Amanuensis Monday - Irene Walsh Webster, 1910

As family historians know, every once in a while you run across a really interesting "skeleton" in the family tree. This is an article published in the New York times, January 1910, regarding the death of my son's great great grandmother, Irene Francis Walsh Webster.

INVESTIGATE WOMAN'S DEATH

Man Held as a Witness Discharged After an Autopsy.

A man who said later that he was Charles Phillips, a button manufacturer, of 110 Pennington Avenue, Newark, went to the Mirror Hotel, at 518 Willis Avenue, the Bronx, on Friday night. Yesterday morning at 9 o'clock the woman, who was Mrs. Irene Webster of 302 East 140th Street, complained that she felt ill, and Phillips called Dr. A. L. Smolen of 443 East 146th Street.

Dr. Smolen summoned an ambulance from Lebanon Hospital, but the woman had died before it arrived. Phillips was placed under arrest by the police of the Alexander Avenue Station, and the Coroner's office notified. Coroner Shongut and Dr. Curlin, his physician, held an autopsy, and found that Mrs. Webster had died of heart disease. Phillips was discharged.

William Webster of 105 Alexander Avenue, and Thomas and James Walsh, the woman's brothers, were summoned to the hotel by the police. Webster said he had separated from his wife two years ago, and had been paying her $3.50 a week. The landlady from whom Mrs. Webster rented a furnished room at 302 East 140th Street, said that her roomer had suffered from heart trouble.

Interview, Interview, Interview!!!

As far as I knew, my maternal grandmother, Mildred Gannan Robertson, had never ridden a bicycle, driven a car, or flown in an airplane. A few years before her death, my uncle Ron Robertson and I decided to interview her on camera, as she was blessed with a clear memory and good health. She and her sister Helen and brother Don were the last of their generation, and we wanted to record for posterity her memories of life as a young child, the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond. One story she told can serve as a lesson to my fellow family historians: don't make assumptions about your ancestors, because they just might surprise you.

It turns out that my grandmother HAD, in fact, flown in an airplane. When she was in her teens, a barnstormer came to Harrison County, Missouri, and was offering rides in a biplane for a small fee. She borrowed the money from her future sister-in-law, and off she went for a ride over the farm-dotted countryside. I can just imagine her as a young girl, flying high, laughing, wind-whipped hair, breathless after landing and thinking, what a great adventure I've just had! She never again flew in an airplane.

Had my uncle and I not interviewed her, we would never have known about her grand girlhood adventure, and would have assumed she always played it safe, feet firmly planted on the ground. Interview your living relatives if you're lucky enough to have some, you never know what you might find out!

Military Service

I have found very few of my direct ancestors who served in the military during what I'll call "modern times" (after the Civil War). My great great grandfather, Allen Robertson, served in the Union forces during the Civil War and never attained a rank beyond Private. George Isaac Gibson, my Irish immigrant fifth great grandfather, was a Major under George Washington at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. His father-in-law, Zechariah Smith (my sixth great grandfather) served under Captain Thompson in the French & Indian War. Our family was also represented in the War of 1812 by Josiah Oaks, my fifth great grandfather, and Joel Waterbury, my fourth great grandfather. Joel Waterbury's two grandfathers, Daniel Waterbury and Jacob Travis, also served in the Revolutionary War. Oddly enough, my original impetus for picking up my mom's genealogy was a desire to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, which I've yet to do.

John Gannan

Since the blog is titled "The Hunt for John Gannan," I suppose it's time to tell you about him. He is my great great great grandfather, and a total mystery to everyone in the family. The few things we know about him are that he claims to have been born in Monmouth County NJ in 1824; he married in Ohio; moved to Illinois for a few years; then purchased land in Harrison County MO where he lived out the rest of his life. There are no known photos of John, even though there is a single photo of his wife (Miranda Justice/Justus) and grown children, apparently taken after his death. There are family stories that he was a "wood colt" (born out of wedlock) and took his mother's maiden name, never knowing his father. Other stories state that he refused to have his photograph taken. There are no known vital records found in New Jersey or Illinois, only census records from Ohio and Missouri, along with his probated will and some land records. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery between Bethany and Blue Ridge in Harrison County, Missouri. The tombstone is old and worn, and was replaced a few years ago by several members of the family. This is the sum total of what we know about him. I can say, however, his grandson John William Gannan (my great grandfather), was a wonderful man, a dairy farmer who worked hard his whole life and had the most amazing blue eyes.

"Old John Gannan," as I call him, has kept himself hidden for a long long time, and I can only hope one day he will decide to show himself and offer up a clue. I imagine my mom and grandpa meeting him for first the first time in heaven, "Oh, so YOU'RE John Gannan. Nice to meet you!"

Old School Genealogy

I am fortunate to have inherited a suitcase full of my mom's genealogy correspondence from the 50's through the 70's. Before the age of internet research, family historians did things the "old school" way, writing letters to elderly relatives and county clerks, anyone who might have a scrap of useful information. The return correspondence is a fascinating glimpse into a different time, full of family stories, gossip, and if you were lucky, a clue that might knock down a brick wall. The best were those written in the shaky hand of the elderly, from relatives who had personally met my great great grandparents and could describe their physical appearance, personal preferences, or life events. While today's technology-based genealogy may yield more results in a shorter period of time, it's a lot less personal and is missing the human element of "old school" correspondence. I find myself returning to the letters from time to time, if for no other reason than it brings my ancestors to life in a way no computer database can.

Wordless Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday, October 4, 2011

George Isaac Gibson, b. 1732, Cork County, Ireland. d. 1819, Gibson Station, Virginia. He served with George Washington in the Revolutionary War.