What are the Possibilities?

I have a census enumeration that has puzzled me for years. The head of the household in the 1900 Mitchell, Davison County, South Dakota, census is John Gleeson, my 2x-great-grandfather. With him in the household is his wife, Margaret, and children, Martin, William, Margaret T, and Frank T. Gleeson. These people are known to me and their information is consistent with other sources I have.

There are also a woman and two children, Mary Frink, May Frink, and John Frink, listed as daughter and grandchildren, but I am not sure who these people are.

Gleeson, John, w, m, Jan 1834, 66, mar. 40 yrs, b. Can, parents IR, imm. 1880, 20 yrs in US, no nat., rents, house.
   Margaret, wife, w, f, Apr 1836, 64, mar, 10/10, Can, IR/IR, 1880, 20 yr
   Martin, w, m, 21, son, Jan 1861, mar, 7 yr, Can, Can/Can, 1880, 20 yr, farmer,
   Willie, son, w, m Jun 1874, 25, sing, Can, Can/Can, 1880, 20 yr, rr laborer
   Margaret T, w, f, dau, sing, Jul 1876, 23, sing, Can, Can/Can, 1880, 20 yr, school teacher
   Frank T, w, m, son, sing, Dec 1878, 21, sing, Can, Can/Can, 1880, 20 yr, baggageman rr
Frink, Mary, dau, w, f, Jan 1864, 36, mar 14 yr, 4/2, b. Can, parents in Canada, arrived in US 1880.
   May, gr dau, w, f, Feb 1890, 10, sing, b. SD, father in IA, mother in Can, at school.
   John, gr son, w, m, Jan 1895, 5, sing, b. SD, father IA, mother Can.[1]

John and Margaret did have a daughter named Mary Martha (known as Martha), born 8 July 1863 in Canada.[2] However, she married Warren Edward Gilbert on 8 September 1886.[3] They had a daughter, Muriel Martha, born 19 October 1895 in San Francisco.[4] This is their only daughter, confirmed by Mary Martha stating on the 1910 census that she had one child and one child living.[5] However, this woman had four children with two living.

Martha, Warren & Muriel
However, I cannot locate Martha, Muriel, or Warren together in the 1900 census. There is a Warren Gilbert listed as a roomer in Los Angeles in the household of Fannie Berkow, but some items don’t quite match.[6] The birth year Jun 1854 doesn’t match the January 1857 that I have, nor the number of years married of 10 when it would be 13 or 14 years. His birthplace of Illinois is correct but not for his parents, who were born in New York. His occupation as bank supply salesman, however, is very close to what he was doing. The address, also, was on South Grand, which matches an address in an 1899 city directory. Warren Gilbert was a traveling salesman and may have been found in many newspaper articles arriving in hotels. It is possible that the landlady did not know these details about him.

However, I have found some newspaper articles that suggest Martha had traveled east.

• In the 29 August 1900 Argus-Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she is listed as visiting her brother-in-law, Lyman J. Gilbert.[7]

It is likely that she visited her parents in Mitchell, South Dakota. A newspaper article described such a visit:

• “Mrs. Walter Gilbert and Miss Margaret Gleason, who have been visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Gleason the greater part of the summer, left Tuesday via the Omaha road for Anaconda, Mont. Miss Gleason has a fine position in the city schools at Anaconda and she returns to begin her duties next month.”[8] The paper got her husband’s name wrong Walter instead of Warren, but the other information is correct. She had a younger sister, Margaret, as listed in the above censu

• In September 1900, she was visiting her sister, Helena M. Gleeson, in Anaconda, Montana, on her way home from a trip to the east.[9]

• A Mrs. W.E. Gilbert, of Los Angeles, was listed as arriving in San Francisco on 1 November 1900, and staying at the Grand Hotel.[10]

These articles clearly show Mrs. W. E. Gilbert was back east, making her way back to Los Angeles.

So, it is possible that Martha Gilbert was staying with her parents when the census was taken in June 1900. But it does not explain why she would be listed as Mary Frink with children that are not hers and her daughter, Muriel is not listed. A search in the 1900 census for Martha or Muriel Gilbert in Davison County, South Dakota, brought up no results. Neither did a global search. It is also possible that they were traveling between places on census day and were missed completely.

But what about the Frinks?
Perhaps the possibility about this enumeration of the Frinks is:

• 1900 was the same year that John and Margaret Gleeson sold their property to move to Portland, Oregon, though they did not do so until the fall. Prior to 1897, they were hotel proprietors, owning the Cottage House. Is it possible they took in roomers and the enumerator misunderstood the relationship to the family? That he filled in the information about birthplace and parents’ birthplace, assuming it was the same as the other children?

I may never be able to answer this question.

#52Ancestors: Week 24 – Possibilities

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’sSouthern Family or MyTrails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] 1900 U.S. census, Davison Co, South Dakota, ED 112, Sheet 12a, p 45 (stamped), Mitchell Twp., household 173, fam 185, John Gleeson.

[2] Richmond, Carleton Co, Ontario, St. Philip’s Catholic Church, parish records, vol. 2, 1845-1868, 1863, B32, Mary Martha Gleeson, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YWH-S8T), IGN 005106839, image 208 of 566.

[3] Holy Family Catholic Church, Mitchell, South Dakota, Sacramental Records, transcribed by rectory secretary, 1997, marriage, 1886, Gleeson-Gilbert. Also "Gilbert-Gleeson,” The Mitchell Capital, 17 Sept 1886, p. 4, c. 1. 

[4] "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901/records/13944376 : viewed 7 Feb 2019), Muriel Martha Gilbert, 19 Oct 1895, SSN 569059704.

[5] 1910 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co, California, Ed 194, p. 3a, dwell/fam 58, Anna Regan household.

[6] 1900 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co, California, Los Angeles, ED 37, p. 210 (stamped), dwell 264, fam 305, Fannie N Berkow household. Warren was a roomer.

[7] “Personals,” Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, SD), 29 Aug 1900, p. 8, col. 4.

[8] “Local News Matters,” The Mitchell Capital, 31 Aug 1900, p. 5, col. 2.

[9] “About the City,” The Anaconda Standard, 11 Sep 1900, p. 4, col. 2.

[10] “Hotel Arrivals,” San Francisco Examiner, 1 Nov 1900, p. 8, col. 7.

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