There are lots of challenges in genealogy! Even writing this post is a challenge, with all the twisty branches involved.
One of my biggest brick walls right now concerns this lady, who I believe is Ann Eliza Wood (1846?-1883), my 3rd great-grandmother. The only clue I have is the photographer’s identification on the back: “Rutherford and Boardman, Mirror Block, Seneca Falls, N.Y.”
Ann Eliza’s husband, Nehemiah Wood (1825-1902?) was from Putnam County, New York, about 260 miles away from Seneca Falls, where their son John Seymour Wood, was born in 1868. They still lived in Seneca Falls in 1870 but were in Putnam County by 1880.
I’m not certain what brought Nehemiah to Seneca Falls, where he met Ann Eliza, or when they married.
So what was Ann Eliza’s story? Who were her parents? Was she born in Seneca Falls, too? Unfortunately, New York did not start keeping consistent vital records until 1881, so it’s difficult to know.
According to my great aunt’s notes, Ann Eliza’s maiden name was Tibbles. In 1850, a 7-year-old Ann Tibbles and her older two siblings, Charles (age 18) and Mary (age 11), lived with Alanson and Sally Hoyt in Bedford, New York. Mr. Hoyt was a basket maker, a profession Charles appears to have followed, as I find an 1860 census record for him, working as a basket maker in Seneca Falls.
Does this record point to the same Ann Eliza Tibbles? The clues seem to add up, but things get complicated. My great aunt noted that Ann Eliza’s son John Wood had two half-brothers – Charles Frazier and George Hoyt. Charles Frazier married a Tillie Tibbles. But my trails of these people have gone cold.
Also, some records give Ann Eliza’s last name as Hoyt. Was she adopted by the Hoyt family? What happened to her parents?
And who are these half-brothers? Nehemiah was about 20 years older than Ann Eliza, and it would make more sense for the half-brothers to be Nehemiah’s sons, but wouldn’t their last name be Wood? Was Nehemiah not married to their mothers? Or were they Ann Eliza’s children?
In 1880, the Wood family was living with Nehemiah’s parents in Putnam County. Sarah Hoyt was also listed in the household as the mother-in-law. She was roughly the same age as Nehemiah’s parents, so I assume she was Nehemiah’s mother-in-law, not the elder Mr. Wood’s. (His name was also Nehemiah…but let’s not complicate things further.) Was Sarah actually Sally from Bedford?
Putting this puzzle together will take some time. My next steps are finding death certificates for Ann Eliza and her son. Eventually, I will untangle this tree.
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