Quaker Cousins - Clarence Albertson

This is the final entry in this series of Nathan Elias Albertson's 1st cousins on the Albertson side. Some of the Marsh cousins will be posted sometime in the future as well as more of the Albertson cousins. I saved this cousin until last because his family has been hard for me to be sure about.

Clarence was the son of Jordan P. and Talitha (Haworth) Albertson. The Quaker Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting reported that Jordan was the 5th son of Nathan and Phariby (Nicholson) Albertson born 13 Feb 1839 in Rush County, Indiana. This means that Jordan was just 10 years older that Nathan Elias. As expected Jordan moved with the rest of the family to Hardin County Iowa in 1855.

According to his headstone, Clarence P. Albertson was born 30 Sep 1861. There were a number of happenings the previous year. Jordan and Talitha were married on 30 Jun 1860. When the census was taken on 10 July, they were enumerated between Talitha's parents and Jordan's parents. That census taker mostly used initials for the first names, so their listing showed J P Albertson age 21, T Albertson age 20 and A Haworth age 2 and A Haworth age 6/12. I don't know about these two children. Later they used the name Albertson. On 21 Aug 1860 a complaint was made at the local Quaker meeting against Jordan because he had married contrary to discipline, or not according to their rules. It was about 2 months later, 23 Oct 1860 when Jordan was dropped on request.

Jordan continued to not follow the rules. After the Civil War began, he enlisted on 12 Sep 1861 as a 22 year old private and was mustered in on 1 Oct 1861, which was just the day after Clarence was born. Jordan served for over 2 1/2 years with Company B of Iowa 11th Infantry Regiment until the battle of Atlanta on 22 Jul 1864 when he was declared missing and later was listed as dead. I wonder what it was like for Clarence to grow up without his father for basically his whole life. Talitha did file for a pension on 6 Mar 1865 and later on 12 Jan 1867 filed for support benefits for a minor child. An Iowa civil war researcher noted that Clarence at about age 5 had been placed in the Soldiers Orphans Home in Black Hawk County Iowa.

On 1 Mar 1875 a Kansas state census places Clarence age 13 in Miami County with an Andrew Albertson age 18 and a Martha Albertson age 10. They are with a "Tobitha" age 34, which is probably his mother since she was married to Orson Stockwell in Miami County later that year.

Our Clarence is probably the Clarence Albertson who was on the 1880 census at age 18 as a boarder working as a laborer in a farming household less than 100 miles west of Miami County in Wabaunsee County Kansas. It was 28 Apr 1897 when Clarence finally married at age 35 to Bertha Hite at Argentine, Wyandotte County Kansas. They were in Wyandotte Township for the 1900 census where Clarence was working as an iron molder and they now had 2 small sons.

Their family increased by 2 daughters in the next few years and then they moved to Quincy in Adams County Illinois where Clarence continued to work as a molder in an iron works. In both the 1930 and 1940 census Clarence's occupation had changed to minister. The family stayed in Adams County until Clarence died 24 Nov 1941 and was buried in Quincy Memorial Park.

I am glad that Clarence died a few weeks before the actual beginning of World War II since the Civil War had had such sad results for him.