Ola Florence Likens - Mystery Solved

So I'm very happy to report that my mystery surrounding Ola has been solved, and much more quickly than anticipated. Thanks to my new friend Franklin Bishop, I have confirmed that Ola did not die when she was just a few months old, and did indeed live until the 1970's. Franklin is Ola's adopted son and has been a huge wealth of information. We're still not sure why there is a death register for Ola in 1895, but I guess we may never really know why. He has sent me a whole packet (including pictures!) on his branch of the family which I have already started to absorb into my research.

I have scanned the pictures and once I touch them up a bit, I'll post them.

Thanks again, Franklin!

Family Focus: Thomas R McRobie

Thomas R McROBIE (John William) was born in 1844 in Maryland. He died 22 May 1901 in Maryland. He was buried in Bittinger Church Cemetery in Bittinger, Garrett County, Maryland.

Thomas lived in Allegany County, Maryland. He fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War. He enlisted at the rank of Private on 19 Dec 1861 in the 3rd Potomac Home Brigade, Maryland Infantry, Company D. He mustered out at the rand of Sergeant on 19 Dec 1864.

Sources for Thomas:
1. 1850 Census
2. 1880 Census
3. 1900 Census
4. Ancestry.com U.S. Civil War Soldiers
5. Civil War Pension
6. Garrett County Cemetery Records

Thomas married Elizabeth BEYER on 27 Jan 1866 in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. She was born around 1848. She died in 1926 in Maryland. She is buried with her husband in Bittinger Church Cemetery in Bittinger, Garrett County, Maryland.

Elizabeth lived in Allegany County, Maryland.

Sources for Elizabeth:
1. Maryland State Record of Marriages: Allegany County
2. Marriage Licenses of Allegany County, Maryland
3. 1880 Census
4. 1900 Census
5. 1910 Census

Thomas and Elizabeth adopted Ruth McRobie.


As far as I know, Ruth wasn't a McRobie by birth. If anyone has any idea who Ruth's real parents on I'd love to know. I also did not find record of Thomas and Elizabeth having any biological children.

Family Focus: Hester Alice McRobie Mason

Hester Alice McROBIE (John William) was born in June of 1842 in Maryland. She died on 31 Jan 1911.

Hester lived in Allegany County, Maryland until about 1900. After 1900 Hester lived in Portland, Preston County, West Virginia.

Sources for Hester:
1. 1850 Census
2. 1870 Census
3. 1880 Census
4. 1900 Census
5. 1910 Census

Hester married Joshua James MASON on 17 Jan 1861 in Allegany County, Maryland. Joshua was born on 5 May 1822 in Maryland. He died on 22 Jun 1906.

Joshua lived in Allegany County, Maryland. He was a Farm Laborer.

Sources for Joshua:
1. Entry in "Marriage Licenses of Allegany County"
2. 1870 Census
3. 1880 Census
4. 1900 Census

Hester and Joshua had the following children:
Mary Ellen MASON was born in 12 Nov 1861 in Maryland. She died 9 Nov 1930 in Terra Alta, Preston County, West Virginia. Mary never married or had children.
Nancy MASON was born in 1863 in Maryland.
John MASON was born in 23 Sep 1864 in Maryland.
Abraham Lincoln MASON was born in 1866 in Maryland.
Francis Thomas MASON was born in 1868 in Maryland.
Martha Jane MASON was born in 1870 in Maryland.
Laura Belle MASON was born in 1872 in Maryland.
Edward Ruthvin MASON was born in 1874 in Maryland.
Delilah MASON was born in 1877 in Maryland.
Sarah Anna MASON was born in 28 Jun 1879 in Maryland.
Lucretia Margaret MASON was born in 1881 in Maryland.

The Mason children have been a little tricky to track down. If anyone has any information on Nancy, Francis, Martha, Laura, Delilah, Sarah, or Lucretia, I'd love to see it!

Family Focus: Francis Marion McRobie

Francis Marion McROBIE (John William) was born 19 May 1840 in Maryland. He died 15 Apr 1904. He is buried in the McRobie Cemetery on Green Glade Road in Swanton, Garrett County, Maryland.

Francis lived in Allegany County, Maryland. He was a farmer. He served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. Francis enlisted at the rank of Private on 19 Dec 1861 in the 3rd Potomac Home Brigade, Maryland Infantry, Company D. He mustered out at the rank of Private on 29 May 1865. Francis also served in the 12th Maryland Infantry (an emergency 100 days infantry, created to guard the B&O Railroad) from 25 Jul 1864 to 6 Nov 1864.

Sources for Francis:
1. 1850 Census
2. 1870 Census
3. 1900 Census
4. Civil War Service from Ancestry.com
5. Civil War Pension
6. Picture of Gravestone

Francis married Lucy McROBIE on 22 Jul 1865 in Allegany County, Maryland. Lucy was born on 18 Jun 1842 in Maryland. She was the daughter of William McROBIE and Sarah PAUGH. She died on 4 Sept 1922 in Maryland.

Lucy lived in Allegany County, Maryland.

Sources for Lucy:
1. Entry in Marriage Licenses of Allegany County
2. 1850 Census
3. 1870 Census
4. 1900 Census
5. 1910 Census

Francis and Lucy had the following children:
Flora Alice McROBIE was born 19 Mar 1867 in Maryland.
Virginia Elizabeth McROBIE was born 19 Jun 1868 in Maryland.
John William McROBIE was born 2 Feb 1871 in Maryland.
Thomas Allen McROBIE was born 24 Dec 1872 in Maryland.
Albert A McROBIE was born 3 Oct 1875 in Maryland.
Mary McROBIE was born 10 Oct 1880 in Maryland.

Family Focus: Abraham Archibald McRobie

Abraham Archibald McROBIE (John William) was born on 26 Feb 1836 in Maryland. He died 31 Dec 1917 in Altamont, Garrett County, Maryland. It is thought he is buried in the McRobie Cemetery on Green Glade Road in Swanton, Garrett County, Maryland.

Abraham lived in Allegany County, Maryland. He worked as a farmer. He also fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War. Abraham was mustered in at the rank of Private in the 3rd Regiment, Maryland, Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade, Company D, on 7 Dec 1861. He mustered out at the rank of Corporal on 29 May 1865. Abraham was taken prisoner on 29 Jun 1862 when the 3rd PHB engaged Confederate forces in Moorefield, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Records for Abraham:
1. 1850 Census
2. 1870 Census
3. 1880 Census
4. 1900 Census
5. 1910 Census
6. Entry in "The McCrobie/McRobie/McCroby Family 1761-1996" by Wilma Nuzum Sanders. Pg. 4, pg. 8.
7. Civil War Service from Ancestry.com
8. Civil War Service from National Park Service
9. Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War, Vol 1
10. Civil War Pension
11. Death Certificate
12. Entry in "Maryland's Garret County Graves" compiled by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Pg. 161.
13. Picture of Gravestone

Abraham married Nancy Catherine FRIEND on 26 May 1856. Nancy was born in 1840 in Mason County, Virginia. She died in 1916 in Altamont, Garrett County, Maryland. It is thought she is buried with her husband in the McRobie Cemetery on Green Glade Road, Swanton, Garrett County, Maryland.

Nancy lived in Mason County, Virginia, until about 1855. She lived in Allegany County, Maryland, after 1855.

Sources for Nancy:
1. Entry in Marriage Licenses of Allegany County
2. 1870 Census
3. 1880 Census
4. 1900 Census
5. 1910 Census
6. Entry in "The McCrobie/McRobie/McCroby Family 1761-1996" by Wilma Nuzum Sanders. Pg. 4, pg. 8.
7. Entry in "Maryland's Garret County Graves" compiled by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Pg. 161.

Abraham and Nancy had the following children:
Columbus Lafayette McROBIE was born 26 Aug 1857 in Maryland.
Harriett McROBIE was born in 1861 in Maryland.
Stella F. McROBIE was born in 1863 in Maryland.
Elizabeth J McROBIE was born in 1866 in Maryland.
Sarah Almeda McROBIE was born in 1868 in Maryland.
Mary Ellen McROBIE was born in 1868 in Maryland.
Thomas R McROBIE was born in 1871 in Maryland.
Alfred Elijah McROBIE was born in 1874 in Maryland.
Abraham Archibald McROBIE Jr. was born in 1877 in Maryland.


Abraham has been one of the easier ones to dig up. The one road block I've found, like most others, has been trying to find Nancy's parents. If anyone has any information on this, I'd love to see!

302 and Counting

So I've finally got around to putting all that research onto a descendant chart which can be downloaded here.

All 302 descendants on this list are confirmed. All of the dates are correct to the best of my knowledge. This list so far has been about 3 months in the making, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. As you can see I've slowly been posting on each individual family. I'm going to slow down on research a tad until I catch up with myself again. I'm also in the process of putting all of this, plus sourcing info, into a Gedcom file which I hope to post shortly.

Some helpful links:
Pat Thompson found a great website for looking up land records and deeds:
Check it out here!
It can be a little confusing at first, so if you need help let me know.

Family Focus: Eleanora Silena McRobie Kelley

Eleanora Silena McROBIE (John William) was born in 1834 in Maryland. She was the oldest child of Delilah Murphy. Her date of death and place of burial are currently unknown.

Eleanora lived in Allegany County, Maryland.

Here are the records for Eleanora:
1. 1850 Census. John McRobie Household.
2. 1870 Census. Eleanora is listed as "Ellen Kelley." She is head of the household (assumably because her husband has died), and living next door to her sister Hester and her father John, and a few doors down from her brother Francis.

Eleanora married Samuel J KELLEY on 17 Jun 1856. His date of birth and date of death are unknown.

Records for Samuel:
1. Marriage Record.

Eleanora and Samuel had the following children:
Delilah L KELLEY was born in 1858 in Maryland.
David KELLEY was born in 1860 in Maryland.
Elizabeth KELLEY was born in 1862 in Maryland.
Roda A KELLEY was born in 1864 in Maryland.


Unfortunately I have found very little information on Eleanora, and almost nothing on Samuel. I have looked for the children in later records and still haven't managed to find them. I believe that Eleanora most likely remarried and that her and her children are listed with a new last name. If anyone knows of something that I missed, I would love to see it. I haven't seen any trees or charts that list even Eleanora's children.

Family Focus: Malinda Jane McRobie Kight

Malinda Jane McROBIE was born in 20 Apr 1829 in Maryland. Malinda was the daughter of John William and his second wife. It's thought that his second wife died in childbirth or shortly after Malinda was born. Malinda is the only child to live to a late age out of John's second wife's children. She died on 30 Apr 1896. She is buried with her husband in the Kight Cemetery on Maplewood Farm in New Creek, Mineral County, West Virginia.

Malinda lived in Allegany County, Maryland until 1850 and in Preston County, West Virginia, after 1870.

Here are the records I have for Malinda:
1850 Census
1870 Census
1880 Census
Death Register
Cemetery Transcription


Malinda married Henry Thomas KIGHT III in 1850. Henry was born on 12 Nov 1828 in Maryland. He died on 25 Aug 1910 in Mineral County, West Virginia. He was the son of Henry Thomas KIGHT II and Sarah SHARPLESS. He is buried with his wife in Kight Cemetery on Maplewood Farm in New Creek, Mineral County, West Virginia.

Henry lived in Allegany County, Maryland, until about 1866. He lived in Preston County, West Virginia, after about 1866. He worked as a farmer.

Here are the records for Henry:
Marriage Record from Ancestry.com
1870 Census
1880 Census
1910 Census
Cemetery Transcription

Malinda and Henry had the following children:
Percilla Ann KIGHT was born 29 Jun 1851 in Maryland.
Ezra KIGHT was born 6 Nov 1852 in Maryland.
Sara Frances KIGHT was born in 1854 in Maryland.
Mary Ellen KIGHT was born in 1855 in Maryland.
John Cain KIGHT was born in 1857 in Maryland.
William Sharpless KIGHT was born in 1859 in Maryland.
Benjamin C KIGHT was born in 1860 in Maryland.
Rebecca Jane KIGHT was born in 1863 in Maryland.
Lydia Margaret KIGHT was born in 1864 in Maryland.
Henry Johnson KIGHT was born in 2 Oct 1866 in Maryland.
Jacob Rotruck KIGHT was born in 12 Apr 1868 in Virginia.
Victoria Florence KIGHT was born in 29 Mar 1870 in Virginia.
Sylvia Leanna KIGHT was born in 4 Jul 1872 in Claysville, Mineral County, West Virginia.
Bailey Carlton KIGHT was born 11 Jul 1874 in Mineral County, West Virginia.

Family Focus: Andrew McRobie

So I've been doing so much research these past few weeks, I wasn't even sure how to go about presenting it. First things first, I've found an awesome site that provides vital records for most West Virginian counties. Through this, I've managed to find birth registers, marriage registers, and death certificates (all scanned originals). The site is: http://www.wvculture.org. It's been an amazing wealth of information.


So I've decided to slowly focus on one person and their family at a time. Starting with John William's line, this post will be about his oldest son Andrew.

Andrew's mother was John William's first wife. Her name is still unknown. He was born in 1816 in Maryland. She died sometime before 1823. It is unknown if she had other children after Andrew, although the 7 year gap makes it plausible.

Finding records for Andrew has proven to be a little difficult so some of these records are pure speculation.

1. There is an Andrew McRoby that appears on the 1840 Census. Since the names of members of households weren't listed in 1840, we can't be 100% positive, but I'm wagering an educated guess that this is John's Andrew and not Elisha's Andrew.
2. Andrew is counted twice on the 1860 census.
3. Andrew served in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry in the Civil War.
4. I also found a record (noted in a previous post) for an Andrew McRoby buried in Arlington National Cemetery that served in the West Virginia Cavalry and died during the Civil War.

PLEASE NOTE: I have no confirmation that the Andrew buried in Arlington National Cemetery is the same as John's Andrew. In fact, it does contradict some previous research, but still I feel it shouldn't be ruled out. Andrew does not appear on any censuses after 1860 (including the Veteran's schedules). It is a plausible explanation, albeit, not a confirmed one.

Andrew had five children with an unknown wife:
Archibald (born in 1839)
Daniel (born in 1843)
Jane* (born in 1845)
Issac (born in 1847)
William (born in 1849)

*Jane is not found on any census records but is listed in Wilma Sander's McRobie Genealogy and "The Burbach-Poorbaugh-Purbaugh Family in America 1771-1974" as the daughter of Andrew. So far I have not seen a record, nor talked to anyone, that would contradict these sources.

If anyone would like specific sourcing information and/or would like to see any documents, I am glad to share whatever I have. Just shoot me and email. Also, I'd like to make clear that this research is in no way infallible. If anyone has information to contradict it, I'm open to all possibilities.

Happy hunting!

Notes So Far

Time for another head count. I now have on my list 205 confirmed direct descendants of William McRobie. This is based solely on census and marriage records. I'm going to take a break from censuses for a little while and focus on trying to confirm dates (birth dates, marriage dates, death dates...) for as many people as I can. I'm also in the middle of compiling Civil War information including: soldiers, regiments, battles, deaths, pensions, etc. That should be up here soon as well.

Here is the most recent descendant chart:
William_McRobie_Confirmed_Descendants.rtf

Here is the most recent gedcom:
William_McRobie_Descendants.ged

Some notes on these files:

Joseph McRobie is still not included, though I have talked to another researcher that has shown me evidence that he is actually John McRobie's and Mary Margaret Murphy's son. I am trying to collect a little more evidence, and hope to include this in the next round. Here is what she had to say:
" Joseph McRobie was the son of John (Josh) and Mary Margaret Murphy McRobie. This John was the son of Elisha McRobie. John (Josh) McRobie died Feb. 1858 and his wife died before 1860. John and Mary Margaret McRobie died in Allegany Co. WV. They had 8 children."

Jane McRobie is listed as a daughter of Andrew (son of John William). This information comes via another researcher that says to have found it in the Sanders book. There are no census records to confirm this.

All birthdates are approximate and based on census records. A lot of times ages will vary a few years from census to census as opposed to just adding 10 years. (i.e. A person will be listed as 26 on the 1860 census and 38 on the 1870 census.) I attribute this mostly to the enumerator mishearing, guessing, or being lazy. I have saved copies of all of the census records transcribed, if anyone would like to see them.

Info Update

So here is the all new confirmed descendant chart:
William_McRobie_Confirmed_Descendants.rtf
For those of you with genealogy software I have even created a gedcom file:
William_McRobie_Descendants.ged

This lists only those who I have confirmed via censuses and other reliable sources up until 1860. Some notes on them:

Sarah McRobie (daughter of John William & [Unknown])--thanks to an exchange with Marylynn Glover, I have confirmed that John William was indeed married twice before Delilah Murphy. Sarah is a daughter by his second wife that was born between John (1824) and Hugh (1828). She does not appear on the 1850 census with her family. She is said to have died young, as does Hugh. Hugh, however, does appear on the 1850 census at the age of 22.

So the chart has been altered as follows:
John & First Wife - Andrew
John & Second Wife - John, Sarah, Hugh, Melinda
John & Delilah - Eleanora, Abraham, Elizabeth, Francis, Hester, Thomas

I have left Joseph off of this version of the chart until I can confirm his parents. I still am of the belief that he was not a biological son, but I can always be wrong.


As for Elisha Dewitt's Line I have had to make some assumptions. The first being the real parents of Elisha McRobie [b. 1854]. He first appears on the 1860 census in a very broad household. Elisha Dewitt is listed as the head of household, married to Azenath. Michael is living at his father's house with his wife Elizabeth, and their daughter Nancy. Susan has returned home [presumably widowed] and three younger children are listed with her: John (7), Elisha (6), Elizabeth (5). Even though most of the unsourced family trees I have seen attribute Elisha to Elisha Dewitt, I think it is just as possible that he is really Susan's son from her first husband. To be fair it's not outside the realm of possibility that all three (John, Elisha, and Elizabeth) are all Elisha Dewitt's and Azenath's children. This is definitely something that will need to be researched much further.

Also William P's first wife, Lucinda, seems to have died between 1850 and 1860. In 1860 he is married to Sarah. I'm going to guess that from the gap in age between Mary (b. 1855) and Howard (b. 1859) that Lucinda died after Mary and William remarried Sarah. I have yet to find any records to back this up.

Head Count, 1840 Census, 1850 Census

So the current head count for direct descendants of William McRobie Sr. is at 367 (give or take a few). And this also doesn't include anyone that's currently living. However, very few of these people until recently were actually confirmed. I was just counting on everyone else's good research to pull through. So I've finally decided to sit down and confirm some more relatives and here's what I've slapped together (listed by household):

Text file: 1840_Census_Transcribed.rtf

Listed on the 1840 Census:
John William McRobie
Elisha Dewitt McRobie
William McRobie
Andrew McRobie (s/o John William)

Text file: 1850_Census_Transcribed.rtf

Listed on the 1850 Census:
John William McRobie Household
.....Delilah [51]
.....John [26]
.....Hugh [22]
.....Jane [21]
.....Silena [16]
.....Abraham [14]
.....Elisabeth [11]
.....Francis [10]
.....Hester [8]
.....Thomas [6]

Elisha Dewitt McRobie Household
.....Azenath [43]
.....Hannah [26]
.....Sarah [22]
.....Michael F [19]
.....Elisabeth [12]
.....Winfield [1]

William McRobie Household
.....Sarah [33]
.....Magdalene [10]
.....Ellen [8]
.....Lucy [6]
.....Rhoda [4]
.....Roland [2]
.....Rachel [1]

John McRobie Household
.....Mary [36]
.....Samuel [10]
.....William H [8]
.....John [6]
.....Henry C [5]
.....Francis [4]
.....Martha [3]
.....Hugh [1]

Andrew F McRobie Household
.....Elisabeth [26]
.....Harriet [1]

William P McRobie Household
.....Lucinda [27]
.....Columbia [1]

Some notes:
The 1840 census only lists the Heads of Households' name. Other than that, it lists the number of people in the household divided into age categories. By comparing the 1840 to the 1850 census, I was able to conclude who was who.

Figuring out which Andrew was which was slightly difficult. I believe that the Andrew McRobie in the 1840 census is the son of John William because he is already married at the time. Andrew F McRobie's (Elisha Dewitt's son's) wife would have only been 15 at the time, so this seems unlikely. Also I have a wedding date for them (though unconfirmed at the moment) in 1842. The first Andrew (John William's son) seems to disappear from the 1850 census. I've tried different variations of his name, and have searched in Virginia as well, and haven't found anything yet. If anyone has found this information let me know!

Also interesting to note, that William P McRobie (son of Elisha Dewitt) was living in Barbour County, Virginia in 1850. Barbour County was formed in 1843, and is now part of West Virginia. It's fairly close to the Maryland border, and definitely plausible that he had moved.



So the official confirmed relative count is now up to:
54

Elisha Dewitt's line and WWI Registrations

So after a few weeks of a research lull, I was slammed with information this weekend and my obsession came back in full force. Thanks to a very distant cousin I was able to add a lot of Elisha Dewitt's line to my tree. Previously I had only focused on John William and William (Jr.) as those are the two I'm directly related to. So now that I have more distant relatives than I know what to do with, I decided it's probably time I started to confirm some of these people with some real digging, and not just Ancestry.com skimming.

First and foremost, here's the most recent copy of my descendant chart: William_McRobie_Descendant_Chart.rtf
As always, it's a text document so all can read.

I spent most of my day yesterday digging up WWI Registrations. I believe I have any McRobie that was registered in Maryland, but it's always possible someone's missing. I also haven't checked for West Virginia or Ohio yet. I transcribed most of the information on the cards and compiled them into another text file to be found here:
McRobie_WWI_Registration_Maryland.rtf

The transcriptions include the following info: date of registration, current address, age, birthday, birthplace [only for some], occupation, name of employer, dependents or next of kin, height & build, eye & hair color.

I have .jpgs of the scans, if anyone would like to see the originals. Here are the men included on the list:
Alfred Elijah McRobie [b. 26 Nov 1874]
Abraham Archibald McRobie [b. 4 Oct 1887]
Thomas Allen McRobie [b. 25 Dec 1879]
Carroll Francis McRobie [b. 18 Jun 1897]
Charles Bliss McRobie [b. 12 Jan 1884]
Charles Edward McRobie [b. 22 Jun 1874]
Francis Luther McRobie [b. 3 Jun 1877]
Martin Leo McRobie [b. 27 Dec 1886]
Richard W McRobie [b. 13 Aug 1895]
William Henry McRobie [b. 3 Jul 1899]
Gordon Dryden McRobie [b. 1 Dec 1894]
John Oscar McRobie [b. 9 Apr 1895]
Newton Wesley McRobie [b. 30 Dec 1897]
William Henry Harrison McRobie [b. 2 Jul 1891]
Wyant Kelly McRobie [b. 15 Jun 1900]

There were also 3 men that I don't have on the tree. If anyone knows how they fit in, please let me know! They are:
Clarence McRobie [b. 22 Apr 1893]
Daniel Arthur McRobie [b. 29 May 1879]
William Taylor McRobie [b. 16 Aug 1890]


Thanks to these cards all of these men have been confirmed on my chart. Slowly but surely I will get them all! *evil laugh*

I also have another confirmation.
Grace H McRobie [d/o William Hampton McRobie & Margaret Ellen Miller]
The Republican - Mar. 1, 1894 - Died - McRobie--Grace McRobie, the five year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hampton McRobie, died on Tuesday and was buried to-day in the Odd Fellows' cemetery, Oakland.
(DOD 27 Feb 1894. 5 Years old)

I don't have her exact DOB, but this puts it somewhere between March 1888-Feb 1889.



That's all from this weekend.