Brick Wall People Redux – Part 13 – Ellen Pugh (or possibly Griffiths)

Ellen & Hugh with their granddaughter, Eliza

Name: Ellen Pugh

Birth: About 1824 in Merionethshire, Wales
Death: after 1885
Marriage: before 1846
Location(s): Northern Wales
Relation to me: Ellen Pugh was my maternal grandmother's mother's maternal grandmother, which makes her 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): Hugh Roberts

Children: Selina, Elizabeth
Other Family: none known

Details: I know little about Ellen or her husband, aside from their names and the photo I have of them. We have a picture of her holding one of his daughter's children. We believe it is our great-grandmother Eliza. Aside from that, I really know very little else about either of them. Their daughter was born in Northern Wales, which likely means they were from that area as well, but as I have no absolute information on their lives, I simply can't be sure.

Proof:
1) Ellen has been in my family tree from the first, which was pieced together with the help of my grandmother, her uncle Ted, and my father. None of whom knew her, unfortunately, which makes the information on her sketchy at best.
2) Then there is the photograph of Hugh, Ellen and the child we believe to be Eliza back in Wales. I am uncertain of the actual date of the photo, but fairly certain of the two Robertses's identities.
3) However, my best proof of her identity and her surname as Pugh is their daughter's death record. It is there she is listed as Ellen Pugh, which is a slightly more valid proof than from family stories, where I had always heard her referred to as Griffiths.

New Proofs I have found of Ellen:
4) As with Hugh, she is listed in the 1851 census with their two listed daughters, Selina and Elizabeth.

Needed:

As with Hugh, she is also listed in the 1891 census with another girl, if I have found them, but I have no other records listing other children, so at this time, I can't be sure this is the same family, given the commonness of their names. Like many of my other brick walls, I have almost no BMD info for her aside from a birth year. As I said above, I know she was alive around the 1880s, but I have no clue when she might have died. I would love to know the names of her parents, and if she had siblings, and where she was born. I would also love to know when and where she married Hugh, and whether or not they had any other children beyond Selina and Elizabeth.

As always, if my family or anyone out there has any more information on this family, I'd love to talk to you about them. I'd love to learn more on any of them, if at all possible.

Original Post
Other Posts about Ellen Pugh:

• PUGH (Wales)
• Brick Walls--A Different Listing
• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Pughs

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 12 – Hugh Roberts

Ellen and Hugh Roberts, and their granddaughter Eliza

Name: Hugh Roberts
Birth: About 1819
Death: after 1885
Marriage: before 1846
Location(s): Northern Wales
Relation to me: Hugh Roberts was my maternal grandmother's mother's maternal grandfather, which makes him 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: unknown
Spouse(s): Ellen Pugh (or possibly Griffiths)
Children: Selina, Elizabeth
Other Family: none known

Details: Hugh Roberts is one of the oldest people in my family tree that I actually have a photo of. I assume he was born sometime in the early 1800s, and we have a picture of him holding one of his daughter's children. We believe it is our great-grandmother Eliza. Aside from that, I really know very little else about him. His daughter was born in Northern Wales, which likely means he was from that area as well, but as I have no absolute information on him, I simply can't be sure.

Proof:
1) Hugh Roberts has been in my family tree from the time I initially put it together, which was pieced together with the help of my grandmother, her uncle Ted, and my father. None of whom knew the man, unfortunately, which makes the information sketchy at best.
2) Then there is the photograph of Hugh, Ellen and the child we believe to be Eliza back in Wales. I am uncertain of the actual date of the photo, but fairly certain of the two Robertses's identities.
3) However, my best proof of his identity is his daughter's death record. It is there he is listed by name, which is a slightly more valid proof than from family stories, where his name might have been mistaken over the century since his death.

New Proofs I have found of Hugh:
4) I found an 1851 Census record listing Hugh, his wife, and two daughters, one of whom was my great-great grandmother Selina, which makes me believe this is them, given the fact that the name was not all that common, especially given it was in the right general area.

Needed:

I have two pieces of possible proof as well, but I am uncertain if they are him, as they do not meet my standard of evidence, which is that they need to hit at least three pieces of evidence I already have on them. The first is a baptism record, which lists his birthdate as August 22, 1819 in northern Wales. It absolutely matches his name, birthyear and general location, but given that I only have a year, and that based on a Census record, and only know for certain he was from in or around the Dolgelly area in Northern Wales when his daughter was born, the record isn't enough to be sure it's him, given that Hugh Roberts would be like finding a Michael Smith. The other is a record in the 1891 Census with a Hugh & Ellen Roberts, and a third daughter, but again, it's not enough to be certain this is my family. Yet. I keep looking, though.

I still don't have great BMD info for him, just a year of birth. As I said above, I know he was alive around the 1880s, but I have no clue when he might have died beyond that. I would love to know the names of his parents, and if he had siblings, and where he was born. I would also love to know when he and Ellen were married, and what children they had aside from Selina and Elizabeth, if any, and particularly, I would like to prove or disprove this third daughter, whose name is Louisa Anne.


As always, if my family or anyone out there has any more information on this family, I'd love to talk to you about them. I'd love to learn more on any of them, if at all possible.

Original Post
Other Posts About Hugh Roberts:

• ROBERTS (Wales)
• Brick Wall Update
• Brick Walls--A Different Listing
• Brick Wall Update
• Brick Wall Update 2012
• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Robertses
• Happy Mother's Day!
• Brick Wall Update 2018

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 11 – ? Dunlop

No Known Photo

Name: ? Dunlop
Birth: unknown
Death: unknown
Marriage: unknown
Location(s): Ireland
Relation to me: Miss Dunlop was my maternal grandfather's mother's paternal grandmother, which makes her 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): John Park

Children: Robert James Park
Other Family: none known

Details: Like John Park, I have made no more movement on Miss Dunlop. I am currently unaware of much else about her, though I do speculate that my great-grandmother Mary Dunlop Park might have been named for her, which would make her name Mary, but as of yet, I have no proof of this, so it is only speculation at this time.

Proof:
1) My only true proof of Miss Dunlop's existence is her son's death record in Vancouver, BC.
2) However, unlike her husband, I do have a secondary source for her family name. Even before finding Robert's death record, I had speculated that I would find Dunlop as a surname on one side or the other of this branch, as both my great-grandmother and her younger brother's middle names are Dunlop.

Needed:

As you can see, there has been no change on this branch at all. Every other wall on this generation, I've found at least a few more proofs of the ancestor, but with these two, Robert's death record is still the only piece of proof I have they even existed.

I still have absolutely no BMD info for her but I am at least sure she was alive in 1851, as that is about when her son was born. I also know she was in Ireland at the time, whether or not she was born there, as he is listed as having been born in Antrim, or possibly Ballymena according to one census record I have for her son, which lists his birthplace as there. Beyond that, I know absolutely nothing about her. I do hope to find more records on her, but without a first name, I've almost nothing to go on, and her husband's name is nearly as useless, as John is literally the most common name in the British Isles. All I can do at this time is to keep looking and hope that I find more. At this point, I'm really mostly desperate to know her name, whether it was Mary or something else entirely.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on this family, I'd love to talk to you about them. I'd love to learn more on any of them, if at all possible.

Original Post
Other Posts About Miss Dunlop:

• Dunlop (Ireland)
• Brick Wall Update
• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Dunlops

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 10 – John Park

No Photo

Name: John Park
Birth: unknown
Death: unknown
Marriage: unknown
Location(s): Ireland
Relation to me: John Park was my maternal grandfather's mother's paternal grandfather, which makes him 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: unknown

Spouse(s): ? Dunlop

Children: Robert James Park
Other Family: none known

Details: I have almost no information on him, and even less on his wife. According to my great-great grandfather's entry on a Northern Irish census before the family moved to Canada, he was born in Antrim in Northern Ireland, so I could assume that that is where they lived, but as of this moment, I certainly can't assume John was ever there, because there's no way of telling where he was or even if he was alive when his son was born. So all I know is that he was Irish and has a rather Scottish/English surname.

Proof:
1) My only current proof of John's existence is his son's death record in Vancouver, BC. At this time, all I have for him is a name, and his wife's surname, and where his son was born (from another bit of proof, but since John's not mentioned on it, I won't use it as proof for him at this time). Unfortunately, John Park is all too common a name. All I can do is hope to eventually find more about him.

Needed:

As you can see, there has been no change on this branch at all. Every other wall on this generation, I've found at least a few more proofs of the ancestor, but with John and his wife, Robert's death record is still the only piece of proof I have they even existed.

I still have absolutely no BMD info for John, and only a vague notion that he was alive in 1850 or 1851, as that is about when his son was born. Irish records are far more spotty for that sort of information, especially when the family is Protestant, which mine was. At this time, all I can think of to do is keep trying when I find new sources on his son, and hope that more information will reveal itself.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on his family, I'd love to talk to you about him. I'd love to learn more if at all possible.

Original Post
Other Posts about John Park

• Brickwall Update #2
• Park (Ireland>US>Ireland>Canada
• Brick Wall Update
• Brick Wall Update
• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Parks
• Brick Wall Update 2018

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 9 – Ole Larsen

No Known Photo

Name: Ole Larsen
Birth: my records list his birthdate as about 1812.
Death: Sometime around or just before 1900, I believe.
Marriage: April 21, 1851 in Slots-Bjergby, Denmark.
Location(s): Slots-Bjergby, Denmark; Minnesota, USA
Relation to me: Ole Larsen was my paternal grandmother's mother's mother's father, which makes him 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: unknown
Spouse(s): Birthe Marie Schrøder
Children: Lars Christian, Maren Sofie
Other Family: Oscar and Tena, grandchildren

Details: Ole is a little odd, as I know a lot and at the same time very little about him. I have both his wedding record to his wife and his daughter's birth record, and know that he came here to the states about the time his daughter was born. I know that he had a farm here in Minnesota, and that he had a son and a two grandchildren here in the states, and that their branch ended with them, at least according to my great-great uncle, Hans.

Unlike the story I told in his first entry, it seems his story is quite different from what I thought. Originally, I thought that Ole came to the US after his daughter was born, and left behind his wife and child. But then I came across a record for another child by his wife, a son, who I then discovered came to the US as well. So now, until I am certain, I have two possible stories: the first is that he came to the states to prepare a home for his family, and while he was gone, his wife died, so he came to retrieve his son, but his daughter was left behind for whatever reason. OR he left with his son after her death, and left his daughter behind. Either way, it was not a good story for his daughter. There is a family story that says he sent her a vase, and that has been passed around by her descendants in Denmark as a sort of bad taste family joke.

The people I'd learned of from my great-great uncle's interview by my grandmother and her siblings made me misunderstand his relationship to Oscar and Tena, but after finding their father, and realizing who he was, I now have Oscar and Tena in the right place in my family tree. I still don't know anything about Ole's parents and possible siblings, though, and I still don't have dates for his birth or death as of yet, so I still have a long way to go. I'd love to know more about his story, and where exactly he lived in Minnesota.

Proof:
1) My initial proof for Lars comes from his wedding record to Birthe in 1851. It gives no parents, unfortunately.
2) My next is from their daughter's baptism record in 1855. It doesn't prove he was in Denmark at that point, but it at least confirms he is Maren Sofie's father.
3) The next bit of info is an interview with my great-great uncle Hans, in which he mentions him once or twice, mostly about how he went to his farm after coming to the US.
4) And the last bit is in a few letters between my grandmother and her sister about the Hansen family, one of which specifically mentions his desertion of his wife and daughter, though it makes no mention of her other two daughters from a previous marriage, so I'm not sure if they knew about them.

New Proofs I have found of Ole:
5) The birth record of his son, Lars Christian Olsen in 1852 in Denmark.
6) We have found a census record for Ole that lists him with his wife, her two daughters from her first marriage, and their son Christian, in 1855.
7) Then I have a birth record for Maren Sofie in 1855 listing both her parents.
8) There is also a record of a stillbirth in late 1857, only four months before Birthe Marie died. So either she died due to complications, or that loss left her so devastated, she killed herself. Which would make sense why Ole would leave the country after that. Though it still doesn't explain why he would leave his daughter behind.
9) The death record for Birthe Marie in 1858.
10) I also have a confirmation record for Christian in 1866 which lists both Ole & Birthe Marie, which has Christian in Denmark still.
11) Then I have a record of Ole in the Lutheran Church in America that records his son's marriage in 1877, and lists him as well as his deceased wife.
12) There is also Maren Sofie's Confirmation record which lists both her parents in 1869.

Needed:
I have gotten no further with birth or death dates for Ole, but I have been working on it, as has my father's cousin who lives in Minnesota, so hopefully someday we will find more. I still don't know exactly when he first came to the states, and will have to continue to look for him in US Censuses, especially now that I know his son was here in the states as well, at the latest in 1877. I'd still love to know the names of his parents and any other siblings he might have had.

If my family or anyone out there has any more information on his family, I'd love to talk to you about him. I'd love to learn more if at all possible.

Original Post
Other Posts About Ole Larsen:

• OLSEN (Denmark)
• One of treasures I received from my aunt
• Brick Wall Update
• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Olsens
• Saturday Night Genealogy Fun My Family in 16 May 1865
• New Family Discovery

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 8 – Maren Rasmussen (Rasmusdatter)

No Known Photo

Name: Maren Rasmussen
Birth: September 18, 1817 in Alsted, Denmark.
Death: Sometime after 1880, which was the last census I have been able to find her in.
Marriage: before 1841, which is about when their first child was born.
Location(s): Alsted, Denmark
Relation to me: Maren Rasmussen is my paternal grandmother's mother's father's mother, which makes her 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: Rasmus Troelsen & Lisbet Nielsdatter

Spouse(s): Hans Nielsen

Children: Hanne, Sophie, Ole, Niels, Maren, Rasmus, Jorgen, Niels, Anders, Jens, Ane Lisbeth
Other Family: Siblings: Mathias, Jens, Truels, Bodil, Niels, Hans; grandfather: Neils Pedersen

Details: I know a great deal more about Maren now, like her husband, though in her case, all her information is from Family Search. I haven't done much of my own looking into her because of this, and will have to look into her information more deeply, as before this all I was certain of was from her son's birth records and the Census records I found on this family in the Danish Census records. Until I've looked into her more, I will have to hold judgement, but right now, she's got a lot more information than I had before.

Proof:
1) My initial proof for Maren came from Rasmus's birth record found at Family Search, but I was unable to confirm it until I had found several of the Census records I now have.
2) My major proof for both Maren and her husband, as well as much of the rest of this branch of the family, comes from Census records, starting in 1850, and going through to the 1880 Danish Census. After that, I have no records of this family at all aside from Rasmus and his family.

New Proofs I have found of Maren:
3) I now have a birth record that lists a birthdate and parents, which is in the right location.
4) I have a birth record for several of her sons, which lists her and her husband.
5) I also have her son Rasmus's confirmation record, which also lists her and her husband.

Needed:

I have no exact death information yet for Maren, and I'm not 100% sure of what is on Family Search, but given what I do have, I'm about 75% sure of her parents, at least. I will have to dig through the proof on the site at some point, as I think there are some records there that don't belong to her, but given that her tree goes back before her parents a little now, I think she can be put on the back burner.

That said, if my family or anyone out there has any more information on this family, I'd love to talk to you about it. I'd love to learn more.

Original Post
Other Posts about Maren Rasmussen:

• Surname Saturday 2.0: The Rasmusens

Brick Wall People Redux – Part 7 – Hans Nielsen

No Known Photo

Name: Hans Nielsen
Birth: March 9, 1816 in Knudstrup, Denmark.
Death: March 10, 1893, Sorø, Denmark
Marriage: 1844
Location(s): Alsted, Denmark
Relation to me: Hans Nielsen is my paternal grandmother's mother's father's father, which makes him 6th generation before me.
Alias(es): None known at this time.
Parents: Niels Andersen & Ane Marie Rasmussen

Spouse(s): Maren Rasmussen

Children: Hanne, Sophie, Ole, Niels, Maren, Rasmus, Jorgen, Niels, Anders, Jens, Ane Lisbeth
Other Family: Siblings: Kirsten, Anders, Maren, Jorgen, Christian, Christiane, Inger, & Catherine; Anders Hansen & Inger Jensen and Rasmus Rasmusen Ibsen & Sidse Nielsdatter, grandparents.

Details: As you can see if you read the original entry, my knowledge of Hans has grown by leaps and bounds. Not only does he have parents, but he has grandparents, and even great grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and so much more. I still have limited records on him, but what I do know goes so much further back in time. The Census records I have found on this family gave me much of the information I now have. It looks as though he was farming the land that my great-great grandfather eventually took over and ran until his death shortly before 1900. He seems to have handed off the farm to Rasmus before his death, as he and his wife are listed on one Census as the "elder farmer" (for lack of a better term), and on another all on their own.

Proof:
1) My initial proof for Hans came from Rasmus's birth record found at Family Search, but I was unable to confirm it until I had found several of the Census records I now have.
2) My major proof for both Hans and his wife, as well as much of the rest of this branch of the family, comes from Census records, starting in 1850, and going through to the 1880 Danish Census. After that, I have no records of this family at all aside from Rasmus and his family.

New Proofs I have found of Hans:
1) I have a birth record for him listing his parents, which confirms his birthdate at March 9, 1816.

2) I also have his confirmation record in 1830, which also lists his parents.

3) And I have his wedding record, listing his wedding date to Maren as December 15, 1843.
4) I now have a marriage record for one of his daughters that lists him as her father.
5) I have a conformation record for Rasmus Hansen, which lists his parents.
6) I have several birth records for his children.
7) And also some confirmation records for one of his children.

Needed:
This isn't a detailed listing of all the information I have on Hans, but as you can see, his line goes back far enough, and the information I have on him is detailed enough that I really have no need to focus on him anymore. At least not for a while. So here's to success story number two.

Original Post
I don't have any major other posts about Hans Nielsen, but any posts about his son (Rasmus Hansen) and granddaughter (Oline Hansen) are easily searchable on this blog.