Tombstone Tuesday : Faney Languell, Owen County, Indiana

 Over the weekend, as I attended a Patriot Grave Marking for a Revolutionary War patriot at the Riverside Cemetery in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana, I located the tombstone of my maternal 4th-great grandmother.

Fanny Reynolds was born circa 1830 in Indiana, the daughter of Jesse Reynolds and Mary "Polly" Putman.  Some records spell the surname as Runnels.  Fanny married my 4th-great grandfather, Austin Davis on 9 February 1850 in Monroe County, Indiana.  They were the parents of two children.  After Austin died, Fanny married Joseph Languell, whose surname is sometimes spelled Langwell in records.  They were the parents of six children.  While the tombstone has her name as "Faney", census and other records have it as Fanny.

Joseph's marker was on the opposite side of Fanny's.  Interesting to note that both of them died in 1883.  Fanny in June and Joseph in June.  Perhaps there was some illness that brought them down.

There marker was located in Section N of the cemetery.  

Perry Reynolds (b. ca. 1838), Owen County, Indiana

Working on filling in some gaps in my database by utilizing the "Indiana Marriages, 1811-1959" database at Familysearch.org to see what updates and corrections I could find.

Perry Reynolds (b. ca 1838) was the son of Jesse Reynolds and Mary Putman.  The surname is sometimes found as Runnels.  He married Isabella Miller on December 3, 1863 in Owen County, Indiana. Prior to searching this database, I did not have her maiden name.

"Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XXFJ-MXQ : accessed 27 Jun 2013), Perry Reynolds and Isabella Miller, 1863.

Perry was my maternal fourth great granduncle.  Our common ancestors are Jesse Reynolds and Mary Putman.  In the 1870 census, the family was living in Bean Blossom Township, Monroe County, Indiana.  Have not researched the family further.

Family Milestones: February 9th

My maternal 4th-great grandparents, Austin DAVIS and Fanny REYNOLDS/RUNNELS, were married on this date in 1850 in Monroe County, Indiana.  Austin was born circa 1824 in Indiana, the son of John and Susannah (________) DAVIS.  Fanny was born circa 1830 in Indiana, the daughter of Jesse and Mary (PUTMAN) REYNOLDS/RUNNELS.   They had 2 children.  Austin died between November 1850 and August 1851 in Monroe County, Indiana.  Fanny died February 2, 1883 in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana.

James Austin Davis was insane

My maternal 3rd great grandfather, James Austin DAVIS, was insane, according to the 1880 census of Clay Township in Owen County, Indiana. In that census, he is an inmate of the Owen County Asylum, listed as insane as well as crippled, bedridden or otherwise disabled. His name was listed as Austin Davis, aged 30, married, born in Indiana.

As of yet, I have not discovered all of the details about his life and why he ended up in the asylum. In the 1900 census, he is a resident of the Northern Indiana Hospital for the Insane in Logansport, Cass County. In that census, he was listed as James A. Davis, born 1851 in Indiana. He died while still an inmate of the hospital on June 12, 1909.

Interestingly, in the 1880 census, he was shown as married. James had married Mary Ellen SWAFFORD on July 2, 1873 in Monroe County, Indiana. I have not found a record of their divorce, though they must have, as Mary Ellen eventually remarried. However, in the 1880 census, she is shown living with her father, Peter SWAFFORD, in Washington Township, Owen County, Indiana, as his 24 year old single daughter. Austin and Mary Ellen had two daughters, Ida and Dealie, that should have been living with some relative, but I have yet to locate them in the 1880 census.

James Austin Davis was born circa 1850 in Indiana, probably Monroe County, the son of Austin and Fanny (RUNNELS) DAVIS. Mary Ellen SWAFFORD was born August 30, 1854 near Stinesville, Monroe County, Indiana, the daughter of Peter Kirkpatrick and Mary Ann (CROCKETT) SWAFFORD.