52 Ancestors - UNFORGETTABLE: These Darn Children

I am obsessed with these children:

John Jr and "Bob" 1921

I write about them all the time.

 

John Jr, Cutey, and Bob
a beach in New York - maybe Rockaway

Why?

Because I can’t figure out how they are related to my father’s maternal grandmother’s side of the family. It is driving me crazy because I feel like I am THIS CLOSE to breaking through that wall. Those bricks mock me.

Here is what I do know:

My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh and her eldest daughter Lillie Killeen thought enough of the family to travel from Portsmouth, Virginia to New York City in 1917 to greet the baby.

Lillie Killeen and John Jr 1917

My great-grandmother and the children’s family were close enough that an entire photo album was dedicated to pictures of the children and given to my great-grandmother.

The children were named John Jr (born 1917) and “Bob” (born probably 1919 or 1920).

This was captioned "Bob sucks her thumb."

Bob was a girl. I can’t tell by the handwriting on the back of the picture. Was she also called Bobie or Barbie?

They lived in Richmond Hill, a section of Queens

Lillie and John Jr. in Richmond Hill 1920

They once had the whooping cough.

On the back of the photo is written
"These were taken Mar 1922 while they had whooping cough."

Here is what I think:

Mary Theresa’s sisters were NOT the mothers or grandmothers of these children. None of them had children as late as 1917. The only sister old enough to have had a grandchild born in 1917 was Johanna Sheehan Hederman. Only 2 of her children survived. Catherine married a man named Charles Fraundorf making it improbable that they named a son John JR. Johanna’s son John was still single and living at home in 1920, so he is not likely the father either.

This photo of WOMEN with the children makes me think perhaps the young woman was daughter of Mary Theresa’s brother John Sheehan. If that is so, then she must have married a man named John.

 

In New York 1921
Poodle is named Cutey
The children are "Bob" and John Jr.
The Women are ???

I think this man is the father:

Maybe the father of John Jr and Bob
1920 Richmond Hill, Queens, NY

I think this man is John Sheehan, possibly the grandfather of the children.

Is this John Sheehan with baby John Jr and Cutey, the poodle?
1917

Is this John Sheehan?
1918 NY

My plan of attack:

I have researched every man named John Sheehan born about 1866 in Ireland who lived in New York between 1887 and 1940. And there were plenty of them! They either had no children or too many children. None had children that fit the John Jr and Bob profile.

Was John Sheehan the father or grandfather of the children?

I need to take a closer look at the daughters of these John Sheehans. Perhaps a marriage record will offer up a husband named John and census records will reveal a John Jr and “Bob.”

I should also consider that maybe John Sheehan did not stay in New York. Maybe he lived in some other part of New York, or maybe Boston, or even Canada.

Sometimes I want to just stop looking for an answer, but I can’t. These children are just unforgettable.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Another Blogiversary

And just like that, Jollett Etc. turns 9.

As I did in the past, let’s take a look back at the most and least visited posts from August 26, 2019 through today.

LOW

Sepia Saturday – Piggyback

See – this is what comes of throwing together a blog at the last minute. It truly deserves its low number. 

52 Ancestors – Wedding: The Honor of Your Presence or Presents

It’s an odd post, but I think having a relative’s wedding gifts register is rather unique. The list of presents is a window on the times, that’s for sure.

52 Ancestors – Popular: Trending Covid-19

Apparently, what’s trending isn’t that popular among blog readers. Reading it again now, I’m struck by how the then new terminology associated with the pandemic has become just everyday expressions that slide off the tongue without much thought or effort.  

52 Ancestors – Uncertain: John Fleming Walsh

Now I LIKE this one. Probably only my immediate family would find tracing our great-grandfather’s line of any interest though.

HIGH

52 Ancestors – Water: Queenstown to Castle Garden

I was surprised when Amy Johnson Crow picked this blog to highlight that week. I wrote about my great-grandmother’s journey from Ireland to New York in the 1880s. Of course, I had to imagine her particular journey based on records about where immigrants boarded a ship in Cobh, how they lived on board a ship, and what they experienced once they disembarked in New York City.

52 Ancestors – TRADITION – Coming and Going

Again, another surprise being featured on 52 Ancestors! This one is about my family’s Christmas traditions and how they have changed over the years.

52 Ancestors – Poor Man – Caring for the Poor

This story is not about MY family at all but about the preacher who brought education to the backwoods mountain children in and around Greene County, Virginia. Naturally, some of my ancestors may have been the recipients of his good work. Once again, Amy Johnson Crow shined the light on this blog resulting in my largest number of viewers for the year.

I look forward to seeing what Year 10 will bring.

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - CHOSEN FAMILY: Will the Real Maggie Please Stand Up?

In last week’s drama surrounding the antics of Amaziah Nathaniel Davis, his reputation as an adulterer was revealed. His wife Annie Long Davis filed for a divorce in 1908 claiming Nathaniel not only had been abusive and neglectful but also he had been seeing several other women. The testimonies of witnesses focused on one woman in particular: Maggie Vines or Viands.

Who was she?

Maggie was the daughter of William Joseph Vines and Angelina Stanton. William was a Confederate veteran of the Civil War and worked in an ore bank. Angelina, like most women of the time, kept house and took care of the children: Nettie, Foley, Julia, Ida, William, Maggie, and Walter. William Sr. died from typhoid fever in August of 1886.

In the 1900 census for Rockingham County, Angelina reported that 5 of her 7 children were still living. Maggie was at home with her while all the others were married. It seems neither Angelina nor Maggie was employed. Another person in the household was a 2-year old named Lula, identified as a daughter. However, since Lula was born two years after William Viands died, it could be that Lula was Maggie’s child, yet it is still within the biological realm of possibility that Lula could have been Angelina’s child instead. Unfortunately, there is no sign of Lula after the 1900 census, so we may never know.

But back to Maggie

According to witnesses in the divorce case of Nathaniel Davis and wife Annie, Maggie was not married but had a little boy.

from Rockingham Co VA Chancery Cause 165-1909-095

Nathaniel Davis's sister Ida Morris reported that Maggie left sometime around 1908 or 1909 and moved to Pennsylvania to stay with her sister, at least for a time. The 1910 census shows Maggie, her mother, and a 12-year old son Lester living in York County, Pennsylvania where Maggie’s sisters lived too. Their brother William and his family lived in a nearby county. Angelina claimed her own income, probably the Civil War widow’s pension she obtained in 1904. Maggie found a job at a sewing factory.

 

from Rockingham Co VA Chancery Cause 165-1909-095

Ida Morris stated that Maggie was going to Pennsylvania to stay until Nathaniel came for her. Did he do that?

Where was Nathaniel? 

A marriage record for Nathaniel Davis and Maggie VIA dated November 1909 suggests he finally made an honest woman of her. But wait – VIA? OK, clerical errors abound. Viands. Vines. Via. I can see how a clerk misunderstood.

 

Rockingham Co VA Marriage Register Book 3, p 46

But then there was the entry of the bride’s parents as John and mother unknown. John? Not William? 

Rockingham Co VA Marriage Register Book 3, p 46

I can believe and accept that maybe Maggie forgot her father’s name – maybe – after all, he had been dead a long time, but, surely, she had not forgotten her mother’s name.

There was also the mention of Maggie being a widow. Had the witness erred in saying Maggie had never married – OR is this indeed a different Maggie?

In 1910 while Maggie VINES was living with her mother in York County, Pennsylvania, Nathaniel and his much younger wife Maggie were in Charlottesville, Virginia. Nathaniel worked as an agent for a buggy company (interesting – wonder what that entailed?). The couple had been married 0 years. Maggie had 2 children. A 9-year old boy named Edgar R. lived there too, enumerated with the last name “Davis,” most likely a clerical error.

1910 Census Charlottesville, VA

In the 1920 census, Maggie VINES had become the head of household in York County, Pennsylvania. She and her mother both worked in a tobacco factory. Lester had married and moved to Baltimore.

That same year Nathaniel and Maggie were still in Charlottesville with now 4 children PLUS a stepson Roy Via. Nathaniel worked in a stave factory.

1920 Census Charlottesville, VA

After 1920, neither Maggie Vines nor her mother Angelina can be found in the usual online records. But in Charlottesville, Maggie L. Davis was head of household in 1930. Her four daughters were with her. Roy and Edgar had both married and were living in an apartment not far away from their mother and half-sisters.

1930 Census Charlottesville, VA

Nathaniel wound up at Western State Hospital, known as Western State Lunatic Asylum in its early days. What his mental issues were is unknown. I hope he was not bad off enough to catch the attention of the director, Joseph DeJarnette, a noted eugenicist who openly favored and performed electroshock therapy, lobotomies, and sterilization.

Nathaniel died at Western State Hospital in 1934.

Amaziah Nathaniel Davis’s life came to a sad end, that’s for sure. But I can’t help being somewhat amused at the irony of his love life, to have carried on an affair with Maggie B. Vines only to marry Maggie L. Via just months later.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - TROUBLEMAKER: Nathaniel Davis Again

In a previous story about Amaziah Nathaniel Davis, I mentioned that it was a good thing he purchased a lot of land because it helped save him a world of hurt.

The 123 acres that Nathaniel Davis purchased in 1892 came to the rescue just one year later.

VA Rockingham Co Deed Book 46, p 250

This Deed, made this 8^th day of April 1893, by and between Nathaniel Davis party of the first part and Jno Harris Jr party of the second part all of Rockingham County, Va,

Witnesseth that the party of the first part doth hereby grant & convey with general warranty of title unto the said Jno Harris Jr upon the Trust herein after declared, all that tract or parcel of land with buildings and appurtenances containing about 123 acres situate in the Eastern part of said County on a branch of the Hawksbill Creek adjoining the lands Geo. W. Wyant, Abel Eaton and others and being the same conveyed this grantor by the children & heirs of Mrs. Mary M. Gilmer by Deed of record in the Clerk’s office of the County Court of said County.

This Conveyance is in Trust only however to secure indemnify and save harmless Geo E. Sipe against all or any damages or loss that may accrue to him by reason of his suretyship for said Nathaniel Davis in a bail bond executed before the Judge of the County Court of said County in vacation on the Eighth day of April 1893, in a penalty of $100.00 in a prosecution for unlawful Trespass, and it is expressly understood and agree that whenever said Sipe shall become liable to pay or called on to satisfy said bond or any part thereof, then said Trustee shall proceed to execute this Trust in pursuance of Sec 2442 Code of Va 1887. Witness the following signature & seal.

Nathaniel Davis

Trespassing, eh? I wonder whose land he trespassed on. It must have been a serious infraction to raise the level of suspicion or fear to have him arrested. Apparently ol’ Nathaniel had used all his cash to buy the land and had none left for his own bail.

MORE TROUBLE FOR NATHANIEL

It seems cash flow was not Nathaniel’s only problem. He was an adulterer.

In 1908 his wife Annie had had enough. She filed for divorce. In her complaint, she noted that even though they were still living together, they had not spoken in two years.

Rockingham Co VA Chancery Cause 165-1909-095

The proceedings of the divorce case include depositions of witnesses testifying that they saw Nathaniel Davis at the home of Maggie Viands/Vines. The testimonies sound like something Gladys Kravitz would have said – remember the nosey neighbor on “Bewitched”? The local Gladys-wannabes reported Nathaniel staying with Maggie for days at a time. They never saw him leave. The curtains or shades were always drawn.

Deposition of H. H. Baugher, 28 years old

One surprising witness was Nathaniel’s own sister, Ida Morris, who reported one episode that must have been considered rather risqué for its time.

Deposition of Ida Davis Morris, sister of Nathaniel Davis

I wonder what Nathaniel had to say to his sister after that.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: On Track and Off

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday challenge depicting an electric tram or cable car got me to thinking about my great-grandfather’s death certificate.

 

Death certificate for Stephen Slade
father of my paternal grandfather

The cause of death was hypostatic pneumonia resulting from a crushed pelvis sustained when he was struck by a streetcar.

I thought surely such an accident would have made the newspaper, but it didn’t. However, the news reporters were all over the story in March 1899 when a prominent citizen of Portsmouth, Virginia was killed by an electric car when he was out shopping for ice for his sick wife. As the headline said, he was “Horribly Crushed.”

 

from Virginian-Pilot 4 Mar 1899

Details of the accident reveal that he did not die on impact. In fact, there was plenty of time to call a number of doctors to his aid. They all looked at the mangled mess and shook their heads knowing there was nothing to be done.

from Virginian-Pilot 4 Mar 1899

Mr. Peed was conscious and implored those surrounding his couch to turn him over, that he was suffering excruciating agony. He knew well those who were about him and called them by name, and especially did he ask to move his legs that he might sit up.

But that was impossible, for he had been horribly mutilated, his lower abdomen being crushed and that part of his body from the waist to just below the hips was in a state horrible to behold and terrible to contemplate. His head, too, had sustained awful wounds, around which the bruised blood had settled. Just over the right forehead a ghastly looking puncture presented itself, looking as if a three-edged weapon had been used with great force.

I wonder if my great-grandfather’s injuries were anything like this.

Bystanders reported that the accident might not have happened had the victim not been deaf. They described what they saw:

from Virginian-Pilot 4 Mar 1899

A prominent Crawford street merchant said he heard some one hallowing for a distance, it seemed to him, of a square, and then looking down the street, saw the car strike Mr. Peed, pass over his body, and then, as if being released from the current, again pass over him, by a backward motion.

Another gentleman made no effort to conceal what he knew, and was positive that the fender of the car struck Mr. Peed, threw him against the end of the car, and he fell, and the car passed once over his body forward, and then again backwards. The wheels of the right hand half of the front truck passed over Mr. Peed.  

What a horrible scene! But because I am so immature, I can’t help focusing on the unfortunate man’s even more unfortunate name: Peed. OK, I am sure PEED was a fine family name. It probably is a variation of PEAT. I wonder if the name had German origins. Before spelling became more standardized, court clerks recorded what they heard. In my family, the German accent resulted in the name “Ebert” morphing into “Eppard.” Maybe that happened in Mr. Leroy Peed’s family too.

The Peed name is common here in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. My mother used to tell the story about a talent show or recital, I have forgotten which, that she attended as a young adult. The emcee who introduced each performer announced, “Next, Martha Sue Peed at the piano.” We all laughed at that story – immaturity is a family trait.

As a teacher, my mother one year had a class with two students with unfortunate surnames: Buzzard and Sweat. I wonder how people put up with jokes on their name. I would be pronouncing them “Byu ZAARD” and “Sweet.”

When I was a teacher, I worked with a fine gentleman who was an outstanding teacher of grammar and literature: Mr. James Butts. When I left teaching to stay home with the kiddos, I was replaced by another outstanding English teacher: Mr. Marvin Fanny. Butts and Fanny – same department, same school. What stars aligned for that to happen?

I went off track this week. (Pun intended.) 

Get back on track with more street car adventures at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - SMALL: Small Land Deals

Last week it was all about Amaziah Nathaniel Davis’s LARGE land deals. This week it’s about the SMALL land deals he made.

From his 123-acre purchase in 1892, Nathaniel carved out 30 acres for his younger brother Walter, my great-grandfather. I do not know if Nathaniel needed money or if Walter just wanted land. After all, he and Mary Frances Jollett had been married a few years and a baby was on the way.

Rockingham County, VA Deed Book 50, p 457

This Deed, made this 8 day of March one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four (1894) between A. N. Davis and Anna C. Davis his wife of the County of Rockingham and State of Virginia, party of the first part, and Walter B. Davis of the County of Page and State aforesaid party of the second part. Witnesseth that for and in consideration of one hundred and seventy-five dollars current money of the United States cash in hand paid to the party of the first party by the party of the second party, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold and conveyed, and by these presents do grant, bargain ,sell and convey with General warranty unto the said Walter B. Davis his heirs and assigns a certain tract, piece, or parcel of land and the appurtenances thereunto belonging, situate, lying, and being, in the Eastern part of said County, near the base of the Blue Ridge, adjoining the lands of Jesse Wyant, George M. Shifflett and others, and is bounded as follows, Beginning at  a stone on the west edge of the west side of the Hawksbill, thence N 75° W 19 poles and 13 links to a stone on the east edge of the public Road, thence S 15° W 21 poles and 23 links to a stone, planted on the east side of said Simmons Gap Road, thence crossing said Road and running S 42° W 21 poles and 22 links to a pine on north side of a road, thence N 81° W ~ poles thence with said line in a S. E. direction ~ poles to a stake or white oak, thence East 28.32 poles to a white pine Stump, thence N 7° E 166 poles to a stump formerly a Sycamore on the east side of the Hawksbill, about 20 or 25 Steps above the ford of said Creek, thence with the Jesse Wyant line dower the said Creek to the Beginning, containing thirty acres more or less, to have and to hold the said tract, piece or parcel of land and the appurtenances thereunto belonging to him, the said Walter B. Davis, his heirs and assigns forever, But there is excepted twelve months longer time [ ? ] is mentioned in the article for the grantors to remove their timber as mentioned in the agreement.

And the grantee is allowed the right of ingress and egress to travel over the Wagon Road passing by said property, Witness the following signatures and seals the day and date first above written.

A.Nathaniel Davis

Annie C Davis

State of Virginia,

County of Rockingham to wit

I, J.W. T. Samuels a Notary Public for the County of Rockingham in the State of Virginia, do certify that A. Nathaniel Davis and Annie C. Davis his wife whose names are signed to the above Deed, bearing date on the 8^th day of march 1894, have acknowledged the same before me, in my County  aforesaid.

Given under my hand this 8^th day of March Anus Domini 1894

J. W. T. Samuels, N.P. 

In 1896, Nathaniel Davis made a teensy-weensy sale of land to his neighbor Scott Baugher: $10 for a 10’ strip.

Rockingham County  VA Deed Book 61 p. 416

This Deed made this 23^rd day of November 1896, between A. N. Davis and Annie C. Davis, his wife of the county of Rockingham and State of Virginia parties of the first part, and G. Scott Baugher of the County and State aforesaid, party of the second part, Witnesseth That the said A. N. Davis and Annie C. Davis, his wife, for and in consideration of the sum of Ten Dollars current money of the United States cash to them in hand paid by the said party of the second part, the Receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, and conveyed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell and convey with General Warranty unto the said G. Scott Baugher a certain piece or lot of land situate, lying and being in the eastern part of the said County on the east side of the Simmon’s Gap Road and described as follows. Beginning at the Simmon’s Gap Road thence east running with a road leading to the lands of G. A. Wyant’s and on the South side of said road to G. S. Baugher’s corner, thence south with his line ten feet, thence west to a point on the Simmon’s Gap Road ten feet south of the beginning, containing 1 ½ rods more or less.

The above described strip, piece or lot of land is to be used as an outlet or Roadway from the lands of the said G. Scott Baugher to the Simmon’s Gap Road, the nearest public Road, the said road to be made on this strip piece or lot of land is to be used and be in his, the said G. Scott Baugher’s jurisdiction, and his heirs and assigns forever at all times freely to pass and repass on foot, or with animals, vehicles or otherwise, to and fro, between the lands of the said G. Scott Baugher, and the Simmon’s Gap Road, the Roadway to be ten feet. The said parties of the first part covenant to and with the said party of the second part that they have the right to convey the said strip or lot of land to the said Grantee and that the said grantee shall have quiet and peaceable possession of the same, free from all in-

Rockingham County VA Deed Book 61 p 417

cumbrances, and that they, the said grantors will execute such further assurances as may be necessary to perfect the title hereby conveyed to the said grantee.

It is further agreed as a further consideration for the above conveyance, that the said G. Scott Baugher is to build and keep in repair a bridge at the eastern end of the above described lot, piece or strip of land over the Hawksbill Creek.

Witness the following signatures and seals, the day and date first above written.

A.N.Davis

Annie C. Davis

Scott Baugher then had to build a bridge for his little $10 purchase. So who got the better deal?

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

 Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: The Merchant

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

Pictures like this week’s Sepia Saturday prompt can be a real time-suck for me because I find myself Googling to identify the model of the cars, to determine whether products like Meadow Gold milk and butter are still available, and to find old photos of buildings identified by their signage. It’s a handsome photo, one with which I cannot compete. I have grocery stores and grocers in the family, but most have already been introduced on my blog. The good news is I still have one more. The bad news – and it’s really not that bad – is that he isn’t family.

When Barry and I were planning our wedding in 1973, the FOLK WEDDING was the rage. I guess it grew out of the “Make love, not war” / “Do your own thing” attitudes of the 1960s-early 70s. Less formal than traditional wedding ceremonies, the folk wedding often included folk tunes accompanied by guitar. So I needed a singer. And a guitar. My aunt, my dad’s sister, suggested Joanie Glynn. What? Who? “You know – the Glynns. They’re cousins,” she said and Daddy confirmed.

I’ve gone years just accepting that the Glynns are our cousins. I figured they must be those distant cousins, those 2^nd or 3^rd cousins that no one really gets to know. When I actually did the research, I saw almost immediately that they are not MY cousins at all. They are not my aunt’s or dad’s cousins either. They are not even my grandmother’s cousins. The Glynns are cousins of my grandmother’s HALF-siblings. My great-grandmother married twice; my family descends from the second husband. The Glynns are related to the first husband, the OTHER side of the family.

So here is John Joseph Glynn. 

John Joseph Glynn (1862-1942)
probably Matthew C. Glynn  (1891-1969)

John Joseph Glynn was born to Michael and Mary Irwin Glynn in Ireland in 1862, immigrated to the United States in 1884, and in 1890 married Bridget Mary Killeen, sister of John Joseph Killeen, my great-grandmother’s first husband. John Joseph Glynn and John Joseph Killeen – try keeping that straight. I guess the Irish did not have much imagination when it came to naming babies.

Bridget Mary Killeen Glynn (1863-1948)
either John Joseph Jr or Ellen Frances

John and Bridget were in Virginia by 1890 as all 6 children were born there between 1891 and 1910. John operated a grocery store at the corner of Henry and Second Streets. In the 1900 and 1910 census, they lived on Second. In later censuses, they lived on Henry. In every census except 1940, John was enumerated as a grocer or merchant. City directories through 1935 also show him as a grocer. By 1936, he was retired.

 

Portsmouth City Directory 1935

Photo albums that I have inherited from my Killeen aunts Helen and Lillie reflect the closeness of the Killeen and Glynn families.

 

September 1931
Bridget, John Joseph,
daughter Ellen, aka "Nell"

Captioned "Brothers"
possibly John Joseph Jr and Matthew
but assumed age difference is too much

Lillie Killeen with cousins
William and Margaret Glynn

"Cousin Nell"

That's cousin Nell on the right - not sure of the other 2

I have the Glynns to thank for my very existence. My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen had planned to be a New Yorker until John Joseph Killeen died in 1905 leaving her a widow with 5 children to raise. Her sister-in-law Bridget Killeen Glynn persuaded her to come to Portsmouth to be with family. According to family lore, it was Bridget who introduced Mary Theresa to her future second husband John Fleming Walsh. And as they say, the rest is history.

I’ll say this though about the Sheehan-Killeen-Walsh group, they did not and do not discriminate based on a last name. Family is family. A cousin is a cousin regardless of DNA.

There is more in store at Sepia Saturday.

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.