Tombstone Tuesday: Resting in an Unmarked Grave

Just last week, I gasped as I read the 1853 will of David SIMMONS, a prosperous merchant in Philadelphia.  He had grandchildren who he named!  And great grandchildren, too!

So off on another mission with my fin fans to see what I could find.  His children are not in the Hood Cemetery with David and his wife, Margaret CHAMBERS.  What to do?

Look at the most unusual name and see if any information can be found.  There it is in Washington, DC.  It's a marriage certificate and then interments at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, DC!

Let me explain how I know the right bones have surfaced.

The 1853 will makes no mention of children.  Instead, it specifically mentions the following grandchildren:

Will of David P Simmons

William R SIMMONS
Elizabeth GODDARD
James SIMMONS
John B SIMMONS

and children of granddaughter, Margaret DOWLING:
David DOWLING
Marshall DOWLING
Julius DOWLING

There are the clues.

Granddaughter Margaret DOWLING is dead before 1853.

The marriage records in Washington, DC, confirm a Margaret SIMMONS married Patrick DOWLING 9 May 1939.  The 1850 census confirms Patrick b. Ireland and children are living in the household of Elizabeth SIMMONS, who we can assume is the mother of Margaret and the widow of William Clarke SIMMONS.

Now to finalize the information trail.  On Findagrave, we see a Margaret DOWLING with no marker, no death date in the Glenwood Cemetery.  We do, however, see the Plot listed.  This is crucial.

Section B, Lot 85, Site 7

Why look!  Here is Patrick DOWLING, b. Ireland d. 1864 in Glenwood Cemetery in Section B, Lot 85, Site 6.

BINGO!  His bio also confirms two marriages.  One in 1939 to Margaret SIMMONS, and the second to Drucilla MARKS in 1852.

Ahh, genealogy.  Remembering our beloved bloodlines who rest even if there isn't a marked grave to visit.

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Pennsylvania County, District and Probate Courts.
Ancestry.com. District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Find A Grave Memorial# 165062964
Find A Grave Memorial# 165063464
Cemetery photo by Janet Greentree

Treasure Chest Thursday: Following Early Pennsylvania Wills to Find the Way

Looking to unearth the dead in Philadelphia?  Looking for that elusive legal documentation?  Sometimes, digging can reveal the treasures of old.

For instance,  I've started looking in more detail at my old Philadelphia kin, their lives, their final resting spots in the Hood Cemetery and the Christ Church Burial Ground, their connections to George WASHINGTON, etc.

This month seems really appropriate as our country acknowledges the contributions of black Americans through history and celebrates the birthdays of a couple of our early Presidents.  While I have already sprinkled some seeds on Samuel FRAUNCES and his relationship to our first President, I will now see what sprouts as I look at a blood uncle who witnessed the inauguration of good old George.  I suspect since the inauguration happened next door to the family business in New York City, that all he had to do was lean out the window!

David P SIMMONS (1770-1853) was one of six children of John SIMMONS (d.1795) and his wife, Catharine DALLY (d. 1818).  The family business was next to Federal Hall in New York City, which history tells us was the site of the inauguration of George WASHINGTON.  As it took place on the balcony, I suspect grandpa John and his family leaned out of upstairs windows to watch.

David married Margaret CHAMBERS in 1792, at the family church, the Trinity Church, in New York.    Why he moved to Philadelphia I don't know.  What I do know is the family did spend some time there during the American Revolution and had kin there as well.  David and Margaret had one son I can document, William Clarke SIMMONS born 11 August 1793.

David remarries a woman named Ellen as is documented in the land deeds when he sold land in Chenango County, NY.  Right David?  Of course, it's the land that is described in the will of his father, John, who died in 1795.

David became a prosperous merchant in Philadelphia and spent the remaining years of his life there as did his brother, James (d. 1809).  They are both buried at the Hood Cemetery in Germantown.  Is the Margaret SIMMONS buried at Hood Cemetery who died 1798 the first wife of David?

David was the last of his siblings to die.  I wondered about his children and their families.  What a great treasure chest to be found online regarding some of the early PA Probate Records and Wills!

There he is--

Will of David P Simmons found online at Ancestry.com

Noted in the will and probate files:

No living wife--  but a sister in law, Mary McKEAN

The grandchildren:
William R SIMMONS, Elizabeth GODDARD, James SIMMONS, John B SIMMONS

The great-grandchildren:  David DOWLING, Marshall DOWLING, Julius DOWLING-  all children of granddaughter, Margaret Simmons DOWLING.

Hmm, looks like more digging is needed to confirm some of the identities of these blood cousins of mine.  I have started to look around in Washington, DC, where I find Patrick DOWLING who was first married to Margaret SIMMONS.  More digging needed to unearth the details of this treasure chest.

Ahh, genealogy.  Digging for the proverbial treasure chest in the wills to find the way!

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Pennsylvania County, District and Probate Courts.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21207622&ref=acom
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Simmons&GSiman=1&GScid=45141&GRid=21071924&