Millionaire's Will: Must Have Felt Like Christmas

In 1869, Russell Boggs was one of two partners who opened the Boggs & Buhl department store in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now the North Side of Pittsburgh. Boggs and his wife both died in 1922, and they had no children. So his employees and more than a dozen charities were some of the recipients of his fortune. They must have felt that it was a little like Christmas (in July)!

The Washington Times (Washington, DC), July 23, 1922

Note: Allegheny County probate records for 1922 aren't online yet, so I couldn't verify the accuracy of this newspaper article.

A Cousin Afflicted by Polio

I feel strongly that relatives in our family tree with no descendants deserve to be remembered. I am especially troubled by the young children who were born and died in between censuses. Their existence may be overlooked entirely. But for adults, too, who didn't marry and didn't have children of their own, I think it's important for us to find as much as we can about them as well. Their lives are worth remembering.

While researching my 3rd great-grandmother's brother, Andrew Steimer, I found something interesting in his 1902 will. It seems to indicate that his son, John, had some kind of accident and needed care from family members:

"I desire that my estate remain as it is as long as my wife survive [sic] me and at her decease I desire that my real estate and personal property of whatever kind and wherever found be divided equally among my three children namely Andrew, John and Barbara, the share of John to be in the care and custody of my executor herein after named and to be used only for the care and comfort of my son John and should my son Andrew and my daughter Barbara fail to care for my son John then I will that they receive one dollar each and all the rest and residue of my estate I give to my son John under an administrator appointed by the Court."

I looked at John's census records for 1900-1930 and didn't see any clues as to why he would need care, other than he did not work. He also could not read or write, but his siblings could, so he must have been kept home from school. Then I found his World War I draft registration card, which indicated he was 34 years old and an invalid.

Finally, his Pennsylvania death certificate from April 27, 1938, shows that he died at the age of 53 of a cerebral hemorrhage. In the occupation section, it indicated "None" and "Crippled." Most importantly, under "Other contributory causes of importance" related to his death, the doctor wrote: "Polio myelitis from early childhood. Invalid all his life."

At some point when he was a child, John Steimer was struck with polio. According to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia:

"Few diseases frightened parents more in the early part of the 20th century than polio did. Polio struck in the warm summer months, sweeping through towns in epidemics every few years. Though most people recovered quickly from polio, some suffered temporary or permanent paralysis and even death. Many polio survivors were disabled for life. They were a visible, painful reminder to society of the enormous toll this disease took on young lives."

The book, Passage through Crisis: Polio Victims and Their Families, which I found in the HathiTrust Digital Library, backs up this assessment: "A disease may be feared on account of its causing death, but a disease which permits the patient to live in an enfeebled condition is even more dreaded and its occurrence in a community makes a much deeper impression."

It's not surprising that John's father wanted to ensure that his son was cared for after his death. Both parents were gone by 1910, and I'm happy to report that John's siblings took care of him as their father wished. In the 1930 census, eight years before John's death, siblings Andrew and Barbara, as well as two additional brothers named Peter and William, were living with John. These four siblings, in their 50s and 60s, were single, so perhaps they sacrificed their chance at marrying and having children to take care of their brother.

All of these Steimers, with no descendants of their own, stuck together and definitely had lives that mattered.

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The Will of Julia Gamble of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania

It's always a thrill to find an ancestor's will, and I particularly love those that list specific possessions. There aren't many wills for relatives in my family tree, but my husband is much more fortunate.

Julia L. Gamble, who lived her entire life in Pennsylvania--both in Kiskiminetas, Armstrong County, and Saltsburg, Indiana County--was my husband's 3rd great-aunt. She was not married and signed her last will and testament on February 4, 1900:

"Last Will and Testament of Julia L. Gamble, of Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania:

Item. I direct that my just debts be fully paid.

Item. I nominate and appoint M. Wilson Stewart my sole executor. [This was the 35-year-old son of her sister Elizabeth Gamble Stewart. Elizabeth had died the previous year at the age of 58.]

Item. I direct my executor to sell my real estate as soon as he may conveniently do so for a fair and reasonable price, hereby giving my said executor full power to make, execute and deliver all necessary deeds or other instruments of conveyance to pass my title in said real estate.

Item. I direct my executor to retain $200.00 to be used by him in paying funeral expenses of Mother and brother Robert, whenever such events occur, $100.00 for each. [Julia's mother, Fannie Moore Gamble, died the following year at the age of 89.]

Item. I direct my executor to expend $500.00 for a monument and in improvement and care for the cemetery lot.

Item. I give my gold watch to my niece Grace Shadle. [Grace was the youngest child of her sister, Nancy Gamble Kirkendall, and had been married for a year to John Wherry Shadle.]

Item. I give my gold chain to my nephew Scott Stewart. [Scott was the youngest child of her sister Elizabeth.]

Item. Of my trinkets, clothes and other similar possessions sister Fanny is to get anything she wants; she can divide with the rest of them if she wants to. [Her sister was Fannie Gamble Kiebler.]

Item. All the rest, residue and remainder of my property in possession or to which I may be entitled, I direct my executor to use in support of Mother and Robert, and the balance if any to give to my niece Fanny Gamble. [Her niece Fanny was the only daughter of her brother, John Gamble.]

Item. I revoke all former wills and testaments by me made.

In witness of this my last will and testament I hereto set my hand and seal this Fourth day February A.D. 1900. 

Julia must have known she was dying, since she passed the next day, on February 5, 1900, at the age of 62. Her obituary stated that she suffered from "a lingering illness from a complication of diseases."

Related Post:  Peruse Probate Records

Peruse Probate Records

An article in Newspapers.com from The Daily Notes (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) provides details of the will of my husband's 2nd great-grandfather, John Cowden. He died at the age of 81 on September 29, 1909, in Mt. Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The article mentions several pieces of property:

The Daily Notes
October 14, 1909

• a farm in Mt. Pleasant township,
• a lot and two houses on Pike street, 
• two lots on Grant street, Houston, Pa.,
• a house on Pike street, Houston, known as the Hutchison house,
• house and lot on Plum Run, Chartiers township, 
• farm in Beaver county, Pa.,
• farm in Kansas, and 
• lot in the state of California

Since FamilySearch has Pennsylvania probate records online, I decided to read the actual will for myself. This required browsing the Washington County wills for 1907-1910 but was really very simple. It didn't take me too long to find the John Cowden will, which he signed on June 12, 1909. 

For probate records that are online, locating a will varies by state and even by county. For example, if you need to find a will in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, it takes three steps:

1. Browse the Estate Index based on surname and first name to see if there are any probate records for your ancestor. (Be sure to look at the Russell Index page at the beginning of the scanned file to guide you to the page you need.) This step will provide you with the volume, page and block numbers you need for the Proceeding Index;
2. Using the details found in the first step, browse the Proceedings Index to see if there is a will, which will be indicated by WB for will book;
3. Based on the will book details found in the second step, browse the appropriate Will volume to find the page number for your ancestor's will.

Unfortunately, I didn't learn any new information from reading John Cowden's will, but it's always a good idea to check the records related to newspaper articles about your ancestors.

5 Genealogy Assumptions That Could Be Wrong

While doing genealogy research, we all make assumptions. As we find pieces of an ancestor's past, formulating hypotheses is part of the process. But you should keep digging to find the facts that either back up your thinking or that lead you in another direction.

Although there are dozens I could list, here are just a few examples of some assumptions that could be mistakenly made as you look for your ancestors:

Assumption #1: When a spouse is no longer in a household, he or she must have died. Even though you may be looking at censuses from a century or more ago, couples did separate and divorce so keep digging for your ancestor in another home. My maternal 2nd great-grandparents appear to have been living separately for up to 20 years and died in different states.

Assumption #2: When an elderly ancestor can't be located in a census, he or she must have died.  Even though life expectancy was lower in the 1900s, an ancestor who was in his 60s in one census and then can't be found in the next census doesn't necessarily mean that he/she died. I located my 3rd great-uncle James Baker in the 1920 census but am still looking for him in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. His Pennsylvania death certificate indicates that he didn't die until 1944, so an assumption that he died between 1920 and 1930 would have been wrong.

Assumption #3: An immigrant ancestor would not have returned to the old country.  We've heard how difficult the trip across the Atlantic was for immigrants, so it would be easy to assume they never left North America after their arrival. My paternal 2nd great-grandfather returned to Germany in 1890, more than 35 years after leaving. On the PBS genealogy show, Finding Your Roots, one of Chef Tom Colicchio's ancestors made the trip back to Italy at least three times.

Assumption #4: A couple living together with children are the parents of those children.  There used to be at least one Ancestry member tree that showed my 2nd great-aunt Christina Belsterling as the mother of my grandfather and his two siblings. She was their aunt, and they went to live with her after their mother died. Christina also was not the mother of the other children in the house; she was their stepmother.

Assumption #5: Your city laborer ancestor couldn't have owned several pieces of property.  My 3rd great-grandfather Peter Klein was a coal miner. When I searched probate records, I really didn't expect to find a will for him. It seemed to be a trend in my family: no photos, no wills, no headstones. I just assumed my family was full of hardworking, but poor, laborers. But Peter did have a will, and it surprised me to read about his plan of 12 lots that he left to his wife and children. A map from 1896 shows it clearly marked as the "P. Klein Plan."

So remember, preliminary assumptions in genealogy research are ok as long as you look for the facts to determine if those assumptions are accurate.