Monday, May 21, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Parlez-vous Français Mark Wahlberg?
My focus in genealogical research has been my wife Cece's paternal line, mainly because in her and our history together, we've known very little about it. Having never known her father, and nothing about his past, it seemed the logical place to start digging. And it's been, and will continue to be for a long time, and interesting voyage of discovery.
But occasionally, I look a little into her mother's line as well. Although they have all since died, she and I knew her mother, aunt, grandmother, great-aunt and several cousins, so the need to research further was not as strong. A quick Internet search revealed that Christina Siquaw, a cousin on Cece's maternal grandmother's side, has done a significant amount of research into the Siguaw/Sigouin/Seguin line. It goes back from the US into Canada and eventually to France.
So, in my effort to discover additional information, I did my usual name pair searches, and discovered a wealth of new (to me) information, tracing family roots well into late 1500s France. I'll be digesting and logging this newly discovered information into my own personal records. Some of it is in French, and I may be relying on language skills I haven't exercised in many years. Thank goodness for Google Translate.
One of the more interesting discoveries is that actor/singer Mark Wahlberg (and by extension, brother Donnie Wahlberg) are related to Cece though his mother's line, at least according to some genealogical research done by others. The common link is Joseph Sigouin, Cece's great-great-great grandfather, who happens to be Mark Wahlberg's great-great-great-great grandfather. That make them 4th cousins, once removed. I guess that means we can now call him just to gab on family matters.
But occasionally, I look a little into her mother's line as well. Although they have all since died, she and I knew her mother, aunt, grandmother, great-aunt and several cousins, so the need to research further was not as strong. A quick Internet search revealed that Christina Siquaw, a cousin on Cece's maternal grandmother's side, has done a significant amount of research into the Siguaw/Sigouin/Seguin line. It goes back from the US into Canada and eventually to France.
So, in my effort to discover additional information, I did my usual name pair searches, and discovered a wealth of new (to me) information, tracing family roots well into late 1500s France. I'll be digesting and logging this newly discovered information into my own personal records. Some of it is in French, and I may be relying on language skills I haven't exercised in many years. Thank goodness for Google Translate.
One of the more interesting discoveries is that actor/singer Mark Wahlberg (and by extension, brother Donnie Wahlberg) are related to Cece though his mother's line, at least according to some genealogical research done by others. The common link is Joseph Sigouin, Cece's great-great-great grandfather, who happens to be Mark Wahlberg's great-great-great-great grandfather. That make them 4th cousins, once removed. I guess that means we can now call him just to gab on family matters.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Are you my sister?
No need to answer that. I have a sister, and I know who she is.
However, my wife, Cece, has two half-sisters, and although she knows their names, she has never met nor communicated with them. It has been my goal for a long time to rectify that, and I began in earnest with my genealogical search begun in February, 2012.
It has been common knowledge that her half-sisters were named Alice La Rue and Phyllis, and they are the daughters from her father's first marriage to Evelyn Fields. But beyond that, little else was known. Their births in the early 1940s was assumed, but that was about all the information we knew. We had a picture of Alice La Rue as a young teen (or perhaps pre-teen). The picture was not dated.
Cece does have another sister named La Rue, which we've always thought was interesting that two daughters in the family shared a common name.
Through a number of searches and some first-person conversations with newly-discovered relatives, we managed to get a bit more information about the two half-sisters. Alice La Rue, born in 1940, was married to Donald Shelton, and had a son named Joel, born about 1975. She commonly went by the name La Rue and supposedly lived in Rising Sun, IN. Phyllis, born in 1941, married Jack Rogers, and we obtained a scan of her Student Identification Card for the Mt. Carmel High School (Illinois) 1955-1956 school year. The only other information we got was that her middle name was "Lee."
I tried a few Google searches and managed to find some references to Donald and Alice or La Rue Shelton, associated with a Joel Shelton, so it seems likely that these are the right folks. Then I stumbled across information that indicated that Donald Shelton died in 1996, and I confirmed that in SSDI. I also found an obituary for a sister, "Bobbie" Shelton Stinson, which named him as predeceasing her. I found genealogical records indicating his ancestors back several generations, but nothing that distinctly confirms a relationship with Alice La Rue. His grandfather, and another ancestor are named Joel, however.
I did find his burial location, and a headstone which include a space for La Rue, born June 9, 1940. This is some pretty convincing evidence that he is the right person. In the same cemetery are his grandparents, Joel and Myrta.
Additional searches for La Rue also hint at a surname of Brown, and an association with Paoli, Indiana, which contradicts the Rising Sun information. Yet, perhaps she is under our noses the whole time. A phone number is available, yet we are hesitant to try it, asking "Are you my sister?" We have some feelers out, and maybe someday we'll work up the nerve to make that call.
Phyllis' whereabouts are still a mystery.
However, my wife, Cece, has two half-sisters, and although she knows their names, she has never met nor communicated with them. It has been my goal for a long time to rectify that, and I began in earnest with my genealogical search begun in February, 2012.
It has been common knowledge that her half-sisters were named Alice La Rue and Phyllis, and they are the daughters from her father's first marriage to Evelyn Fields. But beyond that, little else was known. Their births in the early 1940s was assumed, but that was about all the information we knew. We had a picture of Alice La Rue as a young teen (or perhaps pre-teen). The picture was not dated.
Cece does have another sister named La Rue, which we've always thought was interesting that two daughters in the family shared a common name.
Through a number of searches and some first-person conversations with newly-discovered relatives, we managed to get a bit more information about the two half-sisters. Alice La Rue, born in 1940, was married to Donald Shelton, and had a son named Joel, born about 1975. She commonly went by the name La Rue and supposedly lived in Rising Sun, IN. Phyllis, born in 1941, married Jack Rogers, and we obtained a scan of her Student Identification Card for the Mt. Carmel High School (Illinois) 1955-1956 school year. The only other information we got was that her middle name was "Lee."
I tried a few Google searches and managed to find some references to Donald and Alice or La Rue Shelton, associated with a Joel Shelton, so it seems likely that these are the right folks. Then I stumbled across information that indicated that Donald Shelton died in 1996, and I confirmed that in SSDI. I also found an obituary for a sister, "Bobbie" Shelton Stinson, which named him as predeceasing her. I found genealogical records indicating his ancestors back several generations, but nothing that distinctly confirms a relationship with Alice La Rue. His grandfather, and another ancestor are named Joel, however.
I did find his burial location, and a headstone which include a space for La Rue, born June 9, 1940. This is some pretty convincing evidence that he is the right person. In the same cemetery are his grandparents, Joel and Myrta.
Additional searches for La Rue also hint at a surname of Brown, and an association with Paoli, Indiana, which contradicts the Rising Sun information. Yet, perhaps she is under our noses the whole time. A phone number is available, yet we are hesitant to try it, asking "Are you my sister?" We have some feelers out, and maybe someday we'll work up the nerve to make that call.
Phyllis' whereabouts are still a mystery.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Daughters of Samuel Grimes/Sons of William M. Bennett
This statement "It appears that the families of William and Rebecca Pittman Bennett and Samuel and Susan Goble Grimes were very close. Six of William and Rebecca's sons married six of Samuel and Susan's daughters" appears in a few locations, though I don't know its original source.
- Christina Pearson's Ancestors of Christina Marie Wise Brown
- Christina Pearson's Descendants of William M. Bennett
- Connectville/Yateville entry for William M. Bennett (added by Linda Ellis)
- John Parker's WikiTree for William M. Bennett
Another reference (Kentucky, Statewide - Marriages early to 1800) indicates "Samuel Grimes m. Elizabeth Speer in Shelby Co., KY 10 Aug 1815."
I've looked at various references for Samuel Grimes and Susan Goble/Elizabeth Spears, and come to these conclusions (names and dates from Chuck Elledge's "Elledge Family Tree" site):
Probably child of Susan Goble
- Sarah "Sally" GRIMES b. 17 Jun 1811 d. 2 Jul 1895 m. James BENNETT, Sr. b. 31 Dec 1819 d. 27 Oct 1891
- John GRIMES b. 5 Apr 1819 d. 10 Oct 1899
m. Mary SANDS b. 1820 d. 3 Dec 1859
m. Zeporah SANDS b. 25 Jan 1825 d. 29 Sep 1883
m. Susannah BROWN b. 1824 d. Y - Barbara GRIMES b. 1820 d. 2 Jul 1911
m. William BENNETT b. 5 Oct 1823 d. Y
m. Henry F. ROBBINS d. Bef 1841 - Leonard GRIMES b. 1825 d. 1870-1880 m. Philena J. MONK b. 1831 d. Y
- Elizabeth GRIMES b. 1826 d. Y m. Jesse Edward MORGAN b. 1823 d. Y
- Benjamin A. GRIMES b. 1827-1828 d. Y m. Menerva PARKS b. 1834 d. 1909
- Samuel GRIMES b. 1830 d. 1913 m. Arrabelle HUNT b. 1832 d. Y
- Abraham GRIMES b. 1831 d. Y m. Sarah PRUETT b. 1833 d. Y
- Nancy GRIMES b. 1832-1834 d. Y m. George Washington BENNETT b. 17 May 1827 d. 1912
- Katherine "Kitty" GRIMES b. 1835 d. 1910
m. Harrison BENNETT b. 22 May 1832 d. 21 Jun 1858
m. John Clark WELLMAN b. 1832-1836 d. Y - Dicie GRIMES b. 1837 d. 1919 m. Alonzo BENNETT b. 10 Dec 1836 d. 1912
So the math is correct (six sons married six daughters), when it comes to Samuel Grimes, but only one child is Susan's; the remainder appear to be Elizabeth's.
Given birth dates from the Elledge Family Tree site, Sarah "Sally" Grimes seems to be the only child of Samuel and Susan. All others were born well after 1815. There is an eight year gap between Sarah and John.
This raises questions that I have not yet been able to answer. Did Susan Goble die before 1815? Did they divorce?
Any thoughts or insights?
Additional information discovered after initial posting:
Chuck Elledge has this quote on the entry for Sarah "Sally" Grimes:
"The second son of William and Rebecca was James who was born Dec. 31, 1819. He married Sarah - nicknamed Sally - Grimes (1811-1895). Sarah was one of the five daughters of Samuel B. and Susan (Coble) Grimes, that married into the William M. Bennett family..." and the attribution is the Owen Stout book.
My Scott & Hill Family has Sarah Grimes born in 1921, making her Elizabeth's daughter, after all. No mention of Sarah Goble, except in the Owen Stout quote.
Additional information discovered after initial posting:
Chuck Elledge has this quote on the entry for Sarah "Sally" Grimes:
"The second son of William and Rebecca was James who was born Dec. 31, 1819. He married Sarah - nicknamed Sally - Grimes (1811-1895). Sarah was one of the five daughters of Samuel B. and Susan (Coble) Grimes, that married into the William M. Bennett family..." and the attribution is the Owen Stout book.
My Scott & Hill Family has Sarah Grimes born in 1921, making her Elizabeth's daughter, after all. No mention of Sarah Goble, except in the Owen Stout quote.
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