Tracy Lee Howard, Myth Buster of the "Good Old Days" When There Was No Divorce Ever

 Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Tracy Lee Howard (1895-1947)

Myth Buster of the "Good Old Days" When There Was No Divorce Ever
____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

The link between Michigan and New York for the Howard family has yet to be determined, at least by me, anyway. Tracy Lee Howard is another one of those Howards who was born in New York and went to Michigan. Tracy, however, eventually went back to New York after his third marriage.

Tracy was born 15 Aug 1895 in Middlebury, New York, and I'm told that this is a wonderful place in which to live. I'd love to visit sometime. Tracy's parents were Francis David Howard, who went by Frank, and Josephine Eldora Gay. Almost 7 years separate Tracy and his brother, Gordon, who was born in 1888. On the 1900 census, Tracy's father is listed as a "day laborer." It shows that his mom had had 2 children with 2 living. It also shows that his parents had been married 17 years.

That myth soon becomes broken when on the 1910 census. Tracy's mom, Josephine, was listed by herself with just Tracy, having been married 27 years. Her occupation is "house work." Tracy's occupation was listed as "none." Surely at the age of 14 he was in school, right? Yes, that's right. We see on the 1940 census that his highest education was 4 years of college. Tracy's father is on the page previous to Josephine, living with John Johnson and his family as a border. It shows his marriage as 27 years also, and that he is a painter and paper hanger. This is what my paternal grandfather did as his side hustle. Tracy's brother, Gordon, was out on his own, would be getting married the next year, 1911, and moving to Perry, New York, close to Middlebury.

This is where Ancestry lets us down. I wish more family stories were published, because documentation is simply not enough to really get to know your ancestors. The next document we have for Tracy is his marriage license to Barbara Hill on 01 Jun 1916. He's not in Middlebury anymore, either. He's now in Detroit, Michigan, and there's no way to find out why using Ancestry. No information on newspapers.com, either. Nor Family Search. No one has him on Wikitree, either, and I am the one who, during this course of study, made his Find-A-Grave memorial. Nevertheless, that's where he was in 1916: Detroit.

A clue might be dropped for us in 1913, however, for that is when his father, Frank, divorced his mother, Josephine. It was extremely difficult to get a divorce in New York in 1913, even though Frank had been living on his own for quite some time. It could be that the Howard relatives in Michigan enabled Frank to come to Michigan to get the divorce. Josephine, in the meantime, was living with a man named Myron Shay. I wish Ancestry would let us have a "partner" feature. I listed Myron Shay as her husband, even though they were never married. I know absolutely nothing about the relationship they may have had with each other, just that they lived together. Myron died in 1926. I couldn't find an obit.

Frank filed for divorce in Bay County, Michigan, 08 Nov 1912. It was granted to him 09 May 1913. Frank rightly claimed his reason for divorce was desertion. One scenario might be that his son, Tracy, tagged along and just decided to stay. It may be that Tracy met his first wife Barbara Hill there. They were married 01 Jun 1916. Meanwhile, Frank went back home to New York.

Tracy registered for the draft in 1917. He listed his occupation as auto mechanic. Oooooo! Pretty new occupation there! He worked for the Winston Motor Car Company, and we might now have the reason he moved to Detroit, the car capitol of the U.S. Wonder how or where he learned his mechanic skills?  He tried to dodge the draft by claiming his wife as a dependent. As this was the beginning of the whole draft system in the United States, that was a valid and legal excuse. Those Civil War wives surely had a difficult time when their husbands left them behind to fight in that bloody war. On Tracy's draft registration, it stated that he was of medium height, medium build with light blue eyes and dark brown hair. A picture would have been nice.

The whole wife thing didn't work out, though, for he was eventually drafted but not before filing for divorce 19 Aug 1917. Divorce was pretty frowned upon in 1917, nor was there such a thing as a no-fault divorce. The reasons for divorce had to be sensational, and they were. The alleged causes given in this Michigan document were things such as desertion, adultery, and extreme cruelty. It feels like it was a pick-from-this-list type of situation, and Tracy chose "extreme cruelty." This tells us nothing about Barbara's personality. The marriage just didn't work out, and that's probably all there is to it.

Tracy entered the military with the final rank of private serving on an Aero Squadron at the Aviation Repair Depot. Being a mechanic, he would have had a lot to offer in working on the newfangled airplanes. I don't know what his Squadron Number would have been. On his application for a military stone, it states he was in the 878, but this squadron was located in Dallas, Texas. His military record that is on Family Search states 87th, but this also was located in Texas. Another military card again states 878. I guess he could've gone to Texas; I have no documentation otherwise. It's just that on the application for the military headstone, it says New York, which is marked out with red pencil and corrected with Michigan. It's so interesting, though, the history of flight in the United States and how many advances were made on this new technology just because of that war. On another note, his rank on the application was "sergeant," marked out by that same red pen and corrected to "private."

As I was proofreading this story, I decided to go back and look once more at the headstone application. I noticed for the first time that his enlistment date was 27 Mar 1918 and his discharge date was 28 Mar 1918. Hmmmmm.

Tracy's divorce from Barbara Hill was granted 05 Mar 1919, and, in the city directory, he is listed as a machinist. He married again 23 Apr 1920 to a young woman from his hometown in New York named Frances J. Kerwin. I can't find Tracy on the 1920 census records, so I'm guessing he was traveling when the census enumerator went by, moving back home to New York. After their marriage, they settled down in Buffalo, New York, and Tracy became the manager of Liberty Auto Repair.

Liberty Auto Repair
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

What I think was Liberty Auto Repair
Courtesy Google Maps, proper attribution given

By 1923 things apparently weren't going so well at home. He eventually moved into an apartment above the shop, and Tracy's divorce from Frances was finalized in October 1925. I couldn't find the divorce records for this one, but the divorce was listed on Frances's marriage license when she married Arthur Snyder the following year. At first I was like, "Did Arthur even know she was divorced?" Because on their wedding announcement in the paper, she is listed as "Miss Frances J. Kerwin."

Funnily enough, Tracy had his first child when he was married to Frances. Virginia Mary Howard was born 19 Jun 1925. I have a feeling, though, that Virginia's mother was Tracy's third wife, Cecil McLouth. Again, Ancestry has no perimeters for this situation. We really don't know, do we? And so I listed Cecil McLouth as "unknown" mother, and I really hate that. Maybe I should just go ahead and change it to biological. Virginia claimed Cecil as her biological mother, and so probably should I?

I'm not sure why, but these two New Yorkers were married in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Tracy stated that he had only been married once before. I wonder which marriage he was denying. It would have to be the first one, right? Because I'm pretty sure Tracy was with Cecil prior to his divorce from Frances. At least this time, however, the marriage seemed to take.

After their marriage, it appears they may have lived above the auto shop for a while. In the 1930 census, however, Tracy, Cecil, and their two young daughters were living with a Paul Lua and his wife in Niagara Falls, New York. The youngest child of Tracy and Cecil's, Lois Jane, is listed first of the family as Paul's niece. The other three are listed below that as "lodgers." Weird. I poked around a little bit to see if I could figure out who this Paul Lua was, but without any luck, and it's not something I wanted to spend a lot of time on. At any rate, by the time of the 1934 Niagara Falls City Directory, the family was in a comfortable home in the suburbs and Tracy was listed as a salesman. Of cars perhaps?

By the 1940s census, Tracy has moved up in the world and the family was living in a nice brick bungalow on Memorial Parkway in Niagara Falls, New York. Tracy was listed as an accountant.

That's about all the documentation Ancestry has to offer on Tracy Lee Howard. He unfortunately died in 1947 at the young age of 51. By the time of the 1950 census, Cecil had already remarried. Their two girls lived into adulthood, were married, and each had children of their own.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

William Wallingford (1831-1902)

 Beautiful Martin County, Indiana

William Wallingford (1831-1902)
____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

When I lived in Lost River Township in rural Shoals, Indiana, I was delighted that there was a cemetery on the property. A lot of people might think that's weird, but I love cemeteries. When I see a cemetery, I see stories that need to be told!

The cemetery on that beautiful farm is known by several names including Wallingford Cemetery, Walls Cemetery, and Walls Farm Cemetery.  This is a family cemetery with nine known entries recorded and five headstones. The cemetery most likely is with us to this day because of those stones. So many rural family cemeteries in the 1800s were lost because there were no tombstones. Wallingford Cemetery, fortunately, lives on!

According to the Martin County, Indiana Historical Society, the nine entries are: James F. Ballard, Hiram Evans, Infant Hall, Silvester Hall, Tillitha Hall, Charlotty Wallingford, Laura A. Wallingford, Mary Wallingford, and Tabethe Long Wallingford. If I understand correctly, the Wallingfords were the ones who lived on the property where I lived, and so I was super hype to learn more about them!

The patriarch of the Lost River family, William J. Wallingford, was born perhaps in Alabama or Tennessee, in December 1831 to John Wallingford and Ellen Cooper. William was a bit all over the place as far as where he lived. In the 1850 census, he lived with his parents and siblings in Crittenden County, Kentucky. He married Tabethe Long in 1852 in Daviess County, Indiana. His first three surviving children were all born in Tennessee. In the 1860 census, he is listed in both Gibson County, Tennessee with his wife and children, and then with his mother in Crittenden County. He was most likely visiting his mother when the census enumerator came by.

An event that affected many, many lives of those pioneers was the Civil War. Our William Wallingford enlisted as a private in the 65th Indiana Infantry on 01 Aug 1862 in nearby Washington, Indiana. Company F of the Indiana 65th were the men from Martin County. He, however, was in Company I, which were men from Daviess County. It could be that he did not yet live in Martin County. His commander was John Foster, whom I wrote about in The Cliffords & Mr. Orr. The regiment left for Henderson, Kentucky in August that year. Five days later, they settled in Madisonville, Kentucky and did service at the fort there. And that's about it for that. William was discharged in March 1863 for a physical disability and sent back home.

In the 1870 census, the Wallingfords are in Lost River Township in Martin County! But I have questions. His wife on this census is listed as SOPHIA. Not TABETHE. Are they that similar? I guess it might have been that similar and enumerators did the best they could. The age is correct, and their five children are all listed with them: Charlotte, John, Mary, Virgil, and Laura.

It was then that death hit, as it surely did in many families at that time period. William and Tabethe lost their daughter Mary on Christmas Day in 1870. Charlotte died 01 Sep 1872. Then the mom, Tabethe, died 11 Nov 1872. All three are buried in the Wallingford family cemetery.

This is where another "if" enters the picture.  William's daughter Roseanna was born in 05 Jul 1872, so naturally, she belongs to Tabethe, right? The three family trees, besides mine, on Ancestry shows Roseanna's mom as Sarah Ann. This woman is a mystery. For one, Martin County kept really good marriage records, but they don't have one for a Sarah Ann and William Wallingford. Sarah Ann was previously married to a Mr. Wilkinson, and he is also a mystery! Sarah brought two children with her: John S. and Lydia Elizabeth Wilkinson. They are all living together with William and his children in Lost River Township in the 1880 census.

In the 1900 census, Sarah Ann lived with her son, John, in Missouri. He is listed as single. She is listed as married. In 1900, William lived in the Northwestern Michigan Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, listed as a widow. William died in 1902.

I wish I had more pictures of the cemetery but honestly, it was so overgrown, there wasn't much to photograph. I didn't know how to clear the land nor had the funds at that time to hire someone. Because of that, when I moved away, the cemetery stayed in its unfortunate condition. I was, however, able to add this cemetery to Find-A-Grave. The five stones I photographed are below.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

 

Sophia Marion Vianco (1856-1941) Escaped the Poor Farm, Thanks to a Widow's Civil War Pension

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Sophia Marion Vianco (1856-1941)
____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

Studying these wonderful people who come into our family tree by marriage are sometimes the most gratifying. I don't know how the Vader family, the Viancos, the Pecks, and the Howards all knew each other exactly, but they did, and their lines were so linked together in New York.

Sophia Vianco was born 19 Jan 1856 to William Jerome Vianco and Anna Maria Van Houghton in Rochester, New York. I can't find a death certificate for her mother, Anna Maria, but she died in September that same year. 

William next married Anna Maria's sister, Julia Van Houghton. I can't find records for either of these marriages. With Julia, William would go on to have 6 children: George, Helen, Carrie, Julia, William, and Grace. Shortly after the birth of Grace, the mom Julia died in 1874. Sophia was around 17 when this occurred, and it fell to her to take care of her brothers and sisters.

In the 1850 census, William Vianco was listed as a teamster, which, at that time, was a person who drove a team of animals. This could be compared to the modern day truck driver.  By the time of the 1870 census, though, William was a railroad engineer. As such, it would be his job to drive the train engine and to make sure all his equipment was in tip-top shape at all times. Along with the engineer, a fireman also rode in the engine, whose job it was to handle the fire that made the steam. The conductor rode in the caboose. His job was to manage the day-to-day operations. This was important, because this is how William died at the age of 52. He was involved in a serious accident that crushed the engine, and both he and the fireman were killed instantly. This occurred in 1875 when Sophia was 19. All the children at the time of their dad's death lived with him in the same house, all seven of them. And now, it landed squarely onto Sophia and her brother, George, to be the caregivers for their siblings. Then Carrie, aged 15, died in 1878. Three important deaths occurred in the family in just a short amount of time. There were now only the six children left.

In the 1880 census, the children all lived together at 104 Hudson Street in Rochester, New York. I feel like this has to be their parent's home, but I have no documentation that it was. George was listed first on the census, even though at 21, he was younger than Sophia, who was 24. George was a railroad engineer! Good for George following in his father's footsteps! Sophia's occupation was "keep house." Helen, aged 19, was "at home." The three youngest, Julia, Willie, and Grace were "at school."

Sophia stayed single until she was 27, marrying Henry Morton Sweet 08 May 1883. He was also an engineer with the railroad, who lived nearby, and he probably made many visits to the Vianco home at 104 Hudson Street. He himself lived at 83 Hudson Street. The wedding announcement stated that the couple were married at her mother's house, but her mother had passed many years now, and her stepmother also was gone. It is known that Sophia's father had a third wife, Louise Gibson, who lived close to the children, but this woman is a mystery to me, to Ancestry, and to Newspapers.com. I wonder if the couple were married in the home on Hudson, and the newspapers, thinking it had to be her parent's home and just printed it like that. Who knows. It stated in the announcement that the couple were departing on an eastern wedding tour. I wonder what that meant exactly.

Sophia and Henry had a daughter together, born 31 Jan 1884, Annie or Emma or Amy or Mortina Sweet. Find-a-Grave says Mortina. Her wedding announcement said Anna, and the census record of 1900 said Emma.

Unfortunately, Henry died of typhoid fever 21 May 1884. This was according to his death announcement found on Newspapers.com. Sophia must have felt utterly lost. Henry was 22. Sophia was 28 and with a newborn. In the 1885 city directory, she was listed as a widow, and a boarder at 16 Woodbury, not far from Hudson Street.

Now here's where things get a little unusual. Eleazer Howard, who was 51 years old and recently widowed, somehow got 31-year-old Sophia and her daughter to come to him in Sherwood, Michigan, and marry him. Eleazer was a Civil War vet who suffered with a debilitating hip injury that worsened over time. This is how we know, though, without a doubt that the Michigan Howards kept their ties close to the New York families. Another indicator was that he had given his youngest son with first wife Julia Vader, "Vianco" as a middle name. I really doubt he did this in honor of Sophia. It was probably more to honor one of the male members of the Vianco family, but I don't know that for sure. After his wife Julia Vader's death, Eleazer was married to Sophia in just a few month's time, 04 Jul 1887. Two years later, Sophia and Eleazer had a little girl together, Florence M. Howard.

I wasn't going to get my late father's records down from the closet, because I thought it would be a difficult task. However, due to a discrepancy on Find-A-Grave, and we needed proof to clarify a particular fact, I got the box down from my closet's top shelf. This was an excellent decision, because I learned from those records that in 1890, Eleazer filed for an invalid pension from his time in the Civil War. The pension stated he could no longer earn a living from manual labor, and that he had "catarrh, injury of hip, disease of head, throat and back and general debility." He was granted the pension.

In 1891, Elias's eldest son with Julia Vader, Fremont Howard, was killed in a train accident. The train he was working in hit a passenger train. Fremont, who was the brakeman, was killed that day along with the fireman and the engineer. The passenger train had been a new addition to the rails that day, and the engineer failed to make enough time and room for it to pass.

Thirteen years after their marriage, Sophia and Eleazer, on the 1900 census record, were still in Sherwood, Michigan. Sophia's daughter, Mortina, listed as "Emma Sweet" was 16. Sophia's daughter with Eleazer, Florence Howard, was 11. In this census, Eleazer was listed as a farmer, who owned his own farm, free and clear of any mortgage. And that's another reason I'm so glad I pulled the records. Eleazer didn't do any labor on this farm. He rented it out. We would not have known that just from the census.

In the 1905 New York State Census, Sophia and Eleazer were listed in Clarkson, New York! What a change in just 5 years. Sophia was 49 and Eleazer was 69. Their daughter, Florence, was listed with them, aged 15, but Sophia's other daughter, Mortina, was not with them, and I can't find her, either. She didn't get married until 1911, but she was 21 by this time, so it's possible she was at college or away teaching school. Or it could be that she was still in Michigan, which had no 1905 state census. (The 1904 Michigan State Census was statistical only.) In the 1910 census, Mortina was with two of Sophia's sisters, her aunts, and was a schoolteacher in Rochester, New York. Florence's occupation in 1905 was "at school."

On 09 Mar 1906, Eleazer died, leaving Sophia a widow for the second time. According to the death certificate, his cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. He died in Clarkson, New York, but he was buried in Michigan. According to my father's papers, Sophia got Eleazer's Civil War pension, so she was going to be okay financially. After reading through all these pension documents, though, I learned that she wasn't as well off as I had once thought she was. The important thing was that she got the pension. And not only that, I believe Sophia was a caring individual. I'm sure she took very good care of Eleazer as his disabilities became more and more severe.

Sophia lastly married George Webster, who went by his middle name of Henry. He was a widower himself.  They were married 12 Jan 1910, and, of course, she lost Eleazer's pension after their marriage. In the 1910 census, Henry was a farmer in Clarkson, New York, who owned his own farm, free and clear of a mortgage. Eleazer and Sophia's daughter, Florence, lived with them. She was 20 now and her occupation was "none." That's a bit of a red flag.

In the 1915 New York State Census, Sophia and Henry are listed by themselves and still in Clarkson. He, at the age of 65, was still listed as a farmer. Sophia was 59. Sophia's daughter with Eleazer is also in Clarkson, living with her husband Percival Walsh and their newborn, Howard. I wonder if this was in memory of her father, Eleazer Howard. Sophia’s daughter, Mortina, who in this census went by Amy, was with her husband, Harry Duryea, along with their daughter. They lived in Pittsford, New York.

In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, everything is the same, except Sophia and Henry are both five years older. Everything *seems* okay with daughter Florence. She and her husband were in Hamlin, New York, with their children. He was listed as a farm laborer. Mortina was back to using the name Mortina again and was with her husband still in Pittsford, along with their daughter. Her husband, Henry, was a lawyer. She was a schoolteacher in a public school.

On 27 Apr 1923, Henry died and Sophia was widowed for a third time. She moved in with her sister, Grace, and her husband, Warren Johnson, on Stone Road in Charlotte, New York. My late father's records contains a letter written to "The Commissioner of Pensions at Washing, [sic] D.C." It reads:

Dear Sir, I have been told by persons who should know, that I am entitled [to] receive a pension. So I am writing to you asking you to send me suitable blanks to fill out.

My Husband Eleazer B. Howard died on the 6th day of March in the year 1906. Previous to his death he had been drawing a pension from the government having served for a time in the Civil War. After his death, I drew a pension until the time of my marriage to Mr. G.H. Webster, which occurred on January 12th, 1910.

Mr. Webster died on the 27th day of April 1923.

Mr. Howard served with a regimens from Detroit.

Was living in the town of Clarkson, N.Y. at the time of his death. I have been informed that I am entitled to receive the pension. Will you please send the blanks to me.

Address to: Sophia M. Webster, Stone Road, Charlotte, N.Y., care of W. E. Johnson. 

She must have been stewing and who can blame her? The penalty for not having a home to live in at that time was to be sentenced to life at a poor farm. This was not an individual's choice. It was a movement sweeping through the United States to try to force out poverty. It was a gruesome sentence for anyone. Fortunately, the government did send her the proper forms, and she was able to resume her pension from Eleazer for $40/month until the time of her death. 

In a 1929 Rochester City Directory, Sophia was living at 144 Ravine. In the 1930 United States Federal Census, Sophia rented a home and her daughter, Florence, was also there, at 85 Kay Terrace in Rochester. This may have been a duplex situation, as it also showed a woman at the same address by the name of Eileen Pockett. Eileen and Sophia were both listed as "head."

Why was Florence there, though, and why wasn't she with her husband and children? Because her husband had been placed in the State Hospital for the Insane there in Rochester. Florence and Percival's eldest son was with another family.  Their eldest daughter was in a state run school; she was still there in the 1950 census. Their other daughter was with an aunt, and their youngest son was in an orphanage, the Hillside Home for Children. That's some heavy stuff there. Click on photos to enlarge

Sophia's final home
28 Portsmouth Terrace, Rochester, NY
Courtesy Google Maps with proper attribution given

In the 1940 census, it listed daughter Florence's 1935 address as "Rural Monroe." No matter. By the 1940 census, she was at the poor farm in Brighton, New York. Sophia lived in a home that's sort of a precursor to the modern-day nursing home, living with other older folks and having a caregiver. I think she did well to get placed there, and it certainly was because she had that pension. Otherwise, she would have probably landed in the same place Florence did. Another document in my father's records stated that by 1940, poor Sophia was nearly blind and was afflicted by "impaired locomotion."

Florence died 25 Jul 1941 at the poor farm. Sophia died 30 Sep 1941 at 28 Portsmouth Terrace at the age of 85. She had just received her pension check for the month that same day and was actually still alive when it came in the mail. Her daughter, Mortina, who was with her, dutifully sent it back, but then requested that the money be sent back to her. It was, after all, legally hers, and she did get it back, in the end.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Nelson Isaiah Howard (1843-1929)

 Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Nelson Isaiah Howard (1843-1929) A Really Nice Guy Who Knew What He Wanted
____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

Nelson Isaiah Howard was born 01 Feb 1843 in Middlebury, New York, a great-grandson of John Godfrey Howard, the Hessian soldier who came to the U.S. from Germany to fight in the Revolutionary War.  He was the second eldest to his parents Nelson Jacob Howard and Catherine Cornelia Mickel. 

The first census that Nelson appeared in is the 1850 census, when he was six years old. The family was still in Middlebury at this time. Nelson's father was a farmer and his real estate value was $1900. That's a pretty good number! The three oldest children, Phillip, 8; Nelson, 6; and Angenette, 5 had all attended school within the year. In 1860, however, the family was in Scioto Township, Jackson County, Ohio. Nelson's dad was still a farmer. His real estate was worth $1200 and his personal estate, $300. The eldest, Phillip, was a laborer. Neither Phillip or Nelson were in school, but this census does not have an occupation for Nelson. All the other children are in school, though, and everyone can read and write.

The Civil War soon broke out after this census, and Nelson enlisted 04 Aug 1862 as part of the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Company L. He was a little late to the game, however, as this company's original muster date was 08 Oct 1861.  He would join his fellow soldiers at Alexandria, Virginia. As such, he would participate in 9 battles with his company, including the Battle of Gettysburg. Nelson, along with the entire company, mustered out 04 Jul 1865 in Columbus, Ohio. Later in Nelson's life, according to newspaper articles, his grandchildren would visit the sites of the battles where their grandfather had fought.

During his time in the Civil War, he lost a brother and sister - Emma Jane, 7, and William, 14. I checked every single person's Ancestry tree to see if I could possibly find a source for at least Emma's place of death. Every single person has her dying at Arvada, Colorado, and no one has any documentation for this available on Ancestry. Wikitree also has nothing. I checked all my newspaper sources and came up empty handed. Emma died 02 Apr 1863. Her brother died just two days later. According to Wikipedia, Arvada is the first place gold was found in the Rocky Mountain region. The Territory of Colorado was formed 28 Feb 1861.

I have failed to find marriage records for Nelson or his bride Frances Ellen Folin, except for the 1900 census which listed them as being married for 32 years. That puts their marriage year as 1868, the year their eldest, William Forrest, was born.

In the 1870 census, the couple are still in Ohio with their two children, William, 2, and Emily, 6 months. Nelson is listed as a farm laborer, something I'm sure he wasn't content with.  The value of his real estate is left blank, and his net worth is $100. He may have received housing as part of his compensation. This census shows him correctly as being born in New York. His wife and 2 children were all born in Ohio. I thought, at first, that perhaps Nelson worked on his father's farm. On double-checking, however, his father and mother are in Prairie Creek, Illinois in 1870. The value of his father's real estate is also blank, but his personal worth was $500.

By the time the couple's third son, Ovid Albert was born in 1872, Nelson and his wife were in Waterville, Kansas. This son soon died, unfortunately. Their next child was James Otto, who was born 18 Feb 1874. On the 1875 Kansas State Census, Nelson was still listed as a farm laborer with both real estate and personal property values left blank. His wife and three children were also with him as was another farm laborer, Leroy Field.

Finally, in the 1880 census, it looks like Nelson was on his way to the bigtime. He wasn't in Waterville anymore but 300 miles to the west in Grant County, Kansas. The census listed him as "farmer," not laborer or farm laborer. This census doesn't tell us whether he owned land or how much he was worth, though, so we can't be for sure just by looking at the record. His wife was with him, and his four children: William, Emma, James, and Harry. The oldest three were all in school. Harry was only 2. I think it's interesting that the census enumerator, when listing Ohio as the birthplace of everyone except Nelson, he simply put "O."

Nelson's parents and a sister, in the 1880 census, were no longer in Prairie Creek, Illinois, but now were in their son's old stomping ground of Waterville, Kansas! The checkmark notating sick is next to his dad's name. On this census page, 12 people are marked as sick. Their daughter, Nelson's sister, 32-year-old Frances was listed as "at home."

In the Clyde Herald newspaper dated 06 Jul 1892, it stated that Nelson had begun receiving a pension for $12 a month with $200 back pay. The article stated that he had to wait for it for quite a while, but in his good humor, he also stated that it came at a good time.

Our next document is the 1895 Kansas State Census, dated 01 March. In this census, Nelson is listed as a farmer, along with his wife and five of his eight living children: Harry, Oscar, Grace, Earl, and Herbert. And then heartbreak struck the family. Nelson accidentally turned a lamp over and burned his house down. Everything that was downstairs inside the house was saved but nothing from the second story. He did receive an insurance settlement for this from "The German Insurance Company," and he promptly built a new house.

 In 1897, Nelson's mom died. His father followed in 1899. His father's obit stated that he had "lived on the farm where he died 28 years." That means, Nelson's parents moved to Waterville in 1871, so that checks out. The senior Nelson's obit states that he was, "kind to his neighbors, honest in his dealings, and believed in a true and living God."

Back to Nelson, Jr., in the 1900 census, we get the answer we were looking for. Nelson owns his own farm. It's mortgaged, but its his. Along with Nelson is his wife, who has had 10 births with 8 living children. That is correct. Living with them are their sons, Harry, Oscar, Earl, and Herbert. The two older boys are listed as farm laborers. The younger two are listed "at school."

In the 1905 Kansas State Census, Nelson is now 62 and still owed on his mortgage for the farm. This census doesn't give us much information, basically a list of who lived in the home and their ages. In Nelson's home are his wife, who is now 59 and two of his sons, Earl, 19, and Herbert, 15.

In the 1910 Federal Census, Nelson is no longer in Grant County, Kansas, but in the city of Clyde, Kansas in Cloud County.  Listed with him are his wife and son, Herbert, along with his daughter-in-law, 19-year-old May. Nelson was a farmer on a "general farm" on his own account. No mortgage this time, but it states he "rented" his "house," not a farm. His son's occupation is that of a farmer on a farm. The Clyde Voice Republican newspaper gives us the reason for this confusing detail. Nelson and his family have moved from the farm! In the 24 Feb 1910 edition, the newspaper tells us that Nelson has moved to town and is renting a house! I'm wondering if they did this so that they could have electricity and/or telephone service. In listening to my great granduncle's interview, he talked about how much easier their lives were after getting electricity.

In the 1915 Kansas State Census, it is Nelson and his Frances, along with just their daughter-in-law, May, and her son Gerald. Herbert is not there and later documents list him as divorced. I haven't been able to find much out about May, but she continued to live with her father- and mother-in-law after her divorce. They are still in Clyde, and this census tells us that he owned his house free and clear.

In the last census record for Nelson in 1920, it is Nelson, 76, with his wife Frances, 72. His occupation is "none." May is gone, but their grandson Charles remained. He was 9. It would be Charles who would order Nelson's military stone after Nelson's death in 1929.

I was unsuccessful in finding an obit for Nelson Isaiah, but I peeked at my cousin Glenn's tree, and he appears to have been in pretty bad shape health-wise at the end with poor eyesight and hearing as well as pain. But his life was good. Newspaper articles show him visiting all manner of family, especially his son William Forrest, who lived in Pocatello, Idaho. It also showed all manner of family visiting him. He was generous, having once taken a bushel of corn to the newspaper editor's office and volunteering when others needed help. I also think it speaks volumes about a man who worked his way up to owning his own farm. He knew what he wanted, and he made it happen.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Peter Howard of Brunswick, New York (1797-1865) The Father of a Gentleman

  Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

 Peter Howard of Brunswick, New York (1797-1865) The Father of a "Gentleman"
___________________

 by Carolyn Ann Howard
This post was updated 05 May 2022
Click on photos to enlarge

The purchase of Peter Howard's bible was nearly fruitless
I'm glad I have it, though.

My Howard family came to America through John "Godfrey" Howard, a Hessian soldier, who was hired by the British to fight against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. After the war, Godfrey Howard took up George Washington's offer to stay in America simply by taking an oath of allegiance to the United States. Howard settled down in Grafton, New York, got married and had children. One of those children was Peter Howard.

Peter Howard was born in Grafton, New York on 17 May 1797. He was baptized as an infant at The Gilead Lutheran Church in Brunswick, New York. I have these records in a box that's in the closet. I'm sure the record has the exact date, but all I recorded on my Ancestry tree was 1797 for the baptism. And that box is not easy to get down, either, so we'll leave it at that for now. Peter's baptismal sponsors were Peter Hoener, Jr and wife Elisabeta. The church building where he was baptized is no longer there, but the Gilead Church itself is still going strong, having relocated 2-1/2 miles south in 1817.

Peter married Sarah Brust 01 Feb 1823. I only know this because I have his Bible, and it is written inside it. I don't have a marriage certificate or any other document on Ancestry for this marriage. (Correction: Family Search has a text file for this event. The marriage occurred at the Gilead Lutheran Church.) Sarah was the daughter of Matthew Brust and Anna Maria "Mary" Wager. She was born somewhere in or around 1801 in New York. Peter and Sarah had only 3 sons that I can tell: Isaac (1824-1887),  Lyman (1826-1843), and Jacob (1835-1877).

Peter's father, John Godfrey, along with several of his brothers and sisters, migrated to Middlebury, New York, in or around 1831 at the age of 77. After the trip, he soon died, which so often happened to the older folks. Peter and John, Jr. were the only sons still living who stayed behind in Grafton.

I know very little about Peter Howard and family. I was hoping the purchase of his Bible on eBay would tell his tale. It didn't. We do have the census records, however. In the 1850 census, Peter was with his wife, Sarah, and 2 surviving sons in Brunswick, New York. Peter was listed as a farmer. His eldest son, aged 26, a school teacher. His younger son, aged 13, a laborer. Their middle son had since died. This Howard family were surrounded by Brusts!

In the 1855 New York State Census, the family were in the same place, and Peter and his two surviving sons were all listed as farmers. In the 1860 Federal census, they were in the same place; they were all together in the same household, and they were all listed as farmers. Peter's land, according to the census, was worth $2,000. His personal estate: $300. 

The subject of our essay, Peter, died in 1865 of stomach cancer; my cousin told me the cause of death. Isaac was his - as they say now - personal representative. I can find no records of how the will was distributed, only that Isaac was the one in control of the estate.

Am I wrong to wonder why these two sons never got married? Don't you think it's a little odd in the late 1800s to have two sons who didn't marry? And how did that middle son die?

Five years after Peter's death, in the 1870 census, Sarah and her two sons were still together on the same farm, that was now worth $3,000. The eldest son, Isaac, 46, was listed once more as a school teacher. The youngest son, Jacob, 35, was listed as a farm laborer. Why was Isaac a school teacher and not a farmer? After all, he now was the head of household on a farm that in 1870 was worth $3,000. Isaac had been a schoolteacher before, however, and maybe after his father died, he felt he could get back to it.

There also are no longer any Brusts on the same page as they are, nor the page before, nor the page after. There is the George Wager family, who likely was a relation to Peter's mother-in-law.

In the 1875 state census, it was just Isaac and Jacob living together. Their mother, Sarah Brust, had died that same year. Isaac was listed as a school teacher and Jacob as a farm laborer. Two years later, Jacob was dead. It is said that he drowned while intoxicated. I don't believe it. And why not? Because by the 1880 census, Issac had sold all the land and had moved to Lansingburgh, New York, a part of modern-day Troy. He was a boarder of George Clickner. I did George Clickner's tree to see if there was any familial relationship between his family and the Howards. There wasn't.

Issac's occupation on that census? Gentleman. Translation: Someone who has made so much money off an inheritance, that they no longer need an income. Well, good for Isaac, I guess. But why not just put "retired" or "retired school teacher?" That he told the census enumerator that he was a "gentlemen" feels arrogant to me. I do not have the answer. But hopefully one day, I will! And when I find it, you, dear reader, will be the first to know!

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

The Contrived "Sin" of My Great Grandmother, Eva Carroll Painter

Benjamin W. Carroll Family Line

Eva King Carroll Painter (1870-1934)

____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

My great grandmother, Eva Painter, was what my Uncle Willis called "a very nice person."  She was born in 1870 most likely near Birdseye, Indiana. Her maiden name was King. Click on photos to enlarge

Eva King Carroll Painter
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Eva was the second wife of Hickman Carroll. Hickman Carroll's sister was Sarah Carroll who married Jacob Painter. Hickman died. Sarah died. And so Eva married Jacob Painter, her brother-in-law. From what I understand, my grandmother Grace, Eva's daughter, was L-I-V-I-D!

But why?

My father, from my recollections, said it was because of the relationship, in that they were "related" as in-laws. My grandmother was strictly Pilgrim Holiness and for a while, this thought held up. But now, after having scanned through Holiness doctrine, I find nothing in it that states a member can't marry an in-law. There are some laws against what is called a consanguine marriage, which, according to Wikipedia, is a "marriage between two family members who are second cousins or closer." Although, according to National Institute of Health (NIH), this definition is a bit simple, we'll use the Wikimedia definition for our purposes here. 

The problems allegedly with this type of arrangement - marrying a cousin - is some evidence of birth defects in their offspring. It is illegal here in the United States in some states to marry a first cousin. It is perfectly legal, however, to marry an in-law.

My great grandmother, Eva, with her husband, Hickman, and their children
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Next, I checked the family tree to see if somehow Jacob Painter was blood related to Eva Carroll. I could find no evidence of any blood relations. So what was really going on here with Eva's daughter, Grace - my grandmother - and her anger at her mother marrying Jacob Painter?

My father told me that he believed his grandmother, Eva, was sickly. He said that his mother, Grace, had to take care of her brothers and sisters, taking over the cooking and other household duties, at the age of 12. And I can believe it, as my grandmother Grace was a power house in running a household. A widow when her youngest of seven children was just three years old, my father told me they had no bills growing up. No electricity, water, or phone bills!

Grace reared her children in the rural community of Alfordsville, Indiana, which at the time was a bustling community with its own school and general store. Many of the men of that town worked at the nearby Crane Naval Base, and a bus picked them up every morning. My father sings of a happy childhood filled with friends and neighbors, pick-up basketball games, and one school that served the entire community. He also dimly speaks of being forbidden food between meals - even a cracker - and how he fell down one day and hit his head, drawing blood and seeing stars, and was too afraid to tell anyone. He hid for hours until the dizziness passed.

Not having an income, except for a small pension from the Methodist Church, Grace grew and canned all their vegetables. It wouldn't surprise me if she made her own butter. She kept chickens but not a cow. Grace was an excellent cook, and we all stuffed ourselves with her yeast rolls and dumplings whenever we visited her at her final residence in Loogootee, Indiana.

Eva in her last days
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Eva's first husband, Hickman, died in 1920. I'm pretty sure Eva got the house they lived in, because I remember my dad talking about how his mother got the house when Eva died. Apparently this was a source of contention within the family.  Eva received a small settlement from her husband's death, about $600. She waited six years before remarrying her brother-in-law, and she might have jumped at the chance to improve her situation. Jacob Painter offered her, at the least, stability and at best, which I believe he was, a companion.

After marrying Jacob Painter, she moved in with him in French Lick, Indiana. Did her house in Newton Stewart stay empty? I don't know. But there, in French Lick, in 1930, she watched as her 26-year-old daughter, Esther, died. Once shrouded in mystery, we now know she died from typhoid fever. Her obit states she was rejoicing and singing hymns as she died, which I doubt. I take little comfort that Esther was, at least, with her mom as she died.

Three years later, Jacob Painter died. My great grandmother Eva was then shuffled back to her daughter and son-in-law's home in Union, Indiana. My father, who was born in 1929, remembered Eva living with them. Eva died shortly after her husband, two days before Christmas Day, 1934. Her obit states, "She was sick a number of weeks but bore her suffering patiently till death relieved her and her spirit took its flight." That sounds like something my grandmother would have written.

My grandmother Grace perhaps had the last word. Using the weather as an excuse to keep Eva's body from being taken to the cemetery in Newton Stewart, to be buried with her first husband, Hickman, Grace had the body taken to Loogootee, IN, where she had a plot of six graves. Already buried in that plot were her sister, Esther, and a daughter who died as an infant. Newton Stewart would've been about a drive of 1 hour and 15 minutes today. Loogootee was not much better at an hour from Union, Indiana. Perhaps the roads were better? Perhaps, in the end, Grace wanted to keep her beloved family close?

Whatever the reason, my grandmother took total charge. Her mother is buried next to her and the name on the stone? It should've been Eva Painter. Instead, it says Amanda Carroll, using Eva's legal first name and the last name of her first husband. Such are the nightmares of a genealogist!

Jacob Painter is buried with his first wife, Hickman's sister, Sarah, in Wickliffe Cemetery, Crawford County, Indiana.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

John Godfrey Howard's granddaughter, Mary Jeanette

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Mary Jeanette Howard Odell (1844-1917)

____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

This post was updated 15 Aug 2021

Jeanette Howard was the granddaughter of John Godfrey Howard, but she never knew her grandfather and perhaps not her grandmother, either. Jeanette was born 12 Jun 1844 most likely in Grafton, New York. John Godfrey left Grafton in or around 1831 with his wife, three of his sons, and their families. He died in 1834. Godfrey's wife, Susannah, remarried, was again widowed, and died in 1863. I don't know if Susannah ever returned to Grafton to visit with her other sons and daughters. Jeanette's parents were John Godfrey Howard II and Sybil Burdick. Jeanette was the youngest of at least 7 children.

Working through the 1850 United States census record, Jeanette was living with her family in Grafton, New York. Same for the 1855 New York state census. Its interesting, however, that in 1860 at the age of 17, she is not living with her parents but with her sister, Maria Howard Tilley and family. Wonder why? It could be that she was helping her sister and brother-in-law care for their children. Maria had just had a son, John W., who was 11 months old at the time of the census. We know he died young, so perhaps he was a sickly child. And it could just be that Jeanette was at her sister's house when the census enumerator visited, and he counted her there instead of at her parent's home.

What is striking, working through these census records, is how tight-knit these 1800 communities were. On the 1860 census of Grafton, we see the same names over and over. Howard, Tilley, Covey, Burdick, Sweet, and Odell. What is also striking is how tragedies could drive families to be even more united. Many families in the 1800s were large. This ensured safety, security, and care. This is what our forebear, Abraham Howard, forfeited when he left his Howard family in New York to bring his wife and children into southwestern Indiana. Abraham's son, Henry's antics further divided our Howard line, not to mention the effects of the Civil War with the death of Abraham II and the debilitation of Eleazar Howard.

Back to New York, however. In the 1860 census, Jeanette is listed as a seamstress, a noble profession.  In the 1865 New York state census, Jeanette was listed as Mary Odell, living at home with her parents, John and Sybil. Interestingly, this census listed how many children someone had, and it stated Sybil had 12 children. I currently only have 7 of these on my Ancestry public tree. This census also showed that Mary Odell has been married once and was now a widow. She was 20. Click on photos to enlarge

Beautiful Mary Jeanette Howard
with her husband, Lewis Odell
Courtesy: Ancestry

This story - maybe a love story, maybe not - might have begun with the death of Lewis Odell's parents before the census year of 1860. Lewis in 1860 lived with his brother, William Odell, and his wife, Eunice Howard Odell, Jeanette's older sister. Jeanette Howard and Lewis Odell were married in 1862. Shortly thereafter, Lewis left home to fight in the Civil War. He was 19. He would never come back, dying of pneumonia 16 Jan 1865. Another tragedy of this bloody war. How did the many widows of the Civil War feel being widowed at young ages? Or even old ages for that matter?

Jeanette had still not remarried by the 1870 census, living at home with her parents, but by the 1875 New York census, she was married to Harmon Snyder and lived together with Harmon's brother, Levi, Levi's wife, and their two sons. Harmon and his brother were listed as farmers within the city limits of Grafton. Interestingly, the census states they lived in a frame home that was worth $500.

In the 1880 United States census, Jeanette and her husband lived together, he as a farmer and she as "keeping house." One line down was Jeanette's father and mother. Both family's dwelling number was 42, so therefore, it appears John Godfrey II and Sybil  lived with them and was likely being cared for by Jeanette. Also with them was a 16-year-old niece Ella Burdick. Her occupation was that of a shirtmaker. This was a common occupation for women at that time.

The next record we have is the 1900 US census. Jeanette's husband, Harmon, was dead already, so at the age of 50, Jeanette has now been widowed twice. In the 1900 census, she still lived with Ella Burdick. She was also the same household number as John Carringer, who had been a boarder of hers on a previous census. Interesting. John Carringer's wife was a shirtmaker. Neither Jeanette nor Ella have occupations listed. Neither women has had any children.

In the 1910 census, we come full circle, as Jeanette lived once again with her sister, Eunice, and her husband, Jeanette's brother-in-law, William Odell. Its so nice to see sisters who are close and taking care of one another. It feels Jeanette has always had family to care for or to care for her. Just on this fact alone, I believe Jeanette was a wonderful, caring individual.

Jeanette applied for a pension after her first husband died in the Civil War. I do not know how much she received for this pension, but probably somewhere around $8.00 a month.

Funeral of Jeanette M. Howard Snyder 

As It Appears in The Semi-Weekly Times, Troy, NY 

Friday Afternoon, June 15, 1917 

The funeral of Jeanette Snyder was held from the Grafton Methodist Church Wednesday at 2 o'clock. Rev. David Paton officiated, assisted by Rev. Mr. White. Violet O'Dell, Mrs. Sherman Barnhart, Willie Wood and Curtis O'Dell rendered "Face to Face," "Shall We Gather at the River?" and "It Is Well With My Soul." The bearers were William O'Dell, Justice Wesley O. Howard, John Patterson and John Simon. The survivors are a brother and sister, Elijah Howard and Mrs. Eunice Odell. The floral tributes were many. Interment was in Grafton Cemetery.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

The Riches of the Socialite Sisters, Charlotte and Grace Howard

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

 

Charlotte Howard (1872-1958)
Grace Howard (1876-1952)

The Riches of the Socialite Sisters

____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

This blog was updated 29 Apr 2022.

We know that Charlotte and Grace's dad, William Edwin Howard, married well. We also know that he was wise with his money, buying a charming home, which his children inherited and used to their good fortune. His daughters, Charlotte and Grace, were socialites, who threw many parties and who also sang and played the piano.

William Edwin came with his Howard family from Middlebury, New York, firstly to Shoals, Indiana, around 1854, when he was 9 years old. He was listed as a laborer in the 1860 federal census. Soon after, he enlisted as a Union soldier in The Civil War. He met his wife, Annie Bragg, while stationed in Kentucky. He did well to marry her, even though it might have been a "shotgun" wedding. They were married the same year their eldest was born April 1869. This was not an unusual occurrence. In fact, it happened quite often.

By the 1870 federal census, William Edwin and Annie, along with their eldest son Fred, lived in Sherwood, Michigan, where daughters Charlotte and Grace were born in 1872 and 1876. By the 1880 census, the family was in Jackson, Michigan.

Grace never married and lived in her parents' home even as an adult. She worked as a stenographer and billing clerk. Funnily enough, on the 1910 census, she was listed as a musician! In 1920, she worked as a stenographer in a grocery house, but she is also listed as living with her sister in the 1920 Chicago census as a bill clerk in a wholesale grocery. It was not unusual for Charlotte and Grace to be together. Even though the adult Grace lived in Jackson, Michigan in her childhood home, and Charlotte lived in Chicago, Illinois, they visited each other quite often. In the 1930 census, Grace was listed firstly as a bill clerk, which was then marked out and replaced with "None." Although she never married, Grace was listed as a widow on the 1940 census. And it showed a daughter living with her! Click on photos to enlarge

The Howard home in Jackson, Michigan, present day. Hard to see because of trees.
Courtesy Google Maps, proper attribution given

Charlotte obtained her degree from Ypsilanti Normal College, now Eastern Michigan University, and became a schoolteacher. She waited until she was 35 before marrying the widower, inventor, and real estate mogul, Myron Detrick. Even after marrying, she kept her occupation as a teacher in the public schools.

Myron Detrick
Courtesy Ancestry.com
Fair Use

Charlotte and Myron continued to make their home in Chicago, Illinois, until after Charlotte and Grace's brother, Fred, died in 1939, in Manteno, Illinois. After that occurrence, Charlotte and Myron relocated to Jackson, Michigan, moving in with Grace. I haven't been able to find Charlotte and Myron in the 1940 census, and the reason might be that they were in the middle of their move. They lived with Grace in their childhood home until about 1949, when Detrick and Charlotte purchased a home of their own at 3052 Overhill Road in Jackson.

Charlotte was also an active member of the "Order of the Eastern Star" and the "Daughters of the American Revolution." Neither of them had any children that I have been able to find.

3052 Overhill Road - present day
Courtesy of Google Maps

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Suicide and Divorce of Elias Howard II's 3 Wives

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Elias Howard, II (1805 - after 1940)

____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

This post was updated 15 Aug 2021

I've been divorced twice, unfortunately, and my heart always goes out to anyone having to go through this ugliness. I've also dealt remotely with the suicide of a friend, and, as someone with an interest in the culinary world, I'll never get over the death of Anthony Bourdain

Playing off that introduction, it's interesting how the sons and daughters of John Godfrey Howard dispersed themselves throughout the United States, particularly Godfrey's son, Elias. This son was born 22 Oct 1805 in Grafton, New York. He moved, along with his parents, brothers and sisters, to Middlebury, New York in or around 1831.

The reason for the move from Grafton to Middlebury is unknown, but I'm working on the relationship between Godfrey Howard and the Brust and Vader families. The Vaders came to Middlebury in 1820 and may have talked the Howard family into later doing the same. In Grafton, the Howards were a part of Rensselaerwyck, working as tenant farmers. Things were about to get ugly there as the tenants were starting to revolt. Moving to Middlebury, now that I understand it better, was probably a really good idea.

Once the family arrived to Middlebury, Elias was firstly married to Joann or Johanna. They had 2 children, Joanna and George Washington Howard. After the birth of these two children, poor Joanna died. We know nothing more of Joanna or her daughter, Joanna.

Elias was secondly married to Katy Vader. After this marriage, George Washington Howard, Elias's son with Joanna, ran away from home, never to return. It was said that he didn't get along with his stepmother. I'm amazed how this young man, at the age of 14, successfully ran away from home in New York and went all the way to Michigan, battled in the Civil War, took a wife and had a family!

Elias and Katy had 12 children that I can tell at this point in my research. One of those children was named after his father, Elias, and this son is the subject of our story today. 

According to papers from The Middlebury Historical Society of old-timer memories, Elias II died a lonely old man who had no children. But that's the end of the story. Here's the beginning:

Elias II was born sometime in the 1850s, that prosperous decade prior to The Civil War. In the 1860 census, he was living with his parents, brothers and sisters. He was 9 years old, according to the census enumerator.

In the 1870 census, Elias II was 20. All his grown brothers and sisters were out of the parent's home. Only the three youngest were there, all under the age of 17. Elias, interestingly, was living with his brother Simeon. He was still single and listed as a farm laborer. This was in Middlebury, New York.

1880. Mind blown. Elias II was living in Hampton, Michigan, in Bay County. This is not necessarily the mind-blowing part, because his sister Polly was also there with her husband as was his brother, Leonard, and another sister, Elvira, with her husband. What is mind-blowing is that he was living in a Hampton boarding house with a dozen others, with an occupation of laborer. He listed his parents as both being born in Vermont. It feels like Elias should know better than that. His parents were both born in New York. Was he intentionally being flippant? Did he really just not know?

10 Jul 1881. Elias married a servant girl, Mina Woods. Cannot for the life of me find out much about this woman, Mina, which might be short for Wilhelmina. Her parents were born in England, according to the 1880 census. Mina was born in Michigan. In the 1880 census, she was 19 and living as a servant in the home of Albert Schuler. We know from the marriage certificate that Elias was still living in Hampton. In the 1880 census, Mina was in Merritt, Michigan. Both Hampton and Merritt were in Bay County.

Elias II and Mina were married under 5 years, as Elias II married his second wife 25 Mar 1886. We do have documentation of this first marriage with Mina Woods but no divorce record. It was easy to divorce, though, just move on. A couple didn't even have to go through the courts. Just start over. Easy. Although to start over might mean a move to a different town where no one knew who you were.

Elias denied this marriage on future census records.

It was disgraceful for a woman to be divorced at this time in American history. So if a person did get a divorce, legal or not, they usually claimed themselves as either widowed or unmarried. Since a woman's status depended on her being married, widow was the way to go. But good for Mina, though. She owned her divorce. In the 1900 census, she declared herself divorced. She at that time lived with the Charles Irving family as their servant. She no longer lived in Merritt but in Elias II's town of Hampton. On the census record, she stated that she had no children and had never been pregnant. I was unable to unearth any further information on Mina at this time.

25 Mar 1886. Elias II married his second wife, Ella May Bennett. They had a least one daughter, Frances G., who was born in 1888. In 1900, Elias was living with his brother Simeon... again.  In the 1910 census, nothing on Frances. 1920, Frances was married to Otto Bauss, a German immigrant. They lived in Kansas City, Missouri. It feels that someone else must have reared her or perhaps she ran away. Can't find any census records for her mother, Ella, but on her mother's second marriage certificate, Frances is not listed as her daughter.

Another possibility for a son, according to my father's records, was Elias III. No records found.

One last possibility for a child is that of a son, Frank M. Frank is listed with Elias and Emma on the 1894 census. That's the only record I have for Frank. And where is Frances? If Frank is 7 in the 1894 census, that makes him born the same year as Frances, 1888. Is Frank and Frances the same person? Were they twins?

11 Feb 1897. Back in New York, Elias II's mother, Katy Vader, died. According to her obituary, Elias II was the only living child not to be at her funeral.

23 Jun 1900. Elias II was again living with his brother Simeon as a day laborer. No wife. No children. Just Elias. By himself. This census record shows both parents correctly as having been born in New York. He was listed as married, which is true, but not for much longer. He was no longer living in Bay County, Michigan, but back in Middlebury, New York.

22 Aug 1900. Elias is granted a divorce from Ella. The reason? Desertion. She did not dispute it.

Ella was most likely a force to be reckoned with. She was on her own at the age of 14, working as a seamstress. After she left Elias, she worked as a clerk in a department store, The Boston Store. In the city directories, she claimed herself a widow of Elias. Six years later, she married a doctor.

06 Apr 1910. Elias was married the third time to Addie Belle Peck. They were married in Middlebury, for Elias would never leave his original hometown again.

1910. Elias II was living with his 3rd wife Addie Belle. Her father also lived with them, William Peck. Elias II stated his occupation was that of farmer. His father-in-law was listed as a carpenter.

1920. Elias II was still living with just Addie Belle, as his father-in-law died in 1911. He continued to be listed as a farmer. He would be all alone once more in just about a year for Addie Belle killed herself in 1921.

1930. Elias is 72 and living alone. His occupation was none. His father was listed as being born in New Jersey and his mother as being born in Pennsylvania, even though, again, they were both born in New York.

I do not know when Elias II died. I couldn't find him in the 1940 census on Ancestry. I did find him, though, using FamilySearch.org. He was living at the Wyoming County Home, which would be equivalent to our modern day nursing home, except conditions may or may not have been very good. According to that census record, he had been there at least 5 years.

We cannot access the 1950 census records quite yet - almost there! If Elias's name is listed there, he would be nearly 100 years old.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

Rodell Ella Howard Ellis: Shunned Stepdaughter, Beloved Granddaughter

Johann Gottfried Hauer (John Godfrey Howard) Family Line

Rodell Ella Howard Ellis (1857-1899) Shunned Stepdaughter; Beloved Granddaughter

____________________

by Carolyn Ann Howard

This post was updated 01May 2022

When I first considered writing a book about a family member, Ella Howard Ellis was my first choice. After learning that she died from tuberculosis, like her father before her, at the age of 42, I changed my mind. To say I didn't want to write such a sad ending doesn't seem to hold water, though. My first novel, Blood of My Ancestor was such a tragedy. Perhaps Ella would've been a brighter choice, after all, and the thought is still there. Her husband, William Ellis, seems like quite the character and a lot of fun. It also feels that we have a charming love story here, him being a wounded Civil War veteran with a right below-knee amputation (BKA), revised later to above-knee (AKA), and Ella being the lovely person I'm certain she was.

Ella's father was Henry Albert Howard and her mother, Elizabeth Smith. Do you know how difficult it is to do a family search on the name Elizabeth Smith? I'm quite sure that her father was Samuel Smith, from whom Henry's father first purchased acreage after landing in Shoals, Indiana.

Henry and Elizabeth were married in 1854, moved back to his native New York, and had 2 children Emory and Ella. Then, all of a sudden, Henry was married to his neighbor's daughter, Nancy Crays, living just outside of Loogootee, Indiana, and Elizabeth had disappeared. I dislike presumption very, very much; therefore, I'm skeptical that she died, bur I have no documentation of her after 1858.

On my family tree, I have Elizabeth Smith also linked with the Woody family of Martin/Lawrence County. There is some evidence that she may have been a Woody from a previous marriage. In working the tree, I've followed that hunch a bit, but I'm going to have to leave Evansville to find the answers, if indeed any answer is out there.

When Henry brought his two children back with him from New York, he moved to the area where his father and father-in-law lived in Perry Township, Martin County, Indiana, just outside of Loogootee.  Henry married his neighbor, Nancy Crays, in 1861. Together they had four sons and one daughter. The stepchildren, Emory and Ella, unfortunately, didn't get along too well with their stepmother.

Ella's father, Henry, died of tuberculosis in 1872. At that point, Emory moved out of the area and Ella, aged 16, went to Vincennes, Indiana, where her aunt Mary Jane Howard Sawyer lived. Ella's grandmother, Mary Ann Toles Howard, also went to Vincennes with Ella along with another grandson, Abraham Frank, whom Mary Ann had adopted. Click on photos to enlarge

1876 Map of Vincennes, IN
Public Domain

According to my dear friend and lovely cousin, Ann Hartwell Britton, who has done considerable research on the Howard tree, that once Ella landed in Vincennes, she took a job,

"either at a Methodist newspaper or a Methodist church putting out a newsletter. Two caveats: 1) This was told to me by the same people (that is, all the then-existing Ellises) who said her name was Mary Ellen Howard and 2) I called the Archives of the (now) United Methodist Church who told me there was no Methodist church in Vincennes at that time."

First ME Church, Vincennes
Public Domain
History of Old Vincennes
Click on photo to enlarge

Upon further investigation, however, Ann and I found that there was indeed a Methodist church in Vincennes at that time. According to History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume 1, by George E. Greene published in 1911 [2], the first Methodist Episcopal (ME) church was established in Vincennes in 1810 with the first building erected 1828 and a second, larger building erected 1854.

Ella and Will were married in Flint, Michigan on 07 Dec 1876, and lived their married life together in Michigan. In the 1880 census of Mount Morris, Michigan, we not only find Ella and Will but also, thankfully, Ella's grandmother Mary Ann, along with her cousin, Frank.

If I were writing a fictional story about Ella and Will, I might have them meet at this Methodist Episcopal Church in Vincennes, Indiana. Or what if they met somewhere else? After all, they weren't married in Vincennes but in Michigan. It is clear, however, that Ella and Will both had roots in Vincennes, and it is an important location to their untold story.
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1. Ella is listed as Rodell on the 1870 census.
2. Most counties have a written history in the public domain. Consult Google Books and type in either the town or county name along with the state followed by the word "history."

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