Multiple posts?

After I post an article, I usually go back and revise or correct it, two or three times.  I wonder if those who subscribe then receive those posts each time I make a correction, which would be a nuisance.  Please let me know if this is happening ...

The Beauty of Blogs ...

My genealogy has always progressed in spurts of activity here and there.  There's always more to uncover, and most of us just don't have the time to devote to the research.  Then I'll stumble across a name somewhere, check my family tree, look for a little information in my favorite Internet spots or library databases, add a family or two to my tree, and move on.  Usually, I raise more questions than I answer, then put all my notes in a file for later reference.  Or I learn interesting things about a family that's not in my direct line of ancestors, so is beyond the scope of what I intend doing with my family history web page, so put all my notes away in a file.  The problem for genealogists is always how do I get so much information out where people can see it?  So the beauty of blogs is that now I can make my notes here to share, to remember later, maybe someday to add to my history.   But most of this information will probably just stay here.  Out where others can learn from it, instead of in my filing cabinet.  Maybe I'll get lucky and connect with someone who can help move my research back to the other side of the ocean.

LaBrunes

I don't know how to go back further in time with the LaBrunes.  I first found them in 1840 in Stonelick Township, Clermont co., Ohio.  Ten years later they were in Dubuque co., Iowa, where they settled.  By comparing the two censuses you can see that two children are no longer with the family in 1850: a son born between 1820 and 1830 in France and a daughter born between 1835 and 1840, we know not where.  I'm assuming the daughter passed away since she would only be 10 to 15 years old in 1850, so probably still living with the family.  The missing son, on the other hand, would be 20 to 30 years old and could easily have gone his own way.  Somewhere.  There are not many LaBrunes in the United States in the mid 1800s, which should make it easier to find any stray family members.  But I haven't found any.  A while back I found a LaBrune was married in Brown co., Ohio, adjacent to Clermont co. where our LaBrunes had lived, in 1868.  I was hoping that this might be the missing son, who had stayed in Ohio.  Recently, though I found some more information.  The 1868 marriage was between a Philip LaBrune born in about 1796 and  a Josephine Oligee born in about 1804.  Not what I was looking for.  But it is odd that a LaBrune would live so close to where our LaBrunes used to live.  And he has the same name.  And the same age.  So now I'm considering this: Our last record of Philip in Dubuque was on an 1865 property tax list.  Ann, his wife, died in 1868 and is buried in Rickardsville, near Dubuque.  But Philip is not buried there.  I'm starting to think that after the death of Ann, Philip went back to Ohio - I'd like to find out why - and remarried.  I'm going to look into this more ....

Which is straying from my original point.  The LaBrunes came from France, since Philip, Ann, and some of the kids were born there.  They probably sailed to French-speaking Canada, then headed into the United States.  All of this travel took place between the birth of Nicholas in about 1831 and their presence in Ohio in 1840.  Where to look for records?

More Campbell Families

Our Campbell family begins with Cornelius Campbell and Anne Hayden, whose ten children were born and raised in Dundas Co., Ontario, near the St. Lawrence River.  I'm assuming they met and married in Canada since all their kids were born there.  Daughter Margaret married Edward Donnelly and began our branch of the family in western Missouri.  Half of the Canadian Campbell kids moved to Denver, Colorado after the death of Cornelius.  Perhaps also after the death of Anne, but I don't know when that was.  Oldest son Thomas remained in Dundas co. where he married, raised a family and lived his entire life.  One of his kids, Leonard, made his way across the river to Ogdensburg, New York, bringing more Campbell relatives into the US.  My grandfather and his sisters used to go back and visit their Donnelly and Campbell cousins from time to time, but as far as I know we are not in touch with any from this area anymore.  Some of the kids never married.  A few I just have no record of.  The only other branch with kids that I know of are the descendants of Joseph Campbell and Mary Mackey, married in the Denver area in 1883.  My mom and her sisters have been in touch with one of Joseph's grandchildren; they're all 2nd cousins.

While poking around the information our Campbell cousin passed on to me about the Denver Campbells, I found a link to lots more information about some related descendants that's been posted on Rootsweb.  It starts here with John Campbell, Joseph's oldest son, and his wife, Ellen Solis.

Rootsweb tree updated

Just updated my rootsweb online family tree.  4684 individuals.  No living persons should be included.  If you find yourself there, check your pulse and contact me.  To find someone, do not use the first set of search names.  This is an Ancestry.com ad, and will produce pages of possibilities.  Go down just a little further to where it says "Enter surname, OR enter surname, given" and type in a name, such as "donley, patrick".  You can find the Rootsweb tree at Our Family Forest .

The Donnelly Exodus from Waddington

The mid-1870s were hard on the Donnellys.  They had been in the Potsdam/Waddington area since the late '20s, and the 9 kids were raised there.  Patrick (father) died in 1854; Michael headed for the California gold country in the 1850s; Edward left to fight in the War in 1861; James moved to nearby Vermont in the late '60s; and Margaret seems to have left as well, by 1870, though I don't know where.  Five children remained in Waddington, as did mother Nancy in the 1870s: Ann lived in town with her grocer husband, James Graham; Bridget was building her dream home with farmer husband, Thomas; Catherine was married to Christie Gorman, probably a cousin to Thomas, and lived on their farm; and John and Mary lived with their mother on the family farm.  Then 1873 happened.  Jim Graham got in a fight.  The following are excerpts taken from an article that appeared in the Potsdam, NY Courier Freeman in February 1874.:

Mr. Graham was indicted and arraigned in October last for manslaughter in the 3d degree. The killing occurred in the Blacksmith shop of Hughes & Rollin, in the village of Waddington, on the 28th day of August 1873. Mr. Hughes was a young man of limited means and his wife and small child, born since his death, were present in the court room the last day of the trial. Mr. Graham is a fine looking and appearing man, fifty years of age, with hair as white as the driven snow, and wears a care-worn and haggard look, caused we are told by those who are personally acquainted with him, by the anguish and grief which he has suffered since this sad misfortune befell him. Graham & Hughes had not been on friendly terms for several weeks before the encounter.  Their enmity arose from a difference in opinion in regard to a buggy waggon, which Hughes had made or ironed for Graham in the summer of 1873. Upon taking the wagon home, Mr. Graham was so dissatisfied with the looks of the dash, that he determined to have it fixed; instead of going to Hughes to get it fixed, he went to another man.

TESTIMONY OF THE PROSECUTION.
Henry Rollins sworn: Reside in Waddington; was a partner of John Hughes, deceased, in the blacksmith business; have known James Graham five or six years; was present at blacksmith shop, Aug. 28th, 1873, when Graham came into the shop and asked me if his oarlock was done; I told him no, but to sit down a few minutes and I would do it for him; Graham took a seat near the door; in a few minutes, Hughes, who was at work at another forge in the shop, spoke to Graham, and asked him if he'd seen Dalton's new buggy, that it was done and he'd better go down and look at it, and see if he couldn't find some fault with it, or with the dash; Graham replied that he had nothing to do with Dalton's business, but had all he could do to attend to his own; Hughes then called Graham a liar; Graham in reply called Hughes a liar; Hughes then called Graham a G-- d--n liar; Graham called Hughes a G-- d-- liar; Hughes called Graham a G-- d--m lying son of a bitch; Graham called Hughes a d-- lying son of a bitch; Hughes then called Graham a d--n lying thief; Graham got up then and said, Hughes, you must take that back. I am no thief; Hughes and Graham advanced towards each other; Hughes had his hammer drawn as if to strike; I stepped in between them, and tried to keep them from quarreling; Hughes said, keep the son of a bitch away, or I'll kill him. Graham pushed me aside and caught Hughes' hammer from his hand, and threw it under the desk; They then clinched, two or three times and let go; upon letting go the last time, Hughes picked up a buggy reach and struck Graham a full blow on the left hip; the blow staggered Graham, and turned him partly around; then Graham caught a sledge, standing near by and drew it up and threw it at Hughes, who was 9 or 10 feet distant; the sledge hit Hughes behind the left ear; Hughes fell unconscious; I went to Hughes, and said "Graham you have killed him;" he said I know it, and am sorry for it.

On the convening of the court Thursday morning, the case for the defence, was opened in a very able manner, by D. Magone Jr.  The defence was, that Graham when he threw the sledge had reasonable ground to fear that a felony would be committed upon him, or that great bodily injury would be inflicted upon him by Hughes, and that hence it was clearly a case of justifiable homicide, and Mr. Graham was legally justified in what he had done.

TESTIMONY FOR DEFENCE.
Thomas Myers sworn. Reside in Waddington; am a blacksmith; was at work for Rollin and Hughes in August last, was present during the affray... A few nights before the affray, Hughes and witness were passing Graham's store and Graham said "Good evening," after going by a little ways, Hughes said to me, "He need'nt say good evening to me, I'll fix him; I have been told to take a hammer, tongs or any thing else and beat his brains out."  James J. Myers sworn: Reside in Waddington; know John Hughes; had a conversation with him about Graham, in which Hughes said, "He wasn't afraid of Graham anywhere, and if ever he got into a row with him he would kill the d--m son of a bitch". This conversation was on the same day Hughes was killed.

Defence rests.

Leslie W. Russell then presented the case to the jury in behalf of the prisoner. His argument was able, complete and was attentively listened to by the jury, bar and the spectators who thronged the court room. At the reassembling of the court at 2 p. m. District Attorney Brinckerhoff presented the case to the jury in behalf of the people... It was of the best "jury efforts" we have ever had the pleasure of hearing in the St. Lawrence Circuit.

The jury took the case at 4 p. m. and went out. In thirty minutes they returned with a verdict of "not guilty," which was received with applause.

 So in August of 1873, Jim Graham killed John Hughes.  He was jailed until his trial in February of 1874, when he was acquitted.  In August of the following year, Nancy Donley (mom) passed away.  In October of that year, Jim Graham was back in court, being sued by the widow John Hughes for damages caused by killing her husband.  She was awarded $1,000, a huge some of money at that time.  The newspaper article reporting this civil trial recapped the original crime in a completely different light than the article above, painting Jim Graham as the irrational aggressor.  I would guess that many in the town had taken sides over the trial and the killing/murder.  In many ways similar to the the infamous OJ trial that most of us are familiar with.  It wouldn't surprise me if Jim Graham's grocery business was suffering by the time he was sued in 1875.  Shortly after the trial, Ann's closest sister, Bridget, passed away.  Around this time, Mary left the farm and moved to Chicago where Margaret was living.  John married, but within a couple of years sold the family farm and moved to Canada, where his wife was from.  Ann and Jim Graham left town, moving to Memphis, Michigan, where they took up farming.  All of a sudden, only Catherine Donnelly Gorman remained of the original Donnelly family.  Margaret and James did come back briefly to Waddington shortly before their deaths, and both passed away there in the 1900s.  And the Donnelly Gorman descendants remained, some of whom are there today.