Philadelphia Saturday Courier 8 June 1839 Marriages

Seek and you shall find.  It's another day of completed transcriptions for the Philadelphia Saturday Courier that Andrew Hoffmann has is his personal collection.  Thanks again, Andrew, for allowing the genealogy community access to these early finds.

I just knew if I did it long enough, I would find a name of interest to me.  And that day is today!

I have a couple of connections to the ASHMEAD family from Germantown, so I will spend some time digging up what I can find on this William ASHMEAD whose marriage is listed in this paper.  My connections to the ASHMEAD family come by way of marriages in the BRINGHURST family as well as having a grandpa serve under Captain Jacob ASHMEAD in the 2nd PA Regiment during the American Revolution.

Just for fun is an excerpt on Jacob ASHMEAD, who is buried at Hood Cemetery in Germantown, which I shared on 4 February 2017:

Captain Jacob ASHMEAD (1742-1814)-  history tells us he served under Bendedict Arnold  (ouch)
before he was promoted to lead the 2nd PA Regiment.

He was nephew to George BRINGHURST (1697-1752) and Anna ASHMEAD(1708-1760) -his natural aunt.

George and Anna were parents of John BRINGHURST (1726-1795) who married Elizabeth SHUTE (1735-1808).

Their daughter, Margaret (1757-1798) married James SIMMONS (1763-1809).

James, son of John SIMMONS (c. 1730-1795) and Catherine DALLY (c. 1742-1818)--  my grandparents!

With the exception of John SIMMONS and Catherine DALLY, they all reside at Hood Cemetery in Philadelphia.  This cemetery has a fascinating history in its residents.  I hope to go there one day.

Back to the task at hand.

Photo by Andrew Hoffmann

REPPLIER	John G		McGAULEY	Anne
FITEY	Samuel		MOORE	Margaretta
MYERS	Abraham S		HORN	Dorothy
BOWERS	John R		PRICE	Martha C	d/o Isaac
MAYBERRY	Thomas		GARRISON	Ruth
WILTBANKS	David S		PIERCE	Rebecca
HARKER	Samuel		CHURCH	Eliza
STRATTON	Jacob		BUCK	Ellen
NEWCOMB	T		WILE	Virginia
ULMER	Albert		JOHNSON	Leah Jane
McMAHON	Moses		CLEMANTS	Hester
McLANNAN	Alexander		STANLEY	Mary Ann
ELLIS	Jonas B		DRIPS	Jane
SHUMANN	William		MOORE	Frances
ASHMEAD	Wm		LISLE	Nancy M	d/o John
HAY	Gilbert		MALLETT	Adeline
NEWMAN	Chas		FISHER	Sarah
GORDON	Alexander G		OPIE	Juliet A	d/o Heireme L

Ahh, genealogy.  Gotta go dig in Germantown again to learn more.  It just never stops!

©2020  AS Eldredge

Philadelphia Saturday Courier 15 June 1839 Marriages

Transcribing old newspapers can be a tedious chore.  How nice that this issue decided to announce one marriage twice!  Can you spot it?

Another note of interest is that many of the marriages also include the minister who performed the marriage.  Perhaps you can use that information to locate more on the families.

Photo by Andrew Hoffman

WIEGAND	John		ECKFELD	Sarah	d/o Adam
WENZELL	Anthony		FRALEY	Sophia
ELTONHEAD	John H		LARE	Rebecca
PLITT	Geo		WAGER	Sophia M R	d/o Philip
OLIVER	John M		HAMRICK	Mary
MILLER	Augustus		ABERCROMBE	Martha
KIRKBRIDE	Thos S		JENKS	Ann W	d/o Jos R
EVANS	John W C		GIBBS	Martha D	d/o J N
GARRETT	Ellwood		WOLLASTONCatharine K
SMITH	Albert W		WOLLASTONCatharine K	Elizabeth
TAGGART	Calvin		BETTS	Sarah K
TAYLOR	John L		BARNES	Lydia	d/o Isaac
FOSTER	Wm		LEARY	Catharine
CHASE	Philip Brown		COLLINS	Gulielma Maria	d/o Isaac
FOX	Nathaniel		PELTZ	Elizabeth E
GAUN	Peter		CRAWFORD	Elizabeth
VALLEAU	Wm R		BIDDLE	Edith Ann	d/o Danl
NEFF	Charles		RUGAN	Margaretta	d/o Geo
SMITH	Beaton		PETTIT	Theodosia	d/o Andrew
BRATTEN	Isaac		DOYLE	Martha M
STICKNEY	John N		HALE	Mary S	d/o D
AGNEW	John R		AGNEW	Harriet J	d/o Samuel
WENZELL	Andrew		FRALEY	Sophia
BOOTH	William C		BYRAN	Elizabeth
MILTONBERGER	Charles A		DUNBAR	Henrietta F	d/o G T
WILLHELM	John		BAEDER	Magdalene

Be sure to let me know if you find some great new information.

Ahh, genealogy.  Finding hope for the future in our past.

©2020  AS Eldredge

New Newspaper Transcription Project Begins!

Actually, it's a new transcription project on some really old newspapers from the Philadelphia area.  I recently read a post by someone in a Philadelphia genealogy group who was looking for input on what options were available to get some old newspapers marriages and deaths online.

Of course, I had to volunteer!  So, today, I start the transcription of some issues of the Philadelphia Saturday Courier from 1835 to 1839.  As I progress, I will be sure to keep you in the loop.

Ahhh, genealogy.  The past still calls us to be in the present.

©2020  AS Eldredge

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

Tuesday Tip: Let Your Fingers Help the Brain in Searching Newspapers

For a number of years, a great group of volunteers had been indexing the deaths and marriages from the old Pittsburgh newspapers.  The extra added treat was links to the newspaper itself.

Just this week, someone had stumbled across our index and then said they couldn't search google for the old newspapers.  Had they gone to main site where we linked the newspapers to the dates the notices were published, they could have used their fingers to navigate around and find the information they were searching.  In fact, another kind soul, ok, he's a cousin of mine, easily found the link to the newspaper and sent it on to the seeker of the past.

Here is an example:

Search for the name of your dearly beloved
Click "Quick Links to Newspapers in these indexes"

Click on Submitted Dates

Find your newspaper and date
Click and spend a few minutes reading the past

Another recent incident occurred when a different person just couldn't figure out why the great grandparents weren't listed in a particular listing of deaths.  And then, the seeker noted the great grandparents died before the listing started.  Another case of smacking the hand against the head in an effort to engage the brain to understand what it sees.

Tip:  Slow down.  Read.  Comprehend.  It may make your task easier.

Ahh, genealogy.  Another day in the life of the original Tired FinFan Club.



Sources:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/page5/page5.html
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/death-index.htm

Friend of Friends Friday: St James Santee Plantation Parish

Ever tried to find much information in old South Carolina?  It's almost like the feeling I bet the English had when they were trying to track down Francis Marion in the swamp.  Of course, for me, it still is like to trying to find a high spot in Hell Hole Swamp now!

In history, we can locate evidence of the many fires in South Carolina which destroyed records.  We also have other obstacles to overcome.  While some of the records are getting online, and mind you, the available records are so much better now than when I started looking some 16 years ago, it can still be a source of frustration.

One book I have in my possession that I find an interesting read at times is "St James Santee Plantation Parish" by Anne Baker Leland Bridges and Roy Williams III.  While I don't think any of the names pertain to me, the location is really close to where my blood flows.

There are stories, marriages and baptisms to be found for the parish.  While there isn't a slave listing, some names are mentioned from time to time.

One example is found on page 269 where the negro "November" is mentioned as being made the keeper of an old head board that would not fit on the ship.  Apparently, November was to ship the head board at a later time.  November did not send it on.  Today, this head board, which is made of cypress and marked the grave of Jonah Collins is in the Charleston Museum.  The inscription on the head board reads:

Stranger who now are passing by,

As you are now,

So once was I:

As I am now,

So shall you be,

Therefore prepare to follow me.

Ahh genealogy.  Strangers who have gone before us sometimes bring us great joy as we find a trace of our blood.

Source: 

Bridges, Anne Baker Leland and Williams, Roy III. St James Santee Plantation Parish, 1997.

©2016 ASEldredge

Tuesday's Tip: Spend Time Reading the Past

How many times did you watch your parents read the evening newspaper?  I know my parents liked to sit down after dinner and spend hours reading every page.  What precious memories..... of those pages rattling, of papa asking for more coffee, of mama drifting off to sweet slumber.......

You can still take hours to read the past newspapers and glean tidbits of information which will lead you down your genealogy past.

In case you haven't had the time to peruse the old Pittsburgh newspapers, a wonderful group of volunteers has been doing it for you!

We've been indexing the old Pittsburgh newspapers for deaths, marriages, and divorces.  The dates we have indexed can be seen at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~paallent/ .  Links from this site will take you to the indexed names.

Ahhh, genealogy.  It's a great day for those of us with Irish roots to tip our hats while we look for some gold under the old rocks!

©2015 ASEldredge

Navigating the Old Books for Early Pittsburgh Marriages on Family Friends Friday

Defining and navigating the waterways in and around Pittsburgh in the early 1800s was made easier by Zadok Cramer, a local bookshop and printer owner.  While he was first known for publishing the Navigator, he also published Cramer's Pittsburgh Almanack for a number of years.

This little gem is also the source of a number of marriages in the area.  The beauty is now one can find many of the years online.  On just this one page pictured, I find evidence of two marriages in my family.

What makes it more fun is noticing so many friends of the family listed here as well.

Ahhh, genealogy. How many pages do you need to navigate to find the treasure.....


 ©2015 ASEldredge


Sources:
Cramer's Pittsburgh Almanack for the year of our Lord, 
1807, http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm/ref/collection/HistAlmanac/id/2370
1825, https://archive.org/details/cramerspittsburg1825amer
Villanova University- several years. https://library.villanova.edu/Find/Record/949745
American Almanac Collection (Library of Congress) https://myebooks365.com/book/MTUzMDB3ag~~/Cramers-Pittsburgh-almanack-for-the-year-of-our-Lord--18
Founders Online, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0495