Week 4's theme is "Curious." Several people have already asked how to interpret this. Remember -- it's completely up to you! When I put the list together, I was thinking of something that you've always wanted to discover (something you're curious about) or a record/discovery that you find curious (unusual). You could also write about an ancestor who was curious (an inventor or detective, perhaps?)
As a genealogist, I think we are naturally curious about everything. This is the driving force behind our love of family history and genealogy research. But when I saw this topic, the person that came to mind was my 3rd great grandfather Amos H Booth. When I started my journey as an young adult, my mother gave me Amos Booth’s name along with Harriet Nedry.
I didn’t know much about either person and my mother had the spelling of Nedry wrong. I was having no luck with either person, until one day, in Google Books, Amos Booth had a hit and it was the marriage of Amos to Harriet Elizabeth Nedry. The book was about the Sponable family, Harriet’s mother was a Sponable. I finally broke through this brick wall, well, sort of.
I had a few facts about Amos, such as he was born about 1827 in Canada. I found him in 1850 in Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois as single male, born in Canada, living in the household of Peter Dietz. In 1860 he was living in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, age 33, a cabinet maker who was born in Canada, with his wife and two daughters. His daughters were born in Iowa, so I see that he had to lived there between 1850 and 1860. In 1870, still living in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, age 43 with his wife, two daughters, a son, along with another man and his one year old son. I show that his oldest daughter was married this man in 1869 and thus it was her husband and son. In 1880, he is an inmate in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin at a Veterans home and listed as a carpenter. His wife and son are living in Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois. His two daughters are married and both are living in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.
I found several city directories for the years 1871, 1872, 1875, 1877 and 1878 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. In 1871 he is an organ builder living at the factory of Marshall Bros. In 1872 he is still organ builder for Marshal Bros & Clarke, but beds at 201 Spring. In 1874 he is an organ builder and resides at 182 5th. In 1875 the organ maker beds at 420 Clybourn. In 1877 he is a millwright who resides at 201 Grand Ave. In 1878 he is an organ builder who beds at 242 Hanover.
I discovered a little history of the Marshall Bros. In May 1870, The Marshalls who had been living in Ripon, moved their business to the old Matthew Bros Furniture warehouse at Fourth and Fowler. The factory was a frame building some 30 by 100ft. A portion of the first floor was a stable for Matthew Bros.; the rest of the first floor and all of the second floor was for factory purposes. A fire destroyed the building on November 21, 1871 and by January 18, 1872 the Marshalls moved into their new factory at Tenth and Clybourn. This was two blocks south of the newly built Calvary Presbyterian Church. In addition to the new factory, the Marshall Bros. acquired another partner, Abraham F Clarke. The firm’s name became Marshall Bros. & Clarke. The new factory was 30 by 80 feet with the building room of the same dimensions, 34 feet height. The metal shop and offices were separate, and there were some twenty men employed. By 1874, the factory was said to employee fifty men.
In the plat map from 1893, the Calvary Presbyterian Church is located at the corner of Tenth and Grand Ave. Going two blocks south on Tenth to Clybourn is where the Marshall’s new factory was located.
In the current map, the highway interexchange system is located at the intersections of Tenth and Clybourn.
Amos H Booth died on October 27, 1899 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
I did locate and requested his Civil War Pension record where I found his marriage date of Aug 9, 1851 in West Point, Lee, Iowa. This explains why his daughters were married in Iowa. Why he and Harriet moved from Marengo, McHenry County, Illinois to Iowa is unknown to me. It also mentioned that he was from Elizabethtown, Leeds, Ontario, Canada; however his parents were never named.
I am unsure who exactly his parents are, however my nephew believes they may be James Booth (1803-1881) and Charlotte Sherriff (1801-1885). He found DNA matches that appear to support this relationship. Now my curiosity will be taking me to follow up on this assumption.
Where does your curious nature take you on your genealogy research?
Check out Amy Johnson Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Themes for 2022 to receive a weekly email with ideas for using the prompts or to check out the Themes for 2022.
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