"Sir Francis" of Two Rivers, a Waterloo Veteran

My wife's Irish ancestors came to the province of New Brunswick, Canada, before eventually moving to Bangor, Maine. The surnames involved are Wright, Mackey, McClay, and Flynn.

The earliest known Wright ancestor is Francis M. Wright (Laurie's 3rd great grandfather), born in 1777 in Ireland. He and his wife, Frances "Fanny" Bowman immigrated to Miramichi, New Brunswick, in 1819 (according to his obituary). Miramichi was a lumber town, although the lumber economy began to decline after 1825 (says Wikipedia). 

He entered the U.S. in 1848 at Buffalo, according to his naturalization record  (although his obituary gives 1847). In the 1850 census Francis and Fanny are living in Milwaukee.  He gained citizenship in 1854. In 1860 they are in Two Rivers (about 90 miles north of Milwaukee on the western shore of Lake Michigan).

Francis and Fanny may have had as many as 14 children along the way, but the one in Laurie's direct line would be Francis "Frank" B. Wright. Although there is some uncertainty here, he was born around 1811 (but possibly later) in either Ireland or New Brunswick (my money's on Ireland). This kind of inconsistency is not uncommon in these matters, but what we do know is that young Frank married Mary Ann Mackey in 1840 in Miramichi. 

But Frank and Mary Ann did not enter the U.S. along with Frank's parents in Buffalo. They, like the rest of my wife's Irish ancestors, stayed on a little longer in Miramichi and eventually traveled down to Bangor, Maine.

Now, Frank and Mary Ann would have a daughter, Catherine, my wife's great grandmother. She was born in 1844 in New Brunswick, and her death cert would report her coming to the U.S. in 1855, presumably along with her mother and father.

So here's the timeline of relevant dates so far:

• 1877 Francis M. Wright is born in Ireland.
• 1811 Birth of his son Frank B. Wright.
• 1815 Takes part in the Battle of Waterloo.
• 1819 Immigrates to New Brunswick (though this might have happened earlier)
• 1840 Son Frank marries Mary Ann Mackey in Miramichi, New Brunswick.
• 1844 Frank and Mary Ann's daughter, Catherine, is born in Miramechi.
• 1847 Francis moves to Wisconsin (according to obituary).
• 1850 Francis and Fanny are living in Milwaukee
• 1854 Francis' naturalization
• 1855 Frank and family come to Bangor, Maine, from Miramichi.
• 1860 Francis and Fanny are living at Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

When Francis M. Wright came to Wisconsin 1847 he was already about 70 years old. When he became a naturalized citizen he was 76. He was known as "Sir Francis" to his neighbors and friends and there is some reason to believe, according to family lore, that he self-reported as English, not Irish. He would live to the ripe old age of 95, telling stories about Waterloo to all who would listen. The closing line of his obituary is worth noting.

He retained all the powers of a vigorous mind to the last days, particularly the scenes at Waterloo on the 18th of June, 1815, in which he took part under Wellington.

 

 

My ancestor, James Franklin Spencer

I wrote about Cornelius Spencer, my great great grandfather (here), and then his son George Washington Spencer (here). Next I want to move on to James Cornelius Spencer, my great grandfather, who was born in 1866 in Knottsville, Kentucky.

James was the third child of George and Sarah. He was only 11 years old when his father died in a tree-felling accident on the farm. James marries Mary Addie Winfree sometime around 1886 or so (probably). Their first child is born in 1887. James and Mary Addie would have nine children together, born between 1887 and 1908. For the record, the children were Claude, Gracie, Leora, Mary Olga, Bessie, Jesse, Charlie, James Franklin, and Martha.

At this point the family is still on the farm in Pellville, just east of Knottsville. Although the 1890 census seems unavailable, we do know from local directories that James continued in Pellville at least until 1897. James is listed there in land owner lists. James has 30 acres, and his older brother William has 80. Two years later, in the next edition, James is not listed. And the next year, in 1900, the census does not list James at all, while the rest of his family, Marry Addie and the children, are living with Mary's parents in neighboring Ohio County, in the town of Fordsville.

So there is a mystery here. Where was James in 1900? By 1910 he is back with his family in Fordsville, but why was he not with them in 1900?

I'll probably never know the answer to that. But here is another curiosity about James C. It occurs in the 1920 census. In any census sheet the head of household is listed first, and all other household members are designated by their relation to the head. So, the husband/father is generally listed first, as head. Then the wife is listed, then the sons and daughters are listed from oldest to youngest.

But in the 1920 census the son, 16 year old James Franklin (my grandfather), is listed as the head of the household, and next James C. is listed ("father") and then Mary Addie ("mother"). The normal arrangement would be James C., head, then Marry Addie, wife, and James F., son.

So why is the 16 year old son listed as the "head" of the household, a household in which his father still resides? I will also note that in this same census James Franklin's occupation is farm foreman, and James C's occupation is "cropper."

In any case, the next thing we know of James Cornelius Spencer is his death at the age of 62, in 1928. He died at the Western State Hospital in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky. The cause of death seems to have been chronic diarrhea. He is buried in the Baskett Cemetery, in Henderson, Kentucky, along with many of his children.

My Ancestor, George Washington Spencer

This post told the story of my third great grandfather, Cornelius Spencer. He lived most of his life in Daviess County, Kentucky, on a farm in the tiny farming community Pellville. That's just outside of Knottsville, by the way. Daviess County is on the Ohio River, with Spencer County, Indiana, bordering to the north (Spencer County's largest town, you should know, is Santa Claus, Indiana). Pellville is also just 80 miles to the west of the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln (Hogdenville, Kentucky), and about 30 miles to the north of Rosine, Kentucky, the birthplace of bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe.

The eldest son of Cornelius Spencer, my second great grand father, was George Washington Spencer.
George was born on December 18, 1838 in Bullitt County, but the family was in Daviess County by 1841 or 1844 (conflicting evidence here). Wikipedia tells us that Knottsville's first schoolhouse opened in 1854, so  G.W. may have had no formal schooling. Like his father, Cornelius, who signed his last will and testament with an X, he may have been illiterate. It should be noted, however, that a brief biography of G. W. from the Daviess Conty Atlas of 1876 states that he had a "common school" education ("common" being the 19th century equivalent of a public school).

In any case he seems to have prospered. The 1876 publication of "An Illustrated Historical Atlas Map of Daviess County, Kentucky" (see it at the David Rumsey Map Collection, here) lists him as a patron, and its map of the Knottsville Precinct (here) shows his farm of 140 acres near the eastern border, just south of the 75 acre farm of his father, Cornelius (listed on the map as Geo. W. and C. Spencer).

G.W. got married to Sarah Early when he was just 18 years old, in February of 1857. The interesting thing is that his younger brother, William, marries Sarah Early's sister, Susan, around the same time. So the two Spencer brothers married the Early sisters, which mirrors what their father and his brother did, marrying the Bess sisters.

In the 1860 census George and Sarah are still living with Cornelius and family. In 1862 their first son, William Wellington, is born. Elizabeth (Eliza Jane) would follow in 1863. On July 1 of 1863 George and his younger brother William signed up for the draft. They probably didn't know yet of the battle of Gettysburg, which was just beginning on that date. Their enrollment on this date was no doubt in response to the infamous Enrollment Act of 1863, which led to the New York City draft riots just two weeks later.

I have no knowledge of the nature of George and William's service in the war. But it's probably safe to say they were lukewarm as to the Northern cause. This was a family, after all, whose roots went back to Virginia.

Strong emotional ties to the South made many Daviess County residents supporters of the Confederate cause during the Civil War. The county gained a reputation as a hotbed of rebellion, although most residents preferred a neutral position and opposed only Lincoln and the prospect of emancipation. Lincoln and the Republicans could attract only seven votes in Daviess in the election of 1860, as a majority of voters maintained the county's former Whig allegiance by voting for the candidate of the Constitutional Union party. [see The Paper Trail of the Civil War in Kentucky 1861 -1865]

In 1866 George and Sarah's third child, James Cornelius, is born. That would be my great grandfather. I'll post a little about him in the future.

As mentioned above, George W. is listed in the 1876 Daviess County Atlas as a patron, and in his brief bio he is depicted as a prosperous and respected citizen. But only one year later he would die tragically in a tree cutting accident on his farm at the age of 38. He was buried in the Pellville Cemetery near his mother, Dorothy.

My Ancestor, Cornelius Spencer

If you trace my ancestry back on my father's side you come to this fellow Cornelius Spencer. That would be my third great grandfather. He was a Kentucky boy, born in 1815, in Bullitt County. 

In 1836 he married Dorothy Bess. In 1838 his first son was born, George Washington Spencer (my second great grandfather). Then, around 1841, the young family came to Knottsville, Kentucky, a little farming community in Daviess County.

Knottsville was only incorporated as a town in 1827, so this was early days. In fact, Cornelius' unknown parents (we'll get to that in a moment) were probably part of the first great immigration of white settlers into Kentucky, which took place in the 1790s. But getting back to Knottsville, there's this from Wikipedia:

The first school-house was built in 1854. It was a log cabin but was replaced by a neat frame building in 1857. The first school was taught by Powhattan Ellis, whose family came from Virginia. By the end of the 19th century, the town had two general stores, one drug store, one shoe shop, a blacksmith and wagon shop, two undertakers, one flouring mill, one saw and grist mill, and three tobacco factories.

Around the end of the 19th century the town looked like this:

Now, as to Cornelius' forebears. No one on Ancestry.com seems confidant enough to venture a guess. It is known from DNA testing that these forebears came from Virginia, as did many other Kentuckians. He is part of DNA group 3B, descendants of one Abraham Spencer, but there seems to be no certainty about who exactly was his father.

In any case, Corenlius married Dorothy Bess in 1836. In 1838 their first son was born, George Washington Spencer. The Bess family had immigrated to Kentucky from southern Pennsylvania. 

In 1841 the young family moved to Daviess County, to a little farm just outside of Knottsville, on the Hawesville Road. The plot of land is clearly scene on this map of the Knottsville area, dated 1876. The farm of C. Spencer (75 acres) is over on the eastern border, and his neighbor just to the south is Geo. W. Spencer (his eldest son) holding 140 acres.

Cornelius and Dorothy would have three children. Nancy (born 1836), George (born 1838), and William (born 1840). Dorothy's sister Harriett, by the way, also married a Spencer. He was George William Spencer, like Cornelius born in Bullitt County. Did the Bess sisters marry the Spencer brothers from Bullitt County? There's no certainty that Cornelius and George William were brothers, but they were almost certainly related.

Go back to that map of Knottsville (here). Two farms to the west of Cornelius's property is an 80 acre farm belonging to W. O. Spencer. This is William, not the second son of Cornelius, but the first son of George William and his wife Harriett. 

Well, Cornelius would live to the age of 70, dying in 1885. His wife, Dorothy, died ten years earlier, at the age of 56. She was buried in the Pellville cemetery, just down the road from the family farm. Her gravestone reads, "Dearest mother thou hast loved us long ago, no one on earth hast ever loved us so." 

After her death Cornelius would remarry. The 1880 census shows him married to Anny, with three step-children bearing the last name Luster. She is thirty years younger than him, and the children are aged 9 to 14. In Cornelius' last will and testament, shortly before his death, he would leave his entire farm (down to 45 acres by this time), his house and all its furnishings, one cow, 5 "hoggs," and 4 sheep to his wife Anny. 

I don't know where Cornelius is buried. Perhaps in the same Pellville cemetery as Dorothy, but he is not listed in FindaGrave.com. 

Next entry: we'll take a closer look at the son, George Washington Spencer.