My Best of 2016 & Expectations for 2017

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Don Taylor

Happy New Year - 2017

Happy New Year – 2017

My Best of 2016

I changed my blogging platform during 2016. Switching from Blogger to WordPress was a challenge and switching from blog.dtaylorgenealogy.com to www.dontaylorgenealogy.com was even worse.  My former domain, dtaylorgenealogy.com was supposed to redirect to the new domain, but it never worked reliably.  I don’t know why. Eventually, I just let the old domain lapse. Anyway, because of the changes, statistics are not available in one place but rather are spread between the two like apple butter and orange marmalade. Both are good on toast but don’t go together at all.

WordPress

As I mentioned, in September I switched to WordPress from Blogger. It has taken much longer to rebuild my direct following then I expected. I still have more “followers” via Blogger than I do via WordPress. As I am no longer posting to the Blogger site, anyone subscribing to via Blogger should subscribe using WordPress using the widget Right Column – Top instead. Actually, if you want to follow my genealogy blog, that is the best place to do so.  Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter are nearly as reliable to follow with.

Looking at the site statistics on the WordPress site, interestingly, the number one posting in views is a 2013 article regarding the McAllister Murder – Murder Suspect and Wife – Jan 20th. [Darling Research]

My number 1 article from 2016 is an April article posted on the Blogger site and moved to the WordPress site regarding the MGS Spring Workshop. [Reviews]

Finally, the number one posting since I made the switch to WordPress is about the Birth Record of Patience A. Roberts. [Roberts Research]

Google Search is, by far, the most common referrer to my site. FaceBook is a distant second.

Blogger

The review of Family Tree Maker Mac 3 that I did in 2013 is still, by far, my most read posting on Blogger. [Reviews]

My most viewed family history posting on Blogger was an article about my William Price (1782-1846). [Howell Research]

Finally, my most read Blogger post, and my most read posting of 2016 was Compulsive Searching – Bert Allen Roberts (1903-1949).  That is an article about my excitement regarding researching my grandfather, show name I only determined a few weeks before.[Roberts Research]

Again, Google was the most common referrer to my site, and Facebook a second. Ow.ly was the third most common referrer. I post links to my site to Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter using HootSuite which uses ow.ly as the URL to shorten the link.

I think the most interesting posting I have done during the past year are was Compulsive Searching – Bert Allen Roberts (1903-1949). [Roberts Research]

2017 – The Future

Certainly, my five major research lines will take the majority of my effort.  These are my ancestors on the Brown and Roberts lines and my wife ancestral lines of Darling and Howell.  Also, the vaudeville career of my grandmother, Donna Montran, will be a major thread in my activities.  I’ll probably drop activity regarding the “Great War” as a major category and move it under “Other.”

My volunteer work at the Scarborough Historical Society has been growing.  I’ve developed a website for them and expect that I’ll post quite a lot there. Check it out at scarboroughhistoricalsociety.org.  I suspect that much of my work that I post there I will cross post here. So, look for SHS as a new major topic on my Blog.

I am also involved with the Maine Genealogical Society and the Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society. I anticipate that I will be posting content regarding them, their activities, and my participation in those activities.

I have several projects that I am working on. I expect to continue working on many of them and posting about them.  I may break active projects out of “Other” into its own category.

DNA – Genetic Genealogy is a really important part of my research. It has provided clues to determining my biological father. It has also provided the starting point for connections to cousins I might otherwise have never gotten to know. I also have a significant project to learn the biological father of my half-sister Glennis.  I think I am zeroing in on potential candidates. This is a very exciting project for both Glennis and me.

Finally, I still have my food and travel blog, D. Taylor’s Food and Travel. I don’t spend a lot of energy on it, but you might find it interesting.

My blogs are:

Blogs I maintain for others:

Please let me know what you would like me to focus upon on my blog posting activities.  Are there specific areas you would like me to focus upon?  If so, please let me know.  Are there any of my posts that you found to be particularly interesting? Please use the comments form below. If you do not want your comments made public, please add “Please do not publish” to the first line of text in your message.

————-Disclaimer————-

 

Posted in Brown, DNA, Howell, Projects, Reviews, Roberts, Scarborough Historical Society and Museum | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Surname Saturday – Chamberlin

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Don Taylor

 

The Chamberlin surname derives from an official title, “the chamberlain,” literally one who takes care of a chamber. The chamberlain often had charge of his lord’s receipts and payments.[i] Chamberlin is an English variant of Chamberlain.

My one known ancestor with the surname Chamberlin is fourth great-grandmother Almira Chamberlin, She married Ezra Sanford about 1819. She was born on 21 August 1804 in Bennington County, Vermont.[ii]

Map - Chamberlin Distribution in 1840 Census

The 1840 Census indicated the greatest number of households with the Chamberlin surname were in Vermont with 122 families[iii]. New York State had 115 Chamberlin families in 1840 as well. The 1810 Census, the first census after Almira’s birth, indicated there were 74 families in Vermont with the Chamberlin surname.

My Earliest Ancestors

Further research showed that only one family lived in Bennington County during the 1810 Census with the surname of Chamberlain. That was Benjamin Chamberlain. His household consisted of a woman over 45 (presumed to be his wife), one girl from 16 to 25, two boys from 10 to 15, and a female under 10, who could easily be our Almira. My initial presumption is that these were the children of Benjamin and his wife, although more research is needed to confirm this.

Almira Chamberlin married Ezra Sanford (1792-1855) in 1819. They had nine children. Their second child, William (1822-11915) is my 3rd great grandfather.

Death

Marker: Almira (Chamberlin) Sanford

Marker: Almira (Chamberlin) Sanford in Saline, MI
Source: Find a Grave

Almira (Chamberlin) Sanford died July 7, 1845, and is buried in Benton Cemetery, Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan.[iv]

My Direct Chamberlin Ancestors 

  • #202 – Benj. Chamberlain (Conjecture based on 1810 Census.)
  • #101 – Almira Chamberlin (1804-1845) – Generation 7
  • #50 – William M Sanford (1822-1915) – Generation 6
  • #25 – Marion Sanford (c. 1846-?) – Generation 5
  • #12 – Arthur Durwood Brown (1869-1928) – Generation 4
  • #6 – Richard Earl Brown (1903-1990) – Generation 3
  • #3 – My mother – Generation 2
  • #1 – Me – Generation 1

My known relatives.

My records have 359 direct-line descendants identified over ten generations, which is 6% of my known Roberts/Brown Ancestors.

ENDNOTES

[i] https://forebears.io/surnames/chamberlin

[ii] Google Books: Pioneer Society of Washtenaw County (Mich.), History of Washtenaw County, Michigan, pages 1408 and 1409.

[iii] Ancestry.com https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Chamberlin

[iv] Find a Grave: Memorial #54063730 – Almira Sanford – https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54063730

 

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Samuel Vaden Scott – A Man of Two Families

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Don Taylor

Roberts-Brown-2016 Research

Roberts/Scott Line
By Don Taylor

Samuel Vaden Scott c. 1902 - From the Chris H. Bailey family photo collection.

Samuel Vaden Scott c. 1902

Samuel Vaden Scott was married twice. The first time with Amanda Jane Haley.  He and Amanda had four children. Amanda died in 1889 and Samuel remarried. The original children seemed to scatter and Samuel and new wife Luvenia had five children. There isn’t any evidence that the children of the first marriage ever interacted with the children of the second marriage.

RB-18 – Samuel Vaden Scott (1860-1931)

Again, I find that creating a table showing the various records which speak of an individual’s birth can bring clarity out of conflicting records. I think this is particularly important when other researchers suggest conflicting dates for an individual’s birth.

Records indicating birth year of Samuel Vaden Scott

Record Comments Year Suggested
1870 Census Age 9 1860
1879 Marriage Index Age 18 1860
1880 Census Age 19 1860
1900 Census Nov 1860 1860
1910 Census Age 38 1861
1920 Census Age 57 1864
1931 Find a Grave 1862 1862
1931 Ill. Deaths Index Age 67 1864

It is a clear case where the early records provide consistent birth information; however, Samuel became younger as he aged.

It is not clear how many siblings Samuel grew up with. He had a sister, Viola, one year older, and had two brothers, Francis and William, who were ten and 11 years younger respectively. I need to do more research to determine if there were other siblings, so far unknown.

Samuel was born in Franklin County, Illinois. At age 9, the family lived in Freeburg, Saint Clair County, Illinois. The family consisted of his parents, William and Emily Scott, his older sister, Viola, and his infant brother, Francis.

Samuel married Amanda Jane Haley on 24 May 1879.  And their daughter, Clara was born seven months later, in December 1879. (They say the first child can come anytime, the rest take nine months.)

1880 Census - Samuel & Amanda Scott

Crop of 1880 Census – Samuel & Amanda Scott

The 1880 Census records the family living in Barren, Franklin County, Illinois. Samuel is a farmer and his wife is keeping house. Daughter Clara is present and shown to have been born in December. Interestingly, Amanda’s entry indicates that her age is 19-2/12.  I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the months entered for a person that old. That age is consistent with other records which indicate Amanda was born in March, 1861.

In February 1883, their second daughter Clora was born.  Their having daughters named Clara and Clora has made my research more difficult because a handwritten “a” and a handwritten “o” can look much alike, particularly when followed by an “r”.

Amanda died in 1889. More research is needed to understand her death at only 27 years of age.

On Christmas Day 1892, Samuel Vaden Scott married the widow Lavina (Allmend) Shockley; Lavina had had two children with her first husband. One child is unknown, the other was, I believe, Alma Gertrude Shockley.  Gertrude, as she was known, adopted the surname Scott.

Sam and Lavina had five children,

Child Birth Marriage Death
Elmer W.[1] April 1894 1916 – Age 22
Amanda July 1897 1897 – Age 3 mos
Lillie Ellen Dec 1900 m. Jesse Wilkerson 1978 – Age 77
Flossie Ann Sep 1904 1909 – Age 5
William Edward Feb 1908 m. Birdie Guitar Unk.

Elmer, Amanda, Lillie, Flossie, and William.  It is unusual that their first girl of Sam and Lavina was named Amanda, the same first name as Samuel’s deceased first wife.

Lavina, Lillie (on lap), Gertie, Elmer, Samuel V. Scott c. 1902

Lavina, Lillie (on lap), Gertie, Elmer, Samuel V. Scott c. 1902
From the Chris H. Bailey family photo collection.

We may never know if it was the death of Amanda that sent the family moving west but, by 1900 the family had located 110 miles west to St. Francois Township, St. Francois County, Missouri. Besides Sam and Luvina (Lavina) and their children (Gertrude is identified as Samuel’s daughter, not his step-daughter as I believe she was) are two boarders, Robert Montgomery and Clarence Williams.

The 1910 Census finds the family had moved 30 miles east to Sainte Genevieve Township, Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri. The family, Samuel and Livina (Lavina), included four children, Gertrude, Elmer, Lillian and Edward. Flossie Ann was  born and had died during the previous decade. Samuel was still a farm hand and they were renting a house (not a farm).

The 1920 Census found the family had returned to Franklin County, Illinois. Now to Goode Township. Only William was still with Sam and Lavina. Elmer died in 1916; I presume that Lillie had married Jessie Wilkerson.

Search Military Records - Fold3By 1930, Sam and Luvina had returned to  Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri.  They were living in Union Township (not to be confused with Union, Missouri).

Samuel Vaden Scott died of liver cancer on 28 July 1931 at the home of his son, William Edward Scott in Goode Township, Franklin County, Illinois.  He was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser, Franklin County, Illinois.  He was survived by his wife, Lavina; three daughters, Clara Maybelle (Scott) Mooneyham, Clora Dell (Scott) Roberts Adams, and Lillie Ellen (Scott) Wilkerson; a son, William Edward Scott.

Further Actions / Follow-up

  • Research the period between Samuel’s birth and the birth of Francis.
  • Research Amanda’s (the child) death closer.

List of Grandparents

  • #4 – Grandfather: Bert Allen Roberts
  • #9 – 1st Great-grandmother: Clora Dell Scott
  • #18 – 2nd Great-grandfather: Samuel Vaden Scott
  • #36 – 3rd Great-grandfather: William Hunter Scott

————-DISCLAIMER————-

Sources

  1. Family Search: 1870 Census – Willim [William] Scott – Freeburg, St. Clair County, Illinois, Page 18, Line 30-34. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6WN-2W2
  2. Family Search: 1880 Census – Samuel Scott – Illinois, Franklin, Barren, ED 11, Page 8, Line 10 – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXJN-MBL
  3. Family Search: 1900 Census – Samuel Scott – Missouri, Saint Francois County, Saint Francois Township, ED98, Sheet 19A, Line 35 – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M38N-FCP
  4. Ancestry.Com: 1910 Census – Samuel V Scott – Sainte Genevieve Township, Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri – ED 137, Sheet 16A, Lines 5-10.
  5. Ancestry.Com: 1920 Census – Sam Scott – Goode, Franklin, Illinois –  ED 40, Page 34B, Line 92-94.
  6. Ancestry.Com: 1930 Census – Samuel Scott – Union, Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, ED 0009, Page 4B, Lines 72-73.
  7. Bailey, Chris H. File: “The Samuel Vaden Scott Family” – Samuel Vaden Scott – 1 – (Contact information provided upon request.)
  8. Find a Grave: Memorial# 110524184 – Samuel V. Scott
  9. Family Search: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 – Samuel Scott (1864-1931) – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3WJ-YLL
  10. Family Search: Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934 – Samuel V. Scott – Amanda J. Haley – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFK4-RF1
  11. Chris H. Bailey Photo Collection.

Endnotes

[1] Some researchers suggest his name was Elmer Daniel Scott rather than Elmer W. Scott as indicated in the 1900 Census.

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Patience A. Roberts – Birth Record

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Don Taylor

Amanuensis Monday

From the Pension Files of Asa Roberts

Transcription by Don Taylor 12/26/2016

STSTE [sic] OF ILLINOIS}

COUNTY OF FRANKLIN}

I PATIENCE A. ROBERTS (, OF SESSER, FRANKLIN COUNTY STATE OF ILLINOIS BEING DULY SWORN DOTH DEPOSE AND SAY, THAT THE FAMILY RECORD PRESENTED IS A RECORD OF MY OWN BIRTH AS KEPT BY MY FAMILY IN THE FAMILY BIBLE. AND FURTHER THIS DEPONENT SAYETH NOT.

Her

    Patience  A + Roberts

          Mark

WITNESS TO MARK

F. P. Scott

Subscribed and sworn to before me the 12th day of July 1917.

James M. McColson 

Notary Republic

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that the above mentioned Patience A. Roberts appeared before me this day in person and testified to the above affidavit and presented the family record, and I do hereby certify that such record appeared clear and without blemishes, erasures or alterations whatever and the date of birth given as follows: Patience Marchel (Patience A. Roberts) was born in Jefferson County, Illinois December 30th. 1845.

James M. McCollson

Subscribed and sworn to before me this the 13th day of July 1917.

J. L. Cross J P

Affidavit showing birth of Patience A Marchel (Marshall)

 

I find it interesting that this document uses a spelling of Marshall that I haven’t used in my searches before (Marchel).

Posted in Amanuensis Monday, Roberts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The 1900 Census and Samuel Vaden Scott

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Don Taylor

Census Sunday

Roberts-Brown Research
Scott/Roberts Line

The 1900 US Federal Census Record is often a Treasure Trove of information.  It provides a unique set of information including month and year of birth as well as the number of children a woman has had and how many of her children are still living.  It can also provide clues to other items of interest.  The 1900 Census record showing Samuel Scott and family is such a record, confusing and confounding.

1900 Census showing Samuel Scott and family

1900 Census showing Samuel Scott and family

Per the 1900 Census, Samuel and Luvina had been married for 6 years, suggesting they were married in 1893 or 1894. However, the Illinois County Marriages index indicates that Samuel and Lavinia married on 25 Dec 1892 indicating they had been married 7 years and not 6. I can live with that difference.

More interesting is that the Census indicates that Luvina had had three children, two of whom were still living. Then I noticed the interesting bit.  Per the census, Samuel’s son William was born four months before his son Elmer (Dec 1893 then Apr 1894). Yikes!

Another researcher that I trust indicated that Samuel and Lavinia had a daughter, Amanda, who was born and died in 1897, that fit the child that the census indicated was dead.

Either Elmer or William must be one of Lavinia’s living children, but which one?  I can’t believe she gave birth to two children, four months apart. I have ascribed Lavinia as Elmer’s mother, so I’m leaving that in place for now.  But the question is, who is William H Scott, son of Samuel Vaden Scott; who is his mother? (Amanda Jane Haley died in 1889 so can’t be William H.’s mother. Very confusing. Was there another wife?  Is the Census record wrong?

Continuing, if Elmer or William is Luvenia’s child, then it would appear that Gertrude was Lavinia’s other living child.  But, Gertrude was born in March of 1892, before Samuel and Luvenia were married. If that is the case, Gertrude must be from her previous marriage.

Samuel Vaden Scott c. 1902 - From the Chris H. Bailey family photo collection.

Samuel Vaden Scott c. 1902

What I gleaned from the 1900 Census.

  • Samuel was born Nov 1860
  • Luvenia was born Jan 1862
  • Gertrude was born Mar 1892, probably the daughter of Luvina and William Shockley.
  • Elmer W was born Apr 1894, probably the son of Samuel and Luvina.
  • William H was born Dec 1893, probably the son of Samuel and Unknown.

There are other bits and pieces that the 1900 Census provides.  For example, Samuel’s mother may have been born in Kentucky, different from some other records. None of the three children were attending school (although Gertrude was 8), and Samuel was a farm laborer renting a house (not a farm).

I never look at one Census as absolutely correct, however, the census can provide areas for further inquiry and suggest possibilities which may not otherwise be evident.

I’m still looking.  Maybe other census or other records I find will provide clarity into the parentage of these three children.

List of Grands

  • Grandfather Bert Allen Roberts
  • Great-Grandmother:  Clora Dell Scott
  • 2nd Great-Grandfather: Samuel Vaden Scott
  • 3rd Great-Grandfather: William Hunter Scott.

Further actions:

  • Track and Trace Samuel Vaden Scott through the other Census records.

————- Disclaimer ————-

Sources:

Family Search:  1900 Census – Samuel Scott – Missouri, Saint Francois County,  Saint Francois Township, ED98 – Sheet 19A, Line 35-39.

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