Finding Dennis

Sunday, 29 September 2019

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

Saturday, 21 September 2019

2nd Cousin in Florida

On May 14, 2018 I received a message on Ancestry from Mary Atchison, our DNA came up as a match. She had grown up on the east coast and did not know much about her extended family. Mary's grandfather was William Douglas Donaldson the brother to Sarah Melissa Donaldson my grandmother. We are 2nd generation cousins.

Temple and William in a coal mine

William Douglas Donaldson Sr. Married Mary Mathilda (Tillie) Ess and they had one daughter Velda. After Tillie passed away William married Alpha Mae Hughes Wilkenson and they had six children. Kenneth Edward, Nancy Isabelle, John Wilbur, Lula Mae,William Douglas, and Alice Lourine.

Velda Donaldson back left, and Kenneth Donaldson front centre.
Aunt Mae and Aunt Violetta back centre, Uncle Preston back right and Uncle Lee front right.

Back Left: Kenneth, Velda, Nancy (Isabel), John (Wilbur).
Front Left: LulaMae, William, Alice (Lorrine).

Mary's father William left Illinois when he was young after his brother Kenneth was killed in a coal mine accident. He did not want to work in the mines so he joined the merchant marines, then the navy. He became a Boston police officer, retired in the 1980's and moved to Florida.

In January 2019 I was able to meet Mary, her husband Don, and son Chris, in person in Fort Lauderdale on our way to a Caribbean cruise. They drove down from Jacksonville to meet Evelyn and I.

Mary Atchinson and Myself

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Saturday, 24 August 2019

What Happened to William Daniels?

In the records of the Hamilton Children's Asylum was a record of two children of John and Jane Daniels who were admitted after being orphaned. Frederic my great grandfather and William his older brother 6 and 7 respectively.

William was adopted by John Russell and there was no further information about him and as far as I know the family had no contact.

Last year I had my DNA tested at Ancestry and received my results at the end of February while attending Rootstech in Salt Lake City. I took some time to go over my matches. I had many on my mother's side and not quite so many on my dad's side. I narrowed the results by doing a shared match with a cousin on my grandfather Daniels side. This way I would only get the Daniels matches separating them from the Bush matches. There were very limited results and only a few with online trees. There were names on the list I was not familiar with, so I opened each one that had a tree, to look at them. Eileen Salamone had a tree with 304 people and in that tree was one name that stood out to me, Wm Russell. Could this be William Daniels?

Eventually I got into more trees and found his name to be William Daniels Russell. This was getting exciting!. There was a story of how he had been adopted from an orphanage in Canada another exciting bit of information! One problem was his birth year, they had him being born in 1855, but that was his adoption year so that put a damper on things. In talking with my brother Wayne I learned that it was a common practice to put the adoption year as the birth year for adopted children. I e-mailed some of the people on the list and eventually got a reply. Lisbeth Anderson-Thayer "Betsy" was very interested in the story and we have been corresponding ever since. We have shared pictures and information. There was still doubt in my mind though, but why would I match with this line of people? Betsy did not have her DNA done so I could not do a cross match with her. She had a family picture, but no names with it and she had a list of names for a picture, but no picture. I am still hoping she finds the corresponding list of names and picture.

The Spalding Family Reunion.
The picture with no names. The gentleman 3rd from the left in the first row looks similar to Frederic Daniels. No confirmation yet though, still hoping.

The day back from our trip to Europe I have a message waiting, it is from Betsy:

"The Daniels stuff is true!
I did the ancestry dna test and we came out matches
Betsy in St Louis"

I was able to do a shared match with Betsy and found a heather57anne with a large tree, so I viewed Heather's tree and found the Wootton connection which adds to the confirmation of William Daniels Russell being the brother to my great grandfather Frederic Daniels.

When I started my DNA testing I had the thought in the back of my mind, maybe there would be a chance to connect with a descendant of William's. Every piece of information helped. Knowing who had adopted him from the Hamilton records gave me the knowledge to look for the William Russell name, and having my DNA in the system gave me the opportunity to find him in a family of unfamiliar names.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Sunday, 10 June 2018

Hiatus Apology

I have to apologize for the delay in posting my blog. I had to take a break from my genealogy for a few different reasons.

1. Spring has sprung and there is much work that needs to be done in the yard.

2. I needed a break from genealogy since I have genealogy overload. I guess that can really happen!

3. I have some personal issues that have kept me from writing lately and am dealing with them at this time. We were facing some pressing problems where I work but they have been resolved so things there are back to normal which is quite a load off my mind.

Hopefully I can be back to writing soon and keep sharing the history of my family. For those of you coming to the Pettyjohn reunion in Salmon Arm it will be nice to see you there. Unfortunately I have fallen behind on my "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" but I still hope to catch up or maybe it will become "52 Ancestors in 104 Weeks", who knows!

Thank you for your patience,

Dennis

Tuesday, 15 May 2018

Greenland The Daniels Farm at Valens, Ontario

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Taxes

On my recent visit to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, I was able to look at the Tax Assessment records for Beverly Township, Wentworth County, Ontario, Canada. At the time it seemed a very tedious task scanning all these records, from year after year, but it did turn up some interesting tidbits of information.

Greenland The Homestead in Valens, Ontario around 1900

In 1868 the land was valued at $740.00, and Robert McDonald was a “freeholder,” which means he owned the property. Robert was fifty-nine years old and listed in the reserve militia roll. Frederic Daniels was listed as nineteen years old and was in the first class service militia roll. These two columns of information were only found in this year’s assessment records. This could be the reason my grandfather joined the militia, following in his father’s footsteps.

In 1874 Frederic was 25 years of age and was listed as a tenant farmer with Robert McDonald. The land was valued at $650.00.

Assessment of Ratable Property 1847

In 1885 Frederic took over the farm and was listed as “freeholder.” There was a column that was marked, one death. Robert McDonald had died and left his farm to Frederic.

From 1888 through 1891 Frederic shared his land with John and George Dickson, and John Robson. In two of those years, their total assessed values were combined.

At age 21 in 1897 Robert Daniels, Frederic’s eldest son joined his father as a “freeholder.”

In 1898 he farm was valued at $1600.00. Robert Dalziel, Frederic’s nephew, was included in the tax assessment due to his income. He was living on the farm and working as a mason.

This is where my research ended with the tax assessment records. As you can see, there are some interesting tidbits of information even from boring tax records.

Former Daniels Farm in 1997
Picture courtesy of Jerold and Evelyn Daniels

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Thursday, 3 May 2018

The Discovery of Anna Marie Daniels

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Maiden Aunt

This is not an image of Anna Marie Daniels
Image from page 154 of "When I was your age" (1894)
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe

On my recent journey to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, I learned about the online French civil records. My last day there I took the time to go through the records for Sotteville-Les-Rouen, where my great-grandfather Frederic Daniels was born. It was possible that Frederic’s two sisters Sarah and Mary were born in Sotteville-Les-Rouen, since some of the Canadian census records had them listed as being born in France. It was possible that his brother William, was born there too, because he was just a year older than Frederic. I assumed I would find their birth records in Sotteville-Les-Rouen, but I didn’t. Who I did find was Anna Marie Daniels a younger sister to Frederic, but, alas her death record also.

This was the first I had ever heard of Anna Marie. She was born April 8, 1850, to John Daniels and Jane Wootten. Anne Marie died the same year on July 10^th at three months of age. There was no reason given for her death.

The discovery of Anna Marie evoked an array of emotions for me. I am left with a somber feeling when I think of her being forgotten for so many years, and sad she died so young. On the other hand, I was excited to find her and happy that I brought her story back to life.

Wikipedia

Below are the translations of the records that I found. The original French records are posted on FamilySearch.com as I added Anna Marie to the family there.

Genealogy Record Translation
By GenealogyTranslations.com

Source: Archives départementales de Seine-Maritime, Sotteville-lès-Rouen > Registres Etat Civil > Naissances,Mariages, Décès. 1850, Cote 3E 00999, image 92 of 364 available at
http://recherche.archivesdepartementales76.net/?id=recherche_guidee_etat_civil_detail .
Location: Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France

Translation:
#157
Birth of Anna Marie Daniels
The year 1850, April 10th at 10am appeared before me, the mayor of the Communne
Sotteville les Rouen citizen John Daniels, mechanic, 37 years of age, residing at the same
commune, rue Cecille and declared that on the 8th of this month at 7:30 in the morning
in his house from his wife of legitimate marriage concluded in England with Jane
Wootter, no profession, 29 years of age, the child was born, and presented us the female
child, and declared that she was given the name Anna Marie. On this declaration I
registered the act in presence of Louis Andre Richard, driver, 30 years of age, residing at
the same commune, rue Cecille # 27 and Aim? Verrier , 52 years old, 1 resident of the
same commune. This act was read aloud and signed by me and two present, except the
second witness who is illiterate.
(signature) John Daniels
(signature) J.A. Richards
(signature) Vergne (unreadable), Mayor.

Translated and annotated by Kirill Chashchin
Kirill Chashchin March 30, 2018
© Translation 2018 GenealogyTranslations.com

1 I cannot determine profession

____________________________________________________________________

Genealogy Record Translation
By GenealogyTranslations.com

Source: Archives départementales de Seine-Maritime, Sotteville-lès-Rouen > Registres Etat Civil > Naissances,
Mariages, Décès. 1850, Cote 3E 00999, image 185 of 364 available at
http://recherche.archivesdepartementales76.net/?id=recherche_guidee_etat_civil_detail .
Location: Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France

Translation:
#308
Death of Anna Marie Daniels
Year 1850, 16th July at 3:30pm. Anna Marie Daniels died today at 10:30 in the morning
at the house of her father located at the same commune, rue Cecille, aged 3 months,
born in this commune on 8th of April 1850, daughter of John Daniels and Jane Wootter,
residents of the commune de Sotteville les Rouen. Upon the declaration of Mr John
Daniels, mechanic, 37 years of age, resident of this commune and father of decedent, and
Charles W Lellan, tailor, 35 years old and resident of this commune, Grande Rue this act
was signed by me and both of them after reading aloud.
(signature) Charles W Lellan
(signature) John Daniels
(signature) Vergne (unreadable), Mayor

Translated and annotated by Kirill Chashchin
Kirill Chashchin March 30, 2018
© Translation 2018 GenealogyTranslations.com

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Wednesday, 25 April 2018

Barnett Presley Donaldson

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Misfortune

Barney and Nancy's home

Years ago my mother gave me a copy of the Biography of Barney P. Donaldson. Barney was my great grandfather and I can remember how it made me cry when I read it. Barney seemed to have more than his share of misfortune. It is tough to measure that against other forms of good fortune which Barney also had in his life. I will try and summarize his biography here.

The misfortune starts with him losing his father at fifteen years of age, “just at the time I needed a boss.” Three years later his mother died, and he wrote “I never realized what a friend mother was until she died.” Barney married Nancy Jane Myers 16 February 1879, and they moved out to the farm his father had left him, married life was starting out good, but then financial misfortune seemed to stalk him. He sold that farm or in his words “gave it away” bought more land in another county stayed two years and then gave that place away also. He was losing every time he sold. He moved his family another ten or eleven times, working mostly at hauling freight from cream to dead hogs his longest sojourn being in Coffeen, Illinois for twenty-four years.

Barnett Presley Donaldson

One day after having his place all paid for he was having dinner with his sister and commented how he was the “happiest man in Coffeen.” Later that evening at home his barn caught on fire with four horses, his tack, new buggy, and feed inside; all were lost in the fire. They managed to save the house with the help of the town folk, but he had no insurance to cover his loses. Within two hours he went from the happiest man in Coffeen to down and out. Thankfully donations were raised, so he was able to buy another team and work again, but the loss in his words “took all the vim out of me; my loss was a great deal more than that.”

At one point in his life he contacted “sore eyes” and was nearly blind for three years so much he could hardly tell the children apart. Nancy picked up the slack doing most of the farm work with help from her sister Nelly.

Barnett and Nancy

When Barney was writing his biography he had just discovered he had cancer of the jawbone. He had been having trouble opening his mouth for several months. This is how he ended his story:

“I stop and look at my good old hands, that worked so hard to raise my family and how could I think that my Lord would-will take me home; I have not the least fear of it. But then, to young people, I want to say that the better you serve the Lord the better here on this earth it is, because it shows more humanity for each other. God says, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto me or you,” as you might write it. Enough for that. I will just take my fate the best I can; I don’t care for myself so much, but for my companion that has been by my side for 50 years or there about, and sure is a real one, never was found lagging always was up and doing for the family. God bless her, this is a sad eve for me and Mam. We take turns in crying goodnight, the 21^st of January 1929.”

This summary and excerpts were taken from the Biography of Barney P. Donaldson, Coffeen, Illinois, 14 January 1929, (Reprinted 24 October 1958)

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Saturday, 14 April 2018

Genealogy Luck

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Lucky

Many times it has felt like I hit the brick wall of genealogical research, but I’m pleased to say that other times luck has been on my side. This week I am going to write about the luck I have had in searching for ancestors, particularly on a visit to Onaway, Michigan.

www.weather-forecast.com

In 1992 on the return trip from a family vacation to Windsor, Ontario I wanted to stop in Onaway, Michigan where my grandmother Emily Bush was born. We took highway 23 up the east coast of Lower Michigan to Hoeft State Park and camped there for the night. It was a beautiful spot on the shore of Lake Michigan. We were able to go down to the lake and walk along the shore skipping rocks and watching the ships in the distance. Later after nightfall we got a little scare form the racoons investigating our campsite. The next day we stopped at the Ocqueoc Falls for some photos before driving on to Onaway.

The idea of visiting the birthplace of my grandmother was one thing, but knowing what to do once getting there was another. I had no plan in place, and I didn’t think of visiting the cemetery back then. We saw the Chamber of Commerce building, so we stopped in there and bought a town history book and then found out that the courthouse had been converted into a museum. What an idea to visit the museum! But when we arrived, the curator was away and the person filling in for the day did not know how to help us. This is where luck comes into the story. Leota Wregglesworth, visiting the museum worker, knew how to help. She took us through some map books, where we did find the Bush family, and then she took the family information and said she would look into them further and get back to me.

Later on that summer I received a letter from Leota and she had found a lot of information about the family. Not only that, her father remembered playing in the home of Lucellia Sayer, my great great grandmother. What are the chances that that one day in July 1992 I would encounter this one individual in that museum in Onaway, Michigan? Some call it fate, but I felt lucky that I was able to discover more of this branch of my family.

Information I received from Leota Wregglesworth. This was when I discovered Ivanilla

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Sunday, 8 April 2018

Minerva Sayer (Bush)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Strong Woman

Minerva Sayer (Bush)

I am choosing Minerva Sayer as my strong woman. I did not know my great grandmother she died a year before I was born. I have recently learned more about her and do know some of the circumstances of her life.

She was born September 5, 1867, in Watertown, Jefferson County New York, USA to Thomas Sayer and Lucelia Wilcox. The family moved to Michigan where she met my great-grandfather, Wesley Hiram Bush. Wesley and Minerva were married in Onaway April 19, 1882. They had their first child Ivanilla, December 12, 1884. Ivanilla died and infant on August 27, 1886. I have never lost a child but I can imagine that would be hard on a young mother. In 1887 Myrtle was born, in 1888 Charles then 1890 Frank. Shortly after this Wesley up and moved his family to Nebraska. While in Nebraska another child was taken from Minerva when Frank Wesley Bush died as an infant August 8, 1892. Minerva carried on, and Lucelia was born in Nebraska in 1893. In 1894 Wesley and Minerva packed up their family and moved back to Michigan. Emily was born in 1896, Minerva in 1899, Vernon in 1901, Daniel in 1903, and Alzira in 1906. Then in 1910 the family moved to Saskatchewan, Canada and settled near Robsart. My great grandfather built a sod house where he and Minerva would make their home and finish raising their children. Farming must not have been so good after several years there they moved again to McLaughlin, Alberta. Wesley Bush died May 18, 1935. Vern and his wife Mary lived with Minerva on the farm and she continued to live with them until she died January 21, 1955.

Family and Friends in front of the Bush family sod house

As I look at Minerva’s life I see a strong woman. She carried on when life was not easy and raised her children while enduring the loss of two infants. She managed the move of her family several times, over great distances and in the end a god-fearing woman that still knit socks and mittens for her grandchildren.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Saturday, 7 April 2018

The Will of Charles Bush

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Where There's a Will

I was introduced to the will of Charles Bush by my cousin Bill Smith. Bill sent me quite a bit of information on the Bush family and copies of the will he had found online. There are several papers to a will such as Letters of Administration, Letters of testamentary, Minutes and Orders of Probate, Probate of the Will and the Record of Last Will and Testament. A good lesson in searching is to ensure that you dig to find all that you can.

Firstly Charles bequeaths to his son Hiram Wesley Bush the sum of one hundred dollars, his bedstead, the bedding that belongs to the bed, and his chest and its contents.

Secondly, he bequeaths to his daughter Alzira Jane Bush the sum of fifty dollars.

Thirdly, he bequeaths to his daughter Elizabeth Ann Bush the sum of fifty dollars.

Fourthly, he bequeaths to his son Charles Alvin Bush the sum of twenty-five dollars.

Fifthly, he bequeaths to his son Daniel E. Bush the farm of eighty-four acres with all the teams, tools, stock and everything else.

It is hard to know why Charles left his eldest son out of the will. Stephen Franklin Bush was running the farm with his wife and children at the time of his father’s death. Stephen and Daniel had reached adulthood at the time of this will, but the younger four had not so they would have to wait until they reached the age of twenty-one to collect after their father’s death.

Bill told me that Daniel refused to be the executor of his father’s will and moved to Nebraska. By 1880 Stephen was living on the farm and working it with his brother Alvin, and they continued to farm in the district until the 1920’s.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Friday, 6 April 2018

Heirlooms

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Heirloom

It is week number eight. Today I am going to post a couple pictures of items I got from my parents that belonged to my grandparents.

This salt and pepper shaker belonged to my grandmother Sarah Melissa Donaldson (Pettyjohn).

This watch belonged to my grandfather Frederick Walter Daniels

I do not know anything more about these items or the story behind them. I do remember my mother giving the the salt and pepper shaker and my dad giving me the watch.

Thank you for joining my search!

Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Thursday, 5 April 2018

Peter and Amanda Pettyjohn

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Valentine

“Two buried in one grave aged man and wife together in death at Marysville.”[1]

This is a story of my two times great grandparents, Peter and Amanda Pettyjohn. Peter and Amanda were married December 15, 1852, in Van Bruen County, Iowa. They spent their married life together living in Iowa and Missouri farming and raising eleven children.

On February 4, 1920, Peter passed away. Amanda was seriously ill at the time of her husband’s death but not so much that her death was anticipated. When the preparations for Peter’s funeral began that day, Amanda cried, “Wait only a short time and we will go together.”[2] Approximately twenty-one hours after Peter died Amanda departed to join him.

Peter and Amanda had spent sixty-seven years together in marriage and died very close to Valentine’s Day. I do not know what their day to day life was like but in the end, Amanda did not want to go on without Peter. This year on Valentine’s Day I will think of them.

[1] “Peter and Amanda Pettyjohn,” obituary, Knoxville (Iowa) Journal, 20 February 1920.

[2] Ibid

Thank you for joining my search!
Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Monday, 2 April 2018

William Moses Pettyjohn

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: Favorite Name

Moses about 1900

My maternal grandfather was William Moses Pettyjohn. He was referred to by his middle name Moses and most times “Mose.” Mose was born 29 June 1882 in Marysville, Iowa. He was the first born of ten children to James and Elizabeth Pettyjohn. I know nothing of his life growing up in Iowa other than he had eight brothers and one sister. He would tell people there were nine boys in the family and each one had a sister.

Moses and Sarah Wedding picture

February 19, 1902, Mose married Sarah Melissa Donaldson, and they started their family together. I do not have any land records at this time, but he did place a for rent ad in the Chariton Herald for a small house and six lots in the East Chariton district. While living in Iowa, Mose and Sarah had four children: Mary Violetta, Vienna Mae, James Preston, and Joseph Lee. Mose and his family are in the 1910 US Federal Census living in Chariton, Lucas County, Iowa. In 1911 they showed up in the Canadian Census in the Regina district in the Province of Saskatchewan.

Canada's appeal for settlers in the West

They lived in Riceton before taking up the Canadian government’s offer of cheap land in Southwestern Saskatchewan where they settled in the community of Merryflat. Mose farmed there for many years raising cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys. Another five children were born into the family, William Ernest, Austin Barnett, Glenn Chester, Eva Irene, and Lorne Hayes. Around the year 1925 he rented out his land to his oldest sons and moved into Maple Creek. I do not know what Mose did those years, but four or five years later he moved back to the farm. He did work at the Bible school in Robsart purchasing food and doing maintenance while Sarah cooked.

William Moses Pettyjohn 1953

Eventually, he retired and moved into Maple Creek. Mose died December 6, 1958, two years after I was born so I do not remember him, even though my mother told me that I would ride on his wheel chair. I was taught at a young age the story of Moses in the Bible so I was always impressed that my grandfather had the same name. It was not until I was older that I would know his full name as William Moses Pettyjohn.

Thank you for joining my search!
Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist

Saturday, 31 March 2018

1900 US Federal Census

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Series

Prompt: In the Census

The Twelfth Census of the United States Population Schedule No. 1 always held a bit of mystery for me over the years. It has to do with the family of my great-grandfather Wesley Hiram Bush living in Waverly Township, Cheboygan County, Michigan. In 1992 I had learned that Wesley and Minerva Bush had a daughter Ivanilla. Ivanilla was born in 1884, died in 1886 and was buried in the Waverly Township Cemetery. When I found the family in the 1900 US Federal Census I was surprised to see Iva listed and being 15 years of age.

This mystery baffled me for the past three years. Had she died as an infant or did she live longer? Was the Iva in the census a different person than the Ivanilla who had died? Then I learned about another member of the family. Frank was born in 1890 in Michigan and died in 1892 in Nebraska. Wesley had moved his family to Nebraska to try farming there with his brother Daniel. They only stayed for three years and then moved back to Michigan. Frank was buried in Lexington, Nebraska but he also showed up in the 1900 census at nine years old. This added to the mystery and I took a closer look at the census record. Minerva’s information stated that she had seven children but only five living, but all seven were listed in the census with their ages. Ivanilla and Frank were listed in order of when they were born in the family with the ages they would have been if they had lived.

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 March 2018), memorial page for Ivanilla Bush (26 Dec 1884–27 Aug 1886), Find A Grave Memorial no. 131903202, citing Walker Township Cemetery, Fingerboard Corner, Cheboygan County, Michigan, USA ; Maintained by Jan (contributor 47036759) .

I do not know why they were included in the census, but it was a good lesson for me to look further into what the census was saying in the other columns. I may have figured this out sooner than I did.

Thank you for joining my search!
Dennis

Credit for this series to Amy Johnson Crow, Certified Genealogist