What's in a signature? A random sampling. - November 7, 2016

One thing I always find interesting when doing my genealogy is seeing how handwriting has changed over the years.  Actual handwriting is a lost art and it seems to have gotten progressively worse through the years.  That's not say I haven't seen my share of bad handwriting.  Ever try reading a census for 1850? You'd be hard pressed to even think the person was writing in English.

Personally I happen to have great cursive and printing as well and I would chalk that up to both practice because of my job and maybe a little of bit genetics; my mom's writing is pretty spot on as well, maybe better.

Below is a small sample of what I've run into, mainly from WWI draft records of actual ancestors handwriting of their own name.  It's always fun to image that the person actually touched and signed said objects.

Howard Wiley White - my great, great grandfather's brother (Albert White)

William Kane - my great grandmother's brother (Jennie Beck)

 Chauncey White - my great, great grandfather's brother (Albert White)

Alfred John B. Gagnier - my great grandmother's brother (Edna Hutchinson)

Samuel Alexander Beck - my great, great grandfather

 William Edward Geldred - my great, great grandmother's first husband (Adelia Gelderd/White)

Roy R. White - my great, great grandfather's brother (Albert White)

 William McKinley Beck - my great grandfather

Benjamin Austin Rinehart - my great, great, great grandfather's brother (Augustus Rinehart)

Ezra Issac Hutchinson - my great grandfather

One of the interesting things I learned so far, even if it's as bit sad, was that my great grandfather William McKinley Beck signed that particular card maybe 3 months before he was killed.  I knew about his accident but it's just interesting that he signed it then and he was only 19 when he signed it.

There's tons or signatures and other things out there but this is just a small sampling of what I've extracted so far.  De-cluttering all my work has proven a task in itself.  Had I kept things as organized as I do now, back then I wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

John Kane (abt. 1857 - after 1910) - November 3, 2016

Back at it; who knows how long this will last.  This entry will be focused on my mysterious great, great grandfather, John Kane.  I have no known photos of John. While there are a few photos in the family that are not connected to anyone, it would be impossible to connect them to anyone specific.

My relation to John Kane:

John Kane – great, great grandfather

Jennie Sarah Beck (Kane) – great grandmother

Eunice Margaret Hutchinson (Beck) – grandmother

Living Hutchinson - father

John Kane was born circa 1857 in Ireland.  According to various indirect sources, mainly census records, John arrived in the US around 1882.

What is known for a fact is on December 15, 1883 John married his wife, my great, great grandmother Margaret F. Shiels/Shields in St. Paul Minnesota.

This is the actual marriage certificate in my possession as passed from my dad of their marriage.

Between 1884 and 1901 John and Margaret had 8 children:

·      Elizabeth Jackson Otto (Kane)

·      James Kane

·      John Kane Jr. (wasn’t actually referred to as a junior as far as I’m aware)

·      Maggie McGilda Kane (died shortly after 1 years of age)

·      William Kane

·      Jennie Sarah Beck (Kane)

·      Roy Kane

·      Gladys Frances Harriet Dollinger (Kane)

Margaret Kane (Shiels) John's wife.

From what I can find John worked as a fireman, locomotive fireman, and engineer for first the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company and then the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.  It was a common trend in the family, and perhaps for that time that the men and women worked for various railroad companies.

 Artwork courtesy of http://www.iridetheharlemline.com 

After the 1910 US Census John Kane is listed as living at 293 E. Lawson St. in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  The house that was at this location no longer exists as it was removed to expand 35E years ago.

After 1910 I hit the proverbial brick wall. John is no longer listed in any local census records as far as I can find.  In the following years, John’s wife is listed in various city census records as being widowed. It could be assumed that he has died by this point but what is also probable and is backed up by a family story is that he left the family.

As was told to me by one of my dad’s cousins who was the granddaughter of James Kane and his wife Effie.  She said that her grandfather’s sister Elizabeth Otto told her that she had heard her father left Minnesota to “attend bar” with one of his brothers in Montana, or in other words to drink.  It’s possible this happened, perhaps something associated with the railway took him out there and taking it one step further perhaps he died out there.

Why he would leave the family behind is not known. Records do not have him being buried in any known location in Minnesota.  The family burial plot where most of the family is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in St. Paul, has a space next to Margaret that is empty for what I would assume be his remains.

With nobody alive that could answer even the simplest of questions this may be one mystery that’ll never be solved.  I haven't dug into railway records too much as that is a daunting and not an easy task, even if they could be of help.