Looking through estate papers I have come across a name that at this time is a brick wall. The name is "Mrs. May Rutan". I am fairly sure this is Ella May Davis, the daughter of Esquire Davis and Mary E Stevenson. Ella May Davis was born 16 May 1863 in Knox County, Ohio. Her father, Esquire Davis, died 12 Mar 1863 in Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana. He accidentally drowned while fighting during the Civil War. Two and a half years later, Ella May's mother, Mary E. Stevenson, died on 20 Nov 1865 in Knox County, Ohio.
Pension papers were filed for the three children. At that time it was noted that Ella May and her siblings, Sylvester Richard Davis, and Emma Augusta Davis, were all guardians of Marshall Clark. In the 1870 federal census Marshall Clark is living in Middlebury Township, Knox, Ohio. Living with him is a Ellen M. Clark, age 7. This very well could be Ella May Davis.
I have looked at marriage records during the 1880s-1900 time period. There are some possibilities, but none to a Mr. Rutan, and none that can be traced to anyone marrying a Mr. Rutan, at least in the Knox County, Ohio area. I checked both Ella May Davis and Ella May Clark, looking at both Ella May and May as given names.
Both of Ella May's siblings, S. R. Davis and Emma A. Davis Burson, are mentioned in the same estate papers. I've been able to figure out all the other heirs in the estate papers. All heirs are either siblings, nieces or nephews of the two men whose estate is being settled. I guess it's possible that May Rutan is actually a great-niece, but at this time I have no evidence of this.
If anyone has any information on Mrs. May Rutan, please leave a message!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
William Porter's First Wife
I don't have definitive proof yet, but I have finally seen a first name for my 2nd Great Grandfather's 1st wife. His daughter, Cordelia Porter James, died 7 May 1900. Her death record states that her mother's given name was Phebe. William has another daughter, named Phebe Rosella Porter, so this could be it. Now to find that elusive maiden name.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Ohio Research Trip October 2011, Part 3
This research trip was different than many of the others I've taken. I think it was more about me, and not so much about those that came before me.
As I mentioned in the part 1 and part 2 posts about my trip to Ohio in October, I did not do a lot of real research. I spent a good portion of the week between the two seminars I attended just reminiscing about my life when I lived in Columbus.
One day I just drove around Columbus looking at the changes to the places that were very familiar to me as a child and adult. I checked out the new park that was created at the former site of a major downtown shopping mall, City Center. I even got lost in the downtown area that is referred to as the "arena district". This was all new to me as it was not created until after I moved from Columbus 13 years ago. I finally did see a sign for a familiar street which eventually took me up through the Ohio State University area. Having grown up in this area I was assaulted with so many changes that at times I felt like I was in a foreign land. As I headed north I decided to drive past one of the elementary schools I attended. The Holy Name building still sits across the street from Holy Name Church on East Patterson Avenue, but it is no longer "Holy Name". It now houses Centro Parroquial Santa Cruz, which appears to be a Latino Catholic Center. There's a sign in front that also states it's the location for the Santa Cruz Church. I do not know when it closed it's doors as Holy Name Elementary. I then drove past one of the homes we lived in when I attended Holy Name. On the Franklin County Auditor's website the picture of this house does it justice. In reality it really looked run down. Of course this area is pretty much Ohio State housing so it was no surprise to see a couple young men throwing a Frisbee out front. Again traveling further North I drove by the home I owned before I moved to New York. It still looked good, but the homes on the short street on which I lived have started to look somewhat rundown. A short drive from this home was where another major shopping mall, Northland Mall, used to reside. It's good to see that the Northland Community has not taken the loss of this Mall sitting down, and have done a good job of reusing the land, and have even brought new development into the area.
An area not familiar to me is Camp Chase, which was a military staging, training, and prison camp in the Civil War. What remains now is the cemetery which contains 2260 graves of Confederate soldiers. I wanted to visit this site, which even after living in Columbus for 49 years I had never visited. I knew it was on Sullivant Avenue in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood. I should have done my homework before taking on this adventure, because I never did make it there. I thought I knew about where it was located and determined that somehow I was just missing it. It turns out I just hadn't went out Sullivant Avenue far enough. Next visit!
I did manage to visit the Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library for one morning. I found one obituary for which I was looking, but came away without finding the newspaper edition that contains the advertisement in which I am featured as a cute 2 1/2 year old. It was an ad for a shoe store. I needed special shoes until I was five years old, and this store was the place which sold such shoes. I guess they thought I was a good "model" as my Mom was asked for her permission to have me featured in the ad. I also browsed through various Columbus city directories, finally determining our moves as a family in the 1950s-1960s. I was also hoping to determine by entries in these directories just when my Grandma Rose and her second husband married. Still working on that as the marriage record was another one of the things I did not find in the microfilm for Franklin County marriages.
I also stopped one afternoon at the Mount Vernon Public Library, where I obtained 15-20 obituaries.
I did not obtain a lot of physical material on this research trip, but the emotional journey was so rewarding!
As I mentioned in the part 1 and part 2 posts about my trip to Ohio in October, I did not do a lot of real research. I spent a good portion of the week between the two seminars I attended just reminiscing about my life when I lived in Columbus.
One day I just drove around Columbus looking at the changes to the places that were very familiar to me as a child and adult. I checked out the new park that was created at the former site of a major downtown shopping mall, City Center. I even got lost in the downtown area that is referred to as the "arena district". This was all new to me as it was not created until after I moved from Columbus 13 years ago. I finally did see a sign for a familiar street which eventually took me up through the Ohio State University area. Having grown up in this area I was assaulted with so many changes that at times I felt like I was in a foreign land. As I headed north I decided to drive past one of the elementary schools I attended. The Holy Name building still sits across the street from Holy Name Church on East Patterson Avenue, but it is no longer "Holy Name". It now houses Centro Parroquial Santa Cruz, which appears to be a Latino Catholic Center. There's a sign in front that also states it's the location for the Santa Cruz Church. I do not know when it closed it's doors as Holy Name Elementary. I then drove past one of the homes we lived in when I attended Holy Name. On the Franklin County Auditor's website the picture of this house does it justice. In reality it really looked run down. Of course this area is pretty much Ohio State housing so it was no surprise to see a couple young men throwing a Frisbee out front. Again traveling further North I drove by the home I owned before I moved to New York. It still looked good, but the homes on the short street on which I lived have started to look somewhat rundown. A short drive from this home was where another major shopping mall, Northland Mall, used to reside. It's good to see that the Northland Community has not taken the loss of this Mall sitting down, and have done a good job of reusing the land, and have even brought new development into the area.
An area not familiar to me is Camp Chase, which was a military staging, training, and prison camp in the Civil War. What remains now is the cemetery which contains 2260 graves of Confederate soldiers. I wanted to visit this site, which even after living in Columbus for 49 years I had never visited. I knew it was on Sullivant Avenue in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood. I should have done my homework before taking on this adventure, because I never did make it there. I thought I knew about where it was located and determined that somehow I was just missing it. It turns out I just hadn't went out Sullivant Avenue far enough. Next visit!
I did manage to visit the Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library for one morning. I found one obituary for which I was looking, but came away without finding the newspaper edition that contains the advertisement in which I am featured as a cute 2 1/2 year old. It was an ad for a shoe store. I needed special shoes until I was five years old, and this store was the place which sold such shoes. I guess they thought I was a good "model" as my Mom was asked for her permission to have me featured in the ad. I also browsed through various Columbus city directories, finally determining our moves as a family in the 1950s-1960s. I was also hoping to determine by entries in these directories just when my Grandma Rose and her second husband married. Still working on that as the marriage record was another one of the things I did not find in the microfilm for Franklin County marriages.
I also stopped one afternoon at the Mount Vernon Public Library, where I obtained 15-20 obituaries.
I did not obtain a lot of physical material on this research trip, but the emotional journey was so rewarding!
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