John and Lydia Spracklin’s Life in Knox County, Ohio

In the last post, I used the tax and census records of Washington County, Ohio to get close to figuring out when Lydia stopped paying taxes in Washington County on the land in Knox County and came to conclusion that it happened about 1820.

Solomon Goss, her father, was on his own again on the land in Fearing Twp. in 1821.  Daniel Goss, the son and brother, appeared on the same page or not, depending on the year.  Solomon Goss (Jr) doesn’t appear till 1826. Solomon Goss (Jr) was to inherit the land.  I refer you to the post on the will of  Solomon Goss, dated December 2, 2012:  The Will of Solomon Goss 1810!

In the last post, I presented a study of the early years of the Solomon Goss family using the U.S. Census and Ohio Tax records at Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.  This is the post dated March 14, 2013:  John and Lydia (Goss) Spracklin Migrate to Knox Co., Ohio!

The post dated March 6, 2013:  Lydia and John Andrews Spracklin Family, I shared a summary of the their children.  In that post I presented the 1830, 1840 U.S. Census and several Tax Records for Ohio 1825 and 1835.

Let’s revisit these and review them again with additional information:

1825 Ohio Tax Duplicate record

Index of the Ohio 1825 Tax Duplicate. 

pg. 36 –
Sylvanus Cook WN (Wayne) C 13 (There are several columns of Cooks listed pg. 36-37.);
pg 64 Beder Goss PG (Portage) C 45;
Daniel Goss KX (Knox) N 20;
Daniel Goss WS (Washington) N 59;
David Goss MN (Medina) N* 32;
David Goss PG (Portage) C* 44;
George Goss – See Fricker (maybe Pricker), John;
Henry Goss HC (Hocking) A 4;
John Goss PG (Portage) C* 44;
Levi Goss KX (Knox) N 19;
Martin Goss HC (Hocking) C 4,
Mary Goss KX (Knox) N 20;
Solomon Goss WS (Washington) N 59;
pg. 44 there are 8 Delano names but no Stephen;
pg. 89 there are many Kellar/Keller names listed, there are 10 John Kellers noted. One is listed in Keller, John MO (Monroe) C 20;
pg. 155 is listed a Spraelin, John KX (Knox) C 49.

Index of the Ohio 1825 Tax duplicate, compiled by Gerald M. Petty, 1981, FHLBook#977.1 R42 p. FHL#1597666.  

We do find John Spracklin in the 1830 U.S. Federal Census in Liberty Twp. which I presented below. There is a woman between the ages of 30-40 living with him.  I believe that it is reflecting three of their children:  Mary 6, Peter 4, and Solomon Goss is 2 years.

John Spracklin is listed as head 4th down from top. This is a statistical census and does not give the names of the family members living with him but it does give age ranges for male and female.

NOTE:  The comments following the numbers are my speculations, if you disagree that is okay with me.  Please comment if you have any thoughts.

Free White Persons – Males:
under age of 5 – lists 3  - Mary, Peter, Solomon Goss?
10-14 – lists 1  -  Ida?
20-29 – lists 1 – I do not know who this might be
40-49 – lists 1 – John himself, age 35?
Females:
5 to 9 – lists 1 - Ida?
30-39 – lists 1 – This is probably Lydia, age 34?

Under 20:  5

20 – 49:  3

Total:  8

Total of All – (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 8

1830 Peter and John Spracklin Appear

There is a listing for a Peter Spracklin in the 1830 U.S. Census living in Liberty Twp., Ohio. Peter is on the first line.   John Spracklin  is on the 4th line down.

Is this Peter the father or Peter the son?  Well I believe it is the father before he moves to Hardin County, Ohio and settles there.  The Peter who is John’s younger brother is living in Kensington, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1830 with 11 people and will later migrate to Trenton, New Jersey.

I will post in the future about Peter and Elizabeth’s children. My focus is on John and Lydia then each one of their children. Here is a quick list of Peter and Elizabeth’s family:  John, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Parmelia, Anna, Peter, Alfred and George.

Peter Spracklin (SR), 1830 U.S. Census Liberty Twp., Knox. Co., Ohio

Males: 
Males 15-19: 2 - George is in this age group.  Alfred would be 22 years old so he doesn’t fit? So who is the 2nd child?

Males 50-59: 1 – Peter Spracklin the father

Females

Females 50-59: 1 – Elizabeth Spracklin the mother

Under 20: 2

Total Free White:  4

All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 4

Source: 1830 U.S. Federal Census, Liberty Twp., Knox Co., Ohio, pg. 251, Roll #M19_134, Film#0337945, Image 505, Ancestry.com.  Peter Spracklin pg. 251, NARA #M19, Roll #134, FHL #0337945.  Peter Spracklin – Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Page 236, NARA M19, Roll #157, FHL #0020631.

Index of the Ohio 1835 Tax Duplicate Record has this information:

Sylvanus Cook WNESGC C 17;
Daniel Goss WSHBLP C* 25; 
David Goss PRTRND C 209; – Ebenezer Goss’ son living in Portage Co., Ohio
John Keller KNXWNE 7 235;  
Spracklin, John KNXLBR C* 161.

Source: Index of the Ohio 1835 Tax duplicate, compiled by Gerald M. Petty, 1987, FHLBook#977.1 R42 pg. 

I did  tax record research at the Ohio Historical Society on my trip in 2011 and found John Spracklin in Liberty Twp., in 1835, 1836, 1837.  When you look at the Tax Record films you get more detail.  There are two pages to these tax records.   This photo is page 1 and only a portion.

John Spracklin 1835 Tax Record

Caution:  These films were very difficult to read,  I was having trouble keeping the years correct.  I reviewed the film twice but still I am not happy with my recording of the data.  I would like to go back.

The most important part is the land description and it is the same one for all tax records for this time period for John Spracklin.  He adds more land in 1837 as he accumulates more.

1835 Tax Record:  John Spracklin, No. 18 Liberty, R 14, T6, Qtr. 2, E pt 3, 050 acres, value 075. 2nd line Lot 2, 100 acres, 2.2.5 – 2nd page 161 covers the taxes for a total of 0.63.8.

1836 Tax Record –  No. 18, Liberty Twp., Knox Co., Ohio, R14, T 6, Qtr 2, E pt 3, 050 acres, 075 value, R14, T6, 2, lot 2, 100 acres, 2.2.5 value, 2nd page 143 total taxes: 0.84.6.

1837: John Spracklin, R14, T6, qtr 2 E pt 3, 050 acre, 075 value, 2nd line R14 T6, qtr 2, 2, 100 acres, 225 value. 3rd line R14, T6, qtr 2, E pt 1, 050, 075, pg. 150 total tax 1st line 0.84.3, 2nd 2.53.1, 3rd line total tax 7.31.2

Source:  Ohio Historical Society – Tax duplicates (microform) 1809-1814, 1816-1838 Film #GR2532 1835-1837.

1840 Census, Liberty Twp., Knox Co., Ohio. Again this is statistical and only shows number of males and females living in the house, John is the 9th from the bottom of the page.

Males:
5-10 lists 1
10-15 lists 2
30-40 lists 1
40-50 lists 1 - John Spracklin about age 45?

Females:
under 5 – lists 1
5-10 lists 1
15-20 lists 1
40-50 lists 1 - Lydia about age 44?

Source: John Spracklin, 1840 U.S. Federal Census, Liberty Township, Knox Co., Ohio, Roll 406, Page 241, Image 486, FHL#0029169, Ancestry.com.  

In 1850 we finally get to a census that tells us something about the family.

Sadly this is the only census we see Lydia listed in.  She will die very soon in January of 1851.

Try searching using this spelling, “Spacklin,” to find him on Ancestry.com.

John Spacklin age 55, no occupation given, born in England
Lydia Spacklin, age 54, no occupation given, born in Ohio
Mary Spacklin, age 26, no occupation given, born in Ohio
Peter Spacklin age 24, Farmer, born in Ohio
Solomon Spacklin, age 21, blacksmith born in Ohio
*Daniel Spacklin, age 20, farmer, born in Ohio
Olive Spacklin, age 19, no occupation, born in Ohio
John, age 15, no occupation, born in Ohio
Lydia, age 12, no occupation, born in Ohio

Source: John Spacklin (Spacklin) Family, 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Liberty Twp., Knox Co., Ohio, No.84, 157, #79, [9] of Sept. 1850. L. V. Parke, NARA Roll M432_700, page. 79A, Image 682, Ancestry.com Image 28 browsing in Knox Co., Liberty Twp. 

So we know that John and Lydia (Goss) Spracklin migrated and settled on the land in Knox County, Ohio about 1820-1821 and raised their family.  The land in Knox County was bequeathed to Lydia in 1815 by her father Solomon Goss in a deed.  This land was to be bought and sold among the Spracklins, Goss and those families that married into these families.  The land was sold after the death of John in 1862 in deeds and in his estate papers.  More to come on John and Lydia (Goss) Spracklin.

*My 2nd great grandfather.

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John and Lydia (Goss) Spracklin Migrate to Knox Co., Ohio!

If you can’t use census you can try to see what the tax records tell you and study both comparing them.  Trying to find ancestors in early Ohio 1787 to 1840 is not easy.  I know because I have been studying Spracklin, Delano, Keller and other surnames to try and find family.

When did Lydia and John Spracklin migrate from Washington County, Ohio to Knox County, Ohio and settle on the land that her father Solomon Goss bequeath to his children?

During my trip to Ohio in August-September of 2011, I spent time at the Washington County Library Local History and Genealogy Annex where the genealogical library is located and staffed by volunteers of the Washington County Genealogical Society, who are members of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  These are great archives to visit and learn about for Ohio research.

Washing Co. Library Annex

They had original Treasurer’s duplicate journals for Washington County on a shelf under the window for access from 1810 to beyond 1836.

Treasurer’s  Duplicate Books

In these books were listings for taxes paid by Solomon Goss and his children. I did not have  a great deal of time so I did a rather poor job of photographing the pages of these books.

Much to my relief and saving me from my slovenly ways, the Family History Library, Familysearch.org has Ohio Tax Records for only a selected group of counties in Ohio:  Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Monroe, Trumbull, Washington (other), and Washington, Waterford Township.  They say they are about 17% complete.

An example of the Treasurer  Duplicate book pages

The photograph above is an example of the Treasurer’s Duplicates and the page is from the damaged book in between 1810 and 1825 in the picture of the books above. It is the brown looking item between these two larger books.

So I spent several hours studying what they had at Ancestry.com and online at Familysearch.org including the images.  Here are a few sources I used in preparation for my trip to Ohio in 2011, I am sure there are more.  (See Familysearch wiki on Ohio Taxation for more ideas – under Ohio Links on right side of this blog)

Sources:

1. “Early Ohio Tax Records,” compiled by Esther Weygandt Powers, Akron, Ohio 1971.  I found it at the Seattle Public Library.  Google Books has a copy but it doesn’t have all the pages for it is only a preview.  Fortunately it worked for me and the book is readily available to photocopy.

2. World Vital Records has this as well “Early Ohio Tax Record: Reprinted with The Index to Early Ohio Tax Records.”  If you have a subscription to this online archive go check it out.  It is possible that your local genealogical society has access for members.

3. If you try Ancestry.com you may find some of the tax lists mixed in with the early U.S. Federal Census because some did not survive for 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, so they used them to fill in for the missing U.S. Census.  If you do not have a subscription see your local library for a card.

State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart is a good source for what census, state, federal and territorial were done for a given state like Ohio.  Worldcat had 929 hits for all 6 editions and at least 6 in my area.

William Dollarhide has a two volume set of books on Census and how to find them.  Census Substitute & State Census Records…” Volume 1 – Eastern States and Volume 2 – Western States, 2008, with Foreword by Leland K. Meitzler.

4. The Ohio Historical Society has Tax duplicates from 1806-1810 and 1809-1814, 1816-1838 on film at the historical society. If you go to their home page scroll down and click on the Archives/Library.  I was there in 2011 and looked at several of those films.  FHL films are from the Ohio Historical Society.

Caution:  They are rather difficult to read and not well identified by the years so you must take your time and take notes and copy carefully.  I had to do it twice to make sure I was recording the years correctly.  The research I did was on Spracklin, Delano and Keller surnames.

http://collections.ohiohistory.org/starweb/l.skca-catalog/servlet.starweb

5. Familysearch.org has “Tax Records of Ohio, 1801-1814 a series of microfilm.  They also have “Index of the Ohio 1825 and 1835 Tax duplicate,” in book form compiled by Gerald M. Petty, 1981, FHL Book #977.1R42, there is an 1812 version on 5 films.

This is a copy of one of the Familysearch tax records and only a piece of it.

1816 Portion of the tax record page showing the Goss Family

Here is the study I did this week trying to learn more about the movements of the Goss family.

Bon’s Census and Tax List Study of Solomon Goss, his children:  Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Solomon Jr., Daniel, Levi, Lydia 1800 to 1832.  Please be aware that I did my best to be accurate.  I might have made a few mistakes it was tedious to do.

Year	Location	Source	Description	Detail of names
1800 U.S. Federal Census	Marietta Twp., Washington Co., Ohio	1800 U.S. Census at Ancestry.com – NARA	Number of male inhabitants age of 21. This is a name list	Solomon Goss
1801	Adams Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF #4022412 Image#00026 GS Film#945761	Solomon Goss
1802	Meritown Twp., Wash Co. Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF #4022412 Image#00066 GS Film#945761	Solomon Goss
1803 – August,	Washington Co., Ohio	US Territorial Census Wash Co., Ohio 1790-1890 – NARA Roll M1804, Roll 1 Ancestry.com	Hard to read list of male inhabitants and nothing else	Solomon Goss
1809	Fearing Twp., Washington Co.,	Ohio Census 1790-1890 Ancestry.com	Tax List	Solomon Goss
1810	No. Twp. Listed Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Census 1790-1890 Ancestry.com	Tax List No US Census for Ohio	Solomon Goss
1816	Big Run, Fearing, Wash Co., and Knox Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00058 GS Film #522501	Daniel (Belpre), Solomon SR (Fearing), Noah, Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)

Here is the  1816 Tax Record.  Go to the chart above for the source information.  Solomon is the only one on Duck Creek while the children are all taxes for Knox Co., land.

Daniel Goss, Belpre, 
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zaccheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50

Solomon Goss
Acres in original tract: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Luxury or Allotment: Duck Creek
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3, 18
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Comer Taxed: 
County: Washington 
Original proprietors: Moses Williamson
Tax D, O : 1, 50

For Noah Goss, Levi Goss, Mary Goss, Lydia Goss
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100 acres for Noah, and Levi, 50 acres for Mary and Lydia
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zacheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50 for Noah and Levi only O 75 for Mary and Lydia

My study continues:

1817	Belpre Twp, Fearing, Wash Co. and Knox Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00195 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Noah, Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)Daniel Gofs, Belpre
1818	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00334 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)Daniel Goss
1819	Duck Creek, Wash. Co. County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667 Image#00475 GS Film #522501	Solomon SR (Fearing), Levi, Mary, Lydia, (Knox)
1820 U.S. Census	Fearing, Wash Co., Ohio	U.S. Federal Census Aug 7, 1820 Ancestry.com	NARA Film M33_95, Image 233	See Below – Soloman Goss

The 1817 and 1818 Tax Records are almost exactly identical to the 1816 except in 1818 Noah disappears. So I skip to the 1819 Tax Record. Noah is gone from the 1819 record as well.

See my post dated November 15, 2011 – Noah Goss, A Mystery! I talk about the deeds of his acquiring the land in Knox Co., Ohio from his father and the sale which was about two month apart.

Solomon Goss
Acres in original tract: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Luxury or Allotment: Duck Creek
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3, 18
Quarter
City of: 100
Part or Corner Taxed:
County: Washington
Original proprietors: Moses Williamson
Tax D, O : 1, 50

For Levi Goss, Mary Goss, Lydia Goss (Noah is no longer listed and Daniel Goss does not appear till 1821 in the Belpre documents).
Acres in original tract: 4000
No. of Lot: 2
Luxury or Allotment: U.S. Military Lands
Situated R, T, S: 14, 6, 2
Quarter
City of: 100 acres for Noah, and Levi, 50 acres for Mary and Lydia
Part or Corner Taxed: Undivided part of 450 acres N.E. corner
County: Knox
Original proprietors: Zacheus Biggs
Tax D, O: 1, 50 for Noah and Levi only O 75 for Mary and Lydia

 Let’s take a look at the 1820 U.S. Census for Washington Co., Ohio

1820 US Federal  Census August 7, 1820  Soloman Goss

NOTE:  Elizabeth is married to Andrew Lake so she is not at home, Noah is about 38 years old, Mary is about 35 years old, Solomon Goss (Jr)  inherits the land in Fearing and married in 1812 to Polly Devol, Daniel lives in Belpre and is married to Lydia in 1813, Levi Goss is in New York or Ontario, Canada.  He was in the War of 1812.  He is about 27 years old.  See my posts about these children of Solomon Goss.

My notes:  The male sections are not as detailed as the females so it makes it hard to figure out who they might be.  Here I try seeing who might fit the numbers.  What do you think?

Free White Persons

Males 16 thru 25: 1 – John Spracklin 24 years old

Males 45 and over:  1 – Solomon himself?

Females under 10: 1

Females 16 to 25: 2 –  Lydia is 24 years old, who is the 2nd female?

Females 26 thru 44: 1 – Mary is 35 years old

Females 45 and over: 1  Olive Scott Goss – maybe, I think she had died before 1810 because she is not in Solomon’s will nor in the deeds records for the land in Knox Co. that he gives to his children.  So who could this be?

Foreigners not Naturalized:  1 – John Spracklin

Engaged in Agriculture: 2

Under 16: 1

Over 25: 3

Total Free White persons: 7

Total White, Slaves, Colored: 7

Maybe that is John Spracklin the one who is not Naturalized and that is why we don’t find him in the 1820 Census?

1821 Additional years: 1821,1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1840, 1842, 1843 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850	Belpre, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667Image #00620GS Film #522501	Daniel Goss Belpre with new lands in Belpre
1821	E. Side, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021667Image #00621GS Film #522501	Solomon Goss
1822	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image#00065GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss
1823	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio County Land	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00220GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss
1824	Unknown Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00383GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss
1825	Unknown, Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021668Image #00550GS Film #522502	Solomon Goss SR and Daniel Goss

The rest of the children disappear after the 1820 U.S. Census and Daniel Goss continues through many years and eventually we see that Daniel moves to Belpre and is no longer listed with the Knox Co., lands.  Each of the children:  Elizabeth, Noah, Mary, Daniel, Levi sell their lands to someone else or a family member.  Lydia is the only one that keeps her 50 acres of the Knox Co. lands.

I have written posts on each of these children and I refer you to them for further details, see the Categories on the right side of this blog under SURNAMES – Goss, under Solomon Goss and you will find his children.

Here is the 1821 Tax Record for Washington Co., Ohio, Solomon is listed alone on the page.

E. Side, Washington, Ohio County Land,
Solomon Goss Duck Creek
Acres in the lot: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3
Quantity&Rate 3: 100
Part or Allotment: 100 Duck Creek
Original Proprietors: Moses Williamson
State Tax: .50 cents
Road Tax: .25 cents
Total 75
Delinq
Remarks:

Daniel and Solomon appear on the same page but their land descriptions are very different for the 1824 Tax Record:

County Land,
Daniel Goss, Belpre,
Acres in the lot: 101 79/100
No. of Lot: 48
Situated R, T, S: 10, 1, 19.20
Quantity&Rate 3: 4
Part or Allotment:
Original proprietors: A. Coburn (Is this Asa Coburn his brother Solomon Goss (Jr.) with Polly’s family?
State Tax: 22
Road Tax: 1
Total 3 2
Delinq
Remarks:

Solomon Goss
Acres in the lot: 100
No. of Lot: 82
Situated R, T, S: 8, 3
Quantity&Rate 3: 100
Part or Allotment: 100 Duck Creek
Original Proprietors: M. Williamson
State Tax: .56
Road Tax: .25 cents
Total .81
Delinq

1826 (2)	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio Personal Property	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850 Familysearch.org	DF#4021679 Image #00103 & 00081 GS Film #534813	Solomon Goss Jr.
1827 (2)	Fearing Twp., Wash Co. Ohio,	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021679Image #00409 & 00430 GS Film #534813 Ref 66 & 84	Solomon Goss Jr.
1829	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021669 Image#00070 GS Film: 522845	Solomon Goss Jr.
1830	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records 1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021669 Image#00367 GS Film: #522845	Solomon Goss Jr.
1832	Fearing Twp., Wash Co., Ohio	Ohio Tax Records1800-1850Familysearch.org	DF#4021670 Image#00084 GS Film: #522846	Solomon Goss

In the above chart we see the shift taking place.  Solomon Goss dies in 1825 and his son Solomon Goss (Jr) moves onto the land in Fearing Twp., stays there till about 1832 and sells the land and moves to Hardin Co., Ohio.  Daniel and Elizabeth are the only children that stay behind in Washington Co., Ohio. I have written several posts about Solomon Goss (Jr) and his family.  See the categories to the right under Surnames – Goss.

 Tax record for 1826:

Solomon Goss Junior
Acres 100
Lot 82
R T Sec: 8, 3, 18
[Aoof] 100/80
Horses
Part or allotment D.Cr.
Original proprietor M. Williamson
State Tax 16.0
County Tax 40.0
Road Tax 4.0
Town Tax 24.0
Total 84.0
Remarks

It is going to be wonderful when all these Ohio tax records are indexed and the images uploaded.  I am looking forward to Morrow, Knox, Franklin and several other counties to review for these records. So go and check out the Familysearch Ohio Tax records, remember they are only 17% complete.

When I copied my census/tax study to this post it squished and moved things around.  Here is a PDF of my Census Tax Record Study all in one:  CensusTaxStudyWashCoOhioEarly1800s

 

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Other Family Lines – A Temporary Hiatus!

Sometimes I think the Goss, Spracklin, Delano, Keller and other families of my dad’s mother’s family are always taking up my time, after all they had very large families and married into other old New England lines.

Alas, it is not totally true.  I do spend time on other lines.

I am going to have to take a break with this blog while I put my energies in to finding ancestors on my parents’ other family lines.   I was looking at some future planned posts for this blog and I really want to make sure I do them justice.  So I think it would be best to take a break and focus on my pending adventures.

You see my father’s father’s side of the family came from Canada and it was that side that married into the Barclays of Pine River which features Amarilla my dad’s grandmother.  She is the link to the Spracklins, Goss, Kellers and Delanos and all the other old families of New England.

My mother’s has deep roots in Canada.  The Boardman’s came from England after 1850. The McMurray’s came from Scotland to England a little before and then both families settled in New Brunswick.   The Brown side, my mother’s mother’s family, came from Ireland about 1830 and settled in Ontario.

Yes, I am aware that there are Spracklins in New Foundland and other parts of Canada.  The Goss name shows up in records.  Lately I have seen tons of the Keller name and ”Barkleys” in Ontario.  “So much to do so little time!”

Actually the trip to Canada will be in three parts.  The first part will take place soon.  I will visit British Columbia to learn about my mother’s mother’s Brown family.  Later I will travel to eastern Ontario and western Quebec to try to find the origins of my McDonald’s. I will visit Hastings County where the Browns had settled in the early years.  The third part is in the works.

Someday I will map all this migration out.  It will be my own “Great Migration.”  It follows the history of the settlement of both the United States and Canada, from the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  So I have been researching in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, oh yes a little on the Yukon for over ten years.

This trip will cover my Macdonell, MacDonell, McDonald, McDonnald, McDonell, MacDonald side, and all its variations.  My dad said it was “MacDonald.”   His siblings and father used “McDonald.”

I will write about my journey mainly in this blog:

The Man Who Lived Airplanes: http://macdonellfamily.wordpress.com

The following blog is my mom’s side and it will cover my visit to British Columbia and Hastings County, Ontario and the time I will spend there digging into the Brown family.

Boardman’s and Browns of Winnipeg, A Canadian Story:  http://boardmanbrown.wordpress.com/

I will let you know which blog to go to so you can follow along.  I want to keep the research and travel with the appropriate line and blog.

Come and join me even though they may not be your family, I would love to have you along!

There are several choices to participate and contact me, either on this blog or the others, now and in the future.

1. You can click “follow” and it will send you a notice of any updates.  It usually shows up on the right side of a post sort of like a hover link.
2. You can make a comment on a post.  Just click on ”Leave a comment.”  I will try to get back as quick as I can but when I travel it can be a challenge.  All comments are approved by me first.
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There will be a surprise that is of some interest to the subject of this blog.  One country’s hero is another’s villain?  Hint:  I suggest you buff up on your Wyoming Massacre history.

NOTE:  I will return to resume posting to finish up the children of Solomon and Olive Goss, after my trips. I have Levi, Lydia and David left to do.  After the children, I will start digging deeper into the Goss, Spracklin, Keller and Delano lines.

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Fredericktown, Ankenytown and OGS, again!

Forest Cemetery Entrance

John Keller and Mary Ann Delano married in Fredericktown.  I had wanted to visit the historical society and tried to contact them but the phone numbers on the website are not correct and out of date or the people did not respond to my inquiry.  I tried email and finally got a message from the President who was not very helpful and told me to Google my names!  I was also told they are only open on the 2nd Sunday so I missed them by a few days.  I reviewed their website and realized that was my error.  Did he offer an appointment, no.  I am sorry, I try to be positive about a repository but this is not a good thing.  Here is the link and I suggest you start real early to see if you can arrange some kind of visitation if you truly wish to dig into their holdings.  The building looked very interesting.

Fredericktown Historical Society

I wanted to see Fredericktown so I went up there and toured around.   I stopped at the Forest Cemetery and found the Keller tombstone I was looking for within minutes.  Sometimes it just works out like that. HA! Fredericktown was not like I had imagined but more industrial.  Of course I did not do much investigating and seemed to be on small hills.  There is another old cemetery in the town and I didn’t stop at the library but I did drive by. 

After my visit to Fredericktown I headed up to Ankenytown to see the Owl Creek Cemetery.  Now this is a United Brethren cemetery and not Methodist.  There are Kellers buried there and I wanted to see the graves and stones.  I am trying to separate out Kellers into family groups in Knox and Morrow to see if I cannot break through the deadend on John Keller’s origins. I believe this group of Keller’s had come from Germany and settled about the mid 1820′s. So they are probably not John’s family but you never know! I have other research going but this is one idea.  I expected to drive awhile to get there but I was there in no time from Fredericktown.   In our time, using a car, it is easy to get around but back then it took them much longer to get to a location.  However, Fredericktown was the bigger town back in the early 1800′s with Mount Vernon taking over later on. 

Owl Creek Cemetery

I was told by a man at the Morrow County Genealogical Society that it was very hard to find parents in early Knox county or Ohio? I have seen written publications attempting to do just this with the Keller name.  He may be right but I am remaining open. If you have John Keller and Mary Delano origins we need to rally together to figure this out!  Contact me on this blog by leaving a comment or find me through the Compiler information by clicking the tab above.  I am willing to offer you authorship of a post or posts to this blog with your theories and your name for full acknowledgement of your efforts.   I have discussed this issue of John Keller’s origins with a cousin who is equally obsessed as I am about it. She has a sharp eye for details and has studied the early census.  More on they mysteries of John Keller’s origins in future posts.

My next goal was to revisit the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS).  I decided take the opportunity while still near and in Ohio to visit them a second time.  They are not that far away in Bellville from Mount Vernon.  Just remember to turn left onto Hwy 97 off Hwy 13 in the center of the town of Bellville. If you come by Interstate 71 take exit 165 and turn south and drive past the Dutch Heritage Restaurant. OGS comes up on the right!  This time I grabbed a sandwich and settled in.  

Go and visit this archive if you can.  The OGS’s new facilities are wonderful and they have everything organized to make it easy to access.  It kinda reminds me of the DAR library in the arrangement and style.  The staff and volunteers are very helpful and friendly.  My goal was to study First Families to see if I could find any John Keller or other surname information connections. 

Ohio Genealogical Society Stacks

About 4 pm I headed south to the Columbus Airport to pick up my hubby who was joining me for the final week in Ohio.  I was not looking forward to driving on the freeways near Columbus.  It was rush hour so the timing was not good and I got off at the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) exit and waited at the McDonald’s there till I heard from my hubby.  The exit was 17th Ave E, making it easy to spot the OHS building if you come by the freeway.  

To get to the airport I took a different drive through the eastern streets and it was interesting to see another part of Columbus, Ohio.  Stelzer Avenue is pretty easy to negotiate and goes right by the entrance to the airport.  Car rentals are located in the parking garage with their offices on a lower floor.  I parked in the parking area one floor up – there is long and short-term parking in the garage.  I wanted to sign up my husband so he could drive the rental car.  My timing was not bad and I waited a short time in the baggage claim area.  

We left the airport and Columbus by heading east on Hwy 16 back to Granville then north to Mount Vernon.  I had visited the Old Colony Burial Ground cemetery the past Saturday but I was struggling with fatigue.  I felt I had not done a good job and I was helping a cousin with her research.  So I wanted to go back and find a grave I had missed.  Well, we arrived in the dark!! 

The Old  Colony Burial cemetery, in Granville in Ohio,  is partially situated on a steep hill and is a good size.  On the side of the shed on the lower area is a map of the tombstones and a list of names encased in glass.  I had trouble with glare and thought I could redo my photos and my hubby could also try.  It was too dark to do anything.  Fortunately, my hubby brought a small flashlight.  He used that to highlight the tombstone I had missed.  He found it using the map and highlighting that with the flashlight and taking a picture.  His Olympus digital camera is very good and in some ways does better than my Sony Cybershot.  He took a picture of the map so he could figure out where the stone was.  Now cemeteries close at dusk, so we were pushing it.   Also it is not safe to walk in a cemetery in the dark (very dark no extra lighting) for you can trip and this was a steep hill to the stones up from the shed.  We took our time and made careful steps.

I was glad to get the stone and location of it but my plan was not that good.  I was pushing the limits here and I am telling you about this as a warning.  When you go on a trip you can get yourself into a “pickle” by pushing too hard!   The center of  Granville was busy with the night activities and couples were walking around.  This is a city not a small town like the one in Massachusetts.  

I usually don’t drive in the dark but I am proud of me for doing so.  I took Hwy 661 up to Mount Vernon and because I had experience driving it in the daylight I was okay and I had my hubby with me.  Just remember things do look different in the dark!  We made good time and were soon back in Mount Vernon and headed to the condo in Apple Valley.

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Mt. Vernon County Seat – Knox Co., Ohio

 I visited Mt. Vernon from August 26 to September 2, 2011.  I am home now but I will continue to post highlights about the trip and archives that I visited and hopefully it will assist you in your research in these areas of Ohio.

Records Annex, Knox County, Ohio

Mt. Vernon is the county seat for Knox County, Ohio.  The courthouse is located just down from the Records Annex  at 117 High Street in Mount Vernon (Hwy 36) and not far from the round-about in the center of Mt. Vernon.   The Recorder’s office (for deeds) is on the floor when you enter through the main door.  The Record Center is in the basement.  I suggest you visit both for court documents such as probates, court records and more.  The clerks are all helpful and very nice.  The Recorders office has the indexes and books right out there for you to access.  The first index to 1843 contains a listing of old deeds.  I asked the clerk behind the counter and was told they go all the way back in the first book to 1803.  They will let you take photographs. 

Deed Index, Knox County, Ohio

I  tried to dig deep into early Knox County history looking for Kellers, Delano, Askins and more.  I have already studied the Spracklins and associated surnames of the children so I am confident I have them covered.  I decided this time to emphasize the other surnames. 

The Knox County History and Genealogical Society is also located at 117 High Street  in a room in the basement area right across from the Records Center office.  They have updated their website so you might want to check it out.   They are very small but I noticed that there was change from my last visit and they had been busy.  They have an obituary file, family histories, have books and more.  They are also very helpful.  Hours are short so check the website.  They are in the process of updating the cemetery books done by R. DeLauder so keep and eye out because they will make them even better.  Unfortunately they have to rebuild the database because the company that printed the books went out of business.  They could use volunteer help. 

Public Library of Mount Vernon & Knox County

The Mt. Vernon Public Library  (Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County) is located on Sugar Street and Mulberry St.  There is parking in the back of the library.  You can enter on Sugar (a narrow ramp up to the parking) or try Mulbery which is one way going south.  I visited the History room in the Mount Vernon Library which is heavy on Knox County sources.  They also have Mount Vernon newspapers on microfilm, family histories, city directories, school yearbooks and more.  It is worth a visit.  I spent two hours one day and another hour on another day at the library checking sources for obituary readings, plat maps and more. 

History Room of Library, Mt. Vernon, Ohio

The Mound Cemetery, one of the oldest in Knox County, is just north of the public library and even if you don’t have family buried there I suggest you visit it.  It is amazing, for there are a lot of huge, I mean huge, monuments in this cemetery.  I was overwhelmed by it.  You know me, I have seen a lot of cemeteries on my travels but this was awesome.  So once again get a map from the Delauder publications (Knox county books) so you can find the graves you are interested in and that may still be a challenge.  I will feature this cemetery in another post in the future. There are Kellers buried in Mound Cemetery.

Overview - Mound Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Ohio

My recommendations are that if you want to do genealogical research in Knox County then you need to visit the Knox County Historical Society, Knox County History and Genealogical Society, the Mount Vernon Public Library and the Courthouse Annex and include the Morrow County Genealogical Library Annex as well.  Each has sources to offer and is worth a little of your time.  Now they might duplicate what each other has but because of the short hours of some of these respositories you may have to revisit a book or source and you will find it at one or the other location. 

I would like to encourage those of you with Knox and Morrow County roots, including the surrounding counties,  to submit some form of our family history:  copy of a bible, chart, booklet, reports to the historical society and genealogical societies.  It is really needed!!!!  I would also like to encourage you to volunteer your help if you live in the area or join as a member and learn about the people who built this State of Ohio.

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Welcome!

Welcome to this blog about my 4th great-grandfather Solomon Goss. 

Solomon was born near Granville, Massachusetts on June 16, 1754.  He died in Fearing Township, Washington County, Ohio on July 1, 1825.  This blog will cover his ancestors and his descendants.

Granville Town Circle and Public Library 2011

I have been studying and researching Solomon his descendants and ancestors for over 12 years.  That may not seem like a lot, but I have worked on this almost every day during that 10 years.  I left my job at the end of 2000 and recently officially retired.  It has been an intense 12 years.

As you known genealogy is a never-ending quest and one is never done.  You finally find that one clue and it answers some questions and then opens up a whole set of new ones.  So I will do my best to share what I do know and what I don’t know and hopefully it will open a door for someone else.

Solomon Goss is a pivotal ancestor.  By that I mean, if he had not come from Pennsylvania to Ohio my family lines might have been very different.  He left his family and friends in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  His mother and father were Philip Goss and Mary Kendall Goss.  Mary is buried in the Scott/Waterton Cemetery in Huntington Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  Philip’s parents were Philip and Keziah Cooley Goss and they lived in Brookfield, Massachusetts.  Going back another generation we have Capt. Philip and Judith Hayward Goss who are buried in the Old Indian Cemetery in West Brookfield, Massachusetts.  The next generation back is Philip Goss of Roxbury and Lancaster who married first Hannah Hopkins and second Mary Prescott.

I visited in April 2011 the towns and the cemeteries where Solomon’s ancestor lived and died and wrote about that in my Massachusetts Meanderings and More blog at: 

http://massmeanderings.blogspot.com/

Solomon and Olive (Scott) Goss had eight children of which their youngest daughter Lydia married John Andrews Spracklin.  They moved up to Knox County, Ohio and lived on land that her father deeded to her in 1815. 

John and Lydia had Daniel, along with 8 other children, and Daniel married Elizabeth Keller whose parents were John Keller and Mary Anne Delano. 

We now have a Spracklin marrying into the Goss family and a son of a Spracklin marrying into the Keller and Delano family.  The Goss and Delano families go back to the American Revolution and to Mayflower.  Keller is still a mystery and hopefully one day John’s parents will be discovered.  

Daniel D. Spracklin and Elizabeth Keller had four children and their youngest daughter Amarilla is my great-grandmother.  Amarilla’s life is being featured in my blog:  The Barclay’s of Pine River, The Life of George and Amarilla Barclay:  

http://barclayspineriver.wordpress.com/

There will be some cross posting and a little duplication with my other blogs but I have decided that it works better if I separate out the different family grouping and target them in separate blogs. It makes more sense to me.

Where is Fearing Township?  It is in Washington County, Ohio.  It is north of  Marietta which is located on the Ohio river in the southeastern part of Ohio on the border with West Virginia.   I turn to Wikipedia for a little help in defining this township: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearing_Township,_Washington_County,_Ohio

This blog will be a big undertaking and hopefully I will be able to do justice to the families of  Goss, Spracklin, Keller and Delano. 

Come join me!

Hint: Please understand when using a source like Wikipedia, or any source for that matter, it is always good to seek out additional information to verify.     

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