Jacob Irven Greenawalt, Jr., Part 1

Jacob Irven Greenawalt was born January 6, 1887, to Jacob Irven Greenawalt, Sr., and Margaret Ann Gallentine, likely in White Cloud, Newago County, Michigan (though in some records he claims to have been born in Woodville, Michigan, or in Pennsylvania). Because most of the 1890 census is lost, the first time I have him in a census is 1900, age 13, residing with his parents Jacob I and 'Maggie' in Cherry Grove Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania. Also in the house are siblings Lettie, Walter, Myron, Nettie and Lyman (all kids born in Michigan), and two boarders: Edward Clark and Georgie Dykes (both also born in Michigan). I'll revisit this census when I write about Jacob Sr and Margaret.

I don't have a 1910 census image, but this photo was taken about that time. Jacob Irven Jr (back row, far right) stands with his eight brothers and sisters. Click on the image to see it larger.

Back Row, L-R: Myron Earl, Nettie Jane, Lettie May, Jacob Irven Jr.
Front Row, L-R: Walter Lee, Minnie Ethel, Joseph Victor, Flora Bell, Lyman Thomas

Notes in the cemetery records state that he married Violet Blair in 1909. He also states in 1930 that he was 22 when he first married, putting his first marriage in 1909. But I have the 1910 census image where Violet is still living with her parents, and I've not been able to find Jacob. Interestingly, Jacob Irven Sr is also thus far absent from the 1910 Census. Margaret Ann is by herself with her daughters and baby Joseph in May 1910. It is probable that Jacob Jr. and Violet are married by this time. He is apparently in Saskatchewan with is father around that time, trying to secure parcels of land. Ancestry says there is at least one Jacob I Greenawalt listed in the 1911 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, census, but you have to have the worldwide subscription to find out the page. So I am currently searching through the free online version, one page at a time, as there is no available index of it.

A 'Jacob Irven Greenawalt' and a 'Jacob Irvine Greenawalt' are in the Saskatchewan Homestead Index (plug 'greenawalt' into the search box). Also in SK is Walter (I think the middle initial S is a modern transcription error of the curly-cue letter L so common in historic documents), and thus would be Jacob Sr's second son Walter Lee Greenawalt.

Jacob and Violet's first child, Alma, was 9 years old in January 1920, which means Violet was pregnant in May 1910 when she was listed in the census with her parents. Between 1910 and 1916, Alma, Ray, Edward and Joseph are born. (A note on cemetery records says Jacob had a deceased son, Jacob I, who never showed up in the census.)

In May 1917, at age 30, he registers for the WWI draft. The information he gives: He lives in New Bethlehem, and says he was born in Woodville (which is 100+ miles from White Cloud), Michigan. He's a railroad engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad out of Phillipton, PA. He has a wife and four children (no names given), is caucasian and currently married, and claims no exemptions from the draft. Note that his signature is a different handwriting from the rest of the card. So he gave the information to someone else. "How do you spell that, sir?" "I-R-V-E-N, G-R-E-E-N-A-W-A-L-T" It's possible the Woodville info is just the registrars mis-hearing of 'White Cloud.'

To be continued...

Additional note on the spelling of a name...

I suspect this is an uncomfortable subject. When I showed my dad the photo of his grandfather's headstone, he said the name was misspelled. On the backs of photos I have of both Jacob Irven and Jacob Irven Sr, my grandmother's or aunt's handwriting spells out 'Jacob Irvin'. Even when Mary/Violet was buried (or perhaps it was later), someone noted in the cemetery records that she was the wife of Jacob Irvin. On the notes for HIS cemetery record, his name is spelled Irvin. And yet when his name was engraved into the headstone (presumably at the same time hers was), it was spelled Irven. (Though countless transcriptions of Rimersburg cemetery, where someone was standing there, looking at the headstones and writing down the inscriptions, spell it Irvin.)

Also of note, his adopted son Malcom and daughter-in-law Laura named their first child Irven.

In other family histories and pedigree files, I've seen it spelled Irvin and Irwin.

So. Was his name really misspelled on his headstone? Is grandson Irven's name an unfortunate typo? How can we know how Jacob himself spelled his name? Are there any records where he actually wrote his name?

So glad you asked, because YES! There are records where HE WROTE HIS NAME! I have both a signature and printed in capital letters, the latter being the most compelling. I present my most compelling piece of name-spelling evidence:

This is his own writing, filling out his WWII draft registration card (at age 55), running out of room for that long last name, and squeezing the 'Jr' in tiny at the end. (BTW, I'll share the rest of the image soon, when I get that far in my narrative of his life...) Since he's a 'Junior,' we can pretty safely assume that his father spelled it the same way.

So how did we come to so widely and steadfastly misspell his name? I have no idea. But if you've been spelling it Irvin, don't feel bad--you're not alone. Outside of original records, this blog and my own notes, I've never seen it spelled Irven. The snafu might originate in another line completely, with someone researching Jacob Irven, Sr., who set the spelling precedent that every researcher since has followed without question. Who knows.

All I know is I'm going to spell it as he/they did.

Starting point: Violet Mary Blair

Photo submitted to Find-A-Grave by Theresa Woodrow-Lettman

Let's start with my grandfather's parents, Jacob and Violet, who are buried in Rimersburg Cemetery, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.

What I know of Voilet Mary Blair is quite limited, so I'll share what I know here.

She died October 13, 1918 at age 27 years, 6 months, 14 days, and was born in Lawsonham, PA (according to cemetery records--though I suspect this might mean Lawsonham ROAD?). Doing the math, she was born March 29, 1891. Her parents were Joseph and Clara L Blair.

In the 1900 census, the family can be found in Madison Township, Clarion County, PA. Violet is 9 and lives with her parents (who have been married 18 years), brothers Clyde and William, and sisters Bessie and Dora. Her father and brothers are coal miners, and they rent the house they live in. Clara has borne five children, all of whom are still living. So we can reasonably assume that the five children living with them are the only five children they have.


In the 1910 census, Clyde, William, Bessie, and Dora have all moved out, and Violet has a younger sister Lena. The family lives on New Bethelhead Road, still in Madison Twp, Clarion, PA. They now own the house they live in free and clear (no mortgage!!). Joseph is still a coal miner, and he and Clara have been married for 28 years. Clara has now borne six children, all of whom are still living.


Violet married Jacob Irven Greenawalt, Jr. sometime in 1909. She bore four children between 1911 and 1916, and died of influenza in 1918. The burial plot cost $28.00 (according to cemetery records).

By 1920 Violet's mother is also dead. Joseph Blair is a widower, still a coal miner, and living with his daughter Lena and her husband Horace Moritmer (who is a mule driver at the coal mine) in Madison Twp. Horace is 21 and listed as the head of the household, but they own the house free and clear. So I'm speculating that Lena is inheriting her family's house. Anyway, Joseph is gone by the 1930 census. I have in my notes that he died in 1926, but I don't know where I got that date, and I have yet to find burial information for Joseph or Clara.

I don't know for sure if her name was Violet Mary or Mary Violet. A copy of her birth record is on my wishlist.

As for Joseph, he says he was born December, 1855, in Pennsylvania. I don't know Clara's maiden name, but she says she was born March 1860 in Pennsylvania. (see 1900 Census snippet above)

And that sums up what I currently know about Violet/Mary and her parents. If you have any additional information, please don't hesitate to share!

UPDATE: Joseph and Clara Blair are buried in Rimersburg Cemetery! 
Joseph: b. 26 Dec 1855, d. 9 Mar 1926
Clara: b. 1 Mar 1860, d. 30 Jan 1911

Intro

Started a blog yesterday for research on one grandmother's family ancestry. And decided that it wasn't fair to the other grandparents. So this blog is dedicated to the family history of my grandfather's parents: Jacob Irven Greenawalt, Jr. (that handsome guy in the blog header) and his first wife, Violet Mary Blair.

And yes, Irven is spelled correctly. It's how HE spelled it on his WWI Draft Registration Card, and that's how it appears on his headstone. I'll share pics of both here on this blog soon. (I've seen LOTS of other pedigree charts where it's spelled with an i: Irvin.)

This blog is intended to be a repository of information, where cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., can find/share/and contribute. I will share what I've found, along with snippets of the documents that support the link.

Please know that I am definitely a paper trail person. Hearsay and family stories are good as starting points, but I'm interested in the evidence, the documents, the photos. I have a huge folder on my hard drive full of census images, obituary clips, headstone photos, death certificates, etc. I have an equally large folder of incorrect information that I found in LDS files and in other pedigree charts.

More to come!!