Introduction - The year hasn’t been as active as previous years in regards to my family tree research pursuits. However, some very, important and exciting information has been acquired and new family tree members contacted.

The Musselmans –

WHERE DID WE COME FROM?

In the first half of the year, I hired a professional genealogist from Northampton County, PA named Richard Musselman. It was nice to find someone who could conduct research in the county of my GGG Grandfather George Franklin Musselman’s birth place, but extremely lucky that that researcher was a fellow Musselman!

I asked Dick Musselman to see if he could find any birth or baptism record (or any other miscellaneous record) that would document the names of George F. Musselman’s parents and/or siblings. After thorough searching of Northampton County records, Dick wasn’t able to turn up a birth nor baptism record for George F. Musselman, but did find probate and orphan court records that listed a George Musselman, child of Johann and Elisabeth Musselman, Johann having passed away in 1831. The orphan court record stated that this George Musselman was a minor under the age of 14, and other siblings Jacob, Charles, Maria Katherine, Mary and Elizabeth. My George F. Musselman was born in 1824 and would have been a minor under the age 14 in 1831, so I had a hunch that these two George’s could be the same person, but positive evidence still was needed to prove it.

Dick Musselman was able to find positive evidence for the marriage of my George Franklin Musselman and his first wife, my GGG Grandmother, Anna Marie Topping in the records of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Second St., Easton, Northampton Co., PA in Nov of 1846 which stated that they were both from across the river in Warren Co., NJ. A newspaper announcement of their marriage was also found on Dec. 2, 1846 in “The Whig & Journal” of Easton, PA..

The baptism record for Ann Topping was also found in records of the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Easton, Northampton Co., PA in Sept. 1846 at the age of 17 and that the parties present were her parents Hiram and Elizabeth Topping and her husband to be, George Musselman.

After receiving Dick Musselman’s research results, I was content to the fact that evidence leading to the discovery of George F. Musselman’s parents would have to be found elsewhere and in different types of documents, so imagine my delight when, out of the blue, Dick Musselman emailed me with his accidental discovery, while conducting research for another person and a different surname, of the baptism record for my GGG Grandpa Musselman in previously unheard of church records for the Lutheran Congregation of the Zion Stone Church in Allen Twp., Northampton Co., PA. The record stated that George (no middle name) Musselman was born on July 15, 1824 and baptized on Oct 9, 1824 and that his parents were John and Elis. Musselman. In this record were also the baptism record’s for George’s sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.

The Zion Stone Church had two separate congregations that shared the same church building. The one congregation’s records have been submitted to and published by the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, UT, but the Lutheran congregation’s records weren’t. A long time ago I had found the baptism records for George’s older siblings, Jacob, Charles, and Maria Katherine at the Mormon Church’s website database, they were in the records of the first congregation.

So, after years of wondering who George Franklin Musselman’s parents were, finally the discovery was made! That’s just the beginning of the excitement. During my hunting, I have come across many Musselman families that have already been researched. The family of this Johann (John) and Elizabeth Musselman has been listed in several places online and on CD-ROM collections. With the discovery of George F. Musselman’s parents, I’ve been able to connect my Musselman branch to a previously compiled Musselman Family Tree which stretches back to Switzerland and Germany in the 1500’s with the oldest ancestor being Peter Mosiman. That’s about sixteen generations back from myself. (The surname “Musselman” has had many different spellings before and after emigration to America in the early 1700’s. Many of the early Musselmans to come to America were Mennonites and settled in the Colony of Pennsylvania.)

THE ACCIDENTAL REUNION

Just like last year, I always enjoy hearing from my half-cousin Donald M. Musselman in Denver, CO. Don will surprise me with a phone call

every now and then. His most recent phone call presented quite a coincidence.

In order to provide a little background……… Don is the son of Joseph Henry Musselman who was the son of my GGG Grandfather George Franklin Musselman and his second wife, Carrie Donelson. I have discovered and have been in contact with living descendants of both Joseph Henry Musselman and his brother, George William Musselman, just within the last year and a half. I found Donald M. Musselman first and it took more effort work to find George William’s descendants.

George William Musselman had several children, John Charles Musselman being my lead to living descendants. John C. Musselman’s obituary from Roseville, CA lead me to one of his sons, Daniel George Musselman. The other son being Donald Lee Musselman.

After sending out a probing letter to Dan Musselman, I was delighted to find out that I had found the right one! Since this contact, I have corresponded with Dan of Reno, NV; his son Sam of Pahrump, NV; and his daughter Wendy also of Reno. Dan’s other children are Bill of Denver, Jennifer, and a son Jack who passed away at a young age.

To continue with Donald M. Musselman’s phone call……….Don was excited to tell me that he had a “Bill Musselman” come into the jewelry store that Don’s son owns and operates in Denver. This Bill Musselman was looking to purchase a piece of jewelry for his wife, and was advised to go see “Musselman Jewelers”. While browsing, Bill inquired about their common surname, and after comparing information, they discovered that they were close cousins. First Cousins Twice Removed, actually. This Bill Musselman turned out to be William Donald Musselman, Daniel G. Musselman’s son.

I have known for a while that both Bill and Don lived in the Denver area, and I had provided both lines with this information, but it came as a greater thrill when they found each other coincidentally.

The descendants of the two brothers, Joseph H. and George W. Musselman, have lost contact with each other over the past 60 years or so. I find this to be quite a miraculous reunion.

THE “LONG LOST” ARE “REUNITED”

I frequently monitor Internet Genealogy Message Boards including a couple of Musselman websites where people post their research inquiries.

While browsing a Musselman surname message board that I had recently found, I came across a message which caught my attention. The originator of the message said that she was looking for a Donna Norton Musselman, daughter of a Donald Lee Musselman who was born in California in about 1932. This sounded familiar to me, for I knew of Donald Lee Musselman, my half-cousin, who was born in California at that time, but I didn’t know anything of Don’s marriage or children.

So, I emailed my half-cousin, Wendy Musselman Duras of Reno, NV and asked her if she knew a Donna Norton Musselman. With great surprise, Wendy replied saying that Donna Norton Musselman was her first cousin, daughter of her Uncle Don, and that they kept in touch. I asked Wendy if she’d let Donna know about the internet message that I had found and to let me know if she’d like me to reply to the originator.

After Wendy had relayed to Donna her confidence and trust in my noble intentions and past relations with her family, Donna agreed to allow me to be the mediator between her and this inquirer.

After a few days and several email and phone conversations between myself, Wendy, Donna, and Carmel, it was revealed that the originator of the probing internet message was Carmel Atkinson, Donna’s birth mother. Carmel wasn’t seeking to establish a relationship with Donna, but to provide her with some family medical history. At last report, Donna and Carmel have been corresponding and intended to meet during this holiday season.

The Reids –

Mrs. John Reid leaves him after forty years

I reported last year that the John and Nancy Ann Reid family were located in Miami County in Ohio in the 1850’s and that the names of their six other children had been discovered in addition to the five that we already knew.

Well, armed with this information I visited Troy, Miami Co., OH in February while in the area on business. My mission was to find out what happened to my GGGG Grandfather John Reid.

Nancy Ann Reid is known to have lived in Page Co., IA and died there in 1889. She is buried there with her son Henry, his wife, and his oldest son. Her obituary stated that she was widowed in 1873 which lead us to believe that her husband John Reid had passed away. But, “Where and exactly when?” was the question. Nancy Ann was living with her son John C. Reid in Muscatine Co., IA in 1870 with no trace of John Sr. and so I was skeptical of the year of 1873 as being the time of his death.

Upon first arriving at the Miami County courthouse I searched the death records and cemetery records for John Reid (spelled “Reed” in most of these older records) to no avail. The Probate Court search resulted in no records for him, but the Registrars office had a few land records for him. He owned a small piece of farm land just outside the town of Troy, in Concord Township.

After finding records for the marriages of John and Nancy’s daughters, I decided to browse through the divorce records. To my surprise, there were two divorce records filed for my GGGG Grandparents. The first one in December of 1864 showed John “Reed” requesting a divorce from his wife “Ann Reed” but was dismissed. The second one was filed in May of 1865 and the case was settled in June of 1865. Interesting phrases from the divorce decree were: “whom he married ‘on or about January 15, 1823 in the State of New Jersey’ and who was ‘willfully absent for more than three years’, and currently ‘residing in Muscatine county in the State of Iowa’.” This record conflicts with the story of Nancy Ann having been widowed in 1873. Divorce may have been a shameful thing in those days and more acceptable excuses made. This document seemed to explain a lot, but at the same time posed twice as many new questions.

With this new knowledge, I reviewed data that I had previously collected about miscellaneous Reid / Reed families in the Miami County, OH area during the middle of 1800’s. John and Nancy Reid were still together in the 1860 Miami Co., OH Census with four of their youngest children still at home. With Nancy showing up as living with her son’s family in Muscatine Co., IA in 1870, her husband John must still be in Miami Co., OH somewhere.

The 1870 Miami Co., OH Census shows a John “Reed” age 66; a shoemaker originally from New Jersey, his wife Sarah E. age 41, and their daughter Caroline age 5. The entry also listed a boy George “Reeder” age 6 and another boy Isaiah age 1 (last name unclear as to Reed or Reeder).

Further tracings of this John and Sarah (aka Elizabeth) Reed family resulted in finding his purchase of property inside the Troy city limits in late 1864 and other transactions in 1865, their marriage record from July 1865 (one month after the divorce of John and Nancy Reid) which revealed Sarah Elizabeth’s former last name as “Reeder” (probably her first husband’s name and thus the listing of George Reeder, age 6, living with them in the 1870 Census), an entry for them in the 1880 Miami Co., OH Census, the marriage of their daughter Caroline Reed to William Wilhelm in 1881, several more land transactions between the Reed and Wilhelm family, and a probate record for this John Reed in November of 1893 which neither stated his death date, nor mentioned any heirs that, if he were my GGGG Grandfather, would have been from his first marriage to Nancy.

Upon comparison to this John Reed, my GGGG Grandfather John Reid would also have been 66 years old in 1870 and he was also born in New Jersey, and lived in the same county.

It may be possible that our John Reid is the same man as John "Reed" who married Elizabeth (Sarah E.) Reeder in 1865, and had a daughter Caroline. The ages and birthplaces of the two John Reid/Reed's match and the chain of events from divorce, to land transactions, and marriage dates, make a believable scenario. Additional evidence is required to make this assumption more convincing. A detailed obituary for John Reid/Reed would be most valuable, but as of right now, one has yet to turn up.

A “MARVEL”OUS REID CONNECTION

Once again, while surfing the vast genealogy information on the Internet, I stumbled across a posting that caught my attention.

At the time, I was curiously contemplating the descendants of John and Nancy Ann Reid’s son, William. I knew that William’s son, Alfred I. Reid, had moved with his wife and children from Fremont Co., IA to Hemingford, Box Butte Co., NE in about 1908. I had found record of his daughters’ marriages to men with the surnames Coy, Marvel, and Jones. (I told you last year of my contact with the Coy family researcher, Jerri George of Illinois.) I later found death records for Alfred and his wife Vinona in the Nebraska State Archives, as well as obituaries for them, also.

I decided to search the Marvel surname on the Internet and look for Alfred and Vinona Reid’s daughter Vera Reid’s husband, Orrie Marvel. With “Orrie” seeming to be an unusual name, I figured the search would be a simple “he’s there” or “he’s not there” search.

To my delight, Orrie Marvel was mentioned in a posting made by a nice lady named Kris, who introduced me to her brother-in-law Roger Marvel who is a grandson of Orrie and Vera (Reid) Marvel via Lyle Marvel. Roger was able to confirm or deny some of the information that I had previously gathered about Alfred I. Reid’s family, and even

provided some new names and information. Roger introduced me to his mother, Helen Marvel, with whom I corresponded with and mutually shared our families’ lineages. Two most welcome prizes were photos of the Alfred I. Reid family in both 1900 and 1913. Helen and Roger were helpful in eliminating a photo of an unknown family, that I had previously received from the Coy family researcher Jerri George, as being that of any of the Alfred I. Reid family.

I am most grateful to the Marvels for their cooperation and enthusiasm.

IF ONLY THROUGH BETTER CIRCIMSTANCES

My parents, Dean and Jean Musselman frequently monitor the obituaries in The Sioux City Journal online. In December of 2000 they saw a

familiar name in the obituary for Jean E. Stevenson of Sioux City who died on December 15, 2000.

The name that caught their attention was that of Opal (Reid) Darville, Jean E. Stevenson’s mother. This Opal Reid, wife of Harold Darville, was the daughter of Harvey Evert and Dora May Reid of Lemars, IA.

A few months later I attempted to contact Mrs. Stevenson’s son, Mark, but my letter of introduction was returned unopened. Apparently Mark had moved from his 1998 Sioux City phone book listing. I attempted again to contact Mark at a different address and the letter was returned again.

Later in the year, I prepared and sent a letter to Mrs. Stevenson’s daughter, Julie Fischer of Sioux City. The letter was not returned, nor have I heard back from Julie.

I would love to share my Reid family research with this branch of our Reid Tree. Please wish me luck in this pursuit.

Another contact with unfortunate circumstances is that with the Millsap family after the passing of Laura Fern (Reid) Millsap, age 98, on December 10^th 2001 in Glenwood, Mills Co., IA.

Fern was a valuable source to my fellow Reid family researchers, even before I got into it. Fern had corresponded with our cousin Brenda (Pahl) Gens of Madelia, MN back in the early 1980’s. Fern conducted some brief research in Clarinda and Shenandoah, Page Co., IA and found some pertinent Reid family records, there.

I believe that it was Fern who provided the precious family photo of the John C. Reid family which included Fern’s father, James E. Reid, and Brenda’s Great Grandfather, John Albert Reid. We have all enjoyed that photo and are so, very, grateful.

I had always intended to call Fern and go to visit her. I live very, near Glenwood, IA. During my regret after her passing, I attended the visitation memorial the night before her funeral.

Upon introducing myself to Fern’s son Larry, whom I picked out at random, I was warmly welcomed.

During the visitation, I met other descendants of George and Fern Millsap. Linda Edwards, with whom I spoke for quite a while, has collected much information about her Millsap and Pritchett lines, uses the same family tree software that I do and uses the Internet often. I’m looking forward to sharing my Reid family research with the Millsaps through Phil and Linda Edwards, in the near future.

The Babcocks –

Last year I told you of some conflicting information about Ida J. (Babcock) Hookham. (Ida Jane was the sister to my GG Grandmother, Mary E. (Babcock) Reid.) Ida and her husband, Edward J. Hookham, divorced in 1900 in Page County, IA, after having three children, Robert A., Earl L. and Myrtle I. The conflicts were with rumor of Ida’s second marriage to a George Dawson. Well, many questions still remain as to our Ida J. Babcock’s whereabouts after 1900.

A promising lead may have shown up earlier this year when Pat Freer of Shenandoah, IA contacted me after reviewing my family tree data on my internet home page. She found Robert A. Hookham in my information and since has connected her step-family to our Babcocks and Hookhams. Robert A. Hookham’s daughter, Maxine, may be a valuable source of memories about her grandparents, Edward J. and Ida J. (Babcock) Hookham. I look forward to comparing notes with them and meeting them, personally.