Tombstone Tuesday: Gone but Not Forgotten

Back in 2004, descendants of John Henry (1750-1838), an Irishman who came to the colonies and later fought for the colonies, gathered for a party in the St. Clair Cemetery in Allegheny Co, PA.  We gathered for the dedication of two new headstones for our grandpas John Henry and James Glenn (1750-1813).  Even though both of these men have been dead for many a generation, their faith still speaks to the descendants today. 

Recently, my buddy, Margaret Jackson of the Historical Society of Mt Lebanon contacted me to let me know the original headstone of John Henry was located.  In addition,  a fieldstone with the initials J G has also been located.  

So very cool. 

Ahh, genealogy.  It's greatly satisfying when the gone and not forgotten do something to make us think of them and their contributions to this great nation of ours.  And the blood goes on and on........

©2010 AS Eldredge

Wordless Wednesday: Early Photo of Mrs. Nana Henry

Mrs. "Nana" Henry. Who was she and when was this taken?

This photo was sent to me by a descendant of Andrew FIFE (1790-1878) who married Sara HENRY d. 1817, daughter of John HENRY (1750-1838) and Margaret McMILLAN (1762-1849). My cousin who sent it thought it to be Margaret, but I don't think so.

The hands certainly don't look like hands of an 80 year old woman who survived in early Pittsburgh. While the outfit certainly suggests a really old Mrs. Henry, I have to learn more to decide who the suspects really are.

Would love any suggestions from those who know old photos!

Update: Found a William T Purviance b. 1831 who was a photographer in Pittsburgh in 1860. Don't know how long he was there---

Update 2: Wm Purviance is listed as an AMBROTYPIST in the late 1850s. By 1862, he is listed as a photographer in tax records in Pittsburgh. He has moved on to Philadelphia before 1870. The last legal mention him in Pittsburgh is in the 1865 Tax Records. So the time frame to identify Mrs. Nana Henry has been narrowed to between 1859-1865. Hmmm. I think there are only a couple of great genealogy candidates for this!

Wordless Wednesday: Memory of a Revolutionary War Dedication

The family of Revolutionary War Patriots James Glenn and John Henry gathered at the site of their final resting places in the old St. Clair Cemetery in Mt Lebanon, PA, in August 2005 for a dedication of new headstones. Five generations of descendants honored the contributions of these men in the quest to win freedom.

How fitting to have our Scot Irish roots honored after so many years. The bagpipe music was soulful and so very fitting.

Madness Monday: Maggie, Who Was Your Father?

Sometimes, genealogy is frustrating. Especially when one is looking for an early female. Such is the case with Margaret McMILLAN.

According to her original tombstone, good ole Maggie was born in 1762. She married John HENRY of Lower St. Clair, Twp in Allegheny County as his second wife. His first wife, Sarah SMITH, daughter of John SMITH of Washington County, PA, died around 1790.

Maggie's father? I have a couple of candidates. One of the candidates is Thomas McMILLAN. Why? She named a son Thomas McMillan HENRY in 1791. I suspect it was her first child born to the couple as he already had four children by Sarah. There are a couple of Thomas McMILLANs living in the neighborhood but I have yet to prove any of them belonged to Maggie.

The other candidate which has a stonger claim at this time is Patrick McMILLAN. I did find a will in Washington Co, PA of a Patrick McMILLION. In this will, he mentions son in law John HENRY.

Why am I not convinced that Patrick is the right father for Maggie? There are no sons or grandsons or nephews or anyone named Patrick. Ever. And we all know that the Scot Irish naming tradition would not have allowed her father's and her mother's names to be ignored. I have to wonder if her father was indeed Thomas, but perhaps he died? Perhaps Maggie was raised by a kinsman, Patrick, as his daughter? To date, I have not seen any children by him and wife Jean.

We do know Maggie was able to read and write as she signed some legal paperwork after the death of her husband in 1838. So, Maggie dear, I still long to know who you really were.

Maggie raised the children of Sara after she died. She was indeed loved, as the name Maggie has continued down to the present generation. Sara also had many descendants named for her, but it appears they all died young. Scary.

Maggie, who are you?

Crossing the Political Line in History

The mailman delivered more fun to my mailbox today. I was thrilled to see the pages arrive from the History of Harrison County Missouri which was published in 1921. I was surprised to see a cousin had crossed the line.

In all my research to date, I have yet to find even a hint of anyone leaving the Republican party. All history books I've seen seem to indicate my ancestors were all dyed in the wool Republicans. I wasn't sure anyone alive today disagreed with the family of old. Today, I stand corrected.

Let me backup and fill you in on some of my recent quests. Recently, I was looking more indepth at Barnet VANDERVORT and his wife Elizabeth HENRY, daughter of John HENRY (1750-1838) of Allegheny Co, PA. One of their sons, Dr. Robert Henry VANDIVERT (1817-1887) left Muskingum County, Ohio, sometime around 1856. End of trail.

I had to know more. So, online I went and checked the census records. The spelling of the name seems to change quite often during this time frame. I contacted the library in St Louis, Missouri, to see if they could help me out. They located information on the family and popped in the snail box.

Here we are now:

The information in the book tells us he was the presiding officer at the first Republican Convention held in Harrison County, Missouri. He was quite respected and served two terms in the Missouri State Senate. From family notes, he also served in the Missouri Militia as a surgeon and organized a company for the Mexican War.

His brother, Samuel Smith VANDIVERT, also left Ohio at or about the same time as Robert. Samuel appears to have "crossed the line" as he is mentioned in the book as a Douglas Democrat and the presiding officer at the Democratic Convention in Harrison County held the same year.

I bet those dinner conversations were exciting. I have to wonder how much they debated or if they put aside their personal politics for dinner.

I wonder what each of them would have to say about the election this year. I wonder if they could have comprehended a time with the ticket of Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin. I wonder....

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Gone, Yet Remembered

I started yesterday with such high hopes. There she was, a cousin of mine who I had just located... even if it is a mere 30 years later.

My efforts of yesterday did pay off. Although not how I wanted.

Mrs. Gordon Charles BROADBENT has been found-- sorta. She was Margie Alberta ADERTON and was born in 1905 in Oregon. Chances of finding her still breathing, kicking and with her memory intact are slim. Actually, I suspect the Margie A BROADBENT who died in 2002 in Oregon is my gal.

Now to see if I can locate her obit. My contact of yesterday hadn't done any research on her lines, but he did send me the files he had. It was those files who led me to locate her death. My contact of yesterday did not know if she had any descendants. Now I will try to determine that. I can also look to her siblings' children and grandchildren to see if they have the genealogy virus coursing through their blood.

Rest Margie-- while I tell you of your roots. Yes, you are descended from Barnet VANDERVORT and Elizabeth HENRY. Elizabeth was the daughter of John HENRY (1750-1838) and his first wife, Sara SMITH, daughter of John SMITH of Hopewell Twp, Washington Co, PA. John HENRY was an early settler of Lower St Clair in Allegheny Co, PA and is buried at the St. Clair Cemetery.

It's a rich history for all of us. Just gotta wonder, is it ever too late for the genealogy virus? I think not.

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