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.

1st Cousin 4x Removed Mattie Bell (Groves) White Was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) Sewer

Some footage of women at work for the WPA (the specific locations of the footage are unknown).

I thought this was an interesting find today as I was hashtagging people in my tree--a then widowed cousin Mattie Bell (Groves) White, employed by the WPA in a sewing room in Hawarden IA in the 1940 Census.

"To Expand WPA Sewing Room"
The Hawarden Independent (Hawarden IA)
Thursday, 20 Nov 1941, page 1, col 4
Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25230049/the_independent/?xid=637 : accessed 8 Nov 2018).

Women to Make Necessities for Relief  

Clients in 30 Counties 

Hawarden will have the only WPA sewing room in Northwest Iowa in a few days.
With the decision of the board of supervisors to close the sewing room at Rock Valley, the Hawarden project will inherit additional sewing machines and the job of furnishing sheets, pillow cases, towels and bedding for relief clients in 30 counties. 

Seven other sewing rooms will operate in the 30 counties, making other necessities for relief clients. 

Twenty or more women will work in the Hawarden project, under the direction of Mrs. Ella Larson.  They will work an average of 30 hours a week, and will receive $47.20 a month [CManczuk note: about $850 in today's dollars]. 

The materials used in making the household goods will be paid for by the counties in which they are used. The sewing room women, however, will be paid by the WPA, as in the past. 

The local sewing room was moved last week from its former location over the Sioux Theatre to larger quarters in the Margolin building.

Mattie's mother Rosetta (Worden) Groves (1857-1912) and children.  Mattie is the little girl on the left.  Probably about 1892.  Image courtesy of Olive Kennedy.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Bonnie's Updated AncestryDNA Results

I'm not the only one whose DNA results have changed due to Ancestry's updates. This is what their old analysis looks like.

Her new map has tightened up, concentrated in the British Isles/Ireland and shedding most European influences.

[AncestryDNA]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Francis Grove - York County, Pennsylvania - 1812

As we saw earlier this week Franz Graaf, one of my maternal 5th great grandfathers, was an orphan in 1743 when he left his Swiss homeland for a new life in Pennsylvania.

Sixty-eight years later he made his will as the anglicized Francis Grove which was probated on February 28, 1812. His first wife my ancestor Anna Segrist had died in 1800 and the following year he married a widow named Catherine Eberhard.*

["Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99B-VWRQ?cc=1999196&wc=9PM8-4WG%3A268493601%2C270673301 : 3 July 2014), York > Wills 1803-1818 vol L-N > image 446 of 800; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.]

For now** I'm going to rely on a transcript of his will attributed to Gail Bernkopf  that I found attached to the family tree of a distant cousin.

In the Name of God Amen I Francis Grove of York township in the County of York and State of Pennsylvania being aged and Infirm do therefore make and publish this my last will and Testament and in the first place I commit my Soul into the hands of God who gave it unto me and my Body I order to be buried in a Christian manner by my Executor and as to my worldly Estate I order to be disposed of as Follows, my debts and funeral Expenses I order to be paid in the first place I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Catharina for and during her Natural life or as long as she Remains my widow, all and Every Kind of my household and Kitchen furniture, monies, Bonds, Notes or Book amounts be the same what it may, and also one Cow, And at or Imediately [sic] after, the death of my said wife I give and bequeath the same Household and Kitchen furniture of all and Every Kind as aforesaid and all monies or other Goods, Either in Bonds Notes or Book accounts, or any other thing or things, whatsoever unto my step daughter Eve Intermarried with Nicholas Strayer and to their Heirs and assigns forever, And I further give and bequeath unto my said wife, all and Every the articles & stipulations in a Bond of Performance Bearing Even date herewith  particularly mentioned to be delivered to me and my said wife for any during our Natural lives, or the Surviver [sic]of us and at and Imediately [sic] after the death of my said wife Catharina, all the articles in the said Bond specified and mentioned shall Cease and become Void to all Intents and purposes;  And it is my will that if any of the articles in the Said Bond of Performance mentioned should Remain unpaid at the time of my said wifes death, Shall not be asked Charged or Demanded by any of my heirs Executors administrators, or any other Person or persons whatsoever.  It is further my will and I order and direct that none of my Children Namely George, Frederich, John, Michael, Francis, and my daughter Margaret intermarried with George Shirey[?] shall be carged [sic] with any of the monies due me wherewith the stand charged on a half sheet of Paper in the hand writing of George

[next page]:

George Lewis Lefler[?] Esq. on purpose therein stated.  (Excepting those of my Children which have given me their obligations) shall be paid unto my Executors which sums of money with which they stand charged.  I give and bequeath, to them and each of them the sum that the Hand Charged with as aforesaid and no more which shall be in full of their shares out of my Estate both Real and personal, or of any household stuff or other goods whatsoever and wheresoever.  And lastly I do hereby Nominate, and appoint my son in law Nicholas Strayer, of Hopewell Township my sole Executor of this my last will and Testament hereby Revoking and disannulling all other wills by me heretofore made declaring this and no other as and for my last will.  In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Soul the fifteenth Day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and Eleven.

Francis Grove [his mark and seal]

Signed Sealed pronounced and Published & Declared by the said Francis Grove the Testator as and for his last will & Testament.  In the presence of us who at his Request subscribed our Names hereunto as witnesses, in his presence and in the presence of Each other at the same time.

Sarah Neaff  [her mark]

Ignl. Leitner


York County ss.    Before me Jacob Barnitz Register for the Probate of Wills and granting Letters of Administration in and for the County of York in the State of Pennsylvania, personally came Sarah Naeff and Ignatius Leitner Esq. the Two Subscribing Witnesses to the foregoing Instrument of Writing

[next page]:

Writing and on their Solemn Oath, Do severally say, that they were personally Present and saw and heard the above named Francis Grove make his mark unto and Seal and Publish the foregoing Instrument of writing as and for his Last Will and Testament; and that at the time of the doing thereof he the said Francis Grove was of a Sound and disposing Mind, Memory and Understanding to the best of their knowledge and belief And that they subscribed their names thereto as Witnesses in the Presence of the said Testator and at his request, and also in the Presence of each other at the same time.

Sarah Naeff [her mark]

Sworn & Subscribed before me at York the 28th Day of February A.D. 1812

J. Barnitz    Regr.[Register]

*Her first husband John Eberhard named he and Francis Grove as the executors of his 1790 will.
**I plan to read through the document and compare what I see there with the transcription. I'll share any discrepancies I might find later.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Delilah "Delia" Grove (1845 - 1925) Iowa Census Records, Ancestry vs. FamilySearch

When I looked at what I had written about this maternal great great grandmother in 2014 I found that I hadn't included entries for her (and her husband Richard Worden) from various Iowa State Census records.

While that omission may have because I didn't think it important to add those records for a couple who remained in the same location (Jones County) from their arrival there by the 1850 U.S. Census until their deaths* it also could have been, at least in the case of the 1915 state census, because of the poor quality of the image provided by Ancestry.

[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.]

I had forgotten that when a record appears in two separate websites, it's useful to check both databases because what I found at FamilySearch is obviously the from the same source but is much easier to read.

["Iowa State Census, 1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8926-ZVY9?cc=2240483&wc=QSZP-HZ9%3A1291580202%2C1291585001 : 5 October 2016), Jones > Tasker, Mrs. Minnie-Zumbrunnen, Peter > image 1958 of 2374; Iowa State Historical Department, Des Moines.]

Inspired by that I decided to look at another Iowa census, this time for 1905 to see if there was a difference. What showed up via Ancestry was an index of the enumeration but not the individual cards for both of them.

[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.]

The records on FamilySearch have been indexed and I located Delliah's card (#585) but a search for Richard Worden (#584) produced nothing. The cards in this file are not in numerical or alphabetical order (either by surname or township) so there's no clue to where his is.

["Iowa State Census, 1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZV-BWXH?cc=2126961&wc=QDRZ-TC3%3A1589972866 : 23 August 2016), 007486409 > image 3127 of 3956; State Historical Department, Des Moines.]

Although her given name is spelled Delliah in both these censuses, that's not the way it was recorded in other records. I honestly don't know which spelling she preferred.

Here's how she's related to me.

[Ancestry.com]

*1912 for Richard and 1925 for Delilah.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Setting the Record Straight: Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1937

I don't always pay much attention to those little green leaves which Ancestry uses to signify a hint but a recent one for my maternal great grandfather Jesse David Webb (1860-1935) caught my eye. When I checked it out, this is what came up:

[Ancestry.com hint for Jesse David Webb]

Since we know that Great Grandfather Jesse married Elnora May Worden not Swiden, it was clear that a mistake had been made. Was the error in the original record or did the person transcribing it mis-read what was there?

Closer inspection leads me to conclude that this is a case of hard-to-read handwriting coupled with careless transcription. What do you think?

Also Richard Worden's wife's maiden name was Groves, not Graves.

Lastly, Jesse's mother's maiden name was Darling (or Darlin) so the original record is wrong.

Great Grandmother Elnora's first cousin Josie (Josephine J.) Alspaugh married traveling salesman Henry Hodges* six days earlier so only two other marriage records separate the cousins. Josie's mother, Caroline Groves, was Elnora's mother Delilah's older sister. Note that in this record, Caroline's maiden name is spelled Graves.

[All images above taken from Iowa State Archives; Des Moines, Iowa; Volume: 328 (Hamilton - Kossuth) Volume : 328 (Hamilton - Kossuth)

Ancestry.com. Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Original data: Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa Marriage Records, 1880–1922. Textual Records. State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa Marriage Records, 1923–37. Microfilm. Record Group 048.

State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa.]

Naturally I added the correct names in Ancestry's index.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: A Missing Photograph?

When Aunt Olive shared her collection of Slater family photos with us several years ago there were two people whose portraits should have been there--great great grandfather Willet Orlando "Dick" Worden and his wife Delilah Grove--because their daughter Elnora's album included pictures Dick's parents and many of his brothers and sisters.*

Here's the portrait of Dick's parents Hannah (Leonard) and Porter Worden.

I think this is his oldest sister Elizabeth Ann (Worden) Peregoy.

Another older sister Sarah Jane (Worden) Peregoy was portrayed with her adopted daughter Attah Faith.

A family portrait of Dick's younger brother John Henry Worden with his wife Lucinda and their two daughters was in the album.

A group portrait that includes Dick's brother George Worden (right) was in Elnora's album also.

Another photograph included in the album shows his sister Polly Ann (Worden) Joslin and her husband Thurston who posed holding Dick's grandson, Elnora's son Herbert Leander Webb.

A portrait of sister Rosetta (Worden) Groves was among the album pages too.

And finally there was his youngest sister Emma Maria (Worden) Kuder shown with her husband Madison and the four oldest of their eventual seven children.

So there were portraits of seven of Dick's nine siblings but there was NO picture of Dick and Delilah. Why?

*All photographs here are from Olive Slater-Kennedy's collection.


© 2016 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.

What's in a Birthday? Could It Be a Valentine?

The August 6, 1837, baptismal record from Shoreditch St. Leonard in London allows us to work out the birth date for Charles Groves* because his age at the time of his baptism is written in the last column, 3 months and 2 days, which would make it June 4th of that year.

[Ancestry.com. London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Board of Guardian Records, 1834-1906 and Church of England Parish Registers, 1754-1906. London Metropolitan Archives, London.Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery Department.]

In the 1900 Federal Census, Charles said he first arrived in the U.S. in 1862, although we don't have any other record confirming that. He was described as a resident of Montreal, Canada, when he married Jessie (or Janet) MacGilvray on March 20, 1867.

[Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.]

Sadly his wife died four days before the baptism of their son on February 28, 1868 where the baby's parents are listed as "Charles Groves and his late wife Janet McGilvery."**

[Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.]

The next record*** we have for Charles is his marriage to Mary Murphy in Boston, Massachusetts, in May of 1871 where the 33-year old's age is given as 30. By the 1880 U.S. Census, Charles was using 1843 as his birth year but by 1900 he appears to have settled on 1840**** which he used for the rest of his life.

When I first looked at his death certificate from 1915, I was puzzled by the birthday listed there. I was prepared for the birth year of 1840 but March 20th? Looking back through his life I realized it was the day he married his long-dead first wife.

[Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.]

We know nothing personal about Charles L. Groves.***** He was able to sign his name on every record we have of him that required it. His mother Mary Ann Ambridge came from a long line of people who were literate, so that's not a surprise. I certainly don't know if he was a sentimental man but I like to think that, when he was re-inventing himself, the birthday he chose was a tribute to the woman he married in the Knox Presbyterian Church in Montreal on March 20, 1867.

*The great grandfather of a friend whose family tree I've worked on.
**MacGilvray is one of those names that no one seems to know how to spell, even in Scotland where it originated. McGilvray appears to be the version favored by Jessie/Janet's family in Canada.
***Since there is no record of him in either the 1870 U.S. Census or the 1871 Canadian Census, I suspect that he may have left Canada on a date between the two enumerations.
****The 1900 U.S. Census lists his birth month as March.
*****Not even his middle name.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday is for Mothers: Delilah "Lila" Grove (1845 - 1925)

Delilah "Lila" Grove is my maternal great great grandmother, the daughter of Frederick Grove and Leah Bixler. When she was barely a year old her family moved to Iowa where they can be found living in Fairview, Jones County, in the 1850 U.S. Census.

[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]

Exactly where she was born isn't clear from the records we have available. Some early sources give her birthplace as Ohio or Iowa but later ones state she was born in Pennsylvania (except for 1910 where she's alleged to have come from Maryland). Looking at her parents' records, Ohio seems the most likely place and that they were born in Pennsylvania.

But there's no doubt that she spent the rest of her life in Jones County, most often in Fairview, and that's where she married Willet Orlando Worden, usually known as Richard or Dick, on February 27, 1867. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the 24th Iowa Infantry Regiment which took part in Grant's Vicksburg Campaign and later opposed Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley under General Phil Sheridan.

[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.]

The couple had eight children in total, four of whom pre-deceased their mother. My great grandmother Elnora was their oldest.

Dick Worden, who had first applied for his military pension in 1885, died in 1912 and Delilah filed for her widow's pension shortly thereafter.

["United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933," index and images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-17527-92496-9?cc=1832324 : accessed 22 Sep 2014), Woratzeck, Josephine - Workwell, John > image 346 of 768; citing NARA microfilm publication M850.]

Her obituary in the Anamosa Eureka dated December 10, 1925 ends with these lines:

"Those left to mourn her loss are Mrs. Nora Webb of Winnetoon, Nebraska, Frederick of Cedar Rapids. Nelson and Dan of Anamosa. Nineteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren survive her. For nearly forty-five years she was a faithful member of the Fairview Baptist church. After an illness of several months she passed away at the home of her son, Dan, on December 5th. at the age of 80 years, 7 months and 26 days.
She was always a kind and loving mother and friend and will be missed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances."

It's through her lineage that my mitochondrial DNA J1 comes from.

© 2014 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.