.

Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Angie's Research on our Seagram Line (Mattson / Pierce)

GGG Grandmother Isabella Seagrams


From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello!

Today you eyes are granted a rest from reading another one of my entries. Cousin Angie did our research this week and sent the following for your consideration.
Thanks Angie. I believe you're spot on. I've updated this information on the Family Tree, which by the way is uploaded to Ancestry.com.

Before you jump into Angie's research, I thought it best to give you a Relationship Tree so you understand who she is researching:

Relationship Tree:

3rd Great Grandparents, Isabelle Seagrams and Andrew Jackson Pierce
to
Edwin Serman Pierce and Eldora Elizabeth Fiddler
to
Walter Edwin Pierce and Vesta Althea Dennis
to
Violet Mae Pierce and Walter Albert Mattson
to
Luella, Linda, John and Marvin
to
US


And now, Angie's research:
Simply,
Victor

Hello Everyone,
Long time; No contact........until a few weeks ago, when Len Pierce sent me an email just checking up on me. I have been so engaged in my Dennis line research, that I haven't really put much focus on anything else. Well his email made me think about looking again at the Pierce line, and this is a very long email of what I have found in the last two weeks. (Note: Some of these links, you will need to have an Ancestry.com account to view, but I'll be specific to their content).
Victor's blog posting of Isabella Pierce is a great place to start:
This is what we already know:
Andrew Jackson Pierce married Isabella Seagrim February 21, 1860 in Margaretville, Delaware County, New York:
"PEARCE, ANDREW J. 02/21/1860 ISABELLA SAGRUM MARGARETVILLE 03/02/1861"

Andrew and Isabella had five children; Edwin (Len and Our Grandfather), Herbert, Ida Belle, Margaret and Jennie (Richard's Grandmother).
Thanks to Richard Carlton, we know that Andrew died from a bad fall in 1874 and is buried in Iowa Falls, Iowa.
Isabella remarried Hosmer Stevens and had no children with him.
In the last few years of Isabella's life, she lived with her daughter Jennie:
It reads:

"Aged Mother Passes Away

Mrs. Isabel Stephens died Wednesday evening February 13, 1918, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. George Joslin, in this city, at the age of 77 years.

Mrs. Stephens had made her home with her daughter in Cassville for the past three years. For much of that time she was in very delicate health and was given constant care by Mrs. Joslin. Everything which loving hands could do for her comfort was done.

Rev. L. H. White conducted a short funeral service at the Joslin home Thursday afternoon. Her body was sent to Iowa Falls, Iowa for interment. It was accompanied by Mr. Joslin."

Isabella Seagrim Pierce Stevens as buried in Hardin County, Iowa. This is a picture of her headstone:

http://iowagravestones.org/gs_view.php?id=4189

Ida Belle Pierce only lived six months, and she is also buried in this cemetery. This is a picture of her headstone:

http://iowagravestones.org/gs_view.php?id=4184

Ida Belle Pierce also has a "Find a Grave" link:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Pierce&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1900&GSdyrel=before&GSst=14&GScnty=588&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=8145159&df=all&

I cannot find where Andrew Jackson Pierce is buried, although I suspect he is in this same cemetery, but may not have a clearly marked grave.

When I started my search a few weeks ago, I started my search on some information that I found on Victor's blog that Richard Carlton had sent him, it said:

"All I have on Richard is that he is thought to have been born in 1817 in England and that he had at least 2 male children before Isabella. I don't have a name for his wife, but only that she was born in Scotland."

So now.....this is what I have found:

Based on the information given by Richard Carlton, this is simply a family tree that I found on Ancestry.com:

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/14962919/person/190366435

It lists Richard Seagrim married to Margaret Lunn with one child, Mary Lunn born 1833 in Delaware County, New York. (which was a great sign of being on the right trail).

It also lists Margaret Lunn remarried to John D. Reside with two sons, Nelson and Charles.

If you click on Richard and Margaret's daughter Mary Lunn, you'll see that she married John Morse, and if you then look at their son Eugene, you'll see a "story". I have attached the contents of this story for those who don't have access to Ancestry.com. This is the paragraph of interest:

"My Mother, Mary Lunn Segrim daughter of _____Segrim & Margaret Se grim. I remember Great-Grandmother Lunn (Grand Mother and Great-Grandmother, both were weavers, by trade not by name)

After grandfather Segrim died, Grandmother married John D. Reside, who became by step-grandfather. I have heard Mother speak of a grand-father Malache and I have seen a Testament, given her by a grand father Elderkin."

This is what I have found on RICHARD SEAGRIM, I cannot be 100% sure on all of this information, but it's definitely note worthy:

I believe that this is an index of wills, Richard Seagrim is the last on the page:

http://www.dcnyhistory.org/willindexpage109.html

These are Naturalization Records of Delaware County, New York:

http://www.dcnyhistory.org/nat2.html

"Seagrim Richard 40 yrs old in 1838-02-14 1820 Plimouth (sic) England Andes .1329"

This record says that Richard was 40 years old in 1838, so that would make his birth date about 1798, not 1817 as originally thought. So either I'm understanding the documentation wrong (which is highly likely), or Richard Seagrim was about 34 when he married Margaret, who if born in 1818, as documented, would have only been 14 when she married Richard in about 1832......let's hope Margaret was really born in 1814, but I doubt it. Another theory would be that this link is Richard's father's record, and his name was also Richard, or maybe the Richard Seagrim in this link is not even our relative? More research will need to be done as to the content of the will to help determine this theory.

So we know that Richard Seagrim was born in England in either 1817 or 1798, no documentation to prove it. We know he married Margaret Lunn in about 1832 in New York, no documentation to prove it. We know he died after Isabella was born in 1839, so we can assume he died in about 1840 in New York, no documentation to prove it. This is all of the documentation I can find on Richard Seagrim. I cannot find any documentation on his immigration to America.

However, there is a lot of documentation on MARGARET LUNN, and this is what I have found on her:

She was born between 1814-1818 in Scotland, no documentation to prove it. I have not found any documentation on her immigration to America either. After Richard died in about 1840, Margaret Lunn remarried John D. Reside in about 1841 in Delaware County, New York, no documentation to prove it.

Based on the following link, I believe Margaret's father's name was Charles Lunn, and her mother's name was Mary Elder, and she had a brother named John:

http://www.dcnyhistory.org/bf2l.html

Also in this link, you'll see that Margaret's brother John Lunn married Eunice Pierce, who I believe is the same Eunice Pierce, who is the sister of our Andrew Jackson Pierce. So that would mean that Margaret's brother John married her son-in-law's sister. So Isabella's Uncle John married her sister-in-law, making John Lunn Isabella's brother-in-law AND her Uncle. I'll have to do more research to be certain.

The following is a link to 23 cemetery's in Delaware County, New York. Here you will find in Dunraven Cemetery in Middletown, Delaware County, New York, where Margaret Lunn (Seagrim) Reside and other family members are buried:

http://www.dcnyhistory.org/cemkit1.html

"Margaret Lunn, wife of John Reside, d. Dec 18, 1887 age 78 yrs
John Reside, d. Sept 18, 1905 age 82 yrs 9 mos 16 days, Co E 144 Reg NY Vol"

Now, the following link is the absolute proof of Isabella to Margaret Lunn and Richard Seagrim. It's an 1850 census in Delaware County, New York:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.2/M4DS-3L2/p_240668250

https://www.familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11686-149495-46?cc=1401638

In the household it lists John Reside and Margaret Reside, Children: Mary Seagrim, born in 1833, James Seagrim, born in 1835, Martha Seagrim, born in 1837, and finally, our dear sweet Isabella Seargrim, born in 1839, Nelson Reside, born in 1842 and Charles Reside, born in 1848.

These are the 1860, 1870 and 1880 Andes, Delaware County, New York census records for John and Margaret Reside:

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1860usfedcenancestry&indiv=try&h=46174431

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1870usfedcen&indiv=try&h=24931379

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&indiv=try&h=1558659

*In the 1870 census, William Reside is John's brother, and Philip and Margaret are William's children.

Notes: Just some things I noticed in putting this puzzle together is that Richard and Margaret's first child's name is "Mary", and Margaret's mother's name was (possibly) Mary. Also, Isabella and Andrew named one of their daughter's "Margaret", after Isabella's mother. I wonder if Richard's father's name was James, as it is the name of his only son, and Margaret's father's name was (possibly) Charles.

End Comment;

There's only a hand full of people in the almost 7 billion people on earth that will find this stuff interesting. I'm so glad I can share my excitement with you! (I can only hope it's all the correct information, or at least a good start)

Love Always,

Angie