2018 Prompt - Same Name - Edward Martin

Edward Martin - 1846-1927

3rd great grandfather

There is only one branch in my entire family tree that repeats the same name over six generations.  That is the Irish family name Edward Martin.  Edward Martin my 3rd great grandfather immigrated to the United States after his fifth daughter was born May 1842. Edward married Julia, her maiden-name is unknown, in Kilmactranny Parish, County Sligo, Ireland August 1, 1829. 

Kilmactranny Parish Church, Sligo County, Ireland

Their first five children were all daughters born in Ireland; Mary Jane born 1833, Margaret Isabelle born 1834, Eliza "Lizzie" born 1838, Frances "Fannie" born 1840, and Susan born 1842. Hard to believe we are going to get five generations of Edward Martins with all these girls but the last two children were sons; John Jacob born in 1842 and Edward William born 1844.

Shortly after arriving in America a son John Jacob was born in Ohio and the youngest child, my great-great grandfather, Edward William Martin, was born August 1,1846 in Springwells, Wayne County, Michigan. Before little Edward Martin turns eight his father died on February 22, 1854 leaving a widow and seven children.

Elmwood Cemetery
Detroit, Michigan

It is Edward's death that creates 132 pages of documentation that relates to us the well-being of this Irish family for the next 40 years.  Edward and Julia might have left Ireland knowing the famine was on the brink of developing but this Irish family was protestant and had money.  Edward buys a farm in Wayne County, Michigan of 160 acres in 1842 and in the 1850 agricultural census it states his cash value of his farm was $2500 being the ninth wealthiest farmer of the 35 farms listed on the page.  He had six horses, 2 oxen, 15 swine, 200 bushels of wheat, 100 bushels of corn, and 60 bushels of oats. Edward had invested in a working farm and little did he know in 1850 that his investment would help his family survive for 40 years after his death in 1854.

Edward died intestate, without a will, so the court appoints his wife Julia the executor of his estate and estimate his worth at ten thousand dollars.  This might have been too much for Julia because in just a few weeks the court appointed Colin Campbell the executor.  This is probably a family member, but I have not been able to prove this relationship.

Edward Martin's Estate value
Julia Martin - administrator

It is on the many pages of Edward Martin's probate papers that it states where in Ireland Julia and Edward were married, the date of the marriage, a description of his property in Wayne County, an inventory of his estate and sale of lands, expenses of the family for many years, and the partition of land in 1896 after the death of Julia on August 17, 1894. 

Partition of property to Edward & Julia's five children in 1894

Edward W. Martin is the seventh child of Edward and Julia and he lives his entire 81 years on the property where he was born and eventually inherits. 

Edward William Martin 1844-1927

Edward W. married Elizabeth Larkins August 9, 1869 and they had five children; two girls and three boys.  The two girls died within a year of their births but the boys all live to adulthood.  This generation does not produce an Edward. It is Edward W. Martin's son Francis Arthur Martin who names his second son Edward Jacob Martin.

Edward Jacob Martin 1895-1967-my grandfather

Are you with me? This makes the third Edward Martin! Edward Jacob Martin, my grandfather, was born January 7, 1895 in Detroit to Francis and Nina Wilcox Martin.  Edward Jacob married Mary Catherine Cronin in 1917 and has four children; his oldest a son that he named Edward William Martin. That makes the fourth Edward Martin!  Edward William Martin, the fourth, was born in 1918 and he had three sisters, one of which is my mother, Josephine Blanche Martin. 

Julia Marko and Edward William Martin 1943
Edward William Martin 1918-2005

Edward William Martin, the fourth, married Julia Marko in 1943 and had three sons. Yes, we not only have another Edward Martin, we have another Edward and Julia Martin!  Edward and Julia named their first son, Edward Timothy Martin. We now have our fifth Edward Martin in 143 years.

Edward Timothy Martin

From the birth of Edward Martin, our Irish immigrant, born in 1798 to the sixth generation of Martins with Edward Timothy Martin born in 1943 we have five generations of the Same Name.  

2018 Prompt - Father's Day - Ernest Wentworth Putman

Ernest Wentworth Putman 1875-1961

my great grandfather

Ernest Wentworth Putman @ 1881

So, WHO is Ernie's father? Ernie Putman, my great grandfather, was born October 5,1875 in Vermilion County, Illinois.  I have been chasing his father for years and probably will continue for years. Since I have no idea who Ernie’s father is, his paternal line ends with him. A surname I might never know.

On his death certificate his son, Forrest Putman, is the informant and he states that Ernie's parents are Joseph and Elizabeth Putman.  Joseph Putman dies in 1892 and leaves a will where he names his four living children; John, Mary Ellen, Martha "Mattie", and Nancy Jane.  Ernie would have been 17 years old and would have been listed if he was a son. I believe Joseph and Elizabeth Putman were his grandparents and raised him. So which child of Joseph and Elizabeth was his parent?  Based on the evidence I have collected I believe it was their daughter, Mary Ellen Putman. 

Mary Ellen was born December 1857 and would have been 17 when Ernest was born and makes her a very likely candidate as his mother. On January 23, 1878, Mary Ellen Putman, married Charles Prickett and in the 1880 federal census in Vermilion County, Illinois was listed with her husband Charles Prickett, two children, Franklin 2 years and Horatio 5 months old but no five-year-old boy named Ernie. When I looked in the 1880 federal census for Ernest Putman, who should be five years old at that time, he is not listed with his suspected mother Mary Ellen or his grandparents!  I discovered he was hidden in a closet.  There isn’t any five-year-old boy named Ernest living anywhere in Vermilion or surrounding counties.

I would guess that in 1890, the federal census from that year was destroyed, Ernie is living with his grandparents. In 1885 his mother, Mary Ellen Prickett and her husband and then five young children move to Missouri and in the 1900 federal census the Prickett family is living in Boone County, Nebraska with 9 children.  No son named Ernest or born in 1875 living with the family.

In the1900 federal census we find Ernie, 25 years old, married and living with his wife, Cora Elizabeth and two daughters, Hazel and Beulah, living in Rossville Twp., Illinois. His grandmother Elizabeth Putman is living with her daughter Mattie Putman in Henning running the Henning Hotel.

According to the History of Ross and South Ross Townships published by the Rossville Historical Society in 1987, “Ernest “Ernie” Putman was raised by Joseph and Elizabeth Putman, his grandparents.” And, according to Mary Putman, daughter-in-law of Ernest Putman who was married to his son Forrest Putman, “Mary was Ernest’s mother’s name, but I don’t think he had a daddy”.

Ernest Wentworth Putman was presumably raised by his grandparents, married Cora Elizabeth Wilson, had five children and contributed to the Henning community as a storekeeper, threshing machine operator, well driller and plumber.  According to the Rossville publication he never charged enough for his services and was well known and liked by everyone in the community.

So, after 40 years of research I am convinced that Mary Ellen Putman is his mother.  But the question “Who is Ernie’s father?”, and he surely had a daddy, is a puzzle I will continue to try and solve.