The Durrant name first appeared in our research when we found that Charlotte Hales, Robert Hales' sister, married John Durrant in 1833 in Gorleston with Southtown, Suffolk, England. They arrived in Waupaca County in 1854 when John Durrant "of Winnebago County" purchased 40 acres in the Town of Waupaca. Two years later the John H. Smith family settled in the same township. Robert and Elizabeth Hales and their family arrived in 1856 from England, supposedly upon the urging of his sister. John H. Smith married Harriet Hales in 1860 and they resided on land adjacent to the Hales and Durrant families. Three years later Robert Hales, Jr. married a woman named Rachel Russell.
In 1870 Susanna Smith, John's sister, married Edward Durrant, son of Martin. The Martin Durrant family was in Onondaga County, New York in 1850 and moved to Waupaca County sometime during the following ten years. It seemed interesting that another Durrant family from England had a connection to ours. I recently found a John Durrant in Onondaga County, New York at the time of the 1840 census.
Cheryl Davis placed a query in the WAGS newsletter during the mid-1990s regarding the Russell, Hales and Durrant families, and I responded. We compared notes and I learned that Rachel Russell's sister Sarah had married a Thomas Durrant in 1862. Thomas was the son of a Thomas Durrant who had arrived in Waupaca County from England via Nova Scotia and Massachusetts.
There were three Durrant families living in Waupaca County by 1860, but I never found any records or newspaper articles indicating that they were related. Martin and family were in the Town of St. Lawence at that time. The Thomas Durrant family was two entries away from John and Harriet Smith in 1860, so they were also very near to John and Charlotte Durrant.
That was the extent of my research until Ancestry provided searchable probate files a few years ago. Charlotte Hales Durrant Venner (she remarried after John's death in 1866) left a will! Besides leaving her farm to her brother Robert, she made two other bequests: "$10 to Edward Durrant, son of Martin, deceased" and "$10 to John Durrant, son of Thomas, deceased." This certainly suggested that they were all related. I wrote previously on this blog about that discovery.
Occasionally I return to websites to see whether new information has been added, and I took another look at Charlotte Hales Venner's FindAGrave page recently. The person taking photos at Lakeside Memorial Park is very thorough; she lists all names that appear on grave markers in each plot. Buried in plot 98-O are Olive, Jane, James, Margaret and Thomas Durrant. In the same plot are Thomas Venner, Charlotte Venner and John Durrant! James is a son of Thomas; Jane is his wife. Margaret is the wife of the elder Thomas Durrant. Is there any better proof of family relationships than being buried in the same cemetery plot?
There is a family tree on Ancestry claiming that John and Thomas Durrant are "half-brothers." When I contacted the owner of that tree, he said the information came from FamilySearch, but I have not been able to verify that.
*52 Ancestors: "Challenging"
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Cousins
Since we began family history research, we have been fortunate to meet several "new" cousins. Of course, they have always been part of the family, but I doubt we would have met except for genealogy.
Pat: I was invited to a Staub family reunion in North Dakota in 1999 through Katherine Wilcox. I immediately recognized Harvey Hedeen as someone who had visited our farm when I was a child, and Pat is his eldest daughter. We have continued to remain friends as well as cousins. Pat is my third cousin.
Cecil: In 2003 Cecil placed a query in the WAGS (Waupaca Area Genealogy Society) newsletter. He was seeking information about the Benjamin Hales (1843-1905) family. After I responded to that inquiry, we exchanged an enormous amount of Hales history. Cecil had gathered data about Ben's family who lived in Hancock, and I shared what I had learned about the rest of Ben's siblings and parents. We were able to meet once in Yuma and again in Wisconsin when Cecil was visiting his sister. Cecil is the grandson of Lauretta Hales Wright and is my third cousin once removed.
Gayle: Gayle contacted the Waupaca Historical Society/Genealogy Society looking for information about her grandmother's family. The curator at the time remembered that I was connected to that Smith family. Laura Smith Thompson (1894-1983) was a daughter of Fred and Karen Nelson Smith. Gayle and her husband came to Arizona to meet us in 2005, and we exchanged family information. She is also a third cousin.
Emma: I became acquainted with Emma through Pat and finally met her when we attended a Staub/Leuthold reunion in Montana. Emma was Emma Staub Leuthold's (1854-1930) granddaughter and was able to relate anecdotes about her grandmother. Emma was my second cousin once removed.
*52 Ancestors: "Cousins"
Pat: I was invited to a Staub family reunion in North Dakota in 1999 through Katherine Wilcox. I immediately recognized Harvey Hedeen as someone who had visited our farm when I was a child, and Pat is his eldest daughter. We have continued to remain friends as well as cousins. Pat is my third cousin.
Cecil: In 2003 Cecil placed a query in the WAGS (Waupaca Area Genealogy Society) newsletter. He was seeking information about the Benjamin Hales (1843-1905) family. After I responded to that inquiry, we exchanged an enormous amount of Hales history. Cecil had gathered data about Ben's family who lived in Hancock, and I shared what I had learned about the rest of Ben's siblings and parents. We were able to meet once in Yuma and again in Wisconsin when Cecil was visiting his sister. Cecil is the grandson of Lauretta Hales Wright and is my third cousin once removed.
Gayle: Gayle contacted the Waupaca Historical Society/Genealogy Society looking for information about her grandmother's family. The curator at the time remembered that I was connected to that Smith family. Laura Smith Thompson (1894-1983) was a daughter of Fred and Karen Nelson Smith. Gayle and her husband came to Arizona to meet us in 2005, and we exchanged family information. She is also a third cousin.
Emma: I became acquainted with Emma through Pat and finally met her when we attended a Staub/Leuthold reunion in Montana. Emma was Emma Staub Leuthold's (1854-1930) granddaughter and was able to relate anecdotes about her grandmother. Emma was my second cousin once removed.
*52 Ancestors: "Cousins"
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
The Phillips Fire
On July 27, 1894 the village of Phillips in Price County was destroyed by fire. That summer was one of intense heat and drought. Timber slashings were tinder dry and piles of logs and hemlock bark were everywhere. The residents had fought off a fire the previous evening, but on the 27th the fire came from three different directions. The entire town of 400 homes was burned to the ground.
Thirteen people were killed as they fled the fire by boat. Frank Cliss and his young daughter Myrtle were two of the deceased. His wife Mary Locke Cliss was the only survivor of three families who were on a boat that capsized as they tried to row out onto the lake to safety. James Locke, Mary's brother, and his family were among those who drowned.
Frank Cliss (1866-1894) was the youngest son of Martha Elizabeth Hales Cliss. After she and Joseph Cliss divorced, he stayed with his mother, while his older brother Robert lived with his father.
Other fires plagued the Wisconsin/Michigan area that same summer destroying many acres of forest land. The logging industry was in its prime at this time.
A painting purported to be by Arthur Fredrick Winkler, a Phillips resident who was seven years old at the time of the fire, has been donated to the Price County Historical Museum. His descendants believe that an employee of Arthur's was the actual painter, however.
*52 Ancestors: "Fire"
Thirteen people were killed as they fled the fire by boat. Frank Cliss and his young daughter Myrtle were two of the deceased. His wife Mary Locke Cliss was the only survivor of three families who were on a boat that capsized as they tried to row out onto the lake to safety. James Locke, Mary's brother, and his family were among those who drowned.
Frank Cliss (1866-1894) was the youngest son of Martha Elizabeth Hales Cliss. After she and Joseph Cliss divorced, he stayed with his mother, while his older brother Robert lived with his father.
Other fires plagued the Wisconsin/Michigan area that same summer destroying many acres of forest land. The logging industry was in its prime at this time.
A painting purported to be by Arthur Fredrick Winkler, a Phillips resident who was seven years old at the time of the fire, has been donated to the Price County Historical Museum. His descendants believe that an employee of Arthur's was the actual painter, however.
*52 Ancestors: "Fire"
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