Digging Up Your Family

Benjamin A Moore

I have been skirting around writing about Benjamin A Moore in hopes of finding more information about him, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to…yet.  All of the records about him leave more questions and hopefully I will find out more soon!

Benjamin A Moore was born in Kentucky, most likely McLean County, in December 1863 according to the 1900 census.  There is a question as to who his parents are, but pretty much all census records, and his death certificate, list Margaret Stringer as his mother.

The 1870 census is the first time Benjamin appears.  He is found living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is listed as Benjamin Stringer, age 6 years.  The adults living in the household are Joseph C Moore (farmer, age 54 years) and Elizabeth Moore (age 53 years).  Elizabeth Moore is Elizabeth Pitt (maiden name) who was married first to Gray Stringer, second to Joseph C Moore.  The other children living in the household are Elizabeth’s children from her marriage to Gray: Virginia Stringer (age 18 years), Sallie Stringer (age 16 years) and John Stringer (age 13 years).  Based on this census it would appear that Benjamin is also one of Elizabeth’s children with Gray.  But we can’t stop here!  It’s about to get interesting! 

I have searched and searched, but I have been unable to find Benjamin on the 1880 census.  I don’t know which name he went by (you’ll understand shortly) or if he was even in Kentucky at the time.  Looking up “Benjamin Moore” born around the same time in Kentucky gave me a lot of records, but none appear to be him right off. 

(note:  Elizabeth is listed on the 1880 census as widowed and she is living alone.  Elizabeth’s daughter Margaret Stringer is on the 1880 census with her husband John J Breedlove and their children, though I question whether Erma/Emma is actually a Breedlove based on her age.  Benjamin is about 16 years of age at the time, not living with either of them.)

There is, of course, no census for 1890.

In 1900 Benjamin is found on the census living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is now listed as Ben A Moore, a farmer, age 36 years.  This is the census that tells us he was born in December of 1863.  This census also lists him as single.  He is living with Elizabeth Moore, age 82 years (birth recorded as December of 1817) and widowed.  I’m not sure what last name had been recorded for Elizabeth first, but “Moore” is written over whatever it was very boldly.  Benjamin is listed as Elizabeth’s grandson on this census.  So this is the first time we see him recorded as Moore rather than Stringer. 

I am supposing that Elizabeth had passed away prior to the 1910 census enumeration, since I cannot find her anywhere.  Benjamin is found in 1910 living in…you guessed it…Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He was originally listed as Benjamin A Moore, but Moore was scratched out and his name was recorded as Benjamin A Breedlove.  He is 47 years of age and listed as single.  He is listed as the step-son of John J Breedlove (head of household, age 62 years) which would make him the son of John’s wife Margaret Breedlove (née Stringer, age 67 years).  So though the 1900 census showed us that Elizabeth is not his mother, this census shows us that her daughter Margaret is his mother.  Also living in the household are George W Lee (age 63 years) and Sarah Lee (age 64 years).  (note:  George and Sarah were living with their family next door to Elizabeth and Benjamin in 1900)

On the 1920 census Benjamin is living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is listed once again as Ben A Moore, age 56 years, single, a farmer and head of household.  Listed directly beneath his name is Margaret Breedlove.  She is shown as 76 years of age, widowed and mother of head of household, Benjamin.  Also listed in the household is Virginia Gross, age 67 years, single and the sister of the mother of head of household.  I believe this is Virginia Stringer that was listed on the 1870 census, too. 

In 1930 Benjamin is found on the census living by himself in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Margaret had passed away in 1924.  Benjamin is listed as Ben Moore, age 66 years, single and head of household.  Interestingly enough the Oscar Gross family is living next door to him.  I’m not sure if they are related to his Aunt Virginia or not, though.

I am awaiting the release of the 1940 census in April 2012.

Benjamin a Moore died on May 18, 1944 in Island, McLean County, Kentucky.  His cause of death was congestive heart failure due to hypertrophy and myocarditis.  He also suffered from aortic stenosis and hypertension.  I cannot make out the name of the informant, but they did not know his date of birth and his age is listed as “about 80”.  To me the last name of the informant looks like “Plain”.  In 1910, 1920 and 1930 there were several Plain families that were his neighbors.  He was still single at the time of his death.  His mother is listed as Margaret Breedlove, which leads me to believe that the informant was not a family member since death records ask for the mother’s maiden name.  His father is listed as Joseph Moore.  Yes, you read that right.  His father is listed as the man his grandmother was married to on the 1870 census.  I’m not sure if this is correct, however.  I can’t imagine why it would be wrong.  He obviously took JCM’s last name.  But then again, perhaps he saw JCM as a father figure?  Unless someone knows more about him we may never know.   

An interesting sidenote about his death certificate is that the funeral home, Tucker Funeral Home, is listed in Central City, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  However, when I called them they explained that they actually had several funeral homes, one in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky and Central City was only put on the death certificate because that is the main office.  I also asked of Tucker Funeral Home about the place of burial only listed as Station.  I was given the phone number for the undertaker of Station Baptist Church Cemetery in McLean County, Kentucky.  When I called he told me that off the top of his head he couldn’t remember that name on a headstone.  He said that he would walk out there any other day to check for me, but the wind is blowing hard and it’s snowing there right now.  I told him not to worry about it, that in Spring I would try to get up there and look for myself.  He then told me that Island, McLean County, Kentucky used to be called Station way back in the way back and that there were several cemeteries there.  I looked on Find A Grave, but couldn’t find Benjamin anywhere.

I find it awfully sad that no one had bothered to put all of his records together before.  My mom pointed out that he appears to have been single with no children his whole life, so no one would have been searching for him anyway.  That thought is terribly depressing.  Hopefully someone out is actually looking for him and just wasn’t able to find him before.

(another note concerning the 1880 census: though Elizabeth was living alone, her daughter Sallie had apparently married a man by the name Bowman and their family lived next door to Elizabeth.  Benjamin is not living with them.  John Stringer is living with his family on the other side of the Bowman's and Benjamin is not living with them, either.  I’m going to continue searching for him, however.)

Margaret Stringer

I have been putting off writing about Margaret Stringer day after day because there are so many odd things about this woman that I can’t make sense of it all.  And I want to blame the census records for this, but I don’t know if that’s the problem I am having.  The thing is, I can’t find her on the 1860 or the 1870 census.  At all.  Nothing, really.  I don’t know which name to look for, actually.  As in, I have looked for several names she may have gone by, but I can’t find any of them.  Of course, it could be a case where I am seeing it, like it’s right in front of me, and it just isn’t registering for some reason.

Margaret Stringer was born January 11, 1843 in Kentucky.  Her parents are Gray Stringer and Elizabeth Pitt.  Now, some of this is going to go into Elizabeth Pitt’s life, too, but stay with me here because it gets interesting.

In 1850 Margaret was living with her parents in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  She was 7 years old.  Her siblings that lived in the home were: America (age 11 years) and Lucy (age 9 years).  There is also a Balis Stringer, age 15 years, living with the family, but I haven’t figured out how he is related to them yet.  I keep seeing websites that list him as the son of Gray and Elizabeth, but I don’t see the basis for that yet.  I searched for a death record for him, but was unable to find it.  AND usually the children on census records are listed in order of birth, oldest first.  On the 1850 census Balis is listed last.  He shows up 10 years later in Missouri as a 26 year old blacksmith, which kind of disproves the websites claiming him as the Stringer family’s son since they all claim he, too, was born in 1843 making him Margaret’s twin (or Elizabeth getting pregnant with him soon after Margaret was born).

As I said before, I cannot find Margaret Stringer on the 1860 or 1870 census.  I was told by a descendant of Margaret’s sister, Lucy, that Margaret married a John Pitt.  I found a marriage record for John S Pitt and MK Stringer in McLean County, Kentucky on May 24, 1850.  So that information matches up.  It’s kind of bizarre when you think about it though:  Gray Stringer’s mother was Sallie Pitt.  Gray married his cousin, Elizabeth Pitt.  Then Margaret married a cousin, John S Pitt.  Anyway, at some point Margaret and John S Pitt divorce and she may or may not have married a Moore.  (note:  keep this fact in mind:  after Gray Stringer died his wife Elizabeth married Joseph C Moore).  I haven’t found anything saying that she did, but there is a reason for this coming up (I promise).

By 1880 Margaret married John J Breedlove.  They show up this year on the census living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  The children living with them are: Emma (listed as a Breedlove, but she is also listed as John’s stepdaughter…so she was either a Pitt or a Moore, but I am not sure which one, age 11 years), Mary Jane (age 7 years), Ona L (age 5 years) and William M (age 3 years).

No census for 1890.

In 1900 the Breedlove family was still living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Margaret is listed as Margaret K Breedlove.  The children listed on the 1880 census are no longer living with Margaret and John.  Two more daughters are on this census:  Lucy J (my great-grandmother, age 18 years) and Drusy B (age 15 years).  Also living with the family are two of Margaret’s grandchildren:  Magnola Lovell (age 4 years) and Mack Lovell (age 1 year).  According to Mack’s death certificate the parents of Magnola and Mack are Jim Lovell and Lulu Breedlove.  I’m not sure if Lulu is the nickname of one of the daughters listed or not.  This census also tells us that Margaret is the mother of nine children and only five are still living.  I haven’t figured out all of the children yet.  As you can see I have listed six of the children.

In 1910 Margaret and John are still in McLean County, Kentucky.  But a new person is on the census with them:  Benjamin A Moore.  Someone had scratched out his last name Moore, though.  So it looks as though he is a Breedlove.  But he isn’t (more on Moore in a second..haha).  Benjamin is listed as 47 years old, single and John’s stepson.  Margaret is still the mother of nine children of which five are still living.  So now we have 7 of her children listed:  Benjamin A Moore, Emma (last name?), Mary Jane Breedlove, Ona L Breedlove, William M Breedlove, Lucy J Breedlove and Drusy B Breedlove.  I do not have any clue who the other two are.  Lulu?  Perhaps, unless, as I said before, that is just a nickname for one of the children listed.

In 1920 Margaret is listed on the census as Margaret H Breedlove.  She is living with her son, listed as Ben A Moore, and her sister Virginia in McLean County, Kentucky.  She is widowed and her son is named as the head of household.

Margaret Stringer died on December 7, 1924 in Island, McLean County, Kentucky.  The cause of death was arteriosclerosis, which she apparently (according to the death certificate) had suffered from for several years.  The contributor to the cause was apoplexy (bleeding, which could have been anything).

Now, for a little something extra concerning Benjamin A Moore that is a little off:  Benjamin A Moore is shown living with Margaret’s mother and her second husband, Joseph C Moore, on several census records.  It isn’t until Elizabeth, Margaret’s mother dies, that he lives with Margaret.  On his death certificate it says that his mother is Margaret and his father is Joseph Moore.  So, did Margaret have a “thing” with her stepfather?  Or is it a different Joseph Moore?  Maybe the informant knew he was Margaret’s son, but didn’t know who the father was and just put Joseph’s name on the certificate knowing that Ben had pretty much been raised by him.  Why wasn’t Ben living with his mother growing up?  And who is Emma’s father?  Or what if Joseph C Moore wanted children and Elizabeth wasn’t able to have any more for some reason?  Would she have asked her daughter to surrogate for her?  Benjamin was born about 1864 (according to census records).  Emma was born about 1869 (according to the 1880 census record).  Could they have had the same father or different fathers?  Could Benjamin have been Margaret’s with John S Pitt and just took the Moore last name because he was raised by Moore?  I just don’t know. 

And I really wish I could find those census records.

John J Breedlove

(note:  birth and death records were not required by law in Kentucky until 1911.  it is fairly hard to track down exact birth and death dates prior to that year unless an obituary, Bible record or doctor’s notes were kept.  in some instances a birth may be written down in a church register or a book kept by an attendant.  death records were often kept in Bibles and church registers, and sometimes if a doctor attended at the time of death he may have recorded the date.  anything that requires legal filing, such as a marriage, can usually be easier to find, but not always)

John J Breedlove was the son of Cornelius Vaughan Breedlove (about 1812-about 1880), a farmer, and Elizabeth Crissman (about 1815-?).  He was born in Todd County, Kentucky on August 7, 1848, the fifth of, I believe, seven children.

The family was still living in Todd County, Kentucky 2 years after John was born.  On the 1850 census John is shown living with his father, mother and siblings: William F (age 15 years), Jesse T (age 9 years), Henry J (age 7 years), Mary A (age 5 years) and Sarah E (age 8 months).

In 1860 the family starts getting a little sketchy.  First off, the name recorded for the family is “Breadlove”.  It is also just their initials that are written, rather than their names.  John is 11 years old and living with his parents and siblings.  The other children listed are:  Wm F (age 26 years), JT (age 20 years), HJ (age 18 years), MA (age 14 years) and VACF (age 3 years).  Ok, now I realize that another sister had been born, as far as I know, in 1859.  And her name on other census records is Nancy.  So who is VACF?  And what happened to Sarah E?

Sigh.

So, I hunted down John J Breedlove in the 1870 census and I *think* that I found him.  That year there is a John Breedlove listed as living in Logan County, Kentucky with the Beauchamp family.  There is no occupation written in for him.  There are other boarders living in the house, but I can’t really figure out how he came to live there himself.

Another document I am still hunting down is his marriage to Margaret Stringer.  From what I understand they married sometime around 1869/1870.

In 1880 John shows up in McLean County, Kentucky with Margaret and their children: stepdaughter Emma (age 11 years), daughter Mary Jane (age 7 years), Ona L (age 5 years) and William M (age 3 years).  This census has Emma’s surname as Breedlove, but I think it might actually be Moore, as we see on later census records that John has a stepson by the name of Benjamin A Moore.

No census record available for 1890. (of course)

Apparently having set down roots, the family is still living in McLean County, Kentucky in 1900.  On this census it is shown that they are living with two children that had been born during the previous 20 years: Lucy J (age 18 years, my great-grandmother) and Drusy (Drusie, Drusey, Druse, age 15 years).  This census also states that Margaret is the mother of nine children, five of which are still living.  I don’t know if the two children that are no longer living are accounted for or not.  I also don’t know if they are John’s children or if they are children from Margaret’s previous marriage(s).  I do see that John and Margaret have two grandchildren living with them in 1900, Magnola Lovell (age 4 years) and Mack H Lovell (age 1 year), the children of Lulu Breedlove and Jim Lovell.  I’m not certain if Lulu is a nickname for one of the daughters accounted for or a different daughter all together.

The last census that John J Breedlove is found on is the 1910 census.  He is living with Margaret and stepson Benjamin A Moore (age 47 years).  John is a farm operator, as is Benjamin.  The family is still living in McLean County, Kentucky.

John J Breedlove suffered a tragic death 2 years after the 1910 census.  On October 12, 1912 in East Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky he was killed when a sawlog, the largest and heaviest part of the tree, fell on him.  I believe his death may have been instantaneous because no doctor attended to him.  I cannot give an exact location of burial.  The death certificate has the initials of the cemetery as M.E.C. Sacramento.

One of the more interesting stories of John J Breedlove’s life was told by his daughter, Lucy J Breedlove, to her grandson, Roger Vincent.  Lucy said that John was good friends with Buffalo Bill (William Cody).  Whenever Buffalo Bill would travel through Kentucky he would always stay with the Breedlove family for a few days.  John and Buffalo Bill would hunt together during his stays!