Amanuensis Monday . . . The Will of Thomas Gilshannon From the Courthouse Attic

Altarpiece donated by four families including Holdgrafer

Well, I have returned from what has become a yearly trip to Clinton, Iowa, the home of a multitude of my ancestors.  For a while I thought this might be the last trip, but I discovered there is still more to document.  It seems like the more you find, the more you realize there is more to research. Many of the church records such as births, baptisms, marriage, and deaths for my family are located in the Catholic Historical Center which is located in St. Boniface, a closed parish.  At one time Clinton had five thriving parishes, but, due to escalating costs and dwindling attendance, they have merged into one parish which is located in a new church building.  Luckily, this magnificent building has found a second purpose. What happened to all of the records? Fortunately a dedicated church member was able to transcribe the older records that were moved from the five parishes to the new church.  As far as I know, she is the only one who has seen the original records since the church does not allow any access to them.  Even if they do not allow access, I hope that they digitize the records and keep a copy in two places so they are not lost one day due to human error or natural disaster.

Like last year, the records do not allow personal searching.  As before, one of the dedicated men who staff the CHC, Bill Foley, would scroll through, I would tell him the surnames I was researching, and he would read off the information.  They still do not have a printer for the computer holding the records database so my notes are scribbled and sometimes barely readable.  Bill was incredibly patient and willingly re-read names and dates for me as I asked.  I tried to read over his shoulder as he scrolled through since I discovered multiple incorrect transcriptions. I could recognize my family even when the names were garbled.  The strangest one was Dionysious when it was intended to be Dennis. . . oh, well.  As a volunteer transcriber for the 1940 census, I am completely sympathetic to the transcriber's difficulty.   If you have Clinton ancestors who were members of one of these churches, I encourage you to contact them.  You will not find a more helpful and enthusiastic group of fellows.  The center is open from 9-noon on Tuesdays and Saturdays and they have a facebook page.

Clinton County Iowa historic courthouse

In addition to the center, one of my main goals was to go to the county clerk's office and look at probate records.  I was told by the historical society that in Clinton, you can still look through the original records, and I am such a sucker for original records! In preparation, I called the clerk's office the week before I left and gave her the list of names I was researching and approximate death date for each. I had been told that it will often take them several days to get the records from the attic. After all, genealogy is not their primary job!  They were extraordinarily nice and accommodating. The courthouse was my first stop when I arrived in Clinton on Monday morning. Caroline, my contact, told me that she had only been able to find one name on my list, but that I was welcome to look through the index to see what I could find.  Oh, and, by the way, she explained that they could photocopy for .50 per page or I was welcome to take a photo of anything I wanted at no charge.   Whoaaaaa . . . I was both stunned, thrilled, and my purse held my camera with a fully charged battery.  I spent the next two hours going through the index books and, in fact, I did find more records.  When I left, I gave my new list to Caroline, and hoped that she might be able to retrieve them before I left for home two days later.  By early that same afternoon, I received a phone call telling me my records were ready to look at.  I already had an appointment to meet my 90+ cousin, John Brown, for a sit and chat that afternoon so the records would have to wait for Wednesday morning.

I arrived at the clerk's office shortly after they opened with a fully charged camera battery and a spare in my purse. Caroline pointed to a stack of records on a shelf and suggested that I to go to a table in the entry area and look through them.  The thick one on top made me grin from ear to ear.  It was the probate record of my 3x great grandfather . . . Thomas Gilshannon, born in County Meath, Ireland in 1810 and who immigrated to Iowa in 1839.  Below that was the record for my great grandmother, Anna Mae Shelko, nee Allen.  She was the granddaughter of Thomas. There were two that I hoped would prove to be relatives of her husband Edward Thomas Moldt, but no one sounded familiar so I have to assume they were not related.  Another two belonged to uncles and the last was the probate for the second wife of Thomas Gilshannon.  I was over the moon.  This was my first time looking at probate records, and it was thrilling.

I started with the ones that were flat first, but when I got to Thomas, I have to admit that I was breathing deeply. . . and I wasn't disappointed. 

I unfolded the top paper and found his original will . . . tied with a red ribbon!

Will of Thomas Gilshannon - page 1

The Will of Thomas Gilshannon

of the Township of Elk River

Clinton County Iowa

  I Thomas Gilshannon being in feeble heath But of sound mind in this the Seventy four year of my age do make and establish this as my Last Will and Testament.  "Imprimer" I give to my wife Bridget Gilshannon One Third in value of all my Real Estate. To Witt "The South East Quarter of Section Number Fourteen in Township Number Eighty three North of range Number Six East of the 5th P.M. Also the South West One fourth of the South West One fourth of Section Number Eight in Township Number Eighty three North of Range Number Seven East of the 5th P.M"

  Said One Third to be all taken from the land in Section Fourteen Town (83)(?)R (6) so as include the Dwelling House and Farm Buildings theron.

           Also 

Will of Thomas Gilshannon - page 2

The Property regarded as Exempt under the Code of Iowa and which the law specifies & Also after My debts are paid The One third of the Proceeds of my Personal Property as the Code aforesaid provides.

Second The remainder of said Real Estate above described "That is the two thirds in value thereof I give to My Children Ellen M Allen Thomas Gilshannon Elisabeth Gilshannon Catherine Guerrin Bernard Gilshannon Mary Gilshannon and Henry Gilshannon in equal shares to be divided by them as they may seem best & proper
( In the above devises The Land taken by the C.M & St P. Railway is not included so long as the same is used by said Rail Road Company)  I also give to the aforesaid Children The Two thirds of the proceeds of my Personal property after my debts are paid in equal shares between them as they seem best.

Will of Thomas Gilshannon - page 3

Third as there is a Mortgage of One Thousand dollars on a portion of the land herein devised ^ given to Mrs Louisa Bohnes by myself and my wife^  I direct my Executor herein after named as soon after my death as Practiable to sell so much of my personal estate as he may deem proper to pay said Mortgage aforesaid on or before the same becomes due.  And also sell such other Personal property as may be necessary to pay debts expenses & including a suitable Tomb Stone for myself and my daughter Nancy Gilshannon who died in June 1882

Fourth I appoint GA Griswold my Executor of the Township of Elk River Clinton County Iowa in order to Carry into effect the provisions of this will

                                                                  Sign by me on this second day of 

                                                                              April AD 1883

                                                                                           Thomas Gilshannon (his signature)

This will consisting of Two sheets of

paper was signed by the said Thomas Gilshannon

in our presenence April 2nd 1883

In testimony whereof we have set our hands in

his presence and in the presence of each other this 2nd day of April 1883

       Charles Beatty    GA Griswold of Elk River Iowa

Thomas Gilshannon's signature is quite shaky looking.  On the early land records, he and his wife, Ellen, had to make a mark for their signature so I assume that he could not read or write.  From the will, it appears that he did learn to write his name.  I am sure his admitted feeble health influenced his signature as well.

The Research Trip

Well, I am still wrestling with computer issues.  I picked up my new one yesterday, but with only four icons on the desktop, it looks very bar. . . almost undressed.  I was told that they were able to copy the data from my old failing hard drive, but  have not found my old emails and address book yet.  My copy of Microsoft Office seems to have evaporated from my well organized filing drawer (stop laughing Dahl) because I cannot find it anywhere. How can I function without Word? Buying another is not in my budget.  There is still so much to do before it feels comfortable.  To be continued. . .


 Saturday morning Days later:   My computer is beginning to feel a bit  more comfortable and I have found my old email thanks to a remote operation by the person who built the computer.  That was really interesting.  Now for a real blog post.

I have thought quite a bit recently about the term "research trip".  It sounds so cerebral and organized and . . . and . . . boring! It conjures a vision of a lonely academic with her glasses perched on the end of her nose sitting in some dusty dimly lit corner surrounded by ancient texts. (For those who know - picture the stacks at the Purdue Library) Well . . . maybe this is partially correct but I cannot imagine her shouting out loud, "Aha, I found you!!!" like a family historian would.  And after all we don't spend all of our time looking through books.  We enjoy the outdoors, walking through manicured lawns or knee deep in weeds looking for headstones, we follow maps and drive unknown roads looking for ancestral property, we knock on the doors of strangers to ask if we can take a picture of their house and tell them all about our ancestor who lived there long ago, and the best part is when we meet relatives who reminisce about other family members who have passed away, and the times we only read about.   I think we need a new name for these exciting, emotional, family journeys we take through time. 

My brief visit to Clinton recently was a good example.  I was by myself, I wasn't prepared, I wasn't organized, and yet to me it was a wonderful experience. For a year I had intended to return to Clinton, but you know how time can slip away from us.  Then, through an online connection with a second cousin once removed, I found out that I had a 90 year old first cousin twice removed who still lived in Clinton.  Do you suppose he would let me visit, I asked?  Bless her, she made inquiries and voila! I had his phone number and address.  Now there was nothing that would keep me from this trip.

With my GPS plugged in I navigated the construction around Chicago and endured the "recalculating" admonishment that I received multiple times as I ignored the suggested route.  Arriving a bit after noon, I decided that the library would be a good choice for my afternoon and allow me to relax from the drive.  Since I did not bring along a list of death dates to look for  obituaries, I decided to concentrate on city directories.  That kept me busy and allowed me to feel successful as I printed off one after another.  Taking a break from city directories, I pulled out a film reel of wills.  Whoopee, I found the original will of Zelphia Guilfoil.  Zelphia was the wife of Michael Guilfoil  who was the brother of my g-g-g grandmother, Ellen Guilfoil Gilshannon.  It was Zelphia's will that had connected the three siblings, Michael, James, and Ellen.  I had a transcription but I do so love an original. I continued scrolling through reels for several more hours until my no line bifocals made me dizzy, and I decided to find a motel, check in, and have some dinner.  I returned to the library after dinner until closing.

The motel had issues and as I looked at the cost, I reasoned that if I went home a day early, I could use that money toward the FGS conference.  Decision made.  I checked out and planned to go home late afternoon.

Now I had to decide how I would use my one remaining day.  Mary, my angel in Clinton, had given me so much information before I left.  I printed out the addresses, phone numbers,  and contacts . . . but one stood out.  The Catholic Historical Center at St. Boniface church which was only open on Tues morning from 9-12.  This was new to me, and so I thought I should check it out since much of the information I was seeking was sure to be in church records and, conveniently, today was Tuesday!  Churches had records of baptisms before birth certificates were required.  Following my GPS, I easily found St. Boniface, but the front door was locked. I called the number Mary had sent me for the consolidated Prince of Peace church, but the woman on the other end of the line didn't know how I could get in to the Center. She was sure that was where I needed to go because "they didn't do genealogy" at the Prince of Peace location.

I drove around the church, and suddenly I saw a sign by a door at the top of a flight of outside stairs.  Pulling into the parking lot, I quickly jumped out, grabbed my stuff and climbed the stairs squeezing around the fan that was in the doorway surprising the men inside. Later I learned that this was the back door. I explained my connection to Clinton and asked if they could help me.  It turns out that they had just received an index with the consolidated church information on it but hadn't received any training yet.  I was their first "customer" and they would give it a try.  Bill Foley stepped up and offered to help me. He fired up the computer and opened the program containing the records index.  There were folders for each closed church and inside those there were folders for baptisms, marriages, etc. Within those folders the information was listed in a file similar to an excel file, with columns for child's name, parent names, date of birth, date of baptism, and sponsors. "Okay," Bill said, "What church?" There were several churches but I decided to start with St. Irenaeus. As Bill scrolled through the information for the St. Irenaeus records, I was frantically writing.  Every record we located at first had errors, due I am sure to the difficulty of reading old handwriting.  After several records I looked at the screen and saw the last name McDonald instead of McDonnell for a record that was definitely my g-g grandparents.  It was the 1865 baptism record for Mary Winifred McDonnell daughter of Owen William and Bridget O'Callahan McDonnell.  All of the records had the mother's maiden name making identification easier.  This record listed  Bartholomew McDonnell as one of her sponsors.  Wow! I have been searching for Bartholomew and suspected that he might have died in the Civil War, but here he was still in Clinton in 1865.  We continued and now I looked for alternate spellings (McDonald, McDonogh, McDonough, McDonnell) as Bill scrolled through the information.  Finally, near closing time, he clicked on a different column and the information was suddenly listed alphabetically by sponsor. At this point I realized that this would allow a cross reference of family names, but it was too late to do much more. I was elated with the information I had and knew the Catholic Historical Center would need a return visit. But wait, I asked, "Where are the originals since there are so many mistakes on the transcriptions?  Could I get a copy of the original documents?" "You'll have to call Prince of Peace because they have the original documents."

Rev. J.A. Murray married my g-grandparents

At the beginning, while I was waiting for Bill to load the program, another man brought over a stack of pamphlets dated 1908 and beyond for St. Patrick's church.  As I flipped through the pages, I paused when my eyes spotted the name Ed Moldt, my gr. grandfather. It shows that he paid $10 pew rent and $2.50 for the union (???)  This was news to me.  I didn't know my gr. grandfather had converted to Catholicism, who knew you had to pay pew rent and what did Union refer to.  Looks like he didn't support the rosary though.  Another page near the back of the booklet listed the baptism of my favorite uncle Harold Leonard Moldt, fondly know as Uncle High.  Neither the scanner or printer was connected yet at the Catholic Historical Center so Bill generously  offered to scan it at home and email it to me.  I didn't discover my uncle's name in the back till I looked at the scans he sent.

I thanked Bill for everything, slung my purse over my shoulder and went to my car.  As I sat in the church parking lot, I called John Brown, my first cousin twice removed.  His mother, Augusta Allen Brown, and my great grandmother, Mae Allen Moldt were sisters. A photo of the family is here.  I reasoned that I had time for a visit before I had to head for home.  John was a dear and told me that his son had told him about a relative who might get in touch with him.  "No problem at all, come on over."  he told me.

John lived outside of town.  He had been a farmer all of his life so I am sure his current few acres seemed small by comparison.  Even though he was 90 there was nothing old about John.  He could easily have been mistaken for a man twenty years younger.  I love the photo of him above because on the counter beside him is a photo of John and his wife when they were young.  We had a lovely visit, and he told me how he had a flood in his basement about four years ago and had lost a lot of family photos.  It broke my heart, and I thought of those boxes in my basement at home. We talked about the family bible, and he thought he knew who might have it.  He would investigate!!  From my computer, I shared with him some of the photos I had, and he talked about his mother and her sisters. I think we both enjoyed the visit.  So with a hug and a kiss, I left my newly discovered cousin and headed home.

It was only a little over 36 hours from when I left to when I arrived home.  A short time by most standards for a research trip, but it felt longer.  I had lots of new information as well as a new resource in the Catholic Historical Center, but best of all was my visit with John.

Post Note: I called Prince of Peace when I returned home, and the flustered lady on the other end of the phone said that she couldn't make a copy because she would have to cut off the other people on the page for privacy.  Really . . . I asked for a copy of an 1865 baptism record!! "Besides", she said "We don't do genealogy."  My question is, then why do you keep the records?  Later I received a letter attesting to my gr. grandmother's baptism, with an ending statement of "We don't do genealogy at Prince of Peace."  My hope is that someone will digitize these records before they are lost.