Carnival of Genealogy, #117: 1940!

That mysterious lady of the COG, Jasmine Jasia, the flowery J of the COG,  issued a new assignment: 1940!

I sat at my desk and pondered this assignment. But 1940? What did it mean? What was I to find? I was just a wee girl of five, and what did I know. So, I thought about the Census of 1940. All good COG-gers are thinking about the census of 1940. But what with the internet problems, fax, printer, and scanner on the fritz, I was in a quandary. Phones were ringing, land-line, cell, and J Jasia on the new smartzzzy-J phone. A sign! Yes, I will accept this assignment.

The task: to revisit electronic communication before computer, internet, cell phones, Smart phones, and for goodness sakes, before Face Book, and .... .

A flash of a list of newspaper articles burned in my brain. Where did I put that list? A torrent of paper swirled out of drawers, folders, files, boxes – but success! The searched-for crumpled copy was in my hands. I stared at the words from the June 1, 1940 headline of the Herald & News article (albeit p.10 of the Klamath Notes):

Klamath Falls to “go dial”

1930s hand cranked
telephone, still in  use
in my home of 1940

A phone similar to this photograph hung from the kitchen wall in the stone house where I grew up. I remember my father came through a heavy snow storm to fetch me and the other students and bus driver from a drifted-snow bound school bus. When we arrived safely at home, mother used a phone similar to the one in the photograph to call the neighboring parents and tell them the children were safe and they could pick them up when they could. Being an old fashioned party line, one call alerted all the neighbors. We each had a different set of rings, but on a party line it really didn't make any difference. Everyone picked up the phone when it rang, and “listened-in” on the conversation even if it wasn't meant for them.

Our first dial phone looked like this
"new fangled" phone and sat
on the wicker desk.

With in a few years, even our rural phone lines got the “dial-up” phones. This is the first one that I remember in our house. It sat in a place of honor on a wicker desk located in our dining room. Even though it was a “dial” phone, I remember that my mother still used the old way of giving out our phone number, “The number is TUxedo 4-9545”.  

 Now, isn't it strange that I remember that phone number all these years later.At the time I had no idea why the “TUxedo” preceeded the numbers. I do remember being quite enamored with the wonderful sounding phone numbers, REgency 5-5000, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Butterfield 8, Sycamore 4. So much more romantic, sounds of community, and at the same time far away places.

This  fancy "new phone" was similar
to our first phone with a hand-held
speaker and receiver. 

How boring, when those tonier names were replaced by numbers and Tuxedo 4-9545 became 884-945. Even when I understood that the numbers on the phone also had a little series of letters assigned to each number, I yearned for the image of a phone operator plugging into Tuxedo 4-9545 -- or "get me PEnnsylvania 6-5000"  -- or images of Elizabeth Taylor at BUtterfield 8.

1940s telephone exhange

Oh, No!  My new smartzzzy-J phone self-destructed!  What will I ever tell Jasmine Jasia, the secret woman behind the COG!  I could not complete my assignment because this blinky little piece of black plastic poufed away to nothing..........

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Sunday Synopsis: 2012 April 29th

T'was an odd week, this last week.  Started off with my desk being stacked high with left over  material from last Friday's research and post on Jabez Burns, D.D.  So, I said to Self, "Now would be a good time to finish up some more research on Jabez Burns, the Coffee Roaster."  The stacks of paper got higher, the notebooks more numerous, until finally I started filing.  About that time an electrical strike hit somewhere  nearby, zapping out the lights, TV, and my Artisan 810 printer.  It was only a momentary outage, but my printer had lights blinking on and off, error messages telling me to turn it off.  I fiddle-faddled with the printer for an hour or so, and finally got it working again. All is good, right?

No, on Wednesday afternoon the Artisan 810 was again blinking lights and messages, and nothing I did made it stop.  I thought about calling Epson, but my last memories of trying to communicate about electronic problems to someone that dinna speak English and I dinna speak electronics very well either convinced me to try another route.  Looked up the nearest service provider which was in Grants Pass  --- a 100 mile round trip for me.  I talked to a very nice person who told me to bring it in. Unhooked all of the cables and cords, loaded up the 810 and traveled to Grants Pass.  The young lady made out a service ticket and told me they would call some time next week.  So-o-o-o. I am without a fax, copier, and printer.  No so good.

Then the next morning I sit down at my computer, fire up Firefox --What!  No internet connection, but it was working last nite when I shut down the computer.  I wait until a civilized 6:30 a.m. to call my son for his input, instructions, lectures.  We ascertained that I had done the usual trouble shooting kind of stuff and it was time to call the internet service provider.  I was on the telephone with the IP from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. when I had to leave for an appointment.  The techie guy was very nice, but we did the same thing over and over and over again with no discernible results.  He finally told me that he was going to have to have "upper management" determine the problem and that it would only be about 5 minutes.  A half hour later, "upper management" was still working on the problem and I had to leave.  However, when I got back four hours later, I did indeed have internet connection.

These little  quirks have put a serious dent in my COG paper --- which was mixed up in the Jabez D.D. and Coffee Roaster mess on my desk.  I might be able to pull it together tomorrow --- maybe.

However, there were some really good things that happened this week  --- besides getting internet connection back.  I sent an email  to the Oldham Historical Society requesting some information about the Burns 3x great grandfather and his family. 

A wonderful woman by  the name of Susan sent me some great information:
 **baptismal information for William G. Burns (3x ggrandfather), his apparent twin sister, another sister by the same name, and younger brother Jabez(the D.D.)

**the baptismal records also gave the names of the parents, Joseph Burns, a Basket Maker, and Mary, of the Bent,  in Oldham. Another interesting bit of information was that J. Bunting performed the baptism for William and his sister -- their younger brother would be named for this same Jabez Bunting

**marriage record of William G. Burns, Basket Maker, and Elizabeth Horrock (I had always heard the name as Herrick;  Susan said that Horrock was a very common name in Bolton where they were married and she would need more information to search any further for Elizabeth Horrock)

**Susan also found more details about Joseph Burn's occupation in a couple of trade directories.  He was listed as a Basket and Skip maker and vendor of worm medicine in one directory; and as a Basket Maker and Worm Doctor in the other.
I have some work cut out for me to sort out and do further research on this information.

Next, I turned my attention to Dundee.  I have a ton of questions that I have been gathering for the last few years, so I contacted the Tay Valley Historical Society.  Not quite as easy to work with  as the Oldham Historical Society, but I signed up for a membership --- cuz then someone would actually talk to me --- and now I am waiting, but it feels good.

Lastly, a fellow who read my blog had written to me about Springdale, Wisconsin.  We have been in communication on serval issues, and he asked if there was anything I wanted him to look up when he went to the Wisconsin Historical Library.  I did and he did!  He found that William Burns McPherson
was, in 1895,  Asst. Adjutant General, Records and Pension Office, War Dept. from the Journal of the proceedings of the annual meeting of the commander- in- chief in "Washington City" for the state of Wisconsin.  Of course, this is supposed to be on the internet on Google Books --- however, Google Books was a bit intimidating, so I will be in contact with the librarian at WHLM.

So it was a roller coaster week  --- up's and down's and nothing went quite as planned.  Life is like that sometimes.

Jabez Burns, D.D.:My Story of The Jabez's, Part 1

Jabez Burns, Baptist Minister,
Paddington, London
circa 1870
Courtesy of the family of Margaret Burns Burmeister,
daughter of James P. and  Mary B. McPherson.

Many families have a plethora of men named William, Thomas, John and James. However, in my McPherson family, the oft used name in the past was Jabez. As a family name, Jabez goes back to 1805, when my great-great-great-great grandmother Burns, a devoted Wesleyan Methodist ,and as such a “dissenter”(from the Anglican Church of England) named one of her sons Jabez Burns, after Dr. Jabez Bunting, a well-known Wesleyan minister of her day.

This Jabez Burns, the first Jabez of our family, my 4x great uncle and brother to my 3x great grandfather William Gibson Burns, is the Jabez of this posting. He was born December 18, 1805 in Oldham, Lancashire, which was surrounded by the burgeoning industrial cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, and Bolton in the west of England.  Jabez's father, for whom I have no given name, was an apothecary, which might have been a chemist dispensing medicine , or a medical practitioner as it has been said that young Jabez Burns aided his father for a time as a “medical practitioner.”

Jabez' mother died when he was quite young. The death of his father  when Jabez was in grammar school caused him to leave school and  seek employment. Young Jabez was about 17 years old, when he became a clerk, or as some say, a manager, of a Bookseller's establishment in Keighley, York. In this atmosphere, Jabez's taste for learning and writing grew.  Although he spent most of his spare time studying, he did manage to court Jane Dawson and marry her on July 25, 1824, when they were not quite twenty years old. In the next 5 years Jabez and Jane would have two sons, George Burns and Dawson Jabez Burns.

Jabez became a member of the Wesleyan Methodists very early in life, and probably as a young teenager became a member of the Methodist New Connexion. The New Connexion was a Protestant non-conformist church also known as the Kihamite Methodists, who believed that power in the church should reside equally between ministers and the laity. . At the age of 16, he gave his first “public address” at a Methodist house near York.. A year or so after his marriage, he returned to London to pursue religious work and writing.  Although Burns never severed his relations with the New Methodist Connexion, he was baptized, around 1828, by The Rev. Farrent in a general Baptist congregation at Suffolk Street Chapel. After this he engaged in missionary work in Edinburgh and Leith, Scotland, as well at traveling and preaching temperance throughout the area.

By 1830, Jabez Burns accepted a pastorship in Perth, Scotland, where he preached Temperance, which was one of the major subgroups within the Chartist movement of the day. During this five years of pastorship of the Baptist church in Perth, Burns totally embraced the principle of total abstinence.During this period of his life, Jabez Burns was in the same general locality as his brother William Gibson Burns and his family -- and of course, James Peter McPherson.  I wonder if they often came to hear him preach when he was in Perth.

In May 1835, after six successful years in the Perth pastorate, he left Scotland to return to London to pastor the Aeon Chapel, Marylebone, London.. The Pastor Jabez Burns preached at this church for 41 years (1835-1876) and was reportedly one of the most popular preachers in greater London, and the first clergyman of any denomination to preach Temperance from the pulpit. His flock grew from 25 members and a congregation of about 50 to over 400 members, and over 800 in the congregation. Although his strict temperance beliefs, led some old timers to leave the congregation and even start new churches near by, his church grew and prospered during his 41 years as pastor.

Jabez Burns, a prolific writer of religious texts and a renowned preacher, received a D.D. Degree from the Wesleyan University,Middleton, Connecticut, in 1846.  A year later, he traveled to America, as a delegate from the English General Baptist Association to the Free Will Baptist Triennial Conference in the United States. At this time he may have visited his niece, Mary Burns McPherson, and nephew, also named Jabez Burns, who lived in New York City, after emigrating from Scotland.

Later in life, in1872 at the age of 67, he again traveled to America to accept an L.L.D. Degree from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine. He died at his home at 17 Porteus Road, Kensington, London, on January 31, 1876, and was buried in the Paddington Old Cemetery.

The legacy of Jabez Burns, D.D., includes his voluminous writings, which spanned the years 1828 to 1875; his absolute abstinence beliefs and temperance reformer ideals; and his powerful sermons from the pulpit. His nephew and namesake, Jabez Burns (son of W. G Burns) once said that they (the Burns family) were people of “small means, but independent thinkers.” This would appear to be so, as the Chartist and temperance movement were movements of reformers and dissenters --- not the status quo. This reforming idealism still holds sway over our family, flung far and wide by the Jabezes,  starting with Jabez Burns, D.D.

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Jabez Burns McPherson, B. 1847, NYC-D.1924, Bethel, VT

Recently I have posted about the  Housel family in Springdale, and then about the Sad and Untimely Death of Mary McPherson and both stories relate to Jabez, the third son of James P. and Mary B. McPherson. Nevertheless, Jabez remains somewhat of a mystery to me.

He was born in NYC on August 12, 1847, five years after the J.P. and Mary stepped foot off the sailing ship Medora and onto the soil of their new land.  By the time, Jabez was two years old, his mother, pregnant with the first sister of the three boys, was busy helping J. P. plan for their trek westward to Wisconsin.The first winter, when a cold windy storm took off a good portion of the thatched roof to their new log house, Jabez was just over three years old, and with a baby sister now at his mother's breast.  His father's diary provides an insight into how the family lived and how the farm grew.  There are very few times that J.P. mentions his boys, or girls, by name until the boys reach a working age.  He does mention a few times when he makes clothes for the boys. The first winter of 1850-51, he mentions that he "mends the children's clothes.:  In 1852, the November 27th entry, reads  "Making pants for Jabez,"  who was then 5 years old.  In fact, up through the late 1850s,  J.P. is careful to note for whom he makes clothing, including the boys and himself.Most of the time, he refers to them as "the boys,"  By the time the boys turn 10 or so, J.P. sometimes mentions them by name and the job they are doing, and for whom.

As Billy, the oldest son, begins to move out and onto his own, and finally marries Rozetta Miles, James and Jabez take over more and more of the farming.  In 1872, these two brothers marry;  James Burns McPherson marries Henrietta Elizabeth Ireland*; Jabez Burns McPherson marries Mary M Housel.
 
Jabez and Mary are in Dodgeville, Iowa County, Wisconsin at the time of the 1880 Federal Census.  They are listed with their two oldest children,  Jabez, age 6, and Margaret, age3.  Jabez reports working in a grist mill.Of course, there is no 1890 Federal Census, but Mary dies after the birth of her 6th child, on July 20, 1891. Understandably, not much was said about Jabez in the obituary, except that he was left to mourn her death, a "beloved companion who has borne the joys and sorrows for so many long years together ..."  His McPherson family does show up in love and support of Jabez; In attendance are his parents, brother James and his wife coming from Verona; younger sisters, Mary Jane Blair coming from Brooklyn, Wisconsin, and Emma Ireland and Maggie (Margaret) Burmeister from Madison.

A sad time, and sometimes I mull over sad stories.  I mulled over this one -- until I realized what was bothering me.  What happened to the children and Jabez.  At the time of Mary's death, Jabez was 42; young Jabez,19; Maggie May,14; William Phillip, 10; LeRoy, 8; Furman, 5; and baby James Berdetta who died four months after his mother.  The children all marry and can be followed in later census reports, but there is no indication of what happens to them between the death of their mother and 1900or so.

After his wife's death, Jabez Burns McPherson seems to be rather alone, as he is found as a boarder in the 1900 & 1910 Federal Census Reports and also in the 1905 Wisconsin Census..  He dies in the Winan Hall Sanatorium, in Bethel, Vermont, April 7, 1924, but there is no indication if he had family in the area.

Also, in the 1900 Federal Census, Fermon McPherson, age 14, is listed as a boarder with  David and Rose Jones  of Dodgeville.

The family linkage seems to disappear in this family after Mary's death, but it would be nice to find that this was not the case.  Perhaps, some descendant of Jabez Burns McPherson, son of my great-great grandparents James P. and Mary B. McPherson, will contact me with family stories.   I love to see those old family links restored, stories told with love and laughter  --- it would be nice if this turned out to be so.


[*Henrietta Ireland's mother, also named Henrietta,  was the daughter of  Mary Campbell and Henry Kempfer.  Their youngest daughter  was born in Quebec and after the death of her father and was named Henrietta in his honor.  The girl Henrietta Kempfer married Septimus Ireland and moved to Springdale.   Their daughter Henrietta Elizabeth Ireland.who was also called Libby, Lizzie, and perhaps Hattie,  married James Burns McPherson, and they were my great grandparents.
Henrietta Elizabeth Ireland McPherson's grandmother , Mary Campbell Kempfer  married John Foye and came to Springdale.  They had six children; Mary, Aprinda, Winthrop, Steven, Alonzo, and Milton. Alonzo Foye married Anne Adamson McPherson, sister of James Burns McPherson, and this is how the interweaving of Foye's and Ireland's occurred in my great-grandfather's time.]

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Burmeister Family & Odds n Ends as Presented in The Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Over the past few months, I have been posting articles from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948. Sometimes these articles are about my McPherson family, but many times not. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that these stories will bring forth more contacts, family, friends and history of my McPhersons and the town of Springdale,  and to, perhaps, provide a link for those who had family in Springdale during those early years in Springdale.

Ernest F. Burmeister, who is mentioned below, was a younger brother of Carl Burmeister who married the youngest daughter of my great-great grandparents James P. and Mary B. McPherson.  Henry Burmeister immigrated from Mecklinburg, Germany in 1855.  On the ship list of the "Howard", he departed from Hamburg, Germany, and arrived in the port of New York City on July 31, 1855.  His destination was Wisconsin.  By 1860, Henry was married to Sophie Pierstorff, and they had a son Andrew who was born in Wisconsin, and they were living in Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin.  The Pierstorff  family (father and two sons) are listed in the 1870 Verona Federal Census Report, with land value of $4000, which was quite sizeable at that time.  Although I didn't find a listing in the earlier Federal Census reports, I would hazard a guess that Henry knew the Pierstorff family, and his destination was Verona, Dane County, Wisconsin.

I have two separate genealogy lines that were located in Wisconsin,the Sigford's north of Madison, the McPherson's south of Madison. During my research of these folks, I have been surprised at how strong the attachment to Wisconsin's Senator LaFollette, "Fighting Bob" -- and even more surprised at how long after LaFollette's death these families still considered themselves "LaFollette liberals" even though they might never have voted for the man.

Ernest Burmeister & Odds n Ends

as presented on page 112,

 Centennial History of the Town of Springdale,

 Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Henry Clay, who was elected United States senator before he was old enough to qualify for the position under the constitution, did not have much on Ernest F. Burmeister, former sheriff of Dane County, according to tales told out of school by Mr. Burmeister to his old Spring dale neighbors at the Progressive rally at the Springdale town hall. He said he was elected constable of Springdale when he was 18 years old and was elected justice of the peace before he was 21. Furthermore, he thinks he voted when he was 16 or 17. Election officials were not very particular in those days and let boys vote if they were big enough and smart enough to take and interest in public affairs.

On the walls of the Springdale town hall, where a Progressive rally was held Friday evening, hang a number of interesting pictures. Washington and Lincoln are there, of course, and there is one of McKinley, the second martyr president, which dates back some 35 or 40 years, and which was presented by an old Springdale family.

Most interesting is a large fine drawing of the late Sen. R. M. LaFollette, made by Bernadine Flynn, daughter of George C. Flyn, and well known stage and radio artist. Under the portrait are given La Follette's “last words.” The picture represents the senator in an alert pose with a friendly smile on his face.

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Hugh Edi as Presented in the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Over the past few months, I have been posting articles from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948. Sometimes these articles are about my McPherson family, but many times not. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that these stories will bring forth more contacts, family, friends and history of my McPhersons and the town of Springdale,  and to, perhaps, provide a link for those who had family in Springdale during those early years in Springdale.

It appears that the Black's farm was that on John Black, who in 1850 was 75 years old.  The Census Report for that year, lists John; sons, William,29; James,21; and Robert, 19; and daughters, Agnes, 14; and Jenet, 12.  A Christina is not listed.  However, the 1870 and 1880 census reports, list Hugh Eadie and wife, Christina, and living in the household is Jessey Black, niece.  Jessie, born in 1859, also is listed as the daughter of William Black. There was no listing of Eadie/Edie in the 1860 Springdale Census Report, even though all of their neighbors were tallied in the census.

Hugh Eadie/Edie's farm neighbors on the Fargo, Malone, and Dryden farms, which were all on the north west portion of the township..  Although I could not locate the Black farm, but it may have been close to the McPherson and Miles farms which were on the southeast corner of the township.I believe this to be likely because the names around the Black family were all neighbors of McPherson in the 1860s. In addition, J.P.'s diary indicated that he cut corn for Mr. Black for several days during that first harvest season of 1850 in Springdale.

Hugh Edie

as presented on page 112,

 Centennial History of the Town of Springdale,

 Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948 

Hugh Edie, Scotch pioneer, was building a long cabin next to Fargo's in 1856. While doing this he slept on the floor at Fargo's. When the cabin was ready he walked to Blacks's farm, near Sugar river, for his bride. They walked back, stopping on the way at Rev. James Donald's, near Fargo's to be married., then came on to their cabin. This was Feb. 10, 1857. The log cabin was dedicated that night by ther Scotch neighbors. Peter White mixed the toddy. “And he made it strong enough,” reported one of the neighbors in later life.

( The above may be part of the "Interview Harvey Fargo, Oct. 5, 1939"
Note:Fargo, Malone, Dryden, Edie, and McCord are all neighbors. )

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Axium Malone as Presented in the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Over the past few months, I have been posting articles from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948. Sometimes these articles are about my McPherson family, but many times not. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that these stories will bring forth more contacts, family, friends and history of my McPhersons and the town of Springdale,  and to, perhaps, provide a link for those who had family in Springdale during those early years in Springdale.

 It appears that Axium Malone and his family are in Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, by 1850, as a James Malone, 43,Tn; his wife Ruthe, 35, TN, and five children are listed on the Springdale Federal Census report for that year.  The ages and names of the children, and wife are consistent with later Census Reports for the Axium Malone family. (Children listed were: John, 13, TN; Harriote C, 10, IL; Lucinda J, 9, IL; Lavina A, 6, IL; and Mary E, 3, WI.)


By 1860, the family is found under the name Axium Malone.  He is 53 years old, and his wife is now listed as Rithy, age 46; the children are now listed as John L., 24; Jane, 17; Anne, 16; Emma, 11; Mathilda, 8; William, 7; and Ellen, 5.)


The 1870 Federal Census report shows that son John and his wife have taken over the farm, and Axium is listed as retired farmer, 65, AL.  The family unit also includes, Rithia, 55, AL; and the younger children, Emma, 21, WI, and a school teacher; Matilda, 18, WI, also a  school teacher; William, 17, WI, farm labor; and Ellen, 15, WI, at home.   Harriet, Jane and Anne are no longer in the home.


One curious thing about the 1880 Federal Census for Springdale: Rithia is listed as a 65 year old widow from TN, with son William A, the head of the household, and daughter Matilda, who is also still in the home.  However, family trees on Ancestry reflect that Axium died 25 June 1903.  A family note on a family tree also indicates that Axium Malone had a prosperous dairy farm of 180 Holstein cows and furnished fresh milk for the village.  The birth place for Axium and Rithia seem to change from Census to Census, sometimes listing TN as the birthplace, and sometimes Alabama.  I also saw an Arkansas listing from a family tree. 

My great-great grandfather James P. McPherson made several references to Malone in his diary.  Unfortunately, old J.P. didn't give a lot of details in his diary -- most likely he used it as a "calendar" of sorts, to put down weather patterns, seed plantings, breeding of animals, and notations regarding his work as Justice of the Peace and political offices.  In the early years, he faithfully wrote down whenever anyone visited, or if he went to visit  a friend or neighbor.  By the late 1850, he was apparently so busy that this kind of notation dropped off.  He wasn't a man who put down much in the way of personal feelings or doings, so these neighborly visits helped to fill in the spaces. 

According to the diary there weren't many folks in  Springdale during the early 1850s who had horses, so the chances are when they went visiting, it was quite often on foot -- or at least in the case of  J.P. and his family.  The distance between the McPherson and Malone farms was about 4 miles as the crow flies, and looks to be about 5 miles via the road.


After reading many years of the diary entries and seeing a pattern in his work as Justice of the Peace, I would hazard a guess that the entries between May 31, 1854 up to December 31, 1854 were all  related to the issuance of Writ of Attachment against young John Malone.  The following diary entries from contain references to Malone:

1851 Dec   9  Tues      Making Dunkles coat. Visit from Mr. Malone.
1852 Jul  10   Sat       Cutting hay.  Addressed letters for Mr. Malone.  Storm of thunder, lightening.  Wind  & rain towards. evening
1852 Jul  31   Sat       At Madison attending meeting of County Judicial Com with Messers Beard & Malone.
1852 Nov  2   Tues     At Election.  Stopt at Malone's all night.
1853 Apr  30  Sat       Plaiting straw forenoon; digging cellar afternoon.  Visited by Mr. Malone.
1854 May 31  Wed     Planted potatoes.  Had visit from Malone & George Wright.
1854 Aug   1  Tues     Issued writ of Attachment against John Malone.  Cutting & binding wheat.
1854 Dec  30  Fri       Sewing Wm. Raes Coat.  Visited by A. Malone.
1854 Dec  31  Sun      At Mr. Lamonts.  Visited by A. Malone.
1855 Feb   2   Fri       Killed hog weighed 120 lbs, assisted by Mr. Miles.  Writing for Malone.
1855 Feb   4  Sun       Visited by Mr & Mrs Lamont & Malone.

Axium Malone Family

as presented on page 112,

 Centennial History of the Town of Springdale,

 Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948 

After Axium Malone came to Springdale he walked to Mineral Point to enter his 40 acres of land. When he got there he heard that his neighbor McCord had entered for the same land. McCord had traveled on horseback. Malone was depressed. At dinner he chatted with a lawyer and told him of his troubles. The lawyer asked: “Did McCord pay for the land he enter?” Malone jumped up and went out. McCord had not paid down for the land, so Malone paid for it and got it.
[Note: In the 1862 Springdale plat map,  A.Malone's land is shown to be a nice little parcel right on the Mt. Vernon Creek which is a branch of the Sugar river, about 2 miles  north east of Mt. Vernon.]

A Springdale pioneer was named for LaFayette, Oct 12, 1873, occurred at the Malone home in Springdale,the marriage celbration of Marquis de LaFayette Ashmore, farmer, of Arena, Wis., and Mary Emmeline Malone, daughter of Axium and Rithia Malone of Springdlae. Rev. Willliam Henry Brisbane, prominent educator and minister, then a missionary at Arena, officiated. Ashmore was born in Cole County, Ill., the son of Gideon and Polly Ashmore and the family had lived in Springdale, possibly coming north with the Malones.

The Malones belonged to the “poor white” class in the south, but had considerable enterprise to become pioneers and along many lins[??] talked intelligently and well. Axium Malone's mother was Ritha , or Rithia, Axium.[??] They came from Tennessee, and possibly earlier from Alabama, like the Drydens and Balches. They came in covered wagons, with ropes drawn through the wagon boxes and beds on them. They all chewed tobacco, men and women, and spit through their teeth into the fireplaces. At first they used cloths and rags in their windows and even for door latches.

The Malone and Foye Families, however, furnished a number of high class teachers for the country schools of their time and localities, chief among which were the well known Matilda Malone and Julia Foye.

( The above may be part of the "Interview Harvey Fargo, Oct. 5, 1939"
Note:Fargo, Malone, Dryden, Edi, and McCord are all neighbors. )

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

The Dryden Brothers as Presented in The Centennial History of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Over the past few months, I have been posting articles from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948. Sometimes these articles are about my McPherson family, but many times not. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that these stories will bring forth more contacts, family, friends and history of my McPhersons and the town of Springdale,  and to, perhaps, provide a link for those who had family in Springdale during those early years in Springdale.

My great-great grandfather, James Peter McPherson, mentioned the Drydens twice in his diary, both in 1857.(NOTE: J.P.diary transcriptions are only completed through 1862, so it is possible there are other notations about the Drydens between 1862 and 1867.)

October 26, 1857, J.P. McPherson "Issued summons in case of J.D.Dryden v. Patrick Carroll."  

December 18, 1857, J.P. McPherson "Tried Suits of Boggs vs. Thompson & Dryden and Maas vs. O'Neil."

Sometimes J.P. gives glimpses into the individual cases when he talks about who came to visit, and issues talked about, i.e., roads, fence lines, animals.  However, he is makes no other mention of the Drydens.

If one were to look for the Drydens in the census reports under the names of Nathanial or Duff -- good luck, I say.  Nathanial is listed under "Henderson Dryden" in both the 1850 and 1860 Federal Census Reports for Springdale.  I am assuming that Duff is the J.T. Dryden who lived close to Nathaniel/Henderson Dryden.  J.T.'s family is listed by initials, except for the two youngest children, James, 3, and Cordellia,1.  For that matter three of Nathaniel's four children are listed by initials, including Theron (R.T.), who is mentioned below.  Only William A. Dryden and his family, who are found in the 1860 census for Springdale, are found under the name that I was expecting.

By 1870, the Drydens are no longer listed in the Federal Census for  Springdale and have apparently moved "westward."

The Drydens

as presented on page 136,

 Centennial History of the Town of Springdale,

 Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948 

Three Dryden brothers, Duff, William and Nathaniel, lived on the road to Mt. Horeb, almost within the limits of the present village, while a cousin , Henderson Dryden, lived near the site of the present Springdale town hall. Nathaniel H. Dryden lived on the later G. E. Mickelson farm near the Northwestern viaduct east of the village. They came from Tennessee, and earlier from Alabama, probably drawn northwards like their neighbors by the lead discoveries in Wisconsin. The Drydens brought a number of ther former slaves along. One of them, “Old Rhoda,” of the Springdale Drydens, was reputed to have red teeth. Her appearances at Mt Vernon stores were stimulating events. She is said to be buried in the Mt. Horeb Cemetery. This cemetery and church sited were transferred by Nathaniel Dryden as the first burial there was that of a young Druyden youth, who died of cholera while hauling mineral from the Blue Mounds mines. He was buried near the southeast corner of the present cemetery. A sad event of the time was the killing in the fall of 1866 of Theron Dryden, son of Nathaniel, at a chavirari party near the Brackenwagen corner west of the prsent Mt. Horeb by David Holton, postmaster there. Several long drawn out trials followed the tragedy, but nothing came of them. Holton lost his farm and some years later was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery at Madison. Eventually, the Drydens moved westward. Two or more of their young men attended the Evansville seminary for short periods.

(Interview Harvey Fargo, Oct. 5, 1939)

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Sunday Synopsis: 2012 April 8th

Happy Easter to All. 

Although this was not a tremendously productive week,  I seemed to have been busy writing and other stuff -- both "writing and stuff"  took way more time than I anticipated.

The two blog posts were quite time consuming.  For instance, Furman Housel's name was spelled every which way, and few variations actually made it to a searchable name that I would recognize.  Yep, that means going through the Springdale census reports, page by page, for 1850, 1860, and 1870 -- 1880 did indeed read Furman Housel -- yippee!  Even so, that sort of activity has its own reward;  I am so familiar with the old folks that lived in Springdale during those years,  it was like visiting old friends  ---- but it did take time -- too much time!.

I had much the same problem researching the bit that I did on "The sad and untimely death of Mary McPherson."  Although, it dinna make a lot of difference in the writing of  the post, I just HAD to check out all the census reports and background information.  All went well,  until I couldn't find Jabez and Mary in the 1880 census report.  I knew they were in Dodgeville WI, but they just dinna show up on Ancestry's search.  So again, I started going thru page by page -- this time of  the 1880 Dodgeville WI Federal Census.  Now that was a trip!  Either the ink had faded, or there wasn't much ink in the first place --- whatever the cause, the census was nearly unreadable --- both to me as well as the original indexer.  Fortunately, the right side of the page (with the place of birth columns) was more decipherable.  Jabez birth place was New York, Mary's was New Jersey, and the children were born in Wisconsin, so  it was a fairly easy pattern to spot.  When I finally found Jabez, and it looked like the enumerator wrote Jabey, rather than Jabez -- and it was indexed under "Jabey."  I don't know how many hundreds of names I would have gone thru before I came to a Jabey McPherson.  I am not sure that all of this time was well spent, but you all know, when a researcher starts on the trail, the trail has to be followed to the end.

My critique group meets on next Tuesday so I have to start cranking out something on the ranch years.  However,  I do have a couple of posts semi-ready for next week.  I really thought I would get at least one more in for this week, but family happens.  A trip to Klamath Falls, some research and writing for a family project, and lo and behold  --- the week was gone --- and here we are on a "sunny" (more or less, at least not snowing) Easter day.

The Sad and Untimely Death of Mary M. McPherson, nee Housel, July 30, 1891

On April 4th, I posted a transcript from the Centennial History of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948, on Furman Housel, which noted that Furman's daughter Mary Margaret married my great-great grandparent's, James P. and Mary B. McPherson, third son, Jabez Burns McPherson.  The following are undated newspaper clippings about the death of Mary M. McPherson.  The clippings are most likely from the Dodgeville Chronicle which was established in 1862.

A Sad and Untimely Death

On the return from the Monoa Lake excursion on Thursday of last week the hundreds of people who went forth joyous and hopeful in the morning were,  startled, pained and surprised, to learn upon their arrival at our home depot that Mrs. J. B . McPherson had suddenly died during their absence.  The death was so untimely and unexpected that her sons Jabus and Willie and daughter May, were with the excursionists, little dreaming of the terriable cloud that was to shadow their course before the setting sun would sink to its course over the western seas.  Deceased gave no evidence that the end was so near until about nine o'clock in the morning, when  her case became not only critical but hopeless.  She was told that she must die, and signified her willingness to go, relying on the mercies of Jesus.  Mrs. M. was one of the converts of last summers revival and was a consistent active member of Daniel's Band also of the P.M. church and other societies.  She leaves a very large family, from  a infant one week old, to a son and daughter just passing the threshold of man and womanhood.  All the sympathy that could be given was devoted by one and all to the sorrowing family, which at most could slightly aid them in their great sorrow.  The funeral took place on Sunday afternoon from the family residence, thence to the P.M. church and finally to the sacred home of the silent sleepers in our city cemetery.  Rev. M. C. Baker officiating. Bouquets of flowers, pillows and wreaths given by friends, not only attested the merit of the dead, but also the kindly power of love and affection borne for her by all.  Beside the children a beloved companion who has born the joys and sorrows for so many long years together with the sad hearts that remain, to suffer and weep a little longer before the glad reunion when each shall wear the crown of immortal glory on the evergreen shore of deliverance and delight.


Here is another clipping of a  short obituary:

Obituary

Mary M. McPherson, whose maiden name was Housel, was born in the state of New Jersey, Sept. 14th, 1852, and died July 30, 1891, aged 38 years, ten months and fifteen days.  She left her native state with her parents and came to Wisconsin when very young.  She married J. B. McPherson April 10, 1872 who with six children are left to mourn her loss.  About ten months ago she was united with the P.M. church, and was loved and respected by all her associates.  Her end was peaceful and happy. (A hand-written note at the bottom states: "& Baby died 11/10/91)

Another clipping noted family members who had traveled to attend the funeral  (Jabez B. McPherson's family was  represented by his mother and father (J.P.), his brother James B., and sisters, Mrs. Blair (Mary Jane). Mrs. Ireland (Emma), and Mrs. Burmeister (Margaret/Maggie): 

J.P. McPherson and wife of Verona, Mrs. H. Housel of Middleton, James B. McPherson and Wife of Verona, Mrs. Blair from Brooklyn, Mrs. Ireland and Mrs. Burmeister of Madison,  Jacob Housel and wife of Mazonanie, were here last week attending the funeral of their sister and aunt, Mrs. J. B. McPherson.

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Furman Housel as Presented in The Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948

Over the past few months, I have been posting articles from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948. Sometimes these articles are about my McPherson family, but many times not. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that these stories will bring forth more contacts, family, friends and history of my McPhersons and the town of Springdale,  and to, perhaps, provide a link for those who had family in Springdale during those early years in Springdale.

Furman Housel and his family were neighbors and friends of my great-great grandparents, James P. and Mary Burns McPherson, and they were mentioned often in J.P.'s diary.  In addition, McPherson's third son, Jabez Burns McPherson, married Furman Housel's daughter, Mary M., April, 10, 1872.  I have always found it strange that in William Housel's rememberances,(Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 ),  he never mentioned his sister's marriage to Jabez B. McPherson. (Although this may be due to the "first installment" that seems to have been left out of the History.)  William Housel did mention the marriage of the eldest McPherson brother to Rosetta Miles. James and Mary's children grew up in close proximity to the Miles and Housel families.

NOTE:  Over the years, there were many different spellings of Furman and Housel.

The Furman Housel family is listed in the 1850 Federal Census for Harmony, Warren, NJ: “Firman” Housel, 35; Margaret, 31; Philip, 9; Jacob, 7; John H., 6; Ann E., 4; and Garner H., 2.

By 1860, the family is in Springdale, and the Federal Census lists the family as: "F. Hoisell," 45, Farmer, born in NY; Margit, 32, b. NJ; Philip, 19, b. NJ; Jacob, 17, b. NJ; John H., 15, b. NJ; Ann E., 14, b. NJ; Garner, 13, b. NJ; Asarey, 11, b. NJ; Mary, 8, b. NJ; Rosinda, 6, b. NJ; William, 4, b. WI, and Sarah Ellen, 1, b. WI.

The 1870 Federal Census list of the family includes: "Firmin" Housel (Ancestry.com transcription has the name as "Hansel"), 54, Farmer, NJ; Margaret, 51, Keeping House, NJ; Jacob, 27, Farm labor, NJ; Egar (Ancestry transcription has "Ezar")(, 20, Farm labor, NJ; Mary M., 17, At Home, NJ; Lucinda, 16, At Home, NJ; William, 14, Farm Labor, WI; Sarah E., 11, At Home, WI; and Furman, 8, WI.

 Finally, in the 1880 Federal Census of Springdale, "Ferman" Housel, 63, and his wife Margaret, 60, are still on the farm with Sarah E., 21, and Furman, 17

 Furman Housel 

as presented on page 136,

 Centennial History of the Town of Springdale,

 Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948 

Furman Housel homesteaded the farm now known as the Bert Moore farm in Section 25.  He was a native of New Jersey, born in 1815, the son of Jacob Housel and Ose Hull.  He came to Wisconsin in 1854. He married Miss Margarette Carpenter and to this union 12 children were born.  He was one of the pioneer settlers in Springdale. Mr. and Mrs. Earl Moore now reside on the farm. 

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 © Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Sunday Synopsis; 2012 April 1st

A very full week  -- and a good writing week.  Two major  blog posts, WDYTYA, WTCU, and Old Mac's Sons of Temperance and by the skin of my teeth the Carnival of Genealogy, #116: Picture and Memories of Elizabeth Alfreda McPherson.  In addition, I posted two excerpts from the Centennial History of the Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin, 1848-1948.

My other writing projects have faltered a wee bit along the way.  However, I met with my critique group as well as made contact with an old writing friend.


This coming week, with my granddaughter's help, I hope to get back into the work on the book of Uncle Ralph's letters  --- note to self that I am consistently saying "the book of Uncle Ralph's letters.  It is my way of putting it out to the universe that this will indeed be a book of his letters, transcribed, compiled and annotated as an homage to my Uncle Ralph and my McPherson family.

Also, on my To-Do list is another story of the ranch years -- a project on the medium to back burner.

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© Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications

Carnival of Genealogy, #116: Picture and Memories of Elizabeth Foss McPherson

Elizabeth Alfreda McPherson nee Foss
circa 1918, Crow Wing Lake, MN

Thank you, Jasia, for the topic of a Picture/Story for Women's History Month, 16^th Carnival of Genealogy topic. When I started this project, nearly a month ago, I thought that this would be a SNAP.  I knew that I was going to use the picture of my Grandmother McPherson, and I had a fair amount of information about Elizabeth Alfreda McPherson, nee Foss. After nearly three weeks of struggling with pages of facts, sometimes repeat pages with the same fact, I still have not gotten to the heart and soul of the story about this grandmother of mine. So now I am going to talk from my heart and soul and perhaps reach a connection with Elizabeth Alfreda.



I think I would have like a more personal time with my grandmother. Unfortunately, my earliest memories of her centered around driving from Klamath Falls to Anderson, California, for Christmas dinner. The trip was arduous with about 150 miles of curves that snaked down through the canyons roads that left the towns of Weed and Dunsmuir in the rear view mirror as we climbed out of the canyon to Redding and finally to the little town of Anderson. These weren't great trips; leaving our Christmas tree and all the presents for a two hour drive with periodic stops with my sister or I throwing up along side the road.



When we finally arrived, my cousins and I were in a world of play, far from the grownups. My grandmother, while I am sure she loved us grandchildren, her joy was heaped on her adult children --- there were ten of them, all independent, energetic, and boisterous. She would cook and bake and hover over them. Their family was a card playing bunch, but she seemed to live for the meal times when the cards were put away, the table set and she could minister to her children.



By the time I was eleven or twelve, my Klamath county cousins and I would spend spring vacations in Anderson with my grandparents. However, the memories of those days center mostly around my California cousin and his friends. Another memory I have of her is a visit I made to see her when I graduated from high school. I drove my car down to Lake Shasta where all of my senior classmates were all to meet, but I decided instead to visit grandma and grandpa in Central Valley, which was on the way to Shasta Lake. I don't remember very much about that visit, except that it seemed important that I make the visit. I never saw her again; she was dead six weeks later. Some say she never recovered from my father's tragic death two years before.



Somehow, I want to reconcile this image of the aged grandmother of my childhood, with the vibrant 36 year-old woman in the above picture. At this time this picture was taken she had been married for over twenty years, and had born nine, and possibly 10 children, with three more to be born in the next seven years.



She had been ill a few years before with some mysterious malady that left her paralyzed for "13 months." Some said it was polio, but there was not, to my knowledge, any after-effects that usually follow that disease. At the time of her illness, she and her family lived in northern Minnesota. Her husband Jabez, bundled her up in an overstuffed chair, loaded her and five of their then six children (a newborn baby was left with her mother-in-law) onto a train and headed for a hospital, which was most likely in Madison, Wisconsin where her parents lived. During this illness, she also gave birth to my father, as well as losing a daughter to pneumonia. According to family stories, the doctors told her that she would never walk again, at which point her husband took her home to start his own process of rehabilitation. He insisted that she eat dinner at the table, even if she had to be hand-fed; for months, he walked her back and forth the length of the room with him holding the broomstick and walking backwards, she grasping the broomstick and struggling to move her legs forward. And walk she did. They returned to northern Minnesota where they lived on farms around Crow Lake; she had four more children while living near Crow Lake, which brought the total number of living children to nine. She seemed to have a fairly close relationship with AxieAxie Root, an Indian midwife who was brought to attend to her during birth of at least three of her children. In fact, the birth certificate for one of the daughters showed the child's given name as Axie (which evidently was later changed or "corrected."



From the letters of my Uncle Ralph, who was her oldest son, I have images of an energetic, hard-working woman who cleaned, cooked, canned and cared for her family; images of her harnessing the team of horses in the middle of night, in a snowy, cold Minnesota winter, to drive to the train-stop in the middle of no-where to pick up her husband, who periodically had to take jobs away from home to make ends meet. She would brave the snowy Minnesota weather to board the train to travel to Wisconsin to tend to her ill mother. Her children seemed to be in agreement that she would do anything for her family. Often I have heard her younger daughters call her a "saint." though I never understood what them meant, other than she lived for them.



Another facet of her life that I have come to appreciate is how close she and my grandfather were. From the time she was a new bride, she would travel across state after state with him. Some women would follow their husbands, but complain about their husbands and what they left behind. Somehow, my grandmother seemed to take it all with her, from Wisconsin, to Iowa, and back, on to Minnesota, then to California and back, three times no less, and finally traversing several times the length of California to southern Oregon and points in between. I have called my grandparents "wanderers." Although that term may not do justice to them, the two of them were always together.



When I started this piece about Elizabeth Alfreda McPherson, I was searching for her, for her story, for all that I missed not really knowing her when I was a child. Even now, the picture of her in my mind tends to clear, then cloud up with the unknown, but I feel closer to this grandmother of mine than ever before. I can feel her love of her family and her Jabez, and theirs for her, that carried her through the more than fifty years and thousands of miles --- and that is enough for me.

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© Joan Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications