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Are there any good resources besides the census for Fountain County, Indiana research? Any help appreciated!?
I have two families that I am trying to find who were last found in the census in Fountain county, Indiana. The mothers of both families were sisters who were born with the surname Morton. Gracey Morton married Thomas Sherman in Muskingum County, Ohio on April 26, 1822 and left Ohio between 1850 and 1860. They are in the 1860 census in Attica. Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Attica, Fountain, Indiana; Roll: M653_258; Page: 623; Image: 104. Matilda Morton married Henry Miner in Muskingum county, Ohio on March 10, 1833 and left Ohio also between 1850 and 1860. The Henry Miner family was in Warren County, Indiana in 1860 (Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Washington, Warren, Indiana; Roll: M653_305; Page: 678; Image: 231.) and in 1870 they were in Fountain county (Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Logan, Fountain, Indiana; Roll: M593_314; Page: 89; Image: 178.) After the respective Fountain County censuses, I lose track of both sisters. Yes, I saw the message board, but the lady researching doesn't have any more information than I do. Thanks for sharing that though.
Public Comments
- have you tried these?
http://www.rootsweb.com/~infounta/navigate.htm
http://www.k-inc.com/~darliercenter/fcgslibindex.html
http://www.interment.net/us/in/fountain.htm
http://www.myindianagenealogy.com/in_county/fo.htm
Hope this helps.
- It sounds like both couples may have died there in Fountain County before the 1880 Census. Try http://www.findagrave.com and http://interment.net/
http://rootsweb.com/~infounta/
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties.fountain/mb.ashx (appears you've been there?)
Let us know if you need more.
- 1870 lists Henry Miner as a bridgetender. The odds of him owning a home are pretty decent. If the Miner family is the focus of your research, I'd contact the Recorder of Deeds for Fountain and Warren Counties to see if you can locate property records on them. They would have obviously sold property if they were moving away, but would have transferred to a relative if the owner died. The date of the property sale would also help you track their migration.
One curiosity is that daughter Kate was still living home in 1870 and was 21 years old. I did a search to see if she married. I didn't find Kate or Catherine, but I did find the following. The fact that it's transcribed as "Fate" and not "Kate" is offset by all the other typos in the record:
Name: Fate C Miner
Spouse Name: John A Hill
Marriage Date: 16 May 1871
Marriage County: Fountain
Source Title 1: Fountain Souhty Indiama
Source Title 2: Index to Marriage Record 1848 - 1920 Inolusive Vol
Source Title 3: W. P. A. Original Record Located County Clerks Off
Book: 8
OS Page: 278
I'd check the newspapers from the area to see if there was a marriage announcement and, if so, did it list the parents as alive or dead.
From the 1860 census, it's pretty clear Thomas Sherman did not own his home. So property records won't help. Daughter Cary was listed as a 22 y/o school teacher. You might get somewhere contacting the local school district or school library to see what records they have of the early days of the Attica School District. I'd also see if the library has any resources that might help you. Even if you're not local, if they can get the name of the publication for you, you can try ordering it through Interlibrary loan through your local library.
Another curiosity is that I found this listing in a Census search:
Name: C Sherman
Birth: abt 1839 - Ohio
Residence: 1 Mar 1875 - Louisburg, Montgomery, Kansas
Though listed as male in the enumeration, the profession given is "seamstress". There's no sign of parents, but it might give you a clue where they could have gone.
It's also unlikely that 2 sisters who spent their entire lives moving around together would be separated that late in life. If Gracie isn't in Indiana in 1870 and Matilda is, then I'm inclined to agree with you that the odds of her being dead are pretty high.
Ahhhh...just found Gracey's death info:
Sherman, Gracey
Wife of Thomas
d. Jan 21, 1878
aged 73 years 8 months 6 days
Riverside Cemetery
Sherman, Thomas
d. Aug 10, 1874
aged 75 years 3 months 17 days
Riverside Cemetery
Source: Fountain County, Indiana, Cemetery Inscriptions; Quibache Chapter, DAR, copied 1930/3
http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=BookView&ti=0&dbid=29626&iid=dvm_LocHist013347-00117-1&rc=2083,2715,2427,2797;2079,3134,2424,3204;2074,3636,2415,3706;2070,4137,2416,4207&fn=&ln=sherman&st=d&ssrc=&pid=228
No cemetery records from Fountain Co for the Miner family.
**Question for you: Have you looked at any of the quadrennial census enumerations that the State of Ohio did on their own, separate from the US Census, to see if you can more closely pinpoint when they left Ohio?
**In the 1860 census, Henry Miner owned property worth $10,000 in Washington Twp, Warren, IN. (see county census, pg 100). That's a sizeable chunk of property in antebellum Indiana. So there has to be a property record in Warren Co.
In 1870 he appears to have sold his farm and is basically semi-retired. He doesn't own the home where they're living and says he only has $150 in assets. Hmmmm...I'd check those Warren Co records to see if he sold that farm to a son or son-in-law. That's a sizeable amount of money to lose in 10 years, Civil War or not.
