Tag Archives: Sarah Gilliland

Sarah Gilliland: Woman of Mystery (52 Ancestors #50)

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

Before I get started, I want to apologize for the delay in my post.  I’ve had a health issue that prevented me from working on it.  My intention is to do two posts this week to catch up.

I was recently contacted by a distant cousin who wanted more information on the Gilliland family.  This prompted some research on Sarah, the youngest of the Gilliland children.  She has proven to be an interesting person to research.

Sarah Gilliland was born on November 29, 1854 in Indiana to Leason and Serilda (Long) Gilliland.  She died on September 21, 1927 in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana.1,2,3,4  All other details of her life are sketchy at best.  I decided to do a spreadsheet to help me keep track of where she was and when.  New Albany City Directories were invaluable in this effort.

Sarah Gilliland Time Table

After finding indications that she may have been married, I began looking for her marriage record.  So far, I have been unsuccessful.

Sarah had three children that I know of for sure, and I suspect she was the mother of one other child.  Ava Gilliland was born on January 21, 1883, Daniel Gilliland was born in February of 1886, and Sarilda (or Zerelda) Gilliland was born circa 1892 and died in June of 1895.4,5,6,7

Ava’s father is unknown.  What I know about him is that he was born in New Albany, Indiana, was 40 years old at the time of Ava’s birth, and was not married to Sarah at that time.5  The only thing that I know about Daniel’s father is that he was born in Indiana.4

Comparing the date of Sarilda’s birth and the dates around which Sarah went from being listed as Miss to being listed as Mrs., I’m guessing Sarilda’s father is the man that Sarah was allegedly married to.  I don’t know if all of Sarah’s children had the same father or not.

There is one child that I believe was also Sarah’s.  In Fairview Cemetery, in New Albany, Indiana, there is a stone for the infant of S. A. Gilliland.  This infant was stillborn on September 13, 1880.  The grave is close to the grave of Sarilda.8,9

Sources

  1. Floyd County Health Department. Microfilm. Floyd County, Indiana Deaths (1925-1928): book CH-35, p.120. Retrieved 07 Dec 2015 from Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.
  2. 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: New Albany Ward 6, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: M653_257; Page: 422; Image: 426; Family History Library Film: 803257.
  3. 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.Year: 1880; Census Place: New Albany, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: 277; Family History Film: 1254277; Page: 372B; Enumeration District: 076; Image: 0405.
  4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.  Year: 1900; Census Place: New Albany, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: 371; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0069; FHL microfilm: 1240371.
  5. Floyd County Health Department. Microfilm. Floyd County, Indiana Deaths (1882-1885): book CH-1, p.23. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015 from Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.
  6. Obituary, New Albany Evening Tribune, Wednesday, 26 June 1895, p. 4, column 2, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.
  7. Atchley, Margaret, et al., comps. Fairview Cemetery: January 1, 1891 to December 31, 1899. Vol. 4. New Albany, Ind. (P.O. Box 665, New Albany 47151): Southern Indiana Genealogical Society, 1995. Print. The Indiana Southern Counties Collection. p.26.
  8. Clipp, Mary Cuzzort, Richard Clipp, Jackie Murray Nance, Wanda Perkins Stepp, and Shirley Wolf, comps. Fairview Cemetery: January 7, 1866 to December 31, 1880. Vol. 2. New Albany, Ind. (P.O. Box 665, New Albany 47151): Southern Indiana Genealogical Society, 1991. Print. The Indiana Southern Counties Collection. p.37.
  9. “Infant of S A Gilliland (1880 – 1880) – Find A Grave Memorial.” FindAGrave.com. S Carpenter, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. Find A Grave Memorial # 101409059.

 

Serilda Long: A Long Life (52 Ancestors #16)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Gilliland Family, Long Family, Photographs, Stories

Serilda Long is another ancestor that I have had a hard time tracking.  She has appeared as Serilda, Sirelda, Serelda, Serrelda, Serralda, Zerelda, Zerilda, and Cerelda.  She has been Long, Gilliland (sometimes Gilleland, Gilland or Gillen), and Bridges.  I really should re-evaluate how I spell it.  I’ve just been spelling it Serilda because that’s how it appeared on the first record on which I saw it written.  It appears most often as Zerelda or Serelda.  But I digress.

Serilda Long was born on January 15, 1820, in Kentucky, to parents Daniel and Ruth (Lewis) Long.1,3,5,7,8,9,10  She married Leason Gilliland sometime before 1840.11  The story I heard growing up was that Leason worked on a steamboat and was away a lot, but the 1840 Census says that he was employed in agriculture.2  I suppose it is possible that he switched professions, as many of my ancestors have done, but that seems like a big change to me.

Serilda and Leason had Daniel circa 1838, William T. circa 1840, Ezra W. in 1841, and Mary Elizabeth on January 22, 1849.1,3,5,7,8,11,12  In 1850, Serilda and the children were living with Asa and Maria J. Loundsbury or Longsberry.3  Leason wasn’t there, which caused me to suspect that he had died.  However, Sarah A. Gilliland was born in 1853.5,7,8  Either Leason was still alive and happened to be away from home, prompting Serilda to move in with a friend or neighbor, or Sarah was illegitimate.

Leason was most likely dead by 1857 (I haven’t found evidence of a divorce), as Serilda married John T.M. Bridges on October 15 of that year.4  Shortly after their marriage, John Bridges was tried for and convicted of murder and was sentenced to life in Indiana State Prison in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1859.  (See Coroner’s Inquest, Trial Day 1, Trial Day 2, Trial Day 3, Trial Day 4, and The Verdict).  By 1860, Serilda had taken a job as a seamstress to provide for her family.5  At some point during John’s confinement, they must have realized that the “preacher of the Gospel” who had married them was not actually ordained and the marriage, therefore, not legal.  (See Marriage Mystery and Two Marriages).  John was released from prison for good behavior on February 2, 1871 (See John Bridges), and Serilda married him again the very next day.6

John died in 1899, and Serilda went to live with her daughter, Sarah, and her children.  Her son, Ezra, lived with them as well.8  Serilda lived with Sarah until her death on September 13, 1907.1,9,10  Serilda lived a long life, but I wonder if she would have lived longer without all of the stress that she must surely have felt.

Serilda Bridges, circa 1900.

Serilda (Long) Gilliland Bridges, circa 1900.

Sources

1.  Transcription of the Rakestraw Family Bible.

2.  1840 U.S. Census, Hardin, Kentucky, p. 30, Ancestry.com.

3.  1850 U.S. Census, New Albany, Floyd, Indiana, p. 105, HeritageQuestOnline.com.

4.  Floyd County, Indiana Marriages, Volume 4, p. 485, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

5.  1860 U.S. Census, 6th Ward, New Albany, Floyd, Indiana, p. 106, FamilySearch.org.

6.  Floyd County, Indiana Marriages, Volume 6, p. 644, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

7.  1880 U.S. Census, New Albany, Floyd, Indiana, p. 2B, HeritageQuestOnline.com.

8.  1900 U.S. Census, 5th Ward, New Albany, Floyd, Indiana, p. 16B, FamilySearch.org.

9.  Floyd County, Indiana Deaths, Book CH-20, p. 32, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

10.  Obituary, New Albany Evening Tribune, Friday, 13 Sept 1907, p. 4, column 2, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

11.  Floyd County, Indiana Deaths, Book CH-33, p. 54, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

12.  Floyd County, Indiana Deaths, Book CH-37, p. 67, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.