Growing up in rural Indiana, I lived near close cousins and went to school with many more who lived in the community. Now that I'm an adult, I live a county north of where I grew up but work about 60 miles away from home.
I happen to work in Hamilton County, Indiana where I have ancestry that goes back to at least the 1840s with a number of Quaker settlers. However, being next to metropolitan Indianapolis many of my co-workers are transplants to the area.
Recently, I was surprised to hear a co-worker say that they grew up in the area. Curious, I asked her what her maiden name was. When she said "Chew", I quickly said "hello, cousin" and then preceded to ask about her family tree so that I could confirm the connection.
Turns out we are 5th cousins twice removed through our common ancestors Andrew Chew (1770-1827) and Anne Marie Barthus (1777-1860). My co-worker and my grandmother are 5th cousins.
Andrew Chew
(1770-1827) – Anne Marie Barthus (1777-1860)
Elizabeth Chew (1802-1881) brother/sister Joseph Chew (1798-1845)
John T. Beals (1827-1917) 1st
cousins Thomas F.
Chew (1820-1904)
Nathan T. Beals (1856-1915) 2nd
cousins Elwood Chew
(1856-1900)
Pearl M. Beals (1878-1970) 3rd
cousins Clifford
Chew (1897-1971)
I was quickly able to show my co-worker some records on FamilySearch regarding her grandfather, and promised to see what else I could find. Prior to this conversation, I did not have her line traced down beyond Joseph Chew, so this has given me the impetus to see what else I can uncover on the line. My co-worker seemed interested to find out more.
While web surfing, I also uncovered a blog by someone who is doing research on the Chew line. I need to reach out to him because he questions whether my Elizabeth was a Chew. And of course, there is always more to document. His blog is at http://www.mikeoneill.us/raseroneill/articles/andrew-and-anna-chew/
December has been a busy month of celebrations and milestones for my family. Not only do we have Christmas coming soon, but we celebrated my mom's birthday, my stepdaughter's birthday and my parents 50th anniversary. We took my parents out to an anniversary dinner a few weeks ago and it was a good celebration as they had all three of their kids there and most of their grandchildren. Dad & mom recounted the stories of how they met and dad surprised mom with an upgraded replacement engagement ring. Apparently, she had lost the original years ago and it had never been replaced. It was an emotional time and mom was so surprised and happy.
Mom and dad were married December 7, 1967 in Muncie, Indiana. From the Muncie Star of November 26, 1967:
Muncie Teacher to Wed OrdLeMaster of Portland
The engagement of Miss Gloria Jean Wright to Ord Weldon LeMaster is announced by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Wright, Alexandria. Mr. LeMaster is the son of Ord W. LeMaster, Portland.
Miss Wright is a graduate of Alexandria-Monroe High School and received a B.S. degree in elementary education from Ball State University. She is a third grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary in Muncie.
Mr. LeMaster is a graduate of Portland High School and Ball State, where he received a B.S. degree in history and geography. Attending Ball State graduate school, he is a history teacher at Dunkirk High School.
It was good to be able to celebrate this milestone with my parents.
Sunday was my birthday, the one before the mid-century mark. The one that makes me realize I'm getting older and closer to end than the beginning.
Sunday was also the day of the time change, when we now roll our clocks back in an attempt to save daylight. An hour of extra sleep that somehow never comes.
As a Hoosier, I grew up not having to mess with the time changes other than being annoyed that TV shows changed schedules twice a year. I'm still mad that we started observing Daylight Savings Time and are on Eastern. Being closer to Chicago, we should be on Central, but no one asked me.
This year Eileen made sure that I changed all the clocks -last year I didn't change the one in the living room above the couch and it was showing the wrong time for six months. I guess that was my way of showing some defiance.
Dad told me stories of Ohio time where he grew up, you can look it up, Indiana has had an interesting relationship with DST.
It was my "Birthday Weekend", as I like to say, and I had a good one. My coworkers treated me to a card and some treats on Friday, including a bag of donut holes. To say I was on a sugar high would be an understatement!
Saturday I went to dinner with the in-laws and eldest daughter and son-in-law, my mom was sick so my folks held out for later plans. Went to Kokomo and one of my favorites, Half Moon. Sunday, had breakfast with the youngest and birthday text from the middle daughter and received Birthday greetings from friends on Facebook. I truly appreciated the gifts and well wishes.
Sunday afternoon was some " me time" spent in Fort Wayne at the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. Truly one of my happy places. They have Sunday hours but I always seem to be too busy to get up there to research.
Managed to find some tidbits of information that I'll post about later - my trip was not well planned and was more of a shotgun approach. Found a little bit on both sides of my family and something from Eileen's as well.
Monday I took the day off and Eileen and I spent the day shopping. We visited the new IKEA in Fishers, which seemed as big as the one in Cincinnati. Ate at Portillo's, which wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be and then hit Duluth Trading again. All in all, we had a good time together.
Not much in the way of genealogy in this post, but a few tidbits about my birthday for future generations.
Spent last weekend with my mom on a trip to the Brown County, Ohio area where her Wright and Wardlow families originated. My plan was to visit the Brown County Genealogical Society library in Georgetown and if possible, visit a couple of family cemeteries.
The trip to Georgetown is about three hours and we left early in the morning with plenty of time to spare before the museum opened at noon. Not knowing how long I might need at the museum, I hoped to see if we could locate the Wardlow and Wright cemeteries in Washington Township, Brown County, Ohio and see what shape they were in.
Both of these pioneer cemeteries are already posted on FindAGrave, so I had already seen the tombstones of the family, but I wanted to get a feel for the area. Looking on topographical maps, I programmed by Google Maps to take us straight to the Wardlow cemetery first, where my 4th-great grandfather, John Wright (1814-1890) was buried.
As we came into Ohio and were nearing our destination, I saw the sign for historic Williamsburg and we made a slight detour to check it out. I knew that our Wright family had been in Williamsburg from some of the early deeds in Clermont County.
Driving around, we found Harmony Hill, where William Lytle had his home and land office. He was an early surveyor and settler in the area. Their museum wasn't opened yet, but we took a few pictures and planned to come back if we had time.
We headed towards the Wardlow cemetery first, which I knew was near Sardinia and with the GPS we were able to get into the general area. Then it became a game of watching the road for the cemetery. We found a few roads that had familiar names, including Wardlow Road, which we turned down and found an abandoned house that looked like it was not somewhere we wanted to be stuck.
We didn't find the cemetery until mom pulled it up on her phone and Google maps was telling us to turn on "Cemetery Road", except the road didn't have a sign. There was man outside at the house next door, so we stopped and verified that the cemetery was down that gravel road. He told us we should be ok to go down there, but did tell us that the owner might come down and see what we were doing.
We headed down the gravel road to the cemetery, went through the gate, and began to look for the graves of John & Anna (Wardlow) Wright. We found them pretty easily, as their marker was one of the tallest in the cemetery, and the only Wright buried there. I was able to get a couple of good photographs of mom with the markers and took some video. We were there just before noon, so the shadow effect on the marker wasn't the best.
Mom next to inscription for John Wright
Mom next to inscription for Anna (Wardlow) Wright
Just as we were leaving the cemetery, a lady came up on a Gator and asked us what we were doing. Fortunately, she could tell we weren't there to cause trouble, and I gave her one of my genealogy calling cards and explained our relationship to the Wardlow clan. She was not a Wardlow, but her sorority sister, who lived across the road, was a Wardlow descendant and the owner of the property. Unfortunately, she wasn't home, but her friend was able to tell us a bit about the land and the history of the place. Seems they had to take down the "Cemetery Road" sign as they were having too many people 'partying' and dumping trash, etc. on the property and the cemetery. Such a shame because the property was so peaceful.
I was able to take a brief video of the cemetery that will give you a feel for the place. A nice final resting place for my ancestors.
We spent some time talking and the lady showed us a tour of the Wardlow barn, which had been on the property since 1805. The barn had been moved from its original spot closer to the road, and obviously had been refurbished, but some of the original hand-hewn beams were present. We signed our names on the wall of the barn, where other guests had done.
We were invited to come back by later in the day, but explained that we were heading to Georgetown to the museum, and depending on how our day went, we might not be able to visit. We mentioned that we were also going to see if we could find the George Wright cemetery, which we also knew was on private property, and she was familiar with it and able to give directions. Apparently, enough of our distant cousins have visited in the past and had asked for the same directions. We headed down the road and around to try to locate the Wright cemetery, again using GPS. Fortunately, I had already checked it out on Google maps with a satellite view, so when I saw the property that I was sure it was near, we were able to stop. Once again, we were fortunate as the owner of the property was home and was willing to talk to us about the family plot. She was not a Wright descendant, but told us a story about how when they bought the property some 30 years prior, an old woman came knocking on their door and told them they would be cursed if they didn't restore the iron fence around the Wright family plot! She said there were a lot of snakes back there, and that her husband would be home shortly and that he could take us back. Her son actually came by after a few minutes, and was gracious to take us back to the woods where the family plot was in his Gator. As we walked back through the woods and the deer trail, it was obvious that very few people had been back there in some time. The son told us that one of the markers had disappeared and was across the creek and on another property now. We were able to find George Wright and his son Samuel's tombstone standing upright. Samuel's was broken and leaning against a tree. Mom was clearing some leaves and found Elizabeth's tombstone laying down and partially buried. We did not find the marker for Rebecca, Samuel's wife. The iron fencing was partially visible though the brush.
George Wright (1780-1853)
Samuel P. Wright (1816-1859)
Elizabeth (Robins) Wright (1781-1857)
Condition of Elizabeth's stone
How the cemetery looks in the woods
We were so thankful for the kindness of these strangers who now owned the family farms of our ancestors and were willing to allow us to view their final resting places. After later looking at the maps of the pieces of land, it appears that the George Wright farm and the Wardlow farm butted up against each other in a triangle type pattern - which helps explain why George's son, John, married the neighbor girl - a Wardlow. It was just getting close to noon, and we'd already had an outstandingly productive day. Not knowing how long we'd need to be at the museum, I was taking a chance by looking for the cemeteries early and was able to strike pay dirt. These visits made the trip worthwhile. We went into Georgetown and visited the Brown County museum and spent some time looking through their vertical family files. Searching the Wright family file, I found a copy of a letter that I had written to them back in 1990!
It is good to know that they keep materials! I will have to send some updated research notes to them to add for future researchers. I was able to make a few copies of some of the files on the Wright, Wardlow and other families I knew of in Brown County. Being my first time at the museum, my research plan was not as well thought out as I would have liked. Now that I have a lay of the land, I will be able to plan a return trip and do more digging. On our way back towards Indiana, we stopped back in Williamsburg at Harmony Hill and spoke with their museum folks and the Clermont County Historical Society as well. I purchased a book on the Virginia Military District land grants that contained some information on Robert Wright, and picked up some materials for future research.
While at Harmony Hill, I mentioned that our John Wright was an early settler in Williamsburg with William Lytle, and the lady mentioned that the local cemetery had a marker to all of the Revolutionary War veterans. Not knowing for sure that John was a veteran, nor knowing where he was buried, we took a chance and went to the cemetery on our way out of town. We searched the old section but didn't find any markers that had the Wright name. We did find the marker placed by the local SAR, that did not list any family names of ours as veterans buried there.
Not only did I have a good time researching mom's family history with her, but visited some beautiful areas of southwest Ohio. I'm already planning to make a return trip to do more research.
While my posts to this blog lately have been sparse, it doesn't mean that I haven't been working on family history. One of my main projects has been working with my DNA matches from 23andMe and other sites, using the third-party tool Genome Mate Pro to track and organize the research and contacts I've made with my matches. This might be the subject of a future post. I was pleased to see RootsMagic provide the update on their software with the Ancestry matches and TreeSync. I was chosen to be a beta tester - that was a unique experience as well. I was able to make some memories this past June when my granddaughter came up for a week. Keeping up with a 5-year old was more work than I thought it would be - but what a joy it was to have her here. Work has kept me mentally drained to the point where I don't feel the energy to post at night. Mornings used to be my time to write but lately I've been uninspired. I've been thinking a lot about my unfinished genealogy projects - applying to lineage societies, my DNA research, doing a "do-over" on some of my lines - and there are times when it feels overwhelming. What is it about blogging that makes me feel guilty that I haven't been able to keep up with a regular pace?
Located the 1940 census record of the Henry C. Peterson household in Delaware County, Indiana. Henry was the father of Eileen's stepfather, Billy J. Peterson. Henry's wife was the former Opal Vida Cuzzort.
1940 U.S. census, Delaware County, Indiana, population schedule, Ward 4, Muncie, enumeration district (ED) 18-23, SD 10, sheet 7A, 421 North Calvert, household 123, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, the family was living in Muncie at 421 N. Calvert Street. The census states that Henry was renting his home for $60 per month, and it was not a farm. Henry was 54 years old and born in Indiana. His wife, Opal V., was 52 years old and born in Indiana. Their residence in 1935 was the same place. The record shows that Henry had completed 2 years of college and was running a rooming & boarding house. His wife, Opal, had completed 8th grade and was helping to run the rooming & boarding house. Also living in the household was son, Billy J., age 18, born in Indiana who had completed 4 years of high school and had no occupation listed. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.
Located the 1940 census record of the Guy Bowman household in Wabash County, Indiana. Guy was the husband of my maternal 3rd cousin 3 times removed, Geraldine. Our common ancestors were Nathan C. Beals and Elizabeth Chew. Guy's parentage is unknown at this time to me. Geraldine's parents were William Otto Little and Bertha Jane Means.
1940 U.S. census, Wabash County, Indiana, population schedule, Waltz Township, enumeration district (ED) 85-26, SD 5, sheet 5B, Howell Road, household 106, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, the family was living in Waltz Township. The census states that Guy owned his home and that the value was $2000. Guy was 35 years old and born in Indiana. His wife, Geraldine, was 31 years old and also born in Indiana. Their residence in 1935 was the same place. The record shows that Guy had completed 4 years of high school and was a school bus driver and store operator. His wife, Geraldine, had completed 2 years of college but had no occupation listed. Also living in the household were daughter Pamela, age 4, born in Indiana, and son Gary H., age 8 months, born in Indiana. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I would love to hear from you.
Recently came across the obituary of my maternal 4th-great grandmother, Rebeccca (Page) Pierce, in the Richmond (Indiana) Item. Rebecca was the widow of Francis Smalley Pierce.
Obituary of Rebecca Pierce
Richmond (Indiana) Item
June 27, 1893, page 1
Mrs. Rebecca Pierce, widow of Francis Pierce and sister of John C. Page of this city, died yesterday at 12 o'clock, at the home of A.O. Pierce, her son, near Greensfork. Funeral at Sugar Grove on Wednesday, June 28, at 10 a.m. Services at the house by Rev. Colvin. Her father moved to this city sixty-eight years ago.
The A.O. Pierce listed in the obituary was her son, Albert Orlando Pierce. This obituary confirms that her maiden name was Page, and helps collaborate a bit of the history previously blogged about of the Pierce family.
I'm still working off and on on the origins of the Page family - who I believe to be Quaker - and that Rebecca's father was also named John. I'm still trying to tie all of the members of the family together. The brother, John C. Page, was a noted police detective of Richmond, Indiana and a friend of the governor, Oliver P. Morton.
The burial plot of Francis and Rebecca at the Sugar Grove cemetery was also the subject of a previous post.
Located the 1940 census record of the Gilbert Hahn household in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Gilbert was the husband of Corinne's maternal 1st cousin 3 times removed, Marjorie. Their common ancestors were Miles Chivlare and Louisa Jane Boyer. Gilbert was the son of William Hahn and Mary Wilsbacher. Marjorie was the daughter of Sylvester Tillman Briody and Eva Mae Chivlare.
1940 U.S. census, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, population schedule, Evansville, enumeration district (ED) 93-70, SD 8, sheet 3B, 1441 North Fifth Avenue, household 66, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Janaury 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, the family was living in the city of Evansville at 1441 North Fifth Avenue. The census states that Gilbert was renting his home for $8 per month. Gilbert was 29 years old and born in Indiana. His wife, Marjorie, was 24 years old and born in Indiana. Their residence in 1935 was rural Vanderburgh County, Indiana. The record shows that Gilbert had completed the 8th grade and his occupation was a paint mixer at an electric manufacturing company. His wife, Marjorie, had completed 3 years of high school and had no occupation listed. Also living in the household was their son, James, aged 2, born in Indiana. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I would love to hear from you.
Located the obituary of my paternal great-great granduncle, Phillip LeMaster, in the Muncie Star Press. Philip was the son of the Rev. Luman Walker and Nancy (Young) LeMasters, and the older brother of my ancestor, Luman Walker LeMaster Jr.
Muncie Star Press Muncie, Indiana May 15, 1915, page 3
PIONEER DEAD
Philip LeMaster, a former resident of Madison township died at midnight Thursday after a lingering illness of kidney trouble. Mr. LeMaster was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Newton LeMaster and was born in Madison township eighty years ago. He is survived by his wife and an adopted daughter, Mrs. Bessie Henry. The funeral services will be held Monday. His nephew, Sheriff J.W.M. Cunningham, his brother, Walker LeMaster and two sisters, Mrs. John Petry and Mrs. William Wilson all of Greene township, will attend the funeral service. Mr. Walker LeMaster had been at the beside of his brother and came home Thursday afternoon.
A couple of interesting things stand out in the obituary. Besides the typographical error of his parents names - he was not the son of Newton LeMaster but the son of Luman Walker LeMaster - there is also the fact that the obituary mentions that his daughter, Mrs. Bessie Henry, was adopted. Prior to this obituary, I knew that he had a daughter, but was not aware that she was adopted and had assumed that she was a biological daughter. This gives me some other records to try and research to find out more about this adoption. Phillip died in Spencerville, Allen County, Ohio though the obituary doesn't mention that. It does allude to the fact that my ancestor, his brother Luman Walker, was at his bedside during the final days. I also located a follow-up article in another Muncie area newspaper regarding his funeral:
Muncie Evening Press Muncie, Indiana May 19, 1915, page 2
John W.M. Cunningham, Mr. and Mrs. Walker LeMaster, Mr. and Mrs. John Petry and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Myron, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur LeMaster, Mrs. William Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Jordan, all of this county, have returned home from Spencerville, Ohio, where they attended the funeral services of the late Philip LeMaster.
Philip was a Methodist minister and had pastored churches in Logan and Allen counties, Ohio. He was married to Elizabeth C. Hoover in 1870 in Allen County, Ohio. He is buried in the Lima cemetery.
George Wright appears in the 1850 census of Washington Township, Brown County, Ohio in dwelling 1556, family 1561. The census lists George as a 69 year-old farmer, born in Pennsylvania, along with his wife, Elizabeth, age 68, also born in Pennsylvania. In focusing on his FAN (Friends, Associates & Neighbors) club, I’ve looked into the neighboring ten households before and ten households afterwards to ensure that I’m covering all of his close neighbors. What I’ve discovered is that, as expected, many of these families are inter-connected through marriage and have been part of the same network for several years. In this analysis, I started with George’s household and then moved to through the ten households prior before picking up and working on the ten households after his enumeration. Living in the same household as George and his wife, Elizabeth, are four other Wrights, including Samuel P., age 33, farmer, born in Ohio. This is George’s known son. [His middle name was Pangburn, a potential clue to another family relationship.] Samuel’s wife, Rebecca R., age 24, born in Ohio and their two children: Elizabeth S., aged 4, born in Ohio and George H., age 2, born in Ohio complete the household. Next door is the family in dwelling 1555, family 1560 headed by John Wright, age 35, farmer, born in Ohio. This is also George’s known son. John’s wife, Anne, age 34, born in Ohio and their five children : Elizabeth J., age 14, born in Ohio; Joseph, age 12, born in Ohio; Nancy, age 9, born in Ohio; Mary, age 7, born in Ohio and Maxamelia, age 4, born in Ohio complete the household. [These names all match the 1883 sketch of John Wright’s family in the History of Brown County, Ohio. I descend from John’s son, Joseph.] The family in dwelling 1554, family 1559 is headed by John Robbins, age 52, farmer, born in Pennsylvania. Living in the household are Mary, age 23, born in Ohio; William, age 20, born in Ohio; Elizabeth, age 19, born in Ohio; Sarah, age 17, born in Ohio; George, age 14, born in Ohio; Cecilia, age 12, born in Ohio; Amos, age 6, born in Ohio; and Lydia, age 4, born in Ohio. [Could this be a brother to George's wife, Elizabeth Robins/Robbins?] The family in dwelling 1553, family 1558 is headed by William P. Hindman, age 24, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Amanda, age 25, born in Ohio and Caroline A., age 2, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1552, family 1557 is headed by Allen Hendrixson, age 33, farmer, born in Kentucky. Living in the household are Sarah, age 30, born in Ohio; Elizabeth, age 9, born in Ohio; George, age 8, born in Ohio; William M., age 5, born in Ohio; Nancy, age 2, born in Ohio and Susana, age 6 months, born in Ohio. [Allen Hendrixson married Sarah Ann Wright on October 24, 1839 in Brown County, Ohio. Sarah was the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Robins) Wright] The family in dwelling 1551, family 1556 is headed by William Hindman, age 62, farmer, born in Kentucky. Living in the household are Nancy, age 58, born in Pennsylvania; William, age 7, born in Indiana; as well as Martha J. Huggins, age 32, born in Ohio; Vilena Huggins, age 8, born in Ohio; and Eveline Davis, age 15, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1550, family 1555 is headed by Mary Robins, age 50, born in Ohio. Living in the household are John, carpenter, age 26, born in Ohio; Josiah, carpenter, age 25, born in Ohio; Samuel, carpenter, age 19, born in Ohio; Lucinda, age 17, born in Ohio and William M., farmer, age 15, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1549, family 1554 is headed by Jonathan W. Riley, age 26, miller, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Olive, age 29, born in Ohio; John O., age 4, born in Illinois and Rosella, age 2, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1548, family 1553 is headed by John W. Riley, age 60, miller, born in North Carolina. Living in the household are Sarah, age 58, born in Kentucky; Elizabeth, age 24, born in Ohio and Thirza, age 17, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1547, family 1552 is headed by Thomas Purdy, age 28, farmer, born in Pennsylvania. Living in the household are Lucinda, age 24, born in Ohio, and William T., age 2, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1546, family 1551 is headed by William Wilson, age 50, farmer, born in Virginia. Living in the household are Sarah, age 49, born in Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, age 22, born in Ohio; Sarah A., age 16, born in Ohio; Martin, age 14, born in Ohio; Josiah, age 9, born in Ohio and Letty J., age 7, born in Ohio. This ends the enumeration of the ten households prior to George Wright in Washington Township, Brown County, Ohio in the 1850 census. Next I will focus on the ten households afterwards. The family in dwelling 1557, family 1562 is headed by John T. Reeves, age 38, farmer, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Eliza, age 39, born in Ohio; Frances, age 19, born in Ohio; William R., age 16, born in Ohio; Rebecca, age 14, born in Ohio; John R., age 7, born in Ohio; Daniel Smith, age 19, laborer, born in Ohio and Sybil Jacobs, age 81, born in Virginia. [John T. Reeves married Elizabeth Jacobs, daughter of William & Sybil (Little) Jacobs - another branch of my family.] The family in dwelling 1558, family 1563 is headed by James Calvin, age 39, farmer, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Matilda, age 30, born Ohio; David, age 12, born in Ohio; Mary J., age 8, born in Ohio; Christena, age 6, born in Ohio; Martha J., age 4, born in Ohio and John T., age 2, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1559, family 1564 is headed by Jane Calvin, age 66, born in Virginia. Living in the household are Albert, age 32, farmer, born in Ohio; Robert, age 30, farmer, born in Ohio; Luther, age 28, farmer, born in Ohio and Jane, age 26, born in Ohio. [Believe this is the Jane Wardlow who married Joseph Calvin January 12, 1805 in Clermont County, Ohio. Jane was the daughter of Robert & Janet (Downey) Wardlow.] The family in dwelling 1560, family 1565 is headed by Morris Vance, age 33, farmer, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Nancy, age 33, born in Ohio; Margaret, age 10, born in Ohio; Jane, age 9, born in Ohio; James H.P., age 5, born in Ohio; John, age 3, born in Ohio; Joseph, age 1, born in Ohio and Abraham S., aged 1 month born in Ohio. [Morris Vance married Nancy Calvin, daughter of Joseph & Jane (Wardlow) Calvin.] The family in dwelling 1561, family 1566 is headed by Margaret Wardlow, age 44, born in North Carolina. Living in the household are Elizabeth J., age 17, born in Ohio; Catherine S., age 14, born in Ohio; Jacob W., age 12, born in Ohio; Margaret, age 9, born in Ohio; James, age 7, born in Ohio and Thomas G., age 3, born in Ohio. [Believe this is Margaret (Hoss) Wardlow, who married Philander Wardlow on December 26, 1822 in Brown County, Ohio. He died August 25, 1847 and was the son of William and Isabel (Nesbit) Wardlow.] The family in dwelling 1562, family 1567 is headed by Matilda Wardlow, age 30, born in Ohio. Living in the household is Isabella, age 70, born in Virginia and David, age 17, born in Ohio. [Believe this is Matilda, daughter of William and Isabel (Nesbit) Wardlow.] The family in dwelling 1563, family 1568 is headed by Ellis M. Dye, age 41, farmer, born in Ohio. Living in the household are Margaret, age 38, born in Ohio; Sarah J., age 16, born in Ohio; James H., age 14, born in Ohio; Matilda A., age 12, born in Ohio; David G., age 9, born in Ohio; Noah E., age 7, born in Ohio; Mary A., age 5, born in Ohio; Mary A., age 5, born in Ohio; John R., age 3, born in Ohio and Henry P., age 1, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1564, family 1569 is headed by Patrick Vance, age 43, farmer, born in Ohio. Living in the household is Rebecca, age 43, born in Ohio; Ruth, age 20, born in Ohio; John, age 18, born in Ohio; Elizabeth, age 16, born in Ohio; David, age 12, born in Ohio; Daniel, age 10, born in Ohio; McKea, age 8, born in Ohio; William W., age 5, born in Ohio and Jesse H., age 2, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1565, family 1570 is headed by William Vance, age 46, farmer, born in Kentucky. Living in the household is Margaret J., age 25, born in Ohio; Joseph C., age 23, farmer, born in Ohio; Lydia A.M., age 19, born in Ohio; Mary M., age 17, born in Ohio; Sysena, age 15, born in Ohio; Sophrona, age 12, born in Ohio; William H.H., age 10, born in Ohio; Thomas C.H., age 6, born in Ohio; Lafayette S., age 4, born in Ohio; and Hanson L.P., age 1, born in Ohio. The family in dwelling 1566, dwelling 1571 is headed by Hysom Moler, age 34, farmer, born in Kentucky. Living in the household is Nancy A., age 27, born in Ohio; Thomas S., age 8, born in Ohio; James L., age 6, born in Ohio; Matilda A., aged 3, born in Ohio; Henry H., age 1, born in Ohio and Margaret, age 16, born in Ohio. I will be adding these names and family members to my spreadsheet of George's FAN club and begin searching for additional clues that might tie them to George, either through marriage or land records. If you have any connection or are related to any of these families, I would love to hear from you.
Located this mention of the Wehrly family reunion at Newspapers.com in the Muncie newspaper from 1920:
Muncie Evening Press Muncie, Indiana July 16, 1920, page 17
PORTLAND.
Among the relatives from this county, who will attend the Wehrly reunion to be held Saturday, August 1 at the fair grounds in Greenville, Ohio, are the following: Mr. and Mrs. Blaine Wehrly and son, William Lewis of West High street, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Wehrly of East Main street and son, Robert, Mr. and Mrs. L.D. Jackson of South Shank street, the Arthur Jackson family of South Meridian street, the Chesley LeMaster family of West High street, the Alva Wehrly family the L.C. LeMaster family and Mr. and Mrs. Levi Petry of Salamonia.
---- Those named were all descendants of William P. Wehrly (1845-1909) of Salamonia, Indiana. Blaine, John W. and Alva were his sons; daughter Minerva married L.D. Jackson, daughter Barbara married L.C. LeMaster. Levi Petry was a son of Charles Petry and Susannah Wehrly, William P.'s sister. I would love to know who all the other members of the extended family who attended the reunion in Greenville, as my William was the youngest of the family, with many relatives in Ohio.
Located the 1940 census record of the Guy Bigley household in Marshall County, Indiana. Guy was Eileen's maternal 2nd cousin 3 times removed. Their common ancestors were Daniel Fisher and Susannah Reeves. Guy's parents were Thomas Jefferson Bigley and Sarah Jane Benedict.
1940 U.S. census, Marshall County, Indiana, population schedule, Union Township, enumeration district (ED) 50-18, SD 9, sheet 17A, household 342, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, the family was living in Union Township. The census states that Guy owned his home and that its value was $1800 and it was a farm. Guy was 63 years old and born in Indiana. His wife, Mable A., was 54 years old and born in Indiana. Their residence in 1935 was the same place. The record shows that Guy had completed 4 years of college and his occupation was a farmer. His wife, Eva, had completed 3 years of high and had no occupation listed. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I would love to hear from you.
"Prominent Woman Dies Suddenly," obituary, Brazil Daily Times (Brazil, Indiana), 16 March 1922, page 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : 18 Feb 2017 ).
PROMINENT WOMAN DIES SUDDENLY Mrs. John Yeager Died At A Local Hospital Shortly After Noon Today After A Short Illness Was Prominent In Church Affairs Was Also a Leader in Civic and Social Circles - Survived by a Husband and Six Children - Funeral to be Announced Later Mrs. Bertha Yeager, wife of Prof. John H. Yeager, principal of the Meridian street school, of 604 South Walnut street, died very suddenly at a local hospital at 12:45 o'clock this afternoon. The deceased underwent a serious operation last Sunday and apparently was improving, but this morning she suffered a relapse and complications of heart trouble resulted in her death. Mrs. Yeager was 47 years old and was one of ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. LeMaster, of Portland, Ind., and was the first member of the family to die. She is survived by the husband and six children, Clarence, a student at Purdue University; Mary, Helen, John Vernon, George and Luther Yeager, all of this city. She is also survived by the parents, Mr. and Mrs. LeMaster, of Portland, and four sisters and five brothers, as follows : Mrs. Beulah Rockwell of Fort Recovery, O.; Mrs. Elsie Atkinson, of Portland; Mrs. Maud Phillips, of Nebraska; Mrs. Edith Meinholtz, of Colorado; Cooper and Clifford LeMaster, of Portland; Dr. O.O. LeMaster and Dr. W.W. LeMaster, of Sidney, O., and Arthur LeMaster, of Decatur. The deceased had been a prominent worker in church affairs in Brazil for a number of years. She was also a leader in civic and social circles and in all movements for the benefit of the city and its civic life. She was a member of the First M.E. Church, a teacher in the Mothers' Cradle Roll class, an industrious worker in the Woman's League, a member of the Evening Choir and of the Home Missionary Society and was also formerly president of the Child Welfare section of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She was also a member of the Royal Neighbors. Mrs. Yeager was a devoted mother and a pleasant and helpful neighbor and her untimely death will be mourned by a large circle of friends. The funeral arrangements will be announced later. ------ Bertha was my paternal great grandaunt, sister of my ancestor, Luman Cooper LeMaster. This was the local obituary in the Brazil newspaper, I had previously written a post about the obituary that was posted in the Portland, Indiana paper.
Located the 1940 census record of the George M. Anderson household in Seneca County, Ohio. George's wife, Ona, was my maternal 2nd cousin 5 times removed. Our common ancestors were Alexander Crockett and Elizabeth Watkins. Ona's parents were William Perry Crockett and Blanche Alida Weaver.
1940 U.S. census, Seneca County, Ohio, population schedule, Fostoria, enumeration district (ED) 74-14B, SD 13, sheet 4A, 202 North Union Street, household 85, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, the family was living in Fostoria. The census states that George was renting his home for $30 per month. George was 48 years old and born in Wisconsin. His wife, Eva, was 44 years old and born in Indiana. In 1935 their residence was in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio. The record shows that George had completed 5 years of college and that his occupation was listed as a Clergyman. His wife, Eva, had completed 1 year of college, but had no occupation listed. Also living in the household were son George O., age 20, born in Iowa, who had completed 1 year of college; Helen, age 14, born in Illinois, who had completed the 8th grade; and Elliott M., age 12, born in Indiana, who had completed the 5th grade. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I would love to hear from you.
Found a snippet of news from the Salamonia Grand Army of the Republic Post from 1901 that shows my paternal great-great grandfather, Luman Walker LeMasters, Jr. was chosen as a ceremonial officer. Luman had served in Company C, 39th Indiana Infantry, later designated as the 8th Indiana Cavalry. The paper did, however, get his name wrong with the initials L.M. instead of L.W. G.A.R. Officers Portland, Ind., Dec. 17 - Henry McLaughlin post, G.A.R. of Salamonia has elected the following officers: Commander, B.F. Harter, Sr., ; vice commander, J.P. Harruff, Jr.,; vice commander, W.A. Caster; surgeon, William Bushman, chaplain, R.B. Whitcre, quarter-master, Adam Burr; officer of the day, Benjamin Arthur; outside guard, L.M. Lemaster.
Muncie Star Press, Muncie, Indiana
December 18, 1901, page 3
Located the 1940 census record of the George B. Crawford household in Yuma County, Arizona. George was my maternal 6th cousin 3 times removed. Our common ancestors were John Beals and Sarah Bowater. George's parents were George Newton Crawford and Mary Elizabeth Birdwell.
1940 U.S. census, Yuma County, Arizona, population schedule, Yuma, enumeration district (ED) 14-8, SD 14-8, sheet 1B, 1011 7th Avenue, household 16, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..
At the time of the enumeration, George was living in the city of Yuma. The census states that George was renting his home for $10 per month. George was 42 years old and was born in Texas. His wife, Emma, was 37 years old and born in Texas. Their residence in 1935 was the same place. The record shows that both George and Emma had completed the 6th grade in education. George's occupation was listed as Track Works, S P Railroad [Southern Pacific], while Emma's occupation was listed as Housework in a private home. Also living in the household were son Jack, age 19, born in Texas, working for Coca Cola delivery; son Elmer, age 17, born in Oklahoma, working as Messenger for Western Union; and son Wayne, age 15, born in Oklahoma, a student. If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.
It has been awhile,but
I am working again on the Wright lines in Clermont/Brown Counties, Ohio.
I'm truly doing a
'do-over' on the information I have and am focusing on the FAN club (Friends,
Neighbors, Associates) of my George Wright (1780-1853) in order to shore up the
connections and understand the relationships between all of the various
families. I've created a spreadsheet to track the connected families, and
would like your input.
If
you recall, George Wright (1780-1853), was purported to be a son of John &
Sarah (Fleming) Wright. This John is believed to have a brother Robert
Wright, who was a Revolutionary War soldier and married to Catherine Applegate.
George
Wright is my target ancestor because he is the furthest direct ancestor that I
can tie my Wright line to through documented evidence and not just family group
sheets and conjecture.
While I have seen
information put out on the web and through family group sheets connecting these
Wrights to Cambridge, Massachusetts and then on into Scotland, I am
re-evaluating and looking for more solid ground to stake that claim.
I have the wills of
both George Wright (1780-1853) and Robert Wright (1757-1840) out of Brown
County, as well as some land documents and have been extracting names of
witnesses, etc. in order to try to tie out the family connections. In future posts, I plan to examine these
individuals and how they are connected to the Wrights.
Through land records,
I know that George Wright's mother was named Sarah, but so far have not found a
"smoking gun" that gives her maiden name as Fleming. I'm hoping
through an analysis of neighbors and associates I can better track the movement
of these families and locate the information.
I hope that this
analysis likewise sheds some light on the connections (if any) between these
Wrights and the other Wrights in the area.
I’ve thrown out a post
on a couple of Facebook message boards for Clermont and Brown counties, hoping
that some other researchers would have some information as well.
If you have any additional
information or are related to these families, I would love to hear from you.
Located the following article regarding my paternal great-uncle and a slander lawsuit while conducting newspaper research. It seems great-uncle Gerald was slandered and took the man to court in Adams County, Indiana. Will have to add research of these court records to my list of 'to-do' items to find out what happened. JAY COUNTY MAN DEMANDS $3,000 IN SLANDER SUIT Decatur, Ind., Mar. 13 - Gerald W. LeMaster of Jay county, has filed suit in the Adams circuit court against Oswin F. Gillom of Berne, demanding judgment for $3,000 for alleged slander. The plaintiff states in his complaint that he is an insurance agent. He alleges that on January 31, 1929, in Jay county in the presence and hearing of Daniel Corle, M.V. Hutchinson and other persons, the defendant falsely and maliciously spoke concerning the plaintiff as follows: "Such a crook as Mr. LeMaster could not work for any company any length of time for he would be fired." and "a justice of the peace was asking for G.W. LeMaster at Redkey." LeMaster alleges further that the defendant made the following remark in the presence of George W. Bailey: "He (meaning the plaintiff) was fired from the service of the Prudential Insurance company."
Garrett Clipper (Garrett, Indiana). 14 March 1929., page 8
---- Gerald was an older brother of my grandfather, the son of Luman Cooper and Barbara Isabel (Wehrly) LeMaster. I was not aware that he sold insurance, as occupations listed his as an auto salesman, mechanic or garage operator.
