12 Ancestors in 12 Months, Genealogy, My Family Tree, Paternal Side

Month #2: Branching Out

Becky

If I’ve learned anything from the countless classes, webinars, and presentations I have attended/watched over the last six years is that you need to branch out to get the full story about your ancestors. Branching out includes researching your collateral relatives and even researching the town(s) where your family lived.

Collateral Relatives

In case you are not aware of what a “collateral relative” is, it is your aunt, uncle and cousins, however distant they may be. It may seem strange to investigate these non-direct relatives, but sometimes you can learn things about your direct relative as researching their sons and daughters can find missing pieces of your own genealogical puzzle.

As I was looking up information on my Grandma Blair’s older brother, Charles Edward Morgart, referred to by my Grandma as “Eddie”, I came across both his birth certificate and a delayed birth certificate that they went and applied for on 11 January 1943. I don’t even have to look the date up, as I thought it was funny that they went and got this delayed birth certificate the same day my Grandma gave birth to my dad in Indiana. But that isn’t the only interesting thing I found out, when signing her name to the delayed birth certificate, my great-grandmother, Margaret “Maggie” Wise signed her full name, Margaret Dora Custer (she was married to her second husband, Earl Custer, at the time). Until this document I was unaware of what the “D” stood for.

Revised or delayed birth certificate for Charles Edward Morgart found on Ancestry.com

Another reason searching for information on your collateral family members is a smart thing to do, sometimes names are spelled incorrectly, and people don’t always show up in search results. By getting as many documents as possible for your extended family you may find missing relatives intermingled with others. For example, parents and grandparents can be found living with their children or grandchildren.

Cities and Towns

You can indirectly learn information about your ancestors by researching the cities and towns they lived in. If they were farmers, you can get an idea about what type of farm your relative had by researching the area where they lived, which comes in handy for someone like me whose relatives live in a state where the agricultural index for the census has been destroyed.

Sometimes you may be lucky enough that your family was important enough to be written about in a book about the history of the town. I was lucky enough to have the Morgart Tavern listed in a photographic book about Bedford County. My elation when I recognized names when I came across the book, simply trying to find out more about Bedford County, I wanted to jump up and down for joy. It’s a shame one has to be quiet in a library. (I thought I had taken photos of the book to share with others, but apparently I didn’t – presently hanging my head in shame).

The book Bedford And Its Neighbors by Arcadia Publishing

Branching out in your genealogical research is essential to finding everything you need to know in your family tree. I always research all siblings and children of my relatives. I don’t always research parents of spouses of extended people because sometimes you have to stop, but there are times when I still do, like siblings married siblings so sometimes when you can’t find where a person is the answer may be with the other set of associated parents (I have done this with George Washington Blair, son of Andrew Blair and Susannah Akers, as he is married to his younger brother, Samuel Alexander’s wife’s sister).

Have you found out any interesting facts about your direct line ancestors by researching collateral relatives or where they lived? I would love for you to share in the comments.

Book

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Becky

A great way to learn about history is to read. I just recently finished reading the book “Mayflower” by Nathaniel Philbrick for two reasons: I wanted to learn what really happened back in 1620, and I potentially have Mayflower ancestors, so it was a way to read a little bit about my connection (he was hardly mentioned, but in the grand scheme of things, that is good).

From the opening pages of “Mayflower” I realized that Mr. Philbrick did a great deal of research on the book, the number of pages that are dedicated to the Notes section alone testify to that. The book was also not a fast read. Where many books I can read in just a few days, with all the different Indian tribes mentioned in the book from the New England area over the span of 60 years, along with all the key players, it was easy to just slow down the reading just trying to say all the names properly in my head (and who knows if I was anywhere near being correct).

The book highlighted names we were taught in history class, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Squanto, to name a few off the top of my head. But there was so much more that I was not aware of until reading this book, things that I had read about in my genealogy groups in reference to how life in Plymouth Colony really went down as opposed to the sunshine, lollipops and rainbows we learned about in grade school, you know the tale, that Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to survive that first year and that the Pilgrims and the Indians had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast together.

Well, that’s not really what happened at all. Squanto helped, seeing as he had already been enslaved by the English and had traveled to Europe he was able to speak to the Pilgrims when they arrived in Plymouth. The Native Americans did assist in helping the Pilgrims plant their first successful harvest during their first year, and the Pilgrims did celebrate with a feast, but it wasn’t the hand in hand big dinner as we think, it was amongst themselves.

You go on to learn that agreements the original Pilgrims made with the various tribes in the New England area seemed to fade as the next generation took over. This happened on both sides, with the various Native American tribes as well as the Englishmen. They began thinking the Native Americans were evil, so much so, that they would ship them to the Caribbean and into slavery.

As a person who has been working on their genealogy, I’ll confess that I have always been relieved that I have no southern ancestors simply because I dodge the bullet of slavery. But this is no longer the case. I have no concrete proof yet. but I am fairly certain I will eventually find Mayflower lineage in my family tree. But knowing that they could still be embroiled into sending others into slavery has me quite disheartened. I know I am not responsible, but it’s not exactly the thrilling story to tell the others around the holiday table. Especially when it’s something that has been somewhat glazed over in the past 400 years of history.

Mr. Philbrick goes on to write about Prince Philip’s War which was another feature of our history I hadn’t been aware of, which has mainly been taught in the New England area of the United States.

The book really is a good and I recommend if you aren’t familiar with what is more than likely the true story of how the United States began. This book has made me want to read more about the earlier portions of our history to discover the true basis of our country.

The book is still available to be purchased on many online stores as well available in your local library.

12 Ancestors in 12 Months

Month #1: Foundations

Becky

As you begin your family tree, one item is essential: you must have a strong foundation.

What is the foundation of your family tree, you ask? That is simple. It all begins with you. And then your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, I am sure that you get my meaning. You have to have good, solid facts on yourself, your mom and dad, everything in order to have a strong tree.

Trust me, I know the lure of just adding person after person in your tree. It’s exciting as you get up higher and higher into the branches as you find a fifth-great-grandmother here, and a seventh-great-grandfather there. But if you haven’t done your due diligence down below, you know, where YOU are, and YOUR PARENTS are… you aren’t going to know for certain if your fifth-great-grandmother is really who you are related too.

I am a person who does the horrible, awful no-good type of researching because I skip around (and I have a feeling there are more people like me out there than aren’t). They say you should just work on one branch at a time. I am sure that is the smart way of doing things but there are days I want to work on my dad’s side of the family, and other days when I feel like getting my mom’s family a little more under control. It’s called variety, and I love variety (it is the spice of life, after all). Not to mention sometimes you have people on both sides of your family curious about what you are finding, and you don’t want to disappoint anyone, so I skip around and do both.

Sometimes on the same day.

But you always begin with you. And once you know about you, you can move onto your parents, and their siblings which leads to your grandparents, and their siblings, and so on. Yes, I’m the type that likes to work on the collateral people as I work my way up because you never know when you are going to find a distant aunt or cousin that may come back and help you figure out a puzzle later on (like, great-great-grandma was living with an aunt, and it wasn’t popping up in an Ancestry or FamilySearch search).

But it’s always best to find everything you can, or at least all the vital records and census records before moving up to the next direct line ancestor. This gives you a strong foundation for your genealogical research. And a strong foundation helps you build a very healthy tree.

Genealogy

Joining a Genealogical Society

Becky

Have you joined a genealogical society? A few years ago I joined three different societies, beginning with my local county chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (also known as OGS), OGS, and the National Genealogical Society. Later I joined a fourth, an online only society in an area of the United States that pertains to my ancestral journey.

Why Join a Genealogy Society?

I love genealogical societies, because they are a great resource for your research. At the various levels, whether it’s county, state, or national, each has something that stands out to make it unique.

County Level

My local Summit County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society is a wonderful resource because it meets monthly (except in August and December). At these meetings, which are the third Saturday of the month, we have speakers pertaining to different topics. As I type this tomorrow is our meeting, and our program is “Useful Tools for Those with German Ancestors” by Dana Palmer. She is one of my favorite presenters, discovering her at a Family History Day at the Summit County Family History Center in October 2018.

This past year we attempted to have a research day at the Akron-Summit County Public Library in the Special Collections department, which has several computers available for access to online databases (Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, AmericanAncestors, and more, you just need a library card). They also have books on local history and genealogy from all over the country (possibly all 50 states, if not, it’s close) to aid in sources not online. We ended up doing mostly solo research, but it was nice to know others were there in case we needed to float ideas.

Presently our meetings are hybrid, meaning we meet in person at a conference room at the main library but members can also be a part of the meeting from their homes via Zoom.

Summit County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (www.summitogs.org)

Ohio Genealogical Society

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest genealogical society in the United States and has a wonderful 4-day conference each spring that moves between three locations: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Sandusky (I wish they would do one in my area, not that the drive has prevented me from attending).

They also do a weekend retreat in the Fall at a rustic getaway (picture cabins in the woods) with high profile speakers discussing topics of interest. I looked at their event page and not much was listed, but their recently updated website has a number of genealogical resources available, but you must be a member to view.

Ohio Genealogical Society (www.ogs.org)

The National Genealogical Society

There is a higher price tag to become a member for the National Genealogical Society but I find it to be worth it. Along with free classes there are classes you can purchase in order to be a better family historian.

Like OGS, NGS has a yearly conference that takes place in a different location every year. Since I’ve been a member they have been in St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Richmond, and this years is to take place in Sacramento. They have both in person, virtual, and on-demand options for attending.

A little over a year ago NGS merged with the Federation of Genealogical Societies and now have these societies as a focus in the NGS Magazine. By combining both organizations they can focus on caring for the needs of all areas of family historians.

This past week (or maybe it was last week), NGS launched Forum, a member community where members can discuss family history with each other, but societies, libraries, archives, and museums associates can “discuss building successful genealogy organizations”. This sounds like a great way for ideas to be bounced around and for you to communicate with others, possibly where you are researching.

NGS also has two wonderful magazines, one with a hodge podge of information, the NGS Magazine, and one that is filled with case studies, National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Both are valuable tools for the family historian.

The NGS website also lists a number of events on their website for their own sponsored events as well as other genealogical societies across the United States. They are all quite helpful for those who want to continue to learn.

National Genealogical Society (www.ngsgenealogical.org)

Painted Hills Genealogy

Painted Hills Genealogy Society is a website I stumbled upon and that I value so much. It has so much information on the website, and your dues allow you access to an exclusive Facebook group. The website pertains to southwestern New York counties (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chatauqua, Livingston, and Steuben) and two northwestern Pennsylvania counties (Potter and McKean). These are the counties (both New York and Pennsylvania) where my Dunbar, Williams, and Gustin families all hail from on my maternal side of the family. Joining a society that is all about the area you are researching is simply invaluable.

Painted Hills Genealogy Society (www.paintedhills.org)

To Sum It All Up

So, whether you join just locally or want to broaden your horizons, there is so much to gain by becoming a member of a genealogical society. Each society has something to offer, and you can normally learn a lot about them by visiting their website (I’ve included links above to all the ones I’ve talked about today).

Take some time from your researching to check out these valuable resources. If your budget is limited choose only one to sign up for but make sure it’s one you know you will get the most bang for your buck. Sometimes it’s worth signing up for society in the area of the country that will most benefit your researching (as I have the Painted Hills Genealogy).

I know my local society allows visitors to check them out, or even if they have a program that you are interested in. Everyone is always welcome, so take a chance and become involved! You’re only going to find people with the same hobby as you!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy

Week 52: Future

Becky

The final week of 52 Ancestors in 52 Week’s has a heavier topic than normal (I type as I laugh as some of the themes have really made me think hard). This week’s is no exception with the prompt of “Future”.

Family Lines

I’m going to seize the moment and really focus on 2 lines from each side of my family. The Warner’s and Gustin’s on my Mom’s side and the Blair’s and Aker’s on my Dad’s side. I’m sure others may pop up with interest (for example, my Dunbar’s married a Warner so I could stray a bit that way), or maybe I’ll have a moment when I want to research my maternal grandfather’s side of the family, and since they are all in England, you utilize that mood when it strikes.

The Warner’s

My genealogy future will be me going into a little more detail on my mom’s side of the family, the Warner’s to be precise. While attempting to look up some information on Thankful Chapin, who I believe to be my fifth-great-grandmother on my maternal side of the family, I realized not only do I not have the paperwork to back this up (though her years of being alive do) but I don’t have confirmation that her supposed son, Oliver Charles Warner, is a son of Joel Warner. By exploring this portion of my tree, it will help me explore other areas of this side, and since my great-great-grandmother, Mazie, was a Warner, they are extra special (because for some reason she is extra special to me, I truly feel she would have liked me).

The Gustin’s

If I am going to write more about the Warner’s I may as well learn more about Mazie’s mother, Orienta Gustin and her parents, Benjamin Gustin and Nancy Return Gault. I remember being so tickled upon finding Orienta’s photo that I want to know more about this amazing lady and her lineage as well.

The Blair’s

Oh, it wouldn’t be a year of genealogy if I didn’t try to work on my Blair brick wall, now would it? Observing in the past weeks of various DNA matches I saw that a person who was placed in the middle of my Blair’s on FamilySearch’s one big tree is on a DNA matches tree. Though there is a possibility that the person has the wrong fellow in his tree, just in case that I am somehow related to the infamous Andrew Sloan Blair I am investigating him by putting him on an experimental, private tree. I will never know if there is some sort of distant connection until I build a tree and flesh it out. The worse thing I do is waste my time. (And honestly, I have no idea how this will all pan out).

The Aker’s

And it’s not fair to write about the Blair’s and not bring in Susanna Akers. I so wish to know more about my third-great-grandmother on my paternal side. Just how they appear and disappear from thin air has me especially intrigued. I hope to find her. Or whatever Susanna’s last name is. I still feel the key is with their second youngest son, George Washington Blair.

Expanding My Researching

This year I plan on doing something I have never done before. Going to specific places to research, and try to utilize knowledge from groups I already belong too.

Family History Center

I am going to get the courage to go into my local Family History Center and ask for help on how to use their facility (assuming they are open – with the different Covid variants running around, this may be another pipe dream). I know that there are files for Oliver Charles Warner that I can hopefully view in the Family History Center, so this is one of the reasons why I am planning on using this wonderful place to find out what I need.

AmericanAncestors.org

I signed up for the AmericanAncestors.org website to utilize as my mother’s family is from New England (you may recognize these names, the Warner’s, the Chapin’s – all from Massachusetts). This appears to have so much great information that I plan on utilizing it more for my research so I can better understand this area of the world and hopefully learn so much more about my relatives. As a person who absolutely loves the history involving the beginning of our country, this should be a wonderful treat me for me.

The Genealogy Center

Since I live within four hours of Fort Wayne, Indiana, I hope that I can go and visit the Genealogy Center in the Allen County Public Library over a weekend. I know I need to be ready to research what I need to find out if I go there, but it just seems like a great resource for me to go since I just live in the state next door.

Continue with my Blog

My other goal is to continue with my blog. I know I was able to increase those who follow me this past year and that is great. I like to think that means people are enjoying what I’m writing. I hope to add more history book reviews in the mix, and more how to articles, as well as the occasional prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (I’ve still signed up for it – just may not do it every week – I’ll write when the feeling strikes or the theme is too enticing that I can’t say no).

I enjoy sharing what I know that if maybe it helps someone else with their research, all the better. And I’ve actually chatted via email/Facebook messenger with distant cousins because of my blog and that had made it that more exciting!

Continue to Learn

I love to read books about genealogy. I have various books on finding church records, the Genealogical Proof Standard, books detailing women’s lives (The Hidden Half of the Family), researching newspapers, and the like. I’m also trying to get more out of the genealogical memberships that I belong to from my local county chapter to my state and even NHS as they have all kinds of learning opportunities for free and some classes you can purchase. All of them will allow me to be the best researcher I can be.

I also want to be a better participant in the Facebook groups and on Twitter. If you aren’t a part of the Twitter genealogy scene, you are missing out. So many wonderful people in the social media world.

So that is what my genealogical future holds. All in all it’s about learning. You can never learn too much!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Maternal Side, My Family Tree, Paternal Side

Week 51: Holidays

Becky

All my life my favorite holiday has been Christmas. My mom always preferred Thanksgiving because family would get together for simpler things: family and food, she felt with Christmas and Easter the gifts and candy were the reasons people got together. But it wasn’t just gifts that have made me love Christmas, it was the tree and all the decorations, baking cookies and that little bit of magic that all the very special ornaments and lights can bring.

As I have gone through the photographs that once belonged to my Grandma Blair (aka Anna Maria Morgart) and her mother, Margaret Dora Wise, I saw photographs of Christmases past. This delighted me to no end, as it made me feel that my love of Christmas was something that is in my soul, and that I have inherited from those who came before me.

Christmas 1953 – Margaret Dora Wise standing in front of her tree.
My Grandparents – Leroy Blair and Anna Maria Morgart in their home on Christmas Day, 1963 (You can see the photo of my dad as he was off in the Navy at this time).

But not on just my dad’s side of the family, oh no, my maternal grandmother, Alberta Lou Fleming, loved Christmas as well. I have so many photos between Christmas day and her yearly Christmas Eve parties when she returned from living in Florida.

Here is a photo from Christmas 1949 of Santa, my aunt, Terry (Teri) Mildred Fairhurst, and my mom, Cynthia Anne Fairhurst.
This one is from Christmas 1957 and has all my mom’s siblings. From left to right is Alberta Lou Fleming, Howard Fleming, Cynthia Anne Fairhurst (in blue), Mildred Laura Dunbar (in red), and the other blue-grey jumper is my aunt, Terry Mildred Fairhurst. The other three are still alive so I’ll respect their privacy.
This was either the late 80’s or early 90’s at a Cardinal Village home that my grandparents use to manage in Bedford, Ohio. My mom, Cynthia Anne Fairhurst, is seated to the left, her face partially covered by her hand), standing is my Grandma Metzger (aka Alberta Lou Fleming, and facing the tree in red is her husband, James Edward Metzger.

Though Christmas is my favorite, to me the holidays more or less begin on Thanksgiving and don’t really end until New Year’s Day. So many wonderful memories throughout the years and sometimes they all just flow together. If no other time family gets together, it’s a holiday. We get together with my husband’s family on Memorial Day and Labor Day each year. We changed it up and have gone to my cousin’s on the 4th of July (which is nice as it’s our shared uncle’s birthday, too).

All in all, holidays are just very special days, no matter how you celebrate them. It’s just extra special to share them with those you love.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Maternal Side, My Family Tree, Paternal Side

Week 50: Lines

Becky

It doesn’t take long for our ancestral lines to quickly multiply within our family trees. By the time I arrive at my great-great-grandparents I already have 16. I have a total of 61 surnames on my family tree, and I am sure there are just as many, if not more, unknown to me.

Sadly, there are some I know more than others. I tend to be more familiar with my paternal side than my maternal side as I didn’t do much research on my mom’s side as she always seemed to be upset with whatever information I found. Odd part was I didn’t even work on her dad’s side of the family because I know she wasn’t fond of him. But when I came home with information about my great-grandmother, I think that made her even more unhappy (as I’ve stated in past posts, like my Grandma Blair was to me, my mom was very fond of her maternal grandmother, Mildred Laura Dunbar, and to be clear, I loved her very much as well).

My goal in the coming year is to get to flesh out some of my family more. I’ll admit working on 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks does get me writing, but I’m a full-time working girl, it doesn’t give me a lot of time to actually research. I miss that. So, I’ve signed up, but I do not anticipate writing every week (but I’m happy that even though I didn’t get it published on the week it was due, I will have gotten all 52 prompts done this year).

Below is word art of my 61 surnames (or I hope I got them all), or my known ancestral lines. So much to learn. Always learning.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, My Family Tree

Week 49: Homemade

Becky

When it comes to the holidays most of our food is all made from scratch, except maybe rolls, but even for a couple of years I made those homemade as well (until I realized I was getting in the way of my husband, who normally makes the turkey at Thanksgiving, or the ham at Christmas).

My job was making the cookies and the pies. So far this year that hasn’t happened as I was diagnosed as a diabetic, so where I would have started cookies a weekend or two ago, I was pushing temptation off until the end. And no cut outs this year as they are my kryptonite. I was making peanut blossoms with the cherry cordial Hershey kisses (as I am not a huge cherry fan) and was going to make Russian tea cakes for my daughter (and I’m not a huge fan of nuts).

As for pies – my daughter asked if I could make cherry pie this year for something different, I said sure because I don’t need to create temptation by making my Dutch Apple Pie anyhow, so I figured this year we could have cherry and pumpkin pie (have I mentioned I don’t like pumpkin either? Yes, I’m one of those weird, picky eaters).

But alas, we were recently diagnosed with Covid – so now none of them are being made because though I’m fortunate to have been vaccinated, I still have what feels like a bad cold (which is what I thought it was because I ALWAYS get a cold in December – countless choir concerts with laryngitis).

So here are photos of cookies and pies past – all made from scratch (well, Libby’s canned pumpkin does help with it). I know the drop sugar cookies were a recipe of my great-grandmother, Mildred Laura Dunbar. The Dutch Apple pie was one my mom made, not sure if it was passed down but I know it was good (I’m not a pie person, but I love this pie). The cut-out cookies may have been from a family member, I know I switched to a Taste of Home recipe because what my mom made wasn’t coming out right anymore and the Taste of Home was so yummy (and had sour cream like the drop sugar cookies, the icing recipe is included). The peanut blossoms were from the church I went to when I grew up, Northampton United Methodist Women’s cookbook.

I will admit I may cheat in many other ways of cooking, but when it comes to desserts, they must be homemade. Store bought doesn’t cut it and hasn’t for some time. Especially with chocolate chip cookies – those must be homemade (it is my all-time favorite cookie).

Who knows, maybe I’ll get something made before Christmas is officially here, and maybe I can spare a cookie or two.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, My Family Tree, Paternal Side

Week 48: Strength

Becky

Strength is such a valuable commodity. You need both physical and emotional strength to get by in today’s world. For the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt of “strength” I’m going to discuss my great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Ritchey.

Her Beginnings

Mary Ann Ritchey was born on 19 June 1851 in Rays Hill, Bedford County, Pennsylvania to Daniel Ritchey and Anna Cypher. She was the sixth of eleven children they had, with George being a well-known farmer in that end of Bedford County.

On 27 June 1872, Mary was united in marriage with George Washington Morgart in East Providence Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Like her father, George was a farmer and had already purchased the farm when his dad, Andrew Jackson Morgart, passed away on 19 August 1870. While George worked the land, Mary Ann kept house, raising their five children: Charles Jackson (born 1873, and my great-grandfather); Edward Daniel (born 1875); Anna Rebekah (born 1878); Stella Mary (born 1886); and Altie Pearl (born 1888).

The Loss of Loved Ones

Mary Ann’s strength came on 5 May 1895 when her husband of almost 23 years died. George had not been feeling well for a bit but was able to continue to work the farm despite his issues.

Everett Press, 10 May 1895 found on Newspapers.com

Losing your husband at any age has to be devastating but Mary Ann powered through. She had it a bit easier as three of her children were grown adults. However, this was not the last of her sorrow for the year 1895. Her youngest daughter, Altie Pearl died just a few months after her father.

Everett Press, 30 August 1895, Newspapers.com

And within 3 years her father would pass away at the age of 88 on 19 November 1898.

Her Strength

My great-great-grandmother suffered a great deal of loss in a very short period of time when she lost her husband, daughter, and father within three years.

On 16 February 1898 she did what women were supposed to do and married her neighbor, Bartley Hughes, and the properties were merged. (A side note, Bartley’s mother and George Washington Morgart’s grandmother were sisters, so in a way it was keeping the property within the family).

Her Death

Mary Ann Ritchey’s strength ran out on 14 August 1908 when she took her own life. Her death certificate was quoted as “Suicide by shooting in left breast with rifle – death was almost instant”.

Death Certificate of Mary Ann Ritchey as found on Ancestry.com

She was laid to rest next to her first husband, George Washington Morgart at Mount Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery. Her parents are buried there as well.

Photo of Mary Ann Ritchey’s headstone at Mount Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery. I took this photo on my research trip to Pennsylvania in July 2019

I have no proof but I always wondered if my great-great-grandmother suffered from depression after losing her husband and youngest child in less than 4 months. She had another daughter, Stella Mary that was born in 1886 and appears to have died just a year later. I have no true proof of how many total children she may have had, she did not answer that question on the 1900 census.