Postbox Surprise

I love getting mail. I really do! Even the stuff that I have to pay…..I just like to take the trek to the mailbox each day and retrieve what the postal service has seen fit to deliver to me.

While I really like to get goodies in the mail (that might help explain my Amazon obsession), I am only so-so about sending things out. I truly tried to think of every reason I could to avoid sending out Christmas cards this year. Mostly it was because I was lazy. But, having the Mister around often helps get me pointed in the right direction. He took a really fun photo and we turned it into quite the cheezy holiday greeting. Meet saguaro Santa!

Along with that, it was also a good time to let our friends know our new address. I actually took the time to handwrite several notes and sign each card, which is something that I just don’t excel at. If it doesn’t have a keyboard attached to it, I just can’t get excited about it.

I have two cousins with which I infrequently correspond and they have helped me beyond measure with my research into the Fritcher and related families. I sent them both a nice note and a Christmas card and received notes from both of them. However, one also sent me some photos with which he requested some help identifying. With the clues he provided, I quickly figured out who these images were of.

Now for a bit of family background:

My 3 x great grandparents, John F Fritcher (1800-1869?) and Jane “Jennie” Hogle (1799-1878) were the parents of at least 8 children; 7 girls and 1 boy. They were all born in New York state but four of the children ended up living and subsequently dying in Iowa or Nebraska.

Sarah married Conrad Shutts

Angelica (my 2x great grandmother) married Daniel Davis

Rachael married James Fancher

Judith married Fritz Harbou

Henrietta married Spencer Gibson

Margaret Marion married William David Hughes and then Carlos J. Chubbuck

Simon Veder married Jemima “Mima” Davis

Jane “Jennie” Maria married Avery Hemenway

The only son, Simon or “Sime” as he was known, is an interesting character and he deserves his own blog post. But he was also the connecting point between several of the sisters in that he moved to Iowa and then Henrietta and husband followed. Angelica lived with him for awhile and ultimately died at his home. His home, which is still standing and occupied by family is from which this interesting piece of mail originates. You thought I forgot what my point was, didn’t you?

Fear not dear reader! Here are the lovely photos.

This large photo says in the corner (in simply horrible cursive) “Sime’s Sister”. On the other corner in VERY faint ink, it reads “Margaret”. This is Margaret Marion Fritcher Hughes Chubbuck taken in Fremont, Nebraska. This is indeed the sister of Simon and my gggrandmother, Angelica Fritcher. She was first married to William David Hughes who was born in Lancashire, England in 1832. He came to the states in 1856 where he resided in Rome, New York. He served in the “War of the Rebellion”, Company B 146th New York Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign and was wounded in Chancellorsville. He and Margaret “Maggie”, married in April 1864 and they removed to Morrison, Whiteside, Illinois in 1865. By 1875 they were living in Mount Carroll, Illinois, where he was the publisher and editor of the Carroll County Mirror. They had two children; Jane Ann born in October of 1866 and Frank Woodruff born August of 1869.

Here is a (bad) photo of William:

But it is the only one I have been able to find and I am happy to have that. Sadly, William had consumption (tuberculosis) and he passed away in November 1888. However, his paper is still being published as the Carroll County Mirror-Democrat!

From my other cousin, I have a photo of a young Margaret:

I could see how they could make a dashing couple. It would seem that shortly after William’s death she moved from Illinois to Iowa, but I don’t know any particulars. That pesky issue with the dang 1890 census! Trips up a researcher EVERY time.

She remarried to Carlos J Chubbuck in Lyons, Clinton, Iowa on Christmas day 1892. Carlos was born in Orwell, Pennsylvania in June of 1828. He first married Mary Malantha Woodruff in 1849 in Bartlett, New Hampshire and they had three children; Lewis Emmons, Willis James and Morris W. Chubbuck. By 1880 the family had removed to Fremont, Nebraska and there Mary died in 1890.

How and why Margaret and Carlos came together, I have no clue. But I don’t really subscribe to coincidence and there are a few things odd with this story. Carlos marries two women that both have the initial M.M.? Margaret Marion and Mary Malantha? Second, I simply can’t wrap my mind around the name Woodruff. Margaret gave her son the middle name of Woodruff and Carlos’ first wife’s maiden name was Woodruff. Odd. No, very odd. But I can’t put these families together in the same place at the same time to make it anything other that a coincidence. This is a mystery that will lay smoldering, I suspect.

Margaret died in June of 1899 in Fremont, Nebraska. I do not know which cemetery she is buried in but her obit does state that she was interred in Fremont. Carlos is an elusive dude. I have yet to find any record of his service in the Civil War, though I do know he signed the roll in Pennsylvania and is listed as a farmer. I last trace him to Carroll, Iowa in the 1915 Iowa census aged 87 years, but after that he disappears. I have been unable to determine when and where he died or where he is buried.

Now for the second photo. This one simply said “Jeannie Plambeck” on the back. This photo is of Jane Ann “Jeannie” Hughes, daughter of Margaret Fritcher and William Hughes. Although it has her married name on the back of the photo, I suspect this was actually taken in the mid 1880’s since sailor suits were VERY popular at that time. It would also make her about 16-18 years old as she was born in October of 1866 in Whiteside, Illinois.

Just months after her father’s death, she married James Boyd in March of 1889. Within a year, they added a daughter to their home, Jeanne M. Boyd. At some point, the Boyd’s moved to Nebraska and lived near the Chubbuck’s and in the 1900 census, Carlos is listed as widowed with Jean Ann Hughes Boyd as step daughter and Jeanne M Boyd as step grand-daughter. Jean Ann states she is married but her husband does not appear in the census. I suspect that they ultimately divorce. In September of 1901, Jean Ann marries Anthony Plambeck and he is the eldest member of a strong German family. He aligns himself with the real estate and insurance business and does very well. Jean Ann’s daughter Jeanne M. Boyd never marries and works in Chicago for many years as a music teacher. Anthony died in June of 1946 and is buried in Fremont. I have thus far been unable to prove when and where Jean Ann or daughter Jeanne died or is buried. More mysteries for another day…….

Dear cousin, thank you for the mystery and the opportunity to solve the stories of the faces that peer forth from these wonderful photos. Thank you!

If you have information to share or questions about any of these people, please feel free to contact me. If you would like to read more about the Fritcher sisters, I have written about several of them and the links to their stories are below.

For Judith’s story: My Harbou Hero

For Angelica’s story: Finding the Fritchers

For Henrietta’s story: The Fritcher Files