Margaret Howe, milliner and dressmaker
Margaret Howe was my 3rd great grandmother. Born in Ireland in about 1818, family records indicate that she met and married Edward Martin Ralph in Cincinnati, Ohio. (If you log into FamilySearch.org and follow the links, you can see more information about Margaret and Edward.) I have been unable to find an Ohio marriage record for them, and until recently, had no records that actually tied them to Cincinnati.
Years ago I visited the Public Library of Cincinnati in person. A librarian helped me search city directories (in book form) for the time period when Margaret Howe might have lived there. I found one possibility - a Margaret Howe, dressmaker, in 1846, on 5th between Broadway and Pike.
When I visited the library, I found no other records that could confirm this was the right Margaret Howe (a common enough name). I stuck the paper in my "Ralph/Howe" file box and haven't looked at it in years. A few days ago, I was organizing some information about the Howe families of Bartholomew county, Indiana and ran across that paper, which launched this particular adventure.
Years ago I visited the Public Library of Cincinnati in person. A librarian helped me search city directories (in book form) for the time period when Margaret Howe might have lived there. I found one possibility - a Margaret Howe, dressmaker, in 1846, on 5th between Broadway and Pike.
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| Margaret Howe, dressmaker, Robinson & Jones' Cincinnati directory for 1846, First Ward, p.42 The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio |
A digital collection of Cincinnati city directories on the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County website makes it possible to do a much more thorough search than I was able to do in person. Thanks to that digital collection, I can establish a better timeline for Edward and Margaret's relationship (ruling out one of my theories, that they met and married before coming to the US).
Using the website's full-text search, I easily located Margaret in the 1842 directory, as well, living in basically the same neighborhood as later directories show. I always thought Margaret was likely a famine immigrant, but the 1842 listing pre-dates the 1845-1849 Great Famine.
Used in combination, the three Cincinnati city directory listings provide this timeline:
1842 - Margaret Howe, milliner
1846 - Margaret Howe, dress mkr
1849 - Ralph, Mrs. M, dress mkr
There are no directories for the years between 1842 and 1846, and between 1846 and1849. Edward Ralph is not listed in either the 1842 or 1846 directory. And Margaret Howe, milliner/dressmaker, disappears between 1846 and 1849 (which would be consistent with the finding of Mrs. M. Ralph). By 1850, the family, including a one-year-old son William John (my g-g-grandfather), had settled in Bartholomew County, Indiana.
A topographical map of Cincinnati from 1841 shows the neighborhood where they lived and worked.
The Cincinnati Panorama of 1848, also available on the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County website, is a series of Daguerreotypes taken from across the Ohio River in Kentucky. The images offer a stunning perspective of the city at the time Margaret and Edward were living there. Pindot 27 on the panorama is Saint Francis Xavier's Church (West Side Of Sycamore, Between Sixth And Seventh Streets). It would have been a common sight for them. Both Margaret and Edward came from Methodist families, so it is unlikely they worshipped or married at Saint Francis Xavier.
Margaret's sister Rebecca Howe married Robert Dunlap in Cincinnati in May of 1842. They were married by Rev. Wm. Lawder, the preacher in charge of Asbury Chapel, a Methodist church on Webster between Main and Sycamore. It seems likely that Margaret would have been present at that wedding, and may have been married a few years later by the same minister, as well. It turns out there are three microfilms of Asbury Church records available at the FHL. But that is research for another day!
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| Margaret Howe, Milliner, Cincinnati Directory for the year 1842, Charles Cist, compiler, p. 42
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio
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Used in combination, the three Cincinnati city directory listings provide this timeline:
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| Edward and Margaret Howe Ralph Williams' Cincinnati Directory, 1849-1850, p. 233 The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio |
1842 - Margaret Howe, milliner
1846 - Margaret Howe, dress mkr
1849 - Ralph, Mrs. M, dress mkr
There are no directories for the years between 1842 and 1846, and between 1846 and1849. Edward Ralph is not listed in either the 1842 or 1846 directory. And Margaret Howe, milliner/dressmaker, disappears between 1846 and 1849 (which would be consistent with the finding of Mrs. M. Ralph). By 1850, the family, including a one-year-old son William John (my g-g-grandfather), had settled in Bartholomew County, Indiana.
A topographical map of Cincinnati from 1841 shows the neighborhood where they lived and worked.
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| 1841 Cincinnati City Map showing 5th Street and 7th Street locations Doolittle & Munson. (1841) Topographical map of the city of Cincinnati, from actual survey. [S.l.: s.n] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006626028/. |
The Cincinnati Panorama of 1848, also available on the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County website, is a series of Daguerreotypes taken from across the Ohio River in Kentucky. The images offer a stunning perspective of the city at the time Margaret and Edward were living there. Pindot 27 on the panorama is Saint Francis Xavier's Church (West Side Of Sycamore, Between Sixth And Seventh Streets). It would have been a common sight for them. Both Margaret and Edward came from Methodist families, so it is unlikely they worshipped or married at Saint Francis Xavier.
Margaret's sister Rebecca Howe married Robert Dunlap in Cincinnati in May of 1842. They were married by Rev. Wm. Lawder, the preacher in charge of Asbury Chapel, a Methodist church on Webster between Main and Sycamore. It seems likely that Margaret would have been present at that wedding, and may have been married a few years later by the same minister, as well. It turns out there are three microfilms of Asbury Church records available at the FHL. But that is research for another day!
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