Obituary Archibald Galbraith 1917

Archibald Galbraith brother of TJ Galbraith and Mrs J E Scott of Dunnville died in Chebougan Michigan 1917

Search for more information in genealogy records on Ancestry.com,  Ancestry.ca or FamilySearch

Access to Nearly 1 Million Slave Trade Records

Staff with Michigan State University’s Matrix: Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences are taking on the seemingly impossible goal of illuminating the lives of the millions of Africans, and their descendants, sold into bondage across four continents as part of the slave trade. 

Founded by a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this project is being carried out primarily by investigators with Michigan State University and the University of Maryland, in partnership with other prominent collaborating organizations. 

An estimated 388,000 enslaved persons arrived in North America, and by 1860 nearly 4 million lived in bondage in the United States.  The project has launched a FREE public website where you can search people, events and places across 857,398 records (constantly expanding) from the slave trade.

Any member of the public can utilize the site “Peoples of the Historic Slave Trade,” available at enslaved.org. I will be visiting the site to look for Jonathan Butler, my husband's 4th great-grandfather, a free man of colour from Pennsylvania. This is a wonderful resource for genealogists and historians alike.

Don't Forget Nearby Countries When Searching for a Genealogy Record

Beth sent the following question to Olive Tree Genealogy:

I’m looking for a marriage record John Staehli born in Switzerland 1865, father and mother unknown. Magdalena Gasho born 1863 Canada father Andrew Gascho and mother Lydia Ginerich,  married in 1891-1892 in Canada. (on Ancestry trees someone put Nov 1891, and I’m looking for confirmation) I’ve researched many places and haven’t come across this record. Magdalena was a mennonite.

Beth - first let me correct an error in your family tree information. Magdalena's mother was Lydia GINGERICH/GINGRICH, not GINERICH. I'm also a GINGRICH descendant. You can read about my Gingrich family here

Since this couple's first child, Anna Maria, was born in Michigan (see image) and they continued to reside in Michigan, i would not be so sure they married in Ontario. Have you checked Michigan marriage records?

Notice also that the surname Staehli was badly recorded and then corrected in 1940. Have you used wildcards when searching for this couple?

Their surnames are such that they can easily be incorrectly recorded or indexed on websites.

In summary, I'd check Michigan marriages and I would use wildcards to search for this couple online. See Wildcards are Your Friend! A Canadian Case Study Part 2  for help with using wildcards.

Archives of Michigan New Website!

The Archives of Michigan new site, Michiganology.org, is now live! They have many upcoming items of interest to genealogists. For example this is what they say about Michigan death records which are currently searchable from 1921 to 1947:

Over the next months this collection will grow to include death certificates from 1897 to 1952. Death certificates from 1897 to 1943 will display full images while 1944 to 1952 will only provide index information. Once these certificates are older than seventy-five years, the images will be added.

You can also volunteer to help index Michigan Naturalization records

Naturalization is the process by which a person born outside the United States becomes an American citizen. Citizenship records can provide a wealth of information to family historians. The amount of information varies by year, but can include the date and location of a person’s birth, occupation, immigration year, marital status and spouse information, the names and addresses of the people who witnessed the naturalization ceremony and more. 

The Bigamist in My Family Tree

Olive May Peer, born November 1898 in Port Credit Ontario, share a common Peer ancestor. Her 3rd great-grandfather Jacob Peer, who I wrote about in the book "The Peer Family of North America" is my 4th. great-grandfather. My grandmother, also named Olive Peer, was Olive May's cousin.

In February 1927 Olive May married Robert Jackson. She could not have known that her husband was using an alias, that his real name was Robert Rodgers, and that her husband would be charged with two counts of bigamy and sentenced to time in jail.

The story of Robert's arrest and sentence appeared in The Globe (1844-1936); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont] 24 Sep 1927: 16.

This was a revelation for me in my research. My Peer ancestors were always mixed up in something wild - from the tightrope walker Stephen Peer (my great-grandfather's cousin) to the first base jumper Harmon Peer (great-grandfather's brother)

According to the newspaper article Robert Rodgers married Kathie Elliott in 1914 before enlisting in the military. They separated but did not divorce in 1917. That was wife #1.

Later Robert married Cecilia Wallace. That marriage did not work out and they separated but did not divorce.

His third wife was poor Olive May.


September 1927 finds another brief article in the Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]24 Sep 1927: 20. The judge in the case seemed to view Robert's crimes very favourably, which I find stunning.

The Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario [Toronto, Ontario]11 Nov 1927: 24. has more news of Robert, telling its readers that there is only one prisoner in the Brampton Jail and that is Robert. He was serving 3 months for Bigamy and apparently suffering from rheumatism, which prevented him from being transferred to Guelph.

I was curious about what happened to those three wives (and Robert) so I began my research.

I discovered more secrets including an alias that Robert used when he married Olive. I learned much more about his three wives (Jessie Cathie Elliot, Cecilia Wallace, and Olive May Peer) and the children they bore with Robert.

The stories of the abandoned wives are now told in my newly published e-book "The Bigamist in My Family Tree: Robert Rodgers 1890-1953 & His 3 Wives"  available on Amazon

Ephemera for Ralph A. Hamilton Jr.

Once again thanks goes to Annette who sent me these items for a Ralph Hamilton Jr. 1922-2005.

Ration Card August 1945 Ralph Hamilton Jr.

 

 

The Peer Family in North America: V6 Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers and their Descendants to 2 Generations

The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers settled in the wilderness of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) after the American Revolution. After suffering losses during the War of 1812, they left Ontario for Michigan in 1821.

This book discusses the lives of Jacob, his wife, and their children in those early years.

Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, probate records and wills.

The Peer Family in North America: V6 Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers and their Descendants to 2 Generations

Available on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Note for the book on his parents you also need to purchase V. 1 Jacob & Anne Peer available at Amazon.ca

A Book on the Michigan Peer family

The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers settled in the wilderness of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) after the American Revolution.

After suffering losses during the War of 1812, Jacob Jr and Lucy left Ontario for Michigan in 1821. This book discusses the lives of Jacob, his wife Lucy, and their children in those early years. Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, probate records and wills.

Available on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Note for the book on his parents you also need to purchase V. 1 Jacob & Anne Peer on  Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

• Series: The Peer Family in North America
• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Olive Tree Genealogy (April 5, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1987938054
• ISBN-13: 978-1987938050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches

Are You a Pier or Peer Descendant?

My 4th great-grandfather Jacob Peer, the immigrant ancestor to Ontario, was living in Newton Township, Sussex County, New Jersey in 1774. Jacob was forced to leave New Jersey because of his British sympathies during the American Revolution. He settled near Hamilton Ontario in June 1796.

Jacob and his family lost everything in New Jersey and settled in what was then the wilderness of Upper Canada where they had to make a new life for themselves. Jacob and his 6 sons and 2 daughters had many descendants settling in Ontario, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

This is one of the immigrant families I researched and wrote about in a 6-volume set called The Peer Family in North America. The hardships they endured were felt by many in those turbulent times and I wanted their stories told.

The available Peer Family books are:

Peer Family in North America: V.1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. Revised Edition published April 2016

The Peer Family in North America: V.2 Levi Peer & Elizabeth Marical and their Descendants to 3 Generations

The Peer Family in North America: V.3 Edward Peer & His Two Wives and their Descendants to 3 Generations

The Peer Family in North America: V.4 Philip Peer & his two Wives Ester Dunn and Susan Griniaus and their Descendants to 3 Generations 

The Peer Family in North America: V. 5 Stephen Peer & His Wife Lydia Skinner and their Descendants to 3 Generations 

The Peer Family in North America: V6 Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers and their Descendants to 2 Generations     

Why not join our Peer Genealogy Group on Facebook? You can share with other members, ask for help with a challenging Peer or Pier ancestor and join in discussions.

1797, 13 July: Declared in his land petition that he came to the province in June 1796 and had a wife and daughter in Barton where he owned a farm.  He was granted 200 acres on 14 July 1797. A statement by Nathaniel Pettit dated 10 July 1797 states that he was acquainted with Jacob Pear [sic] in the State of New Jersey, and that because he was "much attached to the British Constitution" he "suffered greatly both in his person and property in the Late War between Great Britain and America"



 

How to Find a WW1 Soldier

WW1 Training Camp

Sharlene K. asked

what would you have regarding a Michigan born citizen going to Canada and enlisting in WWI, serving in England, marrying in 1919 and returning with a war bride and her daughter....how would I go about sorting this all out....he was enlisted in the 15 Scotish Rifle Brigade/

Olive Tree Genealogy answer:

Hi Sharlene,

You have lots of clues in your query, and this is what I would do:

1. Search the online CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) database for your ancestor in WW1. If found, that will provide you with details as to his service during the War

2. You don't say where he married in 1919 - was it in Michigan, Canada, or England. If in Ontario Canada, marriage records for 1919 are available on Ancestry.com If he married in Michigan, marriages for that year are available on Ancestry.com (images) and on FamilySearch (index only). Lastly if he married in England you should check FreeBMD. 

3. Since you mention a War Bride I'm guessing he married in England. You should be able to find them coming to Canada on a ship by searching  immigration records on Ancestry.com

4. You might want to search for the war diaries of the 15 Scotch Rifle Brigade. You can do this on Library and Archives Canada 

Peer Family in N America V 6 Jacob Peer & Lucy Powers

The Peer Family in North America: V. 6 Jacob Peer Jr. & His Wife Lucy Powers and their Descendants to 2 Generations
 
Authored by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

List Price: $45.99
8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm)
Full Color on White paper
152 pages
Olive Tree Genealogy

Available on Amazon.com or CreateSpace or Amazon.ca

The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers settled in the wilderness of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) after the American Revolution.

After suffering losses during the War of 1812, they left Ontario for Michigan in 1821. This book discusses the lives of Jacob, his wife, and their children in those early years. Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, probate records and wills.

Note that Volumes 1 - 6 are published and can be purchased on these sites:

Lorine's Books on Amazon.com | Lorine's Books on Amazon.ca | CreateSpace Store

1912 Birthday Postcard Detroit Michigan

I am lucky enough to have rescued some early 1900s postcards from a flea market. I will be posting them here and on my Olive Tree Genealogy site for all to view. Perhaps you will find an ancestor or two!

Mrs. Emma Beane, 175 Kirby Ave, Detroit Michigan. To "Dear Emma" from "with love, Isa" 1912

Baby Boy Hacht - Dead, or Kidnapped and Alive Today??

"A baby boy who was never named was born in July 1944, in Detroit, Michigan.  The family believes that he was kidnapped and another dead baby substituted for Baby Boy Hacht.  While at first this sounds improbable, if not incredulous, it isn’t." Source:DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy

Baby Boy Hacht's sister Patti and her brothers are looking for answers through the use of DNA. You, or someone you know, may be the key to this puzzle.

"The Y DNA of Baby Boy Hacht or his male child or male grandchild through a son will match that of Patti’s brother.  The autosomal DNA of Baby Boy Hacht or his children or grandchildren of any gender will match with Patti and her family." Source: DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy

 This incredible story needs no further explanation from me. Please read the full blog post at DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy

Looking for Descendants of Immigrants from Drenthe Netherlands

Immigrants Boarding a Ship for America

If your ancestor immigrated from the Drenthe Province of the Netherlands between 1847 and 1880 you may want to check out this project. Three young Dutch students currently in Holland Michigan are looking for descendants of approximately 67,000 Dutch immigrants to the U.S.A. in this time period.

A previously published book lists the names of all the individuals who emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States but it does not provide details on where the immigrants were heading.
Read more about the project called MyPlacebook at Dutch exchange students work on project linking Dutch descendants with the Netherlands

Soldier's Letter from WW2 found Sixty Years Later and Returned

Representation of WW2 letters

This is touching story about a woman who found a letter written by a soldier that was 60 years old. She tracked down descendants and sent the letter home.

The letter was found in a pile of paperbacks that Sandi Blood purchased and was dated November 1951 and sent from a G. LeBlanc. U.S. Army Pvt. Gilles LeBlanc wrote the three-page letter to his girlfriend, Carole Petch in Toronto, Ontario Canada. 

With the help of social media, Blood was able to find the now 83 year old soldier living in Detroit Michigan

Read the complete story at "Woman finds love letter 6 decades old and tracks down soldier who wrote it" on the Washington Post.

Mysterious Package of Rev. J. E. Foote in 1912 Time Capsule

1920 Census James E. Foote

Recently a 1912 Time Capsule in Trinity Episcopal Church in Grand Ledge Michigan was opened. Inside were the usual items - photographs, newspapers, etc. But one item was a package from the Rev. J. E. Foote who labelled himself as "Congregational Minister" Rev. Foote included instructions on the package wrapping that the package was to be delivered to his descendants for opening.

The problem is that Church members have no idea who Rev. Foote was. His package is not listed in the Church list of items placed in the Time Capsule. 

Matt Novak of Paleofuture wrote about this in a story called Mysterious Package Found in Century-Old Time Capsule

Anyone wishing to help in the search for Rev. Foote and his descendants can join in the discussion on Mr. Novak's article.

I did a quick search and found that the James E. Foote age 41 is found in the 1910 census for Antrim Michigan and is listed as "Minister - Church". His wife Maud is 39, and their children are Ruth (17), Mary (16) , Edward (14) and Arthur (13). 

In 1920 James E. Foote is in Grand Ledge Michigan with his wife Maude, son James A. Foote, daughters Ruth Bendall and Mary Shearer and a grand daughter Jean Shearer. He is listed as a bookkeeper for the Parish church.

I have no doubt that my wonderful super sleuth readers can find a descendant of the Rev. James E. Foote. 

Michigan Death Certificates 1921-1952 online

Example of a typical Michigan Death Certificate

Great news for genealogists looking for ancestors in Michigan! FamilySearch now has an index for Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952 online. I've just spent two hours finding death records for my Vollick and McGinnis family branches who ended up in Michigan. And I'm not done yet!

There are no images available but it's still wonderful to have this index online. So do yourself a favour and take some time today to search the collection. It nicely rounds out the Michigan death records previously online:

• Michigan Death Records 1867-1897 index and images at  at FamilySearch
• Michigan Death Index 1867-1897  index only at Michigan Department of Health
• Michigan Death Records 1897-1920  at the Archives of Michigan

Pride Causes Death

When I research my ancestors, I also research their siblings and spouses on every generation. I do this because a) it's interesting and b) you never know when a record for a sibling will reveal information you haven't found on your direct ancestor.

Recently I was hunting for the obituary of a distant Peer relative and found a sad, yet intriguing notice about her in an Indiana newspaper of 1937.

Mary A. Peer was born in Berrien Michigan in 1857 and married Robert Curran in Michigan in 1883. At some point after her husband's death in 1889, Mary and her son Elwood Curran moved to the area of South Bend Indiana.

I don't know much about Mary but I did know she died in September 1937 so I decided to hunt on GenealogyBank for a newspaper obituary. To my surprise I found this item on page 1 of the Valparaiso Vidette Messenger published on August 19, 1937

The headline is WOMAN DYING, TOO PROUD TO TAKE CHARITY

"Because she was too proud to ask for charity, Mrs. Mary A. Curran, 82 [sic], is dying of starvation in Epworth Hospital today. She was found in bed in her shabby little shack where she lived alone...."

The article goes on to say that a neighbour decided to check on her because he hadn't seen her in three days.

"She had only a few potatoes and a sack of oatmeal in the home. She once applied for a state old-age pension but withdrew it on the protest she would have an income from her farm."

What is even sadder is that according to the article, her only son Elwood was in another hospital at the time. I am sure he would have taken care of his mother had he been able to. Mary must have lingered in her weakened state, because according to my records she did not die until September 10th, some three weeks after this article was published.

I could not find an obituary but do not have access to the South Bend Tribune where I understand there is one.  Thanks to crowdsourcing on my Facebook page, I learned that the St. Joseph County Public Library has an online index to obituaries in the South Bend Tribune from 1913-present. Researchers can pay a small fee for lookups, so off I went and sure enough there were 3 entries for Mary A. Curran. I printed the request form, filled it out and will mail it today. I hope to learn more of Mary's sad story from the notices.

Poor Mary, her husband died so soon after they were married, leaving her with a very young son. To die in such sad circumstances is indeed a cruel twist of fate.

Caveat Emptor? Or Does Michigan have a Complaint Desk?

A few days ago I wrote about ordering a Marriage Record from Michigan using VitalChek. The blog post is Disappointment of a Michigan Marriage Record and summarizes the aggravation and the expense ($70.25) for this record

Julie Cahill Tarr wrote to say (in part)

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the information that's on the certificate is not even correct. First off, the "file date" is wrong, it's actually April 3, 1877. The Aug 1 date is the date that the clerk recorded the state copy for the year 1876. This is a minor mistake.

This second mistake is not so minor. The witnesses were actually Andrew H and Christine Stafford, both of Lapeer (they gave you the one for the marriage below Barney and Maggie). And there is a church listed for the pastor, which is correct (E. L. Little), I think it says "1st Bap Ch Lapeer." It also notes the Barney was a laborer.

The record can be found here (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12390-89997-9?cc=1452395&wc=990450) line 1719. It's part of the Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925 database"

 Julie goes on to add "That's a lot of money for a piece of paper that doesn't have the correct information and is missing possible clues, such as the church"

I agree! So today I checked the online image (thank you Julie!!) and saw that all the errors Julie found  are indeed there, and I found yet another. The age of the bride (Maggie McGinnis) is incorrect on the transcript. The image clearly shows her age as 18 but my official transcript has hear age as 16.  

[ Image found at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12390-89997-9?cc=1452395&wc=990450 ]

I can see that whoever transcribed the document wrote down the names of the witnesses of the marriage UNDER my Barney and Maggie. They skipped the correct witness names which Julie found.

I am less than impressed. Interestingly at the bottom of my official transcript it states

"I hereby certify that this is a TRUE AND CORRECT representation of the vital record facts on file..." The upper case letters are mine for emphasis.

So the bottom line is that I paid over $70.00 for a document CERTIFIED to be "TRUE AND CORRECT" and it is full of erros. My question is what is my recourse? Do you think it will do me any good to file a complaint? And where and to whom do I complain?

The fact that the image was online is entirely my oversight; that is not my complaint. But should not the "verified" transcript have the correct information copied from the image on file?

Disappointment of a Michigan Marriage Record

Recently I ordered an 1876 Marriage Certificate from Michigan through VitalChek. I desperately wanted the name of parents of the bride (Maggie McGinnis)  and FamilySearch does not have the image online.

Maggie is part of my McGinnis family in early Ontario but I cannot determine if she is the Margaret baptised at Church of Our Lady in Guelph on January 17, 1857 to parents Daniel McGinnis and Margaret Downey *or* if she is the Margaret baptised at Church of Our Lady in Guelph on December 6, 1856 to parents Joseph McGinnis and Fanny Downey.

She married Barney McGinnis who was the son of Daniel's brother Hugh McGinnis. I lose track of both girls after 1871 census so have not been able to eliminate either as the Margaret who married Barney.

The marriage certificate might have the information I need. On the plus side, the certificate arrived very quickly at my door. On the disappointed side, neither bride nor groom's parents' names were recorded. And on the negative side - the cost! The total cost was $70.25 U.S.

Have you picked yourself up from the floor yet? Let me give you the breakdown.

Certificate      36.00
Processing       8.50
Shipping        25.75

Yes I knew the total cost before I ordered so there was no surprise there.  But I think it's exorbitant.  Especially since on  the same day I used VitalChek to order Maggie's death certificate from California. The cost of that order totalled $48.50 That's a big difference! The breakdown was a bit different:

Certificate     16.00
Processing       6.00
Shipping        26.50

So why was a Michigan certificate $20.00 more than a California one? I don't have the answers to this difference by state and in the end it's no use complaining. I wanted the certificate and I paid for it. End of story.

Let's hope that Maggie's death record has her parents' names! Otherwise I've just spent almost $120.00 for two certificates I didn't need. To say I'd be disappointed is putting it mildly.

But that's the price we often pay in this wonderful hobby called genealogy.