Street Art in Buenos Aires

A few photos from an evening walk through Palermo in Buenos Aires back in June 2015.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Buenos Aires, 19 Jun 2015.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Palermo, Buenos Aires.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mayan themed mural in Buenos Aires.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Stencils, 19 Jun 2015.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Stencil, 19 Jun 2015.

Pursuing every lead

A regular topic on the blog has been the identity of my third-great-grandparents, the parents of Mary Alice Cain Read and her brother Harl Cain. Last month I wrote about a potential break in the brick wall, based on the recent Ancestry database for the US Social Security Applications and Claims index. The result of that search was a name for my third-great-grandmother, Jane Flatt, but no name for the father of Mary Alice and Harl.

Yesterday a large packet arrived from the US National Archives in St. Louis, containing the Civil War pension file of Pleasant Morgan. The file runs about 200 pages, there is quite a lot to go through. However, I am now feeling certain that Jane Flatt was the same person as Nancy Jane Flatt, second wife of Pleasant Morgan. This puts a new light on the marriage bond between my 2nd-great-grandparents Charlie Read and Mary Alice Cain, which was signed by Pleasant Morgan as surety on 14 February 1895.

Source: Ancestry; Marriage license of Pleasant Morgan & Nancy Jane Flatt.

Pleasant Morgan states in his pension application that he was born on 6 July 1845 in Jackson County, Tennessee (other sources have his birth year as 1846). He enlisted on 25 August 1863 as a private in Company F, 52nd Regiment of the Kentucky Mounted Infantry, and was discharged on 18 January 1865. I will leave the description of Pleasant's Civil War service for a separate post. The declaration states that Pleasant was 5'3", with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair.

The initial gold in this file were the answers supplied by Pleasant on two forms required by the Bureau of Pensions, one dated 4 May 1898, and a second dated 7 May 1915. On both forms, Pleasant answered questions about his current and previous wives, and provided some information on his children (though conflicting with other sources). While it is difficult to try to infer why he did not answer the questions fully or consistently over the years, from viewing the large pension file, it becomes clear that his primary focus was overcoming years of repeated rejections from the Pension Office.

In 1898, Pleasant lists his wife as the former Josephine Poynter, married 7 Dec 1892 (this could be 1894 or 1897) in Metcalfe County, Kentucky. His previous wives were: First, Eliza Finn and second, Nannie Flat (he says she died in June 1892 but this conflicts with other information that she died on 30 September 1894). Pleasant also lists the names of three children: Frank Morgan, Trudy Morgan and Evy Morgan (all children of Nancy Jane Flatt, and therefore half-siblings of Mary Alice and Harl). He does not name any children of his first wife. One such daughter, Lucy Jane Morgan, married Albert Shirley Read, a brother of my 2nd-great-grandfather Charlie Read.

Source: Civil War Pension File, US National Archives.

The 1915 document provides a potential answer on the identify of my 3rd-great-grandfather. Pleasant lists a name - Robert Kain.

Source: Civil War Pension File, US National Archives.

He also lists a marriage date with first wife Eliza Finn, 24 August 1865. I am grateful that Pleasant took the time to list the name of Nancy Flatt's first husband, as I have seen no indication of this on any other document. Unfortunately Pleasant did not list the names and dates of birth for his children. He lists numbers of children by each wife, but I also do not know if this is accurate.

Now I have a new lead, and am searching for more information on a Robert Cain/Kain who may have been living in Kentucky between 1877-1880, or at least prior to Nancy Flatt's marriage to Pleasant Morgan on 3 October 1884 in Barren County.

There's much more in this file, and I'll save this for future posts.

Friday Photo - Inside the Blue Mosque

Collection of photos taken during my April visit to Istanbul, showing the inside of the amazing Sultanahmet Mosque. This is from the same walk as my Istanbul in Bloom post from 17 April 2015.

Photo by Patrick Jones. 16 Apr 2015, Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

Photo by Patrick Jones. 16 Apr 2015, Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

Photo by Patrick Jones. 16 Apr 2015. Istanbul.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Intricate wood door, Sultanahmet.

Turner's Lunch

The three photos in this set were in a photo album that belonged to my great-grandmother Elizabeth Lois Whitley. The first photo shows my grandfather Leo Reid with a woman who may be his first wife Betty Boyer (although I am not certain). I am guessing the photo was taken in the summer of 1941, 1942 or 1943 in front of the boarding house and restaurant at 1341 Kentucky Avenue in Indianapolis.

Edward Turner

The photo above shows Edward Turner, second husband of my great-grandmother Elizabeth Lois Whitley. He ran the boarding house and restaurant at 1341 Kentucky Avenue, renaming it Turner's Lunch after they took over the property from Lois' uncle Felix Matthews.

The third photo shows an unknown woman with a dog next to the window of the restaurant. I think my Grandpa Leo took the photo.

Update 27 August - I checked on Google Maps, and the property at 1341 Kentucky Avenue now sits squarely in the middle of the Eli Lilly headquarters on the southside of Indianapolis.

George Washington Masonic Memorial

This photo is from the steps of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. I ran down from the top, below the entrance back toward King Street, during a 7 mile course as part of training for the upcoming Navy Half Marathon next month. The iconic building was recently added to the list of US National Historic Landmarks.

Photo by Patrick Jones. GW Masonic Memorial, 16 Aug 2015.

Father's Name: Unknown

Last month I found Harl Cain (brother of my 2nd-great-grandmother) in the US Social Security Applications and Claims Index on Ancestry. I submitted an SS-5 request through the Social Security Administration in order to see what information might be in the file, in the hope that this document may help uncover the identity of the parents for Harl and Mary Alice Cain. Today a copy of the SS-5 arrived. While I am no closer to identifying the father of Harl and Mary Alice, the document does list Harl's mother - Jane Flatt.

Source: Social Security Administration (SSN redacted).

Harl Cain had just started working at the Diamond Match Company plant in Chico, California on 5 March 1942, and completed the SSN application a week later. The application lists his city of birth as Glasgow, Kentucky and date of birth as 16 June 1879, which match his WWI and WWII draft registration cards.

Unfortunately this doesn't give me much more than I had with the text from the index last month. I still cannot find Harl or Mary Alice Cain in the 1880 US Census. I speculate that Jane Flatt is the same person as Nancy Flatt who married Pleasant Morgan on 3 October 1884 in Barren County. Hopefully Pleasant Morgan's Civil War pension file will have more information. This file should be arriving in the mail on Monday or Tuesday next week.

Friday Photo - In Flight

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wynwood Walls, Miami. 16 Jun 2015.

More art from Wynwood Walls in Miami. This mural is by an artist named Ark from Bogota, Colombia. Previous street art from my Wynwood Walls art walk can be found at Part 1, Part 2, Friday Photo 7 August, and Friday Photo 17 July.

Sarah's quilt

At some point between the arrival of the Daniel family in Boone County, Indiana about 1872 and the early death of Sarah Melissa Jones Daniel in July 1888, Sarah completed a wonderful quilt with an 18-point star pattern. The quilt exists today, passed down from her son William A. Daniel to future generations in North Dakota. This puts the quilt between 127-143 years old. If the quilt was made before Sarah and family left Jefferson County, Tennessee, then the quilt is even older.

Photo by G. Suckut. Quilt by Sarah M. Jones Daniel.

The quilt reminds me of another quiltmaker in the family, my 4th-great-grandmother Ursula Fellme Muck. Her quilt is now in the Indiana State Museum collection. Sarah's quilt is very impressive. I showed my wife the picture above, and she said that Sarah must have been very good at math, given the intricate details of the quilt.

Here is another photo of Sarah Melissa Jones Daniel, taken in Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana.

Source: G. Suckut. Sarah M. Jones Daniel.

Sarah and her mother

Here is another photo in the set from my distant cousin in North Dakota. The picture shows Sarah Melissa Jones Daniel, standing with her hand on the shoulder of an older woman. If this is her mother, it is a photo of my 4th-great-grandmother Elizabeth Thornhill Jones.

Source: G. Suckut. Sarah Melissa Jones Daniel & her mother.

In the 1870 US Census, Elizabeth was living in the household of Sarah Melissa and husband William Gilbert Daniel in Talbotts Station, Jefferson County, Tennessee.

Elizabeth raised 11 children, and likely many grandchildren, nieces and nephews during her years in Jefferson County, Tennessee. 

For more on Elizabeth, here are some previous posts:

- Those Places Thursday- Bays Mountain (8 Nov 2012)

- Sympathy Saturday - A Mother's Pension Denied (23 Feb 2012)

Putting a face to the name

One of the goals with this blog is to put my family history research in the open so others who may be descended from these ancestors can find the information. Perhaps they have photos, letters or other artifacts that will help fill in gaps and add color to this rich history. That is exactly what happened this week when a distant cousin in North Dakota found my blog posts on William Gilbert Daniel and Sarah Jones Daniel. This cousin inherited a trunk that belonged to William A. Daniel (son of William G. and Sarah Daniel), and inside the trunk were old photos, a quilt made by Sarah and various other items.

I am extremely thankful that this cousin reached out, as now I have a picture of my 2nd-great-grandfather Thomas Robert Jones. The photo is undated, but was likely taken in Boone County, Indiana in the 1880s.

Source: G. Suckut. Thomas R. Jones.

Thomas had a quite a resemblance to his aunt Sarah Melissa Jones Daniel, in this undated photo below (perhaps about 1860-1862). Similar eyes and nose. It looks like Thomas inherited the blue eyes and dark hair of his father Joseph Jones (Sarah's older brother).

Source: G. Suckut. Sarah Jones Daniel.

There's more photos to follow, and I'm really happy to have these images. The photos do more than put a face to their name, we now have some personality to go with their stories.

Tennessee seeking public comments on state records

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Office of Open Records Counsel currently has an open public comment process on the inspection of public records (see this page for background). If you are a researcher and user of public records in Tennessee, please take a look at this process, and consider providing feedback.

Source: Tennessee State Library & Archives, Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

HB0315/SB0328 would have permitted charges for the inspection of public records under the Tennessee Public Records Act. The bill is currently off notice to allow for public input.

Although I do not live in the state, I have documented ancestors who were in the territory that became Tennessee prior to Tennessee becoming a state. I have only been able to do this through the viewing of historic records. I hope Tennessee legislators hear from others who rely on these documents, and that barriers to access should not be put on public records. Tennessee should explore less restrictive methods and consider partnerships with organizations that will help make these public records open and available so that the historical record of the state can be preserved, accessed and used for the benefit of the public.

Friday Photo - A clear day in DC

Photo by Patrick Jones. US National Archives & fountain. 29 Jun 2015.

The photo above is DC on a surprisingly clear summer day, with the US National Archives in the background. The photo was taken at the fountain in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden.

Mary Alice in the 1940 US Census

While I wait on files to arrive from the US National Archives in St. Louis, I looked again at a "shaky leaf" hint on my Ancestry tree for my 2nd-great-grandmother Mary Alice Cain Read. She appears in the 1940 US Census living in the household of her daughter Lillian and her second husband William Clay Woolridge in Louisville, Kentucky.

Source: 1940 US Census on Ancestry. Louisville, Kentucky.

It is somewhat surprising to see Mary Alice (here spelled as Alice Reed) with her state of birth listed as Tennessee. But looking closer at the census entry, Lillian and her 19 year old step son Charles answered the questions. Because I still cannot find Mary Alice in the 1880 US Census, I am not certain whether she was living near Barren County, Kentucky or in Tennessee at the time. But I am very certain that Mary Alice's mother had a Tennessee connection, so perhaps this is where Lillian got the idea that Mary Alice was born in Tennessee. Hopefully more will be uncovered in the Civil War pension file of Pleasant Morgan and the SS-5 application of Harl Cain.

As a comparison, Mary Alice appears in the 1930 US Census in Barren County, Kentucky as head-of-household, widowed, but quite well-off compared to her neighbors. She also lists her state of birth and state of birth for her parents as Kentucky.

Source: 1930 US Census. Barren County, Kentucky.

In 1920, she is still listed as Alice Read, head-of-household. Her son Lawrence is shown in this record as a butcher, taking over the family butcher shop after the death of husband Charlie Read in 1916.

Source: 1920 US Census. Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky.

There's more research to do on this line. And hopefully something new coming this week.

Luciana

Seeing the photo of my 2nd-great-grandparents Vicente Campuzano and Maria Jesus Vasquez sparked another dive through the Sonoran records this week. Thanks to helpful researcher Raclare, I now know about an engagement involving Vicente before he married Maria Jesus in May 1890.

Source: Ancestry, Mexico Historical Postcards.

The photo above is not Luciana Parra, I am using this image from the Mexico Historical Postcards database on Ancestry as a visual reference. On 3 January 1886 in Altar, Sonora, Luciana Parra signed an Informacion Matrimonial, a formal intent-to-marry document with witnesses, naming the parents of each party, their ages and residences. She was 18 years old, born in Alta California about 1868 but had been living in Altar for the past 15 years with her father Jose Parra and mother Juana Jurado.

Source: FamilySearch, Image 18 of 327.

Source: FamilySearch, Image 19 of 327. Sonora Catholic Church Records.

The document includes the declarations of Miguel Apalategui, who said he had known Vicente his whole 20 years of life; Luis Arevalo, a 49 year old widowed merchant originally from Hermosillo then living in Caborca, who said he had known Vicente for 9 years. Miguel Apalategui also testified that he had known Luciana Parra since she was a child.

Luis Arevalo provided the same testimony in support of Luciana on the next page. As far as I can tell, the two do not appear later in the marriage records for Altar, so perhaps the wedding was called off. At this point, I do not know what happened to Luciana after January 1886. It is still fascinating to see this, and the document does include a clear copy of Vicente's signature along with some names of others who knew him at this stage of his life.

Update - 7 February 2016 - I've now found new documents on Ancestry referencing Luciana Parra and what happened to her after 1886. There will be a new post on this, see February 2016.

Happy Birthday Dad

Two photos of my Dad. Wishing him a Happy Birthday and a great day out on the water.

Original photo by B. Jones. Dad about 1970.

Photo by B. Jones. Dad painting a new boat. 7 Jun 2015.

In the woodshop

This is another photo of my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano, in his later years probably after returning to Altar, Sonora from living in Arizona. He is in a woodshop, with a barefoot young boy and two other men in the background. I do not know the year of the photo. I assume this is after 1920 and he's probably in his 50s or even early 60s.

Source: R. Salazar

Thanks again to Rossanna for the photo.

Vicente and Maria Jesus

Photos always help the understanding of the time and place in which our ancestors lived. This photo shows my 2nd-great-grandparents Vicente Campuzano and Maria Jesus Vasquez, two of their children, and a little dog. In comparing this photo with the painting featuring Vicente and wife, I wonder if the painting is actually of Vicente and Maria Jesus and not with second wife Beatriz Palacios.

Source: R. Salazar

Thanks go to my cousin Rossanna for the great photo.

Here's a bit more information on the photographers who made this photo. Using "White & Lindsley" in a search on Newspapers.com, I found an article in the Tombstone Weekly Epitaph, dated 15 October 1893:

Source: Newspapers.com.

The photographers were Edward White and C. S. Lindsley.

More land involving the Green family

In mid July I wrote about my 4th-great-grandparents Thomas Green and Sarah Sally Hickey. Here are a few more land deeds involving the Green family, from the package of deed records sent by the Jefferson County Archives.

On 3 May 1847, Thomas Green acquired 40 acres of land in Jefferson County, Tennessee in exchange for $40. The land was purchased from Jacob Peck, through Adam C. Peck.

On the same day, William J. Cannon, a son of Thomas Cannon, filed a deed conveying 200 acres of land from his father's estate. His brothers Isaac B. Cannon and John Cannon were witnesses on the deed. The date of the conveyance was 29 August 1846.

Thomas Green and Sarah Hickey Green were also named in the sale of land from Thomas D. Hickey's estate to John A. Skeen. This sale was made on 13 January 1857. A transcription is below:

Hickey's Heirs title bond John A. Skeen, registered 1 January 1866

State of Tennessee}
Jefferson County}

This indenture made and entered onto this 13 day of January 1857 between Benj Robertson and his wife Polly Robertson formerly Polly Hickey, Wm F Robertson and his wife Rachel Robertson formerly Rachel Hickey, Thomas Green and his wife Sarah Green formerly Sarah Hickey, James Smith and his wife Eliz Smith formerly Eliz Hickey, Benj Hickey, John Hickey, Thos M. Hickey, Martha J. Hickey, Margaret A. Hickey, Harry Rians and his wife Nancy Rians of the one part and John A. Skeen of the other part witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred dollars each to them in hand paid the receipt whereof in hereby acknowledged hath bargained and sold and by these presence doth bargain and sell unto the said John A. Skeen our interest in an [unreadable] tract of land of 142 1/2 acres of the estate of Thomas D. Hickey dec. lying and being in the county and state aforesaid joining lands with Richard Thornhill, Marion Skeen and John A. Skeen and George McFarland being the same tract of land on which the said T.D. Hickey lived at the time of his death and also then interest in the personal property of Rachel Hickey her [unreadable] at her death and the afore bounded John Robertson and his wife Polly Robertson, W F. Robertson and his wife Rachel Robertson, Thomas Green and his wife Sarah Green, James Smith and his wife Eliz Smith, B. Hickey, J. Hickey, Thomas Hickey, and Martha J. Hickey and Margaret A. Hickey will warrant and forever [unreadable] there interest in and to said tract or parcel of land and there interest in the personal property of the widow Rachel Hickey from the lawful claims of all and every other person whatsoever onto the said John A. Skeen his heirs and assigns set our hands and seals the date above written the said John A. Skeen doth agree on his part to pay [unreadable] Hickey his proportion according to the claims he holds in the estate.

Attest M. Skeen, R. Thornhill}

John C. Hickey {seal}
Benj. Hickey {seal}
James Smith {seal}
Elizabeth Smith {seal}
Benj Robertson {seal}
Mary Robertson {seal}
Margaret A. Hickey {seal}
Martha J. HIckey {seal}
Thomas Green {seal}
Sarah Green {seal}
Thos M. Hickey {seal}
Henry Rians {seal}
Nancy Rians {seal}
Wm Robertson {seal}
Rachel Robertson {seal}
--
The deed above provides a wealth of information on the family of Thomas D. Hickey and Rachel Cannon Hickey. I will have more on Thomas and Rachel in another post.

Friday Photo - It's All Good

Photo by Patrick Jones. Art by Peter Tunney, Wynwood Walls exhibition.

The image above is from the Peter Tunney exhibition at Wynwood Walls from my Miami layover back in June. For previous photos from this street art walk, see Part 1 and Part 2.

I took over 100 photos on this day, and turned some of the best shots into a 11x14 book made on Shutterfly. I poured through about 400 different street art photos from my travels. Not all made the book, but I am pretty pleased with the final product.

Young John at the Convention

Regular readers of the blog will recognize the name of John A. Thornhill, the nephew of my 4th-great-grandmother Elizabeth Thornhill Jones. While doing research on the new British Library Flickr stream, I stumbled onto a reference mentioning John Thornhill.

First, some background information. In early 1861, Tennessee was split on whether to secede from the Union. East Tennessee voted overwhelmingly to remain with the United States, while Western and Middle Tennessee opted to join with the Confederacy. While these debates were raging, a group of Union leaders called for a convention and urged every county in East Tennessee to appoint delegates to discuss the political future of the state. A first convention was held from 30-31 May in Knoxville, followed by a second convention in Greeneville, Greene County, Tennessee on 17 June 1861.

Source: McClung Digital Collection, Knox County Library

The events surrounding the convention are documented in Oliver Perry Temple's 1899 book, East Tennessee and the Civil War (see electronic version on Archive.org) and in the official proceedings available from the Knox County Library. Temple was a key organizer of the convention, as it was planned at his law office in Knoxville. After a statewide referendum for secession passed on 8 June 1861, the Unionists of East Tennessee called for a reconvening of the East Tennessee Convention in Greeneville. 285 delegates attended this convention. Among the delegates was 20 year old John Thornhill.

Source: McClung Digital Collection, page 15.

The end product of the Convention was a Declaration of Grievances, which stated that "We prefer to remain attached to the government of our fathers. The Constitution of the United States has done us no wrong. The Congress of the United States has passed no law to oppress us...We believe there is no cause for rebellion or secession on the part of the people of Tennessee."

Many of the Convention attendees supported forming a new state of East Tennessee, although this was not part of the declaration from the 4-day meeting. Temple's book describes how many Unionists were in favor of following the path of West Virginia to ask Congress to support a state of East Tennessee. Unfortunately East Tennessee was surrounded by Confederate states, so it was not able to receive quick support from any of the free states of the Union.

It is fascinating to see Thornhill was among the delegates to this convention, just before the outbreak of fighting in Tennessee for the Civil War, and it puts a little different perspective on his later service in the 9th Tennessee Cavalry.

Who else is in the picture

This photo was on the Findagrave entry for my great-grandmother, Alma Maude Oyler Jones. According to the caption, Alma is in the middle, with her hands clasped (above a man in a tie). The photo is not dated, but I recognize my Uncle Bob (my Gumpy's brother, Robert Paul Jones) in the first row with his chin resting on his palm, and my Gumpy as the youngest in the front row, next to the man in the tie. I am guessing this photo is from the mid-to-late 1930s.

Source: Findagrave entry for Alma Oyler Jones.

I do not know who these other people are, or where it was taken, perhaps from Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana. I think I recognize my great-grandfather Edgar in the top-left, above Uncle Bob. It would be great to know more about the others in the photo.

A look ahead

The National Archives in St. Louis replied quickly yesterday to my inquiry on the Civil War pension file of Pleasant Morgan, confirming that it was not lost in the 1973 fire and they do have the file. The helpful archivist in St. Louis is in process of making a copy, once they receive my payment. The file is around 200 pages. I am hoping this file will help unravel the mystery of at least one of the parents for Mary Alice Cain Read and Harl Cain. Either way, I should have a much better sense of Pleasant Morgan after reading this file.

Civil War Pension index card for Pleasant Morgan, via Ancestry.

It may be a few weeks (or longer) before I receive the SS-5 application for Harl Cain. The pension file should provide plenty of blog content once it arrives.

On the waters of Long Creek

In 1824, Thomas Cannon acquired a 25 acre tract of land on the north side of the French Broad River, along the waters of Long Creek in Jefferson County, Tennessee. This entry is found in the North Carolina and Tennessee, Early Land Records, 1753-1931 on Ancestry.

This land grant was made years after an earlier pre-statehood land grant from 13 February 1791 in Greene County, North Carolina on Sinking Fork, Long Creek. This land later became part of Jefferson County, Tennessee. Further evidence of Thomas Cannon's early arrival in the land that became Tennessee.

Looking again at the North Carolina and Tennessee Land Records, there were two earlier land grants that pre-dated the 1791 entry. Thomas received 100 acres on Sinking Creek on 20 September 1787, followed by another 100 acres on 10 February 1791.