From IRELAND -- Edward McCABE 1767-1814

Edward McCABE is my 3rd great-grandfather on my mother's lines: my mother's father's father's mother's father.  I have very little information on him, aside from Census details and gravestone information. As with many Irish ancestors, it can be quite challenging to find details in Ireland.  And, as with many ancestors from the late 1700s, it can be challenging to find any details!!

He apparently was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, and died 1 April 1814 in Maryland, buried in Conewago, Adams County, PA, according to the information on the KUHN obelisk at Conewago Chapel Basilica Cemetery.  Two carvings give different dates for his birth calculating from death date:  the original stone states he was in his 42nd year when he died, i.e., born in 1772; but the obelisk gives his birth year as A.D. 1767, i.e., he was in his 47th year when he died.  This discrepancy has yet to be resolved... one wonders if the carver of the first small stone heard "42nd" instead of "47th" -?

Edward apparently immigrated to Pennsylvania before 1797, although records have not yet been found for him on a ship record, nor in a settlement.

However, he shows up married on 17th July 1797 in Morgantown, to Rebecca HUDSON, who was b. 18 March 1777 in the area known as Morgan's town (Morgantown, Berks, PA).  Rebecca's mother was Mary MORGAN, daughter of Col. Jacob MORGAN, who fought in the Revolutionary War; her father Jonathan/John HUDSON, was an early Welsh settler family in the region. I am able to continue research through the Welsh ancestors-- Morgan, Hudson, Bowen, and Piersol/Pearsall families in PA -- as land records and other historical details allow.

Edward and Rebecca had 3 children:
  - Maria Cecelia McCabe, b. 1798, Morgantown; m. ?McDivitt, nothing else known at present
  - Edmond Hudson McCabe (Dr.), b. 1800, Morgantown; m. Elizabeth Farrish, 5 children
        - moved family to St. Louis MO
  - Jane Rebecca McCABE, b. 25 Oct 1803, Downington [south of Morgantown]

Their daughter, Jane, married Joseph J. [Jacobus] KUHN 5 Nov 1826, in Conewago, Adams, PA.  The family settled in East Berlin, Adams County, PA, and had 9 children.  My ancestor line goes through the 2nd child, Dr. Louis DeBarth KUHN.

As you see for Edward McCABE, I have only two questionable birthdates, a marriage date, a death date, children and grandchildren's details.  But nothing really about Edward himself.  What was his occupation?  When did he actually arrive?  Did he come with relatives from Ireland? How was he regarded by his neighbours and family?  Hopefully I can continue to find a bit more information on Edward this year!

If you have any information on any of the names in this post, are a relative, do contact me and I will be happy to share what I details I have.

SURNAME SATURDAY - Charles Giles GRAVES 1824-1902

Charles Giles GRAVES, born 7 March 1824 in Jordan, Onondaga, NY.  This photograph has been tentatively identified as dated in the 1870s.  My great-Uncle Hal Terwilliger [his grandson] looks quite like him, which gives mild support for this identification.

My 2nd great-grandfather was a "Capitalist" according to the 1900 Census in Jordan, NY, and I find this occupation description rather amusing for some reason.  He owned retail businesses and buildings in New York, starting as a merchant.  The 1860 Census shows his real estate value as $3,000, and his personal value as $13,000.

He was the youngest of 8 children, 2 of whom (the 6th and 7th) died young.  The eldest and only living girl was Emeline (b. 21 Jun 1805) who married Henry Allen, b. 1801 in Massachusetts (3 children).  Parents were Cornelius GRAVES & Anna TREAT.

I have a letter from my great-Uncle Hal Terwilliger to my mother, including this excerpt:
"Your Grandfather: Charles Giles Graves born Mar.7, 1824,  son of Cornelius Graves and Anna Treat,  descendent of Robert Treat, Colonial Governor of Connecticut and Founder of Newark New Jersey,  had four brothers:  William Thompson, Stephen Rensselaar,  Edward Seabury  and  Sheldon.

Sheldon went to what later became Chicago, built the first hotel there, the Lake House.   I had heard, though I know nor have any evidence, he built two factories on what was the Chicago River, for pails, chairs, etc. needed by settlers.   Your Mother remembers when she was a little girl her Uncle coming to Jordan with his wife and children in a buckboard, driving all the way from Chicago.   He came to be reequipped with clothes etc. and money and returned to Chicago, as per above."

The first Graves immigrant was John GRAVES, who emigrated in approximately 1635 (See Vol.3, Great Migration Study).  The TREAT line goes back through Robert TREAT, Governor of Connecticut from 1683-1696.  In England, the surname is known as TROTT, by the way, and the ancestor group appears to have originally lived in Taunton area of Somerset, migrating to the colonies between 1635-1640.  The first Treat immigrant, Richard TREAT, is seen settled in Watertown, and is recorded in Wethersfield in 1637.

On 26th of September 1850, Charles Giles GRAVES married Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE, whose parents I've discussed in previous posts.  The family settled in Jordan, Onondaga, and had 3 daughters:
 - Lillian Adele, b. 25 Nov 1853, m. Gabriel W. Wisner (lawyer), 4 children
 - *Clara Augusta "Gussie", b. 5 Nov 1857, m. James "Grove" TERWILLIGER, 3 children
 - Florence Estelle "Toto", b. 3 Feb 1860, m. Ernest F. Tyler (jeweller), 1 daughter

My line goes through the middle girl, Gussie; her husband, James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, is the ancestor who completed the TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM (a separate blog of mine).

Charles' obituary follows (found online at Old Fulton Postcards NY free newspaper site):

Marcellus Observer  

Friday, February 7, 1902

Jordan Department 

    (2^nd column lower half)

         Charles G. Graves died at the family residence last Sunday.  Two weeks ago Mr. Graves suffered an attack of pneumonia from which he failed to rally.  He was born in Onondaga County and was 77 years old.  When a young man he went to Syracuse, and during the fifties and sixties was identified with the dry goods trade, being in partnership part of the time with Samuel A. Seager, under the firm name of Seager & Graves.  In this village of late years he had lived in retirement.  For many years the family Homestead was at the corner of West Onondaga and Southwest streets, in Syracuse.   The deceased was a genial, hospitable gentleman, who will be well remembered by the older generation.   Mr. Graves married Miss Harriet Ormsbee, who survives.  He is also survived by three daughters, Mrs. Gabriel W. Wisner of Jordan, Mrs. J. Grove Terwiliger of New Rochelle and Mrs Ernest Tyler  of New York.   The funeral was held at the family home on Thursday morning at 10 o'clock and services were held later in the day at Oak wood chapel.  Mr. Graves was the last of a prominent family who were identified with large enterprises here thirty years ago.

------- ------- ------- 

Charles & his wife, Gussie, were buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga, New York.

If any of these names are familiar or you wish more information, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave a comment below.  

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Lucius Jared ORMSBEE 1825-1911

Lucius Jared Ormsbee, is the only son of my 3rd greatgrandfather, Jacob ORMSBEE (see previous posts), so he is my 2nd granduncle.  Lucius was born 31 Aug 1825 in Manlius, Onondaga, New York, the eldest of 5 children.  My direct ancestor is the second child, Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE, b. 28 May 1827.

Lucius married Caroline C. Coombs on 13 May 1847 in Jordan, Onondaga, New York, and they had 3 children:  Lucius "Frank" Ormsbee, Henry Jerome Ormsbee, and Caroline "Carrie" Ormsbee.  Lucius died 29 July 1911, in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, 9 years after his wife died in 23 Jan 1902.

I'm sharing this photo from the Syracuse Journal, July 29, 1911, the day of his death;  newspaper article found searching through Old Fulton NY Post Cards (& Newspapers).

I have no photo of his father Jacob, or of his mother, Sabra/Sally TOWERS, so this is the closest I can get to an image.


If you are a relative, or know more about his ancestors - father Jacob, and grandfather Arnold - do contact me, I'd love to share any details or information I do have on the Ormsbee family.

Women's History Month: Pattern of Children of My Female Ancestors

Lorine at Olive Tree Genealogy posted an interesting genealogical topic for Women's History Month, so here is my offering.

Instructions:

Make a list of your female ancestors beginning with your mother. Go back as far as you can. Now figure out how many children each female ancestor had. Did the females in your direct maternal line tend to have the same numbers of children each generation? Did they have more? Less? Were they prolific or are there few children born to each woman? Is there a pattern emerging?

I decided to go back 5 generations, and found no particular pattern other than there were more GIRLS born than BOYS!  I found that very surprising for some reason. The photo above on the left is my mother's line: she is the 2 year old Mary, in her mother Marguerite's arms; left is Clara, talking with her mother Hattie, aged about 97.

Maternal Line:

3^rd Greatgrandmother Sabra ORMSBEE      5 – 1 boy,   4 girls

2^nd Greatgrandmother Hattie GRAVES        3 –    ……   3 girls

Great-grandmother Clara TERWILLIGER      3 – 2 boys, 1 girl                          

Grandmother Marguerite KUHN                   6 – 2 boys, 4 girls

My Mother Mary GILLESPIE                       3 – 1 boy,   2 girls

Paternal Line:

2^nd Greatgrandmother Eliza MORRISON      4 – 3 boys, 1 girl

Greatgrandmother Catherine ARMSTRONG  4 – 3 boys, 1 girl

(other) Greatgrandmo Sarah WHITEHOUSE  9 – 3 boys, 6 girls

Grandmother Harriett BUNN                         6 – 2 boys, 4 girls

This makes 43 children total, with 17 boys, 26 girls

As for me:

I had 4 children:  2 boys, 2 girls; and with 6 grandchildren, I have 1 boy, 5 girls!

I'm not finding anything else unusual about these women.  In about 1879 or 1880, my Paternal line moved in one group of 3 generations including my Greatgrandmother Catherine & her mother-in-law Eliza, from Northern Ireland to north-west England for work reasons. My Maternal line lived in New York state and NJ state for a number of generations - I stopped at 5 generations, but can go back on a number of lines another 5 generations.  In 1912 my Grandmother Marguerite moved with her husband to BC Canada  where all the children (but one) were born.  She travelled back and forth across the continent with her 5 living children a number of times to visit with her relatives and many friends in New York state and New Jersey as well.

My Maternal line (up to the 1930s) were relatively wealthy, husbands were entrepreneurs and business builders; whereas my Paternal line was quite a bit poorer - individuals were very good at school but had to leave early to work.  The Paternal line brothers all did quite well in BC Canada, immigrating here in 3 groups: 1907, 1911, and 1914.  There was little travel back to England, although my grandfather's only sister did come out to visit several times from England.  

Try this analysis on your own family tree and ask questions about any patterns you might see, about their child-bearing:  ages of mothers at 1st and last child?  sexes?  twins?  any unusual gaps?  ages of those babies who died young (under 2)?  Think about other activities or events either locally or internationally that might have impacted on your "mothers".  

If you have any questions or want to follow up on any of the information in this post, do contact me either by replying with details in the Comments section, or through  calewis at telus dot net   (you know what to substitute there).  

+Jill Ball's Geneameme re Social Media... A little late!

Here are the questions from Jill about using social media - pitfalls and possibilities!  - and my responses:

1. Tell us about your favourite social media tool and why you like it.
Google+ is my favourite for many reasons.  It allows me to have circles of totally different groups of individuals passionate about their hobby or occupation, sharing it with the world.  It allows me to meet new-to-me genealogists with their unique strengths and skills in the field.  It allows me to learn so much about the field of genealogy.  And the relationships are priceless.

2. How do you use social media to further your genealogy career or business?
I don't have a business... am retired, but do some genealogy consulting with people searching for local ancestors and their lives, which is very satisfying.  My blogs, website, Facebook, Twitter, all add to my profile as a competent consultant.  I spend just under 2 hours daily doing the rounds of my social media; then go on to my life: genealogy research for self &/or client, work on my current creative writing assignment, talk/meet with friends and/or family members, go for walks, read books, garden, make big pots of food for the freezer including loaves of bread, etc.  
3. What advice would you give the cruiser who said “I must be living under a rock” and is not sure about coming out from under it?
If a grandmother of 70 years old  - ME - can enjoy G+, Facebook, Twitter (and use Tweetdeck), Tumblr, and more... and write a blog, anyone can pick one item and see how it fits into their life for whatever personal reasons there are:  entertainment, connections, education, and more.
4. What aspect of Social Media makes you grit your teeth?
Nothing.  Welllllll... complaining makes me delete the post and move on.  I don't have time for complaints, political or religious rants, or too many cute cats. 
5. How does social media assist with your CGD (continuing genealogical development)?
Ohmygoodness... I've found so much that's helpful using G+, FBk, & Twitter, finding resources to use, people to follow, tips to find, absolutely outstanding webinars, and more.
6. How do you fit social media time into your busy day?
I'm retired.  Every day is "anyday", and I manage to do most of what I want in any day.  Now if only I had money to match my so-many-hours!  
7. Do you have a story of how social media enabled you to connect with a long lost relation or fellow  researcher?
I've found a first cousin, several second and third cousins with photos and more details, made several connections with my Irish relatives.  Hoping for more... which is why I started blogging.  
8. You have a minute to share a piece of advice about genealogy and social media. Go for it. 
Several people have done webinars on the mechanics of using social media... such as Thomas MacEntee and Dear Myrtle... Go find those and follow them. Pick one item, and start using it daily to see how it might be useful/helpful for you personally.  Then pick another item.  Repeat until you're comfortable and can decide on which tools work best for you.  Oh... and don't forget the most important part:  ASK for HELP!!  People are so helpful and would love to provide directions and ideas to help you master something.  Just ask.   Finally - feel very comfortable deleting posts or deleting people from your social media group of tools - after all, it's your life and you're in charge of how positive or negative it is.  

Cheers.  I used to be quite the social media hermit, but I've learned to use quite a few and am getting more comfortable as the months go by.  Sorry it took me an extra day to get this done, Jill!  

SURNAME SATURDAY - BORTLE, Charlotte, b. 1798 NY

Ah, Charlotte BORTLE - you're my mystery 3rd great-grandmother on my mother's side.  You appear married with my 3rd great-grandfather, Grover BUELL (who was b. 1794, Northumberland, NY) on many censuses and then you're buried with him.  What do I know about you?  Very little.

You were apparently born 10 Oct 1797 or 1798 in (unknown) but usually listed as NY state on some documents.  I have no idea at all about your parents nor where they come from, as those early census records do not show such details.  You and Grove had 5 children: 4 girls, and only one boy.

But, there you are, on the 1820 Census for Northumberland, Saratoga, New York, married with two little girls, with Grover BUELL.  The two girls were as follows
(a) Mary, b. 18 Jan 1816 who later married John W. Patterson in Aug 1843 and had 4 children: Charlotte, Grover Buell, Thomas Duane, and Harriet Hattie Malvina; and,
(b) Sally, b. 4 Feb 1819, who died aged 7 on 29 Aug 1826.  

Ann Janette was their third little girl, b. 15 Dec 1822 in Northumberland; she married Benjamin Baird in 1842 and had 2 sons, William Hulbert & Simon Melvin Baird.

Only two of their children were still living at home with them by 1850:
- the only boy, Simon, b. 13 Feb 1827, who married on 15 Oct 1851 Julia Adelle Wyckoff, b. 7 Dec 1827 NY, in Skaneateles;
- and my ancestor, the youngest girl, Harriet "Hattie", b. 27 Jan 1829 in Lysander, who married in 1851 to James M. TERWILLIGER.

Charlotte, on the 1850 census for Lysander, NY, you were shown as 53 years of age, with husband Grove BUEL (common spelling at the time), who was 55.  He's listed as Farmer, with land valued at $1,400, and states he was born in NY state. For you?  There's not even a mark to indicate "ditto" - nothing at all.  Wouldn't that have been useful?

You continued to be seen on Lysander censuses living with your husband, Grove. On the 1870 Census, Grove was listed as a Retired Farmer, with land valued at $23,000, and personal value $18,000.  Only a few years later however, we find your husband deceased 18 Feb 1874 in Lysander, and buried shortly after in the Lysander Union Cemetery, Lysander, Onondaga, New York.

Charlotte, you survived several more years after Grove, and died 22 Set 1879 in Lysander, being buried with Grover in the Lysander Union Cemetery.

The Bortle name in various spellings is not very common.  It is considered to be either a variant of a Dutch name - Bortell/van Bortell - or from the German, Bartel. There were apparently two groups of Bortle families around the early 1800: living in New York state, and another group living in and around Reheboth MA.  Perhaps your parents came from MA?  Unless one of your children's children and their descendants have a wonderful clue about you, and share it online, I'll likely never know.  But I'll keep looking... perhaps something will turn up.

I have found that there is another Charlotte Bortle roughly the same age who married a gentleman named Daniel - a different Charlotte, unfortunately.  But, perhaps they were cousins?

If you have any information on my particular Charlotte BORTLE do let me know by emailing me or leaving a comment.  calewis at telus dot com  will reach me.