Author Topic: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken  (Read 1121 times)

Offline Christine Ott

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Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« on: Thursday 19 January 17 00:24 GMT (UK) »
Hi. We have a family mystery and I would love to solve it! Maybe you can help?

Charlotte Stewart (my great, great grandmother), daughter of Mary Ann and Thomas Stewart of County Antrim, was born in 1859. Her sweetheart was Samuel Johnston Blackwood, also of Antrim, and they made their way to the USA -- separately, I believe, in the early 1880s. They were married, settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and started a family: one son, William Renwick Blackwood (my great grandfather b 1884), and 5 daughters: Elizabeth, Emily, Mary, Charlotte, and Annie.

My great grandfather wrote an autobiography, and said he recalls nothing but fighting. They were extremely poor. Annie Avis May Blackwood was born in May of 1897, and died in July of 1897. My great grandfather wrote that his mother was devastated, morose, and one day, shortly after they buried the baby, his mother, Charlotte left home, and no one heard from her again.

The thought was that she went back to Antrim, but no one knows for sure, and her name is common, so it's been hard to follow the clues. The autobiography said she was a silk weaver, in the working (but proud!) class in Ireland, and the Blackwoods were not terribly supportive of the relationship, as they were a higher class. My handwritten records say Charlotte hails from "Ballyminy," which I haven't been able to find on a map - though I have found several other towns with similar names.

There was even one theory that Charlotte ran off with her husband's younger brother, George, but given that she was only 2 months postpartum, and lost the baby, I find the affair unlikely. Not impossible, I suppose. But not likely.

Some other helpful information, is that Charlotte's father, Thomas Stewart, must have died before 1893; and likely much, much earlier. Mary Ann Stewart remarried John Milliken (I have no dates, but have found several likely John Millikens on FamilySearch). Charlotte named her own daughter after him: Charlotte Milliken Blackwood, born in Philadelphia in 1893.

I never knew my great-grandfather, William Renwick Blackwood, but I was deeply touched by his autobiography. He wasn't an educated man, and endured so much hardship, starting at such a young age, but he wrote so well, from the heart. I can only imagine what drove Charlotte to leave home (I'm hoping it was her choice), and I would love to solve this family mystery. Any direction or hints would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!

Offline aghadowey

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 19 January 17 00:59 GMT (UK) »
Just making a start by filling in some blanks.

Charlotte J. Blackwood born 1893 Philadelphia-
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2JH-RVR

Samuel J. Blackwood listed as widowed in 1910- at 134 South 47th St.:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGZ5-1Z6

Daughter Annie's death in 1897-
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JD14-2PB
and her birth-
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBBV-T74

Added- Charlotte's story-
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/32182720
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline Christine Ott

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 19 January 17 01:25 GMT (UK) »
Thank you for your interest and help!

I'm new here, and hope I'm doing this correctly! We have Charlotte Stewart Blackwood's daughter Charlotte in our family books as "Charlotte Milliken Blackwood," and I found a record of baptism at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, with "Milliken" as the middle name. I hope I've inserted the link correctly!

http://interactive.ancestry.com/2451/40355_267465-00018?pid=7676551&backurl=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26db%3DPAChurchTownRecords%26h%3D7676551%26new%3D1&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true

We have never found record of Charlotte's death, though she very well could have died before the 1910 census, but the family thought she was alive; I don't think Samuel Blackwood ever knew what became of his wife, and simply listed himself as widowed. He wound up remarrying Anna Sommers in 1922, a few years before he died. I recently found an Irish census record from 1911 (does that sound like a correct year?), with a Charlotte Stewart living with a sister, doing linen work, I believe - I have the file saved at work, so I can check tomorrow when I get there. The birth years seemed to line up with my Charlotte, so I had some hope she made it back home and was still alive in 1911.

Thank you again for your help and interest!

Offline aghadowey

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 19 January 17 08:52 GMT (UK) »
Unfortunately the link only works if you are a signed in Ancestry subscriber.

I recently found an Irish census record from 1911 (does that sound like a correct year?), with a Charlotte Stewart living with a sister, doing linen work, I believe - I have the file saved at work, so I can check tomorrow when I get there. The birth years seemed to line up with my Charlotte, so I had some hope she made it back home and was still alive in 1911.
I'm very doubtful. Here's the 1911 entry you found- Charlotte (age 50) and sister Catherine (age 60)-
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Falls__Belfast_/Willow_Street/184659
Here they are in 1901- age 45 & 38 with Sarah McMullan listed as cousin-
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Falls/Willow_Street/952610
May be co-incidence but James Stewart, also Willow St., has daughters Catherine & Charlotte-
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Falls/Willow_Street/952583
Charlotte Stewart, 7 Willow St., died 1946-
https://ssl.belfastcity.gov.uk/burialsearch/BurialRecordDetails.aspx?RecordID=7085.2018

If Charlotte did return home then you might be able to find her on Ancestry's incoming U.K. passengers.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!


Offline Christine Ott

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 19 January 17 16:01 GMT (UK) »
Thank you for the leads - I will investigate. I know there's a very good chance Charlotte may have died in the US, not long after she left home; and, I have considered foul play. But thus far, we're just coming up empty on information, and the rumors at the time were that she went back home...so I'll keep plugging away. Perhaps in the meantime, someone who reads this might have an old family story that seems to corroborate/fill in the blanks in my story - a long shot, but stranger things have happened, I suppose!

Thank you again for your hard work and dedication!

Offline AMWoodall1985

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #5 on: Monday 03 April 17 01:21 BST (UK) »
I'm a distant cousin with the same story in my family. Charlotte's daughter Charlotte married George Goble and they had David (my grandfather).
Please update with any information you find!

Offline Christine Ott

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 04 April 17 16:23 BST (UK) »
Hi there! My grandmother is Catherine Blackwood Ott, and she shared all of her memories and notes about her dad's family, including the Goble side of the family. Your great-grandmother, Charlotte (the second) was named for Charlotte (the first's) half brothers - the Millikens. I'm really hoping to track down that part of the family, as I suspect they might be helpful in solving the mystery. In the meantime, I'll go through my grandmother's notes (she is going to be 99 this year!) and see what she had to say about your Charlotte and the Gobles, in case it's of interest to you.

Offline AMWoodall1985

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 05 April 17 01:22 BST (UK) »
I've forwarded this page to my mother (Nancy Goble Miller), who has shared it with her cousin John (I'm sorry I don't know what his last name is at the moment).

From what I've gathered from my mother is, that her grandma Charlotte dotted on her only son David and felt that Dora Morris wasn't good enough for him. She redeemed herself slightly by having my uncle Frederick who Charlotte always preferred over my mother.
The kind of hard woman who had no qualms at drowning a litter of kittens in the stream.
My mother has much fonder memories of her Nanny Morris.

Offline Christine Ott

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Re: Charlotte Stewart Blackwood b 1859; daughter of Mary Ann Stewart/Milliken
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 05 April 17 16:24 BST (UK) »
Hi - I sent you a private message. I'm new here, so hopefully I did it correctly.