Shuder 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.

My grandmother was Elsie Shuder. She married Charles Wilson Wiseman. Elsie's parents were Isaac and Nancy Jane Lavering Shuder.

• A new-found cousin! July 23, 2007 [contact with a descendant of Elzora Mary Shuder Long Davis]
• Confusing Relationships July 30, 2007 [cousins marrying cousins]
• A new-found Cousin or Not? August 01, 2007 [Is Mary Tabitha Elzora Shuder the daughter of Isaac Shuder and Nancy Jane Lavering?]
• The Shuder Family Mystery August 14, 2007 [Unresolved Questions]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: William and Elizabeth Lavering October 07, 2008 [William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Lavering are my 3rd great grandparents. Their graves are at Benton Lutheran Cemetery in Elkhart County, Indiana.]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: Christian and Sarah Schuder April 28, 2009 [Christian and Sarah (Huntsicker) Schuder are my 2nd great grandparents. Their graves are in the Syracuse Cemetery at Syracuse, Kosciusko County, Indiana.]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: Isaac and Nancy Shuder Family May 19, 2009 [Many of the children of Isaac and Nancy are buried at North Webster Cemetery, Kosciusko County, Indiana. This post includes Isaac and Nancy and two of their sons, Ezra and William.]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: Elsie Shuder and Charles Wiseman September 30, 2008 [My grandparents. Their graves are at North Webster Cemetery, Kosciusko County, Indiana.]
• Correcting Mistakes :: Elsie and Charles Wiseman September 30, 2008 [errors on tombstone inscriptions for Elsie Shuder and Charles Wiseman and using PostEm Notes to "correct" WorldConnect databases]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: The Charles Shuder Family May 26, 2009 [Charles is the son of Isaac and Nancy Shuder and is buried near them in the North Webster Cemetery.]
• Tombstone Tuesday :: George and Bessie Shuder June 2, 2009 [George is the son of Isaac and Nancy Shuder and is buried not far from them in the North Webster Cemetery.]

Originally Posted on March 3, 2008 :: Last Updated on June 2, 2009
Post date adjusted December 29, 2012 so that when a search for the surname is done on the blog this post will appear first the search list.

Meeting the Grands...

Donna Pointkouski has an interesting post, Meeting Great-Grandma, in which she discusses longevity and over-lapping generations. Her post prompted me to take a look at my database. Even though I knew some of my “grands” had lived long lives, I was surprised at how many were alive during my lifetime.

My Dad knew 3 of his 4 grandparents but all of his great-grandparents were long gone before he was born.

Mom was in her late teens when her grandfather, Charles Brubaker, passed away though she says she never met him (he moved to Mississippi before she was born). She was in her mid to late 20s when the other three grandparents died and she knew each one of them. She met two of her great-grandmothers and one great-grandfather but would have only been 4-8 years old when they died. However, she says she remembers them.

Although one of my great-grandfathers and all four of my great-grandmothers were living when I was born, I don't personally have any memory of any of them. I would have been between the age of two and ten when they died. They all lived within 15 miles of where we lived.

Dad's mother's mother (i.e., my Great-Grandmother) Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder died January 2, 1954. I was not quite six years old when she passed away at the age of 99.

His father's mother, Amanda (Alexander) Wiseman was also still living when I was born. I was two years old when she died June 2, 1950 at the age of 89.

Mom's mother's mother, Maude (Wise) Brubaker died February 14, 1953, aged 75; I was almost 5 years old. Maude is in the middle, her granddaughter Phyllis (Phend) Mitchell is on the left and her daughter, Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend is on the right.

Mom's father's mother, Susie (Yarian) Phend died April 29, 1956 at age 84; I was 8 years old.

Of my great-grandfathers, only Mom's father's father, Henry A. Phend was still living when I was born. He passed away July 10, 1958 at the age of 92; I was 10 years old.

Henry and Susie (Yarian) Phend with their great-grandchildren at their 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration in September 1952. I'm sitting on the ground on the left side of the picture.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Christian and Eve Schuder

Christian Schuder and his wife, Anna Eva Christina (aka Eve) Stoever, are my 3rd great grandparents and also my 4th great grandparents! Their grandson Isaac Shuder married their great-granddaughter Nancy Jane Lavering.

Christian and Eve were the parents of nine children: John (1795-1850) married Mary Elizabeth Gephart, Barbara (1797-1865) married Christopher Leighty, Peter (1799-1867) married Rebecca Barbara Huntsicker, Samuel (1803-1878) married Christena Shade, Catherine (1805-1876) married Christopher Leighty after her sister Barbara passed away, Elizabeth (1808-1863) married William Lavering, Daniel (1810-1897) married Justina Shade, Christian Jr. (1813-1885) married Sarah Nancy Huntsicker, and William (1815-unknown).

I suspect that Rebecca and Sarah Huntsicker were sisters or related in some way as were Christena and Justina Shade. The photos below were given to me by my cousin, Caroline Conrad Fawley and were taken in the early 1980s. She has done the research on the Schuder/Shuder family and graciously provided me with copies of her research. (Thanks, Caroline!)

Christian and Eve are buried in Ellerton Cemetery, Montgomery County, Ohio. As always, click on the images for a larger, more legible, version.

IN
MEMORY OF CHRISTIAN
SCHUDER WAS BORN IN
LANCASTER COUNTEY
PENNSYLVANIA. THE 12 D
OF GANHARY IN THE YEAR OF
OUR LORD 1762. DEPARTED
THIS LIFE THE 13TH JULY
1842. AGED 80 YEARS 6
MONTHS AND ONE DAY
EVE CHRISTINA
WIFE OF
CHRISTIAN SCHUDER
DIED
JAN. 6, 1855,
AGED
80 yrs. 11 mo. & 16d.
(the verse at the bottom of the stone is illegible)

Tombstone Tuesday :: George and Minnie Linvill

Minnie Belle Shuder was born August 10, 1878 near Oswego, Kosciusko County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder, my Dad's grandparents and therefore was a sister of my fraternal grandmother, Elsie Shuder Wiseman.

According to their Kosciusko County Marriage Application, Minnie was married in Indianapolis to Richard Harry Larrabee, son of Cornelius and Meliss (Conn) Larabee., on August 10, 1906. She was 28 years old and he was 36. When their only child, Richard J. Larrabee, was born on March 5, 1915 she was 36 years old. However, I'm not positive that they were the birth parents as her obituary states that Richard was her foster son.

Apparently, her husband went missing for a while. In an article in the Northern Indianian dated January 17, 1918 we find that "Mrs. R. H. Laribee [sic], the daughter of N. L. [sic] Schuder of Barbee Lakes, has asked Marshal C. W. Douglass to assist in locating her husband who was missing for more than a month. Inquiry was being made at Indianapolis where he was last heard from December 11th. He was a carpenter and for a number of months was employed by the government and worked at Camp Taylor and other army cantonments. Early in December he accompanied his wife here and returned to Indianapolis, where their goods were stored, intending to move them overland to this county. Mrs. Laribee received a letter from him after he went to Indianapolis which stated that because of the bad weather the draymen wished to postpone the trip for a few days. That was the last heard of him. Mrs. Laribee says her husband was suffering from a severe cold when he went to Indianapolis, and says it is possible that he may have become ill and taken to a hospital. He has a brother in Indianapolis."

A note in my cousin Caroline's files stated that Richard was never heard from again. However, Minnie and Harry R. Larrabee were found in the 1920 census living in Warsaw, Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 230). Harry was listed as a 50 year old carpenter and Minnie was 41 years old. Listed with them was a son, Richard, age 4 years.

It seems that all did not go well for Minnie and her husband. An index of Whitley County Marriage Records show that Minnie was married to George W. Linville on May 18, 1928. I haven't gotten a copy of the marriage application yet but the index gives her last name as Schuder instead of Larabee. It should also tell us whether her first marriage ended by divorce or death of Richard Harry.

Minnie passed away at age 68 on November 27, 1946 at her home in Millersburg, Indiana. George was 70 years old and still living in Millersburg when he passed away on April 10, 1949 while visiting his stepson, Richard Larabee in Goshen, Indiana. His obituary stated that George was a wood worker and had formerly resided at Churubusco, Warsaw, and New Paris. Survivors were listed as a step son, Richard Larabee, and a step grandson, James Larabee.

George and Minnie are interred at the North Webster Cemetery in North Webster, Kosciusko County, Indiana. They are in the same cemetery as her parents and several siblings, although in a different section.


Thanks to wonderful directions from my cousin Charlene, I found Minnie's gravesite. It is in the southernmost section of the cemetery and the marker is the first one in the row just beyond the big bush. You can see the blue waters of beautiful Lake Webster in the background.

GEORGE W. / 1878-1919
MINNIE B. / 1878-1946
LINVILL
Photograps taken May 21, 2009 - Copyright © 2009 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Tombstone Tuesday :: George and Bessie Shuder

George Shuder and his wife, Bessie, are interred in North Webster Cemetery in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. The same cemetery where his parents, Isaac and Nancy Shuder, and several siblings are buried, including Charles and Dessie (Wissler) Shuder. Bessie was a twin sister of Dessie, who died a month after giving birth to her daughter, Audrey. George and Bessie raised Audrey. They also had a daughter, Ethel, born 10 months after Audrey.

Bessie and Dessie were the twin daughters of John and Mahala (Plew) Wissler and were born on May 27, 1883 in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Bessie passed away on July 14, 1960. George Marion Shuder was born November 5, 1880 near Oswego, Kosciusko County. He died on September 28, 1954 in Warsaw, Kosciusko County. He was a farmer and they resided in the North Webster area all of their married lives.

SHUDER
BESSIE I. / 1883 MOTHER 1960
GEORGE M. / 1880 FATHER 1954

Tombstone Tuesday :: The Charles Shuder Family

The Charles Shuder Family plot in North Webster Cemetery, Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. It is in the same row as that of his parents, Isaac and Nancy Shuder, and two of his brothers.

The large, center marker is that of his first wife Dessie Alene Wissler. Dessie passed away a month after giving birth to her daughter, Audrey Gwendoline. Charles' brother, George, was married to Dessie's twin sister, Bessie. According to my Aunt Pat (who, since her marriage in June 1945, has lived in the neighborhood where the Wiseman and Shuder families lived), after his wife's death Charles carried his little one-month-old daughter over to his brother and handed her over to George and Dessie. I don't know whether George and Bessie officially adopted Audrey or not but they raised her as their own. In 1912, Charles married Ina Myrtle Kitson and they had three children: Milton Shuder, Neva Marie Golden and Wilma Beard.

DESSIE WIFE OF / CHARLES J. SHUDER / MAY 27, 1883 / FEB. 26, 1907
CHARLES J. SHUDER / 1883 - 1963
INA M. SHUDER / 1880 - 1952

Photos taken July 12, 2007 - Copyright © 2007 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Tombstone Tuesday :: Isaac and Nancy Shuder Family

The Shuder family plot at North Webster Cemetery in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. Looking east. Buried here are Ezra, William, Nancy and Isaac Shuder. The grave site of Charles and Elsie (Shuder) Wiseman is across the lane and two rows down. Ezra, William and Elsie were the children of Nancy and Isaac. Another son, Charles, is buried in the same row, to the north of Nancy and Isaac. Yet another son, George, is buried in another section of the cemetery. Another daughter, Minnie Belle Larabee Linville is reportedly buried in the cemetery but I haven't located her grave yet. Nancy and Isaac had eight or possibly nine children.

EZRA SHUDER / 1895 - 1957
(Ezra was a veteran of WWII)
WILLIAM H. SHUDER / 1876 - 1946
SHUDER
NANCY J. / 1854 MOTHER 1954
ISAAC / 1846 FATHER 1905
Photos taken July 12, 2007 - Copyright © 2007 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Tombstone Tuesday :: Christian and Sarah Schuder

Christian Schuder (Jr.) and his wife Sarah Nancy Huntsicker are buried in the Syracuse Cemetery at Syracuse, Kosciusko County, Indiana. Christian's inscription is on the west side of the marker while Sarah's is on the east side. They are my 2nd great grandparents.



CHRISTIAN / SCHUDER / DIED / SEPT. 2, 1885 / AGED / 72 Y. 1 Mo. / & 14 Ds.



SARAH / WIFE OF / C. SCHUDER / DIED / JUNE 14, 1883 / AGED / 66 Y. 4 Mo. / & 12 D's.

The last digit in the year on Sarah's marker is difficult to read, even using the "foil" method but I think it is 1883. Birth dates, below, were calculated from their age on the markers and dates of death.

Christian is the son of Christian Schuder Sr. and Anna Eva Christina Stoever. He was born July 19, 1813 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Sarah was born February 2, 1817 and, according to census records, Pennsylvania was her place of birth, parents unknown. Christian and Sarah were married on December 22, 1842 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Sometime between 1860 and 1870 they moved to Jackson Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. Between 1870 and 1880 they moved a short distance to Van Buren Township, Kosciusko County.

Christian and Sarah (Huntsicker) Schuder were the parents of six children, all born in Montgomery County, Ohio. Two children died young. Only two of their children had children.

• Clinton Newell Schuder (1843-1858) died when 14 years old.
• Isaac Shuder (1846-1905) married Nancy Jane Lavering, had nine children. They are my great-grandparents. Their daughter Elsie married Charles Wilson Wiseman.
• Louisa Dora Schuder (1849-1922) never married. No children.
• Sarah Ann Schuder (1851-1853) was about 18 months old when she died.
• Diana "Anna" Schuder (1854-1902) married Solomon Coy. No children.
• Malen Schuder (1856-1920) married Alice Clem and had three children: Floyd, Ethel, and Dora.

All photographs were taken by me on July 11, 2007 and September 1, 2008.

Saturday Night Fun :: Y-DNA

It's Saturday Night, so, as Randy says, it's time for some genealogy fun. Randy's been searching for his Y-DNA matches and thought we might be interested in tracing the Y-DNA line of our paternal grandmother.

The challenge is this: Provide a list of your paternal grandmother's patrilineal line by answering the following questions.

* What was your father's mother's maiden name?

• My father's mother was Elsie Shuder (1885-1926), born in Kosciusko County, Indiana

* What was your father's mother's father's name?

• My father's mother's father's name was Isaac Shuder (1846-1905), born in Montgomery County, Ohio

* What is your father's mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?

• Isaac Shuder's father was Christian Schuder Jr. (1813-1885), born in Montgomery County, Ohio
• Christian, Jr. was the son of Christian Schuder Sr. (1762-1842), born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
• This WorldConnect database indicates that Christian Sr. was the son of Johann Nicolas Schuder (born 1727 in Germany-Esslingen) and Ursula Catherina Mayer. No documentation or sources, and I haven't done any research this far back.

* Can you identify male sibling(s) of your father's mother, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)? If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.

Elsie Shuder had five brothers:
William Henry Shuder (1876-1946), never married, no children.
George Marion Shuder (1880-1954), had two daughters.
Charles Jefferson Shuder (1883-1963), had one son (Milton 1914-1999) who had a son.*
Cleveland R. Shuder (1890-1980), had one son who may still be living. He had children but I don't know if he had any sons.*
Ezra Shuder (1895-1957), never married, no children.

So, it looks like there are two potential sources for Y-DNA testing. Of course I'd need to find them then talk them into having the testing done and probably pay for the testing myself. . .

A search at http://www.ysearch.org/ showed one pedigree for the surname Schuder, none for Shuder. And, hey, we have a match! Well, maybe. That is if Christian is a son of Nicholas Schuder (immigrant 1752) and his wife Ursella Catherine Mayer.

Related posts: Shuder Family - Index to Posts

Who is Number 21?

This week, Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Fun "task" is to write about ancestor #21 as listed on your Ahnentafel report. Why #21? Because it was February 21st when Randy published his post!

#21 is the mother of #10, who is the father of #5, who is the mother of #2, thus:

#2 Jack William Wiseman, my father
#5 Elsie Shuder, my grandmother
#10 Isaac Shuder, my great grandfather
#21 Sarah Nancy Huntsicker, my great-great grandmother

Sarah Nancy Huntsicker was born February 2, 1817 and died June 14, 1882. She is buried with her husband in Syracuse Cemetery, Kosciusko County, Indiana. According to the 1850, 1860 & 1870 census records, Sarah was born in Pennsylvania. In 1880 her place of birth is listed as Ohio. Names of her parents are not known at this time.

On December 22, 1842 Sarah Huntsticker was married to Christian Schuder in Montgomery County, Ohio (Volume A2, Page 270) by John Burnett. Christian's older brother, Peter Schuder (1799-1867), was married to Rebecca Barbara Huntsicker (1807-1865). Christian and Peter were the sons of Christian Sr. and Anna Eva Christina (Stoever) Schuder.

Federal census records show that in 1850 (p377) and 1860 (p11) Christian and Sarah Schuder were living in Jefferson Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. By 1870 the family had moved to Elkhart County, Indiana and were found residing in Jackson Township (p380). In 1880, the family was found in Van Buren Township in neighboring Kosciusko County, Indiana (p14b).

Sarah's occupation would have been that of a mother and wife. Christian was listed as a farmer, farm laborer, and laborer in the federal census records. Details of their life together are not known, but Christian and Sarah Nancy (Huntsicker) Schuder were the parents of six children.

1. Clinton Newell Schuder (1843-1858)
2. Isaac Schuder/Shuder (1846-1905) - Isaac and his family dropped the "c" and used the spelling of "Shuder" for their surname. Isaac married Nancy Jane Lavering. They had nine children, one of whom was Elsie Shuder, my grandmother.
3. Louisa Dora Schuder (1849-1922) - Louisa never married.
4. Sarah Ann Schuder (1851-1853)
5. Diana "Anna" Schuder (1854-1902) - Diana married Solomon Coy; they had no children.
6. Malen Schuder (1856-1920) - Malen married Alice Clem. They had three children; Floyd, Ethel, and Dora. Ethel and Dora did not have any children; Floyd had one son, Evard Schuder. I don't know whether or not Evard had any children.

Tombstone Tuesday :: William and Elizabeth Lavering

Interred at Benton Lutheran Cemetery, at the intersection of CR 33 and CR 44 in Benton, Elkhart County, Indiana are William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Lavering, my 3rd great grandparents through the Shuder line: Me > Dad > Elsie Shuder Wiseman > Nancy Jane Lavering, wife of Isaac Shuder > Daniel Lavering > William & Elizabeth

Wm. LAVERING / DIED / Oct. 5, 1870 / AGED / 73 Ys. 1 M. 7 D.
ELIZABETH / Wife of / Wm. LAVERING / DIED / June 5, 1863 / AGED 55 Y's. 4 Mo. 28 D

In 1897, Col. John Levering and the Levering Historical Association published the "History and Genealogy of the Levering Family" which chronicles the descendants of Rosier Levering, particularly Wigard and Gerhard, who crossed the ocean in 1685. They initially settled in Germantown, near Philadelphia, but in 1691 removed a short distance to the west to Roxborough Township. Apparently Wigard was really good about keeping records but Gerhard, alas, was not.

On page 833 of this massive missive, the compiler mentioned having received a telegram on October 14, 1895 from Henry Lavering, of Milford, in Kosciusko County, Indiana, informing him of the death of Daniel Lavering. As it turns out, the telegram was missent to Col. John Levering in LaFayette instead of going to John Lavering, a brother of the deceased Daniel. John and Daniel were sons of William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Lavering. Apparently, the Colonel did not know of "our" little branch of the Lavering family. He attempted to "fit" them into the family and discovered a "possibility" in a child named William, of Gerhard's line, born about 1796 and who was reported as having died in infancy.

Two years later, Samuel Lavering, brother of Daniel, contacted the Colonel and provided the following information:

William was born about 1796, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and was the oldest of three children. The names of the brother and sister were not known. The maiden name of William's mother was Haus, or Hass. While too young to remember, William's parents separated and he was reared by a Mothberger family whose place of residence was not known. When he attained matured years, William removed to Montgomery County, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Schuder, and where their first child, Daniel, was born. Soon after Daniel's birth they removed to Allen County, Ohio and from there to Elkhart County, Indiana.

On page 835, the Colonel states: "As my compilation is considered complete, and these descendants are a recent accession, and I can not place them with certainty, I assign them place collectively. William appears a dropped stitch in the family fabric in the sixth generation."

Dropped stitch or not, the Colonel then lists, in the next nine pages, the descendants of William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Levering, most with full dates of birth! And, when known, dates of death and location of residence. Additional research by my cousin has shown that most of the information is correct! It was, quite literally, a goldmine. But we still haven't been able to determine who William's parents were...

Correcting Mistakes :: Elsie and Charles Wiseman

Being human, we all make mistakes. Once the errant data is posted "out there" on the World Wide Web it can't be taken back. And then it gets propagated by others researching the same family. What do you do? If you wait to post anything until your research is "completed" then the chances are good your research will never be seen by anyone else. Dear Myrtle has a post this morning about Correcting Mistakes in your genealogy research. It's worth your time to read it.

My Tombstone Tuesday post earlier today is a case in point. The inscriptions for my dad's parents Elsie Shuder and Charlie Wiseman show that they were both born in 1886. And that was what was recorded by my cousin in the papers that I received from her years ago. I haven't done all that much research myself on my Dad's lines because my cousin spent quite a few years researching the Wiseman and Shuder lines. I'm not laying any "blame" on her, after all, I entered the date in my database without verifying it, and that's what was on the tombstone so it had to be right!

Anyway, as I was going through some of my cousins papers last year I noticed that there were no copies of the marriage application or death records for Elsie and Charlie. So, I ordered them and discovered that for both of them their year of birth is 1885, not 1886.

A search on WorldConnect for Elsie Shuder, born 1885, returned no results. A search for her born 1886 turned up 12 databases, all of which (including mine: rwiseman_bray) give her date of birth as 18 Aug 1886. A search for Charles Wilson Wiseman, born 1886, returned 14 results. The 13 entries that are for him all give 20 Sep 1886 as his date of birth. Someday, if I get ambitious enough, I might contact the contributors of those other databases or perhaps add a post-em note to their entries for Elsie and Charles. A second issue with Charles is his date of death. My cousin had it as February 4, 1943 but his death record shows that he died on January 28th.

In an ideal world, I would update my WorldConnect database immediately, but for a variety of reasons, it isn't likely that I will be doing that anytime soon. To me, this isn't "critical" information. Important, yes, but not critical. It doesn't involve a connection to the wrong lineage or anything major, so what I've done is add post-ems with the correct information. (You do read post-ems on WorldConnect when you see them, don't you?) As soon as this is posted I'll edit the post-ems to include a link here so people can see the documents for themselves.

As always, click on the images below to view a larger version. . .

Marriage Application, Charles Wiseman and Elsie Shuder. March 1, 1906. Kosciusko County, Indiana (Book N Page 224)

Death Certificate, Elsie Shuder Wiseman. February 3, 1926. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 5058)

Death Certificate, Charles Wiseman. January 28, 1943. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 3636)

Tombstone Tuesday :: Elsie Shuder and Charles Wiseman

Gravesite of my grandparents Elsie Shuder and Charles Wilson Wiseman
North Webster Cemetery, North Webster (Kosciusko County), IndianaWisemanElsie Shuder / 1886-1926Charles W. / 1886-1943
Elsie Shuder was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder. She was born on August 18, 1885 in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. The inscription shows her year of birth as 1886 but her marriage application and death record both show that she was born in 1885. Elsie perished in a house fire on February 3, 1926 leaving eight children between the ages of 2 and 16. She was 40 years old. My father was the youngest of the children.

Charles Wilson Wiseman was born on September 20, 1885 also in Tippecanoe Township. The inscription shows his year of birth as 1886 but his marriage application, WWI Draft Registration Card, and Certificate of Death all give his year of birth as 1885. He was the son of Samuel Bray and Amanda Minerva (Alexander) Wiseman. It was said that Charlie made the best moonshine and was the best one-armed card shark in the county. (In 1908, his right arm had been amputated below the elbow after an accident with a cement mixer.) Charlie passed away on January 28, 1943 at McDonald Hospital in Warsaw, Indiana.

The Shuder Family Mystery

The following records simply confirm information we already knew but they don't answer the questions as to whether Mary Tabitha Elzora Shuder was actually the daughter of Isaac Shuder and Nancy Jane Lavering or whether Noah Evert Long was the son of Mary Tabitha and John H. Long!

Mary Tabitha was born January 1, 1873 but Isaac and Nancy Jane were not married until October 26, 1875. Isaac would have been 29 years old when they married, Nancy was 20.

Noah Evert was born February 4, 1893 but Mary Tabitha "Dora" Shuder and John H. Long were not married until October 25, 1896.

For more information on this family mystery, please see my previous post "A new-found Cousin or Not?" Click on the images below to enlarge them.



The record on the left (above) shows that a marriage license was issued on October 25, 1875 to Isaac Schuder with consent of Daniel Lavering. Isaac Schuder and Nancy Jane Lavering were married on October 26, 1875. Elkhart County, Indiana Marriage Book 4 page 379.

On the right (above) is the marriage record that shows Dora Shuder married John H. Long on the 25th day of October 1896. Kosciusko County, Indiana Marriage Book K page 348.



On the left: Mary Tabitha Elzora Long married Walter L. Davis on November 8, 1926. Elkhart County, Indiana Marriage Book 35 page 618. The record shows that she was born in Kosciusko Co., Ind. on Jany 1, 1873; she resided in Middlebury, Ind.; her father was Isaac Shuder and her mother was Jane Lavering. It also shows that she was married once before and the marriage was dissolved by death on Sept. 16, 1920.

On the right: The marriage record of Noah Evert Long was on the next page (page 619). They were both married by S. S. Whisler a Justice of the Peace. Noah's record shows that he was born at Oswego, Kosciusko Co., Ind. on Feby 4, 1893; he resided in Middlebury, Ind. and was a Farmer; his father was John H. Long and his mother was Mary Tabitha Elzora Shudder.

A new-found Cousin or Not?

Previously, I wrote about a new-found cousin, Charlene, and her visit to Indiana last week. One of the reasons that Charlene came down to visit was to see if we could help her in determining who her grandfather really was. All of her records give his name as Noah Evert Long, son of John Henry and Elzora Mary Tabitha Shuder Long (aka Dora and Zora). Noah was born February 4, 1893 but, according to an online index for Kosciusko County, John H. Long and Dora Schuder were not married until October 25, 1896 (their marriage record has been ordered).

The 1900 census shows only wife Zora and daughter Idey in the household of John H. Long. The only "Noah" the right age in the 1900 census for Kosciusko County is a Noah E. Lantz, born Feb 1893, age 7, born Indiana, parents born in Indiana, enumerated as a border in the household of Samuel Denwood a 74 year old white male. Samuel's son, 31 year old Frank, is also listed as are two other borders (a 22 year old female and a 19 year old male), as well as a 19 year old male servant. The Denwood household is listed on page 4a and the Long household on page 5b.

In the 1910 census we see wife Mary T.; son Noa E, age 17; and daughter Ida M. in John's household. Both the 1900 and 1910 census show that Zora/Mary had 2 children both living. It also showed that John and Mary had each been married once for 14 years. In 1920, the household of John H. Long included wife Mary T; daughter Ida, age 16; and son Noah E, age 25.

A delayed-birth record for Noah, filed on November 13, 1943 in Gladwin County, Michigan states that Noah Evert Long was born February 4, 1893 in Oswego, Kosciusko County, Indiana the son of John Henry Long and Mary Tobitha Shuder; that he was the 1st child born to Mary Tobitha Shuder and she had no other children living. Listed as supporting evidence was Affidavit of Father and Affidavit of Mother. Documentary Evidence was given as "Bible Record, Operators License, Insurance Record". A couple of items to be noted: His sister Ida was still living in 1943; she died in 1974. His father, John H. Long, died in 1920.

Among the family "artifacts" that Charlene has is a postcard dated 9-1910 that was addressed to Noah Evert Lantz, Syracuse, Indiana. So, was Noah Evert Long really Noah Evert Lantz? Were his birth parents John Henry Long and Mary Tobitha Shuder?

= = = =

Then, as I was entering the data from my cousins into my genealogy database, a discrepancy jumped out at me. I'm not sure why none of us noticed it before, maybe we didn't have all the information in front of us at the same time, at any rate we didn't notice it and we have another anomaly.

Elzora Mary Tabitha Shuder, also known as Dora, Zora, and Mary T., was, according to the 1900 census, born in January 1873. Census records substantiate the fact that she was born in 1873: 1880, 7 years old; 1900, born Jan 1873 age 27; 1910, age 37; 1920, age 47.

However, Elkhart County Marriage Records (Book 4 page 379) show that her parents, Isaac Schuder and Nancy Jane Lavering, were not married until October 26, 1875. Isaac would have been 29 years old and Nancy Jane was 20. We're not using a transcription as we have a copy of the marriage record.

John H. Long died on September 16, 1920 and on November 8, 1926 Elzora married Walter L. Davis. I wasn't able to immediately get a copy of the record, that should be arriving in a few days, but the marriage record does give her parents as Isaac Shuder and Nancy Lavering. It also gave her date of birth, but I didn't make note of it (I know, bad me) but the year was 1873. Her grave marker in Syracuse Cemetery, Syracuse, Indiana has simply "Mary Long Davis / 1873 1954"

Elzora Mary's obituary was published in the Warsaw Times-Union on March 6, 1954

"Mrs. Mary Dora Davis, Syracuse, aged 81, died at 7 a.m. Saturday of complications at the Alfran Nursing Home, near Pierceton, where she had been a patient the past three weeks.
"Mrs. Davis was born in Elkhart County, Jackson Twp., the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane Schuder. She was married to John Long who died in 1920. Her second marriage was to Lincoln Davis, who is also deceased.
"Survivors include a son, Everett Long, of Coleman, Mich.; a daughter, Mrs. Walter (Ida) Ott, LaPorte, a number of grandchildren, four brothers, Ezra Shuder of Barbee Lakes, Charles Schuder of Ligonier, Cleveland Schuder of Milford, and George Shuder of North Webster."

Both the 1900 and 1910 census records show that Nancy Shuder had 9 children and that all 9 were still living. Census records for 1880 through 1910 give us the names of all of the children.

The funeral notice for Nancy Jane Shuder (who died January 2, 1954 aged 99 years and 30 days), which was published in the Warsaw Times-Union, states "Her husband, Isaac Shuder, to whom she married in 1872, died in 1905." The funeral notice also lists her children, one of whom was Mrs. Dora Davis, of Syracuse. Note the year of marriage - it is given as 1872.

Isaac Shuder died on August 11, 1905. An Administration Deed recorded April 13, 1906 states, in part: "This indenture witnesseth that Nancy J. Shuder, Administratrix of the estate of Isaac Shuder, deceased, of Kosciusko County in the State of Indiana, in an action pending in the Kosciusko Circuit Court of the State of Indiana, whereby Nancy J. Shuder Administratrix of the estate of Isaac Shuder, is plaintiff, and Nancy J. Shuder, William H. Shuder, Minnie B. Shuder, George M. Shuder, Charles J. Shuder, Elsie Wiseman, Cleveland Shuder, Anna M. Shuder, Ezra Shuder are defendants, being cause No. 10347 of said Court, by order of said Court entered in Probate Order Book V, at page 128..."

Note the omission of Elzora/Mary Long. This is the only document my cousin Caroline had regarding Isaac's estate. I'll have to see if there is a final settlement document.

On page 543 of the History of Kosciusko County (Royse 1919) there is a biography of Charles J. Shuder which lists the following as the children of Isaac and Nancy Shuder, stating "There were the following children in the family: Henry, of Tippecanoe; Minnie, wife of Harry Larabee; George, of Tippecanoe Township; Charles J.; Elsie, wife of Charles Wiseman, of Tippecanoe Township; Mabel, wife of Everett Leedy of Plain Township; and Ezra and Cleveland, both unmarried and at home."

I don't know what to make of the fact that Elzora is "missing" in the Administration Deed of 1906 and that Charles' biography of 1919 does not include her. Mrs. Elzora Davis, is listed as a sister in the obituaries for William H. Shuder (July 22, 1946) and Minnie Belle Linville (December 3, 1946) the only two siblings, besides Elsie, who predeceased her.

I've ordered a copy of the marriage record for Elzora and John H. Long. They were married October 25, 1896 in Kosciusko County and that record should give the names of her parents. We could also order her death record, which should also give her parents. My guess is that both records are both going to show that Isaac and Nancy Jane Shuder are her parents. But we'll get them anyway just to make sure. I'll also see if there is an estate settlement packet or a final settlement statement. Elzora was born in 1873, too early for "official" birth records in Indiana. What other records might be helpful?

So what do we have? Elzora/Mary Shuder Long Davis was born in 1873. Isaac and Nancy Shuder were married in 1875. Are Isaac and Nancy Jane her birth parents? Was Elzora/Mary taken in by Isaac and Nancy? Does it really matter? It appears that she was considered family, at least in the majority of the available records that we have. How should this be handled? Would you include Elzora/Mary as part of Isaac and Nancy's family in your database? I already have. And I've included all of the evidence found thus far and will add any new information as it is discovered. She may or may not be a blood relative, but I feel that she is family. And isn't that really what this is all about?

Census records cited:
1880 Van Buren Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 18b) Household of Isaac Shuter
1900 Tippecanoe Township Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 4a) Household of Samuel Denwood
1900 Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 9a) Household of Isaac Shuder
1900 Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 5b) Household of John H. Long
1910 Syracuse, Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 6a) Household of John H. Long
1910 Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 133) Household of Nancy J. Shuders
1920 Syracuse, Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page number illegible, family 108) Household of John H. Long

Confusing Relationships

This past Friday, Charlene, a new-found "Shuder" cousin and her son came down from central Michigan for a visit with me and one of my first cousins. We got acquainted, shared some information, had a good time, and got a bit confused.

Our common ancestors, Nancy Jane Lavering and Isaac Shuder, were related to each other before they got married. As I attempted to explain their relationship and determine our relationship it just got more and more confusing. We finally did get it figured out though, I think. Nancy and Isaac were 1st cousins once removed, and Charlene and I are second cousins once removed, as shown in the image below, which can be read by clicking on it to make it bigger:


The problem I have with the standard relationship charts, is that you have to know your relationship to your common ancestor as well as the relationship of the person you are trying to determine your relationship to. Now, if I'd had the basic information for those ancestors and their children entered into the genealogy software that I use, which is Legacy, it wouldn't have been a problem, but I didn't and still don't. Actually, I did have it entered a couple of years ago, but that's another story. Anyway, Legacy has a neat feature that allows you to display and/or print a fancy chart mapping out these things. It's really a nice chart, but I couldn't use it. . .

Examples of the Standard Relationship chart can be found at:

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gentutor/chart.html


• http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~hornbeck/chart.htm

A rather nice, slightly different chart with a pdf file available for download is at:

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kordyban/chart/relationship_chart.html

** Update July 31, 2007 **

What is a First Cousin, Twice Removed? is an article in the Genealogy.com Learning Center that provides some helpful information on relationships. The Learning Center is a very good resource whether you are just starting your family search or even if you are a more advanced researcher.

A new-found cousin!

About a month ago I was contacted by a descendant of Elzora Mary Shuder Long Davis. Elzora was also known as Mary, Dora, and Zora. Anyway, Elzora is the sister of my grandmother, Elsie Shuder Wiseman (my Dad's mother). My new-found cousin, a great-grandaughter of Elzora, is coming to visit me and my first cousin Caroline on Friday. Cousin Caroline is the one who has done the research on this line, back in the late 1970's and early 1980's (before I got "into" genealogy) so I've been going through her files that I copied about 10 years ago. Those files have just been sitting there waiting for me to get to them, I've looked through them a couple of times, but never really did anything with them. . . Guess it's about time. It's just that I'd rather spend my time researching my lines that haven't been worked on rather than inputting data that someone else has found. I've got a couple of lines that have had books published on them and while I find it interesting to read the books and learn about those families, for some reason they just don't mean as much to me (gasp, gasp, we're not supposed to have favorites are we?). I think it is because I personally haven't invested so much time or resources in them.

I never knew Dad's mother, Elsie. She died in a house fire in 1926 when my Dad was two years old. I didn't know his father either, Charlie died in 1943, a couple years before I was born. I've been told many times that I resemble Elsie, but I've never seen a good picture of her to be able to tell whether I do or not. With the permission of Cousin Caroline, I'll be posting some of the information she has gathered on the Shuder/Schuder and allied families (Huntsicker, Lavering, Long, and Stoever). We actually connect to the Shuders in two ways - it gets a bit confusing but does cut down on the number of ancestors that need to be researched!