In preparation for my northern journey coming up in the next couple of weeks, I have been digging through my more immediate ancestors to find holes in my research. I have a book coming in on the Davis family from Pennsylvania that I am hoping will fill in blanks from my relatives that came through Pennsylvania and settled in Somerset. With luck I will break through a miserable standing brick wall. Somerset is on my radar for the trip up, it is close to Pittsburgh where I will be spending some time with a good friend.
The next part of my research is turning towards the Bartletts in my family tree. I have been looking for my great-great-grandmother Maria Bartlett Oakley’s brother. I think I may have finally found him. It seems that Lambert W. Bartlett married Flora Madany Wright and had a son, Guy Bartlett who went by Guy Comes. Lambert died when Guy was quite young and Flora remarried for what would be the third time to Marvin Smith Comes. Flora’s first husband was Willis J. Ripley and they had two sons, Fred and Frank. The family seemed to have located to McKean County, just outside of Smethport at Marvin Creek, named for Marvin Smith Comes.
What I have learned about the Comes family is that Marvin Smith Comes great uncle Calvin S. Comes was reported to have been the first white child born in the county in 1815. Calvin’s maternal grandfather, Seth Marvin, was one of the first settlers of the area.
Flora and Willis Ripley’s first son Fred has a middle name of Oakley. I haven’t found the connection yet with the Oakley family in my tree, but it has to be there somewhere. This non related relative could become blood relation in a big hurry.
Davis is a common name and PA a big state so I doubt there is a link. But just in case I’ll through out that my bro-in-law id Crawford Co Davis.I hope that the Oakley clue pans out for you. I have at least one in my tree that was given the middle name so his father could make nice with a business associate. I chased that surname for a very long time befoer I figured it out!
Hi AppleI have my Davis line back to 1814 in Middletown, Dauphin County PA. From there my gr gr gr grandfather move to Somerset County PA. I have the orginal newspaper obit that my gr gr grandmother had tucked in the bible. I am pretty sure my 4th gr grandfather was John. The Oakley’s I have back to 1786 in Schroon Lake, Essex County, New York. That is where I hit that wall. This Oakley could be a distant cousin possibly, they were all located and circulated in the same area around South West new york State and North West PA.