The Hangman's Ropemaker: Return to York (Part Two)

"This suggests a coincidence concerning the Bupp family. The nine remaining descendants are divided into three groups of one brother and two sisters each. They are Capt. Waltman and his two sisters; Jacob Shive and his two sisters, and Jacob Bupp, of Pittsburg, to whom are also apportioned two sisters." 

~"An Odd Division of Relatives," The Gazette (York, Pennsylvania), 18 August 1896, page 1

*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*

*Note here* Typically while writing genealogy blog posts I write in the third person narrative and tell the story that way.  However, this blog post, while part of the Hangman's Ropemaker Series, is almost a "Chasing the Elusive" (another set of posts that I occasionally write, though I only have one published at the moment) that writing it in the first person narrative was a bit easier.  I write in first person because there is a great deal of conjecture in those posts.  My apologies if you are a reader of the series and aren't used to this style. *end note*

In my last blog post, I shared that Jacob Bupp visited his sister in York, Pennsylvania.  While he was there, the newspaper blurb quoted above ran in the local paper.

This blurb piqued my curiosity.  After all, I knew that Jacob had visited his sister Sarah, known as Mrs. Joseph Heard in 1896, but I also knew doing research that his sisters Elizabeth, Rebecca and Eleanora had passed away before 1896.  Elizabeth Bupp Younker was deceased before 1870 (though I don't yet have a death date for her).  Rebecca Bupp Ruhl died in February 1870 from consumption (though I do not have an exact day of death for her).  Eleanora/Ellen Bupp never married, but died at her sister Sarah's home on 30 October 1895, just ten months before Jacob visited.  Her cause of death is yet unknown, as I have not yet attempted to retrieve her death record from the city of York, since it wasn't recorded by the county of York like some of the later deaths were. 

This left just one sister that was not yet found, and one on whom I had a trail run cold.... Helena Bupp, who was born 23 November 1828 and christened on 8 December 1828 in Christ Lutheran Church.  Knowing that all of Jacob's other sisters aside from Sarah had passed, I knew Helena had to be alive... and she was in 1896, which I found out by actually searching for Sarah's address in one of my newspaper subscriptions.  She had married William Watt sometime before 1850 and was living near Sarah in York under the name Lena Watt.   In 1896, she lived at 16 West Princess Avenue with her husband and son, Joseph Henry Watt.  William Watt was a broom maker in his later years, much like his brother-in-law Joseph Heard.

(Why do I research siblings of my ancestors?  So I don't make a direct-line mistake.... I find many more resources that lead me back to my ancestors when I research their siblings and aunt, uncles, etc. Plus knowing how others connect to me is helpful when some distant relative emails me to say he or she has a photograph or relic of our mutual ancestor.)

So now I knew of Jacob Bupp and his two sisters, but I didn't know who the other men mentioned in the article were.  So, I did some research. I started with Captain Waltman.

Captain Henry B. Waltman was born in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on 25 November 1838 to Henry Waltman and Helena Bupp.  Helena, his mother, was born in 1801 and died 30 March 1875 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, probably at the home of her daughter, Sarah Waltman Kaufmann.  Her age and the fact that she seemed to originate from Mount Joy makes it likely that she is a sister of John Bupp, Jacob's father.  However, I don't have definite proof the two are related aside from the same last name, just some conjectures that can be made.  Captain Waltman's father, Henry, died in a horrible accident in February 1847 when he was crushed between two rail cars in Mount Joy.  The accident left Helena to raise her five known children alone.  Henry B. Waltman had three sisters, but sister Susanna likely died before 1896.  Sister Elizabeth married Joseph S. Kuhns and the aforementioned Sarah married Jacob Kaufmann.  His brother, Captain Jacob K. Waltman, died in 1880.  Both Captains got their titles by being captains of companies in Pennsylvania Volunteer regiments during the Civil War.

Unfortunately I had too many options for Jacob Shive in the York and Lancaster areas to do any comprehensive research on him to find out his connection to Jacob.  I didn't know which one to chase, and didn't have time to chase them all.  When I have time at a later date, I may pursue this further.  I welcome anyone else's help on the research too, if someone else has more time.  I did find a Lewis Shive, son of Sallie Bupp, in the book A Biographical History of York County, Pennsylvania, so I am wondering if there is a connection that way.... but can't seem to find anything more substantial yet.

This research didn't lead me to a conclusive ancestor for all of the Bupps, but it did get me one step closer to figuring out conclusive parentage of my hangman's ropemaker's father.

Jacob appeared to return home to Allegheny City after his visit to York in August 1896.  The 1896, 1897 and 1898 Pittsburgh area directories all have him living at 325 Shady Avenue in the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City.  He only remained at this residence for two more years before moving to the Soldier's Home in Dayton, Ohio for his final months.  But that's a story for the next post.

Sources Used and Referenced
Ancestry.com, "1840 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 November 2019), Entry for Henry Felaughman "Waughman" household, Year: 1840, Census Place: Mount Joy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Roll: 465, Page: 149, and Family History Library Film: 0020547; citing Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"An Odd Division of Relatives," The Gazette (York, Pennsylvania), 18 August 1896, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 July 2019).

"Died," death notice for Helena Waltman, The York Daily (York, Pennsylvania), 31 March 1875, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 November 2019).

"Died," death notice for Ellen Bupp, The York Daily (York, Pennsylvania), 2 November 1895, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 June 2019).

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 25 June 2019), memorial page for Ellen Bupp, Find A Grave Memorial # 97700318, citing Prospect Hill Cemetery (York, Pennsylvania), memorial created by Corey & Douglas Marshall-Steele, photograph by Pamela Pomeroy.

"Funeral of Jennie E. Younker," The Gazette (York, Pennsylvania), 26 January 1908, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2019).

Gibson, John. editor, A Biographical History of York County, Pennsylvania (Chicago; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1975), 52-53; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=tz54aBcpZUQC : accessed 23 July 2019).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1896/1897 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1896), 207; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1897/1898 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1897), 208; digital image, Unversity of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

"Personals," The York Daily (York, Pennsylvania), 22 August 1896, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 June 2019).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1898 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1898), 221; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

"Shocking and fatal Accident," The Lancaster Examiner (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), 17 February 1847, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 23 July 2019).

"U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," database online with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 October 2019), Publication Title: York, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1894; page 200; "Watt Wm, broom mnfr, 16 w Princess"; citing a collection of directories for U.S. cities and counties in various years.

"U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 June 2019), Entry for Rebecca Ruhl; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Non-Population Census Schedules for Pennsylvania, 1850-1880: Mortality; Archive Collection: M1838; Archive Roll Number: 7; Census Year: 1870; Census Place: York Ward 4, York, Pennsylvania; Page: 1.