A Clue for Isaac S. Brown and His Brother, Squire

  ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023 

So far, I have not been able to determine much about Isaac S. Brown and his brother Squire Brown. Both were born somewhere in Kentucky - Isaac in 1810 and Squire in 1818. By pulling from biographical information about each one, it can be guessed that they came to Greene County, Illinois in 1828 with their parents. The 1880 census for Squire Brown states that his parents were born in Virginia. Of course, during the time period in which Isaac and Squire's parents were born, Kentucky was also considered Virginia. By 1850 Isaac S. Brown was living in Pike County, Illinois while Squire Brown was still in Greene County, Illinois. By 1860, Squire was in Madison County, Illinois.

I am looking for a Brown family with brothers named Isaac and Squire Brown, both born in Kentucky, to parents who had been born in Virginia. I started googling for such a family and felt hopeful when I found the following biography of Norman W. Brown of Pike, County Illinois:

Brown, Norman W.

Norman W. Brown, who follows farming on section 35. Atlas township, was born on the old family homestead of two hundred and twenty acres, upon which his father, Isaac Brown, located in 1828. The natal day of the son was September 23, 1840, and he was reared upon the home place, acquiring his preliminary education in the old log schoolhouse of the neighborhood about one mile from his father's home. He afterward, however, attended the Summer Hill district school, from which he was graduated. All this time he was living with his parents, Isaac and Susan (Smoot) Brown, the former of Scotch ancestry and the latter of Dutch lineage. Isaac Brown was a native of Virginia and removed from the Old Dominion to Kentucky, where he was married. He made farming his life work and followed that occupation until his life's labor's were ended in death. He became a pioneer resident of this county, settling here in 1828, when much of the land was still in possession of the government and few clearings had been made. He at once began to cultivate his land in Atlas township and resided upon the old homestead farm until his death in 1850. He had served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. His widow survived him until April, 1860, and was then buried beside her husband on the old home farm that is now the property of C. B. Dustin. The old flintlock musket which was carried by Isaac C. Brown in the war of 1812 is still in possession of the family, being now the property of Willis Brown, a brother of Norman W. Brown. In the family of Isaac and Susan Brown were thirteen children, namely: Maria, Mahala, Squire, Owen, Hardin, John, Willis, James, Isaac, Susan, Jane, Benjamin and Norman W. All are now deceased with the exception of four. Isaac died in infancy and was buried beside his parents on the old home farm, where also lie the remains of Hardin and John Brown, while Susan, Mahala and Benjamin were buried in California and Owen was buried in Kentucky near Mammoth Cave.

Norman W. Brown, the youngest of his father's family, was reared upon the old homestead farm. He lost his father when but ten years of age and was reared by his older brothers and sisters with whom he lived until nineteen years of age. when, in August, 1859, in company with William and James Baxter, he started for Pikes Peak, attracted by the discovery of gold in Colorado. They traveled with ox teams a part of the way and on reaching Nebraska they met many gold-seekers who were returning and who gave them information that there was no gold to be found. This discouraged the party so that they turned back and again came to Pike county. In the spring of 1860, however, Mr. Brown once more determined to try and win a fortune from the depths of the earth, for favorable reports concerning mining operations were still being received from Colorado and California and other sections of the country. In company with about one hundred and forty others he started, the party having forty wagons, most of which were drawn by ox teams. The company was commanded by John Underwood, whom they elected captain, and slowly they wended their way across the plains, completing in safety the long trip of five months, and reached Sacramento, California, on the 5th of September, 1860. They saw many Indians en route but they kept a strict watch, each male member of the company standing guard in his turn and they were not molested. Upon reaching Sacramento they did not find the gold as plentiful as they had pictured in their minds, so the members of the company scattered and sought employment in various ways. Mr. Brown went to work on a ranch and was thus employed for four and a half years, at the end of which time he returned home on the ocean steamer, Moses Taylor, embarking at San Francisco on the 13th of November, 1865. He disembarked with six hundred others at San Juan on the coast of Panama and from there they traveled overland, crossing the mountains, Mr. Brown riding a pony. He finally reached Virginia Bay, where he with the rest of the party took a boat across the bay to the head of San Juan river, where they embarked on two small river boats, going to Walker's Rapids. They traveled around the rapids on foot and again embarked on two other boats, thus making their way to old Graytown. a small port in the Atlantic ocean, where they took the steamer Santiago de Cuba for New York, arriving safely at that port. Thence they traveled by rail to Niagara Falls, and then on to Quincy, Illinois, and from there Mr. Brown made his way home.

On again reaching Pike county he once more engaged in farming and soon afterward he secured a companion and helpmate for life's journey. He was married on the 28th of January, 1869, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Gay, a daughter of James and Amelia (Yokem) Gay, who are mentioned on another page of this volume. Unto this marriage six children, three sons and three daughters, have been born, namely: Nellie, who was born November 25, 1869, and is now the wife of X. J. Carter, of Rockport; Paul W., who was born June 19, 1871, and is now a practicing physician in Springfield, Ohio ; Carrie, born October 27, 1873, who is the wife of H. D. Marion, a resident of Atlas township ; Claud, who was born October 9, 1876, and is living in Carterville, Illinois, where he is employed and is part owner in a mining machinery foundry; Erma, who was born May 22, 1882, and is a stenographer with the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis, and Bert, who was born May 10, 1884, and resides with his parents.

Politically Mr. Brown is a republican, unfaltering in the advocacy of his party and its principles. He cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and is proud of the fact that his second vote also supported the martyred president. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are now living upon the old home farm in Atlas township, where for years he has carried on general agricultural pursuits, having devoted his life to farm work since his return home from California more than forty years ago. [Source: Past and Present Of Pike County, IL by Capt. Massie, 1906]

Then there was this biography for Norman W. Brown's brother Willis Brown:

Brown, Willis
Willis Brown, who since 1877 has resided in Pike county, was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, on the 2d of September, 1827. He was brought by his parents to this state, the family home being established in Atlas township on a farm now owned by Charles Dustin, but which is better known as the old Brown homestead. He is a son of Isaac and Susan (Snodgrass) Brown. The father was born in Virginia and was a planter there. He removed from the Old Dominion to Hardin county, Kentucky, where he again conducted a plantation and in the latter state he was married. He lives in Kentucky until there were eight children in the family and he and his wife, with their children, then came to Pike county, Illinois, settling in Atlas township upon what is now the Dustin farm. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits, being identified with the tilling of the soil up to the time of his death, which occurred on the old homestead in 1848, while his wife passed away two years later. Their graves were made on the old home farm. In their family were thirteen children, namely: Maria, Mahala, Squire, Owen, Hardin, John, Willis, James, Isaac, Susan, Jane, Benjamin and Norman W. All are now deceased with the exception of four. Isaac died in infancy and was buried by the side of his parents, where also lie the remains of Hardin and John, while Susan, Mahala and Benjamin were buried in California, and Owen near Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

Willis Brown received but limited educational privileges as the schools of Atlas township were not in very good condition at that day. He was reared on the old homestead and early became familiar with the labors of field and meadow. After his father's death he took entire management of the farm, for his brothers had learned trades and had left the old homestead. He then conducted the property for about six years, subsequent to his mother's death, when it was sold to Charles Dustin and the proceeds of the sale were divided among the heirs. Willis Brown then purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was covered with forest trees. It was situated on section 25, Atlas township, and here he took up his abode and began to clear and cultivate the property. He has since made extensive improvements and now has an excellent farm, the fields being rich and productive, so that he annually harvests good crops.
In 1874 Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Worley, a daughter of Elias and Elizabeth Worley, and they have become the parents of eight children, Byron, Meyer, Malinda, Guy, Nettie, Sadie, Charley and Bessie. Of these Charley, Sadie, Bessie and Guy are all now sleeping in the Ball Bluff cemetery near Atlas. In 1861 Mr. Brown went to California, where he engaged in farm work for two years, returning to Pike county in 1863.

In his political affiliation Mr. Brown is a stalwart republican and has always supported the party. He and his wife still reside upon the home farm in the midst of children and grandchildren. Mr. Brown is a self-made man, owing his success entirely to his own labors and during the years he has wrought earnestly to acquire a competence and provide a good living for his family. [Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater]

While Isaac Brown and his wife Susan Smoot were born in Virginia, married in Hardin County, Kentucky, and had children there, including sons named Isaac and Squire, they can't possibly be the parents of the Isaac S. Brown and Squire Brown that I am seeking. Isaac Brown and Susan Smoot's son Isaac turned out to be younger than Isaac S. Brown, and he died in infancy. Not only is he a different Isaac, but this could not be an instance of Isaac S. Brown being named after an older, deceased brother. Squire Brown, the son of Isaac Brown and Susan Smoot, was a couple of years older than the Squire Brown that I am seeking, and he remained in Pike County, Illinois while my Squire Brown was living in Greene County and Madison County, Illinois. 

However, there are several parallels between the families of Isaac and Susan (Smoot) Brown and my Isaac S. Brown and Squire Brown. In both families, the parents were born in Virginia. Both families spent a few years in Kentucky. Both families removed to Ilinois in 1828 with Isaac Brown and Susan Smoot going to Pike County and the parents of Isaac S. Brown and Squire Brown going to Greene County. Significantly, Pike County and Greene County are neighboring counties. Then there is the repetition of the names Isaac and Squire in both families. The elder Isaac Brown, husband of Susan Smoot, may have been an uncle or cousin to my Isaac S. Brown. So far, I have been able to determine that Isaac Brown and Susan Smoot married in Hardin County, Kentucky, and that Isaac Brown is supposedly a son of Dixon Brown. Dixon Brown had several sons, so one of them might yet turn out to Issac S. Brown's father. 

Starling J. Thompson

  ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

Starling J. Thompson was the son of Lodowick and Priscilla (Reeves) Thompson. He was born c. 1810 in South Carolina, probably in Kershaw County.

In April 1841, he married Margaret R. Shiver in Kershaw County, South Carolina.

They were still living in Kershaw County in December of 1844 when Starling was arrested for defending himself from Ferdinand Hunter.

The DeKalb Factory was reportedly a cotton mill that provided cottages for its workers. I've found nothing further about this incident.

By 1850, Starling and Margaret (Shriver) Thompson were living in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

29 November 1850, Chesterfield Dist., SC, p. 152:

Starling Thompson 40 M Overseer b. SC

Margaret " 29 F b. SC

Jesse " 10 M b. SC

Amelia " 8 f b. SC

Lewis " 6 M b. SC

Anne " 4 F b. SC

Note that on this census Starling was working as an overseer. His brother Solomon Thompson was also an overseer in Fairfield District, South Carolina in 1860. 

On 31 September 1855, Sterling Thompson married Antoinette Jones in Richmond County Georgia.

They were still in Richmond County, Georgia in 1860.

27 June 1860, Augusta, Richmond Co., GA:

460-452

Sterling Thompson 47 Carpenter M b. SC

Antoinnett Thompson 38 F b. SC

Jessee J Thompson 19 M Carpenter b. SC

Amelia Thompson 17 F b. SC

Lewis Thompson 15 M b. SC

Anna Thompson 13 F b. SC

Mary Thompson 11 F b. SC

George Thompson 8 M b. SC

According to this census, all of the children would have been Margaret's. Margaret must have died between 1852 and 1855. There is no way of knowing if she died in South Carolina or Georgia. Sterling and Antoinette had no living children after five years of marriage. It seems unlikely that they ever had any children.

In 1860, Starling Thompson was in debt to Hiram Scarborough, who is believed to have been his brother-in-law and husband of Abigail Thompson. In Richmond Co., GA Deed Bk 2P on pages 84-85 is a mortgage that Starling took out from Hiram indicating that he owed Hiram $150 and was putting up his household furniture as collateral. Specifically, Starling mortgaged two bedsteads and bedding, three tables, one cook stove and utensils, six chairs, one sideboard, one bay mule and a wagon - all located in Starling's house at Number 410 on the south side of Broad Street in Augusta. 

Researching a house number from 1860 is not an easy task. Over time streets were moved, renamed, and houses renumbered. A house located at 410 Broad Street in 1860 cannot be expected to still be at 410 Broad Street today even if it is still standing. I looked for it anyway.

The earliest map I have found so far is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map dated 1884. On the south side of Broad Street, there was a house numbered 410. It was near the intersection of Broad Street and 4th Street.

410 Broad appears to be what we would call a duplex today. The key indicates that it was a frame house.

Further studying of the 1884 map indicated something that absolutely should not be on the map, but is.

In the middle of Broad Street, which was a wide boulevard, was the Broad Street Market, often referred to as the Lower Market. Prior to the Civil War, it served as a slave market. In 1878, a tornado swept through Augusta and left a path of devastation. All period newspapers recount the total destruction of the Market on Broad Street. The path of the tornado was mapped out in the 1878 Army Signal Corps report.

The Signal Corps map shows the tornado's path when it reached Broad Street. The Lower Market took a direct hit. The map suggests that the house numbered 410 might have survived.

The question is why does the 1884 map include a structure that no longer existed? My guess is that mapping Augusta was a project that took several years. Some sources indicate that the population of Augusta in 1860 was 12,000. It would have increased much more by 1878. At this point, my theory is that the Broad Street neighborhood had already been mapped prior to the tornado, and it was not revised before the map was published in 1884. That makes me think that the 1884 map shows 410 Broad Street as it was prior to the tornado.

As far as I can tell, what was once the location of 410 Broad Street is now under an overpass. Of course, this assumes that the house numbered 410 in 1860 was still numbered 410 in 1878. 

By 1862, Starling Thompson was once again employed as an overseer. He ran this notice in the Daily Constitutionalist of Augusta, Georgia on 22 May 1862. Since he was over the age of 50, he would not have been expected to enlist during the Civil War.

I have been unable to locate Sterling and Antoinette Thompson on the 1870 census although they should be somewhere.

Starling was deceased when the following sheriff's sale notice was run in the Augusta Chronicle on 20 November 1879.

I have not been able to locate Antoinette Thompson on the 1880 census.

Antoinette (Jones) Thompson died on 29 February 1896 in the Widow's Home located at 124 Greene Street in Augusta, Georgia. The Widow's Home was originally intended for widows of Confederate soldiers, but after burning, it was reopened in 1887 with the intention of assisting needy widows.

Allen Kendrick Manos, Son-in-Law of Daniel A. Lewis

 ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

For those sitting on the fence about the identity of John D. Lewis's son Daniel Adams Lewis and whether he had one wife (Betsy Young) or several additional wives (Tempe DeSpain and Margaret Masters), consider this additional information. 

In 1870, Daniel's sister Jane (Lewis) Wardlaw was a widow, living in Hunt County, Texas with three of her children and a farm laborer named Allin Manos. Jane and Milton Wardlaw's married daughter Susan Ashmore was living next door.

For too many years, the identity of Allen Manos, the farm hand, was unimportant since he did not seem to have any family connection.

That is he was seemingly unimportant until he turned up again in connection with Daniel Adams Lewis's third set of children with Margaret (Masters) Digman Newby. Allen Kendrick Manos married Missouri Texana Lewis, the middle daughter of Daniel Adams and Margaret (Masters) Lewis. In 1870, Missouri Texana Lewis was living with her mother and step-father L. H. Newby in Johnson County, Texas.

How on earth did Allen K. Manos and Missouri Texana Lewis meet? There are a couple of possibilities. Missouri Texana may have gone to Hunt County to visit her aunt and met him there. Margaret (Masters) Newby's marriage disintegrated by 1880. If she was in need of reliable help and had communicated that to her sister-in-law Jane Wardlaw, then Allen K. Manos may have gone to Johnson County to work for the family. To date, I have not located the marriage record of Allen K. Manos and Missouri Texana Lewis, which might shed some light on a possible place for their meeting.

Allen K. Manos establishes that there was a connection between Daniel Adams Lewis's sister Jane Wardlow and the daughter of Daniel and Margaret (Masters) Lewis. I do not believe that was purely coincidental. 

Digging into the identity of Allen K. Manos turned up even more mysterious information and even more questions. 

In 1860 Allen K. Manos was living in Hunt County, Texas with his parents John and Mary J Manos. John C. Manos was born in Tennessee in 1815 and Mary J Manos was born in Tennessee in 1825. It is notable that they were living in Tishomingo County, Mississippi in 1850. Even more notable, among their many children were Wiley Manos born c. 1842 in Mississippi, Matilda Jane Manos born c. 1848 in Mississippi, and Joel Manos born c. 1859 in Texas. These are names used repeatedly in the Lewis family. 

Further digging revealed that John C. Manos married Mary Jane Lewis in Jefferson County, Alabama on 20 November 1839.

Who was Mary Jane Lewis??? The short answer is that I do not know. She does not seem to be an unidentified daughter of John D. Lewis. The lawsuit brought by the children of Green and Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb against their stepmother does not include any information about Mary Jane (Lewis) Manos and her children. She does, however, seem to have a connection to John D. Lewis. At this point, I think it is very possible that she was an elder, unidentified daughter of John D. Lewis's son Wiley Lewis. At the same time, I cannot figure out how she would have ended up in Alabama in 1839. 

I suspect now that the marriage of Allen Kendrick Manos and Missouri Texana Lewis was a marriage between cousins. More digging needs to be done, but this is a prime example of why it is important to research siblings and associates. It is admittedly tedious, but it pays off. 

Obituaries of the Children of Charles Henderson and Esther A. (Jernigan) Graham

©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

In the interest of leaving no stone unturned, I searched for the obituaries of the children of Charles Henderson Graham and his wife Esther A. Jernigan. This family was living in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1850 and 1860. Henderson Graham's origins are unknown other than he was born in North Carolina in about 1820. The Jernigans had been in Johnston County for decades. Esther had been previously married to Haywood Whitley and had three children with him. I was not able to locate their obituaries. 

This group of sibling obituaries was frustratingly lean on information. Parents were not named. Often spouses were not named. Children were rarely named. 

Birth order of the children of Charles Henderson Graham and his wife Esther A. Jernigan:

1. Martha E. Graham b. 1845, married Fredrick E. Wayne
2. William Henderson Graham b. 1848
3. Chloe Virginia Graham b. 1849
4. Edward Bright Graham b. 1852
5. Thomas Jefferson Graham b. 1854
6. Mollie Graham 
7. Esther Ann Graham b. 1860 m. Jackson Benjamin Smith

Obituaries were not found for Martha E. (Graham) Wayne or Esther Ann (Graham) Smith.

Published obituaries of the Graham siblings in the order of their death:

1. Mollie F. (Graham) Mozingo died 5 October 1911. This obituary was found in The Times-Dispatch of Richmond, Virginia rather than in a North Carolina paper. Her obituary does not reveal that she was the widow of  Jonathan P. Mozingo nor that she had a surviving son, Foy Daniel Mozingo. 

2. William Henderson Graham died 27 October 1917 in Ingrams Township, Johnston County, North Carolina. His obituary does not name his parents or any of his nine surviving children. No siblings are mentioned. It does mention his two wives by name: Fannie Upchurch and Mrs. Lucinda Lee. This obituary appeared in the Smithfield Herald of Smithfield, North Carolina on 30 October 1917.

3. Chloe Virginia (Graham) Wayne died on 16 August 1928 at her daughter's home in New Bern, North Carolina. In her obituary, her parents, siblings, and spouse are not named even though she had at least two siblings still living. As was the custom of the time, her daughter is referred to as Mrs. H. M. Buntin of Bridgeton. Her obituary appeared in the News and Record of Greensboro, North Carolina.

4. Edward Bright Graham died on 3 January 1931 in Carlisle, Kentucky. His death notice appeared in The News and Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina because he had two surviving nieces in Johnston County, North Carolina. Even though Rev. E. B. Graham had a long and illustrious career, this is the only obituary I have found to date. It does not mention his own surviving son, William Bright Graham, or his surviving brother, Thomas Jefferson Graham. 

5. Thomas Jefferson Graham died on 20 January 1942 in Mangum, Greer County, Oklahoma. His obituary appeared in The Mangum Daily Star on Tuesday, 20 January 1942. It does not name his parents or his deceased wife. However, each of his six surviving children are named along with their residences: Thomas E. Graham and H.E. Graham of Oklahoma City, Carl E. Graham of Denver, Walter B. Graham of Albuquerque, Annie (Graham) Duck of Amarillo, J. M. Graham and H.H. Graham of Floydada, Texas. 

Iley N Selph, Spanish American War

©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

Records indicate that Iley Nunn Selph served during the Spanish American War. Various circumstances indicate that he was already in the Signal Corps when the war erupted in April 1898. He was stationed at Fort Sill Oklahoma as early as February 1898 when he purchased a beaded cane from Geronomo's wife and sent it to Col. W.C.P. Breckinridge of Lexington, Kentucky.

Iley was still at Ft. Sill in October 1898 when he was transferred to Fort Reno, Oklahoma. 

This means he served the duration of the Spanish American War, which ended in August 1898, at Ft. Sill.

By the time of the Spanish American War, the Signal Corps had progressed from sending communications with flags and bugles to communicating by telegraph. They both erected telegraph lines and worked as telegraph operators. Most of their communications were focused on the weather.

The skills that Iley N. Selph acquired during his stint in the military were put to use once he became a civilian. He worked for years as a telegraph operator, surveyor, and railroad agent. 

At some point during his military service, Iley contracted malaria, which affected his health for the rest of his life. I'm not sure where he contracted malaria. I researched malaria outbreaks in Oklahoma, and there were some. However, this "new" tidbit of information, that reveals he was transferred to Savannah, Georgia in November 1898, may indicate where he contracted malaria. There were several forts near Savannah, and I'm not sure where he was stationed.

Pedro Ygnacio Espinosa, Death Record

       ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

Pedro Ygnacio Espinosa died and was buried in Rancho de Taos in January 1834. 

I located this record by noting the last record that I had that indicated he was alive, which was the 1832 baptism of his grandson:

4 March 1832 (baptized), age 5 days old, Casimiro Espinosa, son of Juan Ygnacio Espinosa and Ygnacia Gonzales, paternal grandparents: Pedro Ygnacio Espinosa and Juana Gertrudis, deceased; maternal grandparents: Juan Calletano Gonzales and Lorensa Rodrigues; godparents: Jose Dolores Tayfoya and Maria Dolores Tafoya, all residents of Rancho. [Source: NM Baptims (Taos) by Windham]

I went to the microfilm of Taos deaths on Family Search and started slowly scrolling from 4 March 1832 forward. One thing I have noticed is that a surprising number of people were baptized, married, and died in and around the little village of Taos every year. In spite of that, it did not take me long to locate the January 1834 death of Pedro Ygnacio Espinosa. Other than his death date, this does not reveal any new information. I already knew that he was the widower of Maria Gertrudis Gonzales.

Squire Brown's Place of Birth, 1818

      ©  Kathy Duncan, 2023

The Illustrated Encyclopedia and Atlas Map of Madison County, Illinois, reveals the only documentation that I have found so far for Squire Brown's place of birth:

Like Isaac S. Brown, his brother Squire Brown was born in "Davis" County, Kentucky. Of course, that would actually be Daviess County, Kentucky. Squire was born there on 3 January 1818. This Atlas also reveals that he moved to Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois in 1863, which is probably the year that he left Greene County, Illinois. 

Then there is the added information that he lived in Township 5, Range 9, section 5:

There is definitely a Brown with land in the northeast corner of section 5, but the first name does not look like Squire. It looks more like "Jam" Brown. As far as I know, Squire appears in all records as either Esquire or Squire Brown. He was not a lawyer or judge, so I think his name was actually Squire.