FAMILY HISTORY SEARCH 2 YEARS LATER

Permelia Minnis Roberts, daughter of Edward "Ned" Minnis and Duphena Bass Minnis, wife of William Doral Roberts. She was born in 1861, in Oakland, Illinois.
Charles Edward Minnis, born in 1869, and is the son of Edward Minnis and Duphena Bass Minnis. He married Francis McPherson and Capitola Taylor.

+ This is a picture of Edward and Duphena Bass Minnis's daughters. L- Jerusha Minnis Bowen-wife of Thompson James Bown, Permilia Minnis Roberts-wife of William Doral Roberts, Fannie Tyler- wife of Milton Tyler, and Jenette Minnis Walden-wife of Simeon Walden.

This is a picture of William Doral Roberts, born in 1852, in Linton, Vigo, IN.

Wow, it's been two years since I've updated this blog. A lot has happened in my quest to search out my family history. Many of the questions I posed in the beginning have been answered. I now have over 4,000 people in my Ancestry.com family tree. Hmm.

Edward Minnis, my 3 greats grandpa whose story absolutely drove me crazy. I never found his father, but I think the mystery of his mother has been solved. It came from that 1860 census, the one that at first I couldn't find because he was not only listed as being white, but he also not listed in the home of his wife, Duphena "Emily" Bass and their children. Instead, I found him in the household of Melissa Olmstead and Lucy Dupee. Also listed, were Melissa's children by her husband, William, and Lucy (Minnis) Manuel. Lucy, I had earlier determined was the sister of Edward. She'd married George Manuel, but why wasn't she listed in her husband's home with her children?

That's where help came in. Two fantastic women helped me find the answer. It turns out that Melissa Olmstead, born in 1810 in Kentucky was the daughter of Lucy Dupee, born in 1790 and Edward Dupee, born 1787. Melissa and her mother were listed in Edward Dupee's will. I think the reason Edward and Lucy Minnis were in Lucy Dupee's household was because they were the grandchildren of, and named after, Lucy and Edward Dupee. And Melissa was their mother or aunt. I wish I had a time machine and could go back and ask, but I can't. But given that these families remained together in Brushy Creek from the 1840's to 1879 when the emmigrated to Kansas, I believe they were tied by blood.

Another dead end that chewed on me for a long time was that of Archable Roberts (father of William Doral Roberts). I traced his wife Evaline to her father Joseph Artis. His father, Archibald Artis, who fought in the civil war and all the way back to Hester Artis, born in 1687. Her mother was Katherine Anderson, born in 1670. Katherine Anderson and her children were freed by John Fulcher. Archable, born in 1814, was descended from the Roberts family but who his parent were was a mystery until this year. Again, I had the help of a distant cousin. She found his parents free papers. His father was Benjamin Roberts and Sally Archer Roberts. Benjamin's dad was Ishmael Roberts, born in 1750, and his grandmother was Margaret Roberts, born in 1725. Sally Archer was the daughter of Keziah Corbin and Thomas Archer.

Many thanks go to Paul Heinegg for his research on these Free African American Families in Colonial North Carolina and Virgina.

Asiatic Cholera devastates pioneers in Coles County, Indiana in 1851

In 1851, Asiatic Cholera devastated Coles County, Illinois. According to an article written in the Charleston Courier on July 31, 1851 , over 250 people were stricken with the disease, and according to physicians of the day, "In nearly every fatal case, if not all, the predisposing cause has been traced to imprudence in diet, and more especially the eating of young potatoes, beans, cucumbers and other like matter." This is as good a reason as any my five-year-old can come up with for not eating his vegetables. I have provided the link for the full article below.

The Cholera and its Ravages at genealogy trails

The Cholera epidemic does explain the absence of so many of the settlers found in the 1850 census, including Elizabeth Ann Minis and the two elder children. Since I have had such difficulty in tracking Edward and Emily, I decided to focus on the other African-American settlers within this small community of New Albany. It appears that the majority of the elders within the community were born in Virginia, the second generation born in Kentucky, and George Manuel and Elizabeth (unknown maiden) Peyton were born in North Carolina.

I focused today's search on George W. Manuel, since he appears to be a leader in the community and he is also married to Lucy Minnis. I was hoping to find some trace of her paternity; however, I made a interesting discovery. In the 1910 census, George W. had listed his mother as being born in Ireland. As stated before, family legend has Edward as being of Irish decent and I wondered if perhaps Edward and George were related.

That's when the ick factor kicked in. Since I had decided last night (no, sleep has not made me change my mind only hard evidence will do) that Lucy and Edward were siblings, I am emphatically hopeful the "kissin' cousins" scenario does not apply in this situation. Sure my reaction stems from modern day bias but admit it, kinda yucky right!

I have listed the names of some of the settlers for those of you who are interested: Lucy Dupree, Isom Briant (Bryant), George W. Manuel, Zachariah Bowen, Sophia and J. Fuller, Joseph and Sarah Martin, Lewis, Sophia, and Andrew James, Melissa Olmstead, Edward and Emily Minis (Minnis), William and Keziah Stern, H.B. Owens, and H. Brown.

Several of these surnames were listed in Paul Heinegg's book Free African Americans of Virginia and North Carolina. However, thus far I have been unable to trace these individuals to anyone listed in his online book. I have placed an order to buy his book, but it was out of print and they said they would notify me when it is in. I eagerly await the day.