Odds and Ends

Here are a couple of useful links that have just been added to my Genealogy Sites page:

Online Searchable Death Indexes for the USA
Includes Obituaries, Cemeteries & the Social Security Death Index
This site has links to a lot of resources in almost every state. Some of the databases are the same ones you’d pay for on Ancestry.com.

Geauga County, Ohio USGenWeb Archives
The link is difficult to find on the Geauga County GenWeb page and there is enough information in this archive to deserve its own link. Once you’ve opened this is your browser you can navigate to the archives for other counties and states.

And just to keep my tables symmetrical, I added a link to the Portage County, Ohio USGenWeb site.

Over the Labor Day weekend, I did a lot of little projects, or at least started them. I did a little more research on Uri Blakeslee’s line and dug around for more on Jason Blakeslee and his descendants. I began consolidating all the information I’ve garnered from the Morley Library’s Lake County Obituary Index. They’re up to M now in the pre-1997 obituaries so I followed up on that. I am also trying to consolidate what I’ve gathered from the Ohio Death Certificate Index, 1913-1944. I have multiple entries from both indexes scattered among my leads files. It would be good to have one list for each index from which to decide what obituaries and death certificates to request.

I’ve corrected the HTML coding errors I found on the CD and the Web site. The images and links on the pages for the Blakeslee wills are all correct now. I fixed the page in the photos section that had been identified as “Allan and Harland Romig.” It is actually Allan and Andrew. They are now properly identified on the page and the image file has been renamed as well. There are probably more errors on the CD (and probably the site) so if you find any links that don’t work or pages that don’t look right, don’t hesitate to let me know. I want it to be right.

If you use Firefox (everyone should) and found that my genealogy software page didn’t display the background and a couple of images, you’ll be glad to know I’ve fixed that error as well. Since the pages are now hosted on a Linux server instead of a Windows server, backslashes in the file paths do make a difference with a browser that’s more standards compliant than Internet Explorer. Of course, while I was editing to page to change three backslashes to forward slashes, I couldn’t resist tweaking the rest of the code just a bit. I guess that’s the latent programmer in me. Programming projects are never finished, only abandoned.

Blakeslee Probate & Sweet Research

The FHL films finally arrived and I reviewed the probate documents for Cooper and Uri Blakeslee. I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t reveal much in the way of new information. I printed out the documents from Cooper’s probate with the exception of his will, which I already had.

While trying to locate more information on Neva S. Sweet (2C2R), daughter of Orlo Mitchell Sweet (1C3R) and Alverda McNamee, I found plenty on the family of her husband, Roy E. Bosworth but what became of her is still a mystery. That search kind of led me to trying to determine what happened to Orlo’s brother Wesley and, in particular, his son from his first marriage, Charles Edwin Carroll Sweet (2C2R).

Wesley Sweet’s first wife, Agnes Loretta Carroll died in December 1908 of pneumonia leaving Wesley a widower with a four-year-old child. According to the online Lake County Probate Birth records, Charles was born on 6 Dec 1904 in Painesville. The newspaper articles concerning her death and funeral service indicated that Agnes had been ill for some time and had returned to Painesville from Chicago only a few weeks before she died. Other than his birth, I haven’t been able to locate any other information on Charles. He does not appear with Wesley in either the 1920 or the 1930 Census. I haven’t been able to locate either of them in the 1910 Census.

Around 1911, Wesley remarried. He married Nellie Mootz of Washington state. By 1930 they had three children and had traveled a bit. Daughter Marie A. (or Agnes M.) was born in California in 1913, son Lawrence was born in North Dakota in 1916, and daughter Yvonne was born in Oregon in 1929. Wesley’s WWI draft registration places him in Washington in 1918 as does the 1920 Census.

It wasn’t until yesterday that I knew his second wife’s surname. Since their daughter Marie A. Sweet was, according the census records, born in California, I figured if I could find her in the California Birth Index, it would give me her mother’s maiden name. Initially, I didn’t see her so I listed every female Sweet born within a couple of years of 1913 but no Marie or Mary listed seemed to be a close enough match. Then one name caught my eye — Agnes M. Sweet born 8 January 1913 in San Joaquin County. The mother’s maiden name was listed as Mootz. I remembered seeing the name Mootz on the same page of the 1920 Census where I had found Wesley and Nellie Sweet. Was this a clue?

I went back to the 1920 Census record and Wesley and Nellie lived next door to a Mark Mootz, a widower from Luxemburg. Nellie’s census data listed her parents as being from Luxemburg; it looked like there might be a connection. I found him in the same place in the 1910 and 1900 census enumerations. In the 1900 census, he had a daughter named Nellie and her listed birth date matched the Social Security records I had found on her. (The 1900 Census listed the month and year of birth.) Another mystery was solved.

However, Wesley and his son Charles still remain a mystery. I’m not sure where Wesley was born. The 1900 census indicates he was born in Ohio (probably Lake County) but he claimed to have been born in South Dakota in 1920 and 1930 census records. Probate birth records show that his next older brother Herbert was born in Painesville in 1873. I haven’t been able to locate the family in the 1880 census and the family was in Hutchinson County, South Dakota by 1885. I found the family in the 1885 South Dakota Territorial Census (listed as Lout) and it shows that Wesley was born in the Dakota Territory.

Blakeslee probate documents

The probate documents I requested from the Geauga County Archives arrived today. The were the wills of Cooper and Uri Blakeslee, which were entered into the probate ledgers after their deaths. I’ve only briefly perused them but Cooper’s will lists his wife and children.

To Mary, his wife, he provided for the use of his farm while she lived or remained his widow.

Theda Brockett – five dollars
Almira Webster – fifteen dollars
Louisa Knapp – fifteen dollars
Lucretia Blakeslee – forty dollars
Mary Stockwell – twenty-five dollars
Horace Blakeslee – forty dollars
Orren Blakeslee – one hundred dollars
Jared Blakeslee – one hundred dollars
Uri and Jason Blakeslee – the remainder of his farm in equal proportion.

The will was dated January 3, 1840. It was witnessed by Nathan Warren and Jonathan Rand and entered by the clerk on March 30, 1842.

That confirms three children (Mary, Uri, and Jason) for whom I’d seen references. I’ve also seen a reference to an Elizabeth but she isn’t mentioned in the will. I would surmise that either she wasn’t one of his children or she was deceased by 1840.

I need to start looking for good information on Mary, Uri, and Jason. Much of the information I’ve seen in Ancestry World Tree and the LDS site was submitted by someone who is quite well known for posting erroneous information so I can’t trust anything she posts. Census records indicate Uri was born in Connecticut about 1817. I’m pretty sure Cooper was still in the New Haven area around that time. I suspect that Mary and Jason may have been born in New Marlborough, Massachusetts.

I went to the NEHGS site and looked around there a bit. I didn’t find anything on Cooper Blakeslee but I found History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut and looked through it. I found references to Horace Webster and Almira Blakeslee and followed their descendants as far is my great-grandfather, Willis Webster. I’m extremely certain of my descendancy from Willis so this book takes me back to Gov. John Webster.

I’m still looking forward to seeing the LDS films of the probate documents, especially now that I know Uri’s relationship.

Blakeslee questions

At long last I made the trip to my local Family History Center and ordered the Blakeslee probate documents. I am hoping they will answer a lot of my questions. I’m looking forward to its arrival.

I sent an e-mail to the Geauga County Archives on Monday, requesting whatever information they have about the probate ledgers for Cooper and Uri Blakeslee. I still haven’t heard from them. I’ve been told they’re generally very responsive. I guess if I don’t hear anything by Thursday, I’ll send a request via snail mail.

I’m not sure what the relationship between Cooper and Uri was but I’m hoping to find out. There were several Blakeslee families that made the journey from Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Western Reserve and most are related somehow. I’m hoping Cooper’s probate documents will give me more information on his children. I know about his children who were born in Connecticut but I’ve also heard about children who were born in New Marlborough, Massachusetts. Lately, I’ve been hearing that his wife may not have been Mary Sackett although virtually all the genealogies I’ve seen indicate that she is. I’m wondering what became of her after Cooper’s death. Did she return to Connecticut where she died in about 1850 or did she remain in Ohio? Cooper and Mary had at least one daughter who did not emigrate to Ohio, remaining in Connecticut. I have had no luck in locating Mary in the 1850 census.

Maybe later this summer or in the early fall, I can take a week’s vacation and make a trip to the home territory for a research trip. I’m sure I could spend at least a day in each of three libraries — Morley, Chardon, and Geneva. There are also cemeteries to visit. I still need to photograph the Gaines headstones I missed last time. To tell the truth, I could spend months conducting research in Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties.

Catching up

I received some new information on my Uttley line the other day. I worked it into the tree and did some follow up research on Ancestry.com. I’m up to the letter “R” in my sorting of the dead. Even after I finish the Z surnames, I’m sure there will be some living dead in the tree. I keep finding BENEDICT and BLAKESLEE names that are still marked as living, mostly names for whom I have no birth dates. I’ll get them all eventually.

I’ve been meaning to update the web site but every time I start to do that, I find something that needs fixed, which leads me down another path and I end up adding more to the tree. What I need to do is just create the GEDCOMs, run the programs, make the trees, update the pages and post them. I must resist the urge to change things at that time. I need to update the site; I can fix errors and include the changes in the next update. I should be doing this at least monthly.

I got an anonymous e-mail through Ancestry about information I “posted” on Ancestry concerning Elizabeth BLAKESLEE (2C9R), daughter of John BLAKESLEE and Lydia (unknown), born 1 Mar 1702 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut. The only information of mine that’s in AWT is her name, date and location of birth, and her husband’s name. The author’s concern seems to be data showing that their children were born after they were dead. Yeah, that’s an inconsistency all right. Of course, my tree was only one of over 30 trees with this individual so I imagine it went to the owners of each of those trees.

Apparently, the data in the e-mail comes from Ancestry’s One World Tree, which I’ve found to be extremely unreliable. It pulls information from whatever trees are posted and other Ancestry databases and makes guesses about relationships. To make matters worse, anybody can post changes to the data. I’ve found incredible errors in lines that I know to be fact from personal knowledge. I find it useful for leads and I’ll go to the AWT trees for further information. Apparently, a lot of people take the One World Tree data as gospel.

I’ve been able to remove two of my old trees from AWT that were under an old e-mail address. There’s still a tree that’s at least a year old on there but it doesn’t show up in my account and I haven’t been able to delete it. I quit posting trees to AWT and refer people to my genealogy site instead since it will have my most recent information. I seem to have a hard enough time keeping my site up to date.

Cooper Blakeslee info

I’ve been looking at census records for Cooper Blakeslee, particularly for the years 1800-1830. In 1800 he and Mary lived in North Haven, Connecticut and had two children under10 (Horace and Theda). In 1810 they were in East Haven and there was one boy under 10 (Orrin) and a son 10-15 (Horace). There were also three daughters under 10 (Lucretia, Louisa, and Almira) and a daughter 10-15 (Theda).

I’ve seen references to at least three children ( Mary, Jason, and Uri) born to Cooper and Mary after they moved to New Marborough around 1818.Theda married Levi Brockett in 1817 in New Haven where they remained throughout their lives. Almira married Horace Webster in 1818 in North Haven.

In the 1820 census – two sons under 10 (Jared and another boy), one son 10-15 (Orrin), one daughter under 10 (possibly Mary, born about 1819), a daughter 10-15 (Lucretia), and a daughter 16-25 (Louisa). The 1830 census showed one son under 10 (possibly Uri), one son 10-14 (possibly Jason), and a son 15-19 (Jared). Horace had his own household nearby. A daughter 10-14 (possibly Mary) and another daughter 20-29 (Lucretia) were in the household.

By the 1840 census the family was in Thompson, Geauga, Ohio. The census showed two children living at home – a male 20-29 (probably Jared) and a daughter 10-14, which could be Mary although the age is a few years too young.

I am going to have to get a look at the Geauga County probate documents for Cooper and Uri Blakeslee. I’m sure those documents would shed some light on Cooper’s family. I know there’s a copy at the library in Chardon and I should be able to look at the film through the LDS Family History Center. I’ll try the e-mail again. Maybe I’ll get a response this time.

I did a little more checking around at the LDS Family Search Site. It seems that there was a Uri Blakeslee born to Horace Blakeslee and Eunice Darling about 1825 in New Marborough. That would make sense. All of the census records for the Uri born in 1817 show that he was born in Connecticut so he is probably the son Cooper and Mary.

Mary Sackett Blakeslee in 1850

Yesterday I did a little searching to see if I could find Mary Sackett Blakeslee in the 1850 census. Most of the data I’ve seen says she died about 1850 in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut. Of Cooper and Mary’s seven offspring, it appears that only Theodora remained in Connecticut. The 1850 census show Theodora and her husband, Levi Brockett living in North Haven. I found no sign of Mary in Ohio or Connecticut in the 1850 census so it’s quite possible that she died before the census. A check of online cemetery information for New Haven County didn’t turn up anything either. I guess that will have to remain a mystery for a while.

I don’t know why I had Louisa Blakeslee Knapp dying in Connecticut in 1868, I probably found bad information on the Web or my fingers got happy entering data. A check of census records show her and husband Philander living in Geneva, Ashtabula, Ohio in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses. I didn’t expect them to appear in the 1900 census since they would have been in their late 90s, not impossible but highly unlikely.

Keeping things updated

At long last the letter to the Geauga County Genealogical Society requesting a copy of the Cooper Blakeslee probate documents is written. I will drop it off at the Post Office tomorrow. I still haven’t received a response to my e-mail with the same request.

I entered the information on Anna B. Foote, John E. Brown, and family into Legacy. I managed to find John E. Brown in the Morley Obituary Index and Alice M. White in Evergreen Cemetery. I should add both of them to my ever-growing obituary lookup list.

All of the genealogy pages have been updated and uploaded to the Web site. It’s about time. I need to go through some of the other pages and update them. I’m thinking about eliminating the monthly history pages. I haven’t updated them in a very long time and trying to keep them up to date has become virtually impossible. Maybe there’s a way to create a calendar from Legacy in html format.

I need to set aside some time to compile all of the census and other information I have on the Pettit line and send it to Richard Palmiter.

Dad wants prints of the two family portraits (Romig 1938 and Putka 1948) and the 50th Anniversary picture of Bert and Ethel. I’d better get on that soon.

Mandy’s kinfolk & Ohio history

I haven’t really done anything genealogy related for a few days. (Okay, it’s more like a week.) The other night, Mandy took a look at my Bailey, Mullins, and Estes lead files and made a few corrections although not as many as she probably wanted to. I’ll add this information to the tree this weekend and, hopefully, get an update up on the Web site. By the way, Steve’s grandmother’s maiden name was Alma Bascom. She was Native American and came from the reservation to live with the Ellington family. I guess it’s a subject that’s not talked about in the family. I’ll make a note to that effect in Legacy.

Yesterday, I made a minor update to the main page, adding a link to an online edition of Henry Howe’s Historical Collections of Ohio. I browsed through a few pages from the Geauga and Ashtabula County chapters and found it quite interesting. About the only possible relation I found was a mention of a Joel Blakeslee in Geauga County. Even if there are no relatives mentioned, it is still very interesting reading and gives me some insight as to what life was like in 19th century Ohio.

Hill gravestones

I got my photos of the Hill gravestones on Saturday. The stones are made from limestone, making them a bit difficult to read.

Yesterday I finished entering the Blakeslee data along with the Noah Webster information. We’re planning to head back to Dayton this morning so I’ll have to see the Blakeslee cabin in Plymouth Township on another visit.