Wednesday's Child: George Sellers

George Sellers, born October 27, 1906¹, was the older brother that my great grandmother never knew. He was one of at least 13 children born to Mary (Baldwin) Sellers. From the documents I've been able to find so far, it looks like only four of these children lived to adulthood. George was not one of them.

George's father was also named George. And in fact the George of this post was the second baby George to be born in this family. The first baby George died in infancy². George lived to see his fifth birthday, but it was not without a struggle. Records indicate that he was baptized in extremis (near death) shortly past his second birthday¹. I don't know what illness he was suffering from at this time, but he must have pulled through. Unfortunately, shortly after his fifth birthday, little George passed away.

The circumstances of his death are a little curious. The death certificate I have been able to find is a corrected copy after a coroner's inquest. Given that cause of death is listed as "general burns³," I assume this inquest was held because it was a seemingly accidental death. I can see that there has been some kind of verdict noted there, but what is that word beginning with 'Of'? I can't tell.

This information fits with what my grandfather (the son of George's sister) told me. His mother mentioned she had a brother who died in a fire⁴. I am very curious if the coroner's records from this time are still out there. It seems a call to the Philadelphia Archives is in order.
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¹Baptismal Record for George Sellers, Jr., Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Register of baptisms; Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2012); citing Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 773.
²George Sellers, Death (10 Aug 1896); “Delaware Death Records, 1811-1933,” digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Nov 2012), citing Delaware Vital Records. Microfilm. Delaware Public Archives, Dover.
³City of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), death certificate 30201 (1911), George Sellers.
⁴Richard J. Gledhill, Sr., Barbara Gledhill-Begg, and Stacy McConnell. Oral interview, 12 October 2012, by Stacy McConnell at Richard's home in Secane, Pennsylvania. DVD recording in the possession of Stacy McConnell, Azusa, California.

New Year; New Birth Records to Search!

The Pennsylvania birth index for 1907 is open for searching. I don't have anyone in particular from this year that I desperately want a record on, but I'm excited to see more records becoming readily available!

Finding unpleasant information about your ancestors

A while back, while digging around the Delaware County (PA) Online Newspaper Archive, I did a quick search for Charles McConnell. That was the name I had been given for my great grandfather, although I wasn't sure it was accurate until just recently.  I found a disturbing article about a crime committed by this man. At the time, I saved the article for future reference, unsure if this was my relative or not.

Now, I feel quite certain the man referenced in the article was in fact my great grandfather. In addition to some arrests for causing a disturbance while intoxicated, I found this article:

08/03/1937

There are lot of things that would disappoint me if I learned my ancestors had done them. Things like abandoning one's children, adultery, having one's wife committed, etc. But learning you've got a rapist (or attempted rapist in this case), in the family tree is the most disturbing thing I've found, especially since he was attacking children¹. I can't imagine anything I find later being much worse than this one.

Fortunately, this man was my paternal grandfather's father. I am not in contact with any living decedents from this family, so I don't have to worry about bringing up an bad memories for relatives, or having anyone feel that I am disgracing his name by discovering this. If this were on my mother's side, I would have to tread more carefully with whom I could tell.

In case anyone should think I am assuming Charles's guilt without properly researching it, I found a follow up article. On 08/06/1937, the paper reported that Charles McConnell was sentenced to 30 days in jail after complaints from several neighborhood parents that he had approached their young daughters². Evidence that he approached them for "immoral purposes" was lacking, so that is why he got a short sentence. Lest you still think this guy is just getting a bad rap, he was again arrested, on 09/04/1937, a mere two days after he was released from jail. He was again charged with enticing minors³.

Unfortunately, the age given in the articles fits for my ancestor, Charles McConnell. The article discloses his residence as being in the 300 block of Upland Street. Other articles I found specify his address as 307 Upland Street. Charles's son, William, was born July 28, 1925 in Chester⁴. I found an article about William's 12th birthday party, dated 07/30/1937, which gives his address as 307 Upland Street⁵. This makes me fairly certain I'm dealing with the right family.

I am a little nervous about what else I will find on this guy now.
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¹ "Man Suspected of Enticing Tots," Chester Times, 03 Aug 1937, p. 2.
²"Today's Police Court Hearings," Chester Times, 06 Aug 1937, p. 16.
³"Mayor Sits as Police Judge," Chester Times, 06 Sep 1937, p. 2.
⁴Pennsylvania Department of Health, Vital Records, birth certificate 115688-1925 (1925), William Norris McConnell.
⁵"Gossip about People You Know," Chester Times, 30 Jul 1937, p. 8.

Finally... the state of PA comes through!

Of my eight great grandparents, I have five that I know a decent amount of information on (birth dates, general history, parents' names). One is an Irish immigrant who lied about her age and who has proven quite challenging to map out. The other two were even more troublesome.

He looks nothing like Chuck Norris.

This particular pair are the parents of my paternal grandfather, William Norris McConnell (in spite of the fact that I know what he looked like, I envision him as similar to Chuck Norris, just based on the name!). My baby book, which was completed by my mother with information provided by my biological father, lists William's parents as Myrtle Parks and Charles Walter McConnell.  A preliminary search of census records on Ancestry didn't illuminate things any further. There were some families that seemed they could be mine, but none of them quite fit all the information I had. I began to wonder if the names in the baby book were even correct.

Pennsylvania's Vital Records Department will provide you a copy of a certified birth certificate for a reasonable fee, so it seemed the best course of action was to obtain my grandfather's birth certificate. When I filled out my request way back in October (10/25 to be exact), I was quite excited. My first vital record request! The vital records website informed me that:

Typical processing time for certified copies of birth certificates with a date of birth of 1967 to the present is ten to fifteen business days (from the date the check is cashed) which does not include delivery time. For certified copies of birth with a date of birth of prior to 1967, please allow an additional ten to fifteen days for processing time, excluding delivery time.

Birth Certificate - 1925

Okay. That sounded reasonable. I sent in my money. My check was cashed on 11/13/12. I began counting down the days, eagerly anticipating the genealogical gold mine sure to arrive at any day. And I waited. And waited. It was like that scene in Twilight (yes, I've seen it, so sue me!) where Bella stares waifishly out her bedroom window while the seasons pass around her. But this was no teenage vampire romance gone wrong; this was serious business!

Well, it only took an extra three weeks (slow clap for the state of Pennsylvania), but the birth certificate has arrived!

One assumes they put the giant "DECEASED" on there to dash one's hopes of identity fraud. A little unsightly. I do have confirmation on their names now (Park, not Parks), and their ages should allow me to narrow things down somewhat. I guess, to be honest, I was hoping their names were wrong in the baby book, since I haven't had any luck so far with these names.

C'est la vie. Now I know, and I'll get back on the hunt.

Tombstone Tuesday: Sadie Davis

My great grandmother, Sadie Davis, has been one of my main focuses as of late. I was quite fortunate to discover her buried next to her daughter when I went to visit Upland Baptist Church Cemetery in October. There was a huge shrub planted right in front of her stone, so I had to take my picture at kind of a strange angle. Fortunately I had my mom there to help hold it back so I could get a photo.

Sadie's Find a Grave memorial is here.

Matrilineal Monday: Sadie Davis

I recently began digging in to the Delaware County (PA) digital archives and combing the old newspapers for mentions of my DelCo relatives. Of particular interest to me was my great grandmother, Sadie Davis. Sadie was born in 1894, in Upland, PA¹. She died in 1964 (a good 20 years before my birth!)², and her daughter, my grandmother, has also passed. Piecing together this side of my family has been challenging. I lack the personal information I have on my mother's family. It's hard to imagine these people and what their lives were like.

Fortunately, it seems news was slim in Chester back at the turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is). I found multiple mentions of Sadie in the Chester Times. Here are a few of them:

May 5, 1903: Hand Injury³

May 23, 1903: Ninth birthday Party⁴

May 4, 1937: '30 Years Ago'⁵

I also found Sadie in The Delaware County Daily Times.

April 16, 1962: Helping with local historic discovery⁶

There are several others. It was so interesting being able to read about her in the news. They're small tidbits, but together they give me a rough sketch. She seems interesting. She was an active member of her community. She was intelligent. What a wonderful discovery to make.
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¹Chester Birth Records 1889-1906, Archives, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, online , Davis data downloaded 20 November 2012.
²"Winnberg [obituary]," Delaware County Daily Times, 17 Feb 1964, p. 4.
³"Hand Lacerated," Chester Times, 5 May 1903, p. 2.
⁴"Young Girl's Birthday," Chester Times, 23 May 1903, p. 11.
⁵"Thirty Years Ago," Chester Times, 4 May 1937, p. 6.
⁶"Caleb Pusey House Day Observed," Delaware County Daily Times, 16 Apr 1962, p. 2.

Thriller Thursday: Always an Accomplice, Never a Bandit

Until recently, I had thought the only scoundrels in my family tree were the growing number of alcoholics. Enter George O. Shaffer. George Shaffer was my grandmother's brother. I never knew him, but my mother did. She told me he was 'a funny old bird' and my grandmother Sarah fretted over him often. He never married, he appeared and disappeared at random, and he sometimes drove a cab.

While browsing the digital archives for Delaware County, PA, and searching for newspaper mentions of my relatives, I did a search for George. At first I was skeptical about what I found, then, the evidence mounted.

Uncle George Shaffer was a convicted accomplice to Cliff Redden, known as the 'Flash Bandit' in the mid 1940s¹. Together with Flash and another accomplice, George participated in at least seven armed robberies and three car thefts. He was sentenced to 50-100 years of hard labor and solitary confinement at Eastern State Penitentiary².

Eastern State closed its doors in 1971, but evidence suggests he was already released by this time. George's mother, Sadie, passed away in 1964, and her obituary indicates that her son George was residing in Folcroft, PA³. I am working on obtaining the records of his incarceration to pin down the exact dates.

While some might say an armed robber deserves 50-100 years in prison, at least one person disagreed. John Parmer Gates, minister of the Upland Baptist Church, wrote an impassioned letter to the editor of the Chester Times⁴. George Shaffer, he wrote, "was hit by an automobile, which injured his right frontal lobe. He still bears a large scar which runs from above the forehead to the cheek. In the Army, while stationed in England and while in transit to the United States he was confined to a psychopathic ward. He was given an honorable discharge with a bill of poor health." All facts which the minister believed should have been considered at sentencing.
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¹"Young Bandits Admit Staging Three Holdups," Chester Times, 2 Feb 1946, p. 1.
²'"'Flash's' Pals Get 50 Years for Robberies," Chester Times, 25 Mar 1946, p. 1.
³"Winnberg [obituary]," Delaware County Daily Times, 17 Feb 1964, p. 4.
⁴"Upland Pastor Writes [Letter to the Times editor]," Chester Times, 28 Mar 1946, p. 6.

Wordless Wednesday: Great Grandpa Hannigan, 1902

Workday Wednesday: The Warwick Hotel

My second great grandfather, Frederick Gledhill, was born in 1882¹. He was a lifetime Philadelphian, and unfortunately lost his wife, Elizabeth, during the birth of their youngest daughter². Throughout the decades, I've been able to trace Fred's employment via census records and draft registrations. He worked a variety of jobs, from 1900 where he is listed as a teamster³, to chauffering¹, landscape gardening⁴, and finally working in a hotel⁵.

The 1940 census found Fred living with his son (also named Fred), and his occupation is listed as "houseman" in a hotel. When Fred registered for the draft two years later, he provided further information on his employment. His employer is listed as The Warwick Hotel⁶.

Warwick Hotel Postcard, 1940s

It's really exciting to be able to see the exact location where my ancestor worked. The facade has not changed much since the hotel was built, and thankfully there are old photos and postcards of the Warwick still floating around. A little piece of my personal history found on the Register of Historic Places!
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¹World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, entry for Fred Gledhill, citing original record Registration Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1907766, Draft Board: 42.
²Richard J. Gledhill, Sr., Barbara Gledhill-Begg, and Stacy McConnell. Oral interview, 12 October 2012, by Stacy McConnell at Richard's home in Secane, Pennsylvania. DVD recording in the possession of Stacy McConnell, Azusa, California.
³1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, 30th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 772, sheet 9, dwelling 175, family 179, Fred Gledhill household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm 1241472, roll 1472.
⁴1930 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, 40th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 51-240, sheet 17A, dwelling 174, family 186, Fred J. Gledhill household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm 2341865, roll 2131.
⁵1940 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, 40th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 51-1633, sheet 9A, dwelling 129, Frederick J. Gledhill, Jr. household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm roll Roll: T627_3737.
⁶World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, entry for Frederick Joseph Gledhill, citing original record Registration Location: Pennsylvania; Microfilm Series: M1951; Microfilm Roll: 111.

Tombstone Tuesday (Or rather, tomestone-less Tuesday)

One of my recent trips that did not go so well was to visit Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. Through death records (and some kind help from an Ancestry member!), I learned that two of my great grandmother, Mary Sellers's, previously unknown sisters were buried here.

My mom, girlfriend, and I went in early October of this year.I was prepared for the place to be in disrepair, as the cemetery is abandoned with little upkeep. When we first entered, the front of the cemetery looked decent, but the farther you move from the street, the worse the upkeep is. By the time we reached section 15, where my family is buried, it was not looking pretty.

We could see grave markers buried under the foliage, but there was no way to reach them without some serious landscaping tools. We're talking machetes. Unfortunately, these tombstones remain a mystery for now. Buried in this section were:

Josephine Sellers¹
06/20/1912 - 12/05/1912

Elizabeth Rebecca Sellers²
03/20/1901 - 12/04/1919
My great grandmother was raised in an orphanage from the age of 5 years old, and she did not have the opportunity to know much about most of her family members. In this particular family, there were at least 13 children, and only four that I am aware of survived to adulthood. I am searching for all the information I can get about her siblings now. I think Old Grandmom (as we charmingly called her) would like their stories to be known.
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¹Josephine Sellers, Death (5 Dec 1912); “Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915,” digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Nov 2012), citing Death Records, microfilm 1421355, Philadelphia City Archives.
²Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, compiler, "Mount Moriah Cemetery Interrment Records," database, accessed by Lyla Taylor (28 Sep 2012). Database entry for Elizabeth Sellers (?-1919).

Some good luck in the graveyard

I took a trip home to Pennsylvania last month (and got trapped by Hurricane Sandy!). My extended stay was the perfect opportunity for my mom and I to go on the hunt for some family graves.

Earlier in the month, my mom had gifted to me a genealogy treasure--a battered metal box containing the Mass cards, flower list, and guest book from my great grandfather's funeral. Finding any information about this particular branch of the family tree is rare. The oldest living person is my maternal grandmother, who seems neither interested in, nor particularly knowledgeable about, our family history. This funeral box was from her father, Martin Hannigan's, funeral. It also contained the deed to the burial plot, and dates of interment for both of Martin's parents¹. Jackpot.

Armed with the knowledge that these three family members were buried together at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, PA, I told Mom we were going visiting. (Sidebar--how the hell do you say Sepulchre? I have no idea, so I'm going with Holy Sep, as the cemetery staff referred to it). This cemetery is still in use, and the woman working in the office was kind enough to copy the information on our family for us.

This is the headstone for my second great grandmother, Mary Gilbride Hannigan. Her husband, John, and son, Martin, are buried in this plot along with her. Martin evidently chose not to have his father's name added to the tombstone. My grandmother did not add Martin's name either, for reasons unknown to me. She speaks very highly of her father, and he died unfortunately young. Graves without headstones are incredibly sad to me. We have quite a few in our family. I am thinking perhaps I will add Martin's name to the stone. I would like him to be properly remembered.
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¹Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham, PA, Burial record (1961), Martin Hannigan.

Beginning the search for my family history

Ever since I was a little girl, my mother has been talking about my ear off about our family tree. My mother will talk your ear off about anything, actually (I say that with love, Mom!). I wasn’t paying attention, but with that much talking, some things are bound to seep in. I knew a rough sketch of some of our family. A little over a year ago, I had a vague idea that I might like to learn more, and I decided it would be a goal of mine to do a family tree for myself.

Two months ago I joined Ancestry.com and started filling in what I knew. By now I have ancestors in varying degrees of completion (research wise that is). I solved the mystery of a missing aunt. I met (online) a new cousin. I discovered that I'm Swedish. It's been a strange, but exciting, journey into the past.

One section of the family tree that has required a lot of searching has actually been pretty close to the present. My great grandmother Mary Ellen Sellers was born in 1910¹. Going in to my search, I had been told by my family that she had two sisters, Reba and Myrtle. She had been raised in an orphanage, after her mother died.

Great Grandmom Mary with three of her four sons, and some extended family

I knew her parents' names were George Sellers and Mary Baldwin, so I began searching census data with this information in hand. My grandmother was born in August. The census takers visited Philadelphia around April that year, so I knew I wouldn't find Grandmom on the census with her parents. I began searching for her sisters and parents on the 1900 census, as both sisters were much older than my grandmother. I found a Myrtle with parents George and Mary, but there was no Reba. I discarded that one, and kept searching. I searched high and low (to the best of my admittedly limited ability--I am new at this after all!). I found a Myrtle in 1910 living with parents George and Mary², but there were other kids, none of whom were Reba. I discarded that one too.

After much fruitless searching, I had to go back to the 1910 record I had found, and wonder if my grandfather (son of Mary) didn't have all the information. The children listed on this census were Myrtle, age 15, Elizabeth, age 9, James, age 6, and George 4.

I thought maybe Reba was a middle name for Elizabeth. I checked Elizabeth out further, and found her baptism certificate. Her name was Elizabeth Rebecca, and her mother's name was listed as Mary Baldwin³.

Now confident I had the right family, I turned to my family. My grandfather now recalled his mother was one of five children, and her brothers James and George had died early. He also recalled that Mary Baldwin had been alive when her daughter was placed in the Children's Home. I had all the info easily available to me on this family, so I next turned to Mary Baldwin's family. While researching her sister, Harriet, I came across something that surprised me⁴.

Reba! Was this my Reba? She's listed as 'daughter' but her last name is Baldwin, while Harriet's maiden name was Megaw. Harriet's sister Jane wasn't old enough to be Reba's mother. Reba appeared with Harriet's family again in 1910⁵. This time she was listed as niece. Now that I knew her name was Baldwin, and had her confirmed birth year, I began to search Reba herself. When I found her marriage certificate⁶, all the pieces fell in to place.

Reba was Mary Baldwin's daughter, but George Sellers was not her father. I checked with my family, my grandfather had no idea Reba was his mother's half sister.

This also meant that Elizabeth Rebecca was a previously unknown about sibling. The 1910 census indicated that Mary Baldwin had had 10 children, with 4 living². This was obviously not taking Reba into account, so that meant there were six more children who had likely died young. I'm still working on tracking them down, and hope to be able to share that information soon.
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¹"United States Social Security Death Index," index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2012), Mary Gledhill, 21 Apr 2006; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
²1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, 36th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 88, sheet 13A, George Sellers household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration FHL microfilm: 1375419.
³Baptismal Record for Elizabeth Rebecca Sellers, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1904 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Register of baptisms; Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2012); citing Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 1018.
⁴1900 U.S. census, New Castle County, Delaware population schedule, Wilmington, 10th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 42, sheet 9, dwelling 179, family 182, J. Edward Megaw household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm roll 156.
⁵1910 U.S. census, New Castle County, Delaware, population schedule, Election district No.2, enumeration district (ED) 76 sheet 2B, dwelling 34, family 36, George E. Megaw household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http:www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm, roll T624_146.
⁶“Delaware Marriage Records, 1806-1933,” database and images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2012); Reba M. Baldwin, no. 1514, issued 12 June 1914; citing Delaware Vital Records; Microfilm. Delaware Public Archives, Dover.