More Geyer and McGimpsey photos

Some more photos just received from Vernon Capps:

Frank Geyer

Lucinda Ellen (Griffith) Geyer

Frank and Lucinda Geyer were my 2nd great grandparents. Frank was born Franciscus R. Geyer on Apr 16, 1862 in Johannesburg, Germany, and died of a stroke on March 29, 1938 in Wellman, Washington, Iowa. On Dec 22, 1888 he married Lucinda Ellen Griffith, who was born on Oct 16, 1869 in Wellman, Washington, Iowa, and died on Oct 2, 1951 in Washington, Washington, Iowa.

Henry James McGimpsey

Eliza (Hamilton) McGimpsey

Eliza (McLean) McGimpsey

Henry James McGimpsey was born on Oct 13, 1829 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland, and died on Nov 14, 1907 in Thornburg, Keokuk, Iowa. On May 6, 1862 he married Eliza Hamilton, who was born on June 8, 1829 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland, and died on Oct 28, 1866 in Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois. They are my 3rd great-grandparents. On Jan 2, 1868, he married his second wife, Eliza McLean, who was born Mar 4, 1832 in Ireland and died on July 3, 1916 in Thornburg, Keokuk, Iowa.

William James McGimpsey

William James and Jane M. (Moore) McGimpsey, taken Dec 22, 1892

William James McGimpsey was the son of Henry and Eliza (Hamilton) McGimpsey. He was born Jan 13, 1863 in Rock Island, Rock Island, Illinois, and died Oct 20, 1920 in Prairie, Keokuk, Iowa, from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound (he was shooting rats at the time). On Dec 22, 1892, he married Jane M. Moore, who was born Dec 12, 1866 in Thornburg, Keokuk, Iowa, and died there of a stroke on Apr 6, 1938. They were my 2nd great-grandparents.

McGimpsey letter from 1854

It's amazing how mothers (and fathers) never change. Even after 153 years, mothers are still offering the same advice and asking the same questions of their far away children (Do you have enough to eat? Are you eating well? Who are your friends?).

William and Marget McGimpsey in 1860

Here is my transcription of a letter sent from William and Marget (Martin) McGimpsey of Loughriescouse, Ireland, to their son Henry James McGimpsey in America (my 3rd great grandfather) on April 2, 1854. I received photocopies of this letter from my aunt Cherie Geyer, who in turn received them from our cousin Vernon Capps, who I believe is in possession of the original. It is difficult to see any punctuation that may be in the original, I have only included punctuation if I thought I saw it. I also have left spelling and capitalization as it appears in the letter, therefore my transcription may be a little difficult to understand. If you have any corrections, questions or anything else you'd like to say, please leave a comment! I'd also like to thank all the people who offered transcription and Irish geography advice to me when I asked for help previously.

Page 1 of the letter

Laughries Caus[1]

Aprile 2th 1854

Dear Son we Recived your letter Dated the 8 of March on the 29th day of Aprile. Thenks be god for his tender Mercies to us and your Letter found us and all your friends and Wellwishers in good health. we have great cause to Bliis[2] the Name of him that is able to save to the very uttermost all that puts their trust in him for his kind Care in perserving us in the midst of danger for Many hundreds Since you left home has found a wattery grave for having an oppertunity of seeing the newspaper of so many Shiprecks we Never thought that we we would a heard fom you and when yang John Moor[3] Came with the letter to your Mother the house was filled with your friends to hear from your. you send your kind love to your grandfather he flitted to my house the Satterday after you left home where he is Now living and doing well. your Mother wants to know if you had plenty of Sea Store please let us know what you are employed at and who you spend the lords day

[1] Loughriescouse is a township in the parish of Newtownards, County Down, Ireland
[2] Bless
[3] Moor and Moore are the same surname in Ireland

Page 2 of the letter

I am happy to kow[4] that you found friends when you arrived in pitsburg put your trust in the Lord for who shall hurt you if you be the follower of that which good. My son Rember the Many advices i gave to you for he that waks[5] With wise Men Shall grow wiser Still but the Companions of fools Shall be Destroyed take care and keep good Company. this is the advice of your tender father which never Might have another oppertunity of addressing you. I would advise you to write to your friends in america and let them both know wher you are and if god wold think fit that you Might fall in with a place for us we wold Sell out and Come to america. you Want to
kow[6] what your brother James is about he is still living at home and working on the farm and wold be glad to see you your friend Thomas Mcgimpsey wishes you to Let his friends kow that his family is all in good health and he has purchased Henery fergisons farm of land. Serd Thompson is Married to Joseph Crake.

[4] know
[5] walks
[6] know

Page 3 of the letter

the old Marques of londonderry[7] is Dead And we have got Lord Castlerea[8] for our Land lord. And I took your your letter to old Mr. John Mcdonalds And he was glad that you had seen his son John and he is in good health at present. Markets is high at present and Meal is Sd 2=2 per Stone and flower Sd 26 per some and potatos .6 per hundred and every thing in perposion lint seed is Raising in prees[9] up till pound five for Rega Barrels your aint[10] McCracke and family is all will and is is doeing well. Let us know know if you agree With the diet of america and if you like it as well as your Mother Contry Robert Patten Sends his kind Love to you and says that he has a great Wont of you on the Satterdays nys to help him in the Shape John McClean Wife and family Sends his kind Love to you and hops to be with you yet

[7] Charles William Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (18 May 1778 – 6 March 1854)
[8] Frederick Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh from 1822-1854 when he became 4th Marquess of Londonderry
[9] Price
[10] Aunt

Page 4 of the letter

When you Rite Direct Letters to the Care Mr James Moor Mohill Street grween newtown was Cunty Down Irland for William McGimpsey of Laughries Caus farmer Rite soon as we will be waiting to hear from you. I aid no more at present but I ains as a family sals scribing our selvs till aft Death your father and Mother ----

William and Marget Mcgimpsey

Henry James McGimpsey in 1860

Griffith, McGimpsey and Moore photos

Some more old family photos, all received by my aunt Cherie Geyer from Vernon Capps.

William & Marget McGimpsey, 1860

William Martin McGimpsey was born about 1800 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland and passed away shortly before 22 November 1870 (the date of the printing of his funeral card). He married in 1828, Marget Martin, who was born about 1799 in Newtownards as well. She passed away on 22 July 1881 in Loughries, Newtownards, County Down, Ireland. From their funeral cards:

The remains of my beloved Husband, William McGimpsey, will be removed from his late residence, Loughriescouse, for interment in the Family Burying Ground, Movilla, on Thursday, 24th inst. at Nine o'clock, a.m.

Margaret McGimpsey. November 22, 1870.

Source: Funeral Card for William McGimpsey, 22 Nov 1870. Original in possession of Vernon Capps, photocopy in possession of author.

-----

Died At Loughries, on Friday, 22nd July, 1881, Margaret McGimpsey, (Relict of the late William McGimpsey,) Aged 82 Years.

The Remains of my Mother-in-law will be removed for interment in the Family Burying-Ground, Movilla, on Saturday, 23rd inst., at Four o'clock p.m.

Robert Patton. Loughries, 22nd July, 1881.

Source: Funeral Card for Margaret McGimpsey, Loughries, 22 Jul 1881. Original in possession of Vernon Capps, photocopy in possession of author.

Mary (McGimpsey) McRoberts and Eliza McGimpsey

Mary McGimpsey was born on 12 November 1870 in Thornburg, Keokuk, Iowa and died there on 29 August 1954. On 17 December 1890, she married John McRoberts (1862-1935). Eliza "Lisse" McGimpsey was born on 24 November 1868 in Coal Valley, Rock Island, IL and passed away on 17 May 1956 in Thornburg. They were daughters of Henry James McGimpsey (photo in previous post) and Eliza McLean. The date of the photo was labeled as "May 1848", but since that is before either of these women were born, I am guessing that (based on their appearances) it is more likely to have been May 1948.

William James and Jane M. McGimpsey, no date

William James McGimpsey was born on 13 January 1863 in Rock Island, Rock Island, IL. He died on 20 October 1920 in Prairie, Keokuk, IA. On 22 December 1892, he married Jane M. Moore, the daughter of James and Rachel Moore. She was born 12 December 1866 in Thornburg, Keokuk, IA, and died there on 6 April 1938. A photo of them and there children can be found here.

Rachel and Mary Moore, Ireland, 1911

Rachel Moore was born in August 1838 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland. She died on 14 August 1921 in Thornburg, Keokuk, IA. On 5 March 1866, she married James Moore (1829-1911). A photo of Rachel and her children is here. I have no information on her sister Mary. They are daughters of James and Jane (Bowden) Moore. Their brothers John and James Moore also settled in Keokuk County, Iowa. A photo of John and his family is here.

Rachel Moore's home near Springdale, where she passed away in 1921

John W. and Priscilla Griffith, 1866

John White Griffith was born 24 February 1835 in Brown, Washington, Indiana and died on 26 December 1914 in Wellman, Washington, Iowa. On 27 October 1857, he married Priscilla Longwell, the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Winslow) Longwell. She was born on 3 February 1834 in Grand Prairie, Marion, Ohio and died on 7 June 1899 in Wellman. More photos of the Griffiths and family can be found in this previous post.

John Moore Family, 1917

This photo is from the IowaGenWeb Keokuk County, Iowa photo gallery. The original page with names of persons pictured can be found here.

Family of John and Mynettie (Phelps) Moore, 1917

John (seated on left in photo) was the brother of my 3rd gr-grandmother Rachel Moore (a photo of her and her children can be found in this previous post). Rachel, John and another sibling, James, all came from County Down, Ireland and eventually settled in Keokuk County, Iowa. John and James served in the Civil War in Company A, 9th Illinois Cavalry. John was a POW held in Atlantica, Georgia for some time.

It appears that there could have been some issues between the children of John Moore by his first wife, Jennie Montgomery, and John's new family. Jennie passed away 5 Oct 1881; John married Mynettie Phelps on 23 Dec 1884. In the 1895 Iowa State Census, his children James A. (age 26), William George (21), and Marie Jane (15) are living separate from him. His son John (18) is living with the new family. James, William and Marie are still living together in the 1900 US Federal Census. None of his older children appear in the photo above, but I have had trouble locating the sons in later censuses, so they may not have lived in the area - Marie (Moore) Whisler was living in Oklahoma in 1910 and Minnesota in 1920.

Any handwriting experts out there?

I'm trying to transcribe a letter that was written by some Scotch-Irish ancestors of mine in the 1850's and am having a bit of trouble deciphering the handwriting. I've gotten pretty good at reading the handwriting from old documents, but there are a few places in the letter where I'm thrown for a loop. If you happen to have some experience reading old Scotch-Irish handwriting, or even if you don't but want to take a stab at it, I'd love some help and a second opinion. They're also writing from a place that I think is called Laughries Caus (I THINK the letter says: "When you Rite Direct Letters to the Care Mr James Moor Mohill Street grween newtown was Cunty Down Irland for William Mcgimpsey of Laughries Caus, farmer."), but I can't find any Laughries in Ireland, so if you know where they are writing from, that'd be great too. Thanks!

And as soon as I have what I think is a pretty accurate transcription, I'll post the letter here. It's from William and Marget McGimpsey to their son Henry and is dated April 2, 1854.

*****

Update: I'd like to thank all the folks who offered help! I also wanted to pass on a few really useful links that people sent me.

• BiB, Apple and Pam helped me identify the origin of the letter writer as Loughriscouse, Newtownards Parish, County Down (map of townlands in Newtownards Parish)
• Megan sent me a link to the Paleography page at the National Archives UK website that has a lot of information and tutorials on reading handwriting from 1500-1800.
• Pam also sent me a link to Ros Davies' Co. Down, Ireland Genealogy Research Site, which has a lot of great info on people and places in County Down

McGimpsey and Moore family photos

These photos were found in my grandfather Harlan Geyer's possession and are now in my aunt's possession. These families settled in Keokuk County, Iowa, which leads me to believe that the mystery family I posted about previously today must be related.

Henry James McGimpsey, 1860, picture taken off of a glass photo

Henry James McGimpsey was born 13 Oct 1829 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland. He came to the US sometime in 1860. On 6 May 1862, in Rock Island, IL, he married Elizabeth Hamilton from County Down, Ireland. They are my 3rd great grandparents. After the death of Elizabeth, he married Eliza McLean on 2 Jan 1868. He died 14 Nov 1907.

Rachel Moore and children, 1911
Back row: John C. Moore, James H. Moore, George C. Moore
Front row: Jane M. (Moore) McGimpsey, Rachel (Moore) Moore,
Catherine (Moore) Dusenberry

Rachel Moore was born Aug 1838 in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland. She married James Moore, also from County Down, Ireland, 5 Mar 1866 (they were from different clans). Their children were: Jane M. (Moore) McGimpsey (12 Dec 1866-6 Apr 1938), John C. Moore (23 Dec 1870-11 Dec 1949), James H. Moore (18 Aug 1873-17 Dec 1951), George Cook Moore (Apr 1880-12 Mar 1960) and Catherine (Moore) Dusenberry (8 Oct 1882-31 Jul 1974).

William and Jane Moore McGimpsey with children, 1913

Back row: Catherine Eliza, George William, and Grace Edith

Middle row: Mary Jane, Margaret, Rachel, and Hazel

Front row: William James (father), Ruth, Eva Mae, Bernice, Martin H., and Jane M. (mother)

William McGimpsey (13 Jan 1863-20 Oct 1920) and Jane Moore were married 22 Dec 1892. They had 11 children, including my great grandmother, Grace Edith (McGimpsey) Geyer (b. 1 Jan 1902).