52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 14 – Priscilla (Hayes) Windom Hill

The theme for this week is “Maiden Aunt” I did not find a maiden aunt within my closer generations, so decided to write about an “aunt” who escaped marriage, was married, was divorced and then remarried during her 35 years of life in the mid -1800s.

My 2^nd gt-grandaunt Priscilla was the daughter of Seth and Lydia (Jewett) Hayes. She was the youngest of 8 children and was the only one born in Indiana as her older siblings were born in Ohio. She was born 5 Feb 1837. Apparently the family was not in Indiana for long as by 1840 the family was listed on the census in Jefferson County Iowa.

By 1850 her 5 oldest siblings were all married. But when her parents decided to go to Oregon in 1853 all the family went together on a wagon train where Nelson Davis was Captain. Nelson's wife was a sister to 2 of Priscilla's brothers-in-law. So it really was a family affair.

In the Year Book of 1968 for the Jewett Family of America, a granddaughter of Priscilla's sister Louisa related a story she had heard about 16 year old Priscilla on that journey. When some friendly Indians visited where the wagon train was camped, they had spread out blankets and it seems that Priscilla picked one up and put it around her shoulders and danced around. It was then they discovered their Indian custom was that it meant she would be married to that Indian. Apparently it took a fair amount of persuading to get the Indians to leave and they continued to follow the train for several days. But Priscilla did not have to marry the Indian and she arrived safely in Oregon. But there was sadness on that trip, for one of Priscilla's sisters delivered a baby girl while they were traveling in the Blue Mountains and then died when they were going over Mt. Hood.

I wonder if Priscilla was excited when her 22 year old sister Sybil was married to Benjamin Windom in the fall of 1853. It was in the spring of 1854 when Priscilla, at age 17, married Benjamin's brother, Drury Douglas Windom. By the time of the 1860 census Priscilla and Douglas and their 3 children (Alanson, James Henry and Polly Anna) were living with her unmarried brother, Ebenezer, in the Peoria Precinct of Linn County, Oregon. In about 5 more years, 3 more children were born to this family: Emily, Jesse and Carrie.

But things must have gone wrong somehow, because Priscilla filed for divorce and 31 Oct 1868 the Circuit Court in Linn County granted her a divorce with custody of the children. The next door neighbor in 1860, George M. Hill, was now a widower and he and Priscilla were married on the 14^th of Nov 1868. So when the 1870 census was taken it included George and Priscilla; George's 3 daughters ages 12 – 17; Priscilla's 6 children ages 5 – 15; and their 1 year old daughter Sarah.

It was about a year and a half later. 2 Mar 1872, when Priscilla died at age 35. Her infant daughter Lydia died almost a month later on 29 Mar 1872.

Early Oregon Cousins – James Nelson Davis

It was almost a week ago (4 Nov 2017) when I wrote about Martha (Davis) Alkire who lived to be 103. James Nelson Davis was her older brother, born 15 May 1849 in Mahaska County Iowa to Isaac S and Rebecca (Bond) Davis. So he also was a 1^st cousin of my gt-grandfather, John Howard Bond. That makes him my 1^st cousin 3 times removed.

James was another of my relatives who traveled the Oregon Trail. He would have celebrated his 4^th birthday in 1853 on the way to the Oregon Territory where his parents settled a 320 acre Donation Land Claim in the Coast Fork Precinct of Lane County Oregon. This was about 6 miles west of the current city of Creswell.

His father was declared insane near the end of 1860. By the 1870 census his mother and brothers and sisters were living in the Springfield Township of Lane County, next to Isaac's brother Nelson, who was married to Rebecca's sister Elizabeth. By this time, James was 21 years old and was still at home. The census showed his occupation as “hires out to work.” As the oldest son, I expect James was a help to his mother.

The Western States Marriage Index showed that James, age 30, married Ellen Lewis, age 16, on 12 Aug 1879 in Nez Perce County Idaho. The 1880 census showed them at Camas Creek Precinct in Nez Perce County with James shown as a farmer. Since most of the 1890 census has been destroyed, the next census is 1900. By then they were living in Pine Creek Precinct in Latah County Idaho and had 8 children: Edith, Adolphus, Oscar, Eugene, Glen, Rosetta, Bennie and Laura. Ellen's name was shown as Ella. She appeared to continue to use that name as she and James were in the 1910 census in Cambridge Precinct in Washington County Idaho with the 4 younger children listed in 1900 plus 2 more: Ford and Joseph. Ella reported that she had had 10 children and all were still living. James was listed as a farmer on his own farm.

They were still listed in Cambridge Precinct on the 1930 census, with James age 80 and Ella 67 and James' occupation continued to be a farmer. From the 1940 census we learn that they were still living in the country in 1935, but had moved into the town of Weiser Idaho by 1940 and were living on 3^rd Street in a house they owned, valued at $1000. It was after the census was taken in April that James, age 90, died on 30 Jul 1940 in Weiser and was buried at Hillcrest Cemetery.

Posted 10 Nov 2017

Early Oregon Cousins – Martha (Davis) Alkire

Martha Luella Davis, born 18 Jan 1852 in Mahaska County Iowa, was the daughter of Isaac S and Rebecca (Bond) Davis. Because Rebecca was a sister of Solomon Bond, Martha was a 1^st cousin of Solomon's son, John Howard Bond. So Martha was my 1^st cousin 3 times removed.

Martha was just a few months past her 1^st birthday in 1853 when she left Iowa with her parents and a number of other relatives to cross the plains and go to the Oregon Territory. Her parents settled a 320 acre Donation Land Claim in the Coast Fork Precinct of Lane County. It was about 6 miles west of the current city of Creswell.

She was enumerated in the 1860 census there as an 8 year old. It was near the end of 1860 when her father was declared insane. By the 1870 census her mother and brothers and sisters were living in the Springfield Township of Lane County, next to Isaac's brother Nelson, who was married to Rebecca's sister Elizabeth. Martha, at age 15, had married William Alkire 26 May 1867 in Lane County at the home of her uncle Nelson Davis. She and William with their baby daughter Francis were living next to her mother's family in the 1870 census.

By 1880 Martha and William were in Farmington District, Whitman County, Washington Territory with 4 sons, George Edward, Charles Walter, A.A. and Alpheus. By the 1883 territorial census 2 more daughters were added to the family: Grace and Pearl. When the 1900 census was taken the family was living in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County Idaho with Charles, Arthur and Pearl still at home. She was listed as Ella. They were shown at 318 S 11^th, Coeur d'Alene in 1910, with their son Edward and widowed daughter Grace and her two children.

Martha “Ella” became a widow herself when William died 3 Jun 1919 there in Coeur d'Alene. In the 1920 census Grace, now listed as divorced, was living with her mother and there were also 2 granddaughters in the household. The 1930 census showed Martha as owning her home at 318 S. 11^th, valued at $1000, but she didn't own a radio. Her 19 year old granddaughter, Elizabeth Winters, was living with her. Martha was still in the same house on the 1940 census and Elizabeth and her husband Kenneth Ejven were there also.

Martha “Ella” lived a long life, dying 2 months after her 103^rd birthday, 30 Mar 1955. One of her descendants has graciously allowed me to use this photo of her at age 100.

Who Were John Howard Bond's 1st Cousins?

Why should I care who they were? Because all of his 1^st cousins were my relatives also. From my research I found 49 1^st cousins on his father's side and 44 on his mother's side. There were 5 who were double cousins that showed on each side so the total number of 1^st cousins was 88.

First cousins share grandparents. John Howard Bond was my gt-grandfather, so his grandparents were my 3^rd gt-grandparents. The gt-grandchildren of any of John's 1^st cousins are my 4^th cousins, since we would share 3^rd gt-grandparents.

On Ancestry DNA there are over 1000 matches to me that Ancestry has classified as 4^th cousins. These designations certainly aren't precise, but it gives a range. So it is likely that some of John's 1^st cousins are ancestors of a portion of these matches.

Ancestry DNA has a feature called DNA Circles. There is a DNA Circle for John Howard's grandfather, John Bond, which includes me. Because the circles require the members to have a tree on Ancestry's site I can see who they are descended from. Among the 17 members of the Circle, 10 are descendants of John Howard's 1^st cousins. There are 5 different cousins represented: Sarah (Tong) Wise, Martha (Davis) Gustin, Albert Daniel Davis, James Nelson Davis, and Martha (Davis) Alkire. So my plan is to write about these 5 cousins over the next week or so.

Early Oregon Cousins - James Madison Bond

I included this James, the son of George and Elizabeth (Stillwell) Bond, in 2011 when I wrote an article for the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society periodical, Trees From the Grove,  about his uncle James Bond and his cousin James Monroe Bond, as they were the 3 James Bonds who were included in my database. This is a copy of what I wrote then.

Cousin James Madison Bond was born 23 October 1849 in Marion County, Iowa. He was the 6^th child of his parents George Washington and Elizabeth (Stillwell) Bond and was shown with his parents and 4 surviving older siblings on the 1850 census in Marion County. It is probable that James was named for the former president of the United States since his father was named George Washington Bond and some of James' brothers were William Harrison and Benjamin Franklin.

James was about 3 ½ years old when the family left Iowa in April of 1853 and traveled over the Oregon Trail to Oregon Territory. According to his father's journal the family got to the “Willamit valy” on 21 September 1853. In less than a month his parents had settled a Donation Land Claim in Lane County on 16 October 1853, so it was probably there that James could celebrate his 4^th birthday. The land claim was located on the north side of the Willamette River, across from Skinner's Butte. On the 1860 census the George Bond family was enumerated in Spencer Precinct, Lane County, Oregon. By then there were 8 children in the family. By the 1870 census, the precinct was named Springfield, although they were most probably in the same location. James' oldest brother, William Harrison, had moved to Powell's Valley Precinct in the Portland area and was teaching school and his next brother, Benjamin Franklin, had been committed to the insane asylum in East Portland. Two younger children had been born so there were still 8 children in the family.

The year 1880 would have been sad for their family since James' father died in January from heart trouble and his two youngest siblings died from typhoid fever, Charles in March at age 16 and Mary in May at age 19. James' two older sisters had already married, so in the 1880 census, James at age 30 was living with his three younger brothers and his widowed mother.

According to his obituary James moved to Linn County in 1884. He probably lived close to his uncle Solomon Bond in the Halsey area. It was 18 January 1887 when James married Mary Jane Windom, a niece of Mrs. Solomon Bond. Just over six months later, 27 June 1887, Mary died at their home near Halsey. It was the next year, 14 March 1888, when James was married for the second time. His wife was Rhoda Keeney, the daughter of Elias Keeney, an early settler in the Brownsville area of Linn County.

By the 1900 census James is shown as a 50 year old farmer in the Halsey Precinct, Linn County, Oregon, with his wife Rhoda, age 37, their two daughters: Zelma age 11 and Elfa age 9, and two of James' younger brothers: Joseph and George. It is uncertain why their son Ruel was not enumerated with the family, but he was included with his two sisters in the 1905 census. James' brothers were not living with the family then. Early in 1910, James' eldest daughter, Zelma married Claude Davis. So the 1910 census shows James, Rhoda, Elfa, Ruel and brother George still living in Halsey Precinct, on the Halsey and Brownsville Road.

During the next decade Elfa married Jay W. Moore and Ruel went into the service in World War I. Apparently James and Rhoda moved to Corvallis since in May of 1918, the Corvallis Weekly Gazette-Times printed a letter sent from France by Ruel and stated that his parents were “living here on North 12^th street.” Ruel was killed in the battle of Chateau Theirry, France 18 July 1918. He is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France. But his parents were not officially notified of his death until they received a telegram on the 20^th of September. Up till then they were hoping he had been taken prisoner. James and Rhoda moved to Albany, Linn County, Oregon and are listed there on the 1920 census. By the 1930 census, James and Rhoda are shown as living in the city of Newport in Lincoln County on the Oregon coast.

James and Rhoda were living back in Albany at 822 Walnut when James died of “chronic valvular heart disease” 9 April 1935. Rhoda died 8 September 1954 in Linn County and both are buried at Riverside Cemetery, Albany, Oregon.

1853 Relatives on the Oregon Trail

Yesterday I wrote about my 3rd gt-grandfather, Seth Hayes, who traveled the Oregon Trail in 1853. In March I wrote about his daughter, Huldah (Hayes) Bond, my 2nd gt-grandmother who was in that same wagon train. It was in February when I wrote about Seth's wife, Lydia (Jewett) Hayes, who naturally was also on that wagon train.

I feel very fortunate to have had access to a printed transcription of a diary kept by my 2nd gt-granduncle, George W. Bond from that trip from Iowa to Oregon in 1853. I made a digital transcription of the diary and posted it on my genealogy website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/e198.htm He used an account book and wrote one line per day. It mentioned only a few people, but many geographical features. I took his diary and maps of the known Oregon Trail and created my own 1853 Trail Map on a modern day map. I added quotes from the diary on the map also. I was also fortunate in that an agent along the trail at the Umatilla Agency made a listing of the people on the wagon trains who passed that way in 1853. Then it was printed in the Oregonian newspaper from Portland Oregon in October of 1853. The list has not been found, but the newspaper article is still available and an Oregon Trail researcher has published that list in a more easily read format. It gives the name of the head of household, if there was a wife and how many sons and how many daughters. The date showing my family's train, August 28, matched the entry in the diary. I was glad to find that the names also matched the family research I had done.

Here is a listing of the family members who traveled in that wagon train showing their name, year and state of birth and relationship.

Name	Born	Relationship
John Bond	1797 - Kentucky	3rd gt-grandfather
Sarah (Chastain) Bond	1797 - Virginia	3rd gt-grandmother
William Bond	1816 - Kentucky	2nd gt-granduncle
Hannah (Hayes) Bond	1821 - Ohio	2nd gt-grandaunt
Seth Hayes Bond	1845 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
James Monroe Bond	1847 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Ebenezer Bond	1850 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Emma Augusta Bond	1853 - Oregon Trail	1st cousin 3 times removed
George W. Bond	1818 - Kentucky	2nd gt-granduncle
Elizabeth (Stillwell) Bond	1821 - Kentucky	1st cousin 4 times removed
William Harrison Bond	1841 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Benjamin Franklin Bond	1842 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Sarah A. Bond	1845 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Amanda J. Bond	1847 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
James Madison Bond	1849 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Solomon Bond	1819 - Kentucky	2nd gt-grandfather
Huldah (Hayes) Bond	1827 - Ohio	2nd gt-grandmother
Lydia Ann Bond	1843 - Iowa	gt-grandaunt
William Henry Bond	1847 - Iowa	gt-granduncle
Mary Louisa Bond	1849 - Iowa	gt-grandaunt
Susan Augusta Bond	1852 - Iowa	gt-grandaunt
Isaac Silas Davis	1827 - Tennessee
Rebecca (Bond) Davis	1823 - Indiana	2nd gt-grandaunt
James Nelson Davis	1849 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Laura Ann Davis	1850 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Martha Luella Davis	1852 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Nelson Davis	1826 - Tennessee
Elizabeth (Bond) Davis	1830 - Illinois	2nd gt-grandaunt
Rebecca Ann Davis	1847 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
William A Davis	1849 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Albert Daniel Davis	1851 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Susan Olive Davis	1853 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Seth Hayes	c1785 - New York	3rd gt-grandfather
Lydia (Jewett) Hayes	1793 - New Hampshire	3rd gt-grandmother
Ebenezer Hayes	1829 - Ohio	2nd gt-granduncle
Sybil Ann Hayes	1831 - Ohio	2nd gt-grandaunt
Priscilla Hayes	1837 - Indiana	2nd gt-grandaunt
Reuben Jewett	1824 - Ohio
Lydia L (Hayes) Jewett	1824 - Ohio	2nd gt-grandaunt
Fernando Jewett	1852 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Seth Whipple Hayes	1825 - Ohio	2nd gt-granduncle
Polly (Stillwell) Hayes	1832 - Indiana	1st cousin 4 times removed
Daniel James Hayes	1850 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Seth Stephen Hayes	1852 - Iowa	1st cousin 3 times removed
Peter Wycoff	1831 - Ohio
Jane (Stillwell) Wycoff	c1830 - Indiana	1st cousin 4 times removed

Early Oregon Cousins - Orlando Davis

Orlando Lagrant Davis is my 1st cousin 3 times removed. I really like his name, since it is different. Orlando was born 1 Jan 1858, probably in Fairfield Precinct of Marion County, Oregon. He was on the 1860 census there as O. L. Davis, age 3, with his parents, Harmon and Susan (Bond) Davis, along with 3 older siblings, his Bond grandparents and 2 1st cousins, the daughters of his deceased uncle James Bond.

Sometime after the birth of his youngest sister, Theodocia Alice Davis (I like her name too) in 1866 the family moved to Washington Territory and Orlando appeared on the 1870 census as 13 year old Grant Davis in Walla Walla County. His father's occupation was teamster. Perhaps that influenced Orlando's moving as much as he did.

He was just 20 years old when on 20 Jan 1878 he married Mary Agnes Gillespie at Dayton, Columbia County, Washington Territory. He was back in Oregon in Union County at Island City on the 1880 census with his wife Mary and 1 year old son Edwin, working as a laborer. In 1884 Orlando went back to Columbia County and made a cash sale entry for 160 acres of government land. Seven years later, in 1891 he made a cash sale entry for 160 acres of land in Union County Oregon.

Between 1880 and 1900 he and Mary had 6 more children, 4 boys and 2 girls. The 2 older children, Edwin and Georgia, had left home before the 1900 census. Orlando and Mary and the 5 younger children were enumerated on the 1900 census in Wagner precinct in Wheeler County Oregon where he was a day laborer. It was probably soon after that when Orlando applied for a homestead of 160 acres there in Wheeler County because his patent was issued 30 Jan 1908.

The 1910 census is puzzling because Orlando and Mary with children William and Alice are found in Echo Precinct of Umatilla County Oregon, where Orlando was working as an engineer for a threshing machine. But their family is also found in the town of Enterprise in Wallowa County Oregon with 2 more sons, Archie and Lorain, in the household and Orlando's occupation is a machinist at a shop.

Thankfully he was only in one place in 1920, Hamilton Precinct in Grant County Oregon where he was a farmer. In the household with Orlando and Mary was 17 year old Hazel Robison, listed as ward. However I believe she was their granddaughter, the daughter of Georgia and her husband James Robison. Others of the family were living nearby. In 1930 in Union Precinct in Grant County Oregon Hazel was still in their household listed as granddaughter, but is now married to John Horrell and they have a 5 month old son and apparently there is a 12 year old daughter from John's previous marriage. Orlando is age 73 and Mary is 68. He is working as a farmer and their place is rented.

Orlando died in Grant County Oregon 22 Jul 1935 and was buried in Prairie City Cemetery. His wife Mary apparently moved to Lane County Oregon as she died there 11 Nov 1942 and was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery.

So, I found evidence of Orlando in Marion County Oregon, Walla Walla County Washington, Columbia County Washington, Union County Oregon, Wheeler County Oregon, Umatilla County Oregon, Wallowa County Oregon and Grant County Oregon. He qualifies as one of my well-traveled cousins.

  

Early Oregon Cousins - John Tong

John Tong was the son of James J. and Ann (Bond) Tong and the grandson of John and Sarah (Chastain) Bond, so was a 1st cousin of John Howard Bond, my great-grandfather which makes John Tong my 1st cousin 3 times removed.

John was the only son in the family, having 3 sisters: Sarah, Rachel and Rebecca. He was born 5 Feb 1846, probably in Marion County, Iowa, since they were there in 1850. Some researchers show the Tongs coming to Oregon on the Nelson Davis wagon train in 1853 with many of Ann's family. However, I believe the Tongs came a year earlier in 1852 because: on his Donation Land Claim application James stated they had arrived in Oregon Sep 1852 and settled their claim 30 Sep 1852; the family is not on the 1853 Umatilla listing; and in his 1853 journal George Bond (Ann's brother) wrote on 22 Sep "to Fosters a Cros a deep creek to James Tongs." So the Tongs were already settled when the Nelson Davis train arrived.

The 1850 census showed the James Tong family next door to the Solomon Bond family, both in Marion County Iowa. John was listed as John N, age 5. By 1860 the family had settled in Clackamas County Oregon in Rock Creek Precinct and John was age 14. The name Tong is sometimes difficult to research because the handwritten capital T is misread as an L, so it is indexed incorrectly. But in the BLM General Land Office records of the James and Ann Tong Donation Land Claim, their name is misread as Toug so required a little more work to find. His claim appears to be near what is now (2017) the unincorporated community of Clackamas.

It was near the end of 1868, 10 Dec, when John married Nancy Ann Heater in Marion County Oregon. But they were living in Marshfield precinct Clackamas County in 1870 next to his sister Sarah who was married to George Wise. It must have been soon that John settled his homestead because he received the patent 11 Nov 1875. His father James received a patent for a homestead the same day and his land joined John's on the north, 160 acres each. It seems likely that James had sold his Donation Land Claim and filed for the homestead to be next to his son. They are on the same page in the 1880 census for Clackamas County, still in Marshfield precinct. John's sister, Rachel Emma who was married to Jacob Scott, was also living there.

By the 1880 census John and Nancy had 4 children: Stephen, Nettie, Earl and Mary. They had 3 more children in the next 10 years: Fletcher, Marion and Rachel. The 1900 census shows the family living in Damascus precinct of Clackamas County, but this is probably the same location as before. It was between the 1880 and 1900 census when John's mother died in 1884, then John's father was committed to the Hawthorne Asylum in July of 1887. James died there in that October.

Sometime after 1900 John's family moved to Portland, Multnomah County Oregon, where his wife Nancy died 31 Jan 1909 and was buried in Multnomah Park Cemetery. John had 4 of his children still living at home in the 1910 census and his daughter Mary and her husband Edwin Plasket were living with him in 1920. John died 6 May 1922 in the Oregon City Hospital and was buried next to Nancy. His obituary states that John was survived by all 7 of his children.

  

Early Oregon Cousins - Mary (Davis) Miles

Mary Davis was a 1st cousin 3 times removed, who was born in Lane County Oregon, not far from where I live now. She was nearer the current town of Creswell, while I live in Cottage Grove. Her birth took place on 11 Jun 1858. She was the 5th child of Isaac S. and Rebecca (Bond) Davis. Her parents and the 3 older children had crossed the plains from Iowa to Oregon over the Oregon Trail in 1853. Her parents had settled their Donation Lane Claim of 320 acres in October 1854 west of present day Creswell.

Mary was included in the 1860 census at age 3 with her parents, 4 older siblings and 1 younger sister. It was December of 1860 when her youngest brother was born. It was also when an inventory of her father's property was taken because he had been declared insane and her uncle Nelson Davis, her father's brother, was appointed guardian. According to some family stories, Isaac had been kicked in the head by a horse and this caused his difficulty. The land had to be sold to settle the estate.

Laura, Mary's sister, died in 1867 and another sister Martha was married about 1868, so there were 5 children in Rebecca's household in 1870. They lived in Springfield township, Lane County Oregon, between Rebecca's sister Elizabeth and her husband Nelson Davis with their 10 children and Martha and her husband William Alkire and their baby girl. Mary had many cousins nearby, many of whom were near her age. These were Mary's double cousins, since their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers.

But after Mary's Aunt Elizabeth died in 1872, the family moved to Whitman County Washington Territory. In 1880, only 22 year old Mary and her 19 year old younger brother Isaac were still at home living with their mother in the village of Farmington in Whitman County. Her sister Sarah with her husband Thomas Harris and their 2 children lived next door. Mary's brother James had moved to Nez Perce County Idaho Territory by 1880 and it was there that Mary married William L. Miles the next year, 24 Nov 1881.

However, by 1900 Mary and William are back in Whitman County Washington in Farmington District where William was working as a carpenter. By this time they had 4 sons and 1 daughter in their household. Also living with them was Mary's widowed 75 year old mother, Rebecca (Bond) Davis. It is probable that Rebecca died later that year. A number of family researchers list William's death as 1905 in Idaho. It makes sense because Mary was listed as a widow in the 1910 census when she was living in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, Idaho with her son Roy and 2 boarders as she was keeping a boarding house. She is found living alone in Coeur d'Alene in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. Her older sister Martha also lived there.

Some family researchers list her death date as 1955. I haven't yet found documents to support that, but have not found any other date either.

 

Early Oregon Cousins - Rebecca (Davis) Powers

One of my 1st cousins, 3 times removed, Rebecca was another one of the early Oregon cousins who was born in Iowa, before the family came West on the Oregon Trail. Rebecca was the oldest child of Nelson and Elizabeth (Bond) Davis, born 28 Aug 1847 in Mahaska County, Iowa. Her 6th birthday was on the trail, just 6 days after her 1st cousin, Amanda Bond. (I wrote about Amanda on 21 Apr 2017.)

Rebecca's Uncle George Bond wrote the following in his journal of the trip for 28 Aug: "traveled down the umatila camped 5 miles the other side of the Agency." I always liked August 28th on their journey because a man at the Umatilla Agency wrote down who passed by each day and my family shows up on August 28th. Rebecca wasn't named, but was counted as her family was listed as "Davis, N., w, 2s, 2d." Of course she was one of the 2 daughters. I wonder if Rebecca was proud that her father was the Captain of the wagon train.

Her parents settled their claim 20 Oct 1853, just 4 days after Elizabeth's brother George settled his. They were both in Lane County, Oregon Territory, Nelson's being about 10 miles east of George. Nelson's claim was in what is now Springfield, Oregon. It would be interesting to know if Rebecca and Amanda got to play together very often.

By 1860, the family had added 3 more children plus Rebecca's widowed Davis grandmother and Nelson's 3 youngest siblings, who were only a few years older than Rebecca. This made a total of 13 in the household, I hope they had a large house. Marriages began happening in this extended family. Rebecca's 16 year old Aunt Sarah was married in Dec 1860, Aunt Minerva was married in Jan 1862 at age 15 and Rebecca herself at age 16 was married 3 Jun 1864 to William Luther Powers.

On the 1870 census, Rebecca and William were enumerated in the Springfield township of Lane County with 2 small children: Benjamin age 4 and Annie age 2. William was listed as a farmer with real estate valued at $2500 and personal property of $1775.

It was 2 years later when Rebecca's mother died. Then her father and many of the family moved north to Washington Territory to newly formed Whitman County near Colfax. Sometime before 1874 Rebecca and William also moved to Whitman County. They were in the 1880 census in Farmington District, now with 4 children, both John age 6 and Albert age 3 being born in Washington Territory. William's occupation was shown as general merchandise. The family was still in Whitman County in the 1889 Washington Territorial Census and William now was raising stock.

However, Rebecca and William did not stay in one place. In 1900, along with their 18 year old son Guy, were in Bernardo Township, San Diego County, California, with William engaged in farming. But they returned to Oregon and in 1910 were in Lake County in Silver Lake Precinct still farming. It is probable that it was Rebecca's husband William who received a patent for a homestead in Lake County in 1913.

Rebecca died in Tillamook County Oregon, at the home of a son on 18 Nov 1913, at age 66. I believe that definitely Rebecca can be included as one of my "moving" relatives.

  

Early Oregon Cousins

Looking at my ancestor birthday calendar, I see there is only one birthday in the remaining 11 days this month. So I will be posting something else during the other 10 days. My plan is to write about my cousins who lived in Oregon prior to 1900. Today I will give a listing of those I plan to write about.

These are 1st cousins to my great-grandparents, John H and Mary A (O'Neal) Bond. Here is the proposed schedule.

Apr 20 -- Emma Bond, daughter of William and Hannah (Hayes) Bond

Apr 21 -- Irene (Bond) Clingman, daughter of William and Talitha (Starr) Bond

Apr 22 -- Amanda (Bond) Harlow, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Stillwell) Bond

Apr 23 -- Sarah (Bond) Coffinberry, daughter of James and Laura (Jewett) Bond

Apr 24 -- Ancestor Birthday -- Lydia Reynolds

Apr 25 -- Rebecca (Davis) Powers, daughter of Nelson and Elizabeth (Bond) Davis

Apr 26 -- John S. Elliott, son of Robert and Sophronia (O'Neal) Elliott

Apr 27 -- Jesse O Bunyard, son of James and Eliza J (O'Neal) Bunyard

Apr 28 -- James Monroe, son of Alexander and Rebecca (O'Neal) Monroe

Apr 29 -- Mary (Davis) Miles, daughter of Isaac and Rebecca (Bond) Davis

Apr 30 -- John Tong, son of James and Ann (Bond) Tong