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REUNION SPECIAL - AUGUST 2004

3rd National Chenoweth Reunion Is Here

Representing more than 40 lines of Chenoweths, nearly 100 individuals have registered for the 3rd National Chenoweth Reunion. Hosts, Al and Dolores Chenoweth, and their committee, have put together what appears to be the best Reunion yet. Emphasis is on entertainment but there will be forums to address family matters. There are activities for children (swimming area at the motel and a trip to the Portland Children's Museum) and all manner of outings for the adults to include places to go shopping.
[DIRECTORS] This family reunion centers on seeing the Northwest. There will be some meetings in the nature of the past reunions but most reunion activities will center around the sites and history of the Portland Area. A Chenoweth family and a Voyage of Discovery historical point is located an hour's drive east from Portland at the Dalles and its suburb, Chenoweth, Oregon. Several Chenoweth connections in the area include an airport, school, creek, and museum section.

Another possible tour is to the new home of the Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose cargo lane. The Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville is a short distance towards the Pacific Ocean from Portland. Along the way, there are several Columbia River Valley wineries. Duck Pond Vineyards is a favorite of the host family. An organized tour to the Timberline Lodge near the summit of Mt Hood, with a catered buffet lunch is our principal day trip feature. To keep a timely schedule this day, we are considering hiring passenger busses to keep the group together. While at the summit we will take the official 2004 reunion family photograph. This is always a colorful event as each line wears its official reunion tee shirt.

There will be a welcome presentation for the 4th National Reunion to be held in Baltimore, MD. Another opportunity for a tour is Ft Clatsop at the mouth of the Columbia River. This was the 1805 winter home of the Corps of Discovery. A short distance from the Dalles is scenic Multnomah Falls. A side trip well worth seeing. Portland is known as the Rose City and a trip to the Rose Test Garden and it's more than 8,000 roses is bound to bring satisfaction to one and all.

Remember, this is the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and there will be many sights to see. One of history's most famous Indian women, Sacagawea, was a scout for this trip. Wishing everyone an enjoyable Chenoweth Family Reunion.


[COAT-OF-ARMS] INSIDE THIS ISSUE

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Wednesday � 4 August

Registration, meeting people, supper buffet from 6-9 in the evening.

Thursday � 5 August

Field trips to Evergreen Air Museum; Rose Test Garden; winery tours; children's museum. Featured speaker in the evening will be Diahan Southard of Relative Genetics in Salt Lake City, UT on the Chenoweth Family DNA Project.

Friday � 6 August

Field trips as desired; Bus trip to Mt Hood and places east of Portland including a buffet lunch and the Chenoweth Family Picture. Daniel Chenoweth will present his music from Mexico and the overnight deep sea fishing trip will commence.

Saturday � 6 August

Field trips as desired; Jon Egge, webmaster of the Chenoweth Family Site, will present his famous Chenoweth family genealogy update. As always there will be plenty of socializing and sharing of family information.

Sunday � 7 August

Breakfast buffet will be served followed by the Bi-Annual meeting and the Incorporation Committee meeting.


REUNION REGISTERED LINES



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It's never to early to mark your calendars

Baltimore, MD in August 2006



CHENOWETH'S IN OREGON & WASHINGTON

by Jon Egge

In the 1850 census there were 3 Chenoweths in the Oregon Territory. They were:

But these were just the vanguard. In the 1850s, many of the families of the John W. and the widow and children of his brother Gideon came into Oregon from Missouri, traveling overland to California and up the coast by steamer. They settled in Douglas Co. Hardin became a riverboat captain on the Columbia plying the same routes that his distant cousin Francis had a few years earlier. John and Gideon were the sons of Samuel, a son of Jonathan, a 4th generation son in the line of JOHN(2). The Simmons families of Chloe, an aunt to John W. and Gideon also found their way to Oregon. So did Casebiers from Chloe's sister Elizabeth. The two children of Rachel Chenoweth, the daughter of Elijah(3) in the line of THOMAS(2) who had married Jesse Wood came into Benton Co., OR from Iowa in the early 1850s. These families became part of the Henkle, Shipley and Wyatt families that reside in present day Oregon.

Still later came Randolph, the first of the West Virginia clan of "Revolutionary" John to leave West Virginia, who ended his migration through Kentucky and Iowa in La Grande, OR. Randolph holds the distinction of being the only Chenoweth Cora Hiatt said she could not identify. Three of the children of Daniel, brother to John W. and Gideon, came from Iowa into Idaho and then southeastern Washington. Families of William Thomas, the son of Casper, came west to Wallowa Co. in the Blue Mountains near Enterprise. Chenoweths of John Henton Chenoweth came up from Sonoma Co., CA to Curry Co., OR. Kerr's from Elijah's daughter, Elizabeth, show up in the 1880 Census. The same Census finds Baxters from Arthur, Jr.'s daughter Sarah that had made their way from Maryland through Ohio to Oregon. There were also some Trimbles from the Carter lines of Hannah and a Harris family from the THOMAS(2) lines of his son John. The first Tennessee line of Chenoweths came into Washington in the 1880s. Several more immigrations followed from Randolph Co, WV into Idaho and then Washington.

In the 1930 Census there were 77 male named Chenoweths living in Washington & Oregon with as many females and even more daughter lines. Since the website started over 130 cousins living in these two Pacific Northwest states have contacted me. They come from all the existing lines from the 2nd generation children except Ruth.


History of the Reunion:

The first Reunion in Bowling Green, KY featured Richard Harris author of the 1994 book, "The Chenoweth Family in America" based on research he shared with his wife Shirley. Richard had donated the notes and research upon which the book was based to the Kentucky Museum located in Bowling Green.

The second Reunion tagged onto the annual family picnic that has been held in Elkins, WV since 1915. There are literally hundreds of descendants that still live in this area of Appalachia. A highlight to the reunion was an evening with Virginia Bird Johnson, age 93. Virginia was the main resource for the extensive West Virginia genealogy found in the Harris book and had attended all 89 picnics. She passed away this winter on February 5, 2004.

The present reunion in Beaverton is a chance for West Coast Chenoweths to more easily participate. The Chenoweth migration into the Pacific Northwest is featured in this newsletter. Attending the Reunion is Elmer Rathbun Haile, Jr., age 94, from Maryland. Elmer has contributed significant knowledge of the early family in Baltimore helping to correct imbedded misalignments found in both Chenoweth books. The "reunion picnic" will be held at Mount Hood.


June 2004

A MOMENT WITH THE WEBMASTER

[Jon] By Jon Egge
Cottage Lake, Woodinville, WA
Descendant of Dr Henry S. Chenoweth of Chillicothe, OH

DAR-SAR

Genealogy has many twists and turns and you never stop learning of new aspects. In 2000, at the Bowling Green Reunion, Bill Chinworth arranged for a speaker from the local DAR chapter. One of the things she talked about was the eligibility of a category termed "patriots" that is available for membership outside of actual military service. The types of qualifying activities she described were giving support to the troops during the conflict. This last fall, Susan Erlick mentioned another: taking the oath of allegiance. There is a Maryland listing of family members who took this oath. In Montgomery County, there is Thomas Chenoweth, Sr and Jr and Richard Chenoweth. Both Thomas, Jr and Richard served in the actual conflict, but Thomas(2) adds the whole rest of this line to eligibility. Montgomery Co. was close to the Old Town local of present day Allegany Co., MD where the families of Thomas had migrated prior to the war from Frederick Co., VA.

Things in Baltimore Co. are a little harder to sort out. There are both an Arthur, Sr and Arthur, the son of Richard. As the year was 1778 and Arthur, Jr was already in service, it is likely that Arthur, Sr is indeed Arthur(2) himself. His son, Samuel, is listed as well and his sons, Arthur, Jr, John, and Richard all served with some distinction. Also listed are a Richard, Thomas twice and a William. It is not certain to me who these individuals were. We know that Thomas(3) the son of John(2) who lived in Maryland was there in 1777 when he married for the second time and in Botetourt Co. in 1778 where his last son was born. Assuming he was in Virginia that would leave both Thomas the son of Arthur and Thomas the son of Richard. There are indications that Thomas, the son of Richard, gave some sort of service apart from this.

Present DAR listings for the family are somewhat confused as so many of the early lines of the 3rd generation were mixed up by Cora Hiatt. The worse of these is Arthur(3) who married Elpsa Lawrence. He was not Arthur, Jr and it is unlikely that he served, though this line has been recognized for years. I have never found a listing for any of the line of William(2), though the spouse of his daughter, Mary, Abraham Sutton is recognized. Several of Richard(2)'s lines served, but as far as I know, not the line of John(3) which went to Tennessee. Maybe there is a Hale connection for this. The biggest line of John(2) is recognized through all three sons of William(3) and the listing of Richard(3) of Louisville. Rachel's husband, Kenner Seaton, and Mary's husband, Levi Ashbrook, are both recognized as is the husband of Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas(3) of Botetourt Co., Nathan Switzer. John(3)'s son William, who married Catherine Rinker, is also listed.

The biggest lines of the Carters of Hannah who sent to Washington Co., PA fall under the service of James, Jr and William. I have seen indications that several of Ruth's sons served, including Richard John Peteet, who went to North Carolina.

The citations above cover well over half the family. For those not included it is more than likely given the linkages among colonial families that there is a spousal line somewhere that gives the access desired. I know that is true in my case even though I am at present unable to prove the connection of my ancestor, Dr Henry S. Chenoweth, into the main Chenoweth line. Henry's son, Albert, married 2nd Laura Yonce, and both of her ancestors, John and Peter Yonce, served in the Revolution. For actual listing within the family that are presently known please see the webpage titled "Chenoweths in the Revolution."

Those Wonderful Letters

Back in the 1800s and the early 1900s people kept in touch by letters. Today, preserved letters can be of significant use to genealogists as well as a treasured family snapshot of an ancestor. Letters give flesh to the dry bones of dates and places, substance to the names. Last May I wrote of the developing lines of William of Des Moines, IA, one of the sons of Jonathan's son, Samuel. Some careful Census work had allowed us to add the Jones family of William's daughter, Susannah, in the material for this last update. It wasn't long before Anita Jones and Delores Ranshaw found us on the internet. They had been working on the Jones line but did not know who William Chenoweth was. In our exchanges, Delores produced a letter from a C.L. Chenoweth of Oakland, OR who had written Margaret Agnes Waggoner (nee Jones) in Des Moines, addressing himself as a cousin. I immediately recognized this as Creed Lee Chenoweth, a son of John W. John W. was a brother to William in Des Moines. Thus Margaret's mother, Susannah Chenoweth Jones, was a 1st cousin to Creed.

Of interest is that fact that Susannah, though born in Missouri, had lived most all of her life in Iowa and Creed had been born in Oregon after his parents had come west from Missouri. Yet these people knew of each other. I have often found this the case. Whereas we struggle nowadays to understand relationships, they were well known by the people involved. The letter infers that at some point the Jones family had visited relatives in Oregon. It also tells us that Creed did not know of or remember the death of his cousin, Susannah, though the letter was 34 years after this sad event. If only we had more letters. Here is Anita's transcription of Creed's letter from her notes:

"Letter from C.L. Chenoweth: Dated December 27, 1926. Written on Stationary from Stearns & Chenoweth, Hardware, Stoves and Tinware. Oakland, Oregon. Mrs I.R. Waggoner, Des Moines, Iowa."

"Dear Cousin; You sure gave me the surprise of my life. I was just thinking of you all not long ago, and wondered what had become of you. Yes, my dear girl there has been many changes since you left. Brother Jas. Died January 4, 1900. Brother Sal lost a little girl February 6, 1900. My dear mother died March 4, 1900 and my Sister Nancie lost a little boy on November 6, 1900 and to cap the climax Nancie was killed while crossing the Rail Road Tracks in front of her house, August 17, 1924. Her husband and me went into business December 11, 1886 and have continued ever since. Brother Sal lives near Spokane, Mich (?) in Oakland California, Jack in Oakland and my Sister Anna is in the State Hospital. So you see I have had a lot of sorrow with the pleasures of life. My but I was glad to hear from you. We seldom see a Chenoweth outside our own family. I have a book the History of the Chenoweth's written by Mrs Cora Chenoweth Hiatt, Lynn, Indiana. It is very interesting book if you have never seen it. I would like to see you again. How in the world did you ever think to write? Tell me more about yourself. Would love to see you back in Oregon again. I met a Jas Chenoweth who was at one time a Contractor. He lived in Ottumwa, Iowa. A bright fellow but drawn very hard. He was a first cousin of mine. Has a daughter in New Jersey. I hear a mighty fine wife and a daughter who keeps books in the store. Sale had two children. Nancie had 3. Jacu had 5 and Milt none. He has a step-daughter. Anna had one. Well my dear little girl I must quit for this time. Until we meet again. Tell me more about yourself. Is your mother living? With all my best wishes. I am sincerely, C.L. Chenoweth."

Some of Creed's dates don't work, he was 60 years old at the time and had a copy of the new Cora Hiatt book whom he had corresponded with during her compilation on the family. The result, we believe, was the outline of the Oregon families of Gideon and John W. and the infamous Jonathan skip. Anita wondered who these people were. "Jas", of course was Creed's older brother and "Sal" was William Salem, "Nancie" was Nancy Elizabeth, "Mich" was George Milton, "Jack" was Stonewall Jackson, and "Anna" was Rebecca Ann. [these names that Creed used are an interpretation of the cursive found in the actual letter.] A careful reading tells me that the James in Iowa described as a first cousin is James H., the brother of Susannah Chenoweth Jones. In the 1900 Census of Des Moines, James is a cement contractor living with his wife, Della, their son and 2 daughters. In the household are two nieces, Agnes and Gracie Jones. Susannah, the sister of James died in 1892 when her children were still quite young. We know that James later came out to Oregon and by 1920 is found in Lane Co. which abuts Douglas Co. where Creed lived.

JOHN W.6 CHENOWETH (SAMUEL5, JONATHAN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born January 3, 1827 in Morgan Co., IL and died October 28, 1872 in Douglas Co., OR. He married MELINDA (ADAMSON) DIXON July 29, 1847 in Andrew Co., MO, daughter of JAMES DIXON and SUSAN COPPLE. She was born March 26, 1829 in Indiana and died March 4, 1890 in Oakdale, Douglas Co., OR.

Children of JOHN CHENOWETH and MELINDA DIXON are:

  1. JAMES7 CHENOWETH b. September 22, 1850, Andrew Co., MO, d: January 4, 1890, Oakland, Douglas Co., OR
  2. NANCY ELIZABETH7 CHENOWETH b. June 22, 1853, Oregon; d: August 17, 1924, Oakland, Douglas Co., OR; m ARBA FAY STEARNS, October 2, 1881, Douglas Co., OR b: October 24, 1854, Scottsburg, Douglas Co., OR; d. Oakland, Douglas Co., OR.
  3. SAMUEL7 CHENOWETH b. April 25, 1855, Douglas Co., OR; d. October 4, 1858, Oak Creek, Douglas Co., OR
  4. REBECCA ANN7 CHENOWETH b. May 24, 1857, Douglas Co., OR; d. January 24, 1942, Salem, Marion Co., OR; m BENJAMIN BOVINGDON March 2, 1892, Douglas Co., OR; b. February 1857, Pennsylvania.
  5. WILLIAM SALEM7 CHENOWETH b. August 3, 1859, Wilbur, Douglas Co., OR; d. May 24, 1942, Spokane, Spokane Co., WA; m GERETTA F. "RETTA" REED, November 17, 1887, Roseburg, Douglas Co., OR; b. August 1864, Oregon; d. August 22, 1943, Spokane, Spokane Co., WA.
  6. GEORGE MILTON7 "GIDEON" CHENOWETH b. June 7, 1861, Douglas Co., OR; d. July 31, 1930, Alameda Co., CA; m (1) ALICE PAULINE BROSSART, November 17, 1897, Los Angeles Co., CA; b. April 20, 1872, Iowa; d. February 20, 1899, Los Angeles Co., CA; m (2) ETHEL JOSEPHINE (STODDARD) FULLER, September 12, 1917, Orange Co., CA; b. November 1, 1885, Topeka, Shawnee Co., KS; d. April 10, 1928, Alameda Co., CA.
  7. STONEWALL JACKSON7 "SAMUEL" CHENOWETH b. June 3,1863, Dixonville, Douglas Co., OR; d. September 28, 1939, Douglas Co., OR; m. MARY ANN HALL June 28, 1887, Douglas Co., OR; b. January 1, 1868, Oakland, Douglas Co., OR; d. August 16, 1947, Roseburg, Douglas Co., OR.
  8. CREED LEE7 "CHARLES" CHENOWETH b. March 18, 1866, Douglas Co., OR; d. December 24, 1935, Douglas Co., OR; m. MINNIE MAY SMITH April 19, 1888, Roseburg, Douglas Co., OR; b. February 2, 1871, Douglas Co., OR; d. October 14, 1952, Douglas Co., OR.

The letter is a very good corroboration of the lineage's we assembled from Census and other records. This is not the only instance I have seen this. Last year I was sent a letter from Ephraim B. Chenoweth in Morgan Co., IN to his brother-in-law, Elijah Thurman in Clinton Co., a corroboration of the correction that Ephraim was a son of Absolom, Jr and not the Arthur Cora described. Just recently a more intriguing letter has come to light, that of a semi-autobiography to his children written by Thomas Scott, the son of Sarah Chenoweth on October 31, 1831 in Chillicothe, Ross Co., OH. I was made aware of this by John Lewis of Michigan, a descendant by Mary, a sister to Thomas. It has greatly added to our knowledge of Sarah's family. I dream of finding a letter like this by or to my ancestor Dr. Henry S. Chenoweth.

Thank you Sue: Another Taney Co. Discovery!

Sue Solomon continues to beat Taney Co. records in pursuit of her Woods from Rachel Chenoweth. This March she made an unexpected find there. If you remember from our March 2004 newsletter, the 1850 Census of Taney Co., MO lists everyone by initial. So there is a listing in Jasper Township of a J. Wetherman 71-NC, wife: D 55-VA and daughter M 25-KY. She then found a Weatherman internet posting that had that John Weatherman married Delilah L. Casebier, nee Delilah Chenoweth, a daughter of Jonathan and Chloe. Delilah had married Frederick Casebier. The Casebier files had that Frederick died in 1826 in Indiana. There were several of Jonathan's family in Morgan Co., IL in the 1830s. Some went to Pike Co., IL some to Iowa and some to Missouri. What had happened to Delilah was not known.

Apparently John Weatherman took Delilah to Polk Co., MO in 1840. On that same Census page is found Absolom Burdine Casebier, Delilah's nephew from her sister Elizabeth. The family of Elizabeth who had married David Casebier is large and thriving. David was a brother to Frederick. This is the common story of two brothers marrying two sisters. But nothing was known about a family for Delilah and Frederick. Now we have a glimmering. By 1850 the Weathermans hadmoved to Taney Co. where Sue's ancestor Benjamin Franklin Chenoweth and his brother Joseph had settled (this is a Thomas, Jr. line) John Weatherman died about 1855. In 1860 Delilah is again listed and aged 8 years to 63 and with her is Minerva Casebier age 33 born in Indiana. This is apparently the same M. as listed in 1850 as a Wetherman. According to the Weatherman family, the last of the children of John (all by his first wife) was born in 1820. It is most probably that Minerva was then a child of Frederick and Delilah.

Delilah should be a bit older than the Census states, but there is little doubt that this is she. And though it gives us only a glimpse at her family, it tells us something important: she and Frederick had children. Since they were married in 1808 and Minerva was born in 1825, there are likely to be several children, maybe daughters who we do not know. The mystery of her family remains, but we have gotten a peek under the curtain.

I called Mary Elizabeth Padden with the news. Mary is 94 and just lost her husband in February. Remarkably she is still living on her own. Mary was an ardent researcher and family historian of the Casebier families of Elizabeth Chenoweth. She lives in Tacoma, WA. Though I have never met her, we have exchanged a few letters over the years and I have talked to her several times on the phone. She is quite a lady, the first of many "Grand Dames" of Chenoweth research that I was to become acquainted with. I had found her Casebier file on the second WFT CD produced in early 1996. The file had astounded me and this was before Broderbund had developed a method for revealing the name of submitters. This file burbled with life, fat and thick. I searched earnestly through the file to see who could have done this. Researchers are usually found in the thickest part of a file. Armed with a phone disc I found a Joan Muth in Bellevue, WA. Years later my daughter Ally would be in the same high school class at Seattle Prep as Joan's son and they would joke about being cousins.

Joan suggested I call Margaret Grondlund in Tacoma. Margaret told me to call Mary Padden. She also said she had a family history that Mary had written and that she would kindly send it to me. This was one of the earliest family studies I had looked at and it was full of well-documented material.. I was in awe. At that point I had never looked at any microfiche and research was something beyond my ken. I am still somewhat of a novice at it today. It turned out that Mary had not submitted the file after all. Roger Smith of Ontario did that. Roger had taken Mary's work and enhanced it with his own research bringing it more up to date and then putting it all into a file that he submitted to Broderbund. A few months later Roger's son found me and eventually Roger sent me the detail printout of the file. Today the Casebier research comprises two webpages under Jonathan. I have added very little to it.

As you can tell, I have fond memories of all this that became an early part of the Chenoweth database. I was pleased to have been able to relay the information on Delilah to Mary and find her still there, though saddened by her recent loss. Mary's voice always had a light twinkle of laughter to it. Genealogy must keep a person young and happy. I have met too many amazing octogenarians and beyond for this not to be true.


DNA, The Lastest in Technology

Over the past several issues we have provided a steady stream of information with regards to the DNA Project. The reasoning behind this is that this project is the next step in developing the Chenoweth Family Lineage. Only so much information can be gathered from Census's; Death, Birth and Marriage Certificates; and exhaustive microfiche research.

Just as stories and family histories can be lost as elderly family members pass away, so can the opportunity to obtain a DNA sample disappear as male descendancy fades from lines.

Many articles have been sent to Jon Egge and myself documenting success in other family lines using DNA research. A recent newspaper article discussed the success that US Ambassador to the UN Andrew Young had in tracking his heritage to Africa, through DNA supplied to the "African Ancestry" (a database of more than 22,000 African lineages).

The technology that is used in our project is that of cheek cells. This method is shown on many television programs including such programs as CSI and Forensic Files. A painless method using a cotton swab to extract saliva and cells from the inner portion of the cheek. This method costs the donor $195.

Since the purpose of the project is to document and preserve the Chenoweth Lineage, we have contracted with Relative Genetics of Salt Lake City, UT to manage the results. Using Y chromosome tracing (a DNA identifier passed from male to male) we are able to track the male lineage of John(1). Results from the Y chromosome test are given in terms of the number of repeating sequences of DNA molecules at 26 different Y chromosome positions called allele. The number and type of Alleles that match, between 2 samples, indicates the matching lineage.

When the project started our goal was to document the DNA of the 5 2nd generation sons. Realizing the importance of a more complete baseline, we have expanded our goal to the 97 4th generation sons. A massive project? Maybe but realize this: there are 2 3rd generation sons that we know nothing about; there are 19 4th generation sons that we know nothing about; 9 4th generation sons have no descendants or no sons (only daughters). This leaves us with a possible 59 4th generation Chenoweth sons to get samples from. At the present time have only 2 of these sampled.

With this data established we can more accurately support the identification of unknown lines, providing a DNA sample is submitted by them, for comparison. Maybe we can even place children within lines that we knew little, if anything, about.

During this year's reunion, Diahan Southard, Relative Genetics of Salt Lake City, will speak on the progress we have made and where this technology will take us in the future.


Peter Chenoweth, Project Coordinator & editor, Hephzibah, GA .... Comments and Contributions Email: p.chenoweth@comcast.net
Copyright c 2004 by Peter Chenoweth and Jon D. Egge. All Rights Reserved. Any republication of this page material for personal use requires inclusion of this copyright. Any other republication of this page material requires the express consent of the editor.