Eliza Roxana Adams Swann and Reverend Matthew Swann.
Eliza Roxana Adams is the daughter of Reverend Ezra Adams and Isa Proctor. She was born in Esquesing Township, Halton County, Upper Canada (now Acton, Ontario), in 1828, while Ezra was temporarily superannuated (retired) from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada. Church records report Ezra was at the time “worn down by disease incurred in the swamps of the western country.” Despite this, he ran a school house in Acton during this time.
In 1847, Eliza married Reverend Matthew Swann, also of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in Markham Township, York County, Province of Canada. They had 7 sons and 6 daughters.
Based on their marriage date and place, in Find Alpheus Adams’ Mother : Part VI, we conjecture Eliza did not accompany Reverend Thomas Hurlburt, her sister Elizabeth Almira Adams Hurlburt, and her brothers Henry Proctor Adams and William Case Adams to the Indian Mission Conference in Oklahoma and Missouri from 1844 to 1850 or 1851.
For two portraits over 100 years old, these are in amazing condition!
Eliza Roxana Adams (1828–1906) is 4th great-grandaunt of MKS in the Watne branch.
Matthew Swann (1822–1910) is husband of Eliza Roxana Adams.
References: [1] Ancestry.com member cswann40 (photographs).
Left to right: Grady Chapman, Marion Chapman, and Archie Chapman; 15 Jul 1920.
This is one of three photographs in our collection taken on this date of Grady and Archie Chapman, and their daughter Marion. The other two photographs include another as-of-yet unidentified family.
William Grady Chapman (1890–1947) is 2nd great-grandfather of MKS in the Knight branch.
Archie June Williams (1890–1965) is 2nd great-grandmother of MKS in the Knight branch.
Marion Elizabeth Chapman (1917–1963) is great-grandmother of MKS in the Knight branch.
References: [1] KMS Family Genealogy Digital Archive, Jacqueline Anne Knight Spratlin collection (photograph).
This is another of the portraits from Hazel Porter’s photo album. The handwritten notation on verso is:
Uncle Herman Adams Frank Hannah
Herman Adams is the son of Alpheus Adams and Ellen Jane Hannah. He was born on 9 Jul 1879, likely on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada.
Frank Hannah is the son of Richard Hannah and Ann Lewis. He was born in May 1879, also likely on Manitoulin Island.
Herman and Frank are 1st cousins, the grandsons of Francis Hannah and Catherine Virtue.
Both emigrated to Hannah, Cavalier County, North Dakota, with their parents, in 1883 and 1885 [2] respectively.
The Grodaes logo and the initials ABG are for the photography studio of Andrew Grodaes. A.B. Grodaes is listed in the Polk Business Directories for 1900, 1902, and 1904, as a photographer in Hannah. [2, 3] This portrait was likely taken there around 1900.
James Herman Adams (1879–1949) is 3rd great-uncle of MKS in the Watne branch.
Francis Hannah (1879–1954) is 1st cousin 4x removed of MKS in the Watne branch.
Bob Hannah and family, Manvers Township, Ontario, Canada, date unknown. [1]
Robert Hannah was born on 28 Jul 1846 in Manvers Township, Durham County, Canada West (now Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada), the son of John Hannah and Ellen Jackson. John Hannah is the son of Richard Hannah and Catherine Walker.
We recognized this house from an 1878 drawing (see original [2] below) posted by Ancestry.com member crpreston7. Our prior research of Tremaine’s Map of the County of Durham, Upper Canada, 1861, then confirmed the identify of this Bob Hannah from among the several Robert Hannah in the family.
Maple Grove residence of Robert Hannah, Concession 10, Lot 18, Manvers Township, Ontario, Canada. [2]
Tremaine’s Map lists Samuel Vance (1816–1873) as the owner of Concession 10, Lot 18, in 1861. Samuel is also found living on this land in the 1851, 1861, and 1871 Census of Canada:
In 1852 (the Census of Canada West started late), Samuel is listed as farmer (owner of the land) and widower with two daughters, Eliza Ann and Margaret Jane. Associated families also living with them are Catherine Montgomery, Richard Hannah, and Elizabeth Montgomery.
In 1861, Samuel is listed as farmer and widower with two daughters, Eliza Ann and Margaret Jane. Associated families also living with them are Ann Hineman [Hindman, Hyndman].
In 1871, Samuel is listed as farmer. Also living with him are his daughter Eliza Ann and her husband Robert Hannah.
Robert Hannah lived with his parents on Concession 10, Lots 16-17, in 1851 and 1861. That lot is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-southwest of the Vance lot.
Robert Hannah and Eliza Ann Vance married on 1 Mar 1871 in Victoria County, Ontario, Canada. Samuel Vance died in 1873, and apparently left or sold the farm to Robert and Eliza Ann, as Robert is listed on the map for this lot in 1878. [2]
The 1881 Census of Canada lists Robert Hannah, farmer, with his wife Eliza Ann, three daughters (Lila, Elva, Mary), and servant Ellen Robinson at this farm.
Robert and Eliza Ann Hannah, and their daughters, reside in Lindsay Township, Victoria South District, Ontario, Canada, in 1891. They return to Manvers Township before 1901, although it is not known if they returned to this farm.
We therefore assume the woman in the photo standing next to Bob Hannah is Eliza Ann Vance, his wife. Robert and Eliza Ann appear to have had only the three daughters. We have not been able to identify the five young women in the photo on the right.
The house and farm buildings seen in the photo and drawing are still (May 2020) there.
Nancy Frances Jolly was born in South Carolina on 14 Apr 1811. On 20 Jan 1831, she was apparently living in Franklin County, Georgia, and married Dudley Jones Chandler, also of Franklin County.
By 1840, they removed to Pocataligo, Madison County, Georgia, where they resided for the remainder of their lives.
According to a newspaper article published in The Constitution marking Dudley’s 90th birthday, they had sixteen children. [2]
Nancy and Dudley are interred at the McGinnis Cemetery in Madison County, Georgia.
T. J. Allen, the photographer of this portrait, arrived in Harmony Grove, now Commerce, Jackson County, Georgia, in about 1889, and was the principal photographer there for thirty years. [3]
Nancy Frances Jolly (1811–1887) is 5th great-grandmother of MKS in the Spratlin branch.
Dudley Jones Chandler (1809–1905) is 5th great-grandfather of MKS in the Spratlin branch.
References: [1] Ancestry.com member Leita Cowart (photograph). [2] “His Ninetieth Birthday,” The Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), 13 Aug 1899, p. 4. [3] History of Harmony Grove-Commerce, Chapter 20, The USGenWeb Archives Project.
Stella and Kate Hines, from Hazel Porter’s photo album.
Stella Ludelia Hines and Mary Catherine (Kate) Hines are the daughters of David and Lydia Hines, and the granddaughters of George and Sarah Hinds.
This portrait is from the photo album of Hazel May Porter. The portrait was taken by Pioneer Studio of Blackduck, Minnesota, likely after 1902 as we will see. The handwritten notation on verso, presumably by Hazel, is:
Stella Hines Aunt Kate Hines
Their brother David Wellington Hines married Catherine Barbara Adams, daughter of Alpheus James Adams and Ellen Jane Hannah.
About 1826, George, Sarah, and children emigrated from Suffolk, England, to East Gwillimbury, York County, Canada West. David and Lydia’s children were born in Simcoe County, Canada West. Canada West became Ontario, Canada, at Canadian Confederation on 1 Jul 1867.
Their family name is spelled Hindes or Hinds in English records. In Canada and the U.S., it is variously spelled Hindes, Hinds, or Hines, with Hines being more prevalent in later records.
Kate married her 1st cousin William M. Hines in 1890. William had earlier removed to the U.S. around 1883, and Kate did as well in 1889. They apparently were in North Dakota for some time, as their first child, Olive, was born there in Dec 1892. By 1900, William and Kate removed to Blackduck, Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Stella removed to Blackduck in 1902, and married Arthur B. Page in 1903.
While reviewing and updating our family tree for Stella and Kate, we ran across this second portrait on Ancestry.com. Stella and Kate clearly remembered their pose from the earlier portrait, but forgot their hats!
Stella and Kate Hines, from Ancestry.com member pamelaasmith.
Stella Ludelia Hines (1881-1964) is sister-in-law of 3rd great-aunt of MKS in the Watne branch.
Mary Catherine Hines (1866-1952) is sister-in-law of 3rd great-aunt of MKS in the Watne branch.
References: [1] KMS Family Genealogy Digital Archive, Hannah Elva Lucille Porter Watne collection, Hazel Porter’s photo album (first photograph). [2] Ancestry.com member pamelaasmith (second photograph).
George Washington Bragg and Sarepta Jane Christian Bragg, bef. 1921.
Sarepta Jane Christian was born in Bowman, Elbert County, Georgia, the daughter of John Washington Christian and Lucy Ann Moore. She was raised there, and in 1892, married George Washington Bragg.
They continued to live in Elbert County, where 2 daughters and 4 sons were born.
They removed to DeKalb County by 1910, and Atlanta, Georgia, by 1912, before removing to Basalt, Bingham County, Idaho, by 1920.
According to the US Censuses, George was a farmer in Georgia. In Idaho, he was a laborer with a steam railroad.
George and Sarepta are interred at the Firth Cemetery in Firth, Bingham County, Idaho.
Sarepta Jane Christian (1867-1955) is 3rd great-aunt of MKS in the Spratlin branch.
George Washington Bragg (1857-1921) is husband of Sarepta Jane Christian.
References: [1] Ancestry.com member Kenneth Polito (photograph).
Lars Watne was born 19 Jul 1872, and baptized Lars Johan Villumsen in Høyland, Rogaland, Norway, on 1 Sep 1872.
As Villumsen is also his father Jonas Villumsen’s patronymic last name, his last name is a frozen patronymic name (a former patronymic name adopted as the last name). In the 1875 Norway Census, Lars is instead listed as Lars Johan Jonassen, using the patronymic last name. Upon arriving in the United States, he adopts Watne as his family name, based on his Norwegian farm name Vatne (rural residence Foss-Vatne).
Lars’ wife Sophia Helgeson was born 16 Jul 1877, and baptized 5 Aug 1877 in Birkrem parish, Helleland, Rogaland, Norway.
Sophia’s baptism record only lists her given name Sofie, with no last name listed. At the time of her birth, her family lived at the rural residence Tjørn, so her name at birth was likely Sofie Tønnesdatter Tjørn. In the United States, she adopts Helgesen as her family name, using her father Tønnes Helgesen Tjørn’s patronymic last name. She also went by the nickname Sophie.
She is listed in the 1891 Norway Census as Sofie Tønnesdatter Kjørren, using the patronymic last name Tønnesdatter and the farm name Kjørren.
The photographer George Von Blon, established the Von Blon Studio in Cooperstown in 1900. “… Von Blon is known to have practiced his trade upstairs in the two-story frame building on the east side of 9th Street, one-half block south of Burrell Avenue. The building is now [1982] known as the Lende building.” [1]
Perhaps a family member knows if this is a wedding portrait, which would date it about Dec 1904.
The portrait’s verso notation, handwritten, is:
Mr and Mrs. Lars Watne Cooperstown
Lars Johan Villumsen (1872-1948) is 2nd great-grandfather of MKS in the Watne branch.
Sofie Tønnesdatter Tjørn (1877-1963) is 2nd great-grandmother of MKS in the Watne branch.
Photographer: George Von Blon, Cooperstown, North Dakota.
References: [1] Cooperstown, North Dakota 1882-1982 Centennial, 181.
PVT James Merritt Wetherbee, Company D, 83rd Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, abt. 1863.
This carte de visite photo was featured in Photo Sleuth in the spring 2017 edition of Military Images magazine. [1]
On 21 Aug 1862, James Merritt Wetherbee joined the 83rd Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served through the remainder of the Civil War.
During 1863, his regiment held Fort Donelson in Tennessee. [2]
According to Frederick Gaede [2], the “83rd was heavily engaged on February 3, 1863 at Fort Donelson, where it repulsed an attack by 8,000 Confederate troops under Joseph Wheeler and Nathan Bedford Forrest. During the engagement, known as the Battle of Dover, the regimental loss was 13 killed and 51 wounded. Soon thereafter, certainly by July, a number of the regiment were detached and ‘transferred to mounted Infantry to hunt guerrillas in 1863.’ It was reported in the Nashville Daily Union (Jan 1865) that Sergeant Brady of Wetherbee’s company and several other members of the 83rd captured Jake Sly and several companions who were ‘noted guerrillas.’”
The Photo Sleuth article describes Gaede’s identification of James’ weapons in the photo as a Merrill carbine and Starr revolver. Further, he says these weapons were primarily used by Union cavalry regiments, instead of infantry. [2] This suggests James was transferred to this mounted Infantry unit along with SGT Brady to hunt guerrillas.
“During the year 1864 the regiment had some 200 miles of communications to guard, as well as heavy patrol duty, and during the winter of 1864–65 it was on provost duty at Nashville, Tennessee.” [1]
He was discharged at the end of the war, on 5 Jul 1865, in Chicago.
James was born in Royalton, Niagara County, New York, the son of Ira Jay Wetherbee and Lydia Manchester. He removed to Illinois by 1857. After the Civil War, he removed to Fayette County, Iowa, by 1877, and to Palouse, Whitman County, Washington, by 1920. He was a farmer, and later a grain mercant/dealer.
He was married three times, his first two wives dying before the ages of 28 and 39 respectively. We have confirmed he had five children with his first wife Louisa Johnson, and six children with his third wife Catherine Maria Roberts.
According to the photo inscription, the photo was given to his first daughter, Ellen Rexaville Wetherbee.
PVT James Merritt Wetherbee (1831-1920) is 3rd great-grandson of John Witherby II (1677-1720), and 4th cousin 5x removed of MKS in the Wetherbee branch.
