Wordless Wednesday - Sisters and Cousins

My Mom on the right with her 3 sisters, a baby cousin, and uncle

Military Monday - Deserter Becomes WWI Hero

When I ordered Edward Creeden's service records from NARA, I got a few surprises. The paperwork confirmed that he had enlisted in the US Army in 1904 and the US Marines in 1910. He was a sharpshooter and some of the paperwork showed that his marksmanship records from the Army were transferred to the Marines. He seemed to have a good military career going until he mysteriously disappeared from his Marine barracks on October 13, 1911. First a notice was posted on October 16, about a $10 reward for turning in Edward as a "straggler" from his post at the Navy Yard in Puget Sound, Washington.

That was followed by a notice posted on October 23, 1911 offering a $20 reward for turning in Edward as a deserter.

A letter in his file from his commanding officer shows that they were puzzled by Edward's disappearance. The letter stated that they could find no reason for Sergeant Creeden's desertion and that he had been an excellent soldier in every respect.

His service record showed a few prior violations, so there was some history of going AWOL.

On May 10, 1910, he was warned about carelessness in performance of duty. He was absent for 44 hours on May 14, 1910 and served 5 days confinement. He was absent again for 23 hours on May 18, 1910 and given a month's restrictions. It seems like something was going wrong for him.

Details given on his final desertion showed that  he left all clothing in good condition at his post and no reason could be found for his desertion.

There was no followup in the paperwork about what happened. The next record I found for Edward had him enlisting in the Army on January 19, 1912. This was only a few weeks after his desertion and was in Vancouver Barracks, Washington. So, Edward hadn't traveled too far. The records for his second stint in the Army didn't mention his Marines service, so I wonder if they were even aware of it. He was honorably discharged in 1915.

Edward followed up his Army service by enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1917. He served in WWI in England and France until he was wounded on April 9, 1918 in Arras, France. His right leg was amputated below the knee and he was sent back to Canada to recover. He was eventually discharged as medically unfit for duty in 1919.

Edward died alone and seemed to be estranged from his family. I still have a gap to investigate from his discharge in 1919 to his death in 1937.  Whatever happened with the Marines, he sacrificed a lot to fight with the Allied Forces in WWI and served honorably for several years in the US Army. It seems that he redeemed himself after his desertion and can certainly be considered a WWI hero.

Sunday's Obituary - Daniel Matson

 

DANIEL MATSON DIES ON SUNDAY

CIVIL WAR VETERAN, AGED 86,

FOUGHT VALIANTLY—IS

LAST OF FAMILY

   Daniel Matson, 86, died at his home on North Lincoln street, Sunday, at 6 P.M.,
from a two months illness of weakness of the heart. He was confined to his bed during his entire illness.
   Daniel Matson was a member of Co. F,  6Oth O. V. I., in the Civil War. The deceased entered the war with his three brothers, Harrison, John, and Jeff, he being the only one to return. Harrison and John both were killed in action, and Jeff was held prisoner at Andersonville by the Rebels and suffered all its savagery, starving to death while in prison.
   At the close of the war, he settled on a farm on Port William pike and became a prosperous farmer. He was a good soldier, good citizen and a loyal and active member of the Morris McMillan Post, G.A.R. for the last 40 years, becoming a member August 4, 1888.
   He is the last surviving member of a family of 13 children.
   Surviving are the widow, formerly Teresa Ludden, and one daughter, Mrs. Ed. Hackney, of near Wilmington. One daughter, Mrs. William Dabe, died several years ago.
   Funeral services will be held in the Church of Christ, Wednesday at 2 P.M., in charge of Rev. A. H. Wilson and Rev. J. I. McWilliams.
   Burial in charge of B. D. E. Arthur, will be made in Sugar Grove cemetery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had previously found a short obituary for Daniel in the Mansfield News, but this one from the newspaper in Clinton County, Ohio gives a lot more detail. From my previous post: Daniel Matson was the son of Asa Matson and Dolly Clevenger. He was born on Feb. 13, 1842 in Clinton County, Ohio and was the brother of my 2x grandmother Mary Matson Creeden. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) mentioned in the obituary was a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans who had served in the Union Army.

I noticed one large error in the obituary and that was the statement that John Matson was killed in action. John was wounded, but survived and relocated to Mercer County, Ohio near his sister Mary Matson Creeden. He is buried next to Mary's son James and was given a Civil War gravestone. The Jeff Matson mentioned in the obituary was probably Thomas Jefferson Matson and the Harrison Matson may have also been known as Jares Matson.

There is an interesting debate about whether or not the Sugar Grove Cemetery can or should sell its Civil War cannons that are part of its veteran's monument. From the Wilmington News Journal article on the cannons, the dedication included a march through the streets of Wilmington to the cemetery, with Dan Matson, an 85-year-old Civil War veteran, as standard bearer.

Follow Friday - Week of July 26, 2013

Here are a few of my favorite finds for the past week:

• Andrea Chaffin of the Wilmington News Journal asks if the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Clinton County, Ohio can sell its Civil War cannons. My 2x great-grandmother's brother Dan Matson is mentioned as the 85 year old Civil War veteran who was present when the monument was dedicated in 1927.
• Grave Addiction has a large set of cemetery photos.
• Pat Haley tells the strange and sad story of Eugene: The stone man with the golden smile in the Wilmington News Journal of Clinton County, Ohio.
• Tourists are behaving badly around black bears in the Smoky Mountain's Cades Cove.
• The Civil War Index offers links to many sources of information on soldiers, regiments, and battles. Ohio rosters are here.
• GenealogyInsider has articles on NARA's new Online Public Access Search and links to Civil War resources.
• Before My Time posts about a treasured brass tag that was lost and unexpectedly replaced by a new friend.
• Climbing My Family Tree has a beautiful photo of a 1925 bride.

Wordless Wednesday - Gone Fishing

My grandfather Royce Councill enjoying a bit of fishing in Florida in 1955

Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph and Julia Keefe Kuebler

Joseph and Julia Keefe Kuebler were married in Clinton County, Ohio on October 4, 1904. Joseph was a farmer. Julia was the daughter of James Keefe and Ann Shea, both natives of Ireland. Julia's paternal grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in 1858. Thanks to C. Kuebler for posting the picture on FindAGrave. There is also a nice picture of the couple on the FindAGrave site. The couple is buried in the Sugar Grove cemetery in Clinton County, Ohio.

Census Sunday - Keefe Family in Clinton County, Ohio

I posted yesterday about a possible connection between my Creeden family and the Keefe family in Clinton County, Ohio and Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. From the 1915 History of Clinton County, the Keefe family came to America in 1858 with a destination of Ohio. I expected to find the parents John and Johanna in the 1860 census, but didn't find an obvious match.

Hannah Keeff in 1860 Clinton County census

In the 1860 census for Wilmington in Clinton County, Hannah Keeff is a weekly laborer from Ireland. Hannah is the right age for the daughter of John and Johanna, so this could be a match.

Keeffs in the 1860 Clinton County census

I didn't find an exact match for John and Johanna, so it's possible this is another Keefe family. The ages for John, Tim, and James look close, but there is a Catharine in this family instead of Johanna.

Keefes in the 1870 Clinton County census

I had a little better luck with the 1870 census. Timothy Keefe is living with John and Johanna and the ages look close. They were indexed in Ancestry.com as Knife! I had thought this would be an easy name to search for, but I'm finding that the spellings vary a lot. I wasn't able to find a birth or baptism record for Timothy on the RootsIreland.ie site, but this Timothy would have been born about 1840. I found records for Julia and Peter Keefe, both born to John and Johanna in March 1840, but haven't found any further trace of Peter. Could Peter and Timothy be the same person?

James Keefe in the 1870 Clinton County census

James Keefe is living with his wife Ann Shea in the 1870 census and they have a 3 year old daughter Julia and a newborn son John. According to the History of Clinton County, James served in the Civil War, so that's another area to investigate. Also of interest is that Daniel and Catherine Creden are on the same census page as James in Liberty Township.

Keefes in the 1880 Clinton County census

In the 1880 census, Timothy is living with his wife Bridget, his mother Joanna, a nephew Dennis Casey and a niece Mary Casey. I don't know yet if the Casey family was related to Timothy or his wife Bridget. According to his death record, John died on March 16, 1873 and was born in 1803, but I didn't find a will for John in the Ohio Probate Records for Clinton County. James and his family are now living near Timothy in Wayne Township and he has two more daughters, Mary and Hannah. Also on that page are several members of the Matson family that are related to Timothy Creeden's wife, Mary Ann Matson.

Timothy Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

In the 1900 census, Timothy is living alone. He is widowed and his age is given as 65 with a year of birth of 1835. The year of immigration is unknown.

James Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

James and his family are living in the Union Township in 1900. James and Ann have been married 34 years and have 5 living children. James' year of immigration is given as 1858.

James Keefe in the 1910 Clinton County census

In 1910, James and Ann are living with their children Honora and James Jr. in Wilmington. Honora owns a milliner shop and James Jr. is working as a telegraph operator for the railroad office. James' year of immigration is given as 1856 and he is a naturalized citizen. James died on January 3, 1916. I didn't find a death record for Timothy, but didn't find him in the 1910 census. James Jr. and Honora didn't marry and were living together in the 1930 and 1940 census records. James Jr. continued to work for the railroad, while Honora ran her millinery shop.

Sources:

• Ancestry.com. 1860-1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]
• History of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown, published in 1915 by B.F. Bowen & Co.
• "Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997," index, FamilySearch
• Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 [database on-line]

Surname Saturday - Keefe

I first got interested in the Keefe family from Clinton County, Ohio while looking at the Creedon references in the 1915 History of Clinton County. I found an article that mentioned a Johanna Creedon married to John Keefe with children Timothy, Mary, James, Hannah, Patrick, and Julia. All of these names also appear in my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden's family in Clinton County.

Excerpt from 1915 History of Clinton County, Ohio

The article in the history was about Joseph Kuebler and Julia Keefe. Julia was the daughter of James and Ann (Shea) Keefe, both natives of Ireland. Julia's grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in April, 1858. James and Ann Keefe were both born in 1844.

Constantine passenger list, May 1858

The passenger list shown above is from the Constantine arriving in New York in May 1858. It shows a John and Johanna Keefe with a younger Pat, Honora, and James. They were all listed as being from Ireland with a destination of Ohio. That looks like a possible match, but where are Timothy, Mary, and Julia?

An 1876 atlas of Clinton County, Ohio shows that T. Keefe's property is very close to my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's land. I figured the families at least knew each other even if they weren't related.

When I found my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's will, there was a definite connection to the Keefe family. The executor of his will was Timothy Keefe and one of the witnesses was Bridget Keefe. Now I was really interested! I wondered if Johanna (Creedon) Keefe could be a sister or other relation of Patrick since they would be in the same age range.

I did a search on the RootsIreland.ie site for John Keefe and Johanna Creedon and found one possible match. John O'Keeffe was married to Johanna Creedan on February 23, 1830. Witnesses were William, Denis, and John Creedon and the marriage was performed in Clondrohid parish, County Cork. This is the third Creedon family in Clinton County with ties to Clondrohid! The first is my Patrick Creedan and the second is a note from another researcher that a Hannah and Timothy Creeden were married in Clondrohid in 1854. This Timothy died at sea on the passage to America in 1865.

I searched for children born to John and Johanna Keefe to see if they were a match for the Clinton County couple. I found the following baptisms listed: Patrick (1836), twins Julia and Peter (1840), Honora (1842) , and James (1844). I still didn't find anything for Timothy or Mary, but there was a Peter baptized on the same day as Julia. Patrick was baptized in Macroom and the O'Keeffe spelling was used. The other children were baptized in Kilnamartyra which borders the Clondrohid parish. Macroom is also a few miles away from Clondrohid. With those records, I can fill in a little more information on the family.

With the Creedan and probable Clondrohid ties, this family definitely needs more investigation. I'll follow up with posts on what I've found in the Ohio census and vital records for the Keefe families. Johanna and John are living with Timothy Keefe in some of the census records, so I have found a link to their son Timothy. This is a new family for me, so I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Keefe families.

Wordless Wednesday - Pulskamp Group Shot

This photo was just labeled "Mrs. George Pulskamp". My great-grandfather George Pulskamp is on the right, but I'm not sure who the older gentleman is on the left. I think my great-grandmother Mary Gast Pulskamp is the 3rd from the right in the back row. My grandmother Anna Lee and her twin sister Emma Lee are the 2nd and 3rd girls in the middle row.

I recognize the woman standing next to George from one of my mystery photos!  I still don't know who she is, but at least I know now that she's connected to the Pulskamps. My grandmother was born in 1910, so I would guess this was taken sometime in the 1920s in Ohio.

Friday's Faces From the Past - Woman and Bicycle

This is another one of my unlabeled mystery photos. It may be my step-grandmother Hilda Kleinhenz Creeden and was probably taken in Mercer County, Ohio. If it is Hilda, it was probably in the mid 1930s.

Tombstone Tuesday - Robert Creeden and Hilda Kleinhenz Creeden

My grandfather Robert F. Creeden (1911-1995) and step-grandmother Hilda B. Kleinhenz Creeden (1903-1990) are buried in Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio. I hadn't known this before the picture was posted on FindAGrave, but Hilda's year of death is incorrect on the grave marker. It should be 1990 instead of 1989. Thanks much to Linda for posting the picture.

Sunday's Obituary - Roseanne Creeden

I posted earlier about an obit card from the Mercer County, Ohio library for Roseanne Creeden and decided to follow up and see if they had the actual obituary. I was surprised to find that there was an article in the newspaper since Roseanne's guardian Timothy Creeden died in 1899 and her parents were listed as unknown on her death certificate. I knew from the 1900-1920 census records that Roseanne had been confined to the county infirmary for a number of years. She died on June 30, 1922. While the obituary states that she was a lifelong resident of Celina, I know from other records that she was born in Clinton County, Ohio to parents Patrick Creedan and Hannah Hoover.

                                                                 MISS CREEDEN

                                                    DIED FRIDAY AT THE COUNTY
                                                                         HOME

                                                  Following an Operation on Thursday—
                                                      Funeral Held Saturday Morning
                                                            at Catholic Church and
                                                                Burial at Catholic
                                                                      Cemetery

   Miss Rose Creeden died at the County Home Friday afternoon at 3. She had been an inmate at that place for 27 years and early Thursday morning became critically ill and was operated upon Thursday afternon for a ruptured gall duct, but was not strong enough to recover from the operation.
   At the time of her death she was 66 years of age and has always been a resident of Celina, her parents having preceded hir in death several years ago.
   Funeral held Saturday morning at 8 o'clock at the Catholic church with Rev. Father Isadore officiating, and burial at Catholic cemetery.

The obituary was published in The Standard, Celina, Ohio on Friday, July 7, 1922. Thanks to Ken of the Mercer County Library for looking it up for me.

Follow Friday - Week of July 5, 2013

Falcon Solo about to take first flight as Mom watches

Here are a few of my favorite finds for the past week:

• The Genealogy Insider asks what 2% of Ancestry.com users have in common. Hint: It has to do with searching!
• The Ohio Memory project's Digital Newspaper Portal has lists of links to digitized Ohio newspapers by title, county, region, time period and Civil War titles.
• Dayton Innovation Legacy has an interesting article on John H. Patterson, the founder of National Cash Register (NCR) credited with being a pioneer of the modern sales force and progressive employee policies.
• Yvonne shares a tip on recording the height of her family members in Measuring Up.
• Ellie's Ancestors recommends searching YouTube for videos of your ancestor's homeland and history.
• Abt Unk posts about how a German “Maibaum” (Maypole) tells the history of the town of Fredericksburg.
• Follow the continuing drama as a pair of Salt Lake City falcons raise their chick named Solo.

Those Places Thursday - Happy 4th of July!

This was one of our neighborhood parades with our bikes all decked out for the holiday. I'd forgotten that we even had red, white, and blue outfits! My BFF is on the left with me next to her and my sister in front of us. Those parades were great fun!

Wordless Wednesday - Mystery Photo

 

This is one of the more curious photos in my Dad's collection. It was unlabeled and probably taken in Celina, Ohio.

Tuesday's Tip - Check your Spam Folder!

Have you ever had someone email you about possible family links or one of your blog posts only to never be heard from again? I suspect my responses are winding up in their Spam or Junk folders a lot of the time.

Almost all email tools have a Spam or Junk folder where your email provider attempts to route emails it thinks are spam. The problem is that legitimate emails can get routed here too. I check my Spam folder daily and find at least one or two legitimate emails a week. In the case of my Yahoo email, I can designate the legitimate email as "Not Spam" and it will be moved to my Inbox.

Blog posts can also be routed to a Spam folder. Blogger divides comments into Published, Awaiting Moderation and Spam. It's a good idea to check the Blogger Spam folder once in a while just to make sure you didn't miss a valid comment.

To check for spam comments on your blog, first go to your Design page. For my blog, a Design button is visible on the top right of my blog page, but your location may vary depending on your template. This is the page where you can customize your blog template and settings. Once you're there, select "Comments" from the list in the left-hand column and you should see a list of Published Comments. The left-hand column has selections for Published, Awaiting Moderation, and Spam. Click on Spam and from there you can review any comments in the Spam folder. Since I started moderating my comments, I haven't received any comments in the Spam folder, but I suppose it's still possible.

My most recent contact was someone requesting more information about a Creedon family that was in the Guion Miller rolls. I emailed back to tell him that I would scan the rest of the information and to watch for another email. I didn't hear back which should have been a clue. I went ahead and scanned and sent the information, but didn't hear back again. Did he receive it and not answer? Or did it wind up in his Spam folder? I'll probably never know!