Tombstone Tuesday - Martha Ann Browning Cooley, and Bits and Pieces

It's Tombstone Tuesday and today I feature a tombstone that is close to my heart -- that of my aunt Martha Ann Browning.

Martha was born in Crawford Co., Illinois on 16 Oct 1934 to my grandparents Virgil Browning and Beulah Garrard.  She was their only child until my father came along in 1941. 

I've written in more detail about my aunt Martha 

and my feelings about her in a previous post about my grandmother's life.  You can read it here if you wish so I'll be brief.

Martha was a bright child and a rosy-cheeked girl.  She made friends easily and was the life of the party when she was around people.  She sang in the choir and when she was in high school, about 1952 or so, someone made a record of one of her songs that I think my father still has.  I've heard it and she had a beautiful singing voice.  Funny, my dad does too.  I wish I could say I inherited that!

She married Oral Oval Cooley on 7 Jun 1953 in Robinson in Crawford County.   All the pictures I've seen of the pair look like they were very much in love and my aunt Martha was all aglow.  She became pregnant at the age of 19 and gave birth to a son on 30 August 1955.  All was not well with her, though, and she began to show complications immediately after the birth.  She developed a fever and died at the Allen Sanitarium (a hospital in Robinson IL) three days later due to hemorraging from the birth.

I've posted my favorite picture of my aunt Martha here.  She is a real beauty.  I see my grandma and my dad in her and she's just....oh, I don't know.  Doesn't she just GLOW?  Her beauty is within. 

I wish I'd known her. 

Now to the bits and pieces:

I'll be going on a genealogical trip to Little Rock in a few days along with a friend of mine. Her great-grandfather was murdered there in 1929 and we'll be hitting all the sweet spots when we're there. We'll go to the Arkansas History Commission and the Arkansas County courthouse in Stuttgart. We hope to hit Dewitt (where the murder occurred) and maaaybe even make it to a cemetery or three. For my part, I will be investigating the Strickler family (one of my daughter's lines) who moved to Washington Co., AR from Sullivan Co., TN in the 1830's.  I hope to find some wills and other goodies.  Our daughters (both age 19) are coming with us so it'll be a girl's weekend as well!

My love affair with OneNote is in full swing. I'm putting records in there and seeing it all come together and I'm really liking it so far. I can feel that this will be a big bonus for my work.

I'm also in heaven -- I've recently found Ohio Probate Records online at Familysearch!!!!

None are indexed and the image count is sky-high but I've been spending my time going through each and every image in the counties of Harrison, Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Jefferson and Washington. As you can imagine this is a tedious and time consuming undertaking. Weeks even! But that's okay -- it must be done because there's no way I'll be getting to any of these counties soon (and even if I did, I'd have to spend days in the courthouses there pouring through the records!)

So -- if my presence is a bit spotty I'm not checking out of here, I'm hopefully adding more information to my arsenal.  I've already found some real gems in the OH records that I want to explore.

Oh, and ok....I've also experienced a D'OH moment of epic genealogical fail proportions, so much so that I don't even want to admit to it here for fear that I'll have to turn in my genealogist card and go sit in the back of the class.

*sigh* I'll make myself do it. Just not now. Haha!

Research Plans are my Weekend Plans

First, thanks to everyone for all the kind comments about my newfound brother.  It's a great adventure I'm embarking on!

My plans this weekend are to spend some time revamping all my files.  It's the first step to getting to the point I want to be at with my research on Samuel Browning.  I've been using OneNote a long time to keep my personal files in order (as well as using it as a gathering receptacle for random notes about families I found while cruising the Internet) and I really wanted to find a way to incorporate it into my daily genealogical life.  However, it seemed so overwhelming.

I ran across this article and this article on mahoganybox.net a few days ago about OneNote.  I read it and re-read it and decided to give her suggestions a try.  I downloaded her Research Log and Research Notes templates and played with them a while until I got them into a format I was comfortable with.  I redid all my random notes into different notebooks by surname and made sure to attach the Document tab she suggested to each of them.  Lastly, I began a chronology report on Samuel and his wife Margaret and synced it to SkyDrive via the new Outlook email that will soon replace Hotmail.

All this is 'a lot accomplished' for me, with 'much more to be accomplished' this weekend.  I am tired of running about like a headless chicken chasing tails I've already chased.   This weekend I'm ready to begin the task of moving everything over and consolidating it into one streamlined system.  I'm excited to do it and I can't wait to see results with it.

Heck, I'm already seeing results!  As I did the chronology and placed source materials in for reference, I saw exactly what else I needed to research and what my current sources were.  No more headless chickening!  I can go back through the work I've already done and fill in missing details.  I love it!

Lastly, I have a bewildering amount of original source documents that can be inserted into OneNote and I can FINALLY see all of them in one place, in one file, without scratching my head trying to remember where I put things, where I filed them, what they say (I can translate underneath) or who gave them to me.  I can access these things in the cloud and all my data will be a lot safer than just being on my PC and external HDs.  I've told myself I needed to do this for a long time -- I'm just doing it.  Nike should be proud of me.  Ha!

Tech and I aren't the best of friends -- meaning I don't have the new 'gadgets.'  I live on a very limited budget and so I don't have or want a smartphone (I have the internet ALL AROUND ME at all times, I can't justify the cost lol!) or a tablet PC. I had a laptop back in the 90's but that one was given to me, and I'd take another older one if someone would give it to me free (ha!)  My computers are all over 5 years old (luckily I know enough about them to fix them when I need to) and my parents always buy the latest thing and pass the older ones down to me anyway.   I have a old Dell Axim x51v that I flashed to use Windows Mobile 5 and I put Pocket Genealogist on it and carry my database with me that way.   Yeah, I'm old school.

I've used TMG (The Master Genealogist) as my genealogical database program of choice since 1993 and have no intentions of switching. It is a fantastic genealogy program with loads of personalizing options and high caliber reporting capabilities. I know that some of what I plan to do with OneNote could probably be done within TMG but I guess that I don't 1) have the patience to get into the learning curve with it and 2) I like the inherent 'feel' of the file cabinet/file folder idea of OneNote. One is my database, the other my filing system.

I am a happy genealogist!

I'm Baaaaaaack......

Back from Ohio, that is!

I've found many an interesting discovery and I can't wait to have the time to sit and transcribe my findings. Unfortunately I have tedious drudgery like working to put food on my table. How dare that get in the way of my genealogy!

Seriously, updates will come as soon as I can put fingers to keyboard. I look forward to exploring my findings here on this blog.

Monday Madness - You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto...

One of the things I hope to solve when I go to Ohio on Wednesday is a little matter that's been niggling at me for years -- a correct surname. Dickerson or Dickinson? The jury is still out.

I thought I had this surname figured out when I found the marriage indexed in the Tuscarawas County, Ohio marriage records. There it was, clear as day:

Browning, Samuel - Sarah Ann DICKERSON 4 Oct 1849

For a year or so I took that at face value. That was before I got around to ordering the marriage itself from the courthouse; I was finally concentrating on researching Samuel and Sarah's descendants. When I got the license, it looked like this:

Yeah. Horrid. Absolutely horrid. So I wrote it down as a "need to get a new copy" on my to-do list. The last time I was in Ohio, in August, I went to the courthouse and pulled up the record on the microfilm reader. Voila, it was in the same shape! The ladies there informed me that the original records -- being old and delicate -- had been microfilmed and then sent off to the Tuscarawas Genealogical Society for safekeeping. I was told it was in Dennison and that there were odd hours. The hours that it was open didn't correspond to my remaining time in Ohio and as a result, I left without getting a copy.

It's obvious that I really need to see that marriage license. It's important because our Samuel here (Sam Jr., who is Samuel and Margaret's son) married Sarah Ann and they had three children together (Effie Emmaline, George, and Samuel) before she died, between 1858-1860. Samuel then remarried a woman named Julia Ann Dickinson in November of 1860.

After Samuel's death in 1862 his children with Sarah became the wards of George W. Dickinson. By all accounts this George W. was either Julia Ann's brother or cousin. Now George's mother's name was Effie Emmaline. Hm, the same as Samuel and Sarah's daughter -- coincidence? Also, George's father was also named George Dickinson Is it another coincidence that Samuel and Sarah's son's name was George Browning? I wondered about the names and wondered why Samuel's children would become wards of the unrelated second wife's Dickinsons and not the Brownings....unless they were also related to his first wife Sarah? So, maybe Sarah's name isn't Dickerson after all?

Or....wait. Yes, perhaps it was Dickerson. See, Samuel and Sarah raised a boy named John Christy (b. c1843) in their household from about 1850 until Samuel's death. This little boy might've been the orphaned son of a couple who were married in Tuscarawas County in 1842 -- John Christy and Julia Dickerson. Gahhhhhh! But wait, this typed marriage was also as badly microfilmed as Samuel and Sarah's was, and it might read Dickinson too? Yeah, I'll be checking that one too if I possibly can.

It should be easy to rule out one surname but to complicate matters, there were Dickinson and Dickerson families in Harrison County, Ohio at the same time. It could be either. All I do know is that it was the Dickinsons that were taking care of the Browning kids after their parents' deaths.

Hopefully I'll learn more in a few days. I've made it a point to schedule time for a visit at the Society, with cousins that I have never met yet! We're making it a first meet/breakfast/go see records session that I'm looking forward to.

I hope the Society will allow me to view the original marriage record and at least snap a photo of it. So please everyone, pray with me that the genealogical gods look upon me favorably and I get the chance to do that. If not, perhaps the ladies there will view it for me and at least tell me if it's DickINson or DickERson!

Talking To Myself.....or, the Endless Browning Circle

I've been thinking the past few days about my recent post and in doing so something heretofore unseen jumped out at me. I can't help but think that kind of thing is another important reason to blog about genealogically related struggles. Writing it down and seeing it in virtual black and white sometimes helps clear those cobwebs.

I noticed I said that Lemuel Browning had lived in Brooke County, WV, and had married a woman named Caroline Beck.

Beck!

Could it be? Could this Caroline from Brooke County have ANY connection whatsoever to the James Beck I posted about a week or so ago? The James Beck who was asserted to be the father of Washington, whose mother was Samuel's daughter Julia? The James Beck who Samuel took to court to sue for child support? And if so, doesn't this place one more point of circumstantial evidence linking my Browning family to the members of the Browning family I mentioned in my previous post here, whose roots were lodged in Brooke County WV and before that, Frederick County, Maryland?

There is much Browning research in W. M. Hurley's 1998 book, Browning Families (Primarily Of Montgomery County, Maryland.) In it, Hurley places Jeremiah Browning (b. c1744, son of Edward Jr) and his wife Cassandra as the parents of six children: 1) Jeremiah Jr (who married Catherine Mansfield), 2) Lewis b. c1766 (married Margaret Phillips), 3) Joseph, 4) Elizabeth, 5) Cassandra (m. Seth Clarke) and 6) Rachel (m. Richard Foster.)

The Lewis mentioned above had three children: 1) John Fletcher Browning (b.1799), 2) Lemuel Browning (b. 1801, m. Caroline Beck) and 3) Lewis Jr (b. c1807, m. Margaret.)

The deeds I have in Harrison County definitely refer to Lemuel, but Lewis is still a bit of a mystery. It seems there were three Lewis Brownings, all alive at the time, and ALL married women named Margaret!

Two of the Lewis Brownings are the ones mentioned above. The last is connected to another Browning family in Hurley's book that intrigues me: the family of Meshach Browning. Meshach says that his grandfather William (b 1710) lived with his son, John, one of Meshach's uncles. Meshach's parents were Joshua Browning and Nancy Farmer. The book says that the couple had children (Meshach being one of them) but only four are mentioned, with birthdates c1769 (Dorcas), c1773 (Joshua Jr) , c1775 (Jeremiah) and 1781 (Meshach).

This family is interesting because Joshua Jr. married Cassandra Farmer and moved to Licking County, Ohio. He had children, one of whom (Jeremiah) was the father of Van Browning, the man who moved to Crawford County, Illinois! And one of Van's brothers was Lewis Browning, who married Margaret Heff.

I wonder sometimes if Joshua and Nancy had another son.....John. If they did, that John (b. c.1771?) would be the right age to be my Samuel's father. AND it would cement the Licking County connection.

Ever wish you could play Calvin and Hobbes and use the Time Machine that Calvin built out of a cardboard box to go back in time? I know where I'd go.....

Madness Monday - The Possible Progenitor, John Browning

The most solid of all my brick walls (it feels like the Great Wall sometimes!) is the question: Is John Browning the father of Samuel Browning? And if so, how do I prove that he is?

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Samuel (b. c1796 MD) may possibly be the son of John Browning, who is found in the 1820 and 1830 censuses of Harrison County. In the 1820 census John, who is listed as living in Cadiz Township and as aged 45 and over, is living with a female (probably his wife) who is also 45 and over. They are living within a six household radius of Samuel and his wife Margaret. This John is shown with three males -- one under the age of 10, one aged 16 to 18, and one aged 16 to 25; and six females – two under the age of 10, three aged 10 to 15, and one aged 16 to 25.

In 1830 John Browning is shown living in Freeport Township aged 50 to 59, with a wife also aged 50 to 59. They are shown with three children: a boy aged 15 to 19 and two girls, one aged 10 to 14 and the other aged 15 to 20.

Taken as a whole, these two censuses show that both John and his unnamed wife were born between the years 1771-1775. As Samuel was born around the year 1796, the possibility exists that he is their son.

A search for possible siblings of Samuel's unearthed a number of prospects. Early Harrison County marriage records provide evidence of the marriages of at least five Browning women. A Polly Browning married James Graham and Margaret Browning married Richard Medley, both in 1826. A Wilsey Browning intended to marry John Thomas in 1830 but although a license was issued, no marriage took place. A Hannah Browning married Thomas Drake in 1837. Lastly, a Cassa Browning married Alfred Calvert in 1841. It is uncertain, however, whether any of these women were siblings or other relatives of Samuel's.

In the 1820 census, another Browning is also within the same six household radius and on the same page as Samuel and John in Cadiz Township; William, aged 16 to 26. William is shown with another male aged 16 to 26 and a female, most probably his wife, aged 26 to 45. Harrison County marriage records contain the entry of a marriage of a William Browning to a Hannah Barr on 1 December 1818, and it is possible that this William may be a brother to Samuel and another younger son of John.

By 1840, neither John nor his wife are found on the census records of Harrison County nor have they been located in any neighboring counties. It could be assumed that both died between the years 1830-1840, but this assumption has never been proven. Efforts to further locate John Browning have so far proved fruitless.

There is also slight evidence to suggest that Samuel may have had relatives in Licking County, Ohio. Two of Samuel's sons, Asbury Taylor and John Wesley Francis, married Corderman women in Crawford County. The David Corderman family had come from Pennsylvania and had settled in Jacksontown Township in Licking County in the late 1830's. They had then moved on to Crawford County, where two of David's daughters, Matilda and Minerva, married into the Browning family. Minerva Corderman Browning, Asbury's widow, stated in her Civil War soldier's widow's pension application that she had known Asbury from an early age. She stated that she had "always knew him since he was a small boy."

If her statement is accepted as true and Asbury and Minerva had known each other as children, then Samuel Browning and his family may have made trips to Licking County to visit relatives. The Browning families in and around Licking County in the early 1840's – specifically those of Asa and Jeremiah Browning of Union Township -- may have been relatives of Samuel's. Samuel's supposed father, John Browning, might have been a brother or cousin to one of these men. While this is unproven, the presence of Van Browning in Crawford County (a known son of Jeremiah of Licking County) during the same time period as Samuel also lends some support to the connection between the Brownings of Licking County and the family of Samuel Browning.
Pat and I searched for years. I wish I could figure out what it was.

I've looked in early Harrison County records….I've had a researcher I hired do it and I did it myself back in August. No John. No will for any John Browning exists in Harrison County or Tuscarawas County for the right time period. There IS a John Browning in Tuscarawas in 1899 but I have a copy of that will and that is another family entirely. I have looked at Carol Bell's "Wills To 1850" and there is no John recorded there either. I found a Jeremiah Browning in Jefferson County and I ordered and received his estate papers. What there is does not plainly refer to any names that would connect with mine, though I keep it filed away because of the Jeremiah in Licking County that I mentioned earlier. I plan to travel to Jefferson County myself in a few weeks and do another round of research. I prefer to see these sorts of things with my own eyes, if you know what I mean?

One more thing. Early Harrison County deed records show at least three other Browning men that, as far as I can now determine, do not connect with me. (That's not to say they don't….I just haven't proven anything yet!)
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25 Dec 1817: Joseph FRY to Lewis Browning -- This deed was between Joseph Fry and Amelia (Permilia) his wife of Harrison County on the one part, and Lewis Browning of Brooke Co., VA (now WV)on the other.

31 Mar 1834: William TINGLEY to Lewis Browning -- bill in chancery court against Frederick SALMON, for the right to sell his lands to pay Browning back for debts owed now that Salmon is considered a lunatic.

13 May 1835: Lewis BROWNING to Isaac Weldon, Sr. -- This deed was between Lewis Browning of Brooke County, VA (now WV) on the one part, and Isaac Weldon Sr. of Harrison County on the other. Witness: Joseph FRY, Justice of the Peace.

4 Jan 1836: Rees JONES, Daniel SPRINGER and others to Lewis Browning for the use of Emelia Salmon -- This deed was between Rees Jones and Jane his wife, Daniel Springer and Jane his wife of Harrison County on the one part, and Lemuel Browning of Lewis Browning of Brooke Co VA (now WV) on the other, for the use of Emelia Salmon of Harrison County.

25 Oct 1836: Isaac WELDON to Lemuel Browning -- This deed was between Isaac Weldon and Elizabeth his wife of Harrison County on the one part, and Lemuel Browning of Harrison County on the other. Joseph FRY was Justice of the Peace.

20 Jun 1837: William BUKEY to Ellis & Jones -- This deed was between William Bukey and Susannah his wife of Ohio County, VA on the one part, and Ellis D. Jones and Lemuel Browning of Harrison County on the other.

19 Aug 1837: Jonathan PEOPLES to Jones & Browning -- This deed was between Jonathan Peoples and Mahala his wife of Harrison County on the one part, and Ellis D. Jones and Lemuel Browning of Harrison County on the other.

1 Sep 1837: John STRADLING to Jeremiah Browning -- This deed was between John Stradling and Sarah his wife of Short Creek, Harrison County OH on the one part, and Jeremiah Browning of Jefferson County OH on the other.

21 Mar 1838: Lewis BROWNING to Amelia Salmon: This deed was between Lewis Browning of Brooke Co, VA (now WV) on the one part, and Amelia Salmon of Harrison County on the other.

2 Apr 1838: Jeremiah BROWNING to James Roberts -- This deed was between Jeremiah Browning and Catherine his wife of Steubenville, Jefferson County, OH on the one part, and James Roberts of Harrison County on the other.

18 Aug 1838: Lemuel BROWNING, et al. to John NEBLICK -- This deed was between Ellis D. Jones and Mary his wife and Lemuel Browning and Caroline his wife of Harrison County, OH on the one part, and John Neblick of Harrison County on the other.

15 Oct 1838: Lemuel BROWNING to Lewis Browning -- This deed was between Lemuel Browning of Harrison County on the one part and Lewis Browning of Brooke Co, VA (now WV) on the other part.

15 Aug 1840: Lewis BROWNING to Samuel Wilson: This deed was between Lewis Browning and Margaret his wife of Brooke County, VA (now WV) on the one part, and Samuel Wilson of Freeport, Harrison County on the other.

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These deed records show that throughout the period of 1818-1838, a few Browning men were buying and selling land in Harrison County. Lewis was living in WV, and the Jeremiah I mentioned earlier in Jefferson County. He was there as early as 1815 and died around 1843 -- his wife's name was Catherine Mansfield. Lemuel Browning was the son of Lewis and Margaret (Phillips) Browning (the other buyer of land) of Frederick Co., MD/Brooke Co WV. He was born about 1805 in Frederick Co., MD and married Caroline Beck on 15 Feb 1825 in Brooke Co., WV. Caroline was born about 1815. They lived in Harrison Co. OH c1837, but moved to Warren Twn., Jefferson Co., OH by 1850.

My Samuel was born in Maryland. I just HAVE to fit in here somewhere; that's my 'gut' instinct talking of course. I still haven't figured it out after all these years.

(Not At All) Wordless Wednesday -- Browning vs. Beck (1837)

The trial I've mentioned in a couple of recent postings (see the post below about my first trip to OH!) will be my focus this evening. This trial was recorded in two parts of the October AD 1837 term of the Harrison County OH Common Pleas court -- on Saturday, October 28th (Vol. D, pg. 131) and Monday, October 30th (Vol. D, pg. 132.) . It was officially called "Samuel Browning vs. James Beck" on page 131.

This case was originally located by a researcher I'd hired years ago.

A transcription of the case (which is at left) follows:

OCTOBER TERM AD 1837
Saturday, October 28th, AD 1837

SAMUEL BROWNING vs. JAMES BECK:

CASE: This day came the parties by their counsel, and being at issue the following jury was called and came to wit; Zadoc Bliss, James D. Anderson, George Baker, Silvanus Lamb, Elzy Chansy, Peter Barger, Samuel Boland, Alexander Beall, John Layport, Robert Guinea, Ephraim Johnson, William Barrett, who were duly impannelled, tried, sworn and affirmed to try the aforesaid issue between the said Samuel Browning Plaintiff and James Beck Defendant, and after hearing the evidence adduced and arguments of counsel, as well on part of the plaintiff as the defendant do on their respective oaths & affirmations, say that the said James Beck is guilty in manner & form as the said Samuel Browning above in his declarations hath complained against him, and that they assess the damages the plaintiff hath sustained by reason of the promises at the sum of one hundred dollars.

The court adjourned until 8 o'clock on Monday morning.

At this point in the case, the only reason given for the assessment of $100 against James Beck is "damages" of unknown origin and the details of his guilt are not explained. It appears that this issue was brought up before the 28th, though -- something I intend to look up in the Common Pleas Journal again on my next trip to see if it was!

A page later, on 132, we find the Court re-adjourning. Now the case is entitled "State of Ohio on complaint of Samuel (Samuel is crossed out) Julia Ann Browning vs. James Beck."

Julia? In October of 1837, Samuel's daughter Julia was a single girl, 17 years old. She was Samuel and Margaret's firstborn daughter and was not married until 1843, a full six years after the date of the trial. Why would she be involved? I read the first words of the case and everything suddenly made sense.

OCTOBER TERM AD 1837
Monday morning, 8 o'clock, October 30th, AD 1837
Court met pursuant to adjournment present the same judges as on Saturday the 28th of October instant.

STATE OF OHIO on complaint of (SAMUEL) JULIA ANN BROWNING , vs. JAMES BECK:
BASTARDY: This day came the parties by their attorneys, and the motion for a new trial in this case having been submitted to the court, and the court being duly advised in the premises, do overrule said motion. And the court do thereupon adjudge the said James Beck the Defendant to be the reputed Father of said bastard child and do order that the said James Beck stand charged with the maintenance thereof as follows to wit: that he pay to the clerk of this court for the time being for the use of the mother of said child or other person having the care or maintenance thereof the sum of fifty-four dollars. And also that he pay weekly into the hands of the clerk of this court for the time being for the use aforesaid the sum of seventy-five cents for the period of five years from the expiration of the term of this court, provided the said weekly payments shall cease in case of the death of the said child, and it is further considered and ordered by the court that the said James Beck pay the costs of this prosecution. And that the said James Beck give Bonds to the Clerk of this court with security to be by him approved conditioned for the performance of the aforesaid orders, and that he stand committed to the Jail of the County until such security be given.
The Defendant by his counsel thereupon gave notice of his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.

A child support case! Ah ha!!!! A tumbler clicked into place and the identity of a mystery grandson named Washington living with Samuel and Margaret in the 1850 census of Harrison County was finally solved. I'd first thought he was another child of Samuel and Margaret's, possibly a twin brother of Ezra C. 'Zera' Browning. Later -- when I found Washington's gravestone with the inscription, "Grandson of S&M Browning" -- I wondered which child of Samuel and Margaret was his parent. At first I assumed (yes, I know, silly me!) that Wash was a son of one of the elder sons of Samuel and Margaret because his last name was Browning! I calculated Wash's age and looked at all the marriage dates of the boys but found nothing that would match or make any sense as to why Wash was with Samuel and Margaret and not his parents. I recall considering Julia briefly but without any seriousness.

I learned my lesson when this case was located.

I have been told that in the 1830's, the state of Ohio encouraged mothers of illegitimate children to come forth and prosecute the fathers of their children. Apparently the state provided some form of support for these children but if -- and only if -- the fathers could not be found and made to support their offspring themselves. I do not know how accurate this information is, but it certainly makes the reason for this prosecution a little bit clearer.

I began to do some research on the defendant in the case, James Beck -- the man accused and found guilty of being Washington's father (though how they determined this back then I have no idea!) James had to pay an upfront fee of $54 plus a sum to the court of $.75 a week for support for either five years or until Washington died. He also had to pay court costs. Added up, this amounts to well over $154 for the trial and for the judgement! That was a lot of money in 1837.

Note the last sentence: "The Defendant by his counsel thereupon gave notice of his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court." It is this sentence which interests me so much and is a focus of my further research during my upcoming trip. I'd like to know if James pursued it.

I located a James Beck living four doors down from Samuel and Margaret in Moorefield Township in Harrison County in 1830. This James had one male under 5, one male 20-29, one male 70-79, one female 15-19 and one female 20-29. I'm not sure if this is the correct James Beck family and of course we can't determine from this list whether or not this is a 20-something James with a wife, son, father and sister or sister-in-law living with him or not. No James Beck is found in 1840.

Washington's mother Julia was an...interesting....woman in her own right. She was obviously sneaking off as a teenager and whatever the circumstances were, she became pregnant while still unmarried. She either gave Washington to her parents or they required her to leave him with them (though to date, no adoption/guardianship papers have been found) for in 1850 when Washington is enumerated with Samuel and Margaret, Julia is in neighboring Tuscarawas County living with her husband John Hoy, their two children Samuel and William, and is pregnant with her fourth child, Josephine. Julia and John were rooming with Julia's sister Margaret and her husband, John's younger brother James Hoy.

By 1855, Julia had moved to Crawford County, Illinois. She was living with her parents and her husband John is nowhere to be found. Her sons Samuel and William Hoy are with her, but her daughter Josephine and husband John were dead. By 1860 Julia had married again in Crawford County to James E. Melton Legg and they are living with Melton's four children, but Julia's two older sons William and Samuel Hoy are once again living with their grandparents.

In 1869, Julia dies. She is buried in the Wesley Chapel Cemetery in Montgomery Township, Crawford County, Illinois. Her tombstone is to the left. She rests next to her parents, siblings, and one other; her illegitimate son, Washington.

The subject of the case -- Washington -- was born on 24 March 1837. Julia was 16. Washington lived with his grandparents his whole life as far as I have been able to ascertain.

Washington moved to Crawford County, Illinois with Samuel and Margaret and died on 4 June 1854 at the age of 18, less than a month before his aunt Sarah Ann Browning. Sarah died on 1 July 1854. There was an outbreak of yellow fever between the years of 1852-1854 in Crawford County. Perhaps Washington and his aunt Sarah were two of its victims.

Coincidence?

I'm preparing to go to northwestern OH in the next three weeks for a well-deserved respite. I'm sooooo excited! It's a dual purpose trip -- half is a visit with family, the other half a research trip. For the next couple of weeks my posts will be lighter here since I'll have to use the two precious hours I have in the evening after work to pour over my decades' worth of notes/papers/clutter, etc., and decide what things are most important for me to research while I'm there.

Before I do, though, I simply must say something about serendipity.

When I began research on my Browning family back in the early 1990's my immediate family was only partially interested. My grandmother was quite interested, my parents were somewhat interested, and my younger brother not at all. He was a world traveller who at first never intended to settle down. He eventually married but his wife was cut from the same cloth that he was. They established a company that could travel with them and traveled all over, living in poorer countries and in remote locations for months on end.

A few years ago they finally decided to put down roots and when they did, they decided to focus on an area of the country within a few hours drive of a city that they did a lot of business in every year. They did a search on the Net and eventually chose a place that had one of the lowest crime statistics and median home prices they could find in the area. They moved there and searched for a house, finally finding a lovely turn of the century home for a very good price. Soon thereafter he and I were talking about his choice and he asked me if I'd ever heard of the city he chose. When he told me the name, my heart skipped a beat.

Heard of it? HEARD OF IT? Had I ever! By a fluke of fate he'd chosen a place in OH about an hour away from the ancestral home of the Browning family! Our Brownings had settled in and around Tippecanoe and Deersville in Harrison County, OH in the early 1800's and had lived there until around 1851 when they moved on to Crawford County, IL.

I was struck then by the sense that a circle had semi-closed and I still think about it now. My own desire to return to Crawford County pulls at me all the time. I wonder about the choice my brother made and if it had been simple coincidence or something more. Synchronicity, perhaps? He didn't know his ancestors had lived there; he just chose it out of a hat. Or did it choose him?

Regardless, I'm thrilled to have a family member live so close to the area where our Brownings lived. I'm able to stay with him and visit while I do research. I'm so looking forward to this second trip there because I intend to tie up many loose ends that I didn't get a chance to try to tie up on my first trip there. That first trip -- last August -- was with my parents and my daughter and it was more a 'vacation' than a research trip. I couldn't simply take off all day doing research because there were other people to consider. Not so on this trip! That's why I need to do some proper preparation.

On this upcoming trip I have two things on the agenda for sure. One, I'll get to meet one of Samuel Browning's other descendants -- our ancestors were brother and sister -- and I look forward to being able to take a picture of the oval-framed old picture he has of my Samuel's son-in-law. Two, I intend to stop off at the State Archives in Columbus and try to find out if a court case that Samuel and his daughter Julia filed against a man named James Beck in 1837 actually did go to the Ohio Supreme Court. At the conclusion of the Harrison County trial, Beck mentioned his intent to take it there. I'd like to see if he did.

I should write about the trial and my last trip to OH back in August before I go on this one because that one had a few coincidental moments, genealogically speaking, as well. I'll do that this evening if I can find the time.