What's New

Photo of the Month

Minerd.com Blog

Biographies

National Reunion

Interconnectedness

Cousin Voices

Honor Roll

In Lasting Memory

In the News

Our Mission and Values

Annual Review

Favorite Links

Contact Us

Abraham Earlywine -- a pioneer settler of the rough and bloody Ohio River Valley of Virginia in the late 1770s -- may have been born in Friedrichsthal, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany in about 1747. While this needs to be confirmed, research by others has provided this information and it's the best we have for now until proven with precision.

When he was about age 20, Abraham not only emigrated to the English American colonies but then went to York (later Lancaster) County, PA and became married. On April 19, 1767, he is believed to have been united in holy wedlock with Eva Catherine Glasser ( ? - ? ). Research by others suggests that Abraham and Eva Catherine produced five children -- Frederick Erlewine, Barnhart Erlewine, David Erlewine, Mary Carmichael and Jacob Erlewine.

Sadly, Eva Catherine is believed to have died in the year 1784, the year she gave birth to their youngest child, and also the year that Abraham's eldest child from the second marriage was born.

Evidence suggests that within a few months, Abraham married his second wife, Catherine Sailor ( ? - ? ) in about 1784. 

They went on to produce nine more children -- John Erlewine, Sarah Carmichael, Francis Erlewine, Adam Erlewine, Margaret Erlewine, Abraham Erlewine Jr., Susannah Erlewine, Elizabeth Erlewine and Jacob Sailor Erlewine Sr.

At some point in time, the Earlywines pushed further west to the wilderness region of the Ohio River communities of Wheeling and Moundsville, VA, the boundary of the frontier with Native Americans. They also became friends with fellow German pioneers John and Mary (Bonnet) Wetzel Sr., who had settled there in 1770, about 14 miles inland from the Ohio River, and whose sons Lewis and John were widely known as fearless Indian fighters. There, the Earlyines and the William Sivert family established a home in the Sand Hill District of Marshall County, approximately where the Earlywine Cemetery is located today.

Hostility between native Americans and Earlywine neighbor Lewis Wetzel. Life and Adventures of Lewis Wetzel, 1859

Writes Allan Eckert in his book That Dark and Bloody River, they "followed Wheeling Creek three miles above Wetzel's claim and found a beautiful little stream entering from the north. They followed it upstream another mile and then climbed a hill to where there was a fine level ground with a clear bubbling spring 250 feet above the stream. With such isolation as this, they felt reasonably safe from Indian attack, and so they made their settlement here, and form the nature of the soil, they named it Sand Hill."

While the Virginia side of the Ohio River was friendly, the Ohio side was still considered Indian territory and was off limits to whites, punishable by death. As whites began to settle on the Ohio side and push further westward, natives became increasingly hostile. Killings between both sides were frequent.

Tragedy shook the family in the summer of 1779. One afternoon, neighbor boy John Wetzel Jr. went in search of some missing horses, and the Earlywines' son Frederick joined in the hunt. The incident is recorded in detail in the 1879 book History of the Pan-handle: Being Historical Collections of the Counties of Ohio, Brooke, Marshall and Hancock, West Virginia:

Four Indians prowling in the neighborhood of the old man Wetzel's, had captured the horses, taken off the bell, and secreted themselves in the thicket, expecting that the bell would attract the attention of the owners, and they should then easily capture them or take their scalps. Supposing that the horses had strayed away in the woods, John was sent in search of them. One of the lost animals was a mare with a young foal, belonging to John's sister, and she had offered the colt to John as a reward for finding the mare. He soon fell in with a neighbor boy, named Frederick Earlywine, a son of Jacob Earlywine, who lived on lands adjoining the elder Wetzel. The boys hearing the well known tinkle of the bell, approached the spot where the Indians lay concealed, and when near enough the savages rushed out and captured them, but not until John, in attempting to escape, had been shot through the arm. Young Earlywine refused to go with the Indians as their prisoner, and they killed him. The farm on which this occurrence took place is situated in Sand Hill district, Marshall county, W. Va., and is now owned by Jacob Earlywine, a grandson of its owner at that time. John, having had similar previous experience, made light of his capture, and, with his wounded arm, cheerfully went along with the Indians. The party struck the Ohio river early the following morning, at a point near the mouth of Grave creek. Here, after killing a hog, three of the Indians, with their prisoner, got into a canoe, and the other, having mounted the horse to swim over, all prepared to cross the river. But before the canoe got started the three Indians were shot by Hamilton Carr and Isaac Williams, and John was rescued. After his return, he conveyed the family of young Earlywine, who had not learned his fate, to the place where he was killed. His body was found and buried in a hollow near the place of the capture.

Mary (Bonnet) Wetzel, the Earlywines' neighbor and friend.

The killing of Earlywine friend John Wetzel Sr.

Further heartache and personal loss swept through the family on June 11, 1785, when Indians ambushed and killed their longtime friend and neighbor, John Wetzel Sr. He and his companion William Miller had been on a hunting trip on the Ohio. Foregoing conventional wisdom, perhaps lured into a sense of complacency, they ventured toward the Ohio side of the river. As the two paddled neared Baker's Station on Cresap's Bottom, three Indians emerged from the woods and shot, wounding Wetzel in the shoulder. After a struggle, they shot him again, and when he was dead, they scalped him and left him half-submerged along the river's edge.

Over the ensuing years, Abraham solidified his land holding with a formal purchase. On Jan. 29, 1802, he bought a 191-acre tract in Sand Hill for $100 from his friends Martin and Mary Wetzel, a carve-out from the Whetzels' larger 400-acre parcel. The land contained sugar, white oak, Spanish oak, poplar, elm and sassafras trees. There may have been some discrepancies in the sale, as the Earlywines paid an additional $30 for same acreage on July 5, 1806 to the Martin Wetzels and his brother and sister in law, Jacob and Ruhama Wetzel. Martin in turn had obtained the tract by a patent dated Feb. 13, 1801 signed by Virginia Governor James Monroe, which had been secured by a pre-emption warrant dated Jan. 13, 1787 (No. 2498).

Then on Aug. 31, 1809, Abraham was one of several men who witnessed an indenture between Nathan and Susan Goodrich of Ohio and John Wetzel of Ohio County, VA.

Book naming Abraham and his ill-fated son Frederick

When the federal census was enumerated in 1810, the Earlywines made their home in the community of "Elizabeth," Ohio County. There were two males in the household under age 10, one male above 45, two females under 10, two females between 10 and 15 and one female between 26 and 44.

Abraham and his friends Joseph Karr, Simon Beall, Anguish Clark and Abisha Blujet were accused of "various offences" in the year 1812 and faced a hearing before a grand jury. The jury decided there was sufficient evidence to indict the men for trial. The outcome of the case is not yet known.

Abraham died in Sand Hill on Jan. 18, 1820. He is presumed to rest in the family cemetery at Sand Hill, as recorded in the 1989 booklet Cemetery Records of Ohio and Marshall Counties, West Virginia, compiled by Audra Rickey Wayne.

Unfortunately, Abraham died without leaving a last will and testament. He left the burden of distributing value from his 191-acre farm to his 14 heirs. The matter was not resolved for 18 years. At intervals, son Jacob acquired the inheritance rights of some but not all of his siblings. The estate finally was settled in about 1838.

By 1850, the family had grown so rapidly that there were 41 individuals in Marshall County's District 33 named "Erlewine" in that year's federal census.

In the federal census of 1880, son Jacob "Sailor" Erlewine disclosed that his father was a native of Germany and the mother of Pennsylvania.

Author Allan W. Eckert mentions Abraham on pages 16, 469 and 728 of his popular book That Dark and Bloody River (New York: Bantom Books, 1995).

The old, small Earlywine Cemetery, Sand Hill, West Virginia

~ Son Barnhart Erlewine Sr. ~

Barnhart Erlewine Sr. (1770-1834?) was born in about 1770.

Barnhart was wedded to Margaret ( ? - ? ).

When he was about age 45, in November 1815, Barnhart purchased about 100 acres of land from Charles Hillard of Morris County, NJ, who in turn was representing the estate of the property's absentee owner, the late Thurston Hillard. The land sat along the waters of Wheeling Creek and bordered the acreage of John Taylor, containing white oak, hickory, dogwood and other tree stands. (See Ohio County Deed Book 8, page 356.)

In May 1822, Barnhart and Margaret received $30 paid by his step-mother, as the guardian of her younger sons Jacob S. and Abraham, to secure the children's share of the family farm. (See Ohio County Deed Book 11, pages 143-144.)

On Dec. 1, 1834, perhaps as his life was ebbing away, he and Catherine sold a 16-acre portion of their farm to Roseberry Bird of Ohio County. The price was $62.00. The deed for the transaction, on file today in the Ohio County Courthouse in Wheeling, states that the land was along the waters of Wheeling Creek, and contained stands of white oak, red oak,

He died in about 1834, at the age of 64.

More will be added here when learned.

Son Barnhart Erlewine Jr. (1816-1890) was born in about 1816 in Marshall County, VA (later West Virginia). He married Martha D. Roe (1826-1901), sometimes misspelled "Crow." There was a 10-year gap in their ages. The couple produced five known children – John Roe Erlewine, Reuben Erlewine, Ebenezer Erlewine, Margaret E. "Maggie" Spoon and Frances Erlewine. When the federal census was enumerated in 1850, the family resided in Marshall County, with Barnhart earning a living as a farmer. At some point he acquired a farm in Marshall County comprised of 135 acres and another in Calhoun County, WV of 100 acres. Barnhart wrote his will in August 1881, saying he was "of sound mind and memory." He bequeathed Martha one-third of their personal property and value of their home farm, but gave the farm itself to their son John, in addition to the residue of two thirds of his property. He gave son Francis the 100-acre farm in Calhoun County where the son was then living. He stipulated that $1,000 was to be given to married daughter Margaret E. Spoon but nothing to sons Reuben and Ebenezer as, he wrote, "I have provided for and advanced ... there [sic] shares in full." Barnhart passed away of tuberculosis (known at the time as "consumption") at the age of 77 on May 12, 1890. Son J.R. Erlewine provided information for the Marshall County death record. Burial was in the Fork Ridge Universalist Church Cemetery. Martha survived her husband by 11 years. She succumbed at the age of 75 on Jan. 5, 1901 in Marshall County. [Find-a-Grave]

Wheeling, along the Ohio River, 1854. Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion

• Grandson Reuben Erlewine (1843-1921) was born on Dec. 17, 1843 in Marshall County, VA (later West Virginia). He is believed to have served in the Union Army during the Civil War, as a member of the 12th West Virginia Infantry, Company C. He survived the war. In the latter half of the 1860s, he migrated to Illinois, where he earned a living as a farmer. The 1870 federal census enumeration shows the unmarried Reuben, age 29, boarding in the home of David and Mary Wagner in Douglas, Iroquois County, IL. Then during the 1870s, he was united in matrimiony with Mary S. (1842- ? ), also a Virginia native. The couple established a new home in Green Castle Township, Marshall County, IA. They were the parents of Ella E. Erlewine. The Erlewines are known to have relocated in about 1882 to Baxter, Jasper County, IA, where he remained for good. On Dec. 11, 1891, Reuben was granted a military pension as compensation for his wartime service. [Invalid App. #1.076.024 - Cert. #831.536]. On Feb. 4, 1889, he married a second time to Amanda Jane (Williams) Lint (1849-1933), daughter of Napoleon B. and Sarah Jane (Shattuck) Williams. It was the second of her four marriages and ended in divorce, without reproducing. Then in 1895, at the age of about 53, Reuben married a third time to Fannie L. Adamson (April 14, 1868-1953). She was an Iowan by birth and two decades younger than her husband. The couple went on to produce a daughter, Vera Summers. The 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses show Reuben working as a self-employed house carpenter in the Baxter area. By 1920, census records show the 76-year-old Reuben had no occupation and apparently had retired. Suffering from pernicious anemia, he died at the age of 77 in Baxter on June 24, 1921, with his remains placed in repose in Restland Cemetery in Baxter. [Find-a-Grave]
  
  Fannie then was awarded his pension and received monthly checks for the balance of her life. [Widow App. #1.177.086 - Cert. 956.815]. She was gathered in by the Angel of Death at the age of 85 on Oct. 2, 1953, with burial beside her spouse. Her pension file later was given the designation XC 2.912.561, an important number to researchers. In 2015, the founder of this website attempted to view Reuben's pension file at the National Archives in Washington DC but was advised that the file was not there but in the custody of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Baltimore. A follow-up request was made on Sept. 28, 2015 under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy. On Jan. 21, 2020, a reply was received from the VA regional office director, stating that "Our office did a search with the Federal Records Center (NARA) whom houses XC Pension Claim folders for the Veterans Benefits Administration. After 3 attempts at various NARA locations that possibly would have housed this Record; a response of NO RECORD FOUND was given from them, so we are ending our search and closing this request."

Great-granddaughter Ella E. Erlewine (1880- ? ) was born in 1880 in Green Castle Township, Marshall County, IA.

Great-granddaughter Vera Erlewine (1899- ? ) was born on Jan. 5, 1899, in Baxter, Jasper County, IA. At the age of 20, in 1920, she lived at home and worked as an operator in a central telephone office. She wedded Alva Summers (1879-1927), son of James C. and Corenia A. (Jones) Summers. He was two decades older than she. Alva was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows and Masons lodge of Rippey, IA. After just a few years of marriage, he died on Dec. 11, 1927. Vera outlived Alva by more than half of a century. She died at the age of 81, in Oklahoma City, on July 2, 1980. Her remains were shipped back to Iowa to sleep in Restland Cemetery in Baxter, rejoining her spouse after a separation of decades.

• Grandson Ebenezer Erlewine (1844-1906) was born in about 1844 in Marshall County. He and his brother Reuben both served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and once made a point that the correct spelling of his surname was “Erlewine.” On Aug. 30, 1864, Ebenezer enlisted in the army and was assigned to the 17th West Virginia Infantry, Company A. He stood five feet, 9½ inches tall and weighed 153 lbs. He had a light complexion and blue eyes. He received an honorable discharge at Wheeling on June 30, 1865. At the age of 25, on May 25, 1871, Ebenezer married Lydia Ann Payne ( ? -1896), a childhood friend. Rev. David Anguish officiated the nuptials, held in Marshall County. Their children were Willard H. Erlewine, John R. Erlewine II, Florence Peters, Della Erlewine and Bert Erlewine. Circa 1876-1877, the Erlewines dwelled in Iroquois County, IL. In 1890-1892, the family made their residence in Nebraska in Seward, Seward County. Sadly, Lydia died on New Year’s Eve 1896 in Linden, Clay County, MO. Ebenezer survived his wife by a decade and spent his final years at Barry, Clay County. He was afflicted with rheumatism and could only raise his arm above his shoulder, caused, he said, by being “mashed.” He also had varicose veins in his legs, was somewhat stooped, and, observed a team of examining physicians, had “only a few snags for teeth.” Suffering from pneumonia at the age of 62, he joined her in eternity on April 15, 1906. Dr. G.P. Alton of Barry treated him in his final illness.

Great-grandson Willard H. Erlewine (1876-1936) was born on Feb. 8, 1876 in West Virginia, the son of Ebenezer and Lydia (Payne) Erlewine. He was married and a longtime farmer. In his late 50s or upon reaching 60, the widowed Willard suffered from hardening of the coronary artery was admitted to the State Hospital in Washington Township, Vernon County. He died in the hospital at age 60 on May 22, 1936. Interment was in the hospital cemetery. His sister Florence Peters signed the Missouri death certificate.

Great-grandson John R. Erlewine II (1880- ? ) was born in about 1880. He lived in Jackson County, MO in 1906.

Great-granddaughter Florence Erlewine married Eldridge R. Peters. In 1909, the couple dwelled in Kansas City, Wyandotte County.

Great-granddaughter Della Erlewine (1890- ? ) was born on the Fourth of July 1890.

Great-grandson Bert Erlewine (1892- ? ) was born on Nov. 14, 1892. He lived in Gashland, Clay County, MO in 1909.

• Main Street, Cameron, WV

  Granddaughter Margaret E. "Maggie" Erlewine (1846- ? ) -- also spelled "Irlewine" -- was born in September 1846. At the age of 34, on May 19, 1880, she was united in wedlock with 30-year-old Hickman Spoon (1850-1936), son of Jacob and Kitty (Bonar) Spoon. The nuptials were performed by Rev. James M. Warden at the Oak Grove Church in Marshall County. Margaret was four years older than her husband, and fibbed on her marriage license application that she was actually 30 instead of 34. Their four children were Martha A. Williams, John R. Spoon, William P. Spoon and Emma Spoon. The couple initially lived in Cameron, Marshall County as shown in the 1880 census, and where their eldest daughter was born in 1881. By August 1882, they had migrated to Iowa, where they lived in Union County and where the rest of the children were born. In 1886 or after, the Spoons returned to West Virginia. Under the terms of her father's will, she was to have inherited $1,000 upon his death in 1890. When the federal census again was enumerated in 1900, the family owned and dwelled on a farm in Union Township, Ritchie County, WV. Unfortunately, the marriage broke apart sometime between 1900 and 1907. Margaret resided in 1920 with her married son and daughter in law, John Roe and Texie Spoon, in Beaver, Nicholas County, WV. Hickman married again at the age of 57 on March 29, 1907 to 54-year-old widow Martha Murphy ( ? - ? ) of Glover's Gap, Marion County, WV. In the mid-1930s, his address was 2019 First Street in Moundsville. Unsteady at the age of 85, Hickman fell at home on Feb. 22, 1936 and was badly bruised. Shock set in, and he died two days later, on Feb. 24, 1936. Interment was in the Mt. Rose Cemetery in Moundsville.

Great-granddaughter Martha A. "Allie" Spoon (1881- ? ) was born in March 1881. She migrated to Iowa as a young girl with her parents, and then returned to West Virginia, settling in Ritchie County. At the age of 18, on Oct. 26, 1898, she was married to 25-year-old Wesley Williams (1873- ? ), a native of Doddridge County, WV. The wedding was held in Harrisville, WV, with F.P. Fonner officiating. They had one son, Willis E. Williams, born in November 1899. Sometime in 1899 or early 1900, tragedy broke apart the young family when Wesley died, leaving Allie a widow and single mother at the age of 19. In 1900 she made her home with her parents in Ritchie County, WV.

Great-grandson John Roe Spoon (1882-1966) was born in August 1882 in Union County, Iowa. He relocated as a boy to his parents' home state of West Virginia and in 1900, at age 17, worked on the family farm in Union Township, Ritchie County. He relocated to Nicholas County, WV in the early 1900s. On Nov. 22, 1910, when he was 25 years of age, John was joined in matrimony with 22-year-old Lillie Annie Doddrill ( ? - ? ) of Nicholas County. Rev. W.H. Foglesong, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in Richwood, WV, officiated at the ceremony. Heartache gripped the young husband just eight months into the marriage. On July 9, 1911, Lillie passed away in Richwood at the age of 23. The cause of her untimely death is not noted in the Nicholas County death records. John spent the next six-plus years as a widower and remained in Nicholas County. At the age of 35, on Jan. 4, 1918, in Elkins, Randolph County, WV, he married again to 23-year-old Texie E. Kellison (1894-1961), daughter of Harry and Esther Kellison. At the time of marriage, Texie was a resident of Pocahontas County, WV but apparently a native of York County, PA. Officiating at the marriage ceremony was A.J. Walton. The couple produced three known sons, Blaine O. Spoon, Earl R. Spoon and Wilbur Curtis Spoon. In 1918, their son Blaine was born in Renick, Greenbrier County, WV. When the federal census was taken in 1920, the Spoons lived on Mill Street in Beaver, Nicholas County, with John earning income as a laborer at a lumber mill. By 1928 the family relocated across the state line to Texie's home region of Warrington, York County, PA, where John found work as a farm laborer as shown on the 1930 census. The family has not yet been located on the 1940 census. They apparently spent the rest of their lives in Lewisberry, York County. Stricken with a bleeding ulcer, Texie passed away in York Hospital on Jan. 8, 1961, at the age of 67. Burial was in Rohlers Mountain View Lutheran Cemetery in Dover, York County. John lived for another five years and joined her in death in 1966. [Find-a-Grave]

Great-grandson William P. Spoon (1885-1934) was born in March 1885 in Iowa. He was a longtime farmer and never married. His home in the early 1930s was on a farm near Parkersburg, Wood County, WV. On the fateful day of March 3, 1934, he was found dead at the age of 45. An examining physician ruled that he "Died from natural causes." Interment was in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Grantsville, Calhoun County, WV. [Find-a-Grave] E.E. Kelly, of Little Hocking, OH, was the informant for the West Virginia death certificate.

Great-granddaughter Emma Spoon (1886- ? ) was born in March 1886 in Iowa. In early life she migrated back to West Virginia and grew up on the family farm in Ritchie County.

• Grandson Francis "Frank" Erlewine (1847-1915) was born in Sept. 1847. He wedded Lucinda "Lucy" Knapp (Feb. 1858- ? ). Their seven known offspring were Melvin Reuben Erlewine, Hargaret Ellen Burrows, Harry Barnhart Erlewine, John Robert Martin Erlewine, Jesse Francis Erlewine, Martha Virginia Walker and Casper Weedman Erlewine. In the mid-1880s, they lived on his father's 100-acre farm in Calhoun County, WV, where their son John was born. They remained in Calhoun for the rest of their lives, and in 1910 were on a farm along Hog Knob Ridge. Francis in 1910 provided an affidavit in support of his brother Ebenezer’s efforts to secure a Civil War soldier’s pension. He died at the age of 67-68 in 1915. The remains were lowered under the sod in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Grantsville, Calhoun County. [Find-a-Grave]

Great-grandson Melvin Reuben Erlewine (1876-1898)

Great-granddaughter Margaret Ellen Erlewine (1879-1949)

Great-grandson Harry B. Erlewine (1881-1937) was born in Nov. 1881.

Great-grandson John Robert Martin Erlewine (1884-1961) was a school teacher in or around Parkersburg, Wood County, WV. He died May 9, 1961 at the age of 76.

Great-grandson Jesse Francis Erlewine (1888-1933) was born in 1888. At the age of 22, he was unmarried and lived with his parents in the Sherman District of Calhoun County, WV.

Great-granddaughter Martha Virginia "Mattie" Erlewine (1890-1967) was born in Dec. 1890. She married (?) Walker ( ? - ? ).

Great-grandson Casper Weedman Erlewine (1894-1991) was born in about 1894 and grew up on the family farm in Calhoun County WV.

• Grandson John "Roe" Erlewine (1855-1942) was born on Oct. 12, 1855. He served as legal guardian for his younger brothers after the death of their father, and administered the estate which involved sister Della and brother Bert receiving Civil War pension payments up to their 16th birthdays. He married Alice "Allie" Crow (1866-1934), daughter of Jacob and Mary (Robinson) Crow. The Erlewines were longtime farmers. They produced at least two children, Pearl M. Grimes and Arthur Erlewine. At the death of his father in 1890, Roe was named executor of the estate and inherited the home farm of 135 acres as well as one-third of the estate's assets. In about 1909, he resided near Glen Easton, on the outskirts of Cameron, Marshall County. He spent his final years living near Cameron. At the age of 86, suffering from senility and hardening of the arteries, John died on Aug. 6, 1942. Burial was in Fork Ridge Universalist Church Cemetery. [Find-a-Grave]

   

  Great-granddaughter Pearl M. Earlewine (1891-1979) was born in 1891. She married (?) Grimes. Pearl passed into eternity in 1979.

  Great-grandson Arthur Earlewine (1899-196) dwelled in Cameron in 1942. He died in 1966.

~ Son David Erlewine ~

David Erlewine (1772-1850) was born in about 1872.

David married Mary ( ? - ? ).

In 1826, they lived in Ohio County. That year, in November, they agreed to sell his inheritance to 1/14 of the family farm to his brother Jacob for a price of $15.00. (Ohio County Deed Book 13, page 265) Because neither could write their names, they signed the deed with a rough mark of the pen.

In 1830, at the age of 57, he was a witness to a deed between his sister Mary Carmichael and brother Jacob Earlwine, and, unable to write, signified his mark with the letter "M."

He is thought to have died in April 1850. More will be added here when discovered.

~ Daughter Mary (Erlewine) Carmichael ~

Mary Erlewine (1783-1857) was born on March 12, 1783.

At a young age she was united in marriage with James Carmichael ( ? - ? ).

The couple relocated to Ohio and by 1830 was residing in Monroe County.

In 1830, with the Carmichaels living in Ohio, and a decade after the death of Mary's father, James and Mary relinquished their 1/14 share of inheritance to the family farm, and received a $20 payout from the estate by the hand of her brother Jacob. To formalize the Feb. 9, 1830 transaction, a deed was filed in the office of the Ohio County Recorder of Deeds (Deed Book 16, page 8).

She is said to have died on Aug. 7, 1857.

~ Son John Erlewine ~

John Erlewine (1784 - ? ) was born in about 1784. Nothing more about him is known.

~ Daughter Sarah (Erlewine) Carmichael ~

Sarah Erlewine (1791 - ? ) was born in about 1791.

She married Samuel Carmichael ( ? - ? ).

In February 1828, Sarah and Samuel lived in Ohio County and agreed to sell their right of inheritance in the family farm to her brother Jacob for the sum of $25.00. (See Ohio County Deed Book 14, pages 516-517.)

In June 1831, apparently not yet having been paid by her brother for the farm inheritance, Sarah and her husband apparently sold their share to John Dickey, who also used the opportunity to purchase the shares of Sarah's brothers Adam, David and Jacob. Dickey paid $150 to Jacob in a transaction recorded in Ohio County Deed Book 16, pages 441-442.

~ Daughter Frances Erlewine ~

Frances Erlewine ( ? - ? ) was born in (?).

She may be the same "Fanny" Erlewine who, on Jan. 28, 1819, in Ohio County, was married to Erwin Stewart ( ? - ? ). James Harvey, VDM solemnized their vows. (VDM is an abbreviation for the Latin Verbi Dei Minister, which means "Minister of the Word of God.")

~ Son Adam Erlewine ~

Adam Erlewine (1801-1880) was born on the Fourth of July 1801.

He was joined in wedlock with Susanah ( ? - ? ). In 1831, Adam and Susanah made their home in Knox County, OH.

Eleven years after the death of Adam's father, Adam and Susanah agreed to relinquish their 1/14 share of inheritance to the family farm. On March 17, 1831, they received a payout of $24.75 from the estate by the hand of her brother Jacob. To formalize the deal, a deed was filed in the office of the Ohio County Recorder of Deeds (Deed Book 16, pages 300-301). Because they were unable to write their own names, Adam and Susanah placed their marks on the deed, his with an "X" and hers with a dot.

In about 1838, Adam is believed to have received a land grant of 100 acres of land along Wheeling Creek, as recorded in the Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia.

He be the same Adam Erlewine who later was united in marriage with Mary (1807- ? ), who was seven years his junior. In 1850, census records show this family dwelling in District 33 of Marshall County.

Their known offspring were Jane Erlewine, Minerva Erlewine, Julia A. Erlewine, Mary V. Erlewine, Emmeline Erlewine, William Erlewine and Mary Erlewine. Heartache enveloped the family when daughter Julia expired at age 19 in about 1856 and daughter Mary V. died in July 1871 at the age of 12.

Mary succumbed on March 1, 1872, at the age of 65. Her remains were placed into rest in the Rock Lick Cemetery.

Adam died in his 79th year on April 26, 1880. Interment was beside or near his wife at Rock Lick.

Daughter Jane Erlewine (1832- ? ) was born in about 1832.

Daughter Minerva Erlewine (1834- ? ) was born in about 1834.

Daughter Julia A. Erlewine (1837-1856?) was born in about 1837. She died at the age of 19 and rests for eternity in Rock Lick Cemetery.

Daughter Mary V. Erlewine (1839-1851) was born in about 1839. Sadly, she was gathered in by the Grim Reaper at the age of 12 on July 5, 1871. Burial was in Rock Lick Cemetery.

Daughter Emmeline Erlewine (1840- ? ) was born in about 1840.

Son William Erlewine (1842- ? ) was born in about 1842.

Daughter Mary Erlewine (1848- ? ) was born in about 1848.

~ Daughter Margaret Erlewine ~

Margaret Erlewine ( ? - ? )

Book naming Abraham Jr.

~ Son Abraham Erlewine Jr. ~

Abraham Erlewine Jr. ( ? - ? )

In 1831, having jointly purchased a 1/14 share of the family farm with his brother Jacob S., he bought the tract outright for $36, and then also acquired the share of their widowed mother for $28.00. The deed describing this transaction is found in Ohio County Deed Book 16, page 348.

In April 1836, Abraham was named a Marshall County Road Supervisor for the term of office of one year. In this regard, he is mentioned in the 1925 book by Scott Powell, History of Marshall County, from forest to field: a story of early settlement and development of Marshall County, W. Va.

~ Daughter Susannah Erlewine ~

Susannah Erlewine ( ? - ? )

~ Daughter Elizabeth Erlewine ~

Elizabeth Erlewine ( ? - ? )

~ Son Jacob "Sailor" Erlewine Sr. ~

Jacob "Sailor" Erlewine Sr. (1800?- ? ) was born in about 1800, give or take a year, in Virginia. He was given his middle name to carry on his mother's maiden name.

When Jacob was age 22, on Jan. 30, 1823, he was united in marriage with 22-year-old Ruth Conner (1800- ? ). The ceremony was performed by Thomas Daken, and recorded by William Chapline Jr., the Ohio County Clerk of Court. She never learned how to write.

The Erlewines produced these known children -- Jacob Erlewine, Catharine Erlewine, Elizabeth Erlewine, Mary J. Erlewine and Ruth Anne Castello. They may also have had a son Abraham Erlewine.

In 1831, they made their home in Ohio County. That year, having jointly purchased a 1/14 share of the family farm with his brother Abraham Earlwine Jr., he and Ruth sold the tract to Abraham for $36, and Jacob's widowed mother also sold her share to Abraham for $28.00. The deed describing this transaction is found in Ohio County Deed Book 16, page 348.

Between 1832 and 1834, following the birth of their eldest two children, the Erlewines left the familiar landscape of the Wheeling valley and relocated to Ohio, settling on a farm in Cameron, Adams Township, Monroe County. Their new home area was about 30 miles downriver from Wheeling. There, they were enumerated on the 1850 federal census, with the census-taker spelling the name "Ereleywine." When the census again was made in 1860, the family continued to live in Adams, with their two youngest daughters under their roof, and the census-taker giving Jacob's middle initial as "F." rather than "S."

In 1870, census records show that Jacob was retired from farming and that Ruth labored "keeping house." Among their near neighbors were the families of Abraham and Nancy Earlewine and Isaac and Louisa Earlewine.

Census records for 1880 show the aged "Salor" and Ruth dwelling in Adams, with these others in the household -- Ruth A. Castello (age 37) and her children Nancy Castello (age 11), Minnie B. Castello (7) and Florence A. Castello (4).

Presumed son Abraham Erlewine (1824- ? ) was born in about 1824 in Virginia, today considered West Virginia. His connection to this family needs to be confirmed. He married Nancy McCoy (1822- ? ), daughter of Mary E. McCoy, of near Cameron. Nancy was an Ohio native who was two years older than her husband. Their three known offspring were Gilbert Erlewine, Jacob S. Erlewine, Rebecca Erlewine and William "Willie" Erlewine. In the late 1840s, they settled near Powhatan Point in York Township, Belmont County, OH, a small village directly across the Ohio River from Wheeling. The 1850 census shows them in Powhatan Point. By 1870, they had migrated to Adams Township, Monroe County, OH, and lived next door to Abraham's (presumed) parents Jacob and Ruth, and just a few houses away from his married sister Ruth and Andrew Castello and from Isaac and Louise Earlewine and their family of children. During the decade of the 1870s, the Erlewines maintained their farm home in Adams Township, and by 1880, census records show their children had all left except for the youngest, 10-year-old Willie.

• Grandson Gilbert Erlewine (1847- ? ) was born in about 1847 in Ohio.

• Grandson Jacob S. Erlewine (1854- ? ) was born in about 1854 in Ohio. He is shown in the 1870 census with his parents and assisting with farm work.

• Granddaughter Rebecca Erlewine (1855- ? ) was born in about 1855 in Ohio. In 1870, at the age of 14, she dwelled under her parents' roof and assisted her mother in housework.

• Grandson William "Willie" Erlewine (1870- ? ) was born in 1870.

Presumed son Isaac Erlewine (1829-1890) was born on July 27, 1827 or 1829 in what is now West Virginia. As a boy of age six or seven, he migrated with his parents down the Ohio River to to near Cameron, Monroe County, OH. He was united in wedlock with Louisa McCoy (1835- ? ), sometimes known as "Eliza," daughter of Mary E. McCoy, who owned a 25-acre farm near Cameron. The McCoys were of Scotch stock. Their nine children were Gilbert Erlewine, Charles Erlewine, Ruth R. Erlewine, Mary Erlewine, William Erlewine, Amanda Erlewine, Nancy J. Paden, Minnie Erlewine and Walter "Clement" Erlewine. In 1870, the Erlewines lived on a farm with their seven children in the Cameron area, with Louisa's "infirm" mother in the household.  By 1872, the Erlewines migrated away from Ohio and moved west to the open priairies of Illinois, and later the same year pushed further west into Nebraska, putting down initial roots in Fremont. The ailing mother, who had suffered a stroke and stayed behind in Ohio, made her home with her daughter and son in law Nancy and Abraham Erlewine and passed away on May 1, 1874. In June 1874, the administrator of the mother's estate published a legal notice in the Woodsfield (OH) Spirit of Democracy that he would be petitioning the court for permission to sell the McCoy farm. In the notice, he named the heirs as follow: "William McCoy, who resides in the State of Iowa, Louisa Erlewine, wife of Isaac Erlewine, who resides in Nebraska; the unknown heirs of Stephen McCoy, deceased, who reside in the State of Indiana; Mary Jane Gilbreath and James Gilbreath, who resided in Jefferson county, Ohio, when last heard of; Charles McCoy, whose place of residence is unknown, Franklin Ross, who resides in Lawrence county, Ohio..." The federal census enumeration of 1880 shows Isaac and Louise "Erlywine" making their home on a farm in Everett, Dodge County, NE. Then in 1885, they moved to a new farm home near Fremont in Perkins County, NE. During those early years of carving a new life in the sod, the family went "through all the pioneer experiences, witnessing, drouths, grasshoppers raids, etc.," said a history of the region. "One instance of these times is well remembered... when he saw an entire field of corn completely eaten up by grasshoppers, the destruction consuming just two hours, and then the pests left the place." Sadly, Isaac died at about age 63 on Feb. 8, 1890. His remains were placed into eternal repose in the Fairview Cemetery in Grant, Perkins County, ME. [Find-a-Grave] When the census again was taken in 1900, the widowed, 64-year-old Louisa made her home with her married son Clement and his family, with her married son Charles and family residing next door. When mentioned in a profile of his son Charles in the 1909 book Compendium of History, Reminiscence and Biography of Western Nebraska, Isaac was referred to as one "who comes of German stock, and was one of the earliest settlers of Fremont Nebraska..." Louisa died in the home of her son Charles on Feb. 5, 1910, reunited with her husband after a separation of two decades. Funeral services were held in the Grant Methodist Episcopal Church. An obituary was printed in her old hometown newspaper, the Spirit of Democracy.

• Grandson Gilbert Erlewine (1855-1891?) was born in 1855 in either Virginia or Ohio. At age 24, unmarried, he lived with his parents in Dodge County, NE and labored as a farmer. He may be the same "Gilbert M. Erlewine" who died on Oct. 18, 1891 and is buried in Maple Creek Christian Cemetery in Fremont, Dodge County.

Ida and Charles Erlewine, 1886. Google Books

• Compendium of History, Reminiscence and Biography of Western Nebraska. Google Books

  Grandson Charles Augustus Erlewine (1857-1942) was born on Oct. 27, 1857 near Cameron, Monroe County. After making the pioneer trek to Nebraska as a boy of 15, he stayed at home until the age of 22, when he struck out on his own as a hired hand for farm work. At the age of 26, on Thanksgiving Day 1883, he married Ida Moore (1862- ? ), daughter of Daniel Moore who was born in Iowa but lived in Nebraska at the time. The ceremony was held in Fremont, conducted by the pastor of the local Baptist Church. They produced five known offspring -- Eunice L. Beatty, Hazel B. Erlewine, Charles Rexford Erlewine and Dale Erlewine plus two who died very young. Charles built a sod house which measured 14 feet by 20 feet, so well constructed that it was still standing decades later. In 1886, they left the sod house and moved to the western part of the state, into a new sod home in Perkins County, NE, where their youngest son was born in 1900. The house was located, as the son later recalled, 10 miles north and five miles east of Grant, or 10 south and five east of Ogallala. Charles is profiled in the book Compendium of History, Reminiscence and Biography of Western Nebraska, which noted that "His start was a team of horses, wagon and two cows, and with these he began to develop a farm and build up a fortune. His nearest trading point was Ogallala, a distance of some fourteen miles, and he hauled all his supplies from that town for several years. During the years 1892 to 1896, he witnesswed drouths and had a hard time to raise any crops, often being out even the seed he put into the ground, but never thought of giving up his place, and as the seasons beome more favorable he was able to improve his farm, constantly adding to his original homestead..." He eventually amassed a large farm of 640 acres in Section 22, Township 12, Range 38 in Perkins County, of which 80 acres were cultivated. He raised grain and stock, "and besides his own ranch leases land in the vicinity which he uses as hayland and pasture for his stock." In about 1917, they constructed a wooden house, which would have seemed like a palace in contrast with the earthen one of many years standing. Charles was neither Republican nor Democrat in his political leanings, but was active in bettering the community. In 1896, he was elected county commissioner and served for one term in that office. In 1900, their post office was Sawyer, Perkins County. They also took in boarders, including local teacher Julia R. Jones who rented a room in their dwelling. The couple moved into the town of Grant, NE in 1924. When the couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving Day 1933, they were pictured in an article in the Lincoln (NE) Star. Charles lived to the age of 85, and passed away in Grant, Perkins County on Jan. 20, 1942. Burial was in Fairview Cemetery in Grant. [Find-a-Grave]

Great-granddaughter Eunice Erlewine ( ? - ? ) married (?) Beatty and lived in Sterling, CO in 1933.

Great-grandson Charles Rexford "Rex" Erlewine ( ? - ? ) dwelled in Rock Springs, WY in the early 1930s.

Great-grandson Dale Erlewine (1900- ? ) was born on July 8, 1900 in a sod house in between Grant and Ogallala, NE. He rose to become a Nebraska Senator and served in that elected office in 1964, maintaining his home in Grant, NE.

• Granddaughter Ruth R. Erlewine (1860- ? ) was born in 1860 in Ohio.

• Granddaughter Mary Erlewine (1862- ? ) was born in 1862 in Ohio.

• Grandson William Erlewine (1864- ? ) was born in 1864 in Ohio and may have been a twin with his sister Amanda. He migrated to Nebraska with his parents and siblings and in 1880, at age 15, worked on his father's farm.

• Granddaughter Amanda Erlewine (1864- ? ) was born in 1864 in Ohio and may have been a twin with her brother William.

• Granddaughter Nancy Erlewine (1868-1946) was born on Nov. 20, 1868 in Ohio. She was united in holy wedlock with Robert Alonzo "R.A." Paden (1863-1943). They made their home in various communities over the years, ranging from Dodge County, NE in 1893 and Kirwin, Phillips County, KS circa 1902 to later in Hugoton, Stevens County, KS. Their known children were Walter Isaac Paden and Merritt A. Paden. Robert died in Hugoton on June 14, 1943, with interment in Hugoto Cemetery. Nancy followed him to the grave three years later on Jan. 30, 1946. [Find-a-Grave]

• Granddaughter Minnie Erlewine (1872- ? ) was born in about 1872 in Illinois.

• Grandson Walter "Clement" Erlewine (1876- ? ) was born in March 1876 in Nebraska. He was wedded to Estella M. (1878- ? ) and had one known daughter, Cynthia Erlewine. In 1900, this young family made their home on a farm in Sawyer, Perkins County, NE.

Son Jacob Sailor Erlewine Jr. (1830-1883) was born on May 13, 1830 in Ohio County, VA (later becoming West Virginia). He migrated to Ohio with his parents as a young boy and grew up in Adams, Monroe County. On Dec. 12, 1850, at the age of 20, Jacob married 21-year-old Pennsylvania native Anna Shipman (1829-1910), daughter of German immigrants John and Elizabeth (Yost) Shipman. Justice of the peace Jacob Tschappat (shortened to "Shappat") performed the ceremony. The couple produced these known offspring -- Mary J. Erlewine, David S. Erlewine, twins Louisa and Rosa Erlewine and Daniel J. Erlewine. During the Civil War, he served with the 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E, commanded by Capt. Robert E. Smithson. He enrolled on Sept. 12, 1862 and remained for nearly three years, receiving his discharge on July 31, 1865. In battle at Jenkins Ferry in Grant County, Arkansas on April 30, 1864, Jacob received a shrapnel wound in his right hip. He received medical treatment from the regiment's surgeons. Around that time, he also contracted what he called "malarial fever." He apparently moved when the regiment moved, and while at McIntosh Bluffs, Alabama, in April 1865, Jacob was a patient in the regiment's hospital. After the war's end, Jacob returned home. He and his friend M. Boughner provided contract labor, and in September 1876 received an assignment from the county commissioners "to make protection of timber and stone in creek below Cameron to protect the bank," said the Woodsfield Spirit of Democracy. Their fee for the work was $50. Ann was noted by a census-taker in 1880 that she could not write. In 1880, still living in Cameron, Adams Township, Monroe County, Anna's 77-year-old father and farm laborer John Shipman lived under their roof, as did eight-year-old Ema Andrews. To his neighbor John Shappat, who lived but a quarter mile away, Jacob complained of pain in his right hip and right breast in addition to a hacking cough. Jacob died from hardening of the arteries at the age of 53 on Oct. 10, 1883. Burial was in the Old Cameron Cemetery in Cameron, Monroe County. Anna survived him by more than a quarter century. In 1902, her of Monroe County property was assessed to determine the value of her assets in connection with her application to receive her husband's Civil War pension. At that time, she had 1.5 acres in Range 4, Township 3, Section 18 , and 88.17 acres in Range 4, Township 3, Section 18. Her livestock included four cows, one two-year-old heifer, three yearling calves, eight head of sheep and three and a half dozen chickens. In an affidavit she provided to the federal government, she wrote that her farm "is all hill land.... I have nothing to sell of the products of the land, neither grain or hay, it requires all that I can produce on the land to feed the cattle, sheep and chicks and bread stuff for myself." Stricken with acute diffuse peritonitis, she succumbed on Jan. 6, 1910, and rests with her spouse.

• Grandson David S. Erlewine (1861-1939) was born on Nov. 14, 1861 in or near Cameron, Monroe County, OH. He married Myra E. Gates (1867-1936), daughter of Isaac and Levina (Pugh) Gates. Among their children were Cora Mildred Schweitzer and Zella Lorene Erlewine. Myra died on March 1, 1936 in Beallsville, Monroe County. David survived as a widower for three years passed into eternity in Beallsville on Dec. 18, 1939. [Find-a-Grave]

• Grandson Daniel J. Erlewine (1870- ? ) was born on May 1, 1870 in or near Cameron, Monroe County.

Daughter Catharine Erlewine (1832- ? ) was born in about 1832 in Ohio County, VA (later becoming West Virginia). Her name also may have been "Harmony," and if so, she may have married Charles Atkinson Conger and lived in Illinois and Nebraska, but this needs to be confirmed.

Daughter Elizabeth Erlewine (1834- ? ) was born in about 1834 in Ohio County, VA (later becoming West Virginia).

Daughter Mary J. Erlewine (1838- ? ) was born in about 1838 in Adams, Monroe County, OH.

Daughter Ruth Anne Erlewine (1844- ? ) was born in about 1844 in Adams, Monroe County, OH. She was wedded to Andrew Castello (1848- ? ), born in Ohio and four years younger than his bride. The Castello children were Calitalone Castello, Anna Castello, Nancy Castello, Minnie B. Castello and Florence A. Castello. Their home in 1870 was among a cluster of family dwellings including Ruth Anne's parents and brothers and their offspring. By 1880, the 37-year-old Ruth Anne had moved back in with her parents, bringing her daughters Nancy (age 11), Minnie B. (7) and Florence A. (4).

• Grandson Calitalone Castello (1867- ? ) was born in 1867 in Ohio, presumably in Adams Township, Monroe County.

• Granddaughter Anna Castello (1868- ? ) was born in 1868 in Ohio, most likely in Adams Township, Monroe County.

• Granddaughter Nancy Castello (1869- ? ) was born in 1869 in or near Adams Township, Monroe County.

• Granddaughter Minnie B. Castello (1873- ? ) was born in 1873.

• Granddaughter Florence A. Castello (1876- ? ) was born in 1876.