Itinerant Farmer, George Washington Haley (1840-1892), 52 Ancestors # 17

George Washington Haley tombstone
Mt. Zion Cemetery
Jay County, Indiana

The 17th Ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project is my paternal great-great grandfather, George Washington Haley (1840-1892).  George is number 20 on my Ahnentafel list, and previously I've written about the details of his life in an Exploratory Analysis post.

I am descended through :

* his son, # 10 Eli Weldon Haley (1866-1957), married # 11 Cora Belle Metzner (1868-1955), in 1888.

* their daughter, # 5 Ruth Pauline Haley (1911-1990), married # 4 Ord Wehrly LeMaster (1906-1971) in 1932 - my grandparents.

George was born May 16, 1840 in Hardin County, Ohio^1,2, the son of George J. and Rachel H. (Gary) Haley.  His father was a minister in the Evangelical Association, and the family moved around a bit.  By the time of the 1850 census, George was a ten year old student in Jackson Township, Sandusky County, Ohio³.  At the recording of the 1860 census, George was a 20 year farmer in Claridon Township, Marion County, Ohio⁴.

Sometime around 1862, George moved to Ashland County, Ohio, where he married Mary Jane Sherrick on October 14, 1862¹.  I am not aware of any military service during the Civil War for George, and none is alluded to by his obituary or the biographical sketches.

George is one of my relatives who moved around a lot and I need to do more research in land records.  Between 1863 and 1869 the family was living in Seneca County, Ohio, but by the 1870 census they were all enumerated in Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio⁵.  During this census, it was recorded that George was a U.S. citizen whose father was of foreign birth and his real estate was valued at $2730.  

The family of George and Mary grew to six children by the time of the 1880 census, when George was farming in Liberty Township, Seneca County, Ohio⁶.  The children were Andrew Frank (1864), Eli Weldon (1866), George David Ellsworth (1868), Rachel Emma Pernina (1869), Charles Wesley (1872) and Carrie Mae (1877).  Sometime before 1884, the family moved to Noble Township, Jay County, Indiana were the seventh child, daughter Ora was born.

George died December 3, 1892 and is buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetery in Jay County, Indiana^2,7.  At the time of his death he was only 52 years old.  I located his estate records at the Jay County Historical Society, and discovered he had an estate of less than $500.

George W. Haley estate packet No 1277 Box 86
Jay County, Indiana

The documents that make up this estate packet will be the subject of a future post.  Basically, the widow had to declare that the estate of personal and real property was less than $500.  The actual inventory showed a total value of $458.75.  Albert Graves and Henry Muller were appointed to be appraisers of the estate.  Albert was later George and Mary's son-in-law, marrying daughter Carrie.

According to his obituary, George had been sick for about one year before he died.  George is one of my ancestors that I need to learn more about, even a picture of what he looks like is unknown to me at this point.


Sources:

1. "Biographical and Historical Record of Jay County, Indiana", Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1887, page 665.
2. George W. Haley obituary, Evangelical Messenger, New Berlin, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1892, page 811. 
3. George Haley household, 1850 U.S. census, population schedule, Jackson Township, Sandusky County, Ohio, dwelling 79, family 81; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 726.
4. George Haley household, 1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Claridon Township, Marion County, Ohio, Marion P.O., page 28, dwelling 201, family 197; National Archives micropublication M653, roll 1006.
5. George Haley household, 1870 U.S. census, population schedule, Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio, Lodi P.O., page 10, dwelling 90, household 101; National Archives micropublication M593, roll 1241
6. George W. Haley household, 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Liberty Township, Seneca County, Ohio, ED 193, SD 1, dwelling 401, family 405; National Archives micropublication T9, roll 1065.
7. Jane Ann Spencer, Williamson & Spencer Funeral Homes Inc. Portland and Pennville, Indiana Burial Records Book One 1892-1899 (Portland, Indiana:Williamson & Spencer Funeral Homes, Inc., 2008), page 27.


The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge was created by Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small blog.  The premise is to write once a week about a specific ancestor - whether it be a story, a biography, a photograph or a research problem.