From Origins to Ontario: Researching the Lives of Oliver Ogle and Margaret Hayes

My last post about the Ogle family was back in 2015, when I wrote Who Was Thomas Ogle? It’s hard to believe nearly a decade has passed since then. Over the years, I’ve continued to research this branch intermittently and have identified additional siblings of my 2nd great-grandfather, Oliver Ogle. However, the story of their parents remains a mystery that I’m still working to unravel.

Breaking through brick walls in genealogy often requires a blend of traditional research, creative thinking, and modern tools. I've decided to revisit the information I "know" and reorganize it to create a more structured research plan, with the goal of breaking through this brick wall in my family tree.

I also want to document my progress here on my blog, hoping that by sharing my process and methods, others can learn from both my successes and setbacks. This will also serve as a record I can reflect on when I finally solve this mystery.

I started by documenting a summary of known facts, along with any assumptions, which I plan to prove or disprove through further research. I then conducted a detailed review of the family group sheet for Oliver and Margaret (Hayes) Ogle and created a chronological timeline of events, from their estimated birth dates to their presumed deaths. I also included their approximate ages at each significant event.

Here is how that summary currently looks, along with any notations for possible further research areas to consider.

Timeline Summary

1825 - Oliver born in England

1829 - Margaret born in Ireland

1842 - Oliver (age 17) and Margaret (age 13) are believed to have married, likely in Haldimand County. Given their young ages, this raises questions about the accuracy of their approximate birth years. Statistically, the average age of marriage during this period was around 26 for males and 20-22 for females. If they were indeed this young at the time of their marriage, it also prompts the question of how they arrived in Canada. Did they travel independently, or were they accompanied by their families or associated groups from their country of origin?

1843 - 1st child, George Henry Ogle born in Haldimand County, Ontario.

1845 - 2nd child, John Ogle born in Haldimand County, Ontario

1848 - 3rd child, Jonathan Ogle born in Haldimand County, Ontario

1850 - 4th child, Ellen or Helen Ogle born in Haldimand County, Ontario

1851 - Oliver and Margaret should be married with three or four children and residing in Haldimand County. However, I have been unable to locate census records of Oliver, his wife, or their children in the 1851 Census for this area.

1851 (August 2) - 5th child, Oliver Ogle born in Seneca Township, Haldimand County, Ontario

1852 - 6th child, Samuel Ogle born in or near Sinclairville, Haldimand County, Ontario

1857 - Oliver is assumed to have died (age 32)

1858 - Margaret is assumed to have died (age 29)

1861 - By the 1861 Census, after the presumed deaths of Oliver and Margaret Ogle, their four youngest children were taken in by two neighboring families. The whereabouts of the two oldest children in 1861 remain unknown. I aim to determine why these specific neighbors took in the younger children and whether these families had any prior connections to Oliver or Margaret.

1862 - Parcel map shows "Estate of Oliver Ogle" - Seneca Township, Conn 3, Lot 8

Here is my current Research Plan Summary

The lives of Oliver Ogle and his wife, Margaret Hayes, are largely undocumented, with most information derived from assumptions and fragmented records associated with their children. This research aims to piece together their story by addressing the following key questions:

1. Immigration and Marriage

• When did Oliver and Margaret arrive in Canada?

• Did they marry in Canada, and are there records to confirm this?

2. Custody of Minor Children

• Were there any official records concerning the custody or guardianship of their minor children following their deaths?

3. Property and Land Ownership

• When did Oliver acquire property in Haldimand County, specifically Lot 8?

• What were the details of the original land purchase?

• How was the property retained after Oliver’s death, ultimately enabling their fifth child, also named Oliver Ogle, to purchase it outright upon reaching adulthood?

4. Death and Burial

• When and where did Oliver and Margaret die?

• Where are they buried?

5. Community and Connections

• Are Oliver and Margaret related to or connected with other families who settled in the same region of Haldimand County?

By exploring these questions, I hope to focus my research more with an aim to construct a clearer picture of Oliver and Margaret’s lives and their place within the larger community.

Wish me luck!

Love & Aloha,

The Search for John Minard (1865 to ??)

John Minard 

(1865 to ???)

Here is what I know currently:

John "Minard" was born about 1865 in Huron County, Michigan.  His mother would have been Sarah Riley.  His father is either Adam Minard (provided Adam died later than 1861) or is unknown.  In the 1870 census, John is listed as John Wilson, age 5 and living with his mother and all nine siblings.  In the 1880 census John is listed as John "Minard", age 15 and is living with his mother and six siblings.  By the 1900 census, John would have been about 25 years old and likely living on his own but I have not been able to find either John Minard or John Wilson listed in Huron County, nor in any later census records. Nor have I found a death record for either name.

So where did John go???

Analysis of evidence gathered so far:

1870
The first I learn of John's existence is in the 1870 US Census,

Sarah (Riley) Minard is a widow is living in Huron City, Huron County, Michigan (New River Post Office) with nine children ... all using the surname Wilson.  According to previous research, Sarah's husband Adam died about 1861, so the father of at least the two youngest has been in question.

The youngest two children in the 1870 census are John "Wilson", age 5 and Sarah "Wilson", age 2. Living next to the family is William Wilson, age 52, farmer, born in Ontario. Further research provided evidence that Sarah Elizabeth Wilson, was born to William Wilson and Sarah Riley.  Additionally, Sarah appears to have used the maiden name Wilson (instead of Minard) throughout her life.  I have not been able to find a birth record for John yet.

1880
In the 1880 US Census, Sarah is living in the township of Huron, Huron County, Michigan with six children, all listed under the surname Minard. Additionally, there is no William Wilson in Huron Township, so where William (the father of Sarah) has gone needs further research (As a side note, there is a Boarder living with the Dwains family in Caseville, but further research would be needed to tie this William to Sarah's father). The youngest two youngest are John "Minard", age 15 and Sarah "Minard", age 12.

1894
Further research in the 1894 State Census of Michigan may shed additional light on the location of the youngest children.

1897-1920
A quick look up of death certificates on Seeking Michigan's website (for the years 1897-1920) for "John Minard" turns up no results, while a search of  "John Wilson" gives me 129 results. But when filtering it down to Huron County, I get no hits.  With a filter of birth year of 1865, I get three hits which at initial view do not show any other connections to Huron county or any of the Minard, McLean or Smith families.

If he died after 1880 and before 1900, why isn't he buried in the New River Cemetery where the family was living and other family members were being buried?

1900
By 1900, Sarah (Riley) Minard is living with her widowed son George in Port Austin, Huron and Georges two living children Maggie and Stanton.  Sarah Elizabeth (Wilson) McLean has married and is living in Winsor, Huron, Michigan with her husband John Angus McLean and their five children.  One of the questions on the 1900 census is how many children born and how many living as of 1900. Unfortunately, this question was not marked for Sarah Minard, so we can only go off the 1870 census showing a total of nine children being born, but unsure how many where living as of 1900.  There is a John Wilson, born 1868 in Michigan, living in Washburn, Bayfield, Wisconsin apparently working as a day laborer with the railroad. His mother was born in Ireland and his father in New York (which is not where William Wilson was born, but may have been were Adam Minard was born), but nothing else seems to be a match at this time to other known facts.

1910
By 1910, Sarah (Riley) Minard is living with her daughter Mary Jane (Minard) Smith, Mary's husband Thomas E Smith and their six children, in Elyria, Lorain, Ohio.

1935
By 1935, according to the obituary for James Harvey Minard, James is survived by two brothers Adam (of Detroit), and Albert (of Alabaster), and two sisters Jane Smith (of Elyria, Ohio) and Sarah McCleon (of Detroit).  There is no mention of John as either living or deceased.

Questions to be answered:

1. Where did her John "Wilson" or John "Minard" go after 1880?
2. Did John go by the name Minard? or Wilson? or another surname?  
3. Did he share the same father (William Wilson) as his youngest sister Sarah Elizabeth?
4. Did John die sometime after 1880 but before 1900? And if so when and where?
5. Why isn't John listed as a sibling in his brother James Harvey Minard's obituary?  Is he listed as a sibling (surviving or otherwise) in the obituaries of any of Sarah Riley Minard's other children?

As always, I am looking to connect with the decendants of Adam Minard and Sarah Riley Minard, so if you are related please contact me so we can share information.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love & Aloha,

Family Tree Friday: Who Was Thomas Ogle?

Who Was Thomas Ogle?

I am so excited.  This week I came across a new document that I was not aware existed previously.  And it has given me a new lead to help firm up more on the history of my Ogle family from Canada.  

My 2^nd Great Grandfather was Oliver Ogle (1851 - 1917).  I believe he was born in or near Seneca, Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada in 1851 and he died in Harbor Beach, Huron County, Michigan in 1917.  I also know he had a brother named Samuel Ogle (1853 – 1926), who came to live with him and died in Harbor Beach, Huron County, Michigan as well in 1926.  Both men are buried at Rock Falls Cemetery.

The mystery so far has been who exactly were Oliver and Samuel's parents, what happened to them and if they had any other siblings.  I have seen some public family trees on Ancestry.com that shows a sister named Ellen and a brother named Jonathan, but I have been unable to validate that this is correct.  And before I add this information to my own research, I'm trying to firm up as much evidence to prove of disprove any connections.

Which brings us back to this document.  The Michigan Passenger and Crew Lists (1903-1965) images are located on Ancestry.com's website under immigration.  The following document was found doing a search in the specific database for Samuel Ogle.  What is strange to me is that a general search of Samuel Ogle's name did not produce any results that had this document listed.  Instead I stumbled upon it by doing a search of the surname OGLE only with a residence of Canada, and came across other Ogle family names I recognized, such as Merritt and his wife Ethel when they moved to Canada for a time.

This document has given me several pieces of information that I have not seen before, such as "Place of Birth: Canada, Sinclairville" (where is that exactly).  What does the remark "Farber" mean (or is that a signature of the person filling out the form)? But most importantly, who is the person listed as the nearest relative. "Nephew" "Thos Ogle" "Blenheim, Ont".

I know that Thomas is not a child of Oliver, so this would lead me to believe that there is another brother who apparently stayed in Ontario when Oliver and Samuel moved to Harbor Beach.

So, who was Thomas Ogle?  Guess I will start with trying to locate all the Ogle's listed in the 1911 Census in or around Blenheim, Ontario ... and work my way backward.

Wish me luck!

Aloha,

52 Ancestors: #5 - The Hunt for James Parker Continues

I'm officially behind in my 52 ancestor posts ... but I knew that would happen. I'm just going to keep plugging away as best as I can, and hopefully I'll catch back up before summer.

Do you have that one elusive ancestor, that makes you want to tear your hair out? Me too!

But I know the answer is out there somewhere ... and every so often I do a quick search in Google for:

"James Parker"+"DeKalb County"+TN+genealogy

just hoping my brickwall ancestor will find a way to contact me from the Great Beyond ... through all the ports and plugs that make up the vast World Wide Web.  Usually, its fruitless but every so often I come across new material ... or a new researcher .... with the same brick wall. ;o) (Misery loves company)

Well, during one these random "while I'm waiting for the microwave to finish" searches I came across some new information in the form of a genealogy report of the Descendants of James Parker which had been uploaded by Deborah Hills Nichols sometime in November of 2012. And her "James Parker" is from ... DeKalb County, TN. 

This could be promising ... 

My "James" first shows up in 1852 in DeKalb County, TN when he marries Catherine Burton.  Since I have no birth date or age at death for him, I've had to make some general assumptions as follows:  

1) His wife, Mary Catherine Burton was born about 1834-1836 ... I figure he had to be near her in age ... so I've estimated that he was likely born between 1830 and 1835.  

2) I've also made the assumption that James likely met Catherine Burton through neighbors or church affiliations (meaning they likely lived near each other and perhaps attended the same church in 1851-52).  So if the Burton family lived in Liberty District, DeKalb County, TN during the 1850 census ... perhaps James is related to another "Parker" family living nearby.  

3) It is also entirely possible that my "James Parker" was an outlaw with a made up name, who showed up one day looking for work at the Burton family farm ... and ended up with a shotgun wedding a few months later ... if so, then all bets are off.  

But if not .... He has to be out there in some record .... somewhere .... Right?? (just nod please)

Let's just brainstorm a little using the Parker family list created by Deborah Nichols.  Her report provided information on over eight generations of Parker descendants who could all claim her "James Parker" from DeKalb County, TN as their common ancestor.  Of course, my James Parker was not listed among them (why couldn't it be just that easy?) ... but it did get me thinking about additional ways to research this brickwall ancestor that I had not tried yet.  Namely, which Parker families can I trace from the area ... 

Since I have not been able to to find my "James Parker" listed in the 1850 Census of the DeKalb County, TN area. Nor have I found a "James Parker" in one of the nine counties surrounding DeKalb County, TN that might be a possibility ... I need to refocus my "Parker" research into what I can figure out ...

UNDERSTANDING WHY GEOGRAPHY
& HISTORY ARE IMPORTANT

First I needed a better understanding of the geography that I was working in.  Having never been to this area ... I really needed to use as many maps and historical information that I could find.  

I know my Burton branch intersected with my Parker branch at some point on a farm in Liberty, DeKalb County, TN sometime before 1852.  So when did DeKalb County, TN become an official county? And what County did "Liberty" fit into before DeKalb County was formed.  To answer some of my questions, I visited the Newberry Library - Atlas of Historical County Boundaries website and generated the following three images.  

I've determined that Liberty Township falls approximately at the "E" in the word DeKalb  in these images.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1800

According to the Atlas, in 1800 the Liberty Township area was part of Wilson County, TN.  Now, I don't know how early my "Parker" branch came to DeKalb County, but Deborah Nichols family branch for her James starts in the late 1760s in Smith County, TN which bumps up to Wilson County at the "K" in DeKalb.  So it is possible that our branches may be related as far back as the early 1800s.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1830

Since my "James" was likely born in the early 1830s, I need to make sure I'm looking in the correct location for possible birth records.  The Liberty area appears to actually be located in Smith County, TN during the 1830s.  And I hadn't looked for a birth record for "James" in Smith County, TN yet.  So there's another possible resource to check out.

Overlay of DeKalb County, TN Borders 1840

And by 1840, DeKalb county was officially formed and looked closer to what it looks like today.

Deborah Nichol's information goes on to mention that a few early births were in a location called "Dismal Creek".  A Google search turned up several suggestions, including a map and a book.  The map pinpoints to an area called "Dismal Road" which is north of Liberty by about 2 or 3 miles and runs along the Smith Fork River.  There is also a cemetery marked on the Google map called "Tubb Cemetery", which gives me even another possible resource for tracking down more "Parker" family information.  Which would be very helpful, especially if I can find a connection between my James and Deborah's James.

Google also gave me a link to the text of a book by Will T Hale, called the The History of DeKalb County, TN, published in 1915.  Again, this was a new resource I hadn't found before.  To my joy, the text is searchable and appears to have information on several "Parker" families who were pioneers in the area. Now, it appears that it is computer generated text from a scanned book, so it's not formatted like a book with pages, so it may take me some time to fully digest and analyse.

But again, it's more information than I had this morning. And that is a good thing.

Bottomline ... I've got some new resources to pursue on this branch once again.  I'm still pushing forward with my plans to do a DNA test this summer, but there are no guarantees that I will connect to anyone with a better documented Parker branch going back to Adam ... at least not right away ... and with my luck lately, it's more likely that if we do connect ... they are stuck with the same brickwall as me.

Meanwhile ... the hunt for James Parker continues ...

Love & Aloha,
CuznAmy