James Ashley Hobbs (1843-1920)

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Don Taylor

James Ashley Hobbs (1843-1920)

James Ashley Hobbs was probably born in October 1843.  The 1850 and 1870 Censuses indicate he was 6
and 26 at the times of the two censuses. The 1880 and 1910 censuses infer that
his was born in 1844 and the 1900 Census clearly indicates he was born October
1844. Additionally, when James enlisted in the CSA in December of 1862 he
indicated his age was 20, suggesting an 1842 birth year. Because the 1850 and
1870 censuses are closer to the event, I believe that 1843 is more likely
correct. Martin County Heritage does
suggest James Ashley Hobbs was born in 1841, however the entry includes a
question mark, does not cite sources, and is not corroborated by any other
sources. Because of that, I discount the birthdate in Martin County Heritage.

All entries are consistent with his being born in North
Carolina. In 1840, his parents were living in Beaufort County, North Carolina[1]; in
1850, he and his parents were living in Martin County, North Carolina[2]. Therefore,
it isn’t clear exactly where in North Carolina he was born.
James was the sixth child of eight children born to George
W. and M. Hobbs, although it appears that two of his older siblings died before
he was born.

Civil War Service – CSA

North Carolina Civil War Flag
James enlisted in the 41st Regiment (Cavalry) sometime
before October 1862 when he transferred to Company G[3].  In September, 1963, he transferred to the 17th
Regiment – NC Troops (2nd Organization) Company A – Roanoke Guards[4]. In
December, 1963, he was admitted to Hospital No. 4. In Wilmington, South
Carolina. He was there until 3 February 1864, when he was returned to duty in
Hamilton, Martin County, North Carolina[5]. We
also know he was issued clothing on 21 June 1864[6].
After the war, James married Annie Deborah Long on 16 May
1866 in Hamilton, Martin County, North Carolina[7]. The
young family located to Temperance, Amherst County, Virginia where their first
three children, Charles Leon, George Samuel, and Annie Elizabeth were
born.  Then about 1873 they moved back to
North Carolina and lived in Palmyra, Halifax County where James was a merchant.
While in Palmyra, daughters Mattie D. and Mary Emolyn (Emily) were born[8]. 
About 1878 the family moved back to Martin County and lived
in Hamilton where James was a Farmer, carpenter, & captain on a steam boat
on the Roanoke River. 1878 also saw the birth of their sixth child, Roland
Rivers Hobbs.
Sometime before 1880 they lost their second child, George.
1881, 1883, and 1885 saw the births of three more children, James Floyd, Fanny,
and Mary Lillian Hobbs.[9]

In 1890, their oldest daughter, 18 year-old Annie Elizabeth
Hobbs married Frank Alton Armstrong. Sometime before 1896 two of their
daughters, Mattie and Mary Emolyn, died. While living in Hamilton, James was a
member of the Masons and attended the Methodist Church[10].
Martin County Courthouse, Williamston, North Carolina
Photo by J. Stephen Conn
James Ashley Hobbs was Clerk of Court from 1896 until 1914
In 1896, James was elected Clerk of Court for the Superior
Court of Martin County, North Carolina and the family moved to Williamston and
rented a house on Main Street. Clerk of Court is a prestigious position and one
he held until 1914[11].
In 1903 his daughter Fannie died[12].
In 1910, his daughter Mary Lillian Hobbs married James
Dallas Howell[13].
In 1913, his wife of 47 years passed away[14].
James was said to be a quiet person, he raised a fine
garden, and kept the place in first class shape. He read to his grandchildren
the continued stories in the “Youth’s Companion” and “Comfort.”[15]
James continued living in Williamston until his death in
1920. He died while in Hobgood, Halifax County, North Carolina. Both he and his
wife are buried in the cemetery in Hamilton.[16]

Namesakes:

James Ashley Hobbs had a grandson (daughter Mary Lillian
Hobbs Howell’s) son name Ashley.

He also had a great-grandson, (Son – James Floyd Hobbs’ son
– James Floyd Hobbs’, son – James Ashley Hobbs) named after him.

Further Actions:

Find James Ashley Hobbs in the 1860 Census. (unsuccessful
in Ancestry.Com and Family Search.com)
Further research James Ashley Hobbs’s contribution
to the Civil War and the actions of his companies. (Lots of things on Fold 3 to
access.)
Find, document, and photograph James and Annie’s burial
location. (Not seeing on Find-a-Grave) 

List of Greats

1.    James Ashley
Hobbs
2.    
George W.
Hobbs

[1] 1840 Census, Ancestry.com, 1840; Washington, Beaufort, North
Carolina; Roll: 355; Page: 268; Image: 546; Family History Library Film:
0018092
[2] 1850 Census, Ancestry.com, Year: 1850; Census Place: Martin,
North Carolina; Roll: M432_636; Page: 403B; Image: 443.
[3] James H. McCallum,
Martin County during the Civil War: 
Including a Roster of Troups from Martin County (:  Martin County Historical Society, 1971), Page
151
[4] James H. McCallum,
Martin County during the Civil War: 
Including a Roster of Troups from Martin County (:  Martin County Historical Society, 1971), Page
162-163
[5] Hughes, S. J. N.,
& Martin County Historical Society (N.C.), Martin County Heritage
(Williamston, NC, Martin County Historical Society, 1980), Article # 418
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10]
Ibid.
[11] Francis M. Manning
and W. H. Booker, Martin County History – Vol. 1 (Williamston, N.C., Enterprise
Publishing Company, 1977), Page 188-189.
[12] Hughes, S. J. N.,
& Martin County Historical Society (N.C.), Martin County Heritage
(Williamston, NC, Martin County Historical Society, 1980), Article # 418 –
James Ashley Hobbs
[13] North Carolina,
Marriages, 1759-1979, Family Search, J. D. Howell & Mary Lillian Hobbs –
Accessed 2013-12-07. https://familysearch.org/pal:/mm9.1.1/f847-tqy.
[14] Hughes, S. J. N.,
& Martin County Historical Society (N.C.), Martin County Heritage
(Williamston, NC, Martin County Historical Society, 1980), Article # 418 –
James Ashley Hobbs
[15]
Ibid.
[16]
Ibid.

https://www.onegreatfamily.com
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Genealogical Fun – John & Charlotte Raasch

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Don Taylor
Sometimes you just need to do something fun.  I had a couple really bad days researching
the Darling/Huber (See Brick Wall) line and working on my “Adair Project” without any
successes.  A very frustrating few days
of work, so it was time to do something that would be fun. 
While doing some work previously, I had found a couple
Homestead Claims for my “Raasch Project.” Homestead claims generally have some
really great and important information that you don’t find anywhere else.  In this case, I had two people, who certainly
were related, and each had 80 acres in the same section of land.  Also, these type of documents are great to learn
and gain texture to these people’s lives. 

 

  In reviewing the documents, we learned that Charlotte was a
widow, before May of 1868 and homesteaded land in Dodge County, Nebraska.

In another document in the homestead package we learn much
more about her life in Nebraska.  Her
neighbors, one of whom I’m sure was a relative, and probably her son, swore
that Charlotte had been there for six years and had three children. 
The John Raasch homestead papers indicate that
he had built  a one-story 20×32 house
that had four doors and nine windows.  On
the other hand, the Widow Raasch (Charlotte) had built a 12×14 foot house with
one door and two windows.  Other
documents mention that she had dug a well and had a shed.  It had to have been a harsh life.  Mother and three children in a house very
much like the John Curry House photographed by Solomon D. Butcher made
available by the Nebraska State Historical Society.  I’ve seen “Nebraska Gothic” before and never thought much of it. A couple making do in the Nebraska homestead period.  Now I visualize my friend’s ancestors, widow with three kids at the same kind of house.  I can her mom asking one of the kids to go out to the well to draw
water in the cold, windy, Nebraska winter.
The John Curry house, near West Union, Custer County, Nebraska, 1886
Photo by Solomon D. Butcher. Thanks to the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Partial map of Township 19 North, of Range 7 East
Dodge County, Nebraska
Then it is fun to take an old map of the area and draw in
the plots that John and Charlotte Raasch had. They bordered each other.
Charlotte’s piece was nice, flat and desirable. 
John’s was bisected by the Elk Horn River which surely made farming
impossible on the southern third of his land.
I can tell how genealogically geeky I am because I find
visualizing how people lived and making up maps of where they lived as fun. I
know my friend, for whom I am doing the Raasch Project, appreciates the effort
I am putting in and the documents I am finding. Meanwhile, I’m just enjoying
the fun of finding cool stuff.  

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Brick Wall – Jacob Huber (bef 1860–?)

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Don Taylor
By – Don Taylor

I know that “crossing the pond” can prove frustrating in
genealogical research. Jacob Huber really brings that point home clearly to
me.  I know virtually nothing about
him.  When I first began working on my
wife’s genealogy, I was so happy to learn that her mother had some family
photos of the Hubers from the turn of the previous century (my guess) and, most
excellent, the photos included names on the back. 
“The Huber Family”
“Back of the Huber Family”
Then, when I found John Huber marriage record entry which
names his father, it clearly collaborated what the photos indicated.  I also knew from several records that John
Huber was born in Windlach, Switzerland, I assumed that Jacob lived there. 
I then began my regular process to find information
regarding Jacob.  I found nothing.  In my searching, I found another person
researching the Hubers in Windlach. 
Although his or her Hubers certainly were not the same ones I’ve been
seeking, a response to his post on Ancestry Message Boards suggested ordering
parish records for the Canton through the family history library. 
What a great idea. Maybe there is a hole in the brick wall. I
searched the Family Search catalog and found three entries for Church records in Zurich. Of course, most are in German. 
The first one appeared to cover 1600-1700, outside of my search area.
The second one related to Immigrants in 1859 — Also outside of my search area. But, the third one “Die
Pfarrbücher der Züricher Landschaft als bevölkerungsgeschichtliche und
chronikalische Quelle”– what might that be?  Thanks to Google Translate, I learned it means, “The parish registers of
Zurich’s landscape as historical population and chronical source”  Perfect.  Could it be exactly what I’ve been looking for. I then saw it is a book, not so
good, then I found a call number and then the disappointing words,
“availability: missing.” There is a link to see if the book is available
anywhere else through World Cat. Sadly, it isn’t available anywhere else. Also,
World Cat has a note saying, “The use of parish registers as a historical
source in the rural areas of Zürich, Switzerland.”  Clearly, a better translation than what
Google provides. I was afraid of that. The book isn’t the parish registers;
rather, it is a book, in German, about using parish registers.  Not of any help to me.
So the hold in the brick wall that I thought I had seen
wasn’t really a hole.  Maybe just a crack
in the mortar but it does provide a new set of angles to work on.  I’m sure I’ll find a way to see the parish
records without going to Switzerland. 
I’ve just got more to do. So, I guess I’ll suggest that when you hit a brick wall, don’t despair.  Poke around a bit and you should get some ideas. As long as you have further actions to do it isn’t really a solid brick wall. There is still a hole you can work through. 

Bio – Jacob Huber (bef. 1860 – bef. 1960)

Jacob Huber was born in Switzerland[1]
sometime before 1860. (That assumes he was at least 20 when his son John was
born).
   

He married Kath Struckland[2] sometime before
1879. (That assumes Jacob & Kath were married when their son John was conceived.)

Family oral history indicated that only John Huber left
Zurich, so it is assumed that Jacob died and was buried in the Windlach/Stadel
bei Niederglatt area.

Further Actions:

Search for
sources of vital records for Windlach/Stadel bei Niederglatt in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland.
Search for and contact people with the Huber surname in the
Windlach area of Zürich, Switzerland
Visit Windlach and Stadel bei Niederglatt, Zürich, Switzerland
(or entice another family member to visit it and do some research while there.)

List of Greats
1.    
John Huber
2.    Jacob Huber
3.    
Jak Huber

Endnotes:

[1] 1910 Census, Census Place: Elberta and Josephine, Baldwin, Alabama; Roll: T624_1; Page: 5A; Enumeration
District: 0013; FHL microfilm: 1374014.
[2] Wisconsin Marriage
Records, Johana Huber and Bertha Trunpe, 02 Mar 1905. groom’s name:  Johana Huber. 
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Feb 13, 1920 – Chin Chin Plays Myers Theater in Janesville, WI.

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Don Taylor
Donna in Janesville, WI, at the Myers Theater – Date: Feb 13, 1920
Donna and the cast of “Chin Chin” completed their
one night stand in Eau Claire and headed for Janesville, 180 or so miles to the
south for another one-nighter.
Preshow advertising began with an announcement
on February 7th in the Janesville
Daily Gazette by the theater manager, L. C. Hensler, that a Charles
Dillingham show was returning to Janesville for the first time in more than ten
years for “one night only.” The announcement mentions “Chin Chin” and the
“Famous Clown Saxophone Band.”[i]
Source: Newspapers.Com
Janesville Daily Gazette
(Janesville, WI) 11 Feb 1920, Pg 6
Leading Comedians, et al
The advertising continued with another
announcement on February 10th that mentioned both the size of the
company (65) with 40 Girls and 35 men back of the scenes.  (I know that adds up to 75 people.) It also
mentions “two car loads of scenery” and some of the acts as well as the hit
songs from the show, including:
                  Good-bye
Girls I’m Through,
                  Violet, Violet,
                  The Pekin Patrol,
                  Love Moon,
                  The Chinese Honeymoon,
                  Temple Bells,
                  Bally Mooney, (etc.)
The Daily Gazette of February 11th  showed a graphic of the two male stars, Roy
Binder & Walter Wills as well as 12 of the women in the show.  Certainly, Donna would have been one of those
12, however, the quality of the on-line image isn’t high enough to determine
which one is Donna.
After the show a short article detailing the
non-existent plot and the characters of the show including the role of the
Goddess of the Lamp, the part played by Donna.
Myers Grand Opera House

Interior of the Myers Theater – Post 1929 “Moorish” remodel
Photo Credit: [Janesville Daily] Gazette File Photo
When “Chin Chin” played at the Myers
in 1920, it was old.  It has been built
in 1870 as the Myers Opera House.  A fire
in 1891 caused the Opera House to be rebuilt and renamed as the Grand Opera
House. It was a modest sized, ground floor, theater held about 1000 people –
400 on the main floor, 293 in the balcony, and 300 in the gallery. The stage
was 32 by 30 feet in size.[ii]
In 1920 the 50-year-old theater, managed by Peter L
Myers, was sold to the Janesville Amusement Company[iii] who installed L. C. Hensler as the
theater’s new manager.
In the late 1920s the theater changed
from live performances to movies and was remodeled into a “Moorish” style movie
place to show Hollywood films.[iv] [v]  The theater remained open until the mid
1970s. Finally, in 1977, demolition began on the building and the site became a
parking lot for the Rock County National Bank. [vi]
Further Research

Review another source for the Feb 11, 1920 issue of the Janesville Daily Gazette for a higher quality image.
Besides the “Gazette,” the Cahn-Leighton Theatrical Guide mentions the Janesville “Recorder” as a daily A.M. paper. I can’t find an on-line edition of the “Recorder” on line. Annually see if it becomes available.

Endnotes:

[i] Janesville Daily Gazette (Janesville, Wisconsin) ·
Sat, Feb 7, 1920 · Page 6
[ii] The Cahn-Leighton Theatrical Guide – 1913-1914.
[iii] Hedberg Public Library Local History Database https://hedbergpubliclibrary.org/ Search results for” Myers Theater
[v] Cartwright, Carol Lohry; Shaffer, Scott; Waller, Randal / City on the Rock River : chapters in Janesville’s history (1998), pg. 182. See: https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=turn&entity=WI.CityRock.p0187&id=WI.CityRock&isize=text
[vi] Hedberg Public Library Local History Database https://hedbergpubliclibrary.org/ https://hedbergpubliclibrary.org/
Search for Myers Theater
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Genealogical Ethics?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Don Taylor
Lately, I’ve been seeing more and more emails and other
information regarding collaboration. It often makes me a bit concerned.  Nevertheless, as I do more and more of it I’m
beginning to develop security standards.
I mentioned briefly in a note in my last blog, I am
uncomfortable in posting or providing anything that might be personally
identifying information. Mostly, it is the kinds of things that various
security systems would ask as a challenge question.  Things like a person’s mother’s maiden name
or linking a living person with their school (and thus school mascot which I’ve
seen several times as a security question).  
Many people have trouble or concerns regarding social
security numbers.  I don’t so much.  I can understand SSNs being kept private for
three to five years. The biggest reason for that is to allow a person’s estate
to get through probate before someone could easily use that person’s SSN for
identity theft. In that amount of time, the powers to be should know that the
person is dead.
I was recently asked by a researcher for the names of the
children of someone in my tree. The wife of one of my wife’s Grand Uncles was a
cousin of this researcher.  I had the
names for these people but suspect many of them are still alive. They were born
in the 1940s.  So, do I give the
information or not?
If I got the information from a private source, then I would
say no. I would not provide the names.  However,
if I got the information from a public source, then why not?  I wrestled with the question for a bit and concluded
that I would not give the names and relationships directly. Rather, I would
provide a source citation that gave me the information I analyzed and
incorporated into my family tree.   In
this particular case, I gave the link to an obituary for the ancestor that
listed the living children.  I don’t have
an ethical dilemma providing publicly accessible information.  Maybe I should, but I don’t.
This brings me to the point of this posting.  I’ve seen and read many sets of ethics for
genealogy.  However, in all of my reading
I am yet to see a set of ethical rules about what should or should not be
shared with other researchers or people or with the public.  The closest that I think I’ve seen is from
the Board for Certification of Genealogists that states, “I will act, speak,
and write in a manner I believe to be in the best interests of the profession
and scholarship of genealogy.’  Pretty
vague; not much guidance there. 

If someone knows of a rule list about the kind of
information that we should not publish or provide publically, I’d like to know
of it. (Please use the comment form below.) 
If there isn’t such a list, shouldn’t there be one that is clear and
more effective than just privatizing living people.
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