Finding the parents of Lizzie Crowell (1887 - 1937)
Even though I've been at genealogy for many years, I occasionally find a new surprise. I come from a small town. A town where everybody knows everybody; or in most cases they are related to everyone. But I have one line on my mothers side that I'm still finding new ancestors to research.
My mom and her sister were raised by their paternal grandparents. This, along with the fact that her mother died when she was 7 years old and her maternal grandmother had passed away before she was born, left us with limited information about her mother's maternal side.
For years the only knowledge that I had on this line was that my grandmother was Mrytle Meshell and she was the daughter of Joe Meshell and Lizzie Crowell. The Meshells have been well researched in our neck of the woods; but, who was this Crowell family. Finding Lizzie's parents was somewhat difficult because Lizzie was born after the 1880 census and she married Joe Meshell in 1899. You know what that means, Lizzie cannot be found on the census records with her parents!
For many years I had the wrong family as Lizzie's parents. Henry and Laura Crowell had a daughter Lizzie. The birth date listed on the 1900 census, made her too young to be my great grandmother. But maybe the census dates were wrong! It was possible; however, my intuition kept telling me I was wrong. So, from time to time I would question my mom and aunt. Looking for any clue that I could use. Then one day, my mom and aunt told me that there was a Rogers in the area that was related to her Grandma Lizzie; however, my mother didn't know how they were related.
It just so happen that many years ago I worked with Mr. Rogers daughter. Since I was having difficulty putting the pieces together, I looked her up on Facebook, sent her a friend request and shortly afterwards we were going through her father's family with a fine tooth comb! As I started adding her father, grandfather and great grandparents to my tree...I had the connection. My great grandmother Lizzie Crowell and her great grandmother Gordie Jane Crowell were sisters. Now I had Lizzie's parents, Martin J. Crowell and Rebecca Cannon. Rebecca's maiden name is listed on her social security application.
If you are wondering how I could be so sure that Lizzie and Gordie Jane were sisters...I have DNA matches that have helped verify my Cannon lines. With the paper trail and the DNA trail, I've been able to add a few more generations...I guess it's safe to say there is no end to genealogy and the hunt for our ancestors.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. If are researching the Meshell/Crowell/Cannon lines please feel free to comment below. I'd would be happy for any advise you might have and I'm always willing to exchange information so I can grow my tree!
Happy hunting! Ruth
My mom and her sister were raised by their paternal grandparents. This, along with the fact that her mother died when she was 7 years old and her maternal grandmother had passed away before she was born, left us with limited information about her mother's maternal side.
For years the only knowledge that I had on this line was that my grandmother was Mrytle Meshell and she was the daughter of Joe Meshell and Lizzie Crowell. The Meshells have been well researched in our neck of the woods; but, who was this Crowell family. Finding Lizzie's parents was somewhat difficult because Lizzie was born after the 1880 census and she married Joe Meshell in 1899. You know what that means, Lizzie cannot be found on the census records with her parents!
For many years I had the wrong family as Lizzie's parents. Henry and Laura Crowell had a daughter Lizzie. The birth date listed on the 1900 census, made her too young to be my great grandmother. But maybe the census dates were wrong! It was possible; however, my intuition kept telling me I was wrong. So, from time to time I would question my mom and aunt. Looking for any clue that I could use. Then one day, my mom and aunt told me that there was a Rogers in the area that was related to her Grandma Lizzie; however, my mother didn't know how they were related.
It just so happen that many years ago I worked with Mr. Rogers daughter. Since I was having difficulty putting the pieces together, I looked her up on Facebook, sent her a friend request and shortly afterwards we were going through her father's family with a fine tooth comb! As I started adding her father, grandfather and great grandparents to my tree...I had the connection. My great grandmother Lizzie Crowell and her great grandmother Gordie Jane Crowell were sisters. Now I had Lizzie's parents, Martin J. Crowell and Rebecca Cannon. Rebecca's maiden name is listed on her social security application.
If you are wondering how I could be so sure that Lizzie and Gordie Jane were sisters...I have DNA matches that have helped verify my Cannon lines. With the paper trail and the DNA trail, I've been able to add a few more generations...I guess it's safe to say there is no end to genealogy and the hunt for our ancestors.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. If are researching the Meshell/Crowell/Cannon lines please feel free to comment below. I'd would be happy for any advise you might have and I'm always willing to exchange information so I can grow my tree!
Happy hunting! Ruth
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