Treasure Chest Thursday~Peter Hutsell Duncan~My gr gr Grandfather.

I wish I had a photo of this ancestor. I think he lived an interesting life, and I would hope to see the faces of his parents in his, if I could see a photo of him. Maybe someday I will find someone, or someone will find me, who has a photo of him and he/she will share with me.
I have found lots about Peter Hutsell Duncan in my research, but it would be difficult to share all of it in one blog entry.
His obituary sums it up pretty well, sounds like he was well loved by those who knew him.

 

Obit For Peter H. Duncan, Judge P. H. Duncan: At St. John's Hospital, Joplin, Mo., Wednesday, June 12, 1912, at 11:04 a. m. Judge P. H. Duncan answer the final roll call. He had under gone an operation for gall stones and though the operation was a serous one, he was thought to be gradually recovering from its effects. And his death was quite a surprise to his many friends.

Peter H. Duncan was born at Martinsville, Ind., August 10, 1841. In 1856 the family moved to Jackson county, Illinois. Here he attended the common schools and helped his father on the farm until the beginning of the Civil War when he enlisted in Company H, 27 Illinois Infantry of the Union Army. He made a good record as a soldier, always doing his duty bravely and promptly. He was with the army of the Cumberland during most of the war and participated in the battles of Belmont, Union City, Siege of Island No. 10, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Kennesaw Mountain, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek and several other engagements. He served three years and one month in the army.

At the close of the war he located on a farm in Kansas and lived here until 1888 when he came to Barry County and lived on a farm four miles east of Mineral Springs until his death.

He had been married twice. His second wife and two children, Viola and Robert survive him.

For many years he had been Commander of the Old Soldier's and Settlers' Reunion. Under his efficient management, the reunion has become the largest and most successful in all the southwest. For four years he was presiding judge of the county court and gave the county an efficient administration.

The remains were brought to this city Thursday noon accompanied by relatives and Col. Wm. Holliday. The funeral services were conducted at Mineral Springs at 2 p.m. by Rev. F. M. Smallwood. Short talks were also made by J. S. Davis and L. Beasley.

The pall bearers were Prosecuting Attorney James Talbert, Judge E. W. Davis, Judge G. W. Henson, Judge Charles Velton. Ex-collector J. M. Davidson and County Assessor W. M. Houston.

The entire service was impressive and comforting to the sorrowing family. The casket was covered with beautiful flowers, mute testimonials of love, sympathy and friendship of those who knew him best.

In the death of Judge Duncan, the county loses one of her most honored and progressive citizens, a man who always took a deep interest in the welfare of this country, state and community.

Newspaper Cassville Republican Date June 20, 1912, Thursday Death Cert Link - Resource State Historical Society of MO Microfilm Submitted by Donna Cooper

Peter H. Duncan married Ruth McCleur (McClure) March 12, 1872 in Jackson County, Illinois. The first I find them on the census in Kansas is 1875, so I don't think they went to Kansas 'right' after the war ended, but a few years later. The first I find him on the census in Missouri is in 1900. I have not found him on the census for  1860, 1870 or 1890.

My aunt and uncle (my mom's brother) shared photos of some things they now treasure that once had belonged to Peter. They shared photos of the Duncan Family Bible and pages from that Bible that helps confirm things written on the notes I got from my grandmother.

edited to blur out info for living relatives

They also shared a photo of a flask that once belonged to Peter. I have not yet confirmed his work in the Oklahoma Territory, unless the parts of Kansas they lived in were part of the territory then, or he just traveled there on occasion since it was so near.

While looking for Peter Duncan in the census I made the discovery that one of the records was recorded by Peter himself! The whole document (1875 census for Lyon Twsp. Cherokee County, Ks)  is in his handwriting! But apparently I only printed that document, and didn't save a copy of it on my computer. I'm not subscribed to Ancestry at the moment or I'd go fetch it. But it was a pretty exciting discovery. I do have a copy of his death certificate and numerous printouts of transcriptions I found online of the Cassville Republican.  An entry dated October 12, 1899 simply states.

"Mineral Springs News: P.H. Duncan has returned home. His wife died and was buried in Kansas."

In a 1900 entry of the same paper he is listed in a county court proceeding, along with several other men, named as a road commissioner.
In an October 11, 1894 edition he is in a list naming him appointed as Judge of Elections for Mineral No. 2. 
I even found a couple entries where he oversaw a court case and conducted the marriage of another couple (1907 and 1909, respectively)
Then in the June 20, 1912 edition is two entries next to each other. The first says

T.R. Duncan of Columbus, Kan., attended the funeral of his brother, Judge P.H. Duncan at Mineral Springs Thursday.

The second says

Judge Duncan died at St. John's Hospital, Joplin, MO, Wednesday, June 12, 1912, at 11:04 a.m.

If the name of that hospital sounds familiar, well, it was the name of the hospital that was destroyed by the horrible twister in May of this year. I found this neat article on the Historic Joplin Website.  I'm looking around to see if the hospital that was destroyed was on the same site, or another site. If anyone knows, please drop me a line. It would be nice to know if that building is still standing, or not.
I also found a post card of what the hospital looked like in 1912. I just hope this image stays up awhile, it's being auctioned. Yes, I'm tempted. St. John's Hospital, 1912.  

Tombstone Tuesday- The Duncan Family

Today I'm doing something more simple and still staying with the daily prompts. This genea-blogging is harder than I thought, but I may not be in the groove yet, and my mind still a bit distracted to do it right. So bear with me and I find my way.

First are the gravestones of my grandparents. George Hutsell Duncan and Beulah Angie Riggs Duncan. Words cannot express how much I miss my grandma. I took this picture last summer when I went back to Kansas for a brief visit. I had not been to the cemetery since 2004 when we buried Grandma. I needed to go back. They are resting in Rosean Cemetery in Lyon County Kansas. 

Next is the shared gravestone of my great grandparents, George's parents, Albert E. Duncan and Viola Ellen Duncan. I found this photo on a Missouri genealogy website that had a nice listing of Barry County graves, and volunteer contributed photos. The file says the photo was taken by Dianna Cooper. Diana, I am so grateful. Thank-you so much! Albert and Viola are resting at Mineral Springs Cemetery in Barry County, Missouri.

Next is my great great grandparents, Viola Ellen's parents. Peter Hutsell Duncan (also known as Judge P.H. Duncan) and Ruth McCluer Duncan. I believe I found Peter's grave photo the same place as Albert's, and I found Ruth's on Find-a-Grave. Peter Duncan is resting in Mineral Springs Cemetery and Ruth is resting in Greenlawn Cemetery in Cherokee County, Kansas. Peter and Ruth were true pioneers, I'll attempt to tell their story someday!

I wish I could add the photos of Albert and Peter's parents, but I don't have them. I don't even know where William Duncan and Susan Trammel Duncan are buried (Albert's parents). Peter's father, the same William Duncan, I suspect may have been buried on his farm in Jackson County, Illinois, if so I may never find it. Amanda Hutsell Duncan, Peter's mother, died 22 November 1847 in Martinsville, Indiana. I have not yet located her final resting place.

** note July 26, 2011** Reading over this post, I found some errors. I had said Viola Ellen where I should have said Ruth.  I have highlighted the correction in red with the correct person.

Mystery Monday-Desperately Seeking Susan

I have several brick walls in my research, but this one bothers me the most. I really am not well prepared to assemble this information for this post, so I hope I don't mess it up too bad. I really need to get it out here in the chance someone out there can help me. But from what I can tell, I am the only person alive trying to find Susan.
Susan is my gr gr grandmother Duncan, mother of my great grandfather Albert E. Duncan. Her name appears to have been Susan Trammel (many other ways that could be spelled). The big mystery about her is where she came from and where she went. I cannot find record of her outside of her marriage to William Duncan, with the possible exception of a possible marriage to a John A. Dougherty (Daugherty).
Crazy already, huh?
Let me start with William, since that is where I started.
Everything I have seen about William Duncan's birth indicate he was born in New York, 1808 some things I have seen online say, Genesee. I have yet to see proof of his birth place. Supposedly his parents were Robert Duncan and Lucy Boyles (Broyles), Robert is said to have come from Scotland. I do think Robert may have actually moved on to the Indiana area later, with his sons, my William and (I think Robert was the other son).
William may have been married 4 times, but for my records, 3 times. I have found a record in Ancestry for a William Duncan having married a Mary Eslinger September 28, 1828 in Martinsville, Indiana. If this is my William, then the marriage didn't last for some unknown reason, because he is recorded as marrying Amanda Hutsell June 15, 1837 in Martinsville, Morgan County, Indiana.  I'm warning you right now, this will get complicated, because Amanda is also my ancestor, my gr gr gr grandma! I hope I can explain this clearly by the end of the post.
Amanda Hutsell was born September 20, 1815 in Fayette County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Hutsell and Rebecca Troutman. William and Amanda had 4 children together; Thomas R., Peter Hutsell Duncan (my gr gr grandfather), Giles Mitchell Duncan and Jesse H. Duncan. Amanda died November 22, 1847 in Martinsville, Indiana. Her and William were only married 10 years when she died.

William then married Sarah Catherine Hines. I believe she was born  April 19, 1826 (I have also seen 1823), in North Carolina, though some say Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois. Sarah was the daughter of Philip Hines and Mary M. Shuford. William and Sarah had 5 children; Mary Ann, Darius B., Sarah Katherine, John S., and William Robert. 
Some of these children were named in a  deed  for Sarah's uncle Solomon Shuford. It reads:

Catawba Co. N.C. Deed Indexes 1837-1926. Deeds v. 1-2 1842-1880 (FHL film 593,287) 2-380: 24 Jan 1871, William Duncan of Jackson County, IL, guardian of Mary Duncan, Darius Duncan, Catherine Diuncan and William Duncan Jr., appoint A.G. Corpening of Catawba Co, N.C. attorney to collect all money due said Mary Duncan, Darius Duncan, Catherine Duncan and William Duncan Jr.  from the estate of Solomon Shuford decd and to reciept the same, etc.; no wit. Authorization by Catwba Co, N.C. Probate Court to Jackson County, IL. probate court, 1 March 1871 to take acknowledgement of William Duncan, guardian; done., 31 March 1871; recorded 27 April 1871

I did a little digging on the Hines/Shuford line to make sense of that. When I first found that record I had no clue who Solomon Shuford was, and why he was naming William's children in a court record. Apparently they inherited part of Solomon's estate when he passed away.
Sarah died August 13, 1864 in Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois.


William next married Susan Trammell on November 2, 1864. The marriage record I found online (Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900) has her name as Susan Dougherty. They were married in Jackson County Illinois.
(I paused here to figure out what I would write next. I realized I had not done a few things in my records I normally do. I like to make a list of the census records each of my ancestors appear in and somehow skipped doing that for William. So I did that and decided to do the same for Land records I have found him in. I recently found actual copies in Ancestry of certificates where he bought quite a bit of land in Jackson County, Illinois, 321 acres actually! Then I had stumbled across some transcriptions online of Pike County, Missouri records including some land records for William and his wife Amanda and also involving a relative of Amanda's, Giles Mitchell. Anyway, I just now got looking at that info closer and need to try to track down a book about Southeast Missouri. I checked Google Books, and the one I want is not available online and few libraries have it, none near me. This seems to be the book I want to see. See? This blog is already helping me find holes in my research! ya! This puzzle has lots of loose pieces, I have to get them together!)

Now, I have William Duncan in the following census:
1830 Morgan County, Indiana 
1850 Morgan County Indiana. Here he is 41, listed as a mechanic and says he was born in NY. His wife is Sarah and children listed in the household are:
Thomas R. Duncan age 11 born in Ia (but I believe it's supposed to mean Indiana)
Peter Duncan age 8                    "
Giles M. Duncan age 6               "
Jesse D. W. Duncan age 2         "
also listed are Isaac C. Baker 22, mechanic, b. Ky and David Hine, 21, (mechanic?) b. NC. I suspect David is Sarah's brother.
1870 DeSoto, Jackson County, Illinois.
William is now 61 and listed as a farmer, but this time it says he was born in Mo. (I'm guessing they asked someone who didn't really know). Susan is now listed as his wife, she is 29 and keeping house. She is listed as being born in Indiana. (there will be contradictions to this, too). The children now listed living with William are:
Jessee, age 23, working on farm, b in Indiana
Darris, age 17, b. in Indiana
Catherine, age 14, b. in Illinois
Wm II age 8, b. in Ark
Candas, age 8, born in Illinois
Joseph, age 5, b. in Illinois
Edward, age  9/12 (nine moths old, born in September) b. Illinois

That's it. So far those are the only census I have found William in.
I did recently find a William Duncan in the 1860 census for Washington Twsp, Dearborn County, Indiana. This William is listed as age 50, a farmer with a real estate value of $2,100 and person estate value of $300, and says he was born (hard to read, but looks like it says Irelands). Also listed in the household with him is
Catherine age 48; Jeremiah (laborer), age 16; Wm, age 13; John, age 11; Catherine, age 7; James, age 6; and Semperonce (?) A., age 3. I have not yet decided if this is the same family.

 Seems William died January 5, 1879. I believe Susan brought some children to this marriage too. But I can't say for sure they were from her marriage to John Dougherty.

The 1880 Census for Somerset Twsp, Jackson County, Illinois is like this:
Duncan, Susan age 39, Farmer, b. in Missouri, (father b. in Kentucky, mother b. in Missouri)
Dougherty (which has a line through it), Kansas (daughter) age 18, at home, b. in Arkansas (father b. in Virginia  mother b. in Missouri)
Duncan (which has a line through it), Joseph, (son) age 13, at home, b. in Illinois (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
_____(meaning Duncan?), Eddie, (son) age 11, at school, b. in Illinois (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
_____(meaning Duncan?), Scott, (son) age 9, at school, b. in Illinois (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
______(meaning Duncan?), Albert, (son) age 7, at school, b. in Illinois, (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
______(meaning Duncan?), Sarah C. (step-daughter), age 24, at home, b. in Indiana (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
_____(meaning Duncan?), Jessee. (step-son), age 33, at home, b. in Indiana (father b. in New York, mother b. in Missouri)
_____(meaning Duncan?), Darius, (step-son), age 27, at home, b. in Indiana (father b. in NewYork mother b. in Missouri)

I believe William and Susan's children together were Joseph S., Edward H., James Scott, and Albert E. Albert is my great grandfather.
I don't find Susan on anymore census with the children. It's like she vanished. I have seen some researchers say Susan died about 1890, but I have not seen any record of that. NO death records, no grave, nothing. Poof, She's gone.
The next I find my great grandfather Albert Duncan in the census is in 1900, at age 26. He listed as a farmer, alone, in Mineral Springs Township, Barry County, Missouri.
Then Albert is in 1910, married to my great grandma, Viola Ellen. living in Mineral Ward 1, Jasper County, Missouri. Two children are listed ages 2 and less than a year, but it is hard to read the writing for their names.
1920 Mineral Twsp. Barry Co, MO census has Albert and Viola with children Grace, George (my grandpa), Lavonne, Alberta and his brother in law Robert B. The 1930 census again finds Albert and Viola in Mineral, Barry County, Mo. with children Grace, George, Lavonne and Alberta.

I found a photo copy of Albert's death certificate on line through Missouri records, and my uncle sent me a copy of an obituary he had for Albert. Both name Albert's mother as Susan Trammel. The obituary for Albert's brother Edward also names their mother as Susan Trammel.

I just cannot be sure if Trammel is her maiden name or if it was a married name she took after William died. Since I can't find any record of her after the 1880 census, I don't know if she died, remarried or what.
The 'lore' I have found repeated almost word for word in a few other researcher's records and passed down through our branch as well, says this:

"Viola married her cousin Albert. Albert was the grandson of William Duncan and his third wife. Albert's parents died when he was young and he was raised by a doctor in southestern Missouri. Albert and Viola met with some family opposition when they married "

I have not been able to figure out who this doctor was who is said to have raised Albert, but have determined, the best I can, that he was not the grandson of William,  but the son. Viola Ellen, who Albert married, was a granddaughter of William and Amanda. Viola's father, Peter Hutsell Duncan was a half brother to Albert. Thus making Albert and Viola more like half niece/uncle. Though I can see why saying they were cousins was an easier way to explain things, but it's apparent the story got slightly confused quickly. This does explain why Albert was young when his parents died, sort of. William was a great deal older than Susan. Estimating from census records, Susan was born 1841. If William was born in 1808, and died in 1879, then William was 66 when Albert was born (1873) and Albert was about 6 years old when William died. But Susan would have only been about 49 if /when she died around 1890. (one researcher even gives a date for her death as January 10, 1890). How and where she died, remains to be discovered. I have not found an actual death record for William, or a grave, or burial record of any kind. The fact that he is no longer on the census with his family in 1880, supports his death date being before that, even though Susan is not specifically listed as a widow.

Also where Susan was born and what she did before she married William is a mystery. The best I could almost figure out, though not positively about where she came from, may be found in Missouri.
Going with the idea Susan was born in 1841 in Missouri I searched census records and found a Susan Trammel in District 92 of Scott County, MO. with her mother, Mary, age 40 (Mary is recorded in this record having been born in Indiana). Susan is 10, and has 3 sisters, Francez age 14, Lavina also 10..so was she a twin? and Louisa, age 6. I did find where a John Trammel bought land in the same county in 1841, but he is missing from the 1850 census. No clue what happened to him. I could find no other record on John.

 I did all kinds of searching, took all kinds of notes, and frankly, it's more like a rat's nest. Every time I try to research Susan, where she came from and where she went, I just keep hitting the same dead ends. I get frustrated and stash away my notes, hoping some day I'll just stumble on the right piece of information to open things up again.
My most recent discovery of info doesn't seem to help yet, and that was discovering land records for William in Pike County, Missouri, which seems to be just across the state line from Jackson County, Missouri.

Well, I hope some of this makes sense. The more I try to dig out the info, the more my brain wants to shut down. I had a long day in the hot sun today and this is taking all day to finish because of the delay.
If anyone has any questions, please don't be afraid to ask, I'll provide what I know, if you have any info that might help PLEASE let me know! I tried to add extra names in here to attract more possible leads from researchers.
To end on a good note I'll add a copy of a photo that was shared with me, of Albert, Viola and their children.

Back row left to right is Grace, George (my grandpa) and Lavonne
Front row left to right is Bertie Albert and Viola Ellen

Those Places Thursday

I'm just following prompts right now from Genea Bloggers for ideas for posts. I'm feeling a bit scatter-brained today. There are several things I could be doing besides sitting at the computer, but I don't really feel like doing any of them yet. I'm not a morning person at all!
This first entry for Those Places Thursday is sketches  I found in Ancestry, photo copied from a book, attached to someone else's tree which has my 3rd Great Grandpa, John Allen McCluer (McClure)

 

Missionary Baptist Church in which John Allen McClure was a minister during the 1840's.

sketch of the farm of John A. McClure, taken from the 1878 History of Jackson County, Illinois

 John Allen McCluer (also spelled McClure by many) was my grandpa's great grandpa on my mom's side. (Mom>Grandpa George Duncan> Gr Grandma Viola Ellen Duncan>gr gr grandma Ruth McCluer> 3rd gr grandpa John A. McCluer)
The family notes Grandma had and other historical sketches I have found agree that John A. McCluer was born November 15, 1816 in Richland County, Ohio, near the town of Paris. The mention of Paris in family records seems to have confused some family into thinking he was born in France. My uncle kept telling me when I started my research that there was a Frenchman in the tree somewhere, so when I found this, I thought that was what he meant. That may be what he meant, but I have since traced back some more, and found a real Frenchman. But you know, that's another story for another day!
Here is a link to one of the historical sketches I found online about John A. McCluer which includes a photo of him and his wife Clarinda Nase (Nace), which has been added to my records. I have not seen anyone else identify the others in the photo, (I have also seen the photo attached to trees in Ancestry) but I would like to think maybe one is his daughter, my 2nd great grandmother, Ruth McCluer.
I have found land records for John through Ancestry, his Civil War Pension File (he served with the 81st Illinois Infantry, Company D, apparently along with his son-in-law's (Peter Hutsell Duncan) brothers Thomas R. Duncan and Giles Duncan. Peter served with the 27th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Company H.

I have found John A. McCluer (McClure) in the following census:
1850 in Jackson County, IL. (Northern District) with his wife, Clarinda, and 6 children: Susan, Sarah, Rhuey, Thomas, Anna, and George. He is listed as a farmer.
1870 in Levan, Jackson County, IL with his wife and 6 children: George, Ruth, Amanda, David, Oliver and Henry. He is listed as a farmer on this record too.
1880 in Levan, Jackson County, IL. with his wife and only one child, Oliver. He is again, listed as a farmer. His son Henry is living near by in this record.
1885 He is found in Cherokee County, Kansas (Columbus or Lyon?) with his wife and son Henry who is now 28. John and Clarinda are now 68 and 67 respectively.

It doesn't appear that John and Clarinda stayed in Kansas very long, for I found  mention of John in 1896 extracts from the Barry County, Missouri newspaper The Cassville Republican, Weekly Paper. The article is where he performed marriages as Rev. John A. McCluer. His obituary and a historical sketch were found in the same newspapers.
John died April 17- 18, 1899 at the home of his son Thomas, in Cherokee County, Kansas. and was buried at Mineral Springs Cemetery in Barry County, Mo, next to his wife, Clarinda. It appears he was very much loved by all who knew him. It seems he lived quite an amazing life, and my little bit here surely doesn't do him justice.  The link above also lists several sources, one of which seems to be his notebook. I would love to see copies of his notebook! If anyone out there reading this can help me learn more about this family, please contact me! I am always interested in hearing from other researchers and family!

A little more info about John and Clarinda and family: John's parents, said to be of German and Irish descent, were Thomas N. McCluer (b. Feb 28, 1790 in Maryland or Virgina possibly Rockbridge Co. Virginia, death date unknown)  and Susannah Trucks {Trux}(b. in Pennsylvania, date unknown, died August 1838.
John's siblings were Henry C., James J., George Y., William and Ruth Ann.
Clarinda was born December 9, 1817 in Luzern County, Pennsylvania and died June 16, 1893 in Barry County, Missouri. Her parents were: Thomas Barber Nase and Polly Montanye
John and Clarinda's children were Sarah A., Ruth, Susan Polly, Rhuey Jane, Thomas N., Amy, George Y., and Amanda. 
John's daughter Ruth is my gr gr grandmother, and she married Peter Hutsell Duncan (my gr gr grandfather). Ruth's sister Sarah married Peter's brother Thomas R. Duncan (both sons of William Duncan and Amanda Hutsell). After the Civil War, Peter and Thomas, and their families moved to Cherokee County, Kansas.