James Albert Walker (~1859-??)

Have you ever not been able to find someone? Do you have ancestors who seem to have dropped in from Mars and then disappeared just as quickly? This is the story of James Albert Walker and his family, as far as we can tell. The records we have of him only give us a brief 14 year look at his life (1875-1889). But we continue to search, hoping for the day when the lost clue turns up.

James Albert Walker is my wife's great-great grandfather and the brick wall on her Walker line. James first appears in land records from the Bureau of Land Management Global Land Office Records. In August of 1875 James A Walker purchases 153.68 acres of land in what is now Seminole County, Florida, Township 20S, Range 30E, Section 7 (northeast 1/4).

He next appears in our records during the latter half of 1881 on a marriage record.

Marriage License
The State of Florida
To any person legally authorized to solomnize the Rites of Matrimony; Greetings:
These are to license and permit you to join together in the Holy Estate of Matrimony James A Walker and Willie Harris and make return to this office as the law directs to wit within ten days.
Given under my hand and seal of office at Leesburg, Fla this 31st day of August AD 1881 and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixth year.
T.J. Iney Clerk of the Circuit Court of Sumter County Florida
J.W. Lees D.C.
State of Florida
County of Sumter
This is to certify that I have joined together the above named parties in the Holy Bonds of Matrimony in persuance of the above License, this First day of September AD 1881.
Wm L Turner
Minister of the Gospel
Recorded this the 22nd day of February AD 18__.

After they were married and started a family James purchases additional lands. In November of 1888 James A Walker purchases 160 acres of land in Lake County, Florida, Township 18S, Range 24E, Section 12 (west 1/4 of northeast 1/4 and east 1/2 of northwest 1/4). This land patent as well as the one from 1875 list James as being from Orange County.

So where did James come from before he purchased these lands and married Willie Harris? By the way, Willie's story is also very interesting and will be a subject of a future ancestory. His birthplace should be easy to determine since the censuses of this time had a good bit of information in them. We could look in the 1880 census, but where was he at that time? Maybe we could look at the 1890 - oh yeah, that is the legendary missing census that everyone needs to fill in all their lost clues. Then there is always the Florida 1885 census. James is listed in the 1885 census married to Willie and with a 1 year old daughter Burtie (Bertha Gertrude). The family is living in Sumter County, Florida. James is listed as being 26 years old, born in Georgia, and his occupation is a farmer. So, based on this, we could deduce that he was born around 1859 somewhere in Georgia but we have not been able to find any records matching this yet.

What about James' family? We know that he eventually had two sons in addition to the daughter. The boys names were Ernest Albert and Maxwell Eugene Walker. Ernest was born 24 December 1886 near Leesburg, Lake County, Florida and Maxwell was born 3 June 1889 in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. I am not real sure why the boys were born so far apart.

Maybe these records shed a little light on what happened:

On 26 June 1889, there was a court order to sell the mortgaged property of James A Walker and Willie M. Walker. A notice was published in the Eustis Lake Region newspaper and the land was sold at the Tavares courthouse on 5 August 1889 to F. A. Teague for the sum of $200. The land consisted of 120 acres located in Township 18S, Range 24E, Section 12 (west 1/2 of northeast 1/4 and northeast 1/4 of northwest 1/4). This appears to be the land James purchased a year earlier in 1888.

There is another court record that indicates that additional lands were sold by the Tax Collector on 5 December 1889 for unpaid taxes for the year 1888. This land consisted of 40 acres in Lake County, Township 18S, Range 24E, Section 12 (southwest 1/4 of northeast 1/4) and was sold to G. McLean and his heirs.

After this we lose James and can't find any further trace of him. Why did he sell this land? Why was his son born in Tennessee? Where does he go? Was he still living in 1890? Did he die? We just don't know. All we know is the family says he abandoned his family or otherwise separated. So what happens to the family? That is another confusing story.

In 1900 we find Ernest Albert Walker, the older of the two boys living with Samuel Seigler in Lake County, Florida. Samuel appears to have been one of Willies' four husbands over her short 45 year lifespan. Maxwell Eugene Walker is also living in Lake County, Florida at the Allsbrook residence. We don't yet know who the Allsbrook's were or why they were caring for Maxwell. We can't find Willie or her daughter Bertie in 1900. One interesting thing that turns up beginning in the 1900 census is that the boys state that their father was born in Alabama. This contradicts the 1885 Florida census. Which one is correct?

By 1910, Bertie has married Berna Walton Coffman in Woodstock, Shenandoah County, Virgina. They are living with his parents and siblings. Ernest is also married and has two children in 1910. We also know that Willie has died at home. She died on 22 December 1909 from burns suffered from the fireplace setting her nightgown on fire. She was with her 4th husband, Andrew Jackson Phares (another interesting story).

After 1910 all of the children relocate to Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida for a period. But what of their father? Where has he been during this time? That is a mystery we will continue to research. Maybe one of these days it will be solved.

Corydon Bloomfield Reeder (abt 1823-???)

We are coming to the end of 2009 and looking forward to the beginning of 2010. But before the month of December closes out, I decided to write another “Ancestory”. This one is about my wife’s 3^rd Great Grandfather, Corydon Bloomfield Reeder. He is one of those enigmas that some come across while researching. We know an incredible amount about his life but we know almost nothing about his parents, his birth, or his death.

According to the 1850 census he is listed as 26 years old. However, the 1860 census lists him as 31 years old. In the 1870 census he is listed as 36 years old and by 1880 he is 58 years old. Everyone else in his family ages the normal 10 years between censuses. Based on this information, we can either assume that he was a time traveler and didn’t age like the rest of us or that, based on the 1850 and 1880 censuses, he was probably born around 1823 in Montgomery County, Ohio.

In 1848, Corydon moved to Wayne County, Indiana where he received a land grant for ¼ of a section of land. On January 10, 1850, he married Elizabeth Longfellow in Henry County, Indiana and by the time he was recorded in the 1850 census, he and his wife were living in Monroe Township, Delaware County, Indiana where he was farming. These three counties are located adjacent to each other in east central Indiana and fairly close to Montgomery County, Ohio. Corydon and Elizabeth had one child, Zimry Reeder, born April 1851 and it appears that Elizabeth may have died soon afterward. Zimry must have been left with Elizabeth’s family to care for him because we find him in Henry County, Indiana during the 1870 census.

After the assumed loss of his wife Elizabeth, Corydon begins to move further west. On January 22, 1852, Corydon marries Mary Jane Reeder at the home of her father William in Louisa County, Iowa. Mary Jane was 18 years and 7 months old at the time of their marriage. Corydon would have been about 30 years old if our guess is correct. It appears that Mary Jane may have been a cousin of Corydon since her father, William Reeder, had lived in Montgomery County, Ohio before migrating to Iowa. Corydon and his wife then migrate to Oregon and arrive in the state on October 20, 1852. He received land grants in 1853 and 1854. We know from tax roles and the 1857 Oregon census that he was living in Douglas County, Oregon during that time. By 1860 he and his family had moved to Umatilla Crossing, Wasco County, Oregon where Corydon was a farmer. The family consisted of Corydon, Mary, their three sons Leonidas, Sylvester, and Micajah, and their daughter Priscilla. In 1866 Corydon was awarded a land grant of 320 acres in Douglas County.

Corydon appears to have been active in local organizations. In 1867, he became a charter member of the Umatilla Lodge, No. 40, A.F. & A.M. This is the parent lodge of Eastern Oregon, from which all other lodges sprang.

By the 1870 census, Mary Jane and Priscilla are no longer listed with the family. We are assuming that both may have died sometime during the 1860’s. We know that Mary Jane was still around in 1862 since there are two more sons, Andrew and Gamelion, listed in the 1870 census. In 1872 Corydon is granted a 160 acre land grant in Morrow County, Oregon but he appears to still remain in Umatilla for some time since he is listed as marrying Fanny A Campbell on January 14, 1875, in Umatilla County, Oregon. We are not sure what happened, but this marriage was short lived. On August 24, 1877, Fanny filed for divorce and requested custody and support of their minor child. We have not yet found out the name of this minor child. This divorce was finalized in October, 1877.

The next time we find Corydon is in the 1880 census. He is living with two of his sons, Leonidas and Andrew, in Thomas Fork Valley, Uinta County, Wyoming where he is listed as a farmer. This is the last we see from him and we can only suppose that he might have died sometime around 1890 in Wyoming. However, that is only a guess. As far as we can tell, he led an interesting life, traveling across the country and having several families but the details of his birth and death still elude us. We continue the search for Mr. Reeder and his families hoping that some day, a few bricks will fall into place to figure out his lineage.

August Jacob Wise (1874-1946)

In this series of blogs, my wife and I will be discussing the life stories of our ancestors, the events that affected their lives and the way they affect us today. We will use a variety of sources available online as well as family stories that have been passed on down the generations.

Have you ever read the poem "The Dash" by Linda Ellis? If not, you should take a look at it before you continue reading this blog (http://www.simpletruths.tv/dashpoem/). Just remember to come back here and read the blog afterward. For those of you who have read the poem, remember what it says as you read what I have written.

Many times when we start working on our genealogies we have only names and dates. We always want to know their birth date and death date, but there is much more to find. How many times have you seen people listed as follows: August Jacob Wise (1874-1946)? What does this tell us about this person?

Let’s look at his life a little more closely. Everything I have listed below came from records and documents I found on the internet. Records include 1880-1940 US Census, Ohio Death Certificate, Church Records, Newspaper Articles, Immigration Records, and other historical documents.


August Jacob Wise was born 19 June 1874 in Berlin, Shelby County, Ohio. He was baptized at St. Michael’s Catholic Church on 21 June 1874 with Jacob Gaier and Maria Pleimann as his sponsors. The priest at that time was Reverend Wilhelm P. Bigot. August was the son of  immigrants. His father, August D. Wise, immigrated from Holland and was the operator and manager of the local saw mill. His mother Theresia Terling was a native of Westphalia, Germany. August D. Wise had immigrated in 1854 at the age of 19, on the ship William Tapscott from Liverpool, England with his parents Justus and Margaretha Wilken Wyse and three sisters, Margaretha, Louisa, and Anna. 


August Jacob Wise’s parents were fairly old at the time he was born. His father was around 37 and his mother was about 35. August was the middle child of three children. A sister Ann was born in 1870 but appears to have died before the 1870 census. We have Ann's birth record but no other information on her. His sister Louisa was born two years after him in 1876. In 1880 he was attending school and living with his parents, sister, grandfather Justus and two teamsters from the saw mill that his family operated. There is a question about the number of children since the 1900 census lists Theresa as only having had two children, both of which were still alive.

In 1896 August Wise, along with several others including Frank Willman and Adolph Raterman, founded the St. Michael’s Commandary No. 300 of the Knights of St. John. He was a life long member of the post and was listed as an honored guest at the golden jubilee dinner that was held on 1 June 1946, just two months before he died. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus.

August had a close brush with death on 24 April 1897. He was in his horse drawn buggy about 1 mile north of Newport when it started to rain. He was making his way into a barn owned by the Barger family when a lightning bolt struck and killed his horse. He was not injured.


By 1900, the town had changed its name from Berlin to Ft. Loramie. August was 26 years old, living with his parents, and was listed as single. He had become the head sawyer at the mill by this time. His father, age 64 was still in charge of the company. In 1903 he married Catherine Reiss. August and Catherine grew up together in this small town. Catherine’s father, Joseph Reiss, became a fireman and engineer at the Wise Sawmill in the 1860s after his service in the Civil War ended. 

After their marriage in 1903, the family began to grow. They had a total of 7 children born between 1904 and 1919, 6 of which were girls. During his life August served four terms on the village board of education and was an active member of the community fire department. 

After the death of his father in 1902, August took over the operations of the Wise Sawmill and is listed as the proprietor of the mill in the 1910 US Census. In 1913, the saw mill is listed as being 36' x 116' and 22' x 80' with a 40' x 44' engine room. The mill specialized in custom sawing with as many as 80,000 handles being produced annually. By 1920, the Wise Sawmill is listed as one of the major manufacturers in the area. August managed the sawmill until 1942 when he retired at the age of 68.


According to the 1940 census, August was working 45 hours per week managing the saw mill. He was living with his wife Catherine, daughter Madge, and son-in-law Vernon Westerheide.

On 24 April 1946 August suffered a paralytic stroke which rendered him bedfast. I think this is an interesting date since he survived the lightning strike on 24 April 1897. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on 13 August 1946 and died at 11:45 PM on 18 August 1946 after four months confined to his bed. He was 72 years 1 month and 22 days old. At the time of death he suffered from arterial sclerosis and obesity. He was buried in the new St. Michael’s Cemetery on 22 August 1946. His wife is buried by his side.

This is a tribute to my great grandfather August Jacob Wise (1874-1946).

At this time of Thanksgiving, let us remember our ancestors for the people they were, not for the dates they lived. Let us see them in a more complete light as people, not just names. We are what we are due to the decisions they made. For better or for worse, they are all part of us and we are part of them. Take the time to talk to your families and learn something more about each of them as you gather around the dinner table this holiday season.