Monday Is for Mothers: Mary Delaney Groves Joslin Perego (1833 - 1920)

This third great aunt's given name seems to have been Magdalena, but she's always referred to as Mary Delaney which sounds like an Irish surname and confused me at first because her parents were Frederick Groves and Leah Bixler.*

This 1920 piece about her first vote gives us a good overview of her life:

[Page  1 of The Anamosa Eureka, published in Anamosa, Iowa on Thursday, November 11th, 1920.

Source: Jones County Genealogicl Society Digital Library]

The article refers to her "rather feeble health" and she died just six weeks later on December 24, 1920.



*However if you sound it out, you can see how Magdalena could be transposed into Mary Delaney.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

My York County, Pennsylvania Ancestors

On my maternal side my 3rd great grandmother Delilah Grove (who married Dick Worden) had ancestors from York County, Pennsylvania.

I have neglected the Grove/Bixler side of my ancestry for about 8 or 9 years, although they were among the first people I added to my tree.  My mom has many DNA matches to cousins through these couples, and I am getting re-acquainted with York County, Pennsylvania, where they lived from the 1700s on (and I still have distant cousins who live there).

I found a video, "York County, Pennsylvania Like a Local" with Peter Greenberg that gives a nice overview of what the area looks like:

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Elisabeth (About 1781 - Before 1750)

Although several tests have indicated that my maternal haplogroup is J1c2 you don't have to go very far up my family tree to find a brick wall in this 4X great grandmother whose surname isn't known and her given name may not even been Elisabeth.

[Ancestry.com]

Her birth year is based on the presumption that she's the 40-49 year-old free white woman residing in Emanuel Bixler's household in the 1830 U.S. Census lists and close to her husband Emanuel's age but she could be as much as 9 years younger. Even her place of birth is debatable--her son Jacob thought she was from Maryland and her daughter Leah told enumerators her mother was born in Pennsylvania.

[Ancestry.com]

It's also unknown where and when Elisabeth died--was it in Pennsylvania where her family was living in 1830 or in Ohio where the 1850 U.S. Census lists Emanuel as residing in Jacob's household, apparently a widower?

One thing that's almost certain is that she and her husband spoke German because son Jacob's 1887 obituary includes this sentence.

[The Anamosa Eureka Anamosa, Iowa. Thursday , January 27th, 1887 Page : 3

Source: Jones County Genealogical Society.]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Samuel Bixler - Frederick County, Pennsylvania, 1803

This has been a long and productive day for me so I've decided to resurrect this post from two years ago about my maternal ancestor Samuel Bixler* who signed his will on May 15, 1797. It began in the traditional manner by stating his name, place of residence and occupation, and commending his soul to God and his body to "Decent Christian Burial."

When he came to the distribution of his worldly estate, the first bequest Samuel made is to provide for his wife Elizabeth and he was quite specific about what she was to have.

"...and as for my Worldly Estate wherewith it has Pleased God to bless me with
in this life I give Devise and dispose of the Same in the following manner
and form - it is my will and Pleasure that my wife Elizabeth shall have
ninety pounds Specie out of my Moveable Estate and a Good bed and bedstead
& furniture thereto belonging and her Spinning Wheel and a good Chest and
all the Puter and Kitching Whear which she brought to me and my son
Peter Shall Keep her a riding creature Suficient for her use and two Cows and
two Sheep and them shall be used as his own and these during her natural
life if she remains a widow but if not it shall fall to my Children again
and it is further my will that my wife Elizabeth Shall have yearly as long as
she remains a widow Twenty Bushels of wheat and ten Bushels of Rye and
fifteen Pounds of Hackelt flax and fifteen Pounds of Toe and one
hundred Pounds of Good Pork and fifty pounds of good beef and one Pair
of Shoes one Bushel of Salt and she shall have Suficient firewood
brought to the Door and cut suficient for her house and she shall have her
Widow Seat in the house where I live in now And shall have the old Gartain
next to the house and room in the Spring house and three of the largest
apple Trees and two rows in the next orchard and two rows in the Ober orchard
and the one third Part of my Personal Estate and all the Linnen & Woollen
Stuff which remains after my Decease and the remainder of my Personal
Estate Shall be Praised after my Decease and Sold and the money shall be
Equally Divided amongst all my Children Excepting my son Samuel..."**

The detail above and my transcription come from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Wills 1794-1803 vol 3

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24294-37256-52?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-FM3:146535301,147314001 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Wills 1794-1803 vol 3 > image 309-310 of 332; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Even though in his 1797 will Samuel said he was "weak in Body" he didn't die until four years later and his will was brought to Frederick County's probate court by his oldest surviving son Peter Bixler*** on June 14, 1803. Elizabeth and her brother-in-law Samuel Flickinger, who had both been named as executors along with Peter, signed a document refusing to act in that role, leaving the administration of the estate to Peter.****

In the inventory of Samuel's estate, taken in July of 1803, the total value given was $557.78. It's clear from the list of the livestock and crops in the fields that the property was still a working farm, but in the descriptions of the tools and household goods the words "old" and "broken" appear constantly--what's missing are the things I would expect to find in a house that was occupied. To see what was customary, I looked at inventories taken before and after Samuel's and they list clothing, linens and food supplies (like wheat, coffee and bacon), and although old stuff is included it doesn't predominate.

While it doesn't appear to me that Samuel was living there, the house wasn't derelict--it still held three beds (although no bed linen), some walnut furniture, a clock worth $24 dollars and two iron stoves, a ten plate with pipe ($20)***** and an six plate one ($10). At the end of the inventory list my fourth great grandfather Emanuel Bixler and his brother Benjamin signed the record as the nearest relatives and Peter Bixler, as "Acting Executor" swore on his oath that the foregoing was a "True and Perfect Inventory of all & Singular the Goods and Chattles of the said Deceased that have come into his hands and possession at the time of the making thereof."

All of the detail above comes from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4.

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24262-57284-84?cc=1803986&wc=SNYH-ZNL:146535301,146999701 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4 > image 70-71 of 299; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Samuel Bixler, who appeared in the 1790 U.S. Census, was not named anywhere in the 1800 Census which only listed the head of each household. But their 29-year old son Peter's household included a free white man and woman aged 45 or older which would describe Samuel and Elizabeth. I think it's possible (though not provable) that Samuel's health, already poor in 1797, worsened to the point where he and Elizabeth moved in with their son sometime before 1800.

[Year: 1800; Census Place: Westminster, Frederick, Maryland; Series: M32; Roll: 10; Page: 198; Image: 205; Family History Library Film: 193663. Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Second Census of the United States, 1800]

*He is my maternal fifth great grandfather. His granddaughter Leah Bixler married Frederick Grove (or Groves) and their daughter Delilah's marriage to Dick Worden brings them into my line through my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb.
**Some clarification is needed here, although I think you can guess what "Puter and Kitching Whear" are, unless you happen to be familiar with linen production you wouldn't know what hackled flax is but if you watch this video you'll know all about it. Flax tow is the name given to the shorter fibers left over after hackling; you can see a picture of it here (and buy a pound or two if you want). The "old Gartain" is, I think, a lapse into German (garten) and the "Ober orchard" probably is too. If you want to understand what a spring house, here is a video tour of a stone one in Forks Township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. (We don't know any details about the Bixler's spring house but the principle would be the same.)

***His oldest son Samuel died the previous year.

****You can see 58-year old Elizabeth's signature on this document in my previous post about her here.

*****Read all about this kind of stove here

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Groves

The young man in this photograph is my maternal third great uncle Levi Groves (1856-1891), who appears to have lived his entire life in Jones County, Iowa. His parents were my third great grandparents Frederick Groves* (1812-1882) and Leah Bixler (1813-1900) who were originally from Maryland but met and married in Ohio, finally moving to Iowa in about 1846. There is no evidence that Levi ever married and he's buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.

[The Anamosa Eureka, Thursday, July 2, 1891.

Source: Digital Archives of Jones County Genealogical Society. ]

[Both images above courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

*Some records list his name as Grove. His ancestors first appeared in mid-18th century Pennsylvania with an German-speaking immigrant who came from Raffz, Zurich, Switzerland.surnamed Grof or Graf.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Samuel Bixler (1742-1803), Farmer, his Will and Estate Inventory

My maternal ancestor Samuel Bixler* signed his will on May 15, 1797. It begins in the traditional manner by stating his name, place of residence and occupation, and commending his soul to God and his body to "Decent Christian Burial."

When he comes to the distribution of his worldly estate, the first bequest Samuel makes is to provide for his wife Elizabeth and he's quite specific about what she is to have.

"...and as for my Worldly Estate wherewith it has Pleased God to bless me with
in this life I give Devise and dispose of the Same in the following manner
and form - it is my will and Pleasure that my wife Elizabeth shall have
ninety pounds Specie out of my Moveable Estate and a Good bed and bedstead
& furniture thereto belonging and her Spinning Wheel and a good Chest and
all the Puter and Kitching Whear which she brought to me and my son
Peter Shall Keep her a riding creature Suficient for her use and two Cows and
two Sheep and them shall be used as his own and these during her natural
life if she remains a widow but if not it shall fall to my Children again
and it is further my will that my wife Elizabeth Shall have yearly as long as
she remains a widow Twenty Bushels of wheat and ten Bushels of Rye and
fifteen Pounds of Hackelt flax and fifteen Pounds of Toe and one
hundred Pounds of Good Pork and fifty pounds of good beef and one Pair
of Shoes one Bushel of Salt and she shall have Suficient firewood
brought to the Door and cut suficient for her house and she shall have her
Widow Seat in the house where I live in now And shall have the old Gartain
next to the house and room in the Spring house and three of the largest
apple Trees and two rows in the next orchard and two rows in the Ober orchard
and the one third Part of my Personal Estate and all the Linnen & Woollen
Stuff which remains after my Decease and the remainder of my Personal
Estate Shall be Praised after my Decease and Sold and the money shall be
Equally Divided amongst all my Children Excepting my son Samuel..."**

The detail above and my transcription come from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Wills 1794-1803 vol 3

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24294-37256-52?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-FM3:146535301,147314001 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Wills 1794-1803 vol 3 > image 309-310 of 332; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Even though in his 1797 will Samuel said he was "weak in Body" he didn't die until four years later and his will was brought to Frederick County's probate court by his oldest surviving son Peter Bixler*** on June 14, 1803. Elizabeth and her brother-in-law Samuel Flickinger, who had both been named as executors along with Peter, signed a document refusing to act in that role, leaving the administration of the estate to Peter.****

In the inventory of Samuel's estate, taken in July of 1803, the total value given was $557.78. It's clear from the list of the livestock and crops in the fields that the property was still a working farm, but in the descriptions of the tools and household goods the words "old" and "broken" appear constantly--what's missing are the things I would expect to find in a house that was occupied. To see what was customary, I looked at inventories taken before and after Samuel's and they list clothing, linens and food supplies (like wheat, coffee and bacon), and although old stuff is included it doesn't predominate.

While it doesn't appear to me that Samuel was living there, the house wasn't derelict--it still held three beds (although no bed linen), some walnut furniture, a clock worth $24 dollars and two iron stoves, a ten plate with pipe ($20)***** and an six plate one ($10). At the end of the inventory list my fourth great grandfather Emanuel Bixler and his brother Benjamin signed the record as the nearest relatives and Peter Bixler, as "Acting Executor" swore on his oath that the foregoing was a "True and Perfect Inventory of all & Singular the Goods and Chattles of the said Deceased that have come into his hands and possession at the time of the making thereof."

All of the detail above comes from FamilySearch's Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Frederick County, Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4.

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24262-57284-84?cc=1803986&wc=SNYH-ZNL:146535301,146999701 : accessed 12 August 2015), Frederick > Inventories 1803-1805 vol 4 > image 70-71 of 299; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Samuel Bixler, who appeared in the 1790 U.S. Census, is not named anywhere in the 1800 Census which only listed the head of each household. But their 29-year old son Peter's household included a free white man and woman aged 45 or older which would describe Samuel and Elizabeth. I think it's possible (though not provable) that Samuel's health, already poor in 1797, worsened to the point where he and Elizabeth moved in with their son sometime before 1800.

[Year: 1800; Census Place: Westminster, Frederick, Maryland; Series: M32; Roll: 10; Page: 198; Image: 205; Family History Library Film: 193663. Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Second Census of the United States, 1800]

*He is my maternal fifth great grandfather. His granddaughter Leah Bixler married Frederick Grove (or Groves) and their daughter Delilah's marriage to Dick Worden brings them into my line through my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb.
**Some clarification is needed here, although I think you can guess what "Puter and Kitching Whear" are, unless you happen to be familiar with linen production you wouldn't know what hackled flax is but if you watch this video you'll know all about it. Flax tow is the name given to the shorter fibers left over after hackling; you can see a picture of it here (and buy a pound or two if you want). The "old Gartain" is, I think, a lapse into German (garten) and the "Ober orchard" probably is too. If you want to understand what a spring house, here is a video tour of a stone one in Forks Township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. (We don't know any details about the Bixler's spring house but the principle would be the same.)

***His oldest son Samuel died the previous year.

****You can see 58-year old Elizabeth's signature on this document in my previous post about her here.

*****Read all about this kind of stove here

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Elizabeth Brillhart (About 1745 - 1805)

When Peter Brilhart came to make his mark and put his seal on his last will and testament on May 21, 1782, in York County, Pennsylvania, he named his ten children in the document, including his daughter Elizabeth, my maternal fifth great grandmother, who was already married.*

["Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-28759-18574-54?cc=1999196&wc=9PM8-DPD:268493601,270353201 : accessed 10 August 2015), York > Wills 1779-1789 vol E-G > image 248 of 649; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.]

Tax records place the family in Heidelberg Township in York County through at least 1782, but by the 1790 U.S. Census Samuel "Bigsler" was living in Frederick County, Maryland and his household now totaled ten people.

[Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Although Samuel was feeling sick enough to make his will on May 15, 1797, it wasn't presented at the Frederick County Courthouse for probate until June 14, 1803. In it Samuel detailed the means by which Elizabeth was to have a comfortable widowhood.** She was also named an executrix along with their son Peter and her brother-in-law Samuel Flickinger.

["Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-24294-35843-50?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-FM3:146535301,147314001 : accessed 10 August 2015), Frederick > Wills 1794-1803 vol 3 > image 309 of 332; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

However, both Elizabeth and Mr. Flickinger declined to act as executors, leaving Peter Bixler in control. Both of them were able to sign their names to the court record.

["Maryland, Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-24294-37256-52?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-FM3:146535301,147314001 : accessed 1 May 2015), Frederick - Wills 1794-1803 vol 3 - image 310 of 332; Hall of Records, Annapolis.]

Elizabeth is buried in the Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery*** in Bachman Valley in that part of Frederick County which is now Carroll County, Maryland.****

[Find A Grave Memorial# 42069578; Created by: Donna Jones Photo: Ken Marsh (#48158187)]

Samuel and Elizabeth's son Emanuel is the grandfather of Delilah Grove who is my great great grandmother.


*Since Samuel and Elizabeth's first child was born about 1769, I'm assuming their marriage took place around that time but I haven't found any record of it.
**But if she remarries, everything is to be shared equally among his children.
***The church is located at the corner of Bachman Valley Road and Bixler Church Road.
****I have not been able to locate Samuel Bixler's grave.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Worden/Bixler

From their dresses and hairstyles I think this tintype of my maternal great grandmother, Elnora May Worden (left) and her second cousin Melvina Julia Bixler* (right) was probably taken in the early 1880s in Jones County, Iowa.

[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]

*(1867-1895)

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Justina Shaffer (1774 - 1853)

This week the focus is on my maternal fourth great grandmother Justina Shaffer, the daughter of Maria Barbara Scherer* and John Philip Shaffer*, who (as far as we can tell) spent her entire life in York County, Pennsylvania.

[Detail of A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania published in London by James Phillips, 1792. Source: David Rumsey Map Collection]

She was born in Shrewsbury Township on January 20, 1774, and when she was about six her father served as a private in Captain Henry Ferree's Company, 5th Battalion, York County Militia.

Justina married John Graaf (which was later changed to Grove) from neighboring Springfield Township on May 13, 1794 at the age of 20. The couple appear to have first settled in Windsor, later moving to Hopewell by 1820 where they remained for the rest of their lives, although John served in the York County militia during the War of 1812.

John and Justina had thirteen children--I am descended from Frederick Grove, their eleventh child and the seventh son**.

Because earlier census records only list the names of the head of each household, the first direct record we have of Justina*** is in  the 1850 U.S. Census when she and John were living with their son Henry and his family in Hopewell Township.

[Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

John died the next year on January 16, 1851, and was buried in the cemetery of the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church in Draco. Justina survived for two years more, dying on November 25, 1853, and is buried next to her husband.

[John and Justina Grove, Find A Grave Memorial# 70655909; photo added by roogie #48165661]

*These surnames are spelled in a variety of ways; I have tried to use the most common ones.
**He married Leah Bixler,
***Her given name is spelled with a "G" in this record.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Leah Bixler (1813 - 1900)

Most likely this maternal great great great grandmother was born in Maryland, although Pennsylvania is a possibility--that 's where her earliest and last U.S. Census records* place her, but I suspect that's because someone other than Leah was supplying the information to the enumerator.

E. Bixler was head of household in Frederick County, Maryland in the 1810 U.S. Census and Leah, the daughter of Emanuel and Elisabeth Bixler, was baptized at Evangelisch Lutherischen Gemeinde Jerusalems Kirch in what is now Carroll County, Maryland, in 1815 when she was about two years old. There is some reason to think that her family may have been Mennonites or Anabaptists, in which case that baptismal record would be unlikely to be hers because neither group believes in infant baptism.

By the 1820 U.S. Census, Emanuel Bixler's family had moved to Brecknock Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and ten years later the Bixlers were living in Fawn Township in York County. A near neighbor was John Groves Jr., the rest of whose family was living in Hopewell Township to the west of Fawn. In 1832, two years later, Leah married his brother Frederick in Wayne County, Ohio, although we don't know how they happened to be there at that time.

The 1840 U.S. Census places the young Grove ** family in Richland Township in Fairfield County, Ohio.

[Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Frederick, Leah and their children moved to Fairview Township in Jones County, Iowa, sometime in 1846.** Because the 1850 Federal Census is the first one to list all members of a household by name, that's where we first see a record for their daughter Delilah, aged five.***

[Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.]

And Jones County is where Leah and Frederick lived the rest of their lives, as shown by successive census records.

[Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

[Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

[Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited use license and other terms and conditions applicable to this site. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Frederick died in 1882 at the age of 70 after suffering internal injuries from a bad fall and the 1885 Iowa State Census shows Leah as a widow living with her sons Levi and Jefferson, who is listed as "Disabled."

[Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.]

Jefferson's obituary***** on page 8 of the Anamosa Eureka, May 24, 1894, gives us an insight into the tragedies in Leah's life to that point.

"After a lingering sickness with that dread disease, consumption, Jefferson Groves died at his home in Strawberry Hill on Sunday, May 20th, 1894, at 1 o'clock a. m. He was one of twelve children, all of whom grew to years of maturity, and eight of whom, together with his father, preceded him to the grave, all with one exception, dying of the same disease. Three sisters survive, Mrs. Perrigo, Mrs. Worden and another, together with the aged mother. He was born August 21, l864 and was 29 years 3 months and 11 days old at the time of his death. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. A. U. Ballard, of the Baptist church, at Forest Chapel, where the remains were interred. Messrs. Ellis, Hartman, Keedick, Mirick and Strite acted as pall bearers. The sympathies of a wide circle cf friends go out to the aged mother who there followed the last of five sons to the grave. Husband and four daughters are also gone before, making her life a peculiarly sorrowful one."

Since the 1890 U.S. Census was almost completely destroyed, the next record we have for Leah is in the 1900 Federal Census dated June 5th when she is listed as Mrs. F.G. Groves, living alone in a rented house. We're not sure who her neighbor William Groves is but we do know that her oldest daughter Mary (Mrs Perego) was living nearby.

[Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.]

The Anamosa Eureka  for December 27, 1900, published her obituary on page 5, some of which is even true:

[Source:The Anamosa Eureka, December 27, 1900 p.5.] 

What did the obituary get wrong? Well, first of all, she didn't arrive in Iowa in 1838 as the 1840 U.S. Census shows the family still residing in Ohio and according to the 1856 Iowa State Census they had come there ten years earlier. Then there's the fact that her marriage was recorded in Ohio in 1832 and her first child was born the next year. It's unusual that the obituary begins with her maiden name, although they do name her as Mrs. Groves later in the piece.

The Biblical text for her funeral service is taken from the Twenty-Third Psalm:

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

*1850 and 1900
**Their anglicized surname, originally Grof or Graff from Switzerland, appears as Grove or Groves interchangeably.
***According to the 1856 Iowa State Census
****My great great grandmother, Delilah Grove Worden.
*****Since there are census records for Jefferson beginning in 1860, it's clear that the Eureka got his birth year wrong.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.