Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Margaret Jane Munson m Giles P Weaks

Amos Munson, who I wrote about here, is my 3rd great grandfather. My 2nd great grandmother was his daughter Mary Ann who married William Custer Smith and resided in the Butler/Bremer/ Chickasaw counties area of Iowa after leaving Grant County, Wisconsin in the 1860s. Amos' daughter Henrietta Munson Woodington is well-chronicled here.

These four daughters will be the basis for the next few posts.

MARGARET JANE MUNSON

Born 05 Sep 1831 in Trumbull County, Ohio, Margaret was the eldest child of Amos and Mary Ann and most likely named for Amos' mother, Margaret Gregory. The Munson's came to the Eastern District of Grant County in 1849/1850 when Margaret was 18 years old.

Grant County had been established in 1837. Located in the southwest corner of the state, European settlers had started arriving by the 1820s. Mining operations (and an influx of Cornish miners) of lead

and zinc began in the mid-1820s in Hardscrabble (now Hazel Green) in Grant, Wisconsin. This area of Wisconsin is particularly beautiful and full of rolling hills because it did not, as a land, fall victim to the glaciers that flattened out much of the Midwest million of years before. As mining waned, farming flourished due to its fertile land.

Glen Haven, Wisconsin

The Munson's ended up in Glen Haven (originally called Stump Town), which was platted in 1857, just a year after the first steam ferry started operating. When the railroad arrived in 1884, the town flourished to its greatest degree and became a shipping point for both stock and farmed materials between St Paul and Chicago 1 As time went on and the locks and dams on the Mississippi were completed and transportation shifted to trucks for conveyance, Glen Haven slowly shrunk to less than 100 residents.

Margaret met Mr. Giles P. Weaks, son of Robert and Catherine Weaks, who originally hailed from Virginia, and married him on 05 Oct 1851 in Grant County. Giles purchased 40 acres of land at 1 SWNE 4TH PM - 1831 MINNESOTA/ WISCONSIN No 5 N 4 W 2 in 1857.2 They resided in Glen Haven as of the 1860 Census and by 1870 would have grown their family to five children. The 1870 Census also has them located in Glen Haven.

The children: James P. (who died prior to his father's death), Alice J. (who died at age 20 in 1876 in Glen Haven), Matilda Dell Siglin, Floy Margaret Rogers (later Hoppa), and Frank.

1880 found the Weaks family living in Bethel Township in Fayette County, Iowa. They owned 120 acres along the southern edge of the township that place them in Fayette County by at least 1879. I theorized in my post about Amos that for some time, Margaret's parents resided with them until Amos' death in 1885. Margaret followed him in 04 Oct 1896. Her mother, Mary Ann, moved on to live with her daughter Julia Newcomb in Howard, Howard County. Giles lived until 1902 and died in Hawkeye in Fayette County. He left all his worldy goods to his three remaining children.

Giles will is available on Ancestry.com and is below, stating:

First. That all my debts be paid.
Second: I give and bequeath to my daughter Matilda Dell Siglin, the sum of $600.00
Third: I give and bequeath to my son Frank Weaks, the sum of $500, also all my household goods, gray mare, single harness, double harness, buggy, and wagon.
Fourth: That all of my personal property be sold other than the above names.
Fifth: That after the above bequeaths (sic) have been paid, my estate shall be divided equally between my son Frank Weaks and my daughter Matilda Dell Siglin and Floy(d) (sic) Rogers.
Sixth: And lastly, I do hereby appoint my friend D W Wilbur to be the executor of this my last Will and Testament.

Giles Weaks Last Will & Testament

1 http://mississippivalleytraveler.com/glen-haven/
2 Wisconsin, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Clan William: Amos Munson from Trumbull County

Glen Haven, Grant County, Wisconsin

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson m Mary Ann Kearney

Amos is my 3rd great grandfather.

Samuel Munson, son of William Munson and Rebecca Curtis, came to Brookfield, Trumbull County, Ohio from New Haven County, Connecticut with his family in about 1806. Son, Freeman, born near Waterbury, Connecticut in 1878 lived as an adult in Vienna Township and farmed. You can read a little about Freeman here and here.

Freeman's son Amos, born 31 Jan 1809 in Trumbull County, married Mary Ann Kearney on 20 Aug 1831, in Vienna. The 1850 Census shows that by 1850, the Munson's were living in the Eastern District of Grant County, Wisconsin, Since their final child of eight, Charles Fremont Munson, is shown to have been born in Ohio in 1849, I would surmise that their trip took place sometime between 1849-1850.

Their first child, Margaret was born on 05 Sep 1831 in Trumbull County, according to her Iowa Burial record (this is less than a month after their marriage, so this birth date might have been inaccurately reported - or not!). She would marry Giles Weaks on 05 Oct 1851 in Grant County, Wisconsin. Amos' fourth child, Caroline Amanda, was born in about 1838 in Trumbull County, and would marry Uri Clark Newcomb, Jr. on 01 Sep 1860 in Grant Count, Wisconsin. "U.C" or "Clark" was the son of Colonel Uri Clark Newcomb, Sr. and Emily Tyler, originally of Montrose, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.

Amos Munson & Mary Ann Kearney
20 Aug 1831, Trumbull County

Amos is shown in 1860 as living in Glen Haven in Grant County.

In 1880, Amos and Mary Ann were living in Perry in Tama County, Iowa with son Charles and his wife Stella and their son. Daughter Caroline, now Caroline Newcomb, and her family living nearby. Caroline died in 1893. In 1873 "U. C." Newcomb was the owner of the first harness shop in Traer which he sold to his nephew A. G. Newcomb in 1883.

Amos's burial record indicates that he died 05 Aug 1885 and was buried in Hawkeye. His daughter Margaret Weaks, lived in Bethel Township in 1880, which is right next door to the Hawkeye cemetery where Amos was buried. Margaret died in 1896. Margaret's husband Giles P. Weaks, died in 1900 in Hawkeye, which he stated in his will was his residence. I theorize that in Amos' waning years, they lived with Margaret and her family.

Hawkeye Cemetery

Mary Ann left Fayette County sometime after her daughter Margaret's death. She is found in Howard County living with whom with double-son-in-law U.C. Newcomb and his former sister-in-law/now wife (her daughter) Julia. Her daughter, U.C.'s wife had died in 1893. Mary Ann died in Howard on 12 Oct 1901. She was buried in Hawkeye with her husband Amos. Her daughter Julia died in 1911.

Of interest is that Amos' sister, Henrietta Vaughn, lived very close by in Randalia, Fayette County, Iowa and clears up some of the mystery of what happened to the Freeman Munson children who left Trumbull County.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Clan William: Franklin David Munson

Boscobel WI

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Franklin David Munson m Susan White

We've covered all the rest of the children of Amos Munson leaving the oldest of two sons of the Amos Munson-Mary Ann Kearney union.

Frank was born 11 Oct 1846 in Trumbull County, Ohio and came with the family to Grant County, Wisconsin in 1849/1850. Most of the family ended up in Iowa, but Frank stayed in Wisconsin, settling first in Boscobel, Rock County, then Marietta, Crawford County and then back to the lovely town of Boscobel.

Before finding a place to settle, he married Susan White, born in 1847 in Mineral Point, Iowa. They married 02 Jul 1868 in Grant County and started their family that would include six daughters. He worked as a common laborer and in manufacturing. At the end of his life, while living in Boscobel, he was streets commissioner. He died 25 Aug 1920. His wife Susan lived until 24 Nov 1935 and also died in Boscobel.

The daughters were:

Cool old Boscobel Gas Station

Ida May Munson, born 08 Mar 1870 in Cassville, Grant County. She married first Millard Callaway, who worked in a saw mill, and had a boy and a girl before Millard died in 1924. She then married a very well-to-do banker widower named Charles William Menkhausen. It was a short union, as they married some time after his first wife's death in 1936 and he died in 1947. Ida lived until 02 Jan 1964.

Effa Jane Munson was born 24 Nov 1873 in Boscobel. She married Avery L. Flansburgh on 14 Dec 1892 in Grant County. They had seven children. Avery was a general farm worker and later worked a stock farm. He died 03 Dec 1942 on his farm of a massive heart attack. His wife died 05 Feb 1969 in Boscobel at the age of 95.

Historic Downtown Boscobel

Alta May Munson, who went by May, was born 01 Sep 1876 in Boscobel. In 1895, she lived in Duluth, Minn and worked in a candy factory. She worked manufacturing jobs at home too. By 1920, she was home, caring for her parents. Her father died and she continued caring for her mother. She never married and the last census for her, 1940, has her living with her sister Nellie. She died 25 Mar 1965 in Boscobel.

Nellie Franklin "Kinnie" Munson was born 30 Sep 1878 in Boscobel. She also never married and worked manufacturing jobs as well. In 1920, she operated a smelter. In 1930, she was a live-in housekeeper for widower Charles Williams and cared for his two daughters.In 1940, she was a maid in a private home. She was the second to the last of the girls surviving - she died 18 Sep 1975 in Boscobel at age 96.

Margaret "Maggie" Munson was born 03 Dec 1880 in Marietta, Crawford County. She married Lou Fred Bock on 21 Sep 1908 in Clay County, Iowa. They had two kids, a boy and a girl. Lou was a soft drink manufacturer. Maggie died 30 Oct 1966 and Lou died 17 Nov 1961.

Jettie Rowena Munson was born 01 Jan 1884 in Scott, Crawford County. She married later in life after teaching elementary school on 11 Nov 1921 in Milwaukee. Her husband, Boyd Arthur Smith, a farmer. Boyd died 20 Oct 1965 in Racine. Jettie had no children and was the last of the girls to go. She died 20 Oct 1975 in Boscobel.

Franklin David Munson

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Clan William: Scandal Sheet: Fred Gentholtz, Rape Trial

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Marietta Munson > Fred Gentholtz

My 4th great grandfather, Freeman Munson and his wife Margaret Gregory's second daughter, Marietta "Mary" Munson, was born 20 May 1821 in Trumbull County, Ohio. She married Jacob "Jack" Gentholtz in 1840 in Trumbull County. Jack was a German from Baden-Wurttemberg who emigrated in 1831. Together, they had at least eight children. Among those, was Fred. The children had frequently used the spelling of "Gentholts" and many of them formally adopted that spelling. Records may be in either spelling.

Jacob Friederich "Fred" was born in about 1860. In 1880, Fred, at 22, was working as a blacksmith in Youngstown in Mahoning County. On 02 Feb 1884, he married a young woman named Jennie Iley, who had been working as a servant in Youngstown. Fred became well-known in the community for his smithy skills and life looked very promising for the young couple. In 1892, this would change dramatically.

Younqstown, Aug. 1 Special. Fred Gentboltz, a well-known blacksmith, was arrested to-day charged with assaulting his niece. Miss .Nellie Clark, aged 15. On July 4 the girl came here from Cleveland, where she had lived for 12 years with Mr. and Mrs. Burson (ed note: her mother and stepfather), as she claimed she was not treated properly. Two weeks later Mrs. Gentholtz left to visit friends out .of the city, and on the Saturday evening after she departed Gentholtz came home intoxicated. The injured girl related the story of tbe assault to her cousin, and by advice kept quiet until to-day, when Mrs. Gentholtz returned and hearing or the affair had the uncle arrested. The victim relates a very straight story or the treatment she received. The case was this afternoon placed in the bands of the prosecuting attorney.
August 2, 1892
Pittsburgh Dispatch from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Page 8

It took until late October for the case to come to trial. The last report was the day before testimony wrapped up and this was the final report available in various online news archives:

In court this afternoon, the case of Ohio against Fred Gentholtz, indicted for raping a 15-year-old girl named Margaret Clark was begun before Judge Johnston and a jury. The girl lived with Mr & Mrs Gentholtz and while Mrs Gentholtz was away attending a sick relative, the girl alleges that Mr Gentholtz assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she told it. The girl is a remarkably bright girl, 15 years of age. She is pretty too. The court room was crowded all day. The testimony will be finished tomorrow.
Date: Friday, October 28, 1892 Paper: Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) Page: 2

Then, it was announced that his attorney would ask for a retrial and call into question the morals of the girl. The retrial was granted and Fred ended up walking away with a fine.

Frederick Gentholts, convicted of criminal assault upon his niece, Margaret Clark, alias Nellie Burson, aged 15, of Cleveland, was granted a new trial today on the ground that she had not testified correctly regarding her conduct with a young man residing here. The State accepted a plea of guilty of assault and Gentholts was fined $50 and the costs, which will amount to $200.
Cleveland Leader, Thurs Dec 08, 1892 Cleveland, Ohio

The next thing that happened is his wife divorced him.

Mrs Jennie Gentholtz today began suit for divorce from her husband, Fred Gentholtz. Her petition stated that during her absence last summer, committed adultery and rape upon Nellie Clark, a 14-year-old girl who was staying with their family. She also asks for alimony.
Youngstown News Notes. Tanner, the Carbon Murderer, on the Way Back Home
Date: Sunday, December 25, 1892 Paper: Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) Page: 2
===

Young Nellie was returned to the home of her stepfather, William P. Burson in Cleveland immediately after the trial.

Jennie married Mr. Theodore Chevalier. Jennie died in 1917, at age 44, in a tragic accident - her clothes were set on fire from the ash of the pipe she was smoking.

Zelma, the cousin who was told about the rape, and the daughter of the Gentholtz union, born in 1887, could be found in 1900 living in a Children's Home in Howland Township in Mahoning County. She married three times and died in 1958. Son James Jacob Gentholtz changed his name to Iley and was adopted by Jennie's relative William Iley and his wife Susana. He was born 28 Jul 1890 and died 11 Jan 1968 in Arlington, Virginia.

The next time I can locate Fred it's 1910 and he's working as laborer in Warren, Ohio. He lived a long life, living with his daughter Zelma in 1930 and with his grandson James in 1940 in Washington DC, and died in 1949.

Jennie Iley Gentholtz Chevalier death certificate

Monday, October 31, 2016

Clan William: The Vaughns of Trumbull County

Trumbull County

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Henrietta Munson m John Lorin Vaughn

and...

James VAUGHN m Olive CABLE > John VAUGHN > John Lorin VAUGHN m Henrietta MUNSON

This is in relation to the sister of my 3rd great grandfather, Amos Munson, both children of Freeman Munson.

John Vaughn and his wife Betsey Burr (who is distantly related to Aaron Burr) were descendants of some of the earlier families of Fairfield County, Connecticut that included the Timothy Wheelers, the Andrew Cables, the John Burrs, and the Samuel Wilsons. Little is known about the origins of James Vaughn, John's father.

Olive Cable was married to William Jackson Meeker and had a number of children before his death in 1777. Olive remarried James Vaughn, with whom she had at least five children before his death in Fairfield County, Connecticut in about 1787.

John Vaughn, son of James and Olive, along with several of his half-siblings, sons and daughter of William Meeker and Olive, left for some fertile new farming land in Fowler, Trumbull County, Ohio in 1806:

This township formerly known as Westfield, contains 16,500 acres. It was purchased from the Connecticut Land company by Samuel Fowler, of Westfield, Massachusetts, and sold to settlers under his direction. Titus Brockway was granted power of attorney to dispose of 10,000 acres. Abner Fowler, brother of the proprietor, in consideration of services rendered in surveying this land, received 100 acres at the center of the township.
The township was purchased by Mr. Fowler in 1798, for less than fifty cents per acre.
Only five families settled in the township before 1805. These were the families of Levi Foote, already mentioned; Lemuel Barnes, who lived one-half mile north of the center; John Morrow, at the center; Hillman Fisher, and Drake, who lived on the ridge.
In 1806 seven families arrived from Connecticut, having left that State in the fall of the same year. A month or six weeks later they arrived in New Connecticut. These emigrants were Elijah Tyrrell and wife, nee Clarissa Meeker, with her brother, Justus, Daniel, Lyman, and William Meeker; John Vaughn and Wakeman Silliman. They all settled in the southeast of the township in the vicinity of Tyrrell Hill or Tyrrell corners.

History of Trumbull & Mahoning Co., Ohio, Vol. II published by H.A. Williams & Brother, 1882; Trailing Through Tyrrell, 125 years Ago by the Tribune Trailer, & taken from Western Reserve Chronicle, Sept. 25, 1878

John married Betsey Burr, daughter of Jesse Burr and Sarah "Sally" Wilson, had their bans of marriage read on 07 Mar 1805 at Trinity Church in Southport, Connecticut. (And, yes, Betsey is distantly related to former US Vice President, Aaron Burr through the immigrant, Jehu Burr)

Once they arrived in Fowler, they all set about cutting roads and building homes in the southwest corner of the township at Tyrrell Hill or Tyrrell Corners (named for Clarissa Meeker's husband Elijah Tyrrell) while their wives and children spent their time at the home of Joel Hummason in Vienna. One of Joel's relatives later married John's son Miles Munson. Once established, this group was integral in the early development of the town. The first school was taught in the cabin of Wakeman Silliman. Clarissa's husband Elijah built the largest cabin (a full 18 x 24 - colossal by the day's standard) and produced scythes. Daniel Meeker was one of two men who built the first mill in 1807. Justus was the first miller when the flour mill was built.

John Vaughn and Betsey had at least nine children. Among those children was John Lorin Vaughn. John Lorin married Henrietta Munson, of neighboring Vienna, Trumbull County and daughter of Freeman Munson and Margaret Gregory in 1833. In 1850, the Vaughns lived in Pierpoint in Ashtabula County. At that time, they had seven surviving children. Sometime between 1853 and 1856, they moved on to Platteville, Grant County, Wisconsin. Their youngest surviving child, Amos Joel was born in Platteville in 12 Nov 1856. Sons Freeman and Orion remained in Wisconsin and ultimately went to war as volunteers with the Wisconsin 33rd Infantry Regiment beginning in 1862. Read about them here.

John Lorin and Henrietta Munson moved to Fayette County in 1863. And, this would be there home for the remainder of their lifetimes.

Children of John Lorin Vaughn and Henrietta Munson:

1. Corporal Freeman F Vaughn, born abt 1834, Trumbull County, Ohio; died 26 Aug 1864 at Jefferson Barracks, St Louis, Missouri of injuries received in battle.

2. Rose Anna Vaughn, born abt 1836, Trumbull County, Ohio; died unkown

3. Corporal Orion Squire Vaughn, born 09 Jan 1838 in Trumbull County, Ohio; died 03 Mar 1920, Winneconne, Winnebago, Wisconsin.

4. Sarah Jane Vaughn Simmons, born 28 Dec 1840, Trumbull County, Ohio; died 16 May 1920, New Hampton, Chickasaw, Iowa.

5. Elizabeth A Vaughn, born abt 1841, Trumbull County, Ohio; died between 1912-1920 (there is some indication that she had some type of disability)

6. Arminda, born abt 1846, Trumbull County, Ohio; death unknown

7. James Lester Vaughn, born 03 Jan 1849, Trumbull County, Ohio; died 14 Dec 1918, Randalia, Fayette, Iowa.

8. Frederic Vaughn, abt 1851, Trumbull County, Ohio; died unknown

9. Charlotte Vaughn Fox, born 14 Jan 1853, Trumbull County, Ohio; died 21 Sep 1934, Buchanan, Iowa, USA

10. Amos Joel Vaughn, born 12 Nov 1856, Platteville, Grant, Wisconsin; died Sep 1947, Randalia, Fayette, Iowa.

11-13. Unknown Vaughns who either died as infants or as young children between
census reports (3).

Note: At the time of Henrietta's death, seven of her children were living. I have information on Orion, Sarah, Elizabeth, James, Charlotte, and Amos being alive, but am unsure who the seventh living child would have been.

John died on 05 Aug 1887 in Fayette County. Henrietta lived on until 07 Apr 1905 where she died at the home of her son James in Randalia.

The mystery of their burial is most likely solved. The obituary for Henrietta indicates she joined her husband and two of her children at the Lima, Iowa cemetery. According to the sexton for the cemetery, the records indicated that there were six plots bought in the name of Vaughn & Yaste (searches have not located anyone with the Yaste name in the area). The six plots are in line but there are no stones. Sexton believed that there might have been stones at one time, but during that era, stones were often made of limestone and wore down and broke frequently and could have been removed. The cemetery records are full of holes, so there is no actual record of their burials. I believe, however, with strong certainty, that they are buried there.

Lima, Iowa Cemetery. The entire line in front of the bush is Vaughn-owned plots

Monday, August 28, 2017

Clan William: Miles Munson & the Humason Family of Trumbull County

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Miles Munson m Celarcia Humason

Trumbull County

Like many of the settlers of Trumbull County, Ohio, the Humason and Munson families hailed from Connecticut. James Julius Humason was born 27 Sep 1801 in Hartford. His parents, James and Honor Humason, removed with their large family to Brookfield in Trumbull County. Humason died
shortly thereafter and Mrs. Humason moved the family to Vienna. Honor died in 1843, James Julius married Eliza Woodford on 12 Apr 1829. She was the oldest daughter of Darius and Bathiah Woodford, a very well-respected and fairly affluent farming family.

Hartford Female Seminary

Before his marriage, James Julius taught district school. Eliza was educated in Warren, then attended school in Hartford Female Seminary where Catherine Beecher was principal and Harriet Beecher Stowe was assistant principal. Opened in 1823, its purpose was to teach girls the subjects of higher learning.

She then learned the trade of dressmaking and millinery while in Hartford. She married the following year and she and her husband resided on the farm that was given to her by her father. James continued to teach and spent some time farming, but that wasn't his primary focus. When Humason died on 13 Apr 1853, the work of the farm fell completely on the shoulders of Eliza. The History of Trumbull and Mahoning County, Vol II, also recalls that Mrs. Humason was quite involved in temperance efforts, as was

Ohio Ladies Temperance

much of her family. In this volume, it says, "Mrs. Humason joined her uncle's society and her chief source of pride in the family is founded on the fact that none of them were drunkards. She hopes to have the privilege of casting a vote in favor of total abolition of the traffic."

The couple had four children. J. Eliza, James, Martha, and Celarcia. Celarcia married Miles Munson, son of Freeman Munson and Margaret Gregory. They in turn, had one child, Mary Munson, born in December 1861 in Trumbull County. In 1878, Mary married Emerson Ellsworth Clawson, from another well-known Trumbull County family. Emerson and Mary had at least five children. Mary died in Sep 1906 in Warren and her widower remarried in 1909 to Helena M Carton. He was a machinist and had no children in his second marriage.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Remembering Harold James Ripley, 1928-2020

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH m Mary Ann Munson> EDWIN SMITH m Kate Smull > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > HAROLD RIPLEY

Click to enlarge

His early years were marred by terrible strife. The man himself defied the odds of his childhood and built a highly successful life. He had four children and raised two more who came from his second wife. He ended up with scads of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. When his time came, he went out with a heavy sigh, in his sleep, at the age of 92 after a brief illness.

He was one of the hardest working people I ever met, was sharp as a whip, and did not suffer fools

Harold at the orphanage (right)

gladly. He had a keen insight and knew everyone in the Butler/Bremer County area from his long career in agriculture - either as a solo farmer or as senior manager for massive ag operations. He was also an entrepreneur, starting a Mad Hatter Muffler back in the 1970s among other business ventures. He was also a great storyteller. Because he was not a gossip by nature, it was tough to pull out details and dig deeper sometimes, but it was always going to be a fun ride if you were lucky enough to get this very stoic guy going on a tale to tell.

He was born the first child of Rasmus Theodore "Ted" Michaelsen, a 2nd generation Dane on March 15, 1928 in Plainfield, Iowa. His mother, my grandmother, Verlie Lynette Smith, like Ted, came from a large family. His lived in Cedar Falls, hers lived in Plainfield.

Over the next years, three sisters would join him: Janis, two years younger, Dixie, four years younger, and baby Judy. The depression, now in full gear by 1936, had decimated the Michaelsen's ability to thrive. They were usually one step ahead of the sheriff who was looking to evict and the entire family had to be resourceful in finding ways to put food on the table. It didn't help that Ted liked to drink. Or had a tendency to be physically abusive to his wife.

Janis told me about one Christmas, when there was no money for gifts. Harold found an old cedar chest

Harold & Ellen (left)

with a leg missing. He fashioned a new leg for it and gave it to Janis and she kept it until her death. That year, she saved her pennies from selling eggs to buy each of the children a bar of soap.

Janis recalled to me that one day, they had all been sitting on the porch on a hot day. Verlie was nursing baby Judy. Ted hit Verlie and they both went flying. She also recalls that it was not long after that Verlie left. Without the kids. She had no job, no chance of a job, and no money.

Ted had the kids and the support of his sister Margaret. Margaret hadn't been able to reach Ted after several days, so she went up to where they were and found the children alone. Ted had taken a job in a CCC camp as a cook, and put Harold, the 9-year-old, in charge. Janis, age 7, cooked whatever they had and cared for baby Judy. She recalled that she knew she needed to wash the diapers, but no one had ever told her she needed to rinse them out. Baby Judy ended up with a serious diaper rash by the time Margaret made her way to them to check on them.

Quick-action was required. She loaded them on the bus and they all went to the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage, where they were placed and now had steady care. Janis thrived in the institution. Harold seemed to be doing fine and was in school and participating in activities. One day that winter, Verlie arrived with winter coats for them all. Janis was in no hurry to go anywhere, she liked the routine.

Margaret worked hard with the Smith's and the Michaelsen's to find permanent placement for the

Harold's 1950 Studebaker

children. Janis and Dixie went to Ted's sister Dagmar in Mississippi and would get involved with 4-H and excel in school. Harold was eventually sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife but was treated poorly, by all accounts, and ran away. Verlie's younger sister Evelyn, who lived in Plainfield caring for her mother, Kate Smull Smith, brought him in. Her husband Marvin Ripley was often away at sea as a Navy man, but they adopted him. Baby Judy, for some reason, did not end up with the family, but was adopted to a wealthy rural couple. Some of that story can be found elsewhere here and here. Verlie would have another family with Leo Linsey - three boys, the oldest of which is my dad.

Harold had a happy life with the Ripley's. Things became normal. He grew up and married Ellen Chester, a very pretty local girl, and a few months later, their first child was born. Three more would follow. He farmed in Bremer County and later, was hired by a large ag firm to manage farms all over the area. He knew his stuff and did well. By the early 1970s, the marriage was failing. After the divorce, he married Judith Stigers, a divorcee with three children. Her two sons lived with her and Harold would adopt the youngest and raise them both. Out of this, I got my cousin Tony, who chose not to take Harold's name, but lovingly supported his parents in their old age and fondly called Harold, "Dad." They were married 48 years-ish when Harold died.

I want to recount a time I had questions about my great aunt Mary and a conversation I had with Harold to tell you a little about his absolute disdain for gossip.

I had been trying to talk about his aunt Mary Marie Adaline Smith, who so far, I had found two husbands for. I peppered him with questions about her Greek immigrant husband and the time they lived in Michigan running a Greek restaurant. He gave me very basic information. I also asked about her last husband - the one she lived with in California when she died. Again, all he said was that she married him because she had known her when she was younger.

After much more research, I came back to him, only this time, I took a different tack: "Uncle Harold. Here's my theory, tell me if it's right. Aunt Mary married the first time to the guy name Hoard and got divorced. It looks like she met her second husband DL Albert right after that and they also got a divorce. Then she married the Greek guy. Then she married DL Albert AGAIN, not because she knew him when she was younger, but because she'd been married to him before! Is that right? He said, "Yup."

I loved him a lot, just as I do his lovely wife, my Aunt Judy. I will miss him.

Judy and Harold

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Sideroad: George Woodington Heads to California

Gabrielino Indians who settled on land taken by the
Spanish and then by US pioneers. They were
nearly decimated by disease.

Johnathan Woodington (abt 1800 and Sarah Ann Wayman (abt 1818) had a very large family and lived primarily in the Philadelphia area for much of their lives. One son, Moses, married Henrietta Munson - the younger sister of my 2nd great grandmother, Mary Ann Munson, who moved with her family to the Eastern District of Wisconsin in the 1840s from Trumbull County, Ohio.

Moses' oldest brother George, left Pennsylvania as well. He headed down to the Woodbine in Jo Daviess County area of Illinois, near the great Mississippi River sometime after 1860 from Elizabeth in Bensalem Township, Bucks County where he had been living with a cousin's family and working as a day laborer.

A ranch in Los Angeles/Orange County in the 1880s

On 26 Jan 1865, he married Margaret Alice "Alice" Neal in Jo Daviess County. Three children would be born to them there: Edwin, William Wallace, and Harry. B. In 1870, he visited California for the first time. His dream became to move there permanently. In the meantime, the boys were born and he farmed.

It appears his westward migration to southern most Los Angeles County came before 1877, for his next child, Lulu Maus, was born in Westminster Township in 1877. Daughter Mabel would come along in 1880.Westminster Township is comprised of the entirety of Rancho Los Alamitos consisting of over 28,000 acres. Westminster and Westminster Township later became part of Orange County in 1889.

Spanish Ranchos

Over 8,000 years ago, the earliest known settler here were the Oak Grove people. They abandoned the area when food sources dwindled and the temps became too dry. According to the Westminster website:

"The area remained uninhabited until the Gabrieleno Indians moved in from the desert to this area and numbered over 200,000. Diseases such as measles, smallpox and diphtheria reduced the Indian population.

The next recorded history of the North Orange County area dates to 1492, when Pope Alexander IV decreed that all unclaimed land in the North American continent belonged to the King of Spain. Large land grants called ranchos were awarded by the King to induce colonization of the continent. The Spaniards cleared, surveyed and mapped their new land. In 1784 the Spanish Governor of California honored Manuel Nieto with a 21 mile square concession of land to be called the Rancho Las Bolsas. It covered most of what we know today as west Orange County. The Rancho prospered with large crops and fine herds, however, after Nieto’s death in 1804 his heirs quarreled and the Rancho was partitioned in 1834.

During the 1850’s with California’s admission to the Union, the U.S. Land Commission was set up to review claims that rose from original Spanish land grants. An American named Abel Stearns saw this as an opportunity to buy up shares from the disputing factions of the Rancho Las Bolsas. With the Commission’s acceptance, Stearns became the sole owner of the rancho changing the name to Stearns Rancho."

Westminster was set up in about 1870 as a "temperance colony" by a Presbyterian minister who purchased 6,000 acres. This is a community that prohibited the sale or use of alcohol. By 1872, the first school had opened and by 1874, the first general store. It was a brutal agricultural terrain (part of the reason many Indians left the area long before) with swamps, tulles, and flooding due to the lack of irrigation. By 1881, with the passage of the Irrigation Act, thousands of acres were turned into usable ag land. He had been engaged in farming the greater part of his life and during the fourteen years of his residence in California, he worked as a farm laborer in many quarters, most extensively on the Bixby Ranch and later raised grain on the San Joaquin (Irvine) ranch - two of the largest ranches in California. He never worked his own land while in California, beyond family sustenance.

George lived here until his death in 1905. Alamitos Cemetery would later become Magnolia Memorial Cemetery. His wife, Alice, would live on until 1920. His son Harry would stay on in the area and will be the subject of the next post (along with info on his long relationship with "The Celery King."

Saturday, March 7, 2015

B. F. Lichty & Sons, Waterloo

Jacob Smith > William Custer Smith > Mary Madora Smith married BF Lichty

60th Anniversary, 1938

Mary Madora "Dora" Smith was the second child of my great-great grandparents, William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson. She was born on 23 Jul 1859 in Hazel Green, Grant County, Wisconsin. Shortly after reaching her majority, she married Benjamin Franklin "B.F." Lichty who hailed from Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in 1878 in Janesville, Bremer County, Iowa. They resided in Elma, Howard County during the early years of their marriage.

Dora and B.F.'s first son, Norman Arthur "N.A.", was born 1879, within months of their marriage.

Original East High School, 1910

Their next child, Claude Smith Lichty, was born in 1887. Their final child, Verne Elias, was born in 1893. In 1902, they set up house in Waterloo and eventually lived on lower Franklin St in East Waterloo. Sometime shortly after that, BF opened his business, "B. F. Lichty & Sons" which specialized in sheet metal fabrication at 720-722 Water St. All of the boys attended East High School.

The business thrived through the 1910s to such a degree, they had to expand. They built a new facility at 1127 Sycamore in East Waterloo and the business remained there until it closed. At that time, Waterloo had 116 manufacturing plants in the city. Lichty & Sons had 16 employees. That building is still standing and is currently owned by the City of Waterloo. In the 1920s, in what was a nice middle-class neighborhood, the Lichty's built an adorable brick bungalow where they resided for the remainder of their life at 1202 Mulberry St. The area now is run down and while the house still stands, it is in need of restoration. That was a 2-block walk for the Lichty's from plant to home every day. The business maintained a respectable reputation and was able to continue operating through the depression and World War II.

Lichty & Sons, built 1913, 1127 Sycamore St

Young Verne was a star athlete at East High School He attended the Waterloo Business college beginning in 1911 to prepare himself to work with his father and brothers in the business. At Christmas time of 1913 while playing basketball at the Waterloo YMCA, he injured his leg. In early 1915, he went to the Mayo Clinic and learned his leg injury had turned into a sarcoma after a surgery. In May of that year, his left leg was amputated below the knee at Presbyterian hospital in hopes of putting the cancer in check. He then walked with crutches. Verne married in 1918 and had a daughter, Dorothy Anne, with his wife Anna Geyer Lichty and was expecting another child when he fell ill with a recurrence of cancer. He died at home at age 27. The son he never met, Verne Edward, born in May of 1921, served in the US Navy on the USS Auk, a minesweeper that saw heavy action, and left the service as a Boatswains's Mate 2nd Class. He worked as a tool and die maker at John Deere before having a massive heart attack while bowling at Maple Lanes (which still stands) in 1959 and died. Daughter Dorothy Ann lived with her mother in Northern California until her mother died in 1979. She married for the first time at age 51 to Welles Halley Crawford in Santa Clara, California.

In an article published in 1922, the company was located at 922 Sycamore, just a couple blocks down from the previous location. There had been a slump in business, business picked up again and there was a scarcity of both materials and labor due to the building boom. They were by then employing 20 people. Sometime in the 1920s, N. A. Lichty and his wife moved to California. N.A. spent six years there and it appears that Mrs. Margaret (Kildee) Lichty remained behind and they divorced prior to
N. A. returning to Iowa, where he was president of the company until his death at age 56 in 1935.

He had one child, Evan, who died in Butte County, California in 1985. Evan enlisted in the US Army in 1943 and retired from the service in 1963. The information I could find so far indicates he was a Seabee Chief Metalsmith in the US Navy. Evan's first wife was Ethyl Ruth Merrill, whom he married in 1926. He married Ina "Geraldine" Stewart next. They had three sons, two of whom survive. His family was stationed in Tokyo in the mid-1950s but his family spent the bulk of its time living in the Bay Area of California and eventually in Butte County.

Claude's son, Wilfred Franklin Lichty, suffered from diabetes and died of complications at age 20 in 1931. Claude and his wife Lulu divorced and he remarried. He continued to work in the family business until after his father's death and retired from the business in 1950. He died in 1953.

Dora died in 1941 at age 81 and B.F. died in 1945 at 87, both of complications of age.

An Aside

B.F. had a brush with the law in 1930 when he was interviewed about the violent death of a

Murder victim F.R. Smart, center

reclusive, divorced, elderly implement and real estate dealer of his acquaintance named Francis Robert Smart. Lichty was one of the last people to have contact with Smart. Mr Smart had dined with the Lichty's on the night he died along with his stepson and his wife. About 10 o'clock that night, just 45 minutes from the time estimated as time of death, Mr. Lichty called Mr. Smart to inquire about a wallet that had been misplaced by one of the other guests. The murder received no coverage in the Waterloo paper and appears to remain unsolved, with robbery as a motive. Mr. Smart was known to keep large quantities of cash in his office/residence.

An inquest was set for today into the slaying of F. R. Smart, 77, implement and real estate dealer, whose bullet-riddled body was found in his office-bedroom late Saturday night.

Clutching in his hand a chunk of iron casting, and slumped against the wall opposite the door that apparently had admitted his assailant, the body of the recluse was discovered by a neighbor, Johannes Hanson, at 10:45 o'clock Saturday night.

A deck of cards, half-played, indicated to police that the old man had been interrupted as he was playing solitaire. Aside from evidence of a scuffle, officers could find no clews (sic) or fingerprints.

Robbery was evidently the motive, investigators believe, for Smart was know to have as much as $500 at a time in his living quarters, which also served him as office. The amount that he might have had with him Saturday night was undetermined, nor was it ascertained whether anything was missing. That Smart had tried to protect himself, led the officers to believe that his attacker was not prepared to find the victim at home.

Bullet holes slanted upward into the body, indicating the assailant had been floored and had shot supine. Three empty shells from a .32 automatic were found on the floor."

Mason City Globe Gazette, 14 Apr 1930, pgs 1 and 2

The County Coroner declared it a murder by persons unknown on the following day. No further information was published about the crime, indicating it was never cleared from the books.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Edward Boyd Monteith: Father of the Smith Wives

ANDREW MONTEITH > EDWARD BOYD MONTEITH m. Agnes McCubbin

Click on image to enlarge

Edward Boyd Monteith was born 12 Mar 1822 in Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland to Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry. The elder Monteith was "ag lab" or agricultural labor on the Merton Hall estate, owned then by William Boyd, then his son Edward Boyd, in Newton Stewart parish in Penninghame. This was hard work, with few financial rewards and it's totally understandable that the adult children of Andrew and Isabelle would start trickling over to the US for a better life.

The Edward Boyd Monteith & Agnes McCubbin Family

Edward and his wife, Agnes McCubbin, who he wed in Scotland, first stayed in Vermont for three years beginning in 1848 and then moved on to the budding frontier in Wisconsin. First, they stopped in Jefferson, Ohio, then on to Janesville, Wisconsin, then moved on in 1854 to Platteville. Edward was a stone mason by trade and helped build the State Normal School building in Platteville. They had a small farm in Liberty Township and eventually, purchased a farm in March 1869 from James McCubbin in Section 30 in Wingville Township, near Monfort, Grant County. In 1877, the plat maps shows he owned 193 acres. They later moved to Fennimore.

Edward died on 12 Nov 1911 in Fennimore. Agnes was born on 05 Apr 1823 in Scotland. She died 25 Jan 1913 in Fennimore,

Elizabeth

Edward and Agnes had seven children:

1, Elizabeth: Born 19 May 1847 in Wigtownshire, Scotland. She married Jacob Smith on 15 Nov 1866 in Fennimore, Grant County. Jacob was born 04 Feb 1843 in Jefferson, Ohio to James Smith and Susanna Johnston, Jacob served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, with three of his uncles. He was mustered out on 13 Jul 1865. The family retains his Civil War musket. The family moved to the Polk Township, Bremer County, near the town of Plainfield in the 1860s, along with other family. They spent the remainder of their lives there with the exception of four years spent in South Dakota. They had three children. Jacob died 08 Jul 1916 in Bremer County. Elizabeth Monteith, well loved by those who knew her, survived until 16 Jan 1943 in Plainfield, where she died at the home of her daughter, Agnes Smith Hinmon.

2. Jessie: Born 25 Sep 1851 in Barnet, Caledonia, Vermont, she married Alexander Smith on 25 Dec 1866 in Grant County. Alexander was the son of James Smith and Susanna Johnston. He was born 16 Jun 1845 in Steubenville, Ohio to Jacob Smith and Catherine Randolph. They had a life full of pioneer adventures which are outlined here. Alexander died 24 Aug 1925 in Brook Park, Pine, Minnesota and Jessie died 21 Jan 1939 in Princeton, Mille Lacs, Minnesota. They had three children who settled in Minnesota and Canada.

3. James Robert ("Jim"): Born 31 Jan 1853 in Janesville, Rock, Wisconsin. Elizabeth A. Barger was born on 28 Dec 1854 in Wingville, Grant County. They married 24 Nov 1875 in Montfort, Grant County. They had 12 children, two of whom died in infancy. One of the surviving children, Fred, died tragically in a drowning which also took the life of his sister's husband. You can read about it here. Elizabeth died 20 Oct 1923 and Jim died 30 Jul 1949 in Fennimore.

James Robert Monteith Family

4. Isabelle: Born 25 Oct 1854 in Grant County. She was married to Walter Smith, son of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson, on 29 Oct 1876 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. You can read about Isabelle and her family at the Walter Smith link above. Isabelle died 27 Oct 1938 in Nashua, Chickasaw County and Walter died in Nashua on 23 May 1930.

James Woodward
Preston

5. Martha: Martha was born 09 Aug 1857 in Grant County. She married James Woodward Preston on 24 Dec 1877 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. James was part of the sprawling Preston family of Grant County. I wrote about his half-brother, Matthew Preston, here. Martha and James resided initially in Grant County, then moved to the Duluth, Minnesota area and farmed there. Martha's sister Jessie and husband Alexander also lived in this area. James died 06 Nov 1932 in Duluth and Martha died 16 Nov 1946 in Proctor, St Louis County, Minnesota. They had one child, Willie, who died as an infant.

6. Mary Agnes: Born in 1860, she married John Thompson Preston, brother of James. They moved to Howard County, Iowa after 1880. They had two children, Edwin James and Jessie Maud, before Mary died in 1886 in Howard County. John lived with his brother and sister-in-law, James and Martha in Duluth in 1900, but moved to Proctor in St Louis County by 1910. He died 18 Oct 1927 in Proctor.

7. Margaret Ella "Ella": Born 1862 in Liberty Township, Grant County. She married Miles E Helm on 25 Mar 1880 in Grant County. Miles was born in May 1857 in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. In 1880 they resided with the Edward Boyd Monteith's. In 1882, they were in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In 1885, the couple was living in North Dakota, but by 1888, were back in Grant County. Ella died on 02 Aug 1897 in Milwaukee County. Miles' death date is not known. They had four children.

8.William: Born in 1863, his death date is unknown and he's believed to have died in infancy.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

THE ORIGINAL MUNSON IN AMERICA, CAPTAIN THOMAS MUNSON

SAMUEL MUNSON IISamuel is the son of William. William is the first member of Clan William. The clans are made up of the great grandchildren of the immigrant Captain Thomas Munson.

FREEMAN MUNSONFreeman is the son of Samuel II.

AMOS MUNSONAmos is the son of Freeman

HENRIETTA MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

MILES MUNSONThe son of Freeman.

MARIETTA "MARY" E MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

CLARISSA MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

OTHER CLAN WILLIAM STORIES

MARTHA MUNSONThe daughter of William

PETER MUNSONThe son of William

WILLIAM II MUNSONThe son of William

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Monday, August 28, 2017

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Thursday, December 15, 2016

SAMUEL MUNSON II
Samuel is the son of William. William is the first member of Clan William. The clans are made up of the great grandchildren of the immigrant Captain Thomas Munson.

FREEMAN MUNSON
Freeman is the son of Samuel II.

AMOS MUNSON
Amos is the son of Freeman

HENRIETTA MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

MILES MUNSON
The son of Freeman.

MARIETTA "MARY" E MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

CLARISSA MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

MARTHA MUNSON
The daughter of William

PETER MUNSON
The son of William

WILLIAM II MUNSON
The son of William