The Fay Family: George Fay 1812

THE FAY FAMILY PAGE

GENEALOGIES

George Fay (1812 - 1854)

And his Descendants

Contributed by Vernon R. Peterson

with additions from research

Who's Where When: census evidence

descendancy overview below

sources

I am sure that George is descended from John of Marlborough. There is, however, no direct evidence that I have been able to find, nor can any of the material available to the McHenry County Historical Society help. We can document his descendants, but we cannot find the man himself before his appearance in Illinois in 1845. All efforts so far have bumped into the proverbial "brick wall." What follows here is a discussion of what we know.

George Fay: buried in the cemetery in Alden, McHenry County, Illinois. Cemetery data says that he died November 24, 1854, at the age of 42 years and 10 months. This would place his birth in January or February (depending on how one thinks it was calculated), 1812.

"Seen" directly only in one census, the census of 1850, where he is said to be 38 and to have been born in New York. This would seem to confirm 1812 as his year of birth. After 1880, when the census records parental birthplaces, George's son Jerome names New York as his father's place of birth.

We KNOW that George married Lucinda Parrish on April 28, 1847 (Illinois State Archives). According to all the census records, Lucinda was born in Canada in 1818; according to the 1880 census, her parents were born in Vermont. She died in 1895 in Alden (a funeral notice in the newspaper identifies her as "Jerome's mother").

We KNOW that George bought land in Alden in January, 1845. At that time, he bought two adjoining lots of 80 acres each (Illinois State Archives). Those lots are clearly marked on the 1892 map which the McHenry County Historical Society sent me, from which the following selection is taken:

There are the assorted small questions that arise in most lines; those have been discussed briefly on the census page. There is, however, more to be said about Ragnhild Birkholm, who became the wife of Len LeRoy Fay. First, there is her given name. The ship's manifest clearly reads "Ragnhild," but the transcription (and hence the index) at Ellis Island lists "Regnhild." Her marriage certificate contains three instances of her name; in two places, it is "Ranghild", and in the third, her signature, it is "Ragnhild" (see the sources page). She appears in the census in 1910 and 1920; it is different in both cases. In 1930, she is recorded as "Gertrude R."

Ragnhild's story is closely woven with that of her oldest daughter Lillian, who appears with Ragnhild and Len in 1910 as "adopted daughter." What follows here comes directly from Vern:

One family story indicates that Ragnild was sent from Copenhagen to America because she was expecting a child. A confusing trail of documents with many different spellings of her name appear to bear this out. The marriage license for Len and Ragnhild is from July 4, 1909 in McHenry County (see the sources page). It looks like Ragnhild left Denmark Sept 4 1906 and Lillian was listed as born July 4 1907. That would be 10 months, so perhaps she was not pregnant when she left Denmark - or perhaps some of the dates I have are not exact.

First, the passenger record of the ship 'Oscar II" lists her as Regnhild Birkholm, single, and age 16 (as of 9/4/1906).
Second, her marriage license to Len LeRoy Fay spells her name as Ranghild Birkholm, Ranghill Birkholm, Ranghild Berkholm, but her signature is Ragnhild Birkholm. It lists this as her second marriage and lists her maiden name as Ranghild Hill with her parents listed as ----- Hill and Paulina Nelsen. This marriage license from McHenry County, Illinois is dated July 6, 1909 and her age is listed as 19.
Third, the 1910 census of Harvard (3rd ward) McHenry County, Illinois lists Len and Ronhill with the adopted daughter Lillian, age 3.
Fourth, the 1920 census of Harvard (3rd ward) McHenry County, Illinois lists Len and Ronhill with children Lillian, Alice, Harold, and Milton Fay.
Fifth, the obituary of Gertrude Bartlett, wife of Warren Bartlett was born in Copenhagen and came to the US at age 14. She was survived by sons Harold and Milton Fay, and daughters Mrs. Raymond Krocker and Mrs. Lillian Schroeder.

There seems to be just one piece of information that Vern does not include. On the ship's manifest is the question, "Whether going to join a relative or friend; and if so, what relative or friend, and his name and complete address." Regnhild's answer: "to sister Mrs Martha Birkholm, 408 Forest Ave, Oak Park, Ill."

Speculation: Her birth name is Ragnhild Birkholm. She came to America at age 16 on the ship Oscar II, expecting her first child as an unwed mother. She went to Chicago to live with ----- Hill and Paulina Nelsen Hill. Her daughter Lillian was born in 1907. In 1909 she married Len LeRoy Fay and used the names of family she was living with as the names of her parents. Len Fay adopted the daughter Lillian. Sometime after 1920 Len and Ragnhild separated/divorced. She went by the name of Gertrude and she then married Warren Bartlett, with whom she had no children.

Also from the Danish records of her journey to America: Data from DDD Emigration Database Name: Birkholm, Ragnhild Occupation: Jomfru Age: 16 Destination: Chicago Contract no.: 383400 Registration date: 8/23/1906 Birth place: Kbhvn. Birth place: K�benhavn Last res. parish: K�benhavn Last res. county: K�benhavn Last residence: Kbhvn. Destination country: USA Destination city: Chicago Destination state: Illinois Name of ship: Oscar II Remarks: ANM: Oscar II. IDcode: D0507B1608

The headstone on her grave identifies her as Gertrude R. Bartlett 1890 - 1935. The McHenry County Cemetery index list her birth as 5-8-1889 and her death as 11-6-1935 and indicates that her death occured in Woodstock.

OVERVIEW

George and Lucinda Parrish
married April 28, 1847, in McHenry County, Illinois

2 Ellen Fay b: 5/26/1848 d: 12/9/1853 2 Jerome George Fay b: 4/1850 d: 2/10/1918 ...+Laura Alice Barlow b: 3/1855 m: 2/1/1870 d: 1921 .......3 Frank E. Fay b: 1870 ........ +(1)Margaret Fick b: 1/26/1872 d: 3/31/1937 ..............4 Pearl G. Fay b: 4/6/1896 d: 5/16/1951 ............... +Arnold C. Fick b: 12/10/1893 m: 5/17/1917 .......3 Harrison Elton Fay b: 1/5/1875 d: 6/18/1945 ........ +unknown ..............4 LaVerne Fay b: 1905 d: before 1920 ........ +Frances Myrtle Ethel Fuller b: 1892 m: 1909 ..............4 Beatrice Fay b: 1912 ..............4 Kenneth D. Fay b: 5/21/1915 d: 11/1978 .......3 Len (Lynn) LeRoy Fay b: 7/4/1882 d: 5/4/1942 ........ +Ragnhild Birkholm b:1891 m:7/4/1909; divorced; d:11/6/1935 ..............4 Lillian Fay b: 7/4/1907 ............... +Lyle Schroeder b: 1904 .....................5 Betty L Schroeder b: 1926 .....................5 Beverly Schroeder b: 1927 .....................5 Pauline Schroeder b: 1928 .....................5 Lyle E. Schroeder b: 2/6/1933 d: 8/6/2002 ....................... +Shirley Kampert m: 7/3/1954 ............................6 Debra Schroeder ............................6 Lon Schroeder .....................5 Lillian Schroeder ..............4 Alice Pauline Fay b: 4/29/1910 d: 6/24/1986 ............... +(1)Raymond Harry Crocker b: 11/28/1905 d: 7/27/1980 .....................5 Mary Etta Crocker b: 1927 .....................5 Edward George Crocker b: 1/23/1928 d: 6/1954 .....................5 Barbara Jean Crocker b: 12/24/1932 d: 11/1998 .....................5 Alice Mae Crocker .....................5 Shirley Ann Crocker .....................5 Sandra Lee Crocker .....................5 Virginia Rae Crocker b: 1943 d: 1960 .....................5 Raymond William Crocker b: 1945 d: 1988 ............... +(2)Adolph R. Kamholtz ..............4 Harold LeRoy Fay b: 1/22/1914 d: 7/13/1975 ............... +Jeanette Szczepkowski b: 9/13/1917 d: 7/14/1992 .....................5 line continues (10 children) ..............4 Milton Fay b: 11/8/1917 d: 9/1971 ............... +Florence Andrzejewski b: 1/28/1920 d: 12/30/1988 .....................5 Arnold Fay .....................5 Rita Fay .....................5 Paulette Fay b: 7/7/1948 d: 2007 .....................5 Bonnie Fay b: 3/21/1955

8/2007