Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Obituary of Rebecca Pierce, Richmond (Indiana) Item, June 27, 1893

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.

Monday, June 05, 2017

Gilbert Hahn household, 1940, Vanderburgh County, Indiana

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.

Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Obituary of Philip LeMaster, Muncie Star Press, May 15, 1915

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.