52 Ancestors 2020 – 15 – Fire – James Curtis Smalley

52 Ancestors 2020 – 15 – Fire – James Curtis Smalley

In considering who to choose for the theme “fire” I looked at the “aunts and uncles birthdays” for this week and tried to find someone who might fit this theme. It was a little bit of a stretch, but I finally decided to write about James Curtis Smalley. James was born in Adams County, Ohio, which had a rather disastrous courthouse fire in 1910. Of course James had moved away many years before the fire.

James Curtis Smalley was born 11 Apr 1862, the 4^th child of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley, during the time of the Civil War. His father enlisted in the Union Army on 14 Oct 1861, after James was conceived. Then, according to John's pension file, he was classified as absent without leave (AWOL) from 6 Feb 1862 until 3 Aug 1863 when he was arrested and placed in confinement until 31 Dec 1863. Thus his father may have been home when James was born. John then served until his discharge 28 Oct 1864 when he returned home.

The family moved farther north before the 1870 census where they were enumerated on the census in Clinton County, Ohio. There were at least 2 moves during the next ten years as they went to Illinois in about 1872 and then to Nebraska in 1879. James' youngest sister, Rosa, was born in Nebraska in June, bringing his number of siblings up to 12: Mary, Lafe, David, William, Isaac, Saber, Eliza, John, Joseph, Martha, Fred and Rosa. But sadly it was just a few months later, in Sep 1879, James' younger 13 year old brother Isaac died of typhoid fever.

The 1880 census shows their family in Saline County Nebraska. The family suffered another death as James' 18 year old sister, Saber, died in Dec 1885. It was about 1887 when the family moved again, this time southwesterly, as they went to Sherman County, Kansas. Both James and his father John settled on homesteads in Itaska Township, about 1 mile east of the County seat of Goodland, and received their patents in 1893.

But before proving up on his homestead, on 26 Nov 1889, James married 15 year old Stella Coffman, known as Stella Deatherage, as she was the adopted daughter of Charles and Eliza Deatherage. Their first child, a daughter, Iseal Fay, was born 20 Aug 1890. About 2 years later their first son was born, Earl Weaver. In 1894 the local Goodland newspaper listed James as a constable in Itasca Township.

It was in 1895 that Russell Ray was born, which was after James had been issued his patent. They may have moved south by then as they do not appear on the 1895 Kansas state census. Raymond Henry was born in Oklahoma in Aug 1897. Then death came to their young family when Russell Ray died in Jan 1898. He was buried at Cimarron Valley Cemetery in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. James and Stella and their 3 older children were listed on the 1900 census in Woods County, Oklahoma. They were probably there when Martha was born in Nov 1900, Bertha in Jun 1902 and Gilbert in Jul 1904. Again I found James mentioned in a Goodland newspaper in 1906, when it related the sad news that his 18 month old son had died of pneumonia. The family was apparently visiting in the area, staying at his sister Rosa's home. 1906 was also the year when James' name is included on the land ownership map of Township 21N, Range 10W on the southeast ¼ of section 24 in Woods County.

But the family did not stay in Oklahoma, for in the 1910 census they were shown in

Hemphill County, Texas, with 6 children in the household, which included Florence Frances who had been born in Texas in Nov 1908. James must have had wandering feet for the family was back in Oklahoma in Sickles Township in Caddo County by the 1920 census. Also in the household was their daughter Florence and Ninetta who probably was born about 1911.

Sometime in the next 10 years James and Stella made their biggest move, when they went west to California. They were enumerated on the 1930 census in Highland Township in San Berdardino County next to their youngest daughter, now married.

So from his birth in Ohio, then to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, James

died in Highland California 7 Dec 1936. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernadino. Stella was also buried in that cemetery when she died about 30 years later in 1966.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 3 – Unusual Name – Marsh Chase

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks has assigned the theme for this week as “Unusual Name.” I have chosen to write about my 2^nd gt-grandmother Lucy Jane (Chase) Shipman's brother, Marsh Chase. His name may not be especially unusual, but seemed to be the most unusual of those ancestor's siblings who were born during this week.

Although Marsh's first name is not all that unusual, those who were indexing the census records for him on Ancestry.com were able to achieve some unusual spellings for his name. It 1870 it became Mash. Then in 1900 it was Massh. They called him March in 1910 and also in 1930. But the most unusual one was in 1920 when his name became Moras Charo. But even with these various spellings, I was able to research him through the years.

Marsh was born 170 years ago, 15 January 1849, in Litchfield County, Connecticut. It was most likely that it was in Goshen township, since he was enumerated on the 1850 census there with his parents, Timothy and Lucy Irene (Howe) Chase, and 5 of his 7 older brothers and sisters. Marsh was the baby of the family, being listed as a 1 year old on that census. By 1860 the family was in Lake County, Ohio, and in 1870 they had moved to Mercer County, Illinois.

By 1874 they had moved again, this time to Saline County, Nebraska where Marsh married Mary Tyacke on 28 November. It must have been near that same time when Marsh filed a homestead application for the north ½ of the southwest ¼ of section 8, in township 6 north, range 1 east, because he was awarded his patent for those 80 acres on 30 June 1879. Apparently his father applied at about that time for the south ½ of that same quarter section. But before the required time to receive his patent, Timothy died 5 July 1877 and the patent was issued to his wife, Lucy Chase, on the same date as Marsh. The 1880 census shows Lucy living with Marsh and his family before her death on 10 March, 1882.

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The land ownership map for Saline County in 1900 shows Marsh as the owner of 160 acres which included his and his parents' homesteads. It does have his name spelled correctly. According to the census, Marsh and his family continued to live in Saline County through 1900, then in 1910 and 1920 and 1930 they were in Furnas County, Nebraska. Mary died there 16 September 1919 and Marsh lived with married daughters until his death 16 August 1935.

Marsh was buried in the Edison Cemetery in Furnas County. An obituary was published in The Edison Echo 22 August 1935. It stated that he and Mary had 4 children, but one died as an infant, so he was survived by a son, John Marsh Chase who was living in Juneau Alaska at that time, and 2 daughters: Mrs. Irene Blauvelt and Mrs. Louisa C. Pearson, both of Edison. There were 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. The obituary gave this tribute: He was a kind and loving husband and father and was always thinking of others. His cheerful disposition will be remembered by all who knew him.

52 Ancestors 2019 – 1 – First – Isaac S. Smalley

First

Again in 2019 I am attempting to write about family using the themes from 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks by Amy Johnson Crow. In 2018 I did write, using a little over a third of the suggested topics. This year I am planning to write about an ancestor's sibling whose birthday was during the week and who I could connect to the theme for the week.

The first theme in 2019 is “First.” I have chosen Isaac S. Smalley, a younger brother of my great-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce Smalley.

Isaac was born on the first day of the first month (January) in 1866, in Adams County, Ohio, the son of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. Isaac was not their first son, but he was the first child born after John W. was discharged from the Union Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, 28 Oct 1864.

It was while Isaac was still a baby the family moved north into Clinton County, Ohio. They were still living there in 1870 when the census was taken. But somehow Isaac was mixed up with his brother James so Isaac was shown as 8 years old. It was about 1872 when the family headed west and settled in Illinois. Then in 1879 they moved farther west to Saline County, Nebraska and sadly, it was there on 15 September 1879 when Isaac died of typhoid fever, the first child of John and Rachel to die. He was buried in Atlanta Cemetery in Saline County. In about 1886 the rest of his family moved again to Sherman County, Kansas.

You can see a photo of his gravestone on the Find a Grave website:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57452459/isaac-s-smalley

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 13 – The Old Homestead

The theme for this week is “The Old Homestead.” It was during the Civil War, in May of 1862 when the United States Congress passed the Homestead Act. I believe that 6 of my ancestors chose to use that legislation and gain “free” land: 2 in Oregon, 3 in Kansas and 1 in Nebraska.

So who were my “Homesteaders”? I'll begin with those from Oregon. My 2^nd gt-grandfather, Commodore Perry O'Neal, received a patent dated 30 Jun 1891 for 164.53 acres located adjacent to land he had purchased in 1870. This was about 4 miles west of the town of Creswell in Lane County, Oregon. His son-in-law John Howard Bond, my gt-grandfather, received his patent about a year earlier, 28 May 1890, for 160 acres located about 2 miles northwest of Commodore Perry's land. John sold his land in 1893 and moved across the Cascade Mountains to Gilliam County Oregon where he stayed about 10 years before moving back to the Willamette Valley. Commodore Perry stayed on his land until his death in 1919. He had deeded his land to his 3 sons about 2 months before he died.

In Kansas, my gt-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, received his patent 28 Sep 1893 for 160 acres in McPherson township, Sherman County Kansas. As I noted in a blog post about his homesteading last year, 9 Sep 2017, it was located about 10 miles southwest of the County Seat, Goodland Kansas.¹ Before the 1900 census he had moved to another township in the County, Washington Township, about 2 ½ miles west of the town of Edson Kansas.

Nathan's future daughter-in-law's (Lucie Rachel Smalley) grandfather, my 2^nd gt-grandfather, Joshua Rodney Shipman had a homestead also in Washington Township. His patent was dated 23 Sep 1893 for 159.28 acres, located about 2 ½ miles southwest of the town of Edson.

Lucie's other grandfather, another of my 2^nd gt-grandfathers, John Wilson Smalley received his patent 29 Apr 1893 for 160 acres in Itasca Township, Sherman County, Kansas. This was a mile east of Goodland and so was about 5 miles west of where Nathan lived in Washington Township.

It was one of my 3^rd gt-grandmothers who received the patent to a homestead in Nebraska, Lucy Irene Chase (the mother-in-law to Joshua Rodney Shipman.) Lucy's husband Timothy had originally filed for the homestead, but died in 1877 before it was finalized. She received the patent for 80 acres 30 Jun 1879 as his widow. This land was in Atlanta Township, Saline County Nebraska.

Knowing that some who filed for homesteads did not complete the process, I was glad to discover that at least 6 of my ancestors did the required work and were issued patents. Maybe I should also be thankful to the U.S. Congress for passing such a law so my family had the opportunity to be landowners.

1The blog post about Nathan Elias Albertson's homestead is at:

https://joannesgenealogyresearch.blogspot.com/2017/02/great-grandfatheralbertson-had.html

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 11 – Lucky

The theme for week 11 on 52 Ancestors is Lucky. I consider my self lucky (or I prefer the term blessed) that with all the moving my family did, my earlier ancestors were at the right place at the right time to meet and marry and become the parents of my later ancestors.

For example, my 4 grandparents were born in 4 different states: Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin and Oregon.

My paternal grandfather, Oran Jesse “OJ” Albertson, was born in Marshall County Iowa in 1882, but in 1887 the family moved to a homestead in Sherman County Kansas. My grandmother, Lucie Rachel Smalley, had been born in 1886 in Sherman County just after her family had moved there from Saline County Nebraska. It was in Sherman County that OJ and Lucie were married in 1906 and my father, Lester Oran Albertson, was born in 1907. The family moved to Linn County Oregon in 1911.

My maternal grandmother, Florence Edna Bond, was born in 1891 in the Willamette Valley, Lane County, Oregon. About 1894 the family went north to Gilliam County Oregon, but by 1905 they had moved back to the Valley to Linn County Oregon. My grandfather, Julius Adolph Falk, was born in 1880 about 2000 miles away in Iowa County Wisconsin. A number of his family moved to Iowa and then 6 brothers moved to Linn County Oregon between 1900 and 1910. Julius came by 1905 and it was in 1910 when he and Florence were married. My mother, Wilma Anna Falk, was born in Oregon in 1912 and because Lester and family had moved to the area in 1911, they eventually met and were married in 1933.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 5 – Lafe Smalley

Lafe Smalley abt 1910

Today is the last day of week 5 and the theme for this week on 52 Ancestors is “In the Census.” I wrote about my gt-grandfather, Lafayette Pierce “Lafe” Smalley on his birthday on 21 Sep 2017 and noted that he probably was listed on more censuses than any other of my ancestors, 8 U.S. Census and 5 state census, for a total of 13. So here is a chart showing them.

Year	Type	Name	Age	Town/Twp	County	State
1860	US	Lafayette P. Smalley	1	Oliver Twp	Adams	Ohio
1870	US	Lafayette Smalley	12	Greene Twp	Clinton	Ohio
1880	US	Lafayette Smawley	21	Turkey Creek Twp	Saline	Nebraska
1885	State	S. F. Smally	26	Atlanta Twp	Saline	Nebraska
1895	State	L. F. Smalley	37	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1900	US	Lafayette Smalley	41	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1905	State	L. F. Smalley	46	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1910	US	L. S. Smalley	51	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1915	State	L. F. Smalley	56	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1920	US	Lafe F. Smalley	61	Washington Twp	Sherman	Kansas
1925	State	L. F. Smalley	66	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas
1930	US	Lafayette F. Smalley	71	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas
1940	US	Lafe Smalley	81	Goodland	Sherman	Kansas

He was born in Adams County Ohio 21 Sep 1858 and died in Goodland, Sherman County Kansas 30 Jan 1946. He married Rosa Ella Shipman 29 Dec 1880 in Saline County Nebraska. She appeared on all the censuses after that with him.

Ancestor Birthday – November 29th – Rosa Ella Shipman 1863-1954

Rosa Ella Shipman was my gt-grandmother. She was the youngest of my 8 gt-grandparents, being born 29 Nov 1863, during the middle of the Civil War. I believe she was born in Mercer County, Illinois, although some records give the location as Galesburg, Illinois, which was in a neighboring county.

There is a fairly complete entry for her on my website:

http://www.joanneskelton.com/p2.htm#i31

Rosa was listed along with her father on the 1870 census in Mercer County in the household of her grandfather Timothy Chase. Before 1880 the family moved to Saline County, Nebraska and she was listed there with her parents and brother Timothy on the 1880 census which was taken on June 1st. She was age 16 with the occupation teacher. It was just a month after her 17^th birthday, 29 Dec 1880, when Rosa married Lafayette Pierce Smalley. This photo shared by a cousin was dated Jul 1881 and seems to be the closest to a wedding picture that we have.

It was May of 1882 when her first child, Pierre A. Smalley, was born. Sadly he died when about 15 months old 2 Sep 1883. Six months later her son Ralph was born 16 Mar 1884. Soon after that the family moved to Sherman County Kansas where her oldest daughter, Lucie, was born 5 Aug 1886. Lucie was my grandmother. Rosa's next child, Curtis, was born 21 Dec 1888 and died less than a month later 9 Jan 1889. Then came a succession of children who lived to adulthood: Lake 1890, Celia 1892, Marvin 1896, Julia 1898, and one day before her birthday, 28 Nov 1900, the twins Lauren and Laurene were born.

As I posted in September, Rosa continued to do some teaching. Before the 1930 census, she and her husband, Lafe as he was called, moved from the farm into the town of Goodland. She was listed in that census as a retail merchant in the grocery business.

When I was 10 months old in 1940, my parents, grandparents and I traveled back to Kansas and were able to visit Rosa and Lafe and many other relatives. On 21 Sep 2017 I posted a 4 generation photo taken during that 1940 visit. It was in 1944 when they came to Oregon to visit us and other relatives who had moved from Kansas to Oregon. In December 1945 Rosa and Lafe celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary and a month later Lafe died 30 Jan 1946.

Rosa lived as a widow for 8 more years. My father took a trip to Kansas mid-summer of 1954 and was able to visit his grandmother. She died a little over a month later, 16 Sep 1954, and was buried in the Goodland Cemetery, Sherman County Kansas.

Ancestor Birthday - September 21 - Lafayette Pierce Smalley 1858 - 1946

Lafayette Pierce Smalley was my gt-grandfather, born 21 Sep 1858 in Adams County, Ohio. He was the son of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. I have written about him more than once during the past year. I generally use the name Lafe for him.

He was included in most of the census series which I did in July. When I looked again at his census listings, I found that he has probably the most listings where I found him in a census than any other of my ancestors. He was in 8 U.S. Censuses: 1860 in Adams County Ohio; 1870 in Clinton County Ohio; 1880 in Saline County Nebraska; 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 in Sherman County Kansas. Plus he was in 5 State Censuses: 1885 in Saline County Nebraska and 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925 in Sherman County Kansas. That totals 13 times I have found him in a census listing. His wife Rosa Ella Shipman would tie him, except she was born after 1860, so was only in 7 U.S. Censuses. She was in all 5 State Censuses with him and was probably in the 1865 census in Mercer County Illinois with her parents, but that census did not name the members of the household, but only gave a count, so I can't be positive it was her.

I have posted a couple of photos of him as an individual (11 Jul 2017) one where he was with his parents and siblings (6 Aug 2017) one where he was with his wife and children (7 Aug 2017) and another with family when he was visiting in Oregon in 1944 (7Aug 2017).

I did find a photo that I had not previously posted. It was taken in 1940 when some of the Oregon family visited back in Kansas. It is a 4 generation photo: back row, Lester (Lafe's grandson) and Wilma (Falk) Albertson, O. J. and Lucie (Smalley) (Lafe's daughter) Albertson; front row, Lafe Smalley, Joanne Albertson (Lafe's gt-granddaughter) and Rosa Ella (Shipman) Smalley.

Ancestor Birthday - September 16 - Lucy Irene Howe - 1811- 1882

Yesterday I wrote about an ancestor who lived in Wallingford, Connecticut, Jeremiah Howe. Today it is his 2nd gt-granddaughter, who was my 3rd gt-grandmother, that I intend to write about, Lucy Irene Howe. Lucy didn't live in Wallingford. She was born in the town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 16 Sep 1811 to Ichabod and Irene (Scovill) Howe.

Lucy was just 2 years old when her mother Irene died. Irene died just a few days after her father. She was listed in his will, so Lucy was entitled to that inheritance from her grandfather and her father filed papers with the probate court to be appointed guardian for her. It was there I learned who her parents were and so gained a large number of Connecticut relatives. Lucy had an older sister and 2 older brothers. Her father remarried sometime before the 1820 census, so she grew up with a step-mother.

Lucy married Timothy Chase on New Years Eve, 31 Dec 1832, in Cornwall. She and Timothy had 8 children, 3 girls and 5 boys. The family did not stay put. They were in Sharon, Connecticut in the 1840 census and were in Goshen, Connecticut for the 1850 census. Then they moved to Ohio and were in Leroy township Lake County in the 1860 census. But they didn't stay in Ohio and were in Illinois in Rivoli township, Mercer County for the 1870 census. There was at least one more move to Nebraska. Her husband had settled on homestead land in Atlanta Township, Saline County, but died 5 Jul 1877 before finishing his claim, so it was patented to Lucy, as his widow. Lucy was living with her youngest son and his family on the 1880 census there in Nebraska. She died 10 Mar 1882 and we believe both she and Timothy, her husband, were buried in Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta Township, Saline County, Nebraska.

Rosa's Cousins - Nellie Grace Chase

Rosa had a double relationship to Nellie Grace Chase. Nellie was her 1st cousin and therefore my 1st cousin 3 times removed. But also Nellie had married William Smalley, Rosa's husband's brother, so she was Rosa's sister-in-law.

Since Nellie was married to my Dad's granduncle, he always referred to her as Aunt Nellie, so I grew up calling her that also. She was one of the few relatives from Nebraska who came to visit us in Oregon and I always enjoyed her visits. She was fun to be around. Probably the reason she came to Oregon was not just to see us, but some of her children lived in Oregon.

Nellie was born 5 May 1872 in Henry County Illinois, the daughter of Wells Morgan and Sarah Jane (McLaughlin) Chase. Nellie was the 2nd child of 4, 1 brother and 2 sisters. As a baby they moved to Mercer County Illinois and when Nellie was about 12 years old they moved to Saline County Nebraska. It was there not long before her 16th birthday that she married William Smalley on 1 Mar 1888. She and William soon moved to Sherman County Kansas and they settled on a homestead. Later they moved back to Nebraska, first to Saline County where they were enumerated on the 1900 census with their first four children: Clyde, Lee, Floyd and Sarah Fern.

By 1910 they were living in Nuckolls County Nebraska with their 6 children, including the 2 youngest, Raymond and Maymie. These 2 were still living in the household with their parents in the 1920 census. I haven't yet found the family for the 1930 census, but in 1940 they were living in the city of Superior in Nuckolls County with no children left at home.

William died in 1944. Nellie lived as a widow for more than 20 years until her death 16 Mar 1965. They were both buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Superior Nebraska and have a double gravestone. One of their descendants shared a copy of the funeral program for Nellie with the family. I found it very interesting that the songs listed were ones which I have played for funerals myself: "The Old Rugged Cross," "In The Garden," and "Have Thine Own Way."

Rosa's Cousins - Sadie (Sarah) Jane Chase

Today I am beginning a series of posts about 1st cousins of my gt-grandmother Rosa Ella (Shipman) Smalley. So of course they are also my 1st cousins 3 times removed.  I found it interesting that the last 2 ancestors I wrote about, Isaac Norton and Stephen Scoville, were both 3rd gt-grandfathers of Rosa.

Rosa's mother was Lucy Jane Chase, so the first set of 1st cousins will be children of some of Lucy Jane's siblings. Sadie or Sarah Jane Chase was born 28 Jan 1874 in Saline County, Nebraska, to Luman and Lucy Elizabeth (Pratt) Chase. Sadie's father had been born in Connecticut and her mother in England and they had met and married in Illinois.

It was Christmas Eve, 24 Dec 1891, in Saline County when Sadie married William Otis Cogswell. Sadie was not yet 18 and William was 21.

Their oldest child Clara was born in May of 1893 there in Nebraska. Then they moved to Colorado where their second child Archie was born in Feb 1897. By 1899 they were living in Sherman County Kansas where William obtained a homestead. Sadie's cousins Rosa and her brother, Timothy Crawford Shipman, were living in that County also. The local newspaper, the Goodland Republic reported on 2 Feb 1900 that T. C. Shipman and family had visited at W. O. Cogwells Sunday. Two children, Edna and Charles Otis, were born while they lived in Kansas.

The Goodland Republic reported on 16 Oct 1903 that W. O. Cogswell had returned from a 3 months stay at Deer Park Washington and planned to sell his Kansas farm and move to Deer Park. He apparently followed through with this plan and their youngest child Ethel was born about 1906 in Washington. The family was listed on the 1910 census in Deer Park, which was in Spokane County. However another listing in 1910 showed the same family names and ages in Williams Valley, Stevens County, Washington.

On the 1920 census Sarah and William and the 3 younger children were shown back in Saline County, Nebraska. By 1930 they had moved to Oregon and were listed with the youngest son living in Veneta, Lane County. Around 1934 they moved to nearby Springfield, Oregon, and on Christmas Day in 1935, the day after Sadie and William celebrated 44 years of marriage, Sadie died from a stroke. She was buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery. Her husband William died 11 May 1961 and was buried next to her at Laurel Grove.

Ancestor Birthday - June 17th - Timothy Chase 1812 - 1877

Timothy Chase was one of my 3rd great-grandfathers. Although I have listed his father as Charles Chase on my website, I am not completely confident that is correct. It is based on a statement made in a local history from Nebraska in an article about Luman Chase, one of Timothy's sons. Since it is likely that Luman provided the information and Charles would have been his grandfather it does have some credibility. But I haven't found any other documentation for this relationship. If there are any Chase cousins reading this and you have some other source for this, please let me know.

Timothy's birthdate of 17 Jun 1812 has been calculated from his stated age at his death. The county where Timothy was born is still uncertain. In the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses his birthplace was reported as New York. But that is not very precise.

It was the last day of 1832, 31 December, when Timothy married Lucy Irene Howe, the daughter of Ichabod and Irene (Scovill) Howe, in Cornwall Township, Litchfield County, Connecticut. On the 1840 census the family was in Sharon Township which adjoined Cornwall on the west side. Then by 1850 they were in Goshen Township, which joined Cornwall on the east side.

Timothy was one of my "moving" ancestors. He and the family left Connecticut and were in Leroy Township in Lake County Ohio by the 1860 census. In 1870 the family was living in Illinois in Rivoli Township in Mercer County. Then they moved to Saline County Nebraska where Timothy died on 5 Jul 1877. He was buried in Atlanta Cemetery in Atlanta Township in Saline County. Apparently Timothy had made an application for a homestead there in Saline County because 2 years after he died on 30 Jun 1879 a patent for 80 acres was issued to Lucy I. Chase, widow of Timothy C. Chase, deceased. It was almost 3 years later when Lucy died, 10 Mar 1882. She was also buried in Atlanta Cemetery.

Timothy and Lucy had 8 children who appear to have inherited the "moving" gene. They all died in different counties:

• Sarah = Ashtabula County, Ohio
• Crawford = Cherokee County, Kansas
• Wells Morgan = Clay County, Nebraska
• Lucy Jane = Sherman County, Kansas
• Ralph = Lake County, Ohio
• Emily = Harper County, Oklahoma
• Luman = Spokane County, Washington
• Marsh = Furnas County, Nebraska.

Ancestor Birthday - May 10th - Lucy Jane Chase 1839 - 1913

Lucy Jane or Jane Lucy Chase was my 2nd great-grandmother. Her name on her obituary and funeral card was Lucy Jane. On all the censuses I found she was Jane or Jane L. Maybe her "official" name was Lucy Jane, but she used the name Jane since her mother was Lucy Irene.

She was born 10 May 1839, probably in Sharon township, Litchfield County, Connecticut, the daughter of Timothy and Lucy Irene (Howe) Chase. She married Joshua Rodney Shipman 15 Jan 1859 in Ohio. So by the time my father, Lester Albertson, was living, born 1907 in Sherman County Kansas, he would have known her at Grandma Shipman, although she actually was his great-grandmother.

From looking at a Christmas postcard that my father received as a child I think she had a sense of humor.

She wrote: Lester you catch one of these piggies for Grandpa & Grandma Shipman for our Christmas dinner.

J.R and Lucy Jane had lived in Berrien County Michigan, Mercer County Illinois and Saline County Nebraska before coming to Sherman County Kansas about 1886 where they remained until she died there 8 Jan 1913. She was buried at the Edson Cemetery. Although Lucy Jane had only 2 surviving children at the time of her death, she had 13 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

You can read more about her on my website: http://www.joanneskelton.com/p12.htm#i280

Ancestor Birthday - January 26th - John W. Smalley 1832-1914

John Wilson Smalley was my 2nd great-grandfather. If you check my website you will find quite a lot of information about him:

http://www.joanneskelton.com/p16.htm#i379

It shows his birth as 26 Jan 1932 in Adams County, Ohio and his marriage to Rachel Hemphill 26 Apr 1856. His obituary notes his service in the Civil War from 1861-1864. The listed censuses show he was in Adams County, Ohio in 1860; in Clinton County, Ohio in 1870; in Saline County, Nebraska in 1880; and by 1895 he was in Sherman County, Kansas. He continued living there through 1900, 1905 and 1910 before his death 2 Jul 1914, which is marked on his gravestone in Goodland Cemetery, Goodland, Sherman County, Kansas.

What more can I write about him? Next week I plan to write more about his Civil War service. Now I'd like to share some of the difficulties in determining a birth year before official registrations. Ancestry's Red Book, edited by Alice Eichholz, Revised Edition, 1992, page 523, states: "Ohio enacted a statute in 1856-57 that required birth, death, and marriage registration, a law that was generally disregarded." But even if obeyed it would be over 20 years too late to help our situation.

John's death certificate, gravestone and obituary all give his birth year as 1832. But even his obituary creates a contradiction as it states he was 27 in 1861 and 30 in 1864, which equates to an 1834 birth. His marriage record of 1856 shows his age as 23, so this equals an 1833 birth.
Then when you check each census entry, which are not known for exact correctness, you find:

1850 age 14 = 1836

1860 age 26 = 1834

1870 age 37 = 1833

1880 age 47 = 1833

1895 age 67 = 1838

1900 age 68 = 1832

1905 age 74 = 1831

1910 age 74 = 1836

In his military pension records he was not a lot more consistent. In his application from 1890 he gave his age as 57 which equals 1833, but then in 1909 his age is given as 77, so this pushes his birth year back to 1832.

So how do I know when he was born? I don't. I can't see that I will ever know for sure, but I have chosen to use the date that the family was using at the end of his life: 1832.

My First 2017 Birthday Ancestor

The birthday ancestor for January 3rd is Joshua Rodney Shipman, my 2nd gt-grandfather who was born in 1840 in Ashtabula County, Ohio. By the 1860 census, he and his wife were living in Berrien County, Michigan. Then by 1865 the family is in Mercer County, Illinois and had moved to Saline County, Nebraska before the 1880 census. Sometime after their two children were married in the early 1880s, the Shipmans and other related families moved to Sherman County, Kansas where J.R. settled a homestead. He was widowed in 1913 when Lucy died, then he died five years later in 1918 in Nebraska while staying with his son. He was buried in the Edson Cemetery in Sherman County beside his wife. I was able to visit their graves in the 1990s.

Read about Joshua Rodney Shipman on my website: www.joanneskelton.com

Wedding Wednesday--Two Weddings the Same Day

David Smalley  about 1890

      It was in Saline County, Nebraska that my great-grandparents, Lafayette "Lafe" Smalley and Rosa Ella Shipman were married in December of 1880. It was almost three years later when Lafe's brother David Smalley and Rosa's brother Timothy Crawford Shipman were married on the same day, October 1, 1883.

    David Smalley married Carie Beebe and Crawford Shipman married Mary Wilson. They both were married at the residence of Rev. Wm Le Miller in Olive Township, Saline County, Nebraska. David and Carie were witnesses for Crawford and Mary and Crawford and Mary were witnesses for David and Carie. David was the only one who was over 21, so the other three had permission from their parents to be married.