2024- Prompt - Influencer - Ernest Wentworth Putman

Ernest Wentworth Putman 1875-1961

Nancy Simmons

-Paul Simmons - my father

-Wallace Simmons - my father's brother

--June Putman - Paul & Wallace's mother, my grandmother

---Ernest Putman - my father's & uncle's grandfather, my great-grandfather

 

 

Ernest Wentworth Putman 1875 -1961
My father's maternal grandfather

The prompt Influencer was very difficult for me. I have had so many family members who influenced me through the years. My husband, my siblings, many aunts, and uncles have had an impact on who I am. First, I was looking at who influenced me but then I remembered the stories my father told of living with his maternal grandparents after his father died in 1931. Those stories were about his grandfather Ernest Wentworth Putman. I also recalled a discussion I had with my cousin about how much our great-grandfather influenced her father, my father's brother.

Ernest and Cora (Wilson) Putman's Home 1902
Henning, Vermilion County, Illinois
Beulah, Cora, Hazel, and Ernest holding my grandmother, June

My great-grandfather was Ernest Wentworth Putman who was born October 5, 1875, in Henning, Illinois. He was raised by his grandparents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Slusser) Putman. On June 26, 1894, he married my great-grandmother Cora Elizabeth Wilson. He bought a house in Henning and opened a hardware store. In the 1900 federal census, he is listed as a merchant. 

Ernest W. Putman Hardware 1900
Henning, Vermilion County, Illinois

In the 1920 census, he is listed as a garage owner, in 1930 he is listed as a steam engineer and has a general practice, in 1940 he is listed as a well driller and in 1950 he is in well drilling and plumbing.

Ernest W. Putman with horse drawn thrashing machine

In 1931, my grandfather, Walter Simmons, died of pneumonia at the age of 29. He had married my grandmother, June Putman, daughter of Ernest and Cora Putman and they had moved to Dearborn, Michigan to work for Henry Ford. My father's older brother, Wallace was born in June 26, 1921 and my father arrived January 29, 1925. When Walter died in February 1931in Dearborn, Michigan, June and her two sons moved back to Henning, Illinois to live with June's parents, Ernest and Cora.

Ernest Putman sitting on the tractor of the thrashing machinery
Vermilion County, Illinois about 1905

My father was six and Wallace was eleven when they moved to Henning, Illinois to live with their grandparents. They were at a very impressionable age and their grandfather was their male role model. In 1931, their grandfather owned a steam thrashing machine and would travel around the county and help farmers harvest their crops. He was a business manager as well as a machinist. Sometime while the boys were living in Henning their grandfather started a well-drilling business. Again, he managed his business and had machinery to maintain. 

Wallace Simmons, their mother June (Putman) Simmons, and Paul Simmons
about 1934

In April 1934, Wallace and Paul's mother remarried and moved back to Detroit, Michigan. Wallace graduated from Detroit Cass Technical High School and started a job at the Cadillac Motor Car Division while attending Wayne State University. Like his grandfather, he was interested in engineering. In 1942 Wallace joined the U.S. Army and spent time in Europe during WW II in Company A 292nd Engineer Combat Battalion. After the war, he continued his education at the University of Michigan and graduated with a BS Degree in Engineering Mathematics. Wallace continued his education after obtaining a job with Argonne National Laboratory at Illinois Institute of Technology graduating with an MS Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Wallace's daughter, Beverly, believes Ernest had a strong influence on her father's career.

Wallace HS graduation, Wallace and Paul, Paul HS graduation

My father Paul Simmons, graduated from Western High School in Detroit and was drafted into the U.S. Army directly after graduation. Paul was in the 76th Division of the 304th Regiment, Company L. He marched across Germany from Belgium to Czechoslovakia. After the war, Paul attended Wayne State University as he worked at A & P grocery store. Paul chose the path of merchant following his grandfather's business career. Paul worked as a produce manager for A&P for several years. In 1952, he started his own grocery business, Lincoln Square Market, on Fort Street in Detroit. Paul also opened a small butcher shop for a short time. In 1960 he took a job as assistant manager of Francis Foods in Temperance, Michigan. About 1970 he became a wholesale distributor for Better Made Potato Chips. The family always associates grocer and merchant to my father.

 

Paul Simmons and Virgil Smith
Lincoln Square Market 6020 W. Fort Street

Both Wallace and Paul shadowed their grandfather in their careers. My cousin was spot on when she stated that Wallace's grandfather influenced her father and I believe he also greatly influenced my father.

 

Wallace Simmons, Ernest Putman, and Paul Simmons
1958 Putman Family Reunion 

 

2024 - Prompt – Witness to History - Asbury William Zickefoose

Asbury William Zickefoose 1840-1933

Nancy Simmons

- Paul Simmons - father

--Walter Simmons – grandfather 

---Andrew Simmons – great-grandfather

----Aaron Simmons – great-great-grandfather

----Mary M Simmons – Aaron’s sister, 3^rd great-aunt

Asbury Zickafoose – Mary’s husband, my 3^rd great-uncle   

            

Asbury William Zickefoose
1840-1933

According to a 1991 newspaper article in the Parkersburg News, Wilda Zickafoose Hobert, the daughter of Asbury William Zickafoose, states her father witnessed the capitulation of Robert E Lee at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

Asbury Zickafoose married my third-great aunt, Mary Magdalena Simmons, in July 1865 shortly after returning home from the war. Asbury served for thirty-nine months in the Union forces in Company K 10th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on February 1, 1862, in Harrisville, West Virginia, and mustered out on May 2, 1865, in Richmond, Virginia. The 10th Regiment was in many battles and skirmishes in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Asbury Zickefoose                                                  A.W. Zickefoose
  Enlistment 1862                                                   Mustered Out 1865

Wilda still remembers many of her father’s firsthand accounts of his experiences in the Civil War and still has several of his original letters. She recalls his accounts of the battles of Shenandoah, Fisher Hill, Gettysburg, Droop Mountain, and Winchester.

A. W. Zickefoose
Wounded in Action near Winchester, VA
Sept 19, 1864

According to his military records, he was injured on September 19, 1864, near Winchester, Virginia. According to the National Park Service website, the 10th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry was at the Battle of Opequan on September 19, 1864, when Asbury was injured, was in the Appomattox Campaign March 28- April 9th, and at the Surrender of Lee and his army on April 9th. Asbury’s daughter states in the newspaper article that he was at Appomattox Courthouse when Lee surrendered to Grant. Asbury was one of the guards when the surrender took place and he saw both generals. He told her how soldiers cut down a large apple tree on the grounds at Appomattox Courthouse and cut it into small pieces to take home as souvenirs.

Surrender at Appomattox Court House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House

Asbury William Zickafoose was born in 1840 and died in 1933 at the age of ninety-three. Asbury was the great-grandson of German immigrant Johann Jacob Ziegenfuss. Zickefoose is the Americanized form of Ziegenfuss. His father was Sampson Zickefoose born in 1792 and died in 1885. His mother was Sarah Wade born in 1792. Asbury and his first wife, Mary Magdalene Simmons, sister to my great-great-grandfather, had nine children from 1867 to 1887. These children would be my first cousins three times removed. On April 14, 1899, at the age of fifty-five, Mary died from the measles. Mary’s younger sister, Sara Susan Simmons, came to live in the Zickafoose home to take care of the children. On April 13, 1901, Asbury married Sarah Susan Simmons. Six years later May 2, 1907, Sarah Susan died. There were no children born to this union.

Asbury W. Zickefoose & Maud William's marriage record

A year later, on March 14, 1908, Asbury at the age of 68 married Margaret Elizabeth “Maud” Williams who was twenty years old. Many fathers would marry off their young daughters to a widowed veteran to provide her with a pension for life. This worked out very well for Maud. She had four children with Asbury including Wilda the daughter interviewed with the Parkesburg News in 1991. Maud lived to 1979 pulling Asbury’s Civil War pension for 46 years after his death.

Below are records of Asbury’s pension payments and how they increased over the years. I would love to know what the amount was in 1979 when Maud was still pulling payments from his pension.

Asbury W. Zickefoose Pension Payment Cards - Fold3.com
 $10/monthly in 1887 to $72.00/ monthly in 1921
Maud continued to pull his pension payments until she died in 1979

Asbury farmed most of his life but in 1925 he was admitted to the US, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers possibly in Dayton, Ohio. According to the register he had a fractured skull and fractured left leg and was old. He was 85 years old in 1925, was 5 feet 8 inches, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He was discharged on November 12, 1931.

Asbury W. Zickefoose
Register for US, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers - Fold3

His death certificate states he died at home in Parkersburg on September 22, 1933, from kidney failure. His wife, Maud, is the informant and he is buried next to his first wife, Mary Margaret Simmons, in Moyers Cemetery in Ritchie County, West Virginia.

Asbury W. Zickafoose - West Virginia Death Certificate
https://dach-image-proxy.digital-relativity.workers.dev/?film=1953776&frame=00514

Asbury W. Zickefoose and 1st wife Mary M (Simmons)
Peter Moyers Cemetery, Den Run, Ritchie County, WV

Asbury William Zickefoose was born in 1840 and died in 1933 and certainly witnessed a lot of history in his 92 years, 11 months, and 9 days of his life. He was born in the decade of the Mexican War and the discovery of gold in California. He was 16 years old when Abraham Lincoln was elected president and then witnessed our country divide and take up arms against each other. He enlisted for a three-year term of service in the West Virginia 10^th Regiment and fought in many conflicts for the next three years. Amazingly he witnessed the surrender of Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. 

He traveled home to West Virginia, a new state, to marry and have nine children. He outlived two wives and then married a very young woman and had four more children. He witnessed one of his sons enlisting in the Spanish-American War and WW I and died as the United States fell into the Great Depression. His legacy lived on for 46 more years as his third wife continued to collect his Civil War pension payments until 1979 and the last of his children died in the year 2000. What AMAZING history he witnessed!!

2024 - Photo - Wilcox-Martin Family

Wilcox- Martin Family Gathering

Nancy Simmons

Josephine Martin - mother

Edward Jacob Martin - grandfather

Nina Pearl Wilcox - great-grandmother

 

Wilcox - Martin Family Gathering about 1922

I am fortunate to have an amazing collection of family photos. That makes it extremely hard to select one photo to write about when I have so many favorites. This is one of my favorite family group photos. It is the Wilcox-Martin family.  My great-grandmother, Nina Pearl Wilcox married Francis Arthur (Frank) Martin in 1892. This picture contains Nina Pearl, three of her siblings and their wives, her three sons and their wives, and three grandchildren. It also has her cousin and his wife, and their two daughters.

 

It is a Wilcox-Martin family gathering of some sort. Where this takes place is a guess. Nina and Frank and their married children all lived in Detroit but often took trips to Dundee in Monroe County, Michigan where Nina lived as a girl. Interesting is the building in the background named the IN-B-TWEEN. Is that the name of someone’s home? The two cars parked behind the group are maybe 1918 Fords or of that vintage.

 

Dating this photo I used the small child in front, my aunt Nina Marie Martin, who was born October 28, 1920, and looks like she might be about 18 months old in this picture. That would make it the summer of 1922. My grandmother, Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin is holding the baby. The boy sitting on the ground is Clyde Osborne Miller, son of Blanche (Wilcox) and Dale Miller

 

I love the dog on the lower left side looking at the group. And I wonder who is taking the picture of the group? My great-grandfather, Francis Arthur (Frank) Martin is missing so he might be the one taking the picture! And what is Hubbard Wilcox on the right side doing in an apron? The Wilcox men were known for their ability to cook small game and fish so maybe he is preparing the food? What is he holding? I thought it was a chicken or a bird but on closer examination, it could be a catch of fish.

 

So most old pictures can be challenging especially when they are not labeled. You try to figure out what is the occasion, where is the picture taken and who is in the picture. The occasion was a family gathering of the Martin families who lived in Detroit visiting the Wilcox families of Dundee, Michigan. I believe it took place somewhere near Dundee, Michigan. Looking at the leaves on the trees and the clothes that are wearing and based on the age of the baby it must be the summer of 1921 or 1922. I tried my best to identify the family members in the photo.

I have placed the photo at the end of my story with names and relationships to follow.

 

 

Here are the names and the relationships to the best of my knowledge.

Back row: left side Minnie (Baker) Wilcox is the wife of Hubbard Wilcox front row far right holding the fish.

Back row: second from the left Blanche (Wilcox) Miller is the wife of Dale Miller in the back row sixth from left.

Back row: third from left Orville Ellis Martin husband of Edna (Simon) Martin front row second from left.

Back row: fourth from left child, Edward Jacob Martin held by his father Edward William Martin.

Back row: sixth from left Dale Miller husband of Blanche (Wilcox) Miller back row second from the left.

Back row: seventh from left child Francis James Martin held by his father, Hubbard Walter Martin.

Back row: ninth from left Amy (Austin) Smith wife of Irvin George Smith on her right.

Back row: tenth from left Irvin George Smith husband of Amy (Austin) Smith on his left.

 

Front row: left side Harry Elsworth Wilcox, brother of Nina (Wilcox) Martin.

Front row: second from left Edna (Simon) Martin wife of Orville Ellis Martin back row third from left.

Front row: third from left Blanche (Wilcox) Miller wife of Dale Miller back row sixth from left.

Front row: fourth from left Grace Smith daughter of Amy and Irvin Smith back row ninth & tenth from left.

Front row: fifth from left Mina Smith daughter of Amy and Irvin Smith back row ninth & tenth from left.

Front row: sixth from left Mary Elle O’Rourke Martin wife of Hubbard Walter Martin back row eighth from left.

Front row: seventh from left Hubbard Eugene Wilcox, husband of Minnie (Baker) Wilcox back row far left side.

 

The three in front: child Nina Marie Martin, daughter of Edward W. Martin back row fifth from left, and her mother. holding her Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin, and sitting cross-legged Clyde Osbourne Miller, son of Blanche (Wilcox) Miller front row third from left, and his father Dale Miller back row sixth from left.

 

2024 Origins - Nancy Ann Simmons Family Origins

 2024 - Origins

Origins of Nancy Ann Simmons' Families

As a family researcher, it is not uncommon for someone to ask, "Where is your family from." And I usually respond, "What part of my family? " My father's Simmons, Rexroad, Michael, Moyers, Huffman, Propst, Voeglin, Heavener, and Arbogast families are all German but other families are also French, English, and Scottish. My mother's Martin, Larkins, Cronin, and Stackpole families are  Irish, but other families are English, and a wee bit of German.

 

To find your family's origins you must find the immigrant ancestor. To find my father's Simmons immigrant ancestor I had to research back many generations. My father's Simmons family is from Germany, but I had to research back seven generations to reach my 5th great-grandfather, Leonard Simmons, to find that he was born in Germany. 

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons to Andrew Simmons to Peter Simmons to Henry Simmons to Immigrant Leonard Simmons; my 5th great-grandfather from Germany 

Leonard Simmons was born about 1738 in Germany. At this point, I am still searching for the name of his village. Leonard Simmons was on the South Branch of the Potomac River in Virginia by 1753 and claimed 257 acres of land. My father's immigrant great-grandfather, William Henry Leeton, was born in 1839 in France, and his wife, Margaret Newland was born in 1845 in West Virginia but her immigrant parents, William Newland and Elspeth Hall, were born in Scotland.

1880 U.S. Federal Census Wood County, West Virginia
Immigrant - Leeton, Henry 41 born in France, father born in France, mother born in France
Leeton, Margaret, 35, wife, born in WV, father born in Scotland, mother born in Scotland
Henry and Margaret are my great-great-grandparents

My father's mother is June Elizabeth Putman. I have traced the Putman line to 1747 in Culpeper County, Virginia, and from there back to Thomas Putnam born in 1646 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. June Elizabeth Putman's grandmother was Catherine Deck who comes from German stock. I have traced the Deck family back to immigrant, Johannes Nicholas Deck, my 6^th great-grandfather, born in 1695 in Germany.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to June Putman to Cora Wilson to Catherine Deck to Jacob Deck to Christian Deck to Johannes Heinrich Deck to Immigrant- Johann Nicholas Deck; my 6th great-grandfather

 

Turning to my mother’s family, we have a dominance of Irish origins since her maternal grandparents, Denis and Bridgette (Stackpole) Cronin were both born in Ireland in the late 1850s. They both emigrated from Ireland to Detroit, Michigan in the 1880s.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Mary Cronin to Denis Cronin and Bridget Stackpole
Dennis Cronin born in County Cork, Ireland; my great grandfather
Bridget Stackpole born in County Kerry, Ireland; my great grandmother

 

My mother's paternal grandfather was Francis Arthur Martin, and his grandparents, Edward and Julia Martin were born in Ireland and married in 1829 in Kilmactranny Parish, Sligo County, Ireland. They emigrated from Ireland to Wayne County, Michigan in 1843. Since they are of the protestant faith, they are most likely Scotch-Irish.

But Francis Arthur Martin's maternal grandmother was Margaret Ann Davis, and she leads us back eight generations to immigrant Thomas Rogers, a Mayflower passenger who was born in England and married in 1597 in Northamptonshire, England.  

Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Edward Martin to Francis Martin to Elizabeth Larkins to
Margaret Davis to Deborah Stephens 

Cont. Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Robert Stephens to Thomas Stephens to Josiah Stephens to Remember Tisdale to Anna Rogers to John Rogers to Immigrant Mayflower Ancestors - Thomas Rogers; 11th great grandfather from England

 

Based on my research, my origins are strongly Irish with heavy English and German lineages. There is also a small percentage of Scottish and French through my father's line.

 

I have tested my DNA with Ancestry and love their circle graphs. According to Ancestry's database, my father's origins are predominantly from England and Northwestern Europe, then from Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales. My mother's origins are over 50 % from Ireland, then England and Germanic Europe. The circle graph on the right shows my origins from Ireland, England, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales.

Ancestry.com Circle Charts of Origins
Father's origins from England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic  Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland and Wales
Mother's Origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, and Germanic Europe
My origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, Wales

My Origins 
Ireland, Great Britain, Scotland, France, Germany, Norway and Denmark

 

My disclaimer on my research is that I have not been able to trace back far enough to find the source of my origins from Sweden & Demark or Wales as revealed in my DNA. But based on my research, I can state my origins are Ireland, England, Germany, Scotland, and France.

 

 

2024 Family Lore - Mary Catherine Cronin

Mary Catherine Cronin 1895-1952

Nancy Simmons

Josephine Martin - mother

Mary Catherine Cronin – grandmother

Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone

 

Family lore has it that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone on a trip she took with her parents in 1909 to visit relatives in County Cork.  As family lore, you wonder how true this family story is.

 

“The Blarney Stone (Irish: Cloch na Blarnan) is a block of Carboniferous limestone^[1] built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens.”  Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone

 

My grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, was born on the 27th of October 1895 in Detroit Michigan. She was the fifth child and third daughter born to Dennis Cronin and Bridget Johanna Stackpole. She was probably christened at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Detroit where her parents were married. She made her first communion in 1907 when she was 11 years old.

 

Mary Catherine Cronin - First Communion about 1907

Family stories state that Mary Catherine had rheumatic fever and St Vitis Dance, known today as Sydenham Chorea (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23077-sydenham-chorea), as a child, and it caused her to have heart damage. Due to her ill health, her parents decided in 1909 to take her with them on an ocean voyage to visit relatives in Ireland. Her mother was born in County Limerick and her father was born in Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland. Coolinarna is less than an hour from Blarney Castle, so it is very possible that the family visited Blarney Castle and Mary kissed the Blarney Stone. The passenger list on their return trip states his daughter as Bridgette and is eleven years old when in fact she was 13 years old. Her father's passport lists her as Mary but also lists her as eleven years old.

 

Ancestry - UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960

Ancestry - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925

I have no documentation about where Mary attended school in Detroit, but the 1940 federal census states she attended four years of high school. She would have graduated from high school in 1912 and five years later the 28th of June 1917 she married Edward Jacob Martin at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

Wedding Picture June 28, 1917
Standing- Mary Ellen O'Rourke and Hubbard Walter Martin
Seated- Mary Catherine Cronin and Edward Jacob Martin

                                    

Mary and Edward had four children: Edward born in 1918, Nina born in 1920, Josephine born in 1923 and Beatrice born in 1929. Mary and Edward lived with his parents for the first couple of years of their marriage. Mary's mother died in 1924 and her father in 1925 leaving them a house on Bostwick Street where they lived for many years. In 1939, due to Edward's parents' failing health, they moved to Vinewood Avenue and lived in the flat above his parents. In 1948, due to Mary's heart problems, they moved to a garage home on Steadman Street in Dearborn. Unfortunately, Mary suffered a stroke on the first of October and due to her weak heart died on October 13, 1952. Mary Catherine is buried in Holy Sepulcher Catholic Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

Denis Cronin, Mary's father, Mary Catherine holding Josephine, my mother
Picture taken about 1924

Unfortunately, I was only five when my grandmother died and the only picture I have with her is a Mother's Day photo taken May 1952. I only have the stories that my mother shared with me about my grandmother. And one of those stories is that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone! Based on the documents and the story, I do believe my grandmother, Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin kissed the Blarney Stone on her trip to Ireland in 1909.

 

Mother's Day 1952
Mary Catherine, daughter-in-law, Julie (Marko) Martin, my mother, Josephine (Martin) Simmons
Mary's grandchildren: Edward Timothy Martin, Cathy Jean Simmons and Nancy Ann Simmons

Addition Family Photos of Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin and her family

About 1921 at Belle Isle
Son Edward William 3 years, husband Edward Jacob Martin,
Nina Marie 1 year and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

 

Sister Johanna (Cronin) O'Grady and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

Martin Family about 1944
Daughters and son with his son and wife
Josephine Blanche, Mary Catherine, Edward Jacob, Beatrice Mary, and Nina Marie
Edward William holding son Edward Timothy and Julie (Marko) Martin