My Revolutionary War Patriots

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I’d write a post about my ancestors who are Revolutionary War patriots.

Robert Parks

Robert PARKS is the patriot I went in under for membership to National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).  His service is listed as a private serving under Captain Benager Leffingwell.  Below is a muster roll from 1777; it is the only one I have found for him.

Robert is my sixth great-grandfather.  He was born 4 December 1737 in Voluntown, Connecticut and died in 1810 in Windham, Connecticut.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856), m. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856)
8. Robert PARKS (1776-1863), m. Mary “Polly” Wheeler SMITH (1781-1844)
9. Robert PARKS (1737-1810), m. Elizabeth HALL (?-?)

Jonathan Webster

Jonathan WEBSTER took the Oath of Fidelity in October 1777 at Glastonbury, Connecticut.  Jonathan in my seventh great-grandfather.  He was born 5 October 1705 in Hartford, Connecticut and died 14 November 1781 in Glastonbury.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823), m. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823)
9. Ashbel WEBSTER (1733-1801), m. Rachel PRICE (1737-1813)
10. Jonathan WEBSTER (1705-1781), m. Mabel RISLEY (1718-1871)

Solomon Norton

Solomon NORTON is apparently my sixth great-grandfather, although I have not been able to prove this through actual records.  According to NSDAR, he is a patriot, having served as a private under Captain Bostwick in New York.  There are three members listed that have gone in under his supposed daughter Sarah, but again, I have not proven this connection through any records.  By all accounts, Solomon was born 12 May 1751 in Farmington, Connecticut and died after 1837 probably in Villanova, New York.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold), assuming Sarah is his daughter:

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823), m. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823)
9. Solomon NORTON (1751-after 1837), m. Sarah REXFORD (1757-?)

A big salute to all those who have served or are currently serving our country.

Also, a reminder that anyone can access the NSDAR’s Genealogical Research System to search for patriots.   Celebrate the 4th of July by doing a little research on your Revolutionary War patriots.

Research Finds via the Connecticut Archives

Yesterday, I wrote about the Connecticut Archives collection available at the Connecticut State Library.  Today I thought I’d share with you some of the gems I was able to retrieve.

I spent all day Wednesday looking through all of the collection indexes online, looking in particular for my Parks and Webster families (there are many other lines in CT, but these are my focus right now).   Although the collections are held at the Connecticut State Library, many of them are also available through the Family History Library.  There were a bunch of records I wanted, and since everyone was hanging out at the FHL this week, I asked my Facebook friends if anyone could pull a few for me. 

The short list of must-haves initially consisted of 10 films, and about 20 or so records.  Seeing as my research isn’t a priority for someone visiting SLC, I pared it down, creating a must-must-have list of eight records (four films).  Donna Pointkouski, who author’s the blog What’s Past is Prologue, was kind enough to obtain those few records for me.  As for the others, I will deal with them another time (one film has several, so I may order that one the next time I’m at the FHC).

Two collections are of extreme importance, as I am trying to figure out if my seventh great-grandfather, Joseph Parks, actually served in the Revolutionary War.  The DAR has “red-marked” him indicating that the Joseph Parks who served was a younger gentleman; I tend to agree with this.  Joseph’s son, Robert (my sixth great-grandfather), did serve, and it’s possible that Joseph’s son, Joseph, is the other one who served (I have no information on this Joseph at this point, to know whether he was alive at the time of the war, or in the area).  Given Joseph’s age, I thought perhaps he served in the French & Indian War and perhaps King George’s War.

Joseph was indexed in the Revolutionary War Series 1 Index, covering 1763-1789.  The document I had pulled appears to be a petition relating to the reinstating of a tavernkeeper.  Joseph Parks, was one of the signers, as was Robert and John.  I have no idea at this time what this has to do with anything, nor whether it’s my Joseph.  I’m pretty sure that the Robert listed is Joseph’s son.  Both were alive and by all accounts in Voluntown, Connecticut where the document was signed on 5 October 1775.  The only other listing for a Joseph Parks in this index is for a Joseph jr. “priv. Norwich, half days training, 1775.”  Norwich is in the right area of the state, but the indication of “jr.” in the index makes me seriously think this is not my Joseph (mine would have been about 67 years old in 1775).

Moving on to the other collection, Militia Series 1 (1678-1757), there were five documents I had pulled, related to what I believe are Joseph and his father Robert.  The earliest record for Robert in this series is dated 1733, in Voluntown, indicating Lieutenant Robert Parks was from Plainfield.  This seems to line up with other research.  A document dated 1742, includes both a Robert and a Joseph Parks.  Without doing a full analysis, I suspect that Robert in this case, is perhaps Robert’s son, Robert.  A Joseph is found in two other documents, in 1756 and 1757.  In the 1756 document, Lieutenant Joseph Parks was voted Captain of the Eleventh Company in the Eleventh Regiment of the Colony of Connecticut. 

Connecticut, "Connecticut Archives: Militia records selected papers, series 1-3, 1678-1820," Vol. 5, p. 370; Connecticut State Library, Hartford; FHL microfilm 3,604. 

If Joseph is the same person through all the documents in the Militia Series 1 Collection, it would seem that he was part of the militia in 1742 and perhaps fought during both King George’s War and the French & Indian War.  The next step is to determine if it’s the same person, and if it’s my Joseph.  I also need to obtain the other military documents from the collections.

A very special thanks to Donna Pointkouski for obtaining these records for me.

2009 Achievements & 2010 Resolutions

It’s that time of the year again.  The time we reflect on the past and plan for the future.  Rightfully so, the topic for the 87th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is New Year’s Resolutions.

This year is almost over and a new decade is knocking on the door. This is the perfect time to make your New Year resolutions, goals, aims, declarations, intentions, aspirations, objectives, plans, targets, schemes, wishes, or whatever you want to call them! Figure out how you're going to approach your family history research next year, write it up, and share it with us in the COG.

Before I dive into 2010 resolutions, I want to take a look at what I’ve accomplished based on my 2009 resolutions.  Back in June, I posted an update, which you are welcome to take a look at.  Following is my year-end report.

2009 Achievements

Accept that try as I might, I cannot always find the answer.

This is something I will always struggle with, however, I continue learning as I go and hope that my increased knowledge will lead me to the answers, someday.

Learn more about the lives of my ancestors, focusing more on the how and why, not just the who, what, when, and where.

My discoveries over the past year have led to more of the how and why, but not necessarily to the degree that I would have liked.  This is an ongoing process and as I continue to put the pieces together, it will inevitably lead to more hows and whys.

Blog more, by sharing my ancestors' stories and helping fellow family historians.

Definitely accomplished this.  I’ve posted how-to articles to help others, as well as research '”reports” that help not only me, but others as well.  Some of those articles include:

• An Update on Emil
• Finding WWI Service Among Probate Files
• Using the City Directories at Footnote
• Finding Sarah Jane WARD’s Parents

Transcribe more records than I did in 2008.

I’ve done a little this year for FamilySearch, but probably not as much as 2008.  My focus has been on the indexing project that the DAR is working on.  They are working on providing an every-name index for all of the DAR genealogy books.  I’ve indexed one book, and am just about finished with a second (about 30 pages left, which will be done by the end of the year).  I also work on the DAR descendants projects, where the goal is the enter all DAR applications information into a database.  You can read more about the projects, and view the databases, which were just recently made public.

Make a decision as to what level I want to take genealogy to (the family historian? a professional? another direction?) and make a plan for how to get there.

I’m not sure I have the answer as of yet, but I am making some progress here.  First, I joined the ProGen Study Group this year.  The exercises we’ve done so far are helping me focus on what I know, what I need to learn, where I want to go, and how to get there.  These discoveries will be part of my 2010 resolutions.  The decision I made is to focus on the writing aspect of genealogy as a profession, as opposed to research.  It may expand to research some day, but there is still so much I need to learn, it’s not something I will be ready for in the immediate future.  But in the meantime, I can help others write their family histories or articles for publication.  I’m also leaning toward completing the American Records Certificate offered through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.  And lastly, I became a board member of the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

2010 Resolutions

The following are my general goals for genealogy.  Most are long-range, but making them resolutions helps me start somewhere.

Become more familiar with genealogy research methods and resources overall. 

Essentially, the goal here is to continue learning.  I want to learn more about various record types so I can start using them in my research.  Already, I’ve read Courthouse Research for Family Historians, by Christine Rose, which has opened my eyes to many different records available, where to find them, and how to use them.  Additionally, my Christmas wish list included several genealogy books, which I can’t wait to get my hands on.  And, I subscribed to Casefile Clues, a weekly newsletter produced by Michael John Neill.  I read it faithfully every week.  It’s nice to see research problems in action, as it helps you to see how others approach a problem, interpret information, and eventually (hopefully) solve the problem.  This newsletter is a great learning tool.

Learn about various land records and maps. 

This is one area I’ve avoided in my research, simply because I didn’t know enough to use these valuable resources.  I attended a lecture on maps at the 2009 Illinois State Genealogical Society conference and was fascinated with the array of maps and what potential clues they hold.  So I finally dug out the book Walking With Your Ancestors: A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Maps and Geography, by Melinda Kashuba, and read it cover to cover.  The information in this book, and Rose’s book (mentioned above) has been invaluable.  I even started dabbling in land records and maps last week (see blog post Diving Into Land Records, With a Splash of Webster & Parks).  With the information I collected, my next step is to acquire courthouse records (land and estate/probate) to further explore these folks.  Fortunately the Family History Library has deeds and probate files on microfilm for these Oakland County, Michigan folks, so my journey will start there.  A trip to Oakland County may be in the works for 2010 for further courthouse research.

Learn the standards for writing family histories and genealogies.

Since I am leaning toward writing in the field of genealogy as a profession, I need to learn more about the standards associated with genealogical writing.  I plan to join the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors this year.  I will continue to read current and past issues of NGS Quarterly and The New England Historical and Genealogical Register as part of the learning process.

There you have it, my 2010 resolutions!

DAR Genealogical Research Databases Now Public

As a member of the DAR, I’ve had access to these databases, but now they are available to the public.  I actually work on two of the projects: Descendants (entering DAR application data) and GRC (indexing all names in DAR genealogy books). 

You can access the databases using the following link:  http://www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm

For detailed information about the databases, refer to Miriam Robbins Midkiff’s post DAR Databases Now Available Online.

IL DAR State Conference

I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had a chance to post this.

The IL DAR state conference was held from April23-26.  My friend, Carol, and I were in attendance on Friday and Saturday.  We had a lot of fun and met some great women.  You can view the photos taken at the conference for a short time by visiting Convention Photography.

Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt #16

Prompt:  Goals. Not just for resolutions anymore. Write down your genealogy goals. Then you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished.

Back in December, I made my genealogy-related New Year's Resolutions, which are as follows:

• Accept that try as I might, I cannot always find the answer.
• Learn more about the lives of my ancestors, focusing more on the how and why, not just the who, what, when, and where.
• Blog more, by sharing my ancestors' stories and helping fellow family historians.
• Transcribe more records than I did in 2008.
• Make a decision as to what level I want to take genealogy to (the family historian? a professional? another direction?) and make a plan for how to get there.

These are very general, and over the last few months, I have developed more specific goals that I am now focusing on.  Here's what I plan to work on and hope to accomplish by the end of the year:

Implement a website devoted to my family tree.  While Ancestry's public/private trees a wonderful, it's not very easy to update them; you have to upload a new one and delete the old one.  If I had a public tree, this would not be so much of an issue, but with a private tree, I have to go back and re-invite people to give them access to the new updated tree.  With my own site, I can maintain access myself and update as needed.

With my recent admission into the DAR, I've already started to involve myself in some volunteer projects.  One in particular deals with inputting application data into a database.  You download ten applications at a time.  I figure if I can do ten a week, I will have completed 340 application entries by the end of the year.  As much as I'd love to devote all of my time to my research, I feel it's important to help others as well, and this is one way to do it.

Also DAR-related, is proving another ancestor's service.  I originally tried to go in under Joseph PARKS, my seventh great-grandfather, but they are now questioning his service.  Instead of having me prove it, they had me go in under his son, Robert (my sixth great-grandfather), who's service was proven.  So one of my new goals is to prove Joseph's service.  I hope to complete this by the end of the year, but realize this one might take more time.

There you have it.  Three of my major goals for this year.

DAR Application Update

Gosh, I've been meaning to post this for a long time.  My application was verified over a month ago.  Just been waiting for the NSDAR board meeting in order for my membership to be official...that will be this WEEKEND!!!  At the same time, I will also be attending my first state DAR conference, which, lucky for me, is being held just on the other side of town...finally, a conference I can attend without travel expenses.  Can't wait!!

What Once Was, Is No More

Some of my research focus lately, has been on my PARKS/PARKE family,  partially because it had to do with lineage for DAR.  And fortunately, I've had two wonderful people do some legwork for me in Oakland County, Michigan.

A month or so ago, Granny Pam was kind enough to go to her genealogy library and send me copies of so resources, such as cemetery and marriage records collected in some books.  This was a tremendous help in connecting some dots. 

About the same time, David Weller took a trip to Beach Road Cemetery in Troy, Oakland, Michigan.  With snow on the ground, it was difficult find much, but he did get a photo of the memorial that was erected that shows all the people buried there, along with their burial dates.

David went back to Beach about a week or so ago and sent me several photos.  This cemetery is likely considered "abandoned" and is in really bad shape.  David did manage to find two stones that belong to members of my family.  I believe he said that the one is one of the only  ones still standing.

Edward W. PARKS is my fourth great-granduncle.  According to one source, he married a Marcia MARTIN, date unknown.  The gravestone indicates that Fanny M. was his wife.  One in the same?  Probably, but more digging is necessary to confirm or disprove.

Edward W. Parks Aug. 17, 1825 Jan. 21, 1866 [?] U.S. Navy in Civil War

Fanny M. His Wife Nove. 12, 1828 Nov. 5, 1898

Now for the sad part.  The photograph below has been in my possession for years, and it took some time to figure out how it connected to the family.

On the back of the photo, the following was written:

The tall monument marks the resting place of our Great-grandfather Robert Parks the markers Grand father and Grand mother Webster.  Some day I may get a better picture they are buried close to the front fence.  Taken Dec. 5, 1921.

Well, I don't know who took the photo, although I imagine it was my second great-grandmother, Sarah Jane "Jeanie" MULLIGAN.  The picture is the gravestone of Robert PARKS, and his first and second wives, Mary "Polly" SMITH and Elizabeth IRISH.  I'm guessing that the two stones to the right of the obelisk are that of Calvin Price WEBSTER and Betsy PARKS, as they were also buried in Beach and would agree with the note on the back of the photo.

Calvin and Betsy are my fourth great-grandparents.  Betsy is the daughter of Robert and Polly, sister of Edward mentioned earlier in this post.  Robert and Polly are my fifth great-grandparents.

Assuming that Sarah took this photo, she would have had 26 years to come back and take "a better picture" before she died.  I'm not sure if she did, but I'm betting she'd be disappointed to see the pictures I have now, nearly 88 years later.

 

What a shame.  I wish I had the resources to go and reset the stone.  Heck, I wish I had the resources to fix up the whole cemetery!  But in a sad sense, I do have "better" pictures of the  stone, thanks to David.

 

 

 

 

Robert Parks Died June 29, 1864 Aged 88 Yrs 4 Mos Polly Wife of Robert Parks Died June 30, 1844 Aged 63 Years Elizabeth Wife of Robert Parks Died [?] 10, 1852 Aged 68 Years

What Once Was, Is No More

1921	2009

An Unexpected Find

Sometimes you find things when you're not looking for them.  I haven't had that experience in a while, so it was a huge and welcomed surprise when it happened.

About a month ago, I added a photo request on Find A Grave for Calvin Price WEBSTER and Betsy PARKS Webster, my fourth great-grandparents.  According to Find A Grave, they were buried in Beach Cemetery in Troy, Oakland, Michigan.  I had no supporting evidence in my own research, so I was going out on a limb by requesting photos.  I knew they likely died in Troy, so being buried in this cemetery wasn't far-fetched.

I didn't expect anyone to claim the requests anytime soon given that we are still in the winter months.  But lo and behold, a nice gentleman claimed them and said he'd go check it out within the next day or so as the snow was clearing and there were some nice days ahead.

Turns out the gentleman who claimed the request was also a newfound genealogy friend on Facebook.  David Weller, who recently started a Graveyard Rabbit blog, Standing Stones, sent me some photos and information just a day or so after his initial email for claiming the requests.

One of the links he sent me was to the City of Troy Parks & Recreation website's cemetery page.  Here's what it said about Beach Cemetery:

Beach Road Cemetery, 5360 Beach Road - Reuben and Marietta Ann Beach settled in northwestern Troy Township in the early 1820s. Their family cemetery was established in 1854 on one acre in section 7 along Beach Road between Long Lake and Square Lake roads. It was deeded to the township prior to 1875 and is no longer active. In 2001 the City of Troy placed a boulder style marker near the entrance inscribed with the names of those buried there. Many of the original grave markers were missing or had completely deteriorated. This cemetery has a pedestrian entrance but does not have parking spaces or a road.

The marker referred to, was one of the pictures that David sent.  There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground, so he was not able to see if Calvin or Betsy's stones were still in the cemetery (he plans to go back once the snow clears).

Photo taken by David Weller, used here with permission.

Fortunately, Calvin and Betsy are listed on the stone.  My guess is the names were taken from cemetery records since the burial dates are indicated next to the person's name.

So what's the unexpected find, you ask?

I recognized other names on the stone, specifically other Parks.  Unfortunately, a few may be hidden by the snow (second picture), but when David goes back, he'll get another photo for me.

What's even more interesting is that this particular line leads to my American Revolutionary War soldier Joseph PARKS.  The information I have on a few, such as Robert PARKS is simply a year of death.  But this stone indicates a burial date, giving me more information than I had, plus a better idea of when he died.

I'm curios to know why this family was buried in the Beach Cemetery, since it seems to be a family cemetery for the Beach family.  None of the other surnames ring any bells in my family tree, but you never know.  As I continue to research this line, I may find some of the people listed on this stone.  The nice thing is, I basically have the cemetery records right here in this photograph...what a wonderful find.

Thanks again to David for taking the time to go out there and photograph this stone!  It is certainly an invaluable resource for me!

DAR Application Update

My Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) application is complete, signed, and on it's way to D.C.  Hopefully it's all good and I'll get some good news in about two to three months.

Saturday in the Attic - 01/24/09

The last few weeks I have been preparing to apply for membership into the Daughters of the American Revolution.  So I had to pull out the Webster family Bible wherein my legacy resides.  The Bible belonged to my third great-grandmother, Sarah Norton WEBSTER.  It was given to her in 185[3] as a gift from her father, Calvin Price WEBSTER.  It is in critical condition, so this is only the second time I've opened it, as I needed to gather some final sources for my DAR application.

While carefully combing through the pages, I came across some loose papers and clippings.  Among them was the following letter, written by Sarah's niece, Julie Ann WEBSTER in 1952, presumably to her cousin (also a niece of Sarah) Emma Ellen HANIFAN.  What's interesting about this letter, is the reference to DAR.  Julia was a member, as were others in our family.  I thought it was fitting for this week's column since I am in the midst of completing my DAR application.

Transcription:

Pontiac Mich--
Jan-7-1952

My dear Emma,

This is a late thank you for that lovely box of card.

When your letter came It was so carefully put away I had no address not ever to send a greeting.

Thanks for your remem-brance that was enclosed in Christmas greeting.

I felt like I have in the days gone by when your good mother remembered me.

Counting your little letter I felt that the C. Webster decendants were with me,--a nice long one from Maria (Hanifan) Ballard in Ohio and one from the Vliets, Birmingham Mich. also a card from Frank Hanifan.

All his family but one Frances are married--He had nine with two sets of twins.

A few years back, the Vliets lost their son.  This year they lost their only grandson, a boy of 10 years.

In August my niece's sone Joseph was ordained at Pittsburgh  He belongs to O.F.M Cap's Order  He is a teacher in a college--Washington D.C.

Thanks for card when you went west with __ (plus) other grandmothers

How time does fly.  Ella (Bird) Murray and her sister Flora are still on the family tree.

Flora's family are scattered in the south and in the west.  Ella's g-dau--a graduate nurse.  I never see them

Flora lives alone.

Today I had a letter from a niece of Marie (Hanifan) Ballard.  She would like to join D.A.R.--a dau of Charlie Hanifan.

Did I write you we had a record for the D.A.R. in the Norton or (Maughton) line

Solomon Norton was born Naughton in War 1716.  Naughton--went to Vermont--was called Norton as one of his uncles was called.  Around 1823--went back to old name--

A dec. of Luther N. Webster (in Iowa) is a member of D.A.R. as is a dec. of Wm. Aaron Webster in Pontiac.

I probably have made a few mistakes in this letter I had neurities in hands and arms close to three years ago and have written very few letters

No this is not "Christmas" paper or rather stationary--I must have had it a dozen years.  Will use it up on my relatives.

I can't get over it but I don't want to write.

I wonder if one can tire of writing.

I've lived alone so long and been "my own boss"--folks don't realize I'll be 82 on Ground Hog day.

(Am not alone--three cats.)

"Star boarder's milk .23 quart butter .95 lb., potatoes .75 peck--the cat's are like the folk's of 1951--now 1952--they like the up to the minute eats--canned food.

One of our distant cousins in Pontiac buys her grapefruit in the cans.

It's now close to bed time--the time I don't like--I've a good bed (yes one cat would like to sleep with me) but I don't sleep all the time.  I don't complain--I have so much so far to be thankful for.

Accept with love this rambling letter  Your Cousin

Julia

This letter is privately held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr.