Category Archives: Wiseheart Family

Mary Wiseheart Jacobs and the Move to Illinois

Posted on by under Family History, Genealogy, Jacobs Family, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

According to family tradition, Price Jacobs died in Jefferson County, Kentucky sometime before 1850 and his widow and children moved to Illinois, where they had Wiseheart family.  I spent some time trying to track the family movements to see what might be true.  I’m hoping this will narrow down a death date and location for Price.

I began with 1840, since Price would have still been living then.  I found him in Jefferson County, Kentucky with a wife, four sons, and a daughter.  I also noticed that he was living near Harmon Wiseheart (and a few Gillilands) at this time.1

I couldn’t find Price or his family in Kentucky in 1850.  I did find Mary C. Jacobs, with children John A., James H., Ellen, Samuel, and Peter, living in Columbus, Adams County, Illinois.2  The ages are all correct to be the same family from 1840.  A James Wisehart is living several houses down from her.3

Mary married John Carson in 1852.4  In 1860, John Carson is living with Mary, Henry, and Rebecca in Columbus, Adams County, Illinois.5

In 1870, Mary Jacobs is living with Milton K. Johnson and family in Burton, Adams County, Illinois.6  Mary’s daughter, Ellen, married Milton K. Johnson in 1855.7  Presumably, John Carson died sometime between 1860 and 1870.

Mary is still living with Milton and Ellen in 1880 in Burton, Adams County, Illinois, where she is listed as mother-in-law of Milton.8

I couldn’t find any information for Mary after the 1880 Census, other than her FindAGrave memorial.  According to that, she died in 1887 in Adams County, Illinois.9

It’s entirely possible that she moved to Illinois to be near family, but it’s strange since she had family living much closer to her in Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Sources

  1. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1840; Census Place: Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 115; Page: 154; Image: 312; Family History Library Film: 0007828.
  2. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1850; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M432_97; Page: 51B; Image: 108.
  3. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1850; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M432_97; Page: 50B; Image: 106.
  4. “Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2T7-5QS : accessed 21 January 2016), John Carson and Mary Jacobs, 1852.
  5. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1860; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M653_155; Page: 607; Image: 263; Family History Library Film: 803155.
  6. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1870; Census Place: Burton, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M593_186; Page: 16B; Image: 41; Family History Library Film: 545685.
  7. “Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2T8-6HQ : accessed 21 January 2016), Milton K Johnson and Ellen Jacobs, 1855.
  8. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc.  Year: 1880; Census Place: Burton, Adams, Illinois; Roll: 174; Family History Film: 1254174; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 002; Image: 0048.
  9. “Mary Catherine Wiseheart Jacobs (1808 – 1887).” Find A Grave. R. Dennis Jacobs, 21 May 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. Find A Grave Memorial# 130137820.

 

Mary Catherine and America Christina

Posted on by under Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Jacobs Family, Marriage, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

A distant cousin contacted me recently to see if I had any idea what happened to Price Jacobs.  I looked through my records and I don’t have much on him.  Now, I’m one of those people that can’t stand an unsolved mystery, so it’s been bugging me.  I haven’t been very concerned with Price, as he’s a collateral for me, but now I would like to know what happened to him.  Of course, this means researching more than just his death.

My grandparents’ pedigree chart lists Price as having married Mary Catherine Wiseheart, so I started there.  It turns out, their marriage is a little bit confusing.  I first looked on Ancestry to see what I could turn up.  I found a record for Price Jacobs and Mary E. Wiseheart, married on December 29, 1825 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.1  Then, I found a record for Price Jacobs and Christena Wisehart, married on August 13, 1827 in Shelby County, Kentucky.2  According to my grandparents’ information, Mary Catherine had a sister named America Christina.

I considered the possibility that Mary Catherine died and Price remarried to her sister, but based on their children’s ages, that just isn’t possible.  I managed to find an image of the written consent given by John Wiseheart.  He does indeed give permission for Christena to marry.

Christina Wisehart permission to marry

Consent in writing for Christena Wisehart to marry Price Jacobs, given by John Wisehart. August 13, 1827.

I decided to look for America’s marriage, thinking that might shed some light on things.  I found that she married Peter Shrote, Jr. on December 20, 1834 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.3  I then looked up the record for Price in the same book series.  It showed that he and Mary Catherine applied for a license, with John’s consent, on December 29, 1825, but there is not marriage date.4  Possibly, Price and Mary Catherine married two years later in Shelby County, but I still have no idea why the consent says Christena.  Perhaps John was confused.

I’m hoping to come across something that will clear this all up as I continue to research Price Jacobs and family.

Sources

  1. Dodd, Jordan. Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
  2. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954”, database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJ9-21QC : accessed 13 January 2016), Price Jacobs and Christena Wisehart, 1827.
  3. The Filson Club, Incorporated. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages. Vol. 2. Owensboro, KY: McDowell Publications, 1980. Print.p. 113.
  4. The Filson Club, Incorporated. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages. Vol. 1. Owensboro, KY: McDowell Publications, 1980. Print.p. 189.

Henrich Wiseheart: Untangling the Wiseheart Line (52 Ancestors #52)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Immigration, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

Previously, I wrote about John Wiseheart and not being able to figure out which John he is.  As a result, one of my goals for 2016 is to resolve this issue.  A few years ago, my grandpa told me about Henrich Wiseheart, who came over here on the Winter Galley in 1738.  He said he believed that Henrich was our immigrant Wiseheart ancestor and John’s grandfather.  He let me borrow the “Wiseheart” box, full of papers, to look through.  There were several documents on Henrich and his children, which have left me scratching my head.  These are, to the best of my ability to decipher since none of them are cited, passenger lists for the Winter Galley, two orphans court records, three probate records, and a letter from a relative.  I started with the letter.

The letter was addressed to my grandpa and written by Velda Clark.  In it, Velda tells of her sister-in-law finding some information about Hans Nicholas Wiseheart online.  According to this information, Hans Nicholas is the son of Henrich Wiseheart and an unknown mother.  Hans Nicholas married Barbara Lehr and had a son, Johann, with her.  He then married Rachel.  They had Nancy, Polly, Catherine, and John.  The rest of the letter goes on about Polly.1

With this information in mind, I moved on to the orphans court records.  The first one I looked at, dated May of 1763, is about Henry Wisehart, son of Henry Wisehart, whose guardian is Gotlieb Ziegler.  Henry, the son, was born in June of 1744.2  As I had no way of knowing from this whether this was my Henry or not, I filed it away for later.

The next record, dated August of 1750, was for Casper Wiliert and Michael Koontz, guardians of the orphans of Henry Wiseheart.  These children were Christopher (born circa 1741), Hans Nicholas (born circa 1744), and Gartrude (born March 1, 1748).  Christopher was bound out to Godlib Liegler to be an apprentice carpenter.  Hans Nicholas was bound out to Johannes Shultz to be an apprentice blacksmith.  Gartrude was bound out to Casper Wiliert.  No trade was mentioned.3  It seems to be that he is officially taking her in as his ward.

The interesting thing about these records is that Hans Nicholas and the aforementioned Henry, son of Henry, were born about the same time.  I wondered if they might be twins.  However, Henry is not mentioned at all in the orphans court records of August 1750, which names all the children of Henrich.  Then, I noticed that Christpher was bound out to Godlib Liegler and Henry’s guardian is Gotlieb Ziegler.  I believe Liegler was supposed to have been Ziegler.  This made me wonder if Christopher and Henry were the same person, one of the names being his middle name, but there’s quite an age difference between the two records.  The 1763 record says that Henry is eighteen years old.  Christopher was bound until the age of twenty-one, which is how old he would have been in 1763.  I decided to leave it alone for now since Hans Nicholas is my primary concern.

I moved on to the probate records.  The first one, dated May of 1750, identifies Matthias and Elizabeth Culb, Daniel Dreighler, and Casper Wilyard as the administrators of Henry Wisehart’s estate.  It goes on to say that Elizabeth Culb is the late widow of Henry Wisehart.4  I’ve seen this a lot while working on projects at work.  One parent dies and the other remarries and the children are bound out, usually by their step-parent.

The second probate record, dated May of 1751, doesn’t provide any new information on Henrich or his children.4  The third probate record, dated December of 1752, states that Casper Wiliar is one of the bond men for Matthias and Elizabeth Culb.4

I looked at the passenger lists.  There were three lists for the Winter Galley in 1738.  Henrich was thirty years old.  He was listed as Henrich Weyshart on the first list, which was made in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  On the second list, from Deal, Kent, England, he was Henrich Weishart.  On the third list, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was Henry Weishart.  On September 5, 1738, Henrich took the Oath of Allegiance.5

This information is all fairly useful, but I really needed something to help me piece it together.  I decided to look at some user-submitted family trees online, to see if anyone had done this research.  I’m afraid all it did was confuse me more.  One tree suggested that Hans Nicholas went by John, which is a thought I had also had.  After all, Hans is traditionally a short form of Johann or Johannes.  It also mentioned records for Hans Nicholas in Adams County, Pennsylvania and Rockingham County, Virginia.6  I’ll have to look into that.

Another tree suggested that Henrich’s name was actually John Heinrich Wiseheart.7  That made me stop to think that perhaps John, son of John, son of John and John, son of Hans Nicholas, son of Henrich might be the same person.  I compared what I knew about the dates and spouses of both lines and this isn’t possible.  Herein lies the problem with unsourced family trees.  They can be helpful in providing clues to the next puzzle piece, but they can also have you doubting yourself.  I haven’t found anything to suggest that Henrich’s name was John other than this one family tree, and that person doesn’t have a source for that information.

With this post, I have exhausted all of the ancestors about whom I know much of anything.  Because of this, I’ve decided not to do the 52 Ancestors Challenge in 2016.  Instead, my New Year’s Resolution is to research more on the handful of ancestors who have proved to be difficult:  John Wiseheart, Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schröder, Charlotte Poppa, Leason Gilliland (the entire Gilliland family, really), Ossian Salisbury, and Frank Springer.  I also intend to go through all of the fruit boxes full of papers next year, to see what my grandparents have already found on these people.  I will post updates on my progress.

Sources

  1. Clark, Velda. “RE: Hans Nicholas Wiseheart.” Letter to Sanford Wiseheart. 31 May 2006. MS. In My Possession, New Albany, Indiana.
  2. “Henry Wisehart.” Orphans Court Records. York County, Pennsylvania: n.p., 31 May 1763. N. pag. Microfilm.
  3. “Casper Wilert and Michael Koontz.” Orphans Court Records. York County, Pennsylvania: n.p., 4 Aug 1750. N. pag. Microfilm.
  4. “Estate of Henry Wisehart.” Probate Records. York County, Pennsylvania: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Microfilm.
  5. Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, and William John Hinke. “Winter Galley 1738.”Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub., 1966. 198-203. Print.
  6. Yates-Potter, Dellamarie. “Information about Hans Nicholas Wiseheart.”Yates Family Tree. Genealogy.com, 24 Sept. 2004. Web. 26 Dec. 2015.
  7. “John Heinrich Wiseheart.” Ryner Family Tree. Ancestry.com, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2015.

Harmon Wiseheart: Hard to Find (52 Ancestors #42)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Jacobs Family, Photographs, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

Harmon Wiseheart is an ancestor for whom I’ve had to think outside the box to find records.  Some of them were easy, because Harmon/Harman and Wiseheart/Wisehart all come up in the soundex search.  After I had completed my initial run of hunting and gathering, I noticed that I was still missing Census records for him for 1830, 1840, and 1850.  Since he had married Jemima Jacobs in 1830, I could reasonably assume that he would have been head of household in those years.

I decided to look for his wife in 1850, since Jemima is a fairly uncommon name.  I didn’t turn up a Jemima Wiseheart, so I looked for Jemima Jacobs, on the off chance that her maiden name was listed.  What I found was a 17-year-old Jemima Jacobs living with an 80-year-old William Jacobs.  William is Jemima’s father, but my Jemima would have been about 40 and theoretically living with Harmon.  The 17-year-old may have been a niece.  I diligently glanced over the rest of the page and the next household was Armin and J. Wisehart.  No wonder I had such trouble!  And, I sure am lucky that they lived next door to her father.

Next, I looked for Harmon in 1840 and found him pretty quickly.  I must have just missed it in my original search.  I moved on to 1830.  After much searching, with a variety of name combinations, I finally found him.  He had been indexed on Ancestry as Harmon Jacobs.  The actual record clearly shows Harmon Wisehart, but William Jacobs is above him and William Jacobs Jr. is below him, so I can see how this might have happened.  I’m just glad I stuck with it and didn’t give up the search.  Harmon’s story is now more complete, and fairly interesting.

Harmon Wiseheart was born circa 1809 in Kentucky.2,3,4,5,6,7,8  He married Jemima Jacobs on March 14, 1830 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.1  He and Jemima had a farm next door to her brothers, Price Jacobs and William Jacobs Jr.2  In 1850, they were living near Jemima’s father, William.  Both Harmon and William were blacksmiths at this time.3  Their children are difficult to figure out, but I believe Harmon and Jemima had six chidlren:  William Henry, Sarah Katherine “Kitty”, George Allen, James Luminous, John S., Jacob E. Thomas.3,4,5,6,8  By 1860, Harmon was a farmer again.5  In 1870, Harmon was a chair maker, an occupation his sons William and John shared with him.6  Harmon died on April 28, 1876 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.  He was 67 years old.7,8

Price Jacobs and Harmon Wiseheart, circa 1850.

Price Jacobs and Harmon Wiseheart, circa 1850.

Sources

  1. “Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F43W-XVD : accessed 19 March 2015), Harman Wisehart and Jemima Jacobs, 14 Mar 1830; citing Jefferson Co., Kentucky, reference ; FHL microfilm 817,868.
  2. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  1830; Census Place: Jefferson, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 38; Page: 136; Family History Library Film:0007817.
  3. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  Year: 1840; Census Place: Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 115; Page: 154; Image: 312; Family History Library Film:0007828.
  4. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1850; Census Place: District 1, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: M432_205; Page: 217B; Image: 439.
  5. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1860; Census Place: District 2, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: M653_377; Page: 1093; Image: 350; Family History Library Film: 803377.
  6. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1870; Census Place: Floydsburg, Oldham, Kentucky; Roll: M593_493; Page: 35A; Image: 73; Family History Library Film: 545992.
  7. Ancestry.com. Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Kentucky. Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records – Microfilm (1852-1910). Microfilm rolls #994027-994058. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
  8. “Harmon Wiseheart (1809 – 1876) – Find A Grave Memorial.” FindAGrave.com. Dorothy Gronefeld, 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. Find A Grave Memorial # 30962063.

John Wiseheart: Which John Are You? (52 Ancestors #40)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Razor Family, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

I’ve been trying to source the Wiseheart line on the pedigree chart that my grandma gave me.  It’s been very difficult.  I can get it back to my third great grandfather, but proving his connection to the man that I believe is his father is, so far, impossible.  The pedigree chart says that my fourth great grandfather is John Wiseheart (1775-1837), who was married to Catharine Razor (1787-1850).  John was born in Pennsylvania.1

Here’s where my biggest problem comes in.  There were two John Wisehearts (or Wisehart) born in Pennsylvania in 1775, at least.  But of the the two I’ve come across, is he John, son of John, son of John, or John, son of Hans Nicholas, son of Henrich?  The only thing I’ve been able to find for John Wiseheart and Catherine Razor is a marriage record, which does not give his father’s name.

The only thing I have been able to find about John is that he married Catharine Razor in Jefferson County, Kentucky on October 9, 1798.1,2,3  According to the transcription on Ancestry.com, Catharine was born in 1787, which would have made her eleven years old.1  Now, this isn’t totally unheard of, but it seems highly unlikely to me, as the print index done by The Filson Historical Society does not list consent given.  That would have been a requirement for an eleven-year-old.  Having read some old handwriting myself, I think it’s far more likely that a 6 looked like an 8 or a 1 looked like a 7, or some combination thereof.  John Razor was the bondsman.3  Perhaps trying to find John Razor and Catharine Razor on a record together will yield some information.

In the end, all I really know about John Wiseheart is that his wedding anniversary is in two days.

Sources

  1. Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.  Source number: 4178.015; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1.
  2. Dodd, Jordan. Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
  3. Dawson, Nelson L., ed. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages, Book I, 1781-July, 1826. Owensboro, KY: Cook-McDowell Publications, 1980. Print. p. 32.