Ancestor Bio – Minnie Mable Bodge (1872-1948)

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Don Taylor

52 Ancestors – Week 191

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.I consider successful ancestor research if I can learn and document the vital records (birth, marriage, and death), follow the individual through all the Census records during their life, and learn the names, births, and deaths of all of their children.  In the case of Minnie Mable Bodge, I was successful in all except I have not been able to find her in the 1880 Census. Hopefully, I will be able to find her when I do a more research into her parents, Albert S and Mary Elizabeth (Mayberry) Bodge.

Blanchard 2017 – Ancestor #9

List of Grandparents

  • Grandfather: Edward Everett Blanchard
  • 1st Great-grandmother: Minnie Mabel Bodge
  • 2nd Great-grandfather: Albert S Bodge

 

Minnie Mable Bodge (1872-1948)

Minnie Mable Bodge was born on 22 March 1872 in Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine to Albert S. and Mary Elizabeth (Mayberry) Bodge.

Marriage & Children

Minnie was living in Westbrook when she married Frederick W. Blanchard on 14 December 1886. She was only fourteen-years-old.  Frederick was twenty-years-old and living in Deering (today Portland) at the time.

Frederick and Minnie had eleven children, seven boys, and four girls, as follows:

Child Birth Death
Harriet May Blanchard 1888 1896
Gracie C Blanchard Jan 1890 1923
Harry Frederick Blanchard 03 Jan 1892 26 May 1969
Leon W Blanchard 1894 22 Feb 1894
Albert F Blanchard 1895 1895
Charles Albion Blanchard Oct 1897 Apr 1982
Edward Everett Blanchard 07 Jul 1900 24 Nov 1971
Lizzie M Blanchard 1902 07 Sep 1902
Sadie B Blanchard 21 Feb 1903 18 Apr 1920
Willard A Blanchard 1907 1977
Alanson S Blanchard 1911 27 Dec 2000

Sadly, Minnie saw the deaths of over half of her children; Harriet, Gracie, Leon, Albert, Lizzie, and Sadie all died before 1948.

Adulthood

1900 Census – Minnie and Frederick are renting a house on Front Street in South Portland. Gracie, Harry, and Charles are living with them. The census reports that Minnie had 6 children and that three were living which confirms that Harriet, Leon, and Albert had died as children. Frederick is a plasterer and Gracie and Harry are attending school.

Zillow photograph of 131 Stanford, South Portland as it is today.

131 Stanford, South Portland, ME – Today – Source Zillow

1910 Census – Minnie and Frederick own the home at 131 Stanford in South Portland. The house was built in 1900, so it is likely that Frederick and Minnie were the first owners.  Living with them are Harry, who is working as an inside plasterer, Charles, Edward, and Sadie are attending school, and little Willis, age three is home. The census reports that Minnie had 10 children, six of whom were living. The sixth living child was Grace who would have been 20 years old. Their fourth child to die as an infant was Lizzie who was born and died in 1902.

1917 – Tragedy struck the family on 15 July 1917 as Frederick died as the result of an automobile accident leaving Minnie a widow. The 44-year-old Minnie would have had four children at home, Edward, 17; Sadie, 14; Willard, 10; and Alanson, 6.

1920 Census – It appears that after Frederick’s death Minnie and the family could no longer afford the house at 131 Stanford. During the 1920 Census, Minnie and family were living at 69 Chestnut Street in Portland, ME. (Today it is the site of the Chestnut and Lancaster Parking Garage.) Minnie wasn’t working; however, son Charles was a laborer at a stove foundry and her son Edward was a salesman at an auto supplier.  Her 16-year-old daughter, Sadie, was not attending school nor working. She died a month later at the age of 17 of acute peritonitis due to acute appendicitis. Sons Willis and Alanson were living with their mother and were attending school.

Search Military Records - Fold31930 Census – The Widow Blanchard was a housekeeper of a boarding house at 3 Elmwood Place. There doesn’t appear to be and Elmwood in today’s Portland, but the other street on the census page is Cumberland Avenue, which would place Elmwood Place near Elm Street today where there are several new buildings today. Living with Minnie are her two youngest sons, Willard (Willis) and Alanson. Willard is a laborer at a bakery and Alanson is a clerk at a retail grocery store.  Living with them is a nephew Walter G. Blanchard.  Walter is 30 years old and divorced. This is confusing because Frederick Blanchard only had one known brother, Charles A. F. Blanchard who died in 1887 in Deering making it impossible for him to be the father of Walter G. Blanchard. I clearly have something incorrect. Either Charles didn’t die in 1887 or Albion and Mary S (Washburn) Blanchard had another child I don’t know about.

1940 Census – The 68-year-old Widow Blanchard was living alone at 335 Congress Street, Portland, ME. It must have been small apartments as there were 9 heads of households with people living alone or with one other person at 335 Congress Street. Today 335 Congress Street is a parking lot. Minnie was not working but the Census indicates that she did have additional sources of income.

Death

Minnie Mable (Bodge) Blanchard died on 10 February 1948, presumably in Portland, Maine. She is buried with her husband, Frederick W. Blanchard, at Forest City Cemetery, South Portland, Maine.

Further Actions / Follow-up

  • Research the parentage of Walter G. Blanchard and learn how he was a nephew to Minnie Blanchard.

Sources:

1900 Census (A), Ancestry, Frederick Blanchard – South Portland, Cumberland, Maine – District 79, Line 43.

1910 Census (A), Ancestry, Frederick W. Blanchard – South Portland, Cumberland, Maine – Ward 2, District 103, Sheet 2B, Line 80, Family 42.

1920 Census (NARA), Family Search, Maine, Cumberland, Portland Ward 4, District 39, Page 11B, Line 80, (Family 321).

1930 Census (NARA), Family Search, 1930 Census – Minnie M Blanchard – Portland, Cumberland, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM8L-PDQ.

1940 Census (NARA ), Family Search, 1940 – Minnie Blanchard – Portland, Cumberland, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMM4-QNP.

Find a Grave, Find A Grave, Minnie M [Bodge] Blanchard (1872 – 1948) – Find A Grave Memorial #142749169. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=142749169.

Maine Vital Records, 1670-­1921, Family Search, Birth – Minnie M Bodge – 24 Mar 1972. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HVQ-8PJ.

Maine Vital Records, 1670-­1921, Family Search, Marriage – Fred W Blanchard & Minnie M Bodge – INTENTION: 14 Dec 1886. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HKC-5PR.

 

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Donna at Owyhee Hotel – Dec 4-8, 1919

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Don Taylor

Donna Montran stayed at the Owyhee Hotel in Boise, Idaho December 4-8, 1919.

 Don Taylor

Sometimes I just come across cool things.  Recently I found an article on Chronicling America that spoke of “Hotel Arrivals” in Boise, ID, Dec 5, 1919. I have long known that Donna and the cast of “Chin Chin” were in Boise for four days, from the 4th to the 7th performing at the Pinney Theatre. This article might be the first time I’ve known exactly where Donna stayed during her many nights on the road – the Owyhee Hotel.  The Owyhee is still standing; no longer a hotel, it was completely renovated and made into luxury apartments with office space – Hwyhee Place.

The other thing the article does, which is really cool, is that it tells where many of the cast are from. Of course, I knew that Donna hailed from New York at that time, but not Ethel Lawrence. If I decide to follow some of Donna’s fellow performers, a listing of names and their hometowns, or 1919 residences could be invaluable.  Also, if I can find another such list I might be able to determine much of the cast’s names.  A great find; I will definitely look for Hotel Arrivals in other newspapers in the future.

Photo of the Owyhee Hotel circa 1914.

Owyhee Hotel c. 1914.

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Sources

Library of Congress – Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 – Evening Capital News – (Boise, ID) December 5, 1919, Page 6.

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Adair Project – Ella E. (Mitchell) Adair

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Don Taylor

Ancestor Bio – Ella E (Mitchell)Adair

52 Ancestors – Week 190

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.This week I look at Ella E. Mitchell. As is so often the case with women ancestors, her life events are defined by her husband and her children. We know she had at least seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood. She was a sharecropper’s wife and lived a simple life. She was born in Georgia, lived her entire life in Georgia, probably entirely in Paulding County. She died fairly young at the age of 49.

 

Adair Project 2017 – Ancestor AH-09

List of Grandparents

  • Grandfather: Elmer Dewey Adair
  • 1st Great-grandmother: Ella E. Mitchell

 

Ella E (Mitchell) Adair (1887-1936)

I believe that Ella E. Mitchell was born in 1887.  I don’t normally consider an individual’s grave marker as certain, however, in this case, the 1910 Census, which is the census closest to her birth indicated that she was 22 suggesting a birth between 16 April 1887 and 15 April 1888.  The 1920 Census was way wrong saying she was 38 years old (born about 1881 or 1882). The 1930 Census indicated she had only aged three years since 1920, she was 41 (born about 1888 or 1889).

I have not been successful determining who her parents or siblings were. I have searched newspapers (Newspapers, Newspaper Archives, Genealogy Bank, and Chronicling America) to no avail. I believe I will next need to try a surname focus study for Mitchell in Paulding County, Georgia and see if I can determine a potential family.

Marriage

The first record showing Ella is her marriage license and certificate where she married Allen William Adair on 18 April 1904 in a ceremony performed by B. H. Owen, J.P. in Paulding County Georgia.[i]

Adult

Tragedy struck the young couple quickly. The 1910 Census indicates that Ella had two children, one of whom was living.  We know that Floyd was born on 21 Apr 1909. So, and unknown infant must have been born and died, probably between Allen and Ella’s marriage in 1904 and the census date (15 April 1910).[ii]

1910 Census – The family consisted of Allen who was a farmer renting his farm near Humphrey, Paulding County Georgia. Ella and one-year-old Floyd were with him. Neither Allen nor Ella could read and write.  Living with them was a 20-year-old boarder from Alabama named Hollis Ware. They were living in Humphrey, Paulding County Georgia.[iii]

Search Military Records - Fold31918 – Ella was identified as Allen’s wife when he registered for the draft. They were living on R.F.D. 1, Dallas, Paulding County.[iv]

1920 Census – The family had grown by 1920.[v] 

  • Floyd was still at home and attending school.  He is identified as being able to read and write, the first in the family.
  • Elmer was born in 1912 and was also attending school.
  • Lola was born 14 Oct 1914 in Dallas, Paulding County, Georgia.
  • Paul was born 25 Aug 1918 also in Paulding County.

1923 – Tragedy struck again with the death of another infant child. Ella had twins, was named Mary Lee that lived, the other twin died. It is not clear how long the second twin lived.

1930 Census – The census record shows that Allen and Ella have three of their children still living with them. They are living on a farm on Villa Ricca Road, Dallas, GA. Sadly, 17-year-old Elmer is working as a farm laborer and is not attending school. He is also identified as unable to read and write. His brother, 11-year-old Paul, is attending school and can read and write. Six-year-old Mary is not attending school.[vi]

Death

Marker - Allen William Adair

Marker – Ella M [Mitchell] – Allen William Adair

Ella Mitchell died in 1936, presumably in Paulding County, Georgia.  She is buried at Bethany Christian Church Cemetery, Dallas, Paulding County, Georgia.[vii]

Further Actions / Follow-up

  • Search records searching for Ella’s actual birth date.
  • Search records searching for Ella’s actual death date.
  • Determine Ella’s parents (Do a surname study of Mitchells in Paulding County). Georgia.)

Endnotes

[i] Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950, Family Search, Allen Adair – Ella Mitchell – 18 April 1904. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXVF-7XP.
[ii] 1910 Census (NARA), Family Search, Allen Adair – Humphrey, Paulding, Georgia ED 121, Page 10B, Line 75. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLLS-FJM.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (NARA), Family Search, Allen William Adair – Georgia Paulding County; A-Z. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZZJ-FMK.
[v] 1920 Census, Family Search, 1920 Census – Allen [Adair] Adain, Cains, Paulding, Georgia, United States; citing ED 143, sheet 5A, line 5, family 74. Accessed 19 August 2017. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJXS-4VR.
[vi] 1930 Census, Family Search, Allen Adair – Dallas, Paulding, Georgia, ED 8, Sheet 3A, Line 3. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3HF1-WZM.
[vii] Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Ella [Mitchell] Adair – Memorial #45685515. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45685515.

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Crutchfield Project – It’s a Start

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Don Taylor

Ancestor Biography – Crutchfield Project

52 Ancestors – Week 137

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.I was recently asked to help someone learn more about his ancestry. He knew he was Italian, but didn’t know how much. He also knew his parent’s names, and where they were born and where they lived, but not much more.  My first recommendation was that he take an autosomal DNA test. It might give an idea of some of his ancestry.  It also might provide connections to here-to-for unknown cousins that may know much more of the family history. I ordered a kit for him through Ancestry.Com and he has received it.

I also began looking at his parents and see what I could learn about them. I found information about his father quickly. Information about his mother was more difficult to find. There were different spellings of her name, both first and surname. There were also differences in both date and place of birth. I didn’t find anything that I was convinced was correct regarding her ancestry. Then I used Newspapers.com and did a search for her maiden and surname in the states she was believed to live in.

The results provided an obituary for her sister and provided the names of some of her other siblings. It then became easy to find her in the 1940 Census and other census records. A minor stumbling block overcome thanks to Newspapers.com. I will write more about Emily in my next post of the Crutchfield-Galella project. But for now, I would like to focus on Ralph Crutchfield. I don’t normally write about parents, however, because this family line is completely unknown to me I wanted to understand their lives also.

Crutchfield-Galella Project 2017 – Ancestor CG-02

List of Ancestors

  • Father: Ralph Crutchfield
  • Grandfather: Ervin Ogden Crutchfield

 

Ralph Crutchfield (1913-1997)

Ralph Crutchfield was born the youngest of four children on 24 December 1913 in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas. His parents were Ervin Ogden and Dormer Crutchfield.

I have not had a chance to research his two older sisters, Blanche and Florence nor his older brother Emanuel.

The 1920 Census indicates the family living in Illinois Township, Pope County, Arkansas at 319 Torrence Street. The family consisted of the six-year-old Ralph, who was attending school, his parents, and his three siblings. His father, Ervin, was a coal miner.

In 1930, Ralph attended Russellville High School as a Junior. The 1930 Census indicates that his three siblings were no longer living at home and the household consisted of him, working as a newsboy for the newspaper, his father who also worked for the newspaper as a newspaper agent, and his mother who kept house.

Yearbook photo of Ralph Crutchfield - Arkansas Russellville Russellville High School 1931

Source: Climax Yearbook, via Ancestry.Com

In 1931, Ralph graduated from Russellville High School.

It appears that Ralph met and married Emily C. Galella sometime before 1935 as the two of them are living in Chicago then.

The 1940 Census shows Ralph, his wife “Emile” and their two children renting a home at 3312 Hoyne Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Ralph was working as a soda fountain manager at a retail drug store.

In 1951, Ralph was living in Illinois when he registered for Social Security and received his SSN.

Ralph Crutchfield died on 21 July 1997, probably in Chicago, I at the age of 83. His burial location is unknown.

Think you might be related to Ralph Crutchfield?  
A DNA Test at Ancestry.Com will prove it one way or another.

Birth, Marriage & Death Records

Sources:

1920 Census (A), Ancestry.Com, 1920 Census – Ervin Crutchfield – Illinois, Pope, Arkansas. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1920usfedcen/40011696/printer-friendly.

1930 Census (FS), Family Search, 1930 Census – Ralph Crutchfield – Illinois, Pope Arkansas. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMGQ-WDX.

1940 Census (A), Ancestry.Com, Ralph Crutchfield – Chicago, Cook, ILL, ED 103-2877, Sheet 9B, Line 77. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1940usfedcen/144720395/printer-friendly?_phsrc=UeZ897&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&ne.

U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Ancestry.Com, Russellville High School 1930, Russellville, Arkansas – Climax yearbook, Page 25 – Ralph Crutchfield.

U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Ancestry.Com, Russellville High School 1931, Russellville, Arkansas – Climax yearbook – Ralph Crutchfield.

U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.Com, SSA&C – Ralph Crutchfield. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/Numident/806318407/printer-friendly?_phsrc=UeZ906&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1.

U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, Ancestry.Com, SSDI – Ralph Crutchfield. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/ssdi/13415883/printer-friendly?ssrc=pt&tid=51376149&pid=27567751021&usePUB=true.

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DNA Match leads to 3rd Great’s

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Don Taylor

Autosomal DNA
Brown/Manning/Fannin Line

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.On 23 and Me, I contacted a cousin I’ll call “JK.” The individual shared 1.34% of his DNA with my mother and .77% of his DNA with me. He also shared .91% of his DNA with my Aunt Barbara.  Because of the match with Aunt Barbara, the match is on my mother’s father’s (Dick Brown) line and the amount of DNA suggested a second to third cousin with my mother.

JK responded to my inquiry after a few months and indicated that he had been adopted and that his mother was Elizabeth Fannin. He also provided a link to his mother’s obituary.  I immediately became excited. My 2nd great grandmother was Eliza Jane Fannin and I don’t know much about her. Fannin is a popular name in Kentucky and because Eliza could easily be Elizabeth, I hadn’t been able to identify Eliza Jane’s parents.  Could I find the common ancestor between JK and me that would lead to new discoveries?

The obituary for Elizabeth Fannin showed her father was Mason Fannin.[i] I was a little concerned because Mason Fannin was born in West Virginia and my Eliza Jane Fannin was born in Kentucky, but I continued on. The 1930 Census confirmed the Mason Fannin family with his wife and several of the children mentioned in the obituary.[ii]  More importantly, Mason’s parents were born in Kentucky.  I appeared to be on the right trail.

Photo of Andrew Jackson "Jack" Fannin

Andrew Jackson “Jack” Fannin

Next, I was able to find Mason Fannin’s parents in West Virginia Births. His parents were Jack Fannin and Susan McKnight.[iii]

Family Search quickly show me that Jack Fannin was Rev. Andrew Jackson Fannin (1863-1952)  (Family Search ID L2DN-DKR). It also showed that Rev. Andrew Jackson Fannin had a sister, Eliza Fannin born 1856. Their (Jack & Eliza) parents were [unknown] Fannin and Cynthia Ann Bare.

 

Chart of relationships

JK Individual
Elizabeth Fannin Parent
Mason Fannin Grandparent
Andrew Jackson Fannin Great-grandparent
[Unknown & Cynthia Ann Bare 2nd Great-grandparents

 

[Unknown] & Cynthia Ann Bare 2nd Great-grandparents
Eliza Jane Fannin Great-grandmother
Mary Elizabeth Manning Grandmother
Richard “Dick” Brown Parent
My mother Individual

So, if [Unknown] and Cynthia Ann (Bare) Fannin are the common ancestors between JK and my mother they would be 3rd cousins. That fits the range of shared expected DNA for both my mother and her half-sister, Aunt Barbara. JK would also be a 3rd cousin once removed to me fitting the shared DNA that JK and I share[iv].

Family Search also indicates that Andrew Jackson and Eliza Jane Fannin had four other siblings, providing a wealth of clues and leads.

Do I know for certain that this Eliza Fannin is my Eliza Jane Fannin?  No, but the evidence is compelling enough to sketch in the relationship and continue researching the family.  If I find something inconsistent with my known history for Eliza Jane I’ll reconsider and relook at the relationship, however, I have confidence that I’ve broken through a small wall and puts Eliza’s parents next in my Brown Research.

Endnotes

[i] News Herald, Files (Personal), Betty J. [Fannin] DeMark  POSTED: 04/13/10, 12:01 AM EDT. https://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20100413/betty-j-demark.
[ii] 1930 Census (NARA), Ancestry.Com, Mason Fannin – West Virginia Fayette Kanawha District 0024. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1930usfedcen/99823152/printer-friendly.
[iii] West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, West Virginia Culture, Delayed Birth Certificate – Mason Fannin – Oct 18, 1885.jpg. FamilySearch : 4 December 2014), Mason Fannin, 18 Oct 1885; citing Caperton, Fayette, West Virginia, United States, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 1,992,467. https://(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X55N-NK3.
[iv] I use the DNA Geek’s DNA Detectives Autosomal Statistics Chart to predect relationships.  See: https://thednageek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DNA-Detectives-Autosomal-Statistics-Chart.png

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