May 2010 Blog Posts (23)

DOWN ON J.P.'S FARM 1880

As I posted earlier, I recently found the missing 1880 Nonpopulation

Federal Census Agricultural Schedule for my 2x great grandfather

Jonathan Phelps West farm. This helped me get a fuller picture of

JP’s life as a farmer and the dynamics between three of the four

West brothers. It also made me curious about a few things. I’ll talk

about those latter items first.

On the 1870 Census Jonathan and Louisa West’s children are given as

John C.(Cuvier) West and… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 29, 2010 at 1:00am — No Comments

The Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder

With his Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, editor Stephen Marion Watson aimed to "put into print, and thus preserve to future generations all matters of history and genealogy pertaining to Maine, and any families who are or ever have been associated with the Pine Tree State, of whom we can learn anything worth while to publish." Nevertheless, most of the genealogies and transcribed records published in the… Continue

Added by Chris Dunham on May 28, 2010 at 3:30am — No Comments

AN HOUR AT FOOTNOTES.COM

It's Thursday and after a short visit to the doctor for some tests the

rest of my day is free.I prefer to schedule the appointments as early

as possible in the day for just that reason.

I thought I'd revisit Footnote.com to see what databases were new or updated

and found one that was unfamiliar to me, the Final Payment Vouchers Index

for Military Pensions, 1818-1864. These records show the date of the

final payment to a Revolutionary War veteran or his widow… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 27, 2010 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

I had intended to summarize what I'd learned about my great great

grandfather Jonathan Phelps West and his brothers from the 1850-1880

Nonpopulation Census Schedules. But I hadn't found the1880

Agricultural Schedule for JP yet and I wanted to take a last shot at

it over at Ancestry.com. Searching by name hadn't turned up anything

so I… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 25, 2010 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

Collin Dechaine Marquis Saucier Pelletier Ringuet Plourde Drapeau Chamberland Daigle Albert Tardif

These are all Surnames going back to my 3rd great grandparents on my fathers side. I joined this site hoping to find relations who might help me learn more about my fathers family. I don't know any of his living relations personally and the few I have spoken to by phone or internet don't seem to want to tell me much. I have researched and found many names going back to the beginning of European Colonization. I have not tried to go back farther than that. Most of what I have found Is Celtic… Continue

Added by Golanv Igvyi on May 25, 2010 at 2:18pm — 1 Comment

DOWN ON ASA'S FARM 1880

While Hiram West had abandoned farming by 1880 in favor of the lumber

and mill business, brother Asa West was still at it, albeit at a smaller

scale than in 1870. Sometime over that decade, Asa's farm shrank by

35 acres, 20 of it farmland and the other 15 woodland. Consequently

the total value of the farm was down over a thousand dollars to 2600

dollars. The flock of ten sheep was gone. Asa still grew corn and oats

but no longer buckwheat and he had made more use of… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 23, 2010 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Society Seeks Sessions Descendants

The Berlin & Coos County Historical Society in New Hampshire is looking for Maine descendants of Berlin's first permanent residents. Descendants of William and Susanna (Blodgett) Sessions will be invited to the dedication of an historical marker at their home site in Berlin May 29.

William and Susanna married in Newry, Oxford County, Maine, 31 Aug. 1817, lived in… Continue

Added by Chris Dunham on May 20, 2010 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Florida Irish Heritage Center

Many Mainers, myself included, live part or all of the year in Florida. Some of you might be interested in visitng the following website:

Added by Timothy Lunney on May 20, 2010 at 2:42pm — No Comments

Free 1910 Census Images

Having already added the 1920 census and 1930 census, Internet Archive has now added images of the 1910 U.S. Federal Census for Maine.

Reel 536. Androscoggin County

Reel… Continue

Added by Chris Dunham on May 20, 2010 at 3:00am — No Comments

HIRAM WEST'S SAW MILL IN 1880

As we saw in the last post, my great great granduncle Hiram F. West had

abandoned farming in favor of operating a grist mill and a saw mill. The

images of the 1880 Federal Census Non-Population Schedules for Maine at

Ancestry.com have provided me with a snapshot of Hiram's two businesses

that show him to be successful. Both mills were located on the

Cambridge River in Upton, Oxford, Maine, probably close-by each other.

The saw-mill was the more profitable… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 19, 2010 at 12:00am — No Comments

HIRAM WEST'S GRIST-MILL IN 1880

By 1880 Hiram F. West was 41 and had given up farming. On the 1880

Federal Census his occupation is given as "Owner Saw and Grist-Mill". Of

the two mills, the saw-mill must have been the busier because there are

three men boarding with Hiram and his family who are

listed as "works in saw-mill":

William Mitchell, age 60

Albert F. Upton, age 41

Leonard… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 18, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Gallant

I am looking for information on my grandfathers first marriage. He is John Clarence Gallant DOB 10/1/1916,enlisted in 1942. Unknown marriage 1943-47?, child of first marriage is Linda Sue Gallant. 2nd marriage to Margorie Doughty of Maine in 1948. Not sure if he was married in Maine or maybe Louisianna. Thanks for any help,

Added by Rebecca Tibbetts on May 16, 2010 at 7:09pm — No Comments

DOWN ON ASA'S FARM

Before I move onto the 1880 Schedules for Hiram West, I'd like to complete my look at the state of three of the West brothers' farms by discussing that of the oldest, Asa Atwood West.

Asa was born in 1830 and married Matilda Barker Marston in 1854. Instead of waiting to inherit a share of his father John Cutter West's farm, Asa started his own in nearby Andover, Oxford, Maine. As we'll see from the 1870 Agricultural Schedule, he was quite succesful, but life was not without sorrow… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:58am — No Comments

HIRAM WEST'S MILL IN 1870

As I mentioned at the conclusion of my post about Hiram West's farm on the 1870 Census Agricultural Schedule, even though Hiram had a smaller farm than his brother Jonathan Phelps West, his farm's value was only $50 less and he could afford to have a hired hand. The reason he could was that he had another source of income, two mills.

I found an entry for a "Haraig Y. West" on the 1870 Federal Census Products of Industry Schedule at Ancestry.com. That should give you an idea of how hard to… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:56am — No Comments

DOWN ON HIRAM'S FARM

Listed on the same page of the 1870 Federal Census Agricultural Schedule as Jonathan Phelps West is his younger brother Hiram Ferdinand West. Born six years after John in 1838, Hiram's household included his wife "Villa M" (Arvilla Mary Ballard), their daughter Clara M. (2 years old), their son "Winnie H." (Hiram Winfield, 9 months old) and a farm worker, Charles Richards. Hiram's occupation as listed as "farmer/blacksmith". Looking at the Farm Schedule it doesn't seem that Hiram was having as… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:55am — No Comments

DOWN ON J.P.'S FARM

By 1870 there had been drastic changes on John Cutter West's farm. In 1860 there had been ten people living on the farm, nine of whom were old enough to help out around the farm with the chores. Then came the Civil War and sons Hiram and Leonidas joined the Union Army. More devastating was the epidemic of 1862 in which three of the younger children had died, follwed by the death of John Cutter West himself later that Spring. Asa Atwood West, the oldest son, was already married with a farm of… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:53am — No Comments

THE VALORA ABBOTT CONNECTIONS

I mentioned in the last post possible connections between Leonidas

West's wife Valora Abbott and other lines in my family tree. Whenever

I run across anyone with the name Abbott in my research I check

to see if they share my descent from George Abbott (1615-1681)and

Hannah Chandler (1630-1711) of Andover, Ma. Valora's father Otis

Howe Abbott was born in Andover but from everything I've found so

far he was not decended from George but from Thomas Abbott from

a… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:46am — 1 Comment

COUSIN QUEST: THE FAMILY OF LEONIDAS WEST

This is the latest in a series of posts about the descendants of the

children of John Cutter West and Arvilla (Ames) West in the hopes

it will put me in contact with some of my unknown distant cousins.

John and Arvilla's eighth child was their fourth daughter Arvilla

Electa West who died unmarried at the age of seventeen during the

diptheria epidemic of 1862. (you can read about it… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:43am — No Comments

DOWN ON J.C.'S FARM

When I finally got back online after a week-long absence I made it a point to check

out what my favorite geneabloggers had been up to while I was gone. One of the blogs

I visited was Randy Seaver's always informative Genea-Musings and one post caught

my attention,Devier J. Smith… Continue

Added by Bill West on May 14, 2010 at 12:30am — No Comments

Canadian Census Records

So many of our Maine ancestors came from across the border, and many appear in one or more of the censuses taken in Canada from 1831 to 1911. Ancestry.com has indexed images from all of these censuses in its Canadian Census Collection, but there are also some free alternatives online.

1825…

Continue

Added by Chris Dunham on May 7, 2010 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments