I am trying to establish the parentage of my ancestor, Margaret Gile (or possibly Galo, Gill or McGill). My 2nd great grandmother, Margaret, was born in Harrisville, PA, on May 15,1826 according to her death record. Her married name was Margaret McCracken, as she married Samuel McCracken. They were married sometime in the late 1850's, possibly in Butler Co. By 1860 they were living in Connoquennesing Twp. In 1850 Margaret was single and living in Connoquennesing Twp. with her foster family, Robert Aiken and his wife Elizabeth. This matches with a story passed down in our family that Margaret and her siblings were raised by a Presbyterian minister and his wife after their parents were killed in a forest or prairie fire. I don't know if the fire happened in Mercer Twp., Connoquennesing Twp. or elsewhere. I'm also not certain of Margaret's birth name or the names of her parents who were killed. After her family moved to Loda, IL in 1863, a history there identifies here birth name as Margaret GALO. But the 1850 census identifies her as Margaret GILE. I find a lot of people named GILL and McGILL in both Mercer and Connoquennessing Twps. in the early days, but I'm not sure if they are the same family. Can anyone offer some advice on where I may find more info on Margaret so that I can identify her parents and when they were killed? Was there a newspaper in the county during the 1820's, 30's and 40's that might mention a fire tragedy? Were the names GILL, or McGILL sometimes spelled GILE or GALO? Are there foster or adoption records for Butler Co. that early? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Norm Alder Spokane, WA

I would concentrate first on getting all the census records for Robert Aiken. When his family grows by leaps and bounds and some are older than 10 years old, but were not on the last census, that would be a good time to look at the church where he was a minister. Surely, there will be something in the church records to indicate when they came to live them, her family was probably members of the church, so the church members would have reached out to them. Bonita ----- Original Message ----- From: <NOAlder@aol.com> To: <PABUTLER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 8:58 PM Subject: [PABUTLER-L] Margaret GILE (or possibly GILL, GALO or McGILL) and Robert AIKEN > I am trying to establish the parentage of my ancestor, Margaret Gile (or > possibly Galo, Gill or McGill). > > My 2nd great grandmother, Margaret, was born in Harrisville, PA, on May > 15,1826 according to her death record. Her married name was Margaret > McCracken, as she married Samuel McCracken. They were married sometime in > the late 1850's, possibly in Butler Co. By 1860 they were living in > Connoquennesing Twp. In 1850 Margaret was single and living in > Connoquennesing Twp. with her foster family, Robert Aiken and his wife > Elizabeth. This matches with a story passed down in our family that Margaret > and her siblings were raised by a Presbyterian minister and his wife after > their parents were killed in a forest or prairie fire. I don't know if the > fire happened in Mercer Twp., Connoquennesing Twp. or elsewhere. I'm also > not certain of Margaret's birth name or the names of her parents who were > killed. After her family moved to Loda, IL in 1863, a history there > identifies here birth name as Margaret GALO. But the 1850 census identifies > her as Margaret GILE. I find a lot of people named GILL and McGILL in both > Mercer and Connoquennessing Twps. in the early days, but I'm not sure if they > are the same family. > > Can anyone offer some advice on where I may find more info on Margaret so > that I can identify her parents and when they were killed? Was there a > newspaper in the county during the 1820's, 30's and 40's that might mention a > fire tragedy? Were the names GILL, or McGILL sometimes spelled GILE or GALO? > Are there foster or adoption records for Butler Co. that early? Any help > would be greatly appreciated! > > Sincerely, > Norm Alder > Spokane, WA > > > ==== PABUTLER Mailing List ==== > You can unsubscribe by clicking below for the regular list: > mailto:PABUTLER-L-request@rootsweb.com > Click below for the digest list: > mailto:PABUTLER-D-request@rootsweb.com > In the BODY include only one word: unsubscribe > (Please turn OFF your signature file when sending the message) > > > > > > > > > > >