Jacob B. Mull, Whiskey Merchant of Manilla

Jacob B. Mull (1803-1861), taken, c. 1860
From In Old Kentucky: The Story Of My
Forbears by William DePrez Inlow

My 5th great-grandfather, Jacob Mull, was born on July 12, 1803 in Loudoun County, Virginia.  Jacob was the fourth of seven children of George Washington Mull, a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife Mary Katherine Long. Well before the Revolutionary War, Jacob's German grandfather, David Muhle, came to America as an indentured servant at the age of nine.  David Mull (he later adopted the Scottish spelling of his surname despite being German) married a woman named Eva Margaret Boothe.  Margaret outlived her husband by seven years, and possibly ran a distillery. Interestingly, this association with liquor sale was a source of income in her grandson Jacob's life as well. Margaret died in 1801, two years before Jacob was born.

At the age of ten Jacob moved with his parents to Warren County, Ohio.  There Jacob married Margaret Richinson, a New Jersey native of Scotch descent, around 1823.  Their first daughter, Catherine (my 4th great grandmother), was born in Ohio the following year.  But Jacob Mull moved yet again, coming to Rush County, Indiana in the spring of 1826. (Centennial History of Rush County by Abraham Lincoln Gary, 1888). Two of Jacob's brothers, twins Frederick Mull and George Mull Jr., also immigrated to Rush County around the same time.  Sometime during 1835, Jacob sold his stock of goods with the intent of farming, but gave it up the following year and returned to being a merchant.

After arriving in Rush County, the Mulls had three more children: George (in 1827), Cyrus (1829), and Mary Ann (1831).  Catherine and Mary Ann both grew up to marry doctors, and their homes, two of the most prominent brick houses in Manilla, were next door to each other. Sadly, their brother George died of an unknown cause before reaching the age of eight.  In 1847, a school for higher learning was established in Farmington, near Rushville; Jacob Mull's youngest son Cyrus was notably one of the first two students enrolled.  (Sketches of Rush County, pg. 25)  The school took place in a rented tavern.  Cyrus Mull later assumed full management of a farm that adjoined his father's in Rush County.

The Rushville Jacksonian, 5 Oct 1859

The town of Manilla, originally named Wilmington, was organized on January 4, 1836. Jacob Mull was one of the four settlers who founded the town, the others being Elias Murphy, Jonathan Murphy, and J. Edward.  He was the first merchant in the town, and kept his store in a small house.

During this time, whiskey was heavily marketed as a beverage for medicinal benefit, rather than as a hard liquor.  Jacob branded himself as a whiskey merchant, specializing in such medicinal concotions as "Ayer's Cherry Pectoral." Essentially, this cherry pectoral was a cough medicine that merely treated symptoms, but was not effective in curing advanced diseases like consumption, as advertised.  Ayer's recipe for his patent medicine, incidentally, included 3 grams of morphine, along with other herbal ingredients.

Jacob Mull, along with his son Cyrus and son-in-law James W. Trees, operated a mercantile venture in Manilla called J. & C. Mull and Trees.  As a prominent businessman in the small community, Jacob was elected to several municipal positions and was an early philanthropist to the town.  He donated $18,000 for the first railroad to pass through Rushville, Indiana, finally emerging in 1857 as the Sandusky, Indiana, and Louisville Railroad.  Jacob died in 1861 at the age of 57, leaving a wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.  The Centennial History of Rush County refers to Jacob Mull as a Manilla pioneer "to whose enterprise and public spirit does that town owe much."

52 Ancestors: #11 Henry Sefton of County Antrim

Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, 2011.
Photo taken by my brother.

Four years ago, my brother spent a whole semester in Ireland.  He even celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Dublin!  I am still jealous.

At the time, I didn't know about my Irish 5th great grandfather, Henry Sefton.  If I had known, I would have asked my brother to do some research for me.  He was probably too busy anyway ... climbing hills and bodhran-drumming and step-dancing and eating at pubs (and maybe studying).

Although I didn't get to travel to Ireland, I was lucky enough to inherit some notes about the Sefton family that were handwritten by Henry Sefton's 2nd great grandaughter, Nettie Ryan Hamilton.

According to Nettie, Henry Sefton was born in Ireland on November 10, 1767.  His father, John Sefton, a Protestant, had fled England due to religious persecution and afterwards became an officer in the Army of Ireland.  Henry married Elizabeth Boyes in 1799 in County Antrim, now part of Northern Ireland.  In 1803, Henry, along with his wife and two children and his brother William, left Ireland to come to America, settling in Butler County, Ohio.  Over the next decade, the Sefton clan grew to include eight more children, including my 4th great grandfather William O. Sefton.

In the early 1830s, a cholera epidemic swept across the midwest.  Henry's young daughter, Charlotte French, and her husband Jeremiah died in June 1834, leaving their infant son an orphan.  Then, on July 27, 1834, Henry Sefton fell victim to the dreaded disease.  He was buried at New Haven Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

52 Ancestors 2015: #8 Gowdy's Good Deed

My 3rd great-grand uncle, John K. Gowdy
A Family History Comprising the Surnames of Gowdy
and the Variant Forms by Mahlon Myron Gowdy, 1919, p. 537.

John K. Gowdy's son was born on the last day of November 1867 in the little town of Arlington, Indiana. Given the rather unusual name of Latta Theodore, he was the pride of his father, the joy of his mother, and their first born -- a beautiful and sprightly child.

On March 24, 1870, little Latta Gowdy died.

He was only two years, three months and twenty-four days of age.  Those, who have wept, and still weep over a loss like this -- the death of a first born -- can best sympathize with those who weep.  His [father], mother and sister survive.  (Rushville Republican, 22 Aug 1931, p. 4)

It must have been a terrible shock to the Gowdy family, especially since their daughter Fanny had been born just two weeks earlier. I'm sure that John never got over the loss of his beloved son, yet he found a way to ease his grief and help someone else in the process. Sometime around 1876, John Gowdy took in a boy from the Cincinnati Children's Home.

For three years, the Gowdys provided a caring home for this new son.  Then something completely unexpected happened...

Last week the boy's father, living at Lawrenceburg, heard of his whereabouts, came and claimed him, and they reluctantly gave him up. (Rushville Republican, 16 Oct 1879, p. 3.)

I really wish I knew what the boy's name was so that I could find out more about him.  Hopefully, his father treated him well.  I like to think that John Gowdy's kindness had a lasting impact on the boy's life.

52 Ancestors 2015: #5 William Holzlider, Plowing Through "Chunks"

William Holzlider, center.  On either side of him are his children, Stella and Russell.
Also pictured is Stella's husband, Mason McCammon, and their dog Fanny.
Photo taken about 1920, along Bear Creek in Jennings County, Indiana.

My great-great grandfather, William Holzlider, was born on January 26, 1855 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents, George and Mary Gertrude, were recent immigrants to America.  (Family tradition is that George was a stowaway from Luxembourg.)  William had one older sister, Anna Mary, and three younger siblings: Edward, Julia, and Lena.  I'm not sure when his family moved to Indiana, but the Holzliders were in Jennings County, Indiana by the time the Civil War broke out.  William was working as a farm laborer on someone else's farm in Decatur county when he was 15.

The Holzlider house in Pierceville, Jennings County, Indiana.

On January 30, 1887, William married Ella Dorothy Smith in Jennings County, Indiana. He was 32, and she was 20.  William and Ella lived in Sandcreek Township, Indiana.  They had a family of six children: three boys and three girls.

William purchased 40 acres of woodland for $700 in Pierceville, Indiana in 1902 or 1903. I'm sure it was quite a job to clear the land of trees.  According to a letter written by William's daughter Bertha, the ground was all in "chunks." William and his young sons, Omer and Clyde (my great grandfather), worked hard plowing the land to make it tillable.

William's grandaughter
Martha Holtzlider in 1937.

One day in 1907, William bought a supply of lumber so that he could expand his house. Somehow, the house caught on fire that very night.  The family Bible was destroyed.  The two youngest Holzlider children, Russell and Bertha, were placed outside on a mattress that was saved from the burning house. The following day, neighbors came over and helped rebuild the house.

Ella Holzlider died in 1917 at the age of 51.  In 1920, William was still running a farm at the age of 64, with Russell and Bertha living at home.  William had retired from farming by 1930 and was living with his son Russell and his wife in Indianapolis.

My grandmother, Martha Holtzlider (pictured at right), wrote a letter in 1985 to her uncle Russell Holzlider, describing her only memory of her grandfather William:

I do remember singing to Grandpa Holzlider during what I believe was his last illness.  I was about 6 years old and it was an awesome experience for one so young and I have never forgotten standing by his bed and singing.  I don't remember the name of the song. That is the only recollection I have of Grandpa Holzlider.

William died from heart disease on July 22, 1934, at the home of his son Clyde in Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana.  He and Ella are buried at Brewersville, Jennings  County, in Bear Creek Cemetery.

52 Ancestors 2015: #3 Margaret Richinson, Dour Indeed

Margaret Richinson Mull, c. 1860.
From In Old Kentucky, Vol. 3 by Wm. DePrez Inlow

Judging by this picture, my 5th great grandmother Margaret Richinson appears to be a tough, strong woman.  And I am not the only one to think so.  In his book In Old Kentucky, William DePrez Inlow says of Margaret's portrait,  "She seems to be dour, dour indeed!"  

Margaret Richinson has also been a tough woman to research! I don't know her parent's names -- in fact, I'm not even sure whether her maiden name is Richinson or Richardson.  I don't know the county of her birth or exactly when she was married, and she died before death records were kept in the county where she died.

I have pieced together a few details of Margaret's life. She was born on the third day of January, 1805 in New Jersey, to a family of Scottish descent. Like many families of the early 19th century, Margaret's family moved west.  She met and married Jacob Mull in Ohio, most likely in Warren County.

The Mulls had four children born between 1824 and 1831: Catherine (my 4th great grandmother), George, Cyrus, and Mary Ann.  July 16, 1835 had to be one of the saddest days of Margaret's life.  Her oldest son, George Mull, died at the age of seven.

Margaret's husband Jacob died on June 5, 1861.  Although I assume she went to live with one of her children, I can't find Margaret in the 1870 census.  According to Findagrave, Margaret died on April 21, 1872 and is buried at the Manilla Cemetery in Manilla, Indiana.

52 Ancestors: #48 Samuel Kimmel and the Stark County Infirmary

I don't know much about my 5th great grandfather, Samuel Kimmel, but I do know how he died... and it is a sad story.

Samuel was born in 1787 in Pennsylvania to Joseph Kimmel and Nancy Anna Stoner.  He married Catherine Mory, a Maryland native. They had six children, including my 4th great grandfather, Jacob Kimmel. Samuel moved with his family to Stark County, Ohio sometime before 1820 and lived there for the rest of his life.

Stark County Infirmary, Canton, Ohio

On September 15, 1869, Samuel and Catherine were admitted as paupers to the Stark County Infirmary, formerly called the county poorhouse.

Those eligible to live at the county home are homeless persons who are unable to care for themselves.  They may be recipients of old age pensions, if the amounts so received are not sufficient for them to take care of themselves. Likewise if relatives are unable or unwilling to care for a needy person, the latter is eligible.  Many patients have no friends. City residents who are unemployed single men are likewise eligible. Relatives will take care of women before they will men.  (Stark County Story, The Suburban Era in Stark County Ohio 1917-1958 Vol. 4)

The infirmary register listed both their ages as 81 and their former residence as Osnaburg, Stark County, Ohio.  Four of the Kimmel children had left Ohio and were scattered across several states by this time. One son, William Kimmel, died in 1865 from the black measles, along with much of his household.   However, Samuel and Catherine's youngest child, Margaret, still lived in Osnaburg with her own family in 1869.  I wonder why Margaret was unable to care for her elderly parents.  Did the other siblings even know that their parents were destitute and living in a poorhouse?

Samuel Kimmel died in the infirmary on March 18, 1871, at the age of 84.  He was not buried in a cemetery; I assume this was because no one could pay for his burial expenses.  Following his death, Catherine Kimmel was discharged.  I don't know why she had to leave or what happened to her afterwards.

52 Ancestors: #47 James Whitlow Trees, Still a Democrat

Portrait taken from 1888 History of Rush County

J. W. Trees, of Manilla, was in town today on his way to Indianapolis.  He is still a democrat.  (Columbus Daily Herald; Columbus, Indiana; 5 Apr 1892)

I was amused when I ran across this article about my 4th great grandfather, and I can only guess at what the writer was implying.  A biographical sketch of James W. Trees also mentions that "he was ever a democrat." (History of Rush County, Part II)  It seems that he readily expressed his political views.

James Whitlow Trees was born March 21, 1818 in Clermont County, Ohio.  Adam Trees and Mary Ann Hill were his parents.  His middle name came from his Irish grandmother, Elizabeth Jane Whitlow.  James migrated with his family to Rush County, Indiana on March 27, 1823.

At the age of 20, James decided to pursue a career of medicine.  He went to the small town of Milroy, Indiana and studied under Dr. Samuel Barbour, who was one of the earliest physicians of Rush County.  While he underwent medical training, he also was a clerk at a dry goods store. James received his physician's license from the Indiana Medical Institute in May of 1841.  A few months later, James set up his own medical practice in Manilla, Indiana.

He married Catherine Mull on September 18, 1842 in Rush County, Indiana.  The couple had six children together, but only three sons lived to adulthood: Ethan Allen, Leander Mull, and Cyrus Ebon.  The three youngest children -- Lavanche, Maggie, and Marshall -- all died at a young age.

Around 1852, James W. Trees entered into a mercantile partnership with Jacob and Cyrus Mull, his father-in-law and brother-in-law.  According to William DePrez Inlow, author of In Old Kentucky, "It was common at the time for physicians to engage in business in addition to their profession."

By 1864, Dr. Trees had sold his medical practice to his son-in-law, Dr. J. J. Inlow, and was operating his own dry goods store in Manilla. "By strict attention to his profession, he amassed a goodly fortune.  He and his two sons, Ethan A. and Cyrus E., were of the staunchest business men in the county." (The History of Rush County, Part II)  According to the Indianapolis Journal, the store was robbed in 1875; the burglars got away with $500.

An early map of the town of Manilla, Indiana.  The land Dr. Trees owned is highlighted. 

In 1872, the small town of Manilla received state-wide attention when James W. Trees discovered several fossilized bones of a mastodon on the farm of his neighbor, A. J. Westerfield. (You can see the farm in the map shown above.)  The Indianapolis Journal reported that the fossils "were in a remarkable state of preservation."

The residence of Dr. James W. Trees in Manilla, Indiana.

On April 25, 1895, a Shelbyville newspaper stated that James W. Trees was dangerously ill. He died a short while later, on May 4, 1895, and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Recently, I made an interesting discovery.  There is a subdivision in Manilla, Indiana named after James W. Trees!  Looks like I need to make a trip to Manilla so I can see his house (shown at right) and his subdivision!  {Update:} I visited the Trees house in Manilla on July 5, 2015 with my family.  The current owners told us that when they renovated the building, they found an underground passageway that connected the house to the doctor's office across the street.  One of the front rooms in the house was fitted out for a funeral parlor.  When a patient died, the body was discreetly brought into the house via the tunnel.

July 5, 2015.  My brother and I in front of James W. Trees' house in Manilla, Indiana.

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52 Ancestors: #43 Mary Ann Hill, Born on the Atlantic Ocean

Mary Ann Hill was born aboard a ship on passage from Ireland to America on June 6, 1790.  This is confirmed by 1880 census reports from four of her children.  Her birth at sea is also mentioned in a biographical sketch of her son, James Whitlow Trees. (The sketch is from the History of Rush County, Part II.)

Like many Irish immigrants of that period, Mary Ann's parents, John Hill and Elizabeth Jane Whitlow, came from Ulster.  John Hill was a weaver in trade.

After the Hills arrived in America, they located somewhere in Pennsylvania.  I don't know exactly when they left that state, but Mary Ann spent most of her early years in Bracken County, Kentucky.

In 1811, Mary Ann married another first-generation American, John Adam Trees, in Clermont County, Ohio.  After spending well over 10 years in Clermont County, Adam and Mary Ann decided to move to Indiana.  For 10 days, they traveled over almost impassable roads, crossing the White and Miami Rivers. Their youngest child, John Kell Trees, was barely two months old at the time. The family arrived in Richland Township, Rush County, Indiana on March 27, 1823. The Trees raised ten children, who all lived to adulthood.

Mary Ann Trees died on July 23, 1863 in Shelby County, Indiana, less than a year after the death of her husband.  She was 73 years old.  Her father, John Hill, outlived her by a few years.

52 Ancestors: #41 Jacob Kimmel, Oldest Voter in Kearney, Nebraska

Jacob Kimmel, left, with his daughter Catherine and her family.

Jacob Kimmel of Fourth Ward Votes at 86 Years of Age.

The statement in the Hub Tuesday that Rev. C.R. Ford was probably the oldest voter in the city has brought out the fact that there is at least one voter, who cast his vote on election day, who could boast more years than Mr. Ford.  This is Jacob Kimmel.  Mr. Kimmel is 86 years of age.  He is a carpenter and mill wright by trade and is still able to do some work every day.  The fact that there was a voter 86 years of age in the city was kindly brought to the attention of the Hub by S.M. Forney, and it is probable that there may be some other voters who are as old or older. (The Kearney Daily Hub, published November 8, 1906.)  

My 4th great grandfather, Jacob Kimmel, was born on May 27, 1821 in Canton, Stark County, Ohio. His parents were Samuel Kimmel and Catherine Mory.  On October 9, 1842, Jacob married Nancy Tombaugh. Sometime before 1850, Jacob and Nancy migrated to Richland, Illinois, along with Jacob's brother William and his sister Elizabeth and their families.  Together Jacob and Nancy had at least seven children.  Jacob's wife Nancy and his sister, Elizabeth Shook, were midwives in the area. Nancy died in 1879.  

In 1880, Jacob lived with his newly-married daughter Mary and her husband Noah Michaels. Sometime before 1885, Jacob, his son Lewis, and the Michaels family decided to leave Illinois and and travel over 500 miles to live in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Jacob, Lewis, and Noah were all carpenters and probably worked together.

The Wood River Mission Church in Kearney, Nebraska.

In 1896, Jacob Kimmel moved one more time to Kearney Nebraska to join his daughter, Catherine Forney, and her family.  Jacob opened a carpenter shop at the back of Catherine's house.  

Catherine's husband, Samuel Michael Forney, was the minister of the Wood River Mission Church in Kearney, Nebraska, which was affiliated with the Dunkard Brethren.  During a special council on the afternoon of June 26, 1897, the Wood River Church reinstated "Brother Jacob Kimmel."  (I wonder why he had to be reinstated.)  By December 31, 1898, the church had 40 members.

Jacob died in Kearney on March 10,1910  at the age of 88 from cardiac failure. According to his obituary, he had made his own coffin before he died.

Jacob Kimmel with four generations of descendants, c. 1908.

52 Ancestors: #39 Mary Gertrude Resslein, the Ship's Cook

"Scene Between Decks", The Illustrated London News, July 6, 1850.

In the summer of 1850, my great-great-great grandmother, Mary Gertrude Resslein, left her homeland of Bavaria and boarded the ship Marathon at the Port of Le Havre, France.   Captain Henry S. Tyler commanded the 890-ton ship, which was built in 1849.  A thorough study of the ship manifest reveals that she was 28 years old and had brought 2 chests with her. A family story is that Gertrude worked as a ship's cook to earn her passage. There were 408 passengers listed on the ship manifest; two young women died from a fever during the voyage.

Gertrude's granddaughter, Stella McCammon, wrote a letter to her sister Bertha describing the
voyage. The wind blew the ship off course, and they ran out of drinking water. According to Stella, Gertrude slipped food to a stowaway from Luxembourg on the ship.  His name was George Holzlider.   Gertrude and George disembarked from the Marathon at New York on July 26, 1850. Less than a month later, they were married in Hamilton County, Ohio.

Hamilton County, Ohio Marriage Certificate

At some point, the Holzliders moved to Decatur County, Indiana and eventually to North Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. They raised five children, including my great great grandfather, William. Gertrude died at North Vernon sometime between 1880 and 1897.   It is not known where she is buried, but she may have been buried at a Potters Field in North Vernon.

52 Ancestors: #38 Nancy Tombaugh, Midwife of Richland County

The Illinois Medical Practice Act of 1877 included the creation of the Illinois Board of Health, which was charged with the responsibility of regulating physicians and midwives. Midwives would now be required to register with and be approved by the Illinois Board of Health.

"Midwives To Whom Certificates Have Been Issued" from the Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Illinois 

On December 15, 1877, Nancy Kimmel registered for a midwife certificate.  She was 54 years old and had practiced as a midwife for 15 years in Richland County, Illinois.  Her certificate was issued on October 19, 1878.

Nancy was born on May 8. 1821 in Akron, Ohio to Solomon Tombaugh and Catherine Myers. At the age of 21, Nancy Tombaugh married Jacob Kimmel on October 9, 1842 in Stark County, Ohio. Jacob's sister, Elizabeth Kimmel Shook, was also a midwife in Richland County.  Nancy and Jacob had seven known children. Their youngest child, Susanna, born in 1860, was my third great-grandmother.

On March 14, 1862, their 13-year-old daughter Sarah died of "winter fever" (an archaic term for pneumonia that was used only in Southern Illinois.)  Soon after Sarah's death, Nancy began her occupation as a midwife.  (Perhaps to keep her mind off of her loss?)

Nancy Kimmel died on May 9, 1879, less than a year after she received her midwife certificate.

52 Ancestors: #36 Adam McConnell Gowdy, Delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention

Cover of the 1851 Indiana State Constitution

My 4 times great-grandfather, Adam McConnell Gowdy, was born in 1809 near Bellbrook, Ohio, the eldest child of Andrew Gowdy and Mary McConnell.  He had two brothers and four sisters.

Among the papers I have inherited that belonged to Adam's son, John Kennedy Gowdy, I found a few interesting documents.  I believe the following history of Adam McConnell Gowdy was written by John K. Gowdy's daughter, Fanny Gowdy Mansfield.

When a child, as was the custom then, he was bound out to a farmer, John Van Eaton, who lived near Xenia,[Ohio].  John Van Eaton was a wheelwright and a member of the Old Seceder Church. 

The Old Seceder Church was a branch of the Presbyterian church. They were against Sabbath desecration, profanity, stage performances, use of charms, slavery, secret societies, intoxicating liquors, and dancing.

Fanny's story continues...

Adam McConnell Gowdy was not treated kindly by Van Eaton and ran away, walking to Rush County, Indiana.  There he met and married Nancy Oliver, daughter of John Oliver.  She was born in Fleming County, Kentucky and had moved with her parents to Rush County as a child.

Adam was a blacksmith and pioneer resident of Rush county and helped lay out the town of Rushville.  He and Nancy had five children together: Mary Jane (my 3 times great-grandmother), Martha Ann, Lewis Oliver, John Kennedy, and Adam Thomas.  It is interesting to note that both Mary Jane and Martha Ann were married at the age of 15.  John Kennedy Gowdy later became a famous Hoosier politician and served as the American Consul General to Paris during the McKinley administration.

Adam Gowdy gained quite a reputation as a public speaker and was active in politics.  He was elected in 1850 and served as a member of the Legislature of Indiana, which formed the Constitution of the State.  Having moved with his family in 1849 to Jasper County, Indiana, he was elected from the county, which comprised the territory now composed of Jasper, White, and Pulaski counties.

In 1857, Adam died in Xenia, Ohio due to unknown causes.  He was only 48.  Adam McConnell Gowdy is buried at Pioneer Cemetery in Bellbrook, Greene County, Ohio.

52 Ancestors: #33 Sarah Ann Lane's Album and a Shorthand Mystery

Sarah Ann Lane

Sarah Ann Lane was my third great-grandmother.  She was born on July 30, 1836.  Unfortunately, I don't know who her parents were or if she had any siblings.  I'm not even sure where she was born or where she lived before she was married.

I have some notes that my grandmother wrote in Gregg shorthand that contain information about Sarah's life.  The problem is that I can't read shorthand!  From what I can decipher, Sarah lived with the Hamilton family, and she may have come from Cincinnati on an orphan train.  I know that the initials "J. H." mentioned in the note stand for her husband, James Harvey Bird.

I really would like to know what the rest of this note says. Can anyone help me out with this?

My Grandmother's Shorthand Note.  

On Christmas day of 1864, Sarah received a photo album with the following inscription:
    
 A Christmas Gift
     To Sarah Lane,
     from T.G. Hamilton
     Dec. 25, 1864
     
I assume that T.G. Hamilton was a member of the Hamilton family mentioned in the shorthand note; however, I have not been able to find a census with Sarah living with the T.G. Hamilton family.  [EDIT on 12/7/14: Since posting this, I found a "Sarah Maine" listed as a domestic servant in the 1860 census in the household of William Warder Hamilton, T.G. Hamilton's brother!  I am pretty sure this is Sarah Lane; she is the right age and in the right place.]

Glass negative of Sarah Lane Bird.

On March 14, 1865, Sarah Lane was married to James Harvey Bird, a widower.  He was ten years her senior and already had seven children by his first wife.  Sarah and Harvey had three girls: Nina, Grace and Mary Edna (my great great grandmother.)

In 1873, Sarah gave birth to her only son. Sadly, Sarah and the baby both passed away in June of that year.  Since death records were not kept at that time in Decatur County, Indiana, I do not know the exact cause of her death.  She was only 36 years old.

Below is a slideshow of the 26 photographs contained in Sarah's album, given to her by T. G. Hamilton.  Sarah is in one of these photos herself, and there is a picture of her husband, James Harvey Bird.  The images are tintypes and carte de vistes. None of the pictures were originally identified. Fortunately, I was able to identify some of them by referring to labeled family pictures.

Because the number of photographs exceeds the limit for a slideshow, the album is divided into two parts.  Please let me know if you are able to identify any of these people.  Enjoy!



Below are the remaining eleven photographs.

52 Ancestors: #30 William O. Sefton, "Ohio Billy"

Edward Bebb Sefton, son of William O. Sefton, and his family.  They are standing in front of the farmhouse William built.

My 4th great-grandfather, William Sefton, was born in Butler County, Ohio on February 22,1806. His parents, Henry Sefton and Elizabeth Boyes, were immigrants from County Antrim, Ireland.  At the age of 25, William married Catherine Shuck on October 20, 1831. Seven years after they were married, the couple decided to begin farming in Decatur County, Indiana.  In order to prevent confusion, William added the middle initial "O" to his name, since there was already another William Sefton living in the same township.  The initial stood for his native state of Ohio.

William, Catherine, and their five children settled in a log cabin which  had been built on land owned by his father, Henry Sefton.  My great-great-great grandfather, Edward Sefton, was the first to be born in that cabin.  Over the years, as William grew in wealth, the log cabin was expanded into large farmhouse to accommodate his growing family.  He owned about a thousand acres of land, the end result of many years of toil and effort.

William O. Sefton was a Democrat in his political views, and though he was popular with his party, he never aspired to office.  He once served as a trustee, at a time when it took three men to transact all the business for the township of Clinton, where he lived.

"He was cautious and conservative in his business operations, and seldom made mistakes in his investments. Personally he was a man of fine character, social in his disposition, of undoubted integrity, and honored in all his dealings. He had a high standard of morality, never having used any bad language, and lived up to the commandments to the best of his knowledge, although he never united with any church." (from A Geographical and Biographical Record of Decatur County, Indiana by the Lewis Publishing Company, 1900, p. 374)

William O. Sefton died of an " attack of pneumonia" on October 29, 1862, when he was 62.

52 Ancestors: #26 George Holzlider, Stowaway from Luxembourg

Port of Havre, France, in 1841.

My 3 times great-grandfather, George Holzlider, had to flee for his life because he accidentally killed a rabbit.  His job was to flush out game for noblemen to hunt on the King's grounds in Luxembourg. In those days it was a crime to kill animals belonging to nobility.  After hiding in a dry well for a few days, George ventured his way to the French coast.  He stowed away on a ship that set sail from Havre, France bound for America.

According to George's granddaughter, Stella McCammon,  George became friends with the ship's young cook, who secretly gave him food.  Her name was Mary Gertrude. On August 13, 1850, George married her in Hamilton County, Ohio.  They were both 29.  He was a devout Protestant, and she was a Catholic.

George and Gertrude had two children while they lived in Ohio: Anna Mary and William (my great-great grandfather.)  Three more, Edward, Julia, and Lena, were born after the Holzliders moved to Jennings County, Indiana.  Lena, the youngest, was just six months old when her father enlisted in Co. D, 7th Decatur County Indiana Infantry on September 13, 1861.  He was discharged on September 20, 1864, after being wounded in the leg.  As a Civil War veteran, he received a pension of fourteen dollars a month.

After his wife died, George went to live with his granddaughter, Stella Holzlider McCammon, in Pierceville, Indiana. Sometime soon after, he fell out of a haymow and broke his hip.  George lived for two more weeks, then died on September 6, 1897 and was buried at St. Denis Cemetery in Zenas, Jennings County, Indiana. 

52 Ancestors: #16 Lavanche Emarine Trees, A Very Unusual Name

Lavanche (H. S. Stephens Studio, Rushville, Ind.)

I have always thought that my great great-grandmother, Lavanche Emarine Trees, had a very unusual name.  I believe she was named after her aunt Lavanche, who only lived for four years.  The name Emarine came from her great-grandmother, who was probably of English descent.  The Trees surname was an anglicized form of Driess, a German name.

Lavanche was born March 26, 1870 in Manilla, Indiana. Her father was Cyrus Ebon Trees, a very wealthy businessman from Manilla.  Her mother, Annie Elizabeth Inlow, a native of Fleming County, Kentucky, died when Lavanche was only six years old.  A year later, her father married again.  Lavanche's new stepmother was a young woman named Lottie Macy; there were eleven years of age difference between them.  Lavanche's half siblings, Lee Mull and Mary Catherine, were born in 1881 and 1884.

On August 2, 1893, Lavanche married John D. Green in her hometown of Manilla.  The couple had three children: James Cyrus, Mary Catherine, and Maurice Thomas.

When John and Lavanche were newly married, her father offered to send John to medical school in Louisville, Kentucky.  He graduated in 1896 and started his practice in Rush County. Lavanche completed two years of college herself and was a practical nurse, according to the 1940 census. She often was a hostess to her husband's patients.  Lavanche liked to crochet, knit, and sew.  She made a crazy quilt in 1899, which is still in the family.  I also have a topaz bracelet that belonged to her.

Tragedy came to the household when John and Lavanche's daughter Mary died from the measles before the age of six.  The youngest son, Maurice, had severe asthma.  Lavanche travelled with him to a hot springs resort in the south in the hope of improving his health.  He was only 26 years old when he died of tuberculosis, leaving behind a young widow.

After her husband died in 1921, Lavanche moved to Oxford, Ohio, to work as a housekeeper for an elderly couple.  In 1941, her daughter-in-law died, so she came back to Indiana to help take care of her grandson (my grandpa).

My grandpa wrote these words about her:  "She was a grand lady, yet not afraid of hard work; and she was a good businesswoman.  I had a terrible time accepting the loss of my mother.  Grandma's faith, strength, and example of self-reliance gave me purpose.  I grew to appreciate her love and what she was doing for me."

Lavanche died on November 11, 1960 in Greensburg, Indiana at the age of 90.