Last month after GRIP, I spent time with some of my Pennsylvania cousins. On Saturday, we drove to Lock Haven and visited the genealogy room of the Ross Library. As I looked at newspaper articles on microfilm, my dad’s first cousin, Tom, worked with maps. Marriage Records After finishing with the maps, he asked if there was anything else he could do. I had noticed a sign hanging on the end of a bookshelf that said: “Marriage Records.” There was also a list of letters and years and a note saying to ask the librarian for further help. I told...
Before heading to Clinton County, Pennsylvania for a quick research trip two weeks ago, some cousins and I hired a researcher to pull some court files regarding our Stewart family. Upon our arrival, we drove to her house, paid her for her work, and received over 200 pages of copies. How exciting! I doubt I will ever go “paperless” as I love being able to spread papers out and work on them side by side and rearrange them. However, I also need to have digital copies of these documents both for my own research and to share with my cousins....
We just finished our first day of classes at GRIP… (& I’m thankful for air-conditioning that works this year!) An “enthusiastic” quote for the “enthusiastic” genealogist One of my favorite parts of GRIP is being with my genealogy friends – both old and new. I have been pleasantly surprised to have four different ladies come up and tell me they have been reading and enjoying my blog. You don’t know how much this means to me, so thank you! One of these ladies told me she’d thought of me when she saw the above quote and handed it to me....
Yesterday, I drove to Clinton County, Pennsylvania with three of my dad’s first cousins. One of them, Tom, I had met last year. But, his two sisters, Sally and Ellen, I had just met. We spent part of the day at the Ross Library in Lock Haven, and also ‘toured’ three cemeteries looking for our ancestors headstones. Robert & Frances (Quigley) Stewart’s headstones at Dunnstown Cemetery in Clinton Co, PA While I’d seen a photo of the headstone for my 4th great grandparents, Robert and Frances (Quigley) Stewart, I was surprised at the size of it! Laid to rest in...
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,...
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 child, I loved to watch Grizzly Adams on television along with his pet bear, Ben. I had no idea that my own ancestor, Robert Stewart, also had a pet bear! His bear’s name was “Bruin” (which means “bear”) and they lived in Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. While doing research, I uncovered an article titled “Mike Swartz and the Black Bear” in History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania which was published in 1883. The “black bear” in this story was Bruin, and I’m assuming things must have turned out alright. Robert died about 30 years before this book...
As a child, I loved to watch Grizzly Adams on television along with his pet bear, Ben. I had no idea that my own ancestor, Robert Stewart, also had a pet bear! His bear’s name was “Bruin” (which means “bear”) and they lived in Pennsylvania in the mid-1800’s. While doing research, I uncovered an article titled “Mike Swartz and the Black Bear” in “History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania” which was published in 1883. The “black bear” in this story was Bruin, and I’m assuming things turned out alright. Robert died about 30 years before this book was published,...
On April 9th, 1865, General Robert E Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia after his 28,000 troops were surrounded by Grant’s men. Lee and Grant met at the home of Wilber McLean in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. In the terms for surrender, all of the Confederate men and officers were pardoned. The very hungry men were also given food rations and allowed to keep their private property including horses to help in the late spring planting. Officers were even allowed to keep their side arms. U.S. Postage Stamp, 1965 issue, commemorating the centennial anniversary of the Confederate surrender at...
