Pemberton Obituary Project: Samuel Pemberton

Samuel Pemberton was the third son and fifth child of Jeremiah Pemberton and Susannah Jermyn. Interestingly, I have found some patents that seem to belong to him at Google's patent search. They had to do with life jackets or something to that effect. Samuel was the hardest for me to find info on because his name was so common, and he disappeared for the 1880 census. For the longest time, I thought he had died young like his older brother, Stephen. Then I just happened to notice a marriage entry for him and Ellen McCoy in the IGI. The marriage took place in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the same day as his younger brother William's marriage to Hannah Winters. That's when I had a hunch that it was my Samuel.

From The Evening News (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan), "Samuel Pemberton," 15 Aug 1917, p. 3

Samuel Pemberton, 59 years old, passed away at Monoskong Bay yesterday morning. His body was brought today to the home of his son, Albert E. Pemberton, 815 Young street, from where burial will be made tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock, Rev. A.H. Owens of the First Baptist church, officiating. One daughter, Mrs. Jack Floats, of Monoskong, and four sons, Albert, William, John and Harold, of the Soo survive.

First, I would like to thank a kind volunteer from RAOGK for finding this obit for me. As Samuel seems to have navigated away from St. Clair County, where my family still lives, it was harder for me to get to his obituary on my last two visits to Michigan.

The first thing I noticed is that his daughter's married name is spelled wrong. It is Sloats (not Floats). His daughter was Essie Maud Pemberton, born Sep 1876. She married Albert John "Jack" Sloats in 1903 in Alger County, Michigan.

Samuel's first three children were born in St. Clair County, Michigan, between 1875 and 1879. His fourth and fifth children, Albert and Harold, were born in Alpena County in 1888 and 1895. Considering Samuel turned up missing for the 1880 census (perhaps this is when he was en route for Alpena), I'm surprised I had managed to locate all of his children prior to finding this obituary, or at least all five of them who were still living at the time of his death. I presume that there were probably some who died in childhood, considering his third child was born in 1879 and his fourth child 9 years later in 1888. Then his fifth child was not born until another 7 years.

Apparently, Monoskong Bay is actually spelled Munuscong Bay and seems to be a popular walleye fishing and duck hunting area today in the Upper Peninsula (UP). It is just south of Sault Ste. Marie. I really wonder what made Samuel move from southeastern Michigan to the UP. Samuel's death certificate and the 1910 census said he was a cook in the camps. I'm wondering if these were lumber camps. I'll have to do a little more research to learn the industries of the time in the UP. My best guess as to why he moved is that it had something to do with available work. His older brother, John, my great-great-great-grandfather, took on their father's trade of blacksmith. Perhaps there wasn't room in the community for another blacksmith. John did move south to Macomb County to practice as a blacksmith, so maybe Samuel had to move as well. Samuel's 1871 marriage record lists his occupation as blacksmith, though I don't know how long he practiced the trade. His son's 1879 birth record lists his occupation as farmer. The 1900 census does not list an occupation for Samuel. It does not appear that he was a blacksmith from 1910 to 1917, as he was listed as a cook. And then there were those patents I found on Google, which make me think he worked in the marine industry for awhile. Maybe he was a cook in fishing camps.

Interestingly, the obit doesn't state where Samuel is buried. His death certificate says only "Sault Ste. Marie" as his place of burial. Perhaps there is a city cemetery where he was buried. I'll have to check.

Samuel's wife, Ellen, had died in 1909 from breast cancer. This is the only instance of breast cancer that I have ever found in the family.

The obit does not list any siblings, although he had four siblings still living: Eliza, Agnes, Sarah, and Charles. They were all living in St. Clair County, so it makes me wonder if he did not stay in touch with them after he moved away, since they were not listed.

Stay tuned for the obit of Samuel's younger brother, William, who died two years before Samuel in 1915.

Correction to Happy Halloween!

I came home to visit my parents (they live about 2.5 hours from me) on Friday afternoon. It was an exciting weekend because several events were going on: my 10-year class reunion, the Homecoming game/parade, and Halloween. Now, Halloween in my parents' hometown is the old fashioned kind where people still go door to door along Main Street. My paternal grandmother lives on Main Street, so it has been our tradition to go to her house every Halloween and help hand out candy. So when I was at my parents' house on Friday evening, and my dad brought out a box of old pictures and letters, I thought, "How could this weekend get any better?" Then I was even more excited when I found the Halloween picture of him and his brothers from 1964, and what I thought was a Halloween picture of his dad, my paternal grandfather, Benford Maurice Trahan.

On the back of it, however, I noticed it had a date stamp of Feb 1941. I thought that was unusual, but I thought that maybe it had taken a few months to get it developed. Then last night, my grandmother said that she thought it was a Mardi Gras picture instead. Well, that made total sense, in light of the fact of the date on the back and that my grandfather grew up in the heart of Cajun Country, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Also, if you look at his right hand, he is holding a Mardi Gras mask. My grandmother said that my great-grandparents used to travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and there was a large children's parade in Lafayette, so he was probably dressed up for one of these two reasons.

So, I think I will be reposting this pic in February! Stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!

My dad (top right) and his brothers
Halloween 1964

My paternal grandfather, Benford Maurice Trahan
Halloween, circa 1940

Pemberton Obituary Project: Joseph Putnam Phelps

Joseph Putnam Phelps was the husband of Agnes Emma Pemberton, the fourth child of Jeremiah Pemberton and Susanna Jermyn. His obituary is below:

From The Port Huron (Michigan) Times Herald, "Algonac," 18 Mar 1919, p. 7:

Joseph Phelps passed away at his home west of town on Saturday evening after a lingering illness. He was 80 years of age and has lived here for many years. The following relatives survive him, his aged wife, two sons Joseph and Norman, and four daughters, Mrs. Henry Aspenleiter, Mrs. Wm. Taft, Mrs. Albert Avers, of Algonac, and Mrs. Bert Basney of Detroit. Mr. Phelps was an old civil war veteran.

Again, Henry and Nellie (Phelps) Aspenleiter are listed as residents of Algonac, although I've found them in Detroit for the 1910-1930 censuses. Makes me wonder if they frequented back and forth between Algonac and Detroit. Perhaps Algonac was their summer home.

According to his pension index card, Joseph was a lieutenant with Co. E's 9th Regiment of the Michigan Infantry. His brother-in-law, John Pemberton, fought with Co. C's 1st Regiment of the Michigan Cavalry. I have always wondered if they knew each other from the Civil War or not. Agnes married Joseph after he returned from the war in 1867. I will have to do more research on their regiment's battle histories.

It is interesting that this obit does not mention the funeral services or the burial. I'm assuming they had already happened by the time this obit was published. I should also check to see if there are more details in an Algonac newspaper, if one survives.

Pemberton Obituary Project: Agnes Emma (Pemberton) Phelps

Continuing the Pemberton obituary project, here is the obituary of Agnes Emma (Pemberton) Phelps, the fourth child of Jeremiah Pemberton and Susanna Jermyn:

From The Port Huron (Michigan) Times Herald, 30 Dec 1931, p. 12

Funeral services for Mrs. Phelps will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Church of Christ. Rev. Ralph R. Woodard, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in Oaklawn cemetery.

Mrs. Phelps is survived by four daughters, Mrs. William Taft, Mrs. Albert Avers, Mrs. Henry Aspenleiter, all of Pointe Tremble; and Mrs. Burton Basney, Detroit, and one son, Joseph Phelps, Pointe Tremble. There are 31 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was born in Ontario, March 16, 1845. She married Mr. Phelps shortly after the close of the Civil War. She had been a member of the Church of Christ since her marriage.

This is the first of many references to the Church of Christ in this family's obituaries. This is probably the Church of Christ in Algonac, where Agnes lived from 1880 (probably earlier) to 1930. This obit was listed under the River District News, which includes Algonac and other towns south of Port Huron along the St. Clair River.

Her daughters listed are Sarah J. (Phelps) Taft, Elizabeth M. (Phelps) Avers, Nellie A. (Phelps) Aspenleiter, and Anna Essie (Phelps) Basney. Agnes also had a second son, Norman Angus Phelps, who was the twin brother of Nellie. He died in Detroit in 1928, just three years prior to Agnes' death. I have found his obituary, but I still need to find his death record. I am curious as to why he died so young.

Pointe Tremble is an unincorporated area just west of Algonac and east of Pearl Beach. Googling Pointe Tremble brings up a link for Pointe Tremble Elementary School on Phelps Road! The Phelps family must have been pretty prevalent in Pointe Tremble.

What's also interesting is that a Google search for the Algonac Church of Christ brings up the church's website, which shows several Avers family members who are still active members. I know these are probably not direct descendants of Elizabeth (Phelps) Avers, though, because she only had two children, neither of whom had any children of their own, according to their obits.

It seems as if Nellie (Phelps) Aspenleiter may have moved back to the Algonac area after living in Detroit for the 1910-1930 census. I don't see her listed on the St. Clair County death index, so I wonder if she moved back to Detroit before her death. Or it's also possible that the newspaper got her place of residence wrong.

I can only seem to account for 15 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren who were alive in 1931. Hmm...looks like I may be missing 8 great-grandchildren.

This is the only source I have found that states Agnes' date of birth directly. Of course, it is still a secondary source, since it was not created at the time of her birth.

I will have to remember to share this obit with a newfound cousin on Ancestry.com. She is married to Agnes' great-great-grandson.

Stay tuned for the obit of Agnes' husband, Joseph Putnam Phelps.

Quick Update

I realize that I haven't posted anything since the end of September. I just haven't felt like blogging since losing two grandfathers and being told by my fiance that he wasn't ready to get married (AFTER FIVE YEARS TOGETHER!!!). My California trip did clear my mind somewhat on the issue of my relationship, but I'm still recovering emotionally. He's going to be moving out this weekend (the weekend we were supposed to get married) so that we can both have time to ourselves for awhile. We are NOT moving back in together unless we get married. In California, I realized that I gave up a lot of things up for this relationship, and that did not get me where I wanted to be after five years. I need to learn to be more assertive and fight for what I want in a relationship.

Anyhow, hopefully I will get back to blogging soon. Stay tuned!

Stovall/Forsythe Home

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I have just returned from my sister's house in northern California. She just moved into an old home in August. The listing agent stated the house was built in 1910. At first, I thought it would be as easy as looking at the census records for 1910-1930. However, only the 1910 and 1930 census listed street names, but even then, there were no street addresses. Therefore, our goal while I was there was to go to the county courthouse and determine who was the first owner of the house.

Like any good genealogist (though my sister is not really a genealogist), she talked to people in the town right after she moved in. The mayor of the town told her that the home was known as the Forsythe home for the longest time, but she thought that the home was originally built for a man named Moore Stovall and his family. She also noticed that the initials M.E.S. were on the sidewalk outside the home. I found a Mary E. Stovall in the census records from 1900-1930 in the town. I did not find a Moore Stovall in census records, but I did find a biography online for a Jessie Curl Stovall, who married Mary Eliza Moore. The Mary E. Stovall in the census records was married to J.C. Stovall. So at least we had some leads before going to the courthouse.

At the courthouse, we went to the tax assessor's office, who gave us a printout of all people on record for owning the house. The farthest back the tax record went was Feb 1976, when the house was transferred to the estate of Lillian M. Forsythe. The tax record listed the location of the deed for the transfer, so we then went to the County Recorder/Clerk's office to find the deed. We found a deed which transferred the house from the estate of John Albert Forsythe, who died on 1 Mar 1963, leaving no heirs, to the estate of Lillian Margaret Forsythe, who died on 15 Jan 1970. Lillian Margaret was listed as John Albert's mother in the deed.

Going backward, we found that in Sep 1956, J.H. Forsythe and Lillian Margaret Forsythe had transferred the house to their son, John Albert Forsythe, with a right to live in the house for the remainder of their lives. J.H. Forsythe died three years later in 1959. Since John Albert died in 1963 with no heirs, and Lillian did not die until 1970, this is why the house reverted back to her estate in 1976. I'm assuming they deeded the house to their son, assuming he would outlive them.

We then became stuck and could not find when and from whom J.H. Forsythe and Lillian Margaret Forsythe had purchased the property in the first place. We had made a very common genealogical mistake: we did not realize at first that J.H. Forsythe was the same person as John Homer Forsythe. We then went back and found a deed from March 1976, which stated that the Dept of Veterans' Affairs of the State of California had sold the house to John Homer Forsythe in Oct 1951, and this deed was being recorded in 1976 to replace the destroyed or unrecorded deed from 1951. Aha!

We then found a memorandum (not an official deed) from April 1944, which stated that the VA Dept was selling the house to John Homer Forsythe. I'm not quite sure why one record stated 1951 and one stated 1944, but it can be safely said that he probably bought the house between 1944 and 1951.

We got stuck again at this point because we could not find when and from whom the VA Dept purchased the house. The VA Dept apparently purchased many homes in the county, and they had their own page in the grantee index. We could not find them purchasing any homes prior to 1946 in the index, however. But there was the memorandum from 1944, so this didn't make sense.

At this point, my sister decided to be a rogue genealogist and just start looking for Stovalls as grantors. I was hesitant because I was afraid that there could have been at least one other owner between the Stovalls and the VA Dept, so I was trying to come up with Plan B. And it was apparent from the index that the Stovalls owned LOTS of land. However, we got very lucky because she found that a Kathryn Stovall Mitchell had sold the house to the VA Dept in April 1944. We're still not sure why the grantee was not indexed in this sale.

In 1941, we found a deed in which Hiram Curl Stovall left the house to his wife, Kathryn Stovall, upon his death. Aha! Going back even further, we found a deed from 1930 in which Mary Eliza Stovall left the house to her son, Hiram, upon her death. Now I just think we have a little more research to do to find out if Mary Eliza Stovall was the original owner.

My sister said that she went to church today and found out that Dolores Forsythe, daughter of J.H. and Lillian Forsythe, committed suicide. Her tombstone says she died in 1951 at the age of 25. Her brother, John Albert, also died young. We're curious whether or not John Albert also committed suicide, or if it's even true that Dolores committed suicide. Time to order some death records!