Adams County Cousins - John Hamilton Spurgeon

Today is another of my great-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce "Lafe" Smalley's first cousins, who are my 1st cousins 3 times removed. However John Hamilton Spurgeon was not only Lafes 1st cousin on the Hemphill side (Lafe's mother), but he was Lafe's 2nd cousin on his Smalley side (Lafe's father.) So John is also my 2nd cousin 3 times removed. That would make any descendants of his show more shared DNA than a regular 1st cousin once removed. However that won't apply in this case because my research shows John Hamilton Spurgeon as a single man during his life. But he did have some siblings who would have those same relationships.

John was born 19 Oct 1867 in Adams County Ohio to James Morris and Elizabeth Rebecca (Hemphill) Spurgeon. I was able to find John on 6 censuses. He was only 2 years old in 1870 in the household of his parents with 2 older sisters and 1 younger brother in Meigs Township in Adams County. Sadly his father died in 1873 when John would have been about 5 or 6 years old. On the 1880 census he and 1 sister were in the household of Albert Gerslin and his family in Bryd Township in neighboring Brown County. Both of the Spurgeon children were listed as cousin.

In 1900 John was the head of household, now age 32, and back in Meigs Township in Adams County. His mother was living with him and 2 Plummer children, an 8 year old nephew and a 6 year old niece. He was listed as a farmer living on an owned farm, free of mortgage. Ten years later in 1910 his mother is still in his household plus the niece was now listed as adopted.

The 1920 census lists the location as Jacksonville and the farm as rented. Again his mother was living with him and now they have a 21 year old young woman who was working as a housekeeper for them. It was in 1927 that John's mother died, then in the 1930 census he was still single and living alone. I appreciate the fact that it seems that John provided a home for his widowed mother for a number of years. John died 17 May 1934 and was buried in Tranquility Cemetery in Adams County.