The Mystery of John H (Henry J) and Ella L Fuller or Faller

At the time of the 1920 US Census, January 8, 1920, my great-grandparents, Alpheus McClelland and Ella (née Ward) Rote were living on Patterson Avenue in "New Castle City," Lawrence, Pennsylvania. My great-grandfather’s first name was misspelled as Alphus, but other information from the census, the location, his middle initial and age, Ella's name and age, and the names and ages of the two adult children living with them, John and Emma, are strong indications that this is actually my great-grandfather.

Figure 1: Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920—Population
State: Pennsylvania; County: Lawrence; Name of Incorporated Place: New Castle City; Sheet 9A

Living with Alpheus and Ella in 1920 were two children listed as their grandchildren, as can be seen in Figure 2. When I attach the census record to Alpheus on Ancestry.com, they are identified as Emma's children, but I have reason to doubt this.

Figure 2: 1920 US Census, Detail of Alphus [Alpheus] M Rote and Household

The grandchildren’s names are given here as John H. Fuller and Ella L. Fuller, ages 5 and 4 9/12, giving them estimated birth dates of 1915 and September 1916, respectively. The two were born in Pennsylvania, as was their father, and their mother was born in Ohio.

When this census was attached to Alpheus, Ancestry.com interpreted the children as Emma’s children. However, Emma was born in Pennsylvania. The only one of Alpheus’ children to be born outside of Pennsylvania was Mabel, who was born in Ohio, and it is she who I believe must be the children’s mother.

Ten years later, on April 6, 1930, Alpheus and his family were living on Crease Street, and the children turn up again in the census, where the household is split between two pages:

Figure 3: Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930—Population
State: Pennsylvania; County: Lawrence;  Incorporated Place: New Castle; Sheet 16A

Figure 4: Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930—Population
State: Pennsylvania; County: Lawrence;  Incorporated Place: New Castle; Sheet 16B

Here are close-ups of the names in the household:

Figure 5: 1930 US Census, Detail 1 of Alpheus M Rote and Household

Figure 6: 1930 US Census, Detail 2 of Alpheus M Rote and Household

Over the past decade the family composition has changed slightly. John Rote has moved out and his sister Emma, now using the name Cavender, is still (or once more) living in the household, now with a daughter of her own, Anna G. Cavender. Once again, there are two additional grandchildren, now identified as Henry J. and Ella L. Faller The remaining details about the children are consistent with the 1920 census and it seems most likely that the child identified as John H in 1920 goes by Henry J in 1930.

Based on this, I have the following individuals:

First Name	Last Name	DOB	Place Born	Mother	Father
John H[enry] or Henry J[ohn]	Fuller or Faller	abt 1915	Pennsylvania	Mabel M Rote	Fuller or Faller
Ella L	Fuller or Faller	abt July 1916	Pennsylvania	Mabel M Rote	Fuller or Faller

I have not yet been able to locate any information about Alpheus after 1930; I do not know when or where he died. There are a number of individuals who may correspond to other members of the household, but I have not yet been able to discover any more information about the Fuller or Faller children, and they, with their mysterious origins and presence in their grandfather's house, is a mystery that appeals to me.

So, among my many other genealogical goals, I hope to uncover the mystery these children present. To that end, I shall attempt to:

1. Discover the full names of each of the children, along with their exact birth dates and birthplaces,
2. Confirm or disprove that Mabel M Rote is the children’s mother,
3. Identify their father (full name, birth date, date of death, and parents' name, if at all possible),
4. Demonstrate a “reasonably exhaustive search” and explain the research process as I go, and
5. Record my research and findings.

As I research these individuals, I will post updates regarding the progress of my search and its results, positive or negative.

ETA: This post, with it's approach to documenting my researches on a specific individual, was inspired by the blog Pinpointing Dennis Buggy's Irish Origins.

Researching Your Welsh Roots

Unrelated to my genealogy researches, I also enjoy writing stories. My husband shares my interests in these subjects and we sometimes collaborate on stories. (One of our collaborations has been published in the anthology Space Pirates, edited by David Lee Summers.) In association with a story we're working on, my husband was researching Welsh immigration to Ireland and came across the website Data Wales. Although the site's apparent focus is Wales, itself, it also provides a number of articles on emigration from Wales and, in particular, on American immigrants of Welsh ancestry. If your tree includes ancestors from Wales, you are almost certain to find the site of interest.

Genealogists Making a Difference

Kiva is "a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world." As a member of the Genealogists for Families team on Kiva, I'm proud to be able to help others improve their lives and their communities.

Kiva maintains a database of people from around the world who have dreams and goals, but lack the means to accomplish them. Kiva then makes it possible for you to help those people realize their goals.

Making loans through Kiva is super easy. Decide how much you're willing and able to loan (there's a $25 minimum), select a recipient from among the many worthy individuals and groups listed on Kiva, and confirm your willingness to contribute to their project.

Kiva is even making it easier to get started than ever! Right now, existing lenders can invite their friends to join and both will receive a $25 credit toward their first loan. So, if you accept my invitation to join Kiva, you and I will both be able to make loans of $25, without having to spend a penny. It's a great opportunity! Just follow this link to join and get $25 to make your first loan.

My Paternal Grandparents

Inez Minerva "Sissy" Herrington
b. July 20, 1890, Pensacola, FL, USA
d. January 24, 1986, Pensacola, FL, USA     

My Granny Sissy, as we called her, was the only daughter of Isaac Newton Herrington I (b. 20 Dec 1846 in Laurel, Jones, Mississippi, USA, d. 8 Jan 1913 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida, USA) and Ezella F. Boykin (b. 26 Aug 1866 in Quincy, Gadsden, Florida, USA, d. 14 Jan 1959 in Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, USA). She had two brothers, Eugene (b. 27 Sep 1886 in Florida, USA, d. 4 Jul 1905 in Brent, Escambia, Florida, USA), and Isaac Newton Herrington II (b. 20 August 1894 in Pensacola, Escambia, Florida USA, d. 20 June 1979 in Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, USA). According to the record of Eugene's death submitted to Ancestry.com by one of my cousins, Eugene's death, which occurred when he was 18, was as a result of drowning in the Perdido River; I do not know the circumstances which led to his drowning, but note that it occurred on Independence Day.

My grandmother was born in Pensacola and lived there her whole life, except for going away for college. During World War I, she served as a Yomanette at the School of Aviation affiliated with the Pensacola Naval Air Station. She was a religious woman and  a charter member of the East Brent Baptist Church. My father has spoken of how she enjoyed inviting visiting preachers to her home for dinner. While in college, she studied education, and subsequent to her graduation she taught for a time in a one-room schoolhouse.

Elmer Bruce Lloyd
b.  May 2, 1886, MI, USA
d. January 19, 1948, Pensacola, FL, USA

My grandfather was the son of Samuel Hughes Lloyd (b. 20 Mar 1849 in Schomberg, Ontario, Canada, d. May 1938 in Saulte Ste Marie, Chippewa, Michigan, USA) and Jane Ellen Higgins (b. 15 Jul 1859 in Canada, d. 1917 in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada). He grew up in Upper Michigan, in the Saulte Ste Marie area with family on both sides of the border. As a boy, Lloyd, as my grandmother was to eventually refer to him, attended a one-room schoolhouse for a short while, leaving school after either the third or eighth grade, depending upon whose memory is being called upon. However, he was what we now call a life-long learner who enjoyed reading widely, becoming a self-educated man. Lloyd submitted his draft registration card in Chippewa, Michigan in 1917 and joined the navy in January of 1918. According to my dad:

At the end of his first year he was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. After his initial enlistment in Michigan he was transferred to Pensacola and it was my mother who was a secretary on the naval base at the time that handled the paperwork. That was how they met. I know that he served on the Idaho, a battleship that carried three planes on the aft deck and got them in the air with a catapult. Then later he was on the Ranger, an aircraft carrier. When, at the start of WWII, he heard the other old timers complain about the "90 day wonders" it amused him that he had once been in that category himself.

Lloyd's strength, humor, and mechanical know-how were the subject of many of the stories my dad told about his father, and I hope to share some of these in future posts.

Genealogy Helps Link Us Together

The past couple of weeks have been exciting for me, as I am getting to know a couple of second cousins I've never met. We found each other through Geni.com and have been corresponding via email.

Ever since I was a child, I've been curious about my mother's family. My dad's family in Florida we visited nearly every year, so I knew them well, but aside from my maternal grandmother who moved to El Paso shortly after we did and lived there until her death when I was seven, I never had the opportunity to meet my mother's family.

Luella Jean Rote Lloyd

My mother, Luella Jean Rote, was born in Sandusky, Ohio, and she grew up there. Her only sibling was a sister, Marion Virginia Rote, about  two years older, who died (of scarlet fever, according to my dad's unpublished and unfinished autobiography) when my mom was seven. As mentioned before, my mother's mother, Lulu or Lula Craun, died when I was a child. My mother's father died years earlier, while my mother was still in college.

Most of the family stories my mom told were of the good times she had with her sister. I was pretty sure she had cousins, but I didn't hear much about them. One thing that always fascinated me, as any romantic child would be fascinated, was that her grandfather, her father's father, had owned a confectionery store. She spoke of how much she loved to visit, and I always had the impression that her enjoyment of the store came more from her love for her grandfather than for the candy, sodas, and milkshakes she might have obtained there.

My researches into my mother's family lines has yielded far less information than those into my father's. Some lines in my father's family have been traced (and here, I must stand on the shoulders of genealogical giants) into the 1200s, since the Lloyd family has a number of prominent individuals, among them Thomas Lloyd,  lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania under William Penn between 1690 and 1693. The Rotes are a more mysterious lot. According to Ancestry.com, the Rotes in America are descended from a very small number of immigrants. Most Rotes entering the United States departed ports in Norway or Germany, with a few others departing from England, Ireland,  Prussia, and Italy, and most settled in Pennsylvania. Even the origins of the name are obscure, although most sources indicate it comes from the German names Rot, Roth, or Rothe, all variants of the word rot, meaning red.

However, my questions have been much less concerned with tracing the Rotes into antiquity, and more with trying to understand my mother's family. So, it has delighted me to have, after so many years, finally found close relatives on my mother's side of the family. I'm currently in contact with two women, both granddaughters of John Charles "Jack" Rote, my mother's father's next younger brother. We've been having a grand time sending emails back and forth, as we trace the connection, fill in gaps, and share pictures. I've learned that my great-grandfather's confectionery store passed into Jack's possession, and later into one of his son's and then a daughter's hands, and remains in the family to this day. Should you have the opportunity to visit New Castle, PA, I hope you get a chance to visit Rote's on Arlington Avenue and, please, tell them you were sent by a long-lost relative. Someday, I hope to visit, myself.

ETA (19 March 2013): Today I am, very much delayed, updating this post. Three days after I published the post, I received the following correction:

I don't think we know that Jack took over the same store from Alpheus, just that they both had confectionaries. Jack's obit worded it as "he opened a store", rather than that he took over from his father. And the chain of possession from Jack was to his son Art … then to Art's son Danny …, and then to Art's daughter Dale ….

My apologies to all and sundry for the unconscionable delay in making the correction.

Happy Independence Day 2012

I hope your Independence Day celebrations are happy and safe. Here's an infographic from Geni.

Create your family tree on Geni for free, and connect to the World Family Tree
to find out if you're related to any of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Geni is one of the online services I use to research and record my family tree, and to connect with family members. I'm happy to report that I recently connected with a second cousin on my mother's side through Geni, a connection that has proved to be very fruitful. More about that another day. Have a happy 4th!

Rote Home Struck by Lightning on 24 June 1908

I just found a newspaper article that mentions one of my great-grandfathers, Alpheus Rote. According to this story from the June 26, 1908 issue of the New Castle News (the newspaper of New Castle, PA), lightning struck his home and a nearby tree.

Here's a transcript of the information:

Struck by Bolt of Lightening; Yet are Unhurt

Electrical Storm Plays Queer Tricks With City Engineers, a Young Woman and a Horse

To be rendered unconscious and then knocked out of carriage by a lightning bolt and still escape unhurt, is the remarkable experience of three of the members of the city’s engineering corps while engaged in city survey work on Willard street Wednesday afternoon.

The three men, Assistant Engineer C. E. Kimbrough and Assistants Stanley Tresser and Leslie Wilson, were sitting in the two-seated crackey which stood under a tree near the home of Alpheus Rote at No. 55 Willard street. There had been practically no violent electrical demonstration near them, when suddenly the corner of the Rote home was struck by a bolt of lightning.

For several seconds a bluish-green flame played all about the house and the tree under which the horse and carriage with the three men in it stood. Kimbrough and Wilson were knocked out of the carriage and fell to the ground. The horse was knocked senseless and did not recover for several minutes.

Neither men nor beast were hurt in the slightest that they could notice, save that the two who had been knocked out of the carriage were slightly bruised. The Rote home was badly wrecked, portions of the timbers being hurled many feet away.

Sitting near the window of the room at the corner of the house which was struck by the lightning, was one of the daughters of the Rotes. She was engaged in putting on a shoe when the bolt struck, and flying debris, consisting of lath, plaster and pieces of studding flew all about her. She escaped without a mark, not even a piece of plaster having struck her.

Isn't this a great story? I wish the article had mentioned the name of the daughter.