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.

Sentimental Sunday: Sundays at Great Grandmom's House

Gramps and I, around 1988

When I was a young child, my mom and I lived with her father and brother in her father's house. My mom was a single parent, and thankfully my grandfather was there for her, watching me while she worked and sharing his home with us. My grandfather's commitment to family was not limited to his children and grandchildren. His mother, my great grandmother, lived to be 95 years old, and she lived independently until her late 80s. Every Sunday, Gramps would drive to her home in Philadelphia for the afternoon. He brought her groceries, helped her with bills and appointments, and just spent time talking to her and helping her around the house. Often he took me with him.

Great Grandmom

 I remember my grandmother's big old house was filled with clown and doll figurines that she allowed me to play with. She had a very mean cat who I was desperate to pet, but who always managed to keep away from my grasp (probably a good thing in hindsight--that cat would have clawed the hell out of me!). My grandmother would cook me grilled cheese if I got hungry while we were there. When I wasn't rearranging her figurines to my heart's content, Gramps and I would play Rummy, and I would read the comics from the newspapers he brought for my grandmother.

My great grandmother passed away in 2006. She had had a stroke several years before, and suffered from dementia until her death. I don't recall a single conversation I had with her as an adult. When I think of her, I remember the curls of her hair, that remained light brown with only a bit of white until her death. I remember her soft, gravely voice as she talked to "Richie," my grandfather. I remember the Sundays at her house, and her warm, soft hugs.

Weekly Goals

I didn't quite finish everything from last week's list. I have a bit of carryover. I finished some important goals last week though. Most importantly, I spoke to my grandfather for about an hour, filling in some missing information. He seemed more receptive this time to talking about his life than he had in the past.

For the coming week, here's what I need to accomplish:

1. Review Great Grandmom Sellers's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

2. Call the Radisson, formerly the Warwick Hotel, to inquire about the existence of employment records (Frederick Gledhill, second great grandfather).--Currently waiting on a call back.

3. Review Great Grandfather Gledhill's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

4. Call Grandmother, discuss blanks I need filled in.

5. Compose list of questions I need to ask cousin Helen.

6. Review entries for grandparents' siblings and ensure proper citations.

If I don't complete all the goals this week, I'll know I'm setting the bar too high for a week. Wish me luck!

Goals for the upcoming week!

I have a friend who loves to make lists. She has so many lists that she has a master list of her lists. I'm going to take a page out of her book and start some lists of my own this week. I'm floundering a bit lately, looking at my tree and picking a person, searching for information, occasionally adding citations... I need to get organized. So, with this in mind, this will be my 'To Do' list for the upcoming week:

1. Review maternal grandfather's information in FTM, create list of blanks I need him to fill in.

2. Review Great Grandmom Sellers's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

3. Send a follow-up email regarding the records from the Church Home for Children, where my great grandmother was raised.

4. Call the Radisson, formerly the Warwick Hotel, to inquire about the existence of employment records (Frederick Gledhill, second great grandfather).

5. Review Great Grandfather Gledhill's entry, add/reformat citations for all facts.

6. Review maternal grandmother's information in FTM, create list of blanks I need her to fill in.

7. Call maternal grandfather on Friday to discuss questions.

8. Make list of records to be ordered, prioritized.

9. Research cemeteries in my area, find one to adopt.

10. Add sources to completed blog entries.

This should keep me relatively busy! Good thing I'm off from work on Friday.

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).

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.