Lester Dene Hart (1894-1981), no stranger to sorrow

Birth Record of Lester Dene Hart (21 April 1894),
Portage Twp, Hancock County, Ohio.
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In the beginning, he went by Dene, and that is the name by which my mother knew of him. He was her Uncle Dene, although I am not certain that she ever met him. Hi Mom, I'm back on your side of the family!

Lester Dene Hart was my grandmother’s oldest brother and my grand uncle. In actuality, he was my grandmother’s half-brother. He had a different father than my grandmother did. Lester Dene Hart was born, on April 21, 1894, to Orley Calvin Hart and Fannie Susan Hartman (my great-grandmother) in Portage Township, in Hancock County, Ohio, five months after his parents’ wedding. His mother was from Hancock County, Ohio.

Closeup of Lester Dene Hart Birth Record.
This is what above red arrow points to.
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He was their oldest child. Fannie and Orley had four children after Lester Dene: Gladys (1896-1902), Reed Charles (1898-1954), Verne Allen (1900-1954), Julia Ann (1903-1978).

By 1900, the family had moved to Clay County, Illinois, where Orley’s family lived. Orley took up farming and shared farming duties with his family across several farms. On August 7, 1902, Dene’s younger sister, Gladys, died at age 5; Dene was only 8 years old. The family records state that she died of diabetes, but I have not been able to find anything confirm that. Just two years later, on January 28, 1905, at age 30, Dene’s father died, purportedly for the same reason (I don't have a death certificate) , leaving his mother to care for and raise the children alone, far from her family. I expect that Orley’s family continued to help farm the land. Dene was eleven years old when his father died.

In 1909, Dene’s mother married my great-grandfather, Vernon Erwin, in Louisville, Illinois, Dene and his siblings continued to live with their mother after she married Vernon. The 1910 census shows Vernon (spelled Verna), Fannie (listed as Frances), and Fannie’s four children in the household. Vernon was not working then, but the census indicates Dene was working as farm labor on the home farm. The 1940 census indicated that Dene’s highest level of schooling was the 8^th grade, so he likely dropped out of school right about 1910, age 15, because his labor on the farm helped support the family. In the next two years, Vern and Fannie gave Dene two more little sisters: my grandmother, Mabel LeRe (1910-1990) and her sister, Dale Hart (1912-?).

In 1915, at age 21, Dene married Leta Frances Elkin (20), daughter of Larkin C Elkin and Clara Hayes Elkin. On June 5, 1917, at age 23, Dene registered for the draft for WWI. On his registration, he indicated that he was a farmer and self-employed in Louisville Township. His only dependent was his wife. He did not try to claim exemption from the draft. On the back of the card, he was described as being of medium height and medium build with blue eyes and dark hair. He was not disabled.

WWI Draft Registration of Lester Dene Hart.
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In “Clay County and the Great War: a Narrative History of the Contributive and Sacrificial Involvement of Clay County, Illinois in World War I” the author, Ryan Herdes, stated that a total of 1350 men registered for the draft in Clay County on June 5, 1917. Of the 1350 men who registered on June 5, the names of 214 men were drawn to represent the county in the national draft. Ultimately, only 107 were actually drafted from Clay County. The article indicated that a complete listing of those individuals called in the county draft appeared in the final July edition of the Southern Illinois Record. I went looking for a copy of that paper (I googled it, after checking my normal sources for online historical newspapers to no avail) and found that it had been digitized in a collection maintained by the Eastern Illinois University. The listing was found on the first page of the July 26, 1917 Southern Illinois Record. Lester is not on that list. I’ve found no evidence that he served in World War I.

On May 18, 1920, Leta gave birth to their daughter, Josephine Vivian Hart. According to the 1920 federal census, Dene worked as a Teamster hauling coal at that time and earned a wage (he was not self-employed). Both he and Leta indicated that they were able to read and write. Unfortunately, on June 30, 1922, Leta died. I have, so far, been unable to find out why. She was buried in the Orchard Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Illinois. 

This left Dene a single father of a two-year-old girl. At some point after Leta’s death, Dene and his daughter moved to Findlay, Ohio, in Hancock County. He probably moved there because his mother, my great-grandmother, had moved back to Ohio with her two youngest daughters, after my great-grandfather left her; she and her youngest daughters were in Hancock County Ohio by the 1920 Census. (Family notes say Vernon left in 1915, the year Dene married Leta.)  I don’t know what Dene was doing to support himself and his daughter, who was caring for her, or where he was living when he first moved back to Ohio. 

On November 22, 1925, Dean (31) married Edith Matilda Becker (20), daughter of Casper and Anna Becker, who became stepmother to five-year-old Josephine. According to the 1927 Findlay City Directory, they lived at 1203 Lima St. and Dene was a “tire builder.” Findlay, Ohio has had a history of tire companies as significant employers in the town; the longest lasting one being Cooper Tire and Rubber Company. I’m not certain which one he worked for yet.

According to the 1930 census, Dene, now 35, and Edith, now 26, (and Josephine, age 10) rented their home and paid $15 a month rent. They lived on Santee Avenue. Dene worked as a truck driver for the state highways.

In or about July of 1930, Dene’s wife, Edith, contracted tuberculosis, a dangerous respiratory illness that frequently caused death. Approximately 110,000 Americans died each year from tuberculosis in the early 1900’s. Typically, patients were separated from their families so that their families would not catch it; in the 1930s the most popular treatment was rest and fresh air in sanatoriums. I don’t know whether Edith was sent to a sanatorium. She was sick for eight months and then died at the home of her parents on February 12, 1931. She was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio. 

Edith Matilda Becker Hart, Obituary,
Findlay (OH) Morning Republican, 13 Feb 1931 p.2.
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Edith's death was less than ten years after the death of Dene's first wife. 

Later that year, on August 18, 1931, the Findlay Morning Republican, reported that Dene and his daughter, Josephine, his mother, and my grandparents, were among 44 family members (all named in the article) who attended the fourth annual reunion of the S. M. Hartman family, held at the old homestead, 1 mile east of Van Buren. Perhaps being with family was a comfort.

Dene apparently liked being married, and he did still have a young daughter who needed to be cared for. On December 23, 1932, at age 38, he married Helen Marie Black, age 29, daughter of O. L. (Lawrence) Black and Carrie Plumber or Plumer. While the marriage license indicated that Helen had been married before, I know nothing about that marriage and I don’t know whether she had any children from that prior marriage but I don’t think so as she didn’t bring with her into this marriage. While the certificate indicates that her prior husband was not living, I cannot confirm that (there are some indications the contrary, but, if that bears out, we should remember that it was not unusual for divorced women to list themselves as widowed as that was less embarrassing).

Marriage Record for Lester Dene Hart and Helen Black (1932).
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In 1935 and 1937, city directories indicate that the couple were living outside of Findlay in the village of Jenera. Dene worked as a foreman for the state highway department. In May 1937, the couple experienced tragedy when their daughter, Alice Virginia, was born, but only lived one day.  

Approximately one year later, on June 11, 1938, Dene’s daughter, Josephine, age 18, married Merrill Bushong (son of Mr. and Mrs J. M. Bushong), in New Stark, Ohio.

At the start of May 1939, Dene and Helen left Ohio for Texas to work on a Rural Electrification project, with the Bigley construction company. He ended up working first on a REA project in Arkansas. The federal Rural Electrification Act was passed in 1936. It was one of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to improve the economic condition of farmers hit hard by the depression and drought. It provided 25-year loans at 3% interest for constructing power lines in rural areas. Local cooperative companies were formed to provide electricity. The Bigley Construction Company, of Findlay, Ohio, won the contract to install the substations, poles and wires with the low bid on the project. The bid for the North Central Texas electrification project was $86,787.06. I don’t know what the bid was for Arkansas. The first Arkansas project provided electricity to 600 farmhouses over 307 miles of wire in Mississippi County, Arkansas and used 3500 poles, 600 miles of aluminum wire, and 36,000 man hours of employment. Farmers along the lines purchased electric pumps, ranges, and some had modern plumbing installed in their homes for the first time. After total installation in Arkansas, the minimum bill of $2.50 for 35 kW gave sufficient current to light a four-room house, and to run an electric iron, a radio, and a fan for a month. Later the North Central Texas project made service available to 1400 families.

While the men worked on the REA project in Arkansas, the wives and families lived in an encampment near Lockesburg, Arkansas. On August 15, 1939, the Findlay Republican Courier reported that “Mrs. Dene Hart, the former Helen Black of New Stark, and daughter of Mrs. Carrie Buchanan of Findlay, was honored guest at a recent shower given at Lockesburg, Arkansas, by the women of the Bigley Electric Construction camp. She received many gifts from guests. Dene and Helen’s second daughter, [Edit: name removed as I just found indications that she may be alive] was born 1939 in Arkansas. Helen’s mother went out to visit with the family and see her new granddaughter, for three months, returning in late November 1939.

1940 U.S. Federal Census - Hart, Lester Dene and family.
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By 1940, the family was back in Findlay, Ohio and Dene was once again working for the state highway department, although he was looking for work at the time the census was taken. He reported that, in 1939 he worked 48 weeks and earned $1400. He evidently found new work because the City Directory for 1941 indicated that Dene worked for G.E. Edgington & Sons as a distributor operator. They lived at 134 ½ North Main St., Apt. 10., Findlay.

WWII Draft Registration Card for Lester Dene Hart, front page.
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Draft Registration Card for Lester Dene Hart, top portion of back page.
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Dene registered for the draft for World War II on April 25, 1942. He was 48. The draft registration indicates that he is white, 5 foot 7 ½ inches tall, 155 pounds and had blue eyes, black hair, and a ruddy complexion. He also indicated that he had a bad thumb on his left hand and that he worked for an ordinance company in Marion Ohio. This is likely this Scioto Ordinance Company, an ammunition and bomb-making facility operating from 1942 to 1945. It produced fuses, 20 mm bullets, 50 caliber bullets, artillery shells (50, 65, and 75 mm), incendiary bombs, and napalm bombs. I don’t know if he stayed there after the war working for the postwar company on the same site, Atomic Energy Commission Laboratory, which was operated by Monsanto. Radioactive materials were used and stored on-site and a nuclear reactor was built but never operated. If he did, I would be concerned for his health in his later years as at the end of the 20^th century it was noted that there was a higher than expected number of leukemia cases and respiratory illnesses in the area, and a government investigation was launched, as well as a few lawsuits.

I lost Dene for a few years, but by 1952 and 1953, pursuant to Dallas (TX) City Directories, Dene was now going by his first name “Lester;” he was a carpenter and a cabinetmaker; and he and Helen lived at 512 Liberty.  Dene’s mother died on July 13, 1954. I don’t know whether he made it to the funeral, as the July, 1954, Findlay papers are missing from online records. His wife, Helen’s father died on May 15, 1958 and they did return to Ohio for the funeral. This indication of family feeling might mean that they returned for Fannie's funeral as well.

I then lost them again until I found his death certificate, which indicated that Lester died on April 21, 1981 at 10:15 AM, at the age of 87.  He and Helen were living in the Dallas Texas neighborhood of Cockrell Hill. Lester died of emphysema and renal failure. The death certificate indicated that he was a self-employed carpenter. He was buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas. His wife outlived him by nearly 5 years, dying on January 14, 1986, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Texas Death Certificate for Lester Dene Hart (1981).
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I would like to know more of what happened in Dene’s childhood, how he met Leta and courted her, how he met and wooed Edith, and how he met Helen. I’d like to fill in the blanks about when he and his daughter Josephine moved back to Ohio, and to fill in the huge gaps in his life from 1942 to his death in 1981. I’d also like to find out what happened to his children.

(More complete citations available on request)

Marriage record for Orley Hart and Frances Hartman, Hancock County, 1893; Ohio Birth Record, Hancock County, 1894; U,S, Federal Census for 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940; Draft registration for WW1; Birthdate of daughter Josephine Vivian Hart from email from MSD & confirmed in part by 1930 & 1940  U.S. Federal Census; death of Leta Elkins Hart, Illinois Death and Stillbirth Index, 1916-1947 & Find-a-Grave.com; Findlay, OH City Directories for 1927, 1931, 1935, 1937 and 1941; Dallas TX City Directory for 1952 and 1953; Marriage record for Helen Marie Black and Lester Dene Hart, Marion County OH, 1932), Birth record for Alice Virginia Hart, Ohio Birth record; Alice Virginia Hart U.S. Find-a-grave.com; Draft Registration for WW2; Ohio Obituary Index; Findagrave.com; Texas Death Certificate for Lester Dene Hartman; Texas Death Index for Helen Marie Black Hart.

“Clay County Soldiery” Flora (IL) Southern Illinois Record, July 26, 1918, p. 1 (found at http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/fpl01/id/2483);  “Mrs. L. D. Hart is Dead”, Findlay (OH) Morning Republican, 2 February 1931, p. 2; “Hold Reunion”  Findlay Morning Republican, August 18, 1931, p. 8; “New Stark” (Hart-Bushong wedding) Findlay Republican Courier , June 11, 1938, p.15; “New Stark”, Findlay Republican Courier, May 13, 1939, p. 2;”Hardin Men Leave For Jobs in West”, Findlay Republican Courier, May 13, 1939, p. 14;  “Findlay Bid Low on Light Project” New Philadelphia (OH) Daily Times, June 15, 1939, p.2; “Shower Given For Mrs. Dene Hart, Findlay Republican Courier, August 15, 1939, p. 6; “Return From A Visit” Findlay Republican Courier, December 1, 1939, p. 8; “Current To Be On By Sept. 15 First Line of REA Lines to be Energized Soon”, Blytheville (AR) Courier News, August 3, 1939, p.1; “To Energize County’s First REA Line of 145 Miles Tuesday” Blytheville Courier News, 4 December 1939, p. 1; “Lawrence Black Called By Death” Findlay Republican Courier, May 15, 1958, p. 16; “Officials Want Probe of Marion Laboratory”, by Randall Edwards, Environmental Reporter,  The Columbus (OH) Dispatch, October 9, 1999 (found at http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/news/nn10253.htm); “Leukemia Fears, Man’s Scary Take Trigger Marion Radiation Probe”, by T.C. Brown, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, October 9, 1999 (found at http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/marion/o09mark.html); Scioto Ordnance Plant, Wikipedia; “Rural Electrification”, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture (found at http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2162);  “Clay County and the Great War: A Narrative History of the Contributive and Sacrificial Involvement of Clay County, Illinois in World War I” by Ryan Herdes, Historia (A publication of the Epsilon Mu Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta and the Eastern Illinois University History Department), Special Edition, Volume 1 (2013), p. 111 (http://www.eiu.edu/historia/2013SEissue.php).

52 Ancestors #18 Vernon/Verna/Vern Erwin (1872-1947)

Vernon Erwin with granddaughter, 1947, in Huron Ohio
(Note: granddaughter is not named because she is living.)
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This is my 18th post for the “52Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the “No Story Too Small” blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

Vernon Erwin is my great-grandfather on my Mom’s mother’s side. He was born on February 15, 1872, in Louisville, Illinois, which is in Clay County. His parents were John Erwin(1841-1917) and Amelia Ann Conley (1847-1915). They had six children including Vernon; the others were: Luella Erwin Baird (1869- abt  1910),  Troy Erwin (1873-1874); Katurah Erwin (1876-1895); Mabel Erwin (1879 - ?aft 3/12/1910), infant Erwin (1883). Only Luella, Vernon, and Mabel lived to adulthood.

Vernon grew up in Louisville, Illinois. His father owned a hardware store and sold farm machinery. His father and three uncles served in the Union Army in the Civil War. Perhaps that is why Vernon  (“Verna”) enlisted in the army on May 10, 1898. He served one year as a private with G company  of the 4^th Illinois Infantry, in the Spanish-American War. The 4^th Infantry participated in the Battle of El Caney, Cuba and the Seige of Santiago Cuba. For a good description of troop movements, etc., of the 4^th Illinois Infantry in that war see: http://scouts87_90.tripod.com/id39.html. He was wounded during service, but I don’t know how yet. Later he drew a pension based on his service (pension # C-1 233 759). 

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It is possible that Vernon suffered from undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the war ("Shell shock " or PTSD wasn't recognized as a condition until WWII, before that its effects were likely to get you punished, or killed, for insubordination, while in the Armed Forces,  (based on a book I'm reading about WW1) and seriously screw up one's life after he leaves the Army. PTSD could explain some of Vernon's behavior in the balance of his life.

I’m not sure whether he went home first after discharge but, in the next year, the 1900 census found him in Scappouse, Oregon, (outside of Portland) working as a day laborer.

I lost track of him for 9 years, but by 1909, he was back in Louisville, Illinois. In that year, at age 37, he married my great-grandmother, Fannie Hartman Hart, a widow with four children. I’ve not found an earlier marriage for him to date. This marriage to my great-grandmother did not work out well, although they did have two children: my grandmother, Mabel LeRe Erwin Snyder (1910-1990) and Dale Hart Erwin Crawford Shapiro Spicer Ludwig (1912 - ????) [Note: I’m not actually sure where Ludwig falls in that order other than knowing he’s not first]. According to a letter sent to my Mom from her cousin A (who was doing family history research), Vernon had left Fannie by 1915. Mabel would have been 5 and Dale, 3.

I then lost track of him for fifteen years. I have a few possibilities but no certainties. Sometime in those fifteen years it appears that he and my great-grandmother were divorced. I haven’t found the documentation yet.

1053 Cary Ave., San Pedro CA is 1/2 of the duplex on the right
Photo courtesy of Google Maps, photo taken 2011
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I remembered my mother’s stories of him living in Los Angeles, California and being a policeman or a detective, and I think I’ve found him again in 1930, at age 58, living in San Pedro, California, (part of Los Angeles) where he is a watchman for a steamship company, and is married to Bertha, who is three years younger than he and also from Illinois (Bertha may have been previously married to another man also with the last name of Erwin, as she was at the same address before my great-grandfather with a man named Burt Erwin, or it could be my great grandfather if he was using a middle name -- I don't know his middle name). The age of this Vern Erwin is dead on, and the census reports he is from Illinois, that he is a veteran and that he fought in the Spanish-American war [“Sp”]. I know that retired policemen often become watchmen or security guards, so it’s plausible. At any rate, having found him in the census, I then found him in the San Pedro City directories at 1053 Cary Av, married to Bertha, and listed as a watchman in 1930 (age 58), 1932 (age 60), and 1937 (age 65). Over the years the city directory spells his first name several different ways. On April 3, 1940, the census finds Vern (68) and Bertha (65) in Elsinore, Riverside, California; his occupation is listed as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency. The 1940 city directory still had him in San Pedro, but at a new address on Neptune Avenue. Vern & Bertha may have moved partway through the year to Elsinore, or they may have been in Elsinore for a few years and Vern may have moved back to San Pedro when Bertha died on September 1, 1940. He was 68 in 1940; Bertha was 66 when she died.

The picture at the top was taken during a visit to his oldest daughter in Huron Ohio, after Bertha died. If the date on the back of the picture is correct, it was taken the year that he died.

Vernon/Verna/Vern died in Los Angeles CA, on November 18, 1947 (the death index notes that his mother’s maiden name was “Conley”, and he was born in Illinois, confirming it is the right person – I have to write off for the death certificate). He is buried is the Los Angeles National Cemetery, a Veterans’ cemetery, at 950 South Sepulveda Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90049, Section 261 Row C Site 11.

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photo credit: Kevin Baird via photopin - cc

If anyone knows more about Vernon Erwin and is willing to share with mew, please either contact me through my email on the Contact Me page or leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you!

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I need to find where Vernon was during the missing years between 1912 -ish and 1930, and try to confirm whether or not he was a police officer.
I want to obtain his military and military pension records.
I also want to obtain/see a copy of his divorce records (from Fannie) and his later marriage record (to Bertha) and/or find out if California ever had common law marriages
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Sources, in general (I have more specific elsewhere): Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011: San Pedro City Directory; US Census for 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940; Fold3.com; "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934," index, FamilySearch; U.S. Veteran's Grave sites; U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans; California Findagrave.com memorial # 370264; California Death Index.

52 Ancestors #17 Fannie Hartman Hart Erwin

This is my latest post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the No Story Too Small blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

Fannie Hartman was my great-grandmother on my mom’s mom’s side, i.e. not the one who wrote out the family history notes.  From talking to the people who remember her, she was not a particularly pleasant person to be around. Mom and at least one aunt are each convinced she hated them. Other aunts remember visiting her and being afraid to touch anything in the apartment. I always wondered if she started out difficult or did life turn her that way? But then other people have gone through rough times and not turned brittle. Anyway, I’ll never know that; I can only tell you what I’ve found in my research.

Fannie Hartman was born the third daughter and fourth child of Samuel Myers Hartman and Julia Ann Zimmerman in December 1844 in Findlay, Ohio. She had ten brothers and sisters: Charles Oliver (1868-1943), Etta Genora Hartman  Archer (1869-1942), Della Sylvia Hartman Spitler (1871-1892), Zoe Amelia Hartman  Rader (1874-1954), Samuel Thomas (1876-1877), Jesse Ephraim (1877-1945), Wellie Z. (1879-1960), Henry Barnhill (1884-1968), and Cleo Zerelda Hartman Duffield (1869-1966).  The sister closest to her in age (Della) died at 21 [Fannie would have been 20] and one brother died in infancy.  Her father was a successful farmer in Hancock County Ohio, having moved there from Wayne County Ohio just before she was born.

Cleo, Fannie, Zoe & Etta - The Hartman Girls
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She married Orley Calvin Hart on December 10, 1893, in Hancock County, Ohio, when she was 21 years old. He was born in Hancock County too. By the time of the 1900 census, they had moved to Clay County, Illinois, living and farming with Orley's parents.  Family paperwork (compiled by my Mom's cousin) says that they lived in Van Buren, Ohio until they joined other Hart families in Clay County, Illinois in 1899 and that they bought  40 acres and together with the other families farmed a total of 280 acres.  Fannie and Orley had five children: Lester Dene (1894-1981, Gladys (1896-1902), Reed C (1898-1954), Verne Allen (1900-1954), and Julia Ann (1903-1978). According to the same family papers, her daughter, Gladys, died at age 5 of “sugar diabetes”. Unfortunately, Orley died just two years later on January 28, 1905, also of diabetes, and Fannie was left grieving and alone to raise her four children. I would hope and expect that his family helped, at least with the farm.

The family of my  great-grandfather, Vernon Erwin, had lived in Clay county, IL since before  it was formed in 1824, but I doubt that Fannie had met him until after Orley died as he was away from the county for several years (his profile will be #18, tune in next week to see where he was).  She married Vernon Erwin in 1909, in Louisville IL (the main city in Clay County). The 1910 census shows Vernon (spelled Verna), Fannie (listed as Frances), and her four children, living together; Vernon is not working, but 15 year old Dene is shown as “farm labor”. Vernon and Fannie had two children of their own:  my grandmother, Mabel LeRe Erwin Snyder (1910-1990) and her sister, Dale Hart Erwin Crawford Shapiro Spicer Ludwig [actually I’m not exactly sure where Ludwig goes on that list] (1912-????).

Dale & Mabel Erwin
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My great-grandfather left my great-grandmother before 1920; I have a note from my mom’s cousin that says he left in 1915.  I don’t know whether he paid child support; but even if he did, Fannie was again left with the major responsibility of raising and caring for their daughters, alone. If it’s true that he left in 1915, my grandmother was 5 when he left and her sister Dale was 3.  By 1920, the census shows that Fannie (46)  had returned to Hancock County Ohio, and that she and her two youngest daughters, Mabel (9) and Dale (8), lived in Pleasant, Ohio in the household of a father and son, Henry and George Borough, where Fannie was employed as their housekeeper. The census says George (47) was a farmer and Henry (79) did not work. From that point on Fannie always told the census taker that she was a widow, even though my great-grandfather still lived (and I have pictures showing that he later visited his grandkids – my mom & her sisters and brother). I guess that either being a widow was less embarrassing than admitting she had been left by her husband, or she was trying to erase all memory of that disastrous short marriage from her life (to the extent possible given two children of the union).  I also expect she still loved Orley since she gave Vernon’s younger daughter, Dale Hart Erwin, Orley’s last name as a middle name; and she was Orley’s widow so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

The Findlay city directories for the next decade occasionally listed “Verne A Erwin” as her spouse, and sometimes listed her as Verne’s widow, and sometimes didn’t mention him at all. By 1929, she had obtained an apartment in Findlay with her two youngest daughters, and the directory indicated that she was a seamstress.  The 1930 census shows that Fannie (it says age 55, but she’s 58) is a seamstress for a clothing store, Mabel  (20) is a bookkeeper for a garage, and Dale (18) is a saleslady at a clothing store. The 1931 city directory is a bit more detailed, showing Fannie as a seamstress for Kessel’s Fashion Shop, Mabel a bookkeeper for the Davison-Harrington Chevrolet Company, and Dale as a saleswoman for C.B. Dabney. All three live at 425 Hardin Street.

In the next few years both daughters would marry in quiet simple ceremonies and move away. In 1935 Fannie moved to Massillon in Stark County, Ohio and was still living there at the time of the 1940 census.  Fannie was 68 in 1940, and the census indicates that she had a lodger by the name of Alexander Holderbaum, who was 81. She may have been hired as his caretaker, as Mom's cousin's notes indicate that she at one point cared for" a lady in Gomer, Ohio”; Gomer is in Allen County, Ohio.  She may have had a series of housekeeper/caretaker jobs.

By 1943, she was back in Findlay, living in the downtown apartment my mother and aunts remember visiting her at (218 ½ S. Main street -- across from the Courthouse), with her daughter Julia, who works as a clerk at Dall’s Drapery Shop . They would live together at that apartment for the rest of Fannie’s life.  According to Mom's cousin Fannie suffered an incapacitating stroke in March 1954 and was bedridden thereafter.  The Findlay Republican Courier reported that she was admitted to Blanchard Valley Hospital on March 9, 1954, and was taken to the hospital again, from her home, on March 17, 1954. She died July 13, 1954. Her son Reed died a month later; I think I’m glad she did not know that.

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Mom's cousin’s notes say that Fannie “enjoyed crafts and needlework. After visits to [her daughter] Dale in Florida, she made many objects from shells. She did a lot of sewing and made most of the granddaughters’ clothes. She loved to read, put jigsaw puzzles together, and take walks in the fields and woods.” She and Julia pieced and sewed  the quilt top pictured HERE , in my 3^rd - ever post (my mom turned it into a hand-tied quilt, as the drapery fabrics used were too heavy to quilt in the usual manner).

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U.S Census: 1880, 1900; 1910; 1920; 1930, 1940; "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X2G1-WJ6 : accessed 14 Apr 2014), Verna Erwin and Francis Hart, 1909; citing Clay, Illinois, United States; FHL microfilm 1008796; Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011., Findlay Ohio City Directories for 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952; Findlay Republican Courier, January 18, 1935, p. 6; Findlay Republican Courier, March 9, 1954, p. 16; Findlay Republican Courier, March 17, 1954, p. 12.

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I need to look at the land records for Clay County to see when Fannie and Orley purchased land there.

I’d like to find marriage records (& not just indexes) and a death certificate and obituary for Fannie.

52 Ancestors: #15 Alfred Conley (1841 – 1932), Corporal in General Wilder's Lightning Brigade

This is my latest post for the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow of the No Story Too Small blog. For more information about the challenge and links to the other blogs participating in the challenge, please click on the badge in the right margin.

Picture from Findagrave.com, Illinois, Memorial #20741880
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Alfred Conley, my 2^nd great grand uncle, was born to Henry Conley (1810-18-78) and Sarah Cosner (1811-?), on April 23 1841. His younger sister, Amelia Ann Conley (1847-1915) was my 2^nd great grandmother (she married John Erwin, 1841-1917). His other siblings were Solomon (1833-1875), James R. (1836 - ?), Tharsia C. (1837-1927), William A (1844-1915), Permelia A.  (1847 - ?) and George P. (1849-1869). His father was a farmer and owned 1000 acres when Alfred was nine years old.

Both of Alfred’s parents were born in North Carolina and came to Illinois through Indiana, where they had also lived for some years. Alfred’s two oldest brothers were born in Indiana. Aldred was born in Hoosier Township, Clay County, Illinois.

In 1860, Alfred was still living at home, as were all of his brothers, likely helping to work his father’s farm. The 1860 Census indicated that he had attended school within the year.  It also showed that the family employed a domestic servant, Nancy Jenkins to help with the chores around the house. There was probably a lot of cleaning to do as there three men and 2 boys in the household (I have three brothers, I remember how much mess a boy/young man can make) and this is before any of the modern conveniences that make housework easier.

A biographical sketch in the History of Wayne and Clay Counties, indicates that he was brought up on the old Conley homestead and attended He attended “the common schools and the Mitchell [Indiana] Seminary.”

Alfred fought for the union in the Civil War. He joined the 98th Illinois Infantry as a corporal, on July 26, 1862, when he was 21. He was 5’9”, with light hair and blue eyes. His complexion was dark. He told the recruiter he was single, and a farmer from Clay Co. Illinois. He was signed for a 3 year term by E P Turner in Clay County IL. He mustered in on September 3, 1862 at Camp Centralia in Illinois, and mustered out on June 27, 1865 in Nashville TN by Capt. Hosea. 

During his service Alfred was a member of the Gen. Wilder's Lightning Brigade (a revolutionary concept:  mounted infantry which used horses to get quickly from one point to another but fought dismounted, with the new Spencer repeating rifles - a deadly combination), and participated in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Chickamauga, all of the Atlanta campaign, and on Wilson’s raid through Alabama and Georgia, including the capture of Selma. He was present at Macon, Ga., when Jefferson Davis was brought in to the union headquarters, after another portion of the division captured him. [HERE  and HERE are excellent articles on General John Wilder's creation of the Lightning Brigade and his use of the the new Spencer Repeating Rifle, and on Wilder's life after the war. Interesting reads.]

Unknown soldier, Member of General Wilder's Lightning Brigade
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Just over six months after he mustered out on the Army, Alfred married Mary Ann Toliver, who was born and raised in Lawrence County TN on December 28, 1865. He was 24 and she was 21.  The speed of their wedding makes me kind of wonder whether she was his sweetheart before the war? Or did they meet and have a whirlwind courtship after the war? Maybe someday I’ll find out.

The 1870 census shows them in their own household, down the street from his father. Alfred was a farmer and Mary kept house. He owned $1600 worth of real estate and $820 in personal property (he may have taken over his father’s land as Henry is no longer listed as owning real estate).

Alfred and Mary didn’t have any children and she died, at age 33, on November 27, 1875. Two years later, Alfred married Sarah Francis (House) Jones on May 1, 1877. In 1880, according to the census, Alfred was a farmer, and he employed one man as a farm laborer, who lived with them.  He was also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, which was formed to provide life insurance to its members, per The History of the Wayne and Clay Counties. The History also stated that he owned and successfully ran a steam power vibrator thresher , which likely meant that he was a very successful farmer.  The coal-fired, steam-powered thresher was a huge machine used to separate grain from the plant during harvest time, and the new-fangled vibrating sort made it effective to use on smaller grains as well as larger ones. Advertizing material for the leading brand of the time, emphasized not only is it “the best for handling wheat, oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat, but,  it is the only machine that successfully threshes and winnows the more difficult flax, timothy, and millet.” 

Click to make bigger

Alfred and Sarah’s only child, a son named Guy, was born in 1881. The 1890 census being lost to fire, the next I pick up Alfred’s trail is in the 1900 Census. Alfred is 54, his wife, now calling herself Frances, is 53, and Guy is 19. Alfred and Sarah have been married 23 years. This time Alfred lists his profession as Postmaster. They own their own home, free and clear. In 1910, it is just Alfred and Sarah at home in Hoosier Township, Clay County, Illinois. Alfred is 68 and Sarah is 62. Alfred reports that he has his own income. By that he may mean the invalid pension he had requested against his Army time, initially in 1890 and again in 1907, or they may have sold the farm and are living off the income of the sale (I have to check that out). The pension index has a certificate number so it probably was granted, at the rate of approximately $8-12 a month. I haven’t yet been able to find them in 1920 Census, and Sarah died on September 10, 1921 in Sailor Springs, Clay County, IL.

In 1930, at the time of the Census, Alfred was living with his son Guy and his family in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. He was listed as “retired” on the Census. Guy is a farmer and his wife sells dry goods; they have one 9 year old daughter, named Yvonne. Alfred died two years later at his son’s home in Oregon, at age 91, and he was buried at home in Clay Co. IL.

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I need to remember to check land exchange records.

And decide whether I want to order his pension file.

I also need to find Alfred & Sarah on the1920 Census, and to find his will, if possible.

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[Resources: Federal Census for 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900. 1910 A

and 1930.; “History of Wayne and Clay Counties” published by Brookhaven Press in 1884; the Illinois Civil War Detail Report (found here: http://www.ilsos.gov/isaveterans/civilMusterSearch.do?key=50939 );  http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Food/vibrator.htm. )

52 Ancestors: Ancestor #1 Crawford Erwin, 1818-1910

[Picture property of Jimmie Ferguson, Bowling Green Kentucky, used with permission. Click to embiggen.]

Crawford Erwin is my third great grandfather, and it is through researching his family that I connected with my first previously unknown cousin, a third cousin once removed, Jimmie Ferguson. He had several photographs of our mutual several times great grandfather and he graciously allowed me to use the photo above for my blog. Jimmie is descended through Crawford’s son ,Edward, from his second wife, and I am descended through Crawford’s second son from his first marriage.

I’ve done several posts about others in Crawford Erwin’s family. He is the son of Judge William Erwin and the father of John Erwin and Eli Erwin. They have been easier than some to write about as biographical sketches of several family members were written up in History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois", published in 1884.

The book describes Crawford Erwin as one of Hoosier Township's "best and most prominent farmers." He would have been sixty-six when it was published. Crawford was born on April 19, 1818, in Lawrence County, Indiana, when his father was 40 and his mother was 35. His father, William Erwin, moved with part of his family, including Crawford and two of his brothers, to Clay County in October, 1832.  Crawford was fourteen at the time.  

Crawford Erwin was “brought up among the deer and other wild animals, and hence early learned the use of fire-arms. He has killed many a deer and other wild game.  At one time, upon returning home from taking his grandmother to his aunt's, he saw a herd of seven deer. He at once brought his gun to his shoulder (for they always carried guns then), and fired without getting off the horse.  The ball passed entirely through the deer he had shot at, and entered another one just in the rear, killing both of them. This was a wonderful feat for a boy. “ (I think it was pretty amazing since he likely had a muzzle loading rifle. It probably also was a flintlock rifle. Percussion rifles had just been invented in the 1820’s and were more expensive and thus not likely to have been given to a boy. The U.S. army had adopted an early single shot breech loader in 1819; but again, given the expense, it is doubtful that a boy had one.) 

In 1837, when he was 19 years old,  he married Eliza A. Craig (my third great-grandmother), daughter of Adam Craig, an early settler of Clay county; she was also 19. They had seven children, two of whom  died in childhood, in 1852, (Sarah Jane, 13, and Elbert, 16 mos.); those who survived to adulthood were William, John, Eli, Lafayette, and Elizabeth Adeline. Eliza died in February 1855, and Crawford again married, July 3 of the same year; this time to Mrs. Rachel Humes Milligan. (While this might seem like unseemly haste, Crawford was a farmer, which would have involved long hours in the fields, or hunting for meat for his family, and when Eliza died, their youngest surviving child was only one year old, and the rest were boys of 7, 12, 14, and 17. He needed someone to care for his youngest sons and baby daughter.) Rachel also likely needed a man to help provide for her children as the 1860 Census shows four children under 15 with Rachel’s prior married name living with Crawford and Rachel. He and Rachel had another five children together, two of whom were living in 1884 when the county history book was published, Angeline and Edward Everett. 

[Crawford Erwin seated with second wife Rachel Humes Milligan Erwin. Back row, standing (L to R): Angeline Erwin Britten, John Erwin (my 2nd great- grandfather), Edward Everett Erwin (Jim Ferguson's great-grandfather), and Elizabeth Adeline Erwin Kenley Henderson. (kindly given to me by Jim Ferguson, 9/23/13, and used with permission.) The gentleman with the medal is my 2nd-great-grandfather, John. The one labeled "Grandpa" is Jimmie Ferguson's 2nd-great-grandfather, Edward. They are half brothers. (Click to embiggen.)]

When the Civil War broke out Crawford’s three oldest sons left to fight for the North in the Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and his fourth son fought for the North in the Illinois Infantry.  Crawford's eldest son, Capt. William Erwin, Captain of Company D, Eleventh Regiment Missouri Volunteer Infantry, was killed in front at Spanish Fort, Ala., while “heroically leading his men on to victory”.  His third son, Eli, a private, was badly wounded at the Battle of Shiloh; and, while records show he survived in hospital a few months, he never made it home. His second son John was wounded in his first service but returned to fight again, and survived the war, to return to Clay County. The youngest of the four, Lafayette, also survived, and subsequently moved to California.

At the time the county history book was written, Crawford owned 347 acres of land and resided along the northern township line (sort of in the central portion) of Hoosier Prairie, Clay County, Illinois (see picture below, click to embiggen). He was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and of the Masonic order. For ten years, in addition to being a farmer, he held the office of Justice of the Peace, and “also has held other offices of trust”. 

Rachel Erwin died in 1893 at age 70, and apparently Crawford liked being married, as he married Elizabeth Adams the next year. She was 69 and he was 76. He was widowed again by 1910, and living in the home of Clara and Thomas McWilliams; the 1910 census lists Crawford as a step-father in that household. I haven’t figured out whether one of the two was a child of Rachel Humes Mulligan who wasn’t living with them after their marriage, a child of Elizabeth Adams, or whether he married yet again after Elizabeth Adams died. Crawford died on December 2, 1910, at the age of 92.

["History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois” published 1884 by Chicago: Globe Publishing,historical Publishers, reprinted 2000 by Brookhaven Press , LaCrosse Wisconsin, (Google ebook, scanned), pp. 185 & 186 of original, pp. 655 & 656 of Google eBook scan;  Find-a-Grave: Illinois; Federal Census for 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910; Illinois, Marriages, to 1850 and 1851-1900[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Volume 1, page 222, Lic # 2950, Clay County; Ancestry.com. U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 (database on-line). Photos from Jimmie Ferguson, used with permission.]

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First pass of Mom’s Maternal line

In the past week I got as far as it appears I can on this first pass through of my Mom’s mother’s side of the family. Earlier, in the Catching You Up post, I explained how far I’d gotten up Mom’s maternal grandmother’s line in this first pass and posted a picture of the direct line pedigree chart starting from Fannie (Hartman) Hart Erwin (which involved the following surnames: Diehl, Hart, Hartman, Meyers, Speicher, Whonsetler, Wonsetler/Wonsettler, and Zimmerman). Since then, I’ve been researching Mom’s maternal grandfather’s family, and have gotten as far as I can go on this first not-so-very-in-depth pass. I’ve got some good hints as to where I’ll be going in the next step up in general, on several of the lines, but I just can’t find/make the next connection using the family papers I have, Ancestry.com, Google EBooks for county history books, Fold3.com, Google, and Newspapers.com, alone, right now.  [Yes, I know I originally said I’d stick to Ancestry.com for the first pass – I got enticed and distracted. ; ) ]

Mom’s maternal grandfather’s family tree, as I have it now, looks like this (click to embiggen):

It involves folks with the following surnames: Conley, Cosner, Craig, Erwin, Lewis, Miller, Wilson. 

I can tell that in the next pass I will be doing a lot more research into North Carolina, as I have indication in the documentation I have that nearly everyone I lost the trail of was born in or spent some time in North Carolina. It shows that Judge William Erwin & his wife Lydia Lewis were born in North Carolina, as were both Henry Conley, his father John, and his father John, and Henry’s wife Sarah Cosner. I have some indication that Judge William Erwin’s father, William, may have been born in Ireland. Adam Craig may have at one point been in Tennessee, since his daughter, Eliza Ann, was born in that state, but I really know very little about him. I know nothing about either John Conley's (1776-1853) wife or his mother.

Putting together the charts for my Mom's maternal line, the direct line chart of my maternal grandmother (Mom’s Mother, Mabel Erwin), as I have it now, looks like this (click to embiggen):

I’ve been reading up on lots of other possible types of searches for the second pass. That pass will take more time and more patience. I can see now too, that I will probably take some time off searching between the two passes to create and/or organize my physical files in a much better way as that will help me make a better and more successful search ultimately. I will probably also be sending out emails/letters to older relatives requesting memories/stories they have of their relatives/ancestors as those would both help my search and provide body & color to the bare bones of my document search to help me know my ancestors more as people. But first I must finish the first pass of the rest of the family.

This weekend I started the first pass of my mother’s paternal line of the family. I have some help with this side in the form of handwritten remembrances of her own family and family tree, and that of her husband, by my great grandmother, Pearl Pauline Bailey.  I started by entering her remembered connections and names as she wrote them into Ancestry.com and waited overnight for little wiggling leaves to show up to hopefully verify her memories. I’ve already discovered that her remembrances of family history aren’t entirely accurate. So, while it’s a start, it all must be verified. Fun!

Ancestor Highlight: William "Judge" Erwin, 1777-1837, my 4th great grandfather

      William Erwin, my 4th great grandfather, was born in central and lived in North Carolina from 1777 until approximately 1810. He moved with his family to Indiana Territory in about 1810, locating in what became Clark County, Indiana.  He served for some years as a Magistrate of the Indiana Territory, appointed by Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison (who was later President of the U.S., for one month). The Indian Territory consisted of what is now Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio.

In l8l5 he moved to what became Lawrence county, Indiana, just a year later when Indiana became a state in December 1816. In that county, he became widely known, serving for a time as County Judge.  He was described as a ”man of fine abilities, and… integrity”.  His commissions as County Judge were signed by Jonathan Jennings, as Governor of the state of Illinois, and R. A. New, as Secretary of State.

Judge William Erwin and three of his sons, Jarrett L., David and Crawford (my 3rd great grandfather), moved from Indiana, and settled in Clay County Illinois, in October, 1832. Judge Erwin, as he was known, bought his first tract of land there, 80 acres, in 1833. The Erwins were influential citizens, and did much toward building up schools and churches, and developing the county. Judge William Erwin was a member of the County Board in 1834.

The first school taught in the Hoosier Prairie was by Judge Erwin, at his own home, and attended by all in reach. Young men would also come from other neighborhoods and board in the vicinity in order to attend the school. “The school was taught by Judge William Erwin, in a log cabin in the Judge’s own door-yard, and the seats consisted of split poles with pins in them for leg's; the floor was of puncheon, and the window was simply a log out of one side of the cabin, with nothing over the aperture. They however kept a plank with which they covered this crack when the weather was too cold. The room was warmed by a huge fire-place, and the chimney was made of sticks and mud.” (p. 149 of History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois; Chicago: Globe Publishing, Historical Publishers, 1884; Reprint published by Brookhaven Publishers 2000.)

Judge Erwin died August 4, 1837, and was the first person buried in the Erwin Cemetery. The land occupied by this cemetery was once selected by him for a building site for his home, but he afterward changed his mind in regard to it, and upon his death his friends buried him there.

[Facts drawn from “History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest time to the Present; Together with Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscenses, Note, etc.” Chicago: Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers, 1881, Digitized by Google, pp. 103-104, 249-250;  A biographical sketch of Capt Hugh Erwin, in The History of Cherokee County, Kansas included within the History of Kansas by William G. Cutler, published by A.T. Andreas, 1883; “History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois; Chicago: Globe Publishing, Historical Publishers, 1884, Reprint published by Brookhaven Publishers 2000; digitized by Google, pp. 449, 451; Wikipedia: Indiana Territory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Territory); Web: Illinois, Find-a-grave Index, 1809-2012 (found at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=ER&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=16&GScntry=4&GSsr=6041&GRid=30322381&); the  United States Federal Census of 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, and 1830; and U.S. General Land Office Records, 1996-1907.]

A Tragic Family Mystery? (Eli Erwin)

   I've run into another puzzle in my family research this week. Since I caught all of you up to where I'd gotten before I started the blog, I'm back into the Erwin line again. Normally I don't do a lot with brothers and sisters of my direct line ancestors, but I do flesh them out to some extent because I've found it often helps me find the right person(s) in prior generations. So this week I've been working on John Erwin's (2nd great-great grandfather)  brother's and sisters. 

Three of his brothers also served in the Civil War, on the Union side, but only Lafayette made it home. Captain William Erwin died at the Battle of Spanish Fort, AL. Private Eli (Elias) Erwin died at the Battle of Shiloh, TN. Or did he?

It is family lore that Eli died at the Battle of Shiloh, which occurred on April 6 and 7, 1862. There is a grave for him at the Hoosier Cemetery in Louisville in Clay county Illinois. According to Findagrave.com, it indicates that he died on April 5, 1862, but that could just be a typo. By the time I'd gotten to Eli, I'd gotten pretty good at finding out service information for the Civil War. The fact that the National Park Service Soldier and Sailor Search website was not operable during the Federal Government shutdown and that the National Archives website was operating on a very limited basis for the same reason did put a hitch in my stride but I had work-arounds. I confirmed that Eli had served with Company F of the 18th Missouri Infantry, through the Missouri Archive online system, and I used that information to search for Eli at Fold3.com, just looking for anything they might have to add some color to his profile. Boy, did I ever find "color"!

I found a 9 pg  record of Muster Rolls (summarized bi-monthly) document at Fold3.com for Elias Erwin which indicates, in pertinent part:

"Elias Erwin. Private, Co F, 18 Reg’t Missouri Infantry

Appears on Company Muster Roll November & December 1861, Present

Appears on Company Muster Roll January & February 1862, Present

Appears on Company Muster Roll March & April 1862, Absent
Remarks: Badly wounded in both thighs in the battle 6 April 1862 and sent to Savannah, Tenn

Appears on Company Muster Roll May & June 1862, Absent
Remarks: Wounded in both thighs Battle Shiloh 6 April 1862. Left at Hospital Savannah, Tenn April 7/62.

Appears on Company Muster Roll for date of August 31, 1962
Remarks: Discharged from Camp No. 10 near Corinth Miss. On account of wounds received in action Battle of Shiloh 6th April 62. Enrolled Dec. 17, 61 Westin, MO. Date & place muster in not shown. Name not bourne on subsequent rolls of this company"*

If he had died at Shiloh, I would have thought that the document would have said "killed" or "died" instead of discharged? To me, "Discharged" indicates he was alive on August 31, 1862. Wouldn't you think so?

Based on the grave, I'm thinking that he didn't make it home after discharge. Perhaps it is a memorial grave, without an actual internment?

I feel so bad for the boy. He was only 19 in 1862 (per census records). He had been "badly wounded" in both thighs. He was discharged to get himself home, near Corinth Miss, between the May 1862 Seige of Corinth and the early October Battle of Corinth. He was in the Confederate state of Mississippi and nearly 350 miles from home, and the area between where he was and home must have been crawling with hostile troops. I hope someone took care of him at the end and that he wasn't alone and scared.

Whether he died in June 1862, or sometime after August 31, 1862, will probably remain a mystery. In either case, it was a tragedy.


*[Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866; Publication Number M405; National Archives Catalog No. 300398; Record group 94; State: Missouri; Roll 0520; Military Unit: 18th Infantry, E-Ge. www.Fold3.com.]

Ancestor Highlight – John Erwin, 1841-1917, my 2nd-Great Grandfather

One of the family stories I remember being told to me when I was young, was that we had a relative who fought in the Civil War and was on General Sherman’s March to the Sea. Well, I’ve found him!

John Erwin, 1841-1917 (photo used with permission of Jim Ferguson, Bowling Green Kentucky)

          When the Civil War broke out, John Erwin was a farm boy in Hoosier Township, Clay County, Illinois (bn November 7, 1841). He lived at home on his father’s farm, with his father (Crawford Erwin) and his step-mother, two whole brothers, two young half sisters, and four step-siblings.[1] Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, a fort held by Union troops in South Carolina, and Lincoln called for volunteers from each state to join the Union army. John Erwin first enlisted June 15, 1861, in Company D, Eleventh Missouri Volunteer Infantry.[2] The Eleventh Missouri Infantry roster described him as 19, 5’8, with light hair and blue eyes, single, and a farmer from Clay Co. IL. He enlisted as a private, and served under Capt. Henry in Company D.[3] He was discharged in October, 1862, on account of disability,[4] which means that he was likely injured at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, as the battle occurred October 3-4, 1862, and the 11th Missouri Infantry remained in the Corinth area until November 2, 1862.[5] 

            After his health improved he enlisted again in 1864; this time in Company B, Forty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. [6] He again enlisted as a private. The Illinois 48th Infantry Regiment served as part of General Sherman’s troops for the March to the Sea from Atlanta to Fort McAlister, outside of Savannah, GA, and afterward, on the Carolinas Campaign.[7]  “At Fort McAllister, Mr. Erwin was blown up some distance by an exploding torpedo, but not seriously injured. At the battle of Duck Creek, on the 4th day of February, 1865, his regiment charged the rebels through a swamp of mud and water waist deep.”[8] He was promoted to Full Corporal on 15 Aug 1865, and mustered out on 15 Aug 1865 at Little Rock, AR, and moved to Camp Butler, Illinois, arriving August 21, 1865.[9] 

                John Erwin returned home, and in 1867, at age 26, he married Amelia Ann Conley, age 20. He attended McKendree College in Illinois[10], possibly during the two years before and after his marriage. On October 19, 1869, he applied for a military pension, based on both his tours of duty. It was apparently granted because it has a Certificate No. 171632[11] He may have used that in part to pay for college. John and Amelia had six children: Luella, Vernon (my great-grandfather), Troy (deceased), Keturah, Mabel, and an infant son who apparently did not live long enough to be named.[12]

                In about 1872, John Erwin helped the Hoosier Township of Clay County obtain a Post office by circulating a petition; he secured an office on Section 15, which is known as Hoosier Prairie Post Office, which had a daily mail service. In 1876, John Erwin moved to Louisville and in January 1877, became a hardware merchant and dealer in farm machinery, taking over a hardware store previously owned and run by Morey & Phifer, at which he was very successful, keeping a ”full line of heavy and shelf hardware, farm implements, stoves, tinware, blacksmith coal, lime, hair, saddles, harness, chain and wood pumps, and is also agent for the Buckeye Reaper.” He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Masonic fraternity (in 1884 he was a Senior Warden, which meant he was next in line to be the Master of the lodge) and of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[13] Amelia died in 1915, at age 68.[14] John lived two years longer and died on December 23, 1917, in Louisville IL. He was buried the next day in the Orchard Hill Cemetery.[15]

               

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[1] 1860 U.S. Federal Census. 1860; Census Place: Township 4 Range 7, Clay, Illinois; Roll: M653_162; Page: 578; Image: 578; Family History Library Film: 803162

[2] History of Henry & Clay Counties, Illinois, published 1884, p. 150; available on Google books as a free e-book, p. 619 of scanned version.

[3] http://eleventhmissouriinfantry.org/rosters.php ; sub: http://eleventhmissouriinfantry.org/rosters/CompanyD.pdf

[4] Supra Note 2.

[5] The National Park Service’s Civil War Soldier search for the Missouri, 11th Regiment Infantry’s service record for the period John Erwin served in it. (at http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-regiments-detail.htm?regiment_id=UMO0011RI)

[6] Supra Note 2

[7] Excerpted from the Illinois Adjutant General's Reports, Regimental and Unit Histories, containing reports for the years 1861-1866, found at http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/reghist.pdf)

[8] Supra Note 2

[9] Historical Data Systems, comp. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999; http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-regiments-detail.htm?regiment_id=UIL0048RI; http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/reghist.pdf

[10] Supra, Note 2.

[11] Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, compiled 1949 - 1949, documenting the period 1861 – 1942, Arm of Service: Infantry; Roll Number 260; National Archives Catalog ID:2588825; Record group: 15,  

[12] 1880 Census: Year: 1880; Census Place: Louisville, Clay, Illinois; Roll: 182; Family History Film: 1254182; Page: 291A; Enumeration District: 148; Image: 0003; and see Supra Note 2.

[13] History of Henry & Clay Counties, Illinois, published 1884, p. 149-150, 383, 384,450; available on Google books as a free e-book, and, respectively, p. 619-620, 377, 379, 444 of scanned version.

[14] Ancestry.com. Web: Illinois, Find A Grave Index, 1809-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=ER&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=16&GScntry=4&GSsr=5361&GRid=20741868&

[15] Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data:"Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916–1947." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original records.