Julia Kinney Hancock, painter

When she visits, my mother often brings a treasure-trove of genealogical materials from my grandmother's stored belongings. This week, she brought this oil painting. On the back it says "Painted by Julia Kinney as a girl". Julia, who was my great-great-grandmother, was born in 1859. I'd guess her "girlhood" to be anytime before 1880. Before she reached the age of 20, Julia had lived in Nova Scotia, Boston, San Francisco, and Whidbey Island, Washington. This landscape doesn't particularly remind me of any of those areas, but it's more "east coast-y" than west. On the other hand, she very well may have copied some other painting and not seen this landscape in real life.

If you look closely, you'll see that the human figures are a bit stiff but the animals and landscape are quite good. Joe wanted to know if she kept painting, and if the family has any of her other work. Honestly, I don't know. Maybe some of my cousins do?

Deans and the Whiskey Rebellion

I was reading Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton when I was struck by his description of the Whiskey Rebellion, specifically, of its epicenter as west-central Pennsylvania. The Whiskey Rebellion took place from 1791-1794, and guess who was living in west-central Pennsylvania at that time? The early Dean family! Specifically, my 6xgreat-grandfather, James Dean, who died around 1795 (his wife was probably already dead by this point), and his son and daughter-in-law, my 5xgreat-grandparents, Abraham and Sarah Stewart Dean.

The Whiskey Rebellion began in the Appalachian area, among the Scotch-Irish small farmers, who were enraged by a whiskey tax that was far more punitive and inconvenient to them than to the larger distilleries of the coast. Many small farmers made whiskey as a more efficient way of transporting their crops for sale across poor roads. The tax was detrimental to one of their primary money-making enterprises and the required inspections were problematic given their dispersed farmsteads and difficult traveling conditions.

The resistance to the tax had its most formal expression on July 27, 1791, when a group of community leaders gathered at Redstone Old Fort in Fayette County and signed a proclamation declaring their grievance. The most prominent politician present was Albert Gallatin, later Thomas Jefferson's secretary of treasury. Among those who signed the statement was one "John Canon", possibly from Washington County.

There is a John Canon (or Canan) who was the son-in-law of James Dean, husband of Abraham's sister, Margary.  Could he have been the signatory? We do know he was a civic leader, according to this biography of his son, also named John, who was a Pennsylvania representative:

John Canan, his father, was born in Ireland in 1746; his mother, Margery Dean, also born there, came to America before the Revolution, and they were married here. John Canan was second lieutenant in the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment in 1777. In 1786 and '87 he was a member of the general assembly from Bedford county. He was also a member of the supreme executive council from 1787 to 1790. Under the constitution of 1790 he was appointed an associate judge and he was again a member of the assembly from Huntingdon county from 1791 to '94, and senator from Huntingdon and Bedford from 1795 to 1799. He owned a large estate in land, and late in life entered the forge and furnace business, being unfortunate in his investment. He died in 1831, at the age of 85 years. Margery Dean Canan died in 1815, when she was 55 years old.

Neither this John Canan or his son were from Washington county, but they were definitely from the area.

I haven't had a lot of time to do genealogy this summer, but I hope to look into this more in the future. Regardless of which side of the Whiskey Rebellion our ancestors supported -- if we ever know -- they definitely lived through the heart of it.

Mystery solved!

I have written before about my great-great-grandparents, David Philip Dean and Sarah "Jennie" Brattain Dean. I had always wondered how they met. David Philip Dean was born in Iowa, and he lived there until he was an older adult, when most of the family moved to Washington. Jennie, however, was from Indiana. How did they come together? At first, I thought David may have been visiting his mother's brothers, who did have farms in Indiana, but the Dean family bible made it clear that they were married in Iowa.

Recently, my mother found the original marriage certificate for David and Jennie among my grandmother's documents. One of the witnesses listed is "Jackson Wisehart". Wisehart is Jennie's mother's maiden name. Indeed, her mother, Louisa Wisehart Brattain, had an older brother named Andrew Jackson Wisehart (yes, really). Jackson was married to Hiram Brattain's younger sister, Christena. Hiram Brattain was Louisa's husband and Jennie's father. So, Andrew Jackson Wisehart was Jennie's uncle by birth and by marriage.

So, why was Andrew Jackson Wisehart present at the wedding of David and Jennie? The documents I found for him suggested he was born and died in Indiana. So, I searched further and I found this copy of his obituary:

If you click on it, you'll be able to see it better. Basically, it turns out that Jackson Brattain spent a chunk of time in DesMoines, Iowa, building a business there from 1872-1894, before returning to Indiana. His niece must have visited him and her aunt there, met David, and married him in 1876. I wonder if she was there because her aunt, Christena, was ill and needed some help with her younger children.  Sadly, Christena died almost a year to the day after the wedding of her niece.

Mystery solved!

David and Jennie Dean Family Bible

I blogged previously about the serendipitous events that brought the Philip and Catherine Welsheimer Family Bible into my life. For Christmas, I received another priceless gift: the family Bible of David Philip Dean and his wife Sara "Jennie" Brattain Dean. They would be my great-great grandparents. David was the grandson of Philip and Catherine Welsheimer. Their Bible was found among my grandmother's things. I assume it was sent to her by my great-aunt, Lillian Huffstetler.

I wanted to share some pictures and items from the Bible so other family members can see it.

Outside cover

Inside cover. The text reads:
Family Bible of David P. Dean and Sarah Jane Brattain-Dean who were married August 22, 1876
DesMoines, Iowa The above names were written by Eva D. Trowbridge July 14, 1961 at the home of
Manie Dean Edmundson 3227 Wright Ave Bremerton, Wash
[Eva and Manie were daughters of David and Sarah]

Frontpiece of the Bible. It dates to 1863. I don't know
if the Bible belonged to one of them prior to marriage
or if it was purchased for their family from an older printing.
Note the pages pinned on the side. I removed the
pins to prevent rusting and damage to the pages

This is what was written on the back of the tract pinned to the opposite page of the Bible's frontpiece. On the top is the name "Ann Dean" in very faint letters. Ann was David's mother, Anna Welsheimer Dean, who died in 1905, which means she is not the person who wrote the rest of the page. I suspect it was David Dean who did so:

This tract was given to D.P. Dean , about the year 1860 or 61. He was walking along the road on his way to his Uncle Jim Finch's [David's paternal aunt, Sara, had married James Finch], when two men on passing by in a one-horse buggy handed him this tract and one other. This circumstance is very vivid in my mind at this time, Feb 16, 1920, 69-70 years ago. This piece of road was what is now Court Avenue between 20th and 30th sts, DesMoines, Iowa.

The second tract has the same story written on the back, but it was written in March 1916

A number of newspaper clippings were stored in the Bible, including this one from January 30, 1907, describing the wedding of David and Sarah's daughter, Madge, to Herbert Swenson, in Altoona, Iowa. (Clicking on the picture should give you a larger version to read)

Here is a sadder clipping. This is an obituary for David and Sarah's son, Ralph, who died at 18 in June of 1918. From the newspaper account it sounds like he had suffered from illness for much of his life. A number of clippings related to Ralph were in the Bible. He was obviously much missed.

An interesting clipping that showed how David and Sarah kept in touch with their extended family. The article is from a Middletown, Indiana, newspaper and about the wedding of L.K. Wisehart in 1908 or 1909. I don't know who L.K. was, but the article mentions he was the son of Richmond Wisehart. Richmond was Sarah Brattain Dean's maternal uncle, the brother of her mother, Louisa Wisehart.

Here's a fun clip! Apparently in 1936 David Dean grew a 2lb tomato and a 7lb potato! 

This advertisement answered a question I had long had: when, exactly, did the Dean family move to Washington? The answer, apparently, is sometime soon after Dec 7, 1910, when they sold their farm and equipment in Altoona, Iowa

Lillian Dean's wedding to Raymond Stiles in November 1911, Whidbey Island, Washington

The church bulletin announcing Sarah Brattain Dean's death. April 6, 1919

The pages before the New Testament have family records. This is the marriages page. It appears there are two different hands that wrote here. Below, I put the notes by that second hand in {}. That second hand seems to take over entirely after 1907, but perhaps earlier. Although the first hand could be Sarah and the later David, I have an alternative theory: the first hand is Anne Welsheimer Dean's. After her death in 1905 (or perhaps when she was incapacitated earlier), either Sarah or David took over adding to the Bible. That theory is based on a) the fact that the hand seems to disappear before 1905 (I think, some entries are hard to tell); b) the writing has an archaic look to me; and c) the handwriting reminds me somewhat of the Welsheimer family Bible, which was written by one of Anne's parents.

The writing is as follows:
Aug 22nd 1876 Mr. David Philip Dean to Miss Sarah Jane Brattain
{Ceremony took place at residence of J. Wisehart SE Corner 12th and Court Ave. DesMoines, Iowa}

Miss Mary Louanna Dean to Mr. Will Edmundson Dec 29 1897 {At home near Altoona NW4 NW4 12.79.23}

Ethel Gertrude Dean to William Casebeer Dec. 25, 1900 last Christmas of the 19th century {at same house as above described}

[note: not clear if this entry is in the first or second hand]: Madge Estella Dean to Mr. Herbert L. Swenson Jan. 30th, 1907 {at same house as above described}

{Aura Dean to Karl E. Hodges at the house of her uncle Ro E. Fulton 915 Queen Anne Ave. Seattle Washington, Sept. 7, 1910.

Lillian Dean to Raymond C. Stiles. Wesley M.C. NE Corner East 11? Des Moines St. DesMoines Iowa Nov 8, 1911

Eva Dean to Robert W. Trowbridge at M.E.C. in Coupeville Washington Nov. 15th 1911.

Carl Dean to Vera Hancock Sept 1916

Merl to Irene Cotte in Chicago June 1919


Another mystery solved! I have often wondered how David and Sarah met, since she was from Indiana and he was from Iowa. I wondered if he'd visited some of his mother's kin who lived not far from Sarah's family. However, based on this entry, it appears that Sarah was actually in Iowa visiting her mother's Wisehart kin, although I'm not sure who.

The second page of Family Records includes the births. Most of this page is written in the original handwritting from the first page, perhaps Sarah's. There are some notes of deaths, but I think those come from Eva and Marnie, as noted on the inside cover of the Bible. I've put their notes in {} below.

Mary Louanna Dean July 26, 1877
Madge Estella Dean, Sept 14, 1878 {D- April 12 '66}
Ethel Gertrude Dean, Oct. 29, 1879
Daisy Dean, May 8, 1881.
Harvey Edwin Dean, April 18, 1883
Aura Dean, Sept. 10, 1884 {D - Aug 5 '64}
Eva Dean, Aug. 31, 1886
Edna Dean, Oct. 10, 1887
Jimmie [Jimmie is crossed out and James written in} Dean, Feb. 16, 1889
Infant Son, Aug. 10, 1890.
Lillian Dean, July 21, 1891 {D - May 9 '62}
David Merlin Dean, Feb. 24, 1894.
Carl Phillip Dean, Dec. 14, 1895.
Ralph Hiram Dean, June 18, 1899.

I suppose it's good they stopped having kids, as they'd completely run out of room on the page! I will note that this is 14 children in a span of 22 years

The final page of the Family Records is the saddest, the list of deaths. The first five names are in the same hand. The next two may be in the same hand that wrote the comments and later entries on the marriage page. The final deaths, those of Sarah and David themselves, appear to have been written by Eva and Marnie in the 1960s.

First hand:
Harvey Edwin Dean, Feb. 7, 1885.
Daisy Dean, Feb. 8, 1885.
Edna Dean, Feb. 5, 1890.
Jimmie Dean, Feb. 9, 1890.
Infant Son, Aug. 10, 1890.

Second Hand:
Ethel Gertrude Dean, Feb. 11, 1901.
Ralph Hiram Dean, June 12, 1918

Eva and Marnie:
Sarah Jane (Brattain) Dean, B. Nov 7, 1854, D. 1919
David Philip Dean, B. Feb 16 1852, D. Apr 16 1941

The deaths page is particularly heartbreaking. Six of their fourteen children died young. Harvey and Daisy died on subsequent days in 1885. Perhaps there was some disease that went through the family? Harvey would have been six and Daisy three. Something similar happened five years later, in February of 1890, when two children died within days of each other. Edna would have been two and Jimmie just shy of his first birthday. Later that year, the unnamed son was likely a stillbirth. And, as discussed above, their youngest child died at eighteen. We forget, sometimes, how lucky we are to live in this age of medical miracles. 

Philips. Lots and lots of Philips.

A few weeks ago, I came in contact with a distant cousin, Philip Hodges. We share a great-great grandfather, David Philip Dean. I sent a short email laying out the history of the name "Philip" in our family. I realized I'd never written it up for this blog, so here it is:

The first known Philip in our direct ancestry was Johannes Philip Welsheimer. "Johannes" was his baptismal name. Normally, this name is not used except in legal and religious contexts. So, he would have been known as "Philip". Philip was born around 1730 in Berlin and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1766. He was one of a surprisingly large number of "Pennsylvania Dutch" to enter that colony in the early to mid 1700's. This article discusses some of the legal and practical barriers that were put in place to ensure the new Germany-speaking settlers wouldn't change the essentially English character of the colony. Whatever his reasons for emigrating, he was dedicated to his new country and eventually served in the Revolutionary War as a gunsmith. 

His son, also named Philip, immigrated to the U.S. with his father. He was born in 1757 in Berlin, which made him 9 at the time of immigration. He may have been the only family member to come with Philip I, or he may have had a brother named Frederick. It's also possible that a wife or daughters were present but not considered important enough to record. Philip II was a stocking weaver. His original apprenticeship papers have been preserved. They were drawn up between his father and a stocking maker named Adam Edleman in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1770. The name Edleman suggests that the Welsheimers were part of the German-American community in Pennsylvania and may have preferred to make important deals, like apprenticeships, with fellow Germans. Philip II eventually married a woman named Catherine Hull whose ancestry I have not been able to trace but may have been a member of the Hull/Holl family, a Germany Dutch family involved in cloth manufacturing. Regardless of his feelings about his fellow Germany immigrants, he, too, served in the Revolutionary War, in the 3rd Battalion of the York County Militia. 

Philip II was quite successful and bought a good deal of land in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. In July of 1811, he left home in Cumberland township, Pennsylvania, to walk to the coast where he planned to find a ship headed back to Germany. He wished to buy high-quality looms there that he could not purchase in the United States. However, he died of (apparently) natural causes en route to the ship. His body was found weeks later on the road. 

Philip Welsheimer III was the son of the stocking weaver. He was born in 1791 in what is now West Virginia. He grew up there, was a successful farmer, and married Catharine Duley. Their family Bible was the subject of a previous post on this blog. He moved his family from West Virginia/West Pennsylvania to South Salem, Ohio in the 1830s. He died there in 1864. South Salem is where the Dean family was living, as well. Philip's daughter, Anna, married Abram Dean. In 1847, Abram and Anna Welsheimer Dean moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Their youngest son was born there. He was named David Philip Dean, in honor of his grandfather. 

David Philip was the last common ancestor I shared with Philip Hodges. However, the name lives on in both lines, clearly. I'm descended from David Philip's son, Carl Philip Dean, and then Carl's son Philip Carlyle Dean. Both my father and brother are Philips. Except for Anna, who passed the name into the Dean family, we have an unbroken line of Philips back to the 1730s!

Welsheimer Bible

Earlier this Fall, I was contacted by Suzanne Godfrey who was looking through her mother's estate. Her mother had owned an antique store. Among the wares was a family bible from 1828 belonging to Philip Welsheimer and his wife Catherine Duley, my 4xgreat grandparents. Because I had made a Wikitree page for them, Suzanne contacted me and offered to send the bible. I'm so grateful!

It's an amazing book. It includes a list of family members and dates written before the New Testament, locks of hair (not clear from whom), letters, and school reports.

If the outside of the Bible had any decoration it has long since worn off.
The Bible is about 12"x14"

The inside front. On the left it says "DWU(?) 3.50", presumably a price.
On the right it says "Philip Welshimer"

The front page of the Bible. Publication date 1828, probably in New York.

These pages are before the New Testament. The first page lists the marriage of the couple who presumably first owned the Bible, Philip and Catherine Welsheimer:
Philip Welshimer and Catharine Duley was married March the 28th AD1814.
Philip Welsheimer Sr. was born in Burkley Co. Virginia March the 11th 1791.
[Note: Berkeley County is now in West Virginia]

Second page of the family records:
Daniel Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born January the 30th AD1815
William H. Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born November the 12th AD1816
James Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born January the 22nd AD1818
Anna Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born January the 16th AD1819
[Anna later married Abram Dean and is my 3xgreat-grandmother]

The third page of the family records (but the dates are later than on page four):
David Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born July the 9th 1833
Catharine Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born July the first 1835
Mary E. Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born March the 21st 1838
Samuel F. Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born February the 27th AD1842 

The fourth page of the family records (but the dates are actually earlier than page three):
John H. Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born April the 10th AD1820
Maria Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born Dec the 7th AD1821
Emily Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born February the 10th AD1823
Sydney Welshimer daughter of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born Dec the 16th AD1824
Frederick Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer was born July the 1st AD1827
Ludowick Welshimer son of Philip and Catharine Welshimer as born February the 22nd AD1829
Philip Welshimer son of Philip and Catherine Welshimer was born June the 8th AD1831

Maria died January the --- AD1822 aged --- days
Katharine the wife of Philip Welshimer Sen departed this life Oct 14th 1849
Frederick Welshimer son of Philip and Katharine Welshimer died February 13th AD1852
John Welshimer son of Philip and Katharine Welshimer died February 15th AD1852
Philip Welshimer Sen departed this life July 21st AD1864 aged 73 years 4 months and 10 days

Most of the entries are written in the same hand, but, except for the death of Maria in 1822, the deaths listed on the last page are written in a different hand. This makes me think that most of the entries were written by Catharine Welshimer, since the first death listed, after Maria's, is hers in 1849. In that entry, and in the later death entries, her name is spelled differently ("Katharine") as well. Whoever wrote the original had lovely handwriting. 

Patriotism and Symbols of Hate

While the rest of us were celebrating Veterans Day, someone drew a swastika on the chalkboard in the student center at my university. There are arguments over who drew the symbol and what it means. Many students assume the swastika is related to other white supremacist propaganda that sprang up recently on campus. The College Republicans issued a statement saying it was a liberal false-flag operation. Regardless of who is to blame, this symbol of hate hurts the whole community.

My family and I are not the direct targets of white supremacy. I can only imagine how people who are the direct targets must feel right now. I do feel hurt and betrayed by the use of this symbol, though, on behalf of other members of my community and as a proud American.

Grandpa Cunningham in Germany, 1947

Both of my grandfathers were part of the World War II war effort, as were both of my husband's grandfathers. My maternal grandfather was a career Air Force officer who spent most of the war in Ohio but was sent to Germany and France soon after to help with the reconstruction of those nations. He saw first-hand the destruction the Nazis had wrought. He left behind a young family (my mother was just an infant) in order to serve his country.

My paternal grandfather was a Marine. He stormed the beaches in the South Pacific and fought in well-known battles like Guadalcanal and the invasion of Okinawa. He literally went through hell, and would later say that the only thing that got him through that war was the knowledge that, if the U.S. won, his sons would not have to fight it again. He first son, my father, was born while my grandfather was fighting overseas. He did not meet him until a year later.

Grandpa Dean, just before he left for WWII

My husband's maternal grandfather was an Army doctor in Michigan. His father's father was on submarine crews in the Atlantic. [UPDATE: My apologies, but I got this wrong. My husband's maternal grandfather was stationed in Michigan for part of the war but spent part of it in the South Pacific. He was certainly in New Guinea at one point. His paternal grandfather's submarine duty was also in the South Pacific, not the Atlantic.] They sacrificed so much. It sickens me to think that some punk kid whose greatest sacrifice has probably been using an older-model smart phone would draw the symbol of their defeated enemies on a chalkboard.

I don't usually consider our students to be entitled or bratty. I'm making an exception for this one. Similarly, I don't usually believe in significant differences between the generations, but in this case I can't believe that any Millennial (or GenXer or Baby Boomer) who would draw that symbol is worthy to kiss my grandfathers' boots, or those of any member of the Greatest Generation who gave so much to free our country and others of that taint of fascism.

I blogged last time about Hiram Brattain, my only direct ancestor to fight in the Civil War. I feel similarly about the symbolism of the Confederate flag. With all due respect to those who have Southern ancestry (as I do myself), that flag is a sign of treason. Our nation went through unspeakable horror to remain an undivided nation and rid ourselves of slavery. Whenever I see the Confederate flag flying, especially here in the North, I'm literally sickened that the descendants of men and women who gave, in Lincoln's words, "the last full measure of devotion...that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth," would display such absolute contempt for their ancestors and our country.

Sarah Jane "Jennie" Brattain Dean

This is a continuation of my series of posts on my great-great-grandparents. Last time, I wrote about David Philip Dean. This post is about his wife, Jennie Brattain.

Sarah Jane Brattain, known as "Sally" or "Jennie", was born November 7, 1855. I had always heard the name pronounced as "Bruh-TAYN", but on-line sources suggest it's usually rhymes with "satin". I don't know if our family line pronounced it differently than others, or if her maiden name came down through the generations with an incorrect pronunciation. In the census of 1860, the family name was spelled "Bratton", suggesting the census worker, at least, heard it more like the "satin" pronunciation (1).

Jennie was the eldest child of Hiram and Louisa May Wisehart Brattain. Unlike her husband, who was born in an area that had only recently been conquered for white settlement, Jennie grew up in an area that was already well integrated into the United States. Indiana had been a state since 1816. Both of Jennie's parents had been born in Indiana and came from families that had moved there from the South in the 1820s or 30s. Family records claimed Jennie was born in Alexandria, Indiana, however, I cannot confirm that with primary documentation. Her family was living in Alexandria in 1880 (2), and perhaps they had been there at the time of her birth, but my first record of the family is in the 1860 census, when they were living in Fall Creek Township, Henry County, Indiana (1). This is where Louisa grew up and where many of her siblings lived.

Jennie was born six years before the start of the Civil War, in which her father served. Hiram Brattain joined Company F, 8th Indiana Volunteers, at the beginning of the war. Later that summer, he fought in the battle of Rich Mountain, West Virginia, where his brother-in-law, Jennie's uncle Philander Wisehart, died in his arms. His regiment mustered out of service on August 6, 1861. Hiram remained in Indiana until August of 1862 when he was commissioned as second lieutenant of Company H, 69th Indiana Infantry, just in time to fight in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, one of the most complete Union defeats of the war. Most of the men in his regiment were captured by the Confederates, but he luckily escaped. He served until March 27, 1863, when he was forced to resign for health reasons (3).

I can imagine it was a difficult time for Jennie, with her father away and her mother left to manage Jennie and her younger siblings, Augustus and Catherine. (Eventually, the couple had a total of eight children). Luckily, her mother's family was nearby, and her father's family was not much farther. Her father had a farm in those early years, but after the war they relocated to Middleton, Indiana, where in 1870 Hiram listed his occupation as "druggist" (4), and in 1880 as "running sawmill" (5) (Clearly, the degree of specialization required to be a druggist was not what it is now.)

Jennie married David Philip Dean on August 22, 1876, in Des Moines, Iowa, at the age of twenty (6). One mystery I have yet to solve: how did they meet? Did Jennie spend some time in Iowa? Her father had lived there briefly as a child, so perhaps he had friends or relatives there with whom she was staying? Or did David travel to Indiana? This seems more likely. David's maternal grandfather, Philip Welsheimer, lived in Ohio, but he had bought land for his sons in Indiana. David had several Welsheimer uncles in northern Indiana in the 1870s. Perhaps he went to visit or to work for one of them and met Jennie while there? Regardless, they were married in Iowa, not Indiana.

I wrote about their married life and their large family in my previous blog post. I won't repeat it here. I will end with one more mystery, however. Jennie is buried in Coupeville, Washington, next to her husband. According to her Find-A-Grave site, she died March 27, 1919, in Seattle. However, I can find no death certificate or other proof that she died in Washington and not in Iowa. If she did die in Washington, she must have done so very soon after moving there.

[Update]: I guess I just hadn't looked recently for her death certificate. I can't find an image of the original, but FamilySearch has the record for Sarah J. Dean, daughter of Hiram Brattain and Louise Wisehart, dying in Seattle, Washington, March 27, 1919. No cause of death is available in the index record, at least.

_____
References:

1) "United States Census, 1860," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4FB-NF3 : accessed 27 August 2015), Hiram Bratton, Fall Creek Township, Henry, Indiana, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing p. 126, household ID 74, NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 803,266.

2) "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH9K-VRN : accessed 27 August 2015), Hiram Brattans, Alexandria, Madison, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district 21, sheet 103B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0293; FHL microfilm 1,254,293.

3) Harden, Samuel. 1888. Those I Have Met, or Boys in Blue. William Mitchell, Publisher. Available On-line here: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inauthors/view?docId=VAC2091&brand=ia-books

4)  "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXXT-VMF : accessed 27 August 2015), Hiram B Brattain, Indiana, United States; citing p. 13, family 100, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,822.

5) "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH9K-VRN : accessed 27 August 2015), Hiram Brattans, Alexandria, Madison, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district 21, sheet 103B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0293; FHL microfilm 1,254,293.

6) "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJFP-Z8X : accessed 11 January 2015), David P. Dean and Sarah Brattian, 22 Aug 1876; citing Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States, county courthouses, Iowa.

David Philip Dean

David and Sarah "Jennie" Dean

So far, my blog topics have been haphazardly chosen, based on whatever interests me at the moment. To try to be more systematic, while also improving the quality of information I have on Wikitree.com, I'm going to create blog posts for each of my great-great-grandparents. Why my great-great-grandparents? Well, since most of them died before 1940, most of the documentary evidence is old enough to be publicly available. I'd like to write about my great-grandparents, as well, but that will be a collaboration with  my parents who have personal memories of them. 

So, on to my first great-great-grandparent: David Philip Dean

David Philip Dean was born February 16 (or 18th), 1852, on his parents' farm in east Des Moines, Iowa, on the banks of what is still known as Dean Lake (at the end of Dean St.). David was the youngest child of Abram Stewart Dean and Anne Retta Welsheimer Dean. His first name may have been in honor of his mother's brother, David Welsheimer, and his middle name, Philip, was in honor of his maternal grandfather. He had four siblings, three of whom were born in Ross County, Ohio, where the family was living before they joined David's grandfather, John Stewart Dean, in claiming land that had been recently conquered from Native people, who were forced into Oklahoma to make way for white settlers. Unfortunately, Abram died in January of 1859, not long before David's seventh birthday. His mother never remarried, but David's grandfather and multiple uncles and aunts lived nearby.

His childhood was far from easy. According to the Portrait and Biographical Album of Polk County, Iowa. (Lake City Publishing Co., Chicago, 1890), David was born in a "commodious house of hewed logs...on the north bank of...Dean Lake. Many privations and hardships were endured by the family, but they labored on, and at length had a good home." The book specifically mentions that David's father had to haul his grain 65 miles for a mill, and that there were no barrel-makers in the area so he created three troughs from a large linden tree to salt down pork, hold lard, and make soap. David's mother cooked on a large fireplace, "slapjacks, corn-dodgers, jonnie cake and lye hominy." The family were devout Presbyterians. One history (but not others) claims the first Presbyterian Church in Des Moines met in David's grandfather's house (1). David's father was an ardent Republican, at a time when that meant supporting the literal party of Lincoln, founded with the goal of ending slavery. Fifteen acres of the family farm were donated to the state for state capitol building. 

Although there must have been plenty of work around the farm, especially with Abram's early death, David and his siblings all attended school. In the 1860 Census for Lee Township, Polk County, Iowa, Anne Dean heads a household of five children, aged 8 to 17, all of whom indicated that they'd attended school within the previous year (2). Ten years later, in the 1870 Census, David was the only child still at home with Anne, but even at 18 and as his mother's only child, he had attended school within the year (3). Clearly, like many of their descendants, the family put a high priority on education.

David married Sarah "Jennie" Brattain on August 22, 1876, in Des Moines (4). He was 24; Jennie was 20. They spent most of their adult lives farming in Polk County, Iowa, but they may have moved within the county. In the 1880 Census, they were in Grant Township, Polk County, Iowa (at which time David's mother, Anne, was living with them) (5). However, by 1884, when their daughter Aura was born, they were listed as living in Clay Township (6). Presumably, this is near the town of Altoona, where they farmed Township 79, Range 23, Section 14, NW1/4 by the 1885 Iowa Census (7). This is where they lived until at least 1910 (8). 

David and Jennie had a large family, although they lost a number of children at a young age. Their children were:

• Mary Louanna (Manie) (1877-1974), married William Henry Edmundson
• Mary Estella (1878-1966), married Herbert L. Swenson
• Esletta (1879-before 1895)
• Ethel Gertrude (1879-1901), married William Casebeer
• Daisy (1881-1885)
• Harvey Edwin (1883-1885)
• Aura (1884-1964), married Karl Edward Hodges
• Eva (1886-1982), married Robert Wallace Trowbridge
• Edna (1887-1890)
• James (1889-1890)
• Infant Son (born and died August 10, 1890)
• Lillian (1891-1962), married Raymond Claire Stiles
• David Merlin (1894-1972), married Irene Louise Greaves and Marie Simpson
• Carl Philip (1895-1971), married Vera Houghton Hancock
• Ralph Hiram (1899-1918)

Sometime between 1902 and 1905, David and Jennie's eldest daughter, Manie Edmundson, moved to Coupeville, Washington, with her husband and children. Sometime after the 1910 Census, David and Jennie moved there, too. Jennie died and was buried in Coupeville, in March, 1919. The following year, David was living with Manie and her family (9). 

Later that year, David remarried, to Abbie Dean, in Washington, Ohio (10). Abbie remains something of a mystery to me, and I wish my Aunt Lil was still here to explain her relationship because I'm sure she knew. "Dean" was Abbie's married name. On their marriage certificate, she is listed as 64 and widowed, the daughter of William W. Perdew and Sarah Seffens. Her original husband, whom she married in Washington, Ohio, in 1876, was John T. Dean, but the marriage record does not include his parents' names (11). My suspicion is that John T. was a cousin of some sort of David's, which is how David met Abbie. After their marriage, David lived part-time in Washington, where he had his own home according to the 1930 Census (12), and part-time at his wife's house in Marietta, Ohio (13).

I've always been interested in David because he was (one of?) the first dedicated genealogists in the family. He was mentioned in several of the family references I found, include the book by Edith Welsheimer (13) about David's mother's line, in which she wrote: "David was the perfect gentleman - kind and gracious, and interested in all with whom he came in contact and able to converse with young and old. To him goes the credit for most of the work on his branch. Though eight years of age, he exchanged many letters with the author, which she values very highly."  

David died in Seattle on April 16, 1941, aged 82 years.

_____
References:
1) Wilson-Baird History by Fran C. Shepherd, 1942, p.2 (available on-line: http://baird-bard-beard.org/BB/downloads/Volume5-March1995.pdf):

2) "United States Census, 1860," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M82L-9MQ : accessed 11 January 2015), David P Dean in household of Ann Dean, Lee Township, Polk, Iowa, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," Fold3.com; citing p. 161, household ID 1172, NARA microfilm publication M653, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 803,338.

3) "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDV5-DTF : 17 October 2014), David Dean in household of Ann Dean, Iowa, United States; citing p. 8, family 56, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,914.

4) "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJFP-Z8X : accessed 11 January 2015), David P. Dean and Sarah Brattian, 22 Aug 1876; citing Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States, county courthouses, Iowa.

5) "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDLZ-4KN : 24 December 2015), David T Dean, Grant, Polk, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district ED 170, sheet 489B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0360; FHL microfilm 1,254,360.

6) "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVZL-FYZ : accessed 11 January 2015), David P. Dean in entry for Aura Dean, 1884.

7)  "Iowa State Census, 1885," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HWZL-XMM : 15 November 2014), David Dean, Altoona, Clay, Polk, Iowa; citing p. 235, 1885, State Historical Society, Des Moines; FHL microfilm 1,020,172.

8) "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG99-TYR : 29 October 2015), Carl P Dean in household of David P Dean, Clay, Polk, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 66, sheet 11B, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,431.

9)  "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHFY-X1B : 14 December 2015), David P Dean in household of William H Edmundson, Coupeville, Island, Washington, United States; citing sheet 6A, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,923.

10) "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNQM-CJ7 : accessed 11 January 2015), Abram Dean in entry for David P Dean and Abbie A Dean, 23 Nov 1920; citing Washington, Ohio, United States, reference p 431; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 2,320,085.

11) "Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDXT-KYL : 8 December 2014), John T. Dean and Abbie A. Perdew, 01 Jun 1876; citing , Washington, Ohio, reference ; FHL microfilm 0941959 V. 4-6.

12)  "Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3RJ-SQS : 5 December 2014), David P. Dean, 16 Apr 1941; citing Seattle, King, Washington, reference 1448, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Olympia; FHL microfilm 2,023,903.

13) "A History of the Welsheimer Family", by Edith Welsheimer, Bronson Printing, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 1969. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE97573

Other Deans of Pennsylvania

I wrote an earlier blog post about Abraham Dean, his (probable) father, James, and the many Deans of central Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s. I laid out in that blog post my evidence for a connection between James and Abraham Dean of the area near Alexandria, Pennsylvania, and Margery Dean Canan, wife of John Canan.

There are other Deans in the same area at that time, some of whom may be relatives and others who may have been wholly unconnected. Evidence for these relationships tend to be more tentative, but I lay it out below. As with the previous post, this one is aimed at the two or three people in the world who actually care about the details of this topic. And, as with the previous post, most of this information comes from the research by Larry Dean, with a few items of my own thrown in.

The Connection Between Abraham and Robert Dean

Abraham is listed in the U.S. Direct Tax Lists for Huntingdon and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania, in 1798. Abraham is listed as Occupant #14, in Baree Township, "on head waters of Shavers and Stone Creek". Occupant #15 is Robert Dean, with the exact same location information. Occupant #16 is James Dean, also located in the same area. No other families are listed with that location. James, and I already discussed, was Abraham's father. However, this James seems likely to be his brother, since James Sr.'s death was recorded in the Canan family bible in 1795. Robert is another likely brother.

The Connection Between Abraham and William Dean

William Dean was the only other Dean whose name was directly connected to Abraham's in the primary literature. Abraham was appointed the administrator of William Dean's estate in Pitt Township, Allegheny County, on April 21, 1789, after William died without a will. Abraham's co-administrator was Jane Dean, William's wife (1). Allegheny County is significantly farther west than Huntingdon, where James and Abraham lived.

Larry Dean's post covers this case in detail, and includes an email from the local Genealogy Society which claims that the Abraham Dean who administrated William Dean's estate was the son of William and Jane Dean. However, there are no other Abraham Deans who appear in the 1790 census, other than the one in Huntingdon County (2) (well, there is the one in Maine, but that seems a stretch). If William Dean had a son named Abraham, then he was not the head of his household in 1790, yet the fact that he was administering William Dean's will suggests he was of age. So, assuming the Abraham who administered William Dean's will is the same Abraham who is our direct ancestor, what relationship did Abraham have with William and Jane Dean?

The previous blog post includes the evidence that Abraham was James's son, not William's. The genealogy that was cited in Larry's post included no sources to collaborate the suggested relationships or the dates, but it claimed that William was born in 1735 and had received land in Pitt Township for his service in the Revolutionary War. The war ended in 1783, so William could have been elsewhere in Pennsylvania before that time. 

In the mid-1770s, multiple Deans appear in Hopewell Township of what was then Bedford County. At that time, what is now Huntingdon County was part of Bedford County, and Hopewell Township was created in 1773 from Barree (about 10 miles north of Alexandria, PA) (3). James Dean paid taxes on 300 acres in Hopewell township in 1779. A William and a John Dean paid taxes there in 1775, 1776, and 1779 (4). In 1784, there was a William Dean listed as an inhabitant of Huntingdon, where James Dean was also living. (Abraham was not listed, but he may not have bought his land until later that year.)  William's household consisted of 7 white persons (4). In other words, IF this is the same William Dean, then James, William, and Abraham Dean lived in the same area in the 1770s and early 1780s, after which William and his wife Jane moved farther west when they were granted land in Pitt Township. William appears to be in the same generation as James, as far as we can tell from the land records. Certainly, he is at least ten years older than Abraham, as he begins buying land and paying taxes in 1775. 

It is possible, then, that William was the father of Abraham. We cannot disprove this on the basis of the primary documents. However, the secondary evidence more strongly suggests James is Abraham's father, and Abraham never named any of his children William or Jane (see my previous post for discussion of Scotch-Irish naming practices). My suspicion - which I am unable to prove - is that William was Abraham's uncle, a brother of James. Abraham, as a relatively young and fit man (compared to, say, his father, who was around 50 at a time when life expectancy was much lower), was sent to his Aunt Jane's side when his uncle died unexpectedly, and helped her set the estate in order.

However, just to make things more complicated, the William Dean who died in Allegheny County may not have been the same William Dean who lived in Huntingdon! Larry Dean makes a good case that that William Dean, in fact, moved to Kentucky. Which, if either, or these Williams were related to our line remains frustratingly uncertain.


The Connection between Abraham Dean and Matthew and John Dean

And finally, I descend far into the realms of speculation. 

Matthew Dean and his son John lived in in Frankstown Township in what was then Bedford County. This area was later divided into Bedford and Baree Townships (which we've heard of before) and is located in Blair County, just southwest of Alexandria, PA (3). Their lives are fairly well documented because much of their family was killed in a border raid by Native people who were angry at the incursion of white settlers onto their land (4, 5, 6, 7). Matthew, his oldest son John, and his three oldest daughters (Margaret, Rebecca, and Elizabeth) were in the fields and missed the attack on his farmstead/fort that killed Matthew's wife Rebecca and their five other children. 

There is only circumstantial evidence that Matthew and John Dean are related to James and Abraham Dean:

1. Matthew and James Dean lived very close to the area where James and Abraham lived, and at the same times. Matthew is first listed on the tax roles for Frankstown Township in 1776, and lived there until he died in 1781 (8).
2. In his will, Matthew Dean named John Canan as executor. John Canan was James Dean's son-in-law (he had married James Dean's daughter, Margery) (9).
3. John Dean (son of Matthew), James Dean, and John Canan were all founding members of Hart's Log Presbyterian church (5).
4. According to secondary sources, Matthew and James Dean came to the United States around the same time. Matthew Dean's great-grandson said that “Matthew Dean came to Pennsylvania about the year 1760 from Ireland.” (7). As discussed in my previous post, James Dean's great-grandson claimed he, too, had come from Ireland in 1760.
5. A number of family names are shared in common, although unfortunately they are also very common names from the period, so the fact that both families have Margaret/Margery or Elizabeth, John, etc., is not very convincing.

My suspicion - again, not provable - is that Matthew and James Dean were brothers. William may have been another brother. 

If this is true, then one other intriguing piece of information may help clarify the Dean families of Pennsylvania: John Dean listed his birth city as York, PA, in his Revolutionary War pension file (10). If Matthew and James (and William?) Dean arrived in Pennsylvania in 1760, but they are first found on the tax rolls in the mid-1770s, what were they doing between those dates? Of course, they may have been working as laborers, and therefore not showing up in the records until they had saved enough to become men of property. But John's birthdate of 1763 in York suggests they spent some time there. York is south-southeast of Harrisburg, The Clerk of Courts Quarterly for York County record an Elizabeth and a Hans Dean living in the town in October of 1768, when they were brought in for a court case (I believe they were witnesses) (11). Elizabeth Dean was also tried for stealing in York in July of 1775. Obviously, Dean is a rather common name, but it's possible that these Deans were somehow related to the (three?) Dean brothers who arrived in Pennsylvania from Ireland in 1760.


References:

1)  American Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin county, Pennsylvania compiled by Virginia Shannon Fendrick, published 1969 by the Historical Works Committee of the Franklin County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
2) "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKJ-8MR : accessed 17 July 2015), James Dean, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. , NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
3)  http://www.pa-roots.com/bedford/history/originoftownships.html
4) History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley by U. J. Jones, published by Floyd G. Hoenstine, Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania
5) History of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Volume I, by J. Simpson Africa, published by Louis H. Everts 1883 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6) History of Blair County, Pennsylvania Volume II, by J. Simpson Africa, published by Louis H. Everts 1883 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7) A History of Blair County by Tarring S. Davis, published 1931
8) The Pennsylvania Archives Third Series, Vol. 22, p. 121, 200, 267, 297
9) Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
10)  Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files by Virgil D. White, pub 1990, National Historical Publishing Company
11) http://www.yorkcountyarchives.org/search.asp