The Slaves of Barnaby Worland of Monroe County, Missouri

In the 1840's Barnaby owned land near an area called Old Clinton and Jonesburg.
The town was renamed North Fork and is shown at the top of this 1904 map.
http://www.mygenealogyhound.com/maps/missouri-maps/mo-monroe-county-missouri-1904-map.html

Schalene Dagutis of Tangled Roots and Trees has initiated a new genealogy project: The Slave Name Roll Project.  It provides a way for genealogists to trace their enslaved ancestors during a time when very little documentation of these people existed.  By digitzing and recording information about ancestors who owned slaves, others can help piece together their ancestor's lost stories.

Barnabas Worland (also called Barnaby) was born on January 5, 1777 in Maryland.  From there he migrated with his brother Thomas to Kentucky, settling in the Lexington area.  Sometime after 1828, Barnaby and his family relocated to Monroe County, Missouri.  Barnaby Worland married three times and was the father of 15 children.  His first wife was Theresa Hardy, and they had seven children: Matilda, Stephen, Theodore Sebastian, Vincent, Mary Theresa, Verlinda C., and George.  After Theresa died in 1816, Barnaby married Cecelia Gough and they had three children: John Henry, James Guy, and Mary C.  This second wife lived only ten years after their marriage.  Barnaby's third wife was Catherine Theresa Deerling.  Their children were Cecelia Agnes, Anna Gabriella, Sarah Catherine, Elizabeth Lewellen, and Barniellen (who was born after his death.)

The following is an excerpt from Barnaby's will, dated May 26, 1842, which I found in One Man's Family by Olive Lewis Kolb.

In the name of God, Amen:  I, Barnaby Worland of Monroe County and state of Missouri, being of sound mind and perfect memory have made this my last will and testament in manner and form viz:

After my just debts and funeral expenses shall have been paid, I give and bequeath to my beloved wife, Catherine Worland, the whole of the land I purchased of James and George Gough and the land I afterward purchased of James Gough, containing three hundred and thirty acres during her life time with an exception herein contained.  This farm shall be for her home and a residence for my unmarried daughters free of charge as long as they may live with her.  I also give to my beloved wife all my slaves viz -- Britt, Granville, Maria and her three children, Henry, George and William, together with every species of my personal property consisting of stock, agricultural implements, house hold and kitchen furniture together with all money in hands and all bonds not collected out of the uncollected funds as above appropriated.  I will and direct that my executrix shall invest the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars in Lands for the use and benefit of my two daughters Cecelia and Gabrilla, the title of which land shall be made to them and their children forever.  Furthermore it is my will and desire that my executrix or executor shall as soon as practicale purchase a Negro girl between the age of ten and thirteen years, the title of which girl shall be invested in my wife forever.

My further will is that at the death of my wife and youngest child being of full age my executor shall then proceed to sell all my personal estate; my slaves, and household and kitchen furniture excepted, of every description and divid the proceeds between my daughters Therese Combs, Verlinda Smith and Mary Worland.  As to my slaves at that time I give to my four daughters by my present wife viz - Cecelia - Gabrilla, Sarah Catharine and Lieu Ellen my negro woman Maria, together with her three children and any increase she (Maria) may in future have -- which slave are to be equally divided between my four daughters as before mentioned.  The remainder of the slaves viz -- Britt and Granville shall be equally disposed of as practicable without public sale between John H. Worland, Therese Combs, Verlinda Smith and Mary Worland, to them and their heirs forever.

On June 19, 1842, the day before he died, Barnaby Worland wrote an addition to his will:

Whereas, I, Barnaby Worland, upon reflection deem it proper to make some alterations in my will hereunto annex in manner and form as hereinafter mentioned viz . . . My further will and desire is that in the event of any of my heirs or legatees making any effort to prevent my will taking effect different from my intention every provision to them in my will shall be withdrawn and they shall be cut off with six and one fourth cents each, their interest or portion in this will to be divided among the other legatees. 

52 Ancestors 2015: #9 Ada Elizabeth Worland, World-Famous Incubator Baby

Ada Elizabeth Worland, age two.
The Indianapolis News, 24 Jun 1902, p. 3

Little Ada Elizabeth Worland, the 2-year-old daughter of of Edward and Nadia Worland ... enjoys the distinction of being the smallest child who has survived the incubator process.

At birth [she] weighed but one and one half pounds. She now weighs 16 pounds and is 28 inches tall. Her case is considered one of the most remarkable on record.  She was a 6-months child and so frail and delicate that it seemed that the least breath of air would blow her away.  There seemed no possiblility of saving her life.  The twin brother died at birth.

Source: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2279.htm

Dr. Conger... conceived the idea of trying the incubator plan.  A soap box was secured and a can containing one and one-half gallons of water was placed at the bottom.  A board was placed on top of the can and this was covered with cotton.  The top of the box was covered with a pane of glass and holes were bored in each end of the box for ventilation.  A sponge was hung inside to keep the atmosphere moist and a thermometer to regulate the temperature was suspended from the roof.

Nourishment was given the child by inunction [rubbing ointment or oil into the skin] and she lived on in spite of everything and grew stronger and stronger.  The water was changed frequently and the temperature kept at 90 degrees.  The incubator, which had been tried simply as an experiment, proved the means of saving the infant's life. (Indianapolis Sun, 31 Dec 1901, p. 5)

Ada Elizabeth Worland was born in Indianapolis on January 26, 1900 at a time when many premature babies did not survive.  Fortunately, Dr. Charles Conger knew something about infant incubation, a treatment that was not yet widely used.  Elizabeth Conger, Dr. Conger's wife, was also a trained medical doctor and assisted with the case.  Ada's parents expressed their gratitude to the Congers by using "Elizabeth" as their daughter's middle name.

By 1902, Ada was thriving.  About this time, however, Edward Worland contracted an illness that lasted for several months, rendering him unable to work.  To provide for the family, Nadia Worland sought employment.

Mrs. Worland is a pretty and gentle little woman, and not afraid to work...  A firm in the city supplied her with a wagon and horse, and she peddled oil about the streets until she had nearly 150 customers. About two weeks ago her husband was able to return to work, and the young woman abandoned her unusual vocation and is once more looking after household affairs.  (The Indianapolis News, 24 Jun 1902, p. 3)

Tragically, Nadia died of typhoid fever at the young age of 25, a few months after the above article was published.  Ada was not yet three years old.  After her struggle to survive, it is sad to think of Ada being deprived of her mother.  I don't know very much about Ada's life after this point -- I hope things got a little easier for her.  She eventually married, had three children of her own, and lived to be 84 years old.

One Year Blogiversary!

One year ago today I started my blog!  Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my posts.  Here are a few from the past year that are my favorites.

First post:  Mary Ida Sefton and Her 29 Roses

Most viewed post: Carrie C. Fields, Red Skelton's Aunt

Favorite post:  Fanny Gowdy and an American Romance in Paris

Longest post:  The Wartime Diary of Captain Willis E. Hedgecock

Shortest post: Nancy Tombaugh, Midwife of Richland County

Saddest post: Little Mary Catherine Green

Funniest post:  Nancy Oliver, Who Waited 3 Years For Groceries

And finally, the post with my favorite picture:

Dola M. Worland, Gold Star Mother

52 Ancestors 2015: #4 Mary Ann Williamson, Who Knitted Her Way To Indianapolis

"Old Woman Knitting a Sock" by Ivan Khrutsky
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Polly [as Mary Ann was also called] decided to go to Indianapolis to trade one day.  So she climbed on her little mule with her knitting.  She rode and she rode and she knitted and she knitted.  Finally, she met a soldier and asked, "How much farther is Indianapolis?"  He answered, "You passed through Indianapolis two miles back!!"

I found this humorous story in One Man's Family, written by Olive Lewis Kolb.  The tale is attributed to Mary Ann's son, Stephen Theodore Worland.

Mary Ann Williamson was born on October 20, 1811 in Kentucky.  (My 4th great grandmother and I share a birthday and a fondness for knitting!)  I don't have any information about her parents. According to Kolb, she may have been an adopted child.

On March 4, 1833, Mary Ann married Stephen Dominic Worland in Marion County, Indiana.  Stephen came from a Catholic family with deep roots in the history of early Maryland.  By 1840, the Worlands had settled in Shelby County, Indiana.  Mary Ann was the mother of 12 children, the oldest of which was my 3rd great grandfather, John William Worland.  Sadly, Mary Ann's three youngest children did not live past infancy.

Sometime between 1859-1860, the Worlands moved to Millwood, Missouri.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, Missouri was divided on the issue of slavery.  By 1863, conditions there were tumultuous and unstable. The Worlands decided to move back to Indiana.  Tilson Vincent Worland, Mary Ann's grandson, recounted the Worland family's return to Indiana from Missouri:

I have heard my father, Stephen Theodore, tell of the trip back to Indiana.  The womenfolk returned by train, but grandfather [Stephen Dominic Worland] and his six sons drove through bringing six horses. They ferried the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and followed the old National Trail from St. Louis through Terre Haute, Indiana, to Indianapolis.  It took a week to travel from St. Louis to Terre Haute and they never saw the sun all week.  They had a dog, and after reaching Indiana ... the dog disappeared and several weeks later showed up at the old Missouri home.  How the dog crossed the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers on his return home is still a mystery.   (One Man's Family by Olive Lewis Kolb, pages 1044-1045.)

In 1879, two of Mary Ann's children, 43 year-old Sarah Ann Oefelein and 35 year-old George Tilson Worland, died within the space of two months.  I wonder if there was an epidemic of some kind in Shelby County, Indiana at that time.

Mary Ann Williamson Worland died on December 23, 1894 at the home of her son Stephen and was buried next to her husband at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery in Waldron, Shelby County, Indiana.

52 Ancestors: #51 Emily Ann Montgomery, a Posthumous Child

Illustration by unknown artist.

I was a posthumous child.  My father's eyes had closed upon the light of this world six months, when mine opened upon it.  There is something strange to me, even now, in the reflection that he never saw me; and something stranger yet in the shadowy remembrance that I have of my first childish associations with his white gravestone in the churchyard, and of the indefinable compassion I used to feel for it lying out there alone in the dark night. (From The Personal History and Experience of David Copperfield the Younger by Charles Dickens.)

These words help me imagine what life might have been like for my third great-grandmother, Emily Ann Montgomery.  According to One Man's Family by Olive Lewis Kolb, Emily was a posthumous baby.

Emily Montgomery was born April 24, 1838, the eighth and last child of John and Elizabeth Montgomery. Her father passed away only a month before her birth, on March 6th.  Emily's mother remarried twice after John Montgomery died, first to Jacob Shiplet, then finally to a man with the surname Bly or Blythe.

Just a few days prior to her 19th birthday, Emily married John William Worland on April 20, 1857 in Shelby County, Indiana.  They had a family of nine children: George Isom, Cecilia Elyrine, Mary Elizabeth, Samuel Montgomery, Lewis Milburn, Martha, Zerada Frances, Lucy Burnetta, and Sarah Ella.

A devout Catholic, Emily was a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shelby County.  Six days after her 77th birthday, Emily passed away at the home of her daughter, Lucy Burnetta Hendricks.  She is buried at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery in Waldron, Indiana.

52 Ancestors: #42 Thomas Worland's Wheel Chart

Thomas Worland's Wheel Chart, which includes 75 grandchildren.
I descend from Thomas' son Stephen, then from Stephen's son John.

One of most useful and interesting genealogical treasures I have inherited is a book about the Worland family.  One Man's Family, written by Olive Lewis Kolb with the help of two Worland descendants, is well over 1000 pages long, including maps, biographical sketches, wills, and family pedigrees.  Hidden within its many pages is this wheel chart of Thomas Worland's family. The wheel chart makes it easy to see how often family names are reused.

Thomas Worland was the eldest son of John Worland III and Mary Brady.  He was born June 11, 1774 in Maryland, probably in Prince George's County.  He assumed responsibility very early in life.  His father's will, written just before Thomas' 16th birthday, named him as co-executor with his mother. (One Man's Family by Kolb)

Thomas married nineteen year-old Virlinda Hardy on December 8, 1799 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Thomas and his wife raised a large family of 13 children, who all reached adulthood.  Barnabas, a younger brother of Thomas, married Virlinda Hardy's sister, Theresa.

Thomas, Barnabas, and most of the Worland family joined with about 60 other Catholic families in a compact to migrate to Kentucky between 1785 and 1807. This migration was inspired by the great poverty being endured in Maryland and the promise of a better life in Kentucky. By 1810, almost all of the Worland known to be living at that time were in Kentucky.  (One Man's Family by Kolb)

Thomas and Barnabas Worland [were] worthy and respectable citizens, always in active and useful occupation. (The History of Pioneer Lexington, Kentucky by Charles R. Staples)  Thomas and his brother Barnabas seem to have been very closely associated until Thomas decided to leave Kentucky in 1828 and begin a new life in Indiana.  They likely never saw each other again, since Barnabas later gathered up his family and permanently settled in Missouri.

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church

Thomas took up his residence in a roughly-hewn log cabin situated near the Little Blue River, one mile east of Shelbyville.  In the fall of 1828, the first Catholic Mass in history of Shelby County, Indiana occured in this house.  At that time, the congregation numbered about 30 members.  On September 6, 1838, a contract was signed to build a church for $619.00 on two acres of land donated by Thomas Worland. The St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was built in 1839.

Two of Thomas' daughters, Mary Ann and Eleanor, entered convents. Eleanor became "Sister Mary Saint Paul"; Mary Ann became "Sister Mary Clara."  Sister Mary Clara later wrote a book entitled Lives Of the Saints, where she described the Worland family's influence on Catholicism in Shelby County.

Thomas Worland's youngest daughter, Eulilia, was "feeble-minded." According to Thomas' will, five hundred dollars (in addition to her portion of the estate) was to be set aside after his death for her support.  She only lived nine more years after her father died.

Thomas Worland died July 13, 1850 in Shelby County, Indiana.  He was buried at St. Vincent's Catholic Cemetery, on the land he donated to the church.

52 Ancestors: #28 Lewis Milburn Worland and the Cross-cut Saw

Lewis Milburn Worland, Shelbyville, Indiana

My great-great grandfather Lewis Milburn Worland was born May 26, 1867 in Shelby County, Indiana.  His parents were John William "Smokey John" Worland and Emily Montgomery.  Lewis was the fifth of nine children. As a young adult, Lewis was worked on his father's farm, along with his two older brothers.

Lewis was married to Rebecca Annabel Fisher on January 18, 1894.  At 37, Rebecca was ten years older than her husband.  The picture on the left was taken just prior to his leaving for Jasper Count, Indiana to claim Rebecca as his bride.

The couple had two sons and a daughter: Leonard, Dola, and Luther.   Leonard and Dola were born when Lewis and Rebecca lived in Jasper County.  For a short time, the Worlands resided in Jennings County, which is where their daughter Dola later met her husband, Clyde Holtzlider.

Worland family c. 1901.

Lewis was a farmer for most of his life, but for a time he was a sheriff in Milhousen, Decatur County.  Lewis' son, Leonard, also became a sheriff.  My grandma, Martha Holtzlider, used to visit her uncle Leonard at the Shelby County jail.  She remembered taking food to the prisoners and sliding the trays under the doors.

Six of Lewis' grandchildren served during WWII.  His grandson and namesake, Milburn Holtzlider, posthumously received the Purple Heart Award after he was shot by a sniper at Iwo Jima.

On July 17, 1947,  Lewis died from a heart attack.  He had been cutting wood using a cross-cut saw; he was 80 years old.  A month later, his wife Rebecca had a paralytic stroke and passed away.

52 Ancestors: #21 Rebecca Annabel Fisher, "Aunt Annie"

Rebecca and three of her six sisters.
Clockwise, from top left: Eliza Jane, Mary Ellen,
Minerva C., and Rebecca Annabel Fisher.

Rebecca Annabel Fisher was born November 8, 1857 in Marion County, Indiana.  Her parents were Henry James Fisher and Nancy Elizabeth McLaughlin.  (The story is handed down that Henry and Nancy eloped to be married.) She grew up in a large household, being the eighth of ten children.  Her father was an entrepreneur in the tile making business in Jasper County, Indiana.

Rebecca's sister,  Eliza Jane, died in 1880 at the age of 19.  She left behind a newborn daughter, Mary Lillie Ellen.  Rebecca, unmarried and living with her parents, helped to raise her niece.

At the age of 36, Rebecca married Lewis Milburn Worland in Rensselaer, Indiana. He was ten years younger than her. They had two sons, Leonard and Luther, and one daughter, Dola (my great grandmother.)  The Worlands first settled in Jasper County then relocated to Shelby County, Indiana around 1900.

They moved to Jennings County, Indiana around 1915.  Soon after they moved, their daughter Dola met her future husband Clyde Holtzlider at the United Brethren Church in Pierceville.

Worlands, c. 1897: Lewis, Leonard, Rebecca, and Dola.

 Rebecca (right) and her niece Mary Lillie Ellen

Rebecca lived to be nearly 90 years old.  By the time she reached old age, she was completely blind. She died at her daughter's house in Greensburg on August 30, 1947 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville, Indiana.  Her husband had died only a month before her.

52 Ancestors: #20 Clyde Ellison Holtzlider and "The Old Homestead"

Left to right: Stella, Clyde, Russell, Omar, and Gertie standing in front of their barn in Pierceville.

My great grandfather, Clyde Ellison Holtzlider, was born on March 3, 1895 in North Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. His parents were William Holzlider and Ella Dorothy Smith.  Clyde's grandfathers, George Holzlider and Andrew Smith, were both immigrants and Civil War veterans.  They were even in the same regiment.  Clyde had five siblings: Mary Gertrude (Gertie), Stella, Omar, Russell, and Bertha.  Clyde was first of his family to add a "t" to their last name, changing it from "Holzlider" to "Holtzlider."

"The Old Homestead" in Pierceville.

The family bought a 40-acre farm in Pierceville, Indiana for $700. Clyde and Omar helped their father clear the land.   In Pierceville, there was a church, a store, and a blacksmith shop.  Clyde's sister Stella later married the blacksmith, Mason McCammon.

When Clyde was about 13 years old, the family's house in Pierceville caught on fire, and the family Bible was destroyed. The two youngest children, Russell and Bertha, were carried out of the house and placed on a featherbed in the yard.

Clyde met Dola Worland at the United Brethren Church (now known as the New Bethel Church) in Pierceville.  They were married on August, 30 1916. They had five sons and three daughters together.  Four of their children (Ellison, Garnet, Marian, and Milburn) served in World War II.  Milburn was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart after he was shot by a sniper at Iwo Jima.

Stella, Clyde, and Gertie at their childhood home in 1968.

In his later years, Clyde spent many hours playing pool and liked to take roadtrips with his siblings.  In 1963, he took a trip to Hollywood, California with Stella and Bertha.  Clyde, Stella, and Gertie revisited "the old homestead" in Pierceville on July 24, 1968.

Clyde died on December 26, 1980 in Greensburg, Indiana.  All of the Holzlider siblings lived to be at least 80 years old and remained in Indiana throughout their lives.

52 Ancestors: #5 Dola M. Worland, Gold Star Mother

Dola and her cousin Ralph Worland, c. 1913
  

Clyde and Dola with their four youngest children in 1943

In 1943, Dola Worland Holtzlider had the distinction of having four children serving in the armed forces.  She became a Gold Star mother two years later when her 19 year-old son Milburn was shot by a sniper at Iwo Jima. Milburn was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Dola M. Worland was my great grandmother.  She was born July 29, 1897 in Jasper County, Indiana.  Her parents were Lewis Milburn Worland and Rebecca Annabel Fisher.  She had two brothers -- Leonard and Luther. For a while, the small family lived with her grandparents.  Eventually, they moved to their own farm in Shelby County, Indiana.

On August 30, 1916, Dola married Clyde Holtzlider.  They lived in Jennings County, where their first two children, Ellison and Reba,  were born.  Soon after Reba was born, the Holtzliders relocated to Decatur County.  Sadly, in April of 1920, six-month old Reba died from pneumonia.  The couple had six more children:  Garnet, Marian, Milburn, Martha (my grandmother), Fred, and Paul.   

Dola sewed clothing for her own family and as a way to make money.  She liked gardening and planted hollyhocks and peonies in her yard.  She enjoyed cooking.  I have made her banana bread recipe many times.

Dola died on December 27, 1979 in Greensburg, Indiana.