John Vincent, a veteran of the War of 1812, was declared by the Court to be a “habitual drunkard” in 1840. He was about 48 years old and, according to the 1840 census, had 8 children living at home including four under the age of 10. His wife, Maria, must have had a tough time with so many children and a husband who was often drunk. John’s father-in-law, David Watson, was appointed trustee of John’s property which was worth about $25,000 with debts of $5,000. By 1843, however, John Vincent was thankfully better and he regained possession of his property....
Sarah Jane (Watson) Stewart, was only 27 years old when she died in 1853. She’d been married to John Q Stewart for a little over four years and given birth to two sons. Her oldest, George, would’ve been 3 years old, but it is possible he preceded his mother in death. The youngest, Alexander, was only 22 months old. Sarah Jane’s mother, Betsy, had died 7 years earlier while Sarah Jane was probably still living at home. Betsy was buried alongside other family members at Warrior Run Church Cemetery in Delaware Run, Pennsylvania. Five years later, Sarah Jane’s older brother,...
Yellow fever did not recur; one either died or survived. It came in mysterious, vicious waves, killing anywhere from 12 to 70 percent of its victims. It started with shivering, high fever, insatiable thirst, savage headaches, and severe back and leg pains. In a day or so, the restless patient would become jaundiced and turn yellow. In the terminal stages, the patient would spit up mouthfuls of dark blood, the terrifying “black vomit” (vomito negro), the body temperature would drop, the pulse fade, and the comatose patient, cold to the touch, would die in about 8 to 10 hours. So...
Elkanah Anderson and his brother-in-law, Thomas B Whitwel, were two of my 5 times great grandfathers. In December 1814, Elkanah and Thomas joined the West Tennessee Milita and were “part of a flotila that went down to New Orleans via the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.” Once there, they fought in the famous Battle of New Orleans under Andrew Jackson. During the bloody, one-sided battle which lasted only about 30 minutes on January 8th, the British suffered 2,000 casualties while the Americans only had about one hundred. Painting of Battle of New Orleans by Edward Percy Moran (image from Wikipedia)...
Fort Freeland (image from Wikipedia) In 1772, the Vincent families and others moved from Essex County, New Jersey, to current day Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. For several years, they lived peacefully near the local “Indians.” But, trouble started brewing in 1777. By 1779, about 13 families were living in a large, two-story house around which they had built a 12-foot high wall around. It enclosed a half acre and they called it Fort Freeland. Life was fairly normal at the fort. Isaac Vincent’s wife gave birth to a son, George, in February of 1779. Two other babies were also born inside...
Almost 3 years ago, I came across the obituary of Bethuel Vincent (1798-1828), my 5th great grandfather’s youngest son, posted on Find a Grave. The short, sad obituary said the following: Died – In Turbut township, on the 11th inst., Bethuel Vincent, junior, aged about 30 years. The deceased had gone to the fields to collect raspberries and while crossing a small brook was taken with convulsive fits, to which he was daily subject, fell into the water, where he was, shortly after, found lifeless. [The States Advocate, Thursday, 17 July 1828. Posted on Bethuel Vincent’s Find a Grave memorial page...
In 1896, the new law firm of Biddle, Boyd, & Sheppard filed their first case. It was the case of Robert Stewart (son of my 4th great grandfather, also named Robert Stewart) vs the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, otherwise known as “The Katy.” The suit was for damages of $5,000 based on the alleged personal injuries of Robert’s wife, Kate. Here is the story from the paper… Ad for the M. K. & T. Railway (image from Wikipedia) The petition alleges that Mrs. Kate M Stewart on April 20, 1894 purchased a ticket from this city to Boonville,...
Today I came across this sad death notice for the half-sister of my great, great grandfather, Alexander Stewart. Before today, I only knew her maiden name, Ella Maud Stewart, and approximate birth year of 1870. But, then I found her Pennsylvania death record and, through it, found both her married name, Wagner, and date of death in 1910. It was signed by “J. P. Wagner” who I thought was likely her husband. I wasn’t able to find any marriage or any census records after she married, but then I came across this sad death notice… Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 16...
As a senior in high school, my mother earned the title of “Homemaker of Tomorrow.” Though I’ve heard that story before, it was exciting to get a hint from RootsMagic and then find a newspaper article of her achievement at MyHeritage.com through their affiliation with NewspaperArchive.com. What a treat to find an actual photo of my mom! She’s wearing a plaid dress she made that, she told me, had very intricate pleats. The article says she won the title because “her score was the highest on a written knowledge and attitude test…” While I hope she had a great attitude,...
While looking at the 1880 census for my 1st cousin 4x removed, William A McKay, I had to smile when I saw the occupation of the next head of household. At 71 years old, Riley E Anderson was a “worn out minister.” Hopefully, he told the minister that mainly in jest! 1880 US Federal Census for Utica, Venango County, Pennsylvania, image 2 of 7 on Ancestry.com Just in case someone might be related… William A McKay’s mother, Jane Eliza Close, was a sister of my 3rd great grandmother, Julia Ann “July” Close (1826-1905), who married John W McClintock (1825-1890). Do...
