NANCY ANN GETTY, the second child of James and Matilda Getty, was born January 2, 1835, in Craigs, County Antrim, Ireland. On March 31, 1835, she was baptized by the Rev. Hugh Hamilton in the Old Presbyterian Church in Cullybackey. The 1851 census for Ahoghill Parish, which included the census for Craigs, lists Nancy as age 15, occupation linen weaver.

Nancy's oldest brother, William, had emigrated to America in 1848. Her father left for the United States in late 1851.

It appears that William came back to Ire­land to escort the rest of the family to America in the fall of 1852. The Bible pictured below was given to her by the Rev. George Kilpatrick shortly before their departure.

The long voyage was an experience which Nancy would never forget. In the years to come she would tell her children and her grandchildren how for weeks the icy winds of early winter rocked the large sailboat from side to side, the huge waves heaving the boat up and down until it seemed it would surely tip over. After the trip across the ocean, and the long train ride, it was with great relief to finally arrive at the farm home of their friend and benefactor, Peter McGinley, near Groveland, New York.

During the two years they lived in Groveland, Nancy worked as a maid. When the family moved to Michigan, she stayed on in New York for a period of three or four years, continuing in her position as a house servant.

The first record of Nancy which appears after the family emigrated to Amer­ica is of her marriage to Elias J. Titsworth, recorded in the Lenawee County Court House, as follows:

Elias was a giant of a man, thin but well over six feet tall, with coal black hair, brown eyes, and dark complexion. His grandmother is said to have been a full blooded Indian of the Delaware Tribe, which tribe, at one time, occupied Eastern Pennsylvania and most of New Jersey.

Nancy's first child, Charles James Downing, was born December 15, 1859, in the little town of Canan­daigua, Seneca Township, Lenawee County, Michigan. His father was Charles Henry Downing from New York. Because of the ab­sence of certain records, it has been difficult to piece together Nancy's story, and her life still remains a mystery.

Old records form the foundation of a family history • Unfortunately they are often missing. As late as 1900, all too frequently the recording of official acts was neglected, or they were recorded late. They were not always accurate. Many people had no formal education and could neither read nor write. Names were often misspelled. As a rule most churches kept very good records, but in some states, such as New York, vital statistics were not recorded in the courthouses until 1880. In many cases records were lost or destroyed by fire, as in Lenawee County when the original courthouse burned.

Very early records show that one Titsworth family originated in Tittesworth near Stratfordshire in England, later going to Holland to escape the high taxes and religious persecution. Another old record tells of five Titsworth brothers who emigrated to New Jersey from Wales. The Titsworths who went to Holland changed their name to the Dutch spelling: Tietsoort. Elias may have descended from this branch of the family, because on his death certificate, his name is spelled "Tietsort".

Both Titsworth families settled in New Jersey and in New York, and there are many variations in the spelling of their name. In Elias's marriage record, Titsworth is spelled Titwood. The spelling differs in nearly every record, probably due to that Elias could neither read nor write.

Abram Tietsort was in Cass County, Michigan, as early as 1840. He may have been Elias's father. Elias's parents were Abram Tietsort and Elizabeth Waklan from New Jersey. There was also an Abram Teitsworth living in Grove­land, New York, in 18.50.

There is a Civil War Record of Titsworth, Abraham. He enlisted in Co. H., Twenty eighth Infantry, September 27, 1864, at Kalamazoo, for three years, age 43. Mustered September 30, 1864. Deserted at Kalamazoo, Michigan, October 30, 1864.

John Titsworth is listed on the 1860 Census, Seneca Township. He was 30 years old, a farmer, born in New York. His wife was Mary, 25, and his daughters were Eva, 5, and Susannah, 4.

On the 1870 Census a William and Fannie Titsworth lived in Seneca Township. On June 30, 1873, Oliver Henry Titsworth was born to this William H. Titsworth (of Pennsylvania) and his wife Fannie E. Carmer. Oliver is the same Oliver who married the widow of Alonzo Titsworth (Elias's son).

On November 20, 1871, an Elias M. Titsworth was born to George Titsworth and wife of Fairfield, Michigan. No doubt John, William and George were all brothers of our Elias.

According to the 1860 Federal Census, Elias and family were in Macon Township.

Titsworth, Elias Nancy Charles (Downing) age 65 born New Jersey Ireland Michigan

Elias gave his age as 50 years old when he was married, so he should have been 52 in 1860, not 65.

Elias was definitely a woodsman, never content to settle down in one place for long. Alonzo George was born on June 14, 1861, and before he was a year old, Elias talked Nancy into going back to New York. It was there, at Elmira, that Alexander was born on December 25, 1863. Soon Elias became rest­less again, and they traveled back to Michigan.

On March 2, 1864, Elias Titsord of Milan, Monroe County, Michigan, bought for $200 from John VanDuser of Ridgeway, the following described property:

"Twp of Ridgeway, SEt of sEt of Section 36, Town five south of Range 5 East, 40 acres, beginning at 2 large Red Oaks disijuated and 2 Black Ash trees on ground sawed into cuts."            

Signed

John VanDuser and Julia VanDuser This property was located on the west side of the County Line, north of where the Macon River crosses the road.

Their daughter, Matilda, was born in the little log cabin on the County Line on May 28, 1867. By the time Mattie was two years old, Elias again had the wanderlust, so they sold the forty acres to Nancy's father. Elias had decided he would like to move back to Seneca where his brothers lived. On October 7, 1869, they bought a ten acre parcel in Seneca Twp. for $.500 from Rachel J. Caton. Once again Nancy was. pregnant and on June 25, 1872, their second daugh­ter was born. Mary Jane lived just a little over a month. She died July 31, 1872, and is buried in a cemetery on Packard Road near Seneca.

Elias had stuck it out for fifteen years, but finally the call of the wild got to him. He and Nancy were divorced, and on June 18, 1873, he talked Nancy's brother, George, into taking the Seneca property off his hands, and he headed for the north woods where he worked in the lumber camps. Just three months later, the Seneca home was put back in Nancy's name.

At the time of Alonzo's death in 1897, Elias was living in Benton Township, Cheboygan County. Elias J. Tietsort died of chronic nephritis resulting in a coma on August 7, 1911, at the age of 79 years and 11 months, in Wolverine. He is buried in the Silver Lake Cemetery, Wolverine, Cheboygan County, Michigan.

If he was, in fact, 79 years and 11 months old at the time of his death, he would have been born in 1831, which would have made him about four years older than Nancy. His age given on his marriage record indicates he was born in 1808. On the 1860 census record of Macon Township the age given would place his birth date at 1795, and the age given on the 18'70 census record of Seneca Township would place his birth date at 1792. There were gross errors made in the recording of his age throughout his entire life. I don’t know which figure, if any, is correct.

After five years of struggling to provide for her four children and herself, Nancy decided to move her family back closer to the folks. She persuaded her father to sell back to her the forty acres with the little log cabin on the County Line. January 29, 1878, James Getty of Township of Ridgeway and Anne his wife sold to Nancy Titsord of same Township for $1000 40 acres in Section 36.

The following month, Nancy sold the Seneca property to Wealthy Writters.

May 1, 1878, Nancy Williams of Ridgeway Township sold to Charles Downing for $500 half of the 40 acres which she owned n Ridgeway Township, Section 36. This was, of course, the property on the County Line. On October 29, 1878, Nancy sold the other half of these 40 acres to her son, Alonzo Titsord, for $500. Note that Nancy's name here is Williams. It is not known when Nancy married Henry W. Williams, for no records at all have been found concerning him. He allegedly was born in England, but where he lived when he met Nancy is unknown. Their only daughter, Bertha, was born on December 12, 1878. While Bertha was just a toddler, Henry walked out the door, never to be heard from again.

The summer of 1880, when Nancy's oldest daughter, Mattie, had just turned thirteen, Mattie ran away from home to join the circus. A year later, in 1881, Nancy Titsworth married Andrew J. Lafler. On the marriage record, which was recorded at the Lenawee County Courthouse on July 3, 1881, Nancy's name was given as Titsworth (not Williams). The record lists them both as 38 years old. Nancy's age should have been 46. Witnesses were George Getty and Charles Downing. During the short time that Nancy was married to Andrew Lafler, they lived in a small house on a forty acre parcel which Nancy owned in Dundee Township. It was on the east side of the County Line just south of the Downing Highway intersection. There's a notation on the back of the folded deed below (this deed appeared in part on the previous page), "Chas. J. Downing, Estella his wife, Ridgeway, To Nancy Lafler, Dundee". This notation was made after Charles's marriage on February 24, 1883. Nancy and Andrew had no children, and they were divorced, but the divorce record was not found.

After the divorce Nancy and Bertha moved back in with Lon, into the little log cabin on the west side of the County Line. They continued to live there together until Lon got married.

On October 3, 1887, Charles Downing and Lon Titsworth bought from Clayton Burr Tripp a small house in Britton, south of M.50 on Wells St., next door to where Dean Downing now lives. They bought the house for their mother Nancy to live in. On July 15, 1896, Charlie bought out Lon. Alonzo G. Titsworth of Torch Lake, Antrim County, Michigan, and Margaret his wife, for $140 paid to them by Charles J. Downing, sold on a Quitclaim Deed his half of the property on Wells St., Britton.

Nancy lived her remaining years in this little house on Wells St. (pictured above). She was found dead of paralysis, at the age of 70 years 4 months 14 days, on May 17, 1905. She is buried in Ridgeway Cemetery. The name on her tombstone is Nancy Williams.

About three months after Nancy died, on August 5, 1905, Charlie sold the little house to Benjamin J. Beasley. On October 4, 1907, Ben Beasley sold it to Mary Adams.