Re: Jacob Helsel, Wife Heneretta
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In reply to:
Jacob Helsel, Wife Heneretta
2/21/01
I've been working on the Helsel family, and I just recently found this census listing for Jacob & Henrietta. I do not have any firm evidence of Jacob's parents.
1860 Heath Twp, Jefferson Co, Pa
page 147 house 16 family 16
HELSEL, Jacob 38 Pa laborer $100 of property
Henryetta 36 Pa
Susanna 14 Pa in school
David 12 Pa in school
Anna 9 Pa in school
Margaret 7 Pa in school
Repia(?) 4 f Pa
John 2 Pa
LDS records show their daughter Margaret in Washington Co after her marriage, but I can't find a Sligo in Washington Co. There are two listed in Pa by the US Geological Survey, one in central Clarion Co, and the other in NE Allegheny Co. Clarion is closer to Jefferson, where they were in 1860 (Heath is on the north border with Forest Co), however, the Allegheny Co location is very close to where Philip & Mary Helsel's family are reported to be (in Sharpsburg) by Evan Sloughenhoupt on his Karns web page http://members.aol.com/EvanSlaug/karns.htmlhttp://members.aol.com/EvanSlaug/karns.html
Evan reports that Mariah Helsel, wife of Alexander Karns, was born in Bedford Co in 1840, daughter of Philip Helsel & Mary Orth. There is a Philip Helsel in the 1840 census of Hopewell Twp, Bedford Co, that fits the description, Philip born 1810-1820, with two girls 1835-1840.
In trying to identify who this Philip was (and I have found no census records for him in northwest Pa), there was a Philip Helsel born in 1814 and baptized at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Loretto, Cambria Co, son of Henry & Elizabeth. In the 1830 census, Henry was in Summerhill Twp, Cambria Co. In the 1840 census, there's a "Mrs. Helsel" in Morris Twp, Huntingdon Co, and the sex and ages of the children fit the youngest six children of Henry & Elizabeth exactly.
Why that's important here is because another son of Henry & Elizabeth is Jacob Helsel, b 22 Jan 1821, which is within a year of the census age of your Jacob in 1860. If Philip from Bedford Co b 1810-1820 is in Sharpsburg, Allegheny Co, and Jacob b abt 1822 is in nearby Sligo, Allegheny Co, then there's a good chance they are the brothers who were born in 1814 & 1821 in Cambria or Somerset Co (the prospective father Henry was probably the one in the 1820 census of Shade Twp, Somerset Co, near John & George, both sons of Tobias Helsel & Christina Brenner of Richland Twp, Cambria Co).
That Henry and his children apparently moved through several counties, and that both he (40's) and his wife (50's) apparently died fairly young, has made it very difficult to trace his family. If Henry died before 1840, then there were definitely minor children, and there should be orphan's court records somewhere, in Cambria, Bedford or Huntingdon Co.