Branching Out – Connections to Cottage Grove – Part 2

Last week I wrote about how I was connected to Cottage Grove through the farm where I grew up. After I moved to Cottage Grove I discovered there was a Cottage Grove connection at the church I attended in Halsey. One of the “older” ladies at the Halsey Christian Church was Mrs. Ethel Maxwell. She was among that group of ladies who wore hats to church and were almost always there.

After living in Cottage Grove over 20 years, I joined the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society and became active in researching my family history. In checking the books at the Society library, I found one about the Powell family. [Powell History, written in 1922 by James Madison Powell, then updated in 1977] I was acquainted with several members of a Powell family so I did some reading in that book.

It was on page 285 I found Ethel as the wife of Frank Maxwell, son of Nancy Powell and Antony Maxwell. Nancy and Antony were married in 1860 and about 5 years later had moved to a farm near Halsey where they lived for almost 40 years. So Ethel’s mother-in-law was Nancy Powell. But does that make a connection to Cottage Grove other than a book in the library? Well, Nancy did have brothers.

One of these was Joseph Goble Powell (1841-1924) whose daughter Nancy married John Overholser. John’s son Ross was married to Marguariete, a former president of the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society and also the Cottage Grove Historical Society and the author of some historical books. She was someone I knew in Cottage Grove.

Another of Joseph’s children was Charles. One of his sons was Archie Powell, who served as an elder at the Cottage Grove Church of Christ. This was the church I attended and I did know Archie. Among Joseph’s other children was Edward, whose daughter Geneva had married Frank Richardson. Geneva was a faithful member of the Cottage Grove Church of Christ and I considered her a good friend.

Nancy had a half-brother, Alexander Hamilton Powell (1834-1915). He moved to the Cottage Grove area in 1878. Four of his five children married descendants of Cottage Grove area Donation Land Claim settlers. One of these settlers was Henry Small. As our Genealogical Society is publishing stories about these local settlers, I wrote about Henry Small. I didn’t realize when I noted that a descendant had married a Powell that I had a connection to the Powell family from my Halsey days.

So the Powell family had connections to Cottage Grove through people I knew and someone I wrote about. I believe that as I continue to study the Powell History I will continue to find more connections between the Powell family and Cottage Grove.

Quaker Cousins - Phebe Hinshaw

In May I wrote about some Quaker cousins of my great-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, on his father's side of the family. Then in June I wrote about some of his Quaker cousins on his mother's side. Now that it is July, I plan so do some writing about some of the Quaker cousins of his wife, Mary Magdalene (Hockett) Albertson. I am starting with her father's side of the family. This is Mary's 1st cousin, so she is my 1st cousin 3 times removed.

Mary's father, Francis Hockett, had 11 brothers and sisters and 1 half-brother. I am beginning with a daughter of his oldest sister, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth had married John Allen Hinshaw at the Cherry Grove Meeting House in Randolph County, Indiana in 1835. Their oldest two children were born in Randolph County, but between Jun 1837 and Jun 1839 the family moved to Henry County, which was a part of Iowa Territory as of 1838. Six more children were born in Henry County. The 4th one born there was Phebe, on 26 June 1845, the year before Iowa became a state. Phebe's twin brother John was naturally born on the same date, but sadly he died on the 4th of July, living only 8 days.

Phebe was interesting to me because she never married, so there are no descendants to tell her story. I was able to find her in a number of censuses so some of her life can be described.

At age 5, Phebe was listed on the 1850 census with her parents and 6 surviving siblings in Salem Township in Henry County. But it was just the next year in February of 1851 that her father died. Elizabeth and all 7 children, including Phebe, now age 10, are listed on the 1856 Iowa State Census. Phebe is age 14 on the 1860 census with her mother and 3 siblings.

It was probably in December of 1864 when Phebe's mother married Job Smith who had at least 3 children.

By the 1870 census the family was living in Tippecanoe Township in Henry County, Iowa. Phebe at age 25 was found with the occupation housekeeping in the household of Charles Maxwell with his wife and 4 children. Listed just before them was Phebe older sister, Sarah with her husband Francis Lupton and their 5 children. Phebe had a two year old niece in that family named Phebe. Listed just after the Maxwell was Phebe's mother with her new husband, 3 Smith children and Phebe's youngest sister Mary who was now 20. I found it interesting to compare the real estate values reported for these 3 households. For Francis Lupton it was $600, for Job Smith it was $3,500, and for Charles Maxwell it was $10,300. It would be a fair supposition that Phebe was a paid housekeeper for the Maxwell family.

When the 1880 census was taken Phebe was now living with her youngest sister, Mary, who was now married to Joshua Trueblood and had a 7 year old son, L. Carlton. Listed just before them was a Samuel Lupton with Sarah his wife and now 8 children. It seems that Phebe continued to live with Mary since the 1900 census has Carl Trueblood age 27 with his mother Mary and his aunt Phebe Hinshaw living in the household. Mary died within that same year, but in the 1910 census Lewis C. (no doubt Carl) Trueblood age 37 has a wife and 2 children and an aunt, Pheba A. Hinshaw, in his household, still in Tippecanoe Township.

The state census for 1915 in Iowa has a listing for Phebe showing her as single, age 69, born in Iowa, able to read and write, had 3 years of school and her church was the Friends. Phebe died just a few days after her 70th birthday in 1915 on July 1st, which would be 102 years ago today. She was buried in Salem South Cemetery, Henry County, Iowa. She is listed on a stone with her mother who had died in 1882, so they are probably next to each other.

Hopefully by describing some of these mentions of Phebe, she will not be forgotten.