Finding John R: 7. SOS the message boards

Putting a message in the bottle and tossing it into the sea is a lot like posting to a message board. Family searchers all over the world toss messages into the sea of internet traffic hoping to connect with a fellow searcher who might have a fact, a photo, a family bible that can tell them more.

We look for John R Allison's family on the message boards. We do not find him.

We post in hopes someone, somewhere might see our request and maybe, just maybe might know his kin.  Our post goes up on an Ancestry.com message board titled: north america> usa> states> Texas>unknown families.  There is an art to posting to a board that other related searchers might see. 

We don't know what it is. 

We post and hope.  

We are searching for the family of our great grandfather, John R. Allison b. 1844 or 45 in PA by his account on the 1880 US census. John R. probably came to Texas sometime after 1870. According to 1880 US census he’s living in Precinct 5 of Wood Co., Texas with wife Mary Catherine (Evans) and baby, Annie B. Allison. In 1892 he is postmaster in Hawkins, TX.We have found no record of him after this. What we would like to find is confirmation of his life previous to this and to know who his parents were. We have found a John R. Allison with a matching birthdate in the 1850 and 1870 US censuses of Greencastle, Franklin, PA and some military records indicating he was at Big Wichita, Texas. Posted: 8 Mar 2013 2:09AM

Source: 

Message board ancestry.com

John R. Allison b. 1844-45 - Unknown - Family History & Genealogy Message Board - Ancestry.com

http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.texas.unknown/17036/mb.ashx

Finding John R: 6. Call Shirley

Genealogists say that 90% of genealogical facts exist in books, court house documents, local records and not on the internet. We have done all the internet searches we can think of. No more John R. records are falling from internet heaven.

OK. Back to the phones. Stella searches the number of Texas' Wood County Historical Society and calls. She gets Shirley on the line.  She chats. Shirley says to write her our facts. She composes a note with all our facts about John R and his family in Hawkins, Texas. Stella attaches the family photo of John R's children.  Shirley writes back:

"Those are beautiful young people, I hope you had the good luck to inherit their genes.  I have some relatives on my father's side who are ugly as sin, but luckily I don't look like them..."  Shirely Bates, Wood County History Association.

Katie, Harry Craig, Ralph Stannard, Sam Evans, Annie B Allison circa 19..?

Shirley Bates went to work on our behalf. She checked cemetery records, marriage records, her library.  

From: "Batescatwoman@aol.com"
To: stellaallison@yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, March 9, 2013 10:24 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: links to John R. Allison in Wood County Texas

 I didn't find much, mostly the same things you had found.  I searched through the Pennsylvania Marriage Records for 1700 to 1896, but I didn't find Allison.  Also, the Wood County History 1850-1900 had his name as a Post Master but nothing else.  We have some of the 1900 census for Wood County but he wasn't in it either.  But you had said that the 1900 US census showed the children living with Mary Catherine's sisters in Wise County.  You said you don't know where or when John R. died.  Now you said that his wife might have died in 1894, and I looked through the cemetery books because it was possible they were in Texas (according to my thinking), but it could have been another county.  Here's what I'm understanding so far, correct me if it's wrong.  John R. Allison (your great grandfather) was born about 1844 in PA.  In the 1880 Wood County census he was found with his wife and 1st baby.  His father was from PA and his mother from MD.  He apparently had moved to Texas early in his marriage.  He was the Post Master in Hawkins in 1892.  His wife might have died in 1884.  He was in Greencastle, PA in 1850 and 1870 census. Mary was child shown only in 1850 census, she was born in 1842,  Your grandfather was Harry Craig Allison, born 1882, your father was Lewis Franklin Allison.  What was John R's wife's name.  Any additional info would be helpful.  Please correct anything on this and return to me.  Thanks, Shirley

Eureka ! Her records tell us John R. was postmaster for Hawkins, Texas. 

This is a fact match. Lewis Allison, our dad, mentioned the postmaster position. I thought the story was about his father Harry Craig. But it is likely the story was about his grandfather and I misunderstood. Family stories get scrambled in the telling and retelling. 

More threads….. but we still are stumped about John Rs parents 

Finding John R: 5. Civil War Soldier

Our picture of John R was a rural Texan, family man, small town owner of a saw mill.  

New facts paint a different picture. He is a Pennsylvania Allison from a town founded by Allisons. He is a cavalry soldier in the civil war for the Union Army.  We never thought of him as a soldier. Deserter. Yes, one of the records marks John R. as a deserter. What does this mean?    

Citation says he joined 22nd Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry (185th Volunteers) 

  Oh no…. now we get to become Civil war experts….

This is an avalanche of information to sort. The Search Sisters are learning that only slightly better than no facts,  are a lot of conflicting facts.  This genealogy business is complex.

Sources: 

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=NPS_civilwarsoldiers&h=1180992&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=1571

Soldier Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service

The national Park Service has a find a soldier that links to records from the National Archive. Simply put your ancestor name in and search.  Hint: spell the name many ways.

Finding John R: 4. The Allison Expert Speaks

Who knew that all over America volunteer archivists, historians, writers are making a huge effort to keep their local histories alive. These local historians know their stuff.  Often they act as angels offering help and sharing what they know.  

We are amazed with the reply from the Allison Antrim Museum's president Bonnie Shockey:   

From: "KBShockey@aol.com"
To: stellaallison@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: An Allison in search of an Allison.....
 Stella, 

 There are actually no Allisons living in Greencastle anymore.  There are Allisons in Franklin County, which is where Greencastle and Antrim Township are located.  Found some in the phone book in Washington county, MD. Back then (1800s) there were so many Allisons in town and township and the families did not use Sr. or Jr. very often back then that to trace the genealogy is extremely difficult.

I went to Ancestry and emailed you several records that I found.  One was for a John R. who deserted during the Civil War, Co. L, of Regiment 22.  Below you'll see two PA Veterans cards for a John R. Allison in the 22nd Regiment.  One lists him in the Field and Staff (F&S) the other in Co. C, 22nd.   Below those two is the John R. that I think you're looking for.  It lists him as being from Greencastle, 18 when he enlisted.   He was in Co G, 55th Regiment, Infantry.  It also gives his muster in and discharge dates.  I don't think Hugh and Catherine were his parents because of a Census record I found for Hugh and Catherine with a lot of kids.  John and Mary were not among their children. I don't know that this has been of any help to you.   Bonnie A. Shockey, presidentAllison-Antrim Museum, Inc.365 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, PA 17225-115  www.greencastlemuseum.org

Catherine Franciscus Allison 1810-1865. Not likely our grandma. 

Sources: 

portrait of Catherine Franciscus Allison
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=69154004&PIpi=61771533

Allison Antrim Museum: www.greencastlemuseum.org

Finding John R: 3. Ask a Historian

Stella assembles our hard won John R facts and fires off an email note to the Allison Antrim Museum.  

Hello, 

My name is Stella Allison and I am in pursuit of more information about my great grandfather, John R. Allison b. 1844-45.  The stories which my sister and I heard about him from our dad take place in Wood County, Texas. And, in fact, we have documented him and his wife and children there from 1880 on. By his account he was born in PA. We have located a John R. Allison born 1844 and living with Sarah Allison born 1812. In the 1850 US census they are living in Greencastle, and in the 1870 are both still living in Greencastle in different households. It does not seem that Sarah Allison is John R.'s mother, so we imagine she may be his aunt and have some ideas about that. One likely idea is that he is the son of Hugh Allison b.1803 and Catherine Franciscus b. 1810, both born in PA. 

Bottom line is we are trying to confirm whether this is the right John Allison as well as who his parents were. Our primary research tool has been ancestry.com and various other resources. We are stuck at this point and would love to have your expert input.
gratefully,

 Stella Allison
Oakland, California

message dated 3/5/2013 1:45:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time

Finding John R: 2. Google the Dead

Marian our friend, also an ancestor tracker,  tells us that there were a lot of Allisons around Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Why she knows this ….is a mystery.   But genealogists know things. Facts stick to them. 

Stella looks into Greencastle and uncovers passel of possible Allisons. She also discovers it is home to the Allison Antrim Museum.  

Wow. 

A museum with our name on it: Allison.   

Surely they know something.

Greencastle Pennsylvania founded by  Colonel John Allison in 1782.  

But what's an Antrim? 

 Wikipedia, the genealogist's friend, says that Antrim is a 
Township in Franklin County Pennsylvania. Greencastle 
is in Franklin County.  It is also a county in Northern Ireland. 

Are these hints? Lewis' middle name is Franklin. Lewis thought he was Irish... or Scot.

More research needed.

Source:

Antrim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finding John R: 1. Check the Census

Not only do we not know much about John R, the Search Sisters are new at this genealogy game. We find that we don't know much about how to find him.

First step: write down everything you know.  Check.

 Dad wrote what he knew about his Allison kin.

Second step:  Do a basic search. We look him up on original American People Finder: 
the US Census. Uh oh. Problem. Too many John Allisons. 

Limit search: John R. Allison, Texas. 
Yes.

We find a John R Allison in Hawkins, Wood county Texas, the census of 1880.  The 1880 US census confirms John R's birthplace as Pennsylvania. That uncertain comment about him being from Pennsylvania is right, just as Lewis remembered. John R tells the census taker that his father was also born in Pennsylvania as well.

OK. John R. Allison from Pennsylvania.

Source: Ancestry.com

Remembering the Alamo

Allison sisters outside the Alamo. July 1956

“Daddy, where did you come from?” LA asks.

“Texas”, Lewis says,   “I was born in Texas.” 

“Ohhh Texas. Does that mean you are a Texan?”

“Yes, I guess so, why ?”

“Like Davy Crockett?

Linda asked these questions in the 1950s when Disneyland ruled Sunday night TV, when Fess Parker won the heart of little girls and every kid worth his salt wore a coon skin hat.  Davy Crockett died at Alamo. The Alamo was in Texas. We were Texans…. Finally, something cool.

 A few years later we visited the Alamo. I was just eight. Stella was four.  Our family had come to visit Dad's cousin Vera in San Antonio. It was July and it was hot as hell.  The Alamo was not what I thought. I was expecting a fort. Instead we entered a big churchy looking building with its main selling point was that it was dark and cool inside. It was empty except for other tourists milling around. …. The only link to Crockettness was the presence of coonskin hats on the other kids.  I am not sure what I expected…. Maybe Fess Parker. Or some battle action. Horses. I remember thinking…. Is this it?

This was perhaps my first encounter with the big gap between myth and reality. Myth is so much sexier. Years and a thousand disappointments later I know to remind myself of adman David Ogilvie’s wisdom “never confuse the thing, with the thing being advertised.” I didn’t know that when I was eight.

Every family has its myths. Every family has its mysteries.  The project that the Allison sisters have set out to do is to follow the threads that reveal to the lives of our ancestors. To shed light on some of the mysteries…. And to perhaps to clarify some of the myths.

Search Sisters: Adventures in Family Finding

We started with a simple question. Where were our great grand fathers born? We had a few vague stories.  Our Allison grandfather was from Texas… east or west… or maybe Pennsylvania. Grandfather number two was from Mexico, or Spain....or Chile.

Our info was vague.

But we were curious. 

We had always had been curious

We wondered why or parents knew so little? Was there something to hide?

If you ask most folks and they are likely to know where their grandparents came from, maybe even their great grandparents. But in most families living memory stops two or three generations back. That is unless there was a genealogist in the family who left records.  Either that or the family was so important that a random geologist took an interest.

Not in our family.  There was neither a family historian nor the lure of celebrity to hand us any easy hints. When we decided to find the origins of our grandfathers, we became the family genealogists.

We started a blog to track our detective work called Historias Maltos… Maltos Stories after our Mexican clan.  Our cousin Janice joined our search team.  Soon the Sisters were obsessed with the search.  We went online. We visited libraries and joined historical societies. And we started building a tree.  It wasn’t long before we noticed we had a LOT of last names in our past.

What started out as a simple investigation of great grandfathers John R. Allison (1845-1894) and Jose Maria Maltos (1838-1905) soon expanded across genealogical geographies into the lands of unknown surnames.   We began with Maltos, then quickly found many more streams to follow. We discovered a bewildering number of ancestral paths and soon were drowning in a raging river of surnames: Hart, Bussey, Dionne, Dias, Dubose, Saindon, Evans, Craig, Cannaday. McClanahan, Laird, Luna, Gurley. 

While our Historias Maltos blog continues with posts about our Mexican mining family in New Almaden and in California from 1850 to now: http://familiamaltos.blogspot.com/ . This new blog called Search Sisters: Adventures in Family Finding documents all our family searches: who we found and how we found them.  Our hope is that perhaps it might offer hints to help another readers in their family search,  because finding family can be frustrating and but ever so rewarding. And who knows, it might connect us with family we are yet to meet. 

Linda and Stella Allison

December 2014