Vacation Destinations

Yes, it is Sunday, and yes this is a Family Sunday posting.  In my continuing ancestral research, numerous locations pop up, places where different branches of my family originally settled, or called home in the past centuries.  It is my hope to visit a few of these someday, but at the moment it is fairly impossible for me to get away.  Perhaps future years and fortune will give me the opportunity.

Today, I'll share a few of the places I'd like to visit at some point.  Mind you, these aren't liable to be hot tourist destinations, and are only interesting to me because of my familial ties.

Bridgeton, New Jersey:  Really, all of Cumberland County would be on the tour, but Bridgeton is the center of it all.  Hendersons, Ballingers, Robinsons, and other assorted ancestors came from this area, and it would be interesting to have a look around.

Baldwin City, Kansas:  Home of the Counts family.  My great grandfather, George Sylvester Counts, was born and raised with three brothers and two sisters on a farm outside of town, and it would be interesting to drop by for a visit.  I know there have been a few "cousin reunions" held at the old homestead, though I've never had the pleasure of an invitation.  Maybe someday I'll get out there, reunion or otherwise.

Old Saybrook, Connecticut:  It was here that Joseph Ingham the weaver first settled in America around 1640.

Cato, New York:  Another site of Ingham interest, this is where William Ingham set up shop around 1814, and he made a fortune running a general store.  Later on, his sons overextended themselves and lost pretty much everything.  William's youngest son, Albert, was the grandfather of my adopted great-grandfather.

Hagerstown, Maryland:  It was here that the Forthmans first settled in America before the Civil War.  My great-grandfather, William Edward Forthman, was born here in 1863.  His mother, Ann Creager, was also from Hagerstown, and her ancestors settled there before the Revolution.

There are plenty of other locations of note in my family, though these are a few that stand out the most.  It may be little more than a daydream to think of visiting these distant towns and cities, though perhaps I'll go one day.  Only, what ever will I find when I get there?

Family History Update: Ballinger & Henderson

In my ongoing ancestral research, I have uncovered some new cousins through both the Henderson and Ballinger lines.

Hendersons:

Where we left off:  In my Horde of Hendersons column, I listed the children of Robert B. Henderson and Joanna Brooks.  I'm pleased to announce that I've discovered more about Elizabeth Brooks "Lizzie" Henderson (b. September 15, 1876 /Died March 4, 1958).

Elizabeth married Thomas Mason Davis (b. May 27, 1872 in Salem, NJ /Died November 15, 1941) on November 26, 1896, and they had 10 children (generation 6):

Robert Wesley (b. June 27, 1898 /Died May 29, 1979)

Jonathan Bonham (b. April 20, 1900 /Died May 14, 1979)

Sanford Thomas (b. July 31, 1901 /Died August 16, 1901)

Bernice Whitaker (b. January 12, 1903 /Died August 24, 1948)

Mary Henderson (b. December 28, 1904 /Died September 18, 1999)

Lucy Fogg (b. November 3, 1906 /Died May 8, 1996)

Bessie Joanna (b. January 21, 1909 /Died November 13, 1983)

Julia Tomlinson (b. July 22, 1910 /Died November 25, 1982)

Ida Shimp (b. February 17, 1912 /Died February 10, 1981)

Mabel E. (b. 1918)

Robert Wesley Davis married Janet MacDonald Stopani (b. July 1, 1901 in Aberdeen, Scotland /Died July 22, 1969), and they had at least 1 daughter.

Jonathan Bonham Davis married Lucille Ellen Rainear (b. August 7, 1905 /Died May 13, 1982), and they had 5 daughters & 2 sons.

Bernice Whitaker Davis married Elwood S. Ayars (b. May 12, 1900 /Died February 8, 1979) on July 2, 1921, and they had the following children:

Ralph Edward (b. May 7, 1922 /Died 1978)

Ethel (b. 1923)

Arthur (b. 1926)

Kenneth R. (b. March 10, 1929 /Died July 3, 2002)

Mary Henderson Davis married Frank Marion Green (b. July 6, 1905 /Died August 11, 1963).  I don't know if they had any children.

Lucy Fogg Davis married Edward Richard Rainear (b. 1904), and they had 2 daughters & 1 son.

Bessie Joanna Davis married Charles Leonard Van Meter, and they had 2 sons.

Julia Tomlinson Davis married Charles James Heritage, and they had a son.

Ida Shimp Davis married Oliver Wallace Green (b March 1, 1911 /Died February 2, 1972) on March 1, 1932.  They had two sons and a daughter.

That's what I have been able to uncover thus far about this line of cousins.  Much of my knowledge about more recent generations is limited, as the closer you get to modern times, the less public information is readily available.  If you are able to add anything to this, I would welcome it.  Please, don't be afraid to contact me.

Ballinger:

The Ballinger update involves Harriet Ballinger, daughter of William Ballinger & Caroline Facemire.  Harriet is my first cousin five times removed.  I have recently uncovered that Harriet was married twice.

Harriett first married Edward S. Penton (b. August 12, 1855 in Elsinborough, NJ /Died August 5, 1893) on March 31, 1877.  They had at least 2 children:

A son (name not listed on birth certificate) born December 7, 1882.

Blanche Penton (b. June 4, 1886 /Died February 12, 1955), married Warren Saul Langley (b. May 19, 1884 /Died May 13, 1938).

After Edward's death, Harriett married John R. Reeves (b. November 1861 /Died after 1930) on November 11, 1894 in Millville, NJ.  John & Harriett had 2 children:

Frederick G. Reeves (b. November 15, 1899 /Died June 13, 1973 in Lakeland, Florida)

Edna P. Reeves (b. November 15, 1899)

I hope someone finds this data as interesting as I do.  I'm certain there are some living cousins out there who could use this information in their own ancestral searches.

On a concluding note, one thing I'm lacking from the Ballinger & Henderson lines is photographs.  It would be nice to find some eventually.

Ballingers of South Jersey

To coincide with April's "A to Z challenge," I'm moving my family heritage columns to Saturday. I'm planning to skip Sundays for this month, unless something particularly exciting hits my keyboard. Six columns each week should satisfy my more devoted readers, and still leave plenty for those of you who drop by less frequently.

This "Family Saturday" is all about Ballingers, or rather the Ballingers who are related to me. On my father's side, it seems I'm related to half of Cumberland County, NJ (however distantly), and today we're going to explore one of the principal lines in that relationship.

My research has taken me as far back as James Ballinger, born around 1800. He married Sarah Sutton and they had at least 2 sons, Benjamin (b. June 15, 1827) and William (b. October 1828).

William married Caroline Facemire on December 31, 1855, and together they had two daughters Harriet (b. 1858) and Ella (b. May 1864). William was working as a "waterman" in 1880 (according to the census), while Harriet was a milliner, a seller of ladies' hats. Ella was single and living at home in 1900. She probably never married.

In 1866, Caroline died, and William got remarried to a woman named Sarah Hider in 1867-68. Together, they had at least one daughter who grew to adulthood.

Benjamin Ballinger married Sarah Hires, a cousin of Charles Hires, future "inventor" of root beer (but that's a story for another day). Among other things, Benjamin was apparently a coal dealer, and in 1880 was listed as such on the census. Benjamin and Sarah had several children who died as infants, and for clarity I'll only name the three children who actually survived (that I know about). The oldest was Charles W. Ballinger (my great-great-great grandfather, born August 1853). The others were Amanda (b. December 10, 1855) and Joseph M. (b. November 18, 1862).

Amanda married Martin Rammel Pedrick in 1880. I don't know if they had any children.

Joseph M. Ballinger was working as a store clerk by age 17, though I'm not sure what else he did for a living. He married Lizzie Mickle, and they had at least 1 daughter (Maude M. Ballinger, b. April 1883).

Charles W. Ballinger married Rebecca Henderson (b. 1853) on September 2, 1874 in Bridgeton, NJ. It appears they only had one daughter, Nellie D. Ballinger (b. February 1876).

Things get a little interesting when we get to Nellie (my great-great grandmother). She married Joseph B. Robinson on October 24, 1895, and six months later their daughter, Effie K. Robinson, was born. It was apparently a shotgun wedding, and the marriage didn't last long. By 1900, Nellie and Effie were both living at home with Charles & Rebecca. Nellie never remarried, and was still living with her parents in the 1920s.

Effie Robinson married Raymond W. MacCain in 1917, and they had a son (Ray Jr.). Effie divorced MacCain sometime in the early 20s, and on March 2, 1926 she married Edward S. "Ned" Ingham, who adopted my grandfather and gave him the Ingham name.

So there's where I get my Ballinger heritage. I have to say, it seems there aren't that many descendants from this branch of my family. Are there other Ballinger cousins out there who I don't know about?