That is a lot of information. The Shay bible was destroyed? I wonder what happened to it. That probably had a lot of info on the parents and siblings of James & Margaret...that is unfortunate. I am not sure if questions about Rebecca's first marriage were brought up at the time of James' death. James wouldn't of had his parents or siblings around at that time in 1869 to contest her inheritance rights as his widow and his children were too young to know anything.I wonder how well she got on with her step-daughters. Rebecca didn't have any children until she married her 4th husband. Rebecca knew enough info to know that Jane R. married a Heath. Rebecca outlived all three of her step-daughters. Nancy died in 1944.
Was Rebecca a 1st cousin of Joseph Brown? That might explain why they married so young...probably arranged by the family. This woman seems to be pretty fascinating in 1800's standards. Married 4 times, with at least 1 divorce and possible bigamy under her belt. Also married to both a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier. She then ran her own business with the hotel later in life.
I have an idea of when James & Margaret must have married. Mary Shay was born in Nov 1861. James is still living with David & Sarah in the July 1860 census records. He purchased land in Scott County, MO in Feb 1861. I speculate that shortly after July 1860, James made his way south to the Ohio River and followed it down to where it ran into the Mississippi. This is the general vicinity of where McCracken Co, Ballard Co., & Scott Co. meet. He then meet Margaret Mayberry who was 16 at the time. Since she is not listed with Elizabeth Mayberry in the 1860 census, she was probably living with relatives in the area. I think they probably married around Feb 1861 when he bought the land in Scott Co, MO. He probably bought the land as a wedding present or with the idea that he would soon start a family. Nine months after he purchased the land, Mary was born.
I wonder if I was to send for William Heath's pension records if they would give me as much detail. I still do not have any death details for Jane Shay. Perhaps I might get the info I want from it. I know William made his brother Frank the beneficiary. He must have done that after Jane's death. Its great to see the puzzle start to get filled in.
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I took a little time and read through some of the documents:
Rebecca Peal was born 9/20/1851 in Blandville, KY (?)
She married Joseph Brown in 1865 and he supposedly died in 1866 as a result of an accident on a raft in the Mississippi - he was rafting logs down and fell off - statement in one affidavit indicated that "he did not die by fair means"
Supposedly Ezkiel Ashley was Brown's uncle (wasn't he living with Mary Withrow?? -- Rebecca Jane Peal's mother)
Sshe married James Shay in Mayfield, KY in 7/30/1868 -- in Graves County -- Why did they marry in KY and not in MO --
Shay died 4/21/1869
One statement on rejection....death of first husband not shown .. evidence he was alive long after soldier's death.....
According to affidavits - no death certificates for Mary and James - not recorded at time and no marriage certificate for marriage - destroyed by fire. No baptismal records for children. Listed in Mary Withrow's bible because Shay bible destroyed..
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Question I posed to my daughter - if Jane Peal was not legally married to James Shay - could she have legally inherited James land and other assets?
The lady was persistent -- I can't imagine what else could be in the file.
Looking briefly today to try and locate the death certificate for the Delpha Brown - daughter of Wm and Sarah Mayberry - I located a marriage license for a Joseph R. Brown and a Lucy Raspberry in Scott County.
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I haven't found any real documentation indicating that Joseph was seen alive after the marriage - so I wonder how they could state that he was alive well after Shay's death.
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Questions and more questions.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
APRIL 28, 2008 - PENSION FILE ARRIVED!
WOW - over 100 pages in James Shay's Pension File. The first 100 pages were received today! Many affidavits and applications but nothing on Margaret Mayberry and James Shay's parents -- a little disappointing.
But, we did confirm James' death as being in 1869 and that his daughter Mary died in October 10, 1874. Mention was made that Nancy had married an Owens and Jane had married a Heath and both resided in Potter County, PA. This confirms what we had speculated -- Nancy had married Thomas Owens and most likely Jane came with them to PA where she then met William Heath and married.
Most likely we will have to pursue the Owens side to find any info on the Margaret and James.
Heard back from LH - his Aunt didn't recall any thing but he has agreed to continue to review his documents and contacts.
Will scan some of the documents from the pension file and post later today.
But, we did confirm James' death as being in 1869 and that his daughter Mary died in October 10, 1874. Mention was made that Nancy had married an Owens and Jane had married a Heath and both resided in Potter County, PA. This confirms what we had speculated -- Nancy had married Thomas Owens and most likely Jane came with them to PA where she then met William Heath and married.
Most likely we will have to pursue the Owens side to find any info on the Margaret and James.
Heard back from LH - his Aunt didn't recall any thing but he has agreed to continue to review his documents and contacts.
Will scan some of the documents from the pension file and post later today.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
April 24, 2008 - Margaret Mayberry
I just replied to this email and I am waiting to hear back and will email you with any info I receive from him. You might find it interesting though. He has a Margaret Mayberry from Kentucky in his family.
Subject: Re: Looking for more information about Margaret Mayberry
I have had trouble getting any e-mail to get through to you in answer to a question you sent about a Margaret Mayberry listed in my database. I have a feeling this is the same person I have listed in my database. She is the daughter of Elias Mayberry. My distant grandmother was named Frances "Fannie" Mayberry. I believe she is a daughter, but there is some conjecture that her parents died at sea and she was raised by relatives. I haven't been able to prove that, and she named one of her sons Elias so there has to be a strong connection.I did find in some research that a group of Mayberrys with the same names has sons in Missouri, so this is likely the one you are looking for.I would like to share any information you have regarding the Mayberrys.
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Did you find the database through Ancestry.com or elsewhere? This is definitely interesting...do you know what County in KY?
Keep me posted.
The pension file status is still "Awaiting shipment" - I went on-line today to see exactly what documents to expect. The pension application itself should reveal where he was from and the actual dates of his marriage. Many times a marriage certificate was included. So, let's hope that's the case here.
I've been sharing our info and some of our emails with family members, would you mind if I edited some of our emails and put them in a blog so some of my family members in TX and CO could read about our "journey." I'm hoping that some of these people may have some info and other pictures that would help us.
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I first got into contact with ST last January about the Mayberrys with an inquiry then I hadn't heard back these past few months until now. I don't think his Margaret fits into our family. His Mayberry family is from Monroe County, Kentucky and his Margaret was born in 1837.
That is a 7 year age difference from the Margaret that lives with Frederick & Elizabeth in Ballard County, Kentucky.
Also Monroe County is located in a different part of Kentucky and the Margaret Mayberry of Ballard County is most likely our ancestor that married James Shay. Ballard County, KY and Scott County, MO are within 40 miles of each other with the Ohio River and Mississippi River as major water routes.
Below is a list of adjacent counties to Ballard Co, KY & Scott Co, MO where we would most likely find Mayberrys that we would be related to.
Soon I will make a list of every person with the last name of Mayberry/Maberry that appears in census for these counties between 1800-1870.
Pulaski County, Illinois (north of Ballard Co, KY) – across the Ohio RiverMcCracken County, Kentucky (east of Ballard Co., MO)Carlisle County, Kentucky (south of Ballard Co., MO)Adjacent counties to Ballard County, MO & Scott County, MO*Mississippi County, Missouri (southwest from Ballard Co, KY & southeast from Scott Co, MO) – Mississippi River separates Mississippi Co from Ballard Co.*Alexander County, Illinois (west of Scott Co, MO & northeast of Ballard Co., MO) – Ohio River separates it from Ballard Co. I think if I compile names and write to these historical societies, I may come up with more information.
April 23, 2008 - Pension File Located - Waiting Shipment
The pension record has been located and copies made. It is awaiting shipment.
We may have it by next week.
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Thats great news. I found a very interesting link about Mayberrys in this country. All we have to do is fill in the puzzle of where we fit. I truely believe that our Margaret Mayberry has to be the daughter or granddaughter of Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry. Given the ages of Frederick & Elizabeth it could be a possibility that they are grandparents of hers. The 1830 census lists Frederick's age between 30-40, Elizabeth between 30-40. 1840 census lists Frederick's age between 40-50, Elizabeth between 40-50. 1850 census lists Frederick's age 62, Elizabeth as 61. 1860 census lists Elizabeth's age as 60. I think the 1860 census is nearer her true age and that she was born around 1800. Probably between 1795-1800. This would put her in her mid to late 40's at the time of Margaret's birth. Frederick & Elizabeth had at least 2 sons born between 1820-1825 according to the 1830 census. They also had a daughter born between 1815-1820. I think this daughter was the mother of the Allen children who are listed in the 1850 & 1860 census with the Mayberry family. I think they are grandchildren of Frederick & Elizabeth. One of the sons born between 1820-1825 could have married young, had Margaret in 1844 then died before 1850. The 1850 & 1860 census does not list the relationship between everyone in the household. Just another thing to consider. Below is the link of many early Mayberrys. Let me know what you think. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mabry/
We may have it by next week.
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Thats great news. I found a very interesting link about Mayberrys in this country. All we have to do is fill in the puzzle of where we fit. I truely believe that our Margaret Mayberry has to be the daughter or granddaughter of Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry. Given the ages of Frederick & Elizabeth it could be a possibility that they are grandparents of hers. The 1830 census lists Frederick's age between 30-40, Elizabeth between 30-40. 1840 census lists Frederick's age between 40-50, Elizabeth between 40-50. 1850 census lists Frederick's age 62, Elizabeth as 61. 1860 census lists Elizabeth's age as 60. I think the 1860 census is nearer her true age and that she was born around 1800. Probably between 1795-1800. This would put her in her mid to late 40's at the time of Margaret's birth. Frederick & Elizabeth had at least 2 sons born between 1820-1825 according to the 1830 census. They also had a daughter born between 1815-1820. I think this daughter was the mother of the Allen children who are listed in the 1850 & 1860 census with the Mayberry family. I think they are grandchildren of Frederick & Elizabeth. One of the sons born between 1820-1825 could have married young, had Margaret in 1844 then died before 1850. The 1850 & 1860 census does not list the relationship between everyone in the household. Just another thing to consider. Below is the link of many early Mayberrys. Let me know what you think. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mabry/
April 22, 2008 - Pension File Request Classified as "Servicing"
My request for the pension file is classified as "Servicing" which means they are trying to locate the file.
Everyone was very pleased to see the pictures of Wm and Jane, Jane Heath and her husband.
In reviewing the census records - when Jane Shay was living with her mother - did you happen to notice the income/assets the person had -- not much by today's standards but quite a bit compared to the others on the census report.
I wonder if Jane Shay Peal inherited some of this money and that is how she came to own a hotel.
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I am hoping the pension files reveal a lot. They would probably reveal the whereabouts of his daughters since they too could have a claim for the pension being that they were minor children when he died. We know the whereabouts of Nancy & Jane...but not sure about Mary.
Also if James Shay was truely the son of David Shay & Sarah Worden, then there is a chance that he had money growing up. James Shay purchased land around the age of 23, therefore he must have already had some money he came into or was given. Perhaps, James was also a successful farmer in Scott Co., MO which afforded his family a nice homestead.
The 1870 census lists his wife, 3 daughters, wife's mother, wife's sister and wife's brother all living at the homestead in additional to a laborer.
The house had to be large enough 8 persons or more.
I am trying to trace out the Mayberry branch. According to the census, Frederick Mayberry was born in VA in 1788. I cannot find any info on his early life or who his parents were. There is another Frederick Mayberry born around 1781 but he is not of the same line. I will talk to you later.
Everyone was very pleased to see the pictures of Wm and Jane, Jane Heath and her husband.
In reviewing the census records - when Jane Shay was living with her mother - did you happen to notice the income/assets the person had -- not much by today's standards but quite a bit compared to the others on the census report.
I wonder if Jane Shay Peal inherited some of this money and that is how she came to own a hotel.
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I am hoping the pension files reveal a lot. They would probably reveal the whereabouts of his daughters since they too could have a claim for the pension being that they were minor children when he died. We know the whereabouts of Nancy & Jane...but not sure about Mary.
Also if James Shay was truely the son of David Shay & Sarah Worden, then there is a chance that he had money growing up. James Shay purchased land around the age of 23, therefore he must have already had some money he came into or was given. Perhaps, James was also a successful farmer in Scott Co., MO which afforded his family a nice homestead.
The 1870 census lists his wife, 3 daughters, wife's mother, wife's sister and wife's brother all living at the homestead in additional to a laborer.
The house had to be large enough 8 persons or more.
I am trying to trace out the Mayberry branch. According to the census, Frederick Mayberry was born in VA in 1788. I cannot find any info on his early life or who his parents were. There is another Frederick Mayberry born around 1781 but he is not of the same line. I will talk to you later.
April 12, 2008 - Shay's Pension File
I wasn't sure when you were going to Washington but I wanted to let you know that I just ordered a copy of James Shay's complete Pension record. (I received a bonus for typing a dissertation.) It takes approx. 1 1/2 month to process the request.
I haven't had much time to review any more newspaper articles but hopefully will in the coming weeks -- now that I have my son's taxes done.
I plan to go home in mid May for a week. Both my Aunt Georgie and sister would like to go to Potter County. Perhaps, we could meet at that time.
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I was planning to go to Washington in May sometime for the Pension Record but will hold off since you ordered it.
Is the Seeley reunion still going on in July? Let me know because I think my uncle would like to attend it. I would most likely tag along for it also.
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The Seeley Reunion is July 19th at Craig Park in Painted Post, NY - next to the West High School. It usually starts around 11:00 and we eat at Noon or so then there's the business meeting and auction. People start coming around 10:00 or so.
I haven't had much time to review any more newspaper articles but hopefully will in the coming weeks -- now that I have my son's taxes done.
I plan to go home in mid May for a week. Both my Aunt Georgie and sister would like to go to Potter County. Perhaps, we could meet at that time.
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I was planning to go to Washington in May sometime for the Pension Record but will hold off since you ordered it.
Is the Seeley reunion still going on in July? Let me know because I think my uncle would like to attend it. I would most likely tag along for it also.
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The Seeley Reunion is July 19th at Craig Park in Painted Post, NY - next to the West High School. It usually starts around 11:00 and we eat at Noon or so then there's the business meeting and auction. People start coming around 10:00 or so.
April 4, 2008 - Mary L. James
I do not know who Mary James is. I noticed that too. My mother never remembered anything being said about that.
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It looks as if she married sometime after the 1900 census - mostly like around 1907 or so -
It looks as if she married a Frank Larkin and had another child Myrtle.
She appears in at least the 1910 and 1920 census --
Maybe she was William's live-in housekeeper after Jane died.
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That would make sense since Jane probably did all the house cleaning and upkeep. William's mother was nearing 80 years old and running the household next door with her sons Lorenzo & Frank who both never married. I will see if Tonie has anything written in her father's notes about this branch.
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It looks as if she married sometime after the 1900 census - mostly like around 1907 or so -
It looks as if she married a Frank Larkin and had another child Myrtle.
She appears in at least the 1910 and 1920 census --
Maybe she was William's live-in housekeeper after Jane died.
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That would make sense since Jane probably did all the house cleaning and upkeep. William's mother was nearing 80 years old and running the household next door with her sons Lorenzo & Frank who both never married. I will see if Tonie has anything written in her father's notes about this branch.
April 3, 2008 - William Heath Article
I found the articles about William Heath very interesting, however this is not our William A. Heath. Our William A. Heath died Oct 25, 1903 of natural causes in Brookland/Ulysses.
The suicide/murder of this other William Heath took place in Vermont in 1910. William Heath, son of William & Jane and brother of George, Jim & Kate died sometime between 1903-1910.
The story that passed down to us was that he drowned. I have no details of when he drowned or where he drowned. I will see if the state of PA has a death certificate on file for him. I don't think this William Heath is the same but it would be worth looking into. If he died around Sept 1910 then he will be listed in the Vermont-June 1910 Census. I will see if the age, birthplace and parents' birthplace matches to our family.
Does Georgie or anyone from your family know how Jane Shay Heath died in 1898? There is no death certificate or death notice on record at Potter Co or the State of PA. We may only know the answers about this through surviving grandchildren. The death could just as easily have been cancer or tuberculosis. I'll look into this and see what I find.
********************************************************************I was thinking that it could be (with a big Could be) the younger William -- but it most likely isn't...I just found it odd to be listed in the PA newspapers. I have been querying Heath/death/drowning but have yet to get any hits for the younger William.
At first I ignored the articles -- but then I was thinking that it could be a remote possibility-if you look at the Crandalls many are located in the New England area - I then speculated it could be a possibility that Wm might have been in VT due to the connections there with a Crandall or so.
I just find it odd too - that our family has always heard that Thomas's death wasn't suicide but murder - being it is "difficult to shoot yourself in the back" -- Was this a case of mistaken family lore.... -- the newspaper article on Thomas indicated he was shot in the head -- questions and more questions.
I'll run some more queries on Shay in the newspaper database and see what I come up with. I actually broke down and paid for a month's subscription to a national newspaper database.
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After reading a few more articles - this can't be our William Heath.
BTW - do you know who Mary L. James is --- she is listed as a housekeeper on the census with Wm, and his children. It looks as if she had 2 small children as well.
April 2, 2008 - Thomas Seeley / William Heath
Well, I'm my lunch hour today I searched through several newspaper databases for PA newspapers and came up with:
"A gruesome discovery was made by Lewis Seely near Brookland last Wednesday evening when he found the remains of his brother. Thomas, at a farm on a by-road toward Ulysses one and a half miles from Brookland. The boy of the man, who had ended his life apparently some days before, was found in a chair where he had placed a gund between his feet and shot himself through the head. He was about 30 years of age and no cause for self-destruction is known. He had been lving alone on the farm for some time. Deceased is survived by his father, who is employed in Syracuse, and several brothers."
I was a little "bummed out" as this is totally contrary to what my "great-uncle Ted's" story about being shot in the back, etc.
Then I came across the attached articles regarding a William Heath in the PA newspapers. I found it very strange that these would be in a PA newspaper but it could be our William Heath all the same - will run some more queries this weekend. It's interesting and ties in with our family folk lore......
"A gruesome discovery was made by Lewis Seely near Brookland last Wednesday evening when he found the remains of his brother. Thomas, at a farm on a by-road toward Ulysses one and a half miles from Brookland. The boy of the man, who had ended his life apparently some days before, was found in a chair where he had placed a gund between his feet and shot himself through the head. He was about 30 years of age and no cause for self-destruction is known. He had been lving alone on the farm for some time. Deceased is survived by his father, who is employed in Syracuse, and several brothers."
I was a little "bummed out" as this is totally contrary to what my "great-uncle Ted's" story about being shot in the back, etc.
Then I came across the attached articles regarding a William Heath in the PA newspapers. I found it very strange that these would be in a PA newspaper but it could be our William Heath all the same - will run some more queries this weekend. It's interesting and ties in with our family folk lore......
March 28, 2008 - Jane Heath Crandall
Attached is pictures of William A. Heath's sister Elizabeth Jane Heath who married Oscar Crandall. She lived from 1847-1897. She went by the name of Jane during her life. For awhile my family would get confused with the two Jane Heaths.
Tonie has many more pictures of the Heath family that she will be emailing me in the next few weeks.
An interesting note: Oscar Crandall married Maria Gardner White in 1900 after the death of his 1st wife Jane. Maria was the maternal grandmother of Emaline Amidon Heath. Oscar Crandall is what links George & Emaline's family together and probably a factor in getting them together.
Also Oscar Crandall's father Allington Alfonso Crandall was a Civil War Hero who was captured and sent to Andersonville then successfully escaped with two other union soldiers from Andersonville. This might be the Andersonville connection. Both Oscar Crandall and George Heath recounted this tale several times to family and friends so it would be plausible that the Seeley's have heard this story many years back and might now get it confused with William Heath's civil war record.
Below is William Heath's family.Children of Nehemiah Park Heath and Catherine Ardley are:
i. William A. Heath, b. 19 Nov 1843, Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, d. 25 Oct 1903, Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
ii. Lorenzo Heath, b. 1845, Potter County, Pennsylvania, d. 1916, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
iii. Elizabeth Jane Heath, b. 1847, Potter County, Pennsylvania, d. 1897, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
iv. Frank Heath, b. 1856, Potter County, Pennsylvania, d. 1933, Potter County, Pennsylvania.
March 28, 2008 - Heath Family Pictures
My mother's cousin Tonie scanned and sent me some pictures on the Heath family.
I have attached a picture of William A. Heath, and another with his family including Jane Shay, George, William Jr., & Jim Heath as children.
The third is of Frank Heath, brother to William Heath.When the Heath & Seeley children were young circa 1910s-1920s, they would go down to Heath Hollow in Ulysses to visit their great uncle Frank who still lived there. He was a Bee Keeper and would make pancakes with fresh honey for the Heath & Seeley children.
Albert wrote about this account in his notes to his daughter before he passed away. As I get more pictures, I will pass them on.
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Thank you soo much for these pictures. I can't wait to share them with my sister and family!
March 26, 2008 - William Lorow - Grandson of Thomas and Nancy Owens on 1930 Census
I just had a few minutes at work today while I was eating my lunch. I was looking for descendants of the grandson listed on the 1930 census.
'lo and behold -- there's an Addie May Amidon -- do you think this might be related to George's wife?
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I think Addie May Amidon probably is related to Emaline Amidon Heath. All of the Amidon's in the general area of Potter Co., Steuben Co., or Allegany Co., are all related. They are descended from Abel Amidon & Cynthia Harmon who came to Onondaga County, New York in the 1790's. Abel was the first Amidon in the area. Emaline is the great-great granddaughter of Abel & Cynthia. She had lots of 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins in the area with the same last name. Emaline was the only child of her parents so she wouldn't have any siblings with the name Amidon.
I am waiting to receive the obit of Nancy Shay Owens to see what it might mention of her parents and Missouri connection.
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I will check out a few of the family trees online and see if any of the names match up.
Also, I found some of my old Zip disks and have transferred some of my files over to this computer. I just realized that:
Cora Lewis married Herbert Seeley (Ira's father)
Cora's Father was Ephraim Lewis
Orael Seeley (Herbert's sister) married William Allison Bassett the son of Orrin Reed Bassett and Zerua Lewis (sister of Ephraim Lewis)
...it's taken me several hours tonight to figure out Orael married Cora's nephew.....cousin....I give up...
On that note, I'm going to stop for the night. I've attached a couple of new pictures for you. One of Ira -- one of Katherine with Ted (Ira's brother) and one of Ira and Kate's children.
'lo and behold -- there's an Addie May Amidon -- do you think this might be related to George's wife?
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I think Addie May Amidon probably is related to Emaline Amidon Heath. All of the Amidon's in the general area of Potter Co., Steuben Co., or Allegany Co., are all related. They are descended from Abel Amidon & Cynthia Harmon who came to Onondaga County, New York in the 1790's. Abel was the first Amidon in the area. Emaline is the great-great granddaughter of Abel & Cynthia. She had lots of 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins in the area with the same last name. Emaline was the only child of her parents so she wouldn't have any siblings with the name Amidon.
I am waiting to receive the obit of Nancy Shay Owens to see what it might mention of her parents and Missouri connection.
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I will check out a few of the family trees online and see if any of the names match up.
Also, I found some of my old Zip disks and have transferred some of my files over to this computer. I just realized that:
Cora Lewis married Herbert Seeley (Ira's father)
Cora's Father was Ephraim Lewis
Orael Seeley (Herbert's sister) married William Allison Bassett the son of Orrin Reed Bassett and Zerua Lewis (sister of Ephraim Lewis)
...it's taken me several hours tonight to figure out Orael married Cora's nephew.....cousin....I give up...
On that note, I'm going to stop for the night. I've attached a couple of new pictures for you. One of Ira -- one of Katherine with Ted (Ira's brother) and one of Ira and Kate's children.
March 21, 2008 - Nancy Shay Owens
I looked up the cemetery records for Jane Owens in Eulalia Cemetery in Coudersport, Potter Co., PA. OWENS, Nancy Shay spouse of Thomas J. born 11-3-1865 died 12-16-1944 Section H OWENS, Thomas J. spouse of Nancy S born 10-16-1863 died 7-19-1935 Section HI will be contacting the Potter County Historical Society to have them send me an obituary on Nancy Shay Owens. She is only 1 year 3 weeks older than Jane Shay Heath. Being so close in age it makes sense that when Thomas & Nancy relocated to Potter County, Jane came along with them.
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We know that Stephen Peal left MO and return to the Carolinas where he is buried.
I had come across some family trees on Ancestry listing the Jane and Joseph Rutledge but didn't connect until I saw the MO marriage certificates.
2 other interesting marriage certificates were included in the search: Mrs Nancy Owens married a JW Nichols and a Mrs. Mary J Worley married a JW Brasley on 15 Mar 1883 in Jasper MO...initially I thought this could be both our Nancy and Mary Shays but then located the census records in PA for Thomas and Nancy.
I'm not sure how this marriage to Rutledge plays in with the James Shay you located in Kansas.
I did notice a Owens in Shinglehouse PA but it was late and I didn't check it out.
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We know that Stephen Peal left MO and return to the Carolinas where he is buried.
I had come across some family trees on Ancestry listing the Jane and Joseph Rutledge but didn't connect until I saw the MO marriage certificates.
2 other interesting marriage certificates were included in the search: Mrs Nancy Owens married a JW Nichols and a Mrs. Mary J Worley married a JW Brasley on 15 Mar 1883 in Jasper MO...initially I thought this could be both our Nancy and Mary Shays but then located the census records in PA for Thomas and Nancy.
I'm not sure how this marriage to Rutledge plays in with the James Shay you located in Kansas.
I did notice a Owens in Shinglehouse PA but it was late and I didn't check it out.
March 20, 2008 - Nancy Shay Marriage Certificate/Jane Shay Peal Marriage Certificate
I've attached 3 marriage certificates from Scott County:
1) Nancy S Shay to Thomas Owan (Owens) - 9/26/1880
2) Mrs. Rebecca Jane Shay to Mr. Joseph E. Rutledge - 28 Jan 1872
3) Mrs. Rebecca Jane Shay to Stephen Peal 26 Jan 1879
Also, I've attached a couple of Census reports from Potter County that list a Nancy and Thomas Owens In Potter County in 1910, 1920 and 1930.
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Nancy Shay that married Thomas Owens has to be the same Nancy that is the sister of our Jane Shay Heath. That would explain how Jane came to live in Potter County. I don't think the 1880 census of John & Nancy Owens are related because the birthplaces do not match up with Thomas and Nancy that appear in later census in Potter County. Also Jane's sister Nancy was still living with with the Withow/Peals in Sandywoods in Jun 1880 census, 3 months before a marriage to Thomas Owens would have taken place.
This Joseph Rutledge who married Rebecca Peal is a mystery. I didn't realize Rebecca was married 3 times. I don't think they had any children that survived if they had any together. Rebecca's death certificate from 1947 lists her widowed twice. We know that Rebecca was widowed from James Shay but has to be divorced from either Joseph Ruthledge or Stephen Peal.
The 1900 census says 4 children were born to Rebecca but 2 children were deceased. The surviving two children are accounted for.
I also find interesting is that the Nancy Owens wife of Thomas Owens in Potter County seems to have been born in Missouri with a father born in New York? and a mother born in Kentucky. This once again makes Nancy a fit to Jane's sister but leaves an interesting question to ponder. Was James Shay born in Ohio or New York. Obviously there might be a New York connection in there somewhere but also the Shay family that was living in Sweden Township in Potter County in the late 1800's were all from New York.
I have seen the that on many occasions the census listed my great grandmother Emeline's mother as having been born in Pennsylvania when she was born in New York. We always need to take census with a grain of salt.
Next job is to look into the descendants of Thomas & Nancy Shay Owens. They probably still have descendants living in Potter County to this day. Perhaps someone may have info or may know more about the Native American branch. Thanks for the info.
1) Nancy S Shay to Thomas Owan (Owens) - 9/26/1880
2) Mrs. Rebecca Jane Shay to Mr. Joseph E. Rutledge - 28 Jan 1872
3) Mrs. Rebecca Jane Shay to Stephen Peal 26 Jan 1879
Also, I've attached a couple of Census reports from Potter County that list a Nancy and Thomas Owens In Potter County in 1910, 1920 and 1930.
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Nancy Shay that married Thomas Owens has to be the same Nancy that is the sister of our Jane Shay Heath. That would explain how Jane came to live in Potter County. I don't think the 1880 census of John & Nancy Owens are related because the birthplaces do not match up with Thomas and Nancy that appear in later census in Potter County. Also Jane's sister Nancy was still living with with the Withow/Peals in Sandywoods in Jun 1880 census, 3 months before a marriage to Thomas Owens would have taken place.
This Joseph Rutledge who married Rebecca Peal is a mystery. I didn't realize Rebecca was married 3 times. I don't think they had any children that survived if they had any together. Rebecca's death certificate from 1947 lists her widowed twice. We know that Rebecca was widowed from James Shay but has to be divorced from either Joseph Ruthledge or Stephen Peal.
The 1900 census says 4 children were born to Rebecca but 2 children were deceased. The surviving two children are accounted for.
I also find interesting is that the Nancy Owens wife of Thomas Owens in Potter County seems to have been born in Missouri with a father born in New York? and a mother born in Kentucky. This once again makes Nancy a fit to Jane's sister but leaves an interesting question to ponder. Was James Shay born in Ohio or New York. Obviously there might be a New York connection in there somewhere but also the Shay family that was living in Sweden Township in Potter County in the late 1800's were all from New York.
I have seen the that on many occasions the census listed my great grandmother Emeline's mother as having been born in Pennsylvania when she was born in New York. We always need to take census with a grain of salt.
Next job is to look into the descendants of Thomas & Nancy Shay Owens. They probably still have descendants living in Potter County to this day. Perhaps someone may have info or may know more about the Native American branch. Thanks for the info.
March 12, 2008 - Oriel Seeley
Oriel Seeley was the sister of Ira Seeley - I've attached her picture again for you. She was married several times -- I mistakenly thought she was married to a Bassett. But according to the picture - James was her first husband, then a Benson, Manny and then Dingman. Oriel died in the 1960s in Onondaga County. She was living in Tully, NY with her husband Howard Dingman.
There's also 2 Marys that were Ira's Aunts I will try to trace these 2 Aunt's. I remembered too that Ira's brother Henry had a daughter named "Mary" that was mentally disabled - I know wonder who his wife was and if this Mary was actually "deaf and dumb".
I will get back to you soon.
There's also 2 Marys that were Ira's Aunts I will try to trace these 2 Aunt's. I remembered too that Ira's brother Henry had a daughter named "Mary" that was mentally disabled - I know wonder who his wife was and if this Mary was actually "deaf and dumb".
I will get back to you soon.
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I assume that Oriel Seeley & Jim Heath were divorced then if both survived till the 1960's. Even though the 1930 census lists Jim as widowed...that would happen in many instances when the person was actually divorced. Census records could be misleading. Jim didn't marry Zella Smith until he was in his 40's. I wonder how your grandparents took the divorce. Oriel being the sister of Ira and Jim being the brother of Kate. Could have made an awkward situation. I will call the court house and get a date for both of Jim's marriages. Also I will see when your grandparents were married. George Heath & Emaline Amidon married in July of 1913. The other marriages probably took place near that time also. Since Ira's brother Tim went with your father and Georgie's brother out to the Ozark Mountains then maybe the Aunt Mary is a Seeley connection and not a Shay/Heath connection. I guess after tracing the "Aunt Marys" we will use process of elimination. I will probably visit my sister who attends grad school in Washington DC and make a trip to the archives myself. I think the pension records could prove very resourceful.
March 12, 2008 - Andersonville - I don't believe so.
I reviewed the bio on Wm Heath. After re-reading it and looking up the info on sites where Wm was hospitalized - I believe that when Aunt Georgie spoke about Andersonville - she may not remember correctly. I don't believe he was ever at Andersonville. The R R was a prison as well as the Local Pointe in Maryland.
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I looked William A. Heath in the Andersonville Prison records. He was never there which I pretty much already knew. There was another William Heath from NY but the infantry unit, age and location doesn't match our ancestor.
Our William Heath did spend time in a prison hospital at Weldon RR and Point Lookout, MD because there were probably not many non-prison hospitals available. He was confined with a fever for 10 weeks in the hospital.
Thats where the confusion about the prison war camps come from.
Tonie Heath Schramm recorded her father's memories of his family history shortly before he passed away. Albert also mentioned that he thought that William had been in a prisoner war camp. Albert stated that William Heath suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome and was a quiet man who waited till late in life to start a family. The post traumatic stress syndrome was probably a result of being surrounded by dying and wounded soldiers & prisoners and nearly dying himself.
Another interesting fact, William listed his brother Frank in his pension application.
I would love to see a picture of William and his family. I will talk to you later.
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I looked William A. Heath in the Andersonville Prison records. He was never there which I pretty much already knew. There was another William Heath from NY but the infantry unit, age and location doesn't match our ancestor.
Our William Heath did spend time in a prison hospital at Weldon RR and Point Lookout, MD because there were probably not many non-prison hospitals available. He was confined with a fever for 10 weeks in the hospital.
Thats where the confusion about the prison war camps come from.
Tonie Heath Schramm recorded her father's memories of his family history shortly before he passed away. Albert also mentioned that he thought that William had been in a prisoner war camp. Albert stated that William Heath suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome and was a quiet man who waited till late in life to start a family. The post traumatic stress syndrome was probably a result of being surrounded by dying and wounded soldiers & prisoners and nearly dying himself.
Another interesting fact, William listed his brother Frank in his pension application.
I would love to see a picture of William and his family. I will talk to you later.
March 11, 2008 - Just Talked with Aunt Georgie
I just had a telephone conversation with my Aunt Georgie -- she had just come back from the dentist so our conversation was short and she was having some trouble remembering certain details.
She was very sadden to hear of your Grandmother's death. She would very much like to contact your Uncle Justin. Aunt Georgie said she was in contact with your Great Aunt Charlotte as well as your grandmother for several years but kind of lost contact over the last 2-3 years.
She has some pictures that she will pull out and round up so that we can have copies made. She thinks she has one of Jane Shay and William Shay with George, William, James and Kate. She was a wealth of information.
She said my dad, her brother and Tim Seeley (Ira's brother) went to the Ozark Mountains to visit Aunt Mary -- and then went on out to MO. She couldn't remember right off - where Aunt Mary fits in. Although she remembered she had a newspaper clipping somewhere - and she would try to locate it.
Aunt Georgie said that Oriel Seeley was married to James Heath. James Heath later married Zuella. She couldn't recall them having any children. She said that James Heath and Zuella lived in Shinglehouse? I'm not sure if this is a town or if she was describing the house. She mentioned that she thought William Heath was imprisoned in Anderson Prison.
I didn't talk very long but she said she would definitely get back in touch with me as soon as she looked thru her pictures.
She also said that my Aunt Margaret probably had more info than Uncle Bobby.
I'll let you know what I found out.
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I just phoned my Uncle Justin and passed on Georgie's info. He remembers Georgie fondly. He plans on calling her this week and inviting her down to Coudersport. My mother remembers when Bill and Georgie would come down to visit her parents and grandparents who lived next door to each other in Ulysses when she was a child. She also remembers Margaret coming over also on several occasions.
I looked up the location of the Ozark Mountains...they are located a few counties to the west of Scott Co., Missouri. The Aunt Mary that Georgie referred to must be Jane's older sister Mary. She would have been Kate's aunt and therefore a great aunt to her husband. Mary would have been in her 70's or early 80's when your father went out there. The puzzle is coming together.
I think we could also get the Scott County Historical Society to send us obituaries for Rebecca Peal and her children. That might mention children and grandchild and lead us to more living descendants. Below are the death dates for them.
Rebecca Withow Peal (b. 9/20/1851 d. 11/14/1947)
Mary Annie Peal Marshall (b. 3/3/1880 d. 2/9/1972)
James Stephen Peal (b. 9/16/1881 d. 3/9/1963)
I was wondering who was James Heath's first wife. I know the 1930 census for Allegany Township lists him as a widower. I cannot find James anywhere in the 1920 census for some reason. He was still living at home in 1910 and not yet married. James & Zella lived in a town called Shinglehouse in Potter County, PA. They are buried in East Sharon Cemetery in Sharon, Potter Co., PA. My mother remembers going out to visit Zella with her mother once after their uncle Jim passed away. Do you know when Oriel Seeley passed away? I do not know where she is buried and do not know much details of this marriage. That means two family connections between the Heath & Seeley family. I will call the Potter County court house tomorrow and get a date for the marriage. Potter County keeps many old marriages in their computer database. It took me less than 30 seconds to have my grandfather's first marriage pulled up. Another piece of the puzzle that now fits.
I am excited to hear what Margaret might remember about Jane Shay's side. It seems that George, Jim & Kate must have known or had contact with their aunt or aunts on their mother's side. I bet soon we will figure out what got Jane to come to Potter Co., PA. Talk to you later.
She was very sadden to hear of your Grandmother's death. She would very much like to contact your Uncle Justin. Aunt Georgie said she was in contact with your Great Aunt Charlotte as well as your grandmother for several years but kind of lost contact over the last 2-3 years.
She has some pictures that she will pull out and round up so that we can have copies made. She thinks she has one of Jane Shay and William Shay with George, William, James and Kate. She was a wealth of information.
She said my dad, her brother and Tim Seeley (Ira's brother) went to the Ozark Mountains to visit Aunt Mary -- and then went on out to MO. She couldn't remember right off - where Aunt Mary fits in. Although she remembered she had a newspaper clipping somewhere - and she would try to locate it.
Aunt Georgie said that Oriel Seeley was married to James Heath. James Heath later married Zuella. She couldn't recall them having any children. She said that James Heath and Zuella lived in Shinglehouse? I'm not sure if this is a town or if she was describing the house. She mentioned that she thought William Heath was imprisoned in Anderson Prison.
I didn't talk very long but she said she would definitely get back in touch with me as soon as she looked thru her pictures.
She also said that my Aunt Margaret probably had more info than Uncle Bobby.
I'll let you know what I found out.
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I just phoned my Uncle Justin and passed on Georgie's info. He remembers Georgie fondly. He plans on calling her this week and inviting her down to Coudersport. My mother remembers when Bill and Georgie would come down to visit her parents and grandparents who lived next door to each other in Ulysses when she was a child. She also remembers Margaret coming over also on several occasions.
I looked up the location of the Ozark Mountains...they are located a few counties to the west of Scott Co., Missouri. The Aunt Mary that Georgie referred to must be Jane's older sister Mary. She would have been Kate's aunt and therefore a great aunt to her husband. Mary would have been in her 70's or early 80's when your father went out there. The puzzle is coming together.
I think we could also get the Scott County Historical Society to send us obituaries for Rebecca Peal and her children. That might mention children and grandchild and lead us to more living descendants. Below are the death dates for them.
Rebecca Withow Peal (b. 9/20/1851 d. 11/14/1947)
Mary Annie Peal Marshall (b. 3/3/1880 d. 2/9/1972)
James Stephen Peal (b. 9/16/1881 d. 3/9/1963)
I was wondering who was James Heath's first wife. I know the 1930 census for Allegany Township lists him as a widower. I cannot find James anywhere in the 1920 census for some reason. He was still living at home in 1910 and not yet married. James & Zella lived in a town called Shinglehouse in Potter County, PA. They are buried in East Sharon Cemetery in Sharon, Potter Co., PA. My mother remembers going out to visit Zella with her mother once after their uncle Jim passed away. Do you know when Oriel Seeley passed away? I do not know where she is buried and do not know much details of this marriage. That means two family connections between the Heath & Seeley family. I will call the Potter County court house tomorrow and get a date for the marriage. Potter County keeps many old marriages in their computer database. It took me less than 30 seconds to have my grandfather's first marriage pulled up. Another piece of the puzzle that now fits.
I am excited to hear what Margaret might remember about Jane Shay's side. It seems that George, Jim & Kate must have known or had contact with their aunt or aunts on their mother's side. I bet soon we will figure out what got Jane to come to Potter Co., PA. Talk to you later.
March 12, 2008 - Pension Records
I was thinking that the National Archives in Washington D.C. will have James Shay's pension record that Rebecca Peal filed. According to the website for the National Archives, pension application files usually provide the most genealogical information. These files often contain supporting documents such as: narratives of events during service, marriage certificates, birth records, death certificates, pages from family Bibles, letters received from the veteran while in service, depositions of witnesses, affidavits, discharge papers and other supporting papers.
Rebecca might have provided details of James' marriage to her, his previous marriage to Margaret Mayberry, his parents and his children. I will look into contacting the archives.
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I believe there's an application form that you download and submit.
Rebecca might have provided details of James' marriage to her, his previous marriage to Margaret Mayberry, his parents and his children. I will look into contacting the archives.
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I believe there's an application form that you download and submit.
March 11, 2008
You were correct, Mrs. Marshall is Annie. Annie was the wife of Isaac H. Marshall who died in Scott Co. in Jan 1948. I cannot find Annie, Bessie, or Stephen's death certificates. They must have died after the 1950's.
When your father went to visit out to Missouri that might have made the newspapers. Back in the day, newspapers always mention when relatives or people from out of town were in town to visit. Your dad would have been there 1930's to early 1940's??? We may want to check to see if anyone recorded the visit in area newspapers.
Did your father go to Missouri to find the Shay homestead or did he happen to be in the area for other reasons? If he went out there solely to visit the homestead then he probably had contacts out there and knew where to find it. There must have been talk between Kate, George & Jim about this homestead at the time leaving me to believe they knew alot on the family.
Is there any chance your father would have had a cousin join him? George Heath's son Albert would have been near the same age as your father and was big into family history as was his father. I could ask Albert's daughter Tonie Heath Schramm if she knows anything.
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I came across a couple of more articles - one Stephen Peal's 50th anniversary. There's quite a few articles on the Marshall Reunion - I checked on ancestry and there definitely appears to be an Native American connection there.
I found some info on Ida Belle Pinkerton as well. I picked up some other names.
My Dad did go out with 2 other people. One could have been Albert. I know one was Aunt Georgie's brother -- Nigel Long. There had to be some contact; otherwise, I don't think my Dad would have gone out there.
Good suggestion on searching for my Dad's name.
I also tried to find some info on the hotel that Jane Peal was supposedly ran/owned, etc.
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When your father went to visit out to Missouri that might have made the newspapers. Back in the day, newspapers always mention when relatives or people from out of town were in town to visit. Your dad would have been there 1930's to early 1940's??? We may want to check to see if anyone recorded the visit in area newspapers.
Did your father go to Missouri to find the Shay homestead or did he happen to be in the area for other reasons? If he went out there solely to visit the homestead then he probably had contacts out there and knew where to find it. There must have been talk between Kate, George & Jim about this homestead at the time leaving me to believe they knew alot on the family.
Is there any chance your father would have had a cousin join him? George Heath's son Albert would have been near the same age as your father and was big into family history as was his father. I could ask Albert's daughter Tonie Heath Schramm if she knows anything.
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I came across a couple of more articles - one Stephen Peal's 50th anniversary. There's quite a few articles on the Marshall Reunion - I checked on ancestry and there definitely appears to be an Native American connection there.
I found some info on Ida Belle Pinkerton as well. I picked up some other names.
My Dad did go out with 2 other people. One could have been Albert. I know one was Aunt Georgie's brother -- Nigel Long. There had to be some contact; otherwise, I don't think my Dad would have gone out there.
Good suggestion on searching for my Dad's name.
I also tried to find some info on the hotel that Jane Peal was supposedly ran/owned, etc.
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March 10, 2008 - Rebecca Jane Peal
I've been reviewing various newspapers for information on Jane Peal.
The Sikeston Herald - had several short notes regarding her. It said that she was a long-standing citizen of Blodgett - long before it was names "Blodgett" and one article mentioned she "owned/ran" a hotel.
In these articles, there was mentioned a daughter, Mrs. I. H. Marshall (I believe her first name may be Annie) and her son Stephen Peal.
Another article mentioned Jane attending the Marshall reunion.
A Mrs. Bessie Peal was mentioned - this may be Stephen's wife.
In one article it mentioned a Mrs. Harvey Morrison - her niece. I believe this is Ida Belle Pinkerton - daughter of Mary F Withrow and Sanford Pinkerton.
Another one, mentioned that Billy Johnson was moving into a house that was previously occupied by Annie Marshall and formerly owned by Jane Peal.
I'm continuing to review articles and will advise of any updates.
The Sikeston Herald - had several short notes regarding her. It said that she was a long-standing citizen of Blodgett - long before it was names "Blodgett" and one article mentioned she "owned/ran" a hotel.
In these articles, there was mentioned a daughter, Mrs. I. H. Marshall (I believe her first name may be Annie) and her son Stephen Peal.
Another article mentioned Jane attending the Marshall reunion.
A Mrs. Bessie Peal was mentioned - this may be Stephen's wife.
In one article it mentioned a Mrs. Harvey Morrison - her niece. I believe this is Ida Belle Pinkerton - daughter of Mary F Withrow and Sanford Pinkerton.
Another one, mentioned that Billy Johnson was moving into a house that was previously occupied by Annie Marshall and formerly owned by Jane Peal.
I'm continuing to review articles and will advise of any updates.
March 6, 2008 - Allegheny Connection
I was reviewing the Warden descendant document and comparing the names in that with a few of the census pages that I printed out.
The Heath bio document indicated that Wm Heath's parents married in Allegheny township. There are several references to Allegheny County in the Warden document. This weekend I'm going to check out some of the census records for the Warden descendants in Allegheny and see if I can find a reference to the Shay girls.
My sister wasn't aware of another son for Wm and Jane - she said maybe our Aunt Margaret would know something - I'm sending out a note to her tonight. In fact, my sister wasn't aware of Katherine and Ira's son Herbert that died as an infant. She knew of Dorothy. We both realized that these babies must have been born after Katherine and Ira moved to NYS but buried in Fox Hill Cemetery.
Hope you made it home before the ice storm. It appears that it was quite bad in areas of Steuben/Chemung and Northern PA near the border.
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I did manage to get out before the storm. I left by 5pm on Mon and was already in CT by the time the storm hit.
Another interesting fact which had caused me to extensively research the Shay family of Sweden Township last year was that according to a marriage record at the Potter Historical Society...William Heath married a Miss Jane Shay of Sweden Township in Sept 1885. Although she is not related to the Shay family of Sweden Township...and because William and Jane were married in Allegany Township...I wonder why Jane lived in Sweden Township shortly before her marriage.
20 years ago a genealogist for the family of Richard Shay looked into this and concluded that he had no clue to how Miss Jane Shay fit into this family. It was chalked up to a coincidence that she lived in the same area with the same surname as Richard Shay's family. I will find the letter and scan it for you. I have all of Richard Shay (1784-1861) siblings, children and grandchildren traced out. There is no way James or Jane fit into the equation. I can go back 130 years to the 1750's on both lines and still find no connection. Our Shay line originates in Maryland, their Shay line originates in New Jersey.
Allegheny County is several counties to the West of Potter County. I will look into this to see what connection there might have been. We have to wonder how strong family relations were for Jane and the Wardens. All of Jane's uncles, aunts, and 1st cousins were accounted for on the Shay side. If she knew her Warden's relations...it was 2nd cousins or great aunts & uncles. The most likely situation is if one of James Shay's 1st cousins on the Warden side came to live in or near Scott County, MO so Jane would have known some family then left to come back east in the 1870's to 1880's. Jane might have known these relations and jumped on the chance to head out to OH or PA.
Also we may want to thing about the Withrow/Ashley/Peal connections. Jane might have grown up knowing a lot of step family...one of which may have connections to Potter County. I guess the niece of Rebecca Peal could possibly help us with that.
Luckily we only have to fill in the 5 year gap of 1880-1885. Jane is accounted for 1866-1880 in MO and 1885-1898 in PA.
Unfortunately my mother's aunt Charlotte will probably not be able to fill me in on any details...she doesn't remember much of anything about Jane Shay Heath and didn't even know/remember that Jane was from Missouri. All she remembers is that her father George was much more talkative about his father William and those relations, then his mother Jane. Charlotte vagely remembered something being mentioned of Jane possibly being mentally unstable which may have contributed to her death. Charlotte isn't even positive about what exactly was said of that though. Unfortunately the person who would have remembered more about this info would have been Albert Heath, son of George...unfortunately Albert passed away in 2004 and his children do not know anything. They know more about William Heath's family and Emaline Amidon's family. Jane is also a mystery to them.
I guess we have to hope your aunts Edith or Margaret may remember something. You mentioned once before that your uncle Bobby doesn't remember much either.
I will talk to you later.
The Heath bio document indicated that Wm Heath's parents married in Allegheny township. There are several references to Allegheny County in the Warden document. This weekend I'm going to check out some of the census records for the Warden descendants in Allegheny and see if I can find a reference to the Shay girls.
My sister wasn't aware of another son for Wm and Jane - she said maybe our Aunt Margaret would know something - I'm sending out a note to her tonight. In fact, my sister wasn't aware of Katherine and Ira's son Herbert that died as an infant. She knew of Dorothy. We both realized that these babies must have been born after Katherine and Ira moved to NYS but buried in Fox Hill Cemetery.
Hope you made it home before the ice storm. It appears that it was quite bad in areas of Steuben/Chemung and Northern PA near the border.
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I did manage to get out before the storm. I left by 5pm on Mon and was already in CT by the time the storm hit.
Another interesting fact which had caused me to extensively research the Shay family of Sweden Township last year was that according to a marriage record at the Potter Historical Society...William Heath married a Miss Jane Shay of Sweden Township in Sept 1885. Although she is not related to the Shay family of Sweden Township...and because William and Jane were married in Allegany Township...I wonder why Jane lived in Sweden Township shortly before her marriage.
20 years ago a genealogist for the family of Richard Shay looked into this and concluded that he had no clue to how Miss Jane Shay fit into this family. It was chalked up to a coincidence that she lived in the same area with the same surname as Richard Shay's family. I will find the letter and scan it for you. I have all of Richard Shay (1784-1861) siblings, children and grandchildren traced out. There is no way James or Jane fit into the equation. I can go back 130 years to the 1750's on both lines and still find no connection. Our Shay line originates in Maryland, their Shay line originates in New Jersey.
Allegheny County is several counties to the West of Potter County. I will look into this to see what connection there might have been. We have to wonder how strong family relations were for Jane and the Wardens. All of Jane's uncles, aunts, and 1st cousins were accounted for on the Shay side. If she knew her Warden's relations...it was 2nd cousins or great aunts & uncles. The most likely situation is if one of James Shay's 1st cousins on the Warden side came to live in or near Scott County, MO so Jane would have known some family then left to come back east in the 1870's to 1880's. Jane might have known these relations and jumped on the chance to head out to OH or PA.
Also we may want to thing about the Withrow/Ashley/Peal connections. Jane might have grown up knowing a lot of step family...one of which may have connections to Potter County. I guess the niece of Rebecca Peal could possibly help us with that.
Luckily we only have to fill in the 5 year gap of 1880-1885. Jane is accounted for 1866-1880 in MO and 1885-1898 in PA.
Unfortunately my mother's aunt Charlotte will probably not be able to fill me in on any details...she doesn't remember much of anything about Jane Shay Heath and didn't even know/remember that Jane was from Missouri. All she remembers is that her father George was much more talkative about his father William and those relations, then his mother Jane. Charlotte vagely remembered something being mentioned of Jane possibly being mentally unstable which may have contributed to her death. Charlotte isn't even positive about what exactly was said of that though. Unfortunately the person who would have remembered more about this info would have been Albert Heath, son of George...unfortunately Albert passed away in 2004 and his children do not know anything. They know more about William Heath's family and Emaline Amidon's family. Jane is also a mystery to them.
I guess we have to hope your aunts Edith or Margaret may remember something. You mentioned once before that your uncle Bobby doesn't remember much either.
I will talk to you later.
March 5, 2008
Thanks for the bio sketch for Wm. Heath. Did you notice that it lists the 2nd son as Willis and not William. I've never heard of another baby boy. In fact, I only was aware of 3 children George, James and Katherine.
I'm pretty sure I sent a photo of Emaline in a school picture with 2 Seeleys but if I didn't let me know.
PA's Secretary of State is very difficult to get documents but I'm going to try and get some death certificates. I'm also trying to get Katherine's medical records.
I understand that my niece has made contact with my Aunt Georgie and will be checking back with her regarding the pictures of the anniversary party. I've also thought maybe my Aunt Margaret may have some and will send her a note too.
Talk later - again thanks for the bio.
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I think Willis was a nickname for William Jr. because the 1900 census has him as William, son of William Heath. William Jr. was not in the 1910 census because he was deceased. The state of PA or NY would have death certifcates after 1905. My great-aunt Charlotte has a picture of William hanging in one of her rooms taken when he was a teenager.
The family story behind William, brother to George, Jim & Kate was that after their parents were deceased, the two oldest sons, George & William went to work at a winery in upstate NY to support their siblings. Sometime between 1905-1910, William Heath Jr. drowned. The details of this death are a mystery as well as where he is buried. William might be in an unmarked grave in Fox Hill Cemetery. He was not in any census after 1900.
The children & grandchildren of George Heath were told over the years that William drowned in his late teens. That was probably bet. 1905-1908. It would be interesting to know what story came down to Kate's children and grandchildren about their uncle William.
Also another big question to the puzzle is how and why did Jane Shay of Scott Co., MO come to Potter Co., PA bet. 1880-1885. There were no Shay connections from her father's side to Potter Co. The other Shay family of Sweden Township is of no connection or a very distant connection...not enough for her to make that long journey out to Potter. I have to wonder if one of Jane's sisters came to Potter Co. also or if any of her aunts, uncles or cousins from the Mayberry side made their way to Potter Co.
I hope this helps a little with the family history.
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I'm hoping that her medical records will have some info on her parents. I visited my Grandmother (Kate) several times -- particularly when I was first married back in the early 1970s. In the early 1970s, she was dx with a thyroid problem and after receiving medical treatment for this - was transferred to a nursing home (what we call an Assistive Living home today). She lived at the home for several years before her death.
I was also amazed to see her in the earlier (1946) Reunion pictures. My Aunt Edie may have something on this - at one time she was doing a medical history analysis of various family members.
We've also wondered how Jane Shay came to Missouri - but I again after seeing some of the same names, etc., logging industry - I really think there has to be a connection with family in Potter County -- this would make sense as my Dad made the trip out to Missouri to see the old homestead in his mid twenties. Kate was 4 when her mother died so I don't believe she could have told him a lot about Missouri - there had to be other relatives that also had a tie with Missouri.
I noted that Jane and William married in Allegheny Twp - if I remember correctly there may be a correlation with the Warden family connection. I've read so many "stories" but one sticks out about a woman moving to "Ohio" and who travelled back and forth to PA on a horse -- I think this had to do with the Warden family.
I really would like to talk with this Janeth Hargis - I'm convinced that Rebecca Peal was her Aunt. There has to be some pictures, etc., somewhere in Scott County.
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I did not receive any school photos of Emaline with 2 Seeleys. I would be very interested to see the photo if you could send it to me.
Also tonight, I will look at 1880 & 1900 census of potter county and make a list of all people born in Kentucky, Missouri & Ohio. Then I will try and find any family connections Jane might have had.
Do you remember your father mentioning anything about his visit to the old homestead in his mid twenties. That had to be around 1939-1940? Rebecca Peal and her children were still alive. Also if one or both of Jane's sisters were still alive or had descendants still in the area then your father might have meet great aunts, cousins or step family out there. One of your aunts and uncles might remember details of your father's visit.
Being that your grandmother was still alive at the time, she might have known the whereabouts of a few aunts who would be in their 70's or a step-grandmother in her 80's/90. She probably told your father where to go and find this homestead. This all depends on how good of correspondence Jane Shay would have kept with her family after arriving in Potter County and if her husband & children kept up the correspondence with relatives after Jane's death in 1898.
Our best bet for info on the homestead is to try and locate deed records for Scott, MO from the 1860's to present. If we can trace the records of the family farm and see who had the farm passed down to we might be able to find relatives. We know that the Withrow family held onto the farm after James Shay's death and Rebecca still had it after her marriage to Stephen Peal. Perhaps Rebecca passed the farm onto one of her step-daughters or one of their children years later. The farm was James' after all...could have gone to a blood relative by the mid 1880's or 1890's.
I'm pretty sure I sent a photo of Emaline in a school picture with 2 Seeleys but if I didn't let me know.
PA's Secretary of State is very difficult to get documents but I'm going to try and get some death certificates. I'm also trying to get Katherine's medical records.
I understand that my niece has made contact with my Aunt Georgie and will be checking back with her regarding the pictures of the anniversary party. I've also thought maybe my Aunt Margaret may have some and will send her a note too.
Talk later - again thanks for the bio.
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I think Willis was a nickname for William Jr. because the 1900 census has him as William, son of William Heath. William Jr. was not in the 1910 census because he was deceased. The state of PA or NY would have death certifcates after 1905. My great-aunt Charlotte has a picture of William hanging in one of her rooms taken when he was a teenager.
The family story behind William, brother to George, Jim & Kate was that after their parents were deceased, the two oldest sons, George & William went to work at a winery in upstate NY to support their siblings. Sometime between 1905-1910, William Heath Jr. drowned. The details of this death are a mystery as well as where he is buried. William might be in an unmarked grave in Fox Hill Cemetery. He was not in any census after 1900.
The children & grandchildren of George Heath were told over the years that William drowned in his late teens. That was probably bet. 1905-1908. It would be interesting to know what story came down to Kate's children and grandchildren about their uncle William.
Also another big question to the puzzle is how and why did Jane Shay of Scott Co., MO come to Potter Co., PA bet. 1880-1885. There were no Shay connections from her father's side to Potter Co. The other Shay family of Sweden Township is of no connection or a very distant connection...not enough for her to make that long journey out to Potter. I have to wonder if one of Jane's sisters came to Potter Co. also or if any of her aunts, uncles or cousins from the Mayberry side made their way to Potter Co.
I hope this helps a little with the family history.
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I'm hoping that her medical records will have some info on her parents. I visited my Grandmother (Kate) several times -- particularly when I was first married back in the early 1970s. In the early 1970s, she was dx with a thyroid problem and after receiving medical treatment for this - was transferred to a nursing home (what we call an Assistive Living home today). She lived at the home for several years before her death.
I was also amazed to see her in the earlier (1946) Reunion pictures. My Aunt Edie may have something on this - at one time she was doing a medical history analysis of various family members.
We've also wondered how Jane Shay came to Missouri - but I again after seeing some of the same names, etc., logging industry - I really think there has to be a connection with family in Potter County -- this would make sense as my Dad made the trip out to Missouri to see the old homestead in his mid twenties. Kate was 4 when her mother died so I don't believe she could have told him a lot about Missouri - there had to be other relatives that also had a tie with Missouri.
I noted that Jane and William married in Allegheny Twp - if I remember correctly there may be a correlation with the Warden family connection. I've read so many "stories" but one sticks out about a woman moving to "Ohio" and who travelled back and forth to PA on a horse -- I think this had to do with the Warden family.
I really would like to talk with this Janeth Hargis - I'm convinced that Rebecca Peal was her Aunt. There has to be some pictures, etc., somewhere in Scott County.
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I did not receive any school photos of Emaline with 2 Seeleys. I would be very interested to see the photo if you could send it to me.
Also tonight, I will look at 1880 & 1900 census of potter county and make a list of all people born in Kentucky, Missouri & Ohio. Then I will try and find any family connections Jane might have had.
Do you remember your father mentioning anything about his visit to the old homestead in his mid twenties. That had to be around 1939-1940? Rebecca Peal and her children were still alive. Also if one or both of Jane's sisters were still alive or had descendants still in the area then your father might have meet great aunts, cousins or step family out there. One of your aunts and uncles might remember details of your father's visit.
Being that your grandmother was still alive at the time, she might have known the whereabouts of a few aunts who would be in their 70's or a step-grandmother in her 80's/90. She probably told your father where to go and find this homestead. This all depends on how good of correspondence Jane Shay would have kept with her family after arriving in Potter County and if her husband & children kept up the correspondence with relatives after Jane's death in 1898.
Our best bet for info on the homestead is to try and locate deed records for Scott, MO from the 1860's to present. If we can trace the records of the family farm and see who had the farm passed down to we might be able to find relatives. We know that the Withrow family held onto the farm after James Shay's death and Rebecca still had it after her marriage to Stephen Peal. Perhaps Rebecca passed the farm onto one of her step-daughters or one of their children years later. The farm was James' after all...could have gone to a blood relative by the mid 1880's or 1890's.
March 4, 2008 - William Heath
I stopped into the Potter County Historical Society to do some research on my great-grandmother Emaline Amidon's family. I did do a little Heath research and I scanned a copy of a brief biographical sketch on William Heath that you might find interesting.
Also I tried to research Jane Shay Heath's death. There was no death on record and it was never recorded in 1898. Katherine Ardley Heath's death isn't recorded either in 1905.
I did find something interesting though. William & Jane had 5 children.
1. George 1886
2. William 1888
3. James 1891
4. Katharine 1893
5. Unnames son 1895 - died 3 hours after birth - never given a name - buried in Fox Hill Cemetery. small tomb "unmarked"
I am not sure if you had ever heard anything about a baby bou dying shortly after birth in 1895. My uncle Justin and mother had never heard of that before.
Also I tried to research Jane Shay Heath's death. There was no death on record and it was never recorded in 1898. Katherine Ardley Heath's death isn't recorded either in 1905.
I did find something interesting though. William & Jane had 5 children.
1. George 1886
2. William 1888
3. James 1891
4. Katharine 1893
5. Unnames son 1895 - died 3 hours after birth - never given a name - buried in Fox Hill Cemetery. small tomb "unmarked"
I am not sure if you had ever heard anything about a baby bou dying shortly after birth in 1895. My uncle Justin and mother had never heard of that before.
February 29, 2008 - Mayberry
Wilma Lanier from the Ballard County Historical Society sent me an email asking for my address and stating that she is sending me info on the Mayberry family. I hope to get it in the next week and will scan and email all info I receive.
February 28, 2008
I have traced out James Shay's siblings. By 1880, there was only 1 Shay descendant from David & Sarah living in Ohio. That person was their granddaughter Gracie who was a school teacher and would remain unmarried the rest of her life. Below is a list of supposed cousins of Jane Rebecca Shay. Just for the chart below, I will go with the assumption that our James Shay is the same James of Crawford Co., OH. David & Sarah had 3 children who left Ohio - the only children to have living descendants.
1861 - James Shay migrates to Missouri
1868 - John Shay migrates to Kansas
1876-1879 - Isabella Shay Bishop migrates to Kansas then afterwards to Nebraska.
Children of David Shay & Sarah Warden
1. Benjamin W. Shay (b. 1833 OH | d. 1876 Wyandot Co., OH) - No Descendants
m. Adaline Sawyer on 7/25/1861 in Crawford Co. OH
(1). Unknown Infant (deceased)
(2). Gracie Shay (b. abt 1863 in Crawford Co. OH) Never Married - No Issue
2. Isabella C. Shay (b. 7/15/1836 OH | d. 7/7/1916 Jefferson Co., NB) - Descendants settled in Nebraska
m. Henry Bishop on 2/6/1862 in Crawford Co.
(1). Chauncey Allen Bishop (b. 10/17/1862 in Crawford Co., OH)
(2.) Sarah Irena Bishop (b. 2/9/1864 in Crawford Co., OH)
(3.) Minnie Josephine Bishop (b. 7/26/1867 in Crawford Co., OH)
(4.) Jasper Charles Bishop (b. 3/8/1871 in Crawford Co., OH)
(5.) Austin Joseph Bishop (b. 3/3/1873 in Crawford County, OH)
(6.) Harper Henry Bishop (b. 1/30/1876 in Crawford Co., OH)
(7.) Perlia Iona Bishop (b. 8/10/1879 in Cloud Co., Kansas)
3. James M. Shay (b. abt. 1837 or 1838 OH / d. bef. 1870 Scott Co., MO) - Descendants settled in Pennsylvania
m. Margaret Mayberry bet. 1860-1861 in Ballard Co., KY or Scott Co., MO
(1.) Mary Shay (b. abt. 1861 in Scott Co., MO)
(2.) Nancy Shay (b. abt. 1863 in Scott Co., MO)
(3.) Jane Rebecca Shay (b. 11/26/1866 in Scott Co., MO)
4. Mary S. Shay (b. abt. 1840 OH / d. 9/1/1865) Never Married - No Issue
5. David J. Shay (b. abt. 1842 OH / d. 6/5/1867 Crawford Co., OH) No Descendants
m. Lillie A. Walter on 3/1/1866 in Crawford Co., OH --- No Issue
6. William Shay (b. abt. 1844 OH / d. 11/30/1864 Franklin, TN - Killed in Battle) Never Married - No Issue
7. John W. Shay -- (b. 5/8/1846 OH / d. 9/16/1918 in Cloud Co., KS) - Descendants settled in Kansas
m. Francessa Neill on 12/2/1877 in Cloud Co., KS
(1.) John Benjamin Shay (b. 10/12/1878 in Cloud Co., KS)
(2.) Jesse Edgar Shay (b. 3/12/1880 in Cloud Co., KS)
(3.) Fannie Shay (b. 10/27/1881 in Cloud Co., KS)
(4.) George William Shay (b. 5/3/1886 in Cloud Co., KS)
(5.) James David Shay (b. 1/27/1888 in Cloud Co., KS)
8. Stephen Shay (b. abt. 1848 OH / d. 1870 in Crawford Co., OH) Never Married - No Issue
I looked into Franklin Withrow and his wife named Mary b 1861 of Scott Co., MO. This Mary born on 2/17/1861, wife of Frank Withrow was the daughter of Clobert Reider & Katherine Smith. I found her death certificate on the website for the Missouri State Archives. Its frustrating to hit dead ends. I doubt though if Mary Shay ever married because she is listed as deaf and dumb in the 1870 census. She might not have been considered good marriage material for Frontier life in the 1860's, however I could be wrong. She isn't listed with her sisters in the 1880 census. Mary was either sent away, married off, or deceased by 1880.
I do not know of any Heath connection that Oriel Seeley might have had. I remember a lady from the Potter Co., PA historical society asking me once if I had a Sarah Heath in the family. I could not find any Sarah Heaths anywhere. My only guess is that there could be a Heath connection from one of Nehemiah Heath's siblings. Nehemiah (father of William Heath) was the 3rd child out of 12 children. Most of his siblings were born in Rock Glen, Wyoming, New York and there could have been plenty of Heaths spreading out in the surrounding counties.
Thats all I have for now.
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You done alot of research here -- this makes sense - I believe one of the land patent grants was for Ironton which is located on the west side of Missouri - near Kansas.
My only thoughts were - when did Rebecca Jane Peal file the pension papers for James' civil war pension - does this fit in with our scenario. I always wondered why she filed on James' pension and not Stephen's - I believe he fought for the "other side" --
We might have some time next week to continue searching the deed records out for the properties.
I've really enjoyed this "search" for our descendants.
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Rebecca J. Peal filed for James Shay's pension papers or received them on Jan 30, 1894. By then, Jane was married and living in Potter Co., PA and Mary & Nancy whereabouts are unknown. I do not know if the Confederate widows received the same type of pension if any as the Union widows did. She may not have been eligible for Stephen's pension because he might have been confederate. Also maybe widows were only allowed one pension even if they were widowed more than once. Rebecca might have had a better pension from James then from Stephen.
James Shay had to be deceased before July 20, 1870 because Rebecca was widowed by the time of the census...she had only turned 18 years old the previous November. Since James' first wife Margaret died in January 1868, he probably waited a year to remarry and then married a 17 year old Rebecca. They were probably married a year or less when he died. No children born to this union.
Considering that Mary Ashley Winthrow was widowed with 3 children, she might have pushed for the union between James & Rebecca. I do not know if Rebecca's mother, brother and sister came to live on the Shay farm after James' death or before. Even after Rebecca remarried, the family stayed on the farm and James' daughters left to start their own life. I wonder what type of relationship James' daughters had with their step-mother and her family and if they got along with Rebecca's second husband who was confederate from North Carolina?
I believe the Ashley family that shows up in Scott Co., census near the Shays are brothers of Mary Ashley Withrow, mother to Rebecca. Also there are other Withrows that show up in Scott Co., that do not come off of Mary and her husband Frederick Withrow, father of Rebecca. I think they may be Frederick's brothers and their families. Both the Withrows & Ashleys come from Kentucky. I wonder if either side are related or tied into the Mayberry family.
I guess the key is to find a descendant who happened to record lots of family oral history. According to the census, Rebecca, her mother and siblings could not read or write. They probably did not record key events in family bibles or on paper. The Scott County Historical Society did not have much info on the Shays, they might have more on the Withrows & Ashleys. I will see if I can get them to send me a list of Scott Co., marriages in the 1870's & 1880's. We might be able to track Mary & Nancy Shay. If they married in the county, their surnames would have been written down.
This research is fun, I will be stopping in Steuben Co., & Potter Co., this weekend. Its only a 6 hour drive for me and I will spend most of Mon 3/3/08 in the court houses and historical societies of both counties doing research. I have more research I would like to do on the Heath side & Amidon side. I will talk to you later.
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There's a woman Janeth Hargis - you may remember seeing her name on the Scott MO GEN Website - I think she is Rebecca Jane Peal's niece (maybe "great niece") - just from reading the different comments on several sites. I've tried contacting her by email - maybe it's time for a letter.
There's also another woman (Cline) that has done alot of research in Scott County but again she hasn't responded to my email.
I've sent and received a lot of emails from ancestry.com members that had family trees - but in most cases it hasn't turned up any thing new.
I've also thought about putting an ad in the local newspaper.
BTW - did you read the bio on one of the Bishop's that was on the website you directed me to -- I wonder if he was related to Isabella's husband.
1861 - James Shay migrates to Missouri
1868 - John Shay migrates to Kansas
1876-1879 - Isabella Shay Bishop migrates to Kansas then afterwards to Nebraska.
Children of David Shay & Sarah Warden
1. Benjamin W. Shay (b. 1833 OH | d. 1876 Wyandot Co., OH) - No Descendants
m. Adaline Sawyer on 7/25/1861 in Crawford Co. OH
(1). Unknown Infant (deceased)
(2). Gracie Shay (b. abt 1863 in Crawford Co. OH) Never Married - No Issue
2. Isabella C. Shay (b. 7/15/1836 OH | d. 7/7/1916 Jefferson Co., NB) - Descendants settled in Nebraska
m. Henry Bishop on 2/6/1862 in Crawford Co.
(1). Chauncey Allen Bishop (b. 10/17/1862 in Crawford Co., OH)
(2.) Sarah Irena Bishop (b. 2/9/1864 in Crawford Co., OH)
(3.) Minnie Josephine Bishop (b. 7/26/1867 in Crawford Co., OH)
(4.) Jasper Charles Bishop (b. 3/8/1871 in Crawford Co., OH)
(5.) Austin Joseph Bishop (b. 3/3/1873 in Crawford County, OH)
(6.) Harper Henry Bishop (b. 1/30/1876 in Crawford Co., OH)
(7.) Perlia Iona Bishop (b. 8/10/1879 in Cloud Co., Kansas)
3. James M. Shay (b. abt. 1837 or 1838 OH / d. bef. 1870 Scott Co., MO) - Descendants settled in Pennsylvania
m. Margaret Mayberry bet. 1860-1861 in Ballard Co., KY or Scott Co., MO
(1.) Mary Shay (b. abt. 1861 in Scott Co., MO)
(2.) Nancy Shay (b. abt. 1863 in Scott Co., MO)
(3.) Jane Rebecca Shay (b. 11/26/1866 in Scott Co., MO)
4. Mary S. Shay (b. abt. 1840 OH / d. 9/1/1865) Never Married - No Issue
5. David J. Shay (b. abt. 1842 OH / d. 6/5/1867 Crawford Co., OH) No Descendants
m. Lillie A. Walter on 3/1/1866 in Crawford Co., OH --- No Issue
6. William Shay (b. abt. 1844 OH / d. 11/30/1864 Franklin, TN - Killed in Battle) Never Married - No Issue
7. John W. Shay -- (b. 5/8/1846 OH / d. 9/16/1918 in Cloud Co., KS) - Descendants settled in Kansas
m. Francessa Neill on 12/2/1877 in Cloud Co., KS
(1.) John Benjamin Shay (b. 10/12/1878 in Cloud Co., KS)
(2.) Jesse Edgar Shay (b. 3/12/1880 in Cloud Co., KS)
(3.) Fannie Shay (b. 10/27/1881 in Cloud Co., KS)
(4.) George William Shay (b. 5/3/1886 in Cloud Co., KS)
(5.) James David Shay (b. 1/27/1888 in Cloud Co., KS)
8. Stephen Shay (b. abt. 1848 OH / d. 1870 in Crawford Co., OH) Never Married - No Issue
I looked into Franklin Withrow and his wife named Mary b 1861 of Scott Co., MO. This Mary born on 2/17/1861, wife of Frank Withrow was the daughter of Clobert Reider & Katherine Smith. I found her death certificate on the website for the Missouri State Archives. Its frustrating to hit dead ends. I doubt though if Mary Shay ever married because she is listed as deaf and dumb in the 1870 census. She might not have been considered good marriage material for Frontier life in the 1860's, however I could be wrong. She isn't listed with her sisters in the 1880 census. Mary was either sent away, married off, or deceased by 1880.
I do not know of any Heath connection that Oriel Seeley might have had. I remember a lady from the Potter Co., PA historical society asking me once if I had a Sarah Heath in the family. I could not find any Sarah Heaths anywhere. My only guess is that there could be a Heath connection from one of Nehemiah Heath's siblings. Nehemiah (father of William Heath) was the 3rd child out of 12 children. Most of his siblings were born in Rock Glen, Wyoming, New York and there could have been plenty of Heaths spreading out in the surrounding counties.
Thats all I have for now.
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You done alot of research here -- this makes sense - I believe one of the land patent grants was for Ironton which is located on the west side of Missouri - near Kansas.
My only thoughts were - when did Rebecca Jane Peal file the pension papers for James' civil war pension - does this fit in with our scenario. I always wondered why she filed on James' pension and not Stephen's - I believe he fought for the "other side" --
We might have some time next week to continue searching the deed records out for the properties.
I've really enjoyed this "search" for our descendants.
************************************************************************************
Rebecca J. Peal filed for James Shay's pension papers or received them on Jan 30, 1894. By then, Jane was married and living in Potter Co., PA and Mary & Nancy whereabouts are unknown. I do not know if the Confederate widows received the same type of pension if any as the Union widows did. She may not have been eligible for Stephen's pension because he might have been confederate. Also maybe widows were only allowed one pension even if they were widowed more than once. Rebecca might have had a better pension from James then from Stephen.
James Shay had to be deceased before July 20, 1870 because Rebecca was widowed by the time of the census...she had only turned 18 years old the previous November. Since James' first wife Margaret died in January 1868, he probably waited a year to remarry and then married a 17 year old Rebecca. They were probably married a year or less when he died. No children born to this union.
Considering that Mary Ashley Winthrow was widowed with 3 children, she might have pushed for the union between James & Rebecca. I do not know if Rebecca's mother, brother and sister came to live on the Shay farm after James' death or before. Even after Rebecca remarried, the family stayed on the farm and James' daughters left to start their own life. I wonder what type of relationship James' daughters had with their step-mother and her family and if they got along with Rebecca's second husband who was confederate from North Carolina?
I believe the Ashley family that shows up in Scott Co., census near the Shays are brothers of Mary Ashley Withrow, mother to Rebecca. Also there are other Withrows that show up in Scott Co., that do not come off of Mary and her husband Frederick Withrow, father of Rebecca. I think they may be Frederick's brothers and their families. Both the Withrows & Ashleys come from Kentucky. I wonder if either side are related or tied into the Mayberry family.
I guess the key is to find a descendant who happened to record lots of family oral history. According to the census, Rebecca, her mother and siblings could not read or write. They probably did not record key events in family bibles or on paper. The Scott County Historical Society did not have much info on the Shays, they might have more on the Withrows & Ashleys. I will see if I can get them to send me a list of Scott Co., marriages in the 1870's & 1880's. We might be able to track Mary & Nancy Shay. If they married in the county, their surnames would have been written down.
This research is fun, I will be stopping in Steuben Co., & Potter Co., this weekend. Its only a 6 hour drive for me and I will spend most of Mon 3/3/08 in the court houses and historical societies of both counties doing research. I have more research I would like to do on the Heath side & Amidon side. I will talk to you later.
*************************************************************************************
There's a woman Janeth Hargis - you may remember seeing her name on the Scott MO GEN Website - I think she is Rebecca Jane Peal's niece (maybe "great niece") - just from reading the different comments on several sites. I've tried contacting her by email - maybe it's time for a letter.
There's also another woman (Cline) that has done alot of research in Scott County but again she hasn't responded to my email.
I've sent and received a lot of emails from ancestry.com members that had family trees - but in most cases it hasn't turned up any thing new.
I've also thought about putting an ad in the local newspaper.
BTW - did you read the bio on one of the Bishop's that was on the website you directed me to -- I wonder if he was related to Isabella's husband.
February 27, 2008 - SHAY FAMILY
I found a John Shay with a son named James after 1900 in the census Ballard/McCracken area but they do not seem to be from the same family and the ages do not match up.
I am now more convinced that our James Shay is from Crawford County. Below is a link to a website I found http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/cloud/1903/shayjw.shtml
The second paragraph is the most interesting referring to John Shay..."Mr. Shay is a native of Crawford county, Ohio, born in 1846. His father was Daniel Shay, a native of Virginia, and when a young man came to Ohio and gained a livelihood by farming. The Shays, as the name implies, are of Irish origin. His mother was Sarah Warden. Her people were from Virginia. Mr. Shay is one of eight children, six boys and two girls. He and a sister, Isabelle Bishop, of Jefferson county, Nebraska, are the only surviving members. Mr. Shay served about four months near the close of the war. His four brothers were in the army. William was killed at Franklin, Tennessee. The other three died from one to five years later from diseases contracted during the service."
Our ancestor James Shay was in the army and died within 5 years after the war. Below is a list of the family. If this is where our James Shay comes from then that would mean that Jane Rebecca's Shay grandparents and the majority of her aunts and uncles were dead before she was 4 years old. Jane probably never would have known any Shay relatives. Benjamin Shay was the only surviving family member to stay in Crawford Co., Ohio. He was dead before 1900.
David Shay (b. abt. 1812 in OH? or VA? / d. 12/17/1865)
Sarah Warden (b. abt. 1809 in OH? or VA? / d. Bef 1870)
Benjamin Shay (b. abt. 1833 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. bet. 1870-1900)
Isabella Shay (b. abt. 1836 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. aft. 1900 in NE)
James Shay (b. abt. 1838 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. bef. 1870)
Mary Shay (b. abt. 1840 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. 9/1/1865)
Shay, David J. (b. abt. 1842 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. 6/5/1867)
Shay, William. (b. abt. 1844 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Bet. 1861-1865)
John Shay -- (b. 1846 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Aft 1900 in KS)
Shay, Stephen (b. abt. 1848 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Bef 1870)
Let me know what you think. I am trying to track down a will for David Shay circa 1865. It would list surviving children and may give clues to James Shay.
Thats all for now.
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I was just about to send you an email too. So, it does seem like this may be our "James Shay."
I've been reviewing the Census records for Scott County line by line - interesting enough Rebecca Withrow and her family are listed in the 1860 census. Rebecca is 9 years old. There's another family just above the Withrow family -- Edward Ashley - I believe it was an Ashley that Rebecca Withrow was living with in 1870. In the 1880Scott Census records there is a Davis/Margaret Warden - the state listings are not very clear - but interesting enough there are several "Wardens" listed in various counties in MO during this time and from Ohio. Since our James Shay is a branch of the Warden family - there could be some connection. I've come across several Mayberrys in the 1850-1880 census records. Also, in the 1880 census there is a Franklin Withrow with a wife named Mary b 1861 - this could be our Mary Shay.... If I remember correctly, in the Blodgett Cemetery records there is a Mary Withrow with the 1861 birth year. I'll get out my records and review them.
So, I truly think we are on our way.
There was also some documentation on logging in MO -- many of the Seeley men were loggers. My grandfather (Kate's husband) had a logging business and would go up in the "woods" and cut timber all winter long. I took care of my Uncle Ted for a year or so (Ted was Ira's brother) - and he told endless stories of the logging years -- how teams of loggers would go from camp to camp. So this may be the connection between PA and MO. I know that Kate would go to the logging camps and cook.
Interesting enough I came across some Brewers - my grandfather's first wife was a Julia Brewer and I had never been able to find that name in all the records in PA. I also came across a name Beeman which may be one of the names listed on the Oriel Seeley photo.
Did you notice the handwriting on the picture of Oriel Seeley - it listed several names - one being Heath. I never knew that Oriel was married to a Heath - do you recall ever hearing this? Perhaps, my Aunt had this wrong?
I see myself staying up late tonight and reading up on this new info.
Thanks again for this new info
I am now more convinced that our James Shay is from Crawford County. Below is a link to a website I found http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/cloud/1903/shayjw.shtml
The second paragraph is the most interesting referring to John Shay..."Mr. Shay is a native of Crawford county, Ohio, born in 1846. His father was Daniel Shay, a native of Virginia, and when a young man came to Ohio and gained a livelihood by farming. The Shays, as the name implies, are of Irish origin. His mother was Sarah Warden. Her people were from Virginia. Mr. Shay is one of eight children, six boys and two girls. He and a sister, Isabelle Bishop, of Jefferson county, Nebraska, are the only surviving members. Mr. Shay served about four months near the close of the war. His four brothers were in the army. William was killed at Franklin, Tennessee. The other three died from one to five years later from diseases contracted during the service."
Our ancestor James Shay was in the army and died within 5 years after the war. Below is a list of the family. If this is where our James Shay comes from then that would mean that Jane Rebecca's Shay grandparents and the majority of her aunts and uncles were dead before she was 4 years old. Jane probably never would have known any Shay relatives. Benjamin Shay was the only surviving family member to stay in Crawford Co., Ohio. He was dead before 1900.
David Shay (b. abt. 1812 in OH? or VA? / d. 12/17/1865)
Sarah Warden (b. abt. 1809 in OH? or VA? / d. Bef 1870)
Benjamin Shay (b. abt. 1833 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. bet. 1870-1900)
Isabella Shay (b. abt. 1836 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. aft. 1900 in NE)
James Shay (b. abt. 1838 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. bef. 1870)
Mary Shay (b. abt. 1840 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. 9/1/1865)
Shay, David J. (b. abt. 1842 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. 6/5/1867)
Shay, William. (b. abt. 1844 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Bet. 1861-1865)
John Shay -- (b. 1846 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Aft 1900 in KS)
Shay, Stephen (b. abt. 1848 Crawford Co., Ohio / d. Bef 1870)
Let me know what you think. I am trying to track down a will for David Shay circa 1865. It would list surviving children and may give clues to James Shay.
Thats all for now.
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I was just about to send you an email too. So, it does seem like this may be our "James Shay."
I've been reviewing the Census records for Scott County line by line - interesting enough Rebecca Withrow and her family are listed in the 1860 census. Rebecca is 9 years old. There's another family just above the Withrow family -- Edward Ashley - I believe it was an Ashley that Rebecca Withrow was living with in 1870. In the 1880Scott Census records there is a Davis/Margaret Warden - the state listings are not very clear - but interesting enough there are several "Wardens" listed in various counties in MO during this time and from Ohio. Since our James Shay is a branch of the Warden family - there could be some connection. I've come across several Mayberrys in the 1850-1880 census records. Also, in the 1880 census there is a Franklin Withrow with a wife named Mary b 1861 - this could be our Mary Shay.... If I remember correctly, in the Blodgett Cemetery records there is a Mary Withrow with the 1861 birth year. I'll get out my records and review them.
So, I truly think we are on our way.
There was also some documentation on logging in MO -- many of the Seeley men were loggers. My grandfather (Kate's husband) had a logging business and would go up in the "woods" and cut timber all winter long. I took care of my Uncle Ted for a year or so (Ted was Ira's brother) - and he told endless stories of the logging years -- how teams of loggers would go from camp to camp. So this may be the connection between PA and MO. I know that Kate would go to the logging camps and cook.
Interesting enough I came across some Brewers - my grandfather's first wife was a Julia Brewer and I had never been able to find that name in all the records in PA. I also came across a name Beeman which may be one of the names listed on the Oriel Seeley photo.
Did you notice the handwriting on the picture of Oriel Seeley - it listed several names - one being Heath. I never knew that Oriel was married to a Heath - do you recall ever hearing this? Perhaps, my Aunt had this wrong?
I see myself staying up late tonight and reading up on this new info.
Thanks again for this new info
February 26, 2008 - Historians
I have been in touch with a woman named Margaret Bell who works for the Ballard County, KY Historical Society. She will be looking up all info she has on the Mayberry family...ie. birth, marriage, death, census, cemetery records and a Mayberry pedigree chart that they have. When she emails the info to me I will forward it on to you.
I am still waiting to hear back from the Crawford Co, OH Historical Society about David Shay & Sarah Warden's family. Sarah's middle initial is M. I do not know what the M. stands for.
Our ancestor James Shay had an M for a middle initial. I am hoping that there might be some record at Crawford County that would give the middle initial or name of James Shay son of David & Sarah. If he does indeed have a middle M initial/name then it will look more likely that he is our James Shay.
I believe the Shay & Warden branches are all descended from Irish, Scottish and German. I don't think there is any room there for Native American blood. I truely think it must come with the Mayberry side. If we truly are descended from Frederick Mayberry then we have roots in Virginia. I wonder in one of our branches were one of the early Virginia settlers. Most of our ancestry from the Heath branches are old New England so it would be neat if we did have old Virginia blood in us.
I guess I will just have to have my DNA mapped out. Haha. I have looked into it, less than $200 to have the X chromosomes mapped out. That would tell me for sure if I have Native American blood in me and how many generations it mixes in.
Thats all for now. I hope to have more info later on when the historical societies get back to me.
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Thanks for the update. I've been reviewing the census records for Ballard/McCracken Counties - there is a James Shay - son of John Shay (I think). I didn't get a chance last night to continue my "searching" but hopefully tonight I can look again at the records.
I have some other documents that I will send you.
It's a little ironic because I remember hearing that a "Cora Bell" was maybe the name of the descendant who had the Native American bloodline. Maybe this Margaret Bell is a "relative." :)
I received an email from one of the individuals regarding Rebecca and Stephen Peal - Her research stops at Stephen Peal but she will send out some emails with our request to some of her contacts.
I'm trying to reach a Janeth Hargis - I believe Rebecca Jane Peal was her Aunt. This Janeth has done alot of research and has several postings on the Scott County MO GEN website.
Maybe we should set up a DNA website -- asking our relatives to volunteer... I believe the Seeley Website in California has one - as well as one of the Mayberry websites.
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I cannot find James Shay or John Shay in any census records for Ballard/McCracken Counties. However, if you do come across it again with more details the two key things we want to look for is a 1836 birthdate (+ or - 2 yrs) and a Ohio birthplace. If that matches up then that puts us in another Shay direction. Could be very interesting.
I am still waiting to hear back from the Crawford Co, OH Historical Society about David Shay & Sarah Warden's family. Sarah's middle initial is M. I do not know what the M. stands for.
Our ancestor James Shay had an M for a middle initial. I am hoping that there might be some record at Crawford County that would give the middle initial or name of James Shay son of David & Sarah. If he does indeed have a middle M initial/name then it will look more likely that he is our James Shay.
I believe the Shay & Warden branches are all descended from Irish, Scottish and German. I don't think there is any room there for Native American blood. I truely think it must come with the Mayberry side. If we truly are descended from Frederick Mayberry then we have roots in Virginia. I wonder in one of our branches were one of the early Virginia settlers. Most of our ancestry from the Heath branches are old New England so it would be neat if we did have old Virginia blood in us.
I guess I will just have to have my DNA mapped out. Haha. I have looked into it, less than $200 to have the X chromosomes mapped out. That would tell me for sure if I have Native American blood in me and how many generations it mixes in.
Thats all for now. I hope to have more info later on when the historical societies get back to me.
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Thanks for the update. I've been reviewing the census records for Ballard/McCracken Counties - there is a James Shay - son of John Shay (I think). I didn't get a chance last night to continue my "searching" but hopefully tonight I can look again at the records.
I have some other documents that I will send you.
It's a little ironic because I remember hearing that a "Cora Bell" was maybe the name of the descendant who had the Native American bloodline. Maybe this Margaret Bell is a "relative." :)
I received an email from one of the individuals regarding Rebecca and Stephen Peal - Her research stops at Stephen Peal but she will send out some emails with our request to some of her contacts.
I'm trying to reach a Janeth Hargis - I believe Rebecca Jane Peal was her Aunt. This Janeth has done alot of research and has several postings on the Scott County MO GEN website.
Maybe we should set up a DNA website -- asking our relatives to volunteer... I believe the Seeley Website in California has one - as well as one of the Mayberry websites.
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I cannot find James Shay or John Shay in any census records for Ballard/McCracken Counties. However, if you do come across it again with more details the two key things we want to look for is a 1836 birthdate (+ or - 2 yrs) and a Ohio birthplace. If that matches up then that puts us in another Shay direction. Could be very interesting.
February 25, 2008 - Peals in McCracken/Ballard Counties
I've been searching the Tippy branch this weekend - and found interesting that there is a woman - Nancy Spiller who was a "doctor" who used herbs, etc., "many of women were saved by this Nancy."
There's a Nancy Spiller that is listed in Scott County - will pdf the files tomorrow and send you copies.
Also, just a few minutes ago I decided to check on the Stephen Peal that Rebecca Withrow married after James Shay died. It appears that Stephen may have returned to Martin, NC - and died there in Sept 1892. However, what is most interesting that there were several Peals in Ballard/McCracken counties - along with some Allens.....
I came across a picture of the John R. Tippy and Mary Robena Mayberry's home in MO and a picture of Martha and Mary Mayberry (twins).... I'm pretty sure these would be Margaret's first cousins. I found these on a new website - AncientFaces.com
I've attached the pictures for your review.
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Wow,
That is a lot of information. I wrote to the Ballard Historical Soceity about the Mayberry family. They have an ancestrial family chart of the Mayberry's and I am hoping to hear from them soon. They also have marriage records from 1852-present. I am hoping that the marriage of James Shay to Margaret Mayberry could be in there. I figured it probably took place bet 1860-1861. Also if they send me a chart of the Mayberry family, we may be able to identify all the children of Frederick and Elizabeth Mayberry and their birthdates.
I am still waiting patiently on more pictures from my mother's cousin Tonie. I am hoping to get a picture of Jane Shay Heath and send it on to you. I think Tonie has been really busy lately. I still plan on heading out to Potter County in July to see my uncle Justin.
I will talk to you later.
February 19, 2008 - James Shay OH/MO
Thank you for the photos and the certificates. I showed my mother the photos on Sunday and she recognized some of the people in them. She hadn't seen a few of them in 30 years. Some of the photos with George Heath must have been taken only months before he passed away. The date on the photos appeared to be 1978 and he passed away in September of that year.
I am still patiently waiting on more ancestor photos from my mother's cousin Tonie.
I went through and looked at the possible connection of our James Shay being the son of David Shay of Ohio. That seems to be the only fit of a James Shay born in Ohio for us. I will try and contact the historical society in Crawford County, Ohio to see what information they have on David Shay's family. I find it interesting that in the 1860 census that David Shay's family has a Nancy Shay age 83 born in PA. This may be a mother, stepmother, or aunt to David. James would have grown up and known this Nancy and could explain his 2nd daughter's name. James also had an aunt and sister with the name Mary. Also this could be where is oldest daughter received her name. James had an aunt named Jane also. Not sure if he would name his youngest daughter after his aunt. Also Margaret Mayberry may have had sisters or a mother with the name of Jane so that might be where our Jane got her name. Of course this is all speculated on the assumption that our ancestor James Shay is indeed the same James Shay, son of David & Sarah. If we can find some record of that James Shay of Crawford has having a middle intial or name that starts with M then we can really narrow it down. Our ancestor is James M. Shay.
The James Shay of Crawford Co., OH appears in a census for the last time dated July 24, 1860. Our James Shay purchased land in Missouri Feb 1, 1861. He also had his oldest daughter born about 1861-1862. Therfore, he must have left shortly after July 1860 to head West and somewhere along the way meet and married Margaret Mayberry who would have been 16 years old and shortly afterwards started a family.
If James Shay of Crawford Co, OH did indeed make his way to Missouri, he would have traveled through Indiana and Kentucky to get to Scott Co, MO. That is how he probably meet Margaret Mayberry. He could have stayed in Kentucky for several months or ended up in Scott County early where the Mayberrys may have already settled to from Kentucky. Back then courtships between couples especially frontier couples were much faster. Logically, James could have meet and married Margaret in only a few months time.
I think our answers may lie with the historical societies of Crawford Co., Ohio and Scott County, MO. I will dig around both and let you know what I find.
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I think I may have a lead on Margaret Mayberry - it's a long shot the same as James Shay--
I came across a William Mayberry that married a Sarah Tennessee Lee - born in Ballard Co. KY. What interests me -- at least 2 of their children married individuals (Tippy and Potts) -- AND lived in Sandywoods, Scott County, Missouri. (Tippy 1st wife was also a Mayberry - not sure how she fits in the family.) I will send you this documentation when I get home tonight. Tippy and his wife are buried in Scott County.
William's parents were: Fredrick Mayberry b. abt 1788/98 in VA according to the 1850 census of Ballard C./McCracken. He married an Elizabeth ? - she died in 1870s in Ballard Co. KY. The 1860 census shows her age 60 with Delphia a daughter.
Fredrick's children: Pleasant (?) b 1833, Nancy b 1840, Delphia b 1842 and Margaret b 1845, & William 1821 d 1879.
Will provide you with a list of William's children later. Another interesting point with his children -- if I remember correctly, one may have relocated to Ohio.
I really think this may lead to something as the Tippy/Potts - wives being Mayberrys - may have been Margaret's nieces -- our Jane Shay's first cousins.
Fredrick may have received land grants West of Tennessee River - not sure if this is the same Frederick.
Tax records show a David and Fredrick Mayberry.
PS - I've "roped" in a couple of my nieces to help out with getting some pictures from my Aunts and Uncles in the Campbell/Corning area.
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I think your Mayberry lead is the best lead yet. Ballard Co, KY & McCracken Co., KY are located within 50 miles Southeast from Scott County, MO. This has the closest connection of a Margaret Mayberry born 1844/1845 then any other I have come across in the area.
Frederick & Elizabeth (Betsey) ? Mayberry had at least 2 sons and 3 daughters born between 1815-1830 according to the 1830 McCracken Co. census. Obviously they probably had several more children between 1830-1845 as indicated by the 1840 & 1850 census. Frederick's oldest child was a female born bet. 1815-1820. Elizabeth must have been a teenager when she married Frederick and gave birth to their first child. Back then in Frontier life it probably would not have been uncommon to marry off daughters at the age of 15.
Maybe Elizabeth is a Christian name given to her and she may be the Native American in our ancestry. Elizabeth is listed as being born in Kentucky (note: Pocohontas was given the name Rebecca when she converted in the 1600's so the name Elizabeth does not rule out that she is a Cherokee Indian). If she is Cherokee then the Ballard or McCracken historical societies may have something written on her. Also one of Elizabeth's decendants may have info about that also. If she is indeed the mother of 10 children and probably 30+ grandchildren then hopefully we won't have too much trouble finding info from other decendants.
I noticed in the 1850 & 1860 census that there are little children with the last name Allen living with the Mayberrys. Perhaps these are grandchildren born to Frederick & Elizabeth's oldest daughter. The age range would be plausible and they may have been orphaned and went to live with their grandparents. I estimate based on census that there could have been 10 children born bet 1815-1844 to Frederick & Elizabeth. Some of the later ones could be grandchildren based on Elizabeth's age. I have seen Elizabeth listed in age anywhere between (1789-1800) Thats 11 year range the various census puts her in. Although she is probably closer to an 1799/1800 birthdate and is the mother to all the children bearing the last name Mayberry.
List of children of Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry. The first 5 are not listed by names in the 1830 & 1840 census.
1. Dau (1815-1820), 2. Son (1820-1825), 3. Son (1820-1825), 4. Dau (1820-1825), 5. Son (1825-1830), 6. William (1831), 7. Pleasant (1833), 8. Nancy (1840), 9. Delphia (1842), 10. Margaret (1844)
I guess I will need to email these historical societies and see what I come up with. We may just have unlocked the key puzzles to both the Shay & Mayberry branches if James Shay is the son of David & Sarah and Margaret is the daughter of Frederick & Elizabeth.
I will let you know what I find later.
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I think I may have seen on ancestry.com or another gen. site - that he may have had 2 wives - both being named Elizabeth. Although, I haven't seen any census records to indicate this.
Also, there was a referenced on a Mayberry website that the "women of the family" had to wear sun hats so their skin would not darken" due to the Native American bloodlines.
Still trying to convince my sister to making a trip to Missouri.
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Wow, there is actually a reference to a Native American bloodline on a Mayberry website? I would love to take a look at that. I find it interesting that Margaret does not appear with her mother Elizabeth and sister Delphia in the 1860 census. She may be with living with an older unknown sibling at this time since Elizabeth is widowed. Perhaps after Frederick died, his wife went back to her roots and was the medicine woman that our family has heard of. This of course is speculating but could be interesting if these Mayberrys fit in with us.
I am still patiently waiting on more ancestor photos from my mother's cousin Tonie.
I went through and looked at the possible connection of our James Shay being the son of David Shay of Ohio. That seems to be the only fit of a James Shay born in Ohio for us. I will try and contact the historical society in Crawford County, Ohio to see what information they have on David Shay's family. I find it interesting that in the 1860 census that David Shay's family has a Nancy Shay age 83 born in PA. This may be a mother, stepmother, or aunt to David. James would have grown up and known this Nancy and could explain his 2nd daughter's name. James also had an aunt and sister with the name Mary. Also this could be where is oldest daughter received her name. James had an aunt named Jane also. Not sure if he would name his youngest daughter after his aunt. Also Margaret Mayberry may have had sisters or a mother with the name of Jane so that might be where our Jane got her name. Of course this is all speculated on the assumption that our ancestor James Shay is indeed the same James Shay, son of David & Sarah. If we can find some record of that James Shay of Crawford has having a middle intial or name that starts with M then we can really narrow it down. Our ancestor is James M. Shay.
The James Shay of Crawford Co., OH appears in a census for the last time dated July 24, 1860. Our James Shay purchased land in Missouri Feb 1, 1861. He also had his oldest daughter born about 1861-1862. Therfore, he must have left shortly after July 1860 to head West and somewhere along the way meet and married Margaret Mayberry who would have been 16 years old and shortly afterwards started a family.
If James Shay of Crawford Co, OH did indeed make his way to Missouri, he would have traveled through Indiana and Kentucky to get to Scott Co, MO. That is how he probably meet Margaret Mayberry. He could have stayed in Kentucky for several months or ended up in Scott County early where the Mayberrys may have already settled to from Kentucky. Back then courtships between couples especially frontier couples were much faster. Logically, James could have meet and married Margaret in only a few months time.
I think our answers may lie with the historical societies of Crawford Co., Ohio and Scott County, MO. I will dig around both and let you know what I find.
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I think I may have a lead on Margaret Mayberry - it's a long shot the same as James Shay--
I came across a William Mayberry that married a Sarah Tennessee Lee - born in Ballard Co. KY. What interests me -- at least 2 of their children married individuals (Tippy and Potts) -- AND lived in Sandywoods, Scott County, Missouri. (Tippy 1st wife was also a Mayberry - not sure how she fits in the family.) I will send you this documentation when I get home tonight. Tippy and his wife are buried in Scott County.
William's parents were: Fredrick Mayberry b. abt 1788/98 in VA according to the 1850 census of Ballard C./McCracken. He married an Elizabeth ? - she died in 1870s in Ballard Co. KY. The 1860 census shows her age 60 with Delphia a daughter.
Fredrick's children: Pleasant (?) b 1833, Nancy b 1840, Delphia b 1842 and Margaret b 1845, & William 1821 d 1879.
Will provide you with a list of William's children later. Another interesting point with his children -- if I remember correctly, one may have relocated to Ohio.
I really think this may lead to something as the Tippy/Potts - wives being Mayberrys - may have been Margaret's nieces -- our Jane Shay's first cousins.
Fredrick may have received land grants West of Tennessee River - not sure if this is the same Frederick.
Tax records show a David and Fredrick Mayberry.
PS - I've "roped" in a couple of my nieces to help out with getting some pictures from my Aunts and Uncles in the Campbell/Corning area.
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I think your Mayberry lead is the best lead yet. Ballard Co, KY & McCracken Co., KY are located within 50 miles Southeast from Scott County, MO. This has the closest connection of a Margaret Mayberry born 1844/1845 then any other I have come across in the area.
Frederick & Elizabeth (Betsey) ? Mayberry had at least 2 sons and 3 daughters born between 1815-1830 according to the 1830 McCracken Co. census. Obviously they probably had several more children between 1830-1845 as indicated by the 1840 & 1850 census. Frederick's oldest child was a female born bet. 1815-1820. Elizabeth must have been a teenager when she married Frederick and gave birth to their first child. Back then in Frontier life it probably would not have been uncommon to marry off daughters at the age of 15.
Maybe Elizabeth is a Christian name given to her and she may be the Native American in our ancestry. Elizabeth is listed as being born in Kentucky (note: Pocohontas was given the name Rebecca when she converted in the 1600's so the name Elizabeth does not rule out that she is a Cherokee Indian). If she is Cherokee then the Ballard or McCracken historical societies may have something written on her. Also one of Elizabeth's decendants may have info about that also. If she is indeed the mother of 10 children and probably 30+ grandchildren then hopefully we won't have too much trouble finding info from other decendants.
I noticed in the 1850 & 1860 census that there are little children with the last name Allen living with the Mayberrys. Perhaps these are grandchildren born to Frederick & Elizabeth's oldest daughter. The age range would be plausible and they may have been orphaned and went to live with their grandparents. I estimate based on census that there could have been 10 children born bet 1815-1844 to Frederick & Elizabeth. Some of the later ones could be grandchildren based on Elizabeth's age. I have seen Elizabeth listed in age anywhere between (1789-1800) Thats 11 year range the various census puts her in. Although she is probably closer to an 1799/1800 birthdate and is the mother to all the children bearing the last name Mayberry.
List of children of Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry. The first 5 are not listed by names in the 1830 & 1840 census.
1. Dau (1815-1820), 2. Son (1820-1825), 3. Son (1820-1825), 4. Dau (1820-1825), 5. Son (1825-1830), 6. William (1831), 7. Pleasant (1833), 8. Nancy (1840), 9. Delphia (1842), 10. Margaret (1844)
I guess I will need to email these historical societies and see what I come up with. We may just have unlocked the key puzzles to both the Shay & Mayberry branches if James Shay is the son of David & Sarah and Margaret is the daughter of Frederick & Elizabeth.
I will let you know what I find later.
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I think I may have seen on ancestry.com or another gen. site - that he may have had 2 wives - both being named Elizabeth. Although, I haven't seen any census records to indicate this.
Also, there was a referenced on a Mayberry website that the "women of the family" had to wear sun hats so their skin would not darken" due to the Native American bloodlines.
Still trying to convince my sister to making a trip to Missouri.
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Wow, there is actually a reference to a Native American bloodline on a Mayberry website? I would love to take a look at that. I find it interesting that Margaret does not appear with her mother Elizabeth and sister Delphia in the 1860 census. She may be with living with an older unknown sibling at this time since Elizabeth is widowed. Perhaps after Frederick died, his wife went back to her roots and was the medicine woman that our family has heard of. This of course is speculating but could be interesting if these Mayberrys fit in with us.
February 13, 2008
I was wondering how your granddaughter's birthday was and if you had a chance to speak to your Aunts and Uncles. Also I was wondering where you are finding the death certificates. Are they on Ancestry.com or are you ordering them. Let me know because I couldn't find that feature on Ancestry.com.
My mother's cousin has sent me a photo of Jane Heath, sister of William Heath and wife of Oscar Crandall. She is going to send me pictures of William Heath and Jane Shay soon. I will forward on the pics to you.
I will talk to you later.
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The party was great. Always a joy to see my son and his family.
I didn't get a chance to see anyone - I left late on Friday afternoon and came back mid-day on Sunday hoping to miss the storm - NOT. It was terrible driving back to Syracuse.
However, I did receive an email from my Uncle Bobby - he didn't remember very much family history. I'm hoping to see him the next time I go home.
On Saturday, I tried calling my Aunt Georgie but she was out of town.
I've made some contacts with people on Ancestory - one with the Bakers - Rachel has agreed to review her notes -- there's a picture in the Reunion book of the Baker Homestead and Oriel Seely Bassett (Herbert's sister) is in it.
I also found a picture of Oriel Seely (I believe this is Oriel Seely that is the sister of my grandfather Ira. On the picture, there is a handwritten note: Oriel Seely Heath, Benson(?, Manny(?), Dingman. I knew Oriel was married several times but never knew she was married to a Heath. Did you know about this?
The website for the death certificates is the State of Missouri's Secretary of State - I literally would look at every certificate for any and all names starting with SH and/or MA - ... I've attached Jane's certificate for you as well as several pictures from the Family Reunion book.
I'll be back in touch in a few days - I'm typing a thesis.
My mother's cousin has sent me a photo of Jane Heath, sister of William Heath and wife of Oscar Crandall. She is going to send me pictures of William Heath and Jane Shay soon. I will forward on the pics to you.
I will talk to you later.
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The party was great. Always a joy to see my son and his family.
I didn't get a chance to see anyone - I left late on Friday afternoon and came back mid-day on Sunday hoping to miss the storm - NOT. It was terrible driving back to Syracuse.
However, I did receive an email from my Uncle Bobby - he didn't remember very much family history. I'm hoping to see him the next time I go home.
On Saturday, I tried calling my Aunt Georgie but she was out of town.
I've made some contacts with people on Ancestory - one with the Bakers - Rachel has agreed to review her notes -- there's a picture in the Reunion book of the Baker Homestead and Oriel Seely Bassett (Herbert's sister) is in it.
I also found a picture of Oriel Seely (I believe this is Oriel Seely that is the sister of my grandfather Ira. On the picture, there is a handwritten note: Oriel Seely Heath, Benson(?, Manny(?), Dingman. I knew Oriel was married several times but never knew she was married to a Heath. Did you know about this?
The website for the death certificates is the State of Missouri's Secretary of State - I literally would look at every certificate for any and all names starting with SH and/or MA - ... I've attached Jane's certificate for you as well as several pictures from the Family Reunion book.
I'll be back in touch in a few days - I'm typing a thesis.
February 1, 2008 - Uncle Bobby's Email
I don't have anymore information on the Heath family than Jeremy has.. I don't remember Uncle Jim and Aunt Zella having any children.
I don't remember anyone mention that mom had a brother named William. So I can't be of any help.
Sorry I can't help you.
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Uncle Bobby
Thanks for the email. The census records indicate he may have died when he was 16. Jeremy heard he may have drown.
Jeremy has indicated he may be able to get some pictures of the early Heaths, particularly one in a Civil War uniform.
I'm trying to trace the Shay/Mayberry descendants of Jane Shay. I've located some Mayberry's and Shay's on the Cherokee Indian Nation census records - Jeremy is checking this out. I've also located someone in Missouri that may be a direct descendant to Rebecca Jane or Jane Peal. She was James Shay's 2nd wife and she collected his civil war pension.
I will keep you posted on our research. I do it from time to time then I hit a wall and stop. I then find something and I get excited and start working on it again.
I don't remember anyone mention that mom had a brother named William. So I can't be of any help.
Sorry I can't help you.
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Uncle Bobby
Thanks for the email. The census records indicate he may have died when he was 16. Jeremy heard he may have drown.
Jeremy has indicated he may be able to get some pictures of the early Heaths, particularly one in a Civil War uniform.
I'm trying to trace the Shay/Mayberry descendants of Jane Shay. I've located some Mayberry's and Shay's on the Cherokee Indian Nation census records - Jeremy is checking this out. I've also located someone in Missouri that may be a direct descendant to Rebecca Jane or Jane Peal. She was James Shay's 2nd wife and she collected his civil war pension.
I will keep you posted on our research. I do it from time to time then I hit a wall and stop. I then find something and I get excited and start working on it again.
January 28, 2008
I sent an email to my mother's cousin Tonie, the daughter of Albert Heath to see if she remembers her parents or grandparents mentioning anything about Jane Shay or an Indian connection. I also inquired about old pictures she may have. A few years back when her father passed away, she took a box that contained old pictures of our ancestors. Some of the pictures were from Emaline's side and some from George's side. She even mentioned once about there being a civil war picture of William A. Heath. I thought that would be neat if I was able to obtain a scanned copy of a few ancestors from the Heath side to send to your family. I am still waiting to hear back from Tonie.
I also called Uncle Justin to let him know I was in touch with the Seeley family. He seemed very interested in the reunion. He was raised by his grandparents so he remembers seeing the Seeley family a lot as a child. Unfortunately he doesn't remember much of what was said of our ancestors when he was a child.
I will try and take a look at the 1900 census showing Mary Shay on the Cherokee Nation Indian Territory. I think that is a good lead there. I noticed through the census records that many of the Shays that did make it to Missouri were Irish Immigrants. I believe for a Mary Shay to be mixed in with the Cherokees is probably more than a coincidence and she is probably not one of these Irish Immigrants but partly Cherokee. She is most likely the older sister of our Jane Shay.
I do not think that the death certificate for a James J Shay who died in St. Louis, Missouri is connected to us, even though his father was born in Albany, NY. I don't think we had anyone make it out that far but still since we do not know too much on the Shays...anything could be possible. The more I look into the Shays from NJ the less I feel they were the reason Jane made it to Potter County, PA. By the 1880s...anyone with a connection were probably second to third cousins. Also her parent's died young and being that communication back then was harder...no telephones or email...Jane probably would not know of distant cousins on that level. Also Jane would probably have to have her grandparents, aunts, uncles and first cousins deceased or out of the picture if she did track down distant second/third cousins.
My theory is that Jane might have become a servant to a family that moved to the Potter area or her sister could have married and moved to the area. It may just be a coincidence that she happen to have a surname Shay...where there happened to be a big family of Shays.
I would be interested to see what your aunts and uncle remember. Also Daniel Shay's descendants may very well provide a few clues to James Shay. I feel he could very well be a son of Daniel Shay. I found the few trees that have a James Shay from Ohio born about 1838, son of Daniel Shay. There is not a trace of him in his adult years...could be our James Shay.
I'll keep you posted when Tonie gets back to me and I look forward to Bobby's recollections of everything. I'll talk to you later.
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I spent much of yesterday reviewing death certificates for the year 1910 - hoping to find some Shays from Kentucky and get a couple of leads there.
I also found a couple of other listings for the Blodgett Cemetery. In the Withrow plot there is a Mary E with the same birth date as Mary E Shay. I thought that Frank D. Withrow may have married Mary but it doesn't look as if this is panning out. Then there was a Nancy S Bransom in Scott County but this appears to be someone other than Nancy Shay.
I'm hoping the one of the descendants of Rebecca Jane Peal will respond to my emails. I found her death certificate and will send you a copy (if I didn't already).
I also called Uncle Justin to let him know I was in touch with the Seeley family. He seemed very interested in the reunion. He was raised by his grandparents so he remembers seeing the Seeley family a lot as a child. Unfortunately he doesn't remember much of what was said of our ancestors when he was a child.
I will try and take a look at the 1900 census showing Mary Shay on the Cherokee Nation Indian Territory. I think that is a good lead there. I noticed through the census records that many of the Shays that did make it to Missouri were Irish Immigrants. I believe for a Mary Shay to be mixed in with the Cherokees is probably more than a coincidence and she is probably not one of these Irish Immigrants but partly Cherokee. She is most likely the older sister of our Jane Shay.
I do not think that the death certificate for a James J Shay who died in St. Louis, Missouri is connected to us, even though his father was born in Albany, NY. I don't think we had anyone make it out that far but still since we do not know too much on the Shays...anything could be possible. The more I look into the Shays from NJ the less I feel they were the reason Jane made it to Potter County, PA. By the 1880s...anyone with a connection were probably second to third cousins. Also her parent's died young and being that communication back then was harder...no telephones or email...Jane probably would not know of distant cousins on that level. Also Jane would probably have to have her grandparents, aunts, uncles and first cousins deceased or out of the picture if she did track down distant second/third cousins.
My theory is that Jane might have become a servant to a family that moved to the Potter area or her sister could have married and moved to the area. It may just be a coincidence that she happen to have a surname Shay...where there happened to be a big family of Shays.
I would be interested to see what your aunts and uncle remember. Also Daniel Shay's descendants may very well provide a few clues to James Shay. I feel he could very well be a son of Daniel Shay. I found the few trees that have a James Shay from Ohio born about 1838, son of Daniel Shay. There is not a trace of him in his adult years...could be our James Shay.
I'll keep you posted when Tonie gets back to me and I look forward to Bobby's recollections of everything. I'll talk to you later.
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I spent much of yesterday reviewing death certificates for the year 1910 - hoping to find some Shays from Kentucky and get a couple of leads there.
I also found a couple of other listings for the Blodgett Cemetery. In the Withrow plot there is a Mary E with the same birth date as Mary E Shay. I thought that Frank D. Withrow may have married Mary but it doesn't look as if this is panning out. Then there was a Nancy S Bransom in Scott County but this appears to be someone other than Nancy Shay.
I'm hoping the one of the descendants of Rebecca Jane Peal will respond to my emails. I found her death certificate and will send you a copy (if I didn't already).
January 27, 2008 - Update
I haven't heard anything from my Uncle Bobby via email. I'm going to jot him a note as well as sending a short note to Aunt Edie, Georgie and Margaret. Aunt Edie has also done extensive family research but mostly on the Seely/Brown sides.
I've been reviewing the records on Ancestry.com as well as reviewing records thru the Missouri Secretary of State website.
I also found reference to Rebecca Jane Peal's gravesite. It appears that she went by Jane Peal and lived until 1947.
The 1870 census lists Rebecca as living with her mother Mary and a William Ashley - as you indicated in your email, Mary (9), Nancy (7) and Rebecca/Jane (3) are listed as well. There is a designation that Mary was "deaf & dumb."
The 1880 census lists Rebecca with a Stephen Peal along with Mary her mother, Nancy, Rebecca and a young baby named Mary. Mary Shay is no longer listed. Stephen Peal was from North Carolina and may have fought for the South.
There's a 1900 census showing an RJ Peal born about 1852 KY with a Jas S Peal 18 her son born 1881, and a niece Jennie Kinkle and a bay Kinkle.
There's a 1930 census with a listing of a Jane Peal born 1853 in Kentucky - she is 78and lived in Blodgett, Scott, Missouri. I'm sure this is the same Rebecca Jane Withrow/Shay/Peal. I've attached a transcript I found on the Blodgett Cemetery. Also, I noted that the Baptist Church in Blodgett may have some cemetery records;.
There's a 1900 census showing a "Marry Shay" on the Cherokee Nation Indian Territory.
The 1900 census shows Kate Heath with William, George, William, James and Kate (6).
The 1920 census shows Ira Seeley, Kate and William (4) and my dad Lyndon (1).
The 1930 census shows Ira and Kate and family living in Campbell.
I agree with you that there must be some type of connection with the Shays in Swede, Potter County. I've traced the entire family back to NJ - I'm assuming that it isn't an offspring of Richard Shay and Elizabeth Roberts but may have been a sibling of Richard (parents Peter Shay and Catherine Bunn) who may have "gone west." There's a Timothy Shay born in Sussex NJ who had a son David Shay. David Shay had a son "Moses" born in Ohio. However, I haven't been able to link that branch of Shays with the Shays in Potter County.
I did come across a "Cora Bell Mabrey" on the Missouri State records. We have always heard that the Indian connection was a "may bell" or something similar.
I've decided to send emails to a couple of Ancestry members with the family trees for the Shays in Potter County as well as one for the "Jane Shay" in Missouri.
I'm also trying to trace Nancy Shay as well as Mary Shay - I think our best bet may be with the relatives for Jane Peal.
I've also attached a death certificate for a James J Shay who died in St. Louis, Missouri - it indicates that his father was born in Albany, NY. There may be some connection with this James Shay and ours...a stretch I know.
I've been reviewing the records on Ancestry.com as well as reviewing records thru the Missouri Secretary of State website.
I also found reference to Rebecca Jane Peal's gravesite. It appears that she went by Jane Peal and lived until 1947.
The 1870 census lists Rebecca as living with her mother Mary and a William Ashley - as you indicated in your email, Mary (9), Nancy (7) and Rebecca/Jane (3) are listed as well. There is a designation that Mary was "deaf & dumb."
The 1880 census lists Rebecca with a Stephen Peal along with Mary her mother, Nancy, Rebecca and a young baby named Mary. Mary Shay is no longer listed. Stephen Peal was from North Carolina and may have fought for the South.
There's a 1900 census showing an RJ Peal born about 1852 KY with a Jas S Peal 18 her son born 1881, and a niece Jennie Kinkle and a bay Kinkle.
There's a 1930 census with a listing of a Jane Peal born 1853 in Kentucky - she is 78and lived in Blodgett, Scott, Missouri. I'm sure this is the same Rebecca Jane Withrow/Shay/Peal. I've attached a transcript I found on the Blodgett Cemetery. Also, I noted that the Baptist Church in Blodgett may have some cemetery records;.
There's a 1900 census showing a "Marry Shay" on the Cherokee Nation Indian Territory.
The 1900 census shows Kate Heath with William, George, William, James and Kate (6).
The 1920 census shows Ira Seeley, Kate and William (4) and my dad Lyndon (1).
The 1930 census shows Ira and Kate and family living in Campbell.
I agree with you that there must be some type of connection with the Shays in Swede, Potter County. I've traced the entire family back to NJ - I'm assuming that it isn't an offspring of Richard Shay and Elizabeth Roberts but may have been a sibling of Richard (parents Peter Shay and Catherine Bunn) who may have "gone west." There's a Timothy Shay born in Sussex NJ who had a son David Shay. David Shay had a son "Moses" born in Ohio. However, I haven't been able to link that branch of Shays with the Shays in Potter County.
I did come across a "Cora Bell Mabrey" on the Missouri State records. We have always heard that the Indian connection was a "may bell" or something similar.
I've decided to send emails to a couple of Ancestry members with the family trees for the Shays in Potter County as well as one for the "Jane Shay" in Missouri.
I'm also trying to trace Nancy Shay as well as Mary Shay - I think our best bet may be with the relatives for Jane Peal.
I've also attached a death certificate for a James J Shay who died in St. Louis, Missouri - it indicates that his father was born in Albany, NY. There may be some connection with this James Shay and ours...a stretch I know.
January 18, 2008
I did some research on the Shays of Potter County and compared them with one branch that went out to Ohio. I cannot find where James Shay fits in since he was born in Ohio around 1836 but if he does fit then Jane Shay would have had second & third cousins in Potter County in the 1880's. That's a little bit of a stretch and that's only if James fits in as a grandson of a Lewis Shay from New York. Lewis
Shay made it out to Ohio where his descendants settled and Lewis' brother Richard Shay and his descendants settled in Potter County.
This can be frustrating to hit road blocks...I am considering that Jane Shay might have had another connection or reason to arrive in Sweden Township, PA between 1880-1885 that's not related to the Shay family. Her oldest sister was listed in the 1870 census as deaf and dumb. Her middle sister Nancy might have married and came to PA and that's how Jane made it out there. Also she could have had aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents that settled in Potter County and she came to join them. Since we have no information on the parents or siblings of James Shay or Margaret Mayberry anything is possible.
The older generations might have more knowledge than us. Your Uncle Bobby is a grandson of William Heath & Jane Shay so he might know more stories/connections of these people. I look forward to his thoughts on some of this.
Shay made it out to Ohio where his descendants settled and Lewis' brother Richard Shay and his descendants settled in Potter County.
This can be frustrating to hit road blocks...I am considering that Jane Shay might have had another connection or reason to arrive in Sweden Township, PA between 1880-1885 that's not related to the Shay family. Her oldest sister was listed in the 1870 census as deaf and dumb. Her middle sister Nancy might have married and came to PA and that's how Jane made it out there. Also she could have had aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents that settled in Potter County and she came to join them. Since we have no information on the parents or siblings of James Shay or Margaret Mayberry anything is possible.
The older generations might have more knowledge than us. Your Uncle Bobby is a grandson of William Heath & Jane Shay so he might know more stories/connections of these people. I look forward to his thoughts on some of this.
January 17, 2008
I've emailed my Uncle Bobby excerpts of your emails. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.
I did a little research last night -- I looked for Shays and Mayberrys in Jackson County and Ironton County (from the patent deed land descriptions). There's a R. H. Mayberry with a wife Emma Mayberry and two daughters, Emmaline 4 and Margaret 2 -- last night I thought these might be Margaret's parents or at least descendants .. but after looking at the dates again - I don't think so - at least not her parents.
I will also get in touch with my Aunt Georgie and ask that she look through her pictures.
I did a little research last night -- I looked for Shays and Mayberrys in Jackson County and Ironton County (from the patent deed land descriptions). There's a R. H. Mayberry with a wife Emma Mayberry and two daughters, Emmaline 4 and Margaret 2 -- last night I thought these might be Margaret's parents or at least descendants .. but after looking at the dates again - I don't think so - at least not her parents.
I will also get in touch with my Aunt Georgie and ask that she look through her pictures.
January 16, 2008
I was wondering when you get the chance if you could list for me Ira & Kate (Heath) Seeley's children. I remember a few names here and there that my grandmother Dorotha Heath mentioned a few times. I know she grew up knowing most of her cousins on the Seeley side. I remember Bill & Georgie's names being mentioned and a cousin Margaret Thompson that she use to write to years ago. My grandmother passed away nearly 4 years ago...I wished I wrote this stuff down when I had the chance. I also noticed two infants buried near Ira & Kate Seeley in Fox Hill. I do not actually know how many children there were all together.
My great grandparents George Heath & Emaline Amidon had 4 children together:
*Frances Heath - born and died in 1914 age 5 months.
*Albert Heath - born in 1916 and died 2004 in Florida. Father of Antoniette (Toni), Sheldon and Theron (Chip). We still keep in touch with Albert's daughter Toni. I do not know Toni's brothers Sheldon and Chip.
*Dorotha Heath - born in 1920 and died in 2004 in CT. She was the mother of Justin Heath, Rodney Briggs (died 2004), Randy Briggs (died 2006), Stephen Briggs, Lynn Briggs, Philip Briggs and Paula Lane.
*Charlotte Heath - born in 1932, married Arthur Sofa, no children. She lives in CT.
I have never meet my uncles Rodney, Stephen or Philip. We are very close to my uncle Justin Heath. He lived for many years in CT near my parents and my grandmother. My Uncle Lynn also lived close by. Every few years we made it back to Potter County to visit my uncle Randy and his family before Randy passed away.
My uncle Justin told me that my great grandparents George & Emaline celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at my grandparents Barney & Dorotha Lane's house in Ulysses, PA in the summer of 1963. Most of the Seeleys attended. I was wondering if there is anybody on the Seeley side who had pictures from this event. Let me know. My mother and I do plan on visiting Uncle Justin in Potter County sometime this year which means another trek for me at the Historical Society. I will keep in touch.
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The land documents are very interesting. My daughter has reviewed them - she said they look as if they are land patents - land owned by the federal government - she said there are actually 2 land transfers - one in Jackson County for 80 acres and one in Ironton County for 80 acres. She is going to look for some old maps on line and try to locate the actual acreage. She believes James may have received the land for his military service or per a homestead act.
I've asked my son to go to my storage unit and pull the box out with my computer disks, notes, etc., on the family.
Ira and Kate's children:
William (Bill) married Georgie Long - Uncle Bill died in 1999 - Aunt Georgie currently lives in Campbell on the Curtis Hollow Road. Uncle Bill and Aunt Georgie had a dairy farm. Their house was actually the old house that Kate and Ira lived in - it was jacked up and moved to their farm. They had 5 children. Uncle Bill was an avid photographer. I'm sure Aunt Georgie may have some pictures of that anniversary party.
Lyndon (my father) married Arietta Wood. My father died in 1982 and my mother in 1996. My Dad worked for and retired from Pollio Dairy. I have 4 brothers and a sister.
Robert (Bobbie) married Marion Allen - both live on the old farm in Campbell - on top of hill - Uncle Bobby was a paratrooper and received a purple heart. He is very computer savy. They had 4 children.
Charles (Charlie) has been married a number of times. He currently lives in Florida with his wife. He retired from the US Navy. He had 5 children in his first marriage - Bobby died several years ago.
Margaret - was actually married twice - her first husband was Dellis Wood - my mother's step-brother. Her second husband John Thompson passed away several years ago. Margaret lives in Lawrenceville, PA. She had 5 daughters. Margaret retired from the Corning Glass Works - she was a silkscreener for the Pyrexware division.
Josephine - (Aunt Jo) married Philip Ruocco - Aunt Jo died in 1971 and Uncle Phil died about 10 years ago. They had 7 children. One son, Tommy, died around 1972.
Edith - (Aunt Edie) married Roy Wood - yep another Seeley-Wood marriage - 3 in all. They had 4 children. Aunt Edie and Uncle Roy live in Thurston. Aunt Edie did alot of research for the Seeley side - and put together a huge family tree for our family reunion.
Dorothy and Herbert are the 2 children that died as infants - I believe Dorothy (or Dorothea) was born in Feb and died in Sept. Herbert - I believe was only a few days old.
Ira was a lumberman and with Theodore (son of Herbert) - had a lumbercamp in the mountains. He had several contracts with the government for the logs. However, he had 2 bad seasons - no snow to help skid the logs to the river and the following year - too much snow/water and he lost his logs in the "roaring river." It is my understanding that Ira had a chance to do "share farming" on the farm in Campbell - and they moved to Campbell when my Dad was 4 years old. My Dad was too young to go with the cattle and the men and had to ride with my Grandmother. The men drove the cattle through - sleeping in barns along the way -- so the story goes.
Have to go now - but will continue tonight.
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Wow, Ira & Kate had a big family. Thank you for all the information you gave me...now I can place all of them.
Now I am going to see if I can stretch your memory a little bit further. Do you know if your grandmother Kate's brother Jim and his wife Zella had any children? My mother remembers visiting Jim & Zella once as a little child but never remembered her mother mentioning any children of theirs? Also George, Jim and Kate had a brother William who supposedly died young. Our family heard that he had drowned as a teenager. I noticed he is no longer in any census after 1900. I am thinking he died sometime between 1904-1910. Do you know any details of this or when it might have occurred?
My great aunt has a picture of William as a teenager. We found a small grave marker with no name only a few feet away from William & Jane Heath's graves in Fox Hill. I am thinking he died after his father died in 1903 and the family might not have been able to afford a big grave marker at the time. This would explain the mystery person buried a few feet from William & Jane...it makes sense that it is their teenage son.
Also do you know how Jane Shay Heath died? She died in 1898 and Potter County did not have her death certificate on file at their court house. They have most of the records from 1885-1905. Considering Jane's age I find it interesting that she passed away at the age of 31/32. I am not sure if your grandmother even remembered her mother...she must have been 4 or 5 when Jane died. I know after William A Heath died in 1903, his brothers Lorenzo, Frank and his mother Katharine looked after the children. George went to work at a winery in upstate New York to help support his siblings until they reached adulthood.
Let me know what you think.
My great grandparents George Heath & Emaline Amidon had 4 children together:
*Frances Heath - born and died in 1914 age 5 months.
*Albert Heath - born in 1916 and died 2004 in Florida. Father of Antoniette (Toni), Sheldon and Theron (Chip). We still keep in touch with Albert's daughter Toni. I do not know Toni's brothers Sheldon and Chip.
*Dorotha Heath - born in 1920 and died in 2004 in CT. She was the mother of Justin Heath, Rodney Briggs (died 2004), Randy Briggs (died 2006), Stephen Briggs, Lynn Briggs, Philip Briggs and Paula Lane.
*Charlotte Heath - born in 1932, married Arthur Sofa, no children. She lives in CT.
I have never meet my uncles Rodney, Stephen or Philip. We are very close to my uncle Justin Heath. He lived for many years in CT near my parents and my grandmother. My Uncle Lynn also lived close by. Every few years we made it back to Potter County to visit my uncle Randy and his family before Randy passed away.
My uncle Justin told me that my great grandparents George & Emaline celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at my grandparents Barney & Dorotha Lane's house in Ulysses, PA in the summer of 1963. Most of the Seeleys attended. I was wondering if there is anybody on the Seeley side who had pictures from this event. Let me know. My mother and I do plan on visiting Uncle Justin in Potter County sometime this year which means another trek for me at the Historical Society. I will keep in touch.
*************************************************************************************
The land documents are very interesting. My daughter has reviewed them - she said they look as if they are land patents - land owned by the federal government - she said there are actually 2 land transfers - one in Jackson County for 80 acres and one in Ironton County for 80 acres. She is going to look for some old maps on line and try to locate the actual acreage. She believes James may have received the land for his military service or per a homestead act.
I've asked my son to go to my storage unit and pull the box out with my computer disks, notes, etc., on the family.
Ira and Kate's children:
William (Bill) married Georgie Long - Uncle Bill died in 1999 - Aunt Georgie currently lives in Campbell on the Curtis Hollow Road. Uncle Bill and Aunt Georgie had a dairy farm. Their house was actually the old house that Kate and Ira lived in - it was jacked up and moved to their farm. They had 5 children. Uncle Bill was an avid photographer. I'm sure Aunt Georgie may have some pictures of that anniversary party.
Lyndon (my father) married Arietta Wood. My father died in 1982 and my mother in 1996. My Dad worked for and retired from Pollio Dairy. I have 4 brothers and a sister.
Robert (Bobbie) married Marion Allen - both live on the old farm in Campbell - on top of hill - Uncle Bobby was a paratrooper and received a purple heart. He is very computer savy. They had 4 children.
Charles (Charlie) has been married a number of times. He currently lives in Florida with his wife. He retired from the US Navy. He had 5 children in his first marriage - Bobby died several years ago.
Margaret - was actually married twice - her first husband was Dellis Wood - my mother's step-brother. Her second husband John Thompson passed away several years ago. Margaret lives in Lawrenceville, PA. She had 5 daughters. Margaret retired from the Corning Glass Works - she was a silkscreener for the Pyrexware division.
Josephine - (Aunt Jo) married Philip Ruocco - Aunt Jo died in 1971 and Uncle Phil died about 10 years ago. They had 7 children. One son, Tommy, died around 1972.
Edith - (Aunt Edie) married Roy Wood - yep another Seeley-Wood marriage - 3 in all. They had 4 children. Aunt Edie and Uncle Roy live in Thurston. Aunt Edie did alot of research for the Seeley side - and put together a huge family tree for our family reunion.
Dorothy and Herbert are the 2 children that died as infants - I believe Dorothy (or Dorothea) was born in Feb and died in Sept. Herbert - I believe was only a few days old.
Ira was a lumberman and with Theodore (son of Herbert) - had a lumbercamp in the mountains. He had several contracts with the government for the logs. However, he had 2 bad seasons - no snow to help skid the logs to the river and the following year - too much snow/water and he lost his logs in the "roaring river." It is my understanding that Ira had a chance to do "share farming" on the farm in Campbell - and they moved to Campbell when my Dad was 4 years old. My Dad was too young to go with the cattle and the men and had to ride with my Grandmother. The men drove the cattle through - sleeping in barns along the way -- so the story goes.
Have to go now - but will continue tonight.
*************************************************************************************
Wow, Ira & Kate had a big family. Thank you for all the information you gave me...now I can place all of them.
Now I am going to see if I can stretch your memory a little bit further. Do you know if your grandmother Kate's brother Jim and his wife Zella had any children? My mother remembers visiting Jim & Zella once as a little child but never remembered her mother mentioning any children of theirs? Also George, Jim and Kate had a brother William who supposedly died young. Our family heard that he had drowned as a teenager. I noticed he is no longer in any census after 1900. I am thinking he died sometime between 1904-1910. Do you know any details of this or when it might have occurred?
My great aunt has a picture of William as a teenager. We found a small grave marker with no name only a few feet away from William & Jane Heath's graves in Fox Hill. I am thinking he died after his father died in 1903 and the family might not have been able to afford a big grave marker at the time. This would explain the mystery person buried a few feet from William & Jane...it makes sense that it is their teenage son.
Also do you know how Jane Shay Heath died? She died in 1898 and Potter County did not have her death certificate on file at their court house. They have most of the records from 1885-1905. Considering Jane's age I find it interesting that she passed away at the age of 31/32. I am not sure if your grandmother even remembered her mother...she must have been 4 or 5 when Jane died. I know after William A Heath died in 1903, his brothers Lorenzo, Frank and his mother Katharine looked after the children. George went to work at a winery in upstate New York to help support his siblings until they reached adulthood.
Let me know what you think.
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