Monday, December 31, 2012

A Snapshot of New Years Eve 1966 and Goals for 2013


     


   While looking through and old photo album of my Grandmother's today I discovered this picture labeled "New Year's Eve 1966".

Azile Daughrity Roberts Sullivan (in middle) - New Year's Eve 1966
with friends Bud and Ann Plexico.



                  This picture was taken in my Grandmother's den in her home in Camden,SC. She loved to play Bridge and it looks as though that was what she and her friends were doing on this New Year's Eve in 1966.
                 
       This has been a fun year for me genealogy wise. I have discovered the world of blogging, twitter and other social media sites that have helped me so much.  I am hoping that 2013 is filled with a lot more discoveries and learning.
  I have been thinking about the genealogy goals I would like to achieve for the new year and have come up with just a few. Hopefully I will do better on these than I do with my personal goals every year!
  First I would like to take more "field trips" and do some more on site researching. I have cousins and cemeteries and archives to visit.
   Second, I would like to become better at this blogging thing! I need to post more and get the word out about my research.  I appreciate the comments from readers that have helped me look at my research in a different way and helped me come up with new solutions. Of course there is the "cousin bait" hanging out there on the web. Thank you cousins who have taken a bite and helped me out!
 Third, I need to get more organized. Isn't that the one goal we all want? I am beginning to do better at making a research plan and trying to stick with it. It helps when you have lots of ancestors in one county and keep running across other names when you only wanted to find one name on one document. I tend to get sidetracked by other lines if I don't have a plan.
 Furthering my education is the fourth thing on my list. I have signed up for the NGS Homestudy Course and will begin next week when the kids go back to school.  I am excited to get started. I know the things I learn will help me with my research. I also will continue to attend webinars, listen to podcasts, blogradio and attend meetings in SL.  I love being able to take advantage of all the many topics available and learning from the best in the genealogy community!
 Then of course is the seemingly never ending scanning! That would be goal number five. There are so many pictures and documents that I need to scan. I got a Flip-Pal for Christmas and have been scanning away ever since. This may be one goal I can actually reach!
  There are many more things I would like to do in the next year as far as discovering who my people were and how they lived.  If I can manage these goals maybe I can complete others along the way!

         

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas! A 1955 Moment In Time





Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!


Azile Daughrity Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009) and Frank Sullivan, Jr. (1923-2004)
Christmas 1955


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Blog Caroling




 This year I am excited to join FootnoteMaven's tradition of Blog Caroling!
   Every year my family has a Christmas Eve program. It is a fun time to be together, to sing, laugh and feel the spirit of Christmas. Several years ago we discovered that the song "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant went exactly with a church video about the Savior. We have shown it at the end of our program ever since. Youtube makes it easier for us now!

Enjoy and Happy Blog Caroling!








Wordless Wednesday- William A. McManus' Headstone

Mcmanus



                                   W.A.McManus born June 4, 1854 died September 13, 1914
              "Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast, there my savior has gone     before me to fulfill my soul's request".         
                                   
                                            Pisgah Church Cemetery, Sumter County, South Carolina
http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/amanuensis-monday-letters-from-past_19.html


Monday, November 19, 2012

Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past-Part 3

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.



 On the 23 of August 1914  William A. McManus wrote to his daughter Etta Daughrity. This is the third of three letters that I found in the Daughrity family Bible.
I have transcribed it just as it was written. I did not change any spelling or grammar.






Envelope from 23 August 1914 letter
W.A. McManus to Etta Daugherity


Envelope is addressed to
 Mrs. Etta Daugherity
710 Church St.
Sumter, SC

The stamp has fallen off but it looks like the postmark was from Lucknow,SC.


Page 1
   Page 1                                                                     
                                                                                      
  Bishopville, SC
  Aug. 23th  1914
 My Dear Children I am
  writing you theas few 
  lines in answer to your ever
 welcome letter which I received
some time ago and was glad
hear from you and to hear
 that you were well theas 
 leaves me well trusting 
 that they will find you
 boat the same
I th would have wrote to 
 you before now but I
 thoat that I would wait
 untell I moved and I moved  
to the poor farm thursday
and I am writing to you
today  Etta you asked
me if I had  paid that


Page 2
Page 2

five dollars that Davied
owed Mr. Halloman no I
have not paid it yet but
will if Daived hasent paid
it
Ella you asked me if I 
was mad with you and
that you onely asked me
to board jainey some
whear els that did not
make me mad but 
Etta my Dear Child I
am 60 years old now
and I have spent 20 years of that for you
and you no that my wife
left me on your and
jaineys acout and
Emmie turned janey out of her house and
then for you to do
the same thing


Page 3
Page 3

 Why you no that
 it hurt my heart more
over  Etta you are the only
 one that knows how I had
my money in the Bank
and I told Daivd
to tell you what I would
do if you turned jainey
out of your hous so
you was not going by
what other popel said
but that you was going 
to do what you thout was
your Duty so if corse 
I am satisfied if you are
           Now Etta
you know that was
going to make my
home with you
and Daived and I have


 Page 4
Page 4

decided that you would 
 do that to keep from 
being Bothered with  
me in my old age but    
my Dear Child what  
I have dun fore you  
I dident do it for eney  
 selfsis notive but    
what I thoat was my    
Duty to you and my     
god so I onely ask you   
to thank god that he   
gave me helth and  
strength to work for 
you and never give    
me a thoat eney more in 
life for I am not wortey
of even a thoat 
 your father
  W.A. Mcmanus
  Bishopville, S.C.    
R..F.D.2.4.                                                         

                             This is such a sad letter. Again there is the mention of the mysterious Jainey. It seems that she is the source of some contention in the family. According to the letter, two family members have asked Jainey to leave their home. The first was Emma McManus, W.A. McManus' daughter-in-law,and the second his daugher Etta. What the relationship between Jainey and the McManus family was is still unknown to  me but clearly she is important to William (W.A.) McManus.
                        William McManus died on the 13th of September 1914, only a short time after this letter was written.  I don't know when it was mailed or how long it would have taken to get to Etta. Did she get it before her father died? Was she able to see or write to him again and resolve what ever was going on or did he die with it still between them?  I really hope that she did but I doubt I will ever know.   Perhaps the answer is in solving the mystery of who Jainey/Janey was and her relationship to the McManus famly.


Previously transcribed letters from W.A. McManus to daughter Etta.
Letter 1

Letter 2


                                            
                                                                                                      




                                          



                       

Letter Transcribed 11 November  2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File

                             

                                                                                                               





Saturday, November 10, 2012

To Honor Those Who Served


             My Family's Veterans                                    



Viet Nam


John Allen Hudson


Gilbert Ernest Roberts ( 1920-1944)
Gilbert Ernest Roberts (1920-1944)
WWII
Benjamin Allen Hudson (1918-1976)
Benjamin Allen Hudson (1918-1976)


-

Frank Emerson Sullivan, Jr.  (1923-2004)
Frank Emerson Sullivan, Jr. (1923-2004)

WWI
Frank Emerson Sullivan, Sr (1880-1925)
Headstone:
South Carolina Pvt. 6 INF

                       
Civil War

Alpheus Baker (1824-1917)
 Alpheus Baker (1824-1917)
South Carolina







Thomas L. Thames (1827-1863) 
Died from illness as a result of the war.
South Carolina 
Muster Roll 
Benjamin Reese Gibson (1824-1907)
 South Carolina
Muster Roll
 






page 1
                                                               

   
 South Carolina Civil War Widow's Pension Application 24 May 1919
The pension was sought by Mary Dority who was the widow of Manning David Dority (1844-1919)




pg. 2









William J. Dority  (1820-before 1897) South Carolina
Muster Roll



   April 1935 newspaper interview of Emma Ergle Williamson, daughter of George David Ergle.

George David Ergle  (1827-1888)  South Carolina
Daughter Emma's Personal Account
The Aiken Standard and S.C. Gazette
Article: The Centennial Museum
5 April 1935  pg.2





Revolutionary War:
                                 

Phillip Roberts (1763-1854) South Carolina
Bounty Land Record in payment for service in Revolutionary War





Jacob Brazell  (d. 1784) South Carolina
Revolutionary War Pay Roll

                                        More Revolutionary War Soldiers:
                                       John Jacob Ergle (d.1837)  South Carolina
                                       Lt. John Frierson  (1727-1797 )  South Carolina
                                       Jesse Baker (b.1742)  South Carolina
                                      William Baker (d.1833) South Carolina
                                      Anthony Lee (d. 1805) South Carolina
                                      John Bradford (1758-1837) North Carolina
                                      William Vaughn (1764-1857)  South Carolina
                                      William Strother( b.1730) South Carolina
                                      John Marion, Jr. ( 1738- 1780) South Carolina
                               

Other Military Service

State Militia 1759 Cherokee Expedition- Anthony Lee (died 1805)  South Carolina
Charles City County Militia- Capt. Richard Bradford Jr.(1600-1774) Virginia


 As I continue to research the lives of my ancestors I am sure I will find others who served or were willing to serve if called to do so.
I am grateful to each of them for a family legacy of service.



Monday, November 5, 2012

Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past: Part 2

 Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.




 On  the 21st of June 1914 William McManus wrote a letter to his daughter Etta Daughrity . This letter is the second of  three letters that I found in the Daughrity family Bible.

The following is a transcription of the letter as written. No grammar or spelling corrections were made.



The envelope is addressed to  Mrs. M.D.Daughtriy
710 Church St,
Sumter,SC

The 2 cent stamp is still attached and it is postmarked Bishopville, SC., June 27 1914                                                                                                        
                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                        Bishopville,SC  June 21th 1914                                                                                                            
 Dear children I am writing
you theas few lines to
let you know that I
am well trusting that
they will find you
the same
I got home all ok
and found everything all
Rite
David pleas express
Janeys trunk so I can
get it next Saturday
sure send it in
Ben Shoemaks name
So if I have moved
he can get it I will
pay the express hear
be sure to send it in


                                                                                                                     
 2
                                                             

Ben Shemaks name
Daived I am sure
proud of your garden
for it is sure fine
and I am glad that
you children are trying
to have sommthing and
I love to slip up on
you children for then
I can find out what
you are doing,
oh let me tell you
I had peach pie for
Breakfirst this
morning My best girl sent it to me
well Il cloas your
father  W.A. McManus


Back of pg. 2

W.A. McManus                                                                        
Bishopeville, SC
cof  Mary Shoemake






     3

Etta 2 girls cam
to see me to day                                           
brout me enoghf
cooked to eat to last
me untell Sunday so
you see I am all o.k.
and I am sure glad that
I have got so meney
nice friends
I will send you a check
before long Well Il
cloas with love to all
your father
 W.A. McManus
Bishopville Route 2




   The first letter sent by William McManus to his daughter Etta talked of  the mysterious Janey (Jainey) as well as this second one. I have been wondering who Janey was since I first saw a picture of some McManus children and one was said to be Janey. I know she was important to the family because the others were William and Fannie McManus' grandchildren No one in the family seems to know who she is. To see the first blog post about William McManus' letters to his daughter Etta click on this link  http://carolinagirlgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/10/amanuensis-monday-letters-from-past.html.
 I have read these letters several times but it seems that I had never noticed the back of page 2 and the actual address that W.A McManus had written on it. It said in care of Mary Shoemak. The letter had said to send Janey's trunk to Ben Shoemake.  I decided to look up this family in the census. Was W.A. living with them? What I found out from the 1910 Lee County Census was that Mary was Ben's daughter and his wife's name?  Jane! Could this be the Janey I have been looking for? At this point more research needs to be done to know for sure.
 Again I have learned that transcribing any documents that you may have is worthwhile. Not only to preserve the original information, but to help look more closely and see the information in a new light. By focusing on what was written , I could see clues that I had missed before.




Letter Transcribed 5 November  2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File
Digital Copy of the letter also in possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey in Daughrity Family Documents Computer File 


Saturday, November 3, 2012

52 Ancestsors in 52 Weeks: Cause of Death~Tornado

A post originally written in November of 2012 is my contribution for
 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2015 Edition Week 10-Stormy Weather.


From the headline of the Tampa  Morning Tribune 6 April 1925
  3 DEAD, 23 HURT IN MIAMI STORM



The article lists among the dead F.E. Sullivan, Westwood Inn. The dead man was Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Sr. (1880-1925). He was the father of my maternal Step Grandfather Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Jr.


  I  first learned about the tragic death of Frank Sr. from his death certificate..  I am not sure why Frank was in  Miami in 1925. According to the 1920 Census, he was single and at Camp Jackson, Richland, South Carolina. By 1923, he had married Christine Williams and son Frank, Jr. had been born. What took him to Florida? Some in the family believe that he and Christine had moved to Miami because Christine had TB. Frank Jr. was left with his mother's parents in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina.
  .

Miami Florida Death Certificate of F.E.Sullivan





Searching for a newspaper account of the tornado gave me a few more pieces of information about Frank, Sr. or F.E. as he is named in the paper. I was amazed at how many newspapers from all across the country carried the story. Most were just copies of the same A.P. report but some had additional pieces of information. There were also some with pictures of the devastation.





Rockford Republic 6 April 1925, page 2
  From the Rockford, Illinois paper I learned
 that F, E Sullivan was" formally a city fireman".

Riverside Daily Press
Riverside, California
6 April, 1925 page 1












                             The Riverside, California  paper described the Westwood Inn as a roadhouse near Little River and said that it was hit by the tornado. Two died and several were injured in the Inn, including F.E. Sullivan.






                                   

                                                                   

                             



Volunteers Searching Through the Rubble
Greensboro Daily Record,  8 April 1925  page 1
Many Homeless and Property Destroyed
Seattle Daily Times
14 April 1925  page 8

The Actual Tornado
The Sunday Repository
Canton, Ohio
19 April 2012  page 11


   From these newspapers, I learned that Frank Sullivan Sr. was living in a boarding house named The Westwood Inn located in Little River, Fla. He had been working as a Fireman. He and another person were  killed when the tornado hit and destroyed the boarding house where they were living. The tornado was reported as the worst the area had ever seen. There were no mentions in any of the papers about his family.
 The broader newspaper search of this natural disaster really paid off. Instead of just his name in the local paper I was able to get much more detail by looking at reports elsewhere. 
  Frank Sullivan Jr became an orphan due to the death of his father in 1925 in the storm and by the death of his mother just a few years later.  He was raised by his grandparents.
  Has a Natural Disaster happened in your family? What has the impacted been for them?

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by.




Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wednesday's Child- Bessie Mcmanus




Pisgah Baptist Church ,Sumter County, South Carolina


    The William A. McManus family were members of the Pisgah Baptist Church in Sumter County,SC for many years. Several of the family are buried in the church cemetery. I was excited when my parents took a trip to take pictures of the headstones for me.
  I received the pictures and was surprised to find a picture of the headstone of a child named Bessie McManus. I had never heard of Bessie. She was not in any family record that I had seen. She was not recorded in the family Bible.  I asked my Grandmother and her older sister Mildred if they knew anything about her, but neither had any memories of a child named Bessie in their McManus line. Growing up they had heard that the McManus' were kind and generous. They were known to "take in children". Their own mother, Loretta, is said to have been adopted by William and Fannie.so they were not surprised to see evidence of this "adopted " daughter.



Headstone of Bessie McManus
Pisgah Church Cemetery, Sumter County, SC

                                                           
                                                                   Bessie,  
                                                           Adopted daughter
                                                                      of                                                                     of
                                                              W.A, & Fannie
                                                                 McManus
                                                          Born Dec. 10, 1887
                                                          Died Mar. 31, 1892

                 
 So far a search of court, church and vital records have not shed any light on this little girl. She lived for such a short time-just a little over 4 years. I can't imagine how hard Bessie's death must of been for my Great Great Grandparents. This was not the first loss of a child William and Fannie had suffered. Years earlier they endured the pain of losing their first born twin girls. Hattie and Lula McManus died just days apart at only 3 months old.
  Bessie McManus is now found and she will not be forgotten. Her life story will be researched and added to the family who loved and cared for her.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Monday, October 29, 2012

Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past: Part I

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

Years ago my grandmother Azile Daughrity Roberts Sullivan showed me a Bible that her parents used when she was a child. She told me that her father, Manning "David" Daughrity, read to the family from this Bible every night. 
Tucked inside the pages of the Bible  were three letters written by William McManus to his daughter Loretta  McManus Daughrity.  Etta, as she was called, was David's wife and my grandmother's mother.
 Until now I have kept the letters safe but had not ever transcribed them.  I wish I had done it sooner. I am finding that as I transcribe I am seeing things that I didn't see before and feeling a stronger connection to Williiam, David and Etta.
The first letter was written in March of 1914. William, or W.A. McManus as he signs this letter and is often named in records, wrote from Lucknow, Lee, SC.

The first letter is in an envelope addressed to:


Mrs. M.D. Daugherity
710 Church St.
Sumter, SC

The postage stamp for 2 cents is still attached and the postmark is from Oswego,SC April 20 1914 p.pm



The following is the transcribed  letter as written without correction of grammar or spelling mistakes.  


Page 1
                                                                                                      Lucknow,SC
                                                                                                       March 25th 1914

dear children I am
writing you thias fiew
lines in answer to your
ever welcom letter which
I Received last night
Mr Evans came to see me
and broat it to me I 
am up at Halls Mill
and will be hear all
next weeak theas leeves 
me quite on well but
albal to be up but
I hoap that theas will 
find you all well
 Etta enclosed you
will find a check




(other side of page)
for 10.00 ten dollars for
Jainey that is all
that I can send
you now as I had to
 pay Walter Hollamon
five Dollars for $5.00
Davied..
Davied I paid
Walter Hollamon 
five Dollars for
 you as youwrote
and asked me to do
and if it is not
Rite why you
write me and let me no
as this is all the paper
I have I clous write soon
W.A. Mcmanus

A smaller page was found in with the letter-


p.s. Etta if I ow you
children eney thing
why just make out a
Bill and I will send it to you
did I forget the Lightening 
killed 3 of our mules 
and knoke dow 2 of the
convicts on the 3th of 
this month



 I have a few questions after transcribing this letter. First, why was the letter written in Lucknow,SC on the 25 March and posted in Oswego,SC on April 10? The two towns are several miles apart and Lucknow had a post office at the time. Maybe he forgot to mail it or had to wait until he actually had the money promised to put in it before he mailed it.
 The second question I have is why was William Mcmanus in Lucknow or later in Oswego? He says he was at Hall's Mill which was a Grist Mill in Lucknow. Did he have business there? I am not sure where William was living at the time. In 1900 he was living in Rafting Creek, Sumter, South Carolina where he owned a farm. I have not been able to find him in the 1910 Sumter or Lee counties in SC. Some of the pages form the area he would have been in are faded and unreadable.  By 1914 his wife had died and  his children were grown. Daughter Etta was living in Sumter with her husband and children and son George was married and living with his family in Rafting Creek.
    The letter adds wonderful detail to William's life .He worked as a farmer and for a time as a guard for the prison known as "The State Farm" in Sumter County, SC. This explains the reference to the "convicts" being "knoke" down by lightening as he tells his daughter Etta. Is there a newspaper report of the lightening strike that killed the mules and injured the convicts?
  I am interested to see if I can find out who Mr. Evan was and why he may have come to see him. I'd also like to look into Mr. Hollamon. Who was he to both William and David? Is there a newspaper report of the lightening strike that killed the mules and injured the convicts?
 And finally there is the reference to "Jainey". Who is she to the Mcmanus family? This is not the first I have heard of the mysterious girl. I have a picture of the some children from the Mcmanus family and one is labeled as being Janey. All others are known to be the granchildren of William and Fannie McManus but  I have no other documentation of a Janey and where she fits in the family. She is not the daughter of Loretta and David Daughrity and I have seen no evidence that she belongs to William's son George. If William is sending money for her then he obviously feels a responsibly. I just need to find out why.
  An interesting item to note is that William spelled his daughter's married name -Daugherity-. yet another variation of the many spellings of the name.
  There are two more letters to transcribe. I wonder what I will find in them that I had not noticed before. Will they answer some of my questions or provide me with more?
This transcription journey to be continued......



Letter Transcribed 28 Oct 2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File
Digital Copy of the letter also in possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey in Daughrity Family Documents Computer File 



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Family History Month



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Arthur Baker Family in the 1940 Census-Whose Mother is Mattie?

Arthur Baker Sumter County South Carolina
The Arthur and Mattie Baker Home
Sumter County, SC

 This is the home of my Great Great Grandparents Arthur Wellington Baker and Martha "Mattie" Victoria Bradford Baker in Sumter, SC . This is where my Grandmother, Mary Baker Hudson, grew up and where my father, John Allen Hudson, visited regularly as a boy.  I have been told that several of Arthur and Mattie Baker's children and grandchildren lived on and off there over the years. When the 1940 Census was released I was curious to see who was living there then.
The families of Arthur Baker and his daughter Kate Baker Ryan in the  Sumter, SC  1940  census.
 What I found was nothing new but did have me wondering about the placement of a "mother" Mattie in the household of Jimmy Ryan. Was this Mattie Baker? If not where was she? Was this Jimmy's mother ?
  The Arthur Baker Household listed on line 27 with  Mattie listed                                  
 on on line 31 in the household of James and Kate Ryan.

  Arthur Baker is listed in household 162, was 82 years old, married and a farmer. There is no one else listed in the household.  In the box for marital status there is a M with a number 7 by it. I have been told that this means that the person was married but the spouse was not living in the household.
 Below Arthur, in household 163, is James Ryan, his wife Kate ( who is Arthur and Mattie Baker's daughter ) and their daughter Ellen. Also in the Ryan  household is Mattie,78, Mother and Single. My feeling was that this was Arthur's wife who for some reason was with their daughter at the time of the census and considered to be apart of the Ryan household. . I believed that this is one house with two households enumerated in it. The age, 78, and birth place, Sumter, SC, for this Mattie were in line with what knew about Mattie Baker but I decided that I had better do some checking to make sure.
Patrick and Mary Ryan Marker
Holy Cross Cemetery, California

           Photo by SO findagrave.com 
  First of all I needed to make sure that James "Jimmy" Ryan's mother wasn't also named Mattie. The Mattie living with James and Kate Baker is actually indexed as being Mattie Ryan because of the way she was placed in the family. Taking a look on Jimmy's' death certificate, which I found on familysearch.com , I saw that it said his Mother was named  Mary Keelam with his Father being Patrick Ryan. It also said that they both had been born in Ireland.
 Hoping for an additional source for Jimmy's mother's name I went to my files for his obituary. Many years ago I was given Kate Baker Ryan's Bible. In it were many obituaries and birth announcements that she had cut out of the newspaper over the years.. One of the obituaries was for her husband James P. Ryan. Unfortunately,there was no mention of his parents. Since I knew from previous research that James Patrick Ryan was born in 1893 in Santa Cruz, California  I decided to go to ancestry.com and search the 1900 census for his family.to try get more information. I found the Ryan family living in Santa Cruz, California. Father Patrick, Mother Mary with son James.
 A search of  findagrave.com gave me a picture of Patrick and Mary Ryan's marker in Old Holy Cross Cemetery in Santa Cruz, California.  It was a great find  It tells the date of  Mary's death , 25 December 1910, and that Patrick and Mary were from County Galway, Ireland.  My thanks to the person who took and shared this picture on the site.
 Just to tie things up I went to genealogybank.com and searched for an obituary for Mary Ryan in the California Historical Newspapers. The search engine was quickly able to find it. The obituary said that Mary Ryan, wife of Patrick Ryan, mother of James P. Ryan died on 25 December 1910.
 It seems clear that James Patrick Ryan's mother was named Mary not Mattie. Mary died in 1910 so she could not have been living with her son in 1940. All of this leads me to the conclusion that the the "mother" listed as Mattie Ryan in the James Ryan household  is, as I suspected, really Mattie Baker.
  I am not sure why this happened.  I do know that Arthur Baker died in October of 1940 and that he had been ill. I know he spent some time in the hospital. The census was dated in June. Perhaps Mattie was enumerated with the Ryan family because Jimmy was supporting her while Arthur was sick. I don't know if I will ever know why, but I do know that if I had not been familiar with this family and had just "found" them in the census I may have made the mistake of taking the information at face value. I would have put in my notes that Arthur was living alone with no wife and that James and Kate Ryan had his mother Mattie living with him.  I would be searching for Arthur's wife and instead of adding a branch to my tree I would be building the foundation for a brick wall!  Always analyze sources.

Arthur Baker (28 April 1857-28 Oct. 1940)

Martha "Mattie" Victoria  Bradford (11 June  1862-19 April 1947)



Kate and Jimmie Ryan about 1940
 On a side note-Kate Baker Ryan was one of the ones to have additional information asked of her and recorded at the bottom portion of the census.  No new information but fun to see her answers.