Dads mothers side, Klinck, Garner, Dorr
Eliza Ida Garner Klinck Wilcox
I have been working on my genealogy for 25 years.I am trying to find my gg grandmother Ida's parents on my fathers side. Ida died in the town next to my town 2 years before, 1952, I was born and my parents never talked about her. Like so many young people, I never asked.
I went to the town hall and they had her death entry in a ledger. Born in Philadelphia in 1858. Parents... William Garner from Virginia and Rose Dorr from Holland. Thats it. Working backwards, I found Ida Garner married my gg grandfather William Klinck in Brooklyn NY in 1882. I found their marriage certificate, her place of birth was Philadelphia in 1858, two years before we needed to report births to the city. Ida was in Brooklyn, NY in the 1880 census living with her uncle James. James was born in Philadelphia in 1852. On James death certificate in 1914, his parents are John Garner from Virginia and Eliza Durell from Maryland.
Ida was impossible to find before 1880. Some people on Ancestry.com think Ida Garner is a totally different Ida Garner... how could there be two? I searched the wrong Ida and found she was buried in Pennsylvania. I know my Ida was buried in my town. So they are wrong. Yet I could not find her or her parents in Pennsylvania. So I set this aside and went back to looking for her father William Garner's parents, John and Eliza in Virginia.
I looked for census records in Virginia in 1850, eight years before Ida was born. I find two John and Eliza Garners about the right ages and they both have a son William about the right age. Which one? One was listed in Charlottesville as a mulatto, the other in eastern Virginia.
Can't be the mulatto, I am as white as can be with red hair and blue eyes, so I look at the other family. Their future lives don't seem to match up with my Ida.
In the meantime, I send off my saliva to the DNA people. Sure enough I am about half English and half German, just like I knew I was. Also 4% Irish, gg gramma Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, and 4%... Nigerian.
Well ok. This is sad. Now I realize I have family that went through one of the worse times in our history... black slaves, enslaving people to work for free and treating them like livestock. I imagine my ancestors living on a plantation picking cotton in fields all day and not being allowed to be free... ever. And mulatto! Meaning of course that there are a bunch of white people in my past who took advantage of my people. Yes, there were some marriages and love stories between the black and whites, but my mind went to the worse.
But also, here on that 1850 Charlottesville census, was my ggg grandparents John and Eliza, free mulattos owning property and John was listed as a barber! In 1850 and before the Civil War. In the early 1800s there was a registry, where free blacks would go to claim their free papers. John and Eliza were listed in 1840 and 1850, Ben Fords registry along with their son William. Here too was listed a description of each, their owners and when they were given their freedom. No mention of Sarah or Mary.
John, born in 1808, belonged to a famous newcomer to Virginia. Isaiah Isaacs was Jewish who immigrated from Germany in the mid 1700s to open a store along with his brother in the new territories of western Virginia. His brother David Isaacs was a religious man and did not own slaves. Indeed, David took a black woman for his wife and they raised 6 children together. Davids wife was a business woman herself 22 years younger than David, only about 16 when she had their first child. Nancy was half white, and did quite well, all six children are in Davids will and owned property.
Isaiah moved from Richmond in 1800 to Charlottesville. When Isaiah Isaacs wrote his will in 1806, he freed his two female slaves Rachel and Polly and all their increase (children born to them during or after servitude) to be freed at age 30. Rachel had two children, ............and Washington. There is no mention of Pollys children if she had any. Our John was born in 1809-1810, he was not born yet and therefore not mentioned in the will. He did receive his freed papers in 1840 at the age of 30, so he could have been an "increase" of Polly or Rachel proclaimed to be free at age 30 in the will. He probably lived with Isaiahs son, David, until age 20 when he married Eliza. He bought his house and barber shop in Fredericksville, a part of Charlottesville, in 1844, four years after his freed papers. Polly could be Johns mother, but I can find no clue yet. Rachel and Polly had no last names recorded. Many freed slaves stayed on with the slave owners family after they were free. It looks like the Isaacs treated their slaves well and many blacks had nowhere to go at that time once freed. John and Eliza were married before 1833 when son William was born. William was born near Stauton VA, in Augusta County according to his military papers. There were several freed black settlements near Stauton, but I cant find a reference to our family there yet.
In the 1700s, Maryland and Virginia was opening up to English for planting tobacco. Indentured servants and black slaves from England, Bahamas and Africa where needed to grow and process the tobacco. The Isaacs and people like Thomas Jefferson, were prominent land owner in Richmond and then Charlottesville. The Isaac brothers were merchants, and our John was probably not picking and processing tobacco, probably working in the warehouse and other household chores.
Eliza... remember Eliza? Eliza was born in 1808 into slavery in the Darrell family in Maryland. In 1817, Eliza, her sister Rose and mother Ida, were given by Phillip Durell to his daughter Cordelia. Cordelia married a baptist minister Daniel Davis in Charlottesville. The Durells, sometimes spelled Darrell, came from Maryland but had holdings in Virginia. There are county books of property deeds in hard to read script. Slaves were property and transactions were often written into deeds. I cant find more about their mother Ida, but Rose and Ida probably stayed as slaves and it looks like Rose may have been traded off to James Williams in 1824 at age 14 to pay off a debt.
Eliza was given her freedom by Rev Davis when her mistress Cordelia died in 1828. Eliza would have been 20. She probably stayed on with one of Cordelia's two sons in Charlottesville until she married John Garner. A freed slave in the early 1800s had nowhere to go. They would likely stay with their owners family than go into an unknown area, especially if their owners treated them well and respected the fact they were free to go. Eliza married John and they may have moved to the Stauton area. Why John became a barber is another speculation. He may have been just good at cutting Isaiah and his sons hair and so son David may have set his up as a barber, loaning John the money for his home and shop till John could pay for the building himself in 1844.
Charlottesville is a small town in the north western part of Virginia. Known for its farmland and well to do people from Richmond like Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson lived about five miles from the center of town and our Johns barber shop in Charlottesville. Thomas Jefferson knew all the other gentlemen farmers in the area. Those farmers children intermarried and all knew and dealt with Jefferson and his slaves. John and Eliza probably worked together in the fields, houses and shops and with Jeffersons slaves. Isaiah sold goods to Jefferson.
John and Eliza had two daughters younger than William. The sisters have been hard to track. Women married and changed their names and church records are scarce. Many times slaves took on the name of their new owners and sometimes changed their complete name as the new owners chose. I have not found what happened to Williams sisters Mary and Sarah yet. Mary and Sarah were not on the Ben Fords Registry in 1840, perhaps church records would reviel what happened to them. Sarah was born in 1837 and Mary born in 1841. They would have been 16 and 12 when the family moved to Philadelphia, too young to be married yet. They probably would be members of the local Baptist church. Records may be on file at the University of Virginia.
John Garner probably took on the name of a family named Garner. William Garner was a prominent resident near Jefferson and is a possible previous owner of John or his parents till he was bought by Isaiah.
Up until the 1840s, blacks and whites lived a sort of coexistence. Not that slavery is ever good, but it seems my ancestors were not treated too badly. Then came the separation. Northern states wanted to free their slaves, southern states had become more and more dependent on the hard labor that the slaves were forced to endure every day from dawn to dusk. Some were beaten and abused, but all were at the whim of their masters as to where they could go, who to marry. The threat of being sold to another plantation or owner was a reality for them and their children.
Slaves were beginning to run away to the north. Slave owners fought to get them back as they were valuable property and would change the Souths livelihood and lifestyle. Slave catchers and rewards for runaways got more heated.
John and Eliza and their children were in danger. Yes, they had freedom papers, but that could always be ignored and they feared for their lives. They sold their home in Charlottesville and headed to the free state of Pennsylvania in 1853. In the recent movie, Harriet, Harriet Tubman helps slaves escape to the north. Many end up in Philadelphia where blacks and whites were free and worked together. Not always without conflicts, but Eliza and John settled into the old section and opened a new barber shop.
In those days of the 1800s, barbers were considered a lowly occupation. Most barbers were black until the turn of the next century when white men became barbers too. In the 1860 census, (Garner is listed on ancestry as Gumer),John and Eliza were living with sons William and James, Williams wife Rose, and their son George and daughter Eliza. Eliza was born in 1858. This is why Ida was hard to find. I think her birth name was Eliza, Named Eliza for her grandmother and her middle name Ida for her great grandmother, the Durrell slave. Two Eliza's in the same house would be confusing, so little Eliza became little Ida. Brother George I cannot find in any further records. There was also a daughter Mary born in 1860. Again, Sarah and Mary are missing.
Gramma Eliza died in 1862 in Philadelphia was buried in Mount Moriah cemetery in Philadelphia. She was listed as a widow, so John must have died but his death and grave has not been found. That was the same year William enlisted in the war between the states. William joined a special unit called Zouaves d'Afrique. He was discharged as white. Previously, on the old free black registrations in Virginia, the whole family were described as "brite" mulattoes. Watered down their black pigments over the generations so that in Philadelphia they became known as white. Times were difficult for blacks. Why they chose to be known as white was probably a difficult decision. They gave up their culture and became new personas to make sure their future generations, like me, were accepted.
William Garner's troupe in the Civil War.... is he in this photo?
William married a white girl in 1854. Rose Dorr was born in Holland or Netherlands on two sources, but her parents were from Baden in Germany. Her parents, uncles and aunts had moved to Philadelphia years before and owned bakeries. They lived in the same area as the Garners in the old section. The Garners lived at 213 Pine Street. William had become a barber too. William was only 23 when he joined the army, with three small children. William left them and his bride and went to fight for the freedom of the people from whence he came.
Much information was found in Williams war records. I had found an index card for Ada Garner Klinck applying for pension compensation on her fathers war injuries. I sent to Washington DC for the file which contained much information about William and the family.
William was wounded in his right foot in the battle of Pettersburg, Virginia. He was sent home as an invalid in 1865. Three years later, his wife Rose died. Little son George if still alive, would have been 8 years old, Eliza Ida 7 and Mary 5. Still cannot find them on 1870 census. Perhaps they all lived with Rose's family? William would be a single father and his parents John and Eliza were gone. His army disability was $6 per month. James as mentioned turned out to be a baker himself, so perhaps they lived with Roses family. Still searching.
Also on Williams pension file, 23 pages of information, I found William was born in Augusta County Virginia in 1833. The area near Staunton had several free black communities. I cannot find a mention of John and Elizas marriage yet. The birth certificate of little daughter Mary was in Williams file. Rose was mentioned in the file, her marriage to William in Philadelphia in 1854 and her death in 1868 at age 30. Cannot find when, why and where she died and is buried. Church records in Philly may help. They were probably baptists in the old section of Philly.
In 1872 William was admitted to Bellveue Hospital in Manhattan. He had gotten a "decease of the lungs" while in service and died at the hospital. He was buried in an unmarked grave on Harts Island. He was only 39. How and when the family moved to Brooklyn NY is still a mystery.
So Ida and William Klinck were married in Brooklyn in 1882. Ida was 24 and had been living with uncle James. They raised four children in Brooklyn. William was a coach and sign painter. Their first son, David, died as an infant and is buried in Brooklyn. In 1900, the family moved to Torrington CT. William got a job with a local painting company. Their children, Elizabeth, Francis, Charles, Nellie, and Emma all grew up in Torrington, married and stayed in Connecticut. They had two more children, George and William. William junior, born in 1901, died tragically by falling off a raft at the old mill site on Water Street in Torrington. His friend tried to save him but were unsuccessful and and William drowned at age 16. William Klink died in 1912 from kidney failure at age 64 in Bridgeport, CT. Ida remarried. Son George never married and Ida and George lived together after her second husband, George Wilcox died in Winsted CT. Ida died in 1952 at the age of 94.
Nellie Klink was my father, Richard Britton's, mother. Nellie had married John Britton, 22 years older than herself. John had a first wife who died leaving him with 7 children. Nellie at age 21, took on raising the surviving 5 of Johns 6 children and had 8 more children with John. My dad was number 14 of Johns children, the youngest born in 1927. Johns oldest son married Nellies older sister Elizabeth.
On August 8 2025, I came across John Banks blog about a Civil War historians finding a bullet on a battlefield. In the bullet was carved the initials WLG. William L. Garner. Here is excerpts from John Banks and Richard Clems story....
"A
murderous encounter the previous week at Gettysburg had thinned the
ranks of the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers. While glowing campfires
slowly died, the boys from Philadelphia tried to erase from their
minds and souls that bloody ordeal in the “Peach Orchard.” Today,
not a sign remains to indicate these battle-weary warriors bivouacked
on the ground in Maryland. However, one member of the 114th
Pennsylvania left evidence underground that the camp did indeed
exist.
On
a beautiful Indian summer afternoon in 1986, the author and his
brother, Don, searched for Civil War relics with metal detectors. The
farm we searched was camped on by units of the Union III Corps of the
Army of the Potomac during their pursuit of the Rebels after
Gettysburg. In earlier years, the nearby intersection in this area of
southern Washington County, Md., was called Jones’ Crossroads by
locals.
Warm,
sunny hours had proven favorable as our relic pouches bulged with
bullets, buttons and various Civil War artifacts. With shadows
lengthening, we decided to call it a day and take one final sweep
across the old campsite. As we were about to finish, Don headed in my
direction with an outstretched hand and a smile on his face. This
could mean only one thing: He had dug a “keeper!”
"At
first, I thought it was just another bullet," Don explained.
"But after a closer look, I could see something carved on it."
Darkness was setting in too fast to figure out the tiny letters, so
we headed for the pickup truck. That evening we soaked the bullet in
water, and after a light cleaning with a soft toothbrush, letters and
numbers surfaced: "H / W. L. G. / 114 P.V."
Using imagination and common sense, we came to the conclusion what these small letters represented. First, the “H” at the top of the carving stood for “Company H.” Next, the letters “W.L.G.” were the initials of some soldier’s first, middle and last name. And finally, “114 P.V.” stood for the “114th Pennsylvania Volunteers.” Apparently, more than a century before a Civil War soldier had taken a pocket knife or some other sharp object and cut the nose and bottom ring off a standard .58-caliber bullet. He then continued to carve his company’s letter, his own initials and abbreviation of his regiment on the flattened remaining nose of the bullet. This was no easy task considering the surface being carved was the size of an aspirin. This veteran must have had better than 20-20 vision."
"So let’s return to Nov. 22, 1986, when my brother and I stood scratching our heads and wondering about the soldier who carved the bullet. With two great clues to start our research -- the letter of the soldier’s company and name of his regiment --a trip to Gettysburg was planned. The library at the Gettysburg National Military Park produced a copy of the History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5. The large volume contains in order every regiment from the Keystone State that served in the Civil War. Each regiment is broken down into companies listed in alphabetical order. Pages became blurred as we nervously, anxiously fumbled through the heavy book until a finger landed on the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers. In a matter of seconds, the only name listed in Company H that matched those carved on the bullet leaped from the page – “William L. Garner.” We had found our bullet carver from the past."
"Private Garner was on sick leave from January-April 1863, but recovered and was present at the Battle of Chancellorsville that May. Near the Chancellor house, the 114th and 105th Pennsylvania charged a fortified Rebel position but were driven back to the entrenchments with the loss of 173 killed and wounded. In the same engagement, Colonel Charles Collis was reported wounded, although some records claim he contracted typhoid fever. Whatever the case, Collis was recuperating and missed the Gettysburg Campaign. "
"The
114th Pennsylvania regiment passed through its worst trials in spring
and summer 1863 at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1864, with
Collis back commanding the battle-tested brigade, the Zouaves
continued reducing their numbers in action at Wapping Heights,
Kelley’s Ford, Auburn, Mine Run, Guiney’s Station and
Rappahannock Station. Private Garner survived those engagements, but
luck ran out for the red-legged veteran from Philadelphia.
On
a clear, warm Sunday in the final month of hostilities, Garner made
his last charge during General Ulysses Grant’s assault against the
enemy’s strong works at Petersburg, Va. A surgeon’s report listed
his condition as, “ . . . disabled resulting from a gun shot wound
in the right foot received in action at Petersburg, Virginia, April
2, 1865.” Just seven days after Garner fell in battle, Lee
surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House,
officially ending the war. With the Confederates' surrender, the
114th Pennsylvania marched to Arlington Heights, opposite Washington,
where it was mustered out of service May 29, 1865. The War Between
the States was over, but for William Garner the battle for life was
just beginning. "
"On April 10, 1865, the day after Lee’s surrender, Garner was admitted to U.S. General Hospital in Philadelphia. Later that month, he was transferred to McClellan U.S. Hospital in the same city. His health continued to deteriorate after being shuttled from one hospital to another. To make matters worse, in 1868, while still in the hospital, his wife died. Four years later, on Aug. 7, 1872, William L. Garner died in Belleme Hospital in New York. He was 39. The cause of death was “… disease of lungs and wounds contracted in the service.” Without mother or father, what would happen to Ida, the Garner’s 12-year-old daughter?
Exactly 24 years to the day -- April 2, 1889 -- that Garner was wounded at Petersburg, Ida Garner Klinck applied for a military pension as the daughter of William L. Garner. The 30-year-old woman who appeared before the deputy clerk of the Supreme Court of New York gave her address as Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y. Seventeen years later, she applied again for a pension, writing the following:
Torrington, July 22, 1906
Mr. Warner
i thought I would Write to you to tell you That my mother died Before
my father. My mother died when I was 9 years old. My father died
because of a Wound in the foot and I know that my father never
Married But one time. I feel that I Should have sum thing come to me.
i am a lone in This World. I was 12 years old When my father died. My
father was William L. Garner.
from
Mrs. Ida G. Klinck"
excerpts by Richard Clem
There is more to find in their stories. Many unanswered questions will never be found. Just another group of people who came together like cars in a bumper car ride at the fair. Random meetings. Births, marriages and deaths. We are all here because of these random people and our descendants will carry on.
There is more, plus documents on my Ancestry.com tree... britton/albrecht family tree
. I would be glad to share and look at any new information other people may have. I will be updating this post when I get new information.
