52 Ancestors 2020 – 15 – Fire – James Curtis Smalley

52 Ancestors 2020 – 15 – Fire – James Curtis Smalley

In considering who to choose for the theme “fire” I looked at the “aunts and uncles birthdays” for this week and tried to find someone who might fit this theme. It was a little bit of a stretch, but I finally decided to write about James Curtis Smalley. James was born in Adams County, Ohio, which had a rather disastrous courthouse fire in 1910. Of course James had moved away many years before the fire.

James Curtis Smalley was born 11 Apr 1862, the 4^th child of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley, during the time of the Civil War. His father enlisted in the Union Army on 14 Oct 1861, after James was conceived. Then, according to John's pension file, he was classified as absent without leave (AWOL) from 6 Feb 1862 until 3 Aug 1863 when he was arrested and placed in confinement until 31 Dec 1863. Thus his father may have been home when James was born. John then served until his discharge 28 Oct 1864 when he returned home.

The family moved farther north before the 1870 census where they were enumerated on the census in Clinton County, Ohio. There were at least 2 moves during the next ten years as they went to Illinois in about 1872 and then to Nebraska in 1879. James' youngest sister, Rosa, was born in Nebraska in June, bringing his number of siblings up to 12: Mary, Lafe, David, William, Isaac, Saber, Eliza, John, Joseph, Martha, Fred and Rosa. But sadly it was just a few months later, in Sep 1879, James' younger 13 year old brother Isaac died of typhoid fever.

The 1880 census shows their family in Saline County Nebraska. The family suffered another death as James' 18 year old sister, Saber, died in Dec 1885. It was about 1887 when the family moved again, this time southwesterly, as they went to Sherman County, Kansas. Both James and his father John settled on homesteads in Itaska Township, about 1 mile east of the County seat of Goodland, and received their patents in 1893.

But before proving up on his homestead, on 26 Nov 1889, James married 15 year old Stella Coffman, known as Stella Deatherage, as she was the adopted daughter of Charles and Eliza Deatherage. Their first child, a daughter, Iseal Fay, was born 20 Aug 1890. About 2 years later their first son was born, Earl Weaver. In 1894 the local Goodland newspaper listed James as a constable in Itasca Township.

It was in 1895 that Russell Ray was born, which was after James had been issued his patent. They may have moved south by then as they do not appear on the 1895 Kansas state census. Raymond Henry was born in Oklahoma in Aug 1897. Then death came to their young family when Russell Ray died in Jan 1898. He was buried at Cimarron Valley Cemetery in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. James and Stella and their 3 older children were listed on the 1900 census in Woods County, Oklahoma. They were probably there when Martha was born in Nov 1900, Bertha in Jun 1902 and Gilbert in Jul 1904. Again I found James mentioned in a Goodland newspaper in 1906, when it related the sad news that his 18 month old son had died of pneumonia. The family was apparently visiting in the area, staying at his sister Rosa's home. 1906 was also the year when James' name is included on the land ownership map of Township 21N, Range 10W on the southeast ¼ of section 24 in Woods County.

But the family did not stay in Oklahoma, for in the 1910 census they were shown in

Hemphill County, Texas, with 6 children in the household, which included Florence Frances who had been born in Texas in Nov 1908. James must have had wandering feet for the family was back in Oklahoma in Sickles Township in Caddo County by the 1920 census. Also in the household was their daughter Florence and Ninetta who probably was born about 1911.

Sometime in the next 10 years James and Stella made their biggest move, when they went west to California. They were enumerated on the 1930 census in Highland Township in San Berdardino County next to their youngest daughter, now married.

So from his birth in Ohio, then to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, James

died in Highland California 7 Dec 1936. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernadino. Stella was also buried in that cemetery when she died about 30 years later in 1966.

52 Ancestors 2020 – 6 – Same Name – Nancy (Hemphill) Hamilton

I realized that during January I had written about “uncles” in my family, so in February I will attempt to write about some of the “aunts.”

Nancy Jane (Hemphill) Hamilton was one of my 2^nd great-grandaunts. She fits in the “Same Name” category because her first name is the same as her grandmother, Nancy (Patton) Milligan, her maiden name is the same as her father as expected, and her married name is the same as her mother's second husband. This happened because Nancy married her step-brother, John C. Hamilton.

But, let's go back to the beginning. Nancy Jane Hemphill was born on 11 Feb 1837 in Adams County, Ohio. She was the oldest child of John and Elizabeth (Milligan) Hemphill. Her father had been married before, so she had step-brothers. Nancy had 5 more siblings before her father died in 1847. So in the 1850 census in Wayne township in Adams County, her mother Elizabeth was the head of household. Nancy's step-brother David, age 25, was in the household and Nancy, who was now 13, and her 5 siblings, Rachel (who was my ancestor), Mary, John, Elizabeth and William.

It was just the next year when Nancy's mother married a widower William M. Hamilton on 14 Jan 1851. Now Nancy acquired 5 more step-siblings. Then as William and Nancy had children Nancy had some half-siblings. But just to make things a little more confusing Nancy married one of William's children from his first marriage, John Campbell Hamilton, on 29 Aug 1855. Then Nancy's youngest half-brother was born the next year, 1856, just 3 months before her first child was born. So Nancy and her mother, who were now both married to men named Hamilton, had been pregnant at the same time. I wonder if all those named Hamilton living there in Adams County ever got confused about their relationships.

 Nancy and John had 10 more children before they would celebrate their 20^th wedding anniversary, including one set of twins. On the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses Nancy and her family were living in Oliver Township in Adams County, Ohio. In 1860 three children were in the household. In 1870 the number of children had increased to nine. They were enumerated between their parents William and Elizabeth and Nancy's sister Mary who was married to David Rhodes. There were ten children in their household in 1880, so the census never shows all eleven at once.

It was 12 more years before Nancy died on 1 Nov 1892 at age 55. She was buried in

Locust Grove Cemetery in Franklin Township, Adams County. John was also buried there after his death in 1906

52 Ancestors 2020 – 5 – Far Away – Thomas Elder Patton

Thomas Elder Patton 1783 – 1840

Photo added to Find A Grave by Karen Winters

Thomas Elder Patton was born far away from me here in Oregon in 2020 in space and in time. He was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia on 29 Jan 1783, the son of John and Martha (Sharp) Patton. Thomas was one of eight children, all born in Rockbridge County. They all eventually moved west to Adams County, Ohio. All but Jane, who was listed as idiotic on the 1860 census, were married in Rockbridge County.

Thomas married Jenny or Jane Glasgow 18 Apr 1805. On her memorial page on Find A Grave, it is stated that they moved to Adams County by covered wagon in Oct 1806. I believe that it is this Thomas who was listed on the “Male Enumeration List” in 1807 in Wayne Township. He is also found on the lists there for 1811 and 1815. Scott Township was formed from the north part of Wayne in 1818, so it is reasonable that it is our Thomas who is listed in Scott Township on the lists for 1819, 1823 and 1827. I have always been thankful to the Adams County Genealogical Society for publishing these lists since Ohio does not have surviving census records until 1820. They also published voter lists for 1810, 1811 and 1812. There is a Thomas Patton for each of those years in Wayne Township.

A history of Adams County was published in 1900. I was able to obtain a reprint which had added an index. Thomas Patton has three entries in the index. In the Pioneer Character Sketches there is an entry for Thomas' father John and it says “Thomas Patton, a son, lived and died on West Fork.” (Page 608) In the Biographical Sketches there are two for Thomas' son-in-laws, which mention Thomas: “Thomas Patton, a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, who settled on the West Fork of Brush Creek.” (Page 682) and “Thomas Patton, a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, though he emigrated to Ohio, settled on West Fork and died there.” (Page 754) So I checked my reprint of the 1868 Atlas of Ohio and found that the West Fork of Brush Creek was in Scott Township not far from Meigs Township.

I believe that Thomas and his family are on the 1820 census in Meigs Township, as it is an adjoining county to Scott. Since no names other than the head of household are shown on these early censuses I used the children and their ages as shown on Find A Grave and they all match, Thomas and Jenny and the older 6 of their children (3 boys and 3 girls.) In 1830 they are listed in Scott Township with 4 of the older children plus 3 who had been born between 1820 and 1830. The 2 oldest were married and in households of their own by this time.

June 1^st was the official enumeration date for the 1840 census. Find A Grave lists Thomas' death date as 4 Jun 1840. I have not been able to find a census entry for Thomas in 1840, so I suspect the census taker came after his death so did not list him. The household was probably in a state of disorganization at that time so it may be that none of those still living there were counted. Without having the names listed, it would be hard to find them if they were counted.

As I previously stated, there is a memorial page for Thomas on Find A Grave which gives his death date as 4 Jun 1840. It shows his burial place as Tranquility Cemetery but there is no photo of a gravestone. I checked my cemetery booklets from the Adams County Genealogical Society and found that Tranquility Cemetery is located in Scott Township. But neither Thomas or his wife are listed in their book. However my ancestor, Elizabeth (Milligan) Hemphill Hamilton, is shown as buried in Tranquility Cemetery. She was the daughter of Thomas' sister Nancy. So it is likely that Thomas was buried at Tranquility and there was either no stone or it has not survived.

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

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 5 – Lafe Smalley

Lafe Smalley abt 1910

Today is the last day of week 5 and the theme for this week on 52 Ancestors is “In the Census.” I wrote about my gt-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce “Lafe” Smalley on his birthday on 21 Sep 2017 and noted that he probably was listed on more censuses than any other of my ancestors, 8 U.S. Census and 5 state census, for a total of 13. So here is a chart showing them.

Year	Type	Name	Age	Town/Twp	County	State
1860	US	Lafayette P. Smalley	1	Oliver Twp	Adams	Ohio
1870	US	Lafayette Smalley	12	Greene Twp	Clinton	Ohio
1880	US	Lafayette Smawley	21	Turkey Creek Twp	Saline	Nebraska
1885	State	S. F. Smally	26	Atlanta Twp	Saline	Nebraska
1895	State	L. F. Smalley	37	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1900	US	Lafayette Smalley	41	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1905	State	L. F. Smalley	46	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1910	US	L. S. Smalley	51	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1915	State	L. F. Smalley	56	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1920	US	Lafe F. Smalley	61	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1925	State	L. F. Smalley	66	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas
1930	US	Lafayette F. Smalley	71	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas
1940	US	Lafe Smalley	81	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas

He was born in Adams County Ohio 21 Sep 1858 and died in Goodland, Sherman County Kansas 30 Jan 1946. He married Rosa Ella Shipman 29 Dec 1880 in Saline County Nebraska. She appeared on all the censuses after that with him.

Are These all the same Priscilla?

WHO	WHAT	WHEN	WHERE
Age under 5	1830 US Census	1830	Meigs Twp, Adams Co, OH, hh of John Eakins
Age 10-14	1840 US Census	1840	Meigs Twp, Adams Co, OH, hh of John Eakins
Pricilla Akins, age 20	1850 US Census	1850.10.08	Meigs Twp, Adams Co, OH, hh of John Akins
Prisilla, daughter	named in will of John Eakins	1856.07.08	Meigs Twp, Adams Co, OH,
Prescilla Eakins Samuel Eakins (a boy)	coroner's inquest	1860.02.16	Meigs Twp, Adams Co, OH, home of John W Smalley (son of Elizabeth Eakins)
Priscilla Eakins, age 35 Samuel Eakins, age 12	1860 US Census	1860.06.05	Green Twp, Adams Co, OH, hh of Joseph McKee (married to Margaret Eakin)
Miss A. P. Eakins	marriage	1860.11.25	to Wm H. Adams of Green Twp, Adams Co, OH
Ann P. Adams, age 36	1870 US Census	1870.07.16	Brush Creek Twp, Wayne Co, IL hh of William H H Adams
Ann Priscilla Eakins Adams, age 38 y, 7 m, 5 d	death birthdate	1872.07.30 1834.01.25	Neal Cemetery, Shelby Co, IL (Find a Grave)
Samuel Lewis Eakins (son of Ann Priscilla Eakins)	death birthdate	1914.02.02 1850.07.02	New Liberty Cemetery, Marion Co, IL (Find a Grave)

Are there conflicts which need to be resolved?

What about age difference for Priscilla in 1850, 1860 and 1870?

In 1860 her granduncle Joseph may not have been aware of her correct age.

In 1870 she may have wanted to be closer to William in age, as he was 32

Find a Grave gives her birthdate as 1834.01.25, which would not agree with the 1830 census.

This date is calculated by the age shown at death, which would agree with 1870 census,

so could be her changing her age.

Find a Grave gives Samuel's birthdate as 1850.07.02. But he is not listed with her in the 1850 census which was taken in October.
The official date for the 1850 census was June 1, so he should not have been shown.
It is my conclusion that these all refer to the same person, Priscilla Eakins, daughter of John Eakins and Hannah Wright, born in Adams County, Ohio about 1829-30, died in Shelby County, Illinois in 1872.

Ancestor Birthday - Oct 5 - William Milligan 1787 - 1845

My father, Lester Albertson, shared a birthday with his 2nd gt-grandfather, William Milligan, just 120 years apart. My father had his birthday post on the 5th and my 3rd gt-grandfather, William had to wait until today, October 6th.

I believe that William was born in Virginia 5 Oct 1787. A family history of the Gordon Family mentions him because 2 of his daughters married Gordon brothers. William married Nancy Patton 2 Oct 1812 in Rockbridge County Virginia. They were married by Daniel Blain, a Presbyterian minister.

They moved to Adams County, Ohio and lived in Wayne Township. He was probably the William Milligan listed in Wayne Township in 1823 and 1831 on the "male enumeration lists."

William and Nancy had 8 children. According to the Gordon book, they all had middle names. The children were Elizabeth Hawkins (my 2nd gt-grandmother), John Patton, James Campbell, Martha Barton, Rachel Amanda, Mary Jane, Phebe Elmira and William Steele.

The Gordon book lists his death date as 1849. However Adams County has an inventory of the estate of a William Milligan who died in 1845. I believe this was probably my William, although there were other William Milligans living in Adams County, with at least 2 still alive by 1847 in other townships. One item in the estate sale papers from 1845 state that 1 mans saddle went to Wm. S. Milligan "under the will." Most of the wills from Adams County were destroyed by a courthouse fire in the early 1900's, but since William and Nancy's youngest son was William Steele Milligan this helps my belief that my 3rd gt-grandfather was the William who died in 1845.

Ancestor Birthday - September 21 - Lafayette Pierce Smalley 1858 - 1946

Lafayette Pierce Smalley was my gt-grandfather, born 21 Sep 1858 in Adams County, Ohio. He was the son of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. I have written about him more than once during the past year. I generally use the name Lafe for him.

He was included in most of the census series which I did in July. When I looked again at his census listings, I found that he has probably the most listings where I found him in a census than any other of my ancestors. He was in 8 U.S. Censuses: 1860 in Adams County Ohio; 1870 in Clinton County Ohio; 1880 in Saline County Nebraska; 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 in Sherman County Kansas. Plus he was in 5 State Censuses: 1885 in Saline County Nebraska and 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925 in Sherman County Kansas. That totals 13 times I have found him in a census listing. His wife Rosa Ella Shipman would tie him, except she was born after 1860, so was only in 7 U.S. Censuses. She was in all 5 State Censuses with him and was probably in the 1865 census in Mercer County Illinois with her parents, but that census did not name the members of the household, but only gave a count, so I can't be positive it was her.

I have posted a couple of photos of him as an individual (11 Jul 2017) one where he was with his parents and siblings (6 Aug 2017) one where he was with his wife and children (7 Aug 2017) and another with family when he was visiting in Oregon in 1944 (7Aug 2017).

I did find a photo that I had not previously posted. It was taken in 1940 when some of the Oregon family visited back in Kansas. It is a 4 generation photo: back row, Lester (Lafe's grandson) and Wilma (Falk) Albertson, O. J. and Lucie (Smalley) (Lafe's daughter) Albertson; front row, Lafe Smalley, Joanne Albertson (Lafe's gt-granddaughter) and Rosa Ella (Shipman) Smalley.

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.

Adams County Cousins - Harrison Monroe Hamilton

 I am going to try again and write about some of my great-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce "Lafe" Smalley's first cousins, who are my 1st cousins 3 times removed. This time they will be from his mother's side of the family. This first name, Harrison Monroe Hamilton, may sound familiar since I already wrote about his cousin Mary Elizabeth Hamilton. This can get confusing because Mary Elizabeth's father, William J. Hamilton, and Harrison's father, John C. Hamilton, were 1st cousins, so Mary Elizabeth and Harrison Monroe were 2nd cousins to each other, but they each were also 1st cousins to Lafe, one from each side of his family.

confused

Harrison was born in Adams County Ohio 21 Oct 1857 to John Campbell and Nancy Jane (Hemphill) Hamilton. Nancy was about 1 1/2 years older than Lafe's mother, Rachel. Nancy had married John in 1855. John was a step-brother to Nancy, since his widower father had married Nancy's widowed mother. Did I mention that this family can get confusing?                                     

Harrison was the 2nd child and oldest son in a family of 11 children. In the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses the he was living with his parents in Oliver Township, in Adams County. In 1870 he was marked as attending school and in 1880 he was working on the farm.

It was within the next year that he married Anna Eliza Green, as their oldest daughter Roxie or Robie or Ronie was born in Aug 1881 according to the 1900 census. However if you want to talk about confusing just look at Harrison, or Harry M. Hamilton as he was listed there, on the 1900 census in Franklin Township, Adams County, Ohio. He was listed as age 24, it should have been 42, and born in Oct 1875, when it really was 1857. But it did say he had been married 19 years, which is rather remarkable if he was only 24 years old. His oldest daughter was marked as a son and his 5th child who was a son was marked as a daughter. I was able to find his children in later censuses and confirmed their correct gender. His wife was shown as Lida E. I expect that was a variation from her middle name. Later censuses and her gravestone show her name as Anna E.

Harrison died 6 Jan 1908 and was buried in Locust Grove Cemetery, Peebles, Adams County, Ohio. Anna was listed on the 1910 census still in Franklin Township with her 3 youngest sons, Monroe, John and Edgar. In 1920 she was living with the youngest son, Charles Edgar and his wife Zora and young son John in Sheridan Wyoming. I haven't found her in 1930, but in the 1940 census she was living with her oldest daughter, Robie, or Roxie, Taylor and her family in Dayton, Ohio. Anna died a few years later 20 Jan 1942 and was buried next to Harrison in Locust Grove Cemetery.

Adams County Cousins - Leoda May Smalley

It may seem hard to believe, but I was wrong twice in a row. Lafe Smalley's first cousin, Leoda (or Leaoda) May Smalley was not born in Adams County Ohio. She was the daughter of Isaac and Mary (Dimmitt) Smalley. Isaac and Mary were married 11 Nov 1874 in Fulton County Illinois. By the 1880 census the family was living in Leesville, Henry County, Missouri. Since according to her Find A Grave memorial Leaoda was born 20 Dec 1878 in Missouri, it is likely she was born in Henry County.

During the next 20 years the family moved to Oklahoma Territory. It could have been that Isaac participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 since the land opened for settlement included Logan and Payne Counties, which is where Isaac and his family ended up. Isaac received a homestead patent in Payne County dated 7 Jan 1897. At first I was concerned that this might not be the Isaac Smalley who was Lafe's uncle. However in the Goodland Kansas newspaper on the Library of Congress website, it had a notice in 1892 that Isaac Smalley had returned to Oklahoma and in 1903 Mrs. Isaac Smalley of Coyle, Oklahoma (which was the correct area) had come to Goodland to visit. So I was confident I had the right individual.

It was in Payne County on 15 Nov 1894 when Leoda Smalley married John D. McCamey. So by the 1900 census John and Leoda and 2 children, Loyde born Aug 1896 and Isaac born Aug 1898, were enumerated in Stillwater, Payne County Oklahoma. Another son was born 23 Feb 1906, Vernie or Verna, and he was included in the 1910 census in Paradise Township, Payne County. On that census taken in May of 1910, Leaoda was the head of the household, marked as a widow, with the 3 boys and a boarder, Mr. Clarence Graham. It was the next month, on 21 Jun 1910 when 31 year old Leoda was married to 43 year old Clarence. There is one little complication. John D. McCamey was not dead, as he lived until 1933. Did Leoda get a divorce? It appears I need to do some more research.

It appears that Clarence had been married twice before and had 2 sons over 18 when he married Leoda. He and Leoda were listed in Coyle, Logan County Oklahoma on the 1920, 1930 and 1940 censuses. Sometimes I found Coyle shown in Payne County and sometimes Logan County. From the map it appears it was at the border of the two counties. Clarence died 12 May 1944 and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Perkins, Payne County Oklahoma. When Leoda died 8 Aug 1951 in Oklahoma City, she was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, where her parents were also buried.

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.

Adams County Cousins - Dessie Arabelle Smalley

Yesterday I included some photos of my great-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce "Lafe" Smalley. In April and May I wrote 2 series of Early Oregon Cousins of one great-grandfather, John Howard Bond. Then in May and June 2 more of Quaker Cousins of another great-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson.

Now it is Lafe's turn. I titled this Adams County Cousins, since he was born in Adams County Ohio in 1858. Although their family had moved to Clinton County Ohio by 1870, most if not all of his cousins were also born in Adams County. .

northern section of Adams County Ohio from 1880 Atlas

One of his 1st cousins was Dessie Arabelle (Smalley) Wisecup who was born in 1871 or 1872. Her Find A Grave entry shows her birthdate as 30 Oct 1871 and the 1900 census shows her birthdate as May 1872. She was the daughter of William J. and Mary Matilda (Walker) Smalley. From the 1900 census it appears that Dessie had 4 siblings and 3 brothers were still living at that time. On the 1860 census William's family was living in Oliver Township in Adams County. In 1870 and 1880 they were shown in Meigs Township and then were back in Oliver Township by 1900.

Some family researchers show 27 Feb 1895 as the date Debbie married Charles N. Wisecup.

Charles and Dessie and their 1 year old son Marvin were living in Scott Township on the 1900 census. Apparently there was another child who had died. By the 1910 census the family was in Meigs Township with 4 children and by 1920 1 child had left the household and another 1 had been born. Their address was shown as Jacksonville. Jacksonville is an unincorporated area that is located in Meigs Township. On the 1930 census Charles and Dessie and 3 of their children (Marvin, Glendon and Alta) were still living in Meigs Township next door to their son Chester and his family. I enjoyed knowing that they did have a radio. It was only 2 years later when Dessie died, 14 Apr 1932. She was buried in Lawshe Cemetery, where a number of relatives were buried. Lawshe was formerly known as Newport.

Ancestor Birthday - July 9th - Elizabeth Milligan 1813-1885

This is supposed to be a photo of Elizabeth Hawkins Milligan, my 3rd great-grandmother. It was shared with me by my cousin, Lauren "Bob" Smalley in 1994 at a family reunion.

Elizabeth was born 9 Jul 1813. Some sources give her birthplace as Virginia and other show Adams County Ohio. She was the daughter of William Milligan and Nancy Patton. The Rockbridge County Virginia marriage records show they were married 2 Oct 1812. Apparently they moved to Adams County Ohio within a few years after their marriage. Elizabeth was their oldest child and had 7 younger brothers and sisters. Two of her sisters married Gordon brothers and so family information is included in a Gordon family history.

Elizabeth married John Hemphill about 1836 in Adams County. He was married previously, so she had at step children. They had 6 children together before John died in 1847. She remained a widow until 14 Jan 1851 when she married William Hamilton. He also had been married before, so again she became a step-mother of at least 5. In fact in 1855 her oldest daughter, Nancy Hemphill, married one of William's sons, John C. Hamilton. Elizabeth and William had 3 children, so now Elizabeth had 9 children, plus Hemphill and Hamilton step-children.

William died in 1877, so Elizabeth was again a widow. On the 1880 census she was living with her 24 year old son Thomas. Elizabeth died at age 72 on 28 Nov 1885 and was buried at Tranquility Cemetery, Adams County Ohio.

My Great-grandparents in 1864

Sometimes I find it interesting to consider how old my ancestors were at certain periods of history and where they were living. Over 150 years ago, 1864 was in the latter part of the Civil War, but it would be the next year before it ended.

You might notice that my great-grandparents ranged in age from 49 to 1. They lived in 5 different states and 6 different counties. But their locations were all in the North.

Name	Age	Residence: County, State
Nathan Elias Albertson	15	Hardin County, Iowa
Mary Magdalene Hockett	9	Hardin County, Iowa
Lafayette Pierce Smalley	6	Adams County, Ohio
Rosa Ella Shipman	1	Mercer County, Illinois
Ludwig Falk	49	Grant County, Wisconsin
Anna Louisa Boehm	32	Grant County, Wisconsin
John Howard Bond	9	Linn County, Oregon
Mary Ann O’Neal	6	Davis County, Iowa

An Unknown Cousin in Halsey

Pine Grove Cemetery, Halsey, Oregon

I grew up in the Halsey, Oregon, area. I knew I had some Hayes and Bond relatives in the area since my 3rd great-grandparents Hayes and 2nd great-grandparents Bond were original settlers there. In the early 1900s some of my Albertson and Falk ancestors moved into the area. When I graduated from Halsey High School I had an Albertson 2nd cousin and a Falk 2nd cousin in my graduating class. But I had no idea while growing up that I had any relatives from the Patton family who lived at Halsey. In fact, I had never even realized that I had any Patton ancestors.

When I began researching my family history in the mid-1980s, my Albertson, Falk, Bond and Hayes cousins shared much information with me. I began working on my Smalley relatives from Kansas and learned they had previously lived in Adams County Ohio. As was usual at that time, I began writing letters and corresponded with various relatives. When I had traced back to Nancy (Patton) Milligan, some of the correspondents noted that two of the Milligan daughters had married Gordon brothers. A Gordon descendant (Robert Abram Gordon) had self-published a book about the Gordon family and included sections on the Milligans and Pattons, so some of my ancestors were in it. Copies were shared with me and I began to study the book. Several generations down in the Patton family it noted that a certain descendant was born in "Halsey, Linn Co., Oregon," the daughter of Thomas Porter Patton who was born in Illinois in 1855 and died in 1933. If his daughter was born in Halsey and he didn't die until 1933, maybe my father, who lived in Halsey area from 1911, would have known him. So on one of my visits I asked my father if he remembered a Thomas Porter Patton. He replied yes. He and his father had considered buying some sheep that Thomas had for sale, but then decided against it.

Later in doing newspaper research in the microfilmed Halsey newspapers, in the Halsey Journal on 9 Mar 1933, there on the same page as a Falk item was an obituary for T. P. Patton. The headline stated: "Pioneer Passes." In the article: "Thomas Porter Patton was born in Illinois, June 26, 1855, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Patton. He came to Oregon in 1879, and has lived in this locality ever since." It also stated he would be buried at Pine Grove Cemetery. In a visit there looking for other relatives, I photographed his gravestone. I suspect that my grandmother Albertson never knew that her 2nd cousin twice removed lived close by. We probably have many unknown cousins out there.

Ancestor Birthday - February 17 - Nancy Patton - 1791-1866

On 17 Feb 1791 or 1792 my 4th great-grandmother, Nancy Patton, was born to John Patton and Martha (Sharp) Patton in Rockbridge County, Virginia. She was their eighth and youngest child.

Nancy was named as an heir in her father's will written in 1809. A special bequest to her stated "I bequeath to my daughter Nancy such quantity of property so as to be equal in value to what any of my other daughters has received of my estate." Nancy had three older sisters. Jane never married and also had a special bequest along with her mother as apparently Jane had special needs. The other two: Martha "Patsy" and Mary "Polly" had married before 1809. Did Nancy's bequest indicate they had something like a dowery when they had married? I don't know, but maybe.

Nancy did get married 2 Oct 1812 to William Milligan in Rockbridge by Daniel Blaine, a Presbyterian minister. Soon Nancy and William moved to Adams County, Ohio as their first child may have been born there (reports are conflicting) and certainly their second child in 1815. Nancy's siblings as well as her mother moved to Adams County before 1820.

Her mother's will written in 1819, named Nancy as an heir. Nancy got a share of her mother's books, household effects and wearing apparel. I wonder if the books had originally belonged to John since Martha signed with her mark. Maybe she could read and not write.

William, Nancy's husband, died in the 1840's. She was enumerated on the 1850 US census in Wayne Township, Adams County, as the head of household, with real estate valued at $1200. Also living with her were her youngest son, William Steele Milligan, and her sister Jane Patton.

By the 1860 census, Nancy was living with her son William his wife and 3 children in Oliver Township, Adams County. Nancy was shown as a housekeeper. Her sister Jane, who was marked idiotic, was also living there. This listing helps explain the special bequest from their father. I was glad to see that Nancy appears to be taking care of her sister.

Nancy (Patton) Milligan died 19 Jun 1866 and was buried in Unity Cemetery, Unity, Adams County, Ohio. I was glad to find an entry on Find A Grave website which shows a photo of her "old" barely readable gravestone.

John Wilson Smalley in the Civil War

When I wrote John's birthday information on January 26th, I said I would write this week about his Civil War experience.

So far in my researching, John was my only direct ancestor who fought in the Civil War - everyone else was too young, too old, Quakers who preferred not to fight and others who chose not to fight.

In 1861, John was living in Adams County, Ohio. Both he and his older brother Abner enlisted in Company C, of the 70th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, John on 14 Oct 1861 and Abner on 14 Nov 1861. The Sherman County Kansas history stated that John fought on the Union side and a brother on the Confederate Side. Family tradition indicated that he lost an arm in the war. So far, I have not found either to be true.

His pension records were ordered from the National Archives in Washington D.C. and we were surprised to discover that he was classified as absent without leave (AWOL) from 6 Feb 1862 until 3 Aug 1863 when he was arrested and placed in confinement until 31 Dec 1863. Apparently after he had served his time, he was again a soldier, so he was mustered out with an honorable discharge 28 Oct 1864 at Chattanooga, Tennessee.. Because he had actually served over a year and claimed disability he did receive a pension.

Sadly it was 14 Aug 1864 during the siege of Atlanta (Georgia) that his brother Abner was killed in action. I have wondered what Abner thought about his brother who was AWOL, while evidently he continued fighting.

What did Rachel, John's wife, know about his activities? The county history states: "During John's absence in the Army, Rachel fixed meals for the slaves who were going to Canada on the 'Underground Railway.'" When John enlisted they had 3 small children, the oldest being 4. It appears that Rachel was 3 months pregnant at the time, since their son James was born 11 Apr 1862. If the Army dates are correct, John could have been home at that time. He had been stationed at Camp Riley, which was in a neighboring county in Ohio. We can be fairly sure that he was at home in April of 1863 as his son William was born 24 Jan 1864, after he had been arrested and confined and probably put back on duty. There are some items in his files about his being listed as sick and even in the hospital, so maybe there was enough confusion about this, that he just went home.

Whatever the circumstances, John seemed to be proud of his Civil War service and joined the Union Veterans organization, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Both the W.S. Robinson post of the GAR in Sherman County, Kansas, and the Women's Relief Corp participated in his funeral service and his obituary called him an "honored member" of the W. S. Robinson Post GAR.

Ancestor Birthday - January 26th - John W. Smalley 1832-1914

John Wilson Smalley was my 2nd great-grandfather. If you check my website you will find quite a lot of information about him:

http://www.joanneskelton.com/p16.htm#i379

It shows his birth as 26 Jan 1932 in Adams County, Ohio and his marriage to Rachel Hemphill 26 Apr 1856. His obituary notes his service in the Civil War from 1861-1864. The listed censuses show he was in Adams County, Ohio in 1860; in Clinton County, Ohio in 1870; in Saline County, Nebraska in 1880; and by 1895 he was in Sherman County, Kansas. He continued living there through 1900, 1905 and 1910 before his death 2 Jul 1914, which is marked on his gravestone in Goodland Cemetery, Goodland, Sherman County, Kansas.

What more can I write about him? Next week I plan to write more about his Civil War service. Now I'd like to share some of the difficulties in determining a birth year before official registrations. Ancestry's Red Book, edited by Alice Eichholz, Revised Edition, 1992, page 523, states: "Ohio enacted a statute in 1856-57 that required birth, death, and marriage registration, a law that was generally disregarded." But even if obeyed it would be over 20 years too late to help our situation.

John's death certificate, gravestone and obituary all give his birth year as 1832. But even his obituary creates a contradiction as it states he was 27 in 1861 and 30 in 1864, which equates to an 1834 birth. His marriage record of 1856 shows his age as 23, so this equals an 1833 birth.
Then when you check each census entry, which are not known for exact correctness, you find:

1850 age 14 = 1836

1860 age 26 = 1834

1870 age 37 = 1833

1880 age 47 = 1833

1895 age 67 = 1838

1900 age 68 = 1832

1905 age 74 = 1831

1910 age 74 = 1836

In his military pension records he was not a lot more consistent. In his application from 1890 he gave his age as 57 which equals 1833, but then in 1909 his age is given as 77, so this pushes his birth year back to 1832.

So how do I know when he was born? I don't. I can't see that I will ever know for sure, but I have chosen to use the date that the family was using at the end of his life: 1832.

John Smalley and Rachel Hemphill Wedding Day

My 2nd great-grandparents, John Wilson Smalley and Rachel Ann Hemphill, were married on the 26th of April 1856 in Adams County, Ohio.  The marriage records of 1856 were among the few marriage records of the 1850's which survived the courthouse fire of 1910. The Adams County Genealogical Society has republished these. Their marriage information shows that John and Rachel were married in Oliver Township. Both resided in and were born in Adams County and had not been previously married. John was age 23, the son of Wm and Elizabeth Smalley, and Rachel was 18, the daughter of John and Eliza Hemphill.

You can read more about my family at my website  www.joanneskelton.com.