Before the Creeksea Ferry

I have already discussed in some detail the lives of George and Elizabeth AMOS after their marriage, when they were living on Wallasea Island at the Creeksea Ferry. However, I have only alluded to their lives before that.

A few years ago I was able to trace Elizabeth’s parents and siblings, but only within the past month have I made the breakthrough that allows me to identify with conviction the previous family of George. But let us begin where I did: with the 1881 British census.

1881 finds the AMOS family residing in the “Ferry House” on Wallasea Island. It identifies George’s birthplace as Dover, Kent, and Elizabeth’s as Maldon, Essex. Fortunately for us, a niece by the name of Esther FILBY is staying with them. Of course, she may be the daughter of a sister of either spouse, but there is the hope that she is the daughter of a brother of Elizabeth. That gives us the first hint of a possible maiden name for Elizabeth. Perhaps her name had been Elizabeth FILBY.

This surmise holds up when examining the 1891 census. By an even more fortuitous circumstance (from the point of view of the genealogist), George’s mother-in-law is now living with them. To state the obvious, that can only be Elizabeth’s mother. And what is her name? Mary A. FILBY. She is listed as a widow, and her birthplace as Stow, Essex—which, however, cannot be found on any map. George’s birthplace is now identified as East Langdon, a village near Dover, and Elizabeth’s is still identified as Maldon.

Armed with the information gleaned from these censuses, I was able to find a marriage record of sorts at FamilySearch. As a transcription of an index, it could hardly be considered the best possible evidence, but it did yield some valuable information. According to this record, a George AMOS and an Elizabeth TILBY were married at Christ Church in Southwark on 7 Nov 1875. Considering how easily Ts and Fs can be confounded in older handwriting (and being unable to examine the original handwriting myself), the name TILBY is a good match for FILBY. The date is also a good match, being just far enough before the birth of their oldest child. The location surprised me a little, but was not far enough out of the way to be improbable. The record, of course, contained a source microfilm number which I could have ordered at my local Family History Center, but I never quite got around to it.

Elizabeth FILBY

From here, knowing her birthplace to be Maldon, estimating her birth date as 1855, and knowing her mother to be Mary A. FILBY born c. 1812, it was not particularly hard to find Elizabeth living with her parents before her marriage. An entry with all the requisite particulars (excepting that her mother’s birthplace is recorded as Purleigh instead of Stow) appears in 1871 in Latchingdon, Essex. It is the household of John FILBY, a shoemaker, born c. 1814 in Purleigh. Living with him are Mary his wife and Elizabeth his daughter. No other family members are mentioned.

Tracing them back a little father, we find that Elizabeth was not an only child. In 1861, in Snoreham, Essex, the household contains a son, William, born c. 1849 in Snoreham, a daughter, Mary Ann, born c. 1853 also in Snoreham, and Elizabeth, still born in Maldon. This time the enumerator reports that their mother Mary was born in Stowe Maries, Essex, which is phonetically close to the “Stow” of 1891 and finally furnishes a location that can be found on a map.

Now that we know the proper household, we can go back even farther. The 1851 census reveals yet two more children: Henry FILBY, born c. 1835 in Purleigh, and Samuel FILBY, born c. 1850 in Latchingdon. These are in addition to William FILBY, to whom we have already been introduced.

Going back farther yet, to the earliest British census that lists the names of inhabitants, namely the 1841 census, brings us a little bit of a surprise. John FILBY, shoemaker, lives in Purleigh, Essex with his son Henry FILBY—and his housekeeper Mary HOWARD. This Mary HOWARD is approximately the age that Mrs. Mary FILBY would have been in that year: 24 is only three years from the expected 27. This page of the 1841 census also gives a clue as to Mary’s parents. The previous household is headed by a John HOWARD, age 60. Given their close proximity and identical surnames, it is a credible guess that John HOWARD is Mary’s father.

From this census we can deduce that Henry FILBY is John’s son from a previous marriage, and we can guess that Mary HOWARD was soon to become Mrs. Mary FILBY. The latter guess is backed up by the FreeBMD Marriage Index, which reveals that in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1842 there was indeed a marriage between a John FILBY and a Mary HOWARD.

Since we have reached the earliest possible census in our search, let us leap forward in time to the period between when we last saw Mary with her husband in 1871 and when we see her as a widow living with her daughter Elizabeth in 1891.

John FILBY is still alive and apparently making shoes at the time of the 1881 census. He and his wife are living together in an empty nest in Latchingdon. They are both reported as having been born in Purleigh, and for the first time since she was a housekeeper for her future husband, Mary has a recognized occupation of her own. She is identified as a “Nurse Sub Med,” which seems to be a sort of acknowledged nurse, but without formal training as such.

The best possibility for when Mary (HOWARD) FILBY became a widow is found in the FreeBMD death index. There is a record in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1882 for the death of a John FILBY in the Maldon district. This is the best match both because of his age and his location.

I have also done some research on Elizabeth’s siblings, especially her brother William, but we will leave that for another time.

George AMOS

As for George AMOS’ ancestry… that has been a little more difficult to trace. Taking East Langdon, near Dover, Kent as his birthplace, and searching the censuses for a George AMOS born c. 1853 brings multiple results, none of them an obvious match. There were, however, other researchers on this line, and I tentatively accepted their claim that he was the son of Edward AMOS and Sarah CONSTABLE.

Last month I returned to George AMOS’ profile on Ancestry and did another search for records. Ancestry is always updating and adding new databases, so periodic searches are essential. And this time my search was well rewarded. Remember that transcribed marriage index record that I found and never got around to ordering? There was the original, in all its handwritten glory, digitally scanned and appearing on my computer screen through the wonder of modern technology.

I have become more or less inured to disappointment in marriage records (outside of Luxembourg), seldom finding much in them beyond what is already known. That, at least, has been my experience of American marriage records, some of which contain no more than names and a date. This, however, was not to be my experience in the marriage of George AMOS and Elizabeth FILBY—FILBY, indeed, now that I could see it with my own eyes and distinguish the letter F. (The difficulty had arisen with her signature, in which the line crossing the F seems instead to be dotting the i.)

Most notable of the information contained within this record is the names and professions of the fathers of both the bride and the groom. The bride’s father, as anticipated, is John FILBY, a shoemaker. Although not new information, it is helpful in that it shows that we do have the correct marriage record. And now—if only there were a way to print a drum roll!—we come to the groom’s father. Strictly speaking, he appears on the record before the bride’s, but I have taken the liberty of creating a little suspense. The groom’s father is stated to be Abraham AMOS, labourer. So we can discard (or at least set aside, as they could turn out to be related more distantly than previously thought) the family of Edward AMOS and Sarah CONSTABLE.

Finding an alternate George AMOS, given the superfluity of the name, has not been hard. In fact, a George AMOS of the proper age and approximate birthplace is found the son of an Abraham AMOS in 1861. Conveniently, several of the details contained in this census fit what we know of the Creeksea Ferry’s George AMOS better than the formerly accepted household of Edward AMOS. Firstly, the location of the household is East Langdon, claimed as George’s birthplace in 1891. The birthplace of this 1861 George AMOS is said to be West Langdon, but he is only eight years old; perhaps he was raised in East Langdon. In any event, the two villages are within a couple miles from one another, and share noticeably similar names.

Secondly, Abraham AMOS’ wife is named Isabella, which would be a likely source for the name of our George’s eldest daughter. Such a supposition would be consistent with common Victorian naming practices, although they don’t seem to have strictly adhered to any such practice. (The origin of their eldest son Arthur’s first name remains a mystery.)

Thirdly, although this is admittedly rather slim evidence, we can amend the parenthetical observation about George and Elizabeth AMOS’ eldest son. Despite the fact that the source of his first name is unknown, this household at least gives a possible source for his middle name. There is a son of Abraham AMOS named Thomas, which is known to be Arthur’s middle name.

Working forward with this household, we find Abraham AMOS again heading his family in East Langdon in 1871. This time, however, the only child still living with them is Thomas. Once again we are faced with the question of where George could be. Since he is not residing with his parents, and since we can eliminate the George AMOS known to be the son of Edward AMOS as well as any listed as the son of other parents, the most feasible candidate (but certainly not the only possibility) appears in the William PIERCE household of Saltwood, Kent. This George AMOS, listed as a servant, is the right age. He is said to have been born in Saltwood, but that is within twenty miles of East Langdon, near enough for an error to be plausible. That is the extent of the case for him, so acceptance of this as our George AMOS can be only on the most tentative basis.

Reversing direction, we can work backward through the censuses with the Abraham AMOS family. But first we must take another glance at their household in 1861. Way down at the bottom of their household, where visitors and servants are usually found, appears the name William COCK, age 21. Servant he is not, nor is he a visitor or a lodger. Curiously, he is a “son.” The fact that his surname is not the same as that of his father suggests that he is not the son of Abraham AMOS, but rather his stepson. Such a hypothesis would imply that Isabella had either had him by a previous marriage or illegitimately before she was married. Therefore, we can presume that her name when she married Abraham had been Isabella COCK.

In 1851, we find Abraham and Isabella in West Langdon. This time the household includes a son William the same age as William COCK would be. It is probably the same person, but this time styled an AMOS. It is not uncommon to find a stepchild enumerated in a census with a technically inaccurate surname. Thomas AMOS is also included in the household, but his line contains no surprises. He is three years old and said to have been born in Eythorne, Kent. In fact, so far as I have discovered, his birthplace is recorded so consistently that the only part of it that varies from census to census is the spelling.

The FreeBMD marriage index discloses a marriage between Abraham AMOS and Isabella COCK in the Apr-June quarter of 1847 in the Eastry district of Kent. Therefore they were not yet married to one another at the time of the 1841 census, and at this time the paucity of information on their lives before their marriage makes it impossible to locate them with certainty in that census.

Sources:

1841 England Census, Essex, Purleigh, page 23, How Green, John Filby household. GSU roll:  241366. Digital images, Ancestry.

1851 England Census, Essex, Snoreham, page 30 (stamped 301), no. 23, John Filby household. GSU roll:  207425-207426. Digital images, Ancestry.

1851 England Census, Kent, West Langdon, District 7, page 20-21 (stamped 57-58), no. 22, house 3, Abraham Amos household. GSU roll:  193534-193535. Digital images, Ancestry. Accessed 21 Sept 2012.

1861 England Census, Essex, Snoreham, District 3, page 23-24 (stamped 48A), no. 30, John Filby household. GSU roll:  542751. Digital images, Ancestry.

1861 England Census, Kent, East Langdon, page 11 (stamped 20), no. 48 Martin Langdon, Abraham Amos household. GSU roll:  542659. Digital images, Ancestry. Accessed 21 Sept 2012.

1871 England Census, Essex, Parish of Latchingdon, page 16, no. 93, John Filby household. GSU roll:  829959. Digital images, Ancestry.

1871 England Census, Kent, East Langdon, Martin, page 7 (stamped 21), no. 42, Abraham Amos household. GSU roll:  827259. Digital images, Ancestry. Accessed 21 Sept 2012.

1871 England Census, Kent, Saltwood, page 27-28 (stamped 38), no. 130, house no. 127, William Pierce household. GSU roll:  827265. Digital images, Ancestry. Accessed 21 Sept 2012.

1881 England Census, Essex, Wallasea Island, Rural Sanitary District of Rochford, page 1, no. 2, “Ferry House,” George Amos household. GSU roll:  1341427. Digital images, Ancestry.

1891 England Census, Essex, Canewdon, Rural Sanitary District of Rochford, page 1, no. 1, Cricksea Ferry Rd (Ferry Boat), George Amos household. GSU roll:  6096503. Digital images, Ancestry.

“England, Marriages, 1538–1973 ,” index, FamilySearch. Previous version accessed 31 July 2003, George Amos and Elizabeth Tilby, 07 Nov 1875; citing reference , FHL microfilm 384912, 384913, 384914, 384915, 6026046.

FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index:1837-1915 [database on-line]. Citing entry for John Filby, Oct-Nov-Dec 1882, Maldon, Essex, vol. 4A, page 211. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index:1837-1915 [database on-line]. Citing entries for Abraham Amos and Isabella Cock, Apr-May-Jun 1847, Eastry, Kent, vol. 5, page 195. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Accessed 21 Sept 2012. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index:1837-1915 [database on-line]. Citing entries for John Filby and Mary Howard, Oct-Nov-Dec 1842, Maldon, Essex, vol. 12, page 283. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

Gaskin, Joan. “Nurse or SMS.” DEVON-L Archives. RootsWeb, 13 Aug. 2001. Web. Accessed 3 Oct 2012.

London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database on-line]. Citing marriage record for George Amos and Elizabeth Filby, Southwark, Southwark Christ Church, page 106, 1875, No. 212, 7 Nov 1875. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Accessed 21 Sept 2012. Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1754-1921. London Metropolitan Archives, London.

Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker’s Manuscript, Part 3: Staying with Walter Hawks

To read this project from the beginning, click here.

 

In this third installment of her manuscript, Elsie Crocker tells about some of Walter and Flora Underwood’s experiences once they reached their destination. They had already traveled halfway around the world, from England to the western United States, and were finally going to meet Walter Hawkes, whose letters and promise of a sack of tobacco had convinced them to make the journey.

Incidentally, Elsie gives their place of residence as Idaho Falls, Idaho. However, both the 1900 and 1910 censuses give his residence as Hyde Park, in Cache County, Utah. While it is conceivable that Elsie made an error in this claim—which would be understandable considering that she was writing about events that occurred before her own birth—there is also the possibility that the Hawkes family indeed spent some time in Idaho Falls. It is certain that they did have some connections to Idaho. Hyde Park itself is not far from the Idaho border. Moreover, the 1900 census gives the birthplace of Walter Hawkes’ daughter Madia Hawkes (born June 1888) as Idaho. And finally, the 1913 land owners directory for Pocatello, Idaho includes Walter Hawkes of Hyde Park, Utah. By 1920 and 1930, the family is residing in Preston, Franklin, Idaho.

Finally they were reaching their destination, Idaho Falls, Idaho. This was a much larger city than some of the cities they had traveled thru.

Mother, at last was relieved, to know she was going to stay put for a while. They were dead tired, to freshen and to rest for a while would be welcomed. Up to now the journey wasn’t anything to write home about. Mother was waiting to write to her folks, but to tell them about their experiences, her folks wouldn’t understand. She was afraid it would upset them. She was afraid they would want her to come back home. Therefore not many passed between them.

In Idaho Falls, by asking around they soon found Dads cousin. He was well known. His name was Walter Hawks. Everyone was glad the journey was over.

The Hawks seemed so happy the folks had arrived safe and sound. They were received with open arms. They made a big fuss over my brother Walter. I was especially refreshing to get a good bath.

After a while Walter Hawks said “Gee, Walter, I must give you, your sack of tobacco, that I have saved for you.” He handed my dad, a sack of tobacco, but it was a sack of Bull Durm. In England a sack is 100 lbs. He had come all this way for a sack about three inches by four inches and drawn at the top with a draw string. The sack weight about three or four ounces. Mother said you “should have seen Dad’s face, when he saw this tiny sack. This sack the men carried in their pockets, when they went to work. They used to roll their own cigarettes.

I bet my poor dad was disappointed, he had come all this way for a small sack of “Bull Drum”. I do honestly think the promise of this sack of Bull Durm, brought my mom to America.

Dad made light of it and joked about being such a fool. I’m sure it wasn’t the tobacco but the size of the sack.

Dad’s cousin had an upstair apartment ready for them. There were glad to have a place to stay, and such nice people to visit with. This is the first time they had felt comfortable since leaving England.

Dad worked odd jobs, plowing, planting and building fences and so forth. He was happy and worked hard, feeling he was doing things he hadn’t ever done before. Seeing the seed he had planted growing into something to eat. He was doing something worth while.

He did things he thought impossible, like plowing. A person ran behind a one horse plow or sometimes a two horse. You would put the reins over your head and around your neck. You held the two handle plow with both hands, to keep it right in the furlough. The horse was hitched to the plough, infront. It was hard work holding the plow in the furlough, keep it deep enough. After the plowing was done, it had to be disced, that’s chopping up the clods, a harrow was used to level it. Then the real work began, the handwork, making rows planting, watering and hoeing the weeds sometimes thinning. If you thined the small plants the others grew larger. Of course if the thin ones were large enough we would cook them and eat them.

Dad always told us “Where’s there a will there’s a way”

One day Dad’s cousin gave Dad a 100 lb. sack of corn, (we used to call them a gunny sack). They were insulted as in England corn was pig’s food. “What to do with it?” They decided the only place they had was under the bed. So under the bed it went. They had to hide so the cousins couldn’t see it when they came to the apartment. Mom and Dad was afraid their cousins would think they didn’t appreciate their thoughtfulness.

In the meantime Mother was learning to bake bread sew enough to mend their clothes. She was baking bread real good.

Time went by, what’s that smell? Well checking found it to be the corn under the bed. The corn was spoiling. “Oh what to do” They couldn’t carry it doun the stairs, as those kind people would see them. As time went by the smell got worse. So one night they stayed up until midnight. It was dark and everyone in bed and hopefully asleep. Dad very carefully carried that sack doun the stairs. No one saw him and no one ever knew, what he did with it. Mother never asked him what he had done with it. It was such a relief to get it from under the bed. They opened the windows wide that night, something that wasn’t possible before They were afraid their neighbors would smell it.

Dad has planted a lot of corn since and had learned to like it. To bad Mother never asked how to cook it, as I am sure they could have made good use of it. Especially when money was so scarce. Mother always quoted “To waste is to sin”. Or “Waste not is to want not”.

Now you can see fully why I have always loved the story of how my great-grandparents came to America for a “sack of tobacco.” What a punch line! By the way, in case you are confused by “Bull Durm,” that is Elsie’s misspelling of the popular brand name “Bull Durham.”

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here.

Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker’s Manuscript, Part 2: Meeting, Marriage, Migration

Another Monday, and it is time for the second installment of the transcription of Elsie Crocker’s manuscript. For an explanation of this project and to read the beginning of the manuscript, see last Monday’s entry.

This week Elsie tells us about her parents’ (Walter Underwood and Flora Amos) courtship, marriage, and their journey to the United States.

Being a “bobbie” my dad paroled the streets of London Sometimes he escorted the English royalty to special events.

They carried a “billy club” instead of a gun. Hit with one of these you would know it. The club swang from his wrist with a cord and held with his hand, always handy.

As a young lady, Mother and her sister Minnie would go shopping in London. Dad saw her and started asking about her, where she lived and who was she? He kept this up until he found out where she lived. He finally got up courage to make a call on her family. Mom and her family liked him right away. Mom told me her two younger sisters fell in love with him right away. They would sit by the window for hours waiting for him.

He didn’t waste much time in courting Mother. He started persuading her to marry him.

One night he came courting and his face and hands were black as soot. Looking very much like a blackman. He was riding a bicyle to Mothers house, which close to the water, where the fog was the thickest. It was what they called black fog. This fog was not uncommon in England. The fog was heavy and low, mixed with the black smoke and residue from the factories this is why it stuck to you. Riding a bicycle didn’t help matters any either.

After cleaning him up they had a great laugh. Mom said her sisters had a lot of fun kidding her about her blackman.

After a short romance, Dad encouraged her to marry. They were married, when Mom was 20 yrs. old and Dad was 27 yrs. old. They we married November 7th. Two days before her birthday which was November 9th. Dads was the 22nd of November.

They had a normal married life, until letters began coming from his second cousin, Walter Hawks, who was living in beautiful America and loving it. The letters were urging them to come to this land of plenty and make your stake, according to his cousin. America the land of plenty. Spacious skies, large green fields, many flowers and bountiful crops. Dad always had a dream of owing some land of his own. Growing things. Besides his cousin had promised him a sack of tobacco. Not that used much but anyone that had a sack of tobacco to give away must be rich. In England a sack was 100 lbs. Thats a lot of tobacco.

Dad was getting more anxious to go and see for himself this land of plenty, the promised land. Dad was still young and ambitious. He wasn’t getting any younger. He felt they should make a change now or never. Dad was now 28 years old, in those days, twenty-eight was getting old to start make something of yourself.

He alwys promised Mom they would return to dear old England and their families.

Letters still came full of adventure and fortune. Dad just couldn’t stand it any longer, they just had to go. Finally Mother gave into him, she knew if she didn’t he would never be happy again.

Oh, how she hated to leave her wonderful family behind. She loved her whole family They had been so good to her. She also loved her husband and small son. Walter was just six months old. She knew it was going to be a long hard trip with a small baby.

Dad was still promising her they would be back, as soon as he had made it good.

Boy Walter was six months old, they packed up all their wordly goods, ready to start their long journey to the land of plenty. Mother always called my brother Walter “Boy Walter” as Dads name was Walter.

They said their tearful goodbyes, full of love and excitement, they started not knowing it was the journey of no return.

They were on the ship for two weeks, in a small ship, rough seas, high winds. They had never witnessed anything like it before. On top of everything Mom was really sea sick. They couldn’t beleive her being so sick after she was raised near water all her life. She could rowe a boat as well as the next one. Dad conceded she could rowe better than he.

Mother has told us she was in a flood twice in her life. Living near the river they were washed doun stream. They woke up water all around them. She said it was awful. They lost just about everything.

This trip was so different, water as far as the eye could see. Unable to kee anything doun and bouncing from one side to the other. She had sea legs and could hardly stand up, let alone walk.

She tried to get to Boy Walter, somehow she made it. She said God was there to help her. She went to their berth, Oh, Boy Walter, Oh, where could he be? She was hysterical, she hunted everywhere. After a while she found him, in very goo care. The stewardess had him safe and sound. The stewardess were entertaining him, very seldom they had such a small baby on board. They told Mom not to worry they would be glad to help her out. Mother and Dad were both happy over that.

Those days men never knew much about the care of little ones. The men made the money and the mothers took care of the home and children.

A few days went by, the storm subsided Mom was feeling better. The sun was out, the ocean calm. The ship didn’t rock anymore.

This was a special day They ere getting close to the end of their ocean journey. Dad said it was one of the most beautiful days of his life. He could see the Statue of Liberty. The sun was shineing on it. She looked so beautiful. The entrance to the land of plenty. Everyone was excited “America here we come.”

They had reached land save and sound. It was good to stand on solid ground again. That night when they went to bed they could feel the motion of the ship, but it only lasted a couple of days.

The manifest of the Mayflower, the ship that the Underwood family took to America.

 

I am not certain how they arrived or what direct line they took to Idaho Falls, Idaho to where his second cousin lived.

Mother just told me some of the most important points. She never like to talk about it. When I asked her she would “Oh that’s behind us now, we’ve got a lot to be thankfulfor.”

I know they would take a train if there was one. But those days trains didn’t go everywhere. They made part of the trip by horses and wagon. When the bridges were washed out they would forge the rivers in the shallowest part. Mother told us some of the water would come up thru the floor of the wagon. She was scared the wagon would tip over. She also said that was the way the horses got their drink and cooled off.

The little towns were very crude and far apart. There was a lot of sagebrush as far as the eye could see. There wasn’t any trees, some willow once in a while. Ever once in the while there would be a few sunflowers.

The dusty roads were filled with chuck holes. Boulers and big rock on both sides of the road. She said once in while you could see where a snake had crawled across the road leaving their trail in the dust. Chicken hawks were very often seen flying over head. Watching for a special meal. Once a big hawk flew doun got a rabbit or a mouse in their huge claws, then flew away with their catch, probably to their nest and young ones. Hawks are a menace to the farmers, they kill their chickens.

Once in a while a coyote would run in front of them or a rabbit scurring away. It was hot and dry with a small baby and everything they owned in a wagon.

What courage, especially coming from their back grounds.

I always got a kick out of the story of how my great-grandfather came to America for a sack of tobacco. Later, in a period of time that Elsie does not cover in her manuscript, he moved his family to Oregon. I was always told that he chose Oregon “because blackberries grew on the side of the road.”

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here. 

Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker's Manuscript, Part 1: In England

You may have noticed that I don’t blog on a very regular basis. It has never been my goal to be a daily blogger; I would rather present any readers I may have with occasional well-researched articles than with daily notes. My blogs are sporadic, with perhaps two or three in consecutive weeks, and then perhaps one a month for several months. A quick glance at my archives will tell you that I am just now returning from a three-month absence.

Absence. As in vacation. I was not researching and writing during that time. I have nothing to offer from that period.

However, upon my return I discovered a wonderful resource for genealogical blogs, called Geneabloggers. This may be old news for some of you, but this week was the first time I ever stumbled across it. Along with links to a multitude of genealogy-related blogs, they also provide a list of daily blogging prompts. One that particularly caught my attention was Amanuensis Monday. This prompt is an encouragement to transcribe old family letters, documents, etc. Certainly I will never be a daily blogger, but for a while you will be able to count on me weekly.

You may have noticed that I have occasionally quoted a certain unpublished manuscript written by my grandmother’s sister, Elsie Crocker. She wrote it in the 1990s, but unfortunately none of us had the foresight to note the exact year. I have long intended to fully transcribe it, and now that I have the proper motivation I will do so.

Just a couple notes on how I will go about this project:

• I intend to retain all of Elsie’s original spelling and punctuation except in the case when it is an obvious typographical error or when the meaning becomes unclear. Most of the manuscript was typed with the caps lock turned on, so the choices in capitalization are mine.
• Elsie used few titles or divisions in her manuscript. All titles (i.e. title of the blog), except those included in the text, are my own. The divisions will be at my discretion and seldom original to the manuscript.
• The original manuscript was just that: a manuscript. I hope to sometimes include relevant pictures (although that may be difficult, as my scanner just died). Any comment or caption to a picture is my own, and not original to the manuscript.
• Once or twice there are stories or names that would not measure up to today’s “politically correct” standards. Remember, this was nearly a century ago, when people had different notions about what was and wasn’t acceptable. I do not believe in revising history to suit modern tastes. This does not imply approval of the old attitudes, but rather an idea that we cannot deny our past and must be able to face what we were in order to move forward.

Okay, you have waited long enough. Now for the feature presentation…

Elsie Crocker

My folks traveled to America from England (1903)

It’s the most important part of my life.

My mom and dad were both born and raised in England. I believe in Malden and Essex, County.

My dad had two sisters, both older than he. Mary was the oldest, she was married but no children. Sarah his second sister, had four children. To us she was known as Aunt Sadie. Thats what she wanted to be called. Dad had no brothers, he was the youngest.

My mother’s family was much larger, having seven children. There were five girls and two boys. Her sisters names were, (ranging in age) first Minie, Flora, (my mom) then Alice, Elsie, May who was the youngest.

My dad called my mother “Flo” for short, I guess, I like Flora best.

I was named after my mother’s two younger sisters, Elsie and May. I wished she had put the two named together as I have seen as (Elsymae).

Mother had two brothers, Arthur who was the oldest. Frank was the next oldest in their family, the girls came later.

A photograph of Elsie’s mom’s family back in England. Flora is second from the right in the back row. Elsie made a small error in claiming that the boys came first, then the girls. Arthur was, indeed, the oldest, but he was followed by Isabella, Flora, Minnie, Frank, Alice, Grace, May, and Elsie in that order.

Arthur was killed in the war, working on a loading dock. Frank was also killed while he was in the infantry, World War No I.

My mom’s dad’s name was George Amos. My brother was named after his Grandpa Amos. His name is William George Underwood.

My dad’s name was Walter Underwood I. My brother’s name is Walter Amos Underwood Jr. Walter named his son Walter Underwood III. Walter Underwood III and his wife Linda, has just celebrated the 25th. Aniversary.

Mother’s family was from what they called, in England, the middle upper class. These were people that could afford hired help, such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning and polishing their brass items.

Her father ran the ferry, and also ran a pub. The girls weren’t aloud to work in the pub. Not lady like.

They could help with the ferry. Mom told me they had a bell connect to each side of the river. The people would ring the bell that signaled for someone to fetch them from one side to the other side of the river.

The Creeksea Ferry. Presumably one of the ferrymen in this photo would have been George AMOS, but that has not been verified.

My dad was a policeman, which they called bobbies. He wore a uniform with a hat with a chin strap. The strap was placed under his chin to hold his hat on and in place. I have a picture of him with his hot off, it shows how the strap left a white mark on side of his face. Being outside all the time in the weather, the strap had protected his face under the strap. His number was 148 marker on the collar of his shirt.

This may or may not be a copy of the same photo that Elsie mentions. At any rate, it is a photograph of Walter UNDERWOOD in his bobby uniform.

 

The bobies had training just like the soldiers have in training. Dad always carried his shoulds straight. He was six feet, two inches tall. He wore a number twelve shoe. I think he was a handsome man.

He was always particular about his shoes, he kept them highly polished. He expected us to do the same. One day I missed the backs of my shoes, Dad said “You would make a good soldier.” I asked him why? He replied “Because a good soldier never looks back.”

Mom was small boned and five feet three inches tall always slim. Dad thought her very pretty. He told her he would like to keep her in a glass case. I bet when he first married her he was jealous of her. She had the bluest eyes, amost like violets. She was small featured. When she was young she had long wavy chestnut brown hair. She wore her hair up on top of her head with small curls across her forehead. She always beleived her hair changed color, since she came to America. She was a blonde when she was in England. I don’t think so as all of us were blonds when we were young. We all change to dark brown.

My parents have a better copy of this portrait of Flora AMOS, but it is two hours away at the moment, so this will have to do for now.

 

Mom never learned to sew or cook until she was married. She could knit, which she learned in school. She had a little apron she had to have at school, to keep her needles and knitting in.

Her dresses had a lot of lace and insertion. Also pleats and tucks. She wore them ankle length. A high neck with lace and a brooch at her throat. This brooch Dad had given her. She wore it a lot with her blouses. At the bottom of her dresses she had a deep ruffle. A far cry from what they wear now.

Elsie always pronounced the name “Amos” not with a lazy American schwa, but with a definite short “o” sound, and with approximately the same emphasis on both syllables, like “A-moss.”

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here. 

A Little Netarts News

Last weekend I finally had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time at the Tillamook Library and go through a few historical issues of the local paper, the Headlight Herald, on microfilm. The purpose of my visit was to find obituaries or death notices for two of my family members who had resided in Tillamook county: “Aunt Sadie,” the sister of my great-grandfather, and “Uncle Alvy,” her second husband. Someday I will go back and look for more references to them and to my great-grandparents, but on this trip my time was limited. Since the newspaper is unindexed, I decided to stick to events for which I already had a definite date.

My results were not obituaries, but rather news briefs in “Netarts News,” the section devoted to the comings and goings of residents and visitors within the town of Netarts. Each community had its own section, and the tradition continues today (somewhat modified) in the Headlight Herald’s “Fencepost” columns. I printed out three of these “Netarts News” articles, and because they contain references not only to Aunt Sadie and Uncle Alvy but also to a number of other people, it seemed a good idea to share my results.

My first inclination was to retype and post the entire articles so that search engines could help find your ancestor’s name and you could see the reference with little trouble. However, in such a recent date as 1949 I believe I run afoul of copyright law. Therefore I will have to be satisfied with a list of names, and if you find a name of interest, you can either contact me or go to Tillamook yourself to see the article firsthand.

Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a rush when I found these articles, and neglected to note the page number. If you are at the Tillamook Library or Pioneer Museum looking through the microfilm for these specific articles, they should still be fairly easy to find. Just look for the “Netarts News” heading. It is always grouped with some of the other local news columns.

But enough preamble—you want to see the lists of names.

The first article I printed out, found in the 3 Mar 1949 issue, contains the nearest thing to an obituary that I have found for “Uncle Alvy,” whose real name was Walter Alvah MASON.  It mentions by name his wife, Sadie; his daughter Norma BURD; his “foster son,” Wallace KING; his “foster daughter,” Ilean NEILSON; and his sister Mrs. Laura HALE. A few paragraphs later, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest CROSS, Mrs. SCHOENBORN, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank CROSS are identified as coming into town for the funeral.

Other names found in the 3 Mar 1949 “Netarts News” are:

B. ALWINGER and son Leonard

Mr. and Mrs. Jack ARPS of Helena, Montana

Mrs. Betty BOTCHECK and daughter Martha

Mr. and Mrs. Austin BOWEN and Birdie

Mr. and Mrs. James BROWN

Miss Donna CORNETT

Mr. and Mrs. Ted CORNETT

Joan EARL

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence EDNER

Mr. and Mrs. Robert EDNER and their daughter Lynda of Portland

Harvey EVERHART of Aurora

P. D. GENY of Willamina

Mr. and Mrs. George HANSON of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. James HILFERTY

Mrs. JAGER of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. J. F. “Monte” JAGER

Mr. and Mrs. John JEANS and daughter Mary Sue of Palo Alto, California

Mr. and Mrs. Carl JENSEN of Gervais

Mr. and Mrs. Homer JOHNSON

Mr. and Mrs. Al KRENZ

Mr. and Mrs. Ed LAURS

Miss Carol LOOP

Mr. and Mrs. Ben MALKSON

Miss Sharon MALLOTT

Mr. and Mrs. MILLER and son Howard of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. C. J. OWEN of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. Laurance RICE

Mr. and Mrs. W. H. SOUSA

The second article is from the 3 Nov 1949 edition of the Headlight Herald, and reports the news that Sadie MASON is in the hospital. Actually, she had passed away on 1 Nov, two days before the release of this issue. However, as the Headlight Herald was, and continues to be, a weekly newspaper, the deadlines for columns arrive a few days before the release of the paper and therefore cannot be up to the minute. No longer residing in Netarts since the death of her husband, Sadie is identified as “sister of Walter UNDERWOOD.”

Other names found in the 3 Nov 1949 “Netarts News” are:

Mr. and Mrs. B. ALWINGER

Austin BOWEN

Mr. and Mrs. George COFFMAN

Donna CORNETT

Mr. and Mrs. John CORNETT

Ted CORNETT

David, small son of Mr. and Mrs. C. DeVRIE

Mrs. A. D. FISHER

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne GLENN and son Stanley

Mr. and Mrs. Earl GROSHONG

Mrs. ISHAIA (of Oregon City?)

Mrs. JACK (of Oregon City?)

Mrs. Nellie JOHNSON of Oregon City

Dee LUCKY

Jack MADISON

Jim MEANS of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald SALING and children

The following week, 10 Nov 1949, brought us the third and final article that I printed out, and which reports the death of Sadie MASON. Unfortunately, when setting the microfilm reader for printing I cropped too closely in and only part of the article is visible. My list of names on this one will be incomplete. Two of the names (noted in parentheses) are found in the paragraph that I cut off.

Other names found in the 10 Nov 1949 “Netarts News” are:

Mrs. COOK

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest CROSS

Mr. and Mrs. Clare EDNER (incomplete)

Mrs. Harry GROSHONG (incomplete)

B.C. KING

Mr. and Mrs. R. C. KING

Ernest PALINSKA and brother of Stanford, Conn.

Mrs. PALINSKA and baby

Mrs. Laura POLLOCK of Portland

Mrs. Caroline WELLMAN

If your ancestor is included in one of the above lists of names, the reference could be as mundane as “So-and-so was visiting such-and-such a place last week” or “So-and-so was a guest at this party.” It could also be as genealogically helpful as “So-and-so, who used to live in Netarts with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. This-name when they were doing this business, and now lives in such-and-such a place, was visiting These People.”

Sources:

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 3 Mar 1949. Microfilm.

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 3 Nov 1949. Microfilm.

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 10 Nov 1949. Microfilm.

The Hunt for Joseph WADE

You may recall from a previous blog (“Old Ben Wade”) that I have long been in search of the origins of my great-great-great-grandfather. I know but little of him. I know that his name was Joseph WADE, that he was born c. 1797 in Ohio, and that his wife’s name was Mary. He appears in the 1850 census at Bond county, Illinois, but by 1860 his wife, presumably a widow, is living with her son Allen in Spruce, Bates, Missouri. The exact when and where of Joseph’s death is still a mystery.

Finding him in the 1840 census has been a challenge, as that census gives only the names of the heads of household and tallies up the age and gender distribution within each household without naming its members. Fortunately, I have a fair idea how the Joseph WADE household would have looked in 1840, through simple mathematics applied to the known and suspected family members. Firstly, there would be Joseph himself, aged about 33. His wife, Mary, would be about 34. Possibly there would be a daughter Susan, if she was indeed his daughter, aged about 20. Then would come his son Urial, age 17, my great-great-grandfather Allen Cimeron, age 14, Melissa, age 6, and finally, if he had been born at the date of the census, Joseph S., age 0.

However, knowing the makeup of the household has not proven conclusive in identifying which Joseph WADE is 1840 is our Joseph WADE. A glance at the known birthplaces of the children shows that we can most likely expect to find them somewhere in Indiana, but since we find that information exclusively in records compiled at much later dates we cannot take it for gospel truth. It seems that prior to living in Indiana they resided in Ohio. There are a few Joseph WADE households in both Indiana and Ohio that appear promising, but more information is required before one can be selected definitively.

Recently, that information popped up unexpectedly. I had an opportunity to view the Civil War service records of Joseph S. WADE (who has a fascinating history himself; perhaps one of these days I will devote a blog to him). The records included his certificate of enlistment in the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry. This enlistment certificate gave not only his birth date but the state and county of birth. This was the key to identifying the correct WADE family in 1840. Remember, that was the year of Joseph S.’s birth, so his birthplace would be the location of the entire family in the census year. The record revealed his place of birth to be Jay county, Indiana.

Bells pealed and alarms clanged in my head. In my search for a matching Joseph WADE household, the one toward which I had most leaned was located in Jay county, Indiana. The age ranges and genders of the household members are as follows:

1 M 0-5

1 M 10-15

1 M 15-20

1 M 40-50

2 F 5-10

1 F 40-50

Clearly, these are exactly what is to be expected in our Joseph WADE’s family, with the exception of an extra female between the ages of 5-10. There is also no female the expected age for Susan, but she is not proven to be a daughter of Joseph WADE, and besides would have been at an age to marry.

A cursory glance at the rest of the page informs us that a few other WADE households were in the vicinity. If we assume the heads to be the oldest male in each household, we see that Josiah WADE could have been the father of all, with his age between 70-80. Robert would have been near Joseph’s own age, being between 30-40, and Jefferson would be the youngest already out on his own, being only in his 20s.

We can derive a little more information by looking at the 1850 census for Jay county. The only WADE household remaining is that of William Harrison WADE, age 31. He was most likely the male between the ages of 15-20 in Josiah’s house in 1840. This conjecture is supported by the fact that Josiah himself, now age 85, is residing in the same household.

In looking for some more information on the WADEs of Jay county, I found a transcription of History of Fremont County, Iowa, which contains the biographies of William Harrison WADE, Jefferson WADE, and Sanford W.H. WADE. You will likely recognize the first two names, and the last turns out to be a son of Jefferson WADE.

The biography of William Harrison WADE informs us that he had been

born in Highland county Ohio, June 6, 1818, where he resided until 1828, when he went with his father’s family to Jay county, Indiana... Mr. Wade came to Iowa, October 23, 1865, locating in Fremont county... Mr. Wade was married June 11, 1846, to Miss Maleva Racer, by which union the following children were born to them: Thomas J., Martin, Andrew J., Martha E., and Mahala, all living, and Mary J., deceased. This wife died in January 1859. Mr. Wade married for his second wife, Miss Susan A. Fletcher January 10, 1862. She died August 10, 1877. In March, 1878, he was married again, this time to Mrs. Susanah J. Swigley: Mrs. Swigley was married to her first husband August 15, 1853, by whom she had nine children, seven living. (“Sidney...” 756)

Although neither biography explicitly tells us that William Harrison and Jefferson are brothers, we can infer that to be the case by observing the parallels in their stories and reflecting upon what we know of them in Jay county. Jefferson was

born August 15, 1812, in Adams county, Ohio, where he lived until sixteen years of age. In 1828 he moved with his father to Jay county, Indiana... Mr. Wade came to this county in 1844, and located on the farm he now owns. He was married in August, 1839, to Miss Maria Vinard, and to them the following children have been born: Sanford W.H., Aaron, Mahala, Mary, Franklin P. and Andrew J. - all living. (“Sidney...” 755)

To complete the catalogue of relevant information, Sanford W.H.’s biography reveals that he was “born in Jay county, Indiana, April 30, 1838, where he lived until the spring of 1844, when he came to Fremont county with his father’s family.” (“Sidney...” 757)

Given the information gleaned from the three biographies, along with what we already know, we can begin to flesh out the members of most of the WADE households in 1840:

Robert WADE household

2 M 0-5

1 M 10-15

1 M 30-40 = Robert

1 F 0-5

1 F 5-10

1 F 10-15

1 F 30-40

Josiah WADE household

1 M 15-20 = William Harrison (1818)

1 M 70-80 = Josiah (1765)

1 F 10-15

1 F 50-60

Jefferson WADE household

2 M 0-5 = Sanford W.H. (1838), Aaron?

1 M 20-30 = Jefferson (1812)

1 F 30-40 = Maria (1820)

Joseph WADE household

1 M 0-5 = Joseph S. (1840)

1 M 10-15 = Allen Cimeron (1826)

1 M 15-20 = Urial (1823)

1 M 40-50 = Joseph (1797)

2 F 5-10 = Melissa (1834), ???

1 F 40-50 = Mary (1796)

Since all these WADEs were located in Richland Township, that is a natural place to begin the search for land records. The BLM website shows six land patents for WADEs in Jay county, all of them within what came to be known as Richland Township, and all between the years 1837-1839. The first, dated 20 Mar 1837, is for an Edmund WADE of Greene Co., Indiana. This is an unexpected name and does not fall into any of the WADE households in the 1840 census. Therefore, it seems that by 1840 he must have died, moved away, or been residing in a household headed by someone with a surname other than WADE.

Second, on 1 Aug 1837, comes Josiah WADE of Randolph County, Indiana. At that time, Randolph county included all of the current county by that name along with present-day Jay county. Assuming that this is the Josiah WADE of the 1840 and 1850 censuses, he would have been about 73 years old at the time of this land patent. Four days later, on 5 Aug 1837, Harrison WADE of Randolph County, Indiana, purchased the 40 acres just north of Josiah’s land. If this is William Harrison WADE, he would have been only 19 years old.

Two WADEs bought land in Richland Township on the same date, 20 Aug 1838. Joseph WADE of Randolph County, Indiana, possibly my great-great-great grandfather, bought 80 acres adjoining the land of Harrison WADE, which seems to confirm to some extent the possibly of their being related. Robert WADE of Highland County, Ohio, bought another 80 acres not far away. The fact that he came from Highland County, Ohio, which the biography of William Harrison WADE gives as the subject’s birthplace, indicates a possibility of relationship. However, the fact that he seems to have been living in Ohio up to this point rather than in Indiana with the rest of the Richland Township WADEs implies that he may be a more distant relation: perhaps a cousin instead of a brother.

Josiah WADE, now identified as being from Jay County, Indiana, which has been newly formed, bought an additional 80 acres in Richland Township on 20 Sept 1839. This land is a little farther away from his other land and the land of the other WADEs, and one wonders what the purpose of this purchase would have been.

The adjoining properties of Josiah, Harrison, and Joseph WADE became known as the “Wade Settlement.” We know from a biography of a later occupant of their land that the WADEs built at least one “hewed log house” (Jay 363). In 1854, Harrison WADE, who is explicitly identified as Josiah’s son, platted a village which he called Mt. Vernon (“Incorporated...”). The name was later changed to Redkey, and Redkey it remains to this day.

An interesting excerpt from the History of Jay County, Indiana describes the first school in Redkey and raises a provocative question about Josiah Wade:

Concerning the first building used for school purposes on the present site of Redkey... it was probably built about 1839 or 1840. The dimensions are believed to have been about 18 x 20 feet. It was built of round logs and the chinks were daubed with mud. The clapboard roof was held on by weight poles. The floor was made of puncheons laid on the ground. On the west a log was cut out and the opening was covered with greased paper for a window. At the north end of the building was a large fireplace with a chimney made of sticks and clay. The seats were rough benches without backs, made of split logs, with wooden pins for legs. The only desk in the room was a writing desk the length of the room, made of a hewed slab laid on wooden pegs driven into holes in the wall beneath the paper window. In the southeast corner, facing the east, was a door made of hewed slabs and hung on wooden hinges. There is a tradition—that may not be true—that the first teacher in this building was a very old man (Josiah Wade), the first settler of the town, an old hunter, who had in his younger days been a companion of Daniel Boone. (Montgomery 229)

A quick search on Google for “Daniel Boone and Josiah Wade” reveals that Daniel Boone did, indeed, have a companion named Josiah or Josias WADE, but it would take a great deal of investigation to prove that this was the same man. I will set this question aside for now, as a tantalizing rumor.

Richland Township lies in the southwest corner of Jay county, bordering present-day Randolph county to the south and Delaware county to the west. To the northwest, Blackford county takes a small bite of Richland Township, preventing it from being a perfect quadrilateral and giving it something of the shape of Utah. With so many other counties within so short a distance, it makes sense to widen our search for land patents.

Revising the boundaries of our search to include not only Richland Township, but also other nearby townships, we find that Josiah WADE of Delaware County, Indiana purchased 80 acres in Delaware Township on 5 Apr 1836. The idea that this is the same Josiah WADE who later lived in Richland Township is supported by the fact that Jefferson WADE of Delaware County, Indiana bought some land in Green Township (which adjoins both Richland and Delaware Townships) on 30 Mar 1837. There is also a marriage record for Jefferson WADE and Mariah VENARD in Delaware County on 30 July 1837. This is, of course, a slightly date than we were led to expect from Jefferson’s biography, but we must remember that the biography was written many years later and a few such errors are likely to intrude.

However, by far, the most interesting document to me is a land patent for Joseph WADE dated 2 Nov 1837. It is for a purchase of 63.04 acres in Green Township, Randolph county. What makes it so interesting to me is that, although the land is said to be purchased by Joseph WADE, the patent seems have been filed on his behalf by Josiah WADE. This is the most compelling evidence yet for a familial connection between the two.

Of course, this research into the WADEs of Jay county will be ongoing. For now, the evidence that my Joseph WADE is related to at least two of the other WADEs on the 1840 census of Richland Township is circumstantial but abundant. The relationship may have to bear quite a bit more investigation before its exact nature can be proven, although in the meantime we can work on the hypothesis that Josiah was Joseph’s father.

For more on the WADE family, see “The WADEs in 1820.”

Sources:

1840 U.S. Census. Jay County, Indiana; p. 76; 1840. “1840 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry. Web. 3 Mar 2012.

1850 U.S. Census. Richland Township, Jay County, Indiana; p. 358, family 48, dwelling 48, lines 33-37 (household of William H Wade); 20 Aug 1850. “1850 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry. Web. 3 Mar 2012.

1850 U.S. Census. Schedule I. Bond County, Illinois; p. 44, family 322, dwelling 321, lines 20-24 (household of Joseph Wade); 20 Aug 1850. “1850 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry. Web.

1860 U.S. Federal Census. Schedule 1. Spruce Township, Bates County, Missouri; p. 158, family 1100, dwelling 1090, lines 4-14 (household of Alen C. Wade); 8 Aug 1860. “1860 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry. Web.

“Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the Territory of Nebraska, 1861-65.” Volunteer Enlistment for Joseph S. Wade, 25 Oct 1862, Falls City, Nebraska. NARA M1787. National Archives and Records Administration. Fold3. Web. 31 Mar 2012.

“Delaware County Marriages W.” Index to the Delaware County Marriage Records. Indiana GenWeb. Web. 20 Apr 2012.

“Incorporated Cities and Towns.” Jay County Historical Society. Jay County Historical Society, 30 Jun 2009. Web. 3 Apr 2012.

Jay, Milton T. “Fiers, James Walter.” History of Jay County Indiana. Vol II. Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1922. 362-64. Jay County Bios D-E-F. Indiana GenWeb, 2011. Web. 21 Apr 2012. Transcribed by Eloine Chesnut.

Montgomery, M.W. History of Jay County, Indiana: including its World War record and incorporating the Montgomery history. Ed. Milton T. Jay. Vol. 1. Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1922. Google Books, 29 May 2009. Web. 22 Apr 2012. Original from Indiana University.

“Sidney Township Biographies S-Y.” History of Fremont County, Iowa. Des Moines: Iowa Historical Company, 1881. 749-58. History of Fremont County, Iowa 1881. USGenNet. Web. 3 Apr 2012. Transcribed by D.J. Coover.

Wade, Edmund. Land Patent. 1837. Doc #7922. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012.

Wade, Harrison. Land Patent. 1837. Doc #13795. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012.

Wade, Jefferson. Land Patent. 1837. Doc #9029. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 20 Apr 2012. 

Wade, Joseph. Land Patent. 1837. Doc #15095. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 20 Apr 2012.

Wade, Joseph. Land Patent. 1838. Doc #19098. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012. 

Wade, Josiah. Land Patent. 1836. Doc #4080. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 20 Apr 2012.

Wade, Josiah. Land Patent. 1837. Doc #13242. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012. 

Wade, Josiah. Land Patent. 1839. Doc #21517. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012. 

Wade, Robert. Land Patent. 1838. Doc #20136. Fort Wayne Land Office. Bureau of Land Management. “General Land Office Records.” BLM GLO Records. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 1 Apr 2012.

The Brosius Family: Margrette’s Second Marriage

(Continued from “The Brosius Family: South Shenango,1862-1863”)

A widow had to wear hideous black dresses without even a touch of braid to enliven them, no flower or ribbon or lace or even jewelry, except onyx mourning brooches or necklaces made from the deceased’s hair. And the black crêpe veil on her bonnet had to reach to her knees, and only after three years of widowhood could it be shortened to shoulder length.

—Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind (pp. 94-5)

While the attitude displayed in the preceding passage represents that of the fictional Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara, who had married for spite and did not feel any real grief for her husband, the description gives a fairly accurate portrayal of what a widow would have worn at that time. The description is a little exaggerated as far as duration is concerned; the knee-length veil could be shortened after a year and a day. The difference, however, may be accounted for in part by Scarlett’s relatively exalted social position, as mourning customs were dictated not in a one-size-fits-all manner, but varied according to status and personal taste. Because death often arrived unexpectedly, the clothing was often purchased ready-made. The full outfit could be afforded only by the wealthy. Poorer women often observed mourning by dying their own dresses black.

Widow’s weeds, as women’s mourning garments were nicknamed, were not—at least originally—intended to be restrictive (and whether they became such depended largely on the personality of the wearer), but rather as a sort of emotional protection. The clothing signaled to the world that a person was in mourning, and that care needed to be used in conversation so that one would not inadvertently stumble upon tender subjects. Moreover, a woman could weep privately behind her veil without the embarrassment of strangers seeing her tears or puffy eyes. And if by chance a widow were to be caught in her grief, the reason for it would be tacitly understood.

As the Civil War progressed, widow’s weeds became a more and more common sight. Margrette Brosius was one among this growing troop of women. Her husband, Adam, had died not in the war, but about a month before it began. Family lore holds that he was kicked by a mule, but that may or may not have been the case, as the Brosius oral history is notoriously inexact. Sometimes it is said that it was his son, John, almost sixty years later, who was kicked by the mule. No matter how it had happened, the bare fact was that Adam Brosius was dead and Margrette would have donned the uniform of a widow.

The children would also have been dressed in mourning. The baby Rebecca, possibly not even born until after the death of her father, would have been spared the heavy black and had instead perhaps some black ribbons tied on her white baby clothes. Mary and John, being older, would probably have worn black, or at least a black armband, for their period of mourning, which would have lasted six months to a year. This, though a long period of time to alter one’s attire by today’s standards, was still shorter than the length of time expected of a widow. This is not to say that, except for Scarlett O’Hara and perhaps a few others, the mourning garb outlasted the actual period of grief. In fact, many women—Queen Victoria is a notable example—chose to take up widow’s weeds for the rest of their lives.

The customary length of time for a widow to remain in mourning was two and a half years. Adam Brosius had died early in March 1861, therefore it was probably late 1863 or early 1864 when Margrette remarried. The war was still in progress, but somehow Margrette met and married a man named John Rodgers. He had been born in Ireland, and was almost precisely three years younger than she. In fact, their birthdays were only a day apart.

On 15 Jan 1865 they were blessed by the birth of their first daughter together. They named her Sarah Elizabeth, and called her by her middle name. Elizabeth Rodgers was born near the close of the Civil War; only a few months later, on 9 Apr 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, signaling the end of the war. A few Confederate armies held out longer—some as late as June—but Lee’s surrender was such a turning point that it has become the accepted practice to date the end of the war by it.

With the end of the war, the thoughts of many Americans returned to an idea expressed over a century earlier by Bishop George Berkeley:

Westward the course of empire takes its way;

The first four acts already past,

A fifth shall close the drama with the day;

Time’s noblest offspring is the last.

The idea had become known as Manifest Destiny. In other words, “Go west, young man, go West and grow up with the country.” The nation was burgeoning—had already reached the Pacific Ocean—and young people everywhere aspired to be part of the expansion. The Homestead Act promised free, or at least cheap, land; the transcontinental railroad was on its way to completion and already new rail lines were beginning to drape the wilderness like a web. New methods and technologies gave farms a chance to succeed on the Great Plains, a chance once deemed impossible.

The family now headed by John Rodgers in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, was not immune to the excitement. Whether John Rodgers had come to the United States with the intention of eventually going west, or whether he was enticed by railroad advertisements or friends, the opportunities of the west certainly began to catch his attention.

Kansas had achieved statehood shortly before the war, and now that hostilities were at an end, and the violent days of “Bleeding Kansas” were over, this new land must have seemed filled with potential for his growing family. With the addition of a baby they named James (“Jim”) on 15 July 1868 the family had reached seven members.

A move west was no small undertaking, neither logistically nor financially. If he was going to move his family west, John Rodgers would have to come up with a great deal of money to do it. But he saw one fair prospect at hand: the land left behind by his wife Margrette’s first husband, Adam Brosius. There was timber on that land, and timber could raise money. So John Rodgers harvested the timber.

Unfortunately, he must have neglected to discuss this decision with his stepchildren, because Mary, John, and Rebecca Brosius, though all still minors, sued him “for the waste he has committed” (Brosius). The land, they claimed, belonged to them, not to John Rodgers. They evidently came to some sort of agreement with their stepfather, however, because the suit was dropped.

In the meantime, Mary Brosius had reached maturity and had a suitor in a twenty-five-year-old widower named Joseph Patterson Christy, Jr. Pat, as he was called, had recently returned from Wisconsin with his son, Andrew, a toddler. Men were not accustomed to raise children in those days, and a toddler would have been quite a challenge for a suddenly single young man. Therefore, it probably seemed quite natural that Andrew was living at his grandparents’ house rather than with his father.

Perhaps the lawsuit against John Rodgers was dropped in order not to tarnish the joy of Mary Brosius’ upcoming nuptials. Within a month of the filing of the lawsuit, on 19 May 1869, she and Pat were united in marriage. Undoubtedly the rest of the family celebrated her wedding before beginning the journey west. Mary would remain with her new husband in Crawford County, Pennsylvania when John Rodgers and the remainder of his household combined with

All the pulses of the world,

Falling in they beat for us, with the Western movement beat,

Holding single or together, steady moving to the front, all for us,

Pioneers! O pioneers! (Whitman 198)

 (Continues with “Rodgers-Brosius family in Bourbon county, 1869-1873ish.”)

Citations and Selected Sources:

Berkeley, George. "On the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America." 1726. The Home Book of Verse. Ed. Burton Egbert Stevenson. Seventh ed. New York: Henry Holt and, 1945. 2565. Print. 

Brosious, John. The Petition of John Brosious for Guardian. 13 Apr 1869. Petition to the Orphan Court of Crawford County. Office of Clerk of Courts, Meadville, Pennsylvania. Xerox copy sent to the author by Gloria Brosius.

Brosius, Mary. Petition of Mary Brosius for Guardian ad Litem. 13 Apr 1869. Petition to the Orphan Court of Crawford County. Office of Clerk of Courts, Meadville, Pennsylvania. Xerox copy sent to the author by Gloria Brosius.

Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind. Garden City, New York: International Collectors Library American Headquarters, 1936. 94-5. Print.

Rodgers, Margret Ann. The Petition of Rebecca Brotious for Guardian. 13 Apr 1869. Petition to the Orphan Court of Crawford County. Office of Clerk of Courts, Meadville, Pennsylvania. Xerox copy sent to the author by Gloria Brosius. 

Whitman, Walt. “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” Leaves of Grass. New York: Signet Classic, 1955. 196-199. Print.