Find Your Dead

Hutcheson Case Study

My next project will be a case study. I did a quick preview of census and online sources and discovered that by just getting back one generation, one finds links to some previous research. However, what do you do when you only know a few things about an ancestor? And even worse, what if what do you find is confusing? This case study will focus on how to get back just one crucial generation.

I randomly chose Oril O. Hutcheson as I surfed through death certificates which are available online on the Arizona Department of Health Services website. I was looking up death certificates for a Hoyt project (which will be next) and incremented the numbers to read the certificates and other paperwork such as amendments which were interfiled.

Oril’s death certificate caught my eye. He committed suicide — and while it is a shameful and avoided subject, I find that there is always an untold story. The several suicides in my family tree have meant that I needed to dig deep enough to figure out what was causing stress in that person’s life. Additionally, Oril worked for Southern Pacific Railroad. My husband is a “train guy” and we have lots of “Espee” (SP) model trains.

The basics:^*
Oril O. Hucheson was born 22 Jul 1879 in Iowa. His father was Thomas Hutcheson and the informant did not know where Thomas was born. Oril’s mother’s name and place of birth were unknown. He was married and the informant was Etta Mae Hutcheson. He died 18 Feb 1949 in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, and was buried in the Masonic section of Evergreen Cemetery. He was 69 years, 8 months, and 22 days old. His death was caused by a gunshot wound to the head and was attributed to suicide which occurred at home at 11am with death pronounced at 2pm. He was employed as a brakeman for So. Pac. R.R. and his social security number was 700-12-3070. He had lived in Tucson, Arizona, for 37 years.

*Arizona Department of Health Services, death certificate no. 1027 (1949), Oril O. Hutcheson; digital image, Arizona Genealogy Death Certificates (http://genealogy.az.gov : accessed 29 Aug 2010).

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Scholefield Family Tree

Two years ago, to the day, I began this project. Where possible using online resources I have traced the family back and branched out to include siblings and the birth dates of their children. I am ready to call this one as done as I am going to get it at this point. Another project coming soon!

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Scholefield Family Tree

I’ve been focusing on using the names from the lawsuit to identify familial connections. So far, I have placed all the of the Moores and have only a few names left over. The names that don’t fit are: William D. Lowerre and Ann D. Lowerre his wife, William Kemble, Frederick S. Stalknecht, and Peter Gilsey. There are several reasons that these people were named. Ann and the wives of William, Frederick, and Peter could have been Moores. I’ve not yet found marriage records to prove that. Or they could have been lawyers representing family members. Maybe they were friends of the family who witnessed documents which the plaintiffs were calling into question.

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Scholefield Family Tree

When attempting to verify the hypothesis that Michael Moore who married Jane Dunlap and Jacob Moore who married Ann Armour were brothers, I’ve run across one of the hurdles that genealogists have to consider: Where does one take that leap in order to state that a person with different spellings of a name are actually the same person?

For example: Could Hannah and Annatje be the same person?

I previously located information that Michael Moore who married Jane Dunlap was born in 1753.¹

A search for him at Familysearch.org turns up a report that he was christened on 14 Mar 1753 and his parents were Michel Moore and Annatje Deaij.²

An internet search using this alternate spelling of Michael and the name Annatje turns up a similar result at Olive Tree Genealogy. It provides a bit more information: Date: 1753 Mar 14; Parents: Michel Moore, Annatje Deay; Child: Michel; Witnesses: Francis Moore, Hester Deay, h.v. [wife of] Van Joseph Forbes.³

So, I have a Michael who is the son of Michel and Annatje and a Jacob who is the son of Micheal and Hannah. The two were born six years apart, so I know I am not dealing with a son. Could there be two Micheals of the same generation? Sure, there could be. They could be cousins. But why would children of Michael (Jr) and Jacob be named together in a lawsuit that does not yet appear to go back an additional generation if they weren’t siblings?

I know that I can combine Annatje and Hannah (and again, if I were doing offline research, I’d need to check other resources just in case). I can do this because the Dutch name Annatje was Americanized to Hannah. If you want to check this out for yourself, do a web search for the two names and you will find all sorts of references that show the name Hannah in parentheses or quotation marks next to the Dutch name. If you ever see two names and wonder if they could be nicknames, pet names, or alternate names, try both in a search to see what you find. If they never appear next to each other, then they likely aren’t used in the way that you hoped. Sometimes your search will even turn up a website that lists associated names and you can consider it a slam dunk.

1. See post dated 31 Jul 2010.
2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 8 Aug 2010), North America Region, entry for Michael Moore, christened 14 Mar 1753, New York, New York, New York; citing FHL microfilm 0,822,730 (Patron ordinance submission sheets, 1969-1991), batch no. 7309337.
3. Lorine McGinnis Schulze, The Olive Tree Genealogy (http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com : accessed 8 Aug 2010), New Amsterdam (New York City) New York Reformed Dutch Church Baptisms, entry for Michel Moore, baptized 14 Mar 1753; citing original transcriptions by Ted Brassard.

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Scholefield Family Tree

Ok — I don’t have to do the explaining, but apparently Archibald Moore did. And, this is a reminder try odd search strings. A Google search for “‘Archibald Dunlap Moore’ Ann” turned up this result:

ANOTHER HABEAS CORPUS TO TEST A WOMAN’S INSANITY.
In the matter of the petition of Catharine McGowan.
In September, 1856, Judge Whiting issued a writ of habeas corpus directing D. Tilden Brown, esq., Superintendent and Physician of the Bloomingdale Lunatic Asylum, to produce Ann Moore, the wife of Archibald Dunlap Moore, and sister of the relator. The petition set forth that Mrs. Moore was not insane, but that she was illegally deprived of her liberty.
The writ was returnable Oct. 10 of that year. The return set forth that the lady was placed in the Asylum on the certificate two physicians that she was of unsound mind.
The return was traversed and the matter referred to Lewis H.[?] Reed, esq., who reported about a month ago that Mrs. Moore was insane. On Monday a motion was made to discharge her on the ground that she is of sound mind. She has been confined for twelve years.¹

This makes me come up with an additional “story” to add to the possibilities I explored before.² I think that the 1850 census I found for the two Anns was actually supposed to have been Archibald (Arch) and Ann his lunatic wife. It appears that he may have moved her in and out of institutions (or that she was in an institution but listed at home in 1850) and then he went off with the woman, possibly as a servant or nurse, who had been living in his home. Since Ann was listed as his wife in both the lawsuit and the proceedings about his wife’s insanity, it would seem that he did not divorce her. Instead he picked Catherine up and moved to Pennsylvania to start a new life. He and Catherine had children together, but none of the websites which mention them point to a specific date of marriage — just a year when they might have been married based on the birth of their first child. Suspicious?

Archibald died in 1861 and his will was probated.³ If I were spending money on this project (and if this were my family), I would want to locate that will at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or in a New York repository.

1. “Law Intelligence,” New York Daily Tribune, 10 Nov 1857, p. 7, col. 6; digital images, Fulton History (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 5 Aug 2010); New York NY Tribune 1857 Oct – Dec Grayscale – 0280.pdf.
2. See post dated 31 Jul 2010.
3. “Surrogate’s Court,” New York Times, 21 Dec 1861, p. 8, col. 4; digital images, Fulton History (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 5 Aug 2010); New York NY Times 1861 Dec – 1862 Feb Grayscale (174).pdf.

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Scholefield Family Tree

So, I’m working along, making connections and adding data to this family line, and as I look at the next names from the lawsuit, I hit some difficulties. At this point, I have to think back to the Genealogical Proof Standard and determine how to deal with conflicting information. I can’t just ignore it because it may be the one thing that shows that a connection to another generation is incorrect.

From the lawsuit, there are a few more Moores I have not placed: Michael Moore and his wife Maria and Archibald Dunlap Moore and his wife Anna Maria.¹

A Google search for “Archibald Dunlap Moore” turns up some family trees that report his parents as Michael Moore and Jane Dunlap.² Archibald’s brother is reported as Michael Moore who married Maria Sherman. Could these two brothers be the last Moores I am looking for?

Trinity’s Parish Register search concurs that Archibald Dunlap Moore was born to Michael and Jane Moore on 14 May and was baptized on 7 Jun 1801.³ The site also confirms additional data from the tree.

However, my problem arises when the tree states that Archibald Dunlap Moore had two wives: Sarah P. Moore who he married in 1839 and Catherine Fleming Fogarty who he married about 1852. Catherine lived until 1892. So it appears that this Archibald wasn’t married to Anna Maria at the time of the lawsuit!

A search of the 1850 Census only returns one Archibald Moore who was born in New York: The son of Michael and Maria Sherman Moore who was born in 1834. Checking for any possibles who had alternate spellings or initials doesn’t help either. Searching for Ann Moores in NYC reveals none married to an Archibald. But, it does turn up one Ann with a younger Ann (lunatic), Mary (age 13), and Catherine Folarty in her home.⁴

In 1860, I find the family as mentioned on the family tree sites. Archibald is living with his wife Catherine and their children Archibald (age 5) and Jane (age 7).⁵

Because there is no specific date, I wonder if the date for Archibald’s marriage to Catherine was guessed at. It is possible that he was married to another woman who gave birth to his children and then he married Catherine. If I really think outside the box, I could make up even weirder stories! Maybe the 1850 Ann (who was born about 1802) was actually an error. Was that Archibald? If so, it appears that his future wife could have been living with the family. Maybe he did marry Catherine about 1852, but since he was in PA, he wasn’t in touch with his brother and the brother didn’t know that Anna Maria was dead? And I suppose that it could even be possible that the lawsuit was begun years before the notice was posted.

Of course, I always need evidence to support any final tree I build or all this is just a flight of fancy. Based on the one name, is there enough to discount this family as being a match to the lawsuit?

The father of Archibald Dunlap Moore who married Catherine Fogarty is reported to be Michael Moore who was born in 1753 and died in 1841.² This would make him of an age to be the sibling of Jacob Moore and therefore the son of Michael and Hannah Moore. If we ignore (or at least qualify the findings) it seems that Michael Moore and Maria Sherman sued his brother Archibald and all of his first cousins — likely over an estate left by Michael and Hannah Moore.

If I weren’t restricted to our self-imposed guidelines, I’d attempt to get my hands on a copy of that lawsuit. It would likely clarify the situation beyond a doubt.

1. See post dated 22 May 2010.
2. Brother Jordan Baxter, S.T., Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site, Jordan Baxter Family Home Page (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/x/Brother-jordan-Baxter-st/index.html : accessed 25 Jun 2010), “User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Father of Michael Moore,” Generation No. 2.
3. Trinity Church, “Parish Registers,” database, Trinity Wall Street (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers : accessed 24 Jun 2010), entry for Archibald Dunlap Moore, baptized 23 Jul 1824.
4. 1850 U.S. census, New York County, New York population schedule, New York, Ward 9, p. 165B, dwelling 1284, family 2187, Household of Ann Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 543.
5. 1860 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania population schedule, Philadelphia, Ward 15, p. 467, dwelling 186, family 203, Household of Arch^d D. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 1165.

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Innis Family Tree

Provided by family member ‘Kate’ and used with her permission. The photo is undated. It’s always so nice to have a face to go with a name.

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Scholefield Family Tree

Checking at FamilySearch leads me to a baptismal record for the Jacob Moore who is likely the father of the four boys I have just been tracing. This Jacob is the great-grandfather of Clara Ann Moore, the wife of George Parsons Scholefield and the couple from which this cold genealogy project has branched.

Based on the 1850 census where I located a Jacob Moore Sr. living with one of his sons, Jacob would have been born in 1759.¹ The IGI contains an entry for Jacob Moore born 10 May 1759 and christened 13 Jun 1759 at Trinity Church in New York City.² His parents were Michael Moore and Hannah. This looks very promising because later generations were baptized and married in this church!

1. See post dated 27 May 2010.
2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 25 Jun 2010), North America Region, entry for Jacob Moore, christened 13 Jun 1759, New York, New York, New York, USA; citing FHL call no. 974.7 B2N (New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, V. 67-69, 90-93), batch no. C510591.

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Arwen and I are just back from a week of research in Salt Lake City. No – it’s not on these lines. These lines are based on information that we find or is provided to us through contacts on the internet.

The research we were doing in Salt Lake City was on our own families. Going to research at the Family History Library required quite a bit of preparation. Our posts dwindled before the trip as we spent our time getting ready by reviewing our materials and organizing our searches. They may be a little spotty for a couple more weeks as we clean up all the things we found and get them properly filed and documented.

Don’t give up on us – we’ll be back to work and writing about these lines soon!

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Scholefield Family Tree

It turns out that this group REALLY wanted to keep the Armour name alive. What do you do when your mother is an Armour, you have the middle name Armour, one of your brothers has the middle name Armour, and your brother married an Armour? Well, you marry an Armour too!

However, I had to do a little digging to discover this fact. Searching for Hester Moore turns up this family:
John A. Moore, age 54, Merchant, NY¹
Hester A. Moore, age 52, NY
Caroline Williard, age 25, NY
Joseph C. Williard, age 30, Commission Mercht, Vermont
Frederick R. Moore, age 20, NY
Catherine S. Moore, age 19, NY
Joseph R. S. Moore, age 12, NY
Julia T. Moore, age 10, NY
Mary Cunningham, age 20, Ireland
Ellen Lee, age 30, Ireland

So, this is the family of the last brother — John Armour born in 1796. He seems to have been enumerated in two places that year (once at his brother James’s home). Between 1850 and the time of the lawsuit, John appears to have died because the suit names his children and his wife. We can assume that Caroline is a daughter who married a Williard.

We could go back to the IGI in order to verify some actual dates for this family. Or, a web search for “trinity church new york” will lead you to the church’s page. They provide online transcriptions of their registers and burials in their two churchyards: www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers. Note that the name fields need to be as exact as possible. John A. Moore’s 1818 marriage to Hester Ann Armour² only appears if you put “John A.” in the search box–no the similar names option doesn’t help. Lesson: Try all variations. In this case, the IGI might be easier to search, but the church’s site has the benefit of providing baptismal records with sponsors and minister’s names on marriages.

I’ll be gathering the exact dates to appear in my final report.

1. 1850 U.S. census, New York County, New York population schedule, New York, Ward 5, p. 128-129 (handwritten), 64B-65A (stamped), dwelling 570, family 920, Household of John A. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 537.
2. Trinity Church, “Parish Registers,” database, Trinity Wall Street (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers : accessed 24 Jun 2010), entry for John A. Moore and Hester Ann Armour, married 25 Apr 1818.

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