The Russell Family History Blog Presents
Frank Russell’s Playlist 1864 - 1869
10. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
9. Run Baby Run
8. I Fought the Law
7. Never Going Back Again
6. You Know I’m No Good
5. We Never Change
4. It’s My Life
3. Take The Long Way Home
2. Interstate Love Song
1. You Only Live Once
Showing posts with label Frank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Milo Goes to Jail
After receiving Milo Freeman’s Pension records I ordered some intake
records form the prison that had had been assigned to. I was not sure
that he had actually made it to jail but the papers I received
yesterday confirm that he did complete his sentence there. Milo was
admitted to the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus on 28 JUN 1865 and
was ordered released early by an order from the war department. The
order was received on 04 DEC 1865 and carried out on 11 DEC 1865.
The
assumption had always been that Milo changed his name to avoid this
sentence but now that we can see it was served there is no explanation
of him.
Some of the information submitted to me by the Ohio
Historical Society include his physical description and information
about his family. His intake form also included his age at the time of
arrival (19) and confirms his unit (9) and company (c) as well as his
place of arrest which we already know from military records was Little
Rock, Arkansas.
The Register of Convicts lists his nativity as
Michigan and his occupation as a laborer, height is 5 feet 11 inches
and hair is light, straight, soft and fine. He has grey eyes. It looks
like everyone on that page is either a laborer or farmer and they are
all quite young. Under general appearance it lists his Complexion as
Common (the only other ones on the page were Light and Dark).
"Freeman
has narrow low forehead. Flat face widest at eyes, eyes sunken, heavy
brows, close vertical ears horizontal scar in left temple, very large
scar on right arm."
Under Habits it says he is a moderate drinker, some of the other men are temperate, very moderate and free drinkers. HIs
education is Common School although others on the page are categorized
by weather they can read or write. They claim he has no property but
residence of relatives says; “Has father Alva Freeman, mother Betsy, 1
brother, 4 sisters near Keokuk, Iowa.”
Now, in case you have not
really been following this, Milo (for everything we know about his and
his family and generations of his family) does not have 4 sisters. This
begs the questions, whose daughters are these? I is possible that he
has none and he has made this up. But that seems odd now, after he has
told the truth about his age on the intake form (19) when he joined the
9th Cavalry he gave is age as 18 and that was three years ago. So he tells the truth about his age and lies about siblings?
There
is no real way to know how many children a woman had, even now, the
only real record you can consider is your own birth certificate, which
should list how many children have been born to your mother. In 1867
there was certainly no information like that and while birth, death and
marriage records had just been mandated they were records and not
certificates and frequently listed no information other than the
parents names and child's date of birth, if the child had a name that
was also listed. However, in 1900 census enumerators were told to ask
how many children had been born to each mother and how many were
living. I’ll give you three examples of how this works.
Eliza
(Powell) Cooper’s 1900 claim was 3 children born and 3 living and for
her we have, in fact, 4 children born and 3 living.Claud 1882, Cora and Cordy 1870 and only today Jennifer discovered that they had a boy in 1869 who by 1870 was no longer.
Lydia
(Powell) Wilson Russell’s claim was 2 born and 2 living, but we know
from records that she had at least seven (we have conclusive
information on records on the following children JerryRueben Wilson
1862, Robert Wilson 1868, Minerva Wilson date unknown, Frank Henry
1872, Louis 1873, May 1879 and Cordie 1881) and we know that at least
one (Minerva) was deceased, although we suspect May also did not
survive.
Betsy (Hicks) Freeman’s claim was 2 born and 1 living
but we do not have an actual record that states Betsy is the mother of
Milo, according to Betsy’s other son’s death certificate she s his
mother, but we have no such document for Milo. In Betsey’s letters to
the pension office she certainly claim’s she is Milo’s mother and she
does mention her husband Alva and other son William but never anything
about daughters.
So as you can see the claims of maternity vary
wildly and I’d have to say accuracy is about 50/50. In all of the above
mentioned cases we have the same claims on paternity as far as getting
proof from records except for Milo, again because we have no official
record, unless we consider Milo’s intake record an official document.
With
those inaccuracies in mind it is entirely possible that Alva, not
Betsey, had four daughters. Milo was born in 1847 or 1848 and William
was not born until 1852. We know that Alva spent a lot of time
traveling and we’re not sure how much of this he did with his family.
In 1845 Alva is listed as a tax payer inLodi, Washtenaw , in 1850 he,
Betsey and Milo are in Wayne County and in 1856 they are enumerated
twice in the Iowa state census once in Mitchell and once in Osage. In
1860 they are in Black Hawk county and of course two years after that
Milo enlists in Marion county, Iowa. Betsey says to the pension office
that her husband went to Davenport, Iowa in 1865 to meet Milo but Milo
never shows. In 1867 (I think it’s 67) Alva’s father dies and leaves
him some land (I have not substantiated this claim with any documents
but I have spoken to someone who gave me that information from memory)
but Alva does not go himself toWashtenaw and instead sends someone else. In 1870 Betsey, William and Alva are in Geneso, Illinois. In 1872 Alva dies while in Berrien county but his death information is placed in the Washtenaw county death returns, there is not information about his will at the Washtenaw Probate Court. In 1879 Betsey marries one George F Hughes in Washtenaw
but in 1880 Betsey, William and his new family are in Kalamazoo Aurora
and in 1890 Betsey applies for Milo’s pension from Aurora, Illinois.
There is never any mention of Betsey's second marriage and Mr. Hughes
is not dead, he continues to live on with, Ibelieve, his daughter and her family, but of course his only purpose in adding himself to our difficulties is to be enumerated
twice but at least in the same county, once listed as widowed and once
listed as married. In 1900 Betsey, William and family are still in in
Aurora. Betsey never gets the pension and stops applying after her 1898
denial, she passes away at age 85 in in 1904 in Aurora. In 1910 William
and family are living in Chicago but in 1916 William, while a resident
of Oak Park, IL (not too far from Chicago) dies in Cleveland, Ohio.
I cannot list all the conclusions I am able to draw from this. So you’ll have to work on your own for now.
I still have not received the Court Martial Records from the National Archives.
records form the prison that had had been assigned to. I was not sure
that he had actually made it to jail but the papers I received
yesterday confirm that he did complete his sentence there. Milo was
admitted to the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus on 28 JUN 1865 and
was ordered released early by an order from the war department. The
order was received on 04 DEC 1865 and carried out on 11 DEC 1865.
The
assumption had always been that Milo changed his name to avoid this
sentence but now that we can see it was served there is no explanation
of him.
Some of the information submitted to me by the Ohio
Historical Society include his physical description and information
about his family. His intake form also included his age at the time of
arrival (19) and confirms his unit (9) and company (c) as well as his
place of arrest which we already know from military records was Little
Rock, Arkansas.
The Register of Convicts lists his nativity as
Michigan and his occupation as a laborer, height is 5 feet 11 inches
and hair is light, straight, soft and fine. He has grey eyes. It looks
like everyone on that page is either a laborer or farmer and they are
all quite young. Under general appearance it lists his Complexion as
Common (the only other ones on the page were Light and Dark).
"Freeman
has narrow low forehead. Flat face widest at eyes, eyes sunken, heavy
brows, close vertical ears horizontal scar in left temple, very large
scar on right arm."
Under Habits it says he is a moderate drinker, some of the other men are temperate, very moderate and free drinkers. HIs
education is Common School although others on the page are categorized
by weather they can read or write. They claim he has no property but
residence of relatives says; “Has father Alva Freeman, mother Betsy, 1
brother, 4 sisters near Keokuk, Iowa.”
Now, in case you have not
really been following this, Milo (for everything we know about his and
his family and generations of his family) does not have 4 sisters. This
begs the questions, whose daughters are these? I is possible that he
has none and he has made this up. But that seems odd now, after he has
told the truth about his age on the intake form (19) when he joined the
9th Cavalry he gave is age as 18 and that was three years ago. So he tells the truth about his age and lies about siblings?
There
is no real way to know how many children a woman had, even now, the
only real record you can consider is your own birth certificate, which
should list how many children have been born to your mother. In 1867
there was certainly no information like that and while birth, death and
marriage records had just been mandated they were records and not
certificates and frequently listed no information other than the
parents names and child's date of birth, if the child had a name that
was also listed. However, in 1900 census enumerators were told to ask
how many children had been born to each mother and how many were
living. I’ll give you three examples of how this works.
Eliza
(Powell) Cooper’s 1900 claim was 3 children born and 3 living and for
her we have, in fact, 4 children born and 3 living.Claud 1882, Cora and Cordy 1870 and only today Jennifer discovered that they had a boy in 1869 who by 1870 was no longer.
Lydia
(Powell) Wilson Russell’s claim was 2 born and 2 living, but we know
from records that she had at least seven (we have conclusive
information on records on the following children JerryRueben Wilson
1862, Robert Wilson 1868, Minerva Wilson date unknown, Frank Henry
1872, Louis 1873, May 1879 and Cordie 1881) and we know that at least
one (Minerva) was deceased, although we suspect May also did not
survive.
Betsy (Hicks) Freeman’s claim was 2 born and 1 living
but we do not have an actual record that states Betsy is the mother of
Milo, according to Betsy’s other son’s death certificate she s his
mother, but we have no such document for Milo. In Betsey’s letters to
the pension office she certainly claim’s she is Milo’s mother and she
does mention her husband Alva and other son William but never anything
about daughters.
So as you can see the claims of maternity vary
wildly and I’d have to say accuracy is about 50/50. In all of the above
mentioned cases we have the same claims on paternity as far as getting
proof from records except for Milo, again because we have no official
record, unless we consider Milo’s intake record an official document.
With
those inaccuracies in mind it is entirely possible that Alva, not
Betsey, had four daughters. Milo was born in 1847 or 1848 and William
was not born until 1852. We know that Alva spent a lot of time
traveling and we’re not sure how much of this he did with his family.
In 1845 Alva is listed as a tax payer inLodi, Washtenaw , in 1850 he,
Betsey and Milo are in Wayne County and in 1856 they are enumerated
twice in the Iowa state census once in Mitchell and once in Osage. In
1860 they are in Black Hawk county and of course two years after that
Milo enlists in Marion county, Iowa. Betsey says to the pension office
that her husband went to Davenport, Iowa in 1865 to meet Milo but Milo
never shows. In 1867 (I think it’s 67) Alva’s father dies and leaves
him some land (I have not substantiated this claim with any documents
but I have spoken to someone who gave me that information from memory)
but Alva does not go himself toWashtenaw and instead sends someone else. In 1870 Betsey, William and Alva are in Geneso, Illinois. In 1872 Alva dies while in Berrien county but his death information is placed in the Washtenaw county death returns, there is not information about his will at the Washtenaw Probate Court. In 1879 Betsey marries one George F Hughes in Washtenaw
but in 1880 Betsey, William and his new family are in Kalamazoo Aurora
and in 1890 Betsey applies for Milo’s pension from Aurora, Illinois.
There is never any mention of Betsey's second marriage and Mr. Hughes
is not dead, he continues to live on with, Ibelieve, his daughter and her family, but of course his only purpose in adding himself to our difficulties is to be enumerated
twice but at least in the same county, once listed as widowed and once
listed as married. In 1900 Betsey, William and family are still in in
Aurora. Betsey never gets the pension and stops applying after her 1898
denial, she passes away at age 85 in in 1904 in Aurora. In 1910 William
and family are living in Chicago but in 1916 William, while a resident
of Oak Park, IL (not too far from Chicago) dies in Cleveland, Ohio.
I cannot list all the conclusions I am able to draw from this. So you’ll have to work on your own for now.
I still have not received the Court Martial Records from the National Archives.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Everyone, please say hello to Milo
I would like to update you as far as Milo V Freeman goes but there is just so much I don't know where to start.
I recieved Milo's civil war records. For those of you who are interested in the National Archives you can order a few different types of records from there website here. I ordered the complete file and actually I was dissappointed. I was really hoping for a physical description.
It took just over 30 days and cost me 75 smack-a-roos. Just as I suspected there is no proof Milo died, nor is there proof that he ever showed up in Ohio for his two year prison sentence for larceny.
Can stealing $30 really be larceny?
I have some files on order. I sent in a request for more data from NARA, specifically the court martial records and also some penitentiary records from the Ohio Historical Society. They have a blog, and a link to the Ohio Genealogical Society on their site.
Frank Russell does not exist, genealogically speaking, until 1867. Milo stops existing, also genealogically speaking in 1865.
I recieved Milo's civil war records. For those of you who are interested in the National Archives you can order a few different types of records from there website here. I ordered the complete file and actually I was dissappointed. I was really hoping for a physical description.
It took just over 30 days and cost me 75 smack-a-roos. Just as I suspected there is no proof Milo died, nor is there proof that he ever showed up in Ohio for his two year prison sentence for larceny.
Can stealing $30 really be larceny?
I have some files on order. I sent in a request for more data from NARA, specifically the court martial records and also some penitentiary records from the Ohio Historical Society. They have a blog, and a link to the Ohio Genealogical Society on their site.
Frank Russell does not exist, genealogically speaking, until 1867. Milo stops existing, also genealogically speaking in 1865.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Ordering Records and Books
On May 27th the military records for Thomas Cooper were ordered from the National Archives. On May 29th I put myself on a waiting list for the book "Freeman Footnotes" and today I placed an order for the Military Records for Milo Freeman from NARA. Now we wait.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Seven Faces of Frank's Parents
Are these the faces of people willing to adopt a child? This is Benjamin Franklin Rosell and Jane Elizabeth Pelton. Parents of Abigail who was born in 1844 and not seen since the 1850 census (presumed dead), Helen born in 1848, Ida born in 1850, Frankling born in 1852, Sarah born in 1854, Sidney born in 1856 and William born in 1858. Jane is dead by 1860 and Benjamin remarries a Mary Harris and we don't have enough room here to go into what children they had. Theodore Freeman was living steps away from the Rosell's in 1850. We know Frank's father is a Freeman, not a Rosell so it could be assumed that Theodore is Frank's father and Frank was taken in by this family down the way.
I'm going to start scouring the 1850 census and the pages surrounding our little lonely orphan's possible father and adoptive parents to see if there are any suspicious looking women who could be Frank's mother.
Monday, May 12, 2008
For Those Of You Just Tuning In
Depending on who you are:
Grandpa Russell (Vern, for most of us) was born in April of 1929 to Milton Jerome Russell and Judith Rogers (The Real Grandma Russell, for most of us). Milton was the fifth son of Cordy Russell and Maude Smith and he was born in Oakland county on 17 FEB 1910 and died in 1969 in Michigan. Cordy Alvin Russell was born on 04 APR 1881 in Oakland and died 01 FEB 1965. He was the last child of Frank Russell and Lydia Powell.
After the Russell Genealogy Team established those facts they were unable to move forward. It was as if someone was lying about who they were. A Y-chromosome DNA test was done and confirmed the life long suspicion of many that indeed, we are not Russell's. Although nothing is 100% in DNA (no really, it's true) some things are known. What I mean is, we may not be able to prove who we are through DNA alone but we can prove who we are not.
When comparing ourselves to other Russell's it must be noted that we have few genetic similarities. When comparing ourselves to all other surnames floating around in various DNA, Surname and Family Projects the family we matchis the Freeman's with the haplotype E1b1b (or the Haplotype Formerly known as E3b).
That is where we are with our research.
Grandpa Russell (Vern, for most of us) was born in April of 1929 to Milton Jerome Russell and Judith Rogers (The Real Grandma Russell, for most of us). Milton was the fifth son of Cordy Russell and Maude Smith and he was born in Oakland county on 17 FEB 1910 and died in 1969 in Michigan. Cordy Alvin Russell was born on 04 APR 1881 in Oakland and died 01 FEB 1965. He was the last child of Frank Russell and Lydia Powell.
After the Russell Genealogy Team established those facts they were unable to move forward. It was as if someone was lying about who they were. A Y-chromosome DNA test was done and confirmed the life long suspicion of many that indeed, we are not Russell's. Although nothing is 100% in DNA (no really, it's true) some things are known. What I mean is, we may not be able to prove who we are through DNA alone but we can prove who we are not.
When comparing ourselves to other Russell's it must be noted that we have few genetic similarities. When comparing ourselves to all other surnames floating around in various DNA, Surname and Family Projects the family we matchis the Freeman's with the haplotype E1b1b (or the Haplotype Formerly known as E3b).
That is where we are with our research.
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