Salt Lake City research Trip to Root’s Tech

It is with great anticipation that I decided to go to RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City. I admit that one the big draws, was the Family Search Library was there. I did a lot of homework at home on my paternal grandmother’s side. Her father was born in Scotland and I only remember hearing about her Scottish roots. It was only after I read her death certificate that I realized her mother was from Ireland, but where in Ireland. Trying to find what County Sarah Nolan was from through her American records was proving very difficult. No living relative could help me at all and most were not interested in finding their roots. Her death record[1] did give me a clue to her Mother’s name- Anna McGuinness and that both her parents were born in Ireland; her husband Alexander Steele was the informant so I thought it could be trusted. She died on 15 Aug 1907 at the age of 41 years 1 month 25 days so I was able to calculate that she was born in June of 1866.  Therefore I searched on FindMyPast.com and there was only one Sarah Noland[2] not Nolan under births year 1866 and registered in year 1866, district Banbridge. I decided to stop searching for her for a while.

All good genealogists tell you to start on this side of the pond and exhaust your resources here. I tried contacting relatives, but most of them were not interested in the family history. I did manage to speak to a cousin once removed (a lot older than me) who told me she thought her father was from Johnstone, Scotland, (which turned out be very helpful). She could not tell me where our great grandmother came from. So, I decided to look for my great grandmother and her family in the district of Banbridge, Ireland, since there were records on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

My first trip to the library and my Irish search was just about to get a big boast. They were from County Down in Northern Ireland. I was very elated to find something at last. Here are the results:

·         Sarah Noland was born 31 June 1866 at Dunbarton to William Noland, Dyer of Thread and Anne Eliza Maguinnes.[3]

·         William Noland, age 20 ( ?  ink smudged) bachelor, thread dyer and Eliza Magennis, age 20 a spinster were married on 22 July 1850[4] residents of Gilford, parish of Tullylish. His father is Daniel Noland a weaver and her father is James Magennis, also a weaver.

·         James Noland born about1859 in Ireland.[5]

·        Joseph Noland was born 20 February 1869 in Guilford to William Noland of Gilford, thread worker, and Anne Eliza Noland formerly Maguinis.[6]

·        John M.  Noland was born 30 July 1873 at Bridge End, Lisburn to William Nolan, dryer of Longstone, Lisburn and Ann Eliza Nolan formerly Maginness.[7]

I have looked for other children’s birth but to no avail. Also have looked for Anne Eliza (Maguinnes) Nolan’s death record between 1873 after John’s birth and April 3 or 4 1881 when the Scotland Census was taken and so far have found nothing.

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[1] Grafton, Massachusetts Vital Records Pg. 321

[2] FindMyPast.com, vol.6:225

[3] FHL microfilm 0,101,130 item 225 Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland Birth Registyer

[4] FHL microfilm #0,101,313 Town of Banbridge Registyer’s Office

[5] FHL microfilm #0,203,566, pg. 21 1881 Scotland Census Parish Paisley Abbey, County

Renfrewshire, Johnstone

[6] FHL microfilm #0,101,180, Vol. 1 pg. 215 item 394, Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland Birth Registyer.

[7] FHL microfilm 0,255,883 Pg. 649, item 105, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, Ireland.

I have decided to rename this blog as this will enable me to blog about my whole family's genealogy. The new name will be Massachusetts Backwards.

Help from Ed McGuire--Thanks Posted with his permission

Sorry this has taken so long, but life keeps getting in my way.

Ed McGuire, which I owe a great deal of gratitude to, e-mailed me back on the 30th of April with the following information:

1.       Hinesburg Town Clerk’s office – Volume 1, page 29 of the Hinesburg Register of Births and Marriages-John’s birth 5 Oct 1862 to parents Mary LAROSE and John SORELL.  Father & mother listed as born in Canada.  There was no marriage record in Hinesburg for the couple.

NOTE the entry below is a birth of another child Mary LAROSE to Henry LAROSE and Ellen BRO. This couple does have a marriage record in Hinesburg for 17 Jun 1861, both ages 20. Perhaps there is a relationship to Mary (LAROSE) SORELL??

2.       The baptism and Marriage records of many Catholic Diocese of Vermont have been transcribed by our society (THE VERMONT FRENCH-CANADIAN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY of Burlington, Vermont) http://www.vtgenlib.org

Hinesburg did not have its own church until the 1940’s. It appears that John, Jr. was baptized in the next town west of Hinesburg (Charlotte) at Mount Carmel parish. Please note that an older daughter Emily, born 22 Oct 1856, but not baptized until her brother John was baptized in 1865.

Ed also checked other records and did a thorough search for my people in Hinesburg but found no other records of this family. He suggested I pursue the LAROSE family, which I am in the process of doing right now.  Thanks ED McGuire. You are an angel.

NERGC/ACG Manchester, NH

I just got back from the NERGC conference in Manchester, NH Sunday where I left a query on the board about my John Sorell BRICK WALL. Ed who lives in Hinesburg, VT just e-mailed and offered his Society's help. I replied immediately and thanked them. I now am keeping my fingers crossed that they have better luck than I did. By the way the Town Clerk's office in Hinesburg, Vt. is very modern. They are really very helpful to genealogists.
While there in Manchester, NH I visited the American-Canadian Genealogical Society, at 4 Elm Street. The volunteers were very helpful and he/she went out of his way to help me.They couldn't find any more than I had already but did offer some ideas that I will follow up with this week.

Salt Lake City Research Trip

It is with great anticipation that I decided to go to RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City. I admit that one the big draws was the Family Search Library was there. I thought what a great opportunity to try to break through the Brick Wall of what happened to John Sorell, JR. that married my G-Grandmother Minnie M. Howe in 1894. I have their marriage certificate and a piece of paper with the name of their children written down (as close as our family got to a bible).

1. Mary Belle Sorell                      4 Jul 1896
2. Maude Emily Sorrel                19 Feb 1899
3. Mildred Ida Sorrel                    2 Nov 1900         died 30 Dec 1900

Supposedly Mary Sorell, my biological Grandmother was born in Ticonderoga, Essex, NY; all her later records state that. No record of her or her siblings at the Ticonderoga Town Clerk's office. No record of their births or Mildred's death at the Crown Point, Essex, NY Town Clerk's office. I do want to state for the record that even though New York is a Genealogist's nightmare that both town clerk's have been very accommodating but could not find anything for me.
It was with great hope that I thought someone could help me out at the Family Search Library in Salt Lake, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm still trying to find out how a whole family can fall completely through the cracks. The search will continue.
I have gone back and forth over Lake Champlain, like my ancestors did many years ago between New York and Vermont, but can't find any clues.

Copies of their Birth Records

Here is a copy of the birth record of a John Sorell, Jr. from the Vermont Vital Records 1760-1954 found on FamilySearch.org              Hinesburgh TWP, Chittenden Co., Vermont

Copy of Birth Certificate for Minnie Miola Howe's birth certificate on file at the Bridport, Addison, Co., Vermont,           vol 2, p. 11

 It reads Minnie Miola Howe born Nov 12,1878, father George Howe born in Bridport, Carpenter, mother Emma Sartwell Howe, born Ticonderoga, NY.

Minnie Miola Howe was born in Bridport, Addison County, Vermont on 12 November 1978[1] the child of George Howe, a carpenter, born in Bridport, Vermont according to her birth certificate and Emma Sartwell born in Ticonderoga, New York. Emma was probably the “Emily,” age 10 in the 1860 census of Ticonderoga, among seven children of Darwin and Ellen Sartwell.[2] Her parents were most likely married in 1877 0r 1878, probably in Ticonderoga or Crown Point, Essex County, New York. Emma died in Bridport on 18 December 1878 of obthsis pulmonalis at the age 26 years 9 months and 18 days old, probably as a complication of childbirth.[3]

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[1] Birth Record, Bridport, Vt. Town Clerk, 2:11, copy in the author’s possession; Yoder, Update, 1:170

[2] In 1860 at Ticonderoga, Essex Co., N.Y., Darwin and Ellen Sartwell both age 39, with seven children including Emily, age 10. Yoder, Update, 1:170  says she is the daughter of Darwin and Mary (St. John) Sartwell.

[3] Vermont State Vital Records, born in Ticonderoga, daughter of Darwin and Mary (St. John) Sartwell.

Marriage Certificate

The Marriage certificate reads as follows:

John Sorell of Monckton, Vermont and Minnie M. Howe of Monckton, Vermont were united in the bonds of MARRIAGE at Crown Point, Essex Co., New York on the thirteenth day of October in the year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-four comfortably to the ordinance of God and the Laws of the State.[1]

According to the Town Books at the Crown Point town clerk’s office-John Sorell’s parents are listed as Mary LaRose and John Sorell and he is 28 years of age.  The only birth record that I could find for a John Sorell born to parents with the above names was born 5 Oct 1862 in Hinesburg, Vermont, [2] which would have made him 32 years old at the time of their marriage.

Minnie M. Howe is listed as age 17, and parents are Ida Sartwell and John Howe.[3] 

Minnie Miola Howe was born in Bridport, Vermont 12 Nov 1878, [4] which would have make her just shy of her 16^th birthday. It would appear that they both lied about their age. It was apparently very common in those days to marry young girls to much older established men.

At the moment I can’t prove anything to determine whether this is the John Sorell that married my great grandmother, Minnie. It is a possibility as Monckton, Vermont is not far from Hinesburg or Bridport and they are all in Addison County, Vermont.

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[1] Copy in my possession

[2] Vital Records, Hinesburg, Addison Co., Vt. Book 1, p. 29

[3] Vital Records, Crown Point, Essex Co., N.Y. marriage record in my possession

[4] Vital Records, Bridport, Addison Co., VT. Birth records, p. 7