My grandparents were Hubert and Betty (Crego) Hagan. My Dad told me a couple times that he remembered on New Years Eve, his Mom would go outside and bang pots and pans. We never did this growing up, but I wondered if anyone else did.
I found an interesting website that explained a few New Years traditions. It states that:
"The idea of making
deafening noise is to drive away the evil spirits who flocked to the
living at this climactic season with a great wailing of horns and shouts
and beating of drums. This is why at the stroke of midnight we hear the
deafening cacophony of sirens, car horns, boat whistles, party horns,
church bells, drums, pots and pans - anything that serves the purpose of
producing a devil chasing din. "
http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/newyear/custom.htm
Happy New Years everyone!
31 December 2016
24 November 2016
What is Sheldon, North Dakota?
There's been one mystery in our Sheldon family that I've never found an answer to. Here's how it started. While going through my Grandma Hagan's genealogy papers back in the 1980s, I found 2 interesting items about our ancestor, Edward Sheldon.
1) a letter from the County Clerk of Ransom County North Dakota dated Sept 13, 1881. It indicates that they are enclosing deeds (from March?) that were recorded, specifically one from BD Wilcox to EE Sheldon.
2) An envelope dated 1893 from the State Bank of Sheldon North Dakota. Someone's handwriting (probably Edwards) indicate that the contents probably held an abstract (deed?) of the 640 acres of the original town site.
Now, Edward Sheldon had been living in Jackson Michigan during this time. And I really had no idea why there was communication about land in North Dakota. But what peaked my interest was the fact that the town was SHELDON North Dakota. I wondered if it was just a coincidence that our ancestor was Edward Sheldon, and the town was named Sheldon. I had these papers for about 30 years, always wondering about this mystery.
Just recently I decided to do a google search on "Sheldon North Dakota" and see what I found. [You see, there is new digitized information going up on the net all the time, so it's useful to search your ancestors names periodically.]
Anyway.... JACKPOT!!! I found that the town of Sheldon North Dakota had digitized a 100 year town history dated 1911. In it, it describes the formation of the town. (http://digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/44417)
The Fargo & Southwestern Railroad was being built through Ransom County, North Dakota. B.D. Wilcox bought land (I think 640 acres) from the railroad for $3200. He apparently had no money to pay for the land, so he sold the land to our ancestor, E.E. Sheldon for $3800. [Now how in the world did E.E.Sheldon who lived in Michigan, get into land speculation in North Dakota?]. The article states that Edward then platted the land, sold off some lots, deeded half the land back to the railroad so that the town could be built on that land. About a year later, he then sold the rest of the land to another party for $8000.
So Edward made a $4200 profit in 1 year in 1882. I did a little research on this. The average wage earner in 1880 made $16 per week or $832 per year. And $4200 in 1882 would be about $97,500 in todays dollars. $4200 would be equal to about 5 years of wages. (http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php)
So a couple questions come up about this:
1) How did Edward come to have $3800 to invest?
2) How did Edward get into land speculation in North Dakota?
3) Why would Edward speculate on land on North Dakota?
This was new great information and really filled in a lot of blanks about these North Dakota papers. Research to do is to get copies of the deeds. Probably put together a financial history to see where he might have come into money.
Here's his descendancy chart::
If you want to read more about Edward Sheldon, here is the link to my main family history page biography:
http://members.toast.net/jan.monnin/hagan/Sheldon,Edward/sheldon,edward-bio.htm
1) a letter from the County Clerk of Ransom County North Dakota dated Sept 13, 1881. It indicates that they are enclosing deeds (from March?) that were recorded, specifically one from BD Wilcox to EE Sheldon.
2) An envelope dated 1893 from the State Bank of Sheldon North Dakota. Someone's handwriting (probably Edwards) indicate that the contents probably held an abstract (deed?) of the 640 acres of the original town site.
Now, Edward Sheldon had been living in Jackson Michigan during this time. And I really had no idea why there was communication about land in North Dakota. But what peaked my interest was the fact that the town was SHELDON North Dakota. I wondered if it was just a coincidence that our ancestor was Edward Sheldon, and the town was named Sheldon. I had these papers for about 30 years, always wondering about this mystery.
Just recently I decided to do a google search on "Sheldon North Dakota" and see what I found. [You see, there is new digitized information going up on the net all the time, so it's useful to search your ancestors names periodically.]
Anyway.... JACKPOT!!! I found that the town of Sheldon North Dakota had digitized a 100 year town history dated 1911. In it, it describes the formation of the town. (http://digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/44417)
The Fargo & Southwestern Railroad was being built through Ransom County, North Dakota. B.D. Wilcox bought land (I think 640 acres) from the railroad for $3200. He apparently had no money to pay for the land, so he sold the land to our ancestor, E.E. Sheldon for $3800. [Now how in the world did E.E.Sheldon who lived in Michigan, get into land speculation in North Dakota?]. The article states that Edward then platted the land, sold off some lots, deeded half the land back to the railroad so that the town could be built on that land. About a year later, he then sold the rest of the land to another party for $8000.
So Edward made a $4200 profit in 1 year in 1882. I did a little research on this. The average wage earner in 1880 made $16 per week or $832 per year. And $4200 in 1882 would be about $97,500 in todays dollars. $4200 would be equal to about 5 years of wages. (http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php)
So a couple questions come up about this:
1) How did Edward come to have $3800 to invest?
2) How did Edward get into land speculation in North Dakota?
3) Why would Edward speculate on land on North Dakota?
This was new great information and really filled in a lot of blanks about these North Dakota papers. Research to do is to get copies of the deeds. Probably put together a financial history to see where he might have come into money.
Here's his descendancy chart::
If you want to read more about Edward Sheldon, here is the link to my main family history page biography:
http://members.toast.net/jan.monnin/hagan/Sheldon,Edward/sheldon,edward-bio.htm
08 November 2016
Found! William Hagan
So, in my last post, I was discussing John A Hagan and making an Irish connection. To recap, a newspaper article had mentioned that he had a brother in New York. The only other clue I had was a letter written to John A Hagan's son, with instructions to visit his Dad's (John A Hagan) brother in New York. Included in the letter (and a few others) were the names of his cousins, Daisy, Lulu and Annie Hagan.
So, based on that information, I started looking for census records in New York with these 3 girls listed as daughters. And success! I found them in 1870 living in the 7th Ward of Brooklyn in New York.
Once I was able to absolutely establish them in Brooklyn, I started finding other records. I found an 1872 passport application dated June 6, 1872.
I know that you can't read all the small print on this application. I enlarged it as much as would fit. But near the bottom you'll see his description, which I find very interesting (since we have no known photos of him). He's age 35. 5"11 3/4" tall. He has a high forehead and blueish gray eyes. His nose is straight with a medium mouth. His hair is dark brown.
Notice on this page is his signature. William Hagan is a very common name at this time. But this signature is how I knew that this was "our" William. Compare this signature with the signature on the triplets letter from my post on August 31, 2016.
Next I find them on the 1880 census living at 63 Cambridge Place, Brooklyn. It's interesting to note on this census that William Hagan's parents are listed as being born in Scotland. (Again, we are never sure who the informant is for these census records).
Next we find them on the 1900 census. (the 1890 census was destroyed by fire). They are living at 644 Tenth Street, Brooklyn. There is some more information on this census that was not on previous censuses. The exact month and year of birth. For the wife, the number of children born and the number of children living. 3/3. The other very important piece of information is the naturalization info. William states that he emigrated to the US in 1853 and that he was naturalized. So there is my next piece of information that I need to find. That might give us his exact place of birth in Ireland.
Next I searched the website: www.familysearch.org, which is the family history online records repository for the LDS Church of Latter Day Saints. On here, I found a transcription of a death record for William Hagan, who died on May 2, 1905. Also, on the same website, I found a transcription of a death record for Annie Hagan, who died on June 21, 1906. I need to write for copies of both of those death records, for more information.
I also found a few pages from both William & Annie's estate. If I ordered the complete files, they might contain more information about William's family in Ireland - unlikely, but possible.
But one very interesting piece of information I found - I noted on the death certificate transcription recap that William and Annie's burial place is listed as "Cypress Hills Cemetery" in Brooklyn, New York. I did some research on Cypress Hills Cemetery and it's a national cemetery for burial of soldiers who fought in the Civil War. So I need to write the cemetery and figure out if William is buried there, who else is buried on the plot, and see if there are any additional information on William, such as Civil War Service.
So if information comes back from the cemetery that says William fought in the Civil War, then I have a lot more records military to locate, such as his service records, pension records, etc.
The only other piece of information about John A. Hagan's and William Hagan's Irish heritage from our family is one item. Back in the 1990's, I had written my Grandad's brother, Jerry Hagan, about our family's history. One thing he wrote was that John Van Hagan was from County Cork Ireland. We know, of course, that John Van was born in Kansas and it was, in fact, that John A. was born in Ireland. So when I'm able to find the above information, it will be interesting to see how our family story has lined up with fact.
So, based on that information, I started looking for census records in New York with these 3 girls listed as daughters. And success! I found them in 1870 living in the 7th Ward of Brooklyn in New York.
Once I was able to absolutely establish them in Brooklyn, I started finding other records. I found an 1872 passport application dated June 6, 1872.
I know that you can't read all the small print on this application. I enlarged it as much as would fit. But near the bottom you'll see his description, which I find very interesting (since we have no known photos of him). He's age 35. 5"11 3/4" tall. He has a high forehead and blueish gray eyes. His nose is straight with a medium mouth. His hair is dark brown.
Notice on this page is his signature. William Hagan is a very common name at this time. But this signature is how I knew that this was "our" William. Compare this signature with the signature on the triplets letter from my post on August 31, 2016.
Next I find them on the 1880 census living at 63 Cambridge Place, Brooklyn. It's interesting to note on this census that William Hagan's parents are listed as being born in Scotland. (Again, we are never sure who the informant is for these census records).
Next I searched the website: www.familysearch.org, which is the family history online records repository for the LDS Church of Latter Day Saints. On here, I found a transcription of a death record for William Hagan, who died on May 2, 1905. Also, on the same website, I found a transcription of a death record for Annie Hagan, who died on June 21, 1906. I need to write for copies of both of those death records, for more information.
I also found a few pages from both William & Annie's estate. If I ordered the complete files, they might contain more information about William's family in Ireland - unlikely, but possible.
But one very interesting piece of information I found - I noted on the death certificate transcription recap that William and Annie's burial place is listed as "Cypress Hills Cemetery" in Brooklyn, New York. I did some research on Cypress Hills Cemetery and it's a national cemetery for burial of soldiers who fought in the Civil War. So I need to write the cemetery and figure out if William is buried there, who else is buried on the plot, and see if there are any additional information on William, such as Civil War Service.
So if information comes back from the cemetery that says William fought in the Civil War, then I have a lot more records military to locate, such as his service records, pension records, etc.
The only other piece of information about John A. Hagan's and William Hagan's Irish heritage from our family is one item. Back in the 1990's, I had written my Grandad's brother, Jerry Hagan, about our family's history. One thing he wrote was that John Van Hagan was from County Cork Ireland. We know, of course, that John Van was born in Kansas and it was, in fact, that John A. was born in Ireland. So when I'm able to find the above information, it will be interesting to see how our family story has lined up with fact.
16 September 2016
The Hagan Irish connection?
In my last blog entry, I wrote about John Van Hagan. His father was John A. Hagan, who was our
Irish immigrant.
How do we know he was
from Ireland? We know this from several
sources:
- The 1875 Kansas census indicates John’s place of birth as Ireland. (this info could have come from Hannah, John, or even a neighbor).
- The 1880 federal census indicates John’s place of birth as Ireland. Parent’s place of birth indicated as Scotland. (Again, this info could have come from anyone, not necessarily John).
- The 1882 obituary of John. Clues in the article:
1.
He was a native of Ireland;
2.
Emigrated to this country when quite young;
3.
Has a mother and sister yet in Ireland;
4.
Has a brother in New York;
- The 1882 death record of John indicates his place of birth as Ireland and the place of birth of his parents as Ireland.
All these records are possibly secondary (versus
primary). It’s possible that John
himself gave the information about his nativity, but the census records do not
name the informant. So I was at a dead end.
An important genealogical research tool is that when you are at a dead
end for your own ancestor, always do research on their siblings. So I looked more carefully at some letters that my Grandad had. One in particular was from 1898 (before John Van married Mabel) and talks about a trip that John Van Hagan took to Brooklyn New York to see his cousins Daisy, Lulu and Annie Hagan. When you take this in consideration of the earlier newspaper article that speaks about John A Hagan's brother in New York, I now had some information to do some research. The results of that research will be in my next blog post.
But for now, here's a family tree of John A Hagan's family:
31 August 2016
Hagan Triplets (Part 2)
There's a couple more interesting facts about the Hagan triplets that I wrote about in my previous posts.
In 1902, John Van Hagan and Mabel Deal were married and living in Chicago, Illinois. Cora Deal (Mabel's mother) was a scrapbooker, in the victorian days around the turn of the century. She had clipped and kept many newspaper articles about their family.
So in January 1902, there's a short clip (see article below) about Cora and Clarence Deal (Mabel's parents) returning from visiting John and Mabel in Chicago (probably for Christmas).
The next clipping I have is from July 1902 (see article below) about Mabel staying with her parents in Three Rivers for a time. Note that they would have been making all these trips by train between Chicago Illinois and Three Rivers Michigan.
The next clipping I have (see article below) is from Sept 13, 1902. This is about John coming to visit his family. Note that it doesn't say "Mr. and Mrs". So perhaps when Mabel came in July, she stayed with her parents and never went back to Chicago. We know that Mabel was pregnant at this time. Perhaps she was having trouble with her pregnancy (as would be the case if she were carrying triplets) and needed to stay with her parents.
The next event is, of course, the birth of John Gerald Hagan, as I mentioned previously. The birth record in Three Rivers indicates that he was born Sept 15, 1902. (see record below)
Birth records at this time were NOT recorded at the time of the event. (That apparently did not happen until 1906). Before that, a supervisor/assessor went around once a year asking households for births or deaths. So it's probable that if there were triplets, they would have only given the supervisor/assessor the birth record for the one living child. There's a really good blog post about how they collected Michigan birth records. http://kalamazoogenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-early-michigan-birth-records-are.html
I mentioned that there was a photo taken of the 3 babies at the time of their birth (as evidenced by the letter from William Hagan to John Van Hagan in 1903 - see picture below)
The next newspaper article is from September 26, 1902 (see below)
Then the next newspaper article is from October 15, 1902 (see below) Now it mentions that there is (one) little child. So sometime between September 15 and October 15, two of the little babies had died.
The last related newspaper article I have is dated January 1903. Where we find that John and Mabel and child have moved from Chicago, back to Three Rivers with her parents. He takes a position (as a draughtsman) with Sheffield Car Company. This is the same company that John Van's father, John A Hagan, had been the chief draughtsman for some 25 years earlier - but that's a story for another day.........
So, here's a possible scenario for the whole thing:
* John and Mabel get married, lives in Chicago, and after 2 years, she is pregnant;
* She starts having trouble with her pregnancy and so goes to stay with her parents in Three Rivers Michigan;
* The babies are born early in September 1902.
* Three (probably premature) babies are born.
* Photograph taken of the three babies and sent to John's uncle in New York.
* Two of the babies die.
* Mabel and baby go back to Chicago to their home in October 1902.
* John and Mabel move from Chicago to Three Rivers to be near her parents in January 1903.
I cannot imagine how heart wrenching and tragic it would have been to loose 2 of your 3 babies. Because of that, it was one of those family events that wasn't ever really talked about. And so we really have no record of the event, other than that one letter from an uncle and a mention by another uncle at a reunion that there were twins.
In 1902, John Van Hagan and Mabel Deal were married and living in Chicago, Illinois. Cora Deal (Mabel's mother) was a scrapbooker, in the victorian days around the turn of the century. She had clipped and kept many newspaper articles about their family.
So in January 1902, there's a short clip (see article below) about Cora and Clarence Deal (Mabel's parents) returning from visiting John and Mabel in Chicago (probably for Christmas).
The next clipping I have is from July 1902 (see article below) about Mabel staying with her parents in Three Rivers for a time. Note that they would have been making all these trips by train between Chicago Illinois and Three Rivers Michigan.
The next clipping I have (see article below) is from Sept 13, 1902. This is about John coming to visit his family. Note that it doesn't say "Mr. and Mrs". So perhaps when Mabel came in July, she stayed with her parents and never went back to Chicago. We know that Mabel was pregnant at this time. Perhaps she was having trouble with her pregnancy (as would be the case if she were carrying triplets) and needed to stay with her parents.
The next event is, of course, the birth of John Gerald Hagan, as I mentioned previously. The birth record in Three Rivers indicates that he was born Sept 15, 1902. (see record below)
Birth records at this time were NOT recorded at the time of the event. (That apparently did not happen until 1906). Before that, a supervisor/assessor went around once a year asking households for births or deaths. So it's probable that if there were triplets, they would have only given the supervisor/assessor the birth record for the one living child. There's a really good blog post about how they collected Michigan birth records. http://kalamazoogenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-early-michigan-birth-records-are.html
I mentioned that there was a photo taken of the 3 babies at the time of their birth (as evidenced by the letter from William Hagan to John Van Hagan in 1903 - see picture below)
The next newspaper article is from September 26, 1902 (see below)
The last related newspaper article I have is dated January 1903. Where we find that John and Mabel and child have moved from Chicago, back to Three Rivers with her parents. He takes a position (as a draughtsman) with Sheffield Car Company. This is the same company that John Van's father, John A Hagan, had been the chief draughtsman for some 25 years earlier - but that's a story for another day.........
So, here's a possible scenario for the whole thing:
* John and Mabel get married, lives in Chicago, and after 2 years, she is pregnant;
* She starts having trouble with her pregnancy and so goes to stay with her parents in Three Rivers Michigan;
* The babies are born early in September 1902.
* Three (probably premature) babies are born.
* Photograph taken of the three babies and sent to John's uncle in New York.
* Two of the babies die.
* Mabel and baby go back to Chicago to their home in October 1902.
* John and Mabel move from Chicago to Three Rivers to be near her parents in January 1903.
I cannot imagine how heart wrenching and tragic it would have been to loose 2 of your 3 babies. Because of that, it was one of those family events that wasn't ever really talked about. And so we really have no record of the event, other than that one letter from an uncle and a mention by another uncle at a reunion that there were twins.
27 August 2016
Who are these Hagan triplets? (part 1)
One of the topics that came up at a family reunion this weekend was that John Gerald (Jerry) Hagan had a twin who died as an infant. Interesting fact - I believe that there were actually triplets! Here's the story:
John Van Hagan (1875 - 1911) married Mabel Deal (1880-1965) in 1899 in Three Rivers, Michigan.
We had always known that their first child was John Gerald Hagan, who was born in 1902. Jerry, as he was known to most people, was my grandfather's brother. Below is a copy of his actual birth record from St. Joseph County Michigan.
The text says John G Hagan, born Sept 15, 1902 in Three Rivers.
An interesting bit of information came up. I found a letter among my grandfather's papers. Basically, it is a letter from William Hagan (John Van Hagan's uncle in New York) to John living in Three Rivers. It's dated July 28, 1903. William congratulates John on the birth of his "triplets".
Here is the text of the letter:
New York, July 28th, 1903
Dear John:
Your triplets picture arrived all right.
They are fine looking boys, very much alike, altho, I think I like the one on the right the best.
The middle one is very cunning.
Their mother will have her hands full in bringing them up. I don't believe she will be able to tell them apart, unless she dresses them differently.
One you call John, one Gerald, and what is the third ones name?
Congratulating you both on the large increase to the population of "Thrivers" (Three RIvers).
Affectionately yours,
Wm. Hagan
You'll see he refers to the triplets as one is called John, one is called Gerald and what is the name of the third one? There is no indication that there were triplets - not in the official birth records of St. Joseph County Michigan. The triplets couldn't have died at birth - because obviously a picture was taken of the triplets and sent to his uncle in New York.
Another interesting note is that the letter is dated July 28, 1903, which would be 10 months after their birth. But there is no documentation that I can find whatsoever about triplets - not in official records or any family records, except the letter above.
For more detailed information on this family, please click here: John Van Hagan
John Van Hagan (1875 - 1911) married Mabel Deal (1880-1965) in 1899 in Three Rivers, Michigan.
We had always known that their first child was John Gerald Hagan, who was born in 1902. Jerry, as he was known to most people, was my grandfather's brother. Below is a copy of his actual birth record from St. Joseph County Michigan.
The text says John G Hagan, born Sept 15, 1902 in Three Rivers.
An interesting bit of information came up. I found a letter among my grandfather's papers. Basically, it is a letter from William Hagan (John Van Hagan's uncle in New York) to John living in Three Rivers. It's dated July 28, 1903. William congratulates John on the birth of his "triplets".
Here is the text of the letter:
New York, July 28th, 1903
Dear John:
Your triplets picture arrived all right.
They are fine looking boys, very much alike, altho, I think I like the one on the right the best.
The middle one is very cunning.
Their mother will have her hands full in bringing them up. I don't believe she will be able to tell them apart, unless she dresses them differently.
One you call John, one Gerald, and what is the third ones name?
Congratulating you both on the large increase to the population of "Thrivers" (Three RIvers).
Affectionately yours,
Wm. Hagan
You'll see he refers to the triplets as one is called John, one is called Gerald and what is the name of the third one? There is no indication that there were triplets - not in the official birth records of St. Joseph County Michigan. The triplets couldn't have died at birth - because obviously a picture was taken of the triplets and sent to his uncle in New York.
Another interesting note is that the letter is dated July 28, 1903, which would be 10 months after their birth. But there is no documentation that I can find whatsoever about triplets - not in official records or any family records, except the letter above.
For more detailed information on this family, please click here: John Van Hagan
I'm back!
Hello Family and Friends and other Interested Genealogists:
After an absence of 8 years, I'm back to blogging on this genealogy site. I've been raising kids, leading a Precepts Bible Study (2009 - present), learned to quilt in 2009, started my own quilting business in 2011 (- present). I've been doing some genealogy, but it's somewhat limited right now.
We had a family reunion of the Hagans and Cregos this weekend and questions came up about our family. It occurred to me that I have so many interesting stories and facts about our family and I'm just not able to update my static genealogy website on a regular basis. So it occurred to me that I'll start posting on a regular basis an interesting story or fact about one of our ancestors. Enjoy!
After an absence of 8 years, I'm back to blogging on this genealogy site. I've been raising kids, leading a Precepts Bible Study (2009 - present), learned to quilt in 2009, started my own quilting business in 2011 (- present). I've been doing some genealogy, but it's somewhat limited right now.
We had a family reunion of the Hagans and Cregos this weekend and questions came up about our family. It occurred to me that I have so many interesting stories and facts about our family and I'm just not able to update my static genealogy website on a regular basis. So it occurred to me that I'll start posting on a regular basis an interesting story or fact about one of our ancestors. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
