Hester is a particular ancestor. I have some sort of affinity with
her that I cannot explain. Maybe it is because Hester's daughter,
Lavina, is buried in the Matteawan Methodist Churchyard - and her stone
is inscribed: "Lavina P. Garrison, daughter of William H and Corlinda.
b. 1855, Sep 28 d. 1888, Apr. 28"
Let me explain: Hester died August 12, 1858 - she was just barely 38 years old. Lavina was born on September 28, 1855 - she was almost three years old when her Mom died.
Now don't get me wrong here. I'm very happy that Corlinda raised Lavina as her own, but I don't like that Hester was disregarded. I made a pledge to myself to find Hester and keep her legacy alive. Alas, she evades me for the most part, but I'm confident that my persistence will pay off and one day I'll find her!
My search for Hester began many years ago when my Nana died. Being the daughter of one of Nana's sons I didn't have the privelege of receiving any of Nana's personal items when she died - BUT Nana's granddaughters had the presence of mind to send me some photocopies of notes that were included in a family Bible.
Those names meant nothing to me and I wondered who they were and why Nana had this. It wasn't until many years later that I discovered that Hester was my Nana's great-grandmother (and my 3xgreat grandmother). So, I started digging around. I purchased subscriptions to all of the major genealogy sites but I found nothing!!
Back in the day Microsoft hosted free forums...one of these was genealogy related called "Ancestor Chronicles" I loved the other members and their expertise taught me so much. One night I brought up my brick-wall named Hester and another member found her! I distinctly remember my gratitude and outright tears! I could not find her because the 1850 census taker that visited her home had peculiar handwriting and the name was incorrectly transcribed. The family was listed as "Ganisen" - that is why I couldn't find them!
I was elated... I could PROVE that Hester existed!!!
So, now let's get to the facts about Hester's existence:
Hester Jane Scofield was born 04 Aug 1820
sometime before 1848 Hester married William H. Garrison (b. 13 Apr 1817)
William and Hester had three daughters:
Mary E. Garrison b. 05 Jun 1848
Frances Ann Garrison b. 01 Jan 1852
Levina P. Garrison b. 28 Sep 1855
Let me explain: Hester died August 12, 1858 - she was just barely 38 years old. Lavina was born on September 28, 1855 - she was almost three years old when her Mom died.
Now don't get me wrong here. I'm very happy that Corlinda raised Lavina as her own, but I don't like that Hester was disregarded. I made a pledge to myself to find Hester and keep her legacy alive. Alas, she evades me for the most part, but I'm confident that my persistence will pay off and one day I'll find her!
My search for Hester began many years ago when my Nana died. Being the daughter of one of Nana's sons I didn't have the privelege of receiving any of Nana's personal items when she died - BUT Nana's granddaughters had the presence of mind to send me some photocopies of notes that were included in a family Bible.
Those names meant nothing to me and I wondered who they were and why Nana had this. It wasn't until many years later that I discovered that Hester was my Nana's great-grandmother (and my 3xgreat grandmother). So, I started digging around. I purchased subscriptions to all of the major genealogy sites but I found nothing!!
Back in the day Microsoft hosted free forums...one of these was genealogy related called "Ancestor Chronicles" I loved the other members and their expertise taught me so much. One night I brought up my brick-wall named Hester and another member found her! I distinctly remember my gratitude and outright tears! I could not find her because the 1850 census taker that visited her home had peculiar handwriting and the name was incorrectly transcribed. The family was listed as "Ganisen" - that is why I couldn't find them!
So, now let's get to the facts about Hester's existence:
Hester Jane Scofield was born 04 Aug 1820
sometime before 1848 Hester married William H. Garrison (b. 13 Apr 1817)
William and Hester had three daughters:
Mary E. Garrison b. 05 Jun 1848
Frances Ann Garrison b. 01 Jan 1852
Levina P. Garrison b. 28 Sep 1855
So, I had clues in the form of husband and children!
No comments:
Post a Comment