CA Voter Registration, he and Charles F registered in 1884.

ELLIOTT AND LANG FAMILIES

Priscilla Grace Elliott was the wife of Robert T Hunter. I believe I have traced the Elliott family through Census listings but it was made difficult because the father of B F Elliott died young, his wife remarried and the family split up. And of course there is this tendency repeated in other of Bob’s ancestral lines for people to leave home early and strike out on their own providing fewer chances to identify a whole family unit in Census listings. Also, B F is at times called Benjamin F, at times Franklin and in one case Frank B – which complicates the search and the ability to be certain of his identity.

As with many ancestral lines I have researched, after I have reasonably determined a few generations back I can usually find some Internet family tree that the people I am interested in tie into. So it is with the Elliotts. In this case, it is the family tree of Patricia Kenner pkenner@charter.net.

Patricia’s tree identifies a Maine couple named Benjamin F Elliott and Caroline H Lang. They have two sons: Charles Fremont Elliott (1857-1927) and Frank Albert Elliott who was born in 1859 and died before 1927. Charles, it says, died in Los Angeles. I am certain that the man she names as Frank Albert is in fact B F Elliott, Bob’s great-grandfather. I think she didn’t know much about him, except that Charles Fremont, whom she did know something about, had a younger brother who pre-deceased him and whose name she vaguely knew.

When I trace back through Census listings, I do indeed find that B F had a brother Charles F – in fact he is a key person in helping to identify the family in certain Census listings. Patricia Kenner moreover identifies 3 of the 4 parents of Benjamin (B F’s father) and Caroline Lang. She says Benjamin’s father was also named Benjamin – a fact I am unable to prove and of course she provides no clue how she knows it to be so. And she says that Caroline’s parents were John S Lang and Catherine. Interestingly, she says that John S was born in 1824, Catherine in 1828 and Caroline H in 1838 and it does not seem to be a worry to her that John was 14 and Catherine 10 when they had their daughter. The 1850 Census though presents a different picture while confirming the identity of Caroline’s parents. John S was born it appears about 1809 and Catherine about 1815 – so Caroline’s 1838 birth occurred at a quite reasonable age for her parents.

B F’s father Benjamin is really quite a puzzle. The only Census I can identify him in for certain is 1860. He is a sailor age 28, therefore born approximately 1832 married to Caroline with sons Charles F and Franklin. He disappears by 1870, as we find his wife remarried, so I am sure he died (or was lost at sea?). But I expected to be able to find him in 1850. He would have been 18. He supposedly was born in Maine so I would expect to find him in Maine. And I did find a Benjamin F Elliott in Portland, Maine (not that far from where he lived in 1860) living with his parents (I would assume) Moses and Eunice. I was actually reasonably convinced this was him and that Patricia Kenner was wrong in saying this man’s father was also named Benjamin until I then found that in 1870, Moses had apparently died and Eunice the widow lives with, among other people, her 28 year-old, unmarried son Benjamin F. There must have been two Benjamin F Elliott’s born in 1832.

But in 1850 there was no other one of the right age in Maine (perhaps the right one was already at sea). In the 1870 Census, as explained below, a John H Elliott enters the picture; he is of an age that would make it possible that he was Benjamin’s brother. But I can’t find him in the 1850 Census either. And while there are two older men named Benjamin Elliott, both old enough to be the possible father – there was no way of knowing if they were the Benjamin that Patricia Kenner may have been referring to.

Here are Bob’s known Elliott and Lang ancestors.
Elliott, Lived Spouse Resided ___
Priscilla Grace 1897-1983 Robert T Hunter Mexico-California
Benjamin Franklin 1859-1920’s Georgia E Cook Maine-Kansas?-Mexico-California
Benjamin F 1832-1861 Carolyn Lang Maine

Lang, Lived Spouse Resided ___
Carolyn H 1832-1912 Benjamin F Elliott Maine
John S 1809-1880’s Catherine Maine

Priscilla Grace Elliott, the staring point of this combined line, was already introduced as one of Bob’s grandparents. She was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Elliott and Georgia E Cook. The Cook family is the subject of the next chapter.


GENERATION 4

Benjamin Franklin Elliott was born in about 1859 in Maine and died sometime in the 1920’s in California. He married Georgia Cook and my hunch would be that they married in Kansas a little before 1890 and then they headed west.

What I know about him I have constructed from Census and a few death index records and recollections from Sister that provided me the clues I needed to allow me to identify him in the first place.

Census Listings 1860-1920. B F was truly elusive and it was difficult to be comfortable that I had correctly identified him in every case. One issue was that sometimes he was Benjamin or Benjamin F while at other times he was Franklin. Another issue was that his father died when B F was young and his mother remarried but split up the family, so there wasn’t a consistent family group that I could track. I think I have identified B F in Maine in 1860 with his father Benjamin, mother Caroline and brother Charles F but by 1870 that family unit seems to have dissolved and B F is living perhaps with relatives. He is on his own in 1880. Then he disappears as I think he was living in Mexico in 1900 and 1910. He moves to California in time for the 1920 Census and then he is gone again as I believe he dies sometime after the 1920 and before the 1930 Census.

1870. I believe his father has died. I believe his mother has remarried and for some reason only Benjamin’s younger brother lives with her and her new husband (see 1870 Census for Caroline Lang below). The only person I can find anywhere that fits the age and birth state description of young B F is in the household of James Hurd age 35 and his wife Cordelia age 30 who live in Hartland, Somerset County, Maine. Living with them is Franklin Elliott age 11. Also living with them are Nathaniel and Elizabeth Starbird ages 79 and 75 respectively.

1880. Benjamin F Elliott, age 21, lives in Middletown, CT where he is a student. He appears to live by himself, not in a dorm and apparently not boarding somewhere. He was born in Maine as were both his parents.

1920. Benjamin F lives in Los Angeles at 420 Redfield Ave. He is age 60. He is a Printer and owns his own shop. He was born in Maine as was his father and mother. His wife is Georgia C and she is 50. She was born in Iowa, her father in the United States (I think it means unknown where) and her mother in Ohio. Three children still live at home: Margaret age 15, Abraham age 13 and Doorhis (Doorhy?) age 10. All the children were born in “Lower California”.

The 1870 living situation in the Census is a puzzle. If I have correctly identified him in 1860 with his parents in Waldo County, Maine, then I am sure that his father dies and his mother remarries by 1870. In 1860, B F has an older brother named Charles F(remont) who still lives with his remarried mother in 1870. The person I believe to be B F lives with the Hurds. I do not know why.

I can find no connection between the Hurds or the Starbirds who live with them (parents of Cordelia Hurd) – and Caroline or Benjamin Elliott. However, the Hurds’ neighbor is J H Elliott – which may be a coincidence as I don’t know who he is, but possibly he is the connection and his presence has some significance. Now, of course, the 11-year old Franklin may not be the right person at all. But the glue that perhaps holds it all together is that both families (the Hurds and the remarried Caroline) live in Somerset County, Maine.

Sister told me that Lucy’s father was a translator of Indian languages and that is what he was doing in Mexico (Baja California) at the time of Lucy’s birth. So when I found B F Elliott of the right age in 1880 in Middletown, CT, a student – in the town where Wesleyan College is located – I concluded that this was probably him. I assume he would have had a college degree to be a translator of Indian languages. I’m guessing that he went to Wesleyan.

But for a long while I couldn’t be certain it was in fact him, though I could find no one else who was a possibility. But after I kept encountering his brother, named Charles F Elliott, I decided to track him through all the relevant Censuses. When I couldn’t find him in Maine where I expected to find him in 1880, I broadened my search and there he was – in Middletown, CT. He is not living with his younger brother and he is a laborer – but the presence of each confirms the identity of the other.

B F disappears then from Census listings until 1920 when he is found in California. I believe had the 1890 Census survived we may have found him in California in 1890, but he was clearly in Mexico in 1900 and 1910.

There is a book at NHCL that lists all the registered voters in California in 1890, obviously all men. Benjamin F Elliott age 32 born Maine, living on Humboldt Street in Los Angeles has the distinction, I believe, of being Bob’s only ancestor in this book.

And so that brings us to another missing fact: when and where did B F Elliott and Georgia Cook meet and marry? B F is at Wesleyan in 1880 and in California by 1890. He went on his own to California (perhaps with his brother, perhaps not) but in any event not with his parents. Georgia was born in Iowa in 1868 and by 1880 lives with her parents in St. Joseph, Missouri (a trailhead for the California trail!). Her parents don’t move to California – they do move a little westward into Kansas in about 1884 but there is no indication they went any more westward than that.

So, how did Georgia get to California – Bob thinks by covered wagon, I believe – but with whom? At first I theorized that B F Elliott found his way to St. Joseph sometime in the mid-to-late 1880’s and there met and married Georgia and together they rode that covered wagon to California – it just seems too coincidental that the Cooks were living in St Joseph, a trailhead city. The problem with that theory is that I have been able to search all the marriage records of Buchanan County, Missouri – St Joe being in Buchanan County – for the 1880’s and 1890’s and they simply are not there.

That caused me to go back to the information I had about the Cooks from an Internet family tree. It shows the birth of some of Georgia’s siblings in Jefferson County, Kansas, starting in 1885, and the implication is that the Cooks moved to Kansas in about 1884. But I then obtained the marriage records for Jefferson County, Kansas for the 1880’s and 1890’s and again came away disappointed when there was no record of their marriage.

It is all a big mystery I would like to solve.



GENERATION 5

Benjamin F Elliott was born in 1832 (Patricia Kenner says 1836) in Palmyra, Somerset County, Maine. He died in 1861. Benjamin married Caroline H Lang.

What I know about him comes from Census listings and the family tree of Patricia Kenner.

Census Listings 1840-1860. I am not sure where to look for him in 1840. I cannot find him in 1850; perhaps he has already taken up as a sailor and is at sea at the age of 18. I know I have found him in 1860 and then, I think, he dies.

1860. Benj F Elliott age 28 a sailor lives in Monroe, Waldo County, Maine. Living with him is wife Caroline H age 22 and sons Charles F 4 and Frank B 2.

Waldo County sits on Penobscot Bay, a good place for a sailor to live.

Caroline H Lang was born in 1838 in Palmyra, Somerset County, Maine. She died before 1912.

What I know about her comes from Census listings and the family tree of Patricia Kenner.

Census Listings 1840-1910. I have found her in 1850 with her parents, 1860 with her first husband and 1870 with her second and then I am unable to find her after that.

1870. Caroline H Hansom lives with her husband Leonard and what appear to be two of his children and her son Charles F Elliott. They live in Palmyra, Somerset County, Maine. It is the presence of Charles that proves this is the widow of Benjamin F Elliott.

I do not know why B F is not living with her in 1870. One can dream up a whole range of possible explanations but there is no information to even hint at which may be right.

Patricia Kenner gives Caroline’s death date as before 1912, with no source nor basis stated. I have tried to find her in the 1880 and 1900 Census but have not been able to do so. Nor can I find her husband Leonard. Perhaps Leonard dies and she remarries again, but that makes her impossible for me to track.


GENERATION 6 (LANG)

John S Lang was born about 1809 supposedly in Palmyra, Maine. He died sometime (probably not long) after 1880 in Palmyra.

What I know about him comes from Census listings and the family tree of Patricia Kenner.

Census Listings 1840-1880. I do not know the name of his father so have not even looked for him before 1840 when he is head of household. I can find him through 1880.

1840. John S Lang lives in Somerset County, ME. There is a male age 30-40 and one age 40-50 in the household (as well as one under 5). I believe John is the one 30-40 and I do not know who the other older male is. A similar problem exists for the females in the household. One is age 20-30 (his wife Catherine I believe), another 30-40 and a daughter 5-10 who must be Caroline. A neighbor is Samuel (?) Lang. Another neighbor is Michael Hanson – some relative of Caroline’s future second husband?

1850. John S Lang lives in Palmyra, Somerset County, ME. He is a clergyman. He is age 41 and his wife Catherine 35. Living with them are seven children, the oldest of which is Caroline H 12 and the youngest Octavia, 2 months.

1860. John S Lang lives in Palmyra, Somerset County, ME. He is a clergyman. He is age 51 and his wife Catherine 44. Living with them are seven children, the oldest of which is Albert 20 and the youngest John M 8. Caroline has married and left the household.

1870. John S Lang lives in Palmyra, Somerset County, ME. He is a farmer. He is age 60 and his wife Catherine is 56. Living with them is son John W 18.

1880. John S Lang lives in Palmyra, Somerset County, ME in the household of his son Charles A. John’s occupation is listed as Minister though he suffers from paralysis. Catherine age 64 is present too. Both John S and Catherine were born in Maine, their fathers in New Hampshire and their mothers in Maine.

Catherine was born about 1816 and died between 1880 and 1900. She lived her entire life in Maine.