Seth Pope & Deborah Perry.

This is one of my early New England families.  Both Seth Pope and Deborah Perry are first generation descendants of immigrants  Seth Pope was born 13 Jan 1649 in Plymouth, Massachusetts to Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney.   If you want to read more about Seth Pope specifically check out In their footsteps - Seth Pope.  

Seth Pope was the oldest son Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney.  His father arrived from England as part of the "Mary and John" immigration and arrived sometime between 1630-1632.  Sarah Jenney was born to her parents in Jul 1623 on the ocean voyage to America.  Seth was the oldest 11 children. Remarkably, 10 of those 11 children lived to adulthood...which seems to be remarkable for the time period.

 According to the Pope genealogy, Seth Pope first appears as a peddler in Sandwich, MA.  He ended up buying a boat and settled in Acushnet, MA.  He was active in the coast wide trade and operated a wharf and warehouse.  By the time of his death on 17 Mar 1727, he owned farms, dwelling houses, a saw and grist mill as well as his store and warehouse.

Deborah Perry was the daughter of Ezra Perry Sr and Elizabeth Burgess.  Both were immigrants from England - Ezra Perry having arrived with his parents in 1637 to Massachusetts from Devonshire, England.  Elizabeth Burgess was born in Truro, Cornwall, England and also probably arrived in 1637 with her parents as well.  They were married on 15 Feb 1651 in Sandwich, MA.  Deborah was the second of 6 children, and the oldest daughter.

I don't imagine that Seth Pope and Deborah Perry's life was easy - but it must have been much easier than their immigrant parents.  I always think about the journey across the ocean being a particularly harrowing journey and when these new arrivals got to America - it must have been a very strange place to try to forge out a new life.

My line from Seth Pope & Deborah Perry is:

Elnathan Pope m. Margaret Pope (Daughter of Isaac Pope and Alice Freeman - Granddaughter of Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney - They were 1st cousins)
Seth Pope m. Sarah Winslow
Winslow Pope m. Mary Wheelock
Francis Pope m. Belinda Willey
Winslow Lonsdale Pope m. Nancy Ann Marie Lyons
Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson
Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Marian Gage (my grandparents)

If you click on the links above, you will be connected to their Find a Grave profile.  This is one of best things that the internet has brought to modern genealogy.  The photos of some of these very old gravestones are being photographically preserved and made available to those of us who don't live close enough to visit these graves.  They stretch from old cemeteries in Massachusetts and Quebec, Canada to tiny cemeteries in North Dakota and Idaho.

Lyons & Reed

When you research a family member from the 1800’s, you are never quite sure what you will find – especially if it is a female ancestor.  My great grandmother was Shirlie Louisa Pope and when we initially went back to North Dakota, the goal was to find at least whatever remained of the cemetery that she had been buried in.  (She was buried in the Old Dunn Center cemetery in North Dakota and sometime in the 1930’s, the family was told that they needed to move her grave as they had found out that the cemetery was on top of a burning coal mine.  There was no money to make the move, so she remained in an unmarked grave at the old cemetery.)  I had known about Shirlie since I was a child…nothing terribly concrete but the photo from my childhood gave me a mental image of her.  When I first started researching her background and had made some contact with cousins, it was with a great deal of enthusiasm that I began to research her family.

Shirlie was the daughter of Winslow Lonsdale Pope and Nancy Ann Marie Lyons.  I must admit that the Pope side was fairly easy to research.  Within a few weeks after I started researching the family, I made contact with cousins and had the Pope family traced back to literally the earliest settlers in New England. Winslow’s wife, however, took a lot more research.

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons was my great great grandmother.  She was the daughter of John Nathan Lyons, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Reed.  I know than Nancy was born on 6 Mar 1855 in Bath, Grafton Co., NH and died on 30 May 1906 in Washburn, McLean Co., ND.  (My cousins took me right where she was buried in a little country cemetery called Sverdrup near Washburn, ND)  

She was married to Winlsow Lonsdale Pope on 19 Mar 1881. I have to assume that she was fairly sickly the last few years of her life, as she died of tuberculosis.  I am also sure she must have been considered a spinster when she married because she was 26 years of age.  Through the census records, I could tell that she spent all of her young life growing up in Bath, Grafton Co., NH.   I was fortunate to find information on her parents, but beyond a few census records, I hit a brick wall during my first few years researching them. 

John Nathan Lyons Jr was b. 23 Apr 1820 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA and d. 7 Apr 1911 in Bath, Grafton Co., NH.  It wasn't until I got his birth certificate that I was able to find that his parents were John Lyons and Mary French.    Here is more about his family  (Chink in a Brick Wall – John Lyons and My Irish Ancestor – John Lyons )  I know that he married Mary Elizabeth Reed on 21 Dec 1845 in Fairlee, Orange Co., VT.  From census records, he is listed as a wheelwright and I also know that he remarried after Mary Elizabeth Reed’s death to Elizabeth Snow on 23 Mar 1893 in Manchester, NH.   He died at the age of 90 and was buried in the Warren Village Cemetery in Grafton, NH.

Mary Elizabeth Reed was more of a challenge.   I had her name from family records that had been passed on to me, but there was not going to be an easy to way to figure out who her parents were.  For one thing, Reed is a very common name.  For several years, I explored news-lists, emailed other researchers and came to the conclusion that she was most likely the daughter of Samuel Reed and Nancy Chase Swett.  It wasn't until last year when www.ancestry.com published some new records – specifically The New Hampshire Death and Disinterment Records, 1854-1947 that I was able to finally prove my theory.   

There was the record for Mary Reed Lyons death which listed her date of death, age, cause of death and her parents as Samuel Reed and Nancy Sweet (which is a common misspelling for Swett).  I also learned that she died of “Brights Disease” which is kidney disease.    I admit that it was very satisfying to learn that my theory had paid off.  However, once you confirm one theory…now you have the challenge of pursuing her parent’s ancestry…but that is another story.

Here is a list of the children of John Nathan Lyons, Jr and Mary Elizabeth Reed:

• John Weston Lyons b. 5 Jul 1846 NH d. 22 Oct 1922 m. Jennie M. Stain
• George Leonard Lyons b. 20 Nov 1849 NH d. 10 Apr 1916 NH m. Inez Clifton Eastman
• Charles Edward Lyons b. 14 Jun 1851 NH d. 14 Jul 1901 NH m. Lizzie Smith
• Mary Louise Lyons b. 21 Feb 1853 NH d. 12 Sep 1855 NH
• Nancy Ann Marie Lyons b. 6 Mar 1855 NH d. 30 May 1906 ND m. Winslow Lonsdale Pope
• Arabella Eliza Lyons b. 15 Dec 1856 NH d. 9 Jun 1943 NH m. John Harrison Roby
• Freeman Austin Lyons b. 11 Sep 1860 NH d. 8 Mar 1947 VT m1- Viola Belinda Pope m2- Jane Anderson Richardson m3- Nellie F. Evans
• Lizzie Maria Lyons b. 19 Dec 1865 NH d. 19 Nov 1942 NH m. Charles Nelson Davison

My Irish Ancestor - John Lyons

According to my DNA results, I am 12% Irish…which essentially means to me that the my Irish heritage is several generations back in my lineage.  The only line that I am absolutely sure of that is of Irish heritage is my Lyons family.

John Nathan Lyons would have been my 4^th great grandfather and he was born in 1790 in Ireland.  He probably immigrated around 1810 and according to a later record, his parents were Timothy Lyons and Honora.  I got his name when I ordered my 3^rd great grandfather’s death record several years ago.  It listed on the record that his parents names were John N. Lyons and Mary W. French.  I found out later that they married on 4 Sep 1817 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA.  At that point, I was only sure of one of their children, my 3^rd great grandfather, John Nathan Lyons, Jr.  Howver, something remarkable has happened in the past few years.  More and more records have been published and are searchable and I was able to find under www.familysearch.org the New Hampshire birth records that listed  Mary French and John Lyons as parents as well as census records that gave me additional information.  So this is my working list of their children

• Sarah Ann Lyons b. 8 Aug 1818 d. 3 Nov 1910 m. George C. Leonard
• John Nathan Lyons, Jr b. 23 Apr 1820 d. 7 Apr 1911 m. Mary Elizabeth Reed m. Elizabeth Snow
• Bridget Lyons b. abt 1820
• Charles E. Lyons b. Mar 1831 d. aft 1800 m. Wate Holmes
• James D. Farnsworth Lyons b. 1834 d. 15 Mar 1887 m. Harriet M. Getchell
• Myra L. Lyons b. 17 Jun 1836 d. 8 Aug 1895 m. Edward Everett Lothrop
• Mary E. Lyons b. abt 1841

As you can see this is still a working list and one that I hope to make much more progress on.  I believe that John Lyons died 11 Dec 1880  which would have made around 90 years old.  There is a New Hampshire Death and Burial record that lists that date and his parents as Timothy Lyons and Honora.  I think that Mary French died sometime before 1860, because she disappears from the census records.

So while I know that I have several other Irish ancestors, this might be the only one that I have record that lists his place of birth as Ireland. 

Here is my lineage to him:

John Nathan Lyons m. Mary French

John Nathan Lyons m. Mary Elizabeth Reed

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons m. Winslow Lonsdale Pope

Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson

Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Marian Gage

Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill

Me!

 Happy St. Patrick's day 4th Great Grandpa!

My DNA Journey - The Results

Several weeks ago, I wrote about taking the Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA test and I promised that I would let you know what the results were.  In my previous blog (http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-dna-journey.html) I talked about what I expected to find out from my test…here is what I found out.

My supposition was that I would be 100% European – with the possibility that I might have some Native American ancestry or an Asian lineage.  Despite every family story – the test shows that I have no Native American ancestry.  Like most people, the story of that Indian in the background is just that…a story.  In fact, there weren’t a lot of surprises in my results…except one.

Most of my ancestry is Scandinavian or from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.  I would imagine that most people tested whose families come from England and Ireland will most likely have the same result.  The Vikings left a lot of descendants all over Europe both as merchants and raiders.  I suspect that most of this ancestry for me comes through England and Ireland.  From what I have been able to surmise – most of my English ancestors came to England  through the Norman Invasion in 1066.  Since there isn’t a lot of record keeping…going much beyond that is difficult.  The Scandinavian portion is 55%.  Most of my paternal side of the family probably comes from England and probably makes us the majority of this Scandinavian branch.  There is also ancestry on my maternal lines that are Irish and Scottish and could also be part of this Scandinavian portion.

I have 16% Central European ancestry which includes Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.  I am actually surprised that this isn’t a bigger chunk of my family background.  My paternal great grandmother’s ancestry primarily came out of this region – mostly likely Germany and Austria.  My paternal grandfather also had ancestry from Germany.  Most of my German ancestors left Europe in the early to mid-1700’s and ended up in New York and West Virginia. 

The Southern European label is the one that confuses me the most.  According to my test, I have 13% Southern European ancestry which includes Italy, Spain & Portugal.  As far as I know, I have no ancestry from that area.  It is a large enough chunk that it leads me to believe that it might come from my Friddle ancestry.  I make this guess…because of all my family lines, this is the one I know the least about.  My great great grandfather first shows up in 1858 in a record.  By that point, he has been married and already had several children and the 1858 record is his second marriage.  I’ve never been able to locate an 1850 census record for him nor any mention of parents.  My great uncle told me that his father had told him that Moses Friddles was supposedly a foundling child.  He was taken in by a family and raised by them and his ancestry is unknown.  I have no proof of the accuracy of this story.  Most of my family lines trace back to before the 1700’s with only a few exceptions and most of those lines come through either England or Germany.  So…this is definitely a puzzle.

My test also says that I have 12% British Isles ancestry.  Since, there is such a predominance of Scandinavian ancestry in my family that I think comes through England…this ancestry is also puzzling.  I suspect that is an area that had little contact with the pillaging Vikings which leads me to guess that it might be Wales.  According to some of the information that I have read, my mother’s paternal grandfather’s mother was supposedly from a Welsh background.  With a surname like Jones – I’m not sure how you can make that assumption because that name is so common.    However, it is a decent theory to look into.

The test leaves me with a lot of questions and possible contacts.  Several matches have come up that are likely 4^th to 6^th cousins.  With as many family lines that I have – I suspect that it won’t be easy to really establish a true match.  However the question that I have always had about the Native American ancestry is answered and like most others…is proved false.    (See Blog – Do I have Native American ancestry? - http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2011/11/do-i-have-native-american-ancestry.html for more info!)

So here are some of my main family lines and my best guess as to where they came from:

Paternal Lines:

• Johnson – England
• Gage – England
• Gallup – England
• Montanye – France
• Shawver – Germany
• Pitsenbarger – Switzerland
• Lyons – Ireland
• Pope – England

Maternal Lines:

• Tannahill – Scotland
• Brown – England or Ireland
• Bailey – Ireland
• Jones – Wales
• Dollar – Scotland
• Friddle - ???
• Pennington – England
• Allen – England
• Kelley – Ireland
• Fillinger - Ireland

Tenuous Irish Ties

I have never been able to claim any other native country other than my own.  I don’t have any ancestors who arrived in the United States that I know of – any later than 1810.  My ancestors didn’t come over and land on Ellis Island and watch the Statue of Liberty out their window – most of them came on the Mayflower or within a hundred years of the Mayflower.  Most of my families are English, German, and Dutch with a bit of Scottish and Irish thrown in for good measure.  I just wish I knew more about my Irish roots…since I have always been fascinated with Ireland.

My 4^th great grandmother was Mary Jane Callison.  She was born in 1804 in Greenbrier VA (now WV) and died on 5 May 1854 on Mill Creek Mountain, Greenbrier Co., WV.  Mary married Robert Shawver on 25 Apr 1820 and they were the parents of nine children, including my 3^rd great grandfather George William Shawver.  She was the daughter of Isaac Callison and Mary Cavendish who were both first generation descendants of Irish immigrants.  Sir James Callison, Sr was born about 1739 in Ballyhagen, Armagh Co., Ireland and was married to Elizabeth McCallister who was reputed to be born in North Ireland.  I have no idea as to what prompted them to come to American…It seems that most who came in those early days (first 150 years) came for opportunity or for religious freedom.  Can’t help if both might have been in play here…I know enough to say that if you were a Protestant and a Catholic and tried to marry in Ireland…there might have been problems.  That is just a guess of course…but it does make sense.  Mary Cavendish was also the daughter of William Hunter Cavendish.  Story goes that William Hunter Cavendish was the illegitimate son of Margaret and an aristocrat who was born in Ireland in 1740 and came over to America with his mother and sisters.  Strictly speaking, William Cavendish was born in Ireland, but more than likely was of English descent. 

My great grandmother always told my mother that she was of Scots-Irish descent.  Seeing that she was from the Appalachian area of the country…this is not a surprise.  Sophia Dollar Friddle was born in 1894 to John Dula Dollar and Buena Vista Bailey.  The Irish line is obviously the Baileys…but I sure wish there more bread crumbs to trace them to Ireland.  Jasper Bailey was Buena Vista’s father and from what I can tell, he was born in 1842 in Ohio and died near Abingdon, Washington Co., VA in 1928.  I know he was born in Ohio from census records – but I haven’t been able to locate him I the 1850 census with any faith in the accuracy nor have I been able to find him in the 1860 census.  He turns up in the 1870 census with three children and a wife named Margaret.  I have since found out that he was first married to a Martha Ellen Church.  However, I am very interested in Margaret – and this 1870 census is the only record that I have of her name.  Anyway, Margaret dies and he marries his ex-brother-in-law’s widow, Rachel McBride.  It is fairly obvious from Jasper’s last name that he was most likely from Irish descent and I am sure that my great grandmother heard that from him personally…I just wish I could figure out when and where his family came from with some sort of proof.

My last line with Irish roots is that of John Nathan Lyons.  I first found mention of him in my great great great grandfather’s death record.  John Nathan Lyons was born about 1790 in Ireland and probably arrived in the United States in 1810 or so…or at least before his marriage to Mary French in 1817.  He lived to be an old man of 90 years old and died in 1880 in Manchester, New Hampshire.  I have seen a record that lists his father as Timothy and his mother as Honora.  I have also seen a few other items that lead me to doubt this…

So here I am…searching in vain for the Irish ancestry that I always thought I had.  My claims are tenuous and unproven…and I wonder if I will ever find proof.  All I can do is what I have always done…keep searching.  Perhaps someday, I will find who Jasper Bailey’s parents were or why James Callison left Ireland and perhaps where John Nathan Lyons immigrated from in Ireland.  These are three separate branches on my family tree that as yet don’t have any connections beyond what I already have!  So, as I prepare the corn beef and cabbage and soda bread tomorrow on St. Patrick’s Day – I will celebrate those tenuous ties to my Irish heritage.

An Educational Pioneer

Rev. Ralph Wheelock is someone of importance that I imagine most people know very little about.  He was born in Dorrington, Shropshire England on 14 May 1600 and attended Cambridge and was a contemporary of John Milton.  He got a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1626 and a Master of Arts in 1631. Rev. Wheelock married Rebecca Clarke on 17 May 1630 in England.  Their first three children were born in England and they immigrated in 1637 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and set out like many others to build a new life.  (According to some there were about 20,000 immigrants in the Great Migration years from 1630-1640 – for more information check Puritan Migration to New England (1620-1640)

Rev. Wheelock and his wife settled in Watertown, MA and later joined in a plan to create a settlement further up the Charles River later to be called Dedham.  Rev Wheelock was involved with helping to found the town, involved in its early government and various other governmental functions.   In 1651, Rev. Wheelock and his family moved to the town of New Dedham, later called Medfield.  Rev. Wheelock is counted upon as one of its founders.  All of these duties and activities make Rev. Ralph Wheelock significant in the early years of these communities; however what I find to be truly significant is his role as an educator.

One of Rev. Wheelock’s early activities was raising money to help fund the new college at Harvard which was founded in 1636.  Rev. Wheelock was a minister by profession but he was an educator at heart.  According to some records, he was probably one of the first public school teachers in America.  In 1644, Dedham established the first free school in Massachusetts that was supported by taxes, and Rev. Ralph Wheelock was the first teacher at this school.  He was an enthusiastic teacher and supported of education in early Massachusetts.  Reverend Wheelock died in 1683 in Medfield, MA surviving his wife by three years (she died 1 Jan 1680) It must have been an important part of his family philosophy because his great grandson went on to become the founder of Dartmouth College.  If you are interested in more info on Rev. Wheelock check out the Biography of Reverend Ralph Wheelock on Rick Sullivan’s website.

My particular line to Rev. Ralph Wheelock is the following:

• Rev. Ralph Wheelock m. Rebecca Clarke
• Benjamin Wheelock, Sr. m. Elizabeth Bullen
• Benjamin Wheelock m. Huldah Thayer
• Jonathan Wheelock m. Martha Wight
• Asa Wheelock m. Rachel Drury
• Mary Wheelock m. Winslow Pope
• Francis Pope m. Belinda Willey
• Winslow Lonsdale Pope m. Nancy Ann Marie Lyons
• Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson
• Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Marian Gage

Frank and Marian were my grandparents.  When most of us have early American history, most teacher gloss over these early years.  We are taught a bit about the Pilgrims and maybe a little about the foundation of the other colonies.  We don’t learn about some of these early pioneers to our country.  As a nation, we celebrate the pioneers in our heritage, but I bet the image that comes to mind are those brave souls who traveled with their wagons across the Oregon Trail.  These early immigrants to the New World left behind everything and while some were pursing financial opportunities, many of these early pioneers were pursing the freedom to practice their own faith the way they chose.  Some like Rev. Wheelock also took the opportunity to help start a free school so that all children would have an opportunity for an education.  I wish all of those students today who bemoan the fact that they have to go to school that it is a privilege to have the opportunity of an education and to take advantage of that opportunity instead of squandering it!

Grandpa Winslow

I have found my great great grandfather to be a fascinating character.  I don’t think he ever had any fame or was anything special to society.  However, what I have read about him tells me that he was a good man who wasn’t afraid of hard work or a challenge.  He also was remarkably good humored and stories that I have read a great story teller.  Winslow Lonsdale Pope was born 1 Nov 1847 in Warwick, Drummond, Quebec and died 2 Oct 1928 in Weston, Middlesex Co., MA.  He was the son of Francis Pope and Belinda Willey and the grandson of Winslow Pope and Mary Wheelock.  Winslow was the second child in his family to be named Winslow Lonsdale Pope – he had an older brother who was born in 1839 and died in 1842.  I’ve never understood giving a child a name that had been an older deceased child’s name.  I’m sure I look at the situation with a modern interpretation. 

Winslow married Martha Rutherford in Barnet Co., VT on 30 May 1868.  They were married 11 years and had 4 children, 2 of whom survived to adulthood.  Martha woke up one night with severe abdominal pains as bad pains in the back of her head and neck.  She slipped into a coma and died shortly thereafter.  Winslow was left with two children to care for and must have been desolate with his wife’s death.  He married Nancy Ann Marie Lyons on 19 Mar 1881.  At 26 years old, she must have been considered to be an old maid.  Within 5 years, they had left New Hampshire and had traveled to Dickinson Co., IA.  There they had 4 of their seven children.  Here is a list of their children:

·        Shirlie Louisa b. 14 Jul 1881 Burke, Caledonia Co., VT d. 14 Apr 1927 Dunn Center, Dunn Co., ND

·         Anna May b. 5 Nov 1883 Bath, Grafton Co., NH d. 30 Nov 1935 Wing, Burleigh Co., ND

·         Mattie Winnova b. Jan 1886 Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA d. 21 Jul 1901 Sioux Valley, Jackson Co., MN

·         Verna Myra b. 1 Mar 1889 Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA d. 18 Sep 1946 Turtle Lake, McLean Co., ND

·         Hazel Bell b. 17 Dec 1891 Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA d. 8 Jul 1921 Turtle Lake, McLean Co., ND

·         John Francis b. 26 Nov 1895 Sioux Valley, Jackson Co., MN d. aft 1934

·         Plumer Elwood b. 24 Nov 1897 Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA d. 8 Nov 1981 Wells River, Orange Co., VT

The older children were:

·         Male Pope b. Jul 1869 Landaff, Grafton Co., NH d. Sep 1869, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT

·         Addie C. b. 20 Nov 1870 Haverhill, Grafton Co., NH d. 16 Aug 1872 Danville, Caledonia Co., VT

·         Francis Hooker b. 22 Jan 1873 Greenbank’s Hollow, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT d. 21 Dec 1934 Auburndale, Middlesex Co., MA

·         Viola Belinda  b. 15 Sep 1875 Danville, Caledonia Co., VT d. 2 Feb 1892 Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA

Winslow with Shirlie and Anna May

Winslow and Nancy moved to McLean Co., ND sometime around 1905.  Not too long after their move, Nancy died of tuberculosis.   After the 1910 census, Winslow left ND and went back east.  His oldest son, Francis or Frank as he was called had moved to Middlesex Co., MA by 1897.  Winslow joined him after 1910 and married for the third time an older woman who was caring for her two nieces.  Winslow was settled in MA but still made several trips back to North Dakota to visit his family.  He had a good enough relationship to carry on a correspondence with his granddaughter, Nan Johnson.  We have copies of many of those letters. 

I suspect that Winslow had a pioneer’s heart.  He enjoyed the challenges that life offered and wasn’t afraid to move somewhere else if he saw an opportunity.  Winslow was recorded I Landaff, Grafton Co., NH in 1870, Bath, Grafton Co., NH in 1880, Sioux Valley, Jackson Co., N in 1900 and Washburn, Mclean Co., ND.  He was recorded for the last time in 1920 in Weston, Middlesex Co., MA.  We know that he was in Minnesota by 1885 because of the births of his children.    During his lifetime, he worked as a farmer, a lumberman and a cook.  He died at the age of 81 of a cerebral hemorrhage. 

Winslow - Taken about a week before he died.

When you consider the timeline of his life – it is sad to note that of 11 children – he outlived all but 5 of his children as well as two wives.  He also outlived all but one of his 10 siblings.  Yet when you read his letters there is a sense of humor and kindness that is evident to his granddaughter.  It is obvious that he was a good man and well beloved by his family.  This is pretty good epitaph for a lifetime, don’t you think?

Chink in a Brick Wall - John Lyons

When you start looking at ancestors who lived in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s there are some special challenges involved.  One of these ancestors for me is John N. Lyons.  He was born in 1790 in Ireland and is probably the latest immigrant ancestor that I know of in my family.  His granddaughter, Nancy Ann Marie Lyons is my great great grandmother is and is the mother of Shirlie Louisa Pope.

I suspect that John arrived either before 1800 or shortly thereafter.  I haven’t as yet found out a listing on a ship with he or is family’s names.  However, I need to look at what I have found this year.  I live in Lewiston, ID and have no large genealogical library nearby nor do I have much time to do research during the day as I work a full time job.  So, I am very dependent on online resources – especially for famlies who lived across the country.  Thanks to some new databases that have been publisshed online – I have made some definite progress this past year.

John Lyons was married to Mary French on 4 Sep 1817 in Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA – I initially got their names from their son’s death record (John Nathan Lyons)  who would have been my 4^th great grandfather.  With as common a name as John, it is easy to confuse him with others in the same region.  Ancestry published the New Hampshire Death & Burial Records Index this past year, and I was able to find John Lyons mentioned as well as the names of his parents – Timothy and Honora.  As yet, I haven’t located his wife, Mary, but I hope to tackle her again soon.

I have also made progress using Family Search which is located at www.familysearch.org and is run by the LDS church.  Using their database of Massachusetts marriage records, I was able to piece together information on John and Mary’s children.  I am only descended from John Nathan Lyons – but I always like to get information on the sbilings.  You never know when you can locate a descendant and maybe get a little more information.

If you are a paid subscriber of Ancestry.com – pay attention to the new databases that are announced and spend the time every few months to hit some of these brick walls.  You never know when you will make a breakthrough.  Don’t forget to check www.familysearch .org as well.  My advice is to start a broad search and then narrow your parameters.  I look at John Lyons and see him as a success…for the past year I have created several chinks in that brick wall.  Here is the info that I have on him!

John N. Lyons b. 1790 Ireland d. 11 Dec 1880 Manchester, NH m. Mary W. French b. abt 1790 MA d. bef 1860

•  Sarah Ann Lyons b. 8 Aug 1818 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 3 Nov 1910 Billerica, Middlesex Co., MA m. George C. Leonard 14 Sept 1843 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
•  John Nathan Lyons b. 23 Apr 1820 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA d. 7 Apr 1911 Bath, Grafton Co., NH m. Mary Elizabeth Reed  21 Dec 1845, Fairlee, Orange Co., VT m.  Elizabeth Snow 23 Mar 1893 Manchester, NH
•  Charles E. Lyons b. Mar 1831 Oxford, NH d. aft 1900 m. Wate Holmes 22 Nov 1855 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• James D. Farnsworth Lyons b. 1834 Oxford, NY d. 15 Mar 1887 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Harriet M. Getchell  bef 1866
•  Myra L. Lyons b. 1836 Oxford, NH d. 8 Aug 1895 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA m. Edward Evertt Lothrop 4 Jan 1857 Randolph, Norfolk Co., MA
• Mary E. Lyons b. abt 1840 Oxford, NH

My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 3

It is fun to study one’s maternal lines – you never know what you’ll find or where they will end up.  In our search for information on my Mom’s Allen line – we kept running into research that just wasn’t quite right.  The family story was that we were related to Ethan Allen of the Green Mountain boys from the Revolutionary War…so everyone was trying to make the Ethan Allen’s line mesh with our Adoniram Allen line…and they never worked.  It turned out that the tie was not with the Allen line but rather with their mothers…who were sisters.  It was a lesson well learned and I have found some interesting family lines on the maternal side of the family…and here is one that ties my father’s family and mother’s family together by marriage!

William White was a passenger on the Mayflower and he died on 21 Feb 1620.  Beyond that there really isn’t much more information.  He was married to a woman named Susanna and traveled on the Mayflower with his son Resolved.  Susanna White gave birth to a son named Peregrine on board the Mayflower while it was docked off of Cape Cod while the Pilgrims were trying to find a place to place their colony.  William White was one of the passengers who died on during that first winter leaving his wife with two young children to care for.  I don’t that anyone has found anything concrete on William White’s ancestry – White has to be almost as common of a name as Johnson to research.  There were a few Whites in Leiden, Holland who were possibilities, but they have been discounted.  No one knows what Susanna White’s maiden name was either.  So, she remains Susanna, wife of William White and Edward Winslow.  After the death of her husband in February, she married another widower who had lost his wife as well, Edward Winslow. 

Edward Winslow was one of the leaders of the Plymouth colony and was in fact its’ third governor.  Edward came on the Mayflower with his brother, Gilbert and his wife, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth died soon after arrival and Gilbert went back to England.  Edward married Susanna in May of 1621.  They had five children but only two lived to adulthood and had children.  Several of Edward’s brothers came within a decade, one of whom was Kenelm Winslow, my 9^th great grandfather.  So…with all of the research that Mom and I did…the only tie we ever found between my parents was when Mom’s 9^th great grandmother married Dad’s 8^th great-granduncle.  Susanna lived to be an old woman and died almost 50 years after the arrival of the Mayflower in 1680.  Edward died in 1655 while on journey to Hispaniola and was buried at sea.

Here are my lines is my line to William White & wife, Susanna.

• William White m. Susanna
• Resolved White m. Judith Vassal
• Anna White m. John Hayward
• Sarah Hayward m. David Allen
• David Allen m. Sarah Baker
• Adoniram “Teges” Allen m. Elizabeth Morris
• Morris Allen m. Rachel Bishop
• Ailey Allen m. William Kelly
• John Ward Kelly m. Melvina Robertson
• Sarah Rachel Kelly m. John Lyons Tannahill
• Oliver Richard Tannahill m. Capitola Friddle
• Betty Jean Tannahill m. Eugene Johnson
• Me!

Here is my line to Edward Winslow’s brother, Kenelm – both were sons of Edward Winslow and Magdalene Ollyver…

• Kenelm Winslow m. Eleanor Newton
• Kenelm Winslow m. Mercy Worden
• Kenelm Winslow m. Bethia Hall & Edward Winslow m. Sarah
• Hannah Winslow m. Edward Winslow (yes they were first cousins)
• Sarah Winslow m. Seth Pope
• Winslow Pope m. Mary Wheelock
• Francis Pope m. Belinda Willey
• Winslow Lonsdale Pope m. Nancy Ann Marie Lyons
• Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson
• Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Gage
• Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill
• Me!

Both of these lines were branches off of maternal lines in my family.  My advice is to not forget the women in the family.  You might find some of your most interesting ancestors!

Shirlie Louisa Pope Johnson

One of the first things that I discovered about Shirlie Louisa Pope Johnson, my great grandmother, was that we had been spelling her name incorrectly.  In just about everything that I had read about her had her name spelled Shirley – but her birth record has her name listed as Shirlie.  An odd spelling – but I suppose it was nice to be unique.  She faced many challenges and tragedies in her life. 

Winlsow with Shirlie and younger sister Anna May.

Nancy Ann Marie Lyons Pope - Shirlie's Mother

Shirlie was born in Burke, Caladonia Co., VT on 14 Jul 1881, the eldest daughter of Winslow Lonsdale Pope and Nancy Ann Marie Lyons.  By the time she was four years old, her family had moved to Lake Park, Dickinson Co., IA and they were living in Minnesota by the time the 1900 census.  They then moved to McLean Co., ND sometime after 1900.  Winslow bought some property there and by 11 Nov 1903, Shirlie had married Charles A. White.  Charles & Shirlie had two boys, George b. 1904 and Elmer b. 1906.  Just before the birth of her youngest son, Shirlie’s mother died of Tuberculosis.  When her youngest son was less than a year old, she lost her husband.  He had been out fighting a prairie fire and smoke inhalation killed him less than 6 days after fighting the fire.  It must have been so difficult to be a young 25 year old widow with two children to take care of with probably little money to help her along the way.  About a year later, she married Ulpian Grey Johnson on 27 Apr 1909 in Washburn, McLean Co., NC.  Ulpian or George as he was called had emigrated up to North Dakota from Iowa following the railroad and ended up homesteading in North Dakota in 1908.

Shirlie and her first husband Charles White.

By 1910, Shirlie and Ulpian are living in Dunn Center, Dunn Co., ND and have had their oldest daughter, Mary (b. 27 Jan 1910), and Nancy Mae followed on 9 Mar 1912.  My grandfather, Frank Stewart was b. 10 Oct 1912 and Hazel born/died 9 Mar 1919 and the youngest; Audrey was b. 22 Jan 1923.  I still remember that I was very excited when I got access to the 1920 census, that I would be able to find my grandfather…alas they were not counted.  My father believes that they were on their homestead on the Missouri River breaks.  Not too long after that, I’m sure they were forced to leave their home because of the building of a dam on the Missouri river that flooded their home.

In early spring in 1927, Shirlie died tragically and quickly of pneumonia.  We take for granted today the availability of antibiotics to help combat infections but in the late 1920’s they were not available and pneumonia could quickly lead to death.  Her sister, Verna, traveled across the Missouri river on a horse across the ice to try and help nurse her, but she succumbed much too quickly.  It couldn’t have been an easy situation.  I know that the family had little money and no prospect of much money.  Ulpian and Shirlie’s oldest daughter was handicapped and possibly mentally slow.  As my father has said – he was sure if his Aunt Mary’s mental abilities was a result of her handicap or was just exacerbated by it.  I have heard stories that Shirlie wasn’t that bright…but I find that difficult to believe.   From what I have learned – she was strong one in the family who kept “things” together.  Her husband was handicapped somewhat by a farm accident and had little arm strength.  Shirlie’s husband fell apart and it was up to her my grandfather and his sister Nan to take care of the family.  Nan was 15 years old and my grandfather Frank was 13 – both quit school and went to work to provide for their family.  I know that Shirlie’s sister, Verna, blamed Ulpian for not getting her medical care soon enough – and I don’t think there was much family support from Shirlie’s family after her death.

Taken shortly after Shirlie's death - Back Left to right: Ulpian,
Nan, Mary, Frank - Front - Audrey & Mary

 

There was a reason my grandfather didn’t know anything about his mother’s family.  Other than letters, they had little contact with Shirlie’s family.  Grandpa Frank didn’t know that his mother’s family was amongst the earliest settlers in the United States.  A few years after his mother’s death, they discovered a burning coal mine under the ground at the Old Dunn Center Cemetery and were advised that anyone buried there should be moved to the new cemetery.  When my grandfather moved to Idaho with his family, he made arrangements to have his mother and his baby sister, Hazel, moved.  Unfortunately, it was never done and she remained in a poorly marked grave in the Old Dunn Center cemetery.  We went back to Dunn Co., ND many years ago and attempted to locate her grave.  We think that we know where she is buried – but we can’t be sure.  We can only estimate based on the available records.  A few years ago, my grandmother (Marian) placed a stone at the New Dunn Center cemetery listing Shirley and Hazel as well as Ulpian on the gravestone.  I don’t think that she knew at the time that she had misspelled Shirlie’s name – but then she had already done that once before – when my grandparents named their oldest daughter Shirley. 

I find it difficult to really understand the life that my great grandmother had lived.  I have no basis for comparison to understand what it must have been like to face what she did.  She lost in her lifetime a husband, her mother, and child.  There was nothing easy about where she lived or how she lived.  They had horrible winters and brutal summers and it was even worse in the 1920’s.   Shirlie never lived to see her children grown and married or see any of her grandchildren.  I know that she was a much loved sister, wife and mother and that her death made a profound impact on her husband and children’s lives.  My grandfather didn’t have a lot of things to remember his family by – some pictures and few items from his family - one of my grandfather’s most prized possessions was a button box that is sitting on a shelf in a place of honor at my aunt’s home, it was one of the few things that he had of his mothers.