How do I find the middle name of my gggf George W. Blakeslee?

Question

Others researchers have his name listed as George Washington Blakeslee but my g-gf, on all documents, lists  his name as George William Blakeslee . Other public records list "W." I can't connect to anyone without his middle name! I thought he was born in 1854 in Monroe or Carbon Co., PA and died in 1929 in Sayre, Bradford Co., PA but without the middle name, I'm stuck, and have been for over 25 years.

G-gf John Henry Blakeslee b. 1872 Dallas, Luzerne Co, PA , d. 1939 Hazleton, Luzerne Co.,  PA . Father George W. Blakeslee, mother Alice Watson but she's a mystery, too.  Thought she died between 1875-1877 but can find nothing. Pretty sure he has a brother Watson Blakeslee b. 1875 Dallas, Luzerne Co.. I've been corresponding with g-gson of Watson and his g-ggm was Adelaide, and things pretty well match except names and some dates.

Any suggestions? Have census, marriage and death cert of John, and all census possible. Have Watson's death cert and few census. No census on Alice or whoever she is and death cert, no SS, nothing!! Still no clue.

Comments

Hi, Sharon, and welcome to WikiTree. Does this George Blakeslee have an existing profile in WikiTree where members can look at the known evidence?

If the son is listing his father's middle name as William on a primary source document and that information is known to come from the son, then I would accept that unless there would be several pieces of primary source documentation showing that to be in error. It would be a very common genealogical error to assume a George W Anyone was a George Washington Anyone.

Is he found in the History of Luzerne County? Since many of those late 19th Century county histories relied on a variety of human hearsay sources for info, the info may not always be correct.

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Afraid I haven't put him in Wiki Tree yet. He isn't listed in Luzerne Co. History, Monroe or Carbon Counties, PA where his branch is supposedly the branch. G-gf's marriage and SS application listed the middle name as William. Of course, John was born in 1872 as I stated and don't find him until 1900 in Hazleton already married with children.

I had oral history from a great uncle who also did research but when he died, so did the history he collected. He stated that "my" George's father or grandfather was Jacob Blakeslee (founder of Blakeslee, PA)  and I pursued that for years to the point of writing to every Blakeslee in Monroe, Carbon, and Luzerne Co. Also to a g-granddaughter of Jacob comparing oral history to her known history. We were close but then she died. No maternal family knew anything about their grandfather. He never spoke of family. I will be adding this family as soon as I can figure out how. LOL  Thank you for replying so quickly. At least I'm not wrong to not use the middle name Washington yet. But I'm finding my g-gf attached to the George Washington in other people's trees in other databases, which upsets me.

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I would go ahead and create the profile so the basic info is readily available along with a Research Notes section where you can outline the common conflations and confusions. That will help all of us such as Jamie below who found the obit for what seems to be the other George W.

I had a situation two-three generations back in one of my ancestral lines where family became estranged and very little was known about siblings or parents--and many families with the same surname (and common given names) that were only very distantly related. That started in western PA and then across the border in New York. It was eventually pieced together from records such as you are slowly finding and asking for assistance both from county historians and historical societies. Eventually there were enough pieces of information to put everything together--it took decades with a grandmother who began the effort in 1966 (but of course everything then was mail correspondence and no internet). I found the county historians and historical societies had so much information not available online. They were also often helpful in debunking common myths with records that clearly showed a common belief to be in error.

One of the very reasons I gravitated to WikiTree a few years ago was because, for the most part, it is a group that values accuracy rather than replicating common mistakes. WT has its share of mistakes but it has people constantly working to correct those. Yes, I am also often irritated to see trees on various sites with information that has been debunked (and often debunked long, long ago).

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I think I had put a small profile in Wiki a few years ago. I had joined and did a little bit but work got in the way. I was "looking around" yesterday and he's there. The first born son of John Henry Blakeslee was George William Blakeslee who was born in 1898 and died in 1901. This is why I would believe John Henry Blakeslee's father was George William B., too. He followed the customs of naming at that time. A lot of Blakeslee's are buried in the Vine Street Cemetery in Hazleton, Luzerne Co., PA.  I tried reading the "How To" on here but got confused, so hen my head clears, I'll try again.

Answer 1

The obituary for George W. Blakeslee who died in Sayre only mentions two daughters -- Mrs F. D. Blakeslee of Coal Glen and Mrs. J. A. Ruggles.

The Dubois Courier, 21 March 1929, p. 1 (https://newspaperarchive.com/dubois-courier-mar-21-1929-p-1/)

Comments

That George W. Blakeslee was married to Ida West and had four children: Blanche Blakeslee married to Franklin Blakeslee (Yes, correct surnames different branches), Daisy Blakeslee married to John A. Ruggles, Merton Delos Blakeslee and Herman C. Blakeslee. (I have a database of almost 8200 "non-related Blakeslee's" that I started because of the problem with my branch.) This is the George everyone is using with the middle name of Washington yet no one has a source for that except someone else's database. He is also the son of Jacob Blakeslee and the one I've been following but no proof. This George and Ida were only married around 1877 according to the 1900 census so I assume it's a second marriage yet the first child was born in 1871-1873 according to the 1880 and 1900 census. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? LOL

Answer 2

That is George Washington Blakeslee. His son Herman Charles Blakeslee was my grandfather.

Comments

I have no proof that his middle name was Washington since the George Blakeslee's middle name I'm looking for was William according to his son John Henry. Do you have any proof  of that middle name?

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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82088894/george-washington-blakeslee: accessed 10 February 2023), memorial page for George Washington Blakeslee (9 Mar 1854–20 Mar 1929), Find a Grave Memorial ID 82088894, citing McClure Cemetery, Big Run, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Marianne (contributor 47147246).

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I've seen that but where is the proof that his middle name was Washington? It doesn't state it on his death cert and I don't see it on the tombstone either. Do you have any documents besides FindAGrave?

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That's how my grandfather recollected his name.  I'll ask my siblings if they have any more definitive evidence!  Regards, Charles

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I've looked into this a bit more, and it looks to me like George Washington Blakeslee's father is John Elvin Blakeslee, so perhaps he is not the George W. Blakeslee you're looking for.

┌─   32. Jacob Blakeslee Sr. 17 Mar 1780 Plymouth, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States - 22 Oct 1851 Tobyhanna, Monroe, Pennsylvania, United States

┌─  16. John Elvin Blakeslee 07 Mar 1825 Blakeslee, Tobyhanna Township, Monroe, Pennsylvania, United States - 25 Mar 1866 Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States

└─   33. Rachael White abt 1790 - 14 Oct 1854

┌─   8. George Washington Blakeslee 09 Mar 1854 White Haven, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States - 20 Mar 1929 Sayre, Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States

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John Elvin had 3 children: William, George, and Rachel. This is the family that was pointed out as my connection years ago. Rachel married William Orr Miller. My g-gf lived with "Aunt Rae and Uncle Orr" for a while in Stroudsburg or Mauch Chunk, PA (not near my data right now) after John's mother died between 1875-1877. They didn't have any children. If naming customs would be  correct, John Henry Blakeslee, son of George William Blakeslee would be named for his grandfather, John (middle name) Blakeslee. I've followed so many various George's and John's but keep coming back to the above family but can't  go any further without a documented source for George W.(illiam) Blakeslee.

So much can't be coincidence and this is why I need a definite middle name for George W. Blakeslee.