52 Ancestors 2020 – 20 – Travel – Elizabeth (Frazier) Emry

Thinking about the topic Travel, many of my ancestors and relatives tended to move fairly frequently. Of the 7 aunts and uncles on the birthday calendar for this week Elizabeth (Frazier) Emry showed a fair amount of traveling since she was born in one state, was married in another and then died in yet another state. So she was the chosen one.

Elizabeth & Travis Emry

Courtesy of Stan Galloway

Elizabeth was my 3^rd great-grandaunt, the sister of my 3^rd great-grandmother, Sarah (Frazier) Hockett. Elizabeth was the child of Francis Frazier and Elizabeth Stanley, born 15 May 1795 in Randolph County, North Carolina. I have already written about her youngest brother, Francis Henry Frazier, and posted it 15 Mar 2020 on my blog. He was born after 1800 so does not appear on the 1800 census. But it is probable that Elizabeth was one of the females under 10 in the household of Francis Frazer in neighboring Guilford County, North Carolina.

It was in 1810 that the Frazier family moved to Highland County, Ohio. Ohio does not have a 1810 census available so we can't verify this by the census. But the Quaker Fairfield Monthly Meeting recorded that the Fraziers were received from the Center Monthly Meeting in North Carolina. It was in December of 1812 when the Clear Creek Monthly Meeting in Clinton County, Ohio, was set off from Fairfield Meeting.

Elizabeth with her mother and sisters Ann & Susannah were received on certificate at New Garden Monthly Meeting in Wayne County, Indiana on 22 Mar 1817 from Clear Creek Monthly Meeting.

Not only did Elizabeth travel to different places, her name traveled also. Naturally her name changed from Frazier to Adcock when she married Travis Adcock 27 Aug 1818, at New Garden Meeting House. Travis had been married previously. He had married 7 Dec 1814 to Susannah Moorman, who died in childbirth 22 Jul 1816. It was 21 Sep 1816 when Travis was received on request at the New Garden Monthly Meeting. His land was in Randolph County near the border with Wayne County. He and Elizabeth were listed on the 1820 census in Wayne Township, Randolph County, with their oldest child, Susannah. The patent on 160 acres was granted in June 1821, after their next child James was born in February. Travis and Elizabeth were charter members of the Cherry Grove Monthly Meeting in Randolph County, which had been set off from New Garden in 1821.

Before the 1830 census 4 more children were born, Rachel, Sarah, Gideon and Archelaus. Since the census shows only a total of 5 children it is likely that Gideon, who was born in 1826, had died before the time of the census. There were 3 more children born in the early 1830s, Thomas, David and Rebecca. Then the 1834-35 session of the Indiana Legislature made a change in Elizabeth's name. The Cherry Grove minutes 8 Aug 1835 noted “the name of Travis Adcock & Elizabeth his wife & their children Susanna, James, Rachel, Sarah, Archeleus, Thomas Frazier, David & Rebecca all residence[sic] of Randolph County be and they are hereby changed and the said Travis and Elizabeth shall be known by the name of Travis and Elizabeth Emery and their said children.” It was a little less than 3 years later when Travis requested a transfer of membership for his family to Vermillion Monthly Meeting in Illinois. This was actually the method used by the group of Quakers who were moving from Indiana to Iowa Territory. So it was the Travis Emery family, later changed to Emry, who were charter members of Salem Monthly Meeting in Henry County, the first Quaker Monthly Meeting west of the Mississippi River. The land patent issued to Travis Emry for 243.26 acres of land in Henry County was dated 1 Dec 1841. The map shows it was located about half way between Mt. Pleasant and Salem.

The year before Iowa became a state in 1846, Elizabeth and her family traveled again, transferring from Salem Monthly Meeting to Pleasant Plain Monthly Meeting in Jefferson County, Iowa. Travis received land patents in Jefferson County: 40 acres in 1847, 80 acres and 40 acres in 1848, for a total of 160 acres.

Elizabeth's traveling days seem to be over after she arrived in Jefferson County. She can be found on the 1850 census at age 55 in Penn township with her husband (indexed by Ancestry.com as Fravais Emery) and the 4 younger children. Her son James was living next door with his family, so she would have been able to visit those 4 grandchildren quite frequently. By 1860 she and Travis are “empty-nesters” but their youngest son David and his family are next door. Elizabeth was widowed 31 Jan 1866 when Travis died and was buried at the Walnut Creek Friends Cemetery in Penn Township there in Jefferson County. In 1870, at age 75, she was living with her son David and his wife and 8 children. It was the next year when Elizabeth died on 23 Jul 1871 and was buried in the same cemetery as her husband.

I have enjoyed following the travels of Elizabeth and her family from North Carolina to Ohio, then Indiana and finally to Iowa, with her name as Frazier, then Adcock and ending as Emry

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.

Ancestor Unbirthday - abt 1785 - Seth Hayes

Seth Hayes was my 3rd gt-grandfather. I am uncertain about his date of birth, but when he filed for his Oregon donation land claim, he used 1785 and on the 1850 census for Locust Grove Township in Jefferson County Iowa his age was listed as 64 which would be an about 1785 birthdate. The 1830 census in Burton, Geauga County, Ohio showed Seth as between 40 and 50 so this fits a 1785 birthdate.

Where was Seth born? In his Oregon donation land claim papers Seth listed New York. On the 1850 census it showed his birthplace as New Hampshire. This was the same place that his wife was born, so maybe this caused an incorrect entry. A Hayes family history manuscript listed his birthplace as New York State, probably Stephantown, Albany County.

The same family history stated that his parents were Pliny and Priscilla (Whipple) Hayes. A county history for Geauga County Ohio said that Seth moved there in 1800 with his uncle, also named Seth Hayes, and his sister Hannah. Then Seth and his brother Ebenezer went back east in 1810 and brought their mother to Geauga County. The county history gives this notation about his father: "1st elopement in the Hayes family was her husband, Plynn Hayes, who prior to 1800, run off with a woman into the wilds of Pennsylvania."

While Seth was living in Geauga County, he enlisted in Captain Parkers Company of the Ohio Militia and served in the War of 1812. About 40 years later he received 40 acres of bounty land in Iowa.

He married Lydia Jewett, the daughter of Joseph and Huldah (Fenton) Jewett, 17 Dec 1818 in Geauga County. They lived in Burton township where 7 children were born: Huldah (died at age 3) Hannah, Lydia Louisa, Seth Whipple, Huldah (2nd child named Huldah and my 2nd gt-grandmother) Ebenezer and Sybil Ann. Before 1837 the family moved to Indiana where their youngest child, Priscilla, was born. The family moved to Jefferson County Iowa by 1840 and in 1853 the family left Iowa and traveled over the Oregon Trail to settle in Linn County Oregon in the area that later became the city of Halsey.

The 1860 US Census mortality schedule showed that Seth died in April of 1860 in Linn County Oregon. It listed his birthplace as Massachusetts (which was the probable birthplace of his father) and his age as 74, which again is a birthdate of about 1785.

One of the problems in researching Seth is that his gt-granddaughter. Ruby (Hayes) Standish, gave a WPA interview in 1940 and she gave incorrect information about the wives names, assigning Seth's mother as his wife and assigning Seth's wife to his son. Since these interviews have been published online it can be confusing to researchers. So we always need to verify information given in an oral history.

Researching Elizabeth as a Cousin

This is the second part of this article that I am repeating. I posted the first part yesterday, 9 Jun 2017.

When beginning my research in the 1980's, a cousin shared information that Elizabeth Stillwell was the daughter of William Stillwell and Martha ?. One of the members of the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, Frances Quinn, a Stillwell descendant, was researching that family. She was willing to share some of her files with me. Among those papers was one which stated: Estate of William Stillwell, settled Apr 6, 1852, Jeff. Co. Heirs: John; James; Elizabeth, wife of George Bond; Jane, wife of Peter Wycoff; Polly, wife of Seth Whipple Hayes; Nancy; William; Joseph; Marian (Maria?). Petition asking for appointment of referees to set apart dower etc. Martha Stillwell vs heirs of William Stillwell June 19 & 25, 1851, first admitted. Apparently this paper had been supplied to the Stillwell Family Organization by a descendant of Polly and Seth Whipple Hayes, (Seth is also my 2^nd great-granduncle.)

Since Elizabeth was said to be born in Kentucky I did a search on Ancestry's Kentucky Marriages 1802-1850 database for William Stil*, which found a William Stilwell who married Lelia Bond on 19 Sep 1820 in Henry County, Kentucky and a William Stillwell who married Selia Bond on 21 Sep 1820 in Shelby County, Kentucky. A cousin sent a copy of the marriage bond from Henry County and it stated that Lelia Bond was the daughter of Solomon Bond. Solomon Bond was also the father of John Bond, George's father. Was this William Stillwell the father of Elizabeth? Were George and Elizabeth cousins? Checking the Kentucky Marriages database again I discovered that there was only one marriage for a Stil*well in Henry County, but there were 17 in Shelby County between 1798 and 1825.

I chose to do some census research. Since William, Elizabeth's father, died in Jefferson County, Iowa in about 1851, I checked the 1850 census. The index done by Ancestry has many errors (for which I have now submitted some corrections.) There was only one Stillwell family in Jefferson County, Iowa in the 1850 census. William was shown as age 56 (birthdate about 1794) born in Kentucky. Also in the household were Martha age 48, born in Pennsylvania; Stephen age 22, born in Kentucky; Jane age 20, born in Indiana; Nancy age 16, born in Indiana; Wm age 13, born in Illinois; Joseph age 11, born in Illinois; Maria age 8, born in Iowa. Peter Wykoff, the future husband of Jane, was also living in their household.

Since John, James, Elizabeth and Polly who were listed on the estate paper were not in this household, I then checked for a marriage previous to 1850. Also, since the birthplaces of the children in 1850 census were Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, the family apparently lived in all those places. It would appear they moved to Indiana between 1828 and 1830, then to Illinois between 1834 and 1837, and on to Iowa before 1842. The Iowa Marriages to 1850 database showed a marriage between Seth W. Hays and Polly Bond Stillwell in 1849 in Jefferson County, Iowa. The Illinois Marriages to 1850 database showed marriages in Edgar County for the following Stil(l)wells: George W. Bond to Elizabeth Stilwell in February 1838, William Stillwell to Martha Kirkpatrick in September 1841, Levi Houston to Ann B. Stilwell in September 1841 and John Stilwell to Mary Mathews in November 1844.

Since the son William was only 13 in 1850 the William who was married in 1841 seems to have been the father. Martha was the name of his wife in 1850, so this makes sense. Family researchers have posted the following information about Martha. Her maiden name was Hays and she was born in Pennsylvania. She married William Kirkpatrick about 1816. They moved to Edgar County, Illinois about 1828 and William Kirkpatrick died there in 1838 and she married William Stillwell in 1841. As the daughter Maria was born about 1842, she appears to be the only child from this marriage. Therefore all the other children would be from William's first marriage.

I believe that the William who is in Jefferson County, Iowa in 1850 is the same William who married the daughter of Solomon Bond in Henry/Shelby County, Kentucky in 1820. There is a William Stillwell in the 1840 census of Edgar County, Illinois and also one in the 1830 census of Montgomery County, Indiana. Debbie Monsive helped me with research in Montgomery County, Indiana, with a biographical sketch of a Stillwell living there whose father, Jeremiah Stillwell, had come from Shelby County, Kentucky, in 1826. It is my belief that Jeremiah and William are brothers, both sons of a John Stillwell who was living in Shelby County in 1820.

Another reason for this belief is that Polly Stillwell, the wife of Seth Whipple Hayes, had the middle name Bond, as shown on their marriage record.

But finally in October of 2010, I found another document. Ancestry had posted the U.S. Special Census on Deaf Family Marriages and Hearing Relatives, 1888-1895. Since Elizabeth's daughter, Sarah, was deaf and had married a deaf man, she was included on this Special Census. One of the questions to be answered by the wife was: Were your parents related before marriage? Sarah answered Yes. Then the form continued: If so, what relationship? Sarah answered 1^st cousins.

Aunt Elizabeth was a 1^st cousin to her husband, so also a 1^st cousin to his brother, my 2^nd great-grandfather, therefore she was my 1^st cousin four times removed.  

Early Oregon Cousins -- Seth Stephen Hayes

Seth Stephen Hayes was the son of Seth Whipple Hayes and the grandson of Seth Hayes. Seth Stephen's mother was Polly Bond Stillwell, his grandmother was Selia (Bond) Stillwell and his great-grandfather was Solomon Bond. So he was a 1st cousin of John Howard Bond on the Hayes side and a 2nd cousin on the Bond side. Therefore he was my 1st cousin 3 times removed and my 2nd cousin 3 times removed, another one of those double cousins, which keep popping up.

Seth was one of the cousins born in Jefferson County Iowa before his family moved to Oregon in 1853. As he was born 28 Oct 1852, he wasn't quite 6 months old when they started their journey and got to celebrate his 1st birthday in Oregon. He was 2 1/2 years older than John, but they lived near each other, so probably did do things together, including school, since the 1870 census indicated they both had attended school that year.

Seth's mother died in August of 1863, when he was 10 1/2 years old. His father remarried 2 years later to Sarah (Finley) Vawter, so she became his step-mother. It was in November of 1876 when Seth's father was murdered.

Sometime in the first part of June 1880, Seth married Almira Stevenson. On 22 Jun 1880 they were enumerated as a couple on the census. They were shown as boarders in a house with a number of others in Halsey, Linn County Oregon.

Apparently Almira died within the next few years because Seth married Ella Porter 22 Oct 1884. Seth and Ella had 3 children, Dean, Beulah and Seth, before the 1900 census since they are listed together in the city of Moro, Sherman County Oregon, which was in the eastern part of the state. Seth's occupation was general merchant. By 1910 the family had moved back to the Willamette Valley, to Portland, and the two younger children were still at home.

Ella died in 1918 in Los Angeles County, California. On the 1920 census Seth, now a widower, was still in Portland at the same address, 375 East 15 St N, with his youngest son and daughter-in-law. When the 1930 census was taken, Seth was still there but now it was his daughter and son-in-law and grandson who were living with him. The home was marked as owned, valued at $12,000 and they did have a radio. I wonder how much the 5 year old grandson got to listen to it. In 1940 Seth was still living with his daughter's family, but it is in a different house and it stated that they were also there in 1935.

It must have not been too long after this that Seth moved into the Restwell Sanitarium in Briarwood in Clackamas County Oregon. The death certificate stated he had been there a year before he died 19 Apr 1942 at age 89. It noted that he was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park.

Ancestor Birthday - March 15 - Huldah Hayes 1827-1903

Since I had two ancestors who were born on March 15th, I did the oldest one first yesterday and am writing today about the second one.

Huldah Hayes was one of my 2nd great-grandmothers. She has a quite a lot of information about her life on my genealogy website on her person page.

http://www.joanneskelton.com/p15.htm#i371

There also is an article about events in her life in the one year 1876 on the site.

http://www.joanneskelton.com/e179.htm

From these we learn that she was born 15 Mar 1827 in Geauga County Ohio to Seth and Lydia (Jewett) Hayes. The family moved to Jefferson County, Iowa, before 1840 and it was there she married Solomon Bond on 6 Jan 1842. The family is listed in Marion County Iowa on the 1850 census and it was in 1853 when they traveled over the Oregon Trail to settle in Oregon Territory. They received a Donation Land Claim next to where Halsey Oregon is now.

She and Solomon had 11 children and at least 40 grandchildren. Here is a photo of her with some of her grandchildren, probably about 1901.

When Huldah died 26 Jun 1903, her obituary stated about her:"She was a woman of excellent character, a good citizen in every respect."