Tombstone Tuesday - Emmaline Duncan Myers

Emmaline Duncan Myers, born July 1856 (1858?) in Greene County, Pennsylvania, died 19 April 1929 in Wetzel County, West Virginia.  She's buried in Quiet Dell Cemetery, in Aleppo, Greene, Pennsylvania. She married Andrew Myers on 17 Feb 1875 in Greene County.  Their families had lived practically next door to each other since before Emma was born.  Andrew was about 14 years her senior, but according to his pension papers, neither were married previously.  He apparently had poor health and lingered several months after a stroke, finally dying on 29 April 1908 in Cameron, Marshall, West Virginia.  They were extremely poor and had only his pension from the Civil War to live on.  They had 13 children:  Mary Sharlota, Lena Myrtle, Loucena (Lucinda?) - who died before 1900, John L., Easter B., James G. B. - died at age 15, Ethel, Wiley, George Washington, Goldie Agatha, Charles, Anna, and Encil Raymond.

Amanuensis Monday - Will of Andrew Myers, Senior

"Will of Andrew Myers:
The last will and testament of Andrew Myers, Senior - In the name of God Amen I Andrew Myers Sen. do make this my last will and testament hereby revoking all other wills by me heretofor made in manner and form following to wit:
Item   I will and bequeath unto my wife Elisabeth Myers the Interest of one third of my estate during her natural life.
Item   I will to my son John Myers, heirs the sum three dollars.
Item   I will to my son Andrew Myers the sum of Two Hundred and fifty dollars
Item   I will to my Daughter Margaret Deboldt the sum of two hundred Dollars.
Item   I will unto George Myers, Anne S. Debolt, Mary Hinerman and Stanton Myers the remainder of my estate to be equally divided betwixt them.
Item   I do hereby appoint and establish Lindsey Hinerman my executor of this my last will and testament.
Signed with my seal this 22nd day of April 1872
Andrew Myers (his mark)
Signed in the presence of us by Andrew Myers Sen. and in his presesnse and at his request have signed the same as witnesses.  A.J. Hinerman, A.B. Pipes, Lindsay Hinerman
State of Pennsylvania,
Greene County"
(Note in sideline:  "For Assignment of the dower interest of George Myers, hereunder, see Deed Book 33, Page 577."
Will Book Vol. 5, Greene Co, PA, will #3343, FHL #1318266

Sunday's Obituary - Aged Lady Dead

"Aged Lady Dead"

Mrs. Mary Duncan, aged 82 years, died of paralysis at her home in the east end Tuesday morning.  Funeral at 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon.  Interment at Mt. Rose cemetery.
(Moundsville Daily Echo, 29 March 1905)."

This "aged lady" is my great-great-great grandmother, Mary, married to John Duncan, mother of Emeline Duncan Myers.  She's a bit of an enigma, and with Pennsylvania being the black hole of records (at least where my ancestors lived), I wonder if I'll ever solve her mysteries.

Here's what I know:

1850 Census - Aleppo, Greene, Pennsylvania - Mary is married to John "Dunkan", she is 26, he is 21, they have two children listed with them:  William, age 4, and Lucinda, age 2.  All were born in Pennsylvania, and the next family listed is Andrew and Easther Myers, whose son, Andrew, will eventually marry John and Mary's daughter Emeline (not born yet).  John is a farmer.

1860 Census - Aleppo, Greene, Pennsylvania - Mary and John are listed as age 41 and 40, respectively.  William H., 17, Lucinda, 12, Isaac, 5, Rebecca J., 4, Emeline, 2, are the children listed with them.  All are born in Pennsylvania, except Emeline, who is listed born in Virginia.  Still living near the Myers family.  John is a farm laborer.

1870 Census - Springhill, Greene, Pennsylvania - Mary is 47, John is 41.  Isaac is 17, Rebecca is 14, Emaline is 12, George is 7, Mary Anne is 3, and Delila is 2.  All born in Pennsylvania.  John is a laborer.

1880 Census - Aleppo, Greene, Pennsylvania - Mary "Dunkins" is 44 (truly, an ageless woman!), John is 41, Mary Anne is 14, Delila J. is 12.  John is again a farmer, all born in Pennsylvania.

1900 Census - Moundsville, Marshall, West Virginia -  Mary is 77, born May 1823.  John is 69, born Mar 1831.  They've been married 45 years, she says she's born 5 children, 3 of which are still living.  Daughter Isabella is 31, born Jan 1869 in West Virginia.  I believe this is either Mary Anne or Delila, it fits Delila's birth date better.  John owns the home free from mortgage.

In John's pension papers, it appears that they moved to Balls, Marshall, West Virginia in 1890, and were in Moundsville by 1891. There is no mention of Mary or the children in any of the pension papers in my possession.  

Mary died 28 Mar 1905 in Moundsville, West Virginia. 

Obviously the census is not the source of all wisdom and truth, so I take the age fluctuations with a grain of salt.  I was thrown off by the "5 children, 3 living" marks because I count 8, maybe 9, and I know for sure that 4 were still living.  William and Isaac had died by 1900, but Rebecca, Emaline, George, Delila, and Isabella (who may be Delila) were still living.  I don't know what happened to Lucinda, and there is a Mary Buble Duncan buried next to John and Mary in the Mount Rose Cemetery in Moundsville, with no dates on her headstone.

George's middle name is McClelland, and I've wondered if that's Mary's maiden name.  I also wondered if she was perhaps married previously, and if William and Lucinda are from a previous marriage, because John would have been 17 when William was born.  Not impossible, but an interesting switch in the typical marriages where the girl is younger.  There's a discrepancy in John's birth year - it's either 1827 or 1831, and if it's 1831, he would have actually been 15 when William was born.  Highly unlikely.  And a little creepy. 

But, since they lived one mile from the border of West Virginia, in rural Pennsylvania, it's likely that I may never find answers to these questions.

Tombstone Tuesday - Andrew Myers

Photo from findagrave.com, taken by Gary Chambers

This grave marker is for my great-grandfather, Andrew Myers (I wrote about his military experience yesterday).  It doesn't have any dates, but it does list his regiment in the Civil War:  Co L 6th W VA INF.  He is buried in the Quiet Dell (Wise) Cemetery in Aleppo, Greene County, Pennsylvania.  He was born March 1843, and died April 29, 1908.

Military Monday - A Midnight Romp

My great-great grandfather, Andrew Myers, who was born in March of 1843 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, entered the fray of the Civil War in October of 1861, enrolling for duty in Cameron, Marshall County, Virginia (later to become West Virginia), and was mustered in to Company L or the 6th Regiment Virginia (West Virginia) Infantry as a Private.  He was 18 years old.  He re-enlisted in December of 1863 as a veteran.  He was in action at New Creek on November 28, 1864, according to his pension records. 

In September of 1863, he was charged with "Absence without Leave":

"Specification, In this that the said Andrew Myers a private of Co L 6th Reg. Va Infy. U. B. Vols did on or about the 22d day of Sept 1863 without permission from his commanding officer and without other authority leave his Company and Regiment for Green Co Pa and was arrested the following day at Cameron WVa. from there taken to the Provost Guard House at Wheeling, from there he was sent to Guard house at Clarksburg, and returned to his Company under arrest on or about the 28th of Sept 1863, all this at Rowlesburg WVa."

The company muster roll for September and October 1863 list him as "Absent" with the remarks, "On a scout in Tucker Co WVa.  Forfeits 30 days pay by sentence of Regt. Court Martial."

This was not his only "vacation":

"Charge 1 - Absence without leave
Specification - That Private Andrew Myers Company L 6th Regiment West Virga Vol Infantry was absent from his Company without permission from proper authority on the night of the 10th of April 1865  This at Grafton WVa

"Charge 2 - Disorderly and riotous Conduct
Specification - That Private Andrew Myers Company L 6th Regiment West Virga Vol Inftry was whilst absent from camp, on the night of the 10th of April 1865, engaged in disorderly and riotous conduct in breaking open the houses of Private Citizens at Fetterman WVa"

Andrew pleaded guilty to both counts.  His muster roll for March and April 1865 say that he is absent, "In Guard house Clarksburg WVa"  He was honorably discharged on June 10, 1865.

In his pension application, dated 21 December 1888, he says "he was injured in the Righ Shoulder caused by a fall while Passing over a Ditch.  And on or about Latter Part of June 1865 at or near Moundsville WVa was Ruptured on left side caused by falling off a train.  And on or about 5 day of June 1865 at Wheeling WVa Contracted Chronic Diarrhaea."  He further states that he is "unable to earn support by reason of rupture left side, ulcers left leg, injury to right shoulder, Diarehaea, Piles, Eyes affected   Unable to Perform Manual Labor."

He is described as 5 feet 6 inches, with light complexion, light hair, and blue eyes.

His wife, Emeline, reported the following after his death (April 29, 1908, Cameron, Marshall County, West Virginia):

"I can not give the affidavit of any Physician as to his death for the reason we had no doctor to see for 5 or 6  months prior to his death in the fall of the year before his death He had a stroke of Paralesis and we had a doctor to see him and was told he could do nothing for and directed us how to take care of him which we did as best we could untill his death, He died from the Paralesis, for a long while at times his mind was bad, we were verry poor people and had to do the best we could and had no other means to live on but his pension."

In a March 1st, 1889 affidavit, John Black, Commissioner, asserts the previous injuries, and says, "If there is a charge of desertion against Claimant can the same be removed".

In the pension records, both Emeline and Andrew assert that they were not married to anyone else prior to their marriage on 17 Feb 1875 in Greene County, Pennsylvania.  Interestingly, I can find no record of Andrew from June 1865 until the 1880 Census, which lists he and Emeline along with their 3 oldest children, Mary, Lena, and Loucena (Lucinda?).  I can't find him on the 1870 Census, and he's 31 years old at the time of his wedding.  I've wondered if he served time in prison for his misdeeds or if he just laid low during the ten years after the war ended.  I would dearly love to know where he was and what he was doing.  Emeline was almost 15 years younger than him, she would have only been seven years old when he was discharged.  One of my many family mysteries...

Sunday Obituary - Goldie Agatha (Myers) Bonnell Justice

Goldie Agatha Myers Rhinehart, about 1929

Mrs. Elmer Justice
     Mrs. Goldie A. Bonnell Justice, 68, wife of Elmer Justice, former resident of 416 W. Main St., who for several years had been living in Cambridge, died Tuesday in Guernsey Memorial Hospital, Cambridge, after a long illness.
     She was the daughter if Andrew and Emeline (Duncan) Meyers [sp], and a native of Waynesboro, Pa.  Surviving are her husband; three sons, William Rhinehart of Cambridge, Eugene Rhinehart of Las Vegas, Nevada, Donald Rhinehart of Newark and a step-son, Robert Justice of Willowwick; four daughters, Mrs. Florence Davis, Mrs. Esther Gibson and Mrs. Patricia Kennon of Newark, Mrs. Evelyn [Ethelyn] Rowland of Hamilton; also 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; two brothers, Ensil Meyers of Newark and George Meyers of Moundsville, WVa; one sister, Mrs. Anna Crawford of Baltimore, Md.  Three brothers and seven sisters are deceased.
     Services will be held at 1 pm Friday in a funeral home in Cambridge with the Rev. Fred Lemasters officiating and burial will be in Northwood Cemetery.  Friends may call at the funeral home." Newark Ohio Advocate, ancestry.com.

Goldie

From Tiffany:  A little more information about this lovely woman, who happens to be my great-grandmother:  She was born 5 Dec 1893 in Big Tree, Greene County, Pennsylvania to Andrew and Emaline (Duncan) Myers, the 10th of 13 children.  Her father, Andrew, had served in the Civil War and was not in good health by the time she was born.  He ended up passing away on 29 Apr 1908 in Cameron, Marshall County, West Virginia, after lingering from a stroke for some time.  They were extremely poor, possibly living in a shack-like home near the railroad.  Her mother couldn't even afford to have a doctor attend to her father.  She finally had one come, and he told her that he'd had a stroke and the end would come.  It took months.  The boys all worked for the railroad, and the girls married young.  The military pension helped a little, but once the children turned 16, their mother lost their portion of the pension.

Her family moved to Moundsville in Marshall County, and at the age of 16 she found herself pregnant with her first child, Florence L. Hagerman, who was born 28 Aug 1910.  She married the father, Joseph Hagerman, on January 1, 1910 in Moundsville, but was living at home with her mother in the 1910 Census.  They were divorced at some point and on June 28, 1913, she married Ernest Lawrence Rhinehart in Cambridge, Guernsey County, Ohio.  She gave birth to another daughter, Esther, on 9 Oct 1913, but called her Esther Hagerman.  Ethlyn Rhinehart was born 9 Aug 1916, William Joseph on 19 Aug 1917.

In 1920, Goldie was living separately from Ernest, he was living at his parents' home with Ethlyn and William, and she was 8 months pregnant with Eugene Victor Rhinehart, who was born 22 Jun 1920.  Eugene was later told by his sister, Ethel (Ethlyn), that his mother had had an affair with a salesman named George Swick (Zwick?), and that Eugene was his child, not Ernest's.  Supposedly, so were the next two children, Donald Leo, born 28 Feb 1924, and Patricia Mae, born 16 May 1927, although they were given the Rhinehart surname.  Goldie and Ernest eventually divorced.

Goldie later married someone with the surname of Graham, which is her last name in the 1930 Census.  There is a family story that one of her husband's put her children in an orphanage, or told her she needed to choose between the children and him.  The children stayed.  I will say here that from all accounts, while she may have had her flaws, she was a very loving mother and her children stayed close to her, emotionally, if not geographically, their whole lives.

Goldie later married Erville Ray Bonnell, known as Butch.  He was a butcher, and my grandpa, Gene (Eugene), loved him very much and would get up early in the morning to go work with him.  I'm told they were very close.  Butch got sick and Goldie moved him to a different location for health reasons.  She worked for many years at the Cambridge Glass Company, etching the Rosepoint design into plates, teacups, goblets, etc.  While Butch was sick she worked at a hospital.  After he died, she later married Elmer Justice.  From family interviews, I've learned that he was not very nice to Goldie, putting her down, saying unkind things.  Goldie died May 8, 1962 in Cambridge.  

From interviewing my grandma, Eva Collier Rhinehart Pendleton (Eugene's wife), and Goldie's daughter, Pat (Patricia), I learned that Goldie was a very warm, kind lady with a wonderful sense of humor.  She was devoted to her children, joined several churches - from the Methodists to the Pentecostals, she loved to have her family around her - they often had Sunday dinners, and I have pictures of her and her family sitting on the front porch.  She was close to her siblings, as well.  My grandma remembers a get-together with the family where they were all laughing and telling jokes and seemed like a really fun group of people.

Goldie with her grandson, Stanley Dale Gibson.  Behind her are her daughters, Esther and either Florence or Patricia (can't tell which)

Goldie and "Butch" Bonnell

Goldie (in truck) with Patricia (holding kitten), Donald (holding dog), and Eugene

 

Goldie and Butch

Goldie and Butch

Goldie, Florence, Ethel, and Esther

Goldie

Goldie