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VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 - SEPTEMBER 2009
EDITOR: PETER C. CHENOWETH - E-MAIL: p.chenoweth@comcast.net
WEBMASTER: JON D. EGGE - E-MAIL: jegge@chenowethsite.com

Wayne Township Property Listed on National Register of Historic Places
(Wayne township, Huntington Co, IN)

Submitted by Rebecca Sue & Jennifer Lynn Dillon9 (Donna Willodene8 Kierstead, Susan Elizabeth7 Coulter, Anna Jane6 Chenoweth, Joel5, Jacob4, William S.3, John2, John1)

The Wayne Township farm named �Shadybrook�, officially known as the Chenoweth-Coulter Farm, has been listed on the National Park Service�s National Register of Historic Places.

To be considered for the Register, a property must exhibit significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. Nominations are subject to at least two reviews at the State Level (Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology within the Department of Natural Resources) prior to review by the National Park Service. This property was deemed significant for agriculture (the land has been farmed continually since initial homesteading in 1835), and architecture (the Greek Revival, three-bay I-house style). The farm includes 8 �contributing resources�: house, well house, wood house, garage, chicken house, drive-through corn crib, bank barn and privy.

[HOME]�The farmstead, developed from 1866 through circa 1930, retains its historical integrity of design, workmanship, materials, setting, location, feeling and association. The integrity of the house on the Chenoweth-Farm, as well as the fact that the farmstead remains intact, is unique within Huntington County and is the reason that this property is eligible for the National Register under criteria A & C� (agriculture and architecture).

The area now known as Wayne Township was first settled in March of 1835. Original landowner Anderson Leverton�s family was the third family to settle here, having moved from North Carolina, to claim 160 acres in April of 1835. Oral family history states that upon arriving, the family found wilderness and wildlife, one white neighbor, with the remaining, Indians. A Herald-Press newspaper article circa 1965 stated: �Evolving from the first Protestant group, established in Huntington, the First Methodist Church dates back to 1836 when services were recorded as being held in the home of Anderson Leverton in Wayne Township�.

[DIRECTORS]After Leverton�s death in 1864, the farm passed to daughter Elizabeth (the first of 5 generations of daughters to live there) and husband Joel Chenoweth who built the current house in 1866 from bricks which were burned on the property. Hand-hewn poplar cut from the woods was used to build the bank barn in 1870. Additional structures were added during the Chenoweths� lifetime. In 1907 and 1908 several oil & gas wells were drilled and much livestock was raised in addition to the crops being produced.

The Chenoweth�s daughter Anna Jane and husband Hiram Coulter took possession in 1908, farming and adding more buildings, until his death in 1925. At that time, it passed to their daughter (Susan) Elizabeth and husband Charles Kierstead who did extensive interior remodeling in the 1940s and 1950s. During their years at the farm, they named it �Shadybrook�, noting the creek which winds through the woods. Mr. Kierstead did most of the farming but did have assistance prior to renting the land for tenant farming. A few acres were sold to a neighbor during the 1960s, and there was still livestock on the property at this time.

After the death of Mrs. Kierstead in 1966, her daughters (Donna Willodene Dillon and Betty Jane Nightenhelser) shared ownership until Willodene and husband Noel Dillon took ownership in 1967. No livestock were present after the late 1960s and the land was tenant-farmed. Some additional acreage was sold to a neighbor at this time, leaving approximately 122 of the original 166 acres.

Upon Mrs. Dillon�s death in 2004, the property passed to the current owners, daughters Rebecca Steinmetz and Jennifer Hernandez who initiated the inquiry regarding Register eligibility. After the initial contact with the late David Schenkel, David Duvall (State Historical Architect), and Catherine Wright (Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana) provided the professional assistance necessary for submitting the nomination.

Other honors and publicity concerning this farmstead: 1948-Centennial Farm Family Award (Indiana Historical Society), and featured article in the Herald-Press, November of 1948; and 2006 -Sesquicentennial Farm Family Award (Indiana Historical Society) and listing on the Indiana Registry of Historic Sites and Structures (Indiana Department of Natural Resources).


[COAT-OF-ARMS] ITEMS IN THIS ISSUE
Time at the Top

[PETE]Peter Clinton Chenoweth, Chairman

The other day I was going through a box of papers left to me by my father when I found a cute little poem entitled �Foolish Questions�. Now a days a Blue Collar comedian by the name of Bill Engvall calls it �Here�s Your Sign�. Let me take this opportunity to share it with you.

Foolish Questions

Foolish Questions and perhaps you wonder why,
A fool is sure to ask them and expect a sane reply.
Like when you take your girl a box of candy after tea,
You notice how she brags and then asks �Is this for me?�
Foolish questions, you answer if you can
�No, it�s for your father, or for John the hired man,�
�I thought I�d let you see it, now I�ll take it all away.�
Now there�s a foolish question you might hear most any day.

And when you�ve been away from home for many days and weeks
What does your best friend say to you the first time you he seeks?
He�ll come right up behind you and slap you on the back,
And nearly knock you over as he asks, �Are you back?�
Foolish question you hand him quite a line,
�No, I�m traveling in Europe, I�m in Berlin on the Rhine,
Or, I�m visiting in China and I won�t be home til May.�
There�s another foolish question you could hear most any day.

And always in the morning there�s a fool around the place,
Who sees you take your shaving brush and lather up your face,
And when you give the razor a preliminary wave,
That fool is sure to ask, �Hey, are you gonna shave?�
Foolish questions, you�ll answer him I hope,
�No, I�m not prepared to shave I just like the taste of soap,
And so I take my shaving brush and lather up this way.�
Now there�s a foolish question you might hear most any day.

And when the elevator boy forgets to close the doors,
And when you go tumbling down the shaft, past twenty-seven floors.
And when you hit the bottom and are laying there inert,
Some fool is sure to ask you, Say mister, are you hurt?�
Foolish questions your dying words I know,
Are �I was in a hurry and the darned thing was too slow,
And so I thought I�d save some time by coming down this way�
There�s a foolish question you won�t hear another day.



IN MEMORIAM HONOR ROLL

With thanks and appreciation to Dot Tucker-Houk of Maryland who makes much of this list possible each newsletter.

age 87 - JACKSON ARNOLD9 SPRINGSTON (GEORGE GRAY8, MASSALONA7 CHENOWETH, ROBERT JAMES6, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born October 25, 1921 in Spencer, Roane Co., WV, and died August 14, 2009 in North Carolina. He married MARIE ELIZABETH ADAMS May 27, 1943 in Lawton, Cherokee Co., OK, daughter of EDWARD ADAMS and ELIZABETH JENSEN. [Jack contacted me in 1997. He had an abiding love of the family's genealogy and patiently helped me expand the families of Massalona Chenoweth and the families of her father, Robert James Chenoweth. I will always be indebted to him for his help. I had first gotten his name from Pete's research]

age 72 - SHARON LYNNE10 WATKINS nee KELLEY (ELMER LEROY 'BILL'9, ALBERT FREDERICK8, ELI7, RUTH6 CHENOWETH, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 19, 1936 in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA, and died May 29, 2009 in Washington. She married (1) PAUL THOMAS FISCHLIN May 03, 1958 in Fife, Pierce Co., WA, son of FRANK FISCHLIN and ROSE SUTER. She married (2) A.C. "JIM" WATKINS. [Sharon lost her fight with cancer. I met her father Bill in Puyallup. Her sister-in-law Kathy Maki Kelley was instrumental in detailing this family.]

age 85 - RUTH ELIZABETH CHENOWETH nee CAREY, daughter of PAUL CAREY and LENA BELL, was born June 17, 1923 in Mercer Co., PA, and died April 06, 2009 in Mercer Co., PA. She married October 31, 1942 ALBERT FLOYD9 CHENOWETH (THEODORE CHARLES8, GEORGE WASHINGTON7, HICKMAN6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) He was born May 19, 1919 in Sheakleyville, Mercer Co., PA, and died April 15, 1996 in Hadley, Mercer Co., PA. [The Chenoweth Family in America page 42]

age 48 - ANNE MARIE CHENOWETH nee LUTE was born January 28, 1961 in Southbend, St. Joseph Co.,IN, and died May 10, 2009 in Larimer Co., CO. She married May 18, 1985 in Larimer Co., CO ROBERT RAY10 CHENOWETH, JR. (ROBERT RAY9, ROLLAND GEORGE8, JOHN DOTHERDY7, ISAAC NEWTON6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1). [This is part of the work of Ann Young of Arizona on the West Virginia brothers that came to Colorado]

age 79 - VANNETTE RITA9 CHASE nee CHENOWETH (CARL MASON8, WILLIAM JACKSON7, CYRUS PEPPER6, JEHU5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born March 25, 1930 in Koyukuk, AK, and died June 11, 2009 in Seattle, King Co., WA. [I first learned of Vanette from Noel Chenoweth in 1996.]

age 83 - BERNARD DICE9 CHENOWETH (ROY PERRY8, PERRY WEESE7, JOHN SKIDMORE 'JS'6, JEHU5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born March 04, 1926 in Elkins, Randolph Co., WV, and died August 19, 2009 in North Carolina. He married ELEANOR McQUAIN Abt. 1946. [The Chenoweth Family in America page 71]

age 84 - MILDRED HAZEL CHENOWETH nee PHELPS was born May 28, 1925 in Beaver Creek, Lincoln Co., OR, and died June 14, 2009 in Portland, Washington Co., OR. She married CLIFFORD H.9 CHENOWETH (RAY CLARENCE8, EDWIN DUNCAN 'EDWARD'7, EDWIN DUNCAN6, GABRIEL5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) He was born September 1926 in Oregon, and died September 08, 1961 in Marion Co., OR. [This is a bit of an assumption. From death records, Clifford's wife was a Mildred the rest is extrapolation.]

age 37 - JASON CARTER HUSKEY12 PITMAN (JOYCE ANN11 CHENOWETH, CHARLES RICHARD10, CHARLES A. 'CHARLEY'9, THOMAS ADISON8, JOHN BENTLY7, WILLIAM HAYCRAFT6, JACOB VAN METER5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 17, 1972 in Ottawa, Franklin Co., KS, and died April 30, 2009 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO. He married (1) CONNIE WALKER. He married (2) SHELLY MEEK February 22, 2003. She was born January 01, 1970, and died February 17, 2007. [Jason is in the file from Sandra Kay Wilson of Illinois in 1998. ]

age 57 - LAWRENCE EDWARD10 BROOK (LEROY ERNEST9, OTIS K.8, RACHEL ALICE7 CHENOWETH, ARTHUR6, ABRAHAM5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 05, 1941 in Kansas, and died May 17, 2009 in Calfornia. He married SHIRLEY LUCILLE CLARK May 21, 1962. [Lawrence was recently added by Elizabeth Brook Thieme, author of "It's Within", a memoir]

age 86 - WALTER NICHOLAS 'BUCK'9 SAIGLING, JR. (FELICIA8 ANDREWS, ORA SUSAN7 FORMAN, WILLIAM6, RUTH5 CHENOWETH, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 26, 1922 in Collin Co., TX, and died March 24, 2009 in Collin Co., TX. He married FRANCIS MARGARET MORRISON. She was born July 12, 1921, and died August 28, 1988. [Like most of the Forman information, Buck was added from the research of William A. Forman.]

age 52 - DEBRA FAYE BALDWIN nee NEWBERRY was born December 06, 1956 in Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., TX, and died June 17, 2009 in Arlington, Tarrant Co., TX. She married September 21, 1973 in Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., TX. BILLY BERK10 BALDWIN, JR. (BILLY BERK9, VANCE CHENOWETH8, ELLA LEE7 CHENOWETH, ABRAHAM BIRKHEAD6, JAMES HACKLEY5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) [Debra was added to the file by Myrl Ross.]

age 62 - SANDRA JOAN 'SONNIE'9 HOUSE nee CHENOWETH (GRASE KYLE8, ROBERT ROSS7, ROBERT ATKINSON6, JAMES HACKLEY5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 02, 1937 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, and died June 02, 2009 in Overland Park, Johnson Co., KS. She married WILLIAM ROGER HOUSE December 15, 1961 in Jackson Co., MO. He was born September 01, 1936 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, and died August 01, 1988 in Overland Park, Johnson Co., KS. [Sandra contacted me in 1998.]

age 84 - MARY LOUISE REICHELDERFER was born September 03, 1924, and died October 12, 2008 in Ohio. She married ROBERT E.9 REICHELDERFER (RUSSELL8, BERTHA7, PHOEBE ANN6 CHENOWETH, JAMES R.5, ABSOLUM4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) [We didn't know Mary's maiden name. Peter found this in obit work in 2008 for this family line that settled in Perry Co., OH about 1812]

age 90 - CAROL9 FORTHOFER nee KENDALL (ORREL ALICE8 RYER, LUCRETIA CAROLINE7 STANTON, MALINDA6 WILSON, ELEANOR5 CHENOWETH, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born October 30, 1918 in Indianapolis, Marion Co., IN, and died April 30, 2009 in Maryland. She married ROBERT J. FORTHOFER. He was born August 16, 1917, and died April 05, 2001 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., MD. [Carol was added to the file by Jackie Ryer Parr in 2005]

age 84 - JOHN DOUGLAS9 CHENOWETH (OSCAR IVAN8, JOHN ANDREW7, WILSON6, JOSEPH5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 17, 1924 in McMinnville, Yamhill Co., OR, and died July 03, 2009 in Oregon. He married ADELE ANGELINE PICKERING June 25, 1955, daughter of AVERY PICKERING and FLORENE REED. She was born January 25, 1928. [Finding John's name in the SSN listings was a bit of a shock. I contacted John in 2000 and he got interested in gathering family information for me. I will always remember his help with this part of the Washington Co., IN families that came to Oregon about 1915.]

age 76 - EDNA LOUISE9 YOUNG nee CHENOWETH (OREL KENNETH 'PECK'8, JAMES HENRY7, ELIAS BIRDINE6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born April 08, 1933 in Fulton Co., IL, and died June 02, 2009 in Arkansas. She married DONALD WAYNE YOUNG June 12, 1954. He was born January 11, 1933 in Vermont, Fulton Co., IL, and died March 12, 2002 in Clarksville, Johnson Co., AR. [Edna has the same name as my mother, who always went by Louise. It would have been fun to meet her. The Chenoweth Family in America page 173]

age 64 - VIRGIL W.9 CHENOWETH, JR. (VIRGIL W.8, EZRA WILLIAM7, MILTON ANDREW 'MILT'6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 22, 1944 in Illinois, and died March 27, 2009. [We know very little about Virgil. Added by Peter, he is part of the vast families of William of Fulton Co., IL]

age 59 - NATHAN THOMAS9 VICK (MORRIS NATHAN8, JAMES ANDREW7, NANCY6 HENRY, RACHEL5 CHENOWETH, NICHOLAS RUXTON4, THOMAS3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 15, 1949 in Parker Co., TX, and died January 09, 2009 in Longview, Gregg Co., TX. [Nick was found from work with Texas birth records. James Andrew Vick came to Texas from Williamson Co., IL about 1890]

age 78 - CARL WILLIAM9 POOR, JR. (RUTH IMOGENE8 CHENOWETH, WALLACE CARROLL7, ALBERT WHITE6, HENRY S.5, JAMES FRANCIS4, THOMAS3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 30, 1930 in Wheaton, Barry Co., MO, and died November 09, 2008 in North Carolina. He married NADINE WRYE [Carl's mother was my grandfather's niece. The family lived in Wheaton, where Carl's father ran a store. Carl's name came to me by my uncle, Harry Holt Chenoweth. I learned of his death by a bizarre contact from a lady in North Carolina who had obtained boxes of memorabilia from Carl's estate sale. I still don't know how much money she was asking for the letters and pictures, apparently what I offered was not enough. I did manage to obtain a picture of my great grandfather, Albert in his Civil War uniform. I suppose the rest is lost forever.]

age 79 - MARIE MYRTLE FRISCO was born April 06, 1920 in Minnesota, and died June 29, 2009 in Florida. She married August 07, 1943 JOSEPH FRANCIS HENRY9 CHENOWETH, JR. (JOSEPH FRANCIS HENRY8, MILROY MILTON7, JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVIESS6, THOMAS JEFFERSON5, THOMAS4, RICHARD3, JOHN2, JOHN1) [Pete's research]

age 54 - AFTON CHARLES 'CHUCK'9 CHENOWETH, JR. (AFTON CHARLES8, CHARLES ROSS7, JOHN RUSSELL6, JAMES ROSS5, ABSOLUM4, ABSOLUM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 22, 1954 in Dania, Broward Co., FL, and died June 17, 2009 in Citrus Co., FL. He married (1) DEBORAH ANNE WICK March 08, 1971 in Pinellas Co., FL.. He married (2) GRACE M. (PIPKIN) HUNERS October 07, 1972 in Pinellas Co., FL. He married (3) PATRICIA ANN (CARPENTER) AERTS. (4) SUSAN LOSTRAGLIO July 22, 1984 in Pinellas Co., FL. He married (5) JULIE MAULDEN COLLINS [Pete came up with Afton's name after we had placed this line of John m: Lucy Williams into the line of Absolom, Jr. as John Russell, the son of James Ross Chenoweth]

age 86 - DOROTHY ELIZABETH8 JESSEE nee CHENOWTH (ROBERT GRAHAM7, JOHN ADDISON 'GUS'6, JOHN AUGUSTUS5, NICHOLAS4, JOHN3, RICHARD2, JOHN1) was born October 11, 1922 in Lordsburg, Hidalgo Co., NM, and died May 11, 2009 in New Mexico. She married (1) WILBUR JOSEPH 'BILL' PERRY December 06, 1940. He was born March 30, 1914 in Trinidad, Las Animas Co., CO. She married (2) CARL EDWARD JESSEE December 06, 1948 in Los Angeles Co., CA. He was born December 12, 1919 in Mangum, OK, and died April 07, 1989 in Carlsbad, Eddy Co., NM. [Dorothy was added to the file from the 1930 Census and other information from her daughter Linda West. The Arizona family of Gus Chenowth is distinct in it's spelling.]

age 90 - THOMAS OLIVER8 CHENOWETH (JACOB WILKIE7, THOMAS BEASMAN6, JOHN BAXTER5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born August 02, 1918 in Trinidad, Las Animas Co., CO, and died June 12, 2009 in Louisburg, Miami Co., KS. He married EVA LORAINE SIMPSON November 06, 1942, daughter of CHARLES SIMPSON and MARTHA BOGNER. . [The Chenoweth Family in America page 305]

age 84 - LOANNA E. CHENOWETH nee SIMMONS was born in 1925, and died July 22, 2009 in Indiana. She married ROBERT LEON9 CHENOWETH (CARL WILLIAM8, WILLIAM LINCOLN7, JOHN THOMAS6, WILLIAM THOMAS5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1). He was born March 02, 1920 in Indiana, and died August 20, 1967. [I had a phone conversation with Loanna in 2001.]

age 79 - JAMES D.9 HOSTETTER (THELMA LUCILLE8 CHENOWETH, GEORGE FREMONT7, EDWIN MILTON6, WILLIAM THOMAS5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born November 07, 1929 in Fort Wayne, Allen Co., IN, and died May 28, 2009 in Fort Wayne, Allen co., IN. He married EMILY. [Obit work by Dot]

age 82 - MARGARET ETHEL CHENOWETH nee WAKEFIELD, daughter of HERBERT and MARGARET WAKEFIELD, was born April 04, 1927 in Delagua, Las Animas Co., CO, and died August 08, 2009 in Colorado. She married June 01, 1947 in Trinidad, Las Animas Co., CO ALBERT BUTLER8 CHENOWETH (JACOB WILKIE7, THOMAS BEASMAN6, JOHN BAXTER5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) [Pete's survey with spouse]

age 80 - VIOLA G. 'VICKI'8 FULLER nee KLEINHENN (NINA GERTRUDE7 CHENOWETH, HARLAN STARKEY6, JOHN WILLIAM5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born June 11, 1928 in Springboro, Warren Co., OH, and died May 20, 2009. She married EARL 'GUS' FULLER He died in 1981. [Credit for Vicki goes to Dot's vigilant work with obits]

age 68 - ELAINE IRIS CRAMER nee BEASOCK was born July 30, 1940, and died November 03, 2008 in North Tonawanda, Niagara Co., NY. She married JAMES8 CRAMER (ARTHUR ERNEST7, ADELLBERT C. 'DELBERT'6, BARBARA JANE5 CHENOWETH, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) [Elaine is from Candace Cramer, who's ancestry tree on her husband's family I recently found]

age 65 - DOROTHY LOUISE CHENOWETH nee SPEAR, daughter of JOHN SPEAR and MARJORIE BLUE, was born August 20, 1943 in Urbana, Champaign Co., OH, and died June 29, 2009 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH. She married DONALD LEROY8 CHENOWETH (FRANCES AMELIA7, JAMES HAMPTON6, THOMAS BENJAMIN5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) [Dorothy was added from a phone call with Donald in 2001. These are Warren Co., OH Chenoweths.]

age 83 - RUTH ALLEN ALBRIGHT nee MANN was born June 29, 1926 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA, and died July 10, 2009. She married EDWARD LEAMON9 ALBRIGHT (FLORA VIRGINIA8 MORRIS, MARY JANE7 LEATHERS, PERMELA PARALEE6 WOOD, RACHEL5 CHENOWETH, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN4, THOMAS3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) He was born October 01, 1923 in Anadarko, Caddo Co., OK, and died April 25, 1980 in Los Angeles Co., CA. [David Eugene Albright contributed his mother's name. Most of the work on Rachel's Wood family was done by Sue Solomon and Bennie Winfield]

age 93 - ROY MELVIN SPENCER, son of FRANK SPENCER and MARY MURPHY, was born October 28, 1915 in Sacramento Co., CA, and died August 07, 2009 in California. He married DOROTHY8 CHENOWETH (MERLE7, SIMEON6, HEZIKIAH5, JOHN FOSTER4, ELIJAH3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) [Dot added Roy's name, but more detail was added by a phone call and letter from Dorothy's sister, Ruth Young]

age 47 - GREGORY ERROL9 BORROR (HARVEY DALE8, ALVIN JONAS7, ELSIE6 CHENOWETH, JOSEPH HILL5, ELIJAH4, ELIJAH3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born March 16, 1961, and died October 17, 2008 in Ohio. He married KELLY BLUE, daughter of BILL and JANET BLUE. [Greg was added to the file from WFT Vol 15 # 0322. An Ohio family of over 210 years.]

age 57 - DENNIS ROBERT8 CANDINI (RUBY CLEO7 CHENOWETH, RALPH6, JAMES HENRY5, NOAH4, ABRAHAM3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born October 26, 1951 in San Joaquin Co., CA, and died December 07, 2008. He married STEPHANI K. LANGE April 03, 1971 in San Joaquin Co., CA [Information on Dennis came primarily from his daughter Emily Worden Candini]

age 82 - BETTY LYNN PETEET nee BROWN was born July 07, 1926, and died November 14, 2008 in Tarrant Co., TX. She married October 09, 1971 in Tarrent Co., TX RECTOR BURWELL9 PETEET, JR. (RECTOR BURWELL8, JOHN R.7, JOHN6, RICHARD5, SIMEON4, RICHARD3, RUTH2 CHENOWETH, JOHN1) He was born October 02, 1928 in Dallas Co., TX, and died August 12, 1999 in Parker Co., TX [Betty's name was recently added by Kate Alexandra Peteet. It is not often we get details on Ruth's lines. This branch came out to Texas from Georgia before the Civil War]

UNKNOWN LINES:

age 81 - EDRA M. TRUSCHAN nee McMULLIN was born February 09, 1928 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, and died June 19, 2009 in California. She married ARTHUR MAX 'MICKEY'4 CHENOWETH (ARTHUR LOGAN3, ANDREW JACKSON2, WILLIAM1) He was born July 22, 1916 in Iowa, and died July 24, 1968 in Santa Clara Co., CA. [added by her daughter Janet Jensen, Edra was one of 4 wives of Mickey's. William who married in Adams Co., OH is believed to be the son of William of Mason Co., KY, the son of Thomas]

OTHER LINES:

age 66 - ALBERTHA LOUISE4 CHENOWETH (FRANK GARFIELD3, JOHN WESLEY2) was born Abt. 1943 in LIBERIA, and died February 14, 2009 in Pacifica, CA. She married JAMES DOUGLAS HALL, SR. [Albertha is part of the Liberian Chenoweths who have recently returned to the United States. My theory is that these liberated slaves were from the Virginia farms of the families of John and Samuel in Berkeley Co. in the lines of Arthur]

age 93 - CHARLES WILLIAM "BILL" KNAPP, son of ARTHER KNAPP and FLORENCE LATHROP, was born October 20, 1915 in Lancaster, WI, and died January 21, 2009 in San Francisco Co., CA. He married in 1947 in Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN LAVERNE KATHRYN3 CHENOWETH (WALTER ERNEST2, JOHN CHARLES1) She was was born April 25, 1926 in Blair, Trempealeau Co., WI, and died 2001. [John Charles, born in England came to Wisconsin in the first years of the 20th century via Canada]


GRANDDAUGHTERS OF JOHN1
By Jon Egge, WA
(21st Installment of a series � 13th installment on grandchildren.)
Menu of previous series articles

Mary�s Ashbrooks

The name Mary appears 3 times in the 3rd generation, all Virginia born. John's daughter Mary has the biggest line of known descendants. She was the 2nd wife of the Reverend Levi Ashbrook of Hampshire Co., VA. Harris lists 15 children, but 3 of these were from Levi's first wife, said by some to be Mary Pentacost. Actually there appear to be 16 children in all born to Levi. Mary Chenoweth was the mother of 12 of them. Harris did not elaborate on any of the children, except where they were part of the three marriages to Chenoweth daughters of Mary's brother John Chenoweth. Cora Hiatt did not mention Mary's marriage, but did chronicle many details of the Ashbrook-Chenoweth marriages of the daughters of John.

One listing of Levi's children comes from a Chancery Court suit in Randolph County brought by John Chenoweth (Mary's nephew) in May 1798, 4 years after the death of the Reverend Levi. This suit lists all 16 children as parties: John Joiner and Rebecca his wife, Jacob Lunder (sic) and Catherine his wife, Levi Ashbrooke, Theodore Butler and Emma his wife, John Ashbrooke, Edward P(errell) and Rachel his wife, Thomas (Tucker) and Phoebe his wife, Absolom Ashbrooke, Eliz. Ashbrooke, Aaron Ashbrooke, Eli Ashbrooke, Mary Ashbrooke, Rhody Ashbrooke, Amelia Ashbrooke, Wm. Ashbrooke, and Thos. Ashbrooke, heirs of Levi Ashbrooke, dec'd, (Rebecca, Catherine, Levi and Emma being from the first marriage and the other 12 belonging to Mary Chenoweth). The division of these children was given to me by Virginia Duling of Colorado, in part from the March 1841 will of Rachel Ashbrook Parrill. Virginia wrote "she does not list Levi, Jr., Catherine or Rebecca as her siblings. She does mention 10 brothers and sisters by name. She obviously did not consider Levi Jr., Catherine and Rebecca to be her siblings." Another clue to the children is a court proceeding on 15 June 1795 appointing Mary the guardian of the minor children after Levi's death: towit: "Aaron Ashbrook, Eli Ashbrook, Mary Ashbrook, Rhoda, Ashbrook, Amelia Ashbrook, William Ashbrook and Thomas Ashbrook, orphans of Levi Ashbrook dec'd." Backing all this up are many documents of many land exchanges in Hampshire Co., between Levi's heirs after his death.

Levi is credited with service in the American Revolution. He performed many duties in Hampshire Co. He was, as an example, a tax recorder. Greg Wulker thinks he performed marriage ceremonies for many of the Hampshire Co. Chenoweths. These records have never been found. He was the son of Aaron Ashbrook and Hannah Cooke and, today, his Ashbrook descendants form a large block of those surnamed Ashbrook in America. Mary was born October 14, 1748 in Frederick Co., VA. She married Levi about 1768. After Levi's death she remarried to James McBride, who was the father of Sarah McBride that married Mary's nephew, James Chenoweth. As to Levi's and Mary's resting places, Jennifer Lane of Arkansas sent me this passage from William A. Ashbrook, b 1824, son of Lucy Pratt and William Ashbrook (son of Reverend Eli Ashbrook, son of Reverend Levi Ashbrook) who wrote in his diary that he found the grave of Levi Ashbrook �near Romney with several others of the family in a little private burial lot in sight of the B & O RR, on what is known as the Ashbrook Plains�.� The William A. Ashbrook diary also states that after his great grandfather Levi died, Levi's son Aaron went to Fairfield County, Ohio in 1805 and his other children, William, Eli, Thomas and Mary went later, taking their mother in 1810. He wrote that he was satisfied that Mary, wife of Levi, was buried in the Old Turkey Run Cemetery. He found an old sand headstone which had fallen down near the graves of his other great grandparents on which was inscribed: Mary Ashbrook died July 27, 1830, age 81 years, 9 months and 13 days. [Diary in the possession of Phyllis Franklin of Grabill, IN]. The grandson of William A, William Albert Ashbrook, Jr. would publish a large study on the Ohio Ashbrooks in the 1940s. I was fortunate to obtain the details of this study from Keith Ashbrook of Johnstown, Licking Co., OH several years ago, including Keith�s updates.

Like most early genealogy, less is known of the actual life of women and fewer records exist. We have little information on the actual life of Mary. Her family is huge. It is the largest of all 3rd generation daughters, nearly equal to that of her aunt, Hannah Chenoweth Carter, whose family stems from one generation earlier. All 12 children are known to have married and many of their families have been extensively researched. By 1850 there were 68 descendant families, 370 people living in KY, OH, IN, IL, IA, MO and WI. To these numbers we should add 11 families and 59 people for the lines of Levi, Jr. who married Mary Chenoweth, daughter of John of Hampshire Co. and Mary's niece. This addition would add the state of Arkansas into the 1850 mix. By 1860 the combined totals swell to 143 families and 717 people and the locations expanding into TX, TN and KS. The entire family had moved west. The best way to approach a family this large is to examine the individual movement and growth of the 13 children of Levi that fall within the Chenoweth family. A historical note to this were the 3 early marriages between the 3 sons of Levi, 2 of whom were Mary's sons, and the 3 daughters of John Chenoweth, Mary's brother. John Ashbrook married Mary Chenoweth. Absolom Ashbrook married Rachel Chenoweth, both 1st cousin marriages. Their half brother, Levi Ashbrook, Jr. married, Eleanor Chenoweth.

LEVI2 ASHBROOK (AARON1) was born 1738 in Gloucester Co., NJ, and died September 01, 1794 in Hampshire Co., VA (now WV). He married (1) MARY PENTACOST in Virginia. He married (2) MARY CHENOWETH 1768 in Frederick Co., VA, daughter of JOHN CHENOWETH and MARY SMITH. She was born October 14, 1748 in Frederick Co., VA, and died July 27, 1830 in Ohio.

Child of LEVI ASHBROOK and MARY PENTACOST is:

  1. LEVI3 ASHBROOK, b. Abt. 1761, Virginia; d. Unknown; m. ELEANOR CHENOWETH, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. 1774, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Unknown.

    Children of LEVI ASHBROOK and MARY CHENOWETH are:

  2. JOHN3 ASHBROOK, b. Abt. 1769, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. June 28, 1819, Allison Twp., Lawrence Co., IL; m. MARY W. CHENOWETH; b. 1779, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Aft. 1810.
  3. PHOEBE ASHBROOK, b. 1775, Virginia; d. Aft. 1850; m. (1) THOMAS W. TUCKER, Bef. June 20, 1796, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. Bet. 1765 - 1775, prob: Frederick Co., MD; d. Bet. November 1836 - 1840, Illinois; m. (2) JOHN AIKEN, SR., January 01, 1843, Pike Co., IL; b. December 06, 1776, Virginia; d. 1859, Pike Co., IL.
  4. RACHEL ASHBROOK, b. Bet. 1770 - 1774, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Bef. May 25, 1846, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); m. EDWARD PARRELL, Bef. June 1796, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. Bet. 1760 - 1775, Frederick Co., VA; d. 1826.
  5. ELIZABETH ASHBROOK, b. Bet. 1770 - 1774, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Bet. 1809 - 1841, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); m. JOSHUA PETERS, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. August 05, 1769; d. September 14, 1829, Fairfield Co., OH.
  6. ABSOLUM ASHBROOK, b. Bet. 1770 - 1774, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Bef. 1816, Kentucky; m. RACHEL CHENOWETH, Frederick Co., VA; b. 1777, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV).
  7. AARON ASHBROOK, b. January 07, 1780, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. May 12, 1865, Pleasant twp., Fairfield Co., OH; m. ABIGAIL ADAMS PETERS, December 22, 1800, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. June 07, 1782, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. November 24, 1876, Pleasant Twp., Fairfield Co., OH.
  8. ELI ASHBROOK, b. September 23, 1781, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. January 24, 1877, Johnstown, Licking Co., OH; m. CATHERINE CATA PETERS, January 05, 1802, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. April 06, 1784, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. January 01, 1871, Johnstown, Licking Co., OH.
  9. MARY ASHBROOK, b. October 12, 1783, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. March 12, 1875, Blackford Co., IN; m. PHILIP PETERS, Abt. 1798, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. September 02, 1778, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. February 18, 1817, Walnut, Fairfield Co., OH.
  10. RHODA ASHBROOK, b. Abt. 1785, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. November 09, 1871, Wells Co., IN; m. OWEN WILLIAMS, March 07, 1802, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. October 27, 1769, Louden Co., VA; d. October 13, 1843, Pickaway Co., OH.
  11. AMELIA ASHBROOK, b. Bet. 1783 - 1795, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Bef. 1841; m. ? CRAWFORD; b. Bet. 1770 - 1795; d. Unknown.
  12. WILLIAM ASHBROOK, b. October 17, 1790, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. December 07, 1831, Amanda Twp., Fairfield Co., OH; m. PERMILIA ANN PETERS, September 15, 1810, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); b. October 01, 1793, Romney, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. September 27, 1885, Fairfield Co., OH.
  13. THOMAS ASHBROOK, b. June 28, 1793, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. November 27, 1855, Coles Co., IL; m. (1) NANCY WELLS; b. June 07, 1799; d. May 10, 1832, Fairfield Co., OH; m. (2) NANCY BAKER; b. Abt. 1807, Maryland; d. Unknown.

Counting Levi, Jr. there were 7 sons and 6 daughters. The children went 3 separate ways. Phoebe Ashbrook, married Thomas Tucker and moved through Ohio to Illinois, ending up in Pike Co. where so many Chenoweths from the lines of Mary�s nephews, Jonathan and William had resettled from Kentucky. The older sons, Levi, Jr., John and maybe Absolom, who had married Chenoweth daughters, went to Kentucky. The younger children who had multiple intermarriages with the Peters family of Tunis Peters migrated to central Ohio, primarily the Fairfield Co. area. Technically Rachel Ashbrook who married Edward Parrell, never left Hampshire Co. She died without children in the 1840s, her will helping to identify Mary's children. The family of Amelia who is known to have married a Crawford has never been found. Elizabeth Ashbrook married Joshua Peters. Nothing is known currently of her family, but Catherine Peters who married John Chenoweth (the son of Mary's nephew, James) in Fairfield Co., OH, is believed to be a daughter of this family. No known children exist for Absolom Ashbrook, but his widow, Rachel Chenoweth Ashbrook remarried to Henry Dusenbery in Muskingum Co., OH and had two children. This questions whether Absolom really went to Kentucky at all. What becomes the Kentucky lines fall to Levi, Jr. and John. We know a little of Rhoda's family who married Owen Williams, the line is fairly undeveloped and not brought to the 20th century. In 1860 there were only 2 families of this Williams family, totaling 9 people. This leaves however 8 very strong lines to discuss.

Levi, Jr settled in Clark Co., KY by 1790. He and Eleanor had 12 children, Eleanor surviving to the 1850 Census. Only the families of Rebecca Ashbrook who married Joel Board and Levi Louis Ashbrook have been developed to living descendants. What we do know is that these families stayed mainly in Kentucky except for Levi Louis who moved to St. Louis. Here his family became involved in the meat packing business quite successfully. I would refer the reader to the September 2008 article on this family. In 1860 there were 16 families, 75 people, of Levi, Jr. and Eleanor living in KY, IN MO and AR.

John Ashbrook settled in Kentucky (Campbell Co. then Pendleton Co., KY) in the 1790s before migrating to Lawrence Co., IL where he died in 1819. He and Mary Chenoweth had 9 children. We have marriages for each of these children. Five of these are well developed to present day. The family has been very well researched by Virginia Duling of Colorado, a descendant of their daughter Sallie who married Abner Westrope. Abner is an interesting figure in that he was the son of Hannah Bryan, a niece of Daniel Boone. Abner and Sallie married in Illinois, shortly after John's death. They would move to Wisconsin. Rachel, the oldest, married James Collins. Their two known children married and lived in Grant Co., KY. Levi Ashbrook married Sarah Ferguson and moved to Lawrence Co., IL with his father. Last year (2008) I finally acquired 3 cousins in this line. Eleanor Ashbrook married George O'Neal and had two sons. Early on, thanks to Virginia, I met Jeffery Alan Duvall, who helped detail this Kentucky family of Grant Co. William Ashbrook married his cousin Mary Chenoweth, the daughter of Absolom. No children are known from this marriage. Mary would remarry to Joseph Adams, but again, no children are known. They lived in Floyd Co., IN across the Ohio from Louisville. Thomas Ashbrook married Ann Turner in Crawford Co., IL. No children are known, Thomas dying about 1832. Margaret 'Peggy' Ashbrook married John Ferguson in Illinois, a half brother of Sarah Ferguson. They returned to Grant Co., KY raising a strong family of 11 children, 10 of whom would marry. Absolom Ashbrook married Sarah Payton in Floyd Co. Little is known of his sons. George and Clarence. Sarah had a son, Hubert C. Ashbrook, born 5 years after Absolom's death. The father is unknown. Hubert and Clarence are found in Shelby Co., TN in 1860. John Ashbrook married Eleanor Robinson in Lawrence Co., IL. Little is developed in this family. In the 1860 Census there were 29 families, 147 people, of John living in KY, IL WI and TN.

The family of Phoebe Ashbrook Tucker is very large. I was first introduced to this family by Jennifer Lane of Arkansas who joined us at the Bowling Green Reunion. Jennifer had started with the work of Helen Renner titled "Alsbury Gleanings from the Midwest" documenting the families of Phoebe's daughter, Rachel Tucker, who married Brice William Alsbury and her brother Levi Tucker who married Brice�s sister, Sarah Alsbury. But Jennifer has another unusual resource, a diary like notebook that contained hair clippings from various members of Phoebe's family. Jennifer's skilled and patient research has documented many additional children of Phoebe's family. I have been trying to get her to write an article about this work. My present file runs 43 pages or roughly 2500 people from this Tucker line. This is about a third of the whole Ashbrook line of Mary, which exceeds 7,200 people at present. The Tuckers were in Pike Co., OH in 1820 and by 1830 they had settled in Sangamon Co., IL. Shortly afterwards, during the 1830s, many would migrate to Pike Co., IL. Thomas died before 1840 and Pheobe remarried to John Aiken on January 01, 1843 in Pike Co. She and Thomas had 12 children, 7 of whom have been positively identified. These lines, along with 2 other probables, have been developed by Jennifer, 9 of these are known to have married. Besides Levi and Rachel who married the Alsbury siblings, there was Sarah Tucker who married Joseph Clark and Zachariah Rigg, Polly Tucker who married Gentry McGee, John Tucker who married Amy Ann Aiken, a daughter of John Aiken's by his 1st wife, Eleanor Tucker who married Charles Friend, and Amelia Tucker who married Samuel Ingram, probably William Tucker who married Harriett Doughty, and Leven Tucker who married Alvira Matthews. Sixty grandchildren are documented. In 1860 Phoebe's families number 28, totaling 150 people, living in IL, IA, KS, MO and TX.

The next six children to be discussed went to Ohio. Supposedly Aaron who married Abigail Adams Peters was first settling in Fairfield Co. before 1810. Abigail was one of 4 siblings, children of Tunis Peters and and Francinah Addams, to marry into the Ashbrooks. Philip Peters married Mary Ashbrook, Catherine Cata Peters married Eli Ashbrook, and Permilia Ann Peters married William Ashbrook. All came to Ohio as did Tunis and Francinah. The family of Aaron Ashbrook was detailed for me by Andrea Sach of California based on a family study. This line leads to Kris Kristofferson, Andrea's 1st cousin, and a son of Mary Ashbrook. Aaron and Abigail's family consists of 10 children, 8 of whom married. Aaron died May 12, 1865 in Fairfield Co. Tunis Peters Ashbrook, the oldest son married Anna Pence. His sister Francinah married Lewis B. Kagy. John Monroe Ashbrook married Catherine Armstrong. His brother, James Adams Ashbrook, married Rebecca Kagy, a sister to Lewis. Katherine married Samuel Walters and her brother, Eli Peters Ashbrook, married Mary Shaw. Deborah Ashbrook married David Y. McNaughton. Another study found from Edward Q. Johnson of Virginia documented the Cherry family of Aaron's youngest daughter Amelia Ashbrook who married William Cherry. What happened to Aaron is unknown but he may be the unplaced families of Reason Ashbrook of Fairfield Co, whose dates and locations fit well with him. In 1860 there were 19 families, 107 people, of Aaron living in OH and IL.

Aaron's brother, the Reverend Eli Ashbrook, a baptist minister like his father, after settling in Fairfield Co., OH moved to Licking Co., OH by 1820. His son William A. Ashbrook and great grandson, William Albert Ashbrook, Jr., became involved with documenting the genealogy of this family. William Albert Ashbrook, Sr. was a US Representative from Ohio as was his son John Milan Ashbrook. Eli and Catherine had 12 children, all of whom married. Eli was the last of Mary and Levi's children to die, on January 24, 1877 in Johnstown, Licking Co., OH, at the age of 96. Eli's son Jonathan marred his cousin Sarah Rees from the line of Hannah Chenoweth Carter. Francina married Thaddeus Williams. Tunis P. Ashbrook married Anna Kauffman and his brother Absolom married Miranda DeBolt. The sisters Mary, Permelia, Delilah and Juliann married respectively Malhon M. Hoover, Reazen Green, Aaron Baker and William Gates, though no children are known from this last marriage. Hiram married Sarah Ann Jewett. Eli, Jr. married Lovina Green. William, who recorded the family genealogy married Lucy H. Pratt and Rebecca Ashbrook, the youngest daughter married Isreal Pratt. Much of the family still resides in the Johnstown area. In 1860 there were 21 families, 104 people, of Aaron living in OH and IL.

Mary Ashbrook and her husband Philip Peters moved to Fairfield Co., OH having 7 children, 5 of whom would marry. Dawn Hines of Arizona, a descendant, documented this family for me very early in 1996. Phillip died a young man in 1817, in Fairfield Co. Mary, pregnant, with her last daughter appears to have moved to Licking Co., OH where her brother Eli was located. In 1860 she was in Blackhawk Co., IN, living with her daughter, Rhoda Peters McKee and her husband, Peter McKee. Her son Aaron Peters married 4 times the last two being unidentified Ashbooks. Francinah Peters married Salvester Bell, but no children are known. Jonathan L. Peters married Harriet Hopkins, but nothing is known as to what happened to them. Mary Peters married 3 times. The main knowledge of this family is carried by the McKees of Rhoda and Peter. In 1860 there were 10 families, 39 people, of Aaron living in OH and IL.

William Ashbrook married Permilia Ann Peters and lived in Fairfield Co. They had 11 children, 8 of whom would marry. Absalom M. Ashbrook married Phoebe Dunnick. His sister, Minvera, married Phoebe's brother Benjamin Tallman Dunnick. John Mahlon Ashbrook married Fanny Demorest, an immigrant of France and second, Mary Ann Chambers. James would move to St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO where he was a shopkeeper and hotel owner. Edward Ashbrook married Margaret Redman and would remain in Fairfield Co. William married Nancy Hedges moving to Pickaway Co after 1880. Iva married Daniel Kemberling Kellerman. Cecilia married Benjamin Bowman and moved to Indiana, then Illinois. Her sister Linnie Ashbrook married Johnson Bowman, but her family is not yet found. In 1860 there were 10 families, 65 people, of William living basically in Ohio with one family in Indiana and one in Missouri.

Thomas Ashbrook, the youngest son married twice to Nancy Wells, then Nancy Baker. He and the later Nancy would move to Coles Co., IL, where Thomas died in 1855. There were 9 children, 8 from the 2nd marriage. Ethan Ashbrook from the first marriage married Pernelia Conrad. Mary, his half sister, married Henry A. Smith. Ira married Wealthy Clark and Samuel married Almena 'Minnie' Scott. John Ashbrook married Nancy C. Vantrees, but this family has not been found. Wilson married Mary A. Davison and his brother, Alvin Ashbrook, married Susan Leitch. Minirva, the youngest daughter married John L. Lee. It has not been determined what happened to Alton. He may be the Allen Ashbrook who married Mary Miller and is found in the 1880 Census in Moultrie Co. In the last 12 years, I have only been contacted by one descendant of Thomas, David Ashbrook, unfortunately he declined to contribute to the database. As this was a young family in 1860 there were just 4 families, 21 people, of Thomas all living in Illinois.

In the 2000 Census there were 1,984 Ashbrooks in America. This is about a third the size of the Chenoweths. A good portion of these are from Levi's lines. We have documented about 162 Ashbrook surnamed descendants in 1860. Using the same ratio as we know exists with Chenoweths, that would translate to about 650 people in 2000 or one third of the Ashbrook population.


COMMENTS FROM THE CLAN

(The following e-mail was received from a member of the family with regards to the reunion. Comments, articles, questions and other items for this newsletter are always appreciated. - editor)

I appreciate receiving the family newsletter. I find them to be very informative. I wonder if in addition to listing deaths in the family if we could also add births? A little happiness for the family to read and add to their tree.

Please keep up the good work on the family site and newsletters. Don�t pay any attention to the crack pots that complain. There always is some one not happy about something, I say who cares.

9 June 2009
Beth

We do publish births each year, but we only learn of a handful in any given year. The deaths, because of obits and the SSA are much easier, sadly enough. � Jon Egge

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Hi, enjoyed the newsletter as usual, did I ever send you the letter written by Uriah Chenoweth of Poolsville, IN to Timothy Downing 12 Feb 1862? If not I will try and type it out for you.

9 June 2009
Joe Downing

Not only would I like to see it, this would be great to put in the newsletter. Uriah who lived in Tippecanoe Co. was the son of Richard, Mary�s brother. This abuts Warren Co. where there was a Poolesville PO. I only have 2 Uriahs. The other was in Missouri. Assume you are talking about Timothy Downing md: Rachel Davis. We finally got the article on with the work we did in 2007 published in the past newsletter. At present there are 60 some still unpublished articles in the queue. � Jon Egge

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Up to date on our family connection except when I tried the encloser, it is a different program than what I have. I checked back to �08 and found none of the letters are in my file. I enjoy your letters and just expected the attached letters were put into my files. Knowing how busy you are at this time to get everything finished, maybe Peter would e-mail me a copy of the letters whenever he has the time.

9 June 2009
Jo Anne Ross

For some time now we have been using Adobe files for the newsletter as they are universally read by any computer today. I can attach the 08 newsletters if you want (they would be fairly large), but you can also read and print them from the website: http://www.chenowethsite.com/newsletter/nlmenu.htm . � Jon Egge

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Thank you for all the work you put into these newsletters.

9 June 2009
Diana Trivatt

As outlined in the newsletter, Pete and I have doing this for nine years now, and the newsletter has turned into an unimagined success. It would be nice to have other people adding articles, say like a research column where cousins could talk about their own research efforts� I am always trying to grow this family. � Jon Egge

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We have just completed the �Ancestors and Descendants of Jacob and Anna (Gragg) Henkle� (#5-11-6) We should be getting it from the book binders sometime this month. It contains a lot of information about Chenoweth descendants. New births, marriages and deaths along with media information.

9 June 2009
Lee Marklin
Historian, Henkle Family Association � Western Branch

Always good to hear from you. I would be interested in looking at this when it becomes available� I know it has been a huge effort� Maybe someday, I could tackle the early Chenoweths. The file is much too large to include all I have in a book, but an attached CD would work�dreams� Shirley Harris never wanted to write the book, she felt it would stop her research, so Richard did it in her memory. We have gone a good distance and the true structure needs to be put into print. A good deal has been solved in the last 13 years. � Jon Egge

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It has been several years since I contacted you through a magazine notice (Yankee Magazine) asking if my Eleanor Chenoweth could be part the Chenoweth family known to you. Your response was immediate telling me that you had no information on Eleanor but had been researching her. I filled you in with what I had and have enjoyed the results of this accidental finding. You and Jon have done a wonderful job.

I just thought I�d let you know that Donna Wilson Berg and John Nelson Berg have been married for 65 years, having had a courtship of 4 years before we wed since you asked about anniversaries. It was April 20, 1944 in Abilene, TX at Camp Barkley where we were joined together by a Chaplain.

Have had many contacts due to the compilation of the ancestor list. The newsletter was easy to read this time for a person not computer literate. It has been fun.

9 June 2009
Donna Wilson Berg

My husband, Richard Edward Chenoweth, � and I, Mary Ann (Plank) Chenoweth, �are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary on 4 Jul 2009. Our three children, Richard, Jr, Thomas Eugene and Barbara Lynn Chenoweth Strouse (I notice in the newsletter there is a Strouse family mentioned. When my daughter comes up from Florida, I will try to see if they might be related in some distant way) will be celebrating with us, along with our grandchildren. My husband�s father�s name was Arthur Edward and his mother was Renetta Elizabeth Metz.

9 June 2009
Mary Ann Chenoweth

We do appreciate the information and congratulations on the length of your marriages. Jan and I are coming up on our 38th, while Jon and Deanna are celebrating their 34th this month. - Editor

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By late 2007, my 10-year old PC laptop was crashing on a regular basis, with rebuilds required at least every two months�.it was all I could do to attempt to stay organized. I finally bought a new one, but I made the move to Apple and I�ve been trying to get used to it. I do love it, and use Apple software for everything now except my genealogy software. I had to set windows up in a virtual file because the Mac-based genealogy programs were too limiting. I �moved-up� to FTM 16, but I HATE the extra steps to get to notes. So�.I am very seriously considering a change to either RootsMagic or the Master Genealogist. I�ve played with the new the RootsMagic and do like it (I think it is now much better than FTM)� but I�ll have some re-formatting and re-organization to do. If I am going to have to do that anyway, it may be worth it to go all the way with TMG. It is the only software I�ve found that truly organizes around sources as well as families. Any experience with either? I know TMG is supposed to have a steep learning curve, but I doubt I�ll have too much trouble with that (and, better now than when even more brain cells have died).

But, to the main reason for this message � I am finally in a position that I could write a couple of articles for the newsletter�If you are still interested. I thought the first might be a type of �ancestor remembered� story, i.e. general introduction to my Tucker research by writing about my grandmother who preserved what few family heirlooms we have and from whom I heard all of the old family stories when I was young (from cradle into my 30�s). She deserves a memorial � and it would serve as a �base� from which to spring.

As I move into the actual research, I would cover Renner�s extraordinary work in documenting three of the Tucker children � especially given the era in which she gathered the data, then move into the hairbook which allowed so much more confirmation of additional children � and info from those lines. Finally (and briefly), the few that are still unidentified along with potential leads � hoping someone might have some ideas.

If that sounds okay (if not, tell me how to rework it), I have some questions:

  1. How long does one article need to be? I really do not think I can cover even the basics in only one article. Are two or three, to run in successive newsletters, acceptable? If so, I�d like to get both completed before the first one runs. If it takes a third one, I�ll have plenty of time to get it ready by the time it�s needed.
  2. In what format will Peter want the articles submitted? If I can use Word, with indents/bullets/etc., will that be wasted? Can a table be used? Can I add an image of one of the pages from the book of hair?
  3. Since it is my own research, it is very easy to get bogged down in details that may be fascinating to me, but of little interest to general readers. I know you are busy, but would you be willing to �edit� my drafts for readability and interest before I submit them?

Let me know what you think

19 June 2009
Jennifer Lane

Re: computer � I am surprised you didn�t trash this puppy at the first crash� as for genealogy programs I have often heard of researcher�s dissatisfaction with the sourcing capabilities of FTM. As my work is mainly secondary sourcing (except now for Census documentation) it has never been a big concern of mine. As I have gotten older, I find it harder to jump to newer and different things, so I would shudder at having to change programs at this point, and I really don�t have the time to test things out� I am afraid I am not a good resource for the capabilities of genealogy programs�. Unfortunately, to use your insightful phrasing, too many of my brain cells are dead or dying �.. Recently I had a docx file sent to me and finally figured out that it was a new version of MS Word. As my wife has a new computer, so also the new MS Word, I tried to use it to convert the file to something I could read. The new configuration and features of Word were so bewildering that it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to resave the doc in the old format. Ouch. I too need to update my computer as it has suffered the normal MS aging process into frustrating bogginess, but I am not looking forward to having to actually start anew. I am very worried about being able to do the things I do on new software instead of my old trusty Word and Excel that run my macros just fine. The best part of FTM is the outline report.

I am copying this to Pete. We would both welcome your contributions to the newsletter. As I often go off on to tangents of my own that seem to fascinate only me in articles that I write, you could do no worst. I would be willing to edit any copy you want. Pete uses Word and can handle about any format. I do the conversions of that format to the webpages and sometimes it has to be done a bit different, but that is easy stuff. Articles could run say two pages plus and a series of successive articles would be great. I am all for publishing the record and discussing different research techniques and how to analyze data. Articles need to be submitted to Pete just before the start of each quarter. If you want editing then they would need to be given to me a couple of weeks prior. All the things you are asking about seem more than acceptable. Thank you so much for considering this.

What we are doing had the potential to be so much more with the addition for more contributors � Jon Egge

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I always appreciate receiving your Chenoweth newsletter. Thank you so much for the excellent work and your generosity in sharing it. The line of most interest to me as shown on your wesite is Richard C. Chenoweth (1825, MD).

17 Apr 2009
Ginny Sinclair

Always good to hear from a cousin. I hope that our research has benefits for you. � editor

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I hope this letter finds you doing well. I was hoping I could get some info on the 2010 family reunion. Could you tell me where and when it is to beld� I was on the family reunion site early today and was confused as to whether it is in Branson, MO or in Dallas, TX. I would love to come and would like to plan my vacation according to location and date. Thank you for any info.

3 June 2009
Beth Mullins

The reunion will be held in Dallas, TX between 21-25 Jul 2010. Updates with regards to scheduling and reservations will be posted at the reunion website in the near future and Dec 09�s newsletter � editor

**********************

My name is Kevin Ivey, and I am with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the South Kansas Camp based in Wichita, KS (though I live in Garden City)�. We are trying to locate, verify, and document all of the Confederate Veterans buried in Kansas.

I noticed on finsagrave.com that John M. Chenoweth buried in Highland Cemetery is marked with a Confederate marker, with the unit of 67th VA Militia. Due to where he was born and married, I am guessing the headstone is incorrect? Due you happen to know what unit he served in? It does appear he served, as there is a John chenoweth listed as a member of the Wichita UCV (United Confederate Veterans) Camp #1350 in approx. 1920.

27 Apr 2009
Kevin Ivey

The John M. Chenoweth buried in Highland cemetery, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS was born Jun 1847 in Taney Co., MO and died 9 Jul 1931 in KS. I had no knowledge that he served in the War (that doesn�t mean he didn�t). Most of the folk from Taney Co. served in the Confederacy. John did have an older brother James who died in the War, uncertain as to his service, and several cousins who served for the South from Texas. In 1860 he was in Taney Co., MO. � Jon Egge

**********************

First of all, I would like to thank you for all the excellent work on the Chenoweth website! I am a descendant of John4, Jehu, Everett, Okey Everett, Delores Chenoweth. I had a very close relationship with my grandmother before her passing (which was sadly before I had taken an interest in family history) and greatly appreciate the work you have shared. I would like to give my wife�s name for the website. L. Ashley Saville and I were married on 5 Jun 2004. We currently live in Morgantown where she is finishing up law school at WVU. She is originally from Romney where her father is an attorney and local history buff. That brings me to the main reason for contacting you. Do you have/would you like copies of John4�s dead in Hampshire Co.? I went to the courthouse last week to do some research and found several of his transactions in the Forks of Cacapon area. I also found the record of land transfer from William to John in 1751 near the Cacapon river. My biggest surprise was to find that John4�s land was either adjacent to, or overlapped my in-laws camp along the North River!

Let me know if I can be any assistance or provide any information for your research.

27 Apr 2009
David Amtower

Thank you for your interest and the kind words. You might consider writing something on your grandmother for the �remembered Chenoweths page�. � editor

**********************

Hello, I am the daughter of Max Carlton Baker. I started with Ancestry.com & found my grandma & grandpa. I was just curious if this is useful to the site. If you�d like more information, just e-mail me. My grandma died when I graduated High School. It was a long time ago, but I thought she said we were Indian. I remember her researching all of this when I was a kid. Thanks for taking the time.

7 May 2009
Kimberly Lynn Baker (Dinner)

I do recognize this. It is a line of Thomas Chenoweth who married Ann Quirk of Louisiana. The problem is we don�t know how and can only conjecture some possibilities, none of which have I been able to pin down. Cannot help you with anything Indian as I know of no Chenoweth/Indian tie. � Jon Egge

**********************

I just received my-copy of the most recent Chenoweth newsletter.. and have shared it with several of my fellow Chenoweth cousins who are not subscribers. Thanks for what you do to keep the document interesting and frequent! I did what you are doing with my Gibbs family name years ago, so I really appreciate all the work you put in to it!

In the very last paragraph of the newsletter, you ask for �different� kinds of names we have encountered in our research. Below is a note I sent out to one research group I belong to that I thought you would find interesting and useful per your request. Use what you will.

In looking over some books in my family history library I hadn�t cracked in several years, I opened up a 400 page (8.5x11) monster book one of my cousins, Roger Hunt of Gresham, OR, researched and produced titled, �The History of the Nutter Family�. When I first bought it, I was only interested in the back half (my branches). This time, I started reading from page I with the �Introduction�. After reading the first page of the �Forward�, I thought it would be worth sharing with fellow family historians.

If you should descend from any one of the about 50 names included in this overview, it will add some real value. If you are about to become a parent or grandparent and have been looking for some unusually distinct names, the list contains many that are ripe for resurrection; many have not been seen in almost 400 years. The cut and paste story picks up as follows: (it looked �nice� all loaid out in word� we�ll see how the internet scrambles it up!):

�Our original ancestor with that name was Hatevil NUTTER, who sailed to modern-day New Hampshire in the 1630s. Hatevil (pronounced �Hate-evil� and often spelled that way), combined with Nutter made for a most unusual name, and one not likely ever to encountered except for our ancestor. The source of the Puritan name Hatevil almost certainly is from the Bible, where for instance, Psalms 97:10 tells us that �Ye that love the Lord Hate evil�.

An article in the January 1993 New England Historical and Genealogical Register (NEHGR) titled, � A child by Any Other Name� mentions the name Hatevil with the comment: �Two negatives may make a positive, but �Hate Evil� does seem an undue burden for a child to bear. What, for instance, does one used for a nickname? Hate? Evil? The article, written to poke fun at some very strange names encountered in the 146 years of publishing the NEHGR, draws attention to some other almost unbelievable names encountered in Puritanical New England. These names, too strange to make up, were those used by very real people:

Howlong Harris - Wait a While Makepeace
Faintnot Wise - Freegift Tilden
Worthy Price - Wealthy Miser
Thankslord Shepard - Praisever Turner
Thanks Phelps - King Solomon Hall
Hellelujah Brown - Sobriety Stackpole
Admonition Strode - Take Heed Munnings
Discretion Fox - Active Foote
Desire More Irish - Toleration Harris
Seabred Taylor - Sea Delivered Gorham
Untimely Partridge - Eleven Summers
Yet Mercy Shove - Happy Sadd
Wait Swift - Christian Snowman
Cutting Favor - Silent Wild
Resolved Irons - Freelove Pope
Batchelor Hussey - Low Paine
Salem Towne - Bahama Tanner
Florida Shivers - Preserved Fish
Cherry Stone - Contain Sweet
Tuna White - Bird Rice
Supply Ham - Jam Pye
Love Pease - Darling Lord
Friendly Peck - Indearing Jones
Reconcile Winchester - Love Pray

9 May 2009
Tom Wilson

I thank you for the response to my article. There are definitely some unique names here. Maybe some more of our readers will have some to add. � editor


Mary �Victoria� Chenoweth Bales
(15 Mar 1887-28 Mar 1977)

[Victoria]

See next issue for Mary�s story.


Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in: Buying a Computer

(Editor: You really have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on�)

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, �Who�s on First?� might have turned out something like this:


A MOMENT WITH THE WEBMASTER

[Jon] By Jon Egge
Cottage Lake, Woodinville, WA
Descendant of Dr Henry S.5 Chenoweth of Chillicothe, OH
JAMES FRANCIS4, THOMAS3, JOHN2, JOHN1

Some comments on sourcing and 1870 tidbits

(JE: I wrote this article a year ago last fall. Then we were about 20% complete, now we are at about 85%, with John, Arthur and Thomas completed. I have inserted updated numbers in brackets [], so the reader can see the changes during the past year)

Pete and I have started through the 1870 Census. At times I feel I am hopelessly bogged down, it is a large undertaking that will exceed 2,000 [2,100] families, all maybe a bit scarred by the Civil War. From the start I have noticed that very little new families were being discovered in the process, or a least the pace of these discoveries so far, not even half way into the vast families of John(2), is far less than it was for the 1850 and 1860 Censuses we had done. In part the reason for this is that a complete run through of the 1880 has all ready been done though, as of yet, not published. So many things were uncovered in the 1880 Census that there are fewer discoveries to be made in the 1870 run through. The 1870 run through is important and the right preparation for publishing the 1880.

The source notes I have in my file are a hodgepodge. Oh that I had been organized at the beginning! It was a good while before I even realized I should at least be noting where I got material. Not surprisingly the system has evolved in a convoluted manner. At one point I went back and redefined names in the file that were contained in the Harris book. It is not exact and I have to correct entries from time to time, but my present count is that 12,681 names in the main file come from Harris. Cora Hiatt claimed in her book that it contained 4,664 family names and most of these were carried over and are accounted for in the Harris count. The number is probably a little less as Cora did duplicate some things. My file presently has 1,023 names cited to Cora that were not carried over in the Harris presentation. This is due to the criteria that Richard Harris set up to basically exclude female lines other than the initial marriage and family. Though there are a few inconsistencies, the book basically follows that pattern and emphasizes the male lines carrying the Chenoweth name.

At present Peter Chenoweth has 8,526 [8,734] citations in the file. The number was much larger than that, but at some point Pete sent me a box of material and I tried to redefine his entries to his original sourcing. I never finished this and got only maybe half way through it. Halfway is a pretty wild guess. I will never know how much of Pete�s work was from Census research by him. I know it is a large number. My first introduction to Census work was the 1860 Indiana CD I ordered from Broderbond, now genealogy.com. This CD added 188 names to the file at that time. Subsequent emails from Pete, his Chenoweth 1860 list, and the work done by Dot Tucker Houk with a sprinkling of my own contributions account for another 595 [679] names added from 1860 Census during our 1860 Census run through last year. This brings the total 1860 attributions to 783 [867]. The known family size at this time is 6,984 [7,567].

The process involved in the 1850 Census was very complex. The count in my file is 697 names of a current family size of 4,752 [5,081]. Some of this count originates from Pete�s files on the male Chenoweth line, but most of his work in this regard is lost in the Harris count and his original input to me. 218 of this number were added by me from the microfiche CDs offered by Broderbond of various states. They never made one for Ohio and adding in Ohio and other missing states was part of an effort a few years ago in attempting the complete 1850 run through. This involved many trips to the Pacific Archives located on Sandpoint Way in Seattle. It made me acquainted with the laborious process that earlier research involved and that has been so much simplified and eased by present day access to online Census pages and better indexing. As an aside, I have some curious memories about the US Pacific Archives. It is housed in a warehouse building that was used as �an example of terrible architecture� when I was taking an architecture course as part of my undergraduate degree from the University of Washington. Back then I had no idea that I would, almost 40 years later, haunt its halls in Census work. At the time I had no idea that the ugly example discussed by my professor housed the US Census for the Pacific Region. The building is located one block away from my father�s condo. Across the street is the tiny space rented by the Seattle Genealogy Society. This led me to open a membership, and, after my 1850 ordeal, to the knowledge that I could access Census pages though Heritage Quest via the King County Library system and my computer at home.

The 1880 count is 2,195 [2,447] and the vast majority of this count comes from my 2001 purchase of the LDS CD set in Salt Lake City. This work was done over several months and is included in the CD disk I sell. Some day it will be recompiled into the vast complex spreadsheet structure I have developed for the 1850 and 1860 run-throughs and that I am currently working on for the 1870. This large number is the primary reason the 1870 is yielding so few additions. Right now the count is 404 [751] additions. Most all of this, except for maybe a dozen names, have been acquired over the last several years from Pete�s work and my own sallies into Heritage Quest [and 347 names added in the last 10 months]. We are somewhere at this point about 20% [85%] through the 1870 in terms of gathering the scattered details into the organized spreadsheet, slogging through the family of John [Hannah & William]. A few of these I had added this fall while starting to assemble the search list. Pete�s first installment added a total of 3 names to get to this 404. The latest is George P. Peoples who Pete found living with his Aunt Mahala Troutman Chenoweth Irving in 1870. We had not known that Mahala�s sister, Sarah Ann, had had a child. She died in 1865 having married George P. Peoples on January 08, 1860. We had no information on George to this point, but based on Pete�s discovery, I went back to the 1860 Census and finally found Sarah and George living in Linn Co., MO as a newlywed couple. To my chagrin they were right next door to Sarah Ann�s uncle James Hackley Chenoweth. This is a stark reminder when doing census work to look at the immediate surrounding households for relatives. I can�t explain why I hadn�t found them in the 1860 run through. It is good though now to have a date and birth place for George. It is even better to have a son for the couple, but I now wonder what happened to George, Jr.

Elizabeth Ogle was another name added by Peter in this first installment. The Harris book had listed the children of Mary Chenoweth and Elisha Benton Ogle, but Elizabeth had been missing from that listing. She was 5 months old in the 1870 Census, probably born in December 1869 in DeKalb Co., MO. She is not in the 1880 and must have died young. This is a reminder of the worth of checking each and every Census for a family. Part of the value of going through the 1870 is to add these missing details to the family as part of their Census documentation. Mary Chenoweth was the daughter of Gideon, part of Jonathan�s progeny. The third addition was Lulu Caulfield from the Coos Co., OR Census of the family of Joseph Jackson Caulfield. Joseph�s name came originally to me from the wonderful Casebier work of Mary Elizabeth Padden of Tacoma, WA. Mary passed way in 2005 at the age of 96. She was my first real discovery of a Chenoweth researcher. The 1880 Census had added Joseph�s wife and two children Geraldine and Stonewall. Lulu was not in the 1880, and as she was then about 18, maybe she had married by then. She was 8 years old in the 1870 born in Missouri before the Caulfields began their trek west to Oregon. Geraldine was born during that migration in Nebraska and Stonewall Caulfield in Colorado in 1868. We have not found Joseph in the 1860. If he hadn�t married his wife Margaret by then, he married shortly afterwards, resulting in Lulu. Joseph was the son of Mahala Casebier and Owen N. Caulfield; Mahala being a daughter of Elizabeth Chenoweth, probably born in Spencer Co., IN when the Casebier family were close neighbors of Abe Lincoln and his parents. Mahala�s sister, Catherine Crissy Casebier had attended the one room school house with her schoolmate, Abe, 2 years his senior.

So far, these three are it. But each, you can see, is a story and of interest. Last winter (2007), while working with the Hardin Co., KY Percefulls and their 1870 detail, I ran across the entry for Rebecca Percefull who married Jacob Vertrees. This detail had originally come from Carolyn Wimp, herself a Percefull and a wonderful researcher of her family. Beckie was a daughter of Mariah Jane Chenoweth, the oldest of the many daughters of Isaac Calvert Chenoweth. She unfortunately died about 1865 and Carolyn had given me the names of 5 children. We have found 3 of these so far in the 1870 Census. Eliza, the oldest daughter, is living with her father Jacob. Miles and Isaac, the two youngest sons are living with two different relative families: Miles with his uncle Andrew Percefull and Isaac with his aunt Louisiana Percefull Morris. The daughter Mary had not been found and at present we don�t know what happened to her. She was 4 years old in the 1860 Census. Her sister Louisiana Vertrees has not been found either in the 1870, but Carolyn had that she married David Luther and had 3 sons.

Carolyn had that Louisiana died in West Fork, Washington Co., AR. I had not been able to find them and we had no other details. Using a multi year search, I located the family in 1900 In West Fork. Louisiana is listed as Anna. Obtaining dates and places for her husband David and the 3 sons, and armed with the knowledge that the boys were all born in Indiana, I then located them in the 1880 Census of Daviess Co., IN. No wonder I hadn�t found them prior, Louisiana is listed in that Census as Sudela! It was her, though, as in the 1900, as Anna, she states she had 3 children and all the names and dates fit, though in 1880, Everett Luther, the youngest was not yet born. The WWI draft registration added details for Clarence and his brother Everett and allowed me to find them and their respective wives and children in the 1920 Census, Clarence still living in Washington Co., AR and housing his widowed father David, while Everett was in Biloxi, Mississippi. I then found two submitted trees at Ancestry. I have written the submitters in hopes of contacting a cousin from this line. The Ancestry trees have the wrong parents for Louisiana and the wrong age. The Census data I found matches with what Carolyn sent me. This all brightened a dismal rainy Saturday while watching the Seahawks get stuffed in the snows of Green Bay (2008).

Ancestry Beware!

For years Pete and I have relied on Ancestry for finding records and cousins. I have always known there were problems with posted trees, but usually we worked these out by contacting people. We had an advantage as we usually knew the ancestor stuff and were looking for descendants. Recently I took time to look at some of my own ancestor tree on ancestry. I was startled by the mistakes. Of course the ancestry of Dr. Henry S. Chenoweth is wrong as we only recently corrected this long embedded mistake made by Cora Hiatt over 80 years ago. But there was not one reference to a mistake or the correct solution on the ancestry trees, until I recently added the tree of James Frances at Ancestry. The problem is there was no way to highlight the error [this has been recently improved and comments are now allowed]. Ancestry expects you to contact the actual submitters, but the process is cumbersome and often the emails are bad or non-responsive. So there it all sits.

Things were equally frustrating in several other spots. Two have to do with Whites, my personal bane in genealogy. I have known that the father-in-law of Henry is generally assumed to be Robert White. Robert is living with Henry and Lavina in Pickaway Co., OH in 1850. He was born about 1764 in Pennsylvania. On Ancestry, he is given an exact date and born in England with a tree that stretches back into the 1600s and 2 or 3 generations. I had never seen this before, but is it right? Census data is not always right, but I certainly have questions about the switch from Pennsylvania to England. Worse is my other White tree. My grandfather, Henry Edward �Harry� Chenoweth married Minnie Jane Holt also from Missouri. They actually married at the YWCA in Seattle, but Harry had met Minnie in Rocky Comfort, MO while he was working in a caf�. Minnie�s mother was Sarah Ann White who married Napoleon B. Holt. The Holt line goes back to a 1600s immigrant Robert Holt to Virginia; and, because of an earlier start, a much bigger and more complex tree. But it is a lot easier to track Chenoweths than Holts and the Holt tree has lots of holes.

Sarah Ann is the daughter of a Silas White and his wife Susan Selph. Silas came from Georgia and Susan from Virginia to Missouri where Sarah Ann was born. Now on Ancestry, someone has morphed this to the wrong Silas who lived in Indiana. And though that Silas had a daughter Sarah Anne, the dates were off and the information just wrong. My joy was quickly faded and my frustration growing. Then on the Yonce side of my tree (Dr Albert White Chenoweth had married second, Laura Victoria Yonce, the mother of Harry), part of this tree traces back to a Nicholas Cassel. That was another dead end for me, but on Ancestry it is linked to an older Nicholas Cassel. When one views the family of the supposed parents of Nicholas, there is no son named Nicholas, but the link is still there, and very suspect. Yikes there were so many errors I was getting depressed. When you read the help files on Ancestry, they seem to imply that such questions and mistakes can be corrected by post-ems, but as I was to find out these do not apply to posted trees. What a mess. They are creating a boondoggle bigger than the imbedded mistakes at Family Search by the LDS.

There is yet another error. Ancestry has the parents of Mary Smith as being James Moore Smith and Hannah Wilmot. This was an early mistake in my file made by me. No one knows the parents of Mary to my knowledge. James Moore and Hannah Wilmot were the parents of Rachel Ruxton Moore who married my ancestor Thomas Chenoweth. I had somehow, at some point got this in the wrong place. I deleted it when I discovered it, but I certainly recognize it as my brief and unintentional mistake. Now it is embedded at Ancestry, though I never put it there. More grief!

Now don�t get me wrong. There are many wonderful and useful tools at Ancestry. They have some great databases and they have tried to set up a system that helps one do genealogy and find things that you might not see. But one has to be very careful when accepting their hints and it is hard to discern where the root source of the multiple trees that tag into one another lies. It is like an endless circle. And how does one find the right tree?. John Chenoweth has a myriad of trees. Paging through the first 750 listings of trees citing John�s name, I could not find the tree I had posted.

This is a transcript on my chat with the folks at Ancestry. All I can say is beware:

  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): Thank you for contacting Ancestry support. My name is Shawntel. To better assist you, will you please verify your billing address so that I can pull up your account?
  • Jon: replied
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): Thank you. How can I help you today?
  • Jon: I noticed that there were several mistakes in my ancestry posted by others. I read where you have some method called a post-em to call attention to this, but I can not find it. When I tried to do my own tree it auto filled in bad information. So many people use Ancestry that it is wrong to let bad information stay up.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): I am sorry, there's not a way to post corrections to other people's trees. You can contact the user, but that's really all you can do
  • Jon: Then you are responsible for propagating erroneous information. I think this calls what you are doing into serious question. I have the defining website on the Chenoweth family, but it is your information which people are using. Many of the people on the list either can't be contacted or their email is bad.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): I understand your frustration, but we are not able to verify each tree that is submitted by other members, and we encourage all of our members to do so.
  • Jon: I am trying to verify the information, but there is no mechanism to change it or call attention to it.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): I'm sorry, the only thing that you can do is to let the owner of the tree know.
  • Jon: As I told you, that is not often possible. It is a very clumsy thing and you are doing something irresponsible. What is this nonsense then about post-ems.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): It is for actual records, not user submitted trees.
  • Jon: I would seriously suggest you rethink what you are doing. I would have to consider all such information very suspect, but your continued display of it without calling attention to the errors is just plain wrong.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
  • Jon: It isn't an inconvenience - it is spreading bad information - it is just the opposite of what you should be doing.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): I will pass on your feedback, Is there anything else I can assist you with?
  • Jon: No that's it - thanks for your time.
  • Shawntel: (at Ancestry): Thank you for contacting Ancestry.com
  • Jon: That's got to be a joke.

All said, one has to be careful with �older tree roots�, but Ancestry�s collection of records and access to them and the Censuses is quite marvelous. Besides the newer leafy limbs are always a good source to find cousins and researchers.

[this article was written before recent ancestry update where they had at least given comment capability to errors. Maybe some of this stuff can be cleaned up.]

A probable fit for Joe

The twenty year gap left by the destruction of the 1890 Census has created a number of puzzles. In 1997 I was contacted by a John Dill who had run across a Chenoweth family in South Missouri that tied in to a branch of the Dill Genealogy through Luella Mangrum who was the daughter of Elizabeth Dill. Luella had been married to a Joe Chenoweth who died before 1900. In the 1900 Census, Luella, remarried to Benjamin Harris, is living in Ozark Co., MO with her 3 Chenoweth children: John Henry, Fannie, and Alonzo Hamilton. The family continues in that area through the 1930 Census. It was pretty hopeless looking for a �Joe� Chenoweth with no associated date. Census information indicates that Joe was born in Missouri. The spelling of Chenoweth was quite butchered in the Censuses. In 1900 Chimmieworth is used. This appears to have morphed into Cheneyworth in 1910 thru 1930.

In the fall of 2007, Pete found the WWI draft registrations of John Henry and Alonzo. John Henry was the first born son, born on April 18, 1888 in Linn Creek, MO. When I looked up this location I found it in Camden Co., MO. There was only one Chenoweth family that I know of in Camden Co., that of George Washington Chenoweth, the first born son of Richard Chenoweth and his paramour and eventual wife, Ellen Hammer. George was born December 14, 1815 in Knox Co., TN and like his father Richard, sired children well into his 60s, the two by his 2nd wife Delila Elizabeth Sortar. The son of that marriage, John P. Chenoweth accompanied their widowed mother Delila to Texas in the mid 1890s. A few years ago, I was able to contact descendants of John P and mentioned this fact in the September 2004 newsletter highlighting the fact that Billy Wayne Chenoweth, John�s grandson, was the last born male of the 7th generation that I know of. There are other interesting details about the family of George Washington. George married Nancy Minton Nester on August 27, 1835 in Knox Co., TN. They had 13 children and George fathered two more by his 2nd wife. Only 6 of these children are listed in the Harris book, and there are gaps about our knowledge of this family. In February of 1998, I was contacted by Terry Davison, who descends from Nancy and George�s daughter, Henrietta who married Joseph Warner Lane in 1867 and then Abel Ahart in 1878. Terry came up with a listing of the first 10 children of George and Nancy by a family bible. Census work in 1870 and 1880 would add 5 more children. Terry also related a story that has always stayed with me. According to Harris, George and Nancy are buried in a small Chenoweth cemetery located in Camden Co., MO. Terry related that at some point these graves had to be moved. During this process Nancy's grave opened up during the move and it was found that she was not dead when she was put in the grave. Her hand was full of hair she pulled out and had scratched the casket before she died, she was turned on her side, the people who moved the graves said they had seen it before.� Buried alive is testimony to the state of medical science of the age. Fortunately George was probably oblivious to the event.

Back to �Joe�, by the 1870 Census, Nancy and George had a son named Joseph, born 1862 in Camden Co., MO. Though not found at age 18 in the 1880 Census, it is my belief that this Joseph is the most likely husband to Luella Mangrum based on the Camden Co., birth of their son John Henry. Maybe some day we will find �proof� of this.

GEORGE WASHINGTON4 CHENOWETH (RICHARD3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born December 14, 1815 in Knox Co., TN, and died November 05, 1885 in Ray, Camden Co., MO. He married (1) NANCY MINTON NESTER August 27, 1835 in Knox Co., TN, daughter of JOHN NESTER and JANE KEITH. She was born March 22, 1819 in Knox Co., TN, and died January 18, 1870 in Ray, Camden Co., MO. He married (2) DELILA ELIZABETH SORTAR Aft. 1870. She was born December 04, 1838 in Miller Co., MO, and died March 23, 1915 in Jack Co., TX.

Children of GEORGE CHENOWETH and NANCY NESTER are:

  1. JEMIMA E.5 CHENOWETH, b. June 30, 1835, Knox Co., TN; d. Unknown.
  2. SAMUEL N. CHENOWETH, b. January 11, 1837, Knox Co., TN; d. May 07, 1876, Camden Co., MO; m. MARTHA (BOLLINGER) GREEN, February 02, 1865, Missouri; b. 1841, Indiana.
  3. MARY ELEANOR CHENOWETH, b. December 29, 1839, Knox Co., TN.
  4. MALINDA JANE CHENOWETH, b. June 16, 1842, Knox Co., TN.
  5. CHARLOTTA CHENOWETH, b. January 27, 1845, Tennessee; d. Bef. 1850.
  6. MARGARET ELIZABETH CHENOWETH, b. March 13, 1846, Knoxville, Knox Co., TN; d. August 10, 1937, San Bernardino, San Bernardino Co., CA; m. THOMAS BENTON BROOKS, January 28, 1866, Linn Creek, Camden Co., MO; b. February 1839, Linn Creek, Camden Co., MO; d. April 29, 1906, Cove, Polk Co., AR.
  7. HENRIETTA CHENOWETH, b. January 02, 1849, Anderson Co., TN; d. June 29, 1931, Hughes Co., OK; m. (1) JOSEPH WARNER LANE, 1867, Camden Co., MO; b. 1840, Missouri; d. 1877, Camden Co., MO; m. (2) ABEL AHART, March 10, 1878, Linn Creek, Camden Co., MO; b. June 09, 1834, Roane Co., TN; d. October 30, 1897, Bellville, Yell Co., AR.
  8. JOHN ALEXANDER CHENOWETH, b. February 23, 1852.
  9. JAMES MONROE CHENOWETH, b. April 15, 1855.
  10. CASSANDRA CAROLINE CHENOWETH, b. September 15, 1857, Camden Co., MO; m. JOHN WESLEY BLEDSOE, September 25, 1879, Camden Co., MO; b. Abt. 1832, Boone Co., MO.
  11. SARAH CHENOWETH, b. 1860, Camden Co., MO.
  12. JOSEPH CHENOWETH, b. 1862, Camden Co., MO.
  13. GEORGE WASHINGTON CHENOWETH, JR., b. July 20, 1872, Camden Co., MO; d. August 20, 1872, Tennessee.

    Children of GEORGE CHENOWETH and DELILA SORTAR are:

  14. JOHN P.5 CHENOWETH, b. May 20, 1876, Camden Co., MO; d. March 22, 1917, Jack Co., TX; m. AGNES CAST; b. Abt. 1882, Texas.
  15. CAROLINE ISABELL CHENOWETH, b. Abt. 1879, Camden Co., MO; m. WILLIAM O. LOWE, Abt. 1905; b. Abt. 1881, Texas.

Probable continuation�..
JOSEPH 'JOE'1 CHENOWETH was born Bef. 1865 in Missouri, and died in Ozark Co., MO. He married LUELLA MANGRUM Bet. 1884 - 1887 in prob Missouri, daughter of HAMILTON MANGRUM and ELIZABETH DILL. She was born April 06, 1868 in Scott Co., AR.

Children of JOSEPH CHENOWETH and LUELLA MANGRUM are:

  1. JOHN HENRY2 CHENOWETH, b. April 18, 1888, Linn Creek, Camden Co., MO.
  2. FANNIE B. CHENOWETH, b. September 27, 1894, Arkansas; d. June 11, 1965; m. WILLIAM TAYLOR STRONG, June 20, 1914, Douglas Co., MO; b. December 21, 1874; d. December 30, 1959.
  3. LONZO HAMILTON CHENOWETH, b. June 13, 1896, Mountain Home, Baxter Co., AR.

2010 Reunion Tentative Schedule
  • Wednesday (21 Jul 2010):
    • 3-6pm Early Registration (Hospitality Suite) � Joyce Wiegand
    • Dinner on own
    • 7pm Fellowship gathering (finger food buffet, i.e. sandwiches, chips, drinks).
  • Thursday (22 Jul 2010):
    • 8-5pm Registration (Hospitality Suite) � Joyce Wiegand
    • 9-11am Talent show preparation?
    • 1pm Focus group �Reunions: what are they and how to make ours better� � Dick Buchanan
    • 5pm Welcome Ceremonies � Western wear encouraged (awards for various categories � TBA).
    • 6pm Welcome social (finger food buffet, i.e. sandwiches chips, drinks) � Lawra Duy
  • Friday (23 Jul 2010):
    • 7-8:30 (Hospitality Suite) � Joyce Wiegand
    • 9am-5pm tour to downtown with stops at Library (genealogical time). Sightseeing and shopping for those interested.
    • Dinner on own
    • 7-10pm Rodeo (supper is included if attending)
  • Saturday (24 Jul 2010):
    • 7-9am registration (Hospitality Suite) � Joyce Wiegand
    • 9:30 -11:00am round table discussion �genealogy 101� � Dick Buchanan (moderator)
    • 11:00-Noon DNA Update � Pete Chenoweth (DNA Project Administrator)
    • Lunch on own.
    • 1:30-2:30pm Family Update � Jon Egge (Chenoweth Webmaster
    • 3pm General Membership meeting � Pete Chenoweth (Chairman)
    • 5pm Family photo.
    • 6:30pm: Family Banquet, Talent show(?) (reunion cake, awards) eulogy � Jon Egge
  • Sunday (25 Jul 2010):
    • 8am � Worship service,
    • 8:45 family brunch,
    • adjournment.

IT�S NEVER TOO EARLY TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS
FOR THE FUN AND COMRADERIE OF THE
6th NATIONAL FAMILY REUNION
DALLAS/FT WORTH, TEXAS
21-25 JULY 2010

[PETE]Peter Chenoweth, editor, Hephzibah, GA ....
Comments and Contributions Email: p.chenoweth@comcast.net
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Copyright c 2009 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.
publication: September 8, 2009