On 1 April 2016, I wrote about a puzzle that I had tentatively solved involving two men named John McNabb - one of whom ought to be included in my Callin Family History. Now that I'm at that point in the editorial process where I really need to determine which one is the "right" one, I need to revisit the evidence and make a choice.
Just to re-set the stage, here is the section about Mary Ferguson and Reuben McNabb from my draft of the Callin Family History:
40. Mary E Ferguson (Eliza Callin-3, John-2, James "1st"-1) was born in 1833 in Ohio, and she grew up in Jackson, De Kalb County, Indiana. Mary and Reuben McNabb were married on 16 Nov 1854 in De Kalb, Indiana. Reuben was the youngest son of John McNabb (1792–1860) and Mary Young (1787–1873), born on 25 Dec 1829 in Pennsylvania.
Reuben and Mary lived in Jackson, De Kalb, Indiana in 1860. They moved to Michigan in about 1865, and they lived in Chester, Eaton County, Michigan in 1870 and 1880.
Mary died about 1895 at the age of 62 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan. Reuben remained in Grand Rapids through at least 1896. He was an inmate in the Missaukee County Home in Reeder, Missaukee County, Michigan in 1910 and he died there on 5 Apr 1911 at the age of 81.
- Reuben Mc knab - Age 40
- Mary Mc knab - Age 36
- George Mc knab - Age 15
- James Mc knab - Age 11
- William Mc knab - Age 9
- John Mc knab - Age 6
- Ellen Mc knab - Age 4
- Martha Mc knab
- Marcus Mc knab
Note that the last two are infant twins; after 1870, Reuben and Mary had two more children:
Mary E McNabb (1871–1940)
Oliver Otis McNabb (1874–1931)
So, this is our first data point for the John McNabb we are trying to identify. Note that his estimated birthdate here would be about 1864; he is the last child listed as born in Indiana - we assume that means he was born while his parents lived in Jackson, De Kalb County, and after that, they moved to Michigan.
The Problem
There are two men named "John McNabb" with distinctly different life stories, both of whom have multiple records that claim their parents are Reuben McNabb and Mary Ferguson. The stories the records tell of their lives are different enough to rule out the likelihood that both are the same man - but the details are inconsistent enough that either man could "fit" as the son of Reuben and Mary; and none of the other McNabb siblings left behind obituaries that mentioned their brother, John, or his location.
It is also possible (maybe even likely) that either of these two men was the biological son of another McNabb - a nephew or cousin of Reuben - taken in and raised by Reuben and Mary. Neither of them appears in the 1880 Census records for Rueben and Mary's household, and while I found a John McNabb (b. 1864 in IN) living in Chester, Eaton County, Michigan, in that census, I have no way of determining which John McNabb he is:
The 1880 Census for Chester, Eaton County, Michigan
Name: John Mc Nabb
Age: 16
Birth Date: Abt 1864
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1880: Chester, Eaton, Michigan, USA
Relationship to Head of household: Servant
Marital status: Single
Occupation: Laborer
So, with that, I'm going to present the Narrative and the Evidence for both men, and hope that in the process of drafting a post like this, I'll learn something!
First, I need to identify a point where there is some overlap. There are several City Directory entries that place a "John G. McNabb" at the same address as Reuben and men who are, presumably, John's brothers. See if you can sort out who is supposed to be who:
Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1889
McNab John, foreman, res 170 Henry.Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1892
" John jr, elevator man, bds 170 Henry
McNabb James M, lab St Ry Co of G R, res 593 N Front.
" John, contractor, res 392 Fountain.
" John G, mach hd G R School Furn Co, bds 98 Taylor.
" Marcus E, sawyer, bds 98 Taylor.
" Reuben, mach, res 98 Taylor.
" Wm C, mach hd G R Chair Co, res 392 Taylor.
McNabb James M, mach hd Greenman & Dosch Co, bds 534 Turner.
McNabb John (Campbell & McNabb), res 392 Fountain.
McNabb John, lab, res 170 Henry.
McNabb John G, sticker, bds 158 Taylor.
McNabb Marcus E, carver, bds 158 Taylor.
McNabb Oliver O, mach hd, bds 158 Taylor.
McNabb Miss Retta, clk W T Lamoreaux & Co, bds 170 Henry.
McNabb Reuben, carp, res 158 Taylor.
McNabb Wm C, mach, res 71 E Leonard.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1893
McNab Miss Jennie, clk W T Lamoreaux & Co, bds 170 Henry.
McNab John, lab, res 170 Henry.
McNab Miss Retta, clk W T Lamoreaux & Co, bds 170 Henry.
McNabb James M, mach hd, res 422 Turner.
McNabb John (Campbell & McNabb), res 392 Fountain.
McNabb John, mach G R Hand Screw Co, res 88 Grandville av.
McNabb John C, shaper hd Royal Furn Co, res 45 N Jefferson.
McNabb John G, mach, bds 104 Fremont.
McNabb Martin C, mach, bds 104 Fremont. <-- this is probably Marcus
McNabb Oliver O, teamster, bds 104 Fremont.
McNabb Reuben, eng, res 104 Fremont.
McNabb Wm C, mach hd, res 195 Stocking.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1896
McNab Cora, student, bds 135 Thomas.
McNab John, h 135 Thomas.
McNab Margaret, bds 135 Thomas.
McNabb James M, lab, h 261 Plainfield av.
McNabb John (Campbell & McNabb), h 392 Fountain.
McNabb John C, mach hd, h 165 W Division.
McNabb Joseph, bds 234 Broadway.
McNabb Oliver, porter Baldwin House, bds same.
McNabb Reuben, carp, bds 261 Plainfield av.
McNabb Wm C, mach hd, h 116 Earle.
As tempting as it is to conclude that because "John G" resided at the same address as Reuben, he must be the son we're looking for, there are two reasons to be skeptical of that conclusion.
1) If Reuben took in a nephew named John, his son could have moved out and left the nephew at Reuben's address. There are, after all, up to four different John McNabbs living in Grand Rapids alone, according to these records.
2) I don't trust middle initials as a sole point of evidence. Handwriting and human error, as well as the visual similarity of the letters "C" and "G" could be misleading.
Perhaps there's a clue hidden in the records that we can tie to one man or the other.
**UPDATE**
I found these two records after publishing yesterday, so I'm including them for completeness:
Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1897
McNab Carrie, bds 135 Thomas.
McNab Cora, bds 135 Thomas.
McNab John, lab, h 135 Thomas.
McNab Margaret, bds 135 Thomas.
McNabb James M, mach hd h 261 Plainfield av.
McNabb John (Campbell & McNabb), ha 392 Fountain.
McNabb John C, mach h 165 W Division.
McNabb Marcus E, mach, bds 165 W Division.
McNabb Oliver, driver bds 281 Travis av.
McNabb, Wm C, mach hd, h 116 Earle.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, City Directory, 1899
McNab Cora, bds 135 Thomas.
McNab John, h 135 Thomas.
McNab Margaret, bds 135 Thomas.
McNabb Elizabeth, teacher Jefferson Av School, h 184 N Division.
McNabb James M, carp, h 882 N College av.
McNabb John (Campbell & McNabb), h 392 Fountain.
McNabb John C, mach h 155 Cherry.McNabb Marcus E, painter, h 204 5th.
McNabb, Wm C, mach hd Stickley Bros Co, h 116 Earle.
Take note that Marcus and "John C" from the 1896 directory are rooming together in 1897 and that John C is at the same address as his 1900 Census address in 1899.
Candidate One: John C. McNabb (c. 1860-1932)
This man usually appears listed as either "John C.," or simply "John" McNabb. The first records I found were his 1932 Michigan Death record (number 13, below) and his marriage to Inez in 1912 (number 5). Both records name his parents as Reuben McNabb and Mary Ferguson. Note that Inez was the informant for the Death record, which means that she thought Reuben was born in Scotland and Mary in Ireland; it's possible that they were, and that this means we are talking about the wrong Reuben and Mary, but I think it's more likely that Inez didn't know where her in-laws were born. John was also pretty inconsistent about reporting his parents' birthplaces on the census (see the 1920 and 1930 for examples).Working backward from these documents, I found a number of City Directories that showed where John and Inez lived in Battle Creek and his changes in occupation over time. Note that on their marriage record, he listed his occupation as "millwright" and that he was married once before. Based on these clues, I decided to accept the marriage and divorce records, and the 1900 & 1910 Census records that tell us John married Ella (or Ellen) Archer, they had a daughter who died, and they divorced in 1912 just before his marriage to Inez.
I note that John C's birthdates are all over the place; the earliest reported is Sep 1856, and the latest is about 1872. That's a distressingly wide gap - 16 years is wide enough to worry that I might be conflating records for a father and a son. That said, there are three records that suggest the later dates can be ignored: the 1920 and 1930 census, and the 1912 marriage record. Marriage records tend to ask for age only to ensure the parties are old enough to be married; they don't really care about precision, only that you're "over 21" if you're a man, and "over 18" (usually) if you're a woman. And both census records are from after this marriage record; if Inez was giving the census taker the information, and she says "he's about 8 years older than I am," because that's what he said on their marriage certificate, then you get that consistently wrong date.
The earlier dates present a problem, because the John McNabb we are looking for was not in Reuben and Mary's household in 1860, and should have a birthdate around 1864. That said, John is younger than his first wife, suggesting that he might have given an earlier birthdate on his first marriage record, either out of ego or because the law required him to be 21 and an 1863 birthdate would have made him 18 in 1881. If he lied, we can ignore those earlier dates. That still puts his likely birthdate a couple of years before the birthdates we see on the 1870 and 1880 Census.
The point is: there are a lot of inconsistencies between these records, but despite that, they seem to tell the story of the same person. Here they are in chronological order, so you can construct a narrative from them:
1. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952
Name: John C McNabb
Age: 23
Birth Year: 1858
Birth Place: Fort Wayne, Indiana (Auburn, De Kalb County, is a nearby suburb of Fort Wayne)
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1881
Marriage Place: Niles, Berrien, Michigan
Residence Place: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Spouse: Ella Archer
Age: 24
Birth Year: 1857
Birth Place: Union City, Michigan
2. The 1900 Census for Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan
John Mc Nabb
Age: 43
Birth Date: Sep 1856
Birthplace: Indiana
Address: 155 Cherry Street
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: Ellen Mc Nabb (age 42)
Born: Nov 1857, Mich
Marriage Year: 1882
Occupation: Mill Hnd Furn Fact [probably "Mill Hand at Furnace Factory"? or "Millwright"?]
Daughter: Mabel McNabb (age 12)
Born: Jan 1888, Mich
3. The 1910 Census for Emmet, Calhoun County, Michigan
Name: John C Mc Nabb
Age in 1910: 54
Birth Year: abt 1856
Birthplace: Indiana
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birthplace: Scotland
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Occupation: Machinist
Industry: Shop
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: Ellen Mc Nabb
Years Married: 30
Number of Children Born: 1
Number of Children Living: 0
4. Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952
Name: John McNabb
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1881
Decree Date: 23 Sep 1912
Decree Place: Calhoun, Michigan
Spouse Name: Ellen McNabb
Number of Children: 0
Divorce Status: Granted
5. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952
Groom: John C. McNab age 40, occupation: Millwright, birthplace: Mich.
Father's name: Reuben McNab
Mother's name: Mary Ferguson
Married one time previously
and:
Bride: Inez M. Atkins, age 32, birthplace: Mich.
Father's name: John Atkins
Mother's name: Emma Swift
No previous marriage
Marriage: 25 Dec 1912 in Kalamazoo, Michigan
6. Battle Creek, Michigan, City Directory, 1914
McNabb, John C (Inez M) - baker 231 Marshall, res. 43 Mary
7. Battle Creek, Michigan, City Directory, 1918
McNabb, John C (Inez) - 2d hd gds, 68 Jefferson St. S
[note the abbreviation for "second hand goods"]
8. The 1920 Census for Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan
Home address: 68 South Jefferson Ave.
John McNabb (49), proprietor of a secondhand store
Father's birthplace: Scotland
Mother's birthplace: Indiana
Inez McNabb (39)
9. Battle Creek, Michigan, City Directory, 1921
McNabb, John C (Inez) - 2d hd gds, 68 Jefferson St. S
10. Battle Creek, Michigan, City Directory, 1922
McNabb, John C (Inez) - 2d hd gds, 68 Jefferson St. S
11. The 1930 Census for Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan
Home address: South Jefferson Ave.
John McNabb (58), machinist/home shop
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Inez McNabb (50)
12. Battle Creek, Michigan, City Directory, 1931
McNabb, John C (Inez) - confr ["confectioner"] 124 Capital Ave SW
13. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950
Name: John C McNabb
Marital Status: Married
Death Age: 72
Birth Date: 20 Sep 1860
Birth Place: Indiana
Death Date: 1 Dec 1932
Death Place: Battle Creek, Calhoun, Michigan
Father: Rubin McNabb (born Glasgow, Scotland)
Mother: Mary Ferguson (born County Clare, Ireland)
Residence: 124 Capital SW
Wife: Inez M. McNabb (informant)
Candidate Two: John Goldsmith McNabb (1864-1943)
As with Candidate One, I started out finding documents that named his parents; for Goldsmith, that meant starting with his California death record (number 5, below), and marriage records.
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| Michigan, Marriage Record for John McNabb and Ida Sack (Stoik?) |
1. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952
Note: this record is dated 1890, but as you can see in the detail to the right, it has been crossed out - the date of "Nov 1st 1890" is the date of the record - the field for recording the date of the wedding is blank. I think this means that while the wedding may not have happened at this time, the other information is probably right - and probably provided by John G McNabb.
Name: John G McNabb
Age: 26
Birth Year: 1864
Birth Place: Calhoun County, Michigan
Marriage Date: Nov 1890
Marriage Place: Ottawa, Michigan
Residence Place: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Father: R McNabb
Mother: M Ferguson
Spouse: Ida Stoik
Age: 19
Birth Year: abt 1871
Birth Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Residence Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
2. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Marriages, 1838-1911
Name: John G McNabbNote: The City Directories above place "John G" in Grand Rapids *until* 1893; we know from these two marriage records that Goldsmith was in Grand Rapids in 1890, and was living in Janesville, WI, in 1893. That could mean that John G was Goldsmith, and that he moved to Janesville after the City Directory for 1893 was published.
Birth Place: Auburn, Indiana
Marriage Date: 31 Aug 1893
Marriage Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Father: Reuben McNabb
Mother: Mary McNabb
Occupation of husband: Machinist
Residence: Janesville, Wisconsin
Spouse: Ida Sock
Birth Place: Spring Lake, Michigan
Father: William Sock
Mother: Ida Sock
3. The 1900 Census for West Branch, Missaukee, Michigan
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| 1900 Census for West Branch, MI McNabb family |
Name: John M McknabbNote: Reuben was an inmate in the Missaukee County Home in Reeder, Missaukee County, Michigan in 1910.
Age: 36
Birth Date: Dec 1863
Birthplace: Indiana
Marital status: Married
Spouse's name: Ida A Mc Knaff
Marriage Year: 1894
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Note: John and Ida ended up on two pages, and the transcription didn't get coded correctly, so you can't tell until you open the image that the following children are in the household:
Doris R. born Jan 1894 in Wisconsin
Forest S. born Jan 1897 in Michigan
Ester L. born April 1899 in Michigan
4. The 1910 Census for Chico, Butte, California
John G Mcnabb
Age in 1910: 47
Birth Year: 1863
Birthplace: Indiana
Street: South Sycamore St
Spouse's Name: Ida A Mcnabb
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Occupation: Hostler
Industry: Stallion
Years Married: 17
Household Members:
John G Mcnabb Age - 47
Ida A Mcnabb Age - 37
Doris R Mcnabb Age - 15
Forrest S Mcnabb Age - 13
Esther M Mcnabb Age - 10
John G Mcnabb Age - 8
5. California, Death Index, 1940-1997
Name: John Goldsmith McNabb
Birth Date: 24 Dec 1864
Birth Place: Indiana
Death Date: 24 Dec 1943
Death Place: Modoc
Mother's Maiden Name: Furgeson
Father's Surname: McNabb
Conclusion:
I'm still not satisfied that either candidate is "provably" the son of Reuben and Mary McNabb. The timeline of their lives and the records we have for Reuben and Mary fit closely enough that either could be the boy from the 1870 Census, or the "John G" living with Reuben and the brothers in Grand Rapids.
That said, I think the consistency of the birthdates reported for Goldsmith make him a slightly better choice for the boy in the 1870 Census. My guess is that "John C" was born around 1860 to one of Reuben's McNabb relatives, and was either orphaned or otherwise sent to live with Reuben and Mary, probably after 1870. If he is older than Goldsmith, then it is likely that both boys would have been out of the house by the time of the 1880 Census.
Obviously, John Goldsmith left children and grandchildren behind, and one of them may prove to have the answer, somehow. In the meantime, I'm going to figure out the best way to document both men in the Callin Family History, and offer my conclusion in hopes that future researchers might find some clues I missed, and solve this particular mystery once and for all!
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