The Murrell Family of Botetourt Co., Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa

Wiley Anderson Murrell and Mary Magdalene (Hons/Honts/Honce/Hance) Murrell. Posted with kind permission of the Harlan Family Blog.

Roberts Family, Murrell Family

We have written a number of posts about the family of Wiley Anderson Murrell and his wife, Mary “Polly” Magdalene (Hons/Honts/Honce/Hance) Murrell. (Use ‘search’ in the box to the left to see them all, or scroll down and click on “Murrell Family.”) We are in the process of sharing what we know with the Botetourt County, Virginia Genealogy Association, so thought that a good start might be to collect some basic information and images for this couple and their children, all in one convenient post.

Wiley Anderson “W. A.” Murrell was born 2 Feb 1806 in Virginia or West Virginia to unknown parents. (We have searched and searched… yet know nothing about his early life.) Wiley married Mary “Polly” Magdalene Honts/Honce/Hance on 9 Apr 1834 in Botetourt County Virginia. Wiley died 27 Mar 1885 in Jasper County, Iowa.

Wiley Anderson “W.A.” Murrell, courtesy of the Harlan family, cropped from combined portrait.

Mary “Polly” Magdalene (Hons/Honts/Honce/Hance) Murrell was born on 9 Sep 1806 in Botetourt County, Virginia, the second child of Henry Honts (1781-1850) and his first wife, Catherine Kauffman/Coffman (1784-1867). Mary died 13 Jul 1887 in Jasper Co. Iowa.

Mary “Polly” Magdalene (Hons/Honts/Honce/Hance) Murrell, courtesy of the Harlan family.

W. A. and Polly migrated from Botetourt Co. Virginia to Roseville, Swan Township, Warren County, Illinois with their children in 1853, then on to Jasper Co. IA in 1868. (Jasper migration year per their obituaries, however the family is not found anywhere- not Iowa, as expected, nor Illinois nor Virginia- in the 1870 US Federal census).

The above image appears to be a combination of two photos- note where their clothing overlaps. The image of Polly appears larger, though she may have actually been a larger woman- but we do not know anything about their stature. She does look to be much older than W.A. in these photos despite them being born the same year, so a later photographer may have combined two images taken at different times to make it appear as a family portrait.

We wish we had a photo of the family when the children were young, but they likely were quite poor as they did not own land in Botetourt County.

The oldest known child of W.A. and Polly was Elizabeth Ann Murrell, born 1 Feb 1835 in Botetourt County, Virginia. When Elizabeth was eighteen, she, along with her parents and siblings, migrated to Illinois. She married John Roberts (1832-1922) in Roseville, Illinois, on 8 Mar 1857. Four children were born to them in Illinois, and they later migrated with her parents to Jasper County, Iowa, about 1868. Both died in Jasper County: Elizabeth on 2 Feb 1917, 82 years and 1 day since her birth; John on 22 Jan 1922.

John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, possibly in the 1880s? Posted with kind permission of the Harlan Family Blog. [20 Sep 2019 Editor’s Note: this image is of John Roberts, b. 1832, NOT his father John S. Roberts, as it was originally labeled.]

John Henry Murrell was the second known child of W.A. and Polly Murrell. He was born in Botetourt Co. on 2 Jul 1837. He migrated with his family to Warren County, Illinois in 1853, and at age 25 he married Lydia Reborn (1844-1920) there. By 1870 John and his family had moved to Elk Fork, Pettis County, Missouri, where he died 23 Mar 1880 in Green Ridge, Pettis, MO, just a couple of months before the birth of their sixth child.

We do not have a portrait of John Henry Murrell.

Headstone for grave of John Henry Murrell in Rabourne Family Cemetery, Pettis County, Missouri. Posted with kind permission of the Find A Grave volunteer who took the image. (Click to enlarge.)

All we know of the third child of W.A. and Polly Murrell is that Mary Catherine Murrell was born in Botetourt County, Virginia on 18 Sep 1839, and she died seven years later, on 6 Nov 1846, in Botetourt. We have not found her grave, but due to the family’s probable poverty, they may not have been able to afford a headstone. We do have this record of her life in our Murrell family bible.

Death record of Mary Catharine Murrell, age 7, from Murrell Family Bible.

William Anderson Murrell was the fourth known child of W.A. and Polly Murrell. Also born in Botetourt County, Virginia, on 25 May 1841, William was a teenager when he migrated with his family to Warren County, Illinois. William served his country, enlisting on 1 Aug 1862 in the Union’s 83rd Illinois Infantry for 3 years; he also served as a Private in the First Light Artillery, Co. H, and mustered out 26 Jun 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee. William married Cordelia Talley (1850-1941) in Warren County, Illinois on 1 Oct 1867, and they had four known children. William and his wife stayed in Roseville, where he died on 1 Aug 1922.

William Anderson Murrell and Cordelia (Talley) Murrell- possibly colorized wedding photo? If so, would have been taken 1 Oct 1867 in Warren Co., IL.

James Edward Murrell, the fifth known child of W. A. and Polly Murrell, was born 15 Nov 1842 in Botetourt County, Virginia, and was 11 when the family migrated to Illinois. During the Civil War James joined the Illinois Cavalry, as his older brother John Henry Murrell had, but was in Co. I, Reg. 11 as a private; he was discharged 30 Sep 1865. After the war James moved to Pettis County, Missouri, where his brother John was living. James married Mary E. Robinson and they had six children. At age 70 he was in the National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kansas. He and Dillie E. (Carter) [Todd] Fox applied for a marriage license on 22 Mar 1924 in St. Louis County, Missouri; he was 81 (he stated 83 on the application), she 54. We have not found a marriage record, however Dillie was the informant on his death certificate, which also stated that “Dillie E. Murrell” was his wife. 

James Edward Murrell, circa 1860s.

W. A. and Polly Murrell started their family with a daughter, and their last known child was also a daughter, Ann Elisy Murrell (AKA AnnEliza), born 21 Dec 1845 in Botetourt County, Virginia. She too migrated to Warren County, Illinois with the family when a child, and married there, on 15 Sep 1869. With her husband Aaron Brown, she had 3 children born in Illinois, and 2 more were born in Jasper County, Iowa. (They migrated between 1875-1878.) Ann died on 2 May 1892, just 46 years old; her husband Aaron died two years later, age 48, both in Jasper County, Iowa. Sadly we have not found photos for any of this family.

Anneliza (Murrell) Brown- headstone closeup in Mound Prairie Pioneer Cemetery, Mound Prairie Township, Jasper County, Iowa. Used with kind permission of the FAG photographer.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Please see previous Murrell posts for more details and references about each of these persons.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images. We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly. Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.




All because two people fell in love… Part 2

Ed and Mary (Helbling) McMurray, 26 Sep 1948, in Newton, Iowa.

, Cooper Family (Click for Family Tree)

Three years ago today I posted some images along with lyrics from Brad Paisley’s song, “Two People Fell in Love.” Seemed like that was just not enough pictures of our ancestors who fell in love, so we decided to provide Part 2 and make it a series, as wonderful pictures become available.

Of course, the secret to a good marriage is making every day a day to celebrate your love, not just a day in the midst of February. Our ancestors probably struggled with this concept like we sometimes do, especially when the mundane gotta-dos of life get in the way. Many of them had long, loving marriages though, and they were good role models for their descendants of today.

Please enjoy these lovely people on this Valentine’s Day of 2018 !

1940- from left Ruth Nadine (Alexander) Lee, Henrietta (Fasterling) Reuter, a friend, in center, and Ruth’s husband, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee on right with 1940 Pontiac, license plate from Missouri but image likely taken in Colorado.

 

McMurray-Benjamin Family circa 1886: Frederick Asbury McMurray, Hannah "Melissa" Benjamin McMurray, William Elmer McMurray, Harry J. McMurray, Addie Belle McMurray, Roy McMurray, and Ray McMurray (baby)
McMurray-Benjamin Family circa 1886: Frederick Asbury McMurray, Hannah “Melissa” Benjamin McMurray, William Elmer McMurray, Harry J. McMurray, Addie Belle McMurray, Roy McMurray, and Ray McMurray (baby)

 

1974_02_40th Wedding Anniversary of Gertrude Belle (Broida) Cooper and Irving Israel Cooper.

 

George Anthony Roberts with his wife Ella V. Daniel Roberts and their three children: Ethel Gay Roberts standing in back on left, George Anthony Roberts, Jr. standing on right, and little Edith Mae Roberts between her beloved parents, circa 1904.
George Anthony Roberts with his wife Ella V. Daniel Roberts and their three children: Ethel Gay Roberts standing in back on left, George Anthony Roberts, Jr. standing on right, and little Edith Mae Roberts between her beloved parents, circa 1904.

 

William Anderson Murrell and Cordelia (Talley) Murrell- possibly wedding photo? If so, would have been taken 1 Oct 1867 in Warren Co., IL.

 

John and Gitel (Frank) Broida, c. 1889.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. “All because two people fell in love” HeritageRamblings.net post, 14 Feb 2015– http://heritageramblings.net/2015/02/14/all-because-two-people-fell-in-love/
  2. “Two People Fell in Love,” song by Brad Paisley- see above article for more information.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

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

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

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Friday’s Faces from the Past: Descendants of William A. Murrell and Cordelia Talley

Ivan MURRELL, possibly circa 1901, Galesburg, Illinois. (Click to enlarge.)

Roberts Family, Murrell Family (Click for Family Tree)

The week of February 20, 2017, we posted about the brother of our Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, William Anderson Murrell, and his wife Cordelia Talley. Following are some images of their descendants, but how we got those images is very interesting. An Ancestry.com member found them at a flea market in California, and since we have public trees on Ancestry, she was able to send a message to a cousin. Of course the cousin wanted them, so the kind finder sent them on. What great info on the back, too. What a wonderful RAOGK! (Random Act of Genealogical Kindness)

We are hoping that closer family members will find this post so that they can enlighten us with more information on these people.

Ivan MURRELL, possibly circa 1901, reverse.

Ivan Murrell (1899-1982) was the son of Elizabeth’s nephew George Overton Murrell (1872-1951) and Nora B. Cunningham (1875-1958).

William and Cordelia’s daughter Permelia Jane Murrell (1870-1950) married John Calvin Manuel (1865-1950) on 5 June 1889 in Warren County, Illinois. Here are the recently found photos related to that family:

Thomas Manuel and his wife, ‘Aunt’ Molly. (Click to enlarge.)

Thomas Manuel and his wife, ‘Aunt’ Molly, reverse. (Click to enlarge.)

Apparently Thomas would have been Permelia’s brother-in-law? (Please leave us a note if we have this wrong.) The Eva noted is Eva Angeline (Manuel) Mitchell (1906-1990), daughter of John C. and Permelia Jane (Murrell) Manuel.

Ethel Manuel, later Burkett. Possibly taken circa 1910.  (Click to enlarge.)

Ethel Manuel was the second child of Permelia Jane and John Calvin Manuel.

Ethel Manuel, later Burkett- reverse. (Click to enlarge.)

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family photos kindly provided by a cousin, and a wonderful person who found them in a flea market in California.

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

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

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.



Friday’s Faces from the Past: The William A. Murrell-Cordelia Talley Family

“Mr. and Mrs. William A. Murrell (Cordelia Talley Murrell) and daughter Permelia Jane (Murrell) Manuel (Mrs. John Manuel). The children are Charles Manuel (in checkered dress), Ethel Violet standing in middle, and Ode is being held by Mother.” per Eva Manuel Mitchell’s handwriting on reverse. Photo circa 1894, probably in Warren County, Illinois. (Click to enlarge.)

Roberts Family, Murrell Family (Click for Family Tree)

Willie and Cordelia (Talley) Murrell’s family:

4 July 1926
Warren Co., IL., U.S.A.
Willie is in center with George Overton Murrell and Nora B. (Cunningham) Murrell at his side. Robert Gordon Murrell is boy in front of Nora. After Robert’s mom died in 1941 his dad remarried a woman named Grace. It lasted only a couple years. Robert then went to live with his grandparents George and Nora Murrell.Believe Willies’ wife and daughters are also in photo.

Another listing of persons in photo:
Pictured starting in front L-R are Reva Icenogle holding baby Janice Icenogle; don’t know little boy; little girl may be Mary Kay Short; Doris Short; Howard Moore; Florence Moore; Paul D. Moore; Mable Swearingen; William Murrell; George Murrell; Nora Murrell; Harry Eldredge; Lois Tatman; Barbara Icenogle; back row is Barney Swearigen; John Lovdahl; Edgar Icenogle; Edith Icenogle; and can’t tell the rest of the people. Possibly later than 1926. (Click to enlarge.)

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos. Thanks to the cousins who shared!

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

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

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.



Wedding Wednesday: Cordelia Talley and William Anderson Murrell

William Anderson Murrell and Cordelia (Talley) Murrell- possibly wedding photo? If so, would have been taken 1 Oct 1867 in Warren Co., IL.

Roberts Family, Murrell Family (Click for Family Tree)

We last left William Anderson Murrell on his long-awaited Independence Day- 4 July 1865, when he was officially mustered out of the victorious Union Army.

Willie, as he was called, returned to Warren County, Illinois, where he married Cordelia “Delia” or “Adelia” Talley (1850-1941) on 1 October 1867; she was the daughter of Richard and Permelia (Carter) Talley.

The next year Mary Cathryn Murrell was born, followed by Permelia Jane Murrell  in 1870. George Overton Murrell was born 24 March 1872, but then, sadly, little Mary Cathryn passed away on 7 August. Another son, named William Anderson Murrell, after his father and probably paternal grandfather, was born in 1876. In 1900, the census indicated that Delia had borne 6 children, but only 4 were still living. Perhaps another child was born sometime between 1872-1876? We have found no record of another child.

The family lived in Swan Township, Warren County, Illinois, and are found there in the 1870 US Federal Census. The 1877 publication of  “The Past and Present of Warren County Illinois” by H. F. Kett & Co. noted that Willie “Murrill” was a farmer with land in Sec. 15 of the county. It also noted that he was born in Ohio- was that an editor’s error, or did Willie not want it known that he was born in Virginia, a Confederate state? It was less than 15 years since the Civil War, and emotions still ran high in our country concerning how our country had been torn asunder. Veterans struggled with war injuries, and their problems likely increased as they returned to farming or manual labor, or even an office job- and they also would have grown worse as they aged. Willie was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a service organization that cared for veterans and helped pass legislation to benefit them, such as the pension acts. These facts may help support the idea that the family had abolitionist leanings.

Roseville, where they eventually lived but probably sold their grain, cattle, etc., and purchased their goods, had been a stop on the Underground Railroad. We will probably never know if the family aided escaping slaves, but it is a definite possibility knowing that the Murrells had two sons who went off to fight for the Union Army.

In the 1880 US Federal Census, the family was still found in Swan Twp, with Permelia, George, and William all under the age of 10 and living in the household of their farming father.  The birthplaces of Willie and Cordelia were listed as ‘West Virginia’ which was formed during the Civil War of Unionists who refused to secede in 1861, like their parent state of Virginia.

In 1889 Permelia married John Calvin Manuel (1865-1950); they had ten children and lived in Roseville.

In 1898, there were two more marriages in the Murrell family. William Anderson Murrell (Jr. or III?) married Etta “Etty” Viola White (1880-1940) on 28 July 1898; they had five children, but apparently divorced sometime before 1916 when his wife remarried. His brother George Overton Murrell married Nora B. Cunningham (1875-1982) about a month later, on 24 August 1898 in Warren County, Illinois. George and Nora had six children, and also lived in Roseville for the rest of their lives.

Marriage certificate of George O. Murrell and Nora B. Cunningham.

William and his wife, listed as “Fredilia” Murrell, were still in Swan Twp. for the 1900 US Federal Census, and they had a servant living with them. Willie was 61, and Delia 49. They moved to Roseville after that, and Willie was listed as a laborer “working out” in 1910. By 1920 he had retired. He died just two years later, on 1 August 1922, in Roseville at age 81.

Cordelia was head of household and lived with their son, Willie, who, in 1930, was listed on the census as divorced. In 1940, they were in the same household, although Willie as listed as the head, and Cordelia erroneously is listed as his wife, with her age transcribed as 29 instead of 89. She died the next year, on 13 February 1941.

Headstone of William H. Murrell and his wife Cordelia (Talley) Murrell in Roseville Cemetery, (Sec. 3), Roseville, Illinois. Find A Grave, used with kind permission.

She is buried with her husband in Roseville Cemetery, Section 3 near the mausoleum. Twelve other Murrells, including their children and grandchildren, are buried in the same cemetery.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. William and Cordelia had 20 or more grandchildren upon their death (obituaries vary), and seven great-great grandchildren at Willie’s death, so many more by the time Cordelia died 19 years later in 1941.
  2. William’s Find A Grave Memorial is #75836198; you can link to the rest of the family memorials from his. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Murrell&GSiman=1&GScid=353347&GRid=75836198&
  3. Interestingly, the wife of William Anderson Murrell (b. 1876) remarried after their divorce, to John Helm Blount (1866-1949). A Blount family also married into the Roberts family- William’s aunt Elizabeth Ann Murrell married John Roberts. Wonder if there is any connection?
  4. Family photos and records- thanks to all the cousins who shared, esp. Cousin Diane who is a fantastic Murrell researcher!
  5. Please contact us if you are descended from any of these Murrells, and have done or would like to do a DNA test. We are still trying to determine the parents of Willie’s father, Wiley Anderson Murrell, and have conflicting/confusing data. Also, we would love to hear from other cousins and share family treasures!

 

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

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

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.