Of four Davenport brothers born in Woodstock, Connecticut, who served in the Civil War, only William Eaton Davenport fought on the side of the Confederacy. Family members claimed that he was taken prisoner, wounded, and died from his injuries—but could this story have been a lie?
D. Brenton Simons Honored for Leadership in Genealogy and History
D. Brenton Simons, President Emeritus and Chief Stewardship Officer at American Ancestors, has been named the winner of the 2024 HS Genealogy/History Achievement Award. The annual award is sponsored by FamilySearch. Learn More
Upcoming In-Person Research Tour, June 23–30
Northern Irish Research Tour
Have you determined your Scots-Irish origins? Are you ready to take your research across the pond? Join American Ancestors for our fourth trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where we will delve into resources at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and other premiere repositories. Register Now
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Share your thoughts about the survey!Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
52%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a sales clerk in a store.
17%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors sold insurance.
13%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors sold cars or other vehicles.
20%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a sales director or manager.
18%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked as a door-to-door/traveling salesperson.
4%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors sold products or services by phone or mail.
4%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors sold patent medicine or unproven health remedies.
15%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors hosted at-home parties to sell merchandise.
10%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was in network marketing and worked from home selling products directly to consumers (for example, Amway and Avon)
29%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had some other type of sales role.
41%, I work or have worked in sales.
15%, No, I don't have any ancestors who worked in sales.
Readers Respond
Esther Mansour Leonard, Huntington, West Virginia: My grandfather Salim Mansour was an immigrant from Lebanon. Salim started as a peddler in Lewiston, Maine, and later owned a small department store in Smithers, West Virginia. My father, Alex Mansour, later took over the store and I sometimes worked there as a sales clerk.
Tracy Young, Enfield, New Hampshire: My grandfather sold print ads for the Yellow Pages when it was an independent company. He always referred to his boss as “Wolley Segap,” which is Yellow Pages spelled backwards. One of his job perks was a free telephone for life.
Bettie Utter, Beardstown, Illinois: When I was in high school, I was a part-time clerk in a F. W. Woolworth store. After high school, I became a full-time employee and managed the sewing notions counter. In later life, I had a home party needlecraft business. That was a really fun job, and I met many wonderful people.
Elizabeth Kauffmann, Pocatello, Idaho: As a young widowed mother of four, my mother, Beverly, began selling Avon in addition to her full-time office job. Years later, she worked as a Mary Kay lady and also in the china, crystal, and silver department at ZCMI Department Store in Idaho. Mom won awards for her selling expertise—a gift she may have inherited from her father, a salesman for Cains (mayonnaise) in the 1930s.
Ann Fadden, Rochester, New York: My relative America Brown of New York was a traveling corset saleslady. In the late 1800s, she sold corsets throughout the west. She married a Mr. Brown and they settled in Chicago for a while. America left him when she found out he had a wife and family on a ranch farther west.
Richard Josselyn, Andover, Massachusetts: I found my maternal grandfather, Bernard McQuillan, in an 1890 Boston city directory database on AmericanAncestors.org. Bernard was listed as a salesman at 233 Federal Street. Chief Genealogist David Lambert told me that a wholesale liquor business owned by John Nagel operated at that address; he provided a link to an 1873 Boston Pilot advertisement for Nagel’s business. My mother always said that Bernard went from being a grocer’s apprentice to a liquor salesman to finally owning a grocery and liquor store—and now I can prove it!
What We’re Reading
A Museum Is Using AI to Let Visitors Chat with World War II Survivors The National WWII Museum in New Orleans filmed members of the Greatest Generation and is now using artificial intelligence and voice-recognition software to allow visitors to “converse” with them for decades to come.
The Rent Was Too High So They Threw a Party “During the Harlem Renaissance, some Black people hosted rent parties, celebrations with an undercurrent of desperation in the face of racism and discrimination.”
“Twang them at the American rebels” In this post on his Boston 1775 blog, historian J.L. Bell discusses a footnote that was excised from Military Collections and Remarks, a 1777 book written by Major Robert Donkin, a British officer. Follow up posts about the book are here.
Spotlight: Marshall County Memorial Library, Tennessee
by Valerie Beaudrault
Marshall County, seated in Lewisburg, is located in central Tennessee. The Margaret Langley O’Neal Nutt Digital History and Genealogy Collection, held at the Marshall County Memorial Library, includes a digital newspaper collection comprising nearly 175,000 pages from three local titles: Lewisburg Tribune (1899-2011), The Marshall Gazette (1871-2005), and Marshall County Tribune (2005-2019). Other Marshall County resources in the collection include marriage records (1836-2008), births (1908-1927), and wills (1835-1875). Search databases by keyword or browse records. Search Now
The database for Mayflower Descendant has been updated to include Volume 70 (2022), adding 224 pages, 4,488 records, and 4,435 searchable names. Mayflower Descendant is a semi-annual journal published by American Ancestors which focuses on Mayflower families as well as families across early New England. Search Now
Planning for the Future?
Name Your Beneficiaries Today
Non-probate assets such as an IRA, 401(k), or life insurance policy are not covered in your will or trust—you must name beneficiaries separately. Our friends at FreeWill.com have provided a free and secure online tool to guide you through naming beneficiaries for your non-probate assets. Learn More
