Ongoing Mysteries

Sharing Unverified Information

March 3, 2013
 
I've been struggling with an issue that poses a real problem not only in my own family line, but with genealogical research in general -- that being the issue of sharing unproven information.  I have always been very willing to share not only information, but documents, photographs, the works, because I'm of the mind that researchers shouldn't need to reinvent the wheel -- spend hours researching and fork out money for documents I've already dug into my pocket to pay for.  I have gone so far as to share entire ged.com files with people in my direct line with warnings ad naueum as to which lines are authenticated and which are working theories. 
 
Sadly, I have learned that despite the appropriate caveats, red flags, warning sirens and pleas not to share the information, once the information is out of my hands, it is also out of my control.  I had a go-round with one such person last fall when he took every ounce of information I had privately shared with him, including unproven lines, and despite the warnings, put it in its entirety on the Internet, using my family tree name as the citation for his information, even going so far as to request that people contact me for further information.  I immediately contacted him and asked him to remove the information and particularly me as a citation.  Though he assured me that he would do so, a Google search this morning still shows my tree as the citation information (prompting this rant).  The Internet is forever, folks.  
 
This experience was almost enough to make me quit communicating with other researchers, shut down this blog, make all my ancestry.com trees private and go into genealogical hiding.  And it's still a conundrum for me.....  How to share information with others who might not be as diligent as they should be about independently verifying information or have total disregard for the hard work of others.  Still, I hate it when people are stingy and secretive with their research results, as if somehow they, and only they, are deserving of it and own it.  That's just silly.  Because somewhere down the line we're all related. 
 
For now, I don't feel like I have the right to benefit from the work of other people if I'm not willing to share mine.  And I still hold out hope that people will see this blog or my public tree and be able to provide some nugget of information that will connect the missing link that I, and others, have been looking for to give our ancestors their rightful place in history.  So things will stay as they are.  For now.  But I will be much more careful about what I share and with whom I share it.  Lesson learned.  School of hard knocks and all that.
 
If you run across anything on the Internet that cites "Twisted Limbs" as its source, and it didn't come directly from me, don't treat it as gospel truth and please don't dissemiate it.  And please, even if you do get information here, verify it independently.  If you find information that contradicts mine, please let me know so that we can pursue it.  Let's not propogate garbage. 
 
 
Getting Back to Kimball Edwards....

Added September 30, 2012

I'm simply flummoxed by this family.  I've found when Kimball S. Edwards (often referenced as K.S. Edwards) died (January 11, 1887, Humbird, Clark County,Wisconsin), but I still don't know where he is buried.

Even more frustrating is his lineage.  I believe with my heart and soul that Kimball was the son of Ambrose Edwards and Sarah Bennett (aka Sally), but I have NOTHING to document that.  Why do I think that, you ask?
  • Kimball was born in Vermont (I suspect in Burlington, VT) in 1802.  According to some census records, Kimball was a carpenter.
  • In 1870, living with Kimball is a man named Ambrose Edwards, born in 1778 in Connecticut.  Earlier records list Ambrose's occupation as a carpenter (hmmmmmm......).  Ambrose is of appropriate age to be Kimball's father.
  • In 1860, Ambrose Edwards is living in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin with a man named Rodolphus Edwards, whose occupation is listed as (can you guess?) a carpenter.  Rodolphus is of an appropriate age to be Kimball's brother.  
  • In 1863, there is an "R Edwards" and a "KS Edwards" both listed as members of a "Union Club" in Beaver Dam.
  • Kimball Edwards' death notice appeared in the Dodge County Citizen, a Beaver Dam, Wisconsin newspaper.  Why did it appear in a newspaper 150 miles away from where Kimball died?   
 
From what I've seen on the Internet, Ambrose Edwards and Sarah (Sally) Bennett had at least the following children:
 
Maria Edwards 1805-1893 (married Jerry Maher)
Rodolphus Edwards 1814-1901 (married Emily Bunnell)
Orpha Wheeler Edwards 1817-1903 (married Albert Hibbard)
Sarah Ann Edwards 1825 (last seen in 1850 census)
 
I believe there were probably children, as yet unaccounted for.  
 
I am unable to find where or when Ambrose Edwards died.  He's last seen in the 1870 census with Kimball, in Greenfield, Monroe County, Wisconsin.  His wife, Sarah/Sally (Bennett) Edwards died in 1858 in Baraboo, "at the residence of her daughters" (per her death notice).

If any known descendents of Ambrose Edwards and Sarah Bennett happen to read this, I hope that they may have information that will help me make this connection.  I'm desperate!  I've taken the ancestry.com DNA test.  If anyone of known descent has taken it, too, please let me know!  Maybe we can find the connection. 

Still Trying to Verify Isaiah Cash
As Father of Jonathan Cash

Added June 10, 2012

I still haven't found anything to definitively link Jonathan Cash to his father, Isaiah.  I think this is accurate information, but I still have nothing to prove the connection.  One of these days I need to really scour the Belmont County newspapers (any volunteers?) for the period surrounding Jonathan's death (29 Mar 1874) to see if I can find an obituary, but have yet to do so. 

Isaiah Cash died 09 Mar 1849 in Monroe County, Ohio, although he lived in Belmont County from at 1820 (at the latest) until at least 1840.  My guess is that he moved to Monroe County to live with his youngest son, Rezin.  I haven't looked for any probate records or newspaper articles, though I would be surprised if they exist.  Still, if anybody is interested in doing some research or has information they'd like to share, it would be greatly apreciated!

Still Trying to Connect Cashes
North and South

Added July 11, 2011

In July 2010 (below), I made mention of a family of Cashes that were trying to connect to John Cash in Maryland.  Although there is still no definitive evidence that these families are related, I'm becoming more and more convinced that that is the case.

We know that John Cash and Ann Shaw had 10 children:
  • John
  • Richard
  • William
  • Dawson
  • Mary
  • Dorcas
  • Henrietta
  • Isaiah
  • Rezin
  • Jonathan

We know that Dorcas and Mary married Plummer brothers. Dorcas and her husband, James Plummer, ended up in Fleming Kentucky.  Mary and her husband, Joseph Plummer, ended up in Ashe, North Carolina.  Their sister, Henrietta, married Joseph Jones and also ended up in North Carolina. 

Interestingly, there was a Richard Cash, born in about 1755, who died in 1824 in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, after having lived in Iredell, Kentucky for at least 20 years.  Below is his Will:

I Richard Cash of Muhlenberg County State of Kentucky being in good health and sound mind, but well understanding the uncertainty of Death, do make and ordain this my last will and testament as followeth. To wit: My will and desire is that all my just debts be faithfully paid. I have given to my children hereinafter Mentioned (to wit) John Cash, Isaiah Cash, William Cash,Richard Cash, Jonathan Cash, and Sarah Lovelace their proportion the part of my estate and it is my will and desire that what property I may be possessed of at my death shall go to the use of my daughter Ruthy Cash during her lifetime and then to her son Nelson Cash. I do hereby appoint John Morgan & David Summers Executors of this my last Will
and testament. In testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and seal this 29th day of August 1823.

Richard Cash -his mark

Signed Sealed and acknowledged in the presence of Valentine Whitmer, Charles Morgan

Muhlenberg County Clerks Office
December Court 1824
The foregoing last Will and Testament of Richard Cash dec'd was produced in to Court and proven by the Oaths of Valentine Whitmer & Charles Morgan two of the subscribing Witnesses therein named, which is thereupon ordered to be
Recorded.
                                      
Att. Ch. F. W i n g, Clk

Notice the name of Richard's children:

Elizabeth Cash, Presumed Daughter of Isaiah Cash

Added February 18, 2011

In November 5, 2010, I posted the below message about Isaiah Cash, noting that I had obtained a Deed in which he sold a parcel of land to a man named Isaac Murray. 

Today, I found a marriage record of an Isaac Murray who married Elizabeth Cash in Belmont County, on February 6, 1832.  Census records indicate that Elizabeth was born about 1809 in Ohio.  I have yet to find a death record for her.

Isaac Murray was born in about 1809 in Maryland and died in August 1871, in Monroe County, Ohio.

Isaac and Elizabeth had at least seven children, three of the daughters being named Mary Anna, Dorcas and Rebecca.

Judging by Elizabeth's date of birth, the names of these daughters (above), and the fact that early census records indicate that Isaiah had children we haven't accounted for, I think it's reasonable to guess that Elizabeth was the daughter of Isaiah and Mary Cash.  At this point, I am going to add her to the family tree with a note of presumptive parentage.

For the record, Isaac Murray and Elizabeth Cash had at least the following children:
  • Rebecca -- b. abt 1833.
  • Elizabeth -- born 06 May 1834, died 04 Sep 1912 (Franklin, Monroe County, Ohio), buried "Mt. Tabor," married _____ Gibson.
  • Mary Anna -- born Jul 1836, died 21 Jul 1921 (Enoch, Noble County, Ohio), buried "Tabor Ridge," married Alexander Gulier.
  • George -- born abt 1838.
  • Dorcas -- born 28 Jan 1840, died 27 Jul 1915 (Franklin, Monroe County, Ohio), buried "Mt. Tabor," married Samuel Marsh.
  • Marion -- born abt 1842.
  • Eliza -- born abt 1849.

Is Isaiah Cash Our Man?

Added November 5, 2010

The descendent of Jesse Victor Cash was kind enough to send me the work she has done on the Cash family tree.  In it, she names Isaiah Cash (1772-1849) as the father of Jonathan Cash (1801-1874).  Now, this isn't the first time this connection has surfaced -- DeRand Jones (uncle of Pat Dunn) had put forth the same information, which I (stupidly) dismissed out of hand because of a difference he had for birth dates, etc.

Looking at Isaiah with fresh eyes, this connection starts to make sense to me..... 
  • Isaiah Cash was one of John Cash's and Ann Shaw's younger sons, born in Maryland.  According to records, he married Mary Seal in 1801 in Frederick, Maryland.  Our Jonathan was born in Maryland in 1801.  I have information that Isaiah was in Jefferson County, Ohio when his second son, Rezin, was born in 1805. 
  • Isaiah is listed in the 1820 census in Flushing, Ohio -- listed near Henry Stotler.  (If this lineage proves out, Isaiah's son, our Jonathan, would marry Henry's daughter, our Mary, in 1822.)  Although the early census records do not list individuals, there is a son living in Isaiah's household that would be the right age of Jonathan. 
So, what do we know about Isaiah? 
  • He was one of the younger sons of John Cash and Ann Shaw.  According to the age on his tombstone (76 years, 10 months, 22 days), he would have been born on April 15, 1772.
  • He married Mary Seal in Frederick County, Maryland on October 30, 1801.
  • He had at least two other children, Rezin and Rebecca.  The early census records seem to indicate that there was at least two other daughters. 
  • He died in Monroe County, Ohio on March 9, 1849 and is buried in Southerland Methodist Church Cemetery. 
What do we know about Mary Seal?
  • Nothing.
Some notes:

Yesterday, I received a copy of a Deed, dated April 4, 1846, in which Isaiah Cash sells a parcel of land to Isaac Murray.  By description, the land appears to be the area in the upper right hand corner of this section (outlined in blue):



A paragraph regarding Henry Cash, (Jonathan's son) in "Biological Sketches of Flushing Township" (1880), states the following:  "Jonathan Cash came to Ohio in 1803, and in 1809 moved to Kirkwood township, in Belmont County, Ohio, where he married Mary Stotler, October 23, 1822."  Census records list Isaiah Cash in Kirkwood Township from 1830 through 1840, although he was in Flushing Township in 1820.

I'm hoping to find a Deed to the land Isaiah purchased in 1820, although it may be overly hopeful that records that early still exist.  Still, fingers crossed.

And now you know as much as I do about Isaiah Cash.  I've contacted the person who sent me this information with the hope that she might have some authenticating data regarding her information on Isaiah and Jonathan.  You'll know as soon as I do. 


The Hunt for Jonathan Cash Continues

Added October 20, 2010

Nothing new has turned up in Ohio yet, but there's a glimmer of hope.  I located and contacted an ancestor of Jesse Victor Cash (one of the last Cashes who lived on the family farm in Ohio).  I received an e-mail the other day from a member of that family who says she has done the family's genealogy and will get in touch with me when she gets it updated.  Maybe this will be the break we've been waiting for.

I did receive some land records from Ohio, but none of them gave me any clues as to generational connections that I didn't already know about.  It would appear that all of the land purchased by the Cashes in Ohio came from "non-family" individuals.  I also see no evidence that William Cash, Sr. ever owned land in anything but Richland Township or that Jonathan Cash (who married Mary Stotler) ever owned land in anything but Flushing Township. 

So, the hunt continues........  Stay tuned.  Same time.  Same channel. 

I'm beginning to Question It All!

Added September 16, 2010

Well, I made it through 25 years of microfilmed newspapers from Belmont County, Ohio and the only things I turned up are what I shared below.  Not that that's not progress, mind you -- We now know when William Cash, Sr. died and William Cash, Jr. died (more or less). 



On a positive note, I received many entries from the Belmont County Cash Deed Index from my researcher in Belmont County and have requested copies of several of the Deeds that appear to be during the time after the Williams died.  Hopefully, this will give me the names of their heirs.  Why is this important, you ask?  Because I am beginning to believe that there is no "Senior" Jonathan Cash.


Our family has always had the information as follows:


William Cash married Keziah Nicholls.
They had:
Jonathan, who married Mary (maiden name unknown).
They had:
Jonathan, who married Mary Stotler.

Nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE, have I seen anything that would indicate the existance of an elder Jonathan Cash.  He appears in no census records.  There are no land records.  There was nothing in the newspaper.  NOTHING.  I think he may be the stuff of myth and legend.

So, where does this leave us?  There are two possibilities.  IF Jonathan Cash (who married Mary Stotler) is even of the family of William Cash (who married Keziah Nicholls), he was likely the son of William Cash, Jr. or Haman Cash.  OR he's a stray Cash who slipped into Belmont County and is unrelated to the William Cash, Sr. family at all. 

I think it's likely that he's the son of either William, Jr. or Haman.  Again, I'm hopeful that the land Deeds will give us more information.

One thing the Deeds do show (and is obvious just by looking at the index information) is that William Cash, Sr. and William Cash, Jr. always lived in Richland Township, in Belmont County.  It's not until Jonathan's generation that the family started farming in Flushing Township.  It was cool to see when Jonathan sold (or gave, I can't tell) land to my great, great, great grandfather, Hezekiah Cash, and where Hezekiah sold that land before bringing his family to Wisconsin. 

The large tract of land that Jonathan purchased over several years and eventually parceled off to his sons remained in the Cash family for over 100 years.  Cash descendents farmed it until it was sold to the Belmont County Water Conservancy District in the 1930s. 

So, where does this leave us?  Presently, it leaves us with a missing generation, or a "missing link" as I've come to think of it.  Again, I'm (perhaps naively) hopeful that the land records will help us determine who Jonathan Cash's father was.  If not, I may have hit a roadblock that I can't break through. 

There was another newspaper in Belmont County during that period of time, the Belmont Gazette.  Cousin Pat Dunn discovered a group who does "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness" and one of their volunteers has kindly offered to see if any obituaries appear in that newspaper, particularly for Jonathan Cash, whose date of death we have, and for William Cash, Sr., to see if the Gazette may have published a true obituary rather than a one-line death notice.  Unfortunately, I don't have an actual date of death for William Cash, Jr., only that he probably died prior to February 1866.  So I may end up ordering reels of that newspaper, also, and start the process of newspaper surfing over again.  (My ophthalmologist will hate me.) 

So, that's where we're at in the search.  If there's a patron saint of genealogy, now might be a good time for some novenas.  We could use all the help we can get.

We May Need a DNA test for William Cash and Son Jonathan!

Added July 23, 2010

In the course of documenting ancestry for the DAR, I realized that I have no hard proof confirming William Cash (1756 - abt 1840) (revolutionary patriot) as the father of Jonathan Cash (1783-1861) or even proof confirming Jonathan Cash (1783-1961) as the father of Jonathan Cash (1801-1874).  I've contacted both the Belmont County Genealogical Society and the Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society to see if they might be able to come up with anything, and will dig through my box of "good stuff" to see if there's a paper trail somewhere, but if anyone out there can provide validating paperwork on this connection, I'd be grateful! 

Update August 4, 2010:  To this point, we still are unable to definitively make a connection between Jonathan Cash and William Cash.  Several "cousins" are working on the case, trying to find documentation.  A genealogist has been retained to research documents in Belmont County.  Independent of that, we've identified the land in Belmont County on which the Cashes lived in the late 1800s.  Hopefully, we'll be able to trace these Deeds back to see if they were inherited from previous generations.  We could still use your sharp eyes and good ideas, though, to help prove or disprove this connection! 

Update August 15, 2010:  Research still continues, trying to prove the parentage of Jonathan Cash (1801-1874).  We now have his death certificate.  Unfortunately, it doesn't list his parents' names.  I've ordered 10 reels of microfilmed newspapers of the era from Belmont County.  Fingers crossed that they will turn up something. 

Update August 27, 2010:  The microfilmed newspapers have come in.  Most importantly, we now have a DATE OF DEATH for William Cash, Sr. -- DECEMBER 31, 1848

Belmont Chronicle, January 5, 1849

I also found another interesting newspaper add from November 28, 1845. There's no way to tell whether this relates to William Cash Sr. or Jr. (though I suspect Jr., based on dates).  It does give us an idea, however, of where the family farm was. 

Belmont Chronicle, November 28, 1845


None of this links our Jonathan Cash to William Cash, but it's interesting, and it solves a few mysteries (i.e., William Cash's death date), so it's all good.  We'll get there sooner or later!

Update September 10, 2010:  I made a small discovery today.  I found the following advertisement in the Belmont Chronicle. 

Belmont Chronicle, February 15, 1866
By the look of this ad, it would appear that William Cash, Jr. died sometime before February 15, 1866, and I'm guessing that William Satterthwaite (William's son-in-law, husband of Nancy Cash) was handling the estate.  The discovery of the land in Iowa is interesting, as one of the previous ads for the land had mentioned William's desire to "move west."  Did he do it?  Did he died in Ohio or Iowa?  Those questions remain to be answered.  Hopefully, I'll be able to access the Iowa land records. 

This still doesn't connect our Jonathan Cash to any previous generations, but it's interesting information nonetheless.  Maybe it will help somebody else make a connection, too. 



Connecting Cashes, North and South

Added July 17, 2010

While researching John Cash (who married Ann Shaw) in Maryland, I've come across many family trees that show him married to Rachel Dawson (or Rachel McAllister). 

The John Cash in these trees is named as the son of John Cash and Mary Dawson, born in 1726 in Iredell, North Carolina (or variably Berry Hill, Georgia).  All say that he died in 1805 (with no place of death listed).  Some say that John and Rachel were cousins.  Many say that John and Rachel were married in Maryland in 1761.  Some trees credit him with having served in the Revolutionary War in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. 

Supposedly, this union produced the following children:
  • Sarah Cash, born abt 1763(who married John Walters in Philadelphia -- I found record of a Sarah Cash who married John Walter on April 21, 1779, in Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia -- no parents recorded -- "Record of Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1810, Volume 1, Marriage Record of the Swedes' Church, (Gloria Dei.), Philadelphia 1750–1810")
  • Elizabeth Cash, born abt 1767 (who married Moses Lewman/Luman)
  • Richard Cash, born abt 1768
  • Mary Cash, born abt 1770
  • Caleb Cash, born abt 1774
Based on what we now know about the children of John Cash and Mary Dawson (see Resolved Myths), we know that whoever this John Cash was, he was not their son.  But how was this connection made?  At some point in the (probably distant) past, somebody made this link, which leads me to think that there may be a connection somewhere between the families.  I just don't know where it could possibly be. 

As for John and Rachel being cousins, as far as I know, Edward Dawson (father of Mary Dawson), only had one son, who did not have any children named Rachel.  None of the trees I saw listed parents for Rachel Dawson. 

Of note, there was a Rachel Cash who petitioned the government for hardship relief based on her husband, John Cash's service, in Virginia. 

Several people in the Lewman line have applied for (and achieved) membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution based on their lineage from John Cash.  However, the DAR record now states that "future applicants must prove correct service," suggesting that there is an issue regarding the lineage. 

Hopefully, someone from this southern line will come forward with some documentation that might help us tie these families together.  We know that they didn't descend from John Cash and Mary Dawson, but from whence do they come? 



William Cash - Revolutionary War Veteran
Alive and Kicking in 1839!

Added July 14, 2010

It took the clever eyes of cousin Patrick Dunn to find the actual records contained within William Cash's Revolutionary War pension file. 

Previous information led us to believe that William died in 1830.  (I believe this information may have come from DAR records -- I'm going to check into that further).  However, William Cash's pension file indicates that he still received his monthly pension payment in November 1839! 

With this information in hand, I went back and checked Ohio census records again.  Although census records didn't record individuals until 1850, in the 1840 census I find, living in the household of William Cash, Jr., a "male at least age 80 and under age 90."  William Sr.'s pension information lists his year of birth as 1756, making him 84 years old in 1840.  I think he's our guy! 

By the 1850 census, William Jr. and his wife, Mary, are living alone. 

I'll need to make contact with Belmont County (again -- they're probably so sick of me at this point) to see what records might be available for that time period. 

Below are links to the individual pages of William Cash's pension file.  I'll look forward to hearing what you think -- If anyone has any ideas on how to proceed from here, please share! 

William Cash's Individual Pension Records


Grampa John Cash, Where Did You Come From?

We now know that John Cash (our first known Cash ancestor) settled in Prince George's County, Maryland, married Mary Dawson, and died in 1726.  But where did he come from?

I have scoured the state of Maryland for John Cash.  The Historical/Genealogical Societies in Prince George's County, Frederick County, Montgomery County and Charles County have given me all they have on this family.  I even spent time at the Maryland Archives looking for him.  The first thing I can find on John is his purchase of a piece of land called "The Vale of Benjamin" in Prince George's County in 1698.  Nothing prior to that.  Zip, zero, zilch.

One of the historical societies suggested that the fact that John Cash named Edward Dawson (his father-in-law) as his next of kin in his Will suggested that he did not have family in the area.

I found a reference to a John Cash who came to Maryland on a prisoner ship in 1684.  The reference actually appears in three different books on immigration and the entry from "To Maryland From Overseas: A Complete Digest of the Jacobite Loyalists Sold into White Slavery in Maryland, and the British and Continental Background of Approximately 1400 Maryland Settlers from 1634 to the Early Federal Period with Source Documentation," by Harry Wright Newman, includes the following entry:  John Cash, son of Thomas Cash, of Jamaica Place, was bound to Richard Heath for 7 years in Maryland on July 11, 1684. 

There is evidence that this ship departed from a port in England.  What is "Jamaica Place?"  Who is Richard Heath?  I can find no reference to a Richard Heath in Maryland.  The Maryland Archives suggested that this John Cash probably apprenticed himself to Richard Heath. 

Is this our John Cash?  The time frames would work.  If not, where the heck did he come from?  Until I can find out more on this ancestor, everything for the Cash line has come to a screeching halt.



Grampa William Surdam, Who Were Your Parents?

I recently came to believe, based on a patent application I found, that the full name of William B. Surdam was actually William Bishop Surdam.  (Yes, he did live in Fort Dodge for a while.)

I found an article that said he was born in Hoosick Falls, New York.  By the age on his death certificate (April 5, 1888), he was born in about 1820. 

The Genealogy of the Surdam Family, by Charles Edward Surdam, shows that there was a whole nest of Surdams in the Hoosick Falls area.  According to that book (page 53, 54) an Anthony Surdam, Jr. had a son named William (amongst 14 other children).  Unfortunately, William is the last child listed and no birth date or further information is offered, but this family fits the time period when our William would have been born. 

When I discovered William B. Surdam's middle name, I began to wonder if Bishop might be a family name.  Thus far, I haven't found any "Surdam" and "Bishop" links, so I could be way off with that theory.

Hopefully, something will turn up that indicates William B. Surdam's parentage.



Grampa Kimball Edwards, Where Did You Go....
And You Too, Ambrose Edwards!

Kimball S. Edwards was born about 1802, in Burlington, Vermont.  On November 8, 1826, he married Olive Abbey and together they had five children (including Clark C. Edwards, my director ancestor).  At some point, Kimball and Olive had a parting of the ways, because Kimball married Delia (married name Backus) on August 3, 1853, in Onondaga, New York.

I can't find the family in the 1860 census, but by 1870, Kimball and Delia were living in Greenfield, Monroe County, Wisconsin.  In 1880, they were living in Mentor, Clark County, Wisconsin.  At that point, they drop off the map.  What happened to them?  Unfortunately, that part of Wisconsin is FULL of little country cemeteries.  Hopefully, some day someone will index them and his name will turn up.  Until then..... ??????

I suspect that Ambrose Edwards (born about 1778) was the father of Kimball.  He is living with Kimball and Delia in the 1870 census.  According to her obituary, Ambrose's wife, Sally, died while visiting her daughters in Baraboo in 1858.   He also does not appear in the 1880 census, which leads me to believe that he probably died between 1870 and 1880, probably in the Greenfield, Wisconsin area.  I can find nothing on him, either. If anyone has information on them, I hope they'll share.

Interestingly, although they were divorced, both Kimball Edwards and his ex-wife, Olive, ended up in Wisconsin.  She followed her sister, Eliza Abbey Chase, to LaCrosse some time after 1860.  According to the Abbe-Abbey Genealogy, Olive died in LaCrosse on June 1, 1886.  Her sister (Eliza Abbey Chase) is buried in the Shelby Methodist Cemetery in LaCrosse.  Olive's daughter (Eliza Edwards Bell) is buried in Oak Grove Cemtery LaCrosse.  So far, I have found no resting place for Olive.  According to local sources, many city records were lost during a fire many moons ago. 



The Parents of Elizabeth Deming

I have seen many trees listing Jonathan Deming and Elizabeth Gilbert as the parents of Elizabeth Deming. All published genealogical records I have seen for Jonathan Deming and Elizabeth Gilbert list their daughter, Elizabeth, as having married Richard Beckley.

Therefore, I am listing Elizabeth Deming's parents as "Undetermined" until verification of parentage can be found.




The Parents of Rebecca Hobart

In “Cape Cod Library of Local History and Genealogy Volumes 1 and 2,” George Dennis Bangs makes a reasonable argument as to why Edmund Hobart might be the father of Rebecca Hobart. However, despite the logic he puts forth, I have been unable to find anything to find anything that might authenticate the theory. Perhaps, in the future, something will be located to verify the parentage of Rebecca Hobart. Until then, I will consider her parentage “undetermined.”



The Parents of Tryphosa Lee

Many trees credit Joos Lee and Anne Hungerford as being the parents of Tryphosa Lee. This seems to be unsubstantiated information and I have found nothing to authenticate it.



Paternity of John Ketchapaw

The relationship of Elizabeth Ketchapaw to the attached John Ketchapaw as her father is a presumed connection, based on her marriage license stating "John Ketchapaw" as her father. It has not been verified that this is the correct John Ketchapaw.




Hold Off on Naming William Belden's Parents

Although many have tried to make the connection, I have not seen enough evidence to convince me that Richard Belden was the father of William. A Belden researcher shared the following story with me:

The Family History of Judge Ellsworth B. Belden and Collateral Families
by Stanley R. Belden and Elvers K. Belden
Racine, WI - 1980

CHAPTER I - BELDEN EMIGRANTS

.... During the Great Migration between 1630 and 1643, some 20,000 souls embarked for New England, leaving an England beset with poor economic conditions.

Among those people were five with the name of Belden (Baylden, Baildon or Belding) namely, Richard, Henry, William, Samuel and John. While ships' lists are not available, it is believed they came sometime between 1636 and 1640. There is no documentary evidence to show the relationship which might have existed between them, except concerning Samuel as the son of Richard....

Henry Belden came to Watertown, Massachusetts, and established himself at Woburn in 1641, but nothing further has been found concerning him.

William Belden, of Wethersfield, died in 1655. His will dated 27 March 1655, may be found in Hartford County Probate records, in the Particular Court for the years 1650-1663, volume II, on pages 69-70. No land records have been discovered for him although he is mentioned in several records.

Descendants believe William to be the first son of the emigrant Richard, and that he was born about 1622.

In the Parish Registers of Heptonstall, by Edith Horsfall (Yorkshire Register Society 1925) as cited by Donald E. Poste, there is a William baptized 23 April 1609, shown as a son of Lawrance Beldon of Ayringden.

In this same Register, a Richard Beldon is mentioned although his birth is not shown. William and Richard have been shown as brothers, father and son, and also as cousins. A research agency, in 1935, wrote that they were distant cousins, that William Belden came to America in 1646 and established a home in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he married Thomasine Allen(?). The researcher (name and address now lost), as well as others, made the statement that all Beldens were descended from the large family of the name living in York County, England.

Most writers have seemed inclined to accept as fact that Richard Belden was the son of Sir Francis Bayldon. Particularly in view of the English history of a Yorkshire manor and family, Baildon and the Baildons [by Wm. Paley Baildon, ed. by Francis J. Baildon], we used the same assumption in our Family History of Judge Ellsworth B. Belden (1969).



Grandma Elizabeth Ketchapaw Force, Where Do You Lie?

Elizabeth was born in Canada.  After marrying Daniel Force, the couple migrated south to Wisconsin, where they remained until Daniel's death in 1884.  At some point in the subsequent two years, Elizabeth returned to Canada and died in Deseronto, Ontario (I'm in possession of her death record).

An on-line family tree lists her place of burial as "Mohawk Burying Grounds, near Deseronto, Ontario."  This is unsourced information and I have been unable to locate the owner of the tree. 

The Anglican Archdiocese of Ontario has no record of her death or burial nor does Christ Church.

  • Isaiah
  • Jonathan
  • Richard
  • Ruth
  • William
  • John
  • Sarah
Now, look again at the names of John Cash and Ann Shaw's children.  Coincidence?  I'm thinking more and more that it's not coincidence at all. 

In further support of my theory, 1800 and 1810 I find a John Cash living next door to Richard Cash (above), of an age that he could be Richard's brother.  (If I'm correct, these would be the sons of John Cash and Ann Shaw.)  I've just started researching John Cash in North Carolina, so we'll see where the information takes us.

I have no "silver bullet" that links these southern Cashes to the Maryland Cashes, but I'm hoping that by putting this information out to the public, someone will step forward and share information they have on the family.  People have been trying to make this link for a long time.... Maybe someone has something tucked in an attic somewhere that will have us prove or disprove this connection.
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