More Sounds of the Revolution

In the end I did not use Philip Rice for my application. Instead I was advised to follow another branch of my family where more documentation was less complicated. It turned out to be a whole new family that I had always ignored for no good reason. And, I found a very interesting branch to research that contained two new Revolutionary patriots.

By the time I was finished with this project I had 6 new patriots in my family. I used a member of the Weaver branch to complete my application which is now at National Headquarters of the DAR waiting in line for approval.

As for researching the new ancestors, I will be looking for the actions of the Revolutionary War that affected their lives. The following list can also be applied to any of your ancestors. Keep in mind that for every action there is a reaction.

1. Loss.  This can be death of soldiers or civilians. Also, loss of farm, home, business. In my ancestor's case, it was the loss of a ship. It can have a major effect on your ancestor's life.

2. Economic hardship. Another major effect of the Revolution that is closely related to loss in many ways, was loss of income. I found this in Philip Rice's life after the war. Lives changed due to loss of economic standing in the community. Starting over from scratch wasn't easy for many of our ancestors.

3. Women's lives changed. After the men in the family left home to fight for independence, many wives were left alone to provide for their families. A woman  could choose to return to her parents' home or the home of a sibling. If this was not an option she would be on her own to take on new responsibilities and learn to provide for the family. This eventually came to be an asset in her new way of life on the new frontier. 

4. Divided families. Not everyone supported the patriots and colonists had to adjust to family members who remained loyal to the crown. Unfortunately families separated which could complicate research with two locations showing up for the same family. In addition some Loyalists moved to Canada, our neighbor to the North and a place we never think to look!

5. Religious freedom. Many people came to America looking for religious freedom. Some colonies were established by clergy and there was always the shadow of the Church of England in others. After the war the Constitution and the Bill of Rights cemented religious freedom.

6. Western Expansion affected almost everyone's life. Some crossed the mountains into Ohio, Kentucky and beyond. Others stayed behind. This journey created its own actions that resulted in new reactions and changes in our ancestors lives.

7. A New Government created a new way of life for the colonists. An experiment with elected representatives who carried out the wishes of the voters. In other words, no taxation without representation! The first amendment guaranteed the freedom of press, speech, religion and the right to assemble and petition. A new beginning for your ancestors. And a source of information for genealogists - Tax Record

I think of this as an action/reaction method of researching ancestors. It never stops; one action leads to another. Think about your own life and the decisions you made at every fork in the road. What influenced your decisions? Now think about your ancestors' lives. Any similarities there? 

                                                           * * * * *

I hope I have encouraged you to follow your ancestors back to the 1700s. It can be a fascinating journey.

The Sounds of the Revolution

Since I sold my car and quit driving I have been spending a lot of time at home. As a result I spent the last 6 months cleaning, decluttering, and organizing my villa. That included organizing and decluttering my genealogy files and stuff! Finally with my newly organized villa I had hours of free time every day to devote to my lifelong habit -- family research!

And Then . . . . I finally did it. I submitted my application to the Daughters of the American Revolution. I chose the chapter where my aunt, who was responsible for my love of genealogy, was a charter member. That experience led me on an adventure into the time period where I thought family research was rather difficult.  Would you believe it was not really that bad. Don't get me wrong, you will need some experience but the records are there. Yes I know the census is challenging but there are plenty of other records to help you work around it and with it.

Research into the 1700s requires one thing before you can starting hunting for  your 4x great grandfather. You will need to learn the basics of an important part of American history -- The Revolutionary War. It influenced almost everyone's life and it will give you the who, what, where, when, and how that affected our ancestors' reactions to the world around them.

Of course since my application was going to the DAR it naturally followed that the Revolution would play a significant part in my research. I just never realized how large that part would be when it came to researching the lives of my ancestors in the 1700s.

When I started I had one ancestor that I would use for the application. My Aunt Daisy used him for her application back in the middle 1900s and all I had to do was prove my relationship to her. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy and I needed to do more research about Philip Russell Rice, my 4x great grandfather.

One effect of the war was loss. . . soldiers, civilians, property. Men born between 1726 and 1767 volunteered to fight; some never to return. Some people lost their homes and everything they owned. Philip Rice lost his ship when he ran into the British fleet near Yorktown. As a result, this energetic young Whig lost his source of income. After he married Martha Vaughn and with no reason to stay in Virginia, he and his family set out for Kentucky and the promise of a better life. Philip was an intelligent, feisty, humorous, well-liked, dirt poor old man who was also known as the town drunk. Fortunately Martha, like many other women during the war, learned she could handle the family farm or business by herself. Martha was industrious and she kept the home fires burning. From this story you can see the reactions that resulted from the actions that Philip faced as a result of the war. 

I have to admit that I had a healthy dose of luck that led to a source of personal information about Philip. The source was a book with just a short paragraph about my ancestor, but is gave me the name of a place - Taylor's Ferry, a clue that led me to the House of Representatives. The new government reimbursed its citizens for losses during the war. I found a bill in the House  that dealt with the claim Philip submitted for the loss of his ship. There were 12 depositions attached to the bill that told the story of Philip's life. Eventually his heirs were awarded $2,500 for the loss of the ship. 

With a lot of research and a little luck I was able to put together the story of my 4x great grandfather's life. I felt like I knew him. But why did the family go to Kentucky? The new government had to pay its citizens who fought in the war and as a result designated land that would be available to veterans for their service. This action resulted in a westward movement away from the original colonies. But the westward movement of these new pioneers caused actions that affected both the new settlers and the Native Americans. Just take some time and think about how your ancestors might have reacted to everything that was happening in their new lives. Those are the things that will help you find them.

In the next post I will continue to look at the effect the American Revolution had on your ancestors. . . . .

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Missing Women

Are you missing a female ancestor in your family tree? Only one? Chances are it is many more than just one. I know, it's frustrating! Want to make it even more frustrating? Piece of cake. Can you say insane asylums?

Starting with the 1850 census you can literally see females disappear right before your eyes. No record in the census, no obituary, no death certificate. Reason? Maybe they were committed, against their will, to an institution just because they were females. Misogyny at its best. 

Conditions that we would consider normal today were once seen as abnormal or insane. Anything a man did not understand or approve of could be a reason to remove a woman from her home. Menopause, jealousy, postpartum depression, book reading, standing up to your husband could be reasons for a woman to be locked up until they conformed to natural behavior. All that was needed was "request of husband" with no evidence required. Female independence was madness! Suffragists suffered from hysteria!

Asylums for the most part were overcrowded with poor living conditions. And waiting lists! Treatments included chloroform, ether, straight jackets and unnecessary cruel surgery. All because not all women were fulfilled by being wives and mothers. Many men saw this as women overusing their limited abilities.

Unfortunately it wasn't until the late 20th century that women started to fight for their right to be more than "just a housewife" and that didn't happen overnight. It has taken years with frequent set backs. 

Due to privacy concerns the records from many asylums are not available to the public making genealogical research difficult. You can begin by searching for an obituary or death certificate. As usual be alert for clues -- family folklore, letters or journals. Clues can often be found in local newspaper gossip columns. One overlooked census column is information about deaf, dumb or insane family members. Also, check to see if there is a small cemetery located on the grounds of an institution. The graves might be marked or there could also be a record of those buried in the cemetery.

For ancestor hunters in northwest Ohio the Toledo State Hospital has a wonderful website  toledostatehospitalmemoryproject.org There are two cemeteries located on the property with graves dating back to the Civil War. It is worth checking out if you are missing any ancestors in the area. The institution was a model of excellence, with no known history of the cruelty associated with asylums. 

Things to look for when researching any clues you might find are misspelling, hospital transfers, probate records, and sadly spouses who claimed to be widows.

The last asylum closed in 1994!!

Sources of information. Time Magazine, 22 Jun 2021, Declared Insane for Speaking Up:The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry, Kate Moore.

Website: toledostatehospitalmemoryproject.org

 

The Rest of the Story

 When the 1950 census came out I thought it would be easy to blog about. After all I was there in the room where it happened. So I dove right in a few months ago and ran straight into a roadblock. Why? I couldn't answer that question. At the time!   But as time went by I realized there comes a time when you need to look at the census differently. I was at a fork in the road. I could keep going on the path I was traveling or I could take the new path. 

A week ago I injured my ankle and wound up in the hospital totally unable to walk or put weight on my right foot. For years I have been struggling with mobility issues and gradually reached a point where I could barely do anything. My ankle injury put an end to standing or walking for a while. I was stuck and I live alone. I couldn't ignore the problem any more. In a matter of days I was on my way to a skilled nursing facility for a few weeks of physical therapy with the goal of being able to return home on my own. My family packed up a few things I needed from home and sent me on my way. 

They left my To Do List at home so all I could do was lay in bed, stare out the window and think. And there was the answer; right there in front of me. It was my turn to spend time, be it long or be it   short, (ahem) in the dreaded nursing home. Almost everyone eventually reaches this point in their life. 

What does this have to do with the 1950 census? . . . .As I sit here typing it is 2023 and my turn, my decade, a new chapter in my life to face the fact that I might have times when it is hard to live alone. MY TURN to make new decisions that will affect this decade in my life and possibly the rest of my life. And this discovery has made me look at the censuses in a much different way.

All the censuses that we appear in are chapters in our lives. In each chapter we are faced with new decisions. For every action there is a reaction. How we react to the situations in each chapter/decade of our life create the story of our life, the dash. Would you believe that you can find clues to these decisions in the census. 

What decisions did you have to make?  Did where you lived affect that decision? What were you doing at that decade in your life that could have affected your reaction? (School, working) Was there a major event or disaster in the decade that would have affected your reaction? The census is full of clues. You might have to hunt for them. Some may require research. Some people are affected by every little thing that happens around them. Others are oblivious to their surroundings. 

A few months ago when I first laid eyes on the 1950 census all I could see was everything that happened in my life and the world. I saw that decade as changing the world. It didn't -- well maybe a little. Mainly it changed my life, guided my life on the paths of my choosing. The 1940 census was to my older cousins what the 1950 census was to me. I watched them make the decisions that I would soon be making. If I am lucky enough to see the 1960 and 1970 censuses, I will see the decisions I made and how they shaped my life.

So what do I do with these new discoveries? I will use them to go back to the first census and take a new look at my ancestors. Find the clues that will give me a new insight into their lives. See them as real people with real problems and decisions that need to be made in order to travel through life. I will look for clues about things that affected the decisions my ancestors made.

Tomorrow I will return to my villa for a couple of hours to determine if I can safely return to living alone in a few days. Or will I need another week of therapy. I'm at a crossroads in my life and I know there will be major changes in the months of this decade ahead. How I react will affect my life in the future. i can't avoid it.                     

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