John C Moore, aka John Pulcheon, 1843-1920

Shortly after the death of his mother, John Pulcheon left his remaining family in Ohio and set out on his own. He landed in Iowa and created a new identity for himself by changing his surname to Moore. It took a lot of time and frustrating research to determine that the two seemingly separate men were actually one and the same.

John F. Pulcheon

John F. Pulcheon was born in July of 1843 to German immigrant parents, William Pulcheon and Catherine (Crates/Kröz) Pulcheon. William and Catherine lived in Canton Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near where their families had settled after immigrating to the United States. Canton township inhabitants were mostly native Pennsylvanians, but there was a smattering of Germans living there, too so the Pulcheon family wouldn't have felt entirely out of place. Catherine's father, Christian Frederick Crates/Kröz, desired to live in a predominately German community, however, and had recently moved to Van Buren, Hancock County, Ohio. In Van Buren, the population in 1850 was almost all German. The churches were Lutheran. It felt more like home. He must have written to his daughter and son-in-law and urged them to come, too, because within a few years they also relocated to Hancock County, Ohio.

Catharine Crates Pulcheon, 1823-1859
Photograph shared on Ancestry.com by user Clingermangirls on 11 Jun 2011.
A note added by Clingermangirls says it was contributed by Martha Avery.

A. William Pulcheon, c. 1814-1900
Photograph shared on Ancestry.com by user Clingermangirls on 11 Jun 2011.
A note added by Clingermangirls says it was also contributed by Martha Avery.

In 1850 and 1860, John Pulcheon is listed in the household of his father William Pulcheon. In 1850, Catharine and 3 other sons, Eli, William, and Henry, were also listed. In 1860, after Catharine's death, John is listed with his father, brothers, and a sister born in 1853, Mary Jane. Then John disappeared.

John C. Moore

John C. Moore was my 3rd Great-Grandfather and for many, many years I was at a standstill trying to research his family. The earliest record of him was in 1865 when he married Miss Sarah Coffin in Mahaska County, Iowa. They weren't located on the 1870 census but were in Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa in June of 1874 when their daughter Josie Lena Moore was born and when the 1880 census was taken. Sarah died in 1882 and a year later, John married Mary Roenspiess. It was the record of this marriage that led me back to Catherine Crates and William Pulcheon.

Iowa Marriage Records, 1923-1937, from Ancestry.com
Cropped image of the page showing the names of John Moore's parents.

In this record, the parents of John C Moore are listed as William Moore and Catherine Crates and it gives his birthplace as Pennsylvania. Unable to narrow down to a fitting William Moore in Pennsylvania, I searched for John's mother. I found Catherine with William Pulcheon and my first thought was that he was her second husband. I looked for any connection for her to a William Moore but found nothing. I did, however, find a record stating that they married in 1840. Three years before John's birth.

The census records in 1850 and 1860 listing a son named John Pulcheon with the couple and the obituary for William Pulcheon lead me to conclude that John Pulcheon and John C Moore were one and the same. William's obituary states he was the father of four sons and a daughter. In the 1850 and 1860 census records there were 4 sons and a daughter. I believe they all were his children.

The obituary of William Pulcan(Pulcheon):

William Pulchan was born in Holland. Died May15,1900, his age 

being one hundred years or over. At the age of twenty years he 

came to New York City, and from there he went to Pennsylvania, 

and was united in marriage with Catherine Crates who preceded 

him to the grave 41 years ago. To this union were born five children, 

four sons and one daughter. He leaves five children, fourteen 

grandchildren, and 47 great granchildren to mourn their loss. Early 

in life he united with the German Lutheran Church and lived a 

consistent Christian life. He was a kind and devoted father and a 

good neighbor. Extreme old age was the cause of his death. 

The funeral was held from the M.E. Church in Williamstown 

conducted by W.W. Curl.

DNA matches confirm my connection to the Catharine Crates that married William Pulcheon, so it doesn't seem to be a case of finding the wrong Catharine. Coupled with the fact that John Pulcheon disappeared shortly before John C Moore appeared in records, I do believe the two are the same man.

John and his second wife Mary had a son named Leo or Lee in 1887. There were no other children. John lived until 1920 and is buried in Forest Cemetery, Oskaloosa, Mahaska, Iowa.

Obituary for Eric Albert Erickson

In a writing group, I was challenged to craft an obituary. I could choose to write my own (creepy!) or one for a deceased ancestor. It's a bit harder when it's someone you never met, obviously, but it was an interesting exercise. Here is my attempt to capture the life of Eric Albert Erickson, my second great-grandfather, in an obituary. 

E. Albert Erickson

     As a young man, growing up in a small Swedish village, Albert Erickson dreamed of living in America and the opportunities that could be found there. He worked hard, saved money for the voyage and, at just eighteen years old, bid farewell to his childhood home, friends and family and left for NordAmerika. Born Eric Albert Erickson in the Spring of 1869 to Eric Jansson and Johanna Charlotta Pehrsdotter, he was raised in the village of Östra Vingåker, Södermanland, Sweden . He died at the age of 83 in his home in Renton, Washington, on Sunday, July 6, 1952 after a lengthy illness. Albert’s bravery, adventurous spirit, and willingness to work hard to reach his goals served him throughout his life. 

     Soon after arriving in America, Albert settled in Mahaska County, Iowa, one of only a handful of Swedes in the area, where he immersed himself in the process of becoming American. He quickly learned the language, completed the naturalization process, and set about making a life for himself. Josie Lena Moore, a young woman native to the area, caught his eye and became his wife in March of 1892. Josie’s father and step-mother were of German heritage, so she brought those customs into their home to blend with Albert’s Swedish upbringing. They were members of the Friends Quaker community in Oskaloosa and attended services with Josie’s family. The couple was blessed with seven children, four daughters and three sons. Sadly, their firstborn son, Walter Dewey, died at only three months of age. Even in adversity, he remained joyful with faith in his God, and the goodness of his fellow man, his buoys. It was rare, indeed, to see Albert without a happy grin on his face. 

     By 1910, the Erickson family had moved to Grant County, Washington, settling in the brand-new community of Ephrata. It was hard work to clear the dry desert land of sagebrush and prepare it for farming and building. Albert’s eldest two daughters helped support the family by working in a restaurant, while Albert worked as a farm laborer. After ten difficult years in Ephrata, he once again chose to make a drastic change. This time, he packed everything up and headed for the city. Albert, Josie, and the four youngest children moved to Seattle.

     City life suited Albert. He was a happy, jolly man and enjoyed the people he encountered at work and at home. He found employment with the City of Seattle Water Department, where he remained until retirement. He and Josie cheerfully welcomed the spouses of their children and all the grandchildren that became part of the rapidly expanding family. Albert will be remembered for bouncing them all on his knee as he sang out, in his native Swedish, children’s rhyming songs of his youth. His zest for life and willingness to work hard for his dreams have left a lasting impact on all who knew him. 

     Albert is survived by his wife of sixty years, Josie; two sons, Roy (Marie) and Earl (Margaret) Erickson, both of Seattle; four daughters, Eda (Peter) Peterson of Cashmere, Chelan County, Katie (Art) Cavanaugh of Selah, Yakima County, Rose (Theodore) Cox of Wesley, California, and Pearl (Clyde) Morrison of Seattle. He also leaves 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

     Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 1 o’clock in Stokes Chapel, Renton, Washington, with burial to follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery. While his family will long mourn his death, they will forever remember Albert with fondness and strive to live as he did, finding joy in each day.

Josie Lena (Moore) Erickson (1874-1956)

The day that I discovered Josie Erickson's maiden name was one of the happiest in my life as a genealogist. For decades, my great-great grandmother sat on my pedigree chart as simply "Josie". During those early years of my genealogical family-gathering, I was also raising a young family and working full time. Certainly, had I devoted more time, I may have made the discovery much sooner. Regardless, the joy that I felt that day is unforgettable. I recall that it went something like this:


Me: (jumping up and down) Oh My God! Oh my God! I found her! She's Josie MOORE!! This is so exciting!
My husband: that's nice.

He totally doesn't "get" the thrill of crashing through a genealogical brick wall. A trip to Iowa to look for even more information is on our future-vacation-trip wish list. (Whether he likes it or not!)


The discovery that led me to Josie's maiden name and down her family line was made in 2006. I had contacted the Central Washington branch of the State Archives and obtained copies of my grandparents (Bill Cavanaugh and Helen Allen) and great-grandparents (Art Cavanaugh and Katie Erickson) marriage licenses. I had seen images online of the marriage licenses themselves, so no surprises there, but I had not seen the "marriage return" that was included with each license. The return was a page of questions, including the full names of bride and groom, their age, residence, and birthplace, and their parents names. The little gem pictured below is page 2 of Art and Katie's marriage license and it names their parents. Bingo! Katie's parents were listed as Albert Erickson and Josie Moore.

Arthur V. Cavanaugh and Sarah Katie Erickson Marriage Return, 12 July 1915, 
Ephrata, Grant County, Washington. 
Copy from Washington State Archives Central Region, Ellensburg, Washington, 24 March 2006.

A few months later, in January of 2007, my Uncle Terry Cavanaugh sent me a large envelope of his mother's papers. Most were copied poems, stories, and such, but some of the papers were her recordings of the family history. Of course, I don't know who supplied the information to her, but she wrote it down and I saved it as another clue that I was on the right track.

An excerpt from the handwritten notes of Helen (Allen) Cavanaugh, 
daughter-in-law of Katie (Erickson) Cavanaugh. 
From my personal collection.

Searching since then, I have uncovered some of the details of Josie's life. Genealogy is always a work in progress and there are still many places to look for more information. This is what I have found so far.

Close-ups of the Moore family from the 1880 Federal Census living in 
Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa. 
Image from Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 
Accessed 5 Aug 2016.

The two images above, from the 1880 census, show us the Moore family. The first image lists their names, sex, age, and relationship to the head of household. Further along the line for the family, in the second image, we have entries for place of birth, place of father's birth and place of mother's birth. From this we know that John Moore was born in Ohio about 1843, Sarah was born in Iowa about 1848, and Josie was born in Iowa about 1873. John's parents were both born in Germany, Sarah's look like maybe Indiana but it's hard to read. (I also know that they were not born in Indiana, but we don't know who gave the enumerator the information.) And then for Josie, it gives us evidence that John and Sarah are her parents since she is listed as daughter to the head of household and their birthplaces match those listed under the "father birthplace" and "mother birthplace" columns.

Josie's mother died in 1882 and her father remarried the following year. In 1885 the family was living in Garfield, Mahaska County, Iowa where John was working as a carpenter. In 1887, Josie's half-brother Leo Moore was born. He was her only known sibling.

On 2 March 1892, Josie married E. Albert Erickson in Mahaska County. They initially made their home in Mahaska County and were listed in Garfield by the 1900 census taker. That year three daughters were shown with the family; Eda (Eda Mae), born in 1892, Kate (Sarah Katie), born in 1895, and Rosie (Rose Valeria), born in 1899. A few years before that census, the couple lost a son, Walter Dewey. He was born and died in 1898 at only a few months of age and was buried in Oskaloosa.

Photocopy of Obituary clipping of Walter Dewey Erickson,

dated 10 Sept 1898, as published in the Oskaloosa Saturday Globe.

Two more children were soon welcomed in Iowa, Pearl Goldie in 1902, and Albert Roy in 1905. Sometime between 1905 and 1910, the family migrated to Grant County, Washington, where they settled in the newly incorporated city of Ephrata.

In this part of central Washington, the land is mostly flat and full of sagebrush with a semi-arid desert climate. Ephrata was just springing up out of nothing but a few sparse farms, so to develop a property would have been a major undertaking. In 1910, the census that year tells us that Albert was working on his farm and the two eldest girls, Eda and Kate, were working in a local restaurant. Eda was waitressing and Kate was the dishwasher. Josie had her hands full with the younger children and a new baby, Leo Earl, who was born that year. In 1910, the population of Ephrata was only 323 people.

Farming in the desert didn't work out like Albert and Josie had planned, and by 1920 they had moved to the big city of Seattle where Al found work as a boilermaker. Again, the two eldest children in the home were working. Rose and Pearl were employed at a factory, packing candy.

Cropped image of the Erickson family in the 1930 Federal Census, 
Seattle City, King County, Washington. 
Image from Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. 
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. 
Accessed online 10 August 2016.       

             

                           
The image above shows the family in 1930. Albert was working for the City of Seattle Water Department, Earl was employed at a sheet metal shop, and Rose, now married to Harold Muzzy, was still working as a packer at the candy factory. By 1940, Albert and Josie had moved to a more rural area of King County with son Earl and his wife, Margaret, where I believe they lived the rest of their lives.

E. Albert and Josie (Moore) Erickson.

Copy of a photo from Lavera Cavanaugh

labeled "Katy Erickson Cavanaugh's parents, the Ericksons. Bills grandparents."

Albert passed away in July of 1952. Josie followed a few years later, on 29 August 1956. They were buried together in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Renton, King County, Washington.

Grave of Albert and Josie Erickson, Mount Olivet Cemetery, Renton, King County, Washington.

Image from www.findagrave.com, Memorial # 135716388, 

added 10 Sep 2014 by user GenealogyJenny. 

Accessed online 10 August 2016.