“It was 1922 and Dad decided to try his fortune in Canada. We, the family and some relatives, went to the docks and saw him sail off. The name of the boat was the Athenian. He located in the city of Lethbridge, where his brother John was living.”

The following is his Declaration of Passenger to Canada form. I have transcribed most of the information in case it’s difficult to read at the size I’ve posted it.

S.S.: Athenia [Athina Livanos], Class: 3rd, Date of Sailing: 20 July
Inland routing: C.P.R. [Canadian Pacific Railroad], to: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

DECLARATION OF PASSENGER TO CANADA

1. Name: Garrett, Charles, Age: 38
2. Sex: Male, Are you married, single, widowed or divorced? Married
If married, are you accompanied by husband or wife? If so, give name of husband or wife: No
3. Present occupation: Miner, Intended occupation: Miner
4. Birthplace: Irelas Lesmahagow, Race or people: British Scotch
5. Citizenship: British, Religion: United Free Church
6. Object in going to Canada: To Settle
7. Do you intend to remain permanently in Canada? Yes
8. Have you ever lived in Canada? No
9. Why did you leave Canada? -
10. Money in Possession belonging to passenger: £90
(I am aware that I must have on my arrival in Canada the sum of: $£10)
11. Can you read? Yes, What language? English
12. By whom was your passenger paid? Myself
13. Ever refused entry to, or deported from Canada? No
14. Destined to: Lethbridge Alberta going to my Brother John Garrett 635, 13th Street. Y? Lethbridge Alberta Canada
15. By which Canadian railway are you traveling to destination? Canadian Pacific
16. Nearest relative in country from which you came: Wife. Mrs. Sarah Callan Garrett, Middlemuir, Coalburn, Lanarkshire
17. Are you or any of your family mentally defective? No, Tubercular? No, Physically defective? No, Otherwise de____red under Canadian Immigration law? No.

Signature of Passenger: (Signed Charles Garrett)
Sig of Booking Agent: (Signed Edward McLuskie at Lesmahagow)

The back of the form is stamped March 12, 1922.

The Declaration of Passenger to Canada form for Charles Garrett (1884-1942)

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

My 3rd Great Grandfather and 2nd Great Grandfather are listed on the same passenger lists with their families. It reads: Daniel Zimermann (age 46), with his wife Elisab (age 45), and children Franz (age 22), Katta (age 19), Michael (age 7), Maria (age 6), Ana (age 4) and Elisab (age 2). Daniel’s Eldest son is listed next as Rochus Zimmermann (age 24) is listed with his wife Helena (age 24), and daughter Katta (age 2).

The ship they arrived on:

Ship Name: Maasdam; Aliases: Vittoria (1902), Citta di Napoli (1902), Ex-Republic (1889)
Shipping Line: Holland-American; Years in service: 1889-1902
Ship Description: Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast, Ireland. Tonnage: 3,984. Dimensions: 420' x 40'. Single-screw, 15 knots. Compound engines. Four masts and one funnel.
History: Service: Rotterdam-New York, 1889- 1901. New triple expansion engines and boilers installed in 1890. Renamed: Vittoria (1902), (b) Citta di Napoli (1902). Scrapped in 1910. Ex-Republic (1889).

The families:

The passenger list showing my GGG Grandfather Daniel Zimermann and family, as well as my GG Grandfather Rochus Zimmerman and his family.

The passenger list:

The passenger list, close up.

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

I believe he was born in the city of Marienthal, and the region of Odessa in the country of Russia, though I’m not quite that far in my research. (He lists Odessa as his place of birth, and my records say Marienthal)

Daniel Zimmerman
Birth – 8 Sep 1845, Marienthal, Russia
Death – 16 May 1925, Park, Gove Co., Kansas

Father – Michael Zimmerman (1801-)
Mother – Maria (~1805-)

STATE OF KANSAS
State Board of Health – Division of Vital Statistics

1. PLACE OF DEATH: County: Gove, Township or City: Park, Registered No.: 32 W

2. FULL NAME: Daniel Zimmerman, Residence: Park
Length of residence in city or town where death occurred: 25 yrs, How long in U.S. if foreign birth: 25 yrs

PERSONAL AND STATISTICAL PARTICULARS
3. SEX: Male
4. COLOR OR RACE: White
5. Single, Married, Widowed or Divorced (write the word): Married
5a. HUSBAND of: Anna M. Zimmerman
6. DATE OF BIRTH: (month, day, and year): Sep-8-1845
7. AGE: 79 yrs 6 months – days
8 OCCUPATION OF DECEASED: Retired
9. BIRTHPLACE: Odessa, Russia
10: NAME OF FATHER: [check mark]
11. BIRTHPLACE OF FATHER: Russia
12: MAIDEN NAME OF MOTHER: [check mark]
13. BIRTHPLACE OF MOTHER: [check mark]
14. Informant: Rochus Zimmerman, Address: Park, Kansas
15. Filed: June 4, 1925, Anton Feldt

MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
16. DATE OF DEATH: May 16, 1925
17. I HEREBY CERTIFY, That I attended deceased from May 14, 1925 to May 16, 1925 and that I last saw him alive on May 14, 1925 and that death occured, on the date stated above and 12-m.
The CAUSE OF DEATH was as follows: Cerebral Hemmorage, (74a) duration: 2 days.
Signed Fred C. Carr, M.D., Address: Grainfield.
19. PLACE OF BURIAL: Park Kans, DATE OF BURIAL: May 18, 1925
20. CARETAKER: Faimly, Address: Park Kans

The death certificate of Daniel Zimmerman (1845-1925)

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

Martha Azle (Mercer) McCall or “Miss Azle” as I knew her was the second wife of my Great Great Grandfather John Keener McCall (1 Oct 1872) and married him when he already had a large family of 8 kids. They had two more children together. Currently I have no record of who her parents were or what family she came from, but I do have quite a few guesses. I thought I’d write the trail I’ve come across thus far and see if it makes sense.

What I know:
1. I have her obituary: Sublimity – Martha Azle McCall, 99, died Jan. 7, 1992. She was born Dec. 1, 1892 in Danville, Ark. She moved to Stayton in 1938 from Carlsbad, N.M. She settled in Sublimity seven years ago. She married J.K. McCall on Sept. 22, 1918 in Gravely, Ark., he died in 1966. She is survived by her sons, Charles W. of Sublimity and J.B. of Cottage Grove; stepsons, G.D. of Stayton and Troy of Carlsbad; stepdaughter, Prue Sadler of Stayton; several grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Services were held Jan. 10 at Weddle Mortuary, Stayton. Interment followed at Lone Oak Cemetery, Stayton.

2. I know that my Great Grandmother Etoyl (Montgomery) McCall who was married to Azle’s eldest step-son Robert Lee McCall said that they called her Dad “Pappy Mercer”, and she came from a poor, lower-class family. I also have some minor details about her life with her husband that was shared with my sister in a letter from the local historical society where she died.

3. I know she was born 1 December 1892, and died 7 January 1892 and was buried in the Lone Oak Cemetery in Stayton, Oregon on the 10th of January 1992. She married J.K. McCall 22 September 1918 in Gravelly, Yell County, Arkansas when she was 25 years old.

4. I know that her future husband John Keener lived with his first wife in Danville – her birthplace as listed on her obituary – in the 1900 Census. (She would have been 7 yrs old) The next census, however, him and his wife are living in the Herring Township.

5. In the 1920 Census, Azle lists her father as born in Mississippi, mother in Arkansas. In 1930, she lists both parents as being born in Arkansas.

What I’ve done:
Since I’m a self-taught amature genealogy researcher, I don’t always know the best place to start to find out what I don’t know on a person or family line. But this is what I’ve done.

1. I assumed that since she was born in Danville, she might have lived there as a child. I went through the entire Danville 1900 US Census for a Mercer family with no luck.

2. I did an open US Census search for a Martha Azle Mercer, and focused the search around Yell County, Arkansas where she was born. I found a Martha A. in Briggsville in the 1910 census, which is just 15 miles from Danville where she was born. Azle should have been 17 when the Census was taken at the end of April 1900. This “Martha A. Merser” was listed as 16, birthplace Arkansas. Her parents are listed as Silas W. (age 40, b. MS) and Martha A. (age 36, b. AR). They were married at 17. She had siblings Dovey, Dewey, Myrtle and grandfather Byrant.

Martha A. Merser - Briggsville US Census, 1910

I saw the difference in age of this Martha, and ended up putting my research to the side. I’ve been trying to focus on primary family lines first, and so I went back to the McCall side. While searching through some WW1 draft papers I ran across a Dewey S. Mercer, who stated that his nearest relative was C.W. Mercer. This sounded familiar, and I was excited to find another Mercer nearby all my McCalls so I started searching again.

The WW1 Registration of Dewey Sampson Mercer.

I decided to see if the family of Silas W. and Martha A. Merser mentioned in the 1910 Census appeared in other US Census records. After a couple frustrating name searches, I ended up going through the Briggsville Census records by hand and was lucky.

3. In the 1900 US Census I found a Wess Messer (age 30, b. MS) and his wife Minnie (age 26, b. AR) living in Briggsville, Arkansas with children named Martha, Dova and Dewey. This Martha is listed with a birthday of December 1893, and age 6. Still one year off from my Martha, but in the right month of December.

Martha Messer - Briggsville US Census, 1900

4. In the 1920 US Census I found Dewey S. (age 21) living with his father W.C. Mercer (age 48, widowed), but not Martha.

Martha's family (No Martha) - Briggsville US Census, 1920

5. I decided to focus on Dewey S. Mercer. After a few searches, I found that he had married Millie Ornduff (b. 1897, Oregon -1979, Oregon) and died in Tillamook, Oregon 17 Jan 1986. Could it be a coincidence that he ended up in Oregon, and met a wife there and died there? Perhaps this is my Martha in these census records, and she convinced her brother to come to Oregon where she was living, and there he married (perhaps a second wife). The local Tillamook historical society had a website where I got his death information, and so I emailed them for his obituary. We’ll see where the trail leads from there.

What’s next:
That’s where I’ve reached thus far. My next step is to keep following up about Dewey S., and to order Martha’s Death Certificate to see if she lists her parent’s names. I also seem to remember that there was an article written in the local paper about her because of her longevity, so that’s another avenue to explore. I’m hoping by putting this research out there, I may find a decedent of this family who’s interested in genealogy.

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

William Furlsbury Carter is my 3rd Great Grandfather through his wife Roxena Mecham and their daughter Junietta Carter who married John Henry Wall.

It mentions in his history that “…he was a blacksmith, wagon-smith, horse-shoer, mechanic and a carpenter. He repaired musical instruments, guns, watches, clocks, he forged knives and tools of all kinds, made hobbies, chins and parts for broken equipment…” So I was excited to find what looks to be an notice or classified advertisement place in an unknown paper (Probably Utah) the 29th of November, 1851.

It reads:
BLACKSMITHING.
THE subscriber is prepared to shoe Horses and
Oxen, &c., at his residence, 2nd Ward, and
will take wood, lumber, &c., in exchange.
nov29-2-7t WM. F. CARTER.

Here’s a close-up of the ad:

Blacksmith Ad/Notice by William Furlsbury Carter (c. Nov 1851)

Here’s some other ads and notices that appear with it:

Blacksmith Ad/Notice by William Furlsbury Carter (c. Nov 1851)

If you know more about this ad, or the paper it was published in, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

His wife Ellen is listed, as is his occupation as a Doctor. He’s described with a medium height and slender build with blue eyes and black hair.

Thomas Marion Montgomery's WW1 Draft Card - Front

Thomas Marion Montgomery's WW1 Draft Card - Back

Robert Lee McCall's WW1 Draft Card - Front

What’s great about the back of the card is it describes his height, build and eye color. Unlike Bob, I’ve found this a very interesting tidbit for those members of the family I’ve never met.

Robert Lee McCall's WW1 Draft Card - Back

Felipe Alcocer Rivero
Birth – 1854/1864, Chocholá, Yucatán, México
Death – 18 Mar 1921, Mérida, Yucatán, México
Burial -  Mérida, Yucatán, México Cementario General

Father – José Alcocer
Mother – Benita Rivero

Married (1):

Maria Virginia Rodriguez
Marriage – ?
Birth –  Yucatán, México
Death – Yucatán, México
Burial –   Yucatán, México

Father – ?
Mother – ?

Their Daughter:

1. F – Romualda Alcocer Rodriguez
Birth – 1882 or 1885, Chocholá, Yucatán, México
Death – Abt 1960,  Mérida, Yucatán, México
Burial – Abt 1960, Mérida, Yucatán, México Cementario General

Married (2):

Fernanda Rosado
Marriage – ?
Birth – Abt 1886 Yucatán, México
Death – Yucatán, México
Burial – ?

Father – ?
Mother – ?

Their Children:

1. M – Felipe Alcocer Rosado
Birth – 10 Sep 1913, Chocholá, Yucatán, México
Death – ?

2. F – Abelarda Alcocer Rosado
Birth – abt 1916, Chocholá, Yucatán, México
Death – ?

3. F – Eligia Alcocer Rosado
Birth – 1 Dec 1917, Chocholá, Yucatán, México
Death – 15 Dec 1924, Mérida, Yucatán, México
Burial – Mérida, Yucatán, México Cementario General

Felipe Alcocer Rivero - Civil Registration Death Record - Mérida, Yucatán, México

If you’re related to this family or have more information about them including stories, pictures and dates and family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

The details of the passenger list are:
Name: William F Carter
Arrival Date: 11 Nov 1853
Age: 42 Years
Estimated birth year: abt 1811
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Calcutta, India
Ship Name: John Gilpin
Port of Arrival: Boston, Massachusetts

At a point in time where we didn’t have transcontinental railroads or passenger planes, William F. Carter heeded a mission call to the country of India. He left Utah in a wagon train that headed to California in October of 1852. After gathering the money he needed in California, he took a 3 month boat voyage to Calcutta, India.

After witnessing some of the strange sights of India, and struggling to teach a people so heavily embedded in a caste system, his health began to fail. Dr. Haffnagle, the American Consul at Calcutta, paid his fare on the ship “John Gilpin” bound for Boston, Massachusetts, via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and the Atlantic Ocean. He said “while crossing the different seas I have witnessed heavy gales, wind, thunders, storms and squalls… almost without number… the ship has twice sprung a dangerous leak in heavy seas.”

Here’s the passenger list page:

William Furlsbury Carter's return into Boston from Mission in India

Here’s William listed on the passenger list:

William Furlsbury Carter's return into Boston from Mission in India

William Furlsbury Carter was the second LDS* Missionary to circle the Earth and the first man to carry the Book of Mormon around the world.

*”LDS” is an abbreviation for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, often called “Mormon” because of their belief in the Book of Mormon as a second testament of Jesus Christ, a companion to the Bible.

If you’re related to William F. Carter or have more information about him including stories, pictures and dates and other family member names, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly from the About Us page.

Adam mentioned in the list was my 2nd Great Grandfather, Johannes Adam Pfeifer, Jr (1859-1917).

The ship they arrived on:

The Ship "Leipzig".
Years in service: 1869-1894; Launched, February 13, 1869; Shipping Line: North German Lloyd
Ship Description: Built by Caird & Co., Greenock, Scotland. Tonnage: 2,388. Dimensions: 300' x 39'. Single-screw, 10 knots. Inverted engines. Two masts and one funnel. Iron hull. Compound engines in 1883.
History: Employed mainly in Baltimore service. In service 1869-1894. Made her final voyage to New York in 1890. Sold for scrap in 1894. Running mates: Baltimore, Berlin and Ohio.

The passenger list showing my GGG Grandfather Johannes Adam Pfeifer, Sr.

The passenger list, close-up.