Two Small Towns in Ohio

on a Rainy Sunday

While I was in Lancaster, Ohio (my birth city) last April I decided to take a drive on the Sunday I was there.  It was drippy, but not pouring rain, so I grabbed my camera and headed for Sugar Grove, Ohio.  My mom's sister, Marie, was married to Clarence Bauer and they had a  farm in the Sugar Grove area.   Marie died early, at age 53, so she isn't in the picture below which was taken at a family reunion in the 1970's.



Clarence Bauer & Marie Darling Bauer about 1930


  

Adults in the back row from left to right:  Donald E Bauer & his wife Nellalou Awalt,  the young man is John Bauer's son Michael, Clarence Bauer, Joanne DeLong & her husband John Bauer.  In front of John Bauer is his daughter Mollie Jo Bauer.  The other three children belong to Don & Nellalou and are named Brian, Greg and Jason but I do not know which is which.  Donald & John are Clarence and Marie's boys.

Except for John Bauer, who visited me in SF in the 1960's, this reunion was the only time I was with this family.  Clarence was quite old, but spry and was the epitome of a gnarly old farmer.  John & his family live in his father's farm and Don has a farm in the area.

Sugar Grove is a sleepy little village right off Route 33, South of Lancaster.  Population 448 in the year 2000.  

Coming into town an old gas station catches my eye.  Antique dealers would love the old pumps and signs.

A little further down,  a local landmark, Stoneburner's Grocery.  I lightened it up so the neat Coca Cola signs are visible.

Brick Sidewalk down the main street.

Lots of houses like this one.

There are four churches in Sugar Grove (Population 448).  A Catholic Church, A Lutheran Church, A Community Church and a United Methodist Church.

Well, didn't take much time to drive through Sugar Grove, Ohio a couple of times.  At least I can say I've been there.  Mom talked about her sister Marie & Sugar Grove and now I have been.  There were a couple neat barns in the area - these following two in Sugar Grove.

That took all of 20 minutes so I headed south on Route 33 again to find the road that would take me to Revenge, Ohio.  A few miles south and I connected up with County Rd 116, which takes me through the Clear Creek Nature Preserve.  On this wet, drippy, day everything looks fresh and clean.  The road runs along Clear Creek.  Just as I turned this wonderful barn and silos jumped out at me so I did what anyone would do and stopped and stood in the road while I took a picture.

Some pictures from the drive through the nature preserve.

   

Next we roll into Revenge, don't blink.  Revenge is in Madison Township at the intersection of County Rd 69 and County Rd 26.  For all practical purposes, Revenge no longer exists.  There are no town markers and I saw no buildings with the name of the town.  Here is an article that relates the history of this ghost town.   Not much of interest to take pictures of, but here are a couple -

Very pretty farmland

Most of the dwellings looked like this

An Old covered bridge that has been moved - see article for more info.

Yes, I messed with the sign picture...

The ghost town of Revenge attracted my attention because of the Born family.  Mom's grandfather, Gottlieb Darling (Deierling) lost his first wife Margaret Wyman when she was only 33.  He subsequently married Margaret "Maggie" Born, who was the daughter of Joseph Born and Elizabeth Presler of Madison Township, Fairfield county, Ohio.  Gottlieb & Maggie's son, Edward William Darling, was my grandfather.  The Born family came from Switzerland and it has been difficult sorting them out because they are all named Jacob.  Or so it seems.   It is also difficult searching for information because every time you enter Jacob Born.....you get all the Jacobs who were ever "Born"..  Anyway, the Borns are buried in Old St Thomas Church Cemetery near what used to be Revenge, Ohio.

From an arbitration record regarding the disposition of Joseph's property.   The year of his death was 1888.

Love that Gottlieb Darling is Gattvel Dyarling.  I think Dyarling is probably how the original name of Deierling  sounds.  There seems to have been a dispute over Joseph's property.  Delilah & her husband William Cruise were living on the farm at the time of Joseph's death and the arbitration was about how the property was to be divided.  Delilah wanted it all.   The court awarded equal shares to all the children.  Sorry, Delilah.  I can't find record of Delilah and William in the 1900 census.  I hope they didn't go away mad.

Unfortunately I did not find the old cemetery.  There was a turnoff from Revenge Rd but I missed it and my phone wouldn't work where I was at (really in the boonies) so I could check.  Plus it started to rain.  So, I continued until I found a place to pull over and check my map - YAY,  Revenge Road had turned into B.I.S Rd which ended up back in Lancaster...Oh, hi officer.  Uh, I'm just checking my map.  No, didn't realize I was parked by a prison and had become suspect....Bye.  Nothing like a prison to perk you up on a rainy day.

I did find this internet site about the old cemetery - Old St Thomas Church & Graveyard....so, I don't have to be in a rush to go back past the prison, down Revenge Rd and down a dirt road.  On the other hand, if I am in the area again on a rainy Sunday I just might.

Sarah Ann Freeman

Sarah Ann Freeman was my 2nd Great Grandmother.

Sarah Ann Freeman m. John Allen

     John D Allen m Mary A Lake

          Nell Sprague Allen m Philip Martin

               John L Martin m Florence Darling

                    Me

Sarah's life journey started on 7/23/1811 in Morris County, New Jersey. Her parents were likely Stephen Freeman and his wife Susan of Jefferson Township.  Stephen was a carpenter and appears in  1830, 1840 and 1850 census returns.  There is a house on Berkshire Valley Road in Jefferson Township that is reported to be "The Freeman House." The reference states "It is thought that a family that disappeared from this area may have built this house long ago."  "0.7 miles away we find The Washburn (Allen) House. Its deed goes back to 1804, the year Jefferson became a township".    The record of these two residences is pertinent as on 4/25/1831 Sarah married John Allen in Jefferson Township, and I have no doubt they belonged to these two families.  

Freeman/Allen Marriage Record

While the Freemans did disappear in the census returns after 1850, there were Allen's living there that I am sure were John Allen's relatives, I just have never been able to sort them out.  John Allen is an incredibly common name.  And, frankly, I don't think anyone knew how old they were back then.  Even when I am sure I have the same person I find dates of birth all over the place.

Stephen and Susan Freeman's graves are in the Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Oak Ridge, West Milford Township, Passaic County, New Jersey.  They likely died between the 1850 and 1860 census.
The young Allen couple, probably along with other family members and friends started West to settle in Ohio near where other Allen family members had already relocated.  The trip, in the 1830's was relatively easy as there were actual roads by that date.  They likely traveled to Philadelphia and picked up The National Road, as shown on the map below.  Originally the portion from Philadelphia to Wheeling was named the Cumberland Rd, and the piece from Wheeling through Muskingum County was part of Ebenezer Zane's Zanes Trace.  I like to think they took the ferry from Wheeling across the Ohio River to Martins Ferry, Ohio.  The very ferry owned by my 2nd Great Grandfather, Ebenezer Martin.  Wouldn't that just have been cool?  A couple of generations later, Ebenezer Martin's grandson marries Sarah Freeman Allen's granddaughter.

So, Sarah and John settled down in Mt Sterling, Ohio, a little town near Zanesville, Ohio.  On 2/14/1832 their daughter Elma A Allen was born.  And, a year later, 5/15/1833 my great grandfather John D Allen came into their lives.  But, tragedy was looming.  The Ohio River flooded its banks, and in the summer of 1833, the first significant cholera epidemic hit Ohio.  John Allen died 11/22/1833, leaving Sarah with two babies.  I believe he is buried in the Mount Sterling Cemetery, but there is no record, and so many of the stones are worn smooth by the years and years of weather.

I mentioned above that the Allen's probably came to the Muskingum County area because family and friends had already made the journey.  In the 1970's I was allowed into the archives of the Courthouse in Zanesville and held John Allen's disposition of estate papers in my hand, but no cell phone to take a picture in those days.  However, I wrote things down, and it appears one David Allen, along with Sarah were the executors of the estate.  David Allen was born in 1795 in Sussex County, NJ (right next to Jefferson Township in Morris County) and came to Ohio before 1817 at which time he is found to have married Sarah Spencer in Muskingum County - who, surprise - also was born in Sussex County, NJ.  However, the Spencer family, headed by one Ichabod Spencer, were in Ohio by 1807 when Ichabod paid taxes on property he owned.  Also originally from Sussex County NJ and living in the area is the Usual Headley family.  Usual (or Uzal) ran the Headley Inn on the National Road, the building is currently an antique store, I believe.  So, it looks like the Spencers & Headleys migrated first in about 1806, followed by David Allen & his father Noah Allen around 1817, followed by John & Sarah Allen in 1831.  There are Allens buried in the Headly family cemetery in Morris Co, NJ.  These people all knew each other.

So, even though she had just lost her husband, Sarah had a support group.  Elma and John D were appointed a guardian,  John Conklin, who I discovered lived right next to David Allen.  I have some paperwork regarding the guardianship, and when they came of age, Elma and John D received about $200 each out of the guardianship funds.

As was often the case where there is a young widow, there is an older man looking for a second wife to take care of his motherless children.  On 7/25/1835 Sarah married Benjamin Robinson and settled down on his farm in Brownsville, Ohio.  Brownsville is just a few miles down the National Road from Mt. Sterling.  Benjamin was 22 years older than Sarah.  His first wife,  Phoebe Grant died in 1834.  Benjamin & Phoebe had 11 children over the period 1812-1833.

Patience 1812-1885

Susannah 1814-1891

Lucinda 1816-1879

Elsie 1818-1904

Phoebe 1820-1820

Leroy 1823-1906

Sarah 1825-1909

Samuel 1827

George Washington 1828-1912

Susan 1831-1837

Benjamin 1833-1836

 I'm not sure how many of the older ones were still at home when Benjamin & Sarah got married, the 1840 census shows nine people in the household - this includes two of the four children Benjamin and Sarah would have.  So, Sarah & Benjamin, Elma & John D Allen, Nancy & Lucy Ann Robinson & three of Benjamin's children by his first wife.  Blended families are not new.  Benjamin & his first wife, Phoebe were born in Virginia and came to Ohio between 1816-1818.  I believe Benjamin received some land as a result of his father's service in the Rev War and he purchased property in 1820.  I would guess he was a farmer.

Alas, Benjamin Robinson died on 10/4/1845, not sure where he is buried.  Sarah is not having good luck with her husbands.  His first wife is buried in the Robinson family cemetery in Licking County, Ohio and I would assume he is there.   Sarah remained in Brownsville, Ohio and never remarried.  Brownsville, in Bowling Green Township, is such a small community, it would be such fun to see what I can find out.  Just a few months ago I was getting ready for my trip and looked her up again in FindAGrave, and since I last looked, someone uploaded her FindAGrave information was amended to include her grave location so, knowing where she was buried, I visited Cedar Hill Cemetery in Brownsville, Ohio and located her grave.  Interestingly enough, I had visited that cemetery in the 1970's looking for her husband and not knowing she was there with the new name of Robinson.  Her gravestone is extremely hard to read, and I was only able to confirm it was her by a few words AND the fact her daughter Nancy was buried right next to her, and her grave was legible.

Sarah's Grave

You can see my car in the background.  Luckily I did not have to walk up and down too many rows to find the grave.

Close up - not much detail left.

Nancy June Robinson

1837 - 1867

Nannie never married & lived with her mother

The view standing beside the Robinson graves.  Beautiful countryside.

Some other photos from Brownsville

When I was here in the 1970's this old general store was very much the same.  I went in to ask about cemeteries, but the individuals in the store were somewhat odd, and although I found Cedar Hill Cemetery on my own, I was nervous walking around, LOL.  They had "spooked" me.  Unfortunately, it was Sunday this visit and the store was closed.

Sarah's Children

Elma A Allen- Born 2/14/1832 in Mt Sterling, Ohio.  In 1857 Elma married Oliver Marion Hamilton.  In the 1860 & 1870 Census they had a Dry Goods Store in Bowling Green Township, Licking County, Ohio. Brownsville is the only community in Bowling Green Township, so perhaps the Robinson store is/was this place.  Sometime before 1880 the Robinsons moved to Columbus, Ohio where they operated a Grocery Store.  Unfortunately, Oliver died at age 54.  He is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.  Elma and Oliver had five sons and three daughters.  Elma passed away in 1914.

John D. Allen - Born 5/15/1833 in Mt Sterling, Ohio.  My great-grandfather. By the mid-1860's John was married to Mary Ann Lake (Short) and started a family.  He was ALSO a grocer and had a store in Fultonham, Ohio and Lancaster, Ohio.  More about him in another chapter.

Nancy June Robinson - Born 4/2/1837   Nancy, called Nannie was a schoolteacher and died at age 30.  She never married and lived with her mother.  Nannie is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery next to her mother.

Lucy Ann Robinson - Born 9/29/1838  Lucy married William Edward Case who was listed as a school teacher in the 1870 census and a merchant in the 1880 census. They lived in Tuscawaras County, Ohio.   Lucy & William had four daughters and 1 son.  They were divorced between the 1880 census and 1896 as William Edward Case married Agnes Ross in 1896.  He was 56, and she was 20.  It appears the newly married couple headed for Virginia as they are listed in the 1900 census in Fauquier, Va.  They had two children, and William Edward Case died in 1908. Lucy Ann lived alone with a housekeeper until her death on 4/9/1928.  I have had a couple of DNA matches through Lucy.

Emeline Robinson - Born about 1842.   Emeline was a schoolteacher and lived with her mother through the 1870 census.  In 1880 she was residing with her brother Albert in Washington, Tuscawaras County, Ohio.  I lose her at that point and cannot find her in 1900.  She could have gotten married or died during that 20-year span.

Albert J Robinson - Born 9/2/1844  Albert married Eliza Mary Oldham in 1868.  In the 1870 census, they lived a couple houses away from the Hamilton's (see Elma above), and he is noted as a dry goods merchant. It appears they may have been in business together, but the 1880 census shows the Hamiltons have moved on to Columbus and Albert & his family is in Washington, Tuscawaras County, Ohio and he is listed as a Dry Goods Merchant.  Albert & Eliza had three sons and two daughters.  Albert passed away 1/19/1922.

So, all of Sarah's children were merchants and/or teachers.

More Deierlings to Muse About....

No new breakthroughs on the Wisconsin, Ohio and Missouri Deierlings. However, I did receive a note from a "distant cousin" concerning what I have always called the Washington State Deierlings. In my frustration, some years ago, I set up a separate database on ancestry.com to collect information on any Deierlings I found on ancestry.com - thinking, right or wrong, that there is likely a connection of some sort between them all. And, maybe by finding an origin on one of them, solve my own problem. Namely, Gottleib Deierling. Most of them, like Gottleib, show an origin in Bavaria but a couple of others show Hannover, Germany which isn't that far from Bavaria and there is no reason to think they stayed put. A lot of them, after all, made it to America.

In Washington we find Henry Deierling, born in 1862 in Hannover, Germany. Henry emmigrated in 1886 and in 1887 in New York City he married Christina Paulina Bauer. They moved west to Vancouver, Washington where they had four children, Fredericka, Pauline, Alma and Lloyd. Henry made his living as a tailor and died in Portland Oregon in 1936.

Henry has been sitting on my database for years and it wasn't until I received a nice inquiry from one of his descendants did I take a good look at him. And then, I looked at some others that have just been sitting there.....neglected.

So, then, there is Carl Charles Bartholomew Deierling. Let's take a look at him. Born about 1844 in Germany, he arrived on 6/23/1870 and I believe it is he I found in the 1880 Census listed as Charles, occupation cabinet maker. He was living in Walla Walla, Washington. I have been unable to find him in 1900, but in 1910 he is in Falls, Polk County, Oregon. He has a wife, Louisa Marie Dubrashimski and three children, Irene Emma, Walter Herman and Erich Alexander Carl - all born in Douglas County, South Dakota. His occupation is shown as carpenter. By 1920 he was back in Washington and he died while living with his son Erich, in 1931, Snohomish, Washington.

There is no proof these two are connected, other than the unusual name, origin and the fact they both end up in Washington.

So, let's consider one John Deierling, born in 1836 in Bayreuth, Bayern and living in Nebraska with his wife Elizabeth and his four daughters, Maggie, Anna C, Jane and Johanna. John has been sitting in my database for awhile so I checked him out and found he might be connected to either of the above Deierlings Why? Because when he first came to America in 1883 the family settled in Douglas County, South Dakota. He was there before Carl - or perhaps at the same time as Carl because I have no idea where Carl was between 1880 and the birth of his first child in Douglas County, SD in 1892.  

Douglas County, SD did not work out for either family. John's daughter Johanna Deierling wrote "Reminiscences of our Pioneering Days in Boyd County, Nebraska" in which she explains how the family removed from SD and homesteaded in Nebraska about 1891. John died in 1906 and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Lynch Co, Nebraska alongside his wife, Elizabeth, who died in 1935.  When you click on Johanna's story, you will have to scroll down a bit to find it - it really explains what homesteading was all about.

So, now, a really interesting bit - of John's 4 daughters, 3 of them died in Skagit County, Washington.  I haven't been able to track the 4th one.

Some time after 1935 when Elizabeth died and 1944 (the year Maggie died) all three families pulled up roots and headed West.  Why?  They are all buried in Green Hills Memorial Cemetery, Burlington, Wa.  I found a very interesting essay describing Rev Paul Mayerhoff's life that indicated that the move to Washington was a retirement.  Rev Paul was Johanna's husband and had a very interesting life.  Paul Mayerhoff in Apacheland.
Another interesting thing is that Rev Paul was born not far from my Wisconsin Deierling group - in West Bend, Wisconsin.

I believe, Carl Arrived first and looked around the Pacific Northwest.  John arrived in 1883 and went directly to Douglas County, South Dakota where a) he joined his relative (brother) or b)  his relative (brother) joined him.  It obviously (from Johanna's story) was not a pleasant place and Carl went back to Washington while John ended up homesteading in Nebraska.  Henry, if related, probably would be a nephew as he is younger.  They are the only Deierlings I have been able to find in this part of the country.

Wisconsin Deierling Update

On a whim the other day I ventured over to the LDS Church site - Family Search to check something out. It turned into a good day. There have been some changes and improvements to the site but I still find the search engine bizarre. At any rate, I was able to pull up some very nice data on the Wisconsin Deierling line.

To recap, there are three Deierling families I am trying to piece together. I usually refer to them as the Ohio family (mine), the Missouri family and the Wisconsin family. The Ohio family, at this point, is at a dead end with Gottleib Deierling, born in 1828 in Bavaria. The Missouri family stops with Philipp Jacob Deierling, born in Hassloch, Bavaria about 1816. Gottleib and Jacob and Jacob's family were on the same ship arriving in New York City 8-15-1853.



A "cousin" from the Missouri family said her grandmother said the family came first to Ohio (where Gottlieb obviously stayed) and then her line moved on to Missouri. She also said her grandmother said they were related to the Wisconsin Deirlings as well.

The treasure trove I uncovered at Family Search the last couple of days has to do with Wisconsin Philipp Deierling, who I now know is Philipp Peter Deierling. I figured out his wives (three of them), which wives his children belong to, his parents and grandparents. Somewhere in there I know the Ohio and Missouri groups fit.

Philipp Peter Deierling was born on 4/6/1822. He was baptised on 4/8/1822 at Evangelisch, Neustadt Haardt, Pfalz, Bavaria. The name on the record is spelled Deuerling, a variation I have often seen, and his parents are listed as Jacob Deuerling and Charlotta Jung. How insightful of the German's in 1822 to realize I was going to want to know the mother's maiden name.

A little more searching and I find the full names of Philipp's parents are: Johann Jakob Deierling and Charlotta Elisabetha Jung. They were born in 1791 and 1792 respectively. I also find other children.....but no Ohio Gottlieb or Missouri Jacob, doesn't mean they don't belong, there are gaps in the children's ages where they could "fit". In addition, if Ohio Gottlieb and Missouri Jacob are not Johann Jakob's children, he likely has brothers with families...just sayin'.

Long story short...Here's what I have so far:

Johann Diederich Deierling m. Maria Eva

!

Their (known) children:

Philipp Gottlieb Deierling b. 1765

Philipp Henrich Deierling b. 1770

Johann Phillip Deierling b 1772

Johann Valentin Deierling b. 1776

These children were all baptised at Evangelisch, Hassloch,

Pfalz, Bavaria

!

Philipp Gottlieb Deierling m. Anna Barbara Bindewald

!

Their (known) children:

Justus Christoph Deierling b. 1789

Johann Jakob Deierling b. 1791

Johann Adam Deierling b. 1795

These children were all baptised at Evangelisch, Hassloch,

Pfalz, Bavaria

!

Johann Jakob Deierling m. Charlotta Elizabetha Jung

!

Their (known) children:

Barbara Deierling b. 1812

Anna Maria Deierling b. 1816

Jacob Deierling b. 1817

Charlotta Deierling b. 1819

Philipp Peter Deierling b. 1822

Catharina Deierling b. 1828

George Deierling b. 1830

Daniel Deierling b. 1832

These children were all baptised at Evangelisch, Neustadt

Haardt, Pfalz, Bavaria.

Now, looking at all those names, does anyone question that Missouri Philipp Jacob Deierling and Ohio Gottlieb Deierling belong with this group? The names just keep getting repeated and are repeated again in subsequent generations, although Americanization takes over and we begin to see first and middle names instead of the old German naming custom of the first name being a spiritual name and the second name the "call" name.

So, Wisconsin Philipp - here's his story.

Philipp m. Apollonia Geiger on 5/20/1847 at Winzingen, Neustadt, Bayern, Germany

They had one child, Elizabetha born 3/27/1848 in Winzingen

It is assumed Apollonia died, perhaps in childbirth.

Philipp m. Barbara Langenbacher on 10/23/1851 at Evangelisch-Reforiete Kirche Neustadt (A/D Haardt), Bayern, Germany

Sometime between this date and 1855 the family emigrated and landed in New Orleans. I cannot locate a ships record for this event, but it is do doubt it is them. In 1855 a child named Heline is born in New Orleans and in 1857 a son, Charles. Charles and his mother do not appear in the 1860 census, but we find the father with a new wife. Perhaps Philipp lost a second wife in child birth - or the yellow fever that was taking so many lives in New Orleans during that period of time.

Philipp m. Charlotte Koehler 10/25/1858

Charlotte is 16 years old to Philipp's 36 and is possibly a niece of his second wife, Barbara Langenbacher.

The 1860 Census finds Philipp, Charlotte, Elizabeth and Heline living in Milwaukee where Philipp is listed as being a crockery dealer. In 1870 and 1880 they are in Watertown, Wisconsin and he has become a retail grocer. He and Charlotte would have 10 children, only two of which married and had a family. Philipp died sometime between 1889 and 1891 and his widow joined her children who had moved to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The boys were barbers or cigar makers and the girls worked in retail shops. Elizabeth and Heline both married but I have not yet tracked their families down.

Another mystery solved this week - you will notice Philipp had a brother Jacob born in 1817. He is the same Jacob Deierling that I have mentioned before as appearing in the census records in Milwaukee. Jacob was a barber. Here is Jacob's family.

Jacob Deierling m. Anna Maria Pfirrmann 8/10/1840 at Evangelisch-Reforiete Kirche Neustadt (A/D Haardt), Bayern, Germany. All their children were born in Neustadt.

Heinrich Deierling b. 1842, died 1846

Jacob Deierling b. 1844

Charlotte Deierling b. 1846

Brutus Deierling b. 1848

Except for Brutus, the names look familiar.

The towns mentioned, Hassloch and Neustadt are in an area of Germany today known as Rhineland-Palatinate. The specific District is Bad Dürkheim . The area was only part of Bavaria for about 130 years, it doesn't even touch Bavaria as a matter of fact. It's that separate little red piece.

More another time.

Shinn Family/Thomas Lewis Shinn

I'd always wondered what happened to little Tommy Shinn. My Dad told me about Tommy and how he lost his mother when he was but three years old and then his father at age thirteen. Dad knew Tommy went to Arkansas to be raised but that is about all. To tell Tommy's story, a little background:

This is actually a mini-history of my Lewis line. My great-grandmother, Mary Emma Lewis, had a brother Thomas - always called Tommy or Brother Tommy by Mary in her diaries. Their father, also a Thomas, had emigrated from Wales about 1825 and was involved in the steel mill business in Wheeling, WV. He was involved in the erection of the first two rolling mills in Wheeling, the old Top Mill and another which stood where the Baltimore & Ohio passenger depot now is. In 1850 Thomas (the elder) was in Cincinnati supervising the moving of a rolling mill to St. Louis. He died while in Cincinnati, leaving the younger Thomas, Mary Emma, two other brothers, and their mother, Emily Tyson, alone. In fact, Mary Emma was not yet born when her father died.

Of the four Lewis children (there were six total, but two died as infants) :

John - never married and died at age 38 of a lung disease. He worked in the mills and lived with his mother and/or siblings all his life.

William B. - began work at the age of seven in the Top mill. Seven Years Old!! He worked at various mills over the years, working his way up until he was manager of the Laughlin Nail Company. He and his wife, Camilla Carpenter, had five children, only two who lived to adulthood, William and Thomas Edward - neither of whom ever married.

Mary Emma - married Lucien Brockunier Martin. They lost two children in infancy and only Luther Philip Martin, my grandfather, lived to adulthood. Mary gets her own blog at some point. Her diaries that have been transcribed can be found here: Mary Emma Lewis Martin Diaries.

Thomas E - Thomas also started in the mills at an early age and did quite well, ending his career as a partner in firm Lewis and Hazlett. As a youngster he worked in the mills by day and went to night school to complete his education. He married Sarah Cotts, who died in 1893. Tommy was heartbroken when she passed on. Thomas & Sarah had two daughters, one who died in infancy. and Ella, born in 1864. Ella made it to adulthood, married and had one son...Thomas Lewis Shinn, who was just three years old when Ella died of complications from a gall bladder operation, a very risky operation in January of 1900. Her father, Thomas, was again heartbroken and according to Mary Emma's diaries felt his life was over. He retired from business and for a few years travelled the world, often sending travel reports, which were published in the Wheeling newspaper. He died in 1906 - From his obituary:

Mr. Lewis early in February joined a party at Chicago on a tour through Mexico. While traveling on this tour he acquired a cold, which developed into grippe, but he continued on the trip, arriving home on April 1. It was on Sunday at noon that he reached home a sick man and went to the City hospital, where Bright's disease developed. Despite the tenderest care of special nurses and two physicians he grew gradually worse until this morning when the end came.

So, the four Lewis children had a total of ten offspring, only four of whom lived to adulthood. This had not jumped out at me until I started looking for Thomas Lewis Shinn. It is not unusual to see infant mortality in those days, I just had not realized this line had so many.

When Ella Lewis Shinn lay on her deathbed she requested her son go to his grandmother's in Russellville, Ark to be raised. Ella had married George William Shinn, a lawyer who was practicing in Chicago at the time of Ella's illness. Little Tommy was born in Chicago in 1897. George William, called Will, was the son of Jacob Lawson Shinn who, with his father and several other Shinn families left North Carolina and migrated to Russellville, Arkansas. Will graduated from Bethany College in West Virginia in 1874 and completed his law degree at the Cincinnati Law School in 1880.

So, after his mother's untimely death, Tommy went to Russellville, Arkansas with Martha Battenfield Shinn. Her husband, Jacob Lawson Shinn, had died in 1899 so she might have appreciated the addition to her household. Although she was 61 years old she was a strong woman and, in fact, lived to be 92 years old. Did Ella have a premonition about her spouse? It is a little puzzling the child was sent to Arkansas with his grandmother and not to Chicago with his father. In the 1900 census Martha is living with her mother, two of her grandchildren from one of her other sons, a housekeeper and little Tommy. If you go to Mary Emma Martin's Diary for 1900 and read January you will find her daily reporting on Ella's death and the visit of the Shin's.

A few year later, in 1903, Will Shinn became ill. His obituary states "The beginning of his illness was caused from sunstroke while returning from church, from which he never fully recovered. This was followed by paralysis, unfitting him for the duties of his profession and resulting in his death, Monday, August 30, 1910." So, in 1903 Will returned to his mother's home in Russellville and the 1910 census we find Martha, Will, Tommy and the same servant/housekeeper.

In 1912 Thomas Lewis Shinn applied for a passport.

Later that year, he was a passenger on a ship called the Nippon Maru, which left Hong Kong on October 29, had a stopover in Yokahama, Japan on November 9th and arrived in San Francisco on November 25, 1912. The article (Chinese Slave Girl Plot Foiled) I found is absolutely the same ship and voyage. The names of the girls are listed on the first page of the ship's manifest as "stowaways". He was only 15 at the time and he is the only Shinn listed. As the list is alphabetical, it's hard to say who he was with. Certainly he wouldn't have been alone, but after going through every page of the manifest I can find no one else his age or from Arkansas. Perhaps he went with a group but had to come home on his own? Have no idea, but this was a very cool "find". What an adventure it must have been.

In 1917, like all adult males during 1917-1918 Tommy filled out a draft registration card.

I found Tommy in the 1920 census, still with his grandmother and the same housekeeper. He is 22 years old and his occupation is listed as "none".

1930 census shows us Martha and her long-standing housekeeper Amanda but no Thomas and so far he has eluded me in the 1930 census. Where in the heck did he go? I do know, from his grandfather's will, that he received $125,000 on his 25th birthday. That amount of money had been put in trust for him on Tommy Lewis' death and the interest and profits were to be paid to Martha Shinn for his upkeep. At age 21 he began receiving the profits and interest and at age 25 the principal came to him. the sum was originally $50,000 but in 1903, I would assume because of the illness of little Tommy's father, the sum was increased to $125,000.

I spent quite some time on ancestry.com, Shinn is not a common name, but no Thomas Lewis Shinn to be found in the 1930 census. At least, not my Thomas Lewis Shinn, second cousin, once removed.

A dead end? Well, no. On a whim, I went to a site called findagrave, put in the relevant information and up popped a screen with just the information I was looking for. Thomas Lewis Shinn, born 1897, died 1933 is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. What an interesting place to be buried, along with a lot of celebrities.

Here's what I put together from using this information and going back into ancestry.com, California has birth and death index information on line which includes birthdates and maiden name of mother.

Thomas Lewis Shinn born 1897, died 1933 age 36

....married Margaret Dolan born in 1902 & died in San Diego in 1974

They had two children:

Thomas Lewis Shinn, Jr. - born in 1923 & died in 1926 at age 3

Roderick L Shinn - born in 1927 & died in 1961 at age 33

Roderick L Shinn married Patricia Ann Whittemore

They had two children:

Roderick L. Shinn, Jr. - born and died in 1949

Stephen Alexander Shinn - born in 1950.

Patricia Ann Whittemore Shinn married a second time to Warren L Dodson 0n 3/28/1962

Her son Stephen Alexander Shinn was adopted and/or took the Dodson name.

Why so many early deaths in this family? I am going to try and get a copy of Thomas Lewis Shinn's death certificate and see if I can find what happened to him. I'll also up my search in the 1930 census but as of now I cannot find Tommy, his wife Margaret and his son Roderick. Did the census miss them somehow? The only mystery I have yet to solve is what Tommy was doing in Los Angeles - I will need the 1930 census for that and/or his death certificate.

After Tommy died in 1933 I found Margaret took little Roderick on a cruise to Hawaii and then another cruise in 1937 from Los Angeles to New York.

All in all, this has been an interesting project. I've learned about the Shinn's of Russellville, Ark., a bit more about the Tyson family and I've put some closure to where poor little motherless Tommy ended up. I wish my father was still alive, he used to wonder about his cousin. It is also clear that with the exception of Stephen Alexander Shinn/Dodson the only decendants in the Lewis line are my Martin family.

Jennie Allen
1865-1962

My Great-Aunt Jennie Allen lived a very long and eventful life. Several other of the Allen family members were long-lived, John D. Allen lived to 95 and Jennie's sister, my grandmother, was 87 when she passed away. The other seven didn't fare as well, but with the advance of medicine today they might also have lived as long. There were five girls and four boys. Of the nine, there were only four grandchildren, which is somewhat odd for the time period. Lillian and Ann never married, Lillian was a nurse and Ann worked at an Insurance Company. Mollie, Jennie, Charles, and Lewis (Babe) married but had no children. My grandmother, Nell, had only my father; John E. had a boy, and a girl and Jude had just one boy.

Jennie was raised in Lancaster, Ohio where her father was a grocer. They undoubtedly spent considerable time at her mother's home in Fultonham, Ohio. John D. Allen had been a Grocer in that town and married Mary Lake, adopted daughter of Enoch B Lake and his wife, Mary.  Mary's biological father was Christopher Retallick Short, and her mother died after giving birth to her daughter on the ship to America.  When Christopher Short arrived in Ohio, the older boy remained with him, but Mary was adopted by the Lakes.  The Lake home eventually came to be owned by the five Allen girls and was maintained by them to be used as they needed.  Ann probably spent the most time there. I "think" I remember her, but the only two sisters I have positive memories of is Nell, who was my grandmother, and her sister, Jennie.

The Allen Home in Fultonham, Ohio 

In 1887 Jennie married Noah Fenton Bowers. He was kind of the boy-next-door,  next door to her grandparents in Fultonham, that is. Noah was from a local farming family, the last Bowers son living at home - however, he did not inherit the Bowers farm (his sister Elizabeth did).  In the 1900 census, Jennie and Noah are renting a farm close by, as a matter of fact, they are house #109 in the Uniontown Precinct (Fultonham). Jennie's adoptive grandfather, Enoch B Lake is close by - house #145. Now, while we are on the subject of the 1900 census, let it be known that the Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Fultonham, James H. Rogers, lives in house #144. Remember that name, we'll come back to it in a minute.

Noah Bowers

I have searched the 1910 Census records for Noah and Jennie and have never been able to find them. I did see that Mr. Bowers died in 1914 and he is buried in the Fultonham Cemetery. Jennie was to live another 48 years after her first husband died.

Jennie Allen

Rev. Rogers and his family, on the other hand, are found in the 1910 Census in Stockton, California, where his occupation is shown as "clergyman."


So, the next step is to move on to the 1920 Census. Now, it was no surprise to me because I already knew, but in 1920 we find Jennie married to James H. Rogers and they are living in Pinole, California. Whoa, how actually did this come about?  Annie Mariah Waddel Rogers died 10/2/1911 and is buried in Stockton, California at the Stockton Rural Cemetery.  While we know Jennie probably knew the Rogers family & may have attended services while Rev Rogers was officiating at the Fultonham ME Church, how did they "get together" after their respective spouses had passed? He was, after all, in California and she in Ohio. I wish I knew, but alas...no one left who might know what transpired.  A romantic story, perhaps.

Rev James H Rogers & Jennie Allen

Because I had been confusing James with his son Dwight, I decided to do a little research on James and his first wife & family.  James was born in Wales and emigrated to America in 1880 at the age of 20. He made his way to Ohio,  within three years of his arrival he was married to Anna Mariah Waddell, daughter of Alexander Waddell. Alexander was a lifelong resident of Raccoon, Gallia County, Ohio, a carpenter by occupation and a pillar of the community. His obituary contains the statement "His house was for many years a home for Methodist preachers, and his hospitality and generosity were known far and near." I would suspect James was one of the Methodist preachers Alexander Waddell took under his wing.  Perhaps it was even arranged before James Rogers got on the boat for America. 


James and Anna moved on to Fultonham and later to Stockton, Ca. There were seven children, two of the names I knew - Avanelle and Dwight. I met them when we visited Aunt Jennie in Berkeley during the 50's and early 60's, but I don't remember them.  


In the1930 census, James and Jennie are living in Los Angeles.  Sometime before my folks visited them in the late 1930's (I wasn't around yet) they had moved to 849 Neilsen St in Berkeley, Ca. This was their last move. James died in 1948 at the age of 87 and Jennie stayed on in the Berkeley home until she passed in 1962 at the age of 96. I remember her house quite well, it had a built-in dinette in the kitchen, which I thought was really "cool" but best of all she had one of the early TV's with a round screen, and I distinctly remember watching Howdy Doody on it. Jennie seemed very, very old to me but I liked her very much. I remember being thrilled by the beautiful flowers in her garden that she maintained well into her 90's.

Jennie Allen, Florence Darling (my Mom), Avanelle Rogers and; Me, in front!!

I wish I could find where Jennie and James are buried, likely in Berkeley, but they don't show up on any of the Find-a-Grave searches.