Little Ada Evans (corrected)

1870 Census Mystery Solved!
(continued from this blog post and this blog post)
and a correction

Charles Turner Evans, Civil War Veteran and Printer/Publisher of the Hoosac Valley News lived  in a rooming house in Adams, MA lived with Hulda Jowett's family, James Angell in 1870 after his wife, Ann Janet (Jannette) died in 1868 of consumption leaving him with a little girl, Ada Ann, my great grandmother, to raise. But, why isn't she living with him? For a very long time, I had no answer to this question.

As you can see, Ada is living with her maternal grandmother, Miriam Chesebro,  recent widow (1866) of Albert W. Chesebro/Chesebrough. I don't know much about Miriam/Merriam except that her maiden name was Bracy or Bracie. The Aylsworth and Chesebrough compiled genealogies agree on that. This census record confirms that she was born in New York. Miriam died in 1886.

But, what a gold mine this census is! Miriam's children, who live at home, all work in the "family business" of printing. 

Albert Chesebro's mother Polly SMITH lived to be 99! She was born in 1794 and died in 1893. (Now, I can try to find her in the 1880 census!)

Knowing that many marriages took place in Vermont bridged the gap between New York and upper Massachusetts records. Now, I have more research to do.

Ada was obviously named for her Alysworth ancestor, Ada Ann Ayleworth (1812-1860). 

Tombstone Tuesday: Chesebrough and Evans Gravestone

Photo by Wayne Howland, 2012, used with permission

 North Adams Family
Update!

Located about 104 miles away, is the Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, Massachusetts. Nestled in Berkshire County,  the towns of Adams and North Adams are where my great grandfather, Charles Edward Stewart went to work as an accountant in the North Adams Gas Light Company and United Zylonite Company and met and married Ada Ann Evans, a local girl.

They married on 15 December, 1885. 

If it wasn't for the tiny photographs of Ada's father and step-mother, in a closed case, I would not have found out that Charles Turner Evans, first married a woman whose name appeared to be Ann Janet, Angionette or Janette as it says on this gravestone. Her maiden surname was Chesebrough. They were from New York and that path sent me back to the Chesebrough family of Stonington, Connecticut. Larry Chesebro  and the compiled genealogy of the Cheseboroughs helped a lot.

Janette died when Ada was less than a year old of consumption. Charles, a Civil War veteran, was a publisher, whose parents died before he enlisted in the War. In 1860 he is living in Adrian, Lewawee, Michigan with his mother's brother, Robert Aylesworth and his family. That branch of my family were practicing Quakers.

Charles served in Company H, 27th Massachusetts infantry and was discharged in July of 1865. The next year, he married Janette and had Ada in 1867. My mother showed me the portraits and I was entranced by the idea that someone whose name was Martha (like mine) but called Mattie was a step-mother. Ada was an only child like me.

It took me a lot of work to find her death record and to find out her maiden name was Davis. Charles left her a widow, (he died of hepatitis) and her death record told me where she was buried. So, I put a request into that cemetery at Find a Grave which was filled this weekend by the kind Wayne Howland of North Adams. I don't know if there are any more of these families buried there.

I still don't have a clear path of Evans back more generations. I think the father was Silvester or Sylvester Evans and his father was John Evans. There was an article in my family Bible about families named Evans but I can't connect it together correctly.

But, the fact remains. I now have a photograph of each of my three 2nd great grandfathers (who served in the Civil War) and a photo of their gravestones. It was a goal that I have now met.

Thanks, Wayne.

1880 North Adams City Directory, Ancestry.com with Chas. T Evans listed with his occupation

I have learned more about this Chesebrough line and I am focusing on them instead of the Evans surname that I don't know as much about.

One Hundred Twenty Eight Years

One Hundred Twenty-Eight Years Ago

Happy Anniversary to my great grandparents, Charles Edward Stewart and Adah Ann Evans. December 15, probably a cold, wintry day in 1885, they married in North Adams, Massachusetts. 

I have the marriage record which matches what was written in my Family Bible, My grandmother added the location of their marriage because I asked her to as I was sure she was wrong since he was born in North Stonington, CT. How did he get that far, I asked? She said he moved there to take a job for the Gas company. She was correct. 

But, then, I found a town history! What luck. Most Interesting Events? 

Tombstone Tuesday: William Chesebrough

Photo by Frederick E. Burdick, used with permission

Founder of Stonington, Connecticut:
William Chesebrough

I confess to being descended from all four men who founded Stonington, Connecticut. This photograph from Wequetequock Cemetery (pronounced Wickety-Quock) [1650] was taken by my cousin Fred Burdick in 2004. The cemetery on Find-a-Grave has some excellent photos of this ancient burying place. Fred took us there and we wandered around with him as tour guide. He gave me a CD of his photos and research and I didn't take even one photo. 

The compiled genealogy of William Chesebrough, published in 1903 shows how complex the descendants of this founder can be but I was able, early in my genealogy adventure, to start a path down from this 8th great grandfather to myself. I have read that he came in the company of those in the Winthrop fleet from Boston, Lincolnshire, England. 

One line of mine descended from William Chesebrough works down to my great grandmother, Ada Ann Evans, wife of Charles E. Stewart. But, I was never able to find records that I needed. Ada is a particular favorite ancestor of mine because my middle name is Ada and I have inherited her wedding ring. I gave it to my son-in-law to have the stones reset in my daughter's wedding band to keep the family jewels going....

Ada was a quiet woman who loved to read (as told to me by my grandmother) and judging from the size of her wedding band, quite heavy. She is the only great grandparent that I don't have a photograph of. It makes me even more curious about her family.

Her ancestor path is hard to prove because it involves geography. It wasn't until Wayne Howland took a photo of a gravestone in Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, MA that I began to understand how I was going to have a records nightmare despite the "correctness" of the compiled genealogy. 

Ada's boys are the inspiration for this complex investigation. I suspect that great uncle Dudley looked like his mother.

Title Page

cover
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is the title page of the book that I found today at Archive.org. I always make a print copy of the title page or a screenshot if I can for my records to make the correct citation.

Annual Record of North Adams, MA in 1885

James Albert Barber

James Albert Barber
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

This is a precious photographs sent to me by a "cousin" in Utah. Her grandfather was James Albert Barber (my 2nd great grandfather). Someone she knows told her I had a photo of him on the Web and she decided to write to me. I was delighted. I encouraged her to have the original photo restored and when she did she sent me a copy.

I immediately scanned it and uploaded it to my Flickr account. The interesting fact is that James's photo taken here was taken in the same photography studio (Schofield Bros) in Westerly as my other 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Schofield.

These two men along with Charles Turner Evans all fought in the Civil War. I don't know too much about Charles Turner Evans who served in Company H, 27th Massachusetts infantry.

Brian hosts a blog on Medal of Honor recipients and had this to say about James and my connection to Robert Grandchamp of Rhode Island who is writing a book on James's unit.