52 Ancestors- Week 15- Charles McFadden-update

 Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has created a challenge, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Each week the object is to post about a specific ancestor.

I have fallen a little behind on this challenge, but hopefully can catch up fairly soon.

While visiting my parents last week, my mother gave me another family journal that she came across while organizing their new place.

At first we thought this diary belonged to my grandmother, Ruth MCFADDEN Webb (1905-1985), but after reading several of the entries it appears to have beem my great grandmother's, Hannah BITTINGER McFadden (1846-1890).  

 

At the back of the diary there are several newspaper clippings pasted on a couple of pages.

There are two articles that deal with the illness and death of 10 year old Charlie McFadden (1891-1900) which I had previously posted about here:  Charles McFadden. 


Clipping 1:  Charles, 10 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis McFadden is very ill with catarrhal fever.

Clipping 2:  Charlie McFadden died yesterday

morning.  The little fellow suffered

awfully during the last few days of

   his illness.  Catarrhal fever, followed

by pneumonia and spinal trouble,

made his case a difficult one to treat.

He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis

McFadden and was ten years of age.

One mystery solved, he appears to have died of natural causes.

New mysteries:

     Catarrhal fever is an infection that affects mostly ruminants, cows, sheep, etc.  according to the Merck Veterinary Manual.  I checked A Medical Miscellany For Genealogists by Dr. Jeanette L. Jerger and What Did They Mean By That: A Dictionary of Historical and Genealogical Terms Old and New by Paul Drake.  Neither listed catarrhal fever.

     Why was his death still not talked about among family members?  Family lore has it that Dennis was an alcoholic and abusive to his family.  Because of this I had considered the possibility that Charlie may have died at the hands of his father which would have been a reason why the memory of him was hushed up.  Since other siblings died at young ages, yet were freely discussed among family members through the years, it seems especially odd that Charlie was not remembered.

  Unfortunately, the newspaper clippings do not include the name of the publication or the dates the articles were published.     According to the 1900 & 1910 census the McFadden family lived in Roscoe, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  I will focus on newspapers for that area and hopefully I can find the publication information and possible a little more about Charlie's death.

I was also considering using Charles as my case study for when I officially begin working toward certification through the  Board for Certification of Genealogists.   Fortunately, I have several other ancestors that would make for good case studies that I can use for this project.


Wordless Wednesday-Ruth McFadden

A picture of my grandmother Ruth McFadden from 100 years ago.  In an unusual occurrence for the majority of the family pictures I have collected it came with a note that listed names and the year.



1913
Left-Ruth Mcfadden 8 years old, Baby Jack McFadden, Allie Hibbs

I do not know who wrote the note, but I believe I can say with confidence that it is not from 1913.

According to the 1910 US Census Ruth and her family were living in Roscoe, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  In the 1920 US Census they were in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

So far, I have not found a Hibbs family who lived near the McFadden’s during this time.

Wedding Wednesday-Dennis McFadden and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Neuland

Application and Statement for Marriage License

Dennis McFadden resident of Coal Center, Washington County Pennsylvania

Names and residence of his parents are:residents of the state of Ohio

He is twenty seven years of age

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Neuland

Names and residence of her parents are:Luis Neuland and Hanna Neuland residence Coal Center

She is twenty years of age

Sworn on 15th of February 1886

A couple of interesting things from this document. 

Most other records indicate that Dennis was about 19 years older than Lizzie.  Family stories suggests that he lied about his age in order to emigrate from Ireland, then lied again to serve in the Civil War.  He is said to have been about 13 when he signed up in Ohio and gave his age as 18.

The second is the reference to his parents being residents of the State of Ohio.  Again according to family stories, his father died in Ireland during the potato famine while Dennis was a child.  When  his mother remarried, the step father refused to support the McFadden children forcing Dennis and possibly his brother John to immigrate to the US between 1848-1850.

It seems with Dennis, the more information I find about him, the cloudier his life becomes. 

Those Places Thursday-the Duquesne cable car

While scanning through the 1976 journal of my grandmother (Ruth McFadden Webb), I found this article about cable cars still running in Pittsburgh:

I don't know when this article was printed or where, but I'm assuming it was around August 1976 since that's where I found it in the journal.  Most likely it was printed in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, unless they subscribed to an additional paper back then.

My question is why she felt this article was worth keeping.  Was it simply because it was a story from home and was reprinted in the local paper?  Did the Duquesne Incline mean something to her?  Did she ride this frequently in her daily life?

I looked it up and the Duquesne Incline is still running.  When I do make my genealogy research trip to the Pittsburgh area, I'll definitely add this to my list of things to do.

Sunday's Obituary-John McFadden

From the Charleroi Mail 20 July 1909,  Charleroi, Pennsylvania

     The body of John McFadden aged 22 years of Roscoe, who was drowned in the Monongahela river at Duquesne  yesterday morning, was brought home last evening and the funeral will be held at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon from the Roscoe Catholic church.  The interment will be in Calvary cemetery, Charleroi.  The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis McFadden, three brothers and three sisters survive.
     McFadden was employed by his uncle.  At 2:30 o'clock he left to take the numbers of several cars in a train, and a flat boat.  He was not see (sic) since that.  The body was recovered at about 11 o'clock yesterday.

Wednesday’s Child-Bertha and Ella E. McFadden

Bertha- born 1886 Apr 26 died 1886 Aug 1
Ella E.- born 1886 Apr 26 died 1886 Sep 10

Both are buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Coal Center, Pennsylvania.  The story I have heard is that they died from the 'sleeping sickness' which hit the community along the Monongahela River. 

These were my great grandparents (Dennis and Elizabeth Neuland McFadden's) first born.  So far, I have been unable to locate any additional information on their deaths or what the 'sleeping sickness' was.

Wordless Wednesday

Here is an unknown class photo I found among my grandmothers pictures and letters. I believe my grandmother, (Ruth McFadden 1905-1985) is one of two girls on the top row.   Possibly second from the right or the end on the left.  During this time, around 1915, they lived in Pittsburgh Ward 19, Allegheny County.

Cool find at my parents house

Visiting my parents this weekend and made a neat discovery. 

A couple of weeks ago I posted this photo from my grandmother Webb's box of pictures.  I have no idea who he was or where or when this was taken.

Looking at some of the pictures my mother has placed around the house I noticed this one.

This is a picture of my grandmother Ruth McFadden.  This was in Pennsylvania, possibly Pittsburgh.  She was born in 1905 so I'm guessing this was taken in the late teens to early 1920's. 

My mother thinks the boy could possible be her younger brother, our uncle Jack, though it could also be a neighbor or friend.

While the mystery is not completely solved yet, it's cool that I seem a little closer, which is what makes genealogy fun.