Seven Years Ago Today ...

Seven years ago today, I started this blog, and I am amazed that it has been this long. (Where has the time gone?) Of course, I realize that I haven't posted as many articles over the past couple of years, and school and work has prevented me from posting as often as I have done in the past. Although I do not know often I will be to publish new content, I still intend to do so, and I have several post topics to write about. Among those topics are:

• A couple additional articles to the "Searching for my German Ancestors" series
• Updates on my research into my Oswalt ancestors

Hopefully, I'll be able to write up those articles sooner than later. Stay tuned for future posts! Enjoy!

And Another Mini-Breakthrough into the Research on my Oswalt Ancestors ...

Before I get back to posting on my findings of my newly-found Oswalt ancestors, I want to mention another breakthrough I had in solving a small mystery with my more established Oswalt ancestors. A few years ago, I posted on my difficulty in locating the marriage record for ancestor's third marriage, and I briefly described what I knew about John's third wife. Up until this year, I had not been successful in locating the record for John's third marriage primarily because I had concentrated my search for the record in Michigan, with an occasionally glance into Indiana. More specifically, I had only searched FamilySearch's databases for Michigan and Indiana  marriage since I knew John resided in Michigan during the period that the marriage would have taken place and lived only one county north of the border with Indiana. I had not considered searching the Ohio Marriages database even though I knew from census records that John's third wife was from Ohio .

So, when FamilySearch updated the Ohio County Marriages database earlier this year, I decided to search for my ancestor's third marriage on the random chance that he married in Ohio, and surprisingly, I found the marriage record recorded in Warren County, Ohio. Apparently, John's last wife was from Warren County, and since I had not been able to find her in the census records before, I did not know where she was from in Ohio. Unfortunately, the marriage record did not indicated where the marriage had taken place, although I suspect it may have been in Warren County since the minister officiating at the ceremony resided in the county. I will have to search the newspapers in Warren County for a marriage notice, though, to confirm my suspicions.  The lesson here is that if a bride and groom are from two different states, one should always search for the marriage record in both states no matter how unlikely it might seem that the marriage occurred in one of those states. I had always believed that John's last marriage occurred in Michigan since he resided in Michigan and his first two marriages had occurred in that state, and I had been unable to find this marriage before because I had dismissed looking for the marriage in Ohio as being improbable.

Of course, now I have more questions and a new mystery to solve. How did John meet his new wife, since Warren County, Ohio is nowhere near where John and his children resided in Michigan? Where were John's children staying while John remarried? Did John and his children temporarily live in Ohio at one point? From what my grandfather's aunt told my grandfather, the marriage came as a surprise to the children, and John just showed up his new wife one day. I had always assumed that the marriage had occurred in Michigan as a result of this tradition. I might never know the answer to those questions, although I hope I find some a newspaper article on the marriage that provides a hint or clue to those questions. If I ever find a marriage notice, I will post an update. Stay tuned ...

And Another Update on the Research Into My Oswalt Ancestors ...

A few days ago, I promised that I would post another update on the progress I made on my Oswalt ancestors. Instead  of posting more information on Adam Oswalt (died 1837-1838), the father of Benjamin Oswalt (died 1861), I will write about the findings I made on a few of the grandchildren of Adam Oswalt (died 1837-1838) which includes my Civil War ancestor, Adam Oswalt.

As you may remember, I wrote a series of articles a few years ago that explored whether or not the Civil War veterans, Adam Oswalt, Benjamin Oswalt and William Oswalt, were brothers. At that time, I only had indirect evidence to conclude that the three men were brothers; however, I can now definitely state that they are brothers. How? Well, I ordered two additional Civil War Pension files earlier this year.

Previously, I had only ordered Adam and Benjamin Oswalt's Pension files, and those files did not indicate whether or not the two men had a connection. (I should quickly note that Benjamin's Pension file was actually a Widow's Pension as his widow filed for a pension file after his death.) So, when I decided to order additional Pension files this year, I chose to order William's Pension file (or Widow's Pension, to be more accurate) and the Widow's Pension file for one of Adam's Detwiler brother-in-laws. (I will discuss the Detwiler Pension file in a future post.)

From the testimony of William's widow, Eliza, I learned that William, Benjamin and Adam were indeed brothers as I suspected, and confirmed that the men had a sister named Margaret who lived in Michigan. Besides confirming relationships, the file also listed the names of William and Eliza's children and Eliza's children of a later marriage, gave the date and location of William and Eliza's marriage, and provided an explanation of why I could not find a record of that marriage. Apparently, William and Eliza's marriage was not recorded in the county. Although Michigan law required that marriage notices be placed in two newspapers in the county where the marriage occurred, I haven't yet found a notice. I will need to do a more in-depth search of the newspaper records of Saint Joseph County, Michigan.

So, as one can see from the above information, Civil War Pension files could contain a great amount of detail on the lives and families of Civil War Veterans. Unfortunately, the file does not answer all the questions I have about these Oswalts, especially when it comes to the maiden name of William, Benjamin and Adam's mother. In a future post, I will discuss my efforts so far to answer additional questions on my Oswalt ancestors. Enjoy!

An Ancestor Found: An Update On The Research Into My Oswalt Acestors

As I mentioned previously, I worked on my genealogy when I had some free time, and I will briefly discuss some of the findings I made for one branch.  Interestingly, I had not expected to make any progress on my Oswalt ancestors this past year, but that is what happened!

At the end of June 2012, FamilySearch put images of the probate records for many of Pennsylvania's counties online. Some of Huntingdon County's Will Books and Orphan's Court records were included in this database, and that July, I decided to look through these images to see if I could uncover any new information on my Huntingdon County ancestors. Previously, I had only examined the Will Books for Oswalt/Oswald surnames and examined the Orphan Court Records for my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt/d by ordering the microfilmed records held by the Family History Library. As you may remember from a previous post, Benjamin's probate records did not mention the names of his heirs apart from his wife, Mary, and son, John. I re-looked at the probate records for Benjamin again, but I did not uncover anything that I had not found before. After that disappointment, I decided to look at the probate and orphan court records for an Adam Oswalt/Oswald who had died in Huntingdon County in the late-1830s. Previously, I had only examined the notation in the Will Book, which only mentioned the names of the court-appointed administrators of Adam's estate; however, when I decided to see if the Orphan Court had any additional probate records, I uncovered a mini-goldmine of information. Previously, I had dismissed the idea of examining the Orphan Court records for Adam because I had not obtained any new information from the records on Benjamin's probate.

I had always suspected from an examination of the 1820 and 1830 censuses and tax records for Huntingdon County that his Adam Oswalt and my ancestor, Benjamin, were related in some way, possibly as father and son; however, I had not been able to confirm my suspicion. The Orphan Court records confirmed my suspicion, and also gave the names of Benjamin's living siblings and Adam's widow, who I presume to Benjamin's mother.

From the Orphan Court records, I learned that Adam Oswald had owned land in Hopewell Township, and that he had at least seven children. Adam apparently either died in 1837 or 1838, and his children sold their father's land. Adam's widow, Mary, probably died around 1848, as five of Adam's children did not receive their shares of the land sale until that year, and the delay probably had to do with Mary's dower's right  in her husband's land. (Of course, I need to check the laws for that period to make sure that my assumption is correct.)

So far, the known children (in no particular order of age) of Adam Oswalt (d. 1837-1838) and Mary ? are:

• Benjamin Oswalt (d. 1861) - eldest son (I do not know who Adam and Mary's firstborn is yet.)
• Eve Oswalt wife of William States
• Adam Oswalt - youngest son (He lived in Blair County.)
• Margaret Oswalt wife of Jonathan Rough
• Catherine Oswalt wife of John Fry
• Elizabeth Oswalt widow of Jonathan Snyder
• Mary Oswalt wife of Samuel Weight (sic) 

Since looking at the probate records, I've made some more progress, but I will write about those findings in another post. If you have any additional information on this family, questions or comments please feel free to leave a comment or contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Surname Saturday: Oswalt Family Siblings Mystery Series List

I've finally finished earlier today my Surname Saturday series that chronicles my personal research into my ancestor's, Adam Oswalt, sibling. In order to make the series easier for other genealogists to find and comment, I've decided to post a lists all three articles together. Here are the articles and their sources:

1. Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude These Oswalts Are Related? - Part One
2. Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude These Oswalts Are Related? - Part Two
3. Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude These Oswalts Are Related? - Part Three

If you have any comments or suggestions about my research, please feel free to leave a comment. I appreciate all feedback, and certainly would like some suggestions as to what other records I should examine. Thanks, and enjoy!

Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude These Oswalts Are Related? - Part Three

In my previous post, I continued my analysis of the possible children of Benjamin and Mary Oswalt, but I stopped before I got to William. For this post, I plan to complete the series, and I would appreciate everyone's feedback on whether or not I can reasonably conclude that my ancestor, Adam Oswalt, was related to the Benjamin and William Oswalt living in the Saint Joseph and Barry Counties, respectively, of Michigan.

So why do I believe that the William and Benjamin Oswalt are brothers to my ancestor, Adam Oswalt? How do I even know that this William and Benjamin Oswalt are the same ones as the William and Benjamin Oswalt listed as living in the household of Benjamin Oswalt in the 1850 census? Well, the information that tells me that the William and Benjamin Oswalt of Michigan are the same as the ones in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania comes from the Civil War records of William and Benjamin, who both served in Michigan infantries. William Oswalt enlisted in the E company of the reorganized Eleventh Michigan, and in the muster-in roll for company E, the birthplaces of the enlistees are listed. William's birthplace is given as Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. The birthplaces for Benjamin Oswalt and his fellow soldiers, who served in company G of the 25th Michigan Infantry, are not listed; however, from Benjamin's Civil War Pension file, I know that he was also born in Huntingdon County. (1) While I haven't yet obtained a copy of William's Civil War Pension file (Or to be more accurate, his widow's file), I can make that conclusion from examining Michigan's Civil War records. Of course, the Civil War records are not the only records that I have to connect William and Benjamin Oswalt.

So, what are my other sources? In the 1860 census, William Oswalt is listed as living the household of Daniel Black. Also living in Daniel's household were a Margaret and Mary Black. (2) While mentioning that William lived in the household of Daniel Black may not seem significant, but it is. In fact, this Daniel Black was also listed as a witness to Benjamin Oswalt's marriage to Elizabeth Freelove. Additionally, after Daniel died in 1901, Daniel's wife, Margaret, remarried to a David Elsey, and on the marriage record, Margaret listed the names of her parents as Benjamin Oswalt and Mary Robb. (Margaret's death certificate does not list the first name of her father or her mother's name, but does list her father's surname as Oswald.) (3) Margaret and Daniel provide the link between William and Benjamin. This link is especially important in that neither Benjamin or William's death records list the names of their parents. (Benjamin's Civil War Pension file does included testimony from Adam's brother and-sister-in-laws about Benjamin's early life.) (4)

So, how is Adam connected to William, Benjamin and Margaret? As I mentioned in my first post, Adam mentioned in his Civil War Pension file that he was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania and his death certificate listed his parents as Benjamin Oswalt and Mary Rough. (5) Except for the maiden name, Adam's certificate and Margaret's second marriage give the same names for their parents. While this my greatest link between Adam, Margaret, William and Benjamin, it is not my only link. In 1871, Adam and his wife, Ann, sold the property they had bought the year before, and the witnesses to the sell listed on the deed were an Elizabeth Oswalt and John Dowlin/Dowling (I forget which was the actual spelling at the moment.) As I mentioned above, Benjamin married a woman named Elizabeth, and I believe that the Elizabeth Oswalt who witnessed the transaction was her. Of course, it could also possibly be William's wife, but I suspect it was Benjamin's wife since William's wife's name was Eliza. (Eliza's maiden name was Mosier/Moshier, and she remarried after William's death in 1876. I have not yet found a marriage record for them.) (6)

The last possible sibling I have for Adam is Nancy Oswalt. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses, she is living in the household of Benjamin Oswalt; however, after Benjamin (the father) died in 1861, I don't know what happened to her or to Benjamin's wife Mary. (7) I have not been able to find them in the 1870 census.

So, that is the information that I have so far on the proven and possible siblings of Adam Oswalt. Do I have enough information or evidence to conclude that William and Benjamin are Adam's brothers? What do you think? Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks, and enjoy!
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Sources

1. Michigan Adjutant General, "59-14 Ovs 16 Folder 02 Eleventh Michigan Infantry (Reorganized): Muster-In Rolls of Draft Rendezvous," Civil War Service Records, document 11, Seeking Michigan, http://seekingmichigan.org; Michigan Adjutant General, "59-14 Ovs 39 Folder 02 Twenty-fifth Michigan Infantry: Muster-In Rolls," Civil War Service Records, document 16, Seeking Michigan, http://seekingmichigan.org; Civil War Widow's Pension File of Elizabeth Oswalt (Benjamin Oswalt).
2. U. S. 1860 Federal Census, Michigan, St. Joseph County, Fabius Township, household of Daniel Black.
3. Marriage of Benjamin Oswalt to Elizabeth Freelove, Saint Joseph County, Michigan marriages, FamilySearch Record Search; Death Certificate of Daniel Black, Cass County, Michigan death records, Seeking Michigan, http://seekingmichigan.org; Marriage of David Elsey to Maggie Oswald Black, Van Buren County, Michigan marriages, FamilySearch Record Search; Death Certificate of Margaret Elsy, Van Buren County, Michigan death records, Seeking Michigan, http://seekingmichigan.org.
4. Death of Benjamin Oswalt, Saint Joseph County, Michigan deaths, FamilySearch Record Search; death of William Oswalt, Barry County, Michigan deaths, FamilySearch Record Search; Benjamin Oswalt's Civil War Pension file.
5. Civil War Pension File of Adam Oswalt; death certificate of Adam Oswalt, Kent County, Michigan death records, Seeking Michigan, http://seekingmichigan.org.
6. "Deed from Adam and Ann Oswalt to ? (I can't remember the men's names at the moment since I don't have the record at school with me), Saint Joseph County, Michigan land records. (I would list the volume and page number for the deed if I had my notes with me, but I do not at the moment; marriage of Eliza Mosier Oswalt to Reuben Pierce, Barry County, Michigan marriages, FamilySearch Record Search.
7. U. S. 1850 Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Walker Township, household of Benjamin Oswald; U.S. 1860 Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Juanita Township, household of Benjamin Oswalt.
   

Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude That These Oswalts Are Related? - Part Two

In my previous post, I started to write about who I believe Adam's siblings were and why, but I ended the post before finishing because I realized that the post had become too long. Therefore, I decided to split up this Surname Saturday on the Oswalt Family to make it more readable. (This Surname Saturday will probably end up as multiple posts due to the length of the analysis needed to explain everything.) But before I go any further, I think I should list how many people were living in the household of Benjamin and Mary Oswalt (Adam's parents, according to his death certificate) during the 1830 and 1840 censuses.

Although Benjamin Oswalt isn't listed in Ancestry's index for the 1830 census, I did find him listed in the census living in Hopewell Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. (Correction: At least that was true prior to June 5, when I happened to look through the index again.) According to the census, 6 people were living in Benjamin's household at that time: 1 white male under 5, 1 white male between 5 and 10 years old, a white male between 30 and 40 years old, a white female under 5, a white female between 5 and 10 years old, and a white female between 30 and 40 years old. (1)

So, who might the people be living in Benjamin's household? Well, the 30-something year old man is Benjamin and the 30-something year old woman is Benjamin's wife, Mary. The male between the ages of 5 and 10 is more than likely, Benjamin and Mary's son, John. (Other census records indicate that John was born in either 1820 or 1821.) The male under 5 is probably Benjamin and Mary's son, Solomon (of whom, you may remember, I wrote about in the previous post). As for the two young females in the same age group as the boys, I can only guess although I believe the two to be Benjamin and Mary's daughters. One of females might be the Eliza Oswalt, who is listed in a 1848 marriage announcement as marrying a Thomas King. (I strongly believe Eliza is a sister of Adam for two reasons: In the 1870 census, Adam is listed as living in Three Rivers, Michigan and in addition to his wife and children being listed, a 20 year old Clara King is also listed as living in his household. In 1876, this Clara King married a George P. Mosher, and when she died in 1886, her parents are listed as Thomas King and Eliza King. From the marriage announcement, I know that Eliza's maiden name was Oswalt. Of course, my suspicion could be wrong, but that is how I have interpreted the records so far.) I later found Eliza and Thomas in the 1850 census living in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania with two young children: a two-year old Mary and a 4-month old Clara. (2) As for the younger female, I'm uncertain as to who she might be.

In 1840, Benjamin Oswalt is residing in Walker Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. According to the census, 9 people lived in Benjamin's household: 2 white males under 5, 1 white male between 5 and 10 years old, 1 white male between 10 and 15 years old, 1 male between 20 and 30 years old, 1 male between 30 and 40 years old, 1 white female under 5, 1 female between 10 and 15 years old, and 1 female between 30 and 40 years old. (3)

So, who might have been living in Benjamin's household in 1840? Well, the 30-something year old man and woman are most likely Benjamin and Mary Oswalt, even though they were listed as the same age in the 1830 census. The two males under 5 are probably Adam and Benjamin. The male between 5 and 10 is probably William. The male between the ages of 10 and 15 is most likely Solomon. As for the male between the ages of 20 and 30, I'm not sure who it is. Benjamin and Mary's son, John, had married earlier that year in March, and his household is listed separately from Benjamin's. (4) Although it is still possible that it is John, it is probably either a relative or a farm hand. I will have to do more research to determine who he is. The female under 5 is probably Margaret, and the female between the ages of 10 and 15 is most likely Eliza. (This list of possible names for the two censuses comes from the 1850 census I mentioned in the previous post and the sources I list for Eliza. The 1850 census for Benjamin Oswalt's household listed the names and ages of him and his family: Benjamin Oswalt, age 52; Mary Oswalt, age 50; Solomon Oswalt, age 24; William Oswalt, age 18; Margaret Oswalt, age 13; Benjamin Oswalt, age 11; and Nancy Oswalt, age 8. (5) )

In my next post in this series, I will continue my analysis, and explain why I believe William is Adam's brother. I will also include proof on how I know that Margaret is Adam's sister. Until then, have I made a good enough case to say that Eliza (Oswalt) King is a sister to my ancestor, Adam Oswalt? Please let me know what you think. Thanks, and enjoy!
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Sources

1. 1830 U. S. Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Hopewell Township, household of Benjamin Oswalt.
2. "Married," Huntingdon Journal, 21 November 1848, 3, http://205.247.101.31/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ajuncnews&CISOPTR=3916&REC=5; 1870 U. S. Federal Census, Michigan, Three Rivers, household of Adam Oswalt; Marriage of Clara King to George P. Mosher, Saint Joseph County, Michigan marriages, FamilySearch Record Search; Death of Clara Mosher, Barry County, Michigan Deaths, FamilySearch Record Search.
3. 1840 U. S. Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Walker Township, household of Benjamin Oswald.
4. 1840 U. S. Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Walker Township, household of John Oswald; "Married," Huntingdon Journal, 1 April 1840, 3, http://205.247.101.31/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ajuncnews&CISOPTR=5320&REC=1.
5. 1850 U. S. Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Walker Township, household of Benjamin Oswalt.
   

Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude That These Oswalts Are Related? - Part One

I've never participated in this meme before, but I did learn about the meme from reading Randy's post. Instead of just writing about where I've researched a certain surname, I thought for my first post in this meme series I would write some more about a research problem I have. Since I will be posting on all of my research on my Oswalt ancestors up to this point, I'll have to split this Surname Saturday into two or more posts to make the reading more manageable.

I did write about my problems trying to connect Adam Oswalt to Benjamin Oswalt and William Oswalt, but I only wrote about my research in general terms. I am hoping that by writing in more specific terms will generate more of a response on whether or not those three Oswalts are related. (I am hoping that other genealogy bloggers will comment; and give advice or suggestions on whether or not I can conclude that they were relatives, or where to continue my research.) In other words, would including Benjamin and William as brothers of Adam be acceptable? Do I have enough evidence to prove a relationship? How would a professional or experienced genealogist view my research? These are all questions that I am hoping other genealogy bloggers might be able to answer or at least suggest what I should do next in my research.

As you probably already know, I am descended from the Civil War veteran, Adam Oswalt. From Adam's pension file, I learned that he was born outside of Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1836. (I have not yet confirmed this information with any primary sources yet, but hopefully, I will uncover church records some day.) Adam did not name his parents or any other relatives, but mentioned that his parents were illiterate. (1). Census records from 1880 through 1910 indicate that he was born about 1836. For some reason, the 1870 census suggests a birth year of 1837. His marriage certificate and muster-out military papers also suggest a birth year of 1837. (I do not know if those years are a mistake, or if the earlier records are correct. Again, I am hoping church records will resolve that issue.) (2). Adam married Barbara Ann Detwiler in 1861, and his age was given as 23 years old. His parents' names are not listed in the county marriage record as they were not required at that time. (3). The first record that gives Adam's parents' names is Adam's death certificate, and the certificate lists a Benjamin Oswalt and Mary Rough as his parents. (4). As to whether or not the informant is related, I do not believe he is, although there is always the possibility. What I do know about the informant is that he worked at the Old Soldier's Home Hospital as a clerk. Where did he get the information, if he was not related? It's probably very likely that he got his information from Adam's daughter, Myrtie, as she was listed as his nearest relative in his admission papers to the home. (5).

After uncovering the names of Adam's parents, I looked for them, and found them in the 1850 Census in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Among the children living with Benjamin and Mary were a Solomon, William, Margaret, Benjamin and Nancy Oswalt. Adam does not show up in the household. (6). Of course, the absence of Adam in the 1850 census does not mean that he was not Benjamin and Mary's son, and there are probably multiple reasons as to why Adam did not show up in the census. I also found Benjamin Oswalt and Mary living in Huntingdon County in the 1860 census, but Adam is not listed in that census either. (7). To this date, I have not been able to find Adam in the 1850 or 1860 census, even though Adam stated on his admission papers that he had been living in Michigan since March of 1859. (8). There is another Adam Oswalt living in Blair County (which was once part of Huntingdon County), but that Adam is too old to be my ancestor. It is completely possible, though, that this Adam is a relative of Benjamin Oswalt. I have yet to determine whether or not that Adam is a relative, though.

While I haven't been able to find Adam in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, I do know that he was living in Pine Grove Township, Van Buren County, Michigan at the time of his marriage in 1861. (9). Whether or not Adam began living in Michigan in 1859, I have yet to determine. It is possible that tax records for those years will help me narrow down when and where he was living in Michigan at that time. Although I haven't been able to find Adam, I did find a Solomon and William Oswald living in Saint Joseph County, Michigan in the 1860 Census. Solomon was living in the household of John Heinback in Park Township, while William was living with a Daniel and Margaret Black in Fabius Township. (10). The odd thing about Solomon was his age. He was still in his twenties in this census like he was in the 1850 census. Oddly enough, the age given was about the same age as Adam would have been. Could Adam have been living in the same household as Solomon but missed or mixed up? (11). All I can do is speculate until I go through the tax records of Saint Joseph County for those years. Of course, I do know Adam lived in Saint Joseph County after his marriage in 1861.

As for the Solomon Oswalt who was living in Park Township at the time of the 1860 census, he was not living there in the 1870 census, nor was I able to find a Solomon Oswalt that fit the previous censuses in Pennsylvania. (There is a Solomon Oswalt in Pennsylvania in the 1870 census, but that Solomon does not appear to fit the Solomon Oswalt in the 1850 Census.) (12). Originally I believed that he had died in Saint Joseph County after the 1860 census, but after looking at the Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania newspapers and Civil War records for Pennsylvania, it appears that Solomon returned to Huntingdon County. How was I able to determine that fact? Well, the newspaper, Huntingdon Journal, carried a marriage notice for a Solomon Oswalt who married a Mary Morningstar on February 14, 1861, and since the only Solomon Oswalt around the Huntingdon County area was the Solomon connected to Benjamin and Mary Oswalt, I think it is safe to assume that it is him. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Archives has a Civil War Veteran's index file, and it lists a Solomon Oswalt who served in September of 1862. This Solomon enlisted at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and I suspect that Solomon is Benjamin and Mary's son. (13). In 1869, a Mrs. Mary Oswalt is listed as marrying a Jno. Westbrook in a marriage announcement, which suggested to me that Solomon had died some time before the newspaper published the announcement and that his widow had remarried. To confirm my theory, I searched the 1870 census for a John Westbrook living in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania with a wife named Mary, and I found the couple. Included in the household were two children: William and Ann Oswalt. (14). Of course, my connection to these children and Solomon are tenuous, and I still have to confirm the relationship with some other form of documentation. Additionally, I only have the 1850 census to connect Solomon to Benjamin and Mary Oswalt.

Benjamin Oswalt (the father) died sometime before 28 September 1861 when his widow, Mary, renounced her right to administer his estate. She requested that their son, John, take care of his estate, but unfortunately, only John's relationship is stated in the will book. (15). When I looked at the Orphan Court's records to see if any further documentation might list Benjamin's heirs, I did not have luck. The court records only mention that the estate had been assessed and that the administration of it had been approved by the Orphan's Court. (16). Short of finding any other court records, I'll probably have to look for church records, but at the moment, I am not sure as to what my Oswalt ancestors religious beliefs were.

In the next post, I'll continue with my research into this Oswalt family by analyzing the information I have on William and Benjamin Oswalt. If I have rambled too much, I apologize for any confusion.

So, what do you think so far? Do I have enough information to conclude that Adam and Solomon are brothers? Any advise or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
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Sources

(Some of the citations are not complete due to the fact that I do not have all of the documents in front of me at this time. I am relying upon my memory at the time of this writing.)

1. "1907 Statement." Civil War Pension File of Adam Oswalt.
2. U.S. Federal Censuses of 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1910. (For the first three censuses, Adam is living in Saint Joseph County, Michigan. For the 1910 census, Adam Oswalt is living in Kent County, Michigan.)
3. "Marriage of Adam Oswald to Barbary Ann Detweiler." Saint Joseph County, Michigan Marriage Records. Book C, page 307.
4. "Death record of Adam Oswalt." Kent County, Michigan Death Records. His death certificate can also be viewed online at http://seekingmichigan.org/.
5. "Admission papers of Adam Oswalt to the Michigan Old Soldier's Home." Microfilm at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Admission number 5205.
6. U. S. 1850 Federal Census, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Walker Township, household of Benjamin Oswalt.
7. U. S. 1860 Federal Census, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Juanita Township, household of Benjamin Oswald.
8. See record in source number 5. Page 2.
9. See record in source number 3.
10. U. S. 1860 Federal Census, Saint Joseph County, Michigan, Park and Fabius Townships, households of John Heinback (sic) and Daniel Black.
11. See record in source number 10 for Park Township.
12. U.S. 1870 Federal Census for Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
13. "Marriage of Solomon Oswalt to Mary M. Morningstar." Huntingdon Journal. 20 February 1861. http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/civilwar/Client.asp?skin=civilwar&AppName=2&AW=1257601112239; "Solomon Oswald." Civil War Veterans' Card File, 1861-1866. Pennsylvania State Archives. Between Oswald, John P. and Otis, Ora L. Item 17. http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveItems&ArchiveID=17&FID=1350300&LID=1350349&FL=O&Page=1.
    
14. "Marriage of Jno A. Westbrook (sic) to Mary M. Oswalt." Huntingdon Globe. 3 March 1869.http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/civilwar/Client.asp?skin=civilwar&AppName=2&AW=1257601112239; U. S. 1870 Federal Census, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, Township, household of John Westbrook.
15. "Administrative letters for the estate of Benjamin Oswald." Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1787-1918, Wills v. 5-6. FHL US/CAN Film 854233. Will Book 6, page 142.
    
16. "November 1861 Session." Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Orphan's Court Dockets, 1788-1866. Volume I, FHL US/Can Film 900592. Page 59 (?).
    

Belated Saturday Night Fun - Oswalt/Oswald World Surname Distribution

For this Saturday Night Challenge, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to determine the world wide distribution of their surnames, and although I'm late in posting my response, I still wanted to write something before the weekend ends.

For this challenge, I searched for two surnames: Oswalt and Oswald. Why? Well, when doing my research into my Oswalt ancestors, I frequently find their last name spelled both ways (and a few others, as well), and since my last name still gets misspelled, it is not that hard for me to remember. I suspect, but don't have definite proof, that the Oswalt and Oswald surnames have a similar origin. So, to get an idea where the Oswalt/Oswald surname might be distributed around the world, I did two searches. (I do not know how to do save a screen shot, so I'm going to have to present the information verbally.)

When I typed in the results for Oswalt, the countries with the highest distribution were:

• United States
• France
• Germany
• Austria
• New Zealand
• Argentina
• Spain
• United Kingdom

For the Oswald surname, the countries with the highest distribution results were:

• Austria
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Australia
• United States
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• France

In the United States, the Oswalt surname was distributed the most primarily among these states (i.e., the darkest colored states. Most of the states were a turquoise color) :

• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Indiana
• Arkansas
  
• Ohio

In the United States, the Oswald surname was distributed the most primarily among these states:

• South Dakota
• Nebraska

Again, like for the Oswalt surname, many of the states in the U. S. were a turquoise color.

I then decided to search for the distribution of each surname in the state of Michigan. For the Oswalt surname, the highest distribution (turquoise colored) of the surname were in these counties in no particular numerical order:

• Alpena
• Benzie
• Calhoun
  
• Cheboygan
• Kalamazoo
• Monroe
  
• St. Joseph
• Wexford

For the Oswald surname, the highest distribution (dark blue colored) of the surname were in these Michigan counties (again, in alphabetical order):

• Bay
• Gratiot
• Montmorency

Many more counties were colored in a turquoise or green color, especially the highest counties listed for the Oswalt surname.

So, as you can see, the possibility that that the two surnames might have the same origin is possible when one looks at the European countries where the surnames were distributed. Both surnames appear to be distributed similarly as well, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a common origin. I suspect, though, that there are several Oswalt/Oswald branches in the United States, and that any common origin might be several centuries in the past. Of course, I could be wrong, but only further research will be able to determine if this is case. At the same time, researchers have to be careful not to rely only on one surname distribution map, and there is still the possibility that both surnames have unique origins.

So, what do you think? Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Music in the Family ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write about musical instruments that I or family members might play. Instead of focusing only on musical instruments, I've decided to expand the idea to write not only about family members who play instruments but also about ancestors who were involved in music as well.

The members of my family who are primarily musically inclined are my mom and her brother, my uncle, and I believe they have been in involved in music in some way for most of their lives. My mom played the flute and piano from childhood through college, and she still plays the piano (as a member of our church's band). I grew up listening to my mom play the piano, and that is probably how I acquired a love for classical music. My mom was also active in her high school choir as well. I believe my uncle plays the saxophone, although I am not completely sure. Either way, he was involved in music as a child, and at one point, he served as the music director for the church he and his family attend.

Other members who have played an instrument, play an instrument or were involved in choir were my dad, grandma, brother and I. My dad sang in his high school choir, and my grandma also sang in the choir at the church she was a member. She also started to learn how to play the piano. My brother is learning how to play the guitar, and I've taken piano lessons at various times in my life. Of course, I'll probably never be as good as my mom, but I still enjoy learning how to play and playing the piano.

Outside of those family members, I cannot think of any other family members who are or were involved in music. I did have a couple of ancestors, as I learned earlier this year, who were musicians. Marianne Pyrker (or Anna Maria) was a famous Eighteenth Century Opera singer and her husband, Franz Joseph Karl Pyrker played the violin. I briefly wrote about Marianne Pyrker here, but I don't believe I mentioned that her husband was also a musician. Of course, at the moment, I only have secondary sources to prove my connection to them, but as I continue researching I hope to obtain primary documents as sources. As I continue my research, I'll probably uncover more information about them and maybe other ancestors who were musically inclined.

Outside of the people mentioned above, I cannot think of any other family members or ancestors at the moment who were involved in music. I hope, though, as I continue researching my ancestors that I will learn more about them. Enjoy!

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 18 - An Important Lesson: Never Assume ...

After looking at the title of this article, you're probably thinking, "Shouldn't that be given?" Probably, but my intention for this article is not to lecture others but write about how assumptions can cause problems in genealogy research. Why? Well, I made an assumption about a record, and I've just recently learned and realized that my assumption was wrong. So, by learning how I made a mistake, I'm hoping other genealogists will learn from my mistake.

As you probably remember, I recently received a copy of the pension file for Benjamin Oswalt, and since the file came, I've taken a look at the records. I once believed that I could not find this Benjamin Oswalt in the censuses after the 1850 census, so, when I asked my grandfather to take a look at a probate record for our ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, did not expect my grandfather to find a Benjamin Oswalt in the 1870 census (see below the paragraph). (The Benjamin Oswalt in the probate record died in 1861 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and is the father of Adam Oswalt, according to Adam's death certificate.) This Benjamin was living in Kansas, and had been born in Michigan, and my grandfather, mentioned that he had found this census record will doing research for our ancestor. Of course, I took a look at the census record, and told my grandfather, that that Benjamin could not be connected to us because he was living in Kansas and was born in Michigan, despite the fact that he was the exact age as the Benjamin Oswalt I believe to be Adam's brother. Well, that is what I thought until Benjamin's pension file came ...

(Image taken from FamilySearch's Record Search)

When I looked at the pension file Benjamin's widow, Elizabeth, applied for, I noticed the names of the people who gave testimony on her behalf. I recognized some of the names, but there were a few names that I did not recognize. I already knew from previous research, that Elizabeth remarried, but when I looked at the Michigan death records and marriages that are online, I discovered that the one of the witnesses was probably the sister of Elizabeth's new husband. To try to confirm, my theory, I decided to look for Elizabeth's new husband and the witness in the census records. The search for Elizabeth's husband brought me back to the census image above. Lo and behold, Elizabeth's future husband was living next door to the Benjamin Oswalt I had earlier dismissed. Knowing that the future husband was from Saint Joseph County, Michigan, I realized that the fact that there was a Benjamin Oswalt living next door to him was probably not a coincidence since the Benjamin Oswalt I was looking for was from Saint Joseph County, Michigan. So, even though Benjamin's birthplace is listed as Michigan, I believe I have found the correct Benjamin Oswalt, and I believe it is possible that the census taker put the wrong information down.

So, what is the moral of the story? Well, almost ignored a census record and other possible leads into researching my Oswalt family. The census record indicates that Benjamin had some wealth, and it might be possible that he bought some land in Kansas. Of course, I won't know until I pursue this avenue, but I almost missed this opportunity because I believed it wasn't the right person. Just because a record doesn't necessarily fit all of your known facts about a person does not mean that it isn't your person. If you do write off a source, you might miss another possible lead. So, I guess it is better to have an open mind about possible sources when doing your own research. Now, I've just got to trace this new lead, and figure out why Benjamin was in Kansas about six months after his marriage. Please stay tuned for further posts on Benjamin.

And as always, please feel free to leave comments on you what you think about this article.

The Pension File Came!

What pension file? Okay, I didn't mention that about a month ago I ordered the Civil War Pension file for Benjamin Oswalt, the man I believe to be Adam Oswalt's younger brother. Well, the file arrived this afternoon, and when I came home from class, I saw it. Anyhow, I wouldn't have ordered the pension file while I was at school, except that I need it for school-related, non-genealogy project. So, as you can imagine, I'll be digging through this file, and seeing if I can find any direct proof that connects Benjamin and Adam together. Wish me luck!

Family History Center Visit 10

Earlier today, I visited the local Family History Center with my brother and grandma. My grandma helped me with my research by looking through the will index for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and she wrote down names from a list on surnames that I gave her. I looked at the grantee index for the same county, but most of the Oswalts listed in the index were for deeds recorded in the mid-Twentieth Century, so I did not have as much luck with that film.

After going through that film, I looked at the church records for Trippstadt, Germany, and I had more success with that film. I was able to find baptismal records for Adolph Kees and Amelia Cotta's children who were born before 1839, and I was able to find a couple of burial records for the Kees and Cotta family. I'll have to order the other microfilm to find the other baptismal, marriage and burial records for the Kees and Cotta family. Of course, I made copies of the images.

I did not order any microfilms this time because I spent the whole time doing research and making copies for what I found.

Family History Center Visit 6

Earlier today I visited the local Family History Center in my area, and I took a look at the microfilm of Trippstadt's death records from 1803 to 1839. I was able to find four death records for members of the the Kees and Cotta families, among which one of those death records happened to be for the Christoph Friedrich Cotta that I wrote about last year. The other three death records were of his grandchildren who died young, and I was able to print out images of all four of the death certificates.

After looking at the death certificates, I took a look again at the tax assessments for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and I tried to find my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, listed in the tax records before 1823, but I was unsuccessful in searching the townships of Henderson, Porter and Huntingdon. I did, though, find information on a couple possible Householder ancestors. If I am going to find Benjamin in the tax records before 1823, I will have to order the other microfilms of tax records and look for him in other townships. I was unable to print out copies of the pages of those assessments because I ran out of time for research.

Before I left the Family History Center, though, I ordered three more microfilms. Two of those microfilms are of church records in England and the third microfilm is of church records for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Hopefully, I will find more information on my Oswalt ancestors when the Pennsylvania church records arrive. Stay tuned for further updates ...

Family History Center Visit 5

Yesterday, I went back to the local Family History Center, and I looked through the Huntingdon tax records microfilm, that I ordered, again. As you may remember from my previous post, I was unable to finish looking through the assessments for Hopewell Township after 1815 on my last visit, so I finished going through the assessments for the township between 1815 and 1823. Of course, I was still able to find an Oswalt in the assessments for that township, but I was unable to find my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, in the records before 1823. The Oswalt that I did find in the assessments was an Adam Oswalt, and I suspect this Adam might be Benjamin's father as this Adam is old enough to pass for his father. Of course, this Adam is not to be confused with Benjamin's son, Adam, who served in the Civil War. (If that makes any sense!)

Of course, I was hoping to find Benjamin before 1823 because I am trying to trace his movements. I know that Benjamin did reside in Hopewell Township from 1823 until 1826, and then again from 1829 until 1833, when the tax assessments end, but I have not yet been able to find him or his family in the 1820 census. I did notice that there were other people living with an Adam Oswalt in the 1820 census, so I am trying to determine if that is where Benjamin was living. Of course, I will need to look at other townships in the area as it could be possible that Benjamin was living another township before 1823. I am hoping to narrow his movements so that I can figure out when Benjamin married and his age.

I noticed that at the end of the tax assessments, there was a section for single, freedmen, but I could not find Benjamin listed in that list either, for Hopewell Township. One of the tax assessments recorded that single men who were 21 and older were listed under that list. So, if I was able to find Benjamin in the tax assessment, that would give me an approximate year of birth and the removal of his name from the single men's list would give me an approximate year of marriage. Since I was unable to find him listed under any of Hopewell's tax assessments before 1823, I will need to look for him in another neighboring township. (When Benjamin does show up in Hopewell in 1823, I know he is already married as he is listed with the other heads of households on the assessment and not with the single men.)

So, I will have to visit the local Family History Center again, and look through the microfilm again. Eventually I will do a post on the tax assessments, but that will have to wait until I am able to go through the microfilm again. Stay tuned ...

Family History Center Visit 4

Earlier today I visited the local Family History Center, and I discovered that the another microfilm of tax assessments for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania had arrived. I looked at the tax assessments for Hopewell township from 1788 to about 1815, and discovered that a possible Oswalt ancestor resided in the county from 1802. Of course, I have not proven that this man is my ancestor, but this man was old enough to pass for Benjamin Oswalt's father. I was unable to look at the tax assessments from 1815 to 1823 because I ran out of time, but I hope to look at those tax records again soon.

Now I have proof that Oswalts were living in Huntingdon County from at least 1802, so now, I need to figure out why I cannot find them in the 1810 census. I guess I'll have to look again and see if I can find the family. Stay tuned ...

A Surname Meme: Some of the Surnames I Am Researching

I just happened to notice that Jasia listed the surnames she was researching, and I thought it would be a great idea to do the same thing. Of course, I'm not going to post all of the surnames I'm researching because I want to protect my family members' privacy as well. Thus, I am only going to be posting surnames that are a few generations away from my living relatives. So, here are some of the surnames I'm researching:

• Oswalt: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
• Detwiler: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
• Householder: Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania (specifically interested in information on a Barbara whose father's name might be John.)
• Stout: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Northampton County, Pennsylvania
• Havens: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Monroe County, New York (tentative location)
• Kees: Cleveland, Ohio, Trippstadt, Germany and Gelnhausen, Germany
• Cotta: Trippstadt, Germany and Southwestern Germany (Stuttgart area, possibly?)

I thought I would just start with these surnames since I'm researching quite a few and since these surnames do not violate the privacy of any of my relatives. If you have a connection any of these surnames, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Michigan's Old Soldiers' Home: Adam's File ...

As I mentioned Friday, I have finally obtained Adam Oswalt's Old Soldiers' Home record from the Grand Rapids Public Library. What was the Old Soldiers' Home, and where was it located? Did I get any questions answered? What did I learn?

As you can tell from its title, Michigan's Old Soldiers' Home was a convalescent home for elderly war veterans, and it was located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Although in 1908, at the time when my ancestor applied, I think the home was just north of the city. A few years ago I did look at a picture book from 1912 that my university owned, and the picture book mentioned that a train had to be taken to get to the home. I think the book also stated, or implied, that it was outside of the city, but I cannot recall off the top of my head. (The book was titled Michigan Soldiers' Home, and I think it was a book that visitors take back with them as souvenir.) The home also had its own cemetery, and there are war veterans buried in that cemetery. I am not sure if the original buildings are still on the property, but I do know that the home's name was changed to the Michigan Veteran's Home. Outside of that little information, I do not know anything else. There is a website that has some old pictures of the home, and you can read about the information it has here.

Anyhow, the file I obtained from Grand Rapids was a four page application Adam had submitted to the home. In the way of genealogical data, I did not learn much more than I already knew about Adam. There was a box for his religious beliefs, but he only listed that he was Protestant. Since that does not narrow down his faith anymore than I already knew, I am still stuck at square one when it comes to the church he attended. Outside of that, I get an answer as to when Adam arrived in Michigan for the first time. (He moved to Rockford, Illinois in the late-1880s and moved back to Michigan in the late-1890s.) In addition, I also found a little bit more of the medical condition my ancestor was in when he was applying to the home. From what is listed in the application and other documents, I think I can safely assume that Adam applied to the home based upon his medical situation. Plus, I also learned what the requirements were for admission to the Old Soldier's Home. Instead of just going into the details, I thought I would include the images of the application while I explained what I found out.

I believe this page is the first page of the application, but I am not too sure for sure. (At least this was the first page of the application on the microfilm.) This page primarily deals with a soldier's service, his martial status, age, religion, appearance, birthplace, etc. In short, this was information that I already knew about Adam from my previous research. Of course, if I had not done any research, this page would have been invaluable in trying to find his military records.

The next page deals with how long he was a resident in Michigan, and when he first lived in Michigan. I did not know when Adam moved to Michigan from Pennsylvania, and so I can now begin to start looking for proof to confirm this. Before I obtained this record, I knew he was living in Michigan by 1861 when he got married. I was unable to find him in the 1860 census, but I might be able to find him in the tax records of either Van Buren county or Saint Joseph county, if I look for their old records.

The third page of the application lists the medical problems my ancestor's suffered from, and gives me an idea as to why he applied to the home. Most of this information was new to me. This page is also the page that lists whether or not an applicant would be allowed to live in the home.

And last but not least, is the last page of the application. This page indicates when a veteran was admit ed to the home, and lists his application number. The page also lists the rules that govern how an inmate would live and who would allowed to live in the home. Applicants that received more than $12 a month from their pension were not supposed to be admitted, unless they were approved by the commander of the home. Since my ancestor was receiving about $15 a month from his pension, I suspect he was only allowed to live there due to his medical problems and he was one of those "special cases".

So, that is a little about the Old Soldiers' Home and what information you might expect to find in your ancestor's application. I realize that this is a long post, and I'm sorry for making it too long. I hope, though, that you found this post to be interesting and informative. Enjoy!

And More On That Mystery Court Case ...

As you may remember, I posted a few weeks ago on a mysterious newspaper article that mentioned that one of my ancestor's brothers was found guilty of assaulting a woman. Well, I decided to see if I could uncover an additional information in the newspapers, but unfortunately, there weren't any other articles on the case. I did notice though, that this newspaper only published the results of the court cases that were heard by that court. (I checked the newspaper for the whole year of 1845.) Apparently, there were other assault and battery cases heard by the court, and the newspaper only bothered to print what the outcome of each case was. So, it looks like the article on my brother's ancestor was typical for that newspaper.

Although I was unable to find any further information on the court case, I did decide to do some other digging to see if I could get an idea as to what the fine would be in today's dollars. In a previous post, I used the historical conversions site to covert prices from the past into today's dollars, and I did that again for the court fine. I discovered that a dollar in 1845 would be worth about $28.58 in today's dollars. Add on top of that, a week's worth of wages was lost as well, and I guess the conviction was quite costly for my ancestor's brother.

Of course, I won't know the details until I am able to obtain a transcript of the court case. Has anyone ever obtained court cases like this before? If so, how much did it cost to obtain a copy of the court's records? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

A Mini-Mystery at the Moment ...

Several weeks ago, I decided to browse through the Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania newspapers that are online again, and this time, I happened to notice an article that I had missed in past searches. Of course, I did not mention this discovery at the time because I was extremely busy with schoolwork, but as you can imagine, this brief article has generated some questions in my mind.

So, what was this article? Well, the article happened to be on court cases that had reached verdicts by the point of the article's printing, and it listed whether or not the defendants in the cases had been found guilty or not. Well, in that list, my ancestor's brother, John Oswalt, happened to be found guilty along with another man of assault and battery of a woman. Unfortunately, the article does not mention any of the facts of the case, but it does list the punishment the men received:

"Com'th vs. Henry Harker and John Oswalt. Indictment for assault and battery on Elizabeth Kyler. Verdict, guilty. Sentence of the Court, that Henry Harker pay a fine of $1.00 and be imprisoned in jail 24 hours - John Oswalt pay a fine of $1.00 and be imprisoned in jail one week, pay costs, &c. ... August 23, 1845."
- Taken from "Proceedings of the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas," in the Huntingdon Journal, 27 August 1845, page 2.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to find this article, but either way, I'm curious as to what the circumstances of the case were. Obviously, I want to obtain the transcript of the case so that I can answer that question, but I also want to obtain that file to see if it might shed any light on the daily life of my Oswalt ancestors. For all I know, there might be some important details on my ancestors and their families, and since I know that some of my Oswalt ancestors were illiterate, this might be one of the few sources that I'll find on my ancestors. Since I'm still up at school, I won't have time to get this court case right away, but I hope to get the file as soon as I get a chance.

And just when I was beginning to think my ancestors were getting boring, I'm thrown another curve ball ...