On This Day - Janaury 24

RACHEL HOUCHIN was born on January 24, 1841. She is the daughter of Preston Houchin 1(818-1893) and Elizabeth Bessie Bonnine (1821-1873). Preston was born in Kentucky but his parents moved to Illinois about 1829 where he married Elizabeth in 1938. Preston and Bessie lived the rest of their lives there.  Rachel was the first daughter and second of 13 children born to Preston and Bessie. 

In 1859 Rachel married Samuel Tallman in Livingston, Illinois.

The 1860 census shows Samuel, Rachel and a 4 month old daughter living with Rachel's parents and six of her siblings. In 1863 Samuel registered for the military. There were no children born between 1862 and 1865 but I found no record of Samuel serving in the war.

By 1870 the family has expanded to six children, ages 10 to 3 months.  They are living near Odell, Livingston County, Illinois and Samuel is farming. Twins, Ira and Ida, were born in 1866 but only Ira survived.

In 1880 Rachel and Samuel have four children at home, two were born since 1870 and son Ira has died as well as his sister Hattie.  Daughter Mary married in 1880.  Living next to them is the Larkin Houchin family, a cousin of Rachel's. Another daughter marries in 1885 and then in 1891 there is a double wedding with Elmer and Mahala marrying on January 8.

Rachel's husband dies at age 56 in 1892.  I have not been able to find Rachel in the 1900 or 1910 census.  Her son John was in North Dakota between 1904 and 1907 and in Orange County, California in 1910.  But Rachel is not with them.  Nor is she living with any of her other children. John dies in California in 1910.  In 1920 Rachel is living in Pontiac, Illinois where John's wife and children are.

Rachel Houchin Tallman died April 16, 1926 in Overland, St. Louis, Missouri.  She is buried next to her husband in Swygert Cemetery in Livingston County, Illinois.


Rachel is my 2nd cousin 3x removed.

On This Day - January 23

RECIL HERMAN HISE was born Janaury 23, 1901 to James Richard Hise (1874-1958) and Colista Smith (1877-1902,  in Logan County, Arkansas. His parents had moved to Arkansas from Marion county Tennessee. Recil was the middle of three boys. However his older brother died before Recil was born. Recil's mother died six weeks after the birth of her third son.  Recil's father remarried a year later. By 1910 Recil had a half sibling, another brother.

In 1918 Recil married Ola Garner. In 1920 they are renting in Logan County Arkansas and he is a farmer. Their first daughter is born in 1920 and followed by a second in 1923.  In 1930 Ola and the two girls are living with her parents in Arkansas. She is listed as married but Recil is not with her.  He is enumerated in Okalahoma City as a lodger and working as a salesman for a tailor company. There is also a Helen L Hise age 20 that indicates she was married at age 19.

In 1933 Recil's son, Lloyd Vance Hise, is born.  His mother is Merle Lahoma Horne. I haven't found a marriage record but they were divorced in 1938.  Recil is listed as a tailor and living at 1121 NW 11th St in Oklahoma city along with Merle and his daughter Magdalene in 1939.

The 1940 census has Recil as a loger in Oklahoma City working as a tailor in a tailor shop. It also indicates he is divorced. In  the 1942 directory he is living on 24th street with Nora. He is a tailor.  The same names appear on  his World War II registration and Nora is listed as his wife.

There is a 1950 marriage record for Recil and Lydia Mary/May  Maloney in Logan, Arkansas. She died in 1967.  In 1971 Recil marries Gladys Beulah Cook but that marriage ends in divorce in 1974 in Tulare, California.  Recil dies there in 1977. He is buried in Logan County, Arkansas beside Lydia May.

Recil is my husband's second cousin 2x removed.

On This Day - January 22

SAMUEL W RAULSTON was born January 22, 1810 in Marion County, Tennessee. Samuel is the son of James Roulston (1778-1844) and Jane Simmons (1783-1870).  Samuel was the fifth of 14 children in the family.  The Raulston's and Bean's (Beene) were two of the prominent pioneer settlers in the Sequachee Valley and there were several intermarriages between the two families.  Samuel married Mildred "Millie" Beene about 1835.  (Due to a courthouse fire in 1922 there are no marriage or probate records for Samuel Raulston.) In 1840 they are a family of four with a son and a daughter both under five years of age, and Samuel is engaged in agriculture. Samuel received a land grant for 5,000 acres in 1841 in Marion County in Sweeden's Cove. He raised corn, wheat, oats, cotton, timber, cattle, hogs, sheep, horses and mules and had a large orchard.  By 1850 they had added three more sons to the family.  Samuel also has a 21 year old farm laborer living with them. He values his real estate at $2000. In 1860 he estimates a real estate value of $5500 and personal property at $2000. They raised a large family, 10 children born between 1836 and 1864.  Two of their sons fought for the Union and son William Henry Harrison Raulston, age 21, died of typhoid fever in Nashville just three months after enlisting in September 1862.  Three and a half years later, May 1866, Samuel dies in Marion County.

Samuel Raulston is my husband's 3rd great grandfather.

On This Day - January 21

ROBERT CLEATON HALL was born on January 21, 1894 in Burns, Dickson County, Tennessee.  He went by his middle name Cleaton.  His parents were William Pullen Hall (1868-1958) and Laura F. Austin (1868-1953).  Both were life long residents of Dickson County.  Cleaton was the thrid  of nine children in the family, four boys and five girls.  In 1910 Cleaton was 7 years old, attending school and living on the family farm. In 1920 he is 16 and while attending school he is a farm laborer on the home farm.

In 1915 he is mentioned in the local newspaper, The Dickson Herald "Cleaton Hall of Burns spent Thursday Jan 21 with Connie and Homer Tidwell. They enjoyed a delicous dinner, it being the birthday of all three."  He again makes the newspaper on June 25 of the same year " Cleaton Hall and Charley Stuart, who are employed by the Telephone Co.were with home folks here Sunday."  And six months later there is another mention, " Cleaton Hall of Louisiana is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Hall." 

In 1917 he registers for the draft:

He is described as medium height, stout, blue eyes and dark hair.  On the other side of the form he indicates he is a farmer. But here there is a notation that he "follows telephone and railroad work."  Just two months later there is the following article:

The official announcement followed:

They got their marriage license on August 1st and then on the 2nd at 6:00 drove to the Justice of the Peace and were married IN THE CAR.  Cleaton has a military headstone indicating he served in the Army during World War I, so he may have been about to go into the service when he got married.

The couple had moved to Nashville, Tennessee by 1920 where they are renting a house and Cleaton is working as a brakeman on the railroad. They have two boarders, age 14 and 15, who are working as laborers on the steam railroad. By 1930 they are renting at a different location but Cleaton is still a brakeman on to the railroad. In 1940 they have once again moved. This time they own a home valued at $5000.  Cleaton continues to work as a brakeman.  The 1950 Nashville Directory lists Cleaton and Maude with his occupation of conductor on NC&StLRy - Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. In 1959 he is not listed in the Nashville directory. Cleaton dies in 1968 in Dickson County.

The Tennessean,  23 Jul 1968, Tue,  Page 25, Nashville, TN, newspapers.com

Robert Cleaton Hall is my husband's great uncle.

On This Day - January 20

BERTRAND MARION HOUCHIN was born on January 20, 1874 In Logan County, Illinois to John Bourbon Houchin (1848-1937) and Margaret Ann Jones (1849-1915).  He was the third of eight children, however only five lived to be adults.  Bert was born in Lincoln, Illinois but in 1899 he was living in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was there in that year that he married Stella Stroble.  Bert was a store owner and ran the following ad in 1901 in the Indianapolis News:

By 1903 he has expanded to selling shoes and has moved the store from Virginia Ave to Washington Street and runs this ad in the Indiana News:

And later that year, he runs a large ad. It looks like his business is doing well.

In 1904 their son Herbert is born. by 1910 they have moved to Jefferson City, Missouri where his brother James A. Houchin lives.  James own the Star Manufacturing Company and Bert is working as a clerk for that company.  He also assists his brother in his campaign for Governor of Missouri in 1912. When he registers for the draft in 1918 he is living in St. Louis and is a self employed salesman. The 1920 census has the family of four renting a house and he is an agent for manufacturing. But in a Sept, 9, 1921 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Star Manufacturing has run into trouble and Bert is involved in a suit.

When the Star Manufacturing went to trustee, James started the Houchin Sales Company.  James was the president, and Bert's wife Stella was the vice president. In 1922 that company was also in bankruptcy.  Then in 1923 there is a marriage record for Bert and Ethel A. Mittleburg on June 9th. In 1925 Stella and her son are enumerated in the New York census. They are still there in 1930. Bert and Ethel are in Jefferson  City, Missouri in 1930 and he is a sales manager for manufacturing company. In 1940 he is living in Maplewood in St. Louis County with Ethel and is an insurance agent.  Bert died November 30, 1949:

His second wife is living in California at the time of his death and continues to live there until her death in 1979.  His first wife and son lived in St. Louis where she had died in 1957.  His son Herbert married in 1940 but he and his wife did not have any children.

Bertrand Houchin is my 3rd cousin 2x removed.

On This Day - January 19

ARTHUR WOOD TOWLES was born on January 19, 1866.  He was the second of seven children born to Joseph S. Towles (1836-1893) and Sallie S. Wood (1842-1899).  Arthur's ancestors had migrated to Warren County, Tennessee from Virginia in 1818 and was he was third generation born there. In 1887 he married Emma Campbell. 

In 1887 they had their first child, Leta Belle, followed by Henry Clay in 1894 and Homer Wood in 1898. The 1900 census shows them owning their farm in Warren County, Tennessee. By 1910 they have moved to Ennis, Ellis County, Texas.  His brother Joseph is also in Texas. Arthur has given up farming and is a janitor in a public school and is renting a house.  Emma indicates that she has given birth to four children and only two are living. Their daughter Leta died in 1907 and fourth child must have been born and died between 1900 and 1910.  They have purchased a home by 1920 and Arthur continues as a janitor. In 1940 Arthur says that he is unable to work. Arthur died of a stroke on 19 Nov 1943 at the age of 77.  Emma died in 1954 in Dallas, where their son Henry was living.

On This Day - January 18

GESENA ROSANNA MEMERING was born on January 18, 1815, near Hanover, Germany.  Her parents were Kasper and Anna Lale (Breher) Memering. There were at least six children born to them and Gesena was the youngest.  Gesena's father had purchased land in Greene County, Indiana in 1841. That same year Gesena Rosanna marries William Henry Heitman.  William was also a native of Germany and had immigrated with his parents in 1830. By 1850 William and Gesena had three children.  William  died before May of 1852 when Rosanna married John Henry Funk. They had three children. In 1860 John and Rosanna have their three children and Rosanna's three from her first marriage living with them. In 1870 her oldest son, Henry Heitman, is married and son William Heitman is living with Rosanna's brother Ferdinand. The rest of the family has not been located in the 1870 census.  By 1880, Rosanna age 63 and John age 68 are living alone.  Rosanna dies 3 Mar 1893.

Bloomfield Democrat, 10 Mar 1893

On the same day this notice was printed, there was also the statement, "Mr Funk is very sick with not much hopes of recovery."  In fact he died on March 10th just a week after his wife.

Gesena Rosanna Memering Heitman Funk

Gesena Memering is my 3rd great grandmother.