A Place in the Family: New Windsor, NY

Years ago I wrote how naming patterns led me to find the New York origin of a Kentucky ancestor because he named his first son for his father: Moses Nichols > Charles Nichols > Moses Eckles Nichols. See the article: https://bluegrassandbuckeyeroots.blogspot.com/2013/05/moses-eckles-nichols-naming-patterns-to.html

July 19-24 I took a wonderful (virtual) class at GRIP (Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh) on Land and Property Records. During the class I found at the Library of Congress website an 1851 land owner map of Orange County, New York. It led me to a discovery that I need to update here. Meanwhile I've combined a photo of my great grandfather, Moses Eckles Nichols (1841-1908), with the map. Highlighted is the Town of New Windsor where his father, Charles Nichols was born in 1817.

This scrapbook page was done for a challenge at Oscraps.com.
Designer credits:
map of Orange County, NY, 1851, from Library of Congress: link
-frame & mask: 52 Inspirations No. 33, Framed Clipping Masks 01 by Snickerdoodle Designs
-postcard: 52 Inspirations No. 32, Decorated postcards by After Midnight Design
-brushes: 52 Inspirations No. 31, Summer No. 1 by Anna Aspnes
-transfers: 52 Inspirations No. 29, French market transfers by Vicki Robinson
-dots: 52 Inspirations No. 25, Gesso'd Marks by Viva Artistry
-transfer, brushes: ArtPlay Palette Milieu by Anna Aspnes
-snap, word strip: ArtPlay Palette Archive by Anna Aspnes
-word art: Milieu WordART Mix No. 1 by Anna Aspnes

font on the postcard: Amapola

Tombstone Tuesday: Bivin and Vorce, more Kentucky relatives buried in Lake View

I last reported that Kentucky relative Matilda McClintock Scott lived in northern Ohio and was buried in Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery. Today I visited a different section of the cemetery to locate the graves of Matilda's daughter Anna Elizabeth (Scott) Bivin and Anna's daughter and son-in-law Edwin Marvin and Carrie (Bivin) Vorce. I am learning about the life of Carrie, or Caroline as the gravestone reads, because she was also an artist. I'll report on her when I have more details.

Anna Elizabeth was born in Kentucky, but lived in East Cleveland by 1900 when her mother lived with her and also daughter Carrie and her husband. Anna's husband, James B. Bivin, apparently still lived in Kentucky until his death in 1918, so they may have been estranged.¹ Her gravestone is just right of the combined stone for Carrie and Edwin in Section 1, lot 300, which is near the Wade Chapel.

Carrie, also born in Kentucky, and her husband, Edwin, were married in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1893.² They did not have children, so there is no more of her line to follow, but she is interesting enough by herself. She would be my second cousin, twice removed, but that is true in both the McClintock and Scott families.
_________________
1. "Deaths, Bivin," The Bourbon News, Paris, Kentucky, 5 November 1918, p. 4, col. 3.
2. "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1614804 : viewed 6 October 2018) > Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1892-1893 vol 39 > image 227, Cuyahoga County Marriage Records, vol. 39: 348, Edwin M. Vorce and Carrie M. Bivin, 1893.

Tombstone Tuesday: Matilda McClintock Scott, a Kentuckian in Cleveland, Ohio

Matilda McClintock was born in July 1809, most likely in Bourbon County, Kentucky. She was a sister of my 2nd great grandfather, Samuel McClintock (1794-1827). She was the second wife of Francis Scott, a brother of another 2nd great grandfather, Thomas Scott (1810-1844). Matilda and Francis lived for a time in Fayette County, Kentucky,¹ but by 1870 she was an apparent widow living in a neighboring county in the Buena Vista District of Harrison County, Kentucky.² The post office there was called Shady Nook, formerly Scott's Station.³ In 1880 she lived there alone but with nearby Scott families.⁴

I believe all of her McClintock siblings are buried in Bourbon County, mostly in the county seat of Paris. It was therefore a big surprise to learn she lived in East Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1900. A widow, she lived with her widowed daughter, Anna Elizabeth (Scott) Bivin.⁵ Matilda died two years later on 14 April 1902 at age 92, cause listed as  "old age."⁶ She was buried in Lake View Cemetery at the corners of Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights. The cemetery index lists her as Matilda M. Scott,⁷ but when I finally saw her gravestone, I was delighted to see it reads "Matilda McClintock Scott."

My McClintock grandfather was born in 1867 and lived near Matilda's home. She was still there when he was thirteen, so I'm sure he knew her. She was his father's aunt and his mother's aunt by marriage. I hope to learn more about her daughter and when and why they came from Kentucky to northern Ohio.
__________________

1.1850 U.S. census, Fayette County, Kentucky, population schedule, District 1, page 188A, dwelling 1105, family 1110, Francis Scott household; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed 4 September 2018); from NARA M432, roll 199.

2.1870 U.S. census, Harrison County, Kentucky, population schedule, Buena Vista District, post office Cynthiana, page 96B, dwelling/family 10, Matilda Scott household; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed 6 September 2018); from NARA M593, roll 468, imaged from FHL microfilm 545,967.

3. William Henry Perrin, History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky (Original edition published in 1882 by O.L. Baskin & Co., Chicago; reprint Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1979), 311-12.

4. 1880 U.S. Census, Harrison County, Kentucky, population schedule, Buena Vista District, ED 101, page 54B, dwelling/family 16, Matilda Scott household; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed 6 September 2018); from NARA T9, roll 418.

5. 1900 U.S. census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, East Cleveland Village, ED 215, sheet 25B, dwelling 564, family 579, Annie E. "Bibin" household; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed 6 September 2018); from NARA T623; imaged from FHL microfilm 1,241,260.

6. "Died, Scott," Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, 16 April 1902, p. 6. Also, "Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2128172 : viewed 6 September 2018) > Cuyahoga > Death records, 1898-1902 > image 787, Cuyahoga County Record of Deaths, p.494 , Matilda Scott entry, 1902.

7. "Auto Graver," contributor, Lake View Cemetery gravestone (Matilda M. Scott), database, Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed 6 September 2018), Memorial# 78155489.

Signatures of Grandfathers

I feel a special thrill seeing signatures of my ancestors. Yesterday I saw a document that has signatures of two ancestors of different generations of my Kentucky family.

My great grandfather, Moses Eckles Nichols, was just twenty-one when his father, Charles Nichols, died in 1862. He was the oldest child in the family and thus the only one of adult age. That must be why he was appointed administrator of his father's estate. His father died aged forty-five leaving no will. Moses was required to post an administrator bond. That document from the Scott County court contains his signature along with that of his sole surety, his maternal grandfather Charles Eckles, my 3rd great grandfather.¹

Charles was then seventy-four and the signature looks a bit wobbly, but quite legible. He spelled his surname Eckels as it appears in two signatures I have found of his father, Robert Eckles. Moses Eckles Nichols had it as his middle name, but spelled it the way I am used to it: Eckles. In that spelling it was passed down to his grandson as a middle name. That was my father so the name was always familiar.

1. ”Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP9G-Y8W?i=83&cc=1875188&cat=137670 : viewed 25 June 2018), digital film 004816099, image 84, Scott County Administrator Bonds, 1856-1874 (unpaginated), estate of Charles Nichols, 1862.

Death Date for Sarah “Sallie” (McDaniel) Scott

A Death Date Found (About) for Sarah “Sallie” (McDaniel) Scott

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

Sarah (also called Sallie) McDaniel married John Scott in Clark County, Kentucky, 21 July 1803 with the consent of her father Francis McDaniel.¹ In 1819 they lived in neighboring Fayette County, but finally settled in Harrison County.² Their neighborhood was called Scott's Station but the name changed to Shady Nook to avoid confusion with another Scott's Station in Jefferson County.³

John died in 1857 leaving a will that names eleven children, both living and deceased, and some grandchildren.⁴ In 1860 his widow lived with a married daughter, Mary, the wife of Harrison Cummins, along with her youngest child, Elizabeth.⁵ I had found no later trace of Sarah. John was buried in the Old East Broadwell Cemetery but it has been ruined as a cow pasture. It was transcribed by the DAR by 1960 so there is some record. But Sarah is not in that list.⁶

Harrison County probate records are now available online at FamilySearch. Looking through indexes I found an entry for the estate of John Scott in 1867. It turned out to be an affidavit filed by the executor of John's estate. The executor was his son, Robert Scott, who reported having settled the estate of his father previously, and that “about the last day of January 1867 his mother, the widow of Jn^o Scott departed this life.” Her assets were not enough for the expenses, but he had paid all the demands on her estate. This was his final report submitted 14 December 1867.⁷ While the date of death reads “about” that is probably the exact date and I consider it to be at least close.

Endnotes:

1. “Clark County Marriage Bonds 1793-1850,” Clark County Public Library, Winchester, Ky., bond and consent, Scott-McDaniel, 1803, scanned images provided via email 20 April 2011.

2. National Historical Company, History of Cass and Bates Counties, Missouri, Containing... (Saint Joseph, Missouri: National Historical Company, 1883), 514, gives Robert Scott's date and place of birth.

3. William Henry Perrin, ed., History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky (Chicago: O.L. Baskin & Co., 1882), 311-12.

4. John Scott will (1857), Harrison County Will Book G: 410, Harrison County Clerk's Office, Cynthiana, Ky.

5. 1860 U.S. census, Harrison County, Kentucky, population schedule, District No. 1, page 62, dwelling/family 445, Harrison Cummins household; NARA M653, roll 372.

6. Kentucky Records Research Committee, compiler, Kentucky Cemetery Records, Volume I (Lexington?: Daughters of the American Revolution, Kentucky Society, 1960), 56, this is the book with the original transcription of the stone but the cemetery is under Bourbon County and called Old Broadwell M.E. Churchyard. Also, Eric C. Nagle and Larry L. Ford, One Hundred Cemeteries of Harrison County, Kentucky (Dayton, Ohio: authors, 1992), 173. And, visit by author 28 August 2008 which verified the condition and lack of access.

7. ”Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP9H-DWV?wc=37RN-VZ3%3A173387201%2C173851401&cc=1875188 : viewed 29 April 2018), digital film 004816028, image 205, Harrison County Will Book I: 353, Affidavit of Executor, Estate of John Scott, regarding estate of his widow, 1867.

Military Monday: Pension Index Cards: Not Created Equal

Pension Index Cards: Not Created Equal

by Jean M. Hoffman, CG

Pension index cards available at both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch are not the same as those provided at Fold3. Allison recently pointed out differences in a Legacy Tree Genealogists blog post, “Civil War Pension Files Research Tips.”¹ I had just found a pension index card at Ancestry.com related to a female ancestor. It shows her application for a widow's pension, but no application for the soldier. Spurred by the article, I located the card for the soldier at Fold3. That card shows he applied for and received an invalid pension. Note, these records, if Civil War era, are for Union soldiers.

Before concluding you've found pension information for your person of interest and requesting original pension records, review both versions of index cards. The card sets were created for different purposes and organized in a different manner. Today they are indexed by both name and unit but one is arranged alphabetically by soldier's name while the other is grouped by unit from the company level. As they served different needs, they contain different data.

 

Civil War Pension index card for Caleb S. Whaley from Ancestry.com²

 

 

 In my example, the Ancestry.com/FamilySearch card has the following information not on the Fold3 version:

1. Widow's name
2. State from which she applied
3. Date of her application.

 

Civil War Pension index card for Caleb S. Whaley from Fold3.com (indexed as Gales)³

The card at Fold3 provides fields not on the first card:

1. Rank of the soldier
2. Date of his application
3. application and certificate numbers for his pension.

In addition, the first card was correctly indexed at Ancestry.com under the name Caleb S. Whaley but the second card was indexed under Gales S. Whaley. As I used the Fold3 browse function to view the cards by unit, that did not cause a problem.

The index cards were transcribed from other documents and can contain errors. Also, the soldier's name on these cards is the same but one was misread by the indexer. Pay particular attention to the certificate numbers as these are what the National Archives will use to attempt to locate original records. Any error can lead to not found files. A review of more cards would give a better picture of the variation in data on them but my example and that in the article demonstrate the merit of obtaining both. FamilySearch can be accessed for free and many libraries have subscriptions to Ancestry Library Edition. Some libraries also have Fold3 subscriptions, possibly providing access from home.

________________

    1. Allison, “ Civil War Pension Files Research Tips,” Legacy Tree Genealogists (blog), November 29, 2016, https://www.legacytree.com/blog/civil-war-pension-files-research-tips.

    2. “U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934,” Caleb S. Whaley card; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 November 2016); citing NARA microfilm T288, roll 510.

    3. “Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900,” Kentucky>Cavalry>7th>Co. G> “Gales” S. Whaley card; digital image, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 30 November 2016); citing NARA microfilm T289, roll 146.

More on David Wright, New Windsor, NY

More David Wright Family of New Windsor, New York

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

The father of Mary, second wife of Moses Nichols of New Windsor, Orange County, New York, could be the David Wright of whom I've written. [1] Looking for evidence of a connection requires examining more of the records from David Wright and his associates.

Two divergent accounts emerge from descendants of different alleged sons.

1. Three DAR applications claim patriot ancestor David Wright of New Windsor who served in the Second Ulster Regiment. Their descent is through a son Benjamin who allegedly died in 1820 and his wife Jane Gregg. The applications show David died in 1833 in New Windsor. Benjamin was born about 1774, his mother being David's wife #2, Margaret Woodhull. The record copy of the last application refers to family records, but there appear to be no supporting documents filed with any of the applications. [2]

2. Descendants of a son John wrote up research results. They are reflected in a 1987 compilation. [3] The compiler has provided me with a copy of the 14-page typescript Francis Wright and Maude E. (White) Cleghorn produced. They indicate David Wright of New Windsor was from Hempstead, then Queens County, on Long Island. Census records for David in New Windsor in 1800, 1810, and 1830 were not located somehow, just 1790 and 1820. One conclusion was that David moved after 1823 to live with a son, Nathaniel, in Warwick, another town in Orange County. Conversely, on another page is the suggestion that Nathaniel returned to New Windsor to care for his elderly parent. The latter could be correct, but David Wright, age 80 through 89, has a household of himself and a female not quite as old, age sixty through sixty-nine, and no others in 1830. [4]

An important document referenced in #2 above is a deed from David Wright, carpenter, and his wife Mary of New Windsor in 1783 selling land in Hempstead to Nathaniel and Samuel Wright, yeomen, of Hempstead. One of the witnesses was a Benjamin Wright. Recorded in Queens County on 13 May 1799, the deed was dated 24 June 1783. Three parcels of land were included and sold for £760. Recorded the same day, immediately prior to David and Mary's deed was one dated 5 May 1784 in which Samuel Wright, now noted as being in South Hempstead after the town was divided, sold his interest in those same three parcels to Nathaniel Wright for £380.[5] The 1785 will of this Nathaniel Wright refers to a brother David Wright. [6] It is likely that Samuel was another brother.

Missing in any of this research had been records of purchases of land in New Windsor or distribution of it following David's death. Because New Windsor was transferred to Orange County from Ulster County in 1798, I checked deeds in Ulster County. Two pertinent deeds were recorded there.

In 1774 Benjamin Wright, a house carpenter of Hempstead, Long Island, purchased two parcels in New Windsor from Reuben Weed and his wife Martha. The deed was recorded at the request of Mr. Benjamin Wright in 1787. [7]

In 1791, seventeen years later, David Wright and his wife Mary sold to John Wright, all of New Windsor, one of the parcels and part of the other purchased in 1774 by Benjamin Wright. The deed provides no insight on David's acquisition of title to the land. [8] A common reason for an unrecorded transfer is inheritance. Could David be a son of Benjamin? If so, what relation is John Wright?

Records in Hempstead, especially the eight-volume published town records, show several generations of Wrights in that location. [9] More research here might be worthwhile. I have created a timeline for all Wright surname events I've found connected to New Windsor. One for Hempstead may be needed as well. To correlate individuals I also created a name list for every Wright connected to New Windsor.

Still, this sheds no new light on the disposition of David's land after his death. Orange County deed indexes need to be followed further into the 1800s in hopes of finding a link to his heirs. I'd like to find more tax records, land ownership maps and more local history.

References:

1. Jean M. Hoffman, Wright blog posts on Bluegrass and Buckeye Roots: “Finding Mr. Wright?” (http://bluegrassandbuckeyeroots.blogspot.com/2011/05/finding-mr-wright.html : 20 May 2011); “Mystery Monday: Still No Mr. Wright (http://bluegrassandbuckeyeroots.blogspot.com/2011/06/mystery-monday-still-no-mr-wright.html : 20 June 2011); and “David Wright may be Mary's 'Mr. Wright'” (http://bluegrassandbuckeyeroots.blogspot.com/2012/07/david-wright-may-be-marys-mr-right.html : 30 July 2012).
2. Membership application, Mirbell Shirey Pairan, National no. 226286, on David Wright (1745-1883, New York), approved 1926 or after; National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Office of the Registrar General, Washington, DC; digital images, Daughters of the American Revolution (http://www.dar.org/national-society/genealogy : purchased 28 August 2012).
3. Douglas Wright Cruger, A Genealogical Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800 (Bowie, Md: Heritage Press, 1987), 25.
4. Francis Wright and Maude E. White Cleghorn, “Wrights of Long Island,” 14-page typescript of now unknown origin, photocopy provided to the author by Douglas W. Cruger, 2015; citing a deed from David Wright and wife Mary to Nathaniel and Samuel Wright (1783, recorded 1799) presumably in Queens County, NY. Regarding U.S. census records, the 1800 and 1810 are cited in my blog posts (see #1 above) although the 1800 is in error as David and John Wright were enumerated in New Windsor but mis-indexed as Newburgh which ends in the top half of their page. Also, 1830 U.S. census, Orange County, New York, New Windsor, p. 103, line 14 for William Wright and line 18 for David Wright; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 May 2010); citing NARA M19, roll 113; imaged from FHL microfilm 0,017,173.
5. Deeds Liber G: 300-304, deed David Wright and wife Mary to Nathaniel Wright and Samuel Wright (1783, recorded 1799); and 295-99, deed Samuel Wright to Nathaniel Wright (1784, recorded 1799); Queens County Register's Office, NY; FHL microfilm 1,414,480.
6. Will Record 38: 172-73, Will of Nathaniel Wright (1785); New York County Surrogate's Office, New York, NY, apparently later copy of original Queens County record; digital images, “New York Probate Records, 1629-1971,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 5 November 2015); imaged from FHL microfilm 866,989.
7. Deed Record vol. 9 – II: 509-14, deed Reuben Weed and wife Martha to Benjamin Wright (1774, recorded 1787); Ulster County Clerk's Office, Kingston, NY; digital images, “New York Land Records, 1630-1975,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 November 2015); imaged from FHL microfilm 944,744. After 1798 land in the Town of New Windsor is in Orange County, New York.
8. Deed Record vol. 11 – LL: 480-82, deed David Wright and wife Mary to John Wright (1791, recorded 1794); Ulster County Clerk's Office, Kingston, NY; digital images, “New York Land Records, 1630-1975,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 November 2015); imaged from FHL microfilm 944,749.
9. Benjamin D. Hicks, editor, Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long island, New York [1654-1880], Volumes 1-8 (Jamaica, NY, Long Island Farmer Print, 1896-1904). Also digital images at Internet Archive.