Joseph Relfe | Widow

Joseph Relfe died in 1818, leaving an estate in debt, a widow, and four “infant” boys, Stephen, Joseph, Malachi and Josiah. In this case, the “infant” boys are merely under 21 years of age. Many family histories located on the web and in ancestry.com list Joseph Relfe’s wife as Mary Trueblood with a son, Joseph,Continue reading “Joseph Relfe | Widow”

Devine Anderson | Sawmill

Devine Anderson is recorded in the History of McDonough County, Illinois on page 818 as having built a saw mill with J. O. C. Wilson on section 14 of Chalmers Township in 1840. The mill is marked on the 1871 Atlas of McDonough County. The excerpt shows sections 10, 11, 14, and 15 of ChalmersContinue reading “Devine Anderson | Sawmill”

John Barkuloo | of the Narrows

1n 1799, John Barkuloo married Catherine Lott in Jamaica, Long Island and the newspaper reported that they were both of the Narrows. In 1800, John “Barkulow” is listed in the census for New Utrecht, Kings County, New York with a household of four members: The Narrows The Narrows is a strait of water between StatenContinue reading “John Barkuloo | of the Narrows”

Henrietta Mariah Van Slyke | Orphan

In 1852, Henrietta’s father, Andrew Van Slyke died. In 1857, her mother. Her eldest sister and her husband moved back to Texas to administer the estate and three siblings were sent to lived with three separate guardians. Guardianship was a legal arrangement to manage the property of those considered unable to manage it themselves, eitherContinue reading “Henrietta Mariah Van Slyke | Orphan”

James Hamilton | Frontier Regiment

Europeans and Euro-Americans designated the Red River as boundary for a long time. The French and Spanish viewed it as dividing line in the 1700s, the US and Spain continued its use as a border in the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty in conjunction with Mexico. The Republic of Texas used it as a boundary. The SouthernContinue reading “James Hamilton | Frontier Regiment”

Rickners | After the War

Southwestern Missouri during the Civil War was burned to the ground by guerrilla warfare. Many civilians left Jasper County after the war due to the intensity of the violence and destruction wrecked by the irregular warfare. When the war was over, “There was not much to return to”, writes Schrantz in his history of theContinue reading “Rickners | After the War”

Nathan B Cook | Casualty of Disease

Nathan B Cook was the second son of Permelia (Baker) Cook Rickner. Permelia had married James H Cook (I) in Washington County, Missouri in 1828. In the 1830 US Federal Census, they were enumerated in Crawford County, Missouri, a neighboring county in Meramec Township, created in 1829 from Gasconade county. Nathan’s father died prior toContinue reading “Nathan B Cook | Casualty of Disease”

Sarah Jane Rickner | Stolen Horse

Sarah Jane Rickner, a daughter of Samuel and Permelia Jane Rickner, was born in Jasper County, Missouri in 1844. Her father had a farm east of Carthage for the better part of the 1850s. Her mother died in the 1850s and her father remarried. Samuel with his new wife set up a homestead in McGheeContinue reading “Sarah Jane Rickner | Stolen Horse”

Moses J Baker | Civil War

Samuel Rickner married Permelia Baker in 1832. Rickner, an immigrant from Switzerland, married into a slave-holdinng family that had migrated to Missouri from Kentucky and who in previous generations had migrated from the Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina, all slave-holding states. In the mid 1830s, the Rickner family and Permelia’s brother, Moses J BakerContinue reading “Moses J Baker | Civil War”

Samuel Rickner | Crawford Seminary

In 1850, Samuel and Jacob Rickner were living in Jasper County, Missouri in the southwest corner of the state, along the border of the Indian Territory that would become the Kansas Territory in 1854 and the state of Kansas in 1861. Samuel was working the land as a farmer. His real estate was valued atContinue reading “Samuel Rickner | Crawford Seminary”