Birthday card for my grandmother from her in-laws, Ellen Otilla Alderson Daniels and Arthur Thomas Daniels. Not dated. Card still in her possession tucked in one of her bibles.
Birthday note to my grandmother dated 1956 from her mother-in-law, Ellen Otilla Daniels.
Gladys emailed me after a day of me being frantically excited about what she was posting but unable to contact her and ask her questions. I am really excited to be collaborating with her. She is related through George Daniels' eldest daughter Harriet Alice Daniels, which means we share the same Great Great Grandparents. Small World!! She has already kindly sent me a copy of the postcard from Arthur Daniels to John Daniels that she mentioned in a few of her comments.
I have not yet been able to verify the relationship between Arthur Daniels and John Daniels. Gladys believes that John Daniels is Arthur's uncle and brother to George Daniels. If this is so it would be a breakthrough for George Daniels. I'm excited to see if we can prove the connection.
Dec 24 1913
To: Mr John Daniels of Sefatha, Kan
George King & Mollie are here from Ark. We are [sic] all well now Edith is hom and getting along fine I'll soon have enough coon skins to make a wner [sic]. coat but I need a horn a long horn
Arthur Daniels Iuka, IL
Note: See comment for original source for the postcard. I received this copy from Gladys.
Possible marriage records from the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900 for the children of George Daniels. For some of the daughters there were too many possibilities to narrow it down for certain. It seems that most of them crossed the county line and were married in Marion County, Illinois.
Index includes this information in the following order:
Grooms Name
Brides Name
Date
Vol/Page
(Licence Number) -none of these entries have information in this field
County
Verified:
DANIELS, ARTHUR T ALDERSON, ATELLA E 1900-08-14 E /78 MARION
Highly Probable: GREEN, HENRY E DANIELS, EDITH 1894-11-18 /291 206 MARION ADAMS, HILLARY L DANIELS, EMMA 1880-09-02 0OD/0141 MARION JAMISON, ULYSSES GRANT DANIELS, EVA F 1889-09-26 00E/0006 MARION MULVANEY, GEORGE W DANIELS, HARRIET A 1879-09-04 0OD/0133 MARION
**UPDATE: All of the above are CORRECT see summaries for details.
Possible:
There are a few Ida M's in the index but none in Marion or Clay County. I believe that Ida died before 1880 before the age of 10.
Multiple entries for Mary, below is the one for a Mary L. in a feasible time period but I am unfamiliar with the county. (UPDATE: Some information suggests Mary married George King, have yet to be able to verify)
BARBER, FRANK E DANIELS, MARY L 1889-12-30 H /418 ALEXANDER
Sarah A. Daniels: There are quite a few entries for Sarah but none of them are in a feasible year range in Marion County, making it difficult to determine which one is correct. (UPDATE: Some information suggests Sarah married William Buckles, have yet to be able to verify).
Lucy A. Daniels: Similar situation to Sarah, too many and not enough information to prove connection. (UPDATE: Believe she died before 1883 unmarried)
I was just writing a post expressing my frustration in not being able to locate the 1880 census for Arthur Thomas Daniels as a child in his father's house. I couldn't locate his parents or any of his many siblings and had tried multiple search engines a multitude of different ways. As I was writing the post I decided to do a final blanket search in the town I was pretty sure they were living in, Oskaloosa, and not put a surname and put a birthplace as England. AHA!!! and there they were. The census taker had flipped the names and gave everyone the surname of George (Arthur's father's name) instead of Daniels. Woot Woot! I'm happy to have found finally found them.
The census was taken a month before my unverified death date for Arthur's father, George Daniels. Unfortunately the mortality schedule for the 1880 census ended May 31st so he was not included.
There is a daughter, Ida M, missing that was born in 1870 and included in that census. Strong possibility that she is deceased though not certain for sure. Unfortunately the pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index does not include Clay county yet. Something to search for in Salt Lake.
1880 Illinois Census Date Taken: 7 Jun 1880
Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Oskaloosa, Clay, Illinois; Roll T9_181; Family History Film: 1254181; Page: 276.4000; Enumeration District: 147; Image: 0801
Name: George Daniels White/Male Age: 52 Married Relationship to Head: Occupation: Farmer Birthplace: England Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: England
Name: Editha A White/Female Age: 47 Married Relationship to Head: Wife Occupation: Housekeeping Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Birthplace of Mother:
Name: Ema White/Female Age: 18 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Sarah A White/Female Age: 16 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Mary L White/Female Age: 14 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Abe F White/Female Age: 12 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Attended School within the census year: Y Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Lucy A White/Female Age: 9 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Attended School within the census year: Y Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Edth L White/Female Age: 7 Single Relationship to Head: Daughter Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Thomas A White/Male Age: 4 Single Relationship to Head: Son Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Arthur is living as a boarder in Oskaloosa, Clay County, Illinois in the 1900 census. He was married a few months after the census was taken in the neighboring county, Marion to Ellen Alderson. The birthplaces of parents are not entirely correct and does not match the partially correct information he gave in the 1910 and 1920 census's.
1900 Illinois Census Date Taken: 29 June 1900
Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Oskaloosa, Clay, Illinois; Roll T623_243 Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 9
Name: Arthur Daniels Relationship to Head: Boarder White/Male Born: Feb 1876 Age: 24 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois (No occupation given)
Boarding with the following family: Denvin E Wilkinson age 29, born in Illinois, parents born in Kentucky and Illinois, Wagon Maker Wife: Mary E Wilkinson age 25 Daughter: Elva L Wilkinson age 7 (Arthur later had a daughter named Elva) Son: Leslie Wilkinson age 1/12
Arthur Thomas Daniels and family in Omega Twp, Marion, Illinois (same as 1920 Census). Again he gives his mother's birthplace as England, interesting.
On the same page is a family that has the same surname as Ellen's maiden name Alderson. There is likely a connection between the two families. Ellen's parents are actually living in Omega in 1910 and can be found in the Census 3 pages later.
1910 Illinois Census Date Taken: 7th and 9th of May
Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Omega, Marion, Illinois; Roll T624_307; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 147; Image: 309
Name: Arthur T. Daniels Relationship to Head: Head Male/White Age: 35 Married 10yrs Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England Birthplace of Mother: England Occupation: Carpenter House: Owned/Free/Farm (There are numbers in the columns for Civil War Veteran, Blind, and Deaf though I do not think they mean he was any of these. He was born after the Civil War for one thing. Not sure what the numbers would mean. They look like 12 2-9)
Name: Ellen O. Daniels Relationship to Head: Wife Female/White Age: 35 Married 10yrs Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Indiana Occupation: None
Name: Lora B Daniels Relationship to Head: Daughter Female/White Age: 9 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Frank H Daniels Relationship to Head: Daughter Female/White Age: 7 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: John D. Daniels Relationship to Head: Son Male/White Age: 5 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Family with Surname of Interest: Ell Alderson, age 50, born in Illinois, parents born in Tennessee, farmer. Wife Mary E Alderson, age 41, born in Illinois, parents born in Illinois. Children: Cyrus age 18, Loren age 11, Naomi age 7, Floyd W age 2/12
Arthur Thomas Daniels and his family in Omega Twp, Marion, Illinois. Arthur gives his parents as both being born in England. I don't believe his mother (Edith Adaline Daniel) was. Also the second daughter is listed as Helen which was her middle name, her first being Frank or Franke. (Odd I know.)
1920 Illinois Census Date Taken: 9th, 10th and 12th of January 1920
Name: Arthur Daniels Relationship to Head: Head House: Rented Male/White Age: 42 Married Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: England/English Birthplace of Mother: England/English Trade: Carpenter Industry: Carpentry
Name: Ellen Daniels Relationship to Head: Wife Female/White Age: 40 Married Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Indiana Trade: None
Name: Lora Daniels Relationship to Head: Daughter Female/White Age: 19 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: Helen Daniels Relationship to Head: Daughter Female/White Age: 17 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
Name: John Daniels Relationship to Head: Son Male/White Age: 15 Single Birthplace: Illinois Birthplace of Father: Illinois Birthplace of Mother: Illinois
b. (14 Feb 1877 Oskaloosa, Clay, Illinois) 1875 -Cemetery Record
m. Ellen Otilla Alderson on 14 Aug 1900 Marion County, Illinois -Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900
d. (11 Dec 1955 Salem, Marion, Illinois) 1958 -Cemetery Record
Buried in Parker Cemetery, Songer Twp, Clay, Illinois
While I was doing my census record sweep I came across a tiny clue that led me to believe that I was missing a child of one of my ancestors, William Wesley Alderson and his wife Isadora Winders Alderson. The clue came from the 1900 census where one of the questions asked by the enumerator was how my children were living versus how many total. The answer for Isadora was 3 of 4, hinting to the existence of a child born after the 1880 census that died before the 1900 census. There was also a pretty distinct gap in the ages of the living children.
I was unable to find any helpful information on the internet and made a point to look for the missing child while I was in Utah at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Time was short at the library and I had multiple things I was looking for, but I was by chance (though probably not really chance at all, just not somewhere I would have logically looked so early in the game) I was able to find the cemetery record for the Aldersons and the Winders (Isadora’s parents). Turns out this was a classic case of the cemetery being just across the county line, not in Marion County, Illinois where I knew the family to have lived and died and had come up empty in the Marion County cemetery records, but in Clay County, Illinois right next door to the East.
Clay county happens to be a county where one of my very elusive ancestors, George Daniels born in England (if you know anything about him, please oh please let me know!) lived and presumably died before 1880 in Oskaloosa, Clay, Illinois. Anyway, while we were looking at the cemetery records for Marion County my mother suggested we look in Clay county for good old George. The books happened to be close to each other on the shelf so I picked up the book Cemetery Inscriptions of Clay Co. Illinois (977.3795 V3t). This book turned out to be a gold mine though not for George Daniels (alas he will have to continue to wait).
Thank goodness for INDEXES! Without them we would never have found my missing Aldersons and the Winders. We found EIGHT of my ancestors buried in Parker Cemetery in Songer Township, Clay, Illinois (just across the county line from Omega, Marion County, and multiple pieces of information that I did not know!
Page 357 Alderson, W. W. Apr. 10 1858 (my great great grandfather) Isadora-his wife-June 7, 1859-Nov. ?, ???? (my great great grandmother) Alderson, Estna M. Apr 5, 1885 d. Oct 14, 1958 (daughter of William and Isadora Alderson) Daniels, T. Arthur 1875-1958 (my great grandfather) Ellen O. 1878-1957 (my great grandmother, daughter of William and Isadora Alderson, wife of Arthur T. Daniels)
Page 355 Winders, Wm. W. b. Oct 25 1824 d. July 26 1877 (my great great great grandfather) Sarah wife of Wm. b. Dec 15, 1826 d. Aug 16, 1901 (my great great great grandmother, maiden Mosier) Ethel L. dau of Wm W. and Dora Alderson b. June 14, 1883 d. July 1, 18??
Tada! There she is, my missing child, Ethel! (With sisters named Ellen, Estna, and Elva. Oh my.) Unfortunately her death date is not complete, apparently the transcriber was unable to read the death year, BUT I will take what I can get. She fits in exactly where I thought she would. She is buried with her grandmother, who lived with the Aldersons after her husband died. I didn’t have birth or death dates for Sarah or William W. either and was very surprised and happy to see them in the Parker Cemetery too. Talk about one of those moments when you want to stand up and do a jig in the library (don’t worry I restrained myself to a low five).
Well, my point is to never ignore even the smallest of clues and follow those little urges to look somewhere you didn’t think about initially (thank you, mother!). Doors can open and ancestors can be found. It is an amazing thing to be a part of.
Citation and Notes:
Cemetery Inscriptions of Clay Co. Illinois 977.3795 V3t
Parker Cemetery, Songer Township Location? NW/4 of Sec. 18, township 3 North, Range 5 East North of Xenia on Xenia-Oskaloosa Road to Songer Town House (3 miles), West about 3 miles across Railroad to County-line Road, right 1 ½ miles to cemetery.
Federal Census Records hold a wealth of information and give a great peek at a family in 10 year intervals. Federal Census Records are available from 1930 back every ten years with the exception of 1890 which was destroyed by fire. The further back you go, the less information you will find until eventually all you are getting is the name of the head of household and tally marks.
All of the census's are available online for searching but require a membership to do so. The two biggest places I do census searches are Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest. As mentioned last week, Ancestry is a paid membership whereas with Heritage Quest you can get access through the BYU library with your student/alumni log in (I imagine there are other ways to get in though this is the only way I know. Heritage Quest not only does census's, it has a large collection of family and local histories with original images online).
The 1880 census is an exception. It is available for FREE through Ancestry and also through Familysearch.org
What will you find in the 1880 Federal Census Records?
You will find full names of all people living in the household, their relationship to the head of household, their marital status, race, age, birthplace, occupation, father's birthplace, mother's birthplace, who their neighbors were (this is useful for establishing family relationships) and more.
Because the 1880 is free on Ancestry you should be able to follow the following links (that is if you are interested) and view the actual census records online. It is helpful to zoom in once or twice (150%) in order to be able to read the names. The names will appear in list form down the left side. Sometimes the surname comes first, sometimes it does not, depends on the census. My ancestors in the 1880 census:
If you have your own name you want to search, follow the links above. Type in as much information as you have, if nothing comes up take out some of the information and try again. I've also found many times that my ancestors have given their nicknames to the census taker and that the ages are often incorrect.
1930 Census of Arthur T. Daniels and family
I've mentioned before that I am trying to find all of my ancestors in as many census's as possible. I have a few that are still proving elusive but have found a majority of my ancestors in the census records throughout their lives. It has been very interesting to see where they have moved (which proves very helpful when looking for other records) and what occupations they have held as well as what children were living in the house and when. Census records are an easy door for opening up other research possibilities. I'm excited about the many leads I have found. There's always something more to do.
