The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Four: James and Fannie

(If you haven’t read parts one, two, and three, you’ll want to do so before diving in to this post.)

When Mary (Nagle) Campbell died from childbirth complications on 31 March 1888,¹ her widower James Campbell was left to raise their five children alone. Within a year, the three elder boys (especially George) were on the radar of the local authorities. In May of 1889, both the Plain Dealer and the Leader reported on George Campbell’s miscreant behavior.

George Campbell, bad boy. 30 May 1889.²

George Campbell, accomplished liar. 30 May 1889.³

Although both articles and the teacher who exposed young George’s lies got some details about the family incorrect—namely that George’s parents were alive when in fact only one of them was living—there’s enough accurate information about the Campbells of No. 7 McCurdy Street to infer that James’s third eldest son, George (born in 1879), was the titular “bad boy” and “accomplished young liar.” George ran away again the very same night he was marched home by Agent Poole and remained missing for at least a week.

George Campbell runs away again. 6 June 1889.⁴

Twelve-year-old Joseph was apparently in trouble as well, and the authorities wanted to send both boys to the House of Refuge. Whether they were actually incarcerated or not is not yet known, but what is known is that a year later, in April of 1890, George ran away again.

Although the Plain Dealer got the family’s surname incorrect and once again implied that George had a mother living when he did not, other details (the address, the first names, George’s age) point to the James Campbell family.⁵

The fifteen-year-old boy mentioned in “An Accomplished Liar” is probably eldest son Charles, who is almost certainly the subject of a “situation wanted” classified advertisement from March 1889, which seems more likely to have been placed by James than by Charles who, according to teacher T.N. Johnson anyway, “would not work.”

Classified ad, probably seeking work for Charles.⁶

Between the two younger children, Martha Jane (Jennie) and William (who turned seven and four respectively in 1890), and the apparently out-of-control older boys (especially George), James clearly couldn’t do it all alone. Help arrived on 14 June 1890, when James married his second wife, Fannie “N. Dean.” (Fannie didn’t have a middle name, and “Dean” was not her surname–but that’s all coming up in part five).

Marriage record for James Campbell and Fannie N. Dean.⁷

The loss of the 1890 United States Census is especially acute when it comes to the Campbell family, as it’s the one enumeration year in which all of the Campbell children should have appeared with their father in one household–although it may or may not have included Fannie since she and James were married twelve days after that year’s official census date, 2 June 1890.⁸ Luckily, the census isn’t the be-all end-all of genealogical records, especially in a city like Cleveland.

By 1891, Charles Campbell appears to have settled into work as a printer. He’s listed as such in the 1891/1892 Cleveland City Directory, residing at 7 McCurdy av. James Campbell, carpenter, is listed on the very next page, although his entry has him residing at 17 McCurdy instead of 7 McCurdy.

1891/1892 Cleveland Directory entries for Charles and James Campbell.⁹

Joseph Campbell first appears in his own right in the 1895/1896 edition of the directory, as a teamster residing at 56 McCurdy Ave. James (still a carpenter) and Charles (still a printer) are also listed at 56 McCurdy Ave in 1895/1896.¹⁰

No, the family didn’t move down the street. Cleveland’s house and street numbering system was extremely inconsistent until 1906,¹¹ much to Clevelanders’ consternation. For example:

One 1894 Cleveland resident’s complaint about the house numbers.¹²

The Campbells’ shifting house number is down to the non-standardized and inconsistent numbering system, and not because the Campbell family was moving up and down McCurdy from house number 7, to 17, to 56–although that would have been a good trick, considering how McCurdy was (and still is) a very short street:

McCurdy Ave, far left. A very short street.¹³

On 27 August 1896, Charles Henry Campbell married Inga Theresa Simmons.¹⁴ A year later, on 3 September 1897, he applied to the probate court for guardianship of the estate of his younger siblings, George W., Martha Jane, and William E. Campbell, who were still minors. James and Joseph J. Campbell served as sureties on the guardian bond.

Guardian Bond for Charles H. Campbell.¹⁵

Wait. What estate? Let’s back up. In 1883, James and his first wife, Mary, bought property on McCurdy Ave.¹⁶ When Mary died intestate (without a will) on 31 March 1888, both her widower James and her children inherited portions of her share of ownership. The minor children couldn’t legally make decisions about their share of the property, but a guardian appointed on their behalf could. So why would the elder brother, Charles, become guardian of his siblings’ estate as opposed to their father, James? Well, according to the 1897 probate code of Ohio, James was ineligible.

Excerpt from the 1897 Probate Code of Ohio.¹⁷

On 28 August 1900, James Campbell applied for letters of administration on Mary Campbell’s estate, thus rendering him ineligible to be guardian of the minor Campells’ interest in the same estate.

James’s application for letters of administration on Mary’s estate.¹⁸

According to the 1900 Census, the residence on McCurdy was owned, not rented, but it was mortgaged rather than owned free.¹⁹ In the 1900 probate case file approving the sale of the property, a petition asserts that the entire family–James, Fannie, Joseph J., Charles, and the younger Campbell children via Charles’s guardianship–was beholden to an $800 mortgage held by one Benjamin Atkinson.²⁰ I don’t know for sure yet (I need to find the Campbell-Atkinson mortgage deed, presuming one exists) but I’m guessing the mortgage with Benjamin Atkinson was executed in about 1897, and was the reason Charles became guardian of his minor siblings’ estate that year.

As for why the actions on Mary’s estate didn’t begin until nine years after her death: so long as the family was living on the property and not attempting to refinance or sell it, then there was no reason to get the courts involved.

In September 1900, the Campbells sold the McCurdy Avenue property to Mary Hawkins, apparently to wriggle free from the Atkinson mortgage. The sale of the lot and house that was the Campbell family home for seventeen years generated a deed which is a treasure trove of genealogical data, linking the entire family together–including Charles’s wife Inga and the tragically deceased Mary Christina (Nagle) Campbell.

Snippet of Campbell-Hawkins deed, recorded 5 October 1900.²¹

Snippet of Campbell-Hawkins deed, recorded 5 October 1900.²²

Well, almost the entire family. But I’ll get to that in Part Five.

Although James immediately turned around and purchased a lot on Elroy Street from Mary Hawkins²³ after the sale of the McCurdy Avenue property, he doesn’t appear to have ever lived on Elroy Street.

By the time James filed the paperwork to become administrator of Mary’s estate in late August 1900, he was living at 2017 Nelson Street (see his application, above). Charles and Inga lived at 2017 Nelson Street when they were enumerated for the 1900 U.S. census earlier that year,²⁴ so it seems James, Fannie, Martha Jane, and William moved in with Charles and Inga sometime in mid-1900.

James purchased the Elroy Street property in his name alone, perhaps to avoid the hassle of a probate case involving the entire family should he want to sell. If so, his attempt was in vain because when James died in 1910, Mark McElroy (the administrator of James Campbell’s intestate estate) had to go ’round and get the entire family’s approval to sell the property back to Mary Hawkins and give the proceeds of the sale to Fannie.²⁵

As I mentioned in Part Three, Mark McElroy was Martha Jane/Jennie’s husband, and they were married on 7 December 1903. Note Martha Jane’s residence, 2017 Nelson St.

Marriage record for Mark McElroy and Martha Jane Campbell.²⁶

Later that month, George W. Campbell married Mahala J. Wilson on 31 December 1903.²⁷ Joseph James Campbell married Ellen Viola Mattern in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier that year, on 10 June 1903.²⁸ By the time 1904 rolled around, only youngest son William Ernest remained unmarried and living at home.

In 1904, home for William was 1723 Woodland Hills Avenue, which is the address James Campbell’s 1910 death certificate noted as his last home address before he was hospitalized long-term due to Parkinson’s disease.²⁹ It’s also the address William provided as contact information in his Plain Dealer amateur baseball notices.

William Campbell recruiting for The Elms, April 1904.³⁰

Turns out William had at least one pretty amazing outing on the mound, by the way:

Campbell hurls for the win, June 1904.³¹

In September 1904, Charles and Inga Campbell lost a nine-week-old baby girl to entero colitis³²–just two years after they lost a nine-month-old son to cholera in August 1902.³³ Both little ones were buried in section 76, lot 51 of Woodland Cemetery–the same cemetery where Mary Nagle Campbell was buried in 1888,³⁴ but not the same plot.

As if losing two babies within two years wasn’t enough, Charles was the victim of a home invasion (and possibly an attempted kidnapping or beating) in late August 1905:

Charles Campbell attacked in the night.³⁵

In the midst of all that, Charles seems to have had difficulty finding a steady occupation. He’s a “wiredr” (sic?) in the 1902/03 directory,³⁶ and a finisher in 1903/04.³⁷ The 1904/05³⁸ and 1905/06³⁹ Cleveland City Directories list him as a millworker. He’s a wireworker in 1906/07,⁴⁰ then an ironworker in 1907/08⁴¹ and 1908/09.⁴² By 1909/10, Charles (H) Campbell of Nelson Street/Avenue disappears from the Cleveland Directory,⁴³ then reappears on the 1910 U.S. Census living in…Los Angeles. Working as a street car conductor.⁴⁴ Sound familiar?

It seems both Charles and William headed west to Los Angeles and got into the street car business in about 1909. Charles remained in Los Angeles until his death in 1961.⁴⁵ He was a street car conductor until at least 1920,⁴⁶ but by 1930 he was a yard worker in a woodshop.⁴⁷ By 1940 he was a carpenter, like his father.⁴⁸

William came back to Cleveland and became (perhaps after learning the trade out in L.A. with his brother) a street car conductor, an occupation he remained in until his retirement.⁴⁹ In January 1910, William told the county clerk that Los Angeles was his residence when he applied for a license to marry his first wife (my great-great-great grandmother) Evelyn McEachern, daughter of William McEachern and Evelyn Endean.⁵⁰

Endean.

En-dean.

N-Dean.

N. Dean.

Now, where have I heard that before?

Oh yeah. James Campbell married Fannie N. Dean.

But wait, when Fannie died in 1914, the father listed on her death certificate was “William Gill.”

Death certificate for Fannie Campbell.⁵¹

And her obituary claimed her maiden name was McEchren.

Obituary for Fannie Campbell.⁵²

So was she Fannie N. Dean, Fannie Gill, or Fannie McEchren? Was “N. Dean” supposed to be Endean? Was “McEchren” an alternate spelling of McEachern? And what’s with William’s ex-wife’s parents’ surnames showing up in records about his stepmother?

Mrs. Mark “McGray” is a typo. Mrs. Mark McElroy lived at 1344 W. 78th Street.⁵³ Fannie died at her stepdaughter Martha Jane (Campbell) McElroy’s house, but hold up–the obituary also says Fannie was the “beloved mother of Mrs. John Calan.”

Didn’t a Mr. John Callan live with William Ernest Campbell and his second wife Mary in 1920?⁵⁴

You’re probably starting to get why I call this Cleveland cluster a Gordian knot.

And now, the recap:

1. Was William Campbell’s mother from England? Or was she from New York, or Pennsylvania? William Campbell’s mother, Mary C. Christina Nagle, was born in New York.
2. Was Fannie Campbell actually William’s biological mother? No, she was not. She was his stepmother.
3. Did Fannie have ten children, two of whom survived, or six children, all of whom survived?
4. When exactly was William E. Campbell born? (The smaller fluctuations in his age from census to census might be resolved by comparing his birth month to the official census date, but other shifts are too large to be tidied up that way.) William Ernest Campbell was born to James and Mary (Nagle) Campbell in Cleveland, Ohio on 29 January 1886.
5. Did Fannie Campbell die before 1920, or did she just move out? Fannie Campbell died on 5 January 1914.
6. Are Eveleyin and Mary Campbell the same person? No. Evelyn I. McEachern was William’s first wife, Mary H. Wilson was his second.
7. What were James and Fannie Campbell each up to before they got married in their thirties? James and Fannie were not married in 1881 as the 1900 census suggests. Before James married Fannie, he had a family with Mary C. Christina Nagle for fifteen years, until her death.
8.  What was William E. Campbell’s connection to Los Angeles, California? William’s brother Charles moved to Los Angeles and became a street car conductor in about 1909. It appears William accompanied his brother to California, then returned to Cleveland.
9. If Fannie Campbell and Mary Naegel/Nagle are not the same person, what happened to Mary prior to 1900? Fannie and Mary were not the same person, and Mary died after complications from childbirth in 1888.
10. When did James Campbell marry his second wife, Fannie? James Campbell married Fannie “N. Dean” on 14 June 1890.
11. What was Fannie Campbell’s maiden name? (Dean, if the James & Fannie marriage record is to be believed. It shouldn’t be.)
12. What was Fannie up to in the years after her immigration and prior to her marriage to James Campbell?
13. What happened to the McCurdy Street property James purchased with Mary in 1883 and still owned in 1900? The family sold the property to Mary Hawkins in September 1900, after the census was taken.
14. Were any of the Campbell boys ever actually sent to the House of Refuge?
15. Okay, seriously though, what was Fannie’s maiden name?
16. Was Fannie somehow related to Evelyn McEachern?
17. Who were Mr. and Mrs. John Calan?

See you in part five, when we finally find out about Fannie’s life before James, including the grisly suicide that made her a widow.

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<sup>1. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Three: James Campbell and Mary C. Nagle,” kinvestigations.com, 20 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.com/2018/03/20/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-three-james-campbell-and-mary-c-nagle/ : accessed 19 March 2018), para. 16.↩
2. “A Precocious Bad Boy,” The (Cleveland) Leader and Herald, 30 May 1889, p. 8, col. 2; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524378835 : accessed 2 April 2018).↩
3. “An Accomplished Liar,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 10 May 1889, p. 8, col. 2; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524377939 : accessed 2 April 2018).↩
4. “An Incorrigible Boy,” The (Cleveland) Leader and Herald, 6 June 1889, p. 8 , col. 2; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524378391 : accessed 2 April 2018).↩
5. “Missing Children,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 24 April 1890, p. 6, col. 6; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524378391 : accessed 2 April 2018).↩
6. “WANTED situation by boy of 15,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 17 March 1889, p. 3, col. 6; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524380702 : 2 April 2018).↩
7. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 34:346, Campbell-Dean, 1890; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BP97-ZQ : accessed 25 April 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1889-1890 vol 34 > image 231 of 338;; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
8. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_United_States_Census), “1890 United States Census,” rev. 23:10, 15 April 2018.↩
9. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending July 1892 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1891), 144-145; image copy, Archive.org (https://archive.org/stream/clevelanddirecto1891clev#page/144/mode/2up : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
10. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending July 1896 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1895), 152-153; image copy, Archive.org (https://archive.org/stream/clevelanddirecto1895clev#page/152/mode/2up : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
11. John J. Grabowski, ed., Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (http://case.edu/ech/articles/s/street-names/), “Street Names,” accessed 30 April 2018.↩
12. “A General Kick,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 24 April 1894, p. 5, col. 4; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831524682638 : accessed 25 April 2018).↩
13. Cleveland Historic Maps (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=ddb0ee6134d64de4adaaa3660308abfd : accessed 3 April 2018), toggle on the 1898 layer, search for “McCurdy Ave, Cleveland, Ohio.”↩
14. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 44:74, Campbell-Simmons, license no. 12300; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BG9R-TB : accessed 25 April 2018 , Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1896-1897 vol 44 > image 80 of 300; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
15. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 16815, Minors of Mary Christine Campbell, guardian bond for Charles H Campbell; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1932,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRPW-R15 : accessed 30 April 2018), Docket 48 > Case no 16786-16818 1897 > image 417 of 448; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
16. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Deed Book 355: 414-415, George and Margaretha Schraufl to James and Mary C. Campbell, 2 October 1883; database with images, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer (https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us : accessed 19 March 2018), Recorded Documents > General Deed Search > use Book and Page fields, click through to download image files.↩
17. W.H. Whittaker, ed., The Annotated Probate Code of Ohio, Second Revised Edition (Cincinnati: W.H. Anderson & Co, 1897), 355, statue 6256; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hl49z2;view=1up;seq=371 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
18. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 23327, Estate of Mary C Campbell, James Campbell application for letters of administration, 28 August 1900; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County, probate records, 1827-1924,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-GFKL-5 : accessed 30 April 2018), Estate files, docket 60, case no. 23299-23340, Jul-Oct 1900> image 366 of 478; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
19. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” kinvestigations.com, 9 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.com/2018/03/10/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-one-william-e-campbell-in-the-census/ : accessed 30 April 2018), para. 2.↩
20. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 23386, James Campbell vs Charles Henry Campbell et al, petition 17 September 1900; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County, probate records, 1827-1924,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-GF7M-JM : accessed 30 April 2018), Estate files, docket 60, case no. 23379-23417, Jul-Oct 1900 > image 79-80 of 488; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
21. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Deed Book 761: 506-508, James Campbell [et al] to Mary Hawkins, recorded 5 October 1900; database with images, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer (https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us : accessed 19 March 2018), Recorded Documents > General Deed Search > use Book and Page fields, and narrow by date, then click “Begin Search.”↩
22. Ibid.↩
23. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Deed Book 772: 201, Mary Hawkins to James Campbell, recorded 27 December 1900; database with images, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer (https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us : accessed 19 March 2018), Recorded Documents > General Deed Search > use Book and Page fields, and narrow by date, then click “Begin Search.”↩
24. 1900 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Cleveland City, Ward 26, p. 160 (stamped), ED 135, sheet 16-A, dwelling 250, household 282, Charles Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1900,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6P63-QQS : accessed 30 April 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > ED 135 Precinct C Cleveland City Ward 26 > image 31 of 35; citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1257.↩
25. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 56874, Mark McElroy vs. Fannie Campbell; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1932,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSL9-W73K : accessed 11 March 2018), Docket 93 > Case no 56837-56877 Apr 1911-Aug 1911 > images 379 – 398 of 529; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
26. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 58:155, McElroy-Campbell, 1903; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BP9P-FP : accessed 25 April 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1903-1904 vol 58 > image 125 of 302; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
27. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 58:217, Campbell-Wilson, 1903; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BP9R-7Z : accessed 25 April 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1903-1904 vol 58 > image 156 of 302; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
28. Butler County, Pennsylvania, Marriage Docket Book 15:172, Campbell-Mattern, 1903; database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VF9V-5V1 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
29. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Three: James Campbell and Mary C. Nagle,” para. 1.↩
30. “Among the Amateurs,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2 April 1904, p. 6, col. 2; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831525121370 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
31. “Among the Amateurs,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 21 June 1904, p. 8, col. 8; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831525122397 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
32. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 5-6:140, no. 45177, Baby Jas. Campbell, 11 August 1902; database with images, “Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TDQ-QWZ : accessed 30 April 2018), 004466573 > image 143 of 208; citing digital images of originals, Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, Cleveland, Ohio.↩
33. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 7-8:36, no. 49015, Baby Campbell, 16 September 1904; database with images, “Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TDQ-QQZ : accessed 30 April 2018), 004466575 > image 39 of 194; citing digital images of originals, Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, Cleveland, Ohio.↩
34. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Three: James Campbell and Mary C. Nagle,” para. 17.↩
35. “Free Bath For A Hold Up Man,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 29 August 1905, p. 14, col. 1; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831525148111 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
36. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending July 1903 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1902), 201; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033564714;view=1up;seq=189 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
37. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1904 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1903), 201; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033564722;view=1up;seq=191 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
38. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1905 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1904), 212; image copy, “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2469/4160752#?imageId=4160851 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
39. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1906 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1905), 213; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t2z35f63g;view=1up;seq=207 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
40. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1907 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1906), 260; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033564755;view=1up;seq=254 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
41. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1908 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1907), 235; image copy, “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2469/4147909#?imageId=4148030 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
42. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1909 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1908), 237; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033564771;view=1up;seq=227 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
43. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1910 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1909), 225; image copy, “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2469/4155454#?imageId=4155561 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
44. 1910 U.S. Census Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Los Angeles City, Precinct 206, p. 93 (stamped), ED 251, sheet 6-A, dwelling 139, household 147, Charlies (sic) H. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVP-XY4 : accessed 30 April 2018), California > Los Angeles > Los Angeles Assembly District 70 > ED 251 > image 11 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 81.↩
45. “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGT2-SX1 : 30 April 2018), Charles H Campbell, 08 Jul 1961; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.↩
46. 1920 U.S. Census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Los Angeles City, Precinct 603, p. 71 (stamped), ED 289, sheet 9-A, dwelling 164, household 212, Charles H. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1920,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RXR-48 : accessed 9 March 2018), California > Los Angeles > Los Angeles Assembly District 71 > ED 289 > image 17 of 37; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 111.↩
47. 1930 U.S. Census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, San Antonio Township, Florence Precinct, p. 140 (stamped), ED 1367, sheet 4-B, dwelling 104, household 104, Charles H. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R4T-CRJ : accessed 30 April 2018), California > Los Angeles > San Antonio > ED 1367 > image 9 of 52; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 172.↩
48. 1940 U.S. Census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, San Antonio Judicial Township, Florence, p. 11787 (stamped), ED 19-630, sheet 3-A, household 96, Charles H. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1940,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MT-XQZY : accessed 30 April 2018), California > Los Angeles > San Antonio Judicial Township > 19-630 San Antonio Judicial Township (Tract 515 – part) bounded by (N) Florence Av; (E) Hooper Av; (S) 76th; township line; also Florence (part) > image 5 of 24; citing NARA digital publication T627.↩
49. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Two: The William E. Campbell Vitals,” kinvestigations.com, 10 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.wordpress.com/2018/03/10/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-two-the-william-e-campbell-vitals/ : accessed 19 March 2018), para. 2.↩
50. Ibid, para 5.↩
51. Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death no. 1166, Fannie Campbell, 5 January 1914; “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPJ5-S34Q : accessed 30 April 2018), 1914 > 00001-03000 > image 1351 of 3345; citing digital images of originals, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.↩
52. “Campbel,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8 January 1914, p. 14, col. 1; digital images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831525206268 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
53. The Cleveland Directory, Year Ending August 1915 (Cleveland: Cleveland Directory Co, 1914), 1004; image copy, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112033564839;view=1up;seq=998 : accessed 30 April 2018).↩
54. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 9.↩</sup>

 

A Small Boy and His Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather

Why, yes, I do have the next installment of The Cleveland Gordian Knot in my drafts awaiting citations, but I’m currently on the road with my family. This week, we’re in Missouri. I took my Husband and my Tiny Guy (neither of whom have ever been to Missouri before) out to a little cemetery in Collins to see the graves of their ancestors, Jonathan D. and Arrena Matthews Browning.

My little Boy at the (sadly broken) grave of his 5x-great grandfather, J.D. Browning. (Freeman-Holsapple Cemetery, Collins, Missouri.)

Neither my husband nor my small Boy have any close family in Missouri anymore, but my sister moved out here last year, about an hour away from J.D. and Arrena’s final resting place.

Talk about genealogical fate, right?

(Go figure, Arrena Matthews Browning plays a role in the post I have planned for #52Ancestors, “The Old Homestead,” but as with all things non-vacation, it’ll just have to wait a bit).

We’re off to St. Louis and Chicago next!

The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Three: James Campbell and Mary C. Nagle

(If you haven’t read parts one and two, you’ll want to do so before diving in to this post.)

By 15 April 1910 (the official census date that year¹), Fannie Campbell was a widow–of one day. In fact, the William Campbell family was enumerated on a supplemental sheet in 1910,² which means they either weren’t home or weren’t in a position to be interviewed the first time the census taker came by.³ Understandably so, because James Campbell died at the Cleveland City Hospital at 5:30 in the morning on 14 April 1910 after a long battle with paralysis agitans, better known as Parkinson’s disease.

Ohio Death Certificate for James Campbell.⁴

The informant for the personal details on James’s death certificate was his son, William, who lived at 10004 Cumberland (which was also his address in the census that same month). William was certainly not present at his own father’s birth, and he possibly never even knew James’s parents. It’s likely he got some of the vital data wrong since it would largely be secondary information to him. The undertaker, on the other hand, would have had primary knowledge of where he laid James’s body to rest: Woodland Cemetery, on 16 April 1910. More specifically, according to cemetery records, in section 65, tier 1, grave 16. James was the second burial in that grave, the first one having taken place in April 1888.⁵

An obituary in the Plain Dealer reported that James died at home, which is probably the result of a mistake or miscommunication, considering the doctor signing off on the details, a Dr. O.B. Norman, would’ve known very well where his patient died after treating him for several years beginning 6 September 1906, as noted on James’s death certificate, which also states that James had been institutionalized at his place of death (the City Hospital) for 1288 days, or just over three and a half years.

James Campbell’s obituary.⁶

The Plain Dealer obituary mentioned the widow, Fannie, a son, William, and another son, George. George was not enumerated with the James Campbell family in the 1900 Census,⁷ nor was he mentioned in William’s 1962 obituary,⁸ or any other record we’ve examined so far.

According to his death certificate, James’s former residence prior to apparently moving into the hospital in 1906 was 1723 Woodland Hills Ave–so what happened to the McCurdy Street residence James owned in 1900? Whatever happened to the McCurdy Street property, James still owned one piece of real estate when he died in 1910–an empty lot on Elroy Street in Newburgh Heights. He died without leaving a will, and one Mark McElroy applied to administer the estate in January 1911.⁹ The probate case file includes (among other things) an appraisal confirming that James had no household goods, as they were all “disposed of while … he [James] was in the hospital.”¹⁰ There’s also a list of James’s surviving next of kin, as follows:

Snippet of Mark McElroy’s application for letters of administration on the James Campbell estate.

There’s Fannie, the widow, along with William, and George. William Campbell is listed last, likely because he was James’s youngest son. Second to last is Martha J. McElroy, a.k.a. Martha Jane Campbell, who married Mark McElroy on 7 December 1903. Her parents were listed as James Campbell and Mary C. Hagel (sic) on the marriage license application, and her address at the time was 2017 Nelson St.¹¹ Jennie is a diminutive form of “Jane,”¹² so Martha Jane (Campbell) McElroy is almost certainly the same person as sixteen year-old Jennie Campbell from the 1900 Census.

The names Charles and Joseph Campbell are new. A check of the 1880 Census for Cleveland reveals another James Campbell family, living on Sterling Avenue:

The James Campbell Family of Sterling Ave, Cleveland, Ohio in the 1880 U.S. Census.¹³

This James Campbell is thirty-three years old, which is a tidy twenty years younger than the James Campbell living at 56 McCurdy Street on the 1900 Census, who was born in July 1846, (although this consistent age between the 1880 and 1900 censuses is six years off from the 1840 date provided by William at James’s death). Both were born in England, although the 1880 Census lists James’s father’s birthplace as Scotland rather than England. James Campbell living on Sterling Avenue in 1880 was a carpenter, just like Fannie Campbell’s husband on McCurdy Street in 1900.

However, there’s no Fannie from England (with parents from England) to be found in this 1880 household. Instead, James’s wife is Mary, born in New York to parents from Germany and New York, age twenty-seven–making her about five years younger than Fannie, aged fifty-one in 1900.

Charles, the eldest son of James and Mary Campbell, was reported to be seven years old in 1880. The middle son, James, was four. George, the youngest, was one year old. All of them were born in Ohio–and would’ve been twenty-plus years old by the 1900 Census, which could explain why none of them were enumerated with James Campbell on McCurdy St that year.

Marriage application for James Campbell and Mary Nagle.¹⁴

Going backward still from the 1880 Census, James Campbell applied for a license to marry Mary Nagle in Cuyahoga County, Ohio on 4 November 1873 (see above), and the marriage was performed the same day by Reverend Oliver Burgess.¹⁵

Their eldest son, Charles, was born in Cleveland on 10 January 1874.¹⁶ (Meaning Mary was already pregnant when she married James in November 1873). Next, Mary gave birth to twin boys on 1 September 1876,¹⁷ but only one of them survived.¹⁸ The other one lived for just seven hours, and was buried in Woodland Cemetery the next day in the Southeast Avenue section, tier 1 grave 138.¹⁹ The surviving twin, James, went by both James Joseph and Joseph James throughout his life, and it’s said that he added his lost twin’s name to his own.²⁰

About a month after the twins were born, James Campbell received his certificate of naturalization on 3 October 1876. The petition is oddly blank and lined out except for the clerk’s note that the certificate was in fact issued, and that James filed his Declaration of Intent in Monroe County, New York on 1 July 1873.²¹ According to the Monroe County Declaration of Intent, signed and sworn to by James himself, he was born in London and lived in Rochester, New York.²²

James Campbell’s Declaration of Intention.

If James filed his Declaration as soon as he was eligible to do so, then he would have been in the United States by 1871 at the latest,²³ which is only slightly off from the 1869 immigration date noted for him in 1900, and he might well have filed his first papers a while after he became eligible. Perhaps there were extenuating circumstances which inspired James to begin the citizenship process; Mary would’ve a been few months pregnant with Charles Campbell in July 1873 although she and James were not yet married. Sometime between July 1873 and November 1873, James (possibly with a pregnant Mary by his side) relocated from Rochester, New York to Cleveland, Ohio.

Another boy, George, was born on 30 April 1879.²⁴ The couple’s only daughter, Martha Jane, was born on 7 December 1883,²⁵ exactly twenty years to the day before her marriage to Mark McElroy, and about two months after James and Mary C. Campbell purchased a lot on McCurdy St.²⁶ William Ernest was of course born on 29 January 1886,²⁷ and he was followed by another boy on 28 March 1888.²⁸

But the boy in March of 1888 was stillborn,²⁹ and Mary did not survive giving birth to him. The baby was buried in Woodland Cemetery on 29 March 1888, in the Southeast Avenue section, tier 1, grave 138;³⁰ the same grave as elder brother Joseph James’s lost twin. Mary died from hemorrhaging two days later, at one in the afternoon on 31 March 1888, and her death record notes her birthplace: New York.³¹ The Plain Dealer reported that she died in childbirth,³² the Leader said it was fever.³³ When Mary’s funeral notice was printed, the Leader added a note for the papers in Rochester and Le Roy, New York to “please copy,”³⁴ most likely so any family she still had in New York would know of her passing.

Mary C. (Nagle) Campbell, the beloved wife of James Campbell, was buried in Woodland Cemetery on 2 April 1888, in section 65, tier 1, grave 16,³⁵ where her husband would join her in thirty-two years and two weeks—to the day.

To recap:

1. Was William Campbell’s mother from England? Or was she from New York, or Pennsylvania? William Campbell’s mother, Mary C. Nagle, was born in New York.
2. Was Fannie Campbell actually William’s biological mother? No, she was not. She was his stepmother.
3. Did Fannie have ten children, two of whom survived, or six children, all of whom survived?
4. When exactly was William E. Campbell born? (The smaller fluctuations in his age from census to census might be resolved by comparing his birth month to the official census date, but other shifts are too large to be tidied up that way.) William Ernest Campbell was born to James and Mary (Nagle) Campbell in Cleveland, Ohio on 29 January 1886.
5. Did Fannie Campbell die before 1920, or did she just move out?
6. Are Eveleyin and Mary Campbell the same person? No. Evelyn I. McEachern was William’s first wife, Mary H. Wilson was his second.
7. What were James and Fannie Campbell each up to before they got married in their thirties? James and Fannie were not married in 1881 as the 1900 census suggests. Before James married Fannie, he had a family with Mary C. Nagle for fifteen years, until her death.
8.  What was William E. Campbell’s connection to Los Angeles, California?
9. If Fannie Campbell and Mary Naegel/Nagle are not the same person, what happened to Mary prior to 1900? Fannie and Mary were not the same person, and Mary died after complications from childbirth in 1888.
10. When did James Campbell marry his second wife, Fannie?
11. What was Fannie Campbell’s maiden name?
12. What was Fannie up to in the years after her immigration and prior to her marriage to James Campbell?
13. What happened to the McCurdy Street property James purchased with Mary in 1883 and still owned in 1900?

Next up, Part Four: James and Fannie, in which George Campbell nearly gets himself sent to the House of Refuge, William Campbell plays baseball, and Charles Campbell gets attacked in the middle of the night.

---

<sup>1. U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Instructions to Enumerators; 1910,” p.17, image copy, Census.gov (https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1910instructions.pdf : accessed 12 March 2018).↩
2. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” kinvestigations.com, 9 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.com/2018/03/10/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-one-william-e-campbell-in-the-census/ : accessed 19 March 2018), para. 5. ↩
3. U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Instructions to Enumerators; 1910,” p. 22-23↩
4. Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death no. 19684, James Campbell, 14 April 1910; “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPVR-SXWT : accessed 12 March 2018), 1910 > 17871-20350 > image 2237 of 3053; citing digital images of originals, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.↩
5. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 8: 85, James Campbell, 16 April 1910; database with images, “Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TDQ-QDS : accessed 12 March 2018), Film #004466577 > image 88 of 195; citing digital images of originals, Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, Cleveland, Ohio.↩
6. “Campbell,” The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, 15 April 1910, p. 13, col. 5; digital images, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831520866687 : accessed 12 March 2018).↩
7. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 2.↩
8. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Two: The William E. Campbell Vitals,” kinvestigations.com, 10 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.wordpress.com/2018/03/10/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-two-the-william-e-campbell-vitals/ : accessed 19 March 2018), para. 12.↩
9. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 55140, James Campbell, application for letters of administration for Mark McElroy, 24 January 1911; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1932,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSJG-NQC : accessed 11 March 2018), Docket 92 > Case no 55126-55177 Jan 1911-Apr 1911 > image 224 of 588; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
10. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, probate case file no. 55140, James Campbell, inventory Schedule D, 8 May 1901(sic) [1911]; digital images, “Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1932,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSJG-NW3 : accessed 11 March 2018), Docket 92 > Case no 55126-55177 Jan 1911-Apr 1911 > image 230 of 588; citing original records, Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
11. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 58: 155, McElroy-Campbell, 1903; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BP9P-FP : accessed 9 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1903-1904 vol 58 > image 125 of 302; citing microfilm of original records I the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.↩
12. Online Etymology Dictionary (https://www.etymonline.com/word/jenny : accessed 19 March 2018), “Jenny.” ↩
13. 1880 U.S. Census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, ED 26, p. 34 (penned), sheet B, dwelling 239, household 333, James Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1880,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB8-Z6Y : accessed 11 March 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > Cleveland > ED 20 > image 34 of 59; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1006.↩
14. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Applications for Marriage Licenses 1871 – 1874, 4 November 1873, Campbell-Nagle; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BP95-45 : accessed 10 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage license applications 1873-1874 > image 40 of 269; citing microfilm of originals, County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
15. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 17:340, Campbell-Nagle, 1873; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-PH9W-74 : accessed 10 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1872-1874 vol 17 > image 214 of 275; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse.↩
16. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Record of Births 2: 109, Charles Cambel, 10 January 1874; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRYW-S9XC : accessed 19 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth registers 1872-1875 vol 2 > image 171 of 331; citing microfilm of originals, County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
17. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Record of Births 1873-1876: 410, twins born to Mary Nagle and James Campbell, 1 September 1876; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RK8-9W1Y : accessed 19 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth registers with index 1872-1876 > image 241 of 288; citing microfilm of originals, County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
18. City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Record of Deaths 1873-1879, unpaginated, no. 1999, Baby Campbell, 1 September 1876; database with images, “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZR-LCQX : accessed 19 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Death records, 1873-1879 > image 212 of 458; citing originals at Cuyahoga County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
19. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 2: 25, Campbell’s Mr. Child, 2 September 1876; database with images, “Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TDQ-3NZ : accessed 12 March 2018), 004466551 > image 28 of 208; citing digital images of originals, Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, Cleveland, Ohio.↩
20. Public Member Trees,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 March 2018), “Porten Family Tree” family tree by “portensa”, ‘Twin?’ story in gallery for James Joseph Campbell (1876-1942) updated 8 June 2012.↩
21. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas Alien Docket 5: 478, James Campbell; database with images, “Ohio County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8996-PRTC : accessed 19 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Naturalization docket 1866-1876 vol 5 > image 266 of 270; citing microfilm of original records at Cuyahoga County Archives, Cleveland, Ohio.↩
22. Monroe County, New York, Naturalization Declarations 1872-1873: loose items arranged roughly chronologically, see July 1873 for 1 July 1873 declaration of intention by James Campbell; browse-able images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C911-572X-J : accessed 19 March 2018), Film #7759919 > image 1359 of 1520; citing microfilm of original records in the Monroe County Courthouse, Rochester, New York.↩
23. National Archives and Records Administration, “Naturalization Records,” 22 August 2016 (https://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/naturalization.html : accessed 29 March 2018).↩
24. Cleveland, Ohio, Birth Return, 30 April 1879, parents Mary Nagle and James Campbell; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RY4-396Z : accessed 16 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth returns 1879 > image 1570 of 4918; citing microfilm of original record at Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
25. Cleveland, Ohio, Birth Return, 7 December 1883, parents Mary Nagle and James Campbell; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RY4-3JXH : accessed 16 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth returns 1883 > image 5828 of 6250; citing microfilm of original record at Cuyahoga County Archives. ↩
26. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Deed Book 355: 414-415, George and Margaretha Schraufl to James and Mary C. Campbell, 2 October 1883; database with images, Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer (https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us : accessed 19 March 2018), Recorded Documents > General Deed Search > use Book and Page fields, click through to download image files.↩
27. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Two: The William E. Campbell Vitals,” para. 2.↩
28. Cleveland, Ohio, Birth Return, 28 March 1888, parents Mary Kneal[Nagle] and James Campbell; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRYH-94DP : accessed 16 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth returns 1887-1888 > image 2139 of 6003; citing microfilm of original record at Cuyahoga County Archives. ↩
29. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Record of Deaths 3: 273, Baby Campbell, 28 March 1888; database with images, “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-D1G7-JP9 : accessed 19 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Death records, 1884-1890, vol 3-4 > image 354 of 701; citing microfilm of originals, County Courthouse, Cleveland.↩
30. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 3: 134, Baby Campbell, 29 March 1888; database with images, “Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTDQ-39K : accessed 12 March 2018), 004466560 > image 137 of 200; citing digital images of originals, Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties, Cleveland, Ohio. ↩
31. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Record of Deaths 3: 273, Mary Campbell, 31 March 1888.↩
32. “Deaths,” The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, 3 April 1888, p. 7, col. 6; digital image, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831521501676 : accessed 19 March 2018).↩
33. “The Death List,” The (Cleveland) Leader and Herald, 3 April 1888, p. 5. col. 2; digital image, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831521501914 : accessed 19 March 2018).↩
34. “Campbell,” The (Cleveland) Leader and Herald, 2 April 1888, p. 5, col. 4; digital image, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831521498553 : accessed 19 March 2018).↩
35. Cleveland Department of Parks and Public Property, Division of Cemeteries, Woodland Cemetery Interment Register 3: 134, Mary C. Campbell, 2 April 1888. ↩</sup>

The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part Two: The William E. Campbell Vitals

(If you haven’t read part one, you’ll want to catch up.)

Remember how I said that every time you answer a question about this family, another one springs up in the original question’s place? Death, marriage, and birth (yes, even though he was born in the 1880s, birth) records for William E. Campbell do just that.

Snippet of death certificate for William Ernest Campbell.¹

William Ernest Campbell, a conductor/driver for the Cleveland Transit Co., who died in Lake Lucerne, Geauga County, Ohio on 16 May 1962, was born in Ohio on 29 January 1886. His wife, Mary H. Campbell, was the informant for his death certificate, and she either did not know or couldn’t recall her husband’s parent’s names.

Marriage application and return for William Campbell and Mary H. Wilson.²

William Campbell and Mary H. Wilson were married on 15 May 1913, which is consistent with indirect evidence of their marriage year in the 1930 Census.³ The marriage was William’s second, his first one having ended in divorce. His reported age, twenty-seven, is consistent with an 1886 birth year, and his birthplace, Cleveland, Ohio, matches every other record of his birth we’ve evaluated–so far, anyway. William’s father, James, is named (which is consistent with the 1900 Census⁴), but his mother is reported as “(f-n-u)” (first name unknown) Naegel. Maybe Fannie’s maiden surname was Naegel, but it would be very odd for William–who is named as a co-applicant with Mary, meaning he was almost certainly the one who provided information about himself–to not know Fannie’s first name, considering she lived with William and his first wife just three years prior to the Campbell-Wilson marriage.⁵

Marriage application and return for William E. Campbell and Evelyn I. McEachern.⁶

Speaking of William’s first wife, her maiden name was Evelyn I. McEachern, and they were married on 3 January 1910 in Cleveland. (You’re going to want to remember Evelyn’s parents, William McEachern and Evelyn Endean, for later). According to the application, William was the sole applicant/informant. Even though Fannie Campbell would be listed as his mother on the 1910 census just months after the Campbell-McEachern marriage,⁷ William either didn’t know or couldn’t remember his own mother’s name when he applied for the license. It’s beginning to look more and more like Fannie Campbell was not William’s biological mother.

Remember how I mentioned that Evelyn I. McEachern was my great-great grandmother, but William was not my great-great grandfather? Well, way back when you still had to write the Cuyahoga County Archives to request a copy by mail, the Campbell-McEachern marriage record was my first encounter with William E. Campbell, and we are just not going to talk about how much time I spent trying to find a record of him in Los Angeles to no avail before I untangled this knot. Nope. Not gonna talk about it–except to say that negative evidence is still a form of evidence,⁸ and to remind everyone that almost no genealogical record can be absolutely 100% trusted in and of itself. William E. Campbell, who married Evelyn I. McEachern in Cleveland in 1910 was not born in Los Angeles. Recording errors happen, people misspeak or they forget, and sometimes people lie. I think there’s a chance William intentionally bent the truth about his birthplace, but we’ll get to that (and his genuine connection to Los Angeles) later.

William is twenty-four years old on the Campbell-McEachern marriage application, which is consistent with his death certificate, his second marriage application, and his 1886 birth return. More than likely, a miscommunication or enumerator error led to William being recorded as a thirty-four year-old in the 1910 Census.⁹

William Ernest Campbell’s WWI draft card, side one

William Ernest Campbell’s WWI draft card, side two

On 12 September 1918, William Campbell registered for the World War I draft. He provided the registrar with his full name, his birth date, his occupation, and his address: 9601 Lamontier,¹⁰ which was also his residence when the 1920 census was taken.¹¹ While not a vital record per se, World War I draft cards are often some of the earliest records of vital statistics for men of William Campbell’s generation. But do you know why I love Ohio? Because Ohio state law mandated civil birth registration beginning in 1867,¹² decades before it became standard practice for the entire U.S. in the early twentieth century.

Cleveland Return of a Birth, Campbell boy, 29 January 1886.¹³

Although this Return of a Birth doesn’t list the baby’s name, there’s enough information to more than reasonably conclude that it’s a record of William Ernest Campbell’s birth. The birth date and year match his death certificate, as well as both of his marriage applications. The father’s name and nativity, James Campbell from England, is consistent with both marriage applications and the 1900 Census.¹⁴ The mother’s surname, “Nagle,” is consistent with the Campbell-Wilson marriage application, spelling aside, and her nativity “American,” is consistent with the 1910 through 1930 Censuses.¹⁵ Finally, the address, 7 McCurdy St, is consistent with the James Campbell family’s address in 1900 (56 McCurdy St),¹⁶ house number aside.

Unless Mary (Naegel/Nagle) Campbell started going by Fannie later in life, it seems highly unlikely that Fannie Campbell was William E. Campbell’s biological mother. She wasn’t, by the way, and we’ll get into the proof in Part Three: The James and Mary C. Nagle Family. Fannie was related to William in other ways though (that’s right, I said ways again), and I don’t just mean as his stepmother. We’ll get there.

To recap:

1. Was William Campbell’s mother from England? Or was she from New York, or Pennsylvania?
2. Was Fannie Campbell actually William’s biological mother?
3. Did Fannie have ten children, two of whom survived, or six children, all of whom survived?
4. When exactly was William E. Campbell born? (The smaller fluctuations in his age from census to census might be resolved by comparing his birth month to the official census date, but other shifts are too large to be tidied up that way.) William Ernest Campbell was born to James and Mary (Nagle) Campbell in Cleveland, Ohio on 29 January 1886.
5. Did Fannie Campbell die before 1920, or did she just move out?
6. Are Eveleyin and Mary Campbell the same person? No. Evelyn I. McEachern was William’s first wife, Mary H. Wilson was his second.
7. What were James and Fannie Campbell each up to before they got married in their thirties?
8.  What was William E. Campbell’s connection to Los Angeles, California?
9. If Fannie Campbell and Mary Naegel/Nagle are not the same person, what happened to Mary prior to 1900?

For completeness’s sake, here’s William’s obituary:

Obituary for William E. Campbell.¹⁷

Note the mention of his previous residence, Bedford, which is consistent with the 1930 and 1940 Censuses.¹⁸ Along with McEachern and Endean, Morris is another name you’re going to want to remember for later. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of names to remember for later: did I mention last time that John Callan, who lived with William and Mary Campbell in 1920,¹⁹ was more than just a boarder?

If this story seems more straightforward than a Gordian Knot so far, stick with me. Even though William’s marriage to my great-great grandmother Evelyn I. McEachern lasted less than three years, she plays a bigger role than simply “first wife,” and you haven’t seen the last of her.

Onward to part three.

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<sup>1. Ohio Department of Health, Certificate of Death no. 36099, William Ernest Campbell, 16 May 1962; “Death Certificates, December 20, 1908 – December 31, 1963,” State Archives Series 3094, Ohio History Center, Columbus.↩
2. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 84: 291, Campbell-Wilson, 1913; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BPS7-8Q : accessed 9 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1913 vol 84 > image 202 of 308; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse.↩
3. Margaret Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” kinvestigations.com, 9 March 2018 (https://kinvestigations.com/2018/03/10/the-cleveland-gordian-knot-a-genealogical-puzzle-part-one-william-e-campbell-in-the-census/ : accessed 10 March 2018), para. 11. ↩
4. Ibid, para. 2.↩
5. Ibid, para. 5.↩
6. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records, 74: 194, Campbell-McEachern, 1910; database with images, “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BJ37-RY : accessed 9 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Marriage records 1909-1910 vol 74 > image 145 of 301; citing microfilm of original records, Cuyahoga County Courthouse.↩
7. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 5.↩
8. Elizabeth Shown Mills, “QuickLesson 13: Classes of Evidence―Direct, Indirect & Negative,” Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-13-classes-evidence%E2%80%94direct-indirect-negative : accessed 10 March 2018).↩
9. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 5.↩
10. WWI draft card for William Ernest Campbell, serial no. 196, Local Draft Board no. 12, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G1D4-9TZ8 : accessed 10 Mar 2018), Ohio > Cleveland City no 12; A-F > image 1256 of 2827; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509.↩
11. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 9.↩
12. Ohio History Connection, “Birth Records,” webguide (https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/archives-library/birth-records : accessed 10 March 2018).↩
13. Cleveland, Ohio, Return of a Birth, 29 January 1886, parents Mary Nagle and James Campbell; database with images, “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRY4-3FR9 : accessed 9 March 2018), Cuyahoga > Birth returns 1886 > image 546 of 6993; citing microfilm of original record at Cuyahoga County Archives.↩
14. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 2.↩
15. Ibid, para. 6, 9, 10.↩
16. Ibid, para. 2.↩
17. “Campbell,” The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, 17 May 1962, p. 54, col. 3; digital image, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01150128074204280831520655670 : accessed 9 March 2018.↩
18. Crymes, “The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census,” para. 10 and 12.↩
19. Ibid, para. 9.↩</sup>

The Cleveland Gordian Knot (A Genealogical Puzzle), Part One: William E. Campbell in the Census

I call this branch of my relatives a “Gordian Knot” because their story (and the records telling that story) are so complex and confusing as to seem impossible to solve. But with well-honed genealogical methodology and analysis skills, you can make like Alexander the Great and cut right through the snarl. For the sake of spinning a good yarn (pun oh-so-very intended), we’ll begin in the middle.

The James Campbell Family of McCurdy St, Cleveland, Ohio in the 1900 U.S. Census.¹

This is the 1900 U.S. Census enumeration of the James Campbell family at 56 McCurdy Street in Cleveland, Ohio. It seems like a fairly straightforward record with internally consistent information: James (age fifty-three) and Fannie (age fifty-seven) Campbell, who immigrated from England in 1869 and 1871 respectively, were married in about 1881 when they were in their early thirties. They had two children, both born in Ohio: sixteen year-old Jennie in December 1883 and 15[?] year-old William in January 188[?]. Fannie had given birth to ten children, two of whom were living. James worked as a carpenter, Jennie as a shoe saleslady, and William as a messenger boy. James was a naturalized citizen (in 1900 his citizenship would have extended to Fannie through marriage²), and he owned their mortgaged home.

If the only record you had of this family was this one census sheet, you would have no compelling reason to believe the Campbell family was anything other than exactly what it appears to be: a pair of English immigrant parents with their two American-born children.

You’d be wrong, even though the decade or so long gap between Fannie’s and James’s immigration(s) and their marriage is the only thing even close to a red flag here. The gap doesn’t inherently conflict with any of the information about the James Campbell family in the 1900 Census, but it is curious. Both Fannie’s and James’s twenties are largely unaccounted for in the information we can glean from this record.

The William Campbell Family of Cumberland Ave, Cleveland, Ohio in the 1910 U.S. Census.³

Moving on to the 1910 Census, we find William Campbell (age thirty-four), a street railway conductor, living with his wife, Eveleyin (age eighteen), and his widowed mother, Fannie (age sixty-one). William has magically aged about nine years between 1900 and 1910, but such things are not uncommon with census records, which is why they should always be cross-referenced with other records–especially in this case, as we’ll soon see. Fannie’s immigration year (1872) is only one year off from the 1871 date on the census ten years prior, but instead of having given birth to ten children (two living), this census says she’d given birth to six children, all living. That’s a pretty major conflict–a big enough one that you might be inclined to start believing that perhaps this Fannie and William Campbell, living in a rented home at 10004 Cumberland Avenue in Cleveland, aren’t the same ones who lived at 56 McCurdy St in 1900. But they are. I promise.

Although the 1910 Census explicitly states that Fannie Campbell is William Campbell’s mother, and although this information is consistent between the two censuses we’ve observed so far in almost every way, there’s just this one seemingly tiny thing. If Fannie Campbell, who according to both the 1900 and 1910 Censuses was born in England and immigrated to the U.S. in 1871/2, was William Campbell’s mother, why does the 1910 Census say William Campbell’s mother was born in New York? If you look closely, it appears that the enumerator began to write “England,” but then crossed it out in favor of New York, as if he’d been corrected as he was writing.

Hm.

For now, let’s skip ahead to 1920.

The William E. Campbell Family of Lamontier Ave, Cleveland, Ohio in the 1920 U.S. Census.⁴

In 1920, William E. Campbell, a railway conductor, was renting his house at 9601 Lamontier Ave in Cleveland, Ohio. He lived with his wife, Mary, his three year-old daughter Mary Jane, and a boarder named John Callan (a widow from West Virginia who worked as an engineer in a stationary shop). William’s reported age is once again inconsistent with the previous census, although it’s within reasonable striking distance of his age in the 1900 Census. But Eveleyin and Fannie from 1910 are gone, and this time William’s mother’s birthplace has been given as Pennsylvania.  Fannie would’ve been seventy-one years old in 1920, so it’s possible she’d died by then, or perhaps she was simply living somewhere else. As for Eveleyin, this Mary is twenty-eight where Eveliyn was eighteen in the 1910 Census. It’s possible that Mary is a middle name and that the two women were the same person, but if so, her birthplace shifted from Ohio to Pennsylvania, and her parents swapped birthplaces.

The William E. Campbell Family of Columbus St, Bedford, Ohio in the 1930 U.S. Census.⁵

The William E. Campbell family lived at 360 Columbus Street in Bedford, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) in 1930. No longer a renter, William owned their house and he still worked as a street [railway] car conductor. His age, forty-four, is (at last) consistent with the previous census, as well as the 1900 Census. His mother’s birthplace, Pennsylvania, is consistent with the previous census as well. William’s wife, Mary’s data is also consistent, with the addition of the middle initial H on this census. Information about their daughter, Mary J[ane], is also consistent between 1920 and 1930.

William and Mary’s ages at marriage were given as twenty-seven and twenty-one, respectively. Based on their ages in this census, their marriage date was about 1913, three years after William was living with his wife Eveleyin in 1910, thus lending more credence to the theory that Mary and Eveleyin are in fact not the same person.

The William E. Campbell Family of Columbus St, Bedford, Ohio in the 1940 U.S. Census.⁶

In 1940, the Campbell family was still living at 360 Columbus Street in Bedford, Ohio, and William E. Campbell was still a conductor for a street railway. His age, fifty-two is once again inconsistent from the previous census, but not by very much. Data about his wife, Mary H, is totally consistent with the 1930 census, as is the data about Mary Jane, who by now was twenty-three years old and working as a bookkeeper for a wholesale paint factory.

Unlike previous censuses, in which there is (usually) no way to know who told the census taker what about who, the 1940 census enumerators indicated their informants by marking them with a circled “x.”⁷ In the Campbell family’s case, the informant was the wife, Mary H Campbell, which is going to be important later.

So. We’ve traced William E. Campbell across forty years and five census records, which, for all the consistent data they’ve provided, have also created a host of questions surrounding several inconsistencies:

1. Was William Campbell’s mother from England? Or was she from New York, or Pennsylvania?
2. Was Fannie Campbell actually William’s biological mother?
3. Did Fannie have ten children, two of whom survived, or six children, all of whom survived?
4. When exactly was William E. Campbell born? (The smaller fluctuations in his age from census to census might be resolved by comparing his birth month to the official census date, but other shifts are too large to be tidied up that way.)
5. Did Fannie Campbell die before 1920, or did she just move out?
6. Are Eveleyin and Mary Campbell the same person?
7. What were James and Fannie Campbell each up to before they got married in their thirties?

As you’ll quickly see with the Campbells and their extended relations in Part Two: The William E. Campbell Vital Records, the more questions you answer, the more questions you have. If ever there was a case of genealogical research question whack-a-mole, it’s this family. Luckily, they lived in Cleveland, a city that is nothing short of a goldmine, records-wise, both in in terms of quantity of records kept as well as their availability.

Since I’ve broken with the common geneablogging practice of announcing it in the lede, at this point you’re probably wondering how exactly I fit into this picture. “Eveleyin,” whose name was actually spelled Evelyn, was my great-great grandmother, and if it isn’t obvious at this point, William E. Campbell was not my great-great grandfather. But William and I are related in other ways (yes, ways, plural), and I don’t just mean that he was “the husband of my great-great grandmother.”

Stay tuned, because this plot twists like Chubby Checker. Part Two.

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<sup>1. 1900 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Cleveland City, Ward 23, p. 271 (stamped) ED 114, sheet 6-A, dwelling 66, household 111, James Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1900,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3SW-NWCD-9 : accessed 9 March 2018) , Ohio > Cuyahoga > ED 114 Precinct C Cleveland City Ward 23 > image 11 of 46; citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1256; cropped and enhanced with contrast adjustment.↩
2. Marian L. Smith, “Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940,” Prologue Magazine Volume 30, No. 2, Summer 1998; online edition, National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-1.html : accessed 9 March 2018).↩
3. 1910 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Cleveland City, Ward 19, p. 172 (stamped), ED 293, sheet 26-B, dwelling 14, household 21, William Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1910,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RJX-GQ6 : accessed 9 march 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > Cleveland Ward 19 > ED 293 > image 52 of 54; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 1173.↩
4. 1920 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Cleveland City, Ward 16, p. 53 (stamped), ED 334, sheet 35-B, dwelling 585, household 845, William E. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1920,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRX3-778 : accessed 9 March 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > Cleveland Ward 16 > ED 334 > image 70 of 112; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1368.↩
5. 1930 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Bedford Village, Ward C.C. 40, p. 97 (stamped), ED 18-540, sheet 8-B, dwelling 193, household 213, William E. Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RCQ-JRL : accessed 9 March 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > Bedford > ED 540 > image 16 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1761.↩
6. 1940 U.S. Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, Bedford City, Ward B, p. 87 (stamped), ED 18-5, dwelling 1, Wm E Campbell; database with images, “United States Census, 1940,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-9STN : accessed 9 March 2018), Ohio > Cuyahoga > Bedford City, Bedford City, Tract BD-2 > 18-5 Bedford City (Tract BD-2 – part) bounded by (N) Columbus, city limits; (E) city limits; (S) Solon Rd; Worthfield Rd > image 1 of 22; citing NARA digital publication T627.↩
7. U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Instructions to Enumerators; Population and Agriculture 1940,” p. 42, image copy, Census.gov (https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1940instructions.pdf : accessed 9 March 2018).↩</sup>

A Grave for Great-Great Grandma: The Tragic Side-by-Side Burials of Willie and Eva Knight

Most people don’t even know one great-grandmother growing up, but I knew three of mine. My great-grandmothers died in 1973, 1997, 2003, and 2008. I was born in the 1980s, so the three great-grandmothers who were alive when I was born were more than just foggy memories from toddler-hood to me, they were women I knew. I was in my twenties when my mother’s mother’s mother passed away a few months shy of her ninetieth birthday.

The one great-grandmother I never knew at all was my maternal grandfather’s mother, Rosa May (Callaway) Lyons, the only one who died before I was born. I never even saw a picture of her (that I knew of) until I was about thirteen. I was staying with my grandparents for a summer visit, and Granddaddy–who worked as a printer and graphic designer for most of his life–had gotten himself a brand new scanner. He was touching up old photos when I walked into the den.

“Wow, she looks so much like mom. Who is that?”

“That’s my mother,” Granddaddy said in his dulcet Southern baritone, “so your mother looks like her.”

James Morgan Lyons and Rosa May (Callaway) Lyons, circa 1940s; digital image, January 2012, privately held.

My mother remembers Rosa May, but only just, since mom was about eight years old when her Grandmama died. When I’ve asked my mom, or my uncles, or other family members about Rosa May–well, no one ever wants to speak ill of the dead, but the general consensus is that she had some…rough edges.

Maybe those edges started roughening up when Rosa May was ten years old. That’s when her mother died.

Rosa May’s mother, my great-great grandmother, Willie Elizabeth (Knight) Callaway died late in the evening on October 10, 1913 in Macon, Georgia.¹ When news of Willie’s death reached her sister, Eva, in Mobile, Alabama the next day, Eva’s heart gave out and she died on October 11, 1913.²

My granddaddy was born in 1939, so he never knew his maternal grandmother Willie. (He never know his paternal grandmother either, but that’s a story for another day.) After we buried Granddaddy in 2012, I made a photo request for Willie’s headstone on Find A Grave. Dennis aka “Popeye,” a volunteer extraordinaire from Macon, Georgia, trekked out to Cedar Ridge Cemetery to snap a picture. Unfortunately, Willie’s grave wasn’t marked. Her husband, Rosa May’s father Lucian J. Callaway Sr. (L.J.), died in 1948.³ There was a blank in-ground slab to the left of L.J.’s marked grave, and Dennis supposed that Willie most likely rested beneath it.⁴

In late 2016, my Grandma gave me a big ol’ pile of paper and scraps that Granddaddy saved from his mama’s house when she died. Aside from the photographs, about half those bits of paper are related to Great-Grandaddy Lyons’s work on the railroad, or his time in the Navy during WWII. The other half is mostly related to the dirt track racing careers of Buddy and Foggy Callaway, Rosa May’s ne’er do-well rum-running big brothers (another story for another day). But amidst all the ephemera about the menfolks, there were two small newspaper clippings:

Details of Mrs. L.J. Callaway’s funeral, Macon (GA) paper unknown, circa 12 October 1913, newspaper clipping remnant privately held by M. Crymes.

“Two Funerals Held From Same House,” Macon (GA) newspaper unknown, circa 14 October 1913, newspaper clipping, privately held by M. Crymes.

By the time they came down to me, these clippings were over one hundred years old. The clipping on the left is fractional, but the list of surviving siblings is intact. Of particular importance to today’s story is Mrs. J.W. Best, aka Jessie Knight, sister of Willie and Eva.

Like most genealogists, I often correspond with distant cousins from time to time. One of those distant cousin penpals is my second cousin, twice removed: Jessie (Knight) Best’s granddaughter, Glenda, who worked with Dennis aka “Popeye” to place markers on Willie and Eva’s graves in 2017, over a century after their funeral^5,6:

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85962482/willie-elizabeth-callaway : accessed 1 March 2018), memorial page for Willie Elizabeth (Knight) Callaway (1875-1913), Memorial no. 85962482, created by Margaret C., citing Cedar Ridge Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; accompanying photographs by Dennis “Popeye” Roland.

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89503258/eva-mae-liles : accessed 1 March 2018), memorial page for Eva May (Knight) Liles (1885-1913), Memorial no. 89503258, created by Eileen Babb McAdams, managed by Glenda Smith. citing Cedar Ridge Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; accompanying photographs by Dennis “Popeye” Roland.

And so, over one hundred years after their tragic, almost simultaneous deaths, Willie and Eva’s final resting places will speak their names for as long as the stones remain un-weathered and unbroken–all thanks to Glenda, the grand niece who never knew them, and to Dennis, who who watches over Cedar Ridge Cemetery.

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<sup>1. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85962482/willie-elizabeth-callaway : accessed 1 March 2018), memorial page for Willie Elizabeth (Knight) Callaway (1875-1913), Memorial no. 85962482, created by Margaret C.; citing Cedar Ridge Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; accompanying photographs by Dennis “Popeye” Roland.↩
2. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89503258/eva-mae-liles : accessed 1 March 2018), memorial page for Eva May (Knight) Liles (1885-1913), Memorial no. 89503258, created by Eileen Babb McAdams, managed by Glenda Smith; citing Cedar Ridge Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; accompanying photographs by Dennis “Popeye” Roland.↩
3. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35252310/lucian-josiah-callaway : accessed 1 March 2018), memorial page for Lucian Josiah Callaway (1872-1948), Memorial no. 35252310, created by Dennis “Popeye” Roland, managed by Margaret C.; citing Cedar Ridge Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; accompanying photographs by Dennis “Popeye” Roland.↩
4. “Popeye” to Margaret C., 4 March 2012, Find a Grave member message, privately held. ↩
5. Glenda Smith to Margaret C., 15 Feb 2018, Find a Grave member message, privately held. ↩
6. “Popeye” to Margaret C., 28 Feb 2018, Find a Grave member message, privately held. ↩</sup>

Richard Crymes: Citizen and Haberdasher of London

[The following is an updated and revised edition of an ancestor sketch I wrote back in 2010.]

Plugging an ancestor into his or her time period, discovering how they fit in not just where they lived, but when they lived, and tying the narrative of their lives to broader historical context is among the ultimate accomplishments of a dedicated family historian. The greatest challenge is usually finding enough information about an ancestor to make him or her more than just a name on a pedigree in the first place.

In my husband’s case, he’s lucky enough to have a twelfth great-grandfather who left a paper trail all over sixteenth century London.

One of earliest appearances of Richard Crymes, haberdasher in the historical record dates to 1534, the year the Church of England officially broke with Rome, not long after Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and the birth of Elizabeth I. The king granted a few properties around London to Richard and two others, including John Crymes, a clothworker¹ and probable relative. Because Richard was old enough to have a profession and own property by 1534, it’s likely he was born sometime between 1500 and 1515, towards the end of or just after the reign of Henry VII, around the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Richard was a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of London, which were descended from the earlier medieval trade guilds. In the sixteenth century, London’s livery companies were centers of economic, social, and political power for upper class commoners. They regulated commerce within their given industries, and membership in a livery company carried with it the freedom of the city–that is, freedom from serfdom, and the freedom to trade and own property. Freeman status by way of a livery company could be achieved via apprenticeship, patrimony, or redemption (buying your way in). Which route Richard took is unknown, but by the 1530s he was a Master Haberdasher. In 1535, Richard’s apprentice John Mucklow became a freeman.²

Haberdasheries in the United States today (when they exist outside department stores, which is rare) primarily sell men’s clothing and accessories; shirts, tie clips, and collar stays, etc. But in Tudor England, haberdashers were purveyors of small wares, from sewing supplies to fashion accessories to knick-knacks. Haberdasheries in Richard’s day were extravagant businesses, often brightly and fabulously decorated, over the top and ostentatious enough to encourage customers to part with their money.³

And part with their money they apparently did, because Richard was an extraordinarily wealthy commoner for his time. In 1541 he paid more in lay subsidies (taxes) than anyone else in his entire parish (St. Lawrence in the Cheap ward).⁴ Richard was wealthy, and he leveraged that wealth to accumulate quite a lot of property, thanks in part to the availability of former monastic lands confiscated by Henry VIII in his power struggle against the Pope.

In April 1546, Richard and his wife Elizabeth purchased a manor in Buckland Monachorum in West Devon for about £1500.⁵ Buckland was the site of a former Cistercian abbey seized by the crown as a result the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act in 1535.  The lands Richard purchased originally belonged to the Abbey, but abbey and the manor were separated by the dissolution. Richard built a manor house on the land⁶ and called it Crapstone Barton. The house still stands to this day, thanks in part to its status as a Grade II* Historic England listed building, although it was almost completely rebuilt in the early seventeenth century⁷ and has long since been sold out of the family.

Crapstone Barton, circa 2010. Courtesy of Mr. P. Barons, former owner.

Richard purchased more seized church properties, in Sileby and Lubenham in Leicester, in October of 1546,⁸ a scant few months before the death of Henry VIII and the coronation of boy-King Edward VI.

Like most coronations, Edward VI’s coronation in February 1547 was a grand affair. Thanks to his status as a Master Haberdasher, Richard would have had a greater ceremonial role in the proceedings than a commoner of lesser economic status. The livery companies were an integral part of London’s political pageantry: from their ranks the aldermen were nominated, and from the alderman’s ranks came the Lord Mayor. As such, the Lord Mayor was then (and is now) a member of one of the livery companies. When Anne Boleyn was conveyed up the Thames for her coronation in 1533, the Lord Mayor at the time was, like Richard, a haberdasher. The company was charged with organizing a flotilla which was to collect the Queen from the palace at Greenwich, and escort her by water to the Tower of London to rest before processing through the city to Westminster Abbey. All of the livery companies participated in the barge parade, including the haberdashers, who followed just behind the Lord Mayor.⁹ There’s (probably) no way to know for certain whether Richard was aboard the haberdashers’ barge that day, but it’s certainly possible. Likely, even.

As for Henry VIII’s funeral and Edward VI’s coronation in 1547, Richard’s status among the livery men was high enough that he was nominated for alderman the very next year (although the nomination was rejected).¹⁰ He would almost certainly have been among the livery company men lining the streets for Edward VI’s coronation processional.¹¹ At the very least, Richard would almost certainly have given money to fund the haberdashers’ contribution to the many tableaux and pageants which dotted the route to entertain the Boy King.

The Coronation Procession of King Edward VI from the Tower of London to Westminster on February 19th 1547. Eighteenth century illustration by Samuel Grimm, based on a circa 1547 painting at Cowdray House, Sussex, since lost.

Another apprentice, John Hewes, became a freeman in 1549.¹² July of 1552 saw Richard’s eldest son Ellis married to Agnes (or Anne) Prideaux on the third,¹³ and Richard’s wife Elizabeth buried on the eleventh.¹⁴ Both the marriage and the burial took place at St. Lawrence Jewry, which was then (and still is now) a few block’s walk from the haberdasher’s guild hall.¹⁵

A year later, in July of 1553, Edward VI died. The ill-fated teenager Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed (by some) the Queen of England and locked up in the Tower of London for the entire duration of her nine (or thirteen) days “reign,” which ended when Mary I rode triumphantly into London with a large retinue of supporters to legally ascend the throne, another citywide celebration in which Richard most likely played a small ceremonial role in terms of representing his guild as its members lined the streets, clad in the livery of their respective companies, to greet the new Queen.¹⁶

A third apprentice of Richard’s, John Tarleton, became a freeman in 1557,¹⁷ the year before yet another monarch ascended the throne: the great Elizabeth I, whose coronation would be the last of Richard’s lifetime, and the last for which he most likely turned out in his haberdasher’s livery to greet the the latest new monarch as she processed through the streets to her coronation.

When Richard Crymes died in mid-September, 1565, in the seventh year of Elizabeth I’s reign, he left behind a lengthy will. Lucky for his many, many descendants, the 453 year-old document survives to this day, in the National Archives of the United Kingdom.¹⁸

Snippet from the microfilm copy of Richard’s will.

Richard asked to be buried next to his pew door at St. Lawrence Jewry¹⁹ (and he was, on 21 September 1565²⁰). He left the manor in Buckland Monachorum to his eldest son Ellis, the properties in Sileby and Lubenham to his second son Thomas, and properties in Islington to his daughter Mary. He left a small sum to be divided among his kindred near Witton, in Cheshire (where he was likely born) as well as funds for the maintenance and repair of a local bridge. He willed money to the Queen’s highway fund, put £300 in trust for his granddaughter (forfeit if she married without family approval), left £40 for each of his three grandsons by Ellis, and he made provisions to provide charcoal for the poor folks in his parish and elsewhere. He forgave his debtors, left a few small sums to his friends, and a few big sums to his children; £800 to Mary and £1000 to Thomas.²¹

Richard spent the entire final paragraph of his last will and testament decrying having been found guilty of pilfering from a casket (in this case a chest or box, not a funeral casket) of 500 pounds in gold which had belonged to a John Prideaux, but was allegedly left in Richard’s custody. In front of witnesses including his old apprentice John Hewes and his daughter-in-law Agnes (Prideaux) Crymes, Richard swore on his deathbed that he’d never had possession of the chest or money, and that he had been falsely accused and convicted.²²

“And also doe proteste that I had not the custodie of the saide Caskett nor of any golde of the saide John Pridaiux at any tyme within a yere before his death as I shall answere before god at the dreadfull Daye of Judgemente, and I take it uppon my consciens that I was in that matter moste wrongfully condempued, and that the verditt of the same Jewrye is moste false and untrue And as this whiche I doe declare uppon my death bedde is moste juste and true soe I beseach god my sowle may be saved and not otherwise” – Richard Crymes, as transcribed by Kathy Wiegel²³

A cursory search of the United Kingdom National Archives’ online catalog reveals a number of court documents involving Richard as both plaintiff and defendant, largely to do with property disputes or the collection of various debts either owed to or owed by him.²⁴ Most of these documents are not available digitally, so I suppose I’ll have to just…go to England to look at them one day.

Richard lived to see the reigns of five English monarchs (six, if you count poor Jane Grey), from the waning years of Henry VII to the early years of Elizabeth I–and, living in London, he had a front row seat to one of the most dramatic eras in British history. He was wealthy, generous in death, and clearly a shrewd (perhaps even cutthroat, if the court records are any potential indication) businessman, leaving behind a sizable fortune upon his death. His life blazed a paper trail long enough that this lengthy sketch only just scratches the surface. Richard’s descendants would go on to become haberdashers, country gentlemen, knighted members of the House of Commons, and, eventually, an immigrant to colonial Virginia. But that’s a story for another day.

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<sup>1.  James Gairdner, ed., Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 7, 1534 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1883), 560; digital images, British History Online, “Henry VIII: November 1534, 26-30” (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol7/pp550-560 : accessed 18 February 2018).↩
2. Worshipful Company of Haberdashers (London, England), “Register of Freedom Admissions 1526-1613,” not paginated, entry for John Mucklow, 1535; digital images, “City Of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices And Freemen 1526-1933,” Find My Past (https://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/city-of-london-haberdashers-apprentices-and-freemen-1526-1933 : accessed 18 February 2018); citing CLC/L/HA/C/007/MS15857/001, Registers of freedom admissions, Membership Records, Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, London Metropolitan Archive, England. ↩
3. Thomas Allen, The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Other Parts Adjacent, Volume 2 (London: George Virtue, 1839), 363-365; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=rKsVAAAAYAAJ : accessed 19 February 2018).↩
4. R.G. Land, ed., Two Tudor Subsidy Rolls for the City of London, 1541 and 1582 (London: London Record Society, 1993), 45-49; transcript, “1541 London Subsidy roll: Cheap Ward,” British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol29/pp45-49 : accessed 18 February 2018); citing E 179/144/120, Exchequer: King’s Remembrancer: Particulars of Account and other records relating to Lay and Clerical Taxation, Records of the King’s Remembrancer, Records of the Exchequer, and its related bodies, with those of the Office of First Fruits and Tenths, and the Court of Augmentations, The National Archives, Kew, England.↩
5. James Gairdner and R H Brodie, eds., Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 21 Part 1, January-August 1546 (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1908), 352; transcript with digital images, “Henry VIII: April 1546, 26-30,” British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol21/no1/pp334-359 : accessed February 18, 2018).↩
6. Sir William Pole, Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon (London: J. Nichols, 1791), 337; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=WF4OAAAAQAAJ : accessed 19 February 2018).]↩
7. “CRAPSTONE BARTON, INCLUDING GARDEN WALL AND GATE PIERS IMMEDIATELY TO WEST OF HOUSE,” Historic England,  National Heritage List for England (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1105460 : accessed 25 February 2018).↩
8. James Gairdner and R H Brodie, eds., Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 21 Part 2, September 1546-January 1547 (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1910), 161-162; transcript with digital images, “Henry VIII: October 1546, 21-31,” British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol21/no2/pp138-168 : accessed February 18, 2018).↩
9. Edward Hall, Hall’s Chronicle (London: Printed for J. Johnson, etc, 1809), 798-799; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/hallschronicleco00halluoft : accessed 21 February 2018).↩
10. Alfred B. Beaven, The Aldermen of the City of London, Temp. Henry III.-1908, Volume I (London: Eden Fisher & Company, 1908), 36 and 246; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=KotHvZvvcOAC : accessed 23 February 2018).↩
11. John Gough Nichols, ed., Literary remains of King Edward the Sixth, Volume I (London: J.B. Nichols and Sons, 1857), p. cclxxix – ccxci; digital images, Hathi Trust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t83j4282b;view=2up;seq=4 : accessed 21 February 2018).↩
12. Worshipful Company of Haberdashers (London, England), “Register of Freedom Admissions 1526-1613,” not paginated, entry for John Hewes, 17 October 1549.↩
13. St. Lawrence Jewry (City of London, London, England), “Register of Baptisms 1538-1605 and Marriages and Burials 1538-1604,” un-paginated, marriage of Ellis Crymes and Annes Perdeux, 3 July 1552; digital images, “London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1624/31281_a101684-00014/ : accessed 18 February 2018), image 12 of 60; citing P69/LAW1/A/001/MS06974, Parish Registers, Saint Lawrence Jewry: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives England.↩
14. St. Lawrence Jewry (City of London, London, England), “Register of Baptisms 1538-1605 and Marriages and Burials 1538-1604,” un-paginated, burial of Eliza wife of Richard Crymes, 11 July 1552; digital images, “London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1624/31281_a101684-00003 : accessed 18 February 2018), image 8 of 60; citing P69/LAW1/A/001/MS06974, Parish Registers, Saint Lawrence Jewry: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives, England.↩
15. “The Agas Map of Early Modern London,” Map of Early Modern London, University of Victoria (https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/agas.htm?locIds=HABE1|STLA5 : accessed 25 February 2018); link will show the Haberdasher’s Hall outlined in green and St. Laurence Jewry in purple.↩
16. John Gough Nichols, ed., The Diary of Henry Machyn: Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, from A. D. 1550 to A.D. 1563 (London: Printed for the Camden Society, 1848), 38; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=lBsIAAAAIAAJ : accessed 25 February 2018).↩
17. Worshipful Company of Haberdashers (London, England), “Register of Freedom Admissions 1526-1613,” not paginated, entry for John Tarleton, 7 April 1557.↩
18. Richard Crymes will, London, 1565; digital images, “England & Wales Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills 1384-1858,” Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5111 : accessed 18 February 2018); citing PROB 11/48/330, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Wills and Letters of Administration, The National Archives, Kew, England.↩
19. Ibid.↩
20. St. Lawrence Jewry (City of London, London, England), “Register of Baptisms 1538-1605 and Marriages and Burials 1538-1604,” un-paginated, burial of Richard Crymes, 21 September 1565; digital images, “London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1624/31281_a101684-00003 : accessed 18 February 2018), image 13 of 60; citing P69/LAW1/A/001/MS06974, Parish Registers, Saint Lawrence Jewry: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives, England.↩
21. Richard Crymes will, London, 1565.↩
22. Ibid.↩
23. Kathy Weigel, “Will of Richard Crymes,” transcript (http://members.tripod.com/~Caryl_Williams/RCrimes.html : accessed 25 February 2018).↩
24. Advanced search results for (Crymes OR Grymes) NOT Morrison filtered by dates 1500-1565, Discovery, The National Archives (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_nq1=Morrison&_or1=Crymes&_or2=Grymes&_dss=range&_sd=1500&_ed=1565&_ro=any&_st=adv : accessed 26 February 2018).↩</sup>

Starring Grandaddy as Doc Hudson

When everybody knows you’re the one who cares, you end up with a lot of heirlooms, papers, and ephemera. I’m like the Little Mermaid of my family, with whose-its and whats-its galore: from great-granny’s giant wooden spoon, knife, and fork set hanging on my kitchen wall (not to mention her biscuit pan and rolling pin in the cabinet), to a Shaker-style quilt which belonged to my step-great-great-grandmother, to my grandmother-in-law’s genealogical research files, to my great-grandmother’s high school yearbook, to my great-granddaddy’s shellback ceremony photos–you want thingamabobs? I got twenty! But who cares? No big deal. I want moooorrreee–

I’m sorry, where were we?

Right. Heirlooms. I’ve got a lot of ’em and I’d be hard pressed to name a favorite, but I think the most meaningful “saves” I’ve ever made are recordings of my late grandfathers’ voices.

My maternal grandfather (Granddaddy) died about six years ago. I’ve got a younger sibling over twenty years younger than me, and when she was tiny, Granddaddy and Grandma gave her one of those record-able Hallmark storybooks. Grandma and Granddaddy recorded Lightning McQueen and His Winning Team less than a year before Granddaddy died.

Granddaddy’s maternal uncles were professional race car drivers (and rum runners, but that’s another story…) in the 1920s and 1930, and he was an amateur driver in his own right as a young man, so you best believe listening to my granddaddy read the page about Doc Hudson in his Southern baritone is something I can only do about once a year. (And let’s not even talk about how much I thought about my granddaddy and cried through Cars 3).

H.D. Lyons aka Granddaddy racing, circa 1960s; digital image January 2012, privately held

I bought a copy of the same record-able storybook for my own son, thinking I’d use Grandma and Granddaddy’s rendition of Lightning McQueen and His Winning team for his book too, but since I burst into tears every time I hear it, I think it might be better to get a new rendition from my in-laws. My husband made a recording of the audio just in case something happened to the book, and I’ve got that file backed up every which way.  I’ve got an actual tape of Grandaddy in my files too, one of my mother and some of her brothers with him back in the seventies, but the audio is heavily distorted. We haven’t been able to rescue it yet, and may never be able to. But at least we’ve got Granddaddy reading about the denizens of Radiator Springs.

My paternal grandfather (Papa) was only sixty when he died back in 1999. When his stepfather, the man I called Church Papa because he was a preacher–who functioned as a great-grandfather to me even though he was actually my great-grand-uncle; a story for another day–died in 2011, I helped my grandmother and great aunt clean out his house. In a stack of old cassettes, I found a tape that my Papa, Grandma, bio-father, and uncle recorded from Okinawa in 1979. Papa was stationed at Kadena Air Force Base at the time, and they’d recorded a solid hour of themselves just chit-chatting and talking about their lives to send back to Church Papa and Granny in North Carolina.

When we realized what it was, my grandmother and I were in a bit of a shock. We took the tape home to her house and played it. For the first time in over a decade, we heard Papa’s voice. It happened to be my birthday. We cried. A lot. Hearing my Papa’s voice again was probably the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten, bar none. I took the tape home with me to California, where my husband digitized the audio. I don’t listen to it often, but I like knowing that my son will one day be able to “meet” my Papa, who at one point jokes about going back to work in the cotton mill after his retirement from the Air Force–which he’d joined partly to get away from the cotton mill in the first place. Later on, he even talks my grandmother into singing a gospel song while he accompanies her on the guitar.

Speaking of, I’ve got a CD full of gospel songs Church Papa recorded with the other musicians at his church some time in the early 2000s, but I’ve lost track of the back-up. I guess it’s a good thing this prompt came along to remind me.

And now that I’m on the subject, we’ve also got a gospel record my husband’s grandfather cut in 1964. It’s one of several copies, but my husband wasn’t given his own until, well…the funeral. He babied the thing through airport security, and it hung on the wall in our son’s room until our little Destructo-Bot broke the frame (but thankfully not the record or his skin). If you’re into that sort of thing, enjoy:

When the Enumerator is Your Ancestor: A Bit of Genealogical Luck

Before the 1940 Census, enumerators made no note of their informants. It’s impossible to categorize pre-1940 census data as primary or secondary information when you don’t know who told the census taker what. Most of the time, we just plain don’t know whether the census taker talked to great-great-great grandpappy or a neighbor down the road–which is of course why the thorough genealogist relies on more than just census data.

If you’re lucky though, great-great-great grandpappy was the census taker:

William Martin Crymes, 1880 census taker for Waynesville, Haywood County, North Carolina, enumerated his own family beginning on Line 21.¹

The Asheville Weekly Citizen published a list of western North Carolina census takers in May of 1880, including their name, district and–to the best of the paper’s information–political party. W.M. Crymes was listed as Republican,² which begs some questions about his Civil War service, but that’s another post for another day.

William was also a census taker in 1890, which makes the near-total loss of the 1890 census even more acute for me. Nearly all of the original census questionnaires for 1890 burned in 1921, and the only reason I know W.M. Crymes was appointed census taker that year is because the Citizen once again reported as much³…with a lot more editorializing than the straight-to-the-point list the same paper published in 1880:

The Asheville Citizen was wicked bitter about the 1890 census.

Granted, the 1890 Census questions were more comprehensive than in previous years, but the Citizen appears to have had a disproportionately big bone to pick. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the Citizen was a Conservative Democratic paper⁴ while both the governor of North Carolina and the president at the time were Republicans.

At any rate, when it comes to the 1880 Census, I’m in the rare and unique position of being able to categorize each piece of data as primary or secondary information, because the head of household himself is the one who wrote it all down.

Now, if only I could time travel to 1921 and stop the Commerce Building from catching fire…

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<sup>1. 1880 U.S. census, Waynesville, Haywood County, North Carolina, population schedule, enumeration district 84, p. 138 (stamped), p. 31 (penned); digital image, “United States Census, 1880,” Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB6-9CJC : accessed 21 February 2018).↩
2. “List of Enumerators of the Census Appointed for Counties West of the Blue Ridge,” Asheville (N.C.) Weekly Citizen, 20 May 1880, p. 8, cols. 1-2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/63416112 : accessed 21 February 2018.)↩
3. “Census Enumerators,” Asheville (N.C) Weekly Citizen, 5 June 1890, p. 6, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/61577069 : accessed 21 February 2018).↩
4. William S. Powell, ed., Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), “Asheville Citizen Times”; transcription, NCPedia (https://www.ncpedia.org/asheville-citizen-times : 21 February 2018).↩</sup>