Cousin Bio – Olga Ruth Babcock (1916-2001)

By Don Taylor

Hypothesis

The John Montran Project is a personal project to explore the hypothesis that my great-grandfather, John Montran married twice. Once to Ida May Barber and once to Maude Minnie Winter. He had one daughter with Ida (Donna) and had two daughters with Maude. I hope to be able to confirm or refute that the two John Montrans were the same individual. In this article, I look at John Foster Montran’s granddaughter Olga Ruth Babcock. If my great-grandfather Montran is the same person as Olga’s grandfather, she and I would be 1st cousins, once removed.

Roberts-Brown 2017 – Montran Project

List of Grandparents

  • Grandfather: John Foster Montran

Olga Ruth Babcock Hinds Buchanan (1916-2001)

Olga Ruth Babcock was born on 18 May 1916, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was the first child of Minor Howard Babcock and Thelma M (Montran) Babcock.

In 1917, when Olga was a one-year-old, her family immigrated to the United States. In 1920  the young family is living in San Francisco where Olga’s father is a bookkeeper for an Auto Sales company.

In 1922, Ruth’s brother, Montran Howard Babcock was born.

In 1926, Ruth’s father became a naturalized citizen. Because Ruth was a minor, she also became a citizen as part of her father becoming a citizen.

In 1930, Olga’s parents had migrated to Inglewood, California. Minor was an accountant and her mother was apparently keeping house. Birth, Marriage & Death Collection

Olga married James R. Hinds on 24 September 1938. Apparently, the marriage didn’t go well because James filed for divorce in Reno, Nevada on 14 October 1940.

Sometime between 1935 and 1940 Olga’s father died. Olga’s mother was the proprietor of a guest house that included 11 lodgers as well as Thelma, Olga, and Montran.

On 15 August 1941, Olga married Chester White Buchanan. Chester died in 1963 and is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood.

Olga’s brother, Montran, died in 1972 and her mother, Thelma, died in 1974.

Olga lived until 2001. I have not been successful in finding any information regarding burial or another memorial.

In all my research, I have found no evidence that Olga had any children.  As such, this lime may be a dead end.  I will look at Montran’s life next.


Sources

Minor Howard Babcock born 17 Nov 1891 Hartington, Ontario, Canada
Thelma M. born 23 June 1895, Philadelphia
Olga R born May 18, 1916 Moose Jaw Canada
Montran B. born June 11, 1922, Inglewood, CA
Naturalized: Sep 17, 1926. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=USnaturalizationOriginals&indiv=try&h=4172998.

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We’re Related – Johnny Depp – OMG

Famous Friday
Roberts Line & Howell Line
by Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.My fifth look at possible relatives using the “We’re Related” showed Johnny Depp as a potential cousin. I immediately thought, “Oh – My – Gawd.”  I had looked at my wife’s relationship with Johnny Depp last spring. If she is a 7th cousin three times removed to Johnny Depp, and I am an 8th cousin twice removed to Johnny Dep, then it would suggest that my wife and I are 10th cousins.  Could it be?

“We’re Related” suggests that John Pinkard (1647-1690) is a common ancestor of Johnny Depp and myself. The lineage goes up my paternal (Roberts) line:

  • Hugh Eugene Roberts (1926-1997)
  • Bert Allen Roberts(1903-1949)
  • Hugh Ellis Roberts(1882-1908)
  • Asa Ellis Roberts(1835-1887)
  • Elizabeth Blackwell (1796-1867)
  • David Blackwell (1755-1841) *
  • Elizabeth Steptoe (1713-1761) *
  • <Private> Apparently Elizabeth Eustace Pinkard. *
  • John Pinkard (1647-1690) *
Photo of Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp – Cousin?

My wife and Johnny Depp supposedly share a common ancestor Jean Panetier with a lineage of:

I did a brief look at the descendants of John Pinkard (1647-1690) and didn’t find any children named Jean nor did I find any daughters who married a Panetier or Pankey.

Even though I haven’t found anything, so far, to support the “We’re related” suggestion that my wife and I are related I haven’t seen anything that disproves it either.  In both cases, I need to do much more research into the Pinkard, Pankey, and Panetire families. It is possible my wife and I are related through this connection.

Panetier is similar enough to Pankey that Pankey could be a derivative. Likewise, Pinkard could be another derivative name. So, I have seven or eight individuals I need to research further to confirm both of us are related to Johnny Depp, and each other. This research could be fascinating and fun to do.

Once again, “We’re Related” proves to be an interesting application that causes me to ask new questions and suggests new areas for research.


Footnotes:

[* = Italic entries are “We’re Related suggestions that are unknown to my research.]

 

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Donna & “Chin Chin” play Franklin Opera House – 12 Mar 1920

Donna Montran and “Chin Chin” play at the Franklin Opera House in Franklin, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1920

Ad for Franklin Opera House, showing "Chin Chin" is coming, Friday Mar. 12th 1920

Franklin Opera House, Friday Mar. 12th – “Chin Chin”

“Chin Chin” came to the Franklin Opera House for a show on March 12th, 1920. It had played at the Lyceum Theater in Rochester, NY, sometime during the week of March 5th. I am not sure where the show was during the week between Rochester, NY, and Franklin, PA.

Ad showing Walter Wills, Roy Bender, & key cast members of "Chin Chin"

Preshow advertising begins with a standard “Chin Chin” ad and a photo of the famous Tom Brown clown band, three days before the show.[i]  Additional ads ran on the 10th and the 11th. Finally, on show day (March 12) there were several ads and illustrations printed in the paper[ii] –  Page 2 had a photo showing key cast members and page 7 had a normal ad.

Reviews

Interestingly enough, I was unable to find a pre-production story about the show nor a post-production review of the show

Theater

Franklin, PA was one of the smaller towns that the show played at. The 1920 Census indicated that the population was just under 10,000.[iii] The “Julius Cahn – Gus Hill Theatrical Guide for 1913-1914” indicates that the Franklin Opera House seating capacity was 925 people, 401 on the lower floor, 200 in the balcony, 300 in the gallery, and 24 boxes. The stage was 28×22 feet with a 6-foot apron.[iv]

Image of parade of the Grand Old Army, Franklin, PA, Aug 1887.

The Franklin Opera House is the second building from left (with 2nd-floor awnings. SOURCE: Facebook-Venango County Historical Society – GAR Parade – Franklin, PA – Aug 1887.

I have not been able to find a good, clear photo of the theater, however, the photo of the Grand Army of the Republic in Aug 1887 parading does show the theater. In that photo, the building on the left is the town hall, next to it is a building with awnings on the second-floor windows. Looking closely, you can see it says “Opera House” across the building.

The Opera House opened in 1866 and provided theater presentations and speakers for many years. In 1883 the city hall was built next door on the Corner of Thirteenth and Buffalo Streets. The opera house was on the Thirteenth side of city hall. I have not found any evidence that the Opera House ever make the switch to movies, nor have I found evidence of exactly when the theater closed or was demolished. However, it was clearly gone by the time the old city offices, were demolished and the new city hall was built during the 1960s.[v]

In 1864, John Wilkes Booth formed an oil company in Franklin and resided in Franklin when he performed at the Franklin Opera House.[vi] Besides theater productions, the Opera House provided a venue for famous speakers such as Samuel Clemens and Susan B. Anthony.[vii]

Today, the site is the location of the Franklin City Hall.


Endnotes:

[i] The News-Herald (Franklin, PA) March 9, 1920 – Page 2 – Tom Brown Band image, column 6&7. Newspapers.com

[ii] The News-Herald (Franklin, PA) March 12, 1920 – Page 2 – Cast image, Column 3. Bottom. Newspapers.com

[iii] Wikipedia – Franklin, Pennsylvania – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%2C_Pennsylvania

[iv] The Cahn-Leighton official theatrical guide. (1913). New York, N.Y: Publication Office, New Amsterdam Theatre Building.

[v] Internet:  City of Franklin, PA – Old City Hall and Opera House. https://www.franklinpa.gov/files/part4.pdf

[vi] See Endnote i above.

[vii] See Endnote iii above.

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DNA – Glennis’ Paternal Search – Part 9

Following Morgan/Morgan (Dora & Ephriam)
By Don Taylor

My half-sister Glennis is a DNA match on Ancestry.Com with several individuals who have common ancestors with Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan. In the search to determine Glennis’ biological father, I am continuing to develop a tree of the descendants of Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan of Pleasants County, West Virginia. This time I look at Dora D. Morgan and Ephraim Stokeley Morgan. They are the fifth and sixth of twelve children to be examined.

Dora D. Morgan – Born 4 Jun 1876, Died 7 Feb 1879 – No issue.

Ephraim Stokeley Morgan – Born 1 Jan 1883 in Pleasants County, West Virginia.
Married Edna Ethel Wagner 15 May 1904 in Pleasants County, West Virginia.

Helen Virginia Morgan Born 1906, Married Louis Victor Scott 1929.
Helen Lou Scott – Born 1930-1931 – Not considered.
No other children to this couple before 1940.  No Candidates.

Ralph W. Morgan, Born 1911, Died 1912 – No Issue.


Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan’s 12 children

Child Children Notes/comments
Clara M Morgan Gail Hemsworth
Naomi Hemsworth
Married Everett Luzader

Married Earl Deem

Henry Clifford Morgan None. Died at age 15.
Lewis V. P. Morgan Lula Edna Morgan
Opal Jean Morgan
Died at age 2.

Married William Davis

Rosa Virginia Morgan Carrie Vernice May

Clara Bernice May

Mary Fannie May

Edna Marie May

Roy Harold May

Married Pearl W. Dutton

Married Hezekiah Martin Morrison

Married Floyd T. Williamson

Married Clarence Gorell

Married Della Olive Hooper

Dora D. Morgan None Died at age 2.
Ephraim Stokeley Morgan Helen Virginia Morgan

Ralph W. Morgan

Married Louis Scott–
No  CandidatesDied at age 1
Nathan Spencer Morgan
John A. Morgan
Sarah D Morgan
Unnamed Morgan
Orien E. Morgan
James Cyrus Morgan

 

“Candidates” are males born between 1925 and 1935.

“Not considered” are females who are unlikely to have had a male child between 1925 and 1935.

“Possible but unlikely” are males born between 1925 and 1935, but are not named Paul or Phil, which is the likely name of Glennis’ biological father, or otherwise don’t appear to fit the likely candidate who would have been in Minnesota or Michigan in 1953. I will revisit these possibilities later of this project fails to find a potential candidate.


Sources:

FamilySearch.Org

WVCulture.Org – Vital Research Records Search for Birth, Marriages, & Deaths

 

<a href=”https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-7238426-11251027″ target=”_top”>

<img src=”https://www.tqlkg.com/image-7238426-11251027″ width=”468″ height=”60″ alt=”” border=”0″/></a>

 

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Donna Darling Collection – Part 18

Also, The Ancestor Hunt and Old Fulton Postcards

Treasure Chest Thursday

By Don Taylor

For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at three clippings from the Donna Darling Collection. One as an ad for her playing at the Binghamton Theater, next is an article which mentions Donna playing at the Binghamton Theater, and finally is a playbill showing Donna Darling and Boys playing January 26, 27, and 28 at the Binghamton Theater. I have cropped and resized the photos for the web.

Ad showing Donna Darling & Boys

Ad – Binghamton Theater – Donna Darling and Boys.

Key features:

  • The venue is the Binghamton Theater.
  • The show is Donna Darling and Boys in “Oh! Boy, Don’t Miss This One!
  • The date was January 26, 27, 28, 1922.
  • This was a new venue and date for a Donna Darling show for me.

Analysis

This was a clear event, but I wondered, what other information might there be for this show at this location. I went to my favorite newspaper site, The Ancestor Hunt to see what I could find. I searched for Binghamton and found several entries. The New York Online Historical Newspapers Summary looked like a great starting place. I did a <Command-F> to do a find and searched for Binghamton. There were seven entries. Three under “Old Fulton New York Postcards.”  One of those was the Binghamton Press from 1904 to 1969. None of the other entries covered 1922.

At the bottom of the Ancestor Hunt Summary page are links to four paid sites, Ancestry, Genealogy Bank, Newspapers, and Newspaper Archive. None of which provided additional newspapers in Binghamton during the time period I was interested in.

I went to the Old Fulton New York Post Cards site and did a search for the exact phrase, “Donna Darling and Boys” – Success. There were 10 results and two were from Binghamton papers. I added them to my collection.

I then looked at the other articles identified on Old Fulton Postcards. They provided information that Donna Darling and Boys played at

  • February 1922 at The Majestic Theater in Elmira, NY.
  • December 1922 at The Majestic Theater in Paterson, NJ.
  • September 1923 at Layfayette Theater in Buffalo, NY.
  • February, 1924 at The Majestic Theater in Hornell, NY

This was really great for a couple reasons. First, the Donna Darling Collection has many clippings for the Majestic that aren’t identified as to date or location. By matching those Majestic clippings to these articles looking for the exact play bill, I may be able to identify those clippings exactly.

Second, all four of these dates and venues were new to my list and will provide additional research opportunities.

Thanks again to The Ancestor Hunt and to Old Fulton New York Post Cards for being there. Both are great resources.

Actions

I’ve added all five venues and dates to my listing of shows and will research and write about them in the future.

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