Going through the three pages of names, I decided to research each family in the order they appear on the list, and try to determine just how they are related to each other and to me. This required searching a number of different genealogical sites and sources, as many of the families were unfamiliar to me.
We have turned the page and are now on Page 2 of the Grant & Lilley Family Reunion Guest List. Who and/or what will we encounter here.
21. Mr. O. B. Porter
We first learned of Mr. O. B. Porter of Houlton on the last Blog – he was the professional photographer who attended the Reunion and took what I believe was the photograph that hung on the wall of my grandparents sitting room.
Oscar Bryan Porter was born on 13th of February 1885, the son of Leonard & Nellie Melvina (Rand) Porter. He was the oldest of eleven children, all born in the area around Island Falls, Aroostook County. Oscar B. Porter has no direct personal connection to the Grant or Lilley family, he can be thought of as simply the photographer, who was hired to take the group photograph.
However, he did have a connection to both the Grant and Lilley family through his wife, Emily Inez (Robinson) Porter. She was the 2nd cousin of Lewis Leavitt and his wife Pauline (Soule) Leavitt. They also attended the reunion and are listed on the guest list as family #3. It makes you wonder if this connection is why he was chosen as the group photographer.
Although Emily did not attend the reunion with her husband and his assistant, she is related to me indirectly through her Lilly and Grant Ancestors.
Emily Inez Robinson was born the 6th of November 1886 in Sherman, Aroostook County. She was the daughter of Cyrus Elmer and Martha Edwina (Leavitt) Robinson. Her mother, Martha Edwina was the 2nd cousin of Lewis Leavitt. Emily married Oscar on 8th of October 1905 in Island Falls, Aroostook. They were the parents of five children: Nathaniel, Halbert, Sadie, Laureston and Quenton. It appears that neither Emily or any of the children attended the reunion, as they do not appear on the guest list.
It was after the reunion, but on 31st of May 1926, Oscar B. Porter married Ina Ellen Hand, his photographic assistant.
22. Mr & Mrs. Asa Hall
I recognized this name on the guest list immediately. I have done quite a bit of family research on Mr. and Mrs. Hall. You see, Mrs. Asa (Hannah) Hall is the former Miss Hannah Gardner, my 2nd Great-grandaunt. The daughter of George Washington and Tabitha (Roberts) Gardner, the younger sister of my 2nd Great-grandfather, John Henry Gardner. Asa, her second husband was Hannah’s 1st cousin. He is the son of Samuel and Mary Lee (Roberts) Hall. His mother, Mary Lee is the younger sister of Tabitha. Hannah is one of the closest relatives I have that attended the reunion, yet I have and her connection to the Grant / Lilley family currently is through her 2nd husband, Asa Redington Hall. He is my 1st cousin 4times removed. I have a feeling that Hannah is also directly related to the Lilley family, and I’m actively searching for a connection, but in the mean time, I’ll settle for her being the wife of Asa Redington Hall.
Asa Redington Hall was born on 23rd of September 1851 in Unity, Waldo, Maine. He was the 4th child and 2nd son of Samuel Hall and his second wife, Mary Lee (Roberts) Hall. When Asa was born the Hall family consisted of the 4 children of Samuel and his 1st wife, Harriet, along with Asa’s older sister, Martha Matilda . An older brother, John Quincy Adams Hall and older sister Hannah P. Hall had unfortunately not survived.
Asa was 14 years old when his mother passed away, leaving Asa to strike out on his own. Although no exact date has been found yet, on the 1880 US Federal Census, Asa is listed as HEAD of the family with his wife Nina A. Hall. She was the former Nina A. Randall, daughter of William Randall and Lavonia Longly Clough. By 1900, the couple and their son, Irwin Eldrich, had relocated to Dyer Brook, Aroostook County where Asa bought a farm.
The 1900 US Federal Census has Asa and Nina, along with their son on the family farm in Dyer Brook. Living with the Hall family was Hannah L. Gerrish, Asa’s 1st cousin and her son Owen T. Gerrish. Hannah’s husband, John Gerrish was a close friend of Asa’s and had partnered with him on the running of the farm. John passed away in 1894 and Hannah and her youngest son had moved in with the Halls, allowing Owen to assist with running the farm.
By the 1910 US Federal Census, Owen Gerrish had become a full-fledged partner with Asa Hall. Owen was now married with a 3 year old son, William. Also living on the farm was Herbert and Addie Hughes and their 4 children. Addie Hughes (nee) Gerrish is Owen’s older sister. Herbert worked as a farm laborer. Hannah Gerrish is now listed as HEAD of the family on the farm next door.
Tragedy struck on 10 May 1912, when Nina A. Hall passed away. On 28 June 1913, the 65 year-old, Widow Hannah Gardner Gerrish married her 1st cousin, the 64 year-old Widower Asa Hall. The 1920 US Federal Census has Hannah and Asa living on the smaller neighboring farm that Hannah had occupied prior to their marriage. Hannah’s son Jesse and his family (wife Hattie and their 5 children) are living on the larger farm.
None of the Gerrish or Hall children appear to have attended the Grant & Lilley family reunion in 1922. Mr. and Mrs. Asa Hall of Dyer Brook are listed as the 22nd family on the Guest List. As of the time of this writing, I am still looking for a direct connection for either Asa or Hannah to the Grant or Lilley family.
23. Mr. & Mrs. Walter Lane
Family #23 on the list of attendees is “Mr & Mrs. Walter Lane and family of Smyrna.” According to Ancestry.com, Walter is husband of sister-in-law of nephew of husband of 1st cousin 3x removed. His wife Guilda was the sister of Shirley (Ingalls) Marley, who has a convoluted connection to my 2nd Great Aunt, Hannah (Gardner) Garrish’s daughter May Viola. It seems a rather shaky connection, and perhaps there is a closer one for Walter that I have not yet discovered.
Walter Eben Lane was born on 21st of September 1887 in Litchfield, Kennebec County, Maine. He was the 2nd child and eldest son of Francis E. Lane and Caroline “Carrie” Deering. His childhood was spent in Litchfield, where his father was a farmer.
On 28th of August 1916, Walter was married to Guilda Ingalls, daughter of Ross Ingalls and F. Maude Lakeman. She was the sister of Shirley Ingalls Marley, wife of Benjamin Marley and will appear in a future listing. By 1918, Walter, Guilda and their son Craig Ingalls Lane had moved from Litchfield to Smyrna, Aroostook County. Walter at this time was Superintendent of the Smyrna Schools. It was here that their next three children (Elizabeth 1919, Margaret 1921 and Albion 1922) were born. At the time of the reunion, Albion was barely one month old and may not have accompanied his parents and siblings to the reunion.
24. Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Hall
The 24th name on the guest list is “Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Hall of Whittier, California.” Jesse Whitmore Hall was the son of Samuel and Mary Lee (Roberts) Hall, the younger brother of Asa Redington Hall (Family #22 above). Jesse is also my 1st Cousin 4times removed, but he has a very clear link to the Grant/Lilley family. Mrs. J. W. Hall is the former Annie Mary Grant, the daughter of William Burt and Esther (Travis) Grant. Mrs. Angie Soule is Annie Mary’s sister.
Jesse Whitmore Hall was born 3rd of November 1856 in Unity, Waldo County. He was the seventh of the Hall’s nine children. Like his brother Asa, he was born on the family farm, but unlike his brother, he did not remain in Maine. He appears with his family on the 1860 US Federal Census, but with the death of his father and mother by the time he was 14 years of age, he set out on his own.
Jesse is found in the 1870 US Federal Census working as a farm laborer on a farm in Presque Isle, Aroostook County. He appears to have remained here until prior to his marriage on 27th of November 1879 to Miss Annie Mary Grant. They were married in Dyer Brook, Aroostook County, which is where a number of his siblings had settled. His bride, Mary Ann Grant was born Jun 1863 in Dyer Brook, Aroostook County, the daughter of William Burt Grant and Mary Ann Lilley. The Hall family remained in Dyer Brook for the birth of their first three children; daughters Eva, Mary Ann and Winnie. By 1887 and the birth of their 4th child and first son, Raymond, the family had relocated to New York State. They did not remain here long as their 5th child, Mattie Edna was born in Oregon as was their youngest two children, Harry and Emma.
Jesse is listed as a Sawmill Laborer on the 1900 Census, explaining his move out West. They left Oregon and ended up in Nevada, as seen on the 1910 US Federal Census. In Nevada, Jesse is working as a Teamster on a Freighter and Annie is working as the Keeper of a Mine Boarding house. Their youngest two children, Harry and Emma are living with them, with Harry working in the mine.
The 1920 US Federal Census shows that the Jesse and Annie make their final move, to Whittier, Los Angeles County, California. Here Jesse is listed as working as the Janitor at an oil company. It was from here that Jessie and Annie traveled back to Dyer Brook to attend the Grant & Lilley Family Reunion on 26 August 1922. It appears that none of the children made the trip back East.
25. Mrs. Percy Lougee & Children
The 25th name on the Grant & Lilley Family Reunion Guest List is “Mrs Percy Lougee & Children of Dyer Brook.” It didn’t take long to locate Percy Lougee and find the maiden name of his wife. She is Marjorie Velma (Lilley) Lougee, the daughter of Sidney Joseph Lilley and Frances Pippin Grant. Listed by Amazon.com as wife of 1st Cousin 4times removed, she can also be listed as a the niece of the husband of Second Great-grandaunt. Because her parents were 1st Cousins and were so closely related to both the Grant and Lilley families, I’m sure she can be listed as a number of different relatives to me.
Marjorie Velma Lilley was born 23rd September 1898 in Island Falls, Aroostook County, the youngest child of Joseph and Fannie Lilley. As their youngest child, she remained with her parents until her marriage in 1916. On 26th of October of that year, Marjorie married Percy Oscar Lougee, the son of Oscar and Carrie (Stevens) Lougee. Married in Smyrna, they settled in Dyer Brook. The 1920 US Federal Census lists Percy and Marjorie, their two sons, Howard and Ralph, along with Percy’s widowed mother Carrie. The two boys, aged 5 and 3, are the “& children” included on the reunion attendance list.
Finding My Family Tree 