Finding Two 3rd Great-Grandmother's Families

 I have been meaning to post about finding one of my 3rd great-grandmother's family for a while now, and in the time of my procrastination, I found another 3rd great-grandmother's family! I have always wondered about female family members who moved away with their husbands after they married.  Did any of their origin family move with them or near them, or perhaps, moved near them later?

The first family member I want to discuss is Mary "Polly" Wilson. She married William Adamson in 1806 in Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee. A "Michael Wilson" was named in their marriage bond, so I wondered if he was her brother.  I also suspected that Catherine "Cath" Wilson McCoy Stites was her sister.  I had no proof of either being related.  And honestly, I still do not have actual proof, but enough evidence to say with confidence that I have found Polly's family.

Polly and William's second son was named Allen, so that is where I began...finding an Allen Wilson, who was born in 1765 in Virginia, with his children born in Tennessee. I learned that his eldest son was  Michael Wilson. I started seriously considering that perhaps this Allen Wilson and his wife Polly Browder were Polly Wilson's parents.

This past summer I had seen a post about a Martha Wilson who married Alfred Quertermous in 1855 in Crittenden County, Kentucky (where William and Polly Wilson had settled). As I corresponded with the poster we agreed that we had a lot of family in common.  Then the poster mentioned that Martha Wilson had been married at the home of William Adamson.  She was the daughter of Allen Wilson, Jr.  Martha's father died about 1846, and her mother died in 1855.  In the 1840 Census, the Allen Wilson family was listed as living in Union County, right next door to Crittenden County.

So then I began researching more of Allen Wilson, Sr's children:

-Catherine Wilson was listed in 1830 in Livingston County (before Crittenden County was formed); she was in Lawrence County, IL in 1840, and Richland County IL in 1850, all places that relatives of my Adamson's were.

-James Wilson was married in 1822 in Livingston County, KY; he was living in Crittenden County in 1850, 1860, and 1865 censuses.

-Priscilla Wilson married in 1827 in Livingston County, KY, was listed there in 1830 and 1840 censuses, and in Crittenden County, KY in 1850.

I am quite sure (again, without actual proof) that I found Polly Wilson's family and that they had all lived very close by to her!!!

The next family that I recently found was that of my 3rd great-grandmother Elspet "Elizabeth" Wood.  She was born in 1801 in Scotland (her parents were Alexander and Catherine Douglas). Elspet married David Erskine Gray in 1819 in Scotland. She and David and their children came to the United States in 1837 and settled in Vigo County, Indiana.  Again, did Elspet ever see any of her family again? 

As I researched the family, I found that she had one brother and three sisters:

-James appeared to have remained in Scotland.

-Catherine "Cath" married Thomas Torrance and their four sons were born in Scotland. In 1841 the family was still living in Scotland. However, by 1860, Catherine was listed in Terre Haute, Vigo County, IN with three of her sons.

-Ellison married Peter Murry (Murray). In 1841 she was listed as living in Scotland with two daughters and one son.  The next record I have found for Ellison was that she died and was buried in Terre Haute, IN in 1860.

So, it seems that Elspet's sisters did come from Scotland to the United States and settled where she was at some point after 1841.

I need to do some more research on these sisters in the Indiana records. But for now, I have found it so comforting to know that these two women (my 3rd great-grandmothers) were surrounded by their brothers and/or sisters. Family is everything!

Prison Warden Killed During Inmates Escape

 James Delahunty was the warden for the Nebraska State Prison when he was shot and killed during an escape by three inmates.  It was James' 55th birthday.

James is not a direct ancestor to me.  My 1st cousin 4x removed was Mary Reade.  She married Thomas Delahunty.  James was the nephew of Thomas Delahunty. I found the story of James compelling enough to do some research on him.

James Delahunty was born March 14th, 1858 in Peoria, Illinois to Patrick and Ellen (Kennedy) Delahunty, both natives of Ireland.  James was the oldest of eight known children.  Around 1884, the family moved from Peoria to Clay Center, Nebraska, where James' father continued farming. His father died in 1889.

By 1906, a city directory for Lincoln, Nebraska, indicated that James Delahunty was a deputy warden at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

The 1910 census for Clay County, Nebraska shows James, age 43, living on the farm with his mother and some siblings.  It shows that James was divorced, and working as a farmer (however, he was the warden of the prison).

On March 4th of 1912, there appeared to be concerns about "dope" being brought into the prison and some were calling for James to be replaced as warden, but the governor believed that James was doing a good job, so he remained.  Ten days later, 3 inmates used explosives to get free and shot 2 guards as they made their escape.  James came out of his office shooting at the escaped convicts.  He was shot in the right hip but continued to shoot at them.  He was then shot in the chest and died.

I learned from a newspaper article that his brother John also worked at the prison and that their mother was the prison matron. Neither of them had been injured or involved in the shooting.

There were services held for James Delahunty at the Cathedral in Lincoln, Nebraska, and then his body was shipped to Peoria, Illinois for burial.

Goals for 2021

 A new year begins and I wanted to avoid making any kind of resolutions, but then it occurred to me that I do need to decide on some goals for my genealogy.  2020 was a year full of changes for me (selling our house, moving across the country, surgery, etc.) and, while I continued to stay caught up on my Ancestry Hints, I don't feel like I got any real genealogy research done. Now that I am settled into our new home, I know no one (other than my husband!), there are no activities to attend (due to COVID), and it is winter, so this is the perfect time to get back into my research.

Of course, the two goals that I have had for years, still remain:

-to locate a photo of my great-great-grandfather, William H. Murphy, from his years in Peoria, Illinois after spending his first twelve years in Ireland.  He lived in Peoria from 1850 until his death in 1891.  He held several city jobs (such as deputy sheriff, etc) so I find it hard to believe that there is not a photo of him out there somewhere!

-to learn the father of my great-great-great-grandfather William Adamson (born @1789 and died @1865)

Other goals are:

-to learn more about Katherine Fox Feger and her children

-to continue to study the lives of James and Mary Alice Reed Murphy and their children (one of whom is the above mentioned William Murphy)

I hope that I will continue to identify other goals as the year continues.