I know that family historians are not going stir crazy during these stay-at-home times. We know how to keep busy yet our research these days must be done online rather than in person. So, let's see what an online investigation can do to confirm family lore.
I am researching an old family story about my great grandmother online as family stories have a way of growing. When they grow too much, they become fiction. One such story was that my 4th great grandfather was witness to the war of 1812 from the British side and, seeing how beautiful the US was, decided to emigrate. When I checked that out, I find that he was working at a military hospital and on the ship in the Mediterranean during the war. Soldiers from many nations were treated at the hospital. He may have heard stories about the U.S. It is not accurate yet it is MY family story :-)
Today, I am going to explore another family story and verify it to a degree. This is the story of how my great grandmother Zola and her sister Orpha met their husbands. The sisters lived in a small town near Frederick called Ijamsville. Their father, Allen J Eccard, was a farmer there. There were a limited number of families living there and fewer businesses. Jobs were scarce in the area yet the sisters needed to make some money. So, they made lunches and sold them to the men working on the railroad near their home. There were young men among the laborers and the girls continued with their successful new business cheered on by the reality of meeting men other than the few there were in a small town. My great grandfather Herbert Hare and his brother Charles were two of those young men.
The story mentions their location, their names and their father’s name. I will start looking at the US Census for Allen to see if the family actually lived there at the time. In Family Search, I find the 1880 and 1900 US Census for Allen Eccard, born in Maryland. They are living in District 9; the south part of New Market. At this time, Orpha is 15 and Zola is 12 years old. Sounds like the right family although Zola seems a bit young for this story.
Checking Google Maps, I see that New Market is just north of Ijamsville. I need to know how far north to see if southern New Market is Ijamsville. I asked for directions in Maps and there are only 3.9 miles between the two.
FACT: I can confirm that they lived in Ijamsville during the correct time period.
The brothers were working on the railroad according to the story. I want to know if there is or was a train line very near Ijamsville. Zola and Orpha would have walked to the site or they would have taken a horse and buggy if the family had one.
I am zooming in on Ijamsville on Google maps to see if there is a train line nearby. I think I spot something that might be it and I drag the yellow-orange dude over and drop him on the map near this ‘something’ and see a railroad crossing at street level! I assume that the railroad put this line through before 1900 but let’s double check. I wonder if it is easier to search for old maps or the history of Ijamsville. Let’s start with Wikipedia. The Ijamsville listing states that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was asking about building through the town in the 1830s. This means that the work the brothers did would have been upkeep work.
Searching the Library of Congress newspaper site to find mentions of the railroad and Ijamsville from 1895 to 1905 yet the site is experiencing technical difficulties. Wikipedia’s reference list is not providing the information I seek either. By Googling “B&O 1900 in Ijamsville MD”, I did come across two documents which demonstrate that the railroad was in active use during the correct time period.
“peak growth period of Ijamsville (1890-1910), particularly along Mussetter and Ijamsville Rd. While Ijams Mill and the B&O railroad...” MD Historic Trust
“but the B&O Railroad access was responsible for its greatest period of operation from 1831 to about the 1920’s”. Frederick County Historic Preservation Plan
PROBABLE: The brothers could have been working on the railroad as the trains were in use and a vital part of the local economy.
So, the facts for the story pan out. Let’s see what actually happened to them. I go back to the 1900 US Census record for Allen J and family and click on Zola’s name. Under ‘Similar Historic Records’ there is a link to FindAGrave for Zola Mae Eccard Hare. So, I know they got married even though they would have waited a few years. Orpha has no ‘Similar Historic Records’ listed (this is likely due to the fact that her name is transcribed incorrectly from the census as Orthey). There is a link at the top, “Attached to: Orpha C. Eccard 1885–1972 L4QT-CR6” and that record refers to a marriage to Charles M Hare in 1903 (when Orpha was 18) and links to the 1920 US Census which lists an Orpha Hare living in her father’s household.
Of course, I know they got married and I have pictures of Zola, Herbert and Orpha but not Charles as he died young. And, now I know that the story is based on fact even if embellished a bit by its retelling!
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