In the post with the transcription of the Henry William Smith Family Bible, the record of Kathaleen Smith and Bryan Hefner's marriage incorrectly had the date as March 17, 1938. The correct date is April 17, 1938. Thanks MMM for pointing that out. I've edited the original post to note the discrepancy, so those that might want to copy the dates from that post will be informed.

I'm going to share some info that MIGHT be helpful concerning Catharine Amarella Wilson's parents. I'm just throwing this out with the hope that someone might be able to find conclusive evidence that these documents either do or don't apply to Catharine's parents. I know this has been one of those stumbling blocks in tracing our family roots.

First, it is the unofficial position of the family that Catharine's parents were Thomas Wilson and Mary Chesta or Christy. As far as I know there is no documents to substantiate that. Perhaps this info was passed down verbally, from generation to generation. Any thoughts on that?

What we do know is that Frank Michael Smith and Catherine Amarella Wilson were married in Monroeville, Allen Co, IN on 11/4/1869 (Early Marriages of Allen County, Indiana, 1849-1874, Vol. II, compiled by Josephine Crabill Ehle, published by Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter N.S.D.A.R., Fort Wayne, Indiana) and with the date substantiated by the Marriage Records in the Schmidt Family Bible (Henry William Smith Bible) p. 1 “Family Record, Marriages: Frank M. Schmitt & Catharine A. Schmitt, Nov. 4th, 1869”

In the 1870 Census of Monroeville, Allen Co, IN:
Wilson, Mary, age 51, b. in PA
---------, Martha D., age 11, b. in OH
---------, William L., age 9, b. in OH
---------, Nancy C., age 7, b. in OH

If we accept that this is Catharine (Wilson) Schmidt's mother and children, we might posit from this that Thomas died between 1862 and 1870 (since he is missing from census and youngest child was born 1862-1863), perhaps a civil war casualty, that daughters Mary, Catharine, Allethea, Sabina have left the nest, that perhaps Mary, Thomas's widow moved to Monroeville after his death to live near a grown child

In the 1860 Census of Crawford Twp, Coshocton Co, OH:
Wilson, Thomas, age 42, farm laborer, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 39, b. in PA
---------, Cath., age 13, b. in OH
---------, Allethea, age 12, b. in OH
---------, Sabina, age 10, b. in OH
---------, Martha, age 1, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 17, Domestic, b. in OH

In the 1850 Census of White Eyes Twp, Coshocton Co, OH:
Wilson, Thomas, age 32, laborer, b. in OH
---------, Mary, age 28, b. in PA
---------, Harvey, age 10, b. in OH
---------, Mary Ann, age 8, b. in OH
---------, Catharine, age 4, b. in OH
---------, Ann, age 3, b. in OH
---------, Olivia, age 11/12, b. in OH

Next I present documents that may provide insight into the marriage of Thomas and Mary Wilson.
Since I found them living in Coshocton Co, OH in 1850, with a child 10 years old, I assumed they may have been married there around 1839. I was unable to find a marriage record in Coshocton Co, but after seeing a family tree that suggested that they were Thomas Wilson and Mary Christy married in Holmes Co in 1846 I got thinking. What if Harvey and Mary Ann were children from a previous marriage? Nothing from the info I had would argue against that possibility. Also, Holmes County is just to the north of Coshocton Co. So I looked for other marriage records for Thomas Wilson prior to 1846. I found:
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Margaret Jane McCaughey, 3/5/1840
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Sarah Jane Boyd, 4/3/1841
Holmes Co, OH: Thomas Wilson married Mary Christy, 3/5/1846

Could it be that Thomas was married twice, or even three times, and that our ancestor, Mary Chesta/Christy was step-mother to Thomas's first 2 children?

Interestingly, there is an 1840 Census, Holmes Co, OH that has a Thomas Wilson, age 20-30 and a female age 15-20, with no other children. Possibly, our Thomas's first wife?
Also an 1840 Census record in Coshocton Co, OH for a Henry Christy with daughters the right age for one of them to have been Mary.

If you want to look at the documents I can email a copy to you as I keep a digital copy of all the records I find.

Next time I'll delve into the little bit I've learned about two of Catharine (Wilson) Smith's sisters that may also help in putting the Wilson pieces together.

I hate retractions, but sometimes it happens. So hold the phone on Jacob Demaris. Seems he married a Martha A. Kauffman, not Martha Wilson. I'll try to slow down on making assumptions

In my 3/29 post I mentioned that I was trying to figure out who Martha Demaris was that appears in the 1900 Census with Frank and Catharine Smith, and listed as sister-in-law. Mom comes through again. She found a Jacob B. Demaris in the General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, in which a Martha A. Demaris sought a widow's pension for his service in the K 59 Ohio Infantry after Jacob's death in 1916.
So I asked Mom, why sister Martha might have been living with the Smith's in 1900. She posited that since Catharine had lost a leg, perhaps Martha had come to stay and help during her convalescence. We don't really know when she lost her leg, but know it was later in her life. A life crisis like that could account for an extended stay that would have put her there during the census.

Was wondering why I was getting no comments on my blog posts. After viewing the auto emails generated when I post, I have come to realize that you are getting an email containing the post, but not an obvious link to the blog itself. There is a link to the blog at the end of the email, "Kantner Trace" which if you click on that link, the Kantner Trace website will open. The advantage of this, is that you will be able to see all of my posts, plus you can add comments to any of the posts you want to add your thoughts to. Hope that helps.

The 1900 Census, Pusheta Twp, Auglaize Co, OH shows a Martha Damaris in the household of Frank & Catharine Smith. She is listed as sister-in-law of Frank, b. Sept. 1858 (age 41), single, born in OH.

Q1. Is this Martha Wilson a sister of Catharine (as sister-in-law would suggest)? According to the 1860 Census, Crawford Twp, Coshocton Co, OH, Martha Wilson was 1 year old (census taken on 7/12/1860), so her age is right.

Q2. Why is she listed as Martha Damaris, SINGLE? Should have been "widow" or "divorced." Perhaps this was a little white lie.

Q3. Who was Mr. Damaris, and where was Mr. Damaris? I can find no record of a Damaris/Wilson marriage between 1878 and 1900. I have spelled it as Demaris without any better success.

On a side note, the whole Thomas & Mary (Chesta) Wilson family is somewhat elusive. They lived in Coshocton Co, OH at the time of the 1850 & 1860 censuses. But unable to find any but Catharine Amarella (who married Frank Smith) in any subsequent censuses.

Speaking of Family Bibles, in Jan 2011 I posted info on the Jack Family Bible, which has been passed down to me--in case you are interested.
There is also a Kantner Family Bible out there somewhere. It was reported to have been in the possession of a "Mrs. Graf, of Wapakoneta." I have written to the only Graf in the Wapak directory, but so far have not received a response.