52 Ancestors 2020 – 13 – Nearly Forgotten – Ezra Albertson

When I checked the listing of names for this week to find someone who was “Nearly Forgotten,” I chose Ezra Albertson, because I had basically forgotten about him. Ezra died as a young teenager, so there are no descendants to honor him.

Still he was my 2^nd great-granduncle and I expect my 2^nd great grandfather, Benjamin Albertson, would remember his little brother. Benjamin was born in January of 1826 while the family still lived in Perquimans County, North Carolina. Naturally he was with them when they moved to Indiana in 1832 and were charter members at Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting in Hancock County in 1836. Benjamin would have been 15 years old when Ezra was born 30 Mar 1841 there in Hancock County, Indiana. Ezra would have been 6 years old when his oldest brother Benjamin was married to Sabina Marsh 25 Nov 1847.

And surely Ezra's parents, Nathan and Phariby (Nicholson) Albertson, would remember their child. He was listed as being with them as the family moved from Hancock County to Hamilton County, Indiana in mid 1850. Since they were in the process of moving, this may explain why I have not been able to locate them in the 1850 census.

The Westfield Monthly Meeting in Hamilton County mentions Ezra twice. In 1850 he was included with the family received at Westfield from the Walnut Creek Monthly Meeting. Then these Quaker death records show that Ezra H. Albertson died 15 Nov 1854 at age 13 years, 7 months and 16 days old.

It was the next spring, 1 May 1855, when Nathan & Phariby requested a certificate to move to Iowa. By the fall of 1855 Nathan had purchased property in Hardin County Iowa and the family moved there. I have discovered that often in my family after a child dies, the family moves to a new location. Maybe this is to escape the sad memories. Hopefully that child will never be totally forgotten.

Ezra's brother Alpheus, who was just 10 years older than him, did remember Ezra in a positive way. He named his only son, Ezra A. Albertson, when he was born in Iowa in 1866. I hope Alpheus told his son Ezra about his uncle Ezra so he would not be forgotten for many years, since this second Ezra lived to age 71.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 5 – At the Library – William Marsh

When I was beginning my genealogy research over 30 years ago I learned that almost one-fourth of my ancestry came from Quakers as my paternal grandfather was born into a Quaker family. My second cousin shared with me his findings about our Quaker ancestors. The local genealogical society library (Cottage Grove, Oregon) had books with Quaker information, so I used them to compare to my cousin's research. The local genealogical library had the 6 volume set of books: Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by William Wade Hinshaw. Later I learned that Mr. Hinshaw was a distant cousin of mine.

On the aunts and uncles birthday calendar for this week, I found my 2^nd gt-grandmother, Sabina (Marsh) Albertson's brother. William Marsh was born either on 25 January 1816 from Ohio records or 1 February 1817 from Indiana records. His parents were Elias and Edith (Townsend) Marsh. This was in Columbiana County, Ohio, apparently in the part of Columbiana County which later became Carrol County, since records in Indiana show the latter as his birthplace.

I was able to find the Marsh family in Volume IV, Ohio, of the Hinshaw books. The books are arranged by the local meetings and Elias and Edith were reported married at the New Garden Monthly Meeting located in Columbiana County on the 17^th day of the 7^th month in 1810. Then in 1822 they and their children, including Willliam, were granted a certificate to transfer to the Sandy Spring Meeting, which was also in Columbiana County. The Sandy Spring records show the birthdates of Elias and Edith and their 8 children, including William. This record shows the January 1816 date.

It was a dozen years later, 1834, when Elias's family moved to Indiana. My local library at that time did not have the Indiana records, as Hinshaw's books do not include Indiana. However, there was a set of 7 books of Indiana Quaker records edited by Willard Heiss. The genealogy society in Eugene (about 20 miles from me) did have these books in their library, so I took a trip there.

The Elias Marsh family were granted a certificate to Duck Creek Monthly Meeting in Henry County. Indiana. They were probably among the members who were included at Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting of Rush County, when it was set off from Duck Creek in 1836. Elias' family is named with birthdates in the Walnut Ridge minutes. It is there that the February 1817 date is used.

I found it interesting that the only birthdates which differed between the two listings are my 2^nd gt-grandmother Sabina and this uncle William. But it also made me remember that published information can be incorrect and you need to find as many pieces of evidence as you can. Still sometimes you will not know which one is correct.

It was at the Walnut Ridge meeting that William married Martha Ann Chappell on 21 December 1836. William and Martha had six children: Thomas, Edith, William, Elias, Margaret and Benjamin, who are all named in the Indiana book. Note that I did a post about one of these children in 2017: https://joannesgenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/06/quaker-cousins-elias-t-marsh-1848-1926.html.  The Walnut Ridge record also lists the death of William on 12 October 1861, stating he was buried at Westland Meeting. This meeting house was in Blue River Township in Hancock County, Indiana.

So, even if I cannot be positive about William's birthdate, I do appreciate all the information that I was able to find about him “at the library.”

Ancestor Birthday – December 7 – Edith Townsend 1791-1837

Three of my ancestors, all female, were born on December 7, so the later 2 are being posted a day or two late.

Today is Edith Townsend who was one of my 3^rd gt-grandmothers. Edith was the daughter of Benjamin and Jemima (Booth) Townsend. Jemima was Benjamin's second wife, so Edith had 6 older half-siblings. But Edith also had at least 4 full siblings. Her parents were married in Chester County (now Delaware County) Pennsylvania at the Quaker Concord Monthly Meeting in 1784. It was 1786 when the family transferred their membership to the Westland Monthly Meeting in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was there that Edith was born on the 7^th day of the 12^th month (December) 1791. In 1803 the family moved again, or at least transferred their membership to Concord Monthly Meeting in Columbiana County Ohio. They seem to have been members of the Short Creek Monthly Meeting which was set off from the Concord meeting in 1804. In 1806 Edith, as a minor (age 14) transferred to Salem Monthly Meeting which was also in Columbiana County. In 1808 the New Garden Meeting was set off from Salem and Edith was probably one of the charter members there.

It was in 1810 that Edith married Elias Marsh, who had come from New Jersey to Ohio. Edith and Elias had 8 known children: Robert b.1811, Martha b.1812, William b.1817, Lydia b.1818, Jesse b.1820, Sabina b. 1823 (my 2^nd gt-grandmother), Fanny b. 1827 and Joseph b. 1830.

In 1834 the family moved to Indiana, apparently to Hancock County. They were members of Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting which was in neighboring Rush County.

It was there in Hancock County that Edith died 5 Aug 1837, as recorded in the minutes of the Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting. Her youngest son Joseph died just 2 months later at age 10. So that must have been a sad year for their family.

Ancestor Birthday - September 7 - Elias Marsh 1788 - 1871

My 3rd gt-grandfather, Elias Marsh, was born 7 Sep 1788 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey, the son of Elias and Martha (FitzRandolph) Marsh. From the post I made on 21 Jun 2017 about the children of his parents, I concluded that Elias was the 2nd child of 7.

Their family moved to Ohio in 1806 as indicated in the Quaker records of Salem Monthly Meeting in Columbiana County. It was in 1810 that Elias married his 1st wife, Edith Townsend, who was the mother of all his known children. Since there are not census records for 1790 or 1800 for most of New Jersey nor for 1810 for most of Ohio, the first census record for Elias is in 1820. I believe he is listed in Columbiana County in Hanover Township as Elias Marsh, age 26-45, with 1 female age 26-45, 2 females under 10 and 3 males under 10. These children correspond well with his known children: Robert b.1811, Martha b.1812, William b.1817, Lydia b.1818 and Jesse b.1820.

Apparently Elias was considered a member of the New Garden Monthly Meeting in Columbiana County, when it was formed in 1808. Then in 1822 Elias, Edith and their 5 children transferred to Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting, still in Columbiana County. While there 3 more children were born: Sabina b.1823 (my 2nd gt-grandmother), Fanny b.1827, and Joseph b.1830.

In 1834 the family moved to Indiana. Elias received 80 acres from cash entry in Brandywine Township in Hancock County Indiana in 1835. Apparently he moved to Blue River Township in the same county in 1837 as the U.S. records show he purchased 280 acres there. A local history for that township stated that Elias erected a tile factory on his land.

Elias became a widower when his wife Edith died 5 Aug 1837, as recorded in the minutes of the Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting. It also recorded Elias' 2nd marriage 24 Apr 1839 to widow Elizabeth (Hawkins) Boyd. She died about 1844 or 45 and Elias married for a 3rd time to another widow, Margaret (Reynard) Osborn. His son, Jesse, married Margaret's daughter Catherine, and the 1850 census shows Elias, now age 63, and Margaret living in the household of Jesse and Catherine and their children. Elias again became a widower in 1866 when Margaret died. He and Margaret were living alone on the 1860 census and he was by himself on the 1870 census.

Elias died 9 Feb 1871 and was buried at Westland Friends Church Cemetery, in Hancock County, Indiana.

Quaker Cousins - Benjamin F. Marsh - 1856 - 1918

Benjamin F. Marsh was another one of great-grandfather Nathan Elias Albertson's first cousins. But he was the only one I have found who had his picture in a history book, Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana, published in 1914.

Benjamin was born in Hancock County Indiana 15 Oct 1853. He was the youngest child of 6 born to William and Martha (Chappell) Marsh In 1861, when Benjamin was 8 years old, his father died. It was 7 years later in 1868 when his mother died. Benjamin had worked to gain an education and by age 16 was teaching school. He continued to study at various institutions and continued to teach. During this time he also studied law and in 1881 was admitted to the Randolph County bar and began practicing law in the town of Winchester. He had a few different partners in his law practice over the years.

On 4 Oct 1883 Benjamin married Carrie E. Kizer. The local history described her as "a lady of education and refinement and long a favorite with the best social circles of Winchester."

He was a Republican in politics and was elected prosecuting attorney of Randolph County in 1890 and served for 2 years. Benjamin was a Mason and also belonged to the Knights of Pythias. He was a member of the Friends church and it was noted that for many years he was Sunday school superintendent.

The 1914 history concluded his section with this statement: "Mr. Marsh is a congenial and companionable gentleman and liked by all classes." Benjamin died in Muncie, Delaware County Indiana 30 Dec 1918 and was buried at Fountain Park Cemetery in Winchester. His wife Carrie remained a widow until her death 23 Jan 1945 and she was also buried at Fountain Park Cemetery.

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Quaker Cousins - Elias Robert Lamb - 1857 - 1879

Today is another post about an Elias in the Marsh family. Elias Robert Lamb was the son of another one of Sabina (Marsh) Albertson's sisters, Lydia (Marsh) Lamb and her husband Joseph Lamb.

Both Elias Robert's birth and death in Hancock County Indiana were recorded in the records of the Quaker Westland Monthly Meeting. Elias Robert was number 6 in a family of 8 children, born 18 May 1857. He was the 5th and the last one born who was named Elias of the grandsons of Elias and Edith (Townsend) Marsh.

However, he was the 1st one who died, as he died at age 22 on 9 Jun 1879. The other 4 all lived past 1910.. I wish I knew what caused his death at such a young age.

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Quaker Cousins - Elias T. Marsh - 1848 - 1926

Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting, Rush County, Indiana

Again I plan to post about some of my great-grandfather Nathan Elias Albertson's first cousins (my first cousins three times removed.) I posted about cousins from his father's side in the early part of May 2017. Now I want to post about cousins from his mother's side of the family.

Elias T. Marsh was the son of Jesse and Catherine (Osborn) Marsh. Jesse was a brother of Sabina (Marsh) Albertson. Catherine was a step-sister to Jesse, since her widowed mother Margaret married his widowed father Elias. Apparently Elias T. was named for his grandfather, Elias Marsh and his great-grandfather, Elias Marsh. Elias T. had a first cousin named Elias J. Marsh (son of William and Martha (Chappell) Marsh who was born a little over a year before Elias T. You also can notice that my great-grandfather shares the name Elias as his middle name.

Elias T. was born 5 Jan 1848 in Hancock County, Indiana. When the census of 1850 was taken on the 22nd of July in Blue River Township in Hancock County, Elias was enumerated as Elias Thomas Marsh, age 2, in the household of Jesse and Catherine. Also in the household was his 9 month old sister Margaret and his grandparents Elias and Margaret. I wonder if they had a problem knowing which Elias they were talking about. But that problem would have gone away in about 1855 when Jesse and his family moved to Hardin County Iowa.

When they took the 1860 census there in July, Jesse and Catherine's household now included 5 children: Elias, Margaret, George, Mary and John. Jesse's sister Sabina and her family lived next door. Nathan Elias was about a year younger than Elias and 3 years older than George, plus Nathan Elias had 2 younger brothers, William and Jesse. I wonder if these boys who were siblings and cousins found activities to do together.

When Elias T. was almost 19, on 15 Dec 1866, he married Fanny Lavina Hickman. Sometime between 1880 and 1900 Elias and Fanny and their children moved to Adams County, Iowa. They lived there until Fanny died in 1924 and Elias died 26 Mar 1926. They were both buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Adams County.

Ancestor Birthday - February 5th - Nathan Elias Albertson 1849-1917

My great-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, worked as a blacksmith. This photo from about 1912 shows him with his youngest son, Ernest.

Nathan was born 5 Feb 1849 in Hancock County, Indiana, the oldest son of Benjamin and Sabina (Marsh) Albertson. By the time of the 1850 census, the family was in Hamilton County Indiana and by 1856 in Hardin County Iowa. It was in Hardin County at the County seat Eldora, that Nathan, age 21, married 15 year old Mary Magdalene Hockett in Oct 1870. Although both were Quakers, their marriage was officiated by a justice of the peace, which was contrary to discipline. However they appear to have been reinstated and are shown in later Quaker records.

In the 1880 census in Hardin County, Nathan is listed as a farmer and a blacksmith. In the Iowa state census of 1885, his occupation is listed as blacksmith.

It was soon after that, in September 1886, that Nathan made application for homestead land in Sherman County, Kansas. The homestead file shows they took up residence in March of 1887. I intend to write more about his homestead during the coming week. But as a homesteader,his occupation in 1900 and 1905 is shown as farmer. However by 1915 he is again a blacksmith.

Nathan died 30 Jun 1917 in Sherman County, Kansas and he is buried at the Goodland Cemetery.

Tomorrow I plan to tell you about Nathan's venture into politics.

Ancestor Birthday - January 24th - Benjamin Albertson 1826-1908

Benjamin is my 2nd great-grandfather. He was born in 1826 in Perquimans County, North Carolina, which is in the northeastern corner of the state, which I visited in 1996. He was the son of Nathan Albertson and Phariby Nicholson. I wrote about Nathan on the 5th of January post.

Benjamin, while still a child, traveled with his parents and extended family going north in the 1830's to Rush County Indiana. He was still living with his parents when they moved to Hancock County Indiana in 1837. The family were charter members of the Quaker Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting. It was at the Westland Meeting House on 26 November 18, 1847, that he married Sabina Marsh. Her family had also been Quakers for a number of years coming from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio before arriving in Indiana. In 1852 Benjamin and Sabina and their two small sons, Nathan and William, were granted certificates from Walnut Ridge to transfer to Westfield Monthly Meeting in Hamilton County, Indiana, but Benjamin's family had already moved westward to that area because they were counted there in the 1850 census. In 1855, the family moved again, going farther west into Hardin County, Iowa. By the 1880 census they went across the county line and were living in Marshall County, Iowa.

A family history of Bejamins's gt-grandmother's family, Genealogy of the Bell Family: A Record of the Decendants of Lancelot Bell which was published in 1907, lists Sabina's death as 4 Oct 1897, so Benjamin was now a widower. He apparently moved with his daughter's family as they are in Jericho Springs, Cedar County, Missouri by the 1900 census. When and where Benjamin died is a mystery I haven't yet solved. Other researchers have listed the date as 23 Feb 1908, but I have not seen their documentation for this. This date would not contradict the family history publlshed in 1907 as it does not give any death information for him.

Although Benjamin owned land and worked as a farmer, he also worked as woodworker, being listed in the 1850 census as a wagonmaker and as a carpenter in 1870, 1880 and 1900.

Benjamin was one of nine children, having seven brothers and one sister. I find it interesting that Benjamin and Sabina had only one daughter along with four sons. Then their oldest son, my ancestor Nathan Elias Albertson, had only one daughter and four sons. So in my direct line there were three generations where there was just one daughter. Do you suppose those girls were given special attention in their families?

See Benjamin on my website:http://www.joanneskelton.com/p9.htm#i208

Ancestor Birthday - January 10th - Margaret Thornburg 1767-1843

Margaret was my 4th great-grandmother. She was the daughter of Quakers Joseph Thornburg and Ann Armfield. The spelling of her surname seemed to depend on who was recording it. The clerks at some of the Quaker monthly meetings in North Carolina in the late 1700s used various spellings:

• Cane Creek: Thornburg, Thornbrugh, Thornborough
• Center: Thornbrough, Thornberry
• New Garden: Thornbrug, Thornbrugh, Thornburgh, Thornbrough, Thornburg, Thornbury

Her father's will was recorded in 1800 in Guilford County, North Carolina with the name Thornburg, so this is the spelling I use in my compiled records.

Many researchers have stated that her ancestry can be traced many generations back to noble lines in England. It may be true, but I don't have any proficiency in that type of research, so won't speculate.

I do know that Margaret was one of my "moving ancestors." She was born in 10 Jan 1767 in Guilford County, North Carolina; moved to Highland County, Ohio with her husband Stephen Hoggatt/Hockett and family in 1805; then they moved to Hancock County, Indiana in 1817; and finally with most of their married children moved to Henry County, Iowa in the 1830s. It was there that Margaret died in 1843, after her husband of 53 years had died in 1839.

Margaret is one of my DNA circles on Ancestry DNA. As of today, 10 Jan 2017, my DNA matches 21 individuals whose paper trail would include Margaret as an ancestor. I am amused that Ancestry gives a brief summary of her life with the DNA Circle and they state that she had 12 sons and 8 daughters. She did have a large family, but my research shows she had 6 sons and 5 daughters for a total of 11. They all lived to marry and she had at least 100 grandchildren. So using conservative sizes for families we could estimate there would be thousands of descendants alive today, so naturally some of them have tested their DNA.

See Margaret on my website:http://www.joanneskelton.com/p18.htm#i434

Ancestor Birthday - January 5th - Nathan Albertson 1801-1883

Nathan is my 3rd great-grandfather. He was born in 1801 in Perquimans County, North Carolina, whic is in the northeastern corner of the state. I was privileged to visit that area in 1996. The Albertsons had lived in that area for over a century as Nathan's 3rd great-grandfather Albert settled a land grant there in 1694.

By the time Nathan was ten, his mother had died, as his father, Benjamin Albertson, remarried in 1811, to a widow, Margaret (Bagley) Nixon, with three children from her previous marriage. Nathan gained a half-brother William in about 1814. Nathan's father had died before October 1824, when Nathan married Phariby Nicholson in a Quaker ceremony at Suttons Creek Monthly Meeting. Nathan's step-mother, Margaret Albertson's name was listed as one of the witnesses.

Nathan and Phariby followed the trend of Quakers moving north in the 1830's and purchased government land in Rush County Indiana in 1834. They continued moving, buying land in Hancock County Indiana in 1837 and then in 1855 buying land in Hardin County, Iowa. By the 1880 census Nathan and Phariby were living with their son Benjamin's family in Marshall County, Iowa.

A family history (Genealogy of the Bell Family: A Record of the Decendants of Lancelot Bell ) gives Nathan's death date as 12 January 1883. Benjamin's family is listed on the 1885 Nebraska state census with Phariby in their household.

See Nathan on my website:http://www.joanneskelton.com/p9.htm#i215