Category: Conklin

Sibling Sunday: Charlana Conklin

Posted on by spuddled

This week introduces our last new theme for the year, which means the year is one-quarter done. The Sibling Sunday theme takes a look at a brother or sister of one of our direct ancestors, and for this week we’re examining the life of the interestingly-named Charlana Conklin, my second great-grandaunt. I’ve discussed here before how there was uncertainty over whether Grandpa Montgomery’s middle name was Theodore or Conklin; Charlana Conklin was the sister of Grandpa’s maternal grandmother.

Charlana was born 22 July 1838 in Ohio and was the daughter of Stephen Conklin, Jr., and his wife Sarah (Mills) Conklin, both of whom had been born in New Jersey before marrying in Cincinnati in 1821.1 Charlana was the youngest child in her family; older siblings were Elizabeth (born 1822), Abner M. (born 1824), Henry William (born 1828), Caroline D. (born 1831), and Mary Ann (our ancestor, born 1835).

Charlana appears in the 1850 census with her father and siblings in Clermont County, Ohio. Her mother had just recently died, having passed away on 14 May 1850 in Withamsville, Ohio, at age 51. Only three months after his wife, Stephen also died; he passed away in Withamsville on 31 August, leaving Charlana an orphan at age 12. The next twenty years of Charlana’s life are something of a mystery, as I haven’t been able to locate her in the 1860 census.

It does appear that after Stephen’s death he had bequeathed property to his children; in 1864 Charlana sold her share of the property to John M. Hunt for $1000. Similar deeds follow this one in the Clermont County Deed Book, in which Mary Ann and William H. also sold property to John M. Hunt.2

On 9 January 1870 Charlana married Nicholas Lough in Richland County, Illinois; her sister Mary Ann had been married in Richland County in 1857. Nicholas had been born 17 March 1833 in Braxton County, (West) Virginia. It appears that Nicholas was married once previously; in the 1860 census in Clay County, Illinois, he appears with his presumed wife Moselle and children Victoria, 6; Allen, 3; and Francis, 1.3 In 1870 Nicholas, Victoria, Allen, Francis, and Electa L. (age 8), along with “Gelanie,” aged 33 and born in Ohio, were enumerated in Denver Township, Richland County. “Gelanie” is one of the worst census misspellings I’ve seen, but it’s still close enough phonetically that I think this is our Charlana.4

On 28 December 1870 a daughter was born to “Edward” and Charlana (Conklin) Lough in Illinois.5 The small family’s happiness was apparently short-lived, however. An article in the Olney [Illinois] Daily Ledger titled “What’s the Matter with Nicholas?” gives some context. Though the article erroneously notes the marriage date of Nicholas and “Charlona” as 1 May 1870, it goes on to describe how on 10 October 1872, Charlana “”lit out” for parts unknown,” leading Nicholas to hope for a permanent separation.6 An article from the same newspaper two months later notes the Loughs’ divorce decree appearing on the court docket.7 Further muddying the waters is yet another article from the Daily Ledger from 25 November, noting that Nicholas had married Sarah C. Rich the Monday after his divorce from Charlana was finalized.8

Charlana would only remain a divorcee for eight months. On 7 July 1876 she died at age 37 and is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Withamsville. Her headstone still lists her as “wife of N. Lough.” Letters of Guardianship filed 7 August 1876 note that Caroline Hunt (who appears to be the 27-year-old daughter of Charlana’s oldest sister Elizabeth) was appointed guardian of Nicholas and Charlana’s daughter Effie. Nicholas would survive until 1 November 1898; he is buried in Wesley Cemetery in Wendelin, Illinois, next to his first wife.

Effie was enumerated in 1880 in Clermont County, Ohio; her household then consisted of John M. Hunt, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Carrie (Effie’s guardian), Emma, Olive, William, and Elmer. “Effa L. Lough” is listed as the “granddaughter” of John and Elizabeth.9 On 17 September 1891 Effie married Francis A. Hopper in Hamilton County, Ohio.10 One hopes their marriage was happier than that of her parents; in 1900 Frank, Effie, and son Archie were living in Zanesville, Ohio;11 by 1910 they were living in Cleveland and had been joined by a daughter, Mary;12 the family was still in Cleveland in 1920, though Mary now appears under the name Lillian;13 in 1930 in Cleveland, the family consists of Francis, Effie, and “M. Lillian;”14 and in 1940 Francis and Effie are still together in Cleveland, living at 9707 Laird Ave.15 They were still married 9 years later when Effie died of cerebral apoplexy due to arteriosclerotic hypertension in Chester County, Pennsylvania.16

  1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “New FamilySearch,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QW3-3SY?view=index&action=view : online 20 September 2024), Stephen Conklin/Sarah Mills, 31 May 1821. ↩︎
  2. “Clermont, Ohio, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37P-5397-K?view=explore : Mar 28, 2026), image 452 of 667; .
    Image Group Number: 008585578 ↩︎
  3. The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Township 4 Range 8, Clay, Illinois; Roll: M653_162; Page: 527; Family History Library Film: 803162 ↩︎
  4. Year: 1870; Census Place: Denver, Richland, Illinois; Roll: M593_272; Page: 522A ↩︎
  5. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA, USA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 001201-003750 ↩︎
  6. Olney [Illinois] Daily Ledger, 16 September 1875, Page 4 ↩︎
  7. Olney [Illinois] Daily Ledger, 18 November 1875, Page 4 ↩︎
  8. Olney [Illinois] Daily Ledger, 25 November 1875, Page 4 ↩︎
  9. Year: 1880; Census Place: Union, Clermont, Ohio; Roll: 1000; Page: 306d; Enumeration District: 050 ↩︎
  10. Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. ↩︎
  11. Year: 1900; Census Place: Zanesville Ward 6, Muskingum, Ohio; Roll: 1310; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0076 ↩︎
  12. Year: 1910; Census Place: Cleveland Ward 1, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T624_1166; Page: 8b; Enumeration District: 0058; FHL microfilm: 1375179 ↩︎
  13. Year: 1920; Census Place: Cleveland Ward 1, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T625_1359; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 9 ↩︎
  14. Year: 1930; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 2341496 ↩︎
  15. Year: 1940; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: m-t0627-03203; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 92-22 ↩︎
  16. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA, USA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 001201-003750 ↩︎

Newspaper Tales: Robert Miller Conklin

Posted on by spuddled

Our next recurring theme for 2026 is “Newspaper Tales.” Thanks to the digitization of newspapers (some available for free, and others through subscription sites like Newspapers.com), it’s sometimes possible to glean details about an individual’s life (or death) without ever leaving home.

Today’s tale concerns my third cousin twice removed, Robert Miller Conklin. Robert was the second child of Charles Miller and Virginia Morrow (Davis) Conklin and was born 30 October 1907 in Cincinnati. In the 1910 census the Conklin family was enumerated in Cincinnati; Charles was listed as a mechanical engineer, and Virginia was the mother of three children: Charles, Robert, and Virginia.1 By 1920 the family had moved to Glendale, California. Charles was now described as an electrical engineer, and son Andrew had joined the family.2

On 15 May 1928 in Bakersfield, California, Robert married Jewell Myrtle Sprayberry. He was 20, and she was 18.3 By 1930, Robert and Jewell were living in Berkeley. Robert was working as an insurance salesman, and Jewell as a saleslady in a dry goods store.4 The following year Robert and Jewell had a daughter, Barbara C., who was born in Oakland.5 In 1940 Robert, Jewell, and Barbara were enumerated in Walnut Creek California; they were now living in the same residence as Robert’s parents, Charles and Virginia. Robert was listed as the sales manager for a creamery, and Jewell worked selling “novelties.”6

Robert did not make it to the 1950 census. He died on 20 January 1945 at the age of 37. Newspaper articles that appeared at the time tell us more about what happened. The Reno Gazette-Journal of 31 January 1945 states that Robert had lived in Greenville, California, for the past 4 1/2 years, and that he operated the Conklin and Hall sawmill near Taylorsville. This seems like quite a change from his prior sales positions. On 20 January, Robert was helping to load a truck at the mill when a log came loose and crushed him. He died en route to the Batson Hospital in Greenville.7

The Feather River Bulletin [Quincy, California] of 25 January 1945 tells a similar story but adds the poignant detail that the death occurred 20 minutes before the mill was set to close until the spring. It also provides more information regarding the mill, naming it as the “Hall-Conklin Lumber Co.” and noting that Robert operated it in partnership with John Hall. It states, as well, that before going into the lumber business Robert had operated the “Indian Valley 5, 10, and 15c Store” in Greenville.8 He is buried in the Greenville District Cemetery. Jewell appears to have continued to operate the Indian Valley store after her husband’s death; The Indian Valley Record of 29 November 1945 includes an advertisement for the Christmas cards available at the shop and lists the proprietor as Jewell S. Conklin.9 Jewell would go on to marry twice more and live to the age of 95. She is also buried in the Greenville District Cemetery.

  1. 1910 Census (n.p: 1910, n.d), Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio; Sup 1, Enum 236, Sheet 10B. ↩︎
  2. 1920 Census, Glendale, Los Angeles, California; Sup 8, Enum 29, Sheet 9A. ↩︎
  3. Sharon S. Iamele, Conklin Cousins: the Many Children of Joseph and Mary (Cory) Conkling, 2014 Kindle Version (2014), ; kindle, Purchased through Amazon, Amazon (https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B00IMQ2A7A&ref_=kwl_kr_iv_rec_1 : My Kindle Library 10 October 2024. ↩︎
  4. 1930 Census, Berkeley, Alameda, California; Enum 1-287, Sup 8, Sheet 8B. ↩︎
  5. Iamele, Conklin Cousins: the Many Children of Joseph and Mary (Cory) Conkling. ↩︎
  6. Ancestry.com, 1940 Census, Walnut Creek, Contra Costa, California; SD 6, ED 7-11, Sheet 61A. ↩︎
  7. Reno Gazette-Journal, January 31, 1945, Page 5. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/reno-gazette-journal-robert-conklin-deat/167850748/ : accessed January 10, 2026), clip page for Robert Conklin Death by user pruesarn ↩︎
  8. Feather River Bulletin, January 25, 1945, Page 1. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/feather-river-bulletin-obituary-for-robe/167850542/ : accessed January 10, 2026), clip page for Obituary for Robert Miller Conklin by user pruesarn ↩︎
  9. Indian Valley Record [Greenville, California], 29 November 1945, pg. 2 ↩︎

M Is for…Marriage Records

Posted on by spuddled

I’m going to trust the idiom about pictures and thousands of words and focus on the former for this blog post regarding marriage records. Here are the records I have (or of which I have copies) for the first few generations of my direct ancestors.

Generation 1:

26 August 1961
Caldwell, Canyon, Idaho
Theodore Richard Montgomery and Linda Jo Hoffmann
(parents)

Generation 2:

17 September 1930
Winner, Tripp, South Dakota
Lawrence Theodore Montgomery and Blanche Agnes Wilson
(paternal grandparents)
Not a marriage record, exactly, but an article from the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph (which makes me wonder…do I actually have the official document somewhere in all my piles?)
12 March 1938
Peoria, Peoria, Illinois
Joseph Benjamin Hoffmann
and Velma Marie Swing
(maternal grandparents)

Generation 3:

The marriage of paternal great-grandparents Charles William Montgomery and Laura Blanche Walker on 22 February 1883 in Richland County, Illinois appears in Ancestry.com’s Illinois, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1800-1940, but this database doesn’t include images, unfortunately. So moving along…

13 March 1907
Boone County, Nebraska
Carl Ozro Wilson and Sophie Christine Roberg
(paternal great-grandparents)
7 December 1902
Fairbury, Livingston, Illinois
Paul Hoffmann and Emma Alice Slagel
(maternal great-grandparents)

Another one that’s missing (why have I not written away for these??):
18 June 1913; Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Albert Carl Swing and Lena Agnes Hunkler (maternal great-grandparents)

Generation 4:

25 December 1858
Hamilton County, Ohio
John Montgomery and Belinda Simmons
(paternal great-great-grandparents)
15 February 1857
Noble, Richland, Illinois
Marcus Walker and Mary Ann Conklin
(paternal great-great-grandparents)
Another not-quite-document, but an excerpt
31 August 1879
Brush Creek, Fayette, Iowa
Wellington David Wilson and Lucinda Blanche Davis
(paternal great-great-grandparents)
Another one that’s more of an excerpt…
3 December 1878
Rushford, Fillmore, Minnesota
Anders Mathis Roberg and Agnette Evensdatter Lien
(paternal great-great-grandparents)
17 January 1875
Renaucourt, France
Jacob Hoffmann and Christine Schmidt
(maternal great-great-grandparents)
30 November 1875
Fairbury, Livingston, Illinois
Samuel Slagel and Mary Demler
(maternal great-great-grandparents)
17 February 1884
Fairbury, Livingston, Illinois
Albert Carl Swing and Catherine Marie Hoffmann
(maternal great-great-grandparents)
14 December 1886
Peoria, Peoria, Illinois
George John Hunkler and Maria Elizabeth Rusch
(maternal great-great-grandparents)

These are not all the marriage records I have, though they do become more sparse from here on out. I would keep adding more here, but I figure this blog post is already 13,000 words long, so that will do for now.

“Conklin Cousins”: the Marriage of Henry William Conklin and Eliza J. Heltman

“Conklin Cousins”: the Marriage of Henry William Conklin and Eliza J. Heltman

Posted on by spuddled

Generally speaking, I avoid eBooks. I know utilizing them would make it easier to access whatever I happen to be reading, and it would make my library a lot smaller. Though who wants a small library?! But this week, I bought an eBook, because that was the only version available. And in this case, it’s turned out okay. The book is Conklin Cousins, by Sharon Iamele, and it provides a well-documented history of the descendants of Joseph and Mary (Cory) Conkling, my 5G-grandparents. Even Grandpa Montgomery appears in Sharon Iamele’s book, with his disputed Conklin middle name. I discuss this dispute briefly here. I’ve been updating my records this week with information from Conklin Cousins, and this is one time when I will grudgingly acknowledge that an eBook is handy; I can easily flip back and forth between it and my genealogy database to make the necessary updates. But I won’t be curling up in bed with an eBook anytime soon.

My burgeoning, cuddly library

Because of my focus this week on the Conklins, it seemed fitting to select one as the subject of today’s blog entry. And the winner is…Henry William Conklin, my second great-granduncle. He was born 6 May 1828 in Ohio and was the son of Stephen and Sarah (Mills) Conklin. His younger sister, Mary Ann, was Grandpa Montgomery’s maternal grandmother. In the 1850 census Henry appears with his widowed father and sisters Caroline, Mary A., and Charlana in Union City, Clermont County, Ohio. His mother had died earlier that same year at age 51.

The following year, on 29 September 1851, Henry married Eliza J. Heltman in Clermont County. Henry and Eliza would have four children together: Sarah E., born 1852; Oliver M., born 1854; Alvaretta, born 1857; and William H., born 1860. Though the census enumerator took down the family’s information on 18 August, when Baby William would have been a month old, he followed census guidelines and did not include the baby in the census records, as the family makeup was to be captured as it would have been on 1 June 1860. These census records show the family living in Denver Township, Richland County, Illinois. On 16 October 1860, just three months after the birth of William, Henry died at only 32. He is buried in the Wesley Cemetery in Wendelin, Illinois. I have yet to uncover his cause of death.

Find a Grave Memorial ID #23220289

About 10 years later Eliza would marry Seth William Gard in Richland County. She lived until 1902, dying at age 71 in Olney, Richland County, Illinois. She is buried in Olney’s Haven Hill Cemetery. Some information is available about Henry and Eliza’s children, but Alvaretta in particular. She married Norman A. Lough at age 20, moved to California, and died in 1949 at age 92. She is buried in Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach.

Small World, Genealogy-Style

Posted on by agnette

Genealogical “small world” moments are always fun.  There was the day when I discovered that my soon-to-be sister-in-law was also my ninth cousin once removed. Then the moment when I found that my second cousin four times removed and her husband had been keepers of the Little Sable Lighthouse Mom and I had visited in Michigan three years earlier (you can read my earlier blog post about that discovery).

In trying to decide what to write about next, I dug out a letter from Charles Montgomery, my great-grandfather, whose census history I covered on Saturday. It’s one of those documents I had not yet explored for all its genealogical significance (aside: I really need to get organized) – obviously, since it contained previously-unknown marriage information for Charles and his second wife Lyle:

[Postmarked Fort Collins, Colorado, July 16, 1941; Addressed Mr. & Mrs. L C Montgomery, Scotts Bluff Neb. Box 675; Return address Mr. & Mrs. C W Montgomery, 231 Walnut St.; 3c postage]

                                                                        Ft Collins July 17, 41

Mr & Mrs L C Montgomery,
            Dear Children

I got your card this p.m. and sure was glad to hear from you, i am real well. What do you work at in Scottsbluff. Elta was here last winter sure was glad to see her. My wife meet her. i was married March 27 at Kimbell Nebr we get alone OK.
     Elta wrote they were coming here on there vacation. We just have a small apartment but like it, hope to hear from you soon igen.

                                                                         Lot of Love to you and yours,
                                                                                 Dad & Lyle.

            Adress
            231 Walnut St
                   Ft Collins
                        Colo.

As another aside – it’s intriguing that Lawrence’s own father addressed the envelope to “L. C. Montgomery” – there has always been uncertainly about whether Grandpa’s middle name was Theodore or Conklin.

Fast-forward 71 years from Charles and Lyle’s wedding, and Mom and I are making a cross-country trek to my 20-year high school reunion. In search of small mom-and-pop motels, we found one in – where else?  Kimball, Nebraska. We felt a little uncertain about this particular reservation because I made it over the phone and wasn’t sure everything was confirmed.  But obviously our visit was meant to be!

What’s in a Name?

Posted on by agnette

I’ve always found names fascinating.  The stories I would write when I was little always involved families with hordes of children because coming up with names for all of them was my favorite part of the writing process. I often hear people say they don’t want genealogy to be just “a list of names and dates.” While it’s true I love to have all the facts to flesh out the stories of who these relatives are, sometimes even just getting that “list of names” is rewarding.

For example, who wouldn’t be thrilled to find they shared a common ancestry with someone named Grimpie Brittimart Gobble? Or another favorite name, Grizzel Spratt? And sometimes I would come across my own real-life family with hordes of children, like the offspring of Samuel Willson (my 7th-great-grandfather):  John, Mary, Olive, Benjamin, Molley, Samuel, Ester, Eunice, Louis, Persis, Jenne, Nahum, and Elizabeth.

And then there are the “family names” that recur throughout our family history. My nephew, Benjamin Leander Montgomery, for example, has two family names.  His first and middle names were the middle names of his great-grandfathers.  “Benjamin” for Joseph Benjamin Hoffmann, and “Leander” for Herman Leander Likness.

Other names were common in the family generations ago, but not any longer. A prime example is “Tacy,” from the Latin for “silence.”  A quick search indicates there are 46 Tacies in our family tree, but none born since 1893.

Then, of course, there are the name mysteries. Grandpa Montgomery comes to mind first. At different times in his life he went by Lawrence Theodore or by Lawrence Conklin.  The story I remember hearing was that he was never sure which was his real middle name, so he used both interchangeably.  Theodore was the middle name of one of Grandpa’s uncles (Joseph Theodore Montgomery) and was passed on to my father when he was born, and Conklin was the maiden name of Grandpa’s maternal grandmother, Mary Ann.

So, what isn’t in a name?

Marriage License of Marcus Walker and Mary Conklin
Marriage License of Marcus Walker and Mary Conklin