The Matrilineal Line of Diane Johnson

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This post is for the family of my foster mother Diane, who has always wanted to know more about her matrilineal line and the many women of strong character who form it. For as long as Diane has been alive, her family has been based in Minnesota, originally from the Mille Lacs County area. She had heard stories of her great grandmother Griffith from Iowa, but beyond that she was unsure, so we decided to look into it further.

Diane Lee (Johnson) Ruonavaara b.1951 in Princeton, Mille Lacs Co., MN

The farthest back Diane's matrilineal line can be traced at present is to Rachel Watts, born in England about 1811 (see Note 1). In 1833, Rachel married a man named Charles Bowring (b.1811) who was born in Winterborne St. Martin (Martinstown), Dorset, England. Like most in that area, Charles was a farm worker, and his family had lived in the small village of Martinstown for many generations. Although a birth record for Rachel has not yet been found, she was likely from a family in a nearby West Dorset village.

District of Dorset within southern UK

Location of Winterborne St. Martin's (Martinstown) within West Dorset, UK

Historical Background

Dorset is largely rural in makeup, with few densely populated areas and no major cities. After the Saxons invaded the Roman-British in the mid-7th century, the area developed into small farming and grazing communities organized around small Catholic parishes and larger monasteries. In addition to farming, during the middle ages Dorset was known for its rope making, stone quarries, Dorset buttons, and Dorset Horn sheep, the latter of which provided excellent wool for making military flannel and sailcloth. Additionally, its southern ports were valuable for both English naval strength, and cod fishing expeditions off the coast of Newfoundland in the recently discovered New World. 

Parish and monastery towns of Dorset in 1575 (view using link provided for higher resolution)

Winterborne St. Martin's Church, built in about the 12th century AD and remodeled with tower addition in the 15th century.

Economic disruption due to the Industrial Revolution came to Dorset in the early 1700s, as newly developed textile mills began to move cloth making out of individual homes and into the factories of more northern cities. Unlike many other areas of England, the early 18th century industrial revolution largely bypassed Dorset due to the lack of coal resources it had with which to fuel it. Because of this, Dorset's transition from an agricultural to an industrial based economy was delayed. This disadvantage was made worse by the Enclosure Acts that landowners of southern England began to petition for between 1770 and 1830 (a movement that had already restructured most other parts England over the previous two centuries). Prior to the passage of these laws, many less valuable pieces of land were considered to be held "in common" by the public, and thus were available to be used by peasants and tenant farmers for personal crops and shelter. After their passage, most farm workers became "landless", and therefore completely dependent upon the landowner for a livable wage.

The Enclosure act allowed wealthy landowners to fence off previously public lands, making them inaccessible to commoners. While this eventually resulted in increased food production, due to being able to try out more advanced farming methods such as crop rotation, it was initially a hardship for farm workers whose livelihood had depended upon these small plots of free land for many generations.

During the early 1800s, farm wages were at first tolerable due to the shortage of labor caused by the Napoleonic Wars. But after Napoleon's defeat in 1815, labor became abundant, grain prices plummeted, and many farm families became destitute. This demise in way of life caused a number of Dorset families to take advantage of a Canadian immigration drive the English government was promoting as a way of off-loading the poor, and reducing the burden of overpopulation. Additionally, after the loss of the Revolutionary War in America, Britain had political interests in populating the Eastern Townships of Quebec with as many English inhabitants as possible, so that it could act as a buffer between its capitol and the United States it bordered. 

Location of the Eastern Townships of Lower Canada within the Province of Quebec, bordering Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The primary land company in control of this Lower Canadian emigration drive was called the British American Land Company (BALC), which formed in 1832. Unlike its more successful counterpart in Upper Canada, The Canada Company, the BALC was plagued by mismanagement from the start. In 1835, they launched an almost entirely fictitious campaign promoting the virtues of the Eastern Townships. It claimed the weather was beautiful, the soil fertile, and the roads and rivers in excellent condition for travel. For those in financial hardship, the land could be purchased on credit with no money down. In reality, the summers were often wet and cool, followed by long, cold, snowy winters. The land was overworked and of poor quality compared with many other parts of Canada and the US. Roads were underdeveloped and in a miserable state of disrepair, and rivers were non-navigable for transporting goods or people. Upon discovering these harsh realities after arrival, many new British immigrants chose not to stay for long. Especially those of the younger generations that were attracted to the ample opportunities of the comparatively more developed US. 

1842 BALC Advertisement

Diane's Matrilineal Line

Rachel (Watts) and Charles Bowring were in their mid-30s, already with 5 children (and 2 yet to come), when they landed on Canada's shores in 1844. Their daughter Sarah Bowring (direct line) was 9 years old at the time, and her older brother Henry was 11. Perhaps, due to being older on arrival, they felt less rooted in their new homeland than their younger siblings. Whatever the reason, it was only these two eldest children who chose to later immigrate to America. The younger 5 siblings remained and raised their families in southern Quebec, Canada. The area they settled in was called South Durham (Durham-Sud), Drummond, Quebec, Canada (East). Rachel and Charles died in 1893 and 1896, respectively, and were buried in the St. James Cemetery of Durham-Sud.

1800s postcard showing Selby Lake, about 50 miles south of Durham-Sud

Grave marker for Rachel (Watts) and Charles Bowring in the Saint James Cemetery of Durham-Sud, Quebec, Canada.

The second born child of Charles and Rachel, Sarah Bowring, b.1836, married William Clark from Scotland in 1854, when she was 18 years old. However, Sarah and William had their first child, Anne (b.1852), out of wedlock about two years before their marriage, when Sarah was 16. It is interesting that her parents did not consent for them to marry at that point. Perhaps they disapproved? His family seems to have been Scotch Church Presbyterian, while hers was Church of England Anglican, so perhaps that was an issue? Whatever the reason, they were quick to make a fresh start in a new place shortly after tying the knot. 

Church of England baptism record for Anne Jane Clark (b.1852), performed in Shipton, Sherbrooke, Quebec and sponsored by her grandparents.

Luckily for William and Sarah, the railroad industry was booming at this time, in both the US and Canada, finally connecting isolated areas to larger industrial centers. East Canada joined the transportation boom in 1853, when the Grand Trunk Railway reached Durham-Sud on its way to joining the international cities of Montreal, Quebec and Portland, Maine. By 1856, connecting routes made it possible to reach as far as Illinois by train. In that same year, Sarah (Bowring) and William Clark likely hopped one of these trains, with their daughter Ann and their son Stephen in tow, to settle in the newly platted town of Lena, Stephenson, Illinois.

1856 map of Railway Routes available in the US and Lower Canada

The railroad helped Lena, IL to quickly become a bustling town. They stayed there almost 10 years, through the civil war (1861-65), adding 5 more children to the mix. Passage of the 1862 Homestead Act made many Americans hungry to move west again, however, and the family left for Iowa as soon as the war ended. Initially they settled on a farm in Butler County, IA, where two more children, Rachel (direct line) and William, Jr. joined the family. Then, in about 1871, they picked up stakes and moved west again, this time to Boyer Township, Harrison County, Iowa, west of a city called Woodbine. 

City of Woodbine, within Boyer Township, Harrison Co., IA. The Clarks lived a few miles west of the town.

Woodbine was first settled in 1849 and was platted in 1866, once it became a stop on the newly completed Chicago and Northwestern Railway. This caused a quick influx of new businesses and land investment purchases. However, in 1867, the railroad chose to move the station to Dunlap instead, which was a blow to the newly forming local economy. Understandably, some businesses chose to relocate, and land that had been planned for city development became destined for farmland instead. No doubt there were real estate deals to be had due to this change of fortune, and perhaps that is what drew William and Sarah (Bowring) Clark to the area.

Sarah and William had 12 children total, 8 of whom survived to adulthood. They operated a modest sized 125-acre farm whose main crops were corn and wheat. They also owned a number of cattle, horses, chickens, and pigs, and produced a fair amount of butter and molasses for market. Their five daughters (Helen, Elizabeth "Lizzy", Armina "Mina", Rachel (b.1866, direct line), and Sarah "Sadie") married and initially stayed in the Harrison County, IA area. Their sons moved on to new adventures- Stephen to South Dakota, George to Oregon, and William, Jr. to Idaho. Apparently, Rachel liked to help her father in the fields and became known as "his right hand" (see Note 1). William, Sr. passed in 1894 at the age of 69, and is buried next their son Andrew in the Biglers Grover Cemetery. 

Sarah (Bowring) & William Clark (far right) with 3 of their children, probably "Sadie", William, and "Lizzie". Likely taken about 1883-84 after Rachel and "Mina" were married, but before Elizabeth was wed.

William Clark, died Apr 5, 1894, aged 69ys 6ms 18ds. He is buried next to his son Andrew J Clark in the Biglers Grover Cemetery. Epitaph: "Farewell my wife and children all, from you a father Christ doth call".

After William's death, Sarah remarried in 1897 to a Nebraskan man of comfortable financial means named James McCartney. They lived together on a farm outside of Stuart, Holt, Nebraska. When her second husband died in 1915, Sarah (Bowring) Clark/McCartney sold the contents of his considerable estate, which gave her ample means to live on. It is said that from that point on she chose to have no fixed address, and instead traveled the country visiting her children and other relatives for the remainder of her days. She passed away in 1921, at the home of her daughter Mina in OR, having reached 84 years of age. Her body was brought back to NE, and she is buried next to her second husband at the Stuart Cemetery.

Sarah (Bowring) Clark/McCartney (top middle) with her 5 living daughters, Helen (top right), Elizabeth "Lizzie" (bottom middle), Armina "Mina" (top left), Rachel (bottom left), and Sarah "Sadie" (bottom right). Probably taken around the time of the 1897 wedding to her second husband James McCartney.

4-generation photo of Sarah (Bowring) Clark (far left) in her later years with her daughter, granddaughter, and great granddaughter

A sad and disturbing event occurred in the family on 9 Jun 1899. Sarah and William's oldest son, Stephen Clark, had married a woman from a nearby county in Iowa named Eliza Gilbert in 1881. Soon after they moved to Hutchinson County, South Dakota near the city of Delmont. They had 3 children together. In Jun of 1899, however, Eliza filed for divorce from her husband due to his "extreme cruelty". Two days later, Stephen retaliated by shooting his wife and 15 year old daughter while at a dinner party. His wife was seriously injured but lived, while his oldest daughter passed away a few days later from her wounds. Meanwhile, Stephen fled to the nearby county of Brule, SD, where his body was found near Kimball a couple weeks later, having died by suicide. Eliza remarried only 3-1/2 months later to a man named Frank Peshak, a guest at the dinner party who came to her rescue during the assault. Given that both Stephen and Eliza were from the surrounding Iowan community, there must have been a lot of talk. By the year following this family tragedy, most of Sarah (Bowring) and William Clark's children had left Iowa and chosen to make a new start elsewhere. The families of Helen, Elizabeth, and Sarah all moved west to Oregon to join their brother George. Mina and her husband Stephen Terwilliger moved to South Harbor, Mille Lacs County, MN, where her husband's brother, Harvey, was also headed. Only Rachel and her husband Lewis Griffith, who must have been made of tougher stuff, stayed in Boyer Twp., IA. 

Rachel (Clark) and Lewis Griffith raised four children: William, Elsie (b.1885, direct line), Fred, and Elvira. (Apparently, Rachel got very sick with each of her pregnancies, and after the fourth, Lewis said that was enough). Sometime in the early 1890s, the family moved to Stuart Co., Nebraska for a time in a covered wagon. Her great uncle Henry Bowring (Sarah's brother), had lived near them in Crawford Co, IA, but in 1886, he became a naturalized US citizen and was able to use the 1862 Homestead Act to purchase land in Cherry Co., NE. Rachel's father, William Clark, died in IA in 1894, so perhaps the family relocated to Nebraska shortly after that time. This would explain how her mother Sarah met her second husband from Nebraska. Elsie would have been about 9 at the time, and along the way she remembered playing with a swan iron that is still in Diane's family's possession. (See Note 3) 

Swan iron similar to the one Elsie played with while riding in the covered wagon to Nebraska as a young child.

Unfortunately, the 1890s was bad timing for a move to Nebraska. Most of the good farmland had been taken up by prior settlers by this time. Making a small farm profitable on the marginal semi-arid tracts remaining was almost impossible, and more than half of the original claimants ended up abandoning their homesteads. The family returned to Boyer Co, Iowa by 1900, and the two oldest children, William and Elsie, married and settled there. Rachel and Lewis must have heard good things about Mille Lacs County, MN from Rachel's sister "Mina" though, because in 1914, about the time their youngest, Elvira, finished school, they decided to move to South Harbor, MN as well. Upon their arrival, they added a new cabin addition onto a home that had been constructed back in the 1880s, when White settlement in the area first began. Unfortunately, they would not end up living close to her sister Mina after all, because at about the same time, her sibling's family decided to relocate to Malheur Co., Oregon, where most of the rest of the family was residing.

The Griffith Family: (left to right) Lewis, William, Elvira, Elsie, Rachel (Clark), and Fred (circa 1907)

Farm addition (left?) built by Lewis Griffith and Rachel (Clark) in South Harbor, MN about 1915

Rachel had been only 16 years old when she married her husband Lewis, and he was about 11 years older than her. He was said to be an "affectionate father and considerate husband", while she was said to be "a woman ahead of her time", who loved photography, gardening, and many other creative pastimes. She particularly loved to take photos of people in their "natural stances", rather than in the formal poses that were more typical of that time. Many of these photos she made into post cards, which she then mailed to family members. At one point, she was asked by Ojibwa Chief Wadena of the local Mille Lacs tribe, to take a formal picture of him in full ceremonial dress. This is likely the photo of him that now appears in many history books.

Possibly the photo of Chief Wadena taken by Rachel (Clark) Griffith

One of Rachel's postcards, showing either her son Fred or her grandson Lewis in front of the barn built by the Griffith's in MN.

Sadly, Rachel's husband Lewis passed away in 1920 at the age of 66, only six years after their move to MN. Rachel's younger daughter, Elvira, had married just a few months prior to his passing and moved back to IA. Her younger son, Fred, had joined a cavalry unit of the military during WWI when he was 30. He returned home from the war in Mar 1919 and was living with his parents a little over year later when his father died. After his father's death, Fred took over the some of the farm duties. He was said to have been a "shy, quiet man not given to social graces". In his later years, he developed advanced type II diabetes. Rachel helped to manage his diet for him until she was no longer able, after which point he went to live in a nursing home. He is buried near his parents at the Eleanor Foster Cemetery in Onamia, MN.

Rachel (Clark) and Lewis Griffith

Rachel and Lewis are buried together at the Eleanor Foster Cemetery in Onamia, MN

Lewis and Rachel's two oldest children, William and Elsie, were back in Iowa raising families of their own during this period. Elsie had married a man named Thomas Coffman in 1907 and they had 6 children: Martha, Lewis, Mary Ida (b.1910, direct line), Helen, Frank, and Rachel (called "Johnny" because she liked to wear pants- must have taken after her grandmother!). Elsie and her husband had a difficult relationship. Despite being a Methodist Episcopal lay preacher, Thomas was said to have had an angry temperament. Sometime in the early 1920's, he left his wife Elsie for another member of his church. Left on her own, Elsie decided to relocate her 6 children northward to Mille Lacs County, MN, where her mother and brother Fred were living. Her youngest sibling, Elvira, and her husband, Roy Lukecart, eventually chose to join them there as well. After the move, Elsie's son Lewis often stayed with his grandmother Rachel to help her on the farm. In return, Rachel willed the farm to him after her death with all of the family's blessing. Many years later, Lewis' son, Scott (see Note 2), inherited the cabin they built, and restored it at a new location in Isle, MN. Elsie worked as a school teacher in Cove, MN to help support her family. Eventually, she remarried to an intelligent and kind man named Frank Thompson, who was also the Cove school principal. 

Elsie (Griffith) Coffman/Thompson with her adult children. Left to right: Martha, Lewis, Mary Ida, Elsie, Helen, Frank, Rachel "Johnny"

Elsie (Griffith) Coffman and her second husband Frank Thompson at their wedding in 1942

Elsie's children all married and settled in MN, so from this point on, the MN branch of the family was firmly established. Some moved to the Twin Cities, while others stayed in the Mille Lacs area. Her daughter Mary Ida married Lawrence "Larry" Cornelius from Elk River, MN in 1929. Larry was highway patrol man, and it is said that he acquired the family summer cabin property on Little Whitefish Lake one winter, due to having saved the life of a man who had fallen through the ice! The man sold it to Larry very cheaply out of gratitude (and a desire to be done with the back taxes). Mary Ida lived in Sauk Rapids and attended St. Cloud State University in the early 1940's to become a teacher like her mother, Elsie. She taught Special Education in Onamia, and even served as interim principle for a time. In 1972, she was awarded the Mille Lacs County Teacher of the Year award. One of her grandchildren's favorite memories of her is the special "Grandma Rides" she used to take them on in her VW beetle. At intersections, she let a grandchild pick which way they should go. The rules were: take turns picking which way, dirt roads only, and you can stop to get out and explore anywhere.

Mary Ida (Coffman) and Lawrence ("Larry") Cornelius

Mary Ida with a litter of new puppies

Mary Ida and Lawrence had 3 children: Theodore, Ruth (direct line, b. 1932), and Elizabeth ("Betsey"). After finishing college, she and Larry moved back to Milaca by 1947. Their daughter Ruth Cornelius graduated from Milaca High School in 1950. Five months after graduation, she married Curtis Johnson from Foreston, MN. Although she did not become a teacher like her mother and grandmother, she did become a school secretary and administrative assistant to the superintendent. Curt was a sheet metal worker, but was very handy as well, and built the family home where he and Ruth lived in Fridley, MN during the 1950's. They had two children, a girl and a boy: Diane (b. 1951 direct line) and Chris. Later they moved to Zimmerman, MN, where Curt built significant additions onto another older home. Ruth and Curt both loved antiques and "the old ways" of doing things. She taught herself many homesteading skills that her grandmothers before her probably used regularly, and Curt took care of a farm that was complete with horses, cows, and chickens.

Ruth (Cornelius) Johnson, about 1950

Ruth and Curt while fishing on a camping trip

Diane's matrilineal line has a long history of women coming together and supporting one another through difficult times. Almost all of them lived significantly longer than (or were separated from) their husbands and had to figure out how to be economically and emotionally secure on their own. Diane now has three grown children of her own, one son and two fraternal twin daughters, plus one foster daughter (me!), who are all lucky to be a part of such an amazing family. 

Notes

1) There is a Thomas Watts (b.1809) living in nearby Netherbury, Dorset, England, who may be related (perhaps a brother?) but I have not yet found a record to verify this. There is also a Richard Watts (b.1811) living with his wife Peggy and their 6 children in Martinstown on the 1841 and 1851 census, though they are gone by 1861. There are no births or deaths in the town parish registries (1653-1812) with the Watts surname though, so I doubt that Martinstown is the village Rachel herself was from.

2) Scott Coffman is involved with the Mille Lacs County Historical Society and many of the quotes about what different people were like came from his family research.

3) Elsie remembers being told they were moving to Nebraska to get away from the Indian attacks. This is pretty unlikely, however, given that the last known Native American violence against White settlers in Iowa took place back in 1857 during the Spirit Lake Massacre. My theory is that her father was joking with her when he said this (he was known for being a jokester), but being an earnest young girl, she took it seriously. Certainly, with attacks between White settlers and Native Americans being so recent at the time, such stories would have carried a powerful "boogeyman" effect for kids at the time.

The Greenlun's in America

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This post follows my daughter's paternal Greenlun line in America. The earliest record of the line I have is for James Greenlun, who served as a Washington Co., PA Ranger during the Revolutionary War. (Ref 1, Note 1). According to census records, he was born in Pennsylvania in about 1764 (Note 2). It is unknown for certain where this line of Greenluns came from originally. However, most of the early permanent white settlers to southwestern PA were English who came from Maryland and Virginia. The surname itself does not offer many other hints. It is a spelling variation of the surname Greenland, which unsurprisingly is just a location based surname for someone who lives by land that is green. It comes from England originally, but is found throughout the UK, and is not very common or particular to any given region. Today it is actually more common in America than in Europe. Interestingly though, the Greenlun spelling variation is by far most common in Minnesota (71%), which seems to be due to my daughter's father's family, as they appear to be the only family with that surname who settled there.

The Greenland Surname Coat of Arms- not sure about the random arm holding a bomb at the top. Supposedly the way the crest faces, "dexter" in this case, tells you something about the tournament rank of a family (gentleman or peer for this family, rather than knight or sovereign). But perhaps they took the phrase Coat of Arms too literally? 

Historical Background

In remote frontier locations like Washington Co., PA (which did not even become a county until 1781), much of the fighting for Revolutionary troops was between Americans and Native Americans, rather than Americans and British. In the decades prior to the war, the British had formed many political and economic trading alliances with Iroquois (Six Nations), Cherokee, and Catawba tribes. Additionally, tensions between the American colonists desire for more land, and the competing British desire to limit Indian-Settler conflicts, had been brewing for some time. Because the British were more likely to treaty with the Native Americans for protection of their lands, the majority of Native Americans sided with the British. Thus, the Revolutionary War was fought on both an eastern and western front line, and James Greenlun was a part of the western line at the future PA-OH border, just southwest of Pittsburg.

Artists depiction of American Revolutionary troops on the frontier encountering Native Americans at what was then the western border of America.

Having sided with the British had devastating consequences for Native Americans once the war was lost (though ultimately, even those who allied with the Americans did not fare much better). In the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the British gave up rights to all land east of the Mississippi River and south of the Canadian boarder. Land that was, of course, occupied by Native Americans, who were now mostly abandoned by the British. The new American government used the previous Native American-British alliance as justification for aggressive territory expansion policies. These policies did little to distinguish between which side a particular tribe had been on. One area where this expansion was particularly intense was that of the newly created Ohio Territory.

Orange line shows the Ohio River boundary line that Native Americans hoped to protect from future White settlement. Yellow line shows a previous "Walking Purchase" boundary line that had been agreed upon before the Revolutionary War.

After the war, many Native American groups joined together to form the Northwestern Confederacy alliance, with the goal of preventing White settlement from encroaching past the Ohio River. From 1785-1795, American frontier troops were continuously called upon to fight against Indians of the Ohio Territory, with the goal of establishing this new land claim. Soldiers were incentivized to participate in these battles by the plan for military bounty land rewards to be paid out of the conquered Ohio territory land. By August 1795, the Americans were successful, and the Native Americans were forced to sign the Treaty of Greenville, giving up their rights to much of the Ohio Territory. James Greenlun was one of the soldiers who fought for this new territory, and thus was later granted an Ohio land claim for his service (Ref 2). 

Artist's depiction of the Signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795

Greenlun Family Line

As this conflict was coming to an end, James Greenlun was nearing his 30's and getting down to the business of starting a family. In about 1793, he married a woman from Pennsylvania named Judith (last name unknown). He and Judith would go on to have a family of 7 children. Their 6th born child, Thomas Greenlun (b. about 1809), is the direct line. As his family grew, he must have been anxious to be able to claim a new homestead for them. The United States Military District in Ohio was opened to settlement for Revolutionary War veterans in June of 1796. However, it was not until 1800 that land surveys allowed for small enough plots to give lower level soldiers (Privates) the 100 acres they had been awarded (Ref 3, p.39-41). James Greenlun was issued one of these grants in Muskingum County (now Guernsey County) on 28 Dec 1802 (Ref 4). It is unknown exactly when they first moved from PA (Note 3), but at minimum their youngest child, John Henry, was born in OH in 1813.

Approximate location of James Greenlun's land grant, then part of Muskingum Co. but 

now part of Guernsey Co.

James died in 1818 (Ref 5), in his mid-50s. Meanwhile, Judith, still in her 40's, had 5 children who were not yet adults, the youngest of which was only 5 years of age (this line's ancestor, Thomas, was 9). Luckily, Judith's oldest son, Peter, was already 22 and able to help out financially. They ended up moving back east a bit to Green Twp., Harrison Co., OH, which is closer to the PA border and was probably easier to homestead from than the remote Muskingum Co. interior. There she is found listed as head of household in 1820, with all but her oldest daughter Ruth (who had just married) still living at home with her. The family remains in Green Twp. on the 1830 census, but by now her son Peter has assumed head of household. Peter seems to have married and has one daughter. Judith's youngest son, John, is now 17, and her other two daughters, Catherine and Margaret, have married and left home (Note 4). Her second born son, Daniel, has purchased his own land and moved to the county of Coshocton, but 21 year old Thomas, this line, is still single and working the family farm.

Sometime in the mid-1830's, the family chose to relocate about 85 miles northwest to Vermillion Twp., Ashland Co., OH (then part of Richland Co.). The families of Judith's married daughters, Margaret and Catherine, moved there as well, but her oldest daughter Ruth's family would end up heading to Iowa instead. Vermillion Twp. was growing steadily from the 1820's onward and attracting many new settlers. The town of Hayesville, which it encompassed, was newly laid out in 1830. Although the family does not seem to have participated much in government or business interests, they show up in many records pertaining to military and religion. They seem to have been a part of the Evangelical Christian movement that was sweeping through America after the end of the Revolutionary War (see Note 5). Often called the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840), this was a period of religious revival that spread through many Protestant denominations, including Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. Membership in these churches swelled as people became inspired by the fervent preaching of rural circuit rider preachers, and the festive and expressive atmosphere of revivalist camp meetings, which could provide fellowship and entertainment for several days at a time.

Depiction of a camp meeting held in Burbank, OH in 1839. These gatherings were known for eliciting high emotion from the many in attendance, who would often cry out, sob, faint, or appear in a trance-like state of spiritual conversion.

Though Thomas (this line), also originally moved to Vermillion Twp., by 1850 he and his wife Lydia (Kearns) had moved about 25 miles south to Knox Co., OH, near the town of Amity. They had a family of 10 children, though their first two, a boy and a girl, died while young (Note 6). Their 7th born child, James F. Greenlun (b.1852), was the direct line. They were members of the Berlin Methodist Episcopalian Church near Fredericktown, where Thomas and Lydia are both buried. Sadly, Lydia's death would come earlier than expected. She died at the age of 40 when her youngest daughter, also named Lydia, was only 1 year old. Although somewhat common at the time, an event like this was very disruptive to a family, particularly when a mother died (Ref 8). If there was no older sibling or grandparent who could step in, then in order to continue providing for the family, a father with young children would often have to at least temporarily send them to live with extended family or neighbors, until or unless he could remarry (Ref 7). The oldest female child in the Greenlun family, Raliefa, was only 8 at the time, and even the oldest son, Marion, was only 15. So Thomas, who was a farmer, had to rely on others to take in his 4 youngest children, who were not yet of school age. What was unusual though, was that even after Thomas remarried a year later to a woman named Isabella Johnston, the decision was made for all but the youngest of the 4 children, Lydia, to remain with their new families. This included James F. (this line), then age 5, and his twin younger siblings Samuel and Ester Jane (then age 3) (see Note 7).

In the mid-1800's, the death of a parent was sadly a fairly common occurrence, happening to about 10% of children. Factors such as kinship networks, financial constraints, and remarriage could have major impacts on the physical and emotional well-being of the children in both the short and long-term (Ref 8).

In the early 1860's, just as things were settling down for the family again, they started to heat up for the nation on the eve of the Civil War. Politically, Ohio was fairly split on the issue of slavery. In southern Ohio, trade across the Ohio River with the slave states of Virginia and Kentucky was an important economic driver. At the same time, the newer settlements of northern Ohio (where the Greenlun's lived) had important familial and industrial ties to Pennsylvania and the northeast. The struggle for moral right was playing out within the churches Ohio as well. Most of the state's population was against succession, however, and when war broke out in April of 1861, Ohio joined the side of the Union. Due to its central location and large population, it was a logistically important state to the war effort, and ended up providing more soldiers per capita than any other state. The Greenlun family was definitely a part of this call to service.

The 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment in Gettysburg on 3 July 1863

The Union recruitment drive came to nearby Mansfield, OH on 3 Oct 1861. On 14 Oct 1861, Thomas' two oldest boys, Marion and Wesley, aged 20 and 17, signed on joined the war effort as part of the 65th Ohio Infantry. One month later, despite being over 50 years of age, Thomas decided to join as well. On 14 Nov 1861, the newly formed unit began to march towards Louisville, KY. Five months later, Thomas would be dead from one of the many diseases that raged through military encampments at that time. A year after that, Wesley died as well, due to a battle injury sustained in TN on 22 Feb 1863. However, that did not deter their younger brother Michael from joining the war effort only 6 months later, at the age of only 15. Their father Thomas did manage to make it back home before he passed, and was able to take care of his end of life arrangements (Ref 9). In his will, he bequeaths $100 (about $3000 today) to all but the youngest of his 8 living children, (Lydia), including those that went to live with other families. He also calls for the immediate sale of his real estate to pay for his debts and the bequeaths to his older children, and he directs his personal property and the remainder of the sale balance to his wife Isabella. Additionally, he gives instruction that Isabella is to continue providing for Lydia (then age 6) out of the money given until she reaches 18 years of age (Note 8). It is unclear where the remaining family is living in 1870 (Note 9), but by 1880, Isabella has remarried and moved to Iowa, while at age 18, Lydia married to another Ohio orphan (William H. Hunter), and started a family of her own. Thankfully, both Marion and Michael made it home safely when the war ended in 1865, and both went on to marry and have families of their own.

Grave marker for Thomas Greenlun (d.1862) a the Berlin Church Cemetery in Fredericktown, Knox Co., OH

Grave marker for Wesley Greenlun (d.1863) at the Nashville National Cemetery in Madison, TN, who died 2 weeks after an injury sustained while stationed in Murfreesboro, TN. Soldiers were moved to this cemetery beginning in 1867, after being removed from the temporary burial grounds around Nashville's general hospitals.

We don't know where James F. (direct line) was during the war. He and his younger siblings were not old enough to have joined up during the fighting. Like Lydia, Samuel and Ester Jane stayed in Ohio to raise families of their own. James, however, took a different path. In 1876, we find him again at age 24 in Minneapolis, MN, where he has married a woman named Ida Jaax, whose parent were from Germany. Land in Minnesota west of the Mississippi had officially opened for settlement in 1855. In an effort to attract new settlers, the government initially offered 160 acres of land for $200 to anyone who would come and clear an acre of the land for farming, as well as build a dwelling that was at least 8x10 ft. and contained a door, window, stove, and bed. Ida's parents were one of Minneapolis, MN's early pioneer families, and made their home on Medicine Lake (Ref 10). After their marriage, James worked at a variety of jobs, initially beginning as a poorly paid Teamster, which back in those days meant transporting goods and people by horse carriage. Next, for about 10 years he worked as a laborer in the gas and coal industry. Around 1894 though, he started working at a bakery on Central Ave. NE, that probably shipped its goods through the nearby train terminus. Finally, in 1897 he took out a loan and became the owner of a small nearby hotel. In 1899, his brother Marion, who seems to have separated from his wife, came to live with them. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1879. Central Ave NE is marked in red. Note that the area north of about 7th Street N, where the map ends, was still primarily farm land at that point. The hotel that James Greenlun owned was at 2831 Central Ave. NE.

James F. and Ida (Jaax) Greenlun had 5 children, though 2 of them died in early infancy. Their last born child, John Edward Greenlun (b.1890) was this direct line. He was born about 8 years after his next oldest sibling, Mabel, so he may have been a bit of a surprise, though Ida was still in only her early 30's at that point. They lived in north Minneapolis until about 1908, when their kids had all finished school. Then they moved to Coon Rapids, Anoka Co., MN, where James took up farming. Interestingly, the farm they lived on there seems to have been in Ida's name (Ref 11), even though she did not work at a job that provided a wage, so perhaps her parents helped them with the purchase. Her parents also seem to have paid for the remains of James and Ida's two children who died in infancy, Wesley and Maud, to be moved from the St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, to the Jaax family plot at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in 1910 (Ref 12-13).

Central marker for the Jaax family plot at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN

John Edward Greenlun, who went by Ed, moved with his parents to Anoka Co., MN when he was 18. In 1915, he married a woman named Clara Swanson, whose parents were from Sweden. They bought small house about a mile south of Ed's father's farm, but then later took over the big farm after Ed's father passed in 1930. In addition to managing a large herd of cattle, they also had two children, both boys, Leonard and Ronald Greenlun (b.1922, direct line). Sadly, Leonard died of pneumonia just before reaching his 11th birthday, leaving Ronald, then age 7, as an only child. Eventually, Ed and Clara gave up farming, and Ed began to work for the school district as a bus driver and janitor. He also did road construction work and helped to set up new silos for local farmers. After Clara passed in 1952, Ed went to live with his son Leonard in Zimmerman, MN. He and Clara are buried at the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.

Clara and Ed (2nd and 4th person going left to right) with unknown family members on their wedding day in 1915.

Notes

1) He was part of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Company, who were soldiers from Cecil Twp., Washington Co., PA serving under Captain Andrew Swearingen.

2) This is based on a combination of his wife Judith's year of birth on the 1850 census (about 1774) and the fact that he must have been at least 16 at his time of initial service (1781) in the Revolutionary War.

3)  Many veterans either sold such land warrants immediately or held on to them for land speculation purposes, rather than actually setting foot on it. James Greenlun shows up in tax records there beginning in 1806 though, so we know he did not immediately sell it. On census records, his first 6 children claim to have been born in PA (the last of which was born in about 1809), while his youngest, John Henry (b. Feb 1813), states OH, though these are not always correct. I have been unable to locate an 1810 census record that matches the family in either PA or OH. If we assume that they came to OH between 1810-1812, that would match the census data. But they could have come as early as 1803, which would match the land record data. Of note, they are not listed as one of the families of Green Twp., Harrison Co., OH from before 1815 in Eckley, H.J, (1921), pp.444-5 (Ref 6), so I do not think this is where they were initially, but they were definitely there by 1820.

4) The household composition on the 1830 census is a bit different than expected. It is listed as 1M 30-39 (Peter, aged 34), 2M 20-29 (Thomas, aged 21, and ???), 1M 15-19 (John, aged 17), 1F 50-59 (Judith, aged 56), 1F 20-29 (Peter's wife), 1F <5 (Peter's child). Peter's wife and daughter are present again on the 1840 census at the expected age ranges. Margaret and Ruth are clearly married by this time and appear in census records for their own households. As near as I can tell, Daniel is unmarried, but has purchased land out in Coshocton Co. back in 1827, and is probably living there. Regardless, he is about 32 in 1830, so unless coded incorrectly, he cannot be the extra male on the census. I cannot find a marriage record for Catherine, though census records show that she was married to William Bryan (whose first wife died in 1840) by 1850. But it is likely that she was previously married and living elsewhere during the 1830 census. Unless she is incorrectly coded as a male?? Most likely though, the unknown male is a just farmhand of some sort, but it is difficult to say for certain without names.

5) Of the 6 children from this generation who remained in Ohio, 2 (Peter and Catherine) were buried in the Synagogue Church of God Cemetery SE of Hayesville (now next to Grace Fellowship Church), 1 (John) was buried in the Redhaw Evangelical Church Cemetery NE of Redhaw (now next to the Redhaw United Methodist Church) and 1 (Thomas, this line) was buried in the Berlin Methodist Episcopal Cemetery NE of Fredericktown (now next to the Berlin United Methodist Church). 2 (Daniel and Wesley) were buried in Veterans Cemeteries, befitting their Civil War service. Only 1, Margaret, is buried in a non-religious civic cemetery within the city of Ashland.

6) The 1840 census shows Thomas and Lydia Greenlun in Vermillion Twp. with 1 boy and 1 girl who are less than age 5. However, the 1850 census shows their oldest child, (Marion), as only 7 years of age, rather than 10-15, as would have been expected if the first 2 children had lived. I have been unable to find grave markers or names for these first two children.

7) Though there is no record of it, it is likely that the youngest, Lydia, was initially fostered out as well, but returned to the family by 1860 after her father had remarried. There seems to have been special provisions made for her in Thomas' will to ensure that Isabella would continue to care for her after his death, which, combined with not taking the other 3 children back in, makes me wonder about Isabella's willingness to take over as a step-parent for the previous children. Samuel and Ester Jane were sent to live with the Covert family in nearby Lake Twp., Ashland Co., OH. I have been unable to determine where James was placed. 

8) It is also a bit unusual that he chose to sell his real estate immediately, to pay his debts and children, rather than waiting until his wife died. Granted, she was quite a but younger than him, and only 11 years older than his oldest living child, so perhaps that was not practical if his goal was to help give his children a start in their lives. Or perhaps he had a lot of debts that needed to be paid. But it does make me wonder again if Thomas trusted Isabella to put her step-children's best interests to heart.

9) It is also a bit confusing as to where Raliefa (age 13) and Michael (age 14) would have been at this time, since Thomas does not mention anything about their ongoing care, despite them still being minors. Perhaps they were living with other families at this point too? We do know that Michael ended up joining the war effort when he was 15, and then moved to TX when it was over, where he married and had 2 kids. Meanwhile, Raliefa married in OH just before turning 19, but died young, at the age of 33, and had no children. Of note, Isabella and Thomas also had a child together, a boy named Franklin, who died in 1861 at 2 years of age.

References

1) "Pennsylvania, U.S., Veterans Card Files, 1775-1916". Pennsylvania State Archives; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File; Series Number: 13.50. Name: James Greenland; Rank: Private; Enlistment Date: 1775-1783; Enlistment Place: Pennsylvania, USA; Muster Date: 10 Mar 1781; Regiment: Washington Co. Rangers.

2) "U.S., Compiled Service Records, Post-Revolutionary War Volunteer Soldiers, 1784-1811". National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served from 1784 to 1811. Name: James Greenland; State or Territory: USA; Service Year: 1791; Military Unit: Second Regiment; Rank: Private.

3) Knepper, George W. (2002) "The Official Ohio Lands Book." Columbus, OH : The Auditor of the State. : . https://ohioauditor.gov/publications/docs/OhioLandsBook.pdf : 2023.

4) "Ohio, U.S., Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908". Original data: United States, Bureau of Land Management. Ohio Pre-1908 Homestead & Cash Entry Patent and Cadastral Survey Plat Index. General Land Office Automated Records Project, 1996. {{Ancestry Record|2077|96650}} (accessed 11 November 2023). Name: James Greenland; Warrantee Name: James Greenland; Land Office: Ohio; Total Acres: 100; Signature: Yes; Canceled Document: No; Issue Date: 28 Dec 1802; Metes and Bounds: No; Statutory Reference: 1 Stat. 480; Multiple Warantee Names: No; Act or Treaty: 1 Jun 1796; Multiple Patentee Names: No; Entry Classification: United Brethren Warrant Act; Land Description: 1 3 US MILITARY SURVEY No 2 N 2 W 3.

5) "U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900". Original data: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C (accessed 11 November 2023). Name: James Greenland; Pension Year: 1818; Application State: Pennsylvania; Archive Publication Number: M804; Archive Roll Number: 1125; Total Pages in Packet: 20.

6) Eckley, H.J.; History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, (Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing, 1921). Volume 2, pp.444-5. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/576876/?offset=1#page=464&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0&q=Greenland : 2023.

7) Thane, Pat (2010) "Happy Families? History and Family Policy". The British Academy Policy Centre, pp.45-47, https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/249/Happy-families-History-family-policy.pdf : 2023.

8) Alice Velková & Petr Tureček (2022) Influence of parental death on child mortality and the phenomenon of the stepfamily in western Bohemia in 1708–1834, The History of the Family, 27:3, 434-452, DOI: 10.1080/1081602X.2021.1986738 : 2023.

9) "Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998". Probate Case Files, Ca. 1808-1920. Isabelle Greenlun probate in 1860-1868.

10) From the obituary of John Jaax dated 30 Jun 1906: "John Jaax, one of the pioneers of Minneapolis, died in his home, 803 Spring street northeast, June 27. Mr. Jaax was born in Germany in 1833 and came to this county in 1854. He lived in Milwaukee about two years, where he married Mary Ries. He then came to Minneapolis with his bride and located on a farm at Medicine Lake." 

11) "U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918". Collection Number: G&M_71; Roll Number: 71{{Ancestry Record|1127|2891957}} (accessed 18 November 2023) Owner's Name: Ida E Greenlun; State: Minnesota; County: Anoka and Hennepin; Town: Anoka; Year: 1914.

12) See bio of "U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current" Original data: Find a Grave. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi; URL: {{FindAGrave|139287412}} (accessed 18 November 2023). Maud Greenlun burial (died on 9 Apr 1879) in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States of America. Born in Jan 1879.

13) See bio of "U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current". Original data: Find a Grave. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi; URL: {{FindAGrave|139287382}} (accessed 18 November 2023) Wesley Michael Greenlun burial (died in Jul 1880) in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States of America. Born in May 1880.

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The Taylor's Move Westward

Family Line Links: (WikiTree.com)(Ancestry.com)(FamilySearch.org)

Researching common surnames is tricky, because there are just so many people that are possible matches. Sorting out one from another can be difficult to impossible. As such, it is unfortunately not yet possible to take my Taylor line back as far as many of my other lines. Regardless, this is the line of my birth father, so I will do it as much justice as I can. The surname itself is English in origin, though it was found widely throughout Scotland, Wales, and Ireland as well. Its comes from the French word "tailleur" in about the 12th century, and means "cutter of cloth".  Although the Tailor spelling is most common, many variations were created during the centuries when spelling was undertaken using "sounds-like" logic rather than any type of standardization.

Tailors were members of the craft guilds in early England, when it was common to use a surname that related to ones occupation.

The Taylor surname has been found in America as far back as the early 1600's, but the earliest my specific line of Taylor's can be reliably traced is to a man named Josiah W. Taylor, who was born in North Carolina in about 1781. In approximately 1807, he married a woman named Elizabeth (last name unknown), also from NC, and they started a family. By 1820, they were living in Rockingham County, NC, and had 4 children- 1 girl, and 3 boys (see Note 1). This area of NC was first heavily settled by Whites in the 1760's, so it is likely that it was his father, rather than him, who first came to the state, but we do not yet have a record for him. Most of the early settlers came from VA by way of the Great Wagon Road, originally an Iroquois Indian Path that started in Philadelphia. White settlers had been expanding this path to accommodate wagons since the 1730s, and by the mid-1750s, the expansion reached into upper North Carolina where Rockingham Co. is found.

The Great Wagon Road, the southern branch of which was called the Carolina Road, was a major route of travel for settlers starting in the 1740s. The blue circle identifies Rockingham Co. in the north central part of the state.

In about 1832, Josiah W. moved his family to Newton Co., Georgia. This part of GA had previously been settled by the Muscogee Creek Native Americans. However, settler outcry following the 1814 Red-Stick Rebellion was the final straw in convincing the US government that the Indians needed to leave. Beginning in 1821, the US government began selling Indian land, acquired through forced concessions, to White settlers using a lottery system. Then, after Andrew Jackson was elected in 1829, the Indian Removal Act was passed, and by 1834 all the remaining Creek Indians had been forcibly removed. Josiah W. does not seem to have arrived to Newton Co., GA during the 1821 land grant lottery, so it us unlikely that he was the first land owner, but he does mention in his will that the land was originally called Lot #243. Not long after arriving in GA, his oldest daughter married a man named Elijah from the neighboring Plunkett family. By 1835, all of his children were of legal age (21), which was fortunate, because only 4 years later, in the summer of 1839, Josiah W. died at the age of only 58.

Map showing the years of the Georgia land lottery grants. Land in Newton County, Georgia, (shown circled in blue, and originally part of Henry County), was first sold in the 1821 lottery. Land sold in the 1805/1807 lotteries was from non-coerced treaties prior to the 1814 rebellion, though many of the terms of those treaties were not later honored by the US government.

Artists depiction of the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery. The first barrel had slips of paper with the names of all the lottery participants. The second barrel had lot numbers for all the land claims available, as well as enough blank slips to add up to the total number of people participating. For each draw, a slip was taken from each barrel. If your name was paired with a lot number, you were allowed to pay the grant fee to claim it. If you chose not to claim it, it was auctioned off to the highest bidder.

In Josiah W.'s 1839 last will and testament, a number of things are made clear. One, his wife is still living, but is also of failing health (they were both in their late 50s). Two, his oldest daughter, Mary, has already died, (probably around 1836), but has left two grandchildren: Elizabeth Jane and Charlie Taylor Plunkett. Three, his sons Alford and Richard are still living nearby (in fact, his youngest, Alford, is living on a part of his father's land already). And four, his third born son, William Wesley Taylor (b. 1814), has left for the Republic of Texas sometime in the past, has not bothered to write since, and is now cut out of the will. Guess which child I am related to? Yep, William.

Will of Josiah W. Taylor (see Note 2), signed Jan 1839, in which he states, "2nd I give and bequeath unto my son William Taylor who I presume is now in the Republik of Texas, the Sum of one Dollar." Note that giving $1 was a way of making clear that one had not simply forgotten to mention a person, but rather was making a conscious decision not to leave them anything of value.

William Wesley seemed struck with wander lust throughout his life, and before his time on earth was done, he would travel as far as the shores of California. For now though, he made his way to the new Republic of Texas, which was not yet formally a part of the United States. He stopped in the city of Nacogdoches, once the second largest town in Texas, and then known as the Gateway to Texas. The eastern part of future Texas was being heavily settled in the late 1830's after winning its War of Independence with Mexico in 1836. Like many others, William Wesley must have been taken in by its abundant cheap land and new nation idealism. In July 1840, he married a woman named Elizabeth Anderson from Alabama, and they started a family which would one day expand to 9 children (8 of whom survived to adulthood). His third born son, Josiah Anderson Taylor (b.1844), was my direct ancestor.

Artists depiction of the Battle of the Alamo (current day San Antonio ) in Feb 1836- a ten day siege which left almost all of the hopelessly outnumbered 200 White frontiersmen defending the fort dead. The resolution to the Texas War of Independence came two months later on 21 April 1836. Troops gathered under General Sam Houston re-attacked the fort while the Mexican soldiers slept, with battle cries of "Remember the Alamo!". Half of the Mexican army was killed, and the rest were taken prisoner. Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna signed a peace treaty shortly after. Texas finally officially became a state on 29 Dec, 1845.

Sometime in the 1850s, perhaps after the death of his wife in 1858 (likely in childbirth at the age of 35), William picked up stakes and pushed westwards again with his 8 children, this time to a farm in Corsicana, Navarro, TX. Despite his still young family, he did not remarry. His oldest child, Margaretta, was a teenager by then though, and was likely a big help for her younger siblings, most of whom were male. However, in Oct 1860, Margaretta married, and moved to Freestone Co., TX, with her new husband Abe Boyd. Four months later, the political situation leading up to the Civil War was coming to a boil. In Mar 1861, Texas formally seceded from the Union, and on 12 Apr 1861, the first shots of the war were fired in SC. By Sep 1862, the two oldest boys, William Alfred and Josiah A., joined the Confederate cause as part of the voluntary 20th Texas Cavalry. This left the next oldest child, 16 year old Robert, to help with his 4 younger siblings, who ranged in age from 4-14 years old at that time.

After fighting many battles across AR and Indian Territory (future OK), The 20th Texas Cavalry laid down their arms on 23 Jun 1865. William A. and Josiah A. returned home as young men of 22 and 20 years respectively. Unfortunately, Civil War soldiers were not provided with the land grants that were usually rewarded for military service. Furthermore, Confederate soldiers were barred from participating in the 1862 Homestead Act. And while the war had ended, the south was in disarray, both economically and socially. Yet with 4 boys reaching the age of maturity in the 1860s, what was this widowed father to do? The answer- Go West! Specifically to El Monte, Los Angeles Co., California, where the prior gold rush had driven wheat prices up to very lucrative levels. All but 3 of his living children (Margaret and Josiah A., who were already married, and James, who had just reached adulthood) chose to go, and they arrived to the area late in 1871 (Ref 1). Soon after arriving though, William Wesley Taylor died at the age of 59. None the less, his four children stayed in CA and raised families of their own, and hopefully William W.'s felt his ambitions for adventure has been attained. 

Memorial Grave marker for William Wesley Taylor placed in the El Monte, CA Savannah Memorial Park Cemetery. The exact location of his burial is unknown.

William Wesley's son, Josiah A. Taylor (my ancestor), was one of the three kids who stayed behind in Texas. In 1867, a year and a half after returning from the war, he married 16 year old Susan Celestial Little from Arkansas, and they moved southward near Buffalo, Leon Co., TX to start a family. Susan's family never lived in Texas, so perhaps Josiah first met her while he was serving in the military. Josiah A. was a farmer like his father, and he and Susan had 9 children (7 of whom lived to adulthood). Also like his father, his wife passed suddenly in 1888 at the age of only 38 (again likely in childbirth). Josiah was 43 at the time. 

Grave marker for Susan Celestial (Little) Taylor at the Wheelock Cemetery in Flo, Leon Co., TX.

Unlike his father, Josiah A. decided not to continue the remainder of his life in widowhood. Within a year, he remarried to a much younger woman named Mary Jane Sessions. Mary Jane was 23 years old (only two years older than his oldest child, Cora), and was an orphan originally from Alabama. She had lost her mother at the age of 5. Her father had quickly remarried, and soon had 3 more children, but then he died as well when she was 11. Sadly, her step-mother was unable (or unwilling) to keep all of the children from the first marriage. Instead, she and her younger siblings were split up and went to live with different families, including her identical twin sister, Lillie Jane. Mary Jane was sent to Cherokee Co., TX to live with the Deaton family, which must be how she met the Taylors. So although it may have been a bit unusual for a young woman to enter into marriage with a much older man that already had 7 children, it may also have been a practical choice for an orphaned young woman with few options. Josiah A. and Mary Jane went on to have 10 more children (8 of whom lived to adulthood). Their third born child, Oliver Anderson Taylor (b.1893), was my direct ancestor.

Josiah A. Taylor with his second wife and children (Back row, left to right : Gertrude, Norman, Cora, Oliver. Front row: Josiah, Lee Roy, Ben, Mary Jane (Sessions)). Circa 1900.

Lillie Jane (Sessions) Drury and Mary Jane (Sessions) Taylor, circa 1940s

When Andrew Jackson forced the southeastern Native Americans west on the Trail of Tears in the late 1830s, he deposited them in an area that would one day become part of Oklahoma, but which was then unorganized territory that extended as far west as future Utah and as far north as Canada. Of course, as would so often be repeated, it was not long before White settlers wanted this land too. Congress passed a "solution" in the form of the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act, which whittled Indian territory down to 5 reservations (one for each of the so called 5 Civilized Tribes) that all fit within future Oklahoma state. Then they rounded the Native Americans up, and forced them to relocate once again. In return, the US military was supposed to provide military protection for their much diminished numbers from further land incursions and attacks by White settlers or other tribes.

Map showing forced relocations of the "5 Civilized Tribes" after the Indian Removal Act of 1830

This "solution" became problematic once Civil War began. Through economic adaptation to White settlers, the institution of chattel slavery had become a part of some Indian cultures too. Although only about 3% of Native Americans owned slaves overall, the custom varied considerably by tribe, with Cherokees holding the most (up to 8% in the 1860s), down to the Seminole, who were anti-slavery, and often took in escaped slaves (see Note 3). Many of the Native Americans in Indian Territory also saw themselves as southerners though, and had interests in siding with the newly ceded Confederate States of America. Furthermore, Texas had a particular interest in courting the tribes to their side so that Indian Territory could act as buffer between them and the Union states to the north. Additionally, the Confederates also saw the Oklahoma territory as a gateway to further westward expansion now that MO and KS were blocked. None the less, many Native Americans were interested in trying to remain neutral during the White conflict, so that better land terms could possibly be renegotiated with the victors when it was over. Thus, many factions within the tribes themselves were stirred up by the political conflict within the US.

Red indicates the states of the Confederate while Blue indicates states of the Union (light blue were border Union states that still supported slavery but did not cede). Gray indicates unorganized territories of no particular affiliation, with the exception of the Indian Territories of future Oklahoma.

After formation of the Confederacy in Feb 1861, Confederate delegates began to pressure the various Indian tribes for their alliance. By May 1861, Union armies had seen enough of this activity that they decided to pull out of their role as territory protectors, and withdraw to Kansas instead. Native Americans seeking protection from White settlers or war skirmishes would need to flee northward to Kansas with them and become war refugees. Those who did though, suffered a bitter winter of exposure and starvation as their were no preparations for their arrival. Those who stayed felt equally in peril. No longer having the promised military protection, and surrounded by Confederate power, anti-slavery Union supporting tribes began to reconsider their position. By Nov 1861, most tribes in Indian Territory had sided with the Confederacy.

Native Americans being sworn in for Confederate military service

Siding with the Confederates during the war proved disastrous for the Native Americans once the war was lost. All treaties made with the Confederacy during the war were declared to be null and void, and tribes were informed that new treaties would need to be negotiated. A mandatory summons to each of the five tribes was issued by the US government to send a representative for these negotiations. During these meetings, Confederate siding tribes were forced to cede additional land, which the US government set aside to use for later resettlement of the Plains Indians during further westward expansions. Then, in 1871, it went a step further and declared that it would no longer recognize any Indian Nations as having sovereignty separate from the US, and thus would no longer treaty with them period. One of the many effects of all this was that it created areas within Indian Territory that were considered "Unassigned", a designation which proved rife for White squatters. The newly forming railroad companies, in particular, further fanned the flames of these settler incursions in order to drive up demand for travel west.

1880 flyer put out by the railroad industry advertising "Unassigned Indian Lands" to White settlers

Initially the US government tried to keep the squatters out. But the 1880s saw the formation of a particularly vocal group of land rights activists called the "Boomers" that would not be swayed. By 1889, the US government had given up defense of a position it had never really wanted to take anyways. It signed into law another appropriations act that would open Indian Territory to White settlement under the 1862 Homestead Act, and officially designated it as Oklahoma Territory in 1890. The Oklahoma land rush was soon in full swing. Josiah A., already having 6 new kids with his second wife Mary, was ready to take part in this movement by 1898. Though still not eligible for a land grant, by the 1900 census, they are found living as tenant farmers in Township 1S, Range 4W of Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory (near Alma). Not long after, Mary Jane's twin sister Lillie, now Lillie Drury, followed with her family and settled about 15 miles away in the city of Graham.

Land rush unfolding in Guthrie, OK (just north of present day Oklahoma City) 10 days after the 22 Apr 1889 government sanctioned opening of Indian Territory for settlement. Would-be settlers would stake their claim for 160 acres with tents, and then rush to the land office to make it official as quickly as possible before someone else could take it from them.

Map showing survey lots for the "Unassigned Lands" of the Chickasaw Nation in 1903. The green circle shows the location of the first homestead (near Alma) which was being rented by Josiah A.'s family in 1900. The blue square shows the approximate location (west of Ardmore, then part of Morgan Twp.) of the family home in 1910. The purple circle show the location of Mary Jane's twin sister Lillie Drury in Graham. 

Like his Taylor father and grandfather before him, Josiah A. died in his late 50's. Mary Jane, only 38 at the time (1904), was 7 months pregnant with their 10th child. Unlike what occurred in her childhood though, Mary Jane seems to have tried to keep the family together, though most of the older children from Josiah's first marriage had already left home and resettled back in Leon Co., TX. Mary Jane ended up having to move to another property, perhaps something more affordable, or simply something easier to manage, being closer to the city of Ardmore compared with the previous farm. In 1910, they were still renting the land, which by 1907 was officially considered a part of Carter Co., OK. Her oldest son, Oliver A., and her youngest step-son, James Robert, helped her to work the farm and the rest attended school. Mary Jane's twin sister, Lillie, and her large family were still nearby as well.

Mary Jane (Sessions) Taylor and family, probably about 1907. Back row, left to right: Norman, Oliver, Gertrude, Ethel. Front row, left to right: Nora, Lee Roy, Ben, Arthur, and Mary Jane.

Farming life was hard though, and periodic droughts, accompanied by fluctuating grain prices made it tricky business. Meanwhile, Mary Jane's oldest daughter, Ethel, had married in 1907 and moved away to Mitchell Co., TX with her new husband Luther Carpenter. Then, sadly, her next oldest daughter, Gertrude, died in 1910 at the age of 18. She was laid to rest alongside her father, sister Ruby, and step-brother Joseph in the Graham Cemetery. Next, in 1915, at the age of 21, her oldest son Oliver married Elma Evans from Bastrop Co., TX, and got a job in Fayette Co., TX as a railroad telegrapher. Perhaps unable to manage the farming without him, Mary Jane soon decided to pack up, take her remaining children, and leave Oklahoma behind. She re-settled in Mitchell Co., TX, where her daughter Ethel's family was living. Most of her children settled there after marriage as well, though some went back to Carter Co., OK eventually. In later life she remarried (twice), but never had more children.

Josiah Anderson Taylor's grave marker (d. 1904) at the Graham Cemetery in Graham, Carter Co., OK

Mary Jane (Sessions) Taylor gravestone at the Colorado City Cemetery in Colorado City, Mitchell Co., TX. About 1928 she remarried to Phillip Byrd (d.1944) and sometime after 1940 she remarried again to Needham Browne (d.1948).

Oliver A., my direct ancestor, seems to have been a bit less settled in life than many of his other siblings. Although only 11 when his father Josiah died, he was the oldest boy of the second marriage, and perhaps had more than the typical amount expected of him. He also seems to have been more intellectually oriented than most of his siblings. He attended school through the 10th grade (10.5 was average at that time, and only 8.2 was the median for rural males) whereas most of his siblings had dropped out by 8th grade, some even as early as 5th grade. He never moved to Mitchell Co., TX to be close to his family like most of his siblings, but he and Elma had three children of their own, Oliver Jr., James W. (b.1917, my direct line), and Dorothy. Oliver, Jr. died at only 3 months of age due to "accidental asphyxiation" (which was often really SIDS in the years before this was better understood). By 1920, Oliver and Elma had moved to New Ulm, Austin Co., TX. There they divorced in about 1932, during the Great Depression, after which Elma became a practical nurse in a private home to support herself.

Overexposed photo of Oliver A. Taylor circa 1925

Oliver remarried again shortly after the divorce, and moved to Taylor, Williamson Co., TX, but by 1940, he was divorced once again. Then in 1949, he married his third wife, Sophie (Liesman) Voight, and they moved to New Braunfels, Comal Co., TX where they spent the remainder of their years together. Oliver's son James would continue his father's intellectual bend and go on to become a mechanical engineer. He would also serve as a Capt. in the army during WWII, and would one day become my grandfather.

Grave marker for Oliver A. Taylor & Sophie (Liesman) Taylor at the Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park in New Braunfels, TX

Notes

1) Due to the many Josiah Taylor's, there is some question as to which one is the correct one. On the 1880 census, Josiah's youngest son Alford lists both his, and his parents states of birth as North Carolina. William Wesley sometimes lists his state of birth on the census as NC (1850), and other times as GA (1860). Assuming the family really is from NC originally though, it is likely that they were in Newton Co., Georgia by 1833, as that is when/where his oldest child, Mary, was married. 

There is more than one Josiah Taylor living in NC during the early 1800s, but the only one whose family makeup seems to match the 4 children listed in Josiah's will is the one living in Rockingham Co., NC in 1820 and 1830. Unfortunately, census records do not list names for anyone but the head of household before 1850. Using the stated age ranges/sexes of his children though, it is likely they were all born between about 1808-1816. This would suggest that Josiah and Elizabeth were married around 1807, and should be on the 1810 NC census as well, but there are no census records for nearby areas that match the family makeup well for that year. The best we can assume at this point is that they are from NC originally, and moved to Newton Co., GA sometime between Jun 1830 and Dec 1833.

Also note that the Josiah and Elizabeth (Harris) Taylor, who were married in Stokes Co., NC in 1805 (which is right next to Rockingham Co.) are not the same couple. They were still living in Stokes Co, NC in 1850, and were both buried there in the early 1860s.

For future research, it would be interesting to trace some of the other Taylor's they lived by in TX to see if they might be related further back. Particularly those by the Wheeler Cemetery in Flo, Leon, TX and those living in Fort Boggy, Leon Co., TX in the 1840s.

2) The writing in Josiah W.'s will is one of the more flowery pieces of prose I have read for these types of documents, and would suggest that he was a rather religious man. Interestingly, though obviously economic in nature, many early craft guilds in England derived from both religious and political interests, and some of those associated with the Tailors were particularly pious. My favorite part of Josiah W.'s will is as follow: 

"first and principally above all I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian burial nothing doubting that I shall receive it again at the general resurrection by the mighty power of God, and as touching(?) such worldly estate where with it has pleased God to help me with in this life I give demise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form"

3) Well before the introduction of African chattel slaves by Whites, many Native American tribes practiced slavery by means of intra-racial war prisoners. They were usually noncombatant women and children whose family member had been killed in battle. They were not necessarily seen as an inferior people, however, and often eventually became a part of the new family unit.

References

"Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties, California Biographical History" [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Fresno, Tulare, and Kern, California. Chicago, IL, USA: Lewis Publishing, [1892], p.726.

For Birth, Marriage, Death, Obit, Census, and Will records, please see links to Wikitree, Ancestry, or Family Search.