Posts Tagged ‘family history’
where we read
I am a reader. There are stacks of read and unread books wherever you go in my house. There is a Kindle by my living-room chair and a Kobo by my bedside. Since I read multiple books at once, most are marked ‘last-page-read’. I read the books a bit at a time, choosing whatever I think will suit me on a particular day.
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So where do I read? Anywhere!
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When I was young, I read in my bedroom. I’d take a flashlight to bed and hide under the covers to read. Mom was not fooled! When we went to Nova Scotia for summer vacation, I read in my grandfather’s orchard. There was a tree-limb perfect for sitting!
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During my university days, I read like a mad-woman, as much mystery/romance as I could absorb. I think I wanted solace from my steady diet of science texts and journal articles! My preferred reading place was my car – also a rest from the lab where I did most of my university studies.
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I still favour mysteries, especially detective series. Science fiction too. And poetry, always poetry!
A few series I’d recommend:
Chuck Bowie -“Donovan: Thief for Hire”
Ann Cleeves – “Sheltland Island Mysteries”
Ann Granger – I like her older “Fran Varady Crime Novels”
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Through the years, I have been constant in my reading spaces:
- the car … for years I drove to a park on my lunch hour and cheerfully read the time away. When my son was in his early university days, I never minded waiting for him because I could read while I waited.
- in bed … as the years go by, reading puts me to sleep faster and faster. It sometimes takes me months to read a particular book!
- in my accustomed chair in the living room … experience with decades of public service work means I can read with any distraction.
- in our camp at our table. No distractions, just good company.
- but never in my planned reading space … when I retired I bought a comfy chair and designed a perfect reading corner. It is a great space to store stuff – books for my next signing, the shower head we haven’t yet installed, two throw pillows no-one wants to sit with and recent purchases not put away. When the chair is empty of stuff, it is filled with Zoë. I never read there …. never, ever.
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Where do you read? If you had a special reading spot, do you think you would use it?
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Copyright 2018 Jane Tims
pick faster

October 21, 2016 ‘blueberries’, Jane Tims
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pick faster
for Dad
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blue ripens as morning, deft fingers
noisy pails, hail on metal gutters
this bush spent, unsatisfactory
berries over there fatter
bluer
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I am certain I see, beside mine
my father’s hands, callused
and quick
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berries roll between
thumb and fingers
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I try to meet
his expectation
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pick faster
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Published in: ‘within easy reach’, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
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October 21, 2016 ‘sweet hurts’ Jane Tims
so many kinds of apples

October 24, 2016 ‘yellow transparent’ Jane Tims
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orchard outing
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wooden bushel baskets
of laughter, delirious tumble down
the avenue of trees, shadows ripple
among the dapples, Cortlands tied
with scarlet ribbons
burdened
boughs
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my son grown tall
on his father’s shoulders
stretches to pick the McIntosh
with the reddest shine
small hand
barely able
to grip the apple
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Published: ‘within easy reach’, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
getting ready for fall – blueberries
Another painting in my series! I could call the collection paintings to illustrate ‘within easy reach’ since each one was inspired by a poem in my book.
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Blueberries are probably my favorite berry to pick. This could be because every summer, when my family visited Nova Scotia, we spent a week at my Grandfather’s blueberry farm. I picked blueberries with cousins, siblings and parents. I was never very good at the task but my idea of picking is one for the bucket, two for the mouth, so I guess you now know why I love picking blueberries!
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This little painting was fun to do. I was inspired because I had just finished putting together freezer bags of blueberries from a big box we bought at McKay’s Wild Blueberry Farm Stand in Pennfield, New Brunswick (https://janetims.com/2012/08/04/blueberries/).
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The painting is 10″ X 10″, gallery edges, acrylics, painted with Ultramarine blue, Cadmium yellow, Cadmium red, Burnt sienna and Titanium white.
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August 20, 2016 ‘pick faster’ Jane Tims
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And, to accompany the painting, another sampling from the poems in my book ‘within easy reach’. My book of poems and drawings is available from my publisher http://www.chapelstreeteditions.com
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pick faster
for Dad
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blue ripens as morning, deft fingers
noisy pails, hail on metal gutters
this bush spent, unsatisfactory
berries over there fatter
bluer
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I am certain I see, beside mine
my father’s hands, callused
and quick
~
berries roll between
thumb and fingers
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I try to meet
his expectation
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pick faster
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within easy reach, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
morning bird chorus – ephemera
When I was a child, one of the things I prized was my collection of ‘bird cards’. These were an advertising give-away from ‘Cow Brand Baking Soda’ (Church and Dwight Limited, Montreal, Canada).
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I would spend hours looking at these, putting them in order of the ones I liked best, thinking about the birds depicted. The Meadowlark was a local bird I had seen many times and his call was as familiar to me as breathing – he always made it to the top of the pile! Today the winner would be the Cedar Waxwing who sits in the tops of the pines at our cabin, or the Goldfinch who spends all winter at our feeders!
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Today I still have two packs of these cards. They are in sets of 16 in a paper envelope. The card sets are called ‘Useful Birds of America’ and the front of each card shows an image of a bird by artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), an American ornithologist and artist. On the back, there is a tip on how to use ‘Cow Brand Baking Soda’, the bird’s common name, its scientific name and a charming paragraph about its appearance and habits. The card concludes with a short message still relevant today:
For the good of all, do not destroy the birds
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
early schools – the exotic and the common
In my Aunt’s book about early schooling in Nova Scotia, she tells an amusing story about field days at school:
… I recall another field day when Dr. DeWolfe, Miss Harris, and Miss Baker came with shrubs to our school. The shrubs were ten cents each. My mother had always longed for a weigela and a snowball and we were delighted that at last she could have her wish, for both these varieties were among Dr. DeWolf’s collection. They were duly planted at my home on the bank of the French River. One turned out to be a high bush cranberry and the other a spiraea, but today we still refer to them as the “snowball” and “weigela” and, I may mention, they have many an offspring throughout our province.
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I must have seen the high bush cranberry and spiraea many times at my mother’s old home, but I don’t remember them in particular. I do remember the gardens, lush with rose bushes, tiger lilies, and grape vines.
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
a place for Zoe
I’ve heard the theory that the Internet is 90% occupied by cats. I have spent a fair share of my time watching feline antics on stairways, kittens tumbling from chairs and cats sneaking up on cameras.
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The cat I spend most time with is Zoe. She is a small cat, about eight years old (whoops, my niece says Zoe is twelve)! She tries so hard to communicate and can usually make herself understood via telepathy. She sits and stares at me and I go through the list. Food? No. Water? No. Ice cubes? Yes.
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Zoe checks in with me at intervals through the day. She greets me and listens to the morning bird chorus with me. She runs in front of me to her bowls and waits while I feed her. When I am typing at the computer, she hops up and tries to help. Later, when I watch TV, she snoozes on my lap for a few minutes. She usually appears later to race through the house from corner to corner.
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Nothing special about this particular cat post. But I wish I had Zoe’s nonchalance, her utter calm, her faith that all will be well.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2016
early schools – the autograph book
A tradition in schools before the 1960s was the autograph book. I had one of these books in the 1960s, but although I collected some autographs, it was considered a quaint activity.
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two of Jane Margaret Norman’s autograph albums
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Both my mother and my aunt had autograph books in the 1940s and 1950s. One of my aunt’s albums was from her students when she taught in a one room school.
I also have my great-grandmother’s autograph album with messages from 1885 to 1914. Her name was Mary Jane (Johnson) Clarke. Her daughters (including my grand-mother) wrote in the album in the later years.
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Mary Jane Johnson Clarke’s autograph album from the 1880s
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These books are small, rectangular in shape. The covers are heavy stock paper, sometimes flocked. The older albums have embossed leather covers. The albums range in size from about 3″ by 5″ to 7 3/4″ by 4 3/4″ (the oldest books are the largest). Each page of the book held one autograph: the date, a message, saying or poem, perhaps an address and a signature. Males as well as females wrote in the albums. The albums from the 1940s and 1950s have variously coloured pages in now-faded pink, yellow and blue. The pages in my great-grandmother’s album are beige and white.
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my grandmother’s autograph in my great-grandmother’s autograph album
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Some of the messages offer serious advice for a good life:
Life is like a mirror
Reflecting what you do
And when you face it smiling
It smiles right back at you
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Some messages are amusing or even politically incorrect. One from 1947 shows a disturbing flippancy about marital violence:
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When your husband at you flings
Knives and forks and other things
Seek revenge and seek it soon
In the handle of a broom
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Some messages are just funny, and seem almost modern:

Great-Aunt Laura Clarke’s autograph in my Great-Grandmother’s autograph album in 1909
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Since my focus in my ‘old schools’ project will be on the school in the context of the landscape, I was pleased to find one or two messages about landscape!
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When hills and dales divide us
And distance is our lot
Just cultivate the little flower
That is called forget-me-not
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And:
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I’m glad the sky is painted blue
And the earth is painted green
And such a lot of nice fresh air
Is sandwiched in between
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June 8 2016 ‘the autograph’ Jane Tims (Is she writing the autograph for her friend or her doll?)
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Did you ever have an autograph album? Do you remember any of the verses people wrote?
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Copyright 2016 JaneTims
Norman Families Living in Missouri in 1870
In my search for my Great-Grandfather Frank Norman, I became interested in where Norman families were living in Missouri in 1860 and 1870. Frank was born around 1855, so it is likely his family was still in Missouri for the 1860 Census and may have been there in 1870. Locating all the Normans in Missouri also helped me be certain I have not missed any possible Frank Normans in my search.
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In a previous post, I located the Norman families living in Missouri in 1860 on an 1856 map. Today’s post shows the Norman families in Missouri in 1870. Each black dot represents one to three households living at that location in 1870. I have included the table of households at the end of this post, in case this information would help other Norman families in their genealogy searches. I have double-checked the information but please be aware, there may be households missing or incorrect. My next genealogy project is to map the Norman families in Missouri in 1880.
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In 1870, there were 148 households in Missouri with people having the surname Norman (in 1860, there were 92). Some of these were families, some with more than one generation in the household, some with as many as nine children. Some were young men or women living or working as servants or laborers with other families. Some were young children, living with foster families or in one case, in an orphanage (Lucy Norman, 12 years old).
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To see the change in the Norman families, compare the 1860 and 1870 map below. The numbers of Norman families have increased due to migration from other states, or because older children have established their own families. Some families or their members have migrated to the cities of Saint Louis or Kansas City.
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By comparing the family lists, the whereabouts of various families can be traced. For example, in Laclede County in 1860 there were two Norman families, including Moses and Betsy Norman who I think may be Frank’s parents. By 1870, this family is no longer in Laclede County or anywhere else in Missouri. Also, I know from other records that their son Benj has died. The other 1860 Norman family (Moses and Lucinda with eight other family members) is now represented by Lucinda and four other family members (Moses died in 1873, so it is unknown why he is not with the family at Census time). I can trace remnants and descendants of this family through to 1880 (Lucinda died in 1891). There are two other Norman families in Laclede County in 1870, Newton Norman and William Norman. Newton Norman is Lucinda’s son and has his own family. I do not know the relationship, if any, of William Norman to the Moses and Lucinda family.
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Six of the 1870 Norman families had sons named Francis/Frank. There is also a Frank L (born 1836) in St. Joseph, Buchanan County who is too old to be my Frank, and an ‘F. Norman of uncertain age in St, Louis. I think my ancestor was Francis M. Norman, son of Moses and Betsy Norman, living in Hooker, Laclede County in 1860. In 1870, he is 18 years old and if his parents have died, he could be anywhere. Sad sentence for a family historian!!!
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
Family Number (for my own reference) | Male (usually husband but also father or son) | Age | Female (usually wife but also mother or daughter) | Age | Number Other Normans in House-hold
(* son Francis) |
Township | County | Living with another family |
135 | Salina | 26 | Rochester | Andrew | Cook | |||
139 | Laura E. | 20 | Lincoln | Andrew | Jackson | |||
124 | Alexander | 16 | Nancy | 57 | 1 | Deer Creek | Bates | |
47 | Caleb | 37 | Josephine | 35 | 4 | Boone | Bates | |
110 | William | 29 | Julia | 19 | 2 | Capps Creek | Barry | |
80 | Marion | 24 | 1 | Fristoe | Benton | |||
7 | W. L. | 59 | Mary | 60 | 4 | Cedar | Boone | |
35 | James | 41 | Armina | 23 | 5 * | Cedar | Boone | |
138 | Maj | 21 | 2 | Cedar | Boone | |||
22 | Enos | 48 | Nancy | 47 | 6 * | Jackson | Buchanan | |
121 | Charlotte | 63 | Center | Buchanan | Smith | |||
41 | Charles | 39 | 4 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | |||
42 | John | 39 | Mary E. | 21 | 9 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | |
55 | Frank L. | 34 | Stacy J. | 26 | 2 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | |
68 | James | 30 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | ||||
69 | Jas | 30 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | ||||
115 | B.F. | 27 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | Thompson | |||
141 | Mary | 16 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | McClean | |||
144 | Josephine | 13 | St. Joseph | Buchanan | Cunningham | |||
32 | Smith | 44 | Hannah | 41 | Hamilton | Caldwell | ||
71 | Fayett | 29 | Elen | 26 | 4 | Warren | Camden | |
48 | Caleb | 33 | Josie | 26 | 4 | Dolan | Cass | |
9 | George W. | 57 | 5 | Cedar | Cedar | |||
131 | Hillina | 32 | 1 | Twnshp 53 | Chariton | |||
15 | Hiram | 52 | Juda | 52 | 4 | Polk | Christian | |
62 | William | 33 | Sarah | 30 | 3 | Polk | Christian | |
91 | William | 26 | Elisabeth | 22 | Wyaconda | Clark | ||
143 | Mary | 14 | Jackson | Clark | ||||
54 | A.M. | 34 | Fannie | 26 | Saline | Cooper | ||
113 | William | 28 | Eleanor | 20 | 1 | Greenfield | Dade | |
27 | Eldridge | 46 | Julia | 40 | 2 | Benton | Dallas | |
57 | William | 34 | Lucy | 30 | 8 * | Benton | Dallas | |
107 | Thomas | 21 | Adeline | 20 | Benton | Dallas | ||
24 | Joseph | 47 | Phoeba | 43 | 3 | Jefferson | Davies | |
117 | John F. | 27 | Sherman | Dekalb | Tenneson | |||
99 | James M.P. | 23 | Mary F. | 23 | Findley | Douglas | Ellison | |
31 | Henry | 44 | Emilie | 24 | Boles | Franklin | ||
72 | James T. | 11 | 1 | Miller | Gentry | Setzer | ||
82 | William J. | 23 | Miller | Gentry | Sutzer | |||
94 | Louis C. | 25 | Martha F. | 25 | 2 | Cooper | Gentry | |
16 | James | 52 | Sarah | 40 | 4 | Pond Creek | Greene | |
25 | William | 47 | Mary | 41 | 6 | Center | Greene | |
56 | Robert | 34 | Mary | 30 | 2 | Wilson | Greene | |
60 | Josiah | 33 | Sarah A. | 34 | 1 | Taylor | Greene | |
108 | Jesse | 29 | Susanna | 23 | Taylor | Greene | ||
123 | Daniel | 17 | Malinda | 58 | Taylor | Greene | ||
112 | Olon | 28 | Trenton | Grundy | Hansen | |||
147 | Hattie | 12 | Marion | Grundy | Johnson | |||
77 | Milton S. | 25 | Lewis | Holt | Prie | |||
88 | Andy | 20 | Richmond | Howard | Patterson | |||
2 | Thomas | 64 | 3 | Kansas City | Jackson | |||
45 | Thomas | 38 | Kansas City | Jackson | ||||
63 | Henry | 32 | Laura | 21 | Kansas City | Jackson | ||
95 | A.J. | 24 | Kansas City | Jackson | ||||
96 | Thomas | 64 | 3 | Kansas City | Jackson | |||
105 | James | 21 | Kansas City | Jackson | Madison | |||
118 | Joseph | 27 | Mary J. | 23 | 3 | Kansas City | Jackson | |
3 | Thron | 62 | Mary A. | 55 | 3 | Marion | Jasper | |
20 | Aaron Vanormond | 49 | Sarah | 44 | 4 | Benton | Knox | |
5 | Lucinda | 52 | 4 | Hooker | Laclede | |||
46 | William | 38 | Mary | 33 | 3 | Lebanon | Laclede | |
111 | Newton | 28 | Virginia A. | 35 | 3 | Hooker | Laclede | |
102 | Joseph | 22 | Buck Prairie | Lawrence | Cummings | |||
109 | Milford | 29 | Mary | 23 | 3 | Buck Prairie | Lawrence | |
132 | Amanda | 30 | 2 | Monticello | Lewis | Howard | ||
33 | William | 44 | Mary | 32 | Chillicothe | Livingston | ||
51 | Minnie | 12 | Chilicothe | Livingston | Reugger | |||
140 | Namie | 18 | Chillicothe | Livingston | ||||
142 | Basha | 15 | Chillicothe | Livingston | Bargdoll | |||
65 | Henry | 31 | Alice A. | 25 | 2 | Medicine | Livingston | |
129 | Elizabeth | 35 | 2 | Blue Mound | Livingston | |||
83 | George | 22 | Warren | Marion | Hanley | |||
134 | Nancy L. | 26 | Somerset | Mercer | Duree | |||
28 | J.B. | 45 | Rosan | 38 | 7 * | Pilot Grove | Moniteau | |
86 | James M. | 21 | Anna | 66 | Pilot Grove | Moniteau | ||
64 | J.W. | 32 | Mary J. | 31 | 2 | Willow Fork | Moniteau | |
92 | Joseph W.T. | 25 | Louisa A. | 20 | 2 | Clay | Monroe | |
122 | Eliza | 58 | Jackson | Monroe | Vaughn | |||
18 | Allen | 50 | Catherine | 40 | 4 | Danville | Montgomery | |
90 | Robert | 19 | Melissa | 23 | 1 | Danville | Montgomery | |
29 | William | 45 | Sarah | 35 | 6 | Mill Creek | Morgan | |
13 | Thomas M. | 53 | Julia A. | 37 | 5 | Oak Grove | Oregon | |
100 | John | 23 | Nancy | 25 | 1 | Oak Grove | Oregon | |
120 | George | 26 | Mary | 23 | 2 | Oak Grove | Oregon | |
127 | Hester | 49 | Oak Grove | Oregon | ||||
38 | M.G. | 40 | Mary | 38 | 6 | Piney | Oregon | |
11 | A. | 54 | Roda | 36 | Marion | Ozark | ||
67 | James | 30 | Bowling Green | Pettis | ||||
74 | Jas | 26 | Mary | 24 | 5 | Bowling Green | Pettis | |
75 | John D. | 26 | Calumet | Pike | Kissinger | |||
116 | C.N. | 27 | Carroll | Platte | Adams | |||
61 | Thomas F. | 33 | Mary | 28 | 4 | Madison | Polk | |
85 | William T. | 22 | Lucretia | 52 | 5 | Looney | Polk | |
1 | Stephen | 64 | Mary A. | 38 | 2 | Sherman | Putnam | |
43 | L.M. | 39 | Susan | 34 | 4 | Sherman | Putnam | |
101 | Eph | 22 | Sherman | Putnam | Neff | |||
14 | George | 52 | Eliza | 46 | 5 | Center | Ralls | |
73 | Harry | 17 | Margaret | 14 | 1 | Jasper | Ralls | Brasher |
79 | Johnithan | 24 | Saline | Ralls | ||||
81 | Thomas | 24 | Mary | 23 | 1 | Salt River | Ralls | |
78 | Jas B. | 24 | Sarah | 19 | Polk | Ray | ||
104 | Jack | 21 | E.D. | 45 | 2 | Current River | Ripley | |
26 | Albert | 46 | Mary | 39 | 6 | Fabius | Schuyler | |
37 | James | 40 | Hannah | 66 | 3 | Fabius | Schuyler | |
39 | Minor | 40 | Ellen | 34 | 5 | Fabius | Schuyler | |
50 | Doctor | 35 | Martha | 25 | 4 | Independence | Schuyler | |
6 | James | 60 | Kelso | Scott | ||||
128 | Caroline | 37 | 1 | Kelso | Scott | Hankerson | ||
23 | Charles W. | 47 | Mary E. | 41 | 4 | Moreland | Scott | |
53 | William | 35 | Diana | 45 | 2 * | Moreland | Scott | |
70 | John C. | 30 | Ann E. | 23 | 2 | Moreland | Scott | |
84 | Reuben | 22 | Harriet | 25 | 2 | Moreland | Scott | |
89 | James K. | 20 | Altha | 24 | Moreland | Scott | ||
145 | Mary L. | 13 | Commerce | Scott | Archer | |||
12 | Birkett | 54 | Carlonie | 54 | 3 | Tiger Fork | Shelby | |
40 | Thomas | 40 | Sally | 24 | 1 | Osceola | St. Clair | Barth |
8 | Daniel | 58 | Bonhomme | Sr. Louis | Campbell | |||
17 | John | 52 | Mary | 38 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||
19 | Pat | 50 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
21 | Daniel | 49 | Lucy | 39 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||
49 | David | 35 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
66 | F. | ?? | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
87 | Saml | 21 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
93 | Leslie R. | 25 | Mary | 26 | 1 (Eliz 49) | St. Louis | St. Louis | |
98 | Henry | 24 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
103 | Michael | 22 | St. Louis | St. Louis | Heinsey | |||
119 | Dennis | 26 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
126 | Lizzie | 50 | St. Louis | St. Louis | Washington | |||
133 | Angeline | 30 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
136 | N. | 25 | St. Louis | St. Louis | ||||
137 | Louisa | 22 | St. Louis | St. Louis | Nayler | |||
148 | Lucy | 12 | St. Louis | St. Louis | Winter Orphanage | |||
10 | Christ | 56 | Catherin | 56 | 3 | Ste. Genevieve | Ste. Genevieve | |
4 | William | 62 | Sarah | 38 | 2 | Castor | Stoddard | |
30 | Wm | 45 | Sarah | 38 | 8 | Castor | Stoddard | |
44 | Matthew J. | 38 | Christian | 35 | 6 | Castor | Stoddard | |
106 | Levi | 21 | Missouri | 21 | 3 | Castor | Stoddard | |
58 | Andrew | 36 | Martha | 34 | 6 | Liberty | Stoddard | |
36 | Eli | 40 | Eliz | 40 | 4 | Liberty | Stoddard | |
125 | Elizabeth | 42 | 3 | Liberty | Stoddard | |||
146 | Elizabeth | 42 | 3 | Liberty | Stoddard | |||
97 | Enos W. | 24 | Mary E. | 20 | 1 | Clay | Sullivan | |
59 | John A. | 33 | Margaret | 23 | 4 (Louisa 53) | Cass | Texas | |
34 | Alfred R. | 43 | Cornelia | 39 | 6 | Henry | Vernon | |
52 | Jacob F. | 35 | Eliza | 33 | 3 * | Henry | Vernon | |
76 | George | 25 | Nellie L. | 29 | 1 | Osage | Vernon | |
130 | Henry | 17 | Nancy | 33 | 3 | Warrenton | Warren | |
114 | W.S. | 28 | Sarah C. | 22 | 2 | Various | Wright | |