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Musical Accompaniment: deleted 9/15/2003;Enya's "Fairy" would have been a good choice because the English, Irish & Germans believe in Fairies; however, I've decided to go with: Couperin, Francois (1668-1733); Le Baricades Misterieuses; baricades_misterieuses.mid; Lory Werth: http//members.fortunecity.com/flatpickin/mididl.html 

Paternal Ancestors: 
My father's father's side: (See below) Fazakerly/Weick; Fazakerly/Sullivan 
My father's mother's side: Thomason/McKinney

Maternal Ancestors: 
My mother's father's side: Finch/Turrentine; Finch/Pierce
My mother's mother's side: Hinkle & Meshew

 Past Generations

"My English Side"

Bryan Fazakerly
abt. 1880

Bryan Fazakerly
1854-1906

We knew the Fazakerly's came from England; and, for years the family assumed that Bryan had come from England as well. The 1860 Chicago Census showed that Bryan's father, William, did come from England. However it showed that Bryan Fazakerly was born in "New York". Several other census records and his burial record confirm this. His mother Margaret left Chicago and moved to Memphis in the 1860's and remarried in 1865. Bryan was about 10 years old. We haven't been able to find out what happened to William Fazakerly. Bryan worked for the Mitchell, Hoffman, & Co. furniture store in Memphis for most of his life. He died at the age of 49 of some type of debilitating illness. His wife, Sophia, was a good bit younger than he was and she was left to care for the family. 

"German Side"

Sophia W. Fazakerly
abt. 1880

Sophie/Sophia Weik/Wike/Weick Fazakerly
1865-1937

There is some confusion about the spelling of her name. Her "business card" as a young girl spelled the name: Sophia Wike. This is what is written on her marriage certificate. Passenger records show that the spelling of the family name was Weik. A letter from an uncle spelled the name Weick. She was from Germany and came over here when she was a very young girl. Unfortunately, her family died shortly after moving here from yellow fever. Only she and one brother survived. They were raised in a Catholic Orphanage in Memphis, TN. Sophia had a hard life, but she met the challenges. The dairy business (I believe) was her idea. Bryan and/or an inheritance helped her get started. Sophia W. Fazakerly was a very hard working and frugal woman with a talent for running a business. Sophia managed things well and was considered to be a rich woman. This was quite a remarkable feat to accomplish during the time of our worst depression. 
(On November 03, 1937 Mr. Huddleston, the executor, stated that Sophia's personal estate amounted to $17,258.00 which was made up of cash (after funeral expenses, doctor's bills, etc.) first mortgage bonds worth $9725.50, postal savings certificates worth $2537.50, and promissory notes secured by first lien on real estate amounting to $44845.00 and household goods worth about $150.00. In addition to the personal estate she also owned real estate--about 6 acres, worth approximately $4500.00.) 

Not bad for a young German female orphan who started out as an assistant cook and domestic. 

The Fazakerly Dairy Truck, 3000 Barron Av., Memphis, Tennessee, Circa 1900. One of the girls pointing to the name (Annesdale Dairy) on the horse drawn truck is Lily May Fazakerly, daughter of Bryan & Sophia Weick Fazakerly. We believe Lilly is one of the girls inside the truck.

"Research Obstacles"

William Fazakerly
b. between 1814 to 1819; d. after 1860
Bryan's Father

We do not have a picture of William, but we do have one (poor) picture of Margaret with her second husband.

The enormous loss of records from the 1871 Chicago Fire has been the greatest obstacle to deal with in researching my ancestor, William Fazakerly. It's as if Chicago didn't exist until after 1871. The only records prior to that time are the ones that weren't there--census records and city directories--and thank heavens for those. (William's daughter, Margaret, was born in Chicago 1859 and her records like so many others were missing. We only learned about her from the census record in 1860.) 

Another obstacle to my research was the lack of city directories being kept for Memphis during the civil war. Also, information or clues to the Fazakerlys may have been lost due to the partial burning of records in the 1889 fire at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Memphis, Tennessee. I would love to find William Fazakerly, my Great, Great Grandfather, but fate is making it very difficult!

These obstacles led to the following questions:

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EXCITING EPISODE OF THE FAZAKERLY SAGA!

Margaret Sullivan Fazakerly Thane
1890, age abt. 54
1836-1900
My Irish Great Great Grandmother
Yes, I have a few "Green Genes"

   
 
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General Outline of My Tree
"Descendants of William Fazakerly or Fazakerley “

"Other Connections?"
Is my William of Chicago connected to the William of New York?

It is remotely possible that we may be connected to the Fazakerleys of Albany, New York, but I haven't been able to prove this yet. William and Hannah Armistead Fazakerley of Liverpool and George and Mary Sephton Fazakerley of Liverpool/Maghull and their families emigrated to America in the late 1840's and early 1850's. I believe that William and George were cousins. George was roughly ten years older than William. William and Hannah owned a grocery store on Jefferson St., Albany, NY (more on William below). George started out working for a brass foundry and later moved to Syracuse, NY, remarried Ann Arnold after his wife's death, and became a gardener for a notable client, Mr. Longstreet. George's sons: Thomas, b. 1830, a well known baker in Albany NY; George, b. 1832, a carpenter; William, b. 1845, a mason and a Union Soldier in the Civil War. 
(William b. abt. 1814 or 1815; Parents: probably William & Catherine Sumner Fazakerley; If so, then William's father & George's father were brothers. George b. 1804; George's line can be traced back to abt. 1733. Parents: Thomas & Margaret Bradshaw Fazakerley; Grandparents: George & Ann Mawdsley Fazakerley; Great grandparent: Probably Richard)    

"Mystery Man"

It is unknown if William and Hannah Fazakerley ever had any children. There is some mystery connected to William in that he seems to have "disappeared". The last bit of information we have on him is a deed record showing that he sold some property, January 1855.  There were no burial or cemetery records found for him. He was not buried with his wife, Hannah. 

"The Case of the Missing Clue"

I have an enormous amount of information on these two New York families from England--William and Hannah and George and Mary--almost everything except birth and burial records for William. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but it seems ironic that these same records are missing for our William as well. His burial record is our missing clue.

It is so easy, too easy really, to jump to conclusions in genealogical research. Jumping to conclusions can be disastrous and misleading. So until I have more information for William, I should not assume that there is a connection between our lines.   

(Betcha he is though. bfh) 

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