W. A. Murrell and Mary M. Honts- New Headstone in Mound Prairie Cemetery, Jasper Co., Iowa. Posted with permission of photographer.
One of my wonderfully dedicated Murrell cousins brought my attention to a post on GenForum (http://genforum.genealogy.com/philips/messages/649.html) for a Murrell family bible that contains family history from 1758-1869. This cousin is so good about following up clues and revisiting information, and she has made great leaps in our knowledge of what had been one of my brick walls for years. We are still looking for the parents of Wiley Anderson Murrell, however, and this family bible may contain clues.
Sadly the message was posted on November 30, 2007, and the email addresses no longer work. (IIRC, I had also tried the emails years ago.) A good genealogy samaritan had posted a note about a post he read on a website called “Treasures Lost and Found” by “Rmay424727@aol.com.” Rmay was also a good genealogy samaritan when he purchased this bible in a second-hand store in El Paso, Texas, and then tried to find descendants who should own it.
The post stated that the bible listed that an Elizabeth Phillips had married a Murrell in 1799. Two funeral notices were on the inside cover, for Mr. George Simmons, with the date being 11-3-1866, and another for Capt. W. E. Murrell, 11-24-1869.
I had corresponded with a R. May many years ago, but he was elderly then so may already be hanging out with his ancestors. I have posted a reply- should have done that years ago- and reposted on the Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa lists. I love that GenForum has a box to check so you can be notified if anyone replies to your posts.
I also stated in my reply that I would be posting the Murrell Bible I have copies of, sometime this week. I’ll have to tear myself away from RootsTech webinars if I procrastinate too long, so look for those posts in the next couple of days.
Looks like we have a few new clues to research, with the 3 new names and some dates. Too bad we don’t know where Elizabeth Phillips married Mr. Murrell, but it will be fun to search for that information.
It would be nice to know who placed the new headstone for W. A. and Mary M. Honts Murrell, too- it surely isn’t 125+ years old. Not sure how to go about that since the cemetery is not really ‘run’ by any group that I know of, but maybe the local genealogy society will have some information.
By the way, RootsTech is a great conference with live-streamed, FREE events/lectures starting at 8:30am (Mountain time) on Thursday, Feb. 6th. The conference has been excellent in years past and looks promising again this year. You can even download all of the syllabi for the conference (https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials/)- thank you, RootsTech! See roots tech.org for more info.
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Israel I. COOPER- Headstone- Hebrew. From Find A Grave, posted with permission of photographer.
The headstone of Israel I. Cooper in Franklin Street Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung, New York, USA took a very long time to find- many years. Finding the burial place of Israel and his wife Bessie was a wonderful collaboration of family, a local library, interested volunteers that aren’t even related, Find A Grave, and those who own the cemetery.
Israel I. COOPER- Headstone- English. From Find A Grave, posted with permission of photographer.
It is a peaceful feeling to know where ancestors are “quietly resting.”
Israel Cooper belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. They are (still) a fraternal insurance society that also provides fellowship and service through their many chapters throughout the country. The following was in an Elmira newspaper on 24 Jul 1904:
Modern Woodmen Tribute to Israel. I. Cooper. Elmira Telegram, 24 Jul 1904.
Bessie lived 28 years after Israel’s death, living with their daughter and son at various times. She died at the home of their son, Joseph Cooper, at Montgomery, Lycoming, PA, on Saturday, 28 May, 1932, at 1 o’clock, per her obituary that was published in the Elmira Gazette on 29 May 1932. The obituary states that she was a former resident of Elmira for 35 years. She was survived by 4 daughters: Mrs. Harry Tatelbaum and Mrs. Israel Kremer of Rochester, NY; Mrs. Joseph Oppenheim of Elmira; Mrs. Samuel Blostein of Worcester, MA; and 3 sons: Joseph Cooper of Montgomery, PA; Joseph B. Cooper (should be Jacob B. Cooper) also of Montgomery, PA; and Samuel Cooper of New Haven, CT. She had 27 grandchildren at her death, and 8 great grandchildren. The funeral took place at her son Jacob Cooper’s home at 165 Washington St, Elmira, on Sunday at 2 pm.
Bessie F. (MEYER) COOPER- Headstone- Hebrew Inscription. Posted with permission of Find A Grave photographer.
Bessie F. (MEYER) COOPER- Headstone- English inscription- Franklin Street Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung, New York, USA. Posted with permission of Find A Grave photographer.
It would be nice to have the Hebrew section of their headstones translated.
Israel I. COOPER- Headstone_Hebrew DetailBessie F. (MYER) COOPER- Headstone_Hebrew Detail
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John & Fannie Broida at the Beach, probably after 1904. (Click to enlarge.)
Our last post with silly swimsuits was such a hit ( See Silly Sunday- Joseph Cooper Family in Swimsuits c1912) that we thought we would share yet another high-fashion image to whet your appetite for the coming swimsuit season. At least with these swimsuits, one didn’t have to diet quite as much before the season started!
This image is of John Zelig Broida (1857-1938) and his second wife, Fannie. Her maiden name is unknown, but they married in 1904, when Fannie was 29 and John 47 years old. They lived in Pittsburgh, PA, and St. Louis, Missouri until their emigration to Palestine in September, 1920. John/Zelig died in Palestine, but we still don’t know much about Fannie and what happened to her.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Broida family photos
2) Family oral history
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Helbling family home in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. From a family photo but image may also be found in St. Augustine Diamond Jubilee, page 40-2, St. Augustine Catholic Church, Lawrenceville, PA.
In the year 1854, the Franz Xavier and Maria Barbara (Helbling) Helbling home was across from the Allegheny Cemetery and halfway between Sharpsburg and St. Philomena’s Roman Catholic Church. The Redemptionist Fathers of St. Philomena’s often stopped at the home of the devout Helbling family when traveling between the Church on Fourteenth St. and Sharpsburg. (The home was still standing in the 1930s, but 4807-4809 Butler St., Lawrenceville, PA, is now an empty lot.) German Catholics were very devoted to parochial schools- they felt their children should start their day with a Mass and that they should be schooled in a Catholic school. The Helblings had eleven children, and there were many more children of German Catholic families in the town of Lawrenceville, PA, near Pittsburgh which was rapidly becoming an important industrial city.
The Helbling children attended the English-speaking school at St. Philomena’s on 46th St., but it was quite a long way to travel. Father John Hotz, C.SS.R. visited the Helblings at their home in the fall of 1854, and asked if the Helblings would board a teacher who could instruct their children. A schoolroom was set up on the second floor of the double house, and the teacher arrived.
Nine of the Helbling children attended school with this teacher: Elizabeth Barbara, Francis X., William, Philomena Rosanna, Catherine Josephine, Mary Sophia, John Baptist, and Joseph Anthony Helbling; sometimes Bertha Louise, just 2 or 3, attended class. The teacher was very stern and strange, only left the house on Sundays to go to Mass, and wore a long black robe but was not actually a priest. (He may have been a Redemptorist lay brother but no information has confirmed this.) He prayed to a picture of Our Lady of Guadeloupe constantly. The story told is that when, one day, Mrs. Helbling sent little daughter Bertha Louise to get some corn cobs from the yard, the child returned with them and said, “I got them.” The teacher, not being very fluent in English, thought that the child had said a curse word, and said, “Bertha Louise is surely going to hell.”
The adults in the family soon began to question the eccentric behavior of this teacher that their children greatly disliked and feared. The family never even knew his name- he was always just addressed as “Teacher.” As a mother, Mary Theresa (Knipshield) Helbling feared for her children that the teacher was about to lose his mind, and asked Father Hotz to dismiss him from their school and home. Fr. Hotz transferred the teacher to a school in Sharpsburg, where he did in fact lose his mind and have to be removed. Nothing further is known of him.
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“Old Cochran” in Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863, p. 52.
This entry in a Pittsburgh City Directory made me stop and think about how tough life was back in the day- today too, but even fewer safety nets then like Social Security or food stamps. Manual labor was the only job available for many throughout their lifetime. Poor “Old Cochran”- not even known by his first name, just his age- was still working as a laborer at that point in his life. Still living on his own maybe, but sadly I did not notice other Cochrans nearby on his street. A daughter may have been nearby but we wouldn’t know because she, if even listed, would be under her husband’s name.
OK, that was another Heritage Rambling… on to the topic at hand.
Logo of Cochran [Photography Studio] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, c1895. (Front)I came upon the “Old Cochran” entry while looking for a R. D. Cochran, Artistic Photographer in Pittsburgh. Old City Directories are a great way to find family, friends, associates, and neighbors (the “FAN Club”), as well as nearby businesses, for those from times long gone. I have been trying to find a date for the photos discussed in this week’s “Mystery Monday” post:
Since we have a photographer’s name/studio listed on the portraits, finding when the photographer was in business would help to narrow the date range of the photos. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh, PA does not have a listing of photographers (some other cities do have lists that family historians or archivists have compiled). The knowledgeable folks on the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania RootsWeb group suggested that I search the many City Directories online for Pittsburgh at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?c=pitttextdir;page=browse;key=date
GOLOMB Family? Pittsburgh PA, c1895? RD Cochran, Photographer- Reverse (Click to enlarge or for a sharper image.)
There is a search function on the page so I put in “R. D. Cochran” and got 16 hits. I had previously seen a photo of an African-American Civil War soldier posted online that was taken by R. D. Cochran (similar design on the advertisement), so checked the early directories first. My results:
Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1863
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1863, p. 58
“Cochran, Robert D., of R D Cochran & Co., n Woods’ Run”
Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1865-1866, Pittsburgh, PA: G.H. Thurston, 1865
Collection: Historic Pittsburgh City Directories, p.80
“Cochran R. D., of R. D. Cochran & Co., McClure tp”
Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1867
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1867, p.96
“Cochran R. D. of R. D. Cochran & Co. McClure tp”
Title: Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1869-1870
Publication Info: Pittsburgh, Pa.]: G.H. Thurston, 1869, p.100
“Cochran R. D., of R. D. Cochran & Co., res McClure tp”
There are other R. D. Cochrans listed for many later years, mostly in the oil business. I was unable to find the studio listed in the business section of the city directory, but often a business would be required to pay for the privilege of being listed under “Photographers” in the directory, and many were not able to afford the advertising.
So if “R. D. Cochran & Co.” was a photography studio, we may have narrowed the date of the photos. Probably not though, as the Green and Golumb families did not immigrate to the United States until the 1880s, so the time frame is not correct for our image.
I did a US Federal Census search for R. D. Cochran, and found a Robert D. Cochran listed as a steamboat captain in the 1860 census for McCluer Twp, Allegheny, PA- so that might be the “R. D. Cochran & Co” I found in the City Directory in that same township. I searched through other censuses in Allegheny Co. for our photographer, but little luck in finding him or her.
We definitely need more information.
Probably the next step is dating the photos by clothing, hairstyles, and props. There are a number of books available to use for this research, so those will be bedtime reading this week. I also have an email out to a person who includes the Golomb family on their tree, though they have not posted any photos. But I am really hoping that a cousin will see these photos and remember they have an acid-free storage box with the same photos, with individuals positively identified on them in archival ink. (A family historian’s dream…)
As always, suggestions are appreciated.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) “Old Cochran- lab” may be found in the Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863, p.52, Collection: Historic Pittsburgh City Directories at
2) The “FAN Club” is a way to help break through brick walls. By researching Friends, Associates, and Neighbors, you may find something about the ancestor you seek. I wish I could give credit to the researcher who originated the acronym, but do not know who came up with it as a quick way to explain what experienced genealogists have been doing for a long time. Researching siblings is another way to break through brick walls- especially helpful if one of the siblings had an unusual name whereas your direct ancestor might have had a common name. Siblings are often listed in obituaries, parent’s names may be on birth or death records, etc.
5) Robert D. Cochran: Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: McClure, Allegheny,Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1065; Page: 379; Image: 386; Family History Library Film: 805065. Accessed on Ancestry.com 1/18/2014.
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