The Mystery of Cornelia Palon: Who is She? Orthera? Cornelia? Aeilia?

In 1850 NY census  Cornelia Palon is enumerated in August 1850 and the Green County Wisconsin census Orthera Palon is enumerated in October 1850. I know that the Orthera Palon in 1850 Wisconsin is my Cornelia Palon because of a newspaper article by Ruth Scoville her sister. 

Exhibit 1.

From the Janesville Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin May 6, 1893.

Ruth Scoville Palmer.

In my research I found a James Palon written in the corner of the Bible page of my grandmother Nancy Theo Ames which said James Palon died on 24 August 1887. ***Entry did not say where James Palon died.

Also found a James Palon in the 1850 census for Oswego, NY Federal Census and the 1860,  and 1870 and 1880 Chicago Illinois census. In the 1850 and  1860 Chicago, Cook, IL Federal Census there is an Amelia Palon and Cornelia Palon. 

Am not sure if this is the James Palon in my grandmother’s Bible.

I also received a document in the mail which is not sourced so will have to review this. (Exhibit 4)

Sure looks like Altheah FINN Scoville may have been Cornelia Palon’s mother.Then who would Susan Palon be? Would Althea be divorced from James Palon?  Who was Mary Scoville in 1850 Wisconsin living with George Scoville?  Was Mary Scoville Althea’s sister? Don’t think so because the census says Mary Scoville was born Kentucky. I have not found the marriage records for George Scoville. This would be wonderful as It might clear some of this up or only add confusion.

This 1850  NY Oswego County US census was enumer ated on 18 August 1850 in Osweo NY

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 2: The 1850 Wisconsin Green county US Federal Census with Orthera Palon.

Could my Cornelia be this Amelia Palon? 

 In my research I found a James Palon written in the corner of the Bible page of my grandmother Nancy Theo Ames which said James Palon died on 24 August 1887. ***Entry did not say where James Palon died.

Also found a James Palon in the 1860 census for Chicago and 1870 and 1880 Chicago Illinois census.

Exhibit 3

Am not sure if this is the James Palon in my grandmother’s Bible.

I also received a document in the mail which is not sourced so will have to review this. 

(Exhibit 4) In this document it states Cornelia's name is Cornelia Aeilia Palon and the mother is Althea FINN/FLYNN married to a NN(no name) PALON.  On Cornelia's death certificate it faintly says "Mother's maiden name FINN". I am in the process of contacting the party who sent me the exhibit 4 above to obtain his source.

Cornelia Palon Ames Death certificate.

Sure looks like Altheah FINN Scoville may have been Cornelia Palon’s mother.Then who would Susan Palon be? Would Althea be divorced from James Palon? Would James Palon be the brother-in-law of NN Palon who Althea was married to?   Who was Mary Scoville in 1850 Wisconsin living with George Scoville?  Was Mary Scoville Althea’s sister? 

Don’t think so because the census says Mary Scoville was born Kentucky. 

I have not found the marriage records for George Scoville. This would be wonderful as It might clear some of this up or only add confusion.

FUTHER RESEARCH:

1. George Scoville marriages (Possibly married three times)

2. Birth or Church records for Althea FINN

3. Marriage records for Cornelia Palon Ames

4. More information on James Palon and his children and wife. Possibly may find on a query or in Newberry Library in Chicago.

5. Find out who Mary J Scoville is in 1850 census Green County Wisconsin US Federal Census.

References:  Ancestry.com; Personal holdings of Nancy Fermazin Peralta;iO

LABELS: JAMES PALON, CORNELIA PALON; AMELIA PALON, AEILIA PALON; CORNELIA PALON AMES, RUTH SCOVILLE PALMER, OSWEGO NY, CHICAGO IL, GREEN WI, ROCK WI,FINN, FLYNN, NANCY THEO AMES, GEORGE SCOVILLE, MARY J SCOVILLE, ALTHEA FINN, ALTHEA FLYNN, ALTHEA FRENCH, ALTHEA SCOVILLE, MRS CORNELIA AMES DIED 1893 IN RAMSHACKLE COTTAGE, MILTON JUNCTION WI, 

DREAMING ABOUT CORNELIA PALON

I know dreams are not science but my dream gave me a new hypothesis on Cornelia Palon

Maybe Cornelia was born in New York and is Irish descent. I dreamt her mother ran away from Mr. Palon to Wisconsin and died in Wisconsin so Cornelia was sent back to NY. Not likely but a theory.

I have a James Palon in my Cornelia Palon Bible that says he died August 24, 1887. I wonder if this is the James Palon in Chicago.  Could he be Cornelia's father or uncle?

In the 1850 NY census there is a Cornelia Palon and an Amelia Palon who were enumerated with

James Palon of Oswego County in October 1850 and there is an Orthera Palon enumerated in August 1850 with 

the George Scoville in Wisconsin. I know this Orthera is my Cornelia Palon from my research.

In 1880 there is a James Palon living in Chicago. Could he be the one?

I wish I could find the answers to this one.  Grandma where are you when I need you?

Here is the transcript from my AMES family Bible:

This family Bible belonged to grandmother Nancy Theo AMES. It is an American Bible Society Bible dated 1875 with the information below written in it. It is hard to read in some parts because the handwriting is faded. Any information on these AMES or PALON families of Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin would be appreciated. 

The Bible was in possession of my mother who received it from her mother, Nancy Theo Ames.  I don't know who made all the early entries in the Bible. I know my mom added the marriage of Ludwig Hansen and  Blanche Hansen. The old entries are in red and green ink as they are faded. We don't know who entered them in the Bible but it was someone who knew all the dates.

Oh what mysteries we find and may never know the answers to. 

BIRTHS Albion, Dane Co, Wisconsin

Ira Daniel AMES was born July 4, 1842

Cornelia Aeilia PALON was born April 29, 1847

Charles Henry AMES was born October 5, 1870

Ruth Frances AMES was born January 11, 1872

Chauncy Elmer AMES was born November 15, 1873

George Elbert AMES was born March 7, 1878[?] [or 1876?] in Johnstown, Rock Co, Wisconsin

Hiram Eldson or Edson AMES was born September 24, 1880 in Milton, Rock Co, Wisconsin

Nancy Theo AMES was born January 4, 1883 in Milton, [same]

William Scott AMES was born October 9, 1884 in Milton, [same]

Rosie B. AMES was born March 14, 1889 in Milton, [same]

Marvin Franklin AMES was born November 2, 1890 in Rock Co., Wisconsin

AGE MARRIAGES

25 Ira D. AMES married to

21 Cornelia A. PALON on June 25, 1868

27 Otis E. BROWN was married to

15 Frankie R. AMES October 13, 1887

[Inserted here between the marriages:]

Mrs. C AMES died March 2, 1893

25 Charles H. AMES was married to

20 Mary SKEIGELMEYER September 15, 1895

27 Hiram E. AMES was married to

29 Mary JOHNSON December 4, 1906

Ludwig HANSEN was married to Nancy Theo AMES March 6, 1904

Blanche HANSEN was married to Bill STEVENS July 25, 1942

DEATHS

Mrs. C. AMES died March 2, 1893

Chauncy E. AMES died May 10, 1886

Frankie B. BROWN died October 27, 1891

Ira D. AMES died September 21, 1895

Nancy Theo AMES HANSEN WORTHING died March 30, 1928

James PALON died August 24, 1887

Sarah S. CAMPBELL died August 1, 1882

[There is one other name which looks like:]

_____ W SCOUILLE or _______ W S COUILLE died November 15, 1852. This turned out to be

Scoville married to Altheah in 1860 in Wisconsin. Cornelia/Althera was living with Scoville in 1850 and her

sister Ruth Scoville Palmer was living with them in 1860. Ruth Scoville Palmer identified Cornelia Palon Ames as her sister in a newspaper.

PALON
Mother's Maiden Name

I went to Salt Lake City for research in April 2012. During my time there I found an entry for the Althea Scoville. According to Althea Scoville's son, her maiden name was FRENCH.

My grandmother Nancy Ames was Nancy Theo Ames and I think she was named after Althea Scoville. Possibly Althea Scoville was married twice, once to a Palon and then to Geroge Scoville.

However in 1850 when Orthera was living with the Scoville family the wife of Geroge was Mary from Kentucky. So possibly Mary was married to a Palon prior to marrying George. It looks like Mary was the second wife of George based upon the ages of the children in the census and that Mary may have died between 1850 and 1860 because George is married to Althea in1860 and Orthera is no longer living with them. However I think Orthera grew up in this family and why she was missing from the 1860 census I don't know. Her sister Ruth Scoville in 1860 census referred to Orthera later in life as her sister. And if Orthera named her daughter Nancy Theo Ames she must have known both of them
I am hoping someone can help me solve this mystery.
I really don't think the maiden name of Althea Scoville  is FRENCH.
On an old death certificate which is faded and now illegible the Maiden name of the mother was FINN

"Wisconsin, Marriages, 1836-1930," George Scoville in entry for Charles Scoville and Edith B. Vanderbilt, 1886

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• About this collection

Groom's Name:	Charles Scoville
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace:	Magnolia, Rock Co.
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name:	Edith B. Vanderbilt
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace:	Spring Grove
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date:	24 Dec 1886
Marriage Place:	Juda, Green, Wisconsin
Groom's Father's Name:	George Scoville
Groom's Mother's Name:	Althera French
Bride's Father's Name:	John Vanderbilt
Bride's Mother's Name:	Sylvenia Young
Groom's Race:	White
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:	White
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number:	M00344-9
System Origin:	Wisconsin-EASy
Source Film Number:	1266669
Reference Number:	no 00402

Source Citation

"Wisconsin, Marriages, 1836-1930," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XRLB-FK6 : accessed 14 June 2012), George Scoville in entry for Charles Scoville and Edith B. Vanderbilt, 1886.

1860 United States Federal Census about Geo Scoville

Name: Geo Scoville Age in 1860: 49 Birth Year: abt 1811 Birthplace: Connecticut Home in 1860: Magnolia, Rock, Wisconsin Gender: Male Post Office: Magnolia Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age Geo Scoville 49 Autheah Scoville 37 Laura Scoville 5 Chas Scoville 1 Geo Scoville 20 James Scoville 19 Amasa Scoville 18 Roth Scoville 9 Julja A Mc Donald 17

1850 United States Federal Census about Orthera C Palin

Name: Orthera C Palin Age: 3 Birth Year: abt 1847 Birthplace: Michigan Home in 1850: Brooklyn, Green, Wisconsin Gender: Female Family Number: 80 Household Members: Name Age George Scovell 37 Mary J Scovell 32 George Scovell 11 James Scovell 10 Amisy Scovell 9 Mary L Scovell 0 Orthera C Palin 3 Julia Scovell 77

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: GeneaMeme

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2011

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Ancestors GeneaMeme

October 15, 2011

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge:

The Mission is to:

1)  Participate in the Ancestors GeneaMeme created by Jill Ball on the Geniaus blog.

2)  Write your own blog post, or add your response as a comment to this blog post, in a Facebook Status post or note, or in a Google+ Stream item.

Thank you to Jill for the SNGF idea!  Jill is collecting Ancestors MeGeneaMeme entries too.

The rules, and the Meme list, is given below in my response.

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type

Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)

Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item 

The Meme:

Which of these apply to you?

1.  Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents

2.  Can name over 50 direct ancestors

3.  Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents

4.  Have an ancestor who was married more than three times: Friederick Fermazin

5.  Have an ancestor who was a bigamist

6.  Met all four of my grandparents

7.  Met one or more of my great-grandparents: Met Minnie Fermazin, my grandfather’s mother.

8.  Named a child after an ancestor

9.  Bear an ancestor's given name/s: Named after my mother’s mother, Nancy Ames Worthing

10.           Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland: Richard Seth Worthing, Sarah Ingram Worthing from Wales

11.           Have an ancestor from Asia

12.           Have an ancestor from Continental Europe: LINDEN, FERMAZIN, POTT, KARTHEISER, BEVIER

13.           Have an ancestor from Africa

14.           Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer: Richard Seth Worthing

15.           Have an ancestor who had large land holdings: Richard Seth Worthing

16.           Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi

17.           Have an ancestor who was a midwife

18.           Have an ancestor who was an author

19.           Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones: My great aunt married a Jones

20.           Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng

21.           Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X

22.           Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z

23.           Have an ancestor born on 25th December

24.          Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day

25.           Have blue blood in your family lines

26.           Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth

27.           Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth

28.           Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century: LINDEN, FERMAZIN, POTT, WORTHING, INGRAM

29.           Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier: WORTHING, FERMAZIN, LINDEN, POTT

30.           Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents: Ira Daniel Ames, Richard Seth Worthing

31.           Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X

32.           Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university

33.           Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence

34.           Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime

35.           Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine (Tell us where): Wrote a poem about my FERMAZIN line and it was published in Everton’s Genealogy Magazine. Everton’s Genealogical Helper: November December 2008.

36.           Have published a family history online or in print (Details please)

37.           Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries

38.           Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family

39.           Have a  family bible from the 19th Century:  Cornelia Palon Ames family Bible in my possession.

40. Have a pre-19th century family bible

41. Find the marriage of Adolphus Ames ;

42. Find the parents of Cornelia Palon

43. Find the birthplace of Friederich Fermazin ancestors

Decoration Day

 

I hope each of you enjoys your holiday, but how many remember when it was called Decoration Day? AND, how many know how it got started. As Wikipedia so nicely puts it -- Began as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the civil war.

AMES PALON FAMILY HISTORY QUESTIONS

Ira Ames married Cornelia Palon in Albion Dane County Wisconsin in 1868.

If you can help with my Palon research please contact me at http://palongenealogy.blogspot.com/

© 2011, copyright Nancy Fermazin

Cornlia Ames Tragic Sad Death

Tradgedy on the Homestead: Lake Koshkonong (the-lake-we-live-on), Wisconsin, March 1893
Cornelia died about a month after childbirth, possibly from malnutrition and pneumonia. Her baby also died. She left behind 11 children. Things were very tough for this prairie family after the Civil War and Ira was not well himself suffering from effects of measles pneumonia he had in the War. Possibly he was very depressed and you know they did not recognize depression or treat it medically at this time.  I may have been too harsh on Ira her husband and will in due time fix this. I look back to when I first wrote this story and did the research and I may have been too harsh on Ira. 
This is how I imagine my great grandparents, Ira and Cornelia Ames lived in Lake Koshkonong. The story is fictionalized based upon the history of this family's survival on the prairie. It was taken from newspaper articles, Civil War papers, and the family Bible.
Ten-year old Nancy, hovering over her mother, Cornelia, sobbed uncontrollably. Her hazel eyes were almost swollen shut as she cried out, “Ma Ma… Ma….” With a flask in his left hand, her father, Ira pushed open the door of the homestead and stomped in, his unshaven beard growth of a week beaded with little drops of melting frost. He dropped his gloves to the floor as he rushed over to Nelia’s (Cornelia) side, leaving tracks of white slush on the floor of the one-room shack they called home. Most of the year, he eked out a living fishing on Lake Koshkonong, but in winter he hunted for game. The sobbing children looked fearfully at their father, saying in unison, “Paw, do something.” Nelia Ames lay stiff and cold, breathing noisily, with barely a rise and fall in her small chest. She had been lying on the bed in the corner of the room, listless and sick with fever and cough for the last two weeks. 
All of the garden vegetables were gone. The last of the wild turkeys had been eaten one month earlier. Only a lonely crust of bread remained on the table with a few scattered crumbs on the floor. Little Caroline, born six weeks before, on January 21st, had died two days earlier from prematurity, lack of nourishment, and proper care. In those days, when a child died, there were no boards to make a coffin. Relatives dug a pit and laid logs across the top. With a crosscut saw, one man in the pit and one on top, they ripped planks out of the logs for the coffin. Because of the family life, abject poverty, baby Caroline was laid to rest in a shallow grave under the snow in Otter Creek Cemetery. 
“Come children, we have to get some help here. Hiram and George, you two get some coal and wood and get a fire goin’.” Irritated, Ira shouted, “Nancy, quit blubbering and gather up the little ones or I’m going to send you for the doctor. I’ve got to get some help for your ma. Be back in a few hours or so,” he said as he slammed the door shut, trudging out into the cold. 
Ira Ames homesteaded a piece of land near Lake Koshkonong in south-central Wisconsin. Bringing the family to live on Lake Koshkonong had been a good idea in the beginning. Fishing for a living would provide support for the family. Green ash, white oak, and silver maple groves dotted the horizon. Hog pastures, wild turkeys, and lanes rutted out by cattle tramping through the area were common in this part of Wisconsin. Bald eagles and osprey nesting in the trees, ruby throated hummingbirds and white sparrows were numerous. Squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, coyotes, and white tailed deer abounded. In the spring, wild strawberries and fresh flowers dotted the landscape: lilac, mauve, yellow and white crocus with their white central stripe along the leaves, fragrant grayish-blue morningstars with pinkish-white eyes, and deep purple violets covered the landscape. The marshlands abounded with wild rice which grew seven feet high above the water, and so thick all over that it was difficult to push a canoe through it. Mallards The marshlands were sprinkled with wild ducks of all colors, mostly mallards. 
For the family of Ira Daniel Ames, the first part of 1893, was the worst year of their lives. Life was unbearable.
1893 was not a good year. The winters on Lake Koshkonong were always severe; the year of 1893 was an especially bad winter. The country was in a depression. The depression of the 1890s was on a par with the Great Depression of the 1930s in its impact on employment. In some places it began before 1890. An agricultural crisis hit Southern cotton-growing regions and the Great Plains in the late 1880s. Twenty-five percent of the nation's railroads were bankrupt; in some cities, unemployment exceeded 20 or even 25 percent. People of different incomes experienced the depression in markedly different ways. In the bitter winter months, some poor families starved and others became wanderers. Vagrants, out of work, crisscrossed the countryside, walking or hiding on freight trains. Many appeared at back doors pleading for work or food. People accused those who were out of work of laziness. Some of the unemployed blamed themselves. The newspapers were full of reports of despair and suicides due to these circumstances. 
Ira Ames had fought in the War Between the States in Company D, 8th United States Infantry, Regular Army for several years. He came home a broken and disturbed man. His regiment had lost a total of 280 men: 6 officers and 53 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, 2 officers, and 219 enlisted men died from disease. 
After returning home from the war, Ira met and fell in love with a beautiful young woman, Cornelia Palon, feeling that with love he could overcome his depression. They married in Albion, Wisconsin on June 25, 1868. Work was hard to come by after the war. The first years were particularly difficult. Ira worked as a farmer in 1870 in Albion. By 1880, he was listed in the census as a day laborer living in Milton, Wisconsin. In 1890, the Ameses were living eight miles north at Gebo Point, on Lake Koshkonong. During this time the demons came back to haunt Ira and he began to take up the bottle. The family suffered greatly from their father’s drinking habits. Things had not always been like this. Ira had dreams, dreams of settling down, buying a farm, raising a family…. That was in the beginning.
As the children came, their situation became more difficult. The first born was Charles Henry in October 1870, Beth Frances in January 1872, Frankie in October 1872, Chauncey in 1873, George Elliott in 1878, Hiram Edison in September of 1880, Rosie Belle in 1881, Nancy Theo in 1883, William Scott in 1884, and Marion Frances in 1889. Marvin Franklin was born November 22, 1890 and the last child, Caroline, was born in the year 1893, making twelve children in all. The two oldest were no longer at home. Frankie, Chauncey, and Rosey Belle had passed. 
The family could not survive without food and heat during this severe winter of 1893. Without proper care, the 12 by 18 foot, one-room house, became a shack of wide, rotting, gray boards running up and down with cracks in the walls allowing the brisk, cold air in and the heat to seep through the openings. Their meager furnishings consisted of a table sitting in the corner covered with a red cloth, two beds, the family Bible open to Psalms on the lone dresser, and a shiny black, polished cook stove in the center of the room. The family lived in a lonely place about 80 rods (half an acre or half a football field) away from the nearest neighbor. Ira began to drink more and more and worked less frequently, and cared less and less about the family. He attempted to work as a fisherman, but was not doing well during this winter.
In March of 1893 life became so difficult for this family that the mother, Cornelia, died of pneumonia, starvation, and frost bite. The doctor came and pronounced her dead. He found six children, starving and freezing in the “shack”. He called the authorities. If they hadn’t intervened these children would have been dead with their mother. They found the children scantily clothed, one little girl having on only a calico dress with no underclothing, and a little boy having on only knee breeches all torn to strings. The neighbors came and took them into their homes. The two oldest boys, ages 12 and 14, were sent out to make it on their own and the four youngest were sent to the orphanage in Sparta, Wisconsin.
Two years later, in March 1895, Ira died in despair and depression of a broken heart. Life had taken its toll. Nelia was dead, the children were gone, and fishing was poor. The demons had returned and he had begun to take up the bottle again. His spirit was broken, battered and bruised. All he had were memories.
1. Wisconsin Historical Society 
2. Caswell, Janesville Gazette. Reporting on the homeless.
3. Jacob Covey. “Legal Tender”. From Coxey’s Magazine, “Cause and Cure”, December 1897.
4. Wisconsin, Civil War Regiment Histories. Wisconsin Historical Society.
5. Janesville Gazette, March 7, 1893, page 1. Article titled “Mother Froze to Death Babes Barely Saved.
6. Cornelia Ames Family Bible now in possession of Nancy Fermazin Peralta, Buena Park, California.
7. Janesville Gazette, March 9, 1893, p. 4, column 3. Article “Ira Ames is a Dead Man Indeed, Traded his wife’s garden as boot for swapping horses.”



© 2010, copyright Nancy Fermazin