Saturday, February 10, 2018

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Relatives With Facial Hair

It's Saturday Night - 
time for more Genealogy Fun! 



Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:


1)  This week we're going to look for men's facial hair in our photograph collections.

2)  Find one or more photographs of men in your ancestral families that have facial hair - a mustache and/or a beard.  

3)  Show the photograph if you have it and tell us a bit about the person shown.   If you don't have a digital photograph, please describe the man and his facial hair the best you can.

4)  Write your own blog post, or a comment to this blog post, or a comment on Facebook or Google+.

Here's mine:

1)  Devier J. Smith (1839-1894) is my second great-grandfather, born in Jefferson County, New York and died in McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska.  I have two photos of him with facial hair.  Here is the best "formal" photograph:



This photo was taken in Concordia, Kansas between 1875 and 1885.  Devier was a livery business owner, horse trader and land speculator in his adult years.  I think that is probably a buggy whip in his right hand.  

2)  James Richman (1821-1912) is my second great-grandfather, born in Hilperton, Wiltshire, England, and died in Putnam, Windham County, Connecticut.  Here is a photograph of James with a white beard:




This photograph was taken in about 1900-1910, in Putnam, Connecticut, when James was elderly.

3)  I have several relatives who had mustaches - I'll save them for another time.


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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/02/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-relatives.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Surname Saturday -- LNU (Martha, wife of William Russell, England to colonial Massachusetts)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  


I am working in the 9th great-grandmothers by Ahnentafel number, and I am up to Ancestor #2079 who is Martha LNU (1610-1694). 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 9th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts.]

My ancestral line back through one generation in this LNU family line is:


1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)

16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901)
17. Lucretia Townsend Smith (1827-1884)

32. Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825)
33. Abigail Gates (1797-1869)

64. Benjamin Seaver (1757-1816)
65. Martha Whitney (1764-1832)

128.  Norman Seaver (1734-1787)
129.  Sarah Read (1736-1809)


258.  Isaac Read (1704-1780)
259.  Experience Willis (1709-1787)

518.  Samuel Willis (1675-1758)
519.  Susannah Gleason (1676-1756)


1038.  Joseph Gleason (1640-1715)
1039.  Martha Russell (1647-1684)


2078.  William Russell, born about 1605 in Hertfordshire, England; died 14 February 1662 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He married about 1633 in England.
2079.  Martha LNU, born bout 1610 in England; died 1694 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of William Russell and Martha are:
*  Joseph Russell (1636-1694), married 1662 Mary Belcher (1638-1691).
*  Benjamin Russell (1638-1691), married 1665 Rebecca LNU.
*  Phebe Russell (1642-1642).
*  John Russell (1645-1737), married Elizabeth Fiske (1654-1730).
Martha Russell (1647-1684), married 1667 Joseph Gleason (1640-1715).
*  Philip Russell (1650-1731), married (1) 1680 Joanna Cutler (1661-1703); (2) 1705 Sarah Brooks (1668-1748).
*  Thomas Russell (1653-1653).
*  William Russell (1655-1744), married 1683 Abigail Winship (1656-1727).
*  Jason Russell (1658-1736), married 1684 Mary Hubbard (1665-1738).
*  Joyce Russell (1660-1719), married 1680 Edmund Rice (1653-1719).


Martha (LNU) Russell married (2) Humphrey Bradshaw (1614-1682) on 24 March 1665 in Cambridge, and (3) Thomas Hall (1610-1691) on 24 May 1683 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Some online family trees claim that Martha LNU is Martha Davies (1609-1694), born in Lavenham, Suffolk, England.  A Martha Davyes married a William Russell in St. Albans, Hertfordshire on 26 May 1636.  I have not researched this to any extent.

Information about the William Russell family was obtained from:

*  Nora E. Snow, The Snow-Estes Ancestry (Hillburn, N.Y. : 1939).

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/02/surname-saturday-lnu-martha-wife-of.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Genealogy News Bytes - 9 February 2018


Some of the genealogy news items across my desktop the last three days include:

1)  News Articles:


*  
Past and Present Pathways Announces Two New Additions

*  ISFHWE Elections to Be Held April 2018

*  UGA's Distinguished Service Award Goes to Angela Packer McGhie!

*  The National Genealogical Society Announces Three Research Trips

*  23andMe Launches The Global Genetics Project

 As more people learn of their genetic makeup, unexpected African roots emerge

2)  Record Databases:


*   Over 650,000 criminal records added to TheGenealogist

 New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday, 9 February 2018

*  February Update: GenealogyBank Just Added New Content from 103 Titles!

*  9 Feb 2018 – New Genealogy Record Releases & Updates

African American Genealogy Records: New and Free!

*  Advantage Preservation Adds 650K Historical Newspaper Pages - January, 2018

3)  Genealogy Education:

 GeneaWebinars Calendar

 International African American Museum to Present Free Genealogy Seminars Every Saturday in February

*  Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for February 2018

*  REGISTER: Feb 2018 DearMYRTLE Webinars

*  Legacy Tree Genealogists 2018 Conferences

*  Upcoming Family Tree Webinar - Tuesday, 13 February 2018, 11 a.m. PST:  Have Nordic Ancestors? Count Yourself Lucky - Nordic Records are Amazing, by Mike Mansfield

*  Archived Family Tree Webinar:  Digging for Historical Records on FamilySearch, by Sunny Morton

*  Archived Family Tree Webinar:  Using Military Maps in Genealogy, by Rick Sayre

*  Nicka Sewell-Smith YouTube Channel:  BlackProGen LIVE! Ep 50: Ask Mariah - The Remix

*  DearMYRTLE's YouTube Channel:  Jewish Genealogy 1 with Emily Garber

*  Family History Fanatics YouTube Channel:  Watch Your Ancestors on FamilySearch

4)  Bargains:

*  Genealogy Bargains for Friday, February 9,  2018


*  Valentine’s Day DNA Price Wars – Save BIG This Week!

5)  Neat Stuff:


 Where Old, Unreadable Documents Go to Be Understood

What's going on in these photos?

DNA test, luck reunite Hawaii man with the biological parents he never knew

Did you miss the last Genealogy News Bytes - 6 February 2018?


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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

The Rest of the George W. Seaver Story - Part IV: Military Records

I wrote Seavers in the News -- George W. Seaver Disappears in 1899 last week about a man disappearing from his home in Santa Monica, California.  It was an interesting story, and I found no other newspaper articles about him in the online newspaper resources that I searched.  Since then, I've posted these articles about this case:

The Rest of the George W. Seaver Story - Part I: Newspaper Articles about George's disappearance
The Rest of the George W. Seaver Story - Part II: More Newspaper Articles about George and his wife, Lida J. Crocker.
*  The Rest of the George W. Seaver Story - Part III: Census Entries with census records.
*  Seavers in the News - Vice President George W. Seaver Drives a Horse Car with a story and photo of George in Santa Monica in 1904.

In this post, I want to document the information found in the U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers record:



The information for George W. Seaver is on the left-hand page of the image above.

The extracted information on this record includes:

MILITARY HISTORY

*  Time and Place of Enlistment:  Dec. 8th 1863, N. Andover, Mass.
*  Rank:  P[rivate]
*  Company and Regiment:  H, 2nd Mass. H.A. transferred to Co. H
*  Time and Place of Discharge:  July 11th 1865, Boston, Mass.
*  Cause of Discharge:  Close of War
*  Kind and Degree of Disability:  Piles

DOMESTIC HISTORY   Protestant

*  Where Born:  Wisconsin
*  Age:  48
*  Height:  5' 7-1/2"
*  Complexion:  Dark
*  Color of Eyes: [blank]
*  Color of Hair:  [blank]
*  Occupation:  Teamster
*  Residence Subsequent to Discharge:  San Luis Obispo, Cal.
*  Married or Single:  Single
*  P.O. Address of Nearest Relative:  Mrs. Lucinda M. Fields (Aunt), Santa Barbara, Cal.

HOME HISTORY

*   Rate of Pension:  $6.00  $12.00  $16.50  $21.50  $27.10   May 31, 1920
*  Date of Admission and Re-Admission:    a)  October 17, 1893
                                                                      b)  Aug. 8, [19]01
*  Condition of Re-Admission:  [blank]
*  Date of Discharge:    a)  July 6th 1899
                                      b)  June 13, 1918
*  Cause of Discharge:  a)  His request
                                      b)  Dp'd G.O. ??
*  Date of Death:   31.10.[19]18  Died T.A.P.
*  Cause of Death:  Pneumonia

GENERAL REMARKS

*  Admission Paper:  1
*  Army Discharge:  [blank]
*  Certificate of Service:  1
*  Pension Certificate:  919,589

*  Labor Money, Cash:  $ 9.08
*  Pension Money:  [blank]
*  Personal, Appraised at $2.45 and 1.75 sold for [blank]
* How disposed of:  [blank]

The source citation for this record is:

"U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," indexed database with record images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 February 2018), Sawtelle > Registers > S, No. 2087 (image 189 of 4037), George W. Seaver entry.
                                      
This record fills in some blanks in the life history of George W. Seaver, including:

*  He served in the Civil War, enlisting in Massachusetts in 1863 and discharged in 1865 after the end of the war.
*  He was born in Wisconsin
*  He resided in San Luis Obispo after his discharge from the Army (probably in 1893 before he was admitted to the Soldiers' Home).
*  He entered the Sawtelle Soldiers' Home in Los Angeles on 17 October 1893 at age 48, and left on his own request on 6 July 1899 (after he married Lida Crocker in 1898).
*  He received a Pension for his Civil War Service - certificate number 919,589, starting at $6/month in 1893 and receiving $27.10 at the time of his death.
*  He re-entered the Sawtelle Soldiers' Home on 8 August 1901 and was kicked out on 13 June 1918.
*  He died on 31 October 1918 of Pneumonia.
*  His nearest relative (in 1893?) was his Aunt, Mrs. Lucinda M. Fields of Santa Barbara, California.

So there is a clue to my most enduring mystery about George - his Aunt was Lucinda M. Fields.  She could be his father's sister or his mother's sister.  If she was the father's sister, then she would be a Seaver surname.  If she was the mother's sister, then that becomes more difficult to research.

I found a Lucinda R. Fields (born about 1834 in Vermont) married to Alexander N. Fields (born 1833 in Canada) in about 1862, and they were in the 1900 U.S. Census in Santa Barbara.  I also found them in Los Angeles in  the 1910 U.S. Census.  Alexander Fields entered the Sawtelle Soldiers' Home in 1908 and died in April 1910.  

A death certificate for Lucinda R. Fields may provide parents names.  However, I can't find a death record for her in California.  She may have married again and died with a different surname.  

I did not find a public Ancestry Member Tree with an entry for Alexander N. Fields born about 1833 in Canada and a wife named Lucinda (or similar).

The FamilySearch Family Tree profile for A. N. Field (born 1833 in Nova Scotia) shows his wife's name as Lucinda R. Pease (1834-1922), born 20 February 1834 in Weston, Windsor County, Vermont, but no parents are listed for Lucinda.

I will search some more.  

Another potential record for the parents of George W. Seaver is the Civil War Pension File, which may list his parents, birth date, birth place, etc.  How much do I want it?  


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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday, 9 February 2018

I received this information from Findmypast today:

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New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday

There are over 291,000 new records and newspaper articles available to search this Findmypast Friday, including;
An additional 3,000 records have been added to our recently released Suffragette collection. The new additions consist of fully indexed newspaper reports taken from The Suffragette (later The Britannia). The paper was edited by Christabel Pankhurst and was the official organ of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). In 1915, the newspaper title changed its name to reflect the WSPU's patriotic ideals and was used to campaign for the war effort while retaining a focus on women's issues.
At its peak the Suffragette had a circulation of around 40,000 and was used to announce the activities of suffragettes and upcoming meetings. It was also packed with interviews, first-hand accounts and articles related to a wide range of women's issues.
Browse 271 issues of the Suffragette and Britannia. The collection holds issues from 1912 up to 1918 when publication ceased.
Discover your ancestor's marriage details from this index pertaining to Moniteau County, Missouri. Each result will offer you a transcript with details such as your ancestor's name, abode, marriage date, and spouse's name. This collection have been obtained from Brett Clifford's website.
Over 30,000 new records have been added to our collection of Devon baptisms. The collection now contains over 2.6 million records of baptisms spanning 400 years of the county's history. Individual entries will contain an image and transcript of and original document. Records will reveal a combination of your ancestor's date of baptism, place of baptism, parent's names, father's occupation and parent's residence.
Devon Baptisms covers most of the Anglican parishes in the English county of Devon and has been published in partnership with Plymouth & West Devon Record Office, and with the South West Heritage Trust.
An additional 39,325 records have are now available to search within our collection of Devon Banns. Banns of marriage, more commonly known simply as the 'banns' or 'bans' (from a Middle English word meaning 'proclamation', rooted in the Old French) are the public announcement in a Christian parish church of an impending marriage. Their purpose is to prevent invalid marriages by allowing anyone to raise any canonical or civil legal impediment to the marriage.
Spanning the years 1629 to 1918, the Devon Banns collection was published in association with the South West Heritage Trust and Parochial Church Council. Records include both transcripts and images of original documents that will reveal your ancestor's banns dates, intended spouse's name and couple's residences.
Over 79,000 new records have been added to our collection of Devon Marriages. The collection covers the years between 1507 and 2002 and consists of images and transcripts that have been made available online thank to the assistance of volunteers of the Devon Family History Society. While the collection is made up of Anglican parish registers, other religious denominations, with the exception of Quakers and Jews, often registered these events in their local Church of England parish even after the Toleration Act of 1689. Between 1754 and 1837 it was illegal to marry anywhere other than a Church of England parish. Transcripts and images will reveal your ancestor's marriage date, spouse's name, and parish, bride's maiden name, groom's occupation and names of witnesses
31,351 new records have been added to our collection of Devon Burials. The collection consists of original Anglican parish registers and burial registers from Ford Park Cemetery and Torquay Cemetery. Devon burials now contains over 2.1 million records spanning 450 years that will reveal your ancestor's birth year, death year, burial date and burial location.
This week's new additions to our collections of Devon parish baptisms, banns, marriages and burials are also available to browse. Our browse function allows you to explore thousands of pages of original registers spanning three centuries of Devonshire history. All the images were created from the original registers held at the Plymouth & West Devon Record Office.
Over 56,000 records have been added to our collection of British in India records. The new additions contain biographical and service data on the families and officers of the East India Company taken from an index compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel Kendall Percy-Smith. The collection allows you to explore names of British people who either lived, worked or travelled in India from as early as 1664 up to 1961. This collection includes carefully indexed records of births, marriages, divorces and deaths. With one record you may reveal numerous family names and extensive biographical details.
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Disclosure:  I have a complimentary subscription to Findmypast, and have accepted meals and services from Findmypast, as a Findmypast Ambassador.  This has not affected my objectivity relative to Findmypast and its products.


Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


52 Ancestors - Week 213: #292 Joseph Keyes (1698-1744) of Chelmsford and Westford, Massachusetts

Joseph Keyes (1698-1744 is #292 on my Ahnentafel List, my 6th great-grandfather, who married #293  Elizabeth Fletcher (1698-1775) in 1720 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

*  their son #146 Jonathan Keyes (1722-1781) who married #147 Elizabeth Fletcher (1720-1761) in 1746.
*  their daughter #73 Elizabeth Keyes (1759-1793) who married  #72 Zachariah Hildreth (1754-1829) in 1777.
*  their son, #36 Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857) who married #37 Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857) in 1810.
*  their son, #18 Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) who married #19 Sophia Newton (1834-1923) in 1852.
*  their daughter #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920)  who married #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) in 1874.
*  their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
*  their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.
*  their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Name:                            Joseph Keyes Jr.[1–9[
*  Sex:                               Male

*   Father:                          Joseph Keyes (1667-1757)
*  Mother:                         Joanna Cleaveland (1670-1758)   
 
2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Birth:                           1 May 1698, Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1–2,9]    
*  Deed:                          5 January 1728 (age 29), bought land in Chelsmford from Joseph Keyes Sr. for 100 pounds; Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[4]    

*  Deed:                          8 November 1731 (age 33), sold land in Westford to Thomas Wright for 120 pounds; Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[5]    

*  Deed:                          8 April 1742 (age 43), sold 50 acres of land in Westford to Ebenezer Wright and Jonathan Keyes for 240 pounds; Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[6]    

*  Death:                         11 July 1744 (age 46), Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[7–9]    

*  Burial:                       after 11 July 1744 (after age 46), Fairview Cemetery, Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[9]  

3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Spouse 1:                  Elizabeth Fletcher (1698-1775)
   
*  Marriage 1:               28 February 1719/20 (intentions, age 21) Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[3]    

*  Child 1:                     Elizabeth Keyes (1720-1806)
*  Child 2:                     Jonathan Keyes (1721-1781)    
*  Child 3:                     Sarah Keyes (1723-    )    
*  Child 4:                     Lydia Keyes (1724-    )    
*  Child 5:                     David Keyes (1726-    )  

4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):    

Joseph Keyes was born 1 May 1698 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, the third child and only son of Joseph and Joanna (Cleaveland) Keyes[1-2,9].  The birth record in the town records says:

"Josepeh the sonne of Josepeh and Johannah Keyes was born the 1 May 1698."

He was called Joseph Keyes Jr. throughout his life.

Joseph and Elizabeth Fletcher filed intentions to marry on 28 February 1719/20 in Chelmsford[3].  She was the daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Woolley) Fletcher of Chelmsford.  

Joseph and Elizabeth (Fletcher) Keyes had five children:  Elizabeth born in 1720; Jonathan born in 1722; Sarah born in 1723; Lydia born in 1724; and David born about 1726.  Three of the births were recorded in the Chelmsford town records.  Only Elizabeth and Jonathan reached adulthood and married.

On 5 January 1727/8, Joseph Keyes Sr., husbandman of Chelmsford, sold land in Chelmsford to Joseph Keyes, Jr., husbandman of Chelmsford, for 100 pounds currant money of New England.  The land included all of Joseph Keyes Sr. land on Frances Hill in Chelmsford, bounded by his own land, and also all his land and meadow lying on Keyes Creek, and one half of his town Right in Chelmsford.  The deed was recorded 15 January 1727/8[4].

The part of Chelmsford where the Keyes family resided became the town of Westford, Massachusetts in about 1730.

On 8 November 1731, Joseph Keyes, Sr. and Joseph Keyes Jr., both husbandmen of Westford, sold land in Westford to Thomas Wright, husbandman of Westford, for 120 pounds currant money of New England.  The land was a tract of upland and meadow in Westford defined by marked trees and heaps of stones and bounded by the meadow of Joseph Keyes, the meadow of William Chandler, Keyes Brook. The deed was recorded 14 November 1771[5].

On 8 April 1742, Joseph Keyes Jr., husbandman of Westford, sold land in Westford to Ebenezer Wright and Jonathan Keyes, husbandmen of Westford, for 240 pounds currant money of New England.  The land was 50 acres of meadow and upland on the north side of Frances Hill in Westford, on the north side of the highway leading from Chelmsford to Groton by Captain Thomas Reed's house.  The deed was recorded 9 November 1742[6].

Joseph Keyes Jr. died on 11 July 1744 in Westford at age 46[7-9].  The death record in the Westford town records says:

"Joseph Keyes Jr. departed this life July 11 1744."

He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Westford[9].  

Joseph Keyes Jr. died before his parents died, so there was no real or personal estate passed directly to him.

Joseph Keyes had no probate record in the Middlesex County Probate Court records.  

5)  SOURCES

1. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Chelmsford, Proprietors Records, no page number (image 39 of 50), Joseph Keyes birth entry.

2. Town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Salem, Mass. : The Essex Institute, 1914), Births, page 86, Joseph Keyes entry.

3. Town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Marriages, page 262, Joseph Keyes and Elizabeth Fletcher intentions record.

4. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org :, Middlesex County Deeds, Volume 27, Pages 119-120 (images 363-4 of 585), Joseph Keyes Sr. to Joseph Keyes Jr., recorded 15 January 1727/8.

5. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, Middlesex County Deeds, Volume 72, Pages 247-248 (images 134-5 of 581), Joseph Keyes Sr. and Joseph Keyes Jr. to Thomas Wright, recorded 14 November 1771.

6. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, Middlesex County Deeds, Volume 43, Pages 198-199 (images 182-3 of 835), Joseph Keyes Jr. to Ebenezer Wright and Jonathan Keyes, recorded 9  November 1742.

7. Massachusetts, Town Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com, Westford Births, Marriages and Deaths, Page 41, on Image 27, Joseph Keyes death entry.

8. Vital Records of Westford, Massachusetts to the Year 1849 (Salem, Mass. : The Essex Institute, 1915), Deaths, page 293, Joseph Keyes Jr. death entry.

9. Jim Tipton, indexed database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com), Fairview Cemetery (Westford, Mass.), Joseph Keyes Jr. memorial # 36127486.

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NOTE:  Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post 
 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I have extended this theme in 2018 to 260 Ancestors in 260 Weeks.


Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Seavers in the News - Vice President George W. Seaver Drives a Horse Car

It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a semi-regular feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the Los Angeles [Calif.] Herald newspaper dated 26 June 1904:




The transcription of this article is:

"Street Railway Vice-President Drives a Horse Car

"Have you ever ridden on the Santa Monica - Sawtelle division of the Los Angeles-Pacific railroad?  If not, you have missed a rare treat and one that might not be at your disposal much longer.  Even now, to use the words of George W. Seaver, who holds every office and position on the division from vice president down.  'th' road's likely ter stop haulin' folks at any time.'

"And to one who will investigate the matter as I did recently the statement seems well founded.  The road which is a single track affair running from the Soldiers Home to North Beach, Santa Monica, was laid eighteen years ago by a company that has long since passed into oblivion.  The original franchise has been purchased by the Los Angeles Pacific company and this corporation has 'out of the goodness of the heart' turned the entire plant over to R. Jenkins sand G.W. Seaver of the Soldiers' Home, the only condition imposed being that at least one round trip be made every day, this being absolutely necessary to hold the franchise.  As the earning capacity of the road is inadequate to support two men and a horse, Mr. Jenkins, who enjoys the proud title of president of the division has found it advisable to take a job, and so while he labors elsewhere, Mr. Seaver looks after the interests of the road in a manner that has proved very satisfactory to those most concerned.

"At present, the road is a little shy on rolling stock, an old one-gorse car of the pattern of '65 doing all the carrying, but according to Mr. Seaver this car will last some time yet as 'there's only a couple of bolts missin' from th' under pinnin's and all th' wheels ceptin' th' right off un is good as new.'

The right one off is the shape of an egg.  Every day this year to date, rain or shine, Mr. Seaver has made two round trips over the road, and he says that on an average he has carried twenty-five passengers each day.  Of course the travel on the road is so very light that repairs are not made often and, if Mr. Seaver notices anything needs fixing as he jogs along the route, he promptly stops the car and makes the necessary repair.  Sometimes this will take a half hour or more but that does not matter any to Mr. Seaver, who believes in making a good job of anything he starts and the mere fact that a few passengers are waiting to be carried to their destination cuts no figure with him.

"It was exactly 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I boarded the car in front of the bath house in Santa Monica.  Besides myself there were two other passengers, both old soldiers, and I passed through to the front platform where the vice president stood industriously chewing tobacco while he handled the reins in a manner that showed plainly he had no fear that his steed would run away.  As I anticipated, he proved sociable and entered readily into conversation concerning the queer road to which he is so prominently identified.

"'You see,' he began, Me and Jenkins owns the hoss an' the railroad company owns th' car.  Now I ain't got nothin' much to do noway an' I figure that I might's well be doin' this as nothin.'  Besides there's Barney, th' hoss.  What are we goin' to do with Barney if th' road closes down?  However, I wouldn't be a dam bit surprised if something happened soon ter close 'er down.  Th' railroad people's been figurin' on doin' somethin' or other an' 'lectric cars might be running' along here pretty soon.'

"At this point in his remarks, Mr. Seaver called out sharply, 'Whoa Barney.  Stop an' take a rest now.'  Then leaning back against the car door he resumed his talk while the animal browsed at some grass growing at the wayside.  We resumed our journey shortly and Mr. Seaver never let the conversation lag.  At 4:30 o'clock the car pulled up before the entrance of the Soldiers' Home.  I bade the vice president good-by and stood where I could watch him as he unhitched Barney and led the horse up to the rear entrance of the kitchen where he fed the animal a bucket of wet bread.  This was, I learned, a delicacy which Barney enjoyed every day, although no one present had ever before heard of a horse eating a similar mess..  Walter E. Connell."

The source citation for this article is:

"Street Railway Vice-President Drives a Horse Car,Los Angeles [Calif.] Herald newspaper, Sunday, 26 June 1904, page 6, column 3, George W. Seaver article; digital image, California Digital Newspaper Collection  (https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ : accessed 8 February 2018).

Based on this article, it appears that George W. Seaver has returned to the Disabled Volunteer Soldiers' Home in Santa Monica, been promoted to Vice President (the boss of the horse, Barney, I'm sure), and has found something useful to do as he lives out his life.  And we have a grainy photograph of George (big hat, big mustache) and Barney the horse.  

This article is a followup to last week's article in Seavers in the News -- George W. Seaver Disappears in 1899 Since then, two of my readers, Barry Sheldon and Kathy Duncan, have provided a number of newspaper articles that help solve the mystery. 

I still don't know who George W. Seaver's parents are, but I have a plan to find out.  


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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver


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