Introducing... Do you know who? #8

Hello there!

I'm 2 1/2 years shy of hitting the big 40 - OUCH! I have an adopted daughter, that I could never deny, because she looks just like me :-) I have my A.A. degree, my A.S. degree in Business, and I will graduate May 6, 2006 with my B.A. degree in Criminal Justice.

I had a dance team for 14 years & have been riding and showing horses since I was in high school. I currently work in the title insurance field, but have always dreamed of opening up my own Private Investigations business.

On weekends, I enjoy spending time with my daughter, family & friends. I also enjoy riding my four-wheeler, love Harley's, and I am an avid football & NASCAR fan!

Can you guess who I am?

It's Kim!

Hey, it's me! Hello everyone! I am looking forward to seeing everyone this summer at Jennifer's wedding. I hope you can make it!


Here is a photo of me with my daughter, Kiana-Jo.

Stilwell Trueax in 1880

Stilwell was seventy-six years old by the time the 1880 US Census was conducted. His household was enumerated along with many others in Bethel Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvaniaon, on June 3, 1880.

Stilwell was a retired farmer in a home with adult children and grandchildren. He had not remarried.

The others in the house are: Andrew W, his 33 year-old son, who is a farmer; Sarah E, 25, his daughter, a single woman helping to keep house; a grandson, Charles A Truax, 13, listed as a laborer; Rachel P. Bearnheard, a 20 year old single grand-daughter, also listed as keeping house; and Charles C Palmer, a 21 year old grandson and laborer.

Stilwell & Rachel Trueax as of 1860

Although Stilwell and Rachel Trueax began their family as early as 1827, the first confirmed census record that includes one of them was recorded on July 3, 1860.

By this time, Stilwell is a 58-year old farmer, and a widower. Rachel passed away on February 28, 1857, at the young age of 48, and was buried at the Bethel Church Cemetery, near Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania. It is likely that by the time Rachel passed away, the church was under the direction of the Mennonites, as her daughter Rachel (John Carson's wife) was a devout member of the Mennonite church.

The home in which the surviving family members lived was valued at $5500. Stilwell's estate was valued at $1300. In the home with Stilwell were eight of his children, and an eighteen year-old servant named Harriet. The children listed, along with their ages, were: Elizabeth 22, Martha A. 20, Job 18, Mary J. 16, Anderson 14, Lyddia 11, Rachael 8, Sarah 6.

Stillwell Trueax and Rachel Rebecca Mann

On March 9, 1771, Bedford County was formed from a portion of Cumberland County, in south central Pennsylvania. Settlers in the 1750's would find that this region was still raw frontier. Skirmishes between the French and British, and raids by Indians, who were allied with the French, led to many men abandoning initial settlements.

Life settled somewhat when the British eradicated the French, in 1759. Roads were established leading east and west, one of which later became the modern turnpike that crosses the state. Pioneers began to flow in, and through, the Bedford region. It was this area that served as the home for a number of our ancestors, many of whom will be the subjects of my next series of articles.

Today, we'll begin by working backwards from the parents of Rachel Truex: Stilwell Trueax and Rachel Rebecca Mann. If you've been reading the Carson Archives website, then you might recall that Rachel was married to John K Carson, and that she and John were the grandparents of Chester Carson. John and Rachel were the parents of W.L. Carson, who became Chester's father.

Stilwell Trueax (whose first name is sometimes found as Stillwell, and whose last name is often found as Truex) was born September 12, 1802, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He was the fifth child of Benjamin and Perthinia Truax, in a family of at least eleven children.

Rachel was born to Bernard and Rebecca Mann on January 10, 1809, near Warfordsburg, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.

Oddly, a number of online family trees claim that Stilwell and Rachel were married in Coles, Indiana, in 1826.

Next time I will document the only census record I have found that reveals information about Stilwell's family.

The Carson Archives Index

On more than one occassion I have had to stop and search through the Carson Archives articles to see which families I have documented, and which still need to be done. Add to this the photos I have posted and the family trivia, and it can be difficult to know all that's here, where to find it and how to avoid duplications. Today, I hope to begin to clear this up for readers of this blog, and myself.

To that end, I am today announcing the beginning of an Index to Articles and Photographs posted on the Carson Archives.

If you look at the left-hand column of this web-site, you will see a new link, titled, "Index". Under that is a hyper-link, titled "Carson Archives Index". When you click on that hyperlink, you will go to the page where I am developing these indexes.

Articles are listed by the last name of the family that was documented, or by the subject of the article (such as Kathleen's Tea Room).

Photographs are listed in the order they have been posted to the Carson Archives. So, the only way to find all the photos of Kathleen Carson, for example, is to read through the list of all photos.

I hope you find these indexes useful. Let me know if you have suggestions on how to improve them.

The Final Glimpse at Reuben & Elizabeth Jolly

Thanks to our Internet cousin, Marion, we know that on 7 September 1850, Reuben and Elizabeth's household was enumerated for the U.S. Census. Once again, the township was not specified, but they have moved into Columbus County, North Carolina.

Reuben is now 50, and still a farmer. His household is given a value of $200. His wife, Elizabeth, now 33, is watching over their large family. In addition to the daughter to links us to Reuben and Elizabeth (Celia J, now 13), there are eleven other children in the home. They are: Martha (14), James (11), Prudence C. (10), Solomon (9), Hugh (8), Rebecca A. (7), Katharine (6), David J. (5), Jesse R. (5), Jackson M. (2), Elizabeth (1).

I do not have any further information on Reuben or Elizabeth. I also do not have any information the parents of either.

Memorable Photo Monday, #13

On August 29, 1993 a number of family members gathered at Sid and Joanne's home in Beltsville, MD. Do you recognize anyone? Enjoy!

Reuben Jolly & Elizabeth Harrelson in 1830 & 1840

For each of the next two U.S. citizenry counts, Reuben is again found in Horry County, South Carolina. The township, and the exact date of enumeration are not recorded for either census.

In 1830, the Rueben Jolly household has the following residents:
1 male 10-15, 1 male 20-30, 1 female under 5, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 40-50. Even though several residences around him list both slaves and free colored persons, there are none at this Jolly home.

By 1840, he should be married to Elizabeth. She is likely the one female in the home, between the age of 20-30. According to the census, the home contains:
2 males under 5, 1 male 40-50, 2 females under 5, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 20-30. No slaves or free colored persons.

Reuben Jolly & Elizabeth Harrelson

Reuben Jolly and Elizabeth Harrelson were Great Great Grandparents of Kathleen Rogers.

• Reuben Jolly and Elizabeth Harrelson
  
  • Luke R. Cartrett and Celia Dolley
    
    • Martha Jane Cartrett and William L Wheeler
      
      • Blanche May (Mazie) Wheeler and Lloyd Franklin Rogers
        
        • Kathleen May Rogers

According to the information that I have found at various online family tree sites, Reuben Jolly was born in South Carolina, in about 1800. The birth place and date for Elizabeth is unknown.

Reuben married at least three times. Elizabeth was apparently his second wife, and the mother of Celia, and many others.

The earliest record that I have for Reuben is the 1820 U.S. Census. The township is not recorded, but he lived in Horry County, South Carolina. At this time, very little information was collected when counting our nation's inhabitants. All we know is the ages of those in Reuben's household. These were recorded as:
1 male under 10. 1 male 18 to 26 (presumably Reuben). 1 female 18 to 26 (presumably his wife at the time).

The census states that one person in the home was involved in agriculture, so Reuben was almost certainly a farmer. This census also counted slaves or free black men in the household, of which there were none.


This extraction from the 1820 US Census shows Reuben Jolly's household. Note how the census form was entirely handwritten.

Memorable Photo Monday #12

In this photo, processed in October of 1957, Kathleen Carson is shown with Stella at her Brentwood, Maryland home.

My question is: Who was Stella?

UPDATED 11 JANUARY 2006: Stella was Stella Steele. She was married to a man in the Navy, and while he was overseas, she shared an apartment with Kit. She was "a very funny and sweet Italian" who later moved to Ohio, and eventually fell out of touch with the family.

Celia Cartrette's parents

Sometimes we know for certain who a person's parents are, and sometimes we draw conclusions from the evidence. For the connection from Celia Cartrette to her parents, the evidence strongly suggests they were Rueben Jolly and Elizabeth Harrison.

Celia and her husband Luke lived most of their lives in Columbus County, North Carolina. According to our Internet-cousin Marion, "Making the connection to Celia's parents was pretty easy. Her father was the only Jolly in the area. His children were born in Horry and Columbus Counties. They married other people from these two counties and states. I don't know how familiar you are with this area, but the Coumbus County, NC and Horry Co., SC adjoin each other."

I am not certain how others make the connection from Celia Cartrette to the last name Jolly, but my evidence supports it. I have a copy of her death certificate. While we must remember that death certificates are not certain evidence of birth parents or dates (after all the persons most likely to know that information have passed away) they do tell us the birth information that their closest family or friends believed to be true. For Celia, her death certificate lists her last name as "Dolly". It is rather easy to see how Jolly could have been either mistakenly recalled as Dolly, or mistakenly recorded as such.

Jesse and Sally Cartrett in 1840

Jesse and his family were recorded In the 1840 US Census. Their township of residence was not recorded, but they lived in Columbus County, North Carolina. The information collected during this census was limited to only the name of the head of household and a count of the number of people in the home by age group.

The family name is recorded as "Cartrett". In Jesse's residence were seven people, all “Free White Persons”. There was one male under five, two males between five and ten, and one male between 40 and 50 (Jesse). There was one female under five, one female between ten and fifteen, and one twenty-five to thirty (presumably Sally).

There were two other Cartrett’s listed on the same page. Based on how families live today, I think it is safe to assume that at least one of these were related to Jesse. The others were John, fifteen residences away, and Robert, directly next door.

Although there are many nearby farms with slave labor, there are no slaves at Jesse’s home. Two members of the family are recorded as being in the business of agriculture. One of the “persons over the age of 20” cannot read or write.

This is the last record I have for Jesse or Sally.


Jesse Cartrett's household as recorded in the 1840 U.S. Census

Family Fun at Kathleen's Tea Room & Day Spa

A number of family members met together in Asheville, and Fletcher, North Carolina over the New Year's weekend for fun, fellowship and food!

On Friday night a number of family and friends stopped in at Tami and Dan's home. Some were there for the annual family gift exchange, others for the pleasure of visiting with family members who have been apart for long periods.

The official get together occurred Saturday evening. That gathering was a long delayed family grand-opening for Tami's latest business venture: Kathleen's Tea Room & Day Spa, named after Kathleen Carson, which opened on March 8, 2005.

Patti brought her wonderful portrait of Kathleen, which went on display. Tami spent much of the night introducing the guests to various blends of tea, and chatting about the numerous family photographs under-glass at most of the tables.

Thanks to Patti for organizing the event. Thanks to Tami and Dan for opening their home. Thanks to Tami for risking her china & fine decorations, and for providing some wonderful teas for sampling! Finally, thanks to all of you who were able to attend, and who brought so many delicious foods for the feast.

I have posted my photos to a web-site that is open for viewing and downloading the originals, simply click on the image below to open the online photo album. If you then click on a photo, there will be an option, in highlighted text, underneath the image for downloading the original. Be aware that each file is between four and five megabytes, so a broadband connection is suggested for downloading. You can also order prints from the site, but as I have never opted to do this, I can't make a comment on the quality.

If you were at the family gathering, please help to correct my photo labels! When you visit the online album, review the comments and let me know where I've made mistakes and where I've simply forgotten. I should have carried my notepad, but I, um, forgot.

Finally, if you have photos from the event that you would be willing to to share, please contact me.


Shown above: Patti's extended family (click the image to see more photos).