Mary Wiseheart Jacobs and the Move to Illinois

According to family tradition, Price Jacobs died in Jefferson County, Kentucky sometime before 1850 and his widow and children moved to Illinois, where they had Wiseheart family.  I spent some time trying to track the family movements to see what might be true.  I’m hoping this will narrow down a death date and location for Price.

I began with 1840, since Price would have still been living then.  I found him in Jefferson County, Kentucky with a wife, four sons, and a daughter.  I also noticed that he was living near Harmon Wiseheart (and a few Gillilands) at this time.1

I couldn’t find Price or his family in Kentucky in 1850.  I did find Mary C. Jacobs, with children John A., James H., Ellen, Samuel, and Peter, living in Columbus, Adams County, Illinois.2  The ages are all correct to be the same family from 1840.  A James Wisehart is living several houses down from her.3

Mary married John Carson in 1852.4  In 1860, John Carson is living with Mary, Henry, and Rebecca in Columbus, Adams County, Illinois.5

In 1870, Mary Jacobs is living with Milton K. Johnson and family in Burton, Adams County, Illinois.6  Mary’s daughter, Ellen, married Milton K. Johnson in 1855.7  Presumably, John Carson died sometime between 1860 and 1870.

Mary is still living with Milton and Ellen in 1880 in Burton, Adams County, Illinois, where she is listed as mother-in-law of Milton.8

I couldn’t find any information for Mary after the 1880 Census, other than her FindAGrave memorial.  According to that, she died in 1887 in Adams County, Illinois.9

It’s entirely possible that she moved to Illinois to be near family, but it’s strange since she had family living much closer to her in Jefferson County, Kentucky.


Sources

  1. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1840; Census Place: Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 115; Page: 154; Image: 312; Family History Library Film: 0007828.
  2. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1850; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M432_97; Page: 51B; Image: 108.
  3. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1850; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M432_97; Page: 50B; Image: 106.
  4. “Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2T7-5QS : accessed 21 January 2016), John Carson and Mary Jacobs, 1852.
  5. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1860; Census Place: Columbus, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M653_155; Page: 607; Image: 263; Family History Library Film: 803155.
  6. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Year: 1870; Census Place: Burton, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M593_186; Page: 16B; Image: 41; Family History Library Film: 545685.
  7. “Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X2T8-6HQ : accessed 21 January 2016), Milton K Johnson and Ellen Jacobs, 1855.
  8. 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.  Year: 1880; Census Place: Burton, Adams, Illinois; Roll: 174; Family History Film: 1254174; Page: 23B; Enumeration District: 002; Image: 0048.
  9. “Mary Catherine Wiseheart Jacobs (1808 – 1887).” Find A Grave. R. Dennis Jacobs, 21 May 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. Find A Grave Memorial# 130137820.

 

Mary Catherine and America Christina

A distant cousin contacted me recently to see if I had any idea what happened to Price Jacobs.  I looked through my records and I don’t have much on him.  Now, I’m one of those people that can’t stand an unsolved mystery, so it’s been bugging me.  I haven’t been very concerned with Price, as he’s a collateral for me, but now I would like to know what happened to him.  Of course, this means researching more than just his death.

My grandparents’ pedigree chart lists Price as having married Mary Catherine Wiseheart, so I started there.  It turns out, their marriage is a little bit confusing.  I first looked on Ancestry to see what I could turn up.  I found a record for Price Jacobs and Mary E. Wiseheart, married on December 29, 1825 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.1  Then, I found a record for Price Jacobs and Christena Wisehart, married on August 13, 1827 in Shelby County, Kentucky.2  According to my grandparents’ information, Mary Catherine had a sister named America Christina.

I considered the possibility that Mary Catherine died and Price remarried to her sister, but based on their children’s ages, that just isn’t possible.  I managed to find an image of the written consent given by John Wiseheart.  He does indeed give permission for Christena to marry.

Christina Wisehart permission to marry

Consent in writing for Christena Wisehart to marry Price Jacobs, given by John Wisehart. August 13, 1827.

I decided to look for America’s marriage, thinking that might shed some light on things.  I found that she married Peter Shrote, Jr. on December 20, 1834 in Jefferson County, Kentucky.3  I then looked up the record for Price in the same book series.  It showed that he and Mary Catherine applied for a license, with John’s consent, on December 29, 1825, but there is not marriage date.4  Possibly, Price and Mary Catherine married two years later in Shelby County, but I still have no idea why the consent says Christena.  Perhaps John was confused.

I’m hoping to come across something that will clear this all up as I continue to research Price Jacobs and family.


Sources

  1. Dodd, Jordan. Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
  2. “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954”, database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJ9-21QC : accessed 13 January 2016), Price Jacobs and Christena Wisehart, 1827.
  3. The Filson Club, Incorporated. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages. Vol. 2. Owensboro, KY: McDowell Publications, 1980. Print.p. 113.
  4. The Filson Club, Incorporated. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages. Vol. 1. Owensboro, KY: McDowell Publications, 1980. Print.p. 189.