Saturday, October 27, 2012

Today in Family History - 27 Oct

My 2nd great-grandmother Clara Ann Clarke (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1863 in Columbus, Muscogee, Georgia [1, 2, 3].

References
[1] B. F. Baldwin, Jr. Bible. Owned by Benjamin Franklin Baldwin. Jr. and Clara Ann Clarke. "Memoranda" page.
[2] Walker County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 2, North Walker County, Walker County Genealogical Society, Huntsville, TX, 2004. Page 96, McAdams Cemetery.
[3] Death Records of Harris County, Texas. Death certificate for Clara Ann Clarke.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Today in Family History - 25 Oct

My 4th great-grandmother Tabitha Ford (Baldwin line) died on this day in 1865 in Montgomery County, Texas [1]. She was buried at Womack Cemetery in Montgomery County, Texas [1].

My 5th great-grandfather Jeremiah Coleman, Jr. (Erickson line) died on this day in 1777 in Morristown, New Jersey [2]. The location of his grave is not known. Jeremiah died of small pox in camp during the American Revolution. He is only one of two direct ancestors I know of that died while serving in the military.

References
[1] Montgomery County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 4, Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, 1981. Page 68, Womack Cemetery.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Today in Family History - 24 Oct

My 4th great-grandmother Menje Jans (Thompson line) died on this day in 1843 in Westeremden (Stedum), Groningen, Netherlands [1]. The location of her grave is not known.

References
[1] Death Records of Stedum, Netherlands. Record No. 41 (for 1843).

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Today in Family History - 23 Oct

My 4th great-grandparents Steven Derks van der Klok and Menje Jans (Thompson line) were married on this day in 1806 in Westeremden (Stedum), Groningen, Netherlands [1].

References
[1] Marriage Records of Westeremden, Netherlands. Baptism and marriage book 1732-1811, page 45.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Today in Family History - 21 Oct

My 2nd great-grandfather David Wilmot Covell, Sr. (Erickson line) was born on this day in 1851 in Ridgebury, Bradford, Pennsylvania [1, 2].

References
[1] Death Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Death certificate for David Wilmot Covell, Sr.; Book 4, Page 122.
[2] Marriage Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Marriage license for David Wilmot Covell, Sr. and Emma E. Hobler; Book 2, Page 74.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Today in Family History - 18 Oct

My grandfather Clark Minard Thompson died on this day in 1988 at Heartland Health Care Center of West Houston in Houston, Harris, Texas [1, 2]. He was buried at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston, Harris, Texas [1, 2].

References
[1] Death Records of the City of Houston, Texas. Death certificate for Clark Minard Thompson.
[2] Unknown Newspaper. Obituary for Clark Minard Thompson.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Today in Family History - 17 Oct

My 3rd great-grandfather Tiete van der Klok (Thompson line) was born on this day in 1821 in Westeremden (Stedum), Groningen, Netherlands [1].

My 5th great-grandfather Peter Guerrant, Jr. (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1737 in Manakin, Goochland, Virginia [2].

References
[1] Birth Records of Stedum, Netherlands. Record No. 43 (for 1821). Transcription
[2] The Huguenot, No. 5, The Huguenot Society, 1931. Page 89.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Today in Family History - 13 Oct

My 4th great-grandfather Jeremiah Worsham (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1788 in North Carolina [1]. This date is taken from the cemetery record. The Bible transcription states his date of birth as 10 Oct 1788 [2].

References
[1] Maxwell, John R., Grimes County Cemeteries Book Two, Second Edition, 2001. Page 20, Bays Chapel Cemetery.
[2] Jeremiah Worsham Family Bible. Transcription of family record.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Paul Thompson Family Photograph

This is another photocopy of a photograph of the Paul Thompson family from circa 1904.
Back row: Emma Julia Christina, Austin William, Esther Lauretta,
 and Edith Paulina Thompson
Front row: Paul Thompson, Alice Maria Thompson, Emma Christina Friedberg 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Today in Family History - 11 Oct

My grandmother Adda Wanda Anders was born on this day in 1924 in Huntsville, Walker, Texas [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Wanda's birth certificate was destroyed in a courthouse fire (imagine that). This explains the various birth-related affidavits, etc.

References
[1] Anders Family Bible. Owned by Roy Jacob Anders, Sr. and Georgia Effie Florene Pegoda. "Children's Names" page.
[2] Birth Records of Walker County, Texas. Certification of birth facts for Adda Wanda Anders (based on the Walker County School Census of 03 Mar 1933).
[3] Birth Records of Walker County, Texas. Affidavit to birth facts for Adda Wanda Anders.
[4] Death Records of Madison County, Texas. Death certificate for Adda Wanda Anders.
[5] The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, Texas. 06 Sep 1996; Page 3A; Obituary for Adda Wanda Anders.
[6] Birth Records of Walker County, Texas. Delayed birth certificate for Adda Wanda Anders.
[7] Unknown Newspaper. Obituary for Adda Wanda Anders, 11 Sep 1996.
[8] Pegoda Family Bible, (publication information could not be located in the Bible). "Births" page (grandchildren).

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Today in Family History - 10 Oct

My 3rd great-grandmother Elizabeth Coleman (Erickson line) died on this day in 1857 in Ridgebury, Bradford, Pennsylvania [1]. She was buried at Ashland Cemetery in Wellsburg, Chemung, New York [1].

References
[1] Tice, Joyce M., Tri-Counties Genealogy and History. Cemetery Record for Ashland Cemetery, Chemung County, Page 4 (Comstock to Dean).

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Today in Family History - 09 Oct

My 2nd great-grandfather Frank E. Erickson was born on this day in 1847 in Lindesberg, Örebro, Västmanland, Sweden [1, 2].

References
[1] Death Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Death certificate for Frank E. Erickson; Book 3, Page 359.
[2] Marriage Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Marriage license for Frank E. Erickson and Anna Christina Nelson; Book 2, Page 69.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Pegoda Ancestry Notes

I have previously posted briefly on our Pegoda family ancestry. While no new primary evidence has surfaced, I have had contact with others in the family in the United States and some potential relatives overseas. The general consensus seems to be that John Pegoda, Sr. (born circa 1822, died after 1900) was likely part of the Pogade family that originated in the mid-1700s from the area known today as Ruda, Poland. The family tree below was put together by Wolfgang Pogade who lives in Berlin, Germany. The best guess would be that John is a long lost son or nephew of Johann Gottlieb August Pogade, born 25 May 1794. Again, nothing is certain as the children of August cannot be traced in their entirety in Poland or Germany. This is general speculation based on family histories and geographical and temporal proximity. (Many thanks to Wolfgang for sharing and helping out!)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Today in Family History - 07 Oct

My 6th great-grandfather William Gilleland (Anders line) was born on this day in 1771 in Pennsylvania [1].

References
[1] Young, Patricia Gilleland and L. Richard Scroggins, The Tree and the Vine, Gilleland Branches from Texas Roots. Page 102.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Today in Family History - 06 Oct

My great-grandfather Roy Jacob Anders, Sr. was born on this day in 1898 in Huntsville, Walker, Texas [1, 2, 3, 4].

Note: Roy's birth place is specified as Huntsville, Walker, Texas on his birth certificate and Montgomery County, Texas on his death certificate. Based on Walker County tax records from 1891 through 1900, Roy's parents were living in Walker County. Therefore, Huntsville is assumed to be the correct birth place.

References
[1] Birth Records of Walker County, Texas. Birth certificate for Roy Jacob Anders, Sr. Front Back
[2] Anders Family Bible. Owned by Roy Jacob Anders, Sr. and Georgia Effie Florene Pegoda. "Family Register" page.
[3] Death Records of Harris County, Texas. Death certificate for Roy Jacob Anders, Sr.
[4] Walker County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 3, Walker County Genealogy Society, Huntsville, TX, 2007. Page 78, Adickes Addition to Oakwood Cemetery.

Friday, October 5, 2012

The Mystery of Jane (continued)

I have previously shared a narrative illustrating why we believe that my 4th great-grandmother Jane (Baldwin) was married to a William D. Baldwin. This narrative also attempted to establish that Louisa, the wife of John Covington Thomas, is the first child of William and Jane. There is one piece of evidence to this mystery that I have not seen highlighted publicly very much, so I wanted to give it some attention.

In 1963, a man named Clarence W. Roberson, Jr. of Terrell, Texas produced an unpublished booklet on the family history of his wife, Nannie Fay Sadler, called "The Samuel Washington Lindley Family." Nannie was a great-granddaughter of John Covington Thomas. In this booklet, a pedigree chart was included on page 49 to illustrate several Baldwin and Lindley marriages in the family tree. This chart is shown below (click to enlarge).



Nannie's great-grandfather surnamed Thomas is shown as married to a Baldwin. A little work is needed to identify this Thomas and his wife, but the trail is easily followed with census records and Texas death records to arrive at none other that John C. and Louisa Thomas, the couple who are the common thread in the Jane Baldwin narrative.

There are four reasons why I think great weight should be given to this piece of secondary evidence. First, as I have researched the other content of this pedigree chart, it contains no mistakes. All of the other parent-child relationships and marriages can be proven to be correct.  This does not prove the Thomas-Baldwin marriage to be correct, but it gives a high degree of assurance that it is correct.

Second, as stated by my distant cousin Cathy Magleby, Clarence Roberson's booklet contains the only known complete listing of children of Francis Marion Baldwin and Mary Sadler. Therefore, he and his family had access to general and specific information about the Baldwin family history that no longer exists. It is logical to believe this information extended to Francis' proposed sister Louisa in the pedigree chart.

It should be noted here that three of Francis Marion Baldwin and Mary Sadler's children were alive in 1960 when the Roberson's began their research. So, it is quite possible they had conversations with nieces and nephews of Louisa. This could be where Clarence had access to a reported Francis Marion Baldwin Bible to compile the birth dates of Francis and Mary's children.

Third, the purpose of the given pedigree chart is to illustrate a somewhat complicated set of marriages and family relations between the Lindley, Sadler, Thomas, and Baldwin families. If it were a simple pedigree chart, Mary Sadler and Francis Marion Baldwin would not have been included. The fact that they were included indicates there was specific, relevant information to the purpose of this chart. That information was another Baldwin marriage into the Lindley-Sadler family that also connected to Thomas family.

Fourth, as I have analyzed the life spans of everyone from Nannie Sadler to Jane Baldwin, there is much overlap in their life spans. Part of what we are considering here is how close this report is to Jane Baldwin and Louisa Thomas and how much discontinuity has occurred in the family that would interrupt or corrupt the flow of family history information. Consider the following:

- Jane Baldwin lived past 1870 in Limestone County.
- John and Louisa Thomas probably both died before 1870 in Leon County.
- Children of John and Louisa Thomas lived from 1843 until 1934, in the latter years in Limestone County.
- Children of James "Jim" Hamilton Thomas (grandchildren of John and Louisa) lived from 1871 (in Leon-Madison-Limestone counties until at least 1900) until 1965 (two of them in Terrell, Texas in the latter years). Specifically, Nannie's mother Minnie Pearl Thomas lived until 1957 in Terrell.
- Nannie Fay Sadler was born in 1909.
- Nannie's husband begins compiling family history info in Jan 1960 from Terrell, Texas.

With so much overlap and virtually all of these families remaining in relatively close proximity well into the 20th century, the situation was conducive for sharing and communication of family history.

Therefore, I am quite comfortable with the conclusion that Louisa is a sister of Francis Marion Baldwin and therefore a child of Jane Baldwin. Despite the lack of primary evidence, I think we have likely established the truth. I believe the Baldwin family history developed by Clarence Roberson was done on a firm foundation and is reliable.

Finally, it is important to note that there were very few Baldwins in Texas in the 1840s. If indeed the maiden name of Louisa Thomas was Baldwin, and there is close geographical proximity and interaction between the families of John C. Thomas and Jane Baldwin throughout the 1840s and 1850s, the likelihood of Louisa being the daughter of William D. and Jane Baldwin is very high.

Today in Family History - 05 Oct

My 4th great-grandmother Tabitha Ford (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1801 in North Carolina [1].

References
[1] Montgomery County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 4, Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, 1981. Page 68, Womack Cemetery.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Today in Family History - 04 Oct

My 2nd great-grandfather Paul Thompson was born on this day in 1847 in Sweden [1, 2]. Efforts to locate the city in which Paul was born and determine his parentage have not been successful as of the date of writing.

My 2nd great-grandmother Anna Christina Nelson (Erickson line) was born on this day in 1851 in Nora, Örebro, Västmanland, Sweden [3, 4, 5].

References
[1] Death Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Death certificate for Paul Thompson; Book 5, Page 512.
[2] The Muskegon Chronicle, Muskegon, Michigan. 21 Sep 1935, page 2. Obituary for Paul Thompson.
[3] Birth records of Nora Bergsförsamling Parish, Örebro, Sweden. Volume C:9B, Births 1843-1856, record #179 for 1851, (entry for Anna Stina daughter of Nils Larsson).
[4] Death Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Death certificate for Anna Christina Larson; Local File No. 12.
[5] The Muskegon Chronicle, Muskegon, Michigan. 27 Dec 1943, page 14. Obituary for Anna Christina Erickson.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Pegoda Siamese (Conjoined) Twins

Siamese (conjoined) twins are rare: about 1 out of every 50,000 to 100,000 births. But, while doing research on the descendants of my 3rd great-grandfather John Pegoda, I discovered the birth of Siamese twins in my extended family.

On 23 Aug 1952, Vaudine Colburn Pegoda, wife of Casey W. Pegoda (my first cousin thrice removed), gave birth to a set of conjoined twins. The death certificate indicates they only lived for 13 hours. The twins are buried in Ebenezer Cemetery outside Huntsville, Texas. When I am in Texas again, I plan to visit the Huntsville Library and see if I can track down a newspaper article about the twins. I am sure there was one in the Huntsville Item as this is quite a rare event.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

World War II Flight Log Book

My grandfather, George Avner Baldwin, was a pilot in the United States Marine Corps Reserve during World War II. He was on active duty from 20 Jul 1943 until 16 Nov 1945. During and prior to this time, he kept a flight log book (as was surely required of all pilots). The contents of this book have been digitized to the PDF linked to below.

There are lots of interesting entries during the time he was in the Japanese theater: dive bombing, anti-submarine missions, and so forth. But, the most interesting entry is on page 32 of the PDF: 03 May 1944. A ring is drawn in the "Remarks" column. We believe this is the day he sent a letter to my grandmother (or learned of her acceptance) asking for her hand in marriage.

George Avner Baldwin's World War II Flight Log Book

Monday, October 1, 2012

Today in Family History - 01 Oct

My 2nd great-grandmother Clara Ann Clarke (Baldwin line) died on this day in 1958 at the Pasadena Nursing Home in Pasadena, Harris, Texas [1, 2, 3]. She was buried at McAdams Cemetery in Walker County, Texas [1, 2].

My 5th great-grandmother Judith Ayres (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1768 in Buckingham County, Virginia [4, 5, 6].

My 5th great-grandparents Robert Rankin and Margaret Kendall Berry (Anders line) were married on this day in 1781 in Frederick County, Virginia [7, 8].

References
[1] Walker County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 2, North Walker County, Walker County Genealogical Society, Huntsville, TX, 2004. Page 96, McAdams Cemetery.
[2] Death Records of Harris County, Texas. Death certificate for Clara Ann Clarke.
[3] B. F. Baldwin, Jr. Bible. Owned by Benjamin Franklin Baldwin. Jr. and Clara Ann Clarke. "Deaths Page".
[4] Nathan Ayres Family Bible. Partial transcription of Ayres genealogy data, The Library of Virginia, Archives and Manuscripts, Ayres family Bible record, 1768-1814.
[6] Mayo, Mary E., Sixteen Hundred Lines To Pilgrims, Lineage Book III, National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, Genealogical Publishing Co. Page 631.
[7] Records of the U. S. National Archives and Records Admin: Revolutionary War Pension Files. File #W26365, Robert Rankin(s). Peggy Rankin's testimony before the Republic of Texas 6th Judicial District Court, 22 Mar 1844.
[8] White, Virgil D., Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files, Volume III: N-Z, The National Historical Publishing Company, Waynesboro, Tennessee, 1992. Page 2812.