Ancestry's Hints for Grace B. Howard

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Grace B. Howard (1876-1952)

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by Carolyn Ann Howard

I have a love/hate relationship with Ancestry.com. I was painting my walls the other day, listening to T.V., when a commercial came up for Ancestry, and the person said something about the leaves that pop up, about how they're hints for you to follow. DO NOT FOLLOW THESE HINTS BLINDLY! These hints many times are the DEVIL leading you down the wrong road, leading you to believe you have cousins you really don't have. Be careful!

Take Grace B. Howard as an example. Grace Howard is not an uncommon name, after all. My paternal grandmother's name was Grace Howard, but this Grace Howard was not my grandmother. She was my 1st cousin, 3 times removed.

It seems we have 3 different Grace Howards living in Jackson, Michigan. Two of these Grace Howards are married, and these two Graces are the ones Ancestry keeps giving me hints for. My cousin, Grace Howard, never married. We know this because her death record states she never married. Unfortunately, Ancestry would have me follow two different Graces who are not mine.

The first thing I do when starting to create a new story on a new person in my line is to collect all the census records. She was born in 1876, so 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, no problem finding these. Grace lived with her parents on West Franklin Street in Jackson, Michigan. Her parents died prior to the 1930 census, but in the 1930 census, Grace is still at the same address, and it appears she is living alone. 1940 should be a shoe-in! Here's where the story gets a little dicey.

The first 1940 census record Ancestry showed me was Grace married to William Howard and living with them his grown son, Robert. My eyes rolled. My first thought was that someone was mooching off my cousin and her probable good inheritance and big house. It would, however, be a little unusual for Grace to have found someone with her same last name - not impossible, but a little improbable. Besides, her death certificate stated she was never married, and 1952 records are fairly reliable. Moving on.

Many times, when looking for census records, I skirt over to FamilySearch.org in order to escape Ancestry's search perimeter. There! There she is! My jaw dropped. Grace was living on West Franklin Street where she's always been. But she's listed as a widow! And Georgia Howard was living with her, who was listed as her 27-year-old daughter! WHAT? What's happening?

Also shown living with Grace is a boarder, Virginia Dean.

I immediately added Georgia as Grace's daughter and sat back eagerly awaiting the Ancestry leaves that signals hints. No leaves appeared, not even a hint for the correct 1940 census. So, I manually added the 1940 census to Grace and her new-found "daughter". Nothing happened.

Next, I turned to Virginia Dean. Who was this mysterious boarder? After a little searching, I learned that she was from Chicago! Did a little more searching and learned that Grace's sister, Charlotte, had moved to Chicago with her husband. And then - even though I had Grace's 1920 census, living on West Franklin Street with her parents, she is also listed on the 1920 census as living with her sister and her husband in Chicago! WOW! Pretty cool. It's so fun to watch a story come together. Click on photos to enlarge

 

Present Day - 901 W. Franklin Street in Jackson, Michigan
Courtesy: Google Maps with correct attribution

Interestingly, later in the 1940s, we find Charlotte and her husband, Myron Detrick, living together with Grace B. on West Franklin Street in Jackson, Michigan. In the city directories, sometimes all 3 siblings are listed as living on West Franklin Street in Jackson after their parent's death.

Charlotte's husband, Myron Detrick, has a very interesting story. It will be fun to research and write about this inventive man. Inventive - he built his own car! Detrick was also a real estate mogul.

Grace's brother's name was Fred Howard. He died in Manteno, Kankakee, Illinois. Doing a little research, Manteno was the home of a large mental health facility. I've found a record for a Fred Howard, calling him an inmate, which is what long-term residents of healthcare facilities were called at that time. With no other information, however, I'm reluctant to go there.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Three Sons of the Civil War

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

 

Abraham Howard II (1837-1862)
Eleazer Howard (1836-1906)
William Edwin Howard (1845-1929)

Three Sons of the Civil War

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by Carolyn Ann Howard

This blog post was updated 29 Apr 2022.

My 3x great-grandfather Abraham I had three sons who fought in the Civil War: Abraham II, Eleazer, and William Edwin. Civil War soldiers had it rough, living in very primitive conditions out in the elements. Sometimes they were without shoes. Many times, without food.

We know that Eleazer and Abraham II were close, for in or around 1855, they went to Iowa together and, while there, lived in the same house. I don't know why they went but perhaps it was for work, as the railroad was going through Iowa at that time. The two men might have traveled in a wagon train along with the Raney family and others from Martin County, Indiana. What an adventure! Eleazer and Abraham II would have been most useful in the wagon train, being able to make repairs, hunt game, fend off bandits, and make good company. I wonder if they were fun and funny. Their descendants were, so I'm quite sure they were, too.

They may have also gone to Iowa to escape the shenanigans of their brother, Henry. He had married Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Samuel Smith. He had two children by Elizabeth. These two were born in Henry's native New York - a mystery as to why they weren't born in Indiana. When Henry came back home to Indiana, his two children in tow, Elizabeth was gone - disappearing from the family tree altogether. Henry then married his Martin County neighbor, Nancy Crays. After much searching, I still can't find Elizabeth Smith Howard after 1858, but of this I'm sure: the two stepchildren didn't care much for their stepmother. The feeling was mutual.

Whatever reason for Eleazer and Abraham II's exodus to Iowa, they weren't there for long. Abraham soon married Eliza Jane Raney and they had a son, Abraham III. Six months later, Eliza died. After that, Eleazer and Abraham II made their way back to Martin County, bringing with them the infant child. Click on photos to enlarge

A Crucial Delay - Antietam
Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Abraham II was the first to enlist: 07 Jun 1861 at Camp Vigo in Terre Haute, 14th Indiana Infantry, Company A. This was the first regiment in Indiana organized for three years of service. Their first march was to Indianapolis, and then onward to Clarksburg, West Virginia, eventually landing in Virginia in 1862. It was at this time that Abraham II was hospitalized in Strasburg. From 12 May to 23 Jun, Abraham's company marched 339 miles as part of the Army of the Potomac.

In September, the 14th Indiana took part in the Maryland Campaign, which included the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. According to Wikipedia, Colonel William Harlow's report stated that Abraham's regiment fought for four hours under heavy fire within 60 yards of Confederate forces. Abraham took a mortal wound in the thigh and died on the battlefield. His death was likely extremely painful, and yes, I imagine he cried for his mother.

14th Indiana caring for the wounded after Antietam
Public Domain courtesy of Wikipedia

Battle of Antietam
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

After Abraham's death, his mother, Mary Ann, adopted Eliza and Abraham's son, Abraham III. 
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Eleazer Howard was in the Army for just a brief period of time, 13 Mar 1865 to 30 Jun 1865, serving with the 24th Michigan Infantry, Company H. This company originally mustered in on 15 Aug 1862; Eleazer joined toward the end of the war. I incorrectly assumed, at first, that he must have been drafted, having joined so late in the war. His Civil War records that my father obtained, however, state that he was a volunteer. During his brief deployment, he sustained a debilitating injury that affected him the rest of his life. The injury was recorded on a "Claimant's Statement of Service" filled out by Eleazer. He stated that his injury occurred at Camp Butler, Illinois, sometime in Apr 1865. Eleazer tells this story:

[I] was on Provost Marshall Staff and, in quelling a disturbance of parole soldiers, was hit on the hip with a club or brick or something else.

Eleazer doesn't signify right or left; however, on his "Declaration for Increase of an Invalid Pension," he states he has "a lame hip, which causes much suffering. My left side troubles me bad."

After his service, Eleazer went back to his native New York and took Julie Vader as his wife.

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William Edwin, who sometimes went by his middle name, was mustered in on 21 Nov 1861 at Camp Joe Holt in Jeffersonville, Indiana, 49th Indiana Infantry, Company K. He was only 16 and service was for three years. Unlike Abraham II, who lost his life, or Eleazer, who suffered a debilitating injury, William Edwin seemed to come through the war physically unscathed. He mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky 13 Sep 1865.

According to my father's records, the distance marched by the regiment during its term of service was 8,000 miles. Its most notable battle may have been The Siege of Vicksburg, which occurred 18 May - 04 Jul 1863. Abraham Lincoln referred to this event as "the key of the war." According to the Wikipedia article, "[the siege] cut off the Trans Mississippi Department... from the rest of the Confederate States, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the rest of the war."

Siege of Vicksburg
Public Domain via Wikipedia

William Edwin didn't return to Martin County and most likely stayed in Louisville or Fayetteville, where he met his wife, Annie Bragg. She lived with her parents. After they were married in 1869, the young couple moved to Michigan.

According to my dad's records, Annie, in 1923, stated that she has had "the constant care" of her husband. She must "aid him to dress and that his mentality is declining." She stated that his general condition is fast declining, "owing to his age and condition of a hip, which he fractured in 1914." This was on the application for William Edwin's pension from his Civil War days. Although he was not able to dress himself or "even put his stockings on or lace his shoes without assistance," Annie had help. William Edwin and Annie's youngest daughter, Grace, never married. She lived with her parents until they died. She was a stenographer and so likely was a huge help to her parents not only in the aid of her father but also in paying bills. Their other children, Charlotte and Frederick Warren were frequent visitors in their adulthood.

This blog posting would not be as informative without my late father's research and his acquisition of records that are now in my possession.

In memory of my parents, Rev. William "Lester" and Mary McLean Howard.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Dead Ends in Genealogy - I've Hit Another One!

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Dead Ends in Genealogy - I've Hit Another One!

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by Carolyn Ann Howard

Nobody likes to be stuck in their family tree, but I most certainly am - all the time - and if you're my cousin, so are you. I wish our ancestors would have left more bread crumbs for us to pick up. And probably if you had asked them at that time, they would've scoffed at their great-grandchildren wanting to learn more about them.

What is frustrating about the world of genealogy is how complacent we - all of us - become with so-called "facts." I'm just as guilty as everyone else. For example, my family ran around in circles for years trying to solve the Joanna problem.

Here's the Joanna problem: Abraham Howard's first wife was Joanna. Joanna died young and after that, Abraham married Mary Ann Toles. Then I met my wonderful cousin, Greg, who is also from Abraham's line. And guess what? I realized his family was using the same equation for Abraham's brother, Elias. Elias's first wife was Joanna. Joanna died young and after that, Elias married Katy Vader.

Mystery solved and look how easy, but it wasn't easy until Greg told me it was. Abraham's first and only wife likely was Mary Ann Toles. Mary Ann outlived her husband. Joanna's stone in the graveyard says she was the wife of Elias.

How did this get so mixed up? Just that we're human and make up stories about everything, even if those stories are wrong.

One so-called "fact" is that Susanna Harwick's parents were Magdalena Meyer and Conrad Harwick. My theory is that they're likely related somehow, but these two just aren't old enough to be Susanna's parents. It's not that that it isn't a possibility, but it feels quite doubtful, especially since we have the baptismal records, and they just don't match up. I spent the last few days working on a theory that Conrad Harwick was Susanna's brother, but I couldn't prove it and came to yet another dead end.

Ancestry uses algorithms to suggest potential parents to their users. Because so many people have Susanna's parents as Magdalena and Conrad, these are also Ancestry's recommendations for her parents. But it's just an algorithm. Nothing more.

Another route I've been working on is Godfrey Howard's friendship with the Brust family. What an interesting time to have lived, pre-Revolutionary War. I have read that some in the Brust family were loyalists, which means they were loyal to the crown, Great Britain. Godfrey was a Hessian soldier from Germany who was hired to fight in the Revolutionary War on the side of the U.S. After the war was over, many of the loyalists fled to Canada. Hessian soldiers also were outcasts. Did this friendship lead the two families together to escape their labels? Click on photos to enlarge

1767 Map of Rensselaerswyck
Public Domain, via Wikipedia

Stephen Van Rensselaer III
Public Domain, via Wikipedia

I've also been reading, studying, and trying to understand Rensselaerwyck. This is the area where Godfrey Howard originally lived in New York. It was a large tract of land given to the Van Rensselaer family. The Van Rensselaer family then leased the land to farmers and were kind and generous landlords. Did Godfrey lease land from the Van Rensselaer family? I have yet to find any evidence that he did, but it is an extremely interesting study. Hopefully it doesn't lead to another dead end!

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC