Grandmom Harvey's Bible

[These records used to appear on my FamilyTreeMaker website but disappeared recently.]

Thanks to cousin Jane Ulrich Wilkerson for photocopies of these old pages from my great-great-grandmother Maria Fassett Harvey’s Bible. Each 8”x10” page has a printed border of a marble pediment supported by two Corinthian columns and a drawing suitable for the page. Figures in the drawings are dressed circa 1850-60.

It is all written in the same elegant handwriting until 1910. It doesn’t seem to be a running record. Rather, most of it was entered in a new Bible at a later date and then updated, particularly since the births are grouped by families: her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and wider family and friends. I have copied it verbatim in spite of paper tears, ink blotches and corrections and misspellings. My notations are in [brackets].

FAMILY RECORD

Marriages

Married By the Rev. James Pratt, Rector of the Church of the Covenant in Philadelphia citty [sic] James Harvey to Maria Fassett Both of this citty December 1^st 1859.

Married by the Rev. Chas. D. Cooper rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Phila. City Harry C. Huff to Mary A. Harvey Both of this city Dec. 15^th 1885.

Married by the Rev. Henry S. Getz assistant rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Phila City. Charles A. McFarland to Maria F. Harvey Both of this city. May 16^th 1888. 

Married by the Rev. William F. Ayer Minister in charge of the Memorial Chapel of the Holy Communion in Phila City. James Mills to Emma L. Harvey Both of this City. October 27^th 1896.

Thomas E. Harvey to Margaret Orr By the Rev. Wm. F. Ayer Jan. 9, 1902

James G. Harvey to Martha J. Topping by the Rev. Wm. F. Ayer, Nov _____.

 

Births

William J. Harvey - Born January 9^th 1861
Mary Egnes Harvey - Born Aug 15^th 1862
Maria Fassett Harvey - Born Friday, Aug 19^th 1864
Emme Levene Harvey – Born Sunday, April 30^th 1866
Margarat [sic] Jane Harvey – Born Sunday, December 19^th 1868
William J. Harvey – Born Thursday, February 16^th 1871
Sarah Elisabeth Harvey – Born Monday, February 24^th 1873
James Grier Harvey – Born Tuesday, December 15^th 1874
Sarah Flo. P. Harvey – Born Tuesday, July 10^th, 1877
Thomas Edwin Harvey – Born Sat. Aug. 7^th 1880

[Notation along side margin bracketing these names “10 children.” Doesn’t look like same handwriting. The pen nib seems to change here.]

James Harvey Huff – Born Jan 2^d 1887 Sun.
Maria Florence McFarland – Born Feb. 10^th 1889 Sun.
Harry Castle Huff – Born Sep. 21^st 1889 Sat.
Walter Grier McFarland – Born Jan 24^th 1891 Sat.
Edith May McFarland – Born Nov 7^th 1892 Mon.

Births, page 2 [these were added on other sheets of paper]

John McMullin – Born Aug 11^th 1860
Stephen H. Kearney – Born Jan 28, 1860
Mary J. Irvin – Born November 14^th 1860
Mary E. Muldrew – Born Oct. 8^th 1861
Franey [Francy] Irvin – Born Nov. 5^th 1862
Sally [long space] Irvin – Born Febuery 11^th 1864
William H. Fassett – Born June 15^th 1866
John Alexander Fassett – Born Nov 26^th 1868
Maria Fassett McGowen – Born Nov 14^th 1870
Samuel Irwin – Born March 28^th 1867
William John Irwin – Born Sept 21^st 1869
Laura May Fassett – Born March 28^th 187__ [later margin notation “Aunt Laura Collins”]
Elisabeth [Irvine?] McMullin – Born Feb 20, 18__
Emma Lavinia Huff – Born July 3^rd 1895 Wednesday
Mabel Fassett McFarland – Born April 27^th 1897 Tuesday
Eliza Turner Mills – Born July 11^th 1897 Sunday
Emma Lavinia Mills – Born Dec 14^th 1898 Wednesday
Edith May Mills – Born Jan 20^th 1900 Saturday
Ruth McFarland Harvey – Born Oct 8, 1903 Wednesday
Charles Adams McFarland – Born March 3^rd, 1895, Sunday

Births, page 3

Thomas Harvey McFarland – Born Sunday, December 16, 1900 
Ruth Naomi McFarland – Born August 20, 1906
William Francis Ayer Harvey – Born October 4, 1903 [named for the minister at Holy Communion Chapel who married his parents James & Martha Harvey]
James Grier Harvey McFarland – Born May 15, 1909
Thomas Edwin Harvey, Jr. – Born June 14, 1910 Tuesday
Mary Dorothy Harvey – Born Jan 17, 1913 Friday

 

Deaths

[All listings included “Departed this Life” causing parts of the date, usually the year, to be written over the page’s picture border.]

Mrs. Maria Fassett – Departed this Life Sept 9^th 1860. Aged 45 years.

William John Harvey – Departed this Life Febuary 28, 1862  [should be 1865 per Death Certificate]

William Fassett – Departed this Life Sunday July 28, 1867

Mary E. Hutchinson – Departed this Life Wensday Dec 10^th 1868 [12/10/1868 was Thurs]

William J. Harvey Senior – Departed this Life Tuesday May 4^th 1869

James S. Harvey Sr. – Departed this Life Sept 30^th 1870

Sarah E. Harvey – Departed this Life Aug 6^th 1870 [should be 1873]

Sarah Flo. P. Harvey – Departed this Life Sep 15^th 1883

Mary E. Muldrew – Departed this Life March 28, 1883

Maggie Jane Harvey – Departed this Life Jan 11^th 1885 Sun.

Thomas Harvey – Departed this Life April 3^rd 1888  [who?]

Eliza Turner Mills – Departed this Life Dec. 7^th 1897

Edith May McFarland – Departed this Life April 15^th 1898

James Harvey Sr. – Departed this Life April 7^th 1899

Ruth McFarland Harvey – Departed this Life Sep. 15, 1904

Maria Harvey - Mother – Departed this Life July 21, 1930

James Grier Harvey – Departed this Life Dec 1^st 1946

Thomas Edwin Harvey Died 1969

Margt Orr Harvey Died 1960

Anna M. (Doyle) Harvey Died Aug 4, 1982

The Census Taker

 
This poem was contributed to one of my Rootsweb genealogy email groups some years ago. Having spent many hours pouring over old Irish and U.S. census records, it struck a chord with me.

The Census Taker

It was the first day of census, and all through the land;
The pollster was ready ... a black book in hand.

He mounted his horse for a long dusty ride;
His book and some quills were tucked close by his side.
A long winding ride down a road barely there;
Toward the smell of fresh bread wafting up through the air.

The woman was tired, with lines on her face;
And wisps of brown hair she tucked back into place.
She gave him some water ... as they sat at the table;
And she answered his questions ... the best she was able.

He asked of her children ... Yes, she had quite a few;
The oldest was twenty, the last not quite two.
She held up a toddler with cheeks round and red;
His sister, she whispered, was napping in bed.
|
She noted each person who lived there with pride;
And she felt the faint stirrings of the wee one inside.
He noted the sex, the color, the age ..
The marks from the quill soon filled up the page.

At the number of children, she nodded her head;
And saw her lips quiver for the three that were dead.
The places of birth she "never forgot";
Was it Kansas? or Utah? Or Oregon ... or not?
They came from Scotland, of that she was clear;
But she wasn't quite sure just how long they'd been here.

They spoke of employment, of schooling and such;
They could read some and write some ... though really not much.

When the questions were answered, his job there was done;
So he mounted his horse and he rode toward the sun.
We can imagine his voice loud and clear;
"May God Bless you all for another ten years."

Now picture a time warp ... it's now you and me;
As we search for the people on our family tree.
We squint at the census and scroll down so slow;
As we search for that entry from long, long ago.

Could they only imagine on that long ago day;
That the entries they made would effect us this way?
If they knew, would they wonder at the yearning we feel;
And the searching that makes them so increasingly real.
We can hear if we listen the words they impart;
Through their blood in our veins and their voices in our heart.

Author Unknown

This is the 1860 Census return for my great-great-grandparents John & Martha Chambers. They lived 

in the 7th Ward, Philadelphia, PA. I descend from their eldest son Thomas.

Nana's Voyage

Nana ~ shortly after arrival

On May 11, 1912, my maternal grandmother, Emily Irvine, embarked on the greatest adventure of her life. A 25 year-old farmer's daughter from County Fermanagh, Ireland, she boarded the S.S. California in Londonderry for New York leaving home, parents and six siblings for a new world and a new life. Three older siblings awaited her in Philadelphia but she was on her own for a week on the North Atlantic. Seeing debris floating in the water from the Titanic disaster, only a month earlier, unsettled her stomach even more. As a girl, I listened to her stories many times without realizing the significance of this trip for her and ultimately for our family.
 

R.M.S. California, 1907-1917, Anchor Line

The rest of my immigrant ancestors sailed from Ireland in the 1840s and 50s, after the Great Hunger, in ships that would have made steerage on the California seem like the QEII. I'm still searching for their names on ship manifests from that period with little success so far. I'm told one great-great-great-grandfather, William Fassett, came over in the early 1850s and then worked to bring over his children, one by one, and his wife last of all. Since this was a common practice among immigrants, it may have been the case for my other ancestors, too. How many made the journey alone? I hope they made friends on board as Nana did.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Irish Immigration Memorial (http://www.irishmemorial.org) and the good ship Jeanie Johnston (http://www.jeaniejohnston.ie) have given me a little taste of their crossings. At the "arrival" end of the Philadelphia Memorial sculpture are two figures I find particularly moving: a passenger on the ship is waving to someone on the dock, the friend or family member he prayed would be there to meet him. Today, with worldwide use of cell phones, Skype and email, it's hard to comprehend what that meant to both traveler and greeter. Sometimes contact wasn't made and most east coast newspapers had "Missing Friends" columns to aid each in his search for the other. 

"Hello!"

During WWII, my dad cruised to Europe (and back), courtesy of Uncle Sam. Every morning he checked that the ship was sailing into the sun, still east-bound, and not heading south and then west toward the Pacific theater. The luxury liner Queen Mary was refitted as a troop ship and could carry 15,000 men faster than the other ships in her convoy. Dad sailed on a much humbler ship, however, so I bought him a souvenir mug when I toured the Queen Mary, permanently moored in Long Beach, California, forty-five years later.

Dad and friends arriving in New York ~ February 1946

I've visited Ireland and Europe several times by plane. At some point on each return flight the clouds part and that same vast ocean appears far below. My dream cruise is to sail the North Atlantic between the USA and United Kingdom to experience something of those life-altering voyages in the lives of my forebears, without which I wouldn't be here.

[This was written last year for a Dream Cruise contest which ~ apparently ~ I didn't win.]

Digging Around at Mount Moriah

My Chambers Great-great Grandparents - born in Ireland

As an avid genealogist, Mount Moriah Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia has been "calling" me for a long time. Eighteen direct ancestors, going back to my great-great-great-grandparents, were buried there: twelve on Dad's side and six on Mom's. So far I've identified over 130 other family members and their friends who share those and neighboring plots. It was a popular local cemetery for South Philadelphians and many families held picnics there on Memorial (Decoration) Day. Dad's family was the only one on his block of Wharton Street with a lawn mower. They had no lawn; its sole purpose was to trim the family graves at Mount Moriah. 

Grandmom McFarland & some grandkids - picnic @ Mt. Moriah 1932

At my grandmother's funeral in 1986, I wasn't aware of any maintenance problems; I was busy looking at all the ornate monuments. However, at a second-cousin's funeral in 2003, poor upkeep was more obvious. I picked up several beer cans from the deep grass around the grave as people assembled for the interment. Afterward we needed the undertaker's help to obtain from the office the location of our Harvey great-great grandparents' grave in order to visit it. The headstone looked damp that raw, November day, as if it had been face down on the ground until that morning. In fact, I thought it was made of brownstone rather than the typical light grey granite. Beside it was an older white stone leaning forward at a 45-degree angle and I wondered if it held the names of their four young children who died before them.

Sadly we didn't take good pictures that day and I wanted to return to find those two stones. In 2008, armed with maps and plot numbers, a cousin and I tried unsuccessfully to find them again – this time wading through a low jungle of thick weeds and vines which had been a mowed lawn five years before. But with no visible section markers in that area it was impossible.

Since I no longer live in the Delaware Valley, opportunities to visit are few so I was delighted for an excuse to come in February 2012 and help make a video for the benefit of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery organization. With the help of a Friends volunteer, we were able to tie the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania's burial database to a satellite map and pinpoint the right area of Section 31 to start looking. (Let's hear it for technology!) Weeds and vines were knee deep but I recognized the top of the tilted white headstone peeking out. Pulling away the weeds, there was my great-great-grandparents' headstone flat on its back. We gently brushed off the dried mud and rinsed it and what was indeed light granite turned brown. As it dried in the sunlight it became grey again revealing unusual designs and lettering. 

 

My Harvey Great-great and Great-great-great Grandparents - all born in Ireland

Meanwhile, we dug around the older stone and were able to lay it down on its back and carefully brush away the dirt. The lower half had been in damp earth for many years and was even harder to read than the top. I was surprised to find the name of a woman whom I thought was a family friend, Mary Elizabeth Hutchison (1868). But under her name were the words "Also her Father James Harvey (1870)" and "Also her Mother Mary Harvey (1851)." I knew my great-great-great-grandfather James was buried in this plot but hadn't known his wife's name or that the Mary Harvey buried here (one of twelve people in the plot) was his wife or that Mary Elizabeth was their daughter. These genealogical secrets had been buried in the mud.

Interestingly, the headstone seems to read 1851 for Mary Harvey—before Mount Moriah opened in 1856. It may be that she was re-interred there after the family bought the plot. I need to find her death certificate or obituary to answer those questions.

 Etching of front gates from a Chambers deed dated 1874

Mount Moriah Cemetery has seen better days. That's old news. Many of us on several genealogical email lists had wrung our hands for years and wondered if anything could be done while the office resisted. But with a shift in ownership, interest on the City's part, and the mobilization of hundreds of volunteers for cleanup and organization, 2011 and 2012 saw much progress and the enthusiastic momentum continues to grow. I like to think Mount Moriah's "residents" would be pleased.

Glad Nana didn't marry a 3rd time!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here's a link to the Mount Moriah video "Espy's Field":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSKJSphHnNw

The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the historical significance, enhancing the beauty, and preserving the artistic heritage of Mount Moriah Cemetery:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/fommc/  and  http://www.friendsofmountmoriahcemetery.org/