Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Where Were Your Ancestral Families in 1920?

 From Randy (a cousin discovery!!) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Where did your ancestral families reside in 1920?  Do you know their addresses or locations? Have you visited the home? Who was enumerated in the 1920 census in each family?  Are any of your ancestral families missing from the 1920 U.S. Census even if they should be in the census?

(2)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook.  

Here's mine:

Here are my ancestral families and where they resided as of the 1920 U.S. Census:

(1)  Grandparents:  The Lusion K Tapley family resided in the Powell section of Johnson County, Georgia.  This location would have been the Tapley family land that Lush "bought" from his father.  His mother lived next door, and his brothers and sisters and their families all lived nearby.  

- 

- L.K. Tapley, Head of the Household, Owned his home, Male, White, age 50, Married, can read and write, Birthplace is Georgia, both his father and mother were born in Georgia, Farmer, General Farming

-  Nealie (Drake) Tapley, Wife, Female, White, age 24, Married, can read and write, Birthplace is Georgia, as well as her parents' birthplace, occupation is None.

- James Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 15, Single, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia, occupation is Farm Laborer, General Farming.

- Morgan Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 12, Single, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia, occupation is Farm Laborer, General Farming.

- Champ Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 10, Single, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia, occupation is None.

- Lamar Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 4, Single, all birthplaces are Georgia.

- Russell Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 2, Single, all birthplaces are Georgia.

- Baby Tapley (This would have been Hugh Dorsey), Son, Male, White, age 3/12, Single, all birthplaces Georgia.  

(2)  My great-grandmother, Rebecca "Becky" (Page) Tapley was alive in 1920.  She was a widow and lived next door to my grandfather, Lusion.

In her household:

- Mrs. E. R. Tapley, Head of Household, Owned her home, Female, White, age 75, Widowed, can read and write, her parents and her were born in Georgia, and her occupation is listed as Farmer, General Farming.

- Viana Tapley, Daughter, Female, White, age 30, Single, can read and write, she and her parents were born in Georgia, and her occupation is None.

- Anna Tapley, Grand-daughter, Female, White, age 19, Single, can read and write, she and her parents were born in Georgia, and her occupation is None.  (Annie is Lusion's daughter, but she always lived with her grandparents.)

- Gordon Tapley, Son, Male, White, age 24, Single, he and his parents were born in Georgia, and his occupation is Farm Laborer, General Farming.  (Gordon is actually her grandson.  This was around the time he was AWOL from the Army, so she was probably trying to throw them off his trail.)

(3)  My Drake great-grandparents were living in Emanuel County, Georgia.

In their household:

- Will Drake, Head of Household, Rents his home, Male, White, age 62, Married, can read and write, he and his parents were all born in Georgia, and occupation is Farmer, General Farming.

- Emma Drake, Wife, Female, White, age 52, Married, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia, and occupation is None.

- James Drake, Son, Male, White, age 19, Single, attended school, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia and occupation is None.

- Lawton Drake, Son, Male, White, age 16, Single, attended school, can read and write, all birthplaces are Georgia and occupation is None.

(4) My Ranney great-grandparents, along with my grandmother, Ethel, were living in Duplain, Clinton County, Michigan in 1920.

Their household consisted of:

- Luther B. Ranney, Head of Household, owned home, Male, White, age 49, Married, can read and write, his birthplace is Michigan, his parents' birthplaces are both Ohio, occupation is Farmer.

- Bessie C. Ranney, Wife, Female, White, age 36, Married, can read and write, birthplace is Wisconsin, parents' birthplaces are both Ohio, occupation is None.

- Kenneth C. Ranney, Son, Male, White, age 10, Single, attended school, can read and write, he and his father were born in Michigan, his mother was born in Wisconsin, and occupation is None.

- Alice L. Ranney, Daughter, Female, White, age 8, Single, attended school, birthplaces the same as her brother, occupation is None.

- Ethel I. Ranney, Daughter, Female, White, age 6, Single, attended school, birthplaces are the same as her siblings, and occupation is None.  (This is my maternal grandmother.)

(5) My 2nd Great-Grandparents Ranney were still alive at the time of the 1920 Census IF the census was done in January.  They both passed away later that same year.  However, I have been unable to locate them on the 1920 census.  I am fairly certain they were living in DeWitt, Clinton County, Michigan.  They had been living there for a long time, and they died there.  I went through all 33 pages of the census for DeWitt, which was enumerated in January 1920, and while I found their son, I found no trace of them.  

That's everyone.  Four grandparents and five great-grandparents.  Also, a set of 2nd great-grandparents that were alive in January 1920, but cannot be located on the census.  

I have been to the place where my Great-Grandmother Becky Tapley lived.  It is just land now; the house is long gone.  I have not seen any of the other locations my ancestors lived.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Day Your Maternal Grandmother Was Born

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  What happened in the world on the day your maternal grandmother was born?  Tell us the date, the place, and find a newspaper page for that date, ideally from the place she was born.  What are some of the headlines?  What was the weather?

(2)  Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.  

Here's mine:

My maternal grandmother was Ethel Irene Ranney (1913-1973).  She was born on Sunday, July 6, 1913, in Elsie, Clinton County, Michigan, to Luther Boardman Ranney and Bessie Alice Carter Ranney.  She was the youngest of three children.  

During the year she was born, the President is Woodrow Wilson, The National Temperance Council is founded to promote the temperance movement, and R. J. Reynolds introduces Camel, the first packaged cigarette.

The closest newspaper I could locate to Elsie was the Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan.  Here is the front page on July 6, 1913:

The major front page articles were:

*  Tour Balloons Land in Michigan After Race From Missouri

*  Veterans From Michigan Begin Journey Home

*  Fiance of Jessie Wilson

*  Tornado Hits Wyandotte Hard

1913 marked the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) of the Civil War.  The June 19-July 4 gathering of 53,407 (of which about 8,750 were Confederate) veterans was the largest ever Civil War veteran reunion.  Veterans from 46 of the 48 states attended.  

The engagement of Mr. Francis B. Sayre and Miss Jessie Woodrow Wilson (2nd daughter of the president) was announced.

The Weather was reported on page 8:  Lower Michigan - Generally fair Sunday and Monday, Light to medium northwest to north winds.  Due to the quality of the scanned page, I was unable to make out the forecasted temperatures for Elsie.  

Workday Wednesday: The Ranneys were Lumbermen and/or Farmers

The following information was gleaned from  History of Shiawassee and Clinton Counties, Michigan with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers, Philadelphia:  D. W. Ensign & Co. 1880:

Comfort Ranney, my 2nd great-grandfather, was born in Boston, Summit County, Ohio, on February 7, 1838.  Sometime around 1865, he, along with his brother-in-law, Willis Leach, D. F. Sheldon, and O. A. Clark moved to Clinton County, Michigan and purchased 200 acres of timbered land and erected a steam saw-mill, and engaged quite extensively and successfully in the manufacturing of lumber for three years.  In 1868, Sheldon, Ranney, and Leach purchased several hundred acres of wild lands in the south part of Saginaw and Gratiot Counties, to which the moved their mill.  In 1869, Leach and Ranney purchased the interest of Sheldon.  From then until January 1872, the mill property and lumber was destroyed by fire three times.  Yet they "still prosecuted the work with a will and energy worthy of success."  During this time, they also erected a large custom flouring-mill at Bath.  From 1874 until Willis Leach's death in 1880, Comfort managed the lumber and mill interests.  After Leach's death, he "retired" to his farm there in Clinton County and devoted his time to improving his farm and rearing "fine stock." 

Willis Leach was born May 23, 1831, also in Summit County, Ohio.  (I would be interested to know if Comfort and Willis were childhood friends, in addition to being brothers-in-law.)  He first married Mary Ranney (Comfort's sister) and had four children.  After her death, he married Sophia Ranney, the sister of his first wife and Comfort.  They had eight children.  Willis moved to Duplain, Clinton County, Michigan, in January 1865.  His failing health was the reason he left the mills in Ranney's capable hands.

Comfort's father, my 3rd great-grandfather, Luther B. Ranney, was a farmer.  Farming seemed to have a particular fascination for him, - almost inherent, - as he continued at the occupation until he was way up in age.  At the advanced age of 71, he managed a large farm and continued to lead in many of the demanding physical activities required by the work. 

Luther's father and Comfort's grandfather, also named Comfort, was a native of Connecticut.  He emigrated to Ohio and purchased eighty acres of land at government prices.  He engaged in ship-building, putting afloat the first boats of considerable tonnage built at that place. A few years later, he sold his land, closed out his business, and moved to Summit County, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life.

As with my Ranney ancestors, many of my Tapley, Drake, Schwalls, and Page ancestors either were farmers or worked with wood in some way.  I will cover those in another post.  

Tombstone Tuesday: Henrietta L. Oliver Ranney

Henrietta L Oliver Ranney

b 1888

Lost Spring, Kansas

d 1967

laid to rest

Gunnisonville Cemetery

Gunnisonville, Clinton County, Michigan

spouse of

James Comfort Ranney

daughter of

William H Oliver and Caroline King Oliver

Henrietta was the wife of my great grand uncle.

 

Mary Elizabeth Tapley	Me
Linda Irene Tapley	My mother
Ethel Irene Ranney	My grandmother
Luther Boardman Ranney	My great-grandfather
James Comfort Ranney	My great grand uncle and Luther’s brother

Surname Saturday: Ranney, Ranny, and Rany

The name Ranney, along with its variants of Ranny, Rany, Rannie, Rainy, Ranye, Raynie, Reny, and Ryne, are found in Scottish records as early as 1453.  They were Septs to the MacDonnell Clan of Keppoch.  (Scottish Clans contained septs or branches, which were founded when powerful or prominent clansmen established their own important families.  Clans often had many septs that were often related through marriage.  During difficult times, the families sought to ally themselves with larger, more powerful clans for protection from enemies and other feuding clans.  This practice was effective in building respect, devotion, and familiarity between different families within the same clan.  Nowadays, this relationship is all but lost, but today septs often proudly wear the Clan tartan.  - From www.houseofnames.com/wiki/Septs)

The Clan tartan:

I have information about 12 generations of my maternal Ranney line:

- Thomas Rany

My 10th great-grandfather.  Birth and date information unknown, except the assumption that he was born in Scotland.  His spouse is unknown and the only child I know about is:

- Thomas Rany

My 9th great-grandfather.  He was born in 1616 in Montrose, Scotland and died 21 Jun 1713 in Upper Houses, Middletown, Connecticut.  He married May 1659 in Middletown, Connecticut, Mary Hubbard, born 16 Jan 1642 in Hartford, Connecticut and died 18 Dec 1721.  They had the following children:

  Thomas Ranney
  John Ranny
  Joseph Ranny
  Mary Ranny
  Elizabeth Ranny
  Esther Ranny
  Hannah Ranney
  Margaret Ranney
  Ebenezer Ranny
  Mercy Ranny
  Abigail Ranny

- Thomas Ranney

My 8th great-grandfather.  He was born 01 Mar 1661 in Middletown, Connecticut and died 06 Feb 1726.  He married 29 Mar 1691 in Hartford, Connecticut, Rebecca Willett, who was born about 1663 in Hartford.  They had the following children:

  Thomas Ranney
  Willett Ranney
  George Ranney
  Rebecca Ranney
  Nathaniel Ranney
  Ann Ranney
  Margaret Ranney

- Nathaniel Ranney

My 7th great-grandfather.  He was born 17 Jun 1702 in Upper Houses, Middletown, Connecticut and died 25 Sep 1766.  He married 16 Jan 1734, Rachel Sage, born 01 Jan 1708 and died 24 Feb 1755.  They had the following children:

  Nathaniel Ranney
  Ozias Ranney
  Rachel Ranney
  Naomi Ranney
  Abraham Ranney
  Amos Ranney

- Nathaniel Ranney

My 6th great-grandfather.  He was born 16 Jul 1735 in Upper Houses, Middletown, Connecticut and died 13 May 1800.  He married 10 Mar 1757, Prudence Willard, date of birth unknown and died 24 Sep 1803.  They had the following children:

  Thomas Willard Ranney
  Comfort Ranney
  Nathaniel Ranney
  Prudence Ranney
  Rachel Ranney
  David Ranney
  Daniel Ranney
  Alle Ranney
  Hannah Ranney
  Anne Ranney
  Huldah Ranney
  Willard Ranney

- Comfort Ranney

My 5th great-grandfather.  He was born 19 Dec 1759 in Upper Houses, Middletown, Connecticut and died in 1859 in Buffalo, New York while en route to the Western Reserve of Ohio.  He was married to Ruth Lenora Treat, date of birth unknown and died before 1812.  They had the following children:

  Comfort Ranney
  Jacob Ranney

- Comfort Ranney

My 4th great-grandfather.  He was born 20 Mar 1788 in Upper Houses, Middletown, Connecticut and died 14 Jul 1823 in Hudson, Summit County, Ohio.  He married 25 Dec 1808 in Haddam, Connecticut, Elizabeth Hubbard, a distant cousin, who was born 02 Apr 1790 in Haddam, Connecticut and died 04 Jan 1868.  They had the following children:

  Luther Boardman Ranney
  Laura Maria Ranney
  Julia A Ranney
  Eliza Samantha Ranney
  Ruth Leonora Ranney
  Elizabeth Jerusha Ranney
  Moses Ranney
  Sarah Florilla Ranney

- Luther Boardman Ranney

My 3rd great-grandfather.  He was born 28 Nov 1809 in Hudson, Summit County, Ohio and died 10 Nov 1890.  He was married to (1) Sarah Maria Carter, born 1812 in Ohio and died 29 Jul 1846.  They had the following children:

  Martha Ann Ranney
  Mary Elizabeth Ranney
  Comfort Ranney
  Harriet Sophia Ranney
  Sarah Maria Ranney

Luther married (2) Carolinne Clapp, born 03 May 1821 in Westhampton, Massachusetts and died 26 May 1895.  They had the following children:

  Julia Ann Ranney
  Luther Kelsey Ranney
  Carrie May Ranney

- Comfort Ranney

 My 2nd great-grandfather was born 07 Feb 1838 in Boston, Summit County, Ohio and died 18 Sep 1920 in DeWitt, Clinton County, Michigan.  He married 18 Dec 1868 in Nevada, Wyandot County, Ohio, Mary Margaret Hesser who was born 17 Jul 1842 in Ohio and died 06 Oct 1920 in DeWitt.  They had the following children:

  Luther Boardman Ranney
  Sarah Marie Ranney
  Luella S Ranney
  James Comfort Ranney

- Luther Boardman Ranney

My great-grandfather was born 11 Mar 1870 in Chapin, Saginaw County, Michigan and died 9 Oct 1943 in San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, California.  He was married to Bessie Alice Carter who was born 09 Feb 1883 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and died 14 Apr 1960 in Redlands, San Bernardino County, California.  They had the following children:

  Baby Boy Ranney (died at 4 days old)
  Kenneth Carter Ranney
  Alice Lucille Ranney
  Ethel Irene Ranney

- Ethel Irene Ranney

 My grandmother was born 06 Jul 1913 in Elsie, Clinton County, Michigan and died 12 Nov 1973 in Dublin, Laurens County, Georgia.   She married (1) 11 Feb 1934 in Redlands to Avery Hazel Plumlee, born 04 Dec 1911 in Texas and died 06 Jun 1997 in Orange County, California.  They had one child:

  Robert Avery "Bob" Plumlee

Ethel married (2) 03 Dec 1939 in Redlands, Charles Morgan Tapley, born 27 Jun 1907 in Johnson County, Georgia and died 12 Nov 1973 in Swainsboro, Emanuel County, Georgia.  They had one child:

- Linda Irene Tapley (my mother)

- And that leads to ME. 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Where Were They 100 Years Ago?

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

Dear genealogists everywhere, it's Saturday Night!  Time for some Genealogy FUN.  

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

 1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 1 January 1913 - 100 years ago.

2)  List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.

Here's mine:

Tapley:
 
 * My grandparents Lusion Keman Tapley (born 31 Mar 1870) and Nealie Vermell Drake Tapley (born 29 Jan 1895) were not yet married in 1913.  Lusion was a widower with four children.  His oldest child, daughter, Annie Jane, was living with and being raised by his mother.  His three sons, James Tillman, Charles Morgan, and Champ Lusion were only 8, 5, and 3, respectively.  My grandfather was a farmer in Johnson County, Georgia.  He was mostly likely still living near his mother and siblings on the 58 1/2 acres in the 1326 District G.M. of Johnson County that he purchased from his father for $500 in 1906. 

* My grandfather, Charles Morgan Tapley (born 1907)  as mentioned above was only 5 years old at this time and was living with his father and brothers in Johnson County, Georgia.  I can only theorize that he stayed with his grandmother, Becky, while his father worked the fields. 

* My great-grandmother, Elizabeth Rebecca (Becky) Page Tapley (born 08 Sep 1844) had just been widowed two months earlier.  She kept busy running her own farm, raising her granddaughter, Mary Jane, and having her spinster daughter, Vianna Bell Tapley, age 27, still living at home.  Most of Becky's children, lived right around her, including my grandfather, Lusion.  

Drake:

* My grandmother, Nealie, would have been 17 years old.  She was living with her parents and siblings in the 395 District G.M. of Emanuel County, near Adrian, Georgia.  

* My great-grandparents, William John Drake (born 23 Sep 1857) and Emma Vermell Harrell Drake (born 04 Sep 1867) were living in Emanuel County, near Adrian, as mentioned earlier.  In the past year, they had lost two children to typhoid fever.  They had probably six children still at home, ranging in age from 17 (my grandmother) down to age 4. William John was a preacher.  

Ranney:

* My great-grandparents, Luther Boardman Ranney (born 11 Mar 1870) and Bessie Alice Carter Ranney (born 09 Feb 1883) were living near Elsie, Clinton County, Michigan.  He was a farmer.  They had two children, Kenneth (age 3) and Alice (age 18 months).  Bessie was expecting, and their third child, Ethel (my grandmother), wouldn't be born for another six months.  

My 2nd great-grandparents, Comfort Ranney (born 07 Feb 1838) and Mary Margaret Hesser Ranney (born 17 July 1842) were also living in Clinton County, Michigan.  As of three years earlier, on the 1910 Census, Comfort still listed his occupation as farmer. 
 
Carter:

My 2nd great-grandparents, Charles K. Carter (born 12 Oct 1843) and Sarah (Sally) Melissa Schoonover Carter (born 13 Jul 1840) were living with their daughter, Bessie, in Clinton County, Michigan, having left Iowa some years earlier to be near their only child.  I can imagine them spending their retired days enjoying time with their grandchildren.  More than likely, he was still working:  helping his son-in-law on the farm while she was busy helping her daughter feed the farmhands, keep house, and watch the children.  

Unfortunately I do not have photographs of any of the homes where my ancestors lived.  I have stood and had my picture taken where my great-grandparents Tapley's home used to stand.  That is as close as I've come.  I do not know if any of the homes in Michigan still stand.  

Photo courtesy of Keith Tapley; Jim and Becky Tapley's homeplace location, Johnson County, GA, September 2012.

Those Places Thursday: Elsie, Michigan

Elsie, Michigan was where my grandmother, 

Ethel Ranney Tapley, was born and lived until the family

moved to California around 1920.

Grandma's sister, Alice, had tuberculosis so the doctor suggested
they move her to a dryer climate. 

View Larger Map

"Elsie is an incorporated place located in Clinton County, Michigan... it had a population of 978 people" and "a land area of 1.16 square miles...according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimate of July 1, 2009." (Courtesy:  MI Hometown Locator.) So it is still a very small place.  Elsie is classified as a "village" and is located about 35 miles northeast of Lansing.