The Young Soldier, Luman Walker Lemasters, Jr. (1842-1931), 52 Ancestors # 13

Luman Walker Lemasters, Jr. (1842-1931)

The 13th ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project is my paternal great-great grandfather, Luman Walker Lemasters, Jr. (1842-1931).  Luman is number 16 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 # 8 Luman Cooper LeMasters (1867-1933), married # 9 Barbara Isabel Wehrly (1869-1930) in 1886.

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

Luman was born October 19, 1842 in Shelby County, Ohio^1,2.  The Lemasters family lived in Salem Township near Port Jefferson until 1854 when the family moved to Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana near Salamonia³.

In the 1860 census of Madison Township, he was listed as Walker Lemaster, aged 17, born in Ohio, and had attended school within the year⁴.

On April 14, 1861, President Lincoln issued a call for troops to aid in putting down the Rebellion, and Luman was one of many from Jay County to answer the call.  The county history gives the details of the formation of Company C, 39th Regiment Indiana Infantry, in which Luman enlisted on July 21, 1861^2,5.

Luman's unit participated in some hard fought battles in the Western Theatre of the war, including Shiloh and Stone's River.

In May of 1863, the 39th Regiment was mounted and armed with Spencer rifles and renamed as the 8th Indiana Cavalry.  On July 3, 1863 at Decker's Forge, near Winchester, Tennessee, Luman was severely wounded when he was shot through the left breast⁶.

I have often thought about how fortunate that Luman survived this injury.  If he hadn't, I might not be here today.  The bullet passed through the first and second ribs (left side) and lodged within the thorax.

After recuperating in the field hospitals, Luman was discharged on May 4, 1864 at Tyner's Station, Tennessee.

Discharge of Luman Walker Lemasters, 1864

Within a few months of his discharge, Luman was married on October 2, 1864 at Versailles, Darke County, Ohio to Mary Keziah Chew^6,7.  Mary's father was a physician, Dr. Ezekiel Cooper Chew, and I've often wondered if Luman met her during his rehabilitation period.

I have records of Luman's military service during the war and his pension records afterwards.  I intend to share these records in future posts.  One thing that I found interesting was the physical description given for my great-great grandfather. 

At the time of his enlistment, Luman was described as standing 5 feet 3 inches tall with black hair and blue eyes with a dark complexion.  He enlisted at Portland, Indiana for a term of 3 years.  Certainly not a tall man, but a brave one.

Company Descriptive Book
Luman W. LeMaster

8th Indiana Cavalry

Sources:

1. Young, L.I.C. Biography of the Young Family 1759-1904, Fremont, Ohio: Fremont Printing Co., 1904, p. 51.
2. Milton T. Jay, History of Jay County, Indiana: including its World War Record and Incorporating the Montgomery History (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Historical Publishing Company, 1922), p. 195.
3. Jay County Indiana Deed Records, Book I page 116, Jay County Recorders Office, Portland, Indiana.
4. Luman W. Lemaster household, 1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana, Salamonia P.O., page 2, dwelling 10, family 10; National Archives micropublication M563, roll 269.
5. L.W. Lemaster obituary, Commercial-Review, Portland, Indiana, November 18, 1931, p. 1.
6. Milton T. Jay, History of Jay County, Indiana : including its World War Record and Incorporating the Montgomery History (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Historical Publishing Company, 1922), p. 196.
7. Lemaster, Howard M, & Margaret Herberger, Lemasters, U.S.A., 1639-1965, Carlinville, Illinois, 1965, p. 196.

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.

Cora Belle (Metzner) Haley (1868-1955), Hardships & Photos, 52 Ancestors # 12

Cora Belle (Metzner) Haley

The 12th ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project is my paternal great-grandmother, Cora Belle (Metzner) Haley (1868-1955).  Previously, I'd written about the details of her life in an Exploratory Data post.

Metzner cabin where Cora was born

Cora was born in 1868 in Wayne Township, Jay County, Indiana, the daughter of John Adam & Clara (Moulton) Metzner¹.

Eli & Cora (Metzner) Haley

After her marriage to Eli Weldon Haley in 1888, Cora lived as a housewife in Noble Township, Jay County, Indiana.  She was the mother of seven children, only five of whom survived into adulthood.  The five girls were Vera, Mary, Nora, Carrie and my grandmother, Ruth.  Son Charles (1903) and daughter Orpha (1899) died at age 6 months and 7 years, respectively.

Losing a child was a more common occurrence over a hundred years ago, but I'm sure it was a heartbreaking experience.  I do not have the cause of death for Orpha, but Charles died of acute pneumonia.  This funeral photo is the only known photo of him.

Charles Leo "Charlie" Haley (1902-1903)

Orpha's memory was captured in this family photo of the Haleys.  Since daughter Mary was born in 1895, this photo likely dates just before Orpha died in 1899.

Eli (seated), Cora (standing), Vera, Orpha & Mary Haley

The family farm was the scene of many family gatherings and Sunday dinners after church.  Eli was still farming at the time of the 1940 census, when he was  74 years old. In 1939, after an unfortunate fire, my grandmother & grandfather's family had to move back in with Cora and Eli for a time.  The family was always a close one.

The Haley girls

The Haley girls

After many years of living on the farm, Cora and Eli moved in with their daughter & son-in-law, Vera and Clarence Stuber.  The Stubers lived in Madison Township, where Cora died on April 28, 1955².  I had previously posted about her funeral record.

Cora (Metzner) Haley on the farm

My dad remembers that his grandma Haley in her later years suffered near blindness from glaucoma.  She could only make out shadows.  Yet she was still able to fix a plate and feed herself.  He mentioned my aunts helping to braid her hair. Dad was only 11 years old when she passed, so I need to speak with my aunts and uncle to see if they have other memories of grandma Haley.

Sources:

1. Commercial-Review, Portland, Indiana, April 29, 1955, page 1, Obituary of Mrs. Cora B. Haley.
2. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana. , Cora Belle Haley, 4-28-1955, Jay County, Indiana.

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.

Eli Weldon Haley (1866-1957), Married By the Bishop, 52 Ancestors # 11

Eli & Cora Haley, 50th Wedding Anniversary photo

The 11th ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project is my paternal great-grandfather, Eli Weldon Haley (1866-1957).  Previously, I'd written about the details of his life in an Exploratory Data post.

I've posted before about finding the original marriage return for his marriage on July 21, 1888 in Jay County, Indiana to Cora Belle Metzner. The minister who performed the ceremony was listed as R. Dubs.

The article in the Portland, Indiana Commercial-Review announcing their 50th anniversary gives more information about the ceremony and the officiant.

Portland, Indiana Commerciak-Review
July 31, 1938

The article states that Eli & Cora were married by Bishop Dubs of the Evangelical Association.  The "R. Dubs" was in fact, Rudolph Dubs, the well-known and later controversial bishop of the society.

"...besides the distinguished Bishop there were present also the Revs. Stovenour and Stoops..."

It's not known why the wedding was performed by such a high official of the Evangelical Association.  In fact, the newspaper article mentions that there were two other ministers present at the ceremony as guests.  The Haley and Metzner families were long time members of the Evangelical Association, and Eli's grandfather, George, was a former minister of the society.  Perhaps it was this family connection that led to Bishop Dubs performing the ceremony.

It wasn't too long after this marriage that Bishop Dubs was part of a schism during 1890-91 in the Evangelical Association that led to the formation of the United Evangelical Church.  I found more details at the General Commission of Archives and History of the United Methodist Church and his Wikipedia entry.  His followers were known as Dubsites, and the acrimonious split in the denomination was played out in the courts as fights over church property and the use of the church name.  More information about Bishop Dubs can be found in Annals of the Evangelical Association of North America and History of the United Evangelical Church.

I do not know how this split affected the Haley family personally or their church at Mt. Zion in Noble Township, Jay County, Indiana.   The Haley family had helped build the church, and according to the History of Mt. Zion Church by Madonna Miller, Eli Haley helped lay the bricks to build the church.

The split in the denomination lasted until 1922 when the two churches merged and formed the Evangelical Church.  In 1946 the Evangelical Church merged with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ to form the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Church. In 1968, the EUB and the Methodist church merged to form the United Methodist Church. Mt. Zion church is still an active church today.

Mt. Zion UMC, 2002

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.