The Life of Hazlette Brubaker :: Part 2 ~ The Beginning, continued

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read The Introduction to this series of posts.

The Beginning ~ A Brief Family History, Continued

Grandpa Brubaker was born "out of wedlock". His mother became pregnant several months after her cousin by the same man, John Brubaker. He married the cousin but he acknowledged Grandpa as his son and we were always quite close to several of Grandpa's half brothers especially Sam, a school teacher in Fort Wayne and Thornton who worked for the Erie Railroad in Huntington.

His mother, Sarah Foster, married George Parkison and they came to Indiana when Grandpa was eight years old. He was raised with the Parkison boys but always went by the Brubaker name. He enlisted in the Army when sixteen years old and has a very fine record from the Civil War. When he came home he married Malissa Mariah Joslin and they settled on the farm at Goose Lake. They had Papa (Charles Romain) and fifteen years later another boy, Maurice Hale, was born.

Papa was supposed to be a doctor and he attended Valparaiso College for a couple of years. He dropped out of school and went to Chicago where he was a newspaper reporter, then to upper Michigan where he worked as a lumberman. When he thought he was thru wandering, he came home and married Maud C. Wise. A few months after getting married he enlisted in the army and served in Cuba as a Mess Sergeant during the Spanish American War. When he came home he still wanted "action". Mama said they moved eighteen times during their married life, which ended by divorce when Papa enlisted in 1918 and was a Mess Sergeant in the First World War. Papa lived to be 74 years old and died in Mobile, Alabama at the veteran's hospital. His home was near Pascagoula, Mississippi and he had remarried in the early 1920's.

There are a lot of Brubaker's around Huntington and in this area. They are all descendants of John and two of his brothers. I am not acquainted with any of the younger generation, meaning mine. But Grandma's family abounds in this area and in the west, especially Kansas. All of the Goodrich's are from the Bela Goodrich clan. One of Lysander's sisters was grandmother to Gladys Burnworth Moore Winebrenner, who has always been a friend of mine.

Grandpa William Wise was born in Miami County, Indiana and came with his parents, Jacob and Malissa, to Whitley County when one year old. I think that they came to Indiana from Pennsylvania via the river route with both sets of grandparents. When they came north the Wise grandparents stopped at or near Roan and the Stems (his mother's family) came on with his parents and they also settled in Thorncreek Township on a farm near Crooked Lake.

When Grandpa Wise was twelve years old his father was drafted into the Army during the Civil War. This made Grandpa the head of the family as his father died of "homesickness" at Nashville soon after leaving. He was buried in Nashville National Cemetery and Mama, Aunt Hazlette, and Grace Zinsmeister visited his grave in the 40's. Just a month after Jacob's death, Malissa gave birth to their fourth child, Rose. [1]

As the eldest child, William took charge of the farm for several years until his mother married Jacob Scott. Then Grandpa met Sophia Dunfee and they too were married. Grandma Wise taught school for a year after they were married then had a son, Harry and later, twins, Maurice and Maud (my mother). Ten years later a daughter, Hazlette, was born.

The family of William P. Wise - Harry, Sophia, Maude, William, and Maurice.
Hazlette, seated in front.

August 4, 1976. Well, I did get a little writing done. I do hope some one of you kids enjoy it. Maybe one of the grandchildren or great grandchildren will really get some good out of it. Today the doctor says they found nothing wrong (no tumor) but I'm going to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne tomorrow for a liver scan. Last night Phyllis and Walter were here and as Walter left he said, "The Lord will take care of this." I said that I knew this but really I meant that he would stay by me and comfort me, but in the night my pain left me. Walter has such wonderful faith that I believe he could move mountains and I know that if it's God's will, I shall get home again. [2]

Yesterday the florist brought the most beautiful arrangement of dark red gladiolas and daisies. It was from Marilyn, Kent and Bartie. [3] They are so lovely and I sure appreciate them. Everyone that comes in the room says they are quite outstanding.

August 7, 1976. After a couple of days of clouds and rain, this morning the sun is shining and it is beautiful. I am feeling fine, it seems silly to be in a hospital but I'm supposed to stay here till the scans are finished which will be Thursday. So I will have been here almost two weeks. But really I am enjoying it. There are several old acquaintances from my early youth and we have fun talking over "old times".

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[1] Jacob Wise was drafted into the Army on October 5, 1864 just a little over a month after his son Sylvester had died and just two weeks before the birth of his daughter Rosilla. He died in a hospital at Nashville, Tennessee on May 17, 1865 of chronic diarrhea.

[2] Phyllis is Grandma's daughter, and Walter is Phyllis' husband.

[3] Marilynn is a granddaughter, Kent was Marilynn's husband, and Bartie was their son.