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.
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| Eliza J and John B England |
John Barnett England was my 2nd
great-granduncle, the brother of my 2nd great-grandmother,
Margaret (England) O'Neal. He was the son of my 3rd
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 20th
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 7th,
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.
