Rachel Ann "Minnie" (Newcomb) Terpening Fenner

A lovely vacation day spent mostly on family history! I traipsed down another sidetrack today and it paid off. I decided to look for a date of death for Rachel Ann "Minnie" (Newcomb) Terpening Fenner. She is a sister to my great-grandmother, Elida (Newcomb) Russell, and the daughter of an Enos and Susan (Westervelt) Newcomb.

Minnie was married twice, first to Lawrence Terpening and second to Theodore Fenner. She had no children. This is a relative it would have been interesting to meet because she didn't seem to like to stay in one place very long. She lived in Pennsylvania, Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas.

I followed her through the census from Pennsylvania, to Delaware County, Iowa, to Fort Pierre, South Dakota, where in 1910 she married Theodore Fenner when she was 60 years old. (No retirement in a rocking chair for this woman!) In 1920 they lived in Middle Creek, Miami County, Kansas. Clues on ancestry.com suggested Coffeyville, but most cemeteries are not transcribed and online for those two counties.

As I thought about where to look next, I said to myself, I wish she would have died in Missouri! I wish all my ancestors who died between 1910 and 1958 died in Missouri! Through the generosity of the State of Missouri, we have free access to PDF images of death certificates through www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/#search. I have found death certificates for relatives on the Jones side, the Mayfield tree and now this one, on dad's side. It's a genealogist's dream and something I wish every state would copy.

So I decided to give it a try. I typed Fenner in the search engine and got a list of 60 Fenners with death certificates. And when I saw her name, I got that little buzz of electricity I get sometimes right before I find what I'm looking for. It was "my" Minnie Fenner!

Info from the death certificate: Minnie Fenner lived at 116 W 36th Street in Kansas City, Jackson, County, Missouri. She had lived in Missouri four years. She was the widow of Theodore Fenner. She was born 25 June 1847 in Montrose, Pennsylvania to Enos Newcomb and Susan. The certificate says Van Dyke but I believe her maiden name was Westervelt. The person giving the information was Mrs. O. B. Whitesell who lived at the same address.

Minnie was seen by the doctor from 7 Nov until 9 Nov 1927 and died 11 Nov 1927 at 4:05 a.m. The cause of death was Senile Arteriosclerosis of 20 years duration. Contributory cause of death has a check mark but no additional information. There was no operation preceding death and no autopsy.

She was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery (no city given) on 12 Nov 1927.
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Theodore Fenner is not listed in the Missouri Digital Heritage Death Records Certificates database under this name. Minnie may have been buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Kansas City but I couldn't find any online transcriptions of this cemetery.

Climbing Trees

Too busy flushing ancestors out of ancestry trees to post! I'm working on the Luther Kallam family. With help from the Susquehanna County PA Genealogical Society, Google books and ancestry.com, I've been able to discover information about most of his 8 children and some of his grandchildren. I'm preparing several letters to send to various courthouses and genealogical societies, because, of course, not everything is on the 'net. And besides, I LOVE to get snail mail! Of course, the ultimate research is on-site, but I don't see that happening for a few years at least.

Sometimes when I post like this, I feel like I'm just giving a teaser and not anything of substance to those who may be interested. So let me add 3 tidbits about Luther Kallam.

1. He joined Lippitt's Regiment, Capt. Simeon Martin's Company of the Rhode Island State Troops in September of 1776. (Revolutionary War) He was 16 years old. (His surname was spelled Cillum.)

2. Two of his 8 children preceded him in death, Samuel in 1815 and Lucy (Kallam) Ramsey in 1822.

3. According to his obituary, "four aged gentlemen were pallbearers one of whom, Mr. Eseck Thayre was a revolutionary soldier." Luther was 86 when he died. I wonder how old the pallbearers were.

Project update

I think it's time to update my list of current projects.

- I received a CD from the National Archives with the Compiled Military Service Record for Luther Kallam. It shows his Connecticut service from 5 July to 13 Dec 1780. I want to order again, asking for records from Rhode Island because this would not have been the time when the battles at White Plains, Trenton and Princeton were fought. I'm not sure why he would have served from Rhode Island when he was born in Connecticut but his application for pension says that he enlisted under Lt. Reuben Hewit of the Rhode Island State Troops at Stonington in February or March of 1776. I'm looking for verification of this. (Russell Family Tree)

- Not only did I receive the coroner's report for Frank Wahl, I also ordered and just received last week the coroner's report for his murderer, August Duenkel. There's a story I need to write and post soon. (Mayfield Family Tree)

- I haven't received a copy of Enos Newcombs death record from the volunteer in Iowa but I think I have enough information to apply for DAR membership. (Russell Family Tree)

- I received both books I ordered from Kirtas.com. They are of excellent quality and considering the length of one of the books, it wasn't a long process to get them. I will definitely order from them again.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Scavenger Hunt!

I added census records from ancestry.com for Allen West in Nebraska and Wyoming and his father William West in Iowa. Taking a snapshot of Allen and Mary Alice West's neighbors in 1900 is an interesting study in extended family. Allen and Alice's daughter Della married Louis Patch, the son of their neighbor, Charles and Eliza Patch. (Her first of two marriages.)

Allen and Alice's grandson Hugh Russell married Florance Predmore, granddaughter of their neighbors, Nelson and Fannie Predmore, daughter of Rufus. (His first of two marriages.)



Source citation: 1900 United States Federal Census, Custer County, Nebraska, Lillian Precinct, population schedule, Enumeration District 70, Sheet No. 3, Allen West family, dwelling 51, family 58; Allen and Mary Alice West; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 August 2009); citing NARA microfilm T623.

The stumper of the night is George Harry Worth. I've looked for this several times with a variety of spellings in the 1930 census. He should be in Loup County, Nebraska, right where he was in 1900, 1910, and 1920. He died in 1934 at the home of his daughter Elizabeth Jones in Loup County, but he is not enumerated with Frank and Elizabeth Jones. Where is George Worth in 1930?!?

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

I'm finally participating in some Saturday night fun, even though it is Sunday afternoon. Our instructions from Randy Seaver were to:

"1) List your 16 great-great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.

"2) Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.

"3) Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 - 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).

"4) If you don't know all 16 of your great-great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.

"5) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post."

Here are mine:

Fifth Generation (Great Great-Grandparents)

1. Daniel Russell, son of Benjamin Russell and Martha Dayton, was born on 31 Jul 1824 in Naples, Ontario County, New York and died on 29 Mar 1902 in Manchester, Delaware County, Iowa at age 77. Daniel married Maria Hunter on 23 Sep 1847. Daniel next married Mary Jane Wing, daughter of Stephen L. Wing and Mary Hayes, on 11 Oct 1857. (England)

2. Maria Hunter, daughter of George Hunter and Deborah Silsbee, was born on 13 Apr 1822 in Steuben Co, NY and died on 4 May 1857 in Pike, Wyoming Co, NY at age 35. Maria married Daniel Russell on 23 Sep 1847. (England)

3. Enos Newcomb, son of John Newcomb and Betsey Kallam, was born on 30 Jan 1815 in Montrose, Susquehanna Co, PA, died on 11 Apr 1891 in Greeley, Delaware, Iowa, USA at age 76, and was buried on 14 Apr 1891 in Delaware, Iowa, USA. Enos married Susan Ann Westervelt on 12 Feb 1845. Enos next married Margaret Hutton on 14 Mar 1866. (England)

4. Susan Ann Westervelt was born on 9 Mar 1823 in Bergen, New Jersey(?), USA and died on 2 Apr 1863 in Montrose, Susquehanna Co, PA at age 40. Susan married Enos Newcomb on 12 Feb 1845. (Holland)

5. William West, son of Daniel West and Mary, was born on 28 Mar 1818 in Pickaway Co, OH and died on 11 Jun 1881 in Decatur, Iowa, at age 63. William married Elizabeth Robison on 16 Nov 1843 in Pickaway Co, OH. (England)

6. Elizabeth Robison, daughter of Isaac Robison and Ann Humes, was born on 22 Dec 1822 in Pike Co, OH and died on 13 Jul 1893 in Decatur, Iowa, USA at age 70. Elizabeth married William West on 16 Nov 1843 in Pickaway Co, OH. (England)

7. Diamond Whittecar, son of Nathaniel Whittecar and Elizabeth Shepherd, was born on 1 Oct 1819 in Cumberland County, New Jersey and died on 8 May 1895 in Casper, Natrona Co, WY at age 75. Diamond married Melissa Donaldson on 31 Dec 1840 in Madison Co, OH. (England)

8. Melissa Donaldson was born on 28 Dec 1822 in OH and died on 30 May 1903 in Saline Co, KS at age 80. Melissa married Diamond Whittecar on 31 Dec 1840 in Madison Co, OH. (England)

9. Unknown Jones, born in Wales (Wales)

10. Unknown, born in Wales (Wales)

11. Daniel Davis was born Cal 21 May 1822 in Wales, died on 11 Jun 1896 in Chariton, Missouri, USA about age 74, and was buried in Bynumville, Chariton, Missouri, USA. Daniel married Jane Williams. (Wales)

12. Jane Williams, was born on 12 Jul 1818 in Wales, died on 19 Sep 1913 in Chariton, Missouri, USA at age 95, and was buried on 20 Sep 1913 in Bynumville, Chariton, Missouri, USA. Jane married Daniel Davis. (Wales)

13. John Worth, son of John Worth and Elizabeth, was born on 28 Dec 1815 in Harberton, Devon, Eng, died on 6 Dec 1893 in Loup Co, NE at age 77, and was buried on 7 Dec 1893 in Almeria Cemetery, Loup County, Nebraska. John married Ann Dugdale on 5 May 1845 in Harberton, Devon, England. (England)

14. Ann Dugdale, daughter of George Dugdale and Grace Angel, was born on 14 Jun 1822 in Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England, died on 20 May 1884 in Loup Co, NE at age 61, and was buried in the Almeria Cemetery, Loup Co, Nebraska. Ann married John Worth on 5 May 1845 in Harberton, Devon, England. (England)

15. Charles F Swift, son of Charles Swift and Lydia, was born in 1829 in New York, died on 19 Jan 1863 in Louisville, Jefferson Co, KY at age 34, and was buried on 20 Jan 1863 in Cave Hill National Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. Charles married Eunice Calista Robinson on 25 May 1850 in Richfield Twp, Summit Co, OH. (England)

16. Eunice Calista Robinson, daughter of Aaron Robinson and Rachel Walker, was born on 12 Jun 1832 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co, OH and died on 14 Oct 1906 in Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska at age 74. Eunice married Charles F Swift on 25 May 1850 in Richfield Twp, Summit Co, OH. Eunice next married Alanson Platt Hurlburt on 25 Dec 1866 in Rushville, Schuyler County, Illinois. (England)

England (including Scotland and some Scots who lived in Ireland for three or four generations): 68.75%
Wales: 25%
Holland: 6.25%

There are bits of French further back, but mostly I’m English/Welsh American. Rainy days make me feel cozy and relaxed and I attribute this to my English ancestors!

Order received from sampubco!

On 7 June I ordered digital copies of wills from SamPubCo for three of my ancestors, James Russell, Jacob Dayton and Luther Kallam. I sent another email last Sunday asking for the status of my order and today I received it!

I tried to follow his instructions for opening the .zip files but in the end simply saved them to my desktop and opened and extracted them. Then I saved them to the proper place in my genealogy file.

Over the next week I will transcribe them, but for now, a few highlights:

The will for James Russell is 6 pages long and it mentions his son Benjamin, whom I believe to be my ancestor. This is one of those lines that I have taken mostly on faith, so I hesitate to declare emphatically that this is indeed my ancestor, but I think it is and I will continue to do research to either prove or disprove it.

It mentions his wife Anna, whose name I did not have before. He gave her two beds and the curtains for them along with other items including two cows and one horse and "the best room in my house for her use".

The will for Jacob Dayton is 36 pages long. I haven't read all of it yet, but it does mention his daughter Martha, wife of Benjamin Russell. Just from scanning a few pages, I take it there was some discussion about his competency to make a will.

The will for Luther Kallam is one page long and mentions his beloved daughters including my ancestor Betsey. All of his daughters receive his household furniture and a horse, to be divided equally among them. In addition to her share of the furniture, Betsey was bequeathed one cow. He left his daughter-in-law Diane his "looms with all the apparatus belonging thereto."

So very interesting. Don't you wish we could go back and look at the house and the beds and curtains and the loom? And more importantly, meet the people!

So many genealogical riches in one day!

KirtasBook.com

I recently did some research on the Internet, including Google books, for books that contain information about my ancestor, Luther Kallam (also spelled Killam and about a dozen other ways). I made a list and downloaded those I could from Google books.

I read about Kirtas Books on Dick Eastman's blog here. He explains it much better that I can, but basically they scan old books on a very high speed scanner. Once it has been scanned, it can be either downloaded or a copy of the book can be purchased.

Tonight I ordered two soft cover books, History of Susquehanna County and The Centennial of Susquehanna County. Download fee was $1.95 each and a soft-bound copy was $8.05 each. With postage the order for the two books was a little less than $30.00. So for $15 a book, the price of a paperback at Barnes and Noble, I will have my own copies of out-of-print books to refer to whenever I want. Can't wait to get them!

Tombstone Tuesday

Photo of the tombstone of George Clinton and Catherine (Willman) Ferguson, Odell Cemetery, Odell, Nebraska.
Photo taken by Mary Russell Hollowell.

Obituary

Catherine Willman Ferguson, 1834-1905

Catherine Willman was born in Franklin county, Pa., August 10, 1834, and died at her home in Odell, Thursday, December 28, 1905, after an illness of about six weeks duration, at the age of 71 years, 4 months and 13 days.

During her sickness she bore her suffering without scarcely a murmur, meekly submitting to the will of her Heavenly Father.

At the age of four years, deceased removed with her parents to Wayne county, Ind., where they resided for about four years, when they went to Hartford City, Blackford county, Ind., where, on October 28, 1851, she was united in marriage with George Ferguson who enjoyed her companionship for more than half a century.

Shortly after their marriage they moved to Johnstown, Hardin county, Ohio, residing there till the summer of 1855, when they came to Brownville, Nebraska, being among the very first settlers in the state. A few years later they made their way to Cincinnati, now DuBois, in Pawnee county, where they resided until 1878, when they came to Charleston, south of the present town of Odell, and from that time to the day of there departure to the better land "Grandma Ferguson" as she was familiarly called, was an honored citizen of our community.

Thirty years ago she and her daughter Molly joined the United Brethren church at Eagle school house near the Blue river and she remained a faithful and consistent member of that faith until the Captain of her salvation said "Come up higher."

Mrs. Ferguson was an affectionate wife and mother and was fairly idolized by her husband and children and dearly beloved by all who knew her on account of her noble deeds. Her departure left a vacancy in this community that can never be filled.

Deceased left a husband, three sisters, two brothers, five sons, three daughters, thirty-seven grand children, thirty of whom were at the funeral, and eleven great grand children to mourn their loss.

Funeral services were held at the M.E. church, Sunday afternoon at 2:30, conducted by Rev J. H. Rounds assisted by Rev. Scott of Wymore, whose wife is a niece of deceased, and the people came in such large numbers to pay their last tribute to the dead that the church would not hold them. Interment was made in the home cemetery north of town.

We extend to the bereaved husband and relatives our most heartfelt sympathy in their hour of sadness, but they have consolation in knowing that their loss is her gain.

~Source: Odell Weekly Wave, 5 Jan 1906

What I'm Working On

1. Luther Kallam. Ordered his Compiled Military Service Record from the National Archives last week. I have his pension papers which say that he was with Washington's army at White Plains and again at Trenton. I hope first of all that there is a CMSR for him and that it gives lots of good information. There is one source that says he was at the Boston Tea Party. But since he was 13 years old and lived in Connecticut in 1773 when the party happened...very unlikely! (Russell Family Tree)

2. Frank Wahl. Around the first week of August, I should be receiving a copy of the coroner's inquest for Frank Wahl, who was murdered in 1883. Apparently it is 36 pages long so that should make for some interesting reading. (Mayfield Family Tree)

3. Enos Newcomb. Thanks to a great volunteer in Delaware County, Iowa, I now know when Enos Newcomb died. That blank on the pedigree chart has been mocking me for years so it was good to get it filled in. Now I need to find his grave. I've checked the usual Internet sources and so I think I'll have to go a different route. (Russell Family Tree)

4. Luther Kallam, James Russell, and Jacob Dayton. Ordered a digital copy of their wills from sampubco.com on June 7. Haven't heard anything from this company and I hesitate to ask. It's been 6 weeks so maybe I'll give this one a two-month deadline before I try to get in touch with him. (Russell Family Tree)

Tombstone Tuesday

Photo of the tombstone of Frank and Elizabeth Jones, Almeria Cemetery, Almeria, Nebraska.
Photo taken by Mary Russell Hollowell.

Obituary

Frank F. Jones 1877-1951

Frank F. Jones was born in Sheridan County*, Missouri, December 11, 1877. He came to Nebraska in 1909 and lived on a farm near Comstock. In the spring of 1919 he came to Loup County and bought the place where he has since made his home.

He was married September 6, 1922, to Elizabeth Worth of Almeria. To this union were born two children, Mrs. Grace Ferguson of Brewster, and Gerald who lives at the home place.

During his youth he worked in the coal mines of Missouri. He always enjoyed a game of baseball. Skating, playing horseshoes, and many other games were of interest to him.

He was converted to the Christian faith in 1929 and had lived faithful to his belief. He often expressed his desire to see children being taught the Christian way in the Sunday Schools and Vacation Bible schools.

He passed away June 22, 1951, at the age of 73 years, 6 months, and 11 days. He was staying in Sargent where he was under the doctor's care at the time of this death.

He leaves to mourn his passing, his wife, Lizzie, his daughter, Grace Ferguson, his son, Gerald, three grandsons, and two grand-daughters, and many relatives and friends.

In the years he has lived in this community, his many neighbors have known him to be kind and helpful.

His patience during his illness endeared him to all who cared for him.

Among the relatives in attendance at the service were Mr. and Mrs. Jim Jackson and Vesper of Alliance; Mrs. Rhoda Hulbert and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Garnis of Ansley; Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Hulbert of Arcadia; Mr. and Mrs. Earl Pernie and John of Weissert; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lambert of Sargent and George Lambert of Broken Bow; Mrs. Nellie Simon and Carol of Sargent; and Mr. and Mrs. Guy Cone and Carole of Burwell.

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~Source: Sargent Leader, undated clipping

*Probably Chariton County instead of Sheridan County.

Note: Alternate spellings for relatives' names: Rhoda Hurlburt, Henry Garniss, Leroy Hurlburt, Earl Pirnie;