Shirt-tail Relatives

It was probably about 1959 and I was ten years old when I first heard the term “shirt-tail relative”.I was trying to figure out why Jo O’Meara and her daughter, Ginny, were invited to almost all of our family holiday celebrations. I asked my grandmother exactly who the O’Meara family was.At first she told me that they were old family friends, but as I questioned her, she said that they were “shirt-tail relatives" to my grandfather and that the relationship went way back to Ireland and no one really knew what the relationship was. That was interesting, but that was the extent of the conversation. 

 Flash forward to about 1994 when I began to get interested in genealogy. Sadly, all of my older relatives on my maternal side had already passed away. Such a hard lesson to learn…find out all you can from your family while they are still here! Anyway, I could not find a connection to the O’Meara family. I knew that Jo O’Meara had been my great-grandmother’s (Kitty Murphy) best friend. Ginny O’Meara had been close friends with my grandfather, his sister, and his first cousin. I had pictures of all of them together throughout the years. My great-grandfather’s parents had died when he was a young child and he was raised by his older sister. It was her daughter who was so close to Ginny O’Meara. So it seemed that the connection was somehow through my Murphy family (my great-grandfather was Edward R. Murphy).

                                           Picture of Kitty Murphy and Johanna Ryan OMeara

                                                                            1946

 Researching my Murphy family, I learned that my great-great-great grandmother was Alice Reed Murphy. As I continued to research the family, I kept coming across the name “Peter Reed” associated with my Murphy relatives. I also was finding connections with both my Murphy family and the Peter Reed family with the Nicholas Reed Heneberry family in Peoria, Illinois. And I learned that Nicholas Reed Heneberry’s mother was a Reed. I did fairly extensive research on the Peter Reed family but did not find a proven connection to my Murphy family, other than Peter Reed being godfather to different Murphy members, etc. And Peter Reed was from County Kilkenny, which is where my Murphy family originated. As had the Nicholas Heneberry family. 

I had found census readings on Peter Reed and learned that he had ten children. (One of them had married my great-great-grandmother’s brother.) Peter Reed’s oldest child, Margaret “Maggie” Reed married David Charles Ryan in 1878. They had ten children. It wasn’t until I returned to my interest in learning who Jo O’Meara was that I thought to send for her death certificate. Oh, my. Her parents were David C. and Margaret Reed Ryan. Peter Reed was Jo O’Meara’s grandfather.

 Have I made absolute proof of the relationship between my Murphy family and the Peter Reed family? Nope. But the connections seem too close to be just coincidence. My best speculation at this point based on dates of birth is that Alice Reed’s father was brother to Nicholas Heneberry’s mother. (Alice born about 1801, Nicholas born 1807). Peter Reed was born in 1832. My best guess there is that his father was Alice Reed’s brother. So, if you are still with me here…that would mean that Johanna Ryan O’Meara was my great-grandfather’s second cousin once removed. Wow! Talk about strong, long-lasting connections through time and space. The families came to Peoria, Illinois from Ireland around 1850, and up until Ginny O’Meara died in 1978, the families remained close. That gives me a rather nice warm feeling! 

It also makes me wonder if Ginny O'Meara had married and had children, would the close connection have continued? I like to think that it would have. Below are a couple of definitions that I found for “Shirt-tail relatives”: http://wordmama.com/content/added-def.asp?word=shirttail+relative: very distant relative by marriage or a family friend that one claims with honorary status the same as a close, well-liked relative. And from http://funwithenglishblog.com/2012/01/shirttail-relative/ A shirttail relative is someone who is either a relative by marriage, distantly related (say, a third cousin), or a family friend who is an honourary “relative”. 

 Well, by the time I got interested in finding out about these families, I guess they fit the definition of shirt-tail relatives. But they sure didn’t back in the 1800’s!!!

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 are fairly new records on Ancestry.com. Part of the description of the records is “Index entries derived from digital copies of original records.” I have been finding this Index to be invaluable in my research lately.Below is taken from the Ancestry.com site describing what is in the Index records:

 

"While details may vary based on information required on the original and whether the form was filled out completely, entries in this index may list name,gender,race/ethnicity,birth date,birthplace,age,occupation,residence,street address,marital status,spouse,date of death,place of death,place of burial,date of burial,cemetery name,father’s name and birthplace,mother’s name and birthplace,FHL film number The FHL film number refers to a microfilm copy of the source held by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah."

 This is a wealth of information! Below is an example of how I have been able to use the Index in my research.

 This Index helped me to identify information about two brothers that I was doing research on. The Index helped to identify one person as belonging to the family I was researching and identified the other as not being the son that I was searching for. 

 Patrick Bennett and Anna Smyth married in 1862 in Peoria County, Illinois. They are listed in the 1870 Peoria Illinois census with the following children: James, Rosa, Elizabeth, and Thomas. I have not been able to locate the family in 1880 records. I found Patrick in 1900 living in a retirement home. His wife, Anna, had died in 1892.

 I had not been able to find records on any of the children, other than there had been a child, Kate, who was born and died in 1871 and was buried with her mother. Searching for the oldest child, James Bennett, I found the Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index and there was a listing for a James Bennett. His parents were listed as Patrick Bennett and Anna Smith. I had found who I was looking for! Now I had birth, death, and burial information along with the fact that he was single, and worked at a restaurant. It also showed where his parents were born. I had found census records for Thomas Bennett who was born in 1868, which matched the 1870 census information that I had for Thomas Bennett born to Patrick and Anna Bennett. I found further census records and a marriage record for him. He even lived on Smith St. in Peoria, the same street where Patrick Bennett was living in 1900. However, when I searched his records in the Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, his parents were listed as Theodore and Catherine Bennett. Not a match at all. Of course, I was disappointed, but also so glad that I had the information so that I was not putting out wrong information about Thomas Bennett.

 If you have ancestors from Illinois, be sure to check out this resource. Because the Index begins in 1916, it includes people who could have been born as early as 1816 (if they lived to 100!), so don't let the parameters of the dates stop you from searching!

Hannah Kennison, daughter of John Kennison

Last week I wrote about James A. Ferrel, whose parents were James and Hannah Kennison Ferrel. I decided to renew my search to learn more about Hannah Kennison. This has been a difficult search because Hannah married James Ferrel in 1789, had four known children and then she died between 1795 and 1800. There are few records for women that early. I have worked on this off and on over the years but have never found anything that was promising-just the names of John Kennison and Abraham Kennison in Jefferson County Kentucky tax lists during 1789, which is when Hannah and James married, also in Jefferson County, Kentucky. 

 So with my renewed search I found a court record of John Kinnison of Jefferson County Kentucky in April 1788, appointing his friend Abraham Wells of Nelson County as his attorney. John and Abraham Kennison were listed in the 1789 tax list for Jefferson County, Kentucky. I searched for some census records and found the following: 1810 Jefferson County Kentucky Census: John Kinnerson 1 male under 10, 1 female under 10, 1 male 16-25, 2 females 16-25, 1 male over 45,1 female 26-44, and 1 female over 45. This is the earliest census reading that I have found in Jefferson County for the name Kennison (or close versions to that). 

While searching the Family Search website, I came across Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979. I searched for Kennison in Jefferson County and found the following: 

 Hannah Kennison married James Terral in 1789 parent: Jno. 

Kennison Sarah Kennison married James Adams 

 Isaac Kennison married Ann Buniss 1792 

 Jermious Kinnison married Elizabeth Cox May 1796 

 Temperance Kennison married George Rice 8 Mar 1802 

 Amelia Kennison married John Plaster 29 Jul 1802 parent: John Kennison 

 Nancy Kennison married Elijah Cochrane 15 Jun 1815 parent: John Kennison 

 This was a huge find! The record gave Hannah’s father’s name! Her father was John Kennison! (Notice that James Ferrel’s name was listed incorrectly-if I was only searching for James Ferrel I would never have found this record!). My first assumption was that Amelia and Nancy were sisters to Hannah, since their father is also listed as John Kennison. But I need to keep in mind that Hannah may have had a brother named John who could be the father of some of the above-named. For now, I have them listed as sisters of Hannah, but more proof is needed. 

 John Plaster (married to Amelia Kennison) is listed in the 1810 and 1820 censuses of Jefferson County, Kentucky. It appears that he had about four sons and four daughters, based on those census readings. 

 Elijah and Nancy Kennison Cochran are listed in the 1850 Jefferson County, Kentucky census: 1850 Jefferson County, Kentucky Census: Elijah Cochran 66 VA Nancy 49 KY Nancy 16 KY Rice 15 KY Temperance Burk 27 KY 

 This census reading leads me to believe that Rice Cochran may have been named after George Rice, who married Temperance Kennison in 1802. My guess is that the Temperance Burk listed in the census reading is the daughter of Elijah and Nancy Kennison Cochran. And this leads me to believe that Temperance Kennison Rice was probably also a sister to Hannah Kennison. Temperance Rice is listed in the 1850 Jefferson County Kentucky census as age 63, born in Virginia, and living alone.

 Interestingly enough, I have also seen an undocumented listing of marriage of Amelia Kennison Rice marrying John Plaster. So there is the possibility that Amelia was married to a Rice before she married John Plaster. I have not been able to locate any records on the other Kennison's listed in the above marriages. That needs to be an ongoing search. 

 I am quite happy to have learned what I have with this renewed search: Hannah Kennison's father was John Kennison, and she had two possible sisters-Amelia and Nancy. It also appears that Temperance Kennison may have been a sister to Hannah. 

 Hannah Kennison married James Ferrel in Jefferson County, Kentucky 3 August 1789 and they had four known children: 

 1)Unknown male Ferrel who married Sophia Reagan. They had one known child: John James Ferrel, born in 1822 in Indiana. 

 2)Samuel Ferrel who married Eleanor Graham in 1824 in Vigo County, Indiana 

 3)Andrew Ferrel who married Susannah Colyear in 1813 in Franklin County, Indiana. Andrew is listed in the 1820 and 1830 census’ for Vigo County, Indiana and appears that he had five daughters

 4)James A. Ferrel, was born in 1795 in Lexington,Kentucky. He married Martha Dickerson in 1814 in Butler County, Ohio. They eventually settled in Vigo County Indiana and had thirteen known children. (these are my great-great-great-great-grandparents) 

 It appears that Hannah died between 1795 and 1800. It is not known where Hannah died. James Ferrel remarried in July of 1800. He married Rosanna Ray in Hamilton County, Ohio. Hannah’s four children were all under the age of ten when she died, so Rosanna immediately became a stepmother to those four children. James and Rosanna went on to have seven more children. The family was living in Vigo County Indiana by 1820. I am fascinated by this family and will continue to look for more information on the Kennison family. Hopefully, over time I will have some updates for this search!

James A. Ferrel-Soldier, Reverend, Farmer, Husband, Father

I chose James Ferrel as my first of the year history because of the obituary written about him that has been passed down through the family No one knows where it came from, but my guess is that it was written and published through the Methodist church. Perhaps they had a publication that it was published in. Since he died in 1864, it would have been a very old publication.

James A. Ferrel was born on 4 April 1795 in Lexington Kentucky to James and Hannah Kinnison Ferrel. It appears that he was the youngest of their four known children. His father later married Rosanna Ray and they had seven children. James A. Ferrel served in the War of 1812. He enlisted in Butler County, Ohio in December of 1813 and was discharged 1 February 1814 as a teamster under Jenkins in either the Kentucky or Ohio Militia. Later that year, in Butler County Ohio on the 15th of August in 1814, James married Martha “Patsy” Dickerson, daughter of Walter and Penelope Heaton Dickerson. The first three of James and Martha’s children were born in Ohio. Eleanor was born in 1815, Mary was born in 1817 and Elizabeth was born in 1818, all in Butler County, Ohio. Before 1820, the family, along with James’ father and siblings, had moved to Vigo County, Indiana. The fourth child, James, was born in 1820 in Vigo County, Indiana. The family of James Ferrel is listed in the 1820 Vigo County Indiana census, showing one son under age ten and three daughters under age ten.The next two children of James and Martha are recorded as having been born in Butler County, Ohio, indicating that the family had moved back there after 1820. Martha Ann was born in 1822 and Walter Dickerson Ferrel was born in 1824, both in Butler County, Ohio.The History of Vigo County states that “Walter was born in Ohio where his parents resided until 1825 when they returned to Vigo county”. Upon the family’s return to Vigo County, Indiana, daughter Nancy was born in 1826, and daughter Sarah Ann“ Polly” was born in 1828. A piece from "When Terra Haute Was Young" a series of articles from the Terre Haute Tribune by A.R.Markle, Volume I about taxes showed that "James Ferrill, Jr. had 127 acres just east of Riley and a horse;" (1828).

According to family tradition passed down, James was a Methodist preacher who traveled around on horseback. From Methodist records found, this seems to be accurate. James Ferrel Jr. is listed as attending the 2nd Quarterly Meeting Conference for Carlisle Circuit held at the house of John Jackson on the 31st day of January 1829. James was listed in the 1830 Vigo County Indiana Census with two sons and six daughters. James’ brothers, William and George are listed as living close to the family. The next ten years brought more children: Cynthia Ann was born in 1830, but sadly she died in 1833, the same year that Rose Ann was born. Daniel Dickerson was born in 1836, and Lurina “Lou” was born in 1839. James was listed as present at the Terre Haute Circuit held at Pleasant Hill Schoolhouse on April 22nd, 1837, and at the Terre Haute Circuit held at Herringtons neighborhood, on September 16th, 1837. James is listed as present at the Terre Haute Circuit held at Pleasant Hill Schoolhouse in February 1838 and at the Camp Ground on the 28th of July 1838. He was listed as present for Terre Haute Circuit on the 6th day of October 1838. James’ son Daniel died in October of 1838. 

In the Minutes of the fourth quarterly Conference of Terre Haute Circuit held at Mount Pleasant Meetinghouse on the 28th of September 1839, James Ferrel was

 

“severally examined, approved and their license renewed except George W. Creel his license were not renewed.....except H. D. Lee who was released by his Consent. JAMES FERREL was appointed Circuit Steward in place of H.D Lee........Infants Baptised: Lovina Ferrel...none;

 The 1840 Vigo County Indiana Census shows two sons and five daughters with the James Ferrel family. In 1843 William Henry Harrison Clay Ferrel (my great-great grandfather) was born, the last child of James and Martha Ferrel. James was listed as present at the Terre Haute Circuit held in the house of Samuel Hull on the 26th day of June 1841 and at the quarterly meeting conference for Terre Haute Circuit Indiana conference held in the Union meetinghouse Otter Creek on the 4th of September 1841. Minutes of the first quarterly meeting conference held at Bethel meetinghouse on December 28th, 1841 state that James Ferrel’s license was approved and renewed, and James Ferrel was released from his Stewardship. 

 The 1850 Riley Township, Vigo County Indiana Census shows James and Martha (listed with the surname “Feurl”) with children Rose Ann, Lurina, and William. James is listed as a farmer. In 1851, daughters Nancy and Elizabeth died, daughter Martha Ann died in 1857, and then in 1859, daughter Eleanor died. All four daughters were married when they died. Three of the daughters left young children. 

In 1860, James and Martha are still listed in Riley Township and James is listed as a farmer. Lurina (listed as “Norma”) and William are living with them, as is granddaughter Martha Sanders. Estelle “Bess” Elizabeth Ferrel, granddaughter to James and Martha, wrote in a letter that James Ferrel

 

“...died Jan. 10, 1864. The war was on at this time and he wanted to see his son, so he went down South and they had a visit together and that was the last, for he died soon after."

 The "son" is William HH Ferrel, who was serving in the Civil War at the time. James was sixty-nine when he died. From an obituary handed down (source unknown): 

FERRIL-James Ferrel was born April 4, 1795 near Lexington,KY.At the age of two years his parents removed to Warren co., O. where he was married by Rev. J. Sirange to Miss Martha Dickerson, Aug. 16,1814, and where he resided till 1820. The same year he removed to Vigo co., Ia, and was instrumental in causing to be held the first religious meeting in the county.He was a classleader six years, and was then licensed to exhort, and continued to act as a faithful Christian in both these capacities till his death, Jan. 10, 1864.During his sickness he was heard to say that he never expected to die, but that he expected the breath would leave his body and he would exchange worlds; that he was at peace with his God and that his only desire to live was to see how this rebellion terminated, and to see his two sons who are in the army. He had great confidence that the Lord was with him and that he would die in grace, for which he had so long prayed. His loss is not only felt as a parent and citizen, but as a Christian and patriot, and will long be remembered and revered as such. JNO. CASMEL"(name unclear) 

 James and Martha are buried at Dickerson Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana. James and Martha had thirteen children; six of the children died before James. Martha died in 1877, at age seventy-nine.

Another New Year

I just looked at my blogging over the past year...only 3 posts.  That is disgraceful!  And what is funny, is that after about 17 years of doing genealogy, I still spend about an hour a day working on genealogy!  So, it's not as if I am slacking off there!  I really am going to try to do better.

Looking over the past year, there were some good finds, good contacts made and, in general, I have felt quite good about how my research has been going.  One of the best things that I did in 2011 is to go to my first genealogy workshop.  It was held in Springfield, Illinois (in September, I believe) and was a day put on by Ancestry.com.  It was very affordable and since Springfield is only about 90 miles away, I took the opportunity and drove myself there.  Yes, I attended it all by myself!  And I had a great time!  It was interesting...I have used Ancestry.com for years and there was still much for me to learn, or at least, review. I also enjoyed visiting the different vendors set up there.  The day was well worth my effort.  I will be watching for more workshops to attend.  I just wish that I had a genealogy friend to share it all with!

I also contacted GenSmarts to see about getting it on my computer.  I had purchased it a number of years ago and when I got my new computer two years ago, I forgot to have it put on.  The people I contacted were extremely helpful and I had no problem getting it back on. 

Now I am thinking about this new year and what I would like to accomplish in genealogy terms.

Today I updated to RootsMagic 5, so I will be spending some time exploring that, seeing what is new and different.  I also installed Personal Historian and will see if I find it helpful or not.

I make it a habit to check Ancestry.com at least every other day, both to check the Recent Activity and to check on Hints.  Both have been invaluable to my researching.  I also plan to start using GenSmart to help with my research.

One of my goals for 2012 is to edit my Sources in RootsMagic.  When I began doing genealogy, I was not as good about how I listed sources as I would have liked and now I find myself constantly correcting them when I am entering information.  A couple of things that I am working on with that is editing duplicate sources and editing how I listed places.  Early on I would list a source as Peoria, Peoria Co., IL".  Now that drives me crazy.  I want it all spelled out as: "Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois".  So that is going to take some time to get it all corrected.

I also want to keep up better with checking my Problem List in RootsMagic.  I spent a lot of time working on correcting all of it last year, so I want to periodically check it and not let the list get too overwhelming again.

I know that these goals sound like kind of mindless maintenance tasks (and they are to some extent), but I try to be mindful of when someday (hopefully in the far, far distant) someone else will be taking over my database.  I want it to be in good working order!

I had lunch with a friend several weeks ago who was enthusiastically encouraging me to publish some of my family history in order to give it to the appropriate local libraries.  That is playing around in the back of my mind.

Meanwhile, I am going to try hard to keep better track of what I am doing and writing more about my genealogical activities in this blog.  I know that I often get good ideas from other when I read other blogs and hopefully, I can help someone else also!

Christmas and Genealogy

Each year at Christmas time I try to think of a genealogical project that might hold interest for my family members. One year I wrote the story of my mother's great-grandfather, who had been a great mystery for many years. Another year I wrote about my father's family. Both were received with interest. Two years ago, I printed up (what I considered) a quite attractive recipe card for family members that I included in with my Christmas cards to them. The recipe card was Scandinavian in appearance with a small picture of my great-grandmother (who came from Sweden) and her original recipe for Swedish Cardamon Bread. I was very pleased with how it turned out. However, not one single person ever commented on it. So I'm not sure that it was appreciated or enjoyed at all. It was disappointing, because I had thought that it was such a good idea! And I spent a lot of time on it! But I don't give up easily, because here I am approaching the holidays and trying to come up with another clever idea! So I am searching for ideas...and will report back here if and when anything comes to me!

It's A New Year

I just looked at my stated genealogical goals from last year and I am feeling pretty satisfied with how well I completed them. That's certainly a good feeling! Now I need to contemplate on what my goals will be for 2011! 

 I noticed that I only had 10 blog entries for 2010. One of my goals is definitely to blog about my genealogy efforts more often. It is especially helpful when I receive feedback from others on my efforts. And that will only happen if I am actually blogging! In trying to identify great/happy genealogical moments over the past year, a couple of things come to mind. 

Probably the best one was finding that one of my mystery Missouri Adamsons had children before he died! I did not know that there were any descendants. And I happened to learn about this from keeping an eye on "Recent Activity" on Ancestry.com. Since that time, I have checked the activity at least a couple of times a week, if not every day! You never know when people are looking at your tree and adding something from your tree to their tree. It may end up that they have family knowledge that you don't have. 

I often contact people if I see that they have been looking at/copying from my tree. I want to share and compare information with them. Another happy incident occurred when I was searching for information about Westfield College in Illinois. Both of my grandparents graduated from there and the college no longer exists. I came across a graduate student who is writing a book about the college and its graduates. I was able to share several pictures of my grandmother and her peers from their college days with him. 

 For Christmas, I gave my three children each a scrapbook that I made detailing the history of our family cabin/summer place in Indiana. The lake was built in the late 1930s and a cabin (named "Atlasta") was built for my grandmother in 1939 on the lake. There were a few pictures from the late 1930s, and then the history included when the newer cabin/home was built, etc. I thought that it turned out well, and hopefully, my kids enjoyed it. There are certainly years and years of memories there!

 There have been contacts with Murphy/Ryan descendants this past year, and we hope to meet up together this spring. I am really looking forward to that!