Monthly Archives: November 2022

Polly DeMoss Harmon (ca 1795-ca 1840)

06 Sunday Nov 2022

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A likely candidate for a sibling to William DeMoss is Polly DeMoss Harmon. Marriage records from Fleming County, Kentucky have Polly marrying Thomas Harmon in 1814. The family resided in Fleming County until the early 1830s at which time they migrated to Daviess County, Indiana. This is the same time period that William DeMoss’s family also relocated out of Kentucky. Polly is believed to have died sometime between 1839 when her daughter Fannie was born and 1843 when Thomas married Rachel Baker Gibson. A line by line search of the 1840 US Census did not find an entry for Thomas Harmon which would have provided some insight for a more exact date of death for Polly.

Old Union Church and Cemetery, Reeve Township, Daviess County, Indiana. Several members of this family are buried here.

Polly and Thomas had at least seven children during their time together. It’s possible that there were a few more as there is a large gap between William (b. 1819) and Matilda (b. 1829). According to the 1830 Census, there could be two daughters born in the 1820s that have not been accounted for. The children that have been documented are:

  • Elizabeth (1814-) m. Alexander Moren/Moran/Morin
  • Hannah (1816-1902) m. Jacob Hedrick
  • William (1819-1884) m. Indiana Alford
  • Matilda (1829-1860) m. Lewis Isham
  • Rebecca (1831-1859) m. William Edwards
  • David (1836-1870) m. Lavina Hedrick
  • Fannie (1839-1920) m. William Edwards

Thomas remarried in 1843 to Rachel Baker Gibson and added three more children to the family, Lavina, Robert and Lucinda. In 1860, Thomas is living with William’s family in St. Clair County, Missouri. The younger children are not living with them and Rachel cannot be located.

The Migration of Lewis DeMoss’s Descendants

05 Saturday Nov 2022

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As I make my way through the families, it is important to keep track of where they are going and where they have been. We’ve already looked at where William J DeMoss’s offspring settled. Since the first sibling I researched was Lewis, we’ll breakdown where his descendants went to see if there is any overlaps.

As we have discussed previously, Lewis DeMoss married Mary Cox in Fleming County, Kentucky in 1822. Mary and Lewis had the following children:

  • John W (1825-1912)
  • Samuel (1829-?)
  • James (1831-?)
  • Mary Margaret (1833-1877)
  • Joshua (1835-?)
  • Martha (1838-1875)
  • Thomas (1841-1928)
  • Milton William (1843-1940)

It is reasonable to assume all of these children were born in Fleming County where the family remained until shortly after 1850. They were in Platte County, Missouri just north of Kansas City by 1854 when John and Mary married Tritt siblings. We will now break down where each child’s family went from

John W DeMoss and Caroline Tritt settled in northern Platte County near Edgerton and remained there until their deaths in 1912 and 1923, respectively. Their six children all remained in the Edgerton area with the exception of Sarah. Sarah and her husband James P. Chaney resided in nearby St. Joseph. John and Caroline’s grandchildren remained in the general area as well, expanding into St. Joseph and Atchison, Kansas areas.

Mary Margaret DeMoss and Ira Tritt also settled in Platte County where their five children were born. Mary died in 1877 at the age of 43. In the mid-1880s, Ira and three of their children relocated to Logan County, Arkansas, just east of Fort Smith. Sons Thomas and William remained in the greater Kansas City area.

Martha DeMoss married Asa Reeves in 1868. They, too, remained in the northwestern Missouri area. Their son Louis Reeves migrated a bit further west and settled in Kansas. The Reeves were in Fleming County, Kentucky in 1850 and it’s highly probable that the families traveled to Missouri together.

Thomas DeMoss and Nancy Elizabeth Foster were married in 1871 and raised their family of four children in the Platte County area as well. After Nancy’s death in 1912, the entire family migrated to Delaware County, Oklahoma, located on the eastern border of that state with both Missouri and Arkansas. Thomas’s daughter Mary and her husband George Holtzclaw returned north about a decade later, landing in Ray County, Missouri. Thomas Jr and his wife Mary Pyle followed suit, living out their days in the Clay County area with their ten children.

Milton DeMoss and his wife Lucy Reeves settled in the Buchanan County, Missouri area as did their only daughter Susan and her husband William Jackson.

So far, there aren’t any overlaps in where the families of Lewis and William settled. As more of the siblings are added to the equation, there is likely to be some similarities which would strengthen the idea that they are kin.

Royal Ellis Moran (1884-1966)

04 Friday Nov 2022

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With the 2022 World Series wrapping up this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to a distant cousin who actually played in the Major Leagues.

Royal Ellis Moran was born September 17, 1884 in Vincennes, Indiana1 to James P Moran2 and Lenora Deem. Roy, also known as “Deedle”, began his baseball career with Vincennes in the Kitty League prior to 1907. His official professional baseball career as an outfielder started at Peoria, Illinois in 1907 before moving to the Jacksonville club in Iowa. In 1908, and for a large portion of his 12 year career, he played for the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A Southern Association. He had one stint in the Major Leagues in September 1912 playing 7 games for the Washington Senators. In 22 plate appearances, he had 2 hits, 8 walks, 4 strikeouts and 3 stolen bases. He scored 1 run.1

In his private life, Roy was married twice. His first marriage was to Vera Young on September 24, 1907 in Lawrenceville, Illinois3. Vera was a young local actress and the elopement was a surprise to most everyone. The marriage was short lived, however, as Vera filed for divorce in Knox County Court the following February4 citing that she had not yet been sixteen at the time of the nuptials and that he was cruel and inhumane. The divorce was granted in April 19085.

Following the 1910 baseball season, Roy married Betty Woodward in Atlanta, Georgia on October 296. Together they had one daughter, Muriel, who was born in 19157. Roy supported his family as a salesman for a variety of businesses through the years7-10. Roy died in Atlanta on July 18, 196611. He was 81 years old.

Roy’s lineage can be traced back to Polly DeMoss and Thomas Harmon who were originally from Fleming County, Kentucky. Polly is believed to be a sibling of my 4th great-grandfather William DeMoss.

References

  1. Baseball Reference website – Roy Moran Statistics
  2. 1900 US Census, Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana, ED 46, Sheet 2B, HH 33.
  3. Western Sun, Vincennes, Indiana, volume 104, issue 3, 27 September 1907, page 4.
  4. Vincennes Commercial, Vincennes, Indiana, volume 23, issue 264, 18 February 1908, page 4.
  5. Vincennes Commercial, Vincennes, Indiana, volume 24, issue 54, 21 April 1908, page 1.
  6. Georgia, US, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1828-1978, book Q, 1909-1910, Ancestry.com.
  7. 1920 US Census, Atlanta City Ward 4, Fulton County, Georgia, ED 83, Sheet 1B, HH 10/19.
  8. 1930 US Census, Atlanta District 121, Fulton County, Georgia, ED 61-121, Sheet 8B, HH 170.
  9. 1940 US Census, Atlanta Ward 5, Fulton County, Georgia, ED 160-216, Sheet 8A, HH 176.
  10. 1950 US Census, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, ED 160-433, Sheet 9, HH 95.
  11. Georgia, US, Death Index, 1919-1998, Ancestry.

William J DeMoss and the FAN Club

03 Thursday Nov 2022

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A concept many researchers utilize when trying to trace a particularly family, or any family for that matter, is the FAN Club concept. FAN stands for family, associates and neighbors. Back in the day, it was highly unlikely that a single family would migrate hundreds of miles all by themselves. The number one reason for this was safety. There is safety in numbers and they were heading out into the wilderness where there might not be a lot of other friendly people. If a family migrated to a new location, they would usually go with other family units or neighbors who lived nearby. We can get a feel for who belongs to a particular FAN club if the same names appear in proximity to each other on various documents, the most common being the census records. These families also tend to intermarry so that is another thing to watch for in the documentation.

As I sort through the information on William DeMoss and those who are thought to be his siblings, I will be applying the concept of the FAN club, especially with migration of family units during the 1800s. This first FAN Club post will summarize the migration pattern of William’s descendants. Only those children who are known to have off-spring will be discussed.

Thomas DeMoss (1828-p 1870) – Thomas was one of the two boys listed in the 1830 Census but had moved off the family farm by 1850. He married Mary Gilley and had six children while living in Daviess County, Indiana. Their children remained in the general area spreading into Greene and Knox Counties in Indiana and Wabash County in Illinois. The grandchildren, who were mainly born around the turn of the twentieth century migrated a bit further, landing in the South Bend area. There was also one granddaughter who found her way to Oregon.

Isaac DeMoss (1833-1900) – Isaac was married twice, first to Louisa Reeve then to Laura Johnson. He settled in Edwardsport in Knox County where he lived out his life. His children and grandchildren also remained in the Knox County area.

John DeMoss (1835-1908) – John was married to Sarah Burris and they made their home in Daviess County, Indiana. After her death, John did move down the road to Wheatland in Knox County. Their children seemed to migrate in a westward direction, a few settling here and there along the way. A couple children made their homes in southern Knox County in the Decker area, while a few others continued on to the west, finally making roots in western Illinois and further into Pemiscot County, Missouri. Several of the grandchildren eventually ended up in the Los Angeles, California while others remained in the St Louis area.

William Henry DeMoss (1837-1876) – William’s first wife was Mary Reeve, sister of Isaac’s wife Louisa. William and Mary did attempt to migrate to Missouri, according to family lore, however, they returned after a short period of time. Of their four children, two stayed in the southwestern Indiana area and the other two found their way to the Spokane, Washington area. For the most part, the grandchildren remained in the general areas of their parents.

As I delve into the other possible siblings of William J DeMoss, it will be interesting to see if any/many find their way to St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oregon or Washington. This will help to support possible ties between the various families.

Lewis DeMoss (1793- p 1860)

02 Wednesday Nov 2022

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Lewis DeMoss is believed to be a brother to my 4th-great grandfather William, making him my 4th great-granduncle.

Based on the 1850 and 1860 US Census, he was born circa 1793 in Virginia. He married Mary Cox in 1822 in Fleming County, Kentucky. Lewis was a blacksmith by trade. He and Mary had at least eight children, including John W, Samuel, James, Mary Margaret, Joshua, Martha, Thomas and Milton. In the early 1850s, Lewis and Mary packed up the family and moved to Platte County, Missouri, north of the Kansas City area. Many of their descendants still live in the area today while others are scattered in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Lewis and Mary’s last known location was in 1860 in the Ridgely, Platte County, Missouri area. Ridgely is just south of Edgerton.

At this time, the only thing linking Lewis DeMoss to William DeMoss is the fact that they both were residing in Fleming County, Kentucky as young men.

I do not have any DNA matches for Lewis’s descendants either. While DNA matches aren’t absolutely necessary to prove a link, it would go a long way to bolster the connection.

This Lewis is not to be confused with other Lewis DeMosses.

Lewis C. DeMoss was born in 1794 in Frederick, Virginia. He was the son of Peter DeMoss and Katherine Houseman. He married Hester Clinkenbeard in 1821 in Campbell County, Kentucky which several counties away from Fleming County where my 4th great-grandfather was located. This Lewis remained in Campbell County until his death.

Lewis DeMoss who died in Platte County, Missouri in 1886. The children named in the will for this Lewis do not match those of this blog’s subject. Further investigation would indicate that this Lewis was about twenty years younger as well. There is a slim chance that this Lewis is a son of the elder Lewis, however, no evidence has yet surfaced tying the two men together other than residing in the same county.

NaBloPoMo 2022: William J. DeMoss

01 Tuesday Nov 2022

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It’s November which means it’s also National Blog Posting Month. The last time I participated in this event was in 2014. My family research has been hit or miss lately and this is the tool I plan to use to get back on track. Researching and blogging my findings, or rather my lack of findings, will be my focus for the month of November.

My initial focus will be on William J. DeMoss, my 4th-great grandfather, and trying to document who his parents are once and for all. I want to go through everything one more time to make sure I haven’t missed anything, then move on to someone else.

So who is William and what do I actually know about him? I actually blogged about William on November 2, 2014, but a few additional details have surfaced, so I will start afresh. According to the 1850 US Census compiled in Reeve Township, Daviess County, Indiana, William was born circa 1803 in Kentucky. His wife’s name was Elizabeth, and they had eight children living with them at that time. William and Elizabeth (nee Lowe) were married in Nicholas County in January 1827, per the marriage bond signed by William and Elizabeth’s father, Isaac Lowe (FHL 000252399).

The 1830 US Census places William and Elizabeth in Fleming County, Kentucky, with two boys under the age of five. In 1840, the family of nine is found in Daviess County, Indiana. By the 1860 US Census, it appears that William is in Steen Township, Knox County, Indiana and living alone. Coincidentally, he is next door to Benjamin and Sarah Lankford. Benjamin’s granddaughter Sarah Winkler would end up marrying William’s grandson Samuel T DeMoss twenty-six years later. Elizabeth is not residing with William. A marriage record filed in Daviess County in March 1862 in Daviess County for William J DeMoss and Elizabeth Miller (FHL 001433574) would imply that William and his first wife had divorced, possibly in the late 1850s.

Soon after his marriage to Elizabeth Miller, foreclosure documents were filed in Daviess County Court on a 40 acre tract of land not far from Dogwood Lake. The small blue pin is in the vicinity of this tract of land. The case was dismissed in January 1863.

William’s whereabouts after 1863 are unknown at this time.

What do I want to know about William? Who are his parents. Most sites/researchers have William’s parents listed as William DeMoss and his wife Polly. Unfortunately, no documentation linking William to this couple has surfaced. A lot of what is out there is conjecture at this point. My next steps will look at those individuals who are believed to be William’s siblings. Tomorrow I will look at Lewis DeMoss.