#52 Ancestors Week 28 - Road Trip

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #28 and the suggested theme is ROAD TRIP. This topic of is appropriate for I just got back from a road trip to Indiana. I had the opportunity to take my genealogy on a short road trip as well. I had just a short time to visit the Martin Co. Historical Society in Shoals.  The society is housed in the old court house.  I got to do the happy dance as I found the transcript of the will of my 4th great grandfather, Joseph Sargent. He died in Martin County, Indiana in 1865 at the age of 84.

Joseph had taken his own road trip, since he was born in Caswell County, North Carolina but by 1796 his father had relocated the family to Russell County, Virginia. By 1805 they were once again on the move and were enumerated in 1810 in Somerset, Pulaski Co., Kentucky. It was there that Joseph was married in 1809. In 1817 he purchased property in Lawrence County, Indiana.

Google Map showing the travels of Joseph Sargent 

According to Google Maps, today we could make the journey from Caswell, NC to Martin Co., IN in just a little over 12 hours. For Joseph it happened over a 20 year period.  But I'm sure that his journey included traveling along the Wilderness Road carved out by Daniel Boone though the Cumberland Gap.

Wilderness Road
From Library of Congress

#52 Ancestors Week 27 - Independence - Thomas Adkins

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #27 and the suggested theme is INDEPENDENCE.  I'm highlighting the Revolutionary service of my of my 4th great grandfather, Thomas Adkins (1760-1845).

Since I wrote about Abner Adkins, my ancestor which is only halfway researched, I decided to highlight his father Thomas Adkins, an American Revolutionary Soldier. Thomas was born in South Carolina about 1760 and was living there when the American Revolution started At the age of 17 he enlisted.

Thomas Adkins served under Capt. John Templeton .He marched to Cambridge under Col. Lindsay and then to Augusta, GA, on to Briar Creek, where they had a very serious engagement and where they were defeated. They were repairing the bridge that ran through a three mile wide swamp, that the British had destroyed.  The work party had not been issued weapons and they were quickly surrounded by the British at three o'clock in the afternoon of 28 Feb 1779.  Many drowned trying to escape by swimming the Savannah River, some were shot.  About 200 men were taken prisoner.  As Thomas could not swim, he was taken prisoner.  He remained so for about six months.  On his escape, he rejoined his remaining outfit at Mock's Corner, SC.  He was discharged at the orders of General Greene. 

Plaque in Whitley county erected in 1976 for the Bicentennial of
 Kentucky of Revolutionary Soldiers

Thomas Adkins 1760-1845
Kaswick Cemetery, Whitley Co., KY

Thomas applied for pension on October 21, 1833 at the age of 73 while living in Whitley County, Kentucky. His pension file on Fold.3 has 123 pages. Many of those papers are his application and there are many from his widow's application after his death.  Although there are many witness statements all applications were denied for lack of proof of length of service. He had not kept his discharge papers.

Single Life to Benedict - Part 9 - Farm Life

"In the fall of 1939 we bought a farm on State Rd. 54 east of town from Sheldon Goodman.  It was the place that both Mom and I wanted and consisted of 42 acres.  I loved it out there – a good productive farm, well located on a good hard road, a lot of shade.  I really expected it to be our last move. 

Harold had 3 wrecks with the car the last one in the spring of 1940 and it was a bad one. 

I am a year ahead of my story for in the summer of 1938 I got my appointment on the Ohio & Evans R.P.O. 

Now in the spring of 1940 Mom came to Sullivan to meet me after a tour of road duty and when I noticed she had a Ford I asked her, how come – she said “ask him.”  It was then I saw Harold, a pretty dejected looking boy so I asked him what happened and he told me he wrecked the car the night befor.  I asked if anybody was hurt and he said no, then I inquired about the car and he said it was damaged badly.  We drove home and I think Mom for once was aggravated at me for she said, “Is that all you are going to say to him.”  I merely said what else is there to say, nobody was hurt, for which I was thankful and you can always fix a car or buy another one.  But the insurance company wanted to cancel me out and I pleaded I couldn’t do without insurance on account of getting to and from trains so they said if I would keep Harold from driving one year they would carry my insurance.  To this we had to agree.

There are a few instances that took place while we lived on the Bill Pope place that are noteworthy.  The first cow we ever owned, a Jersey, was bought when we first moved there.  The boys were big enough to do some work and the best potato crop we ever had was raised there by their efforts.  It was a hang-out for boys who came from town and from the Olive Branch community to play basketball.  I think it was here that not only our boys but all the boys welded an everlasting friendship and devotion for Randy Beasley, Coach, who was later killed in World War ll. 

We had a little incident with Jane while living here.  As normal for girls, she liked pretty clothes.  She asked Mom if she could wear silk hose to school (Black Creek).  We talked it over and Mom said she wasn’t hard on them so we consented.  On my first day off after school started that fall, Mom said the patrons did not like the idea because their girls wanted to do the same.  It must be remembered that the depression still hadn’t been licked.  We decided the chips would have to fall where they would – It would break her heart to deny her the privilege we had given her and we wouldn’t take it away from her.

I take a little pride in getting electric power in that neighborhood south of “Tuffy” Beasley.  I got a list of subscribers and took it to Bloomfield to the Public Service Power Co. and put my petition in the hands of an old Vandalia Coal Co. employee with whom I had worked and a very good friend of mine, Joe Jarvis.  About this time the petition was granted and the R.E.A was constructing lines in the Olive Branch area and the neighbors decided they wanted it.  Thinking it would be cheaper, so I had Joe to delay P.S.  Well we didn’t get R.E.A.  He informed me that I would have to get the P.S. to give up their franchise on the proposed line and get twelve petitions to file for service.  I got this done and although the money for the line had to be taken from what had been apportioned for an extension in Clay County we got on line. 

Before we moved I was sure that I detected something was wrong with Mom.  I asked her what she was keeping from me and she said she was afraid she had a rupture and was keeping it from me because we had spent so much on surgery and hospitals.  We had our examination and her fears were confirmed.

One of the reasons too that we bought the farm was that the boys would soon be out of High School and jobs were not too easy to get and we planned on turning what profits we made on the farm over to them if they would do the work.  We had it figured out that they could at least make their spending money.  Naturally we didn’t have the money to pay for the new house and I had to go in debt with a loan from the bank.  We had to do two things when we moved – put a partition in to make another bed room and install a furnace.  Well things worked out pretty good.  I bought a sow that farrowed 8 pigs; we had corn to feed them, for I got the corn crop in the purchase deal and Harold did a good job tending them and realized a little over $80⁰⁰ for them.  Shortly after this, befor going out on a tour Harold told me he didn’t like farming and wanted to get a job in Public works.  I consented and he went to Indianapolis and applied at Allisons.  He was up there a week and in the mean time I got home on Saturday and while in the barber shop I saw Gordon Miller and he said he would hire him on a job they were doing at Charlestown.  Harold got in at midnight and made arrangement to go Sunday, I think with Sammy Stockram.  High school days seemed to go by fast.  Harold was on the football, basketball and track teams, Avery went in for basketball and Tunney went in for basketball too.  I didn’t get to see very many games for I was on the road most of the time, having a 4 on and 3 off run.  Avery graduated in 1941, went to some kind of government training school teaching various trades."

Alfred Moehlmann Real Estate Transaction - 1939

Alfred and Helen's home farm is no longer standing. In it's place is a retail business - Shoe Show.

Location of Alfred Moehlmann farm on Hwy. 54 in Linton, IN.
Taken in 2012, now a shoe store.

Alfred refers to the R.E.A. in getting electricity, which stands for Rural Electrification Administration.

Bill Moehlmann Trying Out for Football - 1939

Bill Moehlmann Winner Free-throw Contest 1940

Alfred's son  Bill has been in the news during this time, mostly for his sports activities as tge as the above articles show. But the article to the left is about his having pneumonia in March of 1940. Surprisingly I found nothing in the newspapers about the numerous car accidents that Bill had.

Helen Moehlmann Hospital Release May 1940

Allison's is a company that started in 1915 as the Speedway Team Co. by James Allison to support his Indianapolis 500 racing activities. One day after the beginning of World War I James Allison's suspended all activities related to car racing and focused on supporting the war efforts. The company name was changed to Allison Engineering Co. After the war they began working on aircraft engines. In 1928 James Allison died and the company was put up for sale with the stipulation that it remain in Indianapolis. Today it is still headquartered there. By 1939 when Bill wanted to apply for a job at Allison's, the company was heavily involved in producing aircraft engines for the military.

So the boys are growing up. Two have now graduated from high school.

#52 Ancestors Week 25 - The Old Homestead

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #25 and the suggested theme is OLD HOMESTEAD.  I'm highlighting the homestead of my 3rd great grandfather, Elisha Sargent (1813-1866).

Several generation back, my ancestors all wound up in Indiana. They came from Germany, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. Many of them came via Kentucky. While one branch lived in the city of Indianapolis, most of them were farmers and lived in Greene, Pike, Martin and Gibson counties.

My Sargent ancestors from North Carolina settled in Martin County.  Elisha Sargent received a land patent for 40 acres in 1838.

Elisha lived on his land farming and operating a tannery. He died in 1866 but his second wife lived there until her death in 1901. Both were buried nearby at the Salem Cemetery.

However, I cannot visit the old homestead.  The property, along with most of the township that was Elisha's home is now the Crane Naval Depot. Yes that's right. A naval station in the middle of Indiana.  In 1940 with the anticipation of war, the government acquired 108 square miles and created the third largest naval base in the world. Initially it was an ammunition storage area but is now an engineering and electronics facility for the  Navy.

Location of Elisha Sargent's land patent of 1838 within the Crane Naval Station in Martin Co. IN

So the Navy acquired many of the homesteads of my early Indiana ancestors. In addition, Crane also encompassed 28 cemeteries - including Salem Cemetery where the Sargent's are buried.  The Navy is maintaining the cemeteries but access is limited.  On Memorial Day several years ago, I made the trip to visit them. Since it is a restricted area, you had to have an escort at all time.  But he was very patient as I searched the 390 graves in this cemetery to find Elisha's.

Elisha Sargent's headstone at Salem Cemetery, Martin Co., IN
Sargent Family Collection

So while there is nothing left of the old homestead, I did have the opportunity to visit several of the cemeteries and get a good idea of the rolling hills of the area where the early settlers lived.

Single Life to Benedict - Part 8 - Scarlet Fever & A Car Accident

Continuing the story of Alfred Moehlmann as he wrote it in 1960. He is up to the year 1935 in his story.    

"In February, St. Valentine’s Day, 1935 Helen M. was born and in December of that year I got a regular appointment to the Chicago Terminal R.P.O.  I transferred to the Cincinnati Terminal R.P.O. in February of 1936.  In the fall of 1937 we moved to the Bill Pope place on State Rd 54 N.E. of Linton. 

The big Ohio River flood happened in the winter of 1937-38 and Helen M. got down with the scarlet fever the fore part of 1938.  We got drowned out at Cincinnati and I came home while she was sick and stayed a few days with Uncle Karl and Aunt Annie and Dr. Porter said it would be safe for me to go home.  The scarlet fever had settled in Helen M. ears and she needed a lot of attention. 

About week later I called back to work but was advised to have shots for typhoid fever.  Dr. Porter gave me a 3 in 1 shot.  I went to Cincinnati and worked one night and took sick.  My arm had swelled so big I couldn’t get a coat on.  They called a doctor, he said I had scarlet fever and they took me to General Hospital.  The supervisor knew Helen Louise who was taking nurses training in a hospital there and she came to see me often and kept Mom advised how I was doing.  My arm had to be lanced and it gave me a lot of trouble.  I developed a severe pain in my right side and at first they thought it was my appendix.  After 4 weeks I was released from the hospital. 

Seemingly this sick spell was the beginning of my spiral downward relative to health.  I took an additional week off and had a complete physical check up by Drs. Knoefel, Topping and Malone.  It was mainly an account of my distressed right side.  I was advised not to be operated on unless the pain became unbearable.  This is where my previous wine episode paid off.  Dr. Knoefel said all I owed was $10⁰⁰ for a blood test and that he was doing this as a favor to my mother.

Late that spring Mom had a bad car accident that put her in the hospital.  But even the seriousness of the accident might well have been a Godsend to me.  Dr. Frank Bailey, who Aunt Annie got when Dr. Porter let us down, advised me that he found indications of serious trouble ahead, possibly cancer, if she did not submit to surgery for injured tissue.  Aunt Ruth stayed with us while Mom was in the hospital and also while she was recuperating and getting herself built up for future surgery.  Our 1936 Chevrolet was badly damaged and when it was repaired Aunt Ruth drove it to town and while she was trading at Kroegers (Main and A sts N.E.) evidently a truck backed into the front end and smashed it up again." 

Helen and Alfred welcomed their second daughter, Helen Margaret, named after her mother, on Valentines Day 1935.  It had been eight years since her younger brother was born and her oldest brother was 13. 

It's 1935 and their family is now complete with three boys and two girls. In 1936 Alfred get's his full time appointment at the Railway Post Office. The next year, 1937, they buy a new home farm. Once again things are going well. 1938 starts out a little rough. The rain is setting records and causing flooding.

23 Feb 1938
Linton Daily Citizen

Linton Daily Citizen 31 Mar 1938

Then came the scarlett fever epidemic to the Moehlmann household..

Rushville Republican, 29 Jan 1938

This article is about Bloomington which is 40 miles from Alfred's Linton home.  They are closing schools to try and limit the spread of scarlett fever and influenza.

Alfred winds up in the hospital. He's in Cincinnati at the teaching hospital - General Hospital - that had been there since 1915.  It's still there today as the University of Cincinnati Hospital. The Helen Louise that he mentions is his wife's cousin, daughter of her sister Anna (Bovenschen) and Karl Kramer, who is studying to become a nurse.

Helen Louise Kramer 

Unfortunately there are gaps in the digitized Linton Daily Citizen newspaper and there are no article about the wreck that Helen had in 1938.  Aunt Ruth who looked after the household is Helen Moehlmann's youngest sister. 

#52 Ancestors Week 24 - Heirloom

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #24 and the suggested theme is HEIRLOOM.  I am going to highlight an item that belonged to my grandfather Donald Sargent. I highlighted him back on week 15.


Donald married Bertha Lee Houchin on December 13, 1909 in Petersburg, Indiana at the age of 21.  He was a miner but they also owned a small country store which he operated with the help of his wife and other relatives. 

On their first anniversary the two exchanged gifts.  Bertha bought this gold pocket watch for Donald.

1909 Elgin Pocket Watch
A First Anniversary Gift from Bertha (Houchin) to Donald Sargent

Donald cherished the watch and did my Dad who received it when his father died in 1957.  Donald gave Bertha a gold necklace on their first anniversary and my Aunt Mary had that heirloom.

#52 Ancestors Week 23 - Wedding - Moehlmann & Sargent

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #23 and the suggested theme is WEDDING.  I am going to highlight my parents wedding.

I was surprised to find that I don't have any direct ancestors that were married in June.  February and March are the most popular months for a marriage closely followed by September and October.  So today I am gong to post about my parents wedding photo.

Weddingn Photo of Esther Jane Moehlmann and Arnold Lee Sargent - 29 Sep 1946, Linton, Indiana
l to r: Alfred Moehlmann, Jane Moehlmann, Helen Moehlmann, Bertha Sargent, Arnold Sargent, Donald Sargent
from Sargent Family Collection

What a solemn photo. Mom is the only one smiling. You might notice her gold front tooth. She was several years away from having it replaced.  The wedding took place in her parents home in the living room. 

It's funny how I never noticed the vibraharp before. The music was provided by one for the wedding. It's like an xylophone and is on the right in the photo. Here is a you tube sample of the vibraharp sound.