The topic for this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks post is Comedy. I decided to write about my husband’s Paternal grandmother, Helen Sadie Legare Keetley.
One day while I was researching Helen in the newspapers, I came across the following article.
Her “exploits” were in several newspapers across the country from Florida to New York. I just thought it was the cutest article, and it made me chuckle.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Brother”.
Two weeks ago I talked about the Gornowicz family, and what research I have done so far. You can read about them here. This week I decided to talk about one of the children, Franz.
Frank Gornowicz was born in about 1869. He immigrated to the U.S. with his parents and siblings in April 1894 on board the ship “America”. He was going to live at 1626 Lancaster Street, Baltimore, Maryland.
I have not found a 1900 Federal census for Frank as of yet. Still looking!
In 1903 Frank was living with his father, Michael, at 1626 Lancaster Street, Baltimore, Maryland. He was working as a laborer.
Frank was living at 2216 Essex Street in Baltimore during the years 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1914, 1917 and 1922 according to several U.S. city directories. His occupation was listed relatively consistent as a Tailor, Carpenter and Laborer across these directories.
On 2 June 1909, Frank filed a Petition for Naturalization. He said he lived at 2216 Essex Street in Baltimore, Maryland and was a Tailor. He was born on the 5th August 1870, in Mangelmül, Germany and immigrated from Bremerhaven in April 1894 on board the vessel “Amerika”.
Frank said his wife was Annie Gornowitz, who was from Nagozyn, Austria, which is possibly Nagoszyn. Frank said he had 1 child Katherine, who was born in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. He signed his Oath of Allegiance on 4th April 1910, almost exactly 16 years after coming to the U.S.
Everything Frank said in his petition matches up with everything I have for him so far. The date of immigration, ship name, street address, occupation, wife and child’s name. I still need to find his place of birth, as the one he listed doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
In 1910, Frank was living with his wife, Anna, and daughter Katherine. They had been married for 8 years and it was the first marriage for them both. Anna was a mother to 3 children, only 1 of whom was living at the time of the census. Frank was a Naturalized citizen, having immigrated in 1894 and Anna in 1900. They were both working out of their home, on their Own Account, he as a Tailor and her as an Overall Maker. Frank owned his own home.
Frank’s father, Michael, passed away in November 1910 and Frank is listed on his estate docket as having paid a surety. His address was listed as 2216 Essex Street.
By 1920, I found a Frank Gornova living at 2216 Essex Street. I believe this is Frank Gornowicz even though his wife’s name is now Sophie. His daughter Catherine is living with them as well, along with another daughter named Marie. Frank was working as a Laborer at a Cemetery. Frank and Sophie are both listed as immigrating in 1900, and naturalized in 1910.
In 1920, Frank is listed in a city directory as living at 2216 Essex and working as a Laborer. He is listed with another Laborer named Dominick Gornowitz living at the same address. Is he a relative?
In 1922, Frank and Sophia were living at 2216 Essex Street. Their surname is listed as Gornowicz again. Frank was working as a Laborer.
Is this the same couple? Could Annie have also gone by Sophia? Was she a second wife? The fact that Frank owned his own home in 1910, the 1920 city directory and that they are still living there in 1922, I believe at the very least, that this is Frank Gornowicz in the 1920 census. Maybe he decided to use a different surname. Maybe one of the neighbors gave the information to the census takers and couldn’t remember their surname correctly.
By 1930, the family had moved to 5703 O’Donnell Street, renting his home for $15 per month. The census has them listed as Goosewetz. Frank was working as a Grave Digger at a Cemetery, and Mary was working as a Laborer at a Factory.
Whoever gave the information to the census taker said that Frank had married at age 32, which fits for his marriage to Anna. Sophie’s age at her first marriage says 34, which places her marriage around 1913. This almost guarantees that Anna and Sophie are 2 different women, if the information on the census is accurate.
By 1940, Frank had died, Marie had married and Sophie had moved in with her. According to the census data that Marie gave, they had all lived at the same place in 1935. So they were still living in Baltimore, just not at the Fait Street address. Marie and her husband Michael Kantorski had a son who was about 8 years old, so they must have married shortly after the 1930 census.
I can not find any obituaries or headstones for Frank, Anna, or Sophie. So who is Sophie? What was her maiden name? What happened to Anna? Who’s daughter is Mary/Marie? Her age fits for the end of Anna’s marriage and the start of Sophie’s! All questions I still don’t have answers too.
If you are related to any of these family members, or know anything about them, please feel free to contact me or leave a message on the blog post. Thanks!!
The topic for this week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Easy.
Since it helps me get caught up quicker, I am going to make this weeks post really easy on me. I am just going to list all the surnames that I have proven for my lines so far.
| Absalom | Anderson | Cain | Carey |
| Champ | Chaney | Chislett | Clements |
| Collins | Driver | Edwards | Foster |
| Gale | Gilmour | Haynes | Howard |
| Hunt | Hyland | Jowles | Knight |
| Laird | Lawrence | Lucas | McConnell |
| McKenzie | Mitchell | Moore | Nelis |
| Newman | Oak/es | Osborne | Pekin |
| Reeves | Renwick | Richards | Rose |
| Russell | Sedgley | Semple | Stagg |
| Thompson | Virgin |
The names below are for my husband’s lines.
| Bilodeau | Blanchette | Bolduc | Born |
| Boutin | Brinson | Buescher | Buteau |
| Champagne | Dallaire | Daniel | Dore |
| Dupre | Elliott | Elsworth | Fortier |
| Gornowicz | Goulet | Grenier | Grondin |
| Hall | Horseman | Huge | Hughes |
| Jamieson | Jones | Joos | Keating |
| Keetley | Krager/Krieger | Legare | Lessard |
| Nadeau | Parry | Portwig | Quirion |
| Rancour | Severance/Saverence | Simons | Smith |
| Talbot | Toussaint | Townsend | Wilson |
If you have any of these surnames, feel free to send me a message. Always looking to make new connections and meet new family members!
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Challenging”.
I already wrote about some of the challenges in my genealogy research with the “Keetley” and “Brinson” surnames back in Week 2, which you can read about here and here.
Another family name that has been challenging to research is Gornowicz. There are several spellings that I have found so far, Garnewitz, Garnowitz, Gorenowicz, Gorniewicz, Gornovitz, Gornovitch, Gornowytz, Gorowicz, Jornowitz, Janowitz and even possibly Gornova. There are probably a lot more than these out there.
I have not researched the family extensively at this point, so some of the following information is only guess work right now. Over the next several posts I will lay out what I have so far.
Mary Gornowicz was the wife of Levin Elliott, my husband’s 2x great grandparents. Mary’s parents were Michael Gornowicz and Helen Krager/Krieger.
Michael and Helen’s daughter, Juliana, immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1892 on the “Weimar“. Listed next to her on the passenger list is a family of “Krieger“, who look to be a widowed mother and her 4 children. I am not sure if they are any relation to the Gornowicz family, but they were staying in Baltimore, at 1626 Lancaster Street.
In 1894, Juliana’s parents and siblings joined her in the U.S., travelling on the “America“. The family came in through the Port of Baltimore, Maryland and were going to live with their daughter at 1626 Lancaster Street. (The same address as the Krieger’s from 2 years earlier!!
There were 6 family members that came on this ship:-
Even placing Juliana within this family, now age 19, there are some big gaps between the ages of the children. Maybe there are others that died young, immigrated on other ships or some they left behind. Definitely needs more research!
The 1900 census has eluded me so far, but I found Michael in a 1901 City Directory still living in Lancaster Street, so he must still be around somewhere.
In 1902, Michael is listed as living at 1626 Lancaster, with “Jas”. Who is this? Is this Stanislaus?
In 1903, Michael is listed as still living at 1626 Lancaster, this time with Frank.
By 1906, Michael has moved to 2218 Essex Street, where he lived until late 1910. James is also living at this address with Michael in 1906, 1908 and 1910. In 1907 James is gone again, but there is a “Danl” living at this address. Who is this?
The 1910 Federal Census finds Michael and James Gornowicz living with the James Elliott family at 2218 Essex Street. The census shows that there are 2 families at this location, and whoever gave the information to the census taker said that Michael owned his own home and the Elliott family were renting theirs.
As a side note, James Elliott is married to woman named Julia, who I suspect is Juliana Gornowicz. I am still looking for a marriage record, obituary or one of their children’s records to answer this question with 100% certainty. (I’ll write more about Julia in 2 weeks).
When Michael died in November 1910, the estate docket for his will listed his son Stanislaus as living at 2218 Essex Street. There was also a surety bond paid by Frank, and he was living at 2216 Essex Street. (I’ll write more about Frank next week!)
Unfortunately the book that Michael’s will is in is missing from FamilySearch’s website. There are 3 will books for 1910 and I need the middle one!! 🙁 I am not sure if it was missed in the scanning process or if the book is lost. I am still looking, hoping it’s out there somewhere.
I have no information on Rosalie or Helene, after they got off the boat in Baltimore. I have looked for this family in obituaries and at Find-A-Grave.com, and haven’t found anything there either.
If you are related to this family or know anything about them please feel free to leave me a message. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Reunion”.
I have only been to 2 family reunions growing up. The Chislett and the Absalom families.
The Chislett family reunion took place in 7 March 1982 at the Allansford Recreation Reserve. The Chislett Story, was written before the reunion.
The Absalom family reunion took place on 25 November 1981-82 in Mortlake, Victoria, Australia. I know that after the Absalom reunion my great grandfather, William, decided to write a book about the family after having been asked many questions.
Unfortunately I do not remember much about either reunion, as I was only about 10 years old and I just spent the day hanging out with my cousins, having fun.
I have both books in my possession which has given me a lot of information to help me with my genealogical research.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Legend”.
Like every family, there is at least one story of being related to someone famous and mine is no different. Well my husband’s paternal line anyway. The “Keetley” surname has been difficult to trace as I’ve said before in other posts.
My father-in-law asked me years ago, whether I had connected his family to the “Pony Express” Keetley yet. I looked at him, I’m sure with confusion on my face, as I wasn’t really sure what he was even talking about.
I was born and raised in Australia, and was new to U.S. research. I wasn’t even really sure what the Pony Express was, let alone spending time researching the “Wild West” during the 1860’s. At this point, I was more of a novice, still learning the correct ways to research and document, and I hadn’t connected him with anyone else, other than his parents and grandparents in Charleston, South Carolina. I hadn’t even considered looking for people in other states.
So I asked him what he knew about this possible connection, and he told me what I dreaded he would, “I have no clue, but he is definitely related!” Great, this should be interesting, I thought.
I did a quick Google search and found out through various websites that John H. Keetley (Jack) was born 28th November 1841 in England. They also said that he had died in October 1912.
I took that information and searched for his death certificate.
I saw that the name of the informant was Marguerite Keetley, living at the same address as Jack when he died. Was she his wife? His child? His father was listed as John Keetley and his mother’s name was unknown. Did Marguerite know enough about his father to know his name considering she didn’t know his mothers?
Next I did a search for the 1910 census. I figured it would be easier to start there and then work my way backwards.
According to the 1910 census, he immigrated in about 1850, and was Naturalized. He had been married to his wife, Marguerite for about 21 years and they had no children. Marguerite was from Ireland and immigrated in about 1872. So Marguerite, the informant on the death certificate, was his wife!
I looked for Jack in 1900, but didn’t find anything. Then in 1880, I found Jack working as a Dealer in Stock in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was 37 years old and single. His birth place is listed as Missouri, his father’s New York and his mother England. Very different locations recorded compared to the 1910 census.
I looked for Jack in the 1870 and 1860 census’ but haven’t found anything yet! Since I wasn’t having much luck with the census records I thought I would look for an obituary next. I found two!
These records indicated quite a lot about the man. They said that during the Civil War years, he resided in St. Joseph, Missouri, which is where he rode for the Pony Express.
He was born in England, moved to the U.S. as a small child and lived here with his family. His father was Henry, who died about 1862, and his mother, unnamed, died in about 1902. He has a sister named Mrs. Elizabeth Richards, who still lives in St. Joseph, Missouri.
He left there about 1872 and travelled the country working for mining companies. He worked in South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Utah and South America.
The second obituary mentions his mining exploits in more detail and that is survived by his wife and sister.
I will use all the information I have gathered on his family and write about that in another blog post, hopefully soon.
So far I have his father as Henry and/or John. With Jack’s name being John H. maybe his father was John Henry? Even with all the information I have on Jack, I am still no closer to knowing if he is related!!!
So for now, this is just another family story, a legend. Another puzzle to solve. Another Keetley that is making me scratch my head and wonder!
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks post, the prompt is “At the Cemetery”.
On 15 June 2012, my husband and I decided to take our children on a road trip to see his Aunt in Minnesota. Most of his maternal lines were from Minnesota so he reluctantly let me plan our trip so that we could stop at some of the cemeteries along the way.
We learned alot about what we should bring with us, that of course, we did not bring with us on this trip. Next time I’ll definitely be better prepared!
One of the cemeteries we stopped at is known by several names, Mau Memorial Cemetery, St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery (old section), and Norwood-Young America City Cemetery.
At this cemetery I only found one of the 5 headstones I was looking for. Since then, other people have found and taken photos of the other four I didn’t find.
Sophie M. Buescher was born 13 September 1868 in Minnesota, to Ernst Buescher and Maria Louisa Huge.
According to the Minnesota death records for Carver County, she died on 26 March 1894 in Young America, Carver County, Minnesota. Her cause of death was Dropsy. She never married and was only 25 years old when she died.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Military”.
Casper Born, son of Casper Born and Catherine (maiden name unknown), was born in 1844 in Germany. He immigrated to the U.S. with his parents and siblings in 1855. They settled in Dahlgren, Carver County, Minnesota.
When Casper was 20 years old he enlisted in the 5th Regiment of the Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. There is one record that says the 11th Infantry on it, but everything else has the 5th. I am not sure why.
The photo on the right, is one page listing the men that were eligible to fight for the Union. Casper is near the bottom on line 16. It says he resides in Chaska, was 20 years old, single, a farmer and born in Germany.
The photo below on the right is a Muster and Descriptive Roll of the Minnesota 5th Infantry. Casper is listed at the top on line 1. He is a Private, born in Germany, 20 years old, and a farmer. He enlisted by Maj. J. C. Becht on 30 August 1864 in St Paul, Minnesota for a period of 1 year. He had blue eyes, black hair, fair complexion and was 5 feet 7 inches tall.
He was mustered into service on 1 September 1864 at St Paul, Minnesota by Capt. Geo. H. Keith. He had a bounty of $100. He was paid $33.33 and was still owed $66.67.
The image on the left is the Veteran’s Schedule taken in 1890. It says Casper was a Private for the 5th Minnesota Infantry. He served 8 months and 28 days of his 1 year service. He enlisted from 13 August 1864 until he was discharged on 11 May 1865. His address was Cologne, Minnesota.
The last picture is from his Military service. Casper died on 29 July 1901 in Dahlgren, Carver County, Minnesota. His widow is listed as Mary Born. He was with the Unass’d 5th Minnesota Infantry. The date of filing for his invalid pension was 9 April 1881, and his surviving widow filed 30 August 1901.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is At Worship.
I pondered this one for a while as I couldn’t easily come up with something to write about. I know of only a couple of religions that my research has revealed so far, but nothing worth really writing about. So I chose something closely related to a church.
While researching one of the Elliott families of Dorchester County, Maryland, I came across 2 listings for Baptisms at the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Dorchester Circuit.
The family in question is William Elliott and Amanda Horseman. They had at least 8 children that I know of. Below is a copy of the 1880 Federal census where all the children are listed.
When I found the family listed on the website http://www.collinsfactor.com, they were under Churches in East New Market.
Baptisms of 1866-1872
| DATE | NAME OF PERSON BAPTIZED | LAST NAME | FATHER | MOTHER | DATE OF BIRTH | OFFICIATING MINISTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 1871 | Adaline Alice | Elliott | Wm | Amond | 9 | S.M. Donoho |
| Sept 1871 | Pridie Ann | Elliott | Wm | Amond | 8 | S.M. Donoho |
| Sept 1871 | Charles Oliver | Elliott | Wm | Amond | 4 | S.M. Donoho |
| Sept 1871 | James Cadmus Dashiell | Elliott | Wm | Amond | 1 | S.M. Donoho |
One thing I noticed about this group of baptisms is that the oldest son, William, is missing. He did not die before the baptism date as he is on the 1880 census. Maybe he was missed in the transcription of the records or the records were destroyed.
Baptisms of 1873-1879
| DATE | NAME OF PERSON BAPTIZED | LAST NAME | 1ST PARENT | 2ND PARENT | DATE OF BIRTH | OFFICIATING MINISTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jan 1878 | Octavia J | Elliott | Wm | Amanda | 31 Aug 1878 | Samuel K Donoho |
| 19 Jan 1878 | Levin G. D. | Elliott | Wm | Amanda | 7 Feb 1876 | Samuel K Donoho |
| 19 Jan 1878 | Clara Betrice | Elliott | Wm | Amanda | 7 Feb 1876 | Samuel K Donoho |
This group of baptisms raised a few red flags. Octavia is listed as being born in August of 1878, but the baptism date is 8 months earlier in January 1878. Maybe this is a typo by the website creator that I got the information from or maybe even the minister. A date of 1873 would make more sense, and a 3 could be easily mistaken for an 8!
The other thing I noticed is that Levin and Clara look to be twins. The interesting thing is that I can find no mention of a Clara anywhere. There is Clarence on the 1880 census, a male that is the same age as Levin, but he has no relationship designation to the head of household. Could Clara and Clarence be the same person? Is the name Clara Betrice also a typo?
I would need to look at the actual church records to answer all these questions. If you are related to any of these people, please feel free to contact me.
This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is “Out of Place”.
I was looking at a list of my immigrant ancestors (and some of my collateral lines), and everyone moved to Australia, except one. Margaret Russell, a child of my 3rd great grandparents. She was one of at least 8 children, and she moved to a country where we had no prior connections.
Margaret was born in about 1836 in County Donegal, Ireland, to Robert Russell and Elizabeth Mitchell.
When Margaret was about 16 years old, she immigrated to the United States. As far as I know she came here alone. I am still looking for her immigration details. Her brother Robert, immigrated to Australia in 1857.
In about 1859 she married James Crawford and they eventually made their home in Redfield, Oswego County, New York.
In 1860, James and Margaret were living in Osceloa, Lewis County, New York, with their 2 sons William and Robert. Both children were born in Vermont. I have found William’s birth record but I am still looking for Robert’s.
In 1862, another three of her brothers immigrated to Australia. In 1863, Margaret’s parents immigrated to Australia, with the last of her siblings.
In 1870, James and Margaret were living in Redfield, Oswego County, New York. They had 8 children living with them.
In 1880, James and Margaret had added another 2 children to their family.
By 1900, all the children had moved out or died. Margaret was listed as being a mother to 12 children, 7 still living. I can only account for the 10 children in the 1880 census, so there are 2 still unknown to me. These 2 children, as well as 3 from the 1880 are probably the 5 listed as being deceased by the 1900 census.
In 1905, James and Margaret are still living in Redfield with their youngest son David.
By 1910, I cannot locate James or Margaret. I have not found a death date or burial for them either.
Family lore says that Margaret had sent money for her parents to move to the U.S. a couple of times but they kept refusing to relocate at the time.
I wonder what made Margaret want move to the United States at such a young age all by herself? What attracted the rest of her family move to Australia instead?
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