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The Elusive Thomas Barton
My genealogy search began with a curiosity about my dad's side of the family. He was the youngest of 10 children and adopted when he was 6 years old. He died before my curiosity was sparked so all I had was his birth certificate, adoption papers, an album of photos and a story my mother related to me that Thomas Barton (his real dad) left the family high and dry and no one ever heard or saw him again. The mother had some kind of breakdown, the youngest four children were farmed out to an uncle whose wife hated children and my dad went to the Salvation Army Orphanage. Since then, I have found out so much in my research. I know now that the story isn't entirely true. Thomas Barton is buried in the Old Chattaroy Cemetery in Washington and according to the local newspaper clippings lived in the area until his death in 1930. Most Bartons seem to live in the South. My Barton comes from Minnesota/Wisconsin and before that Germany. I found this out on one of the censuses. From the marriage record in the Washington Digital Archives, his mother's name was Lizzie Burns. On his death certificate, it is Bridget Burns and his father's name is Matt Barton. Being that Matt is from Germany according to the census, his name could be Barthen. There is a Mathias Barthen and mother Elizabeth in Minnesota with a son Thomas, but the birthdate doesn't match and Elizabeth was born in Germany. According to the census that said his father was born in Germany, his mother was born in Wisconsin. Interestingly enough, living next to the Barthen/Barton farm in Minnesota we find the neighbors to be the Burns, Patrick and you guessed it, Bridget Burns. And this is my brickwall, this is as far as I have been able to get with the elusive Thomas Burns Barton.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on
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Welcome,.Karin-
Sounds like an interesting brick wall, can you post some of the documents on Thomas that you have collected so we can get a better picture of him and then decide how to go about helping you find out more?
Kate -
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Permalink Reply by Karin Naylor on
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I decided it would be easier to put a link here to the website I am constructing. Thanks to Kate, my Brickwall page is done and full of the documents I mention in my post. Thanks for your interest.
www.naylorfamilyband.net/kin/barton_bw.php -
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Hi Karin-
So, from what I can decipher from your original post, you were told that Thomas Barton, father of Niles, left the family, but, from census records that appears to be incorrect at least until the 1920 census Thomas appears to be with the family. Did he leave them after 1920?
Census records can be wrong, it depends who gave the information. Also death records are only as good as the information that the informant has at the time of death.
Right now, you believe that Matthew(Mathias) and Elizabeth are Thomas' parents? Have you found Thomas in 1900 yet?
Do you know where your father was in 1930? I have found Ida(Pearl) with a son Richard(Dick in 1920) in Chattaroy. in 1930.
Do you know when Mathias and Elizabeth died? Have you found a Mathew/Mathias who matches your information on immigration records? - Attachments:
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Ida_Barton_1930.jpeg, 441 KB
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My dad was adopted when he was 6, which was 1922. So the family break-up did occur after 1920. I have found some of the older siblings on the 1920 census living as boarders in other homes. In the Bio of Tom Barton, Mr. Ogden mentions that Tom and his son Ted were working in the fields. There is also mentioned in some newspaper clippings from the "Deer Park Union" that Thomas and his son Ted returned home from the harvest fields dated 9-11-1923. In 1930 my dad was living in Enaville, Shoshone, Idaho with his adopted parents Thomas and Mary Holland. His name was changed to Robert Lyle Holland. Richard is my dad's brother, the 9th child of the family, who died in the Morning Mine in Idaho in 1941.
In searching for Thomas Barton back in Wisconsin/Minnesota, this Barton family (Mathias and Elizabeth) would repeatedly come up. I ignored it because Elizabeth is born in Germany and because the date of their Thomas is 1863. I have only just recently seen the death report that Thomas' father's name was Matt. This made me wonder and when I researched more about Matthias, I found them living near the Burns, which is Thomas' middle name.
This is what I have found so far in my research of the Barthens, and I honestly do not know if these are related:
Mathias Barthen (1816-1884) born in Prussia, married Elizabeth Stauman (1825-1907) also born in Prussia.
Immigrated to Waukesha, Wisconsin (New Berlin) about 1855. They had 6 children (1870 census), all born in Wisconsin, so they lived there about 15 years. Mathias was a farmer. They moved to Elba, Winona, Minnesota after Nicholus was born and in the 1870 census that is where they are living. In 1880 they have moved once again to Hart, Winona County, Minnesota. Patrick Burns, his wife Bridget and their 3 children are neighbors. In 1884 Mathias dies and is buried at the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery located just outside the city of Winona. According to the 1885 Minnesota Census Elizabeth is living with her 5 youngest children. Elizabeth died in 1907 and is buried in the same cemetery.
My elusive Thomas' obit says he had one sister and one brother still living in 1930. I researched the other members of this family and found only two living in 1930, Margaret and John. Jacob died in 1926, Nick died in 1910, and Susan in (I can't find this just now) . Funny thing I just realized that I never followed a different Thomas. I just assumed that my Thomas was the Thomas...
I have not found Thomas in 1900. That is the year he married, and I know they were married in Spokane. -
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Thank you for your suggestions. I will order a copy of the death certificate. I just assumed that what I printed contained all the information on it. Thanks for pointing that out. I was just so thrilled to find out that his father's name was Matt and mother's name was Bridget Burns, but that's as far as I seem to be able to get.
I have talked to a couple very reluctant aunts many years ago, one who told me the story that Thomas left and was nowhere to be found and one who would not talk about the past at all. My dad never talked about his childhood or where he was from, I only found this out later. These Bartons lived in Washington...I grew up in California.I had a cousin who passed away a couple of years ago, she gave me some information, but had been told the same story about Thomas. No one I have talked to really cares, or they just want to forget, and now they have passed on.
Thanks for locating this census. I really don't know if this is the right family. There are so many things that don't match up. The birth dates are different. The mother's name is different and she is born in Germany. Seeing that the Burns were neighbors just sparked my interest that there may be a possibility, but I don't know if it is at all.
If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks so much. -
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I did find them on the 1860 census living in New Berlin, Waukesha, Wisconsin. I don't know how to put the link in here. Can you explain how you do that? Until then...
Name: Mathias Bertan
Age in 1860: 45
Birth Year: abt 1815
Birthplace: Preußen
Home in 1860: New Berlin, Waukesha, Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Post Office: Prospect Hill
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members:
Name Age
Mathias Bertan 45
Elizabeth Bertan 35
Margaret Bertan 4
Elizabeth Bertran 1
Jacob Bertran 6.12
Also have this 1875 and 1885 Wisconsin census
Name: Thomas Barton
Census Date: 1 May 1875
County: Winona
Locality: Elba
Birth Location: Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1865
Race: White
Father's Birth Location: Prussia
Mother's Birth Location: Prussia
Roll: MNSC_18
Name: Thomas Barten
Census Date: 1 May 1885
County: Winona
Locality: Winona
Birth Location: Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864
Race: White
Roll: MNSC_46
And also the Spokane, Washington Directory 1889-93
Name: Thomas Barthen
City: Spokane Falls
State: WA
Occupation: laborer
Year: 1890
Location 2: 140 s s Spokane river w of Monroe
And the New York Passenger List which has a Mathias Barten 40
Arrival Date: 22 May 1857 From Belgium
Perhaps this is him? Below him is listed Elizabeth Schlomesh? 32
Margaretha Barten
I hope this helps. Are you suggesting that this avenue would be worth pursuing?
Thanks for your interest. -
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Gene,
Thanks for all your help!
I have found lots of newspaper clippings from the Winona Republican Herald about certain members of the Barthen/Barton family. In a nutshell, Nick died in Oregon in 1919,and he is living there in 1910 on the census as boarding, single and 40. John moved to South Dakota and had a family there which is on the 1920 and 1930 census. Mathias, Elizabeth and Jacob are buried in the St. Mary's Cemetery in Winona. Jacob was single all his life, one of the clippings describes his death. He was a janitor at St. Theresa's College. Margaret married a Berres and had lots of children and Susan married and died in Florida. But nothing about Thomas.
One thing I have not been able to find is Thomas and his wife in the 1900 census. They were married in Spokane in 1900, but I can't find in Spokane or Chattaroy. Have any suggestions?
If I could just find one thing that would tie Thomas in with this Barthen family, I would know it was right, but until I find that missing link I just don't know.
Thanks again for taking the time, Karin -
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Great idea! I'll see if I can locate any of the obituaries. Don't know why I didn't think of this before.
Thanks Gene. : ) -
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I found him!!! It's kind of hard for me to believe after all this time. Brick walls can really come down!
I still have not received my documents from the historical society in Winona. But in the meantime a woman contacted me with a will that mentioned Thomas Barthen in Chattaroy, Washington and his wife Pearl as being heirs of Mathias Barthen. -
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