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.