Laurel Keith/Fox/Thompson

We're on a quest to figure out who is Edward Samuel Fox's wife.
His death record states that his wife's first name is Laurel.
His 1930 Census states that he is divorced.

We found some records of a Laurel Keith that look like they might be the right person. Here's why:
A 1920 Census lists Edward S Fox living with his wife Laurel Fox and step-daughter Letha Keith.

Looking for Laurel and Letha in other records gives us the following information:
A 1910 Census lists Laurel Keith and Letha Keith, living with her grandmother Eliza Burke and her likely-uncle Harry Burke. Laurel is widowed, suggesting she was married to a Mr. Keith, the father of Letha Keith.
As we said earlier, the 1920 Census lists Laurel Fox and Letha Keith living with Laurel's husband Edward S Fox. This suggests Laurel remarried after being widowed, and Letha kept her birth lastname.
In the 1930 Census, we find Laurel Thompson with Letha Keith, this time with Laurel married to Henry Thompson. In the census, he was 58 years old and his first marriage was at age 58, suggesting the couple had been married less than a year. Laurel was 46 years old in this census, and her first marriage was at age 22, affirming that her first marriage was around age 24. Her daughter Letha is 23 years old in this census, which matches up.
There's a marriage record in 1934 between Letha Keith and Earl Gundelach.

In the 1940 Census, Laura Thompson is living with Earl Gundelach, Letha Gundelach, and baby Earl Gundelach. Laura is widowed at this point. Letha is married and has taken on the last name of Gundelach.

In the Social security death index, Letha Gundelach is listed as having been born 2 Feb 1907, died April 1986 in Illinois. Note that she died with the last name of Gundelach.

Letha and Earl G. Gundelach share a headstone in the Clarendon Hills Cemetery. 

Next time: look up information on:

The Burkes (in 1910 census. Is Laurel's maiden name Burke?)

Mr. Keith (Laurel's first husband, who passed away by 1910)

Henry Thompson (1930 spouse)

Earl Gundelach (Letha Keith's husband)

Irwin F Monroe and family

One of my ancestor's descendants is Jay Case. According to his marriage certificate, he married Wilda Monroe, daughter of Irwin Monroe and Harriet Pugh. In searching for her family, here's a quick compilation of what I found:
1870 Census lists Francis I Monroe, son of Levi and Clara, and brother to James, William C H, and Hattie B. It says he was born in Iowa.

1889 Marriage Record lists Irvin F Monroe, born in Germany to Levi Monroe and Clara Polson. He married Harriet M. Pugh, born 1873 Iowa to Jackson Pugh and Martha Sieffell. They married 27 February 1889 in Prescott, Iowa.

1895 Census lists Irvin F, Hattie, Wilda, and Letha. 

1896 Birth Record for a female Monroe born to Irwin F. Monroe and Harriet M. Pugh on 26 Feb 1896 in Polk, Iowa.

1899 Birth Record lists Odresa F Monroe, born 9 Feb 1899 in Des Moines, Iowa to I. F. Monroe and Hattie Pugh.

1900 Census lists Irwin, Hattie, Clara W (I think that Clara W. and Wilda C. are the same person), Letha May, Hazel F, and Actressa F. It also says Hattie--the mother of the family--had 8 kids, 3 of whom are still living. That's confusing because there are 4 kids listed in the household.

1903 Birth Record lists Geo Irvin Monroe born 04 Jul 1903 in Des Moines, Iowa to Irvin F Monroe and Harriett Pugh.

1905 Census I don't have a visual on and the people are listed as individuals instead of families. But Irvin F, Letha, Actressa, and Clara W are a few of the 23 Monroes in Polk, Iowa. Probably others on that list are related to them. 

1906 Birth Record lists Jas E Monroe born 6 Jun 1906 in Des Moines, Iowa to Irvin F Monroe and Harriet Pugh.

1908 Birth Record lists Evalyn Martha Monroe, born 07 Oct 1908 to Ervin Frances Monroe and Hady Pugh in Des Moines.

1910 Marriage Record lists Wilda C Monroe, Irvin F Monroe, and Harriet Pugh. She married Jay Case, son of Jos. W. Case and Ida Bailey in Des Moines, Iowa  on January 10, 1910. 

1910 Census lists Irvin, Harriet, Letha, Hazel, A?tressa, George, James, Evelynn, and Welda & Jay Case.

1912 Birth Record lists Alice B. Monroe born 22 Sep 1912 in Des Moines, Iowa to Irvin F Monroe and Harriett Pugh.

1917 Birth Record lists Marilyn Maxine Monroe born 22 Mar 1917 in Des Moines, Iowa to Irvin Frank Monroe and Harriett Malinda Pugh.

1920 Census lists Irving, Hattie, George, James, Evelyn, Bernice, Maryline (all are their children)

1924 Marriage Record for Geo. I. Monroe. Lists Geo's parents as Irwin F. and Hailey Pugh. Geo's wife is Edith L. Hanns, daughter of Frank Hanns and Mary Feist.

1925 Marriage Record for Frank Edwards son of Wm Edwards and Adaline Hoffman, who married Pherne Monroe Miller (born 1898), daughter of Irvin F. Monroe and Harriet Pugh. They married 11 May 1925 in Adel, Iowa. 

1930 Census lists Irvin F Monroe, Harriet, Evalyn, Bernice, and Marilyn.

Because this family is not directly the descendants of any of my ancestors, I think I'll stop here for now.

If I do revisit the line, I'll want to collect the vital information and family members of Irvin's parents, siblings, and children.

Riley Case research

Today’s post is a summary of my research for Riley Case and his family. Riley is related to me through the Dodge line: he is Truman Dodge’s grandfather (Jane Case’s father).

Riley Case. I found town records for Barkhamsted, Connecticut, which were really helpful for information on Riley and his siblings and parents. I want to revisit them to look for more information about Riley’s own family later on. But they list his birth date as January 19, 1816. I also found his headstone on findagrave.com, which lists his birth as 1816 and his death as 1886. The text on findagrave suggests Riley’s death date is July 2, 1886, but I haven’t found a source to confirm that.

Mariah (Riley’s wife). I haven’t found her maiden name. But I did find her headstone on findagrave.com—it’s right next to Riley’s in the Baldwin Cemetery, and it says “Mariah 1818-1915.”

Mary A Case (Riley’s daughter). According to census records from 1850 and 1856, she was born in 1841 in Connecticut.

Jane Case (Riley’s daughter). Jane’s my direct ancestor, so I already had a good amount of information on her.

Joseph W Case (Riley’s son). I haven’t done much research on Joseph.

Truman Case (Riley’s son). It looks like Truman married a woman named Catharine, and I’m trying to solidify her maiden name and their children.

In the 1880 census, a Truman Case of the right age lives next door to Riley and Maria, and he is married to a Catharine (2 years older than him) who was born in West Virginia. Catharine’s last name isn’t listed.

There’s a birth record for A. C. Ben Case, born to Truman Case and Catherine H. Baker in 1882. Also on Truman Case: the Truman Case who lives near Riley and Mariah had no kids in 1880. In the Iowa 1885 census, Truman and Catherine have 2 kids (Mary G (4) and Ben (2)). So I think the birth record and census records match, suggesting Catherine’s maiden name is Baker.

Back to the 1880 census, the closest Baker family to the Cases are listed 3 pages earlier: John and Juliana Baker, age 45. Catharine may be their child or another relative.

Albert R. Case (Riley’s son). In 1880, Albert R Case and his wife Margaret (3 years younger, born in West Virginia) live next door to Riley and Maria. I found a marriage record of Albert R. Case to Margaret Nine, from February 7, 1875 in Jasper, Iowa. In the 1880 census, they have 2 children together: Henry (3) and Charles (1), both born in Iowa. Albert’s headstone in the Baldwin Cemetery lists his birth as May 30, 1855 and his death as Aug 6, 1895. I also found death records and headstone for Henry and Charles (both died young, within a few days of each other). Also in the cemetery is WmCase--I found a birth record for Wm Vernon Case born Jan 8, 1882 to Albert R and Margaret V. (I’m not sure what the V stands for, but the V initial is also on Henry and Charles’ headstones, so I believe it is the same woman.)

Eliza A Case (Riley’s daughter). Eliza shows up in the 1860 census, but then she passed away in 1863, when she was around 5 years old. (The middle initial “A” comes from her headstone.)

Questions I still have:

When did Riley and Mariah get married?

What is Mariah’s maiden name?

Is Riley’s death date July 2, 1886, as someone suggested on findagrave?

I’ve seen circumstantial evidence that Riley’s daughter Mary A Case may have married Daniel Gifford. Is that true? Is there a source to confirm it?

Is Truman really married to Carherine Baker?

All but 2 of the Case’s in the Baldwin cemetery are in this family, so I’m guessing these are also their relatives. How are they related? Hiram J Case. Maudie B Case.

Is there any more information about this family in the Connecticut Barkhamsted records ?

Carl and Sarah Braatz's Children

This was another day in the box! I went through the first half of the "Isaac Kiser Braatz" folder, and will post what I learned by generation.

First, information in a handwritten list of Carl Braatz and Sarah Melvina Stainbrook's children:

Amelia Braatz d. Nov 20 1966. m 1900 to John Schilling who died 1913, then m. Frank Mashino 12/21/1913

George. b, m, d, same as NFS

Frederick A. b, d same as NFS. m 1909 Mary Michealsen

Hattie L. b, d same as NFS. m James Graykowske

Charles Seynour. b, m, d same as NFS.

Elizabeth b, m, d same as NFS.

Isaac b, m, d same as NFS.

Bertha A. m. 12/16/1916 to Nels Michaelsen

John m. Marie Hanson

Matilda b. 10 Sept 1904, m. Eddie Miller. (The column says “Carlie.” Maybe this was Matilda’s mother? Or an alternate name?) (Matilda doesn’t show up in NFS.)

Distant Sanfords

A few more notes on the Sanfords.

William and Abigail Simmons Sanford

Son William Hicks Sanford has 2 recorded marriages: on an AF to Patience Sawdy and Priscilla Sawdy, and in NFS to Priscilla Sawdy and Rhoda Sawdy.

Son Abraham Sanford’s wife is Clara, and an AF gives her the full name Clara Howes

Brother Peleg Simmons: an AF records his wife as Eliphal Sanford, instead of NFS’s Abigail Sanford.

Peleg and Lillis Wilcox Sanford An AF lists their marriage as 1774, and NFS has many dates, including 1747, before both were born.

*Except for the marriage date discrepancies noted above, all of the Marriage dates on an AF 5 generations above Violet Sanford agree with the NFS dates and people.

* a note indicates there were 2 main Sanford immigrations to America. John Sanford and Thomas Sanford (no relation) (handwritten notes by Dad, 6/21/1995)

The Box: John Herman Sanford

I went through the file we have for John Sanford and compared everything to New Family Search (NFS). Discrepancies and Confirmations are listed below.

Marriage. A Iowa Marriage Record extraction (ie not the handwritten version) confirms NFS marriage date and place between John and Mary.

Early Marriage. It seems John and his wife Mary lived with John’s parents when John’s daughter Violet was young. In the house were his mother Melinda (65), Brother Tilly (35), Brother Alonzo (24), Daughter Violet (2), and wife Mary (21), as well as a 2-month-old (“William”?). (1870 Iowa Federal Census)

Child William S Sanford: Mom’s notes from Craigmont Idaho Cemetery indicate he was born in 1883, rather than NFS’s 1881.

Child Mary A Millage: Mom’s notes from Craigmont Idaho Cemetery indicate she was born February 26, 1881 rather than NFS’s 1883. The cemetery notes also indicate she died August 30, 1961 rather than NFS’s September 2, 1961. There are also cemetery dates for a William Millage, who may have been her father in law (b. 1860, d. 1932)

Grandchild Earl Bliss Carley: notes from Craigmont Idaho Cemetery indicate he died June 25, 1973 (NFS options are June 25, 1974 or just June 1973.

Augustus Carley's family

There is some conflicting information about Augustus Steven Carley and his wife Violet Sanford, and their children. These need to be verified and entered into NewFamilySearch.

According to new.familysearch.org Augustus and Violet's marriage occurred on 26 Aug 1883, but our printed information from Ancestry.com says 6 May 1894 in Genesee, Latah, ID (Idaho Marriages, ref: Latah Co. Courthouse marriage book P-2, pg 54). Violet's obituary of 1922 lists the marriage as 29 Aug 1893.

Their son Earl (b. 22 Jul 1894) may have been married in Mexico around 1930, per family rumors. He died in 1973 per SSDI. He had no children, per the Stitt family bible.

John married Maud McQueen on 18 Dec 1917, Nez Perce, Lewis, ID (per Ancestry.com ref: county marriage book vol 1 pg 154). Maud (b. 21 Mar 1899) died July 1985 per SSDI. NewFamilySearch lists John's birthdate as 30 Nov 1893, but a handwritten family note says 30 Nov 1899, which is supported by the 1930 Federal Census which lists John as 30 years old and Earl as 35 (Cragmont Village, Lewis, ID, pg 5A). He also had no children.

Lester married Marion A. O'Coyne on 3 Dec 1925, in  Coeur D' Alene, Kootenai, ID (per Kootenai records vol 20 pg 41). 1930 census gives a son Albertus (b. 1926-7). Stitt family bible says Lester had 2 children (no names) and worked in Grand Coulee before dying of liver cancer.

NewFamilySearch is missing their son, Lawrence Eldred, b. 22 Jun 1902 who married Leona F. Pogreba on 8 Aug 1925 in Coeur D' Alene, Kootenai, ID (per Kootenai records vol 19 pg 470). According to census records  (US federal 1930, Spokane WA, block 742, sheet 14B) they had two children, Lawrence E (b. 13 Jun 1926) and Lee V (b. 1929). However, the Stitt family bible lists Lawrence's children as Pat and Burt.

We find most of the family in a 1920 census in Nez Perce.

Smith Marriage Record

The information for Amasa J Smith and Dora Dougherty's marriage is confirmed as what we had: 29 Feb, 1880. No new information was on the record.
Witnesses were Mrs. Jennie Miller and something A Smith (I couldn't read the first name). I'm attaching the scanned image (2 versions)

10-4-2010: Apparently I never got the file uploaded because it was in pdf format, which blogger won't take. I'm publishing this post from last May, and if I find the file I'll try to remember to attach it.

Marriage Records

Laura and I found these on microfilm a while ago, but since blogger won't take pdf we couldn't post them as originally scanned. It took me a while to get around to posting them.

The first record is for Amasa J Smith and Dora Dougherty, married in Watonwan County, Minnesota, 29 February 1880 (the original record said March but this was crossed out more recently).

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The second record is for William Nelson and Sally Carley, married in Vernon, Indiana, 22 August 1839.

Smith Marriage Record

I am ordering microfilm number 1638096 to confirm our recorded marriage information for Amasa Jay Smith and his wife Dora/Isidor in St. James, Watonwan, MN on 29 Feb 1880. Hopefully it will also have information on her real name, her parents, and birth info.

Laura found her on someone else's family tree with rather suspect information, but listing her parents and Gerard A. Dougherty and Mary Harding, who were married in Hancock county, Illinois on July 3, 1856. They appear in 1880 in a Keen, IL census with an 18 year old daughter Deora. This could possibly be her, but not likely, since we see her in a MN census that same year already married to Amasa Jay and with a brother named Jack, who doesn't appear as a son of Gerard.

Carleys and Dolphs

Jennings County, Indiana marriage records on microfilm #1305173 confirm several marriages:

Bartholomew Carley married Salley Dolph on 22 Sept 1822.
Richard Carley married Eunice Dolph on 27 Aug 1826.
The record did not indicate ages for anyone.
I will order the next film (#1305174) to be sure, but the online index accessed through Ancestry.com also lists Sally Carley's marriage to William Nelson on 22 Aug 1839.
(I think this is correct, but the online version had mistakenly entered Bartholomew's year as 1833.)
________________

There were several other Carleys and Dolphs in the book, who might be helpful in establishing family connections, so they are listed here:
Polly Carley to Caleb Lucas, 19 Jan 1822
Beulah Carley to David McClay, 2 Jun 1823
Mary Dolph to Aron Bullard, 1821
Phebe Dolph to Isaac Harrington, 22 Jul 1824 (Applied)

I couldn't find any death records on ancestry for Bartholomew or Richard, but next time I should check the Jennings County website for resources: http://home.att.net/~Local_History/Jennings-Co-IN.htm
Note that in 1830 Bartholomew was living in Vernon, Geneva, or Columbia township, according to the federal census. Probably Vernon, according to OneWorldTree. (http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=13753141&fsc=no)

I also need to check out the info on familysearch for Salley's sister Eunice, who is also listed as married to a Bartholomew Carley. The only other overlap I see is a son born in 1824 named Lehman or Lyman, but they have distinct spouses. OneWorldTree on Ancestry lists her married to John Lockwood, not Bartholomew Carley.

John Sanford and Mary Jane Nelson

John and Mary Jane were married March 6, 1866 in Boone Country, Iowa.
Here is a copy of their marriage license (plus a negative version if it's easier to read.)

Microfilmed Marriage Records

We looked at film 1034317 for Boone IA marriages, (looking for John Sanford and Mary Nelson in 1866, 6 Mar) but the film only covered through 1862. We are ordering the next one. (1034318)

We also looked at 1205173, which had the Marriage Records Vol1 (1818-1830) from Jennings county, Ind. To try to sort out the marriages of the Carleys and Dolphs.
We found out that Bartholomew Carley married Salley Dolph on 22 September 1823.
Also, there is a marriage between Richard Carley and Eunice Dolph on 27 August 1826. We suspect that Eunice Dolph is Eunice Lindley, wife of the deceased Stephen Dolph. The marriage was certified by Alanson Audacious, or something similar.

Marriage Madness with the Carleys

It all boils down to this: The Carley's and the Dolph's have some complicated relationships. At least, potentially.
To sort it all out, we're requesting microfilm that contains information regarding the marriages between Bartholomew Carley and Sarah Dolph as well as Bartholomew's dad Richard and Eunice Dolph.
Stay tuned to find out: Did Richard Carley--Bartholomew's dad--marry Eunice Dolph--Sarah's mom--late in life? Or is this a young couple who happens to have these same names? And what is the exact relationship between Sarah Dolph and Richard Carley? Are they married, too, as some records suggest?
We'll find out when the microfilm arrives. Until then, happy guessing!

Carley, Sanford Marriages

This is the marriage record I found for the Carleys on Ancestry.com. There was no original image, but the source citation is there.

Name:	Augustus S. Carley
Gender:	Male
Spouse:	Violette S. Sanford
Spouse gender:	Female
Marriage Date:	May 6, 1894
Marriage Location:	Genesee, Latah Co., Idaho
Source:	This record can be found in the marriage book at the County Courthouse located in Latah Co., ID in Volume P-2 on Page 54.

This is the record for Violet's parents. The county record is available on microfilm (see below). I am ordering the film for next time.

Name:	John W. Sanford
Spouse:	Mary Jane Nelson
Marriage Date:	6 Mar 1866
County:	Boone
State:	IA

Boone County is located in central Iowa. The records from the county included in this database span from 9 January 1851 through 1900.
Original data: Boone County, Iowa Marriages, 9 January 1851-1900. County court records located at Boone, Iowa or Family History Library microfilm #1034317-1034320.