So Far Away ~ 52 Ancestors #22

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and last week's writing prompt was So Far Away.

My brick wall ancestor, third great-grandmother, Susan (Rood) Chapin, had several children. One, my second great-grandmother, Susan Arville (Chapin) Adsit, settled in Chicago, Illinois, dying there in 1906. One of the strategies to break through a brick wall is to research siblings of a known ancestor and I have done some research on Arville's siblings to see if that leads me to Susan (Rood) Chapin's death information (or possibly her parents' names).

One of her sisters continued to move further west and settled in Utah. My third great aunt, Jane Eliza Chapin, was born 14 January 1822, probably in Massachusetts. She married Hiram H. Harrison in Chicago, Illinois, on 4 March 1841. The family was in Wisconsin in 1850 and 1860 (per the U.S. Census) and in Salt Lake City, Utah, by the time of the 1880 U.S. Census. That year, Jane was enumerated in the household of one of her sons. (I have not had luck finding the family in the 1870 U.S. Census.)

Jane was not enumerated in the 1900 U.S. Census (though I did find two of her sons in Salt Lake City). Her death record reported her place of death at the 1900 home of her son, Lester.

Susan Rood Chapin - A Challenging to Research Ancestor - 52 Ancestors #30

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Challenging: It’s a good time to take a look at another challenging-to-research ancestor.

I wrote about this ancestor three years ago, and she is still a challenging ancestor to research, so I thought I'd share what I know about third great grandmother, Susan Rood, again, and share some possible strategies for future research.

The challenging questions are: (1) where was she born and who are her parents and (2) when and where did she die?

Susan Rood was born on January 26, 1799, according to the embroidered sampler that her daughter, twelve-year-old Susan Arville Chapin (1820-1906) created in 1832.

Orramel Chapin Moving West Part 2

This is a continuation of the tracing of my third great grandparents as they migrated westward during the nineteenth century. See Part 1 here.

Port Washington, Dist. No. 15, Port Washington, Washington County, Wisconsin, is where I find the Chapin family in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, and now we get to see the names of all the others in the household, as well as some occupations.

O. Chapin, age 59, born in Massachusetts, works as a Forwarder. Relationships to head of household are not indicated (this doesn't happen until the 1880 U.S. Federal Census), but based on other research, relationships are as follows:

O. (Orramel) Chapin is the Head of Household

Susan Chapin, age 51, born in Massachusetts is Wife

H. H. Harrison, age 39, born in N.Y. is Son-In-Law and is also a Forwarder

Jane E. Harrison, age 27, born in Massachusetts, is Daughter

Alfred R. Chapin, age 25, born in Connecticut, is Son and works as a Clerk

Sarah H. Chapin, age 16, born in N.Y. is Daughter-In-Law, who married Alfred that summer 1850 (yes, at age 16)

Henry Harrison, age 4, born in Illinois, Grandson (Jane and H. H.'s son)

Lena Hamit, age 15, born in Germany is perhaps a servant.

I don't show it in this image, but William and Sarah Toogood are listed just above O. Chapin. I believe that they are Sarah H. (Toogood) Chapin's parents.