Anderson...GenealogyBank...Obituaries

I gave myself a small present--a subscription to GenealogyBank, which is a newspaper site. Using the new subscription, I've found lots of extra detail and a few obits. Here are the obits.

Anne Ellen (Doran) Anderson
The Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Monday, 28 Jul 1947, Page 8
MRS. ANNE ANDERSON
Monson, July 27--Mrs. Anne E. (Doran) Anderson, 77, died Saturday in her home in Stebbins Rd. She was born in London, Eng. Jul 8, 1870, daughter of Patrick and Mary (May) Doran and came to the United States in 1904. She first resided in Maine, later going to Springfield where she made her home until last year.
Mrs. Anderson was the widow of John J. Anderson who died in 1925. She leaves two sons, Edward M., and Norman J. Anderson, both of this town; a sister, Miss Susan Doran of Chicopee Falls, and three grandchildren.
The funeral will be held from the Lombard Funeral home in Bridge St., Monday at 8:30 with requiem high mass in St. Patrick's Church at 9. Burial will be Tuesday at 10 in St. Mary's Cemetery, Biddeford, Me.

Edward Michael G. Anderson

The Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Monday, 14 Dec 1964, Page 10
DIED
ANDERSON--At Wing Memorial Hospital Palmer, December 12, Edward M. Anderson of Stebbins Rd., Monson. Funeral from the Palmer Funeral Service Tuesday at 8:15, followed by a high mass of requiem at the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle at 9. Burial in St. Thomas Cemetery. Calling hours Sunday and Monday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.

Elsie M. (Beane) Anderson
The Springfield Union, Wednesday, 7 May 1969, Page 5
Mrs. Elsie M. Anderson
PALMER -- Mrs. Elsie M. (Bean) Anderson, 62, of Stebbins Road, Monson, died Tuesday in Wesson Memorial Hospital, Springfield. She was born in Biddeford, MD., and was a resident of Palmer and Monson many years. Mrs. Anderson leaves two sons, Edward and Paul of Monson; a daughter, Mrs. Patricia Fontaine of Palmer; two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Soucy in New Jersey, and Mrs. Alice Ball of Daytona Beach, Fla.; and two stepbrothers, Max Brandt of Palmer and Carl Brandt of Saco, Me. Palmer Funeral Service is in charge. Burial will be in St. Thomas Cemetery, Palmer.

Norman J. Anderson

The Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Monday, 26 Aug 1968, Page 3

SUBURBAN DEATHS 

NORMAN J. ANDERSON

ENFIELD--Norman J. Anderson, 63, 0f 25 Sword Ave., Thompsonville, died Saturday in a local nursing home. He was born in Biddlefort, Me., June 24, 1905, he had been a resident of this town since 1951, and of Springfield since his childhood. Mr. Anderson had been employed in the Package Machinery Corp., East Longmeadow as a layout worker until retiring in 1967. He is survived by his wife, the former Ruth V. Nooney. Byron funeral home, Springfield, is in charge. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Ruth V. (Nooney) Anderson

The Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Wednesday, 12 Jun 1985, Page 6
Ruth V. Anderson
Ruth V. (Nooney) Anderson, 80, of 70 Harrison Ave., Springfield, retired secretary for Hallihan Lumber Co. and formerly of Fred Weake Plastering Co., died Monday in Western Massachusetts Hospital, Westfield. Born in Springfield, she graduated from the High School of Commerce, was a member of First Church, Court Square and also served on many of the church's committees. Her husband, Norman Anderson, died in 1968. She leaves a brother, Walter G. Nooney of Brickerville, Pa.; and a sister, Florence E. Progulski of Agawam. The funeral will be Thursday afternoon at Dickinson-Streeter Funeral Home with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery.

GenealogyBank
Seems that GenealogyBank has a different set of newspapers than the ones I've searched before. It also seems that an individual subscription gives you access to more than the library subscriptions I've used in the past. I'm pleased with the purchase.

Elvis Treme R.I.P. March 1999 to 19 Dec 2012

Garry and I lost a beloved member of our family, our cat, Elvis. Since this website is devoted to my family, I've decided to mark the passing of my very sweet old swashbuckler of a cat.

Elvis came into our lives late one night in May 1999. We were living in an apartment, which was filled with abandoned strays that I had been feeding. For no reason at all, I peeked out of the curtains and saw the loveliest fuzzy gray and white kitten licking the concrete where the food had been. It broke my heart and it was love at first sight.

I spent the summer using food to tame him. He was big and loud, and he had sharp claws. But he was always just out of reach of humans, seemingly wanting to be closer. In September, we had a storm coming through Tampa and I didn't want him out in the weather. So I scooped him up and brought him in. My older cat Ziggie was not pleased. But they quickly settled into a working truce.

Over the next few months, the kitten came in and out of the apartment as I was able to lure him in. We hadn't given him a name until Garry came home one day and asked, "So, is Elvis in the building?" I don't know who I was fooling by not giving him a name. He was always going to be my cat. Thus began my time with Elvis.

Elvis was stubborn. Everything was his way or no way. When we moved into the house in 2001, I kept him inside for a month. It was a long, noisy month as we listen to non stop yowling about how much this cat wanted to be outside. We hadn't built the screened patios (lanai in Florida) yet but we noticed that everyone in the neighborhood let their cats out without any problems. When we let him out, Elvis quickly established domain over our yard and several others around us. He became the scourge of Lake Saxon Drive.

He loved to hunt. We've had our share of dead birds, squirrels, and snakes. He cleared up a long standing mouse problem for a neighbor, who was most grateful for the service. I couldn't argue with him much because he ate everything he killed. As he got older, he no longer killed anything. He'd just bring his catches home and let them go in the back lanai. I've released an assortment of panicked birds and squirrels and one terrified rabbit.

As Elvis got older, we realized he had dyspepsia in his hips and that arthritis would be a problem for him. Otherwise, as the vet noted, Elvis was in perfect health. He remained that way for many years until recently, when we found him in the garden, unable to walk. He had developed an abscess (cause unknown) and we took him back and forth to the vet for treatment.

We ended up keeping Elvis in the house again for two weeks because we had to give him antibiotics. Garry and I discussed keeping him in permanently. The question became who would we be doing it for? Us? Elvis? In his usual fashion, Elvis let us know his feelings on the topic. He wanted out!

So we let him back out and everything seemed fine. Last Saturday, while trying to get Elvis to eat, I flipped the kitty door closed. Garry went out later and opened it for him. He went trotting across the yard like he always does and plopped down in the garden in a favorite spot. That was the last either of us saw of him. We knew that he was coming in and eating because his food, treats, and crunches were disappearing. We kept calling and looking and hoping but no Elvis.

Then, this morning, when I went out to put feed in the bird feeders (we have a fenced area for them), I spotted his body on the side of the house. We're not sure what happen to him. The vet said it could have been any number of things. We didn't have him autopsied. We didn't see the point. Sometime over the next few days, he will be cremated. Believe it or not, it's legal in Florida to be buried with cremated pets. I plan on going off to the great beyond with Ziggie and Elvis tucked on the right side of my feet...where they both wanted to be at night.

I'm going to miss my handsome boy Elvis, just like I still miss my sweet girl Ziggie. If you've read this post to this point, thank you for indulging me in honoring the life of Elvis Treme, a four footed friend, a hell of a character, a cat who lived his life on his own terms. I loved him dearly.

Elvis Treme

R.I.P.

March 1999 to 19 Dec 2012

Dodd Cousin

For the past few days, I've been exchanging emails with a distant Dodd cousin named Julia. Julia and her brother Raymond are interested in pursuing research on the Dodd line. I'm not even sure how Julia found me. Her email just popped up. But then, it isn't as if I'm not posting and fishing for information.

I've armed Julia and Raymond with everything I have on the Dodd line so that they are not starting from scratch. I've also contacted Vivian, another cousin from the same line. Perhaps they might be interested in working together. If anything further develops, I'll be sure to blog about it.

I think I received the following certificates from Vivian.

Marriage Certificate Joseph Dodd and Agnes Anderson

Birth Certificate Albert Dodd

Alexander McKee 1827-1886 Northern Ireland-Illinois

Well, my luck didn't hold. The researcher looked for every McKee in the Mount/Port Norris area that was born in the 1820s. He found a few but none are my Alexander or any other of the McKee family members I'm looking for. Here are results from the researcher.

I've sent a follow up question to the researcher. Based on church history for the Mount/Port Norris area, Presbyterians were going to church at Markethill. Since a record of Alexander's older brother Robert shows a place of birth as County Armagh, I've asked the researcher if looking at Markethill is a reasonable next step. I've also asked the researcher to suggest an alternative search if he has a suggestion.

I'll keep posting as long as I have questions, options, the attention of the researcher, and disposable cash.

Mary Jane (McKee) Thompson, Ireland, Illinois, 1837-1886

I've continued to work on the Murphy wing of the family. I'm gathering obits right now and having lots of luck with The State Historical Society of Missouri.

I got bored and went on to Genlighten and decided to take a stab at finding a McKee document in Ireland. I had tried this once before with no luck. Well the stars must have been with me, because the researcher found a document exactly where I told him to look. Here's what I had him look for...

Mary Jane McKee's death certificate states that she was born 11 May 1837 Port Norris, Ireland. Port Norris is also called Mount Norris and you'll find that it's also written as one word. This place name is very fluid. It's located in County Armagh, Ireland. I asked the researcher to see if he could find a christening record in one of two Presbyterian churches: Tullyallen or Mountnorris. Here's the document I received.

The researcher put red dots beside the entry for Mary Jane McKee. Here's the info for Mary Jane.

Mary Jane McKee d/o William C. McKee + Susanna Gilmore
b. 11 May 1837 Port Norris, County Armagh, Ireland
d. 1 Jan 1886 Six-mile Prairie, Randolph County, Illinois, United States
m. 10 May 1859 Randolph County, Illinois
Joseph Thompson
b. ? Dec 1830 County Down, Ireland
d. 6 Dec 1898 Randolph County, Illinois

Mary Jane and Joseph had eight children: William James (1860-1944), Sarah Jane (1861-1909), George Henry (1864-1896), Salena (1867-1896), Mary Margaret (1869-1897), Agnes Minerva (1872-1896), Ada (1878-????), and Joseph Edward (1881-1905).

With this document I think I've placed at least the family of William C. McKee in County Armagh in 1837 just before the McKee family left Ireland for the United States.

Next Step
The death certificate of William's brother, Robert McKee, states that Robert was born in County Armagh. He was born about 1816 but that doesn't provide much in the way of a real date that a researcher can act on. However, I do have a complete date for William and Robert's youngest brother Alexander McKee (b. 28 Feb 1827) but I don't have a place of birth.

I've asked the researcher to look for a christening for Alexander based on his date of birth and in the church records for Tullyallen and Mountnorris.

In addition to confirming that the family is located in County Armagh in 1827, I'm hoping to finally find out their mother's first name. I'm guessing it's Margaret because a number of the oldest granddaughters are named Margaret. Other contenders are Mary Jane or Mary Agnes.

With their mother's first name, I can pursue a death record at the church. She had to be alive in 1827 to give birth to son Alexander but dead by 1837 when the McKee family comes to the United States. According to notes from a distant relative, she died in 1835. I'm hoping to find out that she's buried in one of the church burial grounds.

Identifying the Church
One problem with the certificate I received for Mary Jane is that I have no way to identify which of the churches is the correct church. Here's what I can read of the signature on the certificate:

Rev. Rob't ___________________

Click here to read a history of the two churches. Based on this history, my best guess as to the Reverend on the certificate is Robert Lyons Porter at Tullyallen Presbyterian Church. He's the Robert who is there at the right time. However, if you look at the certificate, the name doesn't look like his. I'm hoping that if the researcher can find a certificate for Alexander McKee that the signature on that certificate will be clearer.

Further, if I can place the family in Armagh between 1827 and 1837, I should be able to begin to pursue marriage records for the older McKee children (Agnes, Joseph, William, and Robert). Only Jane and Alexander McKee enter the United States in 1837 as unmarried children.

Waiting...waiting...waiting...
The clock started yesterday because it takes the researcher 7-10 days to respond after I paid the fee. So stay tuned. I might have some interesting McKee news soon.

Murphy Status

Since last February or so, I've been trying to track down everybody named Murphy in Union County, Illinois. If you're not sure how the Murphy family fits in with the McKee family, see The Murphy Connection. Finding information has gone well with the occasional stalling.

It's not as daunting a task as it might sound. Until more recent times, Union County was a relatively sparsely populated rural county in Southern Illinois. So I'm tracking a limited number of Murphys. Add a birth place--Tennessee--to the mix and you begin to see patterns form. So when I find a record for a Murphy who is living in Union County but born in Virginia, I can go light on researching this Murphy and concentrate on Murphys born in Tennessee or descendants of Murphys born in Tennessee.

After several months, I can declare that the Tennessee Murphy family is a wild bunch. There are lots of marriages, lots of divorces, several children with "early" birth dates, and lots of drama. I was always able to trace the difficult personalities in the family back to Prudence Murphy. However, I've come to see Pru and any of her activities as just the tip of the ice burg.

Of late I've been working with land records. I bought a book--Family Maps of Union County, Illinois by Gregory A. Boyd, J.D. In the book Boyd plots all of the early land records based on Bureau of Land Management records. The book is handy because I don't have to try to plot locations myself. In addition, because Boyd plots all of the land records, I can spot possible parents of spouses.

Early land records place the Murphy's in three townships:

• T12R1W (Anna) includes land owned by Wilburn Murphy b. Tennessee about 1814...later maps show the area where Wilburn's land was as the Murphy School district. There's also Murphy School Road that runs through the area.
• T12SR1E (Stokes) includes land owned by Wilburn, John (b. Tennessee about 1808), and Williams Murphy (b. Illinois about 1821)...Williams name can be Williams Murphy or Williams Murphey or William Murphy
• T11SR1E (Rich) includes John Murphy

I'm going to continue looking at land and trying to pair them with census records to sort out relationships.

Hiley Murphy--the female found on the 1818 (Federal) through 1855 (state) censuses and most likely the matriarch of the Murphys in Union County--seems to be born about 1770. In 1850, she's living with Williams Murphy. She would have been about 51 at the time of Williams birth...too old to be his mother? Perhaps his grandmother? I'm not sure at the moment.

Anyway that is the state of things with the Murphys at the moment. If I make any earth shattering discoveries, I'll post. In the meantime, it's systematic collecting and interpreting.

Joseph went by J. C...an update

Click here to see my original post.

I got a nice surprise in the mail today--an obituary from the Belleville Public Library in Belleville, Illinois. They have a very efficient service. You send the librarians an email with the info you're looking for, and when one of them has a few minutes, they look up your document. They copy it and place it with a cover letter, which also serves as a bill, into an envelope and mail it off to you. It's $2.50 for an obituary. Then a recipient (like me!) gets a nice surprise in the mail one day.

I had been emailing with another researcher and she gave me the hints I needed to track down the obituary. So here's the info on J.C.

Joseph Curtis McKee
b. 30 Jul 1934 Percy, Randolph County, Illinois
d. 2 Oct 1994 Mascoutah, St. Clair County, Illinois
m. 3 Jul 1958  Mascoutah, St. Clair County, Illinois
Carol Jean Payer

Joseph and Carol had three children: Tod, Gina, and Joey.

Joseph is buried in Mascoutah City Cemetery. You can find in on Find A Grave (93545525) complete with comments from his obituary.