Death of Ellen Walton

Ellen Walton appears in my genealogy file as the second child of Abraham and Mary (Polly) Walton, born 1802 and died 1805. The death of a three-year-old child was not uncommon in those days. I knew nothing more of about Ellen's story.

Isaiah Walton, Rhoda's father, was the sixth child in the family born in 1812. So we are talking about Rhoda's aunt here.

In researching Oxford County, ME, I bought a copy of The History of Woodstock, written by Wm. Lapham and published in a small edition in 1882. It was republished in 1983. It relates the story of the first death in Woodstock, Maine, a story I told the couple at the funeral home in South Woodstock and a story they hadn't heard.

The original being a pre-1923 publication, copyrights have expired and I'll quote the relevant passage:

"The first death in town was that of a child of Abram Walton. Mr. Walton settled on one of the lots in the east part, which was run out by Smith. He felled trees and burned them in the autumn. The next spring, he built a log hut and moved in with his family. He junked and piled his piece in early summer, and set fire to it. While it was burning, his little daughter, three years old, wandered away from the house, and was burned so severely that she died. Her name was Ellen Walton. It is said by some that this occurred the year before the Bryant brothers made a settlement in the west part, upon the grant to Dummer Academy. Walton and Hutchinson, who came in with him, did not remain many years, but moved away, the former going west and the latter building a mill at North Paris."

Elsewhere in the book Lapham credits the Bryant's with being the first settlers in Woodstock but acknowledges that E. Hutchinson and A. Walton may have been there earlier but both left so the Bryant's are credited with being founders of the community. Abraham Walton had married Ebenezer Hutchinson's daughter Mary (Polly) in 1799 - New Year's Day. There were other family members - a Walton brother and at least one other Hutchinson nearby.

The Hutchinson's, Walton's and another family, the Jordan's all migrated from Oxford County to Ohio and then to Jefferson County, Indiana. Isaiah was the last child in the family born in Woodstock (1812). The next child was born near Cincinnati (date unk) and the last two in Jefferson Co., Indiana after 1823. My records show Ebenezer Hutchinson died in Ohio in 1828.

I hadn't made another connection until this Maine trip. in 1999, Rita and I spent a few days in Jefferson County, Indiana looking for Rowlison, Walton, Hutchinson, Evans and Kinnear traces. There are two communities called Paris and Paris Crossing in the area just North of Deputy where the Walton's settled and where Rhoda was born. Could our ancestors have been responsible for naming those towns for the Maine towns they came from? Circumstantial at this point, but entirely credible in my opinion. Even likely.

Our visit to E. Hutchinson's grist mill

Rita & I were in Maine just after Thanksgiving and with a bit of detective work found the probable site of Ebenezer Hutchinson's grist mill. Ebenezer was the great grandfather of Rhoda Walton. He and his son-in-law, Abraham Walton and other family/friends were in Oxford County, Maine in the late 1790's and until about 1812. Histories of Paris and Woodstock, Maine mention them and give some clues about their stay.

The Maine histories describe a grist mill operated by E. Hutchinson on the south outlet to Moose Pond near North Paris, Oxford County, Maine. The outlet actually is in the NW corner of the pond and goes west before turning to the south and west. I guess close enough. We visited with some locals and learned that folklore mentions multiple mills in the area but each person directed us to this location on a back road along the outlet. This first photo is of Moose Pond taken looking to the Southeast from Abbott Road just north of Route 219. North Paris is to the right (west) of Moose Pond.

This appears to be the remains of a stone dam on the stream. Is this the remains of a 1812 grist mill? Probably not, but maybe. We know that Ebenezer sold the mill and it may have operated for some time afterwards. This may have been something else, but after searching around the pond, this is my candidate for most probable location.

There is a cute little gift shop at the site. Realize that this is on a small road, little more than a driveway to a distant residence, off a back road. Not a place you'd expect to find a gift shop in any event.

The young lady in the gift shop could only repeat the folklore that we'd heard from others - there was a mill at the stream here sometime in the past. She was surprised when I suggested that the mill site I was looking for had been in operation before 1800.

On the way to Moose Pond we stopped at a couple of other sites. The Woodstock Historical Society was closed for the season. It is located in the NW part of Woodstock, near the community of Bryant Pond.

At South Woodstock, we thought we'd stumbled onto a real bit of luck when we came across a real mill. It turned out to be the mill at Andrew's Pond, likely restored or rebuilt from an earlier time. It may give us some idea as to what old Ebenezer's mill might have looked like. Suppose?

There is a funeral home across the road and only a few hundred yards away. We spent some time with the couple there who took a real interest in our quest. They gave us directions to Moose Pond and told a few stories of the area's history. They had recently purchased the business from a fellow who was the fifth generation of his family in the mortuary business there. The business sign gives an established date of 1837.

1908 Rowlison Family Photo

This Rowlison photo is identified as 1908 and taken at Roy Rowlison's. The back lists the families but not in order of the arrangement. It is approximately the same set of folks as the 1909 photo. I'll work on identifying everybody. Everybody in invited to build their own caption - we'll compare later... Luckily, many of the dresses appear in both photos, unluckily, there sure is a bunch of little kids. Again, click on the photo for a larger view.

1909 Rowlison Family Photo

Click on the photo to enlarge it. The back of the photo lists the folks but often uses middle names or later married last names. The photo is dated 1909. Does anyone recognize where this was taken? The following is that list plus my interpretation in parentheses. I've included the ages of the folks in 1909. Please let me know about any mistakes. The list flows from left to right...

Madge Rowlison (Madge Bryan age 29, Dolph's wife), Henry Shipley (age 36, first husband of Mabel C. Walton,), Dolph Rowlison (43, in the back, Gustavus Adolphus), Ralph Cassell (in front, age 9, son of Martha Anna and Oliver Cassell), Leonard Cassell (age 12, Maggie's son, aka Bum), Mabel Shipley Walton (partially hidden by Leonard, age 34, Mabel C. Walton, dau of Merritt Walton – Rhoda’s brother, Mabel’s second husband was William Merritt Walton, her cousin), James Cassell (age 17, tall fellow in the back, Maggie’s son) Anna Cassell (age 32, Martha Anna Rowlison), Cleo Cassell (Lambert) (age 1 held by Anna), Howard Cassell (6, Anna’s son in front of her), Vernon Cassell (age 3, Anna’s son in front row), Oliver Cassell (back row, age 43, Anna’s husband), Harry Cassell (age 13, though he looks taller than Harry was as an adult – Maggie’s son), Gaylord Cassell (age 10, Anna’s oldest and in front of Harry), Leland Cassell (age 5, front row with wind-blown collar – aka Pete), Dave Cassell (45, back row, Maggie’s husband), Fritze, Hired Man (anybody know who this is? must be the short fellow in front of Dave C.), Buel Rowlison (age 7, next to Leland C., Buel Arthur – Dolph’s son), Ralph Rowlison (age 3, next to Buel, also Dolph’s son), Roy Long (back row, Hugh LeRoy Long, age 34, Myrtle Amy Rowlison’s husband – Idaho), Maggie Cassell (Maggie Alice R. age 41 and probably pregnant at this time – Wayne was born in Dec. 1909), Mae Long (Lois Mae Long – Beam, age 7, front row, Amy’s daughter), Arthur Cassell (aka Mike, age 2, the little guy at front row center), Amy Long (do not know who this is – back row in the window), Gladys Cassell Starr (age 7, front row next to Mike Cassell, Maggie’s dau), Ethel Oakley (Ethel Rowlison, age 21 behind Rhoda), Rhoda Rowlison (age 66 at this time), Hazel Rowlison Nelson (Hazel Blanche, dau of George Rowlison, age 8, front row, next to Gladys), Jessie Cassell – Karnatz (age 18, back row, Maggie’s oldest), Florence Long (age 9, front row, Shillington, Amy’s daughter), Fritz Goesch (Fredrick August Gerhardt Goesch, age 31, back row, husband of Pearl Walton), Pearl Goesch (Winnie Pearl Walton, age 30, daughter of Merritt Walton – Rhoda’s brother, in front of Fritz), Evelyn Goesch – Ulibarri (age 1, behind held by her mother, Pearl), Rosetta Rowlison (age 9, Haskett, Dolph’s oldest, in front of Pearl), Percy Goesch (Walton Percival Goesch, age 5, front row, stocking cap), Roy Rowlison (26, back row, round hat, Rhoda’s ninth), Laura Rowlison (Laura Gowen-Rowlison, Roy’s wife, age 25 next to Roy with baby), Harold Shipley (age 9) and Clarence Shipley (age 7 (Henry and Mabel’s sons with matching coats in front of Roy R.), Darlene Rowlison-Benner (age 1, Darlene Bernice, Roy & Laura’s daughter being held by Laura), Gary Goesch (age 3, Fredrick Gerhardt Goesch, front row holding sack?, Fritz and Pearl’s son), Earl Rowlison (Earl Wendell, age 3, front row, Roy’s oldest), Ethel Rowlison (Clara Ethel Clements, age 28, widow of George Abraham Rowlison (died Feb. 1909 and mother of Hazel and Bernard – living with her parents, George & Acsah Clements in Ong at the 1910 census), Bernard Rowlison (age 5, Ethel & George’s son). The caption states that “Oscar (Shorty) asleep in the house”. Probably Theodore Oscar Rowlison, Dolph’s two year old son).

You are welcome, no urged, to critique the caption as appropriate. Thanks...

Rhoda Walton Rowlison grave in Ong, NE

Rhoda Walton was born on 14 September 1843 in Deputy, Jefferson Co., Indiana and married James D. Rowlison on 22 November 1865 upon his return from the Civil War - 82nd Indiana Infantry.

Rhoda had eleven children over 22 years, August 1866 thru November 1888. James died in August 1890 in Hoxie, Kansas and before Ethel was two years old. He was buried in Hoxie

In addition to the two-year-old Ethel, Rhoda had children the ages of 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 16 who were likely at home. Older children, Minnie and George were 18 and 20 when James died and I'm not sure they were in Hoxie. Maggie was 22 and had stayed in Edgar missing the last Rowlison move. Dolph, the oldest of the 11 was 24 when his father died.

Rhoda died in Clay Center, Nebraska on 24 March 1932 and was buried in the Ong, Nebraska cemetery. Rhoda had been living with her youngest daughter Ethel Oakley and her family - husband Roy and daughter LoRee.

JD Rowlison Short Autobio - 1881

Several letters and notes from the Rowlison family made their way to Mildred Johnson via Maggie and Ethel Rowlison. Mildred transcribed these into her scrap books. I'll be posting some of these here... Jerry Johnson

Nuckolls County State of Nebraska

June A. D. 1881

To all whom it may concern: Know ye, that I, James D. Rowlison of said Co. and state above written do make known and declare that what I shall write will be the truth and nothing but the truth concerning my interest and demands that I shall make on account of the Estate of the late Aaron Rowlison, my father left by will to his heirs. In the first place I was born in Jefferson Co. Ind. on Apr. 3, 1839. Started to school the spring that I was 6 years old which was the last summer---I ever attended, had to stay at home and hoe corn and chop weeds till I was old enough to manage a single shovel plow and one horse, at the age of 11 years I commenced plowing with a breaking plow and 2 horses but could not manage both at once, my younger brother rode the near horse and managed them and I the plow. The spring that I was 17 years old my father had a mare that brought a colt that took the scours that being stoped it took cold, distemper got very poor and crooked. One morning he said to me that you will doctor that colt take care of it and raise it-I could have it as my own. During the winter next-a sow had pigs at a hay stack in the meadow all died but two they got mangey looked like they would all die too, he told my brother and I that we would take them and take care of them we could have them as our own- Saw a chance for a saddle for my colt. My brother got discouraged Sold me his pig for 15 cts. Sold that same pig on the streets of Dupont- that is the pork- at daylight, the next Oct. for over $16. Father claimed a part of it for feed furnished-gave it to him-bought me a saddle bridle and martingales and a few clothes. The other was a sow and raised 8 fine pigs. My father --- good suit of clothes to attend State fair at Lafayette and visit a brother in law of his in Montgomery Co. Ind. When he came back he said it was too fine a suit for him to wear, bartered me to swap them even for my sow and pigs for he said if he let me go on I would over stock the place. By the way it was the best suit of clothes I ever had while I was at home. They being mostly home spun about this time. I wanted to attend a singing ------ month to get a book and pay for the school but he said it was no use for me to be fooling away time at singing school. Went to Philip Von Dissen living on the Capt Wilson place borrowed the money got the book and paid for the school. Paid the money back by splitting rails at odd spells. During the campaign of 1860, Stephen A. Douglas was to speak at Indapo wanted to go and hear him, asked for monehy to go, and hear him speak couldn’t get it, went to Mr. John Elliot, borrowed it, paid it back working at odd spells for him. Helped tend the farm the summer of 1860 the same as I had always done receiving nothing but my board my father gave me and my brother 4 acres of ground to put in wheat in 59 or 60 to raise for half he------

Photo from the reunion - the lineup

They look all talked out here.

The Cousin Group Photo - July 21, 2007

Here is the cousin group shot. Brian has a similar photo from a different angle, with a different set of hidden faces at his site:

http://bjrowlison.googlepages.com/home

Thanks, Mary & Brian

Thanks to Mary and Brian for hosting our 2007 Rowlison family reunion. The weekend progressed like a well-oiled machine with a series of fine venues that provided a great atmosphere to re-connect with family members.

An event like that takes extensive planning and organizing and your efforts were greatly appreciated by all.

Jerry, on behalf of "all"

Lena Rowlison

Lena was our honored Rowlison family member. Lena's parents were Gustavus Adolphus (Dolph) Rowlison and Madge Bryan. Dolph was the oldest child of James and Rhoda Rowlison, born in Indiana in August, 1866 and a infant as they began their trek west that winter.

Max & Leota - 45th

We were honored to have Max and Leota share their 45th wedding anniversary with us on Saturday.

Max is a grandson of James and Rhoda Rowlison.

Visit to Moulton, Iowa

After we left Kirksville, we traveled North across the Iowa border to the little town of Moulton to see where J. D. Rowlison moved his growing family after their stay in Missouri. This is now a very small town surrounded by very good corn cropland. It is easy to see why James D. would have moved from the wooded hayland south of Kirksville to this part of Iowa if he was interested in raising corn.





There are four or five old buildings probably from the late 1800's in Moulton. The upper floors of these classic buildings are in use, which is not often the case in these towns. I spoke with some people who were landscaping the front of the library this Sunday afternoon and learned a bit about the past of this little town.








This is a view of cropland just south of Moulton and is typical of much of the surrounding area. The family moved here in 1874 and were down the road to Nebraska by the winter of 1878-1879. Martha Ann was the only Rowlison baby born in Moulton. James and Rhoda left Iowa with a brood of six youngsters.

Jerry

Photos near the Kirksville farm

This location is my best guess for the location of J. D. Rowlison's farm in Missouri. The tree line over my shoulder is Bear Creek. The road behind me is State Route 11 about 1/4 mile from highway 63. The farm description included a reference to the N. W. Railroad. The St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railroad is listed on a reference to Troy Mills. I found another reference that called it the St. L. K. C. N. W. Railroad so the N. W. reference makes sense. This hay land is typical of this immediate area. The better crop land is on the North side of Kirksville.




This is the convenience store 2 miles west of Highway 63 and apparently near the site of the Troy Mills Wollen Mills, though the folks in the store did not know where the Troy Mills name originated.









And this is the antique store on the west side of Highway 63 south of Kirksville and just north of the Route 11 intersection. These folks identified the creek behind them and to the south as Bear Creek. They also said that a railroad had once been along the present site of highway 63. I place the farm to the southwest of this store, possibly across on the south side of Bear Creek.

I declared this to be a successful day of exploring and hunting.

Jerry

We found the Kirksville farm...

Well, we're pretty sure we found approximately where the Kirksville farm was.

I mentioned to the breakfast group in Kewanee on Sunday morning that Rita and I were returning to Nebraska via a detour to Kirksville, Missouri. We have the text of a local newspaper add that JD ran when he put the farm up for sale in 1874. The sale ad was as follows:

Fifty Acres Farm for Sale

This farm is situated on Bear Creek, four miles south of Kirksville, and one and one half east of Troy Mills on the N. M. Railroad.

The ad goes on to describe the farm, forty acres fences, 25 in cultivation, rolling, a well, orchards, etc. Asking price was $25 per acre.

We drove south of Kirksville on highway 63, a four-lane divided road with wide shoulders and ditches. Kirksville development makes it a bit uncertain to determine where central Kirksville may have been 140 years ago to start your four mile clocking and the development extends about four miles to the south with a Days Inn not far from the target location. We noticed an antique dealer called The Old Inn Mini Mall and stopped there after scouting the neighborhood. The folks there were very friendly informing us that Bear Creek was behind their location, there used to be railroad tracks that ran parallel to the road and Troy Mills was two miles west of us.

We drove to the west on state highway 11 and found several business using the Troy Mills name. We stopped at a convenience store. No one could tell us where the name came from. We later Googled the name and found that Troy Mills was a wollen mill that operated in 1868 - when the Rowlisons lived there, and that a small community grew up around it.

We went back to the east stopping at about the location that best fit these descriptions. We were on highway 11 about 1/2 mile west of 63. The creek is a couple hundred yards north of the road, there are wooded areas over much of the land with small cultivated plots between but mostly hay fields. I took several pictures in each direction from that point and am relatively certain that we were within no more than 1/2 mile of JD's farm.

I've often joked that JD had seen his best farm land where he was born in Jefferson County, Indiana. We've been there and it is very good for corn and tobacco. I'd been near Kirksville, Moulton, and in Peru, Edgar and Hoxie and always felt that JD had generally migrated to poorer and poorer farm land as he moved west - no offense intended Kansans, but I was raised on a corn farm. We drove north of Kirksville and the land in that direction compares favorably with any, but I cannot fault old JD for wanting to move on from his farm south of town to find a better setting.

They moved to Moulton, Iowa in 1874; he must have gotten somewhere near his $25/acre. Moulton is only about 40 miles to the north of Kirksville, just across the Iowa border. We made that drive quickly and checked out the little town. I don't have any information on the location of that farm, but the general farm land situation there is much better than at his farm south of Kirksville, at least from this corn farmer's perspective.

It was Sunday afternoon but there was a landscaping project underway at the library with the librarian supervising. I had a good conversation on the history, development and decline of the community. The library has a full collection of old newspapers that may warrant a return visit someday.

I've now visited the areas of each of JD's farms, if not the exact locations. Ironically, I actually need to take Vaunden's legal descriptions and track down the several Edgar area locations to say I've seen each location, as well as the actual Hoxie farm. Still, generally speaking, the farmland in Jefferson County must have been a gnawing memory for him all along that trail. I suspect that the population pressure there made it tough, or impossible for a new farmer to get a toehold on land and the open country to the west must have been a strong draw.

JD and Rhoda arrived in Kirksville with Dolph as a baby less than one year old. They left for Moulton seven years later with Dolph at age 8, Maggie was six, George was 4, Minnie was two and Charles was born in May of that year (1874) before they moved, probably in the fall.

Martha was born in Moulton in 1877 and they were living in Peru Bottom, Nebraska when Myrtle was born in 1879. That litany of the dates of birth of those seven kids as well as the prospect of making those multiple moves is worth re-reading and pondering for a bit.

People move, or populations migrate for a variety of reasons but usually they are either trying to find something or are trying to leave something. I wonder what were the motivations of JD and Rhoda. Maybe he (they?) was just restless.

G'day for now - Jerry

Beginning of the Rowlison Family Blog

The 2007 Rowlison Family Reunion in Kewanee, Illinois was held on July 20-21, 2007 with 55 in attendance. This was my first reunion since earlier Walton picnics in Nebraska before we moved to California in 1984. I was impressed with the interest in maintaining connections with family members in our dispersed locations and in preserving the memories of our grandparents, great grandparents and more distant ancestors.

My mother, Mildred Johnson, nee Cassell, etc., had a hand in developing the little brown book of descendants of Isaiah Walton and Eliza Hall in the 1950's. I inherited her collection of notes and correspondence and even a healthy dose of her genealogical interest. My genealogy file has grown to include my father's family, Rita's lineage as well as several families of our grand children's other "sides". But none of these other families approach that of the Walton's in scope and depth.

There was enough interest in the subject to prompt me to initiate this blog as a candidate medium to continue the conversation with those who attended the Kewanee festivities, those who missed the party or whoever.

So, here we go....

Jerry Johnson
July 23, 2007