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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => Topic started by: Alonza0 on Friday 12 May 17 15:29 BST (UK)
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I was researching a distance branch of my family tree when I came across a relative who I can only find listed on two censuses, which struck me as very odd, because she has quite a peculiar name - Blossom. I would have thought someone with a name like that would stand out, but I'm not seeing her on any of the searches I've done.
- Blossom M McCall shows up as an 8 year-old on the 1920 census (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M61M-1KQ). It's unclear who her parents are, as she's listed as the granddaughter of Hugh and Augusta McCall.
- She shows up again on the 1930 census (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R89-46L?cc=1810731), aged 19. Again, she's listed as Hugh and Augusta's granddaughter (on a separate page here (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R89-4K1?i=9&cc=1810731)).
Apart from that, I can't find her. I'd like to know what happened to her, but I'd really like to know who her parents were. As far as I can tell, she was probably born out of wedlock to one of Hugh and Augusta's oldest six children given that she would have been born 1911-2. So the options would be:
- Edith McCall Wilson - born 1885, but married and with other children by 1903, so unlikely.
- Harry John McCall - born 1888, never married and lived in the same house as Blossom until his death in 1931, but when asked on his WWI draft card if he had any dependents (including children under 12), he wrote "brothers and sisters."
- Anna McCall - born 1890 and disappeared after the 1910 census. Unsure if died or married.
- Lillian McCall Griffith - born 1892, but had married and had a daughter by 1914. If she was Blossom's mother, she didn't bring her daughter with her when she married and moved house. She lived quite close to her parents and witnessed her brother's death certificate in 1931, so I can't imagine it was a case of hiding a child from her husband.
- Margaret (Margie) McCall - born 1895 and died single in 1919 of influenza and epilepsy.
- George M McCall - born 1896 and lived in the same house as Blossom through 1930, but wrote "no" when asked if he had dependents on his WWI draft card.
The next sibling wasn't born until 1901, so these seem the only possible options. Does anyone have any idea how to narrow down which of these siblings Blossom might have belonged to?
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I don't see a Blossom, but there was a Margaret McCall born in Columbia in 1911. Maybe Margaret was the M. initial? The mother's maiden name was listed as M. Snyder. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r11_089_BirthIndexes/Birth_1911/1911%20-%20M.PDF The 1912 birth index isn't available yet, and I'm not sure when it's expected to be released.
Since Blossom shows up as divorced in 1930, maybe a marriage record would be revealing. There is a Lancaster Co. site with marriage and other indexes - http://web.co.lancaster.pa.us/193/Genealogy-Research-Historical-Indexes - but it looks like they have to be scrolled through. There are also some Pennsylvania marriages on familysearch.org, but nothing with Blossom jumped out at me.
A marriage for Anna might be helpful. I didn't see a death for her in Pennsylvania, unless she moved away.
Are there obituaries for any of the McCall siblings? Maybe they would mention Blossom one way or another.
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Possible lead. In 1920/1930 Blossom was living in Columbia, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
This Blossom of same age was living in Columbia, Pennsylvania in 1935.
1940 census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWGH-GQZ
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Disregard the Margaret McCall birth record, as I found a death certificate for her and she died 1914.
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I had noticed Blossom was divorced early on, but this had completely slipped by mind. I haven't seen any marriage records, but I'll redouble my efforts. Blossom William seems like a promising lead. Let's see if I can find more.
Most obituaries from the area are behind a Newspapers.com paywall, so I haven't thought to check, but I'll have to see if I can maybe dig anything up through requests. Thanks to both of you!
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shellyesq, thanks for the tip about the Lancaster archives. I hadn't known they were available. I was able to find Blossom on the list of marriage licenses - her first marriage was apparently a very brief one to Wayne C. Brosey, ten years her senior, in 1928. There's plenty of information about him online, but nothing connecting him to Blossom. Does anyone know if I can do anything with the marriage license number online?
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I looked on family search and they are only indexed to 1904
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01k38/
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It looks like records can requested by e-mail for a small fee - http://web.co.lancaster.pa.us/194/Requesting-Records
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Put an original post that could'nt make sense of the 1930 census - now see that there are arrows on the original census pages and it now makes sense. Have removed the original post to avoid confusion.
Sorry
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Seem to have reached standstill on this thread - whilst your waiting - there is a RAOGK volunteer for Lancaster County which might be worth a try to see if they can locate obituaries for you or a marriage/death record for Anna - "Anybody with Lancaster County, PA questions"
https://www.raogk.org/lookups/region/pennsylvania/
Sandra
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...As far as I can tell, she was probably born out of wedlock to one of Hugh and Augusta's oldest six children given that she would have been born 1911-2. So the options would be:
- Edith McCall Wilson - born 1885, but married and with other children by 1903, so unlikely.
- Harry John McCall - born 1888, never married and lived in the same house as Blossom until his death in 1931, but when asked on his WWI draft card if he had any dependents (including children under 12), he wrote "brothers and sisters."
- Anna McCall - born 1890 and disappeared after the 1910 census. Unsure if died or married.
- Lillian McCall Griffith - born 1892, but had married and had a daughter by 1914. If she was Blossom's mother, she didn't bring her daughter with her when she married and moved house. She lived quite close to her parents and witnessed her brother's death certificate in 1931, so I can't imagine it was a case of hiding a child from her husband.
- Margaret (Margie) McCall - born 1895 and died single in 1919 of influenza and epilepsy.
- George M McCall - born 1896 and lived in the same house as Blossom through 1930, but wrote "no" when asked if he had dependents on his WWI draft card.
The next sibling wasn't born until 1901, so these seem the only possible options. Does anyone have any idea how to narrow down which of these siblings Blossom might have belonged to?
Looking at the 1920 census, children also included:
Agnes M, age 16
Pauline G, age 14
Helen, age 10
Mary, age 10
According to the birth record for Mary McCall (12th birth) - the mother had 12 children, 11 were living in 1909 [Helen McCall was the 11th birth]. Yet, the above children (minus the one early death) only adds up to 10 children. :-\ Who is the child who was still alive in 1909 yet not mentioned above? Note: Blossom had not yet been born, as of 1909 so she wasn't the "missing" name. Hopefully, I did the math correctly. ;) ;D
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Yet, the above children (minus the one early death) only adds up to 10 children. :-\ Who is the child who was still alive in 1909 yet not mentioned above?
Lisa, I'm so sorry - I completely missed that there had been another response on this thread. You're absolutely right, though. I never noticed the number of children - the mystery thickens! And actually, it thickens further:
Helen and Mary were born in 1909 and were the 11 and 12th children, with one sibling listed as deceased.
I managed to find another one of the children - a Jennie that was born in 1907. She's listed as the 9th child, but I can't find any children born in 1908, or a death certificate for Jennie. The really strange part though is that Jennie says that she's the 9th birth and 7 are alive. So the real question is - who was this child that came back to life?
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My great grandmother was blossom Marie Campbell born in 1916 in Pennsylvania. Her mother was Edith McCall and her father was Muter Campbell. I also got caught up with the Blossom McCall that was born in 1911 and married William brosey but just like you I wasn't able to find out much information on her.
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The original poster hasn't been here in a long time, but in case they return:
It looks like Blossom married Wayne C. Brosey in 1928. Newspaper article about it - https://www.newspapers.com/article/intelligencer-journal/174966930/
It looks like Wayne married someone else in 1930, when Blossom was shown as divorced in the 1930 census - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNT4-T5M?lang=en
Blossom is mentioned as attending a birthday party in 1936 - https://www.newspapers.com/article/lancaster-new-era/174967149/
There is a tree that has Blossom as remarried and in Ohio as of the 1940 census - https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWGH-GQZ?lang=en Not sure if that's correct. The tree also lists Blossom's father as John Franklin Hogentogler, born 8 Aug. 1882, died 20 Mar. 1954, both events in Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, and her mother as Anna McCall. Again, not sure if that's correct.