Matilda Louise MacElvey (or Matilda L. McKelvey) was born possibly in Massachusetts or more probably in Missouri on 27 Jan 1823 to unknown parents. At age 16 she married Eleazer John Beerbower (or John Eleazer Beerbower- German folks used their two names interchangeably throughout their lives, and he also was known as E.J. Beerbower); he was 23. They married 07 Mar 1839, and one year later, at age 17, she became the mother of twins on 01 Apr 1840. Son Polaski only lived 10 days, but his twin Caspar, named after Eleazer’s father and grandfather, survived longer, though only to 9 months and 25 days. The twins were buried in Dovel Memorial Cemetery, Pickerington, Fairfield, Ohio, so probably were also born in the area.

In 1842 the family was still living in Ohio where son Samuel T. Beerbower was born on 10 Nov 1842. He may have been named in honor of his paternal uncle, Samuel Beerbower (1824-1890). In August of 1844, at age 21, Matilda gave birth to son George who only survived 3 days; he also is buried in Dovel Memorial Cemetery. How sad it must have been to lose three precious children so early in life!

Healthy children, thankfully, then followed every few years to join their sibling Samuel T. Beerbower: Stephen Russell Beerbower was born in 1845 in Ohio; James M. Beerbower on 02 Mar 1848 in Ohio; Edgar P. Beerbower was born 28 Jun 1849 in Pinkerington, Fairfield County, Ohio. (He is your ancestor if you are descended from Anna May Beerbower Helbling; he was sometimes called Edward P. Beerbower instead of Edgar.)

In 1849, the family moved to Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio; in 1850, they uprooted again and moved to Marion County, Ohio. Eleazer was a saddle and harness maker there, a trade he had learned as a young man.

A daughter was finally born into the family: Mary Emma Beerbower, born 10 Mar 1852 in Marion, Ohio, followed by another son, Eleazer John Beerbower, named after his father, on 10 May 1858, also in Marion County, Ohio.  Matilda had given birth to a child every 1-3 years previously, before this six year gap. Matilda was just 35 when their ninth child was born.

In 1866, John (Eleazer John Sr.) moved to Indianapolis for a new job, but Matilda and the family stayed in Marion for one year before joining him. We have been unable to find a record of the family in the 1870 US Federal Census in Indianapolis, but the indexing of the name has some pretty creative spelling; hopefully they will turn up one of these days. They were found again in the Indianapolis 1880 census, with John working in the upholstery business.

Matilda’s husband John died at age 67 in Indianapolis on 24 Oct 1882.

The biography of son Samuel T. Beerbower states his widowed mother was living in Indianapolis in 1883. The Indianapolis City Directory of 1885 lists Matilda as the widow of Eleazer J., living at 5 Vine St.

Matilda is found again in the 1900 US Federal Census taken 9 June 1900. She was the head of household and living at 605 East Pratt St. in Indianapolis with her divorced son, Edgar Peter Beerbower (our ancestor- they got back together though and remarried- a story for another day). The census also notes that Matilda was born in June 1828, had 9 children, 6 still living, and that her parents were born in Maryland.

Matilda (McKelvey) Beerbower died about 5 weeks after the census, on 18 Jul 1900, at the age of 77. She had suffered from heart trouble for a number of years. (Understandable with the loss of so many loved ones!) She was laid to rest in Crown Hill Cemetery, Section 32, Lot 202, on 21 Jul 1900. Two of her dear sons, Edgar Peter and Stephen Russell, were later buried in the same lot.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Polaski  Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=42557087

2) Caspar Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Beerbower&GSiman=1&GRid=42557101&

3) Samuel T. Beerbower on Find A Grave, which includes a bio of his parents. Have been unable to yet find the source of the FAG info. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88047453

4) 1860 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 326; Image: 123; Family History Library Film: 805006.

5) 1880 US Federal census: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 295; Family History Film: 1254295; Page: 227B; Enumeration District: 113; Image: 0156.

6) 1900 US Federal census: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 387; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0044; FHL microfilm: 1240387.

7) US City Directory for Indianapolis, Indiana: Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

8) Matilda L. MacElvey Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=BEE&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=17&GScntry=4&GSsr=2641&GRid=45869801&

9) “Found Dead in Bed, Mrs. Matilda Beerbower, an Old Resident of the City,” in The Indianapolis Journal, July 19, 1900, Vol 50, Number 200, Page 8, Column 1.  https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=IJ19000719.1.8&srpos=11&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN-+Beerbower—–#. Indiana newspapers may also be found on the Chronicling America website.

10) The History of Marion County, Ohio…Leggett, Conaway, & Co., Chicago, 1883, pages 531, 555-6: https://archive.org/stream/historyofmarionc00legg#page/n5/mode/2up 

11) See our Beerbower Family Tree Page by clicking this link.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

It’s Ladies Day in the Green Family Photo Album series. (OK, one cigar-chomping man too. Not sure who he is or how he got on that page.)

The woman in the white dress on the left above may be Bess Dorothy Green. The pose, seen frequently in the album, may be to show off the Gibson Girl-like very slender waist so fashionable at the time.

The woman on the left with glasses may be Bess Dorothy Green.

This is one of the pages that makes a family historian crazy- are the two women in the close-ups the same woman? We thought they were both Bess Green at different ages, but a picture on the previously-posted page 36 (Five Family Photos for Friday) is either a double exposure or there are two very similar-looking women in the family. (No story about twins in the family that we know of.) As far as one of the pictures being from an earlier date, this album seems to have photos from approximately the same time period, though we can’t know that for sure since we recognize so few of the persons. Anyone with other Green family photos, please let us know if you can help solve this mystery.

Possibly mother and daughter above? But who???

Minnie Weast per name listed in album- unknown how she might be related.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family oral history and Green Family Photo Album.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Top row, from right: Sam Stampfer, ? Bess Dorothy Green?, Herman Green?

This page thankfully had names written in pencil- Woohoo! They show up much better on the scan than in real life, so try scanning items and looking at them carefully- you might find more than expected.

The bottom right young woman with glasses is Bess Green.

The four pictures on the diagonal are Edith Shepard- wonder how she is related?

Green Family Photo Album- page 14.

Estelle Green in bottom left oval, Rose Brave Green in right bottom photo with young girl.

On left, Violet ___y; on right, “Mrs. Abraham Green” or Rose (Brave) Green.

Unknown children of the Green Family.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Oops! Published a Friday post on Thursday. I could say, “Wow, that makes me ahead of the game!” Sadly though, I meant to finish this post for publication last week…

2) Green Family Photo Album, in possession of the author.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

The ‘Age of Computers’- that phrase probably dates me!- has made genealogy research so much easier than the days of SASE and queries in the back of a genealogy magazine. For years I have known that Edward B. Payne married Nanie M. Burnell on 05 May 1870. Some of our family records had this information, I believe, and now online there is an entry on Family Search as well as the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900. Usually it is just a simple tabbed line of the most basic information:

Sometimes the county, in this case, Kane County, Illinois, is listed, and maybe even a marriage license number (00007122).

I have written requesting this record in years past and only received a clerk’s handwritten copy of the pertinent- to them- information, which was what I already knew. It was not possible to get a scan of the actual record, per the County Clerk’s office.

In a recent genealogy blog I learned that Kane Co., IL has now put marriage licenses online. I dropped everything the rest of the world deemed important and headed online for the website. There it was- the marriage record I had sought for so long. I plunked down (virtually) my $11 for a downloadable copy, and voila!- I could print it. Sadly, it had “For Genealogical Purposes Only” written diagonally all across the face of the license, in rows just an inch apart. I tried to read the minister’s name, and it looked familiar. Though I couldn’t be sure, it looked like “Payne.” 

Edward B. Payne’s father, Joseph Hitchcock Payne (or J. H. Payne, as he usually was known), was a Congregational minister.

I cried. OK, yes, I have been obsessed with E. B. Payne for most of my genealogical research life (is it stalking if one of the parties is long departed???), as he is quite an interesting and intriguing fellow. To learn that he was married to his college sweetheart by his father was so very touching, so sentimental, and it touched my heart so deeply that I was actually speechless.

Well, for a few moments, any way. I was mad that I could not read the name of the minister, and upset that the one actual signature and bit of writing of J. H. Payne that I had ever seen in all my research could not be easily read and savoured. (Spelled purposefully with a British “u” because the American-shortened ‘savored’ did not give enough time to enjoy or import of how wonderful it was to see this signature.)

Of course, feedback to Kane Co. was the answer, so I wrote a polite note to the county clerk, praising them for the new service but letting her know how disappointed I was that the marriage license was not framable and only barely readable. I got a fast reply thanking me for feedback so they could improve the new service, and in subsequent emails she explained that if I sent another $11 for a certified copy, and sent it to her attention, she would make sure that the required “for genealogical purposes only” stamp would not be across the main face of the license. She was good to her word.

But wait- there’s more!

On the back of the record I received via snail mail were the following documents:

And then another incredible document, attesting that these two requesting a marriage license had met the legal age requirements:

K. A. Burnell was Nannie’s father, Kingsley Abner Burnell. It was his writing, his listing of his daughter’s name, and his signature.

Amazing. Totally amazing.

Thank you, Kane County, Illinois.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) The first image is from the old Kane Co., IL website, which has been replaced by the new and much improved http://genealogy.kanecountyclerk.org. Posted with permission.

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Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Here’s a ‘cousin-bait’ post. Actually, more a ‘married-in to a married-in’ person post, but that’s close enough to be a cousin in my mind. We’re all related if one goes back far enough.

(Sadly, that philosophy  also lets me wander far afield and late into the night at times, but when one can make connections, it will help genealogists to come. And sometimes, that “FAN Club” finds me a tidbit or two about a direct line that I might not otherwise have found.)

I am searching for information on Fred Foster Springer. I am searching this far afield because Fred was married to Ninetta (Wiley) Eames Payne, who also married Edward B. Payne, a direct ancestor.

Fred F. Springer was born Mar 1865 in Maine, possibly Bradford, Penobscot, Maine, and lived there through 1870. By 1880 he and his parents, Samuel Foster Springer (b. 1832 in New Hampshire-d. 1902 in California) and Helen M. Fuller (b. 1838 in Maine-d. aft 1920 census in California?) had moved to San Francisco, California.

Fred graduated May 1883 from the Boys High School in San Francisco, and in 1886 was living in San Francisco at 1305-1/2 Polk with his father where he was listed as a “Collector” when he registered to vote at age 21. Two years later, in 1888, he was listed as a “Machine Hand” and living at 9 Liberty with his father.

By 1890 Fred was living in Berkeley, Alameda, CA and was an electrician/electrical engineer/engineer with the phone company. He lived at 1810 Louisa with his mother in 1906.

At about age 44 Fred married Margaret Smith c1909, and in the 1910 census they were living at 1815 Bonita with their first child, Inez/Ynez Springer, 8 months old. Other children were Richard F. Springer (1911-1964), Carobel A. Springer (1913-), and Margaret E. Springer (1915-). They also lived at 2207 Eunice, 1715 Jaynes, and 1430 Arch in Berkeley, California.

Fred and Margaret separated and were divorced sometime between the 1927 Oakland Directory listing and the 1930 census. Margaret is listed in a boarding house in the 1930 census, and the 3 daughters were living together in another household with Yzez noted as head of household. Fred was living in a boarding house in Berkeley owned by Ninetta (Wiley) Eames Payne. Sometime in 1930 (per voter’s registration) Fred had moved to 1715 Jaynes St. and living with dau Ynez; in 1932 his son Richard was also living with them. By 1934 Fred and his son Richard were rooming at Ninetta’s home again at 1282 Oxford. (I believe Fred and Margaret’s young family had rented a home from Ninetta in earlier years, and they were all old friends, as Ninetta owned the Arch St. home at one point.)

In Aug of 1937 Fred married Ninetta, possibly in Eureka, California, or Shasta, California. He was 72 and she 84. It was Ninetta’s third marriage- she had been married to Roscoe L. Eames (divorced in 1910), then Edward B. Payne, who died in 1923.

The last record I can find of Fred is 8 Nov 1938 when he appeared on the Alameda Voting Register, which is interesting since the California Death Index states his date of death as 15 Sep 1938. It may have been that the voting rolls were prepared before his death, and his name was just left on the roll for that election.

There is a story that Fred died while hiking Mt. Shasta with Ninetta, but I cannot find any confirmation of that.

I would like to find an obituary for Fred and learn if he and Ninetta divorced or how he passed away. Ninetta was listed as a widow in the 1940 census and had gone back to using Payne as her last name after Fred died.

Any information on Fred F. Springer or his family- even just clues- would be greatly appreciated.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “FAN Club” = Friends, Associates, Neighbors. These folks married each other, migrated together, witnessed each other’s legal documents, etc. Along with “Collateral Kin” (children, in-laws, etc. of siblings), one can sometimes find an obituary for a FAN Club member that mentions a direct ancestor, a photo with a group that includes the person of interest, or a story that includes a direct ancestor; it may not be something that is available for the direct line.

2) This is an expansion of a query I posted in 2012 on Ancestry’s San Francisco – Family History & Genealogy Message Board. See http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=5468&p=localities.northam.usa.states.california.counties.sanfrancisco Accessed on 04/17/14.  

3) California Death Index for Fred F. Springer: Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: California Department of Health and Welfare. California Vital Records-Vitalsearch (www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com). The Vitalsearch Company Worldwide, Inc., Pleasanton, California.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.