52 Ancestors: Handed Down - Twin Mystery

This week's blog prompt, Handed Down, immediately brought to mind many of the items that have been handed down to me by my ancestors.  But since I've written about those so many times, I thought I'd focus on a story that was handed down to me over the years by my mom.  Mom often declared "twins run in the family because my grandmother had twins three times".  And then she would add that each time either neither or just one of the babies survived.  So down the rabbit hole I went to find something - anything - that pointed to that statement being true.  Mom really didn't seem to know much about her family, particularly on her father's side, so was this accurate?

First up, my mother's maternal grandmother, and the only great grandmother I knew, was Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald, c. 1952

The 1910 census is a great place to start.  In fact, it may be the only document that shows the number of children born and the number living in 1910.  I can't be sure if the number "born" includes still births but my gut tells me it would.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California,
Roll: T624_76; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 485.

That's a little small (you think?) so I cropped it.

And it checks out.  All three children had been born by 1910 (that's my grandmother, Clara) and it shows that Mabel and Edward had been married for 8 years and she had 3 children, all of whom were living.  So, I don't think it was this grandmother.

Next up was Mom's paternal grandmother, Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin.

Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin, c. 1930

Frances was the daughter of William Brooks who was killed in the Civil War at Fredericksburg - I'm sure she had a lot of stories to tell.  But would she have said she had twins three times?

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 475.

Too small again but before I move on, it surprised me to see that not only were they in the same Enumeration District as the Fitzgeralds, they were only five pages away - they were neighbors!

And it checks out.  8 children born and 8 children living.  That's my grandfather, Earl(e), at the bottom.  So based on this, I'd say it wasn't Frances that gave birth to twins three times.

I decided to go back another generation, although some of those women were not living at the 1910 census.

Mabel's mother was Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy.

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

Both Rebecca and her husband, William Warren McAboy, were still living in 1910.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 29; Image: 362.

While not in the same Enumeration District, they WERE in Fresno!

Again, this checks out.  6 children born and 5 living in 1910 as their oldest son, William L. McAboy, died in 1881 at the age of 17.  So I don't think Rebecca had twins three times.

Edward Fitzgerald's mother was Julia Horgan.  While Julia had seven children, she died in 1885 so no chance to see anything about her in the 1910 census.  And I have been unable to learn much from the children's birth records, when they do exist.  So did Julia have twins three times?  I'm not sure I'll ever know.

Frances' mother was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson.

Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson

While Sarah was alive in 1910, I can't find her anywhere in the census.  I'm fairly certain she was in Fresno and I've checked with each of her living children to see if she was living with them - no luck.

I can account for seven children - four with her first husband, William Brooks, and three with her second husband, John Hayward Anderson.  But I can't be sure if any of those were multiple births.  I need to find her in the 1910 census!

And last, but not least, was Earle's paternal grandmother, Millicent Emilene (Moore) Martin.  Since Millicent died in 1884, I have nothing to go on in 1910.  I know that she had eight children overall but nothing to confirm whether any of those were multiple births.

So where does that leave me?  Not much farther along than I was before.  But I'll keep working on it!

52 Ancestors: Craft

I've been out of the blogging mode for a few weeks and thus, my brain is a little foggy and out of practice so I'll start back simple this week.

I've written before about my paternal grandmother, Mildred Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, being crafty.  Which as anyone who knew her can attest to, she NEVER came across as crafty and until a few years before her death, I had no idea she ever worked with her hands.  I wrote about it HERE.

Apparently, there were a few of my maternal ancestors who were crafty - my great grandmother, Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald and her mother, Rebecca (Waller) McAboy.  Their craft of choice was quilting!  I am always in awe when I see hand made quilts and while I don't have that gene in my body, I'm proud to be the owner of some of their quilts.

I am nearly positive that this quilt was crafted by my maternal great grandmother, Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.  Mabel was alive until I was almost 12 years old and I remember her quite clearly.  She was the type of grandmother children would be thrilled to know- interested in what we were doing, patient, and loving.  I can remember many a day being sick on the couch covered by this quilt.  I'm sure I knew that it was crafted by my great grandmother and could feel her arms wrapped around me, instantly making me feel better.

Handmade by Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald

I'm not nearly as confident but I think this was also Mabel's handiwork.

I can't imagine the endless hours spent putting these two quilts together.

The quilting gene must have been passed down to her from her mother, Rebecca Mariah (Waller) McAboy.  Rebecca was the daughter of my favorite ancestor, Emery Waller.  While I've not seen a photo of Emery, I can almost visualize (my dad's favorite expression) him when I look into Rebecca's eyes.  And thanks again to my cousin, Kris, for sharing this photo with me!

Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy
c. 1920

In 2012, we cleaned out the storage unit where my parents had been storing things for 30 years, never to see the light of day.  I was amazed that these quilts were in such great condition considering they'd just been thrown into a cardboard box.  Fortunately my mother was still living and she was able to tell me "I think these were made by Mabel's mother, Rebecca".  So I have no confirmation but I just have to believe Mabel's craft gene was passed down from her mother.  Once I got the quilts home I took them to the dry cleaners and since I've had them home, I have not wanted to take them out of the plastic bags.  I know it's not the best preservation method but it's much better than a cardboard box!

I've done some crafting over the years but these days, I've all but given it up.  Sadly, the quilting gene has died in our family as none of us ever got the bug.

52 Ancestors: Black Sheep – William Warren McAboy

This week’s prompt, Black Sheep, brought an ancestor immediately to mind, my 2x great grandfather, William Warren McAboy.  I first wrote about him HERE seven years ago (SEVEN YEARS? Where did that time go?) when I learned that he had been described as A Brutal Father in the September 13, 1889 edition of the Clinton (Illinois) Public.  It was painful to read about his assault on his son, Emery James McAboy.  But it was then that I realized we don’t get to write just the good stories of our ancestors and had to be prepared to take the good with the bad.

Earlier this year, I noticed that Twisted Twigs Genealogy was having a special where they would go to the National Archives and pull a pension record and I decided it was time to pull the trigger and get another Civil War Pension Record.  I completed the required information, paid the bill, and within a few weeks it arrived in my in-box.  SCORE!  I do better with real paper so I printed out the 200+ pages, skimmed it, and filed it away.  But this prompt brought it out so I could really look at it to see if I could learn anything new.

William was born 12 Dec 1842 in DeWitt County, Illinois.  While I knew that, it was interesting to read that he stated he didn’t have any record of this date but his mother “always told him that was the day he was born and that was the day he celebrated as his birthday”. 

A few interesting facts about his address.  I earlier learned from the History of DeWitt County, Illinois with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches (1882, page 154) that his Nursery business was located in block 21, which was four blocks south of the public square.  And when I located the family on Johnson Street in the 1880 census, the light bulb went off and I realized I have a framed poster of the town from about the time frame. 



Now to zoom in and really study it.  I can’t be 100% sure but it seems like the area I’ve outlined in pale orange would be the square and I’ve noted Johnson Street with a green arrow.  I’d say that’s about 4 blocks south of the square.  As my dad would have said, “now I can visualize it”.



William and his family stayed pretty close to home – in 1850 they were in Bloomington, McLean County; 1860 Texas, DeWitt County. 

William enlisted into Co. L, 4th Reg. on 15 Oct 1861 when he was not quite 19 years old.  Then on 24 Nov 1862 he joined Co. F, 2nd Regiment, IL, Volunteer Light Artillery as a Private.  Per the Surgeon General’s report from 10 Sep 1980 in his pension file, I learned that on 27 Feb 1863 he went to the hospital due to typhoid fever and wasn’t released until 23 Mar 1863.  Once back with his unit, he was promoted to Corporal on 28 Feb 1865 and was honorably discharged in Springfield, IL on 27 Jul 1865.

I learned A LOT about his health (chronic diarrhea and disease of the legs and feet) and while so many people gave statements about his health and were considered to have a good reputation, William’s reputation was considered ‘doubtful’.  Was that black sheep reputation following him around?

William and Rebecca Waller were married in Clinton, DeWitt County on 10 Jan 1864.  I will never forget seeing the ORIGINAL Marriage License when we visited DeWitt County and I will forever be proud of myself for not grabbing it and running away.



I also found a delayed Certificate of Record of Marriage in his pension file.



I found a reference of William in Farmer City, Illinois in 1866 where he ran a restaurant for one year.  That’s the first I’ve heard of that occupation.

By 1870, William and Rebecca were in Clintonia, DeWitt County.  William was now a Gardener and their first three children (William, Lillie, and Emery James) had joined the family.

In 1880 they were still in Clintonia with William, Lillie, Emery James, Clara, and John and William was now a Janitor of the Public School.  Samuel M. Hesch provided a deposition on 14 Oct 1885 that he knew William from 1868-1874 when Mr. Hesch was the principal of the school and William was the janitor and that “part of the time William lived in the basement of the school house”.  What?  This statement is another nugget that tells me that maybe the marriage of William and Rebecca wasn’t necessarily the rosiest.

The physical performed by Dr. John Wright on 23 April 1882 showed that William was 5-10, 137 pounds, with dark complexion.  He was emaciated, his tongue was coated, legs were small, and muscles were soft.  Dr. Wright concluded that his disability was a result of the chronic diarrhea.

In 1896, I found mention that William had traveled from Fresno and was visiting his father in Illinois.

By 1900, William and Rebecca had relocated to Fresno and were living with son John (23) and daughter Mabel (17) MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER!  The census shows that William’s occupation was ‘small fruits’ and he owned his farm.

In 1910 William and Rebecca were living on Hammond Avenue in Fresno.  Other interesting information is that Rebecca had given birth to 6 children, 5 of whom were still alive (young Willie had died at the age of 16 in 1881 of lockjaw) and William was farming on a fruit farm which he owned free and clear.  It also states he served in the Union Army.

The last census William and Rebecca were enumerated in was 1920 when they were living at 2904 Olive Avenue in Fresno.  My grandmother (and Rebecca and William’s granddaughter) spent her later years at 2341 Olive Avenue – I wonder if she had any idea how close she might have been to the home of her grandparents.

The pension file, of course, went into a lot of detail about the claim.  Stephen K. Carter represented William with his claim and William paid him $5.00 for that assistance.  The original claim was rejected on 30 Nov 1885 “on the grounds that line of duty cannot be proved”.  But eventually it was approved as I can find the details of his pension – on 1 Nov 1912 he was granted $18, 12 Dec 1912 $24, and 12 Dec 1917 $30. 

A nice summary of the Widow’s Pension.



I can’t help but share the signatures of William and Rebecca that were included in the pension file.  It’s so great to see these!





And for those who have followed my blog for awhile, you might remember my journey to find the final resting place of Emery Waller (Rebecca’s father).  You can read it HERE and HERE.  It was only because I got his pension file that I found him in Kansas (KANSAS!) which led me to find him in McPherson County, Kansas.  If only I had seen this notation about him in William’s pension file.



William died on 12 Jan 1925 in Santa Cruz, California from valvular disease of the heart.  His pension at the time of his death was $50 per month. 



William is buried alongside Rebecca, who died in 1928, in OddFellows Cemetery in Fresno.



William Warren McAboy was an interesting fellow, even though he had some not-so-memorable moments in his lifetime.  He fought for his country and his health suffered for the rest of his life.  And no matter what he had in his past, he was my 2x great grandfather.

52 Ancestors: Same Name

I haven’t had too many problems with ancestors having the same name – it’s happened once or twice (and maybe more that I haven’t discovered yet) but it hasn’t really caused me any problems.  What’s been more interesting to me is the same name popping up in not only my tree, but that of my husband.

One name that has surfaced several times on both sides of my tree is Rebecca.  Does this look like a Rebecca?



I’m not sure what a Rebecca would look like but, apparently, it wasn’t this child.  WAIT – that child is ME and my name is definitely not Rebecca!

My mother, a Gentile, married into a Jewish family in 1950.  And while she wasn’t terribly religious, it must have been difficult for her to convert to Judaism.  She told us on several occasions that it was tough for her to “take” Santa and the Easter Bunny from her kids so while we were mostly raised Jewish, we did have visits from these two characters even though we didn’t really understand the meaning of the holiday.  Many of my friends would comment that we were “lucky” to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas – more presents!

Mom also told me the story that when I was born, the name they had decided on for me was Rebecca.  For whatever reason, Mom thought the name was “too Jewish” so they settled on Deborah instead.  Apparently, it escaped Mom that Deborah was also Jewish name.  Of course, children often don’t care for their name and many times I longed for the name Rebecca.

So when I was expecting our first child, I remembered my best friend from nursery school (whom I never saw after I left that school) who was E Maria Mulcahey.  I loved her name and when I told my husband, he agreed to the first name but wanted a different middle name.  Marie?  No, something else.  And it was then that I remembered the story about my name and said “what about Rebecca”.  And so it was.

I remember when I first saw my grandmothers after her birth and one of them said “my favorite grandmother was Rebecca”.  To which the other replied “MY favorite grandmother was Rebecca”.  I never let on that I had no idea of those facts when their first great granddaughter was named.  And then, many years later, this genealogy journey began and the pieces of the puzzle began to come together and I was able to learn about these two favorite grandmothers.

Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz

Rebecca (Steen) Schwartz, date unknown

Rebecca Steen was born 8 Feb 1848 in Poland and died 7 Jan 1918 in Oakland – I’ve written about her many times and you can learn more about her HERE. 

While I wasn’t ‘happy’ to read about Rebecca’s death, it was interesting to read what my grandmother said to her future husband about the passing of her grandmother.

January 7, 1918 – 10 pm
Monday eve
My very own Sweetheart,
We are a house of mourning here at 1933 tonight, my Grandmother passed away at 15 minutes to six tonight, poor soul, she is much better off, but, of course, we all shall miss her terribly. She is to be buried Wednesday.
Enough about sorrow, sweetheart. You can see how much I think of you to be writing tonight, all the folks are in the front room and I am in the dining room trying to collect my thoughts for you only.

And then after the burial on Wednesday.

January 9, 1918 – 10:30 pm
Wednesday night
My own Sweetheart
Your letter was waiting for me upon my return from the cemetery and it cheered me up considerably, sweetheart. It was quite comforting after the ordeal of the afternoon. Grandma looked so peaceful sleeping that no one could have the heart to wish her back. If she could only have seen the wonderful bower of flowers she was lying in I know she would have been so happy as she loved them so. But now it is all over and we have only the memory of her.

Oakland Tribune 8 Jan 1918

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy, c 1920

Rebecca Moriah Waller was born 7 Feb 1845 in Warren, Ohio and died 23 Oct 1928 in Fresno.  I wrote a little about her HERE when my ‘new’ cousin, Kris, shared a photo of Rebecca with me.  Thanks again, Kris!

Rebecca (Parker) Waller

Another very, very important Rebecca in my tree is Rebecca Parker, Rebecca Moriah’s mother.  I discovered her quite by accident several years ago HERE and love thinking about this woman whom her daughter was never able to know.  While I don’t have a photo of her, I treasure the information I do have so that she will never be forgotten.

In Memory of Rebecca consort of E L Waller. She departed this Life February 13, 1845; Aged 30 Years, 4 months, and 5 days. Look at this as you pas by, as you are now so once was I, as I am now so you must be. For death and follow me.

While I’ve written about these special women on many occasions, I like to have things in one place so that my ancestors are never forgotten.

52 Ancestors: Favorite Name

This week’s prompt is:  Favorite Name

I don’t know that I have a favorite name among my ancestors – what I do like is when someone is named for an ancestor, a memory, or something else that held a memory for those who named them. 

There are different Jewish naming traditions – some Jewish families (Ashkenazi) name a newborn after a deceased relative , while others (Sephardic) may honor a living family member.  Or, some parents use only the first letter of the relative’s name, while others may choose a name that is not identical, but rather similar in sound, spelling or some other manner. One additional way to honor and commemorate through the name is to make a newborn child’s middle name, as opposed to the first name, similar or identical to that of a special relative.

Since today would have been my Dad’s 91st birthday, I will start with him – Gordon Floyd Levy. 

Gordon Floyd Levy – c. 1933

The name Gordon is in memory of his paternal grandmother, Goldie Benas Levy, who died 19 Jan 1926, just over a year before Dad was born.  And I believe Floyd came from the long-time family physician, Floyd L. R. Burks.  I wrote a little about him HERE. 

My mother, Geraldine Martin, told me once that her name, had she been a boy, would have been Fitzgerald, her mother’s maiden name.  While she didn’t care for the name Geraldine (a nod to the name Fitzgerald), we both laughed that she got the better end of the deal. 

Geraldine Martin – c. 1932

Mom was not given a middle name, but somewhere along the line she ‘adopted’ the name Ann in order to honor her great aunt, Anna Theresa Fitzgerald Sronce, who she lived with for a period of time as her parents were going through a divorce.  And, thus, she passed the name on to me as my middle name.

When our oldest daughter was born, we decided to give her the middle name of Rebecca as that was what I was originally going to be named.  And the first time my grandmothers met her, they both told me that their ‘favorite’ grandmother was named Rebecca.  I never let on that I hadn’t known that in advance!

Rebecca Waller McAboy

Grandmother of my maternal grandmother, Clara Fitzgerald

Rebecca Steen Schwartz

Grandmother of my paternal grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer

Not wanting my youngest daughter to feel left out, when we named her we asked Daughter #1 what she wanted to name her and she came up with the name Kristi.  We took that suggestion and gave her the middle name of Kristina so while not named after someone, she was named because of someone.

And that leads to my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer.  I never knew my grandmother by any name other than Loraine – I can’t blame her for that, who would want to go by Mildred?  And she was always Grandma Loraine rather than Grandma Levy, Nanna, Granny, or any other endearing name. 

Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer – c. 1898

My dad’s brother, Robert Levy, was likely named for Rebecca Steen Schwartz (above) who died about 18 months before Robert was born.  And his middle name was Sigmund after his father.

And that leads to two of my grandchildren.  Our oldest grandson has the middle name of Austen, which is very cool for a family with no sons.  And our youngest granddaughter’s middle name is Loraine, after her 2x great grandmother who she never knew.  I think she looks a little bit like her and I also think she’s going to have her spunk!