2020 Prompt - Land - Noah Willey

Noah Willey – 1753-1820

My 5^th great grandfather

Nancy Simmons to

Paul Simmons to

June Putman to

Ernest Putman to

Perry Willey to

Hugh Willey to

George Willey to

Noah Willey

Deeds - Land Records

Up until a year and half ago I had no idea that Noah Willey was an ancestor of mine. I had been working on a project to find my great grandfather, Ernest Putman's, father. I found that his father was Perry Willey. I was so excited that I found him and had found a whole new family line.  On my pedigree charts there had been this big empty space from my great grandfather backwards. 

Now I could start exploring this new family. I had discovered that Perry's father was Hugh Bolton Willey and that his father was George Washington Willey born about 1794 but George was the end of the line for the Willey family. I could not track the Willey family back any further than George. I checked Ancestry for a George Washington Willey born 1794 and death 1844 and found that all the trees on this Willey line ended with George Washington Willey 1794-1844. Most sources stated that George was born in Ohio or Vermont and that he died in 1844 in Vermilion County, Illinois.  A few trees had his father as Oliv Willey. I could find no records to prove this fact, so I was going to try and find who was George Washington Willey’s father.

First, I had to discover if George was born in Vermont or Ohio. George married twice and many of the Ancestry trees stated his first marriage was to Martha Colton. I found a marriage record for a George Willey and Martha Bolton in 1811 in Butler County, Ohio.[1] The Ancestry trees also stated that George’s second marriage was to Minerva Tillotson in 1827 in Ohio.  His eight children born to his first wife, Martha Bolton, were recorded in census records as born in Ohio between 1812 and 1826.

Marriage Record - George Willey to Patty Bolton - 8 Sept 1811

The oldest child of his second marriage is Hugh Bolton Willey born in 1828 in Hamilton County, Ohio and the next eight children to his second wife, Minerva Tillotson are all born in Vermilion County, Illinois. Of those eight children, four stated in the 1880 census that their father was born in Ohio, one said Vermont and one said Massachusetts. I went hunting for Willey surnames in Ohio.

I started searching for the Willey surname in the 1820 Ohio census. The 1820 Butler County, Ohio census listed a Richard, Noah and George Willey![2] Could this be our George Willey?  Noah was the name of one of George Washington Willey’s sons!  I jumped into Butler County, Ohio wills and probate records on Ancestry and found a will for Noah Willey probated 1820 and he named three sons: Richard, Noah and George Willey.[3] I then went back to Ancestry to see if I could find a tree with a Noah Willey with a death date of 1820 that had a son George.  There were many trees with this Noah Willey who died in Butler County in 1820 and they all had a son named George Washington Willey.  BUT that son was born in 1786 and died in 1793.  How could he be listed in Noah's will when it was written June 10, 1818?[4]

Will of Noah Willey written 10 Jun 1818

I then decided to look for deed records where Noah might have sold or given land to his children.  BINGO! I found a deed recorded dated September 14, 1814 in Crosby Township[5] where Noah Willey gives "in consideration of the love, goodwill and affection which I have to and bear towards my loving son George Willey ….have given and grant to the said George Willey the following tract of land said to contain 50 acres”

Deed record - 14 Sep 1814
Noah Willey gifting 50 acres to son George Willey

I concluded that Noah had a son George who died in 1793 but also had another son born the next year in 1794 and he named that son George Washington Willey, a custom used quite frequently in the New England area. As I researched birth records in East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut I found three records for Elizabeth Willey born to Noah and Elizabeth Willey that [6]exhibits this pattern where a child died and the next child receives the same name.

            Elizabeth daughter of Noah, Jr. & Elizabeth, b. July 3, 1771

            Elizabeth daughter of Noah, Jr. & Elizabeth, d. Nov. 25, 1774      

            Elizabeth daughter of Noah, Jr. & Elizabeth, b. Dec. 22, 1774

Connecticut Birth & Death Records
Elizabeth Willey daughter of Noah & Elizabeth Willey
George Willey son of Noah & Elizabeth Willey

Unfortunately, the Connecticut birth records do not have George Washington Willey’s birth recorded for 1794.  It is possible that Noah and his family had left Connecticut by this time and as many records indicate George was born in Ohio where birth records were not being recorded at that time.

As I studied the many Ancestry trees containing Noah Willey who died in 1820, I discovered he was born in 1753 in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut and the family dates back to Isaac Willey born in 1614 in England and immigrated to America by 1640.[7]

Finding a deed record for 50 acres of land given as a gift by Noah Willey to his loving sons, Richard and Noah, was the key piece of evidence that proved my great grandfather's lineage from Ernest Putman born in 1875 to his great-great grandfather Noah Willey and back four more generations to Isaac Willey born 1614 in England.

     

Ancestry - Thru Lines
DNA Evidence - Nancy Simmons to Noah Willey

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[1] FamilySearch.org; Ohio County Marriages, 1787-2013,Butler County, page 37, image 20; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BJ9Q-9M?i=19&cc=1614804

[2] Ancestry.com; 1820 U.S. Census; Crosby, Hamilton, Ohio, page 370, Image 312; https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7734/4093883_00312/40279?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/12129622/person/302029866247/facts/citation/902182328035/edit/record

[3] Ancestry.com; Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998,  Probate Court (Hamilton County); Probate Place: Hamilton, Ohio, page 466-468, image 277-278; https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8801/007642424_00277/1131406?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/12129622/person/302131013660/facts

[4] Ibid - will

[5] FamilySearch.org; Ohio, Hamilton County Deeds, Book N-O, 1814-1816, page 372-373, image 197; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4C-S1DH?i=196&cat=293030

[6] American Ancestors.org; Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928; https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870/RecordDisplay/?volumeId=13232&pageName=191&rId=235045713

[7] Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2015), 374; https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LB9L-Z9L

2020 Prompt - Air - Edward William Martin

52 Ancestors 2020  - Week 16 Prompt - Air

Edward William Martin - 1918 - 2005 

My Uncle Ed - WW II Army Air Corp  

Ancestors with a military history are always an interesting research project. I research to find when did they enlist, what was their rank, where did the engage in conflict, and when were they discharged? My uncle Ed is my project for the prompt AIR. He was a Flying Tiger with the AVG, American Volunteer Group, of the Chinese Air Force 1941-42 and in the U.S. Army Air Corp 

1942-1945.

Edward William Martin 1918-2005
American Volunteer Group / Chinese Air Force / U.S. Army Air Corp

Edward William Martin was born September 16, 1918 to Edward Jacob and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin in Detroit, Michigan.[1] He was the oldest of four children with sisters, Nina Marie, Josephine Blanche, and Mary Catherine.  He grew up living on Bostwick Street and as a young boy he was actively involved with the Boy Scouts as his father was a scout leader. He graduated from Southwestern High School and went to work for W.M. Chase Valve Company that was located across the street from where he grew up.

Edward W Martin about 1925

Sometime in the late 1930s Edward and his family moved to a flat above his grandparents on 1118 Vinewood Avenue so his father could care for his grandparents, Frank & Nina Martin. Edward registered for the draft October 16, 1940[2] and I would assume shortly after he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp and then following basic training volunteered for the Chinese Air Force in the AVG, American Volunteer Group better known as the "Flying Tigers".

Edward William Martin WW II Draft Card October 16, 1940

When Edward enlisted in the U.S. Army much of the world was at war and the United States was a neutral state. China had been at war with Japan for many years and defeat was imminent when Franklin D Roosevelt. using the "Neutrality Act of 1939" and sold aircraft and supplies to China. A retired Army officer, Claire L. Chennault, was serving as a military advisor to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Nationalist China.

The Flying Tigers - American Volunteer Group 

Chennault recruited pilots and maintenance folks for what became known as the AVG or American Volunteer Group. To help Chennault, U.S. military personnel were allowed to resign from their respective services and join the AVG.[3] By the summer of 1941 Edward had volunteered for the AVG and was in route to British occupied Burma for advanced training. The aircraft supplied to the AVG were the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk. When the aircraft, pilots and support services arrived in Burma they were instructed on details to protect the main Burma supply route to China by attacking Japanese bombers sent to disrupt the road. When the P-40 Tomahawks arrived in Burma their forward nose was painted with a large, tooth filled shark face. This coupled with extraordinary flying skills of the pilots soon caused the AVG to become known as "The Flying Tigers".[4]

Pearl harbor occurred on that infamous day December 7, 1941 and twelve days later the AVG saw their first action on December 19, 1941 attacking Japanese bombers.[5] For the next seven months "The Flying Tigers" protected the supply route with an official record of 296 Japanese aircraft destroyed with the aerial loss of only 14 pilots.

P-40 Aircraft -  The Flying Tigers

With America’s entry into World War II, the renown Flying Tigers reverted to American military control on July 4^th, 1942.[6] Edward re-enlisted with the Army Air Corp on August 26, 1942 and reported to training for his next assignment.[7] According to the Army Air Corp patch on Edward's military jacket he was part of the ATC or Air Transport Command flying B-17 aircraft. After China's ocean, rail and road supply routes were blocked, all supplies had to be moved by air over the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains. The China-Burma-India airlift provided supplies to British and American troops in northern Africa, India, Burma and to China. 

P-17 Air Transport Command 

  

On furlough, Edward went home to marry his sweetheart, Julie Marko, on May 15, 1943 at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Detroit.[8] Shortly after his marriage, Edward was back into action in the Air Transport Command flying with a crew in a B-17 aircraft. He was with a crew flying from Cairo to Calcutta the day his son, Edward T Martin, was born May 30, 1944.[9]

Edward and Julie Marko Martin Marriage
May 13, 1943 St Aloysius Catholic Church
Detroit, Michigan

Edward's military jacket reveals his action in WW II. He has a United States Army Air Corp patch on his left sleeve and a CBI or China-Burma-India military patch[10] on the right sleeve.  Under his name patch on the right is the ATC or Air Transport Command patch[11] and on the left front is the WWII Air Transport Command naked lady novelty patch.[12]

Edward W Martin's Army Air Corp Jacket
Army Air Corp patch on left sleeve, China-Burma-India military patch on right sleeve
Air Transport Command novelty patch on left front and Air Transport Command patch under name 

His jacket also contains a "blood chit”, issued from the National Government of the Republic of China to the American Volunteer Group.[13] Edward's "blood chit" contains the flags of the United States and Republic of China and the message in Chinese characters reads vertically from right to left: This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care.[14]

American Volunteer Group "Blood Chit"
American flag / Republic of China flag
China-Burma-India insigna lower left
Blood Chit Chinese characters

World War II ended September 2, 1945 and Edward soon returned to his wife and son in Detroit. He returned to his job with Chace Valve Company and eventually bought a home in Dearborn, Michigan and added two more sons to the family. In May 1993, Edward and Julie celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary and on February 9, 2005 Edward William Martin, a member of the Greatest Generation, Army Air Corp veteran of WW II, died in Wyandotte, Michigan. 

Edward W Martin returned home in 1945 to his wife and family
Back row L to R - Josephine, his mother Mary, father Edward, Beatrice and Nina
Edward holding his son, Edward Timothy, and his wife, Julie

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[1] Ancestry.com. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947; Edward W Martin.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Raschke, Phil, “76^th Anniversary Salute to the Famous WW II ‘Flying Tigers”, The Suburban Times, July 19, 2017. https://thesubtimes.com/2017/07/19/76th-anniversary-salute-to-the-famous-wwii-flying-tigers/

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death Files, 1850-2010.

[8] Ancestry. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952, Edward W Martin, Wayne County, 1943.

[9] Interview with Edward W Martin’s son, Edward T Martin, 21 Aug 2017.

[10] Wikipedia, China Burma India Theatre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Burma_India_Theater

[11] Air Mobile Command Museum: https://amcmuseum.org/collections/air-transport-command-patch/

[12]  Flying Tiger Antiques: https://www.flyingtigerantiques.com/wwii-cbi-made-usaaf-atc-air-transport-command-naked-lady-novelty-patch.html

[13] Wikipedia, Blood chit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_chit.

[14] China-Burma-India Theatre Blood Chits: http://www.cbi-theater.com/bloodchit/bloodchit.html#START

2020 Prompt - Fire - Bartholomew Cronin

                                              

Pumper Wagon - Fire Department

Bartholomew Cronin 1870- 1944

My great-great uncle - Detroit City Fireman - Captain

Nancy Simmons 

    Josephine Martin 

        Mary Catherine Cronin  

            Denis Cronin to his brother Bartholomew Cronin                                                                    

My Irish ancestors must have had a burning desire to leave Ireland in the late nineteenth century.  One by one they left their parents, family and friends to come to America for a better life. My great grandfather, Denis Cronin, left in 1875 and settled in Detroit and in the next fifteen years his younger brothers, Daniel, James and Bartholomew, all left the Emerald Isle to join him. Bartholomew Cronin, the youngest, arrived in 1888 and started his life as a piper-fitter but eventually worked his way up the occupational ladder to becoming a Captain for the Detroit City Fire Department.

Johanna (O'Connell) Cronin and her son Bartholomew Cronin about 1888

Bartholomew Cronin was born August 16, 1870 to John and Johanna (O'Connell) Cronin in Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland.[1]  He was baptized August 26, 1870 in the Cullen Catholic Church in the Millstreet Parish.[2] He immigrated to Detroit about 1888 and in 1891, he was living at 320 Abbott Street in Detroit with his brother, James, in an area called Corktown, southwest of the center of Detroit.  Here many Irish families from County Cork, Ireland were living including several of his siblings. He was listed as a fireman and his brother, James, as a policeman in the Detroit City Directory.[3]

Bartholomew Cronin & Brother James Cronin about 1890

The Wayne County marriage records states that Bartholomew married Jennie Hannah Leahy on February 13, 1893 in Detroit by Father William DeBever.[4] According to the 1900 federal census, Bart and Jennie Cronin were living at 462 16th Street in Corktown and Bartholomew is listed as a city fireman and they have had four children: Hannah born 1893, John born 1895, Genevieve born 1898 and Loretta born 1900. [5] Two more daughters were born later, Ursela in 1901 and Edna in 1903.

Detroit Engine House # 8

Detroit Pumping Wagon pulled by a three Horse Team about 1900

Bartholomew was a fireman from the early 1890s until his retirement about 1928.  Bart started in Engine House No. 8 and used horse drawn fire engines. In 1916, Bart was promoted to Captain at Fire House No. 37 at Central and Dix.[6]  At this time, he experienced the transition of driving a team of horses pulling the fire truck to a motorized fire truck.

Detroit Motorized Fire Truck about 1920

Another memorable fact about Bartholomew was a newspaper article that mentions that in 1910 he was elected president of the Firemen's Fund Association for the Relief of Disabled Fireman.[7]  This Association is a non-profit corporation and was first incorporated in 1867 and is one of the oldest corporations in Michigan.[8]  For over 150 years they have using dues and fund raisers to provide benefits to ease the burdens of disabled firemen and their families.  To have been elected president of such an organization expresses the respect the Detroit city firemen had for Bartholomew Cronin.

Bartholomew elected President of Firemen's Relief Fund Association
Detroit Free Press April 5, 1916

Detroit Firemen's Fund Association Certificate of Membership

Bartholomew and Jennie moved from 16th Street to Wabash Street where they continued to live in Corktown until 1920 when they moved to 2363 Pearl Street on Detroit's southwest side two blocks from Saint Gabriel Parish Church.  Jennie died on January 26, 1926 of kidney disease[9] and Bartholomew continued to live with several of his children.  Bartholomew retired from the Detroit Fire Department about 1928 and died November 19, 1944.[10]  As was the tradition of the times, the funeral was held in his home with a funeral mass at St Gabriel's Catholic Church and he was buried next to Jennie in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bartholomew Cronin Cemetery Stone
Holy Cross Cemetery - Detroit, Michigan

Bartholomew Cronin's Death Certificate November 19, 1944








   

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[1] Ancestry.com. Ireland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

[2] Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915, [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

 Catholic Parish Registers, The National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 04267 / 07

[3] Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1995, Detroit, Michigan, City Directory, 1891, page 359.

[4] Marriage Records of Wayne County, Michigan, State Library, Book 4, page 369

[5] Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, Detroit, Ward 10, Wayne, Michigan, ED 0110, page 7.

[6] Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press, “Cronin Gets New Station”, 31 Oct 1916, page 2.

[7] Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press, “Payments Total $18,658”, 5 Apr 1910, page 3.

[8] www.detroitfiremensfund.com/our-story, Detroit Fire Department Fund Association.

[9] Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Jennie Cronin, 26 Jan 1926.

[10] Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Bartholomew J Cronin, 19 Nov 1944.