The smallest piece of information generally is the one that gets me involved in a crazy genealogy hunt. And, sometimes they lead to the biggest discoveries. In this case, it was a photo with a name that I found unusual that started it all.
The Photo
The photo had been taken at a long defunct studio in Ft. Scott and included two boys with an older gentleman. The boys were identified on the photo as Clate Farmer and Willie Potter. Given their birth years, I could determine that the photo was taken around 1900. Additionally, I knew the gentleman must be related to the Peelle family since Clate and Willie were cousins in that family. However, the photo only identified the man as “Ail” followed by an indication that he was a Civil War veteran.
The Search
The Name “Ail”
I began searching family records and records in the areas where the Peelle family lived. However, I had no luck finding anyone named Ail. Then, I began searching various names that could have “Ail” as a nickname. I found that Ail was a nickname for quite a few different names. Still, I found nothing that seemed to be a match to anyone in my tree. So, I moved on to other research.
Totally Unrelated Research
One day, when researching some information regarding Martha Johnson Peelle’s family, I found that her grandfather was Eleazer Smith. I began researching and I found an Eleazer Johnson. Now, this was very interesting because Martha’s mother was a Smith and her father was a Johnson. I wondered if Eleazer Johnson might be her brother or cousin.
Since Martha’s parents (William Johnson and Rachel Smith) had died very young, little was known about the family. However, her obituary had said that she was the last of eight siblings. None of the names were known as her parents had died in the days where census records only recorded the name of the head of the household. By the next census, Martha had married Passco Peelle and any siblings that existed were lost in the “Sea of Johnsons.”
Answers, Finally
Suddenly, the answer dropped out of the sky. Since Eleazer isn’t a name that had come up in my genealogy. I researched it to learn where it might have originated. Lo and behold, “Ail” can be a nickname for Eleazer. Two plus two led to the theory that the gentleman in the picture was Eleazer Johnson.
Now, to prove it. Mostly, it required being lucky and finding the right pieces of information at the right time. I will spare you all the details, but it included identifying Martha’s youngest sibling Lydia Johnson Harris, someone posting a letter online that Lydia had written to a cousin asking about information on her parents, an old business card that my grandmother had kept, Civil War records, census records, and some newspaper articles. In the end, I was able to conclude that conclusively that Eleazer W. Johnson was Martha Johnson Peelle’s brother. I never found absolute proof that “Ail” was the same person as Eleazer, but in all likelihood it appears that they were the same person.
Who Was Ail?
Assuming that we accept that Ail is Eleazer W. Johnson, he would be Martha’s older brother. Eleazer was born in Wayne County, Indiana 9 months after his parents marriage with the name Eleazer W. Johnson. His middle name is yet to be discovered, but it may be William as his father and grandfather in the Johnson family were named William.
It is not known what he initially did after his father died. However, he would have been almost 17. Thus, he likely went in search of work. By 1850, Ail was living in Jackson County, Indiana to the southwest of where he was born. He is listed as a laborer and was living with a family where the head of the household was a miller. By 1860, he had made his way westward and was living in Warren County, Illinois, west of Peoria and about 25-30 miles east of the Mississippi River. At this time, he is living with the Holeman family. No occupation is listed for Eleazer, but Mr. Holeman was a farmer.
Civil War
Eleazer enlisted in the Union Army in December 1861 in Richland County, Illinois. At Jonesboro, Illinois on April 1 (or 10, records vary) of the following year, he mustered into service. He served as a private in Company A of the 63rd Illinois Infantry until October 12, 1862 when he was discharged for “disease of the throat.”
His Marriage
On February 7, 1875, Eleazer married Elizabeth Bennett Walker in Coles County, Illinois. Elizabeth had been widowed a year earlier. No indication of a previous marriage for Eleazer has been found. Nearing 50, Eleazer and Elizabeth never had any children.
After their marriage, Eleazer and Elizabeth moved to Cherokee in Cherokee County, Iowa, where Eleazer finally settled. He would farm and become the postmaster in Cherokee. Eleazer also joined the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.).
Eleazer remained in Cherokee until Elizabeth died. After she died, he moved in with his sister Lydia and her husband James A. Harris in Cass County, Iowa. Eleazer died in 1902 of old age.
Afterward
The prompt this week was to write about someone or some place that begins with a vowel. The first instance of names and locations that begin with a vowel are highlighted in red.
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