Kin and Konnections: A Family History Blog

Soldiers Give Eyewitness Testimony about Christopher Tinkler's Head Injury During the Battle of Gettysburg My ancestor Christopher Tinkler served in the 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company D in the Union Army during the Civil War. In April 2001, I obtained a copy of his pension file from the National Archives Records Administration in Washington, D.C., File No. WC-488-382. Here is a transcription of affidavits submitted by his fellow soldiers prepared in support of Christopher's pension application: The State of Ohio ) Stark County         ) ss           On this 6 th day of October AD 1874 before me the undersigned authority within and for said County personally came Harrison Failor and William H. Steiner, both of Pike Township Stark County Ohio, both well known to me as credible persons, entitled to full faith and credit, and who being duly sworn say:             That the...

John Henry and Lizzie (Wright) Tinkler in 1930s Los Angeles, from family photo collection. Several months ago, my aunt and I noticed a John Henry Tinkler [my second great-grandfather] listed on the California Death Index at Rootsweb. He was born in Ohio on June 13, 1859 and died in California on March 4, 1942. The mother's maiden name was listed as Kline. This threw us for a loop since Uncle Leslie Tinkler's family tree listed John Henry's mother's maiden name as Phoebe Carey. Anyway, through postings on genealogy message boards, I got a reply listing a marriage date for John H. Tinkler and Susan E. Wright in Bethany, Illinois. I sent away for their marriage register and the birth register for [their son] Clancy Bradford Tinkler, Sr. The marriage register shows they were married in Bethany on April 29, 1888. His mother's maiden name is listed as JULIA A. KLINE and his father's name is listed as CHRISTOPHER TINKLER. He was born in Stark County, Ohio where many Ti...

Goodfellows Were From Ireland I just received the portions of the Burwell/Tate papers I requested from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. It includes several pictures (most are unidentified); the booklet from the Burwell Family picnic in 1870 at Burwell Farms in Connecticut; Mary Alice Burwell's DAR application; Moses and Isabella's marriage certificate; obituaries for: Moses, Isabella, Nettie, Lydia Wilson (Isabella's sister) and William Wilson (Lydia's husband); and various genealogy notes. Isabella Goodfellow's grandfather was Moore Goodfellow (married to Isabella or Isabel Nichelson) born about 1779 in the County of Tyrone, Ireland. He came to America in about 1804, first settling in Maryland. After a few years he moved to Ohio where he died on September 11, 1860. Mom found on the Internet a Moore Goodfellow in the War of 1812 Muster Rolls. Originally published on my personal MyFamily.com website on September 8, 2000. Edited for clarity.  Categories: Bur...

John H. Bryant, Contractor and Builder, Bloomington, Illinois The following biography is listed in the Portrait and Biographical Album of McLean County, Illinois, published in Chicago in 1887 by Chapman Brothers:  JOHN H. BRYANT, contractor and builder, having his office at the intersection of Northeast and Douglas streets, Bloomington, may be properly numbered among the pioneer settlers of Illinois, as he came here in 1837 with his parents, being then a young child. He was born in East Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 3, 1833, his parents being Eben and Martha (Brown) Bryant, natives of Wakefield and Charlestown, Mass. Eben Bryant was a farmer by occupation, and emigrated from the Bay State to Illinois in 1837, settling in Pike County, upon 160 acres of wild land, which he improved and cultivated and occupied until his death; which occurred in 1866. The mother survived him twelve years, dying at the old homestead in 1878. They were the parents of five children, four now living, as follows: ...

A note I wrote on 29 October 2002 for my ancestor John Henry Bryant in my family tree: The biography from the Portrait and Biographical Album of McLean County is one of my favorite finds.  I was in the Los Angeles Public Library on a weekend in September 2000.  I thought I had just about tapped out all of the resources the library had to offer for my genealogical research.  Boy, was I wrong.  When I pulled the old crumbling book from the shelf, I looked up the family names from McLean County: Bryant, Champion, Burwell, Ingersoll.  I was elated to find good old John H. Bryant.  I realized I had seen the biography earlier that year when I first started my research but had dismissed it because I didn't recognize the family connection.  This linked our Illinois Bryants back to Massachusetts and to the ancestor, Abraham Bryant, that came from England to America.

I found a pair of Burwell sisters in the DAR [Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books] that I believe are my great-great-grandfather John W. Burwell's sisters. From Volume 14, p. 122 (for the year 1896): Miss Nettie B. Burwell ID No. 13326 Born in Illinois Descendant of John Burwell, of New Jersey. Daughter of Moses T. Burwell and Isabella Goodfellow, his wife. Granddaughter of John Burwell and Missouri Thorp, his wife. Gr.-granddaughter of Jonathan Burwell and Mary Comer, his wife. Gr.-gr.-granddaughter of John Burwell and ___ Lyons, his wife. John Burwell turned out in Capt. Stephen Baldwin's company, Col. Sylvanus Seely's regiment of Morris county militia, 1780, at Connecticut Farms, N.J. He died 1825. Mrs. Mary Alice Burwell Burns ID No. 13327 Born in Illinois. Wife of Luther Burns. Descendant of John Burwell. Daughter of Moses T. Burwell and Isabella Goodfellow, his wife. See No 13326. I believe that these women are John W.'s sisters for several reasons:...

Mom was on the familysearch.org site last night and found George Champion's parents: George Champion and Eleanor Ellis. We know it's his parents because it lists the same birthplace [Bristol, England] and birth date [24 February 1840]. No other information was found. Originally published on the MyFamily.com website on 2 July 2000. Edited for clarity. Comments are in brackets.