George Wright FAN Club, 1850 census, Brown County, Ohio

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.

Wehrly Reunion, 1920, Greenville, Ohio

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.

Guy Bigley household, 1940, Marshall County, Indiana

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.

Obituary : Bertha (LeMaster) Yeager, Brazil Daily Times, 16 March 1922

"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.

George M. Anderson household, 1940, Seneca County, Ohio

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.

G.A.R. Officers Named, 1901, Salamonia, Indiana

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

George B. Crawford household, 1940, Yuma County, Arizona

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.

Wright Families of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio

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.

Link to shared Dropbox file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydb7k4bkm216gkv/Wright%20Family%20Timeline.xlsx?dl=0

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.

Great-Uncle Demands $3,000 in Slander Suit

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.

Eva Briody household, 1940, Warrick County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Eva Briody household in Warrick County, Indiana.  Eva was Corinne's maternal 2nd-great grandaunt, the widow of Sylvester Briody.  Their common ancestors were Miles Chevalier and Louisa Jane Boyer.  

1940 U.S. census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Yankeetown, enumeration district (ED) 87-1, SD 8, sheet 4B, household 83, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Eva was living in Yankeetown. The census states that Eva owned her home and that the value was $250.  Eva was 59 years old and born in Indiana.  Her residence in 1935 was the same place.

The record shows that Eva had completed the 8th grade.  Eva's occupation was listed as the W.P.A., Head supervisor at Y.H.S. [Yankeetown High School].

Also living in the household was her son, Sylvester, aged 17, born in Indiana, who had completed 2 years of high school.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.