The Marriage Record of Albert Francis CHAPLIN, Sr. and Emma Alice LYTON

Recently, I discovered that Ancestry had added the Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880 - 1937 database to its collections. While I don't have Iowa ancestors, my children do on their paternal grandmother's side. I was hoping to confirm marriage information for their great-great-grandparents, Albert Francis CHAPLIN, Sr. and Emma Alice LYTON. A family history written by an aunt of their grandmother lists Iowa as their marriage place [1], but no date is given. Their eldest child was born in 1892 in Surprise, Butler Co., Nebraska, but the next two children were both born in Fremont Co., Iowa [2], as was Emma [3], so I figured that was the likely location of their marriage.

A year and a half ago, my children's aunt received the Chaplin Family Bible [4] from a relative, which gave Albert and Emma's marriage date, but not the location:

I was able to locate the marriage record on Ancestry [5] with no difficulty:

The record is written across the top two lines of the register. I've enlarged and cropped the image to facilitate reading it on this blog. You can click on any of the images in this blog to view an enlargement; then use your "Back" button to return to this post.

As you can see, both Albert and Emma were living in Percival, Fremont Co., Iowa and that is where they were married on 18 March 1891 (confirming the Bible entry) by the Justice of the Peace, D. Lumm. It is interesting to me that no witness names were recorded on this register page for any of the marriages recorded here. That's too bad; I would have liked to have known who the witnesses for their marriage were.

From other research I've done, I know that their parents' names were not quite recorded in full or with accuracy here. Albert's parents were Gideon CHAPLIN and Susan W. HAINLINE. Emma's parents were Henry LYTON and Maria(h) Emily DAILEY. Henry's name was an alias. He was born George TURK in Ottawa, Ontario and came to the U.S. to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. He changed his name at that time, although it is not clear exactly why.

Sources:

     1. Southard, Velma Chaplin, The History of the Chaplin Family as of December 1970, p. 4.
     2. Ibid., p. 2.
     3. Ibid., p. 4.
     4. Albert and Emma (Lyton) Chaplin Family Bible, 1867-1922; The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (undated, no publication information); privately owned by Mary Duncan [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Washington State, 2015. Dates from 1867 to 1919 appear to have been written in the same hand and at the same time. One marriage entry, dated 15 February 1922, appears to be written in the same hand, but at a later time than the other entries.
     5. Fremont County, Iowa, Return of Marriages, 1880-1922, vol. 36, p. 483, Albert Chaplin-Emma Lyton, 18 March 1891; digital images, Ancestry.com, “Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1937” (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8823 : accessed 24 November 2016).


Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Ancestry.com, and as such, receive compensation for products advertised on and linked from this blog.

Surname Saturday: DAILEY

The DAILEY name is generally considered to be of Irish origin, but immigration records at Ancestry also point to Great Britain and Germany as ports of departure. Due to lack of my research on this family line, it is unknown at this point from where my children's DAILEY roots originated. Alternate spellings include DAILY, DALY, and DALEY. If Irish, the origins are an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dálaigh, meaning "a descendant of Dálach," a personal name based on dál (modern: dáil), which itself means "meeting" or "assembly." The Republic of Ireland's parliamentary body is called the Dáil.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #54 - William DAILEY (c. 1794 - bef. 1880) - a variety of records indicate William's birthplace to be Indiana, Ohio, or Kentucky. In 1826, he married Hulda REDENBAUGH (c. 1808 - 1890), daughter of German immigrants. It's not known where they married, but the first of their 14 known children were born in Rushville, Rush Co., Indiana. In 1840, the family was found in Scott Twp., Montgomery Co., Indiana, and by 1849 they were located in Green Twp., Parke Co., Indiana. In 1851, however, they were in Wapelo Co., Iowa and in 1853, Fremont Co., Iowa. More research is definitely required on this family group!

Ahnentafel #27 - Mariah Emily DAILEY (1849 - 1935) - born in Parke Co., Indiana, she appears to be the youngest surviving child of her parents. In 1868 in Thurmon, Fremont Co., Iowa, she married George TURK, a.k.a. Henry LYTON (c. 1836 - 1874). They had two children and Mariah was pregnant with the third when George/Henry died. Mariah then married German immigrant John Christopher KLINDER (1850 - 1933) the following year. They had six more children and eventually relocated to Hydro, Caddo Co., Oklahoma, where they lived out the rest of their days.

Ahnentafel #13 - Emma Alice LYTON (1874 - 1959) - born in Thurman, Fremont Co., Iowa, she was raised by her mother and step-father in that community with her six younger half-siblings. About 1891, she married Albert Francis CHAPLIN (1868 - 1946) in Iowa and begin a life of six children and constant migration: Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, with travels back to Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. She died in Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon.

Ahnentafel # 6 - Forrest "Frank" L. CHAPLIN (1901 - 1977) - born in Yankton, Yankton Co., South Dakota, he came out West in a covered wagon as a boy with his family. He married Leona Mary MARTIN (1906 - 1993) in 1925 in Vancouver, Clark Co., Washington. They had three children. Frank died in Othello, Adams Co., Washington.

Ahnentafel #3 - my children's paternal grandmother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - my children's father (living)

More About the DAILEY Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): DAILEY ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about DAILEY ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned DAILEY photos

My Children's DAILEY Immigration Trail:

IN, OH or KY > Rush Co., IN > Montgomery Co., IN > Parke Co., IN > Wapelo Co., IA > Fremont Co., IA > Butler Co., NE > Fremont Co., IA > Clay Co., SD > Yankton Co., SD > Prowers Co., CO > Cheyenne Co., KS > Payette Co., ID > Clackamas Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Yakima Co., WA > Pierce Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Wordless Wednesday: DAILEY Hunters

Dailey, William Jasper (at right) and son. C. 1910 - 1920. Original privately held by Jodi [--?--], [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,]. 2008. Digital copy privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington. 2009.

A Civil War Soldier: Pvt. William Jasper DAILEY (1841 - 1920)

How Related: Brother of my husband's 2nd-great-grandmother, Mariah Emily DAILEY.

Born: 24 March 1841 in Indiana (probably in Scott Twp., Montgomery Co.)

Parents: William DAILEY and Huldah REDENBAUGH

Siblings: Anna Margaret (1827 - 1917), Charles (b. 1829), Elizabeth (1834 - 1906), Catherine (b. 1836), Susan (b. c. 1838), Nancy (b. c. 1840), Louisa Jane (b. c. 1842), Samuel N. (b. 1844), and Marah Emily DAILEY (1849 - 1935). There also appear to be at least two females born between 1824 and 1828 who died in infancy.

Married: Rebecca Margaret HATCHER (1844 - 1926) on 6 November 1859 in Rockport, Atchison Co., Missouri

Children: Andrew Isaiah (1861 - 1926), Margaret Jane (b. c. 1866), William Addison (b. c. 1867), Joseph Ephram (b. c. 1869), Huldah Jane (b. c. 1872), Peter (b. c. 1873), David Jasper (b. 1875), Rebecca Jane (b. c. 1878), Hester Ellen (b. 1885) and Ted DAILEY (b. 1888).

---

Source: Civil War Pension Index Cards of William J. Dailey. Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900. National Archives and Records Administration. Publication T289. Digital image purchased at Footnote [http://www.footnote.com/].

Enlisted: 10 October 1861, probaby at Sidney, Fremont Co., Iowa. Enlisted in Co. F, 15th Regiment Infantry, private on 18 November 1861.

Side Served: Union

History of Unit: 15th Iowa Infantry

Discharged: 16 December 1864

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Biography or Information of Interest: William lived all over the Midwest, moving often during his lifetime until he settled down in Custer County, Oklahoma by 1910. Born in Indiana, he lived in Iowa, married in Missouri (where his wife was born), and lived in Kansas and Oklahoma. In each of these states, he can be found in different communities over time. While I don't know much about William or the reasons for his migrations, I do know that his sister Mariah, my husband's ancestor, also ended up in Oklahoma, as did their brother Samuel. It seems this family was typical of many American families in that they migrated to new locations together.

Unlike the two previous Civil War soldiers I've featured, William lived a long life and appears to have been disability-free. He received a pension from the federal government for his service, which his wife continued to get after his death until her own.

Died: 20 April 1905 in Weatherford, Custer Co., Oklahoma

Source: Tombstone of William J. and Rebecca Dailey. Greenwood Cemetery, Weatherford, Custer Co., Oklahoma. Photographed by Anna Hayes, photo volunteer for Find A Grave [http://www.findagrave.com/]. 2007.

Buried: Plot B, Greenwood Cemetery, Weatherford, Custer Co., Oklahoma

My Genealogy Gift List: Victoria's Secret? Never!

The other day, my 16-year-old daughter and I were watching television together when a commercial for Victoria's Secret aired during the break. The gist of the message was "every woman wants Victoria's Secret for the holidays." I rolled my eyes and said to Missy, "Not this woman. Give me death certificates or census records any day!"

As I thought it over, I realized that there were actually a few Secrets I'd like, none of them having to do with women named Victoria, however. For instance, there's Mariah Emily DAILEY and her daughter, Emma Alice LYTON, my children's father's 2nd-great- and great-grandmothers, respectively. Just exactly where were they when the 1880 Federal Census was being taken? They should have been in Iowa, specifically in Thurman, Freman County. Mariah's first husband, George TURK, assumed the name Henry LYTON, and immigrated to the U.S. from Ontario to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. After his death, Mariah married German immigrant John KLINDER in 1875. By 1880, Mariah and John had two children, Nancy Florence and Laura Luella, as well as Emma and Agnes LYTON from her marriage to Henry. Mariah's Secret or Emma's Secret would be great gifts for Christmas!

And in my own ancestry, I have yet to figure out Mary Jane's Secret...Mary Jane FREDENBURG, that is. My 2nd-great-grandmother was 8 years old in 1880, yet she and her six-year-old brother, George Franklin FREDENBURG, are missing from the Greenwood Township, St. Clair County, Michigan home of her widowed mother Cornelia (McCLELLAN) FREDENBURG, younger brother William Anthony FREDENBURG (age 3 1/2), older half-sister Sarah E. FREDENBURG (12) and paternal grandparents Anthony and Hannah (FOX) FREDENBURG. Can't find them anywhere in Michigan, or the U.S., for that matter.

I did get Helen's Secret and Rena's Secret for Christmas last year. My children's father's paternal grandmother, Helen Mary WESTABY, and her mother, Rena (LERFALD) WESTABY, went missing, along with father George Rice WESTABY, III, during the 1920 Federal Census. I thought I had figured it out when I read George's obituary a few years ago. It stated that he had come from Montana to Washington State in 1920. "Aha!" I thought. "That's why I couldn't find them...they were moving, en route across the Northwest." I was right...sort of. I was given some significant missing details by my children's paternal grandfather during our 2005 Christmas visit. He told me that his grandfather George had been employed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in Montana, along with George's father and brothers. Seems George and his brothers made a little extra on the side by selling brass they stole from the railroad. George apparently sold to the wrong person, and managed to discover his mistake shortly before his impending arrest, making a midnight move with Rena and little Helen west to the Yakima Valley, where they likely hid out at the home of George's cousin, Charles WESTABY. If they weren't exactly in transit when the census was taken, it is certain that neither Charles nor his wife would have divulged to a government employee (i.e. census enumerator) that they were harboring a fugitive from the law!

And I did uncover another Mary Jane's Secret this year...I think. Mary Jane BARBER, my great-grandmother and daughter of Mary Jane FREDENBURG mentioned above, was married many times. In fact, she apparently was married so many times, even her family members may not have known the exact count. My records show she first married my great-grandfather, Howard Merkel YORK, when she was only 14 years old, in 1924. That unhappy union ended three years later. Mary Jane later married her step-brother, Archie Louis KELLER, when both were in their thirties. After that divorce, Mary Jane married what we had believed to be her third husband, Jay DUNLAP. It was my searching for Mary Jane in the 1930 Federal Census that led to my theory that there was another husband between Howard and Archie. Since I couldn't seem to find Mary Jane, I looked for her older brother Jim. I found a man with his name, the right age, birthplace and parents' birthplaces in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Coincidentally, there's also a Mary Jane KUPSH in Manitowoc, age off by only one year, born in Michigan, parents born in Michigan. Ordering Arthur KUPSH's marriage record to Mary Jane should clarify if this is my great-grandmother. Interestingly, I asked Uncle Jim's widow if she had ever heard that her late husband and sister-in-law had lived in Wisconsin. She said no; however, Jim's widow came late into the family, as a second marriage for both Jim and herself. She may not have known Mary Jane's Secret.

So a few Secrets uncovered...yet many more to be found! So put away those laces, satins and silks...give me dusty documents, faded photographs (but not too faded!), or samplers stitched with my ancestress' maiden name instead:

My genealogy gift list for myself (and for you!) is to uncover a few more family secrets in 2007...a few more surprises, a few more times exclaiming "so THAT'S where they were!" and many more genealogy happy dances to jig!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. When I originally published this post at my old blog site, Lee left the following comment on December 18, 2006:

Love your post! Who has a need for Victoria Secret when there are juicier secrets out there just waiting to be uncovered?

~ Lee