“A” versus “The” . . . Poll Lists . . . Mary Ann Baldwin Potpourri . . .

Poll lists. Two elections held in 1855 and 1856 record a George Mathews voting for seats on the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives in Lawrence, District 1. On the 1855 list, a William Mathews is registered immediately prior to George on line item 226. Two guys named Mathews registered to vote and by coincidence they are listed consecutively on a non-alphabetized poll list? Coincidence? Maybe. At the very least, William Mathews is another lead to pursue. For now all it confirms is that a George Mathews was in Lawrence in 1855 and 1856. Still, I cannot yet prove if he is the George Mathews, the same George Mathews who was husband to Charlotte, and the father of George W. Mathews. No way to link the poll list with the marriage record, birth dates, or the widow’s pension certificate. Changing A’s to The’s; confirming, excluding, tracing, documenting . . . that is the purpose here.

Mary Ann B. Potpourri. I’ve written to the Colorado State Archives requesting the death certificate of Mary Ann Baldwin. Colorado death certificates sometimes include the names of the deceased’s mother and father, and their birthplace. If that information is included on the certificate, I’d have George’s parents’ names. Wouldn’t that be too easy?

 
Following up on her obituary and the mention of the, "first battle among the whites," led me to consult Alice Nichols' Bleeding Kansas. The Battle of the Wakarusa is the first battle noted in that book, but neither she nor the governor is mentioned. I then found an 1895 book authored by Richard Cordley, A History of Lawrence, Kansas: From the First Settlement to the Close of the Rebellion. Nothing specific in there either. I did find an illustration of Lawrence which notes a ferry service run by the Baldwin Brothers. I remembered the 1860 census which records William and Mary Ann living in Lawrence; he claims his occupation as, “Ferryman.” 

So they were in Lawrence, or what would be Lawrence, very early; and although I don’t have that one document that proves, alone, that George was with them, I can feel satisfied knowing that a number of other documents suggest he was there: poll lists, sworn affidavits, ad hoc marriage certificates, a wife, and child.

Chasing George through Mary Ann . . .

Looking at the 1880 census. I see that Mary Ann claims her father was born in Ohio, her mother in Georgia. These are among the first clues about her and George’s parents. I’m skeptical, of course, as this is the only evidence of her parents origins. Additional lines of data are preferable, but it is another point to research.

Nothing new to report on George J. Mathews. Let me again summarize what I know about him. First, he was born in 1824 in Meigs County, Ohio. Second, in 1845 he married Emeline Watt in DeWitt County, Illinois. Together, they had four children: Albert, Sarah, Mary, and Amanda. Third, about 1857 George marries Charlotte Shuler in Lawrence, Kansas. They have a son, George W. in 1856. Yes, I know the dates show that George W. was born before his parents were married. This probably wasn’t true, but I’m following what the data says rather than speculating . . . for now. Fourth, in January 1862, George J. and perhaps his son, Albert, volunteer for the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery.  In May 1862, George dies from pneumonia at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His place of interrment is unknown.

George J. has a sister, Mary Ann, who married William Baldwin in McLean County, Illinois in 1837. William also served with the 1^st Kansas Battery, dying in 1863 from wounds inflicted from an accidental shell explosion.

As dead men leave few clues, I’ve latched on to Mary Ann. In hopes that she left some paper trail that will lead me to her parents, and the grave of her dear brother and my great-great-great grandfather George J.

This past week, with the help of my collaborator in Oregon, I discovered the transcription of an 1895 Rocky Mountain News obituary on Find-A-Grave.com. While the dates do not exactly match, I do believe that this is the same Mary Ann Baldwin that calls George J. Mathews her brother. Here is an excerpt from that obituary:

“Mrs. Baldwin with her husband settled in Illinois in 1832 when that country was part of the wild West, moving in 1853 to Missouri, and two years later to Kansas. She participated in the first battle between the whites in Kansas, a distinction of which she was justly proud.

Ex-Governor Robinson, while attempting to remove Mrs. Baldwin's tent from a section of land where Lawrence now is received a slight injury at her hands. During the late war she was taken prisoner by Quantrel's (sic) band a few miles from Lawrence, but was shortly after returned by a strong guard.

Mrs. Baldwin was the mother of ten children, all of whom are living and were present at her demise. She also had three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.”

The article notes that she was buried at Riverside Cemetery. A trip to Denver, Colorado, the Denver Public Library, and Riverside Cemetery is in order to obtain this article and photograph her headstone. Additionally, there is a ton of research that can be done from the contents of the above article. Which battle was the “first battle,” in Kansas? Can her imprisonment by Quantrill’s men be verified? Again, pursuing these clues may lead me to George J.

Mary Ann and the Borderless Puzzle . . .

Her husband, William Baldwin, became a corporal in the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery, but never came home from the war. He was killed by an accidental shell explosion on January 15, 1863 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The where-abouts of his grave are unknown.

Their story begins in Illinois. Mary Ann was raised in the household of Jonathan Farmer. Why was it necessary for Mary Ann to live away from her parents? Did her parents die? Were they unable to care for their children and sent Mary, and perhaps others, to live with friends or neighbors? No evidence to suggest either so far. And there is no suggestion that the Farmer’s took in her brother George.  

Mary Ann and William were married in McLean County, Illinois on November 28, 1837. The census tracks their migration from McLean County to Mason County, Illinois, and then to Lawrence, Kansas by 1860.

No evidence of George J. Mathews however; although his marriage to Charlotte Shuler places him in Kansas as early as 1857. In fact, the only evidence linking Mary Ann and George as siblings comes from a sworn affidavit from his Widow’s Certificate File (WC102860), dated October 22, 1886.

In that document, she testifies that she is the brother of George J., was present at the birth of his son George W., and further states that George J. had never been previously married. Never previously married.

Of course, this fully contradicts the other 50+ pages of the file in which Emeline Mathews testifies that she had been his wife since 1845, and mother of his children. Excuse me gals, but one of you is lying or terribly, terribly misinformed. Or your lawyer is lying for you to secure the deceased's pension.

Mary Ann moved on to Denver with some of her children. The 1880 census shows them living in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Mary Ann’s last name is listed as Britton, perhaps in error. She died about 1893, probably in the Denver area. Still, no indication of what became of her dear brother, George; or if he is truly the husband of Emeline Mathews and the father of her children. 

 
In an ongoing effort to clarify and define the Mathews lineage, I’m collaborating with a fellow genealogist in Corvallis, Oregon. He is a descendant of a Jonathan Mathews, who we can place in 1850 Illinois, living in the same township as George and Emeline. His research notes the Farmer name, as well as the Lash and Funk names, commonly sprinkled along the Mathews line. Many pieces and many possible combinations . . . .