North Carolina and Halifax County, NC Websites and Assets.

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Don Taylor

Howell/Vincent
General Help
Website Reviews (North Carolina)

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Background.

I have been researching my wife’s 3rd great-grandfather, Burkett Vincent. I really don’t know much about Burkett. He appears as the head of household in the 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses. I also speculate that he appears in the household of Philip Vinson, his apparent father, in the 1790 and 1800 censuses. I have no birth record for him, although he was probably born between 1775 and 1780 in the North Carolina colony. I also have no death record for him, although he appears to have died before the 1850 Census.

He was apparently married twice. His first wife’s name is unknown and it appears that they had five children, 2 boys and 3 girls, between 1804 and 1820. I don’t know the names of any of those children. He was also married to Elizabeth Rose. With her, he appears to have had seven children. William, John, James, Elisha, Susan, Nancy, and Burkett. Born between 1814 and 1824.  It is possible some of the seven children were part of the initial five. I am pretty sure that Burkett was born, married, and died in Halifax County, North Carolina.

I have had several people ask that I share my research approach and some of my links.

Typically, my “first pass” uses I am familiar with and use for everyone. I use my various search tricks in doing so. For example, I might use “Vincent of Halifax” and North Carolina as a search term. For newspapers, I often use the individual’s address as a search term.

My regularly used “First Pass” sites include:

My Special North Carolina Links (Second Pass)

I had 29 Links in my North Carolina Bookmarks.  I went through them to clean them up and determine if any of them are particularly useful in my quest. Several links I moved to a separate subdirectory for bookmarks – Counties. I deleted several links as not being useful. I ended up with 11 North Carolina links I think are useful, and another four which are county sites, that make up my second pass.

Top 3 (In my opinion) – Non-Paid North Carolina Sites

  1. North Carolina – County Formation Maps – Interactive Slideshow. – Select a year and see the counties as they existed then.
  2. Digital North Carolina – Includes Yearbooks, Newspapers, Images, Memorabilia, City Directories & Audiovisual.
  3. North Carolina Digital Collections – Browse 26 separate collections or use a single search.

Top Paid North Carolina Sites

  1. $$ – North Carolina Pioneers – Databases for several states – $150.00 per year – I’m not currently a subscriber, but I’m thinking about it.

Other North Carolina Sites worth checking

  1. East Carolina Roots – Genealogy & History of Eastern North Carolina.
  2. North Carolina Encyclopedia (NCpedia) – Biographies, State Symbols, Counties, Geography, World War I, Digital Textbook.
  3. North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data – 216,000 land grants from 1663-1960.
  4. North Carolina Legislative Publications – Session Laws of North Carolina
  5. North Carolina State Historic Preservation – HPOWEB GIS Service (General Audience) – Note: This site requires Adobe Flash player to use.
  6. North Carolina State Library
  7. North Carolina State University Libraries

Counties – List of Counties

Finally, in my “2nd Pass” are county focused links. In my case, I have done research in the following counties and have these in my bookmarks.

  • Cabarrus County – Cabarrus Genealogy Society – Concord, NC.
  • Halifax County – NCGenWeb – Includes a list of resources. For GenWeb sites, I prefer doing a Google search of the county’s site.
  • Martin County – NCGenWeb
  • Martin County Register of Deeds – Full System, Includes Old Deed Books U (08/26/1866) thru 0XXXX; There are no “I” books, nor book N-05. Also, there are scanned index books for 1925 through 1984.

Review other potential sites (Third Pass)

For my “Third Pass,” I basically, review the following webpages for resources I haven’t used in my first and second passes. These are specifically for North Carolina; however, the concept works for any location. State and County resources recommended on these sites.

The Ancestor Hunt – North Carolina (for newspaper, obituary, and BMD suggestions.”

Family Search Wiki – North Carolina Online Genealogy Records.
Family Search Wiki – Halifax County, North Carolina Genealogy

Cyndi’s List – United States, North Carolina
Cyndi’s List – United States, North Carolina – Halifax County

$$ Ancestry – North Carolina (in the Card Catalog)
$$ Ancestry – Halifax County, North Carolina (in the Card Catalog)

Road trip or hire a genealogist – (This is a 4th step if needed).

  1. North Carolina State Archives. – Includes a listing of the various records held by each county by the County Offices. It is a very important document to review before a trip to the County Offices.
    1. The Halifax County Guide is here.
    2. The Martin County Guide is here.

Posted in Website Reviews, Howell-Hobbs, General Help | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Donna in the News – New July 8th 2019

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Don Taylor

“Donna in the News” is my reporting of newly found newspapers articles and advertising regarding my grandmother, Madonna Montran (aka Donna Montran and aka Donna Darling). I am always excited when I find a new venue for my grandmother’s exciting show business career of the 1910s and 1920s. 

This week I received a notification from Newspapers.com that I had 36 new hits on my alerts – 15 from “Montran,” 15 from “Walter Wills” (which suggests “Chin Chin”), and 6 from “Dona/Donna Darling” from seven different newspapers dated between 3 May 1920 and 5 March 1928.

The articles related to six shows during her career.  Four of the shows I had previously in my list of Donna’s performances. They were:

  • Lyceum Theatre, Paterson, PA – May 7 -8 1920 – “Chin Chin.”
  • Colonial Theatre, Lancaster, PA – April 17, 18, & 19, 1922 – “Special Easter Show.”
  • Grand Theatre, Saint Louis, MO – July 7-9, 1923 – Donna Darling show.
  • Majestic Concerts – Brooklyn, NY – Mar 5, 1928 – Donna Darling and Somory [sic] Clark in “The Princess and the King.”

Can anyone translate?

Adding more clippings to what I already had is always good.  However, what is particularly cool about the Grand Theatre clipping is that the newspaper that speaks of Donna is written in German. I don’t know what it says.  I tried OCRing the words and transcribing the text to no avail. All I really know is that the article mentions “Donna Darling” and was published during the week Donna was in Saint Louis, Mo.  Hopefully, someone who reads German and German font will help me out.

The other two venues were new to me.

  • Fulton Opera House, Lancaster, PA May 29, 1920 – Chin Chin
  • Keeney’s Theatre – Brooklyn, NY – Aug 1921, Donna Montran.

So, I’ve been able to add two new shows that Donna was a part of. I will add All of these clippings to future venue writeups.

Have a great week.

Posted in Donna Montran, Vaudeville | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sketch – Lydia (Cockeram) Blackhurst (c. 1777-1827)

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Don Taylor

Ancestor Sketch
Montran-Barber-Blackhurst-Cockeram
By Don Taylor

It is always “fun” when the surname changes. Lydia’s surname has been represented several ways including Cockeram, Cochran, and Cockram. Cockeram seems to be the most commonly used form.

Research Family 2019 – Ancestor #125

List of Grandparents

Lydia Cockeram (c. 1777-1827)

It is not clear when Lydia Cockeram was born.  Possibly as early as 1775 and as late as 1778 nor who here parents are because two Lydia Cockerams were born in Mackworth, Derbyshire, England within a year of each other. One to Adam and Elizabeth Cockeram and the other to John and Helen Cockeram. For more information about the parents of Lydia, please see “Lydia Cockeram’s Parents.”

If Adam and Elizabeth are her parents, then she grew up the 7th of 8 children. At least two of her siblings died before she was born (Catherine-1, and Thomas). Her other siblings included Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine-2, Alice, and Adam.

If John and Helen were her parents, then she had at least one sister, also named Lydia, who was baptized on 7 July 1772 and was buried on 4 March 1773.  I have much more research to do on this possible parentage. Hopefully, I will find something which clarifies who Lydia’s parents are.

Marriage & Adulthood

St. Peter’s Church – Derby, Derbyshire – Photo by Jerry Evans.

Lydia married Stephen Blackhurst on 14 Jun 1802 at St. Peter’s Church in Derby, Derbyshire, England.

Lydia and Stephen would have at least nine children. The first two were born in Derby, and the other seven were born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

The Children Stephen and Lydia Blackhurst

Name

 Born Death
Stephen[1] 1803 1869
Eliza 1805 Possibly[2] 1806
Mary c. 1806 Possibly 1877
Matthew 1808 1846
Francis 1812 Possibly 1820
William c. 1813 Possibly 1880
Lydia c. 1815 Possibly 1894
John c. 1818 Probably after 1844
Adamson c. 1819 Possibly 1901

It appears that Stephen and Lydia moved from Derby, Derbyshire, to Sheffield, Yorkshire in 1805 or 1806.

Death & Burial

Lydia (Cockeram) Blackhurst died on 6 May 1827, probably at the age of 50.

Further Actions / Follow-up

  1. Further research on the parents of Lydia is necessary to confirm which set of parents, Adam & Elizabeth or John & Helen are Lydia’s parents.
  2. I need to determine any additional children for John & Helen besides the two Lydia’s.
  3. I need to confirm births, marriages, and deaths for all of Stephen and Lydia’s children.

Sources

  • Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 (Mackworth, Derbyshire, England, ), Com, Lydia Cockeram – 22 Apr 1777 – Mackworth, All Saints, Derbyshire, England.
  • England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, Family Search, Eliza Blackhurst. “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGNQ-4MJ : 11 February 2018, Stephen Blackhurst in the entry for Eliza Blackhurst, 09 Mar 1805); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 422,207, 422,208, 498,068, 498,069.
  • England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, Family Search, Stephen Blackhurst. “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV78-7MZ : 11 February 2018, Stephen Blackhurst in the entry for Stephen Blackhurst, 13 Jul); citing yr 1662-1810, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 422,208.
  • England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918, Family Search, Marriage – Stephen Blackhurst & Lydia Cockran – 14 Jun 1802.
  • England, Pallot’s Marriage Index, 1780-1837, Com, Lydia Cockram & Stephen Blackhurst – 1802. Accessed 28 Jun 2019.

————–  Disclaimer  ————–

ENDNOTES

[1] Stephen Blackhurst (1803-1869) is my 3rd Great-grandfather.

[2] Items identified as “Possibly” or “Probably” have not been verified or confirmed by me.

Posted in Brown-Montran | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Donna Darling Collection – Part 50

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Don Taylor

Monache Theatre & Gypsy

Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at two pages from the Donna Darling Collection because two of the four clippings are related.

The first one (#1464) is a tiny clipping that filled in a memory gap I just couldn’t fill. I’ve seen photos of Donna with her little Pekingese dog many times and, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember the dog’s name. On this page is part of an article which says,

“On the Country club links tomorrow early golfers will see Donna Darling and Sammy Clark doing 18 holes. A little pekingese most likely will be in tow. It is “Gypsy,” the prima donna’s pet,

Reading it, I said to myself, “that’s it.  The dog was Gypsy. I remember now.”

The second clipping on the page is for the Monache Theatre playing the “Donna Darling Revue with Sammy Clark.” What is great about this clipping is that Donna hand wrote “Porterville, Calif. Oct 19” on it.

I knew Donna and Sammy played the Yost Broadway Theater in Santa Ana on October 7-9 and played at the American Theater in San Jose on October 23-26, 1926.  Porterville is about halfway between Santa Ana and San Jose. This clipping provides information about a new venue for the show.

The second page consisted of two clippings. The first clipping was for the Burns Theatre in Colorado Springs, Co. I wrote about that clipping earlier in Part 21 of this series.

The second clipping “Vaudeville to Boast Plenty of Diversity” has a note handwritten across the top which says “Porterville, Calif.” The article also mentions the Monache Theatre, so it clearly belongs with the ad from 1464. The article reads, in part:

Recollections of famous beauty contests are revived with the presentation of the Donna Darling Revue, the headline act. Miss Darling was the winner of the Madison Square Garden beauty competition in New York city a few years ago, and was afterwards featured with “Chin Chin” and also with George White and Flo Ziegfeld. With Sammy Clark, “The Juvenile Komik” Rarring and Lazur, and Hal Dixon she will present a routine of songs and dances, garnished with comedy. Special stage setting and appropriate costumes enhance the beauty of the act making it worthy of more than passing potice.[sic]

Key features:

  • Donna’s dog’s name was “Gypsy.”
  • The Donna Darling Review played at the Monache Theatre in Porterville, California, on 19 Oct 1926.
    • The Bill included
      • Zuhn and Dreis
      • Curtis & Lawrence
      • Morrell & Elynor
      • Princess Winona
      • On screen “The Fighting Edge”
Posted in Treasure Chest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Lydia Cockeram’s Parents?

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Don Taylor

Who are the parents of Lydia Cockeram, the wife of Stephen Blackhurst?

It is important to remember that other people’s trees are really only hints and you should not rely upon them as truth.  Such is my experience researching my 4th great-grandmother, Lydia Cockeram. I had known that she married Stephen Blackhurst in Derby, Derbyshire, England in 1802 and that she had (at least) nine children.

My basic research practice is to find my ancestor on Family Search. In this case, she is Lydia Cockeram, spouse of Stephen Blackhurst and parents of Adam and Elizabeth Cockeram. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/27SC-YWL. Awesome, I now have potential names for her parents.  Next, I review all of the sources for the individual’s facts.  In this case, there were 33 sources. I determine what facts can be attributed to each of the sources. In this case, many of the sources were duplicated or even triplicated, but 10 were solid sources. Many of the records dealt with the children of Lydia. If a son or daughter of Stephen and Lydia was baptized/christened, it is likely they lived in that location at that time. In the case of Stephen and Lydia, their first two children were born in Derby, Derbyshire, while the other seven children were born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, thus making it evident they moved from Derby to Sheffield in 1805 or 1806.

Lydia, Daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Cockeram baptized 22 Apr 1777

In my research, I saw where Adam and Elizabeth Cockeram had a daughter Lydia who was christened on 22 April 1777. I aso saw that John and Helen Cockeram had a daughter that was christened on 21 March 1778. Look as I may, I could not find any source that would corroborate who the parents of the Lydia that married Stephen Blackhurst were. Are my Lydia’s parents Adam & Elizabeth or are they John and Helen?

Lydia, daughter of John and Helen Cockeram baptized 22 Apr 1778

Next, I went to Ancestry.Com. What did other people’s trees there say. Three of the trees indicated Lydia’s birthday was 12 March 1777 (her Baptism Date). Eight of the trees indicated Lydia’s birthday was 12 March 1775.  I looked very closely at those trees and found none of them had a source indicating that date.  Again, eight of the trees indicated that Lydia was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire (By the way, it was a different 8 trees) and none of the trees had a source for the birthplace, although several had her baptism/christening in Derby, Derbyshire in 1777 as I did.  Finally, all but two had Adam as Lydia’s father and, again, none of them appeared to have a source other than the sources I had for her baptism. I didn’t find any sources that people cited on Ancestry that I hadn’t already found on Family Search.

The bottom line is that I’m confident that Lydia Cockeram, who married Stephen Blackhurst,  was born in Mackworth, Derbyshire, England. She was born before 21 March 1778 and possibly born before 21 April 1777. Her parents are either Adam and Elizabeth (Hewitt) Cockeram or John and Helen Cockeram. From currently known and understood sources, Lydia, the wife of Stephen Blackhurst, parentage and birth date are still in question.

Feeling a brick wall rising, I’ve opened a discussion/collaborate on Family Search on this topic.  See: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/27SC-YWL. Hopefully, someone will have a source record that identifies Lydia’s parents and will let me know about it either here or there. Also, I’ll continue my research. Maybe I’ll find something that will definitively answer the question of Lydia’s parents.

Posted in Brown-Montran | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment