- January: Blogged about 5 of my ancestors: John King(1770-1814) James Jakes(1857-1941) Telitha Ann Frizzell Jakes(1858-1920) David Pittman(1838-1922) James Polk Acuff(1872-1939)
- February: Looked for my 3rd Gr Grandmother in the 1840 Census & found my 2nd Great Grandfather in the 1840(I'd given up hope of ever locating him)
- March: Researched Wm C Cook's Dyer Co TN neighbors. Started mapping out my Tennie Ferguson Hill research
- April: Found the majority of my folks in the 1950 census within the first week of its release. Finished up my Jakes/Frizzell Article
- May: Studied the disease outbreaks and mill workers/factory towns and the social aspect of it all in preparation for writing my Cook(e)/King article.
- June: Started writing the Cook(e)/King article.
- July: Finished up my Williamson Co TN--Dist 25 Blog series. Made a discovery about Gr Uncle John L Cook's wife's ancestry.
- August: Wrote a blog article comparing my siblings, myself and my paternal aunt to a set of 4 siblings(I love making charts)
- September: Wrote a blog article about DNA comparing myself and my siblings to Descendants of Jabel Putman(Did I mention I love making charts?) Ordered a copy of the Henry F Hill investigation file from NARA. Ordered some Union Civil War Pension Files.
- October: Studied the Hamer sisters and their ancestry--they married Cook brothers(my gr grandfather's brothers) Worked on pulling information on Tennie, Henry F Hill and George Solifelt into a research notebook
- November: Received the copy of the Henry Hill investigation file I ordered from NARA.
- December: Finished the outline of the Henry F Hill File. The George Solifelt Union Civil War Pension File arrived along with his service records and those of Henry F. Hill. My Jakes/Frizzell Article was published in the TN Genealogical Society's Ansearchin' News Vol. 69 No. 4 Winter 2022. Was finally able to get the documentation for Mary Ann "Polly", wife of Elisha Luna's surname which for years has been thought to be Lennox because of and index and poor penmanship. It is Enoch, specifically the Caswell Co NC Enochs who were from Delaware prior to coming to NC.
Info on people, places, and things helpful in my genealogy research.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
My 2022 Research Year in Review
Monday, December 26, 2022
Mary Ann "Polly" Enoch Luna, daughter of Andrew Enoch(Caswell Co NC)
Below is my best shot at a transcription of the receipt from image 4
Two Hundred and seventy seven dollars and
thirty cents It being in full of the legacy
due from him to Elisha Loony in right
of his wife Polley one of the orphans of
Andrew Enochs dec'd which I receive by virtue
of a power of attorney from said Loony
It being in full of the legacy due him
in right of his wife one of the heirs of
said dec'd
Samuel ( X )Coplinger
Test:
Alex Murphey
"North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V121-4Q6 : 8 March 2021), Andrew Enoch, 1797; citing Caswell, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,711,174.
The surname of Peter Luna was originally Looney/Loony. The majority of the Lunas who aren't of Mexican or Spanish descent in the SE USA are from the line of Peter Luna although there are a few who do use the old spelling.
Friday, December 23, 2022
Examining Tennie's Claim That She Is George's Niece
I'm looking at Tennie Hill's claim that she is the niece of George Solifelt and gathering what evidence I have for analysis. Below is a "play by play" of Tennie's correspondence with the Veterans Administration who by 1935 was in charge of Union Pensions.
- Tennie writes to the Veterans Admin to let them know George has died. Asks them to send forms so you can get any pension due him because she took care of his expenses. Sends copy of his death notice with this and notarized statement that from the funeral home showing she paid.
- Veterans Admin. writes back saying they need a certified Death cert.
- Tennie sends one along with notarized statement from minister who preached George's funeral
- Veterans Admin. sends letter to Notary in error.
- Notary attaches a noted letter with explanation that the wife mention ed on George's death record is deceased and that Tennie is his sole surviving heir. (screenshot 305)
- Veterans Admin sends letter to Tennie asking her to clarify what the death cert. of George says. It said he was married and gave his wife's name. If the wife is a survivor they need to know that as she would be the one who would qualify for any money due him. If she is deceased they need to have a sworn statement of that with her date of death.
- Tennie returns that letter with a notarized statement typed at the bottom. (screenshot pg 307)
- Veterans Admin sends letter to Tennie letting her know that accrued pension is not an asset of his estate and is not payable to heirs and is not liable for the payment of debts but may be paid to reimburse the person who bore the expenses of his last sickness and burial or who is held responsible for the payment thereof only in case he did not leave sufficient assets to meet such expenses or is not survived by widow or a minor child under the age of 16 yrs at the date of his death. They enclose form for her to use if that is the case.
- Tennie completes the file and sends it back.
- She is awarded an accrued pension amount of $95 and they note that there is possible additional aid of $150 towards the remaining expenses. She claimed $3448 they approved only a certain amount for items of which the $150 possible deduction was subtracted leaving $753.60 I don't see anything on the document that give any indication that they paid anything other than the $95 amount to her and merely suggested she might be able to get $150.
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Finding George in the 1860 US Federal Census
Sources:
Compiled service record, George H. Solifelt, Pvt, Co. C 1 PA Prov'l Cavalry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Compiled service record, George H. Solifelt, Pvt, Co. E 20 PA Cavalry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Compiled service record, George Sullivan, Pvt, Co. C 2 PA Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Compiled service record, Theodore Sullivan, Pvt, Co. N 126 PA Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Compiled service record, George Sullivan, Bookmark 1387-C-1885, Box No. 3190; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
"Pennsylvania, U.S., Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971" database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61173/ : accessed 22 Dec 2022) Eastern State Penitentiary > Convict Reception Registers > 1842 - 1929 > Image 918 of 4522, prisoner #6718, George Solifelt.
Friday, December 16, 2022
George Solifelt's Pension File: observations from the first 100 pages.
The Union Pension file of George Solifelt that I had on order arrived this week. It is a 359 page PDF. That is an incredibly large file and as I do for most larger files I will be making an outline/finding aid. For this size file it is a MUST. I am reading thru the file first to get an idea of the structure.
One of the questions I've had in mind since I started researching Tennie, Henry and George was answered. I'd wondered if Henry and George knew each other because I really had no evidence of overlap as each was a part of Tennie's life at different times given the documents I had. That is up until page 82 of George's pension file, where Henry is the Notary Public on witnesses statements of George's identity. In later pages, George also mentions giving a sworn statement which Henry wrote down as he spoke.(dated 14th Jan 1896) The image below is from the last part of the papers with H F Hill.
George's statement contains a list of places of residence.
- Little Rock AR
- Ft Smith AR
- Lewiston, PA
- Ft. Smith AR (at present)
Thursday, December 08, 2022
George Solifelt(Alias Theodore Sullivan)--Book Mark Document
George had two alias that he used. The information in his Book Mark file contains statements by others who knew him, and who gave sworn statements that George Solifelt & Theodore Sullivan were the same man. He also used the alias George Sullivan. One affidavit in particular contained some really interesting details. It is a statement given by George Woomer.
George Woomer said the following:
I knew George H. Solifelt from his early youth. We were boys together drove boat together on the Penns. Canal in the year 1862 and before. in August of 1862 we left our Boats and went to Camp Curtin at Harrisburg PA and enlisted. I enlisted in Co K 131st P.V. and he enlisted in Co H 126th Rgt P V. I saw him once in the service only. it was after we went to the front. Don't know the date but I know he serves in that company and regiment. I did not then know he enlisted under the name of Theodore Sullivan--I have known him ever since and I know he is the same man who served in that Co. and Rgt. I did not know he had served as Theodore Sullivan until he told me he gave as a reason for changing his name that he had been bound out when a boy. I don't know whether he really knew what his name was or not. I know his mother was Eliza Solifelt but I don't know who his Father was.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52104825/george-woomer: accessed 08 December 2022), memorial page for Pvt George Woomer (10 Mar 1844–17 Nov 1924), Find a Grave Memorial ID 52104825, citing First Methodist Cemetery, Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by RN (contributor 50495725).
Tuesday, December 06, 2022
It was on the day the Ringling Bro's show was here
I posted this on my social media account but thought I should probably mention it in a blog post. When I find mention of an event in court records I like to check the newspapers to see if there are additional details of the event.
From Samuel H Francis' statement (top of pg 72) of the Henry F Hill Investigation File He is asked for the date that something occurred and he references the Ringling Bro's Show being in town(Ft. Smith, AR).
I checked at Newspapers.com and found that The Ringling Bros Show was there in late Sept 1902 setting up and specifically opening Oct 1st.
Thursday, December 01, 2022
Outline: Henry F Hill File
Outline of Henry F Hill Case File Attorneys 2373 Hill, Henry F Attorney Residence Ft. Smith Ark. Disbarred 18 Aug 18 1898 Restored: (blank) Charges: Making false jurats to vouchers in his capacity as a notary public.
Pension Office Form dated 27 Mar 1883 requesting information from Henry F Hill
US Pension Office Oath Form of H F Hill Huntsville Ark 2 Apr 1883 Filed 6 Apr 1883
Wrapper of Oath of Hill Henry F Huntsville Madison Ark Stamped by Pension office 6 Apr 1883
Wrapper Dept. of Interior referred to Mr. Hinricks Attorney Dist. Law Division
Dept. of Interior Pension Office 27 Aug 1883 To BF Ruble Jasper Arkansas Stamped by pension office 12 Oct 1883 Answering about Ruble's refusal to affix cert. to one of the documents Hill submitted.
Page 2 of above Doc from W W Dudley Commissioner
Letter from B F Ruble Letterhead of Newton Co Ark Circuit & Co. Court Clerk Jasper Ark 7 Oct 1883 to W W Dudley Washington DC
Wrapper of Correspondence about H F Hill between office and B F Ruble Clerk of Jasper Ark
Letter to Wm W Dudley Dated 3 Mar 1885 from W T Brooks(Storekeeper & Gauger) abt Hill’s practices. Stamped by Pension office 9 Mar 9 1885
Page 2 of above letter
Wrapper of Letter of W T Brooks of Logan Ark.
Letter from Pension Office to Henry F Hill requesting clarification of address from John C Black Commissioner. Dated 31 Oct 1885 (10 Nov 1885 Stamp from Pension Office)
Henry’s Answer and wrapper 31 Oct - 6 Nov 1885 (stamped 10 Nov 1885)
Letter from Franklin Co Ark (Ozark) T C Moore D.C. to Jno. C Black regarding a claim that they had refused to process submitted by Henry.
Page 2 of Letter Moore to Black
Page 3 of Letter Moore to Black
Page 4 of Letter Moore to Black
Page 5 of Letter Moore to Black
Stamped Dec 20 1888 Handwritten Arrived Jan 21 1889
4–062 Blank Non-Mineral Affidavit Form which has text “marked” that is in reference to what an officer should do as far as advising someone about the Revised Statutes and oath
Wrapper w/ note Letter of Dept. Clerk Cir Court Franklin Co Ark referring to his office refusal to work for an attorney in pension claims calls attention to the enclosed blank of Interior Dept.
Letter from the Bureau of Pensions dated 20 May 1898 to Henry F Hill advising him they have evidence on file in their office that he is not following proper procedure.
Page 2 of Letter Bureau of Pensions to Hill
Page 3 of Letter Bureau of Pensions to Hill
Back of Page 3 Wrapper 20 May 1898 Duplicate Letter to Attorney giving 30 days to show why he should not be disbarred for improper execution of pension vouchers in several cases.
Dept. of Interior Washington 18 Aug 1898 from C N Bliss(Cornelius N Bliss)
Page 2 of above letter
Index to Special Examiner's Report Claim of John Craig No 743813 Summary, Claimant's Statement and Opinion & Recommendation.
Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding John Craig’s complainant on H F Hill
Page 2 McAfee to Evans by McAfee
Page 3 McAfee to Evans by McAfee
Deposition A Case of John Craig No 743813 4 May 1898
Page 2 of Craig Depo by McAfee
Page 3 of Craig Depo by McAfee
Page 4 of Craig Depo by McAfee
Deposition B Case of John Craig No 743813 4 May 1898 John Geyer Deponent
Page 2 of Geyer Depo 4 May 1898
Deposition C Case of John Craig No 743813 5 May 1898 Moritz Kagin
Page 3 of Kagin Depo 5 May 1898
Deposition D Case of John Craig No 743813 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill
Page 2 of Hill Depo 5 May 1898
Wrapper Stamped 10 May 1898(by Pension Seal
Index to Special Examiner's Report Claim of Moritz Kagin No 332869 Summary, Claimant's Statement and Opinion & Recommendation.
Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding Moritz Kagin’s complainant on H F Hill
Page 2 McAfee to Evans by McAfee
Page 3 McAfee to Evans by McAfee
Page 4 McAfee to Evans by McAfee
Page 5 McAfee to Evans Draw attn to Following cases...
Deposition A Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 4 May 1898
Page 2 of Kagin Depo by McAfee
Deposition B Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 John Geyer Depo
Page 2 Geyer Depo by McAfee
Deposition C Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 John Craig Depo
Deposition D Case of Moritz Kagin No 332869 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill Depo
Page 2 Hill Depo by McAfee
Wrapper 10 May 1898 Refer case to Chief Law Div. by AB Cassellman
Index to Special Examiner’s Report Claim of Benjamin Jones No 837551
Letter from J A McAfee to H Clay Evans. Commissioner of Pensions regarding Benjamin Jones’ complainant on H F Hill 6 May 1898
Page 2 McAfee to Evans
Deposition A Case of Benjamin Jones 837551 4 May 1898 Ben Jones Depo
Page 2 of Jones Depo by McAfee
Page 3 of Jones Depo by McAfee
Page 4 of Jones Depo includes Maggie & Hattie Hill signed as witnesses 4 May 1898
Deposition B Case of Benjamin Jones 837551 5 May 1898 Henry F Hill
Page 2 of Hill Depo by McAfee
Wrapper Refer Case to Chief Law Div. by A B Cassellman
Index to Special Examiner's Report Sam’l H Francis Guardian No 540336
Letter from Leighton Hope abt Sam’l Francis Guardian of children of John Francis
Page 2 of the above letter
Deposition A Case Sam’l H Francis Guardian 540336 8 Dec 1902
Page 2 of Francis Depo by Hope
Page 3 of Francis Depo by Hope
Deposition __ Case Sam’l H Francis Guardian 540336 8 Dec 1902 H F Hill
Page 2 of Hill Depo by Hope
Page 3 of Hill Depo by Hope
Mr. Potts S E D form No 540336 15 Jan 1902 Recommendation
Letter from Henry F Hill 25 Jan 1900
Page 2 of Henry’s letter asking for reinstatement
Letter to acknowledge letter from H F Hill
Dept. of Interior Letter to Henry Hill notifying of disbarring
Hill, Henry F Attorney, Residence Ozark to Ft Smith Ark Charges As to execution of vouchers see report of Special Examiner McAfee in Case of Geo. L Saxty, Guardian Minors of James W Searle Cert 409.022
Miscellaneous Division Attorneys H F Hill Attorney Huntsville Arkansas
Attorneys Sleeve Hill, Henry F Attorney Ozark Ark
Letter to Sec. of the Interior detailing H F Hill’s charges and evidence etc. 11 Aug 1898
(cont.) advising Hill was cited to show why he should not be and failed to answer. Recommending disbarment
Letter to Hill from 31 Aug 1898 Notifying him he has been recommended for disbarment from further practice as a pension claim attorney.
Dept. of Interior Bureau of Pensions letter to Chief of Special Division asking if James W Wilson No 655413 (Ava Douglas Co MO) requesting a deposition inquiring about whether he was sworn before George W Dansby as writing looks like all by H F Hill
(Cont.) asking the papers be completed and returned to the law division.
Papers Not Briefed Discharge Certificates, Powers of Attorney, and Contracts for Fees Not to Be Enclosed Examiners are required to keep the important papers in this wrapper.
Envelopes Taylor & Neal Van Buren Ark to John C Black and Jasper Ark(Newton Co Ark) clerk to W W Dudley
Envelope 15 Sep 1888 Called in to see why he issued this card 12 Oct 1883
Business Card or Ad of HF Hill Pension Agent
Note on back of Card(cont. On front)
Note Correspondence by Mr. Brooks Can be found 16 Nov 1883
Source: Case File of Henry F. Hill(Archive Catalog https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147050790); Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others Relating to the Prosecution of Pension Claims and the Investigation of Fraudulent Practices, ca. 1862-1933; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs Department of the Interior. Bureau of Pensions. 1849-1930 Record Group 15 (RG 15); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).
Thursday, November 24, 2022
Oh, Henry! What a mess!
Looks like Henry was already in trouble before he married Tennie Ferguson. The document below is a scan of a letter from the Dept. of the Interior asking Henry to verify his address. He had written from Ozark, Arkansas which was not the address they had on file for him.
From the 13th paper in the Henry F Hill Investigation Case File:
Sunday, November 13, 2022
A few observations on the Henry F Hill Case File
The dates on the papers cover the time period from 1883-1902 as given in the archives catalog entry. The handwriting runs the gamut from beautiful penmanship to "chicken scratch" as shown in the images below.
While Henry F Hill's reputation was recorded as good here(Fort Smith?) it was noted as bad in Ozark. This was repeated throughout the file. I haven't yet received the pension file but I will post an update when it's received and I've had time to look over it.
Source:
Case File of Henry F. Hill(Archive Catalog https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147050790); Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others Relating to the Prosecution of Pension Claims and the Investigation of Fraudulent Practices, ca. 1862-1933;Veterans Administration. (7/21/1930 - 3/15/1989),(Most Recent) Department of the Interior. Bureau of Pensions. 1849-1930 (Predecessor) Veterans Administration. Bureau of Pensions. Law Division. (7/21/1930 - 7/1/1931) (Predecessor)Record Group 15 (RG 15); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).
Monday, November 07, 2022
Updated Rules for Issuing TN Marriage License(1939)
I did a search of "syphilis outbreak" in the newspapers for Tennessee during the time period from 1930-1945 and found it mentioned many times. One in particular, the 23 Sep 1941 edition of The Tennessean on page 4 gave some pretty alarming statistics. Broadening the search to cover the country rather than just Tennessee showed this outbreak was happening all across the USA during that same time period.
Source:
"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893X-18H5?cc=1619127 : accessed 7 Nov 2022), Rutherford > Marriage records, 1936-1939, vol 14-15 > image 311 of 665; citing Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties.
“Mens Sana in Corpore Sano,” The Tennessean, 23 Sep 1941, p. 4, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Nov 2022).
Friday, October 28, 2022
Mrs. Ruth King Bond (1891-1914)--Dau of Richard Nance King and Parrie Cook
Mrs. Ruth King Bond (1891-1914)--Daughter of Richard Nance King and Parry Cook King
- Age 23
- Born 16th May 1891 in Rover, Bedford Co., Tennessee
- Died 30th Apr 1914 at Britton OK
- Lived at Eagleville until age 9(1900)
- Moved to Triune in 1900
- Later to Murfreesboro.
- Married Mr. Dan Bond 11 Dec 1909
- Moved to OK in 1910.
- Mr. Bond died in Jan 1914
- She came to Britton after being widowed to live with her brother Mace King
- Her health rapidly declined
- Survivors:
- 3 year old daughter, Maud
- Sister--Eula King
- Brothers, Mace King and Joe King
- Converted and joined Missionary Baptist Church at Elmer OK in 1911
I did find Ruth's listed at FindAGrave in Britton Cemetery however it looks like it was added from her death notice and their is no picture of a stone. I don't know who would have records of the cemetery. There is a Stone monument that contains some history of the cemetery located here at FindAGrave.
Earliest OK death record is 1908 however, vital records weren't required by law until 1917.