Week 6 - 52 Ancestors - Same Name

Stock Photo of English Countryside

I'm participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge started by Amy Johnson Crow, professional genealogist. Each week we use a new prompt as a theme. This post is later than usual because I needed to get information about each family on the website. Each page (except George) has some facts about their lives, but I will be re-writng at some point to add more information.

John, John, John, John, and Johnny

There are four generations of John Worths, then a skipped generation, then the one final John.

The last John Worth, called Johnny by his sister, Lizzie (Worth) Jones, was born 20 April 1890 and died 20 May 1891 in the West End community of Loup county. He was buried in the family plot 10 miles away in the Almeria Cemetery.  Johnny was 1 year and 1 month of age and was the 7th of 13 children born to George and Flora (Swift) Worth. John died on 20 May 1891 and his next sibling, Freddie, was born and died on 7 November 1891. Eventually five of George and Flora's children would die before age 16 months of age. Why did two babies die in the same year? The drought that helped bring on the economic depression of the 1890s was causing poor crops. Johnny and Freddie were Flora's 7th and 8th children in 10 years. It may be safe to assume their deaths were because of poor nutrition. Flora must have been worn down. There were no vitamin supplements to take like there is today. If the milk cow had dried up there would be no milk to supplement what Flora could provide.

His brief life is listed on the tombstone of the person he was named after, his grandfather, John Worth, (1815-1893).

I've posted a rough draft for each of the preceding four John Worths here. They are a work in progress…I just needed to get this posted!

Week 5 - 52 Ancestors - So Far Away

I'm participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge started by Amy Johnson Crow, professional genealogist. Each week use a new prompt as a theme.

This week’s theme is So Far Away. I found myself wondering how far the John & Ann Worth family came from England to the west end of Loup county, Nebraska. I found a website that helps find the distance between two points in the world. I used this tool: https://www.mapdevelopers.com/distance_finder.php. 

Their trip, along with son William, age 1, started in Harberton or Berry Pomeroy, Devon, then on to London, according to the manifest, where they boarded the St. James, a 3-masted, square-rigged ship that arrived in New York City harbor on 27 March 1846.[1] The ship averaged 36 days on this voyage.[2] From there they found their way to Henry County, Illinois.[3] They stayed there over 20 years. This is where their children, Amelia, Emma, George, and Susan were born. (Son William is not listed in any other records; he probably died after they arrived in America.) From Illinois they moved on to Marion, Union,[4] and finally Crawford Counties, Iowa.[Comment 1]  In the early spring of 1884 they left Iowa and arrived in Loup County, Nebraska, in April.[5]

As the crow flies, the distance is about 4,800 miles. Given the winding roads they undoubtedly took, the actual distance they traveled may have been well over 5,500 miles.

John left his siblings behind in Devon. Several of Ann’s sisters, at least one brother, and perhaps an Angel cousin, came to America as well. None came to Nebraska with John & Ann.

____________

[1] Port of New York, passenger List, St. James, 27 March 1846, p. 1 of 2, entry John Worth (age 30), Ann Worth (age 32), Wm Worth (age 1); digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2/2/2020), citing Microfilm Serial M 237, 1820-1897, roll 60.

[2] Albion, Robert Greenhalgh, Square-riggers on Schedule; The New York Sailing Packets to England, France, and the Cotton Ports (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1938), pp. 282-283]; posted to the Emigration-Ships Mailing List by Michael Palmer, 28 November 1997.

[3] 1850 U.S. census, Henry, Illinois, population schedule, p. 97B, line 39, dwelling 57, family 57, John Worth; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Aug 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 109.

[4] 1870 U.S. census, Marion, Iowa, population schedule, Pella, p. 167A, dwelling 257, family 247, John Worth; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Aug 2015); citing NARA microfilm M593, roll 409. 

1880 U.S. census, Union, Iowa, population schedule, Highlanad Township, enumeration district (ED) 257, p. 2, dwelling 15, family 15, John Worth; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Aug 2015); citing NARA microfilm T9.

[5] Book, Compendium...Western Nebraska Vol I, Compendium of History Reminiscence and Biography of Western Nebraska containing a History of the State of Nebraska, George & Lucinda (Swift) Worth, vol 1; Chicago: Alden Publishing Company, 1909, 1:405-406.

 [Comment 1] Thought to be the birthplace of George’s two oldest children, Grace & Calista.

Calista A. Worth

1883-1903

DIED.

On Saturday the sad news went over the wire of the death of Calista A., second daughter of G. H. and F. L. Worth, of lung trouble.

Calista was born on the 13th day of June, 1883, in Crawford county, Iowa, and died on the 24th day of January, 1903.

Prior to this sickness she apparently was in good health until about three days before her death. Previous to her death, when she was taken sick, she was teaching school new (sic) Westerville and making her home with her uncle where she was at the time of her death. Her father received word of her serious illness late Friday evening and started early the next morning but the news of her death met him about half way. The remains were taken to Almeria on Monday and placed in the cemetery beside her four brothers and sisters, Revs Day, of Newton, and Evans, of Brewster, officiating.

Calista was an estimable young lady, just launching on a successful career as a teacher. All her intimate acquaintances have nothing but words of praise for her. A large concourse of friends gathered in Almeria to pay the last sad rites to their friend and neighbor and offer words of sympathy to the sorrowing parents, brothers and sisters.

Source: “Died.” The Taylor Clarion, newspaper, (Taylor, Nebraska, USA), 29 January 1903, vol. 20, no. 13, p 1, col 3; microfilm no. 11,854, Nebraska State Historical Society.