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Help with a brick wall again? Connecting people...

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  • Help with a brick wall again? Connecting people...

    Hello all! I came here 2 years ago with an 85-year-old mystery, and with your help and suggestions broke the brick wall down. Yay! Except…it was followed by another wall. booo. lol.


    Here’s my situation. I would appreciate ANY advice on how to approach this. (If anyone is curious this was my old post about it: https://www.familytreeforum.com/show...terious-Ashman) I will link to any records I’ve found so that you know what I’ve already done. I don’t need anyone to do research for me for free, if anyone has help to offer then of course that’s nice, but I really don’t know where I need to go next to keep researching this. and thats my issue. So I’m putting up all this info simply so that if someone did want to look around at any records, you don’t end up with something I already found. But again, it’s just for reference and I hope that by you seeing what I HAVE done, you might know where I should go next. And sorry this is long.


    The issue before was finding out who my great-grandfather’s parents were, as he ran away from home at 13 and never spoke a word about his family, ever, other than once to say he ran away! It was very hard but I finally found a document that had both his parent’s names. Yay! I’ve found a ton of info on his mom—pretty easy tree, lots of records, stories, photos…but I can’t find his dad’s family! DNA has almost confused me more.


    His surname is Ashman which is a very uncommon name, in the US most of them come from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Many are descended from the same family. Let me give you a quick rundown on who they are.


    My great-grandpa was Herald Edward Ashman b. 1888 in Portland, Oregon. His father was Charles Edward Ashman, unsure of birth but possibly 1841 or 1847, in Ohio. Mother was Phena Jane “Jennie” Smith b. 1851 in Iowa (she has the easier to track family tree.) This is all for certain, although his dad’s DOB is not clear and to be honest, maybe the state isn’t even right.


    This is where things get weird. There are ALOT of Charles Edward Ashmans/Charles Edward Eschmans back then. Like, a lot. And many of them come from Ohio which makes me think he’s related and for some reason this family really liked the name and gave it to everyone, lol. And then I got DNA that said that, yes, he must be related to that family but HOW?


    I connected with a man who was related by DNA to my grandpa as 2nd-3rd cousin. His grandmother was Alma Ida Eschman b. 1907 in Ohio—we think she is my grandpa’s 2nd or 3rd cousin somehow. But how?? Her brief, most relevant tree info: Her father was Charles Edward Eschman (note the different spelling) b. 1880 in Ohio. His father— Jacob Gottlieb Eschman b. 1844 in Switzerland although there’s a chance it’s Ohio. HIS father probably Gottlieb Eschman b. 1819 Switzerland.


    Now, Jacob had a BROTHER named…you guessed it, Charles Edward Eschman! This one b. 1846 in Switzerland (I suspect it could be Ohio instead, not sure). What if this guy is MY 2nd great-grandfather with different spelling? If he was, then hypothetically HIS son would be Herald, whose son would be my grandpa Douglas Ashman, and if that was true it would make my grandpa the 2nd cousin of Alma, wouldn’t it? And again, DNA says that yes, he is connected to this family and it’s not like its 4th-5th cousins, they are pretty close. Could this say he’s one and the same?


    But whether I’m researching C.E. ASHMAN b. Ohio, or searching for C.E. ESCHMAN b. Switzerland, I can’t find anything more. I can’t find Eschman’s family at all (like wife, kids, whatever), although of course I do know his parents. Ashman I do know wives and all that, but not his parents etc. I am very frustrated and don’t know where to look next. I have tried looking through censuses, birth records, death, etc., and there’s so little on either of these guys!


    I have one more piece of DNA evidence. ASHMAN was married before Phena “Jennie” Smith to Rosella Mary Corkum, DNA and records confirm. My grandpa matched with a woman on Ancestry recently as 2nd cousins. (Her grandmother was Lena Dell Ashman daughter of Rosella Corkum) At least this helps me confirm more about who this guy is. What do I do next? I don’t know where to search or what to do. It was great to break the brick wall but then to have another is frustrating. It’s so close though. I just need to connect him to the Ohio/Switzerland ESCHMANS and I should have his family. We are DNA connected to them, but where? :(


    That’s about it. Sorry if this was convulted! I wanted to keep it brief but also informative. Here is all the info I have on my Charles Ashman as well as Charles Eschman, and the sources that could be either of them or some other C.E. completely.


    Charles E. Ashman b. Ohio - Family Search profile: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pe...tails/L5BL-WYS


    1880 United States Census (birth info and residence) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXTX-B56
    Washington Marriage Records (first marriage to Rosella info) Ancestry.com, cant find free link


    Charles E. Eschman b. Switzerland


    1850 United States Census (birth info, family names)


    These could be EITHER Ashman/Eschman, or some other guy completely!


    Find a Grave (not sure this is him, birth/death and family info. could be a different Ashman. different spouses.) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...les-e.-eschman
    1910 United States Census - I don’t know who this is, has another wife? https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLYV-RKR
    1865 Army info - I dont know who exactly this is. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRQZ-K4W
    Disabled Volunteer Soldiers info (this places him in Oregon which is where my great-grandpa was born, points to it maybe being Ashman b. Ohio?) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSNT-2SZ
    Oregon Death Index 1922, no birth year https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZCS-R2L (once again, MY Ashman did live in Oregon after Ohio)
    Navy Veterans Pension Payment (lists some other wife’s name and child, so probably not mine?) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K64C-35H


    THANK YOU for any advice or help!!!
    Primarily researching Ashman (very focused on this uncommon surname in the USA!), Martin, Fowler, Munsell, and Huffman. Locations include Ohio, Oregon, Utah, California, Scotland, England, Germany, and Denmark.
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