My most recent immigrant ancestors were the Dickinsons who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1879 or 1880 from England, which I've posted many blogs about recently. Prior to that, a few of my ancestors arrived from Ireland during the Great Irish Famine in the mid-1800s, but the bulk of the arrivals prior to that were in the 1600s, during the Great Puritan Migration.
Most of my ancestors tended to stay close to their families in the northeast, but there was one branch (of my eight main branches), who had a more adventurous spirit. It was the family of Percy Henry Daniels, my paternal great-grandfather. Percy was a sailor who traveled the world. He was born in Olympia, Washington, in the 1880s. He was a son of William Daniels, who was born in Missouri on January 2, 1840. Percy's grandfather was Austin Miles Daniels, who was born in Campbell County, Virginia, in 1812. Austin married Mary Ellen Wilkinson in Morgan County, Missouri, on January 7, 1837, and they headed further west to Benton County, Oregon, in 1851.
Austin and Mary Ellen Daniels (my 3rd great-grandparents), had nine known children. These children were my 2nd great-granduncles and grandaunts and any children they had would have been my first cousins, 3x removed.
Children of Austin Daniels and Mary Ellen (Wilkinson) Daniels:
William Daniels (1840–1924), my 2nd great-grandfather, who you can learn a lot about here.
Jonathan "Johnson" Daniels (1844–), born in Missouri, traveled west to Oregon at the age of about 7. [1, 2] (Note: I do not believe he was the same Jonathan Daniels who died in Lexington, Kentucky, Dec 5, 1864, from Typhoid Fever, which was reported as an "Alt date of death" by state archivists). He probably fought in the Civil War, but no information has been found.
Thomas Daniels (1847–1907), born April 21, 1847, in Missouri. He died April 15, 1907, in Benton County, Oregon. [1, 2, 20, 31] He married Agnes Bartges on August 6, 1871 [28], with whom he had two children: George and Melinda Daniels, but he filed for divorce in 1879, accusing her of eloping with another man. He was living in Soap Creek, Benton County, Oregon, in 1880, listed as "widower", which wasn't true. He worked in the ferry business. Agnes married Emory Williams on Dec. 6, 1881. Their son George A. Daniels died from diphtheria, two months after Thomas filed for divorce and in 1882, Melinda died at the age of about 5. Agnes died in 1888. Thomas married second to Emma Duncan Snell, on Aug. 1, 1880. He was a member of Knights of The Maccabees (KOTM). He committed suicide at his home on April 17, 1907. Children of Thomas and Emma were:
Sarah Ellen "Sadie" Daniels (1890-1955), who married Edward Henry Nachand and had at least eight children - Roscoe, Frank, Harry, Thomas, Emily, Elmer, Lorraine, and one other. [29]
Frank Louis Daniels (1896-1927) [29]
Edith Edna Daniels (1887-1890) died young.
Ella Daniels (1880-1881) died young.
Pearl Daniels (1883-1883) died young.
Emily Viola Daniels (1849–1937) born Oct. 4, 1849 in Missouri. Emily was about 2 years old we she went to Oregon with her family. She married Nathan Taylor (1841-1903) in Benton on March 6, 1865, and had at least five sons and two daughters. She died in Corvallis at the age of 87 on Feb. 14, 1937 at 3:55 AM. The cause of death was Cardio-renal disease. She rests at Lone Fir Cemetery near Alsea, Oregon. [30] Her obituary is shown below. Her children were:
Mary Jane "Jennie" Taylor (1865-1918), born Dec. 17, 1865, in Oregon. She married first in 1883 to John E. Grier (1852-1916) with whom she had Alberta Grier Lyon, Roma Etta Grier Taylor, and Gladys Grier Millsaps. After John died, Mary Jane married George W. Stoner (1861-1921) in 1917. [4]
Thomas Henry Taylor (1868-1956), born May 23, 1868, in Buena Vista, Polk County, Oregon. He married Priscilla H. Sapp in 1894. The Sapp family donated the land for Lone Fir Cemetery. Thomas and Priscilla had four known children: Roy Taylor (1895-1983), Alma Ardell Taylor Skeels (1897-1985), Ray Taylor (1900-1934), and Alice Evelyn Taylor Keffer (1908-1984). [5] He was living in Waldport in 1946 [14].
Austin Miles Taylor (1873-1925), born Aug. 14, 1873, in Alpine, Benton County, Oregon. He married Fannie M. Aldrich (1878-1964) in 1898. He was "mill owner' who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which occurred while cleaning his rifle at his home in Wren, on Sept. 21, 1925. He is buried in Bellfountain Cemetery in Corvallis [6, 10] Known children: Raleigh Taylor [11, 13], Greta Taylor [11], Clarence Taylor [11, 13], and Claude Orville Taylor [11, 12, 13].
Susan Eleanor Taylor (1876-1925) married first to Harry Y. Green (1865-1939) with whom she had at least one daughter, Edna Elizabeth Green Onslow (1896-1987), Alta, Mildred, and Viva Green. They were divorced in 1908. She married second to James A.W. McLellan (b. 1862) in 1910. She was "survived by Mrs. H. L. Anson, Mrs. H. P. Walworth, Miss Viva Green, Mrs. M. J. Marlowe". She died in Portland on Feb. 9, 1925 and is buried in Rose City Cemetery. [7]
Chesney Leon Taylor (1879-1965), born Nov./Dec. 17, 1879, in Alsea, Benton County, Oregon. He married Amanda Maude McGhee Taylor. Known children: Lloyd N. Taylor (1905-1963), Velma Arleta Taylor Preston (1909-1977), Blanche Marvel Taylor Applegate (1912-1993), Arlene Leone Taylor (1921-1934). He was living in Mapleton [14] in 1946 and he died Feb. 13, 1965, at Roseburg, Douglas County, Oregon, and is buried at Lone Fir Cemetery. [8]
Walter W. Taylor (1881-1946), born Sept. 5, 1881, in Alsea. He was married in Corvallis on Dec. 1, 1910, to Florena "Flo" Fendall (1882-1944). Walter owned a stock and dairy farm. He died in a truck accident on July 19, 1946, at Alsea, wherein he was caught between two trucks. He was buried in Alsea Cemetery. Walter's obituary is shown below. Walter and Flo had one known child: DeVere Ormond Taylor (1913-1994), who married on June 24, 1939, to Margaret Anne Yates (1912-1994) in Linn, Oregon. [9, 14] DeVere had a daughter named Cynthia Taylor, born abt. 1948, and a daughter named DeAnne Taylor, born in 1943, a school teacher who married Milton W. Hamlin, also a teacher, on July 30, 1966 at Medford.
Elmer Taylor (1885-1948), who married Myrtle Hayden on June 1, 1914, at Alsea. They had at least one son, Jack W. Taylor, and one daughter, Mrs. Jean Geraldine Roedde of Alsea. He lived in Alsea in 1946 [14] and died Feb. 11, 1948, at Corvallis. [32] His obituary is shown below.
John Taylor (1870-1960), born Oct. 10, 1870, in Marion County, Oregon. John's death certificate states that he was never married, but on the censuses of 1900, 1920, and 1930, his marital status was "Divorced". He lived in Pendleton at the time and was also reported as living there in 1946. [14] He lived to the age of 89, and died at the Odd Fellows Home in Portland, on March 25, 1960. The cause of death was Arteriosclerotic cardio vascular disease. He is buried in Greenwood Hills Cemetery in Portland.
Lillie Taylor (1890-1975), born March 11, 1890, in Lobster Valley. She lived in Monroe and Eugene until 1936, and then moved to Waldport, where she owned and operated the Hiway Cafe. She married to Lee Martin on Jan. 3, 1922, at Eugene, Oregon. He was a confectionery merchant. In 1932-33, they operated the Oregon Hotel Cigar Stand, Pacific Greyhound Express, and lived at 2242 Harris St in Eugene. Lillie and Lee were divorced before 1950. She moved to Toledo in the 1940s, where she worked as a cook at area cafes. She was living in Waldport in 1946 and was a member of the Church of Christ in Toledo and the Alsea Bay Rebekah Lodge of Waldport. She died at the age of 85 on Dec. 14, 1975, in Corvallis Manor, leaving no children, only 12 nieces and 6 nephews. [14, 33] Her obituary is shown below.
Harrison "Harry" F. Daniels (1852–1872), born Aug. 1852 [2, 16, 20], was a deaf mute. His death came violently on Sept. 7, 1872, when he was "run over by the cars on the Oregon & California Railroad". When the case went to trial, the jury's verdict was that the railroad was at fault and the people pushed for legislation "to compel engineers and conductors to be less reckless". [15]
Margaret Maggie Daniels (1856–1927), born March 13, 1856, at Bellfountain, Oregon, married on Aug. 2, 1883, at Rohnerville, California, to John Wesley Bryan (1854-1924). [2, 20, 21]. They lived in Hydesville, Humboldt County, California, where they were counted on the census in 1880 and 1900. In 1910 they lived in Scotia and John was a dairy farmer. Maggie died June 13 1927, at the age of 72, and is buried in Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka. Known children:
Lloyd Bryan (1884-1945), [21]
Oscar Ray Bryan (1885-1970), born Nov. 18, 1885 in Humboldt County, California, married Marie Waldner abt. 1908. They lived in Oakland, Almeda County, California, when the census was taken in 1910 and they lived in Beckworth, Plumas County, California, in 1920, when they had two young daughters: - Doris, born May 14, 1911, in San Francisco. She completed four years of college and became a school teacher. She married Norman Elwyn Little, a Canadian, on June 4, 1938, at Carson City, Nevada, and they had a son named Kent Little, born Apr. 2, 1940 at Medesto Mede or Stanislaus, California. Kent married Beverly A. Sabol and died May 31, 2004. Doris died Oct. 12, 1997, in Kern, California. - Beverly V. Bryan, born in 1920, married William Clay Holt in 1940 [25] and had five daughters: Barbara, Beverly, Bernice, Bonita, and Beatrice. [24] It appears Marie died soon after Beverly was born, and Oscar married Doris Baker Sevenoaks with whom he had at least two sons: - Quentin R. Bryan (1926-1997) [22, 23] - James Bryan (1934- ) [22, 23]
Rae Wesley Bryan (1891-1974), [21]
Verna Bryan Harris (1896-1966), [21]
Susan Daniels (1857–1945), born Dec. 7, 1857, in Benton County, Oregon [2, 20]. She married abt. 1888 to George Washington Hughes and had five children [17, 18]. She died Feb. 13, 1945. Known children:
Grace Emily Hughes (), born Oct. 1888 in Oregon [17, 18]. She married Walter Elmer Venable of Albany, Oregon. [19] They had a son named George C. Venable, born Feb. 3, 1919, in Albany, Oregon. He was 5/11" tall, weighed 180 lbs., and had brown hair and blue eyes. [26, 27] George married Henrietta Fay Devaney on July 5, 1952, at Albany. He died Aug. 1, 1997, in Oregon.
Eva Hughes (), born June 1892 in Oregon [18]. She was single and living in Vancouver, Washington, when her father died in 1937. [19] She signed an affidavit for proof of her sister, Edna's birth, in 1961, under the name Eva Weber of Jennings Lodge, Oregon.
Edna May Hughes (), born May 1, 1895 in Albany, Oregon [18], married William R. Dawson. and lived in Albany, Oregon, when her father died. [19]
George H. Hughes (), born June 1897 in Oregon [18]. He lived in Albany, Oregon, when his father died in 1937. [19] He married Bessie Marie Chatfield and they had a daughter named Eva May Hughes who married Lester Stillwell of Tacoma, Washington, in 1921.
Nancy Daniels (1857– ), born abt. 1857 in Oregon. She was 3 years old when the 1860 census was taken but she wasn't found living with the family in 1870, so she may have died young. [2]
Andrew Daniels (1860– ), born about 1860 in Oregon. He was 2 months old when the census was taken in July of 1860, so he must have been born about May of 1860, but he wasn't with the family in 1870, so he was either with his father at the time, or he may have died young. [2]
In 1870, Austin's wife, Mary Ellen, was living in Albany, Oregon, with four of their children - Thomas Daniels (age 23), Harrison Daniels (age 18), Margaret Daniels (age 15), and Susan Daniels (age 13). Austin was not listed among the residents of the home and Mary Ellen died later that year, on December 20, 1870, at the same place. She was about 51 years old. I've been unable to locate Austin on the census in 1870. He was living in Northern California by 1877 and was still there in 1892, but unfortunately, I can't find any further information on him. If you have any information about his, please contact me or comment below.
Sources:
1850 Census Dist. 38 Holt County, Missouri
1860 Census Soap Creek, Benton, Oregon
OSU Early Oregonians [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 128465425 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 36147877 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 36139229 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 99781579 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 36147607 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 115701032 [Link]
Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Sept. 22, 1925
1910 Census Bellfountain, Benton, Oregon
Oregon Birth Certificates, Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon #6372
1920 Census Alpine, Benton, Oregon, Sheet 5B
Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, July 20, 1946
Albany Democrat, Albany, Oregon, Sept. 13, 1872, p.3
OSU Early Oregonians [Link]
1910 Census Albany (Ward 1), Linn, Oregon
1900 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon
Albany Evening Herald, Albany, Oregon, Dec. 2, 1920
1870 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon
Findagrave Memorial 87574131 [Link]
1930 Census Oakland, Alameda, California
1940 Census Oakland, Alameda, California
1950 Census Tulare, Tulare, California
The Hanford Sentinel, Hanford, California, April 10, 1940, p.8
1950 Census Albany, Linn, Oregon
US World War II Draft Cards
Albany Democrat, Albany, Oregon, Sept. 1, 1871, p. 3, col. 2
1900 Census Fairmont, Benton, Oregon
Findagrave Memorial 36147950 [Link]
Findagrave Memorial 10424481 [Link]
Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Feb. 12, 1948
Corvallis Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Dec. 16, 1975, p10
Findagrave Memorial 210021548 [Link]