The Children of John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell

As I wrote earlier this week, John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell disappeared into the ether about 1895. They left four children behind:

Howard Campbell was born on 15 January 1890 in Mystic, Iowa. When the 1895 Iowa state census was taken he lived with his maternal grandparents, Adam and Margaret (Scott) Wilson in Mystic. His grandfather died in 1906 and his grandmother in 1911.

Howard registered for the World War I draft on 5 June 1917. At the time he worked for Lodwick Brothers as a coal miner. The company operated several mines in Mystic and were one of the top coal producers in the state. Howard was drafted on 27 May 1918 and served as a private in Battery F, 337 Field Artillery. His unit was attached to the 163rd Field Artillery Brigade, 88th Division. The division trained at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa. Then transferred to France between 8 August and 9 September 1918. Once in France, the artillery units were sent to Bordeaux for training. On 14 September the 88th division was placed under the command of the 4th French Army and moved by rail to the Hericourt training area near Belfort. On 23 September they relieved the 38th French Division in the center sector of Haute-Alsace. The division held this sector until 2 November when it was placed under the 4th American Corps and moved to the Lagney area as part of the 2nd Army Reserve where it was located when armistice was declared. The division participated in no major operations while in France. Howard was honorably discharged 5 February 1919.

When the 1920 census was enumerated Howard lived in the Cedar Falls precinct of King County, Washington and worked as a laborer at a mine. Howard worked as a construction laborer in 1940 and lived in a rented home on South 8th Avenue with several other men. He died on 7 March 1951 and was interred in Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle. He never married.

Howard Campbell headstone; courtesy of Find A Grave
volunteer, Karen Sipe

John Campbell (Crawford) was born on 17 March 1891 in Mystic, Iowa. When the 1900 census was enumerated, he lived in Thurston, Washington, with his father's sister, Mary, and her husband, John Crawford. He and his sister were enumerated as their children and with the Crawford surname. John's aunt died sometime before the 1910 census was taken as her husband lived alone and his marital status was listed as widower.

John, using the Crawford surname as he did for the remainder of his life, boarded at a large rooming house in Tacoma operated by George Miller and worked as a laborer for a railroad. However, the 1911 Olympia city directed listed him at the same address as his uncle.

He married Edith Elizabeth Eggleston on 8 November 1916 in North Yakima. She was the daughter of Thomas Eggleston and Minnie Bombard and had been born in Franklin County, New York. She and her family moved to Washington State between 1910 and 1916. John registered for the World War I draft in 1917. He worked as a mixer for Pacific Coast Gypsum Co. and claimed an exemption from the draft on the grounds that he had a crippled wife to support. John and Edith never had children and moved to Everett, Washington, by 1930. They lived there until their deaths. Edith died on 23 November 1967 and John on 29 December 1968. Both were interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Everett.

John Campbell/Crawford headstone; courtesy of Find A Grave volunteer,
Graving with Jenn

Margaret Campbell was born on 8 December 1892 in Mystic, Iowa. When the 1895 Iowa state census was taken she lived with her maternal grandparents, Adam and Margaret (Scott) Wilson in Mystic. Her grandfather died in 1906 and Margaret continued to live with her grandmother until her marriage.

On 17 January 1911 Margaret married Bernhardt Thoms (also known as Benjamin George Thomas) in Mystic. An article published on the same day in the Centerville Daily Citizen, described their marriage:

"Mr. Ben Thomas, formerly a miner at Mystic but now residing in Kansas, came back to Appanoose County and claimed as his bride Miss Margaret Campbell, with whom he became acquainted during his residence at Mystic and the happy couple left for their future home in Kansas. The ceremony was performed by the Esquire R. Henderson at his office. Mrs. Amanda Murray, of Mystic, who accompanied the young couple recalled that Esquire Henderson, when Mayor of Centerville had married herself and her husband, now deceased, eighteen years ago but that as his honor has officiated at more than 1,000 marriages he could not now easily remember the event. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were of prepossessing appearance and doubtless many friends are interested in their happiness."

Margaret and Ben had two children:

1. Leslie Howard Thomas born on 24 October 1911 in Harrington, Kansas.
2. Doris Bernice Thomas born on 2 November 1913 in Marshall, Iowa.

By 1920 Margaret and Ben apparently parted company. She and her daughter, Doris, were living in Seattle with Jack and Louise Allan. She was listed as a sister-in-law of Mr. Allan's, but I have not yet been able to find how Jack and Louise fit into the family group. Meanwhile, on 13 January 1920 Ben Thomas lived in Ames with his widowed mother and son, Leslie. Ben was hired by Northern Pacific Railway on 15 April 1920 as a first class carpenter in Seattle.

On 19 February 1930, Margaret Wilson (Campbell) Thomas married Fred Leonard Campbell in Olympia. He was a divorcee with two teenaged daughters. This marriage lasted less than a decade as Margaret married John William Westcott on 11 December 1939 in Pierce County, Washington. John worked as a crane man for Northern Pacific Railway and was divorced. They remained in Pierce County the rest of their lives. John died on 8 February 1977 and Margaret on 27 February 1983. Both were interred at Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, Washington.

Margaret Wilson (Campbell) Thomas Campbell Westcott headstone; courtesy
of Find A Grave volunteer, Kathy Stroope Veasey

Marion Campbell (Crawford)

Marion Campbell was born on 22 December 1894 in Mahaska County, Iowa. She was the youngest child of John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell. By 1895 her family had split up and she and her brother, John, were sent to live with their paternal aunt, Mary (Campbell) Crawford and her husband, John. Marion was enumerated in the 1900 census living in Olympia, Washington as the daughter of John and Mary Crawford. She used the Crawford surname as her maiden name for the remainder of her life.

Her aunt died before 1910 and when that decennial census was taken she lived in the home of Harvey and May Bechtel as their ward in Tumwater, Washington.

She married Charles Washington Fowler on 6 March 1918 in Tacoma, Washington. He was the son of William R. and Ola (Odell) Fowler and was born on 14 January 1889 in West Plains, Missouri. In 1920 the couple lived with Charles' parents in Tacoma and Charles worked as a barber while Marion worked at the Mars Candy factory as a dipper helper.

When the 1930 census was taken, Charles and Marion lived in a home they owned, valued at $1,200. Charles still worked as a barber, but Marion no longer worked. Their marriage broke up sometime before 1934 as Marion married George Anthony Craig on 9 April 1934 in Pierce County, Washington.

George was born on 11 August 1888 in New Castle, Washington, and was the son of William and Mary J. (Dales) Craig. His father, William, immigrated to the U.S. about 1883 from England. George's first wife, May Curran, died on 27 March 1934, leaving him with a 16-year-old daughter. He worked as a shipping clerk for a grocery wholesaler.

Marion died on 8 February 1937 in Tacoma, Washington, and was interred at Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, Washington.

Marion (Campbell/Crawford) Fowler Craig headstone; courtesy of Find A
Grave volunteer, Tara Finnie Curley

George Craig married Dora Erma (Colvin) Manwaring Weber on 6 August 1937. She had been widowed twice previously and had a son from each marriage. George Craig died on 14 April 1975 in Pierce County, Washington, and was interred beside his parents at the New Tacoma Cemetery in University Place, Washington.

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What Happened to John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell? 

What Happened to John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell?

Susan Wilson was a great granddaughter of my four times great grandparents, John and Margaret (Grainger) Semple and my second cousin three times removed. She was born on 24 June 1871 at her parents' home on Rankin Street in Carluke, Scotland, one of thirteen children born to Adam Wilson and Margaret Scott. Adam worked as a coal miner. Sometime between 1872 and 1874 Adam moved his family from Carluke to Dalserf, where Susan spent the first decade of her life.

Her brother, Robert, left Scotland in 1880 and made his way to Mystic, Iowa, in Appanoose County. Mystic was in the Walnut Creek area of the county and was described as "one continuous mining camp." Susan's father, Adam, followed his son to Iowa the following year, arriving in New York City on 5 July 1881 aboard the Anchor Line's SS Circassia. Susan, her mother, and siblings followed later in 1881.

At the age of 19, Susan married John Campbell on 31 December 1889 in Mystic. John Campbell was born on 4 January 1859 in Auchinleck, Scotland, to John and Mary (Carlyle) Campbell. His father was a laborer who worked at the bottom of a coal pit, at an ironstone works, and toward the end of his life on a farm. John's sister, Mary Campbell, immigrated to the U.S. sometime between 3 April and 24 December 1881 when she married in Marion County, Iowa. Perhaps, her brother, John, traveled with her?

John and Susan had their first three children in Mystic but sometime between 1892 and 1894 the family moved to Mahaska County, Iowa. Coal mining was the major industry in the county. Their youngest child was born there in 1894. That birth record is the last record I can find for Susan (Wilson) Campbell. The children were:

1. Howard, born 15 January 1890 in Mystic, Iowa
2. John, born 17 March 1891 in Mystic
3. Margaret Wilson, born 8 December 1892 in Mystic
4. Marion, born 22 December 1894 in Mahaska County, Iowa

John was listed in the 1895 Iowa State census as living in Spring Creek, in Mahaska County, but his wife and children no longer lived in the county. It is the last record I have been able to find for him.

We know that in 1895, two of John and Susan's children -- Howard and Margaret -- lived with their maternal grandparents. And two -- John and Marion -- were enumerated in 1900 in Olympia, Washington. They lived with their father's sister, Mary, and her husband, John Crawford and were listed in the census as their children. Were they informally adopted? They continued to use the Crawford surname for the remainder of their lives.

So what happened to John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell? And why were their children split up and living with relatives?

Susan's mother consistently told census enumerators she had 13 children, of which 8 were living in 1900 and 7 were living in 1910. Susan's sister, Jane, died in 1903, which accounts for the change in the number of living children between 1900 and 1910. Since we only know about 11 of those children, it makes impossible to definitively say Susan died before 1900.

The children of Adam and Margaret (Scott) Wilson; created using Microsoft
Excel

My Semple research collaborator and I have two different theories and yet there is probably at least three:

Theory 1: Susan died shortly after her youngest daughter, Marion, was born and the children were split up among their maternal grandparents and paternal aunt and uncle. And John died sometime between 1895 and 1900. The trouble with this theory is those two unknown children Susan's mother consistently said she had. In order for Susan to have died before 1900, they both would have to be living either in Scotland or the U.S. and no record of either of them has been found.

Theory 2: Susan had to be institutionalized for some physical or mental illness after her youngest daughter, Marion, was born and died sometime after 1910. With this theory, the two unknown children died as infants or very young children, which is much easier to explain.

Theory 3: Susan ran off with another man, abandoning her husband and children. And John sent his children to live with relatives so he could continue to work.

We both assume that John Campbell died sometime after the 1895 Iowa State census was enumerated and before 1900. But it is possible that he left Iowa and was enumerated in another state. His name is quite common and we have not eliminated all the possibilities.

What do you think happened to John and Susan (Wilson) Campbell?

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Anchor Line: Scottish Ships for Scottish Passengers
Mining Coal in Appanoose County

The Mysterious Rose Etta (Poole) Von Briesen Taylor...

I am so fortunate to have a research buddy when working on my Semple line. Due to the time difference between New Zealand and New York, we are able to "tag-team" the research 24 hours a day. Lately, we have been researching James Taylor, my second cousin three times removed. His grandmother was the sister of my three times great grandfather, Peter Semple (1822-1904). James Taylor's first wife, Rose Etta (Poole) Von Briesen, has been a difficult research subject and we have several questions:

1. Where did she and her two older siblings, Noah Cornelius and Bessie Viola live in 1910?
2. Where did Rose live with her two children in 1920 after her first husband died?
3. Why was Rose in Chicago when she married James Taylor in 1921?
4. When did they divorce?
5. Did Rose marry again after 1940?
6. When and where did Rose die?
7. Where was she interred?

Here is what we know about Rose to date:

Rose (Rosa) Etta Poole was born on 9 November 1893 (or 1894) in Maryland, to William A. and Martha E. (maiden name unknown) Poole. Rose was the fourth of five children. In 1900 her family lived in Laurel, Maryland, where her father worked as a day laborer.

I suspect her parents died before 1910 or her father was deceased and her mother could no longer care for her children as I have only found two of her siblings in the 1910 census. Older sister, Susan "Susie" Mabel Poole boarded at the farm of John and Elta Stevenson in Carroll County, Maryland; and younger brother, William Ashby Poole, was enumerated as an orphan living with Adelaide Hatton on her farm on Fort Washington-Accokeek Road in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Marriage to Robert Von Briesen

On 6 October 1913 Rose Etta Poole and Robert Von Briesen, son of Oscar and Susanna (Wagner) Von Briesen, applied for a marriage license in Washington, DC. They were married in the same city the next day. He was a widower, who was 28 years older than Rose. His first wife, Roberta (Campbell) Von Brisen died seven months earlier on 9 March 1913, leaving him with ten known children ranging in age from 22 years old to 5.

Rose and Robert had two children during their marriage, both born in Baltimore, Maryland:

• Dorothy Von Briesen born 20 June 1914
• Oscar Von Briesen born 5 December 1915

Rose's husband, Robert, died on 2 November 1916 in Baltimore at the age of 51. Rose was 23 years old at the time of his death.

Robert Von Briesen (1865-1916) death notice as published in The Baltimore
Sun; courtesy of Newspapers.com

I think it is likely that after the death of Rose's husband in 1916, she moved to Chicago because her elder sister, Bessie Viola (Poole) Baugher lived there. Bessie had married Gideon Gilbert Baugher in 1911 and they were living in Chicago by 1915. I have been unable to find Rose or her children in the 1920 census. However, her ten step-children, the children of Robert and Roberta (Campbell) Von Briesen, have all be found in the 1920 census. They remained in Baltimore.

Marriage to James Taylor

On 29 October 1921 Rose married James Taylor in Cook County, Illinois. James was the son of John Taylor and Agnes Miller Morgan and had been born on 7 August 1896 at Carstairs Junction in Carstairs, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He arrived in the United States on 8 May 1920 in New York, having sailed on the White Star Line's RMS Celtic. He told immigration officials at Ellis Island his destination was Springfield, Massachusetts, where a paternal aunt, Margaret McNair (Taylor) Isbister, lived, as well as a paternal uncle, Robert Semple Taylor, the two youngest sibling's of James' father.

James Taylor filed a declaration of intention with the Naturalization Service in 1924. He and his family lived at 6319 Keeler Avenue in Chicago. He worked as a factory hand at the time and listed Rose as his wife. When his filed petition for naturalization in 1927, the family lived in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, and James worked as a factory foreman. He listed his step-children as his own children on his petition. In 1930 Rose, James, and her two children continue to live in Clarendon Hills. They owned their own home at 81 Chestnut Avenue, which was valued at $7,000.

Rose's marriage to James Taylor did not last. Sometime between 1930 and 1936, they divorced as James married again 10 May 1936.

Wedding announcement for James Taylor's
second marriage as published in the Dixon
Evening Telegraph; courtesy of Newspapers.com

Son's Death

Rose's son Oscar, who was named for his paternal grandfather, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on 30 November 1937. He completed his basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, and by January 1938 had been assigned to First Signal Company in Quantico, Virginia, as a student at the Radio School. He was absent without leave (AWOL) from 6:00 a.m. 28 March to 9:00 p.m. 31 March. Oscar was tried on 1 April by a disciplinary court and sentenced to 10 days of confinement in the post prison with bread and water rations, with a full ration every third day and two months loss of pay, which amounted to $12.

On 25 April 1938 Oscar Von Brisen committed suicide by a self-inflicted rifle shot to the head in Rockbridge County, Virginia. His maternal aunt, Bessie Viola (Poole) Baugher and her husband had moved to Buena Vista, which at the time was a city in Rockbridge County. Her husband, Gideon, died in 1935. I have been unable to locate Bessie in the 1940 census but perhaps Oscar had gone to visit her and that is the explanation for his place of death?

When the 1940 census was enumerated, Rose and her daughter, Dorothy, lived in Chicago. Rose did not work and Dorothy worked as a computer operator. That is the last record I have been able to find for Rose Etta (Poole) Von Briesen Taylor.

Her daughter married Pedro G. Raz, who was born in the Philippines. She died on 26 December 1976 in Chicago. Her husband died the following year.

Video about the 314th Engineers During World War I

In 2015 I wrote a post about the World War I experiences of my first cousin twice removed, Alexander Hutchison entitled "An American's Experience During World War I." Alex served with the 314th Engineers, which were attached to the 89th Division. His parents, Alexander Hutchison and Janet "Jessie" Semple, had immigrated from Scotland; married in Streator, Illinois; returned to Scotland when Alex was three years old; and came back to the U.S. nine years later, settling in Novinger, Missouri.

Alex Hutchison was inducted into the U.S. Army on 2 April 1918, trained at Camp Funston in Kansas, was sent overseas on 12 June 1918, and was honorably discharged on 26 May 1919. During the war his division participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives.

Recently, I was contacted by Susan Barrett Price. Her grandfather, Walter Price, also served with the 314th Engineers. Susan produced a video of his World War I experience and graciously allowed me to share it on my blog.

Thank you, Susan!

The book Susan mentioned in her video, American Armies and Battlefields in Europe may be downloaded from the Center of Military History (CMH). Other helpful CMH publications about World War I may be found here.

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An American's Experience During World War I

Harry Evans, Margaret McCully and the Marriage that Wasn’t

A few months ago I was contacted by someone about the Frew, Wilson, Bowie, and Ross families in Appanoose County, Iowa. I looked in my family tree and found Anna Frew and her husband William Bowie. In my family tree, they were the parents of Harry Evans, who married Margaret McMully on 1 February 1906 in Appanoose County, Iowa. What? Why does Harry have a different surname than his father.

After looking at Harry and Margaret's facts pages in my family tree, it got more weird.  Margaret had married John Bowie on the same date. He was also a son of William Bowie and Anna Frew. Which one was correct?

Harry Evans

Further research indicated Harry was Henry "Harry" George Evans born on 30 March 1883 in St. Louis, Missouri, to Henry Evans and Alice Yeels.[1] Both his parents emigrated from England about the time of their marriage.  By the time Harry was 17 years old his family lived in Wayne County, Iowa, and he, his father and old brother worked as coal miners. Harry married Robena Bowie, daughter of William Bowie and Anna Frew, on 30 April 1905 in Appanoose County. They settled in Seymour, Iowa, and Harry worked as a miner for the Prairie Black Coal Company. By 1920 they moved to Centreville, Iowa, and Harry continued working as a miner. By 1930 Harry and his family lived in Milwaukee and he worked for a railroad as a mechanic's helper. He died on 18 February 1938 at the age of 54. His obituary was printed in the Milwaukee Sentinel the same day. He was interred at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Cincinnati, Iowa. Harry and Robena had two daughters, Lorene and Charlotte.

Information about Harry G. Evans (groom) on the marriage registration record
for the marriage between he and Robena Bowie; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Information about Robena Bowie on the marriage registration record for the
marriage between she and Harry G. Evans; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Margaret McCully

Margaret McCully was my 3rd cousin twice removed. Her great grandmother, Margaret (Semple) Scott, was an aunt of my great great grandmother, Margaret (Semple) Muir. Margaret McCully was born on 27 Nov 1883 in Oskaloosa, Iowa to Robert McCully and Margaret Wilson. Her father had emigrated from Ireland and her mother from Scotland before they married in Illinois the year before Margaret's birth. By the time Margaret was 12 years old her family moved to Appanoose County. Her father was also a coal miner. She married John Stuart Bowie on 1 February 1906 in Centreville, Iowa. John worked as a miner in Appanoose County until sometime before 1930. When that census was enumerated, they lived in Des Moines, and John worked as a watchman for a motor plant. Margaret died on 26 June 1954 and was interred at Glendale Cemetery. Her obituary was published in the Centerville Iowegian and Citizen on 30 June 1954.

Index entry for John Bowie and Margaret McCully marriage registration;
courtesy of FamilySearch

Suspect Marriage Record

On Ancestry.com there is a marriage registration record for the marriage of Harry Evans and Margaret McCully which took place on the same day as the marriage between John Bowie and Margaret McCully. And there is no marriage register record for that latter marriage. The only record of it I could find was an index record on FamilySearch (shown above).

Information about the groom who married Margaret McCully. He should be
John Bowie; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Information about Margaret McCully on marriage register; courtesy of
Ancestry.com

If you look closely at the witnesses on the above image about Margaret McCully, you will notice one of the witnesses was Mrs. Harry G. Evans. Several pages of the register before and after this entry are written in the same hand. I believe the compiler simply made an error regarding the groom's name. Everything else, including the names of his parents and place of birth would be correct if the groom's name were John Bowie, not Harry Evans. I have seen many marriage records with incorrect information; however, this is the first time I have seen the wrong groom! I call it the marriage that wasn't.

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[1] Alice's maiden name was variously spelled Jill, Yuls, Yilde in the source documents.

Janet (Semple/Muir) Hutchison (1871-1942)

This is one in a series of posts about the family of my great great grandparents James and Margaret (Semple) Muir. Janet (Semple) Hutchison, Margaret's eldest child, was an aunt of my grandmother, Alice (Muir) Jennings.

Janet Semple was born on 25 November 1871 in Dalserf Scotland to Margaret Semple, who was unmarried at the time of her birth and worked as a dairy maid away from her parents' home. She returned to Dalserf for the birth of her daughter. A father was not listed on Janet's birth registration and Janet was known as Jessie throughout her life. She frequently used Muir as her surname before her marriage and she was raised as part of James and Margaret (Semple) Muir's household.

British Ordnance Survey of Dalserf, including the farm
Margaret's father leased

When Jessie was almost two years old her mother married James Muir. In 1881 Margaret, Jessie, and Robert Muir, were living with Margaret's parents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple, at Swinhill Farm in Dalserf. Jessie's step-father was not enumerated with the rest of the family. From 1877 until 1886, Jessie's mother had six children. However, only the two youngest, Margaret and Peter (the fourth son so named) lived to adulthood.

When Jessie was 15 years old, she, her mother, and half siblings, boarded the Allen Line's S/S Manitoban in Glasgow. After stopping in Ireland, they arrived in Philadelphia on 30 September 1887. Jessie was included on the passenger manifest as Jessie Muir, but she was listed on a different page than her mother and half siblings. Her occupation was listed as a domestic.

Margaret and the children settled in Streator, Illinois. The town was the second fastest growing town in Illinois, besides Chicago. The coal mines attracted workers from every part of the globe. Two years after immigrating to the United States, Jessie married a fellow Scot, Alexander Hutchison on 2 January 1889 in Streator. Her step-father, James Muir, was listed as her father on the marriage certificate and acted as one of the witnesses to the marriage.

They had three children in Illinois before moving back to Scotland, but only two were living when they made the trip. On 14 February 1894, the young family arrived in Glasgow aboard the Anchor Line's S/S Ethiopia. They had traveled to New York City to board the ship.

In 1895 the family lived at 20 Swinhill Colliery, which was housing for the miners and owned by the colliery. There were just over 50 one- and two-room apartments in the complex. In 1910 the housing was described as fair in size, with five privy middens for residents living in all the apartments. There was no ground for private gardens, no sinks in the homes, and water had to be drawn from wells. By 1910 most of the complex had been demolished.

When the 1901 census was enumerated in Scotland, Alex and Jessie lived at 31 New Street in Stonehouse. Alex worked as a coal miner and the couple had five children. Interestingly, Jessie's mother and her family lived at the same address in 1861. I do not know if it was still being rented by the family or if this is merely a coincidence.

Jessie had a daughter in 1903. The family decided to return to the United States. They boarded the Anchor Line's S/S Furnessia in Glasgow on 21 July 1904 and arrived in New York City on 1 August. Traveling with Alex and Jessie were their six children. Everyone in the family was a United States citizen and their physical description was listed as good. The family's destination was Kirksville, Missouri.

Jessie had her last child, a daughter, in 1905. When the 1910 census was enumerated the family, including their seven children lived in Nineveh, Missouri, next door to Jessie's half sister, Margaret (Muir) Caswell. Alex and his brother-in-law were coal miners.

Children of Alexander and Janet "Jessie" (Semple) Hutchison

1. Jessie Hutchison born about 1889; died about 1891 (this information was according to my grandmother)
2. Alexander Hutchison born 1891-Illinois; died 1959; never married
3. James Hutchison born 1893-Illinois; died 1970-Illinois; married Emma Frances Hanlin
4. Maggie Hutchison born 1895-Scotland; died 1994-Missouri; married William Bruce Melching
5. Lily Hutchison born 1898-Scotland; died 1989-Missouri; married Andrew Jackson McDaniel
6. Joseph Hutchison born 1901-Scotland; died 1966-Georgia; married Ruth Anna Richardson*
7. Jane "Janie" Hutchison born 1903-Scotland; died 1959-Missouri; never married
8. Ruth Hutchison born 1905-Missouri; died 1993-Missouri; married David Connel Combs

In 1920 Jessie and Alex remained in Nineveh. Alex worked as a coal miner. All the children lived at home except for their daughter Maggie, who lived and worked in Kansas City, Missouri. Jessie's mother had moved from O'Fallon, Illinois, to Nineveh, sometime between 1912 and 1920. She lived nearby with her youngest daughter and granddaughter, Alice Muir, likely to be near her daughters, Jessie and Margaret.

Plat map of Novinger, which indicates it was at the junction of two
railroad lines; image courtesy of Plat Book of Adair County, Missouri

Jessie lost her husband 19 May 1927. She continued to live in Nineveh with a daughter. The John Blacksmith family boarded in their home. By 1935 Jessie had moved to nearby Novinger to a house she owned, which was valued at $400. Two of her children lived with her.

Jessie died on 23 February 1942 of pernicious anemia from which she had suffered for four years. She was buried in the Novinger City Cemetery beside her husband.

Mrs. Alexander Hutchinson of Novinger Dies

Succumbs at age of 70 after ten-year illness

Mrs. Jessie Hutchinson, 70 years old, died at her home in Novinger this morning at 10:30 o'clock after a ten-year illness.

The body is at the Dee Riley Funeral Home here and will remain there until Tuesday evening when it will be taken to the Hutchinson home. Funeral services will be held at Novinger Wednesday afternoon.

She is survived by her husband, Alexander Hutchinson, four daughters, and three sons, Mrs. Ruth Camles and Mrs. Margaret Melcher, of Kansas City, Mrs. Lillian McDaniels of Memphis, Mo., Miss Janie and Alex Hutchinson at home, Joe Hutchinson of Springfield, Ill., and Jimmie Hutchinson of Taylorville, Ill. One child preceded her in death.**

As published in the Kirksville Daily Express on 23 February 1942.

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*Joseph Hutchison may have also been married to Edna L. Ridgeway but I have been unable to definitively prove it.

**There are several inaccuracies in this obituary. The Hutchison surname is not spelled with two 'n's. Jessie's husband died in 1927 and did not survive her. All of the daughters' surnames are incorrect. Camles should be Combs; McDaniels should be McDaniel; and Melcher should be Melching.

Children of James and Margaret (Semple) Muir

Margaret Semple had eleven children over the course of her life but only six lived to adulthood. Like many young Scottish women of her class, she had a daughter out of wedlock in 1871. No father was included on the civil birth registration, which was not unusual as the father had to be present in order to be identified as the father of an illegitimate child. However, to this day, we do not know who the father was. She named her Janet after her mother, Janet (Torrance) Semple, which was the custom at the time. Her daughter was called Jessie throughout her life and my grandmother called her Aunt Jessie. Margaret left her job as a dairymaid before she delivered Jessie and returned to Dalserf to live with her parents.

Dalserf countryside; photograph used with the permission of Andrew
Scorgie

After she married James Muir in 1873, Margaret had ten more children, the youngest two being born in Illinois. These are Margaret's children who did not survive their infancy:

Robert Muir (1873-1874)
Robert Muir was born on 4 October 1873, three months after his parents married. He was born at Swinhill, home of his maternal grandparents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple. Swinhill is in Dalserf, Scotland. His mother registered his birth by marking her mark. Little Robert died on 25 January 1874 at Swinhill of hydrocephalus and convulsions, which is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. His father registered his death. Robert Muir was three months old when he died.

Peter Semple Muir (1877-1877)
Peter Semple Muir was born on 14 February 1877 at Swinhill in Dalserf, Scotland. He was James and Margaret (Semple) Muir's third child. He was named for his maternal grandfather. Peter died at the age of 5 weeks in his grandparents' home of coryza, from which he had suffered for one month, and bronchitis with which he was afflicted two days before his death. Coryza is an acute inflammation of the mucous membrane in the nose.

Peter Semple Muir (1878-1878)
Peter Semple Muir was born on 5 July 1878 at Swinhill in Dalserf, Scotland. He was James and Margaret (Semple) Muir's fourth child and the second son they named for Margaret's father, Peter Semple. He died on 8 September 1878 at the age of two months in Coalburn, which was a small railway and coal mining village in Lesmahagow parish. Peter died of enteritis, a disease most commonly contracted by eating or drinking things contaminated by bacteria.

Peter Muir (1879-1879)
Peter Muir was born on 12 July 1879 in Coalburn in Lesmahagow parish. He was James and Margaret (Semple) Muir's fifth child and the third son they named for Margaret's father, Peter Semple. He died 10 days after his birth on 23 July 1879 of marasma, which is severe malnutrition. It may be caused by a extreme deficiency in one's diet of calories and protein or by diseases such as dysentery.

Henrietta Brown Muir (1882-1884)
Henrietta Brown Muir was born on 29 July 1882 at Birkenshaw in Dalserf. She was the sixth child of James and Margaret (Semple) Muir and was named after her paternal grandmother. She, her mother and living siblings moved to her maternal grandparents farm at Swinhill some time before her death, which was on 9 January 1884. She died of measles and bronchitis and was a year and five months old.

***
The lives six children -- Janet ("Jessie"), Robert, Margaret ("Maggie"), Peter, Alexander, and Jane ("Janie") -- who lived to adulthood will be covered in the coming weeks.

Margaret (Semple) Muir (1850-1920)

Margaret Semple was born on 22 June likely in 1850 in Dalserf, Scotland, a small village on the banks of the Clyde river. No church parish record exists for her birth so her birth year is my best estimate. Her age was recorded as being nine months old when the 1851 census was enumerated on 30 March. Therefore, she would have turned one the following June, making her birth year 1850.

She was the fourth child of Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple. Her father was a coal miner at the time of her birth. In 1851 the family lived in Canderdykehead, miners' housing owned by James Nimmo & Company, Ltd. They were described in a 1910 housing report and I imagine few improvements were made in the nearly 60 years between 1851 and 1910 with the exception of adding water closets inside each apartment:

"Two story, brick built -- erected under Building Bye-laws [sic] -- damp-proof course; walls hollow built; wood floors, ventilated; internal surface of walls and ceilings in good condition. Good sized apartments. No gardens. Wash houses and coal cellars provided."

In 1861 the family was living at 31 New Street in nearby Stonehouse, which is less than 5 miles from Dalserf. The family now consisted of eight children. Margaret's father, Peter, continued working as a coal miner. Margaret was 11 years old and worked as an apprentice weaver of mixed fabrics, along with her two older siblings.

Margaret was living in the Maryhill area of Glasgow and working as a dairy maid in 1871. She lived in a four-room house with four other young women. She was about a month along in her first pregnancy but likely did not know it yet. On 25 November 1871, Margaret had a daughter, who she named Janet Semple in honor of her mother and in accordance with Scottish naming conventions of the time. No father was listed on the birth registration. Janet was called "Jessie" throughout her life. She was born in Swinhill, which was the home of her maternal grandparents. My assumption is Margaret returned home upon learning she was pregnant or just before the birth.

Swinhill Farm on a British Ordnance Survey; image courtesy of
ScotlandsPlaces

Two years later she married James Muir, a 25-year-old coal miner, on 4 July 1873, at her parents' home in Swinhill according to the forms of the Church of Scotland. Three months later their first child Robert Muir, named for his paternal grandfather, was born on 4 October 1873. Little Robert died on 25 January 1874 of hydrocephalus and convulsions, which is more commonly known as water on the brain.

Four more children were born between 1873 and 1882 but only one survived infancy. When the 1881 census was enumerated, Margaret was living with her parents at Swinhill Farm in Dalserf. Her husband James was not at home. Margaret's father's occupation was listed as a coal miner so the farm must have been something he worked in what little spare time he had. The house was full of grandchildren, including Margaret's two children.

Margaret had three more children between 1882 and 1886. A daughter, Henrietta, died of measles at the age of one, but Margaret, known as Maggie, and Peter, survived to adulthood.

In June of 1887 Margaret's husband, James Muir, immigrated to the United States. Margaret, and her living children: Robert, Maggie and Peter, followed in September. They boarded the Allen Line's S/S Manitoban in Glasgow, Scotland, and arrived in Philadelphia on 30 September 1887. Margaret's daughter, Jessie, traveled on the same ship as Jessie Muir, but was listed separately from her mother, several pages later on the passenger manifest. I imagine Margaret and the children took a train to join James Muir.

On 13 May 1889 Margaret had her tenth child, who she named Alexander. If she had continued using the Scottish naming convention, which she did for her previous children, this child should have been named for her husband James.  Alexander was born in Streator, Illinois, in the area of town called Coalville, which was the area where the miners lived.

Margaret had her last child, Jane Muir, who was called "Janie" throughout her life on 29 November 1894 in Reading, Illinois. When the 1990 census was enumerated, Margaret was still living in Reading in a house she owned free and clear. She listed her marital status as married. Her husband, James, however, lived in Mystic, Iowa, as a boarder in the home of Mrs. Margaret Greenbank, his future wife, and listed his marital status as divorced. Living with Margaret in her home were her sons, Robert and Alexander and her youngest daughter Janie. Robert and Alexander worked as coal miners. Margaret's daughters Jessie and Maggie were no longer living at home.

In 1910 Margaret and her youngest daughter, Janie, were living in a rented home on Third North Street in O'Fallon, Illinois. Her recently widowed son, Robert, lived next door with his two young children. Margaret claimed she was widowed.

Jane "Janie" Muir and her mother, Margaret (Semple) Muir, who was my great great grandmother;
photograph courtesy of Abby Muir

In 1920 Margaret and her granddaughter, Alice Muir, lived in a home Margaret owned free and clear in Nineveh, Missouri. Alice was the daughter of Robert Muir and his first wife, Ida Mae Riggin. Ida had died in 1909. Margaret listed her marital status was divorced. Margaret's two married daughters, Jessie and Maggie, lived in Nineveh near their mother. Curiously, so did James Muir. He was a boarder in the home of Ida Logsden and worked as a coal miner. By 1925, he was back in Mystic, Iowa, with his second wife.

Margaret was admitted to a hospital in Kirksville, Missouri, in late May 1920 where she had an operation on the 28th. She died three days later on 31 May 1920 of uremia. Contributing to her death were "old age and hemorrhoids." Her daughter, Jessie, was the informant listed on the death certificate. Margaret was buried in Novinger Cemetery on 3 June 1920.

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This post was republished from Descendants of Robert Muir (c1800-1869), Volume VII, Son James Muir (1848-1926), which has yet to be published but is available at The Robert Muir Family blog. Margaret (Semple) Muir was my great great grandmother.

52 Ancestors #32: The 32 Great Great Greats

It would have been so easy to reprise a 27 December 2013 post about Henry Crawford Tucker and his 32 children, but I will adhere more closely to the optional prompt and write about my 32 three-times great grandparents.

Fan chart of my family tree made several months ago using
TreeSeek.com  and my partialtree on FamilySearch.org

The two halves of my tree -- Dad's side and Mom's side -- could not be more dissimilar. On Dad's side, all but four of my 16 three-times great grandparents came from families that have been in what became the United States of America in Colonial times. I could keep the Colonial Dames (CDA), Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), United States Daughters of the War of 1812, and other lineage societies busy for years submitting applications. The 4 three-times great grandparents, who were "outliers," came from Scotland. Their children, James Muir and Margaret Semple, married in 1873 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1887.

Mom's side of my tree, on the other hand, is filled with unknowns. Mom considered herself to be 100 percent German yet no one has any idea from where in Germany her ancestors originated. Her mother's parents were German Baptists, who lived in the Russian Empire (it is now Ukraine), and immigrated to Canada in 1893 due to religious persecution. Previous to Russia, they lived in what is now Poland. I suspect there is some Polish blood thrown into the mix. What I know about my maternal grandmother's ancestors is due in large part to Lucille Marion (Fillenberg) Effa (1934-2015) and her 2003 book, Our Schalin Family. It proved to be an invaluable starting point for my research.

Lucille Marion (Fillenberg) Effa; courtesy of the
Vancouver Sun

Mom's Dad immigrated to Canada from the same region of Russia in 1911. His family was Lutheran but had a similar history. I know even less about them. My big breakthrough to date was learning the names of his four grandparents, which I never would have accomplished without joining the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE). Such a small, small step forward in what will be a long journey.

Dad's Side

1. John William Jennings, Sr. -- born about 1777 in Amherst County, Virginia; married Anna Mariah Waldron, 1805; served in Captain William Flood's Company, 5th Infantry Regiment, Virginia Militia during the War of 1812; died 19 December 1858 in Amherst County
2. Anna Mariah Waldron -- born in 1782 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia; married John William Jennings, Sr., 1805; died 24 October 1868 in Amherst County
3. Thomas Jewell -- unknown birth date; died before 1833 when Jesse, James and Terisha Jewell were made guardians of orphaned Catherine Jewell in Amherst County
4. Unknown -- but may have been Sarah "Sally" Guilford, who would have also died before 1833; I am still working on proving this theory
5. James Harvey Beard -- born 7 September 1780 in Bedford County, Virginia; married Mary McMullen or McMullin, 1811; served in a Virginia Militia artillery battalion during the War of 1812; died 26 September 1781 in Bedford County
6. Mary McMullen or McMullin -- unknown birth date; married James Harvey Beard, 1811; died before 1850 when her husband married Rhoda Parker
7. Daniel Mitchell -- born about 1781 in Virginia; married Sarah "Sally" Wood, 1816; died after 1860
8. Sarah "Sally" Wood -- born 1792 in Virginia; married Daniel Mitchell, 1816; died after 1860
9. Robert Muir -- born about 1800 in Northern Ireland; married Henrietta Brown, 1828; died 20 April 1869 in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, Scotland
10. Henrietta Brown -- unknown birth date; married Robert Muir, 1828; died before 1856 in Scotland
11. Peter Semple -- 5 May 1822 in Dalserf, Lanarkshire, Scotland; married Janet Torrance, 1844; died 29 March 1904 in Dalserf
12. Janet Torrance -- 27 July 1825 in Stonehouse; married Peter Semple, 1844; died 16 November 1896 in Dalserf
13. Alfred Riggin born about 1811 in Tennessee; married Sarah "Sally' Piper, 1833; died after 1850 
14. Sarah "Sally" Piper -- 7 March 1813 in Ohio; married Alfred Riggin, 1833; died 30 July 1887 in Troy, Madison, Illinois
15. James Wells -- born about 1808; married Mary Hearelson on an unknown date; died 19 July 1861 in Troy, Illinois
16. Mary Hearelson 8 November 1814 in North Carolina; married James Wells on an unknown date; died 12 December 1882 in Troy

Memorial monument for Peter Semple, which is located in the Dalserf
Parish Church Cemetery; photograph taken for me by Andrew Scorgie
in 2013 while in Dalserf photographing my ancestors' home town

Mom's Side

1. Unknown Lange -- father of Friedrich Lange, who died before 1866
2. Unknown -- mother of Friedrich Lange
3. Unknown Schenschke -- father of Wilhelmina Schenscke, who died before 1866
4. Unknown -- mother of Friedrich Lange
5. Unknown Ludwig -- father of Gottfried Ludwig
6. Unknown -- mother of Gottfried Ludwig
7. Unknown Irgang -- father of Ernestine Irgang, who died before 1866
8. Unknown -- mother of Ernestine Irgang
9. Johann Samuel Schalin born 26 August 1796 in Maliniec, Poland; married Anna Elisabeth Buech, 1822; died 2 December 1847 in Maliniec
10. Anna Elisabeth Buech -- born 18 April 1802 in Gross, Poland; married Johann Samuel Schalin, 1822; died on an unknown date
11. Johann Gottfried Zander born about 1796; married Susanne Wilde on an unknown date; died on an unknown date
12. Susanne Wilde born about 1805; married Johann Gottfried Zander on an unknown date; died on an unknown date
13. Unknown Fabriske -- paternal grandfather of Auguste Fabriske, my great grandmother
14. Unknown -- paternal grandmother of Auguste Fabriske
15. Unknown -- maternal grandfather of Auguste Fabriske
16. Unknown -- maternal grandmother of Auguste Fabriske

The registration of the marriage of Carl August Lange and Carolina Ludwig,
which gave me the names of their parents, my only breakthrough to date
on my maternal grandfather's side of the family; image courtesy of SGGEE

Mattias Steinke, of the German Genealogy Facebook Group, graciously transcribed the record for me:

nr 307 Lange, August residing in Ludwischin Schepple (Ludwiszyn-Szepiel), county of Luck, son of the deceased Friedrich Lange and his deceased wife Wilhelmine nee Schensche, born in Kamen, (russian) province of Petrikau with Caroline Ludwig, daughter of Gottfried Ludwig and his deceased wife Ernestine nee Irgang of Adnarka (?) county of Luzk, born in Grabina, province of Petrikau, bride of lutheran confession. Groom is unmarried and 25 years old. Bride is unmarried and 19 years old. The banns were at the 7th, 15th, and 22nd September. When and where the marriage were: the seventh October 1886 in the church of Rozyszcze by pastor Kerm.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme 32.

Guest Blog: Leber’s Optic Atrophy

By Sarah Semple

My dad came from good working class stock.  He was the fourth child of five and there was nearly a six year gap between him and his next older sibling. His mother decided to hold him back from going to school until his younger brother was old enough, so that the two siblings could keep each other company.  Dad had very little in common with his youngest sibling who was always getting into strife.  But being dad, he just went with the flow and didn’t question the decision.

Dad was a good sportsman, an average performer at school and had decided to become a teacher. He was 19 years of age, in his second year of teacher training when something extraordinary happened to him.  He lost his eye-sight.  He lost the sight in one eye in January 1954 and then the other in May 1954.  The medical system couldn’t explain it.  He could see nothing in front of him, and just shapes in his peripheral vision.  He spent 10 weeks in hospital and was told that his eyesight was bad but it wouldn’t get any worse.

Life was turned on its head.  He had to withdraw from teacher training and his beloved sport.  He lay in the hospital bed feeling very sorry for himself.  To cut a long story short, he heard a girl come in to his ward and tell people to breathe in and out.  He thought that this sounded like an easy job and enquired about it.  She was a physiotherapist, and he found out that there was a School for the Blind for Physiotherapy in London.  He got sponsorship from the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind and off he went -- alone on a six week boat trip, first time out of New Zealand with minimal eyesight. He had a fabulous three years training in London, establishing friendships with other blind physiotherapists that lasted a life time.

John "Jack" Alexander Semple in England, 1958; photograph courtesy of
Sarah Semple

So how does this relate to genealogy? Well, it all comes back to the rare eye disease called Leber’s Optic Atrophy.  When researching this disease, I found out that it is genetic, but that it is only passed on from the female.  So a male can inherit it (like my dad), but his children can never get it.  His sister however could both inherit the gene and develop the disease, as could her children.

So with this information, I approached a renowned Opthamologist who confirmed that as far as he knew there were only two families in New Zealand with this disease.  He had studied the other family to understand the heredity patterns of the disease.  

Jack Semple playing bowls; photograph courtesy of
Sarah Semple

I found that one of my dad’s aunts had also inherited the disease and had died after accidentally drinking a bottle of poison that she thought was a soft drink.  I also found women in dad’s family with poor eyesight that people had attributed to old age, however may well have been the same eye condition.

So when I come across or hear about people (especially young men) who lose their eyesight at an early age to Leber’s, I always ask the question… what was their mother and grandmother’s maiden names?  Chances are, we could be related.

52 Ancestors #9: Grandma's Genalogy Notebook

Ancestor Name: Alice (MUIR) Jennings (1906-1993)

Many of you know I got my love of genealogy and family history from my father. Well, he got it from his mother, Alice (Muir) Jennings. When I was organizing my genealogy books and papers, I found, among Dad's possessions, a notebook in my grandmother's handwriting. Grandma Jennings was the only grandparent who lived to see me married. She took me on my first plane trip, spoiled me rotten and listened when I thought my parents weren't. We were very close. That's my close to home connection because home is where the heart is and Grandma Jennings is in my heart.

Her paternal grandparents were James Muir (c1848-1926) and Margaret (Semple) Muir (1849-1920). Grandma lived with her "Grandmum Maggie" after her mother died in 1909 until 1920 when Margaret died following an operation. Alice was 14 years old and found she had to make her own way in the world.

In 1924 she was working as maid and nanny for a family in West Virginia. She had taken their young son to the "talkies." The little boy could not yet read so Grandma read the movie to him. Behind her were a group of young men who mimicked her, generally having a wonderful time at her expense.

Marvin Edward and Alice (Muir) Jennings on vacation in 1951

She started walking out with one of those men. His name was Marvin Edward Jennings. He was 23 years old, from Roanoke, Virginia, and worked as a clerk for the railroad. Grandma always said they were a couple of misfits who did well together. She was blind in one eye; born with a detached retina. He had polio as a young child and was lame in one leg, wearing a brace and a special shoe to help him walk more normally.[1]

Alice Muir and Marvin Jennings married in East St. Louis, Illinois, on 13 May 1924. Their first child was born that September but died three months later. Two sons followed in 1927 and 1931.

Marvin Edward and Alice (Muir) Jennings
and their sons; personal collection

Neither of them experienced much parental love in their childhood. Grandma's mother died when she was three and her father quickly remarried and gave the children by his first wife to his mother. Grandpa's mother died when he was 5 years old; four years later his father put him in the Lutheran Orphanage in Salem, Virginia.

Perhaps because neither of my grandparents really got to know or receive parental love, both of them were always interested in their family history. I've found pages of information about the Jennings family written in my Grandfather's hand on railroad company stationery.  And then I found Grandma's notebook. It includes 39 pages of names and birth, death and marriage dates, starting with her great grand parents Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple.

The first page of Grandma's notebook with my great great great
grandparents, Peter and Janet (Torrance) Semple at the top of the page;
personal collection

Grandma's research must have started with conversations with her paternal grandmother. There is no other explanation for some of the information in the notebook. But her cousin, Roberta, was also a big help. Her daughter was assigned a school pen pal project. She started writing to distant cousins in Scotland. Grandma and Roberta stayed in contact with some of them throughout much of their lives. Grandma was able to visit Scotland in the 1970s and met some of her distant cousins.

I took photographs of all the pages with my phone and sent them off to my Semple research collaborator in New Zealand, who has worked on the Semple line for years. We've found discrepancies in "Grandmum Maggie's" memory, but also new bits and bobs of information we never knew before. Most exciting for me was finding "Grandmum Maggie's" missing child. The 1900 and 1910 census indicated she had 11 child born alive and 6 were still living, but I could only find ten. I was able to verify the existence of this missing child with birth and death registration records. Her fifth son and the third one named Peter after her father lived just eleven days.

The page in Grandma's notebook listing the names of her Grandmum's
eleven children; personal collection

Grandma's genealogy notebook also made me re-examine my thinking about James Muir's birth date. I had an old Scottish church parish record that indicated he was born in on 2 August 1844 and baptized on 22 August. But his death certificate had 13 June 1845 as his birth date. Plus, the 1851 census indicated he was 2 years old. My conclusion is he was born on 13 June 1848 or 1849 and the James Muir for which I had a birth record was an older brother who had died before my great great grandfather was born.

Researching Grandma's notebook has been a delight.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Close to Home.

_______________
[1] That Grandpa Jennings was lame in one leg because of polio was the story my father, his son, had always heard. However, the application to admit him to the Lutheran orphanage said the lameness was caused by measles.

The Too Brief Life of Ida Mae (Riggin) Muir
My Grandfather and the Orphanage
The Lutheran Orphanage in Salem Virginia
Sunday's Obituary: A Real Find

52 Ancestors #34: James Muir, Scoundrel

Ancestor Name: James MUIR (1844-1926)

James Muir was one of my paternal great great grandfathers. The Muir family is the only "recent" immigrant family in Dad's tree. His other greats were all from families whose ancestors arrived in the American Colonies before the Revolutionary War. When Dad was actively researching his family history, he was unable to do much with the Muir family because most of his research was conducted before the Internet and he did not have access to Scottish records.

Genealogy and my research are one of the few topics that keeps Dad's attention for a long time and makes it easier to talk to him after he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in late 2012 and can no longer speak. My New Year's resolution was to concentrate on the Muir family after discovering the ScotlandsPeople website. Eight months later, I've learned James Muir had 78 known nieces and nephews!

James Muir was born on 2 August 1844 in East Kilbride parish in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was baptized in the local parish church on the 22nd of the same month. When the 1851 Scotland census was enumerated, he was living with several siblings in Kirkton Village, but his parents were not at home the night the census was taken.

Ten years later, James was living at 2 Birkenshaw in Larkhall with his father and several siblings. He was 17 and already working full-time in the coal mines. His father was no longer working in the mines but his older brothers still living at home were also miners. His mother, Henrietta (Brown) Muir had died, likely before 1856.

In 1871 James Muir's father had been dead two years and his siblings had scattered in all directions. James was a lodger in the home of Daniel Lyle, another coal miner, on 39 Stewarton Street in Cambusnethan. Two years later he married Margaret Semple on 4 Jul 1873 in Swinhill, Dalserf, Lanarkshire. She was the single mother of a young girl named Janet "Jessie" Semple. Margaret was pregnant with their first child at the time of their marriage, who was born on 4 October 1873. Their first son was named Robert Muir, after his paternal grandfather. Sadly, little Robert died on 25 January 1874 of hydrocephalus, which is the build up of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. It is commonly called "water on the brain."

Parish church in Dalserf; photograph commissioned by me

My great grandfather also named Robert Muir was born on 16 March 1875. After my great grandfather, five known children were born in Scotland:

• Peter Semple Muir (14 February 1877 -- 23 March 1877)
• Peter Semple Muir (5 July 1878 -- 8 September 1878)
• Henrietta Brown Muir (29 July 1882 -- 9 January 1884)
• Margaret "Maggie" Muir (6 May 1884 -- 29 August 1966)
• Peter Semple Muir (3 February 1886 -- 30 October 1947)

Peter Semple was Margaret's father and naming a child in his honor was obviously important to her.

On 27 May 1887 James boarded the Anchor Line steamship Ethiopia in Glasgow and sailed to the United States. He arrived in New York City on the 6th of June and traveled to Streator, Illinois. Because the 1890 census was destroyed by fire, I do not know if he had relatives or friends who had already immigrated and settled in Streator or if he saw advertisements for Streator at the train station. 

Anchor Line Steamship Ethiopia, built in Glasgow in 1873

James' wife, Margaret, and the living children followed him to Illinois, arriving in the U.S. on 30 September 1887. Margaret's daughter, Jessie, also traveled with her mother and half-siblings.  Margaret and James had two more children in Illinois: Alexander Muir (13 May 1889 -- 6 May 1957) and Jane "Janie" Muir (29 November 1894 -- 23 January 1990).

In 1900 James was living in Mystic, Iowa, a lodger at the home of Mrs. Margaret Greenbank. Appanoose was described as "one continuous mining camp" when James arrived. He claimed he was divorced. His wife, Margaret (Semple) Muir, however, was living in Reading, Illinois. According to her census records, she still believed she was married.

James married Margaret (McIntosh) Greenbank on 9 January 1913 in Princeton, Missouri. Princeton is in Mercer County, Missouri, which borders Iowa. I am left wondering after looking at the map, if Mercer County was a "Gretna Green" county, meaning it was possible to get a quickie marriage. Or perhaps county officials didn't look too closely at your documentation. I've found no evidence that James Muir actually divorced his first wife, nor can I find any evidence that Margaret Greenbank was divorced from her husband, Thomas, who was still alive, though living in the Mount Pleasant Hospital for the Insane.

Proximity of Appanoose County to Mercer County; image courtesy of
FamilySearch.org

When the 1915 Iowa state census was taken, James claimed he had lived in Iowa since 1895. If that is true, then he left his first wife when her youngest children was barely a year old, which makes him a scoundrel in my book.

James Muir died on 18 March 1926 at his home in Mystic of arteo-sclerosis and chronic bronchitis at the ripe old age of 81. He was miner, retired from the Egypt Coal Company. He was interred in Highland Cemetery in Mystic on 20 March 1926. His second wife was the informant listed on the death certificate. She is also buried in Highland Cemetery.

Margaret "McIntosh" Greenbank Muir as a young woman;
photograph courtesy of Ancestry.com member pattilee3

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

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James Muir was born on 2 August 1844 in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland, to Robert and Henrietta (Brown) Muir. He married Margaret Semple on 4 July 1873 in Swinehill (now Swinhill), Dalserf, Scotland. She had 11 children born alive and five lived past infancy. I have only discovered ten children and am still searching for the unknown child. She had an illegitimate daughter in 1871. Their living children born in Scotland were Robert, Margaret, and Peter Semple. Alexander and Jane were born in Illinois after the family immigrated in 1887. James Muir left his family between 1895 and 1900 and moved to Mystic, Iowa. On 9 January 1913 he married Margaret (McIntosh) Greenbank in Princeton, Missouri. Both of them had been married previously. James' first wife Margaret (Semple) Muir died on 31 May 1920 in Kirksville, Missouri, and is buried in Novinger Cemetery. James died on 18 March 1926 in Mystic and is buried in Highland Cemetery, which is located in the same city. His second wife died on 19 February 1936 and is also buried in Highland Cemetery.

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I'm Sorry Great Great Grandma
Was Grandma's Grandma a Hussy
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