The Cole saga continues

In looking through my mothers papers I came across a letter written to her by a genealogist that she hired to do some research for her on the Fonda-Cole names in 1981. She found this information, "A Palmer Cole and Susannah Fonda Patterson, both of Perth, married January 8, 1853 (per rec. of the First Presbyterian Church of Broadalbin.)" I will be asking for a copy of this record from the First Presbyterian Church of Broadalbin as soon as I can.

Well, it was under my nose all this time. Susannah Patterson, married Palmer Cole about the same time that Jane Cole would have married John Fonda. Jane would have been the last child to leave the household as Jonathan and Permelia (I believe these are husband and wife, not siblings, but will have to research more on this for proof) have left the household, especially if Susannah who I note was a Fonda before becoming a Patterson, would be joining the family, so she was probably widowed when she married Palmer. I will make a note to search for her as a Patterson and a Fonda when I am able to do so again; a Fonda family with her as a child and a Patterson family with her as a spouse although it will be hard as the census' for that time period do not list names except for the head of household. I will have to rely on other records of the area.

Some other records Mom had were from the Saratoga County Historical Society. They gave her some information on Cole and Rider surnames. There was a Jane Cole that died 3 Oct 1899 that was wife to Solomon Cole; her age was 73 and she was born in Providence making her born circa 1826. Her burial place was not known. Her father is listed as William Rider and mother was a Susan SNU. (surname unknown); There was also Arnold Cole age 57, who died 2 Jun 1895 - born circa 1838 - a farmer born in Broadalbin and buried in Union Mills, his father being Solomon Cole and his mother being Jane Rider - both parents listed as born in Saratoga Co., NY. In 1903, on 18 Mar, William Ward Rider age 77, born circa 1826, a farmer born in Fulton Co., NY and buried in Union Mills was the son of William Rider born in NY. Mothers name unknown. And later that year of 1903, on Oct 18 John Cole age 62, born circa 1841, a teamster, born and buried in Union Mills son of Solomon and Jane Rider Cole, both born in Union Mills. As I go through more of Moms papers and records I will be posting what I find here. Until the next time.

Joseph and Lottie Mae Lilley King Descendants Family Reunion

On September 9 2007, the descendants of Joseph and Lottie Mae Lilley King gathered together for a family reunion at Carrollton, KY in the beautiful General Butler State Park. 80 people attended the reunion coming from Indiana, Lexington KY, and closer. Our oldest member was 77 and our youngest was 33 days. There were two other reunions being held there at the same time and both had members related to members of our reunion. What a large connected and extended family there was. Some looked at the pictures of the ancestors and were able to tell the younger generations who they were giving a little bit of history about them. Many pictures were taken of those that attended so that we have a pictorial record to go along with the written record. Family groups were gathered together for the pictures so that we had a record of who belonged to whom, as well as random picture taking. Food to feed an army was available and enjoyed by all - meatloaf, chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, home grown tomatoes, yeast rolls and biscuits, potato salads, pasta salads, green beans, corn, and so much more -- then the desserts -- someone brought dirt pudding (in a planter with a flower), pies, cakes, cookies, and a huge decorated cake to commemorate the occasion was brought by me. The nine children of Joseph and Mae were written in and those who attended were descended from those children. Plans are being made for next year to have a better pictorial record for all to see and family group sheets and pedigree charts. We are hoping to have over 100 members join us next year. If even one family comes that hasn't been before and we get their family information as well as what they may know about the other members it is a success.

Tentative dates for next year are the second weekend Saturday and Sunday in September and it will be an all weekend event held at General Butler State Park in Carrollton, KY with the feast being held on Sunday. Bring your camping gear and camp out at the park or at one of the homes of members who live close by and are attending. We will have names and addresses for those who would like to come early and stay over. Please bring all vital information on your family and what you know of your parents and grandparents etc. as we will have family group sheets and pedigree charts to be filled out for all members attending. We are also planning entertainment and karaoke for those interested in singing or playing as well as card and board games, and yard/lawn games. Come to the Reunion and Have A Great Time.

My Mother

This is my mother when she was about 16 years of age. It is her ancestry line I am having a bit of trouble with, namely her great grandmother, Jane E./A. Cole who married John Fonda around 1850-1852. She was quite young when she married and in the 1850 census she is listed with a Palmer Cole and Sophia, with Johnathan and Pamelia in their 20's and Jane only 13. My mother said her father always told her that her great grandmother was married at a very young age. If this is our Jane Cole then Palmer and Sophia are most likely her parents and Johnathan and Pamelia either her brother and sister or sister-in-law. Sohphia died shortly after and Palmer is listed with Susannah in later census' and Jane is not found. I don't know if I looked for Johnathan and Pamelia in the 1860 census but I will again. John Fonda and Jane E. are listed in the 1870 USFC and she is 33 yrs of age which matches with the one we have and John is 40. There are 5 children listed ages 1 to 13. Jane would have been ca. 20 when the oldest was born. If she married at an early age, say 13 or 14, it would be ca. 5 or 6 years before any children show up. This could be due to stillborns, early child deaths or the fact that Jane was not physically old enough to have children. So I will be searching the census records for NYS and see if I can find them there in 1855 or 1865. They were living in Fulton Co., Broadalbin Township in the 1870 Census.

In the 1830 Census for Providence, Saratoga Co., NY Palmer Cole is 20-29 with a female 20-29 and a male child 0-4. I don't have any for 1840. In 1850 Palmer and Sophia are ages 48 adn 47; Johathan is 24 which fits, Pamelia is 22 and Jane is 13. Solomon Cole and wife Jane with sons Arnold, Charles, John, William W., Jonas and Rhoda Ann live in the same area. In the 1860 census, we find Palmer and Susannah ages 58 and 39 living in Elma, Erie Co., NY. Palmer is listed as being born in Rhode Island and occupation as a joiner. The 1850 census says he was born in NY. Jumping ahead to the 1910 census for Johnstown, Fulton Co., NY we find a Jane E. living in the household of Emmett Fonda and listed as grandmother. This Jane E. is 74 years of age making her born ca. 1836; her father is born in Rhode Island, her mother in NY and she had born 9 children with 8 living in 1910. Also she is listed as widowed.

This Jane E., a grandmother with father born Rhode Island would fit the Palmer listed in Elma, Erie Co., NY in 1860. She also fits the 1870 census Jane E. married to John Fonda with Ben, Agnes, Charlie, Mary Evalyn (Eva), Willie with her age at 33, which is 40 years earlier. So we need to find land records, town directories, estate will records if there are any, birth and death records for the children and newspaper articles/obits for the time period.

I subscribed to the New York lists and will ask for help in the areas where they lived to see if I can find out anything that way.

Until the next time.

Grateful For

I read an article that states that a person who is grateful for what he has is a happier person with less illness created by stress. To help yourself become a more grateful person you need to realize what you are grateful for and a good way to do that is to list at least 10 things on a regular basis that you are grateful for. Here are a few things I am grateful for:

1. I am grateful for each day that I wake up.
2. I am grateful for having a loving husband.
3. I am grateful for having my children.
4. I am grateful for living in the USA
5. I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy.
6. I am grateful I can worship my GOD.
7. I am grateful for the sun, the wind, the clouds, the rain and all the elements that make this world what it is.
8. I am grateful for my sister-in-law who is as sweet as can be.
9. I am grateful for the friends I have.
10. I am grateful to have a house to live in.

There are many other things I am grateful for. Without listing them in order I can say I am grateful for all the work my mother put into searching her family lines and my dads family lines. I am grateful to have all her photo albums, and her journals and all the genealogy she acquired and the books she bought or subscribed to. I am grateful that I have the Internet to research these family lines and that I have the knowledge how to do so. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to go to school and learn as much as I can about genealogy research and history. I am grateful for great online friends who help others by giving great genealogy websites and information on how to do things and where to find things . I have been blessed with so much that I take for granted and sometimes I just need to stop and look around to see what it is I have and to imagine what it would be like to not have it all. I am grateful that I do have it all. I am grateful for the work it takes to keep it and use it to the best of my ability. I am grateful for peace in my soul and for stress and strife to keep me humble. It is not always a good thing to have everything so easy and peaceful. You forget what it takes to make it this way and it is not good to forget that it can all be taken away so easily; so enjoy it while you have it and take care of it to have it a long time and remember what it took to get it this way. Remember also who is beside you keeping you safe and encouraging you to succeed and helping you along the way. Be grateful!

Not Everything is as it Seems

Well, I took an online class on "Salt Lake City research online through family search.org" on the Gen-Class website but wasn't able to do the hands on during class so started going back over my lessons and doing some of the hands on. This is a great site and the class was great and there is a second class to teach you even more about SLC research and the familysearch.org website. But (isn't there always a but), when I put in my grandfathers name, not only did I get IGI information on the name, but there were entries from a Mark Fonda with lots of information on John Fonda but with erroneous/misleading information. I had written to Mark Fonda before and told him that the information he was posting on my line, was incorrect and gave him the correct information. On this site he also has cd's of all this information for sale. But his information is misleading, incorrect, and though he has documentations for some of this it is not for everything and this will lead some people (those who don't do there own verifications), to perpetuate false family groups. My line that he has posted has a lot of erroneous information in it. I don't have documentation for everything either and that is why I haven't posted every thing in my tree, but I do know all about my grandparents and who their parents were. What he has is completely wrong. So a bit of advice to all who do research on your family tree's. Verify, verify, verify - prove, prove, prove that what you have is really correct. Find the documents, get the copies, get more than just one piece of proof - get as much as you can on each one of your ancestors and don't take one persons research for your own. Don't perpetuate false family tree's.

I know some people think they are doing everyone a favor by posting or making available lots of information for them to research, but unless they state that it is not proven or some such statement letting you know that it has to be researched and proven/verified, then I don't think they should be selling the information to others and making money off false information. But then, some people have no qualms about duping others. Just My Opinion.

Jane Cole Fonda

Jane Cole Fonda, my 2nd great grandmother is a brick wall, in the respect that I haven't found out who her real parents are. My mother did this research on her great grandmother and at first thought Jane was the daughter of Palmer Cole. Palmer Cole (I have found only one Palmer Cole) in the 1830 census for Providence, Saratoga County, NY has 1 female and 1 male between the ages of 20-29; 1 male 0-4 years of age. In the 1840 census for Ephratah, Fulton County, NY for Palmer Cole: 1 male and 1 female between 30-39 yrs of age, 1 male between 10-14 yrs of age and 1 female 0-4 yrs of age *Jane?; In the 1850 Census for Providence, Saratoga Co., NY we have this listing: Palmer Cole age 48, Sophie Cole age 47, Jonathan Cole age 24, Jane E. Cole age 13, and Pamelia Cole age 22 who I think is probably Jonathan's wife. In the 1860 Census I find Palmer Cole age 58 with Susannah Cole age 39 living in Elma, Erie County, NY. I have no proof that this is my Palmer Cole, but additional research shows this Susannah may be Susannah Patterson. If Palmer's wife, Sophie died between 1850 and 1860, he may have married again. I will need to search for a death record of Sohpie Cole between 1850-1860.

Palmer Cole of the 1860 Census was born in Rhode Island. In the 1910 Census for Johnstown, Fulton Co., NY in the household of Emmett and Mabel Fonda, there is a Jane E. Fonda listed as grandmother who's father was born in Rhode Island. This Jane E. had 9 children with 8 of them still alive in 1910. What I need to do is follow Emmett's line back to see if I can find them and see who the real grandparents are. Mother said Emmett was a cousin to her.
NOTE: I tried searching for Emmett in the census backwards but had no luck in finding him.

I also tried searching for John Fonda the one that married Jane E. Cole according to Mom. I am beginning to think this line is really messed up and I may have to start with who I know for a fact is my relation - like my grandfather John Fonda, his mother Emma J. Copp and his father Winfield Scott Fonda, who is the son of the John Fonda I am having trouble with along with his wife.

Emmett Fonda in 1910 was married and had Jane E. Fonda living in his household. Though she is listed as "grandmother", she is really Emmett's mother according to Mom's records. Emmett was born in 1881 and Jane would have been around 47 years of age when he was born, if he is in fact her son. I think I will start from scratch - though Mom did and a lot of her information comes from family members, and that is what may be wrong here. According to a family group sheet I have John Fonda (gg-gf )(1826-1890) and Jane A(E). Cole (1837-1916) had 9 children but Benjamin died in 1906 and Mary Evalyn died in 1879. The rest of these children are Winfield Scott (g-gf) (1853-1933), then Benjamin, Agnes, Edith Viola, then Mary Evalyn, William H., Erwin, Herbert, and Emmett Blair. So that would be 2 children died before 1910 with 7 still living.

In 1910, my gf John (1886-1965) and his brother Winfield, sons of Winfield Scott Fonda (g-gf) and Emma J Copp Fonda, were in the same household; Winfield was married to Violet and they had children Addie and Richard.

In the 1900 Census for Mohawk, Montgomery Co., NY, Scot Fonda aka Winfield Scott(g-gf) Fonda and Emma J. Copp Fonda had 7 children; Viola (1883), Winfield (1884), John (gf), Edgar (1888), Nathan (1896), Eva (1897), and Ida (1898).

In the 1880 Census Winfield S.(g-gf) and Emma J. Fonda had Frederick (1877)and Jane L.(1879) Between 1880 and 1900, a period of 20 years more children would have been born and some died: (Emma J. had 11 children, 9 living in 1900)

Now his father, my gg-gf John Fonda and Jane E Fonda were in Broadalbin, Fulton Co., NY in the 1870 Census and had Agnes, Ben, Charlie, Eva (Mary Evalyn) and Willie (William H). Charlie is not listed elsewhere and would have been born about 1863. GG- GF John died in 1890 in Fulton Co., NY. This all according to my Mothers records. She had sent for the death certificates of John Fonda and Jane Cole Fonda. On the death certificate of John Fonda the informant is W.S. (Winfield Scott) Fonda; on the death certificate for Jane Fonda the informant is of course Emmett Blair Fonda who she was living with at the time of her death. Now is where the discrepancies show up:
On Jane's death certificate: Fathers Name: Solomon Fonda - of Saratoga, NY (This should be COLE)
Mother's Maiden Name: Jane Austin, birthplace unknown.

My mother had crossed out the name Jane and wrote in Rhoda as well as crossed out the name Fonda and wrote in Cole after she had talked to Emmett Blair Fonda who was the informant on her death certificate.
After doing much research I did come across a Saloman Cole and Jane Cole who were the parents of Rhoda Ann Cole living in the same area as Palmer and Sophia Cole in the 1850 Census for Providence, Saratoga, NY. ***Palmer and Saloman could be brothers. This Jane could be Jane Austin Cole **make an effort to find out.** It is not inconceivable that Emmett when filling out the information put in the wrong names if Jane and Saloman were indeed related and may have helped to raise Jane E. after Sophie died. **Find out when Sophie died and where she is buried, parents names if possible**.
** Find death certificate of Sophie 1850-1860: Find birth record of Sophie ca. 1803: Find marriage record of Sophie and Palmer Cole between 1821 - 1826: Find death record of Palmer Cole, aft 1860: Find marriage record of Palmer and second wife, bef 1860: *There is a story my mother told me that she said her father told her that his grandma was married at age 13 or thereabouts. Jane E. was 13 in the 1850 Census. Find marriage record for Jane E. Cole and John Fonda aft 1850 bef 1860: The places they lived were in Fulton and Saratoga counties 1850 and 1860.