Dunfee Family :: Index to Posts

An Index Post is how I keep track of all of the blog posts that have been written on a family line. It helps keep me organized and allows visitors to easily find information on that family. This post will be updated as new blog posts are written on the family. Please contact me at kinexxions@gmail.com if you are researching this family or have additional information on them.

Sophia Dunfee married William Pythagrus Wise on October 9, 1873 in Whitley County, Indiana. They are my 2nd Great-Grandparents. For more on their family see Wise Family Index to Posts. Sophia was the daughter of William Hamilton Dunfee and Catherine B. Jones.

William H. Dunfee was the son of James Dunfee and Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett who lived in Adams County, Pennsylvania and Wayne and Holmes counties, Ohio most of their married lives. They followed several of their children to Whitley County.

James Dunfee *may* be the son of George and Mary Dunfee of Adams/York County, Pennsylvania. Sophia *may* be the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Hazlett, also of Adams/York County. Jonathan and Elizabeth Hazlett migrated to Ohio some time before 1830, first to Wayne, then Richland and Ashland counties. James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee were also in Wayne county at the same time as Jonathan. Lots more work needs to be done to validate those connections. See Hazlett Family :: Index to Posts

• March 16th 1849 letter sent by Sophia Elizabeth (Hazlett) and James Dunfee to their son and daughter-in-law, William and Catherine (Jones) Dunfee [December 27, 2007]

• Chasing Elusive Ancestors :: The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection Discusses what is known about James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee and provides clues to their possible parents. [December 9, 2011]

• The Children of Sophia Hazlett and James Dunfee is a brief synopsis of what is known of their (presumed) children [December 10, 2011]

• The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: Back to Ohio Goes back in time to the families found in Wayne, Richland, Ashland and Holmes counties in Ohio. [December 11, 2011]

• The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: On to Pennsylvania The Dunfee and Hazlett families were also located in York-Adams counties in Pennsylvania. This timeline details the information that is known about them. Are George and Mary Dunfee the parents of James Dunfee? Is Jonathan Hazlett the father of Sophia? [December 12, 2011]

Children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee (the * indicates a “presumed” child):

* Eliza Dunfee (abt 1813-1876) married Aquilla Hoff. They lived in Ashland County, Ohio and LaGrange County, Indiana. They had one son, Jonathan H. Hoff.

• It was a long time coming... A query on Aquila and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff posted in 1999 finally gets a response! [November 5, 2010]

• Eliza and Aquilla Hoff discusses what is now known of them. [December 19, 2011]

• Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man? Clues reside in the middle name of John H. Hoff and the fact that his first child was named Eliza. But are they one and the same person? [December 20, 2011]

• A Dunfee Duo provides more information, but no conclusions, regarding Jonathan H. Hoff.  It also compares photographs of Jonathan H. Hoff and Jonathan S. Dunfee. [July 17, 2012]

* George Dunfee (1814-1871) moved to Dekalb County, Indiana prior to 1855. His wife's name was Nancy and they were the parents of five children.

• The Dunfee Family :: George and Nancy Discusses what is known of them and their children. [December 26, 2011]

Mary Dunfee (1816-1900) was first married to Isaac Bonnet then to James Hanson Lovett. They lived in Holmes County, Ohio. Mary was the mother of eight children, five with Isaac Bonnett and three with James Lovett.

• George Bonnett "news boy" leaves $20,000 estate George was the son of Mary Dunfee and Isaac Bonnett [May 01, 2008]

* Catharine Jane Dunfee (1818-1893) was married to Moses Tryon in Wayne County, Ohio in 1836. They moved to Noble County, Indiana and were the parents of ten children.

William Hamilton Dunfee (1822-1888) married Catherine B. Jones in 1848 in Whitley County, Indiana. They are my 3rd great grandparents. Parents of seven children, only three of whom survived to adulthood, they also raised and cared for an "orphan" girl.

• Tombstone Tuesday :: William and Catherine Dunfee Grave site in Masonic Cemetery [January 27, 2009]

• See Jones Family - Index to Posts for information on Catherine's parents and siblings.

• Harry Hamilton Dunfee and His Unnamed Twin Brother Grave in Masonic Cemetery [August 30, 2008]

• Albert Eugene Dunfee Grave in Masonic Cemetery [August 30, 2008]

• Laura Virginia Dunfee Grave in Masonic Cemetery [August 30, 2008]

• I think that I shall never see... A wonderful old tree near the Dunfee graves [August 25, 2008]

• Unraveling a little mystery. Who is Flora C. Bair and how does she fit into the family of William Hamilton Dunfee? [December 2, 2008]

Sophia Dunfee (1824-1905) married David McNabb in 1842 in Richland County, Ohio. They moved to Dekalb County, Indiana prior to 1850 and were the parents of eight children.

Jonathan Smith Dunfee (1826-1900) was married in 1848 in Holmes County, Ohio to Mary Ann Quick. They moved to Whitley County, Indiana prior to 1860 where they raised their family of seven children.

• Their Magnificent Old Home is described in a letter written in 1967 by Agnes Dunfee Deebel. It includes a photograph of the home built in 1874 in Whitley County, Indiana by Jonathan S. Dunfee. Letter courtesy of Calvin Dunfee and photograph was contributed by Rob Waller. [July 18, 2012]

James Henry Dunfee, aka Henry or J. Henry, (about 1828-1872) was married in 1854 to Elizabeth Moores (Moor in the marriage record) in Ashland County, Ohio. They moved to Whitley County, Indiana shortly after their marriage but at some point moved to Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana. They were the parents of eight children.

Lucy Dunfee was born September 17, 1834 in Ohio. She came with her parents to Whitley County, Indiana about 1855. She died there on December 28, 1870 and is buried near her parents in Evergreen Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana.

Sarah Ann Dunfee (1839-1914) came with her parents to Whitley County, Indiana about 1855. She was married to Charles Henry Gillespie in 1862 in Whitley County and they had one child. In 1873 Sarah was married to John Robinette in Whitley County. They were the parents of three children.

Originally Posted on March 3, 2008 :: Last Updated on May 22, 2013 

Their Magnificent Old Home

Among the family photographs recently shared with me by Roger Waller is the one below, which is the home built about 1874 by Jonathan S. Dunfee. The house (located in section 17 of Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana) is still standing. When I asked for permission to use the photo of Jonathan in the post A Dunfee Duo, Roger not only answered in the affirmative but went on to say "Please put the photo from 1874 with the house and family on your site as well, I would really like people to be able to see it." So this post is dedicated to Roger, and to all other family researchers who willingly and happily share the past with us all. Thank You.

I drove out there last Sunday afternoon and when I saw the house, I realized that the above photo was reversed left-to-right. As always, you can double-click on the images to view a larger version. It's worth the extra clicks as the detail is quite good in the areas that are sharp.

So I "flipped" the image for comparison to the present-day views.

This shot was taken from across a field. The two pine trees in front of the house prevented the taking of a straight-on view. (I didn't want to go into the yard and the camera doesn't have an extremely wide angle lens anyway.)

A view of the house from the side.

On my visit to see Cal and Ardilla on Monday (mentioned in this post), Cal told me that one of Jonathan's granddaughters "from California" had come to the area back in the 1960s and had stopped at this house. She was able to go inside and visit with the owners. She apparently promised to send them a copy of the old photo above and wrote a letter to them in October of 1967. I'm not clear on how Cal got a copy of the letter - he stated that the granddaughter who visited did not contact any members of the Dunfee family that were living in the area at the time.

The author of the letter, Agnes Dunfee Deebel, was the third of four children born to Louis Weldon and Mary Lucretia (Cass) Dunfee who were married November 6, 1890 in Noble County, Indiana. About 1909 Louis and Mary moved with their four children to Calgary, Alberta, Canada where they lived for a few years. By 1920 the family was living in Long Beach, California. Agnes is the grandmother of my correspondent, Roger Waller, who provided me with the old photo.

Below is a transcription of the photocopy of the letter (paragraph breaks and text within square brackets has been added by me):

"Dear Mrs. Murbach - At last, I obtained the 92 yr old tintype, naturally somewhat worn, and here is the print I promised you, of the original house you now own. (The tintype was reversed, left to right, so you will make that correction, please.) The house was built in 1874, by my grandfather, Johnathan Dunfee, standing by front gate. He was helped by my father, Louis Dunfee, 10 yrs old, the boy standing by the front gate.

"The lady on the porch, standing, was my grand mother, Mary Dunfee. The man sitting on the porch, my uncle David Dunfee. The girls sitting [on the porch], my aunts Wilhemina, Martha, Emily & Althea & the man standing to the left, my uncle Clinton, who used to own the property to your north.

"My father bought the 80 acres where you live when he was 26, & brought my mother Mary Lucretia Cass, 22, there as a bride. Their 4 children, Florence, Helen, myself and Ruskin, were all born in this house - right in the north west corner of your present kitchen. The smaller building directly behind your house was built 70 yrs ago, as a "summer kitchen" - (no air conditioning then).

"The roof [three words, illegible] slate, alternating bands of light grey & rose, & was considered very handsome. The shutters were dark green - and the house always white. The Catalpa trees by your front gate were planted by my father in 1900 - and the maples along your lane by my mother in 1898. Thank you for the picture you gave me, and for letting me 'tour' your home. Agnes Dunfee Deebel Oct 24 - 67"

Do you think the man older man standing by the gate is 48 years old or 20?

I do take issue with Mrs. Deebel's statement that it is her grandfather, Jonathan Dunfee, standing by the gate with the boy. My guess would be that it is her brother David who is standing by the gate with Louis and that her grandfather Jonathan is the man in the chair on the porch (in the upper left corner of the cropped portion of the photo above). If the house was built in 1874, Jonathan would have been 48 years old at the time (he was born in 1826). The fellow standing by the gate with the boy appears younger to me. Her brother David would have been 20 years of age in 1874, which I think "fits" a little better.

Jonathan Smith Dunfee was the son of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee and was born June 9, 1826 probably in Adams County, Pennsylvania. At age 5, he moved to Wayne County, Ohio with his parents and siblings. At the age of 20 "he went to carpentering for two years, and the following three acted as overseer for his widowed sister's farm in Holmes County, Ohio." He married Mary Ann Quick on October 19, 1848 in Holmes County, Ohio. He was 22 years old and she was 20.

On May 26, 1850 he purchased 80 acres of land for $720 from Silvester Alexander. It was located in the northwest half of the northwest quarter of section 17 (NW 1/2 NW 1/4 S17) in Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana. This is the same parcel of land upon which he would later build the home shown in the photos above.

Two of his brothers, William Hamilton Dunfee (my 3rd great grandfather) and James Henry Dunfee, had come to Whitley County several years earlier. Other family members (his brother George, sister Catherine Tryon, and sister Sophia McNabb) had located in neighboring Noble and DeKalb counties prior to 1850. Another sister, Mary Bonnett Lovett would remain in Ohio (Holmes County) while his parents James and Sophia and two other sisters, Lucy and Sarah, would arrive in Whitley County within a few years.

Jonathan would purchase other lands, at one time owning over 400 acres in Whitley County. About 1891-1892 he and his wife moved to a home on North Chauncey Street in Columbia City where he passed away on April 22, 1900. (Mary's obituary published November 15, 1907 states that they moved to Columbia City "about 16 years ago" which, according to Agnes, is about the time that their son Louis bought the farm house.) Census records show Jonathan's occupation was that of a farmer. Apparently he was rather successful at it too. His biography published in the 1882 history of Whitley County, stated that "his farm is in a high state of cultivation and supplied with excellent buildings, and the signs of prosperity and happiness are all about him."

Jonathan's wife, Mary Ann Quick, was the daughter of David and Margaret (Oliver) Quick. She was born December 4, 1827 in Holmes County, Ohio and died at her home on North Chauncey Street in Columbia City on November 8, 1907.

Jonathan and Mary Ann (Quick) Dunfee were the parents of 7 children, all of whom remained in northeast Indiana except Louis:

1. Justice Clinton (August 22, 1849 - February 26, 1927)
2. Margaret Willimina (November 26, 1852 - March 22, 1941)
3. David J. (October 19, 1854 - August 12, 1892)
4. Martha Etta (May 21, 1857 - May 17, 1945)
5. Emily Almeda (February 28, 1859 - June 6, 1933)
6. Althea Mary (March 26, 1861 - November 22, 1903)
7. Louis Weldon (September 12, 1864 - December 14, 1947)

For more information on the Dunfee family, see the Index to Posts, which is a compilation of all the posts that have been published here at kinexxions on the family.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Their Magnificent Old Home," Kinexxions, posted July 18, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/07/their-magnificent-old-home.html : accessed [access date])

A Dunfee Duo

Last December I wrote several posts regarding Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff and their son. In this post, I discussed the possibility that their son Jonathan H. Hoff (last found with his father in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas in 1880) and John Hazlett Hoff (found in Decatur County, Kansas in 1900 & 1910 and Lawrence, Douglas County in 1915, 1920, 1925, and 1930) were the same person.

Shortly after those posts were published, I contacted Cathy, the submitter of one of the most "promising" ancestry trees. We corresponded briefly at the end of December but came to no firm conclusions. In April, she ordered the marriage record for John H. Hoff that "Charlie" a kinexxions reader had located in an online index. It confirmed the names of his parents listed in the index, but didn't really bring us any closer to a conclusion.

Decatur County, Kansas Marriage Application dated March 15, 1892. Parents of Jno. H. Hoff are given as Olen Hoff and Eliza Durfee.

Part of the "issue" is that John H. Hoff is consistently 5 years younger than Jonathan H. Hoff. And there is the family tradition that John was "the only child of along-toward-middle aged parents, had a father 'mostly' German born in the United States. His mother, Irish, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in her seventeenth year" and John's parents reportedly died during his "early teen years" and he then went to live with an uncle.

Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee were married on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio. He was 36 years old and she was 38. In the 1860 census, Jonathan is 6 years old. In 1870, he is 16 and in 1880 he is 26 years old - all consistent with an 1854 year of birth. So, yes, he would have been born to "late in life" parents with Aquilla being about 40 and Eliza being 42 years old. And he was an only child.

On his marriage application of March 15, 1892, Jno. H. Hoff gives his age as 33. In the 1900 census, John is listed as born in Nov 1859. In 1910 he is 51 years old. In 1915 he is 55. In 1920 he is 60. In 1925 he is 65. And in 1930 he is 70 years old. All consistent with a birth year of 1859-1860.

According to census records, Aquilla was born in Maryland and Eliza was born in Pennsylvania. My mother and grandmother always said the Dunfees were Scotch-Irish so maybe the "Irish" part in the John Hoff family tradition has some semblance of truth to it. But Eliza was not the immigrant - her parents were both born in Pennsylvania also.

Eliza died on August 6, 1876 probably in Lagrange County, Indiana. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lagrange County. At that time, Jonathan would have been about 22 years old (i.e. not in his early teens). Aquilla died June 27, 1883 also in Lagrange County. Jonathan would have been about 29 years old. Even subtracting the five years "lost" when given the age of John H. Hoff, it means he would have been 17 and 24 years old when Eliza and Aquilla died.

Of course, I have a theory regarding the age difference between John H. Hoff and Jonathan H. Hoff, assuming that they are indeed the same person. Did vanity enter into the equation? Perhaps John "shaved" 5 years off of his age so that he would not be so much older than his wife Mary who was born in January 1868. Using their ages, she would have been about 14 years younger than Jonathan and about 9 years younger than John.

One idea that Cathy proposed was that maybe Aquilla was John's uncle and that John was adopted by Aquilla and Eliza. But if that is true, he would have been adopted as a much younger child, not one in his young teen years. And there were no other known children for Aquilla and Eliza, especially older children.

So we're back to square one, not knowing with any degree of certainty whether John is Jonathan.

But, entering into the picture is contact with another Dunfee descendant, this one through a brother of Eliza. No, Roger didn't add anything to the information we have, but he did have a photo that really got my attention when I saw it. Roger's ancestor is Jonathan Smith Dunfee who is a brother to Eliza and to my 3rd great-grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee.

You see, Cathy has a photograph of her great-grandfather John Hazlett Hoff. And Roger has a photo of his great-great-grandfather Jonathan Smith Dunfee. And they both gave me permission to use those photos here on kinexxions.

When I first saw the photo of Jonathan S. Dunfee it immediately called to mind the one of John H. Hoff. I kept clicking between the two and finally got them displayed side by side as shown in the composite below. The resemblance is striking. At least it is to me.

On the left is John Hazlett Hoff and on the right is Jonathan Smith Dunfee. Possibly nephew and uncle. Photos used courtesy of Cathy Hansen and Roger Waller.

But a really neat thing that I was able to do, with Roger's permission, was to give a print of the picture of Jonathan Smith Dunfee to one of his great-grandsons that lives here in Columbia City. Cal is my 3rd cousin twice removed and I've known him for a very long time. Mom and her siblings "always" knew their Dunfee cousins, which I think is pretty cool. I spent yesterday afternoon with Cal and his wife, Ardilla, talking about the Dunfee family, genealogy and numerous other topics. We had a wonderful visit! (As a side note, Ardilla is a grand-aunt of my brother's two oldest boys. Their grandfather is Ardilla's brother.)

A hearty "Thank You" goes out to Cathy and Roger for willingly sharing their research and their wonderful family photographs.

I must say, these last few months have been absolutely fantastic for me in terms of genealogy and family history research! It's been amazing and I can't wait to see what comes along next!

For more information on the Dunfee family, see the Index to Posts, which is a compilation of all the posts that have been published here at kinexxions on the family.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "A Dunfee Duo," Kinexxions, posted July 17, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/07/dunfee-duo.html : accessed [access date])

Quiet Time? Not Really!

It's been quiet here at kinexxions for the past two weeks. Not because I haven't had anything to blog about. Quite the opposite, actually.

The hunt for Hoffman descendants was "interrupted" somewhat by several inquiries from other researchers and the news that I'd be attending the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) the last week of this month.

A descendant of Christian Rupert shared his family information with me. I, however, had no additional information to give to him. Christian was listed in the 1820 census in Columbiana County, Ohio. Initially, I had thought he might be related to John Rupert (my 5th Great Grandfather) and he may well be, but we don't know how, though he is probably not a son of John since he wasn't mentioned in John's will. Christian Rupert married Mary Stuller in 1818 in Columbiana County. By 1832, they had moved to what would become Auglaize County, Ohio and by 1840 they were in Carroll County, Ohio.

Then there was a descendant of Christian Hoffman who contacted me, thinking that his Christian was the son of Michael Hoffman (my 6th great grandfather). This Christian was of the right age, had enlisted in "April 1776" in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. A later deposition states that he enlisted in May or June of 1777 at Easton in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. In 1819, under the name of "Christian Hoofman" he filed a Revolutionary War Pension application (S38042) while living in Pendleton County, Virginia.

However, there was also a pension file for another Christian Hoffman who was also of the right age and who enlisted in "August 1775" in a company in the 12th Regiment Pennsylvania Line. This Christian Hoffman filed for a pension (S39752) in 1818 while living in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

According to The American Revolutionary War website, the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment was organized in June and July 1775 and consisted of 9 companies from Cumberland, Lancaster, Northumberland, Northampton, Bedford, Berks and York Counties.

The same site shows that the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment was authorized on August 23, 1776 in the Continental Army as the Northampton and Northumberland Defense Battalion, and actually organized between September 28th and December 18th 1776 at Sunbury and was to consist of 8 companies from Northampton, Berks, Cumberland and Northumberland Counties.

Since both men enlisted in Regiments from the same area of Pennsylvania and there was little personal information other than their ages and names of their wives, the pension applications provided few clues as to their nativity. Without additional research, there is no way of knowing if either man is a son of Michael Hoffman. Since Christian isn't my ancestor I didn't pursue the matter any further. Hopefully my correspondent will continue his quest and come up with a more definitive answer.

But the most recent contact was, for me, the most exciting. An email from a descendant of Jonathan Smith Dunfee who was the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee, didn't get me back any further on that line but it sure filled in some blanks on his branch of the family! He also shared some wonderful family photos - more on those in future posts - and I was, happily, able to give him some new information too.

I've also been reading the articles Dr. Jones sent for "prep" work for GRIP but really do need to spend some time STUDYING them. And since I'm going to Pennsylvania I'm hoping to be able to take a few days afterward for on-site research. However, I'm quickly running out of time....

The Dunfee Family :: Children of Mary Bonnett Lovett

See this previous post for information on Mary Dunfee who married Isaac Bonnett and James Hanson Lovett. Mary was the mother of eight children, five with Isaac and three with James.

1. Rebecca Bonnett was born about 1836. She is listed in census records with her mother from 1850 through 1870 and is listed as age 14, 24, and 34, respectively. In 1870, Mary Lovette is head of household but Rebecca Bonett is listed as owning real estate valued at $8,850 and has a personal estate of $1,390. Rebecca's occupation is “works at home”. In 1860 she was listed as a seamstress.

According to Holmes County, Ohio marriage records, a Rebecca Bonnett was married on October 31, 1876 to Richard Pawers. They were found living in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas in 1880, 1900, and 1910. However, I am not convinced that this is the right Rebecca Bonnett!

Why? Well, the 1880 census shows that Richard Powers has an 18 year old step son named John Bonnett who was born in Ohio. There is also a 3-year old son James Powers. The 1900 census shows that Richard and Rebecca have been married 24 years, which would put their year of marriage at about 1876, which means they are likely the ones married in Holmes County. Rebecca is listed as born in July 1836. She was the mother of two children, both living. And, in 1910 the census shows that Rebecka was married twice.

The Ohio Marriages database on FamilySearch were searched for a Rebecca marrying a Bonnett but came up empty. The 1870 census was also searched for Rebecca Bonnett born about 1838 and John Bonnett born about 1862.

So... since the Rebecca Bonnett who married Richard Pawers/Powers is probably not the right person, I really do not have any information on her beyond the 1870 census. She was not found in the 1880 census.

2. Isaac D. Bonnett was born July 30, 1838. He married Sophronia Greenlee on June 15, 1865 in Ashland County, Ohio. Isaac was a farmer. He died December 27, 1877 and Sophronia died February 16, 1879. They are both buried in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery in Ashland County, Ohio. They were the parents of five children: Henry Bonnett (born about 1866), Isaac Dean Bonnett (born December 21, 1867 died July 12, 1942), Nettie Bonnett (born about 1869), Louie Bonnett (born August 23, 1873 died March 16, 1874), and Bertie L. Bonnett (born December 16, 1876 died August 11, 1877).

Louie and Bertie are buried beside their parents in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery. Holmes County Will Book 2 show that Sophronia's estate was probated on February 28, 1879. The will lists daughter Nettie (she got the picture album) and sons, Henry and Dean. I have no information on Henry. Nettie was listed with her grandmother, Mary Lovett, in the 1880 census but I have nothing further on her.

Isaac Dean was married on February 28, 1895 to Josephine Van Numman in Wayne County, Ohio. They were the parents of two children: Isaac Donald Bonnett (1895-1942) and Martha Bonnett (born about 1909). According to the Find A Grave memorial for Isaac Donald he died on May 3, 1942 at Camp O'Donnell in the Philippine Islands with burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

3. George Bonnett was born about 1840. In May 2008, I wrote about him as the “news boy” who left a $20,000 estate. It was an undated newspaper article and at that time I didn't know when he had died, guesstimating that it was after 1910. The article stated that George was the proprietor of a corner news stand. He had in his possession a letter written to him before 1876 (it was “more than 35 years old” at the time) from his brother Isaac and that letter led authorities to his next of kin.

Since then I've found several records that I thought might be him (still not sure of the first two):

• An 1888 Illinois Voter Registration on ancestry.com listed George Bonnett residing at 128 Harrison St. No City was given on the record. His nativity was Ohio, he had resided in the precinct for 7 years, in the county 10 years, and in the state for 17 years.
• An 1889-1890 City Directory for Quincy, Illinois (also on ancestry.com) listed George H. Bonnet as an apprentice on The Patriot, presumably a newspaper.
• And, most recently on FamilySearch, a Cook County Illinois Death Record that shows George Bonnett died on December 11, 1911 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois of pneumonia with exhaustion as a contributory factor. His age is given as 63 years with a birth date of 1848, which is off a bit since census records show that he was 10 years old in 1850 and 20 in 1860. His birthplace was listed as United States. His occupation was Paper Deliverer for the Daily Tribune and his address was the Harrison Hotel. His former occupation was miner, which might have been how he accumulated such a large sum of money. He was single and had been a resident of the City and State for 15 years. George was buried on December 14, 1911 in Rosehill Cemetery.

4. Albert Bonnett abt 1842. He was not found in the 1860 or later census records. No further information.

5. Henry Bonnett abt 1844. He was not found in the 1870 or later census records. No further information.

6. Charles M. Lovett was born January 11, 1851 near Lakeville in Holmes County, Ohio and died December 9, 1935 in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. There is an extensive biography of him published in volume 3 (pages 1173-1174) of the “History of North Central Ohio : Embracing Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Knox Counties” in 1931. He married Vera A. Powell on November 27, 1871. They adopted a daughter, Iva, who married Henry S. Palmer. Iva and Henry had one son Charles Lovett Palmer. Iva died on December 27, 1941. Her death record on FamilySearch lists her husband as Harry S. Palmer.

Charles held a variety of jobs. He was first a farmer and stockman. He was elected county treasurer of Wayne County in 1891 for two terms; was manager of the Wooster Shale Brick Paving Company; agent of the Southwestern Railway Company; president of the Millersburg, Wooster & Orrville Telephone Company; and vice president of the Wayne Building & Loan Company of Wooster.

7. Alveretta Jo Lovett was born about 1852 and died in March 1948. She was married on May 1, 1877 to William H. Shipp in Holmes County, Ohio. In 1900 they resided in Gilead Township, Morrow County, Ohio where William was a Grocer and sold General Merchandise. By that time they had had 6 children but only 4 were living. Their 18 year old son Fred was an Apprentice Turner while 16 year old Ernest was and Apprentice Jeweler. Twelve year old Harry was in school while 5 year old Vincent wasn't. They also had a 25 year old servant, Deborah Long, living with them.

In 1910, the William H. Shipp family is residing in Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio where William works in a furniture store. Son Harry, age 22, is recently married (to 17 year old Mabel) and does General Engine Work. Son Vincent, 15 years old, also resides with them.
The family wasn't located in 1920, but in 1930 William and Alveretta were living on North 10th street in Kansas City, Kansas. They owned their home, which was valued at $5,000 and William was retired.

Alveretta Lovett and William H. Shipp were the parents of six children: Nellie Edith Shipp (born March 29, 1878 died September 4, 1878 buried in Plum Run Cemetery, Holmes County), George Hazlett Shipp (born May 28, 1879 died January 6, 1887 also buried in Plum Run Cemetery), Fred Lovett Shipp (born July 13, 1881), Charles Ernest Eugene Shipp (born October 1883), Harry Herbert Shipp (born March 22, 1888 died October 1971), and Roger Vincent Shipp (born February 8, 1895).

8. Franklin E. Lovett was born March 28, 1858 in Holmes County, Ohio and died July 2, 1900 in Wayne County, Ohio. He was married in Holmes County on April 22, 1880 to Ida Barton. They were the parents of three children: Mary Maudie Lovett (born September 16, 1881 died January 13, 1887), Grace G. Lovett (born July 31, 1883 died December 10, 1974), and Glen Barton Lovett (born February 2, 1886).

Mary Maudie is buried in Newkirk Cemetery, Wayne County, Ohio near her parents. According to the death notice of Alveretta Lovett Shipp dated March 26, 1948 and published in the The Loudonville (Ohio) Times, Alveretta was “an aunt of Mrs. James Drumm of Wooster” which can only be Grace Lovett but I didn't find a marriage record for them in the Ohio Marriages database on FamilySearch. Glenn Barton Lovett married Mary Nice on October 5, 1910 in Wayne County, Ohio.

Sources are available upon request. If you are researching any of these families, please contact me at kinexxions "at" gmail "dot com.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "The Dunfee Family :: Children of Mary Bonnett Lovett," Kinexxions, posted March 31, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/03/dunfee-family-children-of-mary-bonnett.html : accessed [access date])

The Dunfee Family :: Mary Bonnett Lovett

This is the third installment in the series started in December 2011 on the presumed children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee. Additional information on the Dunfee family can be found in Dunfee Family :: Index to Posts.

A biography of Mary's son Franklin E. Lovett, published in 1889 in the “Commemorative Biographical Record of Wayne and Holmes Counties, Ohio" (pages 641-642) states that Mary (Dunnfee) Lovett came to Ohio with her parents. “James Dunnfee was born in North Carolina in 1786, and died at the age of seventy-six years; his parents came from Ireland. Sophia (Hazelett) Dunnfee was born in Pennsylvania, her parents having been driven from Scotland during the religious persecutions.” Census records for James Dunfee indicate that he was actually born in Pennsylvania.

Mary Dunfee was born March 19, 1816 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She was first married to Isaac Bonnet on March 25, 1836 in Wayne County, Ohio. He died on February 2, 1846. Two years after Isaac's death, on March 28, 1850, she was married to James Hanson Lovett in Holmes County, Ohio.

Census records from 1850 through 1880 show Mary Lovett residing in Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio. In 1850 (page 287) she is listed with her second husband, James Lovett, and her five children from her first marriage. They are listed on the same page as her parents, James and Sophia, as well as the household of a brother, Jonathan.

From the above mentioned biography of Franklin E. Lovett we learn that James Hanson Lovett “was born September 7, 1823, and when seventeen years of age began teaching, an occupation he followed several years during the winter months, being engaged in the summers in farming.”

The “History of North Central Ohio : Embracing Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Knox Counties” (v3 pg 1173-1174) published in 1931, contains a biography of Charles M. Lovett, son of James and Mary. It states that James Hanson Lovett was a native of Ohio, that he died at the age of 44, and is buried at Millersburg, Ohio.

Page 216 of the 1860 census for Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio (post office Nashill) shows what could be considered a somewhat confusing family dynamic.

Twenty year old George Bonett is listed as the head of household in dwelling 1482, family 1504. With him are 15 year old Henry Bonett, 10 year old Charles Lovett, 8 year old Eva R. Lovett, and 5 year old Franklin Lovett. All were born in Ohio. George and Henry are farm hands.

In the next dwelling (1483, family 1505) we find Mary Lovett as head of household. She is a 42 year old widow with real estate valued at $4,000 and a personal estate valued at $700. Mary was listed as born in Pennsylvania. Listed with her were 24 year old Rebecca, a seamstress; 22 year old Isaac, a farmer and three children with the Ship surname: Susan M, age 13; John H., age 11, and William H., age 9. All except Mary were born in Ohio.

It is possible that there may have been two dwellings on the Lovett farm and perhaps the Ship children were visiting at the time. They were neighbors of Mary Lovett. In 1850 (page 288) The David Shipp family included a one year old male named John and a three year old female named Malcom in the along with seven other individuals. In 1860 the David Ship family is on page 215 (dwelling 1481, family 1503). In 1877, Mary's daughter Alveretta Jo Lovett would be married to William H. Shipp.

Mary Dunfee Bonnett Lovett died on March 25, 1900 at the age of 84. Census records through 1880 show her residing in Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio. Mary is buried next to her first husband, Isaac Bonnett, in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery in Lake Township, Ashland County, Ohio. Mary was the mother of eight children, five with Isaac Bonnett and three with James Lovett.

To be continued... see The Dunfee Family :: Children of Mary Bonnett Lovett

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "The Dunfee Family :: Mary Bonnett Lovett," Kinexxions, posted March 30, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/03/dunfee-family-mary-bonnett-lovett.html : accessed [access date])

The Dunfee Family :: George and Nancy

This is the second installment on the children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.

George Dunfee was presumed to be a son of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee due to the fact that he resided in the same area of Dekalb County, Indiana as Sophia (Dunfee) McNabb who was known to be a daughter of James and Sophia. Additional information has been found confirming that he is indeed their son. George could have been named after his (presumed) grandfather, George Dunfee (see The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: On to Pennsylvania).

Cemetery transcriptions posted on the Dekalb County GenWeb site show that George Dunfee is buried in Corunna Cemetery in Fairfield Township and that he died November 3, 1871 at the age of 56 years 11 months and 12 days, which puts his date of birth at November 22, 1814. The 1850 and 1860 census records for Dekalb County, Indiana show that he was born in Pennsylvania while the 1870 census shows he was born in Ohio. It is highly likely that he was born in Pennsylvania. His age in those census records was 34, 45, and 55, respectively, which is in the right time frame for a late 1814 birth.

Since the two oldest children of George Dunfee were born in Ohio, is seems most likely that he was married in Ohio. However, I have not yet found a record of his marriage to “Nancy” who is listed in census records (1850-1870) as his wife. In the FamilySearch database of Ohio County Marriages I did find a George B. Dunfee who married Nancy Tipton on April 22, 1837 in Athens County, Ohio. However, the location did not seem to fit in with what was known of the Dunfee family. A search of Ohio Death Records, also on FamilySearch, came up with two records of children of George B. Dunfee that showed that he was born in New Jersey. So he is not the George Dunfee in Dekalb County, Indiana.

A possible clue to Nancy's maiden name came from another FamilySearch database (Indiana Marriages, 1811-1859) with the September 29, 1887 marriage record of their son, David Dunfee in Dekalb County. This record (referencing image 00161 on film 4476455) gives his mother's maiden name as “McKnobb” and his father as Geo. Dunfee. It also states that David was born in Ashland County, Ohio. It is possible that Nancy is related in some way to David McNabb who married Sophia Dunfee. I haven't done the research but McKnobb and McNabb are very close in pronunciation.

In my search for the marriage record of George Dunfee, I did find a more positive, though still indirect, link for George Dunfee to James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.... Shown below in the marriage record for Sophia Dunfee and David McNabb! How cool is that?

Reference Number 208, page 46, FamilySearch image 532 and film number 388736. Richland County, Ohio Marriage Records.

No. 208 David McNabb to Sophia Dunfee
I David McNabb being duly sworn upon and say that I am over the age of 21 years and unmarried at this time. Also George Dunfee being duly sworn depose and say that I am the Brother of Sophia Dunfee and know her to be over the age of eighteen years and unmarried at this time.

Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 25th day of Oct. 1842.
B. Burns Dept Clk.
Signed by George Dunfee and David McNabb.

The other record that provides a link between George and the family of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee is a land record dated February 21, 1848 in which Jonathan S. Dunfee of the county of Holmes, State of Ohio, sold 160 acres of land in Dekalb county, Indiana to George Dunfee of the county of Ashland, State of Ohio for $600. (NW ¼ S24 T35 R12) recorded in Dekalb County, Indiana Deed Book E page 38. This land is in the same section as that purchased by David and Sophia Dunfee McNabb in April 1855. Jonathan S. Dunfee is known to be a son of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.

In the 1850 census of Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana (page 466), George Dunfee is a 34 year old farmer who was born in Pennsylvania. He has real estate valued at $800. Listed with him was Nancy, age 33, born in Pennsylvania; John, age 9, and David, age 1, both born in Ohio.

George Dunphey resided in Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana (page 29) in 1860. He was 45 years old and born in Pennsylvania. He was a farmer with real estate valued at $600 and a personal estate of $300. In his household were Nancy, age 44, born in Pennsylvania; David, age 11 and James, 10, both born in Ohio, William, age 6, and Almira, age 2, both born in Indiana.

1870 finds the family still in Dekalb County but now residing in Richland Township (page 346). George Dunfee is 55 and born in Ohio. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $8000 and a personal estate valued at $670. Residing with him were Nancy, age 52, born in Pennsylvania; James, 19, born in Ohio; and William, age 15, born in Indiana.

George Dunfee passed away on November 3, 1871. He is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana along with two of his children, Almira and John.

George and Nancy (McKnobb /McNabb ?) Dunfee were the parents of five known children. There is a nine year gap between the first and second child so it is highly likely that there may have been other children that, perhaps, died before the family came to Indiana.

• John Dunfee. Cemetery transcriptions show that John died Sept. 23, 1855, age 15y, 1m, 15d - son of G. & N. He is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Dekalb County, Indiana. His date of birth calculates to August 8, 1840.

• David M. Dunfee was born about 1849 in Ashland County, Ohio. He married Clara Currant on July 15, 1873 in Dekalb County, Indiana. By 1880 they were divorced and David was living with his brother James and his wife Sarah in Richland township. On September 29, 1887 David was married to Mary E Tod in Dekalb County. (This is the record that gives his fathers name as Geo. Dunfee and his mother as McKnobb.) I have not found David in census records after 1880. However, the Indiana Marriages database on FamilySearch includes records for two of his children, which gives their parents as David Dunfee and Clara Current . If their place of birth is correct, it means that David moved around a bit. There could also be other children.

1. George Clifford Dunfee born December 16, 1875 in Monticello, Indiana (White County). He was married to Sarah (Hudson) McDaniel on October 5, 1923 in Warren County, Indiana.
2. Lillian Claude Dunfee born 1877 in Michigan. She married Raleigh Muir on August 22, 1898 in Marion, Indiana. For whatever reason, it was apparently a marriage of short duration! On May 1, 1899 Lillian C. Muir was married to Martin Kiplinger in White County, Indiana.

• James E. Dunfee was born about 1850/51 in either Ohio or Indiana. He was married on July 3, 1870 in Dekalb County, Indiana to Sarah J. Finch. The 1880 census for Richland Township shows that he had two children: a daughter, Mickey, born about 1872 and a son, John W. born about 1878. Both children were born in Indiana. James and Sarah may have had other children. I have not found them in 1900 or later census records.

• William C. Dunfee was born about 1854 in Indiana. On January 23, 1872 William Dunfee was listed as a minor heir of Geo. Dunfee who “died intestate more than 15 days prior to this time.” Nancy Dunfee was appointed guardian of William. (Dekalb County, Indiana Probate Order Book "C" page 321.) On October 2, 1875 he was declared of full age (Probate Order Book D). A deed record, dated December 5, 1878 provides the name of William's wife. It shows that Nancy Dunfee and William C. Dunfee and Saphronia Dunfee, his wife, all of Dekalb County sold land to Robert Shippy for $3050. (Dekalb County Deed Book DD page 550.) The 1870 census is the last census record I've found for William and I have not found his marriage record.

• Almira Dunfee. Cemetery transcriptions show that Allmira died March 3, 1864, age 6y, 1m, 19d - daughter of G. & N. She is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Dekalb County, Indiana. Her date of birth calculates to January 12, 1858.

In reviewing notes from the early days (1980s) of my “research” I discovered that my deed abstracts were done rather poorly. In some cases I didn't record as much information as I should have. Also, I don't have the records for when George purchased this land. That will, hopefully, be remedied on my next excursion to the Family History Library in February. The following deed records are from Dekalb County, Indiana.

• January 27, 1872 David M. Dunfee released and Quit claim to James E. Dunfee and Sarah J. Dunfee, his wife for $1,000 the E ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 (vol. W p85)

• May 13, 1873 Nancy Dunfee sold to David M. Dunfee for $500 the W ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 (vol. W p444)

• June 29, 1876 Nancy Dunfee sold to James E. Dunfee for $1000 E ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12. (vol. BB p531)

• February 2, 1877 David M. Dunfee and Clara Dunfee, his wife, sold to Lafayette J. Miller the W ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 for $1400 (vol. CC p110)

• February 6, 1877 Nancy Dunfee sold to William C. Dunfee W ½ SE ¼ S6 T34 R12 for $800 (vol CC p114)

• December 5, 1878 William C. Dunfee and Saphronia Dunfee, his wife, and Nancy Dunfee of Dekalb County sold land to Robert Shippy for $3050. (Deed Book DD page 550)

• March 21, 1883 James E. Dunfee and Sarah Ann Dunfee, his wife, and Nancy Dunfee sold land to Lafayette J. Miller for $4000 (Deed Book JJ page 104)

I have not found Nancy, widow of George Dunfee, or their son William in the 1880 census records for Dekalb County. Their sons David M. and James E. were not found in Dekalb County census records after 1880.

If anyone has information on the George Dunfee family, I'd appreciate hearing from you! Leave a comment below or send me an email at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com.

See Dunfee Family :: Index to Posts for more information on the Dunfee family.

The Dunfee Family :: Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man?

This post continues with the search for Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff. My intent was to possibly locate living descendants in the hope that they might have additional information on the Dunfee and Hazlett families.

As noted in the previous post, Jonathan was not found in the online census index after 1880. I did find a John H. Hoff in Kansas census records, 1900 through 1930, that I think is a likely candidate to be Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza. However, there is a 5-6 year discrepancy in their ages. This John H. Hoff was recorded consistently as born in 1859/1860, sometimes in Ohio and other times in Indiana. However, census records for Jonathan H. Hoff (1860 through 1880) consistently report that he was born about 1854 in Ohio.

But, this John H. Hoff has a daughter, his first born child, named Eliza... and his middle name is Hazelet!

It should be noted that Jonathan H. Hoff was living with his father, Aquilla, in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas (in the south east corner of the state, on the border with Oklahoma). His mother had passed away on August 6, 1876 in LaGrange County, Indiana. Aquilla returned to LaGrange County, Indiana where he died on June 27, 1883.

In 1900, John Hoff was found in Lyon Township, Decatur County, Kansas (page 6b). Decatur County is in the north west corner of the state, on the border with Nebraska, about as far away as you can get from Montgomery County and still be in Kansas!

John, age 40, born Nov 1859 in Ohio, was residing with his father-in-law James Wilson. John's parents were both listed as born in Ohio; his occupation was Clergyman; he had been married 8 years. His wife Mary was 32 years old and the mother of 3 children: Eliza, age 7 born May 1893; Grace, age 3 born Nov 1896; and his son Joyce, age 3/12 born Feb 1900. There were others in the household of James Wilson but for my purposes, at this time, they aren't important.

In the 1910 census, John H. Hoff is listed as the head of household, still in Lyon Township, Decatur County, Kansas (page 3a). He is age 51, born in Ohio. His father was born in Maryland and his mother in Pennsylvania. He is a farmer doing general farm work. There was no marital status given for John.

His wife and four children were found in Clay Center City, Ward 3, Clay County, Kansas (page 106) in 1910. Clay County is in the northeast corner of the state. Mary Hoff is the head of household, 42 years old, married once for 18 years with 4 children, all living. Mary's occupation was listed as janitor and she worked in a school building. Daughter Eliza was 16 and worked for board with private families. Daughter Grace was 13, sons Joyce and Eryll were 10 and 1, respectively. All of the children were born in Kansas.

The 1915 Kansas State Census has the family residing in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas (page 28). Douglas County is southeast of Clay County, one county away from the Missouri state line. John Hoff is age 55, Mary 47, Elisa is 21, Grace 18, son Joyce is 15 and son Ehryll is 6 years old.

1920 finds the family living on Ohio Street in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas (page 15a). John H. Hoff is 60 years old, born in Indiana. His parents were born in Ohio. He was a dishwasher in a cafe. His wife, Mary F., was 51 and also a dishwasher in a cafe. Listed with them were their two sons, Joyse W, age 19 and Eryll F, age 10 and daughter Grace E., age 23. There was also a roomer, Matthew B. McIntee who was 36 years old and was born in Connecticut.

The 1925 Kansas State Census tells us that they were still residing in Lawrence (page 36). John H. Hoff was 65 years old and born in Indiana. He came from Missouri and is a cafe keeper and is able to read and write. His wife, Mary F. Wilson Hoff came to Kansas from Indiana. She is 57 years old and a house keeper. Their sons, Joyce W. and Eryll F. were living with them. Joyce was 25 years old and a cafe keeper. Eryll was 15 years old.

In 1930, John H. Hoff is still living on Ohio Street in Lawrence, Kansas (page 7a). We learn that he rent his home for $12, is 70 years old, was born in Ohio. His parents were born in the United States. He was first married at age 32 and has no occupation. His wife Mary F is age 62 and was first married at age 24. Son Joyce W. is 30 and a waiter in a restaurant. Son Eryll F. is 21 years old and a reporter for a newspaper.

The family of John H. Hoff appears to be:

• John H. Hoff, born Nov 1859 in Ohio or Indiana (father born Ohio or Maryland, mother born Ohio or Pennsylvania)
• married about 1892 to Mary (Wilson) Hoff, born Jan 1868 in Indiana

Their children:

• Eliza Hoff, born May 1893 in Kansas
• Grace Hoff, born Nov 1896 in Kansas
• Joyce W. Hoff, born Feb 1900 in Kansas
• Eryll F. Hoff, born about 1910 in Kansas

Previous searches for Aquilla Hoff/Huff born 1815 in online trees produced no results. A few days ago, as I was preparing this post, I did a search for Eryll Hoff, born 1910, in the ancestry public member trees. I chose him because of the rather unusual spelling of his name. Yeah, I do all this census stuff (he really was easy to find) and then look at the online trees. For various reasons, I often wait until I've done some initial research on a family before looking at the online trees.

Anyway, the search for Eryll Hoff returned nine results. Six of those trees gave his parents as John Hazelet Hoff and Mary Fiducia Wilson. One listed his father as John Sherman Hoff with the same mother. The other two did not give his parents.

A search for John Hazelet Hoff also returned nine trees, some different than in the search for Eryll. Three of those trees gave John's parents as Emil Hoff and Mary Martha Emiline Jane Cowper/Cooper and one listed them as Kingsbury Hoff and Cora Matilda Hadley (with John's year of birth as 1865). None of the trees provided sources for the parents.

The entry for John Hazlett Hoff in “The Van Sickler Family Tree” (no parents) provides some nice photographs and one story for John. (I think you have to be signed in to ancestry.com for the links to the trees to work.)

“from the life story of Grace Elizabeth Hoff concerning her father John Hoff: Papa, the only child of along-toward-middle aged parents, had a father "mostly" German born in the United States. His mother, Irish, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in her seventeenth year.

I believe Papa inherited the Irish characteristics. I never knew them nor much about them They both died during Papa's early teen years, and he lived with an uncle. This uncle had a family of several big rough boys who picked on and teased their younger, smaller, and somewhat delicate cousin. However, there was money inherited from his parents' estate for his education. He attended Seminary in Indiana and became a Methodist minister.”

From this information it sounds like they don't know anything about the parents of John H. Hoff. Darn. I was really hoping they would have more information on them. I haven't yet, but will be sending a “member connect message” to the owners of “The Van Sickler Family Tree” (with the above story) and “Coghlin / Griffitts Family” tree (which has his father as Emil Hoff but also mentions La Grange, Indiana).  I'm not saying I'm right, but I am interested in hearing what they think of my "theory" that Jonathan and John are the same person even though their ages are different. The daughter named Eliza and his middle name lends credence to this theory, I think. What do you, Dear Readers, think?

I wanted to get this post and the previous one with information on Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff published first so I could send those contributors the links rather than trying to explain everything in a message. Hopefully, I will get a response (maybe after the holidays). If not, I'll try the owners of the other trees.

See the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.

The Dunfee Family :: Eliza and Aquilla Hoff

Eliza is presumed to be the daughter of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee. The primary link is the fact that Eliza was living with Jonathan Haslett in Mifflin Twp, Ashland County, Ohio in 1850. We're making the assumption that Jonathan is probably the father of Sophia. Bottom line is that I really don't have any “proof” that Eliza is the daughter of James and Sophia.

Census records put the year of birth for Eliza Dunfee at 1811, 1813, or 1815 and place of birth in Maryland or Pennsylvania. In 1850, she is 39 years old and born in Maryland. In 1860 she is 47 and born in Pennsylvania. And in 1870 she is 55 and born in Pennsylvania. Chances are, her age in 1850 is probably closer to the truth ;-) since she seems to lose a few years with each census.

Eliza married Aquilla Hoff on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio as recorded in volume 2, page 70 (license 1134) of Ashland County Marriage Records.

The image above is from the FamilySearch online database of Ohio County Marriages. There seems to be some “confusion” on the part of the clerk that recorded the marriage or the “authority” who performed the ceremony. Under “Names of Parties” it shows that the record is for Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee. In the far right column, it states that R. D. Emerson is certifying that “on the 4th day of September Eighteen hundred and fifty one I joined in Marriage Mr. George W. Brown and Miss Eliza Dunfee.”

In actuality, it was Eliza Dunfee who married Aquilla Hoff. When the property of Jonathan Hazlett was sold on October 25, 1853, the majority of the items were sold to Aquila Hoff.

Sale Bill from the estate file (#190) of Jonathan Hazlett. Ashland County, Ohio.

The last entry in the above image (a portion of page 299 of the Ashland County Tract Book) shows that Luke Selby, administrator of the estate of Jonathan Hazlett sold in March 1854 the land that had been owned by Jonathan to Aquilla Hoff. The transaction is also recorded in Ashland County Deed Book 10 page 206.

Aquilla Hoff and his wife Eliza, sold that land to Christian Vesper on March 27, 1857 (Ashland County Deed Book 15 pages 162-163).

That was, essentially, all the information I had on Aquilla and Eliza. Until in November 2010, when I received an email in response to an 11 year old query I had posted on the Hoff Family Genealogy Forum. My correspondent passed along the information that Aquilla and Eliza had moved to LaGrange County, Indiana where she had found them in the 1860 census.

I'm guessing that they probably moved to LaGrange County in the spring of 1857 after they sold the land that had belonged to Jonathan Hazlett. They are listed in the 1860 and 1870 census in Bloomfield Township, LaGrange County, Indiana.

Aquilla Hoff is 45 years old in 1860. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $3000 and a personal estate of $342. He was born in Maryland. Listed in his household was Eliza, age 47 and born in Pennsylvania; Jonathan, age 6 and born in Ohio. Also included was Lucetta Dumbar, 12 years old and born in Indiana.

In 1870, Aqula Hoff is 54 years old. He is still a farmer but has real estate valued at $5000 and a personal estate of $1000. He was born in Maryland. Included in his household were Eliza, now 55 but still stating she was born in Pennsylvania; and Jonathon, who is 16 years old and born in Ohio.

Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff died on August 6, 1876 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Lagrange County, Indiana. There is a memorial for her on Find A Grave. Looking closely at the photo of her gravestone it appears that the word “AGED” is written below the date of death. If so, it might pinpoint her year of birth a little better than the census records.

In the 1880 census, Aquilla Hoff was found in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas. He was 65 years old, retired and born in Maryland. Listed with Aquilla was his son, Jonathan H. Hoff, who was 26 years old, a farmer, and born in Ohio. He gave his father's place of birth as Maryland and that of his mother as Pennsylvania.

According to my correspondent, Aquilla Hoff was born February 15, 1815 in Washington County, Maryland and died June 27, 1883 in LaGrange County, Indiana. However, I suspected that he died in Kansas since that was where he was living in 1880. Turns out, Aquilla really did die in LaGrange County. There is an entry for him in the book “Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920” that was compiled by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration). It shows that he died in Newbury Township and was 68 years old.

What happened to their son Jonathan H. Hoff? Jonathan does not appear to be in the census records after 1880 (ancestry online index).

I did find a John H. Hoff in Kansas census records, 1900 through 1930, that I think is a likely candidate to be Jonathan H. Hoff, son of Aquilla and Eliza. However, there is a six year discrepancy in their ages.

But, this John H. Hoff has a daughter, his first born child, named Eliza... and his middle name is Hazelet!

See The Dunfee Family :: Are Jonathan H. Hoff and John H. Hoff the same man?

See the Index for previous posts on the Dunfee family.

The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: On to Pennsylvania

In this previous post we saw that the families of Jonathan Hazlet and James Dunfee arrived in Wayne County, Ohio prior to 1830 when they were found in the census for that county in Plain Township.

In 1820 Jonathan Hezlet and James Dumphy are on page 17 and George Dumphy is on page 16 in Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (see census details below). So this brings the families together in Pennsylvania.

Since it makes a little more sense to work from the past to the present the timeline below will show what I know of these families starting from the earliest date through 1820.

=+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+=

1755 – or before - George Dumphy was born. He was over the age of 45 in the 1800 census.

1756/1765 - Mary, wife of George Dumphy was born. She was age 26-45 in the 1800 census and over 45 in 1810.

1762 – Elizabeth, future wife of Jonathan Hazlett, was born.

1771 – August 15th - Jonathan Hazlett was born, possibly in Maryland [date of birth calculated from gravestone, place of birth from census record of 1850]

1788 – James Dunfee was born in Pennsylvania.

1790 – George Dunfee is enumerated in Berwick, Cumberland Township, York County, Pennsylvania (p440) with one male over 16 [born before 1774... George], one male under 16 [born 1774-1790... James Dunfee, presumed to be a son, was born about 1788], and one female [Mary?, wife of George]

1794 – May 10th – Sophia Elzabeth Hazlett was born in Pennsylvania (one record says she was born in Maryland, all others say Pennsylvania).

1799 - George Dunphy, weaver, was listed as one of the original tax payers of Adams County, Pennsylvania with assessed value of property of $127. (History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania; Beers, 1886 p242)

1800 – ?? - There is a Jonathan Haslet enumerated in Emmitsburg District 4, Frederick County, Maryland (p177) with one male under 10 [born 1791-1800], two males 16-25 [born 1775-1784], one female under 10 [born 1791-1800], one female 16-25 [born 1775-1784]. However, the Jonathan we are looking for was born in 1771, thus would have been about 29 years old in 1800. I don't think this is “my” Jonathan, but I could be wrong.

1800 – January 22 – Parts of York County, including Cumberland Township, became part of newly formed Adams County

1800 – George Dumphy is listed in Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p473) with one male under 10 [born 1790-1800... unknown], one male age 10-16 [born 1784-1790... James, presumed son, was born about 1788], one male over 45 [born before 1755... George], one female under 10 [born 1790-1800... Catharine, probable daughter, was born in 1793], one female age 26-45 [born 1755-1774... wife, Mary ?]

1801 – July 2 – George Dumfey purchased land from James Cox for 150 pounds in Cumberland, Adams County, Pennsylvania. [Book A p442 - I neglected to view this record while in Salt Lake City... my notes from 1986 left out crucial information.]

1810 – March 31 – George Dumphey purchased 163 acres in Liberty Township for 980 pounds 11 shillings from John Spear and Sarah his wife. Recorded October 3, 1812. (Deed Book F p98-99)

1810 – George Dumphy is enumerated in Straban Town, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p44) with two males 16-26 [born 1784-1794... James 1788, the other unknown male was under 10 in 1800], one male over 45 [born before 1765... George], one female 16-26 [born 1784-1794... Catharine born 1793], one female over 45 [born before 1765... wife, Mary?].

1810 – There is a Jonathan Hayzlet listed in Straban Town, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p45) with one male under 10 [born 1800-1810], one male 26-45 [born 1765-1784...Jonathan born 1771], one female 10-16 [born 1794-1800...Sophia born 1794], one female 26-45 [born 1765-1784 wife of Jonathan].

1810–1812 approximate date – Sophia Hazlett was married to James Dunfee. No marriage record has been found, yet. Their first (presumed) child, Eliza, was born between 1811-1815. Another (presumed) child, George, was born in 1814.

1813 – October 15 – George Dumphey and Mary his wife, for 154 pounds, sold a tract of land lying in Liberty Township containing 14 acres and 15 perches to William Grayson. Recorded November 1, 1813. (Deed Book F p313-315)

1817 – April 17 – George Dumphey and wife sold sold 90 acres of land in Liberty Township to George Patterson. Recorded September 10, 1907 (From General Index to Deeds, citing Deed Book 63 p279. I did not get a copy of the record on my visit to Adams County in 1984. The microfilm for Book 63 is not at the Family History Library.)

1820 – George Dumphy is listed in Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p16) with one male 10-16 [born 1804-1810... unknown], one male 26-45 [born 1775-1794... unknown, he could be the male under 10 in 1800 and 16-26 in 1810], one male over 45 [born before 1775... George], one female 26-45 [born 1775-1794... Catharine born in 1793], one female over 45 [born before 1775... Mary].

1820 - James Dumphy, presumed son of George, is also enumerated in Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p17) with two males under 10 [born 1810-1820], one male 26-45 [born 1775-1794… James], three females under 10 [born 1810-1820], and one female 26-45 [born 1775-1794… Sophia]

1820 – Jonathan Hezlet is enumerated in Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (p17) with one male under 10 [born 1810-1820], one male over 45 [born before 1775... Jonathan born in 1771], one female under 10 [born 1810-1820], one female 16-26 [born 1794-1804], one female over 45 [born before 1775... wife] and one person engaged in manufactures. [Note: There appears to be a young woman with two children living with Jonathan and his wife.]

I did not find a record in the General Index of Deeds for the sale of the remaining 59 acres of land in Liberty Township owned by George Dunfee. (163 acres were purchased in 1810; 14 acres sold in 1813; and 90 acres sold in 1819 though not recorded until 1907).

I have no further record of George and Mary Dunfee. James Dunfee and Jonathan Hazlett moved to Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio prior to 1830.

The deed records found for George Dumphy where he was selling land list his wife's name as Mary. This coincides with the Whitley County, Indiana tombstone inscription of “Catherine dau of G. & M. Dunfee” who died July 27, 1851 aged 57y 9m. This bit of information is the only thing that I have that links to George and Mary Dumphy as being the parents of James Dunfee. And the fact that Jonathan Hazlett lived in the same localities as the Dunfee/Dumphy families is the only link between him and Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett.

Obviously, more research is required, but George & Mary Dunfee and Jonathan Hazlett are the only candidates I have at this time for parents of James Dunfee and Sophia Hazlett. I have not ventured into Maryland records other than census records and that basically just to see if there were Hazlett and Dunfee families there. Results were inconclusive since more information is needed and research into other records is required. I'm not sure that they would shed any light into the relationships between Sophia and Jonathan Hazlett or James and George Dunfee/Dumphy. Perhaps church records would provide the answer if I only knew what religion they professed. Were the Hazlett and Dunfee/Dumphy families Scotch-Irish as the biographies of some of their children indicated?

If anyone has any information that would shed more light on these families, it would be appreciated if you would contact me at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com!

The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: Back to Ohio

Continuing from this previous post on the Hazlett-Dunfee connection and working our way back in time...

Indiana

James Dunfee, age 71, was listed in the 1860 census in Jefferson Twp, Whitley County, Indiana. He was a farmer, born in Pennsylvania, had Real Estate valued at $50, and a Personal Estate valued at $175. In his household were Elisabeth, 66, born Pennsylvania; Lucy, 25, and Sarah, 20, both born in Ohio. This confirms Sophia's middle name. In most records she was found as Sophia E.

On March 15, 1855 James Dunfee had purchased two acres of land from James H. Dunfee and his wife Elisabeth in Section 5 of Columbia Township, Whitley County. James H. owned additional land in Section 5 as well as in neighboring Section 4. William H. Dunfee also owned land in Section 4. This land was sold by Wm H. and Catharine B. Dunfee on January 30, 1864 for $100 to George Ream. This was 2 months before the death of Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee and two months shy of 3 years after the death of James Dunfee.

From this land record we can infer that James and Sophia probably came to Whitley County, Indiana in the spring of 1855, or before. However, it seems likely that they came shortly after the census of 1850 – according to Evergreen Cemetery transcriptions, Catherine Dunfee (possible sister of James) died July 27, 1851. Only the portion of the tombstone bearing her name and “Dau. of G. & M. Dunfee” was in existence in November 1985. It seems unlikely that Catherine would have come to Indiana by herself.

Ohio

Searching the 1850 census for any Dunfee or Hazlett families in Ohio I found James Dunfee in Washington Twp, Holmes County, Ohio (p287): James was 60 years old, a laborer and born in Pennsylvania. Listed with him were Sophia, age 56, born in Pennsylvania; Lucy, 16; and Sarah, 11, both born in Ohio.

Also found was Jonathan Haslett in Mifflin Township, Ashland County, Ohio (p293/147). He was 78 years old, a farmer, and born in Maryland. Residing with him were Eliza Dunfee, aged 39, born in Maryland and Eliza A. Haslett, aged 13, born in Ohio. [I made the assumption, whether true or not that Eliza Dunfee was probably the daughter of Sophia Hazlett & James Dunfee.]

Additional research showed that Eliza A. Haslett was the daughter of David Hazlett. Relationship of David to Jonathan is not known at this time. A future post will detail what I found on David. At this point, I'll just say that he was born about 1805 and died in May 1844 leaving behind seven children. Eliza Dunfee was married in Ashland County, Ohio on September 4, 1851 to Aquilla Hoff. Jonathan Hazlett, died September 16, 1853 and the proceeds from his estate went to Eliza and Aquilla Hoff. A little over a year ago I wrote about a response I received on an 11 year old query posted on Eliza and Aquilla.

On November 17, 1849 Jonathan Hazlet sold four acres of land in the SE ¼ S12 T22 R17 in Ashland County, Ohio to Christian Vesper. This was part of the land he had purchased in 1831, which at that time was in Richland County. It should be noted that Ashland County was formed on February 24, 1846 from parts of Richland, Huron, Lorain, and Wayne Counties. This included Mifflin Township.

Elizabeth Hazlett, wife of Jonathan, died March 5, 1848 at age 86. She is buried beside him in Strickland/Twin Cemetery, Vermillion Twp, Ashland County, Ohio.

In 1840 Jonathan Hazlett is enumerated in the census in Mifflin Township, Richland County, Ohio (p87) with one male under 4, one male 20-30, one male 60-70, two females 20-30, one female 70-80. It appears that another family was residing with Jonathan and his wife.

I found no record of any land transactions for James Dunfee in Holmes County, Ohio. I also have not found him or David Hazlett in the 1840 census records (online indexes).

On November 12, 1831 Jonathan Hazlett purchased 80 acres of land in Richland County, Ohio from William Maxwell and his wife Elizabeth (N ½ of the SE ¼ S12 T22 R 17). Jonathan sold 4 acres of this land in 1849. The remaining land was sold by Aquilla and Eliza Hoff after Jonathan's death in 1853.

The Hazlett and Dunfee families were found in Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio in the 1830 census. Jonathan Hazlet is on page 33 (3rd line from the bottom) with one male 50-60 and one female 50-60. James Dunfe is also listed on the same page (4th line from the bottom) with the ages of the members of the household corresponding to what is known regarding their children. David Hazlett and family is listed on page 32.

Wayne County, Ohio Marriage Records Volume 2 (1819-1825) page 38 show that “David Hazlet of Armstrong County State of Pennsylvania and Jane Maxwell of the county of Wayne and State of Ohio” were married on August 29, 1822. So it appears that David Hazlet arrived in Wayne County, Ohio prior to his marriage on August 29, 1822 and that the families of Jonathan Hazlet and James Dunfe came before 1830. I found no land records for any of these families in Wayne County. In fact, I haven't found any land records for James Dunfee in Wayne, Holmes, or Ashland counties.

When did they leave Pennsylvania?

To be continued...

The Children of Sophia Hazlett and James Dunfee

I thought that before going further back in time, I'd provide a brief synopsis of what is known of the (presumed) children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee. If you are a descendant and you see this, you will contact me, won't you? Please leave a comment or send me an email at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com. Especially if you can provide additional clues on the parents of James Dunfee and Sophia Hazlett. Future posts will provide details on these families.

This chart, created by my grandmother in the 1960s, shows what she knew of the family of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee and was the starting point for my research.

In the 1882 biography of Jonathan S. Dunfee it stated that he was one of 13 children. I am fairly confident that the 10 listed below are the children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee though I have found no substantiating “proof” for several of them. I am "missing" 3 children. If anyone knows who they are or where they lived, I'd appreciate hearing from you ;-)

A letter, written in 1849 by Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee to William and Catherine Dunfee mentions six family members, presumed to be their children: George, Mary, Jonathan, Henry, Lucy, and Sarah. And of course, the letter confirms that William is their son, giving us the names of seven probable children. The letter also states that William's baby was their 21st grandchild. I have found 16 of those 21 grandchildren who were born by the time the letter was written. In all, I have found 58 grandchildren of James and Sophia, born 1837-1879!

• Eliza Dunfee. Census records put her year of birth at 1811, 1813, or 1815 and place of birth in Maryland or Pennsylvania. Eliza married Aquilla Hoff on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio. They were the parents of one son. A little over a year ago I wrote about a response I received on an 11 year old query posted on Eliza and Aquilla. In the 1850 census of Ashland County, Eliza Dunfee was residing in the household of Jonathan Hazlett. Eliza Hoff died on August 6, 1876 in Lagrange County, Indiana. I have no “proof” that Eliza is a daughter of James and Sophia. The fact that she was living with Jonathan Hazlett in 1850 is really the only connection.

• George Dunfee was born November 22, 1814 in Pennsylvania and died November 3, 1871 probably in Dekalb County, Indiana. He is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana. His wife's name was Nancy and they were the parents of five children. On February 21, 1848, Jonathan S. Dunfee of the county of Holmes, State of Ohio, sold 160 acres of land in Dekalb county, Indiana to George Dunfee of the county of Ashland, State of Ohio for $600. (NW 1/4 S24 T35N R12E). This land was not far from that of David and Sophia Dunfee McNabb.

• Mary Dunfee was born March 19, 1816 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She was first married to Isaac Bonnet on March 25, 1836 in Wayne County, Ohio. He died on February 2, 1846. Two years later she was married to James Hanson Lovett. Mary Dunfee Bonnet Lovett died on March 25, 1900. She is buried in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery in Lake Township, Ashland County, Ohio next to her first husband. Mary was the mother of eight children, five with Isaac Bonnett and three with James Lovett.

• Catharine Jane Dunfee (known as Kitte Jane according to my grandmother's notes) was born April 13, 1818 in Pennsylvania. She married Moses Tryon on December 29, 1836 in Wayne County, Ohio. She died January 5, 1893 in Noble County, Indiana and is buried next to her husband in Allen Chapel Cemetery in Allen Township, Noble County, Indiana. They were the parents of ten children.

• William Hamilton Dunfee was born April 10, 1822 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. He was married to Catherine B. Jones on March 5, 1848 in Whitley County, Indiana. He died May 29, 1888 in Columbia Township, Whitley County, Indiana. William and Catherine are my 3rd great grandparents. They were the parents of seven children of whom only three survived to adulthood. Their second child was Sophia Elizabeth Dunfee (named after her grandmother, Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett). Sophia Dunfee married William Pythagrus Wise. They are my 2nd great grandparents. They named their fourth and last child Hazlette, turning a surname into a first name - and, my grandmother was also named Hazlette.

• Sophia Dunfee was born August 13, 1824 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She married David McNabb on October 18, 1842 somewhere in Ohio (no record has been found in the areas where the family lived). They moved to Dekalb County, Indiana prior to 1850 and were the parents of eight children. Sophia died on December 31, 1905. She and David are buried there in Corunna Cemetery in Fairfield Township. The 1885 biography of David McNabb (History of Dekalb County, Indiana Vol 2, Interstate, p577-578) states that she is “a daughter of James and Sophie (Hazlett) Dunfee who moved from Adams County, Pa., to Ohio in 1833.” In addition, the WPA publication of Dekalb County Death Records 1899-1920, p214 gives her father as James Dunfee, born Pennsylvania, and her mother as Sophia Hazellet, born Pennsylvania.

• Jonathan Smith Dunfee was born June 9, 1826 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. He was married on October 19, 1848 in Holmes County, Ohio to Mary Ann Quick. They moved to Whitley County, Indiana prior to 1860 where they raised their family of seven children. Jonathan died on April 22, 1900 and he and Mary Ann are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Jefferson Township. The 1882 biography of Jonathan (Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana; Goodspeed, 1882 p394-395) states that he “is a son of James and Sophie (Hazlett) Dunfee.” His death record lists his parents as Jas. Dunfee and Sophia Hazelot.

• James Henry Dunfee (aka Henry or J. Henry) was born about 1828, probably in Adams County, Pennsylvania. He was married on June 25, 1854 to Elizabeth Moores (Moor in the marriage record) in Ashland County, Ohio. They moved to Whitley County, Indiana shortly after their marriage but at some point moved to Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana where he died on July 3, 1872. James Henry and Elizabeth are buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. They were the parents of eight children. A land transaction links James Henry to James and Sophia but does not conclusively prove that he is their son: James H. Dunfee and his wife Elisabeth sold two acres to James Dunfee for $10 on March 15, 1855.

• Lucy Dunfee was born September 17, 1834 in Ohio. She came with her parents to Whitley County, Indiana about 1855. She died there on December 28, 1870 and is buried near her parents in Evergreen Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana.

• Sarah Ann Dunfee was born August 27, 1839 in Ohio and also came with her parents to Whitley County, Indiana about 1855. Sarah was married to Charles Henry Gillespie on August 7, 1862 in Whitley County and they had one child. It is not known what happened to Mr. Gillespie but on June 8, 1873 Sarah was married to John Robinette in Whitley County. They were the parents of three children. Sarah died on August 8, 1914 and is buried next to husband John in the Sandbank-Jefferson Chapel Cemetery in Jefferson Township, Whitley County, Indiana. The transcribed Whitley County, Indiana Death Records for Sarah Robinette gives her father as James Denfen and her mother as Sofia Hasht. I viewed the record book but was unable to obtain a copy of the record. The names looked to me like James Dunfee and Sofia Haslet.

For additional information see Dunfee Family :: Index to Posts