Yesterday, I worked on trying to find the history on my great grandmother on dad's side. I've always had a struggle with Jane Downs. Haven't been able to locate where she was born outside of it being in Delaware; haven't been able to find out her middle name (starts with an M); haven't been able to find out who her mom was (Dad was Benjamin but he died when she was 12). Not sure who took her in or who his second wife was. Pretty sure he married twice because of the ages in the 1840 and 1850 census records. Unfortunately, way back in the 1840's they just wrote down little marks for females or males in the family and put them in age categories like "under five" or "10-16". Helps very little if you're trying to track them ten years later. Because a cousin down in Goldendale, WA shared an old letter she had of Jane's dated 1896, I've been trying to learn more about Jane using the clues in this letter. It was written by Hennrietta Morris who refers to herself in closing as "your loving sister."
Tell little Charley Aunt Henny says bless his little heart. I am your loving sister, Hennrietta Morris to Janey may the lord bless you all.
In the 1850 census when Jane is 10 and her dad is still alive, there's a Henrietta living there who was born in 1797. I'm guessing this woman is Jane's step mom as the census ten years earlier has a female listed but the ages don't add up. Anyhow, I figured Jane's sister, (also named Henrietta) probably married and that's why she wasn't living at home with them in 1850. And I was right because I found Henrietta married in 1848.
Once I had this letter from my Goldendale cousin, I proceeded to delve into Henrietta's life. I dug deep and eventually, I found a relative in New Jersey. She sent me a copy of all her family data and I hate to think of how much time I spent trying to track exactly where Henrietta went from census to census. I was sure this woman's data was correct because of all the research I had done on Henrietta. And then I hit a real stone wall. Her Henrietta had a father and a brother both named Zadock Clark and a mother named Henrietta Hilford, and her Henrietta was the youngest kid in the family.
I kept going back to Hennrietta's letter to Jane referring to herself as "your loving sister" and "tell little Charley "Aunt Henny" says bless his little heart.
Sometimes my daughter Mary's friends refer to themselves as Aunt Candi, Aunt Shari, etc. when they're talking to Jake. I wondered if Henrietta was doing this here or if she actually was an aunt. Even saying "your loving sister" might be just a term of endearment OR....she really could be a sister! Sigh.....
What made me even more confused was that some Clarks lived in the same neighborhood as Ben and Jane Downs in 1850. AND.... Jane named one of her sons Zadock Clark Blankenship. I know there's a connection but I can't figure out if Zadock Clark was a close family friend or a relative. I know there's a link because of other names mentioned in the letter about neighbors. I found them all in the 1850 census living near Jane and her dad, Ben Downs.
I finally gave up yesterday as I was getting a headache. Going to have to set it aside and hope that someday I find the linking clue I need. Today I switch over to my dad's mom and her side of the family. I already have a lot of data so it will mostly be cut and paste as I edit the info into my project.
Moved my laptop back to the kitchen table so I can lay out my paper work and make a nice big mess. Plus I like having my large screen tv in front of me. Watched golf all morning and now bike riding is on. Last night I started watching Shaka Zulu on Netflix. Seen it a couple times already so I don't know if I'll stick with it but it is entertaining.
After seeing the Emmy nominations and as usual, knowing I haven't seen most of the shows, I'm considering signing up for HBO for a couple months so I can get caught up on all the really good stuff. Like Game of Thrones. Another movie I watched on Netflix the other night was The Fundamentals of Caring. It was pretty good too.
The twins are at Lake Cushman for the weekend with Andy, Mary, Jake and all the gang. They'll have a blast. And I'm sure they'll be anxious to get home too. Both plan on getting their license the day after they get back. Maddie even bought herself a car already. A 2001 Honda Accord. Has a lot of mileage but she used her own savings. And Hunter's purple truck was registered by Jenni so he'll be able to get it out as well. It's a 1975 Chevy Side Step. They're both in heaven and sooooo excited to be able to drive. I remember that feeling.
Paid for my tabs online this morning. I vaguely remember when tabs were gonna be $30. That sure didn't last long. Cost me $68 and would have been over a hundred had I opted for a pass to get into state parks. Would like to have one but I don't really get out that much so I'll live without it until I have more to play with.
I've got to go down to Swains on Monday to exchange a curtain rod I bought for my sewing room. I should have measured first but like a dummy, I figured I knew how wide the window was. Nope. I got a rod too short. I plan on spending a lot of time in there once I finish up this genealogy project and it can use a curtain instead of just blinds.
Jake's nanny is 8-1/2 months pregnant so Mary got him into a new preschool/daycare. He loves it so we're all real happy about that. She sent me pictures that the teacher took. He's sitting by the girl in pink with the blue shirt.
I found a half package of Uncle Dan's powdered mix in my pantry so I decided I was in the mood to make a sour cream dip. I'll eat on this all week. Yum!
Well, I guess I'd best get busy on my genealogy notes.
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