The Mysterious JOHN ADAMS - 1757-1830

Years before I began doing genealogy, I always heard the name Adams and figured it was important in some way to my family. Why? My father and sister both had the name Adams as their middle name. When I  first began researching, I started with my grandparents and then discovered my grandmother was Marjorie Anderson Adams, and her father Yates Adams committed suicide, I was hooked on genealogy. His father had a sad life but a very patriotic name, Liberty Adams.

One thing I want to do before I put this to rest after 30 years is to connect with an archivist at the Lexington Historical Society who can do a little research on his Revolutionary War service because he enlisted in my old town where I lived for 8 years. I am sharing all that I have for any of the descendants of the 11 grandchildren John Adams had. A four-page list of the descendants is at the bottom.

What do I know about John Adams? Based on reliable information, I have:

John was born abt. 1757, Wintonbury Parish, (now Bloomfield), Hartford Co., Connecticut

Married 15 Aug. 1790 in Windsor, Hartford Co., Connecticut  to Hannah Smith

While residing in Lexington, Massachusetts, he enlisted on March 4, 1782, and served as a private in Captain James Tisdale's company in Colonel Greeton's Third Massachusetts regiment, he was discharged in January 1784."

He had three children:

      John was born January 18, 1792 (my ancestor)

      Horace was born September 25, 1794

      Mary Ann was born September 29, 1811

Died 30 Sep. 1830 in Stafford, Genesee Co., New York

Buried in Pine Hill Cemetery, Elba, Genesee Co., New York, and also with his wife at Tyler Cemetery, Stafford Co., New York.

His wife Hannah Smith has Smith, Drake, Moore, Cone, Gillett, Benton, Brown, Buell, and Mills in her lineage.

I have found a fair amount of information on him, as shown below, but no mention of his parents. Some copies are poor as are the cemetery photos. I wish it wasn't the case. 

__________First Will, doesn't mention wife.

The will.

"In the Name of God Amen

I John Adams of the Town of Elba in the County of Genesee being of sound mind and under the full exercise of my natural reason do make and ordain
This to be my last will and Testament.

Viz

First  I command my Soul to God who gave --

Second  I give devise and bequeath after paying my Funeral Charges and expenses of sickness all my personal property to Roxana Dabgins and to her Heir's families.

Third  I give devise and bequeath all my Real estate which I now have or may have hereafter possess to Roxana Dabgins to have and to hold the same forever

Fourth  I do hereby nominate and appoint Asa Sawtell and Roxanna Dabgins of the Town of Elba the sole Executor of this my last will and Testament in witness where after I have hereunto set to my hand and Seal this 31st day of August 1830.

Signed Sealed Published and Delivered in presence of the Testators and in presence of each other this 31st of his August 1830

John X Adams (His Mark)

E. D. Davis of Elba

Nathaniel Ford     Elba

(The Will documents copied below and typed by me are showing that his lady friend, Roxana / Roxanna Dabgins was to receive most of the estate, and there was no mention of his wife Hannah or their three children. In less than a month, a new document by a new lawyer and wife Hannah is mentioned, and no mention of lady friend Roxanna. The will was prepared a month before he died.)

__________Another legal-sized document is divided into three parts:

Part 1

"We ___ accept services on the within? the estate:

John Adams Jr.

Hannah Adams  X (Her Mark)

Mary Ann King"

Part 2

"Citation to Hannah Adams and Others

John Adams 1----957 (pencil)"

Part 3

"Notice to Hannah Adams

John Adams (pencil)

Filed October 11, 1830"

__________Another document, alerting Surrogate of the widow

To Ebenezer Mix Esquire Surrogate of the County of Genesee

The Petition of Asa Sawtell Herewith that John Adams late of the Town of Elba in the County of Genesee deceased died on or about the twenty-fifth day of September instant in the Town of Elba aforesaid, where he had resided several years that he left assets in said County of Genesee. That he made executed and left a certain instrument in writing purporting to be his last Will and Testament in which he named your petitioner and Roxana Doogin Executor, that Ebenezer D. Davis and Nathaniel Ford were the subscribing witnesses said Will. That he left a Widow___ and three children to wit, John Adams, Horace Adams and Mary Ann King residing in the Town of Stafford in the County of Genesee, the said children being all of full age, they being all the heirs at law of the said deceased known to your petitioner. Now Therefore your petitioner requests that such proceedings may be had as to prove said Will as a Will dividing Real Estate and bequeathing personal property according to the Laws of the State.

Asa Sawtell

Genesee County.

Asa Sawtell being duly sworn saith that he verily believes the facts set forth in the above petition are true.

Subscribed by and Sworn to

this 29 day of September 1830                              Asa Sawtell

Before me

Ebenezer Mix   Surrogate 

__________Discussion of the Will

THE PEOPLE of the State of New York, by the Grace of God free and Independent: To all to whom these presents shall come or may concern, and especially to Hannah Adams Widow John Adams, Junr, Horace Adams and Mary Ann King wife of Leonard King next of kin of John Adams late of the Town of Elba in the County of Genesee deceased send Greeting.

You and each of you are hereby cited and required, personally to be and appear before Ebenezer Mix, Esquire, Surrogate of our said county of Genesee at his office in Batavia on the Nineteenth day of October, next at Ten o'clock, in the forenoon of that day, then and there to oppose or support as you may see fit, the probate of a certain instrument in writing, purporting to be the last will and testament, of the said John Adams which has been left with our said Surrogate, by Asa Sawtell who claims to be an executor thereof, and which will be at the time and place, aforesaid offered for probate.

In Testimony whereof, we have caused the seal of office, of our said Surrogate, to be hereunto affixed.  Witness Ebenezer Mix Esquire, Surrogate of our said county, at Batavia this twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty.

Ebenezer Mix   Surrogate

Hannah Adams, Widow, John Adams, Junr. Horace Adams and Mary Ann King wife of Leonard King heirs at Law of John Adams late of the Town of Elba in the County of Genesee deceased.

You are hereby notified that it is the intention of the Subscribers, an Executor named in the last Will and Testament of John Adams deceased to apply to Ebenezer Mix Esquire Surrogate of the County of Genesee at his office in Batavia in said County of Genesee in the nineteenth day of October, meet at ten o'clock in the forenoon to have the said Will proved at that time and place.

September, 29th 1830.
                                                       Asa Sawtell"

__________Below was found at the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Library.

White, Virgil D., Genealogical Abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files, Vol. 1  A-E,  (Waynesboro, TN: National Historical Pub. Co., 1990-92).  Vol. 1: 12. I typed it up and the original page is below, see the last paragraph.

"ADAMS, John, Hannah  W23415, MA Line appl 13 Apr 1818 Genesee Cty NY aged 55, enl Lexington MA, sol d 30 Sep 1830, in 1820 wife Hannah was 50 & daughter Mary was 10, wid appl 25 Nov 1843 Genesee Cty NY aged 73, her maiden name was Hannah Smith, m 15 Aug 1790 Hartford Cty CT, wid mentions sister Eunice Wilcox aged 70 in 1843 & living Oswego Cty NY, wid d 22 Aug 1850 leaving 2 children John & Horace Adams, family records; John b Jan 1792, Horace or Horris b Sep 1794 & Mary Ann b 29 Sep 1811, there was a note on the file jacket, "see N.A. Acc. #874, #050000 - John Adams, Not Half Pay"

__________Information from actual records was viewed by me at the NARA in Waltham, Massachusetts (Aug. 12, 2008)

Revolutionary War Pension & Bounty Land Application Files, Revolutionary War Pension Records.  Series: M804  Roll: 12.  File: W23415   John Adams, Wife: Hannah   Service: Mass.  Res. at enl. Lexington, Mass. - in 1820 aged 57 yrs. & res. Stafford, Genesee Co., NY. D. Sept. 30, 1830.

In 1820 John Adams aged 57 yrs. & res. Stafford, Genesee Co., NY.

Deposition of Hannah Adams (wife) on Nov. 25, 1843, of Stafford, aged 73.  Stated her husband died on September 30, 1830.

Deposition of Horace Adams (son) on Nov. 25, 1843, of Stafford, aged 49.  Stated he was a son of John Adams and Hannah and that his father died Sept. 30, 1830, in Stafford.

Deposition of John Adams (son) on Oct. 23, 1843, aged 51.  Stated he was born Jan. 18, 1792, and his father died Sept. 30, 1830.  Their parents moved from the Parish of Wintonbury, Ct when he was about 4 years old.

The deposition of Nathan Smith stated John Adams resided at Lexington for several years.

Enlisted March 4, 1782, for 3 years  Co. commanded by Capt. James Tisdale in the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment.  He enlisted in the Continental Service on the 4th day of March A.D. 1782 in a company Commanded by Col. Mansfield.  Discharged at West Point Jan. 1784 by Gen. Knox.

      He was allowed pension on his application executed on April 13, 1818, at which time he was living in Genesee County, New York, and was about fifty-five years of age.

      In 1820 he was living in Stafford, New York, and he died, on September 30, 1830, in Elba, New York.

      He married on August 15, 1790, in the Parish of Wintonbury, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, Hannah Smith, who was born in January 1771.

      The widow, Hannah, was allowed pension on her application [sic] application executed November 25, 1843, then a resident of Stafford, New York.

      She died on August 22, 1850, in Stafford, New York.

      The following are the names of their children as found in the claim:

      John was born January 18, 1792

      Horace was born September 25, 1794

      Mary Ann was born September 29, 1811

Eunice Wilcox, a sister of the widow, Hannah Adams, was living in 1843 in Palermo, New York.

There are no data as to family.

__________I have no recollection as to where the below information came from, but probably the NARA as above, it is very similar to what was written.

May 4, 1932

BA-JAWF  John Adams  W23415

Letter to Miss Loura L. Brooks of 82 Chestnut Street, Gardner, Massachusetts.

Dear Madam:

      Reference is made to your letter in which you request information in regard to John Adams, a soldier of the War of the Revolution, from Lexington, Massachusetts.

      The data contained herein were obtained from the papers on file in pension claim, W. 23415, based upon the Revolutionary War service of John Adams.

      While residing in Lexington, Massachusetts, he enlisted March 4, 1782 and served as a private in Captain James Tisdale's company in Colonel Greeton's Third Massachusetts regiment, he was discharged in January, 1784.

      He was allowed pension on his application executed April 13, 1818, at which time he was living in Genesee County, New York, and was about fifty-five years of age.

      In 1820 he was living in Stafford, New York, and he died, September 30, 1830 in Elba, New York.

      He married August 15, 1790 in the Parish of Winterbury, Wndsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, Hannah Smith, who was born in January, 1771.

      The widow, Hannah, was allowed pension on her application [sic] application executed November 25, 1843, then a resident of Stafford, New York.

      She died August 22, 1850 in Stafford, New York.

      The following are the names of their children as found in the claim:

      John  born January 18, 1792

      Horace  born September 25, 1794

      Mary Ann born September 29, 1811

      The following children survived their mother:  John, who in 1850 was living in Stafford, New York; and Horace.

      Eunice Wilcox, a sister of the widow, Hannah Adams, was living in 1843 in Palermo, New York.

      There are no further data as to family.

                              Very truly yours,

                              A. D. Hiller

                              Assistant to Administrator

__________See the original letter to Miss Loura L. Brooks I typed above.

__________Additional Information:

From Pine Hill Cemetery, Elba, Genesee Co., New York "John, d. 9-25-1830, 73y, Rev. War soldier. Photos taken by my 5th cousin, Claire A.

Above photos were taken at Pine Hill Cemetery, Elba, New York.

John Adams was buried behind his wife Hannah at Tyler Cemetery in Stafford, New York.

Six generations of John Adams

How Do You Say Goodbye to your Genealogy Research? This is What I Did.

I don't remember who I got this photo from, I've had it for over 25 years. The minute I received it, I knew I had to locate the tombstone of my 5th great-grandfather, Hendrick Schrambling. (My blog with photos.). This photo set me on the trail to research this family, it led me from New York to Michigan.

Two weeks ago, I contacted one of my favorite distant cousins related through this line. His line ended in Oklahoma, mine in Michigan. After much thought, I knew it was time to put some of my 32-year-old research to rest, so I wrote him, "I have decided to part with these papers and more of the early family...but I can't just toss them. What I would like to do is send it to you, ha and you can do as you please. As you probably know, we have spent many hours and days on this line. The project of my going over each piece of paper will take weeks, and I look forward to it." Unfortunately, he turned me down because he has his own stuff and nobody in his family is interested in genealogy! Oh no. Since he is the only one I've communicated with in years on this line, I decided to share some of what I have and then just toss them. Nobody has contacted me about this line in over ten years, even though I have written articles about the family in my blog. Years ago, a Schrambling cousin did a list of all the spellings for this name and I'm sharing it to peak some interest.

Schraembling, Schramblin, Scramlin, Schramling, Schrembling, Schremeling, Schremle, Schrambling, Scrainlin, Scramblin, Scrambling, Scramlin, Scranlin, Scranling, Scremlin, Scrimile, Shramlin, Shramling

The best way to show what I have is to take photos.

Below are sources from various people and a few of mine. The purpose of doing this is to reach out to any Scrambling cousins who might have an interest. A brief description is below each photo.

• 

• My good friend Eileen Wood of Las Vegas put her information in a  newsletter for all subscribers to receive, I think I received 6-7 issues. The newsletter was quite a professional piece of work. She had charts, color photos and the names of all remembers (middle picture), I am listed as #2. She even sent me a DVD of her tree. The third pile consists of information from two sisters (one from NH and the other from FL) who took a journey to follow Hendrick's path from New York (West Camp, Oneonta, Canajoharie Creek in the Mohawk Valley, Stone Arabia) to Climax, Michigan. One sister had terminal cancer and it was her wish to make this trip Her husband did the driving. Soon after the trip, I went to Concord, NH to visit her sister, Laura, and got a copy of everything. They had a great time.

• 

Photos of a binder with information about the Schremblings of Canajohaare and other data by Joyce Rideinger took the photos, wrote about her line, and added  additional information; the middle photos are from my visit to two Oneonta cemeteries with my husband and met a friend, Sandy Goodspeed, who located all the stones before I arrived, and one of the early books I used to find "Schraemling, Henrich (9) and his wife Maria Elisabeth with 5 children." The book is often referred to as the Simmendinger Register.

• The first chart is in three pieces, and the second is showing a bit of detail. I received them from Peter or Lary Scramlin of Washington state over 20 years ago. The top sheet, peace together is 83"long, and 42" wide. They were very hard to handle. I hope to locate him to return them. UPDATE: I JUST LOCATED THE SON OF THE PERSON WHO MIGHT HAVE DONE THIS. We had a nice chat and knew a lot about the family especially since he lives in the county where the family lived for almost 200 years. I'm sending this report to him.

The Six-page legal-size will of Hendrick Schrambling is dated Feb. 24, 1808.  The top report on the right is a Family Map of 17 pages showing where the Scramblings lived in the United States and Canada. I prepared this in 2006. The bottom report of 16 pages is very detailed. I got this from Eileen, the writer of the newsletter. It was done by her mother.

The first row in order, consists of several pieces of correspondence to me, back when I used AOL in 2001; the middle pile has four pages with 17 different sources for Hendrick Schrambling that I did and shared; the third pile is 83 pages of the Descendants of Hendrick Schrambling. The bottom lineage report was from Wendell Scramlin of Climax, Michigan.

Another chart was sent to me on two legal-size sheets of paper drawn by Harvey Baker of Florida (no date). The bottom row has a part of the pile of DAR applications I got when I visited the DAR in 2001. The middle is a very detailed summary report, dated 1990 and the last is also an old report (no idea who I got these two things from).



I was given this photocopy of a group of Scrambling / Scramlin / etc. descendants who got together 20+ years ago in the New York State Library to meet and share information. Cousins Larry and Helen are on the right. The other photo is too dark to see anything. The chart above the photo indicated the lineage they have from Hendrick Scrambling.


I'm giving credit to all those who helped me over the years. They either shared their information, went to Libraries for obits, or took cemetery photos in states I've never been to, like Michigan.


Eileen Wood, Frances Fagan, Joyce Riedinger, Larry Scramlin, Joyce Riedinger, Helen Burkett, Sandy Goodspeed, Joyce Luscomb, David Rumery, Gary Hanna, Brenda Glover Leyndyke, Sharonii Roberts, Linda Herrell, and Ted Metscher. Four are now deceased. I've only met two, they are Brenda Leyndyke from MI and Sandy Goodspeed from NY. Nine in this group have a Scrambling in their tree.

Did I Find a Genealogy Clue From The Address Book? Will You?

I was more than pleased to find a huge selection of newly printed books in large print at my local library. One book caught my eye and I knew I had to take it out, even though I knew nothing about the author nor the topic. I never thought about how addresses came about but found many of this author's stories very interesting. When were many of the street names and numbers developed and what were their origins? The author, Deirdre Mask answers this question in one of her 14 chapters. Beginning with The Development and Origins of street names in the Slums in India, Haiti, Rome, London, Vienna, Philadelphia, Korea and Japan. In the second category, she discusses politics regarding street names in Iran and Berlin. The fourth category covers race in Hollywood, Florida, St. Louis, and South Africa. Class and Status is the last category and it covers Manhattan: How Much is a Street Name Worth? and Homelessness: How Do You Live Without an Address?

My large print book was over 400 pages, so I skimmed some. I loved the part about West Virginia and learned that many towns didn't have street names. "For generations, people had navigated West Virginia in creative ways." They described the area where somebody lived, like near a white church, the brick church, the old post office. Can you imagine being a genealogist years ago searching for your ancestor's roots and not having a street name? I never thought about the problems you could have if you didn't have a street name or a number. How can you receive a credit card, visitors, Amazon packages, etc.

There were many sections that I thought a genealogist or a lover of maps would be interested in this book especially when I read, "An adviser to George Washington, Clement Biddle devised this system in 1790 when Philadelphia was conducting a census. Odds on one side evens on the other takes much of the guesswork out of knowing how far a number is along a street." The information about naming the New York City streets from First Street to 155th, the avenues from First to Twelfth. "Numbered streets are a peculiarly American phenomenon. Today, every American city with more than a half-million people has numerical street names. "Second Street is the most common street name in America. "There was a large section about William Penn and Quakerism. I learned that "in some years, more than 40 percent of all local laws passed by the New York City Council have been street name changes." Wow, good luck trying to find somebody there. What about names, especially in the 1700s in England when 90 percent of men had one of only eight names: John, Edward, William, Henry, Charles, James, Richard, or Robert. Good luck if you are researching somebody who lived on 37 King Streets, 25 Victoria Streets, 34 York Streets, 37 Edwards Streets, or 64 Charles Streets or 64 New Streets!

In the author's Notes on page 519, she mentioned Their Gothic Revival cottage, built by an old Dutch family: Tom Miller, "The Lost Ten Eyck House--Park Avenue and 34th Street," and said, "Miller's fantastic blog details the history of the house at length." I am sharing a part of this article because Ten Eyck was my grandmother's maiden name.

"On January 7, 1859, The New York Herald announced that no longer would "the New York and Harlem Railroad Company, or any other company or person" be permitted to run "steam engines or locomotives on Fourth avenue, below or south of Forty-second street."  The new regulation was in response to what today would be called a class action suit by residents in the recently-developing neighborhood.  Listed among the plaintiffs were "Peter Ten Eyck and Margaret Ten Eyck, his wife."  Peter, in fact, had initiated the proceedings.

The Ten Eycks had personal reasons to oppose the locomotives.  They had erected a commodious and charming home on the northeast corner of 34th Street and Fourth Avenue two years earlier.   The Gothic Revival residence no doubt took its inspiration from the 1842 Cottage Residences, by Andrew Jackson Downing.  The book was highly responsible for the popularity of the Gothic Revival style in domestic architecture.

An example of a Gothic house from the 1842 Cottage Residences.  (copyright expired)

The Ten Eyck house was clad in red brick, its openings trimmed in stone square-headed drip moldings.  Gothic tracery dripped from the eaves, a picturesque oriel clung to the eastern corner, and a high stoop led to the ornate pointed-arched doorway.

The Ten Eyck family had been in America since 1650 when Coenraedt Ten Eyck (was my 8th grandfather) and his wife Maria arrived from Amsterdam.  Peter had married Margaret S. S Troutman in 1843.  She was the daughter of Sir John Troutman of the British navy.  Decades later, in 1881, historian James P. Snell noted "Miss Troutman was a lady of culture and possessed of many virtues.  She was a graduate of the Moravian seminary of Bethlehem, Pa., was a fine artist and musician, and possessed a voice of exquisite power and beauty.

Five years later Ten Eyck graduated with honors from the Medical Department of the University of the State of New York.  The well-heeled doctor was also a recognized linguist and inventor.  He held patents for a vehicle brake and the "Rocking-and Revolving Chair."  The couple had two children, Blendenia and Charles Richard.

Just three years after moving into the new house, Peter Van Eyck died on February 11, 1860, at the age of 43. James P. Snell said, "In his own home he was ever the faithful and considerate husband and father, and by his removal, the hearthstone of one of the happiest of New York homes was made forever desolate.

Margaret immediately left the house she had built with her husband; selling it later that year to paper merchant Charles W. Kearney. That year, on April 14 The New York Times noted that Fourth Avenue above 34th Street was "now christened Park-avenue."  It would see one other owner, shipwright Augustus Berrian, before becoming home to Dr. Edward Keyes by 1885."

http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-lost-ten-eyck-house-park-avenue-and.html

At first, I thought this would be a project, but as it turned out I was able to connect the above Peter Ten Eyck to my tree within an hour. He and I are 3rd cousins 5 times removed through Jeremiah Field and Mary Van Vechten and 4th  cousins 4 times removed through Mathys Ten Eyck and Janntje Roosa.

From the New York Times

By Sarah Vowell

April 14, 2020

THE ADDRESS BOOK What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power By Deirdre Mask

Since the turn of this century, Portland, Ore., has changed the name of 39th Avenue to Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, Portland Boulevard to Rosa Parks Way and a stretch of Southwest Stark to Harvey Milk Street. Civil rights icons seem on brand for such a cartoonish lefty town. BOOKS: Be the first to read books news and see reviews, news and features in The New York Times Book Review. Sign Up Yet, having whiled away a premature midlife crisis in Portland at the end of the 1980s, back when it was nicknamed “Skinhead City” after a trio of young white supremacists murdered an Ethiopian student with a baseball bat, I remember why Front Avenue is still called Front. In the ’80s, when the city sent a survey to Front’s merchants and residents about renaming it after Martin Luther King Jr., more than 200 respondents vetoed the idea and only nine endorsed it. I’ll never forget the morning in April 1990 when downtown commuters did a collective double-take at a prank perpetrated by artists who called themselves Group X. The tricksters had pasted over the Front Avenue street signs with impeccably silk-screened facsimiles labeled “Malcolm X St,” a tongue-in-cheek admonition of pleasant Portland’s ugly edge. The city rebranded a different street as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, though not without bellyaching among the citizenry. As Deirdre Mask recalls in her chapter on streets named for King in “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power,” “dozens of people heckled outside the renaming ceremony.”

WV, TN, NY, OH, NJ, PA, DE -- Old Matchbook Collection #5

I have decided to part with my matchbook collection, but before I throw them away, I thought I'd share them. Hopefully a few will bring back old memories. This photo shows many locations, but not many matches from each area. I went to the Greenbrier in West Virginia twice, and The Burning Bush in Gatlinburg, Tennessee three times.

Glad I found these by a a candle holder. I only wish I had saved books from The Plaza, Waldorf Astoria (stayed there twice for 2 nights) and others I've forgotten about. 

And sometimes I took other offerings in the room, not always soap and shampoo!

Nurse Frances and the Flu

For many years, I always knew the year my grandaunt, Frances Poole (born  27 Oct 1886) died, but I didn't have the date, location or cause of death. Imagine my surprise when at long last, I began researching her life and trying to find out why she died so young.

Suddenly, this 32 year old became alive, instead of just a name with death date of 1918. I found out she was a nurse. What a brave young woman to travel from the Chicago area to New York state to help the sick. She came from a rather wealthy family, was single and probably had all the wants and needs of her day. Her father, a patent attorney had died four years earlier and left her a house and the lands at 1015 Forest Avenue, Evanston, Illinois. She was the oldest of four children, although the paper only named two. Her maternal grandfather was William Frederick Poole, the head librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, who died two years before her birth. She was among the first to die in New York of the influenza.  Frances Poole died October 8, 1918. Of all those deaths, and my Frances was the one most important to me. I am saddened by how it happened, but I am so proud of her, a young woman trying to help the sick, trying to make a difference. I wish I knew more about her, but what I know, I won't ever forget.

All my sources came from newspapers and printed articles. I haven't located her death record yet.

From the Chicago Daily Tribune. Oct 11, 1918 - "Miss Frances Poole, Red Cross, from Evanston was buried yesterday in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington D.C. Miss Poole daughter of Mrs Charles Clarence Poole, 1123 Maple Avenue, Evanston died Tuesday at Camp Ontario, Oswego, NY of pneumonia following Influenza."

From the Chicago Daily Tribune. Oct. 27, 1918, Pg. 15 was the following Death Notice:
"Poole - Memorial services will be held for Frances Poole, army nurse, daughter of Mrs. C. Clarence Poole, sister of Lieut. Charles H. Poole, A. E. F.; and Dorothy Poole, at St. Luke's Episcopal church, Hinman and Lee Sts., Evanston, Ill., at 4:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon, Oct. 27th."

From the Ontario Post, October 26, 1918, page 2 is the obituary of two nurses, Ida Ferguson and my Frances who was listed as Frances Pool, Poole. What is interesting is, I just learned that her mother, Anna Poole was with her daughter when she died. Anna traveled from Evanston, Illinois to Camp Ontario, Oswego, NY. Thanks to Mary Kay Stone from the Oswego County Historical Society.

I believe the photo below shows one of the first groups of nurses who arrived at Oswego, New York to attend the sick soldiers. I have a feeling that my relative is in this photo, as she died 8  October 1918.

Nurses at Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY, c. 1918.

 Permission was granted to use photo by the Oswego County Historical Society. (8/2019)

From: Bell Telephone News 

 - Volume 8 - Page 52

Frances Poole

"One star has turned to gold on the service flag of the Chicago traffic department. It is the star of a girl who has given her life in the service of others.

"Miss Frances Poole came to the telephone company on August 14, 1916, as a nurse in the welfare department. She made many friends among the girls in her visits to the sick and later, through her position as nurse at Margaret Mackin Hall where she lived for a year and a half, had an opportunity to become a close and intimate friend of hundreds of girls who were there at different times. It was while she was at Margaret Mackin Hall that she decided to offer her services to the Red Cross. She was not able physically to stand the test for overseas service; but was placed on the list for work in this country. While awaiting her call she filled the place of Miss Julia Goodman, who left the Oakland district for overseas Red Cross service. She made many friends among the girls in the South Side offices, and it was with regret that her resignation was accepted when the call came for service at Camp Ontario, Oswego, N. Y.

During the terrible epidemic which was very severe in Camp Ontario, Miss Poole did not spare herself and, though she had a severe cold and was urged not to go on duty, she saw the extreme need of the boys, and, like a brave soldier, fought the fight until she fell— a victim of pneumonia. Her mother reached her two hours before her death, bringing by her presence the greatest joy to her daughter that she could have had at the last.

Mrs. Poole has the sympathy of hosts of friends. She has given much for her country; two sons are in the service— Lieut. Charles H. Poole with the coast artillery 'Over There,' and Lieut. Clarence T. Poole with the Quartermaster Corps in Washington.

Miss Poole had an unusually sunny disposition and a friendly spirit which made her dear even to those who knew her only for a short time. She was "one of the girls," a good comrade giving not only advice which she, through her nurse's training could give so well, but giving herself. "Sunshiny Frances" was her mother's name for her and we can imagine that our golden star is more golden because it shines with the glory of a lovely character. Such stars are not lost but shine on with a steady radiance inspiring us all to give our best.

Miss Poole was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D. C, where her father was buried some time ago."

From: Daily Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, Friday, April 5, 1918, Page 1.
"Star Honors Heroes  --

"At Chapel this morning President Holgate will present to the University a huge service flag in honor of the Northwestern men in National service. Mr. Marsh is in charge of the program, which besides special music will include a speech by Nancy Knight who will tell of Women's War work in Evanston.

The flag was purchased by Elizabeth Ambuhl. Lucy Harrison and Marian Goodsmith helped her sew on the figure 1120, their service taking them back to the good old days of Betsy Ross. 1119 Northwestern men have gone in the service, and Frances Poole is going with the Presbyterian Hospital Unite, makes up the number. The blue star stands for the living and the gold star for the dead.

Four of our soldiers have already given their lives for their country. They are: Captain Robert Tracy Gillmore, Med. '92. Died at Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga., Jan. 20, 1918. Frank L. Seery, Arts-Ex- '18. Killed in airplane collision, Kekky Field, Texas, Jan. 21, 1918. Earl C. Adams, Arts, Ex-'19. Died at Ft. Sill, Okla., Feb. 3, 1918. G. W. Morton, Law. '16. Died at Camp Grand, Rockford, Ill. Feb. 2."

From:The Syllabus (Northwestern University),Volume XXXV, pg. 130.
Students Publishing Company, 1920  (Note: The link is no longer active.)
"To Frances Poole, the only woman among the Northwestern students who victoriously gave their lives in service, the University pays double homage. A resident of Evanston, a graduate of the high school, an active worker in St. Luke's church, and a popular member of the class of 1911, she was known and loved by many friends. She left the University in her junior year, entered a nurses training course and graduated from the Presbyterian hospital in 1915. Choosing the branch of work in which she could be of service to the greatest number, she refused to enter private duty and became welfare nurse at the Chicago Telephone Company's home in Warrenville where the operators go for rest. Later she was assigned by the Company to do home visiting in a district on the south side.

She was peculiarly fitted for the nursing profession because of the wonderfully joyous spirit with which she was endowed. Hers was a contagious cheeriness which carried her triumphantly through the most uninspiring tasks and difficult places. When the call came from the Red Cross for nurses, she enlisted, as all who knew her best expected she would do, and was assigned on August 1, to the General Hospital at Fort Ontario, Oswego, N.Y. As she had been a comfort and inspiration to the telephone girls under £ care, so she brought to bear upon her new tasks not only her technical skill but her courageously joyous spirit. 'What is the use of fighting,' she said, “if one cannot fight with a smile?

The last week in September when the influenza epidemic was at its worst, her patients were on an open porch exposed to a biting wind from off the lake. Except for two hours rest, she worked from four in the morning to seven at night, and often gave assistance to the night nurses after that. Because of weariness and exposure she contracted the influenza but refused to go off duty. Wearing a mask constantly, she remained for a week caring for the boys who needed her. Pneumonia set in and in five days she quietly slipped away. She had wanted to come home with colors flying and so she did."

From: Evanston History Center (Illinois) I found a full page about Frances (partial below).

"After graduating from Evanston Township High School, Frances entered Northwestern University. She left in 1911 in order to enroll in a nurse training program at the Presbyterian Hospital. She graduated from the program in 1915 and elected to become a “welfare nurse” to help those in need. First she worked for the Chicago Telephone Company’s home in Warrenville, IL. Later, she worked for the same company on the South Side of Chicago, making home visits to patients.

Once the United States entered the Great War, her two brothers Clarence and Charles, both entered the service. Frances wanted to do her 'bit' too. She responded to the American Red Cross’ recruiting call. Nurses were desperately needed and Frances decided that she could take her skills as a nurse and apply them in service to her country. She was assigned to the military hospital (General Hospital No. 5) at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. The busy hospital staff cared for sick or wounded U.S. troops who had been brought back home from France.

At the time, to work in a hospital was nearly as dangerous as being near the front lines. In 1918, it became even more dangerous upon the outbreak of an international influenza pandemic, brought on by the global movement of people at war."

From two official records  records about the The Great Pandemic of 1918-1919 in the United States:

"First Official Report of Influenza: The Public Health Service did not require states to report influenza before September 27th. New York first reported the presence of influenza on September 27th, but the disease was undoubtedly present in the state before that date.
On October 11th, the PHS said that 'Epidemics have been reported from Maybrook town (Orange County), Montgomery (Orange County), North Tonawanda, and Oswego. School and theaters had not been closed.' By October 18th, state officials admitted that influenza was prevalent throughout the state.

Although state authorities were too overwhelmed by the pandemic to keep accurate records, they did attempt to record deaths. By late October, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Schenectady and Syracuse reported elevated death rates. During the week of November 1st, the PHS reported a total of 12,357 deaths in New York City. For the previous six weeks a total of 30,736 deaths were reported. The actual number of influenza-related deaths during this period was probably much higher."

"In October of 1918, Congress approved a $1 million budget for the U. S. Public Health Service to recruit 1000 medical doctors and over 700 registered nurses. Nurses were scarce, as their proximity to and interaction with the disease increased the risk of death." Frances may have been one of the nurses who answered this call."
"The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years."

Frances and her parents buried at Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

1015 Forest Avenue, Evanston, Illinois.
 This the house her father left to her in his will. The Redfin.com link for this address will show 26 beautiful photos of the house.