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Dorothy "Ann" (Younkin) Gross was born on Jan. 3, 1823 in Indiana, the daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Deitz) Younkin. On July 25, 1841, the 18-year-old Ann was united in matrimony with 22-year-old John T. Gross (Sept. 11, 1818-1891). Their wedding took place in Butler County, OH, by the hand of justice of the peace Jonathan Pierson. Together they bore a foursome of known daughters, Manerva Jane Gross, Ann E. Gross, Sarah Elizabeth Parish and Susan I. Shigley.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1860, the Grosses lived on a farm in Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County, IN. They received their postal mail in Chauncey, IN as of 1870, and that year, 12-year-old John Dunn and 22-year-old laborer Joseph Winsburg lived under their roof. Ann passed away on April 1, 1872, at the age of 49. The remains were lowered under the sod of Battle Ground Cemetery in Tippecanoe County, IN. A stone marks the grave. John lived for another 19 years. After or in conjunction with his married daughter Susan's move to Nebraska in 1886, he followed suit and lived next door. He succumbed to the spectre of death at age 72 on March 24, 1891. In an obituary, the Hayes County (NE) Republican said "He was a sincere christian and will be missed by all who knew him." Burial was in Valley Cemetery in Hayes County, NE. Inscribed on his grave marker was this passage from scripture, 2 Timothy 4:7 (King James Version): "I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith." ~ Daughter Manerva Jane Gross ~ Daughter Manerva Jane Gross (1842-1860) was born in Sept. 1842 in Ohio. The family was plunged into grief at her death at age 17 years and 10 months on July 11, 1860. The cause of her untimely passing is not known. Burial was in Battle Ground Cemetery in Tippecanoe County. ~ Daughter Ann E. Gross ~ Daughter Ann E. Gross (1844- ? ) was born in about 1844 in Ohio. Her paper trail has faded into the misty haze of the past. ~ Daughter Sarah Elizabeth (Gross) Parish ~ Daughter Sarah Elizabeth Gross (1849-1936) was born in 1849 in Ohio. She was united in wedlock with Civil War veteran James Harvey Parish (1846-1913). During the war, he had served in the 72nd Indiana Infantry, Company K. The brood of children they bore together included Charles R. Parish, Mary Ann Heath Van Camp Forth, Nancy Alice Shaw, Delcenna Parish, Cynthia Welch, Clara E. Parish, Della Parish and James Harvey Parish Jr. Eleven years after the war's end, on May 8, 1876, James successfully filed for a military pension as compensation for wartime injuries. [Invalid App. No. 218.806 - Cert. No. 161.904] He then began receiving monthly pension checks for the rest of his life. In August 1909, she is known to have traveled to visit with her daughter Nancy Shaw near Battle Ground, IN and attended a camp meeting there. When the United States Census count was taken in 1910, the couple lived on a farm in Perry, Tippecanoe County, IN, with 44-year-old bachelor son Charles under their roof. The angel of death cleaved away James at the age of 67, in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, on Oct. 29, 1913. Burial was in the local Colburn United Brethren Cemetery. After his death, Sarah applied to receive her late husband's pension, and it duly was awarded. [Widow App. No. 1.017.010 - Cert. No. 768.871] She survived her spouse by 23 years, and in 1922 endured the shocking, sudden death of married daughter Cynthia Welch while on a visit to a doctor's office. Sarah passed into the arms of the heavenly host in Colburn on Dec. 16, 1936, at age 86, in the home of a daughter in Colburn. An obituary in the Logansport Pharos-Tribune said that death had resulted from a three-week illness. Funeral rites jointly were conducted by Rev. C.L. Stroup and Rev. Roscoe Smith in the Colburn Methodist Episcopal Church. Son Charles R. Parish (1868-1938) was born on April 8, 1868 in Lafayette. He was a lifelong bachelor and spent the majority of his life in Colburn, IN. When the federal census enumeration was made in 1900, Charles boarded in the farming household of Lemoyne and Mary Ramey in Tippecanoe, Tippecanoe County, where his occupation was marked as "Month Labor." In 1910, now in Perry Township, Tippecanoe County, he lived under the roof of his parents, continuing to furnish farm labor. He remained in his widowed mother's farm home in 1920 and 1930. Charles' final dwelling-place was in or near the town of Colburn. With him suffering from angina pectoris -- severe chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart -- the angel of death cleaved him away in St. Elizabeth Hospital on Sept. 29, 1938. Funeral services were held in the Colburn United Brethren Church, with burial following in the church's cemetery. His married sister Mrs. Fred Forth of Lafayette was the informant for the official Indiana certificate of death. An obituary appeared in the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Daughter Mary Ann Parish (1870-1948) was born on April 8, 1870, in Lafayette, IN, on her brother Charles' second birthday. She appears to first have married Francis P. Heath ( ? - ? ), at age 28, on Sept. 28, 1897. The pair exchanged their vows in Tippecanoe County and lived in Lafayette. In June 1899, reported the Indianapolis News, "Some time ago Mary Heath brought suit for divorce from Francis Heath, charging cruelty, and making restraining order against collection of certain notes by defendant. She was persuaded by the husband to withdraw the suit. Now she renews it, alleging that he has collected the notes and abandoned her." News of their dispute also was published in newspapers statewide. Once the divorce was finalized, she did not wait long to remarry. On Oct. 19, 1899, in Tippecanoe, she tied the marital cord with Martin M. Van Camp (Feb. 1, 1850-1909), originally from West Virginia. He too was divorced and brought two stepchildren into his union with Mary, Golda L. Good and Willard Clow Van Camp. As of 1909, their address in Lafayette was 702 Erie Street, with him engaged in painting and contracting. He held memberships in the Local Union 80 and held a membership in the Grace United Brethren Church. They were together for a decade until his death at age 59 on Feb. 22, 1909. He was laid to rest in Spring Vale Cemetery, with Rev. J.A. Groves leading the funeral. In an obituary, the Lafayette Journal and Courier said he "had been in a feeble condition for two years and his death is attributed to paralysis... [He] was a man of sterling character." Then in 1913, she wed Fred Forth (1867-1947), an immigrant from England and the son of Edna P. Shaw. He brought two stepchildren into the union, Frederick Ralph Forth and Beatrice Lindsay. Their home for years was in Lafayette, with Fred generating income in 1920 as a campus mail man of a university library and later as a custodian at the West Lafayette Library. The couple's address at that time was 1222 North Fourth Street. She held memberships in the Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church, local lodge of the Rebekahs, Daughters of Civil War Veterans and Auxiliary of the Sons of Union Veterans. Sadly, Fred passed away in 1947. His widow lived on for a year. The 77-year-old Mary Ann was burdened with chronic heart disease and an enlarged heart and succumbed to the spectre of death in Lafayette on Valentine's Day 1948. Burial was in Springvale, IN.
Daughter Nancy Alice Parish (1872-1949) was born in 1872 in Tippecanoe County. At the age of 18, in 1890, she married William E. Shaw (Nov. 9, 1850-1926), son of John and Sarah (McKinney) Shaw. Five offspring born into this family were Chester Shaw, Casper Shaw, Mrs. Dennis Hudgens, Velma Gates and Mrs. Wilbur Mennen. The Shaws were longtime farmers near Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, IN, four miles west of Battle Ground. They were members of the Cairo Methodist Church. Sadly, on March 30, 1926, the 75-year-old William died from the effects of hardening of the arteries layered by pneumonia and influenza. Burial was in Battle Ground Cemetery. The widowed Nancy remained in Lafayette. She died in St. Elizabeth Hospital at the age of 76 on April 18, 1949, with an obituary appearing in the Lafayette Journal and Courier.
Daughter Delcenna Parish (1875-1883) was born on March 22, 1875. She did not survive childhood. The family was thrown into mourning when she died at age eight on Dec. 15, 1883. The cause of her demise may be lost to history. Her tender remains were laid to rest in Liberty Chapel Cemetery in Cairo, Tippecanoe County. Daughter Cynthia Parish (1878-1922) was born on May 11, 1878 in Tippecanoe County, IN. In 1898, she married Lewis/Louis A. Welch (1873-1934). Four known children of the couple were Earl Welch, Ernest Welch, Roy Welch and Eva G. Gushwa. Their home in the early 1920s was in Perry Township, and they belonged to the United Brethren Church of Pyrmont. Shock and grief descended upon the family on the fateful day of June 11, 1932. Cynthia went to see her physician, Dr. E.B. Ruschli, in his office in the Lafayette Life Insurance Building. While in the office, she suffered a massive heart attack and died at the age of 44. Rev. Kenneth McCoy led the funeral rites. Interment of the remains was in Pyrmont Cemetery, Carroll County. An obituary in the Lafayette Journal and Courier said that she "was a highly respected woman. Her sudden demise came as a severe shock to the members of her family and friends." Lewis lived for another dozen years and appears to have wed again. During the Christmas season of 1933, he suffered a stroke of paralysis and lingered for two weeks. He died on Jan. 2, 1934 in the home of his daughter Gushwa five miles southwest of Delphi, IN. His funeral was held in the Pyrmont United Brethren Church, and his obituary appeared in the Logansport Pharos-Tribune. As so often happens at the death of a last parent-grandparent, the family decided to begin holding family gatherings. A "Parish and Welch" reunion was convened at the camp-meeting grounds at Battle Ground in July 1936. The Journal and Courier reported that a "bountiful basked dinner at noon and a general social time was enjoyed..."
Daughter Clara E. Parish (1881- ? ) was born on March 27, 1881. Evidence hints that she died young, in the month of March. Her name is inscribed on a grave marker in Liberty Chapel Cemetery in Cairo, shared with her sister Delcenna, but whether she actually sleeps there for all time is not known. Daughter Della Parish (1883-1967) was born on Dec. 29, 1883 near Battle Ground, Tippecanoe County. She does not appear to have been married. Della lived in Perry Township and Colburn, IN, followed by a move for good to Lafayette in 1901. For years, she shared a home with her sister Mary Ann Heath Van Camp Forth. Della earned a living as a housemother at the Acacia Fraternity House in West Lafayette until retiring. She held memberships in the Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church and Triumph lodge of the Rebekahs. She was gathered away by the spirit of death at age 83, in Lafayette's St. Elizabeth Hospital, on April 3, 1967. The remains were lowered under the sod of the local Spring Valley Cemetery. An obituary was published in the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Son James Harvey Parish Jr. (1886-1955) was born on Feb. 27, 1886 in or near Lafayette, IN. At the age of 21, on Oct. 23, 1907, he entered into marriage with his first bride, Glee M. Hull (July 30, 1888-1912), daughter of John and Sarah (Underhill) Hull. The ceremony was held in Carroll County, IN, officiated by J.A. Groves. One known daughter born into this family was Mazie Larene Parish, who sadly is believed to have died young. The newlyweds lived in Ockley, Carroll Dounty in 1908 and in Lafayette in 1910, with James employed as a railway laborer. By 1912, they had moved into the village of Colburn, Tippecanoe County. James' world was upended when Glee was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease which led to "pernicious anemia" -- an auto-immune disorder caused by a lack of B-12 vitamin. After suffering for four months, death cleaved her away at age 23 years, 11 months and two days on July 2, 1912. The remains were laid to rest in Colburn. During World War I, he served in a bakers' and cooks' quartermaster corps. Later, he became widowed and settled in Petersburg, VA. When he was 36 years of age, on June 12, 1920, in Petersburg, he tied the marital cord with Mattie Lena Hulsey ( ? - ? ). The pair did not reproduce. They stayed in Petersburg for good, and in 1930 James earned income as a watchman in a nitrogen plant, while Mattie worked in a tobacco factory as a cigar maker. Their 21-year-old nephew Herbert Garrett lived under their roof in 1930. They were members of the Episcopal Church, and he belonged to the local lodge of the Eagles. During World War II, James obtained work as a cook at the station hospital at Camp Lee, VA, and Mattie was a practical nurse serving private families. The Parishes' address in 1955 was at 8 South Crater Road, and at that time James generated income as a clerk at the Hotel Chesterfield. Having been ill for six months, James suffered a heart attack at home and died at age 68 on Sept. 14, 1955. An obituary was printed in his old hometown newspaper, the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Burial was in Blandford Cemetery. ~ Daughter Susan I. (Gross) Shigley ~ Daughter Susan I. Gross (1853-1908) was born in about 1853 in Ohio. In 1870 or 1872, at the age of about 17 or 19, she tied the knot with George Washington Shigley (Sept. 12, 1850-1936), a neighbor in Tippecanoe County, IN. (This name was mistyped in the notes of Donna [Younkin] Logan as "S. Higley.") The pair produced a family of 11 children, of whom the identities of only five are known -- Lenora "Nora" Paxton, John Otis Shigley, Annie Valley Minnick, Hazel Shigley, Arthur Shigley and Laura Pearl Wyland. The family in 1886 relocated to Nebraska and settled in the northeastern section of Hayes County, about 16 miles southeast of the town of Dickens. Susan gave birth to their daughter Annie shortly after arrival, on July 11, 1886. Susan suffered from asthma. Sadly, upon contracting pneumonia, she passed away on Dec. 4, 1908. One obituary said that "Her last sickness was very sudden and unexpected as she had seemed to be improving for several weeks. She had suffered bery much at frequent intervals with the disease which finally caused her demise. We know not the hour when when our Lord will come to take us away to his own dear home and we trust that she has gone to that beautiful home for she was a kind mother, a faithful wife and a devoted christian, having united with the Methodist church at the age of nine years." Another in the Hayes Center (NE) Times-Republican said she "has lived among us for twenty two years, being one of the first settlers of the Valley precinct... the funeral was held at the Valley school house and the remains laid to rest in Valley cemetery, which is on the homestead where she lived." Rev. D.W. Parker of Maywood presided over the funeral rites. Burial was next to her father. As a widower, George lived on for more than a quarter of a century. His home in 1891 was near Maywood, NE -- in 1908 at White, Hayes County, NE -- in 1910 in Valley Township, Hamilton County, NE -- and in 1930 in Dudley, Fall River, SD. In January 1908, near tragedy was avoided his teenage daughter Hazel was bound and taken from their home and "criminally assaulted," but fortunately recovered, reported the Omaha (NE) Daily Bee. In 1918, and then again in 1932 and 1934, he endured the untimely deaths of three adult children, first daughter Annie Minnick in childbirth -- then daughter Hazel Howell -- and finally son John from the amputation of a leg. When he traveled to Bingham, NE for a visit in March 1929 from his Idaho home, the Sheridan County (NE) Star said he "will be remembered by many friends here, as for years he was a landmark in this country." George's home in 1932 was in Edgemont, SD. He died on March 31, 1936. Burial was in Alliance Cemetery in Box Butte County, NE. Daughter Lenora "Nora" Shigley (1878-1960) was born on Feb. 1, 1878 in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, IN. On Christmas Day 1891, she and James Adams Paxton (1870-1936) entered into marriage. He was the son of Joseph Keepers and Mary Ann (Tinsman) Paxton. Three known offspring in this family were Joseph Lloyd Paxton, Mrs. Carl Hembree and Mrs. James Roberts/David P. Jackson. They lived at Billings, MT one time followed by a move in 1915 to Ada, near Boise, ID. Their final address together was 2012 North 19th Street. James suffered a brief illness and died at the age of 66, in a Boise hospital, on Nov. 4, 1930. He was laid to rest in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise, with Rev. William Crosby Ross preaching the funeral sermon. An obituary was published in the Boise Idaho Statesman. The widowed Lenora made a home in Boise, ID (1932), Medora, ND and in 1946 relocated to Pasco, WA. Her address was 1303 West Yakima Street, and she held a membership in the local Methodist church. Toward the end of her life, Lenora was admitted to the Colonial Manor Nursing Home. There, she died at the age of 82 on April 27, 1960. Rev. Randall Larson, pastor of the First Methodist church, presided over the funeral rites. An obituary appeared in the Pasco Tri-City Herald.
Son John Otis Shigley (1879-1934) was born on Feb. 6, 1879 in Indiana. He was twice wed. On Nov. 21, 1903, he first married Vessie/Verssie B. Foster ( ? - ? ) in Stockville, NE. They did not reproduce, and their marriage dissolved in divorce in 1916, with him bringing charges of "extreme cruelty and adultery." As a single man again, he dwelled in Bingham and Antioch, NE. On Dec. 14, 1921, he again was united in matrimony with Edith Almira (Thayer) Donohoe (1885-1962), also of Antioch. The ceremony was performed by County Judge Tash. They also did not reproduce. The pair settled at Lakeside, NE, where he was employed as a postal mail carrier. They are known to have hosted a Shigley family reunion at their home in July 1930, with sisters traveling to attend from Idaho and South Dakota. Sadly, at age 55, John contracted an infected leg. On Oct. 25, 1934, in an Omaha hospital, he underwent amputation surgery but did not survive the operation. His remains were lowered under the sod of Lakeside Cemetery in Sheridan County, NE. An obituary in the Omaha World-Herald said that he was survived by his father, brother Arthur and sisters. Daughter Annie Valley Shigley (1886-1918) was born on July 11, 1886 in the Valley Precinct of Hayes County, NE, which may have been the source for her middle name. At the age of about 20, on Jan. 17, 1906, she wed William Clayton Minnick (1885-1963). Together, they produced a family of six. The known offspring were Gretchen Leon Traub, Ruth Mae Deinlein and Dorothy Valley Minnick. The family made their home near Maywood, NE. Then in April 1910 they relocated to Sheridan County, NE. With Annie expecting their sixth child in early autumn of 1918, the Minnicks moved back to Maywood. They were plunged into mourning when Annie died 24 days after childbirth at the age of 32, in Maywood, NE, on Oct. 29, 1918. An obituary was published in the Maywood Eagle-Reporter. The remains were interred in Valley Cemetery in Hayes County. Baby daughter Dorothy only lived for two months and passed on Dec. 5, 1918. William remained alone for three years until 1921, when he tied the knot with Julia Minnick (1880-1972).
Daughter Emma "Hazel" Shigley (1891-1932) was born on July 20, 1891 near Maywood, Frontier County, NE. As a teen, she lived near White, Hayes County, NE. When she was 17 years of age, on the night of Jan. 20, 1908, two men drove to her homeplace, abducted and bound her and carried her about a mile away, where they "criminally assaulted" her and left, said the Omaha Daily Bee. Blood stains and signs of a struggle around the house were found. Said the Bee, "A large posse of neighbors is searching for the men and if they are found serious consequences for them are sure to follow." Added the Hayes Center Times Republican, "This community was thrown into a state of intense excitement..." Hazel was discovered in a deep hole in a canyon, with her hands and feet bound. She told officials that she had been out in the barn and when returning to the farmhouse found a stranger inside the door, seated in a chair. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and she grabbed a whiskey bottle and swung, finding its mark and shattering it into pieces. She could recall nothing else. Hazel recovered from her ordeal. The following month, she and her married sister Annie Minnick attended a literary event in nearby Marengo. She made news again in the gossip columns of the Times-Republican in January 1910 when she bought a Singer sewing machine. In either 1910 or 1911, she and her father migrated to a new residence near Ellsworth, where she put down roots for the rest of her life. On Valentine's Day 1916, she married George Clinton Howell (Dec. 2, 1883-1947), son of Robert Jackson and Mary Alice (Hill) Howell and a native of Perecival, IA. He was divorced from his first wife in the early 1910s and brought a teenage stepson to the second marriage, Dennis Robert Howell. Together, they bore two sons of their own -- Pat Raymond Howell and Jim Hill Howell. They made a dwelling-place in Ellsworth, NE in 1918 and then moved to a farm 12 miles north of Bingham, NE in about 1921. Sadness blanketed the family when Hazel died in St. Joseph Hospital in Alliance, NE on May 28, 1932. Reported the Sheridan County (NE) Star, her relatives and "scores of friends [were] deeply grieved to lose one so deeply beloved." Another obituary in the same newspaper said she had been ill for nearly two years "and an inmate of the hospital nearly seven months. She was taken worse Tuesday of last week and the family were called and she never rallied, but was completely unconscious for the last twenty-five hours." Funeral rites were led by Rev. Larsen in the Bingham Church, and the choir performed "At the End of the Way" and "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." George outlived Hazel by 15 years and wed yet again in 1937 to his widowed sister-in-law Macie Lovina "May" (Williams) Aliff Howell (1891-1969). He passed away in Edgemont at the age of 63 on Feb. 2, 1947. Burial of the remains was in Bingham Cemetery back in Nebraska. The widowed Macie relocated circa 1954 from South Dakota to Tacoma, WA. There, at age 77, she passed away on Feb. 23, 1969. Her remains were lowered into rest under the sod of Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, WA. The Tacoma News Tribune carried an obituary.
Son Arthur Chester Shigley (1895-1942) was born on Dec. 9, 1895 in Maywood, NE. At the age of 19, in 1914, in Alliance, NE, he wed 20-year-old Anna Susan Lineback (1893-1959), perhaps the same woman known as "Anna Maud Bower." Known offspring of this couple were Ernest E. Shigley, Nemona Shigley, Mary Ellen Shigley and Verda Shigley. In 1917, when required to register for the military draft during World War I, the family dwelled in Ashby, NE, with self-employed as a stockman and farmer. The Shigleys dwelled in Sulphur City, AR in 1918-1919, where their youngest daughter was born, but later returned to Nebraska. He is known to have sold his house to Joseph Steggs in 1920 and to have moved to the town of Alliance, NE. He was there in the 1930-1932 timeframe, with him earning a living as a cookware salesman. Anna's divorced father lived under their roof in 1930. The couple was sued in a foreclosure action in March 1930 involving default in payment for sale of town lots in Alliance. In August 1933, Arthur lost a finger from amputation at the Ainsworth Hospital. The marriage unraveled, and Arthur moved out, going to Laramie, WY, where in 1937 he lived at 271 North Cedar and earned a living working for Laramie Hide & Junk Company. Anna sued for divorce in local district court in November 1937, citing cruelty, desertion and non-support, and the matter was granted in May 1938. Arthur only lived for four years after the divorce. For reasons not yet known, he was incarcerated in the Wyoming State Prison in Rawlins. Afflicted with tuberculosis, he died in the prison at the age of 47 on April 1, 1942. Interment was in Rawlins. Anna lived for another two-plus decades, continuing to use the "Shigley" surname. Her home in 1959 was at 316 Cheyenne Avenue in Alliance, and she supported herself as a clerk at the Alliance Hotel.She died on Oct. 23, 1959.
Daughter Laura Pearl Shigley (1896-1992) was born on July 20, 1896 in Maywood, NE. As a youth she attended Maywood schools, completing her education through eight grades. In 1915, at age 19, she tied the marital cord with Russell R. Wyland (1892-1959). A foursome of children borne by this couple were Beulah Bradeen, Richard Wyland, John Aaron Wyland and Marion Wyland. Sadly, son John died in infancy in 1933. They moved to Edgemont, SD upon marriage, were in Antioch, NE in 1918 and back in Edgemont in 1932. They made another move in 1938 to Custer, SD. Sadly, Russell passed away in November 1959. Laura outlived him by 33 years and migrated to Oregon, remaining there until 1980 when she returned to Custer for good, sharing a home with her daughter Beulah. Her final residence from 1988-1992 was in the Colonial Manor Nursing Home in Custer. She succumbed to the spectre of death at age 96, in Custer, on Nov. 15, 1992. An obituary was printed in the Custer County Chief which said she was a lifetime member of the Rebekahs. Pastor Bill Savery led the funeral service at Custer Cemetery.
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