Re: Edward William Court 1825--36--1901
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In reply to:
Edward William Court 1825--36--1901
Ron Court 2/25/03
Well, Edward's Maine origins, may be suspect.
The only Court found in any census of ME was John H. Court- age 16 in the 1850 census- also listed as born ME.- whom I would bet was Edward's older brother.
I believe John H.( b. 1825-30) and Edward were brothers who came over from England sometime between 1850 and 1855, but not together. Perhaps they worked their way over on a ship, or jumped ship once here. Eastport Maine was the first landing port in America, I believe.
Reasons for this assumption:
Both boys (married men actually) signed up on the same day-26 Sept 1861, in Black River Falls, WI in the same Company, 10 Infantry- Co. G. John died of wounds in Perryville KY in 1862. Both men claimed to be from ME- the only Courts who were from there in the 1860/(John)1870 (Edward) census
Edward as you probably know, was wounded at Chickamauga, GA- but mustered out in 1864. Do you have their Civil War records? Sometimes parentage is listed there.
John married a Martha Jane Smith, probably in Milo, Piscataquis, ME. She was living very close to him in the 1860 census, also 16.
I couldn't find Edward anywhere in the 1860 census of WI- yet he had married Eliza by then and had children. Eliza's father, Moses Frost, now remarried,was also in WI in 1860. Do you know where Edward married? An inquiry to the Town Hall would perhaps be helpful if you do.
John's widow Martharemarried-to a Gilbert Cook in 1864. She had 2 children by John Court- Edward who appears to have died, and Melville who was only 9 months old in 1860. In 1870 he was going by the name Cook- but by 1900 was using the name Court again and living in Nevada. He was back in WI by 1920 but appears to have died by 1930. He had one child who did not survive.
Melville, in 1900,said that his father was born England and his mother Maine-I think it was probably true. In the 1850s it was probaly not hard to claim to be born somewhere without needing to show proof.
Since it appears that John and Martha married in Milo, Maine- perhaps a letter to the Town Hall there asking if a marriage can be found would be useful. Very often parents were noted on these licenses. Martha Jabe Smith's parents were Millet and Mehitable Smith.
Milo Town Clerk
PO Box 218, Pleasant St
Milo, ME 04463
(207) 943-2202
If no luck there- try the Historical Society- I've had good luck with these places- well, most of the time.
Milo Historical Society
12 High Street
Milo, Maine 04463
More Replies:
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Re: Edward William Court 1825--36--1901
Ron Court 3/08/03