*Follow up 08/01/2016... Finally received my certificate in the mail!
*Follow up 3/22/2016... Good news!!! My Mother and I are now members of Daughters of the American Revolution!
Recently, I found a magical document about my 5G-grandfather, Simeon Skeels. It is his Revolutionary War pension file. I nearly did a back flip when I found the following family record included within the pages:
There it is, in black and white, handwritten, nearly 200 years ago... Isaac Skeels (my 4G-grandfather), born April the 6 AD 1793, son of Simeon Skeels and Asenath.
Once you see Isaac's obituary, you will agree, that I am the luckiest woman in the world:
And to tie this up nice and neat, proof that my #G-grandfather Thaddeus Skeels was the son of Isaac and his wife Anna:
Here is where things could get potentially sticky... Thaddeus and Mary's daughter, Ella Skeels (my 2G-grandmother), married Benjamin White:
Do you see the witnesses? Thaddeus & Mary Skeels. I have the 1860 & 1870 census that show Ella living with her parents. So why does Ella's death record say that her father's name was Myron Skeels?
Clearly, Ella's youngest daughter was not the best informant, as she was only 3 years old when her grandfather passed.
And then you have Ella's marriage record to her second husband, John Parker that states her father's name was Theodore S. Keels:
The Michigan marriage records are full of transcriptions errors. From what I understand, the powers that be in the county would submit their records to the state once a year. The registers available are from the state and if the submitter had really bad handwriting, Thaddeus Skeels transforms into Theodore S. Keels, for all of eternity.
I am not sure if this inconsistency will be an issue for the DAR or not. It's both amusing and annoying that the older records are more accurate than the newer.
To wrap up my connection to Simeon, there is my great-grandfather, Vern White, son of Benjamin & Ella:
Vern married Hazel Rogers and they were my Grandfather's parents. My Grandpa passed away in Janurary at the age of 95. He was the very best Grandpa that a girl could ever ask for.
