Where do you think they are?

Well, as I have stated before, I inherited most the pictures on my Fathers side long after my Grandmother Clara passed. So I've had to piece together some of the names and places.

Here are a few that I find especially intriguing. 

These seem to be taken on a family trip, possibly the 1920's. When I found the pictures they were all together and all were large pictures (6" X 10").

The first one above, seems to be the hotel. I have no idea where it could be, but think it may be Colorado.  If anyone recognizes anything, I'd love to know. I am basing this on Jesse Walker Crosley and his wife Elizabeth Wire Atkinson moving to Colorado in the early part of the 20th Century.

 Picture two is a group of people. I believe they are: Cora Belle Crosley, Unknown Man (he appears to be with Cora, so I think he may be a husband. I'm not sure which, since I don't know the year). Unknown Woman, Harriet Crosley Baumgartner, Unknown Woman, And I think the Man holding the child is My Grandfather Reuben Thompson Crosley III. 

Bottom row left to right: Ruth Crosley Bennett, Mabel Crosley Baumgartner, Elizabeth Atkinson Crosley

and Cora Belle Crosley. Back row left to right: Reuben Thompson Crosley III, Jesse Walker Crosley and Unknown man. 

The woman in the car looks like Cora Belle Crosley, I'm not sure who the men are.

The same happy group, left to right:

Unknown man Cora Belle Crosley, Unknown woman, Unknown woman, Unknown man with child, and I think Harriet Crosley

I'd love to learn more about these pictures, so any help would be appreciated!

Harriet Sutton Savage Heath

Harriet is a such a sad story, but every ones story should be told.

Harriets Parents were Elihu Sutton and Caroline Call .  She was born in Indiana or New York. I think it was Indiana because her parents were married there. 

In my last post I mentioned Harriet and her husband George were living in Woodbine Twp. Jo Daviess County IL in 1870.  Well, Harriet's parents were also living nearby.

We know this is Harriet's family because in the 1880 census George is living with his In-Laws.

Harriets first husband was Thomas Savage. Their marriage is listed in Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
as having occurred on two separate dates April 20, 1859, and April 20, 1863. 

Because they are married in the 1860 Census. I believe the first date to be correct.

Thomas and Harriet had one daughter, Arminda (born 1861). Then
Thomas was called to war. He was  mustered in at Old Ripley Illinois. 
Thomas Savage was killed in the Civil War.
I believe that Thomas Savage immigrated from Ireland in 1851. 


Sometime between 1861 and 1865 Harriet came back to Northern Illinois. I'm not sure where her parents Elihu and Caroline are living in 1860. But I think it may be Kendall County IL. 
Harriet married George Heath in 1865, and had four more children John (born 1866), Caroline (born 1868), Bertha (born 1870), and  Charles (born 1873). I believe that Harriet died shortly after the birth of Charles. She was approximately 29 years old.

George Heath

Well, I thought that I wold elaborate more on George Heath. As stated in my previous post most people who are doing research on George believed him to be the son of Uriah Heath. 

But I know now that this is not the case. He is in fact the son of John H. Heath.

This is how I came to that conclusion. As most people know Genealogist work backward in time. 

So...

I knew the name of my Great Grandfather Charles Heath, and the name of his Sisters, Bertha, and Caroline. So, I look for them in the 1880 Census

 page 1

 page 2

So we know now, Charles Father's Name, George Heath. Georges lists his place of birth as New York here. But I've learned with the census, that these mistakes were easily made. 

Maybe George wasn't home when the enumerator came to call, and someone (who ever was answering the questions ) believed that George was born in New York. Or perhaps when the census was being taken the other years, a  mistake was made. 

So now we go to 1870 ( we are still traveling back in time ). 

In 1870 George is living with his wife and children in Woodbine Township, Jo Daviess  County IL. 

Now we know that sometime between 1870 and 1880 Harriet dies. 

I went to the research library in Galena Illinois, and with the help of a wonderful volunteer, I found out when Harriet died, and where she was buried. 

 Harriet E. Wife of George Heath

Still traveling back in time....
George in the 1860 census

Now we have a name for George's Father, John H. Heath. 

How do we know this is our George Heath? We try to find some other record. 

Thanks to Ancestry.com a quick search one day turned up what I had been looking a while for. 

A  marriage record for George and Harriet.  Wisconsin Marriages, 1835-1900. 

That's where the Wisconsin Historical Society comes in!

I did a genealogy search, ordered the record and waited. A few weeks later, there is was:

While I am not legally allowed to make it available to the public, and can report what is said.

Name of Husband ~ George H. Heath

Name of Father of Husband ~ John H. Heath

Name of Mother of Husband ~ (Very hard to read) looks to be Aoaline Heath

Residence of Husband ~ Shabbona 

Birthplace of Husband ~ Vermont

Full name of the wife previous to marriage ~ Harriet E. Savage

Time when the marriage was consummated ~ February 4th 1865

The place, town or township, and county, where the marriage was consummated ~ Boscobel

The color ~ White

By what ceremony was consummated ~ Justice of the Peace

Name of the person pronouncing marriage ~ Peter Rar

Residence of the person last named ~ Boscobel

Name of the person signing the certificate ~ Peter Rar

Date of certificate ~ February 6th 1865

Date of registration ~ February 21st 1865

So there you have it, George is the son of John H. Heath living in Shabbona, DeKalb county IL in 1860.

And this same family is living in Beekmantown New York in 1850.

George died at the home of his daughter, Bertha (Joseph) Bentley in Maquoketa Iowa, on February 18th 1896. 

Dad's Family Tree

I thought today I would post the family tree. Its easier to understand who someone is, if you know where they fit into the family tree. 

So today I'm posting five generations of Dad's Family Tree. 

This is only my Father's side, but it gives some insight as to who I am referring to. 

While I am not 100% certain the information is accurate I am confident enough to post it. If anyone has information that contradicts it, I would be more than interested in seeing it. 

One thing that I have noticed. On quite a few Ancestry.com  family trees, George Heath's Father is listed as Uriah Heath, I am sure that information is wrong. I have George Heath & Harriet Sutton's marriage license, and he says his Father's name is John, and that he lives in Shabbona Il. 

Something I have learned from doing my own Genealogy, is really what a small world we live in. I have seen crazy coincidences lately, that are keeping me up late trying to figure out. More to come on that!

Kermitt Ivan Schaffner




Kermitt Ivan Schaffner "At the old place"

 Born in Wisconsin January 19, 1926. He was my Father's half-brother. His Mother was my Grandmother Clara Heath Crosley and his Father was John (Jack) Schaffner who I never met, and know nothing about. Uncle Kermitt was in the Army during WWII.

In 1963 he married Iva B. Chambers. They never had children.
Uncle Kermitt loved his C.B. Radio and went by the handle "Casper". When we were on our way over, he would be upstairs in his bedroom talking to us while we were blocks away. Pretty silly now, but fun in the 1970's!

He worked at Switchcraft in Chicago for many years. He came home at exactly 4:30 everyday, and had supper. He used to mix all his food together before he ate it, and when we would comment he would always say the same thing "it all ends up the same place anyway". He also LOVED model trains, that was what we got him every year for Christmas. He had them all set up in his basement. If he wasn't upstairs on the radio he was downstairs with his trains! He was sweet and funny.

Uncle Kermitt died in 1979. He was buried on Christmas Eve at Clark's Grove Cemetery in Tennessee.