Bjorkmans and Sondees - Photo Update

Bottom Row Left to Right: Ivan Bjorkman, Earl Bjorkman, Rudy Roshanka (seated), Esther Sondee, Ragnar (Corky) Sondee, Svea Sondee Hedman

Middle Row Left to Right: Rollie Bjorkman, Grandma, Mom, Aunt Nora Sondee, Melanie (Oscar's wife), Unknown, Louise Roshanka, Lloyd Hedman (Svea's husband) with his hand on Svea's chair,

Top Row Left to Right: Unknown, Grandpa, Uncle Harald Sondee, Oscar Sondee, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown

I am re-posting this photograph as new information has recently been discovered about it. 

The photo was taken at the Sondee residence on McAlister in North Chicago in 1927.

The event was Corky's High School Graduation. Rudy Roshanka was a classmate of Corky's and they were both in the History and Math Clubs.

I have been working with Rudy's niece as she believes the woman in plaid (middle row toward the right side) could be her Aunt Helen, Rudy's sister. If that is the case, then the man behind her and the man to her right are also connected to the Roshanka family as the man behind her has his arm about her waist and the man to her right has his hand over her hand. For now, though, officially there are still seven people unidentified in the photograph.

At the time the photo was taken, the Sondee family lived on McAllister and the Roshanka family lived on Lincoln - both in North Chicago. Grandpa and Grandma lived on N. Butrick in Waukegan.

Corky graduated from Waukegan High School.

I will update as facts become available. 

Update: I have changed the person identifications in the photograph with added corrections provided by Ragnar and Mildred's daughter. 
There are still 7 unknown persons to identify.

Rudy and Louise Roshanka have been identified by their niece.
With the positive identification of Louise, this brings the number of unknown identities to six.

Tryphosa and Tryphena Spencer - Two Sisters, Same Husband

So, let's head back to the Spencer family of John Spencer and Nancy Warriner and their two daughters - Tryphosa and Tryphena.
About twelve years of age separated the two sisters, with Tryphosa being the eldest sister.
Tryphosa married Caleb Clossen in Jefferson County, New York in 1823. They had six children born to them between 1824 and 1833 - Albert, John, Jared, Joseph, Hannah, and Amasa. Not much is known about Caleb at this time, other than he was born in 1800 in Ontario, Canada.
The family lived in Jefferson County until Tryphosa's death in 1837. Sometime between that year and 1850, Caleb moved to Minnesota.
There are two headstones in Jefferson County that may indicate that Caleb had married twice before his marriage to Tryphosa. One stone has the name Susan or Sisen with a death year of 1821, and the other stone has the name Hannah with a death year of 1839, although this contradicts his marriage to Tryphena. Hannah could have been his daughter, although the stone indicates a wife.
The stones are side by side.
Caleb married his wife's sister, Tryphena, in 1842 in Minnesota. This was the second marriage for Tryphena, who had married Frederick Kilbourn in Jefferson County, 1937. Tryphena and Frederick had a son, Alonzo, in 1838. But Frederick died, 1839, in Jefferson County. 
Together, Caleb and Tryphena had eight children - Schuyler, Kina Emma, Susan, Charles, DeWitt, Ella, Dwight, and Flora. 
Caleb died in 1884 in Minnesota. Tryphena died in 1893 in North Dakota. They are buried together in Todd County, Minnesota.

William Hendrix' Mother and Sister

Before I begin with Charity and Sarah Jane, I want to say that the Hendrix spelling has several variations. I believe the earliest spelling was Hendrikson. Other variations have been Hendrixson, Hendricks, and Hendrix.

So, now, let's talk about Charity.
Charlotte Redmon (also spelled Redman) was born in DeKalb County, Tennessee to Harmon and Mary (aka Polly) Green. Her siblings include Benjamin, Mary, Jesse, Lucy, William, Martha, Susanna, and Sarah. Some researchers include a youngest daughter, Larana, but I have found no evidence of her.
Harmon was born in North Carolina to Benjamin and Lucy (Zimmerman) Redmon, both from Virginia. His wife, Polly, was born in South Carolina, but her parents are unknown at the time of this posting.
With Abraham's escape from being taken prisoner by Union forces, I'm sure word reached Charity of her husband's capture. I'm not sure, though, how long it would take for her to learn of her husband's demise, as in the 1870 Fed Census, she is listed in the household of her parents, using her maiden name for both herself and her children - William and Sarah Jane.
Charity marries Elijah Hurst in 1871. The couple have 4 children - Martha, Fielding, Elijah Senate, and Harmon Elza.
Elijah passed away in 1932, and Charity followed in 1939. They are buried in the Hurst Cemetery, along with Will and Sarah Jane, in Chester County, Tennessee.
Now, there is another connection between the Hendrix and Hurst families. Elijah had a brother, Synnet Young Hurst.
Synnet married Sarah Jane Hendrix, making mother and daughter sisters-in-law. 
Sarah Jane first married James Weaver in 1877. They had a daughter, Loganie. Sarah married second Synnet Y. Hurst. Her second marriage produced 6 children - William, Cleve, Launia, Elijah, Jacob, and Synnet. 
Sarah Jane died in 1906, and Synnet in 1932. Both are buried in the Hurst Cemetery, Chester County, Tennessee.

Synnet Young Hurst and his wife,

Sarah Jane Hendrix

Photo Courtesy of the Kelley's in 

Tennessee Family Tree

Elijah Hurst and his wife, Charlotte "Charity" Redmon

Photo Courtesy of the Burkhead Wheeler Family Tree

Charlotte "Charity" Redmon Hendrixson Hurst

Photo Courtesy of the Kelley's in Tennessee Family Tree

Record of Sarah Jane's first marriage

to James Weaver

Record of Charity's first marriage to Joshua Hendrixson

(Note: Joshua is recorded as John Hendrickson)

Joshua John Hendrixson

As I stated in my previous post for William Henry Hendrix, this lineage is a probable lineage for Will. Until I can cite it as absolute fact, please do not take it as absolute fact. At this time, there is no factual direct link between Will and the parents mentioned in this post, and previous posts - yet.

Joshua John Hendrixson (sometimes referred in the records as Joshua J or John) married Charlotte "Charity" Redmon in 1856 in Dekalb, Tennessee. Together, they had two children - William Henry, born in 1859 in Dekalb County, and Sarah Jane, born about 1861/62, most likely, also in Dekalb County.
Joshua was born in Dekalb County to Wiley Hendrixson and his mother, Maranda. Maranda's maiden name remains unknown at the time of this posting. Both his parents were born in Tennessee, most likely Dekalb County.
Joshua had 4 known siblings - William C, Sarah/Susanna, Abraham H, and Nancy.
Joshua joined up with the Confederacy during the Civil War, shortly before or after the birth of his daughter, Sarah Jane. 
He enlisted with the 84th Regiment of the  Tennessee Infantry, Company E, along with his brothers, William and Abraham. 
All three brothers enlisted on the same day, 25 November 1862, in Smithville, Tennessee. Each of them agreed to a term of three years.
But on the 10 January 1863, while the regiment was camped near Shelbyville, Tennessee, Joshua, William, and Abraham deserted their regiment. 
Wherever they were going (probably home), Joshua and William were taken prisoner by the Union Forces. Abraham's file does not contain papers that state he was also taken prisoner. 
Did the two older brothers sacrifice themselves as prisoners so that the youngest brother could escape? One wonders.
Joshua and William's Civil War records do not say which Prisoner of War Camps they were sent to, but both brothers ended up in Union Hospitals in Nashville.
Joshua died there on 21 Mar 1863 of Rubiola. William died there on 14 Feb 1863 of Pneumonia. 
Younger brother, Abraham, must have made it home as he appears in the 1870 Fed Census in Dekalb County, married with two children. In later Census', he has several more children, and moves, first, to Illinois, then on to Texas.

 Abraham's record reporting his desertion on the same day and place as his brother's.

 William's records reporting his desertion and death.
















Joshua's records reporting his desertion and death.

Kete E Curtiss Will

I know I said I would write a post about Tryphena and Tryphosa Spencer. I have not forgotten. 
I also said my next post will be about Will Hendrix' father, Joshua. I will post that one immediately after this one.
But, first, I want to post a few key pages from Kate Curtiss' probate records. I found them on Ancestry yesterday.
A little refresher on background. Kate was the daughter of Kelsey Curtiss and Eliza Sutliffe. She was, also, Emma Curtiss' sister. Emma was the second wife of Rodolph Spencer, and mother of Lilla. 
I believe Emma was close to her sister, Lilla, and named her only child after her. I believe that Emma's daughter grew close to her Aunt Kate when she was sent to Minnesota after her mother died - and named one of her daughters, Kate (my grandmother), in honor of her Aunt. Lilla also named another daughter in honor of her Aunt Lilla (and, probably, herself). 
The Waseca Historical Society had this file that they would send for a fee. I, at one time years ago, was going to send for it, but never did. Well, I finally have it. The file has approximately 43 or so pages in it. Most are court orders for appointing administrator of the will, bondsmen, etc. I am only posting the key pages.

 

The Final Decree of Distribution

Estate Hearing Notice published in the Janesville Argus.

Order of Appointing Appraisers.

I found this interesting as one of the names of the court appointed appraisers was a Comstock. Kate's maternal grandmother was a Comstock.

Receipts of some of the expenses involving Aunt Kate's funeral and such. I couldn't help thinking how great it would be if we had those kinds of costs today.

A page from one of the court documents that records Aunt Kate's father as an heir. His age is 86.

This last page I'm posting is the Petition for Administration filed in court by Aunt Kate's sister, Lilla. It clearly states that Aunt Lilla is Kate's sister.

At the time of Aunt Kate's passing in 1910, Grandfather Kelsey and Aunt Lilla were the only family members still residing in Waseca County with Kate. Grandma Emma and Aunt Lucy, along with Uncle William, had predeceased Aunt Kate. I believe Uncle Frank was in Arizona at the time, and Uncle Edgar was in California. 

For the next seven years, Aunt Lilla took care of her father, Kelsey, until he passed away in 1917. Aunt Lilla passed away in 1926. Uncle Edgar passed away in California in 1938. 

At the time of this post, it is still unknown when Uncle Frank passed on.

Probable Lineage of William Henry Hendrix

This is, so far, only a PROBABLE lineage for William. I do have a couple of emails out to Hendrix researchers that I am hoping can verify this lineage. Until then, I will post what I have so far.
William has been most difficult. There are quite a few William Hendrix' that were born in Tennessee within a five year plus/minus birth year as our William. Each one had to be researched both forward and backward in time to rule them out. I finally came up with the most probable. Probable because I cannot connect him specifically between the time William leaves Sacramento and the time he arrives back in Tennessee. But all the records on this William fit no other William in Tennessee. So, here it is. Do not take this for FACT just yet that this is our William.

The first record I ever found for Will (as he was known in his family) was the marriage record between he and Susan C. Spencer. The marriage occurred in Poinsett, Arkansas on the 3rd of August, 1890. According to the marriage bond (posted by a Thomas Humphries whom I still have found no connection to Susan), Will resided in Hydrick, Arkansas while Susan resided in Bay Village, Arkansas. 
The first record that states that Will was born in Tennessee would be the 1910 Fed Census (I could not find either of them in the 1900 Fed Census) for Sacramento where he, Susan, and their children were residing. It records Will as being 52 years old, and born about 1858 in Tennessee. 
It was told to me by descendents of William that he left Sacramento and went back to Tennessee. I traced William in Sacramento through 1915 in the City Directory, so I believe, he left after 1915. 
Now we come to the probable part of Will.
Everyone I've researched with Will's name did not pan out. People were wrong, dates were wrong, places didn't match up. Except one.
I found a Will H Hendrix in the 1920 Fed Census residing in Chester County, Tennessee born abt 1861 (this is within acceptable guidelines for Census error) in Tennessee, and both parents born in Tennessee (this matches the 1910 Fed Census). It reports Will as a farmer, married to a Margrette V. In the home is Margrette's daughter, Eva J Riley, from a previous marriage, and Margrette's niece, Zeri Naylor. Naylor is Margrette's maiden name.
In the 1930 Fed Census, he is now listed as William H Hendrix born abt 1860 in Tennessee, residing in Bethel Springs, McNairy County. His wife is listed as Maggie V, and his occupation is that of a Fireman in the Saw Mill Industry. No one else is recorded in the home.
The 1940 Fed Census has him as W. H. Hendrix, born about 1858 in Tennessee, still living in Bethel Springs with his wife, Margaret, and a "usual" occupation of Fireman in the Saw Mill Industry (obviously retired as his age is reported as 82). No one else is reported in the home.
In 1946, William passes away - and I found his death certificate. His birth date is reported on the certificate as 9 Sep 1859 born in Dekalb County, Tennessee, widowed (his wife, Margaret Viola Hendrix, daughter of John Naylor, died the previous year), and parents are Joshua Hendrix and Charlotte Redman. Will is buried in the same cemetery (Hurst Cemetery) in Chester County, Tennessee.
My next post will be on Joshua and Charlotte.

 Will Hendrix grave stone from his "findagrave" memorial. Photo courtesy of Ramey Wilson, Jr.

Will's Death Certificate

Susan Spencer's Lineage

I'm afraid I do not have any photo's of Susan's family beyond what I've included thus far. All I have are names, dates and places. If I do come across any in the future, I will post them. 
So, let's trace Susan's lineage.
First off, I will cover her paternal lineage in future posts. For now, I will just say that her father was Rodolph Ambrose Spencer, son of Ambrose Spencer and Mercy Ann Russell.
Susan's mother, Telitha Humphries, was born to James Humphries and Sarah Morgan in St. Clair, Alabama. 
Telitha had two half siblings from her father's first marriage to Susannah Watkins - Martha and Pinckney. She had two older brothers - John and Uriah - and one younger sister - Louisa Catherine.
There are several databases on Ancestry that confirm the marriage date of 19 May 1841 in St. Clair County, Alabama for James and Sarah. The 1850 U.S. Federal Census has the couple living in St. Clair with children Martha, Pinckney, John, Uriah, and Telitha. 

I saved the post above as a draft, because I ran into a few "head scratching" contradictions for some of Telitha's family members. A few databases claim that James had several children with Susannah. For now, though, I will leave Martha and Pickney as is because they are the only ones I can verify.
However, the 1840 Federal Census does report that their were 5 males and 3 females under the age of nineteen living in the home of James. This was one year before he married Telitha's mother, Sarah Morgan, so it is probable that he had more than two children with Susannah.
I have not progressed beyond Sarah Morgan's parents, Thomas Morgan and Nancy Reynolds. Sarah was born in South Carolina and died in St. Clair County, Alabama. She appears to have at least three brothers - Thomas, David and Benjamin - and at least two sisters - Martha and Talitha Jane. Other than that, I have no other information for Sarah.
James was born in South Carolina to John Humphries and Julia Frances Ellis. He had eight brothers - William, Pelham, John, Ellis, Jesse, Berryman, Drury, and William Bryant - and three sisters - Elizabeth, Sarah, and Mary.
His father, John, had married a second time to Mary Jane Clary. This union produced two half-siblings for James - Thompson and Langdon.
I found a short bio about John on Ancestry.com written by a J. C. Coleman Humphries in 1932. He says that John suffered from outbursts of anger citing one such incident whereas he took a shoe knife and carved on his son's arm as punishment. 
This might explain why only three granddaughters and his son, Berryman, are the only family members to inherit in his will. Mr. Humphries does mention that John's father's name was William. Some researchers name his mother as Marianne Walker.
Likewise, I do not know anything about Julia Frances Ellis. Some researchers have her father as Benjamin, while one researcher claims that Julia and Mary Clary are one in the same person.
I will have to do more research for this line.
As a side note, it appears that Humphries had originated from Humphreys and Humphrey.

The Will of John Humphries

Death Certificate for Telitha, left
Marriage record to Andrew Duke, bottom left
Marriage record to Rodolph Spencer, bottom right