Conflicting Sources

Sarah Shelly Obit

Last week I waited impatiently for the release of Pennsylvania death certificates on Ancestry.com. This week, I am pondering a discrepancy between one of those death certificates and a marriage license as to who is Sarah Ann Shelly's parents. The first clue I found was Sarah's obituary which names her parents as Abram & Hannah Shelley. While obituaries can provide wonderful clues they can also be filled with erroneous details and family tales. My search then took me to investigating her marriages. The wonderful History of the Woodcock Family from 1692 to September 1, 1912 which has a family tree from my grandpa Clinton Burket back thru Patriot ancestor Bancroft Woodcock, beginning with my immigrant ancestors Rachel Bancroft and Robert Woodcock has given me many leads. Unfortunately the information on Sarah is of limited help. It states Milton Woodcock married Sarah A. Shelley 9 Aug 1865, but does not name her parents. 

After Milton’s death, Sarah remarried in 1886 to Isaac Steele. Here on their marriage application, Sarah’s parents are Jacob & Anna Shelly. Only husband to be Isaac provided the information to the clerk, so did he know his wife’s parents? 

Isaac Steele and Sarah Shelly Woodcock Marriage License

Fast forwarding to last week, I found her death certificate on Ancestry.com. The family information was filled out her son-in-law David Burket whom she was living with at the time of her death. He declared Sarah’s parents were Abraham Shelley and Hannah Brown. So who really was Sarah’s parents and where should I search from here? 

Sarah's Death Certificate

8 Nov 1837 – born to _____________; parent info conflicting

9 Aug 1865 – married Milton Woodcock; Source: History of the Woodcock family pg 34; no parents mentioned

3 Apr 1867 – daughter Elizabeth Catherine born

1 Jul 1868 – daughter Virginia born

4 Jul 1870 – son John born

1870 census – 32, living with Milton and 3 children in Holmesville, Ohio

12 Dec 1871 – son William born

6 Feb 1872 – son William died

2 Jul 1873 – daughter Susan born

10 Feb 1875 – husband Milton Woodcock died; Source: will names Sarah as wife; Sarah’s obit

1880 census – 43, widow, 4 of her children living with her; sharing property with Hannah Shelly in Hopewell, PA

1886 – Married Isaac Steele Source: marriage license; parents listed as Jacob & Anna Shelly

1900 census – 65, married, living with daughter and son-in-law (Mock), not husband

24 Sep 1904 – husband Isaac Steele died; Source: findagrave.com

1910 census – 69, widow, living with daughter and son-in-law (Mock)

1920 census – 84, widow, living with daughter and son-in-law (Burket)

19 Aug 1921 – died at home of daughter and son-in-law (Burket) Source: obit & death cert; obit lists parents listed as Abram & Hannah Shelly; info provided by son-in-law (Burket) parents Abraham Shelley and Hannah Brown

Friends of Roxbury Library Begins Book Collection

Time to donate your gently used unwanted books and DVDs to the Roxbury Library

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Among-Friends.html?soid=1104907686970&aid=LxtVkPIdKDg

Fashionistas: Date the Look

I have recently found some old family photos and I don't know a soul. The ultimate goal of course will be to identify the people in the pictures. Unfortunately I'm not even sure what years most of the pictures were taken. So I ask for my costume and fashionista friends to enlighten me what time period these fashions were, well, in fashion.

What style are the girls wearing?

Unknown woman from an unknown era

The boys in what decade?

My grands, guess the year

Ferro-Monte Chapter, NSDAR Honors its Departed Sisters

With the spring thaw, the Ferro-Monte Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will move their April 19th meeting outside to the gravesides of their recently departed Sisters. They will be placing DAR grave markers on the resting places of six fellow daughters in Chester, Stanhope, Dover and Succasunna. Beginning at the First Presbyterian Church, 99 Main Street, Succasunna, the chapter will visit five cemeteries in the area.

Ferro-Monte Chapter meetings are held at Roxbury Township Free Public Library 103 Main St, Succasunna, NJ at 10am the 2nd Saturday of the month from October - April. Prospective members are always welcome. If you have an interest in learning about your family tree, we can help you; maybe we can even find a Patriot among your leaves. For information, email: NJDARFerroMonte@aol.com.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation's children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 165,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org.

The Land of Oz has been turned on its head by Danielle Paige

The Land of Oz has been turned on its head and it's up to the girl from Kansas to set things to right... No not that one, she's the problem and must DIE. Danielle Paige has delved into the dark side of magic in the first of her Oz series.

The mystery of who is good, who is bad and what or who really controls Oz is fascinating with twists and turns keeping me on the edge of my seat. The reveal at the end of Dorothy Must Die leaves me intrigued and impatient for book 2.

As Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon a Time says "magic always has a price." What is the price Dorothy must pay for her use of magic? Only Daniellle Paige can say.

Wondering how Dorothy got back to Oz? Check out Danielle's prequel No Place Like Oz. No little dogs were harmed in the writing of this blog.