Labor Day 2026: Honoring My Carpenter and Joiner Ancestors

Credit: KateCox, Pixaby

On this Labor Day, I would like to feature an occupation of many of my ancestors: carpentry and joinery. First, I would like to explain the difference, as I myself did not have a clear understanding between the two. Basically, joiners create items of wood in a workshop, typically without using metal fasteners. Carpenters install or fit these items onsite, using nails, screws, or other metal fasteners. Google explained the key differences:

• Where They Work: Joiners work in a factory or workshop with large machines. Carpenters work on building sites with portable hand tools.
• What They Make: Joiners craft furniture, windows, stairs, and doors. Carpenters build roofs, framing, floors, and install the doors or stairs that joiners make.
• How They Join Wood: Joiners use interlocking wood joints like tongue-and-groove. Carpenters use metal fasteners like nails, screws, and bolts.

Here are a list of my 13 ancestors who have worked in carpentry or joinery as a way to make a living either part or the whole of their career life or who were involved in significant carpentry projects:

1. Bryan Henry Robbins (1944 - 2019) - my father built our two-bedroom house with front and back decks in Alaska without the use of power tools because it was a mile from the nearest town and there were no power lines or electricity sources on site. He also built an outhouse, two barns, and a goat milkhouse on that property. After we moved to Washington, he completed the unfinished log home he and my mother purchased, creating three bedrooms and a hall closet on the second floor and finishing the bathroom and kitchen. Pretty much every home we lived in previous to these two had Dad's handiwork and improvements in them. He even finished the interior of one of our boats, creating wooden hatches and storage areas along the inside of the hull. Finally, he created a beautiful hi fi stereo cabinet that held a turntable, reel-to-reel tape player, radio, speakers, and storage for LP records and  reel tapes. It was varnished and had upholstered panels.

The house Bryan built near Klawock, Alaska, as it appeared in 1974.

2. Robert Louis Robbins (1920 - 2003) - my paternal grandfather built a three-bedroom house and an auto body shop in Coopersville, Ottawa Co., Michigan after WWII. He may have used money from the G.I. Bill to finance it. Later, he constructed a shop inside the house so my grandmother, a beautician, could work from home. The buildings stand today at 185 River Street.

3 and 4. John Martin Hoekstra (1892 - 1975) - my maternal great-grandfather had various jobs (metal polisher, plater) in factories throughout his lifetime and eventually worked as a postal clerk for the U.S. Postal Service. But around 1920, he, his father Martin (1868 - 1944), and his brother Louis moved their families from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Tacoma, Washington for a few years to work in the yard shops for the Northern Pacific Railroad in Tacoma, Pierce Co., Washington. Their jobs were to do carpentry, repair work, and painting.

5. George Emmett Lewis (1868 - 1964) - my paternal great-great-grandfather had a very long career in carpentry, "retiring" at the age of 84 after a fall from a roof landed him in the hospital (he checked himself out and returned to finishing the roofing job!). An article featuring him at age 92 stated he had worked summers as a carpenter-cabinetmaker and in the winter as a millwright. Even after retiring, he spent much of his time in wood working, creating flower pot holders, lawn ornaments, step stools, cabinets, and many toys for his young descendants and neighborhood children, including rocking horses and doll cradles. Muskegon County, Michigan has many houses that he built that likely are still standing. I wish I had a way to locate and catalog them!

6. Charles Frisbie Strong (1852 - 1921) - this past month I had the rare pleasure of visiting one of my ancestral locations, the Woodburn, Oregon area. Most of my family lived back East, mainly in Michigan, but I did have some ancestors who came out West at least short term. I have mentioned my Hoekstra ancestors above and how they came out West to Tacoma for a while; Charles was John Hoekstra's father-in-law and one of my maternal great-great-grandfathers. Charles, his wife Mary, and four of their teen and adult children, moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to the Willamette Valley for a few years around 1907. Charles and Mary's oldest son, Frank, was a carpenter and during my research trip I found at least one record stating Charles was helping Frank in his carpentry work.

7. Charles H. Robbins (1844 - 1934) - my paternal 3rd-great-grandfather was a Civil War Union veteran and a life-long carpenter. He built many of the homes and business buildings in Hesperia, Michigan, which lies on the Newaygo-County border.

8. John Wilkinson, Sr. (1845 - 1917) - another paternal 3rd-great-grandfather and life-long carpenter, John plied his trade in both Ontario and Michigan. From about 1882 through the end of his life, he lived and worked in Whitehall in Muskegon County, Michigan. His grandson was George Lewis, mentioned above.

9. William Parker Wright (1830 - 1915) - a maternal 3rd-great-grandfather, he is typically named as a mason and once as a carriage maker in various records. In the 1865 New York State census, he is occupied as a carpenter in the Town of Nichols, Tioga County. He was the father-in-law of Charles H. Strong, above.

10. Nelson H. Peck (c. 1819 - 1849) - Nelson, a paternal 4th-great-grandfather, is one of my brick wall ancestors. He died young at age 30 and is never named in a federal census that I've been able to find. When he died, he left behind a widow with a baby girl, Viola, who had just turned one year old the day before. She became my 3rd-great-grandmother Robbins and married Charles H. Robbins, above. We know Nelson was a carpenter and a joiner since he is mentioned in local histories of Coudersport, Potter Co., Pennsylvania, which were informed by the 1848 local tax roll.

11. Levi Edward McLallin (c. 1823 - 1882) - this Civil War Union veteran and paternal 4th-great-grandfather was listed as a carpenter in the 1870 census of New Haven Village in Macomb County, Michigan. 

12. Henry Jacobs (1787 - 1876) - Henry was a War of 1812 veteran and worked as a carpenter in the Town of Candor, Tioga Co., New York from at least 1855 to 1865. He was Charles Strong's maternal grandfather.

13. Adriaan Van Klinken (c. 1778 - 1832) - in 1797, Adriaan was 19 years old and was listed as a carpenter's boy in Noordgouwe, Zeeland, the Netherlands. His death record in Nieuwerke, Zeeland states his occupation was a carpenter.

One of the things that stands out most to me as I review this heritage is how the carpentry trade was passed down the generations. Sometimes it went from a man to his son-in-law or from a man to his grandson, instead of the traditional father-to-son legacy. I'm proud of the hard work and beautiful craftsmanship my ancestors did. We have sawdust in our veins!

Do you have ancestors who were carpenters or joiners?

Free Access to U.S. and Canadian Census Records at MyHeritage September 2-7

In honor of Labor Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to 928.4 million U.S. and Canadian census records from September 2–7, 2026. This includes 876.1 million records across 54 U.S. collections and 52.3 million records across 15 Canadian collections.

The records include every U.S. federal census from 1790 to 1950, along with U.S. state censuses and Canadian national censuses. You can search these records for details about your ancestors’ occupations, households, residences, and more.

Search U.S. Census records on MyHeritage

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Flashback Friday: He Jingled When He Walked

My dad, Bryan Henry Robbins, passed away on November 2, 2019. My mother, under his care for nearly 20 years at that time, came to live with me for a while until we were able to get her into assisted living. After some serious health issues requiring hospitalization, she was transferred to a skilled nursing facility, where she still lives.

In October 2022, I was going through the many things of my parents we had stored at my very small house, decluttering things that were no longer needed, legally required to be kept, sentimental, monetarily valuable, or useful for genealogy. I took photos of some things that evoked memories before they were decluttered. This was one of them.

My dad was a school custodian most of his life. He wore so many keys on a retracting key chain which hung from his belt that he used to jingle when he walked. Of course, he returned all his school keys when he retired in 2014. 

When he passed, my sister gathered up all the keys she found when she cleaned out the house in case any of them were needed. We identified most as doorknob, vehicle, fuel cap, padlock, and suitcase keys. Those that were needed were set aside and used. These were the rest.

After three years none of these were needed, and so I disposed of them. But I had to take a photo first.

Miss you, Dad.

Mug Book Monday: Ethan Allen WESTBROOK (1837 - 1902)

"Mug books" are collections of biographical sketches usually found within county histories of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, particularly in the United States. On Mondays, I'm highlighting ancestors or relatives who were featured in these mug books.

Ethan Allen WESTBROOK was the seventh of the eight children of my fifth-great-grandparents, Peter and Fannie (MARBLE) WESTBROOK, and a brother of my fourth-great-grandmother, Amanda (WESTBROOK) KIMBALL.

He was a Civil War soldier whom I featured in my Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Series in 2008.

"E. A. Westbrook, farmer, section 16, Dayton Township, is a son of Peter and Fannie (Marble) Westbrook, and was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, March 29, 1837. His parents were natives of New Jersey and New York, respectively. They came to Michigan in an early day and settled in Kalamazoo County, where they were engaged in farming, and where they died.

"Mr. Westbrook was only one year old when his parents came to Michigan. He remained at home until the death of his father, since which time he has been obliged to care for himself. He came from Kalamazoo County to Newaygo County in the fall of 1867 and bought 80 acres of school land on section 16, Dayton Township, where he has since lived and now has 50 acres in cultivation.

"Dec. 31, 1865, in Kalamazoo, he married Cinderella J., daughter of Myron and Rachel Harrington, who was born in Kalamazoo County, Nov. 7, 1843. Her parents were natives of the State of New York and came to Kalamazoo County in the fall of 1843. Mr. Westbrook enlisted Oct. 10, 1861, in the 13th Mich. Inf., and served until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Corinth, Chickamauga, Bentonville, N. C., and numerous others. He was wounded in the arm at the battle of Chickamauga, and again in the thigh at the battle of Bentonville. On account of his first wound he was unable to do service for three months, and was laid up four months by reason of the second wound. He was honorably discharged at Detroit, Mich. Since that time he has followed farming, excepting two years, when he was engaged in teaming. He receives a pension. Politically he is a Republican.

"His children, by his present wife, are: James W., born Dec. 8, 1869; Amanda L., April 6, 1875; Laura M., Dec. 12, 1876; Mabel A., April 12, 1882. Myron D. died at the age of 18 months. Mr. Westbrook had one child by a previous marriage, William P., born March 14, 1860."

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The "school land" mentioned in the second paragraph refers to the Homestead Act of 1862 in which the sale of land in Section 16 of each township was used to fund public education in that township.

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This biographical sketch was taken from Portrait and Biographical Album of Newaygo County, Michigan: Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of all the Governors of Michigan and of the Presidents of the United States. Also Containing a Complete History of the County, From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, published in Chicago by Chapman Bros., 1884. Ethan's biographical sketch was found on page 280. This county history, along with many other ones, can be found at the Internet Archive.

Mug Book Monday: Jeremiah REDENBAUGH (1824 - 1895)

"Mug books" are collections of biographical sketches usually found within county histories of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, particularly in the United States. On Mondays, I'm highlighting ancestors or relatives who were featured in these mug books.

Jeremiah REDENBAUGH was a nephew of my children's paternal 4th-great-grandmother, Hulda (REDENBAUGH) DAILEY.

This biography mentions Jeremiah's father, Henry R. REDENBAUGH, Hulda's brother. It also mentions his grandparents, Frederick and [Anna] Margaret (HANEY) REDENBAUGH, who are my children's 5th-great-grandparents.

There are three great ties to American history in this biography, namely the famous Battle of Tippecanoe, the War of 1812, and William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States.

"Jeremiah Redenbaugh is a retired farmer, living just outside the city limits of Crawfordsville, but he still retains possession of his farm, which is located in Walnut Township, Montgomery County. Mr. Redenbaugh is a son of Henry R. Redenbaugh, one f the early settlers of this portion of Indiana, who was born January 2, 1800, near Redden, Ohio.

"Frederick Redenbaugh, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, came to this country some time during the last century, and first located in Pennsylvania, whence he moved to Ohio, and from there to Indiana in the early days of the settlement of the state. After coming here he first settled among the pioneers of Jefferson County, and then came to Montgomery County, where his life was closed at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He was a soldier under Gen. Harrison at the famous battle of Tippecanoe, and he served with the General during the war of 1812. He married Margaret Haney in Pennsylvania, and they had twelve children, of whom their son William, who lives in Fountain County at the advanced age of eight-one years, is the only survivor. the grandfather of our subject was an ardent Democrat in his day, and was a leader in local politics.

"Henry Redenbaugh was the fifth child born to his parents, and was a young man when he accompanied them to Jefferson County, this state. He there met and married Mary Douglas, daughter of Jeremiah and Jane (Huthert) Douglas. They had come from England to this country and first settled near Cincinnati, whence they afterwards removed to Jefferson County, this state. After his marriage Henry Redenbaugh remained awhile in Jefferson County, and then came to Montgomery County in 1828. He took up eighty acres of government land, which he cleared and improved, and developed it into a fine farm, upon which he remained until his death, September, 1891, at the venerable age of ninety-one years. In dying he left behind him an honorable records as an active and useful pioneer, as a good citizen, and as a desirable neighbor. He was the father of twelve children, of whom the following grew to maturity and are still living: John, a painter, residing at Newton, Kans.; Jeremiah; Mary (Mrs. Brush), who lives in Iowa; Sarah Ann, who lives in Boone County; William R., a resident of Crawfordsville; Joe, a resident of Mace, and Eliza (Mrs. McMullen) a resident of Boone County.

"Jeremiah Redenbaugh was born in Jefferson County, in the southern part of this state, May 25, 1824, and he was a child of three years when his parents brought him to their new home amid the pioneer scenes of Montgomery County. He was reared in Scott Township, and has a distinct recollection of the appearance of the country in all its wildness when he was a boy, and he can remember when Crawfordsville had but three or four houses in it. He made his home with his father until he was twenty-one, and then married established a home of his own with the help of his wife. She was Elizabeth Corn in her maiden days and a daughter of William Corn, of Clark Township, one of the early settlers of the county.

"Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Redenbaugh, of whom five are living: Sarah Jane, wife of Thomas N. Hosier; William, George W., Eliza Ellen and Nancy Eddenfield. Mr.  and Mrs. Hosier have one child, Viola Ellen aged nine years. The names of the deceased children of our subject are: Joseph Henry, Albert, Mary Alice, Andrew, Charlie and John, and one child who died in infancy unnamed. April 29, 1888, Jeremiah Redenbaugh had the misfortune to lose his wife, who had walked by his side for more than forty years, and to whose encouragement, cheerful assistance and wise counsel he was greatly indebted. Her age at the time of her death was sixty years, six months and twenty-seven days[.] She left behind her a blessed memory as a wife, mother and friend.

"Mr. Redenbaugh bought a piece of land in Walnut Township after his marriage, and there he and his wife commenced keeping house together. He worked hard to improve it, and bought other land until his farm comprised two hundred acres of most excellent farming land. In 1886  he retired from active business, and from the rental of his farm he derives a good income. His career as a farmer has placed him among the substantial citizens of the township, although he began life poor. This fact shows that beside being diligent, prudent and thrifty, he also carried on his work methodically, and was shrewd and far-seeing in his management of his affairs. Politically he is a Democrat of stanch principles. He belongs to the Montgomery County Horse Thief Detective Association, and has always entered readily into any scheme for protecting the interests of the farmer."

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This biographical sketch was taken from Portrait and biographical record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain counties, Indiana: containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens : together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, published in Chicago by Chapman Bros., 1893. Jeremiah's drawing and biographical sketch was found on pages 444-446. This county history, along with many other ones, can be found at the Internet Archive.

The Story of Lost Lynn: Part 2

This is the second in a series about Lynn Walker Westaby, my children's paternal great-grandmother's uncle. When their great-grandmother was still alive, she told me about her Uncle Lynn, who had a short and tragic life. Although he never married nor had children, he is worth remembering. Come along with me as I tell the story of Lost Lynn.

The Westaby family, c. 1908 with Will Leland, Izma's future husband, and unknown boy. Probably taken on their farm west of Forsyth. All photos in this post scanned by author in 2014 from the collection of Troy W. Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

In Part 1, we learned that little six-year-old Lynn lost his right foot and part of his lower leg due to a terrible railroad yard accident in his hometown of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana. It couldn't have been easy to navigate the world as a disabled person in 1911, especially in a small rural town or on the family's farm. Somehow, he and his family figured it out. We don't know if he had a prosthesis at such a young age; he was known to wear one later.¹ But for sure, he was using crutches within a few months of his amputation.²

He certainly didn't let his injury slow him down! He was a bright lad and held nothing in back, in school or in activities. By second grade, he was a top-notch speller in class.³ During Forsyth's Fourth of July celebrations in 1914, when he was nine, he won first place in the greased pole contest,⁴ which involves climbing a vertical greased pole the fastest! His upper body strength must have been pretty good due to compensating for his missing lower limb. In third grade, he was lauded for having perfect attendance and never being tardy during the month of February.⁵

By the time he was 15, he could play either the catcher or the pitcher position on his school's sixth grade baseball team (the Panthers) and was scheduled to play a series of seven games against the seventh grade team (the Giants) for the grand prize of five gallons of ice cream. While the Giants ultimately won, a local reporter stated that the game was well played: "...although the Panthers received a bad defeat they put up a good exhibition of the national past-time and took their defeat like veterans of a couple of world series. Both teams pounded the horsehide hard and often, but the superior playing of the Gaints [sic] was too much for the Panthers."^{6, 7}

It's not clear why he was 15 years old in sixth grade, but schooling in those days was different than today. When students were required to help in the family business or on the farm--and his family had both--they could miss months of school and have to pick up where they left off when they returned. Speaking of the farm, Lynn raised pigeons and was declared a winner for his pair of giant runts in the 1920 Eastern Montana Fair held in Glendive, in neighboring Dawson County.⁸ The following year, he won second prize for the best booklet on an agricultural topic. The choices were poultry, cattle, horses, hogs, wheat, corn, dairying, or potatoes.⁹ While the newspaper article doesn't give more details, it would not have been surprising if the topic was dairying, as Lynn's father Rice had started his Jersey Island Dairy in 1905 on their farm on Westaby Island on the Yellowstone River, about a mile west of town.¹⁰

The Westaby siblings pose c. 1910.
Back row, left to right: Izma, Lynn, George
Front row: Reuben, Guy, Charles

But all was not fair fun and ball games in the Westaby family: by the time of the 1921 fair, Rice had married his second wife, Nora Alice Myers.¹¹ We don't yet know when he and Rebecca divorced, but as early as 1914, she had been living separately from him in a home in Forsyth that may have been owned by her family, working in her son Guy's steam laundry.¹² She was listed as the head of the household in the 1920 census in her Forsyth home, with Lynn living with her.¹³ Rice was enumerated on the farm with their son Reuben.¹⁴ By then the older children were adults and no longer living at home. George and Izma had each married; George and his wife Rena Lerfald lived in Forsyth with their four-year-old daughter Helen (my children's great-grandmother) and George's brother Guy.¹⁵ Izma and her husband Will Leland were living in Glendive with their toddler, Velma, and Will's brother Joe.¹⁶ Charles had moved south to Sheridan, Wyoming to work for the railroad.¹⁷

Will Leland holds Helen Westaby while Lynn stands nearby, c. 1917.

Lynn was now a young man. Like his older brothers and sister, he would soon be off on his own.

Sources:

1. Westaby Family Notes, MS (No place: no date); privately held by Helen Mary (Westaby) Midkiff Tucker, Sunnyside, Washington, c. 1980s. A handwritten copy was made by her grandson, Michael J. Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington, c. 1980s. Whereabouts of the original manuscript is unknown after 8 November 1997, the date of Helen Tucker’s death.

2. “Is Improving Rapidly,” Forsyth Times-Journal, (Forsyth, Montana) 4 May 1911, p. 1, col. 7, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 February 2025).

3. "Spelling Report: Marcyes School," Forsyth Times-Journal, 5 February 1914, p. 3, col. 5-7, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

4. "Forsyth Has Big Celebration," Forsyth Times-Journal, 9 July 1914, p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025.)

5. "Have a Good Record," Forsyth Times-Journal, 11 March 1915, p. 3, col. 6, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

6. "Hammond School Plays 1st Ball Game of Season," Forsyth Times-Journal, 1 April 1920, p. 1, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

7. "Giants Take First of Series of Five," Forsyth Democrat (Forsyth, Montana), 22 April 1920, p. 10, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

8. "Success Crowns Eastern Montana Fair in All Departments," Yellowstone Monitor, (Glendive, Montana), 23 September 1920, p. 1, col. 23 and p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

9. "List of Winners at Fair Given Below," Yellowstone Monitor, 20 October 1921, p. 2, col. 4, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

10. "Local and Otherwise," The Forsyth Times, (Forsyth, Montana), 16 March 1905, p. 8, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 16 March 2025).

11. Custer County (Montana) Clerk of the District Court, marriage license and certificate no. 3902 (1921), Rice Westaby and Nora Alice Myers; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 March 2012), "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950."

12. Miles City, Glendive, Forsyth and Ekalaka City Directory and Custer, Dawson, Rosebud and Fallon Counties Directory 1914 (R. L. Polk Co. of Montana, 1914), entry for Mrs Rebecca C Westaby, p. 397; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/ : accessed 25 June 2025), image 213 of 284, "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995."

13. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 19B, dwelling 386, family 459, Rebecca A [sic] Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 37 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

14. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, School District No. 4, p. 2B, dwelling 42, family 42, George R. Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 4 of 9; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975

15. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 11A, dwelling 206, family 251, George R. Westerby [sic] household; Ancestry.com;(https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 9 June 2025), image 21 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

16. 1920 U.S. Census, Dawson County, Montana, population schedule, Glendive City, p. 5A, dwelling 85, family 101, William Leland household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 9 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 968.

17. 1920 U.S. Census, Sheridan County, Wyoming, population schedule, Sheridan City, p. 26B [corrected], dwelling 187, family 266, lodger in the James Dawson household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 49 of 51; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 2029.

Notable July Fourth Events in Our Family History

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Found at Pexels.com

Today is Independence Day in the United States, the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our founding fathers. On this day, Americans celebrate the birthday of our nation.

I thought it would be interesting to look through my RootsMagic family tree databases and see what significant events happened on July 4th in our family's history. I ran queries in my own database, my children's paternal lines database, and my grandchildren's paternal lines database.

There were many July 4th births, marriages, and deaths of individuals, mostly distant relatives. There were no July 4th burials, which makes sense. A burial is a sad occasion and Independence Day is for celebrations.

I won't list every July 4th birth, marriage, or death below, but I will list ones for direct ancestors or those which may have had an effect on a direct ancestor.

Births

Oddly enough, only one of the three July 4th ancestor births was on American soil.

My paternal great-great-grandfather, James W. Barber, was supposedly born on this date in 1841, somewhere in England. He is a brick wall ancestor, which means I know nothing about his family of origin: parents, siblings, etc. I also don't know where in England he was born or lived. The first record in which I can positively identify him is the 1871 Canada Census, although I did find an 1862 marriage record for a couple with somewhat wrong names in the correct location (that's a blog post for another day!).

Another July 4th birth belongs to John D. Concidine, my adoptive 3rd-great-grandfather, who was born to Dennis Concidine and Honora "Nora" Gilligan in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. John's granddaughter Nellie May Concidine and her husband Alfred Henry Holst adopted my paternal grandmother, Jane Marie York, who became Jeanne Marie Holst.

Polly Emeline Dennis, my grandchildren's paternal 3rd-great-grandmother, was born on July 4th in 1840 in Tennessee. It probably was in Overton County, where her father James Thaxton Dennis was found in the censuses from 1820 through 1840, before moving on to Dent Co., Missouri. 

Polly's mother was Lucinda Catherine Hunter, which I find interesting because my grandchildren's surname is Hunter; their father's direct paternal line. But Polly and her mother Lucinda are found in their paternal grandmother's line. This means my grandchildren have Hunters on both sides of their dad's family tree. These lines don't seem to be related: on their dad's paternal side, the Hunters can be traced into early New Jersey, while Lucinda's line is found in South Carolina. But Hunter, after all, is a common occupational surname.

Marriages

My children's paternal great-great-grandparents, George Rice Westaby III and Rena Lerfald, were married on this day in 1915 in Glendive, Dawson Co., Montana. I've been spending a lot of time lately researching the Westaby family and am in the middle of a series about George's youngest brother Lynn.

In my own family, the only ancestor who had a July 4th marriage was Filippus Willems Jonker. He married his first wife, Grietje Eisses, on this date in 1812 in Kloosterburen, Groningen, the Netherlands. His second wife, Catharina Klaassens van der Laan, was my ancestor. They married 4 April 1831 after Grietje's death, and were my 4th-great-grandparents.

Deaths

No July 4th ancestral deaths were located in any of the three family trees. However, on this date my great-great-grandparents Tjamme Wiegers "James" Valk and Berber Tjeerds "Barbara" de Jong tragically lost two children, two years apart, in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.

In 1895, their youngest daughter Chaterina died at age 5 months, 9 nine days of "summer complaint." This was an old medical term describing severe diarrhea and dehydration, usually in infants, typically caused by spoiled milk. Remember that pasteurization was not common until the 1920s and people in the 1890s relied on ice boxes or cellars to keep their food cool, but it was not reliable. What's especially sad is that Chaterina was the third and last daughter James and Barbara had named for James's mother in an attempt to carry on her name in the family.

In 1897, little Tjamme died from measles at one year old. The family had just celebrated his first birthday four days earlier. His name was recorded as Thomas on the death record; another anglicization variation. Pneumonia and encephalitis complications are the most common causes of death from measles. It would have been horrible for Tjamme's parents to watch him burn up with a fever they couldn't bring down and watch him struggle to breathe. We are so fortunate to have a measle vaccine available for our children today.

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What July 4th significant events have you found in your family tree?