At a loss...

It's not like me to skip so many days without a post. I've been up to my eyes in documents, deeds and research for the last few days and when I sat down to write tonight... ideas just escape me right now.

So, in an attempt to clear my head and get all this under control I thought I'd put into words what all this stuff is around me, and then maybe I can see clearly what to do next and go for it. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees... right now I feel like I'm researching lots of stuff and don't have any idea where it's supposed to take me. Anyone else ever feel that way, or am I headed for a Genealogy burn out?

Maryland recently gave access to their property deeds on line for testing and I've been busily researching my Kidwell and Thomas families' records from the late 1600s to mid 1800s in Prince George's and Charles Counties. This research brought up a few questions about the information I received from another researcher years ago - research "facts" that I was always meaning to go back and source myself... We're talking about my 8th, 9th, 10 and even 11th Great-Grandfathers. I've found many deeds for the Kidwell family and have been copying, printing and attempting to make sense of them all with regards to the location of the properties, who sold what to whom and how the original 300+ acre plantation was split up - "gifted" to sons and sons-in-laws, etc. Not to mention that all important burial plot that is there somewhere and is actually mentioned in one of the deeds as part of it changed hands from the Kidwells back to the Thomas'. I don't get how on earth these people knew what they actually owned, with the measurements from a black oak to that river rock, 13 perches to this other tree... I suppose it worked, but I can't imagine trying to find this exact spot today. There are some interesting things I've come across, property changing hands between the Kidwells and the Sarrat/Surrat family AND deals between the Kidwells and the Mudd family... more on that later - if anything cool comes of it - ah more research to do!

I've got 30+ BMD records to get through, transcribe and enter into my software and neatly attach my England ancestors together. This would be my McCann, Smith, and Morris, lines, plus a new surname - Makepeace. Because I have the documents here in hand, I've been taking this project in small pieces just to take a break from doing research (and blogging).

I've also been trying to chase down an Aunt from the England McCann family who seems to have vanished after 1924, but before last week I didn't even know that she ever came to the US. Catherine McCann Aspin who came to the US in 1919 with her husband, James William Aspin, appears in a city directory in 1924 and then is no where to be found in the records - but, I know that she lived at least into the 1950s because my Mother went to her home when she was a child. I've reached out to another living Aunt of mine and also a 2nd cousin here in the US in an attempt to find out if someone knows anything about this lady and what ever became of her.

Finally, I've also been doing research work for one of my neighbors, who both happen to be from a very long line of local families so the information is fairly easy to get my hands on, but then I can't just hand them the documents, I need to get reports together for them, clearly source all the facts I've found and get this off my desk. This has taken a back seat to all other projects sitting here.

In the midst of this, there is the house to clean (not), meals to cook, 6 other people and a dog to take care of, laundry to do, errands to run, yadda yadda yadda... suddenly I feel really guilty sitting here right now... LOL

Looking back at this post, I guess I wasn't "at a loss" for words, maybe just at a loss of what to do next.

More Memories of Home - Margaret's Envelope Post 7

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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Another item from Margaret's Prayer Book today - the memorial card from the funeral of her father, Hugh McCann, here's what I know about him:

Hugh McCann was born in about 1866 in Preston Lancashire England, and died Jan 24 1914 in Preston as well. He was the son of Patrick McCann and Cahterine Byrne (both from Ireland).

Hugh married Alice Ann Smith (b. abt 1867, d.1904) also of Preston. The couple had the following children, all were born in Preston.
Elizabeth McCann b. 1888
Catherine McCann b. 1890
Alice Ann McCann b. 1894
Margaret McCann b. 1896, d. 1968 in Adams, Massachusetts.
Ellen McCann b. 1897
Mary Agnes McCann b. 1899
James Francis McCann b. 1903 and d. 1903

I do not have much more information on Hugh. I do know that by the 1911 census his wife had died and he was still living in his household with his daughters. He died in 1914 and his grandson Hugh Bellew was born in 1916 - named for his Grandfather.

I also do not have many details at this time about all of Margaret's sisters. My newly found cousin is busily sharing her research informaation with me. Elizabeth married John Mee in 1911, Catherine married John Aspin and came to the U.S. and Alice Ann never married. I do not have details on the lives of Ellen and Mary Agnes at this point.

What Brought Them Here? Margaret's Envelope Post 4

If you've just happened upon this series, you may want to start at the beginning - go to the labels listed below on the right, select Margaret's Envelope and start with Post 1 - you don't want to miss a thing!
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We left of with John and Margaret seperated by the Atlantic Ocean. Her in England and he in the US. But what brought him here? The passenger list needed studying further, which I've done and in the process I found another member of the McCann family had come to the US.

Page two of the passenger list has an area where the traveling person lists if they're going to be joining a relative or friend upon arrival here. In this box was some typed text, some crossed out text and some of what I will call "scribbling". Upon very close inspection of this area I see that he originally listed the following:

Mrs. Aspin, Friend
Victoria Rd. Pawtucket R.I.

The "s" in Mrs is crossed out making it a Mr. Aspin. The word Friend is somewhat crossed out and what appeared to be f i l is listed next to this word... Friend in Law? After zooming in to 400% I could see that the cursive lower case f was probably likely a b.. Brother in Law!!!

I then went back to the BMD database for Lancashire and found a McCann and Aspin marriage, being Catherine McCann, my great great grandmother's sister, who had married James William Aspin in 1919. The two traveled to the US in Dec of 1919 and were apparently welcoming other family to join them.
But the question remained - why Pawtucket or Central Falls Rhode Island? Work of course! This area was booming with textile mills at the time, (like many other New England cities) bringing thousands of immigrant workers to the area. John is listed as a weaver in the census records from England, not unlike many of his family members and neighbors. Those who were interested in relocating to the US were drawn to the work that they already knew, and of course the promise of a better life.

Margaret's sister was in the states only a short time before she died. I find her on the 1920 census - only a month after their arrival - living as a border in Central Falls. Then again in 1924 in the city directory for Central Falls, but in 1930 her husband James is living with a woman named Margaret as his wife. Catherine vanished from the records between 1924 & 1930. Having found this information just last evening, more research needs to be done to determine exactly when she died.

Today from Margaret's Envelope, I'm posting another postcard - this one from Margaret to John.