Corporal Isaac DeMoss

25 Thursday Jan 2024

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Week 4 of the 52 Ancestors Challenge finds us exploring the topic “Witness to History”. There are so many individuals I could write about under this topic, most having served and fought for the freedoms we currently enjoy. Many of those same individuals I have already written about, but I haven’t yet focused my attention on my third great-grandfather Isaac DeMoss.

Isaac was born in Fleming County, Kentucky on March 13, 1833 to William DeMoss and Elizabeth “Betsey” Lowe.1 He is believed to be the fourth of ten children born to the couple. While still in diapers, his parents, along with several of his father’s siblings’ families, packed up the family and journeyed westward into Indiana, settling in southeastern Daviess County, Indiana.  

Isaac remained on the family farm until the early to mid-1850s. He set out to make his own way, heading further westward, settling along the White River which separated Daviess County from Knox County to the west. On December 8, 1855, at the age of twenty-two, he married sixteen year old Louisa Reeve, daughter of Joseph Reeve and Sarah Ireland Reeve. The following June, Isaac acquired a land patent (certificate 39184) for thirty-three acres of land along the White River bottoms. 

Isaac and Louisa did not waste time starting a family. Samuel T was born in October 1856 and Marion followed four years later. Life as a farmer was then interrupted when the Civil War broke out. Isaac, Louisa’s brother Samuel, and many of their friends and neighbors enlisted for a three year stint in the Union Army, becoming a private of Company C of the 80th Indiana Infantry. They mustered in on September 8, 1862 at Princeton, Indiana, and marched to Covington, Kentucky, where they joined forces with several units from Ohio. The first year of service was spent mostly in Kentucky. Notable campaigns included fighting Confederate forces at Perryville led by Major General Braxton Bragg. The Regiment had movements in Tennessee before engaging in a number of battles in Georgia in 1864. They circled back through Alabama to Tennessee once more before heading east to North Carolina in 1865. The 80th finished their tour of duty in Salisbury until they mustered out on June 22, 1865, returning home to Indiana. Isaac left the military with the rank of corporal.2

Unfortunately, when Isaac did return to Edwardsport, he did so as a widow. Louisa passed away on April 18, 1864. The cause is currently unknown, however, both Louisa’s mother Sarah and her mother-in-law Betsey also died within months of Louisa. It is not known if their deaths are related or merely coincidental. A year later, young Marion also died of an unknown cause, not having reached his sixth birthday.

At the age of thirty-three, Isaac married sixteen year old Laura Johnson. Within a year she gave him another son, William, however he died a week later. Isaac continued to amass his land holdings and in 1872, he and Laura welcomed another son John Franklin DeMoss. Personal accounts provided by various family members referred to John as Richard or “Dickie Popcorn”.3 

Unlike some of his brothers-in-law (Louisa’s brothers), Isaac focused on farming and did not appear to branch into other trades or skills. He did, however, amass a sizeable amount of land in and around Vigo Township, mostly along the river. Much of this farmland was transferred to Samuel and Richard in the 1890s, as reported in the Vincennes papers.

Isaac took ill in the summer of 1900, contracting Rheumatic Fever. He suffered from this affliction for nearly three months, succumbing on October 19, 1900 at the age of sixty-seven.

  1. Biography of Samuel T. DeMoss, History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, IN, George E. Greene, 1911, p. 271. ↩︎
  2. Battle Unit Details, 80th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. National Parks Service website. ↩︎
  3. Reeve and Hulen Families, Helen E. Reeve, 1974.  ↩︎

Family photos

13 Saturday Jan 2024

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This week’s prompt for the 52 Ancestors Challenge is “favorite photo”. Nearly fifteen years ago, before my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s got too bad, she handed my uncle Bill a large box of pictures. She said it was all the pictures she had collected over the years. He scanned them into the computer and gifted her an electronic picture frame for Christmas with all the photos stored in it. He said there were between 500 and 600 photos in that box. In 2015, my grandmother passed away. As Bill sorted through drawers and closets, he found more pictures. Over the course of the following three years, he scanned an additional 700 to 800 pictures. He then organized all 1300 pictures and gifted them to me and my sisters. When this challenge came up, I decided to pick a photo from his collection.

My maternal grandmother, Dorothy Cardinal Keller, was born in 1925, and she had two sisters and four brothers. She was fifth in the birth order. Each year during the summer, there would be the Thompson Family Reunion held at the local park in the town were I was born and raised. Thompson was my great-grandmother’s maiden name. I don’t remember too much about the reunions except there were always lots of people I didn’t really know and lots of food–fried chicken, potato salad and deviled eggs. I do recall that Grandma’s siblings who lived out of town would make an effort to come to the reunions.

I have selected two photos for this challenge. One from 1953 and one from 1989. Both pictures feature all seven Cardinal siblings.

This picture was taken in 1953 in Vincennes, Indiana. It might have been taken at my grandparents house, although I am not sure. From left to right, Morris Cardinal, Marlin “Buck” Cardinal, Virginia Cardinal Dye, Dorothy Cardinal Keller, Norma Cardinal Sheley, Wayne Cardinal, and Don Cardinal.

This picture was taken in the summer of 1989 in Vincennes, Indiana, during a family reunion. This particular year, it was not held at the park but at a family member’s house. It may have been Norma’s but I’m not 100% certain of that. Front row, Dorothy, Virginia and Norma. Back row, Don, Buck, Morris and Wayne. This was one of the last pictures of the siblings as Don, the oldest, passed away in 1993.

Where did I come from?

07 Sunday Jan 2024

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Our 52 Ancestors prompt this week is “Origins”. Origins are simply beginnings.

I’m currently focusing on my dad’s side of the family. As I continue to dig deeper, it has occurred to me that Dad’s ancestors haven’t really concentrated in any one area for any length of time. To get a feel for his origins, I decided to plot birth locations for his ancestors going back to the Revolutionary War.

The yellow pins are the locations where ancestors from my grandfather’s line (my dad’s dad, the DeMosses) were born. The pink pins are where my ancestors from my grandmother’s line (my dad’s mom, the Fieldens) were born. These are only my direct ancestors–no aunts, uncles, or distant cousins. Each pin represents a location, not necessarily a person. Some pins may represent more than one person. I did not connect the pins because I wasn’t necessarily trying to track how they migrated, although it was clearly east to west.

It’s quite the scattering of locations. My grandmother’s ancestors tended to be more to the south, with a higher concentration of locations in the Carolinas and into Tennessee. There really isn’t a distinct concentration of locations in any one area. They seemed to always be moving. Considering the terrain of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, it would seem logical that they continued to look for better opportunities.

My grandfather’s people seem to have come from two different areas and converged on the southwestern portion of Indiana. One grouping appears to have originated from the New Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania area, while the other was from the North Carolina/Virginia area before migrating north and westward. When the DeMoss ancestors arrived in Indiana, they must have found what they were looking for. The large cluster of yellow pins represent several generations who put down some serious roots, at least for a while.

The data represents five almost complete generations and a partial of the sixth generation, starting with my grandparents. Birthdates of those included ranged from the 1770s to about 1920. 

If nothing else, the data plot gives me insight into the areas of the country I should delve deeper into when the opportunity arises.

Map created using Google Earth application.

The “Red-headed Stepchild”

31 Sunday Dec 2023

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The first prompt for 52 Ancestors in 2024 is “Family Lore”. This prompt reminded me of a story my dad mentioned about his younger brother Jim.

 As the story goes, Jim had red hair. I don’t believe it was flaming red like Carrot Top or Little Orphan Annie, but probably closer to a strawberry blonde. It was definitely a contrast to the black hair that my dad, his sister and my grandmother were blessed with. Dad said he teased his brother and told him he was switched at the hospital. Somehow I doubt there was a baby swap, but it makes for a good story. I personally do not have first hand knowledge of the color of Uncle Jim’s hair. I wasn’t even two years old when he died at age twenty-one in an automobile accident. The few pictures we still have of him are black and white. I did attempt to colorize this photo using Fotor. Maybe there is a little red in there. It’s difficult to say for sure.

Photo of James D. DeMoss (1949-1971).

The fact that Uncle Jim had reddish colored hair isn’t really that far fetched. My niece is a strawberry blonde. Jim’s father (my grandfather) was described as having blonde hair on his draft card for World War II. Maybe it had a little red mixed in that wasn’t noted. My Ancestry DNA results have significant levels of Scottish (21%) and Irish (10%) origins, all apparently from my paternal line. We’ve even got some obvious Irish and Scottish surnames peppered in there–McCullough, McLees, McAllister–as well as the family Ireland (I’m assuming they came from Ireland!). My grandmother may also have had a tad bit of Irish or Scottish blood in her veins from the Caseys and Heaths in her line.

“The expression is from mixed Italian-Irish families in the late 19th century. The red-haired stepchildren would be seen as evil. Also, red hair would underscore that the child is not related to the stepparent, as seen by the physical difference.”

–tvtropes.org
Photo of Tom and Jim DeMoss taken late 1960s.

So was my uncle Jim a red-headed stepchild? I seriously doubt it based on this photograph of him with my dad. The few memories my dad shared of his younger brother were good ones. I can only imagine what kind of crazy trouble they would have gotten up to together if Jim had lived a few decades longer.

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.