2023 Prompt - Legend - William Henry Leeton

 

William Henry Leeton – 1841-1923 my great-great-grandfather

 Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons to Elspeth Leeton to William Henry Leeton

 

Family legend tells us that Henry W. Leeton was a stowaway aboard a ship that brought him to New York City from France. The legend states he migrated to Ritchie County working on the railroad and that he was in the Union Army serving as a guard for the bridges and tunnels near Cairo, West Virginia.  Most families have some sort of family legend that has been passed down through the years.  Family historians try to prove or disprove legends with documentation.

New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew List, 1820-1957
Henry Luten, 22 years, male, Confectioner, Belgium

 

To support the New York story there is a document for a Henry Luten listed on an 1859 New York Passenger list. It states he is 22 years old, a confectioner, and born in Belgium sailing on a ship named Robert Center.[1] Is this our Henry Leeton? The problem is if he was a stowaway would he be on a ship manifest. Also, the name Leeton has many variations and can be difficult to research. As I explore, I find a Henry Leaton in the 1860 census in Simpson County, Kentucky living with the W.E. Wainscott family. He is 18 years old, a laborer and was born in Kentucky.[2] Is this my William Henry Leeton? This is the only Henry Leaton, Leton, Leeton I find anywhere in the 1860 United States Federal Census.

 

1860 Federal Census Simpson County, Kentucky
William Leaton, 18, male, laborer, Kentucky

In the 1870 federal census I find Henry Leaton living in Grant, Ritchie County, West Virginia, living with Mary Hall and her three children. Henry is 30 years old working on the railroad.[3] On October 1, 1872, Henry Leeton married Maggie Newland in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. He is 33 years old, and Maggie is 26 years old, and the marriage record states Henry was born in France and is working on the railroad.[4]  The census and marriage record confirm his birthdate about 1837, his birthplace as France, and his occupation as a railroad worker.

 Wood County, West Virginia Marriage Records
Henry Leeton and Maggie Newland

Looking further, in the 1880 federal census Henry Leeton is listed as living in Wood County as 41 years old born in France, and a farmer.[5] Unfortunately, the 1890 census was burned but there is an 1890 Union Veterans schedule that escaped the fire. Henry is not listed in that schedule, and he should be since he is living in Wood or Ritchie County in 1880 and 1900. Humm…..maybe he never fought for the Union forces? 

 

In the 1900 Ritchie County, West Virginia federal census, Henry Leeton is 63 years old born June 1836 in Belgium. The census also states that he immigrated in 1859 and has been in the United States for 41 years and was naturalized.[6] In the 1910 federal census, Henry is 73 years old born in Belgium, immigrated in 1859, and was naturalized.[7]  

 

1900 Federal Census Grant, Ritchie County, West Virginia
Leeten, Henry, white, male, June 1836, 63 years, married 27 years

Both census records state that Henry was born about 1836 in Belgium and is a farmer. Why Belgium and not France? One needs to understand the formation of the country of Belgium. After the French Revolution, Belgium was part of France. Then Belgium became a separate country after the Belgium Revolution that ended in 1839. So, I would assume Henry was born in that part of France that became the country of Belgium. Both censuses state he immigrated in 1859 and was naturalized. These two documents support the New York passenger list.

 

Corporal William H Leeton
Company K 20th Regiment Tennessee Infantry
1841-1923

According to Robert Simmons, past family genealogist, and the website Find A Grave, Henry is buried in the Egypt Cemetery, Cairo, West Virginia.[8] His grave marker indicates his name to be William H. Leeton, his year of birth as 1841, and his year of death to be 1923, and that he served in the 20th Regiment, Company K of the Tennessee Infantry as a Corporal. Robert spoke to Bud Raiguel, long-time funeral director in Cairo, and he stated Henry was buried in Egypt Cemetery in a plot that his son, John Leeton, purchased. John, his wife, May, and his father William Henry Leeton are buried in the plot. When Robert visited the cemetery, William H. Leeton had a Confederate Civil War gravestone with his unit inscribed on it. According to Henry's West Virginia death record, he died September 3, 1923.

W Leton
Company K, 20th Regiment Tennessee Infantry

Further research on Fold3, a military website, I find several Confederate records for William Leton / Leaton enlisted in Co K, the 20th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers.  He enlisted on June 9, 1861, in Trousdale, Tennessee for one year. On July 24, 1862, Corporal William Leaton is discharged. On November 3, 1862, William is captured by Union forces in Simpson County, Kentucky, and sent to Louisville, Kentucky where he is transported to Vicksburg, Mississippi on Nov 12, 1862.[9] William is held by Union forces until June,1863, when he and three other Confederate soldiers are exchanged for four Union soldiers.[10]

Wm Leaton
20th Regiment Tennessee
Prisoner of War

Lots of questions still remain, concerning William Henry Leeton. What happened to William after the prisoner exchange in June 1863? Since he was captured after his formal discharge and then released by Union forces, did he sign an oath of allegiance to the Union? This was often done with prisoners. Did he travel up the Ohio River to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and guard bridges and tunnels for the north? If he did it wasn't as an enlisted Union soldier, or he would be listed in the 1890 Union Veterans Schedule. This schedule was part of the 1890 federal census that asked Union veterans, that were living, questions pertaining to the Civil War.  William Henry Leeton is not listed. In fact, he is not listed on any Veteran Schedule in West Virginia or Ohio, and he would have been if had enlisted. And remember he is buried with a Confederate gravestone that probably his son, John Leeton, purchased. 

 

After looking at the evidence of William Henry Leeton's tombstone, military records, and the fact he enlisted in Tennessee, is it possible that he arrived in New Orleans, which was a strong French community, instead of New York.? If he arrived in 1859, as the 1900 census record states, where is he in the 1860 federal census? The only William Leeton I could find in 1860 was one 18-year-old male in Simpson County, Kentucky. Could this be our William (Henry) Leeton? Simpson is the county where he was captured by Union forces in 1862.  Also, could the legend of his Civil War allegiance to the Union forces be because his grandson, Mr. John H. Sandy, became the president of a prominent bank in Parkersburg, West Virginia in 1941 and didn't want to admit his grandfather, William Henry Leeton, had Confederate connections? Will we ever know the true story?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Ancestry, New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, 1858, New York, New York, Line 9, List Number 1124.

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_189-0192?pId=1554828

[2] Ancestry, 1860 United States Federal Census, Simpson, Kentucky, page 86, line 25.

[3] Ancestry, 1870 United States Federal Census, Grant, Ritchie, West Virginia, page 36, line 20.

[4] Wood County, West Virginia Courthouse, Wood County, West Virginia, Marriage Records, Book 2, page 57.

[5] Ancestry, 1880 United States Federal Census, Walker, Wood, West Virginia, ED 166, page 23, line 45.

[6] Ancestry, 1900 United States Federal Census, Grant, Ritchie, West Virginia, ED 88, page 10, line 12.

[7] Ancestry, 1910 United States Federal Census, Grant, Ritchie, West Virginia, ED 70, page 12A, line 44.

[8] Find A Grave, Memorial # 38588278, William Henry Leeton.

[9] Ancestry, U.S., Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865, William Leton.

2023 Prompt - Non-Population Schedule - Henry Larkins

Henry LARKINS – 1829-1903 my 4th great uncle

Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Edward Martin to Francis Martin to Elizabeth Larkins to William Larkins to his brother Henry Larkins

 

The prompt is non-population schedule. And you say, WHAT?  Okay, so every ten years the federal government has taken a census starting with the year 1790. The number one reason the government takes a census is to calculate the number of representatives each state gets in the House of Representatives. The 1790 federal census asked for the name of the head of each household and tick marks for all other persons in the home based on sex and age. This continued till 1850 when the government finally asked for every name in the household, their sex, race, birthplace, and age. This of course continued every ten years with the government asking more and more questions pertaining to the census year.  For example, the 1930 census ask if you owned a radio.  These federal censuses were called population census and they counted the population of the United States. 

 

The government didn't stop at counting people. In 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 they had non-population census. These were agriculture, mortality, manufacturing schedules. The agricultural census asked number of acres developed and undeveloped, number of cows, horses, bushels of corn and so on. You get it! 

         

1860 Industry, Non-Population Schedule, Henry Larkins, brick yard.

 In 1860 most of our ancestors lived on farms and were listed in the agricultural census but my 4th great uncle owned a business. Henry Larkins owned the Larkins Brick Company and manufactured bricks in Detroit, Michigan. According to the 1860 Industrial and Manufacturing non-population schedule based on six months, he had $1,000 invested capital in his company.  He used 600 cords of wood for fuel at the cost of $750.00. His motive power was horsepower and he employed 13 men costing him an average $338.00 a month in wages. His company produced 1,500,000 bricks at the value of $5,250.00.[1]

 

Henry Larkins - Manufacturer if Bricks and Tiles, Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan

When you look at the 1850 census there were many brick-workers living in Springwells. The land was favorable to the brick-making industry, and many Larkins family members were in one way and another, connected with that business, in which they did very well. The "Larkins Brick Company" became a solid business in the Detroit area.

Henry Larkins and family - 1900 federal census Springwell, Wayne, Michigan

Henry operated the brick business for over 45 years. In the 1900 federal population census he is listed as 70 years old and not listed with an occupation so has obviously retired.[2] On his death certificate it listed his date of death as December 26, 1903, and cause of death is pneumonia.[3]  He was born June 12, 1829, in Detroit and lived most of his life in Springwells Township close to the Martin farm on Michigan Avenue and his lifetime occupation was a brick maker. The death certificate states he married at 28 years and had eight children of which 4 were living at this death. His father, William Larkins, was born in Ireland and his mother, Phoebe, was born in England. He was buried in Woodmere Cemetery on December 28 leaving his widow, Almira Larkins.[4] 

 

Henry Larkins - Michigan Death Certificate - Died 26 Dec 1903
Buried Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

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[1] Ancestry, U.S. Selected Federal Census, Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, 1860 Industry, Taylor, Wayne. Michigan, page 1, image 1, line 7, Henry Larkins.

[2] Ancestry, 1900 United States Federal Census, Springwells, Wayne, Michigan, ED 200, page 27A, line 11, Henry Larkins.

[3] Ancestry, Michigan, Death Records, 1897-1952, image 2563, certificate # 605, Hanry Larkins.

[4] Ibid.

2023 Prompt - Digging Deeper - Margaret Douglas Newland

Margaret Douglas Newland 1844-1929

My paternal Great-Great Grandmother

Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons to Elspeth Leeton to Margaret Douglas Newland

 

Margaret Douglas "Maggie" Newland
1844-1929

This is a picture of my great-great grandmother Margaret Douglas Newland.

It is a picture probably taken in the early 1920s. She is about 80 years old although she looks much older. Photos are such a research prompt for me. As I stare at one of my ancestors in a photo, I have a strong urge to dig deeper to find out more about them.

 

Margaret Douglas Newland was born in October 23, 1844 in Virginia (now West Virginia) to William Newland and Elspeth Hall.[1] The 1850 census tells us she is five years old living in Wood County, West Virginia. This census record reveals that Margaret's parents William and Elspeth were both born in Scotland. The census also reveals she had three older brothers, Andrew 15 born in Scotland, William 11 and John 8 years born in Virginia and a younger sister Ellen one years old.[2] These ancestors are the first ancestors that I discovered who had Scottish roots. YES, had Scottish roots! I had to dig deeper!

 

1870 Wood County, West Virginia Federal Census
William, Elizabeth Newlin born in Scotland
Margaret is 25 years old born in Virginia

I couldn’t find the Newland family in the 1860 census but by 1870 they are still in Wood County, West Virginia. Margaret is 25 years old living with her parents William and Elspeth and three younger brothers, Peter, James, and George.[3] Three years later, on January 10, 1872,[4] Margaret married William Henry Leeton and they eventually have two daughters, Elspeth in 1873, my great grandmother, Elizabeth in 1876 and a son, John, born in 1877. In May 1883 Margaret's mother, Elspeth Hall Newland, died and four months later in September 1883 her father, William Newland, died.[5] They are buried in the Newland Cemetery which I visited in 2007 in Wood County, West Virginia. The cemetery is deep in the hills of Wood County in the middle of a cow pasture engulfed in weeds and brush. Howard and I stopped to ask directions and the gentleman took us to the cemetery and asked, “who are your ancestors”. Come to find out he was a cousin! According to the website Find A Grave this cemetery is located near the community of Newlandsville! According to deed records, this is where William Newland bought 100 acres land in 1845[6] and eventually several of William’s son inherit and own land in this area.

Newland Cemetery in Wood County, West Virginia

Newland Cemetery 

 

Born in Scotland! Where in Scotland were William and Elspeth born and when did they immigrate to America? In the book History of Ritchie County West Virginia it states Margaret’s parents were Elspeth Hall and William Newland and they were married in their native land.[7] The county history book also reveals that Elspeth grandparents were John Hall and Margaret Douglass. So, my 2X great grandmother was given the maiden name of her grandmother! The book also stated that after Margaret Douglass died in Scotland, John Hall and his three sons and two daughters came to the America and settled in Cairo, Ritchie County, WV in 1836. Bingo! I found two more generations and the date of immigration. But where in Scotland did they live? More digging!

 

William Newland and Elspeth Hall marriage record
7 November 1834
Kirknewton, Northumberland, England

I found the marriage record of Margaret's parent's, William Newland, and Elspeth Hall, in Kirknewton, Northumberland, England. They married November 7, 1834.[8] This certainly was puzzling since it was not in Scotland, but Northumberland does border Scotland.

 

Were William and Elspeth Newland my ancestors? Eventually I found their son’s, birth record. Andrew Newland was born March 27, 1835, in Branton, Northumberland County, England.[9] This data agreed with the 1850 census record. Another record I found was the New York, Passenger and Immigration List from 1835 that listed William Newland 35, his wife 22 and a son. William’s occupation was listed as a shepherd.[10]  This had to be Margaret’s parents and her older brother.

William Newland and Mrs. Newland and son
Arrival in New York City - July 30, 1835

Margaret married William Henry Leeton in 1872. William was a veteran from the Civil War and according to his tombstone fought for the Confederate Army in Company K, 20^th Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry.[11] Margaret and William’s three children all married in Wood County. Their second daughter, Elizabeth Ellen, married first in 1893 and had five children, Elspeth, my great grandmother, married next in 1899 and moved to Missouri shortly after their marriage with her husband, Andrew Lincoln Simmons,  and they eventually had four children. Margaret and William’s son, John Newland, married in 1902 and he adopted a son.

William H Leeton - tombstone  1841-1923
husband of Margaret Douglas Newland 
Margaret buried next to him - no tombstone

Margaret’s husband, William Newland, died in 1923 and is buried in Egypt Cemetery in Cairo, Ritchie County, WV.[12] At the age of 84 years, 10 months and 29 days, 

Margaret Leeton
Died 22 September 1929
Cairo, Ritchie County, West Virginia

Margaret died September 22, 1929, and is buried in Egypt Cemetery without a tombstone.[13] As I researched Margaret for this story, I found a much younger picture of her posted on Ancestry by a descendant of her daughter Elizabeth Ellen.

Margaret Douglas "Maggie" Newland Leeton
1844-1929
picture posted on Ancestry by maramcgregor 17 Sep 2020

 

But so far, I have not found records claiming the Newlands were from Scotland. Northumberland is the northern most county in England and this region is known as the borderlands. My ancestors were born and married in England but claim they came from Scotland. Maybe the people of northern England like to claim their distant heritage of Scotland. Maybe their ancestors were from Scotland. This will take digging deeper to understand.

 

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[1] 1900 Federal Census, Grant, Ritchie, West Virginia, ED 88, page 10, line 13, Margaret D Newland, Ancestry.

[2] 1850 Federal Census, District 65, Wood, Virginia, page 135A, image 273, line 8, Margaret Newland, Ancestry.

[3] 1870 Federal Census, Walker, Wood, West Virginia, page 532B, line 5, Margaret Newlin, Ancestry.

[4] West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971, Ancestry.

[5] Find A Grave, Memorials 85691383 and 85691429, William Newland and Elspeth Newland.

[6] Wood County, WV, FHL film 007895620, Deed Bk 13, page 450, image 567.

[7] Lowther, Minnie Kendall, History of Ritchie County, Wheeling News Litho Co., c1911, page 181.

[8] England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, Ancestry.

[9] England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920, FamilySearch.    (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68PD-ZYM1)

[10] New York, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1850, Ancestry.

[11] West Virginia, Marriage Index, 1785-1971, Ancestry, Maggie D. Newland

[12] Find A Grave, Memorial #38588278, Henry William Leeton.

[13] Find A Grave, Memorial 38588504, Margaret Douglas “Maggie” Newland Leeton.

2023 - Prompt - I'd Like to Meet - Walter Raymond Simmons

Week 1 2023

Prompt - I'd Like to Meet

Walter Raymond Simmons 1902-1931

Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons

Walter Raymond Simmons 
about 1920

I would like to meet and talk to my paternal grandfather, Walter Raymond Simmons. Walter died in 1931 in Dearborn, Michigan at the age of twenty-nine of broncho-pneumonia, influenza.[i] Of all the hundreds of ancestors I have researched, I'd really like to meet my paternal grandfather Walter Simmons.

I know quite a bit about Walter's family because I have researched the Simmons family line back to the mid-1700s in Pennsylvania but I really would like to know who Walter was as a person. My grandmother mentioned once that Walter had a sense of humor. Since my father, Paul, and my sister, Judy, also had a great sense of humor, maybe it was Walter's DNA. Yes, my DNA and that of my siblings along with my research confirm that Walter was of German and Scottish descent and his family was North Central Appalachia settlers. But I really would like to meet Walter and know him as a person.

 

Walter, Marvin & Cecil Bernice Simmons
about 1906

I would like to know about his early years in Missouri. Walter was born the second child to Reverend Andrew Lincoln and Elspeth (Leeton) Simmons in Gainesville, Missouri on June 4, 1902.[ii] Walter's parents were both from Ritchie County, West Virginia and his father was an ordained Methodist minister and had accepted a multi-church assignment in Missouri in 1899. It was in Missouri that Walter's older sister, Cecil Bernice, was born in 1900, and in 1904 his brother Marvin Andrew was born. All of them were born in Gainesville, Missouri. Does he remember living in Missouri? Does he remember his father traveling on horseback to seven different churches in his charge? He was only six or seven when his family moved from Missouri to Illinois. Did he remember their move to Illinois and how they traveled to get there?

Walter Raymond Simmons
about 1909

About 1908, Walter's father transferred to the Illinois Methodist Conference and he served churches in Bedford, Oakford, Broadlands, and then Henning, Illinois.[iii] It was in Oakford at the age of nine that Walter's brother, James Russell, was born in 1911. Did he remember going to school in Oakford? What was it like being a preacher's kid? What was it like to sit in church every Sunday and listen to your father preach? And I'd love to know if Walter's father and mother ever traveled back to West Virginia to visit family.

 

Walter and June (Putman) Simmons - about 1921

It was 1915 in Henning, Illinois, when Walter met my grandmother, June Putman. Both of them attended the Henning Methodist Church and went to Henning Public School together. I know my grandmother played basketball for Henning High School and played the piano for many church functions. I would love to ask Walter if he played basketball. Did he watch June play basketball? Did they sit together in church? When did they fall in love? So many questions.

 

L to R - unknown boys and woman, June & Walter Simmons
Wallace Raymond Simmons in buggy 1921

Walter married June Putman in Detroit, Michigan on December 1, 1920,[iv] and their first child, Wallace Raymond, was born in June 1921. It had to be exceedingly difficult for June and Walter to leave the small village of Henning, Illinois, and go to Detroit, Michigan to be married by a Justice of Peace. As was typical for that time, many young men moved to the city to find work. Walter and June moved to Detroit, Michigan where Walter took a job as a mechanic at the Ford Motor Company. I would love to ask Walter about their first home, and what was it like to work for Ford Motor Company in the 1920s.

L to R - Unknown child and woman, Paul & June
about 1929

On January 29, 1925, my father, Paul Herbert Simmons, was born to Walter and June.[v] He was their second child. June traveled back to Henning to birth my father. Did Walter go with her, or did he stay in Detroit to work? I never asked my grandmother these questions even though she lived until 1999 outliving Walter by 68 years. My grandmother was not too forthcoming with past events in her first marriage. I don't know if it was just too raw or out of respect for her second husband. She did state once that they were happy years.

 

June, Paul, Walter & Wallace Simmons
about 1929

It was during the 1920s that Walter's sister and her husband also moved from Illinois to Detroit to work in the auto business. They lived very close to Walter and his family. I'd like to ask Walter how often they traveled back to Illinois to visit his parents and June's parents. What did they do for the holidays? Were there any other Simmons relatives living in the Detroit area at this time? Oh! So many questions.

 

Walter Simmons - Michigan Death Certificate

Another interesting historical fact is that prohibition started in January 1920 and ended in December 1933. This was the period of Walter and June's ten years of marriage. In February 1931, my father who just turned six years old came down with a cold and then pneumonia. It was thought he would not recover from pneumonia, but he did. Shortly after my father recovered Walter came down with influenza and then developed broncho-pneumonia. He passed away on February 24, 1931, at 28 years 8 months, and 20 days![vi] He was so young! He left June who was also 28 years old with two sons, Wallace Raymond Simmons 9 years old, and my father, Paul Herbert Simmons who was 6 years old.

 

My grandmother remarried in 1934 and my father and his brother were raised by their mother and stepfather, Elvis Jackson "Jack" Merritt. Jack lived until 1991when he died at 92 years. He was my grandpa Merritt. But if I could meet any one of my ancestors I would love to meet and have a long talk with my paternal grandfather, Walter Raymond Simmons, my grandpa Simmons!

Walter R. Simmons about 1925
My Paternal Grandfather

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[i] Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952, Walter Simmons, Ancestry.com

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Union List of Ministers, Andrew Lincoln Simmons, Central Illinois Conference, The United Methodist Church, Conference Historical Society, Bloomington, Illinois.

[iv] Michigan Marriages 1868-1925, FHL film # 2342742, Vol 1, page 602.

[v] Birth Record, State of Illinois, Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County Clerk, Certificate #17617

[vi] Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952, Walter Simmons, Ancestry.com