My Great Great Grandparents - Orlando Gage & Edith Gallup

My great grandfather was a remarkable person.  The man I knew had a bit of a gruff exterior, but put in a baby in his lap and he melted.  I know him to have been an incredibly hard worker who supported his family during some of the darkest times of the last century.  I knew him to be a man of courage, values and strength. It makes me think about the parents who gave him the foundation to be the man he was.

Ora Silas Gage was born 5 Apr 1892 in Esperance, Schenectady Co., NY.  He was the second child of Orlando Gage and Edith Phoebe Gallup.  I say he was the second child because his older brother, Allen died rather tragically at 22 months old.  He had been in one of those toddler contraptions with wheels.  Allen had walked under a table and stood up and hit a nail that was under the table and died.  Needless to say, my great grandpa was very watchful of any babies walking under tables.

  

Orlando abt 1875

Charity abt 1875

Orlando worked as a carpenter and as a farmer.  He was born 2 Apr 1850 in Knox, Albany Co., NY to Gilbert and Phoebe Allen Gage.  Orlando was the oldest of 5 children. His mother was 20 years old and his father was 26 years of age.  I have thought that 1850 would have been a curious time to be born in this country.  Orlando wouldn't have been old enough to fight in the Civil War but was old enough to understand what was going on.  I suppose if had been in different circumstances, he probably could have slipped in when he was 14 years old.  Gilbert was not a Civil War veteran either.  I would suspect that he might have been more valuable as a farmer.  Orlando married for the first time to Charity Ellen Hotaling on 12 Jan 1875 at the United Methodist Church in Delmar, NY.  Charity was the 19 year old daughter of Michael Hotaling and Ellen Robertson. Orlando and Charity had the following children:

• Burton Latta Gage b. 8 Oct 1876 d. 27 Sept 1949 m. Bessie Margaret Young
• Edwin Welsh Gage b. 7 Jun 1879 d. 3 May 1959 m. Flora Mae Sidney
• Leroy James Gage b. 22 Dec 1880 d. 14 Oct 1910 m. Effie M. Butts
• Nellie Mable Gage b. 10 Sept 1885 d. 11 Sept 1972 m. Harry John Lewis

Charity died a few weeks after Nellie's birth on 9 Oct 1885.  I don't know if she died of the after effects of childbirth or if her death was as a result of something else.  Orlando was left with 4 children all under the age of 10.  I believe that Nellie might have been left with her grandmother, Phebe Allen Gage.  It is difficult to know for sure.  She is recorded in the 1900 census with Phebe and her maternal grandparents passed away in 1891 & 1892, so they may not have been in the best of health.  On 05 May 1886, Orlando married 26 year old spinster teacher, Edith Phoebe Gallup.

Edith Gallup - abt 1880?

Edith Phoebe Gallup was born 28 Jan 1860 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY to Silas Gallup and Phoebe Ann Montanye. Edith was the eldest of 12 children and was born just 11 months after her parents eloped.  Silas was the local schoolteacher and Phoebe was his 15 year old student.  Supposedly a couple rang a bell to announce a marriage, since no one paid attention, they kept it secret until the end of the term.  From what I have been able to gather, Edith boarded with some of her student's families and was a schoolteacher.  She had likely been teaching close to 10 years when she married Orlando.  I have to wonder if she hadn't been a teacher to one or two of Orlando's children. I think that we have a different view of marriage and parenting today that doesn't really fit that period of time.  It must have been difficult for a widower to have four children, continue to take care of the farm work and work as a carpenter.  So, when Orlando married Edith on 5 May 1886, there might have been more of what we might call a marriage of convenience.  I know that 26 is considered to be somewhat older for a woman to marry for the first time, and Orlando certainly needed a mother figure for his rambunctious three boys. Edith probably also knew she would be quite alone as her family was planning on moving to Nebraska and she had no intention of going with them.  In fact, Edith's family left New York for Nebraska and arrived on Thanksgiving day in 1887.

Here are the children that Orlando and Edith had:

Allen G. Gage b. 10 Dec 1888 d. 12 Oct 1890
Ora Silas Gage b. 5 Apr 1892 d. 30 Dec 1990 m. Florence Christine Shawver
Phebe Margaret Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 28 July 1976 m. August Peterson
Peter Z Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 21 Nov 1983 m. Elizabeth Pearl Mathieson
Alice Irene Gage b. 29 Mar 1896 d. 11 Sep 1976 m. Howard E Frey

Gage Family - abt 1896

I know there was the struggle of losing their oldest child.  I also know that with the twins (Pete & Phebe) it was quite a struggle for a while.  Pete was very small, only about 4 pounds.  They kept him in a dresser drawer surrounded by clothes to keep him work.  Thankfully he survived, although his growth must have been curtailed somewhat as he was quite short.  Tall enough to be a soldier in World War I, though!   Sometime around 1907, Edith had a severe fall.  She was unable to do much more than sit in a chair.  Here is a letter that she wrote to her mother in October 1907:

Transcription of a letter written by Edith Gallup Gage to her mother, Phebe Montanye Gallup.    October 23, 1907    Dear Mother:    My twins are 13 years old today and a great deal of help to me.  Monday night after school the girls washed a large washing besides getting supper. (I don't pretend to do anything only what I can do sitting down.)  Tuesday morning they rinsed and starch the clothes done, did the morning work even to making beds and mopping and got things ready for dinner.  They baked (2 apple pies) and got to school in time they were up at half past four.  Orlando killed 5 pigs yesterday, 4 for market.  They only dressed 102 lbs. a price.  We kept one, sold them at Esperance and got 9 cents a lbs. They were late pigs, the last of April and only skim milk, so it was not so bad.  He thrashed in the afternoon, earning $5 and moved his machine today.  He is digging potatoes for us.  He won't have any nuts to send to send you as the squirrels and friends of ours are taking them when the children are gone.  Orlando is away thrashing and I can't stop them.  I can only teeter backward and forward when I try to walk so I don't try much any more, the sides, back, and belly burns like fire when I try although the flesh feels ice cold, Orlando says, when you touch it.  I do not feel heat nor cold just comfortable when I lay still that is something to be thankful and I do not worry.  It will be and is all for the best.  I hope you are better. Here is a slip of a pretty red geranium.  It is near time for the mail so I must quit with love to all.    Edith

On 08 Jan 1908, Edith died of lobar pneumonia after suffering what her death certificate called chronic myelitis (duration of 7 months).  She was 47 years old.  I have been told that Orlando took care of his wife, arranged her funeral and died himself a few days later on 16 Jan 1908 at the age of 57.  Orlando also died of lobar pneumonia.  Here is a transcription of an obit that his pastor, Rev N McLeod wrote:

After brief illness of pneumonia and within a week after the death of his wife from pneumonia, elder Orlando Gage passed to his rewards Jan 19, 1908.  His death caused deep sorrow in the community and especially in the church and ??? where he was a member and regular attendant.

He was born in Knox, NY Apr 2, 1850.  In early life he learned and followed the trade of carpenter.  He lived for some time in Albany and was an attendant at the West End Presbyterian Church.

He married Miss Charity Ellen Hotaling of Clarkesville, NY, from where four children were born, viz, Burton L, Edwin W, Leroy J, and Nellie Mabel, now Mr. Harry Lewis.

Mrs. Gage died Oct 9, 1885 while residing in Knox.

Soon after, Mr. Gage married Miss Edith Gallup of Duanesburg, NY from whom were born five children viz Allen, who died when 22 months old, Ora Silas, Peter Z and Phoebe Margaret, twins, and Alice Irene.  Mr. Gage (with his wife) united with the Church at Esperance, Mary 26, 1891 and was ordained an Elder May 8, 1898, which office he filled till his death.  He was a brother beloved in the Church and the community.

The following Resolution was enacted by the session of the Presbyterian church, Esperance Apr 4, 1908.

Whereas, since last we met, death has claimed our beloved co-worker, Elder Orlando Gage Jan 16, 1908, after a brief illness pneumonia.

That, we sorrowfully record our loss and hereby express our appreciation of his character and efficient service since uniting with this church.

That We Express to the family, bereft of both father and mothers within one week, our sympathy and prayers that the God of their parents may be their God, and that they may find comfort in his sustaining grace. 

May a copy be sent to the committee and the clergy in Albany Presbyterian.

Signed Rev N McLeod

I really never heard my great grandfather talk about the time after his parents died.  I don't know who they stayed with - but I do know that perhaps it was within days or even weeks my 15 year old great grandfather escorted his siblings to their maternal grandmother in Nebraska.  After leaving them there, he struck off on his own.  However, that is a different story!

New York Roots

As I got older, I knew the story of Granddad Gage coming out west with his sibling from New York State to Nebraska in 1908.  Their parents had died, and their maternal grandmother wanted them to come and live with her.  Granddad Gage had a genealogy history of his Gage family that showed some surprising information for me.  His paternal family had pretty much been in the same region of New York State for about a 100 years.

Granddad Gage and some of his siblings - Left to Right
Alice, Phebe, Pete, Ora (Granddad) Nellie & Burt.

The first New York Gage was Joseph Gage.  He was born on 3 May 1734 in Freetown, Bristol Co., MA to William Montgomery Gage and Hannah Davis.  Joseph married Mary Jane Huddleston on 13 Sep 1756 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.  I would love to say that I have a lot more generations preceding Joseph Gage…but that is not the case.  His father, William Montgomery Gage, is the first Gage that we are sure is a direct ancestor.  William Montgomery Gage is thought to have been born around 1696 based on some land documents that he signed.  He served in a militia from Maine for six months in 1722 which I assume involved some war between the Colonists and the Native Americans.  His line of work has been recorded as schoolmaster and any Gages that believe they are descended from the William Gage of Freetown, MA – this is the Gage that they are descended from.  Joseph Gage married a few years after his father’s death in 1756 and within a few years moved to New York State.  According to his second son’s birthplace, he was in Otsego Co., NY in 1759, in Dutchess Co., NY in 1762, and in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY by 1764 which is where he lived the rest of his life.

Joseph and Mary had at least 10 children, nine of whom were sons.  Some of those sons spelled their names Gage and some spelled it Gaige…but they were from the same family.  Joseph died on 23 May 1811 in Duanesburg, NY and Mary died a few years later on 27 Jan 1814.  Their fourth youngest son was William Gage b. 20 Aug 1770 in Duanesburg, NY and d. 18 Jan 1865 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He married Ruth Macomber in 1790.  Four Gage siblings married four Macomber siblings which leads me to believe that the families probably lived near each other.  William Gage and Ruth Macomber's fourth son, Potter Gage was born 25 Dec 1798 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  Potter Gage was my great grandfather’s great grandfather.

To finish up the line…Potter Gage m. Cynthia Swan – their son, Gilbert Gage m. Phoebe Allen, and their grandson, Orlando m. Charity Hotaling and Edith Gallup.  So from about 1759 to 1908 – Granddad Gage’s paternal line had lived in New York State.  His mother’s family (Gallup) had come from Connecticut in 1796.  The Swan’s were in New York by 1800 (they also came from Connecticut), the Allen line had actually been there probably since the early 1700’s (See Palantine Families)  At some point, I expected to find an immigrant who arrived after 1800…but I never found one in Granddad Gage’s family.  His family lines had actually been some of the early settlers of Connecticut and moved westward to New York State.  The family line that I originally had the most information on (Gage) actually turned out to be one of the more difficult lines to locate the immigrant ancestor.  I don’t know if we will ever find the documentary evidence…but I believe that science does offer some hope. 

By the time Granddad had left New York in 1908 – his family had been living in the same area (give or take a few miles) for almost 150 years.  I don’t know how many descendants of Orlando Gage are still in the New York area.  I know that there are a few that I am communicated with that still bear the last name of Gage.  I wonder how many of them know that their family has been there since the mid 1700’s.  That seems quite unique for me as I live in a town that has only been in existence since 1861 and I live in a state that has been a state only since 1890.  (I live in Lewiston, Idaho)  My family has only been in Idaho since the 1920’s (maternal side) and 1930’s (paternal side).  I suppose that it is one of the exciting things about genealogy – it is a lot of fun to try and figure out where your family came from…and how your family ended up where they are.  In my Granddad Gage’s life time – he traveled from New York to Nebraska to Iowa to South Dakota to Idaho and then to Oregon – that is quite a journey for a 98 year lifetime!

Orlando Gage

Orlando Gage was the eldest child of Gilbert Gage and Phoebe Ann Allen.  He was born on 2 Apr 1850 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  His family had lived in the New York area for several generations and while they were not wealthy, they must have been well known. 

Orlando Gage as a young man - probably when he married  Charity Hotaling.

Charity Ellen Hotaling Gage

Orlando married Charity Ellen Hotaling on 12 Jan 1875 at the United Methodist Church in Delmar, Albany Co., NY.  She was the daughter of Michael Hotaling and Ellen Robertson.  The young couple had three sons and a daughter before Charity’s death just a month after her daughter was born of quick consumption.  Orlando was left with three boys and baby daughter all under the age of 10 years old when their mother died.  Several months later, Orlando married a spinster schoolteacher in May 1886.  (See My Gallup Branch – Edith - http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-gallup-branch-edith.html)  According to my Aunt Phebe, the boys were taken care of by Orlando’s sisters for a short time – but they were too much too handle along with their own families.  After Orlando and Edith married, Orlando began working for Pullman Car Shops helping to build train cars and doing the carpentry work.   A few years later, Edith worried about the rambunctious boys getting into trouble in the city, and so Orlando and Edith moved into the farm that she had been born at and left the city.  Edith farmed the place for a few years until Orlando left his job at the Pullman Car Shops and worked on the farm and did carpentry work on the side.   By this time, their family had grown by four additional living children.  Their oldest died in a tragic accident when he was a few years old.  Granddad Gage (Ora Silas) was the oldest living boy in the second family and then the twins Pete & Phebe and their youngest, Alice.   The farm proved to be too small and in 1900, they moved to a larger farm and then bought their own farm in 1905.

Edith holding the twins (Pete & Phoebe with Alice on her lap)  Ora standing next to her and Orlando on the right.

Their life on their small farm was short lived.  Edith hurt her back and became sick with pneumonia.  Orlando took care of his wife and at her death; he took care of the funeral arrangements and then went home to his bed and died himself eight days after her death.  A Rev. N. McLeod wrote the following obituary:

After a brief illness of pneumonia and within a week after the death of his wife from pneumonia, elder Orlando Gage passed to his reward Jan 16, 1908.  His death caused deep sorrow in the community and especially in the Church and where he was a member and regular attendant.

He was born in Knox, NY Apr 2, 1850.  In early life he learned and followed the trade of carpenter.  He lived for some time in Albany and was an attendant at the West End Presbyterian Church.

He married Miss Charity Ellen Hotlaling of Clarkesville, NY from where four children were born viz. Burton L., Edwin W., Leroy J. and Nellie Mable now Mrs. Harry Lewis.  Mrs. Gage died Oct 9, 1885 while residing in Knox.

Soon after, Mr Gage married Miss Edith Gallup of Duanesburg, NY from whom were born four children viz, Allen, who died when 22 months old, Ora Silas, Peter Z. and Phoebe Margaret, twins, and Alice Irene.  Mr. Gage (with his wife) united with the church at Esperance, Mar 26, 1891 and was ordained an Elder May 8, 1898, which office he filled till his death. 

He was a brother beloved in the church and in the community.

My Gallup Branch - Edith

The Gallup family is a huge and well researched family.  There has been a published genealogy on the family since 1896.  My particular branch of the Gallup family comes through my great great grandmother, Edith Gallup. 

Edith Phoebe Gallup was born on 28 Jan 1860 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY.  She was the eldest child of Silas Gallup and Phoebe Ann Montanye in a large family that included 12 children.  Edith’s parents married when Silas was 28 years old and a schoolteacher and married his 15 year old student.  As was custom in the day, Silas and Phoebe rang the school bell to announce the marriage and since no one noticed, they kept it secret. 

Edith became a schoolteacher herself and taught junior grades at the Quaker Street Academy as early as 1878.  She boarded with nearby families.  Her brother, Albert, left New York and headed towards Nebraska to teach there.   After being encouraged by both his brother James and son Albert, Silas packed up his youngest children and headed to Nebraska and arrived in Lyons, NE on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.  By the time they left, Edith had married a widower on 5 May 1886 whose wife had died shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Nellie.  Her death left Orlando Gage with four children all under the age of ten years old.   From what I have heard, Orlando and his wife’s family (Charity Hotaling) cared for the boys as they grew up.  The youngest child, Nellie, lived with her maternal grandmother. 

Edith Gallup as young woman - Perhaps her wedding picture.

Edith and Orlando had their first son on 10 Dec 1888 in Esperance, NY and sadly lost him when he was almost two years old on 12 Oct 1890.  Allen was in a walker and rolling under a kitchen table when he stood up and was killed by a nail that stuck out underneath the table.  My great grandfather, Ora, was their second son and was born in 1892.  Although he never knew his older brother, it was apparent that this horrific event was always on his parent’s minds.  Granddad would get very upset if he saw a toddler anywhere near to walking under a table.

Orlando Gage Family - about 1896 -  This picture was stitched together .  The photo was originally taken with  Edith and the children and Orlando was added in later.  Ora Silas Gage is the oldest child, the twins are Peter Z and Phebe Margaret and the youngest is Alice Irene Gage.

By the time Edith and Orlando had been married 10 years, they had four children of their own.  Granddad Gage was the oldest surviving child and then they had the twins Pete and Phebe, and their youngest, Alice, was born in late March of 1896.  Orlando and Edith had a small farm and Orlando worked for the nearby railroad as a carpenter.  They were respected within their small community and their church, and by the turn of the century they were most likely enjoying their life.  However, in the early spring of 1907, Edith took a fall.  I’ve heard several stories – but evidently she fell down some stairs and severely hurt herself.  She wrote the following letter to her mother in 1907.

Transcription of a letter written by Edith Gallup Gage to her mother, Phebe Montanye Gallup.

October 23, 1907

Dear Mother:

My twins are 13 years old today and a great deal of help to me.  Monday night after school the girls washed a large washing besides getting supper. (I don't pretend to do anything only what I can do sitting down.)  Tuesday morning they rinsed and starch the clothes done, did the morning work even to making beds and mopping and got things ready for dinner.  They baked (2 apple pies) and got to school in time they were up at half past four.  Orlando killed 5 pigs yesterday, 4 for market.  They only dressed 102 lbs. a price.  We kept one, sold them at Esperance and got 9 cents a lbs. They were late pigs, the last of April and only skim milk, so it was not so bad.  He thrashed in the afternoon, earning $ 5 and moved his machine today.  He is digging potatoes for us.  He won't have any nuts to send to send you as the squirrels and friends of ours are taking them when the children are gone.  Orlando is away thrashing and I can't stop them.  I can only teeter backward and forward when I try to walk so I don't try much anymore, the sides, back, and belly burns like fire when I try although the flesh feels ice cold, Orlando says, when you touch it.  I do not feel heat nor cold just comfortable when I lay still that is something to be thankful and I do not worry.  It will be and is all for the best.

       I hope you are better. Here is a slip of a pretty red geranium.  It is near time for the mail so I must quit with love to all.

Edith

In early January, Edith’s health was taking its toll and she contracted pneumonia and she died on 8 January, 1908.  Her death record says that she died of lobar pneumonia with a contributing factor of chronic myelitis which she had four 7 months.  She had had the pneumonia for only four days before she died.  Orlando did his best to take care of his wife and was able to make the arrangements for her funeral and then he too took to his bed with lobar pneumonia and died just eight days after his wife.    While Edith never wanted to come west, her children gathered their belongings together and boarded a train for Nebraska to live with their maternal grandmother.  In just eight days, Granddad Gage and his siblings had lost both of their parents and now their home and now traveled to Lyons, NE to start a new life.

Puzzling Leroy

I think of genealogy research sometimes as really complicated jigsaw puzzle – a bit like someone gave my grandmother for Christmas a few months ago.  I made the joke that someone with a sick mind gave that to her…and my grandmother agreed that she didn’t want to try it.  I think it was 1000 pieces with a picture on the front and the back.  So you not only had to match the front but that back as well –seemingly infinite possibilities.  Some of these puzzle pieces spark a little more curiosity.  One of these puzzle pieces for me was my great grandfather’s older brother, Leroy James Gage.

Granddad Gage (my great grandfather) was the oldest surviving child in his branch of his father’s family.  His father, Orlando, had been married to Charity Hotaling before Edith Gallup and Orlando and Charity had had four children.  They were: 

• Burton Latta Gage b. 8 Oct 1876 d. 27 Sep 1949 m. Bessie Young
• Edwin Welsh Gage b. 7 Jun 1879 d. 1960 m. Flora Sidney
• Leroy James Gage b. 22 Dec 1880 d. 14 Oct 1910 m. Effie Butts
• Nellie Mabel Gage b. 10 Sep 1885 d. 11 Sep 1972

Orlando and Edith Gallup had the following:

• Allen G. Gage b. 10 Dec 1888 d. 12 Oct 1890
• Ora Silas Gage b. 5 Apr 1892 d. 30 Dec 1990 m. Florence Christine Shawver
• Peter Z. Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 21 Nov 1983 m. Elizabeth Mathieson
• Phebe Margaret Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 28 Jul 1976 m. August Peterson
• Alice Irene Gage b. 29 Mar 1896 d. 11 Sep 1976 m. Howard E. Frey

Charity died about a month after Nellie’s birth.  About 9 months later, Orlando married Edith Gallup who was by that time probably considered an “old maid schoolteacher.”  I’m sure he had thoughts that she would take care of the rowdy boys…but they proved to be quite a handful.  Nellie stayed with her grandmother for her first few years.  By the time 10 years had passed, Edith had had 5 children, 4 of who were still living. 

Growing up, I had heard a lot about Granddad’s younger siblings and had met most of them – but I had never really heard much about his older siblings.  I know that he had a lot of contact with Burt and Nellie but I heard little about the others.  The one that I really puzzled about was Leroy James Gage.  My great uncles said that their Dad talked about his brother “Roy”, but all they knew was that he died young.  Leroy James Gage was not quite 30 years old when he died.  He was married and had four children by the time of his death – and for a long time, I didn’t know what happened to him.  After my great - grandparents had passed; my Grandmother and I went through a lot of the old photo albums.  We found a photo album that had a lot of old vintage post cards.  Most were notes from his siblings but there was one that was mailed to his sister, Phebe that finally cleared up the mystery of Leroy’s death.  Nellie had written to Phebe that “Leroy was very sick with Plural Pneumonia and was taken a week ago.”  She concluded that she would write more later.  I don’t know what happened to that letter, but what a said message for them to receive.  Granddad Gage and his younger siblings had moved out to Nebraska to live with their maternal grandmother after Orlando and Edith’s deaths in 1908.  It seemed such a short time later, that they lost their older brother.

Front of Postcard - Informing family of Leroy's death

Back of Postcard - Informing family of Leroy's death

 Also in my great grandparents things was a letter.  It was from a Margaret who was a great granddaughter of Leroy James Gage and Effie Butts.  In the letter, she mentioned finding my great grandparent’s names in her great grandmother’s address book.  Effie, Leroy’s widow, had lived 67 years as widow after her husband’s death…after being married a short 8 years.  My great uncle gave me the task to finding this cousin who was descended from Leroy.  This wasn’t an easy task as she mentioned in her letter that she was getting married in a few weeks, and I realized that it would be pretty hard to track her.  I spent some time at the task…and one day I received an email from a Peggy asking me if I knew anything about Leroy James Gage.  I replied that yes…I did and what did she want to know?  She replied almost instantly and told me who she was.  I then asked her if her real name was Margaret and if she was, did she write Ora Gage in 1987.  Peggy replied back very quickly that yes she was Margaret and that she had a copy of that letter sitting right in front her.  Ironically…so did I…and Peggy and I began a relationship through emails and phone calls that has lasted ever since.  She lives in NY and I live in Idaho…but someday, we will get a chance to meet.  Sometimes it is months or perhaps a year or two between contacts – but when we do get a chance to visit, it takes a long phone call to catch up.  I have shared what I know about the Gage family and she and her daughter have spent hours taking pictures of gravestones back in New York.  I feel like she has given me far more than I have given her.  I have to wonder though if my Great Granddad didn’t arrange our connection from up above!

Connections – Gallups & Shawvers

One of the most fascinating things about genealogy research is the discovery of connections between individuals with your database and sometimes you find them by accident and other times it is merely the exercise of putting the pieces together.  For example – my great grandfather’s uncle Hugh and my great grandmother’s older sister Jessie; an interesting picture is made when you look at their connections.

Hugh Gallup was the youngest son of Silas Gallup and Phebe Ann Montanye and was born on 28 Feb 1886 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY – my great great grandmother Edith was his oldest sibling born on 28 Jan 1860.  Edith married Orlando Gage and their oldest surviving son was my great grandfather Ora Silas Gage who was born on 5 Apr 1892.  After the death of his parents within eight days of each other in 1908, Ora brought his younger siblings west to live with their maternal grandmother, Phebe Montanye Gallup.  Silas and Phebe came out west in 1887 when Hugh was a young child.  So…here is the interesting connection – Hugh married Jessie Shawver on 7 Oct 1909 in Burt Co., NE and Jessie was the older sister of my great grandmother, Florence. 

Jessie Mabel Shawver was born 13 Oct 1891 to George Christian Shawver and Rebecca Jane “Frankie” Pitsenbarger. When she married Hugh Gallup in 1909, I have to wonder if it was an opportunity for Hugh’s nephew Ora and Jessie’s sister Florence to meet – which you might guess by now would be a significant connection in my family.  Evidently both Hugh and Jessie thought very well of Ora and Florence because they named their second daughter, Florence Oriana Gallup for both of them.  (Granddad Gage and Grandma married on 4 Sep 1917)  Evidently thought, Hugh and Jessie did not have a successful marriage and divorced sometime after 1916.  Hugh left Nebraska and went back to New York and left Jessie with four young children to raise.  Within three years, Jessie has remarried.

Jessie’s younger brother, George married Clara Adele “Midge” Bacon on 10 Feb 1915 in Lyons, Burt Co., NE and Midge was the daughter of John Francis Bacon and Emily Simpson.  Not too long after their marriage, Emily Simpson Bacon dies on 2 Nov 1917.  As I am sure that it is common in small towns, families know each other and some interesting connections can sometimes occur.  Within a few years Jessie Shawver and John Francis Bacon marry on 14 Jun 1919 probably in Lyons, Burt Co., NE.  So…Jessie has been married to one sister’s uncle-in-law and is now married to her brother’s father-in-law.  John Francis Bacon and Jessie have five children and poor Midge now has nieces and nephews who are her half-brother’s and sisters and a father who is her brother in law. 

However…we aren’t quite finished with Hugh Gallup.  After Hugh returned to New York, he went back to the Albany, NY area and worked as an engineer.  There he met and married a spinster named Marilla E. Latta on 12 Oct 1935 in Delmar, Albany Co., NY.  For several years, that is all I knew about her was her name and after some research, I was able to figure out her birth date and death date and her parents.  She was born 16 May 1889 in Clarksville, Albany Co., NY and died on 5 Jul 1938 in Albany, Albany Co., NY and was the daughter of George W. Latta and Julia Ann Hotaling.  Both the Latta and the Hotaling names were red flags to me.  Granddad Gage’s father, Orlando was married first to a Charity Hotaling.  Their oldest son’s name was Burton Latta Gage.  Somehow those names were connected.  After more research, I found out that Julia Ann Hotaling and Charity Hotaling were sisters and the daughters of Michael Hotaling and Ellen Robertson.  So I would assume that Charity Hotaling had a significant fondness for her brother-in-law to give her oldest son the middle name of Latta.  I can find no other connections other than that. 

So – here is an interesting lesson.  Don’t forget to research the siblings of your ancestors…you never know what stories may emerge!