Evan Thomas Pension Application

Thanks to cousin Irl Towle for this copy of the Revolutionary War pension application of our ancestor Evan Thomas.

First the family connections:

Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison > Myrtle Amy (Rowlison) Long > Lois Mae (Long) Beam > Geraldine (Beam) Towle > Forrest Irl Towle

and

Evan Thomas > Rhoda (Thomas) Hall > Eliza Jane (Hall) Walton > Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison

Dig out your Revolutionary War history books and follow our (my fourth - adjust your own generation) great grandfather's remarkable path...

Pension Application Declaration of Evan Thomas

 

State of Indiana

Jennings County

 

On this seventh day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty three personally appeared in open Court before the Honorable the Commissioners Court of the County of Jennings and State of Indiana composed of Robert Elliott President, Patrick M. Dixon & Sam Wagner Commissioners now sitting Evan Thomas aged seventy six years a resident of the said County of Jennings and State aforesaid who first being duly sworn deposeth and saith and upon his Oath makes the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. That in the summer of the year 1775 and to the best of his memory in the month of July in said year he enlisted as a private soldier in the service of the United States in a company of minute men under the command of Captain Phillip Lee in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Gresham at Prince William County State of Virginia and served as such soldier until February 1776. And then he enlisted and served as a private soldier two years next thereafter in the Rifle Company of Captain Charles West which became a part of the third Regiment of Virginia Regular troops commanded by Colonel Weeden [George Weedon] and Major Leach [Andrew Leitch?] and that he left the Army at Valley Forge State of Pennsylvania, and that he served as such enlisted soldier under his first enlistment six months agreeably to the best of his remembrance and belief and that he served under his last mentioned Enlistment two years amount in the whole to two years and six months of actual service agreeably to the above declaration, and that during the said services he fought in the battles of White Plains [28 Oct, 1776], Harla Plains on York Island [perhaps Harlem Heights 14 Sep, 1776], Germantown [4 Oct, 1777], Brandywine [11 Sep, 1777], Piscataway [10 May, 1777 ] and various other skirmishes and that his marches during the above periods of service was from Virginia to New York through Maryland and New Jersey crossed the Hudson River at New York and marched to the White Plains – . The particulars of his marches are as follows. 1^st to New York, thence to the White Plains where he had a battle with the Tories called Rogers Rangers and the Brittish and after the battle he retreated with the Army through New Jersey, where he was taken sick with the Camp Fever and was sent to Philadelphia where he had the smallpox & in March 1777 joined the Army at Morristown New Jersey and was in the battle of Piscataway against the Brittish and the Americans at that time drove the Enemy on board of their shipping at Amboy, and that he marched with the Army over the highlands of Saratoga New York thence he marched back to Brandywine battle on the 11^th September 1777 and thence to the battle of Germantown on the 4^th of October thereafter and that he then belonged to General Woodford's Brigade and Major General Stevens Division and went to winter quarters at the Valley Forge in Pennsylvania where he was discharged by General Woodford. And the documentary evidence which the said Thomas has of his said services are filed in the War Department where they were placed for the purpose of obtaining a pension under laws heretofore passed for the benefit of Revolutionary Soldiers, but owing to his not coming within the purview of the act on account of indigence his application failed and his papers and documents still remain on file. And he hereby relinquishes all and every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State and in confirmation of the above declaration he forwards the affidavit of Phillip Conner of a part of the above mentioned services.

 

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid in open Court.

[Signed here by] Evan Thomas]

 

Mr. John B. New a clergyman residing in the County of Jennings and the State of Indiana and Levi W. Todd residing in the same County and State do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Evan Thomas who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be seventy six years of age, that he is believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a Soldier of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion.

 

Sworn and subscribed to the day and year aforesaid

[Signed here by John B. New Elder and Clergyman and Levi W. Todd]

 

And the said Court, to wit, the Commissioners Court in and for the County of Jennings, State of Indiana at the January Term of said Court 1833 do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier and served as he states.  And the Court further certifies that it appears to them that John B. New who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in the County of Jennings and that Levi W. Todd who has also signed the same is a resident of the said County of Jennings and is a credible person and that this statement is entitled to credit.  And also that Phillip Conner whose testimony is herewith forwarded as evidence in part of this application is a person and a witness of credibility, and further it appears to said Court that the said Phillip Conner was in such a situation and of such an age as to have a personal Knowledge of the said Evan Thomas’s Services as his affidavit expresses in this behalf.  And the said Court further certifies that the following questions were put to said applicant and answered as follows and sworn to in open Court.

 

Qu 1. Where was you born?

Ans. In Frederick County Virginia February 22, 1757

 

Qu. 2. Have you any record of your age?

Ans. He has no record of his age but was born as above mentioned.

 

Qu. 3. Where were you living when called into service where have you lived since the Revolutionary war and where do you now live.

Answer. He was living in Prince William County State of Virginia when called into the service of the United States and that he has lived in Virginia until the year 1796 when he removed to Kentucky Shelby County until the year 1805 and has ever since resided in the County of Jennings State of Indiana.

 

Question 4th How were you called into service were you drafted, did you volunteer or were you a substitute, and if a substitute for whom

Answer. He was a volunteer soldier as stated in his declaration.

 

Question 5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers who were with the troops where you served, such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service

Answer. He states as the names of the Regular Officers who were with the Troops where he served Colonel Gresham, Colonel Weeden, Captain Lee, General Woodford and Major General Stevens

 

Question 6. Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so by whom was it given and what has become of it?

Answer. He says that he received a discharge in the month of February 1778 by General Woodford, which has for a long time been lost or destroyed

 

Question. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood & who can testify as to your character for veracity and their belief of your services as a Soldier of the Revolution.

Answer. He is known to as Ezra F Pabody and William C Bramwell of Jennings County who can testify as to his character for veracity and their belief of your services as a soldier of the revolution.

 

Signed by us in open Court this 7th of January 1833.

[Signed here by] Robert Elliott

[Signed here by] Pat W. Dixon

[Signed here by] Samuel Wagner

 

 

State of Indiana

Jennings County

 

I Phillip Conner resident of the County of Jennings and State of Indiana and after being duly sworn as a witness for Evan Thomas resident of Jennings County and State aforesaid in order to enable the said Evan Thomas to obtain the benefit of the provisions as made by the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832 do solemnly swear that I have a knowledge that some time in the month of February 1776 the said Evan Thomas enlisted for two years in Captain Charles West's Rifle company third Virginia Regiment of Regular troops commanded at that time by Colonel Weedon and continued to serve in said Regiment until the term of his the said Thomas' enlistment expired under the command of Colonel Marshal, and that said Thomas was honorably discharged at Valley Forge and this deponent hath a knowledge that said Thomas served as a soldier and fought at the Battle of Brandywine & further saith not.

 

Sworn and subscribed to this 21^st August 1832

[Signed here by] Phillip Conner

 

State of Indiana

Jennings County

 

Personally came before me Ezra F. Pabody one of the Judges of the Jennings Circuit court, Phillip Conner and swore to & subscribes the foregoing affidavit.  Given under my hand this 21^st day of Aug, 1832

 

[Signed here by] E. F. Pabody Judge J. C. C.

 

State of Indiana

Jennings County

 

I John Walker Clerk of the Jennings circuit court, Certify that Ezra F. Pabody before whom the within affidavit of Phillip Conner was taken was at the time of taking the same one of the associate Judges of the Jennings Circuit Court duly Commissioned and qualified, and that full faith and credit is due to all his official acts as such.

 

In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal of Office at ??? this 21^st day of August 1832.

[Signed here by] John Walker

 

 

State of Indiana

Jennings County

 

Personally appeared before me Chapman Denslow one of the Associate Judges of Jennings Circuit Court Evan Thomas who made oath that he enlisted in Captain Lee's Company of minute men in Prince William County Virginia sometime in the summer of one thousand seven hundred and seventy five and marched down to Hampton against Lord Dunmore and continued until the third day of February one thousand seven hundred and seventy six and then Enlisted in the Regular service in Captain Charles West Rifle Company said Company joined the third Regiment commanded by Colonel Weden [George Weedon] in which he remained two years and was discharged in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy eight at Valey Forge in the State of Pennsylvania and returned home to Virginia and in the year 1781 was drafted in Hampshire County Virginia for eighteen months to go to the southward and served by a substitute one James McGraw and that he is now sixty-two years old and unable to do much labor and stands in need of the pension allowed by Congress to the superanuated and indigent Officers and Soldiers of Revolutionary War.

Signed here by Evan Thomas

Sworn to and subscribed to before me in the Month of December the 17th 1818

[Signed here by] Chapman Denslow, A. J. J. C.

 

 

Recovered Heirlooms

We recovered two important heirlooms of the Rowlison family during our 2013 Reunion in Hastings. Bev Frerichs had found a woman's black suit that she believed had belonged to Rhoda Rowlison. So many of her old photographs showed her in a black outfit - the same one.

Rhoda's outfit today and in a photo of her at the Oakley home in Clay Center in 1923.

The second important recovered heirloom for the Rowilson family had been lost for 34 years and was found again just four months ago.

Dalena Pote Peterman, one-time known as Princess by the Rowlison family, back again in the family. She was the Spark of the reunion with a story  that didn't just touch us, it melted us. Whatta super surprise that by itself puts this weekend in the lead for the Best Reunion Ever.

Dalena was lost to the Rowlison family as a result of a dangerous family situation, part of a story of a type we hear much too often. After foster homes she found an adoptive family where her life changed for the better. Thanks to her question in a brave Facebook posting four months ago and Sierra's response just minutes later Dalena was reconnected with our family after 34 years. 

May this be another change for the better for our cousin Dalena.

FRIDAY EVE opening dinner of the 2013 Rowlison Family Reunion in Hastings, Nebraska

Friday evening at Valentino's Pizza in Hastings. Valentino's was THE place for pizza in Lincoln during my college years - they began expanding shortly after that and a good Nebraska town isn't very good without one.

This one is owned/operated by Bev Frerichs's son - just keepin' it in the family...

Here's the Head Table, if you were facing in the right direction. Ron & Bernice there on the left of the table, Rita Johnson past them and then Glen & Bonnie Drohman. Carol Craft, Jean Hurst, Brian & Mary Rowlison on the right. Those are Margaret Karnatz family folks beyond and hidden.

Here is the Larry Rowlison clan with our Johnson's in the distance.

There in the middle are the local Hastings folks and in the foreground are the distance travelers, The fellow looking at the camera and his Grandpa is Master Phineas Emmitt Rowlison Cox, the guy who uses the name by choice, not by birth (Mom's choice anyhow) and a Buffalo, NY resident. Next to him are Jarod and Lindsay Long from Richmond, California and their Mom at the end of the table, Dad peeking in from the right. Margaret Karnatz and Kathy Fischer make this pic off there in the corner in the distance. The disembodied hand in the lower right corner is that of Jennifer Cox of Buffalo and the left ear of the youngest in the room, Aleister, Cox. We'll find better camera angles later...

There was room for more, wish you could have made it..

jj

Uncovering Family Secrets - John Milton Chivington

Col. John Milton Chivington

Genealogical research can lead to discovering important and well-known people back there on the distant branches of the family tree. But there should be some caution taken to prepare to find someone you might have just as well not wanted to know about.

Such was my discovery that the husband of my 2nd great grand aunt was John Milton Chivington.

Some of you Rowlison cousins have not heard of this fellow; others will think the name sounds somewhat familiar but can't quite place it; and others will have gasped a bit.

James Demetris Rowlison's aunt, the sister of the younger Aaron Rowlison was married to a one-time Methodist preacher who was commissioned by the Territory of Colorado and led a Colorado infantry unit in engagements against Confederate forces in the West. So far, so good.

Then in 1864, Colonel Chivington led a rag-tag army of Denver bar flies on a 100-day enlistment to fight Indians in southeast Colorado. Nearing the end of the 100 days of army life and with nothing to show for their efforts, the Colorado 3rd Infantry, early on the morning of November 29th attacked a peaceful village of mostly Northern Cheyenne Indians, mostly women, children and elderly killing a large and disputed number.

A consensus eventually developed that put the deaths in the village at about 140 of which 110 were women and children. The engagement was called the Battle of Sand Creek but that name became the Sand Creek Massacre or the Chivington Massacre.

The Park Service built a new visitor center on the site of the massacre in 2007. The web site for the site is:
http://www.nps.gov/sand/index.htm

Several books and web sites tell the story of this tragedy. You might as well start with wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Creek_massacre

On a visit to the visitor center in 2011, I purchased a couple of books including a large-format, 300-page book titled The John Milton Chivington Record, June 2, 1813 - October 4, 1894.

The cover of the Chivington Record, a compilation of accounts and military records
concerning Chivington's military career

The Back page of the Chivington Record

Col. Chivington's particular brand of behavior didn't stop with massacres; he left a peculiar mark in his home life too. After James Rowlison's Aunt Martha died in 1867 and their son Thomas had died in 1866, John Chivington married his son's wife Sarah - his daughter-in-law.

This marriage was not looked on kindly by Sarah's family. Her parents had the following published in The New York Times on January 11, 1868: 

We, the undersigned, take this method to inform the public that the criminal act of John M. Chivington, in marrying our daughter, Mrs. Sarah A. Chivington, the widow of Thomas M. Chivington, was unknown to us, and a thing we very much regret.  Had the facts been made known to us of the intentions some measures would have been taken to prevent the consummation of so vile an outrage, even if violent measures were necessary.  Hoping that this may be a sufficient explanation, we remain,        JOHN B. LULL & ALMIRA LULL

The dating of these events is tight between the deaths of Martha and Thomas, the marriage between John and Sarah and the public notice by Sarah's parents.

The colonel remained true to form by soon abandoning Sarah.

A real Peach of a Guy.

The Nebraska Historical Society has a reprint of an article that tells the story of our fellow:  http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH2007Chivington.pdf

My initial look at the piece convinced me that I need to revisit it for further study. There were two interesting notes though. One described a meeting between John Chivington and his brother Lewis in Oregon, Missouri after twenty-five years. John recognized his brother; Lewis did not. Turns out Lewis was a solid sympathizer of the Confederacy and the institution of slavery and that's what they talked about. After Lewis caught on that he was talking to his brother, a solid Union man he warned John to get out of Missouri as his crowd.intended, "...to hang all of your class of preachers."

The other note indicates that a grandson of John M. Chivington named Thomas McKnight Chivington was the President of the American Association. I found this reference among others:  http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19110211&id=oPJEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Q7cMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5030,2604113

Of further interest, that middle name of McKnight comes from this fellow's great grandmother, Elizabeth McKnight who was also James D. Rowlison's grandmother.

The following is posted here as a note a few people who appear in a "DNA Circle" on ancestry.com as having DNA connections to John Chivington's granddaughter Jessie Fremont Pollock, and in some cases, with DNA connections to our Rowlison family.

I discovered a new DNA Circle on ancestry.com which includes five of us connected to Jessie Fremont Pollock (1861-1904). She is my second cousin twice removed with common ancestors of Aaron Rowlison (1762-1837) and Elizabeth McKnight (1776-1837).

Jessie’s line to Aaron and Elizabeth is: Mother Sarah Ann Chivington (1844-1900),  her mother Martha L. Rowlison (who was married to likely the foulest individual in your tree also, John Milton Chivington – the lowlife responsible for the Sand Creek Massacre in southeast Colorado in 1864), Martha’s parents were Aaron and Elizabeth (McKnight) Rowlison mentioned above.

My line to our common ancestor is: myself, Jerrell R. (Jerry) Johnson, my mother Mildred L. Cassell, her mother Maggie A Rowlison, her father James Demetris Rowlison, his father Aaron Rowlison (1809-1875) brother of (Martha L. Rowlison) Chivington and their parents Aaron (1762-1837) and Elizabeth.

Our Rowlison immigrant Aaron Charles Rowlison (1680?-1745) likely came from England to New Jersey. There is shakey evidence that his parents may have been Anthony Rowlison and Anna Buntinge. Aaron and “Katarina” had at least four sons, Charles, Stephen, John and Nathaniel. John (1725-1776)  and Mary were the elder Aaron’s parents.

The elder Aaron Rowlison and the McKnights were in Rockbridge County, Virginia when the younger Aaron and Martha and their older brother George McKnight Rowlison were born.

This was the second marriage for both Aaron and Elizabeth; Aaron’s first wife was Margaret McConkey (d. 1807); Elizabeth’s first husband was John Chambers. Aaron had two sons and two daughters by the first marriage, Elizabeth had one daughter. Elizabeth’s daughter Jane Chambers later married one of Aaron’s sons, Nathaniel (have fun drawing those lines.)

My great grandparents, James Demetris Rowlison (Indiana 82^nd Infantry) and his bride Rhoda Walton made a multi-stop 20 year migration from Indiana through Missouri, Iowa, multiple Nebraska stops to Hoxie, Kansas. My grandmother Maggie stopped in Nebraska and married a Scot, David Cassell and some of are still in Clay County, Nebraska.

Recently Deceased Cousins

Mary and Brian Rowlison posted a good question on the Rowlison Reunion Facebook page asking "...who has passed away since the 2007, Kewanee, Illinois Rowlison Reunion?" 

Expanding the criteria to "Descendants of James & Rhoda Rowlison" who have passed away since 2007 the list appears to be:

Darrel Francis Rowlison (James, Gustavus, Theodore, Harold) 10 Jan 1955 – 14 May 2010, South Carolina

Lovelle Dean Karnatz  (James, Maggie, Jessie) 3 May 1920 – 25 Jan 2011, buried in Ong, Nebraska

Rhodabelle Karnatz (James, Maggie, Jessie) 5 Jul 1921 – 30 Jul 2007, buried in Nelson, Nebraska

Kenneth James Cassell (James, Maggie, James) 4 Jun 1930 – 28 Dec 2011, buried in Quincy, Illinois

Donna Marie (Cassell) Slama (James, Maggie, Leonard) 11 Jul 1930 – 9 Oct 2008, Potomac, Maryland

Audrey Mae (Cassell) Romar (James, Maggie, Wayne) 23 Jun 1938 – 3 Aug 2012, Oakland, California

Donal Oscar Nelson (James, George, Hazel) 28 Apr 1929 – 6 Sep 2008, Orange, California

Janice LaVonne (Cassell) Bolton (James, Martha, Vernon) 21 Jun 1938 – 28 Oct 2010, Ellensburg, Washington

Loena Fern (Lambert) Mathews (James, Martha, Cleo) 8 Aug 1933 – 27 Jan 2012, Lincoln, Nebraska

Drew Lee Cassell (James, Martha, Marvin, Donald) 30 Dec 1990 – 19 Jan 2013, Nelson, Nebraska

George Louis Benner (James, Roy, Darlene) 18 Sep 1934 – 25 Oct 2011, Sun City West, Arizona

Richard Dwight Rowlison (James, Roy, Dwight) 13 Jan 1939 – 30 Oct 2009, Billings, Montana

Max Lavern Rowlison (James, Roy) 13 Nov 1919 – 20 Aug 2011, Bella Vista, Arkansas

Gene Kent Hess - spouse of Betty Roberts Rowlison (James, Roy) 8 Oct 1928 – 31 Aug 2009, Woodland, Washington

Martha Ann (Moore) Tompkins (James, Mabel, Marjorie) 13 Jun 1948 – 4 May 2010, Dahlonga, Georgia.

Please contact me with any corrections, additions, additional information - Jerry

Some old photos...

This would be a heckofa quiz.

In the fall of 1930, Rhoda Rowlison posed with these great grandchildren

Great Grandma Rowlison with great grand kids in the Fall of 1930

Back row, on the left:
Vaunden Ione Nelson (Rhoda, George A. Rowlison, Hazel Blanche (Rowlison) Nelson)

Back row, the two girls:
Rhodabelle (Karnatz) Lowry (Rhoda, Maggie (Rowlison) Cassell, Jessie (Cassell) Karnatz)
Margaret (Cassell) Hanson (Rhoda, Maggie, Harry Cassell)

Middle row, left to right:
Ruby (Karnatz) Lonsdale (Rhoda, Maggie, Jessie)
Ronnie Cassell (Rhoda, Maggie, Harry),
Great grandma Rhoda Rowlison with Kenneth Cassell on her lap (Rhoda, Maggie, James Cassell)
Ray Karnatz (Rhoda, Maggie, Jessie)
Ruth Cassell (Rhoda, Maggie, Harry) with Donal Nelson on her lap (Rhoda, George, Hazel)
Florine (Cassell) Jackson (Rhoda, Maggie, James).

Front Row l to r:
Lovelle Karnatz (Rhoda, Maggie, Jessie)
Robert Cassell (Rhoda, Maggie, Harry).

Ray Karnatz lives in Davenport, Nebraska; Florine Jackson is in Henderson, Nevada
__________________________________________

I do not have a date on this one:

From note on back of the photo: Left to Right:
Ethel Oakley in the front.
Merna Cassell in the background
Emma Rowlison in the background, partially hidden
John Rowlison in the front
Lena Rowlison arms folded
Roy Oakley in the background - (Roy lost a leg when young, resisted photos, note his crutch - he'd have not like that.
Andy Rowlison

O.K., we have "Aunt Ethel" (Rhoda's youngest) visiting her oldest brother Dolph's four youngest offspring with her husband Roy from Clay Center. Question: what is Merna Cassell doing in this photo? Apparently Ethel brought Martha Anna's youngest along for the trip.

For photo dating purposes John was born in 1918, Merna in 1919 though we don't see her well enough. So how old is John here? 16-20? The near car has rounded roof, etc. probably from late 30's. Perhaps someone can tell us what year Kansas had license plates like the one between Lena and Andy.

I'll say ........  1938 +/- 1
Next guess?

UPDATE:  The next guess came from our forensic detective, Larry Rowlison who used this website of past Kansas license plates  http://www.worldlicenceplates.com/jpglps/US_KSXX_GI4.jpg   to pinpoint the photo to 1940.

1940 it is.
_____________________________________________________________

Two pictures here, with a story.

David Cassell family portrait taken May 1911

This is David and Maggie's family in 1911. In the back row are Jessie, age 20; James, 19; Harry, 17 and Leonard 14. Gladys, age 9 is standing on the left. Leland, age 7 sitting in front of Gladys. Maggie was 43 at this time. The baby is Wayne, age 1 here. David was 45 and on our right is Arthur, age 4.

Nicknames were a thing here. James was always called Jim - not unusual. But, Leonard was "Bum" Leland was "Pete" Arthur was "Mike" and Wayne was "Brody" or more likely "Broady" pronounced "Broad - ee"

One year after this photo was taken, on May 22, 1912, Mildred, my Mother was born. Not too sure what to read into that. This portrait looks like something you'd take when you felt your family was all in attendance. 

As Mom got old enough to recognize her surroundings, this picture attracted her. She identified the baby as herself and as she tried to identify her brothers there  was always someone missing. When she finally learned that she was the one missing, she got real fussy about it.

Finally, on August 27, 1920 the David Cassell family reassembled to retake their family portrait, all present and accounted for.

David Cassell family, complete in 1920.

Harry, Bum, Jim and Jessie across the back. Pete, Gladys, MIke, Dad (David), MILDRED (at age 8, squeezed into the shot) Maggie and Broady.

The Hall Family Lines - England to New York to New Jersey and to Indiana

George Hall, the second fellow on this list was part of the British Army contingent that arrived in New Amsterdam aboard five ships and took over the town from the Dutch renaming it New York.

Thomas Hall married Geertje Janse Eltinge daughter of Jan and Jacomyntje Eltinge of the Dutch community in New Amsterdam. Much of the Eltinge family left New Amsterdam, now the British city of New York, for New Paltz to the north where they joined other Dutch families in a new location. Geertje dropped out of the extensive Eltinge family tree and was lost to that family until some Eltinge researches and I crossed paths 15 or so years ago and we reconnected this line into the Eltinge family.

The graves of the two Isaac Hall's and Eliza Jane are all in Jennings County, Indiana, worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

The Waltons

Here is the Walton family line back from Rhoda to two generations in England. I have some skepticism about the details on Robert & the first William.

Our immigrant was William Walton (1605-1668) the third fellow down on this list. We know quite a bit about him including something about his academic career at Cambridge University and is early postings in England as a preacher. William was the first preacher in Marblehead, Massachusetts leaving some tracks there as he bought and sold land and pursued his profession.

The later Waltons headed to New Hampshire and to Maine before extended Walton, Hutchinson and Jordan families headed west together eventually landing in southern Indiana in Jefferson County and some in Jennings County.

The Rowlison Family from 1680

Here is the family lineage that you've been waiting for - our Rowlison Line:

There is a decent consensus that our Rowlison immigrant was Aaron Charles Rolison (there are multiple spellings) who was born in England in 1680 and got himself to Perth Amboy in Middlesex County New Jersey by 1715 when he deeded a piece of land in Perth Amboy to his oldest son Charles. There is at least one family tree on FamilyTreeMaker's site that matches our information rather well except listing Aaron Charles Roleson as being born in Denmark and immigrating about 1789.

Several researchers (or more likely, those who copied info from a researcher) claim to have identified Aaron Charles Rowlison and his parents based on an October 31, 1680 baptismal record at St. Ann Blackfrier's church in London where Anthony Rollinson and wife Ann had son Charles Rollinson baptized. The date matches and the names are pretty close as these things go so it is a plausible connection though on based on a single piece of data. Anthony and Ann have not earned a place in my file of our ancestors. Watch this space, or spend some time on it yourself. Contact me for a coarse course to follow.

In any event, a fellow likely our ancestor showed up in New Jersey and he was listed as the "doorkeeper at the New Jersey Legislature in Perth Amboy in 1725." Perth Amboy is just across the Arthur Kill Waterway and the state line from Staten Island and is considered part of Metropolitan New York.

I guess we could say with a straight face that James Rowlison's great, great grandfather was "in" the New Jersey Legislature. But let's not. Maybe he was "Chief of Security" or something. Maybe he really was "the" doorkeeper and not just "a" doorkeeper. But he appears to have been our Rowlison guy.

This chart list four sons of Aaron Charles Rowlison; our ancestor is John born in 1725. The note at the bottom comes from a family tree of someone researching the oldest son, Charles and contains a bit about his family.

John Rowlison moved to Woodbridge, NJ before his son Aaron and our branch of the family moved to the hills of Rockbridge County. We have some information about the families of William and Nathaniel. Years ago I corresponded with a couple of descendants of Nathaniel.

This Aaron Rowlison (1762-1837) is the senior Aaron, James D's grandfather. The note identifies brothers Aaron and his brother as being mentioned in the Official Register of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War. They are listed consecutively as Aaron Rowlison and William Rowlinson. We have more information on William, his unit and commander and his pension application. I have not found similar documentation on Aaron.

Note that "other spouses" are listed for Aaron and Elizabeth. Each had families with the other spouses.

Aaron the younger (b. 1809) is our ancestor, father of James Demetris Rowlison. The sister Martha was the wife of John Milton Chivington who warrants a post of his own.

Elizabeth McKnight's father came from Ayrshire, Scotland, her mother appears to have been born in Ireland.

This next chart is the family of the younger Aaron and Martha Ann Kinnear. It appears that they had both moved from Virginia homes to Lancaster in Jefferson County, Indiana near the Ohio River where they were married in 1836.

I told the story in the Kinnear family post about their graves - Martha is not buried with Aaron but is probably in an unmarked grave elsewhere in College Hill Cemetery.

Our guy, James Demetris Rowlison was the oldest of nine born to Aaron and Martha Ann (Kinnear) Rowlison between 1839 and about 1855. There were two boys followed by seven girls including twins in about 1853 (a bit of evidence puts their birth in '52).

The young lady of particular interest is Victoria Calidonia, a story I was taken by many years ago. She warrants her own post, her own website, maybe.

This is our Rowlison family line, along with the Walton's, our primary lines associated with our reunion group. I've tracked many of the descendant families from these siblings of our direct ancestors and they are covered in my ancestry.com file. Interested family members are invited to contact me for "guest" access to my file, no cost to examine these cousins of varying distance.

The Rowlison Women - 1908

This classic picture of Rhoda Rowlison and her six daughters was likely taken in or about 1908.

Assuming a 1908 date on this picture, we have: top row, left to right: Maggie Alice (Rowlison) Cassell (1868-1964, age 40 at the time of the photo; Myrtle Amy (Rowlison) Long (1879-1967) age 29; Martha Anna (Rowlison) Cassell (1877-1962) age 31; Minnie Alma (Rowlison) Carey (1872-1959) age 36. Bottom row: Ethel Althea (Rowlison) Oakley (1888-1984) age 20; Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison (1843-1932) age 65; and Mabel Alfretta (Rowlison) Calvert (1886-1950) age 22.

So, where was this picture taken? We don't have documentation for their whereabouts in 1908, but we do for 1910. The 1910 census places each of the seven as follows:

Rhoda - Hayes, Kansas
Maggie - Logan Township, Clay County Nebraska
Minnie - Hayes, Kansas
Martha - Edgar Township, Clay County, Nebraska
Myrtle - Bryant Township, Fillmore County, Nebraska
Mabel - Hayes, Kansas
Ethel - Hayes Kansas

A good guess would be that in response to some special occasion, the three sisters from the Edgar/Ong area of Clay County, Nebraska traveled to Hayes, Kansas to visit their mother and the family living there when they visited a Hayes, or other local photographer for this portrait. It was a good idea then; it remains a good, or great idea.

Would have been also good had Rhoda's five sons could have posed for such a portrait. Best guess, in 1908 Gustavus (Dolph) was in Sheridan County, Kansas; George in Thomas County (he would die in February, 1909), Charles in Saline County, Nebraska, James in Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska and Roy in Clay County, Nebraska. It's likely there was never such a portrait of the boys in the family. Has anyone seen anything close?      

Our Connection to the Unpleasantries of 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts

Salem Village (now Danvers) Massachusetts underwent several months of ugly times in 1692 when several young girls began acting strangely in a manner interpreted by their elders as being possessed by the devil. Under questioning and perhaps prompting, the girls singled out a couple of dozen of their neighbors, nineteen of whom were executed, mostly by hanging but one "pressing."

A central figure in the episode was Ann Putnam, 12-year old daughter of Thomas and Ann Putnam. The episode was has been related in a number of books plus the Arthur Miller play, "The Crucible" and the ensuing movie. Ann Putnam, Jr.'s name was changed to Ruth in the movie to avoid confusion with her mother, also Ann.

We have a genealogical connection to Ann Putnam:

Our lines back to the Putnam immigrants, John and Priscilla and to their great, granddaugher Ann Putnam who
figured prominently in the accusations which led to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

Ann accused nineteen people, eleven of whom were hanged.

A brief biography of Ann Putnam, Jr. appears at   http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/asa_put.htm

Another decent synopsis of young Ann's role:  http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/people/putnam.html

Click the "+" sign on this one for the expanded essay about Ann.

http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num=G07&mbio.num=mb32

Ashley Peldon, Hollywood's Ann Putnam,  Jr.,
called Ruth in the movie.

Theories abound about the circumstances of the entire episode and possible "causes" of the actions of the girls.

A somewhat far-out explanation which I especially enjoy concerns the storage of barley over the winter in Colonial Massachusetts. It seems that damp barley in reduced temperatures may, on occasion, spoil in a particular manner which produce small amounts of lysergic acid diethylamide, or as it became more commonly known in the recent past, LSD. This theory holds that the girls were on LSD trips.

Probably a better theory involves some in-fighting among the Putnam family. Thomas Putnam was the brother of our ancestor Nathaniel and the father of Thomas Putnam (Jr.) who was the husband of Ann Putnam and father of Ann Putnam (Jr.)  (don't worry about it, they weren't imaginative naming children.) Thomas the senior had several children by his first wife, yet another Ann, who died in 1666 and he soon remarried Mary Veren. Thomas and Mary had one son, Joseph born in 1669 who became something of favorite with Dad.

Old Thomas was one of the richest men in the countryside and chose to make his youngest son Joseph is main heir. This was not a popular move with the offspring from the first marriage.

Analysis of the accusers and the accused in the Salem Village witch episode finds that accusers tended to be family members and friends of the members of the first family of old Thomas Putnam and the accused were often somewhat affiliated with, neighbors of and friends of Joseph Putnam. The evidence isn't overwhelming but has provided sufficient material and credibility to generate a couple of books for authors.

Spoiler Alert: Another Genealogy Pitch: Would I have an interest in the Salem Witch Trials if I did not know about our genealogical connection? I may have had an interest but I doubt I'd have about 12 or 15 inches of a bookshelf devoted to material on the topic without the visceral feeling that comes with this special connection.

Similarly, I would not have been likely to give a biography of Robert the Bruce to a grandson if I had not been able to tell him at the same time that the first King of Scotland was his 32nd great, grandfather. It just adds to the story.

Ethel (Rowlison) Oakley's 90th Birthday - Nov 1978

Her nieces helped Aunt Ethel Oakley celebrate her 90th birthday in November, 1978. Pictured here are left to right, Mildred (Cassell) Johnson, Maggie's ninth child; Gladys (Cassell) Starr, Maggie's fifth; Cleo (Cassell) Lambert, Martha's fifth; Merna (Cassell) Buresh, Martha's ninth; Hazel (Rowlison) Nelson, George Rowlison's oldest; and Helen (Cassell) Haidsiak, Martha's sixth.

Mildred, Gladys, Cleo, Merna, Hazel and Helen with their dear Aunt Ethel in November, 1978 on Ethel's 90th birthday.

Ethel Aletha (Rowlison) Oakley was born in Hoxie, Kansas on November 9th, 1888 at the end of the Indiana to Kansas migration, the 11th of James and Rhoda's children.

Ethel was married to Roy Oakley, long time Clay County Clerk in Clay Center. Rhoda spent the last years of her life living in Clay Center with Roy and Ethel and their daughter LoRee.

Ethel was close to her many Cassell nieces and nephews and their families. Her sisters, Maggie Alice and Martha Anna married a couple of Scots, the Cassell brothers, David and Oliver and stayed near Edgar, Nebraska as the Rowlison family moved to Hoxie. Both Cassell families produced nine children, a total of 18 born from Maggie's Jessie born in 1891 and Martha's (Aunt Annie) Merna in 1919 - six boys and three girls in each family.

David and Oliver Cassell were uncles of Ethel's husband Roy. Roy was the son of their sister Elizabeth (Cassell) Oakley. The parents of Elizabeth, David and Oliver were James and Isabella (Maxwell) Cassell immigrants from near Kennoway, Fife County, Scotland to Morrison, Whiteside County, Illinois before moving west to southern Clay County, Nebraska.

Let's speak to longevity here. Ages at time of death of these seven women was 84, 92, 96, 84, 103, 86 and 95. Moms Maggie and Martha were 96 and 85. On the other end of the spectrum, Hazel's (103) parents died before 1913 at 38 and 32.

Rhoda Walton's youngest sibling - "Infant of Eliza Jane Hall Walton - 1864"

 "Just a bunch of old names and dates on stones," is one way to look at a cemetery. A few minutes thinking about those names and dates exposes stories, human interest stories, tragic stories - the whole gamut of being human.

This is a story I did not have until we visited the Hall-Walton cemetery in Jennings County, Indiana in 2010. There we found the gravestone of the tenth child of Isaiah and Rhoda, a child my Mother did not have in her records and I'd seen this child mentioned nowhere else. I never heard Maggie tell this story and she had a pretty good handle on this kind of thing.

This child, gender unknown, is listed as Infant of Eliza Jane Hall Walton 1864, a child who died before being named. Next to the baby's grave was the grave of his (or her) mother and Rhoda's mother, Eliza Jane (Hall) Walton.

We aren't absolutely certain, but evidence points to the case that Eliza died in childbirth in late October of 1864. Perhaps she had the baby earlier in the year, but it is reasonable to guess that Eliza died at age 47 with  her tenth baby, six years after George, her ninth.

Our Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison was 21 years old when her mother died. George was six, John was 9, Luke 13, James 16 and Sara 18. The Civil War was on and Rhoda was corresponding with James at this time.

The family of Eliza Jane Hall from her great grandparents through her children including our ancestor Rhoda.

So, how were Eliza's children impacted by the experience of losing their mother and their youngest sibling? We can't know the immediate impact, but for the most part, her nine offspring tended to have smaller, or no families, except for the one we care about most. Rhoda went onto exceed her mother having eleven children through Ethel who was born when Rhoda was 45.

How Many Years in a Generation?

When we talk about our ninth great grandparents, how many years ago is that? Our ninth great grandparents are twelve generations ago - counting the three generations to get to our first great grandparents.

People have kids when they are teenagers; some have kids in the 40's; so what would be the nominal or average number to be used when thinking about this period of time?

How many years in a generation.

For the purposes of this post, the related question is, "How many  generations in a century?"

We have sound empirical evidence that the answer is 3. Not "about 3" but 3. Check this out then continue below the chart:

I don't think my mother noticed this pattern until her granddaughter Wendy was born.

Wendy was born in 1968, 100 years after her great grandmother Maggie (Rowlison) Cassell in 1868.

I was born in 1943, 100 years after my great grandmother Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison in 1843.

My Mother, Mildred (Cassell) Johnson was born in 1912, 100 years after her great grandfather Isaiah Walton was born in 1812.

So there you have it, three generations in exactly 100 years and it happened three consecutive times in this lineage. 

The pattern is broken with Isaiah's father Abraham Walton who was born in 1777 instead of 1768 which would have fit the pattern. But look at his father. William Walton was born in 1743 which did fit that pattern joining Rhoda (1843) and myself (1943)

So for this line, the average number of years in a generation is 33 1/3 over a period where this pattern held. Kind of cool. A coincidence of course but still cool. The real reason this worked is that Mildred was the ninth of Maggie's children, born when Maggie was 44 years old. That needed to happen again if the pattern were to continue. And you'll notice that the pattern has been broken. Wendy did not present us with another grandchild last year. Yes, I did mention this to Wendy early last year. I will not quote exactly what she said; the response I got indicated pretty clearly that this was not likely. It was not just, "No." But more along the lines of, "Hell, no!" As I said, I will not quote her exactly.

The better way to see how many years in a generation is to average the birth years at a given generation in the past. I'll use my own second great grandparents, the generation of Isaiah Walton and Aaron Rowlison (the younger).

My great grandparents were born in:

1794 Johannes Jonasson

1796 Lena Cajsa Petersdotter

1811 Jonas Petter Klintberg

1807 Ingri Cajsa Persdotter

1804 Israel P.Aspegren

1813 Anna Carin Petersdotter

1824 Andrew Peter Israelson

1833 Charlotte Sophia Larsdotter

1795 James Cassell

1791 Janet Laing

1802 William Maxwell

1806 Elizabeth Inglis

1809 Aaron Rowlison

1813 Martha Ann Kinnear

1812 Isaiah Walton

1817 Eliza Jane Hall

(Not too hard to pick out the eight Swedes and the four (actually 5) Scots there.)

The range of birth years for these people is from 1791 to 1833. The average birth year for my great, great grandparents is 1808 or 135 years before my birth in 1943 - an average of 27 years per generation.

For the math kids, five generations back you have 16 great grandparents. What's the math for that? Remember exponents? The number of ancestors at any level is 2 to the Nth power where N = the number of generations. Two to the 5th power is 16.  Ten generations back is 2 to the 10th power or 1024. At the 20th generation, you have over a million ancestors and at 30 generations you had a BILLION ancestors, or probably about the population of the planet.

Thirty generations by our math above, will be about 900 years, only 900 years or the early 12th century. I have our lines back to Charlemagne, to the Plantegenet Kings of England  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet, some French and Spanish royalty, Geoffrey de Bouillon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_of_Bouillon and a bunch of other folks. It may sound like a big deal but at those levels, probably almost everyone is descended from all of them. The distinction is that some of us can trace those lines, others can't but could with some work.

A second reason not to get to excited about famous ancestors of the past is that the basis of genealogical research is to follow the biological path back to your natural ancestors. We know that following the maternal lines, the lines of our mothers, is much more reliable than the paternal lines. We know for certain who a newborn's mother is; she will be close by. Being certain of the father is, when we're talking about 10 or 20 generations (even fewer) a bit more problematic. Genealogist and others call this the "paternity anomaly."

On a more benign level, adoptions were not always well documented. We do see census records where a child is listed as an "adopted son" or "adopted daughter" but I've not seen it very often, far less than I'd expect was the case. It was very common for children to be raised by people not their parents in earlier times when mortality rates were higher among young adults. 

But if we understand these shortcomings and keep a clear head about what is actually going on here, it still is interesting, even somewhat comforting to be able to look at a list of 16 specific individuals from the early 19th century and know that your entire genetic makeup comes from those people and to the extent that Nature rather than Nurture determines our innate qualities, these folks "are" us, for Good or for Bad.

Gayle LuEllen (Walton) Fuller (1937-2013)

Gayle LuEllen Walton Fuller, 75

    Gayle LuEllen Walton Fuller of Wilsonville, Oregon died June 7, 2013.  She was born November 9, 1937 in Geneva, Nebraska to Gale and Helen Schwab Walton in the Geneva Hospital during a Nebraska blizzard, and came home wearing a white rabbit fur bunting made by her parents.  She was an only child and the first girl born in the Walton family in seventy-one years.
   From an early age Gayle revealed an outgoing personality and a love of performing.  When she was six, after studying baton twirling with great intensity, she became the drum majorette of the Geneva High School band.  This position of leadership became a familiar one throughout her life.
   Piano lessons followed the baton lessons, and again Gayle studied with great intensity.  When she was nine, her parents took her to a Shrine Circus performance in Hastings, Nebraska.  This event had a profound effect upon her life.  A great circus organist, Lillian Cole, captured Gayle’s attention.  After the circus, Gayle met Lillian and, soon thereafter, Gayle went to Illinois to study organ with her.    In the early 1950’s she had television shows in Lincoln, Omaha, and Hastings, Nebraska, and then performed for three summers in New York City with “Star Time Show” which showcased young performers.  Numerous television and radio performances, and recording sessions in New York followed as Gayle gained a national reputation as a Hammond Organ artist.  Following high school, she studied briefly at The Julliard School before pursuing a full-time career as an organist.  Bookings for the next several years included a six month gig at the Fremont Hotel in Las Vegas, extended bookings at the Park Sheraton in New York City and The Tropics in Daytona Beach.  She was also booked for two years of performances in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland before returning to the United States.  Other performances included gigs with Lawrence Welk, Disneyland, and the Seattle World’s Fair.
   Closing out her organ performance career in Portland, Gayle met Jerry Fuller.  They were married in 1963, and Gayle joined Jerry in his real estate business.  Many years of real estate experience led Gayle to Barbara Sue Seal Properties which became Coldwell Banker Seal.  Gayle had a stellar career as a relocation specialist and subsequently as the creator and administrator of “Quick Start”, a training program for new real estate licensees.
   Upon retirement she devoted countless hours to family genealogy, to writing her autobiography, and to a massive historical novel based on family histories.   She was a member of the Belle Passie and Tualatin Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Toastmasters Club, Rose City Corvette Club, Tualatin Golf and Country Club, and the Conchologist Club.  Her passions included music, golf, real estate, education, writing, learning, listening, Corvettes, sea shells, flow blue dishes, and Nebraska football.
   Gayle was an innovator, an artist, a teacher, a humanist, and a lover of positive thinking.  Her magnetic personality drew people to her, and they never forgot her presence.  Somewhere along the line, family members tagged her EZ Breezee.  She is now speeding somewhere across the heavens in a shiny new Corvette creating boundless ideas for new projects and goals.   She is preceded in death by her parents Helen and Gale Walton, husband Jerry Fuller in 1992, and an infant son.  Surviving to remember Gayle’s grace, charm, kindness, and million dollar smile are her beloved nanny, Helen Riel Everts, step-daughter Debbie Fuller Anderson, many cousins, and countless friends.
   Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to Vital Life Foundation, in care of Marquis Care Wilsonville, 30900 SW Parkway Ave., Wilsonville, OR 97070 or Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675 with form on-line.
   The graveside service for Gayle Fuller will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 19 in the Geneva Public Cemetery.  Family and friends are welcome.

I came to know Gayle Walton Fuller the past few years after her real estate career concluded and she had taken up genealogy and writing with a vengeance. She showed up in our driveway a couple of times during Geneva visits while on her Heritage Tours from Oregon to Indiana or North Carolina or where ever. She had a huge repertory of great stories.   - Jerry

To alleviate any skepticism about our cousin's recording career and to display the size and nature of 78 RPM to the
younger set...  My mother and Gayle's father were in close touch for many years and she had two of Gayle's records. This one has Airplane Polka on one side and (It's No) Sin on the other. The second record is Peek-A-Boo and Petite Waltz.