Worship: Were our ancestors Non-Conformists?

 The prompt for this week is "worship." I've already written about the connection between Carl and Ulrika Anderson and the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Allegan, Michigan. Also, the connection George and Malvina Henrickson had with it. I looked at the family tree to see if any other branches had a connection with a church or religion and discovered something interesting.

Mildred Bellinger Strand's maternal grandmother was Harriet Mabbs. Harriet's father William was born in England. William's father was also named William. William, Sr was born March 12, 1791 in Mountnessing, Essex, England. His parents were John Mabbs and Sofia Andrews. 

What is interesting is the book this record was found in. It wasn't found in a record from the Church of England, the official state church at the time. It was found in a separate book.

William, Sr's father was John Mabbs. John's brother was named James. Looking into the life of John and James Mabbs, it seems the Mabbs family has long ties in and around Billericay, Essex. Essex is a county northeast of London, bordered by the North Sea on the east. It was one of the original 7 kingdoms that united to form the Kingdom of England. It was occupied by the Romans and then the Saxons, who created the Kingdom of Essex. It was later occupied by the Vikings.

During the 1600's, England underwent several transitions. The monarchy was overthrown by Oliver Cromwell. Then Oliver was overthrown, and the monarchy returned. When the monarchy returned, the Church of England was reestablished as the official Church of England. All bishops and clergy were required to join. Those who did not wish to join the Church of England were known as Dissenters and Non-Conformists. A "Dissenter" was anyone who did not worship in the Church of England. These included Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Catholics among others.

Essex has a history of being a home to Dissenters and Nonconformers. Many of the Puritans who later sailed to America on the Mayflower lived in and around Billericay. I also discovered that the Mabbs were a well-known dissenting family in Billericay. Dissenters in Billericay

While William, Sr's family was involved in practicing freedom of religion, William seems to have been more involved in the free market. William, Sr. left Essex and moved to London where he married and started his soap making business. Later, he moved to America where he made his way to Michigan and farming. His son, William, Jr. farmed, but later he turned back to religion. He was a Methodist minister when consumption took his life at the age of 60, in 1884. 

It's fun to think of our ancestors as being dissenters and nonconformists in the annals of English history.

Out of Place: The Life of Austin Mabbs

 This week's theme is "Out of Place." Most of the ancestors in my family tree have pretty much stayed in Michigan. If they left it was to one of two places. They either moved to Florida, or they moved to the west coast of the United States, meaning California, Oregon and Washington. Today I'm going to talk about an outlier. Somebody who moved somewhere else.

Austin Mabbs is my 4th great uncle. He is the younger brother to my 4x great grandfather, William Mabbs. He is also the uncle to Harriet Mabbs, who I wrote about last time. Harriet is Mildred Strand's maternal grandmother. 

Austin was born February 12, 1828 in Chatham, Kent, England. Chatham is known for it's naval dockyards. Admiral Nelson's ship HMS Victory was built there. It's located 30 miles east of London. In 1833, when he was 5 years old, Austin came with his family to America. After a brief time in New York City, the family made it's way to Michigan. In the 1850 census, Austin's occupation is listed as a farmer, but in 1860 his occupation has changed to Master Carpenter and he's living in Ontonagon, Michigan. In 1870 he's found living with his older brother John and his family. John is listed as an Agent of Mine, and Austin is listed as Agent for Gates Stamp. John was involved with copper mining, so it looks like Austin got involved with it too. John comes to Deadwood, South Dakota in 1877. Austin soon follows. The brothers set up a company together, The Mabbs Brothers. I'm not sure exactly what they do but they are involved in mining in South Dakota. John eventually leaves and moves to Colorado, and then Chicago where he becomes the Chief Engineer for the Chicago Board of Trade. 

Austin stays in Deadwood and leads quite the life. I find him mentioned in many newspaper articles. He sets up a house moving business. 

He's elected Vice President of the Red Ribbon Club. He serves on an inquest. He's also credited with helping to foil a murder plot. 

In 1901, after selling his house moving business, he's elected president of the Yankee Gold Mining Company. He's 73 years old. While I can find all sorts of articles about his professional life, his personal life remains more elusive. In 1893, at the age of 65, I find him marrying a widow with grown children. It's the only marriage record I can find for him. His wife, Eliza, dies in 1903, and his brother John dies in 1904. Mention is made of John's passing in the local newspaper. On October 17, 1909, Austin Mabbs is found dead in his chair in his office. The local paper wrote about it.

At the time of Austin's passing it was thought he had no children, but that was not correct. After his passing was made public it was discovered that he did indeed, have an heir. A daughter, and granddaughter were found. In 1848, in Illinois, a daughter was born to Austin and his wife, Katie. That is all I could find on the daughter. The daughter later married and had one daughter, named Ruby. Austin's daughter, named Kate, died of tuberculosis at the Michigan State Asylum. Austin's granddaughter, Ruby, married and lived with her husband in Illinois where he was an engineer for the railroad company. After retiring they moved to Los Angeles where they both passed away. They had no children. 

One other fact about Austin. He and his second wife, Eliza, were Quakers. Austin's parents were Quakers also. I found their marriage listed in The Christian Worker, a U.S. Quaker periodical. 

Quaker Periodicals, Haverford College; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Christian Worker; Volumes: 1894 Jan - 1894 Jul (Vol 24)

I can't think of anyone more "out of place" than a Quaker Englishman in Deadwood, South Dakota, but Austin Mabbs seems to have fit in and done quite well for himself. He certainly led an exciting life.

Truman and Mabbs families

 I've written about Mildred Strand's father's family, the Bellingers. This week I'm writing about her mother's family, the Trumans and the Mabbs. 

Mildred Viola Bellinger Strand's parents were Charles Bellinger and Elnora Truman. Elnora Truman was the daughter of Madison Truman and Harriet Mabbs. Both Madison and Harriet were born in Michigan. In 1869 they were married and lived in Hillsdale, Michigan. 4 children were born to them. However, in the 1880 census we find the family living in Totten, Lonoke, Arkansas. Their last son, Judson, was born there. They didn't stay in Arkansas long. Madison's death is reported on January 2, 1884 in Hillsdale, Michigan. The family moved from Michigan to Arkansas, and then back again. After Madison's death, Harriet marries again to Albert Bush and has 5 more children. All in all she gives birth to 10 children. She was 19 at the birth of her first child and 45 at the birth of her last child. She must have been a remarkable woman.

I've traced the Trumans back to a Josiah Truman who was born in Massachusetts in 1778. The Trumans may originally be from Cornwall, England but I haven't gotten that far back yet.

Harriet's family, the Mabbs, are a bit more interesting.

Harriet was born in Michigan in 1850 to William Mabbs and Martha Patty Warner. William was born in 1824 in Oxfordshire, England. William was one of eight children, all but the youngest born in England. His parents were William Hawys Mabbs and Hannah Hill Stace. William Hawys was the only son of John Mabbs and Sophia Andrews. John was a Methodist preacher. The Mabbs family had been Methodists for at least a couple of generations in England. Our William Hawys Mabbs took a different direction with his life, though. His older sisters worked as governesses, and teachers. William, started a soap factory in London. He manufactured soap and was very successful. For unknown reasons, in 1833, at the age of 42 he and his family sailed to America. He settled in New York City where he invested in another business. Things were going fine and another daughter was born. However, the bank he had his money saved in failed and he lost all his savings. He decided to move to Michigan and try his hand at farming and the manufacture of brick. 

William, the son, was a farmer and at the end of his life was a minister. He died at the age of 60 in 1884 of tuberculosis.  His older brother John worked in Chicago as an engineer. Another brother, Austin, went to Deadwood, South Dakota and owned and operated gold mines. Yet another brother, Robert, was quite prosperous. He was a very successful farmer in Allegan, and during the Civil War he enlisted as a private in 1862 and was discharged as a 2nd lieutenant in 1865.

The Mabbs family has been especially fun to trace, as I've found lots of information on them. They've been very successful. It's also fun to think of ancestors living in both New York City and London.

Mildred Strand, with parents Elnora and Charles Bellinger.