Month: November 2019

Copples in the News — Estate of Sam Copple (1824 – 1852)

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This newspaper clipping appears to be about the estate of the late Samuel Copple (c 1824 – c 1852) of Marion County, Illinois.  Samuel was one of at least 11 children born to David [Allen] Copple & Lavina Huckleberry who resided in Marion County, IL late in their lives.  David was likely the son of Jacob [Peter] Copple and [Mary] Elizabeth Garren (or Pfouts), and thus would have been a brother to my own ancestor Philip (c 1784 – 1850).

Samuel was born in Washington County, Indiana circa 1824.  Washington County, Indiana was the original destination for my Copple and Wright families; they arrived in the area circa 1809, purchasing land there before moving from Wayne County, Kentucky (their first stop after leaving the Rowan County, North Carolina area). 

Judging from the 1830 and 1840 census records, and the land patent images available at BLM’s online site, it appears the Copple family moved to Illinois when Samuel was about 15 years old, stopping in the Jefferson/Marion County area. (Both counties are adjacent to each other, Marion having been created from part of Jefferson in 1823.) [1]

Sam married Maria Railey in January 1847; they had 2 daughters: Ellen and Sarah.  Sam died at about the age of 28, and his widow married Abner Faulkner within a fairly short time.

Eli Copple is listed as the Administrator of Sam’s estate; Sam had an older brother Eli, who also lived in Marion County, Illinois.

Samuel Copple Estate Administered

“Administrator’s Notice,” Salem Weekly Advocate (Salem, Illinois), 25 Mar 1852, pg 3, col 7; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 September 2019).

[1] “Marion County, Illinois,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Marion_County,_Illinois : accessed 24 October 2019).

 

Copples in the News — Thelma Irene gets married

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Thelma Irene (Copple) Selsor (1910 – 1995) was born either in Missouri, or in West Frankfort, Illinois, to Gaither Calvin Copple (1878 – 1947) and Eva (Martin) Copple (b. 1888).  She was born 18 April, a few days after the official 1910 census date, but a few days before her neighborhood was enumerated.  A child named “Myrtle” was listed as aged 1/12 (presumably 1 month old) in the household. [1] Could that be Thelma?

As indicated in the article, Thelma Irene married Lawrence Marion Selsor  (1911-1972) in Jonesboro on July 24, 1942.   Thelma worked at the (local?) air base, while Lawrence was with the Works Project Administration.  They took a honeymoon to Memphis, Tennessee. 

A quick search for Thelma Selsor on Ancestry’s page for U.S. city directories (1822 – 1995)  seems to indicate that the Selsors made their home in Jonesboro, Arkansas, after they married.

I did not do enough research on Thelma to determine if she had children.  However, it appears her paternal grandparents were Levi and Malinda (Dobbs) Copple and her great-grandparents were William and Abigail (Handley) Copple.  William’s parents were both Copples, being cousins to each other, and Thelma was likely my 4th cousin 3 times removed.

Thelma Irene Gets Married

“Selsor-Copple Rites are Performed Here,” The Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas), 31 Jul 1942, page 2, column 1; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 22 September 2019)

[1] 1910 U.S. census, New Madrid County, Missouri,  population schedule, Enumeration District (ED) 108, Hough, page 2B, family 43, Gaither [indexed as Garther] Copple household; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/ 1910uscenindex/: accessed 18 Oct 2019); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication T624, roll 802.

C is for County Clare

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My great-great grandmother, Hanora Josephine (McDermott) Colbert (c 1854 – 1892) was a native of County Clare, Ireland.  She was the daughter of Cornelius McDermott (c 1827 – 1894) and Catherine (Breen) McDermott (c 1828 – 1909), both natives of County Clare.

So, naturally, when my husband and I visited Ireland in May 2016, we stopped in County Clare.  Hanora, pictured below, was born in the town of Cooraclare, in her parents’ house, called Clonredden.  When Hubby and I reached the town of Cooraclare, I stopped in at the post office, and said I was the 3rd-great granddaughter of Con McDermott, principal of Cooraclare National School.  One of the women there took me around the town, as well as to the local cemetery and to the house (still standing, but in ruined condition) where Hanora was born.

Where is Cooraclare?

Cooraclare_Location_GoogleMap

NoraMcDermott2

Hanora McDermott Colbert

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Clonredden, May 2016

The back of the house is shown to the right.

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The main street of Cooraclare, Co. Clare, Ireland

We also visited the cemetery where Hanora’s parents are buried.   Con’s tombstone is on the left; a general shot of the cemetery itself is on the right.

While in County Clare, we also visited the Burren.  Burren is the Anglicized version of the Irish word Boireann meaning “great rock” [1].   It’s a bleak and stony landscape, created from glacial karst [2] and was possibly the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. [3]

 
[1] Wikipedia contributors, “The Burren,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, rev. 23 Oct 2019; (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Burren&oldid=922588482 : accessed 17 Nov, 2019).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Tourism Ireland, “Attractions: Historic Ireland — The Burren and Tolkien,”(https://www.ireland.com/en-us/what-is-available/attractions-built-heritage/historic-ireland/articles/burren-and-tolkien/ : accessed 17 Nov, 2019).

Copples in the News — Estate of Philip Copple (1784 – 1850), my 5th great-granddad

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This particular court notice from early 1853, Washington County, Indiana, is intriguing because I recognize the family group as the likely children and in-laws of my 5th great-granddad Philip Copple.  At the same time, there is more to research — not all the family group is listed here: why?  Certain heirs are mentioned as not being [any longer] residents of Indiana — I can document some but not all.

Philip’s likely daughter Catherine (ca. 1822 – aft 1900) married a William Sluder (c 1828 – c 1878) in Oct 1849 in Washington County, Indiana.  William’s possible father was Henry Sluder (c 1809 – c 1870).  Was the Henry C. Sluder petitioning for a deed or title bond the same man?  And just what is a title bond?

So, clearly, more to research — but here’s what I do know (below article)…

Henry Sluder vs Heirs of Philip Copple

Jacob was Philip’s eldest son, and was my 4th great grandfather.  Margaret (Copple) Sutherland was a sister of Jacob; her husband was Samuel Sutherland.  The Sutherlands lived near the Jacob Copple household near the Newton / Jasper County line in Missouri in 1850.  So, yes, they were not Indiana residents in February 1853 when this notice was published.  John Copple, a brother to Jacob and to Margaret, was also in Newton County, Missouri in 1850.    So far as I know, though, Abraham Copple, likely son of Philip, married Rosanna Hauger in 1847 in Washington County, Indiana, and resided there in 1850, next to Philip Copple [1] (whose third wife, incidentally, was Catherine Hauger).  

Abraham Copple 1850 Washington Co IND

However, since I only recently came across this article, it is possible that I have my Abraham Copples misidentified.  Surely the persons identified in the notice would have known which of their siblings was no longer living in Indiana!  (More research needed here.)  Or, Abraham could have resided a short time outside Indiana in the 1853 time frame, only to return by 1860. 

The other persons mentioned are Joshua Barr [Bare], Betsy Ann Barr [Bare], and Nancy Barr [Bare].  Joshua and Nancy’s names were already familiar to me as the children of the late Nancy (Copple) Bare, another daughter of Philip.  Nancy married in December 1830, so in February 1853, those three children could have been of age.

To summarize, the questions I have which need answering are:

  • Do I have Abraham Copple correctly identified?
  • What is a title bond?  And why was Henry Sluder fighting for one?  And, if he was indeed the father-in-law of Catherine (Copple) Sluder, why was he involved, and not his son?
  • Why weren’t the rest of the heirs involved in this?  Philip had other children living in February 1853, and Nancy (Copple) Bare was survived by additional minor children.

 

“Henry Sluder v Heirs of Phillip Copple,” The Washington Democrat (Salem, Indiana), 11 Feb 1853, pg 3, col 1; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 September 2019)

[1] 1850 U.S. census, Washington County, Indiana, population schedule, Posey Township, page 239 (stamped), dwelling 509, family 522, Abram [“Abren”] Copple household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1850usfedcenancestry/ : accessed 17 October 2019); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication M432, roll 179.

 

B is for (genealogy) Books

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A few of my go-to genealogy books (non-affiliate links):

The Family Tree Problem Solver (Revised 1st Edition), 2011, Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FASG

Evidence Explained: History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3rd edition (Revised), 2017, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, FASG, ed.

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Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 4th edition , 2017, Val Greenwood

Genetic Genealogy

Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies , 2019, by Debbie Parker Wayne

Genetic Genealogy in Practice, 2016, Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne

Writing it all Up

Mastering Genealogical Documentation , 2017, Thomas W. Jones

Mastering Genealogical Proof, 2013, Thomas W. Jones

Specialty

A Brief History of Everyone who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through our Genes, paperback edition, 2018, Adam Rutherford

Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for pre-1906 San Francisco Research, 2nd edition , 2012, Nancy Simons Peterson

Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide, 4th edition , 2012, John Grenham

The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Italy, 2017, Melanie D. Holtz

What about you?  Any favorites not on this list?  Anyone know of some good German ancestry books?  Or Danish ancestry, for that matter?

Shared Clustering Tool and NodeXL– my mom’s match to her 4C

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The other day I posted about how some of my Ancestry DNA matches looked on in the Shared Clustering Tool.  Today I’m comparing that same cousin — my 4th cousin 1 removed and my mom’s 4th cousin — against my Mom’s Ancestry DNA matches both in the Shared Clustering Tool and Node XL.

Cousin “Jane” (as I’ll call her) shares a set of 3rd great grandparents with my mom: Jacob Copple and Margaret (Blalock) Copple.  She shares 71 cM in 4 segments with my mom, according to Ancestry.  I can see 3 of those segments clustered in the Shared Clustering tool.  One segment appears to tie to matches with a Blalock/Blaylock in their tree and/or a segment on chromosome 9 (based on those matches who are also on 23andMe, FTDNA, MyHeritage or GedMatch).  A second segment matches another possible Blalock segment, likely on chromosome 13.  Finally, a third segment cluster is with matches whose MRCA is likely Jacob Copple’s parents (Philip Copple & Patsy Wright) or grandparents.

Mom_4C_LF_cluster3

The orange line vertical and horizontal (in both pictures) represents cousin “Jane”.  The three blue arrows above show the three main clusters she shares with Mom and with other matches of Mom’s.

Below is a zoomed-in look at the “chromosome 13” segment cluster.

Mom_4C_LF_cluster2

Below is the likely chromosome 9 cluster.  The blue labeling in the rows and columns represent matches who have a Blalock/Blaylock in their own trees.  (Of course, the shared DNA may be due to another family line altogether, but the evidence at this point seems to be hinting at Margaret Blalock’s line rather than her husband Jacob’s.)  

Mom_4C_LF_cluster4

Can I see three clusters for “Jane” using the Node XL tool?  Actually, yes, I can.  The Node XL tool is not as intuitive to use as the Shared Clustering tool, and I don’t know the algorithms behind either, but it’s reassuring when different clustering tools give somewhat similar answers!

Cousin “Jane” is highlighted in red.  She is based in the green group, and matches the hunter-green group, the chartreuse group, and a whole bunch of my mother’s matches in the gold group.  The Node XL clusters are limited to Mom’s matches of at least 15 cM.

Mom_4C_LF dewtru_NodeXL

I haven’t done enough research with the groups in the Node XL tool, but I was intrigued by “Jane’s” cluster.  It looked like there were actually two groups — and sure enough, there are two groups, as you can see below.  I’m not sure why the cluster was not split out in a definitive manner, as there is not a lot of crossover between them.

If you’ve used Node XL regularly, do you know why that might happen?  Perhaps it’s the algorithm used?

Finally, in addition to more study of Node XL, I need to run a clustering report on the Genetic Affairs tool, which I haven’t used much.  It would be interesting to see how “Jane” clusters with my mom’s closest matches using that tool.

Grp 4 NodeXL 20191019 using 20190820 Data

Copples in the News — Looking for Grandpa Copple before the Internet

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The grandfather in this story I believe to be my own 3rd great granddad, Benjamin Franklin Copple, an Indiana native, who did in fact live in Arizona (near Sedona) in the later years of his life.

Mrs Antolla wants info

Mrs. Antolla (1882 – 1951) was Annie Bernice (Clark) Antolla, wife of Fred, and daughter of James Henry Hall Clark (1852-1912) and Annie B Copple (c 1859 – 1882).  Annie was one of four (or possibly five) daughters of Ben Franklin Copple and Phoebe Harvey; her younger sister Elizabeth (aka Libby) was my great-great grandma.

When Phoebe (Harvey) Copple died ca 1862, leaving behind children no older than 10 years old, Ben farmed them out to folks in the area (Sonoma County, California).   

Annie lived in the Ransom Petray household in Russian River Township in 1870, two households away from James Clark, whom she later married.  She gave birth to Annie Bernice in Feb 1882, and died the next day.

Ben, the missing grandfather, was found in Mendocino County in 1870, as a “single” man doing mining work.  By 1876, though, he was down in Yavapai County, Arizona, where he lived out the rest of his life, marrying a Native American of the Modoc tribe and having 3 sons.

Interestingly, this post is dated February 1908.  In the 10 September 1908 issue of Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, on page 2, column 2, there is a short article about B.F. Copple and son Bert of Arizona visiting Healdsburg, where daughter Mrs. Mary [Copple] Long resided.   Mary was the only daughter still alive then, but did she have any contact with her niece Annie (Clark) Antolla?  And, if so, was Annie there to also meet her grandfather?

 

 

“Information Wanted,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) 16 Feb 1908, pg 6, col 2;
Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 September 2019)

A is for Anamnesis

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Just what is anamnesis anyway?

Vocabulary.com defines “anamnesis” as “the ability to recall past occurrences” or “memory”.  The Greeks also considered memories from one’s past lives as part of the concept – but I’m playing fast and loose with their concept of “past lives”.

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Image by JLG from
Pixabay

Instead of reincarnation, by “past lives”, I mean those lives in the past — of my own ancestors.

I am “remembering” ancestral lives and ancestral places by writing down what I know of them at this point in time.

To that end, I’ll be blogging a series of posts from A to Z — “Family History from A to Z”, an idea I got from browsing several different blogs. (You can check out those blogs here, here and here)

This particular series will focus largely on locations where different branches of my family resided.

 

Copples in the News — Grant Copple marries Laura Shay

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Grant Milton Copple was likely my 4th cousin 3 times removed.  He was the son of William Linton Copple and Lenora (Stough) Copple, both Iowa natives.

Laura Olive Shay was the daughter of Harry Shay, a native of England, and Olive Hill, a native of Rock County, Illinois.

Sadly, their marriage lasted only 7-1/2 years, ending with Laura’s death at the age of approximately 27 years.  She was survived by her husband Grant, and by their three young children.

Shay-Copple

“Shay – Copple,” The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa), 20 Jul 1920, pg 17, col 5;
Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 September 2019).