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 – 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.
I’ve been having many roadblocks in my Abner Darling (1780-1839) research. Enough so that I decided to take a step back and look at Abner Darling’s descendants much more closely. The first of these that I am examining is Andrew M Darling, the oldest brother of Rufus Holton Darling (1816-1857). Rufus left New York for Kalamazoo, Michigan about 1844. Andrew left New York in the 1840s also and settled in Utica, Wisconsin. Then about 1859 Andrew moved west again, this time to Alexandria, Minnesota. Andrew died in 1864. I looked and looked and looked and couldn’t find Andrew in the 1860 census. Finally, I searched for everyone named Andrew in Douglas County, Minnesota. There I found an Andrew Martin, whose apparent wife was Antoinette, and three children, Sarah, Olive, and Abram who matched the ages of Andrew Darling’s Wife Antoinette, and three children, Sarah, Olive, and Abner. I have little doubt that I found the family. Now my suspicion is that Martin was Andrew’s middle name, the “M.” I’ve known about for quite some time. The census taker just got the name wrong, a simple mistake. The Darlings were new in the area and the census taker probably didn’t know them yet.
Abner moved his family west, first to Paris, Oneida County, New York (before 1820) and again to Clarkson, Monroe County, New York.
Sometime before 1835 Andrew moved west, apparently by himself, to Medina, Ohio. There he married Esther Antoinette Doolittle on October 8th, 1835 in a ceremony performed by Joel Goodell, a Minister of the Gospel. Andrew and Antoinette appear to have had four children.
Children of Andrew M. Darling and Esther Antoinette Doolittle
Child Name
Born
Married
Death
Sarah Antoinette Darling
c. 1844
1863 – James Dicken
1901
Alice Darling
c. 1846
—
Before 1860
Abner M Darling
1851
Ella [LNU]*
Unknown
Olive Blanche Darling
1854
c. 1869 – George McQuillen
1902
I have not found Andrew in the 1840 Census. All four of the children above were born in Wisconsin, so it is clear that Andrew and Antoinette located to Utica, Winnebago County, Wisconsin before 1844.
The 1850 Census shows a three generation household. With Andrew is his wife, Antonette and their daughters, Sarah and Alice. This census record provides the only mention of Alice that I have found. Also living with Andrew is his mother, Sally A [Munsell] Darling, and his two youngest siblings, 25-year-old Hannah and 22-year-old Franklin.
The 1855 Wisconsin Census shows the family still in Utica, WI with a household consisting of 3 males. (Most likely Andrew, his son Abner, and his brother Franklin.) The household also has four females. (Most likely Esther Antoinette, Sarah, and Olive. Additionally, either Alice was still alive in 1855 and Hannah moved on, or Alice had died by 1855 and Hannah was still there. Further research is needed to discern what occurred.
Part of Douglan County, MN – Click map to see larger image
The family moved west again, this time, in 1859, to Douglas County, Minnesota. The 1860 Census shows the family with the surname “Martin.” Clearly a mistake. Living with Andrew is his wife, 44-year-old Antoinette; his 16-year-old daughter, Sarah; his twelve-year-old daughter, Olive; and his eight-year-old son, Abner (listed as Abram).
It appears that Andrew died in September 1864 in Phelps County, Missouri. However, his family continued to prosper in Douglas County. He was said to have been an “exceptionally successful farmer.[i]” His wife Antoinette received a patent in 1873 for 149.1 acres of land they settled on the south shore of Lake Darling (near Alexandria, Minnesota)[ii]. Lake Darling was named for Andrew Darling[iii].
Further Actions / Follow-up
Determine if the three males in the 1855 Wisconsin Census includes Andrew’s brother Franklin or if there is an unknown child of Andrew.
Determine if the four females in the 1855 Wisconsin Census includes Alice or if the 4th female is Hannah. Was Alice was still alive in 1855 and Hannah moved on, or Alice had died by 1855 and Hannah was still there.
Sources
1850 Census (FS), 1850 Census – A M Darling – Utica, Winnebago, Wisconsin. “United States Census, 1850,” database with images, Family Search – 12 April 2016), Am Darling, Utica, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States; citing family 1092, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4DT-3L6.
1855 WI Census, Family Search, 1855 – A. M. Darling – Utica, Winnebago, Wisconsin. “Wisconsin State Census, 1855,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMM5-5DV 14 November 2014), A. M. Darling, Utica, Winnebago, Wisconsin; citing line 12, State Historical Society, Madison; FHL microfilm 1,032,689.
1860 Census, Family Search, 1860 – Andrew M Martin [Darling] – Alexandria, Douglas, Minnesota. “United States Census, 1860”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4LG-PBH – 26 July 2017), Andrew M Martin, 1860.
Martin, William Albert, and Lou Ella Johnson Martin, Dennis Darling: of Braintree and Mendon and some of his descendants 1662-1800 – Page 461.
Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 , Family Search, Andrews Darling & Antoinett Doolittle – Marriage. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch 27 September 2017, Andrews M. Darling and Antoineth Doolittle, 08 Oct 1835; citing Medina, Ohio, United States, reference 132; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 423,817. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ5X-M24.
Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 , Family Search, Andrews Darling & Antoinette Doolittle – Intended Marriage. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch ( : 27 September 2017), Andrews W. Darling and Antoinett Doolittle, 25 Sep 1835; citing Medina, Ohio, United States, reference 83; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 423,817. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ5X-GTR.
Wisconsin, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890, Ancestry, WI 1855 State Census Index – A. M. Darling – No Image Winnebago County, Utica Township, 1855
One of the great controversies in my genealogical efforts is in my Brown/Manning ancestors and relates to the parentage of Minerva Ann (Tolliver) Mannin. I know quite a bit about Minerva. She was born in Carter County, Kentucky in 1821. She married Enoch Mannin on October 15, 1843. Her husband Enoch led a group of 9 families (including her) to move to Minnesota in September 1882. At first, Enoch and Minerva settled in Stearns County but relocated to Cass County about 1888. Minerva died in May Township, Cass County, Minnesota on 24 Oct 1902.
I wrote about Minerva and her life in 2014 (See: Minerva Ann Tolliver (1821-1902)). The controversy revolves around her be Native American. Many researchers believe she was Native American. Indeed, she might have been, but I don’t think so. One bit of evidence is that she was never identified as “Indian” in any of the census records nor any other document I have seen. The other is that neither my mother nor my aunt have any segments that indicate a Native American lineage. Surprisingly, both have segments on their X chromosome that indicate Sub-Saharan African. Their matching X-chromosome would have come from their common father, Richard. He would have received his X-chromosome as a recombinant X from his mother, Mary Elizabeth (Manning) Brown. She would have received one of her X-chromosomes as a replica of her father’s (John William Manning) X-chromosome. And he would have received his X as a recombinant X from his mother, Minerva Ann (Toliver) Mannin. It is also interesting to note that the percentage of Sub-Saharan African DNA on my mother’s and my aunt’s test results is consistent with the percentage of DNA that I would expect to be Sub-Saharan African if Minerva were 50% black. I wrote about this, also in 2014 in an article, “DNA, the X Chromosome & Minerva Tolliver Manning.”
It may be that mitochondrial DNA may be the answer. Your mitochondrial DNA came from your mother, who got hers from her mother, who got hers from her mother and so forth. If a female line descendant of Minerva were tested and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed ancestry from North America/Asia that would be convincing evidence that Minerva was Native American. If the results showed ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa, that would be compelling evidence that Minerva was of African Descent. If a mtDNA descendant were of European ancestry, we’d have no joy and have nothing to prove one way or another.
I would love to have a mtDNA descendant of Minerva take a mtDNA test and learn of the results. If you are such a descendant, please contact me.
Minerva Ann Tolliver had five daughters. The following chart shows the female descendants that I know about. I know it is not complete, so If you have information that connects you to any of these individuals that information would help me further understand this family line. Minerva’s daughters were:
Nancy Ann Mannin. Nancy married Jessie Monroe Barnett and had five daughters
Frances M Barnett (1870-?) – I have no further information.
Emma Nettie Barnett (1874-?) – I have no further information.
Flarra Belle Barnett Flarra married George Wesley Horn and had two daughters.
Helen Elvira Horn. Helen married Harold Anderson – I have no further information
Dorothy Ellen Horn. No Issue.
Sarah A Barnett (1883-?) – I have no further information.
Sadie Barnett – I have no further information.
Sarah Jane Mannin. Sarah married Joseph Hatfield Bryant and had four daughters
Nancy Ellen Bryant. Nancy married John M Horn and had one daughter (that I know about).
Mary A Horn (1903-?)
Alice May Bryant. Alice married Sherman Morgan and Charles Lemmon and had three daughters
Della Morgan
Esther Lemmon
Mary Etta Lemmon
Hattie Ellen Bryant. Hattie married William Berry and had one known daughter.
Dawn (Harvey) Berry
Clara K Bryant. Clara married Oscar Harvey and had three known children.
Evelyn Harvey
Lois Harvey
Dawn Harvey (Could this be the same Dawn as Hattie’s child?)
Adella Mamie Bryant. Adella married Elmer Boaz Knowles They had five daughters.
Elsie Lillian Knowles. Essie married Vernon Smalley – No further information.
Alice May Knowles – No further information
Clara Lavina Knowles – Married Luther Elbert Parker. They had two daughters that I know of. Both of them appear to be living.
Daughter 1 Living
Daughter 2 Living
Lorraine Grace Knowles – Married Richard Markham Taylor. They had three daughters. Two of them appear to be Living.
Daughter 1 Living
Evelyn Joyce Taylor (1937-1984)
Daughter 3 Living
Bessie Katherine Knowles. Bessie married Albert Dickerman. They appear to have had one daughter
Lillian Katherine (Dickerman) Breyer 1942-1990.
Mary Ermaine Mannin – Married George Washington Gates in 1899 – No further information.
Gresella Mannin (1856-1897) – No further Information.
Prudence Mannin – Prudence married Frank P Bare – No further information.
Although this chart only shows female descendants that I know about. If you are male and your mother or your mother’s mother is any of these individuals, you too carry the mtDNA of Minerva. If you have information that connects you to any of these individuals, I would love to receive that information to help make my records more accurate.
Once again, if you are a descendant of Minerva (Tolliver) Mannin and carry her mtDNA, I am extremely interested in hearing from you. Please use the form below. Thank you.
My public tree is on Ancestry.Com. Please see it for further details on this tree.
Further Action
Expand upon the Lorraine Grace Knowles & Richard Markham Taylor family unit and contact any mtDNA testing candidates.
Expand upon the Bessie Katherine Knowles & Albert Dickerman family unit and contact any mtDNA testing candidates.
Further research the descendants of Nancy Ann Mannin.
Further research the descendants of Sarah Jane Mannin.
Further research the descendants of Mary Ermaine Mannin.
Further research the descendants of Gresella Mannin.
Further research the descendants of Prudence Mannin.
My mother married Budgar (Edgar J. Matson) on 8 December 1961 in Webster, South Dakota. We celebrated the following Christmas at the Spring Lake Park house. I remember Budgar’s two daughters from his previous marriage being there. They received a bunch of Barbie stuff. It might be when things started to become difficult between Budgar and myself. He made me play a board game, “Barbie Queen of the Prom,” with his two daughters, Janna and Heidi. I was not amused.
Shortly after Christmas, we moved from the small house on Monroe Street in Spring Lake Park to a much larger home in North Minneapolis. We rented the upstairs of a fairly large duplex at 1502 Fremont Avenue North. Fremont was a very busy street. It was a multi-lane one-way street that commuters used to go into the city in the morning. The owners of the house lived downstairs and we rented the upstairs.
1502 Fremont – Front
I have no photos of the house from the time we lived there; however, in 2013 I visited the neighborhood and took a couple photos of the house. The house, built in 1900, has fared well over the years and it looks better now than it did in 1962. I’m pretty sure we moved in there the first few days of January 1962.
It was a very rough part of town. I had lived in the country and in the suburbs before that and Fremont Ave. was my first experience living in the inner city. The three and a half block walk to school was dangerous. There were kids that would beat you up and take your lunch money. Some would beat you up just because they could. I quickly learned to take a route to school that avoided the Franklin Junior High kids, who were the older kids most likely to beat you up. It wasn’t too bad in the dead of winter, but as the year warmed up the likelihood of being accosted on your way to school increased exponentially. Not much could be done; parents in those days didn’t drive their kids to school. Besides which, Budgar thought it built character to be beaten up occasionally.
Elizabeth L. Hall Elementary
Elizabeth L. Hall Elementary (from the back) circa 1960. (This was the view I saw when walking to school.) Photo Courtesy: Minneapolis Public Schools.
Elizabeth L. Hall Elementary was built in 1960 as a K-6 school. There were ten classrooms, a kindergarten area, lunchroom, and gymnasium. It was a four block walk to school and I had to cross Emerson, a fast running one-way heading North that carried much of the commuting traffic. If I remember correctly, my teacher’s name was Mr. Malmburg. He was the first male teacher I had in school. He did an excellent job of keeping control of the class. I think the school worked hard at developing the social skills of the students rather than focusing on academic skills. About a week before the end of the school year, Mr. Malmburg left the school for a job in Germany. A substitute came in for the final week and the class went utterly out of control, especially the last couple days. On the last day of school, and for us sixth-graders the last day of elementary school, many of us boys were so disruptive that we spent our last couple hours in the assistant principal’s office. My mother had to leave work and come to school to take custody of me and my report card. The school detained me because I jammed a screwdriver into an electrical outlet blowing a breaker thus plunging several classrooms into darkness. I have no doubt we would have been suspended if it wasn’t our last day. That poor substitute teacher. I feel sorry for her today. She probably never wanted to come back to Elizabeth Hall school ever again. I didn’t either.
An addition of another six classrooms was added the following year, in 1963. Today, Elizabeth Hall is a “magnet school” supporting K-5. According to Trulia and Realtor, it is graded as a 1 on the scale of 1 to 10. Its academics don’t seem to have improved much.
That summer, we moved again, about a mile away to Bryant Ave. so, I begin Junior High School at Jordan JHS, which is another story.
Sources
Internet: Minneapolis Public Schools History // Schools and Facilities // Elementary Schools // Elementary Schools D – H // Hall // Planning for the Future
Image Source: Internet: Minneapolis Public Schools History // Schools and Facilities // Elementary Schools // Elementary Schools D – H // Hall // Slideshow
The mother of great-grand uncle Ernest Lorraine Trumpy [Trümpi] has long been a question. His father, Bernard Trümpi has long been known, but his mother has been something of a mystery. You see, family oral history said that Bernard’s first wife’s name was Bertha, and his second wife’s name was also named Bertha. And to great-grandmother Bertha Barbara Trumpi I had ascribed the surname of Koch to the mother of Bertha Barbara (Trumpi) Huber and “unknown” as the surname for her step-mother, Bertha.
Detail of Ernest Trumpi’s death certificate
Then, cousin Carl sent me a copy of the death certificate of Ernest L. Trumpy. It showed the name of his mother as Bertha Cook. The informant was Ernest’s sister, so I was confident she would know Ernest’s mother’s surname. My initial thought was, “Wow – I finally have the names.” Bertha Barbara’s (the oldest child in the family) mother was Bertha Koch and Ernest’s (the youngest child in the family) mother was Bertha Cook. Got it.
Something was niggling at me though. Maybe it was my subconscious, maybe it was intuition, in any event I decided to look up “Cook” in Google Translate. Sure enough, it came back, “cook” in English is “Koch” in German. The same name was just translated by Frieda. That tells me that Bertha Barbara’s mother’s surname is unknown and her stepmother’s surname is Koch/Cook, not the other way around.
Thanks to cousin Carl I have a better idea of the family relationships.
List of Grandparents
1st Great-grandmother: Bertha Barbara Trumpi [Trümpi]
2nd Great-grandfather: Bernard Trümpi
2nd Great-grandmother: Bertha [Trümpi]
2nd Step great-grandmother: Bertha Koch/Cook
Great Grand Uncle Ernest Lorraine Trumpy [Trumpi] (Bertha Barbara’s brother)
Sources:
Indiana Death Certificates (Illinois State Board of Health), Indiana Death Certificate – Ernest L Trumpy.
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.
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.
I’ve been having many roadblocks in my 
Andrew grew up with 7 siblings. They were
