My Trails into the Past

A newspaper account of the marriage of Frederick H. Davey and Matilda Wollenweber was a bit surprising by the title, “More Trouble.” [1] There were two marriages listed under this title and Fred and Tillie’s was first. What was the trouble? ( Jeffersonville, Indiana) Evening News, 26 June 1878, p. 1, col. 1 A transcription in case you can't read the image: “Married, June 25, at the residence of the bride’s mother, on Prison Hill, by the Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Sheets, Mr. Fred Davey to Miss Tillie Wollenweber.” There is not much in this announcement. They were married the previous day. They were married at Tillie’s mother’s home on Prison Hill. They were married by Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Sheets. Each of these statements bring questions I want to answer: Is there a marriage record? Where is Prison Hill? Is it in Jeffersonville? Or is it in Louisville, across the Ohio River? Tillie’s mother was Philippina Wollenweber. Where was she living in 1878? Who was Rev. Sheets? Whic...

Joseph Gorrell and Matilda Davey met at a boarding house in Kansas City, Missouri where they were both living. She was a maid at the Washington Hotel and lived at 1221 Broadway. [1] They obtained their marriage license on the 19th of December and were married on the same day by the Circuit Court Judge of Jackson County, Missouri. [2] On their application, they were living in different places: he lived at 1121 Central and she lived at 1207 Hasbrook Place. This differed from the city directory for 1900 but perhaps she had moved before the book was printed. Joseph was 31 years old and Tillie was 20. Then fifty-five years later, Joseph and Tillie celebrated their anniversary and it was written up in the newspaper. [3] The Joplin Globe printed lots of newsy articles about citizens of their community. This nice article gave the date of their marriage, the address they had lived in Webb City, the number and names of their four children, and the occupation of Joseph and soci...

Johannes Eliasson Lundquist was born 8 Aug 1824 in Grolanda, Skaraborg län, Vastergotland, Sweden to Elias Pehrsson and Kjerstin Ericsdotter. [1] He married three times in his lifetime. The first marriage was in his parish in Sweden. At the age of twenty-one, Johannes married Eva Charlotta Johansdotter, on 12 December 1845 in Fivlered Parish, Älvsborg län, Vastergotland, Sweden. [2]  They had at least three children: Josephina Alberina Wilhelmina, born 16 Sep 1846, Gustaf Adolph, born 23 Feb 1848, and Emile, born 26 Apr 1850. 1845 Marriage of Johannes Eliason Lundquist to Eva Charlotta Johannesdotter, Fivlered Parish The family immigrated to the United States in 1852, arriving in New York on 12 July. [3]  Sometime before 1856, Eva Charlotta died. According to a testimony from Johannes’ third wife, Charlotta died at Princeton, Illinois, prior to the Civil War. [4] A possible cause of death was cholera, during an epidemic. [5] The county clerk of Bureau C...

Josephine Sievert was the ninth child of Vincent Sievert and Susanna Raduntz. She was born 16 Oct 1871 in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. [1] By the time she was a teenager, she was working as a seamstress. [2] She lived where her family at 1148 N. Hickory until her marriage to Harry J. McNeill on 26 Feb 1900. [3] Here is an image of the marriage license and certificate. 1900 Marriage Record for Harry J McNeill & Josephine Seavert in Joliet, Will Co., Illinois They were married early in the year and I expected to find the couple living together in the 1900 census in Joliet. However, I could only find one couple who matched most of their statistics in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. [4] 1900 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga Co, Ohio for Harvey J. McNeill right side of the same census record of Harvey J. McNeill Analysis So let’s analyze this entry to decide whether this couple is the same couple who married in Joliet. The 1900 census was conducted on June 1. T...

Daniel Shotts and Mary Ann Bishop were my children’s third great-grandparents on their father’s side. On 28 March 1831, Daniel Shotts married Mary Ann Bishop in Ross County, Ohio. [1] They had obtained their license on the 19th of March and were married nine days later by Pleasant Thurman. 1831 Ross Co., Ohio Marriage Daniel Shotts & Mary Ann Bishop So what can be learned from this record? There were no other records with Pleasant Thurman listed on the same page. Some of the marriages on the page did identify if the officiant, perhaps as M.G. (Minister of the Gospel) or even by identifying the church. So was Pleasant Thurman a minister? He could also have been a justice of the peace. Searching in Ross County records on Ancestry.com, I found Pleasant Thurman living in the area in the 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses. The 1850 census for Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, gave no occupation. He was sixty-six years old. [2] In an abstract of death notices from ne...