This person

Phebe McNeil b. 1789

/ Kirstin Miller

Phebe McNeil, my 5th great grandma on RootsMagic tree.

Phebe was born March 12, 1789 to Jonathan and Jane McCord McNeil. Phebe’s mom and dad married in Virginia, between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, then moved to the “Western Colony of Virginia”- where they raised their family in current day Knox County, Kentucky. Kentucky became a state in 1792, a few years after Phebe’s birth.

Eight miles south of Knox County is a national park, Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site. Thomas Walker was a doctor, farmer, served in the Virginia General Assembly and explored the “Western Colony of Virginia”. At the park there’s “a replica of the first Kentucky home” a cabin, similar to Phebe’s family home.

Original 1790s log house

In Knox County, Phebe married Elbert Howard on October 24, 1811. Phebe and Elbert had 1 daughter and 5 sons. By 1820 they’d moved 250 miles southwest and settled in Lawrence County, Indiana where Phebe’s older sister Elizabeth and Elbert’s older sister Elizabeth lived with their husbands and families.

Phoebe died in June 1826 she was about 40 years old. She’s buried at Old Shiloh Cemetery in Lawrence, Indiana. After Phebe’s death Elbert moved to Lake, Illinois with his 4 younger sons, aged 10, 6, 4 and 2 years old. He married again and was in Floyd County, Iowa by 1855.

Sources

Pleasant Davis b. 1844

/ Kirstin Miller

Pleasant Davis: 1st cousin 4 times removed on RootsMagic tree.

Davis, Pleasant son of HortonPleasant Davis was born in Ohio on November 30, 1844. He was one of 13 kids of Horton and Florida Russell Davis. Horton’s dad, Pleasant’s grandpa was Pleasant Davis married to Sarah Horton, both of Virginia. Names ‘Pleasant’ and ‘Horton’ were carried on through the generations as first or middle names for sons. One ‘Pleasant’ went by Plez. This Pleasant married Huldah England on February 17, 1868 in Ohio. Soon after Pleasant’s family and older sister Sarah Davis Martin and her family left Ohio for Illinois where Pleasant lived for a few years. Pleasant’s other siblings were in Iowa, North Dakota and sister Martha, in photo, went all the way to Oregon. By 1883 Pleasant was in Union, Iowa with his dad, mom and some siblings. Pleasant and Florina’s son Clement Pleasant Davis was born in Union and 4 Davis daughters Florina, Mary, Sarah and Victoria were all married in Iowa.

Florina died around 1888 and Pleasant with his younger kids, they all headed for the Cherokee Nation where the 1889 Indian (land) Appropriations Act gave up land for purchase and President Harrison proclaimed “unassigned lands were open for settlement under much less stringent rules”. Today the area is north eastern Oklahoma, it was called ‘Cherokee Nation’ on census forms from about 1840? until Oklahoma became a state in 1907.

1900 census Davis family in Cherokee Nation

Pleasant’s family lived in Bluejacket where he farmed. His sons Horton and Warren helped on the farm, the younger kids were in school. Bluejacket is 50 miles north east of Tulsa with a population of about 300 today. Pleasant’s daughters Florina and Victoria with their families joined their dad in Bluejacket, Oklahoma. Pleasant died at age 78 on April 3, 1924 and is buried at Bluejacket Cemetery.

Sources

  • Davis, Pleasant, Public Ancestry photo, “wrae7711 originally shared this on 25 Apr 2013”
  • This Land podcast on Cherokee Nation, how it began
  • Cherokee Nation, some history at Wikipedia
  • Iowa, Delayed Birth Records, 1850-1939 at FamilySearch
  • Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934 at FamilySearch
  • 1900 US census at FamilySearch

Elizabeth Parrish b. 1691

/ Kirstin Miller

Elizabeth Parrish: 8th great grandma on RootsMagic tree.

Elizabeth Parrish was born March 19, 1691 in Groton, Massachusetts.  Elizabeth was the 2nd of 10 children of John and Mary Waddell Parrish. Elizabeth’s dad John and mom Mary Waddle were both born in Massachusetts, their ancestors were from England and Scotland. Elizabeth had 9 bothers and sisters and 4 half siblings.

Sometime before 1704 Elizabeth and her family moved to Preston, Connecticut where the family was admitted to the First Congregational Church, “Nov 15, 1704 John PARISH & Mary, his wife, by letter from Ipswich”

Also in Preston, CT Elizabeth married Francis Tracy, grandson of Thomas Tracy, on January 6, 1714. The Tracy family of England were original settlers, founders of Preston. “Thomas Parke, Thomas Tracy, and others established Preston … Owaneco, son of the Mohegan sachem Uncas, gave a confirmatory deed for the land in 1687”.

The Parrish and Tracy families were interconnected. Benjamin Parrish married a Tracy sister, Elizabeth’s sisters Mary, Sarah and Lydia married a Tracy brother.
And in my family tree Elizabeth Parrish and Francis Tracy are 6th great grandparents on my mom’s family side.
Elizabeth’s sister Lydia P. and Francis’s brother Christopher T. are 6th great grandparents on my dad’s family side.
In Elizabeth and Lydia Parrish’s lives, from 1680s on, the chances not taken, choices made, relationships built, risks taken, all led to my descendants in Iowa connecting. I don’t think about it for too long- it makes my head spin.

Parrish to speedy

Elizabeth and Francis’s first Iowa ancestor was Delia Angell, age 15, she came to Iowa after her dad Dexter died and she lived with older brother Charles Angell . Delia would marry William Flood, the great grandparents of Elizabeth Speedy, my grandma.

Parrish to miller

Lydia and Christopher’s first Iowa ancestor was Leydia Connable Gaines, age 59. Leydia and husband Obed Gaines traveled by wagon from Indiana to Waverly, Iowa to live with son William Gaines and his wife Sarah Swain, the great grandparents of Faber Miller, my grandpa.

Sources

Franklin Pierce Miller b. 1855

/ Kirstin Miller

Franklin Pierce Miller, great uncle on RootsMagic tree.

Franklin was born September 1, 1855 in Stark, Ohio. He was the 2nd child of Peter and Esther Young Miller and the older brother of William L Miller, grandpa of Faber Miller.

Frank’s family moved from Stark County, Ohio to Bremer County, Iowa before 1870. Frank had 5 brothers and 1 sister, Lillie and all grew up on the family farm in In Lafayette Township, Bremer County. On Christmas Day 1888 Frank married Harriet ‘Hattie’ Finney, her family was also from Stark, Ohio. Frank and Hattie had one son John Cleveland Miller.

In August 1898 Frank and brother in law George Bailey, husband of Lillie Miller Bailey, went to Nebraska to look at farms. The Bailey and Miller families decided to move to Nebraska and in January 1899 a farewell surprise party was held, “Frank Miller of LaFayette leaves next week for Nebraska with a car of household goods, etc. and his family will go later. Their neighbors gave Mr. and Mrs. Miller a farewell surprise party one evening last week, enjoying a pleasant time socially and before bidding their host and hostess good bye presented them with a handsome center table.”

The Millers and Baileys stayed in Nebraska and for about 7 years. By 1910 both families had moved to Aurora County, South Dakota. Brother Sylvester Miller was already there with his family, the southeast . Frank and Hattie’s son John married Teresa Gales. The couple had 10 kids, stayed in South Dakota where John farmed, owned a lunch room in the 1930s.

Frank was a widow in 1913. In Aurora he was a produce merchant on the 1920 census. The 1930 census shows Frank was retired and lived with John Gelsen and family and other boarders. John Gelsen was 43, a retired police officer, his parents from Germany and New York. David Marsh was 21, a retail merchant at a general store his parents were from Russia. John Robinson was 27, he managed a lumberyard his parents were from South Dakota and the Netherlands. Peter McGooty was 74, same age as Frank, he owned a billiard hall and his parents were from Ireland. Narem Grueznor. was 31, she sold hardware, her parents were from Wisconsin. Frank lived to age 78. He and Hattie are buried at Silver Ridge Cemetery
in Stickney, Aurora, South Dakota.

Sources

Clarissa Mockford b. 1847

/ Kirstin Miller

Clarissa Mockford 4th great aunt on RootsMagic tree.
Clarissa was born in 1847 in Cornwall, England. In 1860 Clarissa received a graduation certificate, praising her work “very attentive and industrious”. This Victorian era certificate could have been from Sunday School or a public school. In most families -not landowning and not wealthy- kids older than 10 worked and didn’t go to school.

The certificate has these quotes running along the edge:

Honor all men, fear God, honor the King, love the brotherhood.
Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Open thine eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
Enter not in to the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men.  Better is little with the fear of the lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.

Clarissa lived in Cornwall until she was 19 and in 1866 with her parents and younger siblings she sailed to America and joined older brothers Henry, great grandpa of Elizabeth Speedy, and William. Henry and William had been in America for about 10 years. In 1870 Clarissa was living in Monroe County, New York and was a dressmaker. Clarissa married James A. Edmonds, a carpenter, around 1872 and they had their first child Lena in 1874 and second child Lewis in 1877.  Clarissa and James stayed in Monroe County, NY and lived 10 miles South of Lake Ontario, 40 miles east of Niagara Falls. Lena, Clarissa and James’s daughter married William Spies at Niagara Falls on May 18, 1902. Son James Edmunds married Ada Patitillo in Los Angeles on May 24, 1918. At James’s death in 1954 their home was at 1847 S La Brea Ave about 10 miles west of the Pacific Ocean. Clarissa died in 1920, James in 1922. Both are buried at High Street Cemetery in Brockport,  Monroe County, New York.

Sources

  • England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010 at FamilySearch
  • California, County Marriages, 1850-1952
  • Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927
  • California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-19941870
  • US census at FamilySearch
  • Certificate, Public Ancestry photo, ” JoAnna Messing originally shared this on 12 jul 2014”

Nora Cable b. 1892

/ Kirstin Miller

Nora Cable great aunt on RootsMagic tree.

Nora was born on August 25, 1892 in Pleasant Grove, Floyd County, Iowa. She was the third child of William Cable and first wife Nellie Stroud. The Cable kids lived on a farm. Nora and bother Leonard, sister Ruth went to Marble Rock, Iowa schools. After Nor’s parents divorced she and siblings moved to Kansas.

On July 31, 1912 Nora returned to Pleasant Grove, Iowa. In the Iowa (Greene) Recorder, “Miss Nora Cable of Kansas City arrived in Greene last Friday for a visit with her father Wm Cable and family.” That same weekend the Buffalo Bill show was in Charles City, many families from Greene drove to see the show.

Tosh, Marguerite 1930 yearbook photo

On August 31, 1912 Nora married Cecil Orzo Tosh in Wyandotte County, Kansas. The 1920 US census shows Nora, Orzo and their 2 daughters Marguerite and Marjorie, lived with Orzo’s mom and dad. Orzo’s dad was in real estate, Orzo was a credit man. The home was at 719 West 44th street in Kansas City, still a residential area today.

On the 1930 census Nora and family are in the same home, Orzo a manger at a whole sale hosiery business, daughters Marguerite and Marjorie are in their teens. Marguerite was born in 1913, she was a year younger than Nora’s sister Gladys Cable. Marguerite’s photo is in the 1930 yearbook of Westport High School, in Kansas City. She’s 16 years old.

Nora’s husband was a traveling salesman in 1934 when he picked up a hitchhiker near Clarinda, Iowa. After sharing a meal the hitcher pulled a knife and demanded money. Orzo fought the hitcher then leaped out of the car and ended up in the local hospital in serious condition. Orzo recovered and was 46 at his death in 1936. On the 1940 census Nora, now a widow, was in the same house, with daughter Marjorie and Marjorie’s husband William Boone. William was from Little Rock, Arkansas and worked as a shop foreman in a bakery.

Nora lived to age 87, she died in May 1980. Both she and Orzo are buried at Highland Park Cemetery in Kansas City.

Sources

  • Iowa Recorder 1912 Jul 31 page 5 of 8 column 2 mid bottom
  • 1934 Jul 19 Maryville Daily Forum at Newspaper Archive, Cedar Rapids Public Library
  • U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999 at Ancestry
  • 1920, 30, 40 US censuses at FamilySearch or Ancestry

Minnie Roose b. 1855

/ Kirstin Miller

Minnie Charlotte Roose 2nd great aunt on RootsMagic tree.

Minnie Roose was born 12 November 1855 in Germany, a middle child of Garbrand and Catherine Renistra Roose. When Minnie was 6 years old in 1862, she sailed with her family to America. They left from Bremen, Germany and sailed on the Adler, ‘eagle’ in the English language. The Roos family docked in New York and went on to Freeport, Illinois, 900 miles west. No idea how they traveled. When they got to Freeport an established German American community welcomed them. Minnie’s youngest brother Johann, grandpa of Stanley Roose, was born in Freeport in 1865.

New York arrival 1862

Around 1876 Minnie and family were in southern Butler County, Iowa near Aplington and Parkersburg. On July 18, 1878 Minnie married Harm Haren, also from Germany. Harm and Minnie married in Grundy County and lived the remainder of their lives there, in Palermo Township, Grundy County, Iowa. Harm was a farmhand “for two years, after which he engaged in the operation of rented land until 1882 when with the capital he had acquired through industry, perseverance and economy he purchased the farm which has since been his home.” Minnie and Harm had 9 kids, 5 sons and 4 daughters. Harm died in 1918, a long life, he was 67 years old.

34 years later in 1952, Minnie was 97 years old and featured in a 75th anniversary issue of the Grundy Register, Grundy Center’s local newspaper. Minnie was the oldest resident of the area. There’s a photo and a story of her life, family.

Minnie lived another 13 years to age 109 or 110. Minnie and Harm are both buried at Fairview Cemetery in Grundy Center, Iowa.

Sources

  • New York passenger lists 1820-1891 at FamilySearch
  • The Grundy Register 1952 Jun 5 at Ancestry
  • Portrait and biographical record of Jasper, Marshall, and Grundy Counties, Iowa at HathiTrust
  • Public Ancestry photo, “ivametge originally shared this on 04 Aug 2012. Top Row L-R Henry, Otto, Claus Bottom Row L-R John, Harm, Hubert”Public Ancestry photo, “ivametge originally shared this on 04 Aug 2012. Top Row L to R_ Ella, Anna Second Row- Mae, Kathryn (Trina) Front- Minnie”
  • Public photo on FamilySearch, ” Contributed By SchwartzBarbaraHaren1 24 December 2017″

Mary Magdalena [ ] Young b. 1787

/ Kirstin Miller

Mary 4th great grandma on RootsMagic tree.

Mary Magdalena was born in 1787 in Pennsylvania. Her last name, parents, nothing is known of her until she was married to Michael Young around 1807. They married in Pennsylvania and lived there until about 1820.

In 1820 Mary and Michael had moved to Stark County, Ohio. They had 2 children in Pennsylvania, then 5 more were born in Ohio. The Young family owned land, farmed. In 1850 Mary was 63 years old and on the 1850 census she lived in Marlborough Township, Stark, Ohio with her husband and youngest son Israel. Her older kids were married and in homes of their own. Michael and Israel farmed, Mary kept house and probably had a spectacular garden. Mary’s daughter Esther had married Peter Miller and they moved near Waverly Iowa. Their son William Miller was the grandad of Faber Miller.

Mary died at age 70 and is buried at Union Cemetery in Hartville, Stark County, Ohio.

Sources

  • 1850 United States Federal Census at Ancestry
  • New map of Stark County, Ohio at Library of Congress
  • Trinity Lutheran Church, Canton, Ohio : births, baptisms, deaths, marriages at FamilySearch
  • Find a grave memorial 105743390

Elizabeth Jeffrey b. 1779

/ Kirstin Miller

Elizabeth Jeffrey 4th great grandma on RootsMagic tree.

Elizabeth was born in 1779 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She was the oldest child of Samuel and Jane Hanna Jeffrey. A published family history states Elizabeth’s dad Samuel Jeffrey was from Ireland and came to America, first Maryland then Pennsylvania. There’s no proof for this, just a statement.

Around 1795 Elizabeth married Andrew Crooks from Pennsylvania. Elizabeth and Andrew had 7 kids. Four of the seven kids stayed in Pennsylvania. 2 moved to Ohio and 6th child Elizabeth Crooks married William Stewart in PA then went all the way west to Shell Rock, Iowa. Elizabeth Crooks Stewart was the great grandma of Elizabeth Speedy.

Elizabeth Jeffrey Crooks died in 1818 at age 36. She is buried at Montour Cemetery in Oakdale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Her husband Andrew remarried, died 30 years later and is buried in the same cemetery.

Sources

Sarah Dewey b. 1770

/ Kirstin Miller

Sarah Dewey 6th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Sarah Dewey was born on February 14, 1770 in Vermont, the 2nd of 7 kids of David and Sarah Witter Dewey. Sarah’s 4th great grandpa was Thomas Dewey, in colonial America in 1631, from England. Some say all American ‘Dewey’s’ are descended from this Thomas Dewey. No proof, just a rumor.

Connable-Dewey

Sarah Dewey married John Connable, a widow, on November 5, 1786. They lived in Franklin, Massachusetts, 10 miles north of Rhode Island. They had at least 10 children. At their home they farmed and John had a mill pond and mill yard. Sarah had her last child Samuel Connable in 1805. It’s stated in a family history book that Sarah, with her baby Samuel, her husband and her dad. they all went to Oneida County, New York to visit family. Sarah died there on October 25, 1806 and is probably buried in Bridgewater, New York. She was 37 years old.

Sarah’s children married, had families and stayed in the Massachusetts, New York area, except for 2: John Jr. went to Ohio. Daughter Leydia and husband Obed Gaines moved west, all the way to Iowa where their son, William’s daughter Mary Gaines, married James Miller, whose son William was the dad of Faber, husband to Gladys Cable.

Sources