Surname Saturday - Tosh

I am related to the Tosh line through my mother's grandfather. This is one of my more difficult lines to trace as my relationship is through a female. This is also one of my lines that I am focusing on for 2012. I have found a lot of information online that "could" be linked to my Tosh line, but nothing concrete. Here is what I currently have:

Hugh Cleveland White, my 2nd Great Grandfather, died in 1948. His death certificate lists his parents as Marcellus White and Mary J. Tosh, both of Virginia. Mary J. Tosh married Marcellus White some time just prior to 1860.

Hugh C. White's parents as listed on his death certificate from July 25, 1948.

I also have a copy of Mary J. (Tosh) White's death certificate. Mary's birthplace is listed as Virginia and her parents as Thomas Tosh of Virginia and "don't know."

Mary J. (Tosh) White's death certificate from February 26, 1915.

So I've got a connection to a Thomas Tosh in Virginia. Mary J. (Tosh) White and her husband Marcellus lived in Ray County, Missouri from at least 1870 until their deaths. I was curious if any of the Tosh family members followed them and I found an image from the 1870 census listing a Thomas Tosh (of the appropriate age to be Mary's father) and some children: Cora, William, Ella, Henry and Norma. Both Mary and this Tosh family lived in Richmond Township, Ray County, Missouri.

1870 census

When I trace this Tosh "perhaps" ancestor back another ten years I find them in 1860 living in Roanoke County, Virginia. Thomas lives with his wife, Lucy, and the same children. This time Mary, age 25, is listed: Mary, Cora, William, Ella and Henry. There is also a mystery "Pennie."

1860 census

In a search on Mary J. Tosh on Ancestry I came across an 1850 census that lists Mary J. Tosh living in District 57, Roanoke, Virginia, with her father Thomas Tosh. Her future husband, Marcellus White, lives nearby in the same district.

1850 census

I am willing to wager that this is indeed "my" Mary. With that assumption in hand the trail runs cold. If I have the correct Thomas Tosh and he lived in 1870 in Ray County, Missouri, that is the last record of him. I can find no burial records and no further census records. When I conduct a search for Thomas Tosh in Roanoke County there is quite a bit of information. Apparently, Thomas Tosh was one of the first settlers of Roanoke. Unfortunately, he is not the correct generation to be the same person. I have found information stating that Thomas Tosh's son was Jonathan and that he is possibly the father of my Thomas Tosh, but to date there is no documentary proof of that relationship.

Tosh To-Do list:

1. Look for land records in Missouri for Thomas Tosh.

2. Review Ray County, Missouri newspapers for Thomas Tosh obituary.

3. Locate probate record for Jonathan Tosh and determine if it links him to Thomas Tosh.

4. Research Roanoke County, Virginia land records for Thomas Tosh.

Follow Friday - The Virginia Wall Story

During my visit home over the holidays my grandma loaned me a book. This was pretty amazing, as we had never shared books before. But my grandma knew that I would like this book because it had a genealogical flare and, most importantly, that flare included our family.

I'm referencing The Virginia Wall Story, a book by Bonnie Mitchell about Virginia Wall, a lifetime Missouri educator. Mitchell traces Virginia's life through the aid of her memories and diaries that she kept her entire life. The book traces a little bit of Miss Wall's family history and then follows her life as a high school educator.

Miss Wall was born in Morton a small hamlet in Ray County, Missouri, which is the small town that my grandma was born in. We are distantly related to Miss Wall...our joint ancestor is my 5th great-grandfather. But her stories from the 1920s through to today of life and educating in a small town are insights into my family and how they would have lived in the same town. Miss Wall was a high school English teacher at Chillicothe High School in Chillicothe, Missouri for 45 years. And while my mother went to a different small town high school, I can't help but think that the lifestyle would have been very similar to what Virginia writes about and now I have insight to my mother's school days that I didn't have before.

The best part for me about this book were the references to my own family. In 1951 Virginia was busy doing her usual singing for life's important events: "During Christmas break Virginia sang for a wedding at Morton Church and the next day she sang there again for the funeral of the bride's grandfather." This was my grandmother's wedding on December 31, 1951 and the funeral following was her grandfather, Claude Oran McGuire.

Virginia's family were farmers, like most of their neighbors. In the book she makes mention of my great grandparents, Clifton and Hazel White, as friends that rented a portion of the Wall family land. In August 1962 she mentions: "The next day Virginia and her mother made a trip to Richmond to visit friends and learned that Mr. Clifton White's mother had passed away. Mr. White was farming the Wall ground for Mary [Virginia's mother] and Virginia. On Sunday Virginia sang for the first service at church and then she and Mary went on to Hardin for dinner at the Rhodes home. That afternoon Virginia sang for Mrs. White's funeral at Morton Church."

In 1974 Virginia mentions the Whites again: "Late in February, Virginia received a letter from Clifton White in Morton. He had decided to build a new home on the property he had purchased from Mary and Virginia and learned he needed the original abstract. Virginia made a trip to Hardin to retrieve it from the lock box there. She was delighted that these friends would enjoy the lovely view she and her family had loved for so long when the Wall family lived there."

I know where that land is and I have been in the house built on it, one in which my great-uncle and great-aunt still live. But now I know who had that land before. Each mention is small, but altogether they mean genealogical gold. I've learned little details about my family that no amount of documentary research would find. It is mentioned in the book that Miss Virginia Wall was hesitant to write a book about herself...after all, who would read it? My answer to Miss Wall is anyone interested in the minute details of a person's or town's life...that is just about every genealogist I know.

Author's Note: Miss Wall was persuaded to write her life story because all proceeds from the sale of the book go to the not-for-profit foundation The Virginia Wall Scholarship Fund. For more information on the book or the scholarship fund write: Virginia Wall Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 463, Chillicothe, MO 64601.

Wordless Wednesday - Bruna McGuire

Bruna McGuire, date unknown, taken in Ray County, Missouri

Surname Saturday - Bodine

The first Bodine in my tree is Eliza Bodine (1815-1855). It is not clear where Eliza was born, some records state New Jersey and another source states Niles, New York. At some point, Eliza and her family migrated to Ohio as she married James Cutler October 16, 1840 in Plymouth, Richland County, Ohio. The couple had four children: Bertha (b. December 28, 1841), Robert Ervin (b. March 3, 1846), Mary Eliza (b. April 23, 1853), and Martin Reed (b. March 22, 1855). The large gaps between children lead me to believe that there were others that did not survive to adulthood. My line descends through Bertha.

Eliza Bodine Cutler's headstone, located in Pioneer Rest Cemetery, Richland County, Ohio.

Eliza Bodine Cutler died October 24, 1855. She is the first Bodine in my line and for all intents and purposes, the last. As part of my genealogy goals for 2012 I chose the Bodine line as one to research further. Many months ago I received a copy of the Genealogy and History of the Branch of the Bodine Family Founded by John Bodine, A Soldier of the Revolutionary War and a pioneer of the State of New Jersey, written by Maude Cutler Scholfield, a very distant cousin. This manuscript traces the Bodine line from my 3rd Great-grandmother's generation (Bertha) back to a Jean le Baudain, living in France during the 14th century. There is a nice bibliography to the manuscript and I have no doubt that Mrs. Scholfield did meticulous research, but I must always carve my own path. Utilizing her information as a starting point I will be looking to find proof of Eliza's birthplace, her parents and then more branches from there.

Ms. Scholfield's book states that Eliza was born in Niles, New York and that her parents were Peter Bodine and Susan Ervin. (Note that one of Eliza's children bears the middle name of "Ervin"). I found that Niles, New York is in Cayuga County. In a Google search I found the Cayuga County Historian's Office website which lists a "Family File" for the surname Bodine. I have already sent a request for a copy of the file. We'll see if I can track anything more down on the Bodines. Take that, genealogy goal.

Follow Friday - The State Historical Society of Missouri

Completely side-stepping my genealogy goals, I randomly came across The State Historical Society of Missouri in the course of my research yesterday. Nancy, who blogs at My Ancestors and Me, has been posting about the Civil War pension file she recently received. I have been really enjoying these posts because I have been comparing what Nancy received in her pension file to one I recently received myself. Her joy in going through the pension file also reminded me of the fun of receiving my own. Hence, I decided to see what other pension files I could order. (See how randomly my mind works?)

I came across Thomas J. Burnett, my third great-grandfather. Another Union Soldier that applied for and received a pension. I know very little about Thomas and in reviewing my information on him I found several Civil War service files that could be his. Before spending the money on a pension file, I decided to dig a little deeper on Thomas and see if I actually needed to order the file. I determined to find his obituary and see if it mentioned a Civil War unit. But I couldn't find it anywhere online and the newspapers for Kingsville, Johnson County, Missouri have not been digitized. Cue the State Historical Society of Missouri. As part of my research list I always check state historical societies to see what newspapers they have on microfilm. The Missouri society had many of the Johnson County newspapers on microfilm so I was in business. I won't be in Columbia, Missouri any time soon to do research so I looked in to their research options. They have a great Newspaper research option and the form is incredibly easy to use.

They also have many collections online to include historic Missouri photos and digitized newspapers. The site is definitely worth a look-see for those with Missouri ancestors. I'm glad sometimes that my mind works the way it does.

Wordless Wednesday - McGuire family

Virginia, Margaret, Florence (Coffman), Claude, Hazel and young Margaret McGuire, taken around 1930.

I'll jump on the Goal Wagon

Many of my fellow genealogy bloggers have been posting their goals for 2012 over the past week. At first I thought, "how silly...now everyone will know what you procrastinate on." But then I realized it is more about holding your own feet to the fire. As stated before, I have a serious case of genealogy ADD. There is something wonderful about just looking at my tree, picking a random branch and exploring. But there is also something uber unproductive about it. So I'll remember that it's a hobby, it's okay if I don't accomplish these (no one will take away my birthday), and it will provide me one of the things I need more than anything else: focus. So, here we go...
1. My grandmother's 80th birthday is in July and I would like to create some type of "life to this date" memento for her and her guests.

2. Finally order the two Sicilian films from the LDS that I have very much procrastinated on.

3. Research first hand accounts of migration from Virginia to Kentucky to Missouri. Many of my family lines made this trek, and while I have no way of knowing what precipitated their moves specifically, perhaps I can find some explanations in the accounts of other migrants.
4. Determine the origins of my Tosh, Bodine, Creed and Reece family lines.

5. Begin a study of occupations of my ancestors.
6. Actually write some posts for my Civil War Remembered series (and yes, this may mean "backdating." It's my blog and I can backdate if I want to.)

7. Change my blog layout. I'm bored.

8. Attempt to track down living relatives in order to locate photographs, stories, journals or just to share what I have.
Here we go. Not too many goals, let's be honest, I can't take that much structure. But I have 12 months to make some kind of dent in this. We'll see how it goes. I have also declared this the Year of Craft in my house. I constantly feel a need to create something, but very rarely act upon it. It's time to put a stop to that and crank out some quilts, embroidery, kids art projects, the list goes on and on and on. Here's to a productive year!