Facts about the birth of Ellsworth Joseph Conover are not easy to locate. Multiple records indicate his birthplace as Pennsylvania but his marriage certificate suggests that he was born instead in Baltimore, Maryland. His date of birth is often noted as January 1 either in the year 1884 or 1885. The first record of Ellsworth we have located is from the 1900 census and notes him as Ellsworth Conover, the 16 year old adopted son of Henry and Mary Muldoon. Inconsistencies about his birth date or location could be due to his adopted parents not being certain about those facts. January 1 could also have been used just have been because it was the first day of the year.

1900 census Muldoon family living in Philadelphia with adopted son Ellsworth Conover

It’s likely that Ellsworth’s family was from England because we have record of him departing Liverpool, England, on October 4, 1899, at age 14. It is not certain if he was returning to the United States after visiting family or immigrating there for the first time. It is possible that as an adult he lied about his birth location to shortcut his way to citizenship or for some other reason.

Ellsworth Muldoon departure from Liverpool, England, on October 4, 1899

Passport applications and immigration records show that he traveled to England again in 1914. On December 23, 1915, he married Nellie Hegarty in Manhattan, New York City, New York. A year following their marriage, Ellsworth applied for a passport to re-enter the United States while in Nassau, Bahamas. His appearance is described as 5’10” with grey eyes, light hair, a prominent nose and a long face. A photo is also included in the passport application.

1916 passport application for Ellsworth Muldoon

By 1918 Ellsworth and Nellie had moved to Chicago, Illinois, and Nellie gave birth to their daughter Marianne Muldoon. The last documentation found of Ellsworth is a 1920 census record in Chicago where he was residing with Nellie and Marianne. Inquiry within the family also provides no additional information about what could have happened to Ellsworth.

La Salle County marriage license issued to Joseph Newell and Malinda Hoffman

Joseph and Malinda had at least six children, three boys and three girls. Joseph worked as gardener and Malinda was a homemaker. Around 1901 the family moved to Peoria, Illinois. Joseph died on 9 October 1905 at age 41 in Peoria. He was buried back in Streator at the Riverview-Streator Cemetery.

Obituary for Joseph Newell in the Ottawa Fairdealer dated 13 October 1905

The Stout Annual 1917, yearbook photo of Rose Francis Kreuz

The Stout Annual 1917, yearbook note for Rose Francis Kreuz

Menominee County marriage license, Rose Francis Kreuz and Harold Daniel Timm

Rose married Harold Daniel Timm, an electrical engineer, at age 29 on 26 February 1927. They relocated to Milwaukee by 1928 and had at least two children: Thomas, born in 1928, and Robert, born in 1932. They continued to live together in Milwaukee until Harold passed away in 1957. Rose lived to the ripe old age of 90 and passed away on 24 Jul 1987.

Rose Francis Timm, gravestone from Riverside Cemetery in Menominee, Michigan

Rose Francis Kreuz (1897-1987)
Robert Henry Timm (1941-2014)
Paul William Timm (1960-Living)
Emily Laura Timm (1989-Living)

The Blum surname replaced Blam not all at once, but slowly between when they immigrated in the 1890’s and the 1920 census. In the 1910 census, Pietro (noted as Peter) and the family members still living in his house were recorded with the Blum surname. However, in the same 1910 census, Pietro’s oldest son Giovanni (noted as John) was recorded with the Blam surname. By the 1920 census, Giovanni was also recorded with the Blum surname.

Giovanni “John” Blam, 1910 US Federal Census

Pietro “Peter” Blam, 1910 US Federal Census

Local records of the family in Malonno, Italy, before immigration to the US indicate that the family’s surname was Blam. While conducting our research, we found baptism, marriage and death records that all contain the Blam family surname. In addition to sacramental records, we also found local records referred to as “Stato Delle Anime” or State of the Souls. This record is very similar to a census, but is administered by the church in order to keep record of its congregation. This document confirms many ancestors in Malonno that went by the Blam surname just before the family immigrated.

Stato Delle Anime (1869)

A message in the upper right corner of the Blam family records from the 1869 Stato Delle Anime includes an important clue about the family’s heritage and origins. Both this document and other records located for Blam family members note their occupation as “foladore” (or the plural version, which is “foladori”) which are those that worked in the local folk craft of preparing wool for use in hats or shoes. Local researchers in Malonno tell us that this craft is extremely unique to that region of Italy and was probably passed down generations of Blam ancestors as a family trade.

This family is called ‘Foladori’ because of the machinery they have at home. It’s very ancient in Malonno, and always well-off, but always in Malonno. See also cousins and uncle at #209.

Further research in the Stato Delle Anime documents from the 1700’s and 1600’s confirms that the Blam family can be found in Malonno during that period. The earliest reference of the family that our local researcher was able to find is from 1662. In this document, the family is referred to by their craft “Foladore” instead of their surname. This makes it possible that the Blam surname originated while the family was living in Malonno, although in 1564 the Council of Trento ordered Catholic parish priests to record each individual with name and surname. By the 17th century, most Catholics should have already had surnames.

Stato Delle Anime (1662)

Blam is not a common Italian surname, in fact a quick Facebook search of the name finds few results in all of Italy outside of Malonno. The name likely has German roots and possibly even some Jewish connection. However, given nearly 250 years of history in Italy prior to immigration to the US, it’s safe to assume that our Blam family ancestors where Italian by blood.

Johann Carl Jürgen Timm was born on 18 March 1819 in the region of Mecklenburg, part of present day Germany. The first record we have of Johann is his marriage to Sophia Henrietta Carolina Helmina Schulz on 23 October 1846. The marriage took place in the town of Bützow, so we can presume that Joahann was also born in the area nearby.

Johann and Sophia had at least four children before Sophia passed away on 26 July 1859 at 41 years old. Johann remarried quickly to Dorothea Friederica Louisa Henrietta Carolina Schulz on the 10 February 1860 in Bützow, Mecklenburg. Dorothea was 20 years old and Johann was 40. Less than nine months after their marriage, Dorothea gave birth to their first daughter, Sophia Henrica Maria Timm, on 9 October 1860.

Johann, Dorothea and their family immigrated to the United States in 1864 and their first son, Henry Christian Timm, was born on 19 November 1864 in Wisconsin. By 1870 they had settled in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where they would reside until their death. Johann passed away 14 June 1895 and is buried in Saint John’s Lutheran Parish Cemetery in Kellner, Wisconsin.

Our family’s lineage to Johann Carl Jürgen Timm is noted below.

Johann Carl Jürgen Timm (1819-1895)
Henry Christian Timm (1864-1935)
Harold Daniel Timm (1896-1957)
Robert Henry Timm (1941-2014)
Paul William Timm (1960-Living)
Emily Laura Timm (1989-Living)

Helen “Nellie” Hegarty was born on 19 July 1880 to Jeremiah Hegarty and Helen Sullivan of Droumadilish, Kilgarvan, County Kerry, Ireland. According to census records, she immigrated to the United States sometime between 1898 and 1901 and took up residence in the area of New York City. While living in New York, she worked as a domestic servant. On 23 December 1915 Nellie married Ellsworth Joseph Muldoon, also a household servant. At the time of her marriage she was 35 years old, despite her marriage certificate noting her age at 31. It was not common practice in Ireland at this time to keep track of one’s birthday, meaning it is reasonable that she may not have known her age. Alternatively, she may have lied about her age because she was marrying a younger man.

Shortly after their marriage, Ellsworth was employed to work as a valet for a family traveling to the Bahamas. Ellsworth’s passport application indicates that Nellie was to join him on this journey and immigration records show they returned together from Nassau on the SS Mexico on April 24, 1916.

By September 1918 Nellie and Ellsworth had relocated to Chicago, Illinois. On 1 December 1918 Nellie gave birth to their first and only child, Marianne Ellen Muldoon. Records from 1918 and 1920 locate them in the Near South Side neighborhood, immediately adjacent to the current-day McCormick Place.

By 1930 Ellsworth is no longer a part of the household and Nellie is found living with the families that employ her as a maid. According to family accounts, she worked as a maid at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center during this period while her daughter Marianne attended boarding school.

Nellie passed away on 2 January 1960 in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Our family’s lineage to Nellie Hegarty is noted below along with codes to lookup these individuals on FamilySearch.

Helen “Nellie” Hegarty (1880-1960)  • LRK4-VQB
Marianne Ellen Muldoon (1918-1982) • LRKS-J59
Patrick Joseph Ross (1955-Living) • LRK9-CH8
Brian Patrick Ross (1985-Living) • LRJB-19W

The castle continued to be owned and occupied by the Stradling family until the death of Sir Thomas Stradling in 1738. After seeing photographs of the castle in Country Life magazine, the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1925 and used it to entertain guests such as  Charlie Chaplin and a young John F. Kennedy. Hearst’s newspaper empire fell on hard times in the later 1930s and the castle was put up for sale but instead requisitioned for use by British and American troops during World War II. Hearst died in 1951 and the castle was sold in 1962. Today it houses Atlantic College and St Donat’s Arts Centre but is also used as a venue for weddings.

Our family’s lineage to Sir Peter Stradling is noted below along with codes to lookup these individuals on FamilySearch.

Sir Peter Stradling (1260-1314) • 9Z87-NDK
Sir Edward Stradling (1290-1364) • LVLZ-GHB
Sir Edward Stradling, Knight of the Holy Sepelchre (1345-1394) • LVCQ-YXL
Sir William Stradling, Knight of the Holy Sepelchre (1375-1412) • L6P6-VXT
Sir Edward Stradling, Knight of the Holy Sepelchre (1390-1453) • LK58-Q3K
Sir Henry Stradling, Knight of the Holy Sepelchre (1424-1476) • MMB2-H5W
John Gwyn Stradling (1452-?) • LZPL-Y93
Lady Catherine Anne Stradling (1500-1585) • K8BS-R8J
John Davis (1550-1588) • LHYR-S6Q
James Davis (1589-1678) • LZZ3-W8Q
Samuel Davis (1640-1696) • KND6-2BB
Joseph Samuel Davis (1673-1755) • LJLB-RJT
Jemima Davis (1706-1753) • K89K-7RZ
Abner Whittier (1734-1820) • L7LP-3LS
Thomas Whittier (1761-1842) • LK3W-SDS
Jeremiah Whittier (1783-1858) • LZ1M-6C6
Philetus D. Whittier (1808-1862) • KL74-WVQ
Ida R. Whittier (1853-1930) • KNQC-9W1
George Warren Harris (1884-1943) • 2W7J-5B4
William Robert Harris (1923-2012) • LRKS-XVC
Mary Elizabeth Harris (1958-2009) • LRK9-Z7P
Brian Patrick Ross (1985-Living) • LRJB-19W