Take a Sidestep: 52 Ancestors

Sometimes the only way to push back a generation is to step sideways and research siblings and cousins of your ancestors. Stuck in Wisconsin research for years, I recently decided to research a man named George Mitchell, who might be a relative of my great-great-grandmother. Indeed, he turned out to be her brother. The miracle of how that relationship was proven is a story for another day. Today, I'm introducing George to my family.

George Mitchell was born October 18, 1822, in Fife, Scotland. It appears that he and his siblings had their birth dates recorded at the new church when they moved within Fife, so the actual parish of birth is unclear as of this writing. In the 1841 census of Scotland, he was listed as an 18-year-old with the occupation of linen hand-loom weaver. Power looms were soon to threaten his livelihood.

In the spring of 1849, George left Scotland for America, arriving in May, possibly on the ship Cuthbert. Six months later he was living in Columbia County, Wisconsin. There he declared his intent to be naturalized, but he did not recall his exact arrival date in New York.

George was farming by September of 1850, when the census taker came calling, and he continued farming for the rest of his life. By 1859 he was paying taxes on just over 72 acres of land in section 9 township 13 north range 9 east, Fort Winnebago Township.

George Mitchell's 1859 tax receipt is still in the hands of a family member

George was a single man of nearly 40, yet living with his mother and her second family in June of 1860. In November of the following year, no doubt after the harvest, he sold his land to his mother. Some 80 miles to the west, in Jefferson Township, Monroe County, he joined his younger siblings. He lived for a while with his sister Margaret Mitchell and her husband, Joseph McFarlane, and their children.

A man named George Mitchell was purchasing land in Jefferson Township as early as 1858; however, it is unclear if it was the same George. The land was within two miles of land purchased by his brother and brother-in-law, so it is possible. There was another George Mitchell in the area and there has also been some online confusion with others. This is an opportunity for further research in land records.

Men in Jefferson who were subject to military service were placed on a list in August, 1862. George and his younger brother John were both on the list. However, it appears that neither served during the Civil War. Other local men did serve, among them a man named Emanuel P Gleason. He died in Louisiana in 1865, leaving a widow and three small children. George Mitchell married Phoebe Jane Drummond (or Drummonds) Gleason on May 10, 1866, becoming the step-father and guardian of the children: Mary, Samuel and Louis. George and Phoebe had no other children.

By the time of the 1870 census, George had moved a few miles north to Angelo Township. In 1874, he purchased, from the federal government, 160 acres in Angelo Township, in section 34 of township 17 north range 3 west. By 1897, much of this land, plus more, had been transferred to his stepsons, Samuel H Gleason and Louis N Gleason. It may be that George had invested in land with the military pension he was collecting on behalf of the children.

Throughout the rest of his life, the census reported he was a farmer, but the 1880 census said he was teaching school. That may have been an error on the part of either the census taker or a census copyist. Or it may have been something he tried in his later years or did in the winter.

George Mitchell died on July 24, 1907. His death record shows that the retired farmer died of exhaustion with contributing factors of myocarditis and senility. He was buried at Farmers Valley Cemetery, Monroe County, Wisconsin. Phoebe Jane Drummond Gleason Mitchell died on January 20, 1912, and was buried in the same cemetery.