My Old Ohio Home - Pennsylvania

Mrs Elsie Hoffman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2026-08-10T00:00:00-04:00

Introduction

In April 1949, Mrs Carl Hoffman of Philadelphia received a letter from the Pitcairn Islands. What can we learn about her, and why might she be receiving a letter from there?

Elsie (Press) Hoffman

Mrs Elsie (Press) Hoffman was born 14 July 1907, in Philadelphia, the daughter of Henry F Press and Catherine Simons. [This is a transcribed record and that is how Elsie's father's name was transcribed.] Elsie is with her parents and her younger brother Harvey at 3535 K Street, Philadelphia, on the 1910 Census. The street name on the census looks like an "H" but her father is listed at 3535 K Street in the 1910 Philadelphia City Directory. They are still at that address in 1920, joined by children Raymond and Ruth. Elsie's father Harvey died October 6, 1943 in Philadelphia. Catherine (Simons) Press died June 26, 1967, at Rolling Hill Hospital, Chiltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. They are both buried in the East Cedar Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Carl Robert Hoffman

Carl Robert Hoffman was born February 24, 1905 in Philadelphia, son of Robert Hoffman and Teresa Fehrenbach. He is with his parents and older sister Freda at 2647 Hutchinson Street in 1910. In 1920, he and Freda are with their mother at 2849 Franklin Street. His father may be the Robert C Hoffman in the State Homeopathic Hospital in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Robert died on April 27, 1929, at Wernersville State Hospital, South Heidelberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Carl's mother Theresa (Fehrenbach) Hoffman died in Germantown November 19, 1933, while living at the address on Franklin Street. They are buried together at Mount Peace Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Carl and Elsie Hoffman

Elsie Press and Carl Robert Hoffman wer married on 16 April 1927 in Philadelphia by Horace H Hunt, the pastor of the North Frankford Baptist Church.

In 1930 Carl was living with his mother at 2849 Franklin Street, while Elsie was boarding down the block at 102 Cambria Street. In 1940, they are listed on the census together renting at 4767 Fifth Street. But in October of that year, when Carl registered for the draft, he was at 1341 Tyson Avenue while Elsie was at 448 West Roosevelt Blvd. In 1950 they are together at 1341 Tyson Avenue, the address on the envelope.

Carl Hoffman was living still at that address when he died on March 8, 1969 at JFK Hospital. He buried in Mt Peace Cemetery, Philadelphia, with his parents, his sister Freda, and her husband. Elsie's name is not on the headstone and she does not show up in a search at findagrave.

Elsie (Press) Hoffman died in Audubon Borough, Camden County, NJ on January 21, 2000. Her last place of residence on her Social Security information was Philadelphia. I don't know where she is buried.

The Hoffmans had no children.

Why the letter from the Pitcairn Islands?

I had no idea why Elsie Hoffman would get a letter from the Pitcairn Islands so I asked Google's AI agent. Its answer seemed reasonable and was backed up by a few cited websites. The most likely reason was that she collected either curios or postage stamps from the island. One website said "in 1914, the opening of the Panama Canal placed Pitcairn on the direct run to New Zealand. Many of the new visitors were liners carrying hundreds of passengers anxious to have mementoes of the island." But soon many islanders left and "the public economy of Pitcairn languished and it was not until postage stamps were issued in 1940 that the island was able to afford some of the public amenities taken for granted in other parts of the world."

I was going to leave it at that, but I tried Googling "letters from ivan christian pitcairn island" and found an article called "Business: Bounty Barter" dated March 20, 1950, in the Time magazine archives. It said that in the fall of 1940, Fayette R Plumb, Inc., a tool making company in Philadelphia, received a letter from Ivan E Christian of Pitcairn Island ordering two small axes. Mr Christian included three dollars and some hand-painted souvenir leaves. He said to bill him if they cost more. Ivan ordered more tools and paid the bill "by sending handmade baskets which Plumb’s Cashier Elsie Hoffman obligingly sold to friends." He then asked for sheets and pillowcases which Elsie provided in exchange for more baskets. The orders and correspondence continued until at least the date of the magazine article.

So, Elsie Hoffman was not just collecting items for herself but was also selling them to people she knew. Which perfectly explains why she received the letter.

The sender of the letter

The return address on the back says:
From
Mr Ivan E Christian
Pitcairn Island

Ivan E. Christian was born in May 1919 and is a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. Besides sellling curios, Ivan was later the magistrate of Pitcairn Island from 1975 to 1984. He died in 1991. He is easily "googleable" if you want more information.

Sources

The sources for Carl and Elsie Hoffman and families are the usual birth, marriage, and death records, along with findagrave and the Philadelphia City Directory.

The Information about Pitcairn Island came from:
History of Pitcairn Island, at Pacific Union College, Pitcairn Islands Study Center.
The Time magazine article "Business: Bounty Barter", Time, March 20, 1950.

David H Edwards of Altoona, Pennsylvania

2024-09-13T00:00:00-04:00

David H Edwards of Altoona, Pennsylvania, was born May 28, 1843, in Bedford County.¹ On October 21, 1866, he married Maria Hamilton, presumably in Wilmore Borough, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, since both of them were "of Wilmore Borough" at the time. ² Their first child, Frances Gertrude, was born in October 1869 in Connemaugh Township, Cambria County.³ ^,⁴ Shortly after that David and family moved to Altoona where he remained until his death in 1915.³

His Stepsisters

David Edwards' obituary mentioned two stepsisters among his survivors: Mrs Ida Walker of Pittsburg and Mrs Katie Smay of Johnstown.

Ida Hess Walker died April 21, 1935, in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County. Her death record said that her parents were John Hess and Florinda Ellis, both born in Pennsylvania. ⁵ But when Ida Hess married Joseph William Walker on May 17, 1887, in Clarion County, she said father's name was George, not John. Her mother's name on that record was Florinda Hess. ⁶

Mrs Katie E Smay died 25 April 1937, at Torrance State Hospital, Derry, Westmoreland County. Her residence was in Wilmore. The record says that her parents were George Hess and Farinda Ellis.⁷

Catherina Hess, age 10, and Ida Hess, age 7, were living in the household of Florinda Hess, widow, in Wilmore Post Office, Summerhill Township in 1870.⁸ Florinda and George Hess were in Summerhill Township in 1860 with the older children in the family.⁹

Mrs Florinda Hess died September 27, 1907 at 519 Maple Ave, Johnstown, age 81 years and 7 days. Her parents were listed as Enos Ellis and Elizabeth Parsons. The informant was Mrs Henry C Smay, of Johnstown.¹⁰

So the step-sisters mentioned in David Edwards' obituary were Catherine (Hess) Smay and Ida (Hess) Walker, daughters of George Hess and Florinda Ellis.

Was Florinda Ellis the mother of David Edwards?

David's death certificate said that his mother's name was Florinda Ellis. (His father's name was not known.)¹¹ Is this correct?

In 1850 "Herinda" Ellis, age 23, is in Summerhill, Cambria County, in the household of Enos and Ruth Ellis. Also in that household were children Mary age 15, Enos 6, Naomi 4, and Hannah 2. Records show that Ruth A Ellis filed for a mother's pension for her son Enos' Civil War service.¹² So Florinda's mother, Elizabeth Parsons, must have died before 1844. (A tree on ancestry.com says that Elizabeth was also Mary's mother, and that both Florinda and Mary were born in Bedford County.)

Since Florinda Ellis was still unmarried in 1850, she couldn't be the mother of David Edwards, who was born in 1843.

His adoptive parents

In 1860, David Edwards, age 16, was living in Wilmore Post Office, Summerhill Township, in the household of John L and Sarah A Hess. ¹³ George and Florinda Hess were on the next page, in Summerhill Post Office. The will of John L Hess, probated 1 November 1892, says that on the death of his wife, whatever is left of his estate is to be divided between his two adopted children namely David H Edwards and Emma Hammers.¹⁴

Sarah A Hess' will, dated 10 September 1895, includes similar language, stating that her home and lot should be sold and the proceeds, less $50 for her headstone, should be "divided between my two adopted children Emma Hammers and David H Edwards, share and share alike."¹⁵

So David Edwards' adoptive parents were John L and Sarah A Hess.

Note: The familysearch.org tree and some public trees at ancestry say that George and John L Hess were brothers.

His obituary and death certificate revisited

So why does David's death certificate say that his mother was named Florinda Ellis and he had two stepsisters, Katie Smay and Ida Walker? Possibly because John and Sarah Hess had no children of their own and David grew up with George and Florinda's children.

Who were David Edwards' birth parents?

David's obituary said he was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Not so coincidentally, John and Sarah Hess were living in St Clair Township, Bedford County in 1850.¹⁶ There are a number of Edwards families in Bedford County in 1840 and 1850 but only one in St Clair Township, namely Amos Edwards and his children. But Amos' will names all his sons, and none of them are named David.¹⁷ Of those sons, none had a son named David.

So at this point we don't know who David Edwards' birth parents were. I wonder if he did.

Or just maybe …

Or just maybe Florinda Ellis was the mother of David Edwards before she was married, and an unnamed Edwards man was the father. Her family was from St Clair Township also.¹⁸ But then why wasn't he raised as an Ellis and why isn't he in Enos Ellis' household in 1850? That is the way things often happened if an older daughter of a family had a child before marriage. Finding David in the 1850 Census would be very helpful, but I haven't been able to. He is not David H Edwards, son of Joseph and Elizabeth, in Hopewell, Huntingdon County. That man is accounted for.

Conclusion

For more about David Edwards and some of his children see the Pennsylvania Families tree on this site.

Footnotes

¹ Altoona Tribune, October 16, 1915, page 16, Obituary of David H Edwards.

² Ebensburg Democrat and Sentinel, November 1, 1866, page 3, marriage announcement of David Edwards and Maria Hamilton.

³ 1870 Census, Ward 5, Altoona, Pennsylvania, dwelling 56, family 60, David Edwards household.

⁴ Pennsylvania Death Records, Frances Gertrude Edwards, April 3, 1954, Blair County, #29606.

⁵ Pennsylvania Death Records, Ida Hess Walker, April 21, 1935, Allegheny County, #35686.

⁶ Marriage License Docket No. 2., Clarion County, Pennsylvania, page 62, May 17, 1887, Joseph William Walker and Ida Hess.

⁷ Pennsylvania Death Certificate, Kate E Smay, April 25, 1937, Westmoreland County, #45561.

⁸ 1870 Census, Summerhill, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, page 4, dwelling 64, family 59.

⁹ 1860 Census Summerhill, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, page 347, ancestry.com says dwelling 2577, family 2609.

¹⁰ Pennsylvania Death Certificate, Mrs Florinda Hess, September 27, 1907, Cambria County, #88269.

¹¹ Pennsylvania Death Certificate, David H Edwards, October 15, 1915, Blair County, #92855

¹² Civil War Pension Index, Enos Ellis, filed October 17, 1878, application #239752.

¹³ 1860 Census Summerhill, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, page 348, Post Office: Wilmore, dwelling 2583, family 2615.

¹⁴ Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com, Will of John L Hess, Cambria County, probated November 1, 1892.

¹⁵ Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com, Will of Sarah A Hess, Cambria County, probated November 27, 1895

¹⁶ 1850 Census, St Clair, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, dwelling 175, family 176, John Hess household.

¹⁷ Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com, Will of Amos Edwards, Bedford County, probated January 30, 1873.

¹⁸ 1840 Census, St Clair, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, page 3, Enos Ellis household.

George Allabaugh of Crawford Township, Coshocton County, Ohio

2023-08-05T00:00:00-04:00

George Allabaugh and his son-in-law John Dial, arrived in Crawford Township, in time to be on the tax rolls in 1827 and are listed one after the other on the 1830 census. George's household held himself and his wife, both between age 60 and 70. John's included himself and his wife, age 20 to 30, and two sons under 5 years old.

For more on John Dial, see John Dial of Crawford Township, Coschocton County, Ohio.

The two man are listed next to each other on the 1840 census as well. This time George Allabaugh's home includes a 10 to 15 year old male, George age 60 to 70, and his wife age 70 to 80. John Dial's family is "short" one male compared to 1830. He has only one son age 10 to 15 where you would expect two, based on the 1830 enumeration. I know that both of John's older sons lived to be adults, so it would seem that George Allabaugh and his wife had taken in one of John's sons.

Neither George Allabaugh nor John Dial are on the 1850 Census. Instead we find one household headed by John's second-oldest son Thomas, age 23, and including his sister Eliza, age 18, and his brother Evans, 16. Next door is Maria Dyal, 48, with two children Maria, age 9, and Harrison, 6. Maria has no occupation but holds real estate worth $2000; Thomas is a farmer with no real estate. It looks like Thomas was farming his mother's land--the farm that had been his father's.

Those three censuses confirm, in my mind at least, the "rumor" on familysearch and ancestry.com that John Dial's wife's name was Maria Allabaugh. What the rumor did not include was the identity of Maria's parents, who look to all accounts to be George Allabaugh and his wife. I haven't yet learned the name of George's wife.

And before that ...

... where was George Allabaugh?

European settlers in the United States generally moved from East to West, so the logical place to look for him was somewhere east of Ohio. Also, John Dial's oldest son, George, usually said on his censuses that he had been born in Pennsylvania. (This matters if we are correct in concluding that John Dial's wife was Maria Allabaugh, since they must have met before arriving in Ohio if the families were traveling together.) Looking in Pennsylvania, I found this household in Cross Creek Township, Washington County, in 1820:

George Allabaugh
1 male 45 and over
1 female 16 to 25
1 female 45 and over
1 person engaged in agriculture

If that isn't George and his wife, then I don't know who is, since I didn't find a match anywhere else. That also agrees with this bit of information from the History of Coshocton County, Ohio, 1740-1881 (Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & Co, 1881), page 487:

"Beginning about 1832, quite a number of settlers from Washington county, Pennsylvania, poured into this and the adjoining township in Tuscarawas county."

Farther East

Backing up and looking farther east, I found this family in Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1800 and 1810:

1800
George Allibaugh
1 male under 10
1 male 26 to 44
1 female 26 to 44

1810
Geo Allabaugh
1 male 26 to 44
1 female 0 to 9
1 female 45 or older

If that is George, then he and his wife had at least two children before Maria. Either they died before 1810 or, more likely in the daughter's case than the son's, had married and moved out of the household.

Coventry Township puts George about 15 miles away from Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, home of the immigrant ancestor Christian Allebach, who died in 1746. A transcription of Christian Allebach's estate papers is online at Christian Allebach's estate papers. They name five sons: Christian, David, Peter, John, and Abraham. Various online sources have lists of the sons of those men, but none are named George.

Somebody's Son

Still, I think "our" George Allabaugh is a grandson of Christian Allebach. The lists might be incomplete--I didn't find the original sources. Or possibly George Allabaugh went by his baptismal name rather than his given name, or vice versa, and the lists include him under the other name. (German custom was for a child to be given a baptismal name in addition to his or her given name. A family could actually use the same baptismal name for a number of children, resulting in sons named John George, John William, etc.)

Note that there were Albaugh or Ahlbach families in Maryland about this time as well. I don't think George Allabaugh was part of that family. They seemed to have kept the spelling of the name closer to the original German, not including a vowel after the "l", and often preserving the "ch" at the end of the name. And I looked in Maryland for George Allabaugh and didn't find him there.

For further research

The following resources, which I did not have access to, might provide more information on George Allabaugh:

John Alleback, son of the first Christian, died November 6, 1790. His will is in the Charlestown, Chester County, PA, Estate Files at ancestry.com. George could be named in the will.
Updated August 5, 2023: John died intestate and the record in probate dated 18 March 1794 says he was survived by a widow Mary and seven children. It does not name the children.
The book Pennsylvania births, Chester County, 1682-1800, by John T Humphrey, is said to include baptisms at the Brownbacks German Reformed Church in Coventry Township. George Allabaugh's children could be named there, or possibly even George himself.

Sources

George Allibaugh, 1800 Census of Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

George Allabaugh, 1810 Census of Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

George Allabaugh, 1820 Census of Cross Creek Township, Washington County, Ohio.

George Allabaugh and John Doyle, 1830 Census of Crawford Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.
George Allabaugh and John Dial, 1840 Census of Crawford Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.

Thomas Dial and Maria Dial, 1850 Census of Crawford Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.

Taxable property in Crawford Township, 1827, 1828

tagged: genealogy

Elizabeth Boyd of Edendoit, County Tyrone, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2019-09-05T00:00:00-04:00

1908 postcard, Lizzie Boyd to William Boyd

On July 21, 1908, a postcard was sent to William Boyd of Edendoit, Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Ireland, from his daughter Elizabeth in Philadelphia. It read:

Dear Father,
I hope this will find you all well at home as we are all here. We were all in Joe's on last Sunday and had a very nice day and thought of you all. Love to all.
From your loving daughter,
Elizabeth

What can we learn about Elizabeth "Lizzie" Boyd and her family?

The Emigrants

Let's start with Lizzie's voyage to America. She left Londonderry, Ireland, early in March 1907 aboard the SS Furnessia with her older brother Thomas, and arrived in New York on March 13, 1907. Their destination was their brother Joseph's home at 1911 Annin Street, Philadelphia. (Joseph had arrived with his sister Mary Jane "Minnie" Boyd in April 1906, headed for the home of their uncle, Robert Carrick, on Old York Road, Philadelphia.) Eventually all of the eight Boyd children emigrated to Philadelphia between 1906 and 1923.

I didn't find Elizabeth Boyd in the 1910 census, but I'm pretty sure that in 1920 she was working as a servant in the Elmer Glendwinning household in Philadelphia. She married Charles Burst about 1921 and had two children. She died in 1984.

Here is quick look at the other children, all in the Philadelphia area:

Thomas died November 22, 1967. I don't know if he married or not.
Joseph Boyd and Sarah Greeley had three children before Sarah's death in 1923. Joseph, with three children under 11, married Hannah Naye two years later. Joseph, Sarah and Hannah are all buried in Northwood Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Mary Jane Boyd married John Crozier in early 1910 and raised a family of three in Philadelphia.
Robert arrived last, in 1923, eventually married a woman named Annie, and died in May 1985.
I found the least information about George. He died sometime after he registered for the draft in 1942.
Eleanor and Florence never married and both died in the Philadelphia area in 1987.

The Boyds

Meanwhile back in Ireland, the 1911 Census shows us William Boyd, age 62, and his wife Sarah Carrick, 60, occupying house 22 in Edendoit, Pomeroy Parish, Tyrone. With them are three children: Robert, George, and Florence. The Boyds had been in Edendoit since 1891, previously living in Creeve Townland, also in County Tyrone.

William's father, Thomas, may have been in Moree Townland before that, from at least 1860 (Griffith's Valuation) to 1868, at which point he appears to have moved to Creeve. At his death in 1876 the farm in Creeve passes to a Mary Boyd, possibly his wife, who held it until 1891, when the family moved to Edendoit. Even earlier, there is a William Boyd in Moree on the Tithe Applotment Lists, taken in 1825, who may be Thomas's father.

The Carricks

Sarah Carrick was born about 1861, likely in Drumconor Townland, County Tyrone, the oldest known daughter of Charles Carrick and Mary Jane Twinam. Her siblings include Robert as mentioned above, William John (b 1860), Mary Jane (b February 1863),(footnote)All the information on this site about Elizabeth Carrick came from the Little Web Site at myheritage.com, as well as from corresponding information at familysearch.org, provided by the same researcher. an unnamed son (b 1864), Elizabeth (b April 1866), and an earlier Robert (b 1868, d 1869).

The Carricks had been in Drumconor since at least 1860 when Charles' father William is listed on Griffith's Valuation. But I didn't find them there on the Tithe Applotment Lists, which were taken in Drumconor in 1825. When William died in 1867, his wife Mary Jane took over the farm; it passed to their son William John at her death in 1882.

I've requested the marriage record of Mary Jane Twinam and Charles Carrick (February 21, 1856, Seagoe Parish) from the GRO. When I receive it, I will update this article. I hope to track the Twinam family back a little farther.

Updated January 2019

The marriage record of Charles Carrick and Mary Jane Twinam reads as follows:

Marriage solemnized at the parish church in the Parish of Seagoe, County Armagh
21 February 1856
Charles Carrick, 25, bachelor, farmer, residence: Drumconnor Townland, of Desertcrate [Desertcreat] Diocese of Armagh. father: William Carrick, a farmer.
Mary Twinam, 22, spinster, farmer, residence: Lylo Townland of Seagoe. father: Leonard Twinam, a farmer.
witnesses: William Ward, John Walker

Which tells us a few things. First, that the Carricks were in Drumconor Townland in 1856, but more importantly, that Mary Jane Twinam's family was from Lylo Townland.

There were two men named Leonard Twinain on the Tithe Applotment Books of Armagh, taken in 1834:

Twinain, Leonard - Townland: Knocknamenagh
Twinain, Leond. - Townland: Lylo

Based on the marriage record, Mary Jane's father is the one in Lylo.

To trace back the family any further, a person would need to look at the parish records for the Church of Ireland in Seagoe Parish for baptism records of Mary Jane and her siblings, a marriage record for her parents, etc. These parish records are available for research at PRONI in Belfast. One reference says there is a limited coverage of these records on rootsireland.ie.

Conclusion

This was the first postal cover I've worked on that was sent from America back to Ireland, usually it is the other way around. That made it much easier, obviously, to find the place of origin for the Boyds. Detailed sources and more information on the Boyds and Carricks are in the Other Families tree on this site.

Arthur Hannigan of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2019-09-03T00:00:00-04:00

In 1943, Mr Arthur Hannigan of 3615 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received a letter from from Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland.(footnote)The envelope sent to Arthur Hannigan was once found on the Jim Forte Postal History. I am not connected with that site. Does the Hannigan family have roots in County Waterford?

The Hannigans of Tipperary, Waterford, and Philadelphia

When I first saw this cover on the Jim Forte website, I decided not to write an article about it because it was too easy. But I owed myself an easy job after the last postal cover, Mary Belle Lemon, Clermont County, Ohio, so here it is.

The 1940 Census of Philadelphia shows an Arthur Hannigan at 3615 North 11th Street, the address on the envelope. He was a 50 year old carpenter born in Maryland. Also in the household was John Hannigan, 58. Arthur was renting a unit in his house to a Thomas E Quigley.

These three men can be found in the 1910 household of John Hannigan at 3640 Percy Street, Philadelphia. John was a carpenter age 50. He and his wife Anna were born in Ireland. Their family included two children born in Ireland: Mary, age 16, and Joseph 12.

Looking at the Irish Civil Birth Registers we find Mary Agnes Hannigan born August 10, 1893, in Old Pike, Dungarvan Registration District, County Waterford. Joseph was born June 19, 1897, in Garranbane, also Co. Waterford. Their parents were John Hannigan, a carpenter, and Anna Hannigan, formerly Terry. As a bonus we get the name of Anna's sister, Bridget Terry, the informant for both births and identified as the aunt of Joseph.

David Kelley's Family Tree at ancestry.com informs us that Arthur's father, John Hannigan, was born December 26, 1859, in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, and was married on May 5, 1879, in Waterford. John's father Jeremiah died in Dungarvan, Waterford, in August of that year.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly there are other records that would cement this trace-back more solidly, but I think we've found enough to say that Arthur Hannigan's family was from Waterford. The only question left is who sent him the letter? The return address might be on the back of the envelope, but we might never know for sure, because it has been sold since I first saw it. But someone in Dungarvan probably knows.

Evaline B Jeralds of Yalesville, Connecticut

2019-09-03T00:00:00-04:00

1882 postal cover from Wilmore, Pennsylvania, to Miss E B Jeralds, Yalesville, Connecticut

In September 1882, Miss E B Jeralds of Yalesville, Connecticut, received a letter from someone in Wilmore, Pennsylvania. What can we find out about Miss Jeralds and her correspondent in Wilmore?

This postal cover interested me because my grandfather was born in Wilmore, his grandfather having settled there about 1850. Unfortunately, that wasn't much help with identifying the sender, as we shall see.

Evaline B Jeralds

I am pretty sure that the recipient of the letter was Eva Jeralds, who in 1880 at the age of 17, was living in Yalesville, a section of Wallingford, Connecticut, with her parents Isaac and Ellen. She is listed as "Evaline B" on later censuses. Her uncle Bennett Jeralds was part owner of a company in Yalesville that manufactured Britannia spoons, and her father Isaac evidently worked for the company. He was listed as "spoon maker" in contrast to Bennett's "spoon manufacturer" on the censuses, but had real estate worth a few thousand dollars, so I don't think he was a common laborer in the factory.

From various biographical histories I learned that Isaac's father was Ransom Jeralds, possibly a native of Cheshire, Connecticut, who moved to and died in Wallingford. Ransom's father was "a seafaring man [who] lost his life on the water." No one seemed to know that man's name or origin.

Evaline Jeralds never married. From 1900 to at least 1940 she lived in Bethlehem, Connecticut, on her cousin Dwight Baldwin's farm. In the same household were her sister Edith and later her brother Frank. Evaline died April 1, 1943, in Bethlehem.

Who sent the letter?

Basically, I haven't a clue. I looked at two people in Cambria County who were born in Connecticut, but I didn't find a connection between either one and Eva Jeralds. The first was Lizzie (Rist) Friedhoff, who lived in Ebensburg, but the Rists were from New Haven City, not Wallingford. The second was Bridget (Kelly) Watts, born in Connecticut to an Irish mother. She lived in Gallitzin, but I found no trace of her at all in Connecticut.

I would say Lizzie Rist was the more likely of the two, since Ebensburg is closer to Wilmore than Gallitzin is. But the sender of the letter could just as easily be someone else completely.

Conclusion

Well, I was halfway successful with this postal cover—at least I found the recipient. And I enjoyed working on a letter that was postmarked in Wilmore. My great grandmother's brother Morris Kiel was postmaster of Wilmore from April 2, 1861, to September 26, 1864. He was succceeded by my great great grandfather, James Hamilton. But by 1882, when the letter to Evaline Jeralds was mailed, the Hamiltons and Kiels had cleared out, so they didn't postmark it. I don't know who did.

A quick update. The postmaster at the time was Henry W Plotner, who served from 1876 to 1885.

James and Jennie Patterson of Washington County, Pennsylvania

2019-09-03T00:00:00-04:00

1912 postcard, South Euclid, Ohio, to Washington County, Pa

On August 9, 1912, Miss J L Patterson, of Washington County, Pennsylvania, received a post card from her brother Jim postmarked South Euclid, Ohio. The message read:

Dear Sister: Received yours of 29th and also Lillian's of 4th the same day but will not attempt to answer her tonight. Tell Burt to hold on to that piano and be able to play for me when I come home next time. All of me is getting along find don't you worry. Tell mamma to be careful of that eating. Say hello to Aunt Lizzie for me. How does the home take with the boys? Love to all, your loving bro. Jim.

Can we find out anything about Jim and his sister?

Lately with the postal cover articles, I’ve been tracing back people of Irish descent to the county their family came from in Ireland. But this time I thought I would try something different, and the South Euclid postmark caught my eye, since I grew up in a neighboring suburb.

James M Patterson

James was born June 1, 1890, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, the son of J Leman Patterson and Mary McElroy. He is living with them in Hopewell Township at the time of the 1910 Census, along with his older sister Jennie, six younger brothers and sisters, including Robert, and his aunt Lizzie McElroy. He must have left home soon after that, since the postcard was mailed in 1912. I didn’t find him in the Cleveland City Directories for that time period, but he is listed as follows in the American agriculturist farm directory Washington County, Pennsylvania, published in 1915:

Patterson, James M. machinist bds J. L. Patterson rd9 Washington H31 BT.

So, I wonder if he had been in Cleveland earlier for school or to work?

back of postcard

I first found James in the Cleveland records in June 1917 when he registered for the draft, living at 2740 Euclid Avenue. He was working as a salesman for M & M Company at 500 Prospect. They sold automobile radiators, doors, and probably etc.

On November 24, 1920, James Patterson married Ethel M Dawson, the daughter of Arthur and Mary (Millar) Dawson. She was living at home in Mayfield Township and teaching school in January of that year, but gave her occupation and residence as “clerk, South Euclid”, on the marriage license application. Ethel was a teacher most of her life. I found references to her in the Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram in 1927, 1932, and 1938, one of them saying that she was a home economics teacher at Ridgeville Township School.

James Patterson died on September 3, 1972, while living in Fairview Park and is buried in Knollwood Cemetery in Mayfield Heights. His wife Ethel died on December 11, 1990 and is also buried there. They had no children.

Jennie L (Patterson) Knox

James’ sister Jennie was born February 16, 1887. In a biography of her father published in 1910 she is described as a “popular teacher.” She was still teaching in 1930 and was living at home with her family.

On December 27, 1932, Jennie and Harry Knox, 52, also of Washington County, applied for a marriage license. They must have gone through with it as they are found as husband and wife on the 1940 Census of Buffalo Township, Washington County. Harry was farming and Jennie had stopped teaching.

Jennie L (Patterson) Knox died in 1968 and is buried in North Buffalo Presbyterian Cemetery along with her husband. They did not have children either.

Conclusion

I enjoyed doing something different this time with the postcard and look forward to a few more: one from Rockland, Rhode Island, and one from Wilmore, Pennsylvania, my grandfather’s birthplace.

From other people’s research at myheritage.com, it seems that the Pattersons and McElroys had been in Pennsylvania for a long while.

1856 map Hopewell Township(footnote)The 1856 Map of Hopewell Township comes from ancestortracks.com.

There is a map of Hopewell Township in 1856 that has two Patterson farms marked on it. One might be James M Patterson’s grandfather. The immigrant ancestor, James Patterson, is said to have been born in County Down, Ireland, in 1777, and James McElroy in Armagh, in 1738. So I guess I was working with Irish descendants after all.

Sources:

1900 Census Hopewell Township, West Middletown Borough, Pennsylvania
1910 Census Hopewell Township, Washington, Pennsylvania
1920 Census Mayfield Township, Cuyahoga County
1930 Census Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania
United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013
newspaperarchive.com, free OCR rendering.
Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007
Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950
Cleveland Necrology File and News Index
findagrave.com
Automotive Industries, Volume 31, Chilton Company, 1914
American agriculturist farm directory Washington County, Pennsylvania : a rural directory and reference book, including a road map of Washington County, 1915, New York, Orange Judd Co.
20th Century History Of The City of Washington and Washington County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens, by Joseph F. McFarland, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1910

William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees

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Below are brief family trees for William Arlidge of Deddington, Oxfordshire, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and his son Samuel Arlidge of Deddington, and of Lower Heyford and Weedon, Northamptonshire. The information came mainly from censuses and parish registers. The family name is poorly indexed in the US censuses on familysearch.org and ancestry.com.

I am not related to this family. For how I became interested in them see the articles William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania and Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

William Arlidge (c 1795, England - after 1880)
+ Lucy Bennett (1788 - bur 19 June 1822, Deddington)
1. Samuel Arlidge (bap 11 May 1818, Deddington - bur 25 Mar 1892, Nether Heyford)
  - see below
2. Lucy Arlidge (baptized 26 Dec 1819 - )
  + Benjamin Arlidge
3. Thomas Arlidge (1822 - bur 8 Sep 1822)

William Arlidge (c 1795, England - after 1880)
+ Elizabeth Gregory (c 1794, England - after 1850)
1. Charlotte Arlidge (bap 30 May 1824, Deddington - after 1841)
  - 1841: with family in Oxfordshire
2. Ann Arlidge (bap 11 Mar 1825, Deddington, Oxfordshire - after 1841)
  - 1841: with family in Oxfordshire
3. Elizabeth Arlidge (bap 11 Apr 1830, Deddington, Oxford - after 1870)
  - 1860: Census, McClure, Allegheny County, seamstress
  - 1870: Census, Ward 2, Allegheny City, dress maker
4. Mary Arlidge (8 Jul 1832?, Oxfordshire - 24 Jan 1905, Pennsylvania)
  - bap 20 Apr 1835, Deddington
  + Theodore Wilson
5. Hannah Arlidge (bap 20 Apr 1835, Deddington, Oxfordshire - 19 June 1909, Pittsburgh)

Samuel Arlidge (c 1818, Deddington - bur 19 June 1892, Nether Heyford)
+ Rhoda Billing (1818, Heyford, Northampton - after 1891)
1. Hannah Arlidge (c 1837, Heyford, Northampton - )
2. Lucy Arlidge (c 1840, Lower Heyford - )
3. Sarah Arlidge (c 1843, Lower Heyford - )
4. William Arlidge (c 1848, Lower Heyford - )
5. Comfort Arlidge (1850, Lower Heyford - )
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon
6. Thomas Arlidge (c 1852, Heyford, Northampton - )
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon
7. Samuel Arlidge (c 1855, Heyford, Northampton - )
  - baptized 1 Dec 1866, Weedon
8. Joseph Albert Arlidge (4th Qtr 1862 - bur 7 July 1870, Weedon)
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon

Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England

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1870 Letter, Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, PA, back

On July 18, 1870, a letter edged in black was mailed from Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, Pennsylvania. A handwritten note on the back says that it was received in Pennsylvania on August 4, 1870. Who sent this letter, and what news did it probably contain?

As noted in the last article, William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania, the baptism records of two of William Arlidge's daughters recorded his residence as the Brick Kiln or Brick Yard in Deddington, England. While looking for William, I found a short autobiography of a Samuel Arlidge, organ builder, who was born in Deddington and brought up at the brickyard there. In 1842 he left for the United States and spent some time in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He returned to England in 1847.(footnote)You can find the complete autobiography in the PDF at The Tracker, Journal of the Organ Historical Society, Inc., Volume 21, Number 1, Fall 1976, page 15, or in The Organist and Choirmaster, Volume 4, Number 42, October 15, 1896 at Google Books.

This information matched that of William so closely that I felt they must be related. I decided to learn more about Samuel. It turned out that Samuel was William's son from his first marriage.

Samuel Arlidge

Samuel Arlidge was baptized 11 May 1818 in Deddington parish, the son of William and Lucy (Bennett) Arlidge. On 25 Dec 1836, he married Rhoda Billing in Heyford, Northamptonshire. In 1841 Samuel, Rhoda, and two daughters, Hannah and Lucy, were living in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. And in 1851 they were in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, with children Lucy, Sarah, William, and Comfort.

At this point I should point out that Samuel's autobiography was signed "Samuel Arlidge, husband of Rhoder Arlidge" and was written in 1855. The typescript copy I had access to said he was from Lower "Flyford", Northamptonshire. I suspect this was an error in transcribing "Heyford." So the place and the name of his wife match the Samuel Arlidge on the 1851 Census listed above.

The only step remaining to identify Samuel as the sender of the letter was to put him in Weedon in 1870: He and his family, including a son Thomas and grand daughter Lucy Faulkner, are found in a cottage in Weedon on the 1871 census of Daventry, Northamptonshire.

The Letter

The postal cover was $25 to purchase, and I almost would have been tempted to spend the money if there was a letter enclosed. But the owner of the site (see the credits below) informed me in the past that the accompanying information would have mentioned a letter if there was one. Still, I think we can make an educated guess as to its contents:

Joseph Albert Arlidge was born in the fourth quarter of 1862 in Northampton Union, his mother's maiden name being Billing. He was baptized 29 May 1868 in the parish of Weedon Bec, the same day as his sister Comfort. Their parents were Samuel, an organ maker, and Rhoda. They lived in Weedon. On 7 July 1870, Joseph Arlidge, age 7, was buried from the same parish.

The letter to Pennsylvania was mailed 11 days later. So sadly, William Arlidge learned of the death of his grandson Joseph Albert via this letter. Hopefully this article will tie up a few loose ends of the Arlidge family history, especially if someone is wondering what happened to William Arlidge of Deddington.

There is a brief family tree for William and Samuel Arlidge at William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees.

Sources

Censuses of England
Church of England Parish Registers, Deddington and Weedon Bec
The Tracker, Journal of the Organ Historical Society
General Records Office of England and Wales, website.
Google Books

Credits

The image of the envelope sent from Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, Pennsylvania, is from Jim Forte's Postal History site and is used with his permission. It was for sale at the time of this writing. I am not connected with that site in any way.

William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania

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1870 Letter, Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, PA

On August 4, 1870, Mr William Arlidge of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, received a letter edged in black from Weedon, Northamptonshire, England. Who sent William this letter, and what sad news prompted its sending?

William Arlidge

The 1870 US Census finds William Arlidge and his daughter Hannah in Ward 2, New Brighton, Pennsylvania. William was a male citizen, age 70, who was born in England and worked as a clock repairer. Hannah's age was given as 25, though she was actually 10 years older, as we shall see. She also was born in England. The date on the census sheet was June 30, 1870, not long before the letter William received was mailed.(footnote)For the date and place of mailing, see the next article, Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

The Arlidges had moved to New Brighton sometime after 1867 or so, since William is listed in the Pittsburgh City Directories through 1868 as a clock maker in Allegheny City.(footnote)Allegheny City, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was annexed by its neighbor, Pittsburgh, in 1907.

William Arlidge, clockmaker, Benton Ave, Allegheny City,
1868 Pittsburgh City Directory

The 1850 Census of Allegheny City provided the names of other members of the Arlidge family. William, age 57, is joined by his wife, Elizabeth, age 56, and daughters Elizabeth (21), Mary (18), and Anna or Hannah (16). All were born in England.

This gave me enough information to find the Arlidges in England in 1841, in Barford St Michael, Oxfordshire. William was a pot maker, age 40. His wife Elizabeth and daughters Charlotte (15), Ann (15), Elizabeth (11), Mary (7), and Hannah (5) complete the household. All the daughters were born in Oxfordshire, but William and Elizabeth were born outside the county.

Images of the Church of England parish registers for Oxfordshire were available at ancestry.com, and provided a wealth of information about William and his family. He and Elizabeth Gregory were married 28 January 1823 in the parish and all the children's baptisms were recorded there as well. William was a widower when he married Elizabeth–his earlier marriage to Lucy Bennett was on 17 April 1817. The marriage register noted that parental consent had been given, evidently for William, since Lucy's burial record (19 June 1822), said she was 33 when she died.

There is a brief family tree for William at William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees.

Where next?

All well and good so far, you say. We have William Arlidge traced back to within 30 miles of Weedon, Northamptonshire, where the letter originated, but who sent it and why?

One clue in William's records that will lead us to the answer is his residence at the time of Charlotte and Ann's baptisms. On Charlotte's record it said her parents were living at the Brick Kiln, Deddington. On Ann's record "Brick Yard" was crossed out, leaving just "Deddington." Keep that in mind as we continue to the next article: Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

Sources

US Federal Censuses
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, City Directories 1876 Weyand and Reed's Beaver County Centennial Directory
1841 Census of England
Church of England parish registers for Oxfordshire, England.

Credits