September Dates in My Family History

Important dates for September in my family history include:

10th - death of Iver Hiby, my 2nd great-grandfather, in 1951 in Hamlin, South Dakota

21st - death of Kate Nellie Arthur, my great-grandmother, in 1974 in Clark Co, South Dakota.  She was married to Edward Harmon.

22nd - anniversary of Abraham Lincoln Greathouse and Sarah Jane Johnson in 1910.  They were married in Kansas, likely Johnson Co.  Sarah was my 2nd great-grandmother.  Abraham is the brother of Sarah's first husband, William Michael Greathouse.

Friday Finds

This week has Finds from Kansas and Niagara, Ontario.

• I am very excited to see that the Johnson County [Kansas] Genealogy Society now has a blog. I have quite a bit of my Scott and Greathouse lines that are located in this county and the Johnson County Genwebsite has been one of the most helpful in my search.
• Two other great bloggers have Niagara, Ontario connections: Kindred Footprints and Gen Wish List.
• Through their blogs, I discovered the Niagara Public Library's Historic Niagara Digital Collection. You can search through historic newspapers and request scans of those articles. The library will post the image on their website as well as send you an email notifying you when the image is available. I have already found an obituary on one of the Arnold siblings and am waiting for several others. Additionally they have an image database that is fascinating. It is definitely worth the time to check out.

Tombstone Tuesday - Isaac Grindstaff and Prudence Ledford

Headstone photos of my fourth great-grandfather Isaac Grindstaff (1774/6 - 1866) and his second wife Prudence Ledford (1812-1883). They are buried at Bakersville Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co, North Carolina. I believe this cemetery may have been originally called Grindstaff Cemetery because so many of the Grindstaffs are buried there. I understand there are two sections to this cemetery, one farther up the hill than the other. This photo was taken by my dear online friend and distant Grindstaff cousin, Anita Wages.

My ancestors in the SSDI

I noticed a post on Rootdig.com that Michael John Neill had noted his ancestors that were listed in the SSDI. I thought this was an interesting exercise and certainly not one I had considered before, so here goes nothing.....

1. Fred Joseph Harmon (1 Jun 1921-25 Apr 1993) - my grandfather
2. Kate Harmon (5 Nov 1889-21 Sept 1974) - my great-grandmother and mother of #1, maiden name was Arthur
3. Helmer Hiby (21 Jan 1895- Jun 1982) - my great-grandfather
4. Bernice Hiby (27 Mar 1903 - 28 Mar 1982) - my great-grandmother, maiden name was Hanson
5. Charles McNeill (18 Feb 1886-12 May 1970) - my great-grandfather
6. Della McNeill (15 Mar 1893-1 Mar 1979) - my great-grandmother, maiden name was Grindstaff
7. Frona Scott (13 Jun 1890-29 Jun 1971) - my great-grandmother, maiden name was Greathouse

It should be noted that both my grandmothers are still living as well as my parents.

The other unusual thing is that my grandfather, Lee McNeill, should be listed in the SSDI. However, the reason he may not be listed is that he died at age 59 before he started receiving benefits so my grandmother may not have needed to report his death to the Social Security Administration. And she was admittedly rather shell-shocked. Her mother Frona died at the end of June and just over two weeks later Lee died suddenly from a heart attack. Frona had lived with my grandparents since her own husband, Bert Scott, had died in 1950 on the day my uncle was born.

This also pointed out a couple of flaws in my recordkeeping. I need to note the dates of my Hiby grandparents' passing. I remember both their funerals fairly well, particularly for my great-grandma Bernice. She either died on the 27th or 28th of March and the funeral was on the 31st, which was their wedding anniversary as well as my birthday. And my great-grandpa Helmer died just three short months later in June. However, that date escapes me completely. I will need to follow up on that.

My surnames being researched

Before I continue on with Lee's story, I feel compelled to give a brief description of the other surnames that I am researching. Though Lee's family was the impetus to get me started, I have since branched out to pursue my other grandparent's families as well. The list includes the following:



HARMON from Clark Co, South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Whiteside Co, Illinois (1840s to 1880s); Berkshire Co, Massachusetts (? to 1840s). Lines related to the Harmons include ZIMMER, HEATH, and ARMSTRONG.



ARTHUR from Clark Co. and Moody Co., South Dakota (1870s to 1950s or so); Rice Co, Minnesota (1850s-1920s); Ashtabula Co. and Trumbull Co., Ohio (1840s-1850s); and New London Co, Connecticut (? to 1830s). Lines related to the Arthurs include BROWN (Ashtabula Co, Ohio), MYERS, STRUBLE (from Union Co, Pennsylvania) and COCHRAN (also originating from Union Co, Pennsylvania).



HIBY/HOIBY from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to present); Dane Co, Wisconsin (1860s to 1900s), and Norway. Also related is NELSON of Norwegian descent.



HANSON from Clark Co., South Dakota (1880s to 1960s); Winneshiek Co. and Buena Vista Co., Iowa, and Houston Co., Minnesota (1850s to 1880s); and Kongsvinger, Norway prior to 1850. ANDERSON is another related surname.



SCOTT from Johnson Co, Kansas; Furnas Co, Nebraska; Nodaway Co, Missouri, Davis Co, Iowa and Hendricks Co, Indiana; Associated surnames include PITTS, JONES, SHERER/SCHERER, and the mysterious SWIFT. There is great speculation and family lore indicating that a Scott was originally a Swift. It's a puzzle I'm still working on.



GREATHOUSE from Wright and Webster Co, Missouri (1860s-?) Greathouse branches also are in St. Clair county; Kentucky and Virginia (1790s-1830s). Associated surnames include JOHNSON, COX from Randolph Co, North Carolina (they were Quakers), and ALGOOD/ALLGOOD.