All Mixed Up: Three Joseph Roses ~ 52 Ancestors #35

My Rose ancestral line has three generations of men named Joseph Rose. Because they lived in New York City and northern New Jersey in the late 18th century and well into the 19th century, where records may not have been easily viewed and analyzed in the past, they have been conflated in various reports. They also tended to name their children the same names, generation after generation.

The immigrant Joseph Rose, believed to be born in England about 1735, lived in Manhattan, New York, and died February 28, 1807. He is buried in Trinity Churchyard, a historic graveyard now in the financial district of Manhattan. See his FindAGrave memorial. His wife, Barbara Egbertse (or Egburson) predeceased him on April 13, 1806. She is buried next to her husband and also has a FindAGrave memorial.

Joseph Rose headstone, courtesy BKGeni at FindAGrave

Barbara Rose headstone, courtesy BKGeni at FindAGrave

They had seven children, mentioned in their father's will: Mary, Joseph, William Lucius, Isaac, Ann, Samuel, and Elizabeth. 

Mechanical Bank Collectors of America ~ 52 Ancestors #34

I have written about the sisters of my grandmother many times. Great Aunt Margie was a favorite of her nieces and grand nieces and grand nephews. Great Aunt Mary not so much. Together with their sister Caroline, both aunts fought Standard Oil in 1952, protecting their and their neighbors' farms north of Pittsburgh.

In my post about Aunt Margie, I mentioned her membership in the Mechanical Bank Collectors of America (MBCA). In fact, both Aunt Margie and Aunt Mary were longtime members. Aunt Mary collected so many mechanical banks that she was written up in a Pittsburgh newspaper in 1947.

Girl Skipping Rope bank

Favorite Discovery: Mammoth Cave National Park ~ 52 Ancestors #33

One of my favorite discoveries is about a relative's ownership of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky almost 200 years ago.

My third great-grand uncle Franklin Gorin was born May 3, 1798, in Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to John Gorin and Elizabeth Franklin. He is supposedly the first white child born in the county.

He married three times and had ten or eleven children.

In the 1830s, he served in the Kentucky legislature and in 1874, ran for U.S. Congress, representing Kentucky's 3rd District, but lost to Charles Milliken.

Also, for a short period of time, he owned Kentucky's Mammoth Cave, now known as Mammoth Cave National Park. 

From the National Park Service: "Rolling hills, deep river valleys, and the world's longest known cave system. Mammoth Cave National Park is home to thousands of years of human history and a rich diversity of plant and animal life, earning it the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve."

The Historic Entrance to Mammoth Cave is a natural opening
that has been used by people for 5,000 years.
Public Domain image by NPS, Wikimedia Commons.

Amos Townsend ~ 52 Ancestors #32

I am not fully convinced of all the details that I shared in the Surname Saturday post about this ancestral line and I am trying to find additional information on my Townsend ancestors.

While I work on the Townsend family, I will share two brief advertisements that I found that mentioned my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Amos Townsend (1779-1862), of Norridgewock, Maine.

Kennebec (Maine) Journal, 20 August 1830, p. 4

Davenport's Celebrated Eye Water!
   Which needs only be used, to be highly approved
of for all sorts of weak and sore eyes. From among
the numerous certificates offered in favor of this
excellent collyrium, one only will be published
from Dr Amos Townsend of Norridgewock.
   This may certify I have used Davenport's Eye
Water in a number of cases and have never known
it to fail in one instance.           AMOS TOWNSEND.
   February 23, 1830.

And I guess Dr. Townsend continued to support this "Eye Water" because two years later, he is still mentioned in the advertisement in the Kennebec Journal.