Gladys Potter's Ancestors: A partial solution

A year or so ago my older son gave DNA test kits as birthday presents (my wife and I have consecutive birthdays, although some years apart...and not in my favor).  We took the samples and sent the tests off.

Genetic genealogy is a "fishing" rather than a "hunting" activity, since to be of any use other distant cousins have to have tested, and those distant cousins need to have some paper trail on their ancestors.  This, more often than not, leads to no "fish."

Fortunately, in the case of the Lore family, there were matches to be caught including a long-time genealogist with a vast amount of information on this family.

1860 Census,  Blue Eye, Warren Co., Pennsylvania.  Credit: Ancestry.com

Looking back at the 1860 census of the Lore family, matches have turned up with n-th great grandchildren of Maria Lore, "Adin" (A.D) Lore, Simon Lore and Curtis Lore.  Other matches include descendants of "Anthony" Lore's brother and of several even more distant Lore ancestors.

It is not probable that the William Lore in Blue Eye, PA, is NOT Gladys Potter's grandfather.

William Lore was born somewhere in New York in 1839 according to this census, although his obituary in 1914 gave his birth date as 1836.  Where, exactly, his family was in New York when he was born has not been determined.  By 1850 the family is in Columbus, Warren Co., Pennsylvania and in 1860 in Blue Eye.

William and Eliza have their first child, Eunice Lavinia, in Ohio in 1865.  There is an earlier Ohio record for William Lore in 1863.  He is living in Saybrook-Ashtabula and is married, presumably to Eliza as Eunice is Eliza's mother's name.  The document is a Civil War "draft card", it is not clear if William served.

Civil War Draft Records, Ashtabula OH
W.H. Lore is on line 3
credit: Ancestry.com

By the time William and Eliza's second daughter, Eveline, is born in 1866 the family is back in Pennsylvania as shown in the Census tabulations.  The tax man also visits in 1866, and William pays $7.50 tax for 6 months trade as a "pedlar 3rd class,"  as recorded in the tax list below.  The "3rd class" means he is travelling with one horse or mule. He is working along the Allegheny River, way upstream in Tidioute, Warren Co., PA.

Federal Assessment Lists, 1866
Wm.H. Lore is on Line 36
credit: Ancestry.com

Daughter Betsy Lore was born in 1869 in Pennsylvania.  In 1870 Eliza and daughters are living in Union City, Erie Co., Pennsylvania with Eliza's parents, but without William.  W.H. Lore did make at least one further appearance, since Gladys Potter's mother Alice Olivia Lore was born in 1871 and we have the DNA match.  Eliza and daughters again appear in the Census in Waterford, Erie Co., PA in 1880 with her mother Eunice, her father Ezra having since died. No William Lore.

William Henry Lore lived until 1914, was married four times according to the 1910 Census, and had, by various counts, up to fourteen children in total.  I'll get back to him later, as his father has an even more interesting story.

Western Pennsylvania, 1876
Detail near Waterford, Union City, Corry, Columbus
and Spring Creek (Blue Eye)
credit: www.usgwarchives.net