Julia Ann Alexander Paulson (1835-1921)

Born: 1835 in Beaver County, PA
Died: 15 August 1921 in PA (age 86)
Mother: Frances (1806-1836)
Father: Joseph M. Alexander
1st Husband: Henry George Paulson (1838-1898) Married at age 20, in 1855
Divorced 1867
2nd Husband: Valentine Stewart Hobaugh (1831-?) Married on 21 May 1876 in Beaver Falls, PA, at the First United Methodist Church, at age 41
Children with Henry George Paulson:
1. Drusilla, 1857-?
2. Charles Hall, 1860-1927
3. Fanny Mary, 1862-1915
4. Joseph Fillmore Paulson, born May 21, 1867 in New Brighton, Beaver County, PA; died 1957

Julia was my great-great grandmother. She was born in 1835 in Beaver County, and married Henry George Paulson in 1855. Henry’s life was troubled; he may have been an alcoholic or compulsive gambler. This quote is from the “Record of the Family Powelson” by Frank Wible Powelson:

“Henry Powelson (Paulson) married Julia Alexander of New Brighton, Penna. From reports told by the members of his own family, he must have been a rounder, because his wife divorced him and went back to her people. There were three or four children by this union. Henry married a second time and there was at least one son born, whose name could not be learned.”

Note: A “rounder” is an old-fashioned word that means someone who throws money away by gambling or drinking. Records show that he and Julia divorced in 1867, the same year that their fourth child, a son named Joseph, was born. Joseph is my great-grandfather. 

Julia was buried with Valentine and his first wife, Catharine, after her death in 1921, at Beaver Cemetery in Beaver, PA. Find-a-Grave Memorial #26404617:

I found the following account by Joseph A. Bachman (great-grandson of Julia’s eldest daughter, Drusilla) on Ancestry.com:

“ALEXANDER
Early: Pennsylvania and New York; also Belmont County in Ohio?; by 1835: Butler County, PA, and Beaver County, PA. By 1850s, some had moved to Monroe County, Ohio, and Allegheny County, PA. 

 My earliest known Alexander ancestry was my G-G-G-Grandfather, who was Joseph Alexander (1806-1888). He was born in Pennsylvania, lived briefly in New York State in 1828 when his son, James was born; he'd  moved to the southwestern PA areas of Unionville (in Bulter County) by 1835 and then to New Brighton (Beaver Conty). His wife - at least by the time of the the 1850 census in Beaver County – was Nancy (1814-1875); we may well have been his second wife. I know of eleven children born from 1828 to 1855:

1. James M. Alexander (1828-1855)
Married Catherine M. ___ and moved to Monroe COunty, Ohio, where he purchased a mill. Known children were: John Waddell Alexander (who married Harriet Roberta Martin) and Charles H. Alexander (who married Martha C. Hawkins)

2. Elias H. Alexander (1831-1898)
Married Emaline ___ (1830-1878) and then Sophie. Courthouse records of several counties – Beaver, Butler and Allegheny of PA, and Monroe of Ohio, show him involved in land transactions, but he apparently lived in only two of them as an adult: Beaver County (New Brighton, PA) and eventually, Allegheny County (Allegheny City, which is now a part of Pittsburgh). His chilren were by his first wife and were: William D. Alexander (who married Jennie ___), Clara (Married Baker), Mary (married Dudgson), Ella (married Vickerman), Charles L. Alexander, Julia Forres Alexander, Alice Emaline Alexander, and Joseph E. Alexander, who died in 1878 age 11. 

3. Julia Ann Alexander (1835-1921) married Henry Paulson and then, sometime after 1870 married Valentine Steward Ezra Hobaugh. The four children were born and raised in New Brightons, except the oldest daughter, Drusilla, who went to live with her uncle James M. Alexander in Monroe County, Ohio, when she was a teenager. The four Paulson children were: Drusilla (m. John Bachman in Monroe County, OH, in 1876), Charles Hall Paulson (married Estelle Fridiger in Beaver County in 1885), Fanny (married Charles VanArsdale) and Joseph Fillmore Paulson (married Drusilla Gertrude Funkhouser in Beaver County in 1887). 

4. Ellen Alexander (1839-?) the wife of a James D. Harris

5. Eliza Alexander (1840-?) the wife of a George MacManagel

6. Sarah J. Alexander (1843-?) wife of Fred Hollensworth

7. Joseph Benz Alexander (1845) was his wife Louise Wallace? If so, they bought land in Independence Township, Beaver County in 1873 from Joseph & Rachel Wallace. 

8. Frances Alexander (1847) Married Irwin Campbell

9. William F. Alexander (1847) He was a painter

10. George Clark Alexander (1850) Married Elizabeth Langnecker (1854-1923). They're buried in New Brighton, as is a son Harry (1882-1912)

11. David Alexander (1855)”

Joseph Fillmore Paulson (1867-1957)

Joseph Fillmore Paulson

Joseph Fillmore Paulson
born May 21, 1867 in New Brighton, Beaver County, Pa. 
Father: Henry George Paulson (1833-1898)
Mother: Julia Ann Alexander (1835-1921) 
Siblings: Charles H. Paulson (b. 1860) and Fanny Paulson (b. 1862)
Spouse: Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser (married 8 Dec. 1887)
Children: Alma, Carrie, Lila, Ruth, Lois, Joseph, Dorothy, Cromwell, Virginia
Occupation: Bricklayer
died Feb. 15, 1957 in Perryopolis, Fayette County, Pa. 

Joseph Fillmore Paulson is my great-grandfather. He lived most of his life in Beaver Falls/New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and was a bricklayer. 

The following information is from Genealogical and Personal History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Volume 2) by John W. (John Woolf) Jordan:

“The Paulson family, of New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, has been resident there for a number of generations, and in every generation they have proved their worth as good citizens and as valuable members of society. (I) Henry Paulson was a machinist by trade. He married Julia Ann Alexander, born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. (II) Joseph Fillmore Paulson, son of Henry and Julia Ann (Alexander) Paulson, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1867. He was educated in the public schools of New Brighton, and at an early age learned the trade of brick laying, with which he has been identified since he was sixteen years of age. He is a member of the United Order of American Mechanics, and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Paulson married, December 8, 1887, Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser. They have had children: Alma Gertrude, Carrie Marie, Lila Catherine, Ruth May, Lois Christine, Joseph Osman, Dorothy Eleanor, Cromwell Truby, Virginia Elizabeth, who died at the age of eight months.”

Joseph Fillmore Paulson

Joseph Fillmore Paulson

Joseph with his grandson, Thomas Lynn Carter (Dorothy’s son)

Joseph with daughter Dorothy (right) and another girl identified as Dorothy Bibbie.
(Photo in possession of Jennifer Frum.) 

Joseph Paulson (Photo in possession of Jennifer Frum.) 

Alma, Joseph, Dorothy, Ruth, Carrie, Osmon, Lila, Drusilla with Cromwell, Lois.
(Photo in possession of Jennifer Frum.)

Ruth and Dorothy. (Photo in possession of Jennifer Frum.) 

Dorothy Eleanor Paulson Carter (1901-1981)

Dorothy Eleanor Paulson Carter, about 1902
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy Eleanor Paulson Carter
Born Jan. 5, 1901
Mother: Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson
Father: Joseph Fillmore Paulson, bricklayer
Graduated from New Brighton High School
Married June 6, 1925 to Lynn McKee Carter
Married in 1960s to Charlie Brandt (separated after a few years)
Died: April 18, 1981

Children:
Thomas Lynn Carter, b. 1932
Eleanor Ann Carter Brubaker, b. 1936

Siblings:
Alma Gertrude Paulson, b. 29 August 1888; d. 12 March 1970; m. Samuel Ellsworth West
Carrie Marie Paulson, b. 1891; m. Marshall Cowsert
Lila Catherine Paulson, b. 1892; d. 1971; m. Gabe Thompson
Ruth Mae Paulson, b. 1895; m. John Thomas Wilson
Lois Christine Paulson, b. 1897; m. Seth W. Hulmes
Joseph Osmon Paulson,b. 1899; m. Mildred Irene Jones
Cromwell Truby Paulson, b.25 Sept. 1903; d. Oct. 1979; m. Etta Jones
Virginia Elizabeth, b. 1906; died at 8 months

More information about the Paulson family is in this post.

Dorothy in 1901

Dorothy, about 1905
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy (cropped from photo below)

Dorothy was one of the youngest children – and the sixth daughter – born to Gertrude Drusilla and Joseph Fillmore Paulson, a bricklayer.

Dorothy Eleanor Paulson Carter (far left) with her sisters, 1907
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Bob Brubaker

The Paulson home. Dorothy is the little girl leaning against the porch post on the right.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy (top row, fifth from left) with what I believe to be her first grade class. Probably 1906 or 1907.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy, about 1919
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

According to my mother’s records, Dorothy attended New Brighton public schools, and after graduation, worked as a bookkeeper for the Union National Bank in New Brighton. In 1925, she traveled to join Lynn in California, where he was working for an engineering firm. They were married at the First Methodist Episcopal Church there on June 1, 1925. Some of Lynn’s friends and the church’s congregation were in attendance. “Dorothy took clothing design courses and was a talented seamstress,” my mother wrote. “She was a tiny thing, only 4'11" and 85 pounds, and Lynn was very tall and auburn-haired. At this time, Los Angeles was a beautiful place and Dorothy always remembered it as a paradise.”

Dorothy with her husband, Lynn McKee Carter, late 1920s or early 30s.Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

House on Browning Drive, Los Angeles

Lynn took many photos of Dorothy when they traveled, which they appear to have done extensively in the western United States.

Dorothy in silk Chinese pajamas, late 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

 

Dorothy looking stylish on the rocks near Laguna Beach, California, late 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy at Laguna Beach, California, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Lynn and Dorothy, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Lynn and Dorothy, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy (left) with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, 1920s; this may be Yosemite.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy (left) with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy, 1920s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy had two children with Lynn, Thomas Lynn Carter (born 1932) and my mother, Eleanor Ann Carter (born 1936).

Dorothy with Eleanor, 1936.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy with Lynn, Eleanor and Tom, about 1937.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy with Tom, about 1933.

Lynn and Dorothy with Tom, about 1935.

In 1938, Lynn died suddenly, and Dorothy returned to New Brighton, where she lived for some time with her mother-in-law, Agnes Loretta Warren Carter, and her sister-in-law, Miriam Carter. She worked hard, and long hours as a seamstress and a librarian, often working two jobs to keep her family afloat. Her obituary states that she worked as a librarian at New Brighton Library, and at Berkman’s Clothing Store in Beaver Falls. My mother used to tell me that her mother could see a dress or a coat, and then come home, make a pattern for it, and stitch it up. She made almost all of her own clothing, and my mom’s. 

Dorothy at her sewing machine, 1940s
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy with Lynn, Eleanor and Tom, about 1945.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Here is a story my mother told me several times when I was a child. She wrote it down for my daughter Lea in 2004: 

“When I was about nine or ten, my mother, brother and I no longer lived at my grandmother's house; we had moved into a house of our own. In fact, it was the same house where my mother was born, way back in 1901. This was before most women went to hospitals to have babies. So it was about 1945 when this story happened. 

“My mother had to take care of the fire in the furnace, because we had no man in the family, since my father died when I was just a baby. She hated that furnace, because it required attention when she had other things she wanted to do. 

“One cold winter morning, she went down to see how the fire in the furnace was doing and found that it looked as though it had gone out. She was mad and in a hurry, so she looked around in our cellar and found a jar of kerosene. Now kerosene is very flammable. That means that if it comes into contact with fire it bursts into flame. She planned to put some coal in the furnace, sprinkle a little kerosene on it and carefully light it with a match to get the fire going fast. This was not a safe method. Usually one got the fire started slowly with some kind of kindling, like paper or small pieces of wood. 

“Well, when my mother sprinkled in the kerosene, unexpectedly there was a big BOOM! and the fire shot out. It sent out sparks and flames because there had been a small spark lurking under what she thought was a dead pile of ashes. 

“Now, my brother and I were up in the kitchen eating our breakfast and getting ready to go to school. We heard the boom and a scream from our mother. We ran to see her coming up the cellar stairs. She was all black, and all we could see on her face were her teeth and the whites of her eyes. The front of her hair was singed and her eyebrows, too. (Singed means burned a little but not flaming.) Her pretty white nylon blouse was sort of melted around her neck, and she probably would have been badly burned if she had not been wearing a heavy wool jacket and skirt. 

“The crazy thing was – she was laughing!! She just thought it was pretty funny that she had done such a dumb thing and then been lucky enough not to get badly hurt! So she took a bath, put on a clean clothes, and went to work. And for many years she would retell that story, and laugh and laugh!”

Me with Charlie Brandt, Dorothy’s second husband, about 1964

 In the 1960s, Dorothy was married for a short time to Charles Brandt, a farmer, but was very unhappy, and legally separated from him in 1964.  

Dorothy, whom I called “Nanny,” in the early 1970s.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Both my mother and father described her as a very open-minded person, and I remember her as a doting grandmother who loved me very much.

Me with my Nanny.
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Dorothy died in 1981, after an illness of four months, of congestive heart failure. Lynn and Dorothy are buried in the Carter plot at Grove Cemetery in New Brighton.

Photo by Mark R. Brubaker, taken August 2013

Photo by Mark R. Brubaker, taken August 2013

Henry George Paulson (1838-1898)

Henry George Paulson
Born: 1838 in Beaver County, PA
Died: March 20, 1898 in PA
Mother: Mary Hall 1806-?
Father: Adam/Alem/Elam Paulson, 1801-?
Wife: Julia Ann Alexander, 1935-1921

Children with Julia Ann:
1. Drusilla, 1857-?
2. Charles Hall, 1860-1927
3. Fanny Mary, 1862-1915
4. Joseph Fillmore Paulson, born May 21, 1867 in New Brighton, Beaver County, PA; died 1957

The following information is from Genealogical and Personal History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Volume 2) by John W. (John Woolf) Jordan:

“The Paulson family, of New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, has been resident there for a number of generations, and in every generation they have proved their worth as good citizens and as valuable members of society.

(I) Henry Paulson was a machinist by trade. He married Julia Ann Alexander, born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania.

(II) Joseph Fillmore Paulson, son of Henry and Julia Ann (Alexander) Paulson, was born in New Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1867. He was educated in the public schools of New Brighton, and at an early age learned the trade of brick laying, with which he has been identified since he was sixteen years of age. He is a member of the United Order of American Mechanics, and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Paulson married, December 8, 1887, Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser, whose ancestral history follows this sketch. They have had children: Alma Gertrude, Carrie Marie, Lila Catherine, Ruth May, Lois Christine, Joseph Osman, Dorothy Eleanor, Cromwell Truby, Virginia Elizabeth, who died at the age of eight months.”

Henry’s life was troubled; he may have been an alcoholic or compulsive gambler. This quote is from the “Record of the Family Powelson” by Frank Wible Powelson:

“Henry Powelson (Paulson) married Julia Alexander of New Brighton, Penna. From reports told by the members of his own family, he must have been a rounder, because his wife divorced him and went back to her people. There were three or four children by this union. Henry married a second time and there was at least one son born, whose name could not be learned.”

Note: A “rounder” is an old-fashioned word that means someone who throws money away by gambling or drinking. Records show that he and Julia divorced in 1867, the same year that their fourth child, a son named Joseph, was born. Joseph is my great-grandfather. 

Henry is listed as one of inmates of Allegheny County, Indiana Township, county work house in 1870 in this document:  

He died on 20 March, 1898, two days after being run over by an ice wagon, in West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. He was only 61 years old. The document below lists him as having lived most recently at 44- 30th Street, and having been buried on March 24, 1898, at Highwood Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

 

Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson (1867-1936)

Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson

Born: 16 Sept. 1867 in New Brighton, Beaver County, PA
Mother: Catherine Ufferman, 1844-? born in Butler County, PA
Father: Jacob Osmon Funkhouser, 1839-1907, born in Beaver Falls, Beaver County, PA

Married Dec. 8, 1887

Husband: Joseph Fillmore Paulson, born May 21, 1867 in New Brighton, Beaver County, PA

Died : March 8, 1936

Siblings:
Caroline, b. 1863

Samuel Henry, b. 1869

Virginia May, b. 1871

Harvey Allen, b. 1876

Children with Joseph Fillmore Paulson (1867-1957):

Alma Gertrude Paulson, 1889-1970, married Samuel Ellsworth West

Carrie Marie Paulson, 1890-1984, married W. Marshall Cowsert

Lila Catherine Paulson, 1892-1971, married Gabe Thompson

Ruth Mae Paulson, 1894-1970, married John Thomas Wilson

Lois Christine Paulson, 1897-1985, married Seth W. Hulmes

Joseph Osmon Paulson, 1999-1947, married Mildred Irene Jones

Dorothy Eleanor Paulson, 1901-1981, married 1) Lynn McKee Carter and 2) Charlie Brandt

Cromwell Paulson, 1904-1979, married Etta Jones

Virginia Elizabeth, died at 8 months

Alma, Joseph, Dorothy, Ruth, Carrie, Osmon, Lila, Drusilla holding Cromwell, Lois 

Several times, my mother told me that her mother (Dorothy Paulson Carter) told her the following about Drusilla: She loved to read, and was often totally entranced with what she was reading, to the point that her many children were running around the house getting into all sorts of mischief, and she seemed not to notice. I was told many times by my grandmother that I resembled her, both physically, and because of my love of books.

Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson
Photo in possession of Ruthann Wilbraham (via Ancestry.com)

Gertrude Drusilla with children (probably grandchildren)
Photo in possession of Jennifer Frum

Gertrude Drusilla Funkhouser Paulson
Photograph and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

She is buried with her husband in Grove Cemetery, New Brighton, Pa.

Photo by Mark Brubaker, August 2013