Edmund Janes Cleveland Genealogical Papers
Connecticut State Library, Hartford Connecticut
The Edmund Janes Cleveland Genealogical Papers are located at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford Connecticut. The state library purchased the genealogical papers on January 4th, 1945 from Cedric W. Case. The papers are available to the public for review, however, they are stored offsite and you must physically go to the Library to review the papers. If you wish to review the papers, it is best to call ahead of time so that the papers can be retrieved in a timely manner. The library is open M-F, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. The collection consists of four hand written ledger size volumes. The volumes are 1) Record of Purchase, 2) Volume IV – which has never been printed, supplement to Vol I – III, 3) Notes/ Circulars – List of Individuals, and 4) Mass Index of Ancestors. The volumes also contain various letters, newspaper articles, and circulars which are attached to the volume and cannot be removed. The various items attached to the ledgers, makes photographing the papers challenging. Permission was received to photograph the collection and to publish the Record of Purchase and Volume IV. The photographed version of the papers consists of 767 photographs.
Introduction:
People who are interested in Cleveland family genealogy, typically discover that in 1899, Edmund Janes Cleveland, published the three volume, 2,893 page, “Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families”. The original three volume genealogy was sold on a subscription basis for $18.00 per set (the original intended price was $15.00 but later increased to $18.00) Edmund also kept a Record of Purchase with the name and “address” of subscribers so that the three volume genealogy could be delivered to the subscribers. Frequently, detail Cleveland family trees can be constructed relatively quickly largely due to the quality of the data within the genealogy. However, there are errors in the genealogy. Many people wrote to Edmund Janes Cleveland to clarify and/or correct some of the data. There are seven pages of listed corrections, near the end of Volume IV.
After initial publication, it became clear that many Cleveland’s were left out and wanted to be included. This resulted in Edmund’s handwritten 600 page manuscript, Volume IV, a supplement to the first three volumes. The photographed version of Volume IV consists of 562 photographs (some of the numbered pages are blank). Edmund Janes Cleveland died in 1902, and Volume IV was never published. At that point all copies of the genealogy had not been sold and the Record of Purchase was no longer maintained. The Record of Purchase shows the original 245 buyers. Today, the “Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families” is widely available on line for free and reproduced hard copies are available at a reasonable price. Descendants within the genealogy, are widely referenced by ancestry.com and myheritage.com . Extremely few Cleveland’s are aware of the existence of Volume IV. To date, I have not found any Clevelands previously aware of Volume IV.
With the existence of internet based ancestry related companies with tremendous data base resources, such as ancestry.com and myheritage.com , a legitimate question is whether Volume IV has genealogical information not available on the internet. Much of the basic data appears on the internet. However, the detail included in volume IV appears to be more extensive. Edmund’s library was immense and many reference would be extremely difficult to find today.
I do know that, that the many letters add a personal note and are not anywhere else on the internet. The newspaper articles may be online, however, to find them would require advanced knowledge of exactly what to look for and the dates. The information may be on line, I just have not found it. Also, seeing the detail writing and notes of a professional genealogist, along with the detail reference to previous writings. Some of these references are available on Google Books. I hope you enjoy the various newspaper articles related to Cleveland’s, the letters from Cleveland’s, and the list of hundreds of Cleveland’s who were sent circulars prior to publication. Most items shown below are from the Record of Purchase and Volume IV handwritten manuscript.
Click on the Image to Enlarge the Document
I first learned about the possible existence of a fourth volume of the Cleveland genealogy, on page 213, Volume 1, of the “Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson, New York”, compiled by R.A. Oakes and published in 1905. The first sentence under THE CLEVELAND FAMILY, is “Three volumes of genealogy of the Cleveland family have been published and a fourth is now being prepared, ….” At this point, I had never heard of it and wondered if it existed. After many internet searches, I gave up.
Sometime later, while searching another topic on newspapers.com , I thought about searching for “Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families” Volume IV by Edmund Janes Cleveland” . This search resulted in finding an article in, “The Inter Ocean” , a Chicago, Illinois newspaper from May 13, 1900, page 42. This clearly showed the existence of Volume IV Supplement.
Another google search for “Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families” Volume IV by Edmund Janes Cleveland” resulted in finding the connection to the Connecticut State Library. A phone call to the library genealogy section verified the papers were available to the public for review. A photo of the state library is shown on the right.
The photographed version of the genealogical papers consists of 767 photos. Jenny Hawran took all the photos and helped organize the photos. This website would not have been possible without her assistance. Jenny is a member of the Connecticut Society of Genealogist. Please be sure to visit her website, https://like-herding-cats.com/
A few examples from ledgers, of the “Edmund Janes Cleveland Genealogical Papers” are shown below.
1. Record of Purchase: – (74 photos – 2 examples) – All pages have exactly the same look with six possible entries per page. There are skips such as #204.
2. – Volume IV – (562 photos – 26 examples) Note: (A page may be photographed multiple times to allow for attached articles making photographing challenging)
1. Typical Page
2. Typical Page
3. Typical Page – extensive writing
4. Hides, Fur and Indian Trinkets
5. Utah Pioneers
I am one of Utahs “Pioneers”. Came in with the first that set foot in the valley of the Great Salt Lake: endured the dangers, exposure and privations incident to the settling up of a new country with the rest of the Pioneers of those days.
Living in the Forts, constantly on guard, as the Indians, nearly every tribe, were very aggressive, and exceedingly annoying, in many ways: driving of cattle and horses. Always begging, and as a matter of peace making; being obliged to share the little left of the provisions brought by teams over the long and tedious route over the plains. Sharing also, with the “Mormon Battalion”: coming in from Mexico, at the same time, who were without the means of sustenance, other than that afforded in the wild game to be found on the western slopes of the rocky Mountains regions. Thus compelling many to do without bread, until the Harvest, came in, and to live on roots found on the bottom lands, greens, with the wild Dego Lily bulb, now recognized as “Flower of Utah.”
Augusta B. C. Smith
6. $10 for Posing
7.3. Page letter – 1 of 3
8.3. Page letter – 2 of 3
9.3. Page letter – 3 of 3
10. Letter Correction / Clarification
11. Letter Correction / Clarification
12. Mark Twain
13. Houston – Mrs. W.D. Cleveland – 1
14. Houston – Mrs. W.D. Cleveland – 2
15. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union – Part – 1
16. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union – Part – 2
17. Cleveland’s Home Quarantined
18. John Ball – Isle of Sholes
19. Indian Famine Relief
20. $500,000 – Rare Plants
21 . Amos Densmore – typewriter
22. John Compton / Forest Oil
23. Oil Companies Restrained
24. Central Idaho Gold Mining Co.
25. 10 Pages of corrections
26. Possible Portraits – Volume IV
3. – Notes / Circulars – (31 photos)
$15.00 Price of Genealogy
Circulars Sent: Cleveland family – Pages 46 – 112 = 66 pages x 16 names / pages = 1056 Cleveland names (approximate)
Note: The photographed version of Volume IV consists of 562 photos. Each photo is about 7.1 megabytes so the total size is almost 4 gigabytes. These photos have been put into 22 compressed PDF files which can be emailed. The compressed PDF files range in size from 9.8 megabytes to 17.5 megabytes. Available on this website are four compressed PDF files which can be downloaded for free so that you can better understand what is in Volume IV.
The complete set of 22 PDF files, is available for download by donating $50.00 to the FamilyTreeDNA.com General Fund for the Cleveland Family Group project as shown below. Most DNA testing will be Big Y-700 , which is the most robust DNA testing available for tracing the male family line, father to son, for thousands of years and can determine the common ancestor between two males. I receive no compensation from this donation, however, I am a volunteer Co-Administrator for the Group project.
The link is shown below:
The link above will take you to the following: (To date, the Group Project has paid for two Big Y-700 test). Click the “Donate” button and follow the directions. Be sure to scroll down to and select CLEVELAND . If you are intentional and pay with a credit card, if asked for the state, select any state in the U.S. FTDNA will send you a thank you note for your donation. Forward the thank you note to findingthecleveland600@gmail.com and you will be able to download the remaining PFD files. Click on the words Classic Chart to see the Y-DNA Classic Chart
Shown below are four compressed PDF files from volume IV that you may download for free to so that you can better understand what is in Volume IV. The files are named PDF 1, PDF 4, PDF 6 and PDF 7.
Save file after downloading file.