Mary Blakeley married Putney Crowell

On the reverse, written across the top in pencil is:

Putney Crowell’s

wife, Mary

Photographer:

WM. COLLINS,

ARTIST,

EAST ROCKFORD, ILL.

ONE DOZEN PHOTOGRAPHS

for

TWO DOLLARS

Mary E. Blakeley was born June 30, 1845 in Nashua (or Marion) Township, Illinois to Alpheus Stone Blakeley and Mary E. Martin.  In the 1850 census, 5 year old Mary is living with her parents, her younger sister, Emma and her 75 year old grandmother, Mary E. Martin.

The 1860 Census is much more telling, I find four homes …

#943 is the home of Solen Crowell, a wealthy farmer, his wife Sarah and their children.  15 yr. old Mary E. Blakeley is a servant in this household.

#944 is unoccupied

#945 is the home of Mary’s parents; Alpheus and Mary Blakeley, and

#946 is the household of Jeremiah Crowell, his wife Betsey and their 26 year old son Putney.

On May 8, 1861, in the month before her 16th birthday, Mary E. Blakeley (15) is united in marriage to Putney Crowell (26).

Putney, the son of Jeremiah Crowell, a cooper, and Betsy Bickford was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire on Dec. 26, 1834.  He was 13 years old when his parents settled in Marion.

Putney and Mary made their home with his parents and circa Feb. 1862, a daughter, Celestia Elizabeth Crowell was born.  I say circa because the only time I find a month mentioned in conjunction with Celestia’s birth year (1862) is on the findagrave site but the source isn’t cited and the date of birth on the headstone doesn’t show a month of birth either … it simply reads: 1862 - 1913.

Putney, a well to do farmer and respected citizen of Marion Township and his wife Mary continued to make their home with his parents until their deaths.  In 1865 Mary’s father-in-law, Jeremiah Crowell died; Betsey Crowell continued living with her son and daughter-in-law until her death in 1880.

On May 25, 1885, Mary and Putney’s daughter Celestia (23), married James Franklin Munger (28), the proprietor of the Rock Island House.

June 14, 1895, Putney Crowell, aged 60 yrs., 5 mos. and 18 days died.  Mary, his widow  continued to run the farm.  The 1900 Census shows Mary’s occupation as farmer and besides herself, her household includes one domestic servant and four farm laborers.  By 1910 the staff she employed had dropped to one servant and one farm laborer.

In 1913 Mary’s only living child, Celestia Elizabeth Crowell Munger dies.  After Celestia's death I could find no mention of Mary again until the 1930 census when she is 84 and living in the household of Ben and her granddaughter Nina (Munger) Erford.

Mary E. Crowell died 4 years later on Oct. 10, 1934, age 89 years.

Sources:

• Family Search
• Ogle County Portrait and Biographical Album 1886 
• Descendants of John Blackler Blakely
• History of Lee County IL, Vol. 1 by Frank Everette Stevens 1914
• Findagrave

Margaret (Holden) Reynolds - The Sod Castle

All together there are 4 photographs in this family group.  All have writing on the back identifying related members in the Holden, Reynolds, Wible and George families.

I began my search with the photograph of an elderly woman looking out through a doorway …

On the reverse is written:

Mrs. A. B. Reynolds

Margaret Anne Holden

Copy of picture found in Maxine Clark Schooley’s mother’s (Nellie Elmore Clark) pictures.  

Probably received via Verda Spicer Diel.

“Red Rock House”

******

Margaret Anne Holden descended from an immigrant English family of farmers and millers.  Born in Suffolk county, England in 1833, she was the daughter of James Buxton Holden, a miller, and his wife Elizabeth S. (Whiting) Holden.

Margaret's parents, both natives of Suffolk county, England, immigrated to America in 1836.  They landed in New York City and then proceeded up the Hudson River, eventually settling in Rochester, New York where for many years James Holden was in charge of a mill. Later the family would move to Hamilton, Canada where James and Elizabeth Holden spent the remainder of their lives.

Their daughter, Margaret was educated in private school in Canada. On Dec. 15, 1853, at age 20, she married Augustus Bellamy Reynolds, 26. The Rev. Bold C. Hill officiated.

Margaret's husband, Augustus Bellamy Reynolds was born near Glens Falls, New York on Oct. 27, 1827.  His father, James Green Reynolds, was a soldier in the war of 1812, serving under General Wool.  His mother, the former Miss Catherine Anderson was born in Scotland and immigrated to America with her parents.

A few years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Reynolds and their 2 small children, Holden and Lizzie started for the west, making the trip by way of the Great Lakes.  The following year they resided in Clinton, Iowa where Augustus Reynolds was engaged in the grain business until 1867 when he moved to Clay county, IL. where he continued in the grain business until 1875.

Margaret and Augustus Reynolds had 9 children:

1. Holden A. born July 19, 1855 in Canada  - a cowboy on the Jones, Plummer and New Western Trail; he homesteaded a farm in Oklahoma; he died Nov. 19, 1934 in Kingfisher, OK
2. Elizabeth Sarah “Lizzie” born ca. 1857 in Canada -  Married Wm. Jarvis in Hamilton, Canada, Feb. 4, 1880; died Wentworth, Ontario, Canada Sept. 12, 1921
3. Harry A. born ca. 1858 in Iowa - died in New York circa 1877 at age 19
4. Edith born 1861 in Iowa - died age 10 (1871) Clay county, IL 
5. Jesse born ca. 1864 in Iowa  - died 1878 in Kansas of a snake bite
6. Frederick “Fred”  W. born ca. 1866 in Iowa  - homesteaded a farm near Syracuse, Kansas
7. George Hammond born July, 1868 in Illinois - also a cowboy on the Jones, Plummer and New Western Trail; he farmed and raised cattle near Hazelton, Kansas
8. Clarence S. born ca. 1872 in Illinois  - died of typhoid fever in Kansas in 1888 (age 16) and buried in Old Kiowa Cemetery. 
9. Augusta “Gussie” born 1875 in New York - she taught school in Barber county, Kansas until her marriage to Hugh Wible.  

In 1877, Augustus (50), Margaret (44) and 6 of  their 7 surviving children; Holden, Jesse, Fred, George, Clarence and Gussie left Whitehall, New York enroute to Barber county, Kansas.  I find no mention of the eldest daughter Lizzie (20) traveling with them, so I am assuming she chose to remain behind.  Two prairie schooners carried their housekeeping items, clothing, bedding and food.  The trip took 5 months.

The family arrived in Kansas in September, 1877.  Augustus selected a homestead on Medicine River and soon after began work on their first dwelling, a large sod house which he appropriately called “Sod Castle.”  The family would live in their Sod Castle for the next 6 years.

In 1878 the Reynolds lost another son Jesse, who died after being bitten by a snake.  Young Jesse was buried  at sundown in an unmarked prairie grave.

In 1884 the family moved to Cedar Hills Farm.  Red sandstone was hauled by sled and oxen to build a one room home.  The house was eventually enlarged with sleeping rooms upstairs.  A deep well was hand dug near the house.

In 1888, son Clarence (16) died of typhoid fever caused by drinking impure water from the river.  Augustus blamed the pollution on the influx of people and cattle into the area.

Over time the ranch of Augustus Reynolds grew to 600 acres and included a large and attractive modern residence, good barns, necessary outbuildings, well tilled fields and excellent pastures; he was successful  in both the raising of cattle and farming.

Augustus Reynolds died at home in 1903.  Margaret, as was the custom, lived with her children until her death in 1925 in rural Hazelton, Kansas.

Son, Geo. Hammond Reynolds and wife Ida
at the Cedar Hill Farm Home 1905 - 1910

Sources:

• A valuable citizen gone
• Reynolds Family Research Home Page 
• Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 380
• A Biographical History of Central Kansas (1902) pg. 1205

Miles Babb & His Search for Gold

Where this was printed (Burlington, Iowa), where it was found (Illinois), the other photograph found with it marked “W. I. Babb,”  Mt. Pleasant, Iowa … all of these things combined, led me to the story of  Miles Babb.

There is only one problem … the back mark and the rounded corners on the cdv appear to date it to the 1870’s and in 1870 this particular Miles Babb had been dead for 18 years.

A bit of an issue, I’ll admit, and at present the only way I can see to explain it, is if this were a copy of an earlier image.

Regardless of the photos, the story is fascinating.  The search for Miles Babb took me from the farm lands of Iowa, to the California gold rush, to the first woman licensed to practice law in the United States. Unfortunately for Miles Babb his search for gold did not end in the riches he was anticipating.  

*********

John Babb, father of Miles, was of German descent and was raised and educated in Pennsylvania.  He married Susanna Miller, Dec. 14, 1804 and was among one of the earliest families to settle in Iowa.

In 1837 he moved his wife and 8 children to Des Moines County and “there he entered land from the government and purchased additional property until his holdings embraced 1200 acres at Sperry Station.  In his business affairs he prospered, becoming one of the most successful and extensive farmers in his locality.”  - (Biographical Review of Henry County, Iowa / Chicago: Hobart Publishing Company, 1906)

Miles Babb, who was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1818, acquired his education in the public schools of Pennsylvania.  His father was owner of a coal mine and there he became connected with mining interests.

In 1837 he accompanied his family on their move to Iowa and on Dec. 3, 1843 he married Mary Moyer.  Miles and Mary had 2 children; a son, Washington Irving Babb, born Oct. 2, 1844 and a daughter Belle Aurelia Babb, born May 23, 1846.

Miles continued farming until 1850 but on April 10, 1850 he left his wife and two young children behind on the family farm and joined the Flint River Company wagon train, bound for the California gold rush. The wagon train arrived at its destination August 7, 1850 and from there Miles and several of his companions made their way to the Mameluke Mine near Georgetown, El Dorado County where Miles took a position with the Bay State Mining Company as superintendent (or foreman) of the Mameluke Hill Mine.

Millions of dollars in gold were removed from this small hill just north of Georgetown, beginning with surface claims; moving on to tunnels into the gold bearing gravel streams beneath a lava cap.  Two partners Ben Keiser and J. Klipstein were the first to work the hill.  In 1851 the two men found gold.  News of their find traveled fast, bringing others and by 1852 a thriving settlement had formed.

That same year a miner’s meeting was called to establish claim boundaries. At the meeting it was suggested that a formal naming of the community would be appropriate. Charles Kelsey, a great reader suggested that it be named “Mameluke Hill” for the fourteenth century mercenary soldiers brought into Egypt to act as palace guards.

No dance halls or saloons were to be allowed in this new community as they were thought to be the type of places that would distract men from their work, but it was not all work and no play; private dances were held in the boarding houses and hotels.

For its size, Mameluke Hill was possibly the richest hill in California. One of the largest finds was by Klipsein and Keiser who removed 20 pounds of gold in less than three hours. William Pratt purchased a claim for $150, and during one afternoon’s work, removed 96 ounces of gold dust, plus another $2000.00 in nuggets from the gravel he pulled from his new tunnel.  The Mameluke Mine was described as the “most famous gold mine in the world” and an estimated $6.5 million in gold was taken from it.

Miles Babb’s dreams of gold ended in the Mameluke Mine on Dec. 23, 1852 in a cave-in.  According to family lore they were using concrete to shore up the tunnel without adequate timbering.

Babb’s death was reported in the Alta California newspaper, and though he is identified as C. S. Babb, the remainder of the article is considered correct.

--Alta California, Jan. 1, 1853
“At Mameluke Hill in El Dorado County of the 23d inst., two miners, named Wm. Robinson and C. S. Babb, were at work in the Bay State Tunnel, when a quantity of dirt above gave way, killing the latter instantly.  The former was injured severely but not dangerously.  Mr. Babb was from Des Moines county, Iowa, where he leaves a wife and two children.  He was about 35 years of age.”

Miles Babb is buried in the Georgetown Pioneer Cemetery in El Dorado County, CA.

Some fellow travelers that he’d traveled to California with returned to Iowa to give Mary Babb the news of her husband’s death.  She made arrangements for a grave marker surrounded by an iron railing to be installed in the Georgetown cemetery.  Many years later her son Washington & daughter Belle, would make the trip to Georgetown to visit the place where their father was buried.  They brought back branches from a Manzanita tree that shaded his grave and gave them to their mother.  It is said she kept the branches with her wedding dress.

Miles set out instructions in his 1849 will that gave Mary the power to apply the proceeds of his property to their two children and to their proper education and schooling and she did exactly that.

Mary and her children remained on the farm until 1860 when she sold it and moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa to take advantage of the better schools available there.

Her children would remain close their entire lives; both entered Iowa Wesleyan College. The Civil War interrupted Washington’s education but he returned to school after the war ended and graduated in the same class as his sister.  Belle as valedictorian, Washington as salutatorian.

The following year Belle began studying for the bar with her brother at the Ambler Law Office and in 1869 she became the first woman admitted to the Iowa bar and the first woman licensed to practice law in the United States.

Rebecca Gunn Scroggins

Both the Gunn and the Scroggins families have been well researched and Rebecca was easy to find and like most people Rebecca was …

born: July 21, 1860, the daughter of farmer Thomas Gunn and his wife Susannah.

And then she married: Oswald S. Scroggins of Salisbury, MO on Feb. 5, 1880.

“Ollie” was described as a democrat and an “energetic and prosperous” farmer, owning 240 acres of fine land in Chariton and Howard Counties.

Together they raised 5 children, all born in Salisbury, MO:

1. Leslie Francis b. Nov. 12, 1881 
2. Rheba Virginia b. May 19, 1885
3. Orin B. b. July 23 / 25, 1890
4. Oswald Sweeney Scroggins Jr. b. July 12, 1893
5. Arthur Evander b. May 13, 1899

Rebecca was widowed on Sept. 5, 1932 in Dodge City, KS.  Her husband, Ollie, age 76 was killed when a train stuck his automobile as he drove across the railroad tracks.

And then she died …
Aug. 26, 1940 and was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City, KS.

What I find most interesting about Rebecca Gunn Scroggins is what is written on the reverse of her photo.

There are 2 notations in 2 different hands.

In ink is written:

Rebecca Gunn Scroggins
age about 40 yrs.

and in pencil:

Aunt Becky
She was mean! 

Claud Compton & Family 1912 - 1913

Reuben / Ruben / Roulen Compton and his wife Addie / Adie (Bell) left Kansas and moved with their children to Oklahoma Territory sometime after the birth of their youngest child in April 1892.  When they appear in the 1900 Census they are living with their 4 children: James (14), Claud (12), Clyde (10),  and daughter Ora (8), in what at the time was Crowell, Woods County, Oklahoma Territory. This area was part of the Cherokee Outlet Opening on Sept. 16, 1893. Oklahoma's fourth and largest land run. In 1900 all of the boys are listed as farm laborers.  Their parents Addie and Reuben have been married 15 years … they would not make 25.

The 1910 census paints a very different picture of the Compton family.

Son Claude, (the young man in the photograph) is 22 and no longer living at home.  I find him in Grant Co., OK. living in the household of Emerson Randels.

The county where Claud's mother lives has changed and she is shown living in Major County, OK. but I don’t believe she moved. In 1907, when Oklahoma became a state, other counties were formed and the southern portion of Woods County became Major County.

There was also a change in Addie's (44) marital status.  She is listed as “widowed” and head of household.  Her household includes her 2 youngest children, Clyde (20) and Ora (18) as well as a Mr. Perry W. White  (47).

Claud’s father, Reuben Compton (52), apparently unaware of his demise is living in the household of Ingoart Hausen in Orafino, Nez Perce, Idaho and still considers himself “married.”

In 1910 Myra (16), Claud's future wife is living at home with her parents Charles E. and Florine Gilbert & siblings in Grant Co., OK. My guess is that it was sometime in 1911 that Claud F. Compton (23) married Myra / Mira / Mirah Gilbert (17).

The first photo was taken in 1912, more than likely in September.  The photograph shows Claud 24, a farmer in Jefferson, Grant Co., OK, holding his infant son Cleo Francis Compton, born June 10, 1912. Standing next to him is his 18 year old wife, Myra.

Written in ink on the reverse is “Claud and Myra Compton” and in pencil, a notation reads “We want 1 dozen like this one. - C. F. Compton”

The 2nd photograph, taken the following year identifies the child as “Cleo Francis Compton age 15 months” dating the photograph to Sept. 1913.

It was also during 1913 that Claud’s youngest (half) brother, Harold White was born in Kansas to Addie and her new husband, Perry White.

On Jan. 13, 1917 Claud and Myra welcome their 2nd child, a daughter Laureta.  Claud’s WWI registration card dated June 1917 reveals he is 29 yrs. old, born Feb. 5, 1888 in Sylvia KS.; is employed as a farmer in Jefferson Grant Co., Okla.; his dependents include a wife and 2 children, and he is described as white, tall, slender with brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Younger brother Clyde’s registration card, also dated June 1917 but filled out in Idaho seems to indicate that Clyde at least, was well aware of his father’s whereabouts.  Clyde (27) gives his address as Orofino, Nez Perce, Idaho; his occupation as farmer and his employer as Dr. Erle W. Horswill.

By the 1920 Census the Compton family are all once again gathered in Oklahoma.  Claud (32), Myra (25) and their 2 young children are still living in Grant Co. OK

Claud’s mother Addie still resides in Majors, OK with her 2nd husband Perry White and son's Clyde (29) and Harold (7).

Claud’s father Reuben has returned from the dead in Idaho and is now "divorced" and living in Blackwell, OK.  Also living in his household are his 25 year old niece Edna May (Ballard) Compton and her 2 children.

The 1930 and 1940 Census reveal more changes for the Compton family.

One being that it appears Claude’s younger brother, Clyde (39), is now married to Myra’s mother Florine / Florina / Florince / Flora (56). They are living in Blackwell, OK.

What happened to the rest of the Myra Gilbert’s family remains a mystery.

In 1930 Claude’s father Rueben is still in Blackwell.  He is 71 / divorced and has 6 lodgers.  He dies 2 years later on Jan. 12, 1932 and is buried in the Blackwell Cemetery.

At the time of the 1930 census Claud and Myra and their children, Cleo (17) and Laureta (13) have left Oklahoma for good and moved to Wichita, KS where Claud works as a pipe fitter and his children grow to adults and eventually marry. Cleo marries Hazel Philpot and Laureta marries James Wilson.

But Claud and Myra’s traveling days are not over.  When I next find them, they have moved a thousand miles away to Ogden, Utah. Claud, who has suffered from asthma for over 20 years and has had severe emphysema for the last 5 years, dies in Ogden, Utah on August of 1957 at the age of 69.

After Claud's death it appears Myra and her children Cleo and Laureta moved to Los Angeles, California.

Cleo F. Compton dies in Los Angeles, April 10, 1975.
Laureta Genevieve Wilson dies in LA, Nov. 23, 1979.

And Myra (Gilbert) Compton, the young mother in my photograph outlives them all.  She passes away in Los Angeles, CA on Jan. 1, 1985, age 90 years.