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#52 Ancestors No. 26 – James White – Michigan Thumb Fire September 5, 1881
Posted in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on September 5, 2015
This is post 26 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website. 
Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers tweeted of photo of a cartograph1 depicting the Michigan thumb area that mentions a fire that happen on this day in 1881, as a blogging prompt. Recognizing the all too familiar appendage of my birth state, I remembered that one of my ancestors lost their life during the fire.
Burnt District resulting from the Michigan Thumb Fire, September 5, 1881.
The illustrated cartograph showed the burnt district in the Michigan thumb area that resulted from the great fire on September 5, 1881. The Great Fire, as it is known, burned for three days. It destroyed a million acres of land, including forests, farms, mills, and businesses. The fire consumed the lives of over 280 people2.
James White was just five months old when he died on 16 September 1881. His death was caused by the effects of the fire 11 days earlier. It is not known if he suffered from smoke inhalation or from burns. The death was recorded in 1882 and is transcribed in the GENDIS2 database.
I have a mimeograph copy of a family history from an unknown source and date that includes two written pages of notes. The notes talk of Aunt Vi (Violet White), who would be James’ older sister. The letter mentions that Aunt Vi was five years old at the time of the Great Fire. The writer of the letter states, “Aunt Vi remembers them huddling under a quilt all but their father and one of the boys. They had to keep pulling out sparks that land on the quilt. Then all was over the quilt was full of little holes.” There is no mention of James’ death.
James’ parents are James Montgomery White and Persis DesJardins are my great great-grandparents. Th family were farmers in Minden, Sanilac County, Michigan. By the time of the fire, James and Persis had eight children. Two more children would come later. One was my great-grandmother, Minnie White.
Sources:
1http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-beat-saturday-5-september-2015/#more-34852
2Wikipedia Great Thumb Fire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb_fire
3http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/scripts/individual.asp?UniqueID=282434
Additional resources:
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ptruckin/greatfire.html
http://www3.gendisasters.com/michigan/5778/mi-quotgreat-thumb-firequot-sept-1881?page=0,1
#52 Ancestors No. 25 – Francisco Mine #2 1926 Coal Mine Disasters – Two Roll Family Members Lost
Posted in 52 Ancestors on July 12, 2015
This is post 25 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Coal mining without a doubt is dangerous work. Toxic gases, coal dust, explosions, fires and flooding occur; taking the lives of over 10,000 just in the last two centuries. Tragedies continue today as the world continues to mine for precious minerals, gemstones, and energy sources. Health issues from mining may affect miners after they stop working in the mines.
Coal has been mined in Indiana and Kentucky since the early 1800’s. Coal was the fuel for steamships and railroads that helped expand the growth of United States. I have two family lines who settled both Indiana and Kentucky. Members of these families migrated from the back breaking, drought or disease ridden and labor intensive farming to the more dependable coal mining employment.
My own great-grandfather Oliver Cromwell Roll worked on the railroad. As did his uncles and cousins. My grandfather, Hugh A. Howes, did not want to work the mines or railroad and headed north to Detroit to work in the auto factories.
Inscription by Laufa Helsley Lockwood, the widow of Frank Helsley
The probability that my collateral ancestors would be affected by a mine disaster may have been marginal. Nevertheless, two of my relatives died in the same mine incident. My third great Uncle, Samuel W. Roll, son of Isaac Roll and Elizabeth Weir, lost a son and a grandson.
1926 Francisco Mine #2
The explosion occurred on December 9, 1926. 37 miners lost their life. The cause of the explosion was undetermined. Francisco Mine #2 was located near Princeton, Gibson Co, Indiana. Workers came as far as Evansville, IN, 40 miles away to work the mines.
Two of Samuel sons, John R. (b. 1863) and Shelby Jackson Roll (b. 1868), ended up as miners. John R. Roll mined in Spottsville. Shelby moved up to Evansville and mined at the Francisco Mines. John’s son, Ollie Roll (b. 1895), lived in Ohio Township, located near Evansville.
It is quite possible the two men, one an uncle, the other a nephew; rode to the mines together or stayed nearby in lodgings. Shelby was one of the missing after explosion and fire. His body was found the next morning. His was 58 years old. Shelby married late in life to a widow with three daughters. He did not have children
Ollie Roll was 31 years old on the day he died in Francisco Mine #2. He was survived by his wife Emma and their four young daughters.
Sources:
Princeton, IN Coal Mine Explosion and Fire, Dec 1926, originally submitted by Stu Beitler.
http://www3.gendisasters.com/indiana/19995/princeton-in-coal-mine-explosion-fire-dec-1926
Mining Accidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_accident
Mine Safety and Health Administration www.msha.gov
Coal in Indiana – http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/hoosier/CO-09.html
FindAGrave.com – Memorial Headstone, tlws (#47311297), http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=20754686&PIpi=43644854
Indiana Coal Mine Disasters http://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/01/29/coal-mining-explosions/4795285/
#52Ancestors: Week 24 – Olga Cartwright – Planted a Family Tree
Posted in 52 Ancestors, Genealogy Blog on July 5, 2015
This is week 24 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
On a far off branch of the Pittman section of my tree lies the Cartwright family. And wouldn’t you know it…the Cartwright family included a son named Ben Cartwright. Cue! Bonanza. “On this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name, fortune smiled, the day we filed the Ponderosa claim.” Yes, there were lyrics to the opening tune. Humming the theme song now, aren’t’ you?
Olga Cartwright married John Barnett in 1912. This couple starts the twig in the line that descends down to lost cousins I have yet to connect. They are the grandparents to Kenneth Ralph Barnett, written in the 2014 series of #52Ancestors – No. 33.
Olga is the daughter of Mathew Thompson Cartwright (1857-1935) and Susan J. Melton (1859-1930). She had nine siblings including her brother Ben. The family lived in Cleaton, Muhlenberg Co., Kentucky. The unincorporated town south of Central City, KY, still has a rural appeal.
Olga and her husband John had a total of 12 children. John earned his living a miner in the coal mines. Olga lived from 1893 to 1974. Her relationship to me is labeled as mother-in-law of first cousin twice removed.
Bonanza Lyrics written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/lyrics.html
#52Ancestors: Week 23 – Charles Sherman Howes – Past Pacific NW Connections
Posted in 52 Ancestors on June 14, 2015
This is week 23 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
I am not the only person in my family lineage that has relocated to the Pacific Northwest to live and work. My grandfather, Hugh Howes’ brother Charles Sherman, briefly lived in Portland, Oregon. Charles’ son, Beryl Leon Howes was living and working as an electrician. Charles and his wife, Barbara A. Piper, moved in with Beryl and his wife. The 1943 Portland City Directory lists both couples at 4933 N Gantenbein Ave, near the cross street, NE Alberta.
Charles and Barbara did not stay long in the area. There was no listing of them in the 1941 City Directory. Ancestry.com did not have city directories for 1944 to 1950 for Portland. They may have stayed a couple of years before moving back to Sullivan, Indiana.
Charles passed away in 1960, Barbara in 1961. Both are buried at Center Ridge Cemetery in Sullivan, IN.
Beryl with his wife, Edith P. Kirk remained in Portland for a number of years. They are listed as living on NE 77th Ave in 1957. The 940 sqft house built in 1924 stills stands today. Beryl and Edith return to live in Sullivan possibly before his parents passed. He and his wife are also buried at Center Ridge Cemetery.
Image capture from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin. Page 800 Portland, Oregon, City Directory, 1943
#52Ancestors: Week 22 – Will the right Elizabeth Vaught stand up!
Posted in 52 Ancestors on June 14, 2015
This is week 22 of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Post 21 of 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge was about Michael Roll’s revoluntionary pension application. One of the deposed witnesses to his service was a woman named Elizabeth Vaught. I wanted to know the relationship of this person to Michael Roll.
I created a research plan which I listed below. FYI…This is future project for me. Writing the plan now allows me to capture the information that I analyzed for future reference.
Name of subject: Elizabeth Vaught
Born in Cumberland County of Pennsylvania
About 1768
Spouse: Unknown
Location: Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
Problem
Elizabeth Vaught provided a deposition confirming that Michael Roll served in the Revolutionary War in his application for pension. Her creditability to offer evidence was affirmed by Moses Wickliffe, Esq.; acting Justice of the Peace. He states that Ms/Mrs Vaught is a lady of much respectability as of any in the county and to whom credit is due.
- Who is this much respectable lady?
- How did she know Michael Roll?
- Is Elizabeth Vaught her married name? The handwriting abbreviation for Ms/Mrs is not clear and legible on the pension application.
- There are several generations of women named Elizabeth Vaught within the collateral Vaught family lines.
Analysis
Michael Roll’s May 1834 pension application provides some clues about Elizabeth Vaught. She knew Michael Roll when she was a child. That her father’s house was in sight of John Roll house, Michael’s father. Her age is listed as 66 years old.
Michael Roll was married to Christina E. Vaught, daughter of Christian Vaught and Hannah Crum.
Is the middle initial “E” for Elizabeth? Her estimated birth year is 1765. There is a headstone for C.R. 1834 at Sears Cemetery located in Muhlenberg Co, Kentucky.
The application also lists names and descriptions people giving evidence. Simeon Vaught provided testimony to verify Michael’s story of serving in the war. Simeon is describe as a clergyman and is about 71 years of age. How is Simeon related to Elizabeth and Christina Vaught?
In addition to Moses Wickliffe, Solomon Rhoades, Justice of the Peace provides a statement attesting he is acquainted with Ms/Mrs. Vaught. The Vaughts, Rolls, and Rhoades are related through marriage.
There is a will for an Elizabeth Vaught dated 1844, that leaves an estate to her grandchildren. Does this mean her own children are deceased? Is this the Elizabeth in the pension application?
Goal
Find out if Christina and Elizabeth are either the same person or two separate people. If two separate individuals how are they related?
Research Plan and Notes
Cumberland County Pennsylvania birth records from 1760 to 1772, and marriage records from 1780 to 1805.
Kentucky marriage records from 1795 to 1830, focusing on Hardin and Muhlenberg counties, then fan out to surrounding areas.
Review historical information about forts in Cumberland County for family information.
Locate and review SAR and DAR applications for family lineage. Research that the information contained can be verified through other sources. SAR/DAR are abbreviations for the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution lineage societies.
Kentucky Land Records
Kentucky Death Records
Hardin and Muhlenberg Tax Records
Hardin and Muhlenberg Clerk County Records, for wills and probate records
Muhlenberg County Church and cemetery records
Sources and Repositories
“Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, ca.1775-ca. 1900,” database, Ancestry, (www.ancestry.com, assessed June 12, 2015), entry for Michael Roll, Kentucky, imaged from the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, M804 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1974, roll 2078.
Dorann O’Neal Lam. “Will” Elizabeth Vaught February 1844, Muhlenberg Will Book 3 Page 59, (http://muhlenberg.genealogenie.net/Wills/vaught-elizabeth.htm, accessed June 14, 2015)
Evaluation
This is a future research project
Conclusion
Research not started
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