52 Ancestors: #11 - Sallie JOLLETT Sampson

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

For many years Sarah “Sallie” Jollett Sampson has presented one of my biggest challenges.  She and her husband William were one of at least 4 sets of William and Sarah Sampsons living in Greene County, Virginia at the same time.  Two of the pairs can be eliminated fairly easily because of their age or because they moved out of state.  But then there were two.  The use of maiden names would be helpful, but in this case the “other” Sarah was Sarah Sampson Sampson, so it is difficult to know for sure if the name on a document was the maiden name or married name.  And to make matters even more confusing, THIS Sarah Sampson who married William Sampson was daughter of another William Sampson.  See why this family makes me crazy?

I thought the neighbors surrounding the Sampsons would help me place Sallie in the right family.  Or maybe marriage between cousins would be the deciding factor.  But no.  In 1850, Sallie’s nephew John Marsh (son of Peter and Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh) was living in the household of the wheelwright William & Sarah Sampson.  I thought Ah –ha – that must be MY Sallie.  But then there’s the miller William & Sarah Sampson living next door to Sallie’s nephew Madison Marsh (son of Peter and Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh).  Then in 1860, the wheelwright’s daughter Peachy was married to Sallie’s nephew Hiram Marsh (again, son of Peter and Lucy), the miller’s son George was married to Sallie’s niece Amanda Melvina Marsh (daughter of Peter and Lucy), and the miller’s widow “S Sampson” was living two doors down from Sallie’s sister Tabatha.  What a neighborhood!

When I learned that a marriage record for Smith Sampson named Sallie JOLLETT as his mother, I finally had my first real clue to Sallie’s line.  But which set of siblings did Smith Sampson go with?

Today, I believe I have the two Sampson couples clearly defined. 

MY family is likely Sarah/Sallie who married William the miller and had the larger family most completely named in 1850:  Nancy, Cinthia, William, Virenda, Mary, Martha.  Smith was already married and on his own. 

The other family was Wiliam the wheelwright with the smaller family:  Bluford Marshall, Maria, Franklin, Peachy, and Virginia.

This is why I believe so.  Looking at the earlier census records when only the head of household was named and everyone else was simply a member of a category, the only room for Smith Sampson was in the larger family:

1830 Orange Co, VA	MY Sampsons	The other ones
MALES
Age 5-9	George, William J.	X
Age 10-14	Smith, and one unknown	Franklin
Age 15-19	X	Bluford Marshall
Age 30-39	William	X
Age 40-49	X	William
FEMALES
Under 5	Eliza, Virenda	X
Age 10-14	Nancy, Cinthia	Maria
Age 15-19	one unknown	Virginia, Peachy
Age 30-39	Sallie	Sarah

See – there’s no room for Smith in the other family.

The second support might be a little less convincing.  In 1883, Franklin Sampson married Sallie’s niece Clarissa Ann Sampson Rodenbarger in Indiana.  On the marriage record, the widow Clarissa Ann named her parents as John Sampson and Clarissa JOLLETT.  Franklin named his parents as William Sampson and Sarah SAMPSON.  Is it not reasonable to assume that maiden names would have been listed in both cases on the same document?              

THREE GENERATIONS:

Sarah “Sallie” JOLLETT (1794 in Orange Co, Virginia – June 1863 Greene Co, Virginia) was the third known daughter of James and Nancy Walker Jollett.  She married William SAMPSON (Apr 1788 - 4 Sep 1853 Greene Co, Virginia)   8 Jan 1809 in Orange Co, Virginia 

1. Smith SAMPSON (1814 in Madison, Virginia - 15 Jul 1889 in Rockingham Co, Virginia) & m1) Sarah MICHAEL (26 May 1811 – 13 May 1844 Rockingham County, Virginia)  7 Jan 1840 in Rockingham Co, Virginia ; & m2) Elizabeth HAYNES (Abt 1826 – Abt 1881 Rockingham County, Virginia) 16 May 1844 ; & m3) Emma J. SIPE (1851 – 12 Jan 1885 Rockingham County, Virginia) 24 Feb 1881 Rockingham Co, VA.

**There is some confusion as to which children were born to Sarah and which to Elizabeth.  It is safe to assume there were no children with Emma.  Since Smith married Elizabeth three days after Sarah died, it is possible he had children with Elizabeth even before he was widowed.  Therefore, I am simply listing the known children chronologically.

• William Jackson SAMPSON (26 Jun 1836 in Rockingham County, Virginia - 21 Jan 1913 in McGaheysville, Rockingham Co, Virginia) & Mary Ann LEAP (20 Feb 1841 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 15 Oct 1923 Rockingham Co, Virginia) 1859 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Mitchell Adam SAMPSON (12 Jan 1840 Rockingham Co., Virginia - 18 Jul 1910 Madison Co., Virginia) & Mary Catherine MAY  (9 Mar 1844 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 22 Jul 1915 Madison Co., Virginia)  27 Nov 1867
• Henry Michael SAMPSON (23 Sep 1841 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 18 Jul 1910 Madison County, Virginia) & Sarah Ellen MICHAEL (5 Nov 1846 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 22 Jan 1917 Rockingham Co, Virginia) 10 Jan 1865 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Margaret SAMPSON (1845 Rockingham Co, Virginia - About 1880) & m1) Y. C. AMMON ; & m2) Archibald  SIPE (4 Aug 1839 Rockingham Co, Virginia - 14 Jun 1921 North Dakota)  21 Jul 1869 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• Jacob H. SAMPSON (1847 Rockingham Co, Virginia - ) & Margaret SIPE 30 Dec 1874 in Rockingham Co, Virginia

2. Nancy SAMPSON ( 1818 Madison Co, Virginia - Before 1880 )

• Mary SAMPSON (1837 - )

3. Cinthia SAMPSON ( 1822 Madison Co, Virgina  - Before 1864 Greene Co, Virginia)

4. William Joseph SAMPSON ( 24 Jun 1824 Madison Co,  Virginia -  30 Dec 1902 Greene Co, Virginia) & Catherine ANDERSON (1809 Madison Co, Virginia - )  18 Jun 1854 Madison Co, Virginia

• Gibbon A. SAMPSON (19 Jun 1854 in Greene Co, Virginia - 16 Aug 1924) & Mary Susan WOODSON  (Nov 1853 – 8 Feb 1931 Greene Co, Virginia)  23 Dec 1875  Greene Co, Virginia,

5. Eliza Jane SAMPSON (1825 Orange Co, Virginia - Sep 1896 Greene Co, Virginia) & James W. SOUTHARD (1817 Orange Co, Virginia - ) 1839 Madison, Virginia

• Elizabeth Arenna SOUTHARD (1841 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Louisa M. SOUTHARD (1842 Greene Co, Virginia – 1884) & Benjamin OLIVER (1838 Virginia - )27 May 1866 Greene Co, Virginia
• William H. SOUTHARD (1843 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Eliza Jane SOUTHARD (1846 Greene Co, Virginia  - ) & James Wade SNOW (1838 - 8 Jan 1914 Greene Co, Virginia)  30 Dec 1869 Greene Co, Virginia
• Peachy F. SOUTHARD (13 Oct 1853 - Greene Co, Virginia - )
• James A. G. SOUTHARD (1860 Greene Co, Virginia - )

6. George W. SAMPSON (1828 Orange County - ) & m1) Amanda Melvina MARSH (1831 Orange Co, Virginia – Before 1878) 28 Jan 1848 Greene Co, Virginia ; m2) Sarah L. BREEDEN (23 Mar 1853 - ) 14 Dec 1878 Greene Co, Virginia

**Children with Amanda Melvina:

• John A. SAMPSON (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• George Lewis SAMPSON (1850 Greene Co, Virginia – After 1920) & m1) Laura Cordelia DELPH (Dec 1857 Madison Co, Virginia - ) 26 Sep 1872 Madison Co, Virginia ; & m2) Mary S. JUEL (1865 Greene Co, Virginia - ) 7 Sep 1886 Page Co, Virginia ; & m3) Mary E. BAUGHER (1878 Rockingham Co, Virginia - ) 11 Dec 1896 Rockingham Co, Virginia
• M. F. SAMPSON (1851 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Elizabeth Virginia SAMPSON (1853 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Andrew Jackson SNOW (1848 Green Co, Virginia - ) about 1870
• U. D. SAMPSON (1854 -  )
• Eugenia SAMPSON (1857 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• A. L. SAMPSON (1857 - )
• Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Lucretia MARSH (1849 - )
• Richard E. SAMPSON (1861 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Daniel B. SAMPSON (1863 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Robert B. SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia – 24 Aug 1938 Rockingham County, Virginia)& m1) Annie KNIGHTING ( - Before 1910) 28 Dec 1886 Rockingham County, Virginia; & m2) Daisy WILLIAMS (16 Dec 1883 – 18 Jan 1968) 21 May 1914 Rockingham County, Virginia
• Henry SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• James A. SAMPSON (Jul 1873 Greene Co, Virginia – 1937) & Virginia Belle JENKINS (10 Jul 1874 – 29 Oct 1945 Charlottesville, Virginia) 15 Jun 1893 Page County, Virginia

**Child with Sarah BREEDEN:

• Thomas W. SAMPSON (14 Oct 1886 Page Co, Virginia – 1962 Page Co, Virginia) & Lula Frances BREEDEN PURDHAM (1872 Page Co, Virginia - ) 24 Sep 1908 Page Co, Virginia

7. Virenda E. SAMPSON (1829 Madison County, Virginia - ) & Albert W. SOUTHARD  (1825 - )  1 Mar 1849 Greene Co, Virginia

• Josephine E. SOUTHARD (1854 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Annie M. SOUTHARD (1857 in Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Alberta SOUTHARD  (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Sylvester L. BROWN (1867 Shenandoah Co, Virginia  - 1919 Page Co, Virginia ) 23 Apr 1890 Page Co, Virginia
• Lucy SOUTHARD (1871 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Nat JARRELL 23 Feb 1896 Greene Co, Virginia
• Jane Lee SOUTHARD  (1862 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Benjamin Franklin SOUTHARD  (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - 17 Jun 1952 Gordonsville, Orange, Virginia) &  Luttie CLATTERBUCK 15 Sep 1887 Greene Co, Virginia

8. Mary SAMPSON ( 1832 Orange Co, Virginia - )

9. Martha  A. SAMPSON (1833 Orange County, Virginia – After 1880 Madison County, Virginia) & William S. DELPH (1832 Madison County, Virginia – Before 1880 Madison County, Virginia) 23 Dec 1853 Greene Co, Virginia

• Sarah DELPH (1856 Madison County, Virginia)
• Laura Cordelia DELPH (Dec 1857 Madison County, Virginia - ) & George Lewis SAMPSON (1850 Greene County, Virginia – After 1920) 26 Sep 1872 Madison County, Virginia
• Marcellus DELPH (1858 Madison County, Virginia - )
• Fanny DELPH (1861 Madison County, Virginia - )
• Harriett Hattie DELPH (1866 Madison County, Virginia - )
• William DELPH (1869 Madison County, Virginia - )

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: College Freshman

 Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt highlights beautiful architectural elements such as domes and arches.  When my grandaunts Violetta and Velma Davis attended Harrisonburg Teachers College in the early 1920s, the signature Bluestone and Roman/Greek revival architecture had been the hallmark of the school for ten years. 

These were the first two buildings, built in 1909 as they looked in the 1920s.
Maury (center) was the first academics and administrative building.
Jackson Hall (right) was the first dorm and dining hall.

A pass-through arch connecting Harrison Hall and Jackson.
The opposite arch leads to Ashby Hall.

Twenty-five years later the 6 buildings Violetta and Velma knew had grown to 13, with the arches and columns providing architectural coherence. 

Violetta and Velma made great alumnae assuring that my mother would attend their alma mater too, which had been renamed Madison College. (Today it is known as James Madison University.  Go Dukes!)

Throughout my childhood, every visit to Harrisonburg to see the aunts included a ride through the campus.  Certainly it must have been part of my parents’ secret plot to brainwash me into following in the footsteps of my mother and grandaunts.  My dad would always say, “You’ll go there one day.”  It always sounded more like an order than a shared dream.  But that was ok.  It became my dream too.

I went through the motions of sending my SAT scores to several colleges, just in case Madison didn’t want me.   But as luck and the Davis women would have it, come September 1969, my parents proudly moved me to Madison College.  My high school friend Pat and I elected to room together – a little added security in having SOMEONE familiar close by.  Our dorm was a small dorm, all freshmen women.  There were no co-ed dorms then.

Johnston Hall

Johnston doesn’t possess the best example of the arches, but those staircases on the ends are handsome.  Those stairs were used mainly as emergency exits during fire drills, which were a test of our nerves.  They were always scheduled in the middle of the night.  When the resident assistant (aka “R A”) banged the bell with her hammer, we were to grab a raincoat and flashlight and quickly head for the exits.  Then we stood shivering in the cold until given the all-clear to return to our beds. 

 

Johnston Hall as it appeared 1969

That’s my room, third set of windows from the left on the top floor.  Each room had two bunkable twin beds, 2 desks and chairs, 2 dressers, 2 bookcases, 2 sizeable closets, and 1 sink.  There was a large shared bathroom with enclosed stalls and private showers.  While students who lived in suites dorms felt sorry for us, I liked this arrangement because we didn’t have to clean the bathroom.  Housekeeping did it. 

Pat’s and my room was painted a sickly pinky-brown.  That is, until the pipes froze.  Pat and I returned from class one afternoon to find her side of the room soaking wet with water running down the wall.  We reported the problem and soon we heard those much-awaited voices calling, “Man on the hall.”  That was the polite way for men to enter women’s dorms back then.  They assessed the situation and left.  Pat and I were on our own to deal with wet bedding.  And no heat.  We stayed in the room one night freezing to death.  The next night friends at the end of the hall pushed their beds together and the four of us piled in together. 

 

Wendy and Pat loosened wet and damaged plaster
using broom handles.  

It was miserable.  Fortunately heat was restored quickly although new plaster and paint came much later.  The good news was the pinky-brown was replaced with a fresh sky blue.

Aside from that miserable incident, living in a freshman dorm was a great deal of fun.  We made friends quickly with the girls living around us.  There was a beauty queen, a girl legally blind, girls from New York and Pennsylvania and Maryland, Celeste Holm’s pen pal, and LOTS of phys ed majors.  When our friend Nancy made the field hockey team as a FRESHMAN, we saw it as a time to celebrate an amazing accomplishment and honor.  How?  We hung her underwear all over the place.

Nancy - one proud field hockey player!

She thought the pair taped to her wall was funny.

She didn’t think it was funny when she found her panties on poles around campus.  It’s a wonder she didn’t beat us all with a hockey stick.  (Granted, we would have deserved it.)

Judging by my photos from that first dorm experience, we must have been in one continuous silly contest. 

Pat and Eileen -- onesies and pigtails

Pat and Eileen both had “onesie” pjs.  Don’t ask me why.  I suppose they thought toddler-style pajamas added just the right amount of quirkiness to nightwear.

In moments of boredom, what could be more fun than letting a floor fan blow up your nightgown?

Pat, Nancy, and Eileen

Harrisonburg was not the vibrant college town it is today.  Saturdays were LONG with little to do.  We were glad for that playground across the street at the Anthony Seeger campus school (used for training elementary school teachers).

Nancy's head and Pat's feet

This was our idea of superior creativity.  Yeah boy, we were destined to be Madison’s shining stars, for sure. 

My husband and I try to be good alumni, but we couldn’t convince our own daughters to even LOOK at our alma mater.  I wonder if viewing all that beautiful Bluestone and Greek Revival architecture would have made a difference.

For more stories of architectural features, please visit Sepia Saturday.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Wordless Wednesday: Brothers

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

This photo from the album of my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker is captioned “Brothers.”  Helen had only ONE brother, so these unknown brothers are friends of the family OR possibly some of her Glynn cousins.

Most photos are from 1918-21.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #10 - Clarissa JOLLETT Sampson

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

One of my favorite ancestors is my 3^rd great grandaunt Clarissa Ann JOLLETT, supposedly the second daughter of James and Nancy Walker JOLLETT.  She was born in Orange County, Virginia about 1793.  When she was 20, she married John SAMPSON, with her father giving permission and her brother-in-law Peter MARSH providing the bond. 

The Sampsons were a prosperous family in Virginia, all well established with very large farms.  So why John and Clarissa picked up roots and joined the westward movement is rather a mystery.  John and Clarissa were hardly a young couple starting out.  It was 1836 – they were nearly 50 years old.  But they did it anyway with 8 children in tow. 

While I don’t know the exact route they took, it is likely they went north to Maryland to pick up the National Road.

from Google Images

This was the first major improved highway funded by the United States government.  It was truly the gateway to the west for travelers and pioneers alike. 

Columbus, Ohio was their first significant stop where they spent the winter.  A granddaughter was born there.  Then in the spring of 1837, the Sampson gang arrived in Wayne County, Indiana, where they farmed for several years.  In a book honoring the early pioneers of Indiana, several of the Sampsons were featured.  John and Clarissa’s son John recalled that there were deer and turkeys roaming the woods near their farm and that they always had plenty of food on the table as a result. 

Two years later they moved on into Clay County.  There in Dick Johnson township, John and Clarissa purchased about 80 acres of land.  Over the years they added to the parcel, developing quite a valuable farm.

John Sampson died on his farm in Clay County, Indiana, at age 73.  In 1875, Clarissa died at the home of her son Sanford.  The two are buried in the Stunkard Cemetery in Brazil, Clay County, Indiana.  Other members of their family are buried nearby as well.

photo courtesy of Shirley Ziemer

Sources:

Blanchard, Charles.  A History of Clay County Indiana.  F. A. Battey & Co, 1884.

Lots of research provided by Shirley Ziemer, a Sampson/Jollett descendant and researcher  

THREE GENERATIONS:

Clarissa Ann JOLLETT (1793 Orange Co, Virginia - 9 Sep 1875 Clay Co, Indiana) & John SAMPSON (1790 Orange Co, Virginia – 29 Jan 1857 Clay Co, Indiana) 2 Mar 1813 Orange Co, Virginia

1. Louisa SAMPSON (4 Feb 1819 Orange Co, Virginia – about 1845 Indiana) & Andrew M. CASEBOLT (1807 Bath County, Virginia - 25 Oct 1882 Cape Girardeau County, Missouri) 25 Sep 1834 Orange Co, Virginia

• Mary Jane CASEBOLT  (Nov 1836 Ohio - 4 May 1906 Carr Township, Jackson, Indiana) & David W. WRIGHT (16 Jan 1829 Indiana – 1 Dec 1907 Carr Township, Jackson, Indiana)  10 Nov 1865 St. Clair Co, Missouri     
• Sanford CASEBOLT (1831 Indiana - Before 1870 Indiana) & Leora UNKNOWN (1846 Indiana - )
• John Munroe CASEBOLT (5 Mar 1844 Indiana - 11 Sep 1911 Butler County, Missouri) & Eliza Jane MOODY (7 Mar 1848 Alabama – 22 Jun 1918 Butler County, Missouri) 05 Sep 1865 Marion County, Missouri
• Wesley CASEBOLT (About 1841 Indiana - ) & Emma UNKNOWN (About 1843 Missouri)
• Jonathan Beard CASEBOLT (About 1844 Indiana - 5 Sep 1899 San Francisco, California) & Mahala SMITH (About 1846 Illinois - ) 1865

2. Sanford Woodard SAMPSON (11 Oct 1819 Orange Co, Virginia - 20 Mar 1907 Dick Johnson, Clay, Indiana) & m1) Mary Jane AKERS (10 Nov 1833 Indiana – 6 Jan 1875 Indiana)  21 Feb 1856; & m2) Elizabeth PATTERSON (26 Aug 1833 – 27 Jul 1903) 5 Oct 1876 Indiana;  & m3) Elizabeth SANDERS (1840 Indiana - ) 17 Jan 1905 Indiana

• Jacob Morton SAMPSON (2 Jan 1857 Indiana - 26 Dec 1928 Indiana) & Mary Ella ALLEN (1861 Indiana - 27 Mar 1944 Indiana)  15 Sep 1878 Indiana
• Peachie Parolee SAMPSON (30 Sep 1858 Clay County, Indiana - 29 Jan 1908) & m1) Stephen M. MCBRIDE (15 Jun 1858 - 18 Feb 1895) 16 Dec 1886 Indiana; & m2) William J. WALKER 10 Sep 1903  Indiana
• William Rosswell SAMPSON (16 Jan 1860 Indiana - Jul 1926 Indiana) & Clarissa DOWNING (10 Nov 1861 Indiana - 25 Jun 1935 Indiana)  22 Dec 1889 Indiana     
• Sanford Crittington SAMPSON (29 Jun 1861 Indiana - 19 Jul 1863 Indiana)
• George Franklin SAMPSON (06 Apr 1863 Indiana - Sep 1864 Indiana)
• Roxy Velenet SAMPSON (4 Jun 1865 Indiana - 20 Nov 1868 Indiana)
• Mary Jane Mollie SAMPSON (23 Oct 1867 Indiana - Jul 1944 Indiana) & Henry CAMPBELL 1 Jan 1900 Indiana
• John Henry SAMPSON (25 Feb 1869 Indiana - 11 Jun 1959 Indiana) & Frances Alvena HOUK 30 Jun 1909 Clay Co, Indiana
• Mandana SAMPSON (28 Apr 1871 Indiana -23 Sep 1871 Indiana)
• Alex Alphonse SAMPSON ( 20 Feb 1873 Dick Johnson, Clay, Indiana - 7 May 1934 Cook County, Illinois) & Lillian CAMPBELL (Nov 1877 Indiana) 1898

3. Fielding L. SAMPSON (25 Jan 1823 Orange Co, Virginia - 29 Aug 1903 Vigo, Indiana) & Catherine CASTEEL (1828 – 7 Aug 1894) 23 Sep 1844 Wayne Co, Indiana

• Clarissa SAMPSON (1846 Indiana - ) & William WYNN (1840 Indiana – About 1915 Illinois)
• Lucy C. SAMPSON (27 Dec 1853 Indiana – 15 Mar 1918 Charleston, Illinois) & William Francis RYAN (13 Nov 1855 Chicago, Illinois – 21 Jan 1943 Charleston, Illinois)
• Mary E. SAMPSON (1858 Indiana - )
• James D. SAMPSON (1860 Indiana -15 Nov 1875 Illinois)
• William Seymour SAMPSON (5 Apr 1863 Illinois – 14 Dec 1930 Charleston, Illinois) & Minnie UNKNOWN (1840 – 1931)
• Bertie SAMPSON (1868 Illinois - )
• Elizabeth SAMPSON (1849 Illinois - )

4. Clarissa Ann SAMPSON (27 Aug 1823 Orange Co, Virginia - 14 Jun 1884) & m1) Jacob RODENBARGER (1825 Ohio – Before 1870 Indiana)  14 Jun 1841 Wayne Co, Indiana ; & m2) Franklin SAMPSON (1820 Orange Co, Virginia - ) 28 Mar 1883 Indiana

• Noah RODENBARGER (1842 Indiana – Before 1883) & Phoebe UNKNOWN (About 1849 - )
• Elizabeth RODENBARGER (1844 Indiana - )
• John RODENBARGER (Apr 1848 Indiana – 27 May 1915 Indiana) & Sarah D. BLAIZE (Feb 1842 Ohio – 23 Jul 1923 Indiana) 1 Dec 1881 Indiana
• Francis E. RODENBARGER (1851 - )  & m1) George EASTER 30 May 1867 Clay Co, Indiana ; & m2)
• Unknown MOPPS
• George W. RODENBARGER (1855 Indiana - 1923 ) & Susan M. HARDESTY (1856 – 1920 Clay Co, Indiana) 8 Aug 1880

5. Elizabeth Ann SAMPSON (19 Jun 1827 Orange Co, Virginia - 11 Feb 1887 Indiana) & Samuel DEBOY  21 Jun 1848 Wayne Co, Indiana

• Pansy DEBOY (1849 Indiana - )
• Ellis DEBOY (1855 - )
• Francis M. DEBOY (1858 - )

6. John J. SAMPSON (2 Dec 1831 Orange Co, Virginia - 7 Mar 1914 Clay Co, Indiana) & m1) Mary Elizabeth HOCK (24 Mar 1832 -  4 Jan 1877 Indiana)  23 Jun 1853 Wayne Co, Indiana; & m2) Hannah DIEL (About 1828 -  4 Jan 1877) 11 Jan 1869 Wayne Co, Indiana; & m3) Martha J. MOORE (About 1849 - 18 Jan 1923) 12 Jun 1887 Indiana

• Viola V. SAMPSON (16 Oct 1854 Indiana - 22 Oct 1862 Indiana)
• Lucinda SAMPSON (30 Oct 1856 Indiana - 31 Oct 1929 Indiana) & Joseph ROCKHILL  (1844 Ohio – 18 Jan 1919 Iowa) 8 Aug 1875 Clay Co, Indiana
• Joseph H. SAMPSON (4 Apr 1859 Indiana - 15 Feb 1945 Indiana) & Mary GONTER (4 May 1860 Indiana -  27 Oct 1923 Indiana)   22 Feb 1880 Clay Co, Indiana
• Franklin L. V. SAMPSON (Mar 1861 Indiana - 22 Oct 1862 Indiana)
• Harry C. SAMPSON (1865 Indiana - )

          John J. SAMPSON and Hannah DIEL had the following child:

• Perry Seymore SAMPSON ( 12 Jun 1869 Indiana - 9 May 1944 Illinois) & m1) UNKNOWN in 1886  Ada, Oklahoma; & m2) Nora JOHNSON (Oct 1871 – 12 Apr 1956) 18 Jan 1892

7. Peachy Frances SAMPSON (22 Jun 1834 Orange Co, Virginia - 20 Jan 1893 Page Co, Iowa) & Alphonso EDMONDS  (1830 Clermont, Ohio -  1916 Page Co, Iowa)  21 Sep 1856 Clay Co, Indiana

• Seth Warren EDMONDS (18 Sep 1857 Page Co, Iowa - 16 Jan 1945 Clarinda, Page Co., Iowa)   & Sarah Jane PLANK (13 Aug 1854 Faucett, Missouri  - 14 Jul 1930 Clarinda, Page Co., Iowa)  2 Apr 1884 St. Joseph, Missouri.
• Amanda C. EDMONDS (1 Feb 1860 Clarinda, Page, Iowa - 23 Jul 1954 Gravity, Taylor, Iowa) & Henry S. STAFFORD  (6 Jun 1861 Clarinda, Page, Iowa -22 Sep 1946 Iowa City, Allamakee, Iowa)   5 Jan 1882 Clarinda, Page, Iowa  
• Almira EDMONDS (7 May 1863 Iowa - ) & m1) Albert VAN HORN ( - 10 Feb 1900) 2 Sep 1896 ; & m2)
• George Edwin SMITH (About 1854 Missouri - 13 Jul 1922) ; & m3) Benjamin SPIERS ( - May 1934)
• Charles Vinson EDMONDS (14 Sep 1870 Page Co, Iowa – 19 Feb 1968 Maryville, Missouri) & Martha KELLY (17 Sep 1875 Muskingum, Ohio – 25 Sep 1968 Clearmont, Missouri) 24 Mar 1897

8. Permelia Ellen SAMPSON (22 Jun 1834 Orange Co, Virginia, USA – 20 Sep 1912 Clarinda, Page Co, Iowa) & m1) Wilkerson Burk T. “Wilkes” EDMONDS  (20 Feb 1832 Clermont, Ohio - 4 Dec 1865 Page Co, Iowa)  23 Sep 1852 Clay Co, Indiana ; & m2) Albert BUNKER  (20 Sep 1837 Delaware, Ohio  - 15 Apr 1900 Page Co, Iowa)  5 Dec 1875 Page Co, Iowa

• Araminta Minnie EDMONDS (5 Jan 1854 in Page, Iowa – 18 Jan 1885 Page Co, Iowa) & Joseph P. BERRY (1842 Ohio - ) 7 Jan 1872 Clarinda, Page, Iowa
• Maxmilla Millie EDMONDS (Apr 1856 Iowa - 21 May 1937 Page County, Iowa)  & Joshua Harlan STAPLETON (17 Apr 1845 Rush County, Indiana  - 29 Mar 1922 in Lindsay, Platt, New Brunswick, Canada)  1874 Page Co, Iowa
• James Kenyon EDMONDS (5 Jul 1858 Iowa - 5 Jul 1944); & m1) Mary Belle WOLFE (Jul 1861 Illinois - ) 1879 Iowa ;  & m2) Lucile LEGRAND Mar 1904 Clarinda, Page, Iowa 
• Cyrus Nathan EDMONDS (16 Nov 1860 Iowa, USA - 14 Feb 1953 Clarinda, Page, Iowa)  & Amanda PENDERGRAFT  (18 Sep 1861 Lucas, Iowa - 27 Oct 1926 Clarinda, Page, Iowa ) 11 Nov 1883 Clarinda, Page, Iowa

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Big Backyard

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt is all about backyards and fences.  I’m immediately reminded of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost, “Mending Wall,” in which the old adage “Good fences make good neighbors” is questioned by the narrator who opposes building fences for the sake of building fences.  He asks his neighbor – and the reader - to consider what we are walling in and walling out.  Like many poems, this one is simple on the surface, but a philosophical discussion of the complexity of this poem is more suited for a graduate course.  And I’m anything but complex.  

The house in Cradock where I grew up came with a fence.  Not a charming picket fence.  Just a scallop-topped welded-wire fence held up by a series of metal posts.  An adult could press our fence down a bit and step right over it.  Children used the mesh openings like steps to climb over.  It was a practical reality of life that children needed to be contained, in view from the kitchen window, safe from traffic.  

We lived on the corner of Gillis Road and Upshur Place, and we shared the fence with 3 good neighbors. 

Mary Jollette August 1959
Sitting up near the grapevine

The fence that ran parallel with Upshur held a grape vine.  It came with the house too.  Every year we looked forward to a small crop of purple grapes.  However, between the squirrels, the birds, and kids running up and down Upshur, we seldom got to enjoy the fruit of our vine. 

Facing Upshur were our neighbors Frank and Mary Bland who shared the fence running along our back yard.  Frank and Mary were an older couple, somebody’s grandparents.  They were extremely tolerant of the many times my sister climbed the fence to go play with her friend Rusty Taylor, and the many times Rusty returned the visit or hopped the fence to retrieve a ball he hit into the Blands’ backyard. 

Wendy and Mary Jollette Easter Sunday 1968 (?)
That's Frank and Mary Bland's house and car in the background.

The most lasting memory of the Blands, though, is late afternoon or early evening when Frank arrived home from work.  He always blew his car horn so that Mary would come running dutifully to open the garage door.  In our house, we’d all stop whatever we were doing and yell, “Frank’s home!”  Even today when my sister and I are together and we hear a car horn in the distance, we’ll say, “Frank’s home!” and then fall into a fit of laughter.

We shared the fence on the right with both the Allens and my grandparents.  Bets and Earl Allen had four kids.  Dickie was older and a boy, for goodness sake, so he stayed out of our way for the most part.  Peggy was the oldest girl, maybe 2 years older than her sister Mary and me; Anne was the baby, probably 4 years younger than Mary and me.

The Allen girls Anne, Mary, Peggy
and ME in dressups
Standing in my grandparents' side yard facing Frailey Place

Every day was a play day with the Allen girls, so that fence got a workout.  The wire fence  bent and warped as little feet inserted themselves in those window-like openings.

The Allens’ side yard was mostly dirt, thanks to a large tree that wouldn’t allow grass to grow.  So it was an excellent spot for hopscotch, Mother May I, and jump rope. 

Our yard, though, had the swing set,

Susan Golden and Mary Jollette
in dressups 1966
(We all LOVED dressups!)

a ready-made stage for all kinds of plays thanks to the previous owners (not sure what that cement pad had been – perhaps the floor of a shed?),

Nancy Taylor and Mary Jollette
The fence behind Mary Jollette faces the Allens' yard.

plenty of room for croquet despite two large pecan trees (we never got any pecans either thanks to birds and squirrels), a crab apple tree, a fig tree, and an oak,

and a kiddy pool – no diving board and no lifeguard on duty – swim at your own risk.

Mary Jollette with Rusty Taylor July 1965

Anne Allen and Debbie Ellis

One day the splashing and squealing that accompanied our escape from the heat of summer led to a verbal cat fight between my ordinarily mild-mannered-non-confrontational mother and Bets Allen.  Bets complained that she couldn’t take much more of Mary Jollette and Rusty and all their squealing.  Like a protective mother bear, Momma fired back, “Yeah, well now you know how it feels over here when you let Anne scream and cry all day.”  (Ouch.  I’m sure Mary and I were to blame for Anne’s frequent melt-downs.  She merely wanted to be included, but Mary and I didn’t want some baby tagging along ruining our fun.) 

That was one day when good fences did indeed make good neighbors as Momma and Bets each retreated to their homes to cool off.

The other half of our fence separated our yard from my grandparents’ yard.  The neighborhood kids probably spent as much time at the Davis yard as in their own backyards.  With hardly any traffic, the road was the choice spot for all the popular jump rope games.  But the big draw was my granddaddy’s garage. 

My grandparents' house with the ever-popular garage.
In the distance the Allens' two-story house
and then the Taylors'

In the summer it was a playhouse with paint cans for furniture and old screens for walls.  Sometimes it was a school.  Sometimes it was a hideout for robbers.   And in some game resembling tag that we invented, it was a prison for slow runners captured by The Eagle. 

My own backyard was fenced in, but the backyard of my youth extended beyond that wire fence.  When we grew tired of one yard, we moved on to another.  We played in the Harrises’ ditch.  We skated in the Horniks’ driveway.  Nobody complained.  Just free to be.

Hop the fence and head to Sepia Saturday for a plethora of backyard adventures.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Wordless Wednesday: Nova Scotia

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

This photo from the album of my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker is simply captioned “Taken in Nova Scotia, Canada.”  But who is it?  Why was she there?  When did she go? 

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #9 - Lucy Walker JOLLETT MARSH

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

One of the silly games I sometimes play is “Which ancestor has the most researchers?”  Thanks to my former Geocities website, my blog, message boards, and family trees posted online, I have “met” a number of cousins who share my desire to figure out this whole Jollett puzzle.  Winning the race by a LARGE margin is the family of today’s subject. 

The oldest daughter of James and Nancy Walker JOLLETT was Lucy Walker.  On March 24, 1806, James gave his consent and provided surety for his 14-year old daughter to marry Peter Marsh, who was nearly twice her age.  They were joined in marriage by William Douglass, a Methodist minister. 

Peter and Lucy wasted no time starting their very large family.  While I have 8 children listed, the 1820 Orange County, Virginia census indicates there could have been more that Marsh researchers have not confirmed.  However, it is also possible Peter and Lucy shared their home with another family. 

Summary of 1820 Orange County, Virginia census

Petition to form Greene County
1838

For some reason, I’ve always viewed Peter Marsh as one of the “movers and shakers” of his day.  Maybe this impression is due in part to the large land holdings he inherited in 1818 when his father died.  Thomas Marsh named his son Peter as the executor of his estate which included a farm in Northumberland County on the Northern Neck of Virginia.  There is still a large Marsh presence there today.

Like his father-in-law, Peter Marsh signed the 1838 petition to form Greene County, ensuring the citizens of the western portion of Orange County would have easier access to a court. 

By 1850, all the Marsh children were grown and gone.  Some moved to neighboring counties, primarily Rockingham, Madison or Albemarle.  Others left the state altogether heading to Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina. 

Peter must have died between 1850 and 1860 since he was no longer listed in a census.  Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh, however, appeared in both 1860 and 1870 living with her daughter Amanda and son-in-law George Sampson.  Lucy could neither read nor write. 

Lucy died October 25, 1870, in Stanardsville, the county seat of Greene, the county her husband, son, and father helped form by signing the petition.

THREE GENERATIONS:

Lucy Walker JOLLETT (1792 in Orange, Virginia - 25 Oct 1870 Stanardsville, Greene, Virginia) & Peter MARSH (Abt 1779 - Before 1860)  married 24 Mar 1806 Orange Co, Virginia

1. Hiram MARSH (1812 Orange County, Virginia - 21 Aug 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia) & Peachy SAMPSON (1818 - 04 Jan 1890 Albemarle Co, Virginia)

• Sarah J. MARSH (1838 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• William Franklin MARSH (25 Sep 1840 Greene Co, Virginia – 18 May 1912) & m1) 06 Jan 1866 to Susan Frances GARRISON (1844 – 3 Jun 1881 Albemarle Co, Virginia) and m2) 10 Sep 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia to Mary Cornelia BURGESS (24 Aug 1859 – 2 Jun 1947)   
• Mary F. MARSH (1841 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Virginia A. MARSH (1843 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Cornelia Mattie MARSH (Jun 1846 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Robert J. MARSH (May 1852 - ) 20 Jun 1873 Albemarle, Virginia
• Ophelia E. MARSH (1849 Greene Co, Virginia – 31 Jan 1911 Powhatan, Virgiinia ) & John VEST  1865

 2. Thomas J. MARSH  (1816 - 18 May 1898 McGaheysville, Rockingham, Virginia) & Columbia Ann KING (1825 – After 1902) 07 Feb 1852 in Greene Co, Virginia

• Elves or Elliott S. MARSH  (29 Mar 1860 - Before 1900)

 3. Layton MARSH  (1819 - Before 1900) & Peachy LAMB (1824 - ) 18 Mar 1845 Greene Co, Virginia

• John William MARSH (1846 - ) & m1) Margaret JACKSON (1848 - ) on 2 Oct 1868 Madison Co, Virginia; & m2) Frances Dottie “Fannie” DELPH RICHARDS (Mar 1860 – 1921)
• Robert T. MARSH (Jun 1847 - 12 Dec 1918 Logan, West Virginia) & Frances Ella HUNLEY (18 May 1858 – After 1920 ) 27 Jan 1875 Madison Co, Virginia
• Mary J. MARSH (1848 - ) & William H. JACKSON
• Lucretia MARSH (1849 - ) & Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia  - )
• James Henry MARSH (4 Jun 1853 - 14 Aug 1926 Madison Co, Virginia) & Annie E. HUFFMAN (14 Feb 1855 – 3 Dec 1932 Madison Co, Virginia ) married 27 May 1874 Madison Co, Virgina
• Elizabeth A. “Betty” MARSH (1 Feb 1854 - ) & Thomas Abraham BREEDEN (26 Jan 1849 - ) 17 Nov 1870 Madison County, Virginia
• Catherine Fannie MARSH (1857 - ) & Michael O'NEAL (1854 - ) 23 Nov 1876 Madison County, Virginia  
• Montgomery MARSH (4 Jul 1857 Greene Co, Virginia  - Before 1860)
• George Harvey MARSH (1860 – 1931) & m1) Virginia B. YOWELL ( - 3 Dec 1917) 8 Jun 1882 Madison County, Virginia ; & m2) Eleanora T. UNKNOWN ( 1867 - )
• Benjamin Franklin MARSH (Oct 1862 Madison County, Virginia – 1933 Madison County, Virginia)  & Alice Odessa SALISBURY (May 1876 Orange Co, Virginia - 1 Aug 1937 Madison Co, Virginia) 

4. William Mansfield MARSH (1822 - ) & Diannah LEY (1824 - ) 15 Oct 1846 Greene Co, Virginia

• James W. MARSH (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Isabella MARSH (1850 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Robert  J. MARSH (May 1852 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Cornelia Mattie MARSH (Jun 1846 Greene Co, Virginia) 20 Jun 1873 Albemarle, Virginia

5. Alexander MARSH (1825 - ) & Ann Elizabeth LEE (1825 - ) 19 Nov 1846 Orange County, Virginia

• Mary J. MARSH (1847 Orange Co, Virginia  – 1924 Greene Co, Tennessee) & m1) Moses CUTSHALL (26 May 1848 Greene Co, Tennessee – 27 Mar 1877 Greene Co, Tennessee)  2 Jan 1866 Greene Co, Tennessee; & m2) James H. CUTSHALL (1860 – 4 May 1921 Greene Co, Tennessee) 18 Dec 1883 Greene Co, Tennessee
• Jane W. MARSH (Sep 1848 Orange Co, Virginia – 29 Jul 1937 Lamar, Texas) & John VanBuren HANEY (10 Nov 1843 Tennessee – 27 Sep 1906 Lamar, Texas) 21 Aug 1865 Greene Co, Tennessee
• Sarah Ann MARSH (1850 Orange Co, Virginia – 1920 Grady, Oklahoma) & Rufus HOLT (11 Mar 1839 Tennessee – 18 May 1896 Lamar, Texas) 2 Jan 1865 Greene Co, Tennessee
• William Robert MARSH (22 Sep 1853 – 24 Feb 1901 Gaffney, South Carolina) & m1) Martha Jane WILLWOOD (26 Dec 1857 – 22 Sep 1895 Gaffney, South Carolina) Oct 1878; & m2) Mary E. Molly KIRBY (3 Jan 1862  - 26 Apr 1935 Gaffney, South Carolina) 1898
• Alexander MARSH Jr. (1855 Orange Co, Virginia - )
• Thomas Frederick MARSH (Jan 1856 Orange Co, Virginia – 1928 Grady, Oklahoma) & Margaret KING (27 Oct 1870 - 1960) 6 Aug 1890
• Eliza L. MARSH (1864 Greene Co, Tennessee - )

6. James Madison MARSH (1828 – 1890) & Agnes MCDANIEL (1830 – 1896) 23 Dec 1846 Greene Co, Virginia

• Harriet Ann MARSH (19 Feb 1849 - 23 Jul 1917 Albemarle County, Virginia) & Robert Burress WOOD (Feb 1842 – 29 May 1899 Albemarle Co, Virginia) 22 Sep 1872 Albemarle Co, Virginia
• Isabel MARSH (1851 - ) & John WOOD (1850 - ) 21 Dec 1877 Albemarle Co, Virginia
• James Franklin MARSH (1853 - ) & Catherine GARTON 6 Mar 1873
• William L. MARSH (1865 - ) & Lillian MADISON (1883 - )  Dec 1904 Greene Co, Virginia 

7. Amanda Melvina MARSH (1831 - Before 1878) &  George W. SAMPSON (1828 - ) 28 Jan 1848 Greene Co, Virginia

• John A. SAMPSON (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• George W. SAMPSON (1850 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• M. F. SAMPSON (1851 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Elizabeth Virginia SAMPSON (1853 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Andrew Jackson SNOW (1848 Green Co, Virginia - ) about 1870
• U. D. SAMPSON (1854 -  )
• Eugenia SAMPSON (1857 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• A. L. SAMPSON (1857 - )
• Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Lucretia MARSH (1849 - )
• Richard E. SAMPSON (1861 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Daniel B. SAMPSON (1863 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• Robert B. SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia – 24 Aug 1938 Rockingham County, Virginia)& m1) Annie KNIGHTING ( - Before 1910) 28 Dec 1886 Rockingham County, Virginia; & m2) Daisy WILLIAMS (16 Dec 1883 – 18 Jan 1968) 21 May 1914 Rockingham County, Virginia
• Henry SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - )
• James A. SAMPSON (Jul 1873 Greene Co, Virginia – 1937) & Virginia Belle JENKINS (10 Jul 1874 – 29 Oct 1945 Charlottesville, Virginia) 15 Jun 1893 Page County, Virginia

8. John C. MARSH (1835 – After 1910) & Louisa M. SAMPSON (1839 – After 1910)  Mar 1859 Greene Co, Virginia

• Mary A. MARSH (22 May 1858 - ) & James O. BARNETT (9 Dec 1862 - 1898 Charlottesville, Virginia) 25 May 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia
• Jeremiah MARSH (1861 - )
• William Franklin MARSH (1863 - ) & Annie OLIVER 11 Aug 1889 Greene Co, Virginia
• Martha Susan MARSH  (1865 - )
• John Jackson MARSH (Apr 1868 - ) & Emma Alice VIA (1878 - ) About 1897
• Elizabeth MARSH (1869 - )
• Charles MARSH (1871 - ) & Callie UNKNOWN (1884 - ) About 1897
• Fannie MARSH (1873 - )
• Robert MARSH (1875 - )
• Thomas Jefferson MARSH (8 Oct 1875 Albemarle Co, Virginia - Before 1930) & Cora Ethel BIRCKHEAD (7apr 1883 – 2 Mar 1939 Earlysville, Virginia) About 1903 Albemarle County, Virginia

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.