Category Archives: Documents

Paul Razor: An Unexpected Revolutionary Ancestor (52 Ancestors #45)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Razor Family

Paul Razor was my fifth great grandfather.  He married Mary Catherine Cook.  This was really all I knew about him until last week.  I was researching him to see if I could turn anything up and I came across a reference to service in the Revolutionary War.  Since I have access to the select and non-select Revolutionary War pension records, I looked for him in the index.  There he was.  I pulled the corresponding roll of microfilm and found the documents pertaining to Paul Razor.  It is often difficult to read the writing, but I’ve learned quite a bit about him.

Paul Razor began his service in Pittsylvania County, Virginia in April of 1777.  He volunteered under Captain William Witcher for six months.  They began at Pittsylvania Old Courthouse and marched to Long Island, where they were stationed under the command of Colonel Shelby.  Here, they were charged with driving the Indians out of the settlements.  In June of 1781, no longer a volunteer, he was instructed to take a load from the mill to Pittslyvania County and to William Penn’s house in Amherst County, Virginia in his wagon with his team of horses.  He was then ordered to join the army near Williamsburg.  He did meet the army, which was under the command of General Lafayette and General Wayne.  Paul was then attached to this unit and was employed in hauling goods and whatever else they needed a wagon to do.  They then marched to Petersburg and continued on toward Richmond.  They camped 18 miles below Richmond.  Here he was discharged by General Wayne in September of 1781.

He requested pension in January of 1834.  In his pension request he included other information about himself.  Paul Razor was born in Easttown, Pennsylvania in 1750.  He lived in Pittsylvania County, Virginia until 1790.  He then moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, where he lived for five years.  He then moved to Shelby County, Kentucky, where he lived at the time of his pension request.  His testimony of service was confirmed by two witnesses and pension was granted.

Sources

  1. National Archives and Records Administration. “Paul Razor (R8626).”  Microfilm. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files (Select and Non-select) (1800-1900): roll m804-2008. Accessed 4 November 2015. Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

Louise Seewer: Just Your Average Female Farmer (52 Ancestors #39)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Death, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Immigration, Marriage, Photographs, Research Process, Seewer Family, Von Allmen Family

Louise Seewer turned out to be an interesting ancestor to research.  I began looking at her because I was at a loss as to whom I should write about next.  Being the left-brained person that I am, I printed a fan chart of my ancestors and marked off all of the ones about whom I had already written.  I then picked the next person closest to me on the chart, thinking that person would theoretically be easiest to research.  Louise Seewer was the lucky winner.

I began as I always do, by looking to see what records I already had for her.  I had Grandma’s pedigree chart, a few census, a marriage record, and a printout of her FindAGrave.com memorial.  From all of this, I knew that Louise was born in Switzerland on October 26, 1879.1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12  Her parents were Johann Jakob and Lucia (Gander) Seewer.1,2,9,11,12  She came to America in 1881.1,2,4,5,6,7,8  Louise married Edward Von Allmen on October 29, 1902 in Louisville, Kentucky.3  They had eight children:  Louise Marie, John Edward, Theodore Adrian, Frederick, Victor Emmanuel, Robert Alfred, Margaret Elizabeth, and Lena Mae.5,6,7,8,9,11  Louise died on September 22, 1949.9,11,12

Edward and Louise Von Allmen

Edward and Louise (Seewer) Von Allmen, 1902.

Louise (Seewer) and Edward Von Allmen, circa 1930. Photo courtesy of Douser on FindAGrave.com.

Louise (Seewer) and Edward Von Allmen, circa 1930. Photo courtesy of Douser on FindAGrave.com.

A former neighbor of the Von Allmens told me that she remembers “old Mrs. Von Allmen” delivering milk from their dairy farm.  I began to get curious about her, so I examined the census more carefully.  In 1910, 1930, and 1940, her occupation is “none.”  However, in 1920, she is listed as a farmer.  I thought about how unusual it is to see any occupations for females other than “none,” “housekeeper,” “servant,” “teacher,” “nurse,” or “seamstress.”  I looked into it and it turns out that it really isn’t all that unusual for 1920.

At this point, I tried to find Louise in the 1900 Census.  She wasn’t married yet and she was no longer living with her parents.  I found a Louisa Seever living in the household of Laf Joseph in Louisville, Kentucky.4  Her occupation was “servant.”  As Louise married in Louisville in 1902, I believe this is her.

While I was looking for her in the census, I accidentally stumbled upon her immigration record!  I had looked for it before, when I researched her father, and couldn’t find it.  I had been looking for Johann Seewer.  It was under Jacob Sever.  Soundex just couldn’t pick it up.  When I looked for Louise, I looked under both Seewer and Seever.  That’s when it turned up.

Louise came over with her parents in April of 1881 on the S.S. Labrador.  She was listed as an infant.1,2,10

S.S. Labrador Passenger List, April 1881

S.S. Labrador Passenger List, April 1881

Image from Ships of Our Ancestors by Michael J. Anuta, 1983.

Image from Ships of Our Ancestors by Michael J. Anuta, 1983.

I love the ancestors that lead to breakthroughs.  These are the days that make it all worthwhile.

As I sat down to write about Louise, I realized I had no documentation to confirm her death date.  I only had the pedigree chart and FindAGrave.com.  Not good enough.  I managed to find an obituary and a death record for Louise, with conflicting information.

The obituary, which appeared in the New Albany Tribune on Thursday, September 22, 1949, says that she “died at 5 a.m. Thursday,” meaning that morning, the 22nd.11  The death record says that she died at 5:00 am on September 23, 1949.12  So, either the paper miraculously reported her death a day early, the coroner pronounced her dead a day after she actually died, or whoever was writing the record had his days mixed up.  I’m guessing the latter, though she lived out in the county and the second option is feasible.

Louise died on September 22nd, but September 23rd is the commonly accepted date of death.  Why?  Because vital records are more official than newspaper articles.  After all, we all know newspapers get things wrong sometimes.  But in all truth, vital records can be, and often are, wrong too.  It’s on us to figure out what really happened.  This is a case in point why one source document just isn’t enough.

Sources

  1. “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1891,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSK-TTLJ : accessed 13 September 2015), Louise Sever, 1881; citing NARA microfilm publication M237 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm .
  2. “United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KD75-TCL : accessed 13 September 2015), Louise Sever, 13 Apr 1881; citing Germans to America Passenger Data file, 1850-1897, Ship Labrador, departed from Havre, arrived in New York, New York, New York, United States, NAID identifier 1746067, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
  3. “Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F43W-8XC : accessed 15 July 2015), Edward Von Allmen and Louise Sewer, 29 Oct 1902; citing Louisville, Kentucky, reference ; FHL microfilm 826,072.
  4. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.  Year: 1900; Census Place: Louisville Ward 5, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 530; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0056; FHL microfilm: 1240530.
  5. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.  Year: 1910; Census Place: Albermarle, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: T624_483; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0026; FHL microfilm: 1374496.
  6. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1920; Census Place: New Albany, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: T625_429; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 62; Image: 15.
  7. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.  Year: 1930; Census Place: Lafayette, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: 587; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0006; Image:626.0; FHL microfilm: 2340322.
  8. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Year: 1940; Census Place: Lafayette, Floyd, Indiana; Roll: T627_1043; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 22-6.
  9. “Louise Seewer Von Allmen (1879 – 1949).”FindAGrave.com. N.p., 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 May 2011. Memorial# 46948695.
  10. Anuta, Michael J. Ships of Our Ancestors. Menominee, MI: Ships of Our Ancestors, 1983. Print. p.158.
  11. “Deaths (Obituaries)” New Albany Tribune 22 September 1949, Thursday ed.: 1. Print. column 3.  Accessed 22 Sep. 2015, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.
  12. Floyd County Health Department. Microfilm. Floyd County, Indiana Deaths (1943-1950): book H-11, p.62. Retrieved 22 Sep 2015 from Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

John Alexander Springer: Farmer Extraordinaire (52 Ancestors #34)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Photographs, Springer Family

I knew very little about my third great grandfather, initially.  I suppose that’s the case with most ancestors, really.  What I mean is that he is one for whom I only had a name and dates from my grandma’s pedigree chart, but even grandma wasn’t sure about the name.  She had written down that he was John Alexander Slaymaker Springer, but she told me that she wasn’t sure about the second middle name.

I started my search looking for John Alexander Slaymaker Springer who had been born circa 1836 and died circa 1919.2,3,5,6,7,9,10,14,15  I knew from the chart that he was married to Mary Lindley and had a son named Frank.4,5,6,7,9,10,15,16,17  I began where I usually do when I have a name and approximate dates.  Census records.  I found John A. Springer living with John S. and Lamira Springer in Paoli, Orange County, Indiana in 1850.3  The names I had for his parents on the pedigree chart were John Slaymaker Springer and Susan Lamira Nichols.1,2,3

I then found John A. with his wife, Mary on the 1860 and subsequent census.5,6,7,9,10  All of this was research I had done years ago, before FamilySearch.org was on my radar.  Ancestry.com didn’t have any vital records for John A., so I stopped my search and moved on to a new person.

Last year, I decided to look for John A. on FindAGrave.com.  To my delight, not only was there a photo of his tombstone, but there was also a photo of him!

John Alexander Springer, photo courtesy of Susan Huber, Findagrave.com

John Alexander Springer, photo courtesy of Susan Huber, Findagrave.com

By this time, my library had purchased a subscription to NewspaperArchive.com.  As I was researching Frank Springer, I widened my search to include his parents.  What I found was surprising.  There were several articles in The Paoli Republican about him, all dated near the time of his death.  The first reported that he was over 80, though he didn’t look it, and he had cataracts in both eyes that he was planning to have removed when the conditions were right.11  The second reported that he was looking to sell seven stands of bees.12  I knew he was a farmer.  I did not know he kept bees.

The third article reported that he was seriously ill.13  The fourth article was an obituary and an administrator’s sale notice.15

Obituary for John A. Springer, The Paoli Republican, Wednesday, 21 May 1919, p. 4, column 1. NewspaperArchive.com

Obituary for John A. Springer, The Paoli Republican, Wednesday, 21 May 1919, p. 4, column 1. NewspaperArchive.com

The last two articles were land sale notices, which gave the legal description of his land.  These articles also named four of his eight children:  Anna L., Frank, Charles B., and John A., Jr.16, 17

One of my ongoing projects has been to scan all of the photos and documents from the Rakestraw trunk at my grandparents’ house.  As I was doing this, I came across a letter, written by John A. Springer and addressed to Mrs. Rakestraw (Mary E. Rakestraw, whose daughter married John’s son, Frank).  This letter was dated in 1891 and was sent from Madisonville (now part of Cincinnati), Ohio.  In it, John talked about his regret in moving to Ohio and how homesick he was.8  This was an amazing find!  Since we have no 1890 Census, I would never have known he had moved.  By 1900, he was back in Paoli.9

I also came across a letter he had written to his granddaughter, which had a letterhead, and an envelope with a printed return address.

John A. Springer letterhead.

John A. Springer letterhead.

John A. Springer envelope.

John A. Springer envelope.

In addition to farmer and bee keeper, he was also a dealer in coal oil and fertilizer.  It was certainly nice to learn all of these new things about him, but I think my favorite thing about reading these letters was hearing his voice and getting a sense of his personality.

Sources

  1. “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images,FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZC4-PGD : accessed 22 August 2015), John S Springer and Susah L Nichols, 10 Feb 1831; citing , Orange, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,316,696.
  2. 1840 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 27 Dec. 2014. Orange, Indiana. p.95. Line 18.
  3. 1850 United States Federal Census. HeritageQuestOnline.com. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. p.456. Family #698, lines 21-27.
  4. “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” database with images,FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZCH-GFZ : accessed 15 August 2015), John A Springer and Mary Lindley, 22 Dec 1859; citing , Orange, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,316,697.
  5. 1860 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. p.120. Family #921, lines 15-16.
  6. 1870 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. p.24. Family #176, lines 23-28.
  7. 1880 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. p.6B. Family #53, lines 17-25.
  8. Springer, John A. Letter to Mary E. Rakestraw. 08 Feb. 1891. MS. New Albany, Indiana.
  9. 1900 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 27 Dec. 2014. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. pp.8A-8B. Family #165, lines 50-55.
  10. 1910 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. Paoli, Orange, Indiana. p.2A. Family #29, lines 24-27.
  11. “Local News” Paoli Republican 28 February 1916, Wednesday ed.: 5. Print. column 2.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. “For Sale” Paoli Republican 09 April 1919, Wednesday ed.: 4. Print. column 2.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. “Local News” Paoli Republican 16 April 1919, Wednesday ed.: 5. Print. column 1.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.
  14. “John Alexander Springer (1836 – 1919) – Find A Grave Memorial.”FindAGrave.com. Glenda Barry, 12 May 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=546002&GRid=90018053&). Find A Grave Memorial# 90018053.
  15. “Obituary” Paoli Republican 21 May 1919, Wednesday ed.: 4. Print. column 2.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. “Land Sale” Paoli Republican 04 February 1920, Wednesday ed.: 1. Print. column 3.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.
  17. “Land Sale” Paoli Republican 11 February 1920, Wednesday ed.: 1. Print. column 3.  Accessed 27 Dec. 2014, NewspaperArchive.com.

 

Mary Susan Henderson: Not Forgotten (52 Ancestors #26)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Death, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Hand Family, Henderson Family, Rakestraw Family, Research Process

One of the things I find interesting about genealogy is how easy it is for me to develop tunnel vision.  I find that I focus so much on one person or one line that I forget one of the basic rules:  research your collaterals.  What is more discouraging for me is that I often forget to research my matrilineal ancestors.  A case in point is Mary Susan Henderson.

I don’t know why, but I’ve just never thought to myself, I need to research her.  She’s always just been on the periphery.  I have a tendency to think of her as Milton Rakestraw’s wife who remarried after he died, which is crazy.  She is my fourth great-grandmother by blood.  I have certainly researched more tenuous relations, why not her?

I had done a minimal amount of research on her that was required for the First Families project.  Once I had moved on to her son, the rest didn’t matter to me.  Until she came up again…

On May 25, 2015, my dad and I visited a few cemeteries for Memorial Day.  While at Fairview, Dad said he would like to find Mary Susan Rakestraw’s grave.  Knowing she had remarried to James Hand, I looked her up on the very handy (no pun intended) Find A Grave app on my phone.  Dad had a vague memory of where she was and the app confirmed the location.  Even so, we could not find her.  Perhaps the stone is no longer there, or perhaps we couldn’t find it because the rows aren’t clearly marked.  Either way, we left a little disappointed.

We next visited Mt. Tabor Cemetery.  I checked the app and saw an open photo request for a Jacob Stites Hand, so I filled it.  The requester contacted me, which sparked a conversation that caused me to finally realize that I had done almost no research on Susan after her first husband died.  At this point, I really felt as though Susan was saying to me, “Don’t forget me.”

On the way home from the cemeteries, I looked at the entry on the Find A Grave app again.  A partial transcription of her obituary was on her memorial page with the source citation NALS 28 Feb 1879 (Thanks, Sue!).  That citation might not mean anything to most people, but I happen to work at the library in which the microfilmed newspapers are housed.  The next time I had a break at work, I looked up the February 28, 1879 issue of the New Albany Ledger Standard and found her obituary.  I saved a copy to my flash drive to look at later.  I also saved a copy of the marriage record for James Hand and Mary Susan Rakestraw.

Then, as I prepared to write this post, I thought about what else I could possibly turn up on Susan.  Working backwards, as I was taught to do, I considered death records.  However, Susan died in 1879 and Indiana didn’t require death records until 1882.  There were a handful of records before that date, but none were Susan Hand.  I had her marriage records already, so I moved on to births.  She was born circa 1830 in Kentucky, and the earliest recorded Kentucky birth (according to FamilySearch.org) was in 1852.

I thought about census records.  The earliest I had for her was 1850.  I am unlikely to find any earlier without knowing her father’s name, since 1850 was the first year that recorded everyone living in a household and she was married by that time.  The latest I have is 1870 and she died in 1879.  It then occurred to me that I had not checked the Fairview Cemetery indexes.  I found her, though it yielded little new information.

As I read over all of my information to see how complete a story I had for her, I really focused on her obituary.  It broke my heart a little.

Susan Hand, Obituary, New Albany Ledger Standard, Friday, 28 February 1879, p. 3, column 4, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room

Susan Hand, Obituary, New Albany Ledger Standard, Friday, 28 February 1879, p. 3, column 4, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room

“A poor woman named Mrs. Hand.”  Did nobody know her given name?

I looked at her Fairview record.

Fairview Cemetery, Volume 2, p. 41.

Fairview Cemetery, Volume 2, p. 41.

She was buried by the county in a grave owned by her former father-in-law and former brother-in-law.  This all gave me the feeling that she was poor and friendless at the end of her life.  Although, one would think that since she had so many children that somebody would have taken care of her.  I’m sure there is much more to Susan’s story than I will ever know, but I’m glad I finally took the time to research her.

Mary Susan Henderson

Born circa 1830 in Kentucky.3,5,6

Married Milton Rakestraw on March 8, 1845 in Floyd County, Indiana.1,2

Children with Milton:  Francis Marion (1847), Charles H. (c.1848), and George William (c.1849).3

Married James Hand on April 16, 1857 in Floyd County, Indiana.4

Children with James:  Elza (c.1858), Alice (1860), Annie (c.1861), Julia (c.1864), and Mary (c.1869).5,6

Died on February 27, 1879 in New Albany, Floyd, Indiana of consumption.7

Buried at Fairview Cemetery in New Albany, Floyd, Indiana on March 1, 1879.8

Sources

1.  Floyd County Clerk. Microfilm. Floyd County, Indiana Marriages Volume B (1845): p.147.  Accessed 23 Sep. 2014, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

2.  “Matrimonial Matters” New Albany Public Press 01 March 1882, Wednesday ed.: 8. Print. column 3.  Accessed 12 Aug. 2014, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

3.  1850 United States Federal Census (database-online). Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 12 Jun. 2011. Jeffersonville, Clark, Indiana. pp.313-314.

4.  Floyd County Clerk. Microfilm. Floyd County, Indiana Marriages Volume 4 (1857): p.340.  Accessed 09 Jun. 2015, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

5.  1860 United States Federal Census (database-online). Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 16 Aug. 2014. New Albany, Floyd, Indiana. p.134.

6.  1870 United States Federal Census (database-online). Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. New Albany, Floyd, Indiana. p.72.

7.  “Deaths (Obituaries)” New Albany Ledger Standard 28 February 1879, Friday ed.: 3. Print. column 4.  Accessed 09 Jun. 2015, Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

8.  Clipp, Mary Cuzzort, Richard Clipp, Jackie Murray Nance, Wanda Perkins Stepp, and Shirley Wolf, comps. Fairview Cemetery, January 7, 1866 to December 31, 1880, New Albany, Floyd County. Vol. 2. New Albany, Indiana: Southern Indiana Genealogical Society, 1991. Print. The Indiana Southern Counties Collection. p.41.

Frances Lydia Browning: An Unconventional Proposal (52 Ancestors #23)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Browning Family, Documents, Family History, Genealogy, Photographs, Wiseheart Family

This week, I’ve decided to focus on an ancestor who received an unconventional, though probably not uncommon in those days, marriage proposal.  The two parties involved are my great great grandparents, Frances Lydia “Fannie” Browning and William Henry Wiseheart.  Before I get into the proposal, I’ll briefly go over their backgrounds.

Fannie was born on June 14, 1853, in Kentucky, to Daniel and Ossiann (Salisbury) Browning.1  Ossiann died when Fannie was about twelve.2,3,4  Daniel remarried, to Nancy Catherine Ringold, in 1865.3

While a 16-year-old Fannie was still living at home with her father and stepmother, in Long Run, Kentucky, a 37-year-old WilliamWiseheart was living with his wife, Sarah (Myers), and six month old daughter, Kitty, in Washington, Indiana.4,5  William’s wife died circa 1872, leaving William to care for a young daughter on his own.  William also had a disability from a Civil War injury.  He ended up in Kentucky.5,6  Presumably, he moved back there to seek the assistance of family.

Shortly after moving back to Kentucky, he met Fannie Browning.  I often wonder how they met.  Maybe they were neighbors.  Maybe they attended the same church.  Maybe one of William’s family members knew Fannie somehow and set them up.  Whatever happened, Fannie received a letter from William that I refer to as a proposal.  In it, he describes his feelings for Fannie and talks about taking her “out of trouble.”  He then closes with “I remain your intended companion until death.”  It may not be an outright proposal, but it is certainly a letter of intent.

Letter, William H. Wiseheart to Frances Browning, 20 Apr 1876, p. 1 Letter, William H. Wiseheart to Frances Browning, 20 Apr 1876, p. 2 Letter, William H. Wiseheart to Frances Browning, 20 Apr 1876, p. 3

What is really interesting to me is that this letter dated April 20, 1876 indicates that William would not be able to marry Fannie until June of 1877, however, they did marry not quite one month later on May 10th in Long Run, Kentucky.6  Perhaps his circumstances improved.  Perhaps her circumstances worsened.

Another thing I had wondered about over the years was the age difference between William and Fannie.  He was 42 and she was 23 when they married.  Knowing that William had a young child and Fannie had some sort of “trouble” explains that, I think, aside from a fairly large age difference being a somewhat common phenomenon in that day and age.

Fannie and William had ten children of their own, of which two were stillbirths, two died after three days, one died after eleven days, and the other five survived to adulthood.  The surviving children were Daniel Signal (1877), Mary Elizabeth (ca 1878), Rosey or Rosa H. (1879), Joseph Martin (1886), and Sanford Wesley (1890).7,8,9

Fannie died of chronic valvular heart disease on December 4, 1920, at the age of 67.1

Frances Lydia Browning

Frances Lydia Browning

Sources

1.  Floyd County Health Department. “Frances Wiseheart.” Floyd County, Indiana Death Records. Vol. CH-33. 55. Microfilm.  Accessed 5 January 2015 at the Stuart Barth Wrege Indiana History Room.

2.  1860 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. 2nd District (Long Run), Jefferson, Kentucky. p.101. Family #706, lines 10-14.

3.  “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFZ5-1MZ : accessed 9 June 2015), Daniel Browning and Nancy C Ringo, 20 Sep 1865; citing , Scott, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 549,440.

4.  1870 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 30 Dec. 2014. Boston Precinct (Long Run), Jefferson, Kentucky. p.11. Family #62, lines 2-9.

5.  1870 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 9 Jun. 2015. Washington, Owen, Indiana. p.6. Family #54, lines 32-34.

6.  “Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4QC-G98 : accessed 9 June 2015).  Wm. H. and Fannie Browning, 10 May 1876; citing Long Run, Jefferson, Kentucky, reference Bk11, P257, L10; FHL microfilm 482,712.

7.  1880 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 3 Jun. 2015. Boston Precinct, Jefferson, Kentucky. p.2B. Family #18, lines 45-50.

8.  1900 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. New Albany, Floyd, Indiana. p.5B. Family #108, lines 70-74.

9.  1910 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. New Albany, Floyd, Indiana. p.16B. Family #339, lines 85-88.