Ancil Mino Stewart

Over the last few years if I ever happen to get an e-mail with genealogy information, or if there is a time that I find a lot of information when I’m doing some research, but I don’t have time right at that moment to sit down and enter all of the information and source citations into my genealogy file, it gets added to my “add to genealogy file” folder on my computer.  In one way this is a good thing – I’ll make sure that I have everything that needs to be added to my genealogy file in one place, so I won’t worry about missing anything.  But on the other hand this isn’t the best way to do it, because a few years go by, occasionally adding new documents, e-mails, and research notes to this folder, and I end up with a massively overwhelming folder with what seems like it would take forever to enter all the data into my file.  (But, when you have 5 kids and a busy life, sometimes you just don’t have all the time you want to sit down and get things done whenever you want to do them). 

So, anyway, I haven’t done much genealogy work lately with being out of town for almost 2 months this winter, working like crazy to get our house ready to sell, preparing for a cross country move with 5 kids and a dog in one minivan, and all the stuff that goes along with normal every day life.  Last week I started to get motivated to do a little genealogy work again, but I decided rather than doing new research at the moment, I would start by trying to tackle some of the stuff in the “add to genealogy file” folder.  So, I started to add my Stewart family research notes from my work on that family line almost a year ago.  I added several census records for Stewart family members, then I came to one for Ancil Mino Stewart. 

You know how some ancestors just happen to stand out to you when you’re doing family research – like you feel some special connection to a certain ancestor, or you are especially interested in finding out about a certain family?  Ancil Mino is one of those for me.  It started back about 4 years ago when we were living in Utah while Michael did his internship year of residency there, and my mom came for a visit.  We were looking through some genealogy papers, and came across this cool old letter that was falling apart.  We picked through it and figured out what it all said, and it turned out to be written by Ancil Mino Stewart’s mother, Elenor Morgan (Lefevre) (Stewart), and the letter was written to her sister in law, Lucinda Stewart (Giffin), who is my 4^th great grandmother.  You can see my post with the images and the transcript of the letter here: http://stephsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/07/old-letter.html  That letter was so full of genealogy information – it was as if Elenor was inspired to include all the names and details just because we would find the letter someday and connect all the family members together like a puzzle.  Anyway, it turns out that the way I finally figured out how the people in the letter were connected to my ancestors was that I did a search for Ancil Mino Stewart in a census record, just because he had such an unusual name that I thought it would make it easier for me to find him.  I did, and that lead to connecting a lot of “new” family members into this Stewart line.

So even though Ancil isn’t my direct ancestor or anything, I still feel especially interested in finding out about his family.  Ancil Mino Stewart is my 1^st cousin 5 times removed – our common ancestors are Luther Stewart and Esther Smith (so his grandparents are my 5^th great grandparents). 

So these are the records I’ve found so far about him:

Here’s Ancil as a 2 year old in Salem, Ohio in the 1860 census with his widowed mother and his half siblings:

1860 United States Federal Census, Salem Township, Shelby County, Ohio, , page 46, dwelling number 356, family number 322, Lines 27-37:

“Line 27, Thomas Stewart, age 49, male, occupation: Farmer, value of real estate: 3,300, value of personal estate: 350, born in Ohio.

Line 28, Ellen Stewart, age 39, female, born in Ohio.

Line 29, Luther Stewart, age 22, male, occupation: Day Laborer, born in Ohio.

Line 30, Aaron Stewart, age 20, male, occupation: Day Laborer, born in Ohio.

Line 31, Mary J. Stewart, age 22, female, born in Ohio.

Line 32, Jacob Stewart, age 17, male, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 33, Henry J. Stewart, age 14, male, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 34, John M. Stewart, age 9, male, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 35, Millard F. Stewart, age 4, male, born in Ohio.

Line 36, Ancil M. Stewart, age 2, male, born in Ohio.

Line 37, Lucy Stewart, age 19, female, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.”

And here he is at age 12, still living with his family in Salem, Ohio (with several of his adult half siblings and their families living next door):

1870 United States Federal Census, Salem Township, Shelby County, Ohio, , page 9, dwelling numbers 71-73, family numbers 72-74, Lines 25-37:

“Line 25, Eleanor Stewart, age 49, female, white, occupation: Farmer, real estate value: 4500, personal estate value: 200, born in Ohio.

Line 26, Mary J. Stewart, age 31, female, white, occupation: Helps Mother, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 27, Henry J. Stewart, age 24, male, white, occupation: Town Blacksmith, born in Ohio.

Line 28, Millard F. Stewart, age 13, male, white, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 29, Ancel M. Stewart, age 12, male, white, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.

Line 30, Jane Johnson, age 79, female, white, occupation: At Home, born in New Jersey.”

1870 United States Federal Census, Salem Township, Shelby County, Ohio, , page 9, dwelling number 72, family number 73, Lines 31-34:

“Line 31, Jacob M. Lefever, age 27, male, white, occupation: Farm Laborer, personal estate value: 300, born in Ohio.

Line 32, Dulcina Lefever, age 23, female, white, occupation: Keeping House, born in Ohio.

Line 33, Edmond J. Lefever, age 3, male, white, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio.

Line 34, Moses Lefever, age 1/12, male, white, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio, born in May within the census year.”

1870 United States Federal Census, Salem Township, Shelby County, Ohio, , page 9, dwelling number 73, family number 74, Lines 35-37:

“Line 35, Morgan A. Lefever, age 28, male, white, occupation: Farm Laborer, personal estate value: 300, born in Ohio.

Line 36, Mary C. Lefever, age 26, female, white, occupation: Keeping House, born in Ohio.

Line 37, Ellen A. Thompson, age 7, female, white, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio, attended school within the year.”

Here Ancil is still living with his widowed mother, his two widower brothers and their children, and next door to another half brother and his family.  At age 21 his occupation was listed as "student."

1880 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, , Salem, Shelby, Ohio, page 205D, 3 June 1880, dwellings 28-29, families 29-30, lines 1-16:

Dwelling 28, family 29:

“Line 1, Elinor Steward, white, female, age 58, widowed, occupation: Keeping house, born in Ohio, father born in New Jersey, mother born in New Jersey.

Line 2, Jennie LeFevre, white, female, age 41, daughter, single, occupation: At Home, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 3, Morgan A. LeFevre, white, male, age 38, son, widower, occupation: farmer, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 4, Henry J. LeFevre, white, male, age 34, son, widower, occupation: farmer, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 5, Ancel M. Steward, white, male, age 21, son, single, occupation: student, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 6, Lizzie A. LeFevre, white, female, age 8, granddaughter, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 7, Claudie E. LeFevre, white, male, age 7, grandson, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 8, William M. LeFevre, white, male, age 5, grandson, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 9, Henrietta LeFevre, white, female, age 2, granddaughter, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Maine.”

Dwelling 29, family 30:

“Line 10, Jacob LeFevre, white, male, age 38, married, occupation: farmer, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 11, Dulcinna LeFevre, white, female, age 34, wife, married, occupation: keeping house, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 12, Edmond LeFevre, white, male, age 12, son, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 13, William O. LeFevre, white, male, age 10, son, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 14, James T. LeFevre, white, male, age 5, son, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 15, Warren J. LeFevre, white, male, age 3, son, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 16, Jennie Alice LeFevre, white, female, age 2, daughter, single, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.”

Then I next found Ancil at age 61 on the 1920 census, living with his brother in Bend, Oregon.  This is where I learned that Ancil was a widower, so I starting thinking about searching for his wife (and any children):

1920 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, , Bend, Deschutes, Oregon, page 4B, ancestry.com image 8, 8 January 1920, Street name: Lafayette, dwelling 90, family 93, line 92-93:

“Line 92, John M. Stewart, head, renting home, male, white, age 68, single, able to read and write, born in Ohio, father born in New York, mother born in Ohio, occupation: Blacksmith, industry: [illegible].

Line 93, Ansel M. Stewart, brother, male, white, age 61, widowed, able to read and write, born in Ohio, father born in New York, mother born in New York, occupation: Carpenter, industry: house, etc.”

So then I found him again on the 1930 census, living alone, at age 71, still in Bend, Oregon:

1930 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, , Bend, Deschutes, Oregon, page 24, sheet 5A, ancestry.com image 9, 4 April 1930, address: 115 Greenwood, dwelling 100, family 104, line 15:

“Line 15, Ansel M. Stewart, head, rents home for $5.00 a month, not living on a farm, male, white, age 71, widowed, age 30 at first marriage, did not attend school within the year, able to read and write, born in Ohio, father born in New York, mother born in Ohio, occupation: Carpenter, industry: Building.”

So then I decided to find out about Ancil’s wife, and see if they had any children.  After quite a bit of searching, I finally found them back in 1900 in Toledo, Ohio, when Ancil was 43 years old.  So he had a wife named Ida, and they had a 6 year old daughter named Iona Muller – at first I thought maybe Iona was Ida’s daughter from a previous marriage, but it appears that she was adopted because it says that Ida was the mother of 0 children, and that Ancil and Ida were both born in Ohio, but Iona’s parents were born in Indiana:

1900 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, , Toledo Ward 14, Lucas, Ohio, page 8B, ancestry.com image 16, 5-6 June 1900, address: 745 Orchard Street, dwelling 157, family 167, lines 61-63:

“Line 61, A. M. Stewart, head, white, male, born Aug 1856, age 43, married 12 years, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio, occupation: Carpenter, unemployed 0 months in the year, able to read, able to write, able to speak English, renting house.

Line 62, Ida Stewart, wife, white, female, born Oct 1866, age 33, married 12 years, mother of 0 children, 0 children living, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio, able to read, able to write, able to speak English.

Line 63, Iona Mullen, daughter, white, female, born Jan 1894, age 6, single, born in Indiana, father born in Indiana, mother born in Indiana, occupation: at school, attended school 9 months of the year, able to read, able to write, able to speak English.”

So then I tried to find them ten years later in the 1910 census, and I didn’t have as much luck.  I did not find Ida (but maybe she had died by then?), but I never did find Ancil in 1910 either.  I believe that I found Iona, though (although I don’t know how she would have ended up in South Dakota, the age matches, and all the rest of the info matches too, if you assume that she took the Stewart surname, and that she was referring to Ancil and Ida when she listed her parents as being born in Ohio):

1910 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, , Java Ward 1, Walworth, South Dakota, page 4B, ancestry.com image 1, 18 April 1910, Minneapolis Street, dwelling 68, family 70, line 73-76:

“Line 73, James C. Carson, head, male, white, age 33, married, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio, occupation: Own Income.

Line 74, Kizzie Carson, wife, female, white, age 47, married, born in Ohio, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 75, Gerald Carson, son, male, white, age 7, single, born in South Dakota, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio.

Line 76, Iona Stewart, boarder, female, white, age 16, single, born in Indiana, father born in Ohio, mother born in Ohio, speaks English, occupation: Stenographer, industry: Law Office.”

I haven’t been able to find any more info about Ancil’s wife or daughter.  So, now the question is, what happened with this family?  Did Ida die between 1900 and 1910, and that is why their adopted daughter is boarding with another family by 1910?  What was Ida’s maiden name?  Did Ida and Ancil have (or adopt) any other children?  And what ever happened to Iona Mullen Stewart – who did she end up marrying and where did she live?  I’d love to find out more about them.  So if you’re reading this and you happen to know any more about this family, please share!

"Some Colonial Families" -- Stewart Family

So, I came across this book that has a short section on my Stewart ancestors that I got copies of.  I typed up the record yesterday, and thought I'd share it here.  I have found some errors in name spellings, but it does provide some helpful family information, I think.  The author believed that Luther Stewart's father was James Stewart, but also notes the other possibility that Luther's parents were instead Paul Stewart and Jerusha Spencer (which is the family line that I have recorded in my genealogy file).  Lucinda Stewart Giffin, the youngest child of Luther Stewart and Esther Smith, is my fourth great grandmother.

“Some Colonial Families: Avery, Brewster, Mills, Morgan, Smith, Starr, Stewart, Tracy” (book) compiled by Eloise M. Roberts, Avard, Oklahoma, 1926. Book in the ‘American Genealogical-Bipgraphical Index’ collection, at the Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown, Connecticut 06457. Photocopies of the ‘Stewart’ section of the book ordered from the Godfrey Library by Stephanie Chidester Bradshaw in April 2011. Includes photocopies of cover page, page with Stewart family crest [not numbered], and pages 53-57. [Typed by Stephanie Bradshaw, April 2011].

Page 53:
“From Hampshire County Deeds, on record at Springfield, Mass. ‘No. 20, p 370 Warranty Deed from Thomas Kanada of Blandford, Mass., to Thomas Smith of Norwich, Conn., yoeman, conveying a certain tract of land in Blandford, bounded, beginning at a maple swamp at the N. E. corner of said lot, thence running north 71 degrees, 30 m west, one hundred sixty rods to a hemlock stake and stones, then running southerly and bounded westerly partly on John Savage’s land, and partly on Lt. Wm. Knox’s land, bounded south upon Philemon Doolittles’ farm, to a hemlock stake and stones, thence northerly on the town line to the first mentioned bounds, containing 50 acres with a mansion house.’ Dated March 18, 1783.
Ibid. No. 25, p 554. Deed of above property ‘being the farm I now live upon,’ from Thomas Smith of Blandford, Mass., yeomen, consideration 140 pounds, to Thomas Kanada of said Blandford. Dated Dec. 2, 1783.
Ibid. No. 24, p 558. Deed from Samuel Smith, Jr., of Norwich, Conn., consideration 45 pounds to Thomas Smith of Montgomery, Mass., conveying a tract in Norwich, Hampshire County, Mass., of one hundred acres ‘being the easterly part of lot No. 63 in the second division.’ Dated May 28, 1785.
(Norwich bounds Montgomery on the North.)
Ibid. No. 25, p 707. Thomas Smith of Montgomery, Mass., yeoman, for 45 pounds sells the above tract of land to John Sanford of Saybrooke, Conn., June 1, 1785.’
Ester Smith, born Apr. 18, 1768, daughter of Thomas Smith and Tamar (Williams) Smith married 1784 Luther Stewart.
According to tradition in the Stewart family Luther Stewart was the son of James Stewart, a native of Scotland who left his home at the beginning of the eighteenth century and settled in Mass. Tradition believed by different branches of the family tells that he lost his wife and 8 children through illness on the voyage to America. Only a . . .”

Page 54:
“. . . foster daughter was left, and he afterwards married this foster daughter. It is claimed that the father, James Stewart, and five sons fought in the Revolutionary War. These sons were Luther, William, and Calvin. The other names are unknown.*
Genealogists tracing the line have thought that there was a second James between James and the emigrant, this James being James, Senior, of Concord, Mass.,** who married Jane and had five children, Phoebe, born Jan. 28, 1731/2: Anna, married Nov. 26, 1741, Thomas McGee and James who married Agnes and lived in Colrain, Mass.*** In proof of this line the genealogist gives much the same records that Mr. Edson gives in support of the theory that Paul Stewart, and not James, was the father of Luther. These lines being conflicting and confusing I am omitting them.
The Revolutionary services of James Stewart as given by the War Department and accepted by the Society of Daughters of the American Revolution is: . . .

[Footnotes]
*This tradition is doubted by George Thomas Edson, of Filley, Neb., who gives another ancestry entirely. But as his supposition as to the ancestry is supported by no proof, I prefer the family records given to me by Andrew Stewart, grandson of Luther Stewart, who claimed his great grandfather’s name was James. Mr. Edson says the town records do not give the parentage of Luther Stewart, but merely lists his birth as on such a date. The records as given in the “Stewart Clan Magazine,” by Mr. Edson, Editor, are:

‘Paul Stewart (Walter 2) born March 23, 1723, in Boxford, Mass., married Jerusha (Spencer?). In 1749 Paul Stewart of Suffield bought land in Blandford, where he spent the greater part of his life. He was in a list of pewholders May 28, 1760, and in 1778 was a creditor with Spencer Stewart to the estate of William Henry; and he, his son Calvin and William Gilmore made a deed of land to the minister, with love as the consideration. In 1782 he deeded land to his son Calvin. In 1790 he appears in the first census with himself and his wife the only members of the family, after which we have no record of them. Children, as taken from town records by Mrs. Jessie A. Porter of Springfield, Mass:
9- Jehiel, Oct. 22, 1750. Marriage intentions Dec. 20, 1778, Rachel Williams.
10- Lusannah, Nov. 22, 1752.
11- Daniel Spencer, Feb. 17, 1775.
12- William, Nov. 3, 1759. Marriage intentions April 22, 1780, Beaulah Meachem.
13- Luther, April 2, 1762, married Mar. 18, 1784, Ester Smith.
14- Jerusha, Sept. 11, 1764, marriage intentions Apr. 22, 1780 William Gilmore.
15- Calvin, May 22, 1767: Married Nov. 8, 1787, Eleanor Taylor, West Springfield.
16- Elizabeth, Sept. 19, 1769: marriage intentions June 4, 1789, Edmund Gilmore.’
** ‘Concord, Mass., Births, Marriages and Deaths,’ printed by the Town. P 129.
*** ‘Early Settlers of Colrain, Mass.’ By Chas. McClellen, pp 72-73.”

Page 55:
“. . . ‘Private in Capt. Hugh McClallen’s Company, Col. David Fields’ Regt., which marched from Colrain to Bennington on the alarm of August 17, 1777, six days.’ Also, ‘Private in Capt. McClellen’s Co., Col. Wells’ Regt. From Sept. 22, to Oct. 18, 1777, with the Northern Army.’
The wife of James is unknown. Of the five sons but one is known” Luther, born Apr. 2, 1762 in Blandford, Mass.* Married Mar. 18, 1784 Ester Smith. Luther Stewart’s war record, as given by the War Department and accepted by the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, were: ‘Private in Capt. John Carpenter’s Co. of Guards stationed at Springfield from Oct. 6, 1779 to Jan. 6, 1780.’
Children of Luther Stewart and Ester (Smith) Stewart:
12. Lucina – born April 1, 1785. Died Oct. 29, 1875. Married# ‘In New York State in the Delaware’ to Edward Mills. Their descendants are given in the ‘Avery’ chapter of this book.
13. Lydia – born Jan. 11, 1787.
14. Rolan – born Jan. 27, 1789.
15. Tamar – born March 8, 1791.
16. Nancy – born Jan. 20, 1793.
17. Luther – born Oct. 20, 1794.
18. Ada – born July 19, 1798.
19. Asa – born May 12, 1801.
20. Marvin – born Feb. 17, 1803. Married** 1842 Sally Ann Flower, said to be one fourth Indian blood. They had at least three children, William D., Thomas, and Mary Lucina, who married Eber Hodge in Ohio.
21. James – born Mar. 4, 1806, married* Nancy Whitley, Dec. 27, 1834. Moved to Logan County, Ohio, where the following 13 children were born: . . .

[Footnotes]
*From original town records of Blandford, Mass., copied by Mrs. Jessie A. Porter, Springfield, Mass., for the ‘Stewart Clan Magazine.’
#‘Pioneer and Patriot Families of Brandford Co. Penna.’
*This Stewart family history given to me by my mother, Laura Caroline Taylor, and by Andrew Stewart.”

Page 56:
“. . . I. Andrew – (The family historian who supplied the Stewart line for this book). Born July 5, 1836. Married Kenracie Stratton, his cousin, a daughter of Olive (Stewart) Stratton and Hiram Stratton. Two children were born to Andrew and Kenracie, Olive and Nan. Andrew Stewart died in Lincoln, Nebraska, after 1918.
II. Kitty Ann – born Nov. 19, 1837.
III. John – born May 10, 1839. Died young.
IV. Ester – born Jan. 26, 1841. Married.
V. Milton – born July 10, 1842. Died young.
VI. Joseph – born Aug. 17, 1845.
VII. Whitely – born May 28, 1847. Unmarried. Soldier in Union Army in Civil War.
VIII. Wilson – born May 31, 1849.
IX. Luther – born April 11, 1851.
X. Ed – born June 11, 1853.
XI. Laura – born Aug. 3, 1855.
XII. Nancy – born July 21, 1857.
XIII. Eddy – born Feb. 1, 1861.
22. Olive Stewart, eleventh child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart was born April 1, 1808, in Little Valley, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. Married in Towanda, Penna., to Hiram Stratton, Feb. 4, 1831. Lived in Missouri. Children of Olive (Stewart) Stratton and Hiram Stratton:
I. Louisa – born April 8, 1832. Unmarried.
II. Myron L. – born May 28, 1833, married Mary Rauk and had children, Luther, Frank, Julia, Mary, Sarah. Myron L. served in the Union Army in the Missouri Militia during the Civil War.
III. Stewart C. – born Jan. 31, 1836. Married Crissie Orr. Children, George, Nannie, Charles C., Oliver, Edward, May, Myrtle E., Stewart C. Stratton was a Methodist Preacher.
IV. George B. – born Sept. 12, 1837. Married Ruth Ellen League. Children, Myron L., William J., and Almeda. George B. Stratton was in the 33 Iowa Regt. Union Army in the Civil War for three years. Was a war prisoner for ten months. . . . ”

Page 57:
“. . . V. Emmaline – born Mar. 20, 1842. Unmarried.
IX. Wilson – born July 21, 1844. Unmarried.
X. Kenracie – born June 13, 1846. Married her cousin Andrew Stewart.
XI. Olive – born Nov. 16, 1849. Married Thomas J. League.


13. Thomas Stewart, thirteenth child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart, born Sept. 9, 1812. Married 1st 1838 in Ohio to Eliza Timmons. Lived in Logan County, Ohio. Had at least three children, Luther, Lucy, and Edmond who died young. Married second, to Ellen La Fre. Children John Mufford and Millard Fillmore.


15. Lucinda, fifteenth child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart, born Dec. 11, 1815. Married Matthew Griffin, and had at least two children, Olive and Ann. Lucinda is said to have been born in Blandford, Mass., but I am inclined to think Lucina is meant, as in 1815 the Stewart family was living in Ohio.


After the Revolutionary War Luther Stewart and family moved from Conn. (?) to N. Y. State, probably Delaware County, then to Seneca Co., and perhaps to Genesee. Then in 1811 to Hamilton Co. Ohio. In 1814 they moved to Clarke Co., and there in 1815 Luther Stewart died. Ester, his wife, moved to Logan County Ohio, and there died in 1845. If Lucinda was born in Blandford Mass., it means that Ester went back to Mass., in 1815, and then back to Ohio.”


My notes:

• Numbering of the children of Luther and Ester Smith Stewart is typed as found in the original document: 1 through 11, 13, and 15. No 12th or 14th children were listed. I suppose that this was probably just a numbering error in the original text. Although it does specifically say that Thomas was the thirteenth child, and Lucinda was the 15th, so I suppose it could also mean that there are two children not listed that the author did not know the names of???
• Also, “Ellen La Fre” who is referred to as the second wife of Thomas Stewart, should be Elenor Morgan Lefevre Stewart. I have copies of an original letter written by Elenor, which you can view here: http://stephsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/07/old-letter.html
• And the husband of Lucinda Stewart was Matthew Giffin (not Griffin).

An Old Letter

I don’t know if this would be interesting to many of you other than my mom and my grandma and maybe a few other relatives, but it’s interesting to me, so I thought I’d post it. While we visited my Grandma Bev in Missouri this summer I found and photographed quite a few genealogical papers and some old family photographs. And my mom and I spent some time this week reading through some of the old letters I found there. Most of the letters were from Charles Dick to his mother while he was serving in the war – Charles was my great, great grandfather’s brother. But there were a couple older letters from other relatives. One that I found especially interesting was from an Elenor Stewart (I recognized the surname Stewart, but had not heard of Elenor before), written in 1865 to her sister, a Mrs. Giffin (who I suspected was Lucinda Stewart Giffin, my fourth great grandmother). The letter talked all about Elenor’s first husband, who died leaving her with four young children, and then about her second husband who went to war and then died of typhoid fever, leaving her with three more young boys. I really wanted to find out who she was and how she was related to me, so we went to the census records. I didn’t have much luck finding an Elenor Stewart (but I didn’t know when her husbands had died or if she had remarried a third time, so I didn’t know what her last name would have been at the time). But I finally found the family by looking up the name of the youngest son, because it was a rather unusual name – Ancil Mino Stewart – and all of the other family members fit in just right with the information from the letter. (Elenor was listed as Ellen on that census, which is why I hadn’t found her right away). Anyways, after finding the family on several different census records I happened to check the family tree records that have been submitted by other people about their ancestors on Ancestry.com, and I was very excited with what I found. Not only had several people submitted information confirming what I had found on the census records, and showing that Elenor Stewart’s second husband, Thomas Stewart, was the brother of my 4th great grandmother, Lucinda Stewart Giffin, but also several pedigree charts showing ancestors for Lucinda Stewart Giffin going back quite a few generations on some lines – some going back to Scotland, Wales, and England. It is not often that you come across so much information with so little research in original sources, so I was very excited. I still have to go back to Ancestry.com and type up all the info I found, since it was about 1am when I found it and I had to go to sleep. I just had to share that little success.

I typed up the letter from Elenor Stewart, and am attaching it here for any family members who might be interested in having a copy. This letter was old and had torn along all the creases in the paper, and it seems like there was one section of the letter that was missing, which I noted with ‘. . .’ when I typed the letter. (I did not correct any of the spelling or other errors from the original letter).
Enjoy!

“August the 20th 1865
Pratt office Shelby Co Ohio

Mrs Giffin
Dear Sister i Seate My Self this Sabbath Morning to Converse with you by way of pen and ink in the first place we are all well hoping those few Lines May finde you and family well and All of the friends the Same
I receive your Cind and Welcome Letter it was thankfully receive and read with Pleasure i was truly glad to hear from you Alltho Strangers to me but i hope we May become a quainted it is a . . .
i reading them it Seems to pass away My Lonesome ours as you may imagine they are Many you Stated in yours you had Lost Seven of your Children well i Can Sympathise with you altho i have not lost a Child [I] know it would be a greate trial to Lose One of Mine but yet i have waded through Severer trials you know ive Lost two kind Companion My first Husband Diede Leaving Me with four Little Children one Girl and three Boys the youngest was a babe Nine Months Old i was a Widow over four years When i Marraide Thomas he was Cind [to] Me till Death
after the war Comnced he felt it his Duty to go and help to put Down the Great Strugle but i pervaild on him not to go as his health was rather Delicate i told him he Could not Stand the hardships of a Souldier Life . . .
[ve]rry Mutch a gainst My will i thoug[ht] their was plenty of young Men to go he thought he Could Endure as Mutch hardships as the young Men but poor Man he Could not Endure all they [___] to pass through he Caught a Heavy Could witch Setteld on his lungs he was verry unwell when he Came home the typhoide fever Set in and when the Docttor was trying to break the fever he Said he was working a gains his other Disease we had too Doctors Call they Councild together but with all they Could do and all of the good Nursing i Could do we Could not restore his Life Thomas was gone four Months in the Army he Live five weeks after he arrive Thomas was So glad when he got home and we was all glad to Se him but Sorry he was Sick
i am Left with three Little Boys the youngest was three years years old . . .
Son Milliard fillmore next Ancil Mino the youngest
Dear Sister i must tell you that all of my Souldier Boys is home now Safe and Sound as i had three of my Sons in the Sirvis and Lutter is the 4th you may immagine my feelings i feel thankful they have got home there is Several of our C[___]ection that is filling Souldiers Grave
Mr Giffin is a cguainted with Mr Dodds he has too Sons a filling a Souldiers Grave they fell before Atlanta poor [___] how we miss them
our Cropps is pretty Good the Corn Look well their was wheat injured by the wet wheather the Oats is good i will Leave you for this time and if you think this worthy of answering pleas do and i will try and do . . .
Give My Love to all Enqiuirings friends if any their be
Lucy is well and the babe is also
Henry is not verry well
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Ma[_]vans family is well as far as i know poor W[_]L is not home yet
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your friend
Elenor Stewart”