Ralph Ellam is the g-g-g Grandfather of my husband, Mark. When I first began researching the Ellam family many years ago I had very little to go on. Mark's grandfather, John "Jack" Ellam, Jr. walked away from the family when Mark's father was young and very little was known about his ancestors.
I have since been able to trace the family roots back to St. Helens, Lancashire, England, where I discovered Ralph living in 1850. I found Ralph's marriage record in 1853 to Elizabeth Greenall and sadly discovered his death in 1859 at the age of 35 due to an accident in the coal mine he was working in. At the time of his death his son, William, (my husband's g-g grandfather) was only 9 months old.
With that I closed the case on Ralph. Afterall, I had managed to find his birth date in England and Wales Christening Records , 1530-1906, his marriage record to Elizabeth in the England and Wales, Free MBD Marriage Index: 1837-1915 and his death in the England and Wales FreeBMD Death Index 1837-1915. I sent for, and received, copies of his marriage and death certificates. I was even able to find his burial location in St. Helens Cemetery through the St. Helens Council - Deceased Search.
I thought I had learned all I could about Ralph's relatively short life. Until this week.
Ancestry.com just put online the England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861 - 1941. I plugged in the Ellam name to see what I could find and was shocked when the first result turned out to be Ralph! 18 years after Ralph died, Elizabeth his widow, was granted the effects of Ralph's estate.
30 April 1877. Administration of the effects of Ralph Ellam late of Parr near St. Helen's in the county of Lancaster Miner who died 12 April 1859 at Parr was granted at Liverpool to Elizabeth Heaton (Wife of Lambert Heaton) (formerly Ellam widow) of St. Helen's the Relict.
Now to visit the Probate Registry's Website and order a copy of this probate and determine why it took 18 years to close an estate worth less the $100.00 USD.
What have I learned from the case of Ralph Ellam? Leave no stone unturned. I assumed since Ralph was unable to read or even write his own name, and that because he worked in the coal mines, he would have left no estate behind. I was wrong.
Another page in the story of Ralph's live has been turned. I can't wait to read this chapter.......
Showing posts with label What I Learned. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What I Learned. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
What I Learned - The Case of Catharine Moyer Brane
Yesterday I took my youngest son on a college visit. It just so happened this college is the one my older son attends and is located not far from where I will be taking my research trip in just about one week.
It also happens that the second wife (Catharine Moyer Brane) of my great-great-great grandfather is buried in the cemetery in this small town. I knew my day would be full with planned events at the college but I really hoped to find time to slip away to visit the cemetery and grab a photo. The temptation to do so was incredibly overwhelming (as I'm sure all of you can understand!)
My opportunity came just after lunch when my youngest would be sitting in on a class. If I skipped the Admissions Panel meeting I would have 70 minutes to locate the cemetery, find Catharine in the cemetery and take that photo. Having attended a similar panel discussion at the same college a little more than 1 year ago was my justification for skipping out. And when my oldest told me he knew just where the cemetery was because he ran there and back everyday (3 miles) that sealed the deal!
I had no trouble locating the cemetery from the directions my oldest gave me but when I first saw it, my heart sank. I don't know what I was thinking! I guess I thought, small town, small cemetery. But that was not the case. It may be that this is the only cemetery in town because it is large. And the only information I had in my head was her name and an approximate date of death. There was no way I could walk this cemetery in the time allotted.
I did a quick drive through and determined where the oldest part of the cemetery was, section 1, parked the van and began walking the rows. After about 15 minutes of this the sexton pulled in and asked me if he could help me find a stone. Hallelujah! I thought I had been saved! Not so fast. His records showed that she was not buried there. Now I got the information that she was buried there from a volunteer on Find A Grave. I had total trust in this volunteers information and, besides, my gut told me she was there.
I continued walking section 1 and when time ran out, headed back to the college to pick up my youngest. Thank goodness both of my sons are used to their mom visiting cemeteries because when Andy got in the car I asked him if he would mined if I stopped into the town library to have a look at any records they had for the cemetery. He agreed and even offered to help! Again, being a small town, we had no trouble locating the library or finding the book we needed. On page 6 there she was, Catharine Brane. She was definitly buried there and now I had a section, 2B, and row number, 3, to work with. Our total time spent in the library was less than 15 minutes.
Back at the cemetery Andy quickly located section 2B and began calling off names. I looked on the photo copies I made for the section and none of those names appeared. I began to get frustrated and nearly gave up when Andy yelled out from section 3 that he had found one of the names. And then he found another and another until he located this one:
It also happens that the second wife (Catharine Moyer Brane) of my great-great-great grandfather is buried in the cemetery in this small town. I knew my day would be full with planned events at the college but I really hoped to find time to slip away to visit the cemetery and grab a photo. The temptation to do so was incredibly overwhelming (as I'm sure all of you can understand!)
My opportunity came just after lunch when my youngest would be sitting in on a class. If I skipped the Admissions Panel meeting I would have 70 minutes to locate the cemetery, find Catharine in the cemetery and take that photo. Having attended a similar panel discussion at the same college a little more than 1 year ago was my justification for skipping out. And when my oldest told me he knew just where the cemetery was because he ran there and back everyday (3 miles) that sealed the deal!
I had no trouble locating the cemetery from the directions my oldest gave me but when I first saw it, my heart sank. I don't know what I was thinking! I guess I thought, small town, small cemetery. But that was not the case. It may be that this is the only cemetery in town because it is large. And the only information I had in my head was her name and an approximate date of death. There was no way I could walk this cemetery in the time allotted.
I did a quick drive through and determined where the oldest part of the cemetery was, section 1, parked the van and began walking the rows. After about 15 minutes of this the sexton pulled in and asked me if he could help me find a stone. Hallelujah! I thought I had been saved! Not so fast. His records showed that she was not buried there. Now I got the information that she was buried there from a volunteer on Find A Grave. I had total trust in this volunteers information and, besides, my gut told me she was there.
I continued walking section 1 and when time ran out, headed back to the college to pick up my youngest. Thank goodness both of my sons are used to their mom visiting cemeteries because when Andy got in the car I asked him if he would mined if I stopped into the town library to have a look at any records they had for the cemetery. He agreed and even offered to help! Again, being a small town, we had no trouble locating the library or finding the book we needed. On page 6 there she was, Catharine Brane. She was definitly buried there and now I had a section, 2B, and row number, 3, to work with. Our total time spent in the library was less than 15 minutes.
Back at the cemetery Andy quickly located section 2B and began calling off names. I looked on the photo copies I made for the section and none of those names appeared. I began to get frustrated and nearly gave up when Andy yelled out from section 3 that he had found one of the names. And then he found another and another until he located this one:
Next to her was her son Jesse, daughter Mary, son William and one row over, daughter Sarah and her husband! Andy's good eyes had saved the day and got me the photo I came for.
So what did I learn from this case?
1. Do your research before heading to the cemetery. If I had made that stop into the library before heading directly to the cemetery I would have saved myself a second trip. It only took 15 minutes to find the record but I spent over 70 minutes walking the cemetry.
2. Listen to your gut instinct. Even though the sexton said she wasn't buried there and the library records had her in a different section, I "felt" like she was there. Following that instinct and searching out other records was crucial.
And I guess it also doesn't hurt to have a younger pair of eyes with you! Thank you, Andy, for finding her stone and thank you Catharine Moyer Brane for another lesson learned.
Monday, April 19, 2010
What I Learned From The Case of Florence Brane Irwin
Yesterday I posted about finding Freddie Driggs. Today I'm exploring another discovery I made over the weekend.
The case of Florence Marie Brane Irwin.
What I knew about Florence prior to this weekend:
Since Florence was buried under her maiden name of Brane, and since she died at age 20, I assumed Florence had never married. And I would have continued under that assumption if I had not pulled out the old Brane family bible to transcribe the entries. In the bible this is what I found cut out of a newspaper:
Very Sad Death
Mrs. Florence Irwin, died at her home at 517 South Twenty-second street, this morning, at 10 o'clock of typhoid fever, after an illness of several weeks. She had been married about one year and the sincere sympathy of the community is extended to the bereaved husband. Arrangements for the funeral of this good woman had not been made this afternoon.
The bible belonged to my Great Great Grandparents and Florence was their daughter. How very sad they must have been to tape that entry into the front cover.
What I learned from Florence Marie Brane Irwin? Don't assume anything when researching your family history. Even those who died young have a story to tell.
The case of Florence Marie Brane Irwin.
What I knew about Florence prior to this weekend:
- I knew that Florence was the daughter of John Thomas Brane and Marilla Elma Scott Brane.
- I knew that Florence was born 18 Mar 1887 in Wabash County, Indiana
- I knew that Florence died 27 Aug 1907 (age 20) in Elwood, Madison, Indiana.
- I knew that Florence was buried in Center Grove Cemetery, Lincolnville, Wabash, Indiana
- I had a picture of Florence's headstone from my trip back in 2001.
Since Florence was buried under her maiden name of Brane, and since she died at age 20, I assumed Florence had never married. And I would have continued under that assumption if I had not pulled out the old Brane family bible to transcribe the entries. In the bible this is what I found cut out of a newspaper:
Very Sad Death
Mrs. Florence Irwin, died at her home at 517 South Twenty-second street, this morning, at 10 o'clock of typhoid fever, after an illness of several weeks. She had been married about one year and the sincere sympathy of the community is extended to the bereaved husband. Arrangements for the funeral of this good woman had not been made this afternoon.
The bible belonged to my Great Great Grandparents and Florence was their daughter. How very sad they must have been to tape that entry into the front cover.
What I learned from Florence Marie Brane Irwin? Don't assume anything when researching your family history. Even those who died young have a story to tell.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
What I Learned from the Case of Freddie Driggs
Until yesterday I had no idea little Freddie Driggs existed or that he belonged in my family tree.
Yesterday morning I anticipated attending the meeting of the DAR down at the South Bend Public Library. Upon arrival we discovered that the lady holding the meeting needed to cancel and reschedule. Not wanting to waste the morning I asked Libby to direct me to the holdings for Wabash County Indiana. I didn't anticpate finding much, after all the library is in St. Joseph County. However, I was pleasantly surprised when Libby showed me a shelf of books pertaining to Wabash County. Among them was a true gem "Wabash County Indiana Marriages 1835-1899".
I sat up my laptop and spent the next three hours entering marriage dates into my Family Tree Maker program. For those marriages I couldn't yet connect to my family I entered the information into a word document knowing that down the road I may find the connections. Among those I transcribed was one for:
Driggs, Asa married Scott, Ida M. 31 Oct. 1889, Wabash County, Indiana
I am related through the Scott family and in my tree I did have an Ida M. Scott whose birth date may fit this marriage date but I was reluctant to make that connection just yet.
Later in the evening while watching a movie with my husband and baking chocolate chips cookies (I am the queen of multi-tasking!) I pulled out the old Brane Family bible intending to transcribe the births, marriages and deaths that my great-great Grandmother, Marilla Scott Brane, had glued and taped (yicks!) to the inside front of the bible.
This is one of the items I found cut out of the newspaper:
A large number of sympathizing relatives and friends attended the funeral of Frederick Earl Driggs at the M.E. chuch Friday torenoon. Rev. O.V.L. Harbour preached an excellent, comforting sermon from the words of David in 2 Samuel XII 23, "I shall go to him but he shall not return me." The choir feelingly sang "Rock of Ages," "Asleep in Jesus" and "Nearer My God to Thee." The pallbearers were classmates of Freddie and were preceded by six little girls in white, with arms full of beautiful flowers. Freddie' classmates, the Junior League, The Ladies Aid Society and my O.M. Bevington and family all sent beautiful flowers to the bereaved family. The stores were closed during the service. The remains were laid to rest in Park cemetery.
Then I found this cut from the paper:
Card of Thanks
Asa Driggs and family desire in this manner to express their thanks to the many friends and neighbors who assisted them so kindly during the sickness and death of little Freddie, also for the beautiful floral offerings given.
Now I felt I had enough evidence to connect Ida M. Scott (my G-G Grandmothers sister) to Asa Driggs.
I also learned that Ida and Asa had a son Freddie who died young. But how young and when did Freddie die? The newspaper accounts didn't give me too much to go on besides the name of a cemetery, but no town in which it was located.
Next I turned to Ancestry.com and looked for a census with Asa and Ida. Bingo, the 1900 census shows
Asa and Ida in Fairmount, Grant, Indiana with their children Nellie, Fred and Harry. I now had an estimated date of birth for Fred of 1893.
My next resource was Find A Grave. I entered Asa Driggs Indiana into the search terms believing that his name was unique enough to limit search results. And I found it. Asa Driggs buried in Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Grant, Indiana. I clicked on "find all Driggs in Park Cemetery" and there was little Freddie. God bless the volunteer who entered this information into FAG. He included full birth and death dates for Freddie, 18 Feb 1893 - 13 Jun 1906, which would make him 13 at the time of his death. I also learned that Freddie and I share a birthdate, February 18th.
I've added Freddie to the list of graves I want to visit in May when I travel to Wabash County. I now feel a connection to this little boy (my first cousin 3x removed) and want to pay my respects.
What I learned from Freddie? You can't get all the information you need from Ancestry.com. To get a full picture of Freddie it took a book off the shelf of my local public library, an old family bible, Ancestry.com and Find A Grave. And a desire to learn the story of a little boys death.
Thank you for the lesson Freddie......
Yesterday morning I anticipated attending the meeting of the DAR down at the South Bend Public Library. Upon arrival we discovered that the lady holding the meeting needed to cancel and reschedule. Not wanting to waste the morning I asked Libby to direct me to the holdings for Wabash County Indiana. I didn't anticpate finding much, after all the library is in St. Joseph County. However, I was pleasantly surprised when Libby showed me a shelf of books pertaining to Wabash County. Among them was a true gem "Wabash County Indiana Marriages 1835-1899".
I sat up my laptop and spent the next three hours entering marriage dates into my Family Tree Maker program. For those marriages I couldn't yet connect to my family I entered the information into a word document knowing that down the road I may find the connections. Among those I transcribed was one for:
Driggs, Asa married Scott, Ida M. 31 Oct. 1889, Wabash County, Indiana
I am related through the Scott family and in my tree I did have an Ida M. Scott whose birth date may fit this marriage date but I was reluctant to make that connection just yet.
Later in the evening while watching a movie with my husband and baking chocolate chips cookies (I am the queen of multi-tasking!) I pulled out the old Brane Family bible intending to transcribe the births, marriages and deaths that my great-great Grandmother, Marilla Scott Brane, had glued and taped (yicks!) to the inside front of the bible.
This is one of the items I found cut out of the newspaper:
A large number of sympathizing relatives and friends attended the funeral of Frederick Earl Driggs at the M.E. chuch Friday torenoon. Rev. O.V.L. Harbour preached an excellent, comforting sermon from the words of David in 2 Samuel XII 23, "I shall go to him but he shall not return me." The choir feelingly sang "Rock of Ages," "Asleep in Jesus" and "Nearer My God to Thee." The pallbearers were classmates of Freddie and were preceded by six little girls in white, with arms full of beautiful flowers. Freddie' classmates, the Junior League, The Ladies Aid Society and my O.M. Bevington and family all sent beautiful flowers to the bereaved family. The stores were closed during the service. The remains were laid to rest in Park cemetery.
Then I found this cut from the paper:
Card of Thanks
Asa Driggs and family desire in this manner to express their thanks to the many friends and neighbors who assisted them so kindly during the sickness and death of little Freddie, also for the beautiful floral offerings given.
Now I felt I had enough evidence to connect Ida M. Scott (my G-G Grandmothers sister) to Asa Driggs.
I also learned that Ida and Asa had a son Freddie who died young. But how young and when did Freddie die? The newspaper accounts didn't give me too much to go on besides the name of a cemetery, but no town in which it was located.
Next I turned to Ancestry.com and looked for a census with Asa and Ida. Bingo, the 1900 census shows
Asa and Ida in Fairmount, Grant, Indiana with their children Nellie, Fred and Harry. I now had an estimated date of birth for Fred of 1893.
My next resource was Find A Grave. I entered Asa Driggs Indiana into the search terms believing that his name was unique enough to limit search results. And I found it. Asa Driggs buried in Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Grant, Indiana. I clicked on "find all Driggs in Park Cemetery" and there was little Freddie. God bless the volunteer who entered this information into FAG. He included full birth and death dates for Freddie, 18 Feb 1893 - 13 Jun 1906, which would make him 13 at the time of his death. I also learned that Freddie and I share a birthdate, February 18th.
I've added Freddie to the list of graves I want to visit in May when I travel to Wabash County. I now feel a connection to this little boy (my first cousin 3x removed) and want to pay my respects.
What I learned from Freddie? You can't get all the information you need from Ancestry.com. To get a full picture of Freddie it took a book off the shelf of my local public library, an old family bible, Ancestry.com and Find A Grave. And a desire to learn the story of a little boys death.
Thank you for the lesson Freddie......
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