An Easy Way to Find Your Family on This Blog

Unknown girl rambling on a horse. Picture found in with Lee family photos.
Part of our Heritage– an unknown girl and her Ramblings on a horse. Picture was found in with Lee family photos.

… if you are related, that is.

When we decided to put our family stories and research out there, we weighed how difficult it would be to cover all the family names we both had been researching for many years. We thought about separate blogs for each family, but knew that it would be hard to provide an adequate number of posts on a regular basis with so many blogs. So we lumped everyone together into our “Heritage Ramblings.” Now that we have quite a few posts up (58!), we have realized it may be hard for readers to figure out exactly which family member in a post might be one of their ancestors, especially once we go back a few generations and names may be unfamiliar.

We still do plan to get some pedigree charts up on the site, but haven’t found an easy or attractive chart to use yet.

In the meantime, if you are related to either of us bloggers, there are four ways you can easily find your family on our “Heritage Ramblings” blog:

1. NEW! I have created separate pages for the major family groupings of published posts. To access these, click on “Pedigrees” and look for a family group that might interest you. The title, an image, and an excerpt of each of the posts published to date that reference those families will be listed. Simply click on the title to be taken directly to the post. (Sorry the drop-down menu isn’t pretty yet, but it is finally functional. Under construction…)

2. Use the “Search” box on the righthand sidebar of any page. Just type in a name, keyword, or place, then click “Search,” and a listing of pertinent posts will automagically appear.

3. That same righthand sidebar contains a list of “Tags” that have been used on our blog posts. The size and boldness of the word indicates how frequently it has been used as a tag- the bigger and bolder, the more frequently that tag has been used to help you search in our blog. Click on the word and you will be taken immediately to a list of posts that are tagged with that word or phrase.

4. Continuing down the righthand sidebar, you will find a list of “Categories” used on the blog. Posts are categorized by family, such as “Underwood,” or a topic, such as “Genealogy How-To.” Just click a category to find all the posts associated with that category.

Happy ancestor hunting- and reading!

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) This image was in with Lee family photos. If related, the cutie on a horse could also be an Aiken or Alexander.

 

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Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 




Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1904

The John Roberts Family, 1904.
The John Roberts Family, 1904. (Click to enlarge.)

[14 Nov 2019- Post updated to reflect date of 1904 being the consensus for this family photo, vs. 1900 as per Edith Roberts oral history.]

Twelve years after their 1892 family portrait (see Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Family in 1892), the John S. Roberts family had another family portrait taken, this time at another ‘homeplace,’ but in Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa.

Years ago I used the techniques discussed in the previous post to identify the persons in this photograph. I started with the known persons and then incorporated knowledge from other photos, censuses, etc. The date of the photo was said to be 1900, but that needed to be revised as Edith Roberts had been born in 1899, and appeared to be older than one year. Also, one of the babies was born in 1904, which definitely sets the date later.

Here is the identification:
From left-

Mary Jane Roberts’ family: Mary Jane (Mollie J) standing holding her daughter Bernice Blount; son Samuel Harvey with hat and tie standing next to his father, Samuel H. Blount. Seated on ground in front are, from left, Florence, Helen J, and Harold M. Blount. Oldest son Harry R. is standing next to his father in a dark suit.

George A. Roberts’ family: Standing next to Harry R. Blount is Ella V. Daniels Roberts and in the (short) white dress is daughter Ethel Gay Roberts. Seated at her feet is Edith Mae Roberts. Their father George A. Roberts stands next to Ethel, with son George A. Roberts, standing next to him.

Jason Lee Roberts’ family: Oca Roberts, in a long white dress, stands next to George Roberts Jr. Her brother Guy L. Roberts stands in front of her and their father, Jason Lee Roberts. His wife Julia French Roberts stands next to him holding their baby Ralph Roberts. Sitting on the ground in front of them are, from left, Wiley Roberts, Willard Roberts, and Charley Roberts in white. The very short woman in front of Julia French is Orpha B. Roberts.

Elizabeth Ann Murrell and her husband John Roberts stand next to Julia French.

William Edward (W.E., or Ed) Roberts’ family: W.E. Roberts stands next to his father, John Roberts. His son Orville stands beside him, with the woman on the right probably Orville’s mother, Mary M. Main Roberts; his sister Edna is not seen in the picture. Seated on the ground in front of them are Maude & Clara, with Maude possibly having the lighter hair as seen in the 1892 photo.

In the last few years, we found an advertising page,

“Courtesy of
ROBERTS BROTHERS
Groceries, Bottled Gas Ranges,
Plumbing, Heating
Pumps & Windmills”

It contained the above picture and two others, with most of the people identified plus information about John and Elizabeth Roberts’ lives. Sadly, the women and children were not all identified in the above picture, but it did verify that we had the families correct:

Left to right- Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Blount and family, Mr. and Mrs. George Roberts and family, Mr. and Mrs. Jason Roberts and family, Mr. and Mrs. John Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Roberts and family. This picture was taken of Mr. and Mrs. John Roberts, their children and grandchildren at their home in Prairie City in 1900 (now the Vande Kieft home). The fifth boy sitting down from the left is the Mayor of Prairie City.

The moral of the story is:

1) Use ALL your resources in a collaborative way.

2) Revisit your families- new information comes online and available every day.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family photograph, and page from a magazine or flyer.

2) Updated 12/2/16 with corrected identification of Oca and Orpha Roberts.

3) Some sources (like the Roberts family advertisement) state the picture was taken in 1900, some state 1904. I tend to agree with the 1900 date, as Edith Roberts was born 10 October 1899, so would have been 1-1/2 or 2 when this image was taken. That seems more consistent with her size, as if the photo was from 1904, she would have been 5 years old.

01/11/2017 UPDATE: However, if the baby being held by Julia French Roberts is their son Ralph Roberts, the date of the photo would be 1904, since he was born 11 July 1903. The baby could instead be one who died very young, as there is an almost 3 year gap between Ralph and his older brother Charley. We will have to leave this mystery to the Jason Lee Roberts and Julia (French) Roberts descendants to sort out.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.




Wordless Wednesday- The Murrell Family Bible, Part 5

Ephemera tucked into the Murrell Family Bible:

Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- History of the World order.
Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- History of the World advertisement or order. The Mexican War with the US was 1846-48, so this would have been printed after that time.

 

Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- Bible reading note on reverse of Railway Employees of Iowa paper.
Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- Bible reading note on reverse of Railway Employees of Iowa paper, Dec. 17, 1893.

Murrell Family Bible-Ephemera_To the Railway Employees_1

As this is dated 17 Dec 1893, it must have been from the second owner of the bible, as Wiley A. Murrell and Mary M Honts Murrell had both passed away by this time. Their daughter, Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts was a church-goer, so it may be her handwriting. (Sorry, just can’t do a totally “Wordless Wednesday” but I’m trying.)

Murrell Family Bible Ephemera-Ecclesiastes note.
Murrell Family Bible Ephemera-Ecclesiastes note.

Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- Make Room for the King note.
Murrell Family Bible Ephemera- Make Room for the King note.

A sample funeral card with the name "Geo. A. Roberts" written at the top. George A. Roberts died 18 Apr 1939.
A sample funeral card with the name “Geo. Anthony Roberts” written at the top. George A. Roberts died 18 Apr 1939. He was the grandson of the original owners, Mary Magdalen Hontz Murrell and Wiley Anderson Murrell, and son of Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts who we believe inherited the Bible.

Reverse of a sample funeral card with the name "Geo. A. Roberts" written at the top. George A. Roberts died 18 Apr 1939.
Reverse of a sample funeral card with the name “Geo. Anthony Roberts” written at the top. George A. Roberts died 18 Apr 1939.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Murrell Family Bible, possibly c1835.

2) Post updated 3/1/2021 to clarify relationship of George Anthony Roberts. He was born 1861 and was the third of five children of Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts (1835-1917) and John Roberts (1832-1922).

 

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Copyright 2014-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 




Tombstone Tuesday- WA Murrell and The Murrell Family Bible, Part 4

 

MURRELL Family Bible- Deaths [click to enlarge]
 

The final page of entries in the Murrell Family Bible documents the deaths of Wiley Anderson “W.A.” Murrell and his wife, Mary M. Honts Murrell, who are both buried in Mound Prairie Township, Jasper County, Iowa. That hill in the midst of very gently rolling farmland has the most wonderful breeze sometimes, and a breath-taking view of the farms all around, including the farm that was owned by their daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John Roberts. What a delightful place to be ‘quietly resting,’ especially for a couple who were farmers their whole life.

Mound Prairie Cemetery Marker in Jasper Co., Iowa

The entries in the Bible record are in a number of hands, which would be expected if the bible records were maintained by Mary M. Honts Murrell, since she could not document her own death. Mary may have written all the birth and marriage records, as well as the record for the death of their young daughter Mary Catharine, since they are all with the same ink and hand. The 1850 US Federal Census notes that Wiley could neither read nor write, but there is no mark in that column for Mary. So that is contemporary evidence she could read and write, and we can then surmise with some confidence that Mary wrote the first entries. Her handwriting is just beautiful!

Daughter Mary Catharine probably died in 1846 in Botetourt, Virginia, since the family is listed there in the 1850 census, and did not migrate to Illinois until 1853. How hard that must have been to leave the grave of one’s child, knowing that they likely would never return to Virginia!

A previous post mused about the date of the Bible and original entries, since so many look like they may have been written at the same time yet they cover a wide span of years. The bible may have been purchased in Virginia after Mary and Wiley married in 1834 in Botetourt County, Virginia, since all their children were born there. The handwriting makes that somewhat unlikely, unless they had not been very religious and then converted, purchasing the Bible after the births of some of the children. Another possibility is that the original family bible with entries written at the time of the events was lost or destroyed during the difficult trek by covered wagon over the Appalachian Mountains, through the Illinois prairies to Roseville, Warren County, in northern Illinois in 1853. A third possibility is that the original bible may have been lost or destroyed on their second migration, from Illinois to Iowa in 1868. With either loss event, a new bible would then have been purchased and some earlier events entered at the same time to tell the story of the Murrell family, explaining some of the writing differences.

W. A. Murrell and Mary M. Honts- Headstone in Mound Prairie Cemetery, Jasper Co., Iowa. Posted with permission of photographer.

Mary could have written the death entry for her husband Wiley “W.A.” since she survived him, but the writing does not have the same characteristics of her earlier script- the capital “A”s and “W”s are very different. Such styles do not usually change with age, even if the size of the writing and its smoothness do change. This entry could have been her daughter Elizabeth’s handwriting, as it may have been too painful for Mary to enter the information for Wiley- they were just one month short of celebrating their 51st wedding anniversary when he died. Since Mary’s death entry is in what looks to be the same hand, we again have some evidence that Elizabeth may have inherited the family bible.

It appears that the entry for John Murrell was added much later than his death, since he is listed after Mary’s 1887 death entry, even though he died in 1880. The entries for the Murrell’s daughter Ann Elisy Murrell Brown and her husband Aaron Brown in 1892 and 1894, respectively, must also have been made by someone else after Mary’s death in 1887. The handwriting is the same for both Ann and Aaron, but does not looks the same as what we are thinking may be Elizabeth’s hand; that person will likely remain a mystery.

Anneliza (Murrell) Brown- headstone closeup in Mound Prairie Pioneer Cemetery, Mound Prairie Township, Jasper County, Iowa. Used with kind permission of the FAG photographer.

Ann Elisy and her husband, Aaron Brown, who is the only in-law included in this record, both died in Jasper County, Iowa, and are buried in the Mound Prairie Pioneer Cemetery along with Wiley and Mary. (The cemetery is also known as Greenlief Cemetery.)

Aaron Brown- headstone in Mound Prairie Pioneer Cemetery, Mound Prairie Township, Jasper County, Iowa. Used with kind permission of the FAG photographer.

Son John died in Pettis County, Missouri, but has been included in the family record. Sons William Anderson Murrell, who stayed in Illinois and died in 1922, and son James Edward Murrell, who passed away in Missouri in 1926, however, are not included in this record of family deaths. This may have happened because the Bible had already been passed to Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts at her mother’s death in 1887, and then Elizabeth died in 1917 after being bedridden for many years. The Bible was apparently no longer being used after her death, so the surviving brothers were not added after their deaths in the 1920s.

 

Transcription:

Deaths

Mary Catharine

Daughter of Wile

And Mary H. [or Mag]

Murrell Departed

this Life in the

Year of our Lord and

Savior November

the 6 1846

Age 7 yrs 1

Month And 12

Days

 

Anne E Murrell

Brown

Died May 2nd 92

Aaron Brown

Died Mar 19th 94

 

[next column]

 

W A Murrell

Departed this

Life in the year

of our Lord & Savior

March 28th 85.

 

M. M. Murrell       [Mary Magdalene Honts Murrell]

Departed this Life

in the year of our

Lord & Savior

July 13th 87.

 

 

John Murrell

Died March 23

1880 

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Murrell Family Bible, possibly c1835.

2) 1850 US Federal Census for District 8, Botetourt, Virginia, “Wiley A Marrill” as head of household. Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 8, Botetourt, Virginia; Roll: M432_936; Page: 156B; Image: 551. Accessed 2-8-14 on Ancestry.com.

3) Anne E. Murrell Brown is sometimes called Ann Elisy, Elisy,  Eliza, and Anneliza. She married Aaron Brown 15 Sep 1869 and they had five children. Her parents migrated to Jasper Co., Iowa in 1868, and Ann and Aaron followed sometime between 1870-1880. Her headstone in Greenlief Cemetery/Mound Prairie, lists her as “Annelliza.”

4) This post has been updated on 3/1/2021 with new information.

 

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Copyright 2014-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.



Mystery Monday- Murrell Family Bible, Part 3

MURRELL Family Bible- Marriages [click to enlarge]
MURRELL Family Bible- Marriages [click to enlarge]
 There are several mysteries that have to do with this Murrell Family Bible, but one of them has been solved- that is the details about Mary M. Hontz and her family. (More on that in a future post.) We still do not know when this bible was printed or purchased (see Sentimental Sunday- Murrell Family Bible, Part 2). Even more vexing is the origin of Wiley Anderson “W.A.” Murrell and his parents- there are many various thoughts among researchers but no proof (yet).

Here is a transcription of this entry:

Wile Murrell

Was Married to

Mary M Huntz

in the year of

Our Lord March

the 10.     1834

 

Their first child married in 1857, but it is curious that none of these marriage events have been added to the bible.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Murrell Family Bible, possibly c1845.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2014-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.