Slater Family Tradition - Fishing in Hayward, WI

            My extended family travels every summer to northwestern Wisconsin and spends a week in cabins on Brewer’s Bay on the Spider Lake Chain near Hayward. It’s a fishing trip and its origins stretch way back in the Slater family. We don’t even know who was the first to go to the Hayward area for sure. We know that my dad went as a kid with his maternal uncles. There are stories of Dad standing on the side of the boat pouring gasoline into the motor from glass Mason jars while his uncle held onto his belt to keep him from tumbling into the lake. You see, the motor only held enough gas to get to the favored fishing spot - one way - and they had to carry along a supply so that they could refill it to get back. Dad was born in 1936, so that would have been probably in the late 1940s. Dad’s oldest brother and his bride went there in 1949 for their honeymoon. (I know, cleaning fish in a rustic cabin, how romantic, right?) How much earlier members of the Slater clan – or the Banes, Dad’s maternal uncles – were traveling to northern Wisconsin to fish is unknown.

            My dad and his three brothers went sporadically in the 1950s and 1960s when they were raising their families, but then most or all of the trips to Hayward stopped. Children were in high school, jobs were time consuming and life just got in the way. In the mid-1980s, however, the Slaters started going back to Wisconsin and a strong tradition was established. By the time I took my 3-month-old son and drove the 600 miles to Timber Bay Resort in 1994, I had heard many stories of laughter and practical jokes and the other special moments that form the glue that holds families together. By the time I left the cabin at the end of that week, I swore I’d not miss another year without an especially good reason. And I haven’t, except for 1997, when my younger son was only three weeks old.

Dad and my sons - Dad's last trip to Wisconsin in 2002

            Some years I don’t buy a fishing license and so I don’t go out in the boat to fish. Heck, some years – like this year – I don’t even throw a line in the water from the shore. It’s a fishing trip, but it’s not about the fishing. It’s about family. We could write a book with all of the stories of the things that have happened and been said, and the little traditions that we’ve established. It’s special. There aren’t that many kids who spend a week every summer playing with their second cousins and their second cousins, once removed. Mine have, since they were born.

            My family. We’re close. We’ve always been close, even during the times when we weren’t. That might not make sense to anyone other than me, but that’s the way it is. Our summer trip to Wisconsin keeps us connected during those long months in between. That was important to Dad and my uncles and it remains important to those of us who are left to carry on the tradition.

7 Saxon Siblings - 21+ Marriages

While working on a lecture that I will present for The Genealogy Center this October during Family History Month, I revisited some research I did on William Andrew Saxon, one of my collateral relatives. William is part of a case study for the presentation, which will be about distinguishing between people of the same name, living in the same place during the same time period.

In re-reading the sketch for William in my Saxon family history-in-progress, I was reminded of how astounded I was to discover that his seven children had at least twenty-one marriages between them, and that some evidence existed to indicate that there might have been one or two additional incidences of nuptials for which I have not yet found records. Two of the seven siblings married just once, or I have found just one marriage record for each of them. This means that the other five had an average of almost four marriages each! Some remarried after having been widowed, but there were several divorces.

The oldest daughter, Annetta Jane, married Lewis Alexander in 1878, and she was his wife at the time of his death in 1926. Indeed, until the Indiana Marriages 1811-1959 database was launched by FamilySearch.org, I was unaware that Annetta had had another husband. Annetta and Lewis divorced and she married William Hort between census years. Her second marriage also ended before the next federal census was taken, and she remarried her first husband, Alexander Lewis!

Here is a brief synopsis of this family, detailing its many marriages:

William Andrew Saxon was born 21 November 1837[1] in Indiana, the son of Alexander Gillespie Saxon and his wife, Margaret (McCrory).[2] William married Angeline Euphenia Ball 26 July 1860 in Fayette County.[3] Their children were:[4]

1.     Annetta Jane Saxon, born 31 March 1861 in Fayette County, Indiana.[5] She married, first, Lewis R. Alexander 11 January 1878 in Hancock County, Indiana.[6] Lewis probably was born 22 August 1844 in Hamilton County, Indiana,^[7] the son of Valentine and Annie (Kingly) Alexander.[8] Annetta married, second, William H. Hort 18 November 1902 in Madison County, Indiana.[9] She remarried, third, Lewis R. Alexander 4 August 1915 in Henry County.[10] Lewis died of heart trouble 29 May 1926 at his home on West Brown Street in Knightstown, Henry County.^[11]

2.     Clara May Saxon, born 10 February 1863 (calculated)[12] in Rush County, Indiana.^[13] She married, first, Jonathan M. Rail 16 October 1879 in Hancock County, Indiana,[14] and, second, John A. Hood 27 October 1883 in Rush County. John was born circa 1857 in Rush County, the son of Washington and Lucinda (Giffin) Hood. ^[15] “May” Hood died 1 June 1890[16] at the home of her mother, Webster and Jefferson Streets in Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, of typhoid fever.^[17] She was buried in Albright Cemetery, Kokomo.[18]

3.     Laura B. Saxon, born in November 1866[19] in Indiana.[20] She married Charles E. Durham 17 March 1883 in Rush County, Indiana.[21] Charles was born in February 1847 in Indiana.[22] No further information.

4.     Ada F. Saxon, born 13 July 1867 or 1868 in Indiana.[23] She married, first, George B. Pierce 12 September 1888 in Howard County, Indiana.[24] Ada filed for divorce 28 September 1895, claiming that her George “sat back in an easy chair, figuratively speaking, and decided the world owed him and living and that his wife could furnish it.”^[25] The divorce was granted 10 October 1895 in Howard County.[26] Ada married, second, Charles M. Fox 24 December 1896 at her home, 261 West Monroe Street in Kokomo.[27] Ada married, third, Frank M. Hancock 28 November 1899 in Cass County, Indiana.[28] Frank was born in August 1864 in Indiana,[29] the son of Will Hancock.[30] By 1910, Ada was divorced and was head of her household at 615 North Webster Street in Kokomo.[31] Ada married, fourth, Lorne Whitmore 26 April 1917 in Los Angeles County, California.[32] Lorne was born circa 1861 in Illinois,[33] the son of W. A. and Judith (Healy) Whitmore.[34] In 1930, Ada was enumerated as divorced and lived in Los Angeles.[35] She might have married, fifth, _____ Elofson. “Ada Whitemore Elofson” died 3 April 1945 in Los Angeles.[36]

5.     Minnie S. Saxon, born probably 8 March 1869 in Indiana.[37] Minnie married, first, Oliver P. M. Finley 7 October 1886 in Howard County, Indiana.[38] They divorced[39] and Minnie married, second, William T. Sanders 12 December 1894 in Montgomery County, Indiana. William was born circa 1854, the son of William M. and E. J. (Lewis) Sanders.[40] Minnie married, third, Jonathan E. Carroll 16 October 1899 in Cass County, Indiana.[41] By 1910, Minnie was again divorced and lived with her sister, Ada Hancock, at 615 North Webster Street in Kokomo, Howard County.[42] Minnie married, fourth, William Carey DeBolt 2 July 1912 in Cass County, Indiana. William was born 6 December 1874 in Montgomery County, Indiana, the son of William and Margaret L. (Wagoner) DeBolt.[43] In 1920, Minnie DeBolt rented a home at 1247 Highland Avenue in Cahuenga Township, Los Angeles County, California. She was enumerated as married, but William was not in the household. Minnie was working as a clerk in a department store.[44] On 4 November 1925, she married, fifth, Henry Turney in Hollywood, Los Angeles County. Henry was born circa 1878 in Canada, the son of William and Elizabeth J. (Bellamy) Turney.[45] Minnie Saxon DeBolt died 22 June 1944 in Los Angeles.[46]

6.     Margaret Ellen Saxon was a twin to William W. Saxon, below. She was born 13 September 1875 in Hancock County, Indiana.[47] She married, first, John W. Sarver 14 June 1891 in Howard County, Indiana.[48] She married, second, George Hullinger 25 December 1896 in Howard County.[49] “Ella” Saxon married, third, James Kelly 27 September 1899 in Madison County, Indiana. James was born circa 1870, the son of Patrick and Barah (Wagher) Kelly.[50] In 1900, Maggie was divorced and was making her home with her sister and brother-in-law, Nettie and Lewis Alexander, on Grant Street in Knightstown, Henry County, Indiana.[51] “Hellin Kelley” married, fourth, Sanford James Landers 30 December 1902 in Marion County, Indiana.[52] Sanford was born 21 June 1863 in Almont, Michigan, the son of Peter and Emeline (Newberry) Landers.[53] Sanford and “Ella” divorced and she married, fifth, Elmer Oran Paxson 22 February 1909 in Marion County, Indiana.[54] He was born 7 July 1876 in Delaware County, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Hannah (Thomas) Paxson.[55] Margaret died 11 October 1913 in Anderson, Madison County.[56]

7.     William Waldon Saxon, a twin to Margaret E. “Maggie” Saxon, above, was born 13 September 1875 in Hancock County, Indiana.[57] William married Orpha Arlena Campbell 15 September 1904 in Howard County, Indiana.[58] Orpha was born 1 July 1883, probably in Clinton County, Indiana.[59] Orpha died 27 December 1953 at her home in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.[60] William died 18 June 1959 in St. John’s Hospital, Anderson.[61]

William, the father of these children, died in Fairfield, Howard County, Indiana, 25 March 1886 of pneumonia.[62] Angeline married, second, William M. Price 30 September 1888 in Howard County,^[63] and moved to California.[64] Angeline died probably in July 1923 in Hollywood.[65]

---

[1] Family Bible of Alexander Gillespie and Margaret (McCrory) Saxon, The Holy Bible (Edinburgh: Mark & Charles Kerr, His Majesty’s Printers, MDCCXCIII [1793]). Ownership transferred from Arthur Saxon to Kenneth Saxon via Dawne Slater-Putt, who made a photocopy of the Bible while it was in her possession.

[2] Ibid. The Bible includes the names and birthdates of five of Alexander’s and Margaret’s children – Jane, Selina, Mckhenry, John and William Andrew – and one nephew, Clayton Hender[son], the son of Alexander’s sister, Anna (Saxon) Henderson. The Bible does not state ownership of the Bible or the parentage of the children, but their parentage is known from other sources. William was living with Alexander and Margaret at the time of the 1850 and 1860 federal censuses. William A. Saxon was identified as a child of Margaret Saxon in Margaret Saxon’s estate, June 1885 term, Fayette Co., IN Probate Order Book 9: 79; Courthouse, Connersville. The father of William A. Saxon was identified as Alexander Saxon, on his death record, Howard Co., IN Deaths Vol. CH-11: 12 (Saxon, 1886), Howard County Board of Health, Kokomo; transcription by Janice Blanchard enclosed in a letter to Dawne Slater-Putt dated 6 Sept. 1995.

[3] Fayette Co., IN Marriages Vol. 1: 124 (Wm. A. Saxon-E. A. Ball, 1860), Clerk’s Office, Connersville; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

[4] These children were identified in Memorandum of births of children of William A. Saxon, as originally made by him in his own handwriting, Civil War textual pension file of William A. Saxon, Certificate No. 240643, Case Files of Pension Applications Based on Service Completed in the Years 1817 to Approximately 1903, part of Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Other sources, such as the children’s marriage records, also identify William and Angeline as their parents. Citations for those various records are too lengthy to include here, but are available from Dawne Slater-Putt.

[5] Henry Co., IN Marriages Vol. 16: 569 (Lewis Alexander-Annetta Jane Hort, 1915), Clerk’s Office, New Castle; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959. The 1900 census corroborates her month and year of birth as March 1861.

[6] Index to Marriage Record, Hancock County, Indiana 1828-1920, Vol. II, L-Z (Greenfield, Ind.: Indiana Works Progress Administration, 1938), p. 163; the original record may be found in Hancock Co., IN Marriages Vol. C-6: 572, Clerk’s Office, Greenfield.

^[7] He was born 22 August 1844, according to Henry Co., IN Marriages Vol. 16: 569 (cited above). His obituary, “Death of Louis Alexander,” Knightstown (Indiana) Banner, 4 June 1926, p. 1, col. 1, gave his date of birth as 21 August 1844, which closely agrees. However, the 1900 U.S. census, Henry Co., IN, pop. sch., Knightstown, Wayne Twp., ED 78, p. 7, dwell. 162, fam. 169, Lewis Alexander, indicated that he was born in August 1847.

[8] Lewis Alexander’s parents were identified as Valentine Alexander and Annie Kingly in Henry Co., IN Marriages Vol. 16: 569 (cited above).

[9] Ancestry.com, Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941 [database online], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005); the original record may be found in Madison Co., IN Marriage Vol. 10: 510, Clerk’s Office, Anderson.

[10] Henry Co., IN Marriages Vol. 16: 569 (cited above).

^[11] “Death of Louis Alexander,” Knightstown (Indiana) Banner, 4 June 1926, p. 1, col. 1.

[12] Her cemetery marker indicated that she was 27 years, 3 months and 22 days when she died 1 June 1890.

^[13] Record of Returns of Marriages in the County of Rush, Indiana, Vol. 1882-1895: 44-45 (John A. Hood-Clara May Rail, 1883), Clerk’s Office, Rushville; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

[14] Index to Marriage Record, Hancock County, Indiana 1828-1920, Vol. II, N-Z (Greenfield, Ind.: Indiana Works Progress Administration, 1938), p. 163; the original record may be found in Hancock Co., IN Marriages Vol. C-7: 125, Clerk’s Office, Greenfield.

^[15] Record of Returns of Marriages in the County of Rush, Indiana, Vol. 1882-1895: 44-45 (John A. Hood-Clara May Rail, 1883), Clerk’s Office, Rushville; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959 . See also Rush Co., IN Marriages Vol. 12: 163 (John A. Hood-Clara May Rail, 1883), Clerk’s Office, Rushville; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959. Both members of the couple were shown as Black on their marriage return, it was shown as Clara’s first marriage, and her parents’ names were listed as William Rail and Angeline Ball, all incorrect except for her mother’s name. Neither member of the couple is believed to have African American ancestry. John and his parents were enumerated as white on the 1860 (Washington Twp., Rush Co., IN p. 825) and 1870 (Washington Twp., Rush Co., IN, p. 501) censuses. John was enumerated as white on the 1880 census (Washington Twp., Rush Co., IN, ED 79, p. 32).

[16] Ancestry.com, Indiana Deaths 1882-1920 [database online], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004); the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Deaths Vol. H-14: 15, Courthouse, Kokomo.

^[17]  “Death’s Harvest,” Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Gazette Tribune, 2 June 1890, p. 2.

[18] Albright Cemetery (Howard County, Indiana),Clara May Hood marker, photographed by Dawne Slater-Putt in about 1992.

[19] 1900 U.S. census, Henry Co., IN, pop. sch., Wayne Twp., ED 78, p. 7, dwell. 162, fam. 168, Charles Durham.

[20] 1870 U.S. census, Miami Co., IN, pop. sch., Clay Twp., p. 35 (stamped), dwell./fam. 4, William Saxon.

[21] Record of Returns of Marriages in the County of Rush, Indiana, Vol. 1882-1895: 32-33 (Charles E. Durham-Laura B. Saxon, 1883); digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959.

[22] 1900 U.S. census, Henry Co., IN, pop. sch., Wayne Twp., ED 78, p. 7, dwell. 162, fam. 168, Charles Durham.

[23] She was born 13 July 1868, according to Ancestry.com, California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database online], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000); Ada Whitemore Elofson entry. The 1900 census indicated that she was born in July 1867.

[24] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [ Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive (Kokomo, Ind.: Indiana Works Progress Administration, 1939), no page numbers – alphabetical  listing; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-5: 546, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo..

^[25] “An Indolent Husband,” Kokomo (Daily) Tribune, 28 Sept. 1895, p. 8.

[26]. Ada F. Pierce vs. George B. Pierce, Howard Co., IN Circuit Court Vol. 48: 448-449, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo. See also “Ada F. Pierce vs. George B. Pierce, divorce granted,” Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Tribune, 10 Oct. 1895, p. 5.

[27] Ancestry.com, Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941 [database online], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005); the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-8: 2, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.  Also: Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Tribune, 25 Dec. 1896, p. 4.

[28] FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1780-1992 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Frank M. Hancock-Ada F. Fox marriage record abstract.

[29] 1900 U.S. census, Tipton Co., IN, pop. sch., Cicero, ED 122, p. 12, dwell. 268, fam. 286, Frank Hancock.

[30] Frank was identified as Will’s son on the 1880 U.S. census, Howard Co., IN, pop. sch., Union Twp., ED 51, p. 11, dwell./fam. 92, Will Hancock.

[31] 1910 U.S. census, Howard Co., IN, pop. sch., Kokomo, ED 126, p. 1, dwell./fam. 7, Ada Hancock.

[32] FamilySearch.org, California County Marriages 1850-1952 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Loren Whitmore-Ada F. Saxon marriage record abstract.

[33] 1920 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co., CA, pop. sch., Cahuenga Twp., ED 33, p. 15, dwell. 362, fam. 367, Lorne Whitmore.

[34] FamilySearch.org, California County Marriages 1850-1952; Loren Whitmore-Ada F. Saxon.

[35] 1930 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co., CA, pop. Sch., Los Angeles, ED 19, p. 14, dwell. 249, fam. 264, Ada F. Whitmore.

[36] Ancestry.com, California Death Index, 1940-1997; Ada Whitemore Elofson entry. Her father’s and mother’s surnames were Saxon and Ball, respectively, and she was born 13 July 1868 in Indiana, according to this record.

[37] The 1900 U.S. census, Madison Co., IN, pop. sch., Anderson, ED 82, p. 27, dwell. 608, fam. 620, Minnie Carroll, indicated that she was born in March 1871, but she was enumerated as 1 year old on the 1870 census. If her age was correct on the 1870 census, she must have been born in March 1869. An abstract of her marriage record to William Carey DeBolt, FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1780-1992 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) provides a birth date of 8 March 1869. Her entry in California Death Index, 1940-1997 ; Minnie Saxon DeBolt entry, has a birth date for her of 8 March 1870. This probably is one year in error.

[38] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [ Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive, Oliver P. M. Finley-Minnie S. Saxon entry; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-5: 296, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.

[39] Oliver was still alive and enumerated on the 1900 U.S. census, Vigo Co., IN, pop. sch., Prairieton Twp., ED 133, p. 7, dwell. 146, fam. 147, Oliver P. M. Finley.

[40] Ancestry.com, Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941, William T. Sanders-Minnie Finley marriage license entry and Wm. T. Sanders-Minnie Saxon marriage license application entry; the original records may be found in Montgomery Co., IN Marriage Vol. 13: 141 and Montgomery Co., IN Marriage Application Vol. W-43: 24, respectively, Clerk’s Office, Crawfordsville.

[41] Ancestry.com, Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941, Jonathan E. Carroll-[Minnie] S. Saxon entry; the original record may be found in Cass Co., IN Marriage Vol. 17: 600, Clerk’s Office, Logansport.

[42] 1910 U.S. census, Howard Co., IN, pop. sch., Kokomo, ED 126, p. 1, dwell./fam. 7, Ada Hancock.

[43] FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1780-1992, William Carey DeBolt-Minnie S. Carroll marriage record abstract.

[44] 1920 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co., CA, pop. sch., Cahuenga Twp., ED 33, p. 15, dwell. 380, fam. 395, Minnie DeBolt.

[45] Los Angeles Co., CA Marriages Vol. 680: 52 (Henry Turney-Minnie S. DeBolt, 1925), State Board of Health, Sacramento; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, California County Marriages 1850-1952 [database online], (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Minnie claimed that she was 53 years old, when she was probably about 57. She also said this was her third marriage, when it was her fifth.

[46] Ancestry.com, California Death Index, 1940-1997, Minnie Saxon DeBolt entry.

[47] The birth date and place of William W. Saxon, Maggie’s twin, were given as 13 September 1875 and Hancock County in “William Saxon Dies Thursday,” Anderson (Indiana) Daily Bulletin, 19 June 1959, p. 2, col. 4; digital image viewed online on 9 Jan. 2012 at http://access.newspaperarchive.com. The 1900 U.S. census, Henry Co., IN, pop. sch., Knightstown, Wayne Twp., ED 78, p. 7, dwell. 162, fam. 169, Lewis Alexander, corroborated September 1875 as the month and year of Maggie’s birth.

[48] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [ Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive, Maggie Saxon-John W. Sarver entry; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-6: 358, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.

[49] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [ Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive, George Hullinger-Maggie Saxon entry; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-8: 4, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.

[50] Ancestry.com, Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941, James Kelley-Ella Saxon entry; the original record may be found in Madison Co., IN Marriage Application Vol. W-3: 12, Clerk’s Office, Anderson.

[51] 1900 U.S. census, Henry Co., IN, pop. sch., Knightstown, Wayne Twp., ED 78, p. 7, dwell. 162, fam. 169, Lewis Alexander.

[52] FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992, Sanford J. Landers-Hellin Kelley entry. The first name of Sanford’s mother is from the 1880 census.

[53] Ibid and Jackson Co., IN Marriages Vol. O: 138 (Sanford James Landers-Dilla Brand, 1908), Clerk’s Office, Seymour; digital image viewed online at FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1811-1959.

[54] FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1780-1992, Oran Paxson-Ella Landers entry.

[55] Ibid and FamilySearch.org, Indiana Marriages 1780-1992, Elmer Orin Paxson-Anna Belle Spanger entry.

[56] Ancestry.com, Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920, Margaret E. Paxson entry; the original record may be found in Grant Co., IN Deaths Vol. CH-9: 29, Courthouse, Anderson.

[57] “William Saxon Dies Thursday” This obituary gave William’s exact date of birth and his birth place as Hancock County. The 1900 U.S. census, Howard Co., IN, pop. sch., Center Twp., ED 51, p. 9, dwell. 177, fam. 182, William M. Price, corroborated the month and year of birth as September 1875. His date of birth also was on Ancestry.com, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005); William Waldon Saxon card, and his place of birth was in Ancestry.com, U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 [database online], (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007), Wm. W. Saxon entry; digital image, p. 141.

[58] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive, Will E. Saxon-Orpha Campbell entry; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-10: 334, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.

[59] “Deaths – Orpha A. Saxon,” Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune, 29 Dec. 1953, p. 2, col. 5. Another obituary, “Orpha Saxon Dies Sunday,” Anderson (Indiana) Daily Bulletin, 28 Dec. 1953, p. 5, said that she was born in Kokomo.

[60] “Orpha Saxon Dies Sunday.” See also “Deaths

– Orpha A. Saxon.”

[61] “William Saxon Dies Thursday.”

[62] Howard Co., IN Deaths Vol. CH-11: 12 (Wm. A. Saxon, 1886), Howard County Board of Health, Kokomo; transcribed by Janice Blanchard and enclosed in a letter to Dawne Slater-Putt dated 6 Sept. 1995.

^[63] Index to Marriage Record, Howard County [Indiana], 1844-1920 Inclusive, William M. Price-Angeline E. Saxon, entry; the original record may be found in Howard Co., IN Marriage Vol. C-5: 543, Clerk’s Office, Kokomo.

[64] 1920 U.S. census, Los Angeles Co., CA, pop. sch., Cahuenga Twp., ED 33, p. 15, dwell. 362, fam. 367, Lorne Whitmore. Angie Price was correctly identified on this schedule as the mother-in-law of Lorne. William Price was incorrectly identified as the 83-year-old son-in-law of 59-year-old Lorne.

[65] The Kokomo newspaper reported that Will Saxon had returned to Kokomo from Hollywood, California, where he had been called by the death of his mother. “Personal Mention,” Kokomo (Indiana) Daily Tribune, 26 July 1923, p. 5, col. 5.

Visting the Graves of Ancestors - More to Be Found than in Books & Online

It's fun to find that my ancestors have memorials at www.FindaGrave.com, or that there has been a cemetery transcription book published for a county where they are buried. But, to me, there's still nothing better when it comes to cemetery research than making a trip to the cemetery to see the stones in person.

For one thing, I spend a lot of time indoors. I work inside and my favorite activities in my non-work time (those that don't have to do with things my teenage sons are doing) are things like genealogy searching on the computer, writing family history on the computer, checking in with my friends on Facebook ... you get the picture. Getting to a cemetery is my (warped?) way of communing with nature.

One of the first things I did almost thirty years ago when I started doing genealogy was visit a cemetery in Grant County, Indiana, where my great-great-grandfather, Daniel Krinn, was buried. I can still remember the feeling I had when I stood in front of his cemetery marker - a feeling like I had started down a path that meant something special. I still feel that way about genealogy.

Visiting a cemetery in person can give you insights that you can't really get from a cemetery book or a website - a look at the landscape that was likely quite familiar to the family, the shape and size of the stones your family members chose. Did this indicate that they were poor? Well off? Or perhaps well-off, but frugal (don't say cheap!) in choosing a smallish, non-ornate stone? The stones tell a lot about the time period, as well, since shapes of markers and materials used to make them were in favor at different times, and even varied by region. Some cemetery transcription books will include notations about icons or symbols on the stones and epitaphs - poetic verses that don't include reference to the person's specific vital statistics - but many do not. These are things you can find when you go to the cemetery.

I have found at least two epitaphs on ancestors' cemetery markers. John Blair's marker in Pine Corners Cemetery, Gorham, New York (died 28 September 1814), says:
"In slumbers deep my body lies,
My soul has left his clay,
To soar above in wolds of love,
There shines eternal day."

In Clinker Cemetery, Defiance County, Ohio, Dorothea (Abel) Schilling's marker (died 10 September 1892) says:
"A precious one from us is gone,
A voice we loved is stilled.
A place is vacant in our home,
Which never can be filled."

Cemeteries are restful places, or at least I find them so. I am looking forward to doing some road trips this summer and fall, if I get the chance, to reconnect with nature and with my ancestors.

James Blair & the Battle of Lake Erie

Two hundred years ago right now and six generations removed from me, my ancestor, James Blair, was in his earliest days serving in the 27^th Infantry, a regiment formed of New York men during the War of 1812. He was just shy of 29 years old, already the father of four children and married for the second time. James served as a second lieutenant in the 27^th beginning 20 May 1813.[1] In September 1813, when the Americans met the British in the Battle of Lake Erie, James Blair was aboard the sloop Trippe.[2] The Trippe and the schooner Scorpion were positioned near the rear of the American fleet during the battle and were credited with capturing two British vessels that attempted to flee at the end of the conflict. For his role in the captures, James received $1214.29 as prize money paid “to award the officers and crews of certain vessels for Captures made During the Late War with Great Britain.”[3]

James was born 22 June 1784 in Chester (formerly Murrayfield), Massachusetts, the son of Massachusetts Minuteman John Blair and his wife, Elizabeth (Halbert).[4] James followed his parents from Massachusetts to western New York and married, first, Betsey Smith of Canandaigua, Ontario County, perhaps about 1805.[5] Betsey apparently died between the birth of her fourth child in 1811 or 1812 and James's remarriage to Nancy (__?__), possibly about 1813.[6]

Nancy was born 14 March 1783 (calculated)[7] in Connecticut.[8] James was enumerated in the Town of Middlesex in Ontario County, in 1810 and 1820.[9] By 1830, James had moved west and was enumerated in Hudson Township, Portage (later Summit) County, Ohio.[10] James and his family were among the first settlers in St. Joseph Township, Williams County in far northwestern Ohio about 1836.[11] He was already “of St. Joseph Township” when he bought land there in December 1836.[12]  James died 29 September 1839, probably in Williams County. He was buried in Clarksville Cemetery near Edgerton.[13] Nancy moved back to New York to live with her daughter, Fanny Fowler,[14] and died of infirmities of age in the Town of Gorham, Ontario County, 28 January 1875, aged 91 years, 10 months, and 14 days.[15] She was buried in Baldwin Corners Cemetery in the Town of Gorham.[16]

The Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial will be commemorated with several special events Labor Day weekend, 29 August to 2 September, including a re-enactment of the battle with Tall Ships launching from Put-in-Bay. Read more at Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial Commemoration. I am hopeful that I can go for part of the festivities and try to imagine what it was like for my ancestor, James Blair, 200 years ago as he played a small part in “America’s Second Revolution.”

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[1] F. B. Heitman, Historical Register of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: The National Tribune, 1890), Vol. 1, p. 129.

[2] James Blair entry, “Muster Role of the American Fleet—Battle of Lake Erie,” Erie Maritime Museum (http://www.flagshipniagara.org/maritime_museum/History/battle_of_lake_erie/muster.htm).

[3] Samuel Hambleton’s account of the distribution of prize money on Lake Erie, Ohio Historical Society: Ohio Fundamental Documents (http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/war1812/expenditure/ accounts .cfm). J. B. Mansfield, ed., History of the Great Lakes, 2 vols. (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1899), Vol. 1, p. 160.

[4] For James’s birth, see Massachusetts Vital Records: Chester, Vital Records (Oxford, Mass.: Holbrook Research Institute, 1988), Vol. 1 [p. 423], on microfiche. The pages in this record are not physically numbered, but the heading on the microfiche indicates that it includes pages 401–461. For Elizabeth’s maiden name, see her marriage record, “June ye 14 1770 – then was joyned in marriage John Blair of Murrey field & Elizabeth Halbert of Pelham,” Massachusetts Vital Records: Pelham, Minutes 1783-84; Marriages & Intentions 1746-80 (Oxford, Mass.: Holbrook Research Institute, 1989), p. 244, on microfiche. For John’s service as a Minuteman, see Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. 2 (Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, 1896), p. 119. Note: I have had supplemental papers accepted on John Blair by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. A DAR marker acknowledging his service as a Minuteman is at his gravesite.

[5] James’s first wife is identified in Stafford C. Cleveland, History and Directory of Yates County, (Penn Yan, N.Y.: S. C. Cleveland, 1873), Vol. 1, p. 600. Cleveland was the editor of the Yates County Chronicle and lived contemporaneously with the Blairs. Their marriage year is estimated at 1805 because they had three children by June 1810.

[6] In his will James named his “beloved wife Nancy” and identified the four children of his “former wife,” implying that the remaining children named were of his second marriage. The oldest of the remaining children, Fanny, was born 7 July 1814, according to her cemetery marker, noted in “Baldwin Corners Cemetery Inscriptions, Town of Gorham, Ontario County, New York” (typescript), p. 26, FHL film no. 1403142, item 23, prompting an estimated marriage year of 1813. J. Thomas Blair (Jefferson, N.C.) letter to Dawne Slater-Putt dated 25 May 1994 indicated that Nancy was “the widow Cook,” but provided no source.

[7] Nancy Blair marker, “Baldwin Corners Cemetery Inscriptions,” p. 26.

[8] 1850 U.S. census, Ontario Co., NY, pop. sch., Town of Gorham, p. 573 (penned), dwell./fam. 156, Harvey Fowler.

[9] 1810 and 1820 U.S. censuses, Ontario Co., NY, pop. sch., Town of Middlesex, p. 195 (penned) and  p. 67 (stamped), respectively, James Blair households.

[10] 1830 U.S. census, Portage Co., OH, pop. sch., Hudson Twp. p. 290 (penned), James Blair household.

[11] Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard, eds., County of Williams, Ohio (Chicago: F. A. Battey and Co., Publishers, 1882), p. 353.

[12] Williams Co., OH Deed Vol. 4: 92 (Samuel and Margaret Slater to James Blair), Recorder’s Office, Bryan; FHL film no. 909425.

[13] Clarksville Cemetery (St. Joseph Twp., Williams Co., OH), James Blair marker, photographed by Dawne Slater-Putt in Jan. 1990.

[14] 1850 U.S. census, Ontario Co., NY, Harvey Fowler household (cited above); 1855 New York state census, Ontario Co., pop. sch., Town of Gorham, Election District 3, p. 83 (stamped), no dwell. no., fam. 107, Harvey Fowler; 1860 U.S. census, Ontario Co., NY, pop. sch., Town of Gorham, p. 367 (penned), dwell. 140, fam. 143, Harvey Fowler; 1870 U.S. census, Ontario Co., NY, pop. sch., Town of Gorham, p. 208 (stamped), dwell. 507, fam. 516, Harvey Fowler.

[15] 1875 New York state census, Ontario Co., mortality schedule, Town of Gorham, p. 33 (penned), line 1, Nancy Blair entry.

[16] Nancy Blair marker, “Baldwin Corners Cemetery Inscriptions,” p. 26.