Tuesday, July 29, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #30 Walter McFarlane, A Reluctant Farmer


The challenge of life on a farm in 1885 is hard enough for me to grasp, but to my grandchildren it would seem like the dark ages. Imagine no cell phone, no computer, no electricity, no gas and no running water. The nearest phone was likely miles away. The outhouse might have an old mail order catalog, not soft toilet paper. Water would be carried from the nearest source and wood chopped for heating and cooking. There were no big red tractors, no big green harvesters, no cars or pickups. Candles and lanterns were the source of indoor lighting.

The more family members could share the work, the better. Fields needed to be plowed, sown and harvested. Crops had to be taken to market. A garden provided food and some of the yield would need to be canned for use throughout the year. Animals had to be fed, watered and cared for. Some had to be slaughtered for food. Fences, wagons and tools required repair. Meals had to be prepared and dishes washed. Laundry, sewing and cleaning were constant tasks.

Just thinking about the amount of work is overwhelming. My great-grandfather, Walter McFarlane, must certainly have been overwhelmed when he inherited the Wisconsin family farm at the tender age of 21. Within the past three years the rest of his family had died: first his older brother, then his father, Joseph, and finally his mother. Unfortunately, Walter despised farming, according to family legend. But was it the work he hated or was it the solitude?

Suddenly he was all alone and grieving his family. He would have been exhausted trying to do everything that needed to be done. Did he hire a field hand or household help? Could he even have afforded to do so? Did he have time to go courting and find a wife? If so, he was not successful.

Walter's mother, Margareth Mitchell McFarlane died in October of 1885. In February of 1888, Walter sold the Monroe County farm. He had farmed on his own for less than 30 months when he threw in the towel.

Walter was born on July 20, 1864, so was not yet 24 when he walked away from the farm to make a new life. The next few years are a mystery to me. By 1896, Walter was living in Chicago and working as a motorman on the city's streetcars.  How did a Wisconsin farmer become a Chicago motorman? That seems like quite a change.

On April 07, 1897, he married Mary Ellen Vossler in a ceremony performed by the pastor of a Presbyterian Church. Mary Ellen's brother, John Vossler, worked with Walter on the streetcars and roomed in the same boarding house as Walter. It's possible that Mary Ellen also lived there. The couple certainly met through John or their living situation.


Quick drop page from Full Circle, ClubScrap

Walter and Mary Ellen had two daughters: Ruth in 1898 and Margaret in 1900. Their comfortable life came to an end between 1904 and 1905. Walter was injured at work and was left brain-damaged. After healing, he was able to do only menial work. He briefly returned to farming in Bartlett, Illinois. He also worked in a factory and was a night watchman at the historic Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.

Walter McFarlane died in Chicago on August 21, 1922, and was buried in an unmarked grave at Rosehill Cemetery.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #29 Joseph McFarlane of Wisconsin in the Lost and Found

Found: One Joseph McFarlane

Location: Monroe County, Wisconsin

Goal: Reunite Joseph with his family

 

Identifying Statistics:

  •     Born in Scotland between 1814 and 1820
  •     Married between 1850 and 1860, probably in Wisconsin, to Margareth Mitchell
  •     Died in 1884 or 1885



Joseph had three documented children, only one of whom had known issue:
  •     Joseph McFarlane, born about 1858, died December 17, 1882, in or near Monroe County.
  •     Walter McFarlane, born July 20, 1864, in Monroe County. Died August 21, 1922, in Chicago.
  •     William McFarlane, born about 1867, died young.

Joseph arrived in New York City on the ship John Kerr on July 28, 1849. Listed with him were Ann, age 31, and Elizabeth, age 17, while he was listed as age 30. Also on board was Robert, age 48. None of these persons have been found living with Joseph in Wisconsin. However, the next page is missing from the 1850 census and that might show differently if it becomes available.

In the census of 1850, Joseph McFarlane, age 30, was a farmer in Fort Winnebago Township, Columbia County, Wisconsin. On October 29, 1850, in the Circuit Court of Columbia County, he filed his Declaration of Intent to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He stated that his age was about 32, that he sailed from Glasgow, Scotland in May, 1849, and that he arrived in New York in July, 1849.

By 1860, Joseph had married Margaret Mitchell and was living in Jefferson Township, Monroe County, Wisconsin, with a stated age of 45. Joseph bought and sold land in Jefferson and Sheldon Townships. In 1875, he described his house as part of proving his homestead claim:
... a log house, one story high, 15 x 20 feet with shingle roof, two floors, one outside door, 3 windows and is a comfortable house to live in.
Joseph sold all his land to his wife on December 26, 1884. That may have been his strategy to avoid probate or the deed could have been forged after his death by his wife for the same reason. Margareth mortgaged a portion of the farm on January 10, 1885. When Margareth died in October, 1885, she was a widow, which places Joseph McFarlane's death in 1884-1885, most likely around the dates of these land transactions.

If you've lost this Joseph McFarlane, please leave a comment so we can connect.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Autosomal DNA Matching 102

In the last post you met my cousin Mary, who has DNA tested at Ancestry and uploaded her results to the free GEDMatch site. We know our common ancestors, William and his wife. But I also mentioned a "gotcha".

Mary and I are related through my mother. Our matching DNA on chromosome 2 is from 74188298 to 105591639. But I can't assume that everyone who matches me in those segments are matches on my mother's side. It's so very important to look at chromosome matching in detail after you have identified a known relationship. GEDMatch is just one tool that will help do that.

Another good tool is DNAGedcom. It is a free site that works only with files from FTDNA and 23AndMe. Note that it cannot work with Ancestry files.

DNAGedcom will pull my DNA information and my matches right from my FTDNA account and will upload the files to the website. I can then run a report that will graphically show my matches for each chromosome. These graphics are far better than GEDMatch and FTDNA for seeing the shared segments.

Here's a part of my DNAGedcom report for chromosome 2. I can see the name and email address for each person who matches me at FTDNA. If they have put surnames on file, I can hover over their information to see those surnames. I can also hover to see the names of the people who match me in common with that person.

Mary is not on this report, as she has not uploaded her results to FTDNA. The large fuchsia line at the top is for my Dad. The yellow boxes show the areas where I have matching DNA with Mary.




Notice the top yellow box. I have matches that are up to 85044774 that match my Dad (fuchsia on the left), yet are in the range where I match Mary. Then there are several matches starting at 84408203 that do not match my Dad. Is the matching DNA random, or IBS (identical by state)? Or is there a real match?

Is part of my match with Mary IBS? I need more confirmed matches to know if the DNA matches are real or random. The point is to not make assumptions based on one match. Keep working with your matches to find more confirmed cousins and to build your knowledge of what your DNA reveals.
 

Friday, July 18, 2014

Autosomal DNA Matching 101

A friend who is just embarking on the genealogical DNA journey says it's too complicated. I have to agree that it can be overwhelming.

  • If you are taking the AncestryDNA test, focus on learning about autosomal DNA. 
  • If you are taking the Family Finder test at FamilyTreeDNA, it is also an autosomal DNA test.
  • Ignore Y-DNA and mTDNA for now.

The first thing that I suggest is to subscribe to the DNAeXplained blog by Roberta J Estes. Sometimes her posts pertain, sometimes they don't, but her work is a great resource.

After you subscribe to the blog, visit the publications section of Roberta's DNAeXplain.com website. Scroll down to the section titled Working with DNA and see what you might want to download and read.

You've ordered an autosomal test, but what will it do for you? The purpose of an autosomal DNA test is matching your DNA to that of cousins known and unknown. It can answer:
  1. Who shares my DNA? 
  2. How much DNA do we share? 
  3. What segments do we share? 
  4. Who else shares those segments? 

Unfortunately Ancestry only answers question 1 and hints at question 2. However, the genealogical community uses Ancestry more heavily than FamilyTreeDNA , so that's where more matching will take place. The Family Finder test at FTDNA answers all 4 questions. The free website GEDMatch also answers all 4 questions.

When your test is completed, you can download your results from Ancestry, FTDNA or 23AndMe, which I don't use. You really don't want to look at your results file -- it's big and has a lot of numbers and letters. But it's yours and you will want to get that download file to use at other websites now and in the future.

What can you do with your downloaded file?
  • GEDMatch levels the playing field for matching. It is a free site supported by donations and we who use it need to donate. Bear that potential cost in mind, as well as the possibility the site could vanish.
  • An Ancestry test result can be uploaded to GEDMatch.
  • GEDMatch accepts uploads from FTDNA.
  • GEDMatch accepts uploads from 23AndMe.
  • FTDNA accept uploads from Ancestry. It's $69 today to upload.
  • FTDNA accepts uploads from 23AndMe, also $69 today.
  • Ancestry will not accept an outside test result. 
  • DNAGedcom will  accept uploads from FTDNA and from 23AndMe. More on this tool next time.

GEDMatch is the free site where we all can meet, regardless of the original test company. I've chosen Ancestry for my brother's autosomal DNA test, knowing it gives me flexibility in handling the results.

I'll use my cousin Mary as an example of matching via Ancestry and GEDMatch. She and I both tested at Ancestry, which predicted that we were in the range of 4th cousin to 6th cousin with a 96% confidence factor. We also have a leaf that we have a common ancestor in our trees. We had already connected, so none of this was a surprise.




We both uploaded our Ancestry results to GEDMatch.

GEDMatch provides a list of matches, similar to Ancestry. It also includes matches who have tested with other companies.



I look in my match list for Mary (in yellow), make a note of her kit number, and click on a link to run a one-to-one match. The match process provides a very clear answer to how much DNA we share and what the segments are.




GEDMatch estimates 4.2 generations to our Most Recent Common Ancestor. Mary is my 3rd cousin, once removed. Our common ancestors, William and his wife, are 4 generations from her and 5 generations from me. Both Ancestry and GEDMatch have done well with their estimates.

GEDMatch gives us other tools, including the ability to see others who match both of us. Someone who matches us both on chromosome 2 between 74188298 and 105591639 is now known to be related to us in the lines of William or his wife or both. As we accumulate matches, we can refine our knowledge. There can be a "gotcha" here, which I'll cover next time.

As I write this post, GEDMatch is in the midst of a transition with many tools unavailable and new uploads not being accepted. I have every confidence that they will be back to provide for Ancestry users the missing tools.

FTDNA works in similar ways to GEDmatch, but the interface is prettier and comes at a price. Here we see a couple of my Dad's matches.




The top is his confirmed cousin from Sweden. The little green icon shows that there is a family tree (GEDCOM) loaded by that person. The estimated 2nd-4th cousin has been replaced by the actual relationship that we calculated and then manually set.

The bottom match has no tree, but has listed some of her surnames. I'd rather see a tree. That's so important to facilitate making the connection.

FTDNA provides graphical comparison of matches and allows me to download my matches, their email addresses and the chromosome matching segments, similar to those shown above. It also provides a tool to see who else matches both me and one or more of my matches. One of the downsides of FTDNA is that a lot of the participants have not provided a family tree.

The autosomal DNA test is another tool in your genealogical toolbox. You still have to figure out the connections.

I hope this post helps with some basic understanding. Next time: the magic of DNAGedcom.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #28 The Records of Andrew Lafayette "Fate" Allee

The life of my great-great-grandfather Andrew Lafayette "Fate" Allee is detailed in government records. I wish all my ancestors were so well documented.

His story begins with the marriage of his parents.


State of Arkansas
County of Saline
I J. H. Williams an acting Justice of the peace in and for Saline County do hereby certify that I did on the 29th day of December, 1842 Solemnize the rites of matrimony between Josiah Alley of the County aforesaid and of the age of 21 years and Mary Jane Pelton of the Same place and of the age of fifteen years. Given under my hand this 30th Day of December 1842.
J.H. Williams J.P.


A child is born.

Fate was born on August 24, 1844, twenty months after his parents married. Within another two years both his parents were dead and his Uncle Abraham Allee became his legal guardian. His father's estate was billed for medical care for his young mother in 1846, setting her death date between March and October of 1846.

The guardianship was documented in 1847.

State of Arkansas
County of Saline
I Abraham Allee do solemnly swear that to the best of my knowledge and belief the estate of Josiah Allee deceased is worth the sum of three hundred dollars. Andrew Lafayette Allee is the only child of the deceased and resides in this County. he died without a will...
Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 26th day of July AD 1847
A R Hockersmith Clerk

Fight for an orphan's pension.

Josiah Allee died while serving in the Mexican-American War. The name Allee was often misspelled or misunderstood in handwritten records. His service record was interpreted as Isaiah Allen. Abraham Allee had to fight the military bureaucracy to set the record straight and to collect the military pension that Fate was due as an orphan.

Department of the Interior
Orphans Claim
I certify that Andrew Lafayette Allee, Child of Josiah Allee, deceased, who was a Bugler, Company I, Arkansas Mounted Volunteers, in the service of the United States and died on the seventeenth day of October 1846, is entitled to receive pay ...

The estate grew.

Abraham Allee not only collected the orphan's pension, but also obtained a military land warrant for Josiah's service. Fate also received money from two estates in his mother's family, Samuel Pelton and James Adams. At the last known guardianship accounting in 1860, Fate's worth was about $650, plus 80 acres of land.

The Confederacy called.

Fate volunteered very quickly when the Civil War began. Just prior to his 17th birthday, he enlisted in Company F, 11th Arkansas Infantry on July 19, 1861. He was one of 7000 Confederates who valiantly defended Island Number 10 near New Madrid, Missouri, until the commander was forced to surrender on April 8, 1862. Fate spent several months as a prisoner at Camp Douglas, Illinois. Later that year he was part of a prisoner exchange at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

He then served in the 11 & 17 Consolidated Arkansas Infantry; Co B, Anderson's Unattached Battalion, Arkansas Cavalry as a 2nd Lt; and as an independent scout in the McMurtry Brigade, under Captain Webb. A story told by a member of Webb's forces depicts Fate as an honorable man, although Webb's forces were generally considered to be less than honorable.

The military and prisoner records tell the basics of his service.


Quick drop page from Outdoor Dad kit by Brandy Murry for Digital Scrapper

On May 6, 1866, Fate married a cousin, Martha Elizabeth Grant. The area in Arkansas where they lived had been overrun during the Battle of Jenkins Ferry in 1864. Fields, streams and rivers were rife with spent ammunition. Although the family stories don't tell us, we can only surmise that the Allee family members who left Arkansas did so due to the devastation of the war.

Fate relocated his family about 1869 to Denton County, Texas, along with Abraham and some of his family. Fate and Martha had three children, all of whom married into the Lucas family. Sometime after Frank's birth in 1872, Martha died.

The widowed Fate married Anna Elizabeth "Bettie" Allen on January 30, 1876, in Collin County, Texas. Fate and Bettie farmed in Palo Pinto County, adding four more children to their family before his death on July 4, 1895. He was buried in Ballew Springs Cemetery in Parker County, Texas.

The final record is a widow's pension.

The widowed Bettie Allee filed in Texas for a Confederate widow's pension. The pension file tells us that A. Lafayette Allee died in Palo Pinto County, Texas. It also gives the marriage date and place for his second marriage. Bettie did a good job of detailing his military service. Many soldiers don't like to talk about their service, so this level of detail is surprising. Perhaps the couple documented the service so that the family would have the facts in case of his death.

Other records.

In addition to the mentioned records, there exist tax, land and marriage records, plus censuses.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

A Peek at Our Swedish Heritage

This post is for you if:

  • You are a cousin in my Ekstrom - Fors family.
  • You are a cousin in my Nyström family.
  • You are curious about Swedish dwellings.

Our Ancestral Homes


I've never been to Sweden, though it's on my bucket list. It's hard to visualize how and where our ancestors lived their lives. Our cousin, Claes Nyström, has been researching the homes of our ancestors and has his own vacation cottage not too far from the area where the Nyström and Fors families lived.

Swedish farmers in the 1800s had varying degrees of wealth, from small tenant farmers to large land-holders. Eric Carlsson Nyström (1772-1857) was a crofter and a tailor. At his death, he had no debts, so he was apparently wise with his scarce assets.

Claes' Findings


Claes writes:

I finally found Näsbystugan which I have been searching for and haven't found on a map. Eric Carlsson married Brita Stina Olsdotter in 1807 and moved into Näsbostugan, later known as Näsbystugan, together with her parents already living there. They stayed there all their life until they died at, by that time, very high ages. Eric died at 85 and Brita Stina at 91.

Their son Anders [Fors] came back to Björnlunda from Wårdinge in 1860, back to Näsbystugan, with his family. Brita Stina was widowed since 3 years back 



Anders' brother, Karl had rented a piece of land on the other side of Jättekyrkan and built a home, Karlshamn for his family on the other side of Jättekyrkan, by the shore of Lake Storsjön.













Anders [Fors] built a new house on the site of Näsbystugan and renamed the place Andersberg.








On the pictures we can see Andersberg ... and also "Lilla stugan" - presumably Näsbystugan.












The area of Sweden that Claes has written about is southwest of Stockholm. Follow the link to see a map of the general area. The size of the little cottage appears surprisingly tiny. At any time about five people were living in its close quarters. It appears to have a small attic or loft.

I also find it intriguing that Andersberg has never been renamed. It still bears the name that my great-great-great-grandfather, Anders Fors, gave it in about 1860.

Thank you for sharing your work, cousin.

Friday, July 11, 2014

A Twist in the DNA Journey -- Part Two

In the previous post we met "Sven", a new cousin from Sweden, identified through DNA testing. A few weeks after Sven and I connected, his father's DNA results had an unexpected match. Sven had no match and my Dad had no match.

The new match is for a woman of Chinese heritage who has moved from Taiwan to the USA. Let's call her "Lucy". How could Lucy from Taiwan share DNA with a man from Sweden at the 5th cousin to Distant Cousin level?

Let's expand the Ekstrom-Fors-Nyström family tree a bit.




Extending the family tree from the last post, we add Martin Nyström, a Swedish missionary to China. Martin, along with his wife and infant daughter, Ruth, disappeared in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Their story can be found on the website of the China Inland Mission. Martin's brother also was a missionary to China; however, he and his family escaped to safety.

Several European nations sent armies to protect their interests. It was a terrible time of chaos and violence in China. The Europeans raped and killed women and children, while the Boxers killed Europeans and Chinese Christians.

There are three possibilities for a Chinese woman to have enough Swedish heritage to be a match to the Nyström family:
  • The infant Ruth survived the slaughter and grew up to have her own family. 
  • Martin or his brother Fritiof fathered a child with a Chinese woman.
  • An unknown Swedish soldier, related to Sven's father, impregnated a Chinese woman.

What a mystery! With all the upheaval in China over the past 100 years, can this mystery ever be solved?

There is a bit of a DNA lesson in this story. Little Ruth and Sven's Dad were first cousins, but did not have the same grandmother. They were half-cousins. Instead of sharing 25 percent of their DNA, they would have shared closer to 12 percent. If "Lucy" is a Nyström descendant, her percentage of matching DNA would be similarly decreased. The Family Tree DNA estimate of 5th cousin (or further) makes a bit more sense when we consider that reduction. Rather than 5th cousin, a better estimate would be half-first-cousin 3 times removed.

Who would have thought that a simple genealogical DNA test could crack open a door that was thought closed over a century ago!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

A Twist in the DNA Journey -- Part One

It's been a while since I've shared much about my genealogical DNA journey, but the past couple of months have been fascinating.

This post is for you if:

  • You are a cousin in my Ekstrom - Fors family.
  • You are a cousin in my Nyström family.
  • You are on your own genealogical DNA journey or thinking about it.
  • You are debating who in your family should be next to have a DNA test.

A New Contact


On May 7, 2014, an email arrived from a man who lives in Stockholm, Sweden. I will call this new cousin "Sven":
My name is "Sven" and if I get it right we are 4th cousins 1R! I got the result today from FTDNA regarding my father's Family Finder.
Eric Carlsson Nyström and his wife Brita Christina Olofsdotter were my great great great grandparents on my fathers side.
My great great grandfather Carl Erik Nyström was brother of your great great great grandfather Anders Fors. I guess Anders took on the name Fors ...


The Family Grows


We have a friendly new cousin in Sweden with a good command of English. He has shared some photos and a map which will be in a later post. Part two will add more family information and a twist, so stay tuned.

Here's a graphical representation of our relationships and the DNA matching results. In part two of this series, the family tree will be expanded.



Lessons in DNA

  1. Test the oldest generation. This match emphasizes what the DNA gurus teach. Sven and I both have results on file at FTDNA, but he and I have no DNA match. Fortunately, both of us took the step of having our fathers tested, also. Our fathers are in their 80s and we gathered that DNA while we could. For $99 each, we made this priceless connection.
  2. Post your tree (GEDCOM) to your DNA testing website. I had posted my Dad's tree and Sven was able to see immediately where the connection was in our trees. He could follow the generations to calculate the relationship of 4th cousin to Dad and then once removed to me. We didn't have to ping-pong email to find the connection.
  3. Work the closest matches first. Sven's Dad has a fairly close match to my Dad. FTDNA proposed a 2nd to 4th cousin match. Sven also has a match, but it was 4th to remote cousin. It might have been weeks or months before Sven worked through his own matches to the page where my Dad showed up. By working that closer match, Sven connected much more quickly.
  4. Don't expect new ancestor information from every match. I've done a lot of Swedish research and have not added much information since connecting with Sven. He has augmented some of my knowledge and vice versa. The more complete your tree is, the easier it is to connect. You may be able to share bits and pieces with your new cousin(s) that will eventually lead to new findings.
  5. Keep track of the matching DNA. I've added the following matching information to my files. When my Dad's kit has another match on any of these DNA segments, I'll know what family that match connects to.

Next time: The Nyström DNA takes a strange turn.
 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #27 The Amish DNA of Elizabeth Estella Lake Maddox Donnelley

You got it from your mother. I got it from mine. Our mothers got it from their mothers. It's the DNA that powers our cells. It's mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA for short.

Last year my father and I each had our mtDNA tested by FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA). With his mother's mtDNA, he matched nearly 100 people. I matched only a handful. I was curious as to why my matches were so few.

During the recent attack on Ancestry, I spent some quality time on FTDNA closely studying the tree of my closest match. Following women ancestors can be tough, but I can follow my maternal line back to about 1760. The match also has his line back to the mid-1700s. I could see that our families relate in other ways, but I couldn't see where our match was.

Fortunately, he knew something unique about his maternal line: the branch is Amish and/or Mennonite. No wonder our matches are few. Amish descendants of Amish women won't be doing DNA testing!

My maternal line was Swiss-German Baptist who later became Church of the Brethren. However, it's very possible that pushing back another generation or two may turn up that connection to Amish/Mennonite.

Elizabeth Estella Lake's mother, Sarah Elizabeth Bosseck, was probably raised in the Church of the Brethren. When she married Aaron Lake in Cass County, Illinois, in 1857, she broke the pattern and married outside the Swiss-German community. The Lake family was Methodist in the last half of the 1800s.

Lizzie Lake was born February 11, 1861, the second of ten children. She and her older sister, Nellie, married two brothers. Lizzie married Joseph Allen Maddox and Nellie married George S Maddox.

Lizzie was a bit of an adventurer. She married at 15, while lying that she was 18. It appears that she forged a parent's permission note for Al, who was also underage at 19. They married in his home county of Scott County, Illinois, on June 13, 1876.

The Lake and Maddox families had financial troubles and together joined a wagon train to Kansas in about 1879. The Bosseck family had gone to Kansas earlier and the rest of the family joined them in Wilson County by the time of the 1880 census. Al Maddox doesn't appear in the census with the rest of the family. He was both a miner and a farmer and was likely mining elsewhere.

One of the family stories passed down is that Lizzie and Al would go out driving at night. Al would propose a horse trade in the dark with unsuspecting travelers. Sometimes he would come out ahead and other times behind. They would leave their children in the care of the eldest, Daisy, my great-grandmother. It seems that Al was quite a gambler and scoundrel and Lizzie must have enjoyed the game.

Lizzie and Nellie, their father, Aaron, and their families moved westward to Kingman County, Kansas, leaving behind most of the Bosseck family. When the opening of the Oklahoma Cherokee Strip was announced in 1893, they were living in an ideal spot to plan for and execute a land run. The family story is that Al ran for the land on foot, while Lizzie followed, with the children, in a wagon.

Lizzie and Al built a soddy on their homestead and began the work of cultivating the land and building a permanent house. However, Al battled with tuberculosis and alcoholism through his adult life. He died in 1895, leaving Lizzie with five children and an unfinished house. Aaron Lake is credited with finishing the house for her. She was able to keep the homestead, which Al had wanted to secure for their son, Archie.

On January 7, 1900, Lizzie married Charles Ford Donnelley, a widower with seven children. They had one more child, lucky 13. The photos show the couple, along with their son. Lizzie is also shown with three of her sisters and with her daughter Daisy.


Quick drop page from Mother is a Verb by Krystal Hartley for Digital Scrapper

To care for herself and her family, Lizzie was a milliner and taught the skill to her daughters. She opened a lovely store called Rosedale in Enid, Oklahoma, where the family moved in 1918.

Lizzie died on November 23, 1924, and was buried in Enid Cemetery.