Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

A Thanksgiving menu from my father's Army days in Germany. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Matrilineal Monday - Lucinda McGonnigal

Lucinda McGonnigil is my third-great grandmother on my mother's side. She has the dubious distinction of having a last name that can be spelled a thousand ways, which has made research of her line a joy. She was born March 5, 1851 in Camden, Ray County, Missouri to Colonel Henderson McGonnigil and Mary Ellen Akers. She was the first of six children.

Colonel McGonigil is listed as a day laborer and a shop keeper. During the Civil War he was a bugler for the 6th Regiment Calvary Missouri State Militia. The family lived in Ray County, with a brief stint in Independence, Missouri in the 1860s. I have not been able to find any records for Colonel or Mary McGonnigil past 1870. I have not found them on the 1880 census, but their younger children were living with siblings so it can be assumed they had already passed.

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Lucinda married James Madison Thomas on October 23, 1870. (Her sister Mary married her brother-in-law, Eli, in 1875). The couple had eight children, but I have only found seven.

James was a coal miner and Lucinda was a housewife. Lucinda and James had to deal with quite a lot of pain in their lifetime. They lost one child at a young age, another son Roller died at age 14 due to an accident, and their son Russell died at 29 from tuberculosis. But I know little else of Lucinda.

She lived in Camden, Missouri, other than that short stint in Independence, her whole life and died there of liver failure on January 26, 1912. She is buried in Camden Cemetery, Camden, Missouri.

Due outs for Lucinda:
1. Look for an obituary
2. Request a photo of her headstone through Findagrave.com
3. Try to determine what church the family attended and look for records there.

Other McGonnigil posts:
Surname Saturday - Megonnigil

Follow Friday - Favorites for November 22, 2013

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

Check out MIT's amazing 3D gizmo

Taking a toddler to the museum: Why bother?

Native American code talkers receive Congressional Gold Medals

The last widow of the great war

Goodbye to the splendid 1930s world of Poirot

Penny reunites family members

Spanish-American war Soldiers' memorial at ABT UNK

Much ado about Benita and art nouveau at Many Branches, One Tree

Evernote tips at Angler's Rest

Four free websites to find old maps

Tracking down the owners of items left in a thrift store dresser

The creation of Gettysburg National Cemetery

The technology that carried news of President Kennedy's assassination

San Francisco, before and after the 1906 fire

Wordless Wednesday - Race car drivers

Little race car drivers: my mom, uncle and aunt.

Matrilineal Monday - Elizabeth Riffe

Elizabeth Riffe is my third-great grandmother on my maternal side. She was born in Ray County, Missouri on May 20, 1875 to Isaac and Martha (Good) Riffe. Her grandparents, Jacob Riffe and Ruth Martin, were the first couple married in Ray County and her great-grandfather, Isaac Martin, was a pioneer settler in the County. Isaac Riffe was a carpenter and wagon maker. The couple had five children.

Isaac served in the Civil War, assigned to the 4th Missouri Volunteer Infantry (Confederate). Martha Riffe died in 1880 leaving Isaac with five children under 12. This is also about the time that Isaac disappears from record. I can find no trace of his death. It can be presumed that he died early which could be one reason why his daughter, Elizabeth, married at age 15.

 

On March 20, 1890 Elizabeth married George Tate Dudgeon in Ray County. The couple were farmers near Millville, Missouri for the rest of their lives.



Sadly, I do not know much about Lizzie. But I am blessed to have a couple of photos of her.

A four-generation photo, probably taken around 1938. Lizzie is on the right.

Lizzie, right, with her daughter Minnie Lee.

Lizzie died on January 20, 1944 and was buried next to her husband in the New Hope Cemetery, near Millville, Missouri.

Due-outs:
- Find Civil War record for Isaac Riffe
- Find obituary for Elizabeth Riffe

Sources:

Missouri Historical Company. History of Ray County, Missouri. St. Louis: 1881. Accessed at Ray County, Missouri GenWeb page.

Surname Saturday - Thomas Jefferson Burnett

Thomas Jefferson Burnett is my third-great grandfather on my father's maternal side. He was September 20, 1835 in Henry County, Missouri to Isham and Anna (Hall) Burnett. He was the tenth of thirteen children.

Isham and Anna Burnett were originally from Virginia and migrated to Missouri prior to 1820...it would have still been a territory when they arrived. The Burnetts were farmers and Isham owned his own land in Henry County, which is just north of I-70 close to Columbia. He then owned land  in Henry County, which is closer to the western side of the state.

By 1850, Isham Burnett has died and Anna Burnett has moved the family to Warrensburg, Missouri. Her family owns land and her oldest sons appear to run it. On March 24, 1858 Thomas Burnett married Harriett Potts. The couple had 8 children. Harriett died in infancy and Mattie died at age three.

Thomas served in the Civil War, and eventually received a pension from his time assigned to Company B, 27th Missouri Mounted Infantry. This amount of service was only for 5 months, however Thomas' obituary states that he "gave some of the best years of his life" to the Civil War. I'm not sure if that indicates service in more than one unit or just a writer's embellishment. It is possible that he may have served in several units.

The family lived in Henry County and Cass County before settling in Johnson County. Thomas was a farmer by trade and also served as Justice of the Peace for several years. He died March 13, 1905 in Kingsville, Missouri and was buried in Kingsville Cemetery, Kingsville, Missouri.

Printed in the Warrensburg Journal-Democrat, March 31, 1905, pg. 4

Like most of my third-great grandparents, I do not know much about Thomas Burnett the man. I can assume that he was forced to become a man early in life due to the early death of this father. He was certainly a well-known man in his community.

Due outs:
1. Research his military service to clarify dates.
2. Order Civil War pension

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Thomas is #9 on my list.

Follow Friday - Favorites for November 15, 2013

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

WWII infantry Soldier's treasures here and here at Pages from the Ancestry Binders

WWII Soldier slang

The real Jewish treasures of WWII

One veteran's tale at the Legal Genealogist

The bugle that sounded the end of the First World War

Finding genealogical clues in military mementos

Boy of 12 was Britain's youngest Great War soldier

Artist Jennifer Greenburg puts herself in the past

Colorized vintage photos make the past look like today

Vintage travel scenes from around the world

100-year-old wedding night advice

11 famous Mayflower descendants

A father's and daughter's hopes and dreams at Many Branches, One Tree