nathan Nicholson, my 4th gt-grandfather. His wife was Peninah Parker. When I checked her entry on my website, I discovered I had neglected to enter her birth information there, so it didn't show on my calendar of birthdays. So I am trying to correct my oversight today. Also I didn't make a post yesterday on Christmas Day, so plan to catch up tomorrow by transcribing 2 pages of Peninah's father's will.

Peninah was born into a family which became Quakers before she was born. From the wills of her parents, John and Jael (Peel) Parker, their oldest son, John, was born before they had become Quakers, so his birth was not listed on this list of children from the Sutton's Creek Monthly Meeting in Perquimans County North Carolina.


As I wrote a few days ago Peninah married Nathan Nicholson on 16 May 1799. This means that she had not yet reached her 18th birthday. She and Nathan had 8 known children. After her husband died about 1824 she remained in North Carolina with her younger children until 1832 when she moved to Indiana. Other of the Quakers from that area also moved there. She and the 3 youngest children, Mary, George and Nathan Parker, were first at Milford Monthly Meeting in Wayne County. The next year, 1833, they were listed as members of Duck Creek Monthly Meeting in Henry County. When her son George was married in 1835, her residence was listed as Rush County. She and her children were shown as charter members of Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting in Rush County when it was set off from Duck Creek in 1836. She remained a member there for over 20 years before she died 18 Sep 1857 and was buried at Walnut Ridge.




Sunday, December 24, 2017

Treasured Memories From the Past – My Brother and Me


Now it's Christmas Eve and it seems like a good time to post these photos of when my brother and I were young. The first one was taken when he was 2 ½ months old, which would have been November 1942. The others were a few years later.







posted 24 Dec 2017

Places From the Past - Sherman County Kansas


I had a number of ancestors who lived in Sherman County Kansas. On 28 Oct 2017 I posted photos of the county seat, Goodland.

I found this photo postcard among my father's collection. It shows a little of how flat that part of the country is. No mountains show on the horizon. The caption handwritten on the bottom says: “Highway between Pa Albertson Place and Aunt Sis.” I believe that Pa Albertson is my gt-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, and Aunt Sis is the sister of my Smalley gt-grandfather, Mary (Smalley) Morey. After Nathan's wife died in July 1901, in January 1902 he married Mary who was a widow. Their farms were enumerated next to each other on the 1900 census.We might not consider that this should be called a highway. What do you think?




Friday, December 22, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 22 - Nathan Nicholson - 1776-1824


Nathan Nicholson was my 4th gt-grandfather. He was the son of Nicholas and Sarah (White) Nicholson, born in Perquimans County North Carolina on 22 Dec 1776. Nathan had 8 siblings, 6 older and 2 younger. He was one of my Quaker ancestors.

He married Peninah Parker on 16 May 1799 at Suttons Creek Meeting House. I enjoy the fact that often the Quaker church records show the names of the witnesses, or those who were present at the marriage. Many times relatives to the bride or groom can be recognized.



Of course you have to try to read the handwriting of the church clerk to be able to recognize those relative's names.

Nathan and Peninah had 8 children: John, Sarah, Phariby (my 3rd gt-grandmother), Tempa, Esther, Mary, George, and Nathan Parker.

Nathan Parker, their youngest son, was probably only 7 years old when his father died. The probate papers show the personal property sold on 20 Feb 1824.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 21st – Rebecca D Hartley - 1818-1908


Rebecca Hartley was my 2nd great-grandmother. She is one of my Quaker ancestors who had a number of children, at least 11. She was born in Hamilton County Ohio on 21 Dec 1818 to Thomas Hartley and his wife Barbara. I am not confident about the surname of Rebecca's mother. I checked the 1st 20 listings on Ancestry public trees for Rebecca and half of them give Barbara's surname as Loar and almost half say Larr. But none of these show their documentation for these names other than other trees. Maybe I should make this one of my projects to work on in 2018.

My records show that Rebecca had 6 older siblings and 3 younger ones. By 1835 the family was attending the Cherry Grove Monthly Meeting in Randolph County Indiana. Just 5 days before her 17th birthday, Rebecca married 17 year old Francis Hockett on 16 Dec 1835. It was in 1838 they took their first son and moved to Henry County Iowa. It was about 1850 when they moved to neighboring Lee County with 7 of their children. The other 4 children were born there. In 1863 the family moved farther north to Hardin County Iowa. They traveled to Kansas in 1886 and Francis died there on 12 Mar 1886. On the 1900 census Rebecca was living in Marshalltown in Marshall County Iowa. Her son James was living with her. She was found at age 86 on the 1905 Kansas state census in Stevens County in the household of N. Hockett. This was most likely her oldest son Norton as his age is correct. It was 3 years later when she died there in Kansas on 24 Jul 1908 and was buried in Bethel Friends Cemetery.

But I still have an identity problem. I posted this question on 12 Mar 2015 and also on 27 Feb 2017. Which one of these women is Rebecca?






















I believe one is Rebecca (Hartley) Hockett and the other is Sabina (Marsh) Albertson. These are the 2 grandmothers of my Grandfather O. J. Albertson. Can someone out there give me an answer?


Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Postcards From the Past – Christmas


Since it is that time of year when we send and receive Christmas cards, I am sharing a few more of the Christmas postcards from my father's (Lester Albertson) collection. Most of these are from over 100 years ago.







Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Death Certificates From the Past – Ellis S. Hayes and Bertha Mable (Hayes) Zehner


This is the second post for today, 19 Dec 2017, since I skipped yesterday.

Ellis S Hayes and his sister Bertha Mable (Hayes) Zehner were my 1st cousins 3 times removed. I wrote about their brother Charles on 26 May 2017 as an early Oregon cousin of my gt-grandfather, John Howard Bond. Ellis, Bertha and Charles were all children of Ebenezer and Laura Ellen (Hill) Hayes.




Death Certificates From the Past – Seth Stephen Hayes


Seth Stephen Hayes was my 1st cousin 3 times removed and also my 2nd cousin 3 times removed, the son of Seth Whipple and Polly Bond (Stillwell) Hayes. I wrote about him on 27 May 2017 as an early Oregon cousin of my gt-grandfather, John Howard Bond.


I wondered who the informant was for this death certificate, since I can't quite decipher the handwriting. But since it appeared the last name might be Hayes, I checked the city directories on line at Ancestry.com and discovered that the 1943 Portland city directory shows a Dean Hayes living at 7638 S.E. 27th Ave., so apparently he was the informant. One of Seth's sons was named Dean Hayes.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Death Certificates From the Past – Edward Jewett


Edward Jewett was my 1st cousin 3 times removed, the son of Lydia Louisa Hayes and Reuben Jewett. I wrote about his sister, Lucelia (Jewett) Howell 25 May 2017. As you can read on his death certificate Edward was a cobbler. He was said to be the last person buried in the Halsey Pioneer Cemetery, also known as Smith Cemetery.



Although I never knew him, I really have appreciated that he wrote down some history of early Halsey and it was published in the Halsey newspaper in 1932 in several issues. I transcribed these articles and posted them on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/e266.htm


Saturday, December 16, 2017

Treasured Memories From the Past - Joanne and Oran were on a Christmas Card



In 1945 my parents used a picture of me and my brother Oran for their Christmas card.

The message still applies: Merry Christmas everyone!

Friday, December 15, 2017

My DNA Statistics from Ancestry.com Updated


On 14 Sep 2017 I posted some statistics from my AncestryDNA. Now 3 months later I'm sharing more statistics.


March 2017
9 August 2017
6 September 2017
15 December 
 2017
Shared Ancestor Hints
139
152
158
161
Starred matches
50
60
61
85
4th Cousins or Closer
835
1209
1260
1414
DNA Circles
22
25
26
27

The starred matches are marked by me, so that is my own doing. I mark those who I believe I know how they are related to me.

The others are calculated by Ancestry. Both Shared Ancestor Hints and DNA Circles require that my DNA matches also have a tree that matches mine and they have linked their DNA results to their tree. You can see that those numbers are not increasing all that rapidly.

The 4th Cousins or Closer numbers are strictly from the amount of DNA that we match. These numbers do continue to go up. From Christmas sales they will probably continue to keep going up.

My major goal for working with DNA matches is to make cousin connections so we can share and compare information, sometimes including photos. Having over 150 shared ancestor hints gives me lots of opportunities to try to connect with cousins, so it is now up to me to do that.









Thursday, December 14, 2017

Death Certificates From the Past – Andrew and Caroline (Falk) Drone


On November 19th I posted the death certificates of my grandfather's brother Leonard and Leonard's wife Katherine (Drone) Falk. Today, December 13th, are the death certificates of one of my grandfather's sisters, Caroline, and her husband Andrew Drone.

Caroline was one of the family who was born in Prussia. You may notice that the informant stated she was born in Germany as well as the birthplaces for her parents. Germany was formed as a country in 1871 which was after all of them were born, but when she died the place where she was born had become a part of the country of Germany. Andrew was born in Pennsylvania and they both died in Grant County Wisconsin.

The relationship between Leonard's children and Caroline's children was a little complicated, because Leonard's wife Katherine was the daughter of Andrew and his first wife. That made Katherine both Caroline's step-daughter and sister-in-law. So Andrew was the father of Caroline's children and the grandfather of Katherine and Leonard's children. But he also was an uncle by marriage to Katherine and Leonard's children since Caroline and Leonard were siblings.








Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 13 – Sarah Frazier 1793-1836


Sarah Frazier was one of my 3rd gt-grandmothers. She was the daughter of Francis and Elizabeth (Stanley) Frazier, born on 13 Dec 1793 in Randolph County North Carolina. She was the 5th child of 10, with 6 brothers and 3 sisters.

This was another one of my Quaker families. They left North Carolina with a certificate from Center Monthly Meeting in Guilford County in 1810 and went to Fairfield Monthly Meeting in Highland County Ohio. It was a little less than 2 years later, 10 Jul 1812, when Sarah married Isaac Hockett. I wrote about him on 17 Jan 2017. Two of Sarah's brothers, Gideon and Thomas, married two of Isaac's sisters, Ann and Hannah. So their children were double cousins. I have some DNA matches with cousins from these families.

It was in February of 1816 when Isaac and Sarah and their 2 oldest children were granted a certificate to go to New Garden Monthly Meeting in Randolph County Indiana. When Cherry Grove Monthly Meeting was set off from New Garden the Hockett family were members there. The Cherry Grove records show that Isaac and Sarah had 12 children from 1813 to 1835.

Their daughter Sarah was almost age 9 when she died in Jan 1835. About 7 months later their last child Elijah lived only a few hours before he died. Both Sarah and Elijah were buried at Cherry Grove. It was almost a year later when Sarah herself died 10 Aug 1836 and was also buried at Cherry Grove.

Isaac remarried to another Sarah and they moved to Iowa, first Henry County and finally to Hardin County, where Isaac died and was buried.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

It Pays to Read Other People's Blogs


I use Feedly to read a number of other people's blogs. One I read almost every day is by Randy Seaver, at www.geneamusings.com. One of his weekly posts is about new and updated collections on Ancestry.com. Recently it included that they had added some Alberta Canada vital records indexes. Since some of my family had immigrated there I decided to check them out.

The Marriage Records Index was from 1898 to 1942. My grandaunt, Lenah (Albertson) Slaight and her family moved to Alberta in 1902 and returned to the United States about 1920. While they were living in Alberta their daughter, Blossom, was married. I had estimated a date of about 1915 for her marriage, so I checked this database and there she was, Blossom Slaight married Martin H. Brown in 1918 at Harmattan, Alberta, Canada. It is not an exact date, but is more information than I had before.

My 2nd gt-grandaunt, Sophronia (O'Neal) Elliott, with her family moved to Alberta between 1905 and 1911. I discovered her husband Robert's death date in 1911 through a probate record here in Oregon. But I didn't know when Sophronia died. I checked the Ancestry data base for Alberta Deaths 1870 to 1966 and found just one Sophronia Elliott and she died in 1919 in Geoford, Alberta, Canada. However when I checked Google Maps for the location of Geoford nothing was found. I suspect that the name was misread since in an Alberta gazateer and directory for 1914 she was living at Yeoford.

I really appreciate Randy for alerting me to these newly added databases.









Monday, December 11, 2017

Monday Mystery Photo - #10


Here is the mystery photo for today, 11 Dec 2017



This is an unidentified photo from my father's, (Lester Albertson) collection. I believe it was originally from his mother's photos, Lucie (Smalley) Albertson. Some of the surnames from her family include Smalley, Shipman, Hemphill and Chase. But she also may have collected photos from the Albertson family.

This group picture is about 3.5 inches by 2.7 inches, pasted onto cardboard about 4.3 inches by 3.5 inches.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 10 – Benjamin Townsend 1742


Today's ancestor, Benjamin Townsend, was the father of my 3rd gt-grandmother, Edith Townsend, who I wrote about day before yesterday, December 8th. So that means that Benjamin was my 4th gt-grandfather.

He was born 10 Dec 1742, the son of Joseph and Lydia (Reynolds) Townsend in Chester County Pennsylvania. They were members of the Quaker Concord Monthly Meeting. While he was still quite young, in 1749, his father died and Benjamin was named in his father's will.

It was about 1767 when Benjamin married Edith Evans. They had 6 children before Edith died 8 May 1783. Benjamin married his second wife, Jemima Booth, 6 May 1784. About 2 years later, in 1786, the family moved to Washington County Pennsylvania. Benjamin and Jemima had at least 5 children before they moved farther west into Columbiana County Ohio in 1803. It appears that Jemima died before 1807 because Benjamin married his 3rd wife, Elizabeth Naylor, then.

From a probate record in Columbiana County, May term 1822, Benjamin was then deceased and apparently did not have a will. It does name 11 children who were his heirs at law, including the daughters' married names and locations for most of them.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 7 – Mary Ann O'Neal 1858-1918


Today is the third of my ancestors, all female, who were born on December 7. Mary Ann O'Neal was one of my gt-grandmothers. She was born 7 Dec 1858, the daughter of Commodore Perry and Margaret (England) O'Neal. There is quite a complete listing of the “facts” of her life on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/p11.htm#i261 

She was born in Davis County Iowa, moved to California in 1865 and then to Lane County Oregon the latter part of 1870. She married John Howard Bond at her home 18 Jun 1876. It was about 1894 when they moved to eastern Oregon in Gilliam County Oregon with their 5 children, Margaret “Maggie”, Ivy, Perry, Roy and my grandmother Florence. About 1905 they moved back to western Oregon to Linn County Oregon. They went farther south to Douglas County in about 1915. It was there she died 14 Jul 1918.

I have previously posted some photos of her, but will repost some of them today.

This is Mary as a child with her parents.

This is Mary with her parents and 3 brothers. This appears to be after she was married, probably the late 1880s or early 1890s.

This photo of her by herself is one of my favorites. The same photo was published in a Douglas County History with an article about her and John.

Friday, December 8, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 7 – Edith Townsend 1791-1837


Three of my ancestors, all female, were born on December 7, so the later 2 are being posted a day or two late.

Today is Edith Townsend who was one of my 3rd gt-grandmothers. Edith was the daughter of Benjamin and Jemima (Booth) Townsend. Jemima was Benjamin's second wife, so Edith had 6 older half-siblings. But Edith also had at least 4 full siblings. Her parents were married in Chester County (now Delaware County) Pennsylvania at the Quaker Concord Monthly Meeting in 1784. It was 1786 when the family transferred their membership to the Westland Monthly Meeting in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was there that Edith was born on the 7th day of the 12th month (December) 1791. In 1803 the family moved again, or at least transferred their membership to Concord Monthly Meeting in Columbiana County Ohio. They seem to have been members of the Short Creek Monthly Meeting which was set off from the Concord meeting in 1804. In 1806 Edith, as a minor (age 14) transferred to Salem Monthly Meeting which was also in Columbiana County. In 1808 the New Garden Meeting was set off from Salem and Edith was probably one of the charter members there.

It was in 1810 that Edith married Elias Marsh, who had come from New Jersey to Ohio. Edith and Elias had 8 known children: Robert b.1811, Martha b.1812, William b.1817, Lydia b.1818, Jesse b.1820, Sabina b. 1823 (my 2nd gt-grandmother), Fanny b. 1827 and Joseph b. 1830.

In 1834 the family moved to Indiana, apparently to Hancock County. They were members of Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting which was in neighboring Rush County.

It was there in Hancock County that Edith died 5 Aug 1837, as recorded in the minutes of the Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting. Her youngest son Joseph died just 2 months later at age 10. So that must have been a sad year for their family.


Thursday, December 7, 2017

Ancestor Birthday – December 7 - Sarah White 1742-1800


Sarah White was my 5th gt-grandmother. She was born 275 years ago today. I have a few of the "facts" about her life on my website. http://www.joanneskelton.com/p50.htm#i1237

Sarah probably was the 12th child of 13 born to Thomas and Rachel (Jordan) White. Thomas and Rachel were married in Isle of Wight County Virginia in 1719. They had moved to Perquimans County North Carolina at least by the beginning of 1727. This was where Sarah was born in 1742. Because her family were Quakers, she is found in those church records. This was a listing of the children of Thomas and Rachel and Sarah is included.


It is believed that Sarah married Nicholas Nicholson 17 Nov 1762. They had nine children: 4 boys, including my 4th gt-grandfather Nathan Nicholson, and 5 girls. I wrote about Nicholas on my blog on 7 Jun 2017.

Sarah was named in her father's will as Sarah White since he wrote his will 15 Sep 1761 and it was probated in Jan 1762 which was before she was married. There was a will now in the state archives undated, unsigned and unwitnessed for a Rachel White, who probably was Sarah's mother. That will includes a bequest to Sarah Nicholson. It was quoted in History of Perquimans County, by Mrs. Watson Winslow, on page 371. It shows that Sarah was to receive: “one feather bed, and furniture, that Mary Pritchet left me, one half Duzen Earthen plates, and one punch bole, one large pewter Dish, one Deep puwter Dish, one tee pot, and five tee Cups, and sas---(saucers) one large Stone pot, one Square table, one Chest, to her and hers forever.” I wonder if Sarah actually received all these items.

It is believed that Sarah died 22 Apr 1800. Some researchers believe that Nicholas died that same year.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Grandfather Falk Was In the Newspaper


On 11 May 2017 I wrote about some of the entries in the local newspaper (Goodland Kansas) about my grandfather Albertson. Today it is my grandfather Falk's turn.



I already wrote (16 Feb 2017) about how the Julius Falk family visited with their daughter Wilma and her husband and also about their trip south to Glide to visit Julius' in-laws.
The Albany Daily Democrat of 24 Jan 1920 told that Julius made a trip to Portland and when he returned he was driving a Stoddard-Dayton automobile.


In reading the Albany and Eugene newspapers I found that Julius and family lived between Halsey and Harrisburg. (I actually already knew that.) When an item was listed in the Halsey news he lived southwest of town and if it was found in the Harrisburg news he lived north of town. On 16 Oct 1908 it was reported that he had purchased a farm 3 miles north of town and the price was $25 per acre. I very much doubt that his land could be purchased at that rate now.


There were a couple of items related to farming. In 1917 Julius was helping fill a silo. In Feb 1922 he reported that his first lamb had come on October 10 and that was confirmed by a witness, Clarence Grimes, who distinctly remembered the early lambs during hunting season. In 1934 a crew was threshing sudan grass crop for him. In 1937 he was listed as a visitor at the Lake Creek Grange with his son and daughter. Of course the fact that his daughter Violet gave a reading as part of their program probably influenced that visit.

It was in March of 1924 when he was listed as the father of a new daughter and then in August of 1927 he was the father of a son. He was mentioned as father of the bride when Wilma was married in 1933 and again as father of the bride when Lois was married in 1934. I smiled when I saw that the newspaper had listed Lois' husband as Benjamin “Lotsplick” because he name really was Lotspeich. Maybe someone's handwriting wasn't too legible. Julius was named as one of the grandfathers when Joanne was born in 1939 and then again in 1942 when her brother Oran was born.


Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Ancestor Birthday - December 4th – Julius Adolph Falk 1880 - 1944


I am a day late posting about Grandpa Falk's birthday since it came on a Monday and that is the day I try to post a mystery photo, which I did yesterday.

Two years ago I wrote a post about Julius' birthday, 4 Dec 2015. Here is a copy of that:

It was on December 4th, 1880, in Avoca township, Iowa County, Wisconsin, when my maternal grandfather, Julius Adolph Falk was born. Both of his parents, Ludwig Falk and Anna Louisa (Boehm) Falk, were born in the Posen Province of Prussia. They were German speaking Protestants who had immigrated to the United States in 1858. Julius was their youngest son, with at least 11 older brothers and sisters and 4 older half-siblings. By 1905 Julius had moved to Linn County, Oregon, where he married Florence Edna Bond in 1910. He continued to live there on his farm with his family until his death in 1944.

With that post I included a photo of him on an old tractor. I really enjoy this picture. Here it is again.



Other posts that include him were
the photo of the 6 brothers who came to Oregon 23 Sep 2017,
a post about his automobile 28 Nov 2016
his wedding photo on 22 Oct 2014,
a map showing his Oregon property 13 Oct 2014,
and the church record showing his birth 5 Oct 2014.

You can read more about him on my website:



Monday, December 4, 2017

Monday Mystery Photo - #9


Here is the mystery photo for today, 4 Dec 2017


This is an unidentified photo from my father's, (Lester Albertson) collection. I believe it was originally from his mother's photos, Lucie (Smalley) Albertson. Some of the surnames from her family include Smalley, Shipman, Hemphill and Chase. But she also may have collected photos from the Albertson family.

It is a tintype about 2.2 inches by 3.2 inches. I wonder if this little boy had his first haircut.