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!