Cemetery Archives - Ahnentafel

Tag: Cemetery

Z Is for…Zelvenis

Posted on June 29, 2025June 29, 2025 by spuddled

We are halfway through the year and are finishing up our first pass through the alphabet. Today we’re taking a look at the life of Zelvenis Sweeney, my third cousin four times removed. Zelvenis was born about 1865-1869 in Bartholomew County, Indiana. He was the oldest child of Newton Jasper and Lydia Ellen (Dunlap) Sweeney.

In 1870 he appeared with his parents and younger brother Orin in Wayne, Indiana.¹ In that census his name was spelled “Zelvenas.” In 1880 the family, still in Wayne, consisted of Newton and Lydia, Zelvenis (this time spelled “Zelmen”), Alford, Moses, and Corda.²

On 14 September 1887, Zelvenis married Clara Elizabeth Prewitt.³ He was 22 and she was 20. Due to the loss of the 1890 census, we have no record of Zelvenis being enumerated with Clara. He died two months before the 1900 census was taken, on 2 February 1900 in Columbus, Indiana. His death certificate lists his cause of death as consumption and notes that he had suffered from it for three years. It also states he was 34 when he died.⁴ This age corresponds with the information provided in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, but it does not correspond with his birth year as carved into his gravestone in Bethel Baptist Cemetery in Walesboro, Indiana. The inscription there reads “Zelvenis Sweeney 1869-1900.”

Even after Zelvenis’s death, we can still trace his familial legacy, though I can’t actually find Clara herself in the 1900 census. In 1910, though, Clara was enumerated in Indianapolis with the son she had with Zelvenis: Ebert M. Sweeney. Clara’s occupation is listed as taking in lodgers; the three lodgers enumerated in her house with her were two locomotive firemen and one locomotive engineer.⁵

The engineer was a 38-year-old man named Bernice Sawyer. Kind of an odd name for a man, but 7 years later in McIntosh, South Dakota, Bernice and Clara were married.⁶ In 1920 they were enumerated together in Sherman, South Dakota. Bernice was a farmer. By 1930 they had moved to Denver, where Bernice’s occupation was listed as laborer in a potato chip factory. By 1940 Clara had been widowed again. She was 72 years old and living alone, still in Denver. Ten years later she was still in Denver but was living with Ebert, who was listed as divorced, and Ebert’s 11-year-old daughter, Nancy. Ebert was a meat cutter in a retail grocery store.⁷⁸⁹

Clara died in December 1953 and is buried in Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery. Ebert lived until 1961 and is buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.¹⁰

Back to wrap things up with our friend Zelvenis, though. Even Google seems to be stumped by this unusual name. It suggests it might be a misspelling of “Zeldris,” a manga/anime character. Sorry, Google, I’m pretty sure you’ve guessed that one incorrectly.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Wayne, Bartholomew, Indiana; Roll: M593_299; Page: 266B ↩︎
Year: 1880; Census Place: Wayne, Bartholomew, Indiana; Roll: 266; Page: 231c; Enumeration District: 015 ↩︎
Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Marriage Index, 1800-1941 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. ↩︎
Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011; Year: 1899-1900; Roll: 01 ↩︎
Year: 1910; Census Place: Indianapolis Ward 9, Marion, Indiana; Roll: T624_368; Page: 7a; Enumeration District: 0161; FHL microfilm: 1374381 ↩︎
South Dakota Department of Health; Pierre, South Dakota; South Dakota Marriage Records, 1905-2016 ↩︎
Year: 1920; Census Place: Sherman, Corson, South Dakota; Roll: T625_1716; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 23 ↩︎
Year: 1930; Census Place: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0070; FHL microfilm: 2339970 ↩︎
Year: 1940; Census Place: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Roll: m-t0627-00492; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 16-274 ↩︎
Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. ↩︎

T Is for…Tombstone

Posted on May 18, 2025May 18, 2025 by spuddled

Today’s entry is primarily a visual one. The photos below are all ones that I took personally while visiting family cemeteries…one of my favorite pastimes.

(CLICK HERE TO VIEW) More details available on family members can be found by searching here: https://genealogy.montgomeryhoffmann.com/tng/searchform.php

Mom at Gravesite of George and Mary (Rusch) Hunkler: Washington, Illinois Glendale Cemetery

P Is for…Prolific

Posted on April 20, 2025June 29, 2025 by spuddled

Today we’re exploring the life of Absalom Davis (my second cousin 5 times removed) and his wife Polina S. W. Davis (also my second cousin 5 times removed), who raised a family of 16 children. Absalom and Polina were first cousins; his mother Sarah and her mother Hannah were sisters, the daughters of Joshua Gifford and Content (Davis) Davis. Joshua and Content were also related; they were half first cousins twice removed.

Absalom was born 9 December 1809 in Harrison County in what would become West Virginia. Polina was born 8 December 1811 (or possibly 8 February 1811) in Virginia (again, probably what is now West Virginia). On 9 October 1828 the two were married, and 10 months later had their first child. I’ve been able to find at least somewhat detailed information on all the children but one. Of Worthington Davis the only mention I’ve seen is in the obituary of his sister Penelope that appeared in the Seventh Day Baptist Church’s Sabbath Recorder newsletter of 20 January 1919, where he is listed as one of the siblings who predeceased her.

The astute will notice that this listing only adds up to a total of 15 children, not 16. And it’s true that I have an Elen Murry Davis in my records, noted as born 4 April 1853, but I no longer recall where I obtained this information. The perils of not recording one’s sources from the very beginning…

The first U.S. census in which all members of a household are listed by name is the 1850 census. That year Absalom and his family were enumerated in Doddridge County, (now West) Virginia. Absalom was listed as a farmer with real estate worth $300. He was 41 and listed as being born in Virginia and able to read and write. The rest of the household consisted of: Polina, 38; Charlotte, 20; Theadore, 19; “Julian,” 17; Zacharias, 15; Elvira, 14; Donmanuel, 12; Anderson G., 9; Elijah, 8; Elkana, 6; Sylvanus, 3; and Penelopy, 1.¹

In 1860 the family was still in Doddridge County, but the census taker unhelpfully listed everyone just by intials: A, P.S.W., D, A.G., E, E, S, V, P, J.W., and E. Inexplicably, V[andelee] and P[enelope] are out of order, as Vandelee is listed as 10, and Penelope as 12. “J.W.” is James W., and the final household member, “E. Davis,” is listed as 30 years old, so it’s unclear who this individual is.²

By 1870 many of Absalom and Polina’s children had left to start families of their own; in that year the couple, living in Grant Twp., Doddridge County, were 60 and 58 years old respectively and had real estate valued at $2945 and personal estate valued at $300. Only Vandelee, 19; and James W., 14 still lived at home, along with a “common laborer” named Edmund Maxwell. Elijah, his wife, and 3 children, were living at the next farm over.³

Ten years later James W. was still living with his parents, along with his wife Martha, whom he had married within the past year. The household was enumerated in the New Milton District of Doddridge County.⁴ Eight years later Absalom died at age 78. His death was attributed to pneumonia and dropsy.

West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Vital Research Records.

Polina would outlive Absalom by almost 13 years, long enough to appear in one additional census without him, not counting the lost 1890 census. In 1900 Polina was in Greenbrier, Doddridge County, living with her granddaughter Lovie (daughter of Anderson G.) and Lovie’s husband James McCuen, who was a mail carrier. Lovie and James had been married less than a year.⁵

The following year Polina died at age 89. She and Absalom are buried in the Greenbrier Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery in Doddridge County. According to the Find a Grave website, there are a total of 126 Davises buried in this cemetery; these include Absalom and Polina’s children Anderson G., Elijah, James W., Theodore, Charlotte, and Penelope. Surprisingly, of the 16 Davis children, at least thirteen lived long enough to reach adulthood and marry. Quite a feat for that time and place. At least in this instance, cousins marrying cousins doesn’t seem to have hindered them much.

The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 13, Doddridge, Virginia; Roll: 942; Page: 25b ↩︎
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: Doddridge, Virginia; Roll: M653_1342; Page: 450; Family History Library Film: 805342 ↩︎
Year: 1870; Census Place: Grant, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: M593_1686; Page: 22A ↩︎
Year: 1880; Census Place: New Milton, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: 1401; Page: 417c; Enumeration District: 124 ↩︎
Year: 1900; Census Place: Greenbrier, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: 1757; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0022 ↩︎

Interrupted by Death: Merle Ellsworth Bond

Posted on November 24, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

*Battle Creek Enquirer*,
25 November 1927

This week’s tale is another sad one. Merle Ellsworth Bond, my 7th cousin twice removed, died 97 years ago today on Thanksgiving Day 1927. Merle was born on 11 January 1899 in Fayette County, Illinois. He was the third of six children born to William H. and Clara L. (Green) Bond. The Bond family were descendants of our Seventh Day Baptist Crandalls.

In the 1900 and 1910 censuses the Bond family was enumerated in La Clede, Fayette County along with numerous Crandall households. In September 1918 Merle was living in Farina, Fayette County, when he registered for the draft. It appears he served some time in the military as he is listed as having a military service record from the U.S. Veterans Administration. He also attended Milton College (a Seventh Day Baptist institution) for one semester. By 1920 Merle was listed as a lodger at a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Seven years later Merle would tragically meet his death. Between 1920 and 1927 he would spend his summers living and working in Battle Creek but in March 1927 he made the move permanent. Since that time he had been working for Leona Miller, a florist, and was learning “the florist trade.” Shortly before his death he transferred from working for Mrs. Miller at Urbandale to living and working at a greenhouse on Waubascon Lake Road. In September 1927 Merle and a friend Paul Resser, also from Battle Creek and also a Seventh Day Baptist, attended the annual conference of the Seventh Day Baptist Church in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Two months later Merle and Paul Resser were on their way to Toledo on Thanksgiving morning to attend a rabbit show (the “Fur Animal Exhibit”) and to have their Thanksgiving dinner when, according to the Battle Creek Enquirer, their trip was “interrupted by death.” About 6:30 a.m., Paul drove his Nash automobile into a Michigan Electric train on US Highway 12. According to the newspaper account, the front of the car was completely demolished. Paul Resser was killed immediately; Merle Bond survived long enough to be taken to Foote Memorial Hospital in Jackson, Michigan but died five minutes after arriving.

The Enquirer article went on to note that the railroad crossing was considered one of the most dangerous between Detroit and Chicago and that all interurban trains were required to stop completely at the crossing before continuing on. Passengers and crew of the train on that day confirmed that the train had stopped as required and was only going about two miles an hour. The motorman saw the car’s lights but believed it was going to stop at the crossing; apparently Paul Resser did not see the train in time and drove directly underneath it. Merle’s brother Howard came from Ohio to take his brother’s body back to Farina, where he was buried in the Farina Cemetery.

Native Confusion: the Birth of Jacob Emil Schmidt

Posted on October 20, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

On this day in 1887, my first cousin 3 times removed, Jacob Emil Schmidt, was born in Butten, Alsace-Lorraine. He was one of eleven children born to Christian and Sophie (Stock) Schmidt. Christian’s younger sister Christine was the second wife of our immigrant ancestor Jacob Hoffmann. It appears that Christine was the only one of her siblings to emigrate to America, though a number of the children of the next generation (including Jacob Schmidt) did choose to leave Alsace-Lorraine for the U.S., most of them settling in Illinois.

Jacob emigrated around 1911-1914, and on 30 June 1916 he married Louise Mae Rocke in Peoria. Jacob’s World War I draft registration notes that he had started the process of becoming a U.S. citizen and was currently employed as a plasterer in Cissna Park, Illinois. He had also served 2 years in the military in Germany (Alsace-Lorraine belonged to Germany from 1871-1920). He was described as of medium height and build, slightly balding with brown hair and eyes.

In the 1920 census Jacob and Louise were enumerated in Pigeon Grove Township, Iroquois County, Illinois. Jacob was continuing his work as a plasterer. By 1930 the family was in Cissna Park proper (or perhaps the boundaries had changed), and Jacob and Louise had been joined by three children: Oliver, 9; Iva Jean, 6; and Betty Mae, 1. This census notes that Jacob is now a naturalized citizen, though his official naturalization papers include a date of 25 June 1921. Not much had changed for the family by 1940; they were still in Cissna Park, with “Jake Schmidt” working as a masonry contractor, and with all three children still at home.

In 1948 Iva Jean was given in marriage by Jacob to Richard Krug at the Schmidt home. Betty and Oliver were the only attendants. There were 40 guests at the ceremony and one hundred at the reception afterward. The following year Louise died at the age of 58, having been ill for several weeks.

The year after that Jacob was enumerated in the 1950 census, a lodger with the Wayne Seigle family in Cissna Park. On 22 December of that same year, Jacob died in Lake View Hospital in Danville, Illinois. His obituary provides some interesting details about the end of Jacob’s life, though confusingly it refers to him as a “native of Cissna Park” while later noting that he was born 20 October 1887 in Alsace-Lorraine.

One would think that with Louise dying in 1949 and Jacob in 1950, his final year might have been a quiet one. But Jacob’s obituary states that he had retired a year prior to his death and gone back to his home in France. He had only returned to Illinois on 30 September 1950 but was in the process of building a new home for himself. Some four weeks before his death he became ill, eventually dying of coronary thrombosis. He was buried in the Apostolic Christian Cemetery in Cissna Park alongside Louise. Jacob’s three children were still living at that time, but of his 10 brothers and sisters, only three sisters survived him, and two of those were still living in France. One hopes he was able to visit with both in that final trip to his native land.

Not Forgotten: The Death of Grace Montgomery

Posted on August 25, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

On this day we remember the short life of my second cousin twice removed, Grace Montgomery. Grace was born on 20 August 1916 in Warren County, Ohio, and died five days later. She is buried in the Springboro Cemetery in Springboro, Ohio. Her parents were William Wiley and Amy A. (Beal) Montgomery; her grandparents were Edward and Louisa A. (Malotte) Montgomery; and her great-grandparents were William and Mary Ann (Extell) Montgomery, my 3G-grandparents.

Grace was the third child and only daughter born to William and Amy. Her brothers were Clement W., born in 1912; Omer A., born in 1914; William Wiley, Jr., born in 1919; and Carl E., born in 1921. Grace’s official death certificate lists premature birth as her cause of death.

Five-day-old Grace never appears in any census record, but her parents can be traced through several enumerations, remaining always in Warren County. In 1950 youngest son “Wiley, Jr.” is 30 years old and still living at home. He is listed as a farmer, as is his father, so it seems probable they were farming together. Amy died in 1958 and William Wiley, Sr., in 1965. Of Grace’s brothers, Clement died in 1982, Omer in 1987, and William Wiley, Jr., in 1979. The youngest, Carl, died in 2018 at the age of 96, outliving the sister he never knew by 102 years.

Chambers Schoolteacher: the Birth of Alma Montgomery

Posted on August 18, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

On this day in 1892, Alma M. Montgomery, my second cousin twice removed, was born in Clinton County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Samuel Lincoln and Bessie E. (Deniston) Montgomery, the granddaughter of David and Lydia A. (Agnew) Montgomery, and the great-granddaughter of William and Mary Ann (Extell) Montgomery.

Alma’s sister Florence was about 18 months older and was also born in Clinton County, but she was already deceased by the time of the 1900 census when the family was enumerated in Union Township, Warren County, and Bessie was listed as having given birth to two children, of whom one was still living. Samuel and Bessie had been married for ten years, and Samuel’s occupation was listed as farmer.

In 1910 the small family was still in Warren County but now in Salem Township. Alma was seventeen and still attending school. Her father, listed now as “Lincoln S. Montgomery,” notes his occupation as partner in a corn creamery.

By 1920 the family had moved to Lebanon, Ohio (still in Warren County). Samuel is listed as owning the home where they are living at 414 E Silver Street, and he is now employed in a real estate office. This home, built in 1917, still stands. Alma is now employed as well, as a teacher in the public schools. Also living with the family was a “boarder,” Edward Deniston, aged 54. Edward was Bessie’s brother, as evidenced by his 1939 obituary, which noted he died at her home after a year’s illness.

The Cleveland, Ohio City Directory of 1922 lists Alma as a teacher at the Chambers School at 1857 E 75th. There is no longer any school located at this address, though there is a Chambers Elementary at a different address in East Cleveland.

I have yet to locate Alma in the 1930 census; in that year Samuel, Bessie, and Edward are still living at 414 E Silver Street, but Alma is not living with them. Samuel is continuing to work in real estate. By 1940, though, we can find Alma once more. At age 48 she is a lodger with Hatty Mosher and Hatty’s daughter Merle at 1874 Maywood Road in South Euclid, Ohio. The three are listed as having lived in the same house for the past five years. This house was built in 1931 and still stands as well, though it was renovated in 1972 according to Redfin. The census notes that Alma had completed four years of college and was continuing to work as a public schoolteacher.

In 1944 Alma’s father died. His obituary in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News notes that he had a heart attack while shaving at his home. He was 83. The obituary further notes that his wife had preceded him in death “several years ago.” Six years later Hattie Mosher, Merle Mosher, and Alma Montgomery are still residing at 1874 Maywood. Alma’s occupation is listed as elementary teacher for the city schools. The census indicates she had worked 45 hours in the previous week.

With another eight years to wait before the release of the 1960 census, I have to rely on other sources for information on the rest of Alma’s life. In May 1954 an article appeared in the East Cleveland Leader noting that Alma would be retiring from her teaching career in June. Even this article is less than helpful, as it references “Miss Montgomery, who has taught at Chambers Elementary School since 19??….” The article does state that she came to East Cleveland from Norwalk and had graduated from both Wilmington College and Miami University. At the time of her retirement Alma would have been 61.

I haven’t been able to locate any other information on Alma over the next 24 years. Then on 27 October 1978, a brief notice appeared in The Cincinnati Post, stating that her funeral services had been held that day at the Oswald Funeral Home. Her address was given as 713-A Maple Court, Lebanon. She had been a member of the Lebanon United Methodist Church, and she had died on 25 October at Kettering Hospital in Kettering. Alma is buried at the Otterbein-Shaker Cemetery in Otterbein, Ohio. Dad and I had planned a trip to Ohio last summer to traipse through cemeteries and had to postpone it. Maybe another year we’ll manage a pilgrimage and pay our respects to Alma.

Great-Grandma Nine Times Over: the Death of Ann Elizabeth Fuller

Posted on July 21, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

On this day 332 years ago (21 July 1692) my nine-times-great-grandmother, Ann Elizabeth Fuller, died, probably in Massachusetts. She was born around 1634-1635, either in London or in Charlestown, Massachusetts, though London seems more plausible. Her Find a Grave memorial indicates she was baptized at St. Mary Whitechapel in London, though I will need to dig in further to find the primary sources that back up this information. Interestingly, the lime whitewash on this chapel in its early days was what supposedly gave this area of London its “Whitechapel” moniker, most famously associated, of course with Jack the Ripper.¹

Sometime before 1655 Ann married Benjamin Willson, and they had seven children, all born in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Their youngest child, Jerimiah, was my eight-times-great-grandfather. When Jerimiah was less than two years old, his father sailed back to London to settle his mother’s estate but died at sea. This left Ann a widow at 29 with 7 children to raise. An inventory of Benjamin’s property at the time of his death is extant and gives an interesting glimpse into the everyday items our ancestors owned and used (though reading it will test one’s palaeography skills).

On 3 April 1671, Ann married again, this time to George Conaway. Her death record indicates he died before her. She was only 53 at her own death and is buried in the Phipps Street Burying Ground in Charlestown. Her tombstone (still remarkably legible) notes her age at her death as 48. This is fairly clearly incorrect, as this would make her birth year around 1644, and her daughter Anna Willson was born in 1655. Ah, the pitfalls of genealogy when even “written in stone” doesn’t count for much…

St. Mary Matfelon Wikipedia article ↩︎

Death in Iowa: the Drowning of Leolin Van Horn

Posted on June 30, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

*Des Moines Tribune-Capital*,
1 July 1929

Today is the anniversary of another sad death in family history. This time the deceased is Leolin Van Horn, my fifth cousin once removed. He was the son of Lewis Alexander and Mary Aldie (Knight) Van Horn and was born 26 October 1907 in Tama County, Iowa. Leolin’s mother was the granddaughter of Mary “Polly” (Davis) Knight, a descendant of William “Bottom Billy” Davis, who has appeared in this blog in the past.

Leolin was one of 10 children born to Lewis and Aldie, though by 1910 two of the children had passed away. In that year’s 1910 census, 2-year-old Leolin appears with his parents and siblings in Carlton, Iowa. The family was still in Carlton in 1920, the household consisting then of Lewis and Alda; Lewis’s mother Mary (then 81 years old); and children Orel, Leolin, and Alvin. Lewis would die on 12 June 1924 at age 63, followed by Leolin five years later.

According to the Des Moines Tribune-Capital of 1 July 1929 (a Monday), the previous weekend had been a tragic one for many across the state. Twelve individuals had died in various incidents in Iowa: five in automobile accidents, four in drownings, and two by suicide. The article then goes on to detail each of the twelve deaths. Regarding Leolin, it is noted that he was swimming with three companions near LeGrand; exactly what happened is not clear, but one of the friends rescued the two others but was unable to save Leolin. His death certificate notes that he died of “drowning or possibly heart failure” at 4:10 p.m. He was 21 years old and working as a butter maker.

A letter uploaded to Leolin’s Find a Grave memorial, written by Zelma Peterson, who appears to have been the older sister of the companion who was unable to save Leolin, tells of the effects the tragedy had not only on Leolin’s own family but those of the others involved in the incident. Leolin is buried at Garwin Union Cemetery in Garwin, Iowa.

Another loss would take place less than a year later when Leolin’s older sister Martha Inez died in Janesville, Wisconsin, at age 36. She had married her fourth cousin Luen Lippincott in either 1914 or 1915, and they had had three children together. Her cause of death is unclear, but must have been a sad blow coming so soon after the loss of Leolin.

Aldie herself died unexpectedly 14 years later at age 77. She had been visiting Janesville and was preparing to return home to Iowa when she passed away. Her body was taken back to Iowa where she was interred at Garwin Union Cemetery. The other Van Horn family members lived on for quite some time; the next of the siblings to die was Frank, in 1964. Most of the others lived into the 1970s, and the youngest would not pass away until 1991.

How Old Is Old?: The Death of Hannah Davis Doak

Posted on June 16, 2024June 29, 2025 by spuddled

Today we remember the death 146 years ago of Hannah Davis, my fourth great-grandaunt. Interestingly, she is one of 15 individuals named Hannah Davis in my family tree. Her younger brother, Cornelius, was my fourth great-grandfather. They were two of the children of Joseph S. and Hannah (Sutton) Davis.

Hannah was born about 1801-1802 in what would become West Virginia. On, 8 September 1819 in Harrison County, (West) Virginia, she married James Doak, a Pennsylvania native. In 1850 (the first census which listed each household member by name), James and Hannah “Doke” were enumerated in Doddridge County, along with presumed children Marion, 15; Catharine, 7; and Alexander, 4. Sadly, in the “Condition” column next to Marion’s name is written simply “Insane.” Living in the next dwelling over is James and Hannah’s 26-year-old son, Davis “Doke” and his new wife Rachel.

In 1860, still in Doddridge County, James and Hannah Doak are listed with children Katharine, Alex, and Marion. Again using the terminology of the time, Marion is listed as “Idiotic.” James died on 18 May 1866 in Doddridge County, West Virginia. He was about 66 years old. The 1870 census shows the widowed Hannah living with her son Alexander, now 24 and married. He and his wife Charlotte had added a new baby, Loverna, to the family the previous September. Marion, still labeled “Idiot,” is living in the household with them as well. The census also notes that Marion is unable to read or write.

Eight years later, on 16 June 1878, Hannah Doak passed away in Doddridge County. Her West Virginia death record, inconveniently unable to be displayed or downloaded at the moment due to some weird technological gremlins, lists her cause of death as “old age.” She was approximately 77. Sorry, Dad!

I have yet to determine what became of poor Marion after Hannah’s death; perhaps he died sometime between 1870 and 1880. In any case, I did not see him in any of his siblings’ households in those later years. James and Hannah’s youngest child, Alexander, lived until 1920, dying in West Union, West Virginia; he is buried in the Arnolds Creek Cemetery in Greenwood. The Find a Grave website notes that Alexander and Rachel had at least five children: baby “Levernia” from the 1870 census; Walter, who died at age 4 from fever; Gilbert; James W.; and a second Walter. At his own death, Alexander was 74; his widow Charlotte survived until 1930, dying at age EIGHTY. “Old age,” indeed.