The family of John Harter 1830-1902

One of the reasons I write these blog posts is to see what connections there might be among some of the different families I profile.  Another reason is to double check the information I have gathered, hoping to find new information or reasons to change my mind about one person or another.  I've accomplished all three goals in this blog post.  

John Harter was born in 1830, almost certainly in Licking County, Ohio, the son of George and Elizabeth Geiger Harter.  His parents moved to Whitley County, Indiana when John was just a boy.  John married Mary Bennett in 1851 in Whitley County, and they had a least six children together.  All of the children stayed in the general area from South Whitley eastward to Allen County, Indiana.  

I found serious confusion on various family trees about Harvey, their first born son.  He has been confused with a Harvey who stayed in Ohio and married Janette Harvey.  That is not our Harvey.  Ours was twice married.  His first wife, whom he married in 1873, was Sarah Gordon, the daughter of James and Catherine Harter Gordon.  (Yes, Catherine was a distant cousin, descended from the same George Harter that Harvey was from, several generations back.)  Sarah died in 1875, apparently without children.  In 1877, he married Laura Harshbarger, the daughter of John and Julia Snyder Harshbarger.  (Yes, Laura is a relative, the niece of Lewis and Catherine Mentzer Harshbarger, so there are at least two Harter-Harshbarger marriages that we know of as of now.)  Harvey and Laura had three daughters, Mamie, Naoma or Naomi, and Klessa, known as Dessie.  Harvey died in 1939.

Next was Sarah, born in 1854.  She married Anderson Gordon, who was the son of James and Catherine Harter Gordon mentioned above.  Their known children are Sanford, Alice, Amanda, Perry, Sarah, Mary, Bessie and Edward.  Sarah died in 1934.

Elizabeth was next, born in 1856.  She married Richard Claxton, the son of Isaac and Sarah Crow Claxton.  Their children are Harvey, Ira, Oren, Ella and Frances.  Elizabeth died in 1902.

Clara was the next daughter.  She married Emmanuel Harshbarger, the son of Lewis and Catherine Mentzer Harshbarger.  Their known children are Lewis, Maude, Olive, Edward, Bertha, Grover, Luke, and Logan.  I've written about this family previously.

Laura was born next, in 1858.  She is not shown in the 1860 census, nor the 1870 census, so she possibly died young.

Some trees show a Mary E born in 1859.  I believe this is incorrect.  She belongs to another Harter family, possibly the one in Ohio that I mentioned earlier.  If someone has information that shows otherwise, please contact me, as I don't want to overlook a family member if I can help it.

Finally, there is Henry Harter, born in 1859.  He was the "rebel" in the family, moving to Wabash County for at least some of his life.  He married Edith Jackson, the daughter of Myron and Elizabeth Gilbert Jackson.  Their children are Bessie, May, Olive, and Alice.  

The Harter family started out in Germany, came through Rockingham County, Virginia, Licking County, Ohio, and mostly settled in or near Whitley County, Indiana.  It would be fascinating to actually hear their stories, instead of just knowing the facts.

 

The family of George Harter 1801-1854

 George Harter, also seen as George Harter Jr., left a few more bread crumbs for us to follow.  He was born in 1801 in Rockingham County, Virginia and died in 1854 in Whitley County, Indiana.  His wife was Elizabeth Ann or Anna Geiger, the daughter of Anthony and Mary Kirk Geiger.  The couple had met and married in 1825 in Licking County, Ohio.

George and Elizabeth had at least six children together.  There may be more, because the first known child was not born until 1830.

John was the first son we have knowledge of.  He married Mary Bennett, the daughter of Solomon and Margaret Farmer Bennett, in 1851 in Whitley County, Indiana.  Their children are Harvey, Sarah, Elizabeth, Clara, Laura, Mary, and Henry.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.

Mary was born in 1832.  She married Ozias Boggs, the son of William and Susanna Mohr Boggs.  Their children are a bit hard to decipher on the various census records.  They were Owen or Orin, George, John, Laura or Flava (or something else!), Lewis, Ida, an infant son who was born and died in 1867. and Nemmea, seen as Nimmie.  Mary died in 1932.

Henry was next, born in 1834.  He married Mahala (Mary) Hill, the daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Crow Hill.  Their children are Sarah, Marie or Maria, Naoma or Naomi, Amelia, George, Charles, and Ethel.  Henry died in 1900,  

Anthony was born in in 1836 and married Susannah Catherine Boggs, the daughter of William and Susanna Mohr Boggs, another case of siblings marrying siblings.  Their children are Amanda, Laura, Joseph, Perry, Howard, and George.  Anthony died in 1909.

Elizabeth was born in 1838 and married James Jackson, the son of Lemuel and Mercy White Jackson.  James is a bit interesting because he was born in Maine, which is a bit different from the Ohio-Virginia-Pennsylvania locations of the families so far mentioned in the Harter line.  Their children are Sarah, Isaak, Isaiah, Samuel, Eleazor, Joseph, and Eldora (seen as Dora).  Lemuel died in 1880 and Elizabeth married William Hoverstock in 1893.  There were no children born to that marriage, as Elizabeth was 55 at the time of her second marriage.  She died in 1924.

Sarah was a surprise to me.  She is not noted in my previous blog post, because I did not know about her.  She was born in 1841 and married William Miller, the son of Daniel and Margaret Wolf Miller. Their children are George, Noah, Ella, Sarah, and Lewis (also seen as Louis).  Sarah died in 1909.

These children all lived in a tight geographic area of Noble, Whitley, and Allen Counties in Indiana.  Their children would have known a lot of cousins!  If my count is correct and complete, George and Elizabeth had 39 grandchildren.  They surely had an impact on their neighborhood! 

The family of George Harter 1772ish-1835

 I wish I knew more about this family.  George was likely born in Rockingham County, Virginia, the son of George Harter and possibly Eva Bracker.  (I'm not certain of this connection, but it's a possibility.) His wife is shown as Anna Elizabeth Geiger, but this may be confusion with a later George who married Elizabeth Geiger. Her name may better be recorded, for the time being, as Elizabeth unknown. George died in Burlington Township,Licking County, Ohio in 1835.  

George and Elizabeth had 10 children, and there is very limited information about them, with confusion about birth dates as is often the case for this time period.

Catherine was born about 1800.  She married Richard Holtsberry, the son of Nicholas and Catharine Corbus (?) Holtsberry.  Their known children are Martha, John Nicholas, Gabriel, Harvey, and Mary.   

George was born September 21, 1801.  He married Anna Elizabeth Geiger, daughter of Anthony and Mary Kirk Geiger.  Their children are John, Mary, Henry, Anthony, Elizabeth, and Sarah Ann.  He died in Whitley County, Indiana in 1854, and I will follow this family in a future post.

John Harter was born May 25, 1803.  He married Mary Bower, who remains unidentified.  Their children are Benjamin, William, Harvey, Margaret, Henry, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Catherine.  He died in 1871 in Smith Township, Whitley County, Indiana.

Susannah was born about 1807 and married John Geiger, the son of Anthony and Mary Kirk Geiger.  Sadly, they were married about two years when she died.  I've found no record of children born to them.

Frances Harter is also thought to have been born about 1807.  She married James Holtsberry, the son of Nicholas and Catharine Corbus (?) Holtsberry.  Their children are Catherine, John, Martha, Isaac, Solomon, William, Christenia and Mary Ann.  She died in Licking County, date not known.

Isaac Harter, birth date not known, married Sally Holtsberry.  This was the third Harter-Holtsberry marriage, as Sally was also the daughter of Nicholas and Catharine Corbus (?) Holtsberry.  I have not been able to trace Isaac and would love to know details of his life.

Charlotte was another daughter.  She married Presley Trumbo and probably died before 1850.  They had at least one child, Matthias.

Gabriel Harter is said to have married Edy Boners.  I have no further information about him.

Finally, there is Christian, who is believed to have married a Catherine.  

I don't know why there is so little information about some of these last Harters.  I am not locating any in of them in the 1850 census, anywhere in the country.  There was a terrible cholera epidemic in 1833-1834.  Did they die then, or later?  More research needs to be done, to complete the story of this family.

 

A very short post about Eli Martin, 1841-??

 Who, you might ask, is Eli Martin?  I'm asking the same question.  Usual on line sources are not giving me very many answers.  So, if he's not a direct ancestor, and I don't know much about him, why am I writing this blog post?  The answer is simple, to my mind.  He served in the Civil War.  He was in the same unit as his brother in law, David Wise, and David's brother, Philip Wise.  All three men are from Lagro, a very small town in Wabash County, Indiana.  Eli served with the other two men in the 123rd Indiana Infantry, company I.  He was drafted in 1864 and discharged in Louisville, Kentucky in 1865, having served about 9 months.  This was long enough that he filed for disability benefits in 1890.  I would love to have the genealogy dollars to order his pension file, because that might shed some light on some of the many unanswered questions I have. 

I briefly mentioned Eli in the recent blog post about the family of Andrew Wise, because Eli, the son of Timothy and Hannah Tilberry Martin, married Elizabeth Wise, the daughter of Andrew and Mary Serfass Wise. They had three children together.  Normally I write at least a paragraph about each child, giving the spouse's name and the names of their children.  However, I am at a standstill.  Census records show that their children are John, Timothy, and John again, which leads me to believe that the first John, born in 1867, didn't live long.  But what happened to Timothy and the second John?  

I have no information about Timothy at all, and the John Martins that I've found don't seem to match what little we know about him.  This family was one that was in the lower economic strata.  They were farm laborers, so may have moved into another county.  However, I've found no marriage records nor death records for either man, and that seems strange.  Did they both die without marrying and without children? 

Eli deserves more recognition than he has received so far.  I apologize for not being able to answer the questions I have about him.  Can anyone help?  

The family of Jackson Wise 1817-1893

Jackson Wise may or may not be an actual blood relative but he is certainly a part of the Wise family.  The question always is-was Mary Wise, who married William Beeks, actually the daughter of Jackson and Charity, or not?  I've been told she was "adopted" unofficially, and I've been told she was their biological daughter.  I don't know how, at this point, it would be possible to prove either story.  

Jackson was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Harshbarger Wise.  He was born December 31, 1817 so was less than two years old when his father died.  He married Charity Botkin, the daughter of George and Elizabeth "Fannie" Feathergill Botkin, in 1836 in Shelby County, Ohio.  The couple had four children together, or maybe just two, but all were treated as their children.

The first child, Sarah, was born in either 1834 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, or more likely, in 1837 in Shelby County, Ohio.  She was listed as 13 years old in the 1850 census in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, but there appears to be a different date on her headstone.  Headstone dates can be wrong, especially when the person dies as a spouse of a second or subsequent spouse, but so can census dates.  Sarah first married Ambrose Wright, the son of Ambrose and Eunice Hale Wright.  Their children are Riley, Mary, Emma, Annis, Charles, Hiley, and Ruella.  After Ambrose's death, Sarah married Levi Stevens.  She died in 1890 near Lincolnville, Wabash County, Indiana.

Mary, our mystery lady, was born in either 1840, 1844 or 1846.  The last two dates come from census records.  I'm not sure where the date of August 31, 1840 comes from.  Mary married William Beeks, the son of John and Mary "Polly" Carter Beeks, and they had at least 10 children.  The known children are Jackson, Charity, Sarah, John, George, Rachel, and Martin.  There are also three additional children or babies who perhaps didn't live long enough to leave any written records.

Abel Wise was born in 1851, was reported on the 1860 census, and then completely disappears.  He would not have been old enough to fight in the Civil War, but it does seem that he must have died somewhere, before the 1870 census.  If anyone has information about Abel, we'd sure love to have it.  Jackson was still in prison in 1851 so it's a little confusing.  Abel may not have been a Wise at all.

Finally there was Rachel, who was born in 1855.  She was a servant in the home of possibly Frank Lynn (name is hard to read) in 1880, and died in 1881. 

Whether or not Jackson and Charity are biological parents to Mary, they would have been treated as such, and the family members would have interacted with the children and grandchildren of Andrew Wise (see my last post) and with the Beeks family.  Additional information is always welcome!

The family of David Wise 1837-1927

 This week's post will try to follow the family of David and Matilda Martin Wise.  David was the son of Andrew and Mary Serfass Wise, and was a Civil War veteran, although he didn't enlist until near the end of the war.  (His brother, Philip, and his brother in law, Eli Martin, all from the area of Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana were also Civil War veterans. (I've written of Philip earlier and plan to write of Eli soon.)  Matilda was the daughter of Timothy and Hannah Tilbury Martin. David died in 1927 in Andrews, Indiana, at the home of his grandson.

I've located just five children for this couple, one of whom died young and another who I believe also died young.  Andrew was their first son, born in 1864 and died in 1866.  David would have missed much of his first son's life, as he spent most of 1865 in the US Army.  

Their next child, a daughter Hannah, born in 1867,married James Harris, the son of Aaron and Mary Ann Denton Harris. She was about 30 years old at the time of her marriage.  James died and in 1913 she married Frank Brian in St Joseph, Berrien County, Michigan.  They apparently had one child, Alvin.  I've not found death information for her.

Elizabeth was born in 1870.  She married John W Beeks, the son of William and Mary Wise Beeks.  They had three children, Chester, Charity and Wilbur.  Elizabeth died in 1922 in Andrews, Huntington County, Indiana, at the home of her son Wilbur.

John was born in 1872 and died in 1941 at the home of his nephew, Wilbur Beeks in Andrews, Indiana.  He had been a farm laborer all his life, and had never married.  Mentioned as flower bearers in his obituary are Anna Mae Beeks, Mary Margaret Beeks, Norma Jean Beaks, and Bonnie Lou Beeks, who were the older daughters of Wilbur and Cleo Aldridge Beeks. 

And finally, Martin was born January 22, 1876.  His mother Matilda died the same year, but I don't have a death date for her.  I can't find Martin in the 1880 census so there is a possibility that he didn't long survive his birth. And of course, Matilda may have died as a result of this birth.  

David and Matilda apparently had just four grandchildren.  They lived simply but raised their family, and they have many descendants today. 

The family of Andrew Wise 1796-1868

 We're getting close enough to the present time and we're in the county right next door, and I still don't have all the answers to this family.  Some of the dates don't seem to quite match up (birth dates vary by as much as five years in census reports) but I have reasonable hopes that this list is not too far away from accuracy.  In order words, do your own research if you are not comfortable with this, and if you can add to this in any way, please contact me.

Andrew Wise, the son of Johan Jacob and Charlotte Raub Weiss or Wise, was born about 1796, in either Northampton County, Pennsylvania or in New Jersey.  He traveled with his father to Miami County, Ohio, and married Mary Serfass (Ceirfoss, other spellings) in 1821 in Shelby County, Ohio. She is the daughter of Philip and possibly Eva Serfass.  

In the 1840 census, Andrew and Mary are in Shelby County, Ohio, with at least five children, plus a mystery male listed as 20-29 years old.  He could have been a laborer on the farm or a boarder in the house, but there is the possibility that he was a son born to one or both of them before their marriage.

Based on ages shown on this census, and on what is shown on the 1850 census, and a couple of hopefully educated guesses, this is the family as I see it at this time.  The children would have been born in Shelby County, Ohio, with the possible exception of the youngest, Philip, who may have been born in Indiana.

The first son was John, born about 1827.  I don't know what the situation was with John, but he was at home in 1860. In 1870 he was at the "poor farm" in Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, and by 1880 he is listed as a resident of the county infirmary, which was basically the same place.  I think possibly the term infirmary indicates that he was no longer able to work on the farm, but I don't know any more than that.  Neither have I yet located death records for him, although I haven't found him in the 1900 census.  Also, the 1880 census shows him as married, but I've not found evidence of that and I think it could be a mistake.

Samuel was the next born, about 1832.  It looks like he was married twice, first to Elizabeth Miller, who seems to be the mother of his first two children, Jeremiah and Andrew.  It appears that she died in the early 1860s, and he then married Elizabeth "Bettie" Greenwalt, the daughter of John and Marthas Brookhart Greenwalt.  She was about 20 years younger than Samuel.  Samuel and Bettie had at least the following children: Noah, Clara, Rubin, Nancy, and Neada.  I found a reference that he was the father of 9 children, so perhaps there are more that I've not yet located.  Samuel died in 1894 in Elkhart County, Indiana, where he seems to have lived most of his adult life.

Then there was Elizabeth, who is confusing because her birth dates are given as 1834 and 1843.  There is a possibility there were two Elizabeths, but I view the 1843 date with a grain of salt, as there was another child born that year.  Elizabeth married Eli Martin, who is the son of Timothy and Hannah Tilberry Martin.  Their children are John and Timothy, and they also had a nephew, David Martin, who lived with them.  She is seen in the 1900 census in Licking Township, Blackford County, Indiana.  

David Wise was born in 1837 and married Matilda Martin, who was the daughter of Timothy and Hannah Tilberry Martin, noted above.  (Lagro. Indiana was a small town and there were several marriages of local people in that time period.)  Their children are Andrew, who died at about 18 months of age, Hannah, Elizabeth, John Philip, and Martin. I will write more of this family in my next post.  

And finally, there was Philip, born in 1843.  He married Elizabeth Grimes, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Flowers Grimes.  Their children are Louis (sometimes seen as Lewis), Mary Ellen, Philip, Hettie and Elmer.  Philip died in 1902.

This leaves one female aged 15-19 in 1840 unaccounted for.  She may not be a daughter at all, of course, and she is not listed with the family in the 1850 census.  I have seen a reference that made me wonder whether this might be a daughter called Mary, but it was just a hint and not really anything to pin one's hopes on.  I would like to know who this person was, though, and whether she was related in some way to the Wise family, or for that matter, the Serfass family.

I would like to have more definite information about this family, but I'm pleased to have learned this much about them.  The men in this family were farm laborers, which means they had important jobs but made little money from their efforts.  I honor them for their hard work and for the families they supported. 

The mysterious family of Jacob Wise 1767-1829

 I know next to nothing of this family, and am left with just a few people of interest, basically.  It's hardly enough for a "wanted" poster.  If anyone can help with the children of Jacob and Charlotte, I'd be most grateful!  

Johan Jacob Wise was born in 1767, the son of Felix and Anna Maria Weiss, and died in January of 1829 in Shelby County, Ohio.  (As I mentioned in my last blog post, I am not at all sure of Anna Maria's maiden name.  She is usually shown as van Buskirk, but she married a van Buskirk after Felix's death.  That doesn't necessarily rule out a van Buskirk couple as her parents, but I haven't found any hint of them yet.)  He married Charlotte Raub, the daughter of Andreas (Andrew) and Maria Charlotta Weber Raub.  She was from New Jersey, and their first son, Peter, is said to have been born in Knowlton Township, Sussex County, New Jersey in 1791.  

That is as much as I know for sure about Peter-he was born.  Different trees give him different wives, but none make geographical sense to me at the moment, and I don't have a guess for what happened to him.  

Jacob was born in 1794 and died in 1819 in Shelby County, Ohio.  His wife is Elizabeth Harshbarger Phillips, and they had one child, Jackson.  

Andrew was born in 1796 and died in 1868 in Wabash County, Indiana.  He married Mary Serfass, the daughter of George Philip and Eva maiden name unknown Serfass.  Their children are John, Samuel, Elizabeth, David, and possibly Mary.  I will follow this family in my next post.  

Samuel Wise is reported to have been mentioned in Jacob's will, but the relationship is not clear.  Is he a son?  There is a Samuel Wise in the 1830 census in Newbury Township, Miami County, Ohio (bordering Shelby County) who would have been born sometime in the 1800-1809 decade, but I am not sure this is the same man.  I am intrigued by the marriage of Samuel Wise to Malinda Enos in Shelby County, Ohio on November 24, 1828.  If this is our man in the 1830 census, Malinda was quite young when she married, as the oldest female is 15-19.  By the 1840 census, there were 6 children in the family, all under 10.  I'd love to know more!

I have seen a tree giving two additional children for this family.  Joseph Wise married Nancy Hicks on May 14, 1822.  I am unable to trace him further.

John Wise married Polly Danner, the daughter of Leonard and Catherine Harmon Wise in Miami County on August 27, 1818.  Again, I am unable to trace him further.  Andrew did name a son John, perhaps for his brother, but this is speculation.

As you can see, this family needs much more work.  It's one of many projects on my to-do list, but if you can help, I would be so pleased. 

The family of Felix Weiss (died 1779)

 I like to start my posts with a bit of certainty-so and so was born (date) in (wherever) to (names of parents).  Unfortunately, this post starts with Felix Weiss/Wyss/Wise is said to have been born between 1720 and 1725, in either Germany or Switzerland, possibly the son of Felix and Anna Huber Weiss.  I have not found any documentation for dates, or for location, or for parents.  The first documentation I've found for Felix is his 1747 arrival in Philadelphia.  This may or may not have been his first arrival in America.  There were several Huber men on the same ship, the Bilander Vernon, and all took the oath of allegiance together.  That ship had sailed from Rotterdam so either Germany or Switzerland would work as a point of origin.  This particular record did not record women or children so that tells us little.

But at least it's something.  It is likely that Felix was married when he arrived in 1747, to Anna Maria whose maiden name I have not found.  She is frequently seen as van Buskirk, but that is because she married George van Buskirk the year after Felix died.  Felix died in 1779 in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.  Felix and Anna Maria had at least six children together, although some are not documented to my satisfaction, and I am reasonably sure that this list of children and grandchildren is incomplete.  Here is what I've been able to find.

Henry is fairly well documented.  He was born in 1750 and died in 1827.  He was a Revolutionary War soldier, and married Margaret (Margaretha) Borger, the daughter of Johan Nicholas and Ottillia Schaffer Borger.  Their known children are Jacob, Ann, Elizabeth, Margaretha, Catharine, Henry, Susanna, Anna, Sara, George, Magdalena, and Maria.  Interestingly, his property border on that of William Serfass.  who may be part of the Serfass family that married into the Wise family four generations later.   

Anna was probably the next born, as her birth is estimated as before 1755 and the next child was born in 1754.  She married Johan George Hood or Huth, and died in 1842.  Their children are Anna, Margaret, and Magdalena, and possibly more.  

Margaret was born in 1754, and married Henry Brinker, the son of Jacob and Susannah Hinkle Brinker.  She died in 1845.  I've found three children for them-George, Henry, and Margaret.  There may be more.  

We have a break of 10 years before another child is mentioned.  I don't know what happened.  Were there unsuccessful pregnancies, or children who were born and died young?  Either is possible but neither is proven.

The next child is Felix, born in 1764 and died in 1854.  He married Eva Catherine Bossard, the daughter of Johannes Melchior and Margaretha Catherina Keller (may be Heller). Their children are Margaretha, Susanna, Felix, Daniel, and George.

Johan Jacob was born in 1767 and died in 1829 in Shelby County, Ohio.  He married Charlotte Raub, the daughter of Andreas and Maria Charlotta Weber Raub.  They had three or possibly four children, all known by the Wise spelling-Peter, Andrew, Jacob, and possibly Samuel.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Daniel is believed to be the last child, born in 1762 and died in 1812.  He married Elizabeth, whose identity is still unknown to me.  There was probably more than one child, but the only one I know of is Felix.  The 1800 census shows two males under the age of 10.  

I would love to hear from Weiss/Wise family researchers, who may have names and dates of these children and grandchildren.  I'd especially love to know of the maiden names of Anna Maria, and of Elizabeth, who at this point are not identified.  Please contact me if you have any information, or thoughts! 

 

The family of John Root 1672-1731

 In my last blog post, I completed the line of Root men and their families that is the longest, from John to John to Samuel to Martin to Martin Jr.  Martin Jr.s daughter Ruth married Samuel Falley, and that was the end of the Root name in our family.  But there is one more Root to write about.  

John, then John, and then John again, the brother of Samuel, was ignored while I traced the longer Root line, but he deserves his own post because he also had a family, although a small one.  John was the son of John and Mary Ashley Root, born in 1672 and died in 1731 in Westfield, Massachusetts.  He married Sarah Stebbins, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, in 1701 in Westfield.  

They had one child, Sarah, born in 1702, who married Thomas Noble, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble.  Sarah and Thomas's children are Sarah, Thomas, Stephen, Eunice, John, Silas, Elizabeth, Caleb, and Seth.  

John's wife, Sarah, died sometime between the birth of her daughter and 1712, when John married Elizabeth Bissell, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail Holcombe Bissell.  She had first married Samuel Sackett, but was widowed in 1709.  I have seen various death dates for Sarah but have not been able to determine which is correct, so that's still a blank spot in my records.

John and Elizabeth had three or possibly four sons in short succession.  Stephen, an unnamed son, and possibly another unnamed son all died as newborns or infants.  The last son, Moses, born in 1717, did live to adulthood.  He married Sarah Ingersoll, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Dewey Ingersoll, and died in 1748.  I have found no record of children for Moses and Sarah.  Sarah Dewey Ingersoll was a niece of Elizabeth Dewey Noble, if I have this figured correctly.  

So we have "daughtered out" again with Sarah Root Noble, and I will start a new family line in my next blog post. 

Blog post #1001: The family of Martin Root Jr. 1753-1822

If you don't mind my saying so, this family intrigues me.  Martin is a DAR recognized Revolutionary War soldier, for one thing.  For another, in his later years he moved from Westfield, Massachusetts, to Montgomery, (still in Hampshire County), Massachusetts and then later still to the Buchanan Settlement in Harrison County of what is now West Virginia.  Why did he leave Massachusetts, the home of his ancestors for generations?  So far, all I can deduce is that members of his family as well as other settlers from Montgomery traveled and settled together.  I'd love to find the rest of this story!

Martin was the son of Martin and Eunice Lamb Root, of Westfield, Massachusetts.  He was born in 1753 and died in 1822.  He was married twice, as I just recently learned.  His first wife is Ruth Noble, the daughter of Stephen and Ruth Church Noble.  She died in 1790 and he then married Lois Smith, the daughter of Warham and Martha Belding Smith, in 1793.  I have seen her referred to as Ann Lois, but the marriage records of Westfield list her name as Lois, so that is the name I'm using.

Martin and Ruth had at least 6 children together, all born in Westfield.  What I find fascinating about this family is that three of the six children married siblings, the children of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  These two families must have been very close friends, probably members of the same church, and the cousin relationships are hard to keep straight.  

Noble Root was their first son.  He married Damaris Barrett, daughter of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  Their children are Alanson, Belinda, Cynthia, Rebecca, Laurinda, Oriliana, and George.  After Damaris died, Noble then married Harriet Bushnell, the daughter of Ebenezer and Susanna Hubbard Bushnell.  They had three daughters-Harriet, Elizabeth and Susan. Noble died in 1831 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.

Martin was the next born, in 1781.  He married Mary Barrett, daughter of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett, and sister to Damaris above.  Their children are Marcus Aurelius, Linus, Mary, Moses, Martha, Samuel, Lysander and Damaris.  Martin died in 1838 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.  

Ruth was the next born, in 1784 and she was their first daughter.  She married Samuel Falley, the son of Richard and Margaret Hitchcock Falley.  Their children are Lois, Clarissa, Richard, Charles, Samuel, Francis, Ruth, Edmund, Linus, Eunice and Charlotte.  (So many of these names are used over and over, I certainly hope I haven't mis-identified any!)   Ruth died in 1862 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.

Charlotte was born in 1786.  She married Theodore Stearns, the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Edwards Stearns.  Their children are Mary, Charlotte, Daniel or/and possibly David, Henry, and Theodore.  She died in 1863 in Easthampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts.   I usually ignore middle names when I name the children, but this one is so unusual it must be mentioned.  Theodore's middle name was Obookiah.  He was likely named for Henry Obookiah, a native Hawaiian who was educated in Connecticut as a Christian pastoral candidate, but who died of typhus before he could return to Hawaii.  It would certainly be interesting to know how close Charlotte or Theodore were to this man, and the source of their relationship! Theodore is noted as being a deacon, so it's likely that there was a connection through church.

Charles was the next son, born in 1789.  He married Mary Jackson, the daughter of John and Jemima Davison Jackson.  Their children are Jemima, Charles, Elizabeth, William, another William, Carlton, Henry, Charlotte, and Truman.  Charles died in 1847 in Edwards County, Illinois.

Martin and Ruth's last child was Eunice, born in 1790.  (Ruth's death that same year may well have been connected to the childbirth.)  She died June 29, 1822 in West Virginia.  Her husband was Elisha Dow Barrett, son of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  In the approximate six years of their marriage, they had four children-Lysander, Louisa, Eunice and Louvinia.  

Martin and Lois, his second wife, had at least two children.  

Edmund was born in 1795 and married Eva Reinhart, the daughter of George and Susannah Wiles Reinhart.Their children are George, Susan, Mary Jane, Flora, and a son who died in infancy.  Edmund died in 1848 in Bone Gap, Edwards, Illinois.  

Linus was born in 1797. He married Martha Burr, the daughter of John and Mary (Polly) Copeland Burr.  (If we follow the Burr line back far enough, she was a descendant of John and Mary Warren Burr, who are ancestors on the Holbrook side of the family).  Their children are Lois, Louisa, Martin, John, Mary Jane, Edmund, Linus, David, Charles, David again, Martha, and Richard.  Linus also died in 1848 in Bone Gap, Edwards County, Illinois. 

Martin is credited with 64 grandchildren.  His children settled mostly in Granville, Ohio and Bone Gap, Illinois, although one stayed behind in Massachusetts and one died shortly after arriving in West Virginia.  The family was growing as the country grew, thanks to the efforts of men like Martin, and other Revolutionary War soldiers mentioned in this post without reference to their military service. 

The family of Martin Root 1721-1793

Martin Root, the head of the family we're reviewing today, was born in 1721 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel and Mary Gunn Root.   He died in Westfield in 1793. Presumably he left the town for short trips but other than that, he stayed there his whole life.  One of his contributions to the town was another generation of Roots, several of whom stayed in the town their whole lives.  He married, in 1745, Unis/Eunis/Eunice Lamb, the daughter of Samuel and Martha Stebbins Lamb.  Their children are:

Unis, born in 1746 and died in 1747.  It must have been terribly hard to lose their first child, despite the presence in the town of many family members.

Miriam, born a few months before Unis's death, in 1747.  She married Samuel Falley, the son of Richard and Anna Lamb Falley.  (I have not been able to determine any relationship between Anna Lamb, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and Eunice Lamb, whose roots go back to Dorchester, England.)  Samuel Falley is also our ancestor, through another line.  Miriam and Samuel Falley's children are Anna, Samuel, Miriam, Theodosia, Rachel, and Rhoda.  Miriam died in 1813 in Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

Samuel, their first son, born in 1749. He married Tryphena Kellogg, the daughter of Samuel and Merab (Mary) Nash Kellogg, and died in 1817 in Westfield.  Their children are Tryphena, Samuel, Mary, Lucinda, John, Polly, and Samuel.  I have seen Warham also listed as their son but this seems to relate to a Warham born and died in eastern Massachusetts.  I think he likely belongs to another family, but am certainly open to additional information.

Unis, born in 1751 and a bit of a mystery.  She was single when her father wrote his will in 1817, because she was provided for in the will as a single woman.  She died in 1819 so it may be that she was in ill health or physically challenged in some way.  Some sites say she married a Recompence Miller but I can find no documentation for that, nor can I find any information about Mr. Miller.  If she did marry, it was for a very short time.  She died in Westfield.

Martin Jr, born in 1753 is our line and I will write of him in an upcoming post.  He married Ruth Noble, the daughter of Stephen and Ruth Church Noble.  Their children are Noble, Martin, Ruth, Charlotte, Charles, and Eunice. Ruth died in 1790 and Martin then married Lois Smith, the daughter of Warham and Martha Belding Smith, still in Westfield.    They had two children together, Edmund and Linus.    Martin died in 1822 in Buchanan, Harrison County, (West) Virginia.

Jared, born and died in 1756.

Jonathan, born and died in 1757.  This makes three children who died as infants/toddlers within 10 years.  

Theodosia, born in 1759, and died in 1812 in Westfield.  She married Gad Root, her third cousin.  He was the son of Solomon and Mary Church Root.  (Mary was a descendant of John and Sarah Beckley Church, who are also our ancestors.  It's complicated!) Their children are Isabella, Gad, Grace, Sophronia, Asher, "King William", Theodore, and Elizabeth.  

Sarah, born in 1767 and died in 1846 in Westfield.  She married Moses Drake, the son of Moses and Mary Shepard Drake.  Their children are David, Elijah, Moses, Sally, Hiram, Samuel, and Oliver.

Peggy was born in 1765.  She married Matthias Gates, possibly the son of Matthias and Thankful Ackley Gates.  Their children are Richard, Martin, Theodocia, John, Matthias, Roderick, Hannah, Jarvis, Minerva and Peggy.  I am lacking a death date and location for her.  I have seen two additional marriages listed for her but I believe those are for her daughter Peggy, although I am open to additional information as always.  

William, born in 1767 may or may not be their child.  I have been unable to find any information about him so perhaps he died young, or perhaps he doesn't belong to this family.  

If this list is complete and accurate, Martin and Eunice are the grandparents to 46.  And the Roots are beginning to spread out, with Martin Jr moving to what was then western Virginia. 

The family of Samuel Root 1675-1756

Samuel Root, the son of John and Mary Ashley Root, was born in 1675 in Westfield, Massachusetts, and died there in 1756.  He is just one of the reasons (two uncles settled there also) that the family was "rooted" in Westfield for several generations.  He married Mary Gunn in 1702, the daughter of John and Mary Williams Gunn, and the couple had at least 7 children together.  They were a somewhat fortunate couple in that "only" one child died while very young, and a second before she turned 30.

The first child was Jonathan, born in 1704 and died in 1760 in Sheffield, Massachusetts.  He married Dorothy Vosburgh, the daughter of Abraham and Claartje Bressy Vosburgh.  (This marriage is interesting to me because this family was apparently from the Low Countries, and I've not yet figured out how the two families met.)  Their children are Moses, Martin, Abraham, Lydia, Rhoda, Martin, Hannah, Lucy and Stephen.  

Mary was their first daughter, born in 1706 and died in 1788 in Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  She married John Williams, who is often seen as the son of John and Sarah Weld Williams.  (I think this man may be mis-identified.  The son of John and Sarah was born in 1710 in Roxbury, near Boston, and died there.  There is likely another Williams couple we should be looking for.)  At any rate, Mary and John's children are Warham, John, Desire, Content, Bill, and Hannah.  

Margaret was the next daughter, born in 1710.  She is the one I alluded to in my first paragraph, who died in 1714 at approximately four years of age.  

Abigail was born that same year, in 1714 and died in 1788 in Salisbury, Litchfield, Connecticut.  She married Cornelius Dutcher, son of Roelef and Janettje Bressie Dutcher.  This was another family originally from the Low Countries.  I don't know whether Janettje and Claartje Bressie/Bressie were related, but it seems possible.  Abigail and Cornelius had children named Margaret, Roelof, Abigail, Jane, Cornelius, John, Solomon, Cornelius, William and Revland or Rowland.  

Namesake Samuel was born in 1717 and died in 1743 at Westfield.  He married Sarah Sitton, the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Kibbe Bush Sitton.  (A note in the Westfield records says her name at death was Sarah Taylor, so she apparently remarried).  I find only two children born to this couple, but they had been married only about four years when Samuel died.  The children are Ruth and Oliver.  

Martin was the next son, born in 1721 and died in 1788 in Westfield.  He married Eunice (Unis) Lamb, the daughter of Samuel and Martha Stebbins Lamb.  Their children are Unis, Miriam, Samuel, Eunice, Martin, Jared, Jonathan, Theodosia, Sarah, Peggy, and William.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

The last known child was Margaret, born in 1728 and died in 1756 in Westfield or West Springfield.  She married Henry Rogers Jr., the son of Henry and Sarah Remington Rogers.  The only child I've located for them was named Grace.  

If I had all the time in the world, which I don't, I'd love to explore the Dutcher and Vosburgh families further.  As far as I'm aware, these are the first families not of British origin to marry into the colonial Root family.  They aren't the last, I'm sure. 

The family of John Root 1642-1687

 Our next family head is John Root, the son of John and Mary Kilbourne Root.  He has my admiration because he chose to marry one of my favorite ancestors, Mary Ashley, the daughter of Robert and Mary (maiden name unknown) Ashley.  Anyone who chooses to marry a feisty woman like Mary goes high on my list.  John was born in 1642 in Farmington, Connecticut and was one of several Roots who moved north.  John died in Westfield, Massachusetts, as did at least four of his adult children.

John and Mary were married in 1664 and their children started arriving in 1667, all born in Westfield.  There may be an unsuccessful pregnancy at the start of their marriage.  (Many couples in this time period had a child born within 15-18 months of their marriage, it seems.)

The first child we know of is Mary, born in 1667.  She married John Smith , the son of John and Mary Partridge Smith.  Their children are Mary, Mercy, John, Rachel, Hezekiah and Noah.  Mary died in 1721 in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Sarah was born in 1670 and married Adijah Dewey, the son of Thomas and Constant Hawes Dewey.  (Thomas and Constant are our ancestors also, so we are once again in an entwining family, with deep and inter-connected roots.  Sarah and Adijah's children are Abijah, Thomas, Adijah, Sarah, Esther, Mary, Abigail, Bethiah, Anna, and Moses.  Sarah died in 1721 in Westfield.

John was the next born and the couple's first son, born in 1672.  He married Sarah Stebbins, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, who are also our ancestors.  They had just one daughter, Sarah.  He next married Elizabeth Bissell, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail Holcombe Bissell.  They had two children, Stephen and Moses.  John died in 1731 in Westfield. I'll write more of this family in my next post.  

Samuel was born in 1675 and died in Westfield in 1756.  He married Mary Gunn, the daughter of John and Mary Williams Gunn.  Their children are Jonathan, Mary, Margaret, Abigail, Samuel, Martin, and Margaret.  We are descended through this line, also, and I will write more of this family in a later post.

In almost every family I've been writing about, there is at least one mystery person.  In this line, it's Hannah, who was born in 1677.  We know that she married John Davis, "of Coventry" and that's all we know.  On one ancestry tree, John is identified as the adopted son of Samuel Root who died in 1711, but I find no documents to back that up.  We also don't know what happened to this couple.  I refer to these as witness protection plan people, because they seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth.  It's possible, of course, that they were killed in an Indian raid or lost at sea or died in an epidemic.  It's also possible that we just haven't looked in the right place to find them yet.

Abigail was the next daughter, born in 1680.  She married Joseph Moseley, the son of John and Mary (maiden name not found) Mosely.  Their children are Abigail, Abner, Sarah, David, Mary, Hannah, Isaac and Rachel.  Abigail died in 1773 in Glastonbury, Connecticut.  

Joshua was born in 1682 and died in 1730.  He married Margaret Gilbert, the daughter of Thomas and Anna Bancroft Gilbert.  (Anna is a descendant of yet another of our ancestors, Samuel and Margaret Stratton Wright.) Joshua and Margaret's children are Mercy, Joshua, Margaret, Hannah, Thomas, Ruth, Experience, Catherine, and Israel.  Joshua died in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

The last child born to John and Mary was Mercy, born in 1684.  She married Samuel Fowler, the son of Samuel and Abigail Brown Fowler.  Their children are Mehitable, Samuel, David, Bethesda, Stephen, Mercy, Bildad and Daniel.  

If this count is complete and correct, John and Mary Ashley Root are the parents of eight children and 51 grandchildren.  Many of the men fought in the various colonial wars and their descendants fought in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars.  They helped establish the families that helped establish America. 

The family of John Root 1608-1684

 A funny (?) thing happened on my way to writing this blog post.  I found errors, and ended up deleting about 3000 names from my tree, including lines to several royal ancestors.  From sad experience, I've found that there are many false lines back to royalty, so it no longer surprises me that I've inherited those.  I delete them as I find them.  However, my current belief is that the following information is correct.

John Root, the immigrant, was born February 20, 1608 in Badby, Northamptonshire, England, the son of John and Ann Rushall (NOT Mary Ann Russell) Root.  He married Mary Kilbourne, the daughter of Thomas and Frances Moody Kilbourne on January 10, 1640 in Farmington.  John and Mary had 8 children together, all born in Farmington.  John died with a decent estate in 1684 in Farmington and Mary died in 1697.  

Their first born son was John, born in 1642 and died in 1687 in Westfield, Massachusetts.  He married Mary Ashley, the daughter of Robert and Mary (maiden name not proven to my satisfaction) Ashley.  Their children are Mary, Sarah, John, Samuel, Hannah, Abigail, Joshua, and Mary.  I will be writing more of this family in my next blog post.

Samuel was born next, in 1644.  He married Mary Orton, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Pratt (possibly Pell) Orton, and died in Westfield in 1711.  I have not found a record of children, although a daughter, Mary, has been mentioned without, as far as I can find, any documentation.  Other sources state that this couple had no children.  

The next child was Thomas, born in 1648.  (Was there an unsuccessful pregnancy between 1644 and 1648?  That is a conspicuous gap in this family record.)  He married three times.  His first wife, the mother of his children, is Mary Gridley, daughter of Thomas and Mary Seymour Gridley.  (Mary Seymour is connected to our family also.) Their children are Mary, Thomas, Samuel, Elizabeth, Sarah, Timothy, and Joseph.  He next married Mary Spencer, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Bearding Spencer (no known children), and then Sarah Leonard, the daughter of John Dumbleton.  Their children are Thankful and Mary.  Thomas also died in Westfield, in 1709.

Their first daughter, Mary, was born in 1650.  She married Isaac Bronson, the son of John and Frances Hills Bronson.  Their known children are Isaac, John, Samuel, Mary, Joseph, Thomas, Ebenezer , Samuel, Sarah, and Mercy.  Mary died in 1701 in Waterbury, Connecticut.  

Stephen was next, born in 1652.  He married Sarah Wadsworth, the daughter of John and Sarah Stanley Wadsworth.  Their children are Timothy, John, Mary, and Sarah.  (Mary married into the Judd family, so we likely have some connection there, but I haven't found it yet.)  Stephen died in 1717 in Farmington, Connecticut.  

Susannah was born in 1654 and married Joseph Langdon, the son of John and Mary Seymour Root Langdon.  (Mary Seymour Root, widow of John above, next married John Langdon.)  Their children are Sarah, Joseph, John, Samuel, Susanna, Ebenezer, Mary, Mary again, and Thomas.  She died in 1712 in Farmington, Connecticut.

The next child was Joseph, born in 1656.  He first married Elizabeth Warner, whom I am as yet unable to further identify.  Their children are Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph.  He married Ruth Porter Smith, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Hart Porter, in 1727, after his first wife's death.  Joseph died in 1739 in Farmington.  

The last son, Caleb, was born in 1658.  He married Elizabeth Salmon, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Phelps Salmon.  Their children are Mary, Caleb, Thomas, Elizabeth and Samuel.  There is a bit of confusion here because both Elizabeth and Caleb have a death date of June 10, 1712.  Yet, there is a statement in a Root genealogy that he also married an unknown daughter of the Gillette family.  I wonder whether Elizabeth had actually died earlier and Caleb had remarried.  Perhaps at least Samuel, who was born in November of 1712, was the son of the Gillette daughter?  More research needs to be done here.  Caleb was a physician, and died in Farmington.  

The Root men, in particular, had fine reputations among their peers.  They were all known as being tall (over six feet) and strong, and all fought in King Phillip's War,  and likely in other skirmishes with native Americans, because that's what men did in that time period.  We can be grateful for their courage and sense of service to their families and their colony.

The family of Josiah Whittemore 1784-1870

This is the last of seven posts about the men in our direct line of the Whittemore family. We've met Thomas, John, John, John, John, Josiah, and now Josiah's son, also Josiah.  Josiah, the subject of this post, was born in 1784 to Josiah and Lucy Snow Whittemore.  He appears to have left Massachusetts to go to New York about 1806, first in Clinton County and then in or near Hartford, Washington County.  I have been unable to locate any records of military service for him but it is at least possible, given his location, that he served in the war of 1812 in one way or another.  

Josiah married Betsey Foster, the daughter of Jude and Lydia (unknown) Foster in 1805.  Betsey died in 1854 and Josiah in 1870.  The couple had at least 5 children.

Their first born, in 1807, was Josiah. He married Alma Briggs, the daughter of Benoni and Mercy Hall Briggs.  Their children are Horatio Gates, Benoni, John, Alma, Washington, Lafayette, and Ella.  Josiah died in Wisconsin in 1890.  

John Dexter was born in 1809.  I haven't located any further records for him so there is a possibility that he died young.  

John Foster was born in 1814 and died in 1899 in Washington County, New York.  He married Calista Brayton, the daughter of Carr and Mary Bowen Brayton.  Their children are Lester, John, Byron, Myron, Edward, Charles, and Minnie.  

Next was Mary Elizabeth, who was known on at least some census reports as Lizzie.  She was born in 1817 and married Joseph Rockwood Holbrook, the son of Nahum and Susanna Rockwood Holbrook.  Their children are Clark, Nahum, Susan, Fremont, and Martha.  Lizzie died in 1884 in Cook County, Illinois.

The final known child was Martha, born in 1819 and died in 1863 in Hartford, Washington County, New York.  She married Elisha P Harden, the son of Samuel and Lydia Park Harden.  I could locate only two children for them, Lydia and Mary.  

This gives a total of 21 grandchildren for Josiah and Betsey, and of course there may be more.  Josiah's family was starting to spread out.  The Whittemores were born in Massachusetts for generations, but Josiah (as well as his father) died in New York.  At least one of his siblings died in Michigan, and two of his children died in Wisconsin and Illinois.  They were moving with the country, west.  I'm sure there were stories we would love to have known. 

The family of Josiah Whittemore 1749-1814

 Josiah Whittemore is one of our family's heroes, because he was part of the Massachusetts militia, and fought in the Revolutionary War.  He must have been a remarkable man, because he also fathered at least fourteen children.  It's time to take a quick look at his family, as we imagine them sitting around a dinner table (probably in shifts, as the family grew) and perhaps at family devotions together.  

Josiah is the son of John and Lydia Clough Whittemore, and was born in 1749 in Boston, Massachusetts.  He had left the Boston area by the time he married Lucy Snow in Lancaster on August 9, 1773.  The two would have been in the early years of their marriage when Josiah left for the war.  Lucy is the daughter of William and Elizabeth Stevens Snow, born in 1748 and died in 1794.  Together, Josiah and Lucy had at least 10 children.  After Lucy died, Josiah married Martha Parkhurst, the daughter of Nathaniel and Eunice Harrington Parkhurst.  She was born in 1764 and when her first husband, John Rider or Ryder, died in 1794 she had at least one son from that marriage.  I have seen it said that she had 14 children from her first marriage but I've located only one, and the statement may have originally read that she raised 14 children.  Josiah and Martha had at least four children together.

Most of Josiah and Lucy's children ended up in or near Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, for reasons I haven't yet discovered.  (There were older Whittemores there also, and perhaps the New Hampshire branches were able to offer employment to the young men and women of the family.  Perhaps there was some sort of family discord.  It would be interesting to know the rest of the story...)

The first son born to Josiah and Lucy was William, born in 1774 and died in 1848.  He married Molly Locke, the daughter of William and Rebecca Barrett Locke.  Their children are Sophronia, Harriet, Albert, William, Gilman, Barrett, Mary, Rebecca, another William, and Otis.  

Next was John, born in 1775 and died in 1855.  He married Hannah Stone, the daughter of Samuel and Anna Stacy Stone.  Their children are Dexter, Joel, Danvers, John, Lucy, and Laura.  

Salmon was the nest son, born in 1778 and died in 1826.  He married Lydia Wheeler, the daughter of Hezekiah and Mary Wood Wheeler.  Their children are Mary, Sally, Abigail, Lydia, Cyrus, Elijah, Abigail, and George.  (This couple was married in Royalston, Massachusetts, but moved to New Hampshire.)

Mary was the couple's first daughter, born in 1780 and died in 1810.  She married Caleb Sweetser, the son of Michael and Mary Pool Sweeter.  Their children are Lucy, Thomas, Hannah, Betsey, Mary and Eliza.

A second daughter, Lucy, was born in 1783 and died in 1804.  As far as I have been able to learn, she did not marry, nor did she have children.  As all of the children mentioned so far, she died in New Hampshire.

The next son is an outlier, Josiah.  He was born in 1784 and died in 1870 in South Hartford, Washington County, New York.  He married Betsey Foster, the daughter of Jude and (probably) Lydia Foster.  There are indications that Lydia may have been a Goodenow but I haven't proven that yet.  Josiah and Betsey's children are Josiah, John Dexter, John Foster, Martha, and Mary Elizabeth.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Levi was born in 1786 and died in 1847 in Troy, New Hampshire.  He married Mary "Polly" Blodgett, the daughter of Jonathan and Susanna Tenney Blodgett.  Their children are Mary Ann, Maria, Levi, Luther, Roancy, John, Susan, Caroline, Sarah and Cyrus.   

The next son was named Cephas.  He was born in 1787 and died in 1790.  

Otis was born in 1789 and died in 1828, although I have no definite date nor location for him.  He is said to have married Mary Ann Smith, although, again, I can find no marriage record nor a location.  Their children are Lucy, Mary Ann, and Otis.  

Josiah and Lucy's last child was Betsey, born in 1793 and died in 1881, probably in Michigan.  She married William Farrar, the son of Daniel and Lucena Joslin Farrar.  Their children are William, Lucy, Danvers, Lorenzo, Daniel, Hannah, John, George, Charles, James, Harriet, Ann, Samuel, Calvin, and Thomas, for a total of 15 children.  

And with that, Lucy died, of "nervous fever".  Lucy was the grandmother of 62, although of course many were born after her death in 1794.  Josiah married Martha Parkhurst Rider the following year, at least partly because he needed someone to help raise the children, who in 1795 would have ranged in age from 2 years old to 19.  

Josiah and Martha had four children together:

Cephas was born in 1797 and died in Charleston, South Carolina in 1877.  He married, in Boston, Massachusetts, Lydia Smith, the daughter of Alexander and Hepzibah Hobbs Smith.  (I have as of yet not been able to connect Mary Ann Smith, who married Otis Whittemore, to Lydia Smith, who married Cephas.) Their children are Lydia, John, Lyman, and Mary Jane.  It would be interesting to know more about Cephas' life, especially during the Civil War.  Why did he go to South Carolina, and when? I can locate him in 1860 as a farmer there, but can't find him in the 1850 census.  

Zenas was born in 1798 and died in 1872 in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  He was a soap and candle maker.  He had three wives.  Louisa Phillips, the daughter of Blaney and Chloe Murdock Phillips, was the mother of William, Martha, Eliza, Mary, Zenas, Josiah, and Zenas again.  (Shall we rejoice that finally Josiah had a namesake grandson?)  His second wife was Sophia Penniman (various spellings), daughter of Bethuel and Sophia Churchill Penniman.  Their son was Charles.  Lastly, he married Mary Tobey, the daughteer of Elisha and Phebe Jenney Tobey.  Their children included Martha, May, and Ella.  

The only daughter of Josiah and Martha was Martha, born in 1800 and died in 1848 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She married William H Manchester, the son of William and Susan Howland Manchester.  Their children are Mary, Martha, Thomas, William, and Susan.

Josiah and Martha's last child was Sylanus, who was born in August of 1803 and died less than two months later.  

Josiah and Martha had 20 grandchildren, so adding that to the grandchildren of Josiah and Lucy, Josiah had at least 82 grandchildren.  I can't imagine getting that kind of happy news 82 times!  Whatever the reasons that the family didn't stay close geographically, this was a large family and it's fun to think that the siblings and cousins may have visited each other, from Michigan to South Carolina to New York and New Hampshire. 

 

 

The family of John Whittemore 1714-1778

 John Whittemore, who fought in the French and Indian War and was on the expedition to Crown Point in 1757, deserves to tell more of his story than we know so far.  And again, what we do know is limited and confusing.  Nevertheless, there is enough to follow our line, and so we will take what we can get.

John is the son of John and Elizabeth Lloyd Whittemore, and was born in 1714 in either Charlestown or Boston, Massachusetts.  He married Lydia Clough, the daughter of Benjamin and Faith Hart Clough, in 1742.  Lydia lived only a few more years, dying June 15, 1750.  John is said to have married again, but his second wife is unidentified as of now.  (There are a couple of possibilities in Worcester County but I can't prove or disprove either of those yet.)

John and Lydia had at least three children,  

John was born in 1743 and married Abigail Osborn, the widow Bodge, daughter of Thomas and Abigail Pierce Osborn.  I can find no record of children for them.  John died in 1790 in Charlestown.

William was born in 1745 and died in 1822.  He married Bethiah Collins, daughter of John and Bethiah Mansfield Collins.  They had at least one child, William.  

Josiah was born in late 1748 or early 1749 in Boston.  He married Lucy Snow, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Stevens Snow.  Thier children are William, John, Salmon, Mary, Lucy, Josiah, Levi, Cephas, Otis, and Betsey.  Lucy died in 1794 and Josiah then married Martha Parkhurst, the widow Rider.  She was the daughter of Nathaniel and Eunice Harrington Parkhurst.  This marriage took place in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, which is why I think it might be worthwhile looking at the possibilities mentioned above for John's purported second marriage.) Josiah and Martha had at least four children together: Cephas, Zenas, Martha, and Sylvanus. Josiah died in 1814 and I will follow this family in my next blog post.

There is also a mention of Samuel Whittemore as the child of John and Lydia, but I could find no information about him.  He may have died as an infant, and his mother Lydia may have died as a result of childbirth.  

If John did marry again, he and his second wife may have had a daughter Sarah, born in 1775.  That would have made quite a gap in ages between John's youngest with Lydia and this daughter, but it's not impossible.  I haven't found records for her but maybe I've not looked in the right places.

Once again, this particular branch of the Whittemore family seems to play hide and seek with us.  We can see some faint traces of where some may have hidden, but after so many years, it's hard to be sure because by this time there were too many John Whittemores to count, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.  We will hold tightly to the ones we know about, and continue to search for more ties to our Whittemore family.

The family of John Whittemore 1685-1748

I've written of this John Whittemore, known as Captain John Whittemore, earlier and I still am fascinated with this man.  I would still love to know more of his life and his travels.  He was a "mariner" for many years, which apparently earned him the title of Captain, and he lived in Boston prior to the American Revolution, when it was still a very British colony.  There are so many questions I'd like to ask him!

However, we do know that his parents are John and Elizabeth Annable Whittemore, that he was born December 23, 1685 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and that he died April 21, 1748 in Boston.  He was married in 1711 to Elizabeth Lloyd, daughter of Edward and Hannah Griffin Lloyd.   Elizabeth died in 1746.

John and Elizabeth had at least four children together.

John was born in 1714 and married Lydia Clough, the daughter of Benjamin and Faith Hart Clough.  Their known children are John, William, and Josiah.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Elizabeth was born in 1716, and married Nathaniel Breed, the son of Nathaniel and Sarah Davis Breed.  They had two children, Nathaniel and Elizabeth.  Nathaniel died in 1744 and Elizabeth then married Anthony Sigourney, the son of Andrew and Mary Germaine Sigourney.  Elizabeth and Andrew had two children, Anthony and Andrew. Elizabeth died in 1804.  Full disclosure: Some trees are showing that this Elizabeth Whittemore was the daughter of another Whittemore family, but from the limited evidence I have, I think it more likely that I have placed her correctly.  I'd love to see documentation one way or the other.  

Edward was born in 1718.  He married Sarah Gridley, who may be a daughter of John Gridley.  They had two children, Edward and Elizabeth.  Edward died in 1772.

And then there was Sarah, born in 1720.  She died as an infant, in 1721.

This is a short post because it's a small family.  John and Elizabeth became the grandparents of just 9 grandchildren, in contrast to many of the other families I've written of.   Nevertheless, John had one of the more interesting (to me) occupations and lived in a location that has long felt like home to me.  It's been fun to travel back in time, even just to see John and Elizabeth at a distance.

The family of John Whittemore 1662-1702

 This is the second of four John Whittemore's whose families I'm following.  This John Whittemore, the son of John and Mary Upham Whittemore, has a mostly sad story.  He died before his fortieth birthday, having buried his first wife and five of his children, and leaving a widow and six children to get along as best they could.  The survivors must have been very strong people.  

John was born in 1662.  His first wife was Elizabeth Annable, the daughter of John and Anna Whipple Annable.  (I think I've resolved my confusion in my last post.  Anna Whipple Annable married Nicholas Clapp after the death of John Whipple, which is why I was finding both the Whipple and the Clapp names attached to her.)  John and Elizabeth had just one child, John.

The third John Whittemore was born in 1685 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and died in 1748 in Boston.  His wife was Elizabeth Lloyd, the daughter of Edward and Hannah Griffin Lloyd.  They had two children, John and Elizabeth.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

After Elizabeth's death in 1686, John married, about 1688, Sarah Hall, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Colicott Hall.  They had at least 11 children together.  

Jonathan was born in 1689 and died in 1690.

Richard was born in 1691 and died at sea in about 1726 (several of the Whittemore men were mariners). His wife was Mary Phipps, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Kettell Phipps.  Their children are Joseph, John, Richard, and Mary.

Joseph Whittemore was the next, born in 1693. He married Sarah Welsh, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Mousall Welsh, in 1721.  Their son was Josiah, and there may have been more children but as yet I am unable to locate records to show that.  Joseph died about 1729.

Next were four infants, born annually from 1696 to 1699, none of whom survived more than a few months.  They are Experience, Thomas, Experience, and Jonathan.  I cannot imagine the grief during this time period, and ever after.  

Their first daughter, Abigail, was born in 1700.  She married Stephen Blanchard (Blancher), the son of Joseph and Hannah Shepard Blanchard.  Their children are Joseph, Stephen, Abigail, Sarah, Hannah, Mary, John, Ruth, Josiah, and Anna.  Abigail died in 1736, perhaps worn out from child bearing.

Another daughter, Anna, was born in 1701 and married John Smith, possibly the son of Thomas and Rebecca Glover Smith.  I have not found birth records for any children they may have had.  Anna (seen as Ann also) died in 1746.

And finally, there was Josiah, born in 1702.  He married Catherine Fowle, the daughter of James and Mary Richardson Fowle.  Their children are Katherine, Sarah, and Esther.  Josiah was the only one of this list to live a long life, dying in 1783.  

John Whittemore is somewhat unusual in the families I've studied so far.  Most of them have lived reasonably long lives, but not John.  Most of them have had large families, who in turn had large families, but not John.  Only one of his children, Abigail, is known to have had more than four children.  Only one child, as noted, lived a long life.  Our Whittemore line, at this point, is hanging on by a thread. 

The family of John Whittemore 1639-1694

 I am reasonably sure there are errors in this post, because there are so many Whittemores by this generation with the same first names.  Many of the trees I've looked at have errors, too, so I'm not alone.  I hope I have weeded out some of the most obvious mistakes and humbly ask your help in getting this family correctly identified and located.  

John was the son of Thomas and Hannah Chawkley Whittemore.  He was born in 1639 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England and died in 1694 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony, having arrived here in 1642 with his parents and his brother, Benjamin.  He married at least twice, and had children with each wife.  His first wife was Mary Upham, daughter of John and Elizabeth Slade Upham, whom he married in 1661 and who died in 1677.  His second, married in 1677, was Mary or Marie Miller, the daughter of John and Lydia (maiden name not known but "Combs" has been suggested) Miller.  There were children, perhaps as many as 15, from the two marriages.  

John and Mary's children are:

John, born in 1662 and died in 1702.  He married Elizabeth Annable, the daughter of John and Anna (Whipple or Clapp? I've seen both!) Annable.  They had one child, John.  He next married Sarah Hall, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Collicott Hall.  Their children are Jonathan, Richard, Joseph, Sarah, Experience, Thomas, Experience, Jonathan, Abigail, Anna, and Josiah. I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Thomas was born in 1664 and died in 1717.  He married Mary, the widow of Samuel Pease, as yet not further identified.  (Some trees say he married Mary Ann Gallaudet but that marriage was much later, and a different Thomas.)  Their children are Thomas, Martha, Francis, Mary, and Daniel.  I sure would like confirmation about Francis-he may belong to a different family.

Next was Joseph, born in 1666 and died in 1716.He married first Joanna Mousall, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Richardson Mousall.  Their children are Joanna and Joseph.  He next married Susanna Frost, the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Miller Frost.  Their children are Jabez, Susanna, Hulda, Abiel, Josiah, and Abiah.  

Benjamin is the next son, born in 1669 and died in 1734.  He married Esther Brooks, the daughter of Deacon Joshua and Hannah Mason Brooks.  Their children are Mary, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Grace, Mehitable, Esther, Joel, and Aaron.  

Nathaniel was born in 1673 and died in 1754.  He married Sarah French, the daughter of William and Sarah Danforth French.  Their children are Thomas, Jacob, Sarah, Abigail, John, and Nathaniel.  

Then there are two sons named Joel.  The first was born in 1676 and died very soon.  The second was born in 1677.  He died at sea in 1711, unmarried.  It would be interesting to learn more of his story.

So Thomas and Mary had seven sons, the last one probably costing Mary her life.

Just a few months after Mary died, John married again.  I will refer to the second wife as Marie to avoid confusion; her name is seen as Marie and as Mary in records.  John and Marie had several children also, Marie being 13 years younger than John.

The first was Mary, who was born in 1678 and died sometime after she chose her half-brother, John,  to be her guardian in 1694.  Apparently there are no further records for her.

Pelatiah was born in 1680 and died in 1724.  He married Margery Pepperell, daughter of William and Margery Bray Pepperell.  Their children are Pelatiah, William, Mary, Margery, and Joel.

Next was Amos, born in 1681 and died in 1738. He married Mary, possibly Owen but unconfirmed,  and they had Daniel, Jane, Josiah, Elizabeth, Abigail, and Mary.  He next married Hannah Ellis, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Fisher Ellis.  Hannah was about 44 when they married and she is not known to have had any children with Amos.

Elizabeth was this couple's first daughter.  She was born in 1683 and died in 1728.  She married Joseph Blanchard, the son of Joseph and Hannah Shepard Blanchard.  Their children are Elizabeth, Johane, Mary, Joseph, Hannah, Jemima, Keziah, and Simon.  

Daniel was next, born in 1685 and died the following year.  (There is a slight possibility that he died in 1721 in Ridgefield, Ct but I don't think this is the same Daniel.)  

Rebecca was born in 1687 and died in 1757.  It's reported that she did not marry.  

Hannah was born in 1689 and, like her half sister Mary, was alive in 1694.  She is another female I have not been able to trace.  

Their final child was Daniel, born in 1691 and died in 1757.  He married Mary Turrell, the daughter of Samuel and Lydia Stoddard Turrell.  This couple had two children, Daniel and Samuel.  Apparently this Daniel was not the best of husbands.  He died in Halifax, Nova Scotia and his widow needed financial help to survive.  He is also said to have had little to do with his two sons.  

Fortunately, most Whittemore children were good citizens, family men (or women), and several of them fought for their colony.  John is the grandfather of 48 grandchildren, if we accept this list as complete and correct, which it may not be.  

 

The family of Thomas Whittemore 1593-1661

 This post will start a series of seven posts about my ancestors in the Whittemore family.  Actually, I've written about each of them previously (use the search bar at the bottom of the post to find them) but these will concentrate more on the children of each of my ancestors.  Today's subject is Thomas Whittemore, baptized January 6, 1593 in Hitchin, Herefordshire, England, and died in 1691 in Malden, Massachusetts.  

Sometimes I learn more about an ancestor when I'm going back to look at his children, and this is one of those cases. Thomas was married three times, as it turns out.  His first wife is not yet known.  There was a daughter, Sarah, born to this marriage, who lived just a matter of days.  

His second wife was Sarah Deardes, whom he married in 1623,  the daughter of John and Mary Harflitt Dardes.  There were at least two children born to this marriage.  Mary was born in 1624 and married "Onliker" Jackson.  I have seen that first name transcribed as "Oulifer", which makes me wonder if it's an Oliver Jackson we're looking for.  I have not found a record that this couple had children.

The second child was a son, Thomas, born in 1626.  As far as I can tell now, he did not come to New England with his father, and there are records that he was still in England in 1660.  I have not located any further marriage, children, or death records for him.  However, it appears to me that he is not the Thomas Wetmore who died in Middleton, Connecticut in 1681.  The dates don't work for the known information about this Connecticut Wetmore.  I would love to find records for him in England, as we may have distant cousins there, too.

Sarah died in 1628, and in 1632 Thomas married Hannah Chawkley, the daughter of John and Frances Deardes Chalkley.  I have not worked out the relationship between Sarah, Thomas's second wife, and Frances, Thomas's third mother in law, but this was a small, not densely populated area (Hitchin, still) so there was likely some sort of family tie.  Thomas and Hannah had ten children together, the first four born in England. 

Daniel was the first born, in 1633.  He married Mary Mellins, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Barrett Mellen.  (Note:  I am using the spellings as I find them, so be sure to check both ways, if you are doing further research.)  Their children are Daniel, John, Thomas, Mary, Nathaniel, James, and Pelatiah.  Daniel died in 1683.

Next was a son who lived for only a short time, John.

Nathaniel was born in 1636.  He married Mary Knower, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Kendall Knower.  Their children are Mary and Nathaniel.  Nathaniel died in 1671, only 35 years old.  

Next born was John, in 1638.  He first married Mary Upham, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Slade Upham.  Their children are John, Thomas, Joseph, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Joel, and a second Joel.  Mary died in 1677, and later that year, John married Mary Miller, the daughter of John and Lydia (maiden name unknown) Miller.  Their children are Mary, Pelatiah, Amos, Elizabeth, Daniel, Rebecca, Hannah, and a second Daniel.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.

Benjamin was born in 1640, in Massachsuetts.  (Mother Hannah must have had a fun time bringing four little ones to New England, probably while pregnant with Benjamin!) He married Elizabeth Bucknam, the daughter of William and Sarah Knower Bucknam.  Their children are Hannah, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Benjamin, and Benjamin.  (Quite probably the first two Benjamin's died young.)  Benjamin died in 1726.

Elizabeth was born in 1643.  She is said to have married Hopestill Foster, but this may be a mis-reading of Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700.  I think the verdict on Elizabeth is out, and it's possible that she died young.  I'd love to know her story.

Thomas (the second one, because one was still in England) was born in 1645.  He married Elizabeth Pierce, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Cole Pierce.  They had at least one child, Joseph.  Their may have been a second child, Hannah, but that seems inconclusive as of now.  Elizabeth Pierce Whittemore then married Hopestill Foster (see the confusion mentioned in the above paragraph) and later yet married Nathaniel Pierce, having four children with each man.  Thomas, sadly died in 1670, aged about 25.

Samuel was the next born, in 1647.  He married Hannah Rice, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Uggs Rix.  Their children are Samuel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, Abigail, Susanna, Thomas, and Samuel again.  

Pelatiah was born in 1650 and lived until 1679. He or she (sites differ as to gender, though Pelatiah is generally a masculine name) did not marry and I haven't found a record of any children.

Abraham was born in 1653 and died in 1691.  He also is not known to have married, although I have seen that some attribute a son, William, to him.  

So Thomas was the father of thirteen children, ten of them with Hannah Chawkley.  Thomas and Hannah had at least 30 grandchildren, although some died young.  These offspring fought in the wars and were good citizens of the Massachusetts Bay colony.  We can be proud of them.

The family of Adam Kemery

I thought that tracing the family of Adam Kemery would be a little easier than I found it to be.  One difficulty turned out to be that several of the children have been incorrectly identified in on line trees, and one is that some of the daughters, especially, seem to have slipped through cracks.  I hope further research will help locate some of the missing information, but still, there's a lot here that I hope will help someone.  Once again, I'm indebted to Dawna Morton's tree for the framework, and much of the information, in this post.  Sometimes, I have veered from her information, basing my decision on census data, analyzing other records, and recognizing that additional information may have come to light since that tree was worked on. 

Adam was born April 15, 1849 in Whitley County, Indiana, the son of Daniel and Susannah Essig Kemery.  He married Nancy Fannie (known as Fannie) Buchtel, the daughter of Benjamin and Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel (later Kemery) and together they had at least seven children.

Feba/Pheba was apparently the first born daughter, in 1872.  She remained at home her entire life, and died in 1920, at the age of 47.  I don't know whether she stayed at home because of health issues, or out of a love for her parents, or simply because no other opportunities were available.  

Next born was Avelina, who is a little confusing.  Census records indicate she was born in 1875, and it appears that her name was actually Sarah Avelina, who married first Samuel Eber, the son of John and Martha Cole Eber.  They had one child, Earl, before the couple divorced in 1898.  Sarah next married Frank Walter in 1904, the son of John and Mary Shinbecker Walter.  I have not been able to locate any children for them.  Sarah Avelina died in 1961.

Cora is apparently the next born, She was 6 months old at the time of the 1880 census, so probably born in 1879.  She died in 1890.

Della (middle name Clyde-was that a thing for girl's names, then?) was born on Christmas Day in 1882.  She married William H Withers, son of William A and Barbara Cook Withers.   They have two daughters, Sue and Goldie.  Della died in 1969.

At last, there was a son born, Harvey in 1886.  He married Ada Bailey, the daughter of Sherman and Nancy Huffman Bailey.  I have not located any children for them. Harvey died in 1870. 

The last known child was Benjamin, born in 1887.  I am somewhat confused as to his marriage.  Various records seem to show his wife as Lily Shaw, Lillie Mae Fleck, and Mrs. Lillie Mae Shaffer.  Part of the problem is that this Benjamin is reported to be Benjamin B Kemery, and some of the records seem to pertain to Benjamin F Kemery, who may or may not be a different person.  If he is the Benjamin F found often in Ft Wayne newspapers, he has a very interesting story.  But since I am not sure it is the same person, I shall refrain from posting it.  This needs to be researched further, but as far as I can tell, there were no children born to this marriage.  Benjamin died in 1938.

Adam and Fannie had at least six children.  There may have been another Sarah, but if so, I am unable to locate her.  Some trees show a son Earl, but he was actually the son of the woman identified as Sarah Avelina, through her marriage to Samuel Eber.  (The census taker make a mistake and listed him as a son when he was in reality a grandson, living, along with his mother Sarah, in the Kemery household in 1900.) There may have been other children or other pregnancies, but they are not noted in any records I could find.  I suppose somewhat sadly, Adam and Fannie were grandparents to just three, a grandson and two granddaughters.  I would be delighted to learn that there were more.

Most of these children had an eighth grade education, and most stayed in Whitley County, Indiana.  There are at least 7 Kemery families listed in the 1950 census in Whitley County, and it's likely there are still families there who bear that name.  

This is the last post in the confusing Kemery family line, as Della is the one our family descends from.  We're "daughtered out".

 

 

The family of Daniel Kemery

This post is about Daniel Kemery, the probable son of Jacob and Ann Marie Reed Kemery.  As I mentioned in my last post, Daniel is not mentioned in Jacob's will, and I've found little in the way of documentation to cement the relationship.  However, based on the location of the men in Stark County, Ohio, and some of the same first names being used over and over, I'm going on the assumption that this is correct, while continuing to look for confirming information.

We're on firmer ground with Daniel's wife and children, however.  Even though the children's information is lacking in some aspects (names of in-laws, primarily), there are death certificates, marriage records, and census records that tie this family together.  Dawna Morton, a Kemery descendant, has ferreted out much of this information, and I am grateful to her.

Daniel was in Whitley County, Indiana by 1846.  By then, he had married Susannah Essig, daughter of George and Catherine Shollenberger (or possibly Hillenburger) Essig, and their family was well started.  

Based on the 1900 census, Solomon seems to be the first born, reporting a birth date of 1841.  The census also says he was born in Indiana, which would put the Kemery family there earlier than I can substantiate.  Solomon married Catherine Shook when he was about 46 years old.  She is the daughter of George and Margaret Pontius Shook.  Their children are Ervin, Chauncey, Anna, Chestia and Elmer.  (Chestia married, as her second husband, Logan Harshbarger, the brother of Grover Harshbarger.) The 1850 census, it should be noted, gives Solomon an age of 1, indicating a birth date of 1849, which would mean he was in his early to mid 30's when he married, which seems to be more likely.  Perhaps the 1900 census is incorrect as far as the dates go.

Joseph Kemery was 10 years old in the 1850 census, so born about 1840.  I have been unable to locate him in subsequent census or other records.  Dawna's information shows him dying in 1883, but I haven't been able to substantiate that.  

Mary Ann, the first daughter, was born in 1841.  She married George W Mosher, the son of Israel and Jerusha Salisbury Mosher.  Their children are Rubin, Emma, Albert, and Alsetta.  Mary Ann died in 1888.

Next was Daniel, born about 1844.  He married Deborah, who may be Deborah Ward, the daughter of George and Eliza Roberts Ward.  (Other trees show a possibility of Deborah Helms, the daughter of Joshua and Mahala Chritman Helms. I can find a marriage record for Adam and Deborah Ward in 1866, so this seems more likely to me.)  Their children are James, William, Mary Alice, Jacob, Benjamin (who used the name Frank, for his middle name of Franklin), and Carina. Daniel died about between 1875 and 1880.  

Harriet was born about 1846 and had died before her father wrote his will in 1876.  She married William Cox, and they have at least one child, a daughter named Maliza.  

Alexander was born in 1847.  He married Margaret Buchtel, the daughter of Benjamin and Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel.  Their children are Barbara, Elizabeth, Anna, Lora, Nellia, John, Bertha, and Via.  Alexander died in 1922.

Adam Kemery was born in 1849.  He married Fannie Buchtel, also the daughter of Benjamin and Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel so brothers married sisters.  (It gets more complicated: Barbaraa Burkholder Long Buchtel late in life married Daniel Kemery, the subject of this post, after her divorce from Benjamin. So Margaret and Fannie's mother was also their step mother in law!) Adam and Fannie had at least 7 children: Phebe, Avelina, Cora, Della, Benjamin, Harvey, and Sarah.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  Adam died in 1926.

Albert was born the following year, 1850, or, according to the 1910 census, 1841 or possibly 1846.  (I have located him in just the one census, which is strange.)  He married Lydia Ward, the daughter of Joseph and Susanna Roberts Ward.  They have one known child, Charles.  Albert died in 1919.

Lydia was born about 1855. Her death date is given as April 14, 1924..  She married a man named Hammond, but that is all that I have found about her.  I cannot locate her in a census or find a record of her death.  I don't know whether she had children.  She is the biggest mystery of this particular family.

Amanda was born in 1858 and married Lewis T Jones, the son of David and Margaret (maiden name not yet located) Jones.  Their children are Edith, MaryEtta, Myrtle, Lois, Bertha, Dessa, Ralph, Raymond, and James.  Amanda died in 1901.

Maranda was born in 1860, and married James T Mosher, the son of Orrin and Lucinda Smith Mosher.  Their children are Dorothea, Ransom, Millard, Erma, Delphia, and Garnet/Gertrude/Gertin, depending on which census you are looking at.  There may also have been a child Harriet. Maranda died in 1925.

Finally, there is John, born in 1862.  He married Sadie May (Sarah) Powers, who was about 16 years younger than he was, apparently late in life as he was single in the 1900 census.  As far as I can determine, there were no children born to this marriage, but I'm willing to be corrected.  John died in 1948.

Most of this Kemery family were farm workers or day laborers, in and around Whitley County, Indiana.  Most of them could not read or write.  They raised their families as well as they could, and left many, many descendants in the Whitley County area.

Another Jacob Kemery or Kemmerly

I admit that this family is giving me fits.  Not only am I not positive that this Jacob, born between 1786 and 1794, is the son of Hans Jacob Kemmerly who was the subject of last week's blog post, not only am I not positive that he is the son of Martha Punch, but I am also not positive that he is the father of Daniel Kemery, who will be the subject of next week's post.  I also appear to have mis-identified his spouse, and other trees say he was in a different location that I've placed him.  So, is Jacob, or is he not, the father of Daniel?  I hope someone reading this will know "for sure".  

As I currently see it, Jacob Kemery, formerly Kemmerli or Kemmerly, was the son of Hans Jacob Kemmerli and possibly Martha Punch.  I am unable to locate reliable dates or parentage or location for her, so this is only a suggestion.  Jacob was one of two children mentioned in the will of Hans Jacob in York County, Pennsylvania, although he was not shown as a minor and it is possible that this isn't his family at all.  

I decided in writing this post that Jacob did not marry Ann Maria Laber, as I'd thought earlier.  The only documentation I could find for a couple with those names was in Germany, and earlier than our Jacob.  I did, however, find a Jacob Kemery in Stark County, Ohio who was married to Ann Marie Reed, the daughter of George Adam and Magdalene Mountz Reed.  They were married March 12, 1811 in Stark County, Ohio.  

I'll digress here a little to talk about locations in helping us identify Jacob.  Some trees show him as having died in Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio, with the same death date as that of his wife.  (Ann Marie's headstone is in Stark County, with the same date of death as that attributed to the Jacob of Brown County, if there was one.)  The family names associated with Jacob and most of his immediate descendants are Stark County names, and that's why I currently think that this is more likely to be our Jacob Kemery.  He didn't die until 1872, still in Stark County.  I hope someone can prove me right, or wrong!

The final problem is that his supposed son, Daniel, is not listed on most of the family trees I looked at, nor is he mentioned in his father's estate papers.  It could well be that when Daniel moved to Whitley County, Indiana, prior to 1850, his father had given him money in lieu of a later inheritance.  Jacob was relatively well-to do, based on real estate and personal property values in the 1860 and 1870 US census, so it was certainly possible.  

Here, then, is a suggested but not totally proven list of the children of Jacob and Ann Marie Kemery:

Adam was born April 10, 1811, just a month after his parents married.  he married Anna Marie Reed, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Bordner Reed.  Their children are Lucinda, Rosanna, Aaron, and Sarah.  Adam died in 1888. I have not yet established a connection between the two Ann/Anna Reeds, but it is more than possible that there is one.)

Daniel was born about 1812, and married Susannah Essig, daughter of George and Catherine Shollenberger (varying spellings) Essig, in Medina County, Ohio.  (Medina and Stark County share borders so they possibly lived near each other.)  Their children are Mary, Daniel, Harriet, Adam, Alfred, Solomon, Alexander, Lydia, Amanda, John, and Maranda, with several born in Whitley County, Indiana.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  

Jacob was born in 1815 and married Mary Bordner, the daughter of Philip and Catherine Roedel (various spellings) Bordner.  (Again, I haven't established a connection between Mary and the Elizabeth who was the mother in law of Adam, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one.)  Their children are Mary, William, Amanda, and Heman.  Jacob died in 1900.

The first daughter was Elizabeth, born in 1819.  (From the dates of the children, it is possible that another pregnancy or birth occurred maybe around 1817, but I haven't located information about that. Elizabeth married Jesse Whitmer, the son of Johannes Peter and Maria Catherina Phillips Whitmer.  Their children are Jacob, Rosanna, Monroe, Catherine, and Herby.  Elizabeth died in 1887.

Mary was born another four years later, in 1823.  She married Hugh Snyder, the son of Daniel and Susanna Shroyer Snyder.  Their children are James, Jacob, Anna, George, Newton, Henry, and William.  Mary died in 1896.

The final daughter born to this couple as Anna, who was born in 1830.  She married first Solomon Schreffler, the son of Conrad and Catherine Bordner (that name again!) Schreffler.  Solomon died in 1872 and she married Daniel Keehn in 1876, the son of Johannes and Elizabeth Trull Keehn.  I believe the children were Solomon's.  They are Priscilla, Solomon, Ann, Malinda, John, and Conrad.

I have seen trees that also named John, George, Philip and William Kemery as sons of this couple.  I can find nothing that ties these names to this family, although it's possible that they were short=lived sons who were born and died between census reading.  Again, I'd love to see any evidence that could prove or disprove any of these names as belonging to this family.  

When Ann Marie died in 1847, Jacob married, about 4 months later, Catherine Carbaugh, who is still a mystery.  Catherine had at least one child with the last name of Carbaugh, per census records, so Carbaugh is likely not her maiden name.  Jacob and Catherine are said to have had at least two children together.  

Louis or Lewis Kemery was born about 1849 and died in 1903.  He married another Whitmer, Sarah, again one I have not yet identified.  They had Alfred or Alphaeus, Hugh, Melville, Margaret, and Clara. 

Jacob's final child, as far as we know, was Frederick, born in 1853.  He married Frances Streb or Strasse, again not yet identified, and their children are Minnie, Mary, Bertha, and Ida.  He was one of the few Kemery children who moved west, all the way to Kansas, but returned to Ohio and died sometime after 1920.  

I have also seen Levi as a child of Jacob and Catherine.  I can find no supporting evidence and wonder if someone misread a document as Levi rather than Lewis.  So he is a question mark, along with several other people mentioned in this blog post.  

Please, please contact me if you know anything about this family.  I really would like this post to be documented, one way or the other.