Showing posts with label Marcus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marcus. Show all posts

08 February 2021

Notable Women: Nellie Grant May Fielding Anderson

A year after I received it, I'm still working on the Civil War pension file of my second great-grandfather, James Fielding.  There is a great deal of information in the file, but alas, between working full time and other commitments, it's been slow going.  Eventually, I will finish the blog post I have already started to put together on his remarkable life.

In documenting each page of the pension file, I have come across the extraordinary life of his daughter, Nellie.  My pap's maternal aunt was a strong and notable woman in her own right.

I should mention that I don't have much on Nellie's ancestry past her parents.  After all, both sets of her grandparents, John Fielding and Martha Gibson, and Henderson McDonald and Emmeline Peterson, are both subjects of "Chasing the Elusive" blog posts I have done.

Nellie Grant May Fielding was born on 2 August 1872 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (which as I have mentioned before is now the Northside of Pittsburgh).  She was the fourth child and second daughter born to James Fielding and Sarah Virginia MacDonald.  At the time of her birth, the family was living at 186 Rebecca in Allegheny City's Fifth Ward, so this is most likely where she was born.  

As a child, she spent time in Cleveland, Ohio (and maybe a few other locations), as her father worked at the time as a traveling agent for a few publishing companies.  Her younger brother, Edward, was born in Cleveland, which leads to the assumption that the family did travel with James, at least to Ohio.

Younger brother Marcus was the subject of his own blog post as well.

On 19 January 1890, Nellie married Walter Black Anderson in Camden, New Jersey. He was a Scottish immigrant and the son of James Anderson and Balmain Black.  Both Walter and Nellie were seventeen years of age, and it is unclear why they traveled all the way to Camden from Allegheny City where they both lived.  Perhaps it was easier to get married there for them, being underage and all.  

***Note here: As of this blog post, I have ordered their marriage license from the New Jersey State Archives, but will need to wait to receive it.  If it has answers, I will update this blog post with them.**

Walter was trained as a bookkeeper and frequently moved about the general vicinity of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, per his entries in the area city directories.  It is not known if Nellie moved with him or not, but the couple did have two children born in the area.  Nellie Balmain Anderson was born at 5 Jackson Street in Allegheny City on 5 Jan 1891 and George James Anderson was born on 14 August 1894 in Pittsburgh.  

By 1898, the family was living in Sharpsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Walter died suddenly here on 20 November 1898 at the age of twenty-six, leaving Nellie a widow with two small children.  He was buried in Highwood Cemetery.  No record of his death was registered at the county level, and as death records were not required until 1906 by the state, it is not known what he died from.

Nellie moved back to Allegheny City after Walter's death, presumably to be closer to her parents, and took in boarders in 1900 to make ends meet.  She spent some time living in Pittsburgh but appears to have moved back into her father's home at 2704 Norwood Avenue in Allegheny City around the time her mother died in 1907.  It was in this house that she was enumerated in 1910, living with her brothers James and Edward.  She probably kept house for her father before he moved to the National Home for Soldiers in Dayton in 1909.

After her father died in 1913, Nellie was responsible for putting his last affairs in order, and as a result of this, she went into a small amount of debt.  Per records found in James' pension file, Nellie applied for reimbursement for expenses of $142.80 on 11 April 1913.  In the same document, she stated that her father was last paid his pension in December of 1912 and that James' home, in which she lived with brothers James, Edward, and sometimes Marcus, was worth $3200.  The house had been left to the children who lived in it at the time of James' death per his will, with their father noting they were to live together as long as possible.  Should the house have to be sold, James Henderson was to inherit $1500, which would be left in the hands of his uncle and James' younger brother John, who was the executor.  Marcus and Nellie both were to inherit $400, while Edward was set to inherit $250. (By contrast, Nellie's sisters Jennie, Emma, and Birdie only received $5 apiece.)

**tangent here: I wrote an article about Nellie's uncle John Fielding and the accident that cost him his leg.**

I'm not sure why Edward and Marcus were included in this stipulation in the will, but James Henderson was blind by the time his father wrote the will and was a feeble man.  In September of 1913, he suffered a stroke, leaving him paralyzed.  Nellie was his caretaker, and likely was taking care of both her brother and her father from the time of her mother's death in 1907 until James the elder moved to Dayton for better care.

Here is why I think Nellie was so notable.... as a widow herself, with two younger children, she managed to not only run her father's household for him when he was invalided but also took care of her eldest brother in his condition as well as her two younger brothers.  Per newspaper advertisements, the family also took in boarders to make ends meet, which added to her work.  She also did some of this while making a living for herself at a time when it was considered low-class for a woman to work outside of the home.

Because of the house, however, the family also ran into some problems.  In the aforementioned application for reimbursement that Nellie submitted, she listed the home's worth, which disallowed her claim due to the fact that the value of the real estate was sufficient to cover reimbursements Nellie had asked for, despite the fact that her father's pension money, which the family appeared to be living off of, had not been paid since December of 1912.  Nellie contacted her local Congressman, Stephen G. Porter, and apparently asked him to look into the matter.  He in turn wrote a letter in July of 1913 inquiring about the status of the final pension payments.

This began a letter-writing campaign between Nellie, Stephen G. Porter, and the commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions that lasted for many years.  Nellie mentioned her invalided brother and the rising costs to care for him but was told that since he was over the age of 16, he was not entitled to his father's pension despite his disabilities.  The commissioner continued to stand his ground, stating that because the house was sufficient enough to cover the costs of the debts Nellie held, they did not have to pay the accrued pension.  However, if the family sold the house, Nellie and James Henderson would have nowhere to live.

By 1920, it appeared that Nellie had ceased fighting the matter.  This was when it appeared she also went back to work, as she's enumerated in the 1920 census and listed in the corresponding city directories as a matron at the Bell Telephone Company in Pittsburgh.

It is not clear when the home finally had to be sold, but by 1928, a Bonomo family appears to have taken residence of the home.  James was sent to the St. Barnabus Free Home, where he was enumerated in the 1930 census and where he succumbed to chronic asthma on 13 December 1931.

Nellie took up housekeeping once more.  In 1930, she was enumerated in the census in the household of 55-year-old Harry Rushmore, a widower living in Swissvale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with his three children as their housekeeper.  Little else is known about her time spent here, however.

The 1940 census found her enumerated in the home of widowed Emma S. Eisenhauer on 3242 Orleans Street, living as a boarder, along with two other boarders.  This census listed that in 1935 she was living in the "same place" but not the "same house," so her stint as a housekeeper with Rushmore appeared to have been short.

Little else is known about her or where she lived or what she did until 24 February 1963 when she died from an intestinal hemorrhage due to a broken hip caused by an accidental fall at the Reformed Presbyterian Home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She was 90 years old at the time and had outlived her parents, all of her six siblings, her husband, a son-in-law, and her only grandson, Walter Anderson, who died in a fiery crash outside Detroit, Michigan in 1949.  Her funeral was held at the Reformed Presbyterian Home three days after her death and then she was buried in Highwood next to her husband, having spent 65 years of her life without him.

One day I would love to see a photo of this formidable woman.  Did she look as strong as the research suggests she was or did she appear fragile?  Was she hardened by her life experiences or did she remain optimistic and flexible to the curveballs that were thrown her way?  I may never know, but she remains a notable woman in my eyes.


Sources Used:

"1900 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Entry for Nellie M. Anderson and family, Year: 1900, Census Place: Allegheny Ward 2 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Page: 12, Enumeration District: 0015, and FHL microfilm: 1241355; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

"1910 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 July 2020), Entry for Nellie Anderson and family, Year: 1910, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 26 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: T624_1308, Page: 4A, Enumeration District: 0634, and FHL microfilm: 1375321; citing Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"1920 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for James H. Fielding and Nellie M. Anderson, Year: 1920, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 26 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: T625_1526, Page: 3B, and Enumeration District: 729; citing Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"1930 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for James H Fielding, Year: 1930, Census Place: Richland Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Page: 18A, Enumeration District: 0773, and FHL microfilm: 2341723; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

"1930 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 February 2021), Entry for Nell Anderson in the household of Harry Rushworth, Year: 1930, Census Place: Swissvale Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Page: 1A, Enumeration District: 0816, and FHL microfilm: 2341725.

"1940 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 February 2021), Entry for Nellie Anderson in the household of Emma S. Eisenhauer, Year: 1940, Census Place: Pittsburgh Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: m-t0627-03674, Page: 10A, and Enumeration District: 69-743; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

Allegheny City, Registration of births in the city of Allegheny, 1878-1907 and index 1882-1907, volume 4: page 97, Entry for Female Anderson, born 15 Jan 1891.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "1880 United States Federal Census," database online with images, Ancestry.com Operation, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Entry for James Fielding and household; Year: 1880, Census Place: Allegheny Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1086, Family History Film: 1255086, Page: 132B, Enumeration District: 006, and Image: 0269.

"Anderson," death notice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1963, death notice for Nellie Anderson, page 22; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 January 2021).

Application for Reimbursement, certificate number 11390, deceased pensioner James Fielding, E, 155th Pa Inf., dated 11 April 1913; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Atlas of the cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: G.M. Hopkins, 1876); digital images, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 5 February 2021), Plate 10-11> viewed Rebecca Street in the 5th Ward of Allegheny City.

Central Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Form No. 37, reporting death of James Fielding, pension cert no 11390, filed 21 Feb 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Death Record," obituary, The Pittsburgh Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 October 1906, Page 6; Mrs. Sarah V. Fielding; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 31 July 2016).

"Died," death notice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 November 1898, Walter Black Anderson, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 June 2020).

Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1872-1873 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1872), 169, "Fielding James, machinist, 186 Rebecca, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 July 2016).

Find A Grave, database with images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 1 February 2021), memorial page for Nellie Fielding Anderson, Find A Grave Memorial # 184299810, citing Highwood Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), memorial created by FrankA.

Find A Grave, Walter Black Anderson, Find A Grave Memorial # 184299886.

Letter from Acting Commissioner E. C. J. to the Hon. Stephen G Porter, dated 11 August 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from the Commissioner of Bureau of Pensions to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 May 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from E. C. Tieman, acting commissioner, to Hon. Stephen Foster, dated 18 June 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington

Letter from G.M. Saltzgerber to Mrs. Nellie Anderson, dated 14 March 1917; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to the Pension Agent in Washington D. C. dated 9 Jan 1917; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Letter from Stephen G. Porter, Representative of the 29th District Pennsylvania, to G. M. Saltzgaber, Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, dated 31 July 1913; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Letter from Stephen G. Porter, Representative of the 29th District Pennsylvania, to G. M. Saltzgaber, Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, dated 2 June 1919; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

"Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," database online with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for male Child Fielding, born 20 April 1876 at 556 Hamilton, Cleveland; Cuyahoga > Birth registers with index 1872-1876 > image 204 of 288; FHL Microfilm number 1986157; citing County courthouses, Ohio.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 February 2020), Entry for James Henderson Fielding, died 13 Dec 1931, cn 112920; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 July 2020), Entry for Nellie Anderson, died 24 Feb 1963.

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1899 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1899), 131, "Anderson Nellie, wid, Walter B, h 188 Jackson, A(llegheny)"; digital image, Univerity of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 26 January 2021).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1900 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1900), 132, "Anderson Nellie M, wid Walter, 311 Jackson, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 January 2021).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1904 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1904), 186, "Anderson Nellie wid Walter V 2033 Center av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh and Allegheny directory, 1905 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1905), 136, "Anderson Nellie wid Walter B 2033 Center av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1908 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1908), 129, "Anderson Nellie M wid Walter 2704 Norwood av A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1909 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley,, 1909), 119, "Anderson Nellie M wid Walter 2704 Norwood av A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1910 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1910), "Anderson Nellie M wid Walter B 2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1912 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R. L. Polk & Co and R. L. Dudley, 1912), 112, "Anderson Nellie wid W V 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1913 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co and R. L. Dudley, 1913), 113, "Anderson Nellie wid Walter B 2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1914 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1914), 142, "Anderson Nellie wid Walter B 2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Pittsburgh directory, 1915 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co. and R.L. Dudley, 1915), 147, "Anderson Nellie wid Walter B 2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

Polk's Pittsburgh city directory, 1922 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1922), 395, "Anderson Nell M (wid Walter B) Matron Bell Tel Co h2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 31 January 2021).

Polk's Pittsburgh city directory, 1923 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1923), 392, "Anderson Nellie M (wid Walter B) h2704 Norwood"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 31 January 2021).

Polk's Pittsburgh city directory, 1924 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R. L. Polk & Co, 1924), 470, "Anderson Nell M (wid Walter B) h2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 31 January 2021).

Receipt of Payment for Funeral Services For James Fielding from Mrs. Nellie Anderson to R. T. Rodney, Funeral Director; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Reimbursement Card, Certificate number 11390, for invalid pensioner James Fielding; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1916 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1916), 457, "Anderson Nellie N (wid Walter B), h 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1917 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R. L. Polk & Co., 1917), 429, "Anderson Nellie M (wid Walter B), h 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1918 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1918), 436, "Anderson Nellie M (wid Walter B), h 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1919 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R.L. Polk & Co, 1919), 420, "Anderson Nellie m (wid Walter B), r 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

R.L. Polk & Co.'s Pittsburgh city directory, 1920 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: R. L. Polk & Co, 1920), 432, "Anderson Nell M (wid Walter B), h 2704 Norwood av"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 30 January 2021).

"To let," advertisement, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 August 1915, page 29; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 8 February 2021).

"United States Marriages," database online, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 5 February 2021), Entry for W B Anderson and Nellie G M Fielding, married 19 Jan 1890, Camden, Camden, New Jersey; citing all the United States marriage records that are currently on Findmypast.

"U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for Marcus Fielding, born 2 Dec 1879; Registration State: Illinois; Registration County: Cook; Roll: 1452382; Draft Board: 02; citing United States, Selective Service System. "World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918". Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

Voucher circular questions for James Fielding, certificate number 11390, dated 5 July 1898; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.

Will of James Fielding (1913), Probate Records of Allegheny County: Will Book 120, Number 20, Page 34; Register of Wills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

26 February 2020

Chasing the Elusive: Marcus Fielding

I recently have been digging into my Fielding family tree.  My grandpap's mother was Birdie Boggs Fielding, the daughter of James Fielding and Sarah Virginia MacDonald.  James Fielding filed for a Civil War pension file, which I recently received, and boy are there a bunch of neat things in it that I will hopefully get into when I finish processing it (there are over 156 images all told in the file.... so I am working on it).

Upon receiving the file and starting the processing of all of the documents, I realized that my Fielding branch isn't as fleshed out as the three other branches of my tree are.... I have a vast collection of information on the rest of my first great-grandparents' families (Woods, Waldspurgers, and Vautiers) but not so much on the Fieldings.... I am setting out to rectify this now.

That being said, I hit my first brick wall in my great-grandmother's slightly elder brother, Marcus MacDonald Fielding....  I know where he was born and even where he died, but so much of his life seems to be missing, so I figured he's be my first Fielding piece to appear on this blog.  And of course, he's a Chasing the Elusive!

Marcus MacDonald "Mark" Fielding was born 2 December 1878 in what was then Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now Pittsburgh's North Side).  He was the youngest son born to James Fielding and Sarah Virginia MacDonald and the second youngest of their seven children.  His year of birth is one of the first points that is confusing, as the 1880 census and 1900 census, as well as the voucher circular questions found in James Fielding's pension file that were filled out by James himself all list Marcus' year of birth as being 1878, but any document that Marcus had a chance to fill out in later life has his year of birth as 1879.  Perhaps he thought he was a year younger than he actually was?

Marcus lived with his family, mostly in Allegheny City (although James seems to have moved around a bit himself, as I am working those details out at the moment), until about 21 years of age, according to census records, as he's enumerated with the family in both the 1880 and 1900 US Federal Censuses.

After the 1900 census, he disappears until 1918, when he filled out a draft card in Chicago, Illinois for World War One.   On 12 September 1918, he gave his place of residence as 2358 Indiana Avenue, Flat 608 in Chicago.  This same document lists his place of employment as the Ordnance Department of the Standard Steel Car Company in Hammond, Indiana, where he worked as a machinist. On the 1920 census enumeration, he's listed as living as a roomer at 1570 Van Buren Street and employed as a machinist, but out of work.

He then disappears again until 1930.  On 19 April 1930, he's enumerated on the 1930 Federal census as living at 143 West 14th Street in Los Angeles, California, and working as a tile setter.  What's interesting is he's also listed as divorced, but no marriage can be found for him previous to 1930 (nor do I know where to look for one).

There is one marriage for him I was able to find.  On 25 November 1939, at the age of 60 (or 59, depending on what year is correct on his birth record) he married a sixty-three-year-old widow by the name of Lillie Bea Millheisler Alderson in Los Angeles, California.  The couple was married by Harold E. Carlson, a Methodist minister, and the witnesses were Hilda Sherman of 1565 West 14th Street and Signa Carlson of 1575 West 14th Street, both in Los Angeles.   This marriage was short-lived though, as local newspapers reported on 6 January 1940, just over a full month after marrying, that Lillie had filed for divorce.  By 8 February 1940, the divorce was granted.  It is not known why the couple divorced, as the records have not yet been located.

Three months later, Mark, as he was known, was working at the Tanbark Flats Forest Experiment Station Dry Lake Branch Camp in San Jose Township, Los Angeles County, California as a tile cutter and stonemason, as enumerated in the 1940 Census.

The next and final document I have on him is his death record, which indicates he died at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Hondo, Los Angeles County, California on 11 June 1952 and was cremated at the Los Angles County Crematory fifteen days later.  No cause of death is noted on the certificate, which is interesting.

Here is what I can't find for him:

Any record of him on the 1910 Federal Censuses... and I have tried searching different census sites - because I don't know WHERE he lived, I can't eliminate anything at this point.

A record for his first marriage (which had to have happened after 1920).

His World War Two draft card registration... he would have been old enough for the "Old Man's Draft", but no record can be found as of yet on Ancestry or Fold 3.

Any indication as to why he moved across the country, although I have a hunch he went to California to look for work during the Depression, or right before it... perhaps he was running from a bad marriage too?

Right now, he's just there.  I am hoping as I flesh out information on his siblings I will find a breadcrumb that will lead me back to him, but at the moment that's all I have...... So he's an Elusive I need to chase!

Sources Used
"1900 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Year: 1900, Census Place: Allegheny Ward 10 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1357, Page: 3A, Enumeration District: 0081, and FHL microfilm: 1241357; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

"1920 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for Mark Fielding, Year: 1920, Census Place: Chicago Ward 18 Cook (Chicago), Illinois, Roll: T625_329, Page: 24B, and Enumeration District: 1054; citing Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"1940 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for Mark Fielding (indexed as Ficlding), Year: 1940, Census Place: San Jose Los Angeles, California, Roll: m-t0627-00255, Page: 3A, and Enumeration District: 19-748; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "1880 United States Federal Census," database online with images, Ancestry.com Operation, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2016), Year: 1880, Census Place: Allegheny Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1086, Family History Film: 1255086, Page: 132B, Enumeration District: 006, and Image: 0269; citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database online with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for Mark Fielding, d. 11 June 1952, cn 12141; referencing Death certificates, Los Angeles County, California, nos. 10950-12576, 1952; citing California State Archives, Sacramento.

"California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database online with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for mark Fielding and Lillie Bea Alderson, 25 Nov 1939, cn 17086, book 1633, page 290, Los Angeles County (California); FHL microfilm 2,114,343; citing county courthouses, California.

"California, Death Index, 1940-1997," index online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for Mark Fielding, born 2 Dec 1879, died 11 Jun 1952, Los Angeles County; citing State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.

"Divorces Filed," The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), 6 January 1940, page 15; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 February 2020).

"Divorces Granted," The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), 8 February 1940, page 37; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 February 2020).

"Intention to Marry," The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), 21 November 1939, page 15; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 February 2020).

Voucher circular questions for James Fielding, certificate number 11390, dated 5 July 1898; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding sent via electronic file to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 February 2020), Entry for Mark Fielding, born 2 Dec 1879; SSN 568186575; Parents James Fielding and Sarah V. MacDonald; citing Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.

"U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 February 2020), Entry for Marcus Fielding, born 2 Dec 1879; Registration State: Illinois; Registration County: Cook; Roll: 1452382; Draft Board: 02; citing United States, Selective Service System. "World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918". Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.