Jacob Erion had Red Hair! Who knew? Part I

Jacob B. Erion ca 1876

Mary Leonard Erion ca 1876

My grandfather once told me he would like to know more about his grandfather.  However, it was during a time when I was having my own children and the days were filled with raising the next generation.  There was no time to look back.  But now there is.  My Granddad passed away in 1983 but I have always remembered his words to me and this blog is a result of that remembering.  

I have sourced my information.  These are my own words except where indicated.  A wonderful book that I used as a reference to help me imagine the time in which my great great grandparents, Jacob B. Erion and Mary Leonard Erion, were young is "An Ohio Schoolmistress: The Memoirs of Irene Hardy" edited by Louis Filler (The Kent State University  Press, Kent, Ohio 44242)  I highly recommend it.  Irene Hardy was born in 1841, my great great grandfather was born in 1842 and my great great grandmother was born 1843.  All were born in Ohio.

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Jacob Benjamin Erion had RED HAIR. Who knew?  He was 5’8” tall and he had blue eyes. These facts are stated in his Certificate of Disability for Discharge from the Army of the United States, signed by Company Commander Samuel Breasley on 27 Oct 1862. Jacob Benjamin Erion walked this earth for eighty-seven years. 

 A contemporary of Jacob and Mary Leonard Erion’s, Irene Hardy, was born 22 Jul 1841 in Eaton, Preble County, Ohio. Preble County, Ohio borders the State of Indiana. In her memoir, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy, (written over a five year period from 1908 to 1913), edited by Louis Filler, (Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio, 1980), Irene (pronounced as the Greeks did, eye-reen-a), wrote of growing up in rural Ohio in the 1840s through 1860s, exactly when Jacob and his siblings, and Mary Leonard Erion and her siblings grew up in Ohio.

When young, Jacob Erion and Mary Leonard probably lived in structures such as the ones Irene described in her Memoir. She stated that large virgin forests were interrupted by cabins built of rough unhewn (unfinished) logs with roofs of handmade clapboards. The big chimneys at each end of the one roomed dwelling were initially of sticks and mud, later replaced by stone. Around the middle of the 19^th century, those rough dwellings were replaced by comfortable squared log houses. (pages 3 and 24, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

It was a prize to find a teacher and a schoolhouse during that time. Parents taught their children what they were able to teach them. If there was an organized schoolhouse with a schoolmaster, the school term usually lasted from September until the term ended in early spring. There were no holidays, not even a break for Christmas Day. Irene wrote that to establish even the giving of a treat on Christmas Day was a struggle for her parents’ generation and that her parents had told her of a teacher that had been ducked in a hole in a frozen pond because he did not recognize Christmas with a treat or a holiday. By Irene’s time, the students received a treat such as candy, gingerbread or apples around noon on Christmas Day, and the afternoon would be filled with an activity such as a spelling bee. (Source: page 39, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy). (Contrast Irene’s memory with the brouhaha that is made today (2010) of the Christmas season. Christmas school holidays, on average, are two weeks long, and the citizens of the United States began being pummeled with advertisements about holiday shopping fully three months before the actual day.)

Girls learned to spin, weave and sew cloth when they were young, although none of this could be done on the Sabbath. Any work done on the Sabbath was considered an absolute sin, and if one did not care what God thought about it, at least one should care what one’s neighbors thought! Irena wrote of wearing a beautiful moss-green, homespun flannel dress with slender stripes of red that her mother had made from cloth that she had woven herself. (pages 40 and 65, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

When Jacob and Mary were children, growing up in the 1840s and 1850s, it was customary that if company was present for the meal, children were to wait until after the adults had finished eating dinner before they could come in and eat. (page 49, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy) Everyone usually had plenty of food for each family raised their own food: meat, chickens for their meat and eggs, fruit, and vegetables. In Ohio maple sugar and syrup were made in February and March from sugar trees. The families made their own candles from either beeswax or tallow, and people were usually in bed by 8 p.m.  (pages 62- 63, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

If letters were sent in the 1840s, they were folded in squares. There were no postage stamps or envelopes, so the letter was sealed with a wafer. (page 63, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy) A wafer was a small slip of paper that had glue on one side. The glue side was moistened and affixed to edges of the folded letter to keep it shut. Paper wafers came into popularity just before 1840. (Source: http://homepage.eircom.net/~lawe/WAFERSEALS.htm) The sender of the letter could either prepay for the letter or have the recipient pay if they wanted to see the letter. (page 63, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

 More than likely Jacob’s and Mary’s fathers made all of their shoes from calfskin which came from their own cattle. Children went barefoot as soon as the spring had melted the snow and did not put shoes on again until the next winter’s snowfall. Shoe lasts, or the form around which the leather was formed to create the shoe, were carved and whittled from wood usually by the men of the farm. An awl and thread with a pig bristle twisted into the waxed end were used to stitch the shoes. While children were allowed to go barefoot for a good portion of the year, it was a sign of “shiftlessness” in adults to go without shoes. (page 66, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

A bird which Jacob and Mary saw when they were little, and people living now have never seen, was the passenger pigeon. In her memoir, Irene wrote,

“In the autumns of my sixth, seventh, and eighth years, (1847-1849), our part of the country (Ohio) was visited by enormous numbers of passenger pigeons, coming for the beechmast. In one of those years, which I cannot tell, the branches of the beech trees were weighed down with a quantity of nuts. Flocks of pigeons, like great clouds, flew over our house not far above the trees. We could hear the rush and see the silvery flicker of their innumerable wings above us. The people on the various farms made coop-like traps and caught them by hundreds.” (page 76, An Ohio SchoolMistress: The memoirs of Irene Hardy)

 At age 19, Jacob enlisted as a private in the Union Army, 4^th Ohio Infantry, Knox County, Ohio. (Source: Military Records of Individual Civil War Soldiers, Provo, UT: Ancestry.com) His term of enlistment was for three years.) According to The History of Knox County (Ohio) (Source: http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Knox/KnoxFile3.htm), the 4^th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio, on 25 Apr 1861. On 2 May 1861, the regiment moved to Camp Dennison. On the 4^th of May, 1861, the 4^th Ohio Infantry was mustered into the United States Army for a three months’ enlistment by Captain Gordon Granger. A few days after that, President Abraham Lincoln called upon men to enlist for three years which Jacob Erion did. (Source: Declaration for Pension, dated 12 Jun 1912, from the Pension File of Jacob B. Erion located in the National Archives)

While on duty at Camp Pendleton, West Virginia, Jacob was a victim of sunstroke. (Source: Erion, Jacob B., Pension File located in the National Archives. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, dated 19 Apr 1890) He received a disability discharge in 1862 from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. (Source: Military Records of Individual Civil War Soldiers, Provo, UT: Ancestry.com) The sunstroke affected his heart and he was to suffer periodically from chronic diarrhea for the rest of his life. (Source: Erion, Jacob B. Pension File located in the National Archives) The last two months of Jacob’s service in the Union Army, he was unfit for duty for a total of 55 days because of the sunstroke. (Source: Certificate of Disability for Discharge, Army of the United States, dated 27 Oct 1862, copy of which is in the Pension File of Jacob B. Erion, National Archives)

On 31 Dec 1863, (Source: Linn County, Iowa, History to 1878, Ancestry.com) Jacob married Mary Frances Leonard when he was 21 and Mary was 18. Nothing has been discovered about how Jacob and Mary met. The 1860 US census shows Mary living with her birth family in Morris Township, Knox County, Ohio; Jacob is living with his birth family in Monroe, Knox County, Ohio. In later years, during pursuit of his disability pension, Jacob B. Erion, while living in Chunchula, Alabama, filled out a Bureau of Pensions Agency Inquiry which asked “when, where and by whom were you married?” Jacob answered, “31^st of Dec. 1863 near Mount Vernon, Ohio, by a Methodist minister from Fredericktown, name forgotten.” 

 The question after that on the form was “What record of marriage exists?” Jacob answered, “Marriage recorded at Mt. Vernon, Ohio.” This form was dated and signed by Jacob on the 4^th of March 1912, two years before his wife Mary’s death. On that same form, page two, when asked where he had lived since his discharge, the following locations were listed by Jacob: near Mt. Vernon, Ohio; Springville, Iowa; Lewis, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and at various National Cemeteries as Superintendent. Now on farm near Chunchula, Alabama. (Jacob left out his and Mary’s time in Appleton City, MO, where their children, Francis Leonard Erion and Esther P. Erion were born. Bleu) (Source: Bureau of Pensions, Agency Inquiries, Department of the Interior, dated 27 Feb 1912, original form in the Pension File of Jacob B. Erion, National Archives)

Shortly after their marriage, Jacob and Mary left Ohio along with Jacob’s parents, Philip and Matilda Latham Erion and their remaining children. Jacob’s younger brother, Salathiel Wheeler Erion, (1855-1946), recounted the families’ trip south in an article about Salathiel’s and his wife’s 60^th wedding anniversary, published in Mt. Vernon, Iowa’s Hawkeye Record in March, 1939:

“Mr. Erion who will be 84 next month, was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and came with his parents, Phillip and Matilda Erion at the age of nine, to Iowa. He recalls their having been a caravan of five covered wagons accommodating three families making the trip to near Linn Grove in 21 days.”

They all settled close to one another in Linn County, Iowa. Jacob and his family are listed at Linn Township #288 and Jacob’s father Philip and his family are listed at Linn Township #285. (Source: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ia/county/linn/census/1870censusindexef.htm#E) A copy of the Linn County Plat Map for 1869, obtained from the Linn County (Iowa) Historical Society also indicates that several of the younger siblings of Jacob Erion married the families neighboring the Erions’ farms. 

Seeking new opportunities, in 1875, Jacob, Mary and their daughters moved to Missouri. First they lived in Bates County, Missouri, and then they moved to Appleton City, Missouri. (Source: Linn County, Iowa, History to 1878) Appleton City is located in St. Clair County and is located between Springfield and Kansas City on Highway 52. Jacob and Mary moved there about four years after it became a town. (Source: http://www.appletoncitymo.com/history.html)

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LUELLA MATILDA ERION, a daughter of JACOB B. ERION AND MAY FRANCES LEONARD ERION

Top picture: Luella Matilda Erion.  This picture was cropped from a  larger family group picture of Jacob B. Erion and Mary Leonard Erion.  The picture was given to me by my late aunt, Frances Erion Taylor.  The group picture may viewed on another posting within this blog.

Middle picture:  After much researching I feel 99 percent certain that this is a photograph of Luella Matilda Erion and her father Jacob B. Erion.  I believe it was probably taken in Winslow, Arizona around 1920 when Luella was working there as a public health nurse.  The picture was in an old photograph album of my grandfather's.  The album was given to me by my late aunt, Frances Erion Taylor.

Bottom image:  This is a scan of a letter Luella M. Erion wrote to Winfield Scott, Commissioner of Pensions in Washington, D. C.  Not only did Luella take care of her father in his last years, she also handled office tasks for him and this was the final one.

The following is a snapshot of the life of Luella Matilda Erion.  It is written in my words.  When I use others' words, I have indicated so and I have also sourced my information to the best of my ability.

“We have a fourteen year old girl who can set type all around Bro. Myers in fifteen minutes”. (Jacob B. Erion)

Meet Luella Matilda Erion, the second child of Jacob Benjamin Erion and Mary Frances Leonard Erion. Luella was born 15 Feb 1870 in Iowa. The first six years of Luella’s life were spent in Linn County, Iowa with her parents and big sister, Jennie Mabel and little sister Alice Erion, who was born two years after Luella. In September of 1875, Jacob moved his family to Bates County, Missouri, then to Appleton City, Missouri. There, two more children joined the family: Francis Leonard Erion and Esther P. Erion. There the Erions lived for three years, while Jacob ran a saddler and harness business. In 1878, according to the Linn County, Iowa History to 1878, Jacob and family moved to Springville, Brown Township, Linn County, IA. In the same Biography Jacob is listed as a druggist and book dealer. Also Jacob’s and Mary’s sixth and final child, my great grandfather, Lloyd Dewitt Erion, is born.

As her father wrote in the Lewis Independent, Luella was just as skilled as her older sister Jennie at setting type for the newspaper. Later, Luella became a school teacher in South Omaha, Nebraska, where her family moved between 1880 and 1885. An article in the 05 May 1897 edition of the (Omaha) Morning World-Herald noted that Luella Erion had been granted a one year leave of absence, followed up with an August 29, 1897 mention in the same named publication that said, “Miss Lou Erion goes to Peru (Nebraska) tomorrow to attend the state normal school the coming year.” Established in 9 Sep 1887 and sited on the western side of the Missouri River, Peru is located on the Steamboat Trace, a hiking, birding, and biking trail that is part of the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail. The state normal school at Peru, Nebraska was the state’s first college and is now known as Peru State College, “Campus of 1000 Oaks.” It is a four year college, state funded. (Sources: http://www.ci.peru.ne.us/index.htm and www.peru.edu.)

Perhaps Luella took a year’s sabbatical to attend nursing school because the 1900 US census shows Luella’s occupation as “nurse,” but, again, this is speculation. Bleu)    Luella was hired again during the upcoming 1899-1900 school year in South Omaha, Nebraska. (Source: Morning World-Herald, 28 Jun 1899)

In 1900 Luella, age 30, lived with Blanche Kelley, 28, and Eva Swart, 22, at 419 South 20^th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. Blanche is listed as the head of the household and Luella and Eva are listed as partners. (1900 US Census) For whatever reason, Luella Matilda Erion does not show up on the 1910 US census. This could simply be because of a clerical error or misspelling of her name or she might have been on a trip the day the census taker came by her residence. The search will continue for Luella in 1910, but, at some point between 1900 and 1920, Luella made a huge move. She moved to Winslow, Arizona where she worked as a public health nurse. Her niece, Mary Olive Leonard, lived with her. (Source: 1920 US Census)

The last census to be made public, 1930, shows that Luella moved to San Diego, California where she was employed as a registered nurse. The State of California has posted its Voter Registration records on-line at Ancestry.com. This information enabled me to pinpoint where Luella lived between 1926 and 1930. She was a registered Republican living at 4832 Kansas, San Diego, California. These same on-line California Voter Registration records show that Luella’s father, Jacob Benjamin Erion, was also living with her. He, too, was a registered Republican.

Jacob B. Erion's pension file from the National Archives shows that Jacob lived with Luella Matilda Erion until his death in 1929.   Luella Matilda took care of her father for five years until his death in 1929.

Notes to myself that I entered into my Family Tree software show the following:

I (Bleu) received part of the pension file for my great great grandfather, Jacob B. Erion,  on November 6, 2008.  The National Archives had indicated that it could take 3 to 4 months to receive anything.  It, in fact, took only about 6 weeks.  The initial search and copying fee was $75.  If nothing had been found, there would had been no charge. However, a lot was found and I was given a quote for the remainder of the file. I am sending off that quote fee tomorrow. 

It appears that the researcher started with the most recent activity and is working his way back through the file, so what I have right now is the diagnosis and final illnesses of Jacob B. Erion.  He lived a long, long time.  Also, things in the file confirm what I have found on line -- that he did  live with his daughter Luella.  I was surprised to find that Jacob had been cremated.  His family handled his final wishes rather than it being carried out by the US Dept. of Army.  The US Dept. of Army had the family sign documents that this was their wish."  

" . . . it is my desire to have my father cremated."  /s/ Luella Erion, 15 Jan 1929.  (On letterhead of Davis-Bonham Mortuary)

At the time of his death, Jacob B. Erion was drawing a pension of $72.00 per month. Jacob's complaints upon his final admission, through the emergency room to the hospital:  "weakness, inability to stand or walk, pain in muscles and joints, frequent urination, dizziness."  Findings after physical examination: "senile, bedridden male, pulse 92, dippnoea, marked arteriosclerosis. Myocarditis, chronic." (Source: Report of Physical Examination signed by Dr. F.C. Pache, U.S. Haval Hospital, San Diego, CA, 22 Oct 1928.)

Sometime after the 1930 census, Luella moved to Los Angeles County, California where she lived until her death on 23 Oct 1944, having never married. (Source: Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997)     The oldest child of Carl Andrew Erion and Louise Marie Krumwied Erion, had this memory of “Aunt Lou”: “I remember Aunt Luella, she visited us when we lived on Boundary Street, now Iris Street (in Hobart, Oklahoma). She was crabby and I heard Mother say she wasn’t crazy about her. She must have been nice to have her father live with her. I think Luella was an old maid and I think she went by Lou because they would talk about Aunt Lou.” (Letter dated 5 Dec 2008)

So "Aunt Lou" might have been crabby but she was an industrious, educated woman who took care of her father.  

JENNIE MABEL ERION TERRY

The information for this posting was gathered by me from on line sites such as Ancestry.com and a letter written by Fern E. Terry, daughter of Jennie Mabel Erion Terry, to my Erion grandparents.  It has been written in my own words, with sourcing indicated.  Quotations are indicated in the usual style.  The above photograph was cropped from a family group photograph of Jacob B. Erion and Mary Leonard Erion and their family which appears elsewhere on this blog. The photograph was give to me by my late aunt, Frances Erion Taylor.

The oldest child of Jacob Benjamin Erion and Mary Frances Leonard Erion was Jennie Mabel Erion. Jennie was born 21 Jan 1865 in Iowa. Jennie Mabel was big help to her father in his newspaper office. An item in the 27 Feb 1884 issue of the Lewis Independent (Jacob Benjamin Erion’s newspaper) located in Lewis, Cass County, IA, read as follows:

Lewis Independent, Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, February 27, 1884

"Married:-At the residence of the bride’s parents, on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m., Mr. W.A. Terry Jr., to Miss Jennie M. Erion, Rev. Chas Little officiating. The wedding was a private one, only a few of the immediate relatives of the couple being present."

A couple of weeks later, there is a response from Jacob Benjamin Erion, publisher of the Lewis Independent, to the editor of the Anita Tribune, Sherm Myers:

Lewis Independent, Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, March 12, 1884

Sherm Myers, editor of the Anita Tribune, begins a congratulatory item concerning the marriage of W.A. Terry and Miss Jennie Erion as follows: “Bro. Erion, of the Lewis Independent, mourns the loss of his daughter Jennie, who was married to W.A. Terry Jr., of that city. This will cause the old duffer to get up to the "case" and pick type himself, Miss Jennie having been his main help in the office heretofore.” [Jacob responds to Mr. Myers] Now don't you fool yourself, little Shermy. We know too much about our business to be caught in that way. We laid in a supply of help years ago, and still have a few left. You must remember the whole family is printers, and there is several of us if not more. We have a fourteen year old girl who can set type all around Bro. Myers in fifteen minutes."

The “fourteen year old girl” to whom Jacob Benjamin Erion referred was his second oldest child, Luella Matilda Erion.

Regarding the newspaper business and her mother, Fern E. Terry, daughter of Jennie Mabel Erion Terry and W. A. Terry, wrote the following in her letter to Carl Andrew Erion and Louise Marie Krumwied Erion: “. . . my mother was a very rapid and accurate type setter, (offered big wages), but my grandfather insisted she stay in his office. (Rough type of people in newspaper offices at that time.)”

So, imagine if you will, the family of Jacob Benjamin Erion and Mary Frances Leonard Erion in their newspaper office – someone setting type, another one setting up the printing press, and someone running the printing press. Throughout the day, townspeople probably stopped by the office to talk and deliver the news (or gossip) to put in the paper. A Gazetteer for Lewis shows that Western Union was available. Whether Jacob’s wife was involved in the newspaper business also is not known, but what is known is that Jacob did involve his children, whether they were males or females, in his business. This is when it would be nice to have time-travel!

As stated earlier, Jennie Mabel Erion did marry, on 20 Feb 1884 in Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, a young man, 11 years Jennie’s senior, by the name of William A. Terry, Jr. In the 1880 census, William A. Terry, Jr.’s occupation is listed as “butcher” in Lewis, Cass County, Iowa. William was born on Long Island, in the State of New York in 1854 (Source: 1910 US Census). His parents were William A. Terry and Laura ?. Both were natives of New York. In 1868, after living in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin for two years (source: 21 Nov 1883, Lewis Independent, Lewis, Cass County, Iowa) the Terry family, which consisted of William A. Terry, Jr. and four other children, moved from New York State to Lewis, Cass County, Iowa. (Source: 1870 US Census.) Just three months before William A. Terry, Jr. and Jennie Mabel Erion were married a tragedy occurred in the Terry family as reported in the following obituary:

 “OBITUARY

Mrs. Lucy Eveline MACOMBER, daughter of Wm. A. and Laura C. TERRY, was born in Bridgehampton, L.I., November 21, 1847, moved while an infant and brought up in Southampton. As a child she was sprightly, quick to learn, and a general favorite. She enjoyed all the advantages of the excellent academy of that town, and acquired a good education. She loved music, and excelled in it. At the age of twelve years she, at times, acted as organist in the Presbyterian Church, of which she became a member at thirteen years of age, and ever after adorned her profession. 

In 1866, she came west with her parents to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, remaining there two years, then moving with the family to settle in Lewis, Cass County, Iowa in 1868. Here, as in previous places, she spent a portion of her time in teaching instrumental music. Enthusiastic in this beautiful art, she inspired others with her views and feelings, and gave in the aggregate, a very large number a fine start in its practice!

A host will remember her as the teacher they loved most dearly.

In 1875, November 16, she was joined in marriage to Geo. A. MACOMBER, a worthy companion. But she was doomed to a considerable share of suffering and sorrow, on account of the ill health and sickness of her husband. With the hope of benefitting his health, he went to Southern California in March, 1880. [This is confirmed by the 1880 US Census which shows that George did move out to San Gabriel, Los Angeles County, CA. His occupation is listed as “apiarian” or beekeeper. He was living with Herbert Dickey and his family; Herbert was an apiarian also. Bleu] 

His disease, consumption, growing worse, she joined him in November, and gave him tender and loving care till he died February 5, 1881, near Los Angeles. Left a widow, with two small children, daughters, (at this writing orphans 6 and 4 years of age), she returned to Lewis. Since her mother's death, February 27, 1882, she, as far as possible, filled the mother's place in her father's family, being a wise counselor and comfort to him. But this quiet, happy and useful life was not to continue long. Diphtheria attacked her little daughter May, and brought her low, near to death. The fond mother gave her watchful care day and night for over two weeks, till the child became convalescent, then she was attacked by the same fell disease. 

She was so worn down by her long watching and anxiety, that she was not able to successfully resist the disease, and though she manifested 

great Christian fortitude and struggled heroically against it, she had to yield to its power, and at the end of five days she fell asleep in Jesus, November 14, 1883. 

On account of the contagious nature of the disease, without a public funeral, on the next day, her remains were quietly placed to rest in the beautiful cemetery of Lewis. On Sabbath, the 18th, memorial services were held in the church, and an excellent discourse delivered, founded on Psalm 46. 10-11, by the pastor, Rev. Chas. Little. He was assisted by Rev. A.A. Whitmore, of Anita, a former pastor. 

There was a full house, a number of friends from Atlantic being present. Lucy will long be remembered with strong affection, as a teacher in the public schools and Sunday school, and instructor in music, as organist in the Congregational Church, as member of the choir, an active help in literary and social circles, and aid in every good work. She gained the esteem and affection of a great number. May her mantle fall on many others.”

After Jennie Mabel Erion married William A. Terry, Jr., they went to California because it was there that Jennie’s and William’s first child, William Erion Terry, was born in Nov 1887 (Source: 1910 US Census). On 07 Jul 1889, their second child, Leonard C. Terry was born, also in California. (Source: 1910 US Census)  

Again, the loss of the 1890 US census is deeply felt because at some point between 1889 and 1896, the couple and their two sons moved to Nebraska, for it was there, on 22 Dec 1896, their last child and only daughter, Fern E. Terry, was born. The 1900 US census shows Jennie and William farming and living, along with their three children, in Fairmont, Fillmore County, Nebraska.

 Sometime between 1920 and 1930, Jennie’s husband William A. Terry, Jr., died for by 1930, when another Federal Census is collected, Jennie is living with her daughter, Fern E. Terry, in Hastings, Nebraska. No date of death for Jennie has yet been determined.

John Mathew Erion, a younger brother of my great great grandfather, Jacob B. Erion

My great great grandfather, Jacob B. Erion, had a younger brother, John Matthew Erion.  What follows is a snapshot of John's life after researching census reports, death indexes and newspapers.  I have sourced my information.  The words are my own except where indicated otherwise by quotation marks.

Lewis Independent, Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, January 2, 1884

“John M. Erion of Linn County, brother of the editor (Jacob B. Erion) is an Independent guest.” 

(Source: http://www.iowaoldpress.com/index.html)

John M(atthew) Erion, born 25 Jun 1860 (Source: California Death Index, Ancestry.com) in Ohio was 18 years younger than his brother Jacob Benjamin Erion. He married Sarah Elizabeth (Lizzie) Chizum, (Source: 1900 United States Federal Census and Ancestry.com and World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918) a native of Indiana, on 4 Feb 1885. John and Lizzie farmed in Linn County, Iowa. 

Sometime between the birth of their fourth child in May, 1896 and the taking of the 1900 United States census on 1 Jun 1900, the couple and their children moved to Prosper, Davison County, South Dakota. One last child, a son, is born to them in South Dakota in 1904. Then, according to an article in the 17 Mar 1906, Omaha World-Herald, John announced from Mitchell, Davison County, South Dakota, and his candidacy for the State Legislature, which he won. 

A 16 Nov 1906 article in the Aberdeen Daily News states that Senator-Elect J. M. Erion was elected on the independent ticket. In a 30 Oct 1906 letter to the voters of Davison County, J. M. Erion said this:

 “My principles are these – I stand squarely on the reform platform of the republican state convention which denounces trusts and combines in any and all forms that exact extortionate prices from consumers, especially such indispensable commodities as lumber and coal, and demand immediate legislation against such trusts and combines.”

Senator-Elect Erion was also in favor of an anti-pass law which prohibited public officials from riding on railroad passes, and he was in favor of a square deal which was in favor of both the consumer and the dealer.

In February, 1908, John Matthew Erion was elected president of the South Dakota Improved Livestock Association. (Source: Aberdeen Daily News, 1 Feb 1908)

In the fall of 1913, Mr. Erion lost forty-six head of registered Chester White hogs. Still president of the South Dakota Improved Live Stock and Poultry Breeders’ association, he sought the advice of an expert from Iowa. Autopsies were done on two of the hogs which revealed that their lungs were badly diseased. It was felt that the long dry spell that South Dakota had been experiencing had led to the hogs’ inhalation of dust which caused severe irritation. A great sigh of relief was felt throughout Davison County. The farmers there initially thought their hogs were dying of hog cholera. (Source: Aberdeen Daily News, 22 Oct 1913)

The 1910 through 1930 United States censuses still show John and Lizzie Chizum living and farming in Davison county, South Dakota, the number of children still living at home slowly dwindling as the years pass. After the death of his wife Sarah Elizabeth (Lizzie) on 03 Jan 1936 (Source: South Dakota Department of Health. Index to South Dakota Death Records, 1905-1955. Pierre, SD, USA: South Dakota Department of Health), John Matthew Erion apparently moved to Los Angeles, California, because it was there on 08 Dec 1940, that John Matthew Erion, passed way in Los Angeles, California. (Source: Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com) John’s youngest daughter, Jessie Beulah Erion Blackman (1896-1955) (Source: 1900 United States Federal Census and Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918) had moved to Los Angeles County, California, with her husband Paul F. Blackman and their son, Paul F. Blackman, Jr. sometime between the enumeration of the 1920 and 1930 censuses. All other children stayed in South Dakota. John Matthew Erion and his wife, Lizzie, lost one daughter, Bessie B. Erion Taylor, who died before 1918 leaving her husband, Halbert Taylor (Source: Ancestry.com. South Dakota Marriages, 1905-1949) with four children to raise. (Halbert eventually married again, in 1926, at the age of 46, to 24 year old Naoma Schultz. [Source: Ancestry.com. South Dakota Marriages, 1905-1949])

The Obituary for MARY MAGDALENE JOHNSON ERION, wife of SALATHIEL WHEELER ERION.

From a Scrapbook in the library of the Genealogical Society of Linn County, Iowa, 813 First Avenue S. E., P.O. Box 175, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-0175:

MRS. WHEELER ERION

“MRS. S. WHEELER ERION PASSED AWAY AT THE HOME OF HER GRANDSON, PURL PEARSON, AT MECHANICSVILLE FEB. 7, 1944.

HER MAIDEN NAME WAS MARY MAGDALENE JOHNSON, THE SECOND OF NINE CHILDREN OF JACOB AND NANNIE JOHNSON. SHE WAS BORN NEAR DUNDEE, TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, OHIO, MAY 2, 1858. ALL MEMBERS OF THE JOHNSON FAMILY HAVE PRECEDED HER IN DEATH.

HER GIRLHOOD WAS FULL OF GRIEF AND HARDSHIP BECAUSE OF SICKNESS AND DEATH IN THE FAMILY.

SHE BECAME A MEMBER OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH NEAR HER HOME IN EARLY LIFE.

SHE WAS MARRIED AT NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO, MARCH 13, 1879, TO S. W. ERION, AND SAME [SHOULD BE CAME] SOON AFTER WITH HIM TO HIS HOME IN LINN GROVE, WHERE SHE DID HER FULL SHARE IN MAKING A REAL HOME AND SHE ALSO WORKED FOR THE INTEREST OF THE LINN GROVE CHURCH OF WHICH SHE WAS A MEMBER FOR MANY YEARS.

SEVERAL YEARS AGO MR. AND MRS. ERION MOVED FROM THE FARM IN LINN GROVE TO SPRINGVILLE, WHERE THEY MADE THEIR HOME UNTIL LAST AUGUST WHEN THEY WENT TO LIVE WITH THEIR GRANDSON, PURL PEARSON, AND FAMILY AT MECHANICSVILLE.

BESIDES HER HUSBAND, WITH WHOM SHE SHARED THE JOYS AND SORROWS OF LIFE FOR ALMOST 65 YEARS, SHE LEAVES A DAUGHTER, MRS. S. G. PEARSON (Elsie M. Erion) OF WHITTIER, FIVE GRANDSONS AND SEVEN GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. FUNERAL SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED AT THE HUNTE FUNERAL HOME TUESDAY AFTERNOON BY THE REV. CHARLES B. WILLMING OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND INTERMENT WAS MADE AT MOUNT ZION CEMETERY.”

then this brief notice:

MRS. WHEELER ERION

“MRS. WHEELER ERION PASSED AWAY MONDAY NOON AT HOME OF HER NEPHEW (SHOULD BE GRANDSON) PURL PEARSON, AT MECHANICSVILLE. THE FUNERAL WAS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT 2 O'CLOCK AT THE HUNTE FUNERAL HOME. BURIAL WAS AT MT. ZION CEMETERY.”

(This information was also posted by me at www.findagrave.com.)

SALATHIEL WHEELER ERION and MARY JOHNSON ERION'S 60th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

The following article was found on line at www.worldvitalrecords.com.

"Springville News” by Mrs. Harry Freeman (The Hawkeye Record, Mt. Vernon, IA)

MR. AND MRS. ERION HAVE 60TH ANNIVERSARY

“Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler S. Erion quietly celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Monday, March 13. Mr. and Mrs. Purl Pearson and son of Mechanicsville were out of town callers.

Mr. Erion who will be 84 next month, was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and came with his parents, Phillip and Matilda Erion at the age of nine, to Iowa. He recalls their having been a caravan of five covered wagons accommodating three families making the trip to near Linn Grove in 21 days

.

He returned to Ohio and married Mary Johnson on March 13, 1879 at New Philadelphia, Ohio. She very timidly recalls their having driven two ponies to a buggy to the county seat, New Philadelphia, to obtain the coveted license and to be married the same day. They immediately went to farming at Linn Grove, later purchasing a farm two miles east of Springville, where they farmed until about ten years ago when they retired to town.

Mrs. Erion enjoys good health and if permitted will reach her 81st birthday in May. Mr. Erion also enjoys good health, gardening and woodcutting as he did years ago. Congratulations are extended."

SALATHIEL WHEELER ERION

I have to admit the name of this man fascinates me. Salathiel was a younger brother of my maternal paternal great great grandfather.  I also like his name because he has be relatively easy to research through the years, although he appears sometimes as Wheeler Erion or Wheeler Salathiel Erion.  Salathiel was a forward thinking man.  He wrote his own obituary in 1943, three years before he died.  Salathiel and his wife farmed in Linn County, Iowa

In April 2009 the Genealogical Society of Linn County, Iowa sent me the following information about Salathiel:

Original found in Central City Newsletter of 19 Dec 1946

" OBITUARY WHEELER ERION

The following obituary was written by Mr. Erion in 1943:

"Springville, Iowa, '33. Salathiel Wheeler Erion was born on a farm near Mt. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, March 20, 1855. He was next to the youngest of nine children born to Philip and Matilda Latham Erion, all of whom preceded him in death. In 1864 he came with the family and others to Iowa, settling on a farm near the Linn Grove church. He was married at New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, to Mrs. Mary Magdalene Johnson of Dundee, of same county, March 13, 1879. They came back soon after to the home where he grew up, and their whole married life was spent in Linn and Brown townships. For the last several years the home has been in Springville.

They have one daughter, Mrs. S. G. Pearson (Elsie M. Erion) of Whittier, and five grandsons and seven (now in 1946 nine) great-grandchildren. In early manhood he became a member of the Presbyterian church at Lin Grove. He served on the financial committee for several years, but resigned when he moved some distance away from that neighborhood.

The seven grandsons mentioned above are Jay S. Pearson of Atlantic, Adrian E. Pearson of Cedar Rapids, Wayne J. Pearson of Cedar Rapids, Pearl K. Pearson of Lisbon, Kenneth E. Pearson of Central City. These with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. G. Pearson, survive. Mrs. Erion died Feb. 7, 1944.  

Funeral services were conducted at the Hunte Funeral Home in Sprinville Sunday afternoon by the Rev. Charles B. Willming and burial was in Mt. Zion cemetery."

(Note: I have also posted this obituary on www.findagrave.com.)

The Last Will and Testament of PHILIP ERION

 The information below was sent to me in April 2009 from the Genealogical Society of Linn County, Iowa, located at 813 First Avenue S. E., P.O. Box 175, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-0175.

(I chose not to tamper with Philip's spelling while transcribing his Last Will and Testament.  If I could not decipher or reasonably guess what the word was, I put in a blank. What you see is how it was!)

The Last Will and Testament of Philip Erion, Mt. Vernon, IA, March 30, 1896

Know all men by these presents that this is my last will and testament. 

 1^st I want all my debts paid out of the money on hand.

2^nd I bequieth all my Property to my beloved Wife, Both real and Persel her natuerl life.

3^rd After she is don with it at her decec I want all what is left to be equile devided among all my hears the cubard I bequith to El. Kearns my chest I gave to Mary Frances the dishes and Beding and what is in the Bruraeu I wont the girls to divide among themselves. The real and persenl property that is left I wont _________ and sold to the heist bitters and the proceeds to be equaley divided among all my hears the notes and recets that I hold against any of them they will received cash.

I apoind J. M. Erion my administrator

_____ Them that have more than thear equel share _____ must pay Back to my administrator what will _____ it up, make it Equal any of them that will be in Debt I wont them to have two years to Pay in without interest I wish all settled peasableby with out law if posable.

Attested By, signed in our Presents:

/s/ John Drips                                                                              /s/ Philip Erion

____ Drips

**********

Attached to this Last Will and Testament were copies of the Probate Proceedings of the Estate of Philip Erion. It showed that Philip's and Matilda's son and my great great grandfather, Jacob B. Erion, was living in Pineville, Louisiana by the time of the death of Philip Erion. These proceedings also show the locations of all the children of Philip and Matilda Latham Erion. Said proceedings also show that shortly after the administration of his father’s estate was finished, John Matthew Erion and his family moved to Mitchell, South Dakota, for it was there on 17 Mar 1906 that J. M. Erion announced his candidacy for the State Legislature of South Dakota. (Source: Omaha Morning World-Herald, 17 Mar 1906.)