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.
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.
My father, Jacob Conner Wolfe, was a direct descendant of John Wolf of Jefferson County through his son Daniel Wolfe. I had his Y-DNA tested in April, 2012 through Family Tree DNA using a 37 marker test. He only had one match on the 37 marker test with a genetic distance of two. I contacted his match but we did not share a common ancestor. His genetic match had not traced their Wolf ancestry beyond the late 1800's. This is where I have a request of anyone with Wolf ancestry reading this blog. Does anyone know of a direct male descendant of John Wolf through one of his other sons: John, Henry, Jacob, and Samuel? It would be helpful to have Y-DNA testing done by another direct male descendant of John Wolf.
I had autosomal DNA testing done through Ancestry.com which matches you with cousins sharing your DNA. So far, the only matches I have with any Wolf cousins are through John Wolf's son Daniel. Hopefully, descendants of John Wolf's other children will have their DNA tested. This can be either male or female descendants.
If anyone is interested, I will be glad to share my father's Y-DNA results with you. Unfortunately, my father died on 3 June 2014 so privacy is no longer an issue.
