James Turner Miller – A Good Man Killed – Murder Most Foul

As so correctly stated by Aaron Holt of the National Archives and Records Administration, “It only takes three generations to lose a piece of oral family history.  If you want to avoid losing those precious family stories passed down through the generations, the story must be purposely and accurately repeated over and over again through the generations to be preserved.”

As it pertains to oral family histories – the Miller family has done a great job – specifically as it relates to James Turner Miller, the father of Elijah Spencer Miller (whose wife was Harriet Curbow).  When I began researching the life of Elijah and Hattie – I naturally poked around for information on Elijah’s father, and through census records, I believed that to be James Turner Miller, who lived “east of the Brazos – near Waco, Texas.  As I worked with other Miller researchers, I was told on more than one occasion that Mr. Miller was a wealthy landowner, had been in Waco on a supply trip on the day of his death, and that he had been murdered by cattle rustlers on his way home.  I put that in my “to be determined file” and moved on with the research.  Thankfully, I have many fantastic research partners – and Mr. Tom Hedges (a Miller descendant) – was able to locate this news article, presumably published in a Waco newspaper the day after the murder on 19 Aug 1873.

A GOOD MAN KILLED – MURDER MOST FOUL

Intelligence was yesterday morning received of the death by gunshot the evening before, of James T. Miller, a resident of this county, and one of the most orderly and respectable citizens. Who it was that committed this atrocious crime, or by what spirit of diabolism actuated, is yet one of the undeveloped mysteries. Certain it is, however, it was a murder most foul. Jim Miller, for so he was familiarly called, was in town the day he was killed, and it is known that he was not armed. He fell, therefore, by the hand of the assassin. He had bought during the day supplies and a quantity of lumber for use on his place, and was on his way home with them. He lived at the Pitts place, on the Corsicana road, twelve miles from town. A short distance this side of town, night coming on, Mr. Miller, being on horseback, left the wagons on the main road and started home on the “trail,” a more direct route. Shortly afterward the report of a gun was heard in that direction; Mr. Miller not coming home, search was instituted, and on the following morning (yesterday) his body was found. He was shot at the trail crossing of that ill-famed creek, the Tehuacana, a short distance above the Corsicana Road.  A load of buckshot, some eighteen or twenty, taking effect in his side, had done its bloody work and there he lay. “Dead men tell no tales,” and in the absence of witnesses it is possible that the perpetrator of this great crime may go unwhipped of justice and unrecognized, save by the eye of heaven, as the murderer he is. But if it is possible, under such circumstances and in the absence of any clue, to ascertain who it was that did the deed, this should be done and the guilty party be awarded at the hands of the law the fearful penalty due his crime. The deceased will be buried with Masonic honors by Waco Lodge No. 92, to-day.

As it turned out – the family oral history was spot on about the facts of Jim Miller’s murder.

James Turner Miller – known as Jim – was born to Alfred Miller (b. 1793) and Sarah Wray on 12 Feb 1824 in South Carolina.

At the time of the 1850 census we find James T. Miller living next door to his father in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi.  He is a blacksmith – both he and his father are land and slave owners.  Jim is living with his first wife Rebecca, age 21 (Rebecca Ann Anderson) and son Elizah, age 2; (Elijah Spencer Miller, born 1849).  Also next door is Rebecca Anderson, Elijah Anderson and James Anderson.  Can we presume this to be the family of Rebecca, Elijah Miller’s wife?

Miller researcher Shirley McAnelly Hill states that Jim Miller and family were in Texas by 1858 – and they can indeed be found in the 1860 census living in McLennan County, Texas.  He is with his wife Rebecca and son Spencer and daughter Nancy (Nancy Roseann Miller, born 1859).

The oral family story continues stating that Rebecca died in childbirth while Jim was in Galveston, Texas serving in the Civil War sometime around 1862.  As it turns out, this part of the family story checks out as well – Jim did serve in Confederate Army with the 9th Militia Dist., McLennan County, 28th Brigade, Texas Militia – where he held the rank of 3rd Sgt.  It could be that the child Rebecca gave birth to was daughter Mary Alice Miller (born 1862).

Muster Roll Index Card – James Turner Miller

Jim Miller married for a second time to Catherine S. Young on 9 Dec 1864 (presume in McLennan County – although I have not located a marriage record for them there).  The couple had five children:  William Turner Miller in 1865; Susan Ellanora Miller in 1867; Rebecca Miller in 1869; Permelia Paralee Miller in 1871; and Jesse Perkins Miller in 1873).  When the census was taken in 1870, the family is still living in McLennan County, Texas “east of the Brazos.”  At that time Jim owned real estate valued at $8,500 and personal property valued at $2,000.

On a recent genealogy trip to Waco, my husband and I spent hour upon hour, looking through old Wills and probate papers at the McLennan County District Clerk’s office.  While there I pulled the Will and probate file of James Turner Miller – and it was voluminous!  The probate file settles James Turner Miller’s family relationships and confirms that he was a very well to do citizen of McLennan County, Texas.  Since the file was so large, I did not copy it in its entirely; however, I did have a few pertinent pages copied – and will write about that in my next post.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 

David Alfonso Montoya

From Wikipedia:  Genealogy, also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history.  Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.  The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives, including the desire to carve out a place for one’s family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.

This week another chapter of our family story closed with the passing of David Alfonso Montoya who died in Salt Lake City on the night of March 5^th.  David was my uncle and my God Father.

David and Adella Montoya with Judy Montoya; Dec of 1960

Dave, as he was known, was born 14 Jul 1927 to Jose Celestino Montoya (1905-1988) and Manuelita De Los Reyes Lujan (1904-1931) in San Francisco, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.  He was christened at the San Juan de los Caballeros Church near his home.  Dave had an older brother named Jose who was born in 1926 and who died in September of 1927.  He also had a younger brother named Peter Augustine who was born October of 1929 and who died in August of 1997.   When his father, Jose Celestino, married his second wife, Pearl Spencer, Dave gained six additional half-siblings:  Max George (1933-1994); Richard Ernest (1935-1993); Juanita (1937-1949); Rufino Eugene “Murph”); Louis Celestino; and Margie Ann.  From Jose Celestino’s third marriage (to Lea Gladys Overson), Dave gained an additional half-brother:  Robert.

When David was two years old, the 1930 census was taken.  I found David living in Alcalde, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.  He was living with his father Celestino Montoya, age 24 and his mother Manuelita, age 24.  Also in the home was his infant brother Pedro.  Father Celestino owned his own home which was valued at $300.  The residence was listed as a farm – and the family did not own a radio (that was one of the odd questions asked on the 1930 census).  Father Celestino was performing “odd jobs.”  The family is living next door to Manuelita’s father, Antonio Jose Lujan.  Also nearby is Celestino’s sister, Ramona Montoya Gallegos. 

Sadly, David’s mother, Manuelita, died very young at the age of 27 on 13 Aug. 1931, and according to the 1940 census, David is living with his Montoya grandparents.  He is indexed as being 12 years old born in 1928.  He is attending elementary school and he is in the 6^th grade.  He lives in Velarde, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico with his grandfather, Maximiano Montoya, age 69 and grandmother Juanita, age 56.  Also in the home is his younger brother, Pedro, age 10 who is attending school and is in the 1^st grade.  Grandfather Max indicates that he owns his own home which has a value of $150.  Uncle Jose Ilario Montoya, age 24 lives next door with his family.  Sometime after the death of his mother, David’s father Celestino left for Bingham Canyon to work the ore mines.  This is where he met his second wife Pearl and where he can be found with her (along with four of their children) in the 1940 census.  It is my understanding that David was very close to, and may have spent some time living with, Manuelita’s brother Tomas Lujan (1908-1995).

On July 13, 1945 in Salt Lake City, one day before his 17^th birthday, David enlisted into the United States Navy.  The record confirms many things that we already know about David – his date/location of birth; name of his father and grandfather; and it also confirms that his mother is deceased.  Further his World War II draft registration card indicates that he was living at 809 Broad Street in Kannapolis, Cabarrus, North Carolina at the time.  He indicated that he was 19 years old and again confirms his date/location of birth. His grandmother Juanita Montoya was listed as his next of kin.  He appears on several Navy muster rolls as being assigned to the USS Wisconsin BB64 (Feb; Apr; and June of 1946).

USS Wisconsin BB-64

After his discharge from the Navy, it is assumed that he headed to Ogden, Utah where he met and married Maria Adela (Della) Guadalupe Garcia (1933-2009) on 9 Apr 1951.

 

 

 

At some point after their marriage, Dave and Della moved to Salt Lake City where they raised a large family.

Salt Lake City – 1960 Directory Listing

Services/Mass for David will be held on Saturday, March 11th at St. Patrick’s Church in Salt Lake City.  Neil O’Donnell  & Sons of Salt Lake City will be handling the arrangements.  Rest in peace, Dave, you will be missed.

Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. Rossiter Worthington Raymond

 

 

 

 

Sarah’s Untimely Death

Sarah Elsie Gardner from the collection of Margie Montoya

I am a 38-year old woman who died in February of 1925.  I was brought to the County Hospital here in San Bernardino, California where I lingered for four days before I died.  My diagnosis – acute cholecystitis – in layman’s terms – I died from an inflammation of my gallbladder ~ Sarah Elsie Gardner Spencer Pearson ~

We take so many things for granted – modern healthcare being one of them.  Did you know that not so very long ago – 92 years to be exact – when my great-grandmother Sarah died, the leading causes of death included pneumonia and influenza along with tuberculosis; diarrhea and Syphilis?  Had my great-grandmother been diagnosed in 2017, it is very likely that she would have lived to see her old age.  Elsie would quickly have been diagnosed and hospitalized, given pain medications along with antibiotics and promptly whisked off to surgery.  The doctors would have availed themselves to unheard of technologies including ultrasound; a surgeon would have performed a quick and non-invasive surgery; and chances are that Elsie would have been home and on the mend within a few days.  Today it is rare to die from an inflamed gallbladder.

While many medical advances were being made, medical care by all accounts was still fairly archaic in 1925.  Doctors during this time period essentially relied on common home remedies rather than on medical science.  Elsie would have probably been given pain medication such as Opium (Tincture No. 23, i.e., Laudanum) which was widely regarded as an all-purpose cure for everything under the sun.

Did you know that Bayer used to peddle heroin?!

Prior to this time doctors had used morphine and cocaine to calm teething babies; arsenic and mercury to treat syphilis and heroin to relieve asthma symptoms.  Although discovered in the late 1920s, antibiotics weren’t widely used until the 1940s – instead patients were treated with topical iodine, bromine and mercury to heal their infections – none of which would have helped Elsie.  Had her doctors chosen surgery as an option (which it appears they did not), more than likely it would have been exploratory and they would have anesthetized her with Ether and/or Chloroform.  Hospitals in this time period generally consisted of wards versus today’s private rooms.

Vintage surgical suite circa 1925

Then, as they do now, nurses played a vital role in health care – treating common illnesses, delivering infants and providing emergency care – so it is really unknown whether or not Elsie even had the benefit of a qualified physician.

Throat lozenges containing Cocaine

It took me a fair amount of time to locate my great-grandmother’s death certificate.  I knew that she had divorced my great-grandfather George Francis Spencer; and I knew that she had remarried (Carl Henrick Persow/Person).  I lost track of her after the 1920 census.  Many of the other Spencer family trees on ancestry.com indicated that Elsie had died in Redlands; however, no one had any detailed information or could provide me with a source.  After digging through the California death index, I came across a possibility:  Mrs. Elsie Pearson whose death date matched my great-grandmother’s.  I ordered the certificate and bingo – it was her!

Elsie was listed as a white female who was divorced and whose husband has been Carl Pearson.  The certificate confirms her date of birth and her date of death.  Her occupation was listed as:  “cook.”  It confirms that her father was Henry Gardner and her mother was Mary Patterson.  She had been a resident of Redlands, California for two years prior to her death.  Her body was sent to Payson, Utah for burial.  And saddest of all – the information for the death certificate was provided by the hospital records – not a family member – which indicates to me that she was alone and without loved ones by her side when she died at 38 years, 7 months and 7 days.

 

The Phillips Family of Maryland

I don’t want to jump too far down the rabbit hole as it pertains to the family of Ann Phillips (wife of John Corbo of Queen Anne’s County, Maryland).  When and if we firmly establish that she is our ancestor – I’ll dig a little deeper.  Suffice it to say that the Phillips surname is a fairly common one – and with just a perfunctory review of the records, it seems that their web is tangled just as tightly as ours is!

After looking at the websites of several credible Phillips researchers it seems that the Phillips family is traced back to the late 1590s where the family was present in Devonshire, England.  Many of the early settlers of Colonial Maryland came from the West Midlands of England.  The Maryland Phillips family evidently begins with a man named John Phillips who is said to have come to Kent Island prior to its becoming a part of Maryland.  For now, we will concern ourselves only with the immediate family of Ann Phillips.

What we know about Ann comes primarily from the parish registers of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Church Hill, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.  St. Luke’s, known as “the church on the hill,” is one of the oldest churches in Maryland – built in 1732 at a cost of 140,000 pounds of tobacco.  The bricks used to construct the church were shipped over from England to replace the wooden church that had been built there in 1728.  According to the Maryland Historical Society, all records are preserved intact, including births, baptisms, marriages, burials, vestry meetings and special occasions.

From these parish records we know that Ann Phillips was born to Samuel and Ann Phillips on 25 July 1738 and was baptized at St. Luke’s on 14 Sept 1740.  She married John Curbow there on 27 Aug 1755 at the age of 17.  (As previously mentioned – there were no other Curbow family members located in the register.)

While reviewing the register, line-by-line, I found two additional birth entries for Samuel and Ann Phillips:  (1) David Phillips born 27 June 1741 and baptized 25 Sept 1741 (married Sarah Swift at St. Luke’s on 1 May 1759); and (2) James Phillips born 18 July 1752.  Outside of these three birth records, I have been unable to unearth any further clues regarding Samuel and Ann Phillips of Queen Anne’s County.  There are five additional Phillips’ marriage records in the St. Luke’s parish register (ranging from the 1740s to the 1750s); however, their connection to Samuel and Ann are unknown at this time.  It could be that these are their older children (perhaps not baptized at St. Luke’s); Samuel’s children from a previous marriage; Samuel’s nephews; or perhaps they are not related at all.

(Thomas Phillips married Mary Lawrence 17 Aug 1756; James Phillips married Sarah Lambdin 26 Dec 1743; Robard Phillips married Myratilla Serton 30 Oct 1744; Robard Phillips married Ann Lambden 31 Dec 1746; and Robert Phillips married Hannah Cross 1 Mar 1750).

As I began to expand my search for Samuel and Ann Phillips, the records led me to Cecil County, Maryland.  Cecil County lies to the north of Queen Anne’s County and borders Pennsylvania to the north and Delaware to the east.  It was there that I found a marriage record for Samuel Phillips and Elizabeth Brooks – married on 19 Mar 1724.  Many of the public trees on ancestry.com have Samuel’s wife listed as Elizabeth Ann Brooks.  Of course, none of these trees are sourced in any way, and so it is uncertain whether this is the same Ann who is listed in the St. Luke’s parish register – or whether this is a prior marriage for Samuel.

It is entirely possible that Samuel and Ann Phillips began their married life in Cecil County – had children there – and then relocated to Queen Anne’s County – and had their last three children there.  In fact, I did locate a birth record in Cecil County pertaining to Samuel and Ann Phillips – a son named Isaac Phillips born 7 Jan 1738.  The birth is registered in the parish records of St. Mary Anne’s Parish; his death is recorded there on 7 Aug 1739.  This is somewhat in conflict with what we know about Ann Phillips because Isaac’s date of birth conflicts with hers (having been born 25 July 1738).  It could be that one of the dates is incorrect – or it could be that this is not a family connection at all.

Additionally, the parish records of St. Mary Ann Parish (Protestant Episcopal Church) in Cecil County indicate that Samuel Phillips and wife Elizabeth Brooks had children as follows:  Elizabeth on 5 Apr 1725; Samuel on 19 Mar 1727; Catherine on 28 Apr 1734; Nathan on 21 Feb 1732; and Mary on 29 May 1737 – all prior to the birth of our Ann Phillips in 1738.  At this point in time, I am inclined to think that Elizabeth Brooks and Ann Unknown – are two separate women.

In a book entitled, Inhabitants of Cecil County 1649-1774 written by Henry C. Peden, I noted several land records (including 200 acres of St. John’s Manor) belonging to a Nathan Phillips in 1723.  I next located a Will that was probated 4 May 1748 in Elk River, Cecil County, Maryland by the family of Nathan Phillips.  Samuel Phillips is named in this Will as being the oldest son of Nathan Phillips – which would indicate that Nathan Phillips is Ann’s grandfather.  I located two marriage records for Nathan Phillips (and it is assumed that Nathan was married three times) with his first wife (and Samuel’s mother) being unidentified.  His second marriage took place in 1706 in Cecil County to Elizabeth Cousins; and his third marriage took place 18 Apr 1733 in Cecil County to Jane Simcoe.  In addition to Samuel, it is believed that Nathan Phillips had the following children:  a daughter named Elizabeth born 1720 who married James Boulden; a daughter named Sarah born 1725/1726 who married Johanes Arreams/Arrants; a son named Nathaniel; and a son named Thomas.  According to Nathan’s Will, he left his plantation in Elk River, Maryland to his third wife Jane.  His son Samuel is named in the Will as is John Foster (?) and a grandchild, John Phillips.  After Jane’s death the estate was to be divided between James Boulden and Johaness Arreams (his sons-in-law).  One of the witnesses was Manado Phillips, believed to be Nathan’s brother.

This family tree could be taken back one more generation to Samuel Phillips, the father of Nathan, grandfather of Samuel and great-grandfather of Ann – but I promised I would not jump down the rabbit hole!!  At this point, the genealogy becomes very shaky and most of the dates listed online simply don’t add up.  I am intrigued however to read that some of the descendants of Samuel and Nathan Phillips ended up in Anson County, North Carolina where we next catch up to John Corbo and Ann Phillips.

Stay tuned to our next installment – John Corbo of Anson County, North Carolina.

John Corbeau: Philadelphia – to Oley near Reading, PA – to Queen Anne’s County, Maryland

 

John Curbow – Queen Anne’s County, Maryland – Part 3

As a quick recap, a Jean Corbeau arrived in Philadelphia from Friedrichstal, Germany with his family in October of 1737. Now known as John Corbo, he quickly purchased land and settled in the Oley Valley of Pennsylvania.  There is no record that would indicate the age of this Jean Corbeau/John Corbo; however, we know that in order to participate in the land transaction he had to have been at least 21 years of age.  Assuming he was only 21 – his birth year would have been about 1717.  It is possible that since he came with “a family,” that he was older than 21 at the time of the land transaction.

We now fast forward eight years and shift our focus southward to Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. Germans (both from Germany and the Pennsylvania Dutch “Deutsch”) began to settle along the Chesapeake Bay as early as 1723 in the area that would become the City of Baltimore.

It is across the Bay in Queen Anne’s County that we find a marriage record for a John Curbow (indexed incorrectly in various indexes as Carbos or Carboo) (Note – this is the first time we see the surname spelled Curbow). He married Ann Phillips on 27 Aug 1755 at St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Parish Church (located in Church Hill, Maryland). Ann Phillips was also christened in this same church on 14 Sept 1740 (she was born 25 July 1738).  If this is the same Ann Phillips – then she would have been about 17 years old at the time of her marriage.  Her parents were Samuel and Ann Phillips.

Entry from the Parish Register of St. Luke’s Parish

Thankfully, the parish records of St. Luke’s are online as a special collection with the Maryland State Archives. I have reviewed all 58 pages of births, marriages and deaths from 1722 to 1850 – it only cost me some time, my vision and a cramp in my neck to discover several other related Phillips’ family members – but no other Corbo or Curbow families.  This indicates to me that this was not John’s home church – that he was probably not born in the area – and that he probably didn’t live in the area.  Additionally, there were no christening records located for any children born to John and Ann (Phillips) Curbow – which further indicates to me that they left the area shortly after their marriage.

There are many unanswered questions about this John Curbow – we don’t know when he came to Maryland and when he left. He isn’t in any obvious records in Maryland – still much to learn – and I will update this post if and when records are discovered.

QUESTION: Is this Maryland John Curbow the same person as the Pennsylvania John Corbeau/Corbo? Or is this his son? Or are they related at all?

Stay tuned for the next installment: The Phillips Family of Queen Anne County, Maryland.

 

John Corbo of Pennsylvania – Land Records – Part 2

A mere six-months after John Corbeau’s arrival in America, a John Corbo received a land warrant in Oley, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (on April 25, 1738).  According to the survey connected to this land warrant – the property was located in Alsace Township (situated in the Oley Valley) which was positioned in Philadelphia County (now Berks County), Pennsylvania.  The Oley Valley was settled in the early 1700s by Germans; French Huguenots; and Swiss a/k/a the Pennsylvania Dutch (“Deutsch”).  In fact, it appears that many of the passengers from the Billender Townshend ended up in the Oley Valley as well.  The village of Oley has a strong historical past and heritage.  In March of 1993, the entire Township was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  According to town history, Alsace Township was said to have been named for the region that the original settlers came from – Alsace, Germany (Alsatian; Elsass; Elsaß – which is now located in eastern France on the border of Germany and Switzerland on the west bank of the Upper Rhine River (present day Alsace, Champagne Ardenne-Lorraine, France).  This is very near Friedrichstal – the German village where Jean Corbeau immigrated from.  (In order to avoid confusion, it is necessary to understand that many of the eastern regions of France – particularly Alsace-Lorraine – were passed back and forth many times between the feuding French and Germans.)

Getting back to the land transaction involving John Corbo, we know that during this time period a man had to have reached the age of majority – which was 21-years of age. Accordingly, this John Corbo was born at least by 1717 but could have of course been much older.

In researching Colonial Pennsylvania land transactions, I had to familiarize myself with and understand the complicated process that the settlers went through in order to obtain land.  In Pennsylvania the initial distribution of land to settlers was a complex process – which thankfully yielded a wealth of information and historical records for us.  By way of short background, in 1681, William Penn received a charter from King Charles II which declared him the outright owner of the land that is now known as the State of Pennsylvania.  As such, William Penn was given the authority to dispose of the land as he saw fit.  The state land office was established in 1682 by William Penn and original deeds and patents were recorded by this office. The administrators and the Commonwealth provided individuals title to land in Pennsylvania through this five-step process:

Application:  Under William Penn all requests to purchase acreage at a desired location were made verbally (probably at the land office).  Later, under Penn’s heirs, applications were in writing.  In the case of John Corbo, his warrant was issued on 25 April 1738, and accordingly, he has no written application on file because, as mentioned, during this earlier period all applications were being made verbally.

Warrant:  This is a written order, based on the application, to survey the requested tract of land.  John Corbo’s Warrant states that he requested 100 acres of land “situated about two miles from Francis Lanciscees on Oley Hills in Oley Township.”  In his Warrant, John Corbo agreed to pay the sum of fifteen pounds and ten shillings for the land and “yearly Quit-rent” of one half penny Sterling for every acre thereof.

Survey:  Once the application was made and the warrant issued, a surveyor physically measured and marked the land and prepared a survey.

Return of Survey:  After the survey was filed with the land office, the settler was required to make payment on the land.  The image below is the Survey attached to John Corbo’s warrant file.  This image will make more sense once the Patent is discussed below.  The land that belonged to John Corbo is in the upper right hand corner labeled with Phillip Reeser’s name.

Patent:  A Patent was a written first title to the property conveying ownership to the individual submitting the application.  Subsequent transactions involving the property were generally conducted on the county level. If and when I locate the pertinent deed, I will update this post should it yield further information on John Corbo.  The Patent associated with John Corbo’s land transaction was “returned” 22 Dec 1790, some 52 years after the date of the application, and was shown to convey land to a Henry Reeser.  My initial question was whether John Corbo owed the land for 52 years.  The chain of title below clears this question up.  Once I begin poring over the land Patent, I began to get a clearer picture of how things actually transpired.  As it turns out, John Corbo only held the land for nine years – selling it on 1 Apr 1747.

…..there is granted by the said commonwealth unto the said Henry Reeser a certain tract of land called “Plainfield,” situated in Alsace Township, Berks County…….

……in pursuance of a warrant granted to John Corbo dated 25^th April 1738 who by deed dated 1 Apr 1747 conveyed the same to Lawrence Hart who by deed dated 9^th of July 1748 conveyed the same to Tider Brener & Benjamin Lightfoot Sheriff of said county having taken the same in execution to satisfy the debts of the said Brenor by deed dated 6^th Feb 1788 conveyed the same to the said Philip Reeser in fee who conveyed the same to the said Henry Reeser….

Oddly enough, given the abundance of historical records maintained by the State of Pennsylvania, John Corbo appears in no other Pennsylvania record. I have reviewed many, many internet resources and have scoured the Pennsylvania collections of several libraries to no avail. Pennsylvania has marriage and probate records dating as early as 1682; church records as early as the 1730s; and naturalization records as early as about 1740.  (Note – tax records for the property mentioned above in Oley Township are not available until 1758 – over eleven years after John sold his property.)  John Corbo appears in none of the available records.  As always, the constant misspelling of the surname makes researching the Curbow family extremely difficult.  While searching for records, I found a John Cambree present in Philadelphia County in 1744; a Eberhard Karboe (with Christina C. Zink) present in Philadelphia county in 1753;  a Solomon Kirby, a Nathaniel Kirby – both known Curbow first names; a John Coble; and a John Carbough of York County, Pennsylvania.  None seem to be our John Corbo or seem to be connected to him.  What happened to John Corbo of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania?  Why is there no record for him after the sale of his land in 1747?  Did he die young?  More likely to me – he followed the German migration pattern and left the area.  Stay tuned for – John Corbo of Maryland.

QUESTION: We have established that the John Corbeau of Freichstals, Germany and the Jean Corbeau that arrived in Philadelphia in 1737 is one and the same person.  Now – is the German/French immigrant John Corbeau and the Pennsylvania land owner John Corbo one and the same person?

 

Jean Corbeau of Pennsylvania – Part 1

We begin our journey down the family tree with a man who I believe could be our Curbow immigrating ancestor.  He is, in my opinion, a much stronger candidate than the Jean Carrieŕe mentioned in the 1949 newspaper article I detailed in yesterday’s blog post.  Of course, nothing is definitive and much more research needs to be performed and much more proof must be uncovered before we can tie him into our family line.

According to historical passenger and immigration lists, we know that a Jean Corbo (sometimes indexed in German as Johan Carbo) arrived October 5, 1737 at the Port of Philadelphia on the ship Billender Townshend from Amsterdam after a layover in Cowes, England. (Unfortunately, no women or children were listed on this particular ship’s manifest – only the men are listed). The captain did note however that there were 231 people on board and that they were Palentines.   The captain’s notes on the ship’s manifest read as follows:  Palatines imported in the Ship Billinder Townshend, Thomas Thompson, Master, from Amsterdam, but last from Cowes, as by Clearance thense. Qualified the 5^th day of October 1737.” And further:  At the Courthouse of Philadelphia, October 5, 1737. Present: The Honorable James Logan, Esq., President; Ralph Assheton, Thomas Griffitts; Samuel Hasell. The Palatines whose names are underwritten, imported in the Billender Townshend, Thomas Thompson, Master, from Amsterdam, but last from Cowes, did this day take and subscribe the Oaths to the Government.” [Signers of the Oath of Allegiance to England] It appears that Jean Corbo did not sign the Oath of Abjuration. [Abjure – to solemnly renounce (a belief, cause or claim).]

From a publication entitled, History of the Clewell Family (published 1907) we get a glimpse into what Jean Corbeau’s voyage to the new world must have been like.  The Clewell’s ancestor, Louisa Franz Clewell was on board the Billender Townshend along with her two sons Franz and George.  It is stated that:  The Billender Towhshead anchored in the Delaware at Philadelphia on Saturday, October 5, 1737, from Amsterdam, Holland (page 21).  The account continues: According to tradition the voyage was a stormy one. Storm after storm overtook them and during one of these storms Johannes G’Fellern (Louisa’s husband) was drowned (page 24).

From the Captain’s list we know that on that same day all male passengers over the age of 16, including Jean Corbo, were taken to the Courthouse in Philadelphia to take the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. (From this record we know that Jean had to have been at least 16 years old to take the oath – so born at least by 1721; however, he was probably older because he was the only male Corbo/Carbo on the ship. In other words, he was not traveling with a father, uncle or older brother.)

Captain’s Ship Manifest – Billender Townshend – 10/5/1737

John Corbo’s Name as it appears on the Ship’s Manifest

There are numerous books which chronicle the early arrivals to the Port of Philadelphia, including, Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, Volume I and Memorials of the Huguenots in America: With Special Reference to Their Emigration to Pennsylvania, both include a listing for Jean Corbo who arrived 1737 and settled in Pennsylvania. While the name Corbo or Carbo is not a proven or accepted name by the American Huguenot Society, it does appear that both the Germans and the Huguenots are claiming Jean Corbo/Johann Carbo in the two referenced books.

A brief historical review of the German Palatines indicates that they were early 18^th century emigrants from the Middle Rhine region of the Holy Roman Empire (which is present day southwest Germany).  Toward the end of the 17^th century and into the 18^th century, this region was repeatedly invaded by the French military which resulted in widespread devastation and famine to this once wealthy region.  As early as 1709, the English began making promises of free land in the American Colonies, and this in turn triggered a mass exodus of these impoverished and desperate people.  In response, the English began a program of resettling these Germans in England, Ireland (County Limerick and County Wexford) and the Colonies (first to New York and later Pennsylvania).  (Again, it is important to note that during this time period all German emigrants were referred to as “Palatines.”)

It is entirely possible that Jean Corbo was what became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch).  The Pennsylvania Dutch were a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania.  The true origin of the Pennsylvania Dutch is often confused – because the people known as the Pennsylvania Dutch are not from Holland but rather are of a mixture of German, Swiss, and French Huguenot origin.  The first wave of these settlers began in the late 17^th century and concluded in the late 18^th century.  Again, the majority of these immigrants originated in what is today southwestern Germany.  The first major settlement of Pennsylvania Dutch was located in northwest Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.  Many of these Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants then migrated down the Great Wagon Road into North Carolina.  This was particularly true after North Carolina established a “headright system” in the late 1700s where the state gave away one hundred acres to male heads of household who were willing to settle in western parts of the state.   Germans being a frugal people leapt at the opportunity of the free land being offered.  The Germans of western North Carolina generally migrated from Pennsylvania to the Yadkin River Valley.  This very closely follows the believed migration pattern of our Curbow ancestors.

Looking back at the passenger named Jean Corbo who arrived in 1737 on the Billinder Townshend – there are indeed some very interesting and compelling parallels between him and the history of the German Palatines, the Pennsylvania Dutch and their migration patterns.  In looking at the other passengers who arrived on the Billinder Townshend with Jean, it appears that many of them ended up in Philadelphia County (present day Berks County), Pennsylvania and that many of them originated from Friedrichstal, Germany.

In the Spring, 1973 issue of Pennsylvania Folklife, in an article entitled, Pennsylvania Emigrants from Friedrichstal, we learn that Friedrichstal, Germany was founded in 1699 specifically for Huguenot refugees.  In honor of Friedrichstal’s 250^th birthday celebration, author Oskar Hornung wrote a town history (Friedrichstal:  Geschichte einer Hugenottengemeinde zur 250 Jahrfeier).  This book contains information on most of the founding families of Friedrichstal, and among them we find a Jean Corbeau.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the book here in America – most copies are located in Germany.  Thankfully, it is among the collection of the LDS library, and I have ordered the film for review.  Luckily, I can read German, and I am very hopeful that we may glean more information about Jean Corbeau and his family.  I’ll update this post after I have reviewed the film  In the meantime, the referenced article  states that Jean Corbeau was a farmer with a family and that he arrived with them on the Ship Townsend at Philadelphia on October 5, 1737.

Based on this article we can conclude that Jean Corbeau of Friedrichstal, Germany was a French Huguenot and that he and Jean Corbo of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania are one and the same person.

Can we conclude that Jean Corbeau is our immigrating ancestor?  No – but stay tuned for Part 2 – Jean Corbeau – Pennsylvania Land Records.

 

Curbow Family in America – Overview – Part 1

Many years ago, when I initially began to delve into the history of my husband’s Curbow family, I was told by immediate family members that three Curbow brothers came to America from Ireland – while still other researchers stated that the Curbow’s were French Huguenots who fled France to escape religious persecution. In addition to this oral history, I ran across a 1949 newspaper article published in the Southwestern Times (a Houston, Texas publication) entitled, Local Couple to Join Six Varieties of Kerbow at Cooper.  The article goes on to detail a Kerbow family reunion which was to include all spellings of the surname – Kerbo; Kerbow; Kirbo; Curbo; Curbow and Kuehrbeaux.  The article claimed that the family (no matter the spelling) is descended from a Joseph Kerbo of Edgefield County, South Carolina, and in particular, is descended from one of the 45 French Huguenot families which settled just south of the Santee River at old James Town, South Carolina in 1680.  To date, I have found no real sources to substantiate any of these family stories.

Published Southwestern Times Houston on Thursday, August 4, 1949, Vol. 5, No. 46, Ed. 1

 

To be sure, we do have a Joseph Curbow in our line. He was a North Carolina revolutionary war soldier, who did live for a period of time in the Edgefield District of South Carolina but later settled in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  Joseph is believed to be one of our Curbow ancestors – we just don’t have the information yet on how he ties into our family line.  I believe that the French Huguenot ancestor being described in the Southwestern Times news article is Jean Carrieŕe who did in fact settle in Old James Town, South Carolina on the Santee River.  Old James Town was located about forty miles north of Charleston and was settled by French Huguenots who established the first Huguenot Church there (The French Santee St. James).  In Jean Carrieŕe’s naturalization record, he was described as a cooper and a planter.  He was born to Jean and Elizabeth Carrieŕe in Normandy, France.  According to relevant parish records, he did marry and he did have a son named John.  A Jean Carrieŕe (possibly the father of this immigrant) was denizened in England in 1700.  A land warrant was issued in South Carolina on 3 Jan 1701 for the survey of 200 acres for a “John Careau.”  I believe that we can disprove – or at least cast heavy doubt on the theory – that this Jean Carrieŕe is our Curbow ancestor.  The timeline is much earlier than what we know about our Curbow ancestors and this information does not fit our Curbow family migration pattern (Pennsylvania to Maryland to North Carolina to South Carolina to Georgia and then into Texas).

The Curbow surname does appear to be of French origin. As used in America, it may be an Anglicized form of the French surname Courbou(x) or Courboules. In that instance, Curbow is derived from the village named Courbou(x), in the Lat and Haute-Saone region of eastern France. Alternatively, it could be an Anglicized form of Courbeu(x) or Corbault. In that case, the name derives from the French word corbeau – which translates raven.

In genealogy, your family history research must begin with the known facts about your ancestors and work itself to the unknown.  After almost ten years of researching, I have hit a major brick wall with my husband’s 3x great grandfather, Tilman P. Curbow, and so I have decided to do something that any professional genealogist would warn you against.  I have skipped forward by several generations of known Curbows – and have started working my way down the family tree.  By doing this I hope to get a clearer picture of the Curbow family as a whole and possibly glean some answers as to who Tilman Curbow’s parents were.

Have any of you ever researched “down the family tree”?  What are your strategies in breaking down brick walls?

Stay tuned for Part 2 – Jean Corbeau – the immigrating ancestor –

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2015 in review

LOL!  I need to get busy blogging more about our ancestry – I managed to eek out only 4 posts this year!  Not to fear – I’m heading to New Mexico, Utah and Arizona this year – surely I will make some wonderful family discoveries there.  Happy New Year!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,000 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

 

Hitting the Lotto – Family History Style

Over the last several years, I have reconnected with many of my Montoya uncles, aunts and many cousins.  Most of them I barely know – some of them I have never met – most live in Utah and California.  One of my younger cousins (everyone is younger than me these days), Syndi, set up a family group page for us on Facebook.  There we have shared our lives with each other – told family stories – and exchanged family pictures.  We are all the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jose Celestino Montoya – and we share his common ancestry.  In this family line there is a real interest in learning about our family heritage – I wish it were so easy with every family line!  I am planning a trip to Utah next year where we are hoping to organize a family reunion.  Really looking forward to that.

This brings me to the point of this short little entry – you just never know when a brick wall will fall, when you find a new document or story, or when a new and spectacular photograph of your ancestors will surface.  While cleaning and sorting through some things at her mother’s house, my cousin, Melissa, found this old photograph tucked away in the pocket of an old jacket.  Thinking perhaps that the younger man was our grandfather, Joe C. Montoya, she posted it on the family page on Facebook for identification.  I immediately recognized the woman as being Juana Martinez Montoya, my great-grandmother.  Sure enough – according to the writing on the back of the photo the people in the photo are:  Juana Martinez Montoya and Maximiano de Herrera Montoya (my great-grandparents) and their youngest son, Raymundo Montoya.  Raymundo died in 1939 at the age of 20 years – which dates the photo prior to 1939 (probably taken in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico).

I love this photo so much because it is only the second photograph that I have seen of my great-grandparents.  As my father aged, he looked just like Max does in this photo. (I inherited those great big giant ears too.)  When I look at the face of my son – I see these men in him.  After receiving the photograph – I walked around with a giddy grin on my face for days.

A huge thank you to my family – and especially Melissa – for your willingness to share what you know and what you have.  Together we are weaving our family story.

 

~ Husbands Coming out of the Woodworks ~

One of the lessons that I’m learning in my family research is that you never really know everything there is to know about an ancestor – and you cannot make assumptions! And just when you think you know it all – a new record collection pops up on line to shed new light on the life of someone that you’re researching.

Sallye Emeline Curbow – photo perhaps taken at Sanatorium

And so it was recently with my husband’s great aunt, Sallye Emeline Curbow.   Sallye is the daughter of Charles Franklin Curbow and Ida Bell Howard. She was born in Denton County, Texas in September of 1913. Once her parents divorced, she can be found with her father Charles working at the Texas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Tom Green County, Texas.   I was unable to locate a Sallye Curbow in the 1940 census – but suspected that she would be near her father Charles – who was still in Sanatorium during that time period. Going through the census for Tom Green County, line-by-line, I did find a Salle E. Ivie employed at Sanatorium. She is 26 born 1914 in Texas; she is married to John H. Ivie; living in Dorm 2 of State Tuberculosis Sanatorium. I had long suspected this was Sallye Emeline Curbow; however, I had no proof of it.

Enter the new collection on ancestry.com:   U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 which provides information filed with the Social Security Administration through the application process and sometimes provides valuable details for researchers.   In Sallye’s application, I hit the jackpot because when she applied for a Social Security card in August of 1943 – she did so as Sallye Emilline Ivie. Bingo! By June of 1953 her name had been changed to Sallye Emilline Lawson.

Once the marriage to John Henry Ivie had been established, I began scouring the newly updated Texas, County Marriages Records database on FamilySearch.org and lo and behold, I found not one marriage record – but two marriages for Sallye Curbow prior to her marriage to Frank Floyd Lawson (the only known husband to date).

• Sallye Curbow was 17 years old when she married 23 year old Sam Barton Collier on 11 Sept 1930 in Tom Green County, Texas. Since she was a minor, her father C. F. Curbow gave permission for the marriage to take place.   This couple did divorce – and Sam B. Collier married his second wife, Mary Velma Lewis, on 2 Sept 1936 in Tom Green County, Texas – so the divorce took place prior to that date – and probably in Tom Green County, Texas. Mr. Collier was also present at Sanatorium and working as a painter during the 1930 census period, and this is presumably where he met Sallye. Mr. Collier was born to William Christopher Collier (1859-1932) and Virginia Lee (b. 1871) on 16 Jul 1907. He died 23 Aug 1968 in Dallas County, Texas. Sallye and Sam had no children.

Marriage Certificate: Sallye Emeline Curbow x Samuel Barton Collier

 

• Sallye Curbow was about 26 years old when she married 18 year old John Henry Ivie on 18 Jan 1940 in Tom Green County, Texas. Likewise, this couple also divorced. When Sallye applied for a Social Security card in Aug of 1943, she did so as Sallye Emeline Ivie. John Henry Ivie marries his second wife, Dortha B. White on 2 Apr 1945 – so the divorce would have taken place prior to this date – probably in Tom Green County, Texas. Mr. Ivie was also present at Sanatorium during the 1940 census period, working as a waiter, and again, this is presumably where he met Sallye. Mr. Ivie was born to Knox Bell Ivie (1894-1978) and Mary Cammie Conner (b. 1897) on 14 Oct 1919 in Angelina County, Texas. He died 18 March 1985 in Tom Green County, Texas. Sallye and John had no children.

Marriage Certificate: Sallye Emeline Curbow x John Henry Ivie

 

The photo comes from researcher Ronald James Rodgers. He states that John Henry Ivie was his uncle. His family told him that the photo is John with a “girlfriend” named Lola (last name not known). I strongly believe the woman in the photograph is Sallye Emeline Curbow. What do you think?!

This picture (though not great quality) was originally thought to be Sallye with her husband Frank Lawson. Now I feel like it’s probably young Mr. Ivie. What do you think?

• Sometime prior to June of 1953, Sallye married her third (and final) husband, Frank Floyd Lawson. The date of marriage is only an ESTIMATE – based on Sallye’s U.S. Social Security application where in Jun of 1953 her name is listed as Sallye Emilline Lawson. When Mary Curbow interviewed Bob and Evelyn Horton Stone (close friends of Sallye’s) some years ago, they stated that Sallye and Frank married right after World War II. On Frank Lawson’s U.S. Army enlistment papers – dated 6 Mar 1942 – he lists himself as “married,” this however, could be referring to his first wife, Josephine.  The location of the marriage is not known – no record has been located.  If the marriage took place in Tom Green County, Texas then it is not appearing in the database with the other two marriages.  The more likely scenario is that they met and married in Pecos, Reeves County, Texas – where Sallye is living at the time of her father’s death in August of 1955.   Mr. Lawson is the only husband that is not located in Sanatorium, Texas – which also leads me to believe she did not meet him there. Mr. Lawson was born to Frank Isaac Lawson (1888-1973) and Annie Josephine Drake (1895-1982) on 24 Mar 1915 in Bell County, Texas. He died 22 Nov 1980 in Temple, Bell County, Texas. Sallye and Frank had no children.

Sallye Emeline Curbow with third husband Frank Floyd Lawson and nephew

Kudos to ancestry.com and familysearch.org for all the work they do for the genealogy community!

 

Legends and Myths

Do you remember playing the childhood game called “telephone” – the game where the first person in line whispers a phrase into the second person’s ear, and the phrase is then repeated down the line? When finally at the end of the line, the phrase almost always ended up being vastly different than what it was at the outset. And so it goes with family stories – sometimes they are true, but many more times, they are simply family legends and myths.

I receive weekly contacts and inquiries from other genealogy enthusiasts who are hunting the same family lines that I am. Nearly everyone has a story to tell – a story that has been handed down through the generations about their ancestors. Some of the family stories that I hear most often include:

“Our family has Native American ancestry. Our great-grandma was a Cherokee Indian Princess.” This story never varies – it’s always a Cherokee – never another tribe – and it’s always a female princess – never a male king, prince or chief. 🙂  The majority of the Curbow researchers that have contacted me have made this same assertion. I have done extensive research on several Curbow lines and have never found proof of Native American lineage and there has been no Cherokee Indian Princess lurking among the ancestors! From the Cherokee Museum: The Cherokee never had princesses. This is a concept based on European folktales and has no reality in Cherokee history and culture.

“Our family is related to Jessie James, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, Daniel Boone , etc., etc., etc.” Of course, it’s only human nature, to want to lay claim to one of these American legends and place them in our family tree. It is also true that not everyone with the surname James can be traced back to Jessie James – and not everyone named Boone can trace their roots back to Daniel Boone. Such a relationship can only be proven by diligent research and proper sourcing.

“Our first American ancestors were three brothers who came to America…..” I ponder the fact that it’s never five brothers or six sisters – always three brothers!!! I hear this family story very often and so it was with our Curbow family. When I first seriously began researching the family all I had heard was: “Three brothers came to America from Ireland.” None of this proved to be even close to the truth. Do your research!

I’ll share a few of our own family stories that l have been researching:

Brothers, Joseph Curbow (1755-1850) and William Curbow (1757-?) were both Revolutionary War soldiers. The family story states that both Joseph and William were present at the British surrender in Yorktown in 1781. Fact or fiction?

Lieutenant-Colonel John West was said to have committed adultery against his wife and left her to live with Cockacoeske – Queen of the Pamunkey – and purportedly a cousin to Pocahontas. Fact or fiction?

One of the “Curbo girls” married into the John Wesley Hardin family. The “Curbo boys” ran with the gang and are responsible for burning down the Courthouse in Hill County, Texas in the late 1870s. Fact or fiction?

With all this said, I do believe that most family stories begin with a smidgen of truth. In other words, where there is smoke there might be a fire. Take it all with a grain of salt and do your own research being careful to source every fact.  The family story that has been passed down to you may be a starting point that leads you to breaking through a brick wall and compiling a very successful and interesting family tree.

Happy Hunting !

 

Was Grandma Elsie a Bigamist?

For some time many years, I have been on the trail of my great-grandmother, Sarah Elsie Gardner. Young, attractive and melancholy, by all accounts, Elsie had a difficult time settling into life as the wife of a sheep farmer.

Sarah Elsie Gardner was born 4 July 1882 in Indianola, Utah, the daughter of Henry Erastus Gardner and Mary Rosetta Patterson. Her parents were members of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), and her father Henry was a polygamist – two wives and 23 children. While polygamy was openly practiced in the Utah Territory it was frowned upon by the rest of American culture. Utah at that time was vying for statehood, and under pressure from the United States government, the then president of the LDS Church had an alleged “revelation from Jesus” one night in 1890 which commanded that the church should cease the practice of “plural” marriage. Not surprisingly, statehood was granted to Utah shortly thereafter in January of 1896, and the United States government began rounding up and prosecuting practicing polygamists. During this time period many men went on the run and into hiding, and this included Elsie’s father, Henry Gardner.

A Young Sarah Elsie Gardner – from the collection of Baine Spencer

In the absence of her husband – Elsie’s mother, Mary, was forced to supplement the family’s income. From the 1900 census, it is not altogether clear whether Mary worked at a boarding house or whether she opened her own home to boarders. Either way, as the oldest daughter in the household at that time, Elsie’s life was undoubtedly one of hard work and very little free time. It is likely that Mary depended on Elsie to perform household chores and cooking tasks – which were laborious at the turn of the century. In addition to this, Elsie was more than likely responsible for the care of the younger children still in the household so that her own mother could work (Amy, 16; Eva, 14; Millie, 12; Daisy, 9; Bertie, 1; and Silvie, 3).

Four months after the 1900 census was enumerated, on 22 Oct 1900, eighteen year old Elsie married 30-year old George Francis Spencer in Manti, Utah. George was the son of John Henry Spencer and Lucy Lodica Elmer. George was also the product of a polygamist family – his father had two wives and 24 children.

George and Elsie made their home in Indianola, which was settled in 1871, for the first five to six years of their marriage. Indianola is a small community located in Sanpete County, Utah – east of Route 89 at Thistle Creek. By early 1907, the family had moved to George’s birthplace, Payson, Utah. Payson, being more established, was settled by Latter-Day Saints in 1850. While Elsie “kept house,” George established a small sheep herding/farming business. According to statistics taken from the 1900 census, the average wage was $449 per year – George being a farmer and a sheep herder in a small rural community – probably profited much less than this.

Elsie and George had five children over a period of fourteen years (Earl Francis in 1903; Mary Lodica in 1905; Ernest Richard in 1907; Elmer Bert in 1908; and finally my grandmother, Pearl Eva in 1914); however, based on the records located and the family stories told, Elsie and George did not live happily ever after. It is unknown whether the couple ever formally divorced; however, in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 census for George Spencer, he is indexed as being divorced. George never remarried. By the 1920 census Elsie is present in the mining community of Mammoth, Juab County, Utah with a man indexed as her husband, Carl Person. Conflicting information extracted from that census leads me to believe that there was upheaval and confusion within the family – the children (with the exception of Pearl) were indexed twice – once in Indianola with their father; and once in Mammoth living next door to their mother and new husband.

Elsie’s granddaughter, Bonnie Allias Mortenson (daughter of Mary Lodica Spencer), confirms that Elsie did leave George and the children on multiple occasions. Bonnie additionally stated that when Elsie’s youngest child, Pearl, grew older, she was often left in the care of Elsie’s oldest daughter, Mary Lodica. Bonnie’s mother never spoke of her parents divorcing or her mother remarrying – only stating that, “Elsie grew weary of being poor all the time.” We cannot presume to know what led Elsie to abandon George and the children. One can only speculate that the burdens of her childhood, the marriage at 18 to a much older man, and the dreary day-to-day responsibilities of a poor farmer’s wife became more than the young woman could manage.

A more mature Sarah Elsie Gardner – from the collection of Margie A. Montoya Hensel

Today, 115 years after Elsie’s marriage to George, I have confirmed that Elsie did in fact marry again. (As an aside, I am forever grateful to all the many indexing volunteers at both ancestry.com and familysearch.org. Because of their efforts new collections are coming online almost weekly, which is how I discovered Elsie’s second marriage in the Montana County Marriages database.)

 Elsie married Carl Person on 17 May 1918 in Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana. On the marriage license she describes herself as being the daughter of Henry E. Gardner and Mary R. Patterson Gardner having been born in Basin (Payson) City, Utah. Interestingly, Elsie further indicates that she had never been married and that she was 35 years old. Carl Person states that he is the son of John Person and Emma Johanson Person; that he is 39 years old; and was born in Halmstad Sweden. He also indicates that he has never been married. From other records we know that he was an ore miner employed at the Mammoth Mining Company.  Butte, Montana sits high in the Rocky Mountains and was settled in the Silver Bow Creek Valley as a mining town in the late 1800s.  First gold and silver was mined there and later the area became known for its abundant copper.  The small town was often called “the richest hill on earth,” and was the largest city for many hundreds of miles in all directions.  A very different life from what Elsie had been living in Indianola.

Marriage License – Elsie and Carl Person

Seven years later, on 16 Feb 1925, Elsie died at the young age of 42 years. A majority of the public member trees on ancestry.com indicate that she died in Redlands, San Bernardino County, California; however, no one seems to have a source for this. I am researching a San Bernardino death record for an Elsie “Pearson” with matching dates to our Elsie; however, it is not proven that this is her.

My great grandmother, Sarah Elsie Gardner Spencer, is laid to rest in the Gardner plot at Payson City Cemetery. Her tombstone inscription – Mother – Sarah Elsie Spencer.

Sarah Elsie Gardner Spencer – Headstone – Payson City Cemetery in Gardner Plot

 

 

Will the Real Frank Miller Please Stand Up?

When researching an ancestor with a common surname such as Jones, or Smith or Miller it often quickly becomes a tangled and confusing mess. If you combine that common surname with a common first name such as Joe or Bob or Frank – it can be enough to make you want to pull your hair out! And so it has been with our Frank Miller, son of Elijah Spencer Miller and Harriet Curbow. Basically, when performing family history research you will run across clues about your ancestry – you will dig a little deeper – and if all goes well you find some answers to your family mysteries.

Frank Miller was one of those mysteries. In the beginning, the only thing that we knew for certain about Frank Miller was information provided by the 1880 census where we find him living in McLennan County, Texas with his father Elijah Spencer Miller (age 31 born in Mississippi) and mother Harriet Curbow (age 26 born in Mississippi). “Our” Frank was about 6 years old having been born in Texas in 1874. Also in the home is Frank’s grandfather, Tilman P. Curbow, who is 55 years old and who is a widower. Frank has three siblings: Thomas, Jesse and Minnie.

Fast forward to the turn of the century – 1910 to be precise –and we find Elijah Spencer Miller living in Akers, Carter County, Oklahoma. Harriet has died – Elijah has remarried – and Frank is nowhere to be found – or so I thought.

While researching the children of Elijah and Harriet, I met Tom Hedges, a great-grandson of Elijah Miller and wife Harriet (through their daughter Lou Ida Belle Miller) – and we’ve been trading information on the Miller/Curbow family ever since. Tom advised that he believed our Frank ended up out in California. With this lead, Tom and I started tracing a gentleman named Frank Miller who was born in Texas in July of 1873 and whose parents were both born in Mississippi (locations and date matched!). Over the ensuing months (years??!) – I had further contact with the descendants of the “California Frank” Miller. These family members indicated that he was from Nocana, Montague County, Texas, and that his family was from Indian Territory and had come from Mississippi. (Again – basic facts matched!) We learned that he had married Frances Mary Mehn and had two sons, one of whom was still living. We happily exchanged family photos, stories and documents. Tom and I felt certain that we had the right Frank Miller family. But not so fast!

I made contact with “California Frank” Miller’s grandson, who is also named Frank Miller (you see how confusing this could get?!). Mr. Miller told me that his father had no recollection of the surname Curbow. Further, his grandfather’s death certificate (which I have seen) indicates that his mother was Sarah Jane Clinton – not Harriet Curbow. Further, in the 1910 census he is not yet in California – rather living in Montague County, Texas with his mother. So basically – the way it looks – we have three Frank Millers – one in Oklahoma (ours); one in Texas; and one in California!  I was deflated – time to take down all the lovely photographs and records from the website – which belonged to a Frank Miller that was not ours. So now we’re back to square one when it comes to Frank Miller.

Fast forward to February of 2014 when I received an email from Tom Hedges outlining his recent work on the Miller family. The death of a cousin – Alta Faye Miller Porterfield – prompted Tom to take another look at his Miller family genealogy. Tom found Alta’s memorial on Find-a-Grave which confirmed that she was the daughter of “Monk” Miller. Tom knew that “Monk” was a son of “Our Frank” Miller. After I made contact with the creator of the memorials, David Miller, we all felt like we had made a connection. David subsequently ordered “Frank” Miller’s death certificate, and it is confirmed that he is the son of Elijah Spencer Miller.

“Our Frank” Miller is William Franklin Miller who was born in Texas on 17 Sept 1874. He left Texas and went to Oklahoma with his parents and lived his entire life in Carter County, Oklahoma. On 4 Dec 1904 he married Rachel Bondurant in Carter County. This is the same day that Elijah Spencer Miller married his second wife, Rosa. Frank and Rachel had six children that I am aware of: Tulle (1906); Jesse Eugene (1911); Roy Franklin (1914); William Columbus (1916); Cleva Bell (1921); and Annie Belle (1923). These names are also very prevalent in the Curbow family genealogy. It appears that Frank was a farmer all of his life. He died 2 Apr 1948 in Milo, Carter County, Oklahoma, and is laid to rest in the Milo Cemetery.

The search for “the real” Frank Miller has been an invaluable lesson to me not to jump to any hasty conclusions. I am glad that the correction has been made – and a big thank you to Tom Hedges and David Miller for untangling this Miller web!

 

2013 – The Year in Review – and Catching Up!

While pondering my genealogy goals and “to do list” for 2014, I contemplated writing a Year in Review blog post – and then I was completely caught off guard and stunned to realize that I had not written one single blog posting since July of 2012.  What a slug!  And – the excuses start right now – I’m still working a full-time job (and probably will until some attorney annoys me into a heart attack and early death) – and so I can’t ever squeeze in all of the things that I have to do much less the things I want to do.  I will endeavor to do a better job in 2014!

All was not lost though – given the fact that I’ve not posted anything new this year – we still received 54,852 hits on the blog!  I’ve been consistently busy behind the scenes – and below are a few highlights of the year.

My family history website (curbowfamily.com) is now fully documented and sourced as it pertains to my son’s Curbow line all the way through to his gggg-grandfather Tilman P. Curbow.  While we didn’t have any major breakthroughs, and many questions still exist – I did add an obituary here and a death certificate there and these small details continue to flesh out the specifics of who these people were.  In 2014, I plan to broaden the Curbow base by concentrating my research on the next generation (Henry B. Curbow).  Henry interests me because I believe him to by my son’s fifth great-grandfather, a Texas pioneer, who was present in the Republic of Texas by 1846.

Last July I made another trip to Waco, Texas – where Tilman settled “east of the Brazos River” after the Civil War.  My Curbow research partner, Jan S., met me there.  Jan and I had been corresponding for several years via email, and as such, it was so special to meet her in person.  On a previous trip to Waco, I had met John K., a retired McLennan County surveyor.  John was our tour guide for the day.  He loves genealogy, history, and he knows McLennan County like the back of his hand.  The day was amazing and inspiring.  John, through old maps, plats and surveys, took us to the land that Doss Bedwell used to own – and the land that Tilman P. Curbow leased, farmed and ranched.  While viewing the general area we also drove past the Storey Ranch and the land once owned by Elijah Miller’s father.  It was so beneficial to see where the families lived in proximity to each other.  While we didn’t find the Bedwell Cemetery, as we had hoped, it was nonetheless so remarkable to see the land that our ancestors lived and toiled on.  We also visited the historic First Street Cemetery and several others, all the while reaping the benefit of John’s unending knowledge of historic Waco.  We also had the opportunity to spend some time at the McLennan County Courthouse, where Jan and I were just astonished that we were given free rein to hold and handle wills and estate papers that were 125+ years old.  While there I joined the Central Texas Genealogy Association.  I have enjoyed their quarterly newsletters – and hope to be a contributor at some point.  We topped the day off by eating fried chicken in a parking lot in sweltering Texas summer heat.  I wouldn’t have it any other way !

When you marry a man from the South – you are going to find Confederate veterans in the family tree – and I have found lots of them!  This year my son, Ryan, was inducted into the Descendants of Confederate Veterans – a Texas Confederate Historical Society – based on the service of his gggg-grandfather, Tilman P. Curbow.  His wife’s uncle serves as the president of the Austin Chapter.  I was invited to attend the November meeting to tell the story of Tilman and his Civil War service.  I was super nervous. Genealogy is my passion – and I can talk a lot about it – but I am not a public speaker !!!  However, it was such a welcoming and receptive group that I got over myself pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to tell Tilman’s story.  In 2014, we will start working on Ryan’s membership in the Sons of the American Revolution through his gggggg-grandfather Leonard Miles (1760-1835) who served out of the Fairfield District of South Carolina.

In 2014, I will shift some of the focus off of the Curbow family lines and focus on my Montoya/Spencer family lines.  These families are each unique and fascinating, and I am very excited to dig in a little deeper.  My father always told me that his great-grandfather emigrated from Barcelona Spain.  This oral family history story is partially true; however, we now know that the Montoya family came to New Mexico many generations prior to that.  Our emigrating ancestor was more than likely Bartolomé’ de Montoya – a Spanish conquistador  who was born in about 1572 in Cantillana (province of Andalucía) Spain.  He emigrated to Mexico City where he met and married María de Zamora.  This couple with their children and servants later traveled to New Mexico with the Onate Expedition.  Thus the Montoya surname is firmly established as one of New Mexico’s first families.  Most people who carry the Montoya surname today are descended from Bartolomé’s son Diego de Montoya.  Here is an article on the Montoya surname in New Mexico written by Jose Antonio Esquibel.

One very exciting development as it pertains to our Montoya family is the development of a family group Facebook page.  Thank you Syndi Montoya Miller for this great idea – and for getting it implemented !!  It has been a lot of fun reconnecting, and in some instances, meeting new family for the first time.  (Yes….we are a very large family!!)  We have had a lot of fun exchanging stories, memories and photographs of our loved ones.  I’m especially pleased to learn more about my Uncle Pete – and his family.  My father always spoke fondly of Pete and David – his older half brothers.  Additionally, a picture of my grandmother Pearl Spencer was shared by Syndi that I had never seen – and it is such a treasure – because there aren’t many pictures of her.

Lastly, I was really thrilled to receive a phone call from my Aunt Margie out-of-the-blue one day earlier in the year inviting me to coffee “to meet a Montoya cousin.”  It was none other than Sam Montoya – who lives less than 10 minutes down the road from me.  We met at Starbucks, and I didn’t even have to look for him.  I spotted him as a Montoya right away!  There’s been a little bit of talk about a family reunion.  What crazy fun would that be?!

Here to more happy genealogy hunting in 2014 !