Jeff’s Ancestors – Page 3 – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

#52Ancestors: Storms Surrounding General Washington’s Bodyguard, Sergeant William Pace

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge. Painting by John Ward Dunsmore, 1907. Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

My 10th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.

The theme for week 10 is — Stormy Weather. This is the time of year that the northern hemisphere starts to see severe storms. (As if the blizzards in New England this winter haven’t been bad enough!) What ancestor endured a particularly severe storm? It could be something like a tornado or blizzard or it could be a “storm” of bad things.

My 10th ancestor is Revolutionary War hero William Pace (1747-1815) whom my husband’s extended Pace family thinks is his 5th great grandfather. The stormy reference? A stormy winter and a storm of genealogist controversy.

I have previously written about Pace being a member of the elite Commander-in-Chief’s Guard for General George Washington. William Pace served in the Continental Army from 23 January 1777, mustering out as a Sergeant on 3 November 1783.

Valley Forge

Valley Forge, located in Pennsylvania (about 20 miles north of Philadelphia), served as the 1777 – 1778 winter encampment for General George Washington’s Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Every American grade-schooler learns about the brutal winter conditions at Valley Forge, right up there with the famous crossing of the Delaware.

Images of bloody footprints in the snow, soldiers huddled around lonely campfires, and Washington on his knees, praying that his army might survive often come to mind when people hear the words “Valley Forge.” But truer images of the place would show General Washington using the time between December 1777 and June 1778 to train his men and to fight to maintain his position as the head of the Continental Army. – Source: Mount Vernon’s Ladies’ Association

The Valley Forge encampment lasted from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778.

Undernourished and poorly clothed, living in crowded, damp quarters, the army was ravaged by sickness and disease. Typhoid, typhus, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia were among the numerous diseases that thrived in the camp during that winter. These diseases, along with malnutrition and exposure to the freezing temperatures and snow, contributed to the 2,500 soldiers that died by the end of the winter. – Source: Wikipedia

William Pace at Valley Forge

William Pace (then still a Private) is recorded on the March 1778 muster roll at Valley Forge. “According to March 1778 payroll, Pace was paid 2 pounds in English currency and 6 and 2/3 dollars in American.”

Per Wikipedia, Pace (if he didn’t arrive until March of 1978) would have served at Valley Forge after the encampment started receiving adequate supplies in February, due to Congress finally funding the Army’s supply lines. He would have also been there during the tenure of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. Since Godfrey places Private Pace with the Guard at the Battle of Germantown in Pennsylvania on 4 October 1977, I am not sure why Pace wouldn’t have been at Valley Forge for the entire encampment period, showing up on all muster rolls. I will have to review military records more thoroughly.

Seriously? Another Valley Forge Ancestor?

At least one other ancestor of my husband served at Valley Forge — his 3rd cousin 7 times removed, Major General Nathanael Greene (then a Quartermaster General).

Storm of Controversy

There are a lot of family historians out there who claim that William Pace is descended from Richard Pace of Jamestown (1583-1627). Including a lot of public Ancestry Family Trees showing (apparently incorrect or not fully vetted) source documentation linking the two together.

No DNA Joint-Descent

Human Y Chromosome DNA. Creative Commons licensed image from the ISOGG Wiki.

A couple of days ago, I stumbled across references in the Pace Society of America Facebook Group to a document by William and Martha Bellomy, discussing the military history of William Pace.

Although Bellomy’s website and .doc version of the family history publication are no longer live, I was able to retrieve them both via the Internet Archive. In this document, the Bellomies state on page 19:

We now know, there is NO evidence that supports the claim that William Pace, Sr., is a descendent of Richard Pace who saved Jamestown, Virginia, from the Indian massacre in the early 1620’s.

DNA studies indicate that our first Pace ancestor in America was John Pace of Middlesex County, VA. Bill Pace, my cousin, of Scottsboro, AL (see photo, p.123) was our proxy in the DNA study. My great-great grandmother, Susannah Pace, was a sister to his ancestor, William Pace, Jr. It was necessary to have a surname of Pace for this particular DNA study. The DNA indicated that Bill Pace was related to John Pace of Middlesex. Although we are not directly related to Richard Pace, George Pace of Canada, relates that there must be some relationship between Richard Pace and John Pace of Middlesex because in England their families lived near each other and their families have common names.

Since I am still a newbie on my husband’s Pace line, and have done no original Pace research of my own (other than visiting several Pace ancestor sites on vacation last fall), I immediately raised this question on the Pace Family Genealogy Facebook Group in hopes that some of the members who are involved in Pace DNA research could shed some light on this issue.

Professional genealogist Rebecca Christensen is the administrator of the Pace Family Genealogy Facebook Group, as well as the Pace Surname DNA Study. She responded to my question about 15 minutes later.

William Pace, of Washington’s Guard, is a John Pace of Middlesex Co., VA Pace. DNA does prove that John Pace of Middlesex and Richard Pace of Jamestown, VA are from two distinct families – two separate DNA haplogroups.

For many years, Paces tried to massage the records and explain away the reasons they thought John Pace of Middlesex could be a descendant of Richard Pace of Jamestown. When Family Tree DNA was created, the Pace family was one of the earliest projects on board with the goal of finding out whether the two men were related. It was pretty obvious when the results came back that they weren’t – and it has been confirmed time and time again. DNA testing was the best thing to happen for the Pace families – except for maybe those that want to claim both lines as their ancestry. Hope you can get the Pace cousin to test. It should tell you which Pace line your husband’s Pace family belongs to.

In my husband’s family, there is disagreement over this among the Pace cousins who have researched their genealogy. Two claim direct descent through both William Pace and Richard Pace of Jamestown: I talked to one about this at a Pace party last summer, and I have reviewed the public Ancestry Member Tree of the second Pace who shares this theory. The dissenting Pace, with whom I just chatted on Facebook, says they are only descended from Richard Pace.

I have no horse in this race. I’m still in the gathering-every-possible-lead-and-theory I find phase, and slowly trying to evaluate sources myself.

Our Next Steps

So…what now? Are we related to Revolutionary War hero William Pace? Or to Jamestown hero Richard Pace? Or possibly neither?!

Will my husband get to continue demanding gratitude from his friends every Presidents’ Day, for an ancestor who helped protect our future first president and ensure our liberty?

Time to get some Paces to spit!

I have ordered an autosomal DNA kit from AncestryDNA, to ask my husband’s Pace aunt to let me test her (his Pace mother is deceased), as well as a Y-DNA kit from Family Tree DNA to beg one of my husband’s male-line Pace cousins (since Hubby is a Pace through his mother) to let me test them. Then contribute both to the Pace DNA project. The Y-DNA test from a male Pace cousin should help us, via the Pace project, identify to which (really, if either) of these notable Paces we are related.

And I really need to start going after those primary source documents too.

Sources Used

Bellomy, W., & Bellomy, Martha. (2014, September 10). The Bellomy/Bellamy and Pace Families. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20140910165109/http://mysite.verizon.net/resw30yh/

The Friends of Valley Forge Park. (n.d.). Private William Pace. Valley Forge Legacy: The Muster Roll Project. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.valleyforgemusterroll.org/muster.asp?id=NA32946

Godfrey, C. E. (1904). The Commander-in-chief’s Guard, Revolutionary War. Washington, D. C.: Stevenson-Smith company. Retrieved from http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008555358

Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. (n.d.). Valley Forge. George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/valley-forge/

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. (n.d.). Ancestor Search | Pace, William.DAR Genealogical Research System. Database. Retrieved fromhttp://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/default.cfm

Valley Forge. (2015, March 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:30, March 10, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valley_Forge&oldid=649550045

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#52Ancestors: George Walter Harless Plowing Through 1940s Yosemite

Snow Plow, Yosemite, 1930s or 1940s — Large rotary plow operated by the National Park Service, Yosemite, circa 1940s. Photo courtesy of http://www.yosemite.ca.us.

My 5th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.

The theme for Week 5: Plowing through — We will likely be plowing through a lot of snow by this time. What ancestor had a lot of struggles to plow through? Or take it more literally.

My 5th ancestor is my husband Jeff’s 1st great grand uncle George Walter Harless (1894-1976). George Walter is the youngest brother of my husband’s great grandfather Leonard William Harless, about whom I have not yet written. And he is the youngest son of California pioneers Leonard Harless Jackson and Pauline Adeline Gann, of whom I have written quite a bit, and whose footsteps Jeff and I chased on our genealogy road trip last summer.

George Walter Harless was born 13 April 1894 in Lewis, Mariposa County, California. He spent his childhood in Mariposa County, just outside of Yosemite National Park.

All my husband knew about his 1st great grand uncle is that he drove a snow plow in Yosemite. My father-in-law confirmed this, and told me that he thought his grandfather’s brother George had also been a miner in Madera. So when I saw the “plowing through” theme for this year’s 52 Ancestors project, I decided to try to find out a bit more about 1st great grand uncle George.

WPA Snow Plow Crew

While I have not found any records that specifically identify George as a snow plow driver, I do find some records that support this occupation.

The Mariposa County History and Genealogy Research site provides a copy of George’s obituary, transcribed by Alma Stone. The obituary mentions that he was a retired road foreman in the national park.

Merced Sun Star
Friday, August 27, 1976
page: 18

Obituaries

George Harless

Memorial services will be held Monday at 1 p.m. in Stratford Evans Merced
Funeral Chapel for George Walter Harless, 82, a Merced resident since 1960 who
died Thursday in a San Francisco hospital.

Mariposa Masonic Lodge No. 24 will conduct services for Mr. Harless, a
retired road foreman in Yosemite National Park.

Inurment [sic] will be at Arbor Vitae Cemetery, Madera. A veteran of World War 1,
Mr. Harless lived at 5736 E. Highway 140. He belonged to Mariposa Masonic
Lodge No. 24, 32nd Scottish Rite in Fresno and the Fresno Shrine.

Mr. Harless is survived by his wife, Olive; a daughter, Mrs. Barbara H.
Bailey, Capitola; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions to the Central California Heart Association would be
appreciated by the family.

The 1940 U.S. Census shows George Walter Harless (at 46) living in the unincorporated community of Raymond, Madera County, California alone with his wife Olive A. Leonard (1891-1980). At that time, George was employed as a Flagman on a WPA Project. Raymond is 23 miles outside of the Yosemite gateway city of Oakhurst, and 38 miles away from Yosemite Village. George was quite likely the flagman on a WPA road crew in the national park. Interestingly, George and Olive’s 19 year old daughter Barbara was enumerated on the same census as living inside of Yosemite National Park, where she worked at a cafeteria in a hotel and snow lodge.

Employment listing for George Walter Harless on the 1940 U.S. Census. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Jeff and I just visited Yosemite last July on our Harless family history road trip. I wish I’d paid attention to these records before then. I could have inquired around inside the park about accessing old employment records. Fortunately, Yosemite is one of our very favorite places, and is driving distance for even just a long weekend.

Other Careers

Prior to the Great Depression, George worked in copper mining, per his WWI Draft registration card and the 1920 U.S. Census. He served in the U.S. Army from 1917-1919, during the First World War.

On the 1930 U.S. Census, George Walter was enumerated twice. On 2 April 1930 in Madera County with his wife and daughter. But his type of employment is not legible enough for me to make out (something “____boy”). George was also recorded on 12 April 1930 (without his wife) living back with his parents in Mariposa County, working as a farmer. It is likely that George’s wife gave his name to the Census worker because his permanent home was in Madera County, but George had temporarily left his family to move in with his parents and work on his father’s farm to raise money or food for his family back home.

By 1942, per his WWII Draft registration card, George Walter was employed with the U.S. Army Transport Service at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California, where he lived with his middle brother Francis Miles Harless. It is unclear if his wife Olive lived there too.

It would seem that George Walter Harless moved around central and northern California quite a bit seeking work, plowing through life.

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3rd Great Grandfather William Chamberlain Gann Served Time in San Quentin State Prison

San Quentin State Prison 1891 — San Quentin State Prison, 1891. Public Domain image Wikimedia Commons.

My husband Jeff and I are both big fans of Merle Haggard. It turns out that Jeff and Merle have more in common than just their redneck Bakersfield roots. I recently discovered that like Merle, Jeff’s 3rd great grandfather William Chamberlain Gann (1831-19893) served time in San Quentin State Prison.

About William Chamberlain Gann

William Chamberlain was born 22 July 1831 in Washington County, Tennessee to Joshua Isaac Gann (1795-1861) and Rebecca Jenna Frazier (b. 1798). Hew grew up in Livingston County, Missouri.

By 1858 William had emigrated to California, recently admitted as a state in 1850. I am not sure what year and with which specific Gann line he emigrated — the California Ganns came in several waves. William married Elmira Tucker (1840-1920) on 23 November 1858 in San Joaquin County, California (established 1850), with whom he had at least nine children. I have written about his oldest daughter, my husband’s 2nd great grandmother Pauline Adeline Gann (1860-1938), and his youngest son Walter Scott Gann (1875-1947) whose gravesites we visited this past July in Maricopa, California, just outside of Yosemite National Park. He was the first cousin of Margaret Daisy Gann (1830-1919), who emigrated to California via Ebbett’s Pass in 1858 with her husband and children, and also a first cousin with Margaret’s youngest brother Andrew Jackson “Jack” Gann (1837-1910), who I think was one of the Gann brothers that established Gann’s Meadow on Ebbett’s Pass.

William was a farmer who throughout his adult life lived all over California’s Central Valley, including San Joaquin County (established 1850), Calaveras County (established 1850), Mariposa County (established 1850), and Tulare County (established 1852). He died 11 November 1893 allegedly in Tulare, Tulare County.

Time in San Quentin

I am pretty sure that our William Chamberlain is the same William C. Gann who served time in San Quentin State Prison. Although William is a very common name among the California Ganns, the birth date and location, and county of residence at the time committed seem to jive with the information I have on William Chamberlain.

Gann William Chamberlain - San Quentin Record - Ancestry — Record for William C. Gann. Descriptive List of Convicts, 1884-1886, California, Prison and Correctional Records, 1851-1950, courtesy of Ancestry.com. Click on image for larger view.

Gann was committed to San Quentin State Prison on 22 April 1885 at the age of 53 and was discharged in 1889. He was sentenced to 6 years, but only served about 4 years, for 2 commits: larceny (the trespassory theft of personal property) and something that looks like “infringing a public jail”. William was still a farmer at the time, and the crime took place in Mariposa County. His voter registration record for 1882 indicates that William was living in Lewis, Mariposa County just three years prior to incarceration in San Quentin.

The above prison record provides an thorough physical description of William Chamberlain Gann. I imagine this is because photography was still pretty rare in 1885 and too expensive for a prison to use to extensively photograph inmates for recognition and record. Gann was 5 feet 9-1/2 inches tall, with a light complexion blue eyes and grey hair. His feet were measured at 8 inches long. He is described as having broad rugged features and a high forehead. Gann was bald on the top of his head, had very heavy eyebrows and deep set eyes. He had a small scar on the left side of his forehead, a square chin and jaw, a small mole on the back of his left arm, a mole on his left side, a scar under his left arm, a scar at the base of his neck, 3 scars low down on the right side of his back, stooped shoulders, and a stout built.

Gann and his wife Elmira still had minor age children at home when he was incarcerated, the youngest at just 4 years old. I have no idea what happened to his family while he was in prison, how they survived financially or where they lived.

Of course, there is always the possibility that this William C. Gann is not my William Chamberlain Gann, but my hunch seems pretty strong.

San Quentin State Prison, 1865-1872. Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

San Quentin State Prison was built in 1852 and is California’s oldest correctional institution.

When California became a state in 1850, the waves of prospectors rushing to the gold fields included those seeking opportunity and a criminal element as well. The need for a place to incarcerate criminals was at first met by prison ships, but that proved inadequate. Point San Quentin was chosen as the site for California’s oldest prison, San Quentin, which was built by prisoners held on the prison ship Waban and opened in 1852. It originally held men, women, and, since there was no reform school for youth, some boys as young as 12. In 1860, a reform school opened that took in boys up to age 18, but it wasn’t until 1933 that California’s first women’s prison would open at Tehachapi. – Source: Ancestry.com.

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#52Ancestors: William Jewett McNamara Immigrates from Canada with Younger Siblings in 1852

My 52nd and final entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 52nd ancestor is my husband Jeff’s 3rd great grandfather William Jewett McNamara (1834-1911).

William Jewett immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 18 with his five younger siblings in tow. They set sail on the Sch. Albatros [sic] from Horton (now Hortonville), Nova Scotia, Canada, and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on 27 August 1852.

On the ship’s list, it looks like William identified his occupation as a seaman.

Traveling with William Jewett are: Elizabeth (age 12), Mary (age 10), James (age 8), and Margaret (age 6). Older brother Thomas (20 at this time) is absent from the passenger list, meaning he did not travel with his siblings.

McNamara William Jewitt - Ship List - Albatros - web — Courtesy of Ancestry.com. Click image for larger view.

When I first encountered this record, I dismissed it, because I couldn’t figure out why William would be immigrating with his younger siblings. But it kept showing up in Ancestry as a hint for all five siblings. So I took at closer look at the family, and noticed that their parents were dead by this time. Mother Lucy Perkins Jewett (1812-1850) died in 1850, and father William McNamara (1795-1851) followed suit in 1851. It appears that 18 year old William Jewett has assumed the role of head of the family and was now parent to 4 younger siblings.

This analysis prompts even more questions. Had older brother Thomas already immigrated to the U.S.? And why? If he was still in Nova Scotia, why wasn’t he — as the oldest son — functioning as head of the family after their parents died? Why did this role fall on his younger brother William?

By the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, William Jewett McNamara (age 26) had emigrated all the way across the country, settling in newly formed (1853) Humboldt County, California, where he would spend the rest of his life.

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Travel Tuesday: Hanging Out With Revolutionary War Hero and Cousin Nathanael Greene

Jeff and Nathanael Greene at US Capitol — Jeff posing with his 3rd cousin 7 times removed Major General Nathanael Greene, on exhibit in the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol.

This past October my husband and I accompanied my parents on a 10 day vacation in Washington D.C., Shenandoah National Park, and much of Virginia. This was the same trip in which we visited my husband Jeff’s ancestral home of Jamestown Colony, where his 11th great grandparents settled after immigrating from England in the 17th century.

The trip allowed us to also visit some spots associated with his 3rd cousin 7 times removed, Revolutionary War hero Major General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786 ). During the D.C. portion of the vacation, Jeff had lined up a tour of the Capitol Building for us on our first day. Jeff told me just prior to the tour that located throughout the building are statues of two significant individuals from every state, and that one of the Rhode Island statues was that of Nathanael Greene. So he wanted to make sure we got to see it and would get a photo with it.

We were pleasantly surprised to encounter two additional Nathanael Greene spots on vacation, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (also on day one in D.C.), and in Greene County, Virginia just outside of Shenandoah National Park.

Jeff and Nathanael Greene - Smithsonian — Ran across Nathanael mentioned in an exhibit at the Smithsonian.

Jeff Greene at Greene County Virginia — Jeff trekked across brush to pose next to this roadside sign on Highway 33.

We didn’t even realize there was a Greene County in the vicinity when we planned the vacation. Upon checking into our Massanutten, Virginia timeshare, I noticed the county identified on a map of the area. When I showed Jeff, we realized we would drive through the county at least a couple of times on planned roadtrips. We did a bit of quick research on the county, trying to determine what the tie is to Nathanael. Did he live there at some point? Did he have family from there? Nope…the county was just a big enough fan to name itself after the hero.

On the morning we set out for Jamestown, Jeff was thrilled to spot a big “Come To Greene” sign along Highway 33, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. We of course had to stop so he could get a photo by it.

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#52Ancestors: Bible-Walking-and-Talking Great Grandmother “GG” Veronica Dorris

My 50th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 50th ancestor is my husband Jeff’s great grandmother Veronica Victoria Dorris (1883-1982). Called Ronnie by close family, her great grandchildren affectionally refer to her as “GG”.

I have briefly mentioned Veronica and her husband William Wallace Greene (1869-1944) before, when I found them in June 2012 on the then-newly released 1940 US Census. And I have written quite a bit more about her son, William Wallace Greene (1908-2003), the U.S. Army Lt. Colonel and surgeon I profiled as my week 5 ancestor, who helped treat concentration camp survivors when the camps were liberated at the close of WWII. Veronica and William Sr. also had a daughter, Nelle Dorris Greene, who I have not discussed yet.

My husband talks fondly of his GG, and still owns the Bible she gave him as a little boy — his very first Bible. Our Christian faith is important to my husband, so he has hung on to and treasured this special significant gift from his great grandmother.

Bible gift from Veronica Victoria Dorris — Christmas gift from GG to 9 year old great grandson Jeff Greene. His first Bible, well worn.

Until recently, I only briefly did any research on Veronica’s side. But have focused on this line quite a bit over the past month, and her family history has been fascinating. Veronica’s extended family is credited with pioneering and building up what became the city of Phoenix, and also being among those most influential in gaining statehood for Arizona. But, I will share those discoveries in later posts about those family members.

Birth and Childhood

Veronica was born 20 May 1883 in rural Mississippi, allegedly in the small town of Kilmichael (Montgomery County). I have not found a birth record for her, but secondary records indicate this as her birthplace. Her father was Luther Green Dorris (1856-1931). I have not confirmed her mother’s name, however. I find three different names listed on various family trees for the wife of Luther Green Dorris: a Dorcy, Charlotte Rebecca Ingram (the most referenced), and a Ledonia F. Since I don’t have a birth record yet for Veronica, I don’t know which of these women were her mother. I also haven’t yet found any marriage records for Luther to confirm the name of his wife or wives.

Veronica appears to be the oldest of five children born to Luther, and probably Charlotte. I have identified the following siblings, listed in birth order: Maud Mae Dorris, Luther Caswell Dorris, Reba Rececca Dorris, and Lizzie Dorris.

I also think Veronica was named after her aunt Veronica Emma Dorris, Luther’s youngest sibling, and only 13 years older than our Ronnie.

Arizona and Marriage

At some point Veronica moved away from her parents to Phoenix, Arizona, where her father’s brothers were already established pioneers and businessmen who are credited with helping to shape Phoenix’s history. Ronnie married in Arizona, and lived there the remainder of her life. I do not know when Veronica moved to Arizona, but it was at least by 1906, when she married.

I am greatly curious about why she moved to Arizona. Although she had a lot of family there, Veronica’s parents do not appear to have left Mississippi. She was a good Christian girl, but was she seeking a bit of adventure by moving to a wild west territory, yet safely, among a network of family there? Her wedding took place just 25 years after the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tucson. Did respiratory issues force her to move there? Did she move to help care for a family member? I have not yet found Veronica and her parents on the 1900 U.S. Census or the elusive 1890 one that probably no longer exists. I am hoping those records will lend a bit more evidence to the suspicion that Veronica left her family behind in Mississippi, or refute that suspicion and show me that her father — like so many of his brothers — moved to Arizona as well, but later returned to and died in Mississippi.

Veronica and William married on 14 June 1906 in Phoenix (now Maricopa County), Arizona (a territory for six more years). Ronnie was 24 when she married, I imagine this was considered late for a southern Christian woman. William waited until 37 to marry! The Arizona Republican covered their wedding (remember, Veronica came from an influential Phoenix family), describing it as “one of the prettiest church weddings celebrated in Phoenix in some time.” They called the couple “well known young people of this city” (William, young?..at 37?) and noted that “both of the couple are prominent members of the First Baptist Church.”

Wedding article about Jeff's great grandparents. — The Arizona Republican, 15 Jun 1906, Fri, Page 4. Courtesy of Newspapers.com. Click image to view a larger copy.

In a family history handwritten by her father-in-law on 25 May 1908, Veronica’s husband’s father mentions that his son William Wallace is “married to a dear girl Miss Ronnie Dorris a great church worker, who loves loves [yes, stated twice] “Daddy” Greene.”

Post-Wedding Years and Death

Veronica appears to have lived in Phoenix for the remainder of her life, even after her husband William died in 1944. I find her there on the 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 U.S. Censuses, as well as on city directories up through 1956.

Veronica Dorris with Children — Veronica with her son William Wallace Greene and daughter-in-law Jean Alice Harless.

In the 1940 Census, it notes that 8th grade was the highest level of education achieved by Veronica (her husband completed high school, but no college). Ronnie must have been immensely proud that her son went on to college, med school, and became a surgeon! She also lived long enough to know that her grandchildren finished college as well (her grandson went on to earn a Ph.D.).

She died 29 April 1982, and is buried in Tempe Double Butte Cemetery in Tempe, Arizona, in what looks like a Greene family plot, I assume next to or near her husband.

Veronica Dorris, Nelle Greene, Greene Boys — Veronica Dorris with her daughter Nelle and great grandsons (from her grandson). My husband is on the left.

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#52Ancestors: Headstone for Walter Scott Gann (1875-1947) Prompts Me to Learn More

My 44th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I am still playing catch up, from being sick much of this year.

My 44th ancestor is my husband Jeff’s 2nd great grand uncle Walter Scott Gann (1875-1947). Walter was the youngest brother I have identified for Pauline Adeline Gann (1860-1938), my husband’s 2nd great grandmother. He was born 7 September 1875 in California to William Chamberlain Gann (1831-1893) and Elmira Tucker (1840-1920).

Walter only recently came on my radar when Jeff and I visited the burial site of Jeff’s 2nd great grandmother Pauline and her husband Leonard Jackson Harless, who share a plot and headstone at the historic Mariposa District Cemetery in Mariposa (Mariposa County), California. We were there in July looking specifically for Pauline and Leonard’s headstone, but noticed a couple other Gann headstones located next to their grave site. I wasn’t sure who these Ganns were, just that they were likely related to us, so I snapped photos of the headstones. In doing a bit of follow up research for the names of those Gann headstones, I discovered that one of them was for Pauline’s brother Walter.

Headstone Leonard Jackson Harless and Pauline Adeline Gann — Walter’s headstone is located just off of my husband’s left shoulder, behind and to the right of the headstone for Jeff’s 2nd great grandparents, Leonard and Pauline.

I have thus far found Walter on the following U.S. Censuses:

(1880) 10th District, Calaveras County, California: 4 years old, living with his parents and siblings.
(1910) White Rock, Mariposa County, California: 35 years old, worked as a copper miner, married to Gertrude E. (possibly a son name Joseph P.), living with sister Pauline and her husband Leonard.
(1920) Lewis, Mariposa County, California: 45 years old, worked as a farmer on a stock farm, married now to Diana B., living next door to his sister Pauline and her husband Leonard.
(1930) Township 5, Mariposa County, California: 55 years old, worked as a gold miner, divorced, living with his business partner.

The only other real information I have on Walter is from his World War I draft registration card dated 12 September 1918. He registered in Madera, Madera County, California at 43 years of age. Walter lists a PO box in Lewis, Maricopa County, California as his last home address (his mother Elmira’s address), but identifies himself as a miner working for James H. Lestor in Raymond, Madera County, California. Gann is described with medium height, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair, and no physical disqualifications from service.

Gann Walter Scott - WWI Draft Card - Mariposa CA — WWI Draft Registration Card. Courtesy of Ancestry.com. Click to view a larger image.

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