William Muholland: The Good Son

William Mulholland is the youngest son of Samuel Mulholland sr and Jane Bullock's known children. Like his older brother Samuel jr, William Mulholland spent his life as a farmer in Superior Township after arriving from Ireland. While Sam was out adventuring in the new world, William was the good son who stayed home then helped move the family to Michigan in 1833 at age 19. His role in aiding family members continued throughout his lifetime, as his farm was constantly the shelter for his siblings and other relatives when they needed a refuge. While little is known of his life, the surviving evidence indicates he was a man who others relied on.

William Mulholland

Throughout his life, William sought to build his holdings and his community. He first appears in the records in early 1834 as a signer of a petition to Congress requesting road improvements to connect communities from Washtenaw to western Michigan. This road would ultimately become Michigan Avenue, connecting Detroit to Chicago. He was also buying and selling land in Ingham and Livingston counties (places he never lived but bought initial land patents) with his father and brother Sam jr, using the gains to expand his farm in Superior Township where he ultimately became one of the prominent citizens in the community. 

Initially William lived with his parents and siblings. William married Mary Pounder in 1844 when she was 18 and he was in his late 20s. Like brother Sam and his wife, Eliza Pounder Mulholland (the two brothers married two sisters), William had a large family with ten children.

Just months after his wedding, William purchased land from his parents in Section 17 of Superior Township for $800 in May 1845.  He owned 100 acres having started with very little. In his mid-50s, his farm was valued at $8000, a substantial holding back in 1870. At that time, he had four horses, three milk cows, four cattle, forty sheep, and six pigs. He grew winter wheat, Indian corn, oats and buckwheat, with 60 acres of undeveloped woodland. His farm later grew to 160 acres with a second parcel in a nearby area. William was considered very well off for his time, making money through prudent land purchases and sales, including in neighboring counties and as far away as Nauvoo, Illinois. As suggested by the stories of his sisters, land was a highly prized commodity for these once land-poor Irish immigrants.

In the 1881 History of Washtenaw County, William is described:

William Mulholland ranks among the honored and aged pioneers of the fertile valley. He was born in Ireland in 1816 and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Burlock) Mulholland, who emigrated with their family to America in 1835. He settled in Superior tp. the same year, where William grew to manhood. In 1845 he married Mary Pounder. The fruits of this union was the birth of 10 children, 9 of whom, 3 sons and 6 daughters are living. Mrs. Mulholland departed this life in 1880. The names of the children are - Eliza, Margaret, Mary Jane, Anna, William H., Elceba, Josie, John J. and Samuel L. Mary died September, 1880. Mr. M is a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife was a faithful and consistent member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Mulholland is Democratic in politics, and has served the citizens of Superior tp. in various official positions. He has many warm friends in this country, who desire to see him prosperous in life. (1881 History of Washtenaw County, p. 1086)

William died in 1883 at the age of 66 of heart disease, three years after his wife. At the time of his death, five of his children were living at home. His mentally disabled sister MaryAnn Mulholland had been living with him since about 1847 when their sister Jane Mulholland Stebbins died. At various times he had others living on his farm, including Joseph Crawford, son of Martha Crawford Mulholland of the Dixboro ghost fame and stepson of William's deceased brother, John Mulholland. Also living near him were his newly-wedded sister-in-law Margaret Pounder and husband Francis Collier. 

William is buried in the Dixboro Cemetery along with his wife Mary and many of their children and grandchildren.

Finding Pounder, Bounder, Tounter: Eliza, Mary, Margaret and more

These days we care a lot about people getting our names right and have multiple records, from birth certificates, drivers licenses, passports, and social security cards that all have to match up perfectly. Just ask any woman who marries and takes the surname of her spouse how much effort it can be to make sure every record is the same. Not so true in the past. 

My Pounder ancestors were initially known through the 1881 History of Washtenaw County. Two Mulholland brothers married two sisters, Eliza Pounder and Mary Pounder. The only initial clue to the sisters' family roots were death certificates noting their parents were William Pounder and Margaret Byrne (Burns) Pounder. Eliza's certificate had William and Margaret Tounter while Mary's had Wm. and Margaret Pounder. From there it was a long genealogical journey through many misspellings of their name to find more about this family, including a marriage record for the parents, William Pounder and Margarett Byrne in 1821 Ireland.

Eliza Pounder Mulholland

My great-great grandfather Samuel Mulholland jr. married the 16-year-old Eliza Pounder on 31 Dec 1840 in Superior Township, Michigan. Her marriage record listed her name as Eliza Tounder.

From passenger records, we know that she was newly arrived from Ireland, having immigrated with her mother and siblings in July 1840 on the ship Liddons from Liverpool to New York, where she was identified as Elizabeth Pounder, occupation dress maker. Sam was 28 when they married, but perhaps had not found a suitable wife in his vicinity or perhaps he had an unrecorded earlier marriage.

Samuel and Eliza
Mulholland tombstone
in Dixboro Cemetery

Sam jr and Eliza had ten children, one who died as an infant. The children's stories as well as Sam jr's are elsewhere on this blog. They accumulated land over the years with their large Irish family to help extend the farm. Like many women of the time, we don't know much more about Eliza's life and there is little documentation to hint at what it was like. Her days would have been spent raising her large family, keeping house, and helping with farm chores, all very intensive physical labor in a time before steam and electrical machines.

Like many Irish immigrants of the time, it is probable that Eliza had little if any education, although Sam and Eliza made sure all their children attended school at least through elementary and learned to read and write. Illiteracy is one reason so many of the early records get names wrong, and she herself may have been unsure of the spelling. Pounder is the version that appears most often and was carried down to future generations by other members of the family so is assumed to be the best choice.

Eliza died of consumption relatively young at the age of 45 in 1869 when her youngest daughter was only six. On her death certificate, her parents are listed as William and Margaret Bownder. She is buried next to Sam in the Dixboro Cemetery, where her age at death date on her tombstone doesn't match the death register for the county. Somehow dates and surname spelling just weren't as important back then!

Mary Pounder Mulholland

Mary Pounder Mulholland

Like her sister Eliza, Mary arrived in the U.S. in July 1840 and settled in Superior Township where she lived her entire life. Based on her age in her Michigan death record, she would have been born in 1821 but this one turns out to be wrong. The mortality schedule for the 1880 census lists her age as 53, and she was listed as 13 on the 1840 passenger list, making the actual date more like 1827. The later date makes more sense as she was Eliza's younger sister.

Mary Pounder married Sam's younger brother, William Mulholland in 1845 when she was 18. Witnesses to the marriage were Margaret and Joseph Pounder, likely her sister and brother (see below). They had a big family of ten children, and spent their lives on the large farm William owned in Superior Township not far from where Sam jr. lived. In the 1881 History of Washtenaw County, she is noted as "a faithful and consistent member of the Episcopal Church." The Dixboro Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1858, and would have been a central part of social life of the time.

Mary (listed as May on the mortality schedule) died in 1880 of typhoid fever, and is buried in the Dixboro Cemetery next to William who died six years later. Mary lived long enough for photography to have become more common and a picture of her as an elderly woman remains in the possession of William's descendants.

Finding Mrs. Margaret Pounder in Superior Township

With both Eliza and Mary living in Superior Township at the time they married into the Mulholland family, it seems highly probable that they may have had relatives nearby. Finding the two of them was easy given the 1881 county history and biographies of their husbands. Identifying others was a bit more challenging but what has been found does hold together as a good basis for the family tree.

Mrs. Margaret Pounder (45y) arrived on the ship Liddons in New York from Liverpool on 23 July 1840. Listed as traveling with her were her four children, Joseph (18y), Elizabeth (16y), Mary (13y), and Margaret (11y). They are shown as originating in Ireland.

Margaret's husband, William Pounder, was not on this ship, and no evidence of his presence in the U.S. has been found. He may have died before they left Ireland, or if he did come to the U.S. before the rest of his family, left no known record. Margarett Byrne/Burns married William in 1821 in the Ossory Diocese of Ireland.

Margaret is shown as a midwife under occupation on the 1840 passenger list, an interesting note as most female passengers lacked any evidence of having an occupation, even keeping house as found in many census records. Being a midwife would have been a way for her to make a living in her new home if she lacked a husband to help set up a farm.

How do we know this is the right Pounder family? In fact, there was a Pounder family that arrived earlier who have incorrectly been identified as the family of Eliza and Mary and that record does seem at least partly right. Given the commonality of Irish names, matching families can be problematic. But the 1840 arrival is a perfect fit. First, we know the names and ages from the 1840 ship manifest match exactly the members found in Superior Township including for both Mary and Eliza. Joseph appeared as a witness for Mary's marriage, and the younger Margaret is also there. In deed records, Joseph's estate is shared among his mother and sisters, suggesting he died about about 1848 without marrying.

Margaret Pounder is living with the youngest daughter, Margaret (Mary) Ann Pounder Collier (22y) in 1850 and her husband, Francis Collier. Although listed as Mary in the 1850 census, perhaps to differentiate her from her mother, the younger Margaret is listed as Margaret in all other records. In the 1900 census, Margaret Collier gave an immigration date of about 1839, supporting an 1840 arrival.

The Colliers and Pounders must have had a long friendship, as Francis is listed on the same ship manifest just below the Pounder family, traveling with his parents Robert Collier and Mary (Price) Collier and their other six children. The older Colliers were married in the Ossory diocese in 1822, so likely they all originated in the same part of Ireland. The junior Margaret and Francis were a bit young to be married when they arrived from Ireland, but they did join in marriage about 1847. It may be Margaret sr. decided to make the voyage with the Colliers after her husband died and followed them to Superior Township. It is highly likely that she was in someway related to the Colliers but no other records have been located for their Irish roots. Also of note is that these families were Catholic but the daughters became Protestant in the US.

Mrs. Margaret Pounder's death date is unknown, but she does not appear in the 1860 census so likely died before this time (and before Michigan regularly collected death records). She may have died about 1853, when deed records show a quit-claim deed for 30 acres in Superior Township from Mary and Eliza to their sister Margaret and husband Francis, probably inherited from their mother's estate.

How many more ways can you spell Pounder?

Death records are helpful because they are sometimes the one good link between parents and child. But the person who provides the information after a person dies may have little idea who the parents were, particularly if no one is left from the family who knows because a person lives to very old age.

The problems with the Pounder names become more obvious in looking at death records. The younger Margaret was said to be the child of Sam Pounder and Mrs. Burns (Mrs. Margaret Pounder's maiden name was Byrne) in her death record, perhaps because her father was unknown to her surviving family. Her daughter Charlotte gave her mother's maiden name as Margaret Pound.

Eliza's children listed Eliza Tounter (Sarah B. Mulholland) and Margaret Pounder (Eliza Mulholland Parker). Mary's children included Jane Mulholland Cadwell with Mary Pownder or Mary Mulholland Cadwell with May Mulholland. It was correct on less than half of the records, with some actually showing the deceased's mother as unknown or just listing the mother's married name. No wonder it can be difficult to trace families over time!

updated 10 Jun 2020

Mary Ann Mulholland: Always Cared For

To refer to a person as "idiotic" in modern times is often a slang term for acting stupid. But in the 19^th and early 20^th century, the term was used to refer to an individual with a severe intellectual disability. Such was the case of Mary Ann Mulholland, youngest daughter of Samuel Mulholland sr. and Jane Bullock.

Like her siblings, Mary Ann Mulholland was born in Ireland, coming to the United States as a toddler in 1833 with her parents. She stands out among Sam's children as the only one who never married and always lived with relatives. While many families have spinster sisters in their records, Mary Ann's case becomes more sad when she appears listed in the "1880 U.S Census Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes Schedule: Idiotic."

Page from 1880 "Defective Schedule"
click to see larger version

What we learn of Mary Ann who was about 50 in 1880 is that her situation is more than just the case of a spinster sister. According the "Defective Schedule" as it is often called, Mary Ann, of Superior Township, was:

• only partly self supporting,
• age at which idiocy occurred: birth 
• size of head: natural

The record also indicates she was never institutionalized and did not have other disabilities such as blindness, deafness, or epilepsy.

While there was a space for cause, in her case this was blank, implying she just was this way from her early life. Whether she may have had Down's syndrome, being a late-in-life child for her mother Jane, had a genetic disorder, or whether something occurred at birth to cause her condition remains unknown, as few records from the time gave more detailed information other than the very broad classification of "idiocy."

The census enumerators collecting information for the "defective" schedule were given very specific instructions about what the term "idiotic" meant. From the census schedule page:

The word “idiot” has a special meaning which it is essential for every enumerator to know. An idiot is a person the development of whose mental facilities was arrested in infancy or childhood before coming to maturity. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the stupidity which results from idiocy and that which is due to the loss or deterioration of mental power in consequence of insanity. The latter is not true idiocy, but dementia or imbecility. The enumeration desired for the Census is of true idiots only. Demented persons should be classed with the insane. (1880 U.S. Census Supplemental Schedule 3, Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes: Idiots)

Although there are hints of her disability when she was younger, she was not listed as "idiotic" in earlier census records. A column for this could be found in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. What does show up is that she was cared for consistently by her family who did not share with the outside world that she had special needs. In the 1834 Michigan and 1840 U.S. census, she is likely one of the female children listed with Sam sr (except for the head of household, none of the household were identified except by age and gender).

By 1850 after the death of her parents, she was living in a household next to brother William Mulholland with a 16-year-old who may have been a caretaker. Mary at 22 is shown as unable to read and write English, the only one of the children of Sam and Jane for whom this was the case.

In 1860 she appears as Mary Mulholend, a "domestic servant" living with her sister, Eliza Mulholland Larabee, in Clinton County Michigan. No record has been found for Mary for 1870 after the death of Eliza, but presumably she continued in the household of one of her siblings. 

In 1880, she is living with her brother William's family in Superior Township, listed as a sister and boarder, with a check in the column for "idiotic," thus indicating she is included on the "Defective Schedule." The census indicates she cannot read or write, and on a deed record from 1846 signed by her sister Eliza and husband William Larabee, Mary Ann has "her mark," an X.

After William's death, Mary Ann is found living with his son John J. Mulholland, and his younger siblings Elceba and Lewis in the 1884 Michigan census still on the farm that had been William's. Once again, the family reports to the census taker that their 57-year-old aunt is neither sick nor disabled.

While many classified as idiotic died young, Mary Ann lived to be over 60. She died of pneumonia in April 1892 and is buried in the Dixboro Cemetery still surrounded by the family that supported her throughout her life. Her story is a reminder of how differently mental disabilities were dealt with in the nineteenth century. On the one hand, the family took care of their own, but it wasn't something to be discussed in public.

Eliza Mulholland Larabee: Almost Invisible

Eliza Mulholland is one of the nine children of Samuel Mulholland and Jane Bullock Mulholland. Eliza is one of the "lost" children in the family, as those previously doing genealogy had not been able to link Eliza to Samuel. Her story is not only about what has been learned about Eliza but also a reminder of the caveat against blindly following family trees posted online that have missed evidence of connection or simply have links to the wrong person who may have had the same name.

Like her sister Jane Mulholland Stebbins, Eliza Mulholland's story is a short one, as she married in her early 20s and died at 37. Although she had four children with her husband, William Lorenzo Larabee, her line died out and she has no known living descendants. Because extant online family trees for William have been created primarily by descendants of his later wife, Catherine Carnahan, or William's siblings, most have completely eliminated Eliza from their lists.

Eliza Mulholland was born in Ireland, presumably in County Monaghan where her brother Sam jr. originated. Eliza and her family followed Sam jr to Superior Township, Washtenaw, Michigan when she was about 7 in 1833.

Eliza lived on a farm with her family until her marriage to William about 1849 at the age of 23. William, son of Silas Larabee and Lucy Ring Larabee (often misspelled, sometimes shown as Larrabee or even Lariby), was born in New York, arriving with his family in Superior Township sometime before 1840.

Shortly after their marriage, William and Eliza moved to Clinton County where she had four children before her death about 1861. No documentation for her death has been found so the date is estimated based on other evidence including records kept by Larabee descendants, and her burial place is unknown.

William L. Larabee remarried after Eliza's death. The one online family tree (see below) that correctly identified Eliza as his first wife and mother of his first four children suggested a second and very short marriage to Agnes Ballentine. No other documentation has been found for this marriage to date. Agnes died in 1863, less than two years after that wedding. In the 1864 Michigan census, William is shown as living alone with the children apparently living with other relatives.

William married a third time to Catherine Carnahan about 1865. They had three more children. Catherine had been previously married, but her daughter by that marriage died as a child, perhaps before her marriage to William. Catherine raised Eliza's three surviving children along with her own. The family moved after the marriage to a farm in Williamston Township, Ingham County, Michigan where all the children grew up. William's third marriage lasted until his death in 1887. Catherine died in 1901.

Dying Too Young

Eliza and William had four children during their short marriage who survived long enough to appear in official records, but one, Esther P. Larabee, died in early childhood, appearing in the 1860 census as a one year old but no longer listed by 1870.

Two of Eliza's other children died as young adults, both of consumption (or tuberculosis as it is known today). Jane (Jennie) S. Larabee was living with William and Catherine in 1880, but died single in 1881 just before her 26^th birthday.

William Chauncey Larabee died at 37 of consumption in 1887. He had married Louisa Kent in 1881 when he was 29 and she was 21. Their one son, William Lorenzo (Ren) Larrabee was only 4 when his father died. Louisa moved near her husband's half-brother, Willis Nathan Larrabee, but she also died young in 1898 when Ren was 14. Both William C. and Louisa Larabee are buried in the Summit Cemetery in Williamston where they grew up.

After his mother's death, Ren Larrabee followed his uncle's family to Kansas around the turn of the century, marrying Stella Arnette in 1909. He worked as a store clerk and did some farming. Ren died at 57 in 1941 in Wakeeney, Kansas where he lived throughout his adult life. Their only known child was stillborn in 1909. The Kansas branch of the family used the Larrabee spelling with two Rs, unlike the Michigan group.

Lucy Carolyn Larabee Fuller

Lucy Larabee Fuller
1919 U.S. passport application

Lucy Carolyn Larabee was the only child of William and Eliza who lived to old age. Born in 1857 in Clinton County, she lived to be 71, dying in California in 1928.

Lucy was three when her mother Eliza died, so spent most of her life living with her father William and stepmother Catherine in Williamston, Michigan. She married a local farmer, Alonzo Fuller, when she was only 18 and he was 28. Her sister Jane (Jennie) was a witness at their marriage, less than two years before she died of consumption.

Lucy and Alonzo had four children. Two died single without children: Maud L. Fuller, born in 1880 died at the age of 23 in 1904. Nelson Alonzo Fuller, born in 1884, died at 25 in 1909. Like the children of Eliza earlier, both died of consumption which seemed common in this family. Eliza herself reportedly died of the disease.

Lucy's Children

Lucy's youngest son born in 1885, Edwin Earl Fuller, married in his late 20s to Georgia Moore of Kansas. No marriage record for the couple has been located, but his Larrabee relatives in Kansas may have been part of the lure that drew Edwin from Michigan to the west. By 1918, when he registered for the World War I draft, Edwin and Georgia were living in Sheridan, Placer County California. They lived in Placer County throughout their lives running a fruit farm. His mother Lucy lived with them before her death in 1928, and supposedly was cremated there with her ashes being returned to Michigan for burial near her husband Alonzo. Edwin died in 1952 and Georgia in 1958. They had no known children.

Genevieve Fuller French
from 1916 US passport application

One of the more interesting stories is that of Genevieve (Jennie) May Fuller, born in 1877, the oldest of Lucy's four children. Jennie married later in life at 27 to Clifford Hiram French, an accountant and later vice president of an international importing company who was often in Asia based on passenger lists. His residence was listed as Manila on their marriage license although he had been born in Michigan. Jennie accompanied him on many of his trips and they spent extended periods living overseas. They usually listed a residence in New York or the Washington, DC areas as their U.S. address, but in 1935 did use the address in California of brother Edwin. 

Jennie died in Shanghai, China in 1935 at the age of 58 of high blood pressure and heart disease. She was cremated in China and her ashes were returned to her native Laingsburg to be buried near her mother. They had no known children. 

Clifford remarried within months to a Portuguese woman born in China, Thelma Remedios. They continued the pattern of traveling back and forth between Asia and the U.S. Clifford died in 1947 at the age of 69 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery based on his service as a corporal in the Michigan Infantry from 1899-1901. Thelma died in 1962, with her occupation listed as "secret" on her funeral record. Does leave an open question about what their real jobs might have been!

Finding Eliza Muholland

Linking Eliza Larabee to the Samuel Mulholland sr family are several documents although none are as solid as something like a birth or death record listing Eliza's parents. No records are known to survive from Ireland where she was born, and Eliza died before Michigan required certification of death. No tombstone provides evidence for a date of death, as many individuals dying at this time were buried on their farms rather than in formal cemeteries.

Additional confusion arises from several online family trees on Ancestry.com. Compiled by individuals linked to the side of the Larabee family through William and his third wife, these trees did not follow out the evidence for a different first wife found in the 1860 census. All children are shown as Catherine's in multiple family trees. In some cases, it is clear that one tree was the source for the other trees, duplicating the errors. Only one online tree in Ancestry.com (Nelson/Smith), created by DWHeath has good information. It shows Eliza as the wife of William Lorenzo sr but Eliza's parents are not identified. This tree is also the only one that captures the first marriage of Catherine known from census records before she married William and the probable but undocumented marriage of William and Agnes. A number of dates are undocumented in the Nelson/Smith tree, suggesting a family source rather than official documents. In a very few cases, these dates do not seem correct based on documentary evidence found by me but the tree is highly reliable where it can be checked.

However, what first led me to the Larabee connection was not the online family trees but a census record in 1860 showing a Mary Muholend (one of the many possible misspellings found for Mulholland) discovered when searching for Samuel's youngest daughter, MaryAnn. Mary was about the right age to be the same person and was shown as born in Ireland. The wife named Eliza was also born in Ireland suggesting the two women were related. The 1860 census does not list relationships for a household as was common in later censuses. Further strong evidence comes from the deed registry for Washtenaw County. 

Further evidence came through other birth and death records. Death records for the children of William and Eliza identified the mother's maiden name as Mulholland. William and father Silas could be found living in Superior Township at the time the pair were married. An additional piece of evidence was a daughter of about Eliza's correct age in Sam sr's household in the 1834 Michigan and 1840 US Census records who was unknown after those dates (the early census records only gave gender and age ranges for household members, not names). In 1860 there were not that many Mulhollands living in Michigan, narrowing down other possibilities. Finally, a key piece of evidence came from deed records. Eliza and sister Mary Ann Mulholland were deeded property in Superior Township from Sam. jr in 1838, which William and Eliza Larabee and Mary Ann Mulholland sold in 1853 to William Mulholland, thus clearly connecting Eliza Mulholland to the Larabee family.

Jane E. Mulholland Stebbins: So Young

Jane E. Mulholland is one of the well documented children of Samuel Mulholland and Jane Bullock Mulholland. Her story is a short one, as she married at 17 and died at 22. But even in her short life, she left a legacy that makes an interesting tale, including a son who is one of the few of my ancestors who fought in the Civil War.

Following Irish naming patterns in which children were named after parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Jane Mulholland carried on the given name of her mother. She was born in Ireland in 1825, presumably in County Monaghan where her brother Sam jr. originated. Jane and her family followed Sam jr to Superior Township, Washtenaw, Michigan when she was about 8 in 1833.

She lived on a farm with her family until her marriage to Horace Stebbins in 1842 at the age of 17. For Horace, it was a second marriage after his first wife, Susannah Vedder, died in 1840.

Because the Michigan marriage record for Horace and Jane incorrectly recorded his surname as "Selkins," Jane was lost for a long time to family genealogists, only resurfacing when a Horace Stebbins was found in the 1840 census in Superior Township, where they married in 1842. Additional evidence came from the FindAGrave record showing Jane's maiden name and correct birth date, making it possible to link her to Samuel's family.

A further link to Jane is from deed records, when she and sister Sarah Mulholland purchased land in Dixboro in 1836. This land was sold to brother William in 1846 by Horace Stebbins and wife Jane, along with William and Sarah Sissons of Genesee County.

Jane and Horace moved to Van Buren County at some time before her death in 1847, and she is buried in Prospect Cemetery in Lawrence, Van Buren County.

After the early deaths of his first two wives, Horace Stebbins went on to marry a third time to 33-year-old Lydia Skinner. Horace had two children with Jane, and two more with Lydia, although one of the latter died young. The children lived with Horace and Lydia until his death at age 70 in 1874. Neither of Jane's children married nor had children.

M. Eliza Stebbins: The Missing Daughter

Jane's only daughter, Eliza Stebbins, was born in 1843, just a year after her parents marriage when Jane  Mulholland Stebbins was only 18. Eliza is recorded in census records living with the Stebbins family until 1870, the last census before Horace died. In 1880, she is living single as a boarder in Paw Paw working as a booking agent. She died 1901 at age 58 in Paw Paw, Van Buren, Michigan. Her death certificate indicated she never married nor had children. Her brother-in-law, Barnabas Odell, husband of half-sister Maria Stebbins, was appointed the administrator of her estate after her death.

Lewis J. Stebbins: Civil War Casualty

Private L. J. Stebbens tombstone #377
Chattanooga National Cemetery, TN

Lewis J. Stebbins (often misspelled Louis) lost his mother when he was less than one, and was raised by his father Horace and third wife Lydia. 

At 16, Lewis enlisted in the Union Army, lying about his birth date to appear older. He joined Company E, Michigan 13^th Infantry Division as a private on 11 Feb 1862. The division left Kalamazoo on 12 Feb for the war in the south.

The division was part of the battle of Stones River, Tennessee in late December 1862 and early January 1863, considered only second to Gettysburg in loss of lives. At Stones River, the Michigan Thirteenth:

distinguished itself by its desperate valor and was most warmly commended for the heroic work that checked the onward rush of the confederate forces…. The Union forces were steadily pressed back by the enemy, but the Thirteenth held its position until nearly surrounded, when it fell back a short distance and reformed, continually showing a bold front to the enemy. Colonel Shoemaker ordered a bayonet charge and the Thirteenth sprang forward with a yell, driving the enemy from the field in confusion and capturing a large number of prisoners. The regiment lost nearly one third of its strength in killed and wounded in the action on this part of the field.1 

While Lewis survived the Stones River carnage, he was not so fortunate at the next major battle at Chickamauga, Georgia in September 1863. Lewis was wounded in that battle on September 19, and sent to the field hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he died of his wounds on November 8. He is buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery with other veterans of the war. Of the 217 soldiers in his company who fought those two September days in Chickamauga, 107 were wounded, killed or missing, suggesting the intensity of the battle in which Lewis died.


__________
1. State of Michigan & George Turner, 1900, Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, v. 13,
p. 2. Kalamazoo, MI: Ihling Bros. & Everard; Stationers, Printers, and Publishers, available online from SeekingMichigan

Samuel Muholland: The Family Patriarch

Samuel Mulholland was born in Ireland. He married Jane Bullock. They came to the United States and settled in Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1833 where their son Sam jr. had settled several years earlier. At least nine individuals can be identified as their children: Sam jr, William, Phebe, Sarah, Jane, Eliza, and MaryAnn. Two older brothers, John and James Mulholland, are known to be sons of Sam sr. from Probate Records. Given the gaps in ages between the children of Sam sr, there may have been additional children as yet unidentified or perhaps the marriage to Jane was a second or third marriage.

Sam sr. was a farmer and purchased land in the township and beyond. Land records signed by Sam and wife Jane from 1845 indicate both were alive at that date. Sam sr. appears in Probate Records for his son John in 1846. By 1850, Samuel sr. and Jane had died or at least disappeared from any further records. And that is about all that we can be sure of. The records from this early period of rural Michigan are sparse, and from contacts made with Ireland, there seems to be little there either.

Earlier genealogies have linked every Mulholland in Superior Township in the early years directly to the patriarch Samuel, but the evidence that that all these Mulhollands were his offspring is more a convenience than a reality. In fact, some of these links seem odd because such a single family tree ends up with multiple Janes, MaryAnns and Phebes in the same root family, an unlikely naming scheme even for Irish families where names are reused.

The Stories versus the Documents: Ireland to Michigan

One of the problems with tracing the families is the issue of the spelling of names—most of these immigrants were not literate, and there were inconsistent ways of spelling, partly due to the individual not being set on a particular spelling and partly because those doing the recording didn't get it right either. While my family ended up with Mulholland in most later generations, there are a few possible relatives who now have Mulhollen or Mollholand and other variants. 

1833 Tithe Book for Aghabog

The other problem is the lack of early records for the area of Ireland from which they emigrated. Records from Drumhirk, Aghabog, County Monaghan where Sam jr is known to have originated give a Samuel Mulholland in the Tithe Applotment Book of 1833 living on 7 acres in the area but there is not enough to be certain this is the same Samuel in our story. The location matches the naturalization records for his sons James, John, and Samuel who arrived in Michigan earlier. Church records for the area are only available beginning in 1856, long after our Mulhollands had left.

The known story comes from the 1881 History of Washtenaw County, where Samuel and Jane are mentioned in the biographies of both sons, Sam jr and William. Of course, the hints that there might be a problem with these two stories is obvious immediately, since Jane is listed as having the surname Bullock in the former and Burlock in the latter, even though the two bios are on the same page! Bullock appears in more records than Burlock, is known as a family name from the area where the Mulhollands originated in Ireland, with one family living within two miles of Drumhirk, and is therefore used in this narrative as the best guess for Jane's surname.

There is no further mention of Samuel and Jane in Sam jr's biography, but William's indicates he arrived with his family, presumably including his parents, in 1835, after Sam jr who arrived in 1831. However, the date for immigration in the 1881 History is not correct, as the family was already there in 1833 based on other records (possibly a typo as in handwriting, 35 could be misread for 33).

Several records suggest the earlier arrival, including a land purchase by Sam in Section 20 of Superior Township from his sons James and John in October 1833. Phebe married in September 1833. Sam jr and William signed a petition for road improvements in January 1834 sent to the U.S. Congress in February of that year. Further, the extended "Sam'l Mulhollan" family appears in the 1834 Michigan census enumerated in mid-1834, showing it was a large Irish household living in Superior Township. Unfortunately, the census has only gender and age ranges, lacking the individual names or more detailed locations found in later census enumerations. It does show that the males were engaged in agriculture.

The Samuel Mulholland Household in Superior Township

Part of the 1834 Census, Superior Township

A reasonable assumption based on the 1834 Michigan census is that the senior Samuel Mulholland is the male 50-60, his wife Jane Bullock Mulholland is the female 40-50, and two of the older sons are Sam and William. The rest of the household of eight includes another male and three younger females. From other records, Sam and William had three younger sisters who are documented and are the likely females: Jane Mulholland (Stebbins), Eliza Mulholland Larabee, and MaryAnn Mulholland but that leaves one male yet unidentified. Given that many of these early households had servants or farm hands as well as other relatives, the unidentified man may not even be a sibling to the five known children. Son James and a second male of about the same age are listed separately in the 1834 census. Other records suggest John initially lived with James and his wife until John married in 1835.

Like many women of the time, Jane Bullock Mulholland does not appear in any of the usual official documents. Her presence is mostly assumed as the older female in the census records. Her birth, marriage, and death dates are unknown. She does appear in deed records in May 1845 when son William purchased land from his parents in Section 17 of Superior Township where he farmed most of his life. No tombstone has been found for her and it is possible she was buried on their farmland, as the first Dixboro church did not appear until 1857. In fact, William purchased land for a family grave in 1858 on land that had belonged to brother James before a sheriff sale, making it likely that family members were buried there until the opening of Oak Grove Cemetery near Dixboro where later family are buried.

Samuel Mulholland can be found in several official records. Samuel registered an original purchase of land in Ingham County in 1836 with his sons, Sam jr. and William although the land patent was not issued by the U.S. land bureau until 1837. None of the Mulhollands lived there; this land was sold off with proceeds supporting the family and helping to fund farmland in Superior Township.

In the 1840 U.S. census, there is a similar large household as in 1834 with only gender and ages listed under the Samuel Mulholland family. None of the four known children had married by this time and presumably are still living with their parents. Based on this assumption, the older male 50-59 is Samuel, Jane is now listed between 50-59, and the two males between 20-29 are Sam jr. and William. The household has more females than it did in 1834, with 4 listed but only three known offspring: Jane, Eliza and MaryAnn. One of the males, probably the unknown one, from 1834 is gone. Samuel is among the list of males 21 and older in the 1845 Michigan census in which there are two Samuels listed, making one the father and the other the son.

The children of Samuel sr. are all living separately by the 1850 census, with the youngest, MaryAnn living next to William with another a younger Mulholland girl who at 16 and born in Ireland, could not be a sister nor would she have arrived in Michigan in 1833 as did the rest of the family. William, Sam jr, Jane and Eliza are married with their own families.

With no record of Sam sr by 1850, it can be assumed he had died by that date and after the last known record in 1846. Like his wife Jane, Samuel's burial place is unknown. Based on the census records, which may not be right, Samuel would have been born between 1781 and 1784, with Jane about 1785 if John and James are her oldest sons.  It is likely they had a large family like many other Irish couples of the time but only some of the children are certain. One can only hope that new records will emerge to help solve the mysteries of Samuel Mulholland sr. and Jane Bullock.

updated 10 June 2020

Samuel Mulholland jr: A Respected Farmer from Superior Township

As the title of this blog suggests, not only are these family stories but the trail of a genealogical journey into the past. In this case, it is about a book that for years was the basis for what our family knew about their Mulholland ancestors who were prominently featured in the 1881 History of Washtenaw County. But, as the saying goes, just because it is printed doesn't make it so.

Our Proud Heritage Documented in a Book

Did you know that our ancestors are listed as distinguished citizens living in Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan in the early 1880s? Here's what the 1881 History of Washtenaw County has to say about my great-great grandfather who is listed in the Superior Township section:

Samuel Mulholland was born in Ireland in 1812, and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Bullock) Mulholland. He received his education in his native land, and in early life learned the weaver's trade. In 1831 he emigrated to the United States, and the same year to Dixboro, Superior tp., having only means enough to reach his destination. He immediately went to work at odd jobs and anything he could get to do, and before long, he rented a farm to work on shares. In a few years he purchased his present farm on Section 5, comprising 160 Acres, the greater part being in cultivation. He was married in 1840 to Elizabeth Pounder. Of their 10 children, 9 are living, 3 boys and 6 girls – Mary Jane, Margaret, Ann, Eliza, Sarah, Phoebe, Samuel, John, William and Ada...an infant is deceased. Mrs. M. died May 12, 1868, loved and respected by all with whom she had acquaintance. (p. 1086)

We learn even more about the family from the entry in the 1881 History about Sam's younger brother, William.

William Mulholland ranks among the honored and aged pioneers of the fertile valley. He was born in Ireland in 1816 and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Burlock) Mulholland, who emigrated with their family to America in 1835. He settled in Superior tp. the same year, where William grew to manhood. In 1845 he married Mary Pounder. The fruits of this union was the birth of 10 children, 9 of whom, 3 sons and 6 daughters are living. Mrs. Mulholland departed this life in 1880. The names of the children are - Eliza, Margaret, Mary Jane, Anna, William H., Elceba, Josie, John J. and Samuel L. Mary died September, 1880. Mr. M is a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife was a faithful and consistent member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Mulholland is Democratic in politics, and has served the citizens of Superior tp. in various official positions. He has many warm friends in this country, who desire to see him prosperous in life. (p. 1086)

My grandmother, Minnie Mulholland Hoffman (Samuel's granddaughter) had a copy of this book. She marked in various places the references to her family, of whom she was quite proud because they had been included. The book was inherited by her son Stanley Hoffman and is now in the possession of his daughter.

In the broad outlines, the story as portrayed in the biographies is right even if a few of the dates are skewed and names are misspelled. Verification of the early Mulholland story comes primarily from official documents rather than oral tradition within the family. Here is what we now know about Sam and his family.

County Monaghan, Ireland

Samuel Mulholland jr. Arrives in Superior Township

Samuel J. Mulholland Jr. was born in 1812 in Drumhirk, County Monaghan, Ireland. A weaver by trade, Samuel sailed from Belfast, Ireland in April 1831, arriving in Quebec, Canada in June, then traveling on to Washtenaw, Michigan (today's Superior Township but at that time called Panama Township).

Eighteen-year-old Sam traveled with his older brother John Mulholland, then 29. They were joining their brother James and family who had arrived in Michigan territory about 1826. John went to live with James in the emerging town of Dixboro, while Sam worked odd jobs then rented farmlands on share (the rent was paid in produce) further out in the township. (See the Dixboro Ghost postings for the full story of John and James Mulholland).

The 1881 History shows younger brother William and sisters along with his parents joining Sam jr. in 1835 (likely a typo as they arrived in late 1833). Sam and William signed a petition in January 1834 sent to the U.S. Congress urging road improvements in southern Michigan. Based on the 1834 Michigan census and 1840 U.S. census, Sam jr. was living with his extended family and continued farming. In 1837, Sam joined his father and brother William in purchasing original land patents in Livingston and Ingham counties, although they never lived there and later sold off the acreage to other settlers. Interestingly, many Mulholland descendants would move to these counties in later years (see the Dixboro ghost entry about Michigan land patents).

1856 Superior Twp. plat map with farms
of Samuel and William Mulholland

Initially Sam sr purchased land from son James in Section 20 of Superior Township as shown in land records dated Jan. 1834. Land in section 17 was transferred from his mother Jane's estate to William in 1845. Sam purchased farm land in Section 5 of Superior Township, and was living there in 1856 when an early plat map of the township was published. In later years, Sam would purchase additional farmland in Section 17 but lived on his original farm until his death. By 1856, brother William was farming his own land he obtained from his parents in Section 17.

The farms were located outside the present town of Dixboro (just northeast of Ann Arbor). Dixboro was a thriving community in the early 1800s, with hotels and tavern, general store, mills, and blacksmith shop. At the time it was larger than the backwater of Ann Arbor, but declined after the mid-1830s when the railroad bypassed it, going through Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

In December 1840, Sam married Eliza Pounder almost immediately after her family came to Michigan. Like the Mulhollands, the Pounder family emigrated from Ireland, arriving in Washtenaw County sometime after their July arrival in the U.S. The Pounders do not appear in the 1840 census collected mid-year. Eliza's older sister Mary Pounder married Sam's brother William in December 1844 (not 1845 as listed in the 1881 History).

Building a Family and a Farm

Sam and Eliza had a large family, with their first child born in 1842, a year and a half after their marriage. They had nine more children over the next eleven years: 

• Mary Jane Mulholland (Martin) 1842-1907
• Margaret Ann Mulholland (Marsh) 1844-1905
• Eliza (Lil) Jane Mulholland (Parker) 1847-1922
• Sarah B. Mulholland 1849-1925
• Phebe A Mulholland 1851-1883
• Samuel J. Mulholland III 1853-1930
• Johnnie Mulholland 1855-1857
• John H. Mulholland 1858-1881
• William B. Mulholland 1860-1942
• Ada B. Mulholland (Winney) 1863-1949

Eliza died at the age of 45 in 1869 of consumption (known today as tuberculosis) when her youngest child was only six, and Sam never remarried. Sam lived many more years, dying at 75 in 1888. He continued to occupy his original farm with his younger children, Sarah B. who returned home to help with the house, and William B. who inherited the farm when his father died. Son Samuel III (my great-grandfather) was already living on the farm in Section 17 by about 1883 and that farm became his when Sam died. The surviving daughters shared equally the cash and non-land property according to Sam jr's will.

A view of the land where Sam farmed in Section 5 as seen in 2004

No stories have come down about Sam jr and Eliza beyond those in the county history and other official documents. We have photos of his children taken in the mid-1800s but none of Sam or Eliza. His life suggests he was a hard worker who carefully accumulated wealth through farming to purchase land, something that had been unattainable in his native Ireland. We know from the 1870 agricultural census that about half of Sam's 160 acres were "improved," with the following description:

• Improved land 80a; Woodland 70a; Other unimproved land 1a.
• Present value $8600; Farm $400; Amt. wages pd $200.
• Horses 3; Milk cows 2; Other cattle 1; Sheep 30; Swine 2; Value all livestock $525. 
• Winter wheat 150bu; Indian corn 100bu; Oats 50bu; Barley 100bu.

By the end of his life, Sam Mulholland jr. was indeed an esteemed member of the Superior Township community as a wealthy farmer and early settler as suggested in the 1881 History of Washtenaw County. 

Sam jr. and Eliza Mulholland are buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Superior Township among the earlier residents with tombstones there, surrounded by the graves of family members and descendants. They are noted on the historical sign at the entrance as township pioneers. 

Today, none of their descendants remain in Superior Township and all have given up farming for other professions. Sam's farmland is slowly being encroached by development as the suburbs of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti extend further into formerly rural Washtenaw County. But their legacy lives on through the many great-grandchildren and beyond. 

Descendants of Samuel jr and William Mulholland gathered about 1929-30,  almost 100 years after they came to Michigan

Why the Book Might be Wrong

As the above story shows, at least some of what was printed in the 1881 History of Washtenaw County about Samuel Mulholland and family was right. But dates and other details are wrong, sometimes because such books were meant to show those profiled in the best light and because, to some degree, precise dates for things like births, deaths, and marriages just weren't as important to many people back then.

The 1881 History of Washtenaw County is a huge tome of almost 1500 pages with a brown leather cover. The text was compiled by the county Pioneer Historical Society, with local committees throughout the county including one in Superior Township, where Samuel and William lived. These historical society groups carefully put together and edited the copy which they had contracted with a publisher to print. The final book remains a mainstay for historians and genealogists because of its vivid descriptions of the life and times of the county.

These days, of course, the book itself is still a beautiful antique but anyone can view the content through the various electronic reproductions online. And you don't need Minnie's notes, although they remain useful, as there is even an index created in 1960 to help find people and events.

About County Histories

Cover of the 1881 History
of Washtenaw County

When reading the preface about the historical society members who edited the book, it would appear that the 1881 History of Washtenaw County was a carefully developed book. But knowing more about county histories of the time and the economics of their publishing is quite revealing. These books made money by selling subscriptions, and often were not even printed until enough people committed to buying sufficient books to cover the costs. Of course, the best way to get people to buy was to put their names in the book. Longer entries and even lithographs could be included for more subscription fees.

Think of a county history as a way of selling advertising but instead of featuring businesses (they could be included as well), the histories have biographies and more about the people who will buy the book and had the money to do so. You can become a prominent citizen just by putting together your biography (or having the local committee write it based on the "facts" you choose to include) and paying your subscription price. Although not mentioned, but guessing by Sam's inclusion, the more prominent citizens in a community were also likely to be pressured to be included and therefore contribute to the funding.

It would be hard to get lots of people to buy an expensive book with just these biographies of people who had the money and thought they should be included, although the historical committees editing powers encompassed who was invited to submit a story. The books also have rich details of social life including grand parties and celebrations as well as amusing anecdotes and silly stories. For example, the Superior Township section mentions a gang of horse thieves operating in 1837 and a man killed by a falling tree. And of course, it has a long account of the Dixboro Ghost. These minor catastrophes liven up a history and can still make us pay attention today.

In 1963, historian Louis Doll wrote a review paper, "Victorian America: A Study of Chapman & Co.'s History of Washtenaw County, 1881," in the Washtenaw Historical Society Newsletter, Washtenaw Impressions. This short paper tells of the amusing anecdotes and biographies as well as showing the prevailing attitudes of the editors in the History. As Doll noted:

This history is probably better than most county histories for the reason that Washtenaw County contained the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the Normal School at Ypsilanti, of both of which institutions of higher learning the citizens of the county were so proud. The editors drew on the talents of the educated men there.…The whole book is certainly influenced by the fact that the community contained a large number of people of exceptionally high intellectual caliber and with excellent education. The distinctive flavor of the book makes it intensely interesting in spots, and good reading in others, while it is a rare piece that is wholly lacking in readability.

He notes the book is uneven and incomplete, having been based solely on human memory rather than careful historical documentation. But it remains an interesting read for anyone interested in life in the county from its early years in the nineteenth century.

In a study of American county histories, Harold Ways noted:

There still remain problems with editorial integrity, especially with the older subscription-based “mug-book” oriented publications. However, in many cases these are the only generally available surviving records. So the adage “some information is better than none” is true, but should be coupled with appropriate researcher caution and an understanding of how and why many of these publications came into being.  (Ways, H., 2010,  A White Paper: American County Histories: Their Uses, Usability, Sources and Problems with Access)

Link to download and view data sheet for Samuel J. Mulholland jr. (PDF) 

Samuel James Mulholland: A Sad Life

Sam J. Mulholland III

Samuel Mulholland III was born in 1853 into a large Irish family farming in Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Little is known of his early life or when he became an alcoholic. 

Sam was the oldest son of the ten children of Sam Mulholland jr and his wife Eliza, with five older sisters. Sam lived with his father until about 1883, when he moved to the farm in Section 17, Superior Township, which he inherited upon his father's death in 1888. 

At 37, he remained a bachelor until his family arranged a marriage in 1890 with a much younger German woman, Carrie Knödler, already touched by scandal with a child born out of wedlock. 

Perhaps his family hoped with a wife and family, Sam would become more stable and responsible, but that was not to be. Over time, he lost the farm, and eventually lost his wife and children to a bitter divorce after multiple arrests for public drunkenness and intoxicated rages aimed at his family. In the divorce, he lost custody of the children and a restraining order was issued preventing him from returning to their home. Sam continued in his dissolute ways throughout his life, periodically working odd day jobs and most years managing to pay board somewhere until he was thrown out and had to find another place to live.

Samuel portrait

Despite the divorce, Sam's children maintained contact with their father as time softened memories of the bad early years. In Sam's later years, he went from family house to family house, perhaps even spending time at the Chapin Street house for short periods where Carrie and her unmarried daughters lived in Ann Arbor. Stan Hoffman (Minnie's son and Sam's grandson) was visiting the Mulholland women on Chapin when he was young and tells of meeting a man the family brought home from West Park (a large park across the street that continues to this day to be a hangout for the homeless). The aunties took in the old man and "fixed him up" but didn't explain to the very young Stan who it was – he later figured out it was his grandfather. 

In his last years, Sam spent winters with his son Everett Mulholland and family in Flint, returning summers to Ann Arbor to hang out on the benches in front of the court building downtown with other old men during the warm weather and staying in a rental room nearby. Stan remembers his parents driving into Ann Arbor one Sunday to visit Chapin Street when his mother said "there's the old man" as they passed the men sitting on the courthouse bench. Fred Hoffman stopped the car a block away; Minnie Mulholland Hoffman walked back to talk to her father after which they continued on to see Grandma Mulholland.

While there are no descriptions of Sam,
he was likely a very tall man. This was taken
about 1890 when he married Carrie Knodler

When Minnie's son Erwin Hoffman died in 1930, just a month before Sam himself did, all the Ann Arbor relatives drove down to Detroit for the funeral held at Fred and Minnie's home, including both Carrie and Sam Mulholland although they had long since been divorced. Carrie and her daughters stayed in one room and Sam along with the men in another. Mae Mulholland reports that in the funeral procession from Detroit to the cemetery in Ann Arbor, Oscar Behnke (daughter Anne Mulholland's husband), who drove up in a brown Ford and was transporting Sam, dropped out of the line of cars to stop at a gas station – a simply unheard of break in protocol. Seems that Sam couldn't survive the trip without numerous bathroom breaks, a fact that left Oscar out of sorts. 

In his last year, Sam stayed with his brother William B. Mulholland in his house on Washington St. Sam died of pneumonia in November 1930 at the grand age of 77 despite his intemperate ways, and is buried near Carrie in the Mulholland plot at Bethlehem Cemetery, Ann Arbor. Son Everett purchased the cemetery space after the death of his infant son with space set aside for his parents and sisters. 

In the quiet, pleasant landscape of Bethlehem Cemetery, surrounded by the graves of his wife, children and grandchildren, Sam may have found the peace that evaded him in life.

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Samuel J. Mulholland III is my great-grandfather.

Sarah B. Mulholland: Taking Care of Family

The spinster sister is a well known personage in past centuries, living with relatives and in most of the official documents, barely noted. In general, women were less visible and public, making tracing these unmarried siblings challenging for family histories. In the case of Sam Mulholland's family, a perfect examples is Sarah B. Mulholland, the only one of his six sisters who never married. Called "Aunt Sadie" by the Mulholland girls, Sarah was the caretaker daughter whose life seemed inevitably caught up in dealing with her birth family's needs, thus never having a family by marriage.

Sarah B. and sister Eliza Jane Mulholland

Sarah was the fourth of eleven children, born in 1849. Like others in her very big family, she lived at home until she was in her early teens, then moved away to work as a servant on a neighbor's farm as soon as she was old enough. But as most of her other sisters married and left home, she was the one who returned to keep house for her widowed father and two younger brothers by 1884.

With the death of her father in 1888, she appears as an heir in his will but essentially disappears from other official records. It seems likely she lived with one her brothers on the farms inherited from her father or worked in a local household as a servant, but she does not appear again in the records until years later. She sold farm land she owned in 1893. In the 1898 city directory, she is shown as a boarder in her brother Sam's household at the time they moved to north Ann Arbor. With several young children, she was likely a welcome household helper for sister-in-law Carrie Mulholland.

She did not live with the family when they moved to Chapin two years later, and probably chose to absent herself from the growing domestic disturbances that led Carrie to divorce Sam Mulholland. In 1906 Sarah is listed in rural Ann Arbor, and from about 1910 until her death at 75 in 1925, she lived at 200 Chapin, two doors down from the now-divorced Carrie and her children. 

Little is known of her life despite the fact that she lived so near Carrie and family for many years. Mae Mulholland said she remembers her living there but nothing more about her. She may have been reclusive in her later years, perhaps suffering from the anxiety disorder that appears to run in this family.

Sarah died at the age of 77 of senility and a broken hip, staying in her final weeks with her younger sister Ada Mulholland Winney in Superior Township. She was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Dixboro near her parents and many of her siblings. 

Even in death there is some confusion in her records, with one set of dates carved on the main tombstone with her parents, and a different set of dates on the smaller stone marking her grave in the family plot.

Link to download and view family sheet for Sarah B. Mulholland (PDF)

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The above picture is from a set that shows Sam and his siblings in a collection held by the Parker family in which the two women were not identified. Eliza Jane Mulholland Parker (often called Lil) can be identified from the many other images of her in the collection. Given the age of the other sister in this photo, the girl on the left most likely would be Sarah as she does not match pictures of any other of the daughters from this family.