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.