22 October 2008

A little bit more

John Davis' granddaughter emailed me this about her grandfather this morning.

Amy, I read your post and thought I would add that Rosa was first married in Minnesota to John's younger brother, Joseph Davis. They had 3 children and then Joseph died of pneumonia at a young age in 1900. In those days I believe it was not unusual for a bachelor brother to assume responsibilities of the deceased brother's family. Therefore, the 3 oldest children were John's nieces and nephews as well as his step children!


So this explains the three oldest children and their relationship to John.

I'd like to thank John's granddaughter for contribution to this project. I couldn't have told his story so well with out her. Don't worry though. There will be more on the way. I can tell he was a very interesting man, and we are still working on getting his picture on here too.

20 October 2008

John Edward Davis, Buried at Paupers Cemetery


This is just a start. I can tell that I will be posting again about this man. The flood gates are opening with information, and I just couldn't hold off any longer to began sharing his story. It's so full of life!

John Edward Davis was born 11 Dec 1864 to Samuel A Davis and Elizabeth Ann Ritchey in Benton Co., Iowa.

In 1900 Samuel, Elizabeth and John were all living in Verdi, Lincoln Co., Minnesota. John is 36 years old and still single. In 1910 John, Rosa and the children are now living in Gray Township, Pipestone, Minnesota. According to the 1910 census John and Rosa had only been married eight years, so they were married about 1902. This also means that the three oldest children were Rosa's by a previous marriage, but John must have given them his name.

Name: John Davis
Age in 1910: 44
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1866
Birthplace: Iowa
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Iowa
Mother's Birth Place: Pennsylvania
Spouse's Name: Rosa
Home in 1910: Gray, Pipestone, Minnesota
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Davis 44
Rosa Davis 33
Charles Davis 14
Anna Davis 11
Violet Davis 9
Dorothy Davis 7
John Davis 5
Edward Davis 3
Rosa Davis 1


By 1917 the family leaves North Dakota (where they lived next after Pipestone, MN) for Canada. They end up in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada. Where John homesteads (index of Alberta Homesteads 1870-1930, film # 2054, file # 515673). John is a farmer, fur trapper and fisherman. His granddaughter wrote to me about their time in Canada. Here is what she said

John Edward Davis took his family from North Dakota to Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada in 1917. This place is 100 miles north of Edmonton. In those days it was end of the line for the railroad. John entered into a business of catching white fish and shipping them by train to Chicago.

Early on when this family arrived and started their homestead at Fork Lake, the terrible, world-wide flu epidemic hit...even in this remote part of the earth. My father said entire families would be found dead in their remote cabins. Amazingly, the Davis family was spared. My father, the eighth of nine children, grew up in the north and, with the other sons, drove dog sleds and ran trap lines for a living. When the depression hit in the 1930's, the markets dried up. The Davis family came south to look for jobs. Some settled in Spokane and some in the Kellogg/Wallace area. My father told me a story that John had save the lives of 2 of his grandchildren by running into a burning tent to get them out. He was a hard working man all his life and, I know, his memory was held dear by my father.


It is unknown, even to the family how John ends up buried in a Pauper's Cemetery in Kootenai County. For one he and his family lived in Wallace/Kellogg area which is in Shoshone County. But no mater how he ended up to be buried there it was obvious that he was well loved. Again his granddaughter sent me this email about how he was the only one to have a headstone. It was not bought.

.....my father made that crude headstone for his father's grave. We used to stop
by when traveling from Spokane to Idaho to visit cousins and would put some fresh flowers on the grave. However, that has been many years ago now. My dad has been gone for 10 years and mom just passed away last year. I remember dad saying his dad (John) wanted to be buried by a big old pine tree and I believe he is.


His granddaughter also tried to share a photo with me of John. It wouldn't come through me email, so hopefully we'll find a way for me to get his photo on here. She did described him......."As you can see, he was a tall, rugged outdoors man of few words."

Rosa Davis was born 4 Mar 1876 and died in Wallace, Idaho in Sep 1968, 27 years after her husband. Though she must have been buried in Wallace I would suspect since the Kootenai County Cemetery was no longer being used then.

I look forward to finding out more about John Edward Davis 1864-1941. I have a request in to the Alberta Genealogical Society for information from a half dozen books that appear to have some sort of history in them about John.


14 October 2008

Paupers Cemetery , Post Falls, ID

Okay I'm back at it again. My husband fixed my computer!!!

I'm still doing research on the old Paupers Cemetery in Post Falls, ID. Boy am I on a roller coaster of research right now. Some of these people seems to have never existed while others take me off on trails that end up belonging to someone else. It can be fun and frustrating all at the same time. I've got information on families that I thought belong to the loved ones in this cemetery, only to find out that I have the wrong family......arggggg!

One of my biggest mysteries belongs to a man named William Henry Manion. I first did a census search. I found a William H Manion in Mt Home, Elmore Co., ID and thought great I'm on a roll. At this time I had not yet found birth dates for those in the Paupers Cemetery. Then I started to notice something that bothered me. William H Manion and his wife Mary were long time residence of Mt Home, ID. I find them there in 1910 and 1920. I also found them in the 1880 census in Utah, where Mary was born as well as their first two children, Florance and Charles. William is listed in the Utah census as a miner, ID 1910 as a Probate Judge and ID 1920 as a farmer. So how is it that a man who has been a miner, farmer and probate judge ends up a few counties away from his home buried in a paupers cemetery? It bothered me for a while. I also got on Bureau of Land Management website and found that William owned 131 acres in Mt Home, ID. So he has a homestead of 131 acres and he's buried away from home with the poor? That didn't make sense to me.

Now mind you all of that research I was doing for free. Then I finally broke down and subscribed to Ancestry.com again. From there I found almost all of the birth dates of the people at Paupers Cemetery. Whoa wait a minute there are two William H Manions. One is William Harvis Manion, born in 1844 and died 1932 in Mt Home, ID. Uh Oh! This means I really do have the wrong man. Okay I know still too many holes to make any assumption, right. Well you'd think after all this time and as many times as I get off on the wrong path I'd learn that, but no.

Then I find the records for William Henry Manion and they fit. The death date is 18 Mar 1937, just like the man in my cemetery. Okay so the William Harvis Manion is probably the father of my William Henry Manion. Age seems right for that to fit. So I started looking that way. Okay now I'm about ready to throw in the towel. I soon discover the real William Manion son of William Harvis Manion and Mary of Mt. Home, ID is in fact William Edward Manion (this confirm by his WWI registration) who was born a few years earlier than the William Henry Manion I am looking for.

But I didn't give up. I kept looking and soon I'll be darned if my mystery doesn't become even more baffling then before. I find him! William Henry Manion born 27 Jul 1892 and died 18 Mar 1937, but here is where the mystery begins. Apparently he wasn't buried at the Paupers Cemetery. I don't know how he ended up on that list, but I've called to make sure and sure enough he is buried on the 22 Mar 1937 at Holy Cross Cemetery in Spokane, WA on the north side. The gal I spoke to there is going to find what she can in the archives and send it to me. So I will be doing another update here soon on dear old William Henry Manion when I get that. What I have found though is that he was married to Eva. They had a daughter named Patsy Manion born about 1928 in Spokane this is from the 1930 census I found of them. They lived at 1817 E 1st in Spokane. The residence information comes from Holy Cross Cemetery records.

I'm also working on the lives and history of Rufus Beck, a blacksmith in Rathdrum, ID, Margaret Ellen Taisey, a young 15 year old girl who died in the river after being electrocuted, John Edward Davis, the only stone at the cemetery who's family will be sharing a history of his life with me, and George Stewart just to name a few.

09 October 2008

For Now I must go.

Well folks. My life is upside down and I don't see things changing anytime soon. To make matters worse my husband got upset about the time I spend on the computer and cut the cords to my computer. So I'm posting this from work.

I think I'll have to go back to the old fashion way of write it in a note pad and hope I have time at work from time to time to post it for all of you.

Also Lisa (the gal I was working with on the Pauper's Cemetery in Kootenai county) If you read this you'll have to call my cell number that I gave you if you want to go over anymore of it. I obviously can't get to my email right now too. I will try to find time to set up an email account that I can access at work so I can stay in touch with everyone.

But for now I must go.

02 October 2008

Kootenai County, Pauper Cemetery

I am back to working on a little pet project of mine. I had a gal contact me yesterday asking for help on a research paper she is doing on this very same cemetery. I've given her what I can and I found more to send her.

Now I'm doing what I have always wanted to do, I'm researching the lives of each person interned in the Pauper's Cemetery. Some of them I have found census records and such on in order to compile a brief history of their lives. Others seem to not exist at all.

What I'm asking from those of you who have a connection and family history in Kootenai County, Idaho is to see if any of these people were your ancestors. Do you know a living relative who may have known any of them? Do you know any of them or about their lives. With my project I would not only like to pull together every known piece of history on this cemetery, but also the lives of those buried there. I would sure appreciate everyones help on this.

Please feel free to contact me or send me information. Photos would be lovely, histories would be great and anything else you can add to the lives of these forgotten ancestors. So far we have only found two or three obits, with very little information at that.

Here is my previous post on this cemetery.

01 October 2008

DNA Genealogy

There has been a great deal of discussion in the recent past about DNA Genealogy. I've been looking into it myself as a way to further trace and possibly prove my husband Native American Heritage.

I sent off for a free packet through Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation to do our DNA. I'm working on gathering all the needed information in order to submit our family tree with the DNA test. It's a very simple test. All you have to do is swish some mouth wash in your mouth, spit back into the cup, seal it up and ship it back to SMGF. You will also need a four generation pedigree to submit with it. Which is a bit of a problem for both my husband and I since one branch each only goes back to our great grandparent. But I'm going to see if they will except it with the rest of the pedigree finished.

Here is also a video about Genetic Genealogy that you may also find interesting and helpful. Genetic Genealogy like the Internet is the wave of the future and will hopefully help all of us in moving forward with our research and breaking down those formidable brick walls.


Tracing Your DNA: Genetic Genealogy Defined

Followers

Twitter Followers

BlogCatalog