Wordless Wednesday is a Daily Blogging Prompt from GeneaBloggers.
Tag: Thorward
The Genealogy Breakthrough that Made Me Cry
I don’t usually do blog posts this close together, but I just had to share my latest break through. I was attending one of Legacy Family Tree’s webinars (Mining Uber-sites for Germany Ancestors by James Beidler) and using one of the tips, broke down my not-so brick wall. This brick wall has stumped us all for years. I’ve talked about George Thorward before.
- Wordless Wednesday: George Thorward – 1st Car
- Tombstone Tuesday: Thorwards – Tombstone pictures for George and his wife Josephine, plus an extra one of them outside their house.
- Did I Find Him? – An entry where I first wonder about the George Thorward/George Yohn question.
- Surname Saturday: Thorward – A very brief glimpse of what I knew of the Thorwards in July of 2010
- An Unexpected, Yet Expected Turn – George shows up in his marriage record as George Yohn and I end the entry with the question: Who are you George?
- Mysterious Ancestors: I tried to examine this George Yohn/George Thorward thing yet again.
- George Yohn… Again: I got Josephine and George’s marriage record in the mail
- Timeline: George Thorward: Again, I use a timeline strategy to sort out what I know about George Thorward/Yohn. Note: Eagle eye readers will notice I state at the beginning that I lost the article that showed where he came from in Germany. Then post that same article at the bottom of the post. Talk about losing things right in front of your face!
Revisiting my 1940 Census To Do List
Before the 1940 census was released, I made 2 entries (part one, part two) detailing where I thought I would find my Dad’s side of the family. I previously posted a chart where I showed who I had found two days after the census was released.
I was just looking at all my different entries and decided to see if I’d found everyone from the lists yet.
Continue reading “Revisiting my 1940 Census To Do List”I’m Home Again
Whew, that was quite a trip I took. We started out in Avoca, New York. The site of our annual family reunion. Only, this year the 4th of July was on a Wednesday and it was very confusing to the planning of the festivities. So, it ended up being just us visiting with the New York branch (with a little South Carolina thrown in!). ha. We stayed overnight. On our way to visit my Aunt Barb in PA, we visited Aunt Diane and Grandma Moore in the cemetery. This was my first time up to New York since Diane’s funeral, so it was an emotional visit.
William Thorward Moore, 1930-2012
Every weekday for the past year, I’ve woken up, cooked Grandpa breakfast, and we’ve watched the news or Today Show together. This morning I’m not doing that. It’s hitting me harder then I thought it would but I have to remember Grandpa’s favorite thing to say when he was having a hard time.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Making some Observations
I worked quite a bit yesterday on my maternal lines. The only drawback is it burned me out a little bit on researching. So I decided to switch to my paternal line, and just kind of observe it in pedigree format in FTM2012.
Here are some things I’ve noticed:
- Josephine Doremus is the only one of my 3rd great grandparents that wasn’t an immigrant. All others that are listed were born in other countries
- The missing spots in my 3rd great grandparents aren’t immigrants… at least I don’t think. I have possible parents for both Jennie Featherson and Sarah/Sadie Sutcliffe, just no paper trail yet.
- My Moore line is completely Irish.
- My Thorward line is a quarter German, a quarter ?, and half Scottish.
- My Redford line is half English and half ?.
- My Parkin line is half English and half ?.
- All the known immigrant ancestors on my paternal line were all here before 1875.
- This entry has been sitting idle for 45 minutes because I’m watching Ugly Betty on Netflix Streaming.
- I probably shouldn’t “work” in a room with a TV, much less one with Instant Streaming capabilities.
- Featherson and Sutcliffe don’t sound like normal names. They’re not exactly Thorward, if you get my drift, but they aren’t Moore or Johnson either.
Timeline: George Thorward
George Thorward
(1852 – 1940)
January 1852: George was born in Germany. I used to have an article that stated a place in Germany, but it has disappeared with the other records I can’t seem to find anymore. So I’m back to just plain Germany. ((1900 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 215, sheet 7-B, dwelling 133, family 145, George Thorward))
Between 1865 ((1910 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED156, sheet 2-B, dwelling 38, family 39, George Thorward)) , ((1930 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ., Caldwell, ED 353, sheet 11-A, dwelling 238, family 254, George Thorward.)) -1867 ((1900 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 215, sheet 7-B, dwelling 133, family 145, George Thorward)): George immigrated to the United States
1870: George “Yohn” is living in the household of Harvey Bond as a cigar maker’s apprentice. His birthplace is listed as Wurtemburg. Wurtemburg happens to be the same place that the disappearing newspaper obituary gave. However, I no longer have the article to prove that. I have to get to the New Jersey archives so that I can search old newspapers. ((1870 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, page 112-B (stamped), dwelling 118, family 134, Harvey H Bond household)).
November 1871: George “Yohn” marries Josephine Doremus in Verona, New Jersey. My Great Grandma Llewellyn’s diary gives their exact marriage date and year. The marriage record refers to the groom as “George Yohn”. ((Moore, Llewellyn (Thorward). “Diary” MS. Caldwell, NJ, 1923-1926. Privately held by Kathleen Moore, {Address witheld for private use,} Lexington Park, MD. 2005.)) , ((Essex Co., NJ. “Marriage Records, 1795-1893.” Book D, pg. 176, for “George Yohn, Josephine Doremus,” marriage return.))
September 1872: George and Josephine’s first child, Frank Springsted Thorward, is born. ((1900 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 215, sheet 7-B, dwelling 133, family 145, Frank Thorward.)) , ((World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, images , Ancestry.com, card for Frank Springsted Thorward, serial number 3485, Local Draft Board 4, Essex Co., NJ.))
January 1875: George and Josephine’s second child, Lewis Thorward, is born. ((1900 U.S. Census, Hudson Co., NJ, Harrison city Ward 3, ED 19, sheet 28-B, dwelling 422, family 613, Louis Thorward.)) , ((Moore, Llewellyn (Thorward). “Diary” MS. Caldwell, NJ, 1923-1926. Privately held by Kathleen Moore, {Address witheld for private use,} Lexington Park, MD. 2005.))
October 1879: George and Josephine’s third child, Dora Thorward, is born. ((1900 U.S. Census,Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 215, sheet 8-A, dwelling 145, family 158, Dora Plume.))
1880: George’s family is living in Caldwell. George’s occupation is listed as Cigar Maker. ((1880 U.S. Census,Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 94, page 403-B (stamped), dwelling 96, family 101, George Thorward.))
20 Aug 1890: George arrives back in the US after a trip to Germany. His port of departure was Antwerp and port of arrival was New York. However his occupation was given as ‘cooper’. I can’t be sure this is the correct George because of that. The birth year of around 1852 fits though. ((“New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” roll M237_553, list number 1227, images, Ancestry.com:2010.))
December 1897: George’s daughter, Dora, marries Leslie Plume. ((Atlantic – Hudson Co., NJ., “Marriages, Atlantic-Hudson v. 34,” 1897-1898, pg. 166, record 154, for “Leslie J Plume, Dora Thorward”.))
31 Aug 1898: George arrives back in the US after a trip to Germany. His port of departure was Antwerp and port of arrival was New York. His occupation, marital status, age, and address all match my George. ((“New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” roll T715_29, page 298, images, Ancestry.com:2010.))
October 1898: George’s son, Lewis, marries Jennie Love. ((Atlantic – Hudson Co., NJ., “Marriages, Atlantic-Hudson v. 36,” 1898-1899, pg. 169, record 1, for “Lewis Thorward, Jennie V Love”.))
1900: George’s family were living on Central Avenue in Caldwell, New Jersey. ((1900 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 215, sheet 7-B, dwelling 133, family 145, George Thorward))
1910: George and his wife were living in Caldwell, New Jersey. ((1910 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 156, sheet 2-B, dwelling 38, family 39, George Thorward))
1920: George’s household at 110 Central Avenue is counted, however it doesn’t seem like they were actually home at the time. I think the neighbors must have given information because it is very sparse. ((1920 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ, Caldwell, ED 22, sheet 19-B, dwelling 425, family 458, George Thorwood.))
1930: George and his wife were living at 112 Central Avenue. George gives a immigration year of 1865 and an occupation of cigar maker. ((1930 U.S. Census, Essex Co., NJ., Caldwell, ED 353, sheet 11-A, dwelling 238, family 254, George Thorward.))
1940: George passes away after a 6 month illness.
I can pick my relative out of a lineup
Today is a great day. My sister is happy in her new car and my Grandpa Moore might be released from the hospital for a few days before his surgery. I’m hoping I can get the pictures for this entry scanned without many problems. My printer/scanner has been acting a little funny and I haven’t had a chance to troubleshoot it yet.
I received a few comments on my older entries this week, one was from Dana who writes the Just Folks blog. I jokingly told her in a followup comment that I may not know their names but I can pick my relatives out of a lineup! At first I meant that jokingly, then I realized how real that analogy was.
The 1940 Census – Part 1
The genealogy community is buzzing. There’s only 1 year left before we’ll have access to the 1940 United States Federal Census. Like everyone else, I’m already trying to think about where my ancestors were at the time the census was taken.
Continue reading “The 1940 Census – Part 1”George Yohn… again
I received my order of records from the New Jersey State Archives on Saturday. The record you see above was too big to fit onto my scanner, so I tested out the app recommended to me for my iPhone. It worked pretty well! Especially under the conditions I was trying. It would have probably worked a bit better in daylight on a flat surface.
Anyway, onto the record. The record I sent for was the marriage record for George Yohn and Josephine Doremus. I’m currently trying to figure out if George Yohn is in fact George Thorward. What I like about the above record is that the marriage date fits with what I know for George and Josephine. I also like that Josephine Doremus is listed. There was another Josephine Doremus in the 1870 census but she was living in Newark and not Caldwell. In 1880 there is no trace of Josephine and George Yohn. Only Josephine and George Thorward. Everything about the above record fits with George Thorward except the Yohn last name. It is a bit disappointing to see the parents names listed as “Not Known” for George. Though it raises another question. Did George lose his parents when he was young? Did that prompt his immigration to America?
I did search the online index for name changes on the State Archives website but I found no trace of any Yohns or Thorwards. I’d love to get my hands on some local history books from the church or even the newspapers. My Grandpa told me that there is some stuff in local books about the Thorwards because they were integral in the Methodist Church of Caldwell.
Included in the envelope with my records was a note from the Archives. They explained to me that they included the entire page as counties were only required to report once a year the births, marriages, and deaths from their county. Individual records weren’t issued by the State until June 1, 1878. So the record they sent me is actualy for the whole period of May 1871 to May 1872. So to me that tells me, if another Josephine Doremus had married George Thorward in November of 1871, it most likely would also be listed on this page.
I’m getting closer and closer to confirming my assumption that there was a name change. Once that happens, I’ll have more questions. Was Thorward the original German name or was Yohn? Did George adapt Yohn when he immigrated and then wanted to change it back? Were the children born under the name Yohn? Will this impede me in finding their birth records?
Previous entries in the George Yohn craziness: