Eureka - I think I found it! Part III

My Q & D Match Trees

In Eureka - I think I found it! Part I, I shared a photo of the trees I have on the wall in my office. The trees are "quick and dirty" (Q & D) trees developed from the trees of DNA matches and extended using Ancestry hints and other quick searches.

Reviewing the information I already had about Harry Hughes confirmed that I had many large gaps in his timeline:

He was born 31 December 1874 in Chester, Cheshire, England. His father was Samuel.

He crossed the border from Canada to the US in about July of 1891 or 1892.

He was inducted into the I.O.O.F. in 1906 in Breckenridge, Minnesota.

He married Anna Kline in 1916. He is shown in the federal census of 1920, 1930, and 1940 with Anna and family.

His Railroad Board Retirement file shows that he worked for Soo Line Railroad in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1920 to 1944 when he retired.

He died in January 1957 in Crystal, Minnesota.

The big gaps are between 1874 and 1891/1892; between 1892 and1906; and between 1906 and 1916.

Obvious searches did not give any more clues about those gaps.

So my next step was to stand back - to stand and stare at the charts on the wall. I stared and looked for duplicate names; I stared and looked for duplicate surnames, and I stared and looked for any clue that would give me direction on where to go next.

And I looked at my online Q & D trees for any clues as well. The unfortunate by-product of totally English surnames is they are all very bland and unmemorable. You need to review them several times because they all blend together.

Eventually, I noticed duplicate surnames that popped up on more than one tree: Lee, Lewis, Cheers, Woodward, and even a Hughes or two. Concentrating on the ones with Cheshire, England locations, I built those trees as far back as possible then continued building them forward again finding as many descendants as possible.

Several Samuel Hughes showed up and there were many William Hughes but I still couldn't find a Harry. Yet I was convinced the answer was on the wall.

I reviewed my digital file of "possible" Hughes documents. Several had Harry at the right age but not Samuel as a father. Several had Samuel at the right age but not a Harry. I remember telling my husband that I was concerned that Sam and Harry weren't really father and son but maybe uncle and nephew. I thought perhaps Hughes was Samuel's surname but Harry was Sam's sister's child and actually had a different surname.

Then I spotted this 1871 English census in my file, it had been there since 2011.

1871 English census for Samuel Hughes¹

Here's a closer view of the highlighted part.

Closer view of 1871 English census for Samuel Hughes

Samuel Hughes, age 29, and Frances (his wife), age 27 were living in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, with their son, George Woodward, age 1. Samuel was a slaughterhouse constable and had been born in Harthill, Cheshire, England. Frances was born in Christleton, Cheshire, England. And George was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.

George's middle name was Woodward. And I had seen the name "Woodward" on two of the DNA match charts on my wall. So I investigated this family further. The first step was to look at the family in the following censuses.

Well, that turned out to be easier said than done. I found George living in Christleton with his grandmother, Elizabeth Woodward, in 1881. I couldn't find Frances or Samuel as easily. In 1891, Frances is back in Birkenhead and George is living with her. She is now a midwife and George is a grocer's assistant. Frances's marital status is listed as married. But Samuel is not there. Where is Samuel?

Are these the people I'm looking for? It's possible but I have many questions. So it's back to my "possible Hughes" digital files.

Here is a portion of a ship's list file I've had in that digital folder since 2017.

1879 Ship's List for Samuel Hughes²

It shows Saml Hughes, age 38, with Jos P Hughes, age 4.  They arrived in Quebec from Liverpool on the ship Sarmatian on July 13, 1879.

The reason I kept this record was that I assumed Saml was Samuel and he was of the right age. Also the middle initial of the child, Jos "P" was intriguing. I assumed that the child's full name was Joseph P. Hughes. He was also of the right age although he had the wrong first name.

Again, there are more questions. If this is Samuel, why would he be traveling to Canada with one child? And who is Joseph P. Hughes?

I went to findmypast.com to look at the births, marriages, and deaths in the parish registers. I was hoping the family married and baptized in the Church of England to make the records easier to find. I decided to try to find George Woodward's and Joseph's baptisms. I wanted to see if they were from the same family.

These are descriptions of some of the records I found.

George Woodward Hughes was the son of Samuel Hughes and his wife, Frances. They lived on Somerville St. in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Samuel was a market inspector. George was baptized on 26 December 1869 at St. Peter's church in Birkenhead.³ 

Lizzie Annie Hughes was the daughter of Samuel Hughes and his wife, Frances. They lived in Garston, Liverpool, Lancashire, England. Samuel was a plate-layer. Lizzie was born 12 November 1871 and baptized on 16 March 1875 at St. Peter's church in Liverpool.⁴ 

Joseph Percy Hughes was the son of Samuel Hughes and his wife, Frances. They lived in Garston, Liverpool, Lancashire, England. Samuel was a plate-layer. Joseph was born 31 December 1874 and baptized on 16 March 1875 at St. Peter's church in Liverpool on the same day as his sister, Lizzie.⁵ 

I bolded Joseph's name above as it fits with the name on the ship's list as the child traveling with Samuel Hughes in 1879. I've bolded Joseph's birthday as it is significant in that it matches exactly the birthday that Harry Percy Hughes used consistently throughout his life in the United States.

I also found this marriage record.

Marriage record for Samuel Hughes and Frances Woodward 1869⁶

Samuel Hughes, age 27, a bachelor, farmer from Broxton, son of Samuel Hughes, also a farmer,  married on 6 March 1869 at St. Johns in Chester parish, Frances Woodward, age 25, spinster, daughter of Joseph Woodward, also a farmer.








These are definitely some good leads but are they the right family for certain? No, in fact, now I've discovered that there was more than one Samuel and Frances Hughes with children in the Cheshire and Lancashire areas. The Samuel and Frances Hughes with the son George Woodward Hughes lived in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England which is directly across the river from Liverpool in Lancashire where Joseph and Lizzie Annie were baptized six years later.

I will have to build the families for any Samuel and Frances Hughes in the area in hopes of keeping them separate.

Currently, my theory is that the three children above are the children of Samuel and Frances Woodward Hughes.

• A woman named Frances Hughes is found in 1891 with only George present.
• A man named Samuel Hughes is found in 1879 on a ship's list from Liverpool to Quebec with a Joseph P. Hughes.
• Joseph P. Hughes has the same birthday that Harry Hughes used in the United States.
• Hughes and Woodward are names found in the DNA matches that also have locations of Cheshire, England.

There is more work to do. I have trees to build and records to find. I have questions to answer:

What happened to Lizzie Annie?

Are there more children? 

Why did Sam leave?

Where was Sam when Harry AKA Joseph came to the United States? 

So many more questions!

1. "1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census," database, findmypast.com (www.findmypast.com: accessed 13 November 2011); citing [The National Archives] Series RG10, piece 3745, folio 66, p. 55; entry for Samuel Hughes (age 29), Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.
2. Ancestry.com. Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: C-4530, month 7. Passenger Lists, 1865–1935. Microfilm Publications T-479 to T-520, T-4689 to T-4874, T-14700 to T-14938, C-4511 to C-4542. Library and Archives Canada, n.d. RG 76-C. Department of Employment and Immigration fonds. Library and Archives Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
3. "Cheshire Diocese of Chester parish baptisms 1538-1911," database, findmypast.com (www.findmypast.com: accessed 20 March 2020); baptismal entry for George Woodward Hughes, 26 December 1869, St. Peter, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.
4. Lancashire Baptisms," database, database, findmypast.com (www.findmypast.com: accessed 20 March 2020); baptismal entry for Lizzie Annie Hughes, 16 March 1875, St. Peter, Liverpool. Lancashire, England.
5. "Lancashire Baptisms," database, database, findmypast.com (www.findmypast.com: accessed 20 March 2020); baptismal entry for Joseph Percy Hughes, 16 March 1875, St. Peter, Liverpool. Lancashire, England.
6. "Cheshire Diocese of Chester parish marriages 1538 - 1910,” database, findmypast.com (www.findmypast.com: accessed 20 March 2020); marriage entry for Samuel Hughes and Frances Woodward, 6 March 1869, St. John the Baptist, Chester, Cheshire, England.