Finding Bridget Magurn (1856-1896)

 

(Part 1)

The road to find Bridget Magurn was a long and rocky one. Up until the day in 1994 when I found the birth registration of my grandfather, John Magurn, we’d understood his parents to be Edward and Mary Monaghan Magurn. But this record blew up the theory. His mother was Bridget and no father was named. 

There are no stories of Bridget passed down in the family. All we know of her is from the paper trail she unwittingly left behind.

Civil Birth Registration (transcription below)

No.45    1878     Twenty Sixth July, Carn    male    (no father named)    (mother): Bridget McGurran    no profession   (Informant): Edward McGurran X His mark, Occupier, Carn
Registration Twenty Seventh July 1878

Carn is the small town in County Fermanagh Ireland where they lived.

After that birth registration document, we found nothing more about Bridget. Did she marry? Move away? And how could we ever find out who John’s birth father was? Because he was Catholic, I knew there was a good chance his father would be named on a baptismal record, but Irish records are notoriously difficult to locate, where available at all. It took nearly 30 years until finally Julie Cottrell Ferguson and her mother Linda Forman Cottrell were able to locate John’s baptism certificate. And finally, we knew who John’s father was! (In Latin)

Transcription: Julii (July) 27    Joannes (John)    Bridgeta McGurn (Pater putat et Protest.) Robertus McKinsey (The "putative" or supposed, father is Protestant. Robert McKinsey 

So what happens after that? We can’t find Bridget Magurn anywhere. On his first marriage certificate John lists his parents as:Edward Magurn and Mary Magurn Monnaghan. This is who John’s daughter, Mary Sarah (Sister Margaret) thought his parents were. On his marriage certificate to Josephine Decima Canham, he lists his parents as Edward Magurn and Bridget Magurn. So he must have known something about his true parentage. 

But what happened to Bridget?

Stay tuned for Part  2

OUR COLORFUL FAMILY

IN 2018 I put this chart together (for fun) showing all the colorful names in our family tree. Not a lot has changed since then but we could add a handful of new colorful names now:

WHITEMAN

BROWNLEE

GREENAWALT

GOLDEN

GREYMANTLE

GRAYHAM

We've also got the four points of the compass:

NORTHFIELD

SOUTHCOTT & SOUTHGATE

EASTBURN

WEST & WESTERGARD & WESTON

And some weather!

 WEATHERALD & WETHERELL 

RAINS & RAINSBOROUGH

SNOWBERGER

SLEIGHS for the snow!

WINDER

HALES

William Lake Forman (1829-1919) WORK

What did they do for a living? We know that most of the women took care of the home and the children until well into the 20th century when they were finally able to enter the workforce in large numbers. The men in our family tree worked at most occupations you can think of from farmers to cobblers to gardeners to carpenters to engineers to business executives, and so on. 

 William Lake Forman (1829-1919) didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps of being a confectioner. Samuel L. Forman died at age 39 in 1844, so we only know about his business because of 2 city directory listings and the inventory that was done after his untimely death which listed “confectionary tools of the trade.” In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the confectioner was the most highly regarded of all tradesmen involved with food preparation. The confectioner prepared desserts, candies, and other sugar-related delicacies. But William was only 15 when his father died, so he wasn’t ready to take over such a business.

In the 1850 census, William L., now 21, is living at home with his mother Eliza, his sisters Mary and Emma (19 & 14) and little brother Isaac (10). This is the first time we see his occupation listed as House Painter. He married Amanda McAllister in 1853. 

From 1855-1867 he is listed as a house painter in the Philadelphia City directories. In 1858 he is the secretary of the Journeyman House Painters Association, and as such posted notices in the newspaper regarding meetings so we get this glimpse of his serious involvement in his trade.

In 1868, brother Isaac joins him and they become “Forman and Brother” house painters. They continued together for a few years before parting ways. Isaac continued on as a house painter for the rest of his life, as far as can be determined. But somehow by 1877 William is employed as a clerk.

We got lucky in that he was employed by the City of Philadelphia, so there are some records to be found. From the Journal of the Common Council of the City of Philadelphia, he is listed as the signer of warrants of the department of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions. 

In 1879 there was a big reaction to the news that citizens felt that the salaries of the city officials were too high. The opinion was that the city clerks (of which William L. was one) should make no more than clerks working outside city government, such as bank clerks. Initially there was talk of a reduction in force, but instead the decision was made to reduce salaries. William L. Forman is listed as a ‘search clerk’ earning $1000 per year. After the change, his salary was reduced to $900 per year. How would you enjoy that 10% cut in pay?

In 2017 I was contacted by a woman whose maiden name was Magurn (the same as my mother Josephine Teresa Magurn Forman.) Her ancestor and my grandfather were both from the same area in Northern Ireland so we were sure we had to be related. We both had our DNA results and were so surprised to find that we were not related! That is a whole ‘nother mystery to solve, but the interesting part is that she sent me a copy of her ancestor’s naturalization papers from 1889 Philadelphia. I was stunned and delighted to see who had signed the document: William L. Forman!See the document at right. (He has beautiful penmanship!)

Whether he was tired of the life of a clerk, feeling his age, or whatever the reason, in 1899 William L. has left the city offices and is again listed in the city directories as a house painter, as well as a glazier (one who cuts, installs, or removes glass.) This continues until 1905 when he is 76 years old, and again working as a clerk! The last we know of his occupation is the 1910 Census which indicates he is still working as a clerk in an office. (He’s 81 at that time!)

Another interesting tidbit was found in the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper in 1911. There was another big shake-up at City Hall. 58 clerks in the law department were asked to resign, while 21 were retained. 82 year old William L. Forman was one of those retained as a clerk to a trial assistant, earning $900 per year. (The same as he made 30 years earlier!!)

I can’t find any other mention of him between then and his death in 1919. But those invited to his funeral show his wide range of interests: Philadelphia Association of Disabled Firemen, employees of City Solicitor’s Office, 40th Ward Republican Club, and Veteran Firemen’s Association.

Music in the Forman Family

Ivan, Mildred, Ross, Ward

 Music played a large role in the Forman family. Edgar Charles Forman (1896-1981) worked for RCA in the classical music production and marketing area for over 50 years. His wife Annie Baragwanath Forman (1890-1968) fell in love with music and devoted much of her life to her cello. According to Alma Forman (wife of E. Ross), Annie took up the cello after her youngest, Mildred, was born with a hip problem, and dancing and cello lessons commenced to help with her rehabilitation. Annie took up the cello along with her daughter.

  All four of Ed and Annie’s children were put into music lessons. Ross, the eldest, played the piano. Ivan took up the violin. Ward learned the clarinet, and of course, Mildred had her cello. This ensemble appeared on local school stages and on Camden Radio station WCAM. The family sacrificed during the depression to have all 4 children in music lessons. Annie raised chickens and sold the eggs to help defray the costs.

1933 Ivan, Ward, Mildred

All the children continued to play their instruments through high school in their school orchestras. Ward also played in his school’s band. In college after the war, he formed a band – the Hungry Five Quartet. He played with the Elk’s band and the Shriner’s band in Atlantic City. In his high school year book he said he was interested in being first chair clarinetist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He gave up his clarinet after he married. He used his musical talents as the Sunday School Music Leader in the Tulare Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for several years. He organized the fund raisers to buy the ward an organ since up until then there had only been a piano in the church. At the same time, he bought a duplicate organ and had 3 of his girls take lessons. All of Ward’s daughters can play the organ and piano (to varying degrees!) Most of his grandchildren had music lessons as they grew up. Many piano players and some talented singers came from this generation. Quite a few tried their hand at different instruments in school: saxophones, clarinets, flutes, violins, recorders, guitars, oboes, but no cellos. Ross, the oldest of Annie's children, studied the flute in high school in order to play in the band, which qualified him for free admittance to the football games! He continued his musical studies through college where he played in the Drexel Orchestra and studied the piccolo. He continued to study both instruments after graduation. Mildred and Ivan weren’t great fans of the classical music they’d always played and didn’t continue lessons after high school. Ivan’s daughter, Jamie, is a talented organist and taught music in schools for years.

Even after the children were gone, Annie continued her cello lessons for the rest of her life. When the children were still home they were not allowed in the house when she had her lessons or was practicing as she was not to be interrupted! Her relationship with her cello was sacred and gave meaning to her life. She studied with accomplished teachers as she honed her craft, and played in the Fleischer Symphony for a time. She even had a lesson the day before she passed away. If we go back a generation we can find evidence of musical interest or talent in Edgar’s father, William Charles Forman (1859-1938.) We know he was involved with the Merchantville (NJ) Band, as the recording secretary from 1890-1892. No indication if he played an instrument, but it’s likely. The family had the minute book that he kept but donated it to the Camden County Historical Society. We don’t know any other details of his musical interests. Thanks to Alma K. Forman for her compilation of family stories that help to keep them alive for future generations.

Edward Harned (1831-1904) - The Youngest

 

Edward Harned 1831-1904
(colorized by My Heritage)

Quakers John Harned and Phebe Laing married 27 March 1811 and ten months later, Jennette was born. Then came Rachel, Jonathan, Jacob, Mary, John, Phebe, Benjamin Franklin, Joseph, Rebecca and bringing up the rear, child #11 was our direct ancestor, Edward Harned. He arrived 10 Jan 1831 in Woodbridge, New Jersey. On a side note, I had a Harned 'cousin' challenge me on whether Edward was in this family or not. As you can see, he was the last born, there at the bottom left. There is also a Quaker Meeting record showing his birth and his parents.

  His mother, Phebe, died when he was just 8 years old. His father married Elizabeth Shotwell 4 years later. We can assume Edward had a fairly typical Quaker upbringing, but there are no records from his childhood or youth.

  Quakers believed in the inner light – the idea that God was a spiritual presence within each individual and could speak to all humans through the words and actions of anyone. Quaker meetinghouses were unadorned spaces where men and women worshipped equally. On Sundays, which they called ‘First Day,” they worshipped in silence, waiting until “the spirit found them,” and inspired them to speak. They tended to reject worldliness and became easy to recognize because of their use of the pronouns ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ and their refusal to doff their hats to social superiors since they believed in a spiritual equality. Edward’s father, John, passed away in 1848, when Edward was just 17. At age 20, Edward received his legacy from his father’s will: $300. [Today this would be almost $10,000.] In the next year or so, he married Hannah Anne Yardley. They had 6 children: Lydia, Harriet (our ancestor), Horace, Ruthanna, John, and Anna. From tax records in the mid-1850s we can see that Edward bought himself a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, probably made possible by his legacy from his father. He had 35 acres of land worth $48/acre, 2 horses and 3 cattle. The taxable value was $1793. By 1860 he and his family are living in Bel Air, Maryland, on a farm valued at $6000. But in 1870 they are back in Bucks County. Wouldn’t we like knowing what that move was about?

In 1863 he registered for the draft, but his record says “Paid Commutation.” The Quakers took this stance: “We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons for any end or under any pretense whatever; this is our testimony to the whole world.” [George Fox] In the North, if a man called to military service could provide a substitute or pay a $300 Commutation Fee, he was exempted from serving. It appears that Edward’s conscience didn’t allow him to serve, though where he would have come up with $300 is not known. In 1873 a “Certificate of Removal” from Rahway, NJ (Plainfield Monthly Meeting) recommended him as a member in the Mt. Holly Monthly Meeting, Burlington, New Jersey. So they’ve moved again.

He has been hired to take care of the Mt. Holly meetinghouse in 1880. He was to be paid $32 per year! Later that year the Mt. Holly Meeting was informed that Edward Harned was not satisfied with his pay, so they raised it to $40/year. In 1884 his pay was raised to $4/month! In 1891 Edward requested that his Certificate be transferred to Haddonfield from Mt. Holly because he would be nearer the Camden Meeting. His daughter, Harriet had married William C. Forman in 1886 and was living in the Camden area, as was his son, Horace, so they probably wanted to be near their children as they got older.

Edward passed away 2 May 1904 and was buried in the Mt. Holly Friends’ Burial Ground. Hannah died 10 Jun 1910 and was buried next to him. Our ancestry: Edward & Hannah Anne Yardley Harned >> Harriet Yardley Harned >> Edgar Charles Forman >> Edgar Ross, Ivan Lake or Ward Harned Forman

To our Mothers!

                                                                          Happy Mothers Day!

1955 Terry Forman holding Kathi, Annie E. Forman with Linda, unknown child on right

Here's to the Mothers in our family tree! JOSEPHINE TERESA MAGURN FORMAN (TERRY), mother of Linda, Kathleen, Claire, Annette. 

JOSEPHINE DECIMA CANHAM MAGURN (DESSIE), mother of TERRY, Joan, Philip, Margaret, Peter.  

JANE MANGAN CANHAM, mother of Josephine Decima (DESSIE), Beatrice Louise (Louie), Mary Ellen (Mable), Ethel, Addie, Alec.

 ANN GIBNEY MANGAN, mother of JANE, Peter, John, Catherine, Bridget.

BRIDGET MAGURN, who makes me sad because we know nothing about her - mother of John Magurn (who married DESSIE).

ANNIE ELIZABETH BARAGWANATH FORMAN, mother of Ward (my father), Ross, Ivan, Mildred.

FLORENCE CAMILLA ROSS BARAGWANATH, mother of ANNIE and Florrie.

ANN ELIZABETH SPIECE ROSS, mother of FLORENCE, William, Henry, Benjamin F, Edwin S, Ann Elizabeth.

CHRISTIANA STOLTZ SPIECE, mother of ANN ELIZABETH, Christiana, Louis, Caroline, Rebecca.

And that my friends, is as far as we can go tracing just through our female lines. If we traced our mothers on our father's lines, we would go much further back especially with the Harneds (Grandpop Forman's maternal line, which leads to our Mayflower connection as well as other notables). So Happy Mother's Day to all these mothers who made it possible for us to be here today. And while we're at it - Thanks, MOTHER EVE for making the choice that gave us all a chance.

Trail of the Copper King - Orlando Baragwanath (1872-1972)

 

We’ve talked about our Baragwanaths in Cornwall, England, but what about the branch that traveled to South Africa?

We aren’t closely related to Orlando Baragwanath, the subject of the book“Trail of the Copper King” by T. V. Bulpin – he’s my second cousin 7 times removed! Our common ancestors are Richard Baragwanath (born 1699) and Zenobia Stevens (born 1705), of Cornwall, England. 

 Jump forward 5 generations and we encounter John Albert Baragwanath who took his family on the trip of a lifetime – from Cornwall, England to Durban, South Africa, in 1850. John had been a Cornish sea captain. His first wife, Elizabeth Jane Trise, mother of Elizabeth Grace, Orlando, John Albert Jr., and Emily E., passed away the year before the voyage. He quickly married Wilmot Baragwanath (a cousin) later the same year. The family set sail in February 1850 on the “Lady Bruce.” 

They joined 150 other settlers intent on a new life in a new land, with the promise of land at the end of the journey. “Each adult will be provided with an intermediate passage, including provisions on a liberal dietary scale, for the sum of 19 pounds, or a steerage passage for 10 pounds, and on arrival in Natal [Durban] have secured to him twenty acres of freehold land.” The passage monies had to be paid in advance and each passenger needed their own knife, fork, tablespoon, teaspoon, metal plate, a hook-pot, a mug and bedding. Each ship was required to carry a doctor. 

John and Wilmot’s first child together, Charles, was born on the ship, but died a few weeks after arriving at their destination, aged 8 weeks. They reached their destination on 9 May 1850. John, Wilmot and the 4 living children settled on a farm called “Isipingo” just south of Durban. Son John Albert was later apprenticed to a saddle maker. He opened his own trading store, ran the Concordia hotel, and had some prospecting operations. He was very successful and prosperous. 

He married Elizabeth Adelaide Trennery and together they had ten children. Oldest son Orlando (Orrie), born in 1872, was the stuff legends were made of! Orlando lived to be 100 years old (photo right,) and on the occasion of that milestone, an article was written about him in the “Rhodesiana” publication. “In the autumn of 1894 a solitary passenger climbed off ...[an] ox-drawn Cape cart in Fort Victoria. . . He was Orlando Baragwanath, a young man of 22 years with some mining experience, a prospector’s zest for the unknown and an explorer’s nature.” For the next few years he worked at different mines, learning and yearning for adventure. 

 In May 1899, Orrie and his partner Frank Lewis, set out, their supplies packed in 50 lb. loads packed on two wagons and a four-ply canoe. They had six pack donkeys and ten armed natives. They had no need of money so they took white calico called “limbo” for currency. They had contracted for a 3-year stint with the Tanganyika Concessions Company, earning £25/month. The surface copper had been known, worked and traded long before. But these men were the first to use dynamite to find more beneath the surface in Northern Rhodesia! They pegged and named many copper mines on their travels, and in 1901 discovered the vast copper field on the Wusikili river, which later became the great Nkana Mine and the heart of the fabulous Copperbelt. 

 At the spot where John Albert had his farm and hotel now stands Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in what is now the black township of Soweta in Johannesburg, which opened in World War II to care for British soldiers. It once held the Guinness World Record for the largest hospital on earth with almost 3300 beds but has been edged out by at least 3 others by 2016. 

 Some of this material was found in an article from: http://www.rhodesia.nl/rhodesiana/volume28.pdf “Orlando Baragwanath: A Centenarian Pioneer of Rhodesia” by Roger Howman. “Rhodesiana” Publication No. 28, July 1973, The Rhodesiana Society, Salisbury, Rhodesia.

Drawings are from the book pictured above, Trail of the Copper King. This copy was given to my dad by his parents in 1961. It is presently in my possession.