DNA – Glennis’ Paternal Search – Part 10

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Don Taylor

Following Morgan/Morgan (Nathan & John)
By Don Taylor

My half-sister Glennis is a DNA match on Ancestry.Com with several individuals who have common ancestors with Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan. In the search to determine Glennis’ biological father, I am continuing to develop a tree of the descendants of Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan of Pleasants County, West Virginia. This time I look at Nathan Spencer Morgan and John A. Morgan. They are the seventh and eighth of twelve children to be examined.

Francis and Fannie (McGregor) Morgan’s 12 children

Child Children Notes/comments
Clara M Morgan Gail Hemsworth
Naomi Hemsworth		 Married Everett Luzader

Married Earl Deem
Henry Clifford Morgan None. Died at age 15.
Lewis V. P. Morgan Lula Edna Morgan
Opal Jean Morgan		 Died at age 2.

Married William Davis
Rosa Virginia Morgan Carrie Vernice May

Clara Bernice May

Mary Fannie May

Edna Marie May

Roy Harold May

 Married Pearl W. Dutton

Married Hezekiah Martin Morrison

Married Floyd T. Williamson

Married Clarence Gorell

Married Della Olive Hooper
Dora D. Morgan None Died at age 2.
Ephraim Stokeley Morgan Helen Virginia Morgan

Ralph W. Morgan

 Married Louis Scott – No  Candidates

Died at age 1
Nathan Spencer Morgan None (Apparently) Married Alice Redding
John A. Morgan Louise

Harold A

Mildred Eloise

Erma Ruth

 Died as Infant.

Married Iris Edith Estep – 3 children.
Married Van Bert Franks – 1 child.
Married Wilbert Clayton Bauer – No children.
Sarah D Morgan
Unnamed Morgan
Orien E. Morgan
James Cyrus Morgan

 

Nathan Spencer Morgan was born on 1 August 1865 in McKim Creek, Pleasants County, West Virginia. He shows living with his parents, Francis Marion and Fanny R. Morgan during the 1870 and 1880 Census records.

Nathan married Alice M Redding in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska on 27 December 1890. He was 25 years old and Alice was 20 years old.

He appears to be living in the Yankee Hill Precinct of Lincoln in 1893.

Nathan died on 8 January 1898 and was buried at Yankee Hill Cemetery, Section 3, Lot 185, Space 6, in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska.

I have been unsuccessful finding any records showing any children of Nathan and Alice Morgan – Born 4 Jun 1876, Died 7 Feb 1879 – No issue. Alice appears to have been a domestic during the 1899 directory and clearly is listed in the 1900 city directory; however, I have been unable to find Alice in the 1900 city directory nor any record of her remarrying.

Note: There was an Irene Morgan, age 10, who was a servant in the household of Daniel G. Sullivan at 1413 B. Street, Lincoln, NE. I considered her a possible child of Nathan and Alice, although she would have been born four months before Nathan and Alice were married. Also, I have been unable to find Irene in any other records other than the 1900 Census.

John A. Morgan – Born 21 March 1867 in Pleasants County, West Virginia.

Married Daisy Wessel. They had four children:

  1.        Louise Morgan – Born 1898 – Died 1898 as an infant
  2.        Harold A. Morgan – Born 27 Sept 1899 Married Daily Wessel
    1.            James Arthur Morgan – Born 1933 in Nebraska – Possible but unlikely.
    2.            Two daughters – Born in the 1930s – Not considered.
  3.        Mildred Eloise Morgan –  Born 1905 – Married Vain Burt Franks 1921
    1.            Kenneth Franks – Born 1922-1923 – Not a Candidate.
    2.            One daughter born in the 1920s – Not considered.
  4.        Erma Ruth Morgan – Born 1906 – Married Wilbert Clayton Bauer in 1943. Not considered.

Criteria:

  • “Candidates” are males born between 1925 and 1935.
  • “Not considered” are females who are unlikely to have had a male child between 1925 and 1935.
  • “Possible but unlikely” are males born between 1925 and 1935, but are not named Paul or Phil, which are the likely names of Glennis’ biological father, or otherwise don’t appear to fit the likely candidate who would have been in Minnesota or Michigan in 1953. I will revisit these possibilities later of this project fails to find a potential candidate.

Follow-up

  • Research Irene Morgan if and determine if she was a child of Nathan and Alice or died without children. Low priority.
  • Follow-up with James Arthur Morgan – Born 1933 in Nebraska if necessary. He is “Possible but unlikely.”

Sources:

  • Find A Grave: database and images (https://www.findagrave.com accessed 31 December 2017), memorial page for Nathan Spencer Morgan (1 Aug 1865–8 Jan 1898), Find A Grave Memorial no. 129565657, citing Yankee Hill Cemetery, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Joe & Linda (Ashley) Conroy (contributor 47095445).
  • Nebraska, Marriage Records, 1855-1908, Ancestry, Spencer Morgan & Alice M. Redding 0 27 Dec 1890. https://search.ancestry.com/collections/61335/records/169203.
  • S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1893 – Page 50 – Spencer Morgan. Source Information. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Original sources vary according to the directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information. https://search.ancestry.com/collections/2469/records/1086701573.
  • West Virginia Births, 1853-1930, Family Search, Nathan S Morgan – Aug 1, 1865. “West Virginia Births, 1853-1930,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NM7C-F38 : 4 December 2014), Nathan S Morgan, 1865; citing Pleasants, West Virginia, United States, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 868,170. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NM7C-F38.
  • Family Search Tree, Family Search, John Albert Morgan – 1867-1931. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KZ2H-Y3L.
  • Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Francis Marion Morgan – Memorial 34026151. See File: Francis Marion Morgan (1840 – 1922) – Find A Grave Memorial.pdf. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34026151.

Posted in Peterson Paternity | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Oil City Opera House – 15 March 1920 – “Chin Chin”

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Don Taylor

Donna Montran and “Chin Chin” play at the Oil City Opera House in Oil City, Pennsylvania on 15 March 1920

We know that “Chin-Chin” played at the Franklin Opera House in Franklin, PA, on March 12th.  Certainly, the troupe played somewhere Saturday and Sunday, the 13th and 14th, but I have not discovered where—Yet.

Preshow Advertising appears to have begun on March 10th with a standard “Announcement to the Public” about the show coming. The same announcement ran on March 11th. There was also an “Amusements Ad” which spoke about Charles Dillingham and his previous successes and about some of the music in the show. That ad ran again on March 12th. There is no mention of Donna nor her role in the show.[i]

On the 12th ran a common “girls ad” for the show (See above.) and on the 13th a different advertisement ran. There was no Sunday paper for the News-Herald. The show may have sold out before Monday the 15th because there were no ads in the Monday paper.

I have not found any reviews or post-show information on this presentation.

Oil City Opera House

The Oil City Opera House is one of the few theaters that do not appear to have made the transition into film. It is not listed in any of the theater guides I have found. The Julius Cahn Gus Hill Theatrical Guide for 1913-1914 reports that the Oil City Opera House seated 1,023 people – 389 on the lower floor, 302 in the Balcony, 300 in the Gallery, and 32 in the box seats. The stage was 32 ¼ x 24 feet.[ii]

The Julius Cahn guild mentions that there were two newspapers, in Oil City, first the Blizzard with a circulation of 3,000 and the “Derrick” with a circulation of 6,075. I have not found either of them available online. The newspaper articles and advertising I have found are from the “News-Herald” in Franklin, PA, which is about 8 miles away.

The Oil City Opera House was first built in 1872 at the head of Center street. It burned in February 1884. In the summer of 1885, several businessmen purchased the site and began construction of a new opera house. The site again burned during the 1890s.[iii] I’m not sure what would be considered “the head of Center Street.” But based on my guess, today it currently appears to be the site of an old (1940s?), abandoned bank building and a parking lot. 

Endnotes

[i] The News-Herald (Franklin, Pennsylvania) · Wed, Mar 10, 1920, · Page 10, via Newspapers.com.
[ii] The Julius Cahn Gus Hill Theatrical Guide for 1913-1914, Page 589.
[iii] Babcock, Charles A. 1919. Venango County, Pennsylvania: her pioneers and people. Volume I. Via Google Books – https://goo.gl/3Mx8na

Posted in 1919-20 - Chin Chin | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Donna Darling Collection – Part 21

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Don Taylor

Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.The Burns Theatre, Colorado Springs, CO

For Treasure Chest Thursday, I looked at three clippings from the Donna Darling Collection which mention The Burns Theater. I love it when there are handwritten notes with photos and Donna’s notes made analyzing these clippings quite easy. One clipping mentions “Colorado Springs” and the other says Barnes Theatre – Colo. Springs Sept 17-18.

 

 

I have cropped, edited, and sized these images for the web.

Key features:

  • The venue is the Barnes Theatre, Colorado Springs, Co. The theatre was part of the Western Vaudeville Managers’ Association.
  • The show is the “Donna Darling Revue with Sammy Clark”
  • Seven other acts were on the bill and also had three shows daily.
    • Billy Curtis and Lou Lawrence in “Is That The Custom?”
    • Bozo Fox & Company – Vaudeville’s Latest Surprise
    • Morrell and Blynor – Beauty, Grace, Speed
    • Nick Pallizi – The Wizard of the Accordeon [sic]
    • O’Brien Sisters and Mack – Bits of Musical Comedy Hits
    • Princess Winona – Indian Prima Donna
    • Zuhn and Dreis – Dementus Americanos Habitat North America

Analysis

From other research, I know that the “Donna Darling Review [sic] with Sammy Clark” was a 1926 show.  On September 7th, 1926, the show played in Alton, IL and on October 9, 1926, the show played in Santa Ana, California so its playing in Colorado Springs on September 17 and 18 makes sense.

Conclusion

Sept 17, 18, 1926 – Colorado Springs, CO – Burns Theatre – Donna Darling Review

Note:

Donna played at the Burns Theater previously during her Chin Chin performances.  See: Donna in Colorado Springs, CO, November 19, 1919, at the Burns Theatre.

Posted in Donna Darling Revue, Treasure Chest | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Donna in New York – April 1918

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Don Taylor

Donna was still in Boston in January, 1918 (See: “Boston Sunday Post – Play With Dolls To Banish Fatigue?”). She appears to have left for New York immediately after that because she “Began appearing on the “United Time” with Arthur Daly in February. What she did in March is unknown, but in April she “began to form an act” with George Kennier.

The New York Clipper for April 10, 1918 reported that:

MONTRAN AND KENNIER UNITE

Dinna Montran, of musical comedy fame, and George Kennier, principal with “Very Good Eddie” have framed a singing and dancing act for the Moss and Loew Circuits.

The following week, the Clipper reported that:

George Kennier and Dinna Montran will put on a new singing and dancing act within the near future.

Search as I have, I cannot find any mention of George Kennier other than these two mentions. Even an advertisement for “Very Good Eddie” which opened in December 1915 in Buffalo, NY doesn’t mention him, but it does mention 27 other cast members in that show. Additionally, these two entries in the Clipper are the only two places I’ve encountered “Dinna.”  I would have wondered if this were actually Donna, except Montran is such an unusual name and I know that Donna was in New York in February.

We don’t know if this show ever materialized. I have been unsuccessful finding Donna again until October when she is in Decatur, Illinois.

Sources:

  • New York Clipper – 10 April 1918, Page 6 (VAUDEVILLE), “Montran and Kennier Unite”
  • New York Clipper – 17 April 1918, Page 19 (ABOUT YOU! AND YOU!! AND YOU!!!) Column 2.

 

Posted in Donna Montran, Vaudeville | Leave a comment

Ancestor Bio – Malinda Evans (1829-1903)

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Don Taylor

Roberts/Barnes/Lister/Evans Line
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.I hate using circumstantial evidence to determine parents, but sometimes there are no documents that identify a person’s parents. The best you can do is explain why your circumstantial evidence seems sufficient. I have tried determining the parents of my second great-grandmother, Malinda Evans and have been unsuccessful. Malinda was listed in the household of her husband, Nimrod Lister during the 1880 Census.[i] It lists her age as 51, born in Ohio, her father was born in Maryland, and her mother was born in Delaware. Malinda and Nimrod married in 1854 in Pickaway County, Ohio, and Malinda shows in Nimrod’s household during the 1860 and 1870 Census records.

The 1850 census does not provide relationship information, so finding Malinda in the 1850 Census only provides circumstantial evidence of her lineage. I was able to find 21-year-old Malinda Eavans [sic] in the 1850 Census living with Samuel and Lane M. Eavans. The 1850 Census does show that Samuel was born in Maryland and that Lane was born in Delaware, just as the 1880 Census suggested I should find. For me, that circumstantial evidence is sufficient for me to tentatively associate Samuel and Lane as Malinda’s parents. Of course, I will add a note that the parent is speculative based upon the 1850 Census, but I will continue using that relationship until I find something that confirms the relationship or disproves her parentage.

Research Family 2017 – Ancestor #23

List of Grandparents

  • Grandmother: Essie Pansy Barnes (1903-1982)
  • 1st Great-grandmother: Marada Mae Lister (1867-1932)
  • 2nd Great-grandmother: Malinda Evans (1829-c. 1906)
  • 3rd Great-grandfather: Samuel Evans

Malinda Evans Lister (1829-1903)

Malinda Evans was born on January 8, 1829, in Pickaway County, Ohio. She was probably the child of Samuel and Lane M. Evans.

It appears that Malinda had two older sisters, Sarah and Charlotte, born about 1825 and 1827 respectively. She also seems to have had two younger brothers, Meredith and John born about 1833 and 1836 and well as a younger sister, Eliza born about 1840.

Pickaway County was formed in 1810 and its capital, Circleville, was built to conform to a circular prehistoric earthwork. When the Ohio canal reached Circleville in 1831, the circular layout was found to be a hindrance, so local businesses began “squaring the town.”[ii] Malinda grow up during the heyday of the Ohio and Erie Canal which connected Circleville to Akron, Cleveland, and Lake Erie (which was 237 miles away by the canal).[iii]

In 1842, Malinda joined the Methodist Church and remained a faithful member throughout her life.

During the 1850 Census, Malinda and her family lived 17 miles west of Circleville in Perry, Pickaway County, Ohio.[iv]

Marriage

Malinda married Nimrod Lister on 17 March 1854.

Children[v] Born Where
James M. 1853-1855 Ohio
Nancy A. 1855-1857 Ohio
Charles C. 1859 – 1860 Indiana
Eliza J. May 1862 Indiana
Mary Charlotte 1865 Indiana
Marada Alice 22 Feb 1867 Indiana
William Lemuel 15 Aug 1869 Indiana
Sarah F. c. 1872 Indiana

The two children born in Ohio are presumed to have been born in Pickaway County. The six children born in Indiana were all born in Sullivan County, Indiana. The 1900 Census indicates that one of the eight children died before 1900, but I haven’t discovered which one it was, yet (Except it was not Marada nor William.

In 1860, Nimrod and Malinda were living in Turman Township, Sullivan County, Indiana.[vi] Nimrod is a farm laborer and has personal property valued at $30. James is attending school, and Charles had not reached his first birthday before the census was taken.

In 1870, Nimrod owned real property valued at $660 and personal property valued at $349. He is a farmer and Malinda is keeping house for Nimrod, herself, and seven children. Their four oldest children, James, Nancy, Charles, and Eliza are attending school and their next three are too young for school.[vii]

In 1880, Nimrod is still a farmer and Melinda is keeping house.[viii] Twenty-five-year-old James is living with them and working as a huxter. The three youngest children, Marada, William, and Sarah, are also at home and are attending school.

Nimrod died on 7 April 1888 and 1900, and the widow Lister is living with her Daughter Eliza and her son-in-law Albert Hopewell.[ix]

On January 1, 1902, the Sullivan Union reported that Malinda was very sick at her daughter’s Mrs. Joel Barnes’ home. [x]

Malinda died on 24 April 1903 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Albert (Eliza) Hopewell in Sullivan County, Indiana. Her burial location is unknown.[xi]

ENDNOTES

[i] 1880 Census (FS), Nimrod Lister – Indiana, Sullivan, Gill Township, ED 329, Page 5, Line 18. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHSF-ZKC.

[ii] Internet: Pickaway County Visitor’s Bureau – About – Pickaway County History https://pickaway.com/pickaway-county-history/

[iii] Internet: Wikipedia – Ohio and Erie Canal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_and_Erie_Canal

[iv] 1850 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, 1850 Census – Samuel Eavanz (Evans) – Perry, Pickaway, Ohio. “United States Census, 1850,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQY-XTW : 12 April 2016), Samuel Eavanz, Perry, Pickaway, Ohio, United States; citing family 71, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQY-XTW.

[v] Malinda (Evans) Lister’s obituary indicates that she had nine children, six of whom were living. The 1900 Census Indicates that Malinda had 8 children, 7 of whom were living. I believe the 8 children is the accurate number. I have seen no other evidence of a 9th child.

[vi] 1860 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, 1860 Census – Nimrod Lustre [Lister] – Turman Township, Sullivan, Indiana – Page 140, Line 36. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4NV-DFM.

[vii] 1870 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, 1870 – Nimrod Lister – Indiana, Sullivan, Turman, Page 12, Line 24. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX6Z-4N3.

[viii] 1880 Census (FS), Nimrod Lister – Indiana, Sullivan, Gill Township, ED 329, Page 5, Line 18. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHSF-ZKC.

[ix] 1900 Census (FS), Family Search, Albert Hopewell – Turman, Sullivan, Indiana. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M994-JHX.

[x] January 1, 1902 – Sullivan Union – Sullivan, Indiana.

[xi] Sullivan Democrat, Newspaper Archives, 1903-05-07 – Page 10, Column 3, Deaths – Malinda Lister. https://newspaperarchive.com/sullivan-democrat-may-07-1903-p-10/.

Posted in Roberts-Barnes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment