Calling All Cousins

George and Constance 
Wilhelmina Walton

According to an 1882 job reference, George Walton “… is leaving me on the 6th inst.  in order that he may join his  brother in America, where  he thinks he may be able  to do better for himself than  if he remained in England”

Thus  began a lifelong journey, resulting in an American wife, a dozen children and, for many of you reading this blog, our very existence, in part, because of that decision George Walton made 129 years ago while working at an estate in Wales.

During his lifetime George collected at least six job references. The fact that our family holds these 19^th century documents is remarkable because they are, in reality, mere scraps of scratch paper that some employer had handy when George asked for a reference when moveing on to a different and perhaps more prestigious employer. The words are part standardized formula… “Honest and sober...etc” ... but also include heartfelt sentiment, reflecting the man they described.

1882 Job Reference from employer in Wales

 To George Walton, these scraps of note paper, from a wealthy man’s desk, were his passport to future jobs. He preserved them carefully.  After his death, they continued to be preserved and passed down. Today they are written evidence of the character of a man none of us knew, but many are descended from.

Why are Vital Records so Important? 

 

 Certain documentation is important because, as Joe Friday might have appreciated, it gives us the facts….just the facts.

So called “Vital records”:  Birth, Marriage and Death records, have been recorded by church or civil authorities for centuries and clearly identify important facts about our ancestors. It is the “who, when and where.”  While we may remember a grandparent’s birthday or anniversary, a vital record certificate is bona-fide evidence of that event that is fairly indisputable.

For example, George Walton’s death certificate clearly states that he died on June 16, 1910. This is believable because the issuing authorities had a respected Doctor (J. C. Todd) who was willing to sign an affidavit attesting to this fact.

 

 

BUT the death certificate also provides George's birth date as July 9, 1860. This fact is literally “chisled in stone” on his grave. It’s wrong!

Does this mean you can’t trust vital records? No, but it means you have to use a large dose of common sense. Ask yourself Who provided the authorities issuing the death certificate the birth date. Not George! So whoever it was may have gotten it wrong.  I didn’t figure this out for 20 years. For many years I couldn’t find George in England because I was looking for an 1860 birth date.

In July 2010, cousin Gayle Judd sent me a copy of George’s birth certificate, dated July 3, 1864. With the help of cousins Claudia Shuttleworth and Gayle Judd, I “found” George in an 1881 English census. I had previously dismissed this George Walton record because I thought the age was wrong. Once I made this connection the floodgates opened and we now have ton’s of information about our English ancestors.

As special as we Walton’s are, there are lots of Waltons in the world sharing our names. John, George, Frederick, Charles, Frank, William, Constance…etc...they show up everywhere when you Google them. Of course most of the results are either for someone unrelated or are otherwise completely useless. Having accurate vital records can help us narrow down the search results and lock in on our specific ancestors.

To accomplish this I have added a vital records matrix to the tabs at the top of this blog. Please check it out. I hope you finds it useful. My first pass is to identify what records I have, which also identifies those records we need. The Matrix may be incomplete as you read this, but keep checking back...it is a work in progress. If you have additions or corrections, PLEASE let me know. Perhaps you already have these records for your direct line ancestors. If you do, would you be willing to send me a copy for the Walton Archives so we can preserve them in a central location and add them to the matrix?

Calling All Cousins

Claudia recently asked me how many cousins we have made contact with. Here is the breakdown- George and Constance Walton had nine siblings that survived to adulthood.

Three children have no living descendants:

1. Oldest son William had one daughter Gertrude, who never married and is now deceased.
2. Oldest Daughter Connie had one daughter who died in infancy.
3. Jack, the eighth child, never married.

The remaining six children, all had children and many had grandchildren and great grandchildren. Of these six, we have connections to five of the lines:

1. Robert Walton- Four children. We Need to do more research to locate living family members.
2. Harry Walton- In contact with grandchildren Claudia Shuttleworth and Craig Walton.
3. Charles Walton- In contact with his daughter "Pip" (Beatrice) and grandchildren Alice Kearins and Cheryl Frost.
4. Frank Walton- In contact with grandchildren Sharon Woods Walton, her sister Donna and Cathy Wright, widow of Grandson Billy Wright.
5. Lillian Halpin- In contact with Daughter Connie & Walter Ludwig in Fla. 
6. Fred Walton- My grandfather,  in contact with my siblings and cousins in Idaho.

I am hoping to make connections to all six lines and expand our contacts to other cousins within the lines we have already established. I know there are other cousins out there who may be interested and may have information that would be helpful to us.

Please pass this web link on to all your cousins and ask them to contact me to join us on our journey to document the Walton Family.

Checking the Walton Vitals

Now that I have wrapped up the 1940 census project for my grandfather and his eight Walton siblings, I thought it would be a good idea to use the momentum to start gathering their vital records (Birth/Marriage/Death). I have been doing this for the English Waltons and since I took a break back in March , I thought it might be worthwhile to finish up this first American generation, before going back to my English research.

The first generation American Waltons and their Spouses in 1948

When I took my first genealogy course in 1991, there was no such thing as the internet, at least not in my household (and I was an engineer working for IBM at the time). My instructor carried cartons of books to the class that we could use to find information. That is, not information about our ancestors, but information to make contacts to get information...maybe...about our ancestors. Nothing was easy!

After conducting family interviews with my parents and discovering that my grandfather was probably born in Tarrytown, I mailed a letter to the town clerk and a couple of months later received a reply containing the birth certificate I had requested. This was the first step in a long, slow chain of discoveries that has led me to where I am today.  If you have ever been through this process, you know what I mean. What amazing changes have occurred in Genealogical studies. Today, with a few keystrokes, you might find your ancestors entire history. But knowing that it is the correct history takes some additional good old fashioned detective work. And If you want that birth certificate...you still need to send the town clerk a letter. You generally won't find it on the internet unless someone like me put it there.  It probably takes just as long to get a copy, and will be more expensive than it was in 1991!  

My first Genealogical record obtained manually in 1991

 
All these changes got me thinking...Have you ever thought about the world our grandparents lived in?  Imagine having to get through the day with no cell phone, no texting, no email, no laptops or tablets, no internet, no satellite TV...all the things we take for granted. Things that have now been integrated into our lives.  It would be more than inconvenient to lose them, we have come to depend on them.  And yet, twenty short years ago...in 1992, most of those things either didn't exist or were in their infancy.  And, 10 years before that in 1982 when all but one of the Walton siblings had died, all of those things were unheard of.

Harry's brother William and Mother Constance vising Dalton, Mass. in 1925

(Photo Courtesy of Claudia Shuttleworth)  

Ironically, we are instantly connected through email, texting and cell phones.  We have hundreds of "friends" on facebook, but we're more alone than ever. When is the last time you spent the afternoon with your extended family? Nowadays my favorite coffee shop is as quiet as a library. Although packed with customers, they are all siting alone hunched over a cell phone, thumbing messages into a tiny keyboard...maybe to a friend sitting across from them! 

Walton Brothers and sisters in the 1970's, Bob Walton is probably behind the Camera
(Photo courtesy of Alice Kearins)

We only need to look at our family photos and remember our own youth to recall how earlier generations connected with their families. Our grandparents still lived in the "real" world... unplugged.  When they weren't working, they spent time with their family and friends. Look at the photos, see the family gatherings. On a hot summer night, they didn't retreat into an air conditioned "media room" to be mesmerized by some mindless dribble on the boob tube. They sat on the patio with a cold beer and warm conversation.  Were our grandparents poorer than us because of their lack of technology?  They wouldn't think so. They probably thought they lived in an amazing world.  When they were born, the world traveled with horse drawn carriages, their father was a coachman and spent his life working with horses.  His children saw the introduction of the automobile, the airplane and by the time they were our age, man walking on the moon. 

Walton Siblings pay a visit to brother Fred's family in Mahopac, 1963
 (Photo Courtesy of Frederick Walton)

They witnessed jet aircraft breaking the sound barrier. (remember when you were outside playing and heard it? We knew we were living in the space age!)  They watched telephones and "wireless" radios find a place in every home.  They saw a grainy black and white image on a tiny cathode ray tube usurp radio and then watched it flourish into color on bigger and bigger screens, some as large as 25 inches!

They could take their own private automobile and drive several towns away to visit friends or family, a trip that may have previously taken hours on a train or bus.

Charles Walton and his Automobile
(Photo courtesy of Alice Kearins)  

None of them lived in the 21st century, but they lived in a truly modern age, these first generation American Waltons.  And, they would be completely baffled by the way we live today.  No, there are still no flying cars and we still grill our steaks on the back deck. The cell phone and texting wouldn't truly amaze them...after all Dick Tracey had this sort of technology strapped to his wrist for years! But our world is more complex, more intense, more hurried...and harried! We are more connected, but more alone.

In August, I will be traveling through New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey on a combination business trip and family visit. I will be carrying the Walton family Archives with me, and hopefully adding to them. 

Rick's parents, siblings, spouses and children in 2003 family reunion

 As I start gathering the first Generation American Waltons Vital records, I may call on you to see if you already have something I need so I don't waste time collecting information you can provide me. I may also have some existing records about your branch of the family that I would be happy to share. In some cases my travel schedule is limited, but If I am nearby, I would love to meet you even if it's just for a quick hello. 

I hope we can connect on my upcoming trip to NY and New England.  It would be nice to remember the old days... with a cold beer and a warm conversation. (OK... we can sit in the air conditioned room if you promise to turn the T. V. off!)

The NEW YORK Walton's in the 1940 Census

Wrapping up a slice of 1940 Walton History

George Walton (1864-1910) and Constance Wilhelmina Long Walton (1869-1931) produced a total of  12 children, of which 9 survived to adulthood. Only one child, John (Jack), remained single. The rest of the siblings married and  produced families of their own.¹

 By 1940, George and Constance were both long gone, but their many children and grandchildren had spread beyond the borders of Tarrytown, the family home place. Most had stayed in lower New York. Son Harry was raising his family in Massachausetts while his widowed sister Connie remained in Arkansas City, Kansas where she lived with her husband before his unexpected death.

Constance Walton McMonagle in the 1940's

The 1940 Census gives us a unique look into these families and helps us see the roster of grand-children's names of this second generation of Walton's in America. For many readers, this generation is our parents or grandparents.


Back in March, I started looking for the "Westchester Walton's" in preparation for the release of the 1940 Census in April. Using the 1930 census as a starting point I located many of the siblings, but a few eluded me and Frank Walton absolutely refused to be found.

Starting with my grandfather, Fred Walton, the youngest sibling I located his census (see "The other side of the Street") and solved the genealogical mystery surrounding it (see "What became of Aunt Agnes?"). This was both challenging and rewarding. It took a little detective work to locate the proper record. I followed up by flexing my genealogical muscles and locating oldest sibling William, then, in birth order, I found Robert and Harry.

The next sibling, Charles, was in White Plains in 1930, but had moved by 1940 making him difficult to locate, so I skipped on to the next sibling, looking to harvest the "low hanging fruit" first.

I got stuck on the next sibling, eldest daughter Constance. She was no longer at her 1930 address either, but I had some clues that led me to a 1938 address in  Arkansas City, Kansas². A newpaper article I have showed her in WWII WAC uniform and described her as being from Arkansas city. Presumably this is after 1940 so I started searching through all the Census sheets for Arkansas City. I have gone through hundreds of pages and just found her this week. The remaining siblings had been on hold until I found Connie.

That changed last week. I learned Ancestry.com now has several states indexed, including New York. This makes searching so much simpler. I quickly and easily found three of the four remaining New Yorkers: Charles, Frank and Lillian.

John eluded me. He was living with Lillian in 1930, but had moved on by 1940, I suspected he was"hidden" amongst hundreds of John Walton's listed on Ancestry.com. This would take a little more investigation. I remembered he was in the Army, so I thought maybe he enlisted prior to 1940 and was away from home. Nope, his enlistment date wasn't until 1942. I went back and tried searching from many different angles, always getting the same result. No match for our John Walton (1906-1997).

In a way, it was almost too easy to find Charles, Frank and Lillian. I had enjoyed the mental workout of doing it the "old fashioned" way, looking through page after page of names until I felt like I was getting to know their neighbors. There is a certain thrill when you finally came to the name you were looking for, but enough is enough! where are you hiding John? Then it hit me...He isn't John! Well... he is John, technically, but everyone called him Jack. So I searched for Jack and Bingo! He is listed as a porter in a hospital in White Plains.

 I have now found my grandfather and ALL his siblings in the 1940 census. I  updated their links on the summary page "The Waltons of Westchester 1940 Census Summary" on this blog. I hope YOU will use these links to find your Parents and Grandparents.See what you can learn, beside the names. Did they own a house or rent? What was their rent, or the value of their home? What was their occupation? How much did they make?

The next step is to fill in the blanks. YOU can help me with that. Do you have family photos from the 1940s? Newspaper articles? Pictures of the family home? Stories? If you have anything you would like to share, I will gratefully accept your contributions. My goal is to create a page or more for each sibling to tell their story. How much detail we find about each sibling is up to you.


Notes:
1 Connie and E. J. Mcmonagle had a child in 1926 that died shortly after birth- source: newspaper article in Arkansas city newspaper and personal cards of condolence to Connie, now in the author's collection.

2. Connie's address when her husband died was 2403 N. A St. Arkansas City, Kansas on February 17, 1938. (Source:Diamond Grove Cemetery, located at 1601 South Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville, Illinois)

Sad News

copyright (C) 2012 Rick Walton
This week I received some sad news from cousin Claudia Shuttleworth about the passing, on June 12, 2012, of 93 year old Daisy Mae Walton Smith. Our Sincere Condolences to the Family.

Original Photo courtesy of Claudia Shuttleworth.
Photo editing and text by Rick Walton

Daisy was a granddaughter of George Walton, daughter of Harry Walton (1897-1981) and Sarah Mae Adams (1900-1977) and sister of Claudia's mother, Barbara Simmons.

Her obiturary was published in the Berkshire Eagle on June 25, 2012 and is reproduced in full here:

Daisy M. Smith, 93, passed away on June 12, 2012 at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, in Jaffery, N.H.

She was a life long resident of her beloved Dalton,[Massachusetts]. 

Some of her favorite things to do were puttering in her yard, walkingon York Beach and taking care of her family. 

 She was predeceased by her husband Roswell W. Smith Jr. (1977), a brother, Harry Walton and a sister Ruth Gaudette. 

Daisy leaves two daughters Cheryl Smith of Marlborough, N.H., and Susan Smith of Fitzwilliam, N.H., a granddaughter Michelle Amodia of Lancaster, Mass., three great grandchildren, Jade 13, Jasmine 13, Elijah 5, a sister, Barbara Simmons of Washington, Mass., and many wonderful Nieces and Nephews. 

There will be no services. She will be interned in Main Cemetery [Dalton, Mass.] at the convenience of the family. Donations may be made in her memory to Dalton Rescue, Flansberg Ave, Dalton MA.

Visit to California in May

Copyright(C) 2012 Rick Walton

I took a break from my 1940 Census project in May, combining business and pleasure, to travel to California. While there, I met our cousin Gayle (Walton) Judd and her husband Evan.

Gayle invited me to visit her lovely home in Saratoga, California where we traded stories and documents of our Walton family genealogy conquests and triumphs.Gayle has been researching the Walton family since the 1960's and is responsible for many Walton records available on the Family Search Website.

Gayle's grandfather, John William Walton, is George Walton, my great-grandfather's, older brother. Many of you reading this are descended from George. John and George are both son's of John and Eliza Walton.

Apparently John William came to America between 1880-1882, although we have not pinned down his exact departure and arrival dates. It is amazing how many John Walton's there where in that time period...he may as well have been John Smith! 

The Walton Brothers In America
John William Walton (1862-1936)	George Walton (1864-1910) Photo Circa 1887

We can conclude that George arrived in America around 1882 because of a job reference¹ from the Danyrallt estate in Llangadocks (modern day LLangadog), South Wales, where he was employed as "a groom under a coachman for somewhat more than a year." The job reference further states: "He is leaving me on the 6th instant [November 6, 1882] in order that he may join his brother in America, where he thinks he may be able to do better for himself than if he remained in England [signed] John Peel, 4th November 1882."

Is it signed H or S. L. Breese?
 Let me know your opinion.

A job reference² dated 1883 has George working as a groom for S. L. Breese (or possibly H. Breese). Unfortunately there is no address and, so far, I have been able to locate anyone of that name in the census or city directories in the U. S. or England. I don't know for sure if George made it to America in 1882 as planned. I do know, from a highly complimentary  job reference³ dated 1886, that George Walton  had been working as a groom for George E. Dodge of 72 Wall Street, New York City since 1884. Dodge was a successful Lumber merchant, Philanthropist and horse fancier. His glowing remarks about George Walton’s ability with horses is especially significant coming from someone who knows and appreciates horses like Mr. Dodge did.

The only brother unaccounted for in the 1881 English census is John William. coupled with the information in the job reference, it is an easy conclusion that John is the brother George is going to join. John's absence from the 1880 U. S. census leads us to conclude that John probably arrived after the census, but before the job reference was written, so he most likely arrived within the 1880 to 1882 time period. Anyone who can provide conclusive evidence of either brothers departure or arrival will be very much appreciated!   
 

Rick visiting Gayle and Evan Judd in California , May 17, 2012

 Like me, Gayle traveled to England and walked the same streets as our ancestors in search of clues.She related many interesting and funny stories, including an experience in Cheddleton. She traveled to England with her husband who was part of a choral group and decided to take a side trip to Cheddleton while her husband's group traveled to Scotland for a concert.She had taken a bus from nearby Stoke-on-Trent and traveled throughout Cheddleton on foot visiting many of the same places that I did, including the church. As daylight waned, she was trying to get in as much site seeing as possible before the bus was scheduled to depart. She asked some local women for directions to Sunnyside, The Walton family house, which is about a mile from the church. The local ladies offered to drive her over and a friendship was soon struck up. Although complete strangers, they ended up offering her the grand tour of the town the following day and convinced her to miss the bus and stay overnight with them.

Like two kids swapping baseball cards, we flipped through an amazingly similar set of photos taken a decade apart, trading stories and observations.That evening, Evan treated Gayle, my wife Ruthann and I to dinner at a favorite restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderful meal and good company. Genealogy talk had to take a break because Evan and Ruthann voted to ban the topic after a short time, allowing for more general conversation as we got to know each other a little better. This encouraged Gayle and me get together for an unplanned second day to discuss more genealogy "on our own time". 

 Gayle and I spent the whole next day together looking through several notebooks of documents she had compiled on her genealogical research. Given the short time window, we focused on the English Walton documents that were a common denominator. I helped Gayle set up a digital archive on her computer and we scanned in 22 documents, mainly English Civil Registration documents, that she has collected since the 1960's. I saved copies to my hard drive and was able to carry this treasure trove home to my archives.

As the hours ticked by, I was so absorbed in scanning and discovering... that I probably overstayed my welcome. I know I made poor Gayle miss lunch and I appreciate her patience with me.

As a result I have the following documents available and thanks to Gayle's permission, I am happy to share them with you by your request. Many of these will be explored in future blogs as we continue to document the Walton's of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. 

First Generation (Children of John and Eliza Walton of Cheddleton)

Father	John Walton	1852 English Civil Registration Marriage Certificate
		1890 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
Mother	Eliza Walton	1893 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.1	Emily Walton	1853 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.2	Elizabeth Walton	1855 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1861 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.3	Jane Ann Walton	1857 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1868 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.4	Mary Walton	1859 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.5	John Joseph Walton	1860 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.6	John William Walton	1862 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.7	George Walton	1864 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.8	Edwin Walton	1865 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.9	Louisa Walton	1867 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.10	Rose Walton	1870 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
		1937 English Civil Registration Death Certificate
1.11	Frederick Walton	1872 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate
1.12	Charles Walton	1874 English Civil Registration Birth Certificate

Note: Brothers John and George, the subject of this article, are highlighted

Second Generation (Children of George & Wilhelmina Constance Walton)  

1.7.5	Robert Walton	1936 SS Application
1.7.7	Charles Walton	1900 Baptism Certificate
		1937 SS Application
1.7.12	Frederick Walton	1936 SS Application

Footnotes:
1. Peel, Robert, Job reference for George Walton, 4 November 1882, Danyrallt estate in Llangadocks (modern day LLangadog), South Wales, from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.

2. Breese, S. L., Job reference for George Walton, 1883, location not stated, from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.

3. Dodge, George E., Job reference for George Walton, 1 Feb. 1886, 72 Wall St., New York, New York., from the personal papers of George Walton passed on to daughter Constance Walton McMonagle and then passed on to grandaughter Mabel (Molly) Walton Lewis who provided copies in 2000 to current holder and transcriber Frederick Walton, Raleigh, NC.

What Became of Aunt Agnes?I

What Became of Aunt Agnes?

A Genealogical Mystery Solved by Genealogist Frederick Walton

Do YOU know where Aunt Agnes is?

3 April, 1940, White Plains- According to Federal authorities, who gathered the official United States Federal Census on this date, my grandparents, Frederick and Gertrude Walton, resided at 27 Harding Avenue, White Plains, New York with their three children.¹

Using the address my dad provided made it fairly easy to locate the specific census page from over 3.9 million census images made available on April 2, 2012. The 1940 census sheet for ED 60-353, page 4, line number 45-49 clearly lists the Walton family. The oldest child is my father, Frederick L. Walton. (actually Frederick Stanley Walton). He is nine years old.  His brother Edgar, age 7, is listed next, followed by a daughter named Agnes, age three. The only problem is…my grandparents only had two children. Fred and Ed.

During my youth, I was well acquainted with the fellow listed on line 47, my father, Fred Walton, who I saw nearly every day. As a young child I could hardly wait until he got home, sometimes bearing treats for us in his overcoat pockets. As I entered my troublesome teen years, my mother would sometimes foretell my father’s return with the prophetic words. “Wait until your father comes home!” usually resulting in another sort of well deserved and memorable “treat”! Now, as an adult, any time I can spend with my dad is an eagerly anticipated and well enjoyed treat.   

My grandparents, Fred and Trudy, (line 45 and 46) lived next door when I was an adolescent, giving me a lot of firsthand knowledge of them. If I wasn’t at their house two or three times a day, my name is not “Dennis the Menace.” 

My Uncle Ed (Edgar, line 48) was another story.  He was the father of the three smiling children in the picture that graced Nanny’s living room.  She claimed they were her other grandchildren, which I found absurd since she was MY grandmother, but she did occasionally disappear for several weeks and return home with stories about my cousins in Idaho.  The whole thing was too much for my seven year old head to grasp!  When I was about 12 or 14, Uncle Ed, Aunt Virginia and my cousins came East to visit, which finally validated this myth. 

Agnes is listed as the Daughter of Frederick and Gertrude in the 1940 Census

 But, who was “Aunt Agnes”.  Her name never came up in family stories, which I could never get enough of.  I loved to hear the tales of my father’s youth in exotic sounding places like White Plains, Ardsly, Elmsford and Tarrytown.  I vividly recall his adventures in the school band, as a boy scout, a sea scout, playing sand lot ball with his “gang”.  In my youthful mind I imagined the colorful adventures of  his friends and as a real life version of a cross between “Our Gang” and “the Bowery Boys”.  But, he never mentioned any Agnes and neither did my grandparents.  Had I stumbled on some sinister family secret?

If he wanted me to know about Agnes, I’m sure he would have told me, so I was a little nervous having to ask him.  In the end, I figured the direct approach was best, like ripping off a band aid quickly. I gave dad a phone call.

“Hi Dad, I found the 1940 census for your family at the address you gave me … so…, who is Agnes?”

Silence...

“Huh?!?" replied Dad "What do you mean? Agnes who?”

“Your sister, Agnes?  It says here you a three year old sister named Agnes.”

“What!  I never had a sister.”

“Are you sure?”

I was both relieved and suspicious.  My father would never lie to me, so there must be some mistake!  But wait…this is the official 1940 U. S. Census we’re talking about.  There is the name"Agnes" in official U. S. Government black and white.  Plus, it’s on the internet AND it’s on Ancestry.com.  They couldn’t all be wrong... could they? 

Oh no!, perhaps this was some family tragedy that my father was sworn to never reveal to preserve the family honor. Maybe he was brainwashed! Maybe he never knew the REAL truth. Maybe I’ve been watching too many 1940’s late night movies!

Pondering my next move, the popular phrase WWJD popped into my head…what would Joe Friday do?  "Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts."  If Agnes was three in 1940, she was born in 1937, so maybe I could find her birth record or some other record of her, even though I knew she didn’t really exist. Birth records are challenging because they are not usually on-line. Also the problem with researching women is there are not too many records available before they get married and change their name. This was going to be a tough investigation, so I rolled up my sleeves and did what any competent genealogist would do….I Googled her name… just in case!

After searching around the internet, I didn’t find any Agnes Walton, but that really didn’t prove anything.  I decided to verify all the neighbors in the apartment building at 27 Harding Avenue. I made a list of all five families. One by one, I substituted each neighbors name and searched for any records I might find.  Suddenly, a 1930 census popped up for neighbor Raymond F. Baker and his wife Agnes Baker.²  Since "Aunt Agnes" wasn’t born until 1937, this seemed an unlikely match, but I had already found other mistakes.  For example, my father’s middle initial is S (for Stanley, his maternal (Bell) grandfather), not L as recorded in the 1940 census, so this looked like a promising lead. 

Checking the 1930 census, I found a Raymond F. Baker, age 29 employed as a railroad telegraph operator.  He had a wife named Agnes, age 28 and a daughter named Jacqeuline (sic), age 9 months.

1930 Census for Baker Family

1940 Census for Bakers and Waltons

Jumping back to the 1940 census³, I found the family listed directly above the Waltons to be: Raymond F. Baker, age 40 employed in the electrical department for the Railroad.  He had a wife named Jacqueline, age 38 and a daughter named Barbara Ann age 9.

Hmmm…..Did I find Aunt Agnes after all? Until the Baker clan hires me to do a more exhaustive genealogical study, I have to conclude the following:

1. The Raymond F. Baker family listed in the 1940 Census for ED 60-353, page 4, line 42-44 is a match for the Raymond F. Baker family I found in the 1930 Census.
2. Jacqueline Baker, age 38, listed on line 43 should actually be Agnes Baker, (incorrectly listed as Agnes Walton on line 40.)
3. Daughter, Barbara Ann, on line 44 should have been daughter Jacqueline, age 10, confirmed by the 1930 census and my father’s recollection of his schoolmate.
4. Agnes “Walton” on line 49, the bottom entry for the Walton Family should actually be the bottom entry for the family above, the Baker Family.
5. Barbara Ann should slide down as this final name and be listed as the 3 year old daughter of Raymond and Agnes Baker

I guess Mr. Edwared E. Brerlton, the enumerator, spilled his morning coffee over his notes when he was filling out his final paperwork and got a few names in the wrong place.

I know it’s hard to believe, but… the census, the internet and Ancestry.com were WRONG.  So today’s lesson is to verify your genealogical “facts” from as many sources as you can.

In the end…Dad was right.  Good ‘ol Dad – if you can’t trust him, who can you trust!  I called Dad and told him the good news.

“Hi Dad, I found Agnes”

Silence

“Huh?  Agnes who?”

“Your sister Agnes”

“I didn’t have a sister”

“I know, I know….she was actually your neighbor.”

“I don’t remember a neighbor named Agnes.”

“Well Agnes was actually the mother of a little girl who was your neighbor…named Jacqueline.”

“Oh yeah, I remember Jackie.  We were in the same class.”

“So Dad, you never had a sister named Agnes.”

“I know….that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”

Just the facts, I smiled, just the genealogical facts. I think I solved this mystery, at least to my satisfaction. I’m just glad I’m not the Baker family historian searching the 1940 census for Aunt Agnes!

Citation:

11)      1940 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, White Plains,  enumeration district (ED) 60-353, sheet 2B, dwelling 41, Line number 45-49, Walton  household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 04  Apr 2012); citing Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

22)      1930 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, White Plains,  enumeration district (ED) 60-354, sheet 7B, family 161, Line number 71-73, Baker  household; index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4GJ-GKD : accessed 6 April 2012)

33)      1940 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, White Plains,  enumeration district (ED) 60-353, sheet 2B, dwelling 40, Line number 42-44, Baker  household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 06  Apr 2012); citing Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

The other side of the street

 The 1940 Census has been available for a couple of  weeks now and even in that short time there have been many changes and improvements. I happened to be in Washington, DC on April 2, 2012 and when I drove past the National Archives there was a huge line of people wrapped around the building waiting to get in, I presume to take part in the scheduled festivities. I didn’t find out first hand because, after seeing the line, I couldn’t talk my wife into stopping.  We were sightseeing with my in-laws, who were celebrating their 60^th anniversary. That evening after supper, I got on my net book and try to get into the archives newly available 1940 census site, but got messages that due to overwhelming volumes it was unavailable.  So I failed to find my grandparents on day one as I planned.

Line to get into the National Archives on April 2, 2012

The next morning we were off to do some more sightseeing and it wasn’t until late that evening that I got back on the computer. I got right in and found the map for White Plains, I located the approximate street address and its associated Enumeration district (ED). This was way too easy!

The site asks for state, county, city and then only shows you valid ED’s, in my case 60-351 or 352, which really makes it simple. I picked the first ED and found myself looking at a page from the 1940 census, actually a photo of the page. Remember it is not searchable yet. I proceeded to scroll down the page. I looked for Harding street  in the first column and quickly skipped through the pages that listed other streets. I started looking at the Harding street addresses to zero in on address number 27, but they seemed to jump around a little, reflecting the enumerator’s trip up one side of the street and down another. Before I knew it, I was on the last page and disappointed that I couldn’t find the record I was looking for. Assuming I missed something, I slowed down and re-searched, more carefully, through every page, but was again disappointed. I noticed that this particular enumerator was a SLOB. He had poor handwriting, many names were scratched out and rewritten and there were even ink blotches obscuring information.  I began to think that with my luck he skipped the whole apartment building. I went back even s-l-o-w-e-r this time  and started to map out the streets on a scratch pad to compare them to the map and make sure I was in the right place.

I realized the enumerator hadn’t skipped the apartment building, but he either skipped the whole block, which was unlikely, or I had the wrong ED. I opened the only other  ED listed. AHA! I found the missing block. Newly confident, with my skillful powers of deduction, I skipped past the pages until I found Harding avenue and then went though all the names. No WALTON and NO 27 Harding, although this enumerator was much neater. The clock was ticking toward midnight and after a busy day of sightseeing, I was too tired for this nonsense. Just GIVE ME THE record so I can get to bed! Stupid computer!

I decided to go back to the beginning and once again, using a cross street  I found on Google Maps, (a good tool even though I later found out the street I used had changed.) I double checked the map location and the two ED’s. They seemed correct, yet I couldn’t find my record. It didn't make sense. I was LOST in 1940's White Plains! Determined to find SOMETHING, I decided to try a different search. I went back to the main screen and pulled up New York, Orange County, Middletown…My Mother’s home town.

Middletown was much smaller , having only one map compared to the 8 maps covering White Plains. OK, this should be a cinch! I opened the map and groaned. It was so faded you could hardly read the street names. Having spent half my youth in Middletown, I figured I knew the streets pretty well, but I might as well have been looking at a map of  the London underground. Nothing was where it should be and to make matters worse I could not locate “North Street”, one of the main avenues and the place my grandparents lived in 1940. Of course at this time of night, everything was getting blurry! After much searching, I finally realized that North Street was hidden under a bold black boundry line. Once I had my reference point, everything started making sense. I quickly zeroed in on my grandparents neighborhood and the matching ED. I searched through the records and…what the heck! The Packhisers were not listed either! Ruthann was sleeping peacefully ten feet away and I was ready to throw the computer out the window.

I double checked my information and rechecked the map, when I realized that North Street was a boundry. I had just picked the wrong side of the street. I opened the neighboring ED and BINGO, there they were! Wow My 7 year old mother, Her parents Erwin and Lydia Packhiser (my Grandparents) and a surprise….My Great-Grandmother..listed as the head of household!  I won’t bore you with all the other neat trivia listed in this record, but if you are descended from the Packhisers of Middletown, NY you will want to go there and look for yourself. (Look in ED 36-34, neighborhood 49, 251 North Street, Middletown, NY. ,page 20, line 62-65. http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/m-t0627-02709-00032/?backurl=&ssrc=#imageId=M-T0627-02709-00051 )

I went to bed, tired, but somewhat satisfied. I wasn’t until the next day, when I was telling my family about my discovery at the B&B's breakfast table that I realized where to find my father…on the OTHER side of Harding street. After breakfast, I fired up the net book and found him quickly. He was right in plain site in ED 60-353 on Page 4, lines 45-49. (If you want to see them click this link. http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/m-t0627-02709-00032/?backurl=&ssrc=#imageId=M-T0627-02814-00099)

There’s my, my grandfather,  Frederick; my Grandmother, Gertrude; my  10 year old dad, Frederick L. (L!?? It should be S., since his middle name is Stanley, after his maternal grandfather) and my uncle, Edgar. But wait, they also have a 3 year old daughter listed, named Agnes? I have NO idea who this is and when I queried dad, it was a mystery to him too! But at least I had the record and only 3 days after the records were made public.

So In summary, when you look up your ancestors in the 1940 census, make sure you’re on the right side of the street. And if they have a daughter named Agnes missing, I think I found her, she was visiting my grandparents!

Where are the "Westchester Waltons" in the 1940 U. S. Federal Census?

The "Westchester Waltons"...sounds rather ritzy, doesn't it? But, that is, after all, who we are descended from. This title is technically incorrect because many of George and Constance Walton’s children where either not born in Westchester or didn’t continue to reside there as adults. This is simply an easy way to distinguish the generation of Waltons we’re focused on for this article  from the “Packington Waltons”, the “Appleby Waltons “ or the “Cheddleton Waltons”. After all, the majority of George's family were clustered around Westchester in the first half of the twentieth century, although we're scattered to the winds today!

The 1940 census population schedules will be available for research on April 2, 2012, at 9:00 AM EST.

I spent time over the last couple of weeks searching for clues about the “Westchester Waltons” in the 1930s to better prepare us in finding them when they release the 1940 Census documents on April 2, 2012.

Where is Frank?

Do you know where your direct linear Walton ancestors where in 1930? If you don't, in most cases I can probably help you start locating them.

To start my own search, I located the 1930 census for the youngest child, Fred, my grandfather. I actually already had these in my records. My father, Fred, was born in 1930 but not in time to be counted on the census. They lived near Tarrytown, which seems to be the nucleus of the Walton family residences. I talked to my Dad and by 1940, his family was living in White Plains. 

The next record I looked for in my archives was my great-grandparents. I knew that George had died in 1910 (and now permanently resides in North Tarrytown, or Sleepy Hollow, as it is known today). His wife, Constance Wilhelmina, was living in nearby White Plains with their daughter Lillian. Both Lillian's daughter, Connie, and her mother,Wilhelmina are listed in her household. Bachelor brother John lived here too.

What about the rest of the brother and sisters? I decided to start at the top and work my way through the remaining children. I had previously stumbled across the census records for a few of them. The rest I had to look up on Ancestry.com or Fold3.Com. 

I was able to find almost all the records. Some were easy, a few were a little challenging, but one has me totally stumped. Sorry cousins...I can not find Frank Walton and his family. I tried all sorts of  combinations of their names, the names of each family member, even their dog and came up blank. OK I made up the part about the dog, but if I had it, I'd try using it! There is probably a simple explanation for not finding them, but right now I don't seem to have one. It's like he was out of town during the census. I am pretty sure he lived in Tarrytown...or maybe Irvington? Direct descendants, I'm gonna need help on this one.

The rest of the family has been entered into a table on a separate page which can be accessed here: http://staffordshirewaltons.blogspot.com/p/waltons-of-westchester-1940-census.html

I hope you will find this information useful. Please let me know if you find any errors or have additional information to add. Also if you know of any other cousins, please let me know, especially cousins for the lines we don't have names for yet.

And remember, next time you're at a fancy cocktail party, if it comes up, stand up proudly, look down your nose and in a bored and condescending voice say, "me?, why we're the "Westchester Waltons", of course!"

 

The Walton Family in the 1940 U. S. Federal Census

The Walton Family in the 1940 U. S. Federal Census

Last night I attended a meeting at our local genealogical society to learn more about the 1940 Federal Census that will be made available on April 2, 2012. I hadn't given this census much thought previously, but this will be the first time that I will get to see my Mother and Father in a census. It's so easy to search for family names in earlier censuses on tools like Ancestry.com that I assumed that finding our ancestors in the 1940 would be similarly easy. WRONG!

The 1940 census population schedules will be available for research on April 2, 2012, at 9:00 AM EST.

Fred Walton with sons Fred & Edgar
around the time of the 1940 Census

On day one, the 1940 census is going to be a collection of 3.9 million images that have been digitized from the original microfilm. So if it's "digitized" why can't we search it by name? Because digitized simply means that the microfilm has been converted to high resolution digital photographic images, but they have not been converted to text. So the challenge is to find the image containing your ancestor's information from the other 3.9 million images. Eventually there will be a name index to make this easier. Both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch have announced plans to index the census after it opens, but if you can't wait...the only option is to find the enumeration district (ED) that your ancestor lived in.

Every city, town, village or rural area was divided into a series of enumeration districts. This is the area an enumerator (i.e. the census taker) can collect information in, in the allotted time. It may be a couple of city blocks or it may be a whole rural county. The challenge is finding the address for your ancestor and then using that to identify the ED. The National Archives has placed copies of the enumeration district maps and descriptions in NARA's Online Public Access catalog (OPA- http://www.archives.gov/research/search/). The National Archives website (http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/) has lots of helpful information and tutorials to help you get prepared for searching the 1940 Census.

Who are you looking for in 1940?

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Start by making a list of the Ancestors you want to find. For example, I want to find my grandfather, Fred Walton. My father, Fred, should be listed as a member of his household. It would be great if each cousin would locate their Walton grandfather or grandmother and we can share that information on this blog to document all of George and Wilhelmina Constance Walton's children. You will probably want to add your other grandparents and your spouses grandparents to your list.

Where did they live in 1940?

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The next step is to locate their address in 1940. If it's possible, ask someone who lived there. I started by asking my father if he remembered his 1940 address. If there is no one to ask or they aren't sure, there are numerous other places to find this information. The first place to look is the 1930 census and hope they haven't moved. I may have copies of the 1930's censuses for George Walton's children. If you need a copy, just ask. If I don't have it, then we'll find it together and put it here so the other cousins can share the details.

The 1930 census for Fred Walton shows his address as Benedict Ave, Glennville, Greensburg Township, Westchester county, New York.



The enumeration district, in the upper right hand corner of the form, is 60-154 where 60 is the code for Westchester Country and 154 is the area for a specific enumerator to gather data. In this case the enumerator was Emma L. Brown.




How to identify the 1940 ED

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The next step is to convert the 1930  ED to the 1940 equivalent. There is a online conversion tool at: http://stevemorse.org/census/. Entering the 1930 ED 60-154 converts to a 1940 ED of 60-78.

Next we go to the NARA's Online Public Access catalog (OPA- http://www.archives.gov/research/search/), so we can look this up on a map and verify the address. Enter 1940 Census maps + the county + the state: in my case I entered "1940 Census maps Westchester Greenburgh New York" resulting in the map:

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New York - Westchester County - Greenburgh - ED 60-43 - ED 60-84

This actually opens to 6 maps. With a little searching I was able to find Benedict Ave., but I really need a cross street to zero in on the house location. Even if I did find it, it wouldn't have helped me anyway! When I asked my father, he told me they lived at Longview Avenue in White Plains in 1940. He also remembered his uncle Charles Walton and cousins Molly, Charlie, Gene and Richard lived on East Post road in White Plains.

I used Google maps to find Longview Avenue to get an idea of what part of White plains this was in. It is a LOOOOONG avenue. I had to go back to Dad to get an intersection to help me narrow down my search. Once I had an intersection I was able to use the tool at http://stevemorse.org/census to answer a few questions (State, City, Street, Cross Street) and narrowed down the enumeration district to 60-365-367 or 383 or 386. When the Census is available, on April 2nd, this will be my starting place, but you still have to go through the records name by name. I wonder if he had any famous or interesting neighbors?

Another place to look for addresses is city directories. If you still live in the same area as your grandparents did you may find copies in your local library. The New York State Library in Albany also has a large collection of city directories (http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/genealogy/citydir.htm).You can try searching online, although I have spent time searching for Westchester and Tarrytown and have come up empty handed. If you find a good online source, please let me know and we can document it here.

Still another place to search are World War II Draft Records (contact the National Archives' Regional Location for the state in which your ancestor lived or check Ancestry.com or Fold3.com)

Next Steps

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I have a few more names to look up on my mothers side as well as my wife, Ruthann's family.  I hope you will look up your Walton Ancestors too! In the coming weeks I will place a table here with each of George's children's names, their 1930 address & ED  if known, their 1940 address and ED if known and who will be conducting the search. Please let me know if you will be researching your line or would like to take one of the family lines that we haven't identified any cousins yet. This exercise may help us identify them.

If you have any questions after visiting the NARA site, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer them.

If all this seems like a lot of work...it is! but won't it be fun to see those records "hot off the press". In the meantime, take a look at a 1940 census taker in action .

Good Luck Family Historians!