Rod had just turned six when he lost his dad. Therefore, his memories of his dad are limited.
The Man
James Van Allen Thomson was born May 6, 1936 at Palmyra, Otoe, Nebraska. He was the son of Alexander Joseph and Donna Isabelle (Van Allen) Thomson. He grew up in the Palmyra area.
When James was twenty, he married Janice Lee Helm. Over the coming years, they became the parents to three children with Rod being the youngest.
Love Of the Farm
Rod’s dad worked for Western Electric in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska. However, his heart was on the farm. He loved working on his parents’ farm and hoped one day to again live on a farm and be a full-time farmer.
However, at this point in time, life dictated otherwise. Thus, James, Janice and the kids only got to spend time on the farm on the weekends and holidays.
To The Farm
The kids would get up early in the morning, rising from their 3-tier bunkbed. Rod’s dad had made the three-level wooden bed frame in his shop attached to their trailer. It was perfect to hold three growing kids in a small space.
After breakfast, everyone would pile into their 4-door crew cab Dodge truck and head to the farm. Rod’s dad would take the backroads to the farm. There was one hill that the kids always anticipated as their dad had perfected the ability to make them “lose their stomachs” as they went over it.
They would spend the day at the farm. On the way home, the family would stop at A&W Root Beer in Louisville, Nebraska, where they bought root beer by the gallon jug.
Hunting
The featured snapshot is one of few that shows Rod with his father. Rod is the younger boy on the left and the boy on the right is his brother Roger. Rod doesn’t remember a lot about hunting that fox as he was at most five.
Rod does, however, remember his dad shooting a snake in a field one day. And, we have another photo that shows his dad with a deer.
Rod’s mom told a story about his dad wanting to take him Kodiak bear hunting in Alaska. Rod has no idea if it is true or why his dad would have specifically wanted to taking him on that hunting trip. However, Rod has always been a good shot and is a natural with a rifle.
Farming
Besides hunting, the farm brought many other opportunities for work and play. A couple of Rod’s memories with his dad while farming both involve a wagon. One time when his dad was helping harvest, Rod remembers standing in the wagon while the grain poured in growing deeper burying their feet and legs. Another time when a rain came up, his dad put boards across the wagon so that Rod and his siblings could crawl under them to stay dry.
Rod, his mom, and siblings continued to visit his Grandma Thomson at the farm after his dad died.
Life Cut Too Short
His dad was gone far too soon. When Rod’s dad was ill before he died, Rod remembers being told not to jump on him. But, his dad said, “It’s okay.”
His last memory was seeing his dad in the casket and noticing that he had on his wedding ring. When we married, the ring I slid on Rod’s finger was his dad’s ring. It is one of his prized possessions.
When I have a family mystery, I like to write down all the knowns, theories, stories, etc. regarding the mystery. I then revisit and rewrite them as I work to resolve the mystery. Sometimes I write up stories based on the theories. This helps me see if they are plausible or not.
This article takes a look at Roger Ellis, my 4th-great-grandfather and presents the story of my current working theory about his life and his parents.
My Theory
Although it is possible that Roger’s parents were born in Pennsylvania, my working theory (and this is a theory with a high chance of change) is that Roger’s parents originally lived in Virginia or possibly Maryland. They then migrated to Pennsylvania, possibly to Washington County. This may have been influenced by the Revolutionary War as people were known to move to that area during the war and Roger was born in Pennsylvania on July 29, 1782.
They could have lived in Pennsylvania and then migrated through Virginia to Kentucky as one of the migration patterns went from Pennsylvania to Loudoun County, Virginia, where Roger’s wife Susannah (Lewis) Ellis’ family lived, and then into Kentucky. However, I do not yet have any evidence that the Ellis and Lewis families knew each other prior to their arrival in Shelby County, Kentucky.
When looking at the name Roger Ellis, one is found in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1790s. That Roger was older and had what appeared to be several brothers or cousins that had land near him. The names of those in that area don’t seem to match Roger’s family and no DNA matches to that Ellis family have been found to date.
In addition, Roger and his siblings appear to live in areas that were highly populated with people from Virginia. Since people of a given region tended to migrate together or at least to the same places, this implies Virginia is a likely place of origin or that the family at least spent some time in Virginia. It is also important to note that Kentucky was a part of Virginia prior to gaining statehood on June 1, 1792.
Kentucky
Then, prior to late November 1797 and possibly as early as 1790, the family or a portion of the family was in Kentucky. David Allis (spelling in the Bible) purchased a Bible in Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky on November 27, 1797. Georgetown was originally called Lebanon and was renamed in 1790 in honor of President Washington. The name was legally “George Town” until 1846 when it was legally changed to Georgetown.
Names In the Family Bible
Note: Various spellings of the name Ellis were used by the family. The names are listed as recorded from the family Bible (spelling & order)
Owner: David Allis
Richard Elless b 15 Jan 1779
Roger Elless b 29 July 1782
David Elless b 7 Jan 1780
Ann Elless b 23 Dec 179-
Richard Elless b 1 Nov 179-
James Miller Elless b 19 Dec 1798
Elizabeth Elless b 21 July 1801
Jeremiah Elless b June 1804
Sarah Elless b 25 Apr 1807
John Elless b 10 May 1804
Nancy Elless b 1 Jan 1800
James Elless b 4 May 1805
James, who was born in 1805, is Roger’s son James Lewis Elless/Ellis. The use of the “Elless” spelling implies these births were likely added to the Bible while in Roger or his son James’ possession as most early records and some later ones use Ellis or Elles.
Settling in Kentucky
By 1801, Roger Ellis moved west a county to Franklin County, Kentucky (tax record).
Tax records show that by the following year, Richard (likely Roger’s brother), John, and William Ellis were in Shelby County, Kentucky. None of them appeared to own real estate, but between them they owned five horses.
By 1803, Roger joined his family in Shelby County, Kentucky. The Ellis men listed in the tax records for that year were Roger, Stephen, Thomas, William, Daniel, John, and Richard. Although Ellis wasn’t as common as Smith and some other names, it was common enough to assume that these men may not all be related.
The next year, the list of Ellis men on the tax list for Shelby County included Richard, Roger, John (2), William (2), Daniel , Joseph, and Jesse. At this point, none of the men own real estate. However, they own 22 horses between all the men, with Roger owning two. Daniel, Joseph, and Jesse have African Americans also living in their household.
In 1805, Roger married Susannah Lewis, daughter of Joseph and Rebecca or Esther (Beck) Lewis, who had also settled in Kentucky.
The following year, the Ellis men on the Shelby County tax list included John (2), Thomas, Roger, William, Stephen, Jesse, Daniel, Samuel, and Joseph. Of these men, only Jesse and Daniel owned real estate, having 210 and 200 acres, respectively on Floyd’s Fork.
Taxation and Land Ownership
Ten years later the number of Ellis families who owned real estate had grown as had the number of Ellis families taxed in general. Each Ellis listed in the tax records, their land ownership, and a few additional details are listed below.
Elizabeth Ellis owned 210 acres of 3rd rate land on _____ Fork. She owned 4 horses and had 5 African Americans living in her household.
William Ellis owned 100 acres of 2nd rate land on B. Bullskin Creek. He owned 2 horses.
Isaac Ellis owned 300 acres of 2nd rate land on B. Bullskin Creek. He owned 7 horses and had 7 African Americans living in his household.
David Ellis owned no land and only had one horse.
William Ellis owned 50 acres of 2nd rate land on Floyd’s Fork. He owned 4 horses and had 2 African Americans living in his household.
Mary Ellis owned 178 acres of 2nd rate land on Floyd’s Fork. She owned 2 horses and had 4 African Americans living in his household.
Charles Ellis owned 255 acres of 3rd rate land on Floyd’s Fork. He owned 8 horses and had 12 African Americans living in his household.
Samuel Ellis owned 209 acres of 2nd rate land on Bullskin Creek. He owned 8 horses and had 11 African Americans living in his household.
Joseph Ellis owned 116/4 acres of 3rd rate land. The location was not provided. He had 6 horses.
Thomas Ellis owned no land. He only owned one horse.
Stephen Ellis owned 100 acres of 2nd rate land on Six Mile Creek. He owned 9 horses.
Roger Ellis owned 55 acres of 3rd rate land on Six Mile Creek. He owned 3 horses.
William Ellis owned 192 acres of 3rd rate land on Six Mile Creek. He owned 6 horses.
Richard Ellis Jr. owned 150 acres of 3rd rate land on Six Mile Creek. He owned 2 horses.
Richard Ellis Sr. owned no land. He owned 2 horses.
John Ellis owned no land. He owned 6 horses.
Roger Ellis’ Land in Shelby County, Kentucky
Roger’s Land
Roger and John Bell made an agreement for Roger to purchase the land for $1 per acre or $55.50. However, before the land transferred to Roger, Mr. Bell died. This complicated things and created confusion and it appears they may have attempted to sell the land. In any case, with more legal work and an additional $1 Roger became the legal owner of the land.
Formal Descriptions
The formal description of Roger’s land mentioned above is “lying and being in the County of Shelby on the waters of Six Mile Creek containing by survey fifty five and a half acres and bounded as follows to wit: Beginning at three beeches North west corner of Jesse Lewis land thence South East One hundred poles to two beeches and sugar tree corner to Abraham Cook thence with his line South 88 ½ West to the lick branch thence down said branch to three Sycamores at the mouth of said branch thence a straight course to two beeches and sugar tree South West corner of John Rogers land thence East with his line to the beginning.”
It was later described as follows: parcel of land lying & being in Shelby County on the waters of Clear Creek Containing fifty five & a half acres be the same more or less bounded as follows to wit Beginning at a stone corner to Michael Cook thence with his line South 88 West 80 poles to a stone corner thence South 3 East 140 poles to a stone corner thence North 88 East 80 poles to a stone corner thence North 3 West 140 poles to the Beginning.” It was a portion of the 5,570 acres originally patented to Moses Kerkendall.
Land Ratings
The land was considered 3rd-rate. Third-rate land was hilly, rocky, or heavily timbered; whereas, first-rate land was excellent farmland suitable for corn or tobacco and second-rate was somewhere in between. The rating of land was based on state rules for taxation. It was related to the productivity and fertility of the land. Each rating had a different tax rate with first-rate paying the highest rate.
The land rating did not imply a valuation of the land, instead it was simply an indicator of its agricultural value. Land on Six Mile Creek may not have been the best for growing crops. However, it was sought out for its water supply. Daniel Boone’s brother owned a large amount of land on the creek at one time.
Roger’s Family
If we assume that families bought property near each other, then we can assume that Stephen, William, and Richard Jr. are likely all related to Roger. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell anything about the ones that didn’t own land. However, the list is in the order that they were recorded with other families amongst them. Thus, Richard Ellis Sr. and John Ellis are likely family members. The name David is in the family records and it is likely, although he isn’t listed with the rest of the family, that this David is a part of our Ellis family.
Stephen is a question as he isn’t listed in the family Bible. However, it appears that this same man moved to Jefferson County, Indiana, which was adjacent to Ripley County. There he founded the Brushy Fork Baptist Church. An interesting tie to Roger and his wife Susannah was that Stephen’s wife Rebecca was Susannah’s sister. Stephen had married her in 1795 in Virginia. Since he also lived on Six Mile Creek, it seems likely that he is related to Roger in some way.
Roger is later identified as being a strong Baptist. Thus, it is likely that Roger attended Six-Mile Creek Church, which was formed in 1799. The first church was a log cabin, which burnt in the 1800s and was subsequently replaced with a more modern building. The church was later renamed Christiansburg Baptist Church and still exists today and celebrated its 225 anniversary in 2024.
Roger Ellis Land Patent. Source: Bureau of Land Management – General Land Office Records.
Indiana
Growing Family
In 1818, Roger sold his land on Six Mile Creek to William J. Johnston Jr. as he had moved his growing family to Indiana.
Roger and Susannah settled in Ripley County, Indiana, where they raised their family.
Roger and Susannah’s children are as follows (in birth order) with most of them being born in Kentucky.
James Lewis Ellis
Nancy Ann Ellis
David Ellis
John Ellis
William Ellis
Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Martha Jane Ellis
Rebecca Ellis
Wesley W. Ellis
Susannah H. Ellis
Personality
In The Peoples History of Ripley County V.01, Violet E. Toph, a local historian, describes Roger as follows:
“Mr. Roger (?) Ellis, or, as everybody called him then “Old Toddy Ellis,” a shrewd farmer of little education and less culture, but an honest, industrious, upright man, a rigid Baptist, and an unflinching Democrat.”
The one thing that is strikingly odd is that he did not come from culture as his wife Susannah apparently came from money and refinement.
Roads
In addition to farming, Roger, like many others in those early days, was a viewer of roads. The viewers made recommendations for where roads should or should not be built. One of those roads just happened to terminate by Roger’s farm. Although he was not a viewer for that road, one must think that he influenced that decision as he became the road supervisor for his district, which paid him $1.
The viewers also recommended changes to existing roads in the area.
Roger’s Death
Roger died December 3, 1859. Susannah followed him six years later. He and Susannah are buried in Ripley County. Read more about the questions surrounding Roger’s burial.
Siblings & Other Relatives
Richard 1779
Roger’s brother Richard lived in Shelby County, Kentucky where he married Lucretia Lee. Later, he had land in Ripley County, Indiana next to Roger’s land. Roger’s oldest son James Lewis Ellis later had a patent for the same property. It appears that the same Richard may have also lived in nearby Switzerland County.
David Ellis
David Ellis appears to have married Martha Epperson and stayed in Shelby County, Kentucky. His will entered probate in January 1835.
James Miller Ellis
James Miller Ellis married Mary Hill in 1818. They lived in Switzerland County, Indiana, which is near Ripley County.
Jeremiah Ellis
Jeremiah, who was born in 1804, was likely Roger’s nephew. (Bible entry ordering) He was staying with Roger’s family in 1850. In 1855, Jeremiah wrote his will stating that he lived in Ripley County, Kentucky. He gave his current wife Luhana(?) (Hatfield) Ellis and his son John a portion of his property while selling the remaining portion.
Other People’s Theories
There are a variety of theories that researchers have regarding Roger Ellis’ parents. The following are couples/individuals that people on ancestry.com believe are Roger’s parents.
Theory 1: Joseph Ellis and Mary Litteral
Theory 2: Obediah Ellis and a wife prior to his marriage to Ms. Nicholson
Theory 3: Joseph Ellis and Mary Hughes
Theory 4: Richard Ellis and unknown
Theory 5: Joseph Elllis and Elizabeth Perkins
Theory 6: Joseph Ellis and Sarah Hugg (Back to Ellis and Perkins)
The first theory is the one most widely used in trees. However, none of these have been proven and some can be easily disproven.
Do any of the theoretical parents match my story?
Whether any of these couples are Roger’s parents is currently unknown. It is possible that they are a completely different couple than those listed. I do know that Joseph Ellis and Elizabeth Perkins can be eliminated as Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing years when Roger was born.
Additionally, we do have DNA matches to people that claim Sarah Hugg as an ancestor. Ancestry has picked up on this and Thru-lines lists her as a possible ancestor. However, the families do not appear to match up with Roger and the family Bible. Also, the initial review of these families indicates that the connection is likely through a different family line.
AI Theories
I decided to ask grok (AI) what it thought Roger’s story might be. I provided basic information and then added to it in subsequent queries. I greatly abbreviated the answers I got for readability.
Query #1
I started by asking the AI what the story likely was for someone born in 1782 in Pennsylvania, was a Baptist, and who was in Franklin and Shelby Counties in his early twenties.
Answer
It guessed that he likely lived in a rural area of Pennsylvania and might be of Scotch-Irish or German descent. (Note: I haven’t given it a name yet.) It talked about migration that occurred from Pennsylvania to Kentucky after the Revolutionary War. Apparently may people made that move looking for land, lower taxes, and other economic opportunities.
With Kentucky as a new state, it was in high demand from settlers who were traveling down the Ohio River or on the Wilderness Road to reach their destination. It was also very attractive to Baptists as the religion was widespread in the region.
The AI believed his life probably was focused on working the land, church, and family. “Overall, it’s a tale of resilence, faith-driven community building, and pursuing the American dream on the frontier.”
Query #2
I told the AI that the name was “Ellis” with an unknown country of origin and that the given names were English.
Answer
The AI immediately jumped to Roger Ellis and went on to tell me about Roger’s history as I know it. (Love it when it uses my own research to answer my questions.I had asked questions related to him before, but not in this particular query stream.)
It went on to tell me that the name Ellis is primarily English or Welsh and that many people with that name came to America in the 1600s and 1700s. It mentioned Lancaster among other western counties of Pennsylvania where people went to exercise religious freedom. It added that many people from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania made the move to Kentucky at the time I indicated and expanded on previous information it provided about being a Baptist in Kentucky during the early 1800s.
It also reiterated pieces of the earlier answer with little update.
Query #3
I ask it to tell me about Six Mile Creek Church as the person of interest may have attended that church.
Answer
It told me about the founding of the church, changes over times, etc. Most of which I had already researched. It added that Roger Ellis, who it felt was a good candidate to match my research, had lived on Six Mile Creek and that other records had placed various Ellis families in the area.
Query #4
I ask how the story would change if the person had ties to Virginia..
Answer
The AI said that a connection to Virginia would explain a lot about the location settled as a high number of settlers from Virginia settled in Franklin and Shelby counties in Kentucky. It stated that many early Ellis family in central Kentucky were from Henrico and Goochland counties in Virginia. Most were English Protestants, but some were Welsh. Many of them had been in America for some time.
“By the late 1700s, land pressures, taxes, and the lure of Kentucky’s cheap, fertile grants prompted westward moves.” The AI went on to talk about the Traveling Church migration, which was Led by Captain William Ellis and Reverend Lewis Craig (Baptist) that occurred prior to Roger’s birth. It also told of how many of the Virginia Ellis families came about the time that Roger arrived. IT went on to provide additional details about Roger and some of the other Ellis men in Shelby County, Kentucky.
The AI went on to speculate why Roger was born in Pennsylvania. Some options were visiting in Pennsylvania, safety due to the Revolutionary War activity, or land opportunity. Included was a description of the migration from Virginia in this era and some of the names of families that migrated. (All the names were familiar to me from research.) It mentioned that some speculation exists that Roger’s father is Joseph Ellis/Eyles. The latter is a new spelling for me to research.
Afterward
Some of the information contained herein will be added to the Ellis Mystery pages and/or Roger Ellis’ biography. The Ellis Mystery pages provide more information about the research into Roger and his family.
AI: grok.com
Featured Image: Altered design of Dark_Moon Art via pixabay.com
The world has changed a lot in the last century and a half. Today, if a child goes to live with another family, paperwork is involved. Records are kept. And, the legal system can follow what happens to a child. That was not true in my great-great grandfather’s day. He seemed to just let other families take in his children. But, why?
The Set Up
My great-great grandfather Lemuel McCracken seemed to have a habit of shedding kids. In other words, they went to live with other people and often they weren’t, as far as I know, related to him in any way. The following tells the stories of the kids he “gave away” and the one that came to live with him.
The Give Aways
Delarma (Lawrence)
Lawrence was Lemuel McCracken’s son with his first wife, Sarah Dufer. Lemuel married his second wife Louisiana (Matteer) Badgley McCracken in January 1859, only nine months after Lawrence was born. Thus, although no record has been found, his mother appears to have died either at the time he was born or within the first few months of his life. In 1860, he is two years old and living in Lemuel’s household with Lemuel; Louisiana; Lemuel and Louisiana’s son Lemuel Franklin/Francis; and Louisiana’s children, Mary and Louis.
Separation From Family
By 1870, however, Lawrence is living in the household of Robert and Diana Kennedy. The census indicates that he has no occupation and has not attended school in the last year. A sixteen-year-old female and a twenty-one-year-old male are also living in the household. They each had different surnames.
Zachary Anthony, the twenty-one-year-old, had been living with Robert and Diana at least since he was ten and likely earlier. At age one, Zachary and a male that I assume was his father were living with another family. No mother was present and the adult male was marked as “insane.” Thus, I believe Zachary was effectively an orphan. The female had not been with them as long. However, another female had been in the household in the previous census.
Not Moving With Family
In 1873, Lemuel, Louisiana, and their children moved to Crawford County, Kansas. As far as I know, Lawrence did not travel with them. He is definitely not with them in 1875 when they were living in Sherman Township in Crawford County. Lawrence appears to have stayed behind in Iowa and live his entire adult life there.
He was listed in his half-sister Minnie Alameda’s probate papers. However, she likely did not know him as she was born after the family moved to Kansas. However, her half-sister Mary Ann (Badley) Macklin, whom she lived near would have known and remembered Lawrence. More on Minnie later.
The Questions
Why did Lawrence end up living in another household? Did Lemuel claim he was an orphan? Did he actually board with them just for space? How did Lawrence living with the other family come about? Why didn’t he move with the family?
Joseph (Henry) McCracken
Joseph (Henry)
In 1871, two years before the family moved to Kansas, Louisiana gave birth to Joseph (Henry) McCracken. He was Lemuel and Louisiana’s fifth child together. Henry moved with the family to Kansas and then with them to Missouri.
Louisiana died in 1879 and Henry was with Lemuel in 1880. However, sometime between 1880 and 1885, he moved in with Thomas and Mary Dudley. It is likely that he moved in with them after Lemuel remarried to Melissa (Eveline) (Donley) McKown Rhodes.
The family did appear to live close to Lemuel. However, that didn’t last for long as they moved to Butler County, Kansas, taking Henry with them. Similar to Lawrence, the 1885 census indicates that Henry was not learning a trade and had not attended school in the last year.
Henry kept in touch with at least part of his siblings. Both Henry and Lawrence continued to use the last name McCracken. Thus, it wasn’t like an adoption.
The Questions
Why did Henry move in with the Dudley family? Why did he move away with them? Who lets their child go with another family to live 150-200 miles away?
Minnie Alameda (a.k.a. Frances E.) (McCracken) Munroe
Francis E. / Minnie Alameda
Minnie Alameda is the youngest of Lemuel and Louisiana’s children. She was born after the family moved to Kansas. However, her original name was not Minnie. It was Frances E. (full middle name unknown). Like Henry, she was with the family in the 1875 and 1880 census records.
It is unclear when she left her father’s home, but the story was that when they went to pick up the baby (She wouldn’t have been an infant. By baby they had to have meant the youngest.), she cried and so they left her. It is unclear where she lived after Lemuel remarried. However, it seems likely that she lived with her older half-sister Mary Ann (Badley) Macklin near Quincy, Adams, Illinois. She lived in that area as an adult. Lemuel and Louisiana’s oldest son Lemuel Franklin also lived in that area.
The Questions
Did Minnie live with Mary Ann? Did she live with another related or unrelated family? Assuming she did live there, was the story about the baby crying true? If true, did Lemuel actually intend for her to live with him? And, why did her name change?
Melissa Eveline’s Children
Nothing But Questions
The next question on my mind is, “With Lemuel’s kids scattering here and there, did Eveline’s kids live with them? The two with her first husband would have been around 10 and 12 when Eveline married Lemuel in 1881. The son with her second husband would have only been a year old. This begs the question as to if he was the baby that cried so they left him.
I do know that Eveline’s youngest son was not listed in their household in 1895 when he would have been 15. However, a year or two earlier, a newspaper article mentioned Lemuel and his son. Was it Thomas? Was it someone else? As an adult, Thomas did come to visit them. At that time, it indicated that he left Kansas around 1895. I found no evidence that Eveline’s first two children ever visited.
If they didn’t live with them, where did they live?
Source: The Freeman’s Lance, Sedan, Kansas via newspapers.com
On the Receiving End
Although Lemuel seemed to shed his kids, he did pickup another child later in life. When Allie Moody’s mother died, Allie went to live with Lemuel and Eveline. The families had been neighbors. According to a descendant of Eveline, Allie’s father gave Lemuel and Eveline a silver pitcher for caring for his son.
Allie was only a small boy and his father did come to visit. It seemed to be different than with Lemuel. What would have happened as Allie grew older is unknown as he became ill and died while in their care.
What does this all mean?
In reality, we will probably never know what all this shuffling of children really meant. The why, how, and when will not be fully known. However, I believe it is reasonable to draw some conclusions from these events.
To me, this says that Lemuel likely did not have strong bonds with his children. A descendant of Eveline told me that Eveline was not easy to get along with and that the same may have been true of Lemuel as well. This may have also played a part in the children being separated from the family.
I considered that the family could have just been poor and hired out or lent their children to other families. However, if there were close bonds with these children, the family wouldn’t just move away or allow the other family to take their child a couple of hundred miles away.
Furthermore, I think this may be an indicator that Lemuel, himself, was put in a similar situation when he was young. I know that his mother’s surname was McCracken. However, I don’t know who raised Lemuel. If his mother married a man who wasn’t his father, he may have been “given” away or may have had to find his own way in the world. This may be why finding him in records, even as a count of a male that age, is so difficult. It would also explain why Lemuel shows up in records as a young man all alone.
It also may indicate some regret. Taking in little Allie seems like an odd thing to do for an older couple living on a small property and who are far from well to do. However, maybe Lemuel felt guilt or felt he had an obligation.
What do you think?
Featured Image: The original image was improved and colorized using google gemini.
Susannah Johnson’s 1819 will is quite lengthy and quite interesting, detailing every dress and providing for several slaves. Where did she get all of these possessions? Why didn’t they simple go to her husband? Well, she had inherited money and possessions from her first husband and from her father. And, when she re-married, she had a pre-nup!
Who was Susannah Johnson?
Johnson was Susannah’s married name. Susannah was born in the mid-1700s in Virginia. She was the daughter of Abraham and Rebecca Marshall (Davis) Lewis, my 6th great grandparents.
Marriage to John Butcher
Susannah married John Butcher, son of Samuel Butcher, in Virginia in 1779. John died in 1805, leaving her without any offspring. However, he left her his plantation (farm) in Loudon County, Virginia, horses, livestock, wagon, farming utensils, corn for the animals, and fourteen barrels of flour. She was also to retain all the household furniture and Lishay(?), a slave. The only caveat was that upon her death the plantation was to go to the church that had been known as Butcher’s Meeting and was now known as Ebenezer’s Meeting.
Susannah was also one of the executors of her husband’s will.
In addition to her inheritance from john Butcher, Susannah had inherited £15 after her father died. After both parents died, she was entitled to one quarter of the land her father owned after other distributions.
Marriage to Jessie Johnson
Shortly after John died, Susannah married Jesse Johnson. Unlike many situations where a woman with property married and the husband gained the property, Susannah retained her property, both personal and land, when she married Jesse. This was done via a legal agreement that today we would called a pre-nup. It was focused solely on Susannah retaining all of the property that she had. Matter of fact, the document went on to say that if she should die without a will that her property was to be distributed according to inheritance rules that would have applied if she hadn’t been married.
Some of the items in Susannah’s possession at the time of the pre-nup:
One female slave
One “negro” boy named Vincent and one girl named Linah. Both were approximately 16 years of age.
One wagon and two horses
Household furniture
Land in the state of Virginia of approximately 250 acres
Land in Madison County, Kentucky
3 Horses
$400 in the hands of the man who was helping her manage his estate
Susannah’s Will
Because of the pre-nup agreement, Jesse didn’t automatically get any of Susannah’s estate. However, she did include him, giving him horse, a bed, first choice of furniture, and all the farming utensils.
Kentucky Bank Shares
Susannah had shares of stock in the Bank of Kentucky. When issued, these shares had a value of $100 each. She gave four shares of stock to her husband, and three shares to her brother Isaac. She gave her niece Susannah (Lewis) Finley six shares and her niece Susannah (Lewis) Ellis, my 4th great grandmother, three shares.
I don’t know why the two Susannahs were called out to receive significant inheritances. Perhaps it was simply because they were her namesakes. However, Susannah’s first husband John Butcher had also named Susannah (Lewis) Finley in his will, giving her a cow. Thus, she likely was very close to his wife or both of them. According to AI, by leaving stock to her nieces with her name, she was likely attempting to ensure that her name continued to be associated with status and wealth in the next generation.
Susannah wanted two shares of bank stock be sold with the proceeds shared between her a long list of people. It would seem that was a way to include them in her will without giving them a significant amount of money. (Names included: her brother Isaac Lewis, Isaac’s daughters Anny Lewis and Betsy Lewis, James Lewis’ daughters Nancy and Tacy, Kesiah Beverly, Anny Lilley, and her husband’s daughter Polly Johnson.)
She also gave $150 from her stock to Sterling Johnson, who it appears is likely Jesse’s son by a previous marriage.
Land
Susannah stated her desire for the land she personally owned in Madison County to be sold with the proceeds to be given to her sister Martha. If Martha was not living, the money was to be split evenly between seven of Martha’s children: Moses Beck, Joseph Beck, John Beck, Brister Beck, Patsey (Beck) Brister, Sally (Beck) Lee.
If the land was not able to be sold, it would go to her sister Martha. If Martha was not living, it would be split between the children listed.
Likewise, anything that remained after distributing her property according to her will, was to be sold with the proceeds to be distributed in the same manner as the proceeds from the land.
Slaves
Susannah also had slaves separate from any that her husband Jesse had.
Susannah declared that her “negro woman” Valitia be freed from servitude upon her death. She did, however, desire that Valitia stay with her children, who were to remain with her husband Jesse until they became of age. However, she said that despite her desire, Valitia was free to choose whether to stay or not.
Valitia’s children were to be granted their freedom from servitude upon reaching age 21. Her daughter Loussey was seven years of age, having reached that milestone on February 24 (born 2/24/1812). Her son Tilford would be five on July 23 (born 7/23/1814). And, the youngest was a girl Ellender who would turn four on June 20 (born 6/20/1815).
The children were to remain in Madison County until they received their freedom. I assume this is because their mother was currently located with her. Susannah specified that if her husband were to move or die before they received their freedom, her executor was to take the children and “bind them out to such trades as he may think most advisable” until they reached age 21.
Susannah also had a “negro man” Vincent whom she bequeathed to her husband for a term of 15 years after which she also granted him his freedom. Like the children, Vincent was not to be removed from the county. She included specific actions the executor of her will should take if her husband was to move. In this scenario, she did not state what was to occur if her husband died.
She also had a boy Randol who was eleven years old. His birthday was January 3. Initially, she wrote that Randol would be turned over to her executor to bind him out until he turned twenty one at which time she granted him his freedom. However, before she signed her will she made an adjustment and decided that Randol would stay with her husband until he received his freedom. He also was not to be removed from the county.
Personal Items & Wearing Apparel
Items For Valitia, Randol, and Vincent
Susannah provided some items for the three oldest of her slaves. Vincent and Randol each received a coverlet (bedspread) that were woven in the “bird’s-eye” twill pattern. Randol also received a linsey blcnet, which was a very warm handmade blanket. He also received one dress that was to be used as fabric to make clothes for him.
Valitia received numerous items, likely to give her a start in life as a newly free person. Valitia received all of Susannah’s “coarse” clothing, which would have been her everyday work clothes. In addition, she was to receive two of the “coarsest” of Susannah’s homemade dresses. Susannah also provided her with approximately twenty yards of linen. For her bed, Valitia received a green hand-woven coverlet that was woven in the “bird’s-eye” twill pattern and a a linsey blanket. Lastly, she received a trunk in which to keep her new clothing.
Her Step-daughter Polly Johnson
Susannah’s step-daughter Polly Johnson received several items, which shows that they maintained a close or at the very least very cordial relationship. To wear, Polly received a flowered black silk shawl and a white-ground dress with green spots. This was a light-weight everyday dress. It is likely that Polly received this dress instead of a fancier dress as she was still a teenager at the time the will was written
For her bed, Polly received a counterpane (bedspread, quilt) that featured the nine snow ball design. She also received a trunk and a whip.
The Changeable Silk Dresses
Susannah owned two changeable silk dresses. These dresses were made of 100% silk taffeta with fabric woven with one color of thread used horizontally and another vertically. It was an ultra luxury fabric. The dress would appear to be one color. However, the presence of the two colors created “an iridescent, shimmering effect.” As the wearer moved or the light changed, the dress would appear to change color.
These dresses were very valuable. They would have been professionally made as working with this fabric required special skills and the dresses had to be fitted perfectly. Additionally, the fabric itself was quite expensive. It would have been imported and the color choice could add significantly to the cost, which is estimated in that time period to be around $75 per dress for evening wear. However, some changeable silk dresses exceeded $100 in value. The value varied depending on the specific style and the embellishments on the dress.
Susannah likely wore these dresses to balls, formal dinners, or when calling on on someone of status. They were clearly designed to make Susannah stand out as the primary colors were yellow for one and red for the other.
Yellow was a color associated with high-fashion. It took special skills to dye changeable silks yellow making it a bit more rare, but it also was seen as a turning point toward optimism and bringing sunny skies into clothing. It was also considered a bit daring. The yellow likely was paired with white with green, or blue. These would have created a sunny look, a lime shimmer, and a iridescent gold, respectively.
The red dress may have cost more to dye depending on the specific “red” of the dress. Vibrant red required expensive special dyes and techniques. Red changeable silks often paired the red with black, blue, or white. The white created a silvery rose effect while the blue created a purple effect and the black a more of a crimson. This dress would have turned heads. Everyone would have noticed this powerful, daring woman.
The dresses were given to two women who I believe were her nieces. If the dresses didn’t fit or couldn’t be slightly modified, they could have a dressmaker take the dress apart, clean the material, and resew it into an different style that could be made with the quantity of material salvageable.
Other Fine Clothing
Lustring Silk Dress
Susannah Finley, who received the most shares in the Bank of Kentucky, inherited a black lustring silk dress. The dress would have had a glossy shine created by stretching the silk during the weaving, which caused it to shimmer in candlelight. The cloth was surprisingly stiff and would likely have had significant ruffles or other decoration at the hem. The material would have made a rustling sound when she walked.
Susannah would have worn this dress for sophisticated events, events where she wanted to put on an air of wealth, and for second-mourning. In the early stages of mourning, a woman would never wear a shiny dress. However, in the second stage, the dress was perfect as it was shiny, but black. This showed that she was beginning to transition out of mourning. Susannah had likely obtained the dress when her first husband died if not before.
Like, red, black was an expensive dye unless you wanted the black to appear as an off-color. Thus, a black lustering silk dress was no small purchase. However, it was a good one as it stayed in style for decades. The younger Susannah could continue to wear the dress for decades.
Slip Jaconet Dress
Susannah Finley’s sister Mary inherited a slip Jaconet dress. Although made of cotton, this dress was also a sign of luxury. The bright white garment was made of expensive, high quality, imported cotton. It could only be worn by a woman of higher-society because maintaining the pure white polished look was very difficult. However, unlike silk, it could be laundered and it could stand up to bleach.
The slip jaconett dress was simple and usually had minimal sleeves if any. It was used as a layer underneath a lace or sheer tunics or frock. The pure white accentuated the color and design of the top layer. It could be paired with many different top layers to create a variety of outfits. However, they were not necessarily plain as many had extensive embroidery. It was often also done in white using various techniques to create interesting textures.
The slip jaconet dress with its appropriate outer layer would be worn to daytime parties or when calling on friends.
Dress and Shawl
Another woman inherited a dress that was described as deep blue ground with white stripes. The deep blue was another color associated with sophistication. Thin white stripes were added as a popular accent as they were used to show-off the empire waists, high under the breast, that were popular at the time. The stripes could be achieved via weaving white cloth in with the blue or by using a process that removed the blue dye to create the stripes.
This dress was to be worn in the daytime with different uses based on the type of fabric. She could have worn it for a walk in the park or to make afternoon social calls. No matter where Susannah wore the dress, it showed that she was a sensible woman who had authority.
The same woman received a striped red silk shawl. The shawl would have been lightweight and likely had a bit of a sheen. The stripes were probably added during the weaving process. The most popular style during this era was to have horizontal stripes on the ends. However, it could have had vertical pinstripes throughout the shawl.
It is unlikely that the two were meant to be worn together unless it was to be a patriotic outfit. However, since both were striped, that may have been the intent.
Miscellaneous Other Clothing
Susan Finley, who seemed close to Susannah, also received a riding dress saddle and blanket. Sterling Johnson received a trunk and a blanket.
Susannah gave her two living sisters and sister-in-laws her caps and handkerchiefs. They were to be divided equally among them. The remainder of her clothing, including her stockings, were to be divided between ten different women including two that may have been friends as Susannah did not state a relationship to her and I have not found that they were related.
Her Silver Watch
Almost as an after thought, Susannah added that she bequeathed her silver watch to her husband Jesse. It is likely that he gave it to her and she wanted him to have it as a token of their time together.
Conclusions about Susannah
Gemini made the following observations.
“This woman was a master of “Soft Power.” She used her pre-nup to keep her money, her bank stock to empower her namesakes, and her fine Virginia silks to clothe the next generation of Kentucky’s elite.”
“The owner of this will was likely a woman of the “Gentry.” She had her “formal” silks for the night and her “pristine” white jaconets for the day”.
“This woman clearly had a full social calendar! “
Based solely on the dresses Susannah owned, Grok said,
“In 1819 America would mark this woman as quite wealthy — comfortably upper-middle class at minimum, and likely solidly affluent or even elite by the standards of the time.”
Furthermore, by the fact that she distributed her fine wearing apparel, it is clear that she was not ultra-wealthy, as women in this class would not have bothered themselves with giving dresses to friends or relatives. Besides, their heirs would likely be offended by such gesture. However, the type of dresses she owned, the land, stock, and slaves, all indicate that she was a woman of significant wealth.
Grok.com and gemini.google.com were used extensively for this article. They created text from handwritten documents and were also used to research items listed in Susannah’s will.
The thing that I most admire about my ancestors isn’t if they are wealthy or famous. It isn’t even if they built a town or a business. What I admire most is the ones that got through really challenging times in their life.
This article takes a look at some of the challenges ancestors overcame during each century starting with the 1600s.
The 1600s
Lawrence Peelle
9th Great-Grandfather
Challenge: Staying Alive
Lawrence Peelle, my earliest known ancestor in the Americas, came across the ocean with the London Company in 1621. He settled in Elizabeth Citti, Virginia.
Prior to 1625, 7,389 people had come to Virginia. However, by the end of February of that year, only 1,095 were still living. That was a death rate of 85%. (Source: The First Pioneer Families of Virginia by A. C. Quisenberry)
Deaths came from diseases, clashes with Native Americans, and overall harsh living conditions. Lawrence was very lucky to have lived in Elizabeth Citti as it was spared the Powhatan Uprising, which killed approximately 350 settlers. Still, it is amazing he survived
Elizabeth Veepon (Pearson) Stackhouse endured her father undergoing religious persecution in England.
Then, the family decided to move to America. Her father died on the journey and her mother died soon after. Elizabeth was only a teenager. She had two sisters, but it isn’t clear that they were able to all stay together as they dealt with life as teenage orphans in a new country where disease was running rampant and the population was very small.
John Tilton and his family’s religious beliefs didn’t align with the beliefs of the Puritans. Living in the 1600s near Salem, MA, that was a problem.
However, John and his family’s problems didn’t end there. They moved to an area that is now within New York City. When members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) arrived, they joined with them. They housed them and held meetings.
This was not to the liking of the locals. Again, John underwent persecution for his religious beliefs. He was arrested and banished. His wife was accused of being a sorceress.
Inside Front Cover of the Bassett Bible. In the possession of Ronald “Smokey” Bassett
Challenge: Possibly deported from his homeland, POW, wounded, living in wilderness, threat of Native Americans
William Bassett was born in England. He came to America possibly as a deportee. If so, he was only 12 years of age when he arrived.
William fought in the Revolutionary War. If he was a deportee, one can imagine he was strongly in favor of independence. He was both wounded and a prisoner of war.
After the war, William moved to the Kentucky wilderness where he cleared land to live on, and was involved in skirmishes with Native Americans.
William had to fight to get a pension for his service to the country as he lost his papers when fighting with Native Americans. Thus, he recounted his entire history in the military in order to obtain the small pension.
As the story goes, Arthur Reid Thomson was orphaned as a child. It is said that Arthur and his brother Alexander “Sandy” went to live with their grandfather in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Arthur was sixteen, his grandfather apparently sent him to America to live with his uncle.
Arthur never arrived at his uncle’s home. Instead, he went to Canada with some of the others on the ship. It is unclear how he made a living or what he did over the next few years. However, he eventually made his way to Wisconsin and then to Nebraska, which was just opening for settlers.
It is hard to imagine losing your parents and then being shipped to a foreign land with little to no contact with the people you know. But, Arthur Reid married, had a large family, and was relatively prosperous for a farmer on the frontier.
Challenge: Loss, children to raise, distance to family
Louisiana (or Louisanna) married young and had two children by the time her mother died. Louisiana was not yet twenty at the time.
Then sometime between 1851 and 1859, Louisiana’s first husband, James Badgley, appears to have died. They had been living with his father, Isaac Badgley, who sold some land to her husband in early 1851. Later that year, they sold the land. Those are the last records that have been found for James or Isaac.
It is unknown if James died in Ohio, whether they were moving west and he died along the way, or if he died in Iowa where she later lived. If both James and his father died in Ohio, where they were living in 1850, that would have left Louisiana there without her close family. And, if he died along the trail, she would have had to make the remainder of the trip without a husband.
Anyway, she ended up in Iowa, where her father lived. alone with two young children. In 1859, she married Lemuel McCracken and they had a blended family with children from each of their earlier marriages, plus their own.
Challenge: Living away from parents and siblings at a young age.
Both Lawrence and Henry somehow ended up living with families that were not relatives. Because of this, they ended up living in totally different states than their parent(s).
Lawrence was Lemuel’s son with his first wife. By the time Lawrence was twelve years old, he was living with a family in the area. When he was about 15, Lemuel and Louisiana moved to Kansas. Apparently, Lawrence did not go with them.
Henry was Lemuel and Louisiana’s son. After Louisiana died, he lived with the Dudley family. The family decided to move from their home in Bates County, Missouri to Kansas. Henry went with them.
Somehow they managed to keep in touch with at least part of their siblings/half-siblings/step-siblings. It seems that Mary Ann, Louisiana’s daughter with her first husband, was the one that maintained contact with everyone. Still, we did not know about Lawrence or Lemuel’s first marriage until I uncovered it while doing research.
Franz Xavier Wittmer
Hubby’s 4th Great Grandfather
Challenge: Losing his wife when their children were still young, struggling to make a living
Franz Xavier Wittmer’s wife, Anna Hilbert, died in 1847 leaving him with six children, five of which were under the age of majority. The youngest two were four and six.
Franz tried very hard to provide for his children. He was a farmer. He also worked as a tailor, a miner, and a forest observer. It isn’t clear who helped care for his children while he worked. However, it is known that as hard as he tried, he struggled and remained poor.
By 1857, one married daughter had died and three other of his children hadn’t just left the nest, they had left the continent, choosing to venture to the United States. So, Franz Xavier decided to make the move across the Atlantic as well. He and his two youngest would make the move relying on their maternal inheritance and the sale of a small property that he owned.
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, things changed for the better as multiple of his sons did well in business.
Clifford & Dessie (Thomas) Pellett and Their Son Marvin
Challenge: Loss & Raising Children
Grandma dealt with a lot of loss in her life. Her mother, Sarah Ellen “Sadie Ella” (Ashby) Thomas, died in childbirth (the baby also died) when Grandma was only 15 years old. She was left to manage the household and care for her five younger siblings. The youngest was only two and a half.
She married and while her children were still young, her husband, Clifford Claney Pellett, ended up in a VA hospital. He had injured himself in a fall and got gangrene in his leg. In addition, he had what we would likely term PTSD. He spent the rest of his life in a VA hospital in Iowa. Again, she was left to care for the children.
She stayed on the farm until the children were high school age. I suppose she got a pension from her husband’s military service, but they were still quite poor. Marvin, the oldest and the only son, helped out by working for neighbors and helping his mother sell produce. The neighbors knew the family was struggling and they found ways to help.
As soon as Inez graduated high school, she went to work at The Western. Between her work and Marvin’s work, the family bought a house. All four children graduated high school, and three of the four went to community college.
Grinda (Hansen) Van Allen
Hubby’s Great -Grandmother
Challenge: Loss & Raising Children
Grinda (Hansen) Van Allen married a man, John (Warren) Van Allen, who was 25 years her senior.
After 14 years, 7 children, and several moves. Warren was injured in a farming accident. About the same time, Grinda’s young daughter received serious burns. Her daughter would recover. However, although Warren lingered a bit, he would eventually succumb to his injuries.
Grinda was left with seven children to raise. She was also the step-mother to seven adults. Instead of going back to where she grew up and where her family lived, she moved the children to Lincoln, Nebraska where she worked many hours every week doing domestic work in homes.
She also dealt with several accidents involving her kids and herself and more deaths in her family.
Grinda persevered. She outlived most of her siblings and most of her step-children.
Joe & Nellie (Peelle) McCracken Family; Photo by Rennett’s Studio; Copyright owned by L. Thomson
Challenge: Disruption, Loss, Not Knowing
Almost everyone alive during the 1940s experienced a world war in one way or another. Some more than others. The McCracken family first experienced rationing and the children scattering to various places to work.
Rationing lasted throughout the war. They managed the entire war with bad tires, exchanged ration coupons with others for shoes so that they could put shoes on growing children’s feet, and learned to like unsweetened tea.
When their two oldest sons, Dewey and Howard, were drafted, Dad quit school to manage the farm.
Life went on, but it was different and full of worry. Like most people, they knew people who had lost their sons to the war and that only managed to increase their worry.
And, then Howard went missing never to be seen again. The family struggled with that for the remainder of their days.
Matilda lost her mother before her third birthday. She was raised by her father, John Jury Sr., with help from his mother, sister, and possibly his brother’s wife.
Over the next several years, her family would leave their home in Canada, move to Kansas, Missouri, back to Kansas, to Michigan, and finally back to Kansas. Thus, Matilda never got to put down roots anywhere for very long.
She married William Johnson Peelle and had three children. Again, they moved several times, but at least they stayed within a few miles of Hiattville, Kansas.
Then in 1911, she lost her father and her husband in the span of two days. Her father’s death was likely somewhat expected as he had cancer. However, her husband’s death was completely unexpected.
Matilda was left with three children, William J.’s elderly mother, a farm to manage, and a load of lumber that William J. had just picked up for a new building.
Matilda eventually left the farm and became a city lady. She never remarried.
The 2000s
Joseph Edward McCracken
Father
Challenge: Medical and life altering decision
Dad had the constitution of a horse. He didn’t get sick often and he generally rebounded quickly. However, in 2012, he started having pain and feeling generally unwell.
A stress test in February 2013 led to an immediate CT-Scan and hospitalization. During testing, they determined that he needed open heart surgery and they saw what they suspected was cancer in his colon.
He asked the doctor if he could just do the colon surgery. They said, “No.” The doctors told him that he would not live through colon surgery without the heart surgery. And, they said, that it would be a waste to do the heart surgery and not the colon surgery.
He really wanted us to make the decision about what to do. He finally decided to do both surgeries. The heart surgery turned into a septuple bypass. Several weeks later he had colon surgery. That decision gave him 9 more years.
Hunting
Hunting
Kentucky Bank Shares
Land
