Charles was the son of George A. and Cora (Phipps) Stinson. He was born in Boone County, Iowa on February 24, 1894. George and Cora had three children; Arthur (1890), Charles (1894), Georgia (1898)

In the 1900 Federal Census, Charles is six years old and he is found living with his parents at the home of his maternal Grandfather, Eli Phipps. Eli is listed as head of household. Also living in this residence are,  Cora (Eli’s daughter) and her husband George, with their children, Arthur, Charles, Georgia, and Eli’s daughter, Minnie, her husband, Jacob and their daughter, May. They are living in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In the 1910 Federal Census, Charles is with his parents in Hennessey Ward 5, Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Charles is 16 years old in May of 1910 when the census is taken.

Charles married Cora Belle Crites in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on December 12,1910. He was sixteen and Cora was seventeen. They had a daughter, Lillie Marie Stinson born on Dec 22, 1910 in Hennessey Oklahoma.  They either divorced or annulled the marriage because by the 1920 Federal Census, Charles and Cora Belle are no longer married. I do not find a record for either event.  Cora has remarried to a man named Rufus Starkey. Lillie Marie Stinson is living with her mother and her new husband.

On July 8, 1915, Charles D Stinson married Edna G Blackstone in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. On June 5, 1918, Charles registered for the draft for WWI. He list that he is married and has a wife, no children dependents.  They live in Hennessey, Oklahoma. According to a “Delayed Birth Certificate”. Charles enlisted in 1918. His service record is listed on the Birth Certificate, this document seem also  to list what appears to be a Life insurance Policy.  In Texas WWI Records, I find Charles Dubra Stinson is a Private in the 52^nd Machine Gun Battalion, Company B.

Delayed Certificate of birth from 1951

In the 1920 Federal Census, Charles and Edna are living in Kingfisher with Edna’s son, Ira Blackstone. The 1930 Federal Census show Charles and Edna in Seminole, Oklahoma. They have three daughter; Georgia (1924), Roberta (1927), Dubylene (1929).  Charles works in the gas industry as a Stillman. By the 1940 Federal Census, Charles and Edna are in Hutchinson, Kansas with their three daughters. In 1942, Charles registered for WWII. He does not list his wife as contact but lists Edgar Priddle and W.H Tillock. He now lives in Burrton, Kansas. He is listed with Edna in Kansas City, Kansas in March of 1954

Fifty Five years ago today, on September 24, 1964, Charles Dubra Stinson died in Witchita, Kansas. He is buried in White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita, Kansas.

Rest in peace, Charles!

Love, Jan

Charles was the first husband of my third cousin Cora Belle Crites for a brief period of time.

Hannah Jane Kinnaman was the daughter of Hiram and Cassandra ( Crosley) Kinnaman. She was born in Green Township, Madison County, Indiana on February 15, 1940. Hiram and Cassandra had thirteen children ; David (1833), Conrad (1836), Walter (1837), Henry (1839), Hannah (1840), Emily (1842), Lane (1843-1843), Francis Madison (1845), Sarah Ann (1847), Margarette Levina (1849- 1854), Hiram (1852), William A. (1855), Richard Francis (1858). The Kinnaman named is also spelled Kinnamon on many records.

In the 1850 Federal Census, Hiram and Cassandra have nine children listed; David, Conrad, Walter, Henry, Hannah, Emily, Francis, Sarah Ann, and Margarette.  Hannah Jane married William Smith in Pendleton, Indiana in 1860 after the Federal Census which shows her still living at home at the age if 20 years old. In the 1860 Census, Hiram and Cassandra have eight children left at home; Henry, Hannah, Emily, Francis, Sarah, Hiram, William, and Richard.

By the 1870 Federal Census, Hannah has married to William Smith and they have a daughter, Sarah Jane who was born in 1866. William is a farmer. William and Hannah had two child die young who do not appear in any census records. Rosa Alice was born in 1862 and an unnamed son was born in 1864 who died at birth. Both of these children are buried in Mt Carmel Cemetery in the Smith Family Plot

In the 1880 Federal Census, William and Hannah have three children; Sarah (1866), William F, (1871) and Lenora (1878). By the 1900 Federal Census, William and Hannah live in Falls Creek, Madison County, Indiana. All of the children have married and left home. William list his occupation as landlord. I do not find a Census record for 1910 but in the 1920 Federal Census, Hannah is listed and is living alone in Pendleton, Indiana. She is 79 years old.

Ninety one years ago, Hannah died in Pendleton, Indiana on September 17, 1928. She is buried beside her husband in Mt Carmel Cemetery, in  Pendleton, Madison County, Indiana.

Rest in peace, Hannah Jane!

Love, Jan

Hannah Jane is my two time Great Grand Aunt.

Wallace Austin Losee was born on February 9, 1907 in Clio Michigan. He was the son of George S. and Mae Eveleen (Boyer) Losee of Clio, Michigan. George and Mae had five children; Lester (1903), Lillian (1905), Wallace (1907), Mary Florence (1911) and Ernest (1913).

In the 1910 Federal Census, Wallace is three years old and was found with his parents and two siblings, Lester and Lillian. The family is living in Thetford, Genesee County, Michigan. George’s brother, Merton Losee is also living with them.  Four short years later, Mae died at the age of thirty, leaving George to raise very young children. George was a farmer. Wallace was seven years old when his mother died. In the 1920 Census, Wallace is with his father and his new wife Alice. They are living in Flint’s Second Ward on Wisconsin Street. With George and Alice are Lester who is sixteen, Wallace is thirteen, Ernest is six years old and Alice’s son, Gerald Delude who is sixteen. Mae and George’s girls, Lillian and Mary Florence, live with their Grandmother, Mary Florence Boyer nearby in Flint. In 1930, Wallace worked for a brief time in the auto industry in Flint.

Wallace served in the Air Force during both WWII and the Korean Conflict according to his burial plaque. I do not find enlistment records for him. Between 1931 – 1933, there is a Wallace A Losee who appears in Army Transport records. He is a Private and he travels between New York City and Panama several times. It appears that he may have served in Panama for several years. If this is Wallace Austin, then he served in the Army before serving in the Air Force, but without enlistment records I can not be sure about these records.  His obituary indicate that he enlisted in the Air Force in 1935 and served 20 years. He obtained the rank of Master Sargent at the time of his retirement in 1955.

On the 30^th of May, 1934, Wallace married Aileen Pearl Allison in Flint, Michigan. He was married by Everett A Smith who was his brother-in-law, married to his sister, Lillian Losee Smith. On July 9, 1937, a divorce was granted to Aileen Losee. According to the divorce decree, Aileen and Wallace had a seven month old son, Gerald A. Losee.

In the 1940 Federal Census, Wallace is living in Macomb, Michigan. He is an aircraft mechanic at Selfridge, Air Base. Wallace married Nettie McLaughlin on December 8, 1940 in Routoul, Champaign, Illinois. He worked at the Chanute Air Force base in Champaign, Illinois. Wallace and Nettie had two daughters; Teresa and Celia.

Forty nine years ago, Wallace died on September 10, 1970 in the Chanute AFB Hospital. He was buried in the Locust Grove Cemetery in Philo, Illinois.

Rest in peace, Wallace!

Love, Jan

Wallace is my Great Uncle.

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan was born on April 25, 1808 in Petersboro, New York. He was the son of Samuel and Lynda (Downer) Stranahan. Samuel and Lynda had three children; Belinda (1805-1805), James S.T. (1808), Mary Ann (1810). They lived in Petersboro, New York.

I did not find a marriage record for James Stranahan and Marianne Fitch.  They were married around 1840 and at that time James was living in New Jersey according to a bio listed below.  By the 1850 Federal Census, James and Marian live in Brooklyn, New York. Living with them are their two children and his mother; Mary Ann (1840), James Fitch (1844) and Lynda (1782).  In the 1855 New York Census and again in the 1860 Federal Census, James and Marian are found living in Brooklyn with their children and James’ mother. Marian Stranahan died on August 30, 1866.

On July 20, 1870, James married Clara C Harrison in Westfield, Massachusetts. In the 1880 Federal Census, James and Clara are recorded in Brooklyn with James Fitch and James’ married daughter, Mary Ann Croxson. Mary Stranahan Croxson’s husband John Croxson died on December 31, 1873.  In the 1892 New York State Census, both of these two grown children of James S T Stranahan still are living at home.  It appears that Fitch Stranahan never married. Clara is also listed and she is just a few years older than Mary Ann at the age of sixty.

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan 

James S. T. Stranahan was a very important figure both local New York government and in our national government as stated in the Biographical information outlined below.

Biography from Appleton’s Cycopedia of American Biography

He received his education in the local schools of Petersboro where he later was a teacher. He also studied Civil Engineering. After his primary education was complete he traveled the Upper Lakes wanting to begin trading with the Indians who lived there but he soon found the business to be undesirable so he engaged in the woolen trade. He began working in 1832 with Garret Smith in developing the manufacturing interest of Oneida County. In 1838 he was sent as a Whig to represent the Oneida district in the Legislature. In 1840 he moved to New Jersey and became interested in the construction of the railroads, accepting stock in payment for his work. He settled in Brooklyn in 1844. In 1854 he was sent again to Congress and served from 1855 -1857. Mr Stranahan was a member of the Police Commission in 1858 and a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1860 and 1864. During the Civil War he was an active supporter of our National Government and President of the War-fund committee. The War-fund committee founded the “Union” in order that the government might have devoted support. In 1860, he was appointed president of the park commission in Brooklyn and held the office for over 22 years. He was instrumental in creating Prospect Park, and the system of boulevards known as Ocean and Eastern Parkways. He was president of the Union Ferry company and the Great American Docks. He was also instrumental with the building of the East River Bridge.

Bio from Findagrave

“US Congressman. He was elected to represent New York’s 2nd District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1855 to 1857. Born in Peterboro, New York, James was considered the “Father of Prospect Park” and played a key role in virtually every great civic project in Brooklyn during the second half of the 19th century, including Ocean and Eastern Parkways and the Atlantic Docks. He was president of the Union Ferry Company, trustee of the Brooklyn Bridge, headed the Brooklyn’s Parks Commission, and led the movement to unite the cities of New York and Brooklyn. A statue of Stranahan, paid for by grateful citizens, was erected at Prospect Park’s north entrance before he died, where it still stands. After his death in 1898, his funeral cortege was the first ever permitted to pass through Prospect Park.”

Bio by: BKGeni

One hundred and twenty one years ago today James Samuel Thomas Stranahan died in Saratoga, New York at the age of ninety. He is buried in the Stanahan plot in the Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Green-wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

Rest in Peace, James!

Love, Jan

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan is the second cousin of the husband of my first Great Grand Aunt…(I know that it is a stretch…but James was the only person identified who died on this date…)

Elizabeth Meyers (Myers) was the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Keller) Meyers (Myers)who was born on August 9, 1829 in Tuscarwas County, Ohio. Elizabeth lived her younger years in Dover, Ohio where she met and married Jesse Crites.  Elizabeth had at least one sister.

Jesse and Elizabeth left Ohio and settled in Wells County, Indiana between the 1840 and 1850 Federal Census. Jesse and Elizabeth are found with their first born son, Daniel, in the 1850 Federal Census for Union Township, Wells County, Indiana.

On January 1, 1850, Jesse Crites was granted land in Wells County, Union Township, Indiana. If he spent the first few years clearing and improving it, it would become his. He worked with his first cousin Daniel Fisher, who received a grant next to Jesse’s . They shared a wagon and each had a single horse which they put together to form a team.  These two men and their team worked together to clear their land.

This photo is believed to be Jesse and Elizabeth Crites

By the 1860 Federal Census, Jesse and Elizabeth have four children; Daniel (1850) , John H (1852) , Mary M ( 1856) and an unnamed 1 month old son. Jesse has cleared his land and is a farmer. In the 1870 Census, Jesse and Elizabeth have three children; John Henry who is eighteen years old, Mary who is fourteen years old and Jesse F who is five years old. By the 1880 Federal Census, the older children have married and left home but Jesse F. and Sarah Louise remain at home. Jesse is fifteen years old and Sarah is nine. After the 1880 Federal Census, I do not find records for Elizabeth and Jesse. I believe that they moved to Markle Indiana and lived with their daughter around 1900.  They remained in Zanesville, Indiana area.

Elizabeth Myers/Meyers Crites -1829-1908

This photo was identified by my Grandfather, Everett Smith in the early 1970’s to be that of Elizabeth Meyers Crites, his Great Grandmother Crites. I suspect that it is from around 1900.

One hundred and eleven years ago, Elizabeth died on August 27, 1908 at the age of seventy-nine. She is buried in Hoverstock Cemetery in Zaineville, Indiana.

Rest in peace,  Elizabeth!

Love,  Jan

Elizabeth is my three times Great Grandmother

Alton May Dazey was the daughter of Aaron and Dorcus (Smith) Dazey. She was born on January 7, 1866 in Attica, Indiana according to her death certificate and was living with her parents in Milford, Iroquois County, Illinois by the 1870 Federal Census. Aaron and Dorcus had four children in that Federal Census; Chas (1862) , Flora (1864) , Alto M. (1866), Clinton (1870). By the 1880 Federal Census, Aaron and Darcus have five children; Charles, Jessie, Alto, Clinton and Cora. The family remains in Milford, Illinois. Jessie is likely Flora from the 1870 Federal Census.

Alto M Dazey married Samuel Sloan on October 26, 1886 in Iroquois County, Illinois. They settled in Stockland, Illinois by the 1900 Federal Census where Samuel was a farmer.  They had three children by this census; Homer (1887) , Porter (1889) , and Aleta Geraldine (1895). By the time of the 1910 Federal Census, all three of their children remain at home and they have a farm hand working for them whose name was Roy Stanley. It appears that the two older sons and Roy list there occupations a farm hands / laborers in the 1910 census. By the time of the 1920 Federal Census, the Sloan family has moved to Milford. The to older sons are on their own and Aleta is twenty three years old and remains at home.

By the 1930 Federal Census, Samuel and Alto remain in Milford. Their thirty four year old daughter, Aleta lives with them and a 7 year old Granddaughter, Lorraine Sloan. Samuel and Alto are now in their sixties. Samuel is still working. He is a cattle buyer. The daughter, Aleta G. , is a school teacher. In the 1940 Federal Census, Alto and Samuel are now in their mid seventies. Aleta G. and Lorraine still live with them and they remain in Milford.

Seventy two years ago, on August 20 , 1947, Alto May Sloan died in Milford, Illinois at the age of 81 years old. She is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Milford , Illinois. With her husband, Samuel Sloan who died about six months after Alto.

Rest in peace, Alto.

Love Jan

Alto’s mother, Dorcus is the daughter of Joseph Smith who through DNA is a close match to my James Smith although I have not determined the exact relationship.