Murrell Family, Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Tuesday’s Tip: Research organizations to which your ancestor belonged, whether religious, fraternal, military veteran, club, or ?? They may provide answers to questions that will help flesh out your family history.

Finding out that the funeral service of Matthew Johns took place at the Friends Church in Wilkinson, Indiana, was quite a surprise- we had no idea he belonged to the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. The fact that he had a second wife was a surprise as well. We do have other Quaker ancestors, such as Lewis Walker of Chester, Pennsylvania, so learning a bit more about Quakerism seemed in order, and might help us to learn more details about this family’s life.

One of our research goals is to learn the name of Matthew’s second wife, and another is to learn the date of their marriage. We started with the hypothesis that the date was after Matthew’s first wife, Ellen (Maggard) Johns passed away in 1886. A search in Indiana marriage records, however, came up empty.

Our additional research into the Quakers in Indiana gave a clue as to a possible reason for us being unable to find a marriage record. The Indiana Historical Society has a wonderful website that includes an “Introduction to the Quaker Records Project.” This document should be required reading for anyone researching Quakers.

The Intro explains that Quakers (AKA “Friends”) did not believe in being married by a “hireling priest” or a civil servant- Friends married themselves. They also monitored themselves to ensure proper behavior. One of the Quaker church gatherings was called a “Monthly Meeting” (MM), and at that meeting, the couple would announce their intention to marry- similar to the marriage banns required by the Catholic church and other religions. After the intention was announced, the MM would appoint a committee to investigate and make sure the bride and groom were both “clear of engagements,” i.e., not married or promised to another. If the individuals were, indeed, free of others per the committee’s report at the next MM, the couple would be declared “at liberty to accomplish the marriage.” Of course, a committee would be appointed to attend the marriage to ensure that “good order was preserved.” Sometimes a special meeting was called to include the marriage, and in earliest Quaker marriages, the ceremony would take place at the next midweek worship meeting. After the mid-1800s, which was when Matthew would have married a second time, the marriage took place on First-day. (First-day was Sunday, and meetings occurred on this day. The Quakers used a “plain calendar” which used numbers for days of the week and the months- they did not want to use names derived from pagan deities, like Saturday, named after Saturn, an ancient Roman god of time, agriculture, plenty, or January, named after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and endings, passages and duality, etc.)

Detailed records were kept of the business of the Monthly Meeting, so if they survive for the Wilkinson Church, we should be able to learn the name of Matthew’s second wife, when they married, and even her parent’s names and residences of all involved.

Understanding the process of marriage within a religion is always insightful, but why does this have importance in our research? The Indiana History website tells us:

“The laws of Indiana, until the 1920s, exempted Friends from the legal requirement to obtain a civil marriage license. Thus marriages performed under the care of a monthly meeting will not be found in courthouse records.”

Looking at the historical timeline of an organization and their rules/dogma may give us more clues to help our research:

“Disownment for marrying a non-Friend or for marrying by civil ceremony had been abandoned by the 1860s. The member concerned had only to indicate that he wished to retain his membership. By the 1880s the whole matter was ignored. Some Friends churches had paid preachers, and the marriage form was soon fashioned after other Protestant ceremonies.”

So yes, we will still look further for this marriage information within civil records, since they likely married in the mid-1880s. But we now know that we may only find the information within the records of a Monthly Meeting, especially if this more-rural church maintained a more traditional point of view.

Knowing this information, we have another clue into Matthew’s life: his second wife may have been Quaker, since we have not yet found a marriage record, but his first wife may not have been when they married, since we do have a record of their marriage. Of course, this is hypothesis, and more research into the Quaker records of this area may give us the answers we desire.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Introduction to the Quaker Records Project– http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/books-publications/magazines/online-connections/quaker-records/introquakerrecords.pdf
2.  Image from Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SugarGroveFriendsDivision.jpg 
3. GFDL 1.2 for image– https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License,_version_1.2
4. FamilySearch Wiki articles on Quakers– https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Society_of_Friends_(Quakers)_in_the_United_States   and https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/U.S._Quaker_Research_(Society_of_Friends)
5. Wilkinson Meetings are listed under the Knightstown meeting (formerly Raysville), located in Henry County, Indiana– https://quakermeetings.com/Plone/meeting_view?anID=514 and the Shirley meeting, located in Hancock County, Indiana– https://quakermeetings.com/Plone/meeting_view?anID=815. Unfortunately none of the links worked for websites with the records.

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Original content copyright 2013-2017 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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ROBERTS Family, HONTS Family (Click for Family Tree)

If you are a descendant of Edith (ROBERTS) [McMURRAY] LUCK, or of Mary Magdalene “Polly” HONTS or her father, Henry HONTS/JOHNS, then you are related to Matthew. Matthew was the half-brother of Mary, who was the great-grandmother of Edith on the side of her father, George A. ROBERTS.

Matthew was the second known child of Henry Honts/Johns and his mistress, Elizabeth FIRESTONE LAMPERT. Henry and Elizabeth did eventually marry and have more children, but theirs is another story that is soon to come on this blog. In the meantime, we know that Matthew lived a good, respectable life as a blacksmith and farmer, and raised 10 children with his wife Elizabeth MAGGART/MAGGARD.

The obituary tells us a few things we did not know. Only one son and four daughters survived him- just half of his children. Additionally, we did not know of a second marriage- the obituary states his second wife survived him. We do know that first wife Elizabeth died in 1886, so a second marriage is very possible, however we have not found a record of that marriage or her name. The name of his second wife would have been listed on the 1890 US Federal Census, but that did not survive for us to view today. There are a number of women with the surname Johns listed in Hancock County, Indiana, in the 1900 US Federal Census, and at least 1 is listed as a widow, but that research is for another cousin who is more closely related to complete.

One very interesting part of the obituary is that his memorial service was held at the Friends Church in Wilkinson, Indiana. That tells us that Matthew had become a Quaker. Was that something that happened after he married his second wife, or was Elizabeth also a Quaker and they practiced the faith throughout their married life? Or had Matthew become a Quaker on his own as an adult, or possibly as a child? We have seen nothing about Matthew’s parents being Quakers, but that would be very interesting, due to their past “indiscretions” and flaunting of society’s morals. The Quakers were forgiving people, however, so it might be possible.

This obituary provides us with one more avenue of research, important since Matthew’s father, Henry Honts/Johns, is one of our direct ancestors. The Quakers kept very good records and although there is no longer a Friends church in Wilkinson, there are two Friends churches within about 10 miles today, and they may have the records of Matthew’s family. One more item for the To-Do List now…

More to come on the Honts/Johns family…

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Matthew JOHNS, obituary. Indianapolis Journal, March 5, 1899, part 1, page 7, column 5, via ChroniclingAmerica.LOC.gov.

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Roberts Family, Murrell Family (Click for Family Tree)

The day before Christmas was a busy one in Prairie City, Iowa in 1896!

Many of us get sentimental for simpler times, but this article shows that things weren’t that much simpler, just maybe on a smaller scale.

Our Roberts-Murrell ancestors may have been a part of the crowd, looking for a place to hitch their horse and buggy: John Roberts, Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, George Anthony Roberts, Ella Viola (Daniel) Roberts, and Edith (Roberts) Luck.

Iowa winters are cold and blustery, and getting in to town on December 24th would have had its challenges:

How to keep warm in the buggy without a button to turn up the heat?

What would the horses eat if the ground is covered with snow and the grass under all dead/dormant?

What if big trees were covered with ice and fell across the road?

Waterways were often used for travel in winter, but how do you know the ice is thick enough to hold a heavy sleigh and team, and then all those gifts one might bring back from town?

Somehow these questions make jockeying for a parking space at the mall seem much easier, and exhausting fingertips on a computer keyboard (or phone) for online ordering almost too easy!

Next week- a description of a trip to town during the winter of 1906, by Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck. Have a Merry Christmas!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Monroe Mirror, [Jasper County, Iowa], 24 December 1896, Vol. 25, No. 9, Page 4, Column 2.

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Roberts Family, Murrell Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our new, exciting find of the name of Wiley Anderson Murrell (1805-1885) in a newspaper gives us a bit of interesting information about him even though it is only a list. It also brings a bit of a mystery.

The heading of the paragraph in which we find his name is “Committee of Vigilance.” So what is this committee? And why are there so many- about 143 total- listed on the committee?

A Google search for ‘committee of vigilance’ indicates that these were groups of private citizens who helped maintain law and order, especially in frontier or sparsely populated areas where governmental law enforcement was insufficient.

In 1840, the County of Botetourt (pronounced “Bot-ih-tot” by locals) had a population of 11, 679 persons. The county had actually lost about 28% of its population since the previous census year (1830), but that was because the county of Roanoke was formed out of Botetourt, taking about 30% of the land. So the population likely did not become more sparse during that decade.

Doing some rough calculations for square miles, the population may have been about 15 persons/square mile. That may have been sparse enough that law enforcement would have needed help by the citizens. Since the county is bounded on the northwest by the Appalachian Mountains and on the southeast by the Blue Ridge Mountains, there is some rugged land there despite the majority of the county being in the Roanoke River Valley. Some of the mountains rise over 4,000 ft., so that was a lot of land for law enforcement to control.

Politically, abolition was one of the great divisors of our society even back in 1830-1840. The Nat Turner Rebellion, a Virginia uprising of slaves in which 57 whites were killed, occurred in 1831, and other violence across the country occurred between slave owners and those who were anti-slavery. The Panic of 1837 occurred when New York City banks failed and unemployment levels were high, and climbing higher. (History repeats itself.)

This Botetourt Co. Committee of Vigilance was formed at the Democratic State Convention on 22 Feb 1840. Other counties also had their own committees.

A man’s politics (women could not vote, of course) was important back in those days, and known to all the neighbors. The Democrats had elected Martin Van Buren as President in 1836, and he was to become the candidate again in 1840 at the national convention. The convention was unable to decide on a Vice-Presidential candidate, however, and three men divided that vote within the Electoral College.

The Whigs- there were no Republicans as we know them at that point- for the first time decided to support one candidate instead of several. They chose William Henry Harrison, who, although born in Virginia, was considered a Northerner since Ohio was his residence. Harrison was wealthy and well-educated, born of wealthy planters and himself a slave-owner, and a ‘hero’ of the Indian Wars. Despite all this, he was promoted as a ‘common man’ with a ‘log cabin’ image.

The Harrison campaign painted Van Buren as snobbish and out of touch with his constituents, wealthy, and extravagant with the taxes of the American people. Van Buren, however, was of ‘common’ stock in reality, as his father was a tavern-keeper. As President, he had refused to admit Texas to the Union as it would have upset the balance of slave and free states. (He later ran as an abolitionist.) Van Buren was the first American President who was born an American citizen, not British.

Rather than talk about actual important national issues, in 1840 the Whigs focused on the failed policies of the President’s Democratic administration. This was the first election in which a candidate actually campaigned, and the Whigs did well, utilizing many of our modern ‘obfuscate the important things’ and ‘create the myth the people want to hear’ campaign strategies.

Virginia, which, in 1840, included West Virginia, did vote for Van Buren, but Harrison was more able to convince voters ranging from high-powered bankers to poor western settlers that he was the better choice for the country. He won both the Electoral College and popular vote, although it was much closer in the popular vote than predicted- Harrison won only by 146,000 votes, out of 2.4 million cast. So the citizens of the US remained quite divided over the large issues of the day, such as a national bank and slavery.

So where does this leave us with Wiley Anderson Murrell and the Democratic ‘Committee of Vigilance’? Going into the 1840s and with a change in the national political power, it was important that the Democrats have some control in Botetourt County. Law enforcement concerning runaway slaves,  debts unpaid to a bank, etc. would have been influenced by the local party in control, possibly even after the Presidential election. Although Van Buren won Botetourt County 50.65% to Harrison’s 49.35%, we do not know what changes may have happened after Harrison took office. Having the Democratic Committee of Vigilance in place may have made a difference in how the county was run. (We should check on whether or not there was a Whig Committee of Vigilance.)

It has been exciting to finally find Wiley A. Murrell’s name in the newspaper after so many years of searching, and it would be wonderful to maybe find more about his time with this committee or in Virginia.  Having James A. Murrell listed also gives us a clue that he might have had a brother, cousin, or uncle or father living in the area in 1840- that too may open some research doors. And of course, it is always interesting to place our ancestors in the context of their times!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “Committee of Vigilance,” Richmond Enquirer, 12 March 1840, Botetourt County, Vol. 36, No. 102, Page 4, Col. 2, via VirginiaChronicle.com.
2. Virginia County maps by year: http://www.mapofus.org/virginia/

3. “United States presidential election, 1840” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1840

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Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our ancestors Elizabeth Ann Murrell and her husband John Roberts lived in/near Monroe, in Jasper County, Iowa. It has always been a small town, and they made their own entertainment, as people still do in small towns. They were also members of the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church there, so may have been chaperones or otherwise involved in this “sociable” on the church lawn.

Of course, don’t miss the pun. Many of us know an incredibly wonderful man who was born in Jasper County, and who would never miss a chance for a pun… Maybe he came by that ability/terrible trait honestly by growing up in its midst? (Though this ‘sociable’ was way before his time.)

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Source as above.

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Original content copyright 2013-2017 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.