According to her death certificate, Annie Margaret was born March 30, 1863 in what other family records indicate was New Baltimore, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. On December 17, 1912, at 44 years of age, Annie died in Buffington, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Her death was caused principally by typhoid fever, with complications of pneumonia.

Annie married Samuel Mears Deal, January 1, 1880, in Wittenburg, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Samuel and Annie Deal went on to have twelve children. Much of Annie’s recorded life notes a maiden name of Null.

Despite finding numerous references in several vital records noting Annie’s maiden name as Null, when she died in 1912, her husband, Samuel, was the informant and noted her parents as Ellen Logue and Samuel Cooster, both of Pennsylvania. So how does this Samuel Cooster fit into the picture and where did the name Null come from? A search has led to some interesting information.

Firstly, Cooster is an unusual surname, and is found very infrequently in early Federal census records. There were less than 35 individuals in the 1860 census with this surname; none named Samuel, and none from Pennsylvania. Generally, this name would appear to be the phonetic spelling of the western Pennsylvania pronunciation of the surname CUSTER, like rooster.  Cooster is found in a few local Somerset county records, such as early baptism records, but here too it appears to be a misspelling of the name Custer. Also found are the similar surnames Kuster, Castor and Cusner, but all three seem to refer generally to the same family name, Custer. This fact has led me to the conclusion that Annie’s father was perhaps a Pennsylvanian named Samuel Custer.  While there were several Samuel Custers in the Somerset County area at the time of Annie’s birth, no records have yet been found to show a marriage between a Samuel Custer and Ellen Logue.

Annie’s mother, Ellen Jane Logue, was the daughter of Isaac Logue, and is found in several Somerset and Bedford county records. Ellen was born in 1842 in Bedford County. She can be found in early census records living in the home of her father. Ellen was the fifth of eight siblings. 

As previously noted, no marriage records have been found for Ellen Logue and Samuel Custer. However, a marriage record has been found for Ellen Logue and David Null, married January 1, 1870 in Somerset County. That same year, a census record shows David Null, aged 19, and Ellen Null, aged 26, with a daughter Annie, aged 6, living in Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Annie’s surname is not listed, but is referenced by a ditto mark (“) in the census. This Annie’s age coincides with the birth year noted in Annie Margaret’s death certificate, indicating a likely match. This record indicates, if common sense prevails, that Annie is not the daughter of David Null, as David would have been too young to be Annie’s father. It would seem more likely that David is her stepfather. Is it possible that this Ellen Logue, and daughter Annie, while coincidental, are not the Ellen and Annie in question? While it could be suggested that this Ellen Logue Null is not the same Ellen Logue as listed on Annie’s death certificate, two other Deal records would suggest otherwise.

In an unrelated military record of Annie’s son Samuel Grant Deal, it notes that his mother’s maiden name was Null, not Cooster as listed on her death certificate. A separate record for son Charles Milton Deal indicates the same name, Null. This clearly creates a link between Ellen Logue in both records, connected to Null and Custer. This information would suggest that the Ellen Logue who was married to David Null was the same Ellen Logue listed as Annie Margaret’s mother on Annie’s death certificate.

What then of the Samuel Custer listed on her death certificate? Was he married to Ellen Logue some time prior to her marriage to David Null? Then divorced? Or widowed? Or did they perhaps have a child out-of-wedlock? No records have been found that would clarify these questions. Records have shown that at the time of Annie’s birth there were six different Samuel Custer’s in and around the Somerset area. This document attempts to pinpoint, which, if any, of these Samuel Custers is most likely to have been the father of Annie Margaret Deal.

In 1850, according to the Federal Census, there were four Samuel Custers living in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  Samuel Custer (1) was born about 1814 and was living in Conemaugh Township. Samuel Custer (2) was born about 1824 and was living in Paint Township.  Samuel (3) was born about 1828 and was living in Stoystown. Samuel (4) was born about 1838 and was living in Stoneycreek Township. There were no Samuel Custers in Bedford County to the east and none were found in Westmoreland County to the west. There was a Samuel Custer (5), born about 1833, living in Richland, Cambria County to the north.  In 1850, Ellen Logue was living in Harrison Township, Bedford County, some 12 miles away from New Baltimore, Allegheny Township. Somerset, where daughter Annie would eventually be born.

Samuel (1)           about 36 years old           28 years senior to Ellen                  40 miles from New Baltimore

                                married with children

Samuel (2)           about 26 years old           18 years senior to Ellen                  25 miles from New Baltimore

                                married with children

Samuel (3)           about 22 years old           14 years senior to Ellen                  17 miles from New Baltimore

                                not married

Samuel (4)           about 12 years old             4 years senior to Ellen                  5 miles from New Baltimore       

Samuel (5)           about 27 years old           17 years senior to Ellen       27 miles from New Baltimore

By 1860, Ellen and her family had moved to Allegheny Township in Somerset county. Ellen was approximately 17 by this time. Just three years prior to the time Annie was born. Whether they were living in or around New Baltimore is not certain. The 1860 Federal Census indicates the status of the various Samuels by 1860:

Samuel (1)           appears to have died by 1860. His wife and daughter are now living in Paint Township.                                   Samuel is not found in the census.

Samuel (2)           was still living with his wife and children in Paint Township.

Samuel (3)           was still living in Stoystown, Conemaugh Township, now with a 20-year-old bride. This Samuel also became a well-known innkeeper in Somerset County.

Samuel (4)           nor his parents are found at all in the 1860 census. Samuel (4)’s first cousin, Fredrick, however, was living just 4 houses down from Ellen and her father in 1860. It is curious as to where they may have gone. It seems that the 1860 Somerset census did miss counting a number of families.

Samuel (5)           was now living in Paint Township, Somerset County, and was now married with children.

Also found in the 1860 census was one other Samuel Custer. Samuel (6) was born about 1805 and was living in Jenner Township. He can be summarized as follows:

Samuel (6)           abt 55 years old , 38 years senior to Ellen and living about 27 miles from New Baltimore. He appeared to be widowed with children.

By 1870, Annie Margaret would have been six years old herself, being born in 1863. Her mother, Ellen, had just married David Null at the beginning of the year. The census for that year shows Ellen living with her new husband and daughter, Annie, in Southampton Township, Somerset county.

Samuel (1) had died more than a decade before. This reasonably eliminates him from being Annie’s father. 

Samuel (2) was still living in Paint Township with his wife of over 20 years. He still had children living at home according to the census.

 Samuel (3), the Innkeeper, continued to live in Stoystown with his wife of more than 20 years as well. He also had children living at home in 1870.

Samuel (4) was now living in Allegheny Township, the same location where Annie was born. This census indicates that by this time he was married with four children. Coincidentally, his wife, Mary Stull, was the same age as Ellen Logue, and the census shows that Samuel’s eldest child was approximately the same age as Annie Margaret.

Samuel (5) appears to have left Somerset county, and by 1870 was living with his wife and children in Richland, Cambria County, some 40 miles north of New Baltimore.

Samuel (6), who would have been about 65 in 1870, is not found in the 1870 census. It is presumed that he was dead by 1870.

So will the real Samuel Custer please stand up!

Perhaps none of the Samuels listed are actually the father of Annie Margaret. Further research may eventually provide some additional clues. Perhaps an early marriage reference; perhaps a legal proceeding related to an unwed birth. These types of records may provide more definitive answers. Short of that, surmising the father might be the only course for now.

Samuel (1) appears to have died prior to the time of Annie’s birth. This would eliminate him as the father.

 Samuel (2) was 18 years Ellen’s senior, was married, and lived a fair distance from New Baltimore. There does not appear to be any connection to Ellen or her family. This could rule him out.

Samuel (3) was about 14 years Ellen’s senior, was also married, with children, and was a prominent business man. He remained in Stoystown, a fair distance from New Baltimore, and remained there until his death. A biography of this Samuel is noted in the Histories of Somerset and Bedford counties. No reference is made of Ellen Logue or Annie Margaret. It seems unlikely that this Samuel is Annie’s father. 

Samuel (5) was originally from Cambria County, but in the 1860 census was living with his wife and children in Paint Township, Somerset County. Ellen Logue did not live in Paint Township, and appears to have had no relation to that area of the county. By 1870 this Samuel as back in Cambria County. There would appear to be no reasonable connection between this Samuel and Ellen.

Samuel (6) was nearly 40 years Ellen’s senior, and though widowed, appeared with his children only in the 1860 census. They were living in Jenner Township, in the northern part of Somerset County. Ellen did not live in or around Jenner Township. As with Samuel (5), there appears to be no connection between this significantly older Samuel and Ellen.

Samuel (4) is probably the most likely to be the Samuel Cooster listed on Annie Margaret’s death certificate. His age most closely matched Ellen’s. He lived only five short miles from New Baltimore in 1850. While neither he nor his parents are found in the 1860 census, he did have a cousin that lived just houses away from Ellen in New Baltimore, Allegheny Township in 1860. By the 1870 census, he is living in Allegheny Township, where he resided until the time of his death in 1890. With this information, it is surmised that this Samuel Custer, son of Henry Custer and Margaret Hart is most likely to be Annie Margaret Custer Deal’s father.

Ancestry research on each of these Samuel Custers is interesting. All six are related, some rather close, some a little more distant. But they all tie to an early Pennsylvania Custer.

DNA testing on my line shows a clear and close connection to many of the descendants of these same Samuel Custers. There is no doubt that the Cooster/Custer noted on Annie’s death certificate is accurate. The proof is in the DNA. However, DNA has yet to prove exactly which Samuel was her father. My closest DNA connections to the Custer line are more frequently the descendants of Samuel (4), so I do believe that I have surmised correctly. However, I will continue to seek further information that may prove this guess to be accurate. So the search continues!