Eli Matthews (1804 - 1864) Was a Copperhead

Although he would probably have called himself a Peace Democrat.*

[Compromise with the South - Dedicated to the Chicago Convention. Wood engraving after Nast.

Illus. in: Harper's Weekly, 1864 Sept. 3. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

Here's a different view of the issue.

[Caption: War and Argument - Cold Steel and Cool Reason - having failed to restore the Union, it is supposed that the South may be bored into coming back. -  Illus. in: Harper's weekly, v. 8, no. 408 (1864 October 22), p. 688.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

Eli, my 3X great grandfather, was born in Tennessee, his family moved to Illinois in 1818 when he was 14. He spent the rest of his life there in that part of Sangamon County which became Christian County in 1839. He and his wife Susan Hanon had nine children, six boys and three girls.** At least two of their sons served in the Union Army during Civil War.

Since it had been years since I have done any research on the Matthews line, this afternoon I decided to see what I could find at Newspapers.com.

[11 Mar 1863, Page 2 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com]

Of course I had to find out more:

[12 Mar 1863, Page 2 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com]

Eli sent this letter to his second son, Aaron V. Matthews who had joined Company L, Illinois 10th Cavalry Regiment and remained in that unit until December 30, 1864.*** Aaron's first wife Sarah Short had died around this time, leaving the couple's four children to the care of relatives.****

It's clear from the letter that Eli wasn't a particularly educated man but that didn't seem to hinder him from a public role in Christian County, He was the county's first postmaster, served as a Justice of the Peace and was appointed to several committees that represented the county.


*You can find more about these folks here.
**Their third child and oldest daughter Sarah married George W. Slater.
***About two months after his father's death.
****Aaron did marry again (in 1865) and he and his second wife Martha Jane Walker had five children together, one of whom he named Abraham, known as "Abe".


© 2020 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Ethel Imogene Nash & John Washington Hill

I've found two portraits of Ethel, one of my distant Moore/Matthews cousins)* and her husband John posted by a grandson of the couple who were married in the mid-1930s. As far as I can tell, they always lived in Christian County, Illinois.

["Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Ethel" posted to his Ancestry.com family tree by Kent_Hutchings]

["Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Ethel" posted to his Ancestry.com family tree by Kent_Hutchings]

Here's how we're related:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Sarah M. Matthews (1832 - 1915)

I may have spent literally hours today combing through historic newspapers from Greenwood County, Kansas, in what appears to have been a vain search for Sarah Matthews Slater's obituary* but I did learn more about her there (and also some other Slater kin). For instance, she was a continuing subscriber of

[The Severyite, 11 Jun 1914. Source: Newspapers.com & made available by the Kansas Historical Society.]

Two month later the Democratic Messenger of Eureka, Kansas, printed this item**:

[Democratic Messenger, 27 Aug 1914. Source: Newspapers.com

& made available by the Kansas Historical Society.]

But whatever Sarah's illness was, it wasn't immediately fatal because she's listed among the family members who survived J.E. Slater's death on Christmas Day of that year.

[Democratic Messenger, 7 Jan 1915. Source: Newspapers.com

& made available by the Kansas Historical Society.]

Although her name appears the delinquent tax list in July 1915, I'm not certain that's a proof of life.

[Democratic Messenger, 8 Jul 1915. Source: Newspapers.com

& made available by the Kansas Historical Society.]

And from them on her name in the records (at least searchable one) end.



*We don't have a date of death for this maternal great great grandmother, the widow of George W. Slater--The woman sitting of the porch in this group shot of various Slaters in Severy is probably the last picture we have of her. (Here's a link to a previous post with all the images we have.)

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

**This is James Everett Slater--the H. middle initial is a typo.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday:Susan Hanon Matthews (1805 - 1884) Farm Wife & Mother

To date almost all my Wednesday posts have been about men in my family tree because it's easier to categorize the work men did while the women's contributions to the household have been taken for granted. Here's an example from the 1850 U.S. Census for the family of a pair of my maternal third great grandparents Susan (Hanon) and her husband Eli Matthews, who were then living in Christian County, Illinois.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 22, Christian, Illinois; Roll: M432_100; Page: 132B; Image: 27. 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.]

Read the instructions sent to the marshalls and their assistants for this census:

[census.gov]

At the time it simply wasn't contemplated that women could have an occupation or profession.

Susan and Eli were the first couple married in Sangamon County in 1823.* This quote taken from 2011 article in the Illinois Times titled Pioneer life here was hard on women and animals gives us a glimpse into aspects of a woman's life in Illinois.

Christiana Tillson and her husband moved to central Illinois from the east coast in 1822 and settled in Hillsboro; she wrote about her experiences and impressions of 19th century pioneers here. She said husbands often mistreated their wives. “If (the farmers) had slaves,” wrote Tillson, “the authority was exercised over them; if not, the wife was the willing slave.…” 

Men hunted for food, built cabins and farmed, while women helped farm, planted and harvested vegetables, picked, carded, and spun cotton, made the family’s clothes from cotton or wool they’d weaved, cooked, kept the house clean, took care of the children and animals, made candles, soap and butter, tapped maple trees for sap and made sugar, and birthed many children. 

While pioneer men visited friends or took off on long hunts with them, the women didn’t have time to visit friends, who usually lived several miles away. One such pioneer wife recorded that she only left her neighborhood three times in four and a half years. Men were able to play because their wives were taking care of things at home.**

I don't know any personal details about Susan's life but I'm sure it wasn't greatly different from this description. Susan had eight children, her youngest one William was born when she was 40. Eli died in 1864 and Susan survived him by 20 years.

*Christian County was formed from Sangamon County in 1839 along with parts of Montgomery and Shelby Counties.

**All of this reminded me of this humorous folk song:

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Clyburn Mathis - Chatham County, North Carolina, 1806

Once again we're far up the Matthews line with this maternal fifth great grandfather who appears to have lived his whole life in North Carolina. His will was probated in 1806.

[Title of the document from the reverse side of the will below]

[Wills and Estate Papers (Chatham County), 1663-1978; Author: North Carolina. Division of Archives and History; Probate Place: Chatham, North Carolina. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: North Carolina County, District and Probate Courts.]

In the name of God Amen
I Clyborn Mathis of Chatham County and state of
North Carolina being weak in body but of perfect
mind and memory Thanks be to God and cawling
to mind that it is appointed for all men once to
and first of all I Recommend my sole in
to my Makers hand and my body I Recommend
to the Ground at the descresion of my Executors
hearaftere named and what it hath pleased
God to bestowe on me as to temperol Goods I bestowe
in the following Manner
first of all = I Leave to my well beloved wife
Mary Mathis the use of all my personal Estate
as Long as she Continues my widow on death that
is to say my Land Stock of Every Kind all working
Tools of Every Kind and at her death or Marriadge
my desire is that my too sons by the names of 
Wiley Mathis and Lewis Mathis shall have my
Land to be devied Equly between Each of Them
and the rest of my Estate my desire is that
it shall be Equally Devied amongst all my
Children that is now single
I Leave to my son Kinchin Mathis the sum
of five Shillings to be Raised out of my Estate
==
I Leave to my Daughter Lucreasy horn
the sum of five Shillings to be Raised out of my
Estate
---
I do anominate Leave and appoint my wife 
Mary Mathis and my son[?] Britain Mathis to be Exectrs
to this my Last will and Testament Revoking all other
wills by me maid in witness whereof I have hearunto
set my hand and affixed my seal this 6 day octebr 1797
in the presants of                                     his
Jo[?] Brantley                             Clyburn X Mathis{seal}
Anthony Thomas {???] X                      mark

Although Clyburn didn't name all of his children in his will--only sons Wiley, Kinchin and Britain and daughter Lucresy Horn, we can deduce the names of the two others from a note on the back of the will dated 1801. "Clibon Mathes Jnr" is my direct ancestor.

[Wills and Estate Papers (Chatham County), 1663-1978; Author: North Carolina. Division of Archives and History; Probate Place: Chatham, North Carolina. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: North Carolina County, District and Probate Courts.]

October 19 1801 This May Certify that Clibon Mathis Jnr and
     Mary Scidmore have Recvd their full share of all my
     Estate as witness my hand this day and year above written
     Test                                          His
     Jo[?] Brantley              Clibon C Mathis
     Wm Brown                           mark

Here's how I'm related to this man, however he spelled his name:

[Ancestry.com]

By 1830 his son Claiburn was spelling his surname Matthews in census records.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Michael Hening/Hanon (About 1760? - 1817), Immigrant & Settler

First of all, Michael was a very uncommon name in North America in the 18th and early 19th centuries. One of my maternal 4X great grandfathers, Michael Hening/Hanon is the only one of my forebears to carry that name.

We know very little about Michael, including when and where he was born. It's possible he's the Michael Henning who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1767/68*, in which case he  could have been as young as five or six and probably would have been an indentured servant from Ireland.* There were two other males on the same list, James Hening and Simon Cameron, both of whom seem to have been associated with Michael in later years.

[(1762) An exact prospect of Charlestown, the metropolis of the province of South Carolina. Charleston Charleston Harbor South Carolina, 1762. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2012647508/.]

Michael's whereabouts and occupation are unknown over the next dozen year until his name appears as a private on payrolls for the Loyalist South Carolina Militia, along with a James Hening, but we haven't found any more information about his service and have no reason to think he was among those loyalists who left the new United States for Canada.

Instead we believe he's the Michael Hening who appears with his young family*** in the 1790 U.S. Census in Fairfield County, South Carolina. (Note that the following name on the census is that of a Simon Cameron.) His oldest four children, James, Hannah, Samuel and Jesse were born in South Carolina.

[Year: 1790; Census Place: Fairfield, South Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 11; Page: 153; Image: 103; Family History Library Film: 0568151. 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.]

By 1796 the Henings had moved west to near Nashville, Tennessee, where Michael and Sarah added two more children, Martin and Rhoda, but the family didn't remain there for long and by 1805**** had moved on to Butler County, Kentucky, where Susan and her youngest brother Elijah were born. (Note that there's a James Hening in the same district, although how close a neighbor he may have been in unknown because the list is alphabetical.)

[Year: 1810; Census Place: Butler, Kentucky; Roll: 5; Page: 362; Image: 00200; Family History Library Film: 0181350. Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Original data: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

However the Henings/Hanons didn't stay in Kentucky either, moving on to Gallatin County, Illinois, in 1812 where Michael died in 1817.

[Ancestry.com. Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Illinois sesquicentennial edition of Christian County history. Jacksonville, Ill.,: Printed by Production Press, 1968.]

There are some probate records available online for Gallatin County and that's where I found this:

["Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1988," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-238Y-Y?cc=1834344&wc=SFK5-PTT%3A162587801%2C162598801 : 20 May 2014), Gallatin > Index to estates and guardians 1815-1900 vol 1 > image 18 of 74; county courthouses, Illinois.]

Given how uncommon the name Michael is, I wouldn't be surprised if this records refers to my ancestor. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate any other probate records regarding him. (Note: the #44 refers to the box in which the record was placed and is not in chronological order.)

By the way, here's how I'm related to him.

[Ancestry.com]

*On the other hand, his daughter Susan Hanon Matthews (my 3X great grandmother) told the enumerator for the 1880 federal census that her father was born in North Carolina.
**You can learn more about children as indentured servants in colonial times here (PDF).
***We don't know the surname of his wife Sarah.
****To date we haven't located them in the 1800 U.S. Census.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Vandy Marcellus Neal (1838 - 1905) Doctor, Soldier (Confederate)

With this man I'm really going out on a genealogical limb--if I'm right, Dr. Neal is my second cousin, four times removed, through the my great great grandmother Sarah Matthews' line. But is he really?

Here's the 1850 U.S. Census records for the family of one of my first cousins, five times removed, Elizabeth Matthews Neal.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 13, Panola, Mississippi; Roll: M432_379; Page: 309B; Image: 236. 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.]

[Detail of above]

Does this 13-year-old Mississippi-born boy turn out to be Vandy Marcellus Neal? I'm sure you've seen how badly census takers can maul unusual names and in this case the person who indexed the records read it as Vankrum. What do you think?

Oddly, although there are quite a few other records for Vandy, he somehow doesn't show up in any other censuses.

For instance we know that he graduated from the University of Louisiana, class of 1860, and served as an assistant surgeon in the 37th Alabama Regiment of Volunteer Infantry in 1862 (although he resigned effective almost immediately) and he served in several Alabama reserve companies in 1864.

[Civil War Service Index - Confederate - Alabama.

The National Archives via Fold3.com]

The following image and Dr. Neal's obituary were found on the public Ancestry.com family tree of h0uston511. Sadly the obituary doesn't mention his parents so I can't be sure that he's actually one of my distant relatives.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Tabitha Pace (About 1714 - After 1753)

With this particular maternal sixth great grandmother, we're still way up in the North Carolina branch of  the Matthews' family tree and once again we have to rely on the probate records of the men in her life: her father Richard Pace (about 1665-1738) and husband John Moore (?-1753).

Here's an abstract of Richard Pace's will, dated 1736:

[Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 1663-1760 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com]

And from the same source, John Moore's 1753 will:

[Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 1663-1760 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com]

Digital scans of both of their wills are available from Ancestry.com so I'll be sharing them in later posts

Here's my connection to Tabitha..

[Ancestry.com]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: John Langston - Dawson County, Georgia, 1865

My Monday post about Dorothy Moss (an 8th great grandmother) led me back to my Matthews lineage which I haven't paid much attention to for quite a while. For those of you who share Matthews ancestors in Virginia and North Carolina, I highly recommend a visit to Greg Matthews' excellent website Southern Matthews.*

More information about the extended Matthews clan has surfaced in the intervening years, mostly about collateral relatives, which is the source of today's post regarding the will of John Langston (c.1792-1865), the husband of Clarissa Matthews (1798-after 1880) who is my first cousin 5 times removed.**

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93R-D61J?cc=1999178&wc=9SBS-W3X%3A267648501%2C267702301 : 20 May 2014), Dawson > Wills and bonds 1857-1896 vol B > image 49/50 of 178; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

                                              Dawson Court of Ordinary
                                                          At Chambers 1865

Georgia             }
Dawson County} In the name of God. Amen.
I, John Langston of said State and County, being of
advanced age,. and knowing that I must shortly depart this
life, deem it right and proper, both as respects my family
and myself, that I should make a disposition of the 
property with which a kind Providence has blessed me, do
therefore, make this my last will and testament, hereby
revoking all others heretofore made by me.
1st. I desire and direct that my body be buried in a
decent and christian-like manner, suitable to my circumstances
and condition in life. my soul, I trust, shall return to rest
with God, who gave it, as I hope, for eternal salvation through
the merits and atonement of the blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ,
whose religion I have professed and as I humbly trust enjoyed,
for thirty-five years or upwards.
2nd. I desire and direct that all my just debts be paid, without
delay, by my executors hereinafter appointed, as I am 
unwilling my creditors should be delayed in their rights,
especially as there is no necessity for delay.
3rd. I give, bequeath and devise to my beloved wife Clarissa
with whom I have lived with in the strictest quiet for forty-two
years, parts of lots of land, numbers 91, 126,125, and all of
92, 160 acres and half of 93, and 155 acres of lot No. 88, the
remaining five acres, I give to Perry W. Grogan where his house
now stands all lying and being in the 5th. district and 2nd.
Section of said county. I also request that my wife keep all
of the negroes, viz: Eliza & Harriet and Bob and Frank and Jane
and Minerva during her natural life, and one certain bay
horse and bay mare and one yoke of oxen and wagon
and five cows, such as she chooses out of the stock and their increase
and five sows and pigs, such as she chooses and ten head of
sheep, such as she chooses, and all of the corn and fodder
here, and to have control of the household furniture and farming
tools.
4th. I, therefore, appoint Jno. M. Langston and William Langstonand
Gilbert L. Langston and Clarissa Langston my executors to
sell or dispose at their pleasure all of the lots and parts of lots lying in
Lumpkin county, a fraction No. 168,  in the 11th. district, originally Hall
now Lumpkin county, and No. 617 and No. 618 in 5th. district and 1st.
Section of Lumpkin county; also to sell and dispose of anything they
choose, this the 11th. of November 1854  
                                                       John Langston {Seal}
                                                               (Over)
Signed & sealed in the
presence of us.
Richard H. Gordon
J.B. Gordon
Cyrus Leay, J.P.

Of course John Langston's 1854 will, which he never amended, did not anticipate the circumstances his state would be in when it was presented for probate early in 1865. Although at the time the Confederate states hadn't surrendered yet it must have been clear that the old way of life was over.

According to the 1870 U.S. Census, Clarissa continued farming the land but by 1880 she was living with one of her daughters and family, still in Dawson County.

I wonder if I can find out what happened to Eliza & Harriet and Bob and Frank and Jane and Minerva after emancipation?


*Naturally we appear to descend from Thomas Charles Matthews about whom there are almost no records. Once again I refer you to Greg Matthews for more information about him.
**Her father Kinchen Matthews, a son of Thomas Matthews, was the brother of my direct ancestor
Claiborne.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Dorothy Moss (About 1655 - About 1718)

This far up my maternal family tree it isn't surprising that we know so little about this 8th great grandmother, especially considering that she lived in Virginia where early records can be scarce.

[Ancestry.com. Virginia, Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649–1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003.]

When her husband Abraham Stapp made his will in 1710 Dorothy was to retain "all property" during her lifetime so she was alive at that point although it's not clear to me that she still was at the time Abraham's will was probated four years later.*

[Section: Essex County, Wills and Deeds, 1711-1714.

Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Vol. II [database on-line]. Ancestry.com]

Essex County is located on the south side of the Rappahannock River, roughly here:

[Detail from "A New Map of New England New York New Iarsey Pensilvania Maryland and Virginia" 1685.

Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

Here's how I'm related to Dorothy through her son Joshua:

[Ancestry.com]

I wrote about Dorothy's granddaughter Martha Stapp earlier this year.





*It wasn't uncommon for a man's will not to be changed to reflect later deaths in the family.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Thomas Mathews - Northampton, North Carolina, 1770

In an earlier post we saw that Martha Stapp's husband Thomas Matthews received one shilling in her father's Joshua's 1759 will and noted that her only other mention in surviving records is in Thomas's will which presented in the Northampton County court in March of 1770.

I haven't found a birth date for this maternal sixth great grandfather, but since their first child was born about 1739 it's likely to have been in or before 1720, so he must have been in his 40s when he put his mark on his will on April 20, 1761. At that time his three sons (James, Claiborne* and Lawrence) were under age so he left everything to Martha as long as she didn't remarry. If she died or took a second husband all his property was to go to his oldest son, if he died then to my ancestor, and finally in case both his older sons were dead, to his youngest son Lawrence.

["North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:2:77T2-JR3V?cc=1867501&wc=32L6-3T5%3A169791301%2C170254301 : 21 May 2014), Northampton > image 103 of 273;

county courthouses, North Carolina.]

                                      Thomas Matthews Will
In the name of God amen, I Thomas Matthews of the County of North
ampton, being in a low State of Health, but of sound & perfect sense
& memory, Do hereby this my last Will & Testament, revoking 
all former wills by me heretofore made.
Impremis I give my Soul to almighty God, its Creator, hoping thru the mediation
                of my Saviour Jesus Christ to Receive full & ardent Redemption 
                all my sins, my body I Desire to be decently interred at the Discre
                tion of my Execr hereafter appointed.
Item         I give & bequeath unto my loving wife Martha Mathews,
                while she Continues sole & my widow, all my Estate but in Case
                my wife shall die or marry, I give my land unto my son James
                Matthews ^his heirs & assigns. In case my son James Mathews^
                should die under age, I give my Land to my son Chil
                borne Mathews, & his heirs forever. In case my Son Chilborne
               should die under age, I give my land to my son Lawrence Mat
               thews & his heirs forever.
I Constitute & appoint my wife Martha Matthews ^to be^ , Exer of this my last
                will & testament, & I desire all my just debts to be paid by my Exer, In
                witness thereof I have set my hand & seal this 20th day of April 1761.
                Signed Sealed & Delivered           Thomas [his | mark] Matthews & seal
                as his last will & testament in presence of
                Teste Thos Short,  George Raglund.                 

Even though Thomas lived another nine years after drawing up this will, he apparently saw no need to make another and this was the one recorded in 1770.

["North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:2:77T2-JR3K?cc=1867501&wc=32L6-3T5%3A169791301%2C170254301 : 21 May 2014), Northampton > image 104 of 273;

county courthouses, North Carolina.]

Northampton County ?? March Ct 1770.

This will of Thomas Matthews deceased was proved by the 

Oath of Thomas Short Esq. and ordered to be Certified &

Recorded.

                                                Teste Willis Jones Cct.

Northampton County has extensive probate records but somehow Thomas Matthews' original will doesn't seem to have survived nor is there any further probate records that I could find.



*Claiborne is my direct ancestor. His great great granddaughter is Sarah M. Matthews, the wife of George W. Slater.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Martha Stapp (About 1715 - After 1770?)

Martha's father Joshua Stapp (or Stepp) didn't mention her by name when he signed his will in Northampton County, North Carolina, on November 2, 1759, but he did leave one shilling to her husband Thomas Mathews. His other son-in-law also received one shilling, with all the rest of his estate going to his son Joshua Jr. No provision was made in case the younger Joshua died without legal heirs.*

[A compleat map of North-Carolina from an actual survey; John Collet & J. Bayly. Published in London by Samuel Hooper, 1770.

Source: Library of Congress, Washington D.C.]

[Detail of above, showing general location of Northampton County south of the Virginia border..]

["North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:2:77T2-JRSP? cc=1867501&wc=32L6-3T5%3A169791301%2C170254301 : 21 May 2014), Northampton > image 78 of 273;

county courthouses, North Carolina.]

Martha and Thomas's first child was born in about 1839 so presumably they were married sometime before then. My direct ancestor, Claiborne Mathews, was their second child.

[Ancestry.com]

As is to be expected, given the times, the only mention we have for this maternal 6th great grandmother are in the wills of her men-folk. Here is how Thomas referred to her in his will dated April 20, 1761, wherein he left his property to her (during her widowhood) and also named her his executor.

[North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970, Family Search]

This will was presented for probate in 1770 in Northampton County and I'll take a closer look at it on Friday. Unfortunately none of the other probate records from this time period seem to exist.

There's no indication in the surviving records of Martha's date of death.



*Joshua Sr. died in 1765 and his son acted as his executor.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Rufina Ellen "Fina" Tomlinson (1863 - 1943), Part 2

I just realized that two months have passed since I posted the first part of the story of this maternal great great grandmother, ending with the death of her husband Lewis Logan Slater on July 19, 1905, leaving her a widow with four children.

["Slaters in Severy:" I think Fina is the woman in white standing on the far right next to her mother-in-law Sarah Matthews Slater; Opal is the young woman standing in the middle of the group.]

By the 1910 U.S. Census, only her two younger children were still living with Fina on Main Street in Severy, Kansas.* Her occupation was listed as dressmaker and daughter Opal was teaching at a local school.

[Enumeration District : 0037; Description: Twin Groves Township including Severy City. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. ]

[Main Street, Severy, Kansas, 1911; Images of Kansas Towns and Cities.

Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University Libraries]

By 1911 she and Opal were listed as residents at 803 Marine Street in Boulder, Colorado, where Fina continued her dressmaking business. Cecil wasn't in this directory--he would have been barely 18 by then and perhaps considered too young to be included.**

[Title : Boulder, Colorado, City Directory, 1911. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

Two years later Cecil, by then a chemistry student at the nearby University of Colorado, had his own directory listing. The family had moved to 902 Marine Street and Fina supplemented income from her dressmaking business by renting out furnished rooms.

[Title : Boulder, Colorado, City Directory, 1913. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line].

Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

The 1920 U.S. Census enumerator found Fina and Opal living at 863 Marine Street in rented quarters that they appear to share with Martin Little and his wife Anita. Fina was still engaged in dressmaking and Opal was teaching at a local high school.

[Enumeration District : 0051; Description: Boulder City, Ward 3 (part) including Boulder Calaboose (No inmates), bounded by Pearl, 12th, University Ave, City limits. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. ]

Two years later Fina's father George Marion Tomlinson died at a local Sanitarium on August 30th, 1922, having been ill since the preceding November. His second wife, Fina's step-mother Amanda Darling had died seven month before then.

We know from city directories that Fina remained in Boulder until at least 1932, living by herself while her sons Harry and Pete were living in Niwot; Opal was practicing law in Boston; and Cecil was working in Louisiana.***

Something (perhaps health reasons) made Fina decide to move to Omaha, Nebraska, and by 1935 she and Opal were renting apartment #19 at 202 22nd Street.

[Enumeration District : 94-47; Description: OMAHA CITY WARD 3 (AREA B - PART).  Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.]

(We can catch glimpses of the building in these c.1940s snapshots of her grandson Jack Slater on a winter visit. You can see a picture of Fina and Opal taken during this period here.)

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

 [Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

Rufina Ellen Tomlinson Slater died  of myelogenous leukemia at St Joseph's Hospital in Omaha on July 13, 1943. She was buried in Twin Grove Cemetery in Severy, Kansas, where her husband Lewis Logan had been buried nearly four decades earlier.

[Creighton Memorial St. Joseph's Hospital, our lady of Victory in the background; The Tichnor Brothers Collection, Boston Public Library,

via digitalcommonwealth.org ]

[Find A Grave Memorial# 14305165. Photo by Judy Mayfield (#46636512)]

*Pete had obviously left the nest but I haven't been able to locate him in the 1910 census. My grandfather Harry was working as a pharmacist in Greenfield Township in Elk County, Kansas.
**I don't know who William T. or J. Archie Slater who are listed. There was a cousin named William T. but he appears to have moved to South Dakota by 1906 and remained there until at least 1940. In 1910 his oldest son another William T. was only 13.
***Opal and Cecil are long over-due for their post here and I promise I'll get to them soon.




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