Genealogy By the States – Week 10 – Virginia

I don’t have too many ties to Virginia, but I thought I’d take some time and write about a cousin who ended up in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Southern Branch in Hampton, Virginia.

Phineas D Parks is my first cousin five times removed.  He is the son of Calvin Chapin Parks and Harriet Thomas.  He was born about 1833 in Oakland County, Michigan Territory.  By 1850, he was living in Waukegan, Lake, Illinois.  On 5 November 1856, Phineas married Harriet Lincoln in Kendall County, Illinois, and by 1860, they were living in Earl, LaSalle, Illinois, with their infant daughter, Hattie.

On 26 September 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Illinois 4th Cavalry as a Sergeant.  He was discharged on 8 July 1862 due to disability, rank of QM Sergeant.

Eventually, I find Phineas living in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Southern Branch in Hampton, Virginia by 1880.  How or why he ended up there, I’m not sure.  He died on 7 June 1891, at the home, and is buried in Hampton National Cemetery.

According to the National Home records, he was admitted on 17 April 1879.  From then until March 1883, it looks like he was in and out of the home, either by transfer to and from the Northwest Branch, or discharged and readmitted.

Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Southern Branch, Page 1

Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Southern Branch, Page 2

Where Phineas was between the time he was discharged from service and when he appears in the Home in 1879, I’m not sure.  I find a P D Parks (widow, age 37, born in Michigan) and a Hattie (age 10, born in Illinois), living in Seattle, Washington.  By all appearances, this would seem to be Phineas and his daughter Hattie.  But, I’m not 100% sure.  The occupation of lawyer throws me off, since he identified himself as a dry goods merchant in 1860 and a tinsmith in 1880.

I also found an Army enlistment record for a Phineas D Parks, enlisted on 5 August 1864 at Chicago, Illinois.  He’s the right age and lists Oakland County, Michigan as his place of birth and tinsmith as his occupation.  The “Remarks” column has a bunch of information, most of which I don’t understand, but I can clearly read the last two words, which say “a Private.”  Military records, terminology, and protocol, are clearly not my area of expertise, but if this is the same person, how can he go from the rank of a Sergeant to a Private?  I’m also not sure how he could re-enlist after being discharged for disability (the 1890 census Veterans Schedule indicated his disability as “sabre wound head”).  Plus, the dates of enlistment and discharge that he uses for the Home register and the 1890 census Veterans Schedule, are the dates from 1861 and 1862.  There is no mention in the Home register of additional service, not that there would be (remember, me + military records = not good!).  But curiously, there is mention of additional Navy service in the 1890 census.

It appears he filed for a pension in 1879.  Perhaps the file would shed more light on not only his military service, but where he was in those intervening years.

Genealogy By the States is a theme created by Jim Sanders over at the Hidden Genealogy Nuggets blog.

Take 2 – My Revolutionary War Patriots

This post first appeared on this blog on July 3, 2010.  It has been slightly modified.

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.  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 (?-?)

I’m pretty sure that Robert’s father, Joseph, is also a patriot.  Even if he didn’t serve, I’m sure he contributed in some way that qualifies him as a patriot.  Still working on this one.

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-?)

When I wrote this back in 2010, I wasn’t able to prove whether Sarah Norton was the daughter of Solomon.  Unfortunately, I’m no closer to an answer.  But, I have found Solomon’s pension papers.  The copy of the original can be found here, and a transcription can be found here.  In 2011 I wrote a two-part post about Solomon, including a research plan.  Part 1 can be found here, and Part 2 can be found here.

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.

War of 1812 Ancestors

The Battle at Fort McHenry set the stage for Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner.

Today, 18 June 2012, marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812.  Two hundred years ago America was once again at war with Britain in what some refer to as our “second war of independence.”  In honor of all War of 1812 patriots, I thought I’d post about two of my ancestors who participated in the war.

Aaron Webster – Aaron Webster, son of Ashbel and Rachel (Price) Webster, was born 28 August 1775 in Hartford, Connecticut.¹  He married Sarah Norton, presumably the daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Rexford) Norton, on 3 January 1797 at either Poultney, Vermont or Washington County, New York.²   According to two different books, Aaron served in the War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor, New York as a minute man.³   Both Aaron and his wife died in 1823 in Oakland County, Michigan.⁴   I have not located any additional information to confirm the assertions made in the two books about Aaron’s military service.

Robert Parks – Robert Parks, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Hall) Parks, was born 12 February 1776 in Voluntown, Connecticut.⁵ He married Mary “Polly” Wheeler Smith about 1800.⁶   Robert died 29 June 1863, probably in Grand Rapids, Michigan.⁷ Several books mention his War of 1812 service, but again, I have not yet found anything concrete.  Following are some excerpts that discuss his military service and provide clues for additional research.

"April 27, 1810, he was commissioned Ensign of a regt. of militia, John Harris, Esq., Lieut. Col. commanding, Cayuga county, N.Y.  On March 2, 1814, he was commissioned Captain in the same regt." ⁸

"March 2, 1810, Captain Parks enlisted in the New York State Militia, and became a member of the 158th Regiment of New York Infantry in the War of 1812.  He was made captain of a company, and served as such until the close of the war." ⁹

You can see how these two contradict one another.  But at least there are many clues here to work with.  In the second reference, there is also a transcription of the Ensign commission, but there is no indication of where the original might be.

I hope one day to have a more complete picture of their.  I have a variety of sources to look at for both Aaron and Robert to hopefully uncover more information.  If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment or send me an email.

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1.  William Holcomb Webster and Rev. Melville Reuben Webster D. D., History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut With Numerous Portraits and Illustrations (Rochester, New York: E. R. Andrews Printing Co., 1915), 401. 

2.  Webster and Webster, History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, 401; also Charles Fey, History of Freemasonry in Oakland County, MI (Royal Oak, Michigan: Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, 1949). 

3.  Ibid.

4.  Webster and Webster, History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, 401; also Oakland County, Michigan, Probate Records 1822-1911, 1: 52-68, 88, 98-103, 109, 116, 242-244 and 3: 89, 92, 104, 178, 179, 211, 212, 225, 308, 326, 327, 335, Aaron Webster; FHL microfilm 973,902, item 1. 

5.  Frank Sylvester Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut (Washington, D.C.: Privately printed, 1906), 72. 

6.  Joseph Webster GARRISON membership application, National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Office of the Registrar General, Louisville. 

7. American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men with Portrait Illustrations on Steel: Michigan Volume (Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1878), 95.

8.  Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut, 102. 

9.  American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men: Michigan Volume, 95.

Image Credit:  The image is from Wikipedia and is in the Public Domain.

Parks Family Deeds in Oakland County: Part 1

Oh no, not another post on land records!  Don’t worry, if you’re not interested in this family, you can move on…you won’t miss any tips or great stories.  This is simply a list of the deeds I have transcribed for my known Parks family in Oakland County, Michigan, as well as other Parks I found along the way, who may or may not be related.  Part 1 includes all deeds found in Volumes 1 through 10 of the Oakland County Deeds.

All of the deeds were transcribed by me.  The links will take you to the transcription, which is available on Scribd.  I have also updated my Google map for the known Parks family (it includes my Websters as well).

Known Parks Family in Oakland County

Date	Grantor	Grantee
1822-10-12	Charles C Trowbridge	Robert Parks
1824-01-23	Salmon Mathews	Robert Parks
1826-04-07	Robert Parks	Calvin C Parks
1827-03-02	Robert Parks	James Skidmore
1827-06-29	Robert Parks	Michael Pearsall
1829-03-03	Benjamin Hoyt	Michael Pearsall, Robert Parks and George P Morse
1829-03-23	Robert Parks	Clark Beardsley
1829-06-23	Ebenezer Smith	Allen Minor Parks
1830-02-27	Allen Minor Parks	Calvin C Parks
1830-11-23	Calvin C Parks	Van Rensalaer Harper
1831-03-17	Robert Parks	Betsey (Parks) Webster
1831-06-02	Robert Parks	Samuel W Harding
1831-06-21	Joseph Clark Hemmingway	Robert S Parks
1831-06-23	Robert S Parks	Salmon J Matthews
1831-06-25	Lucy Goodrich	Robert S Parks
1832-01-19	Calvin C Parks	Salmon J Matthews
1832-03-13	Calvin C Parks	John Allen
1832-03-13	John Allen	Calvin C Parks
1832-04-03*	John K Smith	Calvin C Parks
1832-04-03	John K Smith	Calvin C Parks
1832-09-06	Calvin C Parks	John E Beardsley
1832-11-12	Charles C Hascall	Calvin C Parks
1833-01-13	Peter Schoonover	Bennett Beardsley & Calvin C Parks
1833-05-16	Allen Minor Parks	Jonathan F Noble
1833-05-17	Calvin C Parks	Henry H Panton
1833-09-04	Bennet Beardsley	Calvin C Parks
1833-10-01	Oakland County	Calvin C Parks
1833-11-16	Jonathan F Noble	Allen Minor Parks
1834-11-14	Calvin C Parks	Salmon T Matthews
1835-05-02	Calvin C Parks	Henry H Panton
1835-09-10	George Clark	Calvin C Parks
1835-10-26	Calvin C Parks	Arthur Power
1835-10-31	Ebenezer Pennell	Calvin C Parks
1835-12-18	Bennett Beardsley	Calvin C Parks
1835-12-18	Bennett Beardsley	Calvin C Parks

*Recorded in Oakland County, but land is located in Lapeer County.

Not-So-Sure-About Parks in Oakland County

Date	Grantor	Grantee
1831-09-03	Benjamin Bresee	William Parks
1833-02-09	William Parks	Nathan Taylor
1833-03-04	Henry Vanamburgh	Lorilla Parks
1833-03-04	Henry Vanamburgh	Smith Parks Jr
1833-05-21	William Parks	Hira Law
1833-05-22	Daniel Lake	William Parks
1833-05-24	Harvey Cone	William Parks
1833-10-24	Vincent Parks	Smith Parks
1833-12-03	Alanson Parks	Joab Guile
1834-01-27	William Delling	James Parks
1834-06-18	Alanson Parks	Smith Parks
1834-10-02	Smith Parks	Smith Parks Jr
1835-03-03	William Parks	Smith Parks
1835-05-25	Samuel B Pickett	Esther Parks
1835-09-??	Joseph Bishop	John Parks

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.

Saturday in the Attic – 06/05/10

I found this business card among my family papers.  My mom thought her mom had acquired it somewhere along the line, but…. 

Oddly enough, a few weeks before I found this, I had been working on my Parks family, so R H PARKS, to me read, Robert Hall PARKS.  I thought it was a long shot.  Robert Hall PARKS was born in Michigan and lived in Illinois and at some point, Iowa.  What I didn’t know at the time was that he did actually live in New York.  I remembered that his daughter Isabel was supposedly married in New York.  I did confirm that through her marriage record.  But having this business card made me wonder if this was actually my Robert Hall PARKS,as he was tied to New York if only through his daughter’s marriage.

I started to dig around and found the marriage announcement of Isbael to Samuel Brewster in the New York Herald.  I then started to go through the New York City directories on Footnote and consistently found listing for Robert H Parks from 1880 to 1894.  What tipped me off that this was possibly my Robert, was the entry in the 1880 directory:

Although it lists him as a broker working at 5 New, his residence is indicated as Ill.  I found him, his wife, and his daughter in the 1880 census living in a hotel in NYC.  At this point, I had at least placed the him in New York, and it was apparent he had just moved around the time of the census.  As I made my way through each directory, I found the following listing in 1893; it’s the only one that has this business address (there were several other business addresses throughout the years).

 

Who knew this hunch would lead to anything.  All I had was this card (with initials only, albeit) and a dead-end for him in Lake County, Illinois in the 1870 census.  The information about his daughter’s marriage was initially vague and unsourced.  But once I confirmed that, I thought, maybe they all moved to New York and that’s why I can’t find any of them in Illinois.  All of this was confirmed when I found his obituary, which stated at the end “Chicago papers please copy.”  That right there tied him back to Illinois.  And because of this one little card, I was able to figure out when and where Robert and his wife died (both in 1894 in New York) and learn more about his daughter’s family.

Now whether my maternal grandmother actually found this or not is still a mystery, as Robert Hall PARKS is my first cousin five times removed on my dad’s side!

Experimenting With Scribd

Quite some time ago I learned about Scribd from Denise Olsen, who authors the blog Family Matters (now part of Moultrie Creek Gazette).  Scribd is basically an online document repository.  You can upload documents, which can be public or private, and find documents uploaded by others.  What’s really great, is that there is a sub-category for Genealogy, which is under the main category of Research.  At the time, I didn’t really have a need for it, but set up an account because I knew someday, I’d find a use for it.

Over the last few months, I have been acquiring and transcribing probate records and deeds.  I wanted to share these transcriptions, but did not want to have to hassle with the formatting in HTML on my blog.  A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Scribd telling me that Michael John Neill (author of Casefile Clues) is now “following” me.  And then it hit me!  Why not publish my transcriptions on Scribd?  So that’s what I have started to do.

What’s also really great, is that you can embed the document in your webpage or blog (see examples below).  The reader can view the entire document from within your webpage or blog, without having to follow a link to Scribd.  The first example below is a one-page document.  The second, is a seventeen-page document, all contained in one window in this blog post.

Scribd documents are picked up by popular search engines, making your documents more visible.  If you are looking for a cheap (that is, FREE) way to put some of your genealogy information out there, you should consider Scribd.  As with other online tools, I would not put out anything you plan to publish for a profit (although I believe there is a “sell” feature on Scribd), for fear of copyright violation.  For me, I don’t plan to do anything with these transcriptions, but I have disabled the download and copy/paste features so people can’t “steal” it with a simple click of the mouse (they can print it and review it online).  This philosophy may change over time, but for right now, it’s what makes me comfortable.

You can visit my Scribd profile to see my documents, see what other genealogists I “follow,” and subscribe to my documents, if you like.

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PARKS, Robert - Deed 1831 Vol 3 Pg 292 Transcription

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WEBSTER, Aaron - Probate Transcription

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.

Working With Timelines

One of the GeneaBlogger Games events is to create a timeline.  This really couldn’t have come at a better time, as I’ve been trying to figure out where Aaron WEBSTER and Robert PARKS (both are my fifth great-grandfathers) were before relocating to Oakland County, Michigan in the early 1820s.

According to History of Freemasonry in Oakland County, MI, as well as History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, Aaron Webster was living in both Sackets Harbor and Aurelis, New York.  The 1820 census for Aurelis, New York confirms this portion, and also places him near Robert PARKS.  Unbeknownst to me, they apparently knew one another prior to their move to Michigan. 

There are several confusing factors at play here, mainly because that part of New York was undergoing several boundary changes and the settlement of new townships.  By creating a timeline, working with Aaron only at the moment, I am able to get a better picture and see what may be wrong with the data in the aforementioned sources.  For example, the book on John Webster’s family states that all of Aaron’s children were born in Sackets Harbor (except the last, born in Aurelis).  The problem is, according to what I have found so far, Sackets Harbor was not created until 1801, and one child was born in 1799, and one in 1801, meaning they may have been born somewhere else (or the same place of a different name). 

Additionally, the timeline helps with the boundary changes.  Present day Sackets Harbor is in Jefferson County, however, Jefferson County was not formed until 1805, from Oneida County.  I’m not sure if Sackets Harbor became part of Jefferson County at that time, or later (I haven’t found anything yet).  But having the timeline, along with boundary changes, I can figure that in some cases I would need to look in at least two different counties for records. 

This is the first time I’ve really had to deal with new settlements and boundary changes.  These particular families have been in the country since colonial times, but I haven’t really explored that far back as of yet.  Once they came to Michigan, things are pretty smooth in terms of location (no major changes) and finding records.  All of my other lines were immigrants after 1870 and settled in areas pretty-well developed (e.g., Chicago), so again, not much guesswork.

It will be interesting to see what I learn through this process.  I’m going to really have to dig into the history of these areas in order to determine what records are applicable to each family during a given time.  It’s going to be a lot of work, but I think I’m up for the challenge.

 

Sources Mentioned in the Article

Charles Fey, History of Freemasonry in Oakland County, MI (Royal Oak, Michigan: Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, 1949). 

William Holcomb Webster and Rev. Melville Reuben Webster D. D., History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut With Numerous Portraits and Illustrations (Rochester, New York: E. R. Andrews Printing Co., 1915), 401-402.

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy – Challenge #7, Google Maps

This week’s challenge:

Play with Google Maps. This is a helpful tool for determining the locations of addresses in your family history. Where your ancestral homestead once stood may now be a warehouse, a parking lot or a field. Perhaps the house is still there. When you input addresses in Google Maps, don’t forget to use the Satellite View and Street View options for perspectives that put you were right there where your ancestors once stood. If you’ve used this tool before, take sometime and play with it again. Push all the buttons, click all the links and devise new ways it can help with your personal genealogy research. If you have a genealogy blog, write about your experiences with Google Maps, or suggest similar easy (and free) tools that have helped in your own research.

I use Google Maps all the time.  I have several maps that I’ve plotted my family’s residences and cemeteries.  I had mainly focused on my Chicago families, which is a difficult task since I have to convert addresses prior to 1909 in order to find the correct placement on today’s map.  Additionally, many street names have changed over the years, adding an extra step in some cases.

Since I’ve been working on my Oakland County, Michigan folks, I thought I’d do some plotting on Google Maps.  Right now, the map includes all the cemeteries were my family is buried, as well as outlines of the land my family purchased through the federal government in the 1820s.  This was the first time I’ve plotted anything from a township map on a street map.  Fortunately, I was able to find a township map online from 1990 that also included the street names, so I was able to figure it out!!

The nice thing about Google Maps is the Satellite view.  In one case, I was not able to find a cemetery because it was not labeled on the map.  All I had was a general description of where it was located.  I switched to Satellite view and was able to see the cemetery in order to plot the exact location.

You’re welcome to take a look at this particular map of my Family in Oakland County, Michigan, to see how I use this application.  Another map that I created to help me with my Emil MILLER research can be viewed here.  In this case, I am trying to find applicable Emil MILLER/MULLER/MUELLERs that could be my Emil.  I’ve plotted those found in the Chicago city directories in Google Maps, for those who resided close to the church were three generations passed through.  There are quite a few, but it’s helped me to narrow down the possibilities based on location to the church.

Diving Into Land Records, With a Splash of Webster & Parks

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately on my Oakland County, Michigan clan.  And I’ve been studying up on land records, so I thought I’d put my learnings to the test.

Since my Michigan clan had located there when it was still a territory, I figured I’d find some federal land patents for at least some of them.  So my first step was to check out the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office records online.  While my clan was located in other areas of Michigan, my focus was on the surnames of Webster and Parks in Oakland County, Michigan.  I found several records (with images) for those I know are related, as well as a few others that I’m not sure about at the moment.

Following the advise of Christine Rose in her book, Courthouse Research for Family Historians, I made a list of all the people I found with the surnames I was seeking, and then placed them in context on a section map.

There are 36 entries on my list.  I included the following headings:

• Document #
• Name(s)
• Aliquot Parts
• Section
• Township
• Range
• Meridian
• Issue Date

Once I had them entered, I sorted the items first by township, then by range, so I could visually see them grouped together.

Figure 1 – Screenshot of my land listing for Oakland County, Michigan.

I then took my list and placed the names in the corresponding section on a township map.  My biggest group, with each of the two surnames, was for Township 2N, Range 11E.  It includes Robert Parks, Aaron Webster, and Luther Webster.

Figure 2 – Township 2N, Range 11E, Oakland County, Michigan

The close proximity of Aaron Webster and Robert Parks could explain how Aaron’s son, Calvin, and Robert’s daughter, Betsey, came together and married in Oakland County in 1825.

Next, I hand-drew the six sections that are clustered together, to see what pieces of land were owned by whom, based on the descriptions.  This gives me a better idea of how close these families were location-wise.

 
Figure 3 – Hand-drawn map of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18 in Township 2N, Range 11E, Oakland County, Michigan

Here I can see that Robert Parks and Aaron Webster did not share property lines.  However, Robert did share property lines with Luther Webster, who was Aaron’s son. 

Next Steps

Most of the names on my list I recognize.  Some are common in my tree and will require further investigation as to whether or not they are related (e.g., I have several William Websters and some John Parks that could have been in the area during this time period).  There are some names I am not familiar with, but given that they are related surnames and in the same general vicinity, it’s worth looking into them.

Here’s what I plan to do next:

• Investigate who else owned land in Township 2N, Range 11E (especially in Section 5 between Aaron Webster’s two pieces of land).  Then devise a plan to investigate local land records for these people in hopes of determining if they are related.
  
• Devise a plan to investigate local land records for the people I’ve already identified in order to determine a trail of ownership.  In the case of those unknown to me, it should also help determine whether they are related, and if so, how they are related.
  
• Right now, my list contains 10 different townships in Oakland County.  I’d like to see how they all fit together in the larger picture, as opposed to just the individual township. 

Family Events – Week of August 16 to August 22

Edward PARKS – Edward is my fourth great-granduncle, who was born on 17 August 1825.  He died on 21 January 1866.*

Aaron WEBSTER – Aaron is my fifth great-grandfather, who was born on 28 August 1775 in Connecticut.  He died on 17 August 1823 in Auburn, Michigan.

Sarah NORTON – Sarah is my fifth great-grandmother.  She was born about 12 August 1780 in Vermont.  Sarah died on 18 August 1823 in Auburn, Michigan, just one day after her husband, Aaron WEBSTER (above) died.

William LEWIS – William is my tenth great-grandfather, who was born on 19 August 1620.  He died on 18 August 1690 in Connecticut.  He married Mary HOPKINS on 19 August 1644 in Massachusetts.*

Betsey PARKS – Betsey is my fourth great-grandmother, who was born on 7 December 1801 in New York.  She died on 20 August 1856 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Alexander WEBB – Alexander is my twelfth great-grandfather, who was born on 20 August 1559 in England.  He died in 1629 in Boston, Massachusetts.*

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events – Week of July 26 to August 1

Maida “Meta” HOFFMANN – Meta is my great-grandaunt (by marriage), who was born on 22 June 1906 in Germany.  She died on 28 July 1997 in Arizona.

Thomas PARKE – Thomas is my ninth great-granduncle, who was born on 13 February 1615 in England.  He died on 30 July 1709 in Connecticut.*

Ida MILLER – Ida is my great-grandaunt, who was born on 31 July 1891 in Illinois.  She died in December 1970 in Wisconsin.

Elizabeth “Nettie“ VLIET & Charles Rosseau LAMBERT – Nettie is my first cousin four times removed.  She and Charles were married on 1 August 1885.*

Ashbel WEBSTER – Ashbel is my sixth great-grandfather, who was born on 12 March 1733 in Hartford, Connecticut.  He died on 1 August 1801 in Hampton, New York.*

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events – Week of June 21 to June 27

Raymond J CAHILL – Ray is my granduncle, who was born on 8 February 1918 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.  He died on 21 June 1987 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.

Maida “Meta” HOFFMANN – Meta is my great-grandaunt (by marriage), who was born on 22 June 1906 in Germany.  She died on 28 July 1997 in Arizona.

Dorothy E TRAPP – Dorothy is my second cousin twice removed, but was more like an aunt.  She was born on 22 June 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  Dorothy died in 2004.

Christopher Scott MILLER – Happy birthday to my cousin, Chris, on June 23.

John Ward McMAHON – John is my great-grandfather, who was born on 7 April 1902 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  He died on 24 June 1962 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

John WEBSTER III – John is my fourteenth great-grandfather, who was born in 1510 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England.  He died on 24 June 1575 in Cossington, Leicestershire, England.*

Clarence M CAHILL & Della ROCHE – Clarence is my first cousin three times removed.  He and Della married on 25 June 1930 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Allen Minor PARKS – Allen is my fourth great-granduncle, who was born on 26 June 1808.  He died in 1852.*

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events – Week of June 14 to June 20

Harold Leslie MILLER – Harold is my grandfather, who was born on 4 August 1918 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  He died on 15 June 1982 in Maywood, Cook, Illinois.

Edward MULLIGAN – Edward is my second great-granduncle, who was born on 8 April 1867 in Michigan.  He died on 17 June 1924 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Florence June McMAHON & Robert Anthony DOMBROWSKI – Florence is my grandaunt.  She married Robert on 19 June 1948.

George ROTTMAN – George is my great-grandfather, who was born on 19 June 1882 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa.  He died on 19 February 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Samuel PARKE – Samuel is my ninth great-grandfather, who was born on 20 June 1621 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.  He died on 22 March 1709 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events – Week of June 7 to June 13

Julius DeFAUW – Julius is my first cousin twice removed (by marriage).  He was born on 19 October 1902 in Belgium.  Julius died on 8 June 1965 in Moline, Rock Island, Illinois.

Richard Alan MILLER & Maureen Ann BUDZIAK – Happy anniversary to my aunt and uncle on June 8.

Michael Bruketta & Carrie TARR – Happy anniversary to my sister-in-law and her husband on June 10.

Joseph PARKS – Joseph is my seventh great-grandfather, who was born on 11 June 1708 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.  He died on 1786 in Connecticut.

John “Jack” Francis CAHILL – John is my grandfather, who was born on 12 June 1922 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.  He died on 16 September 1984 in Addison, DuPage, Illinois.

Margaret “Marge” ROTTMAN – Marge is my grandaunt, who was born on 28 January 1918 in Illinois.  She died on 12 June 1999 in Round Lake, Saratoga, New York.

Anna E STOFFEL – Anna is my great-grandmother, who was born on 19 January 1887 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  She died on 12 June 1936 in Illinois.

Mary Ellen COFFINGER & Calvin E SMITH – Mary Ellen is my second great-grandaunt.  She and Calvin married on 13 June 1891.

Mehitabel GRAVES - Mehitabel is my ninth great-grandmother, who was born in 1684 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.  She died on 13 June 1708 in Hartford, Harford, Connecticut.*

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events – Week of May 24 to May 30

John NORTON – John is my ninth great-grandfather, who was born on 24 May 1651 in Branford, New Haven, Connecticut.  He died on 25 April 1725 in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut.

John Ward McMAHON & Emma Jane GARRISON – John and Emma are my great-grandparents.  They were married on 26 May 1923 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Rebecca GREENLEAF – Rebecca is the wife of Noah WEBSTER, LL.D., who is my third cousin eight times removed.  Rebecca was born on 27 May 1766 in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died on 25 June 1847 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.

Thomas PACKER – Thomas is my eleventh great-grandfather, who was born in 1595 in England.  He died on 27 May 1608 in London, England.*

Joseph PARKS & Sarah – Joseph and Sarah are my seventh great-grandparents.  The were married on 27 May 1735.  Their son, Robert, is my DAR patriot.

Julius ROTTMAN – Julius is my first cousin twice removed, who was born on 28 May 1907 in Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa.  He died on 7 March 1973 in California.

Noah WEBSTER – Noah is my third cousin eight times removed and is the”father of the dictionary.”  He was born on 16 October 1758 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.  He died on 28 May 1843 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.

Ethel Mary ROTTMAN – Ethel is my first cousin twice removed, who was born on 29 May 1892 in Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa.  She died on 17 November 1986 in Iowa, at the age of 94.

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events - Week of May 10 to May 16

Craig MILLER - Happy birthday to my cousin Craig on May 10th!

John GRAVES & Susannah WEBSTER - John and Susannah are my tenth great-grandparents.  They were married on 11 May 1681 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.*

Jonathan WEBSTER & Dorcas HOPKINS - Jonathan and Dorcas are my ninth great-grandparents.  Jonathan is Susannah's brother (above) and were apparently married on the same day, 11 May 1681 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.  This is also were my family tree gets a little tangled (see Found: Cousins).*

Calvin Price WEBSTER - Calvin is my fourth great-grandfather, who was born on 10 February 1802 in Sacketts Harbor, Livingston, New York.  He died on 11 May 1856 in Bloomfield, Oakland, Michigan.

Robert PARKS - Robert is my eighth great-grandfather, who was born on 6 May 1676 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.  He died on 12 May 1752 in Voluntown, New London, Connecticut.

Solomon NORTON - Solomon is my sixth great-grandfather, who was born on 12 May 1751 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.

William PARKE - William is my twelfth great-grandfather, who was born in 1503 in England.  He died on 13 May 1551 in England.

Timothy J McMAHON - Timothy is my second great-grandfather, who was born on 14 May 1874 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  He died on 14 October 1939 in Chicago.

Happy birthday to Jim's cousin Jessica on May 15th.

Raymond Henry MILLER - Ray is my granduncle, who was born on 18 August 1916 in Cook County, Illinois.  He died on 15 May 1979 in Whittier, Los Angeles, California.

Pietro "Peter" BELLUOMINI - Peter is my step-father's, adoptive father, who was born on 16 May 1914 in Italy.

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

Family Events - Week of May 3 to May 9

Byron James WEBSTER - Byron is my first cousin four times removed.  He was born on 14 April 1867 in Oil City, Pennsylvania.  Byron died on 4 May 1941 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan (his death date is calculated based on a few sources, as no exact date has been found yet).

Mary Ann "Marie" CAHILL - Marie is my great-grandaunt, who was born on 8 November 1888 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois.  She died on 5 May 1972 in Indiana.

Sarah Norton WEBSTER - Sarah is my third great-grandmother, who married her first husband, Abram Marshall COFFINGER on 5 May 1850 in Utica, Macomb, Michigan.  After Abram passed away, she married my third great-grandfather, James MULLIGAN.

Robert PARKS - Robert is my eighth great-grandfather, who was born on 6 May 1676 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.  He died on 12 May 1752 in Voluntown, New London, Connecticut.

Garrel ROTTMAN - Garrel is my second cousin once removed.  He died on 7 May 2006 in Illinois.

Rachel PRICE - Rachel is my sixth great-grandmother, who was born in 1737 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.  She died on 8 May 1813 in Hampton, Washington, New York.*

Helen Marie ROTTMAN - Helen in my first cousin twice removed.  She married Arthur Laschansky on 9 May 1927 in Muscatine, Muscatine, Iowa.

Kathryn "Kitty" ROTTMAN - Kitty is my first cousin once removed.  She was born on 12 August 1938 in Illinois.  She died on 9 May 2007 in Mulkeytown, Franklin, Illinois.

*Based on information from several compiled source, of which I have not personally verified at this time.

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.