Showing posts with label White. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White. Show all posts
11 November 2017
Honoring Our Vets
Recently I read a suggestion in a Twitter post from a fellow genealogist where he mentions that he will write an article everyday from 01 November through 11 November to honor his family's veterans. I am too late to do this challenge but will write on one of my family's military heroes who fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Sergeant Major Thomas Charles White, Retired.
Tom retired from the United States Marine Corps, as Sergeant Major, after serving 23 years in the "Corps". He was an enlisted man and worked his way up to the highest level that an enlisted man could. He retired at Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC in 1979 and moved back home to Albany and began another long career working for Niagara Mohawk Power Company. Tom passed away on 22 May 2012 and is buried at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, New York. The following biography of Tom comes from his retirement booklet.
SgtMaj White was born July 30, 1936 in Albany, New York. He enlisted in the
Marine Corps on August 9, 1953, and completed Recruit Training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Upon completing Recruit Training he was assigned to 2d Anti-Tank Battalion, 2d
Marine Division and served in the Heavy Machine Gun Platoon. After completing two years and making a NATO and Med Cruise, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Sangley Point. After a year in the Philippine Islands, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Sasebo, Japan for one year.
Returning to the United States in July, 1956, he served as a Squad Leader and
Platoon Sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines at Camp Pendleton,
California. From 1958 to 1960 SgMaj White served in Hawaii as a Platoon
Sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Brigade. Departing Hawaii in
1960 at which time he served as Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant with "I"
Company, 3rd Battalion, 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division.
In 1964, SgtMaj White took his Squad from "I" Company, 3rd Battalion, 2d Marines to Quantico, Virginia to compete in the Marine-wide Squad Combat Competition where his squad won the title of the Best Infantry Squad in the Marine Corps. He was awarded a gold badge- the Tarawa Award for Leadership and meritoriously promoted to Staff Sergeant by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Upon returning from Quantico he was assigned as Platoon Sergeant with 2d Recon Battalion, 2d Marine Division.
From late 1965 to 1966 SgtMaj White was assigned to Marine Barracks, Philadelphia to establish a body escort program and remained there until he was ordered to Vietnam. During 1967-1968 he was the Company Gunnery Sergeant of "G" Company, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines in Vietnam.
Returning from Vietnam he was ordered to Recruiter School and after successfully graduating, he served as Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the Recruiting Station at Plattsburgh, New York. Being promoted to First Sergeant while on recruiting duty, he was ordered to Western Pacific (WesPac) in 1970. From 1970 to 1971 he served as Sergeant Major of Headquarters Battalion, marine Corps Base, Camp Butler, Okinawa. Departing Okinawa in 1971 he served as First Sergeant "B" Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Brigade, Hawaii until he was promoted to his present rank in May 1974.
Returning to Camp Lejeune in 1974 he was assigned as Sergeant Major, 2d Field Artillery Group, Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFLant) until 1976. In 1976 he was assigned to
Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 (HMM 164), 1st Marine Air Wing as Squadron Sergeant Major on Okinawa. Returning to Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune in 1977 he was assigned Sergeant Major, Rifle Range Detachment, until his current assignment as Camp Johnson Area Sergeant Major. MCSSS Schools Sergeant Major in 1977.
A complete list of decorations and awards includes:
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| Sgt Maj T.C. White at his retirment, 1979 |
Tom retired from the United States Marine Corps, as Sergeant Major, after serving 23 years in the "Corps". He was an enlisted man and worked his way up to the highest level that an enlisted man could. He retired at Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC in 1979 and moved back home to Albany and began another long career working for Niagara Mohawk Power Company. Tom passed away on 22 May 2012 and is buried at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, New York. The following biography of Tom comes from his retirement booklet.
Marine Corps on August 9, 1953, and completed Recruit Training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Upon completing Recruit Training he was assigned to 2d Anti-Tank Battalion, 2d
Marine Division and served in the Heavy Machine Gun Platoon. After completing two years and making a NATO and Med Cruise, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Sangley Point. After a year in the Philippine Islands, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Sasebo, Japan for one year.
Returning to the United States in July, 1956, he served as a Squad Leader and
Platoon Sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines at Camp Pendleton,
California. From 1958 to 1960 SgMaj White served in Hawaii as a Platoon
Sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Brigade. Departing Hawaii in
1960 at which time he served as Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant with "I"
Company, 3rd Battalion, 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division.
From late 1965 to 1966 SgtMaj White was assigned to Marine Barracks, Philadelphia to establish a body escort program and remained there until he was ordered to Vietnam. During 1967-1968 he was the Company Gunnery Sergeant of "G" Company, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines in Vietnam.
Returning from Vietnam he was ordered to Recruiter School and after successfully graduating, he served as Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the Recruiting Station at Plattsburgh, New York. Being promoted to First Sergeant while on recruiting duty, he was ordered to Western Pacific (WesPac) in 1970. From 1970 to 1971 he served as Sergeant Major of Headquarters Battalion, marine Corps Base, Camp Butler, Okinawa. Departing Okinawa in 1971 he served as First Sergeant "B" Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Brigade, Hawaii until he was promoted to his present rank in May 1974.
Returning to Camp Lejeune in 1974 he was assigned as Sergeant Major, 2d Field Artillery Group, Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFLant) until 1976. In 1976 he was assigned to
Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 (HMM 164), 1st Marine Air Wing as Squadron Sergeant Major on Okinawa. Returning to Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune in 1977 he was assigned Sergeant Major, Rifle Range Detachment, until his current assignment as Camp Johnson Area Sergeant Major. MCSSS Schools Sergeant Major in 1977.
A complete list of decorations and awards includes:
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Presidential Unit Citation
- Good Conduct Medal with "7" Stars
- Navy Occupation Medal with European Clasp
- National Defense with Bronze Star
- Vietnamese Service Medal with Three Bronze Stars
- Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device
- Gold Annual Rifle Squad Competition Badge
- Rifle Expert Badge
- Pistol Expert Badge
Sergeant Major White and wife, the former Martha Ann Cunningham of Birmingham, Alabama have one daughter Debra Ann. They will be making their home in Albany, New York.
26 December 2016
Genealogy Roadtrip
Here is another long-time coming post. Back in early June I took a solo genealogical road trip across the states of New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri to Wellsville and Ottawa, Kansas. That was a 1300+ mile trip. It took approximately 23 hours to drive that distance considering I had to take a couple of naps in order to continue. Now why would I drive to Kansas from Albany? I was on a genealogical quest that began in the early 1990s. Years later when more family information was found I felt the need to do some on site research on my third great grandparents, Robert and Ann White and their family. Their story follows.
Robert White and wife Ann Strong were both born in Ireland. Robert circa 1813 in County Cavan and Ann around 1815 believed to be born in County Kings, now County Offaly. They were married around 1833 and had the following known children born in Ireland, Joseph, 1834; Charles, 1835; Elizabeth, 1838, and Robert, 1840.
On 2 November 1843 the family sailed into New York near the Battery area of Manhattan aboard the bark Salem. Below is a photo of a bark ship. As of today I have not found a photo of the Salem.
Previous to 1855 immigrants simply sailed into port, a passenger list was given to customs, and the immigrants went on their way. In 1855 Castle Garden opened as America's first immigrant processing center where over 8 million people entered America. Castle Garden was in operation by New York State until 1890. In 1892 the Federal government took over immigrant processing and moved the operation to Ellis Island, which was larger and more isolated. Ellis Island saw another 12 million immigrants come to America until it closed in 1954.
By 1846 the White family was living in Albany. Robert and Ann also had the following children who were born in Albany. William Henry, 1846; James, 1850; Frances Ann, 1852, Thomas Edward, 1854; and Sarah Jane, 1859. Below is a scan of Robert White's declaration of intent to become an American citizen.
Tracing Robert through census records and Albany city directories, he was listed as being either a laborer, a teamster, or a farmer. According to census records in 1860, 1865, & 1870, Robert was a farmer living in the Town of Watervliet. Further research will be conducted to find the location and acreage of the former farm. The 1875 New York State Census has Robert and family residing in the northern district of the tenth ward in the city of Albany. Additional research finds his address as living at 180 Sherman Street. His occupation was a teamster. By 1880, Robert and most of his family completely disappears from all local records. What happened to him his wife, Ann, and most of their children? They simply vanished. They could not be found anywhere. Not in census records, city directories, church records, or any local cemeteries.
Robert's sons Charles William and Joseph were the only White's that continued to be found residing in this area. Charles became a prominent butcher in Albany until his death in 1917.
Older brother, Joseph was a farmer. He lived in the Colonie area and after his death he was buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery, which was in the vicinity of today's Central and Lincoln Avenues. Joseph was re-interned in Troy's Oakwood Cemetery in 1919 when his family bought a plot there.
Daughter, Frances Ann married a "mullato" man, G.L. McCarter, at the Methodist mission on 18 December 1873 and completely disappears from all records also.
It was known by family lore that son William Henry White lied about his age and enlisted in the Civil War against his family's wishes. His father paid someone and got him out of the military and then the boy went and re-enlisted again infuriating his father. Later research found that he joined the New York State Volunteers 134th Infantry and was severely injured in the head at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war William Henry and his family moved to Kansas. It was said so that he could get away from his father.
In the early 1990s I took a ride out to the National Archives in Pittsfield to search out of state census records. I found William Henry White living in Kansas City, Missouri with his family in the 1880 Federal Census. They were all listed as being born in New York. Also found was his widow Josephine and children in the 1900 Kansas Federal Census living in Argentine, Wyandotte County, Kansas.
One of William and Josephine's later children who was born in Kansas was Grace White. Somehow the method in which I tracked down her death certificate slips my mind but I purchased her death record around 1992. As luck would have it, her parents names were listed on the certificate and better yet the informant of this information was listed along with her address. It was found that the address of the informant was old and had changed by this time and at this time Google was not around. I unsuccessfully tried searching for the phone number for my informant, Ruth. A call was made to the operator who said that Ruth's phone number was unlisted and I could not have it. I practically begged the operator to call Ruth and let her know that there was a cousin from New York researching his family tree and if you were interested here is his phone number to contact him. A few hours later Ruth did call me and we compared notes and she said that she was very aware of her grandfather and some of his children originally being from Albany. At this point I was happy that I had found a descendant of William and had a point to work from. Ruth and I corresponded numerous times more.
William's older brother Thomas Edward married Agnes Jane Laing on 3 January 1884 according to the Albany City Marriage Register. August 18th of the same year Agnes died of Bright's Disease at age 33. Burial records from Albany Rural Cemetery list her residence as Kansas. Now it appeared that another son moved to Kansas.
Years pass and I only know of the two brothers who moved to Kansas; but then last year by chance while name surfing on Google looking for a Robert and Ann White in Kansas I stumbled upon online cemetery records for the Wellsville Cemetery in Wellsville, Franklin County, Kansas. In that cemetery was a Robert and Ann White with ages and dates of death which fell in line with what could fit my ancestors. Then Find a Grave was searched and a photo of their small obelisk was found. Awesome! But I was still not 100% sure that they were my ancestors.
The 1880 Federal Census for Kansas was searched and bingo the family was found living in Hayes Township, Franklin County, Kansas. Listed were Robert and his family. The family was found again in the 1885 Kansas state census living in the same place. Now I know where my ancestors were. They moved to Kansas with their sons leaving sons Joseph and Charles behind in the Albany area. But were the people in the Wellsville Cemetery my ancestors? Their names are very common.
Still chasing this lead I contacted the Franklin County Historical Society to see if they had any information on a Robert White family. The archivist, Susan Geiss, for the society contacted me and noted that she would conduct some research for me. I sent her what information I had and within three weeks most questions were answered. She found some farm records and the last will and testament of Robert White. It was the same Robert White who was buried in the Wellsville Cemetery. In the will all of Robert's children were mentioned by name. Now I could rest after tracking down where my great great great grandparents had gone. Rest, not for long!
After thinking about this new found information new questions arose. First, why would a man in his late sixties uproot and move from Albany to Kansas between 1875 and 1880 after living in the Albany area for over thirty years? It was decided that I would journey on a road trip out to Kansas to conduct research, hopefully find answers, and to meet some cousins.
Robert White's last will and testament also answered another question. What happened to daughter Elizabeth? Did she die locally or did she marry and who did she marry? The will hinted to her marrying a Kelly. Census records were searched for her in Albany, New York and also for her in Kansas. The census records for both states show that she married a William Kelly. Their family also moved to Kansas. Find a Grave was searched and I discovered that she, her husband, and some of their children were buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.
After putting together an itinerary of the research stops that I wanted to make and after contacting a cousin, Terry, grandson of the granddaughter, Grace White, of William Henry White, I was now on my way. My gear and food were packed. It was decided that my first stop on the way to Kansas would be to visit the graves of the Kelly's in the Forest Hill Cemetery. I arrived at the cemetery around 2 PM in the afternoon. The office was visited for additional info and I set out to the plot for some photos. The grave site was in extremely good condition. None of the stones needed any attention from me. D2, water, buckets, and brushes were brought along because I knew from a photo on the Find a Grave site that the White obelisk in the Wellsville Cemetery needed cleaning.
After leaving Forest Hill Cemetery I headed directly to Wellsville, Kansas. It was about 45 minutes away. When I arrived in Wellsville I thought, wow, look at this older mid-western city. It was very quaint and one could vision a scene of "Bonnie and Clyde" robbing a bank and tearing through the streets here. Below are photos of the city of Wellsville.
The downtown section of the town was very small and I quickly circled through downtown to find where the city clerk's office, public library, and historical society were located. Then off to the Wellsville Cemetery I went. The cemetery is located about one mile outside of town. The cemetery is fairly small and I had no problem locating the grave of my ancestors. By this time it was almost 5 PM and I went about cleaning the small obelisk. The setting sun made it difficult to take decent pictures so I decided to come back the next day for a photo shoot.
There were no motels in Wellsville so I headed to Ottawa, about a 15 minute drive away. Ottawa was on the itinerary anyways. A motel room was secured, sandwich and a beer for dinner, then it was crash-time (bed). It was a very long day; most of it was driving. The next morning at 9:30 AM I met, Terry, my third cousin, one time removed at the cemetery. After taking pictures and talking with Terry at length we parted and I headed to the Wellsville city clerk's office to try to determine if anyone else was buried in the White plot aside from Robert and Ann. Their names are the only names on the obelisk. The records indicated that it was a large plot, with room for eight burials. But the records listed Robert and Ann as the only burials. Later research indicates that son Robert was also buried there in 1923.
The Wellsville Historical Society was closed and would not be open during my trip. Research at the Wellsville City Library was successful. Its holdings for local individuals and businesses was decent but my research time frame pre-dated what they had. A search of the local newspaper, the Wellsville Globe, found Robert White's obituary.
At this point I started realizing that although I made a decent itinerary plan, I should have left at least a day earlier. It was Friday and all historical societies and court houses were closed Saturday. I could not justify staying over the weekend with really nothing to do. So I kicked in high gear. I headed back to Ottawa and checked out the Ottawa Library. The library had an outstanding genealogy and local history section. Not being able to spend a lot of time there I glanced over what they had and then headed for the Franklin County Courthouse in Ottawa to check for land/farm purchases.
Immediately upon searching the grantor/grantee land records, I started hitting gold. Very quickly I found the deed indicating where and when Robert White bought his farm in Hayes Township. On 26 April 1879 Robert purchased 85 acres of farmland from William and Ann Eliza Boddy for $428. Also found were the deeds for Robert's purchase of his cemetery lot in Wellsville for $8 on 12 March 1885 and the deed for his son, William Henry White's, farm purchase.
While at the courthouse I decided to try to find out where the farm was located. The assessors office helped with that task and gave me exact locations and a map. Below is a map scan of the farm area today.
Armed with this info I decided to go to the farm after stopping by the Franklin County Historical Society in Ottawa. It was now 4 PM and the society was closing in one hour. Although I did not really know where to begin searching there, the staff was extremely helpful and its holdings are impressive. We found a map of Hayes Township that listed the land owners and the boundaries of all the former farm lands. The boundaries are pretty much the same today as they were in the 1880s.
At 5 PM I started out in the direction of my ancestor's farm. It was about 8 miles outside of Ottawa and half-way to Wellsville. This was true flat farmland and plenty of dusty gravel roads. Quickly I found the address and an older farmhouse. As I drove by I noticed a couple of guys in the driveway. I stopped and introduced myself and told them what I was up to. They rented the property from an out of state owner; so they were not familiar with the history of the farm. I was curious if the house dated back to the 1880s-1890s. While I was there I was asked if I wanted to go inside the older abandoned portion of the farmhouse. I passed on the offer but I did take photos of the farmhouse and land. Below are three views of the farmhouse.
It was suggested to me that I stop by farmer Seiler's house about a mile away. He was familiar with everything in that area I was told. I did; and Seiler was very familiar with the farm. His father was born in the old farmhouse but we were not related. The farm was sold by my family earlier. Seiler indicated that the farmhouse did date back to at least the 1890s. I was ecstatic that I had found my ancestor's farm. Now I was wishing that I had checked out the inside of the old home. Aside from taking photos, I also scooped up a bag of farm soil. So now I have a part of the farm. Below are three different views of the 85 acre farm that Robert White owned and farmed.
It was getting late again so I headed back to Ottawa to crash and to organize my new found records at the motel. The next morning I would begin my trip home but not until after checking out another cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, Highland Park Cemetery. Many relatives were buried there and my plan was to attempt to get copies of all of the burial cards for my relatives who are resting there and to visit each site to take photos. I was at Highland Park from 9 AM until noon and then I headed home. Yes, I found everything and everyone whom I was looking for except for the burial location of William Henry White. His wife, Josephine, is buried there and perhaps he is also. When he died the cemetery was just in its infancy and there are no burial records dating to that era.
Below is a photo of the plot where Josephine is buried. She unfortunately does not have her own grave marker.
Below are photos of Josephine Elizabeth Parker White's burial card and a photo of the lot card indicating who else is buried in that plot.
Now, my trip was finished and it was time to head back home. I finally got home around 2:30 PM Sunday afternoon and began organizing, entering, and filing my new found family history. Asked if I would do it again.... absolutely!
Robert White and wife Ann Strong were both born in Ireland. Robert circa 1813 in County Cavan and Ann around 1815 believed to be born in County Kings, now County Offaly. They were married around 1833 and had the following known children born in Ireland, Joseph, 1834; Charles, 1835; Elizabeth, 1838, and Robert, 1840.
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| Passenger list from the Salem, page 1, 1843 |
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| Passenger list from the Salem, page 2, 1843 |
On 2 November 1843 the family sailed into New York near the Battery area of Manhattan aboard the bark Salem. Below is a photo of a bark ship. As of today I have not found a photo of the Salem.
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| Example of a Bark |
Previous to 1855 immigrants simply sailed into port, a passenger list was given to customs, and the immigrants went on their way. In 1855 Castle Garden opened as America's first immigrant processing center where over 8 million people entered America. Castle Garden was in operation by New York State until 1890. In 1892 the Federal government took over immigrant processing and moved the operation to Ellis Island, which was larger and more isolated. Ellis Island saw another 12 million immigrants come to America until it closed in 1954.
By 1846 the White family was living in Albany. Robert and Ann also had the following children who were born in Albany. William Henry, 1846; James, 1850; Frances Ann, 1852, Thomas Edward, 1854; and Sarah Jane, 1859. Below is a scan of Robert White's declaration of intent to become an American citizen.
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| Robert White's Declaration of Intent |
Tracing Robert through census records and Albany city directories, he was listed as being either a laborer, a teamster, or a farmer. According to census records in 1860, 1865, & 1870, Robert was a farmer living in the Town of Watervliet. Further research will be conducted to find the location and acreage of the former farm. The 1875 New York State Census has Robert and family residing in the northern district of the tenth ward in the city of Albany. Additional research finds his address as living at 180 Sherman Street. His occupation was a teamster. By 1880, Robert and most of his family completely disappears from all local records. What happened to him his wife, Ann, and most of their children? They simply vanished. They could not be found anywhere. Not in census records, city directories, church records, or any local cemeteries.
Robert's sons Charles William and Joseph were the only White's that continued to be found residing in this area. Charles became a prominent butcher in Albany until his death in 1917.
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| Charles William White, 1835-1917 |
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| Joseph White plot at Oakwood Cemetery |
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| Fanny White marriage record 1873 |
It was known by family lore that son William Henry White lied about his age and enlisted in the Civil War against his family's wishes. His father paid someone and got him out of the military and then the boy went and re-enlisted again infuriating his father. Later research found that he joined the New York State Volunteers 134th Infantry and was severely injured in the head at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war William Henry and his family moved to Kansas. It was said so that he could get away from his father.
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| William Henry White, 1846-1896 |
In the early 1990s I took a ride out to the National Archives in Pittsfield to search out of state census records. I found William Henry White living in Kansas City, Missouri with his family in the 1880 Federal Census. They were all listed as being born in New York. Also found was his widow Josephine and children in the 1900 Kansas Federal Census living in Argentine, Wyandotte County, Kansas.
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| Josephine Elizabeth Parker White, 1849-1921 |
One of William and Josephine's later children who was born in Kansas was Grace White. Somehow the method in which I tracked down her death certificate slips my mind but I purchased her death record around 1992. As luck would have it, her parents names were listed on the certificate and better yet the informant of this information was listed along with her address. It was found that the address of the informant was old and had changed by this time and at this time Google was not around. I unsuccessfully tried searching for the phone number for my informant, Ruth. A call was made to the operator who said that Ruth's phone number was unlisted and I could not have it. I practically begged the operator to call Ruth and let her know that there was a cousin from New York researching his family tree and if you were interested here is his phone number to contact him. A few hours later Ruth did call me and we compared notes and she said that she was very aware of her grandfather and some of his children originally being from Albany. At this point I was happy that I had found a descendant of William and had a point to work from. Ruth and I corresponded numerous times more.
William's older brother Thomas Edward married Agnes Jane Laing on 3 January 1884 according to the Albany City Marriage Register. August 18th of the same year Agnes died of Bright's Disease at age 33. Burial records from Albany Rural Cemetery list her residence as Kansas. Now it appeared that another son moved to Kansas.
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| Agnes Jane Laing White, burial card from Albany Rural Cemetery |
Years pass and I only know of the two brothers who moved to Kansas; but then last year by chance while name surfing on Google looking for a Robert and Ann White in Kansas I stumbled upon online cemetery records for the Wellsville Cemetery in Wellsville, Franklin County, Kansas. In that cemetery was a Robert and Ann White with ages and dates of death which fell in line with what could fit my ancestors. Then Find a Grave was searched and a photo of their small obelisk was found. Awesome! But I was still not 100% sure that they were my ancestors.
The 1880 Federal Census for Kansas was searched and bingo the family was found living in Hayes Township, Franklin County, Kansas. Listed were Robert and his family. The family was found again in the 1885 Kansas state census living in the same place. Now I know where my ancestors were. They moved to Kansas with their sons leaving sons Joseph and Charles behind in the Albany area. But were the people in the Wellsville Cemetery my ancestors? Their names are very common.
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| 1880 Federal Census, Kansas |
Still chasing this lead I contacted the Franklin County Historical Society to see if they had any information on a Robert White family. The archivist, Susan Geiss, for the society contacted me and noted that she would conduct some research for me. I sent her what information I had and within three weeks most questions were answered. She found some farm records and the last will and testament of Robert White. It was the same Robert White who was buried in the Wellsville Cemetery. In the will all of Robert's children were mentioned by name. Now I could rest after tracking down where my great great great grandparents had gone. Rest, not for long!
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| Page from Robert White's will |
After thinking about this new found information new questions arose. First, why would a man in his late sixties uproot and move from Albany to Kansas between 1875 and 1880 after living in the Albany area for over thirty years? It was decided that I would journey on a road trip out to Kansas to conduct research, hopefully find answers, and to meet some cousins.
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| 1875 NYS Census listing William Kelly & family |
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| 1880 Missouri Census listing William Kelly & family |
After putting together an itinerary of the research stops that I wanted to make and after contacting a cousin, Terry, grandson of the granddaughter, Grace White, of William Henry White, I was now on my way. My gear and food were packed. It was decided that my first stop on the way to Kansas would be to visit the graves of the Kelly's in the Forest Hill Cemetery. I arrived at the cemetery around 2 PM in the afternoon. The office was visited for additional info and I set out to the plot for some photos. The grave site was in extremely good condition. None of the stones needed any attention from me. D2, water, buckets, and brushes were brought along because I knew from a photo on the Find a Grave site that the White obelisk in the Wellsville Cemetery needed cleaning.
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| Elizabeth White Kelly, burial card from Forest Hill Cemetery |
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| Kelly Headstone at Forest Hill Cemetery |
After leaving Forest Hill Cemetery I headed directly to Wellsville, Kansas. It was about 45 minutes away. When I arrived in Wellsville I thought, wow, look at this older mid-western city. It was very quaint and one could vision a scene of "Bonnie and Clyde" robbing a bank and tearing through the streets here. Below are photos of the city of Wellsville.
The downtown section of the town was very small and I quickly circled through downtown to find where the city clerk's office, public library, and historical society were located. Then off to the Wellsville Cemetery I went. The cemetery is located about one mile outside of town. The cemetery is fairly small and I had no problem locating the grave of my ancestors. By this time it was almost 5 PM and I went about cleaning the small obelisk. The setting sun made it difficult to take decent pictures so I decided to come back the next day for a photo shoot.
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| Robert & Ann White, obelisk at Wellsville Cemetery |
There were no motels in Wellsville so I headed to Ottawa, about a 15 minute drive away. Ottawa was on the itinerary anyways. A motel room was secured, sandwich and a beer for dinner, then it was crash-time (bed). It was a very long day; most of it was driving. The next morning at 9:30 AM I met, Terry, my third cousin, one time removed at the cemetery. After taking pictures and talking with Terry at length we parted and I headed to the Wellsville city clerk's office to try to determine if anyone else was buried in the White plot aside from Robert and Ann. Their names are the only names on the obelisk. The records indicated that it was a large plot, with room for eight burials. But the records listed Robert and Ann as the only burials. Later research indicates that son Robert was also buried there in 1923.
The Wellsville Historical Society was closed and would not be open during my trip. Research at the Wellsville City Library was successful. Its holdings for local individuals and businesses was decent but my research time frame pre-dated what they had. A search of the local newspaper, the Wellsville Globe, found Robert White's obituary.
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| Robert White obituary from the Wellsville Globe |
At this point I started realizing that although I made a decent itinerary plan, I should have left at least a day earlier. It was Friday and all historical societies and court houses were closed Saturday. I could not justify staying over the weekend with really nothing to do. So I kicked in high gear. I headed back to Ottawa and checked out the Ottawa Library. The library had an outstanding genealogy and local history section. Not being able to spend a lot of time there I glanced over what they had and then headed for the Franklin County Courthouse in Ottawa to check for land/farm purchases.
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| At work at the Franklin County Courthouse |
Immediately upon searching the grantor/grantee land records, I started hitting gold. Very quickly I found the deed indicating where and when Robert White bought his farm in Hayes Township. On 26 April 1879 Robert purchased 85 acres of farmland from William and Ann Eliza Boddy for $428. Also found were the deeds for Robert's purchase of his cemetery lot in Wellsville for $8 on 12 March 1885 and the deed for his son, William Henry White's, farm purchase.
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| Robert White Hayes Township farm deed |
While at the courthouse I decided to try to find out where the farm was located. The assessors office helped with that task and gave me exact locations and a map. Below is a map scan of the farm area today.
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| Area of the former White farmland |
Armed with this info I decided to go to the farm after stopping by the Franklin County Historical Society in Ottawa. It was now 4 PM and the society was closing in one hour. Although I did not really know where to begin searching there, the staff was extremely helpful and its holdings are impressive. We found a map of Hayes Township that listed the land owners and the boundaries of all the former farm lands. The boundaries are pretty much the same today as they were in the 1880s.
At 5 PM I started out in the direction of my ancestor's farm. It was about 8 miles outside of Ottawa and half-way to Wellsville. This was true flat farmland and plenty of dusty gravel roads. Quickly I found the address and an older farmhouse. As I drove by I noticed a couple of guys in the driveway. I stopped and introduced myself and told them what I was up to. They rented the property from an out of state owner; so they were not familiar with the history of the farm. I was curious if the house dated back to the 1880s-1890s. While I was there I was asked if I wanted to go inside the older abandoned portion of the farmhouse. I passed on the offer but I did take photos of the farmhouse and land. Below are three views of the farmhouse.
It was suggested to me that I stop by farmer Seiler's house about a mile away. He was familiar with everything in that area I was told. I did; and Seiler was very familiar with the farm. His father was born in the old farmhouse but we were not related. The farm was sold by my family earlier. Seiler indicated that the farmhouse did date back to at least the 1890s. I was ecstatic that I had found my ancestor's farm. Now I was wishing that I had checked out the inside of the old home. Aside from taking photos, I also scooped up a bag of farm soil. So now I have a part of the farm. Below are three different views of the 85 acre farm that Robert White owned and farmed.
It was getting late again so I headed back to Ottawa to crash and to organize my new found records at the motel. The next morning I would begin my trip home but not until after checking out another cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, Highland Park Cemetery. Many relatives were buried there and my plan was to attempt to get copies of all of the burial cards for my relatives who are resting there and to visit each site to take photos. I was at Highland Park from 9 AM until noon and then I headed home. Yes, I found everything and everyone whom I was looking for except for the burial location of William Henry White. His wife, Josephine, is buried there and perhaps he is also. When he died the cemetery was just in its infancy and there are no burial records dating to that era.
Below is a photo of the plot where Josephine is buried. She unfortunately does not have her own grave marker.
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| Duffendack/White lot in Highland Park Cemetery |
Below are photos of Josephine Elizabeth Parker White's burial card and a photo of the lot card indicating who else is buried in that plot.
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| Josephine Elizabeth Parker White burial card |
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| Interment card for White plot at Highland Park Cemetery |
Now, my trip was finished and it was time to head back home. I finally got home around 2:30 PM Sunday afternoon and began organizing, entering, and filing my new found family history. Asked if I would do it again.... absolutely!
16 April 2015
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 10; Favorite Picture
Last week's theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was to write about a favorite picture. I cannot say exactly that the photo below is a favorite picture but I like it anyways. Left to right are John Joseph Aloysius Gannon, 1887 - 1961 (my great grandfather); his son, John Joseph Gannon, 1914 - 1975 (my granduncle); and his brother-in-law, George Edward Kirk White, 1910 - 1982 (my grandfather).
This picture is circa 1953. Was it staged? Probably. Were they having a good time? Yes. Were they really drinking? Definitely!
This picture is circa 1953. Was it staged? Probably. Were they having a good time? Yes. Were they really drinking? Definitely!
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| John Joseph Aloysius Gannon, John Joseph Gannon, George Edward Kirk White Father, son, & son-in-law |
27 February 2015
Christopher White: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 5
This week's ancestral biography is a very short one. It is on one of my uncles. Actually my great grandfather's younger brother, Christopher White. I happen to have the same name also; however the family was unaware of another Christopher White in the family. He unfortunately died at two years of age.
Christopher White was born 1 August 1875 at 445 Clinton Avenue in Albany to Charles William White (1835-1917) and Mary Ann Wilson (1839-1908). Both were Irish immigrants. Charles immigrated with his parents and siblings and landed in New York harbor on 2 November 1843. They sailed on the Salem. It is still unknown when Christopher's mother immigrated to the United States.
Charles was a steadfast Episcopal and his wife Mary was Roman Catholic. Charles was long associated with Grace Episcopal Church located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Robin Street while his wife Mary was a communicant of St. Patrick's Church on Central Avenue. Christopher was baptized at St. Patrick's on 7 August 1875 and his sponsors were William Delehanty and Sarah Doyle. I have yet to find a family connection with the child's sponsors.
Information gained from the 1880 Federal Census lists Charles and family as living at 193 Lark Street in Albany. Also among the family was an uncle Christopher McGrath. I am assuming that the child was named after him. The census image is below.
Christopher White was born 1 August 1875 at 445 Clinton Avenue in Albany to Charles William White (1835-1917) and Mary Ann Wilson (1839-1908). Both were Irish immigrants. Charles immigrated with his parents and siblings and landed in New York harbor on 2 November 1843. They sailed on the Salem. It is still unknown when Christopher's mother immigrated to the United States.
Charles was a steadfast Episcopal and his wife Mary was Roman Catholic. Charles was long associated with Grace Episcopal Church located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Robin Street while his wife Mary was a communicant of St. Patrick's Church on Central Avenue. Christopher was baptized at St. Patrick's on 7 August 1875 and his sponsors were William Delehanty and Sarah Doyle. I have yet to find a family connection with the child's sponsors.
Information gained from the 1880 Federal Census lists Charles and family as living at 193 Lark Street in Albany. Also among the family was an uncle Christopher McGrath. I am assuming that the child was named after him. The census image is below.
According to records at Albany Rural Cemetery, little Christopher White died on 1 August 1877 at 55 Lark Street in Albany from lung congestion. He was buried two days later in the family plot.
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| Christopher White at the grave of his great grand uncle Christopher White |
05 January 2015
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 1; George Edward Kirk White
The first biography of the year that I will write will be that of my grandfather, George Edward Kirk White; who was born 3 April 1910 in Albany, NY at 239 Second Street. He was the only son of George Washington White (1871-1935) and Clara Boyd Hitchcock (1882-1966). Other children of George and Clara include
George was baptized in Albany at Grace Episcopal Church located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Robin Street on 14 May 1910. Below is a scan of his original baptism record. George's grandfather, Charles William White (1835-1917) was the longest tenured vestryman in the Church's history.
According to George's National Guard papers, he entered the trade of bookbinder. The 1935 Albany city directory lists George as a signal operator at 11 North Pearl Street, the Home Savings Bank building, in room 212.
On 15 May 1931 George married Margaret Mary Gannon (1913-1998) in Albany. Below is a scan of their wedding certificate. They were married again on 24 August 1933 in the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Peekskill. By this time George was in the National Guard and stationed there.
George enlisted in the National Guard in 1927. He spent over twenty-five years in the Guard rising to First Sergeant. During World War II, he enlisted in the US Army and landed in France in December 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW until his camp was liberated.
Below is a scan of the Western Union telegraph from 12 January 1945 that was sent to my grandmother indicating that her husband was missing in action.
After the war, George was discharged from the US Army but he continued his enlistment in the National Guard and became superintendent of the National Guard armory on Washington Avenue in Albany.
On 10 October 1982, George Edward Kirk White died at St. Peter's Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was buried two days later in Our Lady of Angels cemetery. Sixteen years later on 2 July 1998, his wife Margaret Mary Gannon White joined him.
- Margaret Agnes (1905-1984)
- Clara Edna (1906-1978)
- Mary Wilson (1908-1973)
- Marie Mulder (1912-1976)
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| Left to Right: Mary, George, Margaret, and Clara |
George was baptized in Albany at Grace Episcopal Church located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Robin Street on 14 May 1910. Below is a scan of his original baptism record. George's grandfather, Charles William White (1835-1917) was the longest tenured vestryman in the Church's history.
According to George's National Guard papers, he entered the trade of bookbinder. The 1935 Albany city directory lists George as a signal operator at 11 North Pearl Street, the Home Savings Bank building, in room 212.
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| George Edward Kirk White, circa 1927 |
On 15 May 1931 George married Margaret Mary Gannon (1913-1998) in Albany. Below is a scan of their wedding certificate. They were married again on 24 August 1933 in the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Peekskill. By this time George was in the National Guard and stationed there.
George and Margaret's children:
- George Edward (1931-2001)
- Richard Kirk (1934-1949)
- Thomas Charles (1936-2012)
- Michael William (1941- )
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| George Edward Kirk White, circa 1930s |
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| George Edward Kirk White, 1936 |
George enlisted in the National Guard in 1927. He spent over twenty-five years in the Guard rising to First Sergeant. During World War II, he enlisted in the US Army and landed in France in December 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW until his camp was liberated.
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| US Army discharge, front |
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| US Army discharge, reverse |
Below is a scan of the Western Union telegraph from 12 January 1945 that was sent to my grandmother indicating that her husband was missing in action.
After a long two and a half months, another Western Union telegraph came notifying my grandmother that her husband was a prisoner of war of the German government. Below is a scan of that telegraph.
After the war, George was discharged from the US Army but he continued his enlistment in the National Guard and became superintendent of the National Guard armory on Washington Avenue in Albany.
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| George Edward Kirk White, 1981 |
On 10 October 1982, George Edward Kirk White died at St. Peter's Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was buried two days later in Our Lady of Angels cemetery. Sixteen years later on 2 July 1998, his wife Margaret Mary Gannon White joined him.
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| Gravestone at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery |
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