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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 4 - DECEMBER 2010
EDITOR: PETER C. CHENOWETH - E-MAIL: p.chenoweth@comcast.net
WEBMASTER: JON D. EGGE - E-MAIL: jegge@chenowethsite.com

The �time� Draws Near
An open letter from Jon Egge

This is a short message from an aging webmaster. I am no longer able to keep my head above water with the happenings and information of this burgeoning family. My abilities to cope with it are frankly fading and I do not know how much longer I can continue this project. That does not mean that I am not interested in continuing to work on the genealogy of this family, but it does mean that it is time to find others that want to take up parts of the work.

I have been hinting at this for some time now, but we have not found the method that would enable others to take this over. This past year has left me dissatisfied with the mountain of details I have not had the ability or inclination to include. I have worked at this almost daily for long hours and I find myself unable to continue at the level needed. So things will and must change.

I hope to be part of that change, whatever form it takes. Certainly it is not going to happen immediately, but until it does, much is going to be left undone. We have come a long ways and it is really remarkable what we have all accomplished in understanding, preserving and celebrating this family that we all belong to. Deanna and I want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone a Merry Christmas.

I should add that though cousins have volunteered to help with input we do not yet have a way of having multiple people working on the same database. Genealogy programs are single user databases. Yes there are websites that allow multiple users to work together, but they do not allow you to recover the full gedcom, so once you assign the datebase to the web and expand it, you are stuck there. One future possibility comes from a dialogue we have started with cousin Doug Blank of Havertown, PA last year who is involved with a project called �Gramps� to create the type of website Pete and I are dreaming of. To assist this effort I gave Doug a gedcom of our file so that he could design code that would handle something of this magnitude and density. Here is a recent letter from Doug:

Peter and Jon,

Just wanted to let you know that we are making progress toward a collaborative, on-line, genealogical website, that we are calling Gramps-Connect. This will literally take us years to fully develop, but we hope to be able to have complete, read-only functionality by March 2010, and be able to add/edit data by Summer 2010. We have a very basic demo website showing the basic ideas at http://gramps-connect.org/ (no work on making it look good yet, and missing a lot of functionality).

In thinking about how this could be used by the Chenoweth team, I reviewed the letter that you sent to me almost a year ago:

"... [Jeff Paar] suggested http://www.phpgedview.net/ but then found it would not do what I needed. The concept of a web shared database is logical. But it must fit some parameters. It must be secure. It must have a hierarchy of allowed users. It must import/export to a full gedcom of all fields and sourcing. must be stable and permanent. It must handle large files. For my own part I must be sure that the inputting is done in a consistent format and of course is correct. I will look at the Gramps project. [this turned out to be unsuitable at present]"

First, I want to underline that want you want doesn't exist... anywhere. I don't know of any group this extensive that has this exact set of requirements. So it is not surprising that you haven't found something that fits your needs. Second, we really need to find a way so that the current group, and the next generations, can work together on such a project. I am currently working with a great team of people on the gramps project, and I think we can create something that could fulfill at least part of these desires, and make ways to easily integrate with the rest.

I hope that we can find a common goal with gramps-connect... I think it is a great opportunity to help both projects! This will take much work, on both sides. Let know what you think.

-Doug

PS - for a technical blog article on experimenting on the Chenoweth GEDCOM and Gramps-Connect, see http://blog.gramps-project.org/?p=192

[DIRECTORS]

[wreath]
ITEMS IN THIS ISSUE


Time at the Top

[PETE]Peter Clinton Chenoweth, Chairman

Jan and I would like to take a moment to wish all of our readers a Happy Holiday Season.

For those of you who remember our Mexican cousin Daniel and his wife, Marisela, it is with great pleasure that I announce the birth of their daughter, Dana Marisa, on October 5, 2010. Daniel advises that they are hoping to attend the next reunion.

[Holly Balls]

SON SEEKS FATHER � CAN YOU HELP? #2

This time last year we were happy to announce that we had helped a family reunite. Now we have another chance to help someone in their search for their ancestry. It is hoped that someone can provide us with some information to help him out. I am adopted and understand that my biological father is/was named John Martin Chenoweth (went by �Marty�) and I am trying to find him after 42 years. I know this is a long shot but any help you could provide would be appreciated. He would have served in the Air Force in Biloxi, MS in 1967-68 and he was originally from Los Angeles. My biological mother was named Sharon Grierson and she was 19 when she gave birth.

If you want to help given your knowledge of the family, I would appreciate it. Please let me know.

John A. Grierson

Though I don�t have an answer for you, I can give you a rundown of what I think�.Because your father was probably born in the 1940�s he falls into an area where we may know only about 2/3�s of the names. I don�t have your John Martin in my file. The last one I have of this name was John Martin Chenoweth, Jr born December 1919 in Belmont, OH. I do not know what happened to him. The last I saw him was in the 1930 census. It is possible, I suppose that he had a son John Martin, III�.. I do know there was no John Chenoweth born in California that would fit your father. There is a John M. Chenoweth, age 61, who presently lives in South Tahoe. I believe his mother was Lillian Marie born 1919. She died in 2009. Her Social Security information indicates that the number was issued in West Virginia. This would maybe fit with the John Martin Chenoweth, Jr as his family was from West Virginia. But this is all a bit of conjecture. I would need more information. Over the years I have tried calling John in South Tahoe but never got an answer, so I have never been able to identify this individual. If this helps, and you do find the right John Martin, I would appreciate hearing back from you. 9 out of 10 Chenoweths in the US belong to one family. We have been able to identify over 92% of present SSA listings and most of what we haven�t been able to ID are women. Good luck with this. � Jon Egge



IN MEMORIAM HONOR ROLL

With thanks and appreciation to Dot Tucker-Houk of Maryland who makes much of this list possible each newsletter. So far we have 41 reported �Chenoweth named� deaths in the SSA listings for 2010. Three are yet unidentified. To save me work I have only made abbreviated comments on people I have known or on items that need clarifications. I am a bit shocked by the sudden loss to 3 of the families that were at the Dallas reunion as well as several others to those that have been part of past reunions and work on the database. May God and time ease their pain.

age 78 - DALE L. FULTON, son of WILLIAM FULTON and FLORENCE NITZSCHE, was born March 01, 1932 in Randolph Co., IL, and died September 23, 2010. He married April 10, 1955 in Chester, Randolph Co., IL. JESSIE JUSTINE 'PEGGY'9 GROVES (ORA PEARL8 REIP, IRA GRANT7, EDITH AMANDA6 CHENOWETH, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) - Dale and our cousin Peggy had attended four reunions, from Bowling Green to Indiana. Dale�s good natured presence will be missed by all.

age 51 - NANCY FAYE10 ROGERS nee CHENOWETH (WILLARD OWEN9, BEEBE8, MARSHALL7, JOHN KITTLE6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 08, 1957 in Elkins, Randolph Co., WV, and died August 03, 2009 in Morgantown, Monongalia Co., WV. She married (1) DAVID MARK. She married (2) DELMER W. 'DJ' ROGERS, JR. December 21, 1991 in Elkins, Randolph Co., WV.

age 22 - WILFORD CURTIS12 ISNER III (WILFORD CURTIS11, MARY L.10 KIRKPATRICK, BEATRICE ELIZA9 CHENOWETH, HOMER WASHINGTON8, JACOB7, JOHN KITTLE6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 09, 1986 in Clarksburg, Harrison Co., WV, and died August 21, 2009 in Clarksburg, Harrison Co., WV.

age 82 - JUNIOR DOYLE YOUNG, son of ALFRED YOUNG and DORA ENNES, was born October 29, 1927 in Missouri, and died May 01, 2010 in Payson, Gila Co., AZ. He married September 14, 1950 in Arkansas ANGELINE ZENOBIA 'ANN'9 CHENOWETH (IRA8, DANIEL MCLEAN7, ISAAC NEWTON6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) � Ann has been my first and best source for the families of Daniel McLean Chenoweth and his brother John Dotherdy Chenoweth who migrated west to Kansas and then Colorado.

age 98 - MERVIN JONATHAN HERBERT, son of MARION HERBERT and ADA ROBINSON, was born January 22, 1911 in Bel Aire, Sedgwick Co., KS, and died February 17, 2009. He married August 09, 1931 MARTHA LUCENA9 CHENOWETH (FLOYD8, DANIEL MCLEAN7, ISAAC NEWTON6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 21, 1910 in Springfield, Baca Co., CO, and died September 20, 1981 in Lamar, Prowers Co., CO.

age 50 - KENNETH CLAUDE11 YATES (NORDEAN RUTH10 CAMERON, RUTH MILDRYE9 CHENOWETH, TRUMAN TIMOTHY8, DANIEL MCLEAN7, ISAAC NEWTON6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born April 15, 1960, and died May 28, 2010 in Pasadena, Harris Co., TX. He married DEB JACOBSEN.

age 79 - RICHARD EUGENE 'DICK'9 CHENOWETH (EDGAR EUGENE 'BOB'8, LAFAYETTE D.7, ELIJAH H.6, JOHN I.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 19, 1931 in Staples, Todd Co., MN, and died November 16, 2010 in Staples, Todd Co., MN. He married VIRGINIA BEATRICE BARTYLLA February 16, 1954. � I had talked with Dick by phone in 2003. Dick was a veteran of the Korean War.

age 67 - HARRIETT FRANCES10 WALKER nee VERTREES (EDGAR LEONARD9, LEONARD WESLEY8, EDGAR CHENOWETH7, LUCINDA6 CHENOWETH, JACOB VAN METER5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 20, 1941 in Riverside Co., CA, and died August 03, 2009 in Yarnell, Yavapai Co., AZ. She married ROBERT EUGENE WALKER. � Harriet�s daughter Diana just found us this month.

age 89 - GRACE9 DUNCAN nee VERTREES (LEONARD WESLEY8, EDGAR CHENOWETH7, LUCINDA6 CHENOWETH, JACOB VAN METER5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 10, 1919 in Riverside Co., CA, and died February 21, 2009 in California . She married RAYMOND DUNCAN.

age 57 - CHARLES RODNEY HOPKINS was born August 18, 1953 in Tulsa, Tulsa Co., OK, and died September 21, 2010 in Orlando, Logan Co., OK. He married November 11, 1989 in Blackburn, Oklahoma Co., OK SALLY ANN9 GOODWIN (MARY MILDRED8 CHENOWETH, CLARK BRADEN7, JOSEPH STEAVEN6, JAMES HACKLEY5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1

age 94 - LEONA PEARL9 BERRY (GRACE PEARL8 CHENOWETH, WILLIAM ALVA7, HEZEKIAH STITES6, CASPER5, WILLIAM S.4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 09, 1916 in Barton Co., KS, and died November 22, 2010 in Salina, Saline Co., KS. � Leona�s sister Rosella Vohs, who died in 2008, was our primary source on the families of William Chenoweth of Allen Co., OH

age 66 - MARY LOUISE 'MARY LOU'9 PETERSON nee CHENOWETH (HAROLD JESSE8, HARRY JESSE7, WILLIAM THOMAS6, CASPER5, WILLIAM S.4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 12, 1944 in West Covina, Los Angeles Co., CA, and died September 26, 2010 in Lane Co., OR. She married CHARLES L. 'PETE' PETERSON November 24, 1962 in Los Angeles Co., CA.

age 52 - RICHARD LEE 'RICH' TOTTEN, son of RICHARD TOTTEN and TRILBY TREAT, was born December 16, 1957 in Roseville, Placer Co., CA, and died June 06, 2010 in Springfield, Lane Co., OR. He married DEBORAH L.10 PETERSON (MARY LOUISE 'MARY LOU'9 CHENOWETH, HAROLD JESSE8, HARRY JESSE7, WILLIAM THOMAS6, CASPER5, WILLIAM S.4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1).

age 62 - JACK RAYMOND11 STEWART, JR. (LAUDENE10 FLOWERS, ANNIE9 CRAWFORD, POLLY JANE8 MARTINDALE, CLARENCE HERBERT7, MARTIN HERBERT6, BARBARA5 CHENOWETH, WILLIAM S.4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 13, 1946 in Pampa, Gray Co., TX, and died April 14, 2009 in Bella Vista, Benton Co., AR.

age 88 - DALLAS RAY9 LONG (AUDREY BERTHA8 CHENOWETH, CHARLES WILFORD 'BIG CHARLIE'7, JOSEPH W.6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born July 11, 1921 in Table Grove., Fulton Co., IL, and died February 02, 2010 in Des Moines, Polk Co., IA. He married MARJORIE ETTA ZACHRITZ November 20, 1943 in Davenport, Scott Co., IA, daughter of EUGENE ZACHRITZ and VINA KETCHUM. � Marjorie was an early contributor to the families of William Chenoweth of Fulton Co., IL

age 96 - LYDIA RUBY LORANA8 STONEKING nee CHENOWETH (CHARLES WILFORD 'BIG CHARLIE'7, JOSEPH W.6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 18, 1914 in Fulton Co., IL, and died November 27, 2010 in Abingdon, Knox Co., IL. She married VERNON WALTER 'LAVERNE' STONEKING April 06, 1935. He was born December 22, 1914 in Illinois, and died February 12, 1998.

age 81 - ROBERT L.9 TOLAND (WILMA R.8 CHENOWETH, EZRA WILLIAM7, MILTON ANDREW 'MILT'6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born April 22, 1929 in Ray, Schuyler Co., IL, and died August 29, 2010 in Knoxville, Knox Co., IL. He married JACQUELINE J. 'JACKIE' GILSON December 11, 1948 in Rushville, Schuyler Co., IL.

age 42 - GREGORY JAY10 PETERSON (MARDIE ASHBROOK9 ALLATT, BARBARA8 ASHBROOK, ROY WILSON7, AARON PENCE6, TUNIS PETERS5, AARON4, MARY3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born October 07, 1967, and died May 19, 2010 in California. He married JOLEE � I had his name as Gregory Ray from Andrea Sachs. The SSA listings have Gregory Jay. He died in a motorcycle accident.

age 78 - JEAN ELLEN SELOVER nee COX, daughter of JAMES COX and VADA LESAN, was born December 07, 1931 in Okmulgee Co., OK, and died July 29, 2010 in Spring Hill, Hernando Co., FL. She married August 24, 1951 JAMES RICHARD9 SELOVER (CLARA FLORENCE8 SEATON, JAMES RICHARD7, JAMES RICHARD6, RICHARD ALIPH5, JAMES KENNER4, RACHEL3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1). He was born December 17, 1930 in Los Angeles Co., CA, and died October 13, 2003 in San Bernardino Co., CA. - Jean�s passing was report this fall by her son, Wayne Richard Selover

age 86 - MARJORIE MARIE CHENOWETH nee PETERSON was born July 29, 1924 in Ragan, Harlan Co., NE, and died November 26, 2010 in Selah, Yakima Co., WA. She married September 05, 1973 in Kern Co., CA ROBERT OREL 'BOB'8 CHENOWETH (HENRY PERRY7, WILLIAM H. 'WILLIS'6, NICHOLAS HALE5, NICHOLAS4, JOHN3, RICHARD2, JOHN1) He was born July 22, 1921 in Springfield, Greene Co., MO, and died February 09, 1993 in Bakersfield, Kern Co., CA. � This was a second marriage for both Marjorie and Bob

age 66 - WILLIAM JOSEPH WADDELL, son of EDGAR WADDELL and MILDRED STAMPS, was born June 29, 1943 in Modesto, Stanislaus Co., CA, and died August 01, 2009 in Reno, Washoe Co., NV. He married WADDELL July 31, 1964 in Las Vegas, Clark Co., NV ANNIE MARIE9 CHENOWETH (ROBERT OREL 'BOB'8, HENRY PERRY7, WILLIAM H. 'WILLIS'6, NICHOLAS HALE5, NICHOLAS4, JOHN3, RICHARD2, JOHN1).

age about 60 - STEPHANIE LEE 'STEVIE' CHENOWETH nee SHERMAN, was born Abt. 1950, and died November 15, 2010 in Maryland. She married RICHARD W.10 CHENOWETH (HERBERT WESTON9, RICHARD MORSE8, WILLIAM WHITMAN7, RICHARD BELT6, RICHARD BELT5, RICHARD BEASMAN4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) He was born January 15, 1946, and died July 08, 2006 in Maryland. - Hopefully the next quarter�s SSA listings will give us more information on Stephanie.

age 79 - JOHN HART THOMPSON was born November 16, 1930, and died August 23, 2010 in Texas. He married BEVERLY JEAN10 GARBER (HENRY MEREDITH9, BLANCHE M.8 BOREN, LILLIE REBECCA7 BOWEN, MARY ETTA6 CHENOWETH, JOHN BAXTER5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1). � John attended the Mesquite Reunion this summer with his wife Beverly. It was my pleasure to have met him and as well as our cousin Beverly after all these years. This was one of several tragic family losses that by some strange happenstance followed this year�s reunion.

age 94 - LEON HOWARD9 SPEROW (BESSIE PEARL8 WELLER, JOHN WILLIAM7, SARAH 'ELDEGEST'6 KERNEY, AURELIA 'EMILY'5 CHENOWETH, PHILEMON CROMWELL4, SAMUEL3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born June 21, 1914 in Berkeley Co., WV, and died May 23, 2009 in Pennsylvania. He married ELIZABETH HAWTHORNE. She was born March 22, 1913, and died June 1987.

age 85 - VIRGINIA9 REGAN nee CHENOWETH? (HUGH RAYMOND8, RIXTON D.7, WILLIAM MCLEAN6, RIXTON5, WILLIAM4, RICHARD3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born May 1925 in Michigan, and died November 21, 2010 in Virginia. She married JOHN REGAN. - It is probable that Virginia was Hugh�s step-daughter. Her mother was Freda Johanna Rosengran

age about 74 - MONA LARSEN nee KOVACH was born Abt. 1926, and died November 28, 2010 in Illinois. She married June 1950 to LAURON DEAN9 CHENOWETH, JR. (LAURON DEAN8, ERSOM FRENCH7, ELIJAH6, WILLIAM5, THOMAS4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) He was born June 04, 1928 in Chicago, Cook Co., IL, and died September 07, 2007 in Richton Park, Cook Co., IL � Hopefully the next quarter�s SSA listings will give us more information on Mona.

age 70 - THOMAS LYNN8 CHENOWETH (MILES AUSTIN7, PEARL FLOYD6, JOHN WILLIAM5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born April 15, 1940 in Ohio, and died September 16, 2010 in New Jersey. He married (1) BARBARA PIERCE. He married (2) BEVERLY L. VOLLMER August 17, 1974 in Warren Co., OH.

age 77 - FRANCIS EARL BAITZ, son of ARTHUR BAITZ and RUTH LANGOLF, was born June 19, 1933 in Atlanta, Hamilton Co., IN, and died November 28, 2010 in Tipton Co., IN. He married July 25, 1954 in Arcadia, Hamilton Co., IN PHYLLIS ANNE9 CHENOWETH (JOHN HENRY8, ORIEN STEELE7, GEORGE WILLIAM6, GEORGE HENRY5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) � Francis was the brother-in-law of Harold and Carolyn Newby who have attended every reunion we have held. This was one of several tragic family losses that by some strange happenstance followed this year�s reunion.

age 90 - ELEANOR L. was born November 28, 1919 in Salem twp., Westmoreland Co., PA, and died March 30, 2010 in Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., PA. She married WALTER WILLIAM7 CHENOWETH (GEORGE WILLIAM6, GEORGE HENRY5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born August 17, 1912 in Shoals, Martin Co., IN, and died March 18, 1983 in Pinellas Co., FL - so far, we have not determined Eleanor�s maiden name.

age 89 - CLIFFORD HALE8 ASHLEY (GRACE7 CHENOWETH, FERDINAND CLAY 'FRED'6, WILLIAM5, ISAAC4, JOHN3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born May 06, 1921 in Chicago, Cook Co., IL, and died October 18, 2010 in Burlington, Chittenden Co., VT. He married BARBARA B. BENEDICT.

age 59 - ANN RENEE9 MAIN nee CRUME (PATRICIA ANN8 CHENOWETH, CECIL CLARE7, JOHN WILLIAM6, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN5, LUKE4, ARTHUR3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born August 04, 1951 in Tulsa, Tulsa Co., OK, and died August 18, 2010 in Claremore, Rogers Co., OK. She married (1) MIKE MOBRA October 10, 1971 in Claremore, Rogers Co., OK, son of FRANK and MARY MOBRA. He was born February 1950 in Oklahoma. She married (2) JAMES RAY MAIN October 07, 1980 in Carthage, Jasper Co., MO, son of LEONARD MAIN and MARY BELL. He was born February 25, 1946 in Sapulpa, Creek Co., OK, and died April 09, 2003 in Oklahoma. � Ann�s mother Pat has attended a number of our reunions, including this summer in Mesquite. This was one of several tragic family losses that by some strange happenstance followed this year�s reunion. There was a large gathering of the Oklahoma families of Luke�s son Benjamin Franklin at the reunion.

age 47 - JANIS LORRAINE GUNDY, was born June 17, 1953 in Ladysmith, Rusk Co., WI, and died September 01, 2010 in North Carolina. She married JOHN THOMAS 'JACK'9 CHENOWETH, JR. (JOHN THOMAS 'JACK'8, HARRY S.7, THOMAS DANIEL6, IRA M.5, THOMAS T.4, RICHARD3, THOMAS2, JOHN1)

age 88 - AGNES RUBY8 LANGFORD nee CHENOWETH (DELNER WILLIAM7, JOHN WESLEY6, WILLIAM5, JOEL4, ABRAHAM3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born January 28, 1922 in Gentry Co., MO, and died November 01, 2010 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO. She married MARION EDWARD LANGFORD September 17, 1939. He was born June 04, 1917, and died September 17, 1989. � Agnes wrote me several times regarding the Missouri families of John Wesley Chenoweth.

UNKNOWN LINES:

age 74 - JOHN ANDREW BAUMMER was born March 26, 1926, and died October 08, 2010 in Maryland. He married April 19, 1952 DOROTHEA ELIZABETH5 CHENWORTH (SAMUEL THOMAS4, GEORGE WASHINGTON3, THOMAS2, GEORGE1) was born November 29, 1927 in Maryland. � unknown lines of George of the Back River Upper Hundred. )



A Window To The Past

Copyright 1948 University of California: In Memoriam
LAWRENCE EVERETT6 CHENOWETH (ARTHUR WILLIAM5, ABSOLUM B.4, ARTHUR3, THOMAS2, JOHN1)

LAWRENCE EVERETT CHENOWETH, Professor of Education and Placement Director at Santa Barbara College, died in Santa Barbara, California, December 7, 1948, in his sixty-seventh year. He became a member of the Santa Barbara faculty in 1940 and had expected to retire on June 30, 1949. Professor Chenoweth was born in Atlantic, Iowa, May 23, 1881. His education was obtained primarily in California where he attended Santa Rosa High School, San Francisco Business College, and received his teaching credential at San Jose State Normal School in 1903. He completed his A.B. degree at Santa Barbara State Teachers College in 1930.

From 1903 to 1906, Professor Chenoweth served Kern County and Bakersfield schools as a teacher and vice-principal. Between 1907 and 1909 he acted as State Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction. He left the teaching profession in 1909 to work in the newspaper field and for five years was vice-president, publisher and part owner of the Bakersfield Daily Morning Echo. The call to teach youth was too powerful to resist and he returned to the profession in 1915. He became County Superintendent of Schools of Kern County for thirteen years, and City School Superintendent at Bakersfield from January 1928 to 1940. During those twelve years he also taught Summer Session classes at Santa Barbara College and was a popular lecturer at educational conventions and institutes throughout Arizona and California.

Professor Chenoweth was one of the first appointees to the State Board of Education in 1913 and served two years. Through several state administrations he served on the California Curriculum Commission and took an active part in the selection of textbooks, preparation of teachers� manuals, and the writing of two books published by the State in 1935 entitled, Teacher�s Guide to Child Development. He has published numerous articles on Courses of Study, State Manuals and Teacher Placement.

He acted as vice-chairman of the Santa Barbara faculty during the first year of its affiliation with the University and served on many important faculty committees. In 1944-45 he was president of the Western Institutional Teacher Placement Association and served as a state board member in each of the following societies: National Education Association, Progressive Education Association, and American Association of School Administrators. He became the first president of the California State Elks Association.

It would be difficult to evaluate completely Professor Chenoweth�s influence upon students. His work as Director of the Placement Bureau and Professor of Education brought him into intimate contact with young teachers who came to depend upon his keen and penetrating judgment. His knowledge entailed a vast amount of information about all promise and ability was always trustworthy, and his encouragement warm and friendly. Here was a man notably free from an maliciousness, a quality which registered in all his contacts. Students responded eagerly to his willing generosity of time and effort; they remember with a wholesome and affectionate regard their friend of unlimited kindness and consideration. In his teaching, other qualities appeared; he was forthright and direct, skillful and effective, quiet and resourceful. He is remembered as a somewhat droll, slow-moving person with a cordial greeting for everyone. He combined scholarship with geniality, and he displayed a gift of understanding in and out of the classroom. His passing is deeply regretted. Those who knew him cherish his rare personality.

Surviving him are his widow, Sybil C. Chenoweth, a daughter, Mrs Dorothy C. Klausner of Bakersfield, and a son, Stewart Chenoweth, Assistant Professor of Speech at Michigan State College.


Contributors: Jennifer Lane and a hairball of genealogy
(26th Installment of a series)
by Jon Egge

In May of 1997, I was contacted by Jennifer Lane of Arkansas about Phoebe, the eldest daughter of Mary Chenoweth and the Rev. Levi Ashbrook. Virginia Duling had told me that Phoebe married Thomas Tucker, and Jennifer was about to open the door to a very big line of Tuckers and Alsburys. [The daughter Rachel Tucker married Brice William Alsbury, her brother Levi Tucker, married Brice�s sister Sarah] It is a tremendous story, one I cannot hope to do adequately and I am trying to get Jennifer to add in some articles of her on-going research on this family. Jennifer had two �assets� to assist her. The first was the works of Helen Renner in her book: �Alsbury Gleanings from The Midwest�. The second was truly unique, a notebook of �hair samples�, from many of the early family members of Phoebe�s family along with names and dates. This prized puzzle has allowed Jennifer to recover much lost information on what is truly a vast family. Phoebe and Thomas left Hampshire Co. after 1810 for Ohio, eventually settling in Pike Co., IL where so many other Chenoweths eventually migrated from Kentucky. It is a migration unique from that of her siblings who appears to have left Virginia in two separate groups, the older children to Kentucky and the younger set to Fairfield Co., OH. The journey of the Tuckers seems to have fallen between the timing of these 2 migrations.

I was able to meet Jennifer at the Bowling Green Reunion and was charmed by her �Arkansas accent�. Unfortunately after that Jennifer got into a serious car accident and sort of fell off the radar for 5 years before reconnecting with me a couple of years ago. What progress in the interim we both had made. Phoebe�s family has expanded to at least 8 children far beyond the 3 that we had started out with. The descendants in my present file run 68+ pages, most all contributed by Jennifer, approximating 4,500 names. Phoebe herself lived into her 80�s found in the 1850 Census remarried to John Aiken, Sr. who she married in 1843 in her late sixties, being widowed in the 1830s by her husband and father of her children, Thomas Tucker. This is the present picture of her family, but knowing Jennifer it is still a work in process.

PHOEBE4 ASHBROOK (MARY3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born 1775 in Virginia, and died Aft. 1850. She married (1) THOMAS W. TUCKER Bef. June 20, 1796 in Hampshire Co., VA (now WV), son of THOMAS TUCKER. He was born Bet. 1765 - 1775 in prob: Frederick Co., MD, and died Bet. November 1836 - 1840 in Illinois. She married (2) JOHN AIKEN, SR. January 01, 1843 in Pike Co., IL. He was born December 06, 1776 in Virginia, and died 1859 in Pike Co., IL.

Children of PHOEBE ASHBROOK and THOMAS TUCKER are:

  1. LEVI4 TUCKER, b. September 29, 1794, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. May 10, 1854; m. SARAH ALSBURY, May 14, 1821, Mason Co., VA (now WV); b. September 30, 1801, Kanawha Co., VA (now WV); d. October 25, 1855.
  2. SARAH TUCKER, b. Abt. 1797, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Abt. 1858, Pike Co., IL; m. JOSEPH CLARK, October 03, 1822, Pike Co., OH; b. Abt. 1780, Pennsylvania; d. Abt. 1854, Pike Co., IL.
  3. E. MARY 'POLLY' TUCKER, b. May 02, 1798, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. April 13, 1874; m. (1) GENTRY MCGEE, August 28, 1827, Sangamon Co., IL; b. Abt. 1792, Kentucky; d. Bet. 1837 - 1840; m. (2) ZACHARIAH RIGG, October 23, 1843, Pike Co., IL; b. Abt. 1787, North Carolina; d. Aft. 1870.
  4. JOHN TUCKER, b. 1800, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. 1859, prob Iowa; m. (2) AMY ANN AIKEN, June 02, 1836, Pike Co., IL; b. December 17, 1812, North Carolina.
  5. WILLIAM TUCKER, b. Bet. 1800 - 1805, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. Bet. 1840 - 1842, prob: Tippecanoe Co., IN; m. HARRIETT DOUGHTY, August 02, 1827, Pike Co., OH; b. February 26, 1808, Ohio; d. May 05, 1902, Douglas Co., KS.
  6. RACHEL TUCKER, b. October 13, 1806, Hampshire Co., VA (now WV); d. November 04, 1883, Randolph Co., AR; m. BRICE WILLIAM ALSBURY, March 1827; b. November 15, 1805, Kanawha Co., VA (now WV); d. January 28, 1894, Randolph Co., AR.
  7. ELEANOR TUCKER, b. 1808, Virginia; d. Aft. 1885, prob Iowa; m. CHARLES FRIEND, December 26, 1830, Schuyler Co., IL; b. Abt. 1801, Kentucky; d. July 22, 1858, Arbor Hill, Adair Co., IA.
  8. AMELIA TUCKER, b. Abt. 1815, Pike Co., OH; d. December 04, 1849, Pike Co., IL; m. SAMUEL INGRAM, August 15, 1833, Schuyler Co., IL; b. Abt. 1809, Smith Co., TN; d. April 28, 1883, Garfield, Travis Co., TX.

[Holly Balls]

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 had read that different names ie. Cheney, Chenary, are derivatives of Chenoweth. How do you know or find out how far back it breaks off and which line?

30 Oct 2010
Polly Chenoweth Boileau

I have never run across a single instance of this, but I suppose it is possible, one would have to trace it back on a case by case basis, which would be difficult to do without some inside knowledge. � Jon Egge

[holly]

My daughter, Shondene, came across your newsletter Vol 7 Number 3 � September 2008, Reunion special. She saw her name at the bottom under WFT 147 #707. So I want to give you some corrections.

Marge Chedester (not Chenoweth)

So we probably don�t fit in the Chenoweth family tree after all, since Mom�s maiden name was Chedester, not Chenoweth.

13 Oct 2010
Rhonda Griswold

Though you don�t fit in with the family we do appreciate your helping us clarify this tidbit that we had found. - editor

[holly]

I have been meaning to write for the last couple of years, but somehow, I never got it done. First I am Richard (Ric), of the West Virginia Lafayette Chenoweth branch. I have yet to make it to the national reunion. It seems to be held at the same time as my mother�s birthday, or some local family/school reunion. (My mother and sister did make it to the Labor Day Chenoweth Reunion in West Virginia in 1987 and my mother and Virginia Byrd Johnson became letter pals.) I hope I have some of my mother�s genes; she turned 94 in July and is going better this year than last year.

We (my wife and I) also have been doing some traveling. We want to do it while we can still move around. Thus we have been to Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Europe, eastern Canada, and this Fall, did a large circle route of western US on Amtrak where we went through thirteen states.

The reason for writing is that your last letter had an observation that I found interesting, i.e. that you never found a family that became wealthy, and if you found someone wealthy, the family grew smaller. I�m afraid I no longer know what wealthy means; how much money does it take to be called wealthy? I don�t consider ourselves wealthy but some people might. We certainly didn�t plan for our family to become smaller, but my line is. My son and his wife have chosen not to have children, and my daughter has a daughter but says that is all. (But never fear, my father�s line will remain strong; my older sister had four children and they all have gone out to �repopulate the earth.�}

Of course, your observation prompted more questions. For example, do the Chenoweths show similarities in politics? Religion? Social Issues? Other issues? Or do they reflect their region or their education more than their genes. I ask partially because of a discussion that took place in my wife�s family. Several years ago there was a death in the family and when the siblings got together, although they had never discussed it previously together, they all felt the same way about human flesh and wanted cremation long before it became somewhat popular. I found it interesting and there were a couple of other items where they thought alike.

As for my wife and me, we tend to be very liberal, especially in politics and religion. We are more conservative on how we chose to spend our money. (But not as conservative as my mother who is a child of the Depression.) Although Lafayette�s family was poorly educated, my father worked his way through high school and attended college until the Depression got him; the same is true of my mother. And while education was never really discussed in our family, my sisters both have two degrees of higher education each, and I have three and I spent my working years at institutions of higher education.

I appreciate the work you have done on the Chenoweth genealogy. Although I have a Ph.D in history, enjoy research and writing, genealogy research has never been one of my passions. I have, of course, read what is available on the Chenoweths, as well as the Bilyeau, Workman, and Wheelock families (my wife�s families.)

I hope you and your family are well,

19 Nov 2010
Richard Chenoweth

You write an interesting letter. I will try to give you some random thoughts I have arrived at in regards to the family. My pursuit of the family is undergoing a change. I have wholly enjoyed the last 14 years, but the task has outstripped me as I am slowing down. I am looking for some exits, but that is another matter.

The family is so large that certainly no one faith, political view, financial status or outlook applies. We are a diverse group, albeit about 99.9% white European descendants. We live in virtually every state and are as diverse as the country itself. We know the early family was religious and hard working. They took care of their children and often passed on their values. The family started with blacksmithing skills that carried down in some places to 5 generations. Obviously, more became farmers and pioneer settlers. I treasure the description that Thomas Scott gives us in 1850 of the sons of Thomas.

Like America today, the family has both liberal and conservative adherents. I have occasionally gotten myself in trouble by injecting my own conservative values, something I consciously try not to do, but I do slip every so often. While watching TV a couple of Sunday�s ago the Britt Hume�s series on the modern conservative movement, I was startled to the name of Ohio congressman John Milan Ashbrook as one of the 3 people who helped persuade Barry Goldwater to run for president. He was a descendant of Mary Chenoweth and the Reverend Levi Ashbrook of Hampshire Co., VA (now WV). As I told the folks in Dallas I also recently discovered that a family member, Harriet Anna Mayor, married Senator James William Fulbright, and as his widow helps with the administration of his estate. Obviously she falls on the liberal side. There are both Democrats and Republicans in the family.

When I was talking about wealth, I was talking about enough wealth to make oneself independent, that place where you enjoy a measured material comfort and whatever it costs you to live in this manner, your estate is large enough to grow. I would say it would be in the top 1% of the country. But I was also referring to such a wealth that it would involve a large estate and a recognition. A friend of mine seems to feel that such wealth today begins at about ten million dollars, which equates to about slightly over one and a third million dollars in say 1966. Wealth evolves. The cost of things grows differently. As an example, it is much more costly today to employ help than it was in earlier times. A luxury automobile is a much more sophisticated machine than it was 50 years ago.

Taxes in all forms today drain off earnings much more than they did in earlier times so it is harder to achieve wealth as taxes essentially take away possible savings hat could grow into wealth. A good investment habit will always improve one�s condition. But some of this is apples and oranges. What is the internet worth and present computer power? My laptop exceeds the ability of what was a whole room of tape drives and punch card readers when I went to college. Life evolves. The family evolves with it. Today in America the average home is bigger and fancier than it was in earlier times. On a trip to Nashville, we visited the Hermitage of Andrew Jackson, the estate depicted on the $20 bill. The rooms were small. What was grand then is not so grand today. Both my grandparents lived in homes which were adequate and common for their times, but less than what is expected today. Over eighty years ago any family took in boarders to supplement their income. Few do this today. Great wealth takes hard work, but also a bit of luck or fortune. Maybe part of it is in recognizing a wedge and exploiting it.

Certainly one would think that some in this family would at some point become wealthy. There are a few that I have found, but mostly they involve daughter lines. They are skinny lines. Large families seldom are wealthy families. Large families tend to divide wealth. (There are exceptions). Some did reach a place where they were noted in society as �well off� and often touched what one would call �high society�. But most of the family were just hard working people that struggled with life and economics. They were ordinary people: farmers, laborers, barbers, shopkeepers and salesmen. My data is nowhere complete enough to know it all, we are talking about over 60,000 families. I just have a few glimpses.

One occupation that I often run across with the Chenoweth name is teaching, often at the university level (another is medicine). Good education is a trait mentioned by A.L. Rouse on the Cornish name of Chenoweth. My uncle (Harry Holt Chenoweth) was mechanical engineering professor at the UW. One of my best family contacts was with Eugene Victor Chenoweth as professor of Music at Butler University. There are many, including yourself. There seems to be many in the family that were musical and theatrical. Mary Chenoweths were long lived. I have noted that many Chenoweths have full heads of white hair in late life. These are just my own antidotal views.

Thank you for the simulating letter. � Jon Egge

[holly]

Thank you for all your hard work.

18 Sep 2010
Shelley Brandenburg

Your comments are much appreciated. � Jon Egge

[holly]

Thanks for the newsletter and all the wonderful info. It still amazes me at the �tons� of data you all have collected and inputed and researched for the �Chenoweth� newsletters and the awesome database�..it�s truly mindboggling!! You all are to be commended.

I was so bummed that I wasn�t able to make the reunion, I know it was great! I hope to make the next one in VA.

In the meantime, is there anyway to find out if my line from Gideon ever tries to get together or at least find a way to contact or email each other? That in itself would be wonderful. Thanks for your help.

17 Sep 2010
Christie Waugh

There are certainly a lot of Gideon�s on the West Coast, particularly in Oregon. The only signed in cousin I had from California besides you lived in Ramona � Dianne Lynn Carter, but there are many others out there� If there is a Gideon reunion in Oregon, perhaps Greg Nelson would know � that�s his line. � Jon Egge

[holly]

John Hart so enjoyed meeting you at the Chenoweth reunion. He was amazed at all the information you have of the family, your incredible brilliance. I enjoyed meeting you also and hope to attend more of the reunions. I have some very sad news to impart. John Hart died this past month, August 23. It was very sudden. We had planned to go on a cruise and all doctors reports said he was good to go, but that was not the case in reality. He was buried with full military honors at DFW Memorial Cemetery in Dallas. What love he had for every person that came within close proximity to him, not many people escaped his humor. He always had a twinkle in his eye, and then you knew you needed to get the upper hand in his word game. Not many people did. He was a great patriot and friend to all.

17 Sep 2010
Beverly Thompson

How sad, please accept my condolences. It was indeed a fine thing to have finally met yo and John. I am so sorry for your loss. God Bless. Your husband carried a name of a great patriot to our country. God Bless him for his service. � Jon Egge

[holly]

Thanks for keeping me on your distribution list for your Newsletter. It is always intresting to see how you guys are doing things. By the way, I did a 64 marker DNA 2yrs ago which gave good insights. The Blackstone family has about 25 participants in the DNA effort too. Thanks again for keeping me on your list.

17 Sep 2010
Tom Blackstone

There were 8,729 Blackstone�s in the 2000 Census, almost twice the size of the Chenoweh family. I know here in the Seattle area, there was an old lumberyard in the City called Blackstone�s where you could find the best and rarest lumber available for years. I don�t know if it is still there. DNA has the wonderful potential for helping to sort some genealogy out. Good for you. There is still a lot of this Blackstone line which is undeveloped and needs work. When you have only 2 pages of material from a December 30, 1832 marriage, there is much still to be done, or things withered on the vine. In our 14 years we now only have two of the Blackstone cousins, you and Scott Lockard. � Jon Egge

[holly]

Appreciate your work, Jon. We now have at least one Chenowith family living in NC where they have never heard of the name! I have moved from St. Augustine, FL (my wife�s hometown) where I served as an itinerant minister, interim pastor, evangelist, and chaplain for a couple of years. We have come to serve as the Senior Pastor of Baptist Home Church in North Wilkesboro, NC (Daniel Boone�s original county (whose family by the way comes from Cornwall County in England as well).

17 Sep 2010
Lon Chenowith

North Carolina was never really a Chenoweth place. You do not find the name there in the 1800s. The first appearance was in the 1920�s by the family of Job Marcellus Chenoweth from Randolph Co., WV. He is found in 1930 in Ashville. Today most Chenoweths you find in North Carolina are from West Virginia. Granted you don�t find many. Chenowith would be even rarer. Ministers and Pastors always through our nations history have moved around a lot. Your ancestor, John P. is a stark example, though it would be hard to classify him as a real minister, more like a charlatan in my opinion. I never finished signing you in. (which was getting a street address for my reference file.) Say, Pete, who lives in Georgia would love to get a DNA sample from the family of James Garrison. It would be a most welcome stepping stone. Glad you like the newsletter. God bless us all.

Actually one of Ruth Chenoweth�s widowed husband, John Peteet, died in Caswell Co., NC in 1788. His son Richard settled in Wilkes Co., GA and lots of the family is still around there albeit not with the Chenoweth name. � Jon Egge

It should be noted that Lon has provided the DNA Project with a sample and we are anxiously awaiting the results. - editor

[holly]

I understand the difficulty of getting volunteers to help (past president of the local Friends of the Library group, President of the Elgin Genealogy Society and chairperson of the Honors and awards committee of the Illinois State Genealogical Society). I do feel for you and Peter. I recently saw a demonstration EasyNetSites, they specialize in genealogical websites. I was wondering if they might be able to help with running the website and organizing membership?

17 Sep 2010
Larry L. Pepper

I hear you. I know the local Seattle genealogy Society is always pleading for volunteers. Our local homeowners association is always struggling to fill the board as is the Chenoweth Family organization. Everyone is very busy, we live in a busy world. I am at a crossroads with this. It has been 7 years since the database at the site has been updated. Every time I think about it, I groan with the thought of having to revise 200 page bios and add 50 more. I cannot keep up with even the names I have stacked in piles to add to the file, I find myself playing hooky and exploring lines on my own as something points them out, which is more fun as it involves researching. Age is slowing me down far more rapidly than I anticipated. My computer speed is less than half of what it was. It didn�t help when I updated to Windows 7 as I blank out too often clicking tabs to find where I should be or trying to remember which tab is the correct destination. Lost in transition.

It is sort of amazing what a 170,000+ database will do. There is always something to add. We need to find a way to do multiple input and still retain the gedcom file intact. So far all we have is a way to post it. It may be that we should just do that and update it with some regularity. I wish we could have round tabled this at the reunion. I don�t remember to do things anymore unless they are immediate. I am excited about staging a reunion in 2 years in Winchester. Maybe we could pump up the attendance and have some real discussion. I don�t have all the ideas. There are so many things that could be done.

Hope you enjoyed the newslette . � Jon Egge

[holly]

I guess I just don�t know how to navigate the site very well as I can�t locate this person, Samuel Clark Chenoweth. In July or August he applied for a marriage license in Perry, Noble Co., OK. None of my near relatives who live there know who he is but we think he might be related to our Uncle Clark (Click) Chenoweth, deceased, since he has his name as well as our grandfathers, Clark B. Chenoweth. Terry and Tim are sons of Uncle Clark (Click). I think Click might have another son or two from a second marriage. Or this might be a son of Terry or Tim, we just don�t know since they rarely come to family events.

We do know that this Samuel Clark Chenoweth doesn�t live in Perry (at least prior to the marriage) as my relatives know all of the Chenoweths in that small town.

If you can help me so I can tell them that would be great. They had passed the research to me as they know I get the newsletter. I�ll be going to Perry tomorrow afternoon to attend the Cherokee Strip Parade and celebration on Saturday.

Thanks so much for telling me how to find him or who he is.

16 Sep 2010 Donna Chenoweth Beekman

Well I am as buffaloed as you as I have no clue who this Samuel is. The name is not used too much anymore and I have no Samuel C.�s that are living. Obviously he is young and we are at least 2 generations away from the 1930 Census. There are lots of current families we don�t have kids for. I tried Intellius and he does not appear on the radar. Given modern day, Facebook might be a better place to search.. � Jon Egge


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

[John] Isaac marries his cousin and Virginia opens the door to an unknown placement

In my work during the 1870 Census review of the Ashbrook line I came to Isaac Newton Noe. His name had first come from Helen Moore. We had then found him in the 1880 Census of Lawrence Co., IL with a wife Mary. Lawrence Co. was a place that several other Ashbrooks settled from Kentucky. Isaac�s mother was Nancy J. Ferguson, a daughter of Margaret A. 'Peggy' Ashbrook and John Ferguson. Isaac�s aunt, Sarah E. Ferguson, had married her first cousin, William Thomas Ashbrook, and lived in Lawrence Co. Isaac�s father, James Noe, had died just about the time that Isaac was born and his mother, Nancy had remarried to William Noe, a younger brother of James. In 1860 the family was in Clark Co., IL, but returned to Grant Co., KY by 1870. Apparently Isaac remained in Illinois and ended up in neighboring Lawrence Co. and there I found him in the 1870 Census with his new bride Mary. Also in the household was a Cara Lemmons. This got me interested as I had just finished working with the Lemmons (also Lemons) family of Nancy Ashbrook and Thomas T. Lemmons. I had found their son George, but I had not been able to find the many daughters, apparently married or scattered after their parents appeared to have died. Cara�s age was very close to that of Amanda Lemmons and then it struck me that Amanda� sister Mary was the same age as Isaac�s wife Mary.

I turned to the Ancestry database on Illinois marriages, but there was nothing on Lawrence Co. Bemoaning this fact to Virginia Duling she reminded me that Illinois had an ongoing project of assembling a splendid marriage database that was accessible on the web. Sure enough, there was a February 07, 1869 marriage of Isaac Noe to Mary J. Lemmons. They were 2nd cousins. I then spent two days assembling Illinois Ashbrook marriages and found that about 50% of them were part of the family and very helpful in adding in missing pieces of the family puzzle. When I finished with this I started looking for missing pieces of family members that I knew were in Illinois in 1870. This too yielded fruit. During this process and flush with success I decided to look for the Chenoweth name. The list was long, and not wanting to plow too much ground already tilled, I narrowed my search to odd spellings of the Chenoweth name that had a higher probability of having been missed.

There was plenty of ripe fruit here as well as I picked up some missed marriages. But then I stumbled on some Pope Co. marriages. There were 5 of these, none of them in my database or, as far as I knew, found by previous research. It was the family of James Ross Chenoweth, a son of Absolom, Jr that came to Pope Co. Pete had located them there in both the 1870 and 1880 Censuses. Paydirt! Angelina Chenoweth married Levi Jones. This was Margery Angelina, a daughter of James Ross. There too was her sister Agatha Damaris who we had only know as Damaris. She married Alvey Chamberlain. French Mitchell Chenoweth married Mary S. Highers. We had not had her maiden name. A Nora married Willie Smiley and as I was puzzling whether this could be the daughter of French Mitchell we had as Flora, I saw John R. married Lucinda Williams.

The dawn broke as most immediately. This was John Russell Chenoweth, another son of James Ross who we knew died February 24, 1884. But it was also the John who married Lucy William and one of those remaining Harris unknown puzzles. Though I had conjectured this for the last couple of years and we had spent much time assembling the descendant family of this marriage including another Harris unknown of Charles R(oss), the stumbling block had always been the ages given for John and Lucy in the 1880 Census, the only time we had a record of this family together. At the time they were living in Mississippi Co., MO. John�s age was 27, born Kentucky, in that Census and Lucy�s 23. John Russell was born December 20, 1848 in Kentucky. But the marriage record was a fine match and belied the erroneous ages in the Census as John and Lucy would have to be older to have married on March 06, 1870 in Pope Co. Accepting this as proven, so much of it fit. John had named his last son Jessee Mitchell and his mother�s name was Margaret Anne Mitchell. I had missed the connection that Robert French Chenoweth, the son of French Mitchell was in Mississippi Co., MO in 1910. It all began to mesh together. I have to thank Linda Chenoweth McDonald and Cynthia Ann Veras, members of this family that had contacted us and given us much needed details and the information that Pete had received in 1991 from Stanley Lee Chenoweth who died in 1999. And of course I have to thank Virginia Duling who got me pointed in the right direction. This is our first break through with the remaining Harris unknown in 3 years. By my count we have now placed 53 of the Harris listings which are some 108 in total. [this article was written well before our recent assumed placement of unknowns � see June 2010]

As I spent hours transferring information in the main files and updating various lists and webpages, Pete, receiving my email of this discovery, examined my unfinished item of Nora and traced out her family in the Census proving she was indeed the daughter of French Mitchell.

JAMES ROSS5 CHENOWETH (ABSOLUM4, ABSOLUM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 14, 1810 in Jefferson Co., KY, and died October 08, 1894. He married MARGARET ANNE MITCHELL December 17, 1832 in Montgomery Co., IN. She was born Abt. 1820 in Indiana, and died Bef. 1880.

Children of JAMES CHENOWETH and MARGARET MITCHELL are:

  1. JOHN6 CHENOWETH, b. May 22, 1836; d. August 15, 1842, Washington Co., IN.
  2. ABRAHAM GLASS CHENOWETH, b. May 07, 1838, Indiana; d. April 03, 1876, Livingston Co., KY; m. MARY ELIZABETH SHOEMAKER, June 21, 1863, Harrison Co., IN; b. 1847, Indiana; d. Abt. 1884.
  3. MARGERY ANGELINA CHENOWETH, b. July 09, 1840, Indiana; d. July 14, 1870; m. LEVI JONES, June 12, 1864, Pope Co., IL; b. Aft. 1830.
  4. SARAH ISABELLA CHENOWETH, b. August 11, 1842, Kentucky; d. June 03, 1870; m. GEORGE W. CHAMBERLAIN, June 16, 1863, Harrison Co., IN; b. 1840, Harrison Co., IN; d. Unknown.
  5. AGATHA DAMARIS CHENOWETH, b. March 29, 1844, Indiana; m. ALVEY CHAMBERLAIN, March 13, 1866, Pope Co., IL; b. Aft. 1834.
  6. ATTARAH JANE CHENOWETH, b. May 17, 1846, Kentucky; d. January 27, 1871.
  7. JOHN RUSSELL CHENOWETH, b. December 20, 1848, Kentucky; d. February 24, 1884; m. LUCINDA WILLIAMS, March 06, 1870, Pope Co., IL; b. Abt. 1857, Tennessee.
  8. FRENCH MITCHELL CHENOWETH, b. August 14, 1851, Bullitt Co., KY; d. January 23, 1895; m. MARY S. HIGHERS, November 17, 1873, Pope Co., IL; b. May 1855, Illinois.

JOHN RUSSELL6 CHENOWETH (JAMES ROSS5, ABSOLUM4, ABSOLUM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 20, 1848 in Kentucky, and died February 24, 1884. He married LUCINDA WILLIAMS March 06, 1870 in Pope Co., IL. She was born Abt. 1857 in Tennessee.

Children of JOHN CHENOWETH and LUCINDA WILLIAMS are:

  1. CHARLES ROSS7 CHENOWETH, b. March 12, 1876, Galt, Whiteside Co., IL; d. November 19, 1946, Benton Harbor, Berrien Harbor, MI; m. (1) MAUD ?; b. Abt. 1883, Illinois; m. (2) BERTHA GREEN, Bef. 1920; b. June 05, 1903, Tennessee.
  2. GUS CHENOWETH, b. Abt. 1880, Missouri.
  3. JESSEE MITCHELL CHENOWETH, b. March 05, 1884, Tennessee; d. June 15, 1951; m. TILDA ELLEN (SALTERFIELD) (PIENE) ?; b. 1885, Tennessee; d. May 18, 1971.

[Arthur] Unraveling some confusion about Catherine

In my ongoing re-read of Cora�s book, on page 88, Cora describes the family of Hannah Cromwell Chenoweth, a daughter of the Virginia families of John, Jr. and Mary Davenport. John was a grandson of Arthur and part of the second Virginia influx of Chenoweths from Maryland. Hannah married three times, first to Richard Ridgeway in Berkeley Co. Both Hiatt and Harris list 4 children, but I believe, based on Cora�s book, the one listed as Catherine Ridgeway who would marry a Sunderland and live in Attica, IN, located in Fountain Co was really Ann Elizabeth Ridgeway and Catherine was her daughter.

For years we have searched for this family without success. Richard appears to have died about 1835 and Hannah next married John Callen (Cora has Cullen). They migrated to Belmont Co., OH. By Census she had four Callen children, all found in the 1850 Census. These are not listed by Cora, but a Mary Brown is, supposedly from the last marriage, to Moses Brown. It appears, rather that Mary was a Callen, born about 1842 in Ohio and listed in the 1850 Census. Cora tells us that Mary �Brown� married a Clapman. It is Mary Callen married to William Clapham (Claphon) that is found in 1900 in Attica, IN. Her age agrees with that of Mary Callen. Living with her is her niece Catherine Sunderland, age 29, born in Ohio. This Catherine appears to be the confusion Cora made in listing the Ridgeway children. By Census we know that Hannah had a daughter Ann, not listed in Cora�s book. Ann Elizabeth Ridgeway married George W. Sunderland on December 04, 1851 in Belmont Co., OH. In the 1870 Census, they are listed with a newborn daughter Catherine and Ann�s mother Hannah Brown. It is this Catherine who becomes the Catherine Sunderland listed from Attica, IN by Cora. At least that is my take, from available records.

Cora also tells us that the daughter Ellen Ridgeway married Parson Meador, but there is an 1852 marriage record of a Joseph Parsons marrying Ellen Ridgeway. A subsequent Meador Census listing is not found, but neither is one for Joseph or Ellen Parsons. In 1870 an 11 year old Allie Parsons born in Illinois is living with Rebecca Mahana. Rebecca is one of the 4 Callen children found in the 1850 Census with Hannah. She married James S. Mahana on September 01, 1857 in Belmont Co. In 1880 they are living in Johnson Co., IA. Hannah, Rebecca�s mother is living with them. They had no children. The two Callen sons, George and Coulson did marry and are the only part of Hannah�s family that we have been able to trace to living descendants along with the descendants of her son Alfred Chenoweth Ridgeway.

HANNAH CROMWELL5 CHENOWETH (JOHN4, JOHN3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born January 08, 1804 in Berkeley Co., VA (now WV), and died 1889 in Ohio. She married (1) RICHARD RIDGEWAY December 22, 1823 in Berkeley Co., VA (now WV), son of DAVID RIDGEWAY and MARTHA BEESON. He was born 1805 in Martinsburg , Berkley Co., VA (now WV), and died 1835. She married (2) JOHN CALLEN. He was born Abt. 1785 in Tennessee. She married (3) MOSES BROWN August 28, 1853 in Belmont Co., OH.

Children of HANNAH CHENOWETH and RICHARD RIDGEWAY are:

  1. DAVID HENRY6 RIDGEWAY, b. September 1824, Virginia; m. JANE L. JOHNSON; b. December 1828, Ohio.
  2. ANN ELIZABETH RIDGEWAY, b. Abt. 1830, Virginia; m. GEORGE W. SUNDERLAND, December 04, 1851, Belmont Co., OH; b. Abt. 1822, Maryland.
  3. ALFRED CHENOWETH RIDGEWAY, b. August 08, 1831, Winchester, Frederick Co., VA; d. 1905; m. (1) PLEASANT ANNE BURNS, 1857; b. Abt. 1838, Ohio; m. (2) SARAH MARGARET RUSSELL, Abt. 1876; b. Abt. 1846, Ohio.
  4. ELLEN RIDGEWAY, b. Abt. 1834, Virginia; m. (1) JOSEPH PARSONS, October 21, 1852, Belmont Co., OH; b. Abt. 1830, Ohio; m. (2) PARSON MEADOR, Private; b. Aft. 1814.

    Children of HANNAH CHENOWETH and JOHN CALLEN are:

  5. REBECCA B.6 CALLEN, b. February 1838, Virginia; m. JAMES S. MAHANA, September 01, 1857, Belmont Co., OH; b. August 1836, Pennsylvania.
  6. GEORGE V. CALLEN, b. Abt. 1840, Virginia; m. ALVIRA HOOVER, July 23, 1863, Belmont Co., OH; b. Abt. 1847, Ohio.
  7. MARY CALLEN, b. March 1842, Ohio; m. WILLIAM CLAPHAM, Abt. 1888; b. April 1823, Indiana.
  8. COULSON D. CALLEN, b. July 1844, Ohio; m. KATHERINE M. SMITH, Abt. 1877; b. April 26, 1851, Ohio; d. June 05, 1940, Los Angeles Co., CA.

[JOHN & THOMAS] An old story that needs to be told

A while back Roy Kendrick of Perry, in Noble Co., OK contacted me. Roy descends from Elijah in the Thomas line. Elijah�s son, John Foster Chenoweth, who settled in Madison Co., OH had a large family. Roy�s ancestor was Isabell Jane Chenoweth, one of John Foster�s daughters. Isabell married Charles R. Warner and they raised their family in Madison Co. Their son Charles Sumner Warner married Rachel E. Moore and went to Kansas and then Oklahoma. One of their daughters, Rachel Smith Warner, born in Kansas married William Orville Lewis, Roy�s grandfather.

In looking at the posted page for John Foster Chenoweth, Roy found some friends he knew in the Perry area. He wrote �Howard Wayne Casteel is a local auctioneer here and a friend of mine for years and I expect to have some updated info on his family. Janet Sue (Roberts) Klingaman and I, are in the same church choir (and have been known to sing duets together several times) and we've been comparing family notes for several years. Wilson Chestnut is husband of Anita Gayle Roberts and I've known him for several years too.�

These folks were from Lewis Foster Chenoweth, a brother of Isabell. I mentioned to Roy that Louis Alexander Chenoweth, a grandson of Louis was the co-owner of the Chenoweth & Green Music Store in Enid. Roy had not made this connection before. I replied that 9 out of 10 Chenoweths in the US today are all descended from the same family, and included a listing from the family of Clark Braden Chenoweth which had also located in Perry. This was a very distant line to Roy�s coming from William of Nelson Co., KY. Roy immediately recognized some of these families as locals to his area, replying in part �you included some information this time that I'd been searching for in the Chenoweth website files. I've known Bill Chenoweth (here in Perry) for more than 30 years and had never been able to find the connection in my genealogy research (primarily through my Warner line). I see him and his sisters Louella Gregg and Libby Norton several times a week because we all eat at the Wheatheart Nutrition Center here in Perry. Louella is now 97 years old and is in a wheelchair. Her daughter, Vicky J. (Ewy), Maine, Beier is a local attorney and also owns an antique store here. Bill Chenoweth's son Scott has been a wrestling coach here for several years and is now the Principal of one of our schools.�

Perry, was indeed a hotbed of Chenoweths! But I was reminded of another story I dealt with involving a Noble Co., OK family. Robert Colfax Chenoweth was a brother of Clark Braden. He married Ellen 'Nellie' Longmire and they had three sons born in Noble Co., two of who lived to become adults: Robert Daniel and Glenn Haven. They are found in the 1910 Census of Noble Co. By 1920 they were in San Joaquin Co., CA. In one of his surveys, Pete had been contacted by Christine Chenoweth Hammond looking for the father of her father Daniel Anthony Chenoweth. Daniel�s father was a Bob Chenoweth. In my phone searches I found Daniel�s widow, Gloria. From her I gleaned �that Bob had a brother Glenn and the family came from Oklahoma. She remembered someone of the name Ellen (this was Ellen Longmire). The Bartolis lived in Florence which is near Sacramento, but not far from the Stockton area where Bob Colfax and family settled.� Voila! We had placed Daniel Anthony and family as a son of Robert, the son of Robert Colfax. He had married Lena Nita Bartoli and Daniel was born in 1927. We never found them in the 1930 Census. But the story was not ended here. Bob apparently had left Nina. About the same time I was contacted by Donna Weststeyn, who wrote �I am trying to find out the family tree on my mothers side. Her father's name was Jack Chenoweth born 1905 in Ponca OK. This is very close to Osage Indian Reservation He had a brother named Glen who was older (JE: should be younger), by how much I don't know. This missive was followed by more detail: �Jack Burt Chenoweth born 1905 in Ponca, Glen was his older brother. Jack was my mother's father, my mom's name is Marjorie Ann, her brother is Jerome Daniel, Jack married my grandma Marjorie Abbigail� Jack changed his last name to a step-fathers last name of Murray which is what we thought Jack's last name always was till Jerry went to get a birth certificate and found out he was Jerome Chenoweth not Murray at the time of his birth. Jack spent time around Perry OK my mom said he would talk about the town, but his upbringing was a big secret� It finally dawned on me that the Jack Murray she was talking about was our Bob Chenoweth. I found this listing in the California Deaths: Murray, Jack B b: 02/13/1905, Male, in Oklahoma, died Santa Clara, Co. on 08/13/1964. I do not know when or why Bob changed his name, but apparently he did.

ROBERT DANIEL 'BOB'8 CHENOWETH (ROBERT COLFAX 'BOB'7, JOSEPH STEAVEN6, JAMES HACKLEY5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 13, 1905 in Noble Co., OK, and died August 13, 1964 in San Jose, Santa Clara Co., CA. He married (1) LENA NITA BARTOLI. She was born January 14, 1909 in California, and died January 21, 1988 in Sacramento Co., CA. He married (2) MARJORIE ABBIGAIL BAILEY.

Child of ROBERT CHENOWETH and LENA BARTOLI is:

  1. DANIEL ANTHONY9 CHENOWETH, b. August 20, 1927, Oakland, Alameda Co., CA; d. November 22, 2001, Carmichael, Sacramento Co., CA; m. GLORIA M. STEVENS, October 16, 1954, Sacramento Co., CA; b. May 18, 1929, Oakland, Alameda Co., CA.

    Children of ROBERT CHENOWETH and MARJORIE BAILEY are:

  2. JEROME DANIEL9 MURRAY, b. 1937.
  3. MARJORIE ANN MURRAY, b. 1943.

I wish I knew more of this story, but it was an amazing solution to two separate and vague inquiries, that we have now preserved for the family records.

Cora gets a second look

Though there are problems with Cora�s notions of the early family and the structure she created for the 3rd and 4th generations, there are many things of value in her book in preserving so many records of the family from the mid 1800s to 1925. Not the least of these are over 1,000 daughter line names, about 20% of the book, that was not contained in the later Harris book. Often there are details in where to locate these people. The bulk of this detail came from family letters and much of it has proved accurate, describing families still living or in living memory. In one place Cora refers to a method she described as a rotation. This appears to refer to a system she had of distributing new information back through a chain of her contacts to see what could be added or enlighten on. It is not always clear who her sources of information were, but it is obvious that there were many.

One source that is clearly not there are the supposed family charts, that were promised and paid for by the chapter of the �Chenoweth Heirs Association� run by CC Taggart of Ashgrove, MO. Columbus C. Taggart, son of Mary Chenoweth is not even listed in the book, though his parents are. This lends a bit more credence to my suspicions that CC Taggart�s participation in the wild pursuit of �the lost 99 year leases,� was part of a scam and not the organized preservation of family information he promised as part of collected contributions. It also leaves open the question as to what happened to the information that was dutifully contributed to him. They would be an interesting find.

There are 4 foundations to the present knowledge of the family. The first is the will of John Chenoweth in 1746, preserving the names of his 8 children. Cora�s 1925, work became the 2nd cornerstone, preserving so much of the family knowledge and helping to bridge the gap between the first three generations and the first modern Census in 1850. The 3rd cornerstone was the 1994 Harris book, which added rich detail and started to set Cora�s work to the rigors of Census work, extending the family knowledge in both breadth and time. The website has become the 4th foundation, uniting family researchers across the country and solving and correcting many of the long embedded errors of the early family. As a whole, the body of these 4 family treasures creates a genealogy legacy that is one of the best and most well researched of any colonial family today.

In the spring of 2008 I started to index Cora�s book. I had suggested this as a project at the Baltimore reunion, but found no takers. But I quickly found an acceptable methodology, and saw that the process of going through the book was yielding leads to details and information that would help locate people in the Census that we had not looked for before. I saw merit in an exercise that would bring the many families she wrote about to the 1920 or 1930 Censuses, validating her information in the process and filling in some of the blanks that the book did not contain. I find it remarkable, that many of the lines that Cora preserved for us spotlight branches that might not otherwise be known to a researcher today. Her book, in some instances is the sole source of knowledge for some lines including my own. The listing of the names of the family of James Francis Chenoweth has never been found outside the list preserved in her book. The same is true for the family of Arthur�s son George. The fragments of Ruth, the daughter of Arthur, would not probably be known to us today without her inclusion of them. It is unlikely that the families of James and Absolom of Perry Co., OH would be as clear without her detail. There are even more daughter lines that would have been perhaps lost if Cora had not set them down from letters she received.

Looking now with a systematic list of the content of Cora�s book, it is a surprisingly different distribution than the present database, or even that of the Harris book. Of course the thickest part is that of the families of William of Hampstead, Cora�s original intent in writing the book. And though there is a disproportionate number of her branch listed, the thickness of the section is as much due to the detail as it is to numbers. When sorted out to the correct lineage, the book is 96% sorted out to John, Arthur and Thomas, with naturally John topping the list. There are only 143 William�s, most all of them misplaced. In fact, one third of the lines in her book are misaligned. Richard�s line, though bulky in the book, shrivels to 14 names. Elijah, son of Thomas, is almost half of that line�s presentation, and I am curious as to the source. It is obvious that most of it came from a single submission by someone who is in that line who had extensively traced the families of Elijah that had remained in the Franklin Co., area. In all there are 18 of the approximate 5,068 names in her book that cannot be identified to anyone presently known in the family and two that appear real, but remain unplaced.

To our thanks today, Cora was persuaded to expand her effort to include the broader family. And though it is certainly not as rich or detailed as the families she knew, it is still a family treasure. The debt the family owes to Cora for her work is immeasurable. Her book is a researcher�s �must�.

[ARTHUR] A small typo

On page 92 of Cora�s book she gives the husband of Ida Hyatt as Aaron Ward, inserting the word weaver, after a comma, like a trade. He was rather Aaron Ward Weaver. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Aaron became a Lieutenant in 1855, and would serve in the Civil war on both gunboats and ironclads. A career officer he would eventually rise to the rank of Rear Admiral. A destroyer, USS Aaron Weaver was named after him. Aaron�s and Ida�s daughter, Mary Ida Weaver, married Benton Decker who became a Commander in the US Navy. Their son, was Benton Weaver Decker, an Admiral in World War II. Children of IDA HYATT and AARON WEAVER are:

  1. MARY IDA WARD7 WEAVER, b. Abt. 1865, Maryland; m. BENTON DECKER, 1894; b. Abt. 1868, new York.
  2. ALPHEUS WARD WEAVER, b. Abt. 1863, Maryland.
  3. AUGUSTUS VAN WYCK WARD WEAVER, b. May 1860, Washington, DC.

[WILLIAM] A possible daughter for Edward

Edward Chenoweth, the son of Isaac, had 8 or more daughters by Census. The family lived in Fayette Co., PA and moved to Ohio late in Edward�s life. At this point we have names of 6 daughters with the possibility of a 7th. The reader is referred to the article titled �Edward and his daughters�. In September 2009, Pete sent me a detail taken from Ohio death listings of Catherine Collins whose parents were J. Collins and Abba Chenoweth. Abba is not in our file. Nor is any listing of a Chenoweth-Collins marriage. We have come to know so much about the Chenoweth family that it is always surprising to run across something we don�t recognize. Abba, maybe for Abigail, was born in Pennsylvania. Catherine, her daughter was born in Muskingum Co., OH on April 21, 1830. This early, these two locations only equate to one family that we know that of Edward of Fayette Co., PA. In the first place, there were few Chenoweth families in Pennsylvania and only one that had members that came and married in Muskingum Co. Not that there weren�t many family members from other daughter lines in Muskingum Co., there were. But Edward�s family was the only line there bearing the Chenoweth name. By 1850 there were 17 daughter line families in Muskingum Co. but not one bearing the Chenoweth name. By that time Edward is believed to have died in neighboring Licking Co. and his one son Ison was living in Vinton Co. having been recorded in the 1840 Census of Muskingum Co.

So far we lack any real information on Abba. There are no dates other than her daughter Catherine was born in 1830. That places Abba on or before 1810. In the 1810 Census there were 4 daughters and we only know of 3. Catherine married Samuel Roller from Virginia. In 1860 the family is found in Guernsey Co. a place that many of the Gordons of Isaac�s daughter Elizabeth also lived. At that time the couple had one son William, listed as 2 years old. The family would continue in Guernsey Co. and in 1870 there were 6 children. Living with the family then was a 76 year old Abigal Joy born in Virginia. This does not fit well with Abba as the place is wrong and she is a couple years older than the 1787 marriage of Edward and Mary Wilson would permit. More likely she is related to Samuel, though it should be noted that part of Elizabeth Chenoweth�s Gordons had married into the Joy family. I have been unable to find a Collins family to fit in the 1850 or 1840 Census. Here is the family of Catherine Collins Roller as we now know it

CATHERINE2 COLLINS (J.1) was born April 21, 1830 in Muskingum Co., OH, and died December 18, 1913 in Byersville, Guernsey Co., OH. She married SAMUEL ROLLER. He was born January 1830 in Virginia.

Children of CATHERINE COLLINS and SAMUEL ROLLER are:

  1. WILLIAM D.3 ROLLER, b. Abt. 1858, Guernsey Co., OH.
  2. SARAH M. ROLLER, b. Abt. 1861, Guernsey Co., OH.
  3. AMANDA C. ROLLER, b. Abt. 1863, Guernsey Co., OH; m. WILLIAM FEASTER; b. Abt. 1858, Pennsylvania; d. June 21, 1933, Guernsey Co., OH.
  4. HUGH S. ROLLER, b. Abt. 1865, Guernsey Co., OH.
  5. ABIGAL 'JENNIE' ROLLER, b. Abt. 1868, Guernsey Co., OH.
  6. LIZZIE M. ROLLER, b. Abt. 1869, Guernsey Co., OH.
  7. MARY E. ROLLER, b. Abt. 1872, Guernsey Co., OH.
  8. GEORGE A. ROLLER, b. November 1876, Guernsey Co., OH.

[toy greeting]

The �Genes� in Genealogy

As project manager for the Chenoweth Family DNA Project I always look for new ways to present information about this important project. The following article is reprinted with permission of the author as it appeared in The November/December 2005 issue of Everton�s Genealogical Helper � editor.

[Claire]Claire V. Brisson-Banks, B.S., MLIS, A.G.

Beginning with Adam, each human being has come into existence in the �likeness� of his or her parents. Even though each child is unique, they are essentially the combination of a father and mother, who were also combinations of their fathers and mothers. How is this likeness, comprised of genes and traits, inherited from generation to generation of ancestors? The answer lies in a genetic blueprint called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, more commonly known as DNA.

Through genetic research, scientists have discovered the following:

  1. Females produce eggs with X chromosomes
  2. Males produce sperm with an X or Y chromosome
  3. DNA is passed through these chromosomes

Common sources of DNA are hair, saliva, bones, and blood. Any of these items can be broken down into a numeric code showing certain DNA markers. According to the Relative Genetics website (http://www.relativegenetics.com/blue.jsp?p=65) there are three main kinds of genetic testing:

  • Y-Chromosome test
  • mtDNA test
  • Autosomal test

Research of human cells revealed that the DNA within each cell nucleus is arranged into 46 chromosomes. These chromosomes are broken up into 23 pairs. Twenty-two pairs are identical, as each pair contains a chromosome from the mother and the father. The 23rd pair has either two �X� chromosomes or one �X� and one �Y� which determines a child�s sex. So, how is this great feat accomplished.

The DNA within these chromosomes contains inherited materials from both parents. DNA issues instructions to the proteins and to mitochondriaDNA, known as mtDNA, which also carries a very small piece of DNA.

Y-Chromosome Test

The link through the father is the �Y� chromosome that is passed down from every father to every son! There is a small portion that is passed down from father to son virtually unchanged. It is that portion of the genetic code that identifies the direct male line.

This is the most popular test for genealogists in combination with a surname group. Due to the fact that the Y chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged, it establishes direct paternal lines from a common ancestor. This is a great tool in verifying direct paternal lines as well as collaborating records and information already established through a paper trail. There are times when mutations occur in the Y chromosome. An analysis of these mutations can be used to estimate the degree of separation between individual males in terms of the number of generations since the separation (mutation) occurred. That individual male is known as the �Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA).

mtDNA Test

A small amount of mtDNA, which is an exact copy of the mother�s genetic material, is passed down to each child. This creates the perfect genetic code to link the generations together through the mother! It is important to remember that it is only the daughters that pass it along to the next generation. Often the maiden names of females are not included in paper records, bringing about the need to verify a paper trail done through conventional research. This testing is beneficial when there is a need to establish maternal lines.

Autosomal Test

A full scan of all your DNA chromosomes is completed through an Autosomal test. This particular test allows you to establish and verify family relationships. There is a limitation at this time in that you can only go back to your grandparents. It is this test that is used to establish paternity.

As a chromosome is made up of basic genetic units with repeated copies called genetic markers, individuals can be linked together into family genealogies. This development allows any two people to trace back to a common ancestor creating a genetic pedigree. Until this point in time, genealogists only had written records to create their pedigree. Following the paper trail of ones� ancestors often leads to dead ends due to man-made or natural disasters, or just plain carelessness. There are also situations where records are not available for legal reasons due to adoptions and illegitimate children.

To compensate for these situations, we must remember that we carry around in our genes the answers to these questions through DNA, which can�t be lost. DNA is a new tool for genealogical research because the testing can be done on living descendants to establish relationships. DNA has provided the ability to trace one�s heritage through either the male or female genes. Tracking the male line is done through a Y-chromosome test in conjunction with matching and variant surnames. Tracking the female line is done through the mtDNA.

DNA determines every aspect of human growth. Physically, DNA itself is very long, thin, and extremely tightly wound bundles called chromosomes. From a gene you are able to read the four chemical components of DNA, which are:

  • Adenine
  • Thymine
  • Cytosine
  • Guanine

These are the key to breaking the genetic code. These 4 letters � A, T, G, and C � make up the DNA alphabet. There are 64 possible combinations of these four chemical components, called bases. After a number of processes, a single DNA strand is read and the results are a sequence from the DNA alphabet, A, C, G, T. The DNA chain will look something like TTAACACGGTTAAC.

Using certain dyes, these chromosomes can be seen under a light microscope, creating a pattern of light and dark bands, showing differences in the amounts of A and T versus G and C. These different amounts and patterns allow us to identify the differences in each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes. These bases are paired together: A pairs with T, and C pairs with G. Because they pair together, if one knows that an �A� is on one strand, one knows that a �T� is on the other strand. One strand is like a negative of the other, making reading the strands easier. One only needs to read one strand and the corresponding strand is the matching negative. Sequencing is done through X-ray films. The colored bases are matched to bands on the X-ray. It is read left to right in the order of the letters. This sequence creates the �gene� in Genealogy.

Genealogy, paternity, and migration patterns, as well as how groups of people are related, is traceable through the Y chromosomes. The segments that carry genetic characteristics on the Y-chromosome are called �Markers,� and each marker�s name is known as a DNA Y-Chromosome Segment Number or DYS Number. The location of the marker on the chromosome is known as the �Locus.� The number of repeats is called �Allele.� It is the variation of repeats of these base pairs that creates the results that allow us to verify a genealogical connection. The number of markers searched for increases the accuracy and the price of the test. Relative Genetics has the following tests:

  • Family Tree Pruner (15 markers)
  • Family Line Verifier (24 markers)
  • Lineage Establisher (37 markers)
  • 24-37 marker RG Upgrade

[editor: It should be noted that since this article was written there is a 46 marker test that the Chenoweth Family uses. It should also be noted that Relative Genetics has been purchased by Ancestry.com]

As one works on their family history, it is amazing how the number of people in one�s ancestry begin to increase dramatically as each generation doubles the previous number of individuals. Just going back 10 generations gives us 1,024 direct ancestors. Going back a total of 750 years gives us 30 generations and 1 billion ancestors! Just the plain fact that there were not 1 billion people living at this time tells us that we are all cousins and related somehow, which is why genetic research will help locate those links between each other. zzzz

Additional benefits of genetic research:

  • Archeological finds throughout the world
  • Identify genetic diseases which could lead to possibly cures
  • Forensic Science uses DNA as evidence in crimes and has assisted in many significant determinations of guilt or innocence in a court of law.

Some locations for Genealogical DNA testing are as follows:

In conclusion, DNA analysis should be considered as another method in seeking our ancestors to validate or supplement the written word. Time destroys records, but our genes are passed down through each generation just waiting to be identified with the correct tools. Computers have made genealogical research easier, and DNA has made the science of genealogy verifiable. The future is full of promise as new technologies emerge, perhaps inventing more accurate measurements for extending one�s genealogical lines as well as locating the actual origins of one�s ancestors. We live in exciting times!

Claire V. Brisson-Banks was born in Providence, RI, and graduated from Roger Williams University (BS � Computer Information Systems). She is a professional genealogist specializing in U.S., New England, Canadian, English, and Scottish genealogy, and is currently a UGA Board Member. Claire has researched on site in England and Scotland, and has lectured extensively all over New England and now in Utah. She was director of Providence, Rhode Island Family History Center from 1987 to 2003. When not working on family history, she loves spending time with her family, reading, and writing. She currently serves as a family history consultant in South Jordan, UT.


PHOTOS FROM THE CLAN

[Sarah Marie]

Thanks for all your hard work. I look forward to the newsletters. The oldest Chenoweth family pictures I have are of Sarah Maria Johnson daughter of Julia Ann Chenoweth and Samuel B Johnson.

The picture above is of her on her deathbed, I think. It is taken at their place in Crawford, Delta Co., CO [as is the 2nd picture]

The picture below is some years earlier and features: William Kile Miller [1838-1919] and Sarah [1843-1910] with offspring. Left to right men: William Ralph M. [1884- �], Guy Earl M. [1870-aft 1930] and Hugh H M. [1879-aft 1930]; women: Flora Belle M. Toler [1873-1969] and Elsie Blanche M. Allen [1887-1976]. �I do not know who the little girl is and cannot date the picture closer than 1902-1907.

Dorothy C Burt

[Millers]


DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?

In this issue we ask you to take a look at information that we have gathered from the 1930 Census with regards to Chenoweths. These are individuals that we have been unable to identify. As always with this column any help in identifying these individuals would be greatly appreciated.

Missouri

  • St Louis, St Louis Co.
    • Chenoweth, Bonner 30-MO
    • Chenoworth, Earl J. 5-MO � ward of John F. Ferrero
    • Chenoweth, Erleen 12-MO � niece of Ira Maas
    • Chenoweth, Erleen 34-IL - maid
    • Chenoweth, Nellie 32-MO � inmate (Domestic Convent House of Good Shepherd)
  • Vernon, Washington Co.
    • Chenoweth, John 29-US � inmate (State Hospital #3)

Nebraska

  • Omaha, Douglas Co.
    • Chenoweth, Clyde 53-US � laborer (coal yard)
    • Chenoweth, John E. 43-MO � traveling salesman
      • Eva 36-MO
  • Ogallala, Keith Co.
    • Chenoweth, Lillian 45-KS (divorced) � housekeeper (private family)

New Jersey

  • Vineland, Cumberland Co.
    • Cheynoweth, Hazel 27-Canada � stenographer (poultry farm)
  • North Bergen, Hudson Co.
    • Chenoweth, William 27-NY � candy store salesman (step-son to Joseph Bonner)
  • Asbury Park, Monmouth Co.
    • Chenoweth, Anna 38-NY (Widow)
  • Little Falls, Passaic Co.
    • Chenoweth, George 28-MD � machinist (shop)
      • Athalene 23-NY
      • George H. 6-NJ
  • Elizabeth, Union Co.
    • Chenowith, Jessie M. 22-MN � clerk (department store)
  • Linden, Union Co.
    • Chenoweth, Clara L. 50-MD (widow) � nurse (private)

New York

  • Bronx, Bronx Co.
    • Chenoweth, William H. 49-NY � mason (building)
      • Helen 49-Ireland
      • Audrey 10-NY
  • Brooklyn, Kings Co.
    • Chenoweth, Ethel 32-Eng � cashier (insurance co.) immigrated 1921 in Alabama
    • Chenoweth, Gladys 30-Eng � office clerk (insurance co.) sister-in-law to John K. Wright (immigrated 1926)
    • Chenoweth, William 25-Eng � painter (telephone co.) immigrated 1929
      • Eunice 24-Eng
  • Manhattan, New York Co.
    • Chenoweth, Laura 28-MD � hairdresser (beauty parlor)
    • Chenoweth, William H. 25-KS � chef (hotel)
      • Marjorie 24-NE � cashier (Confectionary store)
  • Lockport, Niagara Co.
    • Chenoweth, Charles 35-MD � laborer (cotton mill)
      • Ethel 39-NY
      • Ethel 18-NY
      • Gordon 18-NY
      • Bessy 16-NY
      • Samuel 14-NY
      • Burt 12-NY
  • Middletown, Orange Co.
    • Chenowith, Joseph 59-US (widower) � inmate (Middletown Homeopathic State Hosp
  • Queens, Queens Co.
    • Chenoweth, Harry 46-VA � waiter (restaurant)
      • Anna 50-NY
      • Virginia 15-NY
  • New Rochelle, Westchester Co.
    • Chenoweth, Katherine F. 38-TX � fuel company

[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: December 15, 2010