Cars - A Necessary Evil

When Jasia announced the topic of this edition of the COG, I'll have to admit that I cringed a bit. Cars have never been a "big" thing in my family. They were pretty much seen as a necessary evil, a utilitarian object required to get from one place to another. So much so, that I don't think that I have even one photograph of any of our cars. Well, that is, except for the one below, and several others of cars that were involved in accidents in which the cars were totaled. Those pictures aren't pretty and my brother and I were fortunate to walk away from the accidents uninjured with only a few bruises and scratches. I had a love-hate relationship with many of my cars. However, several other, more favorable, incidents involving cars and my family came crawling out of the recesses of my mind.


One of the earliest cars that I remember my family owning was the Nash Rambler. And, of course, we all absolutely adored the song "Beep Beep" when it came out in 1958. I wonder if that guy ever got his car out of second gear? It was a nice car though a bit small for a growing family. It was a bit crowded when we were all riding in it at the same time.

We lived out in the country, about 10 miles from the largest town (Warsaw) and nearest movie theatre. All of us (Mom, Dad, and 4 kids) would drive into Warsaw every Saturday to get groceries and once in a great while we would be treated to a movie. The Saturday Matinee at the Lake Theatre was a special event. We'd get a big bag of popcorn and a large pop to share. On this particular day it was "101 Dalmatians" that was showing, the original animated version, so it would have been 1961. Don't know why but that has stuck with me through the years. It is really irrelevant to the story. Anyway, the movie was over and we left the theatre. It was early evening and the street lights had just come on, shedding an eerie green light over everything which changed colors so they didn't look like they usually did. We were all excited and talking about the movie as we piled into our car. Dad put the key in the ignition and turned it, but nothing happened. The car wouldn't start. It was then that we started noticing that something wasn't quite right. We had gotten into the wrong car! We quickly got out and strolled down the block a little ways where we found our car, right where we had left it.

When my brother got out of the Navy in the spring of 1968, he bought a Chevrolet Corvair convertible. I don't remember the details but one day, for some reason, he wanted to go into North Webster, probably to hang out with some friends, and didn't want to leave his car in town. So he wanted me to take him in. Mom was at work so his was the only car available since I didn't have my own car at that time. Problem was, the Corvair was a stick shift, and I had only driven cars with an automatic transmission. No problem, he said, he'd teach me! And so he drove the car to the field out back of the house, I slid into the driver's seat and we chugged and jerked our way around that field until I could smoothly get the car out of one gear and into the next. And that is how I learned to drive a car with a manual transmission.

The first new car that I owned, and subsequently fell in love with, was an American Motors Hornet Hatchback. I spent the year 1973 in Iceland, at the Keflavik Naval Air Station, and one of the "perks" that I took advantage of at the end of my tour of duty was a discount on the purchase of a new car. I remember spending hours going over the various brochures that were provided. Sure, I wanted a car that looked nice, performed well, was dependable, etc. But most of all I wanted something that I could travel well with. Something that would even allow me to sleep in the car, if necessary. Billed as "a sports car with room to travel in" the AMC Hornet Hatchback seemed to fit my needs and also happened to fall within my budget!

The car was delivered to a dealership in Elkhart where I picked it up while I was on leave in January 1974. It was metallic blue, and beautiful. Over the next three years that car, dubbed "Old Blue," and I criss-crossed the United States several times. From northern Indiana to Florida, then to California, then to Rochester, New York, back to Indiana, back to California, and various places in-between. I just couldn't bear to part with the car in 1977 when I was transferred to Japan so it was put in storage for two years. The car was paid for. It had a lot of miles put on it but had been taken care of quite well and was in good shape. I figured it would be cheaper to pay for storage than to have to buy a new car when I returned.

A friend stationed at Point Mugu retrieved the car from storage and prepared it for my return. When I picked up the car in May 1979 it was as good as new, better even, since I didn't have car payments to make! That summer was, without a doubt, the best summer of my life and a journey I'll always remember. After a quick trip to San Diego to visit friends I headed north, along the coast highway, taking plenty of time before finally reaching friends in the Seattle, Washington area. To say that I took advantage of the fold-down back seats for sleeping would be an understatement. I lived in "Old Blue" that summer. Eventually, I made my way back to Indiana in time to start the fall semester at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

Old Blue got me through school and held up well for a few more years. But during the winter of 1984 the heater quit working, which meant the windows couldn't be defrosted. And with winters in northern Indiana being what they are, I really needed a heater and defroster. When I took it in to get it checked out I was told that it would cost more to repair than the car was worth. So, it was with great sadness that I traded in Old Blue and purchased my next car. When the dealer looked at the odometer and saw that it said a bit over 80,000 miles he was impressed. "Wow, a ten year old car with only 80,000+ miles, and in great shape." For a moment the thought went through my mind, maybe I shouldn't tell him the actual mileage. But then, honesty, or perhaps some thoughts of bragging rights, came over me and he was astounded when I told him it actually had 180,000+ miles. Needless to say, the trade-in value plummeted, and I got next to nothing for Old Blue. Nothing except a lot of very good memories. And those are priceless.

I tend to hang on to cars until the very end. I'm on my third vehicle since Old Blue, a Chevy Cavalier, also a hatchback style, but without a name, that I've had for eight years now and it's getting close to 140,000 miles. It too has been a good, faithful car but the miles that have been put on it haven't been nearly as much fun as those with Old Blue.

Somewhere in my boxes of pictures I would like to think that I have a photo of Old Blue, but I haven't found it yet, and a picture isn't really needed for me to remember. But this picture shows what she looked like.

While trying to locate a picture on the 'net I discovered that in the 1974 movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" James Bond drove a red AMC Hornet hatchback special coupe. And, if you are a collector, for $39.99 you can actually purchase a 1/43 scale die cast model of the car. Cool, yes, but not really something that I want. The memories are sufficient.

Ah, Spring!

It's that time of year when Mother Nature can't decide whether it is should still be winter or if she'll let us pass into warmer weather. Last night saw thunder and lightening along with quite a bit of rain come through northeast Indiana. Then I heard it turn to sleet and freezing rain. I looked out the back door about 11 p.m. and there was at least an inch of slush on the patio. By then the mixture had turned to snow. The front of the apartment, which faces the south and which is where the flowers are, didn't get near as much snow/slush as the north side.

So, will my daffodils bloom when their time comes?


As always, click on the image for a larger version...

Congrats to Jasia, Merriam and Renee!

The Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene has been spot-lighted by Janice Nickerson in an article in the April/May issue of InternetGenealogy. Janice says, in part, "If you’re new to the “blogosphere” and want a quick way to find genealogy bloggers, and see what their posts are like, this is a great way to find a whole bunch of quality writers and get their takes on the latest theme. If you’re a blogger who writes about genealogy-related topics, this is just the ticket for getting your work noticed, and learning from other like-minded people." Couldn't have said it better myself ;-)

In addition, the 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Award Winners have been announced. What's that? Well, according to the blog: "Serving as a source of inspiration and recognition to showcase outstanding genealogy websites, the 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards (AGA) recognizes excellence in preserving family history through genealogy. The categories and winners were selected by consumers across the country who had their photo memories digitally preserved by ScanMyPhotos.com."

The award for the category of "Best Ongoing Family History Story" went to Jasia at Creative Gene: Genealogy and More.

Miriam Midkiff’s Blog, AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors, and Renee Zamora's Renee's Genealogy Blog were selected in the "Best Personal Genealogy Blog" category.

In all, there were 15 genealogy websites and blogs recognized in various categories. Check 'em out! Congratulations to Jasia, Merriam, Renee and all the others that were recognized.

William P. Wise and Sophia Dunfee

William Pythagrus Wise, my Great-Great Grandfather, was the oldest child of seven children born to Jacob and Malissa Ann (Stem) Wise. According to my grandmother's notes, they were living in Miami County, Indiana on January 1, 1852 when William was born. William grew up on the family farm in the northern part of Thorncreek Township, Whitley County, Indiana near the Noble County line and near Malissa's parents, Conrad and Indiana (Sisley) Stem.

On October 5, 1864 Jacob Wise was drafted into the Army, just a little over a month after his son Sylvester (not quite two years old) had died and two weeks before the birth of his daughter Rosilla. William had probably been responsible for doing chores around the farm prior to his father being drafted, and I can imagine the talk that his father gave to him before departing. After all, he was the oldest child and his mother would be giving birth again soon, not to mention the death of little Sylvester.

A little over seven months later, on May 17, 1865 Jacob died of chronic diarrhea at an army hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. So it was that William became the "man of the house" when he was a little over 13 years old. His mother would remarry, but not until 1876, when the children were older.

On October 9, 1873 William P. Wise was married to Sophia Elizabeth Dunfee. She was the daughter of Catherine Jones and William Hamilton Dunfee and was born September 18, 1850 in Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. The notice of their marriage appeared in the Whitley County Commercial on October 16th. "Married. Wise-Dunfee. By the Rev. John Miller, on Oct. 9th, 1873, William Wise, of Thorncreek, and Miss Sophia Dunfee, of Columbia City."

They soon purchased a farm in Troy Township, north of Columbia City and a few miles west of his mother's farm. This is where they would live out their lives and raise a family of four children.

• Harry H. Wise was born August 10, 1874. He would move to Lorain County, Ohio in the late 1890s, living near his aunt, Rosilla Wise Zinsmeister, and her family. He married Emma Klieman and they had four children.
• Maude Catherine Wise was born December 9, 1877. Maude is my Great-Grandmother. She married Charles Romain Brubaker on February 7, 1897 and they had four children.
• Maurice James Wise, twin brother of Maude, was born December 9, 1877. Maurice never married. He owned and ran a restaurant in Sturgis, Michigan and was killed in an auto-truck accident in July 1943.
• Hazlette Ann Wise was born October 10, 1885. She married Harlo Asher Burns on October 10, 1911. They lived on a farm in Troy Township, Whitley County and had two children.

Harry, Sophia, Maude, William, and Maurice. Hazlette, seated in front.

Sophia Dunfee Wise died on December 6, 1916; her obituary was published in the Columbia City Post on December 8, 1916:

Mrs. William Wise, of Troy township passed away Wednesday at 1:30 o'clock from blood clots on the brain and paralysis. She has been confined to her bed for the past two weeks and although her condition varied at times, she seemingly grew weaker and the end was not altogether unexpected by members of the family who were familiar with the ailments of the patient.

Mrs. Wise was a daughter of William and Catherine Dunfee and was born in this city September 18, 1850; she being aged 66 years, 2 months and 18 days at her death. She spent her childhood days in this city and received her education here. On October 9, 1873, she was united in marriage to William Wise, who survives. To this union four children were born; Harry Wise of Lorane, Ohio; Morris J. Wise, of Elkhart; Mrs. Maude Brubaker, of North Webster, and Mrs. Harlow Burns, of Troy township.

Mr. and Mrs. Wise took up their residence on a farm northwest of this city following their marriage and have resided there ever since. Mr. Wise was a successful farmer and was greatly assisted by his devoted wife who was constantly caring for her children and their home. She was loved and respected by her many friends. Mrs. Wise was a member of the Thorncreek township Christian church and was a faithful worker in the cause of the Master.

Besides her husband and children, she is survived by one brother, William Dunfee, of Columbia township, and one sister, Miss Rebecca Dunfee, of Troy township.

William would live for nearly 20 more years, passing away on October 12, 1935. His obituary was published in the Columbia City Post two days later:

William P. Wise, past 83 years old, well-known Whitley county farmer, died Saturday night at 8:45 o'clock at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Harlo Burns, in Troy Township. He had been in declining health for the past year but for the past two weeks his condition, due to a complication of diseases, had grown steadily worse until death ensued.

Born in Allen county on January 1, 1852, William P. Wise was a son of Jacob and Malissa Stemm Wise, and had reached the age of 83 years, 9 months and 11 days. He resided all his life except one year in Whitley county, for when but a year old his parents brought him to Thorncreek township where he grew to manhood.

On October 7, 1873, William P. Wise was united in marriage to Sophia Dunfee, who preceded him in death in 1916. Since her death Mr. Wise made his home with his daughter in north Troy township. In addition to Mrs. Wise, the deceased was preceded in death by two brothers and three sisters.

Surviving are two sons and two daughters, namely, Harry H. of Lorain, Ohio; Maurice, formerly of Elkhart and now of Troy township, who is a twin brother of Mrs. Joseph Yontz, of Columbia City, and Mrs. Harlo Burns. Two sisters; Mrs. David Anspaugh, of Ray, Ind., and Mrs. Rosie Zintz, of Lorain, Ohio, eight grand children and sixteen great-grandchildren also survive Mr. Wise.

Early in life Mr. Wise united with the Thorncreek Christian church east of Cresco and though this church has been long since abandoned he never changed his membership. William P. Wise was a farmer by occupation all his life and was regarded as an upright and honest Christian character and a fair dealer with all his neighbors, each of whom characterized Mr. Wise as one of the finest neighbors a person could have and one who never spoke anything but kind words of everyone with whom he was acquainted.

The body was brought to the DeMoney Funeral Home in Columbia City and was removed from there to the Harlo Burns home Sunday. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Burns home. Dr. E. C. Lindsay, of Goshen, will conduct the services and burial will be in Scott cemetery.

The notice of his funeral was published on October 16th in the Columbia City Post. My mother says she vaguely remembers attending the funeral; she would have been seven years old at the time. Her brother, Billy, was only five.

Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon from the Harlo Burns home in Troy Township, for the late William Wise, Dr. E. C. Lindsay, of Goshen, officiating. Ray Estlick and Mrs. Fern Marker sang the hymns.

The pallbearers were Charles Yontz, William Brubaker, Charles Anspaugh, Victor Phend, William Anspaugh, and Charles Jacobs. The flower bearers were Patsy, Phyllis, Virginia and Billy Phend, great-grandchildren of Mr. Wise. Interment took place in the Scott cemetery.

Those attending the funeral rites from a distance were Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wise, Lorain, Ohio; Mrs. Rosa Zintsmeister and daughter, Lorain, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. David Anspaugh, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anspaugh and Mr. and Mrs. William Anspaugh, Ray, Ind., Mr. and Mrs. William Brubaker, Elkhart.

Wise Family - Index to Posts

Welcome, Spring!

According to the calendar, today is the first day of Spring! The Daffodils have broken through the mulch covering but the temperatures are still cool with a high today in the upper 30s and low 40s. The sun is shining and the skies are blue... But then there is that winter storm watch issued last night by the National Weather Service: "A Late Season Winter Storm System Will Have The Potential To Produce Significant Snowfall Amounts Friday Into Saturday Morning Across Much Of Northern Indiana...Southwest Lower Michigan...And Northwest Ohio. Snowfall Accumulations Of 4 To 8 Inches Will Be Possible Before Tapering Off Saturday Morning." Hopefully, this will be the last snow storm this winter, after all, Spring Has Arrived!

The Estate Settlement and Some Conjecture

Christina Wise's estate was valued at $3891.33 at the time of her death on April 25, 1884 and consisted of nine notes that were due her. Some of the notes had been made by Peter and some by Christina. When Peter Wise died on January 29, 1875 they still owned three lots in the town of Gilead and five acres bordering the west side of the town. The five acres were sold in April 1877 and the town lots were sold in September. The final report in the estate settlement was filed October 4, 1877 and paid claims amounting to $3176.40 - there had been other claims filed and paid in the intervening years.

The notes that were due the estate, and the final disposition:

• John Wise $300 valued at $450 - the principal "is not to be paid during her lifetime, then it shall be mine by inheritance." Note was dated Feby 3, 1876 at West Salem, Ohio.
• A. W. Hoffman $275 valued at $458 - insolvent - his notes were "declared valueless" [He was the husband of Eliza Jane Wise Hoffman.]
• William Wise $400 valued at $709 - insolvent - "The note of William Wise is uncollectible, said Wise being a non-resident of the state and insolvent." [He may have moved to Sumner County, Kansas by 1885.]
• John J. Mohler $430 valued at $706 - He "is a non-resident of the state and is insolvent, except to the extent of his claim and his notes are to be surrendered to him in satisfaction of his claim." [John and Elmina Wise Mohler moved to Meade County, Kansas in 1885.]
• George Shillinger and Samuel Seitner $375 - collected
• A. K. Madeford $25 - collected

The notes of George Shillinger, Samuel Seitner, and A. K. [Alvin] Madeford were repaid by them before the final settlement. These men appear to have been neighbors as they were all living in Perry Township, Miami County, Indiana in 1880. It is possible that they are related but since they repaid their debts to the estate, that is doubtful ;-)

Apparently there was not going to be enough money from the estate to pay the claims in full as the claimants agreed to accept 83% of their claim to avoid additional expenses in the event the estate was declared insolvent.

The claim of John J. Mohler was for a total of $735.09 for boarding 156 weeks at $3.50 per week between 1876 and 1884. Also 7 weeks in Oct & Nov 1883 during last illness. Services caring for deceased in last illness while at Wm. Kirchers, 30 days at $1.00 per day. Plus additional charges for telegraphing, a shroud, bath and sundries, and interest. He released his claim against the estate in return for the surrender of the notes he owed. [John and Elmina Wise Mohler had moved to Meade County, Kansas in 1885.]

William Kircher's final payment was $1286.62 against his claim amounting to $1400.76 which included ten line items for washing & attendance [of the deceased] at $3.50 per week. Apl 10/75 to Apl 10/78, Oct 19/78 to Jan'y 26/79, Mch 3/79 to July 13/79, Sept 1/79 to July 29/80, Oct 15/80 to Apl 1/81, Sept 1/81 to Feby 1/82, Apl 1/82 to July 20/82, Oct 14/82 to Apl 15/83, may 20/83 to Aug 15/83, and during her last illness from Sept 21/83 to Apl 25/84. He also paid for a deed Jan'y 31/84, 400 ft lumber at $1.50 pr 100, 32 fence posts, paid taxes 1878 and 1879, Clover seed, nails & Lumber, and $5.00 cash for daughter. [Is that cash for his daughter, or for Christina's daughter?]

It looks as though Christina alternated spending time between the Mohler and Kircher households. Catherine Kircher, William's wife, died on February 5, 1884 and Christina Wise died on April 25, 1884.

Rosanna Hale's claim against the estate of Christina Wise was for $80.00 for "Care of, and attendance in the decedents last sickness." Rosanna made her mark, witnessed by Luella Culbertson. She received $77.27 as payment. She made her mark on the receipt and it was witnessed by M. H. Grunden. [He was her son-in-law. Rosana and her family had moved to Dauphin County, Pennsylvania between 1860-1870.]

The claim of Luella M. Culbertson was for $62.00 for "Service as nurse 31 weeks at $2.00 per week." She received $60.03 for her claim. [Luella was the daughter of Catherine and William Kircher.]

There are no direct relationships recorded in any of these documents although John Wise stated that the principal of his note "is not to be paid during her lifetime, then it shall be mine by inheritance."

Of the ten children of Peter and Christina Wise that have tentatively been identified, three had died several years before Christina (Rebecca Shidler, Jacob Wise, and Elizabeth Wise) and six (or their spouses) are mentioned in the estate papers: John Wise, A. W. Hoffman [Eliza], William Wise, John J. Mohler [Ella Elmina], William Kircher [Catherine], and Rosanna Hale. The whereabouts of the tenth, Hannah Wise, is unknown. According to the obituary of Eliza Hoffman, she was one of twelve children. Census records substantiate that number, so that still leaves two children yet to be found.

Just as a point of interest, and realizing that naming patterns are sometimes helpful clues in determining family relationships, here is a listing of probable children and grandchildren of Peter and Christina Wise.

• William and Mary Ann Wise - 5 children - Newton, Samuel, Wealthy, Emeline, Cecillius
• Rebecca and Jacob Shidler - 2 children - Jane Ann, William
• Catherine and William Kircher - 1 child - Luella
• Rosanna and Jacob Hale - 1 child - Mary Alice
• Hannah Wise - ? -
• Jacob and Malissa Wise - 7 children - William Pythagrus, Mary Ellen, Sarah Jane, James Roscoe, Christina, Sylvester, Rosilla
• John Wise - ? -
• Elizabeth Wise - no children, died at age 17
• Eliza Jane and Anthony Hoffman - 5 children - Minnie, Dayton, Effie Idella, Ella, Jennie Mae
• Ella Elmina and John Mohler - 2 children - Stella Rose, William Peter

For the grandchildren, the name that is repeated most often, three times, is William. The older brother must have been well-liked. Or, perhaps, William was the name of the father of Peter or Christina? Jane is used twice, once as a first name and again as a middle name. Rosilla and Rose are variations of Rosanna. Mary is also used twice. Were they named after William's wife, or not? Ellen could be a variation of Ella. Peter is only used once, and that as a middle name. And only one grandchild is named Christina.

Does the fact that Jacob named one of his daughters Christina prove anything? Probably not, but the name Christina does not appear in Malissa's family (Stem and Sisley). No sisters, no aunts named Christina there. It would have been nice if Jacob and Malissa had named their son William Peter rather than William Pythagrus! Where on earth did they come up with that name anyway? (Probabaly a mis-spelling of Pythagoras?) No wonder he always went by William P. Wise. Come to think of it, I've never seen "Pythagrus" on any "official" document. It's what grandma has on her family group sheet. And one of his grandchildren was name Thagrus!

Ah well, I think this will about wrap up my discourse on the Wise family for a while. Then again, maybe not. If you've gotten this far, and if you're still interested, additional information and a listing of all the posts I've written about the search for the children of Peter and Christina Wise can be found at Wise Family - Index to Posts!

Meet the Women in our Lives

The Carnival of Genealogy, 44th Edition has been posted by Jasia over at Creative Gene. The topic for this, the March 18th edition, is "a tribute to women." Since March is Nation Women's History Month the COG bloggers pay tribute to women who have made an impact on their lives. As Jasia says "This edition is full of stories of courageous, funny, strong, tender, and intelligent women... women who inspire us each and every day. Once you meet them, you won't forget them."

Jasia has also announced the topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, which will be: Cars as stars!

Next to purchasing a house, a "new set of wheels" was the next most significant purchase for many families. What car played a starring roll in your family history and what roll did it play? Did your family build cars or tinker with them? Did they take "Sunday drives"? What was your first car? Was there a hangout that you frequented in your car? How far back can you document your family's automotive genealogy? Tell us your car stories... front seat or back! ;-) Vroom, Vroom! The deadline for submissions is April 1st.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Elmina's Obituary and an update

Yay! Janette (my research contact in Meade County, Kansas) found obituaries for Elmina Wise Mohler. The obit below was published in the Meade County Press on December 29, 1932.

Mrs. Elmina Mohler was born August 7, 1846 in Rush County, Ohio. She passed to her great reward on December 28, 1932 at the age of 86 years, 4 months, 21 days. She was united in marriage to John J. Mohler on April 7, 1870, who preceded her in death on January 7, 1928.

In 1885 Mrs. Mohler and her husband moved to a homestead south of Meade, Kansas, where she has resided ever since, with the exception of four years, which she lived at Wichita, Kansas.

Mrs. Mohler was a member of the Methodist Church. She leaves to mourn her departure one son William P. Mohler of Meade, and one daughter, Estella Rose Gilbert of Wichita, Kansas, twelve grand children and seventeen great grand children, and two great-great grand children, and a host of friends.

Funeral services will be at the home, Thursday at 1:00 P.M. Interment will be at the Meade cemetery.

Her obituary published on January 5, 1933 in the Meade Globe News is nearly identical to this one, the only exception was that it said that interment was in Graceland cemetery. (Which is just outside of the town of Meade.) The obituaries provide her date of birth and death. The place of birth is not right as there is no Rush County in Ohio. The obits confirm family information found elsewhere, which is good, but they don't give me the one piece of information I was really hoping for - confirmation of her parents. That said, I really do think she is the daughter of Peter and Christina Wise.

I thought about ordering her death certificate but the application on the Kansas Department of Health website states "By state law, vital records filed with this office are not open for public inspection and the requestor must meet eligibility requirements -- must be named on the record, an immediate family member, or someone who can provide legal proof the record is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights." Besides, even if her death record does show Peter and Christina as her parents, it really doesn't do anything towards determining whether or not they are also the parents of my Jacob Wise.

I'm just feeling a little discouraged right now. I'll get over it. But after the intense research on the Wise family these past six weeks, the last few days have been a bit of a let down. It's like, I'm pretty much at the end of what can be done online or locally, so now what? I've found so much information on some of their "probable" children and very little on others. And still nothing that confirms that Peter and Christina are the parents of my Jacob Wise.

On a brighter note, one of Elmina's great grandsons responded to the letter I sent him and I spoke with his wife last Wednesday. The conversation got a little confusing because his grandmother was also named Elmina. At any rate, they will be sending me some information and a copy of a picture of Elmina and John Mohler!

Aunt Jane

Or, to be correct, she was my grandaunt Jane. But we always just called her Aunt Jane.

Choella Jane Brubaker was a sister of my grandmother, Hazlette Brubaker Phend. They were the children of Maud Wise and Charles Romain Brubaker.

The picture above was taken about 1909 when the family lived at Traverse City, Michigan. Jane is on the left, then my grandmother Hazlette, and their brother William Hale. Their mother, Maud Wise Brubaker is the pretty lady seated behind them.

Jane Brubaker was born April 14, 1903 in Etna-Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana. My grandmother had this to say about Jane's birth: "It was such rainy bad weather and no one could get through the muddy side roads. Doctor Alice Williams from Columbia City had a difficult time getting to the delivery. Aunt Hazlette Burns was there and she had a little pug dog. She put a note for Grandpa Wise around his neck and sent him home. Then Grandpa Wise walked the five miles or more to see his new granddaughter."

She continues "Jane was about three years old and having difficulty with her speech. She always said "Me" instead of "I". One evening Papa placed her in a high chair and left her in the dark kitchen, the door was open into the living room, and he told her she could come into the living room when she said "I". After a short time she began to cry and said, "Oh Papa, me tan't say I." Of course Papa took her into his arms and never again tried to make her say "I" and after that let her speak, as she liked. She said a lot of funny words but he let her alone."

Jane married Floyd Stoffer on December 22, 1920. The marriage lasted about a dozen years. A few years after they were married they moved to Elkhart, Indiana and ran a restaurant. They had two children. The first, a son, Kenneth Keith Stoffer was born on February 6, 1923 and died three weeks later on March 17th following an operation for stomach trouble. Their second child, Betty Catherine Stoffer was born June 20, 1831. Betty married Robert Walker; they lived in Columbia City and were the parents of three children. Betty passed away on September 21, 1995.

July 1921 - Hazlette and Jane Brubaker, 19 and 18 years old.

Betty Catherine Stoffer with Charley and Jane Jacobs. Betty was born on June 20, 1931. Charley and Jane were married November 3, 1934.

You can't tell by these pictures, but Aunt Jane was a tiny lady, barely five feet tall. She and Charley made their home in South Whitley but they had a trailer at Goose Lake Resort where they spent most of their time during the summer. Usually when we went to visit, Uncle Charley was out in the middle of the lake fishing from his boat. There was a public beach there at that time, which was quite nice, and we had fun when we went to visit Aunt Jane. She always had a smile on her face and seemed to be genuinely happy to see us. In later years, she attended many of our family gatherings.

Uncle Charley passed away on December 28, 1965 at the age of 86. During his working years he had been an excavating contractor. The farm where they lived on the southern edge of South Whitley is now a housing subdivision. Aunt Jane spent the last 6 months of her life in a nursing home where she died on June 10, 1992 of complications from a fractured hip. She was the last surviving member of her family, with her brother having died in 1979 and her sister in 1984. I wish now that I had been able to spend more time with Aunt Jane and talk to her about her life experiences, but it just didn't happen. I think part of the reason is that I knew my grandmother had written a bit about her life, but it would be nice to have another perspective on certain events. I actually know very little about Aunt Jane, but I do have some fond memories, and I guess that is probably the best that can be hoped for in some cases.

All in all it was a good day

Went to Peru. . .

The Marriage Record for May Hale and George Armstrong did not include parental information.

The Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) gives her parents as Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz. So she is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. I didn't get a death certificate as it would have cost $10. I was fortunate that the clerk allowed me to look at the record. Afterwards, she said "for future reference" in case I needed additional searches, they are supposed to charge $35 per half hour for lookups, plus the charge for the certificate!

The Estate Packet for Christina Wise was found in the archives building! Got my hands dirty ;-) I "made copies" of all the documents in the file using my camera since photocopies were $1 apiece! Most came out quite well, with a few being a little soft in focus, but they can be read.

In addition to the people already named in a previous post, there are documents that mention William Wise and John Wise, though no relationships are given.

There was a statement (see image below) signed by Rosanna Hale (her mark) and witnessed by M. H. Grunden which fits in quite nicely with the census information found by Pseudo-Anonymous Gary earlier this week (which also prompted this overdue visit to Peru). In the 1900 census for Steelton Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (page 55B), Rosana Hale is listed in the household of Martin H. Grunden as widowed, mother-in-law.

There is no date on this document, but similar ones for William Kircher and Luella Culbertson were dated October 4, 1887. It reads: "Whereas, the assets in the hands of William Kircher, Administrator of the Estate of Christina Wise, deceased are insufficient to pay the claims allowed against the same in full - to avoid the additional expense of settling said estate as insolvent, I, Rosanna Hale, consent to accept, and hereby acknowledge the receipt of about eighty-three per cent of my claim against said estate, to-wit: Seventy-seven & 27/100 Dollars, in full payment and satisfaction of said claim. Witness M. H. Grunden. Rosanna x Hale, her mark."

Found the deed book entry where Peter Wise and his wife, Christina, sold their 180 acres of land on April 5, 1866 for $8,000.

On May 14, 1866 Peter purchased town lots 5, 6, & 7 in Gilead. On October 26, 1868 he purchased 5 acres of land that was bordered on the east by the town of Gilead.

Those two entries in 1866 were in one of the books I had skipped on my previous visit to the courthouse a month ago. The reason I had skipped over them was because in the 1870 census it still showed that Peter owned land. What didn't "click" though was the fact that in 1850 his real estate was valued at $4,000 while in 1870 it was only $1,000. Lesson learned: Check all records for the time period of your ancestor, not just the years you think there "might" be transactions.

However, I didn't find the records for the sale of the lots and 5 acres under the Wise surname. So I checked for transactions by William Kircher, the administrator of Christina's estate, and found the record of the sale of the five acres on April 15, 1887 and the sale of the town lots on September 10, 1887.

As a point of reference, this is a portion of the 1860 census for Seward Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana page 60. After looking at it for a while I can now see that it could be Mary A. rather than May A., but then again, maybe not.

Pseudo-Anonymous Gary Comes Through Again, Maybe

At first I was going to call him Anonymous Gary but since he has a name he's not really anonymous. But his Blogger profile has no details! So, who are you Gary? Whatever you want to call him, Gary has left another comment and information (greatly appreciated, by the way) on one of my posts, this one on Rosanna Wise Hale.

He says:

Well, Becky, you keep posting interesting puzzles and I can't help but investigate. :) If I'm right, the Jacob & Rosanna Hale you found in Kosciusko Co, IN moved to Dauphin Co, PA. Here is a summary of the census records I found.

1870, PA, Dauphin Co, Baldwin (pg 699B)
Jacob Hale, age 46, b. PA
Rosanna Hale, age 45, b. OH
Mary A Hale, age 15, b. IN

1880, PA, Dauphin Co, Halifax Twp (pg 71D)
J Hale, age 52, b. PA
Rosianna Hale, age 53, b. OH
H Brunden (grandson), age 6, b. PA

1900, PA, Dauphin Co, Steelton Borough (pg 55B)
Martin H Grunden, age 54, b. PA
Mary A Grunden, age 45, b. PA
Rena E Grunden, age 23, b. PA
Alva A Grunden, age 20, b. PA
Rosana Hale (widowed mother-in-law), age 74, b. OH

So, if correct, these records present a conflict with information you have already found in that the Hale daughter would actually be "Mary" and not "May". Now the question becomes, is there another May Hale in Miami Co, IN that could be the May Hale that married George Armstrong?

Let's face it, you're going to have rummage around in that courthouse until you're satisfied that the probate case file for Christine Wise has indeed been lost. :)

Good luck, Gary

Those census records do look promising, and as he says, if those records are correct, then May A. Hale who married George Armstrong is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna (Wise) Hale. It won't be the first time I was wrong! And likely not the last, but if his lead proves out, then all the better.

On my "to do" list is a note to check the marriage records and death records in Miami County for May Hale Armstrong. She was married in 1888 and died in 1899 so there is a chance, albeit slim, that her parents were noted in those records. It just depends upon when Miami County started recording that information. Maybe I'll get lucky.

In addition to those two records, I still need to look for Christina's estate packet. When I visited the Clerk's office five weeks ago we couldn't find the ledger books referenced in the one record we did find on Christina's estate. The clerk said we could go next door to the archives but that the man with the key was out to lunch. I went to the Library but didn't make it back to the Clerk's office that day.

The other record that needs to be found is the deed entry for the sale of Peter's land. If for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity. But I really want to find that estate file. So, perhaps tomorrow, I'll go rummaging around in the courthouse at Peru!

In addition to the records found by Gary, I also found the following:

1880, PA, Dauphin, Steelton Borough, Second Street, page 21
Martin H. Grunden [indexed as Grunten], 31, Laborer
Alice, 25, wife, keeps house, born Indiana, father born Penna, mother born Ohio
Hale, 6, son [also listed with J. and Rosianna Hale as H Brunden, 6 year old grandson ?]
Rena, 4, daughter
Alva, 1, son

1910 - didn't find Alice/Mary Grunden in Dauphin, County PA

1920, PA, Dauphin, Steelton Borough, Pine Street, pages 1b and 2a
James B. Detweiler, 44, coal merchant
Rena E., wife, 42
Vance G., son, 16
J. Austin, son, 12
Mary A. Grunden, Mother in Law, 64, widowed, born Indiana

www.ancestry.com Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Directories, 1887-90
Four entries for Martin H. Grunden, all the same, no dates, Location 1: 240 S Front, Location 2: 273 S 2d, Occupation: coal and wood dealer, City: Steelton. Also, three entries for Rosanna Hale, widow of Jacob: Two with location of 301 S 2d and one with location of 273 S 2d, both in Steelton.

A short biography of Martin Grunden was found in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, 1896, page 1039 available on ancestry. He served in Co. E 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry 1863-1865, married Miss Alice, daughter of Jacob Hale of Steelton in 1873; three children, Rena, Alva and Hale - Hale died 11 Feb 1894 at 20 years of age. There's more but that's the "important" stuff.

There is a Public Member Tree at www.ancestry.com (registration required to view the tree) for Martin Henry Grunden. He was born 28 Mar 1846 and died 22 Sept 1902 Steelton, Dauphin, PA. His wife, Mary Alice Hale was born 15 Nov 1854 in Indiana and died 19 Nov 1939 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, PA.

One child is listed for Martin and Mary: Rena Elizabeth Grunden born 14 Nov 1875 Steelton, Dauphin, PA and died 6 Sept 1926 Steelton, Dauphin, PA. She was married to James Prowell Detweiler who was born 10 May 1875 Goldsboro, York, PA and died in 1949 Steelton, Dauphin, PA.

One child listed for Rena and James Detweiler: James Austin Detweiler, born 8 Jan 1908 Steelton, Dauphin, PA and died 1 Jan 1985 Waynoka, Woods, OKLA. His wife was Helen Margaret Walker, born 19 Mar 1916 Houston, TX and died 11 Mar 1995 Moscow, Latah, ID.

Obviously, this is going to take additional research... Did I jump the gun by proclaiming that May Hale Armstrong was the daughter of Jacob and Rosana Hale? Perhaps. On the other hand, if I hadn't posted that information, would the new information have come to light? Possibly. Should I have done additional research before posting? Maybe.

Cousins, all dressed up!

Even though none of my ancestors are included, this is one of my favorite family photographs. I love the hats and the dresses. And just look how small their waists are!

Hazlette Wise, Grace Zinsmeister, and Ethel Wise.
Not dated but I'd guess about 1905-1910.

Hazlette Wise (1885-1977), daughter of William P. and Sophia (Dunfee) Wise, married Harlo Burns on October 10, 1911 in Whitley County, Indiana. They had two sons: Maurice Wise Burns who was born on July 31, 1912 and died on October 2, 1912. The other son, Thagrus Burns, was born in 1917 and recently celebrated his 91st birthday. My grandmother, Hazlette Brubaker, was named after Aunt Hazlette, who was in turn named after her great-grandmother Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett Dunfee.

Grace Zinsmeister (1888-1983) was the daughter of Rosilla "Rose" Wise and John Zinsmeister. Rose was the sister of William P. Wise. The Zinsmeister's moved to Lorain, Ohio just prior to 1900 and lived there the remainder of their lives though, apparently, they made several visits to the folks back in Indiana. Grace was a school teacher in Lorain for many years.

Ethel Wise (1882-1966) was the daughter of James Roscoe and Miriam Minerva (Blain) Wise. Ethel married George Weick in 1919, when she was 36 years old. They owned and operated a shoe store in Columbia City.

The parents of the girls (William, Rose, and James) were the children of Jacob and Malissa (Stem) Wise.

Happy Birthday, Dougie

For 3 weeks every year my older brother, Doug, and I are the "same" age, he being born 11 months and 8 days before I was. Growing up we always had a bit of fun with that, sometimes confusing our classmates and friends. Today (March 9th) is the day he "officially" becomes one year older than me. Happy birthday, brother.

Summer of 1951. Doug and me in front of the weeping willow tree.

William Peter Mohler

For now, this is the last post in my series attempting to identify the twelve children of Peter and Christina Wise and trace their descendants. Perhaps a descendant will see this or one of the other posts and leave a comment or contact me via email: kinexxions "at" gmail "dot" com

William Peter Mohler, son of John J. and Elmina (Wise) Mohler, was born on 29 May 1875 in Gilead, Miami County, Indiana, [1, 2, 3] died on 23 Nov 1943 in Cimarron Township, Meade County, Kansas [2, 4, 5] at age 68, and was buried in Atwater Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [2, 4]

William married Freda Meyer on 25 Apr 1903 in Meade County, Kansas. [2, 6] Freda was born on 07 Nov 1886 in Lake Creek, Benton County, Missouri, [7, 8] died on 06 Feb 1953 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas [2, 8, 9] at age 66, and was buried in Atwater Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [2, 8, 9]

The Mohler family was located in the following census records:
1905 Meade County, Kansas (Cimarron page 1 line 29)
1920 census for Meade County, Kansas (Cimarron Township page 5a)
1930 census for Meade County, Kansas (Cimarron Township page 1b)

Notice of William's death was published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday, November 25, 1943. [5]

Wm. T. [sic] Mohler passed away at his home in Cimarron township at three o'clock Tuesday morning following a long illness with a heart ailment. Mr. Mohler was an old-timer of Meade county and had lived in Meade and Beaver counties for approximately sixty years. He is survived by his wife, Freda, and four married children. Short services at 2:00 will be held at the Funeral home here, followed by the regular services at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon, Nov. 25, in the Happy Hill school house.

The Fletcher Funeral home is in charge of arrangements and the Rev. Riley Hanson will conduct the funeral services. Burial will be at the Atwater cemetery.

His obituary was published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday, December 2, 1943. [3]

William Peter Mohler, youngest son of John Jacob and Elmira Wise Mohler, was born May 29, 1875 at Gilead, Miami County, Ind. He moved to Kansas with his parents in 1885, settling in Meade County, where with his parents, he engaged in general farming and stock raising. On April 25, 1903, he was united in marriage to Freda A. Meyer.

To this union was born four children, all of whom survive: Perry Mohler of the home; Mrs. Ella Vanderpool, Forgan, Okla.; Mrs. Esther Rhodes, Meade; and Mrs. Rose Sherrid of Minneola. He departed this life Tuesday morning Nov. 23, 1942 [sic] at the age of 68 years, 5 months 24 days. He leaves to mourn his loss his widow, four children, 13 grandchildren and a host of friends and other relatives.

The funeral notice for Freda Mohler was published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday February 12, 1953. [8]

Funeral services for Mrs. William P. Mohler (Freda A. Meyer), 66, were conducted from the Church of the Nazarene here Sunday afternoon at 2:30. The Rev. L. V. Payton, pastor, was in charge of the funeral service. Fidler Mortuary was in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Mohler passed away in the Meade hospital Friday from heart trouble, just 3 ½ hours after she had been taken there. Interment was in the Atwater cemetery south of the Meade State Lake.

Rev. Payton read the following obituary at the funeral service: Freda A. Meyer, daughter of Herman and Alice Meyer, was born Nov. 7, 1886, in Benton county, Mo. Departed this life in the Meade Hospital Feb. 6, 1953. Age 66 years 2 months and 30 days. When a child she was baptized. In 1900 she was confirmed by the St. John's Lutheran church here in Meade county, In 1950, during the ministray of Rev Steward Reed here, she united with the Church of the Nazarene, Meade, Kansas, of which she was a member when she was called to her reward in heaven.

She moved with her folks to Meade county in the Spring of 1889. Here she grew to womanhood. On April 25, 1903 she was married to Mr. William P. Mohler, and to this union were born four children - Perry Mohler, who lives on the old home place southwest of town where the deceased (Mrs. Freda Mohler) was still making her home at the time of her death, three daughters, Mrs. Ella Heinson, Mrs. Esther Rhodes of Meade, Kansas, and Mrs. Rose Sherrid, Dodge City, Kas. Her husband, William P. Mohler, father and mother, one sister, Maggie Cordes, one brother Henry Cordes, all preceded her in death.

There are left to mourn her passing fourteen grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

Children of William Peter and Freda (Meyer) Mohler were:

1. Ella Elmina Mohler was born on 20 Jan 1904 in Meade County, Kansas [2] and died in 1994 in Meade County, Kansas [2] at age 90. Ella married Richard Barry Vanderpool on 19 Aug 1925 in Meade County, Kansas. [2] Richard was born on 02 Apr 1898 in Woodward, Woodward County, Oklahoma, [2] died on 17 Dec 1942 in Liberal, Seward County, Kansas [2] at age 44, and was buried in Elsie Chapel Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [2] Ella's second marriage, on 05 Nov 1950 in Meade, Kansas [2], was to Barthold John Heinson. B.J. Heinson (as he was known) was born on 31 Mar 1892 [2] and died on 20 Dec 1969 in Meade, Kansas [2]. He is buried in the Stone School Cemetery south of Meade. [2]

Children of Richard Barry and Ella Elmina (Mohler) Vanderpool were:

i. Iva Nell Vanderpool was born on 14 Mar 1926 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 14] and died on 09 Aug 1993 in Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma [14] at age 67. Iva married Ronald Alonzo Seal. Ronald was born on 04 Jul 1911 in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma [15] and died on 27 Jul 1998 in Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma [15] at age 87.

ii. Freda Lenore Vanderpool was born on 13 Oct 1927 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 16, 17] and died on 24 Oct 2000 in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma [2, 16, 17] at age 73. Freda married Preston Lee Thomas on 12 Feb 1947. [2] Preston was born on 25 Jan 1921 in Ocheltree, Texas. [2]

iii. Mary Lou Vanderpool was born on 26 Oct 1929 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 18] and died on 22 Jan 1984 in Jefferson County, Texas [18, 19] at age 54. Mary married Walter Lee Robinson on 08 Jun 1945 in Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas. [20] Walter was born on 01 Jul 1928 in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma, [2] died on 08 Mar 1962 [2] at age 33, and was buried in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma. [2]

iv. Geraldine Esther Vanderpool was born on 09 Feb 1931 in Meade County, Kansas, [2] died on 06 Jul 1935 in Meade County, Kansas [2] at age 4, and was buried in Elsie Chapel Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [2]

v. Verna June Vanderpool was born on 06 Jun 1934 in Meade County, Kansas, [2] died on 03 Jul 1935 in Meade County, Kansas [2] at age 1, and was buried in Elsie Chapel Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [2]

vi. Shirley Rosetta Vanderpool was born on 20 Aug 1938 in Beaver County, Oklahoma [2] and died on 18 Feb 2000 in Meade County, Kansas [2] at age 61. Shirley married Larry Clair Sinclair on 24 Jan 1955 in Raton, Colfax County, New Mexico. [2] Larry was born on 15 Mar 1937 in Scott City, Scott County, Kansas [2] and died on 22 Apr 1983 in Liberal, Seward County, Kansas [2] at age 46. Shirley married John P. Staples on 01 Jun 1984, in Kingsville, Texas. [2]

vii. Son, still living. [2]

2. Esther Naomi Mohler was born on 20 Nov 1905 in Kansas [2, 10] and died on 28 Aug 1968 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 10] at age 62. Esther married Noel Jay Rhodes on 14 Nov 1925. Noel was born on 21 Jul 1902 [2, 11] and died on 10 Apr 1971 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas [2, 11] at age 68. They had five children, all still living.

3. Perry Orend Mohler was born on 11 Mar 1907 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 12] and died on 18 Jul 1975 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 12] at age 68. Perry married Thelma Fay Hale on 29 May 1937. [2] Thelma was born on 28 Apr 1918 in Aetna, Kansas. [2] They had two children, one son, Lewis Wayne Mohler, passed away in January 1996.

4. Rosetta R. Mohler was born on 24 Sep 1912 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas [2] and died on 31 Jan 1959 in Dodge City, Kansas [2] at age 46. Rosetta married Clell Leroy Sherrid on 21 Jul 1936. [2] Clell was born on 20 Aug 1916 [2, 13] and died in 1965 [13] at age 49. They had two children, both still living.

Footnotes:
[1] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10415.
[2] http://www.deaneckhoff.com/HTMLHistoryBook/Chap4/HBChap4.htm - H. Leonard Eckhoff and N. Dean Eckoff, An Eckhoff Family History : Chapter 4 Section 7 : The Family of Freda Ann Meyer and William Peter Mohler
[3] Obituary of William Peter Mohler published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday, December 2, 1943 received from Janette Friesen February 29, 2008
[4] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/cem/meade_m.html Meade County, Kansas Cemetery Index. Mohler, William P. (1875-1943) Atwater Cemetery
[5] Obituary of William T. [sic] Mohler published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday, November 25, 1943 received from Janette Friesen February 29, 2008
[6] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/Marriages.htm Meade County Marriages as compiled by the Meade County Genealogy Society. William Mohler to Freda Meyers on 25 Apr 1903 citing License No. 387 page 195
[7] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10375
[8] Obituary of Mrs. William P. Mohler (Freda A. Meyer) published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday February 12, 1953 received from Janette Friesen February 29, 2008
[9] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/cem/meade_m.html Meade County, Kansas Cemetery Index. Mohler, Freda A. (1886-1953) Atwater Cemetery
[10] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10417
[11] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10433
[12] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/cem/meade_m.html Meade County, Kansas Cemetery Index. Mohler, Perry O. (Mar 11 1907 - Jul 18 1975) Atwater
[13] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10449
[14] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10421
[15] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10428
[16] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10422
[17] www.rootsweb.com Social Security Death Index
[18] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10423
[19] www.ancestry.com Texas Death Index, 1903-2000 Record of Mary Carrington
[20] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10423

Stella Rose Mohler Gilbert

This post includes the information found on the internet for the family of Stella Mohler Gilbert. The basic family structure was obtained from the Terrel Hayes Family WorldConnect database (see links below, in footnotes). An email was sent to the person who submitted the database to see if contact information was available, but she does not have addresses for any descendants. My next step will be able to obtain obituaries for the people for whom I have dates of death. Perhaps a descendant will see this post and leave a comment or contact me via email: kinexxions "at" gmail "dot" com

Stella Rose Mohler, daughter of John J. and Elmina (Wise) Mohler, was born on 01 Apr 1873 in Gilead, Miami County, Indiana [1] and died on 21 Oct 1936 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [1] at age 63.

Stella married Frank Edgar Gilbert on 04 Jul 1888 in Meade County, Kansas. [2] Frank was born on 15 Jan 1865 in Clarksville, Butler County, Iowa [3] and died on 05 Nov 1940 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [3] at age 75.

The Gilbert family was located in the following census records:
1900 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Handley Ave., City of Wichita, page 180 sheet 6a)
1905 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita City page 15 family 535 line 10)
1910 Sedgwick County, Kansas (North Handley, Wichita City, page 8b)
1915 census for Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita page 34)
1920 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Handley Street, Wichita City, page 12b)
1930 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Dooley Street, Wichita City, Delano Township, page 9b)

Children of Frank Edgar Gilbert and Stella Rose Mohler were:

1. Lulu Mae Gilbert was born on 15 Feb 1889 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas [4, 5] and died on 21 May 1976 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California [5] at age 87. Lulu married Francis L. Griffin on 03 Jul 1910 in Sedgwick County, Kansas. [6] Francis was born on 17 Dec 1889 in Michigan [5] and died on 13 Jul 1967 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California [5] at age 77.

Children of Francis L. and Lulu Mae (Gilbert) Griffin were:

i. Edith Griffin was born in 1912 in Kansas.
ii. Eugene R. Griffin was born on 20 Feb 1914 in Minnesota [5] and died on 28 Jul 1968 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California [5] at age 54.
iii. Dorothy Griffin was born in 1917 in Kansas.

The Griffin family was located in the following census records:
1920 Finney County, Kansas (Sherlock Township page 8b)
1930 Ford County, Kansas (Third Ward, Dodge City page 10b)

2. Ethel Gilbert was born on 01 Jun 1891 in Beaver County, Oklahoma [7] and died on 19 Feb 1958 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [7] at age 66.

3. Minnie Allen Gilbert was born on 09 Aug 1894 in Beaver County, Oklahoma [8] and died on 14 Jan 1992 Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [9] at age 97. Minnie married Frank Benjamin Cornelison on on 24 Mar 1913 in Sedgwick County, Kansas. [16] Frank was born on 04 Sep 1884 in North Carolina [9, 15] and died in Sep 1971 [9] at age 87. An abstract of Minnie's obituary published in the Wichita Eagle, Wichita, Kansas on January 16, 1992 (found on www.genealogybank.com) stated that her survivors were a daughter, Juanita Davis of Wichita; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren.

Children of Frank Benjamin and Minnie Allen (Gilbert) Cornelison were:
i. Mary Cornelison was born about 1914 in Kansas.
ii. Juanita Cornelison was born about 1916 in Kansas. (Juanita G. Davis was born 05 Mar 1916 and died in May 1995. Last residence was Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. [9])
iii. Charles L. Cornelison was born 25 Nov 1920 in Kansas and died 17 Feb 1991. Last residence unknown. [9]

The Cornelison family was located in the following census records:
1915 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita page 1 line 11)
1920 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Walnut Street, Wichita page 8b)
1930 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Kechi Township page 127a)

4. John William Gilbert was born on 13 Jun 1898 in Kansas [10] and died in Sep 1967 [10, 11] at age 69. John married Edna. She was born on 01 Dec 1888 [9] and died in May 1966 [9] at age 77.

The World War I Draft Registration Card for John shows that he resided at 528 No. Handley in Wichita with his parents. John was a mechanic for R. O. Bales in Wichita. He was tall, with a slender build, brown eyes, and brown hair.

In the 1920 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita page 2b), John Gilbert is a 21 year old machinist at a Mattress Factory. His wife Edna is 23 years old and is a housewife.

5. Vern Frank Gilbert was born on 25 Mar 1901 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [9, 10] and died on 13 Nov 1967 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [9, 10] at age 66. John married Ima or Inza. She was born about 1906 in Kansas.

In the 1930 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita page 39b), Vern F. Gilbert, is 29 years old, rents his home, was first married at age 21, and is a "Telitype" Printer for the Telephone Company. Ima [or Inza ?] F., his wife, is 24 years old and was married at age 17.

6. Freda Viola Gilbert was born on 07 Aug 1904 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas 12] and died on 17 Apr 1981 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [12] at age 76.

7. Robert Leroy Gilbert was born on 17 Feb 1910 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [5, 13] and died on 30 Nov 1983 in San Diego, San Diego County, California [5, 13] at age 73.

8. Arthur Wesley Gilbert was born on 17 Mar 1913 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [14] and died on 20 Jun 1938 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [14] at age 25.

Footnotes:
[1] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06873.
[2] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/Marriages.htm. Meade County Marriages as compiled by the Meade County Genealogy Society citing License No. 151 page 76.
[3] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06871.
[4] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06874. Her date of birth is given as 15 Oct 1889 in this database. The Social Security Death Index and California Death Index give it as 15 Feb 1889.
[5] www.ancestry.com California Death Index, 1940-1997
[6] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/mhgs/F-H.htm Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society, Sedgwick County, Kansas Marriage Affidavits (Lula/Lulu M. Gilbert to Francis L. Griffin on 03-Jul-1910 Book N page 213)
[7] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06875
[8] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06876
[9] www.ancestry.com Social Security Death Index
[10] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06877
[11] www.ancestry.com Social Security Death Index. Hayes WorldConnect database has 17 Sep 1969 as date of death.
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06877
[12] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06879
[13] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06880
[14] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06881
[15] www.ancestry.com World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
[16] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/mhgs/F-H.htm Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society, Sedgwick County, KS marriage affidavits. Minnie Gilbert to F. B. Cornelison on 24-Mar-1913 citing Book Q page 076

Elmina Wise Mohler

A researcher (Janette) in Meade County, Kansas has provided copies of obituaries and biographies, links to online data on the William P. Mohler family, and contact information for several of his descendants. Janette is trying to find the death date for Elmina Wise Mohler so that we can get her obituary and possibly her death record. I have written to one of the descendants that still lives near Meade. He also happens to be involved with the Meade County Historical Society and his mother provided family information for the compilation of the Eckhoff Family History, so I am hopeful that he will respond to my inquiry. If not, I have the addresses for three other descendants of William.

Elmina Wise Mohler, probable daughter of Peter and Christina Wise, was born in 1846 in Ohio [1] and died in 1932 [1] at age 86.

Elmina is listed as a 5 year old in the 1850 Wayne County, Ohio census with Peter and Christina Wise. In the 1860 census in Miami County, Indiana there is an Emaline listed with them who is 14 years old. I am making the assumption that Elmina and Emaline are the same person. Elmina also went by the name of Ella.

The November 5, 1920 obituary of Eliza Jane Wise Hoffman (published in the Roann Clarion, Wabash County, Indiana) states that Eliza's parents are Peter and Christine Wise, that she "was one of a family of 12 children, and the youngest sister, Mrs. Ella Mohler living in Kansas is the only one living."

Among the four claimants in the October 25, 1887 final report of the estate of Christina Wise is listed John J. Mohler who received $735.09 on January 9, 1885 and $662.00 on March 25, 1885. John was the husband of Elmina Wise Mohler. There is probably additional information in the estate packet and the court books referenced in that journal entry, but the packet and referenced books have not yet been located.

Elmina married John J. Mohler 07 Apr 1870. [2, 3] John was born on 16 Sep 1836 in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, [2] died on 07 Jan 1928 in Meade County, Kansas [2, 4] at age 91, and was buried in Fairview (now Atwater) Cemetery, Meade, Meade County, Kansas. [2] They had two children: Stella Rose and William Peter.

There is a Civil War Pension file available for John J. Mohler [found on www.footnote.com] which shows that he served as a Private in Company D, 68th Regiment Indiana Infantry. He filed Application No. 76997 on July 11, 1865 and was issued Invalid Certificate No. 211778. John died on January 7, 1928 at Meade, Kansas and on January 28, 1928 his widow filed Application No. 1603230 and was issued Certificate No. A2-20-28.

The obituary of John J. Mohler was published in the Meade Globe News, Meade Kansas on Thursday, January 12, 1928. [2]

John J. Mohler, the youngest son of a family of twelve children, was born September 16, 1836 in Wooster county Ohio. Enlisted as a private in Company K, 17th Regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps of Company D, 68th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, the 7th day of August 1862 and discharged June 30, 1865 at Indianapolis, Indiana.

He united with the Christian church while a young man and always remained true to his faith. He was a member of the Masonic body at Meade and a member of the order for 63 years. A member of the local G. A. R.

After the war he engaged in the general merchandise business at Gilead, Miami county, Indiana. Was married the 7th day of April, 1870 to Ella Wise to which union were born two children. Estella Rose Gilbert of Wichita, Kansas and William Peter Mohler of Meade.

In the summer of 1885, he moved with his family to a homestead southwest of Meade, on which he lived the remainder of his life, with the exception of a few winters in Wichita, Kansas.

He departed this life the morning of the 7th of January this year. He leaves to mourn his loss, his wife and two children, 11 great grandchildren. Funeral services at the home, Monday afternoon, the Rev. F. R. Guy officiating, with interment in Fairview cemetery.

A biography of John J. Mohler was published in the Pioneer Stories of Meade County, Fourth Edition, Meade County Historical Society, 1983.

I was born Sept. 16, 1836 in Wooster [sic] County, Ohio. When I was a small lad I bound out to another family there. After a short time I ran away from home and worked at most anything I could find until the Civil War of which I took a large part. I served as a private with Company K, 17th Regiment of the Veterans Reserve Corps and in Company D, 68th Indiana Volunteer. In 1885 [sic] I was discharged at Indianapolis. I spent a lot of time in the hospital with varicose veins caused by marching, and the last few years of my life I was confined to a wheel chair. After my discharge I was engaged in mercantile business at Gilead, Indiana. In 1870 I was married to Ella Wise. We had two children, Estella and William.

When William was nine years old we started west in a covered wagon. My wife was in poor health and the change in climate was necessary. I left my family at Wellington for a short while until I could get a sod house built. I went back to get them and on our return we found the long horned steers had gored the corners out of the house and we had to rebuild it.

We settled about 20 miles southwest of Meade. We couldn't get enough water for our cattle and what we did have we drew from a community well. We watered 35 head of cattle that way. We then decided to move closer to the river. We moved to Beaver, Oklahoma near Old Fago and lived there about three years. We moved back to Meade County and bought land one-half mile east of the little town called Atwater, and William homesteaded on land near by.

Meat and food was so scarce Will had to hunt antelope and other wild game to supply the family's needs. We all gathered cow chips enough in the fall to last for fuel all winter. The blizzard that struck in 1886 killed most of the cattle, you could walk across the Cimarron River on dead cattle. In a few years Atwater was abandoned and buildings were torn down or moved away. We bought some of the lumber to build our home. Will lived in a dugout until his claim was proved up.

Estella was married to Frank Gilbert and they made their home in Wichita until her death in 1935. Will was married to Freda Meyer in 1902 and to this union was born Ella in 1904, Esther in 1905, Perry in 1907 and Rosetta in 1912. Will and Freda remained on their homesteads until their deaths, except for the two years spent in Canada. In 1913 Will bought a relinquishment to some land near the Lake of the Woods in Canada and took his family to live there for two years then returned to the home place in Meade County.

John J. Mohler passed away in his home in January 1928, and his wife followed him in 1932. He was a member of the Baptist Church and the G. A. R. and a member of the Masonic Lodge for 63 years. William passed away in 1943 and his wife in 1952. Perry, son of William, now lives on the home place.

Submitted by his daughter, Ella Heinson [rwNote: Ella was the daughter of William and Freda Mohler]

John J. and Elmina (Wise) Mohler had two children:

1. Stella Rose Mohler was born on 01 Apr 1873 in Gilead, Miami County, Indiana [5] and died on 21 Oct 1936 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [5] at age 63. Stella married Frank Edgar Gilbert 04 Jul 1888 in Meade County, Kansas. [6] Frank was born on 15 Jan 1865 in Clarksville, Butler County, Iowa [7] and died on 05 Nov 1940 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas [7] at age 75. Stella Mohler and Frank Gilbert had eight children: Lulu Mae, Ethel, Minnie Allen, John William, Verne Frank, Freda Viola, Robert Leroy, and Arthur Wesley.
   
2. William Peter Mohler was born on 29 May 1875 in Gilead, Miami County, Indiana, [8, 9, 10] died on 23 Nov 1943 in Cimarron Township, Meade County, Kansas [9, 10] at age 68, and was buried in Atwater Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [9, 10] William married Freda Meyer on 25 Apr 1903 in Meade County, Kansas. [11] Freda was born on 07 Nov 1886 in Lake Creek, Benton County, Missouri, [12, 13] died on 06 Feb 1953 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas [12, 13] at age 66, and was buried in Atwater Cemetery, Meade County, Kansas. [12, 13] Freda Meyer and William Mohler had four children: Ella Elmina, Esther A., Perry Orend, and Rosetta R.

The Mohler family was located in the following census records:

1870 Miami County, Indiana (Perry Township, page 41/149)
1880 Miami County, Indiana (District 113, Gilead, Family 14, page 2b)
1895 Kansas State Census (Cimarron Township, Meade County page 2)
1900 Meade County, Kansas (Cimarron Township, page 1)
1910 Sedgwick County, Kansas (Wichita City page 108 sheet 1a)
1915 Kansas State Census (Wichita City, Sedgwick County page 490 line 28)
1920 Sedgwick County, Kansas (4th Ward, Wichita City page 154)

Footnotes:

[1] Online data, Meade County, Kansas Cemetery Index downloaded February 5, 2008 . Elmina Mohler (1846-1932) Graceland Cemetery
[2] Obituary of John J. Mohler published in the Meade Globe News, Meade County, Kansas on Thursday January 12, 1928
[3] WPA Index to Marriage Records Miami County Indiana 1850-1920. Ella Wise to Jno. Moore on Apr 7, 1870 citing Book C-3A p89
[4] Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, (The National Archives): NARA T289. http://www.footnote.com/image/#737838 John J. Mohler
[5] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06873
[6] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/Marriages.htm Meade County Marriages as compiled by the Meade County Genealogy Society citing License No. 151 page 76
[7] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=terrel_hayes&id=I06871
[8] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10415
[9] H. Leonard Eckhoff and N. Dean Eckoff, An Eckhoff Family History : The Family of Freda Ann Moler and William Peter Mohler. Chapter 4 Section 7
[10] Obituary of William Peter Mohler published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday, December 2, 1943
[11] http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/meade/Marriages.htm Meade County Marriages as compiled by the Meade County Genealogy Society citing License No. 387 page 195
[12] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pfsco_2&id=I10375.
[13] Obituary of Mrs. William P. Mohler (Freda A. Meyer) published in the Meade Globe News, Meade, Kansas on Thursday February 12, 1953

Wise Family - Index to Posts

Rosanna Wise Hale

Rosanna Wise Hale, possible daughter of Peter and Christina Wise, was born about 1827 in Ohio, she could be one of the three females aged 10-14 listed with Peter Wise in the 1840 census of Wayne County, Ohio (Perry Township page 25).

Rosanna is not listed with Peter and Christina in the 1850 census of Wayne County, Ohio. There is a Rosanna Wise who married Jacob Hale on March 20, 1851 in Wayne County, Ohio (Wayne County, Ohio Marriage Index 1813-1898, Wooster, Ohio, 1997 page 559). And then, in 1860, there is a Jacob and Rosanna Hale residing in Seward Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana which is just a few miles north of Gilead, Miami County. Based on the 1860 census she was born about 1827 - Rosanna Hale is listed as 33 years old and born in Ohio.

Rosanna Hate [probably Hale ?] is one of the four claimants in the October 25, 1887 final report of the estate of Christina Wise. Rosanna received $80 on July 10, 1884 and $80 again on November 11, 1884. There is probably additional information in the estate packet and the court books referenced in that journal entry, but the packet and referenced books have not been located yet.

Rosanna married Jacob Hale on 20 Mar 1851 in Wayne County, Ohio. According to the 1860 census, Jacob was born in 1828 in Ohio.

1860 Kosciusko County, Indiana (Seward Township, PO Beaver Dam page 60)
Jacob Hale, 32, male, farmer, Real Estate valued at $700, Personal Estate valued at $300, born Pennsylvania
Rosana Hale, 33, female, born Ohio
May A. Hale, 5, female, born Indiana
Luther Wade, 7, male, born Indiana

Jacob and Rosanna Hale have not been found in any other census records. I did "all kinds" of searches in the census indexes but haven't come up with anything yet that even comes close to being them. If we assume that she was living in 1887 when she was listed as a claimant in the estate of Christina Wise, the question arises - where was she living?

Research was continued with the assumption that May A. Hale, age 5 in 1860 was the daughter of Rosanna and Jacob Hale.

* * * UPDATE *** March 12, 2008 * * *
The May Hale who married George Armstrong is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna Hale. According to the Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) her parents are Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz.

Jacob and Rosanna Wise Hale may have moved to Dauphin County, Pennsylvania after 1860 but before 1870. See this post for additional information.

May Hale was born in 1855 in Indiana. She married George W. Armstrong on 20 Sep 1888 in Miami County, Indiana (WPA Index to Marriage Records, Miami County, Indiana citing Book C 8 page 192).

May Armstrong died on 18 Dec 1899 in Miami County, Indiana at age 44 (WPA Index to Death Records, Miami County 1850-1920 citing Book C-5 page 5). No obituary for May Armstrong was found in the index at the Peru Library. I need to get a copy of her death record to see if the names of her parents were included.

George W. Armstrong was born on 15 Aug 1861 in Indiana or Ohio and died on 16 Feb 1934 in Miami County, Indiana at age 72. (The Peru Republican, Miami County, Indiana dated Friday, February 23, 1934 p1c2-3). His obituary stated that he was born in Ohio but all of the census records in which he was found show that he was born in Indiana.

The obituary of George W. Armstrong was published in The Peru Republican, Miami County, Indiana on Friday, February 23, 1934 p1 c2-3. His is a long obituary, a full column and a partial column on the front page. George was a well-known and apparently popular man in Deer Creek township. For now, I'm only pulling out a few paragraphs, midway through the article, that contain family information.

George W. Armstrong, son of John and Louisa Armstrong, was born in Ohio, Aug. 15, 1861 and departed this life, Feb. 16, 1934. When he was two years old, the family, consisting of the parents, five boys and one girl moved to Indiana. They moved to Miami County where Mr. Armstrong lived the rest of his life.

On Sept. 20, 1888, he was united in marriage to May Hale who preceded him to the grave thirty-four years ago. To this union two children were born, a son, Luther, who died in infancy and Mrs. Hazel Armstrong Busby who has always resided with her father. He took into his home a niece, Jessie Hale Pfleger, when but a young girl, to whom he was as a father. Surviving besides those mentioned, he leaves one brother, T. D. Armstrong, of Kokomo, several nieces and nephews and many friends.

Mr. Armstrong owned and operated the general store in Miami for forty-three years. In this capacity he proved himself honest and upright in all his dealings.

Hazel B. Armstrong, daughter of George W. Armstrong and May A. Hale, was born in Feb 1890 in Indiana. She married Russell Bugbee about 1925. Russell was born in 1896 in Indiana.

The Armstrong/Bugbee families were found in the following census records:

1900 Miami County, Indiana (Deer Creek Township page 11b)
George W. Armstrong, head of household, white, male, Aug 1861, 38, widowed, born Indiana, parents born Ohio, Clerk - general retail
Hazel B., daughter, Feb 1890, 10, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, at school
Jessie Hale, servant, Dec 1880, 19, single, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, House servant

1910 Miami County, Indiana (Deer Creek Township page 208)
George W. Armstrong, 48, married once, first married at age 21, born Indiana, parents born Ohio, Salesman, Gen Store
Hazel B., daughter, 20, single, born Indiana, parents born Indiana, no occupation

1920 Miami County, Indiana (Deer Creek Township page 4a)
George W. Armstrong, head, 58, widowed, born Indiana, merchant gen store
Hazel B., daughter, 29, born Indiana

1930 Miami County, Indiana (Deer Creek Township page 8b)
Russell Bugbee, head, owns home valued at $800, 34, first married at age 29, born Indiana, fireman on Rail Road, veteran of WWI
Hazel, wife, 40, first married at age 36, born Indiana
George W. Armstrong, Father-in-law, 68, first married at age 27, born Indiana, Merchant General Store

That is all the information that I've found so far on the Hale, Armstrong and Bugbee families. If anyone reading this is related to these people or has any information on them, please contact me! kinexxions "at" gmail "dot" com

* * * UPDATE *** March 12, 2008 * * *
The May Hale who married George Armstrong is NOT the daughter of Jacob and Rosanna Hale. According to the Death Record for May L. Armstrong (Miami County Health Dept. Book C-5 page 5, December 18, 1899) her parents are Albert Hale and Elizabeth Foutz.

Jacob and Rosanna Wise Hale may have moved to Dauphin County, Pennsylvania after 1860 but before 1870. See this post for additional information.

Wise Family - Index to Posts

Roadblock - Abigail Price Goodrich

In previous posts I wrote about two other troublesome female ancestors, Ruth Dyer and Sally Church. A third Roadblock in my research is Abigail Price, the wife of John Goodrich. They are my 6th great grandparents. A future post will provide more information about John but for now I'll just give his basic information. John was born August 21, 1754 in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony and was the son of Sarah Dewey and Benjamin Goodrich. While living in Hartford County, this John Goodrich was known as John Goodrich 3rd because he was the youngest of three men with the same name in the same area. When one of the older John's died, this John then became John Jr.

When I first started researching my Goodrich line I was told that the wife of John Goodrich was Abigail Price. And I have no reason to doubt that since one of their children, Bela Goodrich, named one of his children Price and another (my 4th great grandmother) was named Abigail. Obviously named after Bela's mother. Also, on October 1, 1776 (according to Records of Wethersfield as published in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Vol 18, p 53-59) John Goodrich and Abigail Price were married. But none of the other Goodrich family researchers I was in contact with knew any maore about Abigail or her parents.

The earliest record that I have found of Abigail was in August 1776 when the town of Newington, Connecticut as well as other towns in New England, recorded all the persons living in the town as recommended by the Continental Congress on December 26, 1775 so that taxes could be levied based upon population. This would be the forerunner of the United States Federal Population Census.

The 1776 Newington Census can be found online at Jane Devlin's website. It shows Abigail Price living in the household of Benjamin and Sarah (Dewey) Goodrich. Also in the household is their son John Goodrich, as well as their daughter Rhoda and other son David. In addition, there is a Mary, Elizur and Hannah Goodrich. I have no idea who they are and for now, it doesn't matter. The point is that Abigail Price was living in their household. Was she just living with them or was she a servant, or what?

There are currently 16 databases on WorldConnect that include Abigail Price with John Goodrich as her husband. Three of those have Abigail's parents as Rufus Price and Martha Grant and one just has her father as Rufus Price. Source information is pretty much non-existant. About three years ago I attempted to contact the submitters of those four databases but never received a reply.

A little over 2 years ago, a distant cousin and Goodrich researcher (whom I've never met but had worked with previously) and I decided to see what we could find out about old Rufus.

On September 17, 1750 Rufus Price and Martha Grant were married at Coventry, in Windham County, Connecticut Colony. And they did have a daughter, Abigail. Actually, they had two daughters named Abigail. The first Abigail was born June 21, 1753 and died March 29, 1755. The second Abigail was born August 29, 1757 at Coventry, which would put her at about the right age be the wife of John Goodrich.

We kind of got sidetracked for a week or so following the Grant lines. The Lathrops, Huntingtons, Rockwells, Minors, and Palmers. All early New England immigrant families. Impressive, indeed. But we came to our senses and realized we first needed to find out if Abigail, daughter of Rufus, was the Abigail Price that married John Goodrich.

We didn't really find out a lot about Rufus Price himself but through his sons, Rufus Jr. and Elijah we would find the evidence we needed. If nothing else, this provides a very good reason why siblings of ancestors (or siblings of supposed ancestors) should also be researcherd. Rufus Price Jr. served in the Revolutionary War from Tolland County, Connecticut and eventually attained the rank of Colonel in the New York militia. His pension record has been posted online by one of his descendant. It's detailed and interesting, but didn't really help us in our quest though it did put his family in the right place and time.

I had recently become a member of the Godfrey Library and at that time they still had remote access to HeritageQuest Online. For some reason, one late night, I decided to see if there was a pension record for Elijah Price, brother of Rufus. Still on dial-up internet access, it took forever to search and even longer to load the pages once they were found. Even though it didn't provide the information we'd hoped for, it was worth the wait.

What I found was an eight-page Pension File (R8462) for Elijah Price from Connecticut and New York with a widow Beulah. The second and third pages are the affidavit of Abagail Rose of the Town of Stephentown in the State of New York, Rensselaer County. It's rather lengthy and wordy so I'll just give a summary: Abagail Rose states that "she was well acquainted with Elijah Price late of Town of Owasco in the County of Cayuga & State of New York Deceased that she is Sister to the Said Elijah Price who was about two years and a half older than her self that on the commencement of the revolutionary War that they both resided at their fathers house in Tolland Ct.... That in 1778 this deponent moved from Tolland aforesaid to Stephentown aforesaid where she now resides that the year after 1779 their Father removed from Tolland to Stephentown & her Brother the Said Elijah Price came to Stephentown with her Father...." It continues on to the next page... dated the 21st day of June 1837 and it has the signature of Abigail Rose.

On another page in the file is the affidavit of Ruth Price that states "she was married to Rufus Price, brother of the said Elijah Price…." So, with that statement and that of Abagail Rose, I think it is pretty safe to say that Abigail, daughter of Rufus Price, Sr. did not marry John Goodrich.

John and Abigail Price left Wethersfield, Connecticut about 1805 and moved to Franklin County, Ohio. Along with them came their 9 children, 8-28 years of age. The three oldest children were already married and had started families of their own.

The only other record we have on Abigail is the St. John's Church Cemetery transcription found online at Worthington Memory. From what I've been told, the gravemarkers no longer exist.

Mrs. Goodrich born March 1754, died January 18, 1827. Cause of death was Dropsy.
Griswold burial list: Mrs Goodrich wife of Deacon John Goodrich died the 18th & was buried the 20th Jan. 1827 (of Dropsy) in tier next east of Dr Calvin H. Case & near it. age 72 years I believe.
There was also an entry for her husband:
Griswold burial list: Deacon John Goodrich died the 29th & was buried the 30th July 1834 in tier next east & near the foot of Calvin H. Case grave.

Research was pretty intense for several months back in '06. Nearly two years later, we're not any closer to finding the parents of "our" Abigail Price. We haven't given up. But we moved on to other research when we realized that the information we needed most likely wasn't going to be found on the internet or in any published books. It is probably going to require on-site research in Connecticut and Ohio.