52 Ancestors 2020 – 2 – Favorite Photo – John England

It is often hard for me to choose a favorite, since I have a number of photos to choose from. This week there were only three aunts or uncles on the birthday calendar who had an available photo and fit my criteria of having a birthday during this week. I already had written about 2 of them in previous years, so it left John England for me to write about. His photo is not the best quality, but it is all that I have for him. It is a picture of John and his wife Eliza.

Eliza J and John B England

John Barnett England was my 2^nd great-granduncle, the brother of my 2^nd great-grandmother, Margaret (England) O'Neal. He was the son of my 3^rd great-grandparents, William L and Mary Jane (Walker) England.

John was the oldest son, born 11 January 1828, in Tennessee. It was most likely in Gibson County because that is where his parents were married the previous year. But John was the only child born in Tennessee as their family moved to Montgomery County, Illinois about 1829. John had five siblings, two brothers and three sisters. It was about 1847 when the whole family moved farther west to Davis County, Iowa.

John was enumerated as a 22 year old farmer on the 1850 census and was listed as a 27 year old laborer on the 1856 Iowa state census. When the 1860 census was taken, John was still living at home and was shown as a farmer owning real estate valued at $1100.00.

1865 saw a number of changes in John's life. On the 20^th of April he married Eliza Jane Goodson. The previous year his brother James and his wife Angeline with their two children had traveled the California Trail with two uncles and their families. So in 1865 it was John's turn. He and Eliza traveled with his parents and his other brother David and David's wife Eliza and their three children; his sister Margaret and her husband, C P O'Neal and their daughter Mary Ann; and John's unmarried sister Mary Ann. I wonder if it got confusing with two Eliza's and two Mary Ann's. John had one more sister, Rachel, who was married to Hezekiah Redenbaugh and she stayed in Iowa with him and their children. Sadly it was also during that year that James was killed from a farm accident in California.

On the 1870 census John and Eliza were living in Lower Lake Precinct of Lake County California. He was shown as J B England, a farmer with $400 worth of personal property. It was not long after this that a number of the England family moved north to Oregon: John's parents, his brother David and two sisters Margaret and Mary Ann.

John's mother died in 1873 and was buried in the Cogswell-Gay cemetery which is northwest of Creswell. On 14 August 1873,William Logsdon England and John Barnett England purchased real estate from John Whiteaker, in Lane County, Oregon, The property was described as 753.5 acres more or less in portions of sections 28, 32 and 33 in Township 20 South, Range 2 West. This was about 5 miles east of Cottage Grove. John's obituary stated that his home was located “at the foot of what is known as Siera Gorda mountain.” Modern maps show that mountain as Cerro Gordo.

When the 1880 census was taken John now age 52 and Eliza age 42 were enumerated in the Cottage Grove precinct of Lane County Oregon. Also in the household were Alvira Champion age 15 and Sarah Champion age 13. Their relationship was shown as servants, but were attending school. John's father William, who was both blind and deaf, was living with John's sister Margaret near Creswell on the 1880 census. According to some family stories, the children took turns having William live with them until his death in 1893. But it was earlier on 3 Nov 1887 that Eliza died and was buried at the Sears Cemetery.

John continued living in his home until 1901 when he went to Portland for medical reasons. It was there he died on 31 May 1901 at the home of his nephew Mac England.

John was buried back in the Cottage Grove area at Sears Cemetery next to his wife.

It is often fun to read older obituaries and see how the writers described the deceased.

John's is no exception. The following is from The Leader on June 7^th, 1901:

     “Uncle Johnie” was one of Cottage Grove's most substancial and highly

     respected pioneer citizens, loved by all who knew him, and was ever

     ready to lend a helping hand to the needy. He was an earnest and consistant

     Christian...and a useful neighbor, no better traits of character can be

     ascribed to any one and white the community grieves the loss of a good

     and true man he will live in the memory of his kindred and friends for

     years to come.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 34a – Another Non-Population

Yesterday I wrote about the non-population schedule where my 3^rd gt-grandfather, William L. England, appeared in 1880.

But in 1850, 1860 and 1870 he was on a different non-population schedule: agriculture. Since I grew up on a farm, learning what livestock and crops my ancestors grew is fun for me.

This is a table showing what the agriculture schedules showed about him.

	1850	1860	1870
Township/Precinct	Fabius	Fabius	Coyote Valley
County	Davis	Davis	Lake
State	Iowa	Iowa	California
Improved Acres	50	110	40
Unimproved Acres	110	150	120
Land Value	$800	$2600	$400
Implements Value	$85	$100	$50
Horses	5	6	2
Milch Cows	4	8	2
Working Oxen	12
Other Cattle	3	21	2
Swine	20	26
Livestock Value	$405	$796	$300
Wheat bushels	30		300
Barley bushels			150
Oats bushels		150
Indian Corn bushels	500	2600
Hay tons		12	14
Irish Potatoes bushels	10	50	25
Sweet Potatoes bushels	5
Butter pounds	200	150	150
Honey pounds			100
Produce value			$680
Slaughtered Animals	$24	$107

In looking at this table, I see the only agricultural items that are the same for 2 different years are the pounds of butter produced, and that was done in 2 different states.

Ancestor Birthday – December 7 – Mary Ann O'Neal 1858-1918

Today is the third of my ancestors, all female, who were born on December 7. Mary Ann O'Neal was one of my gt-grandmothers. She was born 7 Dec 1858, the daughter of Commodore Perry and Margaret (England) O'Neal. There is quite a complete listing of the “facts” of her life on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/p11.htm#i261 

She was born in Davis County Iowa, moved to California in 1865 and then to Lane County Oregon the latter part of 1870. She married John Howard Bond at her home 18 Jun 1876. It was about 1894 when they moved to eastern Oregon in Gilliam County Oregon with their 5 children, Margaret “Maggie”, Ivy, Perry, Roy and my grandmother Florence. About 1905 they moved back to western Oregon to Linn County Oregon. They went farther south to Douglas County in about 1915. It was there she died 14 Jul 1918.

I have previously posted some photos of her, but will repost some of them today.

This is Mary as a child with her parents.

This is Mary with her parents and 3 brothers. This appears to be after she was married, probably the late 1880s or early 1890s.

This photo of her by herself is one of my favorites. The same photo was published in a Douglas County History with an article about her and John.

Trying to Transcribe--From Probate File of William L. England – 1894 - Pt 1

This was a part of the probate file #834 from Lane County Oregon for my 3^rd gt-grandfather, William L. England, who died intestate (without a will). I was able to view it and get a copy from the Oregon State Archives in Apr 2001.

In the County Court of the State of Oregon

for the County of Lane

In the matter of the          {

Estate of                           {

William L England dec'd {

To Hon. A. H. Fisk Judge of Court,

                              The undersigned

petitioner would most respectfully represent

and show to the Court that William

L. England dec'd in Lane County,

Oregon, on the 8” day of Sept. 1893

intestate.

That the said deceased left property

in this County, both personal

and real of the probable value

of Fourteen Hundred Dollars, in

Lane County Oregon.

That the said deceased left the

following named heirs – towit:

John B. England son aged 65 residence Lane Co. Or

Margaret J. O'Neal        "   60        "            "     "     "

Mary A. Dillard             "  54        "            "     "     "

Rachel S. Redenbaugh   "  52    Davis Co Iowa

J. Mc England grandson " 30  residence Lane Co  Or

Mary N. Elkins " daughter 28       "          Polk  "     "

E. Jane Leabow "     "         25       "         Lane  "     " 

Rachel S. Walker "   "         23       "             "    "     " 

David L. England  "  son    21       "              "    "    "

James M. England "     "     19       "              "    "    "

are the children of David C. England deceased

Ancestor Birthday - April 14th - Commodore Perry O'Neal 1835 - 1919

The O'Neal Family  

One of my 2nd great-grandfathers was named Commodore Perry O'Neal. As a child, I remember that my mother listed one of her great-grandfathers as Perry O'Neal. It was after I started researching in the 1980s that I realized his full name was Commodore Perry. It is my belief that he was named for the hero in the War of 1812. He did have brothers named George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It seemed to be a common practice to name children for famous people in the time period he was born, 1835. He generally used the name Perry or his initials, C.P. rather than his full name.

Perry was born 14 Apr 1835 in Franklin County, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Sarah (Lollar) O'Neal. Both of his parents had been married previously, so there were 4 half-siblings in his family as well as the 13 full siblings. Six of his siblings were younger than him. He was about 12 years old when his father died in 1847. Sometime before 1850 the family had moved a little farther west to Bartholomew County, Indiana, where they were enumerated in the census. His mother Sarah was the head of the household and by now there were 7 children still in the household. It was 4 years later when Sarah died in 1854, so now Perry was about 19 years old. By 1858 he was living in Davis County, Iowa, because it was 25 Feb 1858 when he married Margaret Jane England. His brother George had moved there earlier. Perry and Margaret's first child was born there, my great-grandmother, Mary Ann O'Neal. On the 1860 census, he was shown as Perry Oneal, with his wife Margaret, his daughter Mary A, and his 14 year old sister, Rebecca.

The family left Iowa in 1865, traveling with some of Margaret's family to California. Perry registered to vote in 1867, listing his residence as Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California. He was listed on the 1870 census there as Perry Oneal with his wife Margt J, his daughter Mary A, a son John J. and a 20 year old Chinese servant, Chang.

That fall the family moved to Oregon and Perry purchased for $500 168.89 acres about 4 miles west of the present town of Creswell. Creswell was not established until after the railroad came through that area in 1872. Perry and Margaret had 2 more sons after they had come to Oregon: Edward Chancy born in 1871 and George Elva born in 1873. In 1876 their daughter Mary Ann married John Howard Bond and she moved out of their household. But sometime before 1880 Margaret's father, William L. England came to stay with them because he was listed on the 1880 census as father-in-law. Now Perry was listed as C.P. Oniel with Margaret and the 3 boys also in the household.

It was three years later, in 1883, that Perry filed for about 160 acres of homestead land adjoining his other property. In his final papers in1890 he noted that the land was hilly and good for grazing and farming. It was in May of 1897 that Perry's wife Margaret died. She was buried in the Creswell Pioneer Cemetery. C.P. lived as a widower for over 20 years with his 3 sons who were unmarried at that time. He deeded his land, now over 300 acres, to them a few months before his death 12 Jul 1919. He was buried in the Creswell Cemetery next to his wife.

You can read about him on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/p13.htm#i317

Tomorrow I will try to give some more information about Commodore Perry's land in Oregon.

Posted 14 Apr 2017

Ancestor Birthday - March 25th - Mary Walker 1801 - 1873

Mary Jane Walker's birthday on March 25th is just a week after her husband, William Logsdon England, whose birthday was March 18th (posted on March 19th). However her birth happened almost a year before his as she was born in 1801 and he was born in 1802. Mary, my 3rd great-grandmother, was born in South Carolina according to census records. I believe that her parents were probably John and Rachel Walker. I plan to write another post next week explaining why I believe that.

Mary and William were married in Gibson County Tennesee. The bond is dated 27 Feb 1827 and family information indicates the marriage took place 2 Mar 1827. The bond gives her name as Polly Walker, which is the very common nickname for Mary. After their first son John was born, they moved to Montgomery County Illinois in 1829. They lived there until about 1847 when they moved to Davis County, Iowa with their six children.

While living in Davis County, Mary saw five of her children married there:

• Margaret married Commodore Perry O'Neal 23 Feb 1858
• Rachel married Hezekiah Redenbaugh 7 Oct 1858
• James married Angeline Sutten 17 Mar 1859
• David married Eliza Hopkins 29 Mar 1860
• John married Eliza Goodson 29 Apr 1865

This last marriage took place just before the family left to go to California. James and his family left the year before and Rachel and her family stayed in Iowa, so Mary, still unmarried: Margaret and family; David and family; and John and his new wife joined the wagon train and went with Mary and William to California.

Mary and William lived in California about six years until 1871 when they went north to Oregon. It was there in Lane County, Oregon about a month before her 72nd birthday that Mary Jane (Walker) England died on 27 Feb 1873. She was buried in the Cogswell-Gay Cemetery which was less than 5 miles from her daughter Margaret's home.

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

Friday's Faces From the Past -- Mary Ann O'Neal Bond

  

 Mary Ann O'Neal Bond 

1858 - 1918

 

     Yesterday I posted a picture of the home of John Howard Bond and his wife Mary Ann O'Neal Bond. John lived in Oregon all his life, but Mary Ann moved around a little more. She was born in 1858 in Davis County, Iowa and was enumerated their with her parents, Commodore Perry O'Neal and Margaret Jane England O'Neal in the 1860 census. About 1865 they moved to California and she is on the census with her family at Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, in 1870. In the latter part of that year they moved to Lane County, Oregon, about four miles west of the present town of Creswell. She married John in 1876 so what I wrote about him yesterday (October 2) would apply to her as well.

      So if you follow Mary Ann in the census you will find her in five census years and in five different county locations:

• 1860 -- Davis County, Iowa 
• 1870 -- Sonoma County, California 
• 1880 -- Lane County, Oregon  
• 1900 -- Gilliam County, Oregon 
• 1910 -- Douglas County, Oregon 

To read more about Mary, look at my website:
http://www.joanneskelton.com/p261.htm