Tag Archives: Roderick

2025 Week 1

05 Sunday Jan 2025

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I do this every year. Resolve to blog regularly and then it falls to the wayside. Let’s see how long I stick with it this year. I’ll start with a summary of what I accomplished last year and move on from there.

I’m continuing to work on the ancestry of my paternal grandfather, Samuel Thomas DeMoss, Sr. I moved on from the DeMoss line to the Cox line in 2024. With the release of the Full Text Search functionality on FamilySearch last year, I have found some interesting details about the family of my 4th great grandparents William J. DeMoss and Elizabeth Lowe DeMoss. Divorce records and land deed records cleared up several details that were still out there for me. Their son Isaac (my 3rd great grandfather) has a ton of land deed transactions on the books in both Knox and Daviess Counties. Every month or so I will do a quick follow up search to see if anything new and exciting pops up.

I put the DeMoss line on pause with my 4th great grandparents. The documentation currently available for Fleming County, Kentucky, in the early 1800s doesn’t amount to much for William and Polly DeMoss. It doesn’t appear that he was too involved in local politics or was at odds with the law, but it’s not clear exactly who he descends from or where he was prior to Fleming County. At this time, the only thing that might solve this riddle is if we had Y DNA results from my male cousin or his male descendants.

I’m about a year into my research on the Cox line. I am cleaning up what I already had and filling in the branches downward. My 2nd great grandfather Frank Cox lived quite the life and I continue to find more documents on him every time I search. He’s now up to four (4) wives! I’m still looking for definitive proof that John S Cox (my 3rd great grandfather) is the son of Gabriel and Nancy Cox. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that needs to be sorted through before I can feel confident in this parental assignment.

I am currently building out the descendants of Martha Ann Cox who married Luke Cassidy. I have six confirmed DNA matches through Martha. Luke and Martha had six known children and resided in Perry County, Indiana. Some of their descendants still live in the general area in south central Indiana, while others have migrated to the Pacific Northwest. This week I am specifically working on the family of Martha Henrietta Cassidy Rhodes and discovering my “5th cousins”. She and Sylvester had six children that I am aware of. I’m currently working on daughter #2. I expect the Rhodes family will take me a month to complete, depending on how much basic information I can find.

There were two individuals that stood out to me this week. These are usually younger individuals that catch my attention. The first was a 30 year old male in the late 1940s who died of a stabbing to his femoral artery. According to the man who ultimately was convicted of manslaughter, the victim had tried to rob him and he was merely acting in self-defense. The other was a 23 year old woman who was driving to work at a hospital in Evansville. Apparently the roads were slick and she was trying to pass another vehicle on or near a bridge. She lost control and died instantly from her injuries.

Unrelated to my Cox research, I had one new DNA match that I was able to place in my tree down my Roderick branch.

Progress: Tree contains 26,821 people
Goal: Add 50 new people this week

Robert C Thompson

27 Wednesday May 2020

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Robert C Thompson was born on May 27, 1837 in Gibson County, Indiana to Henry Thompson and Nancy Cunningham. He was one of at least six children born to the couple. His known siblings are Stewart, Margaret, Sally, Elenor and Henry G.

Robert’s mother Nancy died before 1850. Henry married Rebecca Beck in 1851 and they moved the family to Jackson County, Illinois. Henry died in 1853 and is buried in Vermilion County, Illinois. The circumstances of his death are not known, however, Vermilion County is not anywhere near Jackson County.

After his father’s death, it would seem that the Thompsons returned to Indiana where Robert married Sarah Roderick on October 16, 1860. They started with a small farm of twenty acres in Johnson Township and eventually grew it to include two hundred and fifty acres. To their marriage was born six boys and an unnamed infant–Charles, Riley, Ora, John, James and Robert H.

Robert was active in the community and was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows in Gibson County. His death on May 1, 1880 at the age of 42 was unexpected and came days after the birth of their son Robert. Newspaper accounts stated he had winter fever, otherwise known as pneumonia. His brother Stewart served as executor of his estate. Sarah would continue to work the farm with the help of her sons, even though Riley and Ora would perish as young men. Sarah lived on the family farm until April 21, 1896 when an extended bout of consumption would end her life.

Robert C Thompson was my 3rd great grandfather on my mom’s side.

REFERENCES

  • United States Census, 1850, 1870, 1880
  • Indiana Marriage Collection
  • Weekly Western Sun, April 24, 1896
  • History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana Goodspeed, 1886.
  • Find a Grave website
  • Illinois Wills and Probate Records

A Double Tragedy

29 Monday Dec 2014

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On Sunday, July 6, 1930, the Johnson family of southern Knox County suffered a double tragedy when they lost two of their menfolk.  Prominent Johnson Township farmer Clark Johnson, 79, passed away at home, the result of a stroke.  It was his second and it had been reported that he had been in ill health for some time prior to his death.  Clark was born February 29, 1852 in Knox County, the third of four sons to Thomas and Catherine (Lane) Johnson.  Clark also had several half-brothers and sisters, most of which had resided in the area.  He married Louisa Bailey on December 31, 1876 in Knox County and she survived him.  Together they had 8 children, 5 of which who were still living, and numerous grandchildren.

Also losing his life on that day was Clark’s grandson, Lawrence Tewalt.  The 20 year old apparently was at the family farm keeping vigil at his grandfather’s bedside, after possibly partaking in festivities over the Fourth of July holiday.  At some point he decided to get some relief from the July heat and went for a swim in the nearby White River with his younger brother and several cousins.  He became fatigued and went under, not resurfacing.  It took several hours for the neighbors to recover the body.  He was born in 1909 to William and Bessie (Johnson) Tewalt in Knox County.  He married his young widow Elsie Dunning in 1929.  They were residing in Terre Haute where Lawrence worked in a glass factory.  He also left behind a brother, Donald, and two sisters, Evelyn and Julie.

Services for both men were held on July 8th at the Decker Methodist Church.  Clark was interred at Greenlawn Cemetery while Lawrence was laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery.

Note: Clark Johnson was a first cousin of my third great grandmother, Sarah Roderick Thompson.

Henry and Nancy Cunningham Thompson

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

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My 4th great grandparents are Henry and Nancy Cunningham Thompson.  They are the grandparents of John Frank Thompson.

Henry was born on March 9, 1803 in Virginia.  Some researchers have identified his parents as Robert Thompson and Margaret Gray.  He ventured westward at some point prior to 1830, settling in Washington Township in Gibson County, IN.  He married Nancy Cunningham on April 20, 1830 in Gibson County.  Not a lot is known about Nancy since she died prior to 1850 when the Census listed each person individually.  She is thought to have been born between 1805 and 1810 and died between 1846 and 1850.  Henry died in 1853 and is buried in Vermillion County, IL.  It’s not obvious what he was doing that far from home since the boys remained in the Knox-Gibson area for the duration of their lives.

Henry and Nancy had six children that were alive in 1850 or later.

  • Stewart (1832-1904) married Margaret Jones (1841-1911) in 1858 in Knox County.  They had eight children – Florence, Alice, Eleanor, Thomas, Nancy, Maggie, William and Emma.  According to newspapers of the time, Stewart was a prominent farmer in Johnson Township.
  • Margaret (1835-?)
  • Robert C (1837-1880) married Sarah Roderick (1837-?) in 1860 in Knox County.  They had six children – Charles, Riley, Ora, Frank, James and Robert.
  • Sally (1840-?)
  • Elenor (1843-?)
  • Henry G. (1846-?) married Isadore Jones in 1866.  They had one daughter named California.  After 1870, Isadore and California cannot be found in any of the databases.  Henry disappears until the 1910 census which lists him as a widower working as a cook for the Anthis household in Decker.

The whereabouts of the girls is unknown after their father died in 1853.  They are not showing up in the 1860 census records or the Indiana marriage index.

It doesn’t appear that any of Henry’s sons fought in the Civil War, based on a quick glance of the 80th Indiana Infantry rosters.  Most of the men living in the Knox, Gibson area belonged to that regiment, although it’s not out of the question for them to have  joined up with another unit.

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Washington Township is in the north central part of Gibson County, IN, bordered by the White River on the north.  It sits east of Patoka.

Vermilion County IL is west of Lafayette, IN along the Indiana-Illinois border.

John Frank Thompson and Sarah Hannah Butler

06 Saturday Dec 2014

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John Frank Thompson and Sarah Hannah Butler are my 2nd great grandparents.  Frank was born to Robert C. and Sarah (Roderick) Thompson on October 19, 1872 in Knox County.  Sarah, also known as Sadie, was born to Eli and Amanda (Newcomb) Butler on October 4, 1875 in Indiana.  They were married on June 7, 1894 in Knox County.  They lived their lives together in Johnson Township where Frank farmed.  Frank and Sarah had four daughters together: Ethel, Edith, Pearl, and Gertrude.

Ethel (1895-1949) married August Cardinal in 1915.  They had seven children: Donald, Virginia, Marlin, Norma, Dorothy, Morris, and Wayne.  Ethel was my great-grandmother.

Edith (1896-1991) married Everett Williams in 1916.  They lived in Knox County until about 1936 when they moved to Owensville in Gibson County.  They had eight children: Kenneth, Inez, Marvin, Eldon, Max, Everett, Billy, and Bobbie.

Pearl (1902-1997) married Cleatus Beamon sometime around 1924.  They lived in Vincennes and had nine children, including a pair of twins:  Frank, Erma, Dorothy, Mary, Harry, Betty, Paul, Dale, and Pearl.

Gertrude (1906-2001) married Ewing Steffy around 1928.  Ewing farmed and they lived a time with his parents in Palmyra Township, which is essentially in the middle of the county between Vincennes, Wheatland, Bruceville, and Monroe City.  They did not have any children prior to 1940 and no one was listed in Gertrude’s obituary.  After Ewing died, Gertrude lived in Vincennes, just down the alley from my grandmother.  She would mention often about going to check on Aunt Gerty.

In January 1937, the Ohio River Valley suffered massive flooding.  This included the rivers that feed into the Ohio, such as the White River and the Wabash River which both border southern Knox County.  Johnson Township borders the White River and the area does sit in a known flood plain.  It was reported that levies were breached impacting the local residents.  Sarah died on January 22, 1937 at Good Samaritan Hospital.  The newspaper did not specify the cause of death, but there is always the possibility that it was related to the weather or the flooding.  The paper did say her body was returned to the Thompson home in Rural Johnson Township, so it’s possible they were not affected adversely by the flooding after all.

On January 26, 1939, Frank died of tuberculosis which he had been suffering from for a number of years.  He had been a patient at the Hillcrest Hospital which over the years served as a quarantine facility for various infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis.  With the advances of modern medicine, the hospital closed in 1971.  The building still stands and is thought to be haunted.