#52Ancestors (2014) – Page 4 – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

#52Ancestors: The Many Husbands of My 2nd Great Grandmother Catherine Darnley

My 31st 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 have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 31st ancestor is my second great grandmother Catherine DARNLEY (1878-1926). Her name is sometimes spelled Katherine or Cathren.

Discovering Catherine

I did not even know the name of my second great grandmother until March 2012, when I discovered the marriage record for her daughter, my great grandmother Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930), and Sarah’s second husband, my great grandfather Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928). This is also when I first learned the name of my second great grandfather, Catherine’s first husband Joseph KENNEDY (1876-?). You see, Sarah died when her youngest son, my grandfather, was only a few years old. And even then, because Sarah had nursed her tuberculosis-ridden husband Patrick (who died in 1928), and then came down with tuberculosis herself, my grandfather and his minor age siblings had been placed in a couple orphanages while Sarah was still alive since Sarah was too ill to care for her children and could have infected them.

My orphaned grandfather never knew the names of his parents, much less his grandparents.

When I stumbled on Sarah and Patrick’s marriage record, and saw the name of my second great grandmother (Sarah’s mom), I immediately recognized that Sarah named her own first child — Catherine Mae WARD (1914-1994) — after her mother.

Marriage record for Sarah Kennedy and Patrick Thomas Flanagan. Courtesy of FamilySearch.org.

Born 1878

Catherine Darnley was born January 1878 — according to the 1900 and 1920 U.S. Censuses — in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. Her parents were James Patterson DARNLEY (b. 1856) from Scotland, and Sarah Ann LLOYD (b. 1859) from England.

Married Joseph Kennedy 1897

According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Catherine married Joseph Kennedy in 1897 at the age of 19. I have not yet found a marriage record for them. As noted in a post I wrote in January, I find Joseph and their one year old infant daughter Sarah (my great grandmother) living in Lonaconing, Allegany County, Maryland for that 1900 Census. Although Joseph claims to still be married to Catherine, she is not listed as living at that residence. Catherine was actually living with her parents and siblings when enumerated on the 1900 Census, in Lonaconing. Catherine too is recorded as being married for 4 years, with one living child. I have no idea if Catherine and Joseph were separated at this time, or perhaps Catherine moved in with her parents temporarily to help care for an ailing parent (there were a bunch of young minor siblings in the home).

I do not know if Catherine and Kennedy divorced, or if he died and left her a widow.

1900 U.S. Census. Joseph and Sarah Kennedy. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

1900 U.S. Census. James, Sarah, and daughter Cathren Darnley. Courtesy of Ancestry.com

Married Andrew Quinn ca. 1905

Catherine married her second husband around 1905 or 1906, because I find a son named Andrew Quinn mentioned on Catherine’s death certificate, as the person who reported her death. This son Andrew’s 1929 Pennsylvania marriage record lists his mother as Catherine Darnley (born in Maryland, white, dead by this time) and his father as Andrew QUINN (born in Ireland, white, dead by this time). Since Andrew, Jr. was born in 1906, in Oklahoma, one can infer that his parents married on or before 1906.

I find no marriage record for Catherine and Andrew, nor a 1910 U.S. Census record. The application for Catherine’s third marriage indicates that she had been widowed by Quinn.

Marriage record for son Andrew Quinn. Courtesy of FamilySearcho.org.

Married Leonard L. Fabry 1911

On 12 September 1911, Catherine Darnley married her third husband Leonard L. FABRY (1877-?) in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio. Catherine again moved at some point, from Oklahoma to Bellaire, Ohio. It would appear her daughter Sarah moved with her, because Sarah (at age 14!) got married for the first time, in Mahoning County, Ohio. I don’t find any clues indicating that Catherine and Leonard had children together.

Although they do not appear to have had children together, I get the sense that Catherine’s daughter Sarah (my great grandmother) considered Fabry to be a father. Because Sarah named her third son Leonard, the same first name as her stepfather. But, perhaps that is just coincidence. I prefer to think the name was in honor of Sarah’s stepfather though because 1) I am a stepmom, and 2) Sarah seems to have had an unstable childhood being bounced around between parents and stepfathers, so I would like to think that my great grandmother Sarah finally felt like she had someone who provided her with a sense of home.

Marriage Record for Catherine Darnley and Leonard Fabry. Courtesy of the Family History Library microfilm.

Died 1926

Catherine died 27 January 1926 in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio. The death certificate indicates she was still married to Fabry at the time of her death. Catherine died at home, from something I cannot interpret from the doctor’s writing. Son Andrew reported her death.

She was buried on 28 January 1926 at Rose Hill Cemetery in Bellaire.

Death certificate for Catherine Darnley. Family History Library microfilm collection.

My second great grandmother Catherine Darnley appears to have had at least a complicated history of marriages. I guess it shouldn’t shock me too much to know that her daughter Sarah, my great grandmother, also had some questionable issues with her marriages. See also:

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#52Ancestors: Grand Uncle Patrick Joseph Flanagan Desperately Reunites with My Grandfather

My 30th 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 have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 30th ancestor is my grand uncle Patrick Joseph FLANAGAN (1925-1981).

Flanagan Patrick Joseph and Wie Mary — Uncle Pat and Aunt Mary, 1970s.

Patrick is the only one of my orphaned grandfather’s siblings I ever met. Despite Uncle Pat dying in my tween years, my memories of him are vague. When I was a child, he lived near my grandpa, Michael John FLANAGAN (1927-1997), in Southern California. I remember Uncle Pat and his children visiting my grandparents’ home on occasion. But, due to my young age, I am sure I never paid much attention to them. The most vivid memory I have of Uncle Pat though is of his death…because Mom would not allow me to attend the funeral. She didn’t think funerals were too appropriate for young kids unless it was their immediate family.

And I definitely remember Grandpa crying…a lot. Grandpa was a huge softie, he cried often. But this was a different type of crying, obvious even to a young tween granddaughter. I learned why once I started wanting to learn about my grandfather’s family history, after Grandpa died. Grandpa was crying over the loss of his brother. But, more significantly, Grandpa was heartbroken over the loss of the only biological family member with whom he ever had a real relationship.

Uncle Pat was Grandpa’s youngest sibling, his immediately older brother. Both boys were born to my great grandparents Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928) and Sarah KENNEDY (1809-1920), and were possibly the only ones in the big sibling group who were the biological children of both Patrick and Sarah. The other siblings were from prior marriages, and the parentage of brother Harry J. Flanagan (1920-1981) remains a mystery. Pat and Mike were orphaned at a very young age, with both parents dead by the time Pat was 5 years old, and my grandfather was 3 years old.

Uncle Pat was the last of the siblings born in Ohio, on 6 June 1925. Bellaire, Ohio, to be exact — the multi-generation Flanagan family hometown since at least 1920, where I still have cousins. Pat was also the last of the siblings to get baptized in the Flanagan family church, St. John’s Catholic Church in Bellaire, on 12 July 1925. A fun bit of family history scandal trivia… my great grandmother Sarah was already pregnant with Uncle Pat when she married my great grandfather on 10 April 1925.

Bellaire St John Church 2014 — St. John’s High School (left) and St. John’s Catholic Church (center), 2014. Creative Commons-licensed photo from Flickr user Joanne C. Sullivan.

The family moved to Buffalo, New York sometime between Uncle Pat’s July 1925 christening date, and my grandpa’s birth on 23 May 1927, since Grandpa was born in Buffalo.

After their mother, the last living parent, died in 1930, the boys were all placed in a Buffalo orphanage, and were shortly after placed with the Buckley foster family on a nearby farm. Life was not kind to Grandpa or his brothers on the Buckley farm (with the exception of their relationship with foster brother Vern and his wife Edna). Pat and his older brothers all ran away multiple times, although I am told by my mom and her siblings that Uncle Pat remained the longest at the farm, with my grandfather.

Michael Flanagan Patrick Flanagan Harry Flanagan — Uncle Pat (left), Grandpa (center), and I think their older brother Harry (right). Grandpa looks like he is in his late teens or early 20s here, so this appears to be one of the times the brothers reunited again briefly after the older brothers ran away. Grandpa was left alone at the foster family farm during his teens.

But, eventually, even Uncle Pat fled for good, leaving Grandpa alone (by at least age 12) without any biological family. They lost touch in their teens, with Grandpa joining the Navy at age 17, serving abroad during and after WWII, marrying in California, moving to Michigan for a while, then shortly moving back to Southern California, where he and my grandmother raised their children.

Mom tells me often how desperate she remembers Grandpa was to find his brothers while Mom was growing up. He had heard that his brother Pat moved to the Pittsburg area. So Grandpa started calling every Pat Flanagan he could find listed in Pittsburg. One day, he reached the right one — his brother. According to Mom, the brothers were so overjoyed to find each other again and so desperate to be together again, that shortly after that phone call, Uncle Pat packed up his entire family and moved to Southern California near Grandpa.

So when I saw Grandpa crying so intensely over Uncle Pat’s death in 1981, I understand now that Grandpa was also mourning for the parents he never got to know, and all of the siblings he did not get to grow up with.

Uncle Pat is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.

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#52Ancestors: Was Great Grandma Kennedy Having an Affair with Great Grandpa Flanagan?

My 29th 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 have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 29th ancestor is my great grandmother Sarah’s first husband, Frank J. WARD (b. 1895).

I have yet to find a divorce record for my great grandmother Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930) and her first husband Frank, who were married on 25 June 1913 in Mahoning County, Ohio. Aside from just wanting that record as part of Sarah’s history, I desperately want it because I am hoping it will help clarify if my orphaned grandfather’s older brother Harry is a Ward (from Sarah’s first marriage), a Flanagan (from my great grandfather’s first marriage), or a Ward/Flanagan (from Sarah’s second marriage, to my great grandfather). No one in our family is certain about Harry’s parentage. Harry could be the biological child of my great grandparents, or of just one of my great grandparents.

Sarah married my great grandfather Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928) in 1925, while Sarah was already pregnant with another one of my grandfather’s brothers, Patrick Joseph FLANAGAN (1925-1981). Sarah already had a least three children from her first husband: Catherine Mae WARD (b. 1914), Joseph A. WARD (b. 1916), possibly a twin Walter WARD (b. 1916), and Leonard L. WARD (b. 1917). Patrick already had at least two children from his first wife, Mary LONG: Charles Edson FLANAGAN (b. 1915) and a living daughter. Since documents tell me that Sarah was already pregnant with Patrick Joseph when she married Patrick Thomas, that leaves Harry. I can’t find a birth record or baptism record for Harry.

Knowing the birth order of all the children, Harry was born after Sarah and Patrick were married to their respective first spouses, yet five years prior to their own marriage.

Well, today I came upon a 1920 city directory record for Sarah and her first husband Frank Ward, living at 3349 Franklin Street in Bellaire, Ohio. The directory lists Frank’s occupation as bricklayer.

US City Directory — Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

This record indicates that Sarah and her first husband Frank were still living together in 1920, and I would assume, were still married. Yet Harry was born in 1920. So this makes even more of a mess to figure out:

Is Harry the biological child of both Sarah and Frank, since they might have still been married and living together in 1920, the year he was born?
Was the city directory compiled and published after Sarah and Frank split up, mistakenly listing Sarah still living with Frank?
Did Sarah and Frank split up shortly after the city directory was published, with Sarah meeting Patrick soon after?
Is Harry the biological child of just Patrick (and his first wife)? Meaning he wasn’t part of the family unit living at this residence in 1920.
Or is Harry the biological child of both Patrick and Sarah, which per this city directory would mean that Patrick and Sarah were having an affair while she was still married to Frank. Again, unless the Sarah and Frank had split prior to the directory actually going to publication.

From what I know about my great grandmother Sarah and my great grandpa Patrick, both seemed to have fallen short of the moral standards of their day. My grandpa would have gotten a kick out of knowing this about his parents.

Google Street View of 3349 Franklin Street, Bellaire, Ohio.

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#52Ancestors: Tracking Down My Great Grandfather Estevan Salas

My 28th 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 28th ancestor is my great grandfather Estevan “Steven” SALAS (b. 1888). I did not even know the name of my great grandfather until the May 2013 discovery of the marriage records for my grandmother Rosie SALAS and my grandfather Benjamin ROBLEDO (1919-1990). He is identified on that marriage record as Steven Salas from New Mexico.

I blogged in January about Estevan’s wife, my great grandmother Victoria JIMENEZ (b. ca. 1891), which provided some discoveries and details about Estevan. I do not have a marriage record for them.

Estevan and Victoria show up together on the 1920 U.S. Census, living in Deming (Luna County), New Mexico with Victoria’s sons Richard and David from a previous marriage. Their daughter Rosie is not born yet. Estevan is described as:

33 years old, white, male, married.
Unable to read or write. Able to speak English.
Born in New Mexico, with both parents also born in New Mexico (both Spanish-speaking).
Employed as a laborer in a building.

1920 U.S. Census showing Estevan Salas, wife Victoria, and stepsons Richard and David. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

By 1921, Estevan and Victoria had moved to Phoenix (Maricopa County), Arizona, where they show up in city directory records (Estevan’s name is spelled “Esteban”).

A bit more detail is available about Estevan from his World War I Draft Registration.

Estevan “Steven” Salas registered for the draft on 05 June 1917 in Luna County, New Mexico. He states his date of birth as 24 January 1888, and claims to be a natural-born U.S. citizen (New Mexico became a U.S. territory in 1850, and state in 1912), born at the Mimbres River, near Deming, New Mexico. Estevan was employed at this time as a laborer at the Deming Smelter. Estevan claims no prior military service. He notes that his wife and two children (this would be Victoria and her sons,) are solely dependent upon him. The draft board describes Estevan as medium height, slender build, with brown eyes and hair, no baldness, and no physical disabilities.

Word War I Draft Registration. Estevan’s signature is at the bottom. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Word War I Draft Registration. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

I have no information about Estevan beyond 1921, including a date of death.

But by the 1930 U.S. Census, Victoria and the children were living in Orme (Maricopa County), Arizona. Son Richard is listed as the head of household, and Victoria is listed as widowed. So, if she was indeed widowed by 1930, Estevan died sometime between 1921 and 1930.

#52 Ancestors: Jean Alice Harless, Ditches Nursing School Graduation to Get Hitched

My 27th 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.

The flapper hairstyle dates this in the 1920s.

My 27th ancestor is my husband’s grandmother Jean Alice HARLESS (1912-2011). We just took a vacation to visit some of her family history spots, so I thought it appropriate to profile a bit more of Grandmother’s life.

Birth

Jean was born to Leonard William HARLESS (1890-1957) and Hester Kathleen McNAMARA (1887-1987) on 25 June 1912 in the tiny community of Le Grand, Merced County, California. Le Grand is now just a 1.140 square mile census-designated place 14 miles from Merced. According to Wikipedia, the first post office in Le Grand was opened just 12 years before Grandmother’s birth. I have been unable to locate a birth record for Jean, despite days pouring through vital record books at the Family History Library in February.

Former Santa Fe station in Le Grand, CA was built by San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railroad in 1896. Other than for some roof tiles this old wooden station seems to be pretty much unrestored and is now used for non-railroad storage. Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr user Ron Reiring.

When we met Jean’s daughter for lunch a few months ago (I will refer to her as Aunt Greene, for privacy reasons, since she is still living), Aunt Greene told us about a trip she took years back with Grandmother to Le Grand to find the house where Grandmother was born. It was a long ways out in the middle of nowhere, on a tiny narrow country road that barely warrants being called a road. But the house was still there, and was occupied. Grandmother marched up to the house wanting to see it, explaining who she was, but the current lady of the house wasn’t keen on letting strangers inside.

On our recent vacation to the Central Valley, Jeff and I considered driving out to Le Grand during our visit to nearby Maricopa County. But Aunt Greene was worried that our RV rental wouldn’t be able to handle the narrow country road out to the house where Grandmother was born, and frankly, without a photo or address or general location, Jeff and I acknowledged that — unless we ran into someone who knew where the old Harless home was located — it would be a wild goose chase. We would not even be able to identify the right home. So we’ll save this adventure for another time, after more research.

Childhood

Despite being born in the sticks, Jean’s parents hightailed it out of Le Grand for life in the big city of San Francisco, where Jean and her brother Jack grew up.

I find Jean, at 7 years old, living with her parents, brother, uncle, and a couple of lodgers in San Francisco for the 1920 U.S. Census. She is again counted on the 1930 Census, at 17 years old, still living with her family in San Francisco.

Nursing School and Practice

Jean attended Stanford Nursing School, from which she graduated in 1933. She met her future husband William Wallace Greene (1908-2003), a Stanford medical student, during Wallace’s internship at Lane-Stanford Hospital in San Francisco between 1932-1933.

Grandmother Jean did not attender her nursing school graduation, and she is missing from the Stanford School of Nursing Class of 1933 photo. Her daughter says it is because Jean ditched her graduation to run off and secretly get married, since nursing students (and we think possibly medical students, such as her future husband) were not allowed to be married.

I think it’s really cute and romantic that they snuck off to get married, and couldn’t hold off on marriage until Wallace finished medical school. For proprietary sake, I will say that it was not THAT kind of a rushed wedding :-). Both were proper young adults.

Jean’s graduating nursing school class, from the Stanford School of Nursing. She is listed as part of the graduating class, but is not present in the photo. Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com

Grandmother Jean practiced nursing throughout her life — often alongside her doctor husband — until she and Wallace retired and settled in Oregon.

My husband thinks this photo is from when his grandparents were practicing medicine in Hawaii.

Marriage and Family

Jean married William Wallace Greene (1908-2003) on 18 May 1933 in Maricopa County, Arizona, where her husband’s family lived. This was the same year that Wallace was awarded his M.D., and Jean graduated from nursing school.

Aunt Greene tells us that the young couple didn’t have any money since they were both still in college. So they drove to Arizona for a weekend with Jean’s parents, got married, stayed with Wallace’s parents, and then drove back home in time for Wallace to make his shift. Not exactly an ideal honeymoon!

Aunt Greene says this photo is from her parents’ “honeymoon” in Arizona.

Wallace and Jean had two children together, who shall remain unidentified by name for privacy reasons. They also have five grandchildren, and eight grandchildren.

Jean and her son, my father-in-law.

Jean (pink dress) and Wallace with their five grandchildren. I am not sure of the identify of the other woman.

Later Years and Death

After Jean’s husband passed away in 2003, she continued to live in Oregon near her daughter.

I was fortunate to have met Grandmother Greene once, during our first summer vacation together as a new family in June 2010. Jeff, the kids, our beagle Holly, and I took a big road trip up the Sierras and across Oregon to visit Grandmother for her 98th birthday. I am so glad we did this, because Jean passed away that next year, one month shy of her 99th birthday.

Jean certainly led a very full long life. She was a spitfire to the very end! I love listening to my husband, his cousins, his dad, and his aunt laugh and share stories about this strong feisty woman who was still capable of outsmarting them all at 98 years old.

Grandmother with her grandchildren, grandchildren-in-law, and her great grandchildren. June 2010, celebrating her 98th birthday with the quilt that my stepdaughter Kellie (1st row, third from the left) and I (just behind Kellie) made.

#52Ancestors: John Philip Harless, 1738 German Palatine Immigrant to America

My 26th 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.

Headstone erected posthumously for John Philip Harless and wife Margaret Price.

My 26th ancestor is my husband’s 7th great grandfather John Philip Harless (1716-1772). John Philip is our first Harless ancestor to immigrate to America, specifically, to the American colonies. John Philip Harless is of course the American spelling and pronunciation of his name. Some documents spell his first name “Johan” and his last name “Harlas”, “Harlash”, “Harlos”, “Harlosh”, “Horlas”, and “Horlash”. Sometimes he is referred to as “Philip”, instead of John Philip or Johan Philip.

Harless is the husband of Anna Margaretha “Margaret” PREISS [Price], the grandfather of Ferdinand HARLESS (1755-1853), the 2nd great grandfather of Miles (Myles) Washington HARLESS (1826-1891), the 3rd great grandfather of Leonard Jackson HARLESS (1858-1946), and the 5th great grandfather of Jean Alice HARLESS (1912-2011).

John Philip was born in 1716 in Germersheim, a town in the present day southern German state of Rhindeland-Palatinate. He married Anna Margaretha “Margaret” Preiss (1718-1784) — whom I profiled earlier in my first #52Ancestors post — on 17 February 1738 in Offenbach, Germany.

The new couple celebrated their honeymoon on board the ship the Winter Galley, in the last wave of the Palatine migration. It appears that they boarded the Winter Galley in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a stop in Deal, England, which is near Dover.

View John Philip Harless : Old World in a larger map

Harless, his wife, and a handful of other family members (no children yet), arrived at the Port of Philadelphia on 5 September 1738, and Harless took the required oath of allegiance (to the British king!) that same day.

Ralph Beaver Strassburger and William John Hinke compiled, transcribed, and published (in 1934) the available Palatine immigration ships’ lists for Philadelphia arrivals from 1727-1808. Our John Philip Harless is included, in three different types of lists produced from the Winter Galley. Volume 1 of the Strassburger and Hinke publication includes type transcribed lists. But Volume 2 includes copies of the actual signatures!

Transcribed list in the Strassburger and Beaver publication, V 1, page 199.
“[List 52 A] A List of all the mens names and ages from sixteen years and upwards Passengers on b y Winter Gally, Edward Paynter, Commander. [Qualified September 5, 1738.]”
252 passengers total. 139 Palatines who took the oath. 113 women and children.
(Misspellings and punctuations copied from text.)

Transcribed list in the Strassburger and Beaver publication, V 1, page 201.
“[List 52 B] Palatines imported in the Ship the Winter Galley, Edward Paynter, Com, from Rotterdam, but last from Deal. Qualified 5th Sept, 1738.”
(Misspellings and punctuations copied from text.)

Transcribed list in the Strassburger and Beaver publication, V 1, page 203.
“[List 52 C] At the Court House of Philadelphia, September 5th, 1738.
Present
Anthony Palmer, Clement Plumsted, Ralph Asheton, Wiliam Allen, Esq.
The Palatinates whose Names are underwritten, imported in the Ship the Winter Galley, Edward Paynter, M, a Rotterdam, did this day take and subscribe the Oaths to the Government.”
(Misspellings and punctuations copied from text.)

On the photocopied signatures included in the Strassburger and Beaver publications, I had a very difficult time trying to identify the signature of Johan “John” Philip Harless. I knew it had to be included, because I find a ton of family historians claiming this publication displays the Harless signature (of course, they could all be wrong!). It doesn’t help that so many of these Palatine immigrants have names starting with “Johann”. It’s like looking for a Jose on my side of the family! So, after an hour of my vision going cross-eyed from staring at these signatures, I enlisted the help of an <ahem> expert — my husband Jeff, who studied German way back in high school.

Jeff felt confident in identifying his ancestor’s signature pretty quickly. That last name didn’t look anything like Harless to me. But as Jeff pointed out, the first letter of the surname looks just like the “h” that appears in Johan and Philip. He also explained to me how the German double S consonant is written and pronounced, like a capital B (note the end of the surname, which would jive with Harless). The middle name, to me, looks like it ends with a “b” instead of a “p”, making it more like Philib instead of Philip. But as the Palatine Project points out, “Fileb” was a common old world German spelling for the name Philip. So, are we 100% positive we have identified the correct signature for Jeff’s ancestor John Philip Harless? No. But, it is a confident guess. Hopefully I will be able to verify it against other documents he signed while living in the Colonies. If some other Harless historian can verify or refute this signature, please contact me.

Signature fascimile list in the Strassburger and Beaver publication, V 2, page 207.
[List 52 B] Palatines imported in the Ship the Winter Galley, Edward Paynter, Com, from Rotterdam, but last from Deal. Qualified 5th Sept, 1738.
(Misspellings and punctuations copied from text.)

I will blog more about the family and their descendants. But, if you are impatient, the U.S. era of their family history has been extensively covered in the Pritchard publication noted below, which is available to read for free on HathiTrust.

Sources Used

Pritchard, J. L. R. (1962). Harless genealogy, John Philip and Anna Margaretha (Preiss) Harless;pioneers in western Virginia and some of their descendents, ([2d ed.].). Cupertino? Calif.]. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89066181694

Strassburger, R. B., & Hinke, W. J. (1934). Pennsylvania German pioneers;a publication of the original lists of arrivals in the port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, (Vols. 1-3, Vol. 1). Norristown,. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.49015000086612

Strassburger, R. B., & Hinke, W. J. (1934). Pennsylvania German pioneers;a publication of the original lists of arrivals in the port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, (Vols. 1-3, Vol. 2). Norristown,. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.49015002215748

#52Ancestors: Ferdinand Harless On Indian Patrol During the Revolutionary War

My 25th 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.

Giles County, Virginia Revolutionary War Monument, on the grounds of the county courthouse.
Photo borrowed from Grandpa’s Footsteps blog.

My 25th ancestor is my husband’s 5th great grandfather Ferdinand HARLESS (1755-1853), who served in the Revolutionary War — in honor of the Fourth of July.

Ferdinand is the grandson of Anna Margaretha “Margaret” PREISS [Price], the grandfather of Miles (Myles) Washington HARLESS (1826-1891), the great grandfather of Leonard Jackson HARLESS (1858-1946), and the third great grandfather of Jean Alice HARLESS (1912-2011).

Harless was born in Virginia. Different sources give different locations. Some accounts say Frederick County, which was established in 1743 and includes parts of present-day Shenandoah County (established in 1772). Other accounts claim he was born in Shenandoah. It is not clear if that is the county or the town, but since the town was not founded until 1837 and does not reside within Shenandoah County, my hunch is that Harless was born in Frederick County, in an area that is now part of Shenandoah County. I need to dig through records myself to verify this.

Regardless of birth place, Ferdinand Harless lived the latter years of his life, and died in, Giles County, Virginia (established 1806). It is here, on the grounds of the county courthouse that Harless has been memorialized on a Revolutionary War monument.

The name of Ferdinand Harless is located in the bottom left section of the plaque.
Photo borrowed from Grandpa’s Footsteps blog.

On 7 June 1832, Congress passed an act allowing all Revolutionary War veterans, and their widows, to apply for pension benefits. Prior to this act, only those disabled in service had been eligible for pension benefits. It is through these records that we know about Harless’s Revolutionary War service. The pension files (application number R4612) are available on both Fold3 and Ancestry.com. It appears that Ferdinand’s application was initially rejected, but then eventually awarded. He applied for his pension at 79 years of age, in 1834.

First page of the sworn testimony submitted by Harless in his pension application. Written by the Justice of the Peace, not Harless. Source: Fold3.com.

Page 3 of the application includes Harless’s mark, indicating he could not sign his name. Source: Fold3.com.

Sadly, what looks like a digitized pension certificate is illegible.
Source: Ancestry.com

The handwritten testimony provides an account of Ferdinand’s service in the war. But the handwriting is a bit difficult to read. Fortunately, the Pritchard publication (cited below) on the Harless family history types out the details.

Ferdinand Harless volunteered in spring 1777 for the Virginia Militia in Botetourt County (in an area now part of Montgomery County, according to his brother’s pension application). Apparently residents of that area were having difficulties with the local Indian population. Harless spent his entire war service protecting the garrison (near Smithfield). “That the nature of his services was to remain in the Fort for its defense in case it were attacked by Indians, and to hold himself in readiness to go to the assistance of any other Fort that might be attacked.” He served in the Smithfield area from 1 April to 1 October 1777, and then again from 1 April to 1 October 1778. He provided similar service from 1 April to 1 October 1779 in the garrison at Sinking Creek, Virginia, and finally from 1 April to 1 October 1880 in the garrison at Stony Creek. Ferdinand didn’t just defend the garrisons, he also performed reconnaissance with spying parties to watch for approaching Indians.

Map courtesy of the Botetourt County Historical Society.

It appears that Harless was given this duty assignment because as one of the early settlers of Virginia, he had grown up accustomed to dealing with the hardships of Indian warfare.

In his application, Ferdinand Harless claims that he has no record of his birth, and never received any formal written discharge from service.

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