Did 2 Sisters & 1 Brother Marry 2 Brothers & 1 Sister?

My fourth great grandparents, Jacob Coppenbarger (1769-1841) and Catharine Ann Snavely (1780-1857) had a dozen known children: 7 sons & 5 daughters. Last week, I came across a newspaper article which was published by the Circuit Court and involved the estate of Jacob Coppenbarger. Jacob's oldest four daughters are listed alongside their husband's names. His fifth daughter, Emily, was only 15 years old when her father died. Though she wasn't yet married, she would marry shortly after her 1t6h birthday.

Circuit Court, May Term, Peter Coppenbarger, Illinois Weekly State Journal, Springfield, Illinoisi,11 Mar 1842,
page 4, column 2, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 20 Jan 2016

Jacob's son, Peter Coppenbarger (my direct ancestor), is the complainant. The list goes on to list Jacob's other 11 children, including the daughter's spouses, and Jacob's widow, Catharine.

• John Copenbarger [spelling used in this newspaper clipping]
• Elias Copenbarger
• Jacob Copenbarger
• Joseph Copenbarger
• George Copenbarger
• Elisha Butler, and Mary Ann Butler his wife
• Wyatt Stricklin, and Elizabeth Stricklin his wife [other records show Strickland]
• Obediah Hooper, and Sarah Hooper his wife
• William Hooper, and Catharine Hooper his wife
• Emily Copenbarger
• William Copenbarger
• Catharine Copenbarger, widow of Jacob

Seeing the names listed this way made the two "Hooper" marriages stand out. My first thought was, were Obediah & William Hooper brothers?

Then, I came across another online tree showing one of their older brothers, Jacob, was also married to a Hooper! Jacob's wife is listed as Mary Elizabeth Hooper.

Though I have seen quite a few cases of two siblings of one family marrying two siblings of another family, I've never seen 3! Of course, I still have to "prove" that Obediah, William, and Mary Elizabeth Hooper were all siblings. Other trees show they are all children of Obediah Hooper, Sr and his wife, Downey (Downing) Hooper. So, my search continues!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

The Sweet Homecoming Story of My 5x Great Grandfather Who was Taken Prisoner during the Revolutionary War

My Vincent ancestors moved from Essex County, New Jersey to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in the mid to late 1700's. During the Revolutionary War, they were at Fort Freeland when it was attacked by the British and their Indian allies in 1779. The women, children, and elderly men were set free, but the able-bodied men were marched to Canada as prisoners.

In 1876, The Columbian published a series of articles titled "History of Columbia County." The fourth part of this series was published on January 28th and told about the capture of Fort Freeland.

Part of the article tells about Bethuel Vincent:

It would be interesting to know who were taken prisoners, and who returned from the captivity. But one case is known, that of Bethuel Vincent, who had been married a short time before he was taken prisoner. His wife returned to her home in New Jersey. For four years she heard nothing from her husband. One evening she was out with a sleighing party, and having stopped at a tavern a roughly dressed stranger inquired if a Mrs. Vincent lived in the vicinity. She was pointed out to him, and he informed her that he knew her husband in Canada, had lately seen him, and that he was well. On the return home the stranger went with the party, and the extra passenger crowding the sled, he proposed to take Mrs. Vincent on his lap; but she indignantly declined the familiarity, whereupon the stranger discovered himself to be her husband, when the proffered courtesy was joyfully accepted.

What a lovely, romantic story! I believe Bethuel was the brother of my 5 times great grandfather, Daniel Vincent, who was married to Angelchy/Angelica. But, it looks like the author of this story got it wrong! The following week a letter is published in The Columbian which attempts to correct a mistake made in the story:

This letter from A. I. Quigley explains that the story was actually about Daniel Vincent (my direct ancestor), and not his brother, Bethuel. And, this information is from Daniel's grandson-in-law!

Was A. I Quigly correct? I believe so, though I don't have a lot of information on Bethuel. It appears that he didn't marry until about 1788 while the attack on the fort occurred in 1779 so the 'sleighing' incident would've taken place about 1783. Daniel's wife, however, gave birth to their first child in late 1779 several months after the attack on the fort. Their second child wasn't born until late 1783, which pretty much corresponds with the story that she hadn't heard from her husband in four years. (Though perhaps it was more like three years.)

So, I'm happy to claim this story for my 5 times great grandparents who were separated for several years after Daniel was taken captive and marched up to Canada. And, I appreciate Daniel's grandson-in-law providing Angelica's last name, Heuff. I have also seen her name spelled Huff and Hough, but I didn't have a source. And, though I knew the Vincent's came from Essex County, New Jersey, I didn't know Angelica was "from" there, also.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Doing Time for Manufacturing & Selling "Intoxicating Liquor" During Prohibition

August Heuszel, my great, great grandmother's brother-in-law, served time in the Texas State Penitentiary for "manufacturing" and "selling intoxicating liquor." The year was 1922. This was near the start of prohibition which lasted from 1920 to 1933.  

Texas Convict and Conduct Registers, 1875-1945, Huntsville, B 047021-052020
accessed at www.ancestry.com

The photos above show August's record in the "Texas Convict and Conduct Register." The columns tell us more about August Heuszel:

Registered #: 18037
Name: A. Heuszel
Age: 65
Height: 5-3 5/8
Weight: 128
Complexion: W [white] M-Fair
Eyes: W Maroon [maroon eyes? but there are others listed as maroon]
Hair: Blk & Gray
Marks on Person: 2-vac scrs [some type of scars?] upper L arm; outer [hard to read] & upper teeth all out; circ cut se[?] L lit[tle] finger over 2nd [joint] outer; N---[?] operation sc[a]rs back neck outer & center; NO CHURCH; Shoe #6 1/2
Marital Relations: yes
Use of Tobacco: yes
Habits: Temp[erance]
Education: choices appear to be fair, poor, none, or com... his marked "Com" [unknown meaning]
Able to Read: yes
Able to Write: yes
No. of Years in School: 4 [this ranged from none to 12]
Date of Birth: 1857
Birthplace: Ill
Birthplace of Father: Germany
Ex Service Man (handwritten & unclear): blank
Birthplace of Mother: Germany
Occupation: farming
Time of Conviction: June 8, 1922
Offense: Manufacturing intoxicating liquor - Selling intoxicating Liquor
Term of Imprisonment: (1 + 1 - c[???]; 2 years
County: Polk
Residence: Livingston
Plea: 1st Not; 2nd Quilty [so plead not guilty to manufacturing, but guilty to selling]
When Received: July 12, 1922
Expiration of Sentence: Finger Prints; June 8, 1924
Remarks: Disc. Dec 13th, 1923

Some interesting items from the page:

• Of the 20 inmates, only 3 of them are for liquor related charges. The rest are burglary/theft, rape, forgery, and two for murder. 
• The "remarks" column usually lists when an inmate is discharged, paroled, or pardoned. But, there is one who died - he was only 17 and serving 2 years for burglary. 
• Also found in the "remarks" column are 3 inmates who escaped! Of the three, one was serving 5 to 25 years for murder; a second was serving 15 years for robbery/burglary; and the third was serving 5 years for robbery. 
• All 3 escaped prisoners were evidently eventually caught as they all have "finger print" dates listed years after their escape. The convicted murderer escaped in 1929 and was fingerprinted 18 years later in 1947!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Fighting in The Black Hawk War

Here, on May 14, 1832, the first engagement of the Black Hawk War took place. When 275 Illinois militiamen under Maj. Isaiah Stillman were put to flight by Black Hawk and his warriers. So thoroughly demoralized were the volunteers that a new army had to be called into the field. - Historical Marker at the site of Stillman's Defeat in Stillman Valley, Illinois

List of volunteers including Geo. Copperberger [should be Coppenbarger] as 3rd corporal,
Elisha Butler & Obediah Hooper as privates

My great, great, great grandfather, Peter Coppenbarger, was 14 years old in the spring of 1832. He was too young to fight, but he must have watched his older brother, George, and brothers-in-law, Elisha Butler and Obadiah Hooper, as they set off to defend their land. They were living in Macon County (soon to became De Witt County), Illinois.

The land ceded to the U.S. in the 1804 treaty
is shown in yellow (image from wikipedia)

The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as Stillman's Defeat, was one of the first conflicts in what would become known as the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk was a member of the Sauk tribe who did not want to give up his homeland which had been signed away in the St Louis Treaty of 1804. In 1832, he returned to Illinois bringing women, children & warriors with him. A panic started among the white settlers and the governor called for mounted volunteers. Peter's family answered the call.

"Scion's of County's Best Families Fought in War Against Indians in '32",
Decatur Review; Decatur, Illinois, 11 Sep 1927, page 12, column 1; digital image
newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 22 Aug 2014)

Sadly, the main action that these three brothers-in-law faced was at Stillman's Run on May 14th, 1832. I say "sadly" because this battle was such a fiasco. Although the stories differ, it appears that these militiamen killed some of Black Hawk's warriors who had come under a white truce flag. According to an article in a 1927 "Decatur Review", here's what happened:

"Stillman's Run", public domain image from wikipedia
Benjamin Drake, 1st published in 1854 book,
"Great Indian Chief of the West"

We don't know how valiantly or efficiently Macon county troops fought in this campaign, but we are assured that they fought as valiantly and efficiently as other untrained, undisciplined troops fought, and one man was killed, several wounded and some had their horses shot. Major Stillman's brigade and that under Major Bailey were ordered to proceed without delay to the head of Old Man's creek, twelve miles north of Dixon. The first clash with the Indians was at this point and it was due to foolhardiness and boneheadedness.

Black Hawk sent out three men under a truce flag. These men were captured. Another squad of five men under a second flag were sent out. These were fired upon and two o[f] them were killed. Infuriated by this treatment and without stopping to collect his main force and with only forty warriors, he fell upon the whites with the fury of a tornado. The white troops were put to ignominious rout and some of them never stopped running till they reached Dixon. Eleven white soldiers and seven Indians were killed. 

In other articles I've read it was reported that the volunteers believed there were over 1,000 warriors fighting against them while, in reality, there might have been between 20-50.

I wonder what kinds of stories young Peter heard when these three young men returned home. At the time, the war was still going on. What kinds of fears did my family face? And, how did they feel about this battle?

George Coppenbarger was 3rd corporal in this battalion. The 4th corporal, James Milton, was killed in this battle. Were they friends? Were George, Elisha or Obadiah injured during this battle? Were their horses shot out from under them? Were they some of the men who didn't stop "running until they reached Dixon?"

"Chicago Daily Tribune", 12 Jul 1891, page 25, column 6;
www.chroniclingamerica.com

On August 27th, Black Hawk surrendered in Wisconsin and the Black Hawk War was over. He gave an incredible surrender speech which can be read here or listened to performed by Don Cheadle here. His speech ends: "Farewell, my nation. Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk."

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Family Lore: Related to Pocahontas

My great aunt, Beulah (Peters) Brewer, got me interested in genealogy about 18 years ago. One of our ancestral lines are the Randolph's of Virginia. Here's the story she emailed me of what got her interested in learning more about her family:

Myrtle Mae (Coppenbarger) Peters painting
Probably the photo taken for the newspaper

James Madison Randolph is the reason that I started doing genealogy. Mother had a copy of the paper that had his obituary in it, and his part took up about four pages. It was one of the smaller papers. Mother started doing oil paintings when she was in her late 70's, and the paper came out to take her picture and then they wanted some of her background history. She was so proud, and when she showed it to me, I asked her why she had them put all the Randolph data down? It had been handed down by word of mouth for generations and you couldn't convince any one of them that it wasn't so. In Lee County, Virginia, they still tend to believe it.

Image of Pocahontas from Wikipedia

So, what did the family believe for generations? That we were related to Pocahontas.

Just last week I came across a typed copy of the obituary of James Madison Randolph my great grandmother probably showed her daughter, Beulah. (I found it on De Witt County's Rootsweb.) Besides being related to Pocahontas, it states our family is related to a handful of other prominent people! Wouldn't that be neat? However, my great aunt said that her finding showed that, though we are descended from the Randolph family of Virginia, we aren't a part of the more famous Randolph family of Virginia. Here's the wonderfully lengthy obituary:

Dated April 8, 1927; Paper: Unknown

JAMES MADISON RANDOLPH PIONEER OF THIS COMMUNITY. 

Laid to Rest Under Sheltering Branches of Ancestral Oaks in Randolph Cemetery.

The subject of this sketch, James Madison RANDOLPH, was born June 27, 1846 in Logan county, Illinois, on the old homestead which had been taken from the government about two years before by his father. He was the oldest son of Willoughby H. and Louvicy (BARR) RANDOLPH, and the Randolph family of three brothers- James, Brooks, and William RANDOLPH had emigrated to Illinois from Virginia ,a sixteen years previous, before the winter of the big, snow in 1830. William RANDOLPH was his grandfather and James RANDOLPH was the father of J. S. RANDOLPH, better known as "Shelt". While he and "Shelt" were thus second cousins, yet all their lives and until the death of J. S. Randolph a number of years ago, their association was almost that of brothers, instead of distant cousins. He was thus one of the few remaining pioneers of the first generation and with advancing years took delight in recounting experiences of his boyhood. He told of one occasion of starting to Clinton with a load of grain and two yoke of oxen and having a serious breakdown on the present site of Kenney. He was married to Elizabeth G. JETT on December 30, 1871 who survives him. Seven children were born to this union; G. A. RANDOLPH, of Richmond, Va., R. J. RANDOLPH, of Kenney; Jett and John RANDOLPH, Mrs. Mack CARLLEY and Mrs. A. P. ROBERTSON, of Tulsa, Okla. One daughter, Grace, died at age of five. Two sisters, Mrs. Emma HILDRETH, and Mrs. Mary FORREST are living, both residing On Pacific Coast, and there are ten grandchildren. Always a deep student and constructive thinker, he spent the years 1865 and 1866 at Shurtleff college, Alton, Ill., and but for several years of weak eyesight from an epidemic of eye trouble, he would have graduated as a civil engineer and made this his life work. Generous with his family, tolerant of the opinions of others and yet with firm convictions of his own, his life showed continually the workings of a well balanced and orderly mind. Baptized in the Christian church at Kenney, following a revival in 1888, he talked freely in his last illness of the state of his soul and said he was prepared to meet his God. In all the trials of life, in withstanding the "Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune,"' he showed the iron determination of his forbears who stood at Crecy and Agincourt.

In the summer of 1923, he visited his son, G. A. Randolph at Richmond, Va., and took great delight in looking up the site of the home of his ancestor, William Randolph, of Turkey Island, and in visiting the monument of the Indian Princess, Pocahontas, at Jamestown Island, from whom he was descended. On a boat trip down the historic James, the captain, on learning his name and ancestry, showed pleasure in pointing out the sites of the homes of the Randolphs in this locality, so aptly called the "Cradle of the Republic."

Among his relatives were, John RANDOLPH, of Roanoke, Peyton RANDOLPH, President of the First Continental Congress, and Edmund RANDOLPH, Governor of Virginia and First Attorney General of the United states. Thomas JEFFERSON, Chief Justice MARSHALL, General Robert E. LEE and Carter H. HARRISON of Chicago were kinsmen, their mothers being Randolph's. After being in remarkably good health for a man of his years, the final illness came in January and he passed away at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 26. The remains were brought to Kenney to the home of his sister-in-law, Mrs. Sabra BUCHANAN.

Funeral arrangements on March 28 were handled by R. B. PULLEN and the services were at the Christian church in charge of Rev. O. P. WRIGHT, who is an old friend of the family. He delivered a most feeling discourse. A quartet composed of C. A. TROWBRIDGE, Ned WARRICK, H. K. CANTRELL, and E. *. HOGGARD, rendered appropriate selection with Miss Nina WARRICK at the piano. The pall bearers were four grandsons James HOMER, Ross and Harry RANDOLPH and two nephews, Roy and Ralph BUCHANAN. Services at the cemetery were conducted by Kenney Lodge I.O.O.F. of which he had been a member nearly 50 years.

Under the sheltering branches of the ancestral oaks of his grandfather Randolph's farm where he had wandered happily with his cousins, Levi and Whitney REGAN and Frank and Josiah COPPENBARGER, all that was mortal of James Madison Randolph was laid to rest. 

Do we share common ancestors? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment or contact me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Who Was Sarah "Sally" McCage's Father?

Sarah E. McCage (~1812-1860), who married William Kennedy Dickson (1811-probably 1860's), was born in Tennessee and lived in Perry County, Tennessee by 1840 (if not before). I'd seen her maiden name, McCage, on other researcher's trees, but last year is the first time I found it on a document. One of her children, Jacob Tipton Dickson, had written his mother's name as Sarah McCage on a Civil War Questionnaire in 1920.

Jacob Tipton's Civil War Questionnaire (Question #8 lists "Maiden name in full of your mother: Salley McCage.
She was the daughter of "dont know" and his wife "dont know."

I've been looking through Fold3.com's War of 1812 Pension Files lately. (The are currently posted through the letter M, and I'm "patiently" waiting for the W's for Whitwell.) Today, I came across a Samuel McCage from Tennessee who looked like a possible father or uncle for Sarah. Samuel was from Humphreys County, Tennessee which is adjacent to Perry County, Tennessee.

I found Samuel's Find-A-Grave memorial and a researcher lists Samuel's children, which did not include my Samuel. It did, however, say that Samuel McCage lived in Perry County, Tennessee until the late 1840's! But, her birth of May 1811 to April 1812 does not fit nicely with Samuel's marriage date of March 29th, 1812.

Could Samuel McCage possibly be Sarah's uncle? And, there's still a chance Samuel is her father.

I had never found Sarah and her husband, William Kennedy Dickson, on the 1840 census... until recently. I looked for Samuel McCage in the 1840 census in Perry County, Tennessee. I found him, and just 3 names down was Kennedy Dickson with his wife and three young children.

Since Sarah was born in 1811 or 1812, we are looking for a possible father who was born between 1780 to 1790. Perry County is a burned county, so I'm still looking for Sarah's elusive parents. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment with a way to contact you or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

Why Did They Divide the County into Two?

William Kennedy Dickson (~1811-1860's), my 3rd great grandfather, signed a petition in 1845. At the time, he was living in Perry County, Tennessee. The petition? Some citizens of Perry County are asking that their county be divided. So, why do they want the county divided?

Detail from map of the United States of America by H. S. Tanner, 1834
(found on various sites)

Above is an 1834 map of Perry County, Tennessee. Running almost down the center is the Tennessee River. Perryville, the county seat, is on the west side of the river. That was the issue. The people on the east side of the river, including William K Dickson, pointed out the hardships of crossing the river: "the citizens residing on the east side of the Ten[essee] River are compelled to submit to a constant [unreadable] and unjust tax for ferriages in attending courts said which is oppressive in the extreme besides the risk of their personal safety." (Petition transcribed by Jerry L. Butler & posted on the TNGenWeb site.)

In other words, they are complaining about the cost and danger of crossing the river via ferry anytime they need to go to the courthouse!

According to "Historical Resources on Microfilm: Perry County," in "November, 1845 Perry County was divided to create Decatur county from lands lying west of the Tennessee River. The division took effect on 1846 Apr 6. Perryville was retained as the county seat for Decatur (until it was moved to Decaturville) and a new county seat for Perry was needed. For two years between 1846 and 1848, the Perry court met at the Harris farm, about four miles south of present-day Linden. A new woodframe courthouse was constructed at Linden in 1849. This is said to have burned during the Civil War, destroying a body of records."

I enjoyed learning more about my ancestor's hardships & why he would get involved in trying to have the county line & county seat moved. And, it's always a good idea to know the geography of where our ancestors lived. "Little things" like rivers could make a BIG difference in their daily lives!