Wrapping up the Cullins

Is a genealogy ever finished, well no – there is always more to discover. I’ve had the feeling, though at this point in my life it is good to do some ‘wrapping-up’ of the family lines. It wasn’t difficult to decide which line was first as these people (in a ‘6^th Sense’ way) have tugged at me and called to me for years. And, in a more down to earth way – be it an email from a distant cousin, or a little tidbit in an old faded newspaper the Cullins have been persistent.

It hasn’t been an easy journey. It has been 64 years since I first learned of my Great Grandmother Hannah Cullins Shaffer. No one talked about her after she died of cancer at the age of 55 in 1921. My grandfather wouldn’t mention his mother. My grandmother tried to get him to open up but he stayed as closed as a threatened clam – which makes one think that there were unhappy memories. Grandma hinted at that, but I can only speculate. Then Hannah’s mother, Amanda Cordray Cullins, I was told came from a tragic family living under a dark cloud, including a house fire where everything was lost. 

Dorcas Cullins, Hannah's sister

The Cullins and Cordray families were from Ohio, but Amanda was a puzzle. I was pretty sure Amanda came from Muskingum County, which was her husband’s birthplace, but to which Cordray family did she belong? She fell through the cracks of the 1850 census where she should have been named. She wasn’t yet married to William C. Cullins and she wasn’t listed with any Cordray family. She was about 16 and my guess is that she hired out to another farm as a mother’s helper and wasn’t counted with them.

To move on with the line I had two possibilities – either Amanda was the daughter of George Washington Cordray or his brother Andrew. At first I thought it was George and put that option on my tree, however that was a mistake and misleading to others who might have copied my work as I still had no proof that Amanda was George’s daughter. I kept looking and years down the road I found that ‘one little thing’ that confirmed her father to be Andrew and not George.

That one little thing? It was one of those little gossipy news items in a Fayette County, Iowanewspaper that told us that ‘Amanda Cullins had a visit from her sister Charlotte.’ It was Andrew who had a daughter named Charlotte. For a time Charlotte and her family lived in Fayette County but they’d moved on to South Dakota. Mystery solved.

William C Cullins, Hannah's father

Hannah’s Cullins family goes back to a Revolutionary War Soldier, John Cullins b 1705, originally from Ireland and with whom our families’ members can join the DAR or SAR if they wish. This is an established DAR line. Recently ancestry.com has added ‘Thrulines’ to our trees that show our DNA matches for each person back to our 5^th great grandfathers. That would be to Edward Cullins b 1727, the son of the Revolutionary John.

I’m very near to compiling and printing this information for my family with the help of ancestry.com’s ‘Life Story’ feature that adds significant events that occurred during their lifetimes.

Where from here with the Cullins? Last week I found the feature on ancestry’s DNA pages that helps me color code cousin groups. Wow, the group for Cullins, Cordray and a couple other allied families has 93 cousins of varying degrees. Those are just the ones with public trees who share information. There are so many more with private trees, or who have disconnected their trees, or haven’t built their trees yet. What to do with that cousins group?! I’m thinking about contacting the 93 to see if they would like to have a cousin’s Facebook page for sharing, friendship, and family reunions.

As for my Cullins family I have a choice, I can develop each allied family, as I have for the Cullins – filling out our information on our Muskingum County Ohio lines – or, I can pick a different family entirely. The thing is I recently fell into another Cullins rabbit hole when I received an email about their Delaware roots. Delaware? What! 

Autumn Doldrums

It happens every year. I love autumn, I’m going full-speed ahead, sailing before the wind, and then the wind dies and I’m dead in the water. All those things I have to do, all those things I was working busily and happily on are still there. I should be sailing at 30 knots because I gained an hour.

Wait a minute! It feels like I lost two. I’m slightly out of whack and still trying to get all those things on my list done but Daylight Savings Time has disappeared! I don’t know why the spring forward doesn’t bother me; but the change that falls back doesn’t make any sense – can’t we just adopt Daylight time as permanent? It gets dark way too early and my internal clock doesn’t make the shift easily. Of course, Beatrice doesn’t know anything about man tinkering with time so she still on doggie Daylight Savings.  Hopefully I'll adjust and the wind will kick up soon as I have a ton of things to do.

Don’t you? We’re in the holiday season!  I’ve been working on the book but in a scattered way. It is being accomplished a bit at a time. Glitch – I didn’t print, or have pages printed in order so there was no way to machine collate. I have been building the 10 books by hand. I’m looking at it as meditative time in which (and here’s the good part) I’m not sitting in a chair. The pages are spread in piles on a queen-sized bed and I’m moving around and around it.  Maybe it’s not cardio but at least I’m moving.  I’m at the confusing part. Which charts do I want to include and where? Still they are near complete.

The biggest part of the last week or two has been working on ancestry.com to complete all the family information I want to include (and this is just for one county) – the details for each person, such as relationship – “this is your 6^th great grandfather.” Or making sure I have all the dates. Are all the children listed with the family? You think you have it all until you go back and. . .  There’s always work to be done and it can be repetitive and a bit tedious. Still, there is a nice feeling when the record is as complete as you can get it. Is it accurate? I did the very best I could with the time and information available.

Overall, the book is shaping up nicely. Here’s the rub. Only a small portion of it will be ‘somewhat’ complete before it is time to send it off.  It is not humanly possible to complete it by Christmas. My book is turning into a workbook – an outline to be filled in over time.  Still, I’m happy with that. Ohio is there in all its glory and the counties set up.  I’m concentrating on one family in Muskingum County and will spend the first several months of 2014 adding the rest of the families. It gives me time to make the record as complete as possible.

Happy Veteran's Day!

It’s the weekend and gloriously beautiful. Time to get out in the San Diego sunshine!

Credits:  Nat King Cole "Autumn Leaves"  - Elyan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEMCeymW1Ow
Clipart: ship - ancestry.com
Photo: Price Center UCSD; flag & sun - Sandra Barber

Muskingum County ~ Pottery Capital of the World

Muskingum County Courthouse
Zanesville, Ohio

The first families I tracked into Ohio were the Cullins and the Cordrays and allied families. These are my father’s people and they were in Muskingum County very early.  Everything about Muskingum is interesting to me from the name to the rivers to the pioneers. This is a place where I’d like to do some genealogical digging, or vacationing, or visiting.

I did it backwards today. I’d already done most of the research I needed to complete the history page for the book.  I wrapped that up early. It has been a hot, humid, miserable day – not quite as bad as yesterday – as there was a slight breeze – but bad enough without AC.  Yahoo tells me that right now it 5:00 PM it is 89°- ugh.  I have a feeling we’ll have to cut the bridge game short tomorrow because it will be Tuesday before we have a break. I’m wondering what the weather is like in Muskingum County, Ohio right now. . .it is later in the evening as they 2,338 miles east of here.  Well, it’s not much different.  They had a high of 86. Right now it is 79 and they are expecting 69 and isolated thunderstorms. Alas, we have no rain but yesterday the air was so moist that a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky.

I’m staying home this Labor Day Weekend but I wonder what is going on back in Ohio. I see that there is a Rib Cook-Off at the county fairgrounds – Yum!  Other than that it looks like a quiet Labor Day.  But, coming up starting Sept 7-Oct 31 is something I would love – a Corn Maze. How fun! Coming up in mid-September is The Ohio Show – an annual juried art  show. 

John Glenn
Astronaut

Muskingum County is famous for its pottery. I could spend a whole trip looking for the perfect pot! Have you ever tried to throw a pot on a wheel? I tried, I failed and I admire those who can.  No romantic evenings with the wheel and some clay a la Ghost for me. Sigh.  I wonder if any of their famous citizens got their hands into the clay – see if you can imagine astronaut John Glenn or actor Richard Basehart, or writer Zane Grey covered in the sticky stuff.  Hm, maybe not but I can see Agnes Morehead turning out a nice bowl or pitcher.
                               

Whether you are off on a three day jaunt, picnicking with family, or catching up with the yard work I hope you have a fun and relaxing Labor Day.

Agnes Moorehead
Bewitched, 1969

 Photos: Wikipedia
Clipart: www.microsoft/clipart.com

Zanesville-Muskingum County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau http://visitzanesville.com/our_history/index.html

Desperately Seeking Amanda

[21 Jull 2021 I am happy to report that these mental musings about Amanda below finally paid off. About three years later I was searching through all the newspaper articles in Fayette County Iowa looking for references to family. These small town newspapers reported all the social happenings in the county. And there, finally, was a small item - 'Amanda Cullins had a visit from her sister Charlotte.' Checking the Cordray records I found that Charlotte was not the daughter of George Cordray, she was the daughter of his brother Andrew Cordray. That would also make Amanda the daughter of Andrew! Subsequently, I found that Amanda's mother, Mary Gerren had died in 1840 leaving behind under aged children, including Amanda and Charlotte. Shortly after Mary's death Andrew remarried and started a new family. It may be that this was not a happy situation for the children of his first family. When Charlotte and her husband moved west to Iowa Amanda joined them in this covered wagon journey. They settled in Floyd County, Iowa. William Cullins, Amanda's future husband followed from Muskingum County, Ohio. It is likely they knew each other in Ohio. They were married in Floyd County but settled in Fayette County.] The mystery of Amanda solved. 

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There aren’t many people named Amanda from the early 1800s so how hard can it be? How could a woman have lived, married, produced six children who survived childhood, moved lock, stock, and barrel from Ohio to Iowa, and no record of her family connection anywhere except her tombstone.

William C Cullins

Who knows, maybe she was christened with another name and affectionately called Amanda by her husband, William Cullins.  Or, maybe she said to him, “If you can be  Bill don’t call me MayBell. I want to be Amanda.”  Whatever the case, she is my 2^nd great grandmother and I’m trying to link her to the many Cordray/Cordrey/Cordry families from Ohio.

My great grandmother, Hannah Cullins, told my grandmother that her mother Amanda’s family was haunted by tragedy and bad luck. Their home was lost in a fire where all family goods and records were turned to ashes. Worse than that, it may be that Amanda and her siblings were orphaned in that fire – losing one or both of their parents.  This is where my memory gets fuzzy as I’m not sure if the parents were lost or just the things. Still there must be a record somewhere of this fire, or a Cordray family with a daughter named Amanda before that fire.

I love census records. They are a tremendous help to genealogists. The old ones are riddled with inaccuracies, but still give us so much information that would have otherwise have been lost – especially after 1850. Why after 1850 you may ask?  The census records prior to 1850 only named the head of household and numbered the rest living in that household. So much information is missing because wives and children weren’t deemed important enough to name. I don’t know who or what created the change, but bless them! From 1850 on all members of the household are named, including servants or anyone living with the family.

Amanda was born in 1834, so the 1840 census doesn’t show which family she is in. She doesn’t show up in the 1850 census. She was 16 and could have been helping out at a neighboring farm and listed with them or married. In 1850 William Cullins, who was older than Amanda, was still living with his parents and siblings. By 1860 both William and his brother John have moved their families to Fayette County, Iowa. Their mother, Dorcas Meredith Cullins, also moved to Iowa. Here's the kicker - I can find a marriage license for William Cullins and Mary Jane O'Neil on 31 Oct 1854. Who is this? Did Mary Jane assume the name Amanda when she arrived in Iowa? Did William marry Mary Jane and then run off with Amanda? Did my grandmother get her surname wrong, when she seemed so sure of it.  Was Amanda Cordray her 'real' name and after the fire was she taken in by the O'Neil family and given a new name - and, once married and on her own took back her old name? She is a mystery.

Amanda is with the Cullins in Iowa, of course, but who are her people?  William and Amanda named a son George W and there is a George Washington Cordray who would have been of her father’s

age. Is George W Cullins named after her father?  To further the Cordray research I’ve temporarily connected Amanda and George Washington Cordray as father and daughter, but this is only an assumption on my part.

In between running out to see fireworks displays, assuring my dog, Beatrice, that the world wasn’t coming to an end – oh, and in the end she actually watched the sparkly things in the sky – I searched the census for every possible family for a child named Amanda. These days you can find Amanda Cordray on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter (but not my Amanda - wrong century) and I've plastered her name on genealogy message boards – AMANDA b. abt 1834 WHERE ARE YOU!!!

Find A Grave

Find A Grave – this website was at the top of my “To Do” list for John Cullins and family this morning. Do you know this site?  It is a gem. According to my membership account I’ve been a member 2 years, 4 months, and 4 days. Despite its sad connection to death it is a living, growing, active website where people come to find relatives who’ve passed, or pay tribute by leaving virtual flowers,

or see who else is researching their Aunt Mabel. It stands alone or as a compliment to your ancestry.com tree, and Find A Grave information is available there.

It is a forum to share messages and photos. It is also a great place to volunteer. I use the site very often but do not invest the time many people do, as there are higher priorities at the moment.  In two years it tells me I’ve added one memorial; I manage 2 memorials (that previous owners have handed over to me); uploaded one photo; put in 4 photo requests: left 88 virtual flowers; and added 2 friends. I haven’t put up a bio.  I know, that is pretty pitiful and I must do better in the future.  I’ve volunteered to go out to the local cemeteries and take photos of grave sites requested but it is a popular thing to do here and any requests are snatched up before I get a chance to get out there.  Sigh. For the four requests I’ve made for the Robb family at Cadiz Union Cemetery in Harrison County, Ohio, no one seems to be volunteering.  Maybe some of these San Diegans can drop by sometime. The site tells me that it is only 2,057 miles from home.

Cadiz Union Cemetery
Cadiz, Harrison, Ohio

The Cullins' grave sites needed for our Ohio Pioneers project are in Muskingum County Ohio. Thank you to the volunteers who have trekked to the local cemeteries to record and upload the graves. 

I do my best to connect the Find A Grave to each person (international grave sites are being recorded, as well) where it is available.  I download the hint from ancestry.com and then visit the Find A Grave site – pick up the link and put it in the “Web Links” section (bottom right corner) of the page for that person.  I used to laboriously transfer photos from Find A Grave to ancestry.com but there isn’t any need now that the link is on the page – just a click and you’ll find them.

This morning I looked up the Find A Grave for John 1705-1780 and Jane Cullins. Name spellings change over time and for this name I needed to search Cullins, Cullin, Cullen, Cullens. In Virginia the name comes up Cullens and in Ohio it comes up Cullins for the same family of different generations. John and Jane are my 6^th great grandparents and are our immigrant couple coming from Ireland and settling in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. I found no listings for their grave sites – they may exist but are not on findagrave.com. Their son Edward Cullins and wife, Jane Jones, 5^th great grandparents, moved to Orange County, Virginia. No luck finding their resting place.

Ah, but their son John Cullins, 4^th great grandfather, is on Find A Grave – not with a grave site but a very nice memorial article.  He, along with his wife, Rebecca Jane Beatty, was our early Ohio pioneer, possibly around 1803. There is no memorial for Rebecca. They added to the early population of Ohio by having 10 children and they died in Washington, Muskingum, Ohio.

The 5^th child of John and Rebecca Cullins was John Jr. 1791-1857.

Gravestone of John Cullins, Jr. 1791-1857

He married Dorcas Meredith. Dorcas came from a family of Ohio pioneers in Coshocton County and she died in Fayette County, Iowa. Her tombstone is pictured on Iowa Gravestone Photos Project online. John Jr is featured on Find a Grave in Muskingum County,Ohio. These were my 3^rd great grandparents.

The 2^nd great grandparents, William C Cullins and Amanda Cordray were born in Muskingum County, Ohio but moved on to be Iowa pioneers. It is likely that William’s mother, Dorcas moved west with this couple after the death of her husband.

It has been fun finding information on Find A Grave this morning. Complaints about the site?  I don’t think their search engine works as well as it could.  If you put in information for a specific person often they don’t come up although they are there somewhere.  I’ve found that searching by location and cemetery is sometimes necessary. Search by last name only is helpful. If you are persistent you can often be rewarded.

[Note added 20 Feb 2018 - Since writing this article Find A Grave was purchased by ancestry.com. Subsequently, they have revamped and up-graded the site. It is a great addition to ancestry.com and it is easy to connect your ancestor in Find A Grave to your tree in ancestry.com!]

Photo of John Cullin's gravestone Added by: Kaci Cullins
11/22/2006 on findagrave.com