Rebecca Ritchie's First: Dennis Dolbow

The end of yesterday's post went something like this: 1840 reconstruction of the hypothetical William Ritchey family: 

William Richey   (8 total)   
M 10-14       1 (James, poss 5-9 or even 15-29)
M 20-29       1 (Crawford)
M 40-49       1 (William)
F under 5     1 (Mary)
F 5-10          1 (Sarah)
F 10-14        1 (Eliza)
F 20-29        1 (Rebecca)
F 30-39        1 (Sarah)

Stay tuned!-- And not a second too soon! I just posted this a couple of hours ago, and realized a fatal flaw in my reasoning. I will never, EVER find this family in Ohio in 1840. Look at daughter Mary's age-- and place of birth. That's right: Arkansas. That's the advantage of reading-- and rereading your work. That was yesterday's post. Here I am today to eat my words a second time. I found them not in Arkansas, but in Illinois!

Here is my 1840 hypothesis compared with Macoupin, IL, 1840 census:
                                                            William Ritchie (10)
William Richey   (8 total)                   Macoupin Co, Illinois
--                                                         1 M under 5    (died B4 1850?)
--                                                         1 M 5-9    (poss James)
M 10-14        1 (James, poss 15-20)  1 M 15-19     (poss Robert))
M 20-29        1 (Crawford)                  1 M 20-29     (poss Crawford)
M 40-49        1 (William)                     1 M 50-59 (William?)
F under 5      1 (Mary)                         2 F under 5    (poss Sarah)
F 5-10          1 (Sarah)                         --        (see line above)
F 10-14        1 (Eliza)                          1 F 10-14 (Eliza)
F 20-29        1 (Rebecca?)                  1 F 15-19 (Rebecca?)
F 30-39        1 (Sarah)                        1 F 40-49 (Sarah?)

This William Richey family looks like a strong contender to be Rebecca's birth family. It's in the right place at the right time, and Dennis Dolbow, though not visible by name in the census, is part of a nearby household: that of his older brother, Daniel Dolbow. He's the 20-39 year old male: too old to be a child of the 30-39 year old Daniel.

Rebecca Ritchey married Dennis Dolbow 12 January, 1843 in Macoupin County, Illinois. 1843: IL Reg No. 3, Caslinville (prob. Carlinville) Have copy of certificate.

1850 Federal Census, Beardstown, Cass Co, Illinois:

Dennis Dolbo (indexed Delbo), age 39, wagon maker, b NJ (indexed NC)
    Rebecca age 29 b OH
    Eli          age 7   b IL
    Emily    age 3    b IL
A third child, William, was born after 1850.

Despite Dennis' saying he was born ca 1815 in New Jersey, and having a fairly uncommon name AND given name (for his family), I can't find any trace of him in Penn's Neck, New Jersey records, where he should appear. I have now asked for help from the New Sweden genealogy society to see if another researcher more familiar with their records can help find Dennis and his birth family.

There is more on Rebecca, but that's it for now.

Crawford Ritchey: was he a twin?

On my visit to the College City (Colusa County) Cemetery, I found Rebecca Freeman (nee Ritchie, m1 Dolbow) buried in a family plot of seven persons named Ritchey, her maiden name.

Beside Rebecca were Silas Ritchey 1871-1949, Priscilla E. Ritchey 1834-1919, Crawford Ritchey 1819-1881, Lizzie Ritchey, born May 31, 1874 died age 4, and twin Thomas Ritchey, d Nov 1, 1874 at 5 months, and JJames Ritchey, died Oct 15, 1867, age 7.

Needless to say, I was surprised to find them, and delighted to think Rebecca did not die, as I had always supposed, widowed and penniless, far from her daughter Emily in California. They had evidently moved here together.

But who are these people Rebecca is buried with? My working hypothesis is that Crawford is a sibling, possibly even a twin, of Rebecca, due to their same birth year. So far, the census has not helped me much, even though it told me a great deal about Crawford and his immediate family. It even supplied a possible birth family-- for him!

Since Cranford was still alive in 1880, that's the first record I sought:

1880 Federal Census: Spring Valley, Colusa Co, California

Richey Crawford W M 62   Farmer     b OH; Fb US; Mb US
   Prescilla    W     F     55 keep house  b KY; Fb MD; Mb KY
   Erastus   W  M 16 son Farm Laborer b OR; Fb OH, Mb KY
   James   W    M 10 son                        b CA; Fb OH; Mb KY
   Viola     W    F    3 daughter               b CA; Fb OH; Mb KY
   James    W    M 57 brother                 b OH; Fb OH; Mb KY
I was glad his brother James was included- this will be helpful to know. I got all excited when I saw that James, if not Crawford, had parent's birth states recorded. Then I realized they were the same states recorded as for the children above him, so that may or may not mean James' and Crawford's mother was born in Kentucky!

1870 Federal Census: Spring Valley, Colusa Co, California
James Richie          38    M    Farmer    b OH (single line)-- lives alone
Thomas Chambers 72    M    Farmer    b PA   (Single line)--lives alone
Crawford Richie     49    M    Farmer    b OH
Percilla    "             36    F keep house   b KY
James       "       10/12    M                     b CA
Lewis, Mary           13    F                      b IA
  "        Rastus          6    M                      b OR
Graham, Walter      80    M    Laborer    b Scotland
McGonigle, William 40 M    Laborer    b TN

1860 Federal Census: Twnshp 3 (Auburn), Placer Co, California
Crawford Ritchey    43    M (Drayman?) b OH
    Manerva     "         37    F                      b IN
    Crawford "             6    M                      b UT
    Jas        "               33    M (Drayman?) b OH
Thos Chambers        67    M    Miner        b PA

Was I ever glad James was with Crawford in 1860. Note Thomas Chambers, too: he and James are living separately from Crawford and each other in 1870. But the important part, here, is that Crawford's wife's name is different-- and sure enough, one of Priscilla's descendents tells me she married Crawford Ritchey in 1869. No idea what happened to the child named Crawford, but I suspect he will be found in the Auburn Cemetery with Minerva.

But here is the exciting find: three families right next to one another:

1850 Federal Census: Jasper, Crawford Co, Arkansas
William Richie    56    M Farmer  b OH
    Sarah    "          41    F                b TN
    Mary    "           11    F                b AR
    Catharine "        4    F                 b AR
Eliza Waldroup    21    F                b IN
James Richie        21    M Laborer b OH
------------------------
Robert Richie    23    M Laborer b OH
    Anna    "        25    F                    b Indian Nation not known
    James    "    6/12   M                    b AR
------------------------
Crawford Richie    30    M Farmer b OH
    Minerva    "        26    F               b IN
    Sarah         "       15    F                b OH

Note James' location: in the family of William Richie. He's about ten years younger than Crawford, as before. New working hypothesis is that William Richie is their father. Robert, next door with his young family, is a probable brother. Sarah in the household of Crawford and Minerva appears to be too old to be a child of theirs and is probably Crawford's younger sister.

The names listed in the 1850 census gave me the idea of reconstructing what this family would look like in the 1840 census. If this snapshot is correct, it might be possible to identify which of the William Ritchey families in Ohio in 1840 was the birth family of Crawford (and hopefully, of Rebecca as well). James is the problem here: according to his age stated in the four censuses above he was born in (pick one!) 1823, 1832, 1827, or 1829! So in 1840 James might be either 8, 11, 13, or 17, falling into one of three categories for children: 5-9, 10-14, or 15-19.

1840 reconstruction of the hypothetical William Ritchey family:
William Richey   (8 total)   
M 10-14       1 (James, poss 5-9 or even 15-29)
M 20-29       1 (Crawford)
M 40-49       1 (William)
F under 5     1 (Mary)
F 5-10          1 (Sarah)
F 10-14        1 (Eliza)
F 20-29        1 (Rebecca)
F 30-39        1 (Sarah)

James is the problem here: according to his age stated in the four censuses here he was born in (pick one!) 1823, 1832, 1827, or 1829! So in 1840 James might be either 8, 11, 13, or 17, falling into one of three categories for children: 5-9, 10-14, or 15-19.

Stay tuned!-- And not a second too soon! I just posted this a couple of hours ago, and realized a fatal flaw in my reasoning. I will never, EVER find this family in Ohio in 1840. Look at daughter Mary's age-- and place of birth. That's right: Arkansas. That's the advantage of reading-- and rereading your work.

Name Changes: Finally Knit Together

I intended this blog to be only about my knitting and needlework (crochet, tatting), but I don't seem to make new entries. At the same time I realize I should be blogging about genealogy.

Do I really want four blogs? No. I choose sanity over blog proliferation.

So Knitted Together will include both knitting and genealogy. Not much of a stretch. Both are my hobbies, and I usually knit up a storm when I'm on a genealogy trip. I can only face the screens of Ancestry.com every so often (what a search engine. not).

My female ancestors, and at least one of the men, knitted. Benjamin Schell told his grandson that he and his family "wove" stockings in the winter time when he was a youth. 2Great-Grandma Tryphena Northway Reasoner knitted socks for sale in Oregon. I'm happy to follow in their stocking footsteps! I love knitting socks and wearing interesting colors and styles on my feet. So I will have occasional knitting entries here, too. But the focus is now officially changed to genealogy.

I am taking steps to have Rebecca's stone repaired.

This week, I have found a family member who may or may not have knitted. I suspect she did: most women born in 1819 learned as a matter of course. Her name was Rebecca Ritchie (but her spellings may vary!); possibly Richey, Ritchey, Richy, or any other variant of the name. I've been trying to find her for 15 years or more. She had a difficult life.

She first came to my attention on her marriage certificate. When she married Dennis Dolbow in Macoupin County, Illinois, in 1843, her maiden name was listed as Rebecca Ritchie. Of course, with her marriage she became Rebecca Ritchie Dolbow. Unfortunately, sometime between the 1850 and 1860 censuses, it appears that Dennis died. There was no divorce record, and likewise no death notice, will, grave marker, or property transfer. Rebecca was counted twice: once in Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, as a widow with children, and once with her new husband in Meredosia, Morgan County, Illinois (just south of Beardstown. With this new marriage she became Rebecca Ritchie/Dolbow/Freeman.

The next in a series of tragedies struck when her oldest son, Eli Dolbow, signed up with the cavalry to fight in the Civil War. He died of illness in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and his effects were sent home to his grieving mother and stepfather in 1861. His sister, Emma Dolbow, and youngest brother, William Dolbow, stayed with their mother and stepfather. Emma married a Civil War veteran, Elijah Hickman, in 1865 and gave Rebecca three grandchildren. But Elijah had been injured, and he and Emma probably had money problems.

When Rebecca's second husband, Reeve Freeman, died in 1872, all his property was sold to satisfy the family debts, leaving Rebecca virtually penniless. Only six months later, Emma was left widowed with three small children. She applied for a widow's pension on the basis of Elijah's disability pension, but was denied. Why? It took me years to find out.

When I finally received a copy of Emma's pension application, it answered the question of why she'd been denied, and told me what happened to Rebecca, too! She did not die, widowed, pennilless and alone, in Illinois-- she and William came to California with Emma and the children! Rebecca and William signed Emma's pension application in January, 1875, in Colusa County, California.

I have a photo of a family Bible page written by Emma, showing Rebecca (Ritchie/Dolbow) Freeman's death date as 22 November 1878, but it does not list a location.  So this week, Robert and I drove to Colusa County. Sure enough! Not only did Emma marry my great-grandfather there, her mother and brother were with her: he registered to vote as William James Dolbow.

Rebecca Freeman died 22 Nov 1878 in Spring Valley, Colusa County, California-- laid to rest by her family, and, I discovered, with other family members too. For in a family plot in the College City Cemetery with Rebecca are six Ritchie burials! The oldest family member buried there is Crawford Ritchey, and it appears that Crawford might be Rebecca's brother. In fact, given that her birth year and his are the same (at least on their grave markers), they may even have been twins.

I have many unanswered questions, but my Ritchie brick wall is beginning to crumble. If Crawford is indeed Rebecca's brother, she not only had the support of her children and son-in-law, but her brother and his family as well. What a happy ending for Rebecca's difficult life!

Manly Lace

Is there such a thing? I think so. This scarf is patterned and textured, looking both complex and simple at the same time. But I wish the colors in the photo had turned out more true-- this looks very, very brown. Actual colors are deep gray, forest green, and a soft dark brown. Really nice.

Pattern is called the "Best Friend Scarf" by Cindy Bajema, in Chrystal Palace Mini Mochi color 307. Lovely yarn and a fairly fast knit. Pattern was free on Ravelry. I plan to buy more Mini Mochi next time it's on sale-- I really like its feel and definition.

Sweater as an FO

"Finished Object," or FO, is this sweater. Preliminary pic taken last week. I haven't yet had one taken to show the button closures. I love the lace panels front and back, and the panels in each sleeve. "Goes With Blue Jeans" is the color of the yarn-- my title, not the yarn company's.

It was a bit difficult to get into this pattern, but I persevered and the lace panels got easier as I continued on them. By the end of the sweater I was thinking "what was I so worried about?"

Back to Yarn Fumes

My first visit in a long time to a LYS. I'm too busy in my own town (don't ask!), but when wandering around Ventura with my friend we directed our steps to Ventura Fine Yarns, which is indeed.

Met my first skein of Madeline Tosh Merino Light (fingering). The pic below hardly does it justice. It is an emerald to beat all emeralds, greener and brighter than the pic shows. You might be tempted to call it turquoise, but the two skeins next to it were both a true turquoise: one light, one darker.

I think this will be a post-Christmas project. For now, I will fondle it occasionally and cruise all the great patterns on Ravelry to see what it wants to become when it grows up.

Since I've recently been captivated by lace knitting, this skein is just the thing!

Open!

Finally! Yesterday brought me an open Amaryllis flower. . .

And today. . . Two!

I can hardly wait til tomorrow! Perhaps there will be three open at once.

Amaryllis 1, 2, 3, 4

Since they are usually received as gifts, you see Amaryllis most often blooming in the early spring. However, mine is a couple of years old. It didn't even bother to sprout this spring, and I assumed I had probably killed it last year with my off-and-on care.

Imagine my surprise when it presented me with a tall, budded stalk on my birthday! It looked like this on Wednesday:

 

This (below) on Thursday:

This (below) on Friday:

and THIS today (Saturday):

But it hasn't opened yet! Perhaps by the time I return from Church tomorrow . . .

I am a gardening wuss, so this is the first time I've had any success with a potted flower. I am so excited that waiting is not my favorite sport! Stay tuned . . . I'm not knitting anything to do with it, but my lately-arrived hummingbird may love it so I am watching!

German Souvenir Yarn

My favorite souvenir yarn from our Germany trip made a nice pair of "Monkey" socks. I think the designer was Cat Borhdi, and who knows why they're called Monkey!

Done, I reiterate, is Beautiful.

 Yarn is Regia Cinema in colorway 07253

Entrelac Attack

Since Cicero didn't allow a very good view of the entrelac-in-progress for my last entry, I thought I should post photos of the completed thing.

It made quite a stash buster! All the yarns are various shades of purple and lavendar. Most are some kind of alpaca or mohair blend, but there is also one diehard acrylic. The yarn I had to buy to complete the shawl and add fringe adds a little more color: it is Moonshine, by Crystal Palace, and there's green in with the lavendar. And silver sparkles. Why not!

Close up of Entrelac Scarf. It's heavy-- not great for our climate, but so pretty!

Enter Entrelac!

Since Mom's little helper took control of this project, you can't see too much. Stay tuned, because my stashbuster project is an Entrelac scarf. I tend to pick up odd balls of purpleliciousness and it was time to use them all, or most of them.

Cicero wants to use them too, but perhaps in other ways than my intent.

Organizing yarn, what a thrill

Kindly put, my housekeeping is casual. In theory, I have had time to organize in the years since my dad died. I'm a sucker for a good theory, anyway.

Reality strikes in the form of mail that's never quite all answered, projects which take hiatus when I least expect it, and things I haven't gotten to quite yet. Life is so much more than housework, I say to encourage myself.

However. I try and try again to get myself organized so I can accomplish more. And sometimes an organizing tool reaches out and grabs me!

Perfect example: Trader Joe's wine bottle carrier. What a great yarn tote! It has six neat divided, skein-sized pockets and a pair of carrying straps. The best part is the price: 99c!

Each pocket has space for a pair of sock weight skeins, or even a long worsted skein. Needles can go right in next to their yarn. One pocket can serve for the work-in-progress. Several of these totes could sit inside a plastic tub, holding individual projects. Talk about possibilities! Best part is that they fold completely flat, so if not in use, storage is not an issue.

Yes, they even work for wine bottles. But that's a water bottle in the left pocket here :)

Whenever I find an interesting or tasty item at the above-mentioned store: "Trader Joe Strikes Again!"

All Yarned Up

It's nothing I knitted myself, but oh boy I Can Has Cheezburger knit us a good one today!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

April Surprise, Seasonal. It was hot today, too.

Gosh. One year later, and deja vu! It got into the high 70s today, and felt even hotter than that, since I've been used to spring weather until this weekend. Let's see if I can find another photo of kitties or knitting to post! Fortunately for me, it wasn't so hot I couldn't move. Whew.



This handsome gentleman is a guy I've dubbed "Mr. Friendly," because he is. He wanders through the yard via the back porch about once a day. I say "about" because if I'm not home, I don't know he visited. But he's the fellow that drops by (literally!-- off the railing and THUMP onto the porch) to say hello. I really like that he does that. Growing up, that was exactly the sound our cats made when they jumped down to stare intently at the back door when they wanted in. But Miss Flora and Mr. Cicero are indoors-only cats. Mr. Friendly's cat-shaped thumps are exactly what this house needed to make it feel homey.

I almost got Mr. Friendly to enter the Print Shop Friday morning. I think if I had allowed myself more time out there he would have, but by the time he came by I was cleaning up and preparing to go on a hike in the afternoon. Ahh, well, perhaps someday he'll become my visiting Printers' Devil.

Still too hot

It's supposed to be cooler today, but I've been hiding inside since Church. Checking just now, it's a reasonable 77- way better than the 88 yesterday! Tomorrow is supposed to be even cooler. Course, it's still 78 in the house.

You can't tell Cicero it's all that cool, though. He's sacked out on the laundry heap on my bed. Must be nice!

It's too hotttt

As a result of some unseasonal (HOT) weather, I've been messing with my projects and yarn on Ravelry. It's a good tool but you have to put in the time. No further on that: my Mac is demanding DVDs for an automated backup. While that is a good idea, it gets hot when burning DVDs and I'm hot enough already. In the house, where it's cooler than it is outside.

It's supposed to be spring. SPRING. You know, the season when it's sorta cool, can rain, and the flowers are all in bloom?

Wrong. A heat wave has hit Coastal Central California and it is plain hot. 88 near me, and probably 90+ downtown.

No. No photos. Well, perhaps if I get to the beach for a walk after dinner; sunsets are nice. But no photos of me, draped across a chair, drained of energy, and covered in sweat. NO!

Make it go awaaaayyyy.... Summer isn't due for another two whole entire months!

Hoping the weather is better where you live. . .

Flora is me Darlin: a Kitty Hug

Flora, my almost 14-year-old, is the most affectionate cat I know. . . but only to me. She's quite shy and hides from strangers. This photo is the only one I have of her precious kitty hugs. She places a paw on either side of my neck and stretches out, nuzzling my neck. If only the cheapie camera I had at the time did her justice!
Had I ever known when I got her what a blessing she was going to be. She was a foundling I nursed to health. Through thick and thin, she's been God's little dispensation, sharing kitty hugs where needed. And as befits a knitter's cat, she has never attacked Yarn Monsters in the Stash or even on my lap. What a girl!

Belogging about Yarnishness

While I like my other blog (Warts & All), I realized, once started, that cats and yarn belong separately from printing; and that I should pay more attention to theme. So cats and yarn is this. Make that yarn and cats. Hopefully. But the cats think _they_come first (sssshh!).
Also, I want to share things I've knit/sewn/become involved with. Just now it's a pair of socks, rather experimental in nature. I love crochet, but can't imagine walking around on it. So I knit a pair of anklets and am topping them off with crochet. No, I don't have a pattern. Just my usual Sock Recipe (cast on 64 st, needles size 1; knit [and knit. and knit. then knit some more] til done, making sure to throw in some heel stitch and a turning at the appropriate place. Decrease for toes. Done.)
I'll include a shot of one semi-finished crochet-top sock. No pattern to the pattern here, either. I'm Sperimenting as I go along. The crochet looks bigger than the knit ribbing. For now, that's OK. I need it to stretch as much as the ribbing does. I plant to top off the crochet with more ribbing. I likes my sock tops to tuck well under my pants legs.
Should you have any suggestions, please post! Hopefully I'll get around to posting some finished socks on Ravelry; and adding the ones from t'other blog in here too.

==Marjorie