#26 of 52...Richard Tennant

This marks the halfway point of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Today I'm going to talk about one of my 6th Great Grandfathers Richard Tennant.

Richard D.Tennant II was born sometime between 1739 and 1744 in Glasgow, Scotland to Richard Tennant Sr and Janet Wark. I have not found documentation of other siblings.  When Richard was about 16 years old he immigrated to Virginia with his parents.  The following is an account by Richard D. Tennant II's son Joesph taken from the book, "West Virginians in the American Revolutions" accessed from Ancestry.com.

West Virginians in the American Revolution [database on-line].

Richard D. Tennant II married Elizabeth Haught, daughter of Peter Haught Sr, in 1769 in Mooresfield, Hardy County, Virginia.  Elizabeth is thought to have been born in Holland.

Richard served in the Revolutionary War as a drummer, as per this snippet from the same book as above.

Richard and Elizabeth had the following known children.

1). Mary "Polly" Tennant (1770-1824)  **my 5th great grandmother

2). Peter Tennant (1773-1847) 

3). Elizabeth Tennant (1775-1860)  This findagrave.com memorial has a different birth date. 

4). Richard Tennat III (1777-1824) 

5). William Tennant (1778-1869) 

6). Alexander Tennant (1780-1869)

7). Joseph Tennant (1782-1872)

8.) John Tennant (1783-unknown)

9.) Adam Tennant (1784-1878) 

10. Abraham Tennant (1786-1875)

11. Margaret Ann Tennant (1788-1857)

12. Sarah Catherine "Kate" Tennant (1790-1863)

13. Jacob Aaron Tennant (1792-1874)

Richard passed away 18 Dec 1822. 

#10 of 52...James Groom

I've recently discovered this interesting ancestor of my husband.  His name is James Groom and he is a third great grandfather, from his paternal side.

James Groom was born 14 November 1843 in Bilston, Staffordshire, England to Robert and Mary Groom. He was baptized 26 Nov 1843 at St. Leonard's Bilston, Stafford, England.

The Groom Family listed in the 1851 England Census for Bilston.
Ancestry.com. 1851 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.HO107; Piece: 2021; Folio: 130; Page: 13; GSU roll: 87425-87426

Above you can locate James and his parents a well as a brother Samuel.  Of course it would be my luck that we cannot see what James's father Robert's occupation is.  Of the entire page, it is my luck that a big ole ink mark completely covers that information.

The Groom family immigrated from England to St. Clair County, Illinois sometime after the 1851 England Census and before 1863 when James was counted in the Civil War Draft Register. I've not located the family in the 1860 census as of yet.  I've searched both England and Illinois.  I will have to do a more thorough search in Illinois.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 6

As we can see from the above register from St. Clair County, Illinois, he is listed as James Groom, age 20, white, occupation is Engineer, single and born in England.

James marries Hannah Tate 10 Dec 1864 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois.  He is 21 years old and she is 19 years old.   Together they have the following known children:

1). William Groom (1865-1939)
2). John Groom (1871-1835)
3). Richard Groom (1872-    )
4). Samuel Groom (1874-1942) **my husband's 2nd Great Grandfather
5). Issac Groom (1876-1952)
6). Rachel Groom (1877-1933)
7). Alexander Groom (1880-1946)
8). Thomas Groom (1883-1951)
9). Elizabeth Groom (1886-1940)
10.) Ann Groom (1887-1925)

I am missing the census record for James and Hannah for 1870, but I have located them in 1880 still in St Clair County, IL.

Year: 1880; Census Place: West Belleville, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: 247; Family History Film: 1254247; Page:305C; Enumeration District: 045; Image: 0280

James and Hannah (often listed as just Anna) are enumerated.  Above James is Mary A...this is his mother and his father is on the page prior.  Next door, below James and Anna is a Robert Tate.  I'm surmising that this could possibly be Anna's father, but I have not delved into that research as of yet.  It is a great clue though that I can further investigate.  James is listed as being a Coal Miner.

I was unaware of coal mining in St. Clair County until I started doing the research into this side of my husband's family.  I discovered that the Groom family were all involved in Coal mining.  It is my understanding that the Groom family started out as miners and engineers operating the elevators into the mines and ended up in the early 20th century owning a mine! In fact James's brother John become president of the Groom Mine Company in the 1920's.

By 1910, James's wife Anna has passed away.  James is still working as a hoisting engineer at the coal mine.
James passes away 14 January 1915

Here is a transcription of his obituary from the Belleville News Democrat, January 14, 1915.
                         James Groom, 71 years old, a pioneer resident of St. Clair County, died at his 
                    home, 2021 West Main street, at 12:40 o'clock Thursday afternoon.  He was 
                    born in England, November 14, 1843, and came to St. Clair County and settled
                    in Belleville when 12 years of age. 
                         He leaves three daughters, Mrs. James White, Mrs Dominick Kempf and Mrs.
                    Sedley Phillips; seven sons, William, John, Isaac, Alexander, Thomas and Samuel, in
                    Belleville; Richard, in California; twenty seven grandchildren and three great-grand-
                    children.  He also leaves one brother, John Groom, in Belleville. 

According to this account, his family immigrated around 1855, I will need to investigate further.   

#9 of 52...Two for One Special! Conrad Flach and Barbara Nieder

This past week I have been looking at a set of my husband's 3rd Great Grandparents.  Today I'm looking at Conrad Flach and Barbara Nieder.

Conrad Flach was born about 1826 in Prussia (according to Census records).  I have not pinned down his death date.

Barbara Nieder was born about 1825, also in Prussia (again according to Census records). Her date of death has not been located either.

We don't know much about Conrad and Barbara before they arrived in the United States from Prussia, but I did manage to locate when and where they arrived.

Conrad arrived 13 Nov 1854 aboard the ship Moses Taylor.  The ship arrived at the port of New Orleans, LA.  It had departed from Le Havre, France.  Below is the top portion of the ship manifest as well as Conrad's listing.

Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902; Series: M259; Roll #: 40

Here's Conrad on the list.

Conrad Flach, age 28, male;
 Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902; Series: M259; Roll #: 40

There isn't much juicy information on this document so far.  We have Conrad's name and his age on 13 Nov 1854, giving us the approximate birth year of 1826.  But as I looked at all the names on the list guess what I found!

Barbara Nieder, age 27 and Christine Nieder age 13
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902; Series: M259; Roll #: 40

Looky there!  Barbara Nieder is on the same ship!  But who is this Christine listed with her?  And what is that written on that column?  Dos that say helped?  Or something else?  It appears that Barbara Nieder was on the same ship as Conrad Flach leaving from Le Hever, France and arriving in New Orleans! But again, who is Christine?  Is she Barbara's sister? Cousin? Daughter? It is possible as there is 16 years between their ages and having a child at 16 is not unheard of.

Conrad Flach and Barbara Nieder get married in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois 22 Aug 1856; just under two years from their arrival to the US.

The couple have the following known children:

1). Henry Flach (1859-1926)
2). Adam Flach (1862-1906)
3). Elizabeth Flach (1865-1942) **This is Cody's 2nd Great Grandmother.  She married George Schaal.

I have searched for the couple (Conrad and Barbara) in 1860 but have not located them.  I was hoping to find Christine with them and try to determine her relationship to Barbara, but have not had any luck with it.

I located Conrad on a list of Civil War Draft Registrations dated 1 July 1863.  He was living in Belleville, IL his age was 39 and his occupation was Mason.

1870 Federal Census finds the couple still living in Belleville, IL with the three children listed and Conrad is listed as being a Stone Mason.

1880 Federal Census they are still in Belleville, IL and only Elizabeth (Lizzie) is at home.  Again Conrad's occupation is Stone Mason.

1891 City Directory lists only Conrad Flach with no mention of Barbara so may be able to surmise that she has passed.  However you can see two Adam Flachs (so not sure which one is Conrad's son), Miss Elizabeth Flach, housekeeper and living on S. Charles, and Henry Flach, heater.  The very interesting thing is that Conrad is listed as living at 411 S. Church; Cody's family has been living on Church Street since at least this date.  His grandmother is living on Church Street today.  It's not the same number, but very close.  That home has been in their family for decades.

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

This family is fascinating to me.  I wonder if Conrad and Barbara knew each other in Prussia or did they meet on that ship?  What was each ones motivation to move to the United States?  Who was Christine?  I have many questions about this family.  I wish we had photos or drawings of them.  I wish I had photos for all of our ancestors that had any taken.

I'll continue to search for their death records.  I have found a Conrad Flach listed in a City Directory for 1906, but I am not sure if it's the same Conrad Flach.  It has him listed as working for the Stoveworks and he'd be 80 years old.  So I'm not quite sure that would be right.

I'll also keep searching to see if I can find out who Christine was and anything possible about their life in Prussia; such as parents and such.