Friday, May 17, 2019

Louis Robida AKA Rabida AKA Rabideau: 52 Ancestors #76

Louis Robida, my second great-grandfather and #28 in my Ahnentafel, was born on 23 Apr 1850 in Warwick, Arthabaska, Quebec, Canada, the oldest of twelve children of Louis Robida and Marie Deshaies dit St. Cyr. He was baptized when he was five days old at Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska Parish, with his uncle Damas [Thomas] Robida as his godfather and Marie Célina Chenard (relationship unknown) as his godmother.1 (An odd coincidence that his godmother had the same forename as Louis's eventual first wife; Célina, while not rare, is not the most common name in Catholic Quebec.)

Baptism of Louis Robida, 28 Apr 1850
The 1851 census for most of the Arthabaska townships is missing, so we don't see Louis until 1861 in Chester, Arthabaska, 11 years old at his next birthday and with two considerably younger siblings, a brother and a sister (age 4 and 2); three other children had been born and presumably died between Louis and the younger children.2

1861 Canada East census, Chester West, Arthabaska, Louis "Rabida" household
By 1869 Louis, 19, had emigrated south to Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, where on 25 September "Lewis Robadeau" declared intentions of marriage with "Cyntha Criaque" (Marie Célina Cloutier).3

Marriage intentions for "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 25 Sep 1869
Presumably they carried out those intentions, and in June 1870 the census-taker enumerated Lewis and Silena Rabideau, with two-month-old Lewis Jr., in Milan. Louis was a farm laborer, and owned no real estate.4

Lewis Rabideau household, 1870 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire
Over the next ten years, they had at least three more children (a six-year gap between "Loi" and the next child almost certainly indicates at least one, and possibly two, stillbirths or infant deaths) and moved to Berlin, where Louis was working in the paper pulp mill.5

"Loi" Rabida household, 1880 U.S. Census, Berlin, Coos, New Hampshire
Children of Louis Rabideau and Célina Cloutier:
  1. Peter Louis (AKA Louis/Lewis Jr.) (1870-1946), m. Eva Woodward (my great-grandparents)
  2. Xalia (abt 1875-??), apparently died young
  3. Marie (abt 1878-1960), m. Toussaint "Louis" Croteau
  4. Adeline (abt 1879-1934), m. Thomas Castonguay Jr.
Célina died in 1881, and Louis apparently remarried almost immediately – unsurprising, considering that he had three children under the age of 6. Louis's new wife, Marie Beatrice Croteau, gave him three more sons in the next seven years.6 (Premature twin sons, born in 1884, did not survive.)

Children of Louis Rabideau and Marie Beatrice Croteau:
  1. Thomas Henry (1882-1958), m. (1) Alphonsine Reneau, (2) Josephine Picard
  2. Unnamed twin boys (1884-1884), premature
  3. Francis "Frank" Lewis (1885-1956), m. Albina Dumas
  4. Melvin L. (1888-1908), died unmarried
In 1885 Louis purchased land in Milan from Cyrus Hamlin and Harrison Rogers – from each an "undivided half of Lot. No. (18) eighteen Range five" in the "second division of lots" in Milan.7 An 1892 atlas map of Milan shows property owners L. Rabideau (most likely the lot Louis purchased in 1885) and J. Rabideau8 (Louis's brother Jim, who bought land in 18909).

Detail from 1892 map of Milan, N.H., showing L. Rabideau and J. Rabideau homesteads
By 1900, Louis's three living sons by Beatrice were still at home, while Célina's children were long gone from the household. (One of them, Marie, was in fact married to Marie Beatrice's half-brother Toussaint "Louis" Croteau and had four children of her own. See Marie (Rabideau) Croteau and The Croteau Connection for that story.) Louis was listed as a farmer, owning mortgaged property.10
Lewis Rabideau household, 1900 U.S. Census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire
Louis's last appearance in the census was in 1910, still on his mortgaged farm in Milan with wife "Bessie," their two older sons, Thomas and Francis, and Francis's new wife.11 (Youngest son Melvin had died of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1908.) Beatrice died in 1914, her death registration indicating she had been a resident of Berlin for the past two years,12 so Louis apparently had given up farming and moved back to Berlin in 1912.

Louis Rabideau household, 1910 U.S. census, Milan, Coos, New Hampshire

On 29 May 1915, Louis Rabideau, of Berlin, sold land in Milan to J. Fred Bell (not the same land he purchased in 1885 – I haven't yet found out what happened to that lot) by warranty deed.13 That is the last record I have found concerning Louis. He was not found in the 1920 census, so presumably he died between 1915 and 1920, but as yet I have been unable to find a death record for him, in either New Hampshire or Vermont (where his sons Thomas and Frank had moved by 1920). If anyone reading this has a death, obituary, or burial source for him, please let me know!

A few notes about the family surname: while Louis was born and baptized as Louis Robida, with few exceptions his name was given as Rabideau in U.S. records – most censuses, deeds and mortgages, and his children's birth records. (His forename was given as Louis or Lewis, pretty much randomly.) This may simply represent the way the name was commonly pronounced and spelled by English-speakers in Coos County: Louis himself was illiterate (his deeds and mortgages were signed by mark), so we have no idea how he may have pronounced it. It's worth noting that the one census when he was living in Berlin, 1880, the name was Robida, and that Beatrice's death record and obituary (also in Berlin) gave the surname as Robida and Rabida, respectively. Some of Louis's children, when they married, gave their names as Rabideau (Peter and Thomas [first marriage] and some as Rabida or Robida (Adeline, Marie, Frank, and Thomas [second marriage]). Peter used the name Rabideau for his entire adult life, while Thomas and Frank exclusively used Rabida after about 1920.

My descent from Louis Rabideau:

SOURCES
  1. Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska Parish (Arthabaska, Quebec), parish registers, archive copy, 1850, folio 14v, B.42, baptism of Louis Robidas, 28 Apr 1850; digital images, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 20 May 2012); citing “Quebec Catholic parish registers. Quebec County Catholic Parishes, Canada”.
  2. 1861 Census of Canada East [Quebec], Arthabaska County, ED 2, Township of Chester West, p. 4 (penned), p. 160 (stamped), lines 24-28, Louis Rabida household; index and digital images, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2012).
  3. Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, Births, marriages, deaths 1854-1881, p. 45, "Lewis Robadeau" and "Cyntha Criaque", 1869; digital images, "New Hampshire, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
  4. 1870 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, p. 17 (penned) 135 (stamped), dwelling 137, family 130, Lewis Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
  5. 1880 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
  6. 1900 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 268, sheet 5-A, dwelling 96, family 97, L??is Rabideau household; digital image, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014). 
  7. Coos County, New Hampshire, Land Records, 1772-1902, Warranty Deeds 38:370-371, Cyrus D. Hamlin to Lewis Rabideau and Harrison W. Rogers to Lewis Rabideau, 1885; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008649649?cat=284086 : accessed 14 May 2019), image 409; imaged from FHL microfilm 8,649,649.
  8. "Shelburne, Coos Co. (with) Milan, Coos Co.," Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire (Boston: D.H. Hurd & Co., 1892), p. 293; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 12 May 2019), item 2023270. The map shown above was cropped from the full map.
  9. Coos County, New Hampshire, Land Records, 1772-1902, Warranty Deeds 53:78, Luther F. Kingsbury to James Rabideau, 1890; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008650435?cat=284086 : accessed 14 May 2019), image 409; imaged from FHL microfilm 8,650,435.
  10. 1900 U.S. census, L??is Rabideau household.
  11. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, New Hampshire, Coos County, Milan, enumeration district (ED) 67, sheet 2A, p. 158 (stamped), dwelling 26, family 28, Louis Rabideau household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2014)
  12. "New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2012); death of Mrs. Beatrix Robida, 1 Jul 1914, Berlin. 
  13. Coos County, New Hampshire, land records, Warranty Deeds 172:99, Louis Rabideau to J. Fred Bell, 1915; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/64945466/person/42130883424/media/bb97dd23-6b29-4ef0-b49b-6ec7893ec255 : accessed 14 Dec 2014), found in Gallery for Louis Rabideau (1849- ) profile in "Sara Jennings and Rob Spittel" public member tree, managed by Sara Spittel.
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Saturday, May 11, 2019

Neil McIntyre and Mary Ann McLellan: 52 Ancestors #75

I've decided that when I have relatively little information on a couple in my pedigree chart, it makes more sense to write a single sketch for both of them. One such couple is my maternal great-great-grandparents (#26 and #27 in my Ahnentafel), Neil McIntyre and Mary Ann McLellan of Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Neil McIntyre was born 24 Apr 1814 in Barbara Weit, Lot 19, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and was baptized on 8 May 1814 at St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church in Rustico.1 He was probably the oldest of six children of Angus McIntyre and Ann "Hanna" Gillis.

In 1840, Neil married Mary Ann McLellan at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Indian River, Lot 18.2 Mary Ann was the daughter of Alexander McLellan and Sarah "Sally" McCormick, born on 20 Sep 1817, and baptized on 22 Oct at St. John the Baptist church in Miscouche.3

Neil and Mary Ann had ten children:
  1. Hannah (b. ca 1841-1845, d. 1912), m. Octavius McIsaac
  2. Angus (1842-1914), m. Bridget McPhee
  3. Alexander (1845-??), twin
  4. Leo (1845-??), twin
  5. Sarah Ann (1847-??)
  6. Catherine "Kate" (1849-??)
  7. Mary (1850-??), prob. died young
  8. Mary Ann (1852-??), m. Peter Hickey
  9. John Alfred "Johnny" (1860-??), m. Regina Gillis
  10. Rose Ann (1862-1937), m. Dominic Murphy (my great grandparents)
In 1861, they were still in Indian River, with eight children in the household.4 Rose Ann hadn't been born yet, and there are only three daughters in the 5-16 range, implying that one had died, probably Mary. (It seems somewhat unlikely they would have named two consecutive daughters Mary and Mary Ann unless the first had died. On the other hand, I don't have any definitive information on Sarah or Catherine, either.)

1861 Canada census, Township 18, Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Neil McIntyre household
In 1881, the McIntyres lived in Lot 8, PEI, with their two youngest children.5 (Rose Ann's future husband, Dominic Murphy, was in the next household enumerated, though it wasn't actually right next door.)6



1881 Canada census, Township 8, Prince County, PEI, Neil McIntyre and Angus Steele households.

Angus Steele and Neil McIntyre farms, 1880.

Neil died between 1881 and 1891, when the widowed Mary Ann was living in lot 8 with her youngest son, John;7 her youngest daughter, Rose Ann, had married Dominic Murphy 1n 1883. Mary Ann died on 26 Apr 1896 in Hebron, and was buried two days later in St. Mary's Church Cemetery, Brae, Lot 9.8

1891 Canada census, Township 8, Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Mary McIntyre household

My descent from Neil McIntyre and Mary Ann McLellan:

SOURCES
  1. Marshall K. Kirk, manuscript research notes, undated; Marshall K. Kirk Research Files; privately held by Kathleen Kirk McCracken, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Abstract of baptismal record for Neil McIntyre, 8 May 1814, citing St. Augustine's Church (Rustico, PEI).
  2. Ibid. Abstract of Neil McIntyre-Mary McLellan marriage, 1840, citing St. Mary's Church (Indian River, PEi).
  3. Ibid. Abstract of baptismal record for "Marie M'clarlem", 22 Oct 1817, citing St. John-the-Baptist Church (Miscouche, PEI), register, 1817-1835.
  4. 1861 census of Canada, Prince Edward Island, district 134, Prince County, Township 18, p. 1, line 7, Neil McIntyre household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Jan 2014).
  5. 1881 Canada Census, Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Township No. 8, pp. 29-30, dwellings 113-114, families 113-114, Neil McIntyre and Angus Steele households; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012). 
  6. "Plan of Lot Eight, Prince Co., P.E.I.," Illustrated Historical Atlas Of The Province Of Prince Edward Island (Philadelphia: J.H. Meacham & Co., 1880), p. 42; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 10 Dec 2012), item 4475024. The map shown above was cropped from the full lot map.
  7. 1891 census of Canada, Prince Edward Island, district 134, Prince County, Township 8, p. 1, family 5, Mary McIntyre household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Jan 2017).
  8. St. Mary's church (Brae, Lot 9, PEI), church registers, Book 1, p. 136, burial of "Mary M'intyre widow of Neil M'intyre", 28 Apr 1896; microfilm, Public Archives, Prince Edward Island; transcribed by the author in 1982.
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Thursday, May 9, 2019

Drowning in DNA Matches

As recently as maybe three or four months ago, I was keeping up pretty well with my new DNA matches. At AncestryDNA, I had 800 or 900 matches at fourth cousin level and closer, and new matches at that level dribbled in at the rate of a half dozen or so a week, and I added them to my database more or less as they showed up. I had no idea how many "distant" matches (5C-8C) I had and didn't care, because I ignored all but the handful which sported shaky-leaf "ancestor hints" or showed up in my DNA Circles.

At MyHeritage DNA, I had a few thousand matches with no clear delineation between the "about 4C" and really distant levels, but I had about 250 in my database, having worked down through to about 30 cM, with some more distant cousins included when they triangulated with closer cousins. (Why, oh why, can't they come up with a category intermediate somewhere between "extended family" – which seems to cut off around 90 cM – and so-called "distant relatives"?) Again, new matches were slow in coming, though harder to detect than for Ancestry since there isn't a "not looked at yet" flag.

Then, early this year, it was as if a floodgate opened. Suddenly I was getting a half dozen or more new matches each day at Ancestry, and next thing I knew I had a backlog of 50 or so that I hadn't been able to get into my database. The pace picked up at MyHeritage as well, though not as drastically.

Well, then DNA Painter came along, followed by Genetic Affairs's Auto-Clusters for Ancestry. Ancestry switched from the languishing DNA Circles and ancestor hints only for public trees, to ThruLines and "common ancestors" drawing on public, private, and unlinked trees. MyHeritage introduced their Theory of Family Relativity and an integrated Auto-Cluster tool. Between painting all those MyHeritage matches (and GEDmatch as well) plus their triangulated matches; analyzing clusters; and checking out dozens of proposed ThruLines and Family Relativity relationships, it's become even more difficult to keep up with the onslaught of new matches.

Right now, as of 10 PM on May 9, I have at AncestryDNA 1309 matches of 4C and closer level. (I also have an utterly incredible 55,962 distant matches!) I now have a backlog of 86 4C-and-closer matches to enter into my database.

At MyHeritage DNA, I have a total of 10,552 matches. Of those, 443 match with 25 cM or more, which is probably very roughly equivalent to Ancestry's 20 cM cutoff (Ancestry's reported total cMs are nearly always lower than for the same individuals who have their results at other sites). I seem to have only about 230 of those 443 in my database, however, so clearly I have a lot of catching up to do there, too.

Oh, and these numbers are only for my own test – I also manage my two brothers' tests, and I've never gotten anywhere close to getting all their matches in my database.

Is it any wonder I haven't blogged in three months? I need to back off on my DNA painting and visual phasing and auto-clustering, and get back to my research and writing.
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Friday, February 22, 2019

William Murphy (1830-1909): 52 Ancestors #74

William Murphy, my second great-grandfather (#24 in my Ahnentafel), was born 15 May 1830,1 probably in or near Georgetown, Kings County, Prince Edward Island. If that date of birth is reasonably accurate, he was probably the second child of Michael and Magdelen (Morison) Murphy.

About 1853 William married Flora Ann McDonald, possibly in or near Vernon River.2 They had ten children:
  1. Dominic (1854-1914), married Rose Ann McIntyre in Bloomfield, PEI (my great-grandparents)
  2. Lot (ca 1856-1917), married Nora Kelleher in Newburyport, MA
  3. Flora Ann (1856-1923), married John Sanphy in PEI
  4. Mary (1858-1933), married John Cummings in Newburyport
  5. James (1860-?), possibly died young
  6. Martha (1863-1949), married Edward Perkins in Newburyport
  7. Daniel (1865-aft 1920), emigrated to Newburyport
  8. Catherine "Kate" (1868-1922), married Patrick Hart in Newburyport
  9. Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1871-1918), married George Blackwell in Lawrence, MA
  10. William (1873-bef 1881)

1881 Canada census, Georgetown, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy household

Lot 51 in 1880 Atlas; red outlines the area of the detail below

The earliest I can definitely identify William in the census is 1881, when he and his family were enumerated in Georgetown.3 Oddly, the Lot 51 map in Meacham's 1880 Atlas shows a 100-acre lot on Baldwin Road (about 10 miles from Georgetown) labelled "Wm Murphy",4 yet they don't appear in Lot 51 in the census until 18915 – located right among the neighbors expected from the 1880 lot map.

Another map (undated), showing the route of planned railway construction through Lot 51, also shows William Murphy as the landholder. The dates on similar railway maps of other Kings County lots indicate that it is probably from the early 1870s.6

William's daughter Flora had, about 1875, married John Sanphy who farmed a few properties down Baldwin Road from William's lot, so I can speculate that he may have acquired the land by the time the atlas was compiled, intending to move near to the Sanphys, but the farm may have been occupied by a tenant at the time of the census.

William Murphy is also listed in Baldwin's Road in the Fredericks 1889-90 Directory.7 I haven't been able to find a William Murphy who is likely to be "my" William anywhere in earlier available directories ranging from 1864 through 1880.

Detail of Lot 51 map showing Wm Murphy property (red outline added) in Baldwin Road, 1880

1891 Canada census, Lot 51, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households

Sometime around 1905-06, William and Flora emigrated to the United States, settling in Newburyport, Massachusetts,8 where four of William's siblings and at least five of his children had already gone over the years.

On 10 February 1909, William Murphy died of apoplexy and old age in Newburyport.9 His age of 71 on his death certificate is undoubtedly much too young; given that he appears consistently in three censuses as born 1830-31, he must have been 78 or 79.10 The informant was Daniel Murphy, probably his son, who was less likely to know his father's exact age than Flora would have been. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Newburyport.11
William Murphy death cettificate, 10 Feb 1909, Newburyport, Mass.
My descent from William Murphy:


SOURCES
  1. 1901 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 5, dwelling 37, family 38, William Murphy household; database and digital images, Library and Archives Canada, (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca : accessed 20 Feb 2012).
  2. The year is an estimate based on the Dec 1854 birth of their first child, Dominic. While baptismal records for Dominic and Lot have not been located, their third through seventh children were baptized at St. Joachim's Church in Vernon River, making it a likely location for their marriage as well.
  3. 1881 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Georgetown Common & Royalty, pp. 3-4, dwelling 11, family 11, William Murphy household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012).
  4. "Plan of Lots 51, 52 & 66, Kings Co., P.E.I.," Illustrated Historical Atlas Of The Province Of Prince Edward Island (Philadelphia: J.H. Meacham & Co., 1880), pp. 107-108; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 28 Apr 2014), item 4475060. 
  5. 1891 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 10, families 34-35, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households ; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012).  
  6. Prince Edward Island Railway, map of the land appropriated by the Railway Commissioners in Lots 38 and 51, undated; digital image, University of Prince Edward Island Robertson Library, Island Imagined (http://www.islandimagined.ca : accessed 16 Feb 2019). 
  7. Frederick's Prince Edward Island Directory, and Book of Useful Information, for 1889-90 (Charlottetown, P.E. Island: Frederick's Publishing Co., 1889), p. 524, entry for Murphy William, far[mer].
  8. No immigration records have been found, but city directories show a William Murphy arriving in Newburyport around this time. In addition to his children noted in the list above as moving to/marrying in Newburyport, William's brother Daniel and sisters Mary, Catherine, and Elizabeth were also living in Newburyport (or nearby Amesbury) at the time he and Flora emigrated.
  9. "Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915," database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2014), William Murphy death certificate #319, registered no. 25, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 10 Feb 1909.  
  10. 1881 Canada Census (note 3), age 50, and 1891 Canada Census (note 5), age 60, both imply birth in 1830-31. 1901 Canada Census (note 1) gives full date of birth as 15 May 1830.
  11.  William Murphy death certificate (note 9).
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Friday, February 15, 2019

Nahum Alonzo Rand Sr.: 52 Ancestors #73

Nahum Alonzo Rand, my great-great-grandfather and #22 on my Ahnentafel, was born 29 Nov 1813 in Rye, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. He was the second of three children of Joshua and Elizabeth (Rand) Rand.1 (Joshua and Elizabeth were first cousins, giving Nahum only six great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, as illustrated in My Collapsing Pedigree.)

Unlike his father and younger brother (the elder brother died young), Nahum didn't stay in Rye. I don't know just when he moved to Roxbury, Massachusetts – he's not a head of household either in Rye or Roxbury in 1840 – but that was his residence on 16 January 1842, when marriage intentions were published between "Mr. Nahum Rand and Miss Dolly Bristor both of Roxbury." They were married on 11 February 1842 at the Free Will Baptist Church of Christ.2


Marriage intentions (top) and marriage record for Nahum Rand and Dolly Bristor, 1842, Roxbury, Mass.

The Rands lived in Roxbury, where their first four children were born, until about 1849, when they moved to Andover, Oxford County, Maine. This was a homecoming for Dolly, who was born in nearby Byron, and whose parents and married sister Jerusha now lived in Rumford. In Andover they had four more children.

Children of Dolly Brister and Nahum Rand:
  1. Nahum Alonzo Rand Jr. (1842-1920), married Lois Minerva Cutting
  2. Sarah Elizabeth Rand (1845-aft 1908), married Edward Rhodes
  3. Ezra D. Rand (1846-1847)
  4. Ezra Davis Rand (1848-1922), married (1) Mary A. Crutchley Homan, (2) Augusta A. (Pulsifer) Buker, (3) Margaret Amber
  5. Asenath Matilda Rand (1851-1871), unmarried
  6. Kate Maria Rand (1855-1940), married Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon (my great-grandparents)
  7. Samuel P. Rand (1857-1940), unmarried
  8. Annie Grace Rand (1860-1925), married Frank Roberts

Nahum Rand death certificate, 1884, Philadelphia, Pa.
Nahum Rand died of "cardiac dropsy" on 4 Jan 1884 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It appears that he must have been visiting his eldest son, Nahum Jr., at the time; the residence of the deceased is given as "No. 56 Wister St" – probably a slight error on the part of the undertaker as the Philadelphia city directory in 1882 and 1884 gives Nahum Rand's address as 58 Wister.3 Two oddities in the undertaker's certificate are the occupation ("Gentleman") and place of birth ("England") of the deceased. Nahum Rand Sr. was listed as a farmer in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, and as a stone mason in 1870 and 1880.4 Perhaps "gentleman" was meant to convey that he was retired? As for his birthplace, I can conjecture that the Philadelphia undertaker misunderstood a statement that the man had been born in "New England."






Nahum was buried in the Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia,5 probably in a family lot – his son is also buried there.6 I don't know if he has a marker there (there isn't one on Find A Grave), but he does have a cenotaph in the Rand lot in Woodlawn Cemetery in Andover, Maine, on a stone shared with his son Samuel. Below the years of his birth and death is the inscription "Buried in Philadelphia."7

Nahum A. Rand cenotaph/Samuel P. Rand gravestone, Woodlawn Cemetery, Andover, Maine

My descent from Nahum Alonzo Rand:

SOURCES
  1. Langdon Brown Parsons, History of the town of Rye, New Hampshire: from its discovery and settlement to December 31, 1903 (Concord, N.H.: Rumford Printing Company, 1905), p. 504.
  2. "Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 Jul 2016) > Roxbury > Roxbury Marriages Publishments, 1785-1864 > images 231-232 of 277; marriage intentions (image 231) and marriage (image 232) for Nahum Rand and Dolly Bristor, 1842.
  3. "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 23 Mar 2014) > 004010284 > image 700 of 1324; Nahum Rand death certificate, 4 Jan 1884. 
  4. 1850 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 397 (penned), p. 199 (stamped), dwelling 94, family 101, Nahum Rand household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2012). Also 1860 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 67, dwelling 492, family 491, “Naam” Rand household. Also, 1870 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 11, dwelling 66, family 69, Naham Rand household. Also, 1880 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, ED 116, p. 4D, dwelling 36, family 40, Naham Rand household. 1860-1880 censuses, digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 12 Mar 2012).
  5. Nahum Rand death certificate (note 3).
  6. Find A Grave, database (https://www.findagrave.com  : accessed 23 Feb 2014), memorial 116452444 for Corp Nahum Rand (1842-1920), by "Eugene Glenn Stackhouse" (2 Sep 2013); citing Northwood Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. 
  7. Woodlawn Cemetery (Andover, Oxford County, Maine), Nahum A. Rand cenotaph, read and photographed by the author, 15 Aug 2012.
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Friday, February 8, 2019

Isaac Hodsdon (1812-1890): 52 Ancestors #72

Isaac Hodsdon, my great-great-grandfather (#20 in my Ahnentafel), was born on 3 May 1812 in Hollis Center, York County, Maine, the third of six children of Jacob Hodsdon and Sally Huston.1 (This surname has two variants, Hodsdon and Hodgdon, which are somewhat interchangeable. Jacob and his descendants generally used the Hodsdon variant, as seen in Isaac's birth and marriage records.)

Family record of Jacob and Sally (Huston) Hodsdon, with birth of Isaac Hodsdon, May 3rd, 1812

Isaac Hodsdon-Abigail Greene marriage, 30 Dec 1834, Hollis, Maine

Byron, Oxford County, Maine, 1858 (detail area outlined in white)

In the early 1830s, Isaac and his older brother John moved from Hollis to Byron, Oxford County, Maine, and married the Green sisters, Abigail and Adeline, of nearby Wilton, Franklin County. John and Adeline married first in 1833 in Wilton, while Isaac and Abigail on 30 Dec 1834 in Hollis.2 The two couples farmed near each other on what was then called "Hodsdon Hill" in Byron. This map3 from an 1858 Oxford County atlas (which, alas, does not show the Hodsdon Hill name) gives names of property holders, including I. "Hodgdon" and J. "Hodgdon." (An example of the variant mentioned above.)



Detail of 1858 map of Byron, showing I. Hodgdon and J. Hodgdon homes

Isaac and Abigail had nine children (all born in Byron):
  1. Jacob H. Hodsdon (1836-1921), married (1) Lydia Merrill, (2) Persis A. Mitchell
  2. Mary Abigail Hodsdon (1837-1865), married Charles Cole
  3. Luther Merrill Hodsdon (1840-aft Jun 1860), unmarried
  4. Isaac Winfield Hodsdon (1843-1917), married Octavia Merrill (sister to Lydia)
  5. Francis Ireland Hodsdon (1844-1921), married Emma Ireland
  6. Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon (1847-1911), married Kate Rand (my great-grandparents)
  7. Matilda Ann Hodsdon (1849-1938), married Alvarado Reed
  8. Sarah [Arabelle?] Hodsdon (1851-aft Jun 1860), unmarried
  9. Charles L. Hodsdon (1853-1922), married Mary Gilcrease
The first seven were recorded in this 1849 family record in the Byron town record book.4 The record was never updated with the other two children, and there seems to be no other record of their births, but they are captured in the 1860 census, while the two oldest are gone from the household by then.5

Family record of Isaac and Abigail Hodsdon, 1849, Byron, Maine, town record book

1860 U.S. census, Oxford County, Maine, town of Byron, Isaac Hodsdon household

Isaac died 22 Jan 1890 in Byron,6 and was buried in the Byron Village Cemetery.7 The family monument includes inscriptions for his wife Abigail and for two of their children who died young.

Isaac Hodsdon death record, 22 Jan 1890, Byron, Maine


Isaac Hodsdon family monument, Byron Village Cemetery, Byron, Oxford Co., Maine

While Isaac's death year on the monument is correct, I can't vouch for others – I haven't found death records for any of them in the Byron town records – and those of the two children (Luther in 1859 and Sarah in 1855) are certainly wrong: The 1860 census lists both Luther and a 9-year-old girl named Arabelle, the same age that Sarah would have been (assuming the 1851 birth year on the gravestone is correct), so probably is the same child, though frustratingly, there is no birth record (or any other record besides the census and the gravestone) for either a Sarah or an Arabelle. I can only conjecture that the children's graves were unmarked until the monument was erected for Isaac and Abigail, presumably in 1890 or later, and some thirty years after the fact no one could remember exactly when they had died. (They might even have misremembered the girl's name.)

My descent from Isaac Hodsdon:

SOURCES
  1. Hollis, Maine, Town and Vital Records, 1781-1893, vol. Births 1785-1877: 26, Isaac Hodsdon birth, 1812; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007595714?cat=135458 : accessed 30 Jan 2019), image 254; imaged from FHL microfilm 7,595,714.
  2. Hollis, Maine, Town and Vital Records, 1781-1893, vol. 1820 Record of marriages and intentions of marriage: 109, Isaac Hodsdon-Abigail Greene marriage, 1834; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007595714?cat=135458 : accessed 30 Jan 2019), image 457.
  3. Henry Francis Walling and J Chace, Map of Oxford County, Maine (New York: Gillette & Huntington, 1858); image, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2012592367/ : accessed 1 Feb 2019).
  4. Byron, Maine, Town and Vital Records, 1821-1891, vol. 1848-79: unpaginated (3rd page from end), family record of Isaac and Abigail Hodsdon; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007595323?cat=343311 : accessed 30 Jan 2019), image 433; imaged from FHL microfilm 7,595,323.
  5. 1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Maine, Oxford County, Byron, p. 33, dwelling 219, family 188, Isaac Hodgdon household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Mar 2012).
  6. Byron, Maine, Town and Vital Records, 1821-1891, Births, Deaths, and Marriages register [1880-92]: unpaginated, Deaths section [p. 1], Isaac Hodsdon death, 1890; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/film/007595323?cat=343311 : accessed 3 Feb 2019), image 447.
  7. Byron Village Cemetery (Byron, Oxford County, Maine), Isaac Hodsdon family monument, read and photographed by the author, 13 Oct 2013.
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Friday, February 1, 2019

Jane (Miller) Sukeforth: 52 Ancestors #71

Jane Miller, my great-great-grandmother (#19 in my Ahnentafel chart), was born on 30 Jul 1810 in Friendship, Lincoln County, Maine.1 Analysis of Friendship census records and other sources indicate that she was the oldest of five children of William Miller Jr.; their mother's name is unknown.2

Jane and her first cousin, Simon Sukeforth, entered their intentions of marriage on 8 August 1834 in Thomaston3 (her residence at the time) and on 16 August 1834 in Washington4 (his residence). No record of the actual marriage has been found, but they likely married shortly after 16 August, as the 1850 census implies that their oldest child was born in 1834.5

Marriage intentions for Simon Suckforth and Jane Miller, 8 Aug 1834, Thomaston, Maine

They had eight known children:
  1. Thomas Sukeforth, b. 1834, married (1) Sarah A. Sprague, (2) Sarah A. Norwood
  2. James Llewellyn Sukeforth, b. est 1836, married Eliza M. Clapp
  3. Sarah C. Sukeforth, b. 1838, married Silas Kirk (my great-grandparents)
  4. Mary C. Sukeforth, b. 1845, married George H. Chadwick
  5. Addie E. Sukeforth, b. 1846, married Lyman B. Weever
  6. William A. Sukeforth, b. 1850, married Mae Isadora Moolekamp
  7. Franklin M. Sukeforth, b. ca 1851-52, d. 1875 unmarried
  8. Lawrenton M. Sukeforth, b. ca 1854-56, married Abbie H. Clark

Jane (Miller) Sukeforth gravestone
Jane died on 29 Apr 1879 in Washington, Knox County, Maine, and was buried beside Simon and their son Franklin in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington.6 For a view of all three stones, see 52 Ancestors: #16, Simon Sukeforth.

Unusually for these old gravestones, the following lines engraved on her stone are still clearly readable (closeup below):

     Dear mother, thou art gone to rest,
     The toils and cares are o'er.
     And sorrows, pain and suffering now
     Shall ne'er distress thee more.



Verse on Jane (Miller) Sukeforth gravestone

My descent from Jane (Miller) Sukeforth:

Jane is also my first cousin four times removed by descent from Johann Wilhelm Müller (William Miller Sr.) and Eve ______.

SOURCES
  1. Melville Bradford Cook, editor, Records of Meduncook Plantation and Friendship, Maine, 1762-1899 (Rockland, Maine: Shore Village Historical Society, 1985),  p. 75, birth of Jane Miller, 10 Jul 1810 (parents not named).  
  2. Marshall K. Kirk, “Miller: Waldoboro & Friendship, Maine,” undated typescript of unpublished research notes, Marshall K. Kirk Research Files; privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
  3. Original Records of Maine Towns and Cities: Town of Thomaston - 1727-1893, digital images (PDF), CD-ROM, 2 CDs (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 2005), CD 2: image 102; "Volume 2nd of Town Records of the Town of Thomaston," p. 193, Simon Suckforth-Jane Miller marriage intentions, 8 Aug 1834.
  4. Ella M. Hewins, "Washington, Maine early records", p. 41, Simon Suckforth-Jane "Millett" marriage intentions, 16 Aug 1834; FHL microfilm 859,058, item 5, image 746; typescript of extracts from original town records of Washington, Maine, of families, marriage intentions, and marriages, 1812-1871. 
  5. 1850 U.S. Census, Lincoln County, Maine, Washington, p. 576 (penned), dwelling 296, family 296, Simon Suckforth household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 14 Apr 2012).
  6. Maple Grove Cemetery (Washington, Knox County, Maine), gravestone of Jane (Miller) Sukeforth, read and photographed by the author, 14 Aug 2012.
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Monday, January 28, 2019

Abigail (Faulkner) Kirkpatrick: 52 Ancestors #70

Abigail Faulkner, my 2nd great-grandmother on my direct paternal line and #17 on my Ahnentafel chart, was born 14 October 1808 in Maitland (part of what was then Douglas Township), Hants County, Nova Scotia.1

Map of Hants County, N.S., 1878.2 Maitland (in blue, NE corner) was split off from Douglas Twp. ~1835.

Abigail married Jabez Bradbury Kirkpatrick (later Kirk) on 13 Nov 1825,3 probably in Warren, Maine.

Although I have, elsewhere on this blog, named Edward and Margaret (Morrison) Faulkner as Abigail's parents, recent closer examination of my late brother's research files indicates that this was an early tentative hypothesis he had made, and that there is conflicting evidence he had not resolved. However, it seems certain that her father must have been one of the sons of Robert and Hannah (Faulkner) Faulkner, who were found in Douglas Township in an 1817 census of Hants County.4

Two other Faulkners near in age to Abigail are found in Warren in the mid-1880s, and are very likely her siblings. Olive Faulkner, born ca 1804 in Nova Scotia, married Philip Montgomery of Warren about 1824. The Montgomerys were closely linked with the Kirkpatricks: Philip and Olive named two of their sons Jabez K. and Silas K. (almost certainly for Jabez himself and his deceased brother), another son William married Jabez's daughter Eliza Jane, and both men were shipwrights who were almost certainly associated in the ship-building business. Also, a William Faulkner, born between 1800 and 1810, appeared briefly in Warren, in the 1840 census and in 1839-40 as a co-owner (with G. Boggs) of the brig Maumee, built by Philip Montgomery. None of these three Faulkners have been "placed" in a known Hants County Faulkner family, but the names given to several of Abigail's and Olive's children do suggest a close association to the Edward and Margaret (Morrison) Faulkner noted above. It's possible that Edward's brother William, who is supposed to have died unmarried, actually had a family after all.5

Abigail and Jabez had five children:
  1. Silas (1827-1909), m. Sarah C. Sukeforth (my great-grandparents)
  2. Jane Elisa (1829-1909), m. William H. Montgomery
  3. Samuel L. (1831-1873), no known marriage
  4. Martha A. (1834-1834)
  5. Harriet F. (1835-?), m. (1) John Anderson, (2) Thomas P. King
After raising their own children, Abigail and Jabez adopted the newborn daughter of her (presumed) sister Olive's sister-in-law, who died five days after the baby's birth. (Baby Georgianna Oliver was also the first cousin of Abigail's son-in-law William Montgomery, husband of Eliza Jane.)6

Abigail died on 4 October 1891, and was buried beside her husband Jabez, who had died seven years before, in Newcomb Cemetery in Warren.7

Gravestones of Jabez and Abigail (Faulkner) Kirk, Newcomb Cemetery, Warrent, Knox County, Maine

     
Gravestone of Abigail KirkRest of inscription uncovered

My descent from Abigail (Faulkner) Kirkpatrick:
 
SOURCES
  1. Cyrus Eaton, Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine, Second Edition (Hallowell, Maine: Masters & Livermore, 1877), p. 567. Eaton's source for her date of birth is not given, but was most likely calculated from the age at death on her gravestone.
  2. A.D. & W.B. Roe, "County of Hants, Nova Scotia," map from Atlas of the Maritime Provinces of the Dominion of Canada (Philadelphia: Roe Brothers, 1878), p. 55; digital image, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (http://www.davidrumsey.com : downloaded 28 Jan 2019).
  3. Eaton, p. 567.
  4. Marshall K. Kirk, "Early Faulkners of Colchester and Hants Counties, Nova Scotia: Three Families" (typescript with handwritten notes, ca 2001); Marshall K. Kirk Research Files, privately held by Kathy Kirk McCracken, Virginia Beach, Virginia. 
  5. Ibid.
  6. Kathy Kirk McCracken, "52 Ancestors: #21, 'Great Grand Aunt' Georgianna: Real or 'Honorary' Aunt?," blog post, Pine Trees and Pedigrees (http://pinetreesandpedigrees.blogspot.com/2014/05/52-ancestors-21-great-grand-aunt.html : 27 May 2014).
  7. Newcomb Cemetery (Warren, Knox County, Maine), Jabez B. Kirk and Abigail Kirk gravestones, read and photographed by the author, 14 Aug 2012. 
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Thursday, January 24, 2019

Peter Louis Rabideau: 52 Ancestors #69

Peter Louis Rabideau, ca. 1925
Having tried the 52 Ancestors "weekly prompt" approach, I've decided it just doesn't work for me. Casting about for a different inspiration, I noted that Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings) based his 52 Ancestors series on his Ahnentafel. I've compared my blog post list with my Ahnentafel, and found that I've blogged about everyone through my great-grandparents (with one exception), and about most of my male immigrant ancestors (some of whom are 10th and 11th great-grandfathers), but in between... well, there are a lot of gaps. So I'm going to try working through my Ahnentafel and filling in the generations, starting with that overlooked great-grandfather with Ahnentafel #14.

Peter Louis Rabideau, the first child of Louis Robida and Celina Cloutier, was born 15 April 1870, probably at his parents' home in Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire. He was baptised "Louis" on 11 July that year at Saint-Michel-de-Sherbrooke Parish, Sherbrooke, Quebec, with his paternal grandparents Louis Robida and Marie St. Cyr as godparents.1

Baptismal record for Louis Robida

He grew up in Milan and Berlin, N.H., and attended school through the eighth grade.2 He was not quite 11, and had three younger sisters, when his mother Celina died in January 1881. His father quickly remarried, to Marie Beatrice Croteau, and over the next seven years young Louis acquired three half-brothers.

"Loi" Rabida household, 1880 U.S. Census, Berlin, Coos, New Hampshire
Judging by the censuses, he seems to have been called just Louis (or Lewis) during his childhood.3 Perhaps that name caused confusion as he got older, with both his father and grandfather also being named Louis; when he married Eva (Woodward) Taylor in Berlin on 3 November 1894, it was as Peter L. Rabideau, the name he used for the rest of his life.4

Peter L. Rabideau-Evie M. Taylor marriage, 1894, Berlin, N.H.
Peter and Eva lived in Milan for over 25 years, where they raised Eva's son Ernest Taylor, from her first marriage; their three daughters, Ermine, Glenna, and Thelma; and finally, their grandson Wilfred Thibeault, Glenna's son by her first marriage. Peter was enumerated as a day laborer in 1900 and a farmer in 1910-1930, though his obituary called him "a carpenter by trade."5

Children of Peter Louis Rabideau and Eva Woodward:
  1. Ermine Mona Rabideau, b. 1897, married Howard E. Tyler
  2. Glenna Marie Rabideau, b. 1899, married (1) John Thibeault, (2) William G. Murphy, (3) Paul Costanza, (4) William Anderson
  3. Thelma J. Rabideau, b. 1905, married (1) Glenn Swan, (2) Earl Brann

1910 U. S. Census, Milan, Coos, N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

1940 U. S. Census, Norway, Oxford, Maine, Peter L. Rabideau household

Eva (Woodward) and Peter L. Rabideau, July 1940, probably Norway, Maine


In 1930, Peter and Eva were living in nearby Dummer, N.H., with their grandson,6 and around 1934, they relocated to Norway, Maine,7 where their married daughter Ermine lived. By the time of his death on 16 December 1946, Peter had been ill for eight years and bedridden for three.8 He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery in Milan,9 to be joined by Eva in 1953.

My descent from Peter Louis Rabideau:



Peter L. and Eva M. Rabideau gravestone, Hillcrest Cemetery, Milan, N.H.

SOURCES
  1. Saint-Michel-de-Sherbrooke Parish (Sherbrooke, Quebec), Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1869-1874, pp. 140-141, baptism 146, Louis Robida, 1870; digital images, “Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1900,” FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org : accessed 18 May 2012).
  2. 1870 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, p. 17 (penned) 135 (stamped), dwelling 137, family 130, Lewis Rabideau household; 1880 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; both as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014).
  3. Ibid.
  4. “New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947,” database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Mar 2014), Peter L. Rabideau-Evie M. Taylor marriage, 1894.
  5. 1900 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 268, aheet 4B, dwelling 85, family 86, Peter L. Rabideau household; 1910 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 67, aheet 3A, dwelling 33, family 34, Peter L. Rabideau household; both as digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 9 Dec 2010). Also, 1920 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 53, aheet 3B, dwelling 58, family 60, Peter L. "Rabadeau" household; 1930 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Dummer, ED 4-27, sheet 3A, p. 279 (stamped), dwelling 36, family 78, Peter L. Rabideau household; both as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Mar 2014).
  6. 1930 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Dummer, ED 4-27, sheet 3A, p. 279 (stamped), dwelling 36, family 78, Peter L. Rabideau household.
  7. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary, Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 17 Dec 1946, p. 2; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=IT5EXw6i2GUC : accessed 28 May 2013). Also, 1940 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Norway, ED 9-38, sheet 9B, household 205, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 Apr 2012).
  8. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary.
  9. Hillcrest Cemetery (Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire), Peter L. and Eva M. Rabideau marker, read and photographed by the author, 11 Oct 2013.
  10. Photos of Peter Louis Rabideau (ca 1925) and of Eva (Woodward and Peter L. Rabideau (July 1940); Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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