In a previous post called, Re-thinking Research: The Parents of William Hawley, I made the claim that William C. Hawley and Mary Oakley were not the parents of my 2nd great grandfather William Hawley. I used several methods to help back up this claim including a timeline comparison of the lives of my ancestor William and the son of William C. Hawley and Mary Oakley.
Since that time, I have been trying to find William's parents. Here is a list of some of the clues to his birthplace, which I hope will lead me to his parents.
1. The death certificate of his son Edward James Hawley, states that William was born in Mount Washington, New York
2. In Book J (1872 - 1905) of Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints William's birthplace is listed as Urbana, Steuben, New York
3. From the book Village of Hillman 1891 - 1991, it is stated that Wm. Hawley, a farmer, removed from Steuben County, York State.
4. Williams Obituary, published in 1914, also states that he was born in Steuben County, New York
This was the point I was at when I started my research, a few days ago, into the birthplace and parents of William Hawley. My plan was to re-analyze each piece of evidence that I had already collected about William, hoping to find a clue that I had previously missed. I have spent several hours doing this over the last few weeks.
I found a few interesting facts that I hadn't yet documented, but nothing largely relevant to my search for his parents. So, as I do occasionally when feeling a little frustrated, I decided to do a few "blind searches". What I mean by this is, that I don't necessarily have a specific fact or even person that I'm looking for. I may focus on a historical event or a specific location, just to see if something jumps out at me.
Finding the information in this book, led me to decide to do a "blind search" for census records in and around 1850 for Steuben County, New York. The only search criteria I added was the location and date range.
Why did I share so much of my research process? Because it led me to find something significant. Something that I feel will help me make progress in confirming William's birthplace and finding his parents.
This is what I found. A fourteen-year-old boy named William Holly is recorded as living in the household of John Lockwood and his family in Urbana, Steuben County, New York. The head of Household is John Lockwood, born in about 1823. John is a farmer living with his wife Nancy and 3 children; Bradley (3), Celecta (2) and Franklin (2 months).
This find in itself was very exciting and closer than I had ever gotten before. However, it was not enough to have me doing the "genealogy happy dance" just yet. Although I will admit, my feet were tapping along to that beat.
Genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills coined a phrase that explains a genealogy methodology called
the "FAN Club."
She points out the significance of not only searching records for an ancestor's surname but also paying attention to documents about the ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, Neighbors), thereby broadening the scope of research beyond an individual to the community and nation where he or she lived. Learning more about an ancestor's FAN Club is a great way to discover new information about your direct ancestry, as these people are often listed together in deeds, wills, court cases, road orders, etc., and help you build a stronger case about relationships in your own family. - Elizabeth Shown Mills
Below is the 1880 Census for Wilson Township, Alpena County, Michigan showing William Hawley and his family, living next store to Charles and Frank Hawley (Sons of William and Mercy) and Wesley and Adelia Jaynes. Wesley was a part of William's FAN Club.
I found several Jaynes families living in Urbana in 1850, but not a Wesley Jaynes. I decided to widen my search to the whole county of Steuben. Imagine my surprise when I came across a Wesley Jaynes (spelled Janes), living about 20 miles from Urbana
Below is the 1850 Census showing Wesley Jaynes living, with his family, in Cambell, Steuben, New York. This further confirms the connection between William Holly, living in Urbana in 1850 and William Hawley living in Alpena in 1880.
Ok.... just so you know... right about now I AM DOING THE "GENEALOGY HAPPY DANCE"!!!
To Summarize, based on records previously found, I was pretty confident that William Hawley was born in or around Steuben County, New York in August of 1836. By 1860, William was living in Livingston County, New York with his wife Mercy and two sons Franklin and Charles.
- Research all Holly, Holley, Haley, and Hawley families living in Steuben County from 1835 - 1855 to see if I am able to connect William to one of these families
- Research the possibility of other children, siblings of William, that may have been living in Steuben County in 1850
- Research possible reasons that William, being only 14, would not be living at home with his family, but instead with the Lockwood Family
- Research additional FAN club connections to help determine possible answers to the following questions:
- Because I have now found William in the 1850 and 1860 census, where was William Living in 1855?
- Based on my assumption that William married his first wife Mercy around 1855, where/when did they meet?
- What made William decide to move to Michigan?
- Did he move with someone else?
Although this is just one census record, it provides me with enough information to remove one more brick in the wall that I have been chipping away at for years. It is moments like this that continue to make my journey to discover my ancestors so rewarding.
I will continue to share my finding as I search for the parents of William Hawley.
