The 200th Post of Jones Family Matters!



Photo Credit:  PD Photo.org

When I began writing this blog in May 2009, I didn't know how much I would grow to love it.  I worried about having enough material.  Would I ever figure out how to position images?  Would anyone even read it?  Would my family care?

I found that genealogy is never finished.  There are always new discoveries.  I learned that I am much more attracted to finding out who my ancestors were and not nearly so interested in dates and charts. My foggy idea that the blog could serve as "cousin bait" has definitely proved to be the case.  Not only has it helped me forge new relationships with my first cousins, but I've discovered third and fourth cousins I did not know existed.  Martha Darby Rutter, Betty Arnett, Barbara Pharo and the Biedermanns are just some of the cousins who come to mind.

I've become a better researcher.  In striving to tell the story as accurately as possible, I've found myself reexaming records, searching for missing pieces, and actually toppling a couple of brick walls.  I've submitted three articles to genealogical journals for possible publication.  I was just notified that my latest submission will be published in the Ohio Genealogical Quarterly making it three for three.

I discovered that I have a real interest in and love for historical context.  Thanks to my diverse ancestry, I've become much more knowledgeable about German, English, Welsh and Irish history.  Since I'm a 5th generation Jones in Cincinnati, I've become even more appreciative of the city of my birth.

Lately I've even convinced a couple of relatives and friends to have their DNA analyzed for both health and ancestry information.  I've stayed on top of some of the latest software advances such as google+ and  I am scheduled to teach a series of classes on family history blogging at our library in the fall.  I've become much more involved in my local and state genealogical organizations and now been accepted into four lineage groups and one group for Civil War ancestors.

And probably the most unexpected thing -- through Geneabloggers (a group of almost 2000 bloggers writing about their family histories) I've met new friends -- friends whose work I admire.  I look forward to every one of their posts. I'm amazed that these contacts are spread throughout the United States and beyond.  There is great diversity among our group and I've been exposed to traditions that are foreign to me.

So blogging has become a passion for me -- and I owe much of it to those of you who have taken the time to read and comment on my posts.  I look forward to the next 200 posts.

Robert Willis Darby

Photo Credit:  Wikipedia

Robert Darby was the first member of the Darby family to be born in the United States. He was born in Cincinnati on April 17, 1842.  What I know of Robert's life comes by way of Edwin Cyrus Darby's family history:

Father's brother, Robert, married Mary Pacey, an English girl.  Had five sons and four daughters. The boys' names: Jonathan, William, Harry, Arthur. I forget the other boy's name.  The girls: Elizabeth, Bettie, Nellie, Zylpha.  Jonathan married and went to South Carolina.  Had a family.  Willis went to California, married there and died young. If they had any children, I don't know it.  Harry married and lives in Avondale where he was born. Arthur, I believe, went to Massachusetts to live.  Married and had a family.  I don't know anything about Uncle Robert and Aunt Mary.  Both died. She went first a good while ago.  So ends that chapter.

So Edwin left some holes in the story -- holes I've not yet filled. I do know, that like his father before him, Robert was a painter. His death certificate refers to him as a "contracting painter." I know that not only was the family involved in the painting of houses, but also used their talents as sign painters. Robert's wife, Mary, died in 1910 at the age of 65. Robert lived with two of his daughters who remained unmarried.

Near the end of the Civil War, Robert signed up with his brother, Joseph, enlisting in the 191st Ohio Volunteer Infantry on March 8, 1865. (They were previously part of the 185th OVI, enlisting February 13th).  Robert was 22.  The 191st was first ordered to Winchester, Virginia where Major-General Hancock was organizing the First Army Corps. At Harper's Ferry, the regiment was stopped and ordered to report to General John R. Brooke. They were assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Army of the Shenandoah. Their only duty was garrison duty in the valley until they were mustered out on August 27, 1865 in Winchester.  The war was all but over when Lee surrendered on April 9th.

USS Carondolet

For some reason during that period, Robert must have volunteered to become part of the Navy. He became a Corporal and became a member of the crew of the USS Carondolet.  I have not been able to find the date of his transfer to the navy, but I doubt that he saw much action by the time he got there.  This ironclad boat along with similar Confederate boats had played a major role in the war along the Mississippi River.  Here is a picture of the Carondolet in a battle in 1862.

Bombardment and Capture of Island Number Ten on the Mississippi River, April 7, 1862
Colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives, New York, circa 1862.

He served enough time, however, to have it mentioned in his obituary.

OBITUARY: (no date on clipping) CIVIL WAR VETERAN DIES - R.W. Darby was in River Fighting at Close of Conflict. Robert W. Darby, 81 years old, 726 Whittier Street, last surviving member of the crew of the United States steamer Carondelet, active at the close of the Civil War, died at his home late Saturday. He had been ill several months. At the beginning of the Civil War, Mr. Darby enlisted with the One Hundred and Ninety -- first Ohio Regiment and later became a member of the crew of the Carondelet, operating on the Mississippi River. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Naval Veterans and Knights of Pythias. Surviving him are five daughters and three sons. Mr. Darby was born in Cincinnati.

Both the G.A.R. and Naval Veterans will conduct services at the funeral which will take place tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock.

Robert W. Darby (1842-1922)

Robert, along with several members of his family, is buried in the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery.  As I've mentioned before, this blog often serves as "cousin bait."  Perhaps one of Robert's descendants will be researching their ancestor and be referred to this post.  Should I hear from one of them, I will update what we know about our Darby ancestors.  

Again I must recognize the contribution of Martha Darby Rutter, who forwarded a copy of Robert's obituary to me and her g-grandfather's Darby Family History.

Update:  I recently discovered through newspaper articles from the Cincinnati Enquirer that Robert Darby had apparently participated in one of the most significant battles of the Civil War near Vicksburg on the Carondolet. The top part of the article pictured was entitled "Vengeance for the Maine's Dead."  It appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer. April 17, 1898, p. 29.

Joseph Bickerdyke Darby

Joseph Bickerdyke Darby

Joseph is the brother of my gg-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Darby Wainright.  The family immigrated from England in 1841. When I first "got into" genealogy, it was largely because of some fantastic luck I had within the first month.  My gg-grandfather was Britton Wainright.  Genealogists know how wonderful it is to research an uncommon name -- not like my father's name, John Thomas Jones.  I "googled" Britton's name and found a link to a family tree submitted to the LDS site.  It listed the submitter as Martha Darby Rutter.  I took a chance and found Martha through a phone book site.  There she was -- living in Oklahoma!

I called Martha and the hairs on my arm stood up when we realized we were "family" -- 4th cousins to be exact.  Our common ancestor is Jonathon Darby, father of Joseph.  Martha had been researching her history for years and graciously agreed to send me some documents.  She then asked me if I knew where members of this family were buried and I was shocked to find out that they were in a cemetery IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!  I attended kindergarten right across the street from the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery.  Martha and I have continued to help each other out over the past 10 years.

The first document Martha sent me was a copy of the Ship's Passenger List for the Parthenon. It sailed from Liverpool to New Orleans on March 20, 1841.  The Darby, Bickerdyke and Sidebottom families traveled together.  Jonathon Darby, the father, was listed as a "painter."  (Joseph, age 11, would make his living as a painter later in his life).

The family traveled in "steerage." What is most interesting is the list of the items they chose to bring.

In addition to 23 packages of clothing and bedding for six, they brought three harps, three violins and a bass viol (listed as family instruments). Music was extremely important to this family. Martha was able to share this picture of her gg-grandfather with his violin.

Who could have predicted that this young family would have two sons and a son-in-law fight in a Civil War in their new country in a short 20 years?

Looking Ahead to 2011

Jospeh Bickerdyke Darby *

It's Christmastime and I am definitely in the mood.  So you would think that I would want to post all things Christmas.  Yet my genealogical life for the past month has been consumed, not by Christmas, but by the Civil War.  On the face of it, that makes no sense -- so let me explain.

If you ever want to challenge your genealogical/family history skills, try to submit something to a lineage group for the appropriate genealogical society.  Since I am fortunate in having many generations of my family from both maternal and paternal lines

living in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, I am a member of both the Hamilton County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Ohio Genealogical Society.  Both organizations have lineage groups that encourage you to DOCUMENT your family's history in the area and submit it for review.  I've already submitted applications and had my families accepted into the First Families of Cincinnati and Settlers and Builders lineage groups for Hamilton County.  A couple of months ago, I submitted applications for both groups' Century Families. In order to qualify, I had to "prove" that my direct ancestors lived in Cincinnati, Ohio a minimum of 100 years ago.  I have many.

The Ohio Genealogical Society also has a lineage group for those who can prove that direct ancestors, and/or their siblings, served in the Civil War.  The year 2011 marks the 150 year anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  I was surprised, when I started investigating, that I have a minimum of six ancestors who qualify for this designation.  I decided to work on submitting the documentation for three who came from the same family line -- two Darby brothers and their brother-in-law, Britton Wainright.  (I've written about Britton at length -- links to posts about Britton are listed at the end of this post).

Joseph Bickerdyke Darby is pictured above.  He came from a family of musicians.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I'll write what I know about each of them individually, but I just must postpone "War Stories" until after the holiday season.

So I've finished my application for the Civil War lineage group.  It is more than 60 pages of documentation.  I made the decision to only submit three of my six ancestors this year as I'm just running out of time.  I encourage anyone who reads this post to look at what opportunities are available through your local genealogical societies.  You'll meet wonderful people whose eyes don't glaze over at the mention of family history.  They will point you in the direction of numerous resources.  In the end, your family will benefit from the attention to detail that is necessarily a part of submitting applications for consideration.

Now -- off to enjoying my living family!

Links to posts about Britton Wainright

Britton Wainright - Part I

Britton Wainright - Part II

* I want to thank Martha Darby Rutter, gg-granddaughter of Joseph Bickerdyke Darby, who graciously sent me this picture and gave permission to post it.

The Darby Connection

I debated when I started this project as to whether or not I should go straight down the descendant lines (Alexander Jones to Charles Henry Jones, Charles Henry to Charles Fred, Charles Fred to John Thomas, John Thomas to me) or should I also include information on the collateral lines. I went with the latter. I'm a firm believer in not ignoring the contributions of the women that the Jones men married. So let me tell you about Mary Elizabeth Darby who was the mother of Rachel Wainright Jones (Pop's mother).

Mary Elizabeth Darby emigrated with her family from Selby, Yorkshire County, England. She was 13 years old at the time. They sailed from Liverpool and arrived in New York on March 20, 1841.

When I first started researching my family, I was really fascinated by Rachel Wainright and her father Britton -- more about him later. When you have a last name like Jones, researching can be incredibly challenging -- but then there was a unique name like Britton Wainright. I decided to "google" his name on the computer and he immediately came up in a family tree married to Mary Elizabeth Darby who came from England. In addition, there were several other previous generations listed. The family tree had been submitted by Martha Darby Rutter of Oklahoma.

I googled Martha and was able to find a phone number and called her up. What a conversation that was! When I told her who I was she went and got the family history record written by her g-grandfather, Edwin Cyrus Darby. She quoted this paragraph to me:

Father's oldest sister married a man named Wainwright. They had three children, two daughters named Ruth and Rachel and a son Thomas. He was killed in a railroad accident. Ruth married a Dr. Hutchison, had a son and daughter, then he died. The daughter was a nurse in the World War and went to France. Ruth died several years ago. Rachel married Harry Jones. They had two or three children. She died young, then he died and the children were put out in private homes. I lost track of them.

When Martha read this to me the hairs on my arms stood up. I told her that I was part of the family that her g-grandfather had lost track of. He wrote his family history about 1937, the year Alwilda died.

Her next statement was the biggest shock of the conversation. Martha said, "You know where they are buried, right?" I replied that I couldn't possibly know that, because until this conversation I didn't even know they existed. She then proceeded to tell me that many members of the Darby family were buried in the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Imagine my shock because I've lived in Pleasant Ridge the majority of my life and even went to kindergarten at Pleasant Ridge School, directly across the street from the cemetery. Martha told me she had come to Cincinnati and found the graves and found the church office to be very helpful. Based on her information, I was able to retrieve copies of their cemetery records. Tim and I made a visit and you can see the picture below.

I plugged the information into my Family Tree Maker program and it said that Martha and I are fourth cousins. We are related through Jonathon Darby, father of Mary Elizabeth. Martha and I have stayed in touch. She has pursued her family's genealogy for more than three decades and provided me with a lot of information. I have a copy of the Darby passenger list when they emigrated from England. I know the family was very musical and brought their instruments with them to the states. There are several members of the family who fought in the Civil War. Martha also sent me a picture of Mary Elizabeth, mother of Rachel and my gg-grandmother. She was one of many strong women from whom we are descended.

For more than eight years, Martha and I have emailed back and forth. When I became frustrated with my genealogical "brick walls", Martha was always there to suggest another approach to solving the problem. I attribute to her my love of this hobby and much of what I've learned. We always promise to meet, but so far we haven't done so. Like me, Martha is a retired teacher. We've both had our fair share of health issues -- but you can't keep a Jones/Wainright/Darby woman down.