52 Ancestors Week 16: Out of Place

52 Ancestors 2019 Week 16: Out of Place

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Did you ever find an ancestor in an unexpected place? I recently discovered that my 3rd-great-grandmother didn't die in the county where I found her in every census. Instead, I found her living 4 counties away from there -- in the county where I currently live. She's even buried here. (I'm still trying to figure out why.) Maybe you found an ancestor in a record you didn't expect (like finding a member of a pacifist religion serving in the Civil War). Or maybe there's an ancestor who always seemed "out of place" with the rest of the family.

Last week for #52Ancestors I covered DNA on my father's side. I like to try and alternate between both sides of the family so either side can have a fair shot at the spotlight.

This week we'll be talking about my 3rd great-grandfather, Jeremiah Smart Felker. His story would make for one of those movies that generate Oscar buzz. I even have a director lined up for his story. Frances Ford Coppola, if you are reading this my e-mail is on the side bar and I'd like to talk details. Have your people call my people. We'll do lunch! =)

Jeremiah's story is one I'm sure many of seen around genealogical circles. He was born out of wedlock to Elias Felker and Patty/Martha Smart in 1838 in the town of Raymond, New Hampshire. What happened was Elias cheated on his wife, Polly with Martha who at the time was in between husband number one, George William Mace and husband number two, Jonathan West. They had a baby and Patty's father, Jeremiah Smart, sued Elias for all parental rights.

The story gets better from here. Patty named the kid after her father and here's where the unexpected/out of place part of the prompt comes in. Patty married for a third time in 1846 to a man named Joseph T Miles. They would remained married until her death in 1875.

What is odd about this is that I thought I accounted for all of the censuses and info for Jeremiah until the last week or so. The earliest I had him in the census was 1870. By then he was married to my 3x great-grandmother, Elizabeth Fellows and living in Rockingham county, New Hampshire. The family would move to Haverhill, Mass by 1880.

I worked on her profile on Familysearch and once I added and spruced up Joseph T Miles's profile I saw a hint for the 1850 census. I was like "Okay. This probably has him and his wife living in Brentwood, NH or something. Well, they were living in Deerfield and who did I see living with them?

Jeremiah!

There's a catch, though! There always is. You can't avoid it. His name in the census was Jeremiah MILES. Not Felker. I checked and double-checked to see if this was indeed the same Jeremiah. It is. He's listed in the 1850 census as Jeremiah F Miles. I had no idea he took on his step-father's name. I suppose it would make sense. His birth-father died about five years before the census was enumerated. It was just odd seeing him there. I suppose it makes sense. Though....perhaps the F stood for Felker? I'm not sure. It's definitely him, his mother, Joseph Miles and his half-sister, Maria West.

Some time before he signed up to fight in the American Civil War, he changed his last name BACK to Felker and it was like that ever since. Jeremiah served in the 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery Unit and helped to defend Washington DC. He's one of only three ancestors I have who fought in the American Civil War that I know of.

After the war, he returned to Haverhill and ended up watching over my great-grandfather, Austin until he passed away in 1918. It should also be noted that his grandfather Joseph is listed as a father on his death certificate. That was another unexpected find!!

Later this spring, I plan on visiting his grave in Walnut cemetery. My great-aunt offered to take me there to see if we can find the gravestones of several ancestors. They should be there. The Felkers and the Legaults are buried all over Haverhill it seems. I'll be sure to tell that story!

The moral of the story here seems to be that you will always find ancestors in unexpected places. Some people might find them in orphanages or living with other relatives. You have to dig and sometimes you'll need to take unexpected roads in your research. You may strike gold in the most unexpected places.

The story of Jeremiah is certainly one for the books and like I said it would make for a decent movie. Seriously, Coppola. Call me. We'll do lunch!

Bonus round: My 4th great-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Ross was counted twice in the 1880 US census. He was with his son and grandchildren in Manchester, New Hampshire AND in Berwick, Maine with his wife. The cities are about an hour apart. I wonder how he got to both places. The census may not have been enumerated on the same day. How else could he have been in two houses?