Good Deeds: Lillias Jane Alston ~ 52 Ancestors #51

My third great aunt Lillias Jane Alston was born in January 1838 to John Alston and Lillias Johnston, their third child, second child born in Pennsylvania, and first daughter. Her youngest sister, Marion Helen Alston, is my second great-grandmother.

In about 1877, Lillias Jane married her first cousin Archibald Alston as his second wife. He was a widower with several children. Archibald and Lillias Jane had one son, Walter McHendry Alston, born in June 1879.

Archibald died in 1905 and Lillias Jane (Alston) Alston died in Pittsburgh (North Side, the former Allegheny City) on June 25, 1911. I found a lovely obituary for her in The Pittsburgh Press.

"Mrs. Lillias Jane Alston," Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),  26 June 1911, p. 7, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/142716948/ : accessed 15 December 2024).

Malinda Ashby and Edmund G. Hall ~ 52 Ancestors #50

In February 1842, in (probably Glasgow) Barren County, Kentucky, a marriage bond was signed by Edmund G. Hall and C. B. Hall (Edmund's brother), providing the intention of marriage of Edmund G. Hall and Malinda Ashby.

(The marriage bond became void upon the marriage; the amount of the bond would have to be paid to the Commonwealth of Kentucky by either the groom or his bondsman only if the marriage did not take place.)

"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1785-1979" from FamilySearch
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9S9-593Z-G

Handed Down: Grandfather's Baby Book ~ 52 Ancestors #49

I have boxes and boxes of handed down items, including my maternal grandfather's baby book.

The BABY'S BOOK

The book is small, about 3 1/2" x 5 1/4" in size, with some embroidered decoration.

Fun: The Hunter Sisters ~ 52 Ancestors #48

I have quite a few fun (and funny) photographs of my grandmother, Helen Lysle Hunter, and her four older sisters from very early in the 20th century. See My Grandmother and Her Sisters.

Since I originally shared photos of the Hunter sisters, MyHeritage has made their enhanced and colorized photos available.

Here is one I previously shared and two more that I don't believe I have shared before. I believe these photos are taken at the home on Perrysville Avenue in Allegheny City, where their paternal grandparents lived and where they lived after their grandparents died in 1902.

The sisters look like they're having fun in these photos. All three have been enhanced and colorized by MyHeritage.

Caption: MUD PIES; sisters from left: Marion, Mary, Caroline, Margaret, and Helen

Esther Abigail Whitman ~ 52 Ancestors #47

My second great-grandparents, Esther Abigail Whitman and James Pyle, married in New York City in 1853, when they were recent immigrants from Guysborough, Nova Scotia. I have a lot of information about James Pyle, but much less about his wife.

Matrilineal Monday - Esther Abigail Whitman shared census records for her as well as a brief death notice from the New York Times.

Deaths, New York Times, 10 November 1921, p. 19, col. 7, Esther A. Whitman.

The New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) now provides the ability to view some birth, marriage, and death records (as long as they're far enough back that the individuals named are long deceased). These images can also be found at MyHeritage (a subscription site).

I found Esther Pyle's November 10, 1921, death certificate at New York City Deaths, 1866-1948 at MyHeritage.