Sunday, May 10, 2020
Sunday, May 3, 2020
2020 Prompt - Where There's a Will - John Deck Wilson
52 Ancestors 2020
Week 17 - Prompt - Where There’s a
Will
John Deck Wilson – 1860-1891
My - great-great uncle
Nancy Simmons to
Paul
Simmons to
June
Putman to
Cora
Wilson to her brother
John
Deck Wilson
Researching in Salt Lake City
several years ago, I discovered the will of John D. Wilson in the Vermilion
County, Illinois probate records. The will was written June 13, 1890[1]
and I wondered if this could possibly be a relative. As I read the will, I
discovered that John's sister was my great grandmother, Cora Elizabeth Wilson.
There was no wife or children
mentioned in the will and after he stated to pay his debts and settle his
accounts Cora is mentioned to receive one bedstead, bed and bedding, my bureau,
rocking chair, cupboard and all my dishes.[2]
Sister Flora Belle was to receive one bedstead, bed and bedding, my singer
sewing machine, all my silverware and my library. He mentioned a third sister
and then wills his two brothers his farming equipment. Who was this person? And
why was he giving his sisters and brothers all his possessions? Most wills are
written late in life and bequest usually went to a spouse and children.
 |
| Will of John D. Wilson signed 13 June 1890 |
The will of John Deck Wilson, my
great grandmother's oldest brother, or my great-great uncle revealed a sad
story. John Deck Wilson was the oldest
child of William and Catherine Deck Wilson born October 26, 1860 in Vermilion
Co., Illinois[3] 10
months after his parents married.
Shortly before his 2nd birthday his father enlists in the Civil War with
the 125th Illinois[4]
Volunteers on September 1862 and he does not return until John is four in
September 1864.
After John's father returns from
the war the family lives in the small town of Bismarck where six siblings are
born into the family. My grandmother,
Cora Elizabeth Wilson, was the fourth child and first girl born to William and
Catherine.
 |
| Marriage Record of John D Wilson, Father - Wm R. Wilson, Mother -Catherine Deck |
 |
| Marriage Record of Emma Jane Collings, Father - James W. Collings, Mother - Arean Moore |
John Deck Wilson married at the age
of 23 to Emma Jane Collings on April 8, 1884.[5] On June 5, 1885[6]
a baby girl named Winnie Wilson is born but eight months later Feb 4, 1886[7]
her mother, Emma Jane, dies from tuberculosis and a month later at nine months
old baby Winnie died due to tuberculosis. Shortly after John's only child died
his mother, Catherine Ellen Deck Wilson, succumbs to the disease on July 15,
1886.[8]
One can only suspect that John's mother was helping with the care of his wife
and child and caught the disease. If
this was not sad enough, five years later, January 22, 1891, John Deck Wilson[9]
also dies due to the dreadful disease at the age of thirty.
 |
| Emma Jane Wife of John D. Wilson Catherine Wilson Mother of John D. Wilson John D. Wilson All Died of Tuberculosis 1886, 1887, 1891 |
Knowing of his impending death,
John writes his will June 13, 1890 and gifts all his possession to his five
living siblings. He leaves his sisters Cora Elizabeth Wilson 19, Flora Belle
Wilson 16, and Mary Edna 10 his household possessions and his two brothers,
William Tecumseh Sherman Wilson 25, and Ulysses S. Grant Wilson 22 years old all
his farming possessions.
My great grandmother lost her
brother, sister-in-law, niece, and her mother to the number one cause of death
in the late nineteenth century, tuberculosis, all within five years. So, when
there’s a will there’s usually a story!
[1] Ancestry.com. Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999, Will Records, Book E-F, 1882-1896 Image 414. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9048/007655550_00414?pid=104427&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D9048%26h%3D104427%26tid%3D112844346%26pid%3D220105934330%26hid%3D1048178082873%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3DlKL12%26_phstart%3Ddefault%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26currentPageIsStart%3D&treeid=112844346&personid=220105934330&hintid=1048178082873&usePUB=true&_phsrc=lKL12&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.87948632.1932983104.1588549550-903469986.1588549550
[2] Ibid.
[3] Find
a Grave, database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com
: accessed 11 Nov 2015), memorial page for John Deck Wilson (1860-1891), Find A
Grave Memorial no.2301264, <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23012642>
[4] Ancestry.com. Web:
Illinois, Databases of Illinois Veterans Index, 1775-1995 Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Detail
Report, Illinois State Archives, <https://www.ilsos.gov/isaveterans/civilMusterSearch.do?key=279011>
[5] FamilySearch.org.
Vermilion County, IL marriage records, Vol C-D, 1-2, Image 390, page 241.
[6] Find
a Grave, database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com;
Winnie Wilson, Memorial # 23015995
[7] Find
a Grave, database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com;
Emma Jane Wilson, Memorial # 23012683
[8] Find
a Grave, database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com;
Catherine Ellen Wilson, Memorial # 23012611
[9] Find
a Grave, database, Find a Grave (http://www.findagrave.com;
John Deck Wilson, Memorial # 23012642
Thursday, April 30, 2020
2020 Prompt - Land - Noah Willey
Noah Willey – 1753-1820
My 5th 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 |
[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
Monday, April 20, 2020
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 4th,
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 50th 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 |
[2] Ibid.
[3] Raschke, Phil, “76th
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.
[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
[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
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
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.
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.
 |
| 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 |
[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.
[9] Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death
Records, 1867-1950, Jennie Cronin, 26 Jan 1926.
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