The Fate of the Foundlings

Orphan train riders, later in life, have described a wide range of experiences in their “adoptive” families. Some children were dearly loved, while others provided utilitarian roles as farm workers and servants. And, some were abused.

For modern eyes, the idea of placing children on a train and shipping them off to new families to raise them seems naive at best. But rather, than judging the orphan train experiment from a present-day viewpoint, we need to consider the situation at the beginning of the 20th century.

For this, let’s turn to an article from 1902, in Leslie’s Weekly, a popular publication of the time. The story begins:

Darkness in the narrow hallway; the sickening odor of the tenements; a woman stumbling along, her hands outstretched; the small, weak, pathetic cry of the very little child; a bundle in the corner which the woman lifts into her arms; the flutter of excitement in the tenement, and the crowding in of neighbors; a policeman arrives; and the baby, a foundling is taken to Bellevue hospital. Then a blank like this is filled out…
All quotes from Leslie’s Weekly magazine, 1902

The form lists where the child was found, its appearance, clothing, approximate age, sex, and by whom found. The magazine story conservatively estimated that 250 infants were “found” in New York every year.

When the little child, most helpless of all living things, lifts its tiny arms in appeal the answer is spontaneous. Whether you are man or woman you do not hesitate; your hand would at once give the little suppliant a gentle caress; your voice assumes a tone of soothing; the spirit of protecting kindness has entered into you. It is this same spirit which is saving the lives, every year of these two hundred and fifty foundling babies, who until recently, for the very want of it died. It is the balm of the mother’s kiss and the cradle of a mother’s arms that give health and growth and happiness to New York’s foundlings; and the system by which this beautiful work of mercy is done is one of the most unique and interesting in the metropolis.

Prior to the work of the New York Foundling Asylum and similar institutions, all foundlings were sent to Randall’s Island (commonly referred to as one of New York’s “island of the undesirables”). Historically, Randall’s Island has had an almshouse, psychiatric hospitals, a juvenile reformatory, and other city-run institutions. Randall’s Island reportedly had a facility with fine furnishings and qualified nurses, nearly 95% of all infants sent there died there. Before the development of modern infant formula, babies died of malnutrition. Disease was also rampant.

“Well, the little fellows are better off dead,” the attendants would say; “they wouldn’t have much to look forward to, anyway.”

With a change in how the little ones were cared for, a remarkable improvement is survival rate was noted. The new approach was summarized in one word by Leslie’s Weekly magazine–“mothering.”

It supplied that which the hospital (on Randall’s Island) could not give, the comforting and fondling and the little attentions, as well as the food and love of them…It is this “mothering” that has reduced the death rate among the foundlings of New York from 99 to a percent lower than all the other children of the city–a remarkable fact when one considers the conditions under which these foundlings begin their journey through the world, the lack of care and the exposure to which they are subjected at the outset.

Earlier, we looked at how a baby might be found. What would happen next to the little one? In 1902, the foundling would be taken to Bellevue Hospital, a city-run facility, and admitted to a children’s ward. By the next morning, the baby would be taken away by what today would be called a caseworker. One caseworker worked for the Catholic charities, and one for the Protestant charities.

Prior to being taken to the orphanage, the infant is baptized at the hospital, christened in the faith of the organization taking custody–half of the foundlings are marked Catholic and half are officially Protestant. Thus, all these babies are Christian.

Not long ago there was a protest from a Hebrew mother whose child, neglected by those in whose charge it was placed, was carried to Bellevue as a foundling and baptized in the Roman Catholic church. When she learned of this the shock against the strong religious faith of the mother was so great that she fainted. The woman herself sick, was unable to care for the child and it had remained in the care of the Guild of the Infant Savior.

The fact that the government agency provided for the baptism of infants, alternating between Catholic and Protestant, is unusual from a current-day perspective. The 1902 magazine story, though, emphasizes that the resulting care of the baby primarily arises from a “human,” not religious feeling, and that caretakers are…

…touched by the sight of the frail bit of flesh struggling for life; they hear the pitiful pleading of their little voice, and the tiny hands and feet, the soft eyes, the little body, all speak in irresistible argument. The religious ceremony is a formality to be quickly disposed of, so that the real personal care of the child may begin.

Rather than staying in the orphanage, the baby would be placed with a mother, often a woman who had recently lost a child. The foster mother would be paid $10-$12 a month to care for the baby until it is old enough to be weaned.

While the majority of foundlings are discovered in or near tenements where the poor and recent immigrants reside, some of the babies are left in expensive baskets or at locations suggesting they were born to women who are more economically well off. In the end, many of the little ones travel great distances on orphan trains to become part of new families.

And these foundlings grow to manhood and womanhood and to their graves under the shadow of their unknown origin. There are those, of course, who may never learn that they were foundlings; but in most cases guardians feel that their charges should be told the truth. Letters come frequently to the city officials from men who know that they were foundling babies. They ask to be told all that is known of their origin. The department of charities looks over the books and finds a record on bland No. 30 for lost children, and that is all that is ever known.

The New York Foundling Asylum led the way in developing a new system of care for abandoned infants and other children turned over for care. The Foundling recognized that children needed to feel loved, in addition to having their physical needs met.

While it now seems obvious that children have emotional needs, this was a revolutionary concept at the time. Placing the youngest of children in a home setting, allowed for these children to have better nutrition and to progress along a healthy emotional trajectory. The Foundling also closely monitored the children’s progress while in this foster care.

While the experiences of the children placed on orphan trains was mixed, it can be argued that these children may have had better chances at life than if they had remained in New York at that time.

A Foundling Delivery in 1883

Many newspaper accounts of orphan trains in the late 19th and early 20th century describe the children as little more than freight to be delivered. There is no acknowledgement of the complicated experiences of the little ones who come from New York City–the only place they have ever known–and then ride a train for hundreds of miles to be handed over to strangers who will be their new “parents.”

The Detroit Free Press, in 1883, provided a remarkably well-rounded depiction of a train from the New York Foundling Asylum.

The story begins by reporting that an unusually large number of men and women were at the train station that Tuesday morning. A telegram arrived informing the depot employees that a train with 40 children was running late.

The rail workers wondered why so many children were on board. A “benevolent-faced” woman in the crowd commented that the “little ones ‘ll be frightening hungry when they get to Detroit.” With this, members of the crowd began talking and realized they were all there to pick up children from the New York Foundling Asylum.

When the train finally arrived, the reporter went on board, and saw “dozens of bright young faces either comfortably surrounded by tiny blue hoods or looking out from under new felt hats.”

Then, Hugh Hughes, the placement agent for the Foundling Asylum, “a rosy faced, rather fat and decidedly jolly man stepped upon the platform of the car with a small note book in his hand and began calling names.”

As the crowd grew excited, the reporter focused on the children–“some were busy with their dolls, others hugging a picture book, and yet others with an apple or an orange, trying to eat. They were a bright, merry, yet tired lot. The first epoch of their lives had arrived.” A couple boys might have been about eight, but all the other children were from three to five years old.

The reporter was attuned to the experience of the little ones, giving voice to their trauma: “Knowing no parents and no home, save the asylum where they were on family, they were now to meet strange men and women who were to be fathers and mothers to them; they were to go to homes new to them, and entirely different from any they had ever known; they were to bid each other goodby forever.

“Did the babies realize their situation? Answers to such a question were plentiful. The older boys looked around on the smaller ones in a pitying sort of way, and quietly walked through the cars, kissing a baby here and there, yet withal speaking words of adieu to them in manly, hopeful tones. Then the little ones prattled good-bys to each other, exchanged dollies, kissed one another, and in many babyish ways proved conclusively that they knew the meaning, young as they were, of the occasion.

“Then the distribution began, and for over an hour there were scenes enacted which would have touched the heart of the most stoical. Each orphan had a bit of white cotton cloth sewed on his or her outer garment underneath the collar and between the shoulders. On this bit of cloth was written in indelible ink the asylum number–for each child in such institutions is numbered–its name age, nationality and any other necessary matters of record. It was both curious and sad to see the look of expectancy on the faces of the little ones as some new foster mother or father would enter the car…”

“They seemed to be mentally considering the disposition of those who were to take them, and as the distribution went on–the final separations becoming realities–many a curly head settled into the cushioned corner of a car seat, while an occasional sob told the sad story; then the little one last chosen accepted the caresses of its new friend silently sometimes wonderingly, but more frequently with a repose and confidence entirely at variance with its age.”

As the transfer of children to adults continued, the reporter turned his attention to the “parents.”

“It was a study, too, to see the efforts of those who took the children. There was the demonstrative woman who began at once to kiss, fondle and use baby-talk; there was the man who wanted to be tender and make a good first impression, but who couldn’t say anything but the manliest kind of manly things; there was the careful mother who at once wrapped her charge in shawls and cloaks and things; and in fact, men and women who had nearly every kind of notion as to the care of children, and with various ideas as to the best way in which to win the affections of little ones at once.”

The reporter was very observant of the varied emotions of the event: “Among others was a lady dressed in the deepest mourning, and her selection was a rosy-faced little girl whose hair fell in a shower of gold over the pretty little blue cape. Whether the choice was because of a resemblance to a baby lost does not matter. The recognition between the baby and her now mother was instantaneous and mutual. Both mother and child cried. The mother took her to her bosom as though afraid death or some evil agency would steal the treasure, and the baby nestled there as confidingly and contented as though she held the place by right of birth.”

The placement agent, Mr. Hughes, commented: “Now that will be a happy choice, because they took to each other naturally.”

The reporter replied: “It seems hard, though, this breaking up of infant associations…” In response, the placement agent stated: “It does at first glance, and especially to those who have given the subject no thought.”

The reporter challenged Mr. Hughes a bit: “Well, isn’t it paid?”

To which the placement agent replied: “In a measure, yes. But if you will study the subject in all of its phases, I think you will agree it is a noble work and the best system possible.” Mr. Hughes explained that parents are only chosen after a “careful, personal investigation by the agent of all who expressed a wish to adopt children. Their homes, their religious, social and business habits were investigated, and finally recommendations are required. Generally these recommendations are from the priests to whose parishes the applicants belong.”

When questioned further, Mr. Hughes responded: “Bless you, we don’t lose sight of a child! Not a child ever leaves our care until it has reached manhood or womanhood. The children are distributed as you have seen, and we keep a record, a complete, accurate record of everything. The parish priests and other persons among the laity keep watch and guard over them. Each orphan has a sub-guardian so to speak, who assumes the duty of watching over its growth.”

And if a child has been “placed where improper social or religious influences exist, or where for some other reason the child is not happy?”

“We invariably recall it and care for it until we can find a desirable home for it. We are very seldom called upon to do this, but when we find it necessary we do not hesitate or fail in correcting the evil.”

Foundlings to Missouri, 1901

“These foundlings are nameless.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch–May 15, 1901

The little ones had been on the orphan train for two days when it pulled into St. Louis Union Station on Tuesday evening, May 14, 1901. Fifty-two children, with the youngest being about three years of age, and the oldest about six, were accompanied by just three adults. There were two Sisters of Charity, and one Placement Agent, Charles P. O’Hara, all from the New York Foundling Asylum.

The adults knew the drill well–keep the little ones occupied as much as possible on the train, pull into the station, get the children cleaned up, fed, rested, and then the next day, dress them up as the most irresistible little waifs anyone has ever laid eyes on.

That night, the children and their caretakers slept in their special train car. On Wednesday morning, 15 youngsters were handed over to their new families. According to a newspaper account at the time, most of the children “greeted their new parents as if they recognized them and were returning after a brief absence.”

The caretakers had told the little ones that they had been away at school and they were returning to their “mamas and papas.” In 1901, the prevailing thought was that children should not know that they were adopted. It was best that they not know the circumstances into which they had been born and how they had come to the New York Foundling Asylum.

That morning, each new parent showed a numbered ticket to the representative from the Foundling Asylum, and that number was matched to a numbered tag sewn into the clothing of a particular child. Thus each little one was matched with the preordained family. The entire process was quite efficient, taking only a few minutes, and the remaining children were placed on the trains that would take them to their final destinations.

An onlooker noted the neat appearance of the children, and Mr. O’Hara explained: “Yes, we commenced washing them at 12 o’clock yesterday. We got through this morning. We couldn’t do the work faster because there were so many of them. They travel in their old clothes, so as to have fresh ones at their destination, and each was given a bath and dressed in clean clothes.”

By 7:35 a.m., 30 children left with two Sisters of Charity, heading toward Osage and Cole Counties in Central Missouri. The other youngsters boarded the 8:45 a.m. train to Vienna, in Maries County. G. Whitling Swayne, the Traveling Agent for the Foundling Asylum, accompanied the smaller group.

Mr. Swayne was responsible for finding homes for the children. He regularly traversed the countryside, talking with small-town parish priests as well as farmers, appealing to their Catholic faith, and their own interests, to take in one or perhaps two of the little ones. Little girls could provide companionship for women who worked at home while the men were taking care of crops and livestock. Boys from the Foundling Asylum would learn to work beside the men, becoming valuable farmhands.

For Mr. Swayne, 1901 was a good year. He had found families for more than 100 youngsters, with all of the families being in Missouri.

On that afternoon of May 15, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a photograph of five of the children, dressed to appeal to even the most hardened heart. There were three little girls in dresses with bows at the collar and bonnets on their heads and two boys in suits of a style popular at the time, also with large bows at the collars, and with stylish hats on their heads.

Underneath that photo in the newspaper, the caption states: “These foundlings are nameless.” This was not true. Each child had a name while living at the “orphanage,” though that name may, or may not, have been connected to the child’s family of origin. Some children were named by a parent with the name being shared with the Foundling Asylum when the child was left there. Other children were dropped off anonymously or were found abandoned on the city streets. In those cases, the Asylum gave them a name that would follow them to their new families.

My grandfather was on that train in 1901. He was five years old, and he had a piece of fabric attached to his jacket with a name, Joseph Auer, handwritten in ink. Little Joseph had no idea who he really was or where he had come from.

Joseph would grow up within the Markway family of Wardsville, Missouri. He was fortunate that many of his fellow orphan train riders would live in the same rural community and attend the same school. Later some of them would attend the same church in nearby Jefferson City, and he would talk with them after Mass. He maintained lifelong bonds with the only other people who could understand his journey.

Finding Margaret Foley Doyle

It took me a few years to find my grandfather’s birth mother, Abbie Doyle. As I pieced together Abbie’s life as best I could from records and small town newspapers, it was clear that Abbie was very close to her her uncle, Michael Daniel Foley and his wife, Margaret Brown Foley. There were newspaper accounts of Abbie visiting them in Fall River, Massachusetts around Christmas time, and Abbie was visiting them while pregnant with my grandfather.

This raised questions for me. I knew Abbie’s father had died in 1881, when she was just eight years old. In my five years of searching, though, I could not find what had become of her mother, Margaret Foley Doyle.

Abbie’s parents had married in 1856. Her father was born in County Kerry, Ireland, likely near Killarney. Jeremiah Doyle was wounded early in the American Civil War. Abbie’s parents show up in United States Census records in 1860, 1870, and 1880. Nearly all of the 1890 Census was destroyed in a fire, so that time is a mystery regarding the Doyle family.

When Jeremiah died, Margaret was somewhere between 45 and 49 years of age–records give varying estimates of her age. She had young adult sons who likely worked to support the family financially after their father’s death. I had wondered if circumstances forced Margaret to go to work outside the home as well.

The psychologist in me wondered what life was like for Abbie. She lost her father when she would have been in the equivalent of 2nd to 3rd grade. Abbie’s mother surely would have been grief-stricken. Who would have been there for Abbie?

Why did Abbie’s mother disappear from the records? Record-keeping in Massachusetts and the rest of New England tended to be meticulous. I had found birth, marriage, and death records on many other family members from that time. Margaret Foley Doyle kept eluding me…

Then last week, I somehow hit upon the perfect search terms, and found a death record. Margaret Foley Doyle died of cancer on July 16, 1890. So, finally, I knew another piece of Abbie’s story. She lost her father at eight, and her mother at 17.

I could not help but wonder what those intervening years had been like…and then I discovered a partial answer to this question…

With the date of Margaret Doyle’s death, I searched historical newspapers and there, in the Transcript-Telegram from Holyoke, Massachusetts, I found a notice of her death.

This information about Margaret helped complete a picture of Abbie’s early life. Abbie lost her father, and to some extent it appears, she lost her mother that very same year. Two years later, in 1892, her brother, Jeremiah, died at the age of 23. Then, just 17 months later, Abbie lost her sister, Margaret, to tuberculosis at age 26, in 1893.

I began searching for Grandpa’s origins because his early life story was missing so many pieces. Who were his parents? Why didn’t they keep him? Did they love him?

Such simple questions–but simple questions have complicated answers.

Why Family History?

I have been reading a fascinating new book by Libby Copeland. The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are.

Ms. Copeland does a wonderful job of summarizing the science of DNA testing in brief and easily understandable ways, while also raising questions about where this new technology is taking us. Family secrets are bursting out of the closets and saying “hello” through Facebook messages.

Consumer DNA testing, such as AncestryDNA and 23andMe, has given rise to the new field called “genetic genealogy.” Yes, this is what allowed me to uncover the roots of my grandfather who came to Missouri from New York City on an orphan train.

The Lost Family struck such a chord in me that I reached out to Ms. Copeland–yes, in a Facebook message. She responded promptly, and we struck up a conversation.

I mentioned that I was a psychologist, and that my dissertation was on how people develop a sense of identity–what makes them who they are, or at least who they believe themselves to be. More specifically, my research was on how family influences an adolescent’s identity development.

Ms. Copeland then asked me a question about how difficult it can be for someone to incorporate new family information after they are well into adulthood. She asked if my profession and education gave me any particular insight into that.

I initially stumbled trying to come up with an answer. I realized I was more comfortable talking about my own experience in researching family history than I was with talking as the “professional, the psychologist.”

I referred her to a couple things I had written, one of them being the talk I gave at the 150th anniversary of the New York Foundling Home, the “orphanage” that sent my grandfather to his new life in Missouri. Ms. Copeland replied that she thought I put it well in that talk when I said: “There is a basic human need to know who you are, and how you connect to this world.”

This got me thinking some more…I developed a talk recently that was to be given at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, MO, the town where I grew up, the town where my grandfather had lived his adult life, just a few miles where he had disembarked from that orphan train at age five.

In that talk, I repeat the idea of “our story.” Knowing it, owning it, and being able to tell it. All of this makes us, and our story, real.

I am a psychologist. Back when I was in graduate school, my favorite therapy book was titled Every Person’s Life is Worth a Novel. It suggested that a good therapist may think of a client as a character in a great book–what do you need to know about the person to make them more interesting? Keep asking questions until you fill out their personality, their story.

I find myself using that same concept in my genealogy work. I don’t just want to discover my ancestor’s name and date of birth. I want to learn their story as best I can uncover it–what did they do, think, feel? What was it like to be them. How does all that contribute to who I am? Every story I uncover becomes part of my story, part of who I am.

Every person in my family tree has a story to tell. Some seem better-suited to a best-selling book than others. But then I remember the main premise of Every Person’s Life is Worth a Novel…and that is…Everybody is fascinating–it’s just that some people hide it better than others…

So, as a psychologist, amateur historian, and someone always wanting to learn more about myself, there are always more stories to discover. And for me, that is part of how I know who I am, and how I connect to this world.

Young Boy Rides the Orphan Train: My Grandfather’s Story

It was May 1901, and Joseph Aner was just five years old. As he boarded the train that would take him away from the New York Foundling Home, he was scared. He had ridden a similar train before to Nebraska, or was it Iowa? There he joined a nice family, but when his new Mom became ill, his Dad had a farm to tend to, with no time for Joseph. So, Joseph rode the train back to New York, to his first home, The New York Foundling Asylum.

This time, Joseph was going to Missouri. He knew he wasn’t going there to reunite with his “real Papa and Mama”—that’s what the caretakers told all the children. Even though he was only five, Joseph was an Orphan Train veteran.

There were 52 children on this Missouri Pacific line. In St. Louis, 15 of them met their new families. Another 36 rode deeper into Missouri, most of them to Osage City.

It there that Joseph met his new parents. Unfortunately, the first placement did not work out, and a local priest arranged for Joseph to join the family of Fred and Catherine Markway, of rural Cole County.

fullsizeoutput_c01 — Joseph Markway, first person on the left in the second row.

As long as I can remember, I knew my grandfather came from the New York Foundling Home, to Missouri, on an orphan train. As a child, I didn’t think a lot about it. I never thought about the empty space in his heart, of not knowing how he came into this world, of not knowing the beginning of his own story.

All I knew as a child was that Grandpa was the best. He made me feel loved and special. My very first memory was when I was three years old and my family moved from St. Louis to Jefferson City, MO. Jefferson City was where Grandpa lived and my Dad had grown up. My parents bought a two-bedroom home, for $6,000, for our family of seven. The house sheltered eight, though, when Grandpa moved in. Grandpa was fun, and funny, and he made me feel loved.

Grandpa died suddenly when I was 11. His belongings got divided up among my Dad and Dad’s two sisters. Dad got the name tag Grandpa had worn on the back of his jacket while riding the train in 1901. I had not seen that before, and seeing that piece of fabric, with his original name, Joseph Aner, written so elegantly in cursive,made his beginnings real to me. I wanted to know more. Who was Grandpa?

As I grew up, I remained curious about his origins, but I had no way of exploring them. In the 1990s, when I first logged onto the internet, the very first search I did was looking for the surname “Aner.” I found a few people in Philadelphia. Was there a connection to Grandpa?

Three years ago, I felt an overwhelming need to know more. I took an AncestryDNA test.

Before getting my DNA results back, I found his birth certificate online. It was difficult to find because it was filed under “Auer,” not “Aner.” As you can see, the handwriting was not clear.

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The birth certificate showed Joseph Auer was born to Adelaide Auer and Joseph King, at a Catholic hospital that served the poor and destitute. Records indicated Joseph was left at the Foundling Home within a few days of his birth.

I searched and searched for information about his parents, but there were no records. The names Joseph King and Adelaide Auer were pseudonyms. His parents wanted never to be found.

I continued searching for anything that could tell me more about Grandpa. I found his World War I draft registration. Under “Place of Birth,” it said “Unknown.” That one word, “Unknown,” hit me in the gut—it was so sad.

I became obsessed, knowing that DNA testing had the potential to connect me to his origins. I felt a pressure to hurry. I belong to the last generation that knew Grandpa. And, with each generation, the DNA trail fades like an old photograph.

I learned more about his life by scouring old newspapers. He was among the first young men from Central Missouri drafted during the first World War. I talked to my older brother, Jack, about this. Jack had a lot in common with Grandpa and they would work on projects together—carpentry, car repair, painting—and sometimes Grandpa would talk to Jack about his past.

grandpa wwi — Joseph Markway (standing) with his best friend, Lawrence Prenger, in their World War I Army uniforms.

Grandpa briefly mentioned the war, hinting at traumatic experiences, but then shut down. He said just enough for Jack to know Grandpa had seen the human cost of war up close.

After the war, Grandpa married into a prominent family in Jefferson City and he started his own family. He also started his own business as an automobile dealer. He sold the cars, repaired them, and taught his customers to drive.

His business did well. In September 1929, he went on a tour of Hupmobile factories to see the new models. The next month, the stock market crashed, and his business slipped away.

After several weeks, my AncestryDNA results came in.

A few months later, I found a promising lead, a few DNA matches that connected only through Grandpa. One of these matches had a family tree that included three siblings who all would have been in their 20s or early 30s when Grandpa was born. And…they all lived in New York.

Through a lot of work, I pieced together that George Van Sten, from Brooklyn, was Grandpa’s father. George lived a rather colorful life, and he made the newspapers as a result.

Screen Shot 2018-11-30 at 10.41.02 AM — George was engaged to a woman for several years. She then married someone else and he sued for the return of presents he had given her.

I had no leads for Grandpa’s mother. As I was talking about this with my brother one day, Jack told me: “He always said his mother was Abbie Doyle.” Later one of my cousins told me the same thing.

I was stunned. How could Grandpa know this?

Jack said Grandpa was clearly bothered by what he had learned in New York, and would start to talk and then stop. His feelings of abandonment were overwhelming, and they took away his voice, preventing him from telling all that he knew about his story. It seems he was a secret, and being a secret hurt.

I searched everywhere for signs of Abbie, or Abigail Doyle. I learned that searching for Irish names in New York in the late 1800s didn’t narrow things down much.

Then one day I was looking through a family tree on Ancestry.com. I saw a name—Abbie Camille Doyle–could this really be her?

Abbie was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1873. The timing would fit…

Abbie was the youngest of six children, with four brothers and one sister. Her father, Jeremiah Doyle, and her mother, Margaret Foley, head each come to America from Ireland during the potato famine. Her parents married in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1856.

When the Civil War began, Abbie’s father joined the Union Army, and he was wounded soon thereafter. He was discharged due to “disability. This was 12 years before Abbie’s birth. What happened after that? Did her older siblings work to support the family? Her father died when she was just eight years old.

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In Massachusetts records from 1899, I found Abbie married William Dolan. The marriage record listed William as residing in New York City. Additional DNA research provided overwhelming evidence that Abbie was Grandpa’s mother.

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I tried to imagine what things had been like for her. I don’t know the circumstances, but she had found herself expecting a child. She gave birth as a poor single mother. Her life could not have been easy and her emotions must have been complex. She must have felt alone, with no good alternatives.

I found myself caring about this woman I had never met.

And then, I received a message from a descendant of one of Abbie’s siblings. My newfound cousin had sent me a family photo that included Abbie and three of her brothers. As I gazed into her eyes for the first time, I saw my grandfather, and I realized he had found Abbie. And so had I.

The Doyle's — Abbie Doyle, on the right in the front row, likely not long after my grandfather’s birth. Her brother, Michael on the left, with his wife, Annie, in the middle. Annie is holding her daughter, also named Abbie Doyle. The little girl, standing, is Elizabeth (Lillian) Doyle. In the back row are: Cornelius Doyle, left, and John Doyle, right.

The Kneisly Family: From Reformation to Revolution

When I was in graduate school, working to become a psychologist, I ran across a wonderful book titled, Every Person’s Life is Worth a Novel. This book said every person is fascinating–you just have to ask the right questions to get them to reveal the hidden story.

This is why I love history–it’s not just about dates and nations. It’s about people, about drama and overcoming adversity. This is definitely true for the Kneisly family. I had no idea that my ancestors lived through so many events I had read about. I didn’t ask the right questions of my grandmother, Lily Myrtle Kneisly Yarnell. I wonder if she had any idea of the richness of her heritage.

I started my genealogy journey searching for my paternal grandfather’s story. He was the interesting one, born in mystery to unknown parents. I wanted to find his parents, to discover where he came from. And when I accomplished my goal, I took a break from genealogy, not sure if I would return.

But then, I took a look at my maternal grandmother’s origins, and found a story of the Protestant Reformation, religious persecution, forced migration, exodus to America, the Revolutionary War…

And today, because of the internet, I am able to ask questions and get some amazing answers.

Let me set the opening scene for the Kneisly story…

The earliest record of the family is of a Martin Nussli , born in 1510. Believe it or not, I found a portrait of his grandson, Konrad, and his wife, Margaretha Wanner Nusslie, and daughter. Konrad was born in 1570. My niece noted that Margaretha appears pregnant in this picture. I did some research and discovered that the couple had 11 children, so my niece may very well be correct. (I believe this to be Margaretha. He was married previously to Dorothea Bolesterli Nussli, but she died within a few years of their marriage.)

For context, it was in 1517 that Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-five Theses that began the Protestant Reformation. What began as disagreement over dogma led to extreme fragmentation of Christianity with tragically violent consequences. Europe was very different back then–countries did not exist in the same way they do today. Religious entities held power, and enforced unity and purity of belief.

Zurich, Switzerland in the early 1600s was on the front lines of religious tumult. Martin Luther and his split from the Roman Catholic church had led to additional groups exploring other religious ideas. One of these groups followed a former Catholic priest, Menno Simons, a leader in an Anabaptist sect. His followers became known as “Mennonites.”

The Nussli family was Mennonite. Johannes “Hans” Nusli, born near Zurich in 1628. His story is amazingly well-documented…but only because his life was so difficult…

By the 1640s, the Mennonites were horribly persecuted, and they were easy victims. They lived a faith with a commitment to non-violence, even when it came to self-defense. A group of Mennonites around Zurich were taken hostage in 1647, and as one book describes the circumstances, they were later “driven from Zurich by fire and by sword.” Hans was jailed for a year. Other Nussli’s were chained in dungeons, dressed in nothing buy long gray coats, and subjected to mockery.

Hans left Zurich between 1646 and 1649. He went to Bern, where other Mennonites had congregated. Before long, they were then driven out that area, and they were refugees headed for the Alsace region (on the modern-day French/German border).

He and his family lived there for about 14 years, when they again had to leave, and headed for the Alsace region (now the German-French border area). Hans died in 1688, but his descendants carried on.

Census records from 1707 in Alsace show Anthoni Knussli, age 52, having a wife named Magdalena. They had six children: Hans (19), Anthony (14), Elizabeth (11), Maria (7), Barbara (4), and an infant daughter named Sybilla.

That same year, 1707, a group of Mennonites went to London to meet with William Penn and discuss colonizing Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1717, records show that the Knussli family traveled to Rotterdam, then to London, and then to Philadelphia.

Travel at that time was an arduous undertaking. People were packed onto ships like cargo, sleeping in what are best described as wooden boxes. Seasickness was routines as were other illnesses. But the Knussli clan had faith the travel would be worth it–in terms of religious freedom, as well as the opportunity to be able to farm their own land. Among that first group was my direct ancestor, Antonius.

(An interesting historical footnote: England’s Queen Ann provided financing for the Kneisly’s journey.)

Antonius (also listed as Anthony) made his way to Conestoga Township in Lancaster County. (Many family names from the records of Lancaster County in the early 1700s show up in my list of DNA matches on Ancestry.com.) in 1711, Antonius and his wife had a son, George.

Kneisly map — A map of the Kneisly and Kauffman land in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Kauffman name also shows up among my DNA matches.

George is noted for several reasons in the historical record. First, he is recognized as a “patriot” for participating in the Revolutionary War despite being 65 years old in 1776. His “participation” consisted of paying taxes to support the “Confederate Army” as it is listed in the documents.

George also built Kneisly’s Mill, a grist mill that still stands today. I found photos of the mill, which today, operates as an art studio.

best mill — Kneisly’s Mill, built between 1773-1779, still stands today and serves as an art studio now. Also known as Nolt’s Mill or Kauffman’s Mill. Catherine Nolt was his wife.

George and Catherine had a son, George Jr., who served as a private in Captain James Beard’s 8th Company, 4th Battalion. All in all, 14 Kneislys are listed in records of having served in the Revolutionary War.

george jr headstone — The headstone of George Kneisly, Jr. Notice the inscription is in German.

Having moved from Zurich to Bern in Switzerland, to Alsace, on to Rotterdam in Holland, to London, and then to Colonial America, the Kneislys were not done. From Lancaster County, some of them moved south to Maryland and Virginia. My direct ancestors ventured to the Western frontier, to near what is now Dayton, Ohio. (At one time, there was a railroad stop known as “Kneisly Station.”)

In Ohio, the next George Kneisly, built paper mills and a distillery (with a capacity of sixty barrels a day). He apparently did quite well, acquiring considerable land along the Miami River. His businesses built housing for his employees, and he had stores to supply what the employees’ families needed. So, he made money from their labor, and from their daily needs–the entire town was built around the company and it included the proverbial “company store.” (Much of the Kneisly land there is now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.)

The next Kneisly did not do so well, and it appears he likely had a mental illness (that’s my diagnosis as a psychologist based on old family records), dying at age 31. He was described as going on “sprees” and gambling away his money. Those same family records, without saying so directly, suggest that he may have been murdered by those to whom he owed money. His wife was encouraged to give up her children, to “bind them out” as indentured servants since she was still attractive and young enough to get married again. (That’s what her father-in-law told her. He may not have been the most sympathetic person in my family tree…)

Mary Stuart Kneisly, did not bind out her children. Instead, she worked hard and eventually married a minister. At least one of her children served in the Union Army during the Civil War, enlisting numerous times against her wishes until she realized she could no longer stop him. After the War, she followed him to Missouri, where he purchased land. Mary, born in 1818, lived a long life, dying in 1900.

The Kneislys and their descendants farmed around Olean, Missouri, and in nearby counties. A 2007 history of Olean in the Jefferson City New-Tribune lists Charlie Kneisly (my grandmother’s brother) as being one of the town’s barbers.

There are Kneisly descendants throughout the United States, with many still near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and Dayton, Ohio. As the family has spread out, the spelling of the name has evolved differently in various areas–Kneisley, Knicely, Nicely, Gnussli, and others…One of my favorite recent images I have found of a distant relative is that of Andrew Kneisly, who is a professional rugby player, and who has played on the U.S. national team.

kneisly rugby — Andrew Kneisly has also played for the Philadelphia Fight–what a great name for a rugby team.

In talking with my close family, I have been asked about when the Kneislys converted to being Mennonites. I can’t answer this with any certainty, but it appears it may have been in the early 1600s. And, given that central Missouri has many Mennonite communities, did they move to the area for that reason? The evidence suggest not–this was likely to be coincidence as land in Missouri was easily available after the Civil War, and many people came to Missouri at the time.

I also can’t say with any certainty when my ancestors stopped living as Mennonites, but it likely was quite a while back. Participating in the Revolutionary War suggests they no longer were strict Mennonites, or perhaps their interpretation of the tenets of their faith had evolved. Many sources note that most Mennonites, Quakers, and other “non-resistant” faiths did not serve in the War. This is a story remaining to be discovered.

Fortunately, for an amateur genealogist such as me, the Mennonites went into great detail documenting their history. With the Kneislys having played a prominent role in the early Mennonite communities, I have been able to find the answers to questions I didn’t even know I had. I’ve enjoyed telling the family story–thanks for reading.

The Kneisly Family: An American Story

Recently, I heard someone refer to their family as “just simple farmers.” I would argue that there is no such thing–every family has an amazing story if you just dig deep enough. Average, down-to-earth people may seem “simple” because they are focusing on surviving day-to-day, working to support their families. But they are part of the unfolding of history, history that is only understood later when we can view it from a distance.

My maternal grandmother was Lily Myrtle Kneisly. The Kneislys were well-known around central Missouri, having farmed and worked around Enon, High Point, California, Eldon, Russelville, and Clarksburg. Their family history can be traced back to Switzerland, escaping religious persecution by going to Alsace, and eventually to Colonial America. Those stories will be told in future posts to this blog. But first, let’s go to my grandmother…

Scan 2019-10-27 11.52.54 — The Kneisly Family: Back Row–Ruby Kneisly Porter, Charles, Lily Myrtle (my grandmother), Stanley, and Virgie. Front Row–Roy, Clemency, Edwin, Herbert, and George.

I remember my grandmother having an old “Big Chief” tablet that had a history of the family, handwritten by her “Aunt Nan Agee.” Here it is, with some minor editing to make it easier to read:

History of Some of the Kneislys–by Nancy Belle Kneisly Agee

Part 1) Many years back, my grandfather came over from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania and from there four of his sons came to Ohio, and settled near Dayton Ohio. At the time of my birth, which will be 88 years ago the 30th of Nov. 1938. My grandfather was the wealthiest man in those parts. He owned cotton factories, saw mills, and distilleries, along the little Miami river. He also kept merchandise to supply his employers.

My grandmother’s maiden name was Seigel,of German descent also. Their family consisted of several boys, and one girl Serah. There was to my knowledge four boys, named: John, George, Adam, and Will. Serah married Dr. Ely. He died and left her a widow. I recollect her visiting my mother when I was quite young.

My Grandfather’s name was George and my father’s name was George Jr. My father was drowned near the paper mills six weeks before I was borned. My mother had dismissed the boarders and was alone with us children. He was in the habit of going away for several days at a time on his sprees and had gambled until he had nothing left, so grandfather made him Pay Master at the paper mills.

One evening, he came home early to supper and said he was going fishing, that he had promised to meet some parties at the fishing rock. So when morning came and he did not show up, and the dog, an old Newfoundland kept going to the river and coming back, howling so pitifull, she went to the mill to inquire about him. So they went to the fishing rock and dragged the river and found his body all wrapped up in his trot line. They called the coroner. My Mother never saw him after he was dead.

In a few days she went to Grandfather Kneisly to see if he would loan her some money, until she could go to work again. And what do you suppose he said to her? “Pops, you are still young and good looking, bind your children out and you can marry again.” (Binding refers to selling the children to another family where they would be indentured servants.) She replied, “No father, I will not bind them. I will work my finger nails off first.”

Then she went home and wrote to her Father. He came and moved her home, and in six weeks I was borned then. She remembered a Mr. Nixon, a big mill man she had often heard my father speak of. She wrote to Mr. Nixon for a job in his paper mill and a house. He answered back that his houses were all full, but he had a small cottage that was empty, and she could have a job in his mill. So in six weeks, grandfather Stewart moved her to the Nixon Mill, one half mile of Clifton Ohio.

There she lived in the little cottage working and sending the older Elizabeth, Dave, and Jane, to school and Sunday School, and church for three years. But the tide was bound to turn. One quarter of a mile from town you came to a bridge across a small stream of water that flowed through the meadow of a large farm. You left the main road and followed the river down to Mr. Nixon’s Mills. About another quarter mile, you came to the little cottage where my Mother lived. Next was five other large houses with two families in each house. On a little farther, you came to the paper mills across a narrow plat farm. You walked in to the upper part called the rag room where the woman worked.

Part 2) One Sunday, Mother was fixing the children off to Sunday School when there was a knock on the door. She thought it was some neighbor. She called, “Come in,” and in walked an old gentleman. Well, she was so confused that she forgot to set him a chair. She said, “I was just getting the children off to Sunday school.” He replied, “Go ahead and don’t let me bother you. I just called on a little business.”

So Mother sent the children on and the old gentleman broached the subject of his visit–he was alone with a large farm and he would love to marry her, and move her and her children to his home. Mother replied, “I haven’t given a thought about marriage, but would study about it” and let him know. So he continued his visits. Mother, being wise, decided she would be doing well to go with him, so they were married. I was three years old, my sister Elisabeth was about eleven, and Jane about nine, Dave about seven, and Jim about five.

So Father Braley and Mother worked together sending the children to school, Sunday school and church for several years. One day, Father was building a fence when he let a rail fall. It skinned his shin bone, making quite a wound. He neglected to doctor until it became poisoned, causing him to have a chronic sore. That was before civil war. Mother and the boys still kept the work going on the farm. In the year of Sixty, the war broke out, and he died, leaving Mother a widow again. Elisabeth had married a Dave Berg of the Methodist church. Jane had gone to Aleto, Illinois, to my Aunt McDoy’s.

Dave went and joined the Army. That was about the year of 1863. That left Mother, Jim, and I at home. Jim ran away, went to the Army. Mother followed him, taking him out twice. The third time, Mother followed him to Cincinnati. There they talked her out of taking him back as a man by the name of Shadric had sworn him in as his guardian and left with the Eight-hundred bounty, so she came home without him. That left Mother and I at home to care for the home and livestock.

Dave would write to Mother not to sell the livestock, that he would be home soon as he could. She wrote for Jane to come home and be with her and I. She came and when the War was over. Dave came home as soon as he could.

One day Mother looked out and up the lane, she saw Jim coming. She started running to embrace him. He called out, “Mother, don’t touch me–I’m lousy, (covered in lice). Take me some clothes to the garden.” So she did. He changed his clothes and buried his war clothes before coming in the house. So there we were, all that was left of us, at home again.

Mother had received a letter from Illinois that Elisabeth had died from the cows eating a poison weed. Dave Berg and his three children got well. I suppose some of them are still living. Their names were Sam, Henry, and Emma Jane.

Part 3) I was going to school to graduate as a teacher for two six months terms. Dave was going with a girl at Yellow Springs. Her name was Anna Blue. They were married. He brought her home. Jim was working for George Brayley, grinding bark for the tannery house.

Dave traded his government bonds for land in Missouri. Joining Wess Hackys, he wanted to go to Missouri to his land. Mother thought she could not part away from him, so she sold her dowry in the farm. Father Brayley left her to his son George, and sold her belongings, and sent Dave on before to buy her a place. He bought the old Hicks place, paid Seventy Dollars for it.

We then came to Jefferson City. Mother, Jane, Jim and I and Dave’s wife. We were there over Sunday and Monday Morning. We started home, were on the road all day, reaching home late in the evening. In the morning, the man that moved us took Mother and I as far as Mt Pleasant to get the deed fixed. He went on home and Mother and I walked back 2-1/2 miles the post office in Mr Franklin’s Store.

That was the day I first met Mr Franklin, Alice Simpson’s father. He claimed it was love on first sight on his part. He was a frequent visitor to our home until Mother gave her consent for us to be married. He would come every Sunday with a horse and buggy and take me out to Salem to church. Well that fall, in October, we were married. He was 30 yrs. old that day and Nov. the 30th I was Eighteen. We were at his Brother Will’s for a few weeks and we went to housekeeping. He was a partner in the store with his Brother Will,

We bought a house and a cow and moved. We were very happy. He worked in the store and I worked fixing up my home. Mother would come up to see us for several months. He had to go to town to California for his goods. While he was there, came a hard rain and raised the Moreau, a stream he had to ford. It was so swift he came very near being washed down the stream. That night he was taken sick. Mother was there. We called the doctor.

The doctor worked and stayed with him until daylight. He got so he could walk to the store. One day he got to shaking. They carried him home. The doctor called it St. Anthony dance. He had those spells quite a while, nothing but the shooking machine would stop them. One evening, several men came in. I was sitting, visiting with them when I saw one of them straighten his feet. I looked at him and saw the death pallor on his face. I didn’t remember anything more.

When I became conscious, he was laid out. The doctor told the woman, “Don’t let her get up.” They tried, but I did get up and knelt down by the casket. They carried me back to bed. Doctor gave me some dope. They took him away for several weeks. I couldn’t realize he was gone. Mother moved me home so she could take care of me. I would go out and set for hours. I imagined I could hear his horses feet. he rode horseback and I could always tell when he was coming.

One day I realized he was gone. I was out sitting by a strawstack crying. Mother came out and said, “Nan, you must be reconciled–you will bring more trouble on your self. I am doing all I can to save you and your baby.”

So I went in the house with her and it wasn’t long until Allie was borned. The doctor came every day until I was out of danger. Mother would set by the fire place and watch her play with her hands. When Brother, Jim heard the baby was borned that it was a girl, he walked home from Wess Hackney’s, where he was working, and the first thing he said, “Mother, what are you going to name her?” She said, “I don’t know.” He said, “Call her Alice.” So we called her Alice, after Alice Williams, the girl Jim loved first, so that’s that.

Stay tuned for more on the Kneisly family…