Adams County Cousins - Mary Elizabeth Hamilton

Mary Elizabeth Hamilton was a 1st cousin of Lafayette Pierce "Lafe" Smalley, my great-grandfather, so she was my 1st cousin 3 times removed. As she grew older Mary Elizabeth was known as Lizzie. She was the oldest child of William J and Margaret (Smalley) Hamilton. Margaret was the youngest sister of Lafe's father.

Mary Elizabeth had 11 siblings, 10 of whom survived to 1900. According to her Find A Grave memorial, she was born in Dunkinsville, Adams County, Ohio, 29 Jan 1866. However on that same page it listed information from an Ohio Deaths database stating her birthdate was 29 Dec 1865. The 1900 census gave her birthdate as Feb 1866. So it looks like she was born sometime between 29 Dec 1865 and Feb 1866. I hope she had a more definite date to celebrate.

Dunkinsville was an unincorporated village in Oliver Township. Mary E, age 4, was enumerated with her parents in Oliver Township on the 1870 census along with 3 younger siblings. She was shown as Elizabeth, age 14, on the 1880 census. There were now 7 younger siblings in the family making a household of 10. Her occupation was shown as house work. As the oldest daughter it is logical that she would be helping her mother, especially since the youngest child was then just 6 months old. The family was living in Meigs Township, which was adjacent to Oliver.

By the 1900 census, Mary Elizabeth was no longer living with her parents. She was using the name Lizzie and had moved to Paint Township in Highland County, Ohio, the county just north of Adams County. She, now age 34, and her brother Walter were living with their sister, Angeline, who was married to Cyrus Eubanks and had 5 children, age 6 and under. Cyrus' occupation was hotel keeper, so I suspect there was plenty of work there to keep Lizzie busy.

Just 2 months after the census was taken in June, on 29 Aug 1900, Lizzie Hamilton was married to Dick S. Hiatt, more formally known as Richard Suiter Hiatt. Almost a year after their marriage their only child, Hattie Margaret Hiatt, was born on 3 Aug 1901. Dick was a farmer and the family was shown living in Paint Township on both the 1910 and 1920 censuses.

Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Hamilton) Hiatt died 18 Jun 1928 in Greenfield, in the northeast corner of Highland County. She was buried in the Greenfield Cemetery there. Also buried in Greenfield Cemetery were her husband Dick who died in 1943 and their daughter Hattie who died just days before her 93rd birthday. Hattie never married, graduated from college and was an elementary school teacher for much of her life. So it appears that Lizzie had no descendants, so I am glad I can remember her as a cousin.