Happy Birthday Mary Stoldt Smittendorf!

Welcome to the Happy Birthday, Ancestor! blog. Each Monday and Wednesday (hopefully!) I present information for one of my ancestors on their birthday. The length and depth depends upon how much research I have already completed because I devote only a half day to the research for each blog. I want them to be informative, but look at them as an appetizer for future research. If there is anyone you find particularly interesting, be sure to leave a comment. Those with the most interest will be the ones I dive deeper into when there is a lull in birthdays.

Here is an ancestor I knew nothing about until I was working as a genealogy librarian and trying to make my fan chart on FamilySearch be complete out to great great grandparents. Since Mary (Maria) Stoldt came over from Germany, I had little hope of finding anything about where she came from. But on my first search in the Immigration section of Ancestry.com her name popped up! and when I saw the image (which is in the gallery below) her future husband, Frederick Schmitendorf, was listed right above her name! Not only that, but the indexed record had a town name of Rembin, Mecklenburg. I have since found that it is Rambin, Rügen (see https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20542067).

It is not evident how they got from the ship landing in New York City to Southwest Michigan. The Stoldt and Schmietendorf (Schmiedendorf, Schmittendorf, Smittendorf) families are on the census records in either Nottawa or Fabius Townships from 1870 until 1920 at least. You can see by the plat map images in the gallery that they began with a relatively small parcel of farmland that grew with their families. The Mary Stoldt in the image published in 1907 is most likely my great great grandma Mary’s sister-in-law. I was only able to locate the 1880 Agricultural Census Schedule for Frederick and Carl Schmittendorf. Frederick at that time was the owner of 53 acres, with 25 acres tilled, 1 permanent meadow/pasture/orchard/vineyard, 15 acres woodland and forest, 12 acres other improved. The value of the farm is $1200 with $50 value in farm implements and machinery, and $800 of livestock. In 1879, he estimated the value of all farm production was $370. There were 3 acres of mown grass (hay) which produced 3 tons. They had 2 horses, 2 milch cows plus 3 others, 1 calf, 2 cattle sold and 1 slaughtered. The farm made 100 pounds of butter! On hand 1 June 1880 were 19 swine, 20 barnyard chickens/poultry and 8 others that produced 150 dozen eggs in 1879. Their crops included 8 acres of Indian Corn producing 200 bushels, 1 acre of Oats producing 20 bushels, 4 acres Rye producing 5 bushels and 12 acres Wheat producing 201 bushels. There was 1/4 acre devoted to Sorghum sugar which produced 12 gallons of molasses. There was an acre of Irish potatoes yielding 25 bushels, an acre with 12 apple trees and 11 peach trees. The forest produced 15 cords of wood in 1879 which they valued at $20 (1880 US Federal Census, Agricultural Schedule. Fabius, St Joseph, Michigan. Ancestry.com. U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010).

Since the amount of land they owned grew, it would have been fun to see what they increased production in and how many livestock they maintained over the course of Mary’s life. They aren’t featured in any of the published county histories available online, nor could I find a family history that has been published that might tell more of their day to day lives. The 1900 and 1910 censuses show Mary as having had 7 children with 5 alive at the time of each census. None of the census records from 1870 through 1920 ever have more than 5 children listed. Maybe there were 2 infant deaths that are not recorded in easily found records. Perhaps Mary would have listed them in her Bible and only family members knew of that sadness. My great grandfather was named after his father, Frederick C Smittendorf. He was the third born of the children I know about, born on 8 Dec 1876 on the family farm most likely.

Mary survived her husband who passed away 16 Sep 1895. She lived with her son William from the time of Fred’s death until she died on 7 June 1920. Her obituary published in the Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette on Wednesday 9 June 1920 says she died at home after being ill for a few days having “suffered a stroke of apoplexy.” When she and Fred were first married they resided in Centerville for four years then moved to the east end of Long Lake (as can be seen in the plat map clips in the gallery). It further states she was well known and had been a member of the Lutheran church since she was 14 years old. Both her death certificate and the obituary list her interment as being at Bent Cemetery. It was the trip to the Nottawa library that revealed the name has been changed to Knob Cemetery. While reading a history of St Joseph county I discovered that a knob is a land feature, and when looking at the plat maps, found that a Carl Bent lived on the land where this cemetery is located during Mary’s lifetime. I visited the cemetery in 2017 after the trip to the library. We truly though Google maps had led us astray, but we found the land fenced and gated on a dirt road just north of a farm. It had recently been mowed but it clearly isn’t utilized for burials any longer. Mary’s son William is perhaps the last person to be buried there in 1940. The photo of her grave marker from FindAGrave was taken earlier than 2017 and it was in much better condition then than when I visited. I contacted the person who is linked to the photo on Ancestry who kindly returned my email with fabulous information. I told her it had recently been mowed, to which she replied, “My 2nd cousin contacted the local government about upkeep on the cemetery and everyone shifted the blame to another department. Finally she went to a city council meeting and brought up the subject. They agreed to maintain it (which they should have been doing all along) so that's probably why it's now being mowed.” So deep thank you’s to her and her cousins for caring for my ancestors burial place and advocating for rural cemeteries!

Happy Birthday, Nancy Eastman Delano!

Nancy Eastman is the younger sister of my 4 times great grandpa, Benjamin Eastman. She is the third of eleven recorded children born to Benjamin and Ann Carr Barker Eastman. All records say she was born in Maine on 6 February 1788, but Maine was still part of Massachusetts in 1788. Her birth is recorded in two separate town and vital records found on FamilySearch.org — in the town of Avon, and in Mt Vernon (see the images below).

The area they lived was rich and hilly farmland. None of the sources I found told anything beyond the basic birth, marriage and death information, but presuming they were farmers, Nancy would have helped her mom and sisters with daily farm chores, preparing meals, cleaning the house and caring for younger siblings.

Nancy married Lemuel Delano of Winthrop, Maine sometime after November 1808. Their intention of marriage was listed by the Town Clerk of Avon as November the 12th AD 1808. It is presumed they lived in that same area all of their married life based on the few documents found — 1820 US Census they lived in Strong, Somerset, Maine, and in 1850 Strong, Franklin, Maine. From the listing of their children in the Rix genealogy, it seems likely that there may have been miscarriages or infant deaths not recorded due to gaps between the birth of Benjamin and Stephen, and then having three and four years between the last three listed children. In addition, Stephen and Sibyl both died in childhood, while two of their children only lived to be 22 years of age. How hard this must of been for the family! It may have been a comfort for Nancy to have her family nearby. The names in the censuses reflect the extended family of both Nancy’s parents and grandparents.

Lemuel preceded Nancy i death by thirteen years. She passed on 12 July 1873 at the age of 85 years, 5 months, 6 days in Strong. Both Lemuel and Nancy are buried in the Strong Village Cemetery.

An interesting note, the town of Jay where David Austin relocated from northern Massachusetts, is about 24 miles south of Strong. It makes you wonder if they ever crossed paths, doesn’t it?

Nancy Eastman (daughter of Benjamin), born in Mt Vernon, Me., 6 Feb 1788, died in Strong, Me., 12 July 1873; Married Lemuel Delano, b. Nov 1784, died 21 March 1860.

Children

i. Rufus Greenleaf Delano b. 14 Jan 1810, d. 24 July 1832

ii. Vielette Eastman Delano b. 22 Jun 1812, d. 19 Mar 1861; m. Jeremiah Ellsworth

iii. Benjamin Eastman Delano b. 25 Dec 1814, d. 24 Dec 1885

iv. Stephen Fish Delano b. 6 July 1818, d. 26 Apr 1822

v. Sibyl Ann Delano b. 18 July 1822, d. 1826

vi. Martha Jane Delano b. 13 Jan 1825, d. 5 Oct 1847; m. Nathan Stanwood

source: Rix, Guy Scoby. History and Genealogy of the Eastman Family of America. (Concord, NH : Press of I.C. Evans, 1901), 464.

Happy Birthday, David Austin, born 4 February 1739 in Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America

David Austin is my 5 times great grandpa and another ancestor who qualifies me for DAR (ancestor A132403) . The first image below shows his official service as recorded in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (Ancestry.com. Vol 1, p 355).

He was born to Zebediah Austin and Sarah Gutterson Austin in Methuen, the fourth of seven children. Methuen is just north of current day Lawrence, Massachusetts along the New Hampshire border, with the Merrimack River bordering the town on the south. At age 21, David marries Lydia Austin, whose parents are Hezekiah Austin and Judith Harris Austin. Here is a spot for deeper genealogical research! The names of David and Lydia’s children, Hezekiah and Judith’s children and Zebediah and Sarah’s children are all intertwined. In fact, after Lydia dies and David marries Elizabeth Whittemore, they name at least one child the same name as those born to Lydia. Often if a child died, the next child of the same sex would be given that name, so I figured Silas born in 1770 to Lydia and David must have died since the Silas “my youngest son” the executor of David’s will was born to Elizabeth in 1789. Not so. Both Silases lived to be old men.

Lydia and David had at least eight children, all but one were born in Methuen. The youngest daughter, Achsah was born 5 June 1779 in Dracut. Lydia died in 1780.

David married Elizabeth Whittemore on 13 Dec 1781 in Dracut. They had at least five children. They appear in the 1790 census in Dracut, but at some time they moved quite a long way north into current day Maine, 155 miles north of where he was born. David’s will names many of the children I found, and a description of the land they lived on in Maine along the Androscoggin River.

2 February -- Shirley Smittendorf Mayer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

One of the things that always amazed me about my mom that she went on trips with friends when she was a teenager. These 3 photos are from a trip from Kalamazoo to Chicago on 30 August 1946. She was only 14 years old! I just can’t imagine that I would have been allowed to do that at 14 without an adult present. Maybe I am remembering things incorrectly and that someone’s mom took them for a before school starts trip that year.

I don’t know who Martha is. She isn’t in the Kalamazoo Central Delphian as a senior in 1950 and I don’t recall my mom telling any stories about her. Uldene is Uldene Hoffmaster who lived across the street from my mom on Clinton Street in Kalamazoo (Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, MI).

My mom had a great laugh and although she isn’t really smiling in any of these photos, I bet they found plenty to giggle about while sightseeing in the Big City. She was very fashion conscious throughout her life. I love that her bobby socks are perfectly turned down. She and Uldene seem to be rocking the same raincoat style.

Photo 1: “Martha, me, Uldene. On the boardwalk.”

Photo 2: “Uldene & I. Aug. 30, 1946” next to Shedd Aquarium. Notice that her purse is ON THE GROUND!

Photo 3: “Me. Aug. 30, 1946 In front of Field Museum”

1 February -- Happy Birthday, Permelia Ann Kinney White!

Permelia Ann Kinney, my great-great grandma

Here is another ancestor I know very little about, and who is a bit mysterious. She is my great great grandma on my maternal grandpa’s side. A few years ago, I went to Mendon Cemetery to find their graves, but that was about all I knew. I do love her name and thought she might be easier to find but there are a plethora of women named Parmelia in the records.

She was born in Sherwood, Branch County, Michigan on 1 February 1850 to Peabody Kinney and Eliza Amanda Giltner Kinney. Sherwood Township is directly south of Battle Creek Michigan in the center of a square diagramed by current roads I69 on the East, I94 to the North, US131 on the West and I80/90 to the South. It was farm land mostly when they lived there, and indeed her father Peabody is listed as a farmer in the 1850 US Federal Census. He is not listed in the Agriculture schedule of that year, but the neighbor, Elisha Foote, is. Perhaps he worked on the neighboring farm. The value of Peabody’s real estate in 1850 was $200, whereas Elisha’s was $1000.

In 1851, my records show that Peabody Kinney died in Texas on his way westward. It is one of those “genealogy do-over” tasks — there is no citation at all in my files. (There is another Peabody Kinney in the 1850 census living in the Lansing, Michigan area with the same birth year but born in Vermont instead of New York. Hmm. Is there more to this story?) His wife Eliza died in 1856, leaving Permelia an orphan at age 6.

The marriage record shown below for David and Parmelia answers some questions of what happened to her after her parents died. The witnesses, Charles Giltner and Christiana Giltner are her mothers people. Christiana is her grandmother, Charles perhaps her uncle. In 1850, Christiana (Christina in the census) and her husband John also lived in Sherwood, Branch County. She was 15 when she was married to David. David had been married previous to this marriage to a woman named Mary who died in 1864. It is hard to imagine being married to someone thirteen years older than oneself, but her grandmother probably was glad there was someone to care for her orphaned granddaughter.

Over the course of their marriage, they had five children, including my great grandma Smittendorf, Alta White, who was born in 1885. It seems possible that there were miscarriages, infant deaths, or or children I haven’t found. There is a 15-year gap between my great grandma and her next oldest sibling. When time allows, I will dive deeper into the story of Permelia and her family.

I haven’t figured out how to do footnotes on Squarespace. All census records used in this post were found on Ancestry.com. Some of the birth and death information is from those, and also Findagrave.com for David Embley White, Mary White and Permelia Ann Kinney White.

Marriage entry for David E White and Permelia Ann Kinney. Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1822-1840. Database with images. “Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1882-1840.” Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com : 2016

Marriage entry for David E White and Permelia Ann Kinney. Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1822-1840. Database with images. “Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1882-1840.” Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com : 2016

A New Blog Series -- Happy Birthday, Ancestor!

I haven’t succeeded in doing the 52 Stories from FamilySearch, nor the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I was pretty good for a couple months with the #genealogyphotoaday. So I was trying to think, what would hold my interest and generate stories about my family history? Tomorrow is my grand nephew’s birthday so I thought, “hmm, I can generate a birthday report on RootsMagic.” It is so cold here in Chicagoland that we can’t go outside, so what else is there to do but Genealogy?! And there you have it. That is how Happy Birthday, Ancestor! was born. And of course the one who is up for the first day has almost nothing researched.

Happy Birthday, Jacob Cook Fleming!

 

Blacksmith and general hard worker

Jacob Cook Fleming was a young man when he left the family farms in Oxford Furnace, Warren County, New Jersey. What I know of him comes from a treasured copy of Family Genealogy by Publius V. Lawson published in 1903. This is a book that I took off the shelf every time I visited  my Aunt Helen’s home in Indiana. But I was only concerned then about my direct line. There will be many entries in this Happy Birthday, Ancestor! series that draw information from this book.

            Jacob is the second of eight children born to William and Elizabeth Cook Fleming. He is named after his maternal grandfather, Jacob Cook. From letters transcribed in the book, it seems that Jacob was a good correspondant with his family once he moved into New York State to pursue better pay in the trade of blacksmith in July of 1824.[1]

The book contains ten letters or extracts thereof that Jacob wrote to his parents and siblings documenting his travels to his new residence, the places he lived and his wages. They contain clues to who other names are that are in my tree, but who are unknown to me. The letters are annotated with parenthetical descriptions of relationship and demographic information on the locations Jacob mentions. In his first letter he mentions that he was offered “ten dollars a month on a farm, which I think better than five and a half in New Jersey.” In November of 1824 he mentions working at the smithing business earning $8 a month[2] He had a fondness for his maternal grandmother, ending most of the letters “Remember my love to Grandmother Cook.” Jacob relates working in farm fields when smithing work was scarce, for which he seems to have been well paid. In a letter dated January 6, 1826 to “Honored Friend and Relatives” that he is living and working in the village of Pittsford, working with Thatcher at Thatcher & Cole smithing business. They worked entirely on boats that would be on the Erie Canal which was to open in the spring. He earned $20 per month in cash and received board and washing as well.[3]

As might be imagined of a blacksmith, Jacob was a large man. He is said to have had black hair, grey eyes and a large head. That may be expected perhaps of a man who was also described as an “immense, powerful, muscular man,” standing 6’4” tall. He sported a beard but no mustache. For Sunday dress,

He wore boots, long trousers, a swallowtail coat, with long tail and narrow at the waist, not coming together at the front; also wore a high hat. His vest was long and buttoned up to the collar. His clothes were black or brown; wore a white shirt which had a turn over collar made on it, with which he wore an immense stock, or often wore a black kerchief twice around his neck. [4]

            On 8 September 1828 Jacob Cook Fleming married Lucinda Baird. In a letter from Pittsford, NY dated 13 May 1828 to his brother Andrew and sister Joanna, Jacob ends with the familiar ‘Remember my love to Grandmother Cook,’ and then adds, “I Think it will be inconvenient for me to invite you to my wedding or ask your consent, as we are so far apart.” [5] After describing Jacob’s physical appearance and his dress, it is stated that Lucinda “wore the same clothes as other people of the period, a wide bonnet and very wide dresses.” Not surprising, she was smaller and not nearly as tall as her husband![6]

            Jacob was a brother in the Masonic Lodge of Freemasons, being issued a certificate dated 15 May 1851. He was a frequent member of the local school committee, and was elected captain of the militia company in the town of Williamson. There is nothing in the genealogy that indicates he served in any conflict.[7]

Jacob lived in the Pultneyville area all of his adult life. He died in a tragic accident on 2 May 1873 at the age of 72. He was helping to move a building up a slight incline. The building had been placed on rollers and was steadied by ropes. At some point, a rope “gave way” causing the house to roll backwards and onto Jacob’s legs. He died from the shock of the accident and pain. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Pultneyville, New York on the shores of Lake Ontario.[8]

 Genealogy of Jacob Cook Fleming and Lucinda Baird Fleming[9]

1. Jacob Cook Fleming, b. 31 January 1802, Township Oxford, Warren County, New Jersey; m. 8 September 1828 to Lucinda Baird, b. 27 February 1809, d. 1 December 1890; d. 2 May 1873, Pultneyville, Wayne, NY.

Children of Jacob Cook Fleming and Lucinda Baird:

        i.  Elizabeth Fleming. b. 27 February 1830; still living in 1903.

       ii.  William Fleming. b. 22 September 1832; d. 23 Oct 1863.

      iii.  Clarissa Fleming. b. 13 April 1834, Pultneyville, NY; m. 26 September 1852, Daniel Throckmorton Grandine; still living in 1903.

      iv.  Joanna Fleming. b. 5 February 1837, Sodus, NY; still living in 1903.

       v.  John Wesley Fleming. b. 13 March 1839; d. 19 April 1849.

         

 

 

 

 


[1] Publius V. Lawson, Family Genealogy (Menasha, WI : P. V. Lawson, Publisher, 1903), 46-47.

[2] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 48.

[3] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 50.

[4] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 54.

[5] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 52.

[6] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 55.

[7] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 56-57.

[8] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 58.

[9] Lawson, Family Genealogy, 58 – 60.