Thankful Thursday: Jennie Hayes, wife of Rollie Backus
It would seem Thanksgiving is when I explore my former mother-in-law's family. I am not sure what made me look the family up again recently, but I did. So I share my finds and add to what I had explored last November. Completing blog posts about my research as I go offers a very handy way to easily see where I left off.
It was back in November 2016 when I provided an update on Jennie Hayes, the wife of Rollie Backus which can be found here. I had found quite a bit on Rollie's ancestry and added a series of posts on that. There was certainly still more to explore on the Hayes line, but I left it alone until now.
Initially, I had discovered a George B. Hayes listed in the 1900 census in the town of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus County, NY with his parents, Erwin and Mandana Hayes, and two sisters, Nancy and Jennie. This was perfect as I thought I found the Jennie Hayes I was looking for. The only problem was this Jennie at age 9 appeared too young to be the right one. And where was her sister Iva? Fortunately I did find Iva listed with William E. and Mandana Hayes during the 1905 state census so I was inclined to believe I had the right family with just some discrepancies in census data. I also found the parents living alone in Yorkshire during the 1910 census but that was about all I uncovered at the time.
Living on Lake Road in 1910, I noted that William and Mandana had been married for 37 years and that she was the mother of ten children, five living. He and his parents were born in New York and the same was true for her.
Mandana is an unusual name, which can be helpful for researching. Using that as the key search term in familysearch.org, I found the earliest mention of the family in Yorkshire during the 1875 state census. This would have been the first one where William was head of household if the 1910 census was correct and they were married in 1873. There is no reason to doubt this. Certainly they were married at least by 1874 when their son George was born.
I also found the family there in the 1880 federal census. William is listed as Err Hayes. Their son George was 6 and followed by siblings Emma J. age 3 and David age 2. (It is interesting to note that Jennie Hayes Backus gave her son Herman, born in 1905, the middle name of Err.)
Also under Err Hayes, the family was listed during the 1892 state census. In addition to the older three previously named, four more children are listed in the household: Johnnie age 11, Jennie age 7, Nancy age 5 and Ivy age 1. This puts Jennie's year of birth at 1885 which corresponds to later census records with her husband Rollie Backus. The 1900 census listed her month of birth as June.
Mandana Hayes even popped up in a cemetery record. Both she and William E. are listed in the McKinstry Cemetery located in the town of Delevan in Cattaraugus County, NY. The information for William includes a complete birth date (7 September 1844) and birth place of Attica in Wyoming County, NY. He died in Yorkshire in 1923. Mandana's year of birth is listed but no death date was ever chiseled into her stone.
A few others with the Hayes surname are listed in McKinstry Cemetery, including that of David Hayes 1878-1909 and his wife Elsie (1878-1912). There appeared to be earlier generations of Hayes buried there as well. Could I find a connection? I picked the name Amos B. Hayes (3 August 1820-28 December 1896) to put into a google search for three reasons. One, because he would have been the right age to have had a son born in 1844; two, Jennie's brother had the middle initial of B; and three, because it was the first male listed in alphabetical order in the cemetery.
Bingo! A family tree came up in rootsweb.com showing the connections of Amos B. Hayes to his parents James and Selectra Hayes. It also showed that he and his wife, Orpha Delight Brodich, were the parents of W. Earnest Hayes born about 1844. The Hayes lineage is traced back to the first James Hayes born in 1605, the father of Nathaniel Hayes born about 1629 in Stratford, Fairfield Co, CT.
Find-a-grave provided me with further information on both Amos B., his wife and as his parents who often lived with them. From there, I was able to trace the family's movement from Attica, Wyoming Co, NY in 1850 (where their oldest son was listed with the name "Earl"), to Yorkshire by the time of the 1855 state census and there consistently up through their deaths.
An obituary for Amos was even found online. The transcript indicates that he was born in Darien, NY August 3, 1820. It further stated that "In 1832, he removed to the farm where he died, and where he resided constantly for forty-four years." Subtracting 44 years from his death year of 1896 yields 1852 which is more consistent with census records. These records indicate he moved from Wyoming County to Yorkshire between 1850 and 1855. The 1855 state census even states they had been residents of Yorkshire for two years at that time.
It was back in November 2016 when I provided an update on Jennie Hayes, the wife of Rollie Backus which can be found here. I had found quite a bit on Rollie's ancestry and added a series of posts on that. There was certainly still more to explore on the Hayes line, but I left it alone until now.
Initially, I had discovered a George B. Hayes listed in the 1900 census in the town of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus County, NY with his parents, Erwin and Mandana Hayes, and two sisters, Nancy and Jennie. This was perfect as I thought I found the Jennie Hayes I was looking for. The only problem was this Jennie at age 9 appeared too young to be the right one. And where was her sister Iva? Fortunately I did find Iva listed with William E. and Mandana Hayes during the 1905 state census so I was inclined to believe I had the right family with just some discrepancies in census data. I also found the parents living alone in Yorkshire during the 1910 census but that was about all I uncovered at the time.
Living on Lake Road in 1910, I noted that William and Mandana had been married for 37 years and that she was the mother of ten children, five living. He and his parents were born in New York and the same was true for her.
Mandana is an unusual name, which can be helpful for researching. Using that as the key search term in familysearch.org, I found the earliest mention of the family in Yorkshire during the 1875 state census. This would have been the first one where William was head of household if the 1910 census was correct and they were married in 1873. There is no reason to doubt this. Certainly they were married at least by 1874 when their son George was born.
I also found the family there in the 1880 federal census. William is listed as Err Hayes. Their son George was 6 and followed by siblings Emma J. age 3 and David age 2. (It is interesting to note that Jennie Hayes Backus gave her son Herman, born in 1905, the middle name of Err.)
Also under Err Hayes, the family was listed during the 1892 state census. In addition to the older three previously named, four more children are listed in the household: Johnnie age 11, Jennie age 7, Nancy age 5 and Ivy age 1. This puts Jennie's year of birth at 1885 which corresponds to later census records with her husband Rollie Backus. The 1900 census listed her month of birth as June.
Mandana Hayes even popped up in a cemetery record. Both she and William E. are listed in the McKinstry Cemetery located in the town of Delevan in Cattaraugus County, NY. The information for William includes a complete birth date (7 September 1844) and birth place of Attica in Wyoming County, NY. He died in Yorkshire in 1923. Mandana's year of birth is listed but no death date was ever chiseled into her stone.
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| Courtesy of Find-A-Grave |
A few others with the Hayes surname are listed in McKinstry Cemetery, including that of David Hayes 1878-1909 and his wife Elsie (1878-1912). There appeared to be earlier generations of Hayes buried there as well. Could I find a connection? I picked the name Amos B. Hayes (3 August 1820-28 December 1896) to put into a google search for three reasons. One, because he would have been the right age to have had a son born in 1844; two, Jennie's brother had the middle initial of B; and three, because it was the first male listed in alphabetical order in the cemetery.
Bingo! A family tree came up in rootsweb.com showing the connections of Amos B. Hayes to his parents James and Selectra Hayes. It also showed that he and his wife, Orpha Delight Brodich, were the parents of W. Earnest Hayes born about 1844. The Hayes lineage is traced back to the first James Hayes born in 1605, the father of Nathaniel Hayes born about 1629 in Stratford, Fairfield Co, CT.
Find-a-grave provided me with further information on both Amos B., his wife and as his parents who often lived with them. From there, I was able to trace the family's movement from Attica, Wyoming Co, NY in 1850 (where their oldest son was listed with the name "Earl"), to Yorkshire by the time of the 1855 state census and there consistently up through their deaths.
An obituary for Amos was even found online. The transcript indicates that he was born in Darien, NY August 3, 1820. It further stated that "In 1832, he removed to the farm where he died, and where he resided constantly for forty-four years." Subtracting 44 years from his death year of 1896 yields 1852 which is more consistent with census records. These records indicate he moved from Wyoming County to Yorkshire between 1850 and 1855. The 1855 state census even states they had been residents of Yorkshire for two years at that time.
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