Ongoing mystery of Richard Berry Keeney's first wife

This was a genealogical problem that I didn't realize that I had until I read my ancestor Eva Keeney Smith Combs's obituary.

"She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Oren; two sons, William A Smith and Clyde Willard Combs; two grandchildren, Mrs. Hugh (Marjorie) Gilliland and Kenneth Ray  Combs; three great-grandchildren, Ronald Joseph Farrell, Mary Ann Patten and Connie Jean Rhinehart; eight brothers, Earnest, Elmer, Edgar, Clarence, Clyde, Claude, Roy and Fred Keeney; and two half-brothers, Willie and Bert Keeney"

I had never heard of there being two half-brothers - nor a first marriage at all.

Richard Berry Keeney married Eva's mother Anna Robison on the 14th of October 1880 in Belton, Cass County, Missouri.  Anna's family lived in Johnson County, Kansas in the 1880 census.  Her father Richard Keeney does not appear in the 1880 census that I can find.  And believe me, I have looked aplenty.

I have yet to find marriage records for his first marriage or for his brother Elbert James Keeney's (well-documented otherwise) marriage to Annie McKown in 1878, so I suspect lost marriage records from the place/time the marriages took place.

So, I began looking for Willie's and Bert's Keeney and pretty quickly came across:

State Washington
County Chehalis
City of Hoquiam, 3d Ward, S.D. 2? E.D. 29, Sheet No. 3A/49A
16 April 1910 by Lee Carlton
410 M Street
line 45, 58/58 KEENEY Bert J head WM 33 M1 9 Missouri Missouri Missoura Teamster/Livery barn Rents House
Emma L. wife WF 28 M1 9 2/2 Kansas Penn. Penn.
Orvil R son MW 7 S Kansas Missoura Kansas
Glenn J son MW 2 S Washington Missouri Kansas

and also:

Kansas Marriages
KEENEY Bert J / McCRAY Emma 06-20-1900 Crawford Co., KS

So, a Bert born in Missouri and married in a part of Kansas where Richard and Anna Robison Keeney had lived.  Their first son Ernest Elzie Keeney was born and died 1881-1885 in Crawford County, Kansas.  So far, so good.

Then, something that didn't fit:

record title: Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960
familysearch.org
name: Bert J. Keeney
death date: 12 Sep 1933
death place: Hoquiam, Grays Harbor, Washington
gender: Male
age at death: 57 years 1 month 25 days
estimated birth year: 1876
marital status: Married
spouse's name: Emma Keeney
father's name: Joseph Keeney
volume/page/certificate number: 34

Sigh.

Then I went looking for this Bert son of Joseph.  There is only one Joseph Keeney with a (nearly) appropriate 'Bert'.  The Joseph and Miriam Evans Keeney family has a son in the 1880 census named Gilbert O. Keeney b. 1874.  But I found Gilbert O. Keeney b. Jun 1873 in Missouri in the Phillipines in 1900 census with the Hospital Corps of the US Army.  Not this 'Bert'.  I cannot find a 'Bert' in 1880 that matches this one and is not otherwise documented.

Then I found this note from Roscoe Keeney's Keeney Update, Dec. 2004:

http://roscoe.k-f-g-online.info/KeeneyUpdate/KeeneyUpDateDecember20040001.pdf
noted 9 Mar 2013
Roscoe Keeney includes notes from the 1920 Washington State Census that state:
“BERT J. KEENEY 42 Gray’s Harbor s/o Elbert James Keeney of Cass Co. MO; Emma 39 KS, Orval 17 KS and Glenn 11 b. WA”

Okay, now.

Elbert is well documented with lots of kids.  His only (known) marriage was in 1878 and here he is in the 1880 census:

www.familysearch.org, 1880 United States Census,
[Household: Couple houses down from his Uncle Isaac Keeney]
Albert KEENEY Self M Male W 22 MO Farmer KY KY,
Ann KEENEY Wife M Female W 19 MO Keeping House MO MO,
Source Information: Census Place Washington, Jackson, Missouri, Family History Library Film: 1254694, NA Film Number: T9-0694, Page Number: 250B.

There is not one census in which Bert J. Keeney appears with Elbert and family, and, in 1891 Elbert and Annie had a son and named him Elbert Earl Keeney - and they called him 'Bert'.  So, I'm pretty sure that's wrong.  But the near miss just makes me think I really am on the right track.  This IS the son of Richard Berry Keeney and his unknown first wife.

But my real question is: who was she?

His death record as transcribed appears to have nothing (the index does not link to an image of the original document at this time).

His World War I Draft Registration form on ancestry.com shows his full name as Bert Jacob Keeney.  Jacob was Richard B. Keeney's father's name.

I am utterly convinced this is Richard's son, am completely unable to prove it and am also unable to find out who his mother was.

There has been no sign of an appropriate "Willie" at all, though I wasn't terribly surprised at this as the nickname would seem to suggest a boy who died young.

And there it sits.  Sigh.

Another census puzzler

I've been browsing the 1940 census and finally found this family - but look how tricky they made it!

This is the family in 1930:

State Iowa
County Mahaska
Oskaloosa City, Fourth Ward
e.d. 62-18, s.d. 12, Sheet No. 21A/168A
April 23, 1930 by Elizabeth O'Rourke
524 North 4th Street
line 5, 538/569 MILLER Charles Head O $3000 R MW 43 M 23 no/yes Iowa Ohio Iowa machinist/R.R. Roundhouse
Roxy Wife-H FW 41 M 20 no/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Eugene Son MW 16 S yes/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Aletha Daughter FW 14 S yes/yes Iowa Iowa Iowa
Redonda Daughter FW 7 S yes/ Iowa Iowa Iowa
Dewayne Son MW 5 S yes/ Iowa Iowa Iowa

Here they are in 1940:

State Iowa
County Mahaska County
Oskaloosa City, 4th Ward
Oskaloosa Twp.
Silent Rest Tourist Home
s.d. 5, e.d. 62-21, Sheet No. 81A/236A
April 8, 1940 by Thomas K. Farmer
The following persons were enumerated in the "Modern Rest Tourist Home" 409 High Ave East Oskaloosa Iowa
line 6 409 T O 4000 No WILLIAMS Charles E. Head MW 53 M No H2 Iowa Same Place 40hrs Machinist/Railway Shope 52wks 1740 yes
Roxie B. wife FW 51 M No H2 Iowa Same Place
Rhodanda Daughter FW 17 S yes H3 Iowa Same Place
Dewayne Son MW 15 S yes H2 Iowa Same Place
NEWTON Leo Head MW 37 M No 8 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska 32hrs Drag line operator/Coal Mine 52wks 1800 No
Marie Wife FW 33 M No H2 Missouri R Ogallala Nebraska
Alice Daughter FW 16 S yes H2 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska
Wayne Son MW 12 S yes 5 Iowa R Ogallala Nebraska
Leona May Daughter FW 4 S No 3 Nebraska

I mean, I think it's them...

Whoopsadaisy!

Nancy Missouri Slinker

This is all I have had on Nancy Missouri Slinker for some time:

County of Metcalfe, State of Kentucky,
Page No. 58/[866],
22 June 1860 by Dory Nell,
P.O. Eastfork
[near John (son of Frederick and Susannah) and Mary Grimes Slinker],
line 7, 381/381 Missouri SLINKER 41 F House Keeper Ky,
Narsette 19 F do [Ky],
John N. 17 M Day Laborer do [Ky]
Joseph 15 M do [Ky]
Susannah 13 F do [Ky]
Kindrick 10 M do [Ky]
Alonzo D 7 M do [Ky]
Samuel D 2 M do [Ky]

Then I found this:

Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953, ancestry.com
Name: Narsetta Green Jewell
Death Date: 29 Dec 1914
Death Location: Muhlenberg
Residence Location: Muhlenberg
Age: 75
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White
Birth Date: 14 Mar 1839
Birth Location: Hart, Kentucky
Mother's Name: Nancy Misoura Slinker
Mother's Birth Location: Hart, Kentucky 

I found someone online who said that Missouri's son Samuel D. Slinker [later Sinclair] had parents noted on his death certificate as "Kixon Sin Clair" and "Nancy M. Smith".

So the question is, who was right?

I believe the answer is a qualified yes...

I found this record:

Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960
noted 13 Feb 2012
familysearch.org
name: Lewis V. Smith
gender: Male
birth date: 21 Mar 1858
birthplace: Barren, Kentucky
father's name: Thomas D. Smith
mother's name: Missouria Slinker
indexing project (batch) number: C01993-6
system origin: Kentucky-EASy
source film number: 216816

I believe it is actually Samuel D. Slinker/Sinclair's birth record.

And it would make his parents not Kixon Sinclair and Nancy M. Smith, but Thomas Dixon Smith and Nancy Missouri Slinker.

These are close enough that I am comfortable making the leap in logic.

If I found that Samuel's birthdate was near 21 Mar 1858, I would be entirely convinced.

I am now adding Missouri as one of Lewis Slinker and Cenia Slinker Slinkers's missing daughters, but only because no one else appears to be missing a daughter in the right age range.

Uncle Claude remembers stories

Claude Brown of Noel, Mo “remembers stories”

[undated, unsigned transcript]

Old Joe Hendry who was a brother of great grandma Sarah Hendry

Brown [actually a nephew, son of William and Nancy Carter Hendry],

was shot in Henry hollow (4) by his son-in-law then some

say the son-in-law then shot himself in the yard.  the family waited

untill daylight and found him. Others say he was shot by the family

after he shot Joe Hendry.  Joe Hendry had a son named Jim and he

and Joe fell out.  Jim went to hunt his dad down to kill him and

when he fired the gun blew up and Jim Hendry lost his arm because

of it.  Joe Hendry and Uncle Henry Brown ran around together during

the civil war and made moon shine whiskey untill Uncle Henry came

to Arkansas. I talked to one of Uncle Henrys nieces and she said her

dad Uncle Will Brown told her that he and Uncle Henry were scouting

during the civil war and heard some southern soldiers comming so

they hid in the brush and waited then Uncle Henry shot both of the

soldiers and cut their heads off and hung them on a sapling.  Uncle

will was just a small boy and was almost scared to death.  A year or

two later he past the place and the limbs had sprouted and grew

around the heads still hanging there. I visited Hendry hollow and

saw the Hendry place.  Uncle henry later lived on Brown’s mountain

(6) untill he came to Arkansas.

Uncle Henry’s boy Will got in to some slight misunderstanding with

the law and hit out for Kentucky wher he lived for some time. While

there he had a disagreement with a fellow and when Will was talking

to a neighbor one day this fellow come along and being drunk he

had a notion he would just cut Will’s head off or his liver out

and feed it to the dogs. Will run around the house while the man

he was talking to keep telling him that the man would kill him.

Finally the man threw Wll a gun and he killed the fellow.  The man

talking to Will was afraid to testifie and will went to the penin

[blank] for life and died there.  Either some one went and got him or

he was shiped back and burried on Brown’s mountain. I talked to his

son in Greenville about July 4, 1974 and he had just put a tumbstone

up for his dad. The Grave is at the point of Brown’s mountain the

back toward Baileyton at the head of a hollow. This is where uncle

Henry lived along with Ramsey Harris when he came to Arkansas.

The old timers still tell how mean old Joe and Jim Hendry were.

One of the old timers told me he found one of the old pistols

where Joe and some of his folks were having a battle years after

but after he washed it and oiled it years later someone stold it.

I would like to have had it. It was the old musle loading type.

Grandma Mathilda Brown’s old home place has been bulldosed down

for the new interstate 81 which has been finished to Bullsgap.

We saw it before it was taken down but the old house was long

since gone with a few of the chimney bricks left. It was reported to

us by a niece, Uncle Matt Pierce’s granddaughter that Great grandpa

Jimmy Pierce was a law-in-forcement officer at that time. We were

unable to find his burial place but all the rest of the emediate

family were buried at Mt.Carmel where grandma Brown went to church.

The following is a list of Pierces buried at Mt. Carmel:

W.E (Willie) Pierce-1884-1965 -Nephew Grandma’s

Ova Jeffer Pierce-1893-1918-Willie’s wife- I had meet both of these.

Joel N. Pierce -1882-1918

H.M (Matt) Pierce -1854-1924-Grandma’s brother

Louise Hendry Pierce -1862-1913

[handwritten]

Guy Pierce 1902-1966 - Teddy Pierce 1941-1965

Willie Pierce 1907-1957 Chas Pierce 1883-1959 wife Ida -1884-1952

Chas B Pierce 1887-1942

cemetery limbo

How is it possible that no one is responsible for fixing this problem?  Really incredible:

A concrete burial vault still protrudes from the bank near the top of the ravine. A 5-inch-high hole in the dirt shows where animals have been digging. A few yards down the steep slope, bits of rusty hardware, possibly from an old coffin, sit next to what appears to be the end of a human leg bone. A couple of pieces of other bones peek out from under fallen leaves. 

“It’s just a heck of a mess,” said Phil Berglund, a Yell Township trustee who oversees the cemetery’s maintenance. Berglund said his little township can’t afford to stabilize the ravine, and a proposal to move graves away from the edge is snarled in bureaucratic red tape. “This is a problem that is beyond us,” he said.

Ahhhh, middle names

I'm not sure why they are so important to me (and not just me).

As a way of confirming you have the right John A. Smith?  Or in may case, the right Robert N. Scott?

But I'm still pleased as punch to have found that he is Robert Newton Scott.  The only place he admitted it was an application to the Missouri Confederate Home that specifically said you could not abbreviate names on the application.

I also have the ancestor that we all thought was named Robert Walker Jackson, until a family bible turned up showing he was named Robert William Jackson.  I'm still not sure when the idea that Walker was his middle name crept in.  He was a man who liked to use R.W. Jackson for most everything he signed.

And then there's Martha A. Davison.  One researcher's uncle said the middle name was Avarilla and she used it to mark her work (so she could see who was using her research unattributed) although she thought he was a pretty unreliable source.  I had seen a family note that it was Ann, but now I can't find it again, so for now I leave it "A.".

Now, if only someone made my Elmer J. Gilbreath admit what his middle name was, maybe I can relax.

Finally found her: May Belle Green Inman

Amongst the papers my grandmother shared with me about her family was this story written by her aunt:

"Belle married a Mr. Green from Fulton, [Fulton Co.] Ky.  (His family raised race horses).  They came to near Lamar, [Barton Co.] Mo.  She died in child birth.  Mr. Green took the baby girl and went back to Kentucky." 

-Jessie Mae Jackson

 Belle was Lucy M. Arabella R. B. "Belle" Jackson.  Her full name will surely never be known as the family bible contained nothing but initials.  The other names that filled in the gaps are all from census records.  A little digging and I found her marriage to "J.R. Green" MAY 28, 1873 by J.M. Spence, M.G., in Weakley County, Tennessee.

I'd always wanted to track down Mr. Green and the daughter and thanks to one of my favorite databases, the Tennessee Death Records at familysearch.org, I finally have:

Tennessee, Death Records, 1914-1955
familysearch.org
noted 24 Sep 2011
name: May Belle Inmann
event: Death
event date: 28 Apr 1943
event place: Union City, Obion, Tennessee
gender: Female
marital status: Married
race or color: White
age: 64
birth date: 31 Aug 1878
birthplace: Joplin, Mo
spouse: W J Inman
father: Jim Green
father's birthplace: Mo Or Ky
mother: Belle Jackson
mother's birthplace: Mo Or Ky
occupation: Hw
street address: RFD #3
residence: Obion Co, Tenn
cemetery: Beulah
burial place: Union City, Tenn
burial date: 29 Apr 1943
additional relatives: X
digital folder number: 4184876
volume/page/certificate number: cn 8076

No question that it is her.

So, no special skill this time.  No unravelled puzzle.  Just diligently looking and never giving up.  These databases are so amazing.  It's hard to remember that you had to know where to look before you could really get started...

I'm having trouble finding out very much about May or her husband.  I have found them in only one census, with May's half-sister Dolly living with them:

State Kentucky
County Hickman
McAlister Magistereal Dist
s.d. 1?, e.d.  50, Sheet No. 108?A/89A
20th? June 1900 James [smudged]
line 1, 196/200 INMAN W J head WM Dec 1875 24 M 1 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Farmer Rents Farm
M B wife WF Aug 1879 20 M 1 0/0 Missouri Kentucky Missouri
GREEN Dolly Sister WF Mar 1885 15 S Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky attended school 5 months
WILLIAMS Dolphus laborer WM about 26 S Kentucky Tennessee Kentucky Farm laborer unemployed 4 months

But I'm sure I'll find more.  I'm just excited that one of my oldest and biggest mysteries is solved.  Now on to a few others...

Hannah Stockwell Hamilton

A new maiden name!

Such a rare discovery for me in my direct line at this point.

I've tried looking for the marriage record without luck, but I noticed a younger son with an unusual name and I thought I'd throw it in the Michigan Deaths and Burials index on familysearch.org.

Bingo!

Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995
familysearch.org
noted 18 Sep 2011
name: Simeon Hamilton
gender: Male
death date: 14 Sep 1901
death place: Bertrand Tp., Berrien, Michigan
age: 69
birth date: 1832
birthplace: Ohio
occupation: Retired Farmer
race: White
marital status: Married
father's name: Nathaniel Hamilton
mother's name: Hannah Stockwell
indexing project (batch) number: B51819-8
system origin: Michigan-EASy
source film number: 945406

Yeay and whew.

and then also his brother:

Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995
familysearch.org
name: Francis M. Hamilton
gender: Male
death date: 06 Jul 1915
death place: Bertrand, Berrien, Michigan
age: 73
birth date: 1842
birthplace: Mich.
occupation: Farmer
race: White
marital status: Married
father's name: Nathanial Hamilton
mother's name: Hanah Stockwell
indexing project (batch) number: B02571-0
system origin: Michigan-EASy
source film number: 1954721

Mary Palina Campbell Cox

Mary P. Campbell Cox has been a funny little conundrum since I ran across her marriage to Anderson Cox many years ago when first working on my husband's genealogy.

Here was a Campbell clearly born in Georgia, but married and living in Greene County, Tennessee, and no other Georgia-born Campbells were in the area!  Very odd...

So, with the vast new array of databases I started digging again.  I found her death record that helpfully said her parents were Campbell and Campbell.  No first names.  Her listing was actually as "Mrs. A. Cox", so it had been awkward to find in the first place.  But no matter.   She married in 1872, so I threw a search into the 1870 census:

United States Census, 1870 

Name: Mary Campbell, Event: Birth, Place: Georgia, Year: 1846-1848

Mary Campbell
birth: 1847 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary P Campbell
birth: 1847 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary Campbell
birth: 1847 —Georgia
residence: Tennessee, United States
Mary Campbell
birth: 1846 —Georgia
residence: Alabama, United States
Mary Campbell
birth: 1848 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary Campbell
birth: 1848 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary F Campbell
birth: 1846 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary Campbell
birth: 1846 —Georgia
residence: Texas, United States
Mary J Campbell
birth: 1846 —Georgia
residence: Florida, United States
Mary Gamble
birth: 1847 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary Jane Gambol
birth: 1848 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States
Mary Gamble
birth: 1846 —Georgia
residence: Georgia, United States 

familysearch.org
noted 3 June 2011

The Mary P. and the Mary b. Georgia but living in Tennessee both sprang out at me.

As it turns out the Mary b. 1847 in Georgia but living in Lincoln County, Tennessee was not born in Georgia - but her husband was.  So database transcription error there.  And Lincoln Co., TN is not near Greene Co., TN, so off to check out the Mary P.

Pulled it up - Walker County, Georgia  This was good!  Walker County is not an uncommon place for my Tennessee folks to end up.  Then I looked at the family.  Blink, blink.  I knew the family:

1870 Walker Co., GA Census
Page No. 12
Subdivision No 128, County of Walker, State of Georgia
17th June 1870 by Leander H Dickey
P.O. Frick's Gap
line 11, 80/77 CAMPBELL James 61 MW Farmer 1275/600 Tennessee
Sarah 62 FW Keeping house Kentucky cannot r/w
Mary P. 23 FW Keeping house Georgia
Eliza M 21 FW Teaching School Georgia attended school
Cardelia 18 FW At home Georgia
James C 13 MW Farm laborer Georgia cannot r/w [appears to be son of James]
William C 11 MW Farm laborer Georgia cannot r/w [appears to be son of James]
Martha 13 FW At home Georgia attended school cannot write [appears to be daughter of William]
Wiley W 10 ME Farm laborer Georgia cannot r/w [appears to be son of William]
Dora B 6 FW Georgia [appears to be daughter of William]
line 21, 81/78 CAMPBELL Andrew H 36 MW Farm laborer 1250/600 Tennessee
Mary L 32 FW Keeping house Tennessee
George F 7 MW Georgia attended school
Robert I 4 MW Georgia
Daniel W 3 MW Georgia
Landon A 7/12 MW Georgia Oct

That is Sarah Dodd Campbell's family. She and James were married in Greene County, Tennessee on 15 Oct 1828.  She is the sister of my ancestor Massey Dodd Hendry.

Also threw Sarah and her husband into Find-A-Grave and found the most fascinating cemetery photos I've ever seen.  There were only four grave (left?) and you had to know they were there to find them.  They did a nice job of showing the whole layout.  Well worth a look.

So, now we know.  I did check a few more of the Mary's but it's pretty obvious how a Georgia girl ended up in Greene County, Tennessee: she had other family there.

And we have yet another case of my husband's cousin marrying mine.

Good grief.  I should make a list some time.

Poweshiek Co., Iowa marriages online

Had some nice luck with the Poweshiek County, Iowa marriage records at familysearch.org and found Margaret H. Hall, daughter of Elijah Hall and Rosetta Hamilton Hall, and Paulina J. Block, daughter of Martin Block and Anna Jeska Block.

Margaret was the more awkward of the two - her marriage record did not mention her parent's names.  But it sure looked like my gal:

familysearch.org

noted 26 May 2011

record title: Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992

groom's name: Hiram Strong

groom's birth date: 1845

groom's age: 25

bride's name: Margaret Hall

bride's birth date: 1846

bride's age: 24

marriage date: 13 Mar 1870

marriage place: Brooklyn, Poweshiek, Iowa

bride's marital status: Single

indexing project (batch) number: M02559-0

system origin: Iowa-EASy

source film number: 1028402

I strongly suspect Hiram is related to Daniel O. Strong.  They appear to both be from Niagara County, New York, though I've found no firm connection yet.  Dan was married to Margaret's aunt Mary Hall Strong.  She and Hiram were right in Brooklyn in 1870:

Page No. 14

Town of Brooklyn, County of Poweshiek, State of Iowa

16 August 1870 by A.J. Wood

P.O. Brooklyn

line 9, 109/115 STRONG Hiram 30 MW Day Laborer /100 New York

Margrett 24 FW Keepinghouse Michigan

line 11, /116 EARLEY Moses 34 MW Day Laborer Ohio

Hanah 22 FW Keepinghouse Ohio

Geo 1 MW Iowa

And here she is with two of her children in the 1900 census:

State Iowa

County Tama

Tama township, Tama city, Ward 1

s.d. 5, e.d. 146, sheet no. 22A/216A

15th June 1900 by Myrtle M. Mills

line 36, 493/514 STRONG, Charles Head WM Aug 1874 25 M 2 Iowa New York Michigan Coal bearer? Owns Mortgaged House

Julia Wife WF Feb 1880 20 M 2 1/1 Iowa Germany Iowa

Mildred Daughter WF June 1899 11/12 S Iowa Iowa Iowa

SHALLER Joseph F-in-law WM Apr 1828 72 D. Germany Germany German 1846/48/Na

B Franklin B-in-law WM Jan 1882 18 S Iowa Germany Germany Laborer unemployed 7 months

line 41, 494/515 STRONG Maggie Head WF Dec 1844 56 Wd. 5/4 Michigan Ohio Indiana Owns Mortgaged House

Ina Daughter WF Aug 1884 15 S Iowa New York Michigan at school 9 months

The final bit of proof for Margaret was discovering she was born in Berrien County, Michigan from a birth record of one of her children in the Iowa Births and Christenings, 1830-1950, database also at familysearch.org.

Paulina's marriage record notes her father's name was Martin, so it was a firm connection from the start:

familysearch.org

noted 27 May 2011

record title: Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992

groom's name: Add A J Myers

groom's birth date: 1861

groom's birthplace: Michigan

groom's age: 22

bride's name: Paulina G Block

bride's birth date: 1867

bride's birthplace: West Prussia

bride's age: 16

marriage date: 18 Feb 1883

marriage place: Malcom, Poweshiek, Iowa

groom's father's name: Orlando Myers

groom's mother's name: Lucilla Crill

bride's father's name: Martin Block

indexing project (batch) number: M02559-1

system origin: Iowa-EASy

source film number: 1028403

She passed away some time between 1896 and the 1900 census (a big part of the reason I'd been unable to track her down otherwise).  Here is her family in the 1900 census:

State Iowa

County Hancock

Crystal Township

Crystal Lake

s.d. 10, e.d. 117, Sheet No. 1A/240A

1st June 1900 by James A. Johnson

line 14, 3/3 MYERS Add J Head WM Jan 1861 39 Wd Michigan New York New York

Grain Buyer Owns House Free of mortgage

Orlando Son WM Jan 1886 14 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Willis S Son WM June 1887 12 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Herold Son WM Feb 1889 11 S Iowa Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Irena Daughter WF Jan 1892 8 S South Dak Michigan Germany At School 7 months

Frank Son WM Oct 1896 3 S South Dak Michigan Germany

I was very excited to track them both down!

Robert N. Scott

I finally tracked down and (essentially) verified my educated guesses about my Robert N. Scott.

And, yep, it was Find-A-Grave that helped me pull it all together.  (The love affair thrives...)

I had been trying to track a couple of other Scotts living near my ancestor Allen Scott in the 1830 Overton Co., TN Census.  My Allen had just gotten married, so one would imagine he might be near family.

1830 Overton Co., TN
[in margin] Overton County State of Tennessee
Pg. 172, allotted to Robert Nevins,
[line 10] SCOTT Martin 000001 110001
[1M 30-39 (b. 1791-1800) Martin,
1F 30-39 (b. 1791-1800),
1F 5-9 (b. 1821-1825),
1F 0-4 (b. 1826-1830)
[could be the Martin Scott in Hart Co., KY in 1850]
pg. 174, allotted to Robert Nevins
[line 7] ASHLOCK Jesse 000000001 0000000001
[1M 60-69, 1F 70-79]
[line 11] BUFORD John 10002 1001
[line 13] Aggrippa CLARY 10001 0001
[line 15] JENINGS Ezekiel 0112001 0010001
[line 17] SCOTT Allen 001 0001
[1M 10-15 (b. 1815-1820) Allen,
1F 15-19(b. 1811-1815) Valeria]
[line 27] SCOTT John 01001 10001
[1M 20-29 (b. 1801-1810) John,
1F 20-29(b. 1801-1810),
1M 5-9 (b. 1821-1825),
1F 0-4 (b. 1826-1830)]
pg. 175, allotted to Robert Nevins
[line 1] SCOTT Samuel 212001 010001
[1M 30-39 (b. 1791-1800) Samuel,
1F 30-39 (b. 1791-1800),
2M 10-15 (b. 1815-1820),
1F 5-9 (b. 1821-1825),
1M 5-9 (b. 1821-1825),
2M 0-4 (b. 1826-1830)]]
[line 2] GREEN William Jr 1101 01101

It appears that the Samuel Scott nearby ends up in Lafayette County, Missouri in 1850.  There was also a John Scott in Lafayette Co., MO in 1850 that could fit the bill for the 1830 Overton John Scott I am looking at.  So, off I run to Find-A-Grave to see if any interesting Scotts pop up in Lafayette County.

But the first thing that pops out at me is R.N. Scott 1843-1919.

Okay, pops out is an understatement.  It screamed at me.

This was the final clue in Robert N. Scott's long, fairly sad tale.

He was born in 1843 in either Tennessee or Kentucky.  His brother Washington Scott said that the family lived in Overton Co., TN until he was 18 (abt. 1857), but Robert repeatedly (though not consistently) reports his birthplace as Kentucky.

Sometime between 1843 (his birth) and 1855 (when his father remarried the sister of is mother) his mother died.

As with most men of his generation, Robert N. Scott enlisted for the Civil War.  His and his brothers Washington and John all joined the 11th Regiment Missouri Infantry (Confederate), Company K.  It was his cemetery record that pointed me to the 11th Regiment and the fact that the three Scotts listed were himself and Washington and John that helped confirm that the Robert N. Scott buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Lafayette Co., MO was my ancestor.

In the 1880 census he is listed with the family I know:

1880 Jasper Co., MO Census,
State Missouri
County Jasper
Jackson Township, S.D. 4, E.D. 64, Page No. 15/434A
[noted on previous census page: Village of Scotland]
11 June 1880 by WB McNeel
line 13, 125/125 SCOTT Robert N WM 37 M Farmer Kentucky NC NC
Martha WF 27 wife M Keeping house Missouri Geo MO
Willam WM 11 Son S At home attended school Missouri Ky MO
Charley WM 9 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Robert WM 7 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Alice WF 5 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
Anna WF 2 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
[near father Allen Scott].

But by 1900 I cannot find Martha McRae Scott and the best record I had for him was:

State Arkansas, County Boone, Long Creek Township
S.D. 3, E.D. 22, pg. 19B/98B,
Sixth July 1900 by James S. Goodwin
line 100, 350/350 HUFFMAN George? Head WM June 1865 34? M 3 Missouri Indiana Missouri Farmer [rest of entry illegible]
Sheet No. 20A/98A
line 1, HUFFMAN Mary E Wife WF Mar 1875 25 M ? 1/1 Missouri Kentucky Missouri
Christene Daughter WF Dec 1897 2 S Arkansas Missouri Missouri
line 3, 351/367 SCOTT Robert N. Head WM Sept 1844 55 M 11 Kentucky Un Un Farmer Owns Farm Free of mortgage
Amanda Wife WF June 1849 50 M 11 9/8 Missouri Carolina Kentucky
HUFFMAN John H step-Son WM May 1874 26 S Missouri Indiana Missouri Farm laborer
PETTY Froney E step-Daughter WF Mar. 1879 21 S Missouri Missouri Missouri
Isaac R step Son WM Apr 1882 18 S Missouri Missouri Missouri Farm laborer attended school 1 month
SCOTT Alonzo V. Son WM Oct 1890 9 S Missouri Kentucky Missouri attended school 1 month

Martha McRae Scott died 17 Mar 1903 and was buried under her maiden name.

Martha Amanda Sisney Huffman Petty Scott died in 1906, after Robert had apparently abandoned her.

Further research on Alonzo V. Scott revealed a young man who claimed on his WWI Draft Registration form that his father was dependent on him.  At that time his father was already being housed at the charitable Confederate Veterans Home in Lafayette County, Missouri.  Unfortunately, when Alonzo was drafted he died of Lobar Pneumonia 11 Oct 1918 before even being deployed to Europe, leaving a widow.

Robert N. Scott died 8 Jun 1919 at his dressing table, probably of heart trouble.

In love with FInd-A-Grave

While looking up the known gravesite of Margaret McRae Shuey McClelland in Stone Cemetery near Diamond, Newton County, Missouri, I checked the search engine for other McRae's gravestones and was thrilled to find the missing stone for her mother Catherine Gibson McRae!

We had a family letter that said she was buried next to her daughter Martha McRae in Carthage, Missouri.

Close, but not really...one of those little mistakes that crop up in oral tradition.  But I should have guessed earlier - Catherine was living with Margaret and not Martha in her last census.

I also discovered the grave of Andrew Goas's wife Hannah Lewis Goas way over in Longs Run Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio.  The only reason I found her was the good luck that they could still read her unusual last name on the stone.  They thought her first name was "Fannah", but if you know what you're looking for you can see it's an H.  It's so neat to actually get to see her gravestone.

So, it's official.

I'm totally in love with Find-A-Grave!!

Wilda May Taylor Hamm

I have finally tracked down Wilda May Taylor, the daughter of William V. Taylor.

What astonishes me is that my guess based on nothing but census browsing was absolutely correct.

I wouldn't have even known she existed except that a cousin of hers died without heirs and without a will so a document was produced that listed all of her potential heirs - in this case her first cousins.  Wilda was listed in the document as the deceased daughter of William V.  I'd known from his 1930 census record he'd been divorced, but knew nothing of and offspring.

Here are her census records that I gathered while in guess-mode:

State Kansas

County Wyandotte

Delaware Township

Edwardsville City of 3rd Class Beginning Line 1

s.d. 2, e.d. 152, Sheet No. 16A/34A

4th February 1920 by Calvin L. David

line 30, 349/351 REEVES Albert Head OM MW 49 M /yes/yes Iowa Iowa IowaRock Road Patrolman

Sarah wife FW 58 m /yes/yes Indiana Ohio Indiana

Willis son MW 17 S yes/yes/yes Kansas Iowa Indiana Truck Driver/Rock Road

line 33, 350/352 TAYLOR Edna Lodger FW 37 M /yes/yes Kansas Kansas IowaServant/Housekeeper

Wilda Lodger FW 6 S yes/ Missouri Missouri Kansas

1930 Dickinson Co KS

State Kansas

County Dickinson

Herington city, Second Ward

Lyons township

e.d. 21-18, s.d. 3, Sheet No. 9A/153A

Apr. 30, 1930 by Mrs. Mildred Persinger

11 South 9 St.

line 41, 199/218 BERRY Edna Head H o $2000 R No FW 48 Wd no/yes KansasKansas Iowa

Johnnie Step-son MW 22 S no/yes Ohio Missouri Ohio Attendant/FillingStation

TAYLOR Wilda daughter FW 16 S yes/yes Missouri Missouri Kansas

At the time of her death she was divorced from her husband so his name was not given.  The informant was her mother Edna May Berry - who said her maiden name was Berry, which was also her name from her second marriage.  So that may not be correct.

Oh!  I forgot to mention how I found her - I went to the Missouri Death Records online and looked at each of the death records for anyone named Wilda.  Such a long shot!  Glad I didn't have to do the whole 100, also glad I didn't start at the end of the alphabet!

And such a genealogy junkie thing to do...nice when it works out.

Margaret Elizabeth Baker Smith

After having found Simeon/Semyen Perry "Perry" Smith and Margaret Elizabeth Baker’s marriage record online at Sevier County, Tennessee Genealogy and History:

Smith, Simeon P.-Baker, Margaret E.-1869 Sep 25-1869 Sep 29-Maples, P. W. - MG

I decided to try to track her down again.  I’d been hamstrung by not having a definitive 1870 census for her and Perry.  This was my best guess:

Page No. 16
The 3rd District, County of Sevier, State of Tennessee
15th August 1870 by N.M. Baker
P.O. Fair Garden
[near Andrew and Jane Dickey Smith - could this be Simeon P. Smith mis-enumerated?]
line 39, 110/110 SMITH James P 21 MW Farm laborer /350 Tennessee
Margaret E 16 FW Keeping house Tennessee

But as Perry’s family was from Jefferson County, TN I hadn’t really been convinced.  I did all my looking for Margaret there.  This marriage record in Sevier Co., TN really opened things up.  I found two possibles in 1860 for her and very quickly one became my favorite:

1860 Sevier Co., TN Census, pg. 120

S034-26
BAKER -Dist 3, PO Fair Garden, Sevier Co., Tenn., June 28, 1860- 217/ 217
 N. M.         40    M     W     Farmer            300   Tn
 Dicey         34    F     W                             Tn
 Martha        11    F     W                             Tn S
 Nancy         10    F     W                             Tn S
 Margaret      9     F     W                             Tn S
 William       4     M     W                             Tn
 Melville      2     M     W                             Tn

 S034-33
MAPLES -Dist 3, PO Fair Garden, Sevier Co., Tenn., June 28, 1860- 218/ 218
 Preston       40    M     W     Farmer      3000  1300  Tn
 Cirena        25    F     W                             Tn I
 William       20    M     W     Farm Laborer   Tn S
 James         16    M     W                             Tn S
 Gilbert       14    M     W                             Tn S
 Martin        7     M     W                             Tn S
 Rachel        5     F     W                             Tn
 Preston BUCKHANNON 3M     W             Tn
 Albert G. W.BUCKHANNON 1M W        Tn

As you can see this Margaret Baker is enumerated next door to the man who performed my Margaret’s marriage.

So I began doing research on this Baker family and finally found this:

Bruce Baker, James Baker VA d bef 1742, desc TN, OH
“Nathaniel kept a family Bible where he recorded his
marriage and the birth of his children and the deaths of those
who preceeded him in death. Bobby Kirk Hamonson of Oddessa,
Texas had the Bible in November 1992 when I made photo copies
of the information from the Bible.”
170 iii. Margaret Elizabeth Baker was born in Sevier Co.,,
TN 6 APR 1851. Margaret died 1 JAN 1873 at 21
years of age. She married Smith.

Found her.  And proof that my guess about which children were hers and which children belonged to Perry’s second wife was correct.  This was crucial for me as my ancestor ended up being the first child of the second marriage.  And I am now confident that the 1870 enumeration for James P. and Margaret Smith are actually Simeon Perry and Margaret Baker Smith: notice that they, like Margaret’s family, are enumerated in “Fair Garden”.  But one really weird problem.  Do my eyes deceive me?  Or was it Margaret's dad who enumerated the 1870 census?!

Lucy [Maiden name unknown] Atchley Smith

Maiden name known!  Or at least a most probable guess...

This was a fun one to track down.

It was serendipitous as usual.  I haven't done genealogy for a while, so when I noticed an ancestor missing a marriage record for (probably) Sevier County, Tennessee around 1870 I thought I'd see if anything new was available.  And yes:

Sevier County, Tennessee Genealogy and History has a lot of great information and some very usable databases, including marriages.  I quickly found what I was looking for:

Smith, Simeon P.-Baker, Margaret E.-1869 Sep 25-1869 Sep 29-Maples, P. W. - MG

This is the first marriage of my ancestor Simeon/Semyen Perry "Perry" Smith.

While I was looking around, I checked the immediate family for some of my other undocumented marriages without much luck.  Most of this Smith family did its marrying and living in Jefferson County, Tennessee, including Perry's father Gilbert C. Smith:

1850 Jefferson Co., TN Census
The 13th District
26th October 1850 by James Baker
line 18, 1013/1050 Gilbert SMITH 25 "[M] Laborer " [Tenn]
Eliza 27 F " [Tenn]
Andrew 3 M " [Tenn]
Simeon 2 "[M] " [Tenn]
line 22, L. THOMAS 51 "[M] Laborer " [Tenn]
Nancy 17 F " [Tenn]
James 15 M " [Tenn]
George 13 "[M] " [Tenn]
William 11 "[M] " [Tenn]
Catharine 9 F " [Tenn]< John 7 M " [Tenn]

Here he is 50 years later still in Jefferson County, TN in 1900 with a second wife:

17 Cival District, S.D. 2, E.D. 55, Sheet No. 1B, 1st + 2nd June 1900 by Andrew J. Bush, [next door to his former son-in-law Martin Acton],
line 71, 14/14 SMITH Gilbert C Head WM July 1924 75 M 3 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Farmer Owns Farm Free of mortgage,
Lucy Wife WF Mar 1849 51 M 3 3/1 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee,
ATCHLY Daniel B Stepson WM WM Dec 1888? 14? S Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Farm Laborer

But when I got digging for this second marriage undocumented marriage for Gilbert and Lucy, I found this:

 Atchley, Isaac T. / Maples, Burlenda  1867 Apr 27  1867 Apr 28  Atchley, William D. - JP 

Atchley, I. T. / Hodge, Lucy  1883 May 30 blank blank

Nothing definitive there.  The marriage is about the right time, Lucy having had a son Daniel B. Atchley in 1886.

But when I looked up this Isaac I found him married to Malinda Maples and among his children were Benjamin Ambrose and James P. Atchley.  And in 1910 I had noted that Daniel had moved to Young County, Texas and was living near these two men and their families.

Still nothing definitive, and those blanks on the marriage bond mean no marriage was reported from the bond, so possibly the marriage never happened.  But there's many a slip, and I know of one man who refused to turn in his marriage license to the court house after the minister had signed it because he "had paid 7 dollars for it" and he meant to keep it...

But for me, the coincidences have piled up way too high.  I believe this is my Lucy Hodges Atchley Smith.

Still more work to do, but here is her 1880 census record:

1880 United States Census, www.familysearch.org
Calvin M. HODGES  Self  W  Male  W  62  TN  Farmer  TN  TN
 Lucy HODGES  Dau  S  Female  W  31  TN  Keeping House  TN  TN
 Lina HODGES  Dau  S  Female  W  29  TN  Keeping House  TN  TN 

Our Indulgent Father

After a good long trudge up and down the rows, I finally found Horace P. Anderson and Louann Warder Anderson's tombstone in Riverton Cemetery, Riverton, Fremont County, Iowa.

  It was next to a large plot that was empty except for a stone saying "Calfee", which was the name of their daughter Fannie's husband. It is probably the plot for Henry H. Calfee and his first wife Annie.

Elvira Wooddy Capps and Hasty Cemetery

I was lucky enough to make it to the Capps family reunion in Carthage, Mo. last weekend and cousin Tom Capps shared this find: Elvira Wooddy Capps' tombstone.

Oddly enough, she is buried in the Agee or Hasty Cemetery near Hasty, Newton County, Arkansas.

I cannot find anyone else that she is related to buried in the cemetery, and it is well documented that she and her husband lived in the Bellefonte area of Boone County most of their adult lives.

Turnbo quotes William Eoff who places them among the "early residents on the left hand prong of Crooked Creek in Boone County Arkansas". A biography of her husband Robert Capps notes "Mr. Capps has been a resident of the section in which he now lives for nearly sixty years, has always tilled the soil, and besides the farm of fifty acres on which he resides, he is the owner of other valuable lands in Newton and Boone Counties." Possibly she died at another farm they owned and was buried near it.

In any case, it seems like it requires some explanation, but also certainly explains why no one could find her tombstone! It was rather far afield...

Census records run in a circular motion

What fun.

I haven't had much of any time for genealogy but when I saw the 1935 Missouri Death Certificate images were now online I had to go check them out. I'd been guessing for some time that the "Lee Scott" and "R.L. Scott" living in McDonald, Jasper and Newton Counties, Missouri was my missing "Robert Lee 'Lee' Scott".

State Missouri
County McDonald
McMillen Township
s.d. 13th, e.d. 96, Sheet No. 5B
12 June 1900 by Dan Huckins
line 57, 90/90 SCOTT Lee. R. Head WM May 1873 27 M 3 Scotland Scotland Scotland 1887/13/Na Farmer Rents Farm Free of mortgage
Sarah. E wife WF April 1877 23 M 3 2/2 Missouri Missouri Missouri
Alick Son WM Feb 1897 3 S Missouri Scotland Missouri
George son WM Aug 1899 10/12 S Missouri Scotland Missouri

State Missouri
County Jasper
Duenweg Precinct Joplin Township
s.d. 13th, e.d. 57, Sheet No. 12A/48A
22th 23th April 1910 by David L Sidman
West Duenweg
line 16, 228/228 SCOTT Robert L Head MW 34 M2 15 Missouri Tennessee Tennessee Shoveler/Zinc Mine Owns Mortgaged Farm
Sarah Wife FW 32 M1 15 3/3 Missouri Missouri Missouri
Alock Son MW 14 S Missouri Missouri Missouri
Georgie Son MW 12 S Missouri Missouri Missouri
Dixie daughter FW 9 S Missouri Missouri Missouri

And his death certficate confirmed it:

Missouri Death Certificates online
Missouri State Board of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Certificate of Death
Registration District No. 611
Primary Registration District No. 6258
File No. 40458
Registered No. 47

Place of Death:
County Newton
Township Five Mile
City Seneca Mo RR2

Full Name:
Robert Lee Scott
Seneca Mo RR2

Male White Married
Date of Birth: 4 - 6 /1871
Age 64 Years 7 months 25 days
Occupation: Farmer
Birthplace: Scotland, Mo
Father: Robert N. Scott, Tenn
Mother: Not known
Informant: Elick Friend [name hard to read]
Seneca Mo RR2 box 99A
Burial: Forest Park at Joplin Date: 12/2/1935
Undertaker: Darnell, Pitcher Okla
Filed Dec 1, 1935, Merle Sparlin, Registrar

Cause of Death: Natival Causes
Contributory: Chronic Interstial Nephritis
[signed] Ashely Bigham, Neosho Mo

But the thing that caught my attention and sent me off on a tangent was the informant: Elick Friend.

Lee had a son named, in census, Alick and Alock, so I thought it likely Elick Friend was a friend of the family or relative that he had named his son after. But it turned out to be more interesting than that.

Looking around in various places for Ellick I wasn't having much luck, except for his Draft Registration form which gave me the correct spelling: Ellic Friend.

WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, ancestry.com
Serial No. 110
Registration No. 75
Name: Ellic Friend
Address: 500 West 15th St Kansas City Mo
Date of Birth: February 10th 1897
Where born: McDonald Co, Missouri USA
Native of the United States
Citizen
Father's birthplace: Missouri, USA
Employer: Armour + Co, Kansas City, Kansas
Nearest Relative: Jaunita Friend (wife)
500 West 15th St Kansas City Mo
[signed} Ellic Friend

REGISTRAR'S REPORT
Medium Height
Slender Build
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black
Physical disability? No
[signed] B B Anderson
Local Board, Division No. 2
City of Kansas City
State of Missouri
315 Gumell Building
Kansas City, MO

So then I did a general Google search and found this note:

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/MONEWTON/2007-01/1168722699
noted 8 August 2007
MONEWTON-L Archives
Archiver > MONEWTON > 2007-01 > 1168722699

From: "Doug"
Subject: [MONEWTON] Friend Ellic - obit/information request
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 13:11:39 -0800
References:

Just wondering if you, or anyone on this list, has an Ellic FRIEND in their
information? He has been reported to have been born in Sarcoxie MO (Jasper
Co) 10 Feb 1897 and has been found in only the 1920 census in Ottawa Co OK
as Ellis with wife Juanita. His parents were reported to be Joe and Dolly
but I have no further info.

His wife, Juanita Lucille SCOTT was reported to have been born in Granby MO
(Newton Co) on 4 Sep 1900. It is also reported that she later married a
Robert Lee SCOTT.

They were married 4 Sep 1917 in Newton Co MO and had 8 children, 4 sons, 4
daughters, between 1920 and about 1930. He died Jun 1978 and she Sep 1978,
both in Salisaw OK (They may have lived in Muldrow).

I would be appreciative of any information received pertaining to this couple.
Is there someone that looks up obits Salisaw OK?
Can the birth records in MO be examined?
Other suggestions?

Thanks,

Doug

Juanita Scott, Juanita Scott...familiar. Very, very familiar. Where had I seen a Juanita Scott before?

Right!

I'd been tracing a Charles M. "Charlie" Scott from Granby, Newton County, Missouri to Denver, Colorado as a possible for a missing brother of Lee's. I looked at my notes. Yup. He had a daughter named Juanita. And when you looked at her census record as Mrs. Ellic Friend she said her mother was born in Virginia. As this Juanita Scott's was.

So, Ellic Friend was Lee's nephew-in-law? Usually someone closer (or just a nurse) is the informant. This seemed odd.

But it also seemed odd that I could never find Lee's son Alec.

And then I noticed that Ellic's draft registration form said he was born February 10th 1897. And Alec's 1900 census notation said he was born Feb 1897.

Right.

Then I looked more closely at the 1900 census record. Lee and Sarah were married 3 years. "Alick" was 3, born Feb 1897. Doesn't quite fit. So, now the question seemed to be was Ellic adopted? Or was Sarah his natural mother and Lee his step-father?

I'd never had much luck tracking down Lee's son George, so I turned my attention to daughter Dixie. And after looking at all the women named "Dixie" in the Missouri Death Certificates database who died in McDonald and Jasper Counties, I found the right woman in Newton County: Dixie Irene Scott Reber.

Father: Lee Scott
Mother: Dollie Friend
Informant: Mr. Ed Reber, Ritchey, Mo [husband]

And then I looked at Doug's note again. Ellic's mother was said to be "Dolly". And although every single census said Lee's wife was "Sarah", Dixie, too, said her mother was Dollie. Dollie Friend.

Seems to me that Sarah E. Friend was nicknamed Dollie and was either married to a Friend cousin before she married Lee or Ellic was born out of wedlock. Since typically in those circumstances the child was adopted by his step-father, or at least took his name, my thought is that she was married before she married Lee. Although there is one oddity. The death record of Paul Joseph Friend:

Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1955
Paul Josephine Friend [sic: record says Paul Joseph Friend] October 26, 1926 Jasper Joplin 31982 view image
Date of Birth: Nov 29th 1925
Father: Alex Friend
Mother: Juanita Scott
[signed] Alex Scott, 1931 Indiana Ave Joplin
Burial Forest Park, Joplin Oct 28, 1926

Is this Ellic Friend signing as Alex Scott? Or is this another cousin or the actual son of Lee and Sarah (who appears in no other record except census that I can find). Hard to say. Checking marriage records in McDonald Co., MO would probably settle the questions about Sarah E. "Dollie" Friend.

One funny last note.

Did you notice that Lee and his parents were noted as born in Scotland in the 1900 census? It even gave a date of naturalization. That threw me for a while, but it was so obviously the same family that I stuck with it. And it seems confirmed that this is the right family. So where did "birthplace Scotland" come from?

Did you notice his death certificate? Birthplace: Scotland, Mo. His family is noted as living there in the 1880 census:

State Missouri
County Jasper
Jackson Township, S.D. 4, E.D. 64, Page No. 15/434A
[noted on previous census page: Village of Scotland]
11 June 1880 by WB McNeel
line 13, 125/125 SCOTT Robert N WM 37 M Farmer Kentucky NC NC
Martha WF 27 wife M Keeping house Missouri Geo MO
Willam WM 11 Son S At home attended school Missouri Ky MO
Charley WM 9 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Robert WM 7 Son S Missouri Ky MO
Alice WF 5 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
Anna WF 2 Daughter Missouri Ky MO
[near father Allen Scott]

This was the community founded by his grandfather Allen Scott.

Ah, census records. So helpful. And so misleading.

Henrietta A.F.L. Fluxton Goas

We have a lot of information handed down through the family concerning Henrietta Fluxton Goas.

Family tradition states that she was from "Huddleberg" where she lived with her wealthy grandparents. Her mother had married her father against her family's will, and when her husband died, they took in Henrietta but not her mother. When Henrietta was 14, her mother came for a final visit with her second husband before they were to come to the U.S. and Henrietta decided to go with them. So Henrietta came to the United States in 1852 with her mother and stepfather Weber on the ship Tennessee and landed in New Orleans before coming up the Mississippi to St. Louis.

Various maiden names have been given for her. It has been stated that her grandparents adopted her and their name was Boskey. Her husband gave her maiden name as "Puxton" on the death record of their daughter Mary Goas Hargett. Henrietta gave it as Fluxton for her marriage certificate, so that is what I use. That I have never heard of nor seen any name quite like Fluxton is a puzzler, but not one I can see how to resolve.

It is said that she was working as an interpreter at a hotel in St. Louis and met Lewis Goas there, who was working on the steamboats.

They were married on July 19, 1857 in Jefferson County, Missouri, just south of St. Louis. Since it is most usual for a young woman to get married in her own neighborhood, when I decided to try to find her family, Jefferson County is where I started.

There are several Weber/Webber/Weaver families in Jefferson County in 1860. One family is even in Meramec township with Henrietta and Lewis, but they were suspect because the census said they had had children born in Missouri before 1850. A check of the 1850 census confirmed they were there before 1852.

Another family had a wife old enough to be Henrietta's mother, and the birthplaces of the children generally fit the 1852 immigration.

Page No. 25/541
Central Township, County of Jefferson, State of Missouri
5th Sept 1860 by Albert G. Haile
P.O. Hillsboro
line 30, 183/184 Fr. A. WEBER 43 M Do[Farmer] 800/100 Prussia
Amelia 38 F "[Prussia]
Agnes 17 F "[Prussia]
August 15 M "[Prussia]
Alwena 11 F "[Prussia]
Adolp 8 M "[Prussia]
William 5 M Mo
Christoph 2 M "[Mo]

They stated they were from Prussia, which did not appear to meet our criteria, but the complicated politics in Germany/Prussia at the time were a leading reason for Germans to come to the United States at that time. This didn't rule them out. I decided to investigate this family further.

In 1870 they stayed put:

Page No. 32
Central Township, County of Jefferson, State of Missouri
16 July 1870 by Sam A. Reppy
P.O. Hillsboro
line 6, 225/237 WEBBER Augustus 53 "[M]"[W] Farmer 1500/658 Prussia
Amelia 45 F"[W] Keeps House do[Prussia]
Augustus 23 M"[W] Works on farm do[Prussia]
Elvina 20 F"[W] No Ocupation do[Prussia]
Adolph 18 M"[W] Works on farm do[Prussia]
Wilhelm 14"[M]"[W] do[Works on farm] Missouri attended school
Christopher 12"[M]"[W] do[Works on farm] do[Missouri] attended school
Sarah 9 F"[W] At home do[Missouri] attended school
Emma 6"[F]"[W] do[At home] do[Missouri]

Agnes had married Charles Heller in Jefferson County in 1866. By 1868 he has remarried Johanna Kasten. We can assume Agnes passed away before December 1868.

In 1880 this Weber family moves to St. Louis:

Page No. 44
S.D. 1
E.D. 165
St Louis, St Louis, State of Missouri
23rd June 1880 by GH. Wesseling
Watson Road
line 23, 316/344 WEBER August WM 63 M Farmer Prusia Prusia Prusia
Mollie WF 57 Wife M Keeping House Prusia Prusia Prusia
August WM 35 Son S Farm laborer Paralized Missouri Prusia Prusia
William WM 25 Son S Farm Laborer Missouri Prusia Prusia
Gustave WM 23 Son S At Home Missouri Prusia Prusia
Sarah WF 19 Daughter S At Home Missouri Prusia Prusia
Emma WF 17 Daughter S At Home Missouri Prusia Prusia

Here, things get complicated. The missing 1890 census being one problem, and everyone running off and getting married another. I managed to track them all down except for August. Since he was noted as paralyzed in the 1880 census, I imagine he didn't live very much longer.

One thing I noticed was that starting in 1880, several of their children noted that they and their parents were born in "Saxony" or "Sachsen". Prussia was dropped entirely and Germany substituted in all other cases. We can assume this was because of the political changes wrought throughout this period in Prussia and Germany. For obvious reasons, I found the "Saxony" reference heartening. Henrietta put her birthplace as "Saxony", "Baden" and "Germany" in various censuses. The whole issue is complicated by the fact that there are multiple Sachsen provinces, principalities and regions in Prussia and Germany. Heidelberg is found in Baden.

In 1900, I found August widowed and living with his daughter Alvina "Lena" Weber Horschmann in St. Louis:

State Missouri
City of St. Louis, 2nd Ward
s.d. 11, e.d. 20, Sheet No. 3B
Fourth June 1900 by Geo H. Marquard
1812 North Ninth Street
line 74, 44/60 HORSCHMANN John Head WM June 1848 51 M 28 Illinois Germany Germany Cooper yes/yes/yes Owns House Free of mortgage
Lena Wife WF Oct 1848 51 M 28 5/5 Germany Germany Germany unknown immigration no/no/yes
CURRAN Mamie A Daughter WF Aug 1873 26 Wd 4 0/0 Missouri Illinois Germany yes/yes/yes
HORSCHMANN Edward Son WM Sept 1875 24 S Missouri Illinois Germany Machinist yes/yes/yes
Mathilda Daughter WF Dec 1878 21 S Missouri Illinois Germany Envelope Maker yes/yes/yes
William Son WM Oct 1880 19 S Missouri Illinois Germany Stove Mounter yes/yes/yes
Theresa D. Daughter WF Jan 1887 13 S Missouri Illinois Germany at School 9 months yes/yes/yes
WEBER August Father in Law WM Oct 1817 82 Wd Germany Germany Germany 1852/47/Na yes/yes/no
line 82, /61 TOWNSEND Arthur Head WM Mch 1879 21 M Missouri Ohio Missouri Clerk (Comm) Rents House
Mamie Wife WF Mch 1881 19 M 0/0 Missouri Germany Illinois

Notice August's immigration imformation: arrived in 1852. The coincidences are now mounting.

Ancestry.com has recently augmented its immigration records, so I thought I would try to find them. I've tried to find our 14 year old Henrietta and the Tennessee many, many times, but with no luck. This time, I was looking for this Weber family and hoping Henrietta would be tucked in with them.

I tried several combination of searches before I tried: New Orleans / Weber / 1852. Simple, to the point, and effective:

List of all Passengers taken on board the Ship Elizabeth Dennison where of Carpenter is Master, at the Port of Antwerp + Bremen and bound for New-Orleans
Printed and Sold by J.B. Steel, No. 60 Camp Street, New-Orleans

32. F. Aug. WEBER 35 1*** Heidg ----- [farmer] 4
33. Amel. "[WEBER] 30 *1** do[Heidg]
34. Emil. "[WEBER] 14 **1* do[Heidg]
35. Agns. "[WEBER] 8 **1* do[Heidg]
36. August. "[WEBER] 7 **1* do[Heidg]
37. Ang. "[WEBER] 6 **1* do[Heidg]
38. Albert "[WEBER] 3 **1* do[Heidg]
39. Edwina "[WEBER] 1/4 ***1 do[Heidg]

Ship Elizabeth Dennison
Carpenter
Antwep, Brement
23d October 1852
pg. 404

AND THEY HAVE A 14 YEAR OLD.

For comparison, this is the family as they would have appeared in 1852:

F. August 35
Amelia 30
Henrietta A.F.L. 14
Agnes 9
August 7

Alvina 3
Adolph 3/12

No genders are noted on the manifest for children, but an adult "Emil." was noted as a female. On their daughter's death certificate, Henrietta's husband noted her name as "Henrietta E. Puxton". The "E." still fits if her second name were Amelia, which can also be spelled Emilia, which I believe they did for the manifest.

There are now simply too many coincidences to ignore. The final one being that the family's residence was listed as "Heidg". Clearly this means "Heidelberg".

I believe this is our Henrietta, whose second name must be Amelia.

The ship is not the Tennessee, but there was also a steamboat on the Mississippi that was launched in the 1840s called the Tennessee. It's entirely possible that there was confusion as to which ship she was talking about - the one on which they crossed the ocean, or the one on which they arrived in St. Louis.  Or, more simply, "Dennison" sounds a lot like "Tennessee".

So far, unfortunately, of the 3/6 available death records of Amelia's children that I have seen not one has even noted her first name, let alone her maiden name. Especially disappointing was that Lena Weber Horschmann's husband didn't know Amelia's name even though August came to live with them following Amelia's death. If John Horschmann didn't know it, I feel it's unlikely anyone else who would be reporting information for these death certificates would either.

I have also seen a tradition noted by other descendants of Henrietta Fluxton Goas that she traveled with "half-siblings Lena and August". That, too, fits this family. Alvina's name is given alternately as "Alvina/Alwina" and "Lena" on census records. There is obviously some confusion on the manifest with the youngest children. The ages are correct, but the names are wrong and imply the wrong gender. Mistakes of this nature are very common on census and other similar records. That the names of the parents and the eldest two Weber children are correct, as are the ages, strongly suggests that this is the same family.

To find Amelia's maiden name and have it match one of the names in the family tradition would be ideal, but I don't think we're going to get that lucky. And, frankly, even if it didn't match I'd probably still be convinced that Amelia Weber is Henrietta's mother. Henrietta's own death certificate was filled out by the local minister, C.E. Welch, and not a family member. He did not know her parent's names.

For me, it rests with that Ship Elizabeth Dennison manifest. August and Amelia Weber and family were in Jefferson Co., MO in 1860, as was Henrietta. They arrived in the U.S. in 1852 via the port at New Orleans, as did Henrietta. That they had with them the 14 year old child I had hoped for, and by the time I got to the record expected, was the final necessary coincidence to convince me this is the Weber family with which our Henrietta traveled and are her mother and step family.