Clues to the Mystery of Clara – The Letter (part 3)

Before delving in to “the” letter, let me back up a bit. When I created my very first genealogy website (still online – just not as updated as I’d like) over ten years ago, I had posted some information about my grandfather’s foster sister, Eva. Imagine my surprise when someone left a comment for me that informed me that Eva was her mother! Say what?! The writer had been put up for adoption similar to how Eva’s life began. Then I saw a picture of the person who had contacted me, and there was no doubt at all that she was Eva’s daughter. She told me her story and how she eventually did get to meet Eva before her death. And just like Eva, she was searching for the elusive Clara as well as the man who would have been Eva’s father. I vaguely remembered that somewhere in my possession I had a letter that Eva had written to my grandparents that mentioned her biological parents. So one day several months ago – on the off chance that I could find the letter – I went into the black hole that is my genealogical filing cabinet. (Okay, disclaimer here – I really didn’t go looking for that letter. I was going through papers to see if there was something I needed to scan or enter in to my family tree database.)

But then – there “it” was. My grandmother – oh, if she were alive – I could have kissed her – she had written on the envelope “Eva’s letter about her father.” OHMYGOODNESS! So I took it out, sat down and read the letter. As with the news article (and everything else I’ve been told about family stories), I took the information with a grain of salt. I needed documentation. But – I needed to tell Eva’s daughter what I had found.

Instead of typing the letter word for word on Facebook private messaging, I gave her a few highlights and then emailed her a scan of the letter so she could read everything in her biological mother’s handwriting. She shared with her half-brother’s daughters. Granddaughters of Eva who had known her – yet it was still a mystery to them. Anything their father, Eva’s son, knew – he didn’t disclose for their relationship was pretty non-existent for several decades.

And now, I present to you, the reader, THE letter.

 

So now you understand my excitement! I had two new names to research! And just what would I find?

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Roots – 2015 (Canada)

Recently, I received information from Johanne Gervais that said:

I was wondering if you would post something for all your followers of French Canadian descent. The Quebec Family History society presents Roots 2015 – An international conference on family history in Quebec from June 19-21, 2015 at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest English language genealogical conference held in Quebec. For further information you could go to http://www.qfhs.ca/cpage.php?pt=174

I went to the link provided and it appears that this is sponsored by the Quebec Family History Society that will presented on June 19, 20 and 21. Keynote speaker will be Rick Roberts, Founder of Global Genealogy. There will be information on the Canadian version of Ancestry.com; how to find land and probate records in Quebec; DNA testing; the War of 1812 in Quebec, and much more!

I do not have ancestors that have lived in Quebec or any part of Canada (at least, I haven’t come across them!) but if you are a reader of this blog and feel that this conference would be something for you, please go to the link provided above and check it out.

Disclaimer: I did not solicit this information and have no ties to the Quebec Family History Society or any of the companies involved in this conference.

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The Johnson Mules – Week 5 (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

I have three pictures of my Johnson ancestors with mules – two of them in particular. I can’t say for certain these two mules were used to plow the fields.  The first photo (above) wasn’t easy to scan – it is in a frame, and I don’t want to take it out in fear of damaging it. The only way I could digitize the picture was to take a digital photo of it. The “bubble” glass isn’t conducive to that (and without the flash the photo wouldn’t have come out at all). This is my maternal great-grandfather, John Lafayette Johnson, born in Howard county, Indiana on March 2, 1861. The first census (1880) I found for him shows him as a 19 year old man working as a laborer on the Isaac Goble farm in Rush county. (I have been unable to locate the 1870 census for him.) In 1900, he is married to Katie J Blazer and living at 1524 Forkner Street in Anderson with their two sons, 13 year old Letis, and 1 year old Glen (my grandfather). His occupation is listed as “rod roler.” Ten years later the family is still living in Anderson but at 434 17th Street. This time Letis (age 23) and Glen (age 11) are joined by baby sister, Mary, age 1, and John’s father, (James) Wilson, age 80.  John’s occupation is listed as huckster – a salesman. In 1920, John and Katie have lost their oldest son and baby girl but have added Glen’s wife, Vesta (my grandmother), and a foster daughter, Eva, to the family along with a grandson (my uncle – age 2 1/2). John’s occupation is Vendor – Retail and my grandfather’s occupation is Expressman.

My grandfather, Glen R. Johnson, with the mules

So about those mules?

The only thing I could come up with is that the family probably did have a garden – more than likely a very large garden. Perhaps they used the mules to plow the garden or maybe they just had mules! Notice that I don’t have pictures of the mules AND a plow. Just mules. Some people have horses – my Johnson ancestors had mules.

I tend to prefer this cute little mule: 

Mule and Flower Box on the Littrell family farm in Missouri

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time! This week’s challenge is “Plowing Through” – do you have an ancestor who had to plow through – fields, snow, a tough time?

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Clues to the Mystery of Clara – Clara Badgly

In the previous post, the Anderson (Indiana) Herald’s article about reuniting mother and daughter gave the name of Eva Louise Johnson’s birth mother as Clara Badgly. So I set out to see if I could locate this mysterious woman. The best place to start is to look at census records for 1910 since Eva was born in October 1910.

In order to get a better group of results, I wanted to find women who would be within child-bearing age in 1910 – someone age 14-50 (taking to the extreme on both ends). Eva was conceived in January so by the census date of April, I would have a pretty good idea of how probable it would be to rule out someone. I want to look at all different spellings: Clara/Clare/Clair/Clarra/Clora and Badgly/Badgley/Badgeley/Badglie.

I can rule out the Clara Badgly born about 1899, age 11, who is living with her parents, Frank and Grace, in Shelbyville, Indiana. I can also rule out Clara Badgley who is a newborn infant living with her parents, Sydney and Grace, in Anderson, Indiana.

There is a Clare Badgley age 43 living in Perry township of Marion county. She is married to Lewis and the household consists of Lewis’ two older children in their 20s, Clare’s six year old daughter from a previous marriage and the couple’s one year old son. The seat of Marion county is Indianapolis. The town of Fortville, where Eva was born on the interurban car, is half-way between Indy and Anderson where Katie and John Johnson lived. So Clare Badgley could be a possible candidate as Eva’s birth mother. The one year old son makes her a strong improbability but it is not an impossibility. In the 1920 census, she is now a 53 year old widow living with her daughter and son-in-law in Indianapolis. The one year old son from the 1910 census is not living with them.

There is also a Clora Badgley living at 1930 Nichol Avenue in Anderson. She was 52 years old and living with her husband, Joseph, and two of her three chidren. It is her second marriage and her husband’s first. In 1910 they had been married 31 years. The youngest child is 16. They lived a little less than a mile and a half away from my great-grandparents. If Clara was Eva’s biological mother, she would have been in pretty close proximity to the girl and quite possibly might have even known John and Katie. Again, I can’t rule out this Clara just because she is over 50 but as with the previous woman, the length of marriage and having children in the household makes this woman improbable.

A Cora Bagley, age 29, is married and the mother of a six year old daughter in the 1910 census. She is living in Duck Creek, a township of Madison county. This woman could also be a good possibility. Ten years later, she and her husband are at the same location and have added another daughter to their household.

All of the women (not the young children) mentioned above are using their married name. According to the news article in the previous post, Badgley was the woman’s maiden name. 

Since the news article mentioned Chicago, I took a look at the 1910 Chicago directory. The Badgley residents: Bert and Edward L., home address 1341 Glenlake Avenue; Edward, Hannah and Joseph,  831 Sedgwick; Fannie, 1712 Park Avenue; Louis, 6242 Wayne Avenue; Rufus, 1941 Hancock; and Timothy, 850 Monticello Avenue. For residents with the surname Bagley, there are quite a few.

There is a 26 year old Clara Biagley residing with her cousin and his family in Chicago. She is single and her birth place is listed as Illinois. Prior to giving birth on the eastern side of Indiana, it is improbable that Eva’s birth mother resided in Illinois. In 1910, that would have been a long way for a pregnant woman to travel – especially so close to the time of giving birth.

Based on the information found in directories and census records, it seems rather unlikely that any of these women were Eva’s biological mother. So the mystery seemed to come completely to a stand still.

Until the letter was found.

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Close to Me – Week Four (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time!

Week number four’s challenge is “Closest to your birthday” and is about an ancestor who shares the same birth month and day.

The first ancestor that comes to mind is my great-grandmother, Frances V. Ogan, who was the mother of my paternal grandmother, Ella Maria House. I have written about Frances before in Mystery Surrounding Frances V. Ogan. She was born exactly 115 years before me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any new information about her that could solve the mystery. She is the only direct ancestor who shares my birthday. Other collateral relatives that I share a birthday with include a close family member; my first cousin on my dad’s side; a second cousin on my dad’s side; and Orlow Barnes – my third cousin once removed on the Johnson side (maternal) of my family.

One direct ancestor died on my birthday – Anna Burnham. She was born abt 1644 and died in 1722. She married Samuel Gaines on May 1, 1668 probably in Massachusetts. Anna and Samuel were my 7th great-grandparents.

There were no marriages reported among my direct ancestors that occurred on my birthday.

In summary, since Frances V. Ogan is the only direct ancestor that shares my birthday, perhaps that is why I feel I must leave no stone unturned in order to figure out her origins.

 

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Clues to the Mystery of Clara–The News Article

Mother and Daughter to Be Reunited By Story In Herald

Echoes of twenty years ago were sounded yesterday when a mother and daughter who had been separated for that length of time found each other through the medium of The Anderson Herald. Twenty years ago October 2, 1910 a baby girl was born on an interurban car at Fortville. The child and mother were brought to St. John’s hospital here.

Limited circumstances prompted the mother to give her daughter to a woman at Fortville, who promised to rear the child. Four years ago the foster parent, Mrs. Charles Johnson, died. Shortly before her death Mrs. Johnson told her daughter, Eva Mary, about the adoption.

Several years ago Miss Johnson married John Skinner of Fortville. During the past four years, Mrs. Skinner has made every possible effort to find her real mother. Several days ago a letter was received at the Herald office from a woman in Chicago who saw an advertisement in a magazine carrying the name of Eva Mary Johnson mentioning her adoption when three days old at St. John’s hospital.

The woman, Mrs. Clara Badgly Grennells, 810 Berry Avenue, Chicago, requested The Herald to print her appeal. Mrs. Skinner read the story which appeared Tuesday and is in communication with the Chicago woman. A meeting is to be arranged soon. Mrs. Skinner said she is confident that Mrs. Grennels is her mother as her mother’s maiden name was Clara Badgly.

And with that newspaper article, the search for the missing Clara began. I urge you to go back to a previously written post – Independent From Birth to read about the woman searching for Clara – my grandfather’s foster sister – Eva – before continuing on.

Go ahead – I’ll wait . . .

Now for the inconsistencies that I know of: Eva’s full name was Eva Louise Johnson. The only reason I can think of that she would go by Eva Mary is because Mary was the name of the birth daughter of her foster parents. My grandfather’s baby sister, born in November 1909, died before she was a year old so perhaps my great-grandmother smashed the names together when she spoke to Eva. Maybe she really did grow up as Eva Mary but somewhere along the way became Eva Louise.

The next error is the name of the woman who agreed to take Eva – it is not Mrs. Charles Johnson. It was Mrs. John Johnson. My great-grandmother was married to John Lafayette Johnson. In the 1910 census there are two other married adult “Charles Johnson’s” living in Anderson, Indiana. One is age 63 and married to his second wife, Fannie, age 37 with their fourteen year old son, Stanley. The other Charles Johnson is 23 and his wife, Alta, is two years younger. In the 1920 census there is not any household with a daughter, Eva, aged 9-10, with Charles Johnson as Head of the Household.

The third error is the birth date. Eva’s date of birth has always been given as October 5, 1910 but if there is truth that she was three days old when Great-grandmother Katie took Eva then it would make her birth date October 2 but was given the October 5 birthday instead. Katie died in May 1930 so that would make the article dated in 1934 as it says “four years” since Katie’s death.

Eva as a young married woman and with husband, John Skinner

On the 1930 Census taken a month before Katie died, in April 1930, Eva listed her age as nineteen and reported she had been married at age 18. They also had a son, Charles, who was four months old. The family was living at 1618 Cincinnati Avenue in Anderson, Indiana – a three bedroom, one bath two-story home built in 1900. They were living there with two other families and renting a room. John was a machinist working for an auto parts factory.

1618 Cincinnati Avenue

Within four years after that census was taken, Eva would begin her journey to find her biological mother.

The newspaper clipping mentions a reunion. There were blatant errors in the first two paragraphs of the article. Could there possibly be more? Would Eva get the reunion she so desperately wanted?

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Tough as Nails – Week Three (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time!

The theme for this week is “Tough Woman” and could be a woman in the family that is strong and tough or a female ancestor that is tough to research.

I’m writing about someone who is not my ancestor but ties in to my family via my maternal great-grandparents. In October 1910 a young woman gave birth to a baby girl on an interurban car somewhere near Fortville, Indiana. The woman was taken to the St. John’s hospital where she encountered my great-grandmother, Katie (Blazer) Johnson, and asked her to take care of her baby girl. The young woman was unmarried. Katie agreed and began the rest of her life dedicated to being Eva Louise Johnson’s mother.

Editor’s note: right after I wrote the paragraph above, I did more research and realized that there is so much more to this story! So I will finish this by pointing to some earlier blog posts I had written: Independent from Birth and Update on Eva.

More to the story about Eva’s mother will be forthcoming, and it’s really exciting!

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A King by Any Other Name – Week Two (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time!

The theme for Week #2 is “King” and Amy noted: “January 8 is Elvis’ birthday. January 15 is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Do either of these “Kings” remind you of an ancestor? Or, taken another way, do you have a connection to royalty? Did you ancestor flee from an oppressive king?”

Of course the first thing I saw was “Elvis Presley” and all other thought went out the window!  My sister-in-law was an Elvis fan – a very big one! She was born Phyllis Anne Pearson on August 9, 1941 to Forrest Orville Pearson and Helen Jane Manning in Troy, Ohio. When she was born, her older brother was almost three. Her parents were divorced and by 1952, Forrest had remarried and was expecting a child with his wife. Unfortunately, the little boy was born prematurely and didn’t survive. Phyllis also had a younger half-sister. Her mother had also remarried. As a child, she contracted polio; consequently, one leg was a tad shorter than the other and that foot was half the size of her other one.

By the end of 1960, Phyllis was working at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton and met my brother, Jim. He had tried to enlist in the US Air Force but due to his eyesight and a bad shoulder, he was honorably discharged. Unable to follow in the footsteps of our father and grandfather, he found work at the same hospital as Phyllis. On February 1, 1961 the two of them married at the parsonage of the First Reformed Church of Xenia (Ohio) by Rev. Russell Mayer. Their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Fuchs, were their attendants. The reception was held at my parents’ home in Beavercreek, Ohio. My brother had turned 21 years old a month previous – on January 2 – and Phyllis was 20.

I wasn’t at the wedding – because I wasn’t even born yet!  When my mother asked my grandmother on Easter of 1961 how she would feel about becoming a grandmother again, everyone looked at Phyllis, who immediately exclaimed, “It’s not me!” So Phyllis had been a part of my family even before I was born. She and my brother would keep me at their house on weekends here and there. I was at their house when I broke out in chicken pox at the age of six. They would get real ice cream for me from the ice cream truck whenever I spent time with them.

My sister, brother Jim holding me and Phyllis

Phyllis’ personality was big. Everyone knew when she had entered a room. She had a voice that carried and a laugh I still hear in my daughter – who laughs a lot like Phyllis. She was tall and carried quite a bit of weight but she could dress in lovely skirt suits and blouses. Her blonde hair was always coiffed. I remember her purse – she always had a big one. We always teased her that she needed an even bigger one! To her family, she was Anne, but to us – Jim’s family – she was Phyllis. She and my brother took me to see “Jaws” when it came out in the movie theaters. I can still hear her yell when that shark came up out of the water!

When she and my brother adopted their son, she was so happy – they both were. I had a new nephew, and he was a darling. Phyllis was always laughing and making jokes. And she would talk about possibly going to an Elvis concert. It was after he had released “Moody Blue” but then he died. She was in shock – along with half of country.

She and my brother divorced in 1998 but she would always be my sister. Whenever we traveled to Ohio to visit my family, I always made sure to see her. She was a passenger in a car accident which badly damaged her polio stricken foot. The doctors weren’t sure if she would be able to keep it but she did. By that time her weight had ballooned, and she spent a lot of time in a wheelchair. She was afraid to use her foot as damaged as it was. Then came the answer we all thought would help – gastric bypass.

After the surgery, she would write to me that she wasn’t sure it was worth it. She wasn’t able to keep anything down and some of her family members were treating her differently. I kept teasing her that soon she could go bikini shopping! When we saw her in the summer of 2006, she still had that wit and laugh, but truth be told, her appearance was startling. She had gone to from at least 400 lbs to under 200 lbs. Her face, which had always been round and “jolly,” had lost that roundness. Then when we saw her the following summer, she was walking with a walker and seemed to have a breathing issue, as if any movement just wore her out. She didn’t speak much, and I can’t remember if I heard her laugh that evening. She seemed to have a hard time sitting. Her face was devoid of joy and happiness. I know she was still in mourning after losing her mother earlier that spring. Looking back on that evening, I should have realized something was off but I chalked it up to her grief and not seeing her for a year. She had lost even more weight.

In 2008, we were in Ohio in June, to visit my mother who had her own illness to battle. I called Phyllis to ask her if we would be able to see her but she said that she just hadn’t been feeling well and wanted to rest. I thought she might have a kidney infection or something but the following month I received a call from my nephew who told me that Phyllis had been hospitalized, and it didn’t sound good. He didn’t go in to detail but I could tell that he was scared. The next day – July 27, 2008 – my cousin called in tears to tell me that Phyllis had died. I just couldn’t believe it. She had been so full of life for as long as I had known her. I wondered if having the gastric bypass had done her in since she hadn’t been able to eat very much after she had the surgery. It wasn’t until that fall when my sister and I were visiting our mother in Ohio that we asked my nephew exactly what happened. He said the doctors had told him that she had kidney cancer. I wonder if she even knew and had chosen not to endure chemotherapy. Now, I believe that when I had seen her in the summer of 2007, she probably had the cancer then, and was starting to feel the pain. I think she had just given up.

I miss getting letters from her – I miss her laugh and the way she could tell a story! I miss her because even though she and my brother had divorced, she was a link to him after he passed away – to the life they had lived happily when I was a child. Not only did my mother survive her son but also her daughter-in-law. My nephew had already lost his father, then his maternal grandmother, then his mother and the following spring, my mom – his paternal grandmother. A few weeks after my mom died, Phyllis’ brother passed away. My nephew endured a lot in a short span of time. It was times like that, I wish we were closer.

So, on the anniversary of Elvis’ birth, I remember my sister-in-law, Phyllis Anne Pearson Amore. I hope she’s at peace and laughing.

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A Fresh Start in Research – Week One (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small continues the challenge to the geneablogging world to write a blog post weekly on one ancestor. This could be a photo, a story, biography, or a post on the weekly theme. To read her challenge please go to Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. Feel free to join in at any time!

The first week’s theme centers around “Fresh Start” and immediately several things came to mind – namely, what person or family do I want to look at with fresh eyes? It is the family of my second great-grandfather’s brother, James J. Johnson, who is a collateral ancestor.

Instead of writing about the family in this post, I’m going to list those things which I have documented because I can’t get a “fresh start” unless I only state what is true (according to the sources).

On February 28, 1848 James J. Johnson and Dolly Mullis were granted a marriage license in Rush county, Indiana and married on March 4, 1848.

John J. Johnson is listed by name in the 1850 Census enumerated on September 7, 1850 living in Union twp, Rush county, Indiana. He is listed as age 27 making his birth in 1823 and lists his place of birth as Ohio. His occupation was farmer. Living in the household was Dolly Johnson, age 25, born in North Carolina, and could not read or write. A one year old child, Ann M. Johnson, born in Indiana also resided in the house.

In 1856, John J. Johnson is listed as guardian for Jemima E. Johnson, his younger minor sister after the death of their father, Jacob Johnson.

On July 29, 1870 J. J. Johnson was enumerated in the 1870 Census. He was living in Stony Creek twp, Madison county, Indiana. Johnson was a 47 year old farmer, born in Ohio, with a personal income as $900 and a real estate value of $4000. Others in the household included: Dolly Johnson, age 44, born in North Carolina; 12 year old Rosa A. Johnson, listed “at home,” born in Indiana, and had attended school in the last year; and John J. N. (or J. M.) Johnson, age 7, listed “at home,” born in Indiana, and attended school within the year.  Two others in the household included: 55 year old Sophia Mullis, born in North Carolina, with a personal property value of $1400, and who could neither read nor write and Thomas Mullis, a 42 year old farmer born in North Carolina, with a real estate value of $3000 and a personal property value of $2000 and could not write.

On June 11, 1880, John J. Johnson is enumerated living in Stony Creek twp, Madison County, Indiana at age 57. He is a farmer, married, and born in Ohio. He lists his father as born in New Jersey and his mother born in Pennsylvania. He is living with his wife, Dolly Johnson, age 55, who was born in North Carolina as were both of her parents. Daughter, Rosa A. Milburn, is age 22, married, born in Indiana. She lists her parents as born in Ohio and North Carolina. Son, John M. Johnson, is a farmer age 17, born in Indiana, and lists his parents born in Ohio and North Carolina. Grandson, Edward D. Milburn is age 3, born in Indiana and his parents are listed as born in Indiana.

The History of Madison County lists the story of how John J. Johnson’s neighbor, Coleman Hawkins, tried to kill him on the night of December 5, 1888. The article mentions that Johnson had been a postmaster in the area of Johnson’s Crossing near Stony Creek twp in Madison county, Indiana and mentions Johnson’s daughter, Miss Rosa Johnson.

John J. Johnson’s obituary on the front page of the Anderson Democrat on October 14, 1892 stated that he died instantly while sitting in a chair after he had returned from visiting a daughter in Knightstown. The physical description of him said that he was over 6 foot tall and large in proportion.

Dolly (Mullis) Johnson is listed on the 1900 Census as still residing in Stony Creek twp.  She is a widow and the mother of 5 children but only four living.

The obituary for Dolly Johnson that ran in the February 25, 1908 edition of the Anderson Herald states that she was 82 years old and was survived by four children. It mentions that she was the widow of John Johnson and died at her daughter’s home – listed as Mrs. Charles Anderson. Besides that daughter, listed later as Rosa Anderson, the other children who survived her are Martha Johnson, Mrs. Jonathan Delawter, and Mrs. Mary Reid.

What strikes me are two things – one, until I can locate this family in the 1860 Census, there are several questions and two, I believe the names of the children that survived Dolly Johnson are wholly inaccurate and lacking – but…since I’m looking at this family with fresh eyes, I have to consider all the possibilities.

Even though it is not documented proof, I do have a list of people who attended the Johnson reunion in 1915 & 1916. This list is a good indication as to who were considered to be “family.”  Included in the photo with a key to the who is who on the back are Rosa Anderson (3rd person from the left on the 4th row standing), Mrs. Delauter (1st person on the left on the 2nd row sitting), Mrs. Marshall Johnson (9th person from the left on the 3rd row standing), Mr. Marshall Johnson (10th person on the left on the 3rd row standing), and Mr. Delauter (1st person on the left on the 3rd row standing) (as well as my grandfather and his parents).

I am pretty confident that Marshall Johnson is John Marshall Johnson, son of James J. Johnson and Dolly Mullis. There is a marriage record on FamilySearch.org for John Marshall Johnson and Rosa J. Hawkins on December 17, 1881, as well as marriage records for some of their sons that lists their parents as: Marhsall Johnson and Rosa Hawkins, Marshal Johnson and Rosa Jean Hawkins, J. M. Johnson and Rosa Jane Hawkins,  and J. M. Johnson and Rosie J Hawkins.

I also believe that Rosa Johnson Milburn Anderson was their daughter due to the entry in the History of Madison County concerning the attempt on her father’s life by Coleman Hawkins; she was enumerated as living in their household as “daughter” in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses; and she attended the first reunion in 1915.

Elizabeth Delawter appears to also be a daughter of John and Dolly as she and her husband Jonathan appear in the photo for the 1915 reunion and are listed in reunion minutes. A notation reads: “Lizzie Delawter died.”

In the above three cases, those who survived Dolly (Mullis) Johnson seem to be correct. What about the mysterious “Martha Johnson” or “Mary Reid”? And why wasn’t John Marshall Johnson listed? And why was there no mention of the 1 year old child – Ann M. Johnson – who had appeared in the 1850 Census with John and Dolly? Who provided the information to the newspaper for the obituary or did someone at the paper take it upon themselves to write it up and perhaps print the wrong names?

Further research that I need to do before making a conclusion according to this family: find the family in the 1860 census, any land records or deeds, obituaries or news articles, marriage records, better death records, and birth records if they exist.

Oh where, oh where, are you – descendants of this couple through any of the three children listed above or any children that I haven’t documented?

(52 Ancestors graphic courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small)

 

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