Posts Tagged genealogy records
#52 Ancestors – No. 7 Oliver Cromwell Roll
Posted by Caroll in Uncategorized on February 17, 2014
This post is number 7 in the series of the 52 Ancestors Challenge where we blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.
Oliver Cromwell Roll (aka Ollie C. Roll) was of medium height and build with gray eyes and brown hair. His life was short t down by bronchopneumonia in the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. He lived long enough to marry my great grandmother Mabel Pittman and have one child, Olive A. Roll.
Ollie C Roll, 8 months old, 1884
Scan of a tintype photo
At 16, Ollie is working as day laborer, so is his 13 brother David; according to the 1900 Census. On his 1917 WWI Registration card, he lists his occupation as miner for Woolley Mines. I find it interesting that he and Mabel live on Olive Street in Evansville, Indiana with their daughter named, Olive.
Born to David W. Roll and Katherine Traylor Guy in 1884, most likely named for his father’s brother; Oliver C. Roll (1848-1926). He is the oldest son with five living siblings. He married Mabel on August 10, 1906. I do not have a copy of the marriage certificate. The record at FamilySearch.org cites a record showing Ollie’s last name as ROSE. It is most likely a transcription error.
My grandmother, Olive, was very fond of her father and greatly sadden by his death. Her family story is that she passed the flu virus on to her father that eventually claimed his life in 1918. After Ollie’s death, Mabel kept in touch with the Roll family throughout her life and so did my grandmother Olive.
Sources
Death Certificate – Vanderburgh Co Health Department certified copy issued October 2003 from the original record. The original source of this record is the book CH-5 on page 342 within the series produced by the Indiana Works Progress Administration.
WWI Registration Card
Marriage Certificate – “Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F498-C8G : accessed 17 Feb 2014), Ollie Rose and Mabel Pittman, 10 Aug 1906.
#52Ancestors – No. 5 – Ignacy Frank Borucki
Posted by Caroll in Genealogy, Polish Genealogy on February 2, 2014
This is post #5 as part of the 52 Ancestors Challenge were we blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.
Ignacy Francis Borucki is my great-granduncle, the brother of my great-grandmother Marianna Borucka. Ignacy preferred to go by Frank in most of the sources records I have for him. So I will use Frank. Frank seesawed in using variants of his name. He would sometimes go by Ignac or Frank; or use Borucki, Borucky or Borke, as his last name. Frank was born in Mamino, Makow Mazowicki, Poland, on 24 Dec 1872 or 1873. Various records list his birth year between 1872 and 1874. I don’t think Frank could make up his mind.
He married Alexandra Lipinska in Poland before they immigrated to America. They arrived on 27 May 1896. The New York passenger list states their final destination is Chicago, IL. Their first child, Ladislaus Borucki, is born in November 1896 in South Chicago, IL. In late 1897 or early 1898 they have moved to Pittsburgh, PA. Ladislaus passes away in April 1898 in Pittsburgh.
He and his family still reside in Pittsburg as of the 1900 census. Frank and Alexandra have two more children, John and Wladytawa, (Lottie). There are three boarders listed with him. One is my great-grandfather, Adam Budny, who recently arrived in America.
I discovered another passenger arrival list for Frank dated October 1900. This record lists his hometown as Mamino. Alexandra is not on the passenger list. His final destination is Schenectady, NY. Was he previously in the U.S? Yes. What was the name and location of the person he was going to stay with, his brother in Chicago, IL? The Schenectady information appears in a thinner ink stroke and could have been added later. I have two issues with this record regarding the brother in Chicago.
I have a copy of Franks’ 1918 Declaration of Intention for citizenship. His lists the arrival date and ship name of his1900 arrival on his application. The Detroit address listed is the same one on his WW1 registration that states his wife’s name, Alexandra.
Growing up, all the Aunts and cousins stated there were only three Borucki siblings, Frank, Marianna and a younger sister, Josephine. Josephine remained in Poland. If Frank was telling the truth, who is this brother listed on the passenger list? Why Chicago, when his family is in Pittsburgh? A polish researcher located a record of birth for Marianna Borucki-Budny’s child born in Mamino, Poland. One of the witnesses was a Ksawery Borucki, which could be a cousin or another possible brother. It is possible that there were more than just the three siblings.
Frank does take his family back to Chicago. The next three children, Stanley (1902), Edward (1907), and Raymond (1910) are born in Chicago. The 1910 census remains elusive for me as well as any city directories and birth records. The family finally settles in Detroit, MI. The last of the children, Zigmund and Irene, are born in Detroit.
Frank’s occupation is a die maker at Ford Motor Co. Irene is 14 when her father, Frank dies, October 1929. Stanley Borucki is divorced and has custody of his two young children. He supports his mother and siblings, all living in the same house on the 1930 census.
Sources
1900 Census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MS12-HK4
Ladislaus Borucki Death Certificate https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZ7K-52S
1917 World War One registration
1918 Declaration of Intention for Citizenship
#52Ancestors – No. 4 – Theodocia R. Sims
This post is part of the 52 Ancestors Challenge were we blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.
In this weeks’ challenge I chose Theodocia Rachael Sims. Theodocia is the wife of last week’s ancestor Benjamin C. Woodburn. I had assumed early in my research that she most likely passed way before 1890. I was not able to find a record of her in later years. Years have come and go and new information has bought a series of dots to connect on this line.
Theodocia was born in 1841, near Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky. She is the daughter of William Sims/Simms and Catherine Woodburn. William Sims dies within a year or two of Theodocia’s birth. This leaves her mother with seven daughters to rear. Her mother Catherine stays close to the Woodburn family and is enumerated on the same census page in 1850 and 1860. Her farm, if she had a farm, may have been next door to her father’s James Woodburn or brother, Alexander Woodburn. The Wilson family between the two families, is Catherine’s oldest daughter, Amanda Woodburn Wilson.
- Woodburn’s and Sim’s 1860 Census
Theodocia didn’t go too far to meet her husband. He was just across the field at her Uncle Alexander’s house. Theodosia married her first cousin, Benjamin Woodburn who was four years younger. Benjamin enlisted in the Union army in 1862 and returned home sometime before 1867. He and Theodocia married in April 1867 in Christian Co., Kentucky. I have not been able to find an image of the marriage bond or license.
On the 1870 Census, they reside near Decker Station, Indiana. Four children are listed, with the oldest one, Charles, born in 1864, three years before they married. Benjamin was in the Civil War for at least 3-4 years. He could have furloughed from the war and had pre-marital relations with Theodocia. Or, Theodocia was married before or had relations with another man. I have not found a marriage record for an earlier marriage.
Fast forward to Civil War Pension records. Theodocia applies for a widow’s pension in 1892. So now I know she is still around. I am still not able to find her in the 1900, 1910 or 1920 Censuses. While researching her daughter Addie Decker Woodburn, I found information leading me to Theodocia. I found Addie’s death certificate listing her mother’s name and Addie’s married name (Morris) and residence. Addie is living in Dallas and/or Fort Worth area of Texas. I started looking to see if I could find Theodocia. By that time Texas records were added to Ancestry.com.
Eureka! A death certificate is discovered for Theodocia R. Sims Thacker. Theodocia’s death certificate lists Billie Sims and Katherine Woodburn as her parents. The date of her death is August 3, 1926. The informant on the record is Jimmie Morris, Addie’s husband. At findagrave, there is a headstone for Granny Thacker, no first name. The spouse on the headstone is M. L. Thacker.
I have not found any record that definitely connects Theodocia to this M. L. Thacker. M.L. Thacker is allegedly Marcus Lafayette Thacker born 1831 in Tennessee, died 1920 in Fort Worth, TX. I do know that M. L. Thacker lived in Christian Co., Kentucky in 1860. He is enumerated in the same district and not too many pages from the Woodburn’s and Sims.
I continue to search for any listing of Benjamin Woodburn. I was rewarded a couple of weeks ago when his name came up in a Civil War Remarried Widow Pension Application. Filed in May 1920, shortly after Marcus Thacker’s death, Benjamin’s widow filed for a pension. The name on the application is, Theodocia R Thacker. I’m slowly connecting the dots and tearing down the walls.
Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: , Christian, Kentucky; Roll: M653_362; Page: 596; Image: 94; Family History Library Film: 803362.
“Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FWBK-CVC : accessed 25 Jan 2014), Benjamin H. Woodburn and Theodocia R. Sims, 28 Apr 1867.
#52Ancestors – No. 2 – Josephine Woodburn Pittman
I chose this ancestor because I feel the need to go back in time to ask why this marriage took place. What was happening in the family environment that led to this event? What would compel the parents to give their permission for the marriage? I cannot accept that the couple married for love.
My first record of Josephine Woodburn is from my grandmother Olive Roll Howes 3×5 index card listing her parent’s family names. Grandma Olive was way into genealogy back in the 60’s. She would so get a kick of the records we have access to today. Josephine was my first brick wall outside of the Polish side.
Grandma Olive’s 3×5 card
I knew she died young and her husband John Thomas Pittman remarried and had more children. My next clue was the 1910 Census for John Pittman. Josephine is not listed. The three oldest girls and the new wife are in the record. So this implies that Josephine died sometime after her third daughter was born and John’s remarriage. Long before computers, I searched the microfilms of the 1870 and 1880 Censuses looking for her. I had two possibilities and logged them on my Dad’s old letterhead and keep them in the pile of records. Year’s later I added them to my Ancestry Shoebox for future reference. The information just wasn’t quire right. They were for two separate Josephine’s. One born in 1862 had a mother named Martha, I have an Aunt Martha. The 1880 record of a Josephine had all the matching info, except the age was off.
I searched over the past 25 years to no avail. As computers came online I searched again, but I needed records. I so needed the 1890 Census lost forever to fire and water. I was sure that would tie everything together. I scoured various Internet sites looking for records; again, I needed more records online.
My favorite genealogical website is KYGenWeb – Online Kentucky Genealogy Resources. It is definitely the go to site for your Kentucky and Indiana ancestors. I would spend hours search their records for information. This was before they added a search engine. I would open every single link and comb through line by line looking for references, sources, any clue to long lost relatives. I check back every so often to see if they added more records that I could search. A few years back I found my wrecking ball at KYGenweb. That elusive piece of information that would finally bring down that brick wall.
I don’t think I will ever have empirical sources on Josephine Woodburn. The records I have found do demonstrate both direct and indirect evidence. The indirect evidence is my wrecking ball. KYGenWeb provided a listing of burial records at the Old Dovey Cemetery in Central City, KY. It is an original transcription from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Cemeteries Vol. 1 by Marian G. Hammers. 1976. There near the bottom, a record for J.K. Woodburn, wife of J.T. Pittman, December 11, 1872 – February 12, 1893.
But was it my Josephine Woodburn? I use the dates given searching for birth and death records, nothing is found on Josephine. I do find records for the girls linking them to Josephine and John Pittman. It would take another year, before the index of Josephine and John’s marriage is online. Their marriage date in October 28, 1885. I am still haunted by that 1880 Census. The birth date on the cemetery listing fits the Josephine listed on the census. The brick wall in my brain will not accept it at all. That Josephine born in 1872 is too young to be my Josephine.
What in Sam’s Hell was going on in the Woodburn family in 1885? I am beginning to think that this Woodburn line were the poor relations of the family. Struggling financially to get by raising and providing for the family. Did Josephine’s father Benjamin C Woodburn injuries from the civil war affect his ability to provide for his family? Where is my time machine? I have a lot of questions to ask you Benjamin and Rachael (Sims) Woodburn!
Marriage Bond for John T Pittman and Josephine Woodburn
I found the marriage bond for John Thomas Pittman and Josephine K. Woodburn at Familysearch.org. Agreeing to the marriage was B.C. Woodburn. The wedding took place at the home of B. C. Woodburn, witnesses were Levi Eaves (family relation) and Josephine’s brother, Charles Woodburn. John Pittman is 22 years old, Josephine is listed as 14. FOURTEEN! Who in the ^*&*% let’s their child get married at FOURTEEN?! But Josephine is not 14, she is 12 years old. She will be 13 years old six weeks later. I just cannot fathom why a 22 year old would marry a 12 year old.
Their first child, Grace Pittman Holmes is born in 1887, followed by Mable Laura Pittman Roll in 1889. Mary Katherine (Kit) Pittman Jackson is born in August 1892. Josephine Woodburn Pittman is dead six months later.
At the age of 36, John T. Pittman marries Ella McDowell, 29 in 1900. They have four children together. By the 1910 Census, Josephine’s daughters have left the house. My grandmother Olive, says that John Pittman demanded a lot from his girls, housecleaning and taking care of their younger siblings. They left as soon as they were able. John out lived both his wives, Ella passed away in 1936. John lived to be 93 and passed away in 1956.
I was not able to find Josephine’s headstone listed at Findagrave. It may be lost to time or just overlooked. I think the headstone has a story to tell. In a time when men rule and women have no rights, maybe Josephine’s family wanted her to be remember forever as a Woodburn. Because the stone does not say J.K. Pittman in a time where women lost their identity. Her stone reads J.K. Woodburn.
Truth or Fiction – Genealogy Records
My original intent for last week’s post was to write about analyzing records. How accurate or reliable is the information? Is the information in the record correct or truthful, does it offer clues, does it spin off another weave in the time continuum. As a genealogist, to you obsess over the record or log it for future review. I felt my Unweaving The Stories Woven thread topic needed more explaining, generating a post of its own. The evening was late, dream sleep was calling, and my analysis could wait another day.
I pulled a city directory record related to one of my ancestors from Ancestry.com. The rational Gemini side of me says log the record as a curiosity, to label it as an error on the part of the printer. The inquisitive side wants me to dig deeper. I find myself fantasying what the information means. Weaving my own tales of possibilities gleaned from this little thread.
I learned about the valuable information garnered from city directories long before I became interested in genealogy. I was about 10 years old when I was given a city directory to address postcards for one of my father’s political campaigns. I sure there is a repressed memory of helping him use the directory for marketing his business also. In my teen years, I used the city directory to locate the address of record of one or more high school boy crushes. The beginning threads of my informational analyst job skills.
I used to peruse the directories at the local library for fun. Really, I did. In the early 1980’s, I would go to the Burton Historical Collection at the downtown Detroit Library for genealogy research. The overlords of the keys to the records intimidated this anti-trait shy Gemini with their policies and processes, so designed to keep you away from the locked records hidden in bowels of the library that you so seek. Afraid even to ask, “Can I have one more record, please” so that you are not silenced further by the glare of death.
Enough storytelling, or is it? I created a couple of fictional stories in my mind for this 1912 Pittsburgh, PA City Directory record. The record is for my missing great grandfather Adam Budny? Adam Budny disappeared or left his family in 1917. I have been looking for clues as to what happen to him. So why is this source causing trouble? My great grandparents first settled in Pittsburgh after immigrating from Poland. Family lore is that they lived in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and then finally Detroit. So far I have no record of them living in Chicago. Adam’s brother-in-law, Ignacy Frank Borucki did live in Chicago for awhile.
Four of the Adam’s & Mary’s eight children were born in Pittsburgh, the last four in Detroit. My sources include a death record with an address for their first child born in America, Peter, who only lived a few weeks in 1902. Stanley Budny’s 1902 birth record and a 1903 Pittsburgh city directory listing the same address as Peter’s death record. Adam and Mary Budny arrived in Detroit sometime in late 1906 or early 1907. Adam is listed in the 1907 and subsequent years in the Detroit City Polk Directory. During my search, I could not find Adam in the 1912 Detroit City Directory. So when I discovered him in the 1912 Pittsburgh directory, bells went off. Adam went back to Pittsburgh or so I thought. I eventually found Adam’s listing in 1912 Detroit city directory. The indexer recorded the first letter as an “R” and that’s why it didn’t show up in the search engine.
Was this Pittsburgh record for a different Adam Budny? How or why, can my great grandfather be recorded in two different cities in the same year. Did he go back to Pittsburgh for a job? I know, as I fantasized, he went back to retrieve buried treasure or something he hid in the apartment? That’s my favorite fictional interpretation of the record. So what is wrong with this record? What has me worked up about this record you ask?
It is the address listed in the record. The address listed in the 1912 city directory is the same as 1902/1903 sources I have on file. They lived at 2808 Spring Alley, Pittsburgh. What are the odds that if Adam did go to Pittsburgh sometime in 1911 or 1912, that he would go to the address he lived at in 1902. That he would get recorded as being a resident in the same house, 10 years later.
His occupation is different in the listings. In 1903, he’s a laborer; the 1912 directory has him as a cleaner. So just maybe, he was there after all. There are missing pages in the online version of the directory for me to crosscheck by street name. I am not even sure Pittsburgh used the same process as Detroit City Polk Directories. In the Detroit directories, the streets were indexed in the back. That index also listed the residents’ name. A useful method in hunting an ancestor in a census, if cannot find them through an index. I would like to surmise that this was a printer’s error.
Then again, there is a rumor that the last couple of children didn’t belong to Adam. Some other man fathered those children. That maybe Adam left long before 1917.
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