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.
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]
1918 – 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]
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 – 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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fannin is an Irish surname. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name “O Fionnáin” meaning ‘descendant of Fionnán’, a diminutive of Finn.[i] Forebears suggests it means “Descendant of the little, blond man; grandson of little Fionn (fair).”[ii]
Geographical
According to Ancestry, during the 1880 Census fully 1/3 of all Fannin families lived in Kentucky, which is where my only known Fannin ancestor, Eliza Jane Fannin, was born about 1860.
My Earliest Fannin Ancestors
Eliza Jane Fannin is my only known Fannin. The 1880 Census indicates she was 19 years old indicating birth between June 1860 and May 1861. She was the wife of John William Manning and they had one daughter, Mary, living with them in Pine Grove, Rowan County, Kentucky. According to oral history, she died in December 1882.
Further Fannin Research
I have been unsuccessful finding clear evidence of Eliza Jane Fannin’s ancestors through normal research methods. However, recently a DNA connection has been found who has Fannin ancestors in Kentucky in the 1860s.
My Direct Fannin Ancestors
#27 – Eliza Jane Fannin (1861-1882) – Generation 5
I have no proven Fannin cousins; however, I have encountered DNA evidence of possible Fannin relatives.
My records have 499 direct descendants of Eliza Jane identified over eight generations, which is 19% of my known Brown/Montran family line.
Today (2014) there are some 8,442 individuals with 7,158 in the United States with the Fannin surname.[iii]
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.
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.
