Memory From 50 Years Ago

Christmas is a time for remembering. 

This is the card my deceased husband, Harry Skelton, gave to me in 1969 before we were married. It does make me happy to see it.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 8 – Family Photo – Perry Solomon Bond

It is so great when relatives share family photos. I am very thankful for their generosity. Today I want to share two different photos of my grandmother's brother, Perry Solomon Bond.

The first one was shared with me by cousin Dave Howard. This photo was cropped from a photo taken at the home of Austin Bond, Perry's uncle,  about 1906.

In 1906 Perry would have been 25 years old, as he was born 18 Feb 1882. He was the oldest son, and 3^rd child of 5 of John Howard and Mary Ann (O'Neal) Bond. He was born in the Creswell area, Lane County, Oregon. When he was about 12, the family moved to Lone Rock, Gilliam County, in north central Oregon. The 1900 census listed Perry's occupation as sheepherder. In about 1905 Perry and his brother Roy moved with their parents back to the Willamette Valley, in the Halsey area of Linn County. It was about 10 years later when the four of them moved farther south to Glide in Douglas County, Oregon, where they purchased a prune ranch.

But that wasn't all Perry found there, for he married Frances Smith 27 May 1916. His brother Roy married her sister Grace in 1917. Perry's mother died in 1918 and his father in 1919. Apparently he continued to work on the fruit ranch as he was listed there with his wife and children on the 1920 and 1930 censuses. But he did do some moving around as he was listed as a farmer in Junction City, Oregon in the 1921 city directory. By the 1940 census they had moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, and the census indicated they had been living in Roseburg in 1935. At the time of his death, 5 Jun 1969, Perry was living in Springfield, Oregon.

Perry and Frances had 5 children, 2 sons and 3 daughters: Helen, John, Edith, Mary Jane, and Dale. His obituary stated that he had 23 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. His descendants may remember him as he appeared in this photo of Frances and Perry in their later years, which was shared with me by cousin Robert Bond.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 7 – Love – William Henry Bond

Why am I writing about William Henry Bond for week 7's theme? It's because I “love” the fact that his land is shown on a land ownership map.

I suspect this theme is due to Valentine's Day. So that would be romantic love. But the word love can have different meanings. I asked Google to define love and received three answers: first 2 nouns and then a verb.

1. An intense feeling of deep affection.
2. A great interest and pleasure in something.
3. Feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone).

So I have decided to use definition 2, because I have a great interest and pleasure in learning about all my relatives. Therefore I have chosen William from this week's “Aunts & Uncles Birthday Calendar” (https://www.joanneskelton.com/ui32.htm) to share about today.

William Henry Bond was my great-granduncle, an older brother of my great-grandfather, John Howard Bond. William was born 15 Feb 1847, in Iowa, to Solomon and Huldah (Hayes) Bond. I found him on the 1850 census as a 3 year old living with his parents in Marion County, Iowa. He would have been 6 years old in 1853 when he participated in the great adventure of traveling in a wagon train to the Oregon Country over the Oregon Trail. It was the next year when his parents settled a 320 acre Donation Land Claim at the edge of the current city of Halsey, Oregon. Since Halsey had not been established yet, the 1860 census listed William, now 13, in Pine Precinct, Linn County, Oregon.

Before the next census was taken, William married Sarah C. Kirk, 17 Oct 1867. The marriage record shows that the wedding took place at the home of William's uncle, Seth Whipple Hayes, who lived nearby. Sarah was the oldest daughter of Madison and Elmira Kirk who probably came to Oregon on the ”lost” wagon train in 1853. In 1860 their family was living in nearby Brownsville. At the 1870 census William and Sarah were located in the Peoria Precinct in Linn County (this was the same area which was called Pine in 1860) with their oldest child, Jasper.

The 1880 census for William and Sarah has been a mystery to me, since I have been unable to find them there. In 1880, Sarah's widowed father, Madison, was living in Centerville, in Umatilla County, Oregon, in the northeastern part of the state. The United States government issued a patent on 15 Aug 1882 to the heirs of Madison Kirk for a 160 acre homestead in Section 22, Range 34 East, Township 4 North, which was the approximate location of Centerville, about 12 miles northeast of Pendleton.

William Bond received a patent 10 years later, 10 Jun 1892, for a 160 acre homestead in Section 13, Range 33 East, Township 4 North, which was about 1 mile southeast of the small town of Helix. This would have been less than 5 miles from the Kirk homestead. This is what was shown on the land ownership map of Umatilla County, from 1914.

William and Sarah were enumerated on the 1900 census in Helix Precinct, Umatilla County, Oregon, with their 23 year old son Elmer and 2 younger children, Hattie and Royal. Their oldest son Jasper was then in Monticello in Cowlitz County, Washington, and their daughter Susan was married to Lewis Shipp and living in Alta Precinct in Umatilla County.

I did find them in them in the 1910 census, still living in the Helix Precinct, with their youngest son Royal, now 14. Their daughter Hattie and her husband James Cushman were also living with them. Susan was now a widow with 2 young children as her husband had died 26 Jun 1909 of tuberculosis and she had moved to Dalles City in Wasco County. Then Hattie died of tuberculosis on 5 Nov 1910, leaving a baby son Ronald.

It was about 3 years later when William died, 10 Aug 1913, at Long Beach, California. Because he still owned the property in Oregon there was a large probate file in Umatilla County. As no will was found, it was an intestate file and the papers list his surviving heirs: widow Sarah Bond, Helix; daughter Susan Shipp, Long Beach; son Royal Bond, age 19, Helix; and grandson Ronald Cushman, son of now deceased daughter Hattie Cushman. Susan, Royal and Ronald each were granted an undivided 1/3 interest in the homestead, subject to the dower interest of the widow, Sarah Bond. I also “love” it when there is a large probate file to read.

Valentines From the Past

These are Valentines from my husband's collection. He received these many years ago from some of his cousins.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 6 – Surprise – Mary Victoria (Smalley) Morey Albertson

When I looked over the “aunts and uncles birthdays” for this week I wondered how I could choose one of them to fit the theme surprise. I decided that Mary Victoria was the closest I could find that might have had an element of surprise.

She was the older sister of my great-grandfather “Lafe” Smalley, the first child of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. Mary Victoria was born 5 Feb 1857 in Adams County, Ohio. I have wondered if her middle name was in honor of the Queen of England. Victoria had been the queen for about 20 years when Mary was born.

Mary Victoria would have been 4 ½ years old when her father enlisted to fight for the Union in the Civil War in the fall of 1861. But near her 5^th birthday it appears John may have come home since he was listed as AWOL from February 1862 until August 1863. However he had to go back and be placed in confinement for awhile, until was finally mustered out in October 1864.

When Mary was about 10 years old the family moved north to Clinton County, Ohio, then when she was about 15 years old they moved west into the western part of Illinois.

She was just 20 years old when she married Myron Curtis Morey on 25 Feb 1877. In about 1878 the newlyweds moved to Nebraska, then it was probably in 1889 they moved again, this time to Sherman County Kansas, with the 6 older children: Oscar, Anna, Dennis, Dessie, Herman and Milton. One more child was born, Jay, in 1893.

The family had gains and losses during the next 10 years. Their son Herman died at the end of 1897 and Mary's husband the next May. The patent for their homestead near Edson in Sherman County was issued to Mary as Myron's widow in 1899. It was

26 Jan 1902 when Mary was remarried to a widower who lived nearby, Nathan Elias Albertson.

It was this marriage which caused what might have been a surprise. Nathan had 5 children from his previous marriage, so Mary was now a step-mother. When one of her step-sons, Oran Jesse Albertson, was married in 1906 it was to Lucie Rachel Smalley. Lucie was the daughter of Mary Victoria's brother, so Lucie was a niece and step-daughter-in-law at the same time. Then when Oran's family moved to Oregon in 1911 how did Mary sign her letters to them: grandma or aunt?

Mary died 15 Apr 1916 near Edson in Sherman County and was buried in the Goodland Cemetery using the name Mary V Morey, on a double stone with her first husband. Her obituary claimed: The funeral, which was held in the Christian church, was said by old settlers to have been one of the largest, if not the largest, ever held in the city.  

52 Ancestors 2019 – 5 – At the Library – William Marsh

When I was beginning my genealogy research over 30 years ago I learned that almost one-fourth of my ancestry came from Quakers as my paternal grandfather was born into a Quaker family. My second cousin shared with me his findings about our Quaker ancestors. The local genealogical society library (Cottage Grove, Oregon) had books with Quaker information, so I used them to compare to my cousin's research. The local genealogical library had the 6 volume set of books: Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by William Wade Hinshaw. Later I learned that Mr. Hinshaw was a distant cousin of mine.

On the aunts and uncles birthday calendar for this week, I found my 2^nd gt-grandmother, Sabina (Marsh) Albertson's brother. William Marsh was born either on 25 January 1816 from Ohio records or 1 February 1817 from Indiana records. His parents were Elias and Edith (Townsend) Marsh. This was in Columbiana County, Ohio, apparently in the part of Columbiana County which later became Carrol County, since records in Indiana show the latter as his birthplace.

I was able to find the Marsh family in Volume IV, Ohio, of the Hinshaw books. The books are arranged by the local meetings and Elias and Edith were reported married at the New Garden Monthly Meeting located in Columbiana County on the 17^th day of the 7^th month in 1810. Then in 1822 they and their children, including Willliam, were granted a certificate to transfer to the Sandy Spring Meeting, which was also in Columbiana County. The Sandy Spring records show the birthdates of Elias and Edith and their 8 children, including William. This record shows the January 1816 date.

It was a dozen years later, 1834, when Elias's family moved to Indiana. My local library at that time did not have the Indiana records, as Hinshaw's books do not include Indiana. However, there was a set of 7 books of Indiana Quaker records edited by Willard Heiss. The genealogy society in Eugene (about 20 miles from me) did have these books in their library, so I took a trip there.

The Elias Marsh family were granted a certificate to Duck Creek Monthly Meeting in Henry County. Indiana. They were probably among the members who were included at Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting of Rush County, when it was set off from Duck Creek in 1836. Elias' family is named with birthdates in the Walnut Ridge minutes. It is there that the February 1817 date is used.

I found it interesting that the only birthdates which differed between the two listings are my 2^nd gt-grandmother Sabina and this uncle William. But it also made me remember that published information can be incorrect and you need to find as many pieces of evidence as you can. Still sometimes you will not know which one is correct.

It was at the Walnut Ridge meeting that William married Martha Ann Chappell on 21 December 1836. William and Martha had six children: Thomas, Edith, William, Elias, Margaret and Benjamin, who are all named in the Indiana book. Note that I did a post about one of these children in 2017: https://joannesgenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/06/quaker-cousins-elias-t-marsh-1848-1926.html.  The Walnut Ridge record also lists the death of William on 12 October 1861, stating he was buried at Westland Meeting. This meeting house was in Blue River Township in Hancock County, Indiana.

So, even if I cannot be positive about William's birthdate, I do appreciate all the information that I was able to find about him “at the library.”

Connections – At the Library – Safleys

Next week's theme for 52 Ancestors is At the Library. Yesterday, 25 January 2019, I was working at the local (Cottage Grove Oregon) genealogical society library on my regular Friday shift. During the time when no patrons were there to help, I decided to work on my project for our society's displays coming up this summer and fall.

We are choosing various members of our community to research and create a display about. I had chosen the J. I. Jones family because my husband and I at one time owned the house called the J. I. Jones house and I had already done some research on that family. One of the items I had collected was a manuscript written in 1976 about the Jones family done by Lillian Lewis Coffman, a niece of J. I. Jones. On page 20 Mrs. Coffman stated that the only descendants of C. H. Jones (J. I. Jones' father) who were then living in Cottage Grove were her sister, Lela Ward, Lela's daughter Mildred (Mrs. Cecil Safley) and a grandson.

The Safley name drew my attention. When I first started to work at the local museum, my supervisor was Isabelle (Safley) Gates Woolcott. Do you suppose she was connected to the Jones family? But I also knew that one of my second cousins, Kathleen Albertson, had married a Safley from Cottage Grove and they were said not to be related to Isabelle. So did I have a connection to the Jones family through that cousin​?

Thankfully our society has drawers and drawers of file folders of clippings about our local families filed by surname. So I checked the Safley file folder. After reading a number of obituaries and other clippings I discovered that Kathleen's father-in-law, Rodney Safley, was a brother to Cecil Safley who was married to a Jones' descendant. So one of my relatives on my father's side of the family does have a connection to the Jones' family as her children have cousins who are descendants of C. H. Jones.

But as I continued reading I saw another name I recognized. Rodney and Cecil's father, Joseph Safley, died in March of 1944. The newspaper included names of out-of-town relatives who had come to his funeral. Among this listing was Joseph's sister, Mrs. Margaret Meadows and her three sons and their families, who lived in Florence, Oregon. One of these sons was Williams Meadows. His wife was Beverly Isom, my second cousin once removed on my mother's side of the family, so her children would be my third cousins. But these children also have cousins who are descendants of C. H. Jones, because their father, Wm Meadows would have been a first cousin to Cecil who was married to Mildred, a Jones' descendant.

Thus, although I am not actually related to the Jones family, I have some cousins on both sides of my family who are and I can claim a connection.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 4 – I'd Like to Meet – George Washington Bond

This week's theme is “I'd like to meet.” I looked at the birthday calendar and chose “Uncle George.” His birthday probably was not during this week, but I am unsure which day in January it was, so decided he would be my subject.

George Washington Bond was my 2^nd gt-grandfather, Solomon Bond's older brother. They were less than 2 years apart in age, so I expect they spent time together.

George was born on the frontier, in northern Kentucky, just 201 years ago in 1818, the son of John and Sarah (Chastain) Bond. While he was still quite young, in about 1822, the family moved to Indiana and then in less than 10 years, about 1829, they moved again to Illinois. It was there on 1 March 1838 that he married his 1^st cousin, Elizabeth Stillwell. I wonder if they were warned that there might be a problem with marriage to such a close relative.

By 1840 George and Elizabeth and many of their relatives were living in Iowa Territory. As there were 2 males aged between 20 and 29 in the household, I expect that George's older brother William was living with them there in Jefferson County. After the Baptist Church of Knoxville in Marion County was organized in 1845, Elder G. W. Bond was one of the first ministers there. Uncle George and his family were living in Iowa when it became a state in 1846. In 1847 his younger brother, James, traveled with his wife and family as a missionary to the Oregon country where he was accidentally killed in 1849.

When they took the census in 1850 in Marion County Iowa, Uncle George listed his occupation as Missionary Baptist preacher. I would have liked to hear one of his sermons. George and Elizabeth had 5 living children at that census. Two of these children, Ben Frank and Sarah, were marked as deaf & dumb. It was probably in the next year that George's grandfather, Solomon Bond, died as his will was recorded in 1851 in neighboring Mahaska County.

But one of my favorite things about Uncle George happened in 1853. He and Elizabeth and their 5 children, as well as George's parents and many, many other relatives, including my 2^nd gt-grandparents, traveled over the Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Territory. I am especially thankful that Uncle George kept a journal of that trip, writing one line per day, He used many geographical references, so I was able to follow their journey on a map.

Along with his parents, 2 brothers and 4 sisters, the family took advantage of the Oregon Donation Land Claim act and received land in Oregon. George settled in Lane County in the Eugene-Springfield area, about 20 miles from my present location. The Baptist Annals of Oregon (pg 19) tells about George:

“In 1856, one of the missionaries, Rev. G. W. Bond, was aided to buy a horse, as he had previously been compelled to travel on foot, often, in the winter, wading long distances in water from three or four inches to a foot in depth on the sloppy prairies to his appointments. He would pull off his shoes and socks, wade through, redress his feet, and march on, singing his favorite songs; and this on a salary of from $50 to $100 a year!”

He continued preaching for the Baptist church and was the pastor in Eugene from 1858 to 1868. It was a little over 10 years later, that he died from heart trouble 9 January 1880 and was buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in Eugene. His obituary from the Eugene City Guard 17 January 1880 included this: “Elder Bond was a man of spotless character, and unquestioned integrity. By his virtues he commanded the respect of all.” There was another obituary published in the State Journal in Eugene on the same date and it gave tribute to him also: “As a christian he was honored and beloved by his brethren and respected by the entire community. His religion was something more than a profession of his life; it was a fact in his whole life.”

Uncle George Bond truly was someone that I would have liked to meet.

There is a page about Uncle George on my personal genealogy website:

https://www.joanneskelton.com/p30.htm#i743

It also includes a link to my transcription of the journal entries of the trip to Oregon.

https://www.joanneskelton.com/e158.htm

52 Ancestors 2019 – 3 – Unusual Name – Marsh Chase

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks has assigned the theme for this week as “Unusual Name.” I have chosen to write about my 2^nd gt-grandmother Lucy Jane (Chase) Shipman's brother, Marsh Chase. His name may not be especially unusual, but seemed to be the most unusual of those ancestor's siblings who were born during this week.

Although Marsh's first name is not all that unusual, those who were indexing the census records for him on Ancestry.com were able to achieve some unusual spellings for his name. It 1870 it became Mash. Then in 1900 it was Massh. They called him March in 1910 and also in 1930. But the most unusual one was in 1920 when his name became Moras Charo. But even with these various spellings, I was able to research him through the years.

Marsh was born 170 years ago, 15 January 1849, in Litchfield County, Connecticut. It was most likely that it was in Goshen township, since he was enumerated on the 1850 census there with his parents, Timothy and Lucy Irene (Howe) Chase, and 5 of his 7 older brothers and sisters. Marsh was the baby of the family, being listed as a 1 year old on that census. By 1860 the family was in Lake County, Ohio, and in 1870 they had moved to Mercer County, Illinois.

By 1874 they had moved again, this time to Saline County, Nebraska where Marsh married Mary Tyacke on 28 November. It must have been near that same time when Marsh filed a homestead application for the north ½ of the southwest ¼ of section 8, in township 6 north, range 1 east, because he was awarded his patent for those 80 acres on 30 June 1879. Apparently his father applied at about that time for the south ½ of that same quarter section. But before the required time to receive his patent, Timothy died 5 July 1877 and the patent was issued to his wife, Lucy Chase, on the same date as Marsh. The 1880 census shows Lucy living with Marsh and his family before her death on 10 March, 1882.

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The land ownership map for Saline County in 1900 shows Marsh as the owner of 160 acres which included his and his parents' homesteads. It does have his name spelled correctly. According to the census, Marsh and his family continued to live in Saline County through 1900, then in 1910 and 1920 and 1930 they were in Furnas County, Nebraska. Mary died there 16 September 1919 and Marsh lived with married daughters until his death 16 August 1935.

Marsh was buried in the Edison Cemetery in Furnas County. An obituary was published in The Edison Echo 22 August 1935. It stated that he and Mary had 4 children, but one died as an infant, so he was survived by a son, John Marsh Chase who was living in Juneau Alaska at that time, and 2 daughters: Mrs. Irene Blauvelt and Mrs. Louisa C. Pearson, both of Edison. There were 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. The obituary gave this tribute: He was a kind and loving husband and father and was always thinking of others. His cheerful disposition will be remembered by all who knew him.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 2 – Challenge – Letha Ann (O'Neal) Lanning

This weeks theme is “challenge” for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Since I have chosen to write about siblings of my ancestors, this week I have chosen Letha Ann (O'Neal) Lanning, an older sister of my 2^nd gt-grandfather, Commodore Perry O'Neal.

Letha or Leatha was born on 13 January 1827 in Franklin County, Indiana, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Lollar) O'Neal. I believe she fits the theme for challenge since Letha was the mother of 17 children in a period of a little over 27 years. Twelve of her children survived until adulthood and are shown with their parents in the above photo.

Letha was 16 years old when she married John Lanning on the 18^th of August 1843. It was a little less than a year later when their first child, Reuben, was born 31 May 1844. Apparently Reuben was named for his grandfather, John's father. Before the 1850 census was scheduled to be taken, four more children were born: Sarah, Mary, James and Hester. Sadly Mary died a few months after her first birthday and Hester died a little over a month after her first birthday. Then when the census was taken, Reuben wasn't at home, but in his grandfather Lanning's household. The census taker listed Sarah, James and Hester, even though Hester had already died because she had been alive for the official census date.

Children continued to arrive in their family: George, William, Joseph, Aaron, Keturah and David were all born before the 1860 census. Aaron died when he was 2 ½ years old in 1858, so there were eight children enumerated in that Lanning household, aged 16 to 1/12^th. Five children were born during the 1860's: Amanda (who died less than a year old), Nancy, Henrietta, Rosanna and John. The 1870 census shows that the three older surviving children had left home and there were still nine children from age 19 to 2 who were living in their household.

In 1871 Letha's last child, Hiram, was born, but he lived only 2 days. When they took the 1880 census the six younger children were still living at home, four girls and 2 boys. Hopefully that were able to provide help for their parents. It was in this census that Letha stated that her father was born in Ireland and her mother in South Carolina. She repeated that fact in the 1900 census where she was widowed and living with her daughter Keturah. Letha was listed as a 73 year old farmer, who could read, but not write. Her husband John of 56 years had died in November of 1899. At age 83, Letha was shown on the 1910 census with an occupation of manager of a farm. Again Keturah was living there with her. In all her census listings from 1850 through 1910 they were living in Butler Township in Franklin County, Indiana. Letha died there 8 March 1914 and was buried in Wolf Creek Cemetery.

From her obituary which was published in the Brookville Democrat 18 March 1914, we learn that Letha faced physical challenges in her later years:

Aunt Leatha or Grandma Lanning, as she was commonly called, passed through many hardships helping to raise such a large family and accumulating a nice home. Her last years were spent mostly in afflictions, and being so crippled in body she hadn't the pleasure of going about much.

When she died, Letha had 11 children still living and over 150 descendants. Her obituary gives this tribute to her:

Surely many sons and daughters can arise and call her blessed. The last few years of her life the loved ones would gather in and sing and pray with her. She always seemed so glad and happy, often expressing a desire to depart and be with Jesus.

I would say that Letha faced her challenges well.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 1 – First – Isaac S. Smalley

First

Again in 2019 I am attempting to write about family using the themes from 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks by Amy Johnson Crow. In 2018 I did write, using a little over a third of the suggested topics. This year I am planning to write about an ancestor's sibling whose birthday was during the week and who I could connect to the theme for the week.

The first theme in 2019 is “First.” I have chosen Isaac S. Smalley, a younger brother of my great-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce Smalley.

Isaac was born on the first day of the first month (January) in 1866, in Adams County, Ohio, the son of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. Isaac was not their first son, but he was the first child born after John W. was discharged from the Union Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, 28 Oct 1864.

It was while Isaac was still a baby the family moved north into Clinton County, Ohio. They were still living there in 1870 when the census was taken. But somehow Isaac was mixed up with his brother James so Isaac was shown as 8 years old. It was about 1872 when the family headed west and settled in Illinois. Then in 1879 they moved farther west to Saline County, Nebraska and sadly, it was there on 15 September 1879 when Isaac died of typhoid fever, the first child of John and Rachel to die. He was buried in Atlanta Cemetery in Saline County. In about 1886 the rest of his family moved again to Sherman County, Kansas.

You can see a photo of his gravestone on the Find a Grave website:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57452459/isaac-s-smalley