Family History Mystery
Peter was sick today, so I stayed home from church with him. He has hardly moved from the couch, so I've been occupying myself with an attempt at family history. On our dining room wall is a family tree. The names we have posted are mostly the names from FamilySearch. In comparing those names with other family trees, however, we found some discrepancies. Today, I was going to see if I could figure out one of those.
On FamilySearch, my mother's great great grandmother, the wife of a man named George Givens Johnstun, is listed as Mahaley Dudley. In a Pedigree Chart in the back of a book of poems by my grandmother, that great great grandmother is listed as Sarah Sophia Johnson. So, which was it - Sarah or Mahaley?
On my dad's genealogy site, he has Sarah's name. In several FamilySearch pedigrees, Mahaley or Mahalia is listed. Considering the place and time (Hancock/Nauvoo, Illinois) it could be that George was married to Sarah Sophia in 1841 and then to Mahaley in 1846. The question is, which is the mother of my ancestor, George Carlos Johnston, born in 1847?
Some interesting information I discovered in my search:
1. George Givens Johnston came west with the Stephen Markham Company in June of 1850 with his wife - Sarah Sophia Johnson Johnston, his mother, Amity Welch, and his sister, Mary Kinney. He died along the way.
2. Mahalia Dudley Johnston Smith Smith is reported to have crossed the plains in the Warren Smith Company, (which left about the same time as the Stephen Markham Company). With her were 2 year old George Carlos Johnston (my ancestor), his 1 year old brother David Johnston, his infant sister Sarah Johnston, and also 6 year old Elizabeth M. Johnston, who is said to be Mahalia's stepdaughter. Who Elizabeth's mother is, I don't know. Could she be Sarah's child? How Mahalia managed to get two "Smith"s added to her name so quickly, or even who she was married to at that point, I also have no idea.
3. On George Carlos Johnston's death certificate (see picture), his mother's maiden name is listed as Sarah Mahalia Dudley.
4. I read somewhere, and I can't find it again, or find proof of it now, that according to the 1860 census, George Carlos and his siblings were living with Sarah Sophia and her new husband, (someone named surnamed Tuttle) in Utah. By the 1870 census, George Carlos was married and had a 1 year old baby of his own.
I'm guessing that Mahalia probably is the mother. Why her children were living with their deceased father's other wife in Utah, I don't know. I wonder if anyone has any personal histories or information that would shed more light on this. Until then, family history really is a mystery!
On FamilySearch, my mother's great great grandmother, the wife of a man named George Givens Johnstun, is listed as Mahaley Dudley. In a Pedigree Chart in the back of a book of poems by my grandmother, that great great grandmother is listed as Sarah Sophia Johnson. So, which was it - Sarah or Mahaley?
On my dad's genealogy site, he has Sarah's name. In several FamilySearch pedigrees, Mahaley or Mahalia is listed. Considering the place and time (Hancock/Nauvoo, Illinois) it could be that George was married to Sarah Sophia in 1841 and then to Mahaley in 1846. The question is, which is the mother of my ancestor, George Carlos Johnston, born in 1847?
Some interesting information I discovered in my search:
1. George Givens Johnston came west with the Stephen Markham Company in June of 1850 with his wife - Sarah Sophia Johnson Johnston, his mother, Amity Welch, and his sister, Mary Kinney. He died along the way.
2. Mahalia Dudley Johnston Smith Smith is reported to have crossed the plains in the Warren Smith Company, (which left about the same time as the Stephen Markham Company). With her were 2 year old George Carlos Johnston (my ancestor), his 1 year old brother David Johnston, his infant sister Sarah Johnston, and also 6 year old Elizabeth M. Johnston, who is said to be Mahalia's stepdaughter. Who Elizabeth's mother is, I don't know. Could she be Sarah's child? How Mahalia managed to get two "Smith"s added to her name so quickly, or even who she was married to at that point, I also have no idea.3. On George Carlos Johnston's death certificate (see picture), his mother's maiden name is listed as Sarah Mahalia Dudley.
4. I read somewhere, and I can't find it again, or find proof of it now, that according to the 1860 census, George Carlos and his siblings were living with Sarah Sophia and her new husband, (someone named surnamed Tuttle) in Utah. By the 1870 census, George Carlos was married and had a 1 year old baby of his own.
I'm guessing that Mahalia probably is the mother. Why her children were living with their deceased father's other wife in Utah, I don't know. I wonder if anyone has any personal histories or information that would shed more light on this. Until then, family history really is a mystery!
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