Fearless Females – Mini Profile

Thanks to Lisa Alzo of Accidental Genealogy for the prompts for Fearless Females in honour of Women’s History Month.  Although I didn’t have time to participate in all the prompts, I’ve enjoyed the ones I did.  It was a great way to honour our female ancestors, who sometimes are forgotten.

My third great grandmother Letis Ellen Knox was born April 14, 1830 in Jay, Franklin, Maine. She was the daughter of George W. Knox and Clarissa Fuller. I’ll refer to her as Letis, as this is the name on the civil war pension file, although she often went by Ellen. The family moved to Mercer County, Illinois somewhere between 1840 and 1850. In February of 1850 Letis gave birth to a daughter, Lucinda.  In the census of 1850, Letis and Lucinda are staying with her parents George and Clarissa.  On September 20, 1852 in Keithsburg, Mercer, Illinois, Letis marries John H. Littrell of Iowa. The family bounces back and forth between Dubuque, Iowa and Mercer, Illinois.  My second great grandmother, Angeline is born February 28, 1855 in Dubuque, Iowa.  By 1860 the family is back in Mercer with their children, Lucinda, Charles, Angeline, William, and Sarah. 

During this time period, lives change for many Americans including the Littrells.  On November 29, 1861 John H. Littrell enlists in  Dubuque, Iowa for the 12” US Infantry of Iowa. Letis is left to care for their young children like so many other mothers. Sadly Letis and the children won’t have a joyous reunion with John at the end of the civil war.  On October 11, 1862, John is discharged at Fort Hamilton, New York with a certificate of disability.  Shortly after he returns home to Dubuque, Iowa he dies of illness contracted during the war. On November 17, 1862 he passes away.  Letis is faced with raising the children on her own, with one more child, Harry. 

Letis applies for a widow’s pension at Dubuque, Iowa at the beginning of 1863.  After not having heard back from the pension office, she marries December 28, 1867 to Iredill Pate in Mercer, Illinois.  Letis and her husband, Iredill bounce between Iowa and Illinois. The last census they show up together is the 1880 census, Letis then returns to the surname of her first husband, Littrell. Letis Littrell appears in the special 1890 veterans schedule in Wahoo, Saunders, Nebraska. Why Nebraska?  It would make sense that the William Littrell of the 1880 census living in Wahoo, Saunders, Nebraska is her son. In Saunders, Nebraska, Letis applies for a pension, after not hearing anything since her first application in Dubuque, Iowa in 1863. 

By 1900, Letis is found in Chicago, Illinois living with her son (Harry), grandson (John Rodgers), and relative (Ida Knox). Once again, Letis returns to Keithsburg, Mercer, Illinois by 1910 to live with her daughter and son-in-law (Sadie and Henry Highfield). She is with still with them in 1915 in Eliot, Louise, Iowa.  After this I’m unsure of what happened to Letis, she now 85 years old.  I’m on the hunt for more records.

Fearless Females - Immigration

I have a few female ancestors who have immigrated. 

On my mother’s paternal side, my 2^nd great grandmother ( Britta Honkawarra, nee Riekki) emigrated from Finland to United States with her husband Sakris Honkawaara and four children.  From a family history book they are said to have immigrated in 1885.  On the 1900 census, Sakris states that he immigrated in 1882.  Britta and three of the children state their immigration year as 1884.  I have yet to find any passengers lists or documents to prove any dates. In the United Stated they lived in Michigan and North Dakota. They left the United States in 1911 to come to Saskatchewan, Canada.  I have found it very challenging to find records for my Finnish side, as the names seem to be spelt different on each record.  I have, also, learned that the name could be shortened to Waara. 

On my father’s paternal side, my great grandmother (Elizabeth Paterson, nee Danskine) emigrated from Scotland to Canada with her husband Francis Paterson and seven children.  They came aboard the steamship Mongolian, leaving Glasgow, Scotland arriving in Halifax, Canada in March 1907.  According to the Canadian passenger list their ultimate goal was Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Which is where settled except for Francis Paterson, which will be in another post. 

On my father’s maternal side, my great grandmother (Edith Warry, nee Smith) emigrated from England to Canada with her three children.  Her husband Alfred Warry, had emigrated the year before.  They came aboard the Kensington, leaving Liverpool, England arriving in Portland, Maine, United States in December 1907. Their final destination Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  See post dated December 13, 2010.

Surname Saturday - Robert’s Roots - BARKHOUSE

This is another surname from my husband’s family tree.  I seem to get a lot of views every time I post something from his tree.  Also, I’ve have recently received a message from someone on Ancestry about the Barkhouse line, so why not go with the flow.  Robert’s 2nd great grandmother was Bertha Barbara Barkhouse, who married George Lutz on March 20, 1874 in Lake Paul, Kings County, Nova Scotia. Going back from Bertha are: James William Barkhouse-Michael Barkhouse-Johan (Phillip) Berghaus-Johan (Nikolaus) Berghaus. 

Nickolaus Berghaus and his wife Gertruda arrived May 30, 1752 aboard the “Sally”. They were originally from Germany.  It seems that most of the Barkhouses in Nova Scotia are descendants from this one couple. The orginal name of Berghaus was anglicized to Barkhouse. 

While we are still researching and collecting sources for this line, here are some resources that we found helpful:

Article by Tarina Bambrick about a book complied by Ronald T. Barkhouse on the Descendants of Nikolaus and Gertruda Berghaus.  We don’t have a copy of this book, but have seen a copy at the Kings County Museum in Nova Scotia. This is on our wanted list.

Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Genealogy.  This is a great website with lots of resources for the Lunenburg County.  Even a passenger lists for the “Sally”.  Look for John Nicolaus Berghaus  listed as a farmer from Darmstad.

Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics is a great place to look up births, marriages, and deaths for Nova Scotia. It is linked to original records were you can see the digitized copy for free. You can order copies if you wish, as well.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day – Robert’s Roots

In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would write a post about Irish heritage.  While I haven’t found any on my side (yet), I know my husband Robert has some Irish.  His Irish roots go back to Robert St. Clair Stoddart born about 1769 in Longford, Ireland. His line is Robert St. Clair Stoddart-James St. Clair Stoddart-Robert Stoddart-Milford Clayton Stoddart-Maurice Randall Stoddart-Robert’s Mom-Robert Foster.

This is one of the lines that is on the list of projects to work on together, when Robert has more time. We have found some information on Robert Stoddart on our visit to the O’Dell Museum when we were last in Nova Scotia.

From a list of soldiers discharged in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  They were from the 98^th (Late 99^th) Regiment of Foot. (1803-1818) (disbanded)

The introduction to the list states that the Regiment of Foot was raised in Ireland in 1803. From 1806 to 1818, they were stationed at Halifax,Nova Scotia; Fredricton, New Brunswick; and St. John’s, Newfoundland. They were renumbered as the 98^th in 1815.  They were disbanded in 1818.

Robert Stoddors/Studdors [Stoddart] enlisted September 30, 1804 at the age of 35 in Longford, Ireland.  He was discharged June 25, 1818 at Fredriction.  He was listed as a carpenter. 

We have found Robert Stoddart in the book “History of the County of Annapolis Nova Scotia” by W.A. Calnek. The book can be looked at on Our Roots, page 280.  His is listed in Falkland as Sergeant Robert Stoddart who was an original grantee.  

We have some information about this line from a relative who did up a book on Robert Stoddart’s descendants.  While this is a great starting point, we still need to find more sources. But that's half the fun.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Fearless Females – Six-Word Memoir

Write a six-word tribute to one of your ancestors.  This was so much fun, that I pick a female ancestor from each of my lines.

Father’s Maternal-Dorothy Eleanor May Warry (Paterson), my grandmother:  English. Wish I Had Known You.

Father’s Paternal-Elizabeth Danskine (Paterson), my great grandmother:  Scottish. Mother. Shopkeeper. Strong. Spanish Flu.

Mother’s Paternal-Britta Riekki (Honkawaara), my 2^nd great grandmother:  Lived Three Countries. Finnish, Skier. Religious.

Mother’s Maternal-Letis Ellen Knox (Littrell) (Pate), my 3^rd great grandmother:  Civil war widow. American. Mayflower Descendant. (still trying to prove)

Fearless Females – Tragic Circumstances

As I look at my female ancestors, many of them lived through tough times. Some of them lost husbands, leaving them to raise a family alone and some lost their children before they were even grown. But one of the most tragic circumstances is the death of a young mother after the joyous occasion of the birth of a child. It’s truly sad to see how many of these women passed away. Really makes you appreciated the advances in modern medicine. 

Both my grandfather, Johnston Paterson, and my great grandfather, Francis Paterson lost their first wives shortly after the birth of their first child. 

Johnston Paterson lost his young wife, Vera Ellen Marsh Seaman, on January 19, 1921.  Their daughter was only two months old. This was a tragic loss for both the Paterson and Seaman families. The baby girl was raised by the Seaman family, since she was so young and my grandfather a single man starting a new homestead.  This was something I only found out about when I started researching. My father and his brothers knew about their half sister. They had even tried to find her, but didn’t know where to begin. I’m hoping that I can find out what happened to her, maybe fill a void in the tree. 

Francis Paterson lost his young wife Ewenina Kennedy in Airdrie, Scotland on March 24, 1882.  She was only 19 years old and her daughter, Mary Paterson, was a month old. I’m not sure how my great grandfather managed a young daughter (maybe help from family). Francis remarried a year later to my great grandmother, Elizabeth Danskine. Ewenina’s daughter Mary never made it to adulthood, dying of a tragic accident at 14 years old.

Fearless Females – Family Documents

This is a narrative based on my 2^nd great grandmother’s (Angeline Littrell) marriage record from March 4, 2011.

John H Littrell’s and Ellen Knox’s daughter, Angeline married for the second time in Millersburg, Mercer County, Illinois.  She was married August 29, 1883 by Pastor J.D. Calhoun of the M.E. Church.  Angeline was born 1855 in Iowa and has been residing in Keithsburg. Her husband is the son of John W. Landers and Mary A. Humbert. James was born in Indiana 1854 and was a farmer at the time of his marriage, residing in Keithsburg.

Fearless Females – Diaries, Letters, and Journals

I don’t have any diaries, letters or journals from female ancestors. I do have photos of an autograph book of my grandmother, Dorothy Paterson (Warry).

My father was lucky to be in possession of his mother’s small little autograph book.  It’s filled with witting of my grandmother’s friends and acquaintances. After my father passed away, I found some comfort in looking through that little book that has been touch by my father’s and grandmother’s hands. I never knew my grandmother as she passed away before I was born. My memories of her are created by family stories, photos, and little bits of her life, such as the autograph book.  The book has been passed on to a cousin, thanks to my mother. (I’ll try not to sound bitter, I sure my cousin will treasure it.)

The dates in the book are mostly from 1919, a couple from 1921, and one from 1936. They were mostly written in Ontario, before Dorothy moved to Edmonton with her parents. I’m hoping some day to research the names in the book.

Fearless Females – Marriage Records

Thanks to Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist for Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts for March in honour of National Women’s History Month in the USA.

From my Dad’s side of the family, I have a photo of the original marriage certificate that my uncle has, passed down from his mother, Dorothy Paterson(Warry).  This certificate is over hundred years old! This was her parent’s marriage certificate (my great grandparents), Alfred William Warry and Edith Eleanor Smith. They were married August 2, 1897 in the Buckland Baptist Chapal,  Branksome Road, Poole, England. Please see labels on side more about the Warrys.

From my Mom’s side of the family, I have a return of a marriage to county clerk for my 2^nd great grandparents, James R. Landers and Angeline Littrell.  They were married August 29, 1883 at Millersburg, Mercer County, Iowa.