New Ancestor Stories in Fictional Form

New Ancestor Stories in Fictional Form

In my book, 13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories, I've always urged using a variety of methods to share your research of family stories. This is my latest effort to do that with mine. Here is the description for your interest:

"This is an ebook incorporating the compilation of four sets of episodes from the Weston Wagons West series of historical fiction stories first published online at HubPages.com. These historical fiction stories are based on the extended Weston Family members as they interact, from Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia, beginning in the 1600s, with members of the author’s actual ancestors. Based on extensive personal and collaborative research, each story shares the social history of the time along with the author’s ancestor’s own history in those times. Family surnames of ancestors include Preston and Butler, Kinnick and Duncan, in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and more. This ebook is one in a series relating the Weston Wagons West family saga stories that continue to be written based on current and future family history research."

This compilation is just one sample of many short stories I have written in this series at http://hubpages.com/@drbill-wml-smith

By compiling them into ebooks, many of them are available in one place. Useful for my reference as well as my readers. This ebook contains 25 separate episodes in three major story lines. There are also 4 'updates' that provide overviews for the whole Weston Wagons West project that are interesting from both a writer and historians perspective.

Available on Amazon.com currently are the two prior ebooks in this series...this one there shortly.

Right not, you can order from: 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/dr-bill-smith/weston-wagons-west-w1-9-t1-7-d1-4-u0-3-1630-1880/ebook/product-23251741.html

Families are Forever!! ;-)

52 Ancestors: #35 Braxton and Araminta (Kirk) Duncan

52 Ancestors: 

#35 Braxton and Araminta (Kirk) Duncan

This year, Amy Johnson Crow has issues a new 52 weeks blogging challenge:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

on her No Story Too Small blog.


The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. Not only should this get me blogging more, but also to take a deeper look at some of the people in my family tree.

My approach: I have made this a Tuesday Theme, and, use it to enhance my WikiTree ancestor profiles. That is, focus on a different ancestor on my WikiTree list of profiles, each week (include possibly adding new profiles), Great idea! Thanks to Randy Seaver's post for bringing this to my attention!
Note: Third shift (not change) to approach. Beginning with #25, I will be doing direct ancestor couples.

Ann Elilza Duncan, daughter of #35 Braxton and Araminta (Kirk) Duncan

#35 Braxton and Araminta (Kirk) Duncan

These are a set of my 3rd great-grandparents, #54 and #55 on my Ahnentafel Report, for my genealogy friends.

Their third child, 2nd daughter, was my 2nd great-grandmother, Ann Eliza Duncan, see #28, in this series.

Braxton Duncan (b. 1798, VA; d. 1859, Duncan Prairie, Mercer Co, IL)
married in act 1822 in Charleston, Virginia
Araminta Kirk (b. 1813, Scotland; d. 1855, Duncan Prairie, Mercer co, IL)

They were believed to have had ten children (2 adopted), I have recorded nine here. The first was born in Virginia, and the rest in Duncan Township, Mercer County, Illiniois, according to my records, at this time:

1. Manitia Duncan, b. abt 1840 - married to Harrison Herson in 1857 in Mercer Co, IL
2. Oscar Duncan, b. abt 1841
3. Ann Eliza Duncan, (1842-1879) - my 2nd great-grandmother
4. Granville Braxton Stafford Duncan, b. abt 1844 - married Rose, maiden name unknown
5. Josephine E. Duncan, b. abt 1846 - married a Mr. Gunsaulis
6.Thomas Kirk Duncan, b. abt 1849 - married Eliza C., maiden name unknown
7. Sarah Virginia (Jennie) Duncan, b. abt 1849
8. Towran Kelly (adopted)
9. James Kelly (adopted)

Both parents (Braxton and Araminta) died relatively young and the children were generally raised by his older brother Buford. I have some of that information, but much needs to be added. I have records that are not yet recorded, some more research would be beneficial.


This is another family I really should do some more in-depth research on… note to self!! ;-)


What fun! ;-)

Families are Forever! ;-)

52 Ancestors: #28 Elias and Ann Eliza (Duncan) Williams

52 Ancestors: #28 Elias and Ann Eliza (Duncan) Williams

 

 

 This year, Amy Johnson Crow has issues a new 52 weeks blogging challenge:

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 on her No Story Too Small blog.
 
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. Not only should this get me blogging more, but also to take a deeper look at some of the people in my family tree.

My approach: I have made this a Tuesday Theme, and, use it to enhance my WikiTree ancestor profiles. That is, focus on a different ancestor on my WikiTree list of profiles, each week (include possibly adding new profiles), Great idea! Thanks to Randy Seaver's post for bringing this to my attention!
Note: Third shift (not change) to approach. Beginning with #25, I will be doing direct ancestor couples.

#28 Elias and Ann Eliza (Duncan) Williams

These are a set of my 2nd great-grandparents, #26 and #27 on my Ahnentafel Report, for my genealogy friends.

Their first daughter, second child, was my great-grandmother, Margaret Jeanette (Nettie) (Williams) Kinnick, see #6, in this series.

There is still considerable work to do on both of these lines, going back, though much has been done. Ann Eliza died young, at age 37, leaving several young ones. Elias re-married eight years after her death, but had no more children.


Elias Williams (b. Jan 1838, Gyffylliog, Denhigh, England; d. Dec 1920, Coon Rapids, Carroll Co, Iowa) married 20 Apr 1862, Mercer Co, Illionois
Ann Eliza Duncan (b.  Mar 1842, Illinois; d. 22 Sep 1879, Guthrie County, Iowa)

I only know much about the three older children… very little about the other three…

Their children were:

1) Lemuel Benson Williams (1866-1935) - I got to know his wife
2) Margaret Jeanette (Nettie) Williams (1869-1936) - my great-grandmother
3) Josephine Williams (1872-1961) - I did get to know her!
4) Robert B. Williams (1874-bef 1961) - was not around when I was
5) Rose Williams (1876-1900)
6) Bertha Williams (1879-1898)


What fun! ;-)

Families are Forever! ;-)

Surname Saturday - Duncan (II)

Surname Saturday - Duncan (II)


Earlier Surname Saturday - Duncan

"Ann Eliza DUNCAN (1842-1879) married Elias WILLIAMS (1838-1920) on 20 Apr 1862 in Mercer Co, Illinois. They had 3 children who lived to adulthood. When the youngest of these, Josephine, was 3 years old, they moved to Iowa in 1875... first to Scranton, then to Coon Rapids shortly thereafter, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Ann was the daughter of Braxton DUNCAN (1798-1859) and  Araminta KIRK (1813-1855). Braxton was the son of Charles DUNCAN (1761-1838), a Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia (1777-1780)."

Charles DUNCAN was Scotch-Irish, and went to the Revolutionary War at the age of seventeen from Fauquier County in the Northern Neck of Virginia (enlisted 12 Jan 1777 to serve 3 years - per letter from the War Dept, 10 Nov 1900). He fought under Col. Buford, lived to a good old age, and raised a large family of children. (Written by a grand child of his youngest son, Braxton). He named his first son Buford, after Col. Buford. In the Deed Book of Fauquier County (1778-1785), Charles DUNCAN is regularly mentioned as he acquired his wealth in land.

Buford DUNCAN was the first settler of Mercer County, Illinois, in 1838, in Duncan Township which came to be named for him. He may have visited the area as early as 1834 or 1846, depending on your source of information. He was followed by his brother, Braxton, and other neighbors, friends and family from Virginia. The settlement was known as the Duncan Settlement, in the early years.

Duncan Township was just a few miles southwest of (what became) Rock Island, Illinois, as you can see on the map section (along the north border of Mercer Co, second Twp in from the Mississippi River on the west).

As I mentioned earlier, I believe this is my only family that came through the State of Virginia (and also the furthest south family line).

Addendum: Charles DUNCAN Rev War Pension files information.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Great-Great Grandmother Ann Eliza Duncan

Treasure Chest Thursday

Great-Great Grandmother Ann Eliza Duncan

This is one of the cases where a photo really is a Treasure Chest item. I had not seen this until a couple of days ago. It, again, comes from the collection of my cousin, Ellen DeVilbiss (see information yesterday), from her grandmother, my grandfather's sister.


Ann Eliza Duncan (1842-1879) married Elias Williams (1838-1920) in 1862. After having had five children between 1866 and 1876, she had twins in 1879. She and one of the twins died shortly thereafter. My records show that only three of these children reached adulthood, including my great-grandmother, Nettie (who married Alonza Kinnick). We are extremely fortunate to have such a marvelous photo of a lady who died at age 37 in 1879!  ;-) Thank you, again, Ellen for sharing this with the rest of the family, and the world, for that matter.

[This is the information Ellen provided with the photo: Ann Eliza Duncan - born in 1842 in Mercer Co. Illinois.  Married Elias Williams (b. Jan 29, 1838).  Mother of Lemuel Benson (July 1, 1866); Margaret Jeannette (Kinnick) (Sept 20, 1869); Josephine (Brock) (Dec. 20, 1872); Rose; Robert; Twins - Bertha & ---  Ann died in childbirth Sept 22, 1879 & lost 1 twin  Mr. & Mrs. High Smith adopted Bertha.  (This is taken from a copy.)]

I will write more about Ann Eliza Duncan and her family line (from Illinois and Virginia) on Saturday in a Surname Saturday, Duncan update. This is my only one of the 'round of 16' grandparents that came through Virginia, I believe.


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Missing GGrandmother Obit

Treasure Chest Thursday

Missing GGrandmother Obit

As I was doing the Saturday Night Fun exercise last feel on 'matrilineal' lines last week, I realized I did not have recorded the birthplace of one of my Great-Grandmothers. I mentioned it to my wife one day, and within a hour or so, here in my email shows up an Obit for her from a nearby town's newspaper. Neat! My wife works in Newspaper Archives all the time in her own research. I think I may have seen the obit before, years ago, but somehow had not recorded it in a handy place.

So, for me, this was a 'treasure' - I've spent most of my recent research times on hundreds of years ago, not 75 years ago. And, by the way, this obit was just 75 years ago this summer. The same summer that my Mother, Eileen, wrote the diary entries I've been sharing on Tuesdays, since mid-year. Looking back, on June 21, Week 25, she said: "Grandma to hospital. Have to operate." In Week 26, June 23, "Grandma failing all the time. Dad went up to Carroll in morning for the operation. No better at all." June 24 tells the final chapter.

Here is the Obituary:

Bayard News (online) Thursday, July 9, 1936, Page 1:

Margaret Jeanette Kinnick - obituary

    Margaret Jeannette Williams, daughter of Elias and Ann Duncan Williams was born near Rock Island, Ill., September 20, 1898 (sic - actually 1869) and died June 24, 1936, at the age of 66 years, 9 months, and 4 days.
    She moved with her parents to Scranton, Iowa, when six years old. A year or so later they moved to Coon Rapids, Iowa, where the remainder of her life was spent. Her mother died when she was ten years old and left six children. As she was the eldest daughter, the responsibility of mothering them fell upon her shoulders and how well and honorably she fulfilled that task.
    Her father was married to Sarah Armstrong, July 4, 1887. This marriage, which proved such a blessing to the motherless children freed her from much of the responsibility of the family and she was privileged to go on with her education.
    She taught school for several years.
    She was married to Alonzo P. Kinnick, July 6, 1891. To this union five children were born, two sons and three daughters.
    Her husband died in 1923 and once again the responsibility of the home fell wholly upon her shoulders.
    When the last of her children were married, she took up practical nursing and made a decided success of it. Her happy and jovial disposition made her a favorite in the sick room and her services were always in demand.
    She joined the Methodist church in early childhood and remained a faithful and devoted member to the end. She has been a member of this church for 49 years and the life which she led speaks better than any words we can utter. Her devotion to her family, whose interested always came first and her friendliness and loyalty to her neighbors was proverbial. She has set an example what we would do well to emulate. Wherever she knew that want and suffering existed found here there with her kindly ministrations.
    Mrs. Kinnick seemed to love everybody and everyone seems to love her. The one word on the lips of all is what a pity that such a good and useful woman should be taken. She occupied a place in the community that will be hard to fill.
    She was stricken about a month ago with infection in her ear and was taken to the Carroll hospital for an operation. It seemed to be successful and she left the hospital after a week or more. Last Saturday she suffered a relapse and on Sunday taken back to the hospital. Tuesday morning  a mastoid operation was performed from which she never rallied. She passed away at 8:10 Wednesday morning.
    She is survived by her five children, Paul H. Kinnick of Coon Rapids, Robert H. of Glidden, Lucille H. Herron of Coon Rapids, Gertrude Brideson  and Lillian R. Ford of Baryard. Twenty one grand-children, and one great grand-child. One sister, Mrs. Josephine Brock of Spirit Lake, Iowa. A step-mother, Mrs. Sarah Williams of Coon Rapids; two nephews, L.W. Williams of Sac City, and Dwight Williams of Coon Rapids; two nieces, Mrs. Helen Schauf of Bayard, and Mrs. Frances Keck of Montgomery, besides other relatives and a host of friends.
    Funeral services were held at the Coon Rapids Methodist church, conducted by Rev. Frank W. Clayburg of Villasca (sic), assisted by Rev. O. E. Cooley. Interment was made in Coon Rapids Cemetery.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Surname Saturday - KIRK

Surname Saturday - KIRK

On previous Saturdays, we have reported all of the known ancestor lineage surnames through  the great-great grandparent surnames (see earlier Saturday Surname posts in the left column, scroll down - back into 2009) and we have started on the next batch.

Today we finish the "round of thirty-two" (scroll down a bit...) - 3rd great-grandparents - We know and will have reported on 9 of the sixteen Male lines (four are from Denmark) we know and will be reporting on nine new female surname lines of the possible sixteen: VESTERSTROM, SPRANG, LORD, KIMMERLING, FIRESTONE, SCHWYHART, LEE, JONES, and KIRK.

Today, we will look briefly at KIRK.

Williams was my mother's paternal grandmother's surname. Nettie WILLIAM's father, Elias WILLIAMS and her mother was Ann Eliza DUNCAN. Ann was the daughter of Braxton DUNCAN (1798-1859) and  Araminta KIRK (1813-1855). Araminta was born in Scotland, and died in Duncan Prairie, Mercer Co, Illinois.

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Surnames Saturday - DUNCAN

On previous Saturdays, we have reported all of the known ancestor lineage surnames through  the great-grandparent surnames (see earlier Saturday Surname posts in the left column, scroll down - back into 2009).

From the "round of sixteen" - great-great grandparents (scroll down a bit...) - we have already reported six of the eight male surnames, two are unknown (from Denmark). Five of the eight on the female lines are known: ROLEN, BUTLER, CARLE, SIMMONS, and DUNCAN; these will be reported next.

Today, we finish the great-grandparents and will look briefly at DUNCAN.

Ann Eliza DUNCAN (1842-1879) married Elias WILLIAMS (1838-1920) on 20 Apr 1862 in Mercer Co, Illinois. They had 3 children who lived to adulthood. When the youngest of these, Josephine, was 3 years old, they moved to Iowa in 1875... first to Scranton, then to Coon Rapids shortly thereafter, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Ann was the daughter of Braxton DUNCAN (1798-1859) and  Araminta KIRK (1813-1855). Braxton was the son of Charles DUNCAN (1761-1838), a Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia (1777-1780).

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Tombstone Tuesday - Alonzo and Jeannette KINNICK

This 2000 photo is from the Coon Rapids, Iowa, cemetery. The tombstones are of my maternal great-grandparents, Alonzo P. and Jeannette (WILLIAMS) KINNICK, shown as Mother and Father - though a bit hard to read. Her dates are 1869-1936; his are 1870-1923.



Families are Forever! ;-)

Surname Saturday - WILLIAMS

My parents surnames were SMITH and KINNICK.
Their parents' surnames, respectively, were SMITH, PRESTON, KINNICK, and SORENSEN.
Their parents' surnames, respectively, were SMITH, SODERSTROM, PRESTON, MILLER, KINNICK, WILLIAMS, SORENSEN, and NEILSEN.

Today we will focus on the WILLIAMS surname in my familiy.

I introduced the WILLIAMS surname in each of my last two Wordless (nearly) Wednesday posts - Iceman and Annual Picnic. This is my mother's paternal grandmother's surname. Nettie WILLIAM's father, Elias WILLIAMS, was born in either Gyffylliog, Denhigh, England or Ruthin, Wales (Depending on the relative you listen to; I do not have confirmation either way, yet) on 29 Jan 1838.

Elias married Ann Eliza DUNCAN in Illinois in either 1842 or 1843 (confirmation of date and place is needed here).

His death was reported in my hometown newspaper, The Coon Rapids Enterprise (Iowa), 10 Dec 1920: "Elias Williams, genial, hearty, whole-souled passed away after about a year's failing health due to cancer of the stomach. He was one of the oldest of Coon Rapids' citizens and a native of Wales. He followed the trade of brick mason and plaster for 40 years."

Three children lived to adulthood: Lemuel Benson (b. 1866); Margaret Jeanette (Nettie) (b. 1869); Josephine (b. 1872).


Family is Forever! ;-)