{Treasure Box} Barbara (Frick) Gamble Obituary

Barbara Frick is my 4th great grandmother.  I have written a previous blog post with a transcription of her obituary.  You can read it here.   I have also written a blog post about her burial with her husband, John Gamble.  You can read it here.

Here is a copy of the newspaper obituary I received from the Butler Area Public Library. There are some interesting details. It sounds like she may have suffered a stroke.

If you have any ancestors in Butler County, Pennsylvania, I would highly recommend checking out their Obituary Index.

Barbara Frick Gamble obituary

{Treasure Box} Daniel Wise Newspaper Clippings

Daniel Wise (1812-1892) is my 4th great grandfather.  We was born and lived in Western Pennsylvania.  A few years ago, I found the Butler County Public Library had an online obituary index.  You could then contact the library for the original newspaper article.  I was surprised to find that Daniel Wise had multiple listings in the index.  I was lucky that two references to a lunacy declaration was also included in the index.

The following articles relate to Daniel being judged a lunatic and his hospitalization at Dixmont.  Dixmont was the first mental health hospital in Pennsylvania.  It was a branch of the West Penn Hospital. Daniel passed away two years later in the hospital.  I have sent some emails to try to locate the original court records regarding the lunacy case.

There are some discrepancies in Daniel’s date of death.  The article below states it occurred 9 February 1892.  His probate papers state he died 18 January 1892.  I am hoping that a trip to the Pennsylvania State Archives might include records from Dixmont. Adding another genealogy trip to the list!

Daniel Wise lunacy case

Butler Citizen Newspaper, 16 August 1889, page 3, col 4. Butler Area Public Library, Obituary Index, microfilm 14.

Daniel Wise Lunacy Judgement

Butler Citizen, 24 January 1890, Page 3, column 6. Butler Area Public Library, Obituary Index, microfilm 015.

Daniel Wise death notice

Butler Citizen, 19 February 1892, page 2.  Butler Area Pulblic Library, Obituary Index, microfilm 015.

Agnes Marie Gingg Newspaper Diary #2

Agnes Marie Mattson is my husband’s great-grandmother.  She kept a newspaper clipping diary from 1928-1931. You can read more information about the diary at this link: Diary Prologue.

This clipping, hand dated Feb 1928, refers to Nancy Malone.  Nancy was married to Charles Britton Wells (Frank Gingg’s grandparents).  Agnes’ first husband was Frank Gingg.  I had to check twice to make sure I had the correct person because Charles and Nancy had a daughter named Carrie Bell Wells.

This clipping is full of information to research.  I need to follow-up to identify the grand children.  I also need to check the Santa Rosa Newspapers for 1881-1885 for any references to the Malone and Wells family.

There is also at least one error in this clipping.  The baby was actually a girl.  My husband’s grandmother (Shirley Gingg, 1927-2003) was born six months before the visit.

Mrs. C.B. Wells Here On Visit With Relatives

Mrs. C.B. Wells is here for a visit with relatives and is delighted to make the acquaintance of her youngest great grandchild, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gingg of Benton street.  Mrs. Wells first came to California shortly after the Civil War and was a resident of Santa Rosa from 1881-1885.  The oldest of her grandchildren is thirty-eight years, and the age of her eldest great grandchild is seventeen years.

Mrs Ellen Wells of this city is a relative also.  The visitor will spend several weeks here and will renew many old acquaintances.