52 Ancestors Week # 19 - LeDane/Lyddan

I have posted before about James J. LeDane/Lyddan but I would like to list all of his and Margaret's children in this post.

MaryAnna LeDane born 21 June 1866 West Virginia- married Charles Berger
Louisa LeDane born about 1868 no further information about her
Frances Adele LeDane born August 1869 in Maryland married Charles Gettings
Fanny LeDane born about 1871 no further information about her
Elizabeth LeDane born May 1872 in West Virginia married Harry Gorbutt
George E Lyddan/LeDane born 1 January 1874 in Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia.  He was not in the 1880 census on this family.
An unknown female

James Is believed to be the son of John Henry & Hannah Ladan found in WV in the 1850 census.  This family had many different spellings of the last name.  I have not been able to find James in the 1870 census with his family.  Still searching many different spellings.

52 Ancestor Challenge Week #18 - Edgar Allan Poe

When I was growing up my Grandmother Farley would often relay to us that Edgar Allan Poe was one of our ancestors.  Then I would ask her how was he related and she never really knew so lately I have been trying to find out IF there was a connection.  I have been puttering in genealogy for about 10 years - give or take and have never found any Poe connection.

Lately I have been working on my Rees/Reese ancestors and finally found the answer as to whether or not we have a connection  to Edgar Allan Poe.   The answer is yes BUT it is so far out there that I really hesitate to say he is an ancestor.

My 3rd great grandparents Daniel Evans & Ruth (Dawson) Reese had 15 children among them my great grandmother Maria Kenley Reese and an older sister Rebecca Reese.  Seems Rebecca was married to William E. Clemm and therein lies the connection to Edgar Allan Poe.  Rebecca's husband William E. Clemm was a half brother to Virginia Clemm who was married to Edgar Allan Poe.  Poe was also a cousin to Virginia Clemm but in neither line do we have a direct connection.  Sorry Nana it really doesn't count.

52 AncestorsChallenge - Week #17 Daniel Evans REESE revisited

Daniel Evans Reese was my 4th great grandfather and youngest child of  John Rees & Catharine (Evans) Rees.  He was born about 1769 near Newberrytown, York, PA.  He married Ruth Dawson. A list of members in the City of Baltimore found in the Register of the 1st Methodist Episcopal Church he is spoken of as a preacher and a "traveling" preacher.

Rev. Daniel Evans Reese died on the 17the of August 1849 and is buried at Mt Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore, MD.  His wife Ruth died the 23rd of February 1842 and also is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery , Baltimore, Maryland.  

Rev Daniel Evans & Ruth (Dawson)  Reese had 15 children:
Daniel Evans, Jr born after 1790
Thomas C. born about 1792
Joseph born about 1797
John W born about 1799
David Meredith born 1800
Catharine born 1801
Sarah Dawson born 1802
Anna R born 15  May  1804
Samuel born about 1808
Rebecca born 4 Sept 1809
Maria Kenley born 31 July 1813  *** my 3rd great grandmother
Caroline Barnes born about 1814
Mary Ann born about 1815
Elizabeth Jane born about 1816
Charles W. born about 1817

My grandmother always told the story that we were related to Edgar Allan Poe but I have never been able to confirm that.  I will be going to Richmond, Virginia soon and hope to find more that will either prove or disprove this story.

So far the only possible connection could be through Rebecca Reese who married a William E. Clemm.  I have not researched this family yet.

52 Ancestor Challenge -Week # 16 - Lizette Woodworth Reese 1856 - 1935

I have a good many Reese ancestors in my line.  I am wondering if Lizette Woodworth Reese can be added.  She was a noted poet in Maryland and was nearing 80 upon her death.  I have both her parents David & Louisa (Gabler) Reese.  I have census information from 1870, 1880 listing her father as head of house.  In the 1900 census her mother was head of house as her father passed in 1895.  I have found his burial location but have been unable to find his parents.  He was born in 1825 in Maryland so the records should be there I just haven't gone to the correct location.  I also have not been able to find her mothers date of death or burial.  I know she was still living in 1910 but by 1920 census Lizette was living with a younger sister and her family.  One day I will know if she can be added to my tree or not.

I will add this notation that I'm finally able to make a connection through the DNA Ancestry program with a new cousin I did not know about.  A step in the right direction for sure.

52 Ancestor Challenge - Week #15 THE CHINN/CHYNN MYSTERY

My 6th great grandmother was Ann Chinn who was married to Robert Edwards. I have information that she was born 1702 in Lancaster County, Virginia daughter of Joseph Chinn & Elizabeth (Ball) Chinn.  Ann was listed in the will of Joseph Chinn recorded 19 May 1774.  His will lists son: John Chinn; Daughter: Ann Edwards; Daughter Elizabeth Montague; Granddaughters Jane Montague & Priscilla Chinn; Grandsons: Joseph Chinn & John Yates Chinn.  Son John was listed as executor of the will that was made 1 June 1771.  From this point back it gets very cloudy. The big problem is there are so many with the same first names and the parents of my Joseph Chinn may not be the ones I had listed. 

52 Week Challenge - #14 ABBOTT family

ABBOTT FAMILY

 These photos are of the William Robert Abbott family.
William Robert Abbott was born 19 February 1866 in Ann Arundel County, Maryland and
was the son of William Martin and  Frances Virginia 
(Wilkison) Abbott.  He married Ariel Elizabeth Parlett on 19 June 1888.
 Ariel Elizabeth was daughter of David Oliver & Mary Louise (Knight) Parlett. William Robert & Ariel Elizabeth were both from affluent families of Annapolis, Maryland.  More on their families in another week.

William Robert & Ariel Elizabeth were my great grandparents on my maternal side.  My grandmother Ariel Bayne Abbott was the eldest daughter in this family.  On the top photo she is all the was on the right side standing.  I believe that photo was taken about 1917.  The bottom photo was most likely taken not long before William Robert died at the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. .  He was working nights when he died.  There are several stories about his death but since I am not certain of any of them they will not be repeated. My grandmother, Ariel Bayne (Abbott) Farley is standing on the left side in the back  in the bottom photo.  The parents were living in Lanham, MD at the time the bottom photo was taken. William Robert Abbott died 10 January 1925 in Washington, D.C. and is buried along with Ariel Elizabeth Abbott in Ft. Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, Maryland.  Ariel Elizabeth Abbott died 9 December 1958. 

This bottom photo of William Robert Abbott was a real find.  When I sent for his government records I was contacted that they had a photo of him in the file and would I like that also.  So very happy to have come across this photo.  It also is signed by him on the bottom so I have his written signature.

 This is a photo of the young Ariel Elizabeth (Parlett) Abbott.  I'm not really sure of her age when this photo was taken.  I am very lucky to have come across these.

52 WEEK CHALLENGE #13 - JOHN THOMAS LOTT & ELMIRA CLAY

 John Thomas Lott was born September 1835 in Philadelpha, Pennsylvania.  He married Elmira Clay, who was born 31 May 1846,  23 September 1865 in Mt. Pleasant, New Jersey.  John Thomas was son of William L. Lott & Elizabeth (Heiss) Lott.  Elmira Clay was daughter of James Clay & Margaret (Slonaker) Clay.  

John Thomas died 4 February 1904; Elmira died 14 February 1936.  They are both buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA


 

52 Week Challenge - REES/REESE FAMILY Week #12

Rees Meredith*** was born in Wales.  Child of Rees Meredith was John Rees who was born 1680 in Wales. He married Hannah.  Children of John & Hannah were:
Edward Rees b 27 March 1706
Ellin Rees b 7 Aug 1708
Rose Rees b 4 Jan 1708/09
Hannah Rees b 13 Oct 1713
Jane Rees b 13 Oct 1713
John Rees*** b 12 Sept 1718 Wales - possibly Radnorshire; d abt 01 Dec 1807 near Fallston, Harford Co., MD

John Rees married Catharine Evans 11 Nov 1746 in Plymouth Meetings, Philadelphia, PA.  She was daughter of Cadwallader Evans and Sarah Richard.  They were Quaker.

Children of John ***& Catharine Rees were:
Sarah Reese b 1 Oct 1752 near Plymouth Meeting, Witpain Township, Montgomery County, Pa.  She died 8 April 1828
John Evans Reese b 8 March 1757; d 10 Oct 1799
Joseph Meredith Reese b 14 Feb 1761, Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, Pa.
David Reese, b 1763, Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, Pa.
Daniel Evans Reese b 1769, near Newberrytown, York, Pa.  Daniel Evans Reese married Ruth Dawson.  

Daniel Evans Reese, John Evans Reese, Joseph Meredith Reese & David Reese sons of John & Catharine were Methodist Ministers

Daniel Evans Reese*** and Ruth had children:

Daniel Evans Reese
Thomas C. Reese
Joseph Reese
John W Reese
Rev Dr. David Meredith Reese
Catharine Reese
Sarah Dawson Reese
Anna R Reese
Samuel Reese
Rebecca Reese
Mariah Kenley Reese  married James White Abbott  ***
Caroline Barnes Reese
Mary Ann Reese
Elizabeth Jane Reese
Charles W. Reese

Mariah Kenley {Reese} & James White Abbott are my 3rd great grandparents.

52 Ancestors Challenge Week #11 Mary Louise (Knight) Parlett

         
 

Mary Louise Knight was born 29 July 1847 in Harford Co., MD.  She was the daughter of Wesley & Harriet Tucker (Foard) Knight.   She married David Oliver Parlett on 28 December 1865 in Belair, Harford County, Maryland the Reverend J. K. Nichols resided.  She died 29 September 1929 in Annapolis, AA Co., MD.  Mary Louise and David Oliver are both buried  in St Anne's Cemetery, AA Co., MD

53 Week Challenge - Week #10 James Le Dane

 This information was found in the:

Washington Post Jul 25, 1910

FINDS AGED HUSBAND

Mrs. LeDane Relieved to Learn He is at Occoquan.

TWO MONTHS QUEST ENDS

Septuagenarian Who, According to His Wife Has Not Toiled for Twenty years, Joins the Workers' Colony.  Spouse Thinks He should be cared for in Some Home for Old Folks

James Le Dane is 75 years. Old.  According to his wife he hasn't done any work worthy of the name for twenty years and, with her, is dependent on their daughter and son-in-law for support.
Nevertheless, "Pap" as he is familiarly called, is possessed of an imperious spirit and last May when his daughter, Mrs. Harry Gorbutt, of 1003 Sixth Street southwest, made some remarks that displeased him, he straightened up his six-foot-six, stroked his iron gray mustache, and marched from the sheltering roof.  He hasn't since returned.

After searching for him for two months his son-in-law discovered "Pap" on Saturday, in company with about 40 other unfortunates, boarding a train in Union Station for Occoquan, VA., where the new workhouse is in process of erection.  How "Pap" got into such company his wife doesn't know, but she is relieved to learn that he is still alive.

Was Confederate Sutler.
Le Dane was born in Virginia. When the civil war started he entered the Confederate army as a sutler, most of the time driving a commissary wagon.  After the war he worked as fireman on one of the Virginia division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for several years.  Coming to this city, he held various jobs, among them that of engineer at the National Hotel and fireman in the Senate side of the Capitol. At 50 years of age he decided to retire, according to his wife, and since then has been living with his son-in-law.

"Work" "Pap" hasn't worked for twenty years' said Mrs. Le Dane yesterday.  "This is, he hasn't supported me for that time.  He should be in some old people's home where he can be taken care of.  He hasn't been well for some time, and has undergone treatment at the Providence Hospital for asthma and bronchitis.  He isn't in any shape to be running around the streets.  He's too old and his mind is weakening. "Mr. Gorbutt has a large family to support and can't afford to care for my husband, it's all he can do to take care of me" concluded Mrs. LeDane.

There are no known photos of James.  He died on 1 August 1914 in the old folks home.  He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, DC but there is no tombstone for him.  There is much conflict in the information that is found about him.  Several notations state he was born in Maryland.  In this article it states Virginia.  The daughter he was mentioned as to living with was Elizabeth (LeDane) Gorbutt.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge Week #9 - Lyddan/LeDane/Lidan mystery

My great grandmother MaryAnna {LeDane} Berger is a mystery. Why?  According to all the information that I have been able to locate to date she was born in West Virginia (actually a part of Virginia before it became WV) in June 1866.  I can find no birth record for her in either Virginia or West Virginia.   I can find no information on the family in the 1870 census.  According to everything I have found she and some of her siblings were born in West Virginia.  I have tried various spellings for the last name,  I have searched for them in Maryland and Virginia all to no avail.  I have no problem finding them in 1880 but I'm really trying to find the earlier record.  Mary Anna married Charles Berger and I will outline him in a future blog.

 Mary Anna (LeDane) Berger photo.  I do not not the approximate year this was taken.













MaryAnna from what I have been able find out is the eldest child of James J. Lyddan/LeDane and Margaret Lyddan/LeDane.  I have the Washington County, Maryland Marriage Index that lists her parents.  They both had the same last name prior to being married  - cousins maybe????

James Lyddan/LeDane and Margaret Lyddan/LeDane are both buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Washington, DC.  James died in 1914 and was in an old folks home at the time of his death.  I have a story of how James disappeared but that will also  be another week.  He and Margaret, who died in 1916 are at the same cemetery but different locations.  There are no stones for either of them.
 
I believe that I have found the parents of James J. Lyddan - John Henry & Hannah (Kasner) Lyddan/LeDane/Lidan.   James and Margaret have a marriage license dated 7 November 1865.  I have tried to find where they were married and I have reason to believe they were Catholic.

 John Henry Lyddan was born in Montgomery County, Maryland 16 March 1800.
 Hannah(Kasner) Lyddan who  was born 16 March 1798 also in Montgomery County.  They had 11 children and my James J. was their 6th child.  John Henry & Hannah both died in Hedgesville, WV.   Hannah and one of their sons are buried at  Hedgesville Presbyterian Cemetery,  Berkeley, WV.  No information on John Henry.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weekes DNA Connection Week #8

I was lucky enough to get one of my 5 brothers to do the Y DNA test with FamilyTree before the end of the year.  We recently got the results back and even though I have very little knowledge on what any of it means I was able to determine that we had 2 possible hits.  The one was a long way back and I have not yet contacted him.  The other was between 4 & 8 generations.  We have been in in touch but have not been able to find the common link for sure but it does involve his ancestor, the warrior COSSACK's and my KOSACK ancestors. 

 Now in getting my immigrant ancestors Military papers for his time in the Union Army during the War between the states I found many spellings of his last name and COSSACK was among them. My ancestors came from Prussia according to those same papers and from the Ship List where I found they came to the USA.  According to the ship they sailed from Bremen and were passengers on the Johannes.  They arrived in Baltimore in January 1859.  One of them had previously arrived in the USA.

I told the contact that my ancestors were from Prussia and he responded his was from Kiev, Ukraine.  Now I am almost certain there is a link somewhere.  I have no idea where my ancestors were prior to Prussia and how long they were there.  My contact then responded that he was able to determine that his ancestor was in Prussia for a short period.  I don't know how long.

I had responded that 3 of the male Kosack's that came here to the USA had enlisted in the military and 2 of the three went in with higher ranks.  My great grandfather was only 16 so I'm fairly sure he did not have much experience.  He was a private.  I never met my great grandfather and my grandfather was never talk about his father so I knew very little about them.  I hope to some day find where they really came in Europe.  That is my main goal in doing my genealogy.

FAMILY LOSS

Our dear sister/sister-in-law is no longer in pain and suffering.  She has left for her heavenly home.  Rest peacefully now Wanda your journey on this earth is over but your heavenly father is awaiting you.

52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 7 Childhood Memories part 1

I have decided to add some of my childhood memories here.

My parents married in April 1945, I was born the following January.  I am the eldest of the 7 children that they had.  Mom and dad first lived at Hilltop Manor Apartments in  Bladensburg, Maryland.  As an aside Hilltop Manor would be the first apartment that hubby and I would live in after we married. Mom & Dad  purchased their first home in College Park, Maryland in 1950.  At that time there were 3 children and the house was a 4 bedroom 1 bath home in a great neighborhood.  My youngest sibling is 11 years younger than me and my one and only sister is 10 years younger than me.  Sharing bedrooms was something we all ended up doing.  My sister and I had the front bedroom which was a very good sized room.  That is one thing about that old house 2 of the bedrooms were very large.  The back bedroom which was even larger than the one my sister and I had was the room 4 of the boys were in.  I don't really remember who had the middle side bedroom, the folks had the other middle bedroom.

We had a very large yard and it was always filled with neighbor hood children.  There were many "roads" and the boys always had a lot of traffic on their "roads".  We had a apple  tree and while the fruit was not good eating I remember mom making apple jelly that was great.  During the years mom did a lot of canning and preserving to help feed this very large family.  There were many times that the meals were "light".  Dad was in construction work and seems come winter time there would be a layoff.  Dad was also disabled and later in life he would no longer be able to work in his trade.

I remember that every weekend my father would stop and pick up his parents on his way home from work.  My grandparents did not drive.  They would spend the whole weekend with us before being taken home on Sunday afternoon after our fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed gravy dinner.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!  Wish I could still eat that food but age does things to us.  I don't know exactly when that tradition started but know that it lasted until my grandmother went into the hospital in 1958 dying of cancer.  Nana died in February 1959 and after that my grandfather moved into the house with us.  Dad set up pops workshop in the basement and he worked for many years after her death.  He was an upholsterer by trade and did wonderful work.  Pop was lucky enough to have a smallish room downstairs right beside the bathroom.  Remember, we had only one bathroom and now there were 10 people living in the house.  I can remember learning to do some things for him and had a great time.  I sure wish I had learned more in that trade. Christmas time at our house always had a big family gathering.  Seems everyone lived close by and we all knew our cousins then. We had a very large front room and the live Christmas tree always stood in the same corner each year.  We would go out into the woods and cut our tree.  No matter how hard we tried to get the right size seems dad always had to cut it down in order to have it stand in the corner.  The fragrance was wonderful.  This photo shows my beloved grandfather "Pop Kosack" in the center, my mom, Patty and dad, Buck are on the right side and dads older brother "Uncle Herb" and "Aunt Betty" are on the left.  This was Christmas in 1960. It would have been the first Christmas that Nana was missing.

 This photo of Pop was taken in our yard in College Park in 1965. The house you can see was our neighbors but our house was as large if not larger than that one.








 
 
Pop stayed with us until one of my much younger brothers came down with Multiple Scleroses and needed a great deal of care.  Pops health by then was very bad and he really couldn't take care of himself.  We were all very sad that he had to go into a nursing home but we couldn't take care of him and our brother.  I had already married and didn't live at home so I was not able to help out much either.

I think that is all for now.  I hope to add to this soon

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Challenge #6 How far??? CLAY Line

One thing I am trying to do with my genealogy is to limit how far I research a line that is not a direct connection.  I have been having trouble doing this because it is good to find information and you never can tell when you may find something on a direct ancestor doing this.  Lately I have been trying to find information on a CLAY ancestor that seemed to just disappear.  Low and behold I found the reason no one could find him - he died in the service during the Civil War.  I found this according  to a pension application filed by his mother on 1891 April 23.  It states he died June 9, 1863.  It also gives information that he has at least one alias.  All along we have been searching for Rolanders Clay born in Pennsylvania about 1841.  The alias listed on the application also show he used William Miller, but the application listed his name as Rolandus Clay.  I have also come across Orlandes Clay.  I have not gotten the pension information at this time and I hope to find more out about him but I am more interested in his mother Margaret (Slonaker) Clay.   She is my 3rd great grandmother and as being my direct ancestor I am still searching for much more information on her.

Rolanders was the eldest son of 8 children of James & Margaret (Slonaker) Clay.  The eldest in the family was Lavinia born about 1837.  No further information has been found on her.  The other siblings in the family are Alban, Clementine, Elmira (my 2nd great grandmother), Elizabeth Annie, Ella,  and Henry.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week #1 BERGER FROM GERMANY

The Berger family are ancestors on my paternal side.  Marguerite Elizabeth Berger was born in Washington, DC but her father Charles Edward Berger was born in Germany.  I have that he was born 24 February 1865 in Wurtenberg, Germany.

The only photo I have of Charles is one taken along with his brother Joseph & sister Elizabeth that was published in the newspaper in Washington, DC.  They had not seen each other for 48 years.  Elizabeth came back east to the DC/Baltimore area for a visit.  This was in 1937.




Charles died in Washington, DC on 12 May 1944.  Joseph, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland, died 24 March, 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland.  Elizabeth, who had been married to Ignatz Weingaertner, died 2 August 1950.  She had lived in St. Louis, Missouri since at least 1920.

Their father, Johann Berger was born 26 September 1832 in Germany and died 17 May 1888.

I was given this photo of Johann's tombstone and was able to find someone to translate the inscription for me.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 3 - Parlett Brothers

I joined this Challenge late so I'm going to add an extra one for the upcoming week.  This photo is of the Parlett
brothers.  These gentlemen were the sons of George Washington Parlett & Ariel (Standiford) Parlett.  They were born in Harford County, Maryland.  This line is on my maternal side.

My 2nd great grandfather, David Oliver Parlett, was born 25 February 1839.  He is seated at the far left bottom of the photo.  He is the eldest son of G. W. Parlett.  There were 8 Parlett brothers, Winfield Scott Parlett was born in 1847 and died in 1847.  Another brother William Henry Parlette, notice the spelling of the last name, had died in 1882 and is not shown in this photo.  This is believed to be taken when they were attending the funeral of their father George Washington Parlett  who died  30 May 1888.

 David Oliver Parlett married Mary Louise Knight 28 December 1865 in Harford County, Maryland.  David & Mary Louise were living in Annapolis, Maryland in the 1900 census. David Oliver Parlett was a lumber merchant who was in business in Annapolis with some of his brothers.  David Oliver Parlett died in Annapolis, Maryland 15 February 1913.

The above photo is of the sons of David Oliver & Mary Louise (Knight) Parlett.  I do not have the date that this photo was take or who each of them are.  One son died in 1886 just a few months after he was born.  They also had 6 daughters one of whom was my great grandmother Ariel Elizabeth Parlett.

The ancestor for these Parletts is Martin Parlett who is found in Queen Anne Parish, Prince George County, Maryland about 1697.  Martin married in 1723 St. Barnabas Parish, Prince George County.  He died before 1734 and is our very elusive  ancestor.  No one who is researching this family has had any luck finding where he came from and any information on his parents.  He was deceased before 1734. 

53 Ancestors in 53 Weeks - #5 Frederick William Kosack

Frederick William Kosack was born in November 1842 in Prussia.  I still don't have exact date of birth for him. He I my Paternal great grandfather and the immigrant ancestor.  He came to the United States in January1859 and arrived in Baltimore, MD.  He arrived on the ship  JOHANNES along with his mother Caroline, brothers Otto and  Leo, sisters Mathilda (Bertha) and Augusta.  Another brother Edward was already here in Baltimore.

Frederick, Edward and Otto joined the union army in Baltimore, Maryland September 1861.  Frederick was a private in Co. K, 2 Reg't Maryland Infantry.  His last name has various spellings while in the military.  Kosack, Kossack, Cossick and Kosak.  He was discharged with a medical problem  February 1863.  He returned to Baltimore but was living in Bladensburg, MD in the 1880 census.

He married Augusta Wanda Kleinstuck, who I profiled last week, 25 July 1876 in Washington, DC.  Frederick was a woodcarver by trade.  He died 28 March 1911 of TB and is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC.

My goal is to find out exactly where they came from for sure.  There are several different notations as to various places where the family originated.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #4 - Augusta Wanda Kleinstuck Kosack

I plan on participating in the 52 Ancestors Challenge.  This is my first post on this challenge and my first post on this blog.



















 This is my great grandmother Augusta Wanda (Kleinstuck) Kosack.  She was born in Prussia on October 7, 1856.  She died in Washington, DC on 16 July 1934.  She married my great grandfather 25 July 1876 in Washington, DC.  I will outline him on the next blog.