Surname meme

Craig on GeneaBlogie has a great suggestion for a blog. Of course, I just posted yesterday, but it is such a good idea, I really want to get this out there. The task is to list the surnames I'm researching, their localities and your "Most Wanted Ancestors". Here goes, through 2xgreat-grandparents:

• DeHority/Dehorty and variants: Indiana, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Idaho and (someday) Ireland;
• Mauzy: Indiana, Virginia, France;
• Hupp: Indiana, Virginia, Germany;
• Moore: Indiana, Virginia;
• Bobbitt: Indiana, Virginia;
• Huffman: Indiana, Tennessee;
• Carr: Indiana, Virginia;
• Douglas/Dobrovalskas: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Lithuania;
• Wychulis/Vaiculis: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Urnikas: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Bartkiewicz: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Beaulieu: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Landry: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Ducharme: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Filion: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;

Most Wanted: No surprise here, the parents of James Madison DeHority, born 1819 in Delaware, probably Kent County, and died in 1891 in Elwood, Indiana. Second, the parents of Susanna Huffman, said to be born in Kingsport, Tennessee in 1817, died in 1899 in Elwood, Indiana.

Paternity search in Delaware

So, nothing seems to be shaking loose in Indiana. Maybe I should shift my focus to Delaware.

Here's what I know. A James M. Dehorty is mentioned in the will of Thomas Dehorty of Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, dated December, 1846. Thomas calls this James the son of Sarah Silivan, but does not identify his relationship to Thomas. I know from records in the Delaware Archives that Thomas married Margaret Reed, daughter of John Reed, in about 1792. John Reed's will confirms that he had grandchildren Mary(Dehorty) Cahall, William B. Dehorty, Elizabeth (Dehorty) Cubbage and a great grandchild Margaret Clark, who would be the daughter of Amy (Dehorty) Clark. So, there is a William B. Dehorty, son of Thomas. James M. named his first son William B. Dehorty. Could this be James' father? I have yet to find a record in Delaware or Maryland of William B. marrying anyone. William dies in or before 1831, when my James would be about 11-12 years old. Unfortunately, there is a problem. There does exist an Orphan's Court record in the Delaware Archives dated about 1884 that appears to be an effort to settle land that William left. And, it begins

"William Dehorty late of then Murderkill Hundred in the County and State aforesaid deceased departed this life intestate and without issue on or about the year AD 1831...."

Rats! This is a great bit of evidence, detailing the descendants of William's siblings, their marriages and even a divorce, but, there it is, he died intestate and without issue. Another dead end!

Why did Thomas leave James $100 in his will? How are they related?

My #21

Being new to this genealogy blog thing, I am learning something new every day! In tracking down ways to get my blog on various lists, I stumbled across Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blog. His prompt for yesterday was “Who is #21 on your Ahnentafel list? Well, that got me scurrying to my Family Tree Maker program to find the answer.

By coincidence, I have been corresponding about this lovely lady with someone who posted her grave on the findagrave.com web site. My #21 is Emily R. Jamison, wife of Abram Gooding Mauzy of Rushville, Indiana. I don't have a picture of her that I know of, but I do have boxes of unidentified photos, some of whom could be her. Emily was the daughter of Wesley Jameson and Mary Reed, born 29 May 1828 in Bourbon County, Kentucky and died 12 July 1873 in Rush County, Indiana. I don't have a photo of her, but here is a link to the photo of her gravesite in the East Hill Cemetery, Rush county, Indiana. It's a beaut!

Thanks for the idea, Randy!

Tombstone Tuesday-James M. DeHority

Here is the final resting place of James M. DeHority and his wife Susannah Huffman DeHority in the Elwood City Cemetery, Elwood, Indiana.

At the top is noted that the mausoleum was rebuilt in 1899, indicating that it had fallen into some disrepair at one time. When I first saw the mausoleum it was in sad shape, but on a more recent visit, I was pleased to see it had been cleaned up, repaired and locked up. A recent reading of the cemetery by the Elwood-Pipecreek Genealogy Society lists its occupants as:
Anna DeHority (1833-1880)
Bertha M. DeHority (1877-1877)
Frank E. DeHority (1875-1942)
Homer DeHority (1881-1881)
James H. DeHority (1844-1899)
James M. DeHority (1853-1907)
James M. DeHority (1819-1890)
Jane H. DeHority (1850-1937)
John W. DeHority (1840-1881)
Joseph A. DeHority (1850-1853)
Mary J. DeHority (1855-1856)
Myrtle DeHority (1874-1968)
Myrtle L. DeHority (1876-1954)
Susannah H. DeHority (1816-1899)
William B. DeHority (1838-1839)

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

I started this post three days ago, then the flu hit. Let me see, where was I?

Following George L. and Anna Warren DeHority hasn't gotten me any closer to my James M. DeHority's parents (yet), but I am more convinced that I'm on the right trail. In searching the 1860 census for Anna, I did notice some familiar names. Also living in Pipe Creek Township in 1860, so, not far from James M., is Andrew Griffith(age 31) and his wife Nancy(34), with children Mary(6) and Sara(3). This Andrew is a railroad agent and lists his birthplace as Delaware. Thomas Dehorty (the one with the will that mentions my James, I think) had a grandson Andrew Griffith by his daughter Elizabeth. Another hint that this might be him is that member of his household is a William Lord(21). Thomas has a great grandson William Lord by his daughter Elizabeth with her first husband William Cubbage and their daughter Mary. That would have made Andrew his uncle. Coincidence? I don't think so. It looks like maybe a group of folks from Delaware settled in the same area of Indiana. Going fishing at Ancestry, I find a source Hamilton County, Indiana, Index to Marriage Record 1850 - 1879 which shows that an Andrew J. Griffith married Nancy J. Huff on March 6, 1852. The date would support the ages of the children. Where was Andrew in 1850? I can't find him in Delaware or Indiana, but he seems to be in Franklin County, Ohio listed as an attendant in a "lunatic asylum". The age of this Andrew is consistent with my target, and supporting this hypothesis is the presence of a Cubbage Dill as another attendant. Both the Cubbage and Dill families lived near the Delaware Dehortys. If these conjectures are true, Andrew must have had an interesting trek from Delaware to Indiana.

I sure seem to be able to find out more about the people around my DeHoritys than I can find about my DeHoritys.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

This lovely lady is my grandmother, Mary Marcella (Wychulis) Douglas. Today would be the 111th anniversary of her birth. I was named for her (actually for both my grandmothers, as they had the same first name.....pretty convenient!), and she has a special place in my heart. She is one of my ancestors that I had the very special privilege to know personally.

Grandma was born February 5, 1898 to Jacob and Anna Wychulis, two immigrants to Pennsylvania from Lithuania who came to this country between 1888 and 1895. Mary grew up in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, the fourth oldest of eight children. She met my grandfather, Adam Anthony Douglas, who had immigrated from Lithuania in 1914, and they were married in St. Casimir's Church, Pittston, Pa, on May 23, 1921. This is a photo of their marriage certificate.

St. Casimir's must have been a Lithuanian church, as their names have a Lithuanian spelling, Dobrovolskas (Douglas) and Vaiciulis (Wychulis). I remember Grandma telling a story on herself about when she and Grandpa were dating. One night she wanted to go out with another fellow and so she told Grandpa she couldn't go out with him. Who should she meet when she was walking home with her date, but Grandpa. She said he was pretty mad. I guess he forgave her.

Grandpa died in 1956 and Grandma lived until 1984. Grandma always regretted not having more education. I remember that for a while, Grandma was one of the cafeteria ladies, making lunch at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia, where she lived. But mostly, I remember Grandma coming to stay with us when my dad was stationed away from the family. Since there were 6 kids in my family, I know how much mom must have appreciated the help. Here is a picture taken about 1958 of Grandma and some of her grandchildren. I'm the cute one, second from the right with the donut braid on top of her head.

I know how much I appreciated having her to talk to. She used to say, “Be a good girl, Mary Lou. Study hard, and help your mother.” She was a devout Catholic, and I remember her “saying her rosaries” every day. Also, watching her “stories” every day.....she introduced me to “Search for Tomorrow” and “Guiding Light” when they were 15 minute episodes. I watched “Guiding Light” for years.

Now that I'm a “Nana”, I think about her often. Her family was the center of her life. Her life wasn't big, and she probably didn't think it was very special.

But it was special to me.