Monday, March 11, 2013

Fish Tail

From the Attica Democrat, Thursday June 15, 1893


It is finds like this that make the hump on by back from bending over the microfilm all worthwhile.




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Smith Line

Please know that this is incomplete.  The Hewitt, Light, and Lutz line have already been extensively researched by others.  There is a LOT to tell!


William Jennings Smith (1897-1968) married Margaret E Marr (1895-1958). They lived in Fountain County, Indiana and had one son, Chester Lee Smith.

William J Smith was the son of Eli Levi Smith (1871-1951) and Nellie Lighty Smith (1873-1947).  Eli and Nellie were both born in Fountain County, Indiana.  They had two other children:  Mildred Effie (1905-2002 m John B Adkins c Karen Sue);  Delcie May (1906-2000 m Robert Ireland)

Nellie Lighty was the daughter of John J Lighty (1820-1884) and Nancy Plunkett (1831-1900).  John was born in Ohio, and Nancy in Kentucky.  Both of their families moved to Fountain County, Indiana.  John and Nancy had the following children: Mandy (b 1857); Samuel (b1859 m Rose Plunkett c Everett, Maymie, Nannie, Ivan, Walter ); James (b 1864); Anna (b  1871)

Nancy Plunkett was the daughter of Robert Plunkett and Nancy Hartley

John J Lighty was the son of Jacob Lighty (1790-1839) and Elizabeth Hewitt (b 1791).  Jacob was originally from Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth from North Caroline.  They were married in Montgomery County, Ohio, and immigrated to Fountain County, Indiana. 

Elizabeth Hewitt was the daughter of Phillip Hueit (1754-1846) and Maria Elizbetha Lutz (1763-1846).  Phillip was a Revolutionary War soldier, and Maria was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  They had the following children: Henry; Michael; Simon; Elizabeth

Maria Lutz is the daughter of Johannes G Lutz and Anna C Schopf

Phillip Hueit is the child of Jacob Huyett (1732-1812) and Anna Maria Gegin (1735-1803).  Both are buried in Berks, Co Pennsylvania.

Jacob Huyett is the son of Peter Huyett (b 1702).

Peter Huyett is of unknown parentage.  The parents also had the following children: Ambrose Huyett, Franz Carl Huyett (b 1708 m Maria Gerta Guattlebaum c Ludwig); Michael (b 1719)



Monday, March 4, 2013

Mail Delivery

These are bad times for the US Postal Service.  Even with all the postage I spend sending self-addressed stamped envelopes to random courthouses (and for all the cartoons Mom clips out of the newspaper to send for me to put on the fridge) the USPS recently announced it would be cutting back services to 5 days a week.

Newspapers often printed names of locals who had unclaimed mail awaiting pick-up.  Sometimes I don't pick up my mail for a few days (which is why husband insisted on taking over that job).  But mail service, for all its woes, could be worse. 

But before the Rural Free Delivery Service was enacted in 1896 people who lived in rural areas usually had to travel quite a distance (by horse, or shank's mare) to a general store to pick up their mail.  Sometimes mail would be picked up by private contracters who would gladly deliver it to a settler's door, for a fee. 

Imagine setting aside a day's worth of travel to retrieve a long awaited word from family back home, only to arrive at the general store to find out your letter never arrived or was lost. Bummer.  Newspaper's often ran ads to try to coax readers into picking up their mail.  

So we are spoiled.  Sure, it looks like my very important letter from the amazing gentlemen at the Washington County Free Library was attacked by squirrels.  But at least I didn;t have to get saddle sores to retrieve it.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Heretics and Rebels

This will be a rare post, a story about the Royce Clan (on the Moore side).  This is not a family that I am focusing on right now, as most of that research was completed long ago.  But this story is worth it, because it shows the high drama of family history research.

Grandma has often expressed less than a positive opinion about digging into her family's past.  At one point she informed me that they "turned their backs on the church." The Royce family has a long history in New Englad so like any good family, there are certainly some skeletons in that closet.  And that is okay. 

Here's the saga of Uzziel Royce: heretic and rebel

Uzziel Royce was born in Mansfield, Connecticut in 1758.  Fast forward past all of the research that I don't know.  Uzziel Royce was an original congregant of the first Baptist Church in Sullivan, County NY.  It is weird to think of anyone on Grandma's side as Baptist!

He was excommunicated.  Here's what The History of Sullivan County has to say about that

"And in this connection it may not be amiss to say that while at the first supper of our Lord there was one Judas at this judging from subsequent events there were about half a dozen. Uzziel Royce was excommunicated because he believed in open communion. Jonathan Reynolds because he wronged a brother. Jesse Bradley for intemperance. Ananias Warring walked with the brotherhood until he was an old man when he came to the conclusion that the Baptists of Thompson were a bad set and he was cut off. Shadrach Schofield during a controversy as to keeping the first or last day of the week holy concluded that all days were equally sacred and worked on Sunday and Ann Davies believing that the Church of Thompson dealt harshly and unjustly with her husband was honest enough to say so for which she was expelled from the fold. Even the good Elder himself was for a time denounced by this congregation as a child of the devil aud was driven from the sanctuary as if he were a moral leper."


I'm a big fan of open communion myself.  And I work most Sundays, too.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Marr Line

My poor, good-sport of a mother.  She volunteered to go on a scouting mission to the Fountain County Genealogical Society.  I gave her a list, but the folks at the FOCOSO were so amazingly helpful, that they tore through the list in no time flat.  She called with some info, and some questions.  she thought she hung up, but I was left yelling into the phone "No! No!!! Peter Smith was in the Civil War! Not 1812!  Not 1812! Civil!!! Hello? Civil War!!"  My husband is becoming immune to this behavior.

Normal people do not have an app on their phone to keep these names and dates straight.  Also, normal people do not have dreams about family history research.  So for you normal people, here is the makings of a family tree.  But it is just a baby start.  Direct line names are in yellow.  There is still years of work to be done.  The Hewitts and the Keefers, especially, have long roots here.

William Jennings Smith (1897-1968) married Margaret E Marr (1895-1958).  They lived in Fountain County, Indiana and had one son, Chester Lee Smith.

Margaret Marr was the daughter of John Edward Marr (1863-1940) and Mary "Molly" Belle Redman Marr (1863-1920).  Both lived their lives in Fountain County, Indiana.  Their children are Hester (b 1889); Sarah (1892-1959 m. Fred Gayler, mother to Harold and Hubert); David John (b 1893 m. Blanche Auter, c Donald J. Marr) ; Martha L  (b 1897 m. Mr. Wright); Mary A.  (b 1899 m. Borden Abolt, x Marvin Dean, Milford, and Robert Lee); Evalyn E Marr (b 1902 m. John R. Brown)

Molly Redman is the daughter of David and Sarah McConnell Redman.  David (b 1832 in Ohio) and Sarah (b. 1832 in Ohio) settled in Fountain County, Indiana.  The had two other children, John (b 1859) and Jane (b 1866)

John Edward Marr is the son of John C. Marr (b 1840) and his first wife, Hester A. Keefer (1840-1876).  John had two sisters: Mary B (b 18660 and Gertrude K. (b. 1878).  John C. Marr was born in Fountain County, Indiana.  Hester Keefer was born in Ross, Ohio.  After Hester's death, John married Ella m. Simpson (b 1857 in New Jersey, but moved for Fountain Country sometime before 1870).  John and Ella had 5 children: Roscoe Patrick (1887-1916); George Harold (b 1879 m Pansy); Thomas G (1881-1918,  m Ethel c Ruth, Milred); Cary D (b 1884); Ralph (1895); Ralph (1895)

John C Marr was the son of John Patrick Marr (1812-1860?) and Anna Shull (b1810). John Patrick was born in Ireland, and immigrated to first to Hagerston, Maryland then to Fountain Couny, Indiana about 1838.  Ann Shull was born in Hagerstown Maryland. Their children were James W. Marr (b 1833 and died as a child); John C (1840); Mary (1836); Sarah E (1838); Thomas (1845).

Ann Shull was the daughter of Jacob Sholl and Maria Bixler Sholl.  Jacob and Maria had three other daughters: Catherine, Elizabeth and Mary.