There he lies, dead a 10, 1852 according to cemetery records. But, they have his age wrong. Plain as day, isn't it?
I can't figure out why he's all by himself over by the ravine and amongst others buried 40 years later.
I finally found the other Van Hellens. Turns out I had been walking by them and never knew it. Here they are....
It's quite a distance away, and I think the two white stones the right of the obelisk might be Henry's parents- John and Mary. I am making this very wild leap because on the obelisk is a fellow named Samuel VanHellen who died at age 32 and he would have been within a year or two of Henry's age. Samuel is on the obelisk and its says "Son of John and Mary."What's weird is that the cemetery records note more than one Henry. I can only find our Henry and there is no other Henry with these VanHellen's in Section A. Something is amiss....
At least Spring is finally making an appearance.
5 comments:
Good work!! This is fun. I love genealogy research.
Ok, here's the family in 1880 Ohio federal Census:
John HELLEN, Self, Married Male, White, age 52 (b:circa 1828), born IRE, occupation Cooper, parents b:IRE IRE
Mary HELLEN Wife M Female W 44 (b:circa 1836) IRE Keeps House IRE IRE
Lizzie HELLEN Dau S Female W 21 OH Domestic IRE IRE
Samuel HELLEN Son S Male W 19 OH Cooper IRE IRE
Emma HELLEN Dau S Female W 17 OH At Home IRE IRE
John H. HELLEN Son S Male W 15 OH At School IRE IRE
Source Information:
Census Place: Miami, Clermont County, Ohio
Family History Library Film 1255000
NA Film Number T9-1000
Page Number 117C
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Clermont Co, OH Genealogy at Rootsweb
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clermontcountyohio/Index.htm
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They were Irish lovey! Depends on how far you want to go with this but if you wish to continue I would go to the courthouse and see if there are marriage records for the parents.:o)
Have fun! Keep us posted.
How strange! A mystery is afoot! And you sound like a wonderful sleuth!
Sparky, that's fascinating. I'm beginning to think that these folks would NOT have been his parents. John and Mary would have been way too young in 1842. Maybe Henry was a cousin they brought with them from Ireland? Can you tell from the census info that the four children were born here or were they born in Ireland also?
And if this census info is from Clermont County, that's another clue. Clermont (US Grant is actually from that county) is South of here, actually all the way down near the Ohio River and Cincinnati. Wood County where they are buried is all the way up at the top of the state, right near Michigan. So, they might have come here and then left and come back and maybe weren't even here when Henry died. He had to belong to somebody!
Thank you so much for your help. This is getting very interesting!
Another question. Would there have been a census as early at 1850?
Well, actually, I think Henry is the right age. My Irish ancestors marry young! Really. I've found girls as young as 10 or 11 yrs old married to much older men and visa versa (if they were menustrating, they would get married). So, I think you're on the right track.
The Federal Census started in 1790. State's had their own Census' that sometimes usually done on 'odd' years (i.e. 1845, 1855, 1865, etc.). So, yes, there is an 1850 Federal Census. I have access to 1860, 1870, 1880, (almost all of 1890 was burnt in a fire), 1900, 1910 and 1920. Also, 1930 in Texas. Would you like me to search then e-mail the copies to you? No problem if so. Just send me your e-mail address - I promise to NEVER SEND JOKES. I don't do that and I ask others to please not send me jokes, etc. 'cause I'm not interested. :o) My e-mail address is under my Profile.
Anyway ...
Also, people moved around a whole lot more than people would think. They could be in one place one Census and clear across the country in the next, then back again. Happened often. Trust me.
Holler if I can help further! I love this stuff. :o))
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