Sibling Research Part 2: Oh Brother Where Are Thou….

(I love that movie)

So I mentioned my search for my ancestor David Witherell’s siblings. I am currently looking at his older brother, John Witherell Jr. And well… I am coming up with nil.

I worked on a plan, like I mentioned. I really only had the one document (another brother (Darius)’s family Bible) to go on. So here’s a shortened version of what my plan looked like and some of my research:

What is Known:

• John Witherell Jr – born 5 October 1811
• Had a son named Ray who was born August 1838

The Source:

• The source is a picture from the DAR files for the siblings maternal grandfather, David Bullard, who supposedly was in the American Revolution. The person who submitted the application is also a descendant of David’s. There is no mention of how she got the picture of the Bible.
• The Bible is from Darius Witherell – he is a sibling of David’s and lived in Wayne County, NY
• The Bible is copyrighted from 1848 – so it was not written at the time of the birth; however, it is likely that Darius filled in the information but it could have also been his wife
• The majority of the writing is all the same except for one line mentioning an infant of Darius and his wife’s who born and died quickly, suggesting that all the information may have been written at once. The photocopy is in black and white so if there was different colored ink, it doesn’t show in my copy.

Ray Witherell:

• It may be possible to find the father through the son – so I looked at Ray
• A family tree on Ancestry shows that Ray was born in Michigan around 1838
• John doesn’t show up in any census after that – did he perhaps die in Michigan? Would there be a will/estate record involved?
• Following Ray in census records shows him in the following locations:
  • 1850: with Darius Witherell, his uncle, in Butler, Wayne County, New York ((1850 U.S. Census, Wayne County, New York, population schedule, Butler, p. 309 (stamped), dwelling 168, family 168, Ray Witherell; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 613. ))
  • 1860: with McAllister family in Washtenaw County, Michigan ((1860 U.S. Census, Washtenaw County, Michigan, population schedule, York, p. 153 (penned), dwelling, 1189, family 1171, Ray Witherell; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 563. )) – could these be his mother’s family?
  • 1875: with his own family now in Cayuga County, New York ((1875 New York state census, Cayuga County, population schedule, Conquest, p. 5, dwelling 44, family 47, Ray Witherell; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015); citing Census of the state of New York, for 1875 microfilm, New York State Archives, Albany. ))
  • 1880: with own family in Butler, Wayne County, New York (next door to his uncle Darius) ((1880 U.S Census, Wayne County, New York, population schedule, Butler, enumeration district (ED) 173, p. 23, dwelling 261, family 277, Ray Witherell; digital image Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 943. ))
  • 1892: in Butler, Wayne County, New York ((1892 New York state census, Wayne County, population schedule, Butler, ED 02, p. 2, 2nd column, line 3, Ray Witherell; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015); citing New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural education; 1892 New York State Census, New York State Archives, Albany.))
  • 1900: in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York with family ((1900 U.S Census, Cayuga County, New York, population schedule, Auburn Ward 7, enumeration district (ED) 14, p. 1B, dwelling 16, family 28, Ray Witherell in John Witherell household; digital image Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 1012.))
  • 1905: In Auburn, Cayuga County, New York ((1905 New York state census, Cayuga County, population schedule, Auburn Ward 7, ED 01, p. 4, line 1, Ray Witherell; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 November 2015); citing New York State Archives, State Population Census Schedules, 1905, New York State Archives, Albany.))

I sadly can’t find out when Ray died but there is no record that I could find for him after 1905 so it’s likely he died between 1905 and 1910 and probably in Cayuga County, New York.

Records

• Possibly do a search in Cayuga County for a date of when Ray Witherell died – that date could lead to an obituary (hopefully it would mention his dad!) and maybe even a birth county in Michigan
• Check Darius’s estate/will records – he may mention Ray or John
• See if there is a family connection with the McAllister’s and Ray – could be his mother’s family – also confirm that that is the correct Ray Witherell
• Find a marriage record for Ray and his wife Mary who married sometime in the 1860’s
• Ray is on a draft registration for the Civil War in New York, but I couldn’t find out if he served or not – that needs more work
• See if Darius’s family Bible still exists – the DAR record only has one section of the Bible, family births, mentioned. It would be great to find if the Bible still exists or if copies of other pages exist – this may go into Darius’s research plan

Because I don’t know where John died (New York? Michigan?) or who his wife was or where they could have been married (New York? Michigan?), looking for my usual records (marriage, cemetery, estates, land records) has proven to be a bit more difficult. I need to know more and I’m hoping Ray’s records can reveal some clues for me.

So I’m at a frustrating point – one where being far away from the area I’m searching in makes my search more difficult. I will next contact any and all of the genealogical societies in the area to see what records still exist or perhaps they know the names I’m looking for.

If you have any suggestions, please leave me a note! I’m stepping away from John Jr’s for a bit to let my mind breathe for a moment and then I plan on returning in a day or two and hope to see points I missed, as is part of the process.

To be continued…