52 Ancestors 2020 – 19 – Service – Gideon Hockett

I found Gideon Hockett in the database at Ancestry.com: U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959. Since this included the word “Service” and his birthday was during this week, I decided that he would fit in this category.

His Civil Service took place in Sherman County, Kansas, as postmaster for LaBlanche. This 1897 map found on the Library of Congress website indicates where LaBlanche was located.

Gideon was my great-granduncle, an older brother of my great-grandmother, Mary Magdalene (Hockett) Albertson. Gideon was the son of Francis and Rebecca (Hartley) Hockett.

His parents moved from Randolph County, Indiana, in 1838 to Salem area in Henry County, Iowa Territory. It was there that Gideon was born on 6 May 1841. So he was a little boy when Iowa attained statehood in 1846, It was a few years later when the family moved to the neighboring county, Lee County, Iowa, and Gideon was included with them in the 1850 census as a 9 year old boy who had attended school within that year. I have searched, but been unable to find their family in the 1860 census, but he is on the 1856 Iowa State census, indexed by Ancestry as Gedicon Hocket, age 15.

It was in 1863 when Gideon moved with his family to Hardin County, Iowa. He and Mary Harris were married  in Hardin County and by the 1870 census the family was living in Liberty Township, Marshall County, Iowa, with their 4 children: Virgil, Mary, Gideon and Francis. Again Ancestry was creative in their indexing as he was listed as Gedeon. But on the 1880 census the family had moved back to Grant Township in Hardin County and by now there are 5 more children: James, Dorah, Tula, Julia and Anna, making a total of 9. The 1880 census included an agricultural schedule and Gideon was listed as owner of 80 acres tilled ground, 14 acres of permanent meadows or pasture and 41 acres unimproved ground. Some of his crops that year included 10 tons of hay, 800 bushels of Indian corn, 400 bushels oats, 275 bushels of wheat, 40 bushels of Irish potatoes and 150 gallons of molasses made from sorghum. He had 2 horses, 3 milch cows, 3 calves, 3 swine and 10 poultry plus a 1 acre apple orchard.

“Gidson Hockett” was enumerated on the 1885 Iowa state census, still in Grant Township in Hardin County. There is 1 more child, Charles, so it makes a total of 10 children in their family. Their oldest child and the 3 youngest were born in Hardin County and the others born in Marshall County. This census shows his location as Township 86, Range 21, Section 1, the Southwest ¼.

But the family chose to move again and Gideon and family went to Sherman County Kansas where he settled a homestead claim of 160 acres. His patent was issued on 20 Jul 1892 for the southeast ¼ of section 7, Township 10 South, Range 41 West.  This was about a mile west of his brother-in-law, my great-grandfather, Nathan E. Albertson.

Using the Library of Congress website for historic newspapers, I could read about Gideon in the Goodland Republic. Goodland was the county seat for Sherman County. Most of the items about Gideon were in the LaBlanche section. If you look for LaBlanche on a modern road map, you will be disappointed because it is no longer shown. There was a post office there from 1886 to 1901. It was in this last part of its existence that Gideon had his “civil service.” He was appointed in February of 1901 and the post office was discontinued in September of the same year so he served a little over 6 months. A newspaper article of 15 Mar 1901 gives the following information:

“It is understood that Gideon Hockett will be postmaster at LaBlache. In that case the postoffice will be located about six miles southwest of the present location, the present postmaster, Charles Olson, having sold the building and claim to Jake Horton, who will occupy the same as soon as vacated.”

I was able to find a copy of a 1887 atlas on the David Rumsey Map Collection which showed LaBlanche. It was in the northwest ¼ of the northwest ¼ of Section 35, Township 9 South, Range 41 West. Mapping it against Gideon's homestead you can see that they were about 6 miles apart.

I really enjoyed the notice in the newspaper on 11 Aug 1905 where they reported that Gideon was in Goodland with a wagon load of turnips, onions and other garden produce.

I was sad to read the obituary for Gideon's wife in May 1916. It stated that for 8 years she had been a patient, helpless invalid. But it also said that she had been carefully attended by her faithful husband. This is the kind of service we can admire. Gideon lived another 8 years and died 16 July 1924 at the county farm. Both Mary and Gideon were buried at Kanorado Cemetery in Sherman County.

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 – 6 – Surprise – Mary Victoria (Smalley) Morey Albertson

When I looked over the “aunts and uncles birthdays” for this week I wondered how I could choose one of them to fit the theme surprise. I decided that Mary Victoria was the closest I could find that might have had an element of surprise.

She was the older sister of my great-grandfather “Lafe” Smalley, the first child of John Wilson and Rachel Ann (Hemphill) Smalley. Mary Victoria was born 5 Feb 1857 in Adams County, Ohio. I have wondered if her middle name was in honor of the Queen of England. Victoria had been the queen for about 20 years when Mary was born.

Mary Victoria would have been 4 ½ years old when her father enlisted to fight for the Union in the Civil War in the fall of 1861. But near her 5^th birthday it appears John may have come home since he was listed as AWOL from February 1862 until August 1863. However he had to go back and be placed in confinement for awhile, until was finally mustered out in October 1864.

When Mary was about 10 years old the family moved north to Clinton County, Ohio, then when she was about 15 years old they moved west into the western part of Illinois.

She was just 20 years old when she married Myron Curtis Morey on 25 Feb 1877. In about 1878 the newlyweds moved to Nebraska, then it was probably in 1889 they moved again, this time to Sherman County Kansas, with the 6 older children: Oscar, Anna, Dennis, Dessie, Herman and Milton. One more child was born, Jay, in 1893.

The family had gains and losses during the next 10 years. Their son Herman died at the end of 1897 and Mary's husband the next May. The patent for their homestead near Edson in Sherman County was issued to Mary as Myron's widow in 1899. It was

26 Jan 1902 when Mary was remarried to a widower who lived nearby, Nathan Elias Albertson.

It was this marriage which caused what might have been a surprise. Nathan had 5 children from his previous marriage, so Mary was now a step-mother. When one of her step-sons, Oran Jesse Albertson, was married in 1906 it was to Lucie Rachel Smalley. Lucie was the daughter of Mary Victoria's brother, so Lucie was a niece and step-daughter-in-law at the same time. Then when Oran's family moved to Oregon in 1911 how did Mary sign her letters to them: grandma or aunt?

Mary died 15 Apr 1916 near Edson in Sherman County and was buried in the Goodland Cemetery using the name Mary V Morey, on a double stone with her first husband. Her obituary claimed: The funeral, which was held in the Christian church, was said by old settlers to have been one of the largest, if not the largest, ever held in the city.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 21 – Military

Yes, I do know that week 21 was last week, so I am late, which is not that uncommon for me. I had thought that I would probably skip this theme because most of my family did not serve in the military and I had already written about many who did. However, yesterday I saw that Ancestry had added a new database to their collection, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, so I decided to look up some family names in that collection and write about them today.

I started with Albertson in Linn County, Oregon. There was my father, Lester Albertson and his first cousin Earle Albertson, both listed as Halsey, Linn County, Oregon as their residence place. My father's registration was on 16 Oct 1940. I checked the historical background for this database as given by Ancestry:

“The U.S. officially entered World War II on 8 December 1941 following an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. About a year before, in October 1940, President Roosevelt had signed into law the first peacetime selective service draft in U.S. history because of rising world conflicts. Multiple registrations held between November 1940 and October 1946 signed up more than 50 million American men aged 18–45 for the draft.”

Although this states the registrations began in November, apparently Linn County started soon after the law was passed.

Next I looked at my Falk cousins who lived in Linn County. There were 10 of them listed, except Gerald was my uncle, not cousin. The first 5 were registered on the same day as my father, 16 Oct 1940. The next 2 were registered on 1 Jul 1941, still before war had been declared. They both were born in 1920, so were age 21 before that date. The next 3 were on or a few days after their 18^th birthday. They were registered near the end or after the end of World War II. Here is a listing as found on Ancestry.

Name	Birthdate	Registration Date
Charles Donald Falk	08 Nov 1913	16 Oct 1940
Leslie Edgar Falk	03 Jun 1915	16 Oct 1940
Russell Charles Falk	05 Apr 1915	16 Oct 1940
Omar Ellsworth Falk	27 Aug 1916	16 Oct 1940
Rawley Lincoln Falk	12 Feb 1918	16 Oct 1940
Everett Henry Falk	21 Jun 1920	01 Jul 1941
Lyman Lyle Falk	15 Feb 1920	01 Jul 1941
Louis Raymond Falk	12 Apr 1926	12 Apr 1944
Gerald Keith Falk	01 Aug 1927	08 Aug 1945
Delmer Orvilee Falk	13 Mar 1929	13 Mar 1947

I checked one more place. Were any of my relatives in Sherman County, Kansas registered?  The answer is yes. An Albertson cousin, Wilfred Glen Albertson, and a Smalley cousin, Lauren Bobby Smalley, were both registered on that first date, 16 Oct 1940.  For these 2, Ancestry provided a link to Fold 3, where I could see a copy of the actual registration. So here are those 2 registrations. 

So, what did I learn from this? Often it pays to check the research databases to see if any of the new records will include your family members.

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.

Places From the Past - Sherman County Kansas

I had a number of ancestors who lived in Sherman County Kansas. On 28 Oct 2017 I posted photos of the county seat, Goodland.

I found this photo postcard among my father's collection. It shows a little of how flat that part of the country is. No mountains show on the horizon. The caption handwritten on the bottom says: “Highway between Pa Albertson Place and Aunt Sis.” I believe that Pa Albertson is my gt-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, and Aunt Sis is the sister of my Smalley gt-grandfather, Mary (Smalley) Morey. After Nathan's wife died in July 1901, in January 1902 he married Mary who was a widow. Their farms were enumerated next to each other on the 1900 census.We might not consider that this should be called a highway. What do you think?

Probate Records From the Past – Nathan E. Albertson

Many of our ancestors did not leave a will, but their estate still went through probate. Sometimes this is better genealogically because all the heirs are named, whereas in a will the testator can choose to only name certain ones.

This record from my gt-grandfather's estate names his five children, their ages and places of residence. You may notice that Nathan had 1 daughter who was living in Canada and 4 sons, 2 who lived in Kansas and 2 who lived in Oregon.

I found the listing of his personal property quite interesting. He was living in a transition time from the horsedrawn era to automobiles. I wonder why he had 3 automobiles. When I posted on 5 Feb 2017 for Nathan's birthday entry, I included a photo of him and his son in the blacksmith shop. I was glad to notice that blacksmith tools were included in his personal property.

Death Certificates From the Past – Lafe F and Rosa Ella (Shipman) Smalley

I wrote about Rosa yesterday and had an election document for Lafe on Tuesday. Here are their death certificates from Kansas.

You may notice that part of Lafe's certificate had been typed. I confess I have traced over some of the letters, since they were very hard to read. Rosa's certificate was handwritten, even though it was made 8 years later. Their daughter, Julia Everett, was the informant for both certificates.

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 - Oct 5 - Lester Albertson 1907-2004

Yesterday I posted about an ancestor who was born in 1607, so today is 300 years later, as my father, Lester Albertson, was born in 1907. He was born in Sherman County Kansas and moved with his family in 1911 to Linn County Oregon, where he lived until his death in 2004. He married Wilma Anna Falk in 1933 and were married not quite 50 years as she died in 1982. They had 3 children: Joanne (me), Oran and Lynne. 

I have posted about him more than once over the past year: January-rural directories, cars, school days; February-transportation; June-fishing; July-letter to me; September-censuses, photo as a boy; Postcard Collection-Christmas, New Years, Easter, flowers.

He also has a page on my genealogy website:

http://www.joanneskelton.com/p1.htm#i1

What more can I do? Well, he did get a number of birthday postcards which I have saved in his postcard collection, so I will add a couple of these today.

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.

Back to School -- Who Was in Grandaunt Lake's Class?

Day before yesterday, 6 Sep 2017, I posted a photo of my gt-grandmother Rosa's school class in Sherman County Kansas in 1897 or 1898. Today I have a photo of my grandmother Lucie Smalley's sister, Lake Smalley with a class she taught in 1908.

The names were provided with only the first name, so I can guess at some of them and am quite confident about the Smalley siblings that Lake had in her class. I did check the 1910 census and the non-Smalley names had a child of approximately the right age with that first name, so my guesses may be accurate also. If anyone can correct me, please do so.

back row: Ollie Kipps, Hattie Shipman, Grace Sigman, Anna Kipps, Lake Smalley, Bessie Kipps, Marvin Smalley.

front row: Lauren Smalley, Julia Smalley, Chester Shipman, Laurene Smalley.

Back to School - Gt-grandmother Rosa Was a School Teacher

My cousin Bob Smalley shared these documents with me over 20 years ago. It's fun to see the "grades" my gt-grandmother Rosa (Shipman) Smalley received when she took the teacher examinations to get her certificate in Sherman County Kansas. There is one issued in 1894, one in 1895 and another in 1897. The third grade certificate lasted 1 year, the second grade ones lasted 2 years.

Ancestor Birthday - Mary Magdalene Hockett - 1855 - 1901

My gt-grandmother, Mary Magdalene Hockett was born 4 Sep 1855 in Lee County, Iowa, the daughter of Francis and Rebecca (Hartley) Hockett. Mary was the 10th child out of 11. It was a Quaker family and her parents were married in Indiana and came with a number of other Quakers, including many family members, to Henry County Iowa in the late 1830's. They moved to neighboring Lee County a few years before she was born. It was 1863 when they moved farther north to Hardin County Iowa and it was there she met Nathan Elias Albertson who was also from a Quaker family.

It was just a little over a month after her 15th birthday, 8 Oct 1870, when she and Nathan were married. I think she looked very young in their wedding photo. I have always wondered why they chose to be married by a justice of the peace rather than the traditional Quaker way. Maybe her parents didn't approve. It was her older brother Thomas who gave testimony about her age.

They apparently made amends with their Quaker congregation because they are listed there with some of their children in 1891 and granted a certificate to the meeting in Sherman County, Kansas.

It was about 1875 when this photo was taken with Mary, Nathan, and their 2 oldest children, Lenah and Calvin. Two more children were born, Arthur and Oran (my grandfather) before they moved to Kansas when Nathan applied for a homestead in Sherman County and moved onto 160 acres in March 1887. It must have been interesting for Mary to live the life of a homesteader.

I expect she missed her daughter when she was married in 1891, a few days after her 20th birthday. Maybe Mary missed her even more when her youngest child, Ernest, was born in 1893.

It has always made me a little sad to realize that Mary died when she was just 45 years old, 10 Jul 1901.

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.

Where Were My Ancestors? - 1900 Census

Today I am at the section of where my ancestors were in 1900 in this series about where my ancestors were on the various censuses. I just realized I had an error on yesterday's 1910 chart. The last 4 ancestors were shown as gt-grandparents, rather than correctly as gt-gt-grandparents. I have edited my post so now it is correct.

This map shows where my ancestors were in 1900. It includes the 3 places from yesterday (1910) plus 5 more. When I get back that far, my ancestors certainly were not all in 1 place. 

Here is chart with their names (women's maiden names), locations (County and State) and their relationship to me. Since our number of ancestors doubles for each generation, the chart gets longer.

1900 Census

Name	County	State	Relationship
Oran J. Albertson	Sherman	Kansas	grandfather
Lucie R. Smalley	Sherman	Kansas	grandmother
Julius A. Falk	Stevens	Minnesota	grandfather
Florence E. Bond	Gilliam	Oregon	grandmother
Nathan E. Albertson	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandfather
Mary M. Hockett	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandmother
Lafayette P. Smalley	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandfather
Rosa E. Shipman	Sherman	Kansas	gt-grandmother
Anna L. Boehm	Iowa	Wisconsin	gt-grandmother
John H. Bond	Gilliam	Oregon	gt-grandfather
Mary A O'Neal	Gilliam	Oregon	gt-grandmother
Benjamin Albertson	Cedar	Missouri	gt-gt-grandfather
Rebecca Hartley	Marshall	Iowa	gt-gt-grandmother
John W. Smalley	Sherman	Kansas	gt-gt-grandfather
Rachel A. Hemphill	Sherman	Kansas	gt-gt-grandmother
Joshua R. Shipman	Sherman	Kansas	gt-gt-grandfather
Lucy J. Chase	Sherman	Kansas	gt-gt-grandmother
Huldah Hayes	Linn	Oregon	gt-gt-grandmother
C. Perry O'Neal	Lane	Oregon	gt-gt-grandfather