Archive for March 31, 2007

Sarah Gilbert Johnson: A Trip to Kansas, A Step Forward

March 31, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

One of the most elusive of all my ancestors is Sarah Gilbert Johnson. Here’s what I know about her: according to the marriage records of Clay County, Missouri, she married Ezekiel Johnson in September 1867. She appears only in the 1880 census of Jackson County [Kansas City], Missouri. There her age is given as 31 years old. Her birthplace is said to be Missouri. It appears that her father’s birthplace originally was written down as “U.S.” and then stricken through and corrected to read “Mo.” Her mother’s birthplace is listed as “U.S.”

The 1920 census of Jackson County describes Zeke Johnson as widowed, so Sarah apparently died before 1920. I can’t find a death certificate for her in the excellent Missouri State Archives.

For awhile, I knew so little about her that I believed her surname was “Gibson.” I asked Aunt Delorise about her and she said, “I don’t know . . . that’s back when someone was an Indian.” The story has circulated for decades in the family that Sarah Gilbert was an Indian. That’s never been substantiated in any way.

In trying to find Sarah Gilbert Johnson, I’ve concentrated on Clay County, Missouri. There are several reasons for this. First, that’s where she was married. Second, her husband Ezekiel Johnson lived for awhile.

Clay County was a complex place to reside in the mid-1800′s. It was known as “Little Dixie” because a lot of Southerners lived there with slaves. Many of these people came from Kentucky, which may explain why the county was named for Kentucky Congressman Henry Clay. There seems to have been a virtual “sister county” relationship between Clay County, Missouri, and Mason County, Kentucky. Just to the southwest of Clay County, across the Missouri River, is Wyandotte County, Kansas (which under a unified government, is now also Kansas City, Kansas.)

Kansas was not a slave territory–indeed, Kansas was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Slaves were known to escape Missouri by simply wading a cross the Missouri river. So perhaps it would make sense to look for Sarah Gilbert’s original family in Kansas.

First, however, a couple of preliminary matters: I think for the purpose of this research, we should assume that Sarah Gilbert was not an Indian. And I think before we cross the river, we should check the slave schedules for Missouri.

The 1850 slave schedule show just one Gilbert in northwest Missouri. That’s Abel Gilbert of Weston, Platte County, Missouri. Platte County is adjacent to Clay County on the north and also is just across the Missouri from Kansas. Abel Gilbert has one slave, an 18 year old female. We note this fact; we also casually note that Abel is from Kentucky’s wife’s name is Hannah. We now move on to Kansas.

On the 1880 census in Wyandotte County, we find William Gilbert, age 52; his wife, Hannah, age 55; and their daughter, Magdalen, age 10. William and Hannah are from Kentucky.

On the 1900 census in Wyandotte County, Hannah Gilbert is the head of a household; William seems to have passed away during the intervening two decades. Hannah is described as widowed at age 67; she is said to be fro Missouri. She lives with a daughter, Mary Perkins, who is 49 years old, and two boarders, Charles Frye and Rada Frye, whose father is said to be from Kentucky.

The 1895 Kansas state census shows Kentucky-born Hannah Gilbert, 65 years old. The 1905 Kansas state census enumerated Hannah Gilbert, 73, from Kentucky, with Mary Perkins, 48.

The other Kansas state censuses tell an interesting tale:

1865
Peace Gilbert 38 M M Labor Ky
Hannah ” 38 F B Domest. Ky
Mary F. ” 14 F B Mo
Lourella ” 13 F B “
Anna ” 2 F B “

1875

Wm Gilbert 60 M B Labor Ky Mo (where from to Kansas
Hannah J do 60 F ” do
WH do 28 M ” Laborer do
Mary Perkins 21 F ” servant do
MA Gilbert 7 ” ” Kansas
Maggie do 3 ” ‘ do
Mimi Read 94 ” ” Kentucky Kentucky

I’m inclined to believe that Hannah Gilbert was born around 1832 0r 1833. In any event, she would have been old enough to have been Sarah Gilbert’s mother. I think we have a good working hypothesis that this may be Sarah Gilbert’s original family. The rest of the hypothesis is that the family came to Missouri with slaveowners from Kentucky and at some point, made their way to Kansas from northwest Missouri.

But where is Sarah Gilbert herself? Well, by the time of the 1870 federal census, she was married to Ezekiel Johnson. By the time of the 1865 Kansas state census, she may have been living with the Johnson family in Missouri.

In any event, this is a step forward; now let’s work with the hypothesis and see where we get.

UPDATE (4/1/07, 6:35 am PDT): I’ve just examined the 1870 census and found the family discussed above listed as “Gelbert.” The family is enumerated as follows:

Isaac Gelbert, 53, Laborer, Kentucky
Hannah J., 58, Keeping house, Kentucky
Mary Perkins, 20, Cook, Kentucky
Luella Gelbert, 19, Servant, Missouri
Elbella, 5, Kansas
Minta Ann, 1, Kansas

The family in 1870 is found in Quindaro, Kansas. According to historian and law professor Harriet C. Frazier, Quindaro was “a haven for runaway slaves from places such as Platte County, Missouri.” Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those Who Helped Them, 1783-1865 (McFarland & C0., 2004), p. 147. Professor Frazier also notes that Quindaro, once a town of 5,000 persons, hosted a stop on the Underground Railroad. Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves, at 176. Today, Quindaro has been overtaken by the city of Kansas City, Kansas. In her book, Professor Frazier includes a photograph of a statue of John Brown at 27th and Sewell streets in the section of Kansas City, Kansas, that once was Quindaro.

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Something Cool

March 31, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Check out the quilt of genea-bloggers woven by The footnoteMaven at
http://footnotemaven.blogspot.com/2007/03/genealogy-bloggers-quilt.html

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Missouri Death Certificate Project Marches Forward

March 30, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Images for the year 1932 are now online!

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Research Resource: Immigrant Servants Database

March 28, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

This site is part of the marketing program of a Salt Lake City-based genealogical research firm called Price & Associates. The purpose of the database is to help Americans trace the European origins of their colonial-era ancestors. A significant number of colonists came to America as indentured or bonded servants. For example, we know (from other sources) that a number of the Mansons who came in the eighteenth century came as indentured servants. Among these were Jane Manson, a single woman who arrived in Savannah from Kirkwall aboard the Marlborough in 1775; and William Manson, who arrived with his family on the same voyage. Although these Scots-Irish immigrants are well-documented, curiously, they do not appear among the 10,754 names in the Price & Associates database.

There are some interesting maps on this site and some other useful information, but the main purpose is to market Price & Associates’ professional genealogical services.

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Research Resource: Mardos Memorial Library

March 28, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Back in November and December, we did a series on “The French Negroes of Illinois.” It was a rather lengthy series compared to what we usually do here and it required more than usual research support. We found some of that research support at a unique site called Mardos Memorial Library of On-Line Books and Maps.

This site was created by Pam Mardos Rietsch in honor of her parents, Mary Bartashunas and Vitas Eugene “Bud” Mardos. As its name suggests, it consists mostly of maps and old books. The main attraction is Pam’s own rendering of Rand McNally’s 1895 “Atlas of the World.” There are maps of the United States with indexes and a map of the world.

One very interesting feature is Pam’s rendition (my word) of the 1891 Grain Dealers and Shippers Gazette. This contains maps and information about railroads that hauled freight across the nation. Although there’s not a route map for every railroad, Pam has included an index of personnel at various stations on the lines. Perhaps you’re related to J.H. Kingsley, the freight supervisor at East Clarendon on the Central Vermont Railway. Or maybe your great-grandfather was R. Green at Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Or maybe your family tree includes one or more of a hundred others in the index.

Pam has also included such interesting but unusal items as the 1892 Gardiner’s Atlas of English History, and the Pictorial History of the Locomotive, 1771-1899.

But by far the most useful part of the site are the various old books that Pam and her helpers have transcribed. They are organized by state for the most part; so, for example, under Colorado, you’ll find “Portrait and Biographical Record of Denver and Vicinity,” published in 1898. It has a comprehensive name index. For “The French Negroes” series, we found useful “The History of Southern Illinois.”

Pam is adding more to the site all the time. It’s a unique contribution to historical and genealogical researched on the Web and a special tribute to her parents. Spend some time there!

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Another Cousin Found!

March 28, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

A few weeks ago, I met a cousin from the Brayboy branch of the family at a genealogical conference in Sacramento. That was a very fulfilling meeting on a number of levels and I’m still processing some of the information she gave me. One thing, among many, about that chance meeting, was that it was the first time ever that I had come face to face with a Brayboy cousin.

A few days ago, a person left a comment on an older post here concerning the LeJay branch of the family. The LeJays have been the most difficult family to find. The commenter said she was researching the LeJays as well! Turns out that the commenter, a college student, is also a descendant of Sylvia LeJay Gines, my great-grandmother (and of course, therefore, also a descendant of Syntrilla Brayboy LeJay, Sylvia’s mother). This cousin belongs to the Nacogdoches, Texas, branch of the Gines family.

Richard William Gines (1860-?) and Sylvia LeJay (1863-1940) lived in Shreveport and had ten children, the oldest being Frank Gines (1883-1946). He married Willie V. Cole (1890-1983) and they ended up in Nacogdoches. The third of their eight children was Jennie V. Gines (1918-2006). Jennie became the great-grandmother of my commenting cousin. (And since it appears that the rest of that branch is still alive, I’ll stop there). I’ll be sending my newly discovered cousin further information on her family tree.

It’s a bit unusual to find someone at her stage of life interested in her ancestry. But she is a person with a bright and active mind (as I can tell from reading her own [non-genealogical] blog.

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The Week Ahead

March 26, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Somehow last week and the weekend got away from me. But coming this week, reviews of several interesting sites, and we go to Kansas to make progress in the search for Sarah Gilbert. While we’re in Kansas, we stumble across some strange facts concerning another ancestor. So, stay tuned–it’ll be a good week!

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The Sisters Speak

March 20, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

One indulgent pleasure of being a genea-journalist is occasionally hearing from one’s readers that they enjoyed a particular piece. It’s even better when the subjects of one’s writing respond positively. (This is indeed a rare treat for genea-writers, since most of the folks we write about are . . . , well, you know . . .gone).

Anyway, after Three Sisters was published in the Carnival of Genealogy, I heard from Bernadine Coles Gines and through her, her sister, Ruth Coles Harris. Ruth wrote, “WE LOVED THE ARTICLE!” She also had some corrections. She retired as chairman of the Accounting Department at Virginia State University, not the Business Department. And concerning her academic achievements, Ruth says, “I doubt very seriously that I graduated first in my NYU class.” She was, however, first in her class at VSU, where her degree was in business administration. She also said, “I don’t know how important this is, but to be factual I passed the exam in November 1962 but wasn’t certified until April 1963. So [one may] either say I became the first black woman to pass the exam in 1962 or the first black woman to become certified in 1963.”

Bernadine also had some corrections. About the story that their grandfather gave them a typewriter “when Bernadine and Ruth were about ten and five years old, respectively,” she points out that there is just a two yearage difference between them, so Ruth would have been eught years old. Concerning the statement that “In a 2003 interview with her journalism major granddaughter, Bernadine that from the time she was in the fifth grade, she knew she was going to college,” Bernadine says that it should have said, “I knew when I was 5 years old that I was going to college even though I didn’t know what college was.” The discrepancy was the result of a transcription error in the original source.

By the way, there is an oral history interview with the sisters’ mother, Ruth Wyatt Coles, at this link: http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/afam/raceandplace/orals/rcoles.html . Unfortunately, there may be a defect in the recording, because I’ve been unable to hear it above a whisper and there’s a lot of background noise. Nonetheless, a synopsis of the interview reads:

Ruth Coles was born around 1900 and although her family did not live on Vinegar Hill, her father was a barber in that section of Charlottesville. She remembers how important family was for them. Also, she recalls that neighborhoods were close and discusses how she, her family, and their neighbors enjoyed attending houseparties in the neighborhood, playing croquet, and maintaining a flowergarden. Coles says that she did not consider issues of class to divide the black community much, remarking on how poorer citizens, for example, shopped at the second hand store on Vinegar Hill and therefore could always dress well and “in style”. After completing high school at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in Petersburg in 1929 (currently Virginia State University), Coles returned to Albemarle County to teach school for thirty years, eighteen of which were spent teaching in Charlottesville. Much later on in life, she and her daughter were the first parent-child pairing to graduate from Virginia State University together.

Try the oral history link and see if you you have better luck than I did. The site is part of a collaborative project of the Virginia Center for Digital History and the Carter G. Woodson Institute of African and African-American Studies.

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FamilySearch Indexing

March 19, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

When I attended the family history seminar here the weekend before last, I heard several people talking about having signed up to do indexing for FamilySearch.org. As has been widely reported, FamilySearch.org is being expanded to include a treasure trove of genealogical information to be available free of charge. This requires a huge effort to index all the sources.

I was curious about indexing, so I went to the site familysearchindexing.org and signed up. About an hour or so later, I was indexing a page from a federal census of a Midwestern state. The process that got me there was relatively simple.

Once you sign up, you’re given a password. You download the indexing software. You will want to take the appropriate tutorial. Then you begin indexing.

Indexing is a lesson in itself. You can see immediately the problems that can be had with handwriting. And then what is one to do with diacritical marks such as the umlaut or tilde? And those of us who have lived a half-century or more could certainly benefit from larger type in the software!

In any event, the soft ware tells you how much you have completed. Once you have finished your indexing, you submit your work to the familysearchindexing server. Each data batch is indexed by two indexers, whose work is reviewed and reconciled if necessary by an arbitrator.

Apparently you don’t have a choice of which data you index. I saw a batch that I thought looked interesting on the home page. I clicked on it, only to be given a different batch. This happened twice.

The website lets you set goals (i.e., the number of names you intend to transcribe in, say, a week). It keeps up with you, too. FamilySearch reports that in January 2007, volunteers indexed nearly 3,660,000 names. That compares with a little more than 114,000 names in January 2006.

It’s not too difficult to index 50 names (your typical census page) in less than an hour. But you’ll find at the outset that you need to pay close attention to what you are doing. I thought it was an interesting experience that gave me a sense of satisfaction. I recommend trying it. You’ll be doing a favor to the entire community.

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Ancestry.com and The FHCs–Ancestry’s Side

March 17, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

The Generations Network CEO Tim Sullivan says that the company began discussing a licensing agreement with the LDS Church several months ago. This would be similar to the agreements with public libraries through which patrons have free access to Ancestry.com. Apparently, the parties were unable to reach a mutual agreement. Sullivan says that Ancestry remains interested in such an agreement. Read his letter to employees courtesy of Everton’s Genealogy Blog.

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