Taking Care of Business: Martin Adsit ~ 52 Ancestors #20

My second great grandfather, James Monroe Adsit, was born in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, and was in Chicago, Illinois by 1838, becoming one of its earliest bankers. I previously shared his photograph and I share it again here.

James Monroe Adsit (1809-1894)

His younger brother, Martin Noah Adsit, also born in Spencertown, was in Hornellsville, Steuben County, New York by 1826 (according to obituaries) with his uncle Ira Davenport (brother of my third great-grandmother, Fanny (Davenport) (Adsit) Davis). He remained in Hornellsville until his death in December 1903, just shy of his 91st birthday.

Hornellsville is about 300 miles west of Spencertown.

I found great information about this third great uncle in New York newspapers.

Workday Wednesday ~ 1850's Plumber

Imagine my surprise (several years ago) when, in looking up census records for my mother's side of the family, I found a 3rd great grandfather who was a plumber!

Following is the top of the page of the 1850 census where I found James Freeland and his family in Allegheny, Pennsylvania:

U.S. Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: Allegheny Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania;
Roll: M432_744; Page: 76B; Lines 7-10: Record for James Freeland family

Line 7 shows James Freeland, age 35, with the occupation of Plumber. He owns no real estate and his place of birth is Scotland.
Line 8 shows Nancy Freeland, age 30 and indicates that she was born in Ireland.
Line 9 shows Mary Freeland, age 8/12, which implies that she was born in February of 1850, based on the date of this census, which is written in the header: twenty-ninth day of October 1850. She was born in Pennsylvania.

The official enumeration day of the 1850 census was 1 June 1850. All questions asked were supposed to refer to that date, but other information I have confirms that Mary was born in February 1850. Mary Freeland is my 2nd great grandmother. See a photo of her and her husband here.

Line 10 shows David Freeland, age 65, with the occupation of Weaver, and born in Scotland. Unfortunately, the 1850 census does not indicate the relation of members of a household to the head of household, but I am pretty sure that David is James' father.

From page 32 of Fahnestock's Pittsburgh directory for 1850, found at Historic Pittsburgh City Directories:

It looks like my third great grandfather was in the Freeland & Logan plumbing business on Federal Street in Allegheny in 1850. He is the only Freeland listed in that year's directory.

~~~~~~~

Workday Wednesday ~ Uncle Chester, Census Enumerator

My great grandfather, Percy Hunter, was one of ten children. All of the siblings were born and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, except for one brother, Chester Audley Hunter.

Great great uncle Chester married a woman from West Virginia and moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where I found him in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.

1930 U.S. Federal Census, Union City, Monongalia, West Virginia; Roll: 2548; Page: 12A;
Enumeration District: 27; Record for Chester A. Hunter

The last two names on this page are Chester A. Hunter and Minnie D. Hunter, who had married two years before. Farther to the right, under the occupation column, you see that Chester's occupation is Enumerator and his industry is Census. Then below that you see that he has signed off on this Enumeration District 31-27:

I can't wait to see if he was an enumerator in the 1940 US Census! And 72 years later, his great great niece (me) is a 1940 US Census Ambassador!

Following is a video created by the US Census Bureau to train enumerators on the correct procedures for filling out the 1940 US Census. About two minutes in, you can see how an enumerator might have interviewed a resident to obtain information about the households in his Enumeration District.

Workday Wednesday is a daily blogging prompt from Geneabloggers, the genealogy community's resource for blogging. It is used by many genealogy bloggers to help them tell stories of their ancestors.

Workday Wednesday ~ Henry Copeland, Lumberman

The "Maine" reference in the title of my blog comes from Copeland and allied families.

A: Norridgewock --> B. Calais

Great great grandfather, Henry Clay Copeland was born January 7, 1832, in Norridgewock, Somerset County, Maine, to Thomas Jefferson Copeland and Julia Elvira Townsend, the oldest of their four children. In 1843, the family moved about 155 miles east to Calais, Washington County, Maine. [note 1] (This Calais is pronounced to rhyme with palace.)

In the 1850 Federal Census, Henry C. is listed with his parents and siblings with that catch-all occupation of "Clerk."

He married Sarah Lowell on December 15, 1858. [note 2]

In the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Henry and Sarah were living with her 65-year-old widowed mother Sarah (Smith) Lowell as Head of Household.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1860; Census Place: Calais Ward 4, Washington, Maine; Roll: M653_454; Page 17B; Record for Sarah Lowell [and Henry C. Copeland]

Reuben B. Lowell, 32, a Livery Stable Keeper, is Sarah (Lowell) Copeland's brother; Elizabeth is his wife and Minerva is their daughter. Henry C. Copeland, 26, is listed with another one of those catch-all occupations, Merchant, as he is in his Civil War Draft Record. Although in this census record,  their son is listed as Henry Copeland (age 6/12), his name in all other records that I have found is Charles Townsend Copeland. 19-year-old Jane McDougall is possibly a household servant. Although not displayed above, they were all born in Maine.

Workday Wednesday ~ Texas Stock Farmer

On my father's side of the family, there are several families which are either very small (one or two children) or if there are several children, only one child left descendants in more than one generation.

My father, Charles McAlpin Pyle, Jr. was an only child.

His mother, Elizabeth Adsit (known as Libby to us grandchildren), was one of two children; her brother never married.

Libby's father, Charles Chapin Adsit, was one of seven children, and the only one to have grandchildren. (See More on the Adsit Family for the details.)

Libby's mother, Mary Bowman Ashby, was one of six children, and I don't believe any of her siblings had children who lived to adulthood.

Mary Bowman Ashby's mother, Mary Elizabeth Gorin, was one of seven children, the youngest of whom, Florence Gorin, married John A. Lee.

Inscription from the Gorin Family Bible:
Miss Florence Gorin
Presented by her
Pa T. J. Gorin

Florence Gorin and John Lee didn't have children, and upon their deaths, Florence willed certain items to her sister's daughter, Mary Bowman (Ashby) Adsit (daughter of Mary Elizabeth (Gorin) Ashby). Because of the small families as noted above, certain "treasures" like the Gorin Family Bible and the ambrotype of Thomas J. Gorin, were passed down from Florence on down to my father.

Workday Wednesday ~ Tobacco then Insurance

When I first began researching this branch of my family tree, I only knew the name of my second great grandfather as D. M. Ashby. Ultimately I learned his name was Daniel Morgan Ashby.

The earliest record I have for D. M. Ashby is the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, in Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky. He was born in Kentucky about 1828.

Detail from 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Glasgow, Barren, Kentucky

He is enumerated in the household of Joshua A. McDowell and is listed as a merchant.

In 1860, Daniel M. Ashby, age 32, is still listed as a merchant.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1860; Census Place: Glasgow, Barren, Kentucky;
Roll: M653_354; Page: 1066; Image: 507; Line: 2. Record for Daniel M. Ashby

Workday Wednesday ~ James Hunter in Construction

Great-great-grandfather James Hunter had more than one occupation during his lifetime, from what I can tell looking at census records and city directories. He ultimately spent most of his life providing foundation materials to builders from what I have gleaned from census records and city directories.

In 1870, 26-year-old James is listed with his widowed mother (and several siblings). He has the occupation of "Clerk" which is found a lot in 19th century census records and I'm sure that title covered a wide variety of duties in a wide variety of industries.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1870; Census Place: Allegheny Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania;
Roll: M593_1290; Page: 82A. Record for Catherine Hunter.

In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, I found James Hunter, married to Mary, with five children. The youngest (William Edward Hunter) had not yet been named, although he was born in February and the census was taken in June. James is listed as a Stock Dealer at house number 134 Irwin Avenue.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1880; Census Place: Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania;
Roll: T9_1086; Enumeration District: 6; Page: 151.3. Record for James Hunter.

There are seven James Hunters in the 1880 Pittsburgh City Directory.

Workday Wednesday ~ First Chicago Banker

A paternal second great grandfather of mine, James Monroe Adsit, is considered the first banker in Chicago.

Found at The Internet Archive is an 1899 book with a biography of James M. Adsit on pp 123-125.

Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois: with portraits (1899). (Chicago, Illinois: La Salle Book Company, 1899) Digital images. The Internet Archive, accessed 27 October 2011, is the source for the following transcription. 

Note that the images that I have inserted are NOT from this book, but are images from Chicago City directories found at Fold3. My additional notes and editorial comments are in red.

JAMES M. ADSIT

To have been among the first in Chicago to engage in any honorable calling is quite sufficient to make such a one a local historical personage for all time to come, and so the career of James M. Adsit is filled with unusual interest, because of the conspicuous fact that, apart from his being an exceptional character, he was among the first bankers to enter upon a career of finance within the present limits of Cook County.

Mr. Adsit was born February 5, 1809, in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, unto Leonard and Frances Adsit (nee Davenport). His father dying when the son was but six years of age, he went to live and remain with his grandfather Adsit, and after finishing the common-school education customary for those early days, went for a time into employment in his uncle Ira Davenport's store.

On April 2, 1838, he arrived in Chicago, then a city of but a single year's standing, consisting of only a few streets stragglingly built up; and, as one of the earliest pioneers, founded a private bank at Number 37 Clark Street in 1850, having up to that time, from the date of his arrival, been engaged in loans and investments on Lake Street. [The first Chicago City Directory I find James M. Adsit in, he is a carpenter in 1844.]

1844 Chicago City Directory, page 21

Workday Wednesday ~ Lysle & Sons Coal

Marguerite Lysle, my great grandmother, was the daughter of George Lysle, Jr. and Marion Helen Alston. George Lysle, Jr. was the sixth and youngest son of George Lysle (who fathered twelve children in total).

My third great grandfather, George Lysle (Senior) was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by 1840, when I find him in the U.S. Federal Census with eleven people in his household. From the 1850, 1860, and 1870 U.S. Censuses, I am able to put together the family and match it up to a Lysle Family Tree that was printed about 1937.

In each of these census records, George Lysle is a Coal Dealer or Merchant. By 1870, as the census image below shows, he was doing very well, with real estate valued at $100,000. His household includes two servants.

1870 U.S. Federal Census, Allegheny Ward 4, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1291; Page: 414B;
Ancestry.com image: 168. Record for Geo. Lysle.

Of George Lysle's twelve children in 1870, I only know of two who had died: Margaret (1839-1868) and Lieutenant James M. Lysle, in the Civil War. In the 1870 Census record above, he is 70 years old, his wife Margaret is 64 and children still living with him include Mary (age 45), Caroline (age 39 - though I think this should read 29), Geo (age 27) and Eliza (age 23). George (Jr.) is also listed as a Coal Merchant. When I look for other family members in census records, I often find they are in the coal business in Allegheny County as well.

Workday Wednesday ~ Tobacco Manufacturer

David Hunter McAlpin
taken at the Sarony studio, 37 Union Square, Manhattan
circa 1878

My great great grandfather, David Hunter McAlpin (1816 - 1901) was an extremely successful businessman. His only daughter, Frances Adelaide McAlpin (1860 - 1937) married James Tolman Pyle on February 12, 1884. He owned land in New York City as well as in Morris County, New Jersey.

I previously posted his New York Times obituary.

He is my most recent ancestor who has a page at Wikipedia. In addition, he and his family have several pages (pp. 602-619) devoted to them in Doris McAlpin Russell's McAlpin(e) Genealogies 1730-1990, published in 1990. In a nutshell, he moved from Dutchess County, New York, to New York City at a young age and over his lifetime, built a substantial business in tobacco, becoming a leader among American tobacco manufacturers by the 1890's.

In the 1850 Census, he is listed as a 32-year-old "Segar Manufacturer," born in New York owning real estate valued at $2,000. He was married to 21-year-old Frances and had a 2-year old son, Edwin.

1850 U.S. Federal Census, New York, New York, New York; Roll: 536; Page: 264B;
Record for David H. McAlpin.

In the 1857 New York City Directory, he is in business with someone else, as the address for David H. McAlpin, segars, is the same as McAlpin & Ray, segars, at 305 1/2 Broadway.

1857 New York City Directory

Workday Wednesday ~ Grandfather Copeland's occupation

Until recently I was never clear as to the occupation of my maternal great-grandfather, Lowell Copeland (born 1862 in Maine). Census records are not very helpful in this case. See Grandfather Copeland's Family, where I trace the family in census records from 1900-1920.

Lowell Copeland's 1900 occupation

In 1900 (New Trier, Cook Co., Illinois), his occupation is difficult to read (<Illegible> machinery).

In 1910 (New Trier, Cook Co., Illinois), his occupation (as well as just about everything else) was left blank on the census sheet.

Lowell Copeland's 1920 occupation

In 1920 (New Trier, Cook Co., Illinois), his occupation is listed as "Manufacturer Machinery."

In 1930, where I cannot find my grandfather, I find my great-grandfather in Michigan City, La Porte Co., Indiana with his occupation listed as "None."

His three children's birth certificates, recorded in Cook County, Illinois, on June 6, 1930, all list the father's occupation as "Machinery business." (The children were born in 1900, 1903, and 1907.)

Occupations of my ancestors - Percy Hunter: Engineer

My great great grandfather, Percy Earle Hunter, was born in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 1873. He attended the Western University of Pennsylvania (which became the University of Pittsburgh in 1908), graduating in 1895. Percy is on the far right in the picture below.

Back of photo is written (in Percy's handwriting, I believe): "W. U. P. - 1895. Engineering School"

See Matrilineal Monday: Grandmother's family for images of Percy's family in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census. The detail from the 1900 Census shows that he was listed as a Civil Engineer.

Detail of Percy E. Hunter in 1900 U.S. Federal Census

I found some Pittsburgh City Directories online at Don's List and found Percy E. Hunter in both 1898 and 1900, where is listed as a civil engineer at City Hall, A[llegheny], with his home on Broadway.

From the 1900 Pittsburgh / Allegheny City Directory

From the 1900 Census, I knew that Percy lived on Broadway, and by 1910, he was living at 3623 Perrysville Avenue, where his parents had lived in 1900. (His parents both died in 1902.) These city directories indicate that where he lived on Broadway was probably near Perrysville Avenue. "A" indicates that the address is in Allegheny, which was a separate city until 1907, when it merged with Pittsburgh.

The 1910 Census shows that he was a Manufacturer at the Iron & Steel Works.

Occupations of my ancestors - James Pyle & Sons

My great great grandfather, James Pyle, was born in Nova Scotia on August 16, 1823, to a father who fled to Nova Scotia as a Loyalist in the Revolutionary War.

He immigrated to New York City in the 1840's, but I haven't found a record of that immigration. I also haven't found James Pyle in the 1850 U.S. Census, but he is in New York City in the 1860 U.S. Census. He is married (to Esther Abigail Whitman) and has three young sons: James, William and Charles.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1860; Census Place: New York Ward 5 District 1, New York, New York; Roll: M653_790; Page: 385. Record for James Pyle.

His occupation is Salaeratus Mfr. (This is not a typo - keep reading...)