Posts Tagged Pittman
#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.
#52 Ancestors – No. 6 – Borden Hays Baumgartel, Senior
This post is number 6 in the series of the 52 Ancestors Challenge where we blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.
Borden Hays Baumgartel, Senior married into the family. He is the second husband of my great-grandmother Mabel Pittman Roll and the step-father to my grandmother Olive A. Roll. Borden was a friend of Ollie Cromwell Roll, Mable’s first husband. Ollie Roll died of flu related symptoms in 1918. Borden and Mable were married in Evansville, IN, in 1920. Two boys, Borden, Junior (aka Uncle Bob, born 1922) and John Donald Baumgartel (born 1925) were added to the new family.
Borden Baumgartel World War I
Who was Borden H. Baumgartel? For starters, he most likely was not a Baumgartel. Borden is listed on the 1900 Census living with his grandfather, Henry M. Baumgartel, his parents, Lawson (Losson) and Alma J. Hartley Baumgartel and his brother Henry. There is an added word on Borden’s line indicating he is the adopted grandson of Henry M. Baumgartel. The family resides in New Albany, Floyd Co, Indiana at that time.
I will provide details of my analysis on this adoption in another blog post. I just want to get a quick bio out today. Briefly, his original birth name may be Borden. Borden’s son John Donald Baumgartel changed his last name to Borden either in the late 1940’s or 1950’s. Borden may have known he was adopted. The Baumgartel’s may have used his last name as his first name when they adopted him. Which was common as I have seen guardian records from that era using that naming pattern.
Lawson Baumgartel tragically died in 1903. Leaving Alma with four children, the youngest, Pearl, was only five days old. Alma remarries twice and seems to cut ties with the Baumgartel family. She moves the family to Louisville, KY. Borden starts working as a clerk when he is 15 years old in 1913. By the start of WWI he is a Western Union messenger and serving in the Kentucky National Guard. Shortly thereafter, he is inducted as a Private in the US Army in August 1917 and serving in the war.
I have a copy of his discharge papers from the National Guard stating he is being inducted into the Army. I found a copy of his application to get a duplicate copy of his Army discharge papers in 1932. There was a fire in August 1932 that destroyed most of the photos and other memorabilia belonging to the Roll, Howes, and Baumgartel families. I am not aware if he went overseas or stayed stateside during the war.
Borden and Mable reside in Louisville, KY after they marry in 1920 for about five or six years. They relocate to Dearborn or Garden City area west of Detroit, Michigan around 1926 for looking for better work. Allegedly, Borden and Mable ran a grocery store in Detroit, then Garden city. As a result of the Great Depression, the family could no longer make a living having the store. Borden was able to get a job at the Ford Motor company in Dearborn. The story passed down is that Borden was in a car accident involving an executive at Ford’s. Borden told the executive if he wanted payment for damage, he would have to hire him.
While working one day at the Ford plant, Borden had a heart attack and died in 1944. His son, Borden (Uncle Bob) remained in Dearborn until his retirement in the 1980’s. Mable and her son, John, moved down to Mango, FL.
#52Ancestors – No. 3 – Benjamin C Woodburn
For this week’s installment of the 52 Ancestors Challenge to write about one ancestor a week, I chose to stay in the Woodburn family. This post is about Benjamin C Woodburn, the father of last weeks number 2 post, Josephine Woodburn. Benjamin is the father who signed off on the marriage bond that allowed 12 year old Josephine to marry.
I am trying to grasp why a father would allow his very young daughter to marry. The average age of women marrying in the 1880’s was in the early to mid 20’s. It might be that Benjamin didn’t have the cash flow to take care of his family. Having one less mouth to feed may have kept them out of the poor house. I think this line of Woodburn’s are the poor relations in the family.
Benjamin C. Woodburn (Ben), born in Christian County, Kentucky is the son of Alexander Woodburn and Charlotte Lacy. Alexander Woodburn is a prosperous farmer in the area. In November 1862, Ben enlists in the Civil War for the next three years. He participates in many skirmishes and battles as a Private in the Third Kentucky Calvary Company “A”. I don’t have all his muster cards some indicate his pay or when his unit was detached (not assigned to regiment). I do have one indicating that he was sick for two months in Nashville, TN right after he enlisted in November 1862. According to wikipedia, 168 enlisted men of this company died of disease. Ben was darn lucky to survive.
Through Google, I discovered a group of Civil War Cartes de visite (photographs) of the officers of the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry. They were donated to Baylor University-Texas. For more information check out the flickr link at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52505743@N05/sets/721576272092093/65
Civil War soldiers were allowed furlough from the war and could come home. I am hoping that is the case as you will see later. Ben returns from the war between 1865-1866. He gets married on April 28, 1867 to Theodocia Rachael Sims. Maybe this is the event were he is cast out of his family. But, then again, this is Kentucky. Theodocia is Ben’s first cousin. She is the daughter of Catherine Woodburn and William A. Sims or Simms. Catherine is the brother of Alexander Woodburn, Ben’s father. Maybe the family is not into kissing first cousins.
Ben and Theodocia are living in Decker Station, Indiana per the 1870 Census. They are listed with their three children. There is a transcription error on their last name, Woodham, instead of Woodburn. Their first child is Charles Woodburn, age 6. That means he was born before Ben and Theodocia got married. So maybe Ben came home on furlough and met his cousin in the hay barn. Or, Theodocia was married or co-inhabiting with some one else. I did look for other marriage certificates for Theodocia and didn’t find any. Their daughter Fannie is born in 1867 and presumed dead by 1880. I find no record of her after the 1870 census. Then I considered maybe she got married off at 12 or 13 like her sister. Charles names his first daughter Fannie, and I have a feeling that his sister did pass away. Next is James William, all listed as being born in KY.
The next two girls, Josephine (my great-grandmother, 1872) and her sister Addie Decker Woodburn (1875) are born in Decker Station. I couldn’t figure out why Addie’s middle name was Decker. There are no Decker’s in my family tree. I happen to come across an article about the building of the railroad station in Decker. I guess the family wanted a remembrance of where she was born. Ben is listed as a day laborer in the 1870 Census. I could not locate other Woodburn family members in the area. I am curious as to why they moved there. Was it to find work or get away from the fracas of marrying his cousin?
The family moves to Boggess, Muhlenberg Co, Kentucky by 1880. Ben works in a stable, 15 year old Charlie is working the mines. Ben files for an invalid pension in September 1882 for his service in the Civil War. Could this be also be a reason that he may not have been able to support his family? I could pay Fold3 to look at more Civil War records on Ben, but I am not in a paying mood. Theodocia files a claim for a widow’s pension in March 1892. I have not yet found a death or burial record for Benjamin C Woodburn. I find it frustrating that I can find records on a dozen or more Woodburns’ but none belonging to my direct ancestor.
I don’t know why Ben and Theodocia let Josephine get married at 12 years old. I found a record of her sister, Addie getting married at 24 after Ben has passed away. Charlie gets married in 1885 to Claudia Fortney, who is a cousin to John T. Pittman, Josephine’s husband. Maybe with fewer mouths to feed, the family holds on.
Next week, I will write about Theodocia Sims. How a clue in the Civil War pension record confirms a remarriage.
#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.
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