Marriage record for Thomas Robert Jones and Sarah Ellen Armstrong

Here is another find in the FamilySearch database of Indiana Marriage Records 1811-1959, a copy of the marriage record for my 2nd-great-grandparents Thomas Robert Jones and Sarah Ellen Armstrong. They received their marriage license on 16 July 1887 in Boone County, Indiana. The license was filed on 17 July 1887.

Source: FamilySearch, Indiana Marriage Records 1811-1959

Marriage record for Clayton Lambert & Rachel Lee Pearce

After the death of first wife Rhoda Lee in September 1850, my 4th-great-grandfather Clayton Lambert married her sister, Rachel Lee Pearce. The two were married in Fayette County, Indiana on 14 December 1850. A copy of their marriage record was available in the Indiana Marriage Records 1811-1959 database on FamilySearch (see below).

Source: FamilySearch, Indiana Marriage Records 1811-1959

Rachel Lee had previously been married to Isaac Pearce (on 1 May 1834 in Vigo County, Indiana). In the 1850 Census taken in November 1850, Rachel appears as a widow in Vigo County. Rachel Lee Pearce Lambert died on 26 May 1877 in Fayette County.

Travel Tuesday - Scenes from New York

This week I am at the United Nations in New York, for another meeting of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names. I'm on the lookout for good street art. In the meantime, here's a selection of shots from yesterday and this morning's run.

Photo by Patrick Jones, UN HQ

Photo by Patrick Jones, Chrysler Building, NYC

Photo by Patrick Jones

Photo by Patrick Jones, view from Central Park South

Between DC & NY

Photo by Patrick Jones, on the Amtrak, 7 Aug 2012

The photo above was taken from Amtrak, while stopped in Baltimore. In 2012 I went up to NYC for a meeting of the UN Group of Experts on Geographic Names. I was lucky to be able to take the family to join me before the meeting, for their first visit to the Big Apple. The kids loved it.

Photo by Patrick Jones

Obituary for Stanley Read

The obituary below is from the Evansville Courier for Stanley Read, son of Charlie & Mary Alice Read. He worked at Sterling Brewery in Evansville, Indiana.

Source: Evansville Courier, 15 Mar 1958

I'll have more on the brewery in a subsequent post.

Thanks go to the Willard Library for sending me a scanned copy of the obituary.

A Marriage In the News of Two Worthy Young People

The news clipping below comes from the Glasgow Republican from 15 February 1895, describing the marriage of my second-great-grandparents, Charlie Read and Mary Alice Cain/Cane/Kane.

Source: Glasgow Republican, 15 Feb 1895

Huge thanks once again to Kentucky researcher Linda for providing me with a copy of this article. I think we can rule out Crain as Mary Alice's last name. I am looking for variations on Kane/Cane/Cain in the Barren County area, from 1870-1910 in the hopes of locating parents and siblings for Mary Alice.

I already knew Charlie and Mary Alice were married on Valentine's Day 1895 in Barren County (see my previous blog post showing their marriage bond). This article shows that Mary Alice was living in Glasgow, Barren County when they were married, and they were married at 2pm in the afternoon at Charlie's brother's house, at the home of Bland Ballard Read. More threads to research, and the article provides a bit of color on Charlie and Mary Alice - respected by their friends and the wedding was significant enough to be newsworthy in Glasgow at the time.

From other Glasgow newspaper clippings, Guilford Dudley Read and his brothers were respected businessmen in Barren County, so a marriage for Charlie probably was news for the area. Since Mary Alice was of the area, perhaps her parents or siblings were also well known, and their names have just been lost due to time. I want to bring those names back to the surface again and know more about them.

Friday Photo - More from Singapore

Photo by Patrick Jones, Singapore, 28 Mar 2014

Photo by Patrick Jones, Sentosa Island

Photo by Patrick Jones, Singapore MRT Stop

Photo by Patrick Jones, Raffles Hotel, Singapore

Looking again for the parents of Mary Alice

Last week and earlier this week I theorized on a potential find on the parents of my second-great-grandmother Mary Alice Cain Read. I considered that her last name could have been misspelled as Cain but may really have been Crain. Helpful Kentucky researcher Linda cautioned against the too convenient solution, and to look closely at available evidence. So, I am looking again. I've gone back to the available information to try to find a birth location for Mary Alice.

Here's what I have: Two of Mary Alice's children were born after 1911 in Kentucky and have birth certificates. Pearl Read was born on 5 August 1912 in Barren County, Kentucky. In the Kentucky Birth Index for 1911-1999, it lists her mother as Mary Cane. Carl Read was born on 12 July 1914 in Barren County. In the Kentucky Birth Index, it lists his mother as Alice Cane.

Linda suggested that I look at the birth certificates for Pearl and Carl Read to see if these documents list a birth location for Mary Alice. So I have ordered these documents from the State of Kentucky. I should receive the copies in about a week or two. Hopefully these documents will have helpful information on Mary Alice.

A Man of Unusual Ability

Two helpful researchers in Kentucky have provided me with copies of obituaries for my 3rd-great-grandfather, Guilford Dudley Read (see previous blog post from 2012). The first is from the Glasgow Times, 17 March 1916.

Source: Glasgow Times, 17 Mar 1916

The second obituary comes from the Glasgow Republican, dated 23 March 1916 (and from Findagrave user Laura).

Source: Glasgow Republican 23 Mar 1916

Looking Closer at the Crain Family

Earlier in the week, I pondered the possibility that my 2nd-great-grandmother's last name had actually been Crain and not Cain as it appears on her marriage bond. I recently decided to revisit all of my information on her in the hopes of uncovering a new lead on her family. Below is a copy of the note from Guilford Dudley Read granting permission for Charlie Read to wed Mary Alice. It looks like he is spelling Cran[e].

I have looked for a Mary Alice Cain in the 1880 Census in Barren, Warren, Hart, Edmonson and neighboring counties. No luck. After looking again at this note, I searched for a Mary Crain born in 1878, and found one in Hart County, Kentucky in the household of John K and Martha J. Crain (see Tuesday's post). Hart County is immediately to the north of Barren County.

I did some further research on John K. Crain, and apparently he was born as John Keller Crain, son of Nathaniel and Cynthia Ann Keller Crain. In the 1860 Census, Nathaniel and family are living in District 1, Barren County, Kentucky. The Read family were in District 2, Barren County at that time. By 1870, the Crain family had moved to Hiseville, Barren County. The Reads were in Glasgow, Barren County but this is still relatively close.

John Keller Crain had a younger sister Sammi Alice Crain (born in 1852). Sammi Alice married Colonel William Henry Edmunds, and they lived in Rocky Hill, Barren County (which was the home my Whitley and Matthews ancestors by 1910). Rocky Hill is about 11 miles to the southwest of Glasgow. At this point, I don't have anything else connecting Mary Alice Read to the Crain family. But I have a strong hunch this is the right family. I know a strong hunch isn't enough for establishing proof, so I'm hoping some others will see this and may have information that connects Mary Alice to the Crains. I am also hoping there is a probate file in Hart County or will for John K or Martha J. Crain which references Mary Alice.

Friday Photo - Street Art in Culpeper

Yesterday I was in historic Culpeper, Virginia for another key ceremony (see Internet History in Culpeper for a past blog post on the work done there). While in town I had the chance to do some research at the Culpeper County Library - I will have more on those findings in a future post. Below are some photos taken near the Amtrak station in Downtown Culpeper. I was surprised to find some unique street art.

Photo by Patrick Jones, Culpeper, VA

Photo by Patrick Jones, Culpeper, VA

Photo by Patrick Jones, stencil in alley, Culpeper

Photo by Patrick Jones, Culpeper, VA

Could this be my great-great-grandmother's family?

The most frustrating brick wall in my tree is currently my 2nd-great-grandmother Mary Alice Cain Read. I have tried just about everything to look for her, from going page by page through the census in Barren and Warren Counties in 1880, to pulling her death certificate from 1955, to looking for siblings in the city directories in Bowling Green in the 1940s & 1950s. I've had no luck in several years of searching through various Kentucky records.

But earlier today I took another long look at the note written by Guilford Dudley Read granting his permission for Charlie Read to wed Mary Alice in February 1895. Perhaps her last name was spelled Cran[e] on the note. Perhaps she spelled her name as Mary Alice Crain instead of Mary Alice Cain.

I looked again at the 1880 Census. About 20 miles north of Glasgow, Kentucky lies Hardyville, Hart County, Kentucky. And in 1880, a two-year old, born approximately 1878, with the initials Mary A. Crain is listed as living in the household of John K. Crain and his wife Martha. Is this the family of my 2nd-great-grandmother?

If any others are researching the Crain family in Hart County, Kentucky and stumble on this page, and happen to have information on this Mary A. Crain, I would be interested in knowing more.

Friday Photo - Tverskaya Street

This set of photos was taken on 16 March, while walking around the Tverskaya Street area in Moscow. On this day it was quite cold, with frequent flurries and wind, barely above freezing. Following a late lunch near the Kremlin, I wandered around the city near my hotel. The snow had stopped and it had "warmed up" to the upper 30s. This street was a fascinating mix of emerging commercial retail and Stalin-era architecture. Quite a lot of public art on and near these buildings, but very little graffiti (or so I saw).

Photo by Patrick Jones, Moscow, 16 Mar 2014, Metro Entrance

Photo by Patrick Jones, Moscow 16 Mar 2014

Photo by Patrick Jones, Moscow, 16 Mar 2014

Photo by Patrick Jones, 16 Mar 2014

Wordless Wednesday - In Bloom

Photo by Patrick Jones, Cherry Blossoms in DC, 2004

Two Paintings from Singapore

Photo by Patrick Jones, painting from Swissotel Singapore

Photo by Patrick Jones, painting from Swissotel Singapore

After returning from over two weeks on the road and another week of setting back into spring time in DC, I am beginning to return again to historical research. I am continuing to await a package of information from Citizenship & Immigration on my great-grandfather, as it should have arrived by now. In the meantime I have been doing some reading on Fauquier County, Virginia connections in the 1760-1800 time frame for the Wheatley family, and intend to bring that information to the blog soon.

Wordless Wednesday - Red Square

Red Square, Moscow, 16 Mar 2014

Photo by Patrick Jones, Red Square, 16 Mar 2014

Photo by Patrick Jones, Red Square, Moscow, 16 Mar 2014