Who are the parents of Lavina Wolfe, wife of William Robert Replogle?

Family trees show Lavina Wolfe as a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Wolfe but the 1870 census in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania and the 1880 census in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, for Samuel Wolfe do not include a daughter named Lavina. Samuel had a daughter named Hannah (born about 1866) that appears with him in these censuses. There was a female named Lavina (born about 1864) in the household of Daniel and Emma Wolfe in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the 1870 census but she does not appear in their household in the 1880 census in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.

William Replogle purchased a lot in the village of East Mahaffey, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania from George and Mary J. Kauffmann on 25 June 1888. William Replogle and Lavina, his wife, sold this lot to L. J. Hurd on 5 April 1889. 

The next record where William and Lavina Replogle appear is an article in the Brookville Republican dated 5 August 1894 on newspapers.com.  Their property in Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania was "seized and taken in execution and [was] to be sold as the property of William Replogle and Lavina Replogle, his wife, at the suit of The Home Building and Loan Association."

William Replogle was arrested for larceny and sentenced to four years in the Western Penitentiary according to an article in The Jeffersonian-Democrat dated 23 May 1895 on newspapers.com. There is a document from the Western Penitentiary for him on Ancestry.com. According to it, he was from Punxsutawney, Jefferson County and was married with one child. 

Lavina Replogle was arrested in September, 1895 for "keeping [a] bawdy house" and sentenced to 18 months in the Allegheny County Workhouse according to an article in the Brookville Republican dated 19 February1896 on newspapers.com. There is a document with her name (Levina Replogle) from the Allegheny County Workhouse on Ancestry.com that gives information regarding her. She was 29 years old and married with one child when admitted to the Allegheny County Workhouse on 20 February 1896. Her sentence was commuted and she was released on 24 June 1897. This record showed that her mother died before she was 16. She cannot be the daughter of Daniel Wolfe since his second wife died in 1923 after his daughter Lavina would have 16. She could be the daughter of Samuel Wolfe since his wife died about 1880 before his daughter Hannah was 16.

William R. Logan (Replogle) married Annie Oldenville (Waldenville) on 21 November 1906 in Freeport, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He gave the marriage date to his first wife as 10 September 1884 on his marriage license application. Although he gave her death date as 4 April 1896 on his marriage license application, this is incorrect since she was still living when released from the Allegheny County Workhouse on 24 June 1897. He and his second wife had a son, Harold Stanley Logan, who was born on 16 April 1907.

William R. Logan was living in the Old Dominion Precinct, Stevens County, Washington in the 1910 census. He received a patent for 160 acres under the 1862 Homestead Act in Stevens County on 21 August 1913. He married his third wife, Mary (McBride) Piat on 2 May 1923 in Colville, Stevens County. He died on 17 January 1935 in Colville, Stevens County, Washington. His death certificate states that his "name was changed from Replogle to Logan by application to the court." His daughter, Bessie Rank, Greenville, PA was the informant.

Bessie Rank was the daughter of William R. and Lavina Replogle. Her marriage to Morton Rank on 4 February 1907 in Hamilton County, Tennessee is the first record where she appears. She is not in the 1900 census as Bessie Replogle in Western Pennsylvania or Hamilton County, Tennessee. 

There are articles on newspapers.com in the Chattanooga Daily Times dated 20 February 1907 and 18 August 1907 regarding Morton Rank's mother in law, Mrs. Graham (formerly Morehead), opposing his marriage to Bessie Morehead and another in the Knoxville Sentinel dated 19 August 1907 referring to his wife as Bessie Feidenburg but no information can be found for a Bessie Morehead, Bessie Graham, or Bessie Freidenburg marrying a Morton Rank. There appears to be only one Morton Rank, a son of Amos Rank, in Hamilton County, Tennessee at this time period. Morton and Gessie Rank are living with three children in Hamilton County, Tennessee in the 1910 census and in the 1920 and 1930 censuses in Greenville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Bessie marries a Michael Grant Magner in 1935 and appears in Greenville, Mercer County, Pennsylvania in the 1940 census where she dies in 1941. Her death certificate gives her birth date as 5 April 1889 and her parents' names as Walter Logan and Lavina Wolf.

Daniel Wolfe was not the father of Lavina Wolfe since her mother died before she was 16 according to the Allegheny County Workhouse record for her. William and Lavina Replogle, were living in Clearfield County in 1889 where Samuel Wolfe was living from 1880 until his death in 1912. However, there is not enough information to determine if Samuel Wolfe's daughter Hannah is the same person as Lavina Wolfe. If anyone has information regarding Lavina Wolfe's parentage, please contact me.

Proof of John Wolf's Children

I was in Jefferson County last week to look at the tax records that were at the new Jefferson County Archives. I also noticed that they had the Court of Common Pleas Court Records while I was there. Since there was a reference to a court case, John Wolf Sr. vs. Frank & Heilbrunner, in the estate papers for John Wolf (died about 1859), I decided to look for more information on this court case. John Wolf filed the suit in September 1857 (no. 13 September term 1857) for  "Summons in Ejectment  for 100 acres and 40 perches of land in Knox township. Deft [Defendant]: pleads not guilty". The defendants were David Frank and Leopold Heilbrunner. 

On 22 September 1858 "Continued by consent, at the cost of the defendants".

On 16 December 1858 "Jury called in".

On 17 December 1858 [Word illegible] "for defts [defendants]. Motion for a new trial on behalf of the plff [plaintiff] entertained and rule to show cause granted",

On 19 February 1859 "Motion for a new trial on part of plff [plaintiff] entertained and rule to show cause granted. Rule made absolute".

On 9 May 1859 "Death of plff [plaintiff] by John & Christiana Wolff widow & Henry, Jacob, Daniel, Samuel, Peter, Christian [Christiana] & Franny Wolf heirs of the decd [deceased] and A. L. Gordon Admtr [Administrator] of his estate. Substituted as plffs [plaintiffs]".

                                                           

The word John is very difficult to decipher but he is the eldest son and the eldest son and widow are often listed first. Also, John is not  listed with the other children. Christian is his daughter Christiana. Franny is his daughter Hanna.

On 12 September 1859 "Jury called in"

On 17 September 1859 "Judgment" [Does not give amount but John Wolf's estate papers give amount of $620.44]

The following is some background on the above court case.  John and Christiana Wolf transferred 100 acres and 40 perches to their son Michael on 4 February 1847. It does not list any purchase amount in the deed and it is not clear if there were any conditions associated with the transfer. Michael died sometime before 6 May 1854 when letters of administration were granted to Christopher Fogle.  The property was to be sold at a public sale in Brookville, Pennsylvania on 8 May 1854 by order of the Court of Common Pleas at the suit of William F. Clark in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania (See "Sheriff's Sale" in the Brookville Jeffersonian dated 17 April 1854). Another 100 acre property that Michael owned was also to be sold at the sheriff's sale. John Wolf then brought suit in the Court of Common Pleas in September 1857 for "Summons in Ejectment on 100 acres and 40 perches of land in Knox township". The court case between Michael Wolf's estate and William F. Clark may also provide more information.

See previous blog post on "History of Redbank Township and John Wolf" for more information on this family. The following is a revised list of John and Christina/Christiana Wolf's children:

1. John born 7 January 1812-died 1874
2. Henry born 16 July 1814-died 27 February 1862
   
3. Michael born 10 October 1816-died 1854
4. Jacob born 27 December 1818-died 4 April 1897
5. Daniel born 3 July 1824-died 15 December 1890
6. Christiana born 20 May 1826-died 18 April 1897
   
7. Hannah born 17 January 1829-died 31 March 1916
8. Samuel W. born 25 September 1831-died 20 March 1912
9. Peter born 1836-died 21 September 1862
   

John and Hanna Wolf are the only two children of John Wolf for which there exists known baptismal records. Hanna Wolf married Solomon Harriger. Christiana married John D. Rhodes. Christiana Rhodes' obituary gives her birth, marriage, and death dates as well as her maiden name, and her husband and eight surviving children's names.  She and her family were living next to her parents, John and Christiana Wolf, in the 1850 census, and she and her family were living next to her mother and brother, Christina and Peter Wolf, in the 1860 census.

 A. L. Gordon was appointed as administrator of the estate of John Wolf who died intestate without a will in 1859 in Knox Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.  He filed the first and final account with the Jefferson County Court on 10 July 1862.  Copies of vouchers for money paid to Christina Wolf by A. L. Gordon, administrator of John Wolf Sr., deceased were included in the estate papers.  The vouchers were witnessed by Daniel Wolf.  She received the following payments:
21 January 1860-$25
26 March 1860-$25
7 June 1860-$33.10
10 October 1860-$10
17 October 1860-$38
19 May 1862-$75
10 July 1862-$82.34
No date-$80
Total $368.34

Cash in the amount of $ 620.44 was received from a judgment in the Court of Common Pleas in Jefferson County from John Wolf Sr. vs. Frank & Heilbrunner.

 Nicholas McQuiston was appointed administrator of the estate of Christina Wolf who died intestate.  An inventory of her personal estate was filed on 17 September 1866 and $99.90 was realized from the vendue sale.  She owned lot number 4 in the village of Knoxville, Knox Township, Jefferson County.  It was 60 feet wide by 135 feet long with a frame dwelling house 16 x 24 feet two stories high.  It was sold for $155 since the amount from the vendue sale was not enough to settle her debts.  The final account was filed with the Court on 6 November 1868. 

 

John Harman of Armstrong County Pennsylvania and His Ancestry

John Harman in his marriage to Lydia Bish in Jefferson County in 1854, gave his parents' names as Daniel and Elizabeth Harman and his birth place as Millersburgh, Dauphin County. See previous post, Herman/Harman/Harmon Connections to Dauphin County, for more information. Please note that Herman is a variation of the surname Harman/Harmon. Upper Paxton Township was the original township in Dauphin County from which Lykens and Mifflin Townships were later formed.

There were three Herman men in Upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County in the 1770's and 1780's with children:  John Herman, Jacob Herman, and David Herman. Both John Herman and David Herman had a son named Daniel. 

David Herman can be eliminated as the ancestor of John Harman of Armstrong County since he and his son Daniel moved to Ohio. David Herman/Harman appears in Springfield Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, in the 1820 census. Most of his children also moved to Ohio. He dies in Columbiana County prior to 24 February 1834. His will and estate papers name his son Daniel and his other children (available on Ancestry.com). Census records show that Daniel lived in Columbiana County and later Mahoning County in Ohio from 1830 through 1870. He died on 26 November 1871 in Mahoning County, Ohio, where he is buried in the Old Springfield Cemetery in New Middletown (See Find A Grave record for him).

John Herman died intestate before 1787, and his wife Ann was named administratrix of his estate. Jacob Herman and Daniel Stoever [Steever] were named guardians for his three children under 14 years of age:  Elisabeth, John, and Daniel. All of these children would have been born after 1773.

Ann's maiden name was Steever since she is named in the will of her father, John Jost Steever, written in 1807. He also leaves money to his three grandchildren, Elisabeth, John, and Daniel Herman (children of his daughter Anna's first husband) and leaves property to his daughter Anna and her second husband, Andrew Osman.

John Herman's son, Daniel Herman, had a son John born 17 December 1807, and a son Joseph born 15 May 1809, at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Killinger, Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County. This church is near Millersburg in Upper Paxton Township. John Herman born in 1807, is the same man as John Harman of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.

This conclusion was reached after looking at all the extant Herman/Harman church records to at least 1820, at the following churches in Upper Paxton, Mifflin, and Lykens Townships:  Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Killinger, Upper Paxton Township; St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Mifflin Township; and Hoffman's Reformed Church, Lykens Township. Each child's record was added to their parents to form family groups. Estate indexes and deed indexes were searched for Herman/Harman entries and the pertinent estates and deeds were examined for information. It was apparent from this that John Herman, Jacob Herman, and David Herman were the original Herman settlers in Upper Paxton Township but it is not known if they were related. Since Jacob Herman was named as a guardian for John Herman's children after his death, it is likely that they may be related. Please contact me if you have any further information or comments on the Herman/Harman families. 

 

 

 

The Schaffners of Anwil, Basil Landschaft (Basel Land), in Sissich, Switzerland

Henry Schaffner from Anwil, Basil Landschaft in the present day district of Sissach, Switzerland emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816.  Please see previous post for more information regarding him and his family.

I had never tried to research this family to find Henry Schaffner/Shoffner's parents in Switzerland since the name Heinrich Schaffner is very common.  I recently discovered that the church records for Basel-Landschaft (Basel Land or Basel Country) were online:
https://www.baselland.ch/politik-und-behorden/besondere-behorden/staatsarchiv/archivbestande/Kirchenbuecher/oltingen

All the church records of the parishes for Basel Landschaft are available through this site.  Anwil is a small parish that is part of the larger parish of Oltingen.  That is where I looked for the parents of Henry or Heinrich Schaffner.  Henry Schaffner who immigrated to Pennsylvania was a Kufer or a cooper.  The occupation is necessary to help distinguish him from other Heinrich Schaffner's. There is a family register for Anwil that lists the families in that parish.  The immigrant and his wife Salome Thommen with his children that were baptized in that parish were listed in this register.  His parents, Heinrich Schaffner and Elisabeth Gysi, were listed on the adjoining page along with their children.  Heinrich Schaffner and Elisabeth Gysi, were married on 30 April 1770 and their nine children were baptized between 1771 and 1784 in Anwil.

If someone wants to find this page from the above link, they need to click on the parish Oltingen and then choose Book 7.  It is frame 43 that you can select on the upper left from Book 7.  

Below Heinrich Schaffner's name on the left side of the page is the word kufers which means coopers and then two dates below the cross.  These are death dates for two Heinrich Schaffners who were both Kufers.  The person who compiled the family register was unsure which Heinrich Schaffner was the one who married Elisabeth Gysi and was the father of her children.  The Heinrich Schaffner who died on 24 April 1791 was 65 years and 9 months old when he died (born 1725).  The Heinrich Schaffner who died on 11 February 1821 was 74 years, 1 1/2 month old when he died (born 1746-47).  Elisabeth Gysi was born in 1752 and died on 24 March 1816.  Heinrich Schaffner (1746-1821) probably was her husband and the father of her children since he was much closer to her in age. 

The birth, marriage, and death dates in the church books can be located from the family registers.  If anyone wishes to know the book and frame number where these images can be found, I will email them to you if you contact me.  Heinrich Schaffner had four daughters who all married men named Schaffner but none of them were closely related as far as I can determine.  Schaffner was a very common surname in this parish.

Heinrich and Elisabeth Gysi's children were:
1.  Heinrich Schaffner born 13 October 1771
2.  Maria Schaffner born 25 October 1772
3.  Hans Jakob Schaffner born 18 July 1774
4.  Adam Schaffner born 23 July 1776
5.  Heinrich Schaffner born 3 December 1777
6.  Elisabeth Schaffner born 29 January 1779
7.  Christian Schaffner born 23 October 1780
8.  Anna Schaffner born 4 August 1782
9.  Eva Schaffner born 28 January 1784

I have not attempted to go back another generation.  The family register does not go back any further than this for this family.  If anyone has any information on this family in Anwil, please contact me.

Herman/Harman/Harmon Connections to Dauphin County

A previous blog post dated 10 August 2014 gave information on John Harman and his descendants but only gave the baptismal records for John and his son Hiram at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger, Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The previous blog post should be read for more information if anyone is interested in this family.  John Harman in his marriage to Lydia Bish in Jefferson County in 1854 gave his parents' names as Daniel and Elizabeth Harman and his birth place as Millersburgh, Dauphin County.  His first wife was Catharine Harman whose father was Jacob Harman.

Harman/Harmon is the same surname as Herman and its various spellings.  There were many Hermans in Upper Paxton Township and the adjacent townships of Lykens and Mifflin Township in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  Lykens Township was formed from Upper Paxton Township in 1810 and Mifflin Township was formed from parts of Upper Paxton Township and Lykens Township in 1819. 

An examination of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church records in Killinger, Upper Paxton Township, in Dauphin County and St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Mifflin Township, in Dauphin County reveals many Herman baptisms and a couple of Herman confirmations.  An examination of the estate records in Dauphin County shows only one estate record for a John Herman whose wife Ann was named administrator of his estate since he died intestate before 1787.  It also names three children under fourteen years of age:  Elisabeth, John, and Daniel.  All these children would have been born after 1773.  Deed indexes were examined for Herman with the first name of Daniel, John, and Jacob.  The pertinent deeds were then downloaded for further study.  It appears from the examination of the above records that there were three Herman men in Upper Paxton Township in the 1770's and 1780's with children:  John Herman, Jacob Herman, and David Herman.  Both John Herman and David Herman had a son named Daniel so it is not possible to determine which may have been the father of John Harman from the extant records.

It was possible however to determine how John Harman's wife Catharine Harman fit into the Herman family in Upper Paxton and surrounding townships in Dauphin County.  We know her father was Jacob Harman and that she had a sister Rachel and a brother Jacob from an Orphans Court record in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (Number 11, June Term 1842).  There are baptism records at the St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Mifflin Township, in Dauphin County for the four children of Jacob Herman (Catharine Harman's father) and his wife Maria:

Rahel born 17 July 1799; baptized 18 August 1799
Elisabeth  born 3 February 1801; baptized 22 March 1801
Jacob born 24 September 1803; baptized 2 January 1804
Catharina born 11 January 1808; baptized 23 March 1808

Jakob Hermann and A. Margaretha were the sponsors at the baptism of Rahel.  Jacob Hermann and wife Anna Margaretha's son and daughter , Johann George and Catharina were confirmed on May 31, 1789 at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger, Upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County.  Jacob Herman later transferred property to George Herman; to John Umholtz, his son-in-law; and to Jacob Herman, Jr. 

The father of John Harman's wife, Catharine Harman, was Jacob Herman, Junior and her grandfather was Jacob Herman, Senior.  She also had a brother Jacob Harman who appears in the 1850 census with his wife Hanna living next to John Harman.

It is likely that the three Herman men having children in the 1770's and 1780's in Upper Paxton Township (Jacob Herman, John Herman, and David Herman) were somehow related but it is not possible to determine how they are related from the records that were examined.  Since Dauphin County was formed in 1785 from Lancaster County, perhaps earlier records in Lancaster County might shed some light on their relationship.

The Orphans Court record (number 11, June Term 1842) in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania gives more information on Jacob Harman, the father of Catharine Harman.  Jacob Harman died on 19 February 1840 after he had entered into an agreement with James Kerr  on 7 January 1840 to sell him his property of 42 acres in Redbank Township, Armstrong County.  James Kerr was to pay him $160 and he was to receive a deed for the property but Jacob Harman died before this occurred.  The Orphans Court record lists the three children of Jacob Harman:  his daughter Racheal married to Henry Stopp; his son Jacob; and his daughter Catharine married to John Harman.  Since both daughters of Jacob Harman died before him, it also lists both his daughters' children.  Racheal's six children were Elias, Nathan, Susannah, Elizabeth, Henry, and Joseph, all minors living in the State of Ohio.  Catharine's seven children were Hiram, Levina, Anna, Urias [Uriah], Elizabeth, Sarah, and John residing in Redbank Township, Armstrong County.  The administrators of Jacob Harman's estate were his son, Jacob Harman, and his son-in-law, John Harman.  John Harman was appointed guardian for his children.  The Orphans Court ordered Jacob Harman's administrators on 23 September 1842 to execute a deed to James Kerr. 

I cannot find any further record for Henry Stopp or his children in the census records in Ohio and the Orphans Court records in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania do not give any further information.  If anyone has any further information on the Herman/ Harman/Harmon families, please contact me.  
     

 

Civil War Pension for William J. Harman/Harmon of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

I was at the National Archives in August and looked at the Civil War pension for William J. Harman/Harmon, a son of John Harman and Elizabeth Brooks (see previous blog post for John Harman).  The pension file contained a treasure trove of information on him and his wife, Mary Ann Mauk, and their five children.  

William J. Harman was in Company D, 107th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry from 2 September 1864 to 30 May 1865 during the Civil War.  He was shot through his left hip at Dabney's Mill, Virginia on 6 February 1865 and was in the hospital at Baltimore, Maryland and then York, Pennsylvania from where he was discharged.  Although he applied for an invalid pension on 21 March 1876, he never received a pension while he was living.  He was awarded a pension posthumously in June, 1879 ($2 per month from 1 June 1865 until his death on 8 October 1878).

William Harman and Mary Mauk were married on 30 March 1871 in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.  The original marriage certificate for him and his wife is in the pension file.  A copy of it is included here.

The pension file also contains the birth dates of their five children and affidavits by each midwife who was present at their births:

Bertha May Harman 5 January 1872
Kady Harman 22 August 1873
Martha Bell Harman 4 May 1875
Mary Ann Harman 24 May 1877
William M. Harman 15 March 1879

William J. Harman died 8 October 1878 at Mount Tabor in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania from diabetes mellitus.  His wife married Michael Boyer on 27 May 1882 in Armstrong Couny.  Michael Boyer was appointed guardian for the three youngest children of William and Mary Harman by the Jefferson County Court. They each received benefits on their father's Civil War pension from 4 September 1890 until they were 16 years old.

Michael Boyer died 22 April 1911 and his wife Mary applied for a pension as the widow of William Harman.  She was not eligible for a pension since William Harman's death was not service connected and William and Mary Harman were not married while he was in the Civil War.  The pension file also gives the death date of Michael Boyer's first wife as 25 March 1881.

The pension file also contains an affidavit by Lydia Harman, John Harman's third wife, that states William J. Harman is her stepson.  This provides evidence that John Harman is his father.  The pension file also contains affidavits from other relatives and neighbors of William and Mary Harman. 

If you agree to copy the complete Civil War pension file at the National Archives, they give you a copy on a CD or your flash drive.  It is then available in the National Archives catalog for anyone who wants to look at it.  William Harman's complete Civil War pension file is available online in the National Archives catalog.  A single page can be downloaded as a jpeg file or the whole file can be downloaded as a pdf file to your computer's hard drive.  It is easier to search for it under the name of William Harman's son, William M. Harman, in the National Archives catalog.
 

Jacob Himes of Armstrong and Elk County, Pennsylvania

There were four Jacob Himes living in Armstrong County in the early 1800's.  The Jacob Himes who we are going to discuss was born on 9 June 1807 to Johannis (John) Heym and Elizabeth and was baptized on 6 September 1807 at St. Jacob's Lutheran and Reformed Church (Howarter's) in Upper Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  The baptismal sponsors were Jacob Heym and his wife Catharina.  Himes was spelled Heym in the baptismal record.  

Jacob Himes was named administrator of the estate for Elizabeth Himes (widow of John Himes), late of Redbank Township (Armstrong County) on 25 February 1852.  He signed a release on 27 April 1852 in Northumberland County acknowledging receipt of $180.26 from Frederick Kehler, executor of Leonard Kaufmann's estate.  Elizabeth, wife to John Heim, was named in her father Leonard Kauffman's will dated 30 October 1830.  An account dated 20 April 1832 filed in Northumberland County by Leonard Kauffman's executor shows that John Heim received $53.40 3/4 in right of his wife's legacy (formerly Elizabeth Kaufmann). 

The above two paragraphs establish Jacob Himes' birth date and parents' names.  Jacob Himes enlisted in the Civil War in Company B, 78th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on 14 August 1861 when he was 54 years old. He was transferred to Company D, 2nd Volunteer Reserve Corps after being hospitalized on 28 December 1863 for four months at a general hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.  He was discharged on 14 October 1864.  He filed for a Civil War pension in 1883 but it was rejected.  He filed again in 1890 and it was approved in 1892 retroactive to 25 July 1890 for $12 a month.  George Nolf was appointed a committee of the person and estate of Jacob Himes during the November Term, 1892 in Elk County, Pennsylvania after an inquisition in the lunacy of Jacob Himes of Horton Township, Elk County.  Jacob Himes died 20 August 1896.  The certificate number for Jacob Himes' Civil War pension is 745,392.

Jacob Himes' Civil War pension file provides information on his children and wives since his "third" wife filed for a widow's pension after his death.  His son, Adam Himes, wrote a letter to the pension office stating that Sarah Himes was receiving an "illegal pension" since his mother (Jacob Himes' first wife) was still living when his father, Jacob Himes, married Sarah.  This resulted in depositions from his widow and children.

The following information was taken from the depositions given by Jacob Himes' children in his widow's pension file. The children who gave depositions in 1898 were Christiana Beck, Adam Himes and his wife Rosanna, Matthias Himes, Sarah Jane Snyder, and Jemina M. Vasbinder.  According to the depositions, their parents were Jacob Himes and Esther Ann "Hetty" Mohney/Mony.  Esther died the 6 May 1887 but there was no stone to mark her grave in North Freedom, Pennsylvania.   Jacob Himes married two women while Esther was still living, a widow named Nulf/Nulph and Sarah C. Yale.  Jacob Himes returned home to his wife Esther in Armstrong County after the Civil War but only lived with her a year or less when he deserted her.  

Jacob Himes appears in the 1880 census in Horton Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania living with Fannie who is listed as his wife.  This is probably the widow referred to as Nulf/Nulph in the depositions.  He is living in Redbank Township Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the 1850 census and 1860 censuses.  He is living with Catharine in the 1850 census and Hetty in the 1860 census.  Are Catharine and Hetty the same person?  All his children state their mother is Esther Ann "Hetty" Mohney/Mony in their depositions.

Sarah C. Himes applied for a widow's pension in September 1896 after Jacob Himes' death and received a pension of $8 a month until
she was dropped from the pension rolls at the end 1898 since she was not his legal widow.  She stated she was married to Jacob Himes on 20 August 1883 by G. W. Clinton, J.P., in Brockport, Elk County, Pennsylvania.  Her former husband, Daniel Yale, died 26 April 1878. She and her first husband were married in March, 1845 in Porter Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.  She reapplied for a widow's pension in 1916 and would have been eligible due to a change in the law but died in 1917 before she ever received a pension again. The certificate number for Sarah Himes widow's pension is 454,105.

Jacob Himes children:

Christena Beck (c.1839 to 1840-1902) married Mathias Beck (1833-1912)
Christena Beck gave her age as 58 years of age in her deposition on 25 August 1898 that is included in the pension file of Jacob Himes' widow.  This would make her birth date about 1839 to 1840. She was born sometime between 1835 and 1839 based on her age in the 1860 through the 1900 censuses.  Her tombstone gives her birth date as 1834.  Her age in her deposition is probably the most accurate.

Matthew Himes (c.1843 to 1844-1911) married Catherine Butler (1848-1916)
Matthias/Matthew Himes gave his age as 54 years in his deposition on 25 August 1898 that is included in the pension file of Jacob Himes' widow.  This would make his birth date about 1843 to 1844.  His death certificate gives his birth date as 1845 and his birth date calculated from his date of death and age on his tombstone is also 1845.  His age in his deposition is probably the most accurate.

Adam Himes (1845-1915) married Rose Ann (1848-1905)
His birth date is 1846 on his death certificate and 1843 on his tombstone.  Adam Himes gave his age as 53 years in his deposition on 25 August 1898 that is in the pension file of Jacob Himes' widow.  This would make his birth date about 1844 to 1845.  The 1900 census gives his birth date as May 1845.  This is consistent with his deposition.
 
Sarah Jane Snyder (1861-1931) married Amos Snyder (1854-1931)
Sarah Ann Snyder gave her age as 36 years of age in her deposition on 25 August 1898 that is included in the pension file of Jacob Himes' widow.  This would make her birth date about 1861 to 1862.  She signed her name Mrs. Sa. A. Snyder.  This is consistent with the birth date of 1861 on her tombstone.  Her birth date of 1859 on her death certificate is probably incorrect.

Jemima Minerva Jenkins (1865-1936)
Jemima gave her birth date as 25 September 1865 in her deposition on 25 August 1898 that is in the pension file of Jacob Himes' widow.  The 1860 birth date on her death certificate and tombstone is probably incorrect.  She also stated in her deposition that she had been married to an Andrew Hays and had a child by him.  She gave her deposition under the name of Jemima Vasbinder and signed her name J. M. Vasbinder.  The death certificate for her son, Clarence E. Vasbinder, gives his father's name as Jim Vasbinder.  She is listed as the wife of David Jenkins in the 1900 and 1910 census and has 4 children by him.  She is listed as Jenne in the 1900 census and Minerva or a corrupted spelling of it in the 1910 through the 1930 censuses.  Her death certificate has Mrs. Minerva Jenkins on it.

Jacob also had the following children listed in the 1850 and 1860 censuses but there is no further record of them:  William, John, Susana, and Lavina.