{"id":620,"date":"2016-08-22T13:47:02","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T17:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/?p=620"},"modified":"2016-09-17T18:51:01","modified_gmt":"2016-09-17T22:51:01","slug":"the-strange-case-of-catherine-walker-a-genealogical-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/2016\/08\/22\/the-strange-case-of-catherine-walker-a-genealogical-puzzle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strange Case of Catherine Walker \u2013 A Genealogical Puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gary A. Bartlett<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"William-&-Catherine-Walker\"My Grandmother Bartlett\u2019s maiden name was Ethel Walker (1895-1982). Her parents were Frank Walker (1869-1942) and Lilly Metcalf (1868-1926). Thus far, everything is well documented by Vital Records here in the Lenawee County, Michigan Courthouse, which I will not bother to cite, as they are not germane to the genealogical problem that I intend to review.<\/p>\n

My ancestry starts to become problematic one generation further back – specifically in the case of the identity of Frank Walker\u2019s mother, who is the subject of this particular genealogical investigation. To lay the foundation for this study, let us begin with Frank\u2019s father – William Walker (24 Nov 1825 – 12 Apr 1908) \u2013 who died here in Lenawee County. All original source documents uniformly state that William Walker was born in Canada. Oral family history alleges that he was born in Port Hope, Ontario, which is located on the shore of Lake Ontario northeast of Toronto. I have not yet been able to document this, but there were Walkers living in Port Hope at the right time. While oral family histories can be inaccurate (and so can original source documents, for that matter), they can offer clues as to where to look for further information.<\/p>\n

In the case of Frank\u2019s mother, Catherine Walker (2 Apr 1834 \u2013 18 Aug 1914), all original source documents uniformly state that she was born in Germany. Oral family history alleges that the vessel on which she came to America, set sail on her 12th<\/sup> birthday \u2013 i.e. on 2 Apr 1846 (consistent with the 1910 Federal Census for Lenawee County, which shows her year of immigration as 1846), which might provide a valuable clue to Catherine\u2019s identity as the result of further research down the road. Original source records (almost) uniformly identify her maiden name as Catherine Cole, but Cole is not a German name, and therein begins the problem with her identity. There exists the German surname K\u00f6hl which can be written alternatively as Koehl. Here in America, it would be written Kohl and pronounced the same as Cole. Other similar German surnames exist such as Koll, for example, one of which was perhaps transliterated into the English surname Cole once the family arrived in the United States, but there are other problems with Catherine\u2019s identity as well, which will now be reviewed.<\/p>\n

Probably the best place to begin this investigation, is with Catherine Walker\u2019s death record, on file in the Lenawee County Courthouse. Unfortunately, it tells us nothing. According to her death record, she was born in Germany, and her maiden surname and parents\u2019 names were listed as \u201cunknown\u201d. Her son William Walker Jr. was the informant. I checked the death records for her five children who I know lived to adulthood, four of which are on file in the Lenawee County Courthouse, viz \u2013 Sarah (Walker) Stewart \/ Harris (1854-1933),\u00a0 Kate (Walker) Camburn (1859-1939), William Walker Jr. (1861-1930), \u00a0and my ancestor Frank Walker (1869-1942 ) \u2013 which uniformly identify their mother\u2019s maiden name as Catherine Cole. In the case of her other daughter, Mary (Walker) Frantz (1867-1936), who died in Wauseon, Fulton County, Ohio, however, her death record identifies her mother\u2019s maiden name as \u2013 and who knows where this came from – Catherine Welch. So much for the veracity of original source records.<\/p>\n

Now \u2013 proceeding onward – an article on William Walker in Volume II of the work Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen, (Hiram H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, And Chicago, 1892), states on p. 650, that \u201cOn October 17, 1851, he was married in Monroe County, Michigan, to Catherine Cole, a native of Germany, born April 2, 1834<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0Original source records back this up. Their marriage record on file at the Monroe County Courthouse in Monroe, Michigan, identifies them as William Walker and Catherine Cole. The venue for their 17 Oct 1851 marriage was Bedford, Michigan and the marriage record shows the bride as age 18 and groom as age 25, both of whom were identified as residents of Toledo, (Lucas County) Ohio.\u00a0 \u00a0We know that the couple who married in Bedford were indeed my ancestors, since the names on the marriage record are correct, the ages are almost correct, and the 1900 Federal Census shows them married for 50 years at that time – consistent with the Hardesty article written during their lifetimes. As to their ages, William was still 25 in October of 1851, but Catherine was only 17 on the date of their marriage and would not turn 18 until the following April. In that era, however, an approximation was probably close enough. I checked the 1850 Federal Census, and there was a William Walker aged 25 \u2013 boatman \u2013 living in Lucas County, Ohio, married to a Sarah aged 22, but William\u2019s place of birth is shown as Ohio, not Canada (bearing in mind that the census records are not always correct in respect to place of birth). The 1850 Census for Ohio shows no Catherine Cole in Toledo, however. I also checked Kohl, Koehl, Koll, Koelle and so forth \u2013 ditto.<\/p>\n

Moving onward to the 1860 Federal Census, we can locate William & Catherine Walker living in Washington Township, Henry County, Ohio, which adjoins the southwest corner of Lucas County. (The death record for William Walker Jr. says he was born in 1861 in Colton, Ohio, which is located in northwestern Washington Township, the township itself being situated in the extreme northeast corner of Henry County). We have William Walker age 34 born Canada, Catherine Walker age 26 born Germany, Sarah Walker age 6 born Ohio, and Hannah C. Walker age 1 born Ohio (presumably her name was Hannah Catherine, my dad\u2019s great aunt Kate Camburn). Also living in the household, were Catherine Hartman age 52 born Germany, and Frederick Hartman age 22 born Germany. Who were the Hartmans? At first glance, one would assume that they were Catherine Walker\u2019s mother and brother, but Catherine Walker\u2019s maiden surname was Cole \u2013 or was it?<\/p>\n

Back tracking to the 1850 Federal Census, living in Toledo were Fredrick Hertman (Hartman?) age 43 born Germany, Catherine Hertman age 42 born Germany, Fredrick Hertman age 12 born Germany, and Ann Hartman age 10 born Germany. (It is fitting to note that the first three individuals are at the bottom of one page with the surname which appears to be spelled Hertman, and Ann is at the top of the next page, with the name definitely spelled Hartman). There is no 16 year old named Catherine living with the family, however. Quite possibly, the Catherine Hartman born Germany 1808 and Fredrick Hartman born Germany 1838 living in Toledo in the 1850 Federal Census, were the same individuals who were living with William and Catherine Walker in Henry County, Ohio ten years later. This opens the door to all sorts of wild speculation. For instance, did William Walker leave his wife and run off with a 16 year old (in 1850) Toledo girl named Catherine Hartman, who got married a year later across the state line in Bedford, Michigan under an assumed name? Or perhaps his wife had died during the year between 1850 and 1851, a possibility of course in those days.<\/p>\n

Well \u2013 setting aside wild speculation – we will now move onward to what can be documented. In the 1870 Federal Census, we now find the Walker family living in Seneca Township, Lenawee County, Michigan. We now have William Walker age 44 born Canada, Catherine Walker age 36 born Germany, Sarah Walker age 16 born Ohio, Catherine Walker age 11 born Ohio, William Walker age 8 born Ohio, Mary Walker age 3 born Michigan, Frank Walker age 7\/12 born Michigan \u2013 and once more, Catherine Hartman age 64 born Germany. Again \u2013 since Catherine Hartman was living with William & Catherine Walker during the 10 year period from the 1860 Census when they were living in Henry County, Ohio and the 1870 Census when they were living in Lenawee County, Michigan, the logical assumption would be that Catherine Hartman was Catherine Walker\u2019s mother. Moreover, it would appear that Catherine Hartman was living in Toledo, Ohio in 1850 and Catherine (Cole?) Walker was living in Toledo in 1851 when she got married in Bedford, Michigan across the state line. That the two women appear to have been living in Toledo at about the same time may perhaps be too much to be coincidence, but it does not solve the mystery of Catherine Walker\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

Moving onward to the 1880 Federal Census, we have William Walker born in Ontario \u2013 parents born in England, Catherine Walker born in Wuerttemberg (the German state situated in southwestern Germany, where the city of Stuttgart is located) \u2013 parents born in Wuerttemberg, and three children still at home \u2013 William, Jr., Mary, and my great grandfather Frank. Catherine Hartman is presumably now dead, and the older girls are married, and out of the household.<\/p>\n

To further cloud the picture, we have the marriage record for Frank Walker & Lilly Metcalf in the Lenawee County Courthouse, who got married in Lenawee County 12 Sept of 1888. Lilly\u2019s parents are shown as Josiah Metcalf & Mary Seeley \u2013 correct \u2013 and Frank\u2019s parents are shown as William Walker & Catherine Hartman. So was Frank\u2019s mother a Cole or a Hartman?<\/p>\n

And finally \u2013The index \u201cNew York Passenger Lists 1820-1891\u201d under the time frame 1 Apr 1846 to 30 May 1846, shows the following family arriving from Germany aboard the vessel Java: Frederick Hartman age 38, Catherine Hartman age 27 (should this have read 37, since the eldest child was 18?), Anne Hartman age 18, Christina Hartman age 14, Elizabeth Hartman age 12, Catherine Hartman age 12, Frederick Hartman age 9, and Ernestine Hartman age 5. (Admittedly, some of the names are a bit difficult to read, and they were presumably anglicized from the original German names by the immigration official who processed their entry). If the oral family history is correct \u2013 and the ship on which Catherine Walker came to America did indeed set sail on her 12th birthday on 2 Apr 1846 \u2013 then this arrival could well be her family \u2013 assuming her surname was Hartman, not Cole. Again \u2013 if Catherine Walker was born Catherine Hartman, where did the Cole surname come from? Revisiting the Toledo Hartmans listed in the 1850 Federal Census, if they are indeed the same family as the Hartmans who arrived on the Java, some children are missing.\u00a0 It is possible that the two eldest girls who would have been 22 and 18 respectively in 1850, were married and out of the household, which in those days could even have been the case for the 16 year old twins.\u00a0 Moreover, 10 year old Ann in Toledo is not found on the immigration list, unless she is Ernestine shown as age 5 when the ship arrived. Of course \u2013 admittedly – the 1850 Toledo Hartmans may have been an entirely different family than the Hartmans who arrived in New York City in 1846. What we can at least document as inconclusive as it may be, is that Catherine Walker had some connection with a Hartman family \u2013 that Catherine Walker immigrated into the USA from Germany in 1846 at age 12 \u2013 and that a Catherine Hartman emigrated from Germany into the country that same year at that same age.<\/p>\n

With regard to the origin of the Cole surname, there is one other possibility that probably should be mentioned, as unlikely as it might be \u2013 that my ancestor Catherine Walker was born Catherine Hartman – married a Cole who died shortly after their marriage \u2013 then married my ancestor William Walker. This is highly doubtful, since Catherine was only 17 \u00bd when she married William, in Bedford in Monroe County. Their first child (at least of whom we are aware from the census records) \u2013 Sarah (Walker) Stewart \/ Harris – was born in 1854 when Catherine Walker was 20.<\/p>\n

And finally \u2013 to throw a bit more confusion into this genealogical maelstrom – the Hardesty article on William Walker cited earlier, identifies Catherine Walker\u2019s mother as \u201cCatherine (Staniger)\u201d. Can we assume that Staniger was her maiden name, since they put it in parenthesis in the article? Was Staniger anglicized from Steineger? Mystery abounds. What the article does tell us, is that Catherine Walker\u2019s mother was also Catherine, lending more credence to the suggestion that the Catherine Hartman who lived with the Walker family in between the Federal of 1860 and the Federal Census of 1870, was in actual fact Catherine Walker\u2019s mother, who may in fact have been Catherine (Staniger) Hartman.<\/p>\n

Who was Catherine Walker \u2013 really? She certainly was not Catherine Cole coming from Germany. Moreover, there seems to be some confusion on the part of her family as to her maiden name. Whoever she was, she took her secret to the grave, and from the scant and contradictory documentation available, there seems to be no way to make a positive identification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gary A. Bartlett My Grandmother Bartlett\u2019s maiden name was Ethel Walker (1895-1982). Her parents were Frank Walker (1869-1942) and Lilly Metcalf (1868-1926). Thus far, everything is well documented by Vital Records here in the Lenawee County, Michigan Courthouse, which I will not bother to cite, as they are not germane to the genealogical problem … Continue reading “The Strange Case of Catherine Walker \u2013 A Genealogical Puzzle”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-history"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":0,"today_views":0},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7nGKa-a0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1238,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrycountyfamilies.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}