Ann Turner Daniels (Haines)

 This month I would like to share with you about the Ann Daniels and her family. I am including links to records and documents in FamilySearch.org as it is a free genealogical database. The records only reference the original documents as the actual digital images are on paid sites Ancestry.com or Findmypast.com. This may change over time and links may be broken. If links do not work please let me know so I can fix the links to keep them current. I have also included citations for anyone who is interested in searching.

I would also like to caution everyone that some of the connections I make in this family are my best guess only and I offer possibilities.

I received this picture from my cousin David Edmonds. it is captioned Edward and Ann Daniels about 1880. I do not have any knowledge of an Edward and Ann Daniels so I wonder if this could be Edward and Ann Haines? The date would have to be before February of 1871 though as that is when Ann died.

John Daniels my great great grandfather had a sister Ann. She was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England July 20, 1815 to Robert and Sarah Daniels.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JW6V-6TL?cid=fs_copy

"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JW6V-6TL : 20 March 2020), Anne Daniels, 1815.

I also found a baptism record in Upton Scudamore, where I feel that our Daniels ancestors lived. Upton Scudamore is a village and civil parish about 1.8 miles north of the town of Warminster. Now whether these are the same Ann Daniels I am not 100% sure. I am certain that Ann born in July in Northampton is right because this is the information given in the 1851 census. I am thinking it could be possible that she was baptized again back in her father's home town of Upton Scudamore along with her sister Elizabeth Esther (her story for another time).

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6D3M-FMPZ?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=9KCV-CL6&cid=fs_copy

"England, Wiltshire, Church Records, 1518-1990", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6D3M-FMPZ : 25 February 2022), Ann Turner Daniel, 1815.

The first record I found for Ann was her marriage to Edward Haines October 8, 1839 in the village of Bishopstow. Bishopstrow is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southeastern edge of the town of Warminster, a little south of Upton Scudamore. From this record I went on to discover more of her life.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NK32-B5P?cid=fs_copy

"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NXS5-KYP : 24 February 2022), Ann Daniels in entry for Edward Haines, 1839.

In the 1841 census Ann and Edward are living in Bishopstrow and have started a family, Robert George is 2 months old. Here we need a little background into the ages listed for people in the 1841 census:

• Age (for adults 15 and up, the age was rounded down to the lower multiple of 5) - FamilySearch Wiki

The 1851 census is also when I discovered Ann's mothers name, my 3 x great grandmother Sarah Daniels as she was living with Ann and Edward in Bishopstow. Sarah died shortly after the census.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGZH-1RH?from=lynx1UIV8&treeref=9KCV-CL6&cid=fs_copy

"England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGZH-1RH : 8 November 2019), Ann Hains in household of Edward Hains, Bishopstrow, Wiltshire, England; citing Bishopstrow, Wiltshire, England, p. 14, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

Ann and Edward had seven children all born in Bishopstrow except for Edward he was born in Canada. So sometime between 1852 and 1857 the Haines family relocated to Canada. Robert George the eldest, Elizabeth, John who died at age 17, Mary Ann, James who died an infant, Arthur and Edward. I have copies of letters Edward and Arthur wrote to Frederic Daniels

Ann died in  February 1871 at age 55 from apoplexy. This is an image taken from the 1871 census.

Although Ann is not my direct ancestor, researching her I was able to discover my 3 x great grandmother's name and where she was born. Collateral family research is an important part of family history discovery.

Thank you for joining my journey,

Dennis

George Turner Daniels 1840

 The following is information I have collected for My Great Grand Uncle George Turner Daniels. Firstly I was able to find his birth record and purchased a copy from England. I then found his burial record, and sent away to Crown Hill Cemetery for the information they had, but it did not identify him as my George Daniels. Finally I was able to find his death record on Ancestry and it identified his parents as John Daniels and Jane Wootton, so that sealed the deal. I was then able to compile the other records that I found for him. I received this picture from David Edmonds to whom I am grateful.

George Turner Daniels was the eldest child of John Daniels and Jane Daniels (Wootton). Born May 30, 1840 in Corsham, Wiltshire, England. From the time he is one year old in the 1841 census, until 1863 and his enlistment in the union army I do not have any records for him, although the 1900 US census does state that he immigrated in 1860.

When his parents died he was 14 years old and I do not have any information of his journey until he enlisted. He did enlist to fight in the civil war and there is a record for a George T Daniels that does match the company and regiment that is on his military pension file. He was injured in the war, which is confirmed in the 1880 census.

George married Esmerelda Ann Fenton on November 13, 1864, in Muskingum, Ohio. They never had any children, although in the 1900 census there is a listing for an adopted son James Vanblaragam, 35 years of age. He is never mentioned any other time so I am not sure if that is a mistake and he was just a boarder there.

According to the Indianapolis city directories, George was living there in 1870. There are gaps, such as between 1889 and 1895, where he is not listed. There is a letter to his brother Frederic from Mobile Alabama during this time and he states he had been living there a while. In most years he is listed working as a machinist.

George died January 17, 1925 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis

Mary Jane Daniels (Edmonds) Family

Mary Jane Daniels and Ebenezer Edmonds married December 19, 1870.

They proceeded to have the following children:

    Clara Gertrude 1873

    Annie Fenton 1875

    Norman Francis "Frank" 1879 

    Mabel Susan 1880

    Edith Lillian 1883

    Arthur Stanley 1887

    Harry Burt "Roy" 1889 

Edith was the only one of the girls to get married. She married Dr. Claude Victor Johnston and they lived in New York and had one son William.

Frank married Minnie C. Olds June 29, 1904. He died Jan 17, 1914. He lost an arm in the mill machinery and subsequently died. In the 1911 census there are no children listed in his family, only a cousin, Arthur Edmonds. 

Arthur married Mildred Abigail Perry June 6, 1917 he died in 1951. Arthur and Mildred had a son Robert and a daughter Helen.

Roy was born 28 April 1889 and after that I have no record of him except for this picture.

Mary Jane DANIELS (EDMONDS)

At the beginning of March 2020 I received a DNA match from Ancestry with Robert Michael Edmonds. I sent him a brief message, feeling that he would be a descendant of Mary Daniels (Edmonds), my great grand aunt. A week later he replied, but I did not see it for two months, so when I did see the message I replied immediately!

Since then I have been in close contact sharing our family history. He connected me with his brother David, their family historian, and he was able to send me some pictures. This is my first time to see a picture of Mary Daniels. She is with her husband Ebenezer Edmonds. 

We are working through our family history stories now, trying to get the facts straight. Mary and Eben had four girls and Three boys and adopted a British home child Mary Madden, she can be found in the 1881 census, https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1881/Pages/about-census.aspx. They ran a grist mill on  the Lynn River just south of Simcoe, Ontario.

Here is a letter she sent to her brother Frederic. I have not been able to find her birth record in France yet, but Mike and David do have her as being born there on Sep 8, 1846 in Rouen.

When Mary’s parents John and Jane died she would have been 7 years old and she went to live with Richard and Alice Quance. Richard Quance was the brother of Rebecca Quance (Daniels) the wife of George T. Daniels, Mary’s uncle. You can find her in that family in the 1861 census, https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/about-census.aspx.

I sit here looking at her picture sensing a familiarity. I compare her picture to the one of Frederic and Margaret's family, she does remind me of grand aunt Millie. I think about how it was for Mary, losing both her parents and then being separated from her brothers and sister. She seems somewhat hesitant to contact her brother, she mentions that in correspondence with her sister Sarah. For me this is emotional, reaching into the past, being able to see her picture and connect with her descendants. I guess that is why I enjoy genealogy research so much.

St. Bartholomew's Church continued

Today's blog is a continuation of last months. Inside St. Bart's church there were pictures of changes to the spire. This picture in 1809 before the spire was demolished when it became unsafe.

The next picture shows the spire as it looked between 1816 and 1874 when this second spire was removed. This would have been how the church looked in 1839 when John and Jane were married here.

The next picture is the look of the church after the second one was replaced after 1874.

Here are the names of the vicars from over the years at St. Bartholomew's. Notice the Name William Coles Bennett in 1832. He was the vicar who married John and Jane. you will find his name on their marriage record.

St. Bartholomew's

Today's blog is about St. Bartholomew's church in Corsham.

Walking up to St Bartholomew's Church

This place has been a centre of Christian worship for over one thousand years. There was certainly a Saxon church on this site long before the Normans invaded England in 1066 A.D. It is recorded that William the Conqueror granted the church at Corsham to the Abbey of St. Stephen at Caen in Normandy. The present building dates from the middle of the twelfth century, but there have been many changes and additions since then, ending with a major restoration in Victorian times. - https://corshamandlacockchurches.org.uk/churches-2/corsham-church/

On our trip to Europe when we visited Corsham and Thingley Bridge Farm, we came to St. Bart's Church as it was the Church of record for the marriage of John Daniels and Jane Wootton and many of the baptisms and funerals for the Wootton family living here.

Back of the church in the cemetery

We went for a walk around the grounds to look at some of the tombstones, but most were impossible to read due to aging and erosion. Much of the area was not mowed so we gave up on that endeavor and went into the church to have a look.

In the cemetery

Going into the church over the door is an interesting sign.

In this church porch lyeth Y body of William Tasker Gent who choos rather to be a doore keeper to the house of his God then to dwell in the tents of wickednes. He departed this life Ian the 20. An. 1684 Aged 69 years.

We ended up visiting a few different cathedrals on our trip but none held the connection as St. Bartholomew's in Corsham.

I walked with awe as we went through the church knowing that this was where my ancestors worshiped. It was an emotional experience for me visiting the place where my great great grandparents were married. Their marriage record being the first of my finds when I started this journey of genealogy discovery. More on St. Bartholomew's in the next blog. See you then. 

John and Jane's wedding record

William Daniels Update

I received this picture from Betsy Thayer. She is a descendant of William Russell and she believes this is a picture of William Daniels Russell my great grand uncle. I know this not sound decisive but have a look for yourself. Betsy thinks he holds a resemblance to my great grandfather Frederic Daniels. William ended up in Erie, Pennsylvania raising a family and he is buried there, hopefully one day I will get there but who knows.

This is a picture of William's daughter Celia Agnes Perry, Celia's daughter Audeen Carlson and Audeen's daughter Betsy. That would make Betsy and I third generation cousins or third cousins for short.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Thingley Bridge Farmhouse

Today this blog is a continuation from the last one about Thingley Bridge Farm. Today is about the farmhouse and some of the history involved. I am including some information that I received from Paul and Priscilla Thatcher. Thingley Bridge farmhouse is a historical relevant building and is listed in a book by Pamela M. Slocombe "Wiltshire Farmhouses & Cottages 1500-1850". 

While we were visiting there I was able to take a few pictures inside the house. The muntin partition is in the next two pictures. The first one has a tapestry hanging on it in the dining room side and the second from the living room area. This wall was covered in plaster and was discovered during the renovation of the house. It was decided that they would sand blast it not knowing if the wall would handle it or crumble. Handle it, it did.

The next three pictures show the end of the house where James Wooton lived with his family. The first is the entrance to that area. The second shows the room of course the only original piece is the beam in the ceiling. The third picture shows the curved wall behind where the TV is situated, this is where the stairs curved to the upper floor.

The next three pictures show the fireplace area and a cast iron oven in the present dining room. Priscilla remembers her grandmother using the oven.

As I mentioned in the previous blog post Paul and Priscilla bought the farm from her father in an auction. This is the sign announcing the sale in 1984. They are hoping, that when they move her nephew will buy the farmhouse and keep the property in the family.

Once again it was such a privilege to visit the farmhouse and see where my ancestors lived, an experience I will never forget. Hopefully I get to return to Corsham and take a longer look around this area.

To the future while looking at the past!

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Thingley Bridge Farm

Since my trip to Europe this past summer I renewed my interest in genealogy. I made a personal decision to try and write something in this blog each month. I did slip up since I did not post for almost three months. To get back on track I need to post another before the end of 2019 which, I should be able to handle. This blog post being the one.

Before our trip I purchased a Heritage Travel Plan from Legacy Tree Genealogists, since I did not want to get to England and then not know where to start. I received my plan but found it had some flaws. I expanded the research and found that Thingley was an area just outside of Corsham that covered a few different farms with Thingley in the name such as Thingley Court farm, and Thingley Bridge farm, so I was not certain of the exact one that James Wootton and John Daniels lived on. I discovered that the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham had tithe maps from 1840 with the names of the residents for each abode. This was such exciting news since the train stop for Corsham is in Chippenham and just a short walk to the History Centre.

We reserved the maps for the day we would be arriving and they were waiting for us when we arrived. We were able to verify that James Wootton lived on Thingley Bridge Farm and shared the house with another person. The next day we visited the Corsham Visitor Centre and were able to get the phone number for Thingley Bridge Farm. We made the call and got an invitation to the farm that evening. Our Airbnb host offered to drive us to the farm and we enjoyed a wonderful evening visiting with Paul and Pricilla Thatcher.

Thingley Bridge farm had been in her family for some time and encompasses about 90 acres with a stream running through the property.

This end of the house was where James Wootton lived with his family. Being inside the house and seeing what a small space it was where they lived makes us  thankful for the space we have in our own bungalow.

It was an honour and a  pleasure to be able to visit this house and walk in the footsteps of my ancestors.

This ends my blog for 2019 and I am looking forward to 2020 and more adventures. 

Happy New Year!

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

DNA Organization.

I have been going through my list of DNA matches on Ancestry. I stumbled across some YouTube videos that taught different techniques for putting matches into defined groups. I began by running shared matches on individual that I knew were in different branches of the family. First I separated the Daniels side from the Pettyjohn side, colour coding each including the third cousins.  Then finding a relative I knew was on the Bush side of the Daniels family I colour coded those relatives separating them from the Daniels. I did the same with the Pettyjohn and Donaldson families. Presently I have also defined some other families connected to my great grandparents; Sayer, Umbenhower, Wootton, Miller and Dalziel.

I am still fine tuning my plan as one person can be marked in several family groups and I am not sure how I want to handle this. The descendants of Frederic and Margaret would be Daniels and Dalziel, then the descendants of Frederick and Emily would be Daniels, Bush, Dalziel, and Sayer. If I go back further then it could be quite complicated so I think I am going to limit it to four tops but mostly two. I have yet to see how I develop this. Some cousins will only be in one family such as the James Dalziel's offspring as they are not Daniels.

I have been viewing these family groups and running the common ancestor filter looking to see how each one is related. It has been interesting and fun to do. One of the reasons for this DNA analysis was to verify the connection to William Russell that I had found so I also marked his descendants with another colour and verified each one. So far the DNA connection has held up.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Donaldson Children Picture Update.

I have an update on the Donaldson grandchildren picture taken in Iowa. You probably remember it from my previous post. I seem to have it reversed from others so I flipped it. The boy between Violetta and Preston has been identified as John Henry Donaldson the son of John Martin Donaldson, my grand uncle, and his wife Katherine. The girl with the big bow in her hair would be Lillian, the daughter of my grand uncle Temple Donaldson and and Elizabeth. The baby in the chair second from right in the front would be Temple's daughter Helen Josephine. So I am guessing that the boy just out of the picture could be Temples son Frank. The little girl on the left is Florence Vanita Curran the daughter of my grand aunt Mary (Donaldson) Curran and James. The baby to the right of Uncle Lee is Edward Curran, Mary and James son. I want to thank Gretchen Kesterson, a granddaughter of my grand aunt Easter Donaldson, for the information.

Back left: James Preston Pettyjohn, John Henry Donaldson, Mary Violetta Pettyjohn, Vienna Mae Pettyjohn, Lillian R. Donaldson, Velda C. Donaldson, Frank Donaldson, Front Left: Joseph Lee Pettyjohn, Edward Burke Curran, Kenneth E. Donaldson, Helen Josephine Donaldson, Florence Vanita Donaldson.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis