George Topper-my 4x Great Grandfather that lived right up the road!

Never would I have thought I was "Close to Home" in Maryland. I was raised in Indiana, my grandparents and great grandparents lived there.

I wrote about Michael Easterday who lived in Boonsboro, MD. I even went up to the historical society in Hagerstown, MD to do a little research.

George Topper is my 4x Great Grandfather that lived right up the road!

George was born in 1790 in Frederick, MD but possibly Adam County, PA (they are right next to each other). He was the son of American Patriot, Captain Andrew Topper.

George married Sabina Adam on April 16, 1813 in Goshenhoppen (St. Paul's Mission, Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Berks County Pennsylvania. (www.berks.pa-roots.com)

They lived in Taneytown, MD moving to Bedford County, PA and settling in Ashland County, Ohio.

George and Sabina had at least 7 children:
Peter Andrew
Mary Magdalina
Simon Topper
(son) Topper
William Henry Topper
Catharine Sabina Topper

Somewhere around 1854, George married Mary Ann Hoover, she was 34 years his junior. I am not sure what happened to Sabina.

Now I am not entirely sure, but Abigail Aquilla could be the daughter of Sabina or Mary Ann...I am leaning more towards Mary Ann.

Mary Ann went on to have at least 3 (maybe 4) more children with George:
Abigail Aquilla-this is my 3x great grandmother on my Dad's side
George L
Unknown
Isadora

George died in 1858, while Mary Ann was pregnant with Isadora. He is buried in Ashland County, Ohio:

George Topper's grave, in the valley of the Wilson run, is the grave by the roadside of which a lady in Wooster recently wrote L.C. Mengert to inquire about the descendants of the man buried there. Topper selected that spot for his burial place. Some years after the interment, a road was located there, and the grave seems to be strangely out of place in such close proximity to a public road. 

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/Hist-Butler1903.htm

Now I do have the guardianship and probate records from when George died. Abigail and her brother George were sent to live with Mary Ann's father, John Gilbert Hoover and her brother Lucas Gilbert Lafayette Hoover. More information to follow!

Mary Ann went on to marry Erestus Zimmerman and took Isadora with her but died shortly after that in 1861. 

My 2x Great Grandmother-Dora Bell Goben

My topic for the next installment of "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" is titled "Good Deeds". ( I am so behind.....) I have met so many distant relatives since I have started digging up the past.

Not only do they share their hard work, some have been doing this a very long time, they are very quick to do so.

One of my distant cousins and I have been sharing information for two years now! And if it wasn't for her, I would not have the gems below of my 2x Great Grandmother on my Mother's side, Dora Bell Goben.

Dora Bell was born December 16, 1872 in Chandlerville, Illinois to John Wesley and Julia Ann (nee Centers) Goben. She was the oldest of 8 children.

Below is a picture of Dora Bell, in the middle with her parents and siblings. I am guessing this has to be before 1890. How cool is this picture!

Dora Bell married Hans Jensen Andresen in 1891 at the age of 19.

By the 1900 census, they had 4 children: Verdi, Metti, Doris and Johnie.

Hans, Dora, Verdi and Metti

Hans and Dora never left Cass County, Illinois. They raised a family (added three more children Marie, Harry and Carroll), had a farm,  Hans was a shoemaker and Dora stayed at home to raise the family.

Dora died September 12, 1938 and is buried in Cass County, Illinois next to Hans.

Never would I have the above photos if it weren't for the "good deed" of my distant cousin.

Remembering Grandma Shirley

"Yeeellow!"

That is how I remember Grandma Shirley answering the phone.

(scan of an old slide)

I loved going to Grandma Shirley's farmhouse. We got to play in the chicken coops and the corn bin. We could play in the barn all day and if it was time, we got to ride in the combine!

Grandma Shirley was a cook. She cooked Sunday dinners and everyone came...6 kids and their spouses and children....there was a lot!

Shout out to Olan Mills!

Candy! She made candy! She made candy and then more candy! Buckeyes, Fannie Mae's, divinity, molded chocolate, peanut butter cups, candy bars, coconut nests with jelly bean eggs, chocolate covered cherries....you get the idea.
At holidays, the spare bedroom was a candy room! She made it to enjoy and then take it home with us! How I miss that candy.

Two cakes! Lucky.

Grandma Shirley made all of our birthday cakes. She made wedding cakes, baby shower cakes and then she made more cakes! I remember the room of cake pans! So many to choose from when your birthday came around.

 I remember going to the state fair every year (free yardsticks!) and playing on the front porch with her copper music boxes. Foxy the dog and making ice cream with her in an ice cream maker that you had to crank! Playing "Oh Hell" around the kitchen table and fishing with her and getting my first ticket for not having a license to fish!


But the best think about Grandma Shirley was that she loved you unconditionally.

I miss her so much.

Love you Grandma Shirley!

I am catching up on my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the theme I am on now is Love. How could I not write about Grandma Shirley when the theme is Love?!

So Far Away....But Why? James Henry Condon

Most of the ancestors I have researched have all been born in and subsequently died and buried in the Midwest. There always has to be one of those ancestors that just does not follow the status quo. It makes them more interesting, but harder to trace!

James Henry Condon. My 2nd Great Grandfather on my Father's side. He is very hard to trace before 1900, but I do know what happened to him later in his life. But I don't know why.....

James was born sometime around 1869, somewhere around Indiana or Ohio. I do know his father's name was Charles and his mother's name was Mary Jane Vonata.


I think, I have found him in a census record in 1880. It shows him as a boarder at St. Vincent's Male Orphan Asylum in Vincennes, Indiana. This census states he was born in Indiana  about 1869. It also states his parents were born in Ireland. I don't have any concrete evidence that his is my James Henry Condon and I can't find any other Condons listed at St. Vincent's at this time either....

What I do know is James Henry Condon married Cordia Cowger sometime in 1893. And in that year,  they had a daughter, Mabel.

In the 1900 census, James and Cordia are living in Rushville, Indiana and have three children: Mabel (6), Charles (4) and Lorene (8 months). The census lists James as a Day Laborer and his parents were both born in Ohio. (I am already disproving the theory that the above James in the Asylum are not the same person.....)

James was married again in June 1905 to Florence Hull. Cordia didn't die until 1908 so....I can't find a marriage license....were James and Cordia really (legally) married?

And then, the 1910 census has James (43) living in Indianapolis with only his daughter Mabel (17) and son Charles (14). No mention of Florence. But his marital status is listed as Widowed. He is also listed is a "Sawyer" at a "Lumber Yard".  His parents are also listed as being born in Ohio (I am still hanging on to the first census listed.....).

So we still don't know what happened to Cordia or Florence.

On January 23, 1911, James married again to Nora Jane Moran in Indianapolis. They are still married in the 1920 census. James is listed as a Carpenter for a Saw Company and he has more children; Clarence (8), Marjorie (5), Mary S (3), and Selma (1). They are living on Luett Street, and this is where Mabel and her sons lived for a time and Grandpa Rose remembers an uncle that was his same age. Once again, James' parents are listed as being from Ohio.

In 1930, the tables turn. James is now a boarder in Pima, Arizona, still listed as married and works as a Carpenter building houses. He is living as a boarder with an African-American family.  I can only guess that James went to Arizona as the job market was better there than in Indiana? This census lists his parents are from Indiana (a ray of hope!).

In the meantime, Nora Jane is still living in Indianapolis in the house on Luett Street with her 5 children and one of her brothers. She is listed as being married as well.

Then, tragedy struck. On February 4, 1936, James Henry Condon died in Tucson, Arizona. Cause of death, cerebral apoplexy (or stroke).  His death certificate states he was born in Rushville, Indiana and his wife is Nora Condon. His death certificate does not list any information on his parents (back to the drawing board!).

James Henry Condon is buried in Arizona in Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson.

Plowing Through an Adopted (not really!) Family Line-Robert E. Rose

One theme of 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is "Plowing Through". I didn't know what I was going to write for this but when I wrote about last weeks ancestor I decided to focus on "plowing through" one branch of the family that is part of an adoption.

As you read previously, Mable died leaving 4 young boys, 3 with no father to help. Charles and William were sent to an orphanage, Raymond was kept with his biological father and Robert was adopted by Mabel's aunt, Della.

So to give an overview of this part of the adopted family, I am going to give a quick rundown.

Robert Rose was adopted by James Martin and Della Mordock (Cowger) Heisel. (Mordock! I wonder where that name came from.....another mystery to solve!)  I don't know if this was official or if Robert just came to live with Della and her husband.

Della was hard to track as sometimes she went as Della, other times she went as Delila. I will remain calling her Della moving forward.

Della was born to Isiah Cowger and Rebecca Hardwick. Isiah and Rebecca were married in 1864 in Rush County, Indiana.  Together they had 13 children:
Susan
Sarah
Stephen
Mahala
Margaret
William
John
Jane
Joseph
Cordia-This is Mabel's mother
Julia
Pearly

Whew!

Della married James Heisel on March 9, 1916. He was 36, she was 41. They lived in Rush County, Indiana and both died there. From what I can tell, they both lived in Rush County their whole lives.

Mabel passed in 1923 so Della and James adopted Robert. I am not sure when, I am guessing not long after Mabel died. I do not have any records of the adoption. Della, James and Robert were not a family for very long as James passed away in 1927.

In the 1930 census Della and Robert are living with Della's sister Julia Anne and her husband William Moore in Wayne, Indiana.

Della died in 1933 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN.

In the 1940 census, Robert is still living with Julia and William in Wayne, IN and is a laborer. He is listed as their nephew.

So why were Charles and William sent to an orphanage but Robert was adopted? My guess would be that Robert was only 3 when Mabel died so he had the appeal of being young. Charles was 10 and William was 9, they were older and ornery!

**Does anyone know what Robert's middle name was? I only see the middle initial.....