Going back on the maternal side of the family, Viola Strand's mother was Mildred Bellingar. Her mother was Elnora Truman. Elnora's mother was Harriet Mabbs. Her mother was Martha Patty Warner. That was where the maternal line stopped. I knew that Martha Warner had married William Mabbs from England in 1851, and I knew that she had been born in 1828 in New York. Aside from that I didn't know any more about her. I didn't know her parents' names, her siblings, how many siblings, or even if she'd been married before. She was a complete mystery. Then, last week, Ancestry gave me a new clue about her. It suggested I look at the Will of a William E Warner of Ransom, Michigan. Martha had lived in Ransom Michigan for most of her life. I started reading the Will and in it he says how he wants his belongings and money distributed to his wife and children. Among the children listed is a daughter named Martha Mabbs! While Warner is a pretty common name, Mabbs is not. The odds of having two women both named Martha Mabbs living in Ransom, Michigan in 1864 is pretty high, so I'm fairly confident that this Willam E. Warner is the father of our Martha Mabbs. In the Will William names his wife, Susannah, and his surviving children, William L., Orville, Martha, John W., Mary Jane Saxton. He also leaves to daughter Martha a silver watch that had belonged to her deceased brother Samuel.
After finding out the names of Martha's parents I was able to put them into the family tree. I then received new hints about them. I found their marriage license from New York. Susannah's maiden name was Fitzgerald. I was then able to discover the names of her parents, Edward Fitzgerald (1765-1816) and Anne Wallace (1768-1851). Edward Fitzgerald was born in Northern Ireland and came to America. Anne Wallace was born in New York. A lot of research has been done on the Fitzgerald line. I will have to read over that at some point. Not much is known so far about Anne Wallace.
Getting back to William E. Warner. I haven't found information on his parents yet. He was born in Connecticut in 1792 and passed away in Michigan in 1864. He was a minister and a farmer. He came to Michigan in approximately 1835, making him one of the first settlers in the area. When he died, he left the bulk of his estate and land to his son, Orville. Martha, William L., John and Mary Jane were given money. Martha received $20. She was already married to William Mabbs by that point.
Hard to read but the writing is very nice. I think $20 was quite a bit back then
ReplyDeleteYes, it's hard to make out everything, but he definitely says, my daughter Martha Mabbs. :) I think $20 probably would have been a lot in 1864. It's the same amount the son William got too. I've noticed in Wills that married daughters usually get less than sons. I think it's because they're married and provided for. Sometimes one son will get less than another son, especially if he's successful. It's always interesting when I find Wills.
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